Playground [Frerard AU]

SIX

     "You really did pick a perfect time to drop by," I told Gerard with a smile, watching him shuffle over to my bed and flop onto his back. He let out an 'ooft' noise as he hit the mattress and I chuckled at him as he stared in wonder at my plain white ceiling. I sat myself opposite him on my desk chair, sitting cross legged.

     "Why?" He asked. The coffee seemed to have made him vaguely less wasted, but he was still pretty far gone. He didn't seem to notice how much he had starfished upon throwing himself on my blankets, or how his clothes became somewhat displaced. His black t-shirt had ridden up a few inches when he had landed on my bed, exposing a small chunk of his stomach. He didn't have abs, and he wasn't tanned, and it was attractive. Or maybe that was just the lack of girlfriends and boyfriends I had had in my life causing me to be attracted to anything around my age. Things get lonely when it's just your hand, and you start seeing the most random of people as the most beautiful and iridescent of beings. Even socially awkward, quiet, drunk guys you accidentally find at abandoned playgrounds.

     "Frankie?"

     I snapped out of my daze, realising I'd been staring at the white flesh between Gerard's jeans and his shirt for a good while. Thank god he was too intoxicated to notice and was still focused on my ceiling. "She's not coming home until the day after tomorrow; she's visiting someone in Doylestown or something." I answered, looking anywhere but his stomach. Yeah, I definitely needed to start dating.

     Dating! Ha!

     Gerard snapped into an upright position and looked at me with wide eyes and a grin. "Can we watch films? And order pizza? I have cash! Aw, dude!" He jumped up and tugged on my arm excitedly, beaming and making me laugh. I considered giving in to my first thoughts and gently asking him to leave, but there was a spark in his face that made me want to let him roam my house doing whatever the fuck he wanted.

-

     He got very jittery. After another cup of coffee a litre of the coke that he made me buy with the pizza, his energy levels sky-rocketed and he was getting slightly irritating.

     "Frankie! Frankie! Frankie!" He yelled, beaming and clutching a slice of pizza. Buffy the Vampire Slayer had been marathonned at his request, and it was getting late. I looked up from staring absent-mindedly at the last of the pizza in the box on the coffee table and saw him moving excitedly from one foot to the other.

      "What?" I replied in a tired voice, letting out a small sigh.

     Gerard really did look the picture of childhood innocence. Mouth spread in a wide white grin, dark hair ruffled and messy on his head, eyes shining and gleeful, fingers messily clutching greasy junk food. He looked so young and it made me kind of sad that he was full of alcohol. That thought ruined my image of him and I had to look away. I didn't normally have a problem with people drinking, but for some reason I disliked the thought of the quiet artist doing so.

     "Can we - Frankie?" He cut himself off, frowning and dropping his arms to his sides. He returned his slice to the almost empty box and wiping his messy hands on one of the paper napkins I had brought through. Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed the blur that was Gerard sitting down very close next to me. I made eye contact with him again and he gently placing his hand on my forearm. " Are you okay? What's wrong?"

     His lips were turned down at the corners and his eyes were suddenly concerned, as though he could read my mind and see all my unforeseen sadness for his alcohol consumption that day. He watched me, patiently waiting for a reply.

     I bit my lip, finally mumbling "Why did you get drunk today?"

     Gerard's jaw dropped open. "What?"

     I repeated the question and he just gaped.

     "I dunno, Frank, I guess I just didn't want to be sober." He mumbled after a few silent minutes. He didn't call me Frankie and he didn't make eye contact, and for some reason that made me want to cry.

-

would you believe me if i said that there was a time in which i would regularly write 3000 word chapters

yeah me neither