Fast Friends - Frank Iero

Part 9

I stared down at the sidewalk, my plaid-clothed legs passing each other over and over again in my peripheral vision. I'm not sure if the numbness I was experiencing was because of the cool breeze and cloudy skies, or my lack of any specific emotion.

I blocked out all the thoughts that were trying to run free in my mind. A drop of water hit my cheek and skimmed down to my chin. Was that a tear? I wiped my face with the sleeves of my favourite grey hoodie, and was relieved to find dry eyes. The relief was short-lived, though, as I was promptly reminded that I had put on mascara that morning.

I let out a defeated sigh. I could only imagine how much of a mess I looked like. I pulled my hood up, adjusted the strap of my duffel bag, and walked faster as more and more droplets of rain hit my head and shoulders. I could feel eyes watching me through the windows of the upper-middle class suburban homes as I walked.

I came to a busy intersection, and pushed the pedestrian-crossing signal button. Fidgeting with my hands, I looked around for a few moments as I waited for my turn to walk across the street. Wrong move. I met eyes with a dark-haired boy who was standing on the opposite corner of the intersection. He had a medium-sized, brown dog on a leash beside him, and wore a familiar black sweatshirt. Frank.

I looked away quickly, hoping he might not recognize me. "Autumn!" He yelled.

Just great. Just fucking great. I looked back, trying to not seem embarrassed, and failing miserably. He met me on the other side of the road.

"I didn't expect to see you here," he said, and picked up pace alongside me. I fought the urge to crouch down and pet the dog.

"Yeah." I replied quietly. The rain was now a steady drizzle. I pulled my hood over my head even more, partly because of the rain, but mostly in an attempt to hide my messy face and hair. Shoes slapping on cement, raindrops, and car motors filled the awkward silence.

"I thought you were at a sleepover...?" Frank inquired, but then put two and two together. "Oh, wait... Nevermind."

More silence and white noise.

The rain gradually pelted harder, and the dog whimpered. My hoodie was almost soaked through, and I guess Frank was in the same boat. As we passed a small, empty park, he signalled me over to a large oak tree. We sat under the canopy, still not saying anything at all, just listening to the water pelt the reddening leaves above us. Frank broke the silence with a small laugh.

"What's so funny?" I inquired.
"Nothing really, it's just that last time we saw each other..." He gestured with his hands, "trees, rain, you know, coincidental parallels." I nodded. "Just this time, there's less knives and more wet dog smell."

Frank watched me as I broke into grin and tried to hold back a laugh. He looked pleased with himself for cheering me up. I took a deep breath and leaned back against the tree, the dog deciding to rest its sopping wet head on my lap.

"You seem upset," Frank said, "tell me about what makes you happy, talk about good things. Your favourite band, what you had for dinner yesterday, which Hemsworth brother you think is hotter. Anything."

This guy never ceases to make me smile.

I started ranting about the new twenty one pilots album, and pretended to not notice him studying me as I talked. Probably staring at the smudged and running mascara under my eyes. I stroked the dog's head and began to lose myself in the sound of our conversation.

"Their music makes me so happy, like, they have so much talent and they actually put it to work. Their lyrics and Tyler's voice and Josh's drumming is just..." I sighed in exasperation of my lack of vocabulary, "They're just so... Amazing." I paused. "Wait, have you even heard of them before?"

Frank smiled and shook his head. "Never. But from what you've been saying, they must be pretty great. What kind of stuff do they play anyways?"

I laughed and explained it the best I could. Frank seemed a little bit skeptical.

"Alternative pop-punk electronic rap ukulele indie screamo... That's a lot to take in. I'm sort of skeptical, myself." He said, one eyebrow raised. I punched him gently in the arm.

We continued talking and the prior events of the day slowly slipped from my mind. Just as the rain began to ease, Frank's phone buzzed.

"Shit, I lost track of time. I'm late for band practice, again." he said, and stood up. "You know your way home from here?"
"Of course. Go have fun," I said as I brushed dirt and grass from my legs.
"Okay, see you Monday. Don't get into too much trouble."

And he was gone.

-

I laid in bed, scrolling through tumblr on my laptop and trying to warm up after being soaked through for hours on end. The day's events swirled through my mind.

The past twelve hours had been an emotional roller coaster. What had even happened? All of a sudden I hated my friends and my friends probably hated me too. I wasn't quite sure if I had actually ran into Frank, or if that entire encounter had just been a figment of my saddened imagination.

A high-pitched ping whistled through the air. I grabbed my phone off my bedside table, and reluctantly opened the message I had just received. It was from Sarah.

"so.... now what?"

I rolled my eyes and sighed. Not in the mood to respond, I put my phone down again and continued scrolling through my dash.

Another notification soon pierced the air.

"i can see you read that message. nice try, houdini."

Just as the typing bubble appeared on her side of the screen again, I powered down my phone and watched the screen fade to black. I'd had enough of everyone for today.