Burn As Bright (Frerard)

15 (Frank)

Frank stared down at his open hands, like he had been since emerging from the black shadows of his memories. Or was it just his general timeline? The more he thought about it, the more exhausted he felt.

At this point, his tears had dried up completely. It felt as if he had used years worth in a matter of minutes. He felt like he had nothing left inside as he closed his fingers.

A hand rested gently on his wrist. He turned to look at Gerard, who offered a sad smile. He opened his mouth to speak, but Frank couldn't hear the words. He looked back down at his hands, but also found himself leaning against Gerard's arm. He felt so tired...

The images of the white mist grabbing the woman's throat before the blinding white obscured everything jolted Frank from keeping his eyes closed too long. He was back to sitting up straight in an instant. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he felt the hand pull away from his wrist and an arm wrap around him. He was sure words were being spoken to him once again, but he still couldn't hear them.

He brought a hand up to his chest. The mark was still there under his shirt, but it felt... different. It still expanded over much of his chest but, as he pressed it, it felt like it wanted to sink back into him. His eyes involuntary crossed as he felt himself lean against Gerard once again. The more he pressed on the mark on his chest, the more his eyelids dropped. He tried to stop, but his hand wouldn't come away from his chest until his eyes closed completely and everything went black.

—-
Gerard

It was some time before Frank seemed to calm down enough to sleep. Gerard held an arm around him until Frank's hand dropped from his chest and his breathing seemed to even out. Gerard gently guided him so that he was laying on the bed of moss. He brushed loose strands of hair away from Frank's troubled face, letting his fingers linger near his temple as he looked Frank over.

There was still a faint, dark aura coming off of Frank. Though it wasn't as intense as when he had first come back from his memories, it still clung to him.

Gerard sat upright, pushing a hand through his hair. He directed his gaze to the table where, ever since recovering from his and Frank's severed connection, Patrick sat pale as a spirit. Pete was next to him but he was asleep at the table. Patrick had held him so tightly for the longest time that it had exhausted him. He still seemed unfocused as he stared off towards one of the room's walls.

Gerard rose to his feet and took a seat at the table. He waved a hand in front of Patrick's face, earning a rapid succession of blinks before he seemed to pull back to where he was. Confusion briefly laced his features as he looked around the room before finding Gerard across from him.

"What happened?" Gerard asked.

Patrick blinked at him. It took a moment before it seemed like the question fully sunk in. "We... I had brought a series of memories to the surface, along with a strand from his timeline that I could latch onto." His brow furrowed, as if he was struggling to recall what he wanted to relay to Gerard. "We entered a dining scene... then something that was completely obscured."

"Was the obscured thing from his timeline or his memory?" Gerard pressed. He didn't like how unsure Patrick sounded. He was used to Patrick taking the role of a guide or leader who could easily bring some kind of answer to the unknown. Right now he was struggling to recall events that just barely occurred.

Patrick shut his eyes tightly. "I don't know. He went into the dark one and let go of my hand. I couldn't see anything and then I was forced out." When he reopened his eyes, Gerard could see a flash of panic. "I heard something, though. I heard her."