Under Wraps

"You're serious," Brian gapes when Frank tells him he wants Gerard to stay the night. "Frank, that kid made you cry, I don't think--"

"He's nice, he apologised!" Frank interrupts, arms flailing before resting on his brother's shoulders. "We're good now - we're friends."

Brian sighs and shakes his head, frowning lightly at his younger brother. "Fine. But if he does or says anything, you come straight to me and he'll be leaving, got it?"

Frank grins and nods, bouncing on his heels and hugging Brian tight.

~*~

The doorbell rings and Frank bolts from the sofa to answer it. "Gee!" he squeals, immediately wrapping his arms around the taller boy. "We set up the camp bed in my room for you if that's okay? Unless you're uncomfortable sleeping in the same room then we ca--"

"Don't be silly, Frankie," Gerard giggles and ruffles Frank's hair, stepping into the house and kicking his shoes off. "The camp bed in your room is fine."

Both boys wander into the living room and Gerard squirms under Brian's glare. Frank frowns at his brother and throws a cushion at him, glaring harder. Frank grabs Gerard's hand and pulls him up the stairs and towards his room. "Don't expect anything amazing, Gee. My room's pretty boring." Frank pushes the door to his room open and lets Gerard in first and bites his lip. "Also, uh, ignore the mess. I didn't have much time to tidy before you came. Listen, I've just gotta go to the bathroom - Will you be okay in here?"

Gerard nods at Frank and smiles, sitting himself lightly on his bed. He waits until Frank shuts the door and within seconds he's off the bed and going towards Frank's drawers. He rifles through them and pulls out photos of Frank when he was female and smirks, slipping them into his bag. Just before he sits back down to look innocent, he notices a small book on top of Frank's wardrobe. Curiosity gets the better of him and he reaches up to grab it, flicks through it and a wide grin spreads across his face when he realizes this is Frank's journal. Along with the photos, he places that into his bag and zips it up, quickly moving to sit on the bed when he hears Frank coming back.

"Alright?" Frank smiles, biting his lip and sitting beside Gerard who nods and smiles back. "So, uh, what do you wanna do?" Gerard shrugs and pulls his bottom lip into his mouth, eyes wide and staring at Frank. "We could go for a walk to the park maybe? And come back in time for dinner?" Again, Gerard says nothing but nods and Frank grins at that, grabbing his hand once again and pulling him downstairs. "Bri, tell Mom and Dad we're going out for a bit? We'll be back in time for dinner, too."

"Yeah, sure. Be careful, okay? Remem--"

"Yes," Frank sighs rolling his eyes. "I know. Bye, Brian."

~*~

"I brought Dawn of the Dead, Dog Soldiers and Lost Boys so we can watch those tonight if you want? I brought a ton of candy too!" Gerard grins as he and Frank walk through the park before sitting at a bench beside the duck pond.

"Dog Soldiers?!" Frank gasps, mouth open and hands on Gerard's lap. "I fucking love that film!"

Gerard giggles and nods. "It is awesome. It's my favorite werewolf movie by far."

They sit on the bench and talk for what feels like hours until Frank starts freaking out because it's way past dinner time. He checks his phone and sees at least four missed calls, four voicemails and seven texts. He reads the last text before pulling Gerard up and running towards the house.

"Frank, what the FUCK?!" Brian yells when they both burst through the door. "Mom and Dad are going insane! I'm going insane! I thought he'd hurt you or something, Jesus Christ! You better go into the kitchen. They're pretty pissed."

Frank tenses and nods, hand slipping out of Gerard's and sulking towards the kitchen. "H-Hey Mom, D--"

"Francesca Anne Iero, what the hell do you think you're playing at?!" his mother screeches, slamming the kitchen door shut. "Do you have any idea what time it is?! Brian said you'd be home before dinner and look, we're done! We've had dinner! What on Earth were you doing?!" Frank flinches visibly at the name and all of a suddenly becomes interested in the kitchen tile. "Well?!" she grabs his chin to force him to look at her, eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. "Did that boy hurt you?"

"NO! N-No, Mom, he didn't. We just lost track of time. We went to the park and talked and sat down for a bit. I didn't realise I was late until it started getting dark. I'm sorry."

Linda sighs, clenching and unclenching her jaw before turning around and continuing cleaning up. "Well, you can make your own food from now on, Francesca. You've done this three times now and I'm not standing for it. I'm not cooking for you anymore. Go to your room and tell Gerard to leave. You're not having him stay tonight."

"But Mo--"

"Now, Francesca."

~*~

Gerard gets home after being told that he has to leave and grins to himself as he pulls out the photos and Frank's journal, setting them on his bed. He runs his fingers over them as he turns his scanner and laptop on, hooking them together and setting the program up.

"This should be fun." he mumbles to himself as he scans the photos and journal pages into his computer.