My Miserable Romance

“We’ve booked a church to the 27th of May, in other words; in two weeks, so we really need to talk about the rest of the stuff that’s left” Annie said, standing in front of me and Frank where we laid in the hospital bed together. A nurse had announced that he was gonna be released as soon as he could stand up without getting dizzy, which they predicted to be tomorrow.
“Which is?” I asked with one arm around Frank’s neck, making him lie on it as a pillow and the other playing with his hair.
“Err… Well, suits” she said carefully, obviously not wanting to bring it up.
“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about that, Gee” Frank said, “I mean, we never dress up normally, so why should we spend the most important day of our lives with uncomfortable clothes? Besides, I have a slight problem with trusting tailors now anyway…”
“So you want us to get married in jeans and shirts?” I asked and he nodded. “Sure, why not”
“Great, now everything’s set for the wedding” Annie said happily, closing her notebook and putting it in her purse.
“And thank god for that…” Mikey sighed, “The only thing she’s been doing these last couple of weeks is to talk about that damn wedding, like it was her own or something…” he explained to me and Frank.
“It’s no fun being pregnant… You can’t do anything, so excuse me for trying to cheer myself up” she laughed and got up from her chair. “I’ll leave you boys alone; Bella and Lucy are waiting for me. See y’all later!”
“Bye honey!” Mikey called after her as she closed the door to the small hospital room. “Does this mean that we don’t have to wear suits either?” he asked, gesturing at himself, Ray and Bob. They were all sitting around the hospital bed, drinking their morning coffee.
“Well… That would look rather stupid…” I said, pretending to think about it. “Of course you don’t have to wear suits!”
“Just making sure,” Mikey said, “By the way, we’re having a sleep-over at Ray’s place as soon as Frankie’s better. Brian’s orders”
“Why does Brian order us to have a sleep-over at my place?” Ray asked, raising his eyebrow at Mikey.
“He said something about ‘making the band stronger’. But he didn’t say that we had to be at yours; I came up with that”
“I thought so…” Ray said, rolling his eyes. “But fine, we can sleep in the basement or something”
“Well, I’m out of here first thing tomorrow, so we can have it tomorrow night!” Frank said, clapping his hands in excitement, but frowned when he saw my face. “What?”
“You sure you’ll recover to tomorrow?” I asked with a concern look.
“I can always fake it?”
“So you’re gonna fake that you can walk without fainting? Good luck…”
“Hey, the nurse said-“
“That you’re released when you can walk without feeling dizzy” I interrupted him. He looked at me for a second and then heaved himself up from the bed. “Where are you going?”
“I’m just gonna see if I get dizzy” he said casually, “If I don’t, I’ll leave tomorrow. If I do… Well, we’ll see about that”

It didn’t take many seconds until we could establish that he needed to spend some more hours lying down.
“Dammit” he muttered as he was once again safely placed in the hospital bed next to me.
“We can always have the sleep over the day after tomorrow” Bob said, and Frank nodded his head, even though he looked like he didn’t agree at all.
“Mr. Iero- Sir, what are you doing?!” a nurse who just entered the room hissed at me and I jolted up from the bed in surprise.
“What?” I asked, confused. “Am I not allowed to lie down?”
“Not with the patient!” she exclaimed, waving her finger at me. “If I see that one more time, I have to ask you to leave this room”
“Uh, okay, sorry” I said, trying to sound as if I really meant it.
“Anyway” the nurse said, adjusting her glasses on her pointy nose. “Mr. Iero, it’s time for your shower”
“Shower? I don’t think I can… I can barely stand on my own” he said miserably and the nurse got a freaky smile on her lips.
“Don’t you worry about that. I’ll be there to help you” she grinned and Frank’s face fell. I bet he doesn’t really like the idea of being helped in the shower of a complete stranger… Even less a middle-aged woman.
“Uh… No thanks” he said, forcing himself to smile. “I’ll be fine”
“Sorry sir, but you’re risking the other patients’ health by spreading germs and such” she said, still smiling freakishly, eyeing him up and down. If Frank wouldn’t have looked so terrified, I would’ve laughed.
“But…” he started, then realized that he had no arguments left. “Fine…”
“Good! I’ll be back in an hour” she said, giggling slightly as she left.
“Wonder-fucking-ful…” he moaned. I got an idea and before any of them could ask, I ran out through the door. I heard Bob call my name, probably thinking I was upset, so I stopped and turned around to see him stand right outside Frank’s hospital door.
“I’ll be right back” I shouted, earning a few angry glances from the passing nurses. Bob nodded and I continued my walk through the corridors. I stopped every nurse I could see, and every time, I started my sentence with ‘my boyfriend’ just to see of they would get disgusting looks or not. It took me a while to find a nurse who just nodded slightly as I began to talk and I decided to continue.

