I'm Just the Boy Who's Had Too Many Chances
Lucky
“We have lunch plans today.”
Gerard cocked an eyebrow. “Do we?”
Frank smiled and popped his gum, which made Ms. Barrett give him a dirty look. He’d already been given three dirty looks, but he just kept popping his gum.
“Why do you do that?" Gerard whispered.
“Do what?”
“Antagonize. Annoy.”
Frank shrugged and smirked. “It’s fun to piss people off. You should try it sometime."
Gerard rolled his eyes.
~~~
“You’re kidding," Gerard said as he saw the bright green paper on the classroom door. He read and reread the words, but he was still flabbergasted.
“Absolutely not. What’s wrong?”
“I can’t go in there!”
“Of course you can. That’s the point.”
“No. Sorry. But no," He said, turning to walk away. Frank grabbed his hand and pulled him back to him.
“Gerard, come on. Don’t you trust me?”
“Yeah, but... You know how I am. I don’t want anyone to know about-“
“Gerard. The whole point of GSA is to have a safe place to express your thoughts and feelings. They’re not gonna judge you. I think this’ll be really good for you.”
Gerard huffed, because they both knew Frank was right.
Frank smiled and stood on his tiptoes to peck Gerard on the cheek.
“Thank you. You ready?”
Gerard glared at him, and he grabbed his hand and pulled him through the door.
“Frank!" Mallory Tyler said when she saw him. She ran up to him and hugged him. “You weren’t at the last meeting.”
“His fault," He said, pointing at Gerard.
“Oh, hi, Gerard. What are you doing here?”
Gerard grimaced and Frank smiled. “He’s here with me," He said, linking their fingers together, making sure Mallory saw.
“That’s nice. Take a seat. We’re starting in a minute." She walked away, and Gerard noticed that she was so peppy, she practically bounced.
Frank dragged Gerard over to two empty chairs.
“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you," Gerard chanted as he walked after Frank and sat down next to him.
“You do not, you do not, you do not, you do not."
Gerard tried to sit and pout during the whole meeting, but it was almost impossible. Everyone was so nice and they told funny stories, and Gerard found himself cracking a smile more often than he thought he would, and even laughing a few times. However, he turned to stone again when someone asked him to introduce himself.
Frank reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it to reassure him that he was okay.
“Well, uh, my name is Gerard. I’m a senior.”
“When did you know you weren’t straight?" Someone asked, and Gerard shuddered.
“Uh, I, uh, am not really comfortable talking about this.”
“He’s newly ‘outed’," Frank spoke up. Gerard felt like he was about to pass out.
“Congratulations!”
“Thanks," Gerard said, uncertainly.
“He’s not really comfortable with being out. He hasn’t had the best support system. He’s a little scared.”
“Well, Gerard," Mrs. Carlisle said, “You know GSA is all about creating a safe environment for you to express yourself.”
“I know. But still... I’m not used to speaking so openly about this.”
“Is Frank your boyfriend?”
Frank giggled. “Yeah. We’ve been together for about a week and a half.”
“You must be extremely close. You’re lucky to have such a great boyfriend.”
That made Gerard smile. “Yeah," he said with a squeeze to Frank's hand, "I am.”
~~~~
Gerard was sitting cross-legged on his bed, his Lit book in his lap when Henry Rollins started singing from his pocket.
“What’s up, Frank?”
“Mom’s got another overnight tomorrow. You know I don’t like being alone.”
“That’s cute," Gerard said, cocking half his mouth in a smile.
“Bite me. Will you stay the night with me?”
“I gotta ask Mom and Dad.”
“Tell them we’re having girls over. They’ll say yes.”
“How does that not bother you?" Gerard asked, shaking his head.
“What?”
“Pretending to be straight. I did it for years and it killed.”
“Because the only people I pretend to be straight around are your family. I’m gay around everyone else. Wait, that didn’t sound right," Frank said with a laugh.
Gerard giggled, too. “No, it did not.”
“Gerard! Dinner!" Donna yelled from the kitchen.
“I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“I love you.”
Gerard smiled. “I love you, too.”
Gerard galloped up the stairs and immediately started helping Mikey set the table.
“Hey, Ma?”
“Yeah?" She said, her nose still stuck in her soup pot.
“Linda has to work an overnight at the hospital tomorrow night. Frank’s kind of afraid to stay alone. You know he’s not very intimidating. So he was wondering if I could stay the night with him.”
