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Frank had been dead for over ten years. He wasn’t very old when he was alive, just over twenty, but that didn’t matter anymore. He looked exactly the same as he did when he died, except his wounds were fixed up and he could change clothes at will.
He was a quiet ghost, not really sure why he was stuck on earth, but choosing to not really bother anyone. He didn’t follow his family around, because he knew the grief it would cause them. Frank only went back to his old house when his mom moved out, the house proving to be too big for one woman.
It pained him that she wasn’t there anymore, but he tried not to let his emotions get the best of him, and just hung around the house while new people checked it out to see if they wanted to move in. One of the families, the only one that had children, stood out to Frank. They had a thirteen year old, and a ten year old, both boys.
The older of the two seemed to be charismatic, while the other stayed quiet, allowing his brother to speak for him most of the time, unless he had an urgent point. Frank liked them, and his joy when he saw them again was possibly a bit much for a supposedly emotionless ghost.
Part of him was hoping that maybe one of them could see him, because it did get lonely, and the only people he had heard of seeing ghosts were children. Not that he really got around in the ghost community, but he heard a few snatches of conversation at the beginning.
He quickly learned the older brothers name was Gerard, and the younger was Mikey. Gerard liked comics, music, and horror movies, and Mikey liked whatever his brother liked at the time. Frank would hang around them some days, listening to their conversations and sometimes even pretending that they could hear him whenever he responded offhandedly.
Over the years, Frank felt himself growing to know the brothers very well, and found himself getting feelings for the older that he didn’t allow back when he was alive. Back then he would have been killed for ever showing his love.
But he already was dead, so that didn’t matter to him anymore. Not that he could actually do anything to act on his love anyway, so it didn’t even matter if he was alive, or something like that.
He started paying more attention to Gerard, and would often hover around his room while the older Way slept. He had noticed a few nasty spirits threatening the boys restful sleep some nights, but quickly chased them away. On the nights the two brothers would fall asleep on each other while watching a movie, he would turn the tv off, and throw a blanket over top of the two of them.
Frank would always get extremely exhausted after doing these things, but it made him feel good that he was helping, even in the small ways. He started following Gerard out of the house, leaving the place he felt safe for the first time since they had moved in, about three years previous.
Gerard was in highschool now, and Frank vaguely knew that he was a loser, not that he had any idea why. In his mind, Gerard was the coolest person he knew. Not that he was a social ghost, but even Mikey was less cool in Frank's mind, though he probably had something messed up there.
But school was worse than Frank had imagined. Gerard was shoved around, and punched in the face, and tackled to the ground at random times. Frank could only watch sadly as Gerard sat as far away from the school as he could, curling up into himself when he got comfortable at the base of a tree.
He let himself float down from where he was hovering in the branches, crouching next to Gerard. Frank hesitated for a moment, before letting his hand rest on the other boys shoulder. It was obvious he felt something, with the slight muscle twitch, but he didn’t react in any other way, so Frank just hoped that it helped to comfort him.
He hadn’t been the most popular kid in school, was pushed into lockers and meat thrown at him because he chose not to eat it. He was the tiny punk kid with the weird hair who only really belonged in crowded basements with other sweaty kids, screaming along to music they all enjoyed. Frank knew how Gerard felt, and would have done anything to show him.
But he was dead, and there was no way for the dead to speak to the living yet. Eventually they both went back into the school, though Frank was explaining to Gerard that he never thought that he would come back here after he died, though he knew no one could hear him. It made him feel like he was helping though, and that was really all he could do.
Gerard went home that night, declined watching Lord Of The Rings with Mikey, and locked himself in the basement, turning off the light. Frank floated through the door, lazily flipping through the air as if someone could see him. Gerard was already curled up on the sheets, blanket pulled over his face. Frank sat at the end of his bed, looking around the dark room. He knew Gerard wouldn’t cry, or scream, or do anything overly dramatic, and just wanted to be alone and would probably just end up passing out, but he felt like he needed to be here. He could hear Mikey upstairs, watching the movie by himself, and probably could have headed up there if he got bored, but he didn’t.
The thing about being a ghost was that you didn’t get bored anymore. You just went into a state that was like you weren’t there. Time passed, but you weren’t aware of it. By the time Frank managed to pull himself out of this state, Gerard had disappeared. Frank let himself float up through the floor, amusing himself for a moment with the fact that currently his body was still in the basement while his head was upstairs, before pulling himself up and taking a look around.
