Chapter Text
What is the meaning of life? Does eternity really exist if we haven't fully lived through it? How do we know that eternity means forever when it could just mean a day? What if we all live through the same day each day but overnight our memories erase and, through coping with this, we decide upon other fake memories, some pleasant and others dreadful, to fill in the gaps to prolong eternity and give ourselves false hope?
As Frank crinkled his nose while immersed in his thoughts, he tapped his pen on the library table's wooden desk along with the song in his headphones. Then, as a moment of realisation and fear washed over him, he pulled himself out of his head and sighed. This was his third existential crisis this week and he was beginning to believe this wasn't normal.
But perhaps it was just procrastination as he had an essay due the next week that remained untouched for the better of a month, which he should probably get started on as it was very important for his college English course. Yeah, it must just be stalling. Although that was the easy solution he chose to avoid dealing with his inner thoughts. But what good comes out of this? His performance in this essay would have no impact on his life in the next five years—or heck, even the next month—or even better, the second after he submits it.
He was doing it again. Frank rolled his eyes, dropped his pen onto his notebook and arose from his chair. He used to remember when libraries had comfortable chairs. Back when he was in high school, he'd come to a library on the West side of town that had chairs so comfortable he'd stay seated on them for hours, even though most of that time was spent doodling little cartoon characters between the margins of his book and counting how many people entered and exited through the doors. Good times—extremely unproductive, but good times.
After gathering his belongings into his backpack, he wandered around the library, hearing the gentle murmurs of conversation humming from each corner of the library and the occasional giggle from a fresh couple or a group of friends. It was welcoming but it made Frank miss his friends. Nevertheless, he focused on directing his thoughts from existential topics and concentrated on the large collection of fiction that stood in front of him on a wooden shelf that rose almost to the ceiling. He'd loved books for as long as he could remember. Ever since he was able to read words, he could always be found holding a book—whether it be Harry Potter or a book he'd found in his house about some niche topic like the diet of whales. Books. Always books. Sometimes even too many.
Frank picked out a book with a visually pleasing cover and read through the blurb. Something about supernatural creatures which was his favourite to read about. He'll be borrowing this one.
Upon hearing the doors of the library swing open and footsteps glide into the room, Frank glanced up from the book intently. Every sound, even the slightest squeak of a chair or a cough would grab his attention like a child snatching lollies from a lolly jar when their parents weren't looking. Although those other situations were boring, this one was far from it. This man that he'd seen enter the library was as if the words 'intriguing', 'interesting' and 'mysterious' merged to create a person. Frank wasn't so sure what fascinated him so much because this man appeared to be normal, just like anyone else he'd seen that day. But there was something strange about him.
Clothing.
It was a warm day—actually, it was a hot day. The middle of August in New York wasn't exactly what you'd call cold. Everyone wore short-sleeved shirts and shorts, with not a single person wearing an article of clothing that extended to their wrists or ankles, and especially not any accessories like gloves—except the man who'd entered the library.
Despite the layers of clothing consisting of a cream turtle-neck sweater, a black trench coat, pants, a pair of leather gloves and some Doc Martens, the stranger moved swiftly throughout the library without any obvious discomfort from overheating and situated himself on a desk facing a window.
Blinking a few times, Frank grew self-conscious at his pointless staring and drove his attention back to the book in his hands. But after reading halfway through the first page, he found his eyes lured to the stranger again, who had now taken out a copy of 'The Catcher In The Rye' and placed it on the table beside a notebook and a pen.
Even though Frank knew that that book was extremely famous and even a part of the literary canon, it still intrigued him that the stranger was reading his favourite book. Of course, it wouldn't be like Frank not to say something or just point out how much of an ironic phony Holden Caulfield was, so he approached the stranger.
When Frank was a few feet away from him, he tensed up slightly and turned around, making direct eye contact with Frank through his round glasses with an innocent yet nervous look on his face. There was no way he could've known Frank was behind him, so Frank just settled on the theory that he just might have a sort of sixth sense when you can tell if someone is looking at you without needing to turn around and find out.
"Hi," Frank greeted with a welcoming smile. "Catcher In The Rye?"
The stranger smiled softly and then picked up the book, briefly inspecting the dull front cover and then gazing up at Frank again. "Yeah. It's one of my favourites."
"I'm happy to hear. It's a great story," Frank pointed out, taking the empty seat beside the man. "My name's Frank." He offered his hand.
"Gerard." He shook Frank's hand with his gloved one, his emerald green eyes gazing thoughtfully at the stranger.
"Bit hot for gloves?" Frank smiled, a playful glint in his hazel brown eyes.
"Oh," Gerard stated, looking down at his hands and wiggling his fingers a little, "Yeah, I guess. I just like to wear them."
"Interesting." Frank looked at Gerard's opened notebook and saw a few dot points scribbled down, which he noticed related to the library. "What are you writing?"
"Observations. Writing them down helps me to understand my surroundings better," Gerard clarified with a smile as gentle as an ocean's breeze that accented his cheeks and crinkled his eyes slightly.
Frank noticed that whenever Gerard smiled, his entire face seemed to light up with a kind of warm sadness, like a bittersweet ending to a movie, except it was a facial expression—he couldn't quite put his finger on it, which frustrated him slightly. Despite the mellowness, the look also suggested contentment and fullness, as if Gerard had everything he ever wanted in life and was only living merely for the fun of it.