“He could stay over here," Mikey suggested.
Gerard jumped when the spoons he was holding clattered to the floor. Frank staying the night at his house? With his parents only feet away? The thought made his stomach knot, and not in a good way.
“I’d rather you stay over there," Donald said from behind his newspaper. “It’s dangerous to leave houses empty in Jersey. Plus, you’ll have that big-ass dog to protect you.”
Gerard breathed a silent sigh of relief.
“I don’t know. It’s a school night.”
“Would it make you feel better if I told you I got a B+ on my last Math test?”
“That has nothing to do with anything," Donna said.
Gerard shrugged. “Yeah, but it didn’t hurt, did it?”
Donna smiled. “Fine. But don’t stay up too late.”
Gerard ran to his mother’s side and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Mom.”
~~~~
“Hi, Mom," Frank said as he and Gerard walked through the front door the next day.
“Hi," Linda said as she slipped on her shoes and a sweatshirt. She walked past them toward the door.
“Bye, Mom.”
“Bye," She answered as she closed the door behind her. Frank chuckled and locked it after her.
“Sinatra!" He called, and the huge dog came running down the stairs. Frank and Gerard hooked him up to the line in the backyard, and sat down on the back porch while Sinatra had much needed bathroom time.
“So what do you wanna do tonight?" Frank asked.
“Arson,Gerard joked.
“I’m down for arson! You know I like to play with fire!”
“Calm down, Spaz. I was kidding.”
Frank’s face fell in mock disappointment, which made Gerard smile.
“Since I’m the responsible one, homework first.”
“I don’t have any homework.”
“You’re a fucking liar!" Gerard chuckled, and Frank blushed, knowing he’d been caught in his lie. “We have two worksheets in history, and I bet you’ve got math homework.”
“I’ve always got fucking math homework," Frank grumbled.
~~~~
Frank threw on an Abbott and Costello movie while he and Gerard sat at the coffee table in the living room and finished their homework. Gerard was amused to find that, contrary to his previous thoughts, Frank wasn’t good at everything. He was beyond horrible at any kind of math beyond elementary arithmetic. Gerard teased him for 45 minutes as he tried and failed repeatedly to find the slope of a certain dastardly right triangle. Frank laughed as Gerard cracked horrible jokes, but Gerard finally apologized with a quick kiss and a rather lengthy lecture about slope-intercept form. Frank played catch with Sinatra through the entire speech, but he finished the last 20 problems in the time it had taken him to do the first ten, so Gerard assumed he’d subconsciously soaked up something.
After homework, Frank decided that he was bored with his flame-hued hair, so he and Gerard made an emergency stop to the nearest salon.
“I’m gonna miss it," Gerard said sadly as he and Frank walked hand-in-hand into the salon.
“Do you want me to leave it?”
Gerard shook his head. “No, not if you want it gone. Although I would’ve liked another chance to draw it. I’m actually surprised you’re changing it. I thought you loved your hair?”
“I do," Frank shrugged. “But I get bored easily. I’m changeable.”
Gerard chuckled.
“How about this? I’ll let you draw me later with my new hair. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“Hi. Can I help you?" The older woman said from behind the counter.
“I hope so. I’m looking to change my hair color.”
“Well, we have some of the best colorists in the state. What color were you thinking of?”
“Blonde. White, if you can get it.”
“I’m not sure. Lemme go grab a colorist. I’ll be back in two seconds.”
“All right," Frank said, dismissing the woman. She walked away briskly.
“Blonde, Frank?" Gerard asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Frank shrugged. “Why not?”
Another girl walked up to them, and Gerard noticed she was really pretty. She was tall and thin, and had dirty blonde hair tied in low pigtails.
“Hi. Are you our color client?”
“I am!" Frank said, cheerily.
“Awesome. My name is Melanie, and I am the best colorist in this place, so you’re very lucky.”
Frank smiled.
“What were you wanting to change?”
“I wanted to get rid of the red and I wanna bleach it.”
The girl hissed. “Red is a really hard color to bleach. It almost always turns out pink.”
“There you go, Frankie!" Gerard teased, “Pink hair!”
“Shut up, Gerard. Is it possible to bleach it enough to make it white from the red?" Frank asked, hopeful.
“Well, there is, but it’ll fry your hair pretty bad, and it's kind of a lengthy, slightly expensive process.”
"I got nothing but time," Frank said with a smirk, which the girl returned.
"Okay. Follow me."
