Disenchanted

The raven haired girl fluttered her eyes open to be greeted by darkness, with the only light coming from a dim lamp on a bedside table. A man dressed in all black and sporting an Italian moustache that fit right in with his olive skin, was sitting at the foot of her bed.

"What's your name darling?" he asked sweetly when he had noticed that the girl had woken up.

"I- er..." the girl froze. What was her name again? Oh, right! "Kara. My name is Kara Thompson."

Kara nodded, that was definitely her name. She just couldn't remember anything else about herself.

"One of my sons found you, he said you were nearly dead. Hit your head." the Italian said and Kara fought to remember what exactly had happened. But she couldn't remember much, only that she was going to be late for something. Something important.

"I'm going to miss it." she muttered to herself. Unfortunately, the man happened to hear as well.

"Miss what?" he asked. Kara pursed her lips in thought but came up blank.

"I don't know, I just know that I'm going to miss whatever it is..." she shrugged.

"Kara, darling, do you know what day it is?" the man asked and again, Kara thought hard. Some year in the 20th century but that was all she could come up with.

"No, sorry." Kara shook her head and felt the man smooth back her hair. Not in a creepy way, but in a fatherly way when his daughter is sick.

"Do you remember anything other than your name?" he asked and once again, Kara shook her head. "It's okay, darling. That's all you need to know."

Kara frowned, "what do you mean?" she asked. Again, even the words that left the mans mouth were oddly creepy, the way he said it sounded more comforting than anything.

"I mean, it doesn't matter. I will take you in, you don't need to know anything other than what you know now because you will be my daughter."

A sense of relief washed over Kara. To be utterly and completely lost in your own life and then miraculously find a family and home in less than five minutes was extremely comforting. And as a plus, she already cared for this man like he was her father.

"What should I call you then?" Kara asked as she tried sitting up but her pounding head was too much so she lay back down.

"Just call me Papa." the man winked. "Now, come along, I'd like you to meet your new brothers..."

6 Months Later

"Frank, you have to get up, all this staying inside isn't good for you." Ray said and tried to pull the quilt off of Franks head. They were back in New Jersey and wouldn't be going on your for the next few months so Frank had gone into a permanent moping mode until someone - Ray - sent him to do something 'productive.'

"There's nothing to do..." Frank sighed and pulled the quilt higher above his head. Gerard had come in earlier to force Frank to take a shower so at least he was clean.

"You have nothing to eat, go get groceries or pizza or something. You'll starve yourself if you don't eat something." Ray lectured and Frank rolled his hazel eyes.

Is that such a bad thing? Frank couldn't help but think. Instead of saying it out loud, he just sighed in frustration and ripped the quilt from his body. Sometimes, it was just easier to give the guys what they wanted and then coming back to his house later to sulk some more.

"Fine." he growled. Ray looked like he was about to follow Frank so the short man just held his hand for his friend to stop, "you aren't coming with me. I don't need you nagging me the whole way there."

"We're just trying to look out for you, Frank." Ray sighed and Frank rolled his eyes for the second time.

"Well, stop. I can take care of myself. I'm not a baby, and you're not my father." Frank snapped before slamming the door shut and storming away. He didn't even know why his friends did this, he was always frustrated and ready to flip at anything anyone said.

Frank was so caught up in his anger that he hadn't noticed a girl sauntering down the busy street in high, black heels and a tight black dress. Her black hair was straightened and there was some thick eyeliner under her eyes. Frank didn't notice her at all until he ran into her and sent them both falling back.

"Ow, fuck!" Frank cursed and looked up angrily at the girl, "watch where you're-"

Franks jaw dropped, mid-sentence as he stared at the girl sprawled out in front if him. She looked just as pissed off and was shooting daggers at Frank, but even then, he couldn't help but be captivated - and slightly terrified - by what he was seeing.

"Are you blind or something? Watch where you're going!" Kara snapped. "I knew I shouldn't have worn these heels..." she muttered.

Frank was frozen in place until Kara shot him an awkward look, "um... Are you okay? You're kind of... What are you looking at?"

"What the fuck..." Frank whispered to himself.

"Um, I'm Kara? I don't know if that's your way of getting a name out of someone or what but could you stop staring? It's kind of creeping me out." Kara informed Frank as she helped herself to her feet and dusted her hands on her dress. Then, she held out her hands for Frank to grab, and like a robot, he did.

"This is the part where you introduce yourself." Kara urged and Frank's eyes only widened.

"I'm high." Frank decided, "Yup, I am definitely high or this would not be happening."

Frank didn't know whether to laugh, cry or leap into Kara's arms even though she clearly had no idea who Frank was. So instead, he did none of the above and talked about being high out loud.

"You know, I'm going to go. Um, I hope you have a fun time... Being high..." Kara backed away and everything kind of clicked in Franks mind at once.

His dead best friend was standing in front of him. His dead best friend had no idea who he was and why he was acting the way that he was. His dead best friend was also not as dead as he thought.

This was his second chance.

"Wait, my name is Frank!" Frank yelled and ran to catch up to Kara. "Sorry for being so weird, I was-"

"High?" Kara finished and Frank blushed. "You sober up really quick, I must give you that."

