Gerard hugged me tightly, sniffling every few seconds.
"Gerard, I swear if you get boogers on my shirt, I'm going to be super pissed off." He laughed and pulled away. His face was red and tear stained.
"Sorry," he laughed softly. "But, um, things with Ray and I are going well. He's actually opening up to me and everything. It's really nice. I know he bullies you, used to be your boyfriend and all that, but, like, he's amazing, Frankie." I smiled as I thought of the sweet boy Ray used to be, and then nodded in agreement.
"Yeah. He's a good guy. I know you guys will be together in no time." I felt content. Like all the anger that was inside me was suddenly gone. I could actually smile with no problem, and I actually wanted to.
"You're okay with it?" He asked. He seemed confused. I smiled more.
"Of course. I'm leaving in exactly 6 months to the day, Gerard. I'm completely fine with it. I just feel so... bubbly. Like nothing could make my day any worse. I'm not sure what to call it, but I feel infinite. Unstoppable, even." Gerard laughed.
"That's called happiness," he continued giggling.
"I guess I'm finally happy then and it feels great, you know. I'm almost done with school, I'll be able to get out of here, get into a good school for free, be whatever I want to be. On top of that, I can fight for my country," I said. Gerard's huge grin died down to a sad small. It was the kind of smile someone would use when you loved someone, but you let them go because you realized that it was enough that the person knew you loved them. It was bittersweet.
"Yeah. Mikey said the same thing, too. He's my brother. He was in the military as well. He was really happy to fight for us and we were all happy for him, too. He was doing a tour in Afghanistan when he died. The truck he was doing surveillance in drove over this type of makeshift bomb and it exploded right over his spot in the truck. It was weird, you know. He was the only one who died. The others lost limbs, were severely burned, or something of the sort. I always wondered why it was only Mikey, out of 10 men, who was the one to go," he spoke. That's what it was. His brother. He thinks I might end up sharing the same fate as him. I put my hand on his shoulder and his eyes seemed to come back into focus. He smiled sadly and put his hand on top of mine. We stayed like that for a while, until we realized that dinner was still there and the movie was still paused.
"We should finish up everything, so I can get you home," he chuckled. I pressed play and slowly started eating my food. I didn't want to leave here. Especially when Gerard seemed like he needed me.
"Oh! My favorite song!" He cheered. I smiled at his childishness and listened as he sang.
"It really was no miracle.
What happened was just this.
The wind began to switch, the house to pitch,
And suddenly the hinges started to unhitch.
Just then, the Witch-to satisfy an itch,
Went flying on her broomstick, thumbing for a hitch!"
I laughed as he did the same hand gestures as Dorothy. He seemed to be really into it. I noticed my phone vibrating with a message. I checked the message and wanted to frown, but Gerard's singing and line reciting was hilarious.
Mother: Where are you? Your father and I are home early. We want to have dinner together.
I scoffed and typed back.
Me: I already ate dinner.
Mother: Did you enlist, Frank?
Me: Of course. I promised I was going to do it. Thanks to both of you, I am very big about keeping my promises to people. In exactly 6 months, you'll never have to see me again.
YOU ARE READING
In My Mind Only (Frerard)
Fanfiction"Well, then what is it?" I took a deep breath. It was now or many, many years from now. I know nothing can become of us. We're going in completely different directions and he's so determined to get where he's going. "I love you," I said. "I know," H...