“My boyfriend’s really self-conscious and he just find out he has to be helped in the shower by some complete stranger, so I was wondering if… you know, I could help him instead?” I asked, adding the last part quietly, looking at the brown-haired nurse.
“I don’t know sir…” she said, giving me a suspicious glance. “I have to talk to the patient first”
“Him? I thought you had to talk to his nurse? She’s really creepy, you know” I said, regretting I had said the last sentence as soon as the words passed my lips. What if that nurse was her best friend? If that was the case, she would never agree to this. To my great relief, she just shook her head.
“Yes. I have to see if it’s okay with him. If you rape him-“
“Oh… Right” I interrupted her. I guess it’s good that they don’t let just anyone near their patients, even though I almost felt disgusted by the mere thought of raping Frank. “Well, he’s in room 201”
She followed me through the corridors and a couple of minutes later, we reached Frank’s room. I walked in behind her.
“So, Mr. Iero. I heard you’re very self-conscious” she said in a commanding voice. I nodded frantically behind her, and he seemed to understand what I meant.
“Uh, yes… Yes, I am” he replied and I nodded.
“And Mr. Way is your boyfriend?”
“My fiancé” he corrected her with a smile. “Why?”
“Do you love him?” she asked, ignoring his question.
“Very much” Frank said, still smiling but looking rather confused by now.
“What’s your nurse’s name?”
“Mrs. Kelly” he said.
The nurse turned away from him and marched out, but not before whispering; ‘I’ll inform Kelly. Be very careful, he has lost a lot of blood so he’ll be kinda dizzy’ to me.
“Thanks” I whispered back and she left the room.
“What was that all about?” Frank asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
“I hooked you up with an a lot more attractive nurse to help you shower” I grinned.
“Somehow, that doesn’t sound like you” he laughed.
“Alright, I lied a little… He’s not a nurse”
“He?”
“Yep, he” I said and walked up to his bed, sitting down next to him on it.
“Just stop messing around and tell me what you’ve done!” he laughed, hitting me with his pillow.
“Patients… They have no patience” I said, laughing slightly at the sentence. Bob, Ray and Mikey looked at me like I was crazy and I kinda understood them. “Sorry. Anyway, I convinced her to let me help you instead”
To my surprise, his face fell from the smile it had just shown and he looked almost scared.
“What?” I asked, hearing my voice reach that high-pitched sound I hated.
“I… Do you think that’s such a great idea?”
“I don’t know… I just thought it would be better if I were there instead of a stranger” I said, looking at the pillow under his head instead of directly at him, my mood changing drastically. I thought he would be happy. He sighed, closing his eyes. My heart fell down somewhere in level with my toes and I felt both rejected and stupid. It took the guys two seconds before they realized that this was something they didn’t need to hear and before I knew it, I was alone with Frank. “I’m sorry, Frankie, I just thought… I don’t know what I thought, it was really stupid”
“No, it wasn’t,” he said, finally opening his eyes to look at me. “But really Gee, I can’t even stand on my own and to do… I love you and there’s nothing wrong with your idea… But, you…” he let out a sigh. “No sex or anything like that, alright?”
“Is that what this is about?” I asked, feeling my heart rise and go back to its original place. “You’re scared that I would take advantage of you?”
“It sounds terrible when you put it like that, but yes”
“I won’t even look at you if you don’t want me to” I said, smiling. I should’ve known that; of course he feels vulnerable right now when he can’t even take a shower on his own.
“Well, you can look at me” he laughed, putting his hand on the back of my neck, pressing me down gently. “And you can kiss me”
“How nice of you”
I gave in, leaning over to close the gap between us and was just about to press my lips against his, when he started talking.
“I’m really sorry for thinking so low about you” he said, his lips so close to mine his warm breath was making my lips damp.
“You needed to know” I responded, my eyes flickering between his eyes and mouth. I carefully climbed on top of him, both of us knowing I had no intentions of something deeper than kissing. “You done talking now?”
He closed his eyes, slightly separating his lips as he nodded and my lips finally came in contact with his. His tongue gently grazed mine as he entered my mouth and I tilted my head to the side, giving him more access, but he allowed me to take the control now.
This could’ve been a lot better if we weren’t lying in a hard bed with disinfected sheets, but hey, at least we have each other, right? I ran my tongue over his, and exploring his whole mouth, savouring the taste and feeling as this make out session continued.

“Two weeks” Frank sighed, breaking the kiss and looked at the ring on my finger.
“Yeah” I said, trying really hard to sound casual but my lips cracked up in a huge smile.
“You know what?”
“No?” I said, adjusting myself so I was lying on him without making it hard for him to breath, supporting myself up with my elbows and resting my head in my hands.
“Let’s say I live ‘til I’m one hundred years- oh shut up, it’s not impossible!” he laughed, kicking me on my leg with his foot for laughing at him. “Anyways, if I do, I’m gonna spend eighty years with you”
“No” I laughed. “Baby, I smoke and used to drink and do drugs. I’ll be happy if I turn fifty”
“That’s just twenty-five years…” he said, “No; you’re gonna live longer than that!”
“Fine, I’ll die with you” I smiled and he nodded.
“Damn right”
I smiled even wider, lowering my head and kissed his neck. He started laughing just as the door opened and I, who was afraid of getting thrown out, immediately jumped off of Frank, out of his bed. Unfortunately, my foot got tangled into his sheet and with a loud thud, I hit the floor.