"No, I just thought you were someone else." Frank shrugged. His heart was beating rapidly and he was pretty sure he had just slipped into a coma and wasn't really seeing Kara at all. That one fact was the only reason he wasn't hugging and kissing the girl; he was half sure she was only a hallucination.

"Makes more sense." Kara shrugged. "So Frank, why exactly are you walking around on this fine evening, being so angry at the world." from the look on Franks face, he was wondering how she knew. But then again, he did think this was all a dream that he didn't want to wake up from. "You kind of looked pissed and you were cursing when you ran into me."

Frank snorted, "actually, you ran into me." he corrected and Kara scoffed. "But I was just pissed because my friends have been bugging for the past few months."

"Ah, friends can be a bitch sometimes." Kara nodded knowingly. Deep down inside, Frank felt a pang in his heart. Was that how she thought of him when she was alive? It didn't really matter anyway, she was just a dream and Frank would wake up any moment now. "You look hungry, want to grab a bite to eat?" Kara asked.

"Sure, I was going to go out to eat anyway." Frank agreed. "There's a diner down the road, I'm sure you'll love it."

That was test number one, Frank and the real Kara used to always go to Sally's Diner on weekends, and every time, they would order chocolate chip pancakes. It was their tradition. Frank wasn't even sure what he was testing, but he felt like it needed to be done.

"I'd love to." Kara grinned.

"So, why are you all dressed up, anyway?" Frank finally asked. Nobody wears shoes that high and a dress that right unless there was a reason.

"My brother is coming home for the weekend and my family is throwing him a surprise party." Kara shrugged.

Frank felt his heart sink, Kara Thompson didn't have any siblings. She was an only child, just like Frank. Oh well, if this was just a dream or hallucination then it wouldn't really matter. It's all in Franks mind anyway.

The two reached the diner and Frank led them to their usual spot at the back. The waitress that came to serve them was new and Frank hadn't seen her since he'd stopped coming to Sally's around a half year ago.

"Hm, what should I have?" Kara wondered aloud as she skimmed over the menu.

"Chocolate chip pancakes." Frank said immediately. Kara glanced up at him with a slightly weirded out look but ordered it anyway. Once they had ordered and were waiting for their food, Kara started a conversation.

"So what do you do for a living?" Kara asked.

"I'm in a band, My Chemical Romance."

Kara's jaw dropped, "are you kidding me? You're in My Chemical Romance? I love your music, I just never bothered learning who was in the band." Kara grinned, "that's so cool!"

Frank smiled the first real smile in a long time, "I'm the guitarist. My friend, Ray is also in the band. He's the one who forced me out of my house."

"Huh, that's amazing." Kara grinned at Frank with a new adoration in her eyes. She still saw him as just Frank, the guy who ran into her, but now he was Frank: the talented guy who ran into her. And that always counts for something.

The food came and Kara was shocked to see how much there was piled on the plate. She also realized that it needed more chocolate, lots of it. So Kara grabbed the chocolate sauce from the side and tried to squeeze it into her food. Nothing came out.

Kara frowned and tried shaking it. Still nothing came out. She squeezed harder and a look of frustration overcame her face. Frank was finding it hilarious, until she realized that the lid was still on.

Chocolate blasted out of the container and shot straight into Franks face, giving him a thick coat of sweet brown over his face. Kara's jaw dropped open and she broke into a fit of uncontrollable giggles.

"Oh, so you think this is funny, huh?" Frank smirked and Kara nodded, still laughing her ass off. "Then why don't you give me a little kiss? If you think this is so funny?"

Kara squeaked and laughed louder as she tried to scramble out of the booth. Frank grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close before planted his chocolate covered lips on Kara's cheek.

The raven haired girl yelped and struggled to get away as Frank literally wiped his face on her cheek. "Ew! Frank!"

"Not so funny now, is it?" Frank stumbled back with laughter. The look he was getting from Kara and the other customers was deadly but he found it to be a riot.

"No." Kara snapped with a fake sour expression, "It does taste pretty good though."

"I do taste good, don't I?" Frank replied smugly and Kara rolled her brown eyes.

"I meant the chocolate, idiot." Kara scoffed as she wiped her face clean of any remaining sauce. "Thanks for the kiss by the way, having a stranger make out with the side of my face is really amazing. Spectacular."

Frank chuckled. "I'm not a stranger any more am I?"

A small smile appeared on Kara's face, "I guess not. But if that's true, then I would have had your number by now." she held out her Blackberry slyly.

Frank sighed with mock annoyance, "I knew it, I knew you just wanted to get in my pants." He gave her his number anyway.

The two finished their food, talking about anything that came to mind and laughing their asses off while doing it until the waitress told them that they had to leave because the diner would be closing.

"That was the most fun I've ever had." Kara sighed in content as they walked along the empty street. Their sides hurt from laughing, but that was better than the other kid of hurt Frank had been experiencing in the past six months.

"We should do something tomorrow, this was too much fun to pass up." Frank grinned and Kara immediately agreed. And then, they said their goodbyes and Frank walked up to his house and closed the door.

It wasn't until Frank was at his couch that the day really sunk in. And when it did, he burst into joyful tears.

Even if it was just a vivid dream, that was the best feeling Frank had experienced in a long time. He just didn't want to wake up and go back to the real world.

The real world didn't have Kara in it.