The Swing Set.
Chapter One.
The swings in the old playground by his house is Frank Iero’s favourite place to be. He first fell in love with the old swing set when he was just four and his mother began taking him to the playground. The other boys didn’t really like Frank and wouldn’t let him join in at the sandbox so he always stayed on the swings looking at the other children having fun and making friends. This was Frank’s first taste of being an outsider. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like it at all.
Frank often came to the swings since then. Mostly when his parents where arguing before they got divorced. He was about ten then. He would climb out of his bedroom window, crawl across the tree branch outside and pull himself through the tiny window of his tree house before quickly going down the rope ladder. Then he would run as fast as his short legs would carry him to the old playground. Sometimes he would cry but it wasn’t very often. He thought showing any emotion was weak. Most of the time he would just sit there and think about things. He’d wonder if it was his fault his parents were always fighting and what he could do to make things right. He wanted things to be back like when he was younger and everything was so perfect. Sadly, that didn’t turn out like he hoped.
Frank didn’t go to sit on the swings much after that as he was too busy looking after his mother who wasn’t coping that well after the divorce. He had to run errands and even try and get paid to help the neighbours because most of the time his mother couldn’t even afford to buy milk from the grocery store. Frank prayed that they wouldn’t have to move and he wouldn’t have to leave behind the old playground. It was his only place he could be truly with himself and at peace. It was his happy place and if he lost that then he didn’t know what he would do.
As times moved on Frank found himself in a whole new world. High school. Frank didn’t like this strange place with all these scary looking older people and the fact that nobody liked him there either. He wondered if he would ever have a friend or whether he was destined to be alone forever. The worst part of high school was the bullies. It wasn’t like before when he’d get called names or get pushed around by the other kids in elementary school. No, this was much worse. They’d beat him up so badly that he could hardly move, they’d make him bleed and shove him in lockers. He was scared to go into school every morning. Most of the time he feigned being ill but he couldn’t do that too much in case his mother got in trouble for it. Although a of the time he just skipped school altogether to sit in the playground and watch the kids without his mother knowing. He wished that he was four again. Life was so easy then. The only thing you had to worry about was missing your favourite TV show.
After so many years of being alone Frank finally found a friend. A girl. A very pretty one at that. She took pity on him after watching him get beaten up every day for two years and she didn’t have friends of her own so she decided to make friends with Frank. When they were together Frank felt he didn’t need the swing set because his happy place was with his only friend. Their friendship soon turned to love in the summer and they spent many happy weeks together. Although nothing romantic ever came out of their relationship. They just decided one day to become boyfriend and girlfriend because one of them was a boy and one of them was a girl and they were both friends. Both of them had yet to grasp the concept of love. But then it all fell apart when her parents moved away to England. Frank never saw her again. She never called and she never wrote. Once more Frank felt lonelier than ever. He returned back to his one and only happy place.
Then the worst thing that could have possibly happened, did happen. Frank’s mother died. She got shot in the bank she was working at. It was a new job and for once they were doing fine but it was obviously not meant to be.
As months slowly drew by and Frank began to feel more and more depressed. He knew that now his mother was gone he truly was alone as nobody else wanted him or possibly needed him. He knew that this was the way things were meant to be and he just shouldn’t fight it anymore.
But he was wrong. There was one other person left in the world for him.
One day he was joined by a tall dark stranger. This person sat on the swing next to him, perfectly still and held a cigarette loosely between their lips. He never saw this strangers face because they always had their hood of their hoodie up. Frank wondered to himself if this person was just like him. Eventually Frank got up the courage to talk to this cloaked stranger. He asked him if he could borrow a light for his own cigarette. The boy who looked about his age turned, flashed him a crooked smile and lit up Frank’s cigarette. Then out of nowhere they began to talk to one another, telling each other of their life stories as if they were old friends from years gone by. Frank found out that this stranger had moved here a week ago and lived just across the street from Frank. He told Frank that there was a playground just like this one where he used to live and he always used to go there by himself and how he was over the moon when he saw this place, especially when he found that he wasn’t alone and that another boy, Frank, who was just a state away from him would sit on a swing by himself too and ponder the hours away by himself.
The two boys became friends rather quickly and it wasn’t long before it turned into more. Frank had his first kiss standing next to that swing set. And even though he knew it was kind of wrong to be kissing another boy it felt pretty right. Frank’s new boyfriend promised him that he would never let Frank go and he would always be there with him no matter what.
But it didn’t last. Frank’s boyfriend was mugged and stabbed to death one night while Frank was waiting for him at the swing set. When Frank found out the news it felt as if his heart had been ripped out of his chest and pulled apart.
Then he realised that he was never meant to have a happy ending. This was the way his life was going to be forever. He would always have people flitting in and out of his life and either leaving him like his and ex girlfriend did, never having anything to do with him again or they would die just like his mother and recent boyfriend. He knew that this vicious cycle of bad events would only carry on unless he put a stop to it. So he took the cowards way out.
