In The Dark (Frerard) ✔

Chapter 14

Frank's POV

I waited, hearing the counselor call curfew, which was actually a few hours after the usual one because of the movie. Doors closing, then the final one. I smiled, grabbing my duffle bag of snacks, candy, and drinks. Yeah, I still had a lot, which I didn't mind sharing with Gerard, seeing as I probably needed to keep my mom off the scent that I even had a candy stash.

I decided to slip out the window, bringing it up and landing on my feet. Just in case the window wouldn't open when I came back, I did have my keys. I snuck through the trees, getting whacked with a branch at some point, but otherwise, it was smooth sailing to get to the creek. I found a spot, kind of a cliff opening, looking at the full moon and smiling as I set up a blanket on the ground.

I sat down, keeping the duffle bag close and drumming on the side of my ankle. Hearing a snap of a branch, turning around, and finding a figure walking towards me. It scared me for a moment, only relaxing after seeing Gerard's face illuminated by the bright moonlight. I smiled, barely seeing his features, but knowing his energy and steps, finding them easily as he walked to sit beside me. "Hey," I whispered, feeling my breath leave me, simply looking at his fair skin in the white light.

He looks like he came from heaven.

Barely any wind blew, but it still moved a few strands of hair, making Gerard look angelic. "Hey," He whispered back, giving a little giggle as he looked out and saw the full moon. "Oh, wow. You found an amazing spot, Frank. The moon looks so beautiful from here," Gerard mumbled, his voice so quiet it was as if he didn't want to interrupt the wind. I barely nodded, looking away from him and seeing how wonderful the moon was. I didn't want to be caught looking at him, but he caught my attention and it was hard not to look.

"Oh, hey. I brought something with me," I whispered, grabbing the duffle bag that I had almost forgotten about. I reached for the zipper, opened it fully, and showed Gerard the candy inside. His eyes widened, a little sparkle in them as he then looked at me. "I've had a stash for a while, thought that maybe it was a good idea to share a bit," I told him, still keeping my voice low to match the peaceful essence of the atmosphere. "Well, thank you. I haven't had much that was sweet except for juice," Gerard's hushed and gentle tone told me, though I just smiled and left the bag open.

"Yeah, got a little sweet tooth myself. I like to keep something around," I told him, sitting criss-cross and holding my weight on my arms that sat behind me. We stared at the moon for a good long while, the silence wrapping around us like a warm blanket. Comfortable. I took a deep breath, hearing Gerard do the same thing and looking over to see he was in a daze. A trance with the moon while he had a sucker a few inches away from his lips. "Ya know, the moon is so pretty when it's full," Gerard whispered out of nowhere, looking over at me, though I was already looking at him.

I felt my heart beating in my ears, surprised for a minute as I didn't realize until it was so loud. I cleared my throat and nodded. "Very pretty... So many details and not enough time to take them all in," I whispered back. Though as I spoke, I was unsure if I was talking about the moon. I looked away, gazing up to the moon again and trying to figure out what my brain was saying. Seeing him in this light was messing with my thoughts. I knew Gerard was still looking at me, which made me nervous and I felt my face grow hot before I felt his gaze shift away from me.

I went into the duffel bag, digging out a sprite that was hidden, offering it to Gerard as I tried to think of a topic so I could engage in conversation. Or hear his voice again. Gerard smiled and took the can, opening it and taking a sip before looking back to the moon. "Ya know, it's funny... We are all born beautiful, the greatest tragedy is being convinced we are not," Gerard whispered, the can inches away from his lips as he stared off.

I didn't say anything, I couldn't come up with a good answer to something so random and deep that I just sat there. My mind slipped away, rethinking my attraction to Gerard and wondering why all these thoughts popped up. I hoped it was platonic, like a friend crush. You want to be around them so much it almost feels like romantic attraction, and maybe that's what I was feeling with a tad bit of "hopeless romantic being more hopeless with their hope for romance".

As I thought more, my mind drifted more to Gerard's lips, looking over slightly and smiling as I saw them. A bit dry from the carbonation, though wet and shining from it as well. At that point, looking away, I realized it couldn't be one of those friend crushes. His lips stayed on my mind for a long time, trying to imagine if they were soft. I shook my head a little bit, almost like shaking away the thought. "You okay? Is the chill coming off of the lake making you cold?" Gerard asked, looking over and seeing his caring face.

"Yeah, no, I'm okay. Just snapped out of the thoughts of... Leaves," I lied, smiling and chuckling to make it more believable. "Oh yeah? What about leaves?" Gerard asked, genuinely curious. Fuck. I sat up, looking forward and thinking for a minute. After a while, I heard him giggle, looking over and seeing him smile. "What's so funny?" I asked, tilting my head as he laughed a little bit. He shook his head just barely as he leaned back. "Your concentration face is amusing," He told me, though it was fairly confusing since it was regularly remarked that I looked angry when I was concentrating. "Well, I was remarking how dark the leaves are at night," I lied once more, leading him away from my actual thoughts because I didn't know what they meant quite yet.

"Yeah, we should probably go to sleep. I'd prefer to see your face in the sunlight, though you look like a painting in the moonlight," Gerard whispered, standing up and stretching as he finished off his Sprite. I could say the same thing. "Yeah, we might be out of sight, but coming back is probably different. I did however go through the window," I said, packing away everything and hauling the bag onto my shoulder.

"Lucky, my window is kind of high," Gerard remarked, though I remember it was because of the sort of downhill towards the creek. However, my cabin was like that, but on the other side of the building, away from my window. "Yeah, I can slip in and out," I mumbled, smiling to myself as I also recalled myself to be quite lucky in that factor. "That's what he said," Gerard joked, my slight playful punch making him get whacked in the neck by an unseen whimsy branch. "Ha! Karma," I whisper yelled, smiling as he shook his head, laughing a little bit.

"See you tomorrow, Frank," Gerard whispered, patting my shoulder as he went inside the wolf cabin. I smiled and nodded, leaving to the fox cabin and finding my window. I slipped in, landing on my nightstand as I shut the window. I closed the curtains and put my duffle under my bed once again. Flopping my body onto my bed, smiling to myself as I stared at the dark ceiling, kicking off my shoes and rolling myself into the blanket.

I giggled and shook my head, closing my eyes, remembering the details of Gerard's face just faintly. Slowly falling asleep, but almost wanting to stay up just to keep the image in my mind.