Last Chance

Things got blurry really soon after that. However, Frank did know that he liked the way the night made him feel more and more out of control, and that he really liked the way the guy smiled at him between Frank’s sentences.

The guy’s name was Gerard, and while the name struck something in Frank’s brain, his thoughts were too beer-muddled for him to process exactly what it was.

Gerard interned for Cartoon Network, and smelled like city air and cigarettes. He could drink more than Frank, and was a few years older. He had a high voice and lips the color of sunrises, and Frank liked him immediately.

The beer Gerard ordered for them was a far shot from the cheap stuff Frank and Mikey used to drink, and it buzzed more on his taste buds than the tequila shots had.

Each time Frank finished his drink, Gerard would ask him if he wanted another, then wave a slender hand and a new one would appear. Frank wasn’t used to the attention, or being hit on, and the feeling made him feel like he was glowing.

At some point, their laughter slumped into uncontrollable giggles, and Gerard stopped being some grown-up stranger in Frank’s mind. He couldn’t imagine Gerard doing anything like balancing check books, or doing laundry. He was just another one of Frank’s foolish friends, who drank too much and had to supress laughter as they snuck noisily back into their parents’ house.

He was just another one of Frank’s cute friends, Frank realized fuzzily sometime during the night. Every time Gerard laughed, his nose scrunched up adorably, and when he spoke of his job or his friends, his hand gravitated upward and he would gesture extravagantly. Frank couldn’t keep the grin from his face, and he never wanted Gerard to stop talking. Gerard still looked cute even when he slipped from his barstool during a retelling of how he’d been suspended for letting a hamster loose in his high school’s vents.

Eventually, Gerard managed to drag Frank into a corner of the bar that had been made into a makeshift dance-floor (courtesy of the other drunk students there), and Frank had found himself crammed into the space that Gerard had politely left between them previously. Gerard looked unsure until Frank had grabbed his waist teasingly and began to sway to the music with the other sloppy dancers.

Frank’s head sloshed with each movement, but he grinned and brought Gerard closer to himself. And closer and closer, and soon they were attracting stares because, fuck , Gerard’s hands were tugging at Frank’s hair and his breath was hot on the skin of Frank’s neck. The air in Frank’s lungs was too thin, and he needed less space between them. Fuck, he needed another drink, too. But for now, he’d settle for pushing his hips against Gerard’s and listening to the gasp Gerard huffed against his hair.

They continued on like that, Frank pushing against Gerard and Gerard restraining from grinding back. Frank tangled his hands in Gerard’s sweaty hair, and tugged the boy’s head back so he could mouth against his neck. It was hot and stuffy, and Frank felt like his skin was too tight for him, and his head was too fuzzy to care.

Gerard seemed to be feeling the same way, and Frank could tell his restraint was running thin. He was getting sloppier and closer and friskier, and Frank could feel more and more gazes being leveled on them.

Finally, Frank managed to snap himself to a more sober state, and he tugged Gerard from the fray. Gerard immediately sought out a new drink for both of them, and gulped his down thirstily. Everything was rocking like an ocean, and Frank was finding it hard to stand up, but he drank what was put into his hand.

“Not- not drunk. . . enough,” Frank slurred, and Gerard giggled. Then Gerard was back in Frank's space, taking the drink from his hand and pushing Frank back against the bar. Frank breath hitched, and he could feel Gerard’s heart stuttering beneath the palm of his hand.

Then Gerard’s mouth was on Frank’s, and it tasted like beer and late nights. Frank opened his mouth immediately, and Gerard’s hands were on Frank’s jaw, tilting his head back so that Gerard’s tongue could slip between Frank’s lips. Frank was no expert at kissing, but he knew the basics, and he immediately crushed Gerard closer so that he could move his mouth against the other boy’s, all teeth and tongue. The kiss was sloppy and silky and distracting, and Frank’s body ached with want.

They pulled apart when someone nearby laughed loudly at something, and the world came literally crashing back to Frank. He felt his knees wobble, and while he wanted to touch Gerard everywhere and now, his body made it impossible. He was slumped against Gerard, who laughed then mummered something dirty into Frank’s ear.

Frank took a sharp breath at that, then slipped his hands around Gerard’s waist and slurred, “Let’s get out-outta here.”

Frank tried to give his infamous wicked grin, but he knew he failed by the way Gerard laughed. Still, Gerard leveled him with a heavy gaze, like he was eating Frank alive. Frank itched underneath it, and he desperately pawed at Gerard’s waist, slipping his hands lower to Gerard’s belt.

That snapped Gerard to attention, and he immediately began to lead them out of the bar and onto the street. Anyone could look at them and tell that they were smashed, and prime for a mugging, but Gerard insisted that his apartment wasn’t that far away.

Frank tried his best to move his feet, but Gerard ended up doing most of the work. He kept his arm around Frank’s shoulders, and let Frank shuffle along next to him. It was obvious that Gerard could hold his liquor way better than Frank because he actually managed to navigate the dark (and fuckin’ sketchy) streets.

Finally, he stopped in front of an apartment building. It had seen better days, and Frank was positive it had also seen more than a few college parties. The stone steps to the buildings door looked nearly impossible to climb, but Frank didn’t have to just yet, seeing as Gerard’s hands were suddenly beneath his shirt, grazing and whispering against Frank’s skin. Then, Gerard’s lips were mouthing and nipping at Frank’s neck, and he’d never felt anything better in his life.

Everything was perfect, Gerard’s mouth was finally on Frank’s, and the other boy’s fingers were slipping into his waistband, when suddenly Frank’s stomach whirled violently.

Frank had a moment to push Gerard away and think ‘fuck’ before he was throwing up tequila, beer, and whatever fucking else he’d drunk onto the steps.

Gerard yelped, but with his drunk reflexes, he still managed to get some on his shoes. Frank hunched over and immediately threw up a second time.

When he stopped retching, he could feel cool fingers on his back and could hear soft, sympathetic noises. Frank’s head was still swimming, and he felt less steady than ever before, but he managed to straighten up. Gerard looked at him with concern, and took his arm gently.

Frank wiped his mouth, and Gerard started helping him up the stairs and around the mess. “My.. my mom’s gonna kill me,” Frank finally mumbled.

Something about how he said it made Gerard freeze, fingers tightening around Frank’s bicep. Frank glanced over, and the light from the apartments above them lit up Gerard’s stricken face.

Frank frowned in confusion. “What?” he asked.

“F-Frank.. how old are you?” Gerard’s mouth barely moved, and his body was tight with tension.

Frank felt the bile rising in his throat again, and this time it wasn’t just all the alcohol. “Um,” he got out, then bunched up once more so that he could vomit a third time, this time directly onto Gerard’s shoes.

Fuck.