Gerard cocked an eyebrow. “Do we?”
Frank smiled and popped his gum, which made Ms. Barrett give him a dirty look. He’d already been given three dirty looks, but he just kept popping his gum.
“Why do you do that?" Gerard whispered.
“Do what?”
“Antagonize. Annoy.”
Frank shrugged and smirked. “It’s fun to piss people off. You should try it sometime."
Gerard rolled his eyes.
~~~
“You’re kidding," Gerard said as he saw the bright green paper on the classroom door. He read and reread the words, but he was still flabbergasted.
“Absolutely not. What’s wrong?”
“I can’t go in there!”
“Of course you can. That’s the point.”
“No. Sorry. But no," He said, turning to walk away. Frank grabbed his hand and pulled him back to him.
“Gerard, come on. Don’t you trust me?”
“Yeah, but... You know how I am. I don’t want anyone to know about-“
“Gerard. The whole point of GSA is to have a safe place to express your thoughts and feelings. They’re not gonna judge you. I think this’ll be really good for you.”
Gerard huffed, because they both knew Frank was right.
Frank smiled and stood on his tiptoes to peck Gerard on the cheek.
“Thank you. You ready?”
Gerard glared at him, and he grabbed his hand and pulled him through the door.
“Frank!" Mallory Tyler said when she saw him. She ran up to him and hugged him. “You weren’t at the last meeting.”
“His fault," He said, pointing at Gerard.
“Oh, hi, Gerard. What are you doing here?”
Gerard grimaced and Frank smiled. “He’s here with me," He said, linking their fingers together, making sure Mallory saw.
“That’s nice. Take a seat. We’re starting in a minute." She walked away, and Gerard noticed that she was so peppy, she practically bounced.
Frank dragged Gerard over to two empty chairs.
“I hate you, I hate you, I hate you, I hate you," Gerard chanted as he walked after Frank and sat down next to him.
“You do not, you do not, you do not, you do not."
Gerard tried to sit and pout during the whole meeting, but it was almost impossible. Everyone was so nice and they told funny stories, and Gerard found himself cracking a smile more often than he thought he would, and even laughing a few times. However, he turned to stone again when someone asked him to introduce himself.
Frank reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it to reassure him that he was okay.
“Well, uh, my name is Gerard. I’m a senior.”
“When did you know you weren’t straight?" Someone asked, and Gerard shuddered.
“Uh, I, uh, am not really comfortable talking about this.”
“He’s newly ‘outed’," Frank spoke up. Gerard felt like he was about to pass out.
“Congratulations!”
“Thanks," Gerard said, uncertainly.
“He’s not really comfortable with being out. He hasn’t had the best support system. He’s a little scared.”
“Well, Gerard," Mrs. Carlisle said, “You know GSA is all about creating a safe environment for you to express yourself.”
“I know. But still... I’m not used to speaking so openly about this.”
“Is Frank your boyfriend?”
Frank giggled. “Yeah. We’ve been together for about a week and a half.”
“You must be extremely close. You’re lucky to have such a great boyfriend.”
That made Gerard smile. “Yeah," he said with a squeeze to Frank's hand, "I am.”
~~~~
Gerard was sitting cross-legged on his bed, his Lit book in his lap when Henry Rollins started singing from his pocket.
“What’s up, Frank?”
“Mom’s got another overnight tomorrow. You know I don’t like being alone.”
“That’s cute," Gerard said, cocking half his mouth in a smile.
“Bite me. Will you stay the night with me?”
“I gotta ask Mom and Dad.”
“Tell them we’re having girls over. They’ll say yes.”
“How does that not bother you?" Gerard asked, shaking his head.
“What?”
“Pretending to be straight. I did it for years and it killed.”
“Because the only people I pretend to be straight around are your family. I’m gay around everyone else. Wait, that didn’t sound right," Frank said with a laugh.
Gerard giggled, too. “No, it did not.”
“Gerard! Dinner!" Donna yelled from the kitchen.
“I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”
“I love you.”
Gerard smiled. “I love you, too.”
Gerard galloped up the stairs and immediately started helping Mikey set the table.
“Hey, Ma?”
“Yeah?" She said, her nose still stuck in her soup pot.
“Linda has to work an overnight at the hospital tomorrow night. Frank’s kind of afraid to stay alone. You know he’s not very intimidating. So he was wondering if I could stay the night with him.”
“He could stay over here," Mikey suggested.