He did it so he could be with the two people he loved most in the world but left one of the places that he would forever love and cherish forever.
The swing set.
Frank often came to the swings since then. Mostly when his parents where arguing before they got divorced. He was about ten then. He would climb out of his bedroom window, crawl across the tree branch outside and pull himself through the tiny window of his tree house before quickly going down the rope ladder. Then he would run as fast as his short legs would carry him to the old playground. Sometimes he would cry but it wasn’t very often. He thought showing any emotion was weak. Most of the time he would just sit there and think about things. He’d wonder if it was his fault his parents were always fighting and what he could do to make things right. He wanted things to be back like when he was younger and everything was so perfect. Sadly, that didn’t turn out like he hoped.
Frank didn’t go to sit on the swings much after that as he was too busy looking after his mother who wasn’t coping that well after the divorce. He had to run errands and even try and get paid to help the neighbours because most of the time his mother couldn’t even afford to buy milk from the grocery store. Frank prayed that they wouldn’t have to move and he wouldn’t have to leave behind the old playground. It was his only place he could be truly with himself and at peace. It was his happy place and if he lost that then he didn’t know what he would do.
As times moved on Frank found himself in a whole new world. High school. Frank didn’t like this strange place with all these scary looking older people and the fact that nobody liked him there either. He wondered if he would ever have a friend or whether he was destined to be alone forever. The worst part of high school was the bullies. It wasn’t like before when he’d get called names or get pushed around by the other kids in elementary school. No, this was much worse. They’d beat him up so badly that he could hardly move, they’d make him bleed and shove him in lockers. He was scared to go into school every morning. Most of the time he feigned being ill but he couldn’t do that too much in case his mother got in trouble for it. Although a of the time he just skipped school altogether to sit in the playground and watch the kids without his mother knowing. He wished that he was four again. Life was so easy then. The only thing you had to worry about was missing your favourite TV show.
After so many years of being alone Frank finally found a friend. A girl. A very pretty one at that. She took pity on him after watching him get beaten up every day for two years and she didn’t have friends of her own so she decided to make friends with Frank. When they were together Frank felt he didn’t need the swing set because his happy place was with his only friend. Their friendship soon turned to love in the summer and they spent many happy weeks together. Although nothing romantic ever came out of their relationship. They just decided one day to become boyfriend and girlfriend because one of them was a boy and one of them was a girl and they were both friends. Both of them had yet to grasp the concept of love. But then it all fell apart when her parents moved away to England. Frank never saw her again. She never called and she never wrote. Once more Frank felt lonelier than ever. He returned back to his one and only happy place.
Then the worst thing that could have possibly happened, did happen. Frank’s mother died. She got shot in the bank she was working at. It was a new job and for once they were doing fine but it was obviously not meant to be.
As months slowly drew by and Frank began to feel more and more depressed. He knew that now his mother was gone he truly was alone as nobody else wanted him or possibly needed him. He knew that this was the way things were meant to be and he just shouldn’t fight it anymore.
But he was wrong. There was one other person left in the world for him.
One day he was joined by a tall dark stranger. This person sat on the swing next to him, perfectly still and held a cigarette loosely between their lips. He never saw this strangers face because they always had their hood of their hoodie up. Frank wondered to himself if this person was just like him. Eventually Frank got up the courage to talk to this cloaked stranger. He asked him if he could borrow a light for his own cigarette. The boy who looked about his age turned, flashed him a crooked smile and lit up Frank’s cigarette. Then out of nowhere they began to talk to one another, telling each other of their life stories as if they were old friends from years gone by. Frank found out that this stranger had moved here a week ago and lived just across the street from Frank. He told Frank that there was a playground just like this one where he used to live and he always used to go there by himself and how he was over the moon when he saw this place, especially when he found that he wasn’t alone and that another boy, Frank, who was just a state away from him would sit on a swing by himself too and ponder the hours away by himself.
The two boys became friends rather quickly and it wasn’t long before it turned into more. Frank had his first kiss standing next to that swing set. And even though he knew it was kind of wrong to be kissing another boy it felt pretty right. Frank’s new boyfriend promised him that he would never let Frank go and he would always be there with him no matter what.
But it didn’t last. Frank’s boyfriend was mugged and stabbed to death one night while Frank was waiting for him at the swing set. When Frank found out the news it felt as if his heart had been ripped out of his chest and pulled apart.
Then he realised that he was never meant to have a happy ending. This was the way his life was going to be forever. He would always have people flitting in and out of his life and either leaving him like his and ex girlfriend did, never having anything to do with him again or they would die just like his mother and recent boyfriend. He knew that this vicious cycle of bad events would only carry on unless he put a stop to it. So he took the cowards way out.
He did it so he could be with the two people he loved most in the world but left one of the places that he would forever love and cherish forever.
The swing set.