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

Chapter Seventeen

My Heart, It Can't Contain It

As promised, Frank and I ended our night with a movie; a horror flick of course. Frank’s and my love of scary movies blossomed around grade five, right around the time our parents were telling us to stay away from them. I guess that’s why we loved them so much; it’s hard not to gravitate toward the contraband.

We sat with pajamas on in Frank’s basement with insatiable amounts of junk-food between us. I swear, I gain five pounds just watching a movie with Frank. He sat eating 'Twizlers' while I hogged the popcorn, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein playing on the screen. It was one of Frank’s favorite movies so of course he insisted we watch it for the thousandth time, though that’s not to say that I didn’t like it too.

It happened again. I’d barely made it half-way through when I started to feel my eyes getting heavier. I readjusted my position to try and keep myself awake, forcing my eyes to stay open. The caffeine in the soda obviously did nothing to prevent the inevitable; I fell asleep right as Dr. Frankenstein brought his creation to life.

Before I knew it, I was lying my head on Frank’s shoulder. I drifted off into the land of slumber, but just before I got there, I heard Frank softly whisper in my ear, “Goodnight, Paige.”

***

What often happened when I fell asleep during a movie wasn’t the same as what I woke up to the next morning. Normally, Frank would wake me up and take me home or at least upstairs to his room and put me to bed. We’d slept over each other’s houses before, but always in separate beds, and more often than not, separate rooms. He’d either stay downstairs on the couch or in the guest bedroom since I was taking up his bed. This morning, though, was a little different.

Frank had obviously, at some point, taken me up into his room and laid me down on his bed. The only difference this time was that Frank was with me.

Instead of going back downstairs, he’d gotten into bed with me, my head resting on his arm. I opened my eyes to see a sleeping Frank just inches from my face. He looked peaceful yet still tired, and it was adorable. He was facing me, eyes closed and breathing softly. One arm under my head and his other hand resting gently on my waist. My hands were placed just over his heart and I could feel his chest slowly rising and falling under my touch.

My stomach started to fill with butterflies as I realized what it felt like to wake up lying next to Frank. I felt comfortable in his arms, safe and protected in his embrace. I wished every morning could be like this, that Frank could be the first thing I see when I open my eyes each and every day.

I tried to stay quiet, not stirring my position as not to wake up Frank. I didn’t want to disturb him and have to end this perfect moment. I stayed silent as Frank stay lying next to me, still fast asleep. I studied his face, taking in the soft contours of his latent expression. It didn’t last long though, not long enough.

Frank’s eyes slowly fluttered open and met mine instantly. He blinked a few times and sheepishly looked back to me with his sultry, sleepy hazel eyes. We didn’t say a word to each other, neither one of us taking any initiative at early morning conversation. I couldn’t even say anything if I tried, all I could think about was how badly I wanted to kiss him.

It was a perfect moment; he was just inches from me, our lips practically almost touching. All it would take was a little lean forward, but I couldn’t do it. I knew better.

“Morning,” Frank finally broke the silence in his sexy, just-woken-up voice.

“Morning,” I replied, trying to keep my voice from shaking because of how fucking nervous I was.