Gerard jumped when the spoons he was holding clattered to the floor. Frank staying the night at his house? With his parents only feet away? The thought made his stomach knot, and not in a good way.
“I’d rather you stay over there," Donald said from behind his newspaper. “It’s dangerous to leave houses empty in Jersey. Plus, you’ll have that big-ass dog to protect you.”
Gerard breathed a silent sigh of relief.
“I don’t know. It’s a school night.”
“Would it make you feel better if I told you I got a B+ on my last Math test?”
“That has nothing to do with anything," Donna said.
Gerard shrugged. “Yeah, but it didn’t hurt, did it?”
Donna smiled. “Fine. But don’t stay up too late.”
Gerard ran to his mother’s side and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Mom.”
~~~~
“Hi, Mom," Frank said as he and Gerard walked through the front door the next day.
“Hi," Linda said as she slipped on her shoes and a sweatshirt. She walked past them toward the door.
“Bye, Mom.”
“Bye," She answered as she closed the door behind her. Frank chuckled and locked it after her.
“Sinatra!" He called, and the huge dog came running down the stairs. Frank and Gerard hooked him up to the line in the backyard, and sat down on the back porch while Sinatra had much needed bathroom time.
“So what do you wanna do tonight?" Frank asked.
“Arson,Gerard joked.
“I’m down for arson! You know I like to play with fire!”
“Calm down, Spaz. I was kidding.”
Frank’s face fell in mock disappointment, which made Gerard smile.
“Since I’m the responsible one, homework first.”
“I don’t have any homework.”
“You’re a fucking liar!" Gerard chuckled, and Frank blushed, knowing he’d been caught in his lie. “We have two worksheets in history, and I bet you’ve got math homework.”
“I’ve always got fucking math homework," Frank grumbled.
~~~~
Frank threw on an Abbott and Costello movie while he and Gerard sat at the coffee table in the living room and finished their homework. Gerard was amused to find that, contrary to his previous thoughts, Frank wasn’t good at everything. He was beyond horrible at any kind of math beyond elementary arithmetic. Gerard teased him for 45 minutes as he tried and failed repeatedly to find the slope of a certain dastardly right triangle. Frank laughed as Gerard cracked horrible jokes, but Gerard finally apologized with a quick kiss and a rather lengthy lecture about slope-intercept form. Frank played catch with Sinatra through the entire speech, but he finished the last 20 problems in the time it had taken him to do the first ten, so Gerard assumed he’d subconsciously soaked up something.
After homework, Frank decided that he was bored with his flame-hued hair, so he and Gerard made an emergency stop to the nearest salon.
“I’m gonna miss it," Gerard said sadly as he and Frank walked hand-in-hand into the salon.
“Do you want me to leave it?”
Gerard shook his head. “No, not if you want it gone. Although I would’ve liked another chance to draw it. I’m actually surprised you’re changing it. I thought you loved your hair?”
“I do," Frank shrugged. “But I get bored easily. I’m changeable.”
Gerard chuckled.
“How about this? I’ll let you draw me later with my new hair. Deal?”
“Deal.”
“Hi. Can I help you?" The older woman said from behind the counter.
“I hope so. I’m looking to change my hair color.”
“Well, we have some of the best colorists in the state. What color were you thinking of?”
“Blonde. White, if you can get it.”
“I’m not sure. Lemme go grab a colorist. I’ll be back in two seconds.”
“All right," Frank said, dismissing the woman. She walked away briskly.
“Blonde, Frank?" Gerard asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Frank shrugged. “Why not?”
Another girl walked up to them, and Gerard noticed she was really pretty. She was tall and thin, and had dirty blonde hair tied in low pigtails.
“Hi. Are you our color client?”
“I am!" Frank said, cheerily.
“Awesome. My name is Melanie, and I am the best colorist in this place, so you’re very lucky.”
Frank smiled.
“What were you wanting to change?”
“I wanted to get rid of the red and I wanna bleach it.”
The girl hissed. “Red is a really hard color to bleach. It almost always turns out pink.”
“There you go, Frankie!" Gerard teased, “Pink hair!”
“Shut up, Gerard. Is it possible to bleach it enough to make it white from the red?" Frank asked, hopeful.
“Well, there is, but it’ll fry your hair pretty bad, and it's kind of a lengthy, slightly expensive process.”
"I got nothing but time," Frank said with a smirk, which the girl returned.
"Okay. Follow me."