Forever is a Long Time . . . (A Frank Iero and My Chemical Romance Fan-Fiction)

Chapter Fifteen

Think Happy Thoughts

The next morning, I felt a little . . . funny when I woke up. I wasn’t surprised though; my dreams had fluttered between visions of Frank and flashbacks of him just before we’d said goodbye to each other the night before. That, mixed with the two beers I’d had were bound to get me a little queasy. I’d slept in a little later than usual considering the night’s activities had really worn me out.

After I’d gone upstairs to my room the night before, it hit me just how tired I was. I wasted no time changing out of my costume, not even bothering to fiddle with pajamas. Choosing instead to just sleep in a bra and panties, I finally climbed into bed. I tried to suppress my thoughts about Frank but instead I fell asleep with the previous scenes playing over, and over, and over . . .

The light stung my eyes as I slowly opened them, intensifying my already strong headache. I reluctantly sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. The cold air hit me without warning and I shivered. That’ll show me not to go to bed without first changing into proper sleepwear.

Just as my eyes had started to adjust to the light, I heard a voice from the foot of my bed. I nearly had a heart attack until I was able to focus my eyes on Frank. “Good morning; get enough sleep, Snow White?”

I let out a quiet, yet still embarrassing, shriek, causing Frank more laughter than I would have liked. It’s not like I was expecting to wake up to him sitting at the foot of my bed. My first thought was who the fuck is in my room? Upon seeing Frank, though still startled, I relaxed a little knowing who it was, only to be sent right back into panic mode when I realized what I was wearing, or rather wasn’t wearing.

In one quick and more likely than not, klutzy motion, I pulled my blankets up to my chin to cover my torso. “Frank! What are you doing?” He stood up and meandered slowly over to my desk where he sat down, spinning in the chair. “Sitting. Waiting for you to wake up.”

“How’d you get in my room?” I asked considering no one was home to have let him inside.

“Oh, Josh,” he answered, raising my suspicions a little. “He answered the door and told me you were still sleeping, but instead of going back home I figured I’d stay here and just wait ‘till you were awake.”

That was weird; normally Josh had football practice on Saturday mornings. He’d always be out of the house by eight o’clock, and it being almost nine, I wondered how long Frank had really been in my room for. I decided to push the thought to the side though and not dwell on it too much.

“Oh, well,” I said a little breathlessly, still recovering from the constant shocks and surprises that the morning had brought me. “Thanks for the heart-attack.” A devious yet playful smile danced across Frank’s lips. “Anytime,” he replied, his smirk adding to his sexiness, though I tried to ignore it; one, so as not to give him any hints about me liking him, and two, because I was still a little mad.

I gave him a stare back to show my displeasure with his behavior but I couldn’t keep it up for long. My teasing ended and I gave Frank a real smile, confirming to him that, though he could be annoying, I couldn’t stay mad at him forever.

“Alright, well,” he started as the silence had just begun to build. “I’ll let you get dressed; we’re leaving soon.”

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“I don’t know, we’ll decide once you’re properly clothed.” He turned around to go back down stairs, but just as I was about to stand up and out of bed, he looked back. I pulled the blankets back up and Frank remarked, “Nice bra by the way. I like the lace.” So he had seen it! I felt my cheeks flush but Frank turned around just in time so as not to see my face match my red bra from the embarrassment.

I dressed quickly so that Frank wouldn’t see anything if he were to come back up. It was a good thing he didn’t though, getting on my sweater, black skinny jeans, and converse without a hitch. Once I was properly clothed, I went downstairs to meet Frank. He sat at my kitchen table flipping through a music catalogue.

“Hey, you have breakfast yet?” He looked up upon hearing my voice.

“No, mom,” he answered in a sarcastic tone. I laughed a little while opening up the cupboard and taking a look at our options. “Pancakes or waffles?”

“Hhhm,” he thought for a moment. “Waffles.” Frank stood up and came over to where I stood. We got out the waffle supplies and I assigned the job of mixer to Frank, while I was the one to actually make the waffles in an effort to prevent Frank from setting the house on fire. It was safer this way; god knows Frank and fire was not a safe arrangement.

While we ate, we discussed the day’s activities. “So what do you want to do today?” I asked Frank before taking another bite of waffle. He finished chewing his mouthful and answered, “I was thinking the park, and then we can come back to my house and try out that guitar. Then, how about a movie and some junk food?”

I nodded, confirming his plans. We finished off the last of our waffles and cleaned up the kitchen before grabbing our jackets and heading out to the park. When we got there we went straight to our favorite spot: the swings. We were no strangers to spending hour after hour just sitting and talking on those very swings; it would always be my favorite spot in the world.

We sat there, swaying gently while the soft breeze tousled my hair. “Remember when we used to come here when we were kids?” Frank chuckled to himself quietly, recalling the countless days spent at the park as children.

“Yeah, those were the days,” he said smiling to himself. “When your biggest worries were falling down and scraping up your knees.”

I twisted around in my swing to face Frank. “Sometimes I wish I could go back there.” He looked at me with a quizzical look.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” I defended my argument. “I’d love to be a kid again and not have to worry about stupid teenage stuff.” Stupid teenage stuff like being in love with your best friend.

“I like right now.” I looked at him, intent to hear his explanation. He sat on his swing, gently pushing back and forth, staring off into the distance. “I like where we’ve gotten. I like that I can sit here with my best friend and have memories to think back to; good ones and bad. I like knowing that every moment has led us to where we are now and that each and every one of them was worth it.”

I didn’t say anything; I didn’t have anything to say. I just sat motionless, staring at Frank. He stayed there, his eyes not having moved from their previous point, still staring off in the distance. There was a short silence where neither of us said anything.

I thought back on the years. Frank was right, every moment, good and bad, had led us to where we were now. It had been a crazy journey, but we’d made it out alive and able to function. Every moment had shaped us into the people we were now. I couldn’t imagine anything being different than it was, and looking back, I was thankful for every second I’d ever spent with Frank Iero.

In the middle of my reminiscing, Frank turned to me, his eyes meeting mine. He smiled to me and I returned the favor. “And I think I’m especially glad to have you.”

“You too, Frank.” We just sat there for a moment as we looked into each other’s eyes. At first it was a little awkward to be staring right at Frank with him doing the same, but once it passed, I never wanted to look away. I kept my gaze locked on his perfect hazel eyes. The sun hit them just right and I was able to see all the little flecks of gold sprinkled around the crystal clear green and brown.

Frank broke the gaze, clearing his throat and stuttering out, “Uh, well, it’s getting cold. Want to go back to my house?” I shook my head a little, clearing my brain. I was a little too caught up in Frank and I needed to reset and come back down to planet Earth.

“Yeah,” I replied. We got up off the swings and made our way to the edge of the park to go back to Frank’s house. Frank was right; it was getting pretty cold, and though I had a jacket on, I could still feel the late fall air penetrating the layers of fabric. I saw my breath in the air as I shoved my hands deep inside my pockets to keep them warm.

Just as I’d begun to shiver from the cold, I felt Frank wrap his arm around my shoulder. He pulled my body close to him to share the warmth and keep me from freezing. I leaned into him and took in his comforting and familiar scent: cologne, soap, and cigarettes. We walked like this the whole way to Frank’s house; not a word said between us. My nerves started to creep up but I suppressed them, conquering my stupid anxiety from Frank’s touches. I let myself relax into his hold and just enjoy the feeling of walking home in Frank’s arms.