A slight blush appeared upon Gerard's pale cheeks as he glanced away briefly then back at Frank. "So...where'd you get that watch from?" Gerard asked, looking down at Frank's wrist, interested.
"My grandfather gave this to me. He said he used to wear it when he was my age and that he'd 'worn it out' so he decided to give it to me on my twenty-first birthday." Frank gaped down at his watch as he recalled the pleasant memories attached to it. "I think it's a Rolex Prince Ele...Ele-something, I think."
"Elegante?" Gerard finished with a thoughtful expression that then blended into a pleased smile. "I used to have one. That's kind of why I asked." He rested a hand on his black hair and brushed it back slightly.
Frank mirrored Gerard's grin. "Really? Sweet. That's really surprising since he told me they were rare and hard to find—especially now."
"Interesting. That's funny because I owned two. One for the week, and the other for the weekend. The one I wore during the weekend always used to stop, which made it seem like time was standing still. Because who doesn't want the weekend to last forever? But everyone used to wear them too, so it didn't make me look too unordinary. I wish I still had them, though. I've lost them over time." Gerard seemed regretful but quickly recovered with another smile.
"Wow..." Frank mused quietly, intrigued. "Having a conversation with you is like talking to an artefact."
Gerard laughed. "You're calling me old?"
"Wait, no!" Frank defended hastily, an embarrassed grin forming on his face. "I mean, you're an interesting guy."
"I appreciate that, Frank." Gerard rested a hand on Frank's shoulder and squeezed gently. "Would you like to get coffee with me?"
Frank nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that. When?"
"I was hoping for now. I can feel the energy slipping away from me as the day grows older." Gerard sighed and then gathered his belongings in his brown bag. "Can you still come?"
"Yes. Yes, of course. And, man, I totally get where you're coming from." Frank rolled his eyes skittishly as if directed to the universe for draining his energy too quickly.
"Great!" Gerard grinned ear-to-ear and hopped out of his seat. "Argh. I remember when these seats were comfortable."
Frank stared blankly at Gerard, wondering if he and Gerard shared the same train of thought. Uncanny, much. "Couldn't agree more," he stated, not going into depth about how he'd just had that same idea merely an hour earlier.
Following Gerard outside of the library, the warm and humid air hugged Frank, but also made him feel light-headed because of the intense air-conditioning in the library. That was one of the things he hated about leaving libraries in the Summer—the borderline whiplash he'd receive with the extremely contrasting temperatures. But Frank glanced over at Gerard and observed that he did not react at all to the heat. Perhaps some people could just handle extreme temperatures better than others.
While walking to a local cafe, Gerard removed his glasses and dragged his hand over his forehead with a sigh, keeping his eyes glued to the pavement beneath him. Then, he pulled out a black umbrella from his bag and opened it, shielding him from the Sun. When he noticed Frank looking, he explained, "I don't like the Sun, much. I get burnt pretty easily."
Frank smiled in response and then noticed that they had reached the cafe.
Gerard ordered a black coffee with no sugar and Frank ordered an iced mocha with ice cream. And it was strange as both of them gave each other weird looks at their taste in coffee. But that didn't stop them from both enjoying their choices.
"And that's when my professor noticed that he'd accidentally emailed the link to his Tumblr account instead of a study resource." Frank laughed and took a sip of his coffee.
"Oh my God, that is great," Gerard replied, grinning and closing his eyes in amusement. "I'll tell you one thing, if that happened to me, I would quit my job."
"He did quit his job," Frank added, letting out another chuckle which Gerard imitated.
"I love your stories. I'd never get tired of hearing them," Gerard complimented, bringing his cup of coffee to his lips and taking a sip. "Oh! Speaking of which, I have a proposal."
"What is it?" Frank asked.
"I have a little party to attend tomorrow night, and I'd love for you to join me." Gerard tilted his head and looked at Frank.
"How 'little' are we talking?" Frank questioned, wondering how a story about a college professor jerked Gerard's memory about a party.
"Well, not little at all, actually. A friend of mine is the CEO of a fashion chain, and they just successfully released their newest product which is doing very well. They're celebrating." Gerard nibbled on the inside of his lip for a second. "And, uh, I don't particularly like going to events like this alone. Can you make it?"
"I'd love to go," Frank accepted with a solemn nod. "Does this count as a date?"
Gerard smirked. "If the party counts as a date, then so does this."
"I like dates, then," Frank clarified, finishing the last bit of his mocha.
"I guess I'll see you then." Gerard pulled out a pen from his pocket and wrote his phone number on a napkin. "I'll order a cab for you an hour before the party. I want to get there a little earlier if that's okay. Just text me your address." He slid the napkin to Frank.
Frank looked at the little heart beneath Gerard's phone number and felt his heart go warm and fuzzy. "Sounds awesome." He stood up from his chair and so did Gerard. "Thank you for the invite. I'll see you then."
"Nice to meet you, Frank. Have a great day," Gerard wished and then looked at Frank as if he was waiting for him to do something. After that moment of awkwardness, Gerard smiled and then pulled Frank into a hug.
Then they parted ways.