You're Pretty Rad

Adolescence, Adjustments and Aches (Part 1)

Middle school.

A big jump from elementary school and a fresh chance to re-establish yourself and build a new reputation for yourself. Both Gerard and Frank were excited to start, so excited that they had woken up very early and gotten ready as fast as they could and were practically pulling their parents out the door.

 They were looking forward to seeing each other again despite the fact that they had seen each other the day before. Frank and Gerard weren't quite boyfriends but they were definitely more than friends and they had kissed a whole lot more after that first time. And even though neither of them had had the courage to tell the other they loved them, they each knew it and that was all that mattered. Things were perfect between them and they were happy they could experience middle school together and hopefully be in the same class, as they had been their whole school careers so far.

They had planned to meet outside the front gate of the school to catch up and chat, even though they had basically seen each other every day of the holidays, but that didn't exactly happen. 

Gerard arrived at school slightly earlier than Frank so he just occupied himself by playing with the strings of his Star Trek hoodie, and just intently inspected the other kids arriving. When he heard the familiar voice of the boy he loved, Gerard watched as Frank got out of the car and gave his parents a small wave before slamming the door closed. Frank turned and noticed Gerard and started walking towards him with a big grin on his face but he was suddenly stopped as a boy with a large forehead stood in front of him.

"Hello, my name's Brendon. Do you want to come sit with us?" He jerked his thumb in the direction where four other children sat. Gerard admitted that they looked like trouble, he didn't know why but they just did and he waited patiently for Frank to decline and sit with Gerard...

But he didn't.

Frank looked past the boy at where Gerard was sitting with his eyes wide before smiling widely at the big forehead boy and following him to where the group sat. Gerard didn't move, he couldn't. 

What just happened?

Had Frank Iero, the boy who Gerard had known since the start of elementary school and who he had spent nearly every waking moment after that with, the same boy he shared his first kiss with, just ditched him?

It seemed that way as Frank found himself a place in the group and instantly fit in as they laughed and made jokes together. Gerard would be lying if he said he didn't feel a twinge of hurt in his heart but he would't allow himself to cry on the first day of middle school, so he quickly blinked back tears and headed through the school gates.

Class had been worse though because Frank and Gerard had been placed in the same class which Gerard was ecstatic about, but it seemed Frank didn't seem too happy about it. 

Once the bell had rung Gerard found his classroom and sat in a seat near the front and when he saw Frank walk in, still laughing with the group of dodgy children, he quickly waved to Frank and patted the empty seat beside him. The gang Frank was with all scurried to the back of the class and sat in a huddled group. Frank's eyes shifted to the seat then to Gerard's hopeful eyes, but he simply walked past Gerard without a word and took a seat with the the other kids. It felt like something was stuck in Gerard's throat as he felt a small tear roll down his cheek, but he quickly wiped it away with his sleeve and tried to focus on the teacher who was writing on the board.

Coincidentally Frank and Gerard were in every single class together which meant there were more opportunities for Frank to ignore Gerard and pretend he didn't exist. Frank was acting like a completely different person, certainly not the shy, nerdy kid Gerard knew. And when he had overheard a conversation where Frank asked them if they liked Star Wars and they replied with "Ew, that's stupid" and Frank agreed, Gerard knew Frank was different. For years the two had bonded over nerdy movies and books and now suddenly Frank was acting all cool and popular. 

Which, it turns out, he was. 

In that first day of middle school alone it had been established that the gang with Frank were the popular kids that everyone wanted to be. There were six of them in total and from what he had gathered from class, the big forehead one was Brendon, the one that was pretty tall for a kid was Dallon, there were two Andys, one with red hair and the other with black hair, and a kid with a small fro called Joe. And, of course, Frank.

At this point Gerard didn't expect Frank to sit with him at all at lunch time and he was right. The gang had chosen a large table in the cafeteria and had quickly deemed it their table. Gerard just found an empty table and sat there, sure he'd been confident and social in elementary school but that was because he thought he was unstoppable and fearless, and Frank made him feel more outgoing and brave. But now without Frank, Gerard found himself growing into that shy kid that nobody talks to. 

He had already accepted that he'd have to sit alone every lunch when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. It was a pale girl with black hair and with her were a few other children, one of them had chocolate brown hair and a very smooth round face, another had a cute little smile displaying his crooked teeth and he was smiling at another boy with dark curly hair and another boy had a massive curly fro, bigger than Joe's.

"Hey, I'm Lindsey. This is Ryan, Tyler, Josh and Ray." The girl, Lindsey, said pointing to each of the children.

"I'm Gerard." He didn't really know what to say. "I'm not popular so you probably don't want to sit with me." Gerard nervously looked into his lap.

Giggles and laughs erupted from the group. 

"Neither are any of us." Lindsey explained, sitting down next to Gerard as everyone else joined the table.

"We're kind of the outcasts and loners if you could't tell." The boy with the round face, Ryan, said while taking a bite of his sandwich.

"But it's just the first day, how do you know you're the outcasts?" Gerard started feeling more relaxed in this group of people. 

"Dude, if you're not in a group by lunchtime then you're an outcast." Josh stated.

"And we were all sitting alone separately when Lindsey here rounded us up and brought us to you because this was one of the only empty tables." Tyler added while playing around with a slice of pizza.

"And because you looked kinda sad." Ray said, giving Gerard a soft smile.

"I don't want anybody to sit alone, that makes me sad," Lindsey smiled, "So anybody who doesn't have a group is welcomed to our group."

"Well...thank you, I guess." Gerard starting smiling brightly again like how he used to with Frank. 

So things weren't so bad after all and Gerard didn't know it then but that group of quirky introverts ended up being the only people he trusted besides his family-

-and Frank, but as the months dragged on the two had drifted apart and hadn't spoken to each other in ages. Their social groups were just too different for them to be friends. And just like that their relationship with each other had ended as quickly as it had started. There were moments where they'd pass each other in the halls or make eye contact and sweet memories would come flooding back for both of them but they still didn't talk. 

Neither of them were extremely devastated over the whole ordeal because they had other friends who they enjoyed being around with and school kept them preoccupied.

There was a comfortable silence over their relationship and they were both fine with it, although Gerard always had a thought that pricked his mind:

Why had Frank ditched him that first day? 

Because Gerard and Frank both new in their hearts that they both still loved each other.