Break the Law For Me [completed]

s i x

Soon enough, the weeks flew by. Frank was getting on considerably with his extra work consisting of drawing food and various compositions of food. It was tedious, really, and Frank would much rather have been working on his portraiture after school instead. It was so much more interesting and intricate to draw.

Gerard had aided him when needed and stayed back with him after school. Having him around for company made staying behind that bit more bearable. Plus, occasionally, he'd bring in biscuits and store them in the back of a drawer -only Frank knew about them. It was simple, but it made him feel special in a way.

However, to Frank's disappointment, Brendon had begun to drift away. They talked less frequently; Brendon barely answered the video chats, which had become a sort of ritual because they used to chat over video in the evenings.

It was little things like that that Frank missed.

As a lousy addition, his parents were engulfed by their work twenty-four-seven. As a result, their big empty house was a mansion haunted by ghosts. Everything had become twice as frightening and each shadow loomed like a person.

On the bright side, he had Gerard. Those nights after school grew longer until he and Gerard were staying in until quarter past six and the sky would be pitch black. That made walking home a horror show, but it was worth it for some company so he didn't feel totally isolated from the human race.

-

"Ooh, Mr Way!"

Whistles and a few sniggers erupted throughout the classroom like waves washing up on the shore. Though in this case it was during a storm and Gerard wanted to run away from it, not stand with his feet in the water.

He was aware he was late. He was aware his hair was the definition of messy. He was aware he was wearing an old t-shirt, ripped jeans and scuffed up boots. In his defence, his washing machine had broken and he'd had no way to wash his usual shirt and waistcoat. Plus, his house was currently a disaster.

In addition, he'd woken up late and was forced to throw on whatever was closest to him on the floor. Time had been ticking like a bomb and he hadn't had time to put thought in to a substitute for his usual attire.

In the rush of it all, Gerard hadn't registered just how dishevelled he looked. His hair was a mass of black and teal tangles, his t-shirt was partly tucked in to his jeans, which were hanging dangerously low on his hips and there were dark smudges under his eyes where his eyeliner had smudged. If anyone was to search the word 'chaotic' in the dictionary, a picture of Gerard's current state would be there.

However, he somehow suited it. A few of the students had their eyebrows raised in surprise and others were grinning like they'd just won a prize.

Eventually, their chatter faded to hushed, confused whispers and Gerard slouched in his chair, rubbing his eyes as he leaned his elbows on the desk. He was absolutely shattered and in no mood to teach. Luckily he only had to survive two more days before the weekend.

"Sir?" A student raised their hand. "I don't think that's teacher's dress code."

Sighing deeply, Gerard glanced at them through the hair over his eyes. "I know. I was in a rush."

"Clearly." They snorted, receiving a brief glare from Gerard.

That student's comment brought up numerous others.

"I like Morrissey too!" Someone beamed, referring to his threadbare t-shirt.

"What happened?"

"Are you okay?"

"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed?"

"Who dragged you through a bush backwards?"

Everyone began to talk over one another, until half of the double lesson was wasted.

A headache pounded, stinging his eyes as they turned a faint red. Gerard scratched his fingers through his hair, pushing it away from his face. Impatience grabbed a hold and his hands shook as he cracked.

"Enough!" He finally shouted, on the verge of screaming.

Immediately, they all shut their mouths, eyes wide in fear of what he was going to do. Instead of leaving like he wished, Gerard composed himself, explained the day's lesson as calmly as he could and got them to carry on with their assignment. For the rest of the hour it was silent -spare the occasional whisper- and he spent the time trying to tidy himself up, though it barely made a difference. His exhausted eyes were still ringed with faded black and his hair remained a knotted mess, constantly falling in to his eyes.

-

Frank made his way to sixth period, art, dodging students and darting straight for the middle room. When he was in, he slammed the door shut, breathing rapid as he tried to settle down. Changing rooms between lessons was always terrifying because of the amount of people walking those crowded halls. It was awful.

Ten minutes in and Frank had already gotten out his things and continued shading in the eyes of a sketch in progress. This one was particularly difficult because he had to draw tears, which were impossible to get right.

Twenty minutes in to the lesson and he heard the door click, revealing a weary teacher. Frank glanced up, the smile wiped off his face when he saw the state Gerard was in.

"Are you okay?" He blurted out, accidentally letting the pencil slip from his grip. Hastily, he picked it up, then shuffled in his chair, not able to tear his concerned gaze away from the person who was slowly becoming his only friend.

"I've been better." Gerard smiled weakly with a shrug of his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around his waist. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Scratching his collarbone red, he took a seat opposite Frank, observing the sketches he'd done.

"You want the truth?" Frank chuckled and Gerard nodded. "You look a wreck."

Narrowing his eyes playfully, Gerard breathed deeply through his teeth. "Thanks."

Hesitantly, he cautiously asked, "What happened?" Perhaps it was none of his business, but he was curious as to why his teacher wasn't dressed appropriately for work and why he appeared to be so defeated.

"I had a. . . Eventful night." Gerard pressed his lips together, avoiding eye contact. "And that's all you need to know." Long story short, he had a minor hangover.

"Oh." Frank didn't know whether to take that as a good thing or a bad thing, so he refrained from winking -spending too much time with Brendon in the past had altered his way of thinking. Distracting himself, he turned his mind back to his art. "Can you help me with this?" He gestured to the image of Brendon he was attempting to shade.

Shifting his chair closer to Frank's, Gerard smiled, "Of course."

[Published 20 May 2019]
[Last edited 28 October 2019]