“Smooth” I heard Mikey say as he stepped over me to sit in one of the chairs next to Frank’s bed.
“I think I cracked my skull…” I moaned while Ray and Bob, who had witnessed the whole scene too, were roaring with laughter. I got up from the floor, brushed off my clothes and with a dignified look, I crawled back into Frank’s bed, who kindly greeted me with a hug.
“It wasn’t that funny” I said grumpily to Ray and Bob.
“You fell… And…” Bob managed to gasp out between his laughter, but apparently couldn’t finish his sentence; instead he had to hold on to Ray so he wouldn’t collapse. Two minutes passed until the pair finally calmed down.
“Okay, we’re done” Ray said, wiping the tears from his eyes. He shot a quick glance at Bob, who returned it and they started laughing again.
“Anyway,” I started, trying to ignore them. “Come on Frankie; let’s get this over with before your nurse comes back…”
“Yeh, fine” he sighed, climbing out of the bed. “And oh, by the way, don’t freak out if I faint; the nurses said I’ll do that when I move”
“Okay…” I said, even though I knew I would freak out. “Jump up on my back”
“Gee, I can walk on my own” he laughed, but jumped up anyway.
“I don’t want you to pass out” I muttered and walked over to the bathroom door right across his bed. “Guys, we’ll be right back, can you go and get some lunch for us all?”
“Yeah sure, ‘coz we don’t have anything else to do today” Mikey said, mocking an annoyed look.
“That’s right, you don’t” I smirked and pressed down the handle to the bathroom door with my elbow, walking in. Frank slipped off my back and I closed the door before turning to him.

“You want me to go in the shower with you or just wait here and you know, save you if you faint?” I asked, smiling. “And I promise, no inappropriate touching”
“Then you can come with me” he said, “Now, you need to hold on to me when I undress, otherwise I’ll get too dizzy” He placed my hands on his hip and shoulder and then tried to pull off his shirt, but soon noticed it was quite a struggle when my arm on his shoulder was in the way. I let go for a second, but immediately grabbed him again when he swayed dangerously.
“Oh, god, dizzy…” he laughed, clinging on to my arm. I pulled him into a hug, putting my arms firmly around him and after a second, he pulled away. “Okay, I’m fine. Changed plans, I hold on to you while you pull down my pants, alright?”
“My pleasure” I smirked and unbuttoned his pants, pulling them down to his ankles.
“Thanks. Okay. Now, hands on my hips and I’ll take off my shirt” he demanded. His shirt was off a few seconds later and just as I was about to take his underwear off, he stopped me.
“Can we leave them on?” he asked, looking at me kinda shyly before he turned to look at the wall.
“Of course we can” I smiled.
“It’s not you-“
“I know, baby” I assured him before undressing myself to the boxers as well. We stepped into the shower, turned the water off and I couldn’t stop myself from giving his lips a kiss.
“Gee…”
“Sorry, won’t happen again. Promise” I said, brushing his now wet hair back as I got the shampoo bottle behind him.

We stepped out of the shower ten minutes later and I quickly grabbed one of the white towels to wrap around Frank. He sat down on the toilet lid, closing his eyes and I didn’t realize he had fainted until he nearly slipped off it down to the floor. I managed to grab him though and to save him from the embarrassment in being carried back to the bed in only his boxers in front of the guys; I put on his clothes over his wet underwear and dressed myself before picking him up. With certain difficulty, I opened the bathroom door and stumbled over to his bed and put him down.
“Did he pass out?” Mikey asked dumbly.
“Kinda” I answered. “But he’ll be fine”
I went back to the bathroom, took a towel and returned to Frank, starting to dry his soaked hair with it to save the pillow under him from being completely drained.
“Ow…” he moaned and I quickly removed the towel.
“Frankie? Baby, are you alright?” I asked quickly. I didn’t care if the nurses said he was fine even though he faints; it sure made me worried anyway.
“Yeah… My head hurts. What happened?”
“You fainted”
“Oh. For how long was I gone?”
“Like… Two minutes”
“Wooh, that’s better than last time!” he laughed, moving slightly to the left in his bed so I could lie down. “I think I can go home tomorrow”
“We’ll see about that” I said.
“Oh, don’t be so negative, Gee-Gee!” Mikey smiled, “If he’s feeling better there’s nothing to worry about”
“I know… But we’ll let the nurses decide if he’s better or not, alright? And what happened to the food?”
“Oh right, we forgot!” Mikey said, jumping up from his chair. “Everyone who hasn’t passed out today is coming with me to help me carry the food”
“Fine…” Bob, Ray and I said, but Frank put a hand on my shoulder.
“Can’t you stay with me?” he asked, tilting his head slightly to make him look irresistibly cute. I looked at Mikey, pouting.
“You always manage to avoid the dirty work, don’t you Gerard?” Mikey said, waving at me that I could stay, before he, Bob and Ray left.
“Woho” I cheered, lying back down with him. “You smell a lot better now”
“I know. Thanks for the shower” he giggled. “And for respecting my wish” he added, sounding quite dorky.