Hold You Close

-Gerard's POV-

I looked around at the crowded Cafeteria, but I didn't see Frank anywhere. The period was almost over, he should have been here by now. I knew what must have happened, but just the thought of it made me want to cry. I left the room and spent the rest of the period looking for him.

As the bell rang for the end of the period, and I still hadn't found him, I was really starting to panic. I continued to look for him into the beginning of my next class. I was walking out of the 2nd floor boys' room when I bumped into Brandon.

A mischievous grin grew across his face. "Hey, fag. I just paid your boyfriend a little visit." he taunted. Before I could even react, I felt his fist collide with my jaw. I fell back onto the cold, hard, tiled floor. I got myself up, but stumbled back into the wall right after. When I fell, my head hit the floor pretty hard and now I could barely stand upright.

"Where's Frank? What did you do to him?" I demanded. I tried to sound tough, but I was just getting more and more scared.

He took a step forward and closed in the small space that was between us.

"I didn't do anything that he didn't deserve. Queers like you two don't deserve to live here." As he kept talking, I was getting angrier and angrier. "That bitch needed to be taught a lesson."

I couldn't stand it anymore. Who was this guy to say what is and isn't right? Who was he to call my Frankie a bitch and make both of our lives a living hell? Before I could think about what I was going to do, I swung back my fist and punched him in the eye. He fell onto the dirty floor and looked up at me with disbelief, which quickly turned into rage.

"Your going to pay for that, you little fuck." he growled at me as he stood up and whipped his hands out. He clutched my neck tight. I could feel myself suffocating as I gasped for air. My lungs were feeling strained and my chest began to tighten up. I began to get light-head when he released one of his hands from my neck and punched me as hard as he could in the stomach.

He dropped me on the floor and I immediately began coughing and gasping for air.

"Your queer friend is going to pay for that, too" he said as he was about to leave.

You know those stories you hear about people getting extra strength from adrenaline or something? I think that's what happened to me here. Normally, I would never be able to knock this guy out, especially right after I almost got strangled to death, but just as he was turning to leave, I stood up and punched him in the face with the most strength I could muster. Now unconscious, he slumped onto to floor.

I stood there in shock at what I had just done. After this, I'd be lucky to live to see my own graduation. After a moment, I stepped over him and ran the hell out of there before he woke up.

I didn't really know where to go next. I sure as hell wasn't going back to class now, and I had no idea where Frankie was. I looked around the school a bit more, but after a while I just felt hopeless. As I turned a corner, I saw a teacher walking down the hallway in my direction. I immediately turn around and hide as quickly as possible before I got detention for skipping class.

I opened one of the emergency exit doors and quickly closed it. When I turned around, I saw him lying in the grass not to far away. I ran over and kneeled down next to him.

"Frank?" When he didn't stir, I checked to make sure he was breathing. Thankfully he was, so I gently shook his shoulder to try and wake him up. "Frankie? Can you hear me?"

His eyelids fluttered open. "Gerard?" He opened his eyes a bit more, and after a moment he gasped in horror. I saw him beginning to tear up. "Gerard, you look terrible!" he said as he took in my swollen and bruised jaw and neck.

He began to sit up. "No, Frank, I'm fine. Don't try to get up." I said, but he still leaned forward to hug me.

"What happened?" He began to ask. "After they beat the shit out of me, he said he'd get you too, but then I passed out."

"Er...I'll tell you later. Let's just get out of here first." I said as I helped him up to walk to my car with me.

–

A few minutes later, I pulled up in front of Frank's house. After we walked inside, he got me some ice for my head, even though I insisted that he go rest. After he was done fussing over me, he showed me his room. It was very small and messy, and the posters covering the walls gave it an even more claustrophobic feeling. On the farthest wall was his bed, and on the side of the door was a desk and a tall bookshelf. Of the walls next to this, one had a dresser, and the other has his closet and a guitar amplifier. There was hardly any room to walk around, but I thought his room looked cozy.

We lied down on his bed, side by side, with one of my arms around him. After a moment, he said, "So, are you going to tell me what happened?" He looked up at me with his cute smile. I found it amazing that he could still be a bit cheerful after what happened today.

I told him everything from looking for him when he didn't show up at lunch to finding him unconscious outside. The whole time, he looked like he was going to be sick. While I talked, I gently stroked his arm, but it didn't help him any.

When I finished, I just looked at him warily. "Frankie...do you hate me now?" I asked tentatively.

He looked up at me. "Hate you? How the hell could I hate you after all you did for me?"

"Well now, thanks to me, we're both going to be killed by Brandon and his friends. How can you not be mad at me for this?"

He paused for a moment, and then said, "I don't care about getting my ass kicked, Gerard. It's worth it to be with you....And besides, I just can't believe you would do that for me. No one has ever stood up for me like that before."

I looked down at him a smiled. "Frankie, I would fight them all off just to hold you close."

Frank tilted his head up to kiss me again. "I would do the same for you, Gee."