october challenge | frerard | ✔️

three - prison

three: welcome to hell, buddy

 "Welcome to hell, buddy," Frank heard as the footsteps approached his cell and echoed off the walls outside of it. He'd been in solitary for a good three months. Not solitary confinement per se, but this part of the prison was barely used. Frank was just about the only one still sane down here, and when he heard a key turn in his lock, he looked up from his huddled position on his cot, glaring at the door.

As a sliver of light stretched across the musty floor of his cell, Frank grinned; a new kid to bully. A body was flung into the cell, and he landed on his hands and knees. He scurried to his feet quickly and backed away from the door.

"Scum of the fucking earth," the guard muttered and slammed the cell door closed. Frank heard the key click in the lock and looked up at the figure lurking in the doorway.

"Welcome to hell isn't the worst way to set you up for this," Frank muttered. "I'm Frank, welcome to my humble abode."

He spread his arms out from himself, smiling slightly.

"Hi," the figure murmured.

"You want me to open the window?"

"You can do that?" he mused quietly, and Frank could see him leaning against the wall across the room from him.

"No, but I can let the light into the room so we can actually see each other," Frank replied.

"Okay."

Frank shrugged of the monosyllabic answers he was getting, and turned to the window, pulling the janky blinds off of it and letting light flood into the room, illuminating both of their faces nicely. Frank studied his new roommate. His cheekbones were high, his hair was a fading electric red, and he had a massive frown on. His eyes were slightly sunken in with exhaustion and he had small dark circles hanging under his eye as if to augment his horrible mental state. Frank almost felt bad for him, but as soon as they made eye contact and he felt his heart jump, all thoughts of sympathy were expelled from his mind. It'd been a long time since someone was able to make him feel this way.

"You're pretty," Frank said roughly, sticking a hand on his hip and smirking.

"Um, okay," he new inmate said quietly. "Thanks, I guess? You're not too bad yourself."

Frank hid a grin with a small smile and shrugged off their encounter. They could flirt after they settled on who was sleeping where. "That's my bed," he said and pointed to the one he'd just hopped off of. Then he pointed to the other one on the opposite side of the room. "And that's yours."

"Okay."

"You know, I never caught your name," Frank said and walked over to his new roommate slowly, stopping and settling in front of him, around a foot away. "I'm Frank."

The new guy shifted onto his heels and took a slow step away. "Gerard."

"Nice name. I dated a guy called Gerard and then I killed him," Frank said and flashed him a grin.

Gerard looked a little uncomfortable. "That why you're in here?"

"Nah, you're actually the first person I know with that name. Other than some random author I used to read. I'm just fuckin' with you, man."

Gerard shrugged it off and brushed gently past Frank to settle on his bed so Frank settled on his own bed, facing Gerard.

"So why are you really in here?" Gerard asked hesitantly.

Frank looked at his hands and started picking at his cuticles. "Mafia. Killed a few people and got caught. I was one of my boss's best killers until the cops decided to hang out without their uniforms on."