Someone Out There Loves You (Adopted by Frank Iero)

46

ALEXA

"Do I look okay?"

I looked up from my cereal to find Frank in a white tshirt and his nice black jeans. His hair looked slightly neater than usual, like he had put time and effort into styling it. He tugged on the bottom of his shirt, looking uncertain, and I couldn't help but giggle.

"Oh god, do I look bad?" he asked, looking down at himself. "I didn't wanna go over the top because it's just coffee but I still wanna look nice," he explained, chewing on his bottom lip.

"Aww dad! You're so cute."

I covered my mouth with my hand as he glared at me and forced myself to get my giggles under control.

"You look nice," I said sincerely, giving him an encouraging smile.

"I think I'm overthinking it," he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck.

"You're definitely overthinking it. You guys are like, true love. I mean, since she wanted to meet up with you, you could show up in like, sweatpants or something and she'd be happy to see you."

Frank giggled and nodded while looking at the floor before shoving his hands into the front pockets of his jeans.

"I'm gonna go finish getting ready, we'll leave in like 10."

I was about to ask him what else he needed to do because he looked ready to me, but he had already vanished from the room. I couldn't help but grin thinking about how excited he was for his date. His eyes were shining, everything about him was giddy. It was making me excited.

The entire car ride was me asking him questions about his date: what they were doing, if they were doing anything after, what he was going to say to her. He pretended to be annoyed, rolling his eyes and shaking his head playfully, but the liveliness in his voice as he answered each one eagerly gave him away and he knew it.

"Have fun! Use protection!" I said teasingly as I hopped out of the car, slinging my backpack over one shoulder.

"Lex! Shut the hell up," Frank laughed, shooing me out of the car.

I roared with laughter, tilting my head back. Frank's excited energy was rubbing off on me and I was hoping I could try and carry it with me for at least part of the day. As I was about to shut the door behind me, the corner of my mouth tugged up. I wanted his date to go well, and he was all giddy and happy and I knew I could add an extra boost on top of it.

"Bye dad, love you," I grinned, closing the door before he could respond so I had the final say. It was something he was getting used to, but it never failed to make him smile when I called him dad.

Through the window I caught sight of his caught off guard but happy expression. Giggling, I waved, and as I turned around I heard him rolling the window down. I spun back around to find him looking smug.

"I know you thought you could get the last word but no chance. Bye Lex, love you," he beamed before driving off.

There was a couple seconds where I stood in place, giggling and shaking my head as I stared at the empty car spot where he previously was. Our relationship was so weird but I loved every part of it.

Heading into the school grounds and dodging people as I went, all I could think about was Frank's date. I wanted it to go well. I wanted him to come home and be all excited and tell me all about it. He deserved to be with the woman he loved, and it was so blatantly obvious he was in love with Jamia. She must be pretty incredible for Frank to adore her the way he does, and I found myself wanting to meet her.