Welcome to the Pride Parade [Frerard AU]

Part III: Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6 – BUT IT'S BETTER IF YOU DON'T

I drove Frank back to my house where he had parked his own car, and after thanking each other profusely for agreeing to go to the festival (and kissing a few times), Frank got in his car and started up. That was when I remembered something.

"Wait a second," I said, holding up a hand to stop him before he drove away. He cocked his head in curiosity, but obediently stayed where he was.

I disappeared into the house for a minute, walking through to the garage, where my car was parked ever since yesterday's time at pride. I opened the trunk and found just what I was looking for. I carried it back out to him.

"You know I can't take that with me," Frank smiled sadly at the crumpled flag in my hand.

"Maybe not, but you bought it. And maybe you can find a way to use it to... start a conversation. If the opportunity comes up. Just a thought." I handed it to him again, and this time he reluctantly took it.

"Okay."

He stared at it a minute longer, and I felt a tug at my heart just thinking about how much he didn't want to have to hide it anymore. He did seem to love who he was, but he also believed he had to keep his secret. I wished he could live as if he were in a pride parade every day, but that just wasn't his reality. I had yet to meet his parents and didn't expect him to let me for quite a while.

Keeping this whole relationship in the closet was going to get harder, I had a feeling.

Frank drove away and I headed back inside, where I found Mikey grinning widely and gesturing with wild enthusiasm as he explained a story of some kind to our parents. Mom looked like she was about to cry.

"...so thoughtful, that even though she had almost nothing, she gave us her own homegrown tomatoes as a gesture that she was grateful for the work we were doing on her house."

"Mikey! How was your week?" I stepped into the room with the intention to join the conversation, yet I was greeted with a hug instead. It took me a second to think to return it.

"It was amazing! I was just telling our parents about the person our youth group helped during the week. She was so sweet; I'm going to miss her a lot. Another crew is going to pick up where we left off next week and the whole project is supposed to be done in just two more years! We got her to join in on our lunch devotions one day and let me tell you, her insight was unlike anything we expected..."

Mikey went on and on about the details of his week, smiling more than every day of his life combined and expressing more emotion than an actor on Broadway could dream of. A kind of positivity radiated from him that I didn't see fading for a while. The light of God was finally in him, he told us. He never wanted to go back to the days he felt indifferent about everything.

I loved seeing him in a good mood. And honestly, this was a better mood than I'd ever seen on anyone, one that made me wonder briefly if he was high on something other than just Jesus. But no – he had an aura that suggested he was really, truly in love.

In love with a being who didn't accept that I was in love with someone, too.

Unknown number: [Photo attached] whats up its dan (from pride) heres your picture

I glanced down at the photo, forwarding it to Frank and then studying it a bit longer. We looked so excited to be there. The word CATHOLIC was hardly visible on my neck in the photo, but I knew it was there. It was strange to be looking at – was that sacrilegious of me?

Maybe I was being a bit touchy about it, but while all Mikey could think about was God's grace, all I could think about was the weekend, how amazing it had been, and the sharp contrast between us now.