It was dark outside now, and the house was empty. For most families, this would be normal. But Frank knew the Ways better than he knew his own mother at this point.
Something was wrong. Gerard only went out on the first of each month, to get new comics, and though Frank didn’t know Mikey’s schedule as well as the older Ways, he almost as much of a hermit as Gerard.
Panic took over, and Frank flew around the house, poking his head into each room and searching it carefully. After careful inspection of the entire house he came to the conclusion that no, they weren’t playing hide and seek like they used to, and they were gone somewhere.
Frank frowned, and settled himself onto the couch in the living room. He had looked outside for a moment, before realizing that he was never going to be able to find them. He wasn’t as familiar with the Jersey streets as he had been before, and didn’t want to get lost.
They finally returned, and Gerard looked wrecked. His eyes were red, his skin paler than it’s usual vampiric state, and his hair was mussed around his face. Mikey didn’t look much different, glasses hanging off his nose.
Frank payed close attention to the brothers over the next few days, but couldn’t figure out where they had gone, and why they were so upset. It was as if someone had died, the cold silence that stilled the air of the house. No movie marathons were had, no loud singing when their parents were out.
It was when Gerard didn’t go to the comic store on the first of the month that Frank started getting really concerned. He kept careful watch over Gerard at nights, and followed him to school. A couple times, even though he knew he really shouldn’t, Frank stopped him from tripping over his own feet, and generally tried to make his days better in any way he could. He even stepped in front of a fist aimed for the older Way, and though that made him get hit in the face, and it still hurt like a bitch, it was okay, because Gerard was fine, and the guy who had tried to punch him was freaked out, and left him alone.
The entire Way family disappeared for an entire day about two weeks later, and Frank was unusually anxious the entire time, floating aimlessly until he heard the car pull into the driveway, at which time he rushed downstairs and out the front door, meeting the Ways before they had even gotten out of the car.
Not that he was acknowledged, but it still felt nice to have them back.
He learned that Gerard would need to be looked after more often now, moving through his life in a haze, and not really caring about anything. He would gently push Gerard through the correct doorways, catch him when he would trip over his own feet, and generally just tried to make life a little bit better. He did the same for Mikey, careful to spread his time between both Ways’ equally, because he knew that if his brother wasn’t happy, Gerard would never be happy.
One night as Gerard was laying down to sleep, Frank took a risk. He knew Gerard would never be able to know it was him, or that anything had happened, but he still felt like it was wrong in some way. He floated towards the bed where he was already laying, depression hanging over him like a dark cloud, and it physically hurt Frank that he couldn’t help more than he already was.
Moving closer until their noses were practically touching, Frank paused, staring at Gerards closed eyes, before darting forward again, and pressing a soft kiss to the teens cheek. His eyes snapped open as if he had felt something, and Frank darted away quickly in surprise.
“Hello?” Gerard called out to the obviously empty room, his voice hushed, wavering slightly. Frank shoved himself inside of the bookcase filled with comic books, staring at Gerard. It was impossible, he couldn’t have felt anything.
Frank really didn’t know why he was hiding either, but the shock had pushed him back into old human habits. Not that he wasn’t human, but he wasn’t a living human. No living human could feel if a ghost touched them, it just didn’t happen.
Gerard was quick to pass it off as the wind, even though he was a hermit that never fucking opened the window, and settled back down. Frank was still trying to figure out why Gerard had even sensed him there, when there was a quiet knock on the door.
It opened after a moment of silence, and Mikey was standing there, glasses almost falling off his nose, and looking pitifully tiny, all awkward limbs. Gerard ushered him over, and they spoke in quiet voices. “It’s hard, you know? I just miss her so much, but I don’t want to see her when I’m sleeping.” Mikey pushed his glasses up a bit, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking at the sheets disdainfully. “When was the last time you washed these?”
“Shut up Mikeyway.” Frank smiled slightly at the interaction between the two brothers, settling on the floor, legs crossed and watching as they settled down, leaning against each other. “You can stay here, but you really gotta start staying in your own room.” The room fell silent again as both of them fell asleep slowly. Frank watched them, smiling to himself. Having never had a brother himself, he didn’t know the bond they shared, but he could feel it in the air whenever he got close.
He didn’t feel left out though, looking at the brothers. He felt like he had finally found his place in the world. He finally understood why he had been kept on the earth, and not moved on to the afterlife.
Frank was supposed to watch over the Way brothers. He wasn’t an angel, per say. But he was their unseen protector, and once they had both passed on, he was going to be there to guide them to wherever it was they were supposed to go.