Chapter Text
Present time
Lindsey knew that Gerard was bisexual. She also knew that her husband and Frank had had a thing years ago. What she didn't know was how to react when she came into the room and saw the two men kissing.
Fourteen years ago
Their gazes had met a few times during the past month and Gerard didn't know what was about that kid that made him feel so strangely attracted. The kid was new at school, shorter than him, a couple of years younger too. His olive eyes and arched eyebrows were alternately covered by a fringe of black hair which made his face look more enticing.
Their gazes had met once again that morning when Gerard arrived to school, only that this time he could say for sure that they weren't just casual glances because this time, their eyes actually locked as he saw this punky kid walking through the school hall. It only lasted a few seconds, but for an instant, everybody and everything else in the room seemed to disappear from Gerard's range of sight. All he could see was those big bright eyes boring into his own and for the first time, he saw the kid's lips curl into a smirk that seem to be covering a shy smile.
There was something about him, something alluring that Gerard couldn't pinpoint exactly, but that made him think constantly about him, even when Gerard was supposed to be focused on his English class, no, especially when he was supposed to be focused on his English class and on what Mr. McCoy, his teacher, was trying to explain about some important essay that they were supposed to write and hand in the next week.
“Do you have any questions Mr. Way?” Mr. McCoy asked him with an arched eyebrow and an inquisitive look. He seemed to have noticed that Gerard's mind was drifting far away from his class.
“No,” Gerard's eyes widened and he shook his head, nervously. Some of the kids that were sitting around him turned to look at him, some of them frowning, the others smirking, and Gerard shoved his face on his notebook, suddenly feeling self-conscious before the curious glimpses from his classmates.
He knew that he was supposed to be paying attention and trying to learn something, but the memory of that kid staring at him in the hall was too distracting. That was something new for Gerard, he had never felt so attracted to a boy before and he didn't know how to handle it because he was aware of that his school, his neighborhood and a big part of the world could not be considered as friendly places for same sex attraction. That thought made Gerard sigh harshly.
It was the last period, so he tried to restrain himself from thinking about this kid whose name he didn't even know and to concentrate on what his English teacher was trying to explain.
Half an hour later, Gerard was already on the sidewalk waiting for Mikey, his little brother, to come out. They usually left the school together unless one of them had something else to do, so when he saw Mikey trotting towards him, Gerard started to walk to his car.
“Mikey!” they heard a voice behind them.
The younger brother turned back first. “Frank,” he said.
Gerard stopped to halt and turned as he heard the voice saying: “You forgot this”. His eyes widened when he saw the punky boy from that morning, handing his brother some copies of musical scores.
“Oh, thanks,” Mikey said and as soon as he took the sheets, Frank's eyes went up and met Gerard's. The older boy felt his heart skip a beat.
“I'll see you on Monday,” Frank said, smiling at Mikey and then turned his gaze back to Gerard who was still staring at him, startled.
“Yeah, bye,” Mikey replied and then Frank turned around and crossed the street.
“Who's that?” Gerard finally asked while they were waiting in the car for a red light to change.
“Who?” Mikey said quietly, he was distracted looking at some billboard by the side window. The light turned green and Gerard kept driving.
“That kid that talked to you outside the school,” he clarified.
“Um, that's Frank, we're together in a few classes”.
A short, quiet “Oh” was Gerard's response. He wanted to know more about this boy, but he didn't want to seem too interested, so he refrained from keep asking and waited for Mikey to keep talking.
Mikey seemed to notice that and continued. “He's cool, actually. He plays guitar and he lent me some music sheets,” Mikey pushed his glasses up with his finger and turned to look at Gerard. “He wants us to practice together and I told him that we can play in our garage. I have to ask mom and dad first, but if it turns out well, maybe we can start a band, you know?”
“That's pretty cool, Mikey,” Gerard nodded and grinned, he was a little surprised and excited about learning that this kid named Frank was a friend of his brother's and now he was going to come over their house frequently. “So... Does he live far away from here?” Gerard asked after a moment.
“I don't think so,” Mikey said, “He told me that he used to attend to a catholic school and he hated it. They forced him to wear lame uniforms, a specific hair cut and to pray, so he convinced his mom to let him attend to a public school by telling her that it was so much closer, that she wouldn't have to drive him there every day and stuff”.
“Mm,” Gerard nodded and pretended to be focused on the road and the whole driving task. “He seems interesting,” he commented after a few minutes of silence.
“And you seem pretty interested,” Mikey replied with a smirk, teasing his brother.
“No,” Gerard frowned and shook his head, “It's just that, um...” he squirmed and felt himself beginning to blush. “He's your new friend and...”
“And you're curious,” Mikey retorted mischievously.
“Right,” Gerard sighed and turned his eyes back to the road.