In The Dark (Frerard) ✔

Chapter 13

Gerard's POV

1 month. "X's" through the days that have gone by.

I stared at the calendar. It mocked me. I was begging to not be here in the first place, so why is it now that I don't want to leave? Frank. He was a good friend, a great friend. And he was the only friend I had. Yeah, sure, I had Mikey, but I didn't even need to explain why that sounded pathetic. I've never had good friends, they leave, I leave, we drift apart, but I always stayed close to my brother. We were each other's company, entertainment, life, joy, misery. But a month in, and suddenly a month seemed so short.

I felt my wet tears on my arms, stinging the recent cut from a thorn bush when Frank and I decided to explore an unmarked part of the woods. Turns out, it had a lot of thorn bushes. Even though getting out of that area was a pain; the experience, the laughs, the pain we shared, and having to go to the infirmary to get them disinfected together was all worth it. I hung out with Frank, day in and day out.

We had grown close, closer than I would have guessed to happen. It was a lot of fun to think that I could tell someone a story and they'd listen, even give feedback at times. To think, when I didn't want him to get to know me, I would have lost the chance at getting to know him. I spiraled, I was spiraling. I sighed, my breath shaky as I stared at the calendar still. I didn't want this last month to end.

I heard an abrupt knock, the door opening, and closing quickly as I saw Frank come in like he does since recently. "Hey, they're playing a movie- oh, Gerard. What's the matter?" Frank asked, his voice going from really excited to calm and gentle as he approached me. "I-I don't want to go. We're already a month in, and then I'm not going to have any friends again," I confessed, sniffling as I dried my eyes a little leaned my head against the wall as I uncurled from my ball-like position.

"Hey, says who? I told you, I'm going to keep in contact no matter what. Even if I have to train a pigeon to send you a letter," Frank whispered, smiling reassuringly. I laughed a little at the joke, though from his eyes I knew he was serious. "Yeah, but I don't know if I'm gonna be able to see you again, ya know? I'm not the best texter," I told him, grabbing some tissues off of the nightstand and blowing my nose before throwing the tissue away in the trash can.

"Well, I don't mind calling, I'm not the best at texting either," Frank assured me, sitting down on the bed and making me gravitate towards him a little bit. "So, you feel any better?" He asked gently, checking my eyes, most likely seeing the red most of all, smiling a little when I nodded. "Yeah, a bit... Thank you," I whispered, smiling and wiping my eyes a little bit again before giving him my full attention.

"Well, we don't have to, but the camp all chose a movie and they're playing it on a huge screen with a projector. Best part, they're serving the good buttery popcorn," Frank persuaded, smiling even more when he saw my ears perk up at the sound of popcorn. "Count me in," I whispered, sitting up a little to scooch off of the mattress and find my shoes. "By the way, nice Converse, I never got to compliment them," Frank told me, smiling as he opened the door. "Thanks, my grandmother gave them to me, they're my favorite shoes by far," I whispered, hiding my slight blush with my hair as I redid my shoelaces.

"Okay, grab the bug spray, God knows we're gonna need it," Frank told me, which I then swiped the open bottle off of my nightstand with my keys and followed Frank out. I locked my door, walking out of the cabin and breathing in the cool air of the evening. We walked with a flashlight, going all the way to the main part of the camp and seeing chairs, blankets, and some bean bags. Though as I looked closer, I assumed that the bean bags were the counselors' to sit in. "Come on, lets sit on a blanket," Frank urged, grabbing my hand to take a seat.

We got comfortable, soon being given a bag of popcorn each, which smelled amazing. "This is really cool," I whispered, seeing our peers spread out in chairs and on blankets, waiting for the movie. "Yeah, it is," Frank agreed, eating some of his popcorn. "Dude, the movie hasn't even started yet," I playfully scolded, laughing a little. "Well, it tastes good," Frank tried to defend himself, though we ended up laughing it off as the movie started up. "It's starting," Frank whispered, taking popcorn and shoving it in his mouth. I chuckled a little bit, nodding as I turned my attention to the movie.

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Throwing away trash, some of the kids that were down on the blankets waking up as we all went to our respective cabins. I stretched as I walked, as did Frank, rubbing my tired eyes and sighing quietly as I saw the cabin signs. "Well, good night, Frank," I whispered, giving him a smile. "Hey, Gerard?" Frank whispered, grabbing my arm gently, my eyes locking with his. The full moon seemed to illuminate them, the color vibrant as I stared at them.

"Meet me at the creek over by your cabin once they ring the bell," He told me, waiting for me to respond. "Okay," I whispered, feeling a jolt of adrenaline at the excitement of sneaking out again. He let go, waving good bye and continued to walk behind a roudy group of teenagers. I walked to my cabin, finding my door and quickly going into my room. I sat against the door, lights off, and only hearing the occasional teenager walking or talking.

Hearing the bell, I smiled and stood up, waiting and listening for the counselor to shut his door. Right on schedule, I heard a door shut, smiling and slowly opening my door. I walked down the hall quietly, going out the door and sliding my way to the edge of the building. As I walked, I smiled, thinking of being with Frank again. It was exciting, thrilling even to sneak out with him.

And it's only him that I would do it for.