A Lifetime with a Demon | Frank Iero x Reader

⛧Face the reality⛧

Frustration clutches onto my heart, leaving it tight in my chest while I stare at the nothing. I don't want to think about it, what proves itself to be inevitable or even impossible as I stare at him and try to swallow this lump in my throat before I need to speak up and my voice inevitably cracks.

This took such a big turn.

Everything started when Gerard ended up looking around, probably out of impulse due to how there wasn't even any positive feeling on his face when he noticed Bert and I there. The bitterness could almost be felt through the way he approached us in heavy and large steps, becoming aware of how I wasn't going to give up on talking with him.

"How good it is to see you here," I said with little care to how sarcastic it sounded. At that point, the stress was already consuming me and the want to tell Gerard to go fuck himself was immense. Thankfully, I know how to keep my priorities in mind. "It's been so long and you haven't read my texts! I was so worried!" It was entertaining watching the corner of Gerard's lips twitching as he tried to keep his cool and Bert wasn't even subtle in an attempt of leaving, which I stopped.

"It is," Gerard said simply, every feeling other than that characteristic sass and cynicism of his melting away in the same moment. "Nice to see you are fine."

No other word was shared while Gerard and I spent a hot minute staring at each other and saying Bert felt lost there was an understatement. The atmosphere was so thin – the opposite of the heavy ones I have been sucked into lately –, sharp, like if it were to cut us at the minimal mistake made.

"Why don't you sit and talk?" I broke the silence, finding myself unable to take on with the already nerve-wracking situation.

"I am deeply sorry, but I need to be somewhere soon," Gerard replied and, without any surprise, none of his words had any depth. As much as I don't want to admit it, I could feel my heart sinking further down in my chest when he said that.

"You are not."

"I am not," Gerard breathed. He looked at me for a moment longer before he took the free seat by my side, seeming to at least be calmer and more rational than Bert.

Rationality, actually, is something difficult to judge. None of these feelings were rational. There was exactly no fair reason for me being so worried about all of that, judging how the thought of losing their friendship got me so desperate. I haven't even known them for longer than a few weeks and, yet, the thought of Gerard and Frank becoming just other forgotten contacts in my phone has my heart tight and aching in my chest. Frank isn't even that important – he is just some guy I met and went out with sometimes.

I hate myself for this.

"What happened?" I blurted out, not exactly knowing what to say. I wanted to ask about Frank; the reason why they stopped talking with me; what happened between them, regarding Bert and Gerard; but I couldn't choose what to ask, specifically, or how to word it.

Gerard raised his eyebrows and a sharp sigh escaped his lips. An air of melancholy could be seen in his eyes. "This all is so wrong, to begin with."

"If you're thinking I'm going to pull on some Riddler shit and figure out half explanations and little riddles or at least accept it," I told Gerard with a sigh, tapping my fingers frantically against the table, "I believe you'd first like to know that no. I want this all cleared out. I feel like having a gun pointed to my head and I can't even see it."

A quick nod came from Gerard and he cleaned his throat, adjusting his position on the seat. His eyes never met mine or Bert's, just staring at the wooden surface before him. "Okay, so, the thing is that Bert and the guys shouldn't even—"