Chapter Text
Listening to the quiet pants of his dog Lucy, Frank walked along the pavements that made up the usual route he took every afternoon. He'd just stepped onto a bridge that was built above a huge, deep body of water and he was walking along it with his dog. He'd left his earphones at home, which he was kind of upset about since he loved to listen to music. Walks with his dog just weren't the same without it. Now he was only stuck listening to his thoughts and background noise.
"Lucy, what's wrong, girl?" Frank sighed, dropping to one knee and patting his dog's head. He noticed her lead was tangled in her legs, so he untangled it for her. "Is that better, sweetie?" Frank asked in a cute voice, knowing fully well his dog wasn't going to answer him. He didn't care though, just Lucy being around would always bring him out of a slump. She panted and continued walking in response. "I'll take that as a yes."
Lucy meant a lot to Frank. His mother had given Lucy to him just before she died. To Frank, it was a reminder of his mother's love for him. It's too bad he would never see her again. He really did miss his mother, especially since she was the only person who had been there for him all his life. Frank never got to meet his father, so that made him closer to his mother. He'd never really made any friends at school or work, either. He certainly was lonely, no doubt about it.
Lost in his thoughts, Lucy brought him back into reality when he felt her tugging harder on the lead. "What's wrong, girl?" he sighed, gripping tighter onto the lead to make sure he doesn't let go.
Frank noticed Lucy was staring at a stranger who was sitting on the bridge. He had noticed the stranger often. Almost every time Frank came here, he was there. It was almost like he lived on that one small spot on the side of the bridge. This stranger had messy black hair and always wore a grey hoodie and blue jeans. Frank wondered if he even owned any other clothes.
Frank's phone buzzed in his pocket, scaring him. He gasped but accidentally let go of Lucy's lead, causing her to run off. "Shit! Lucy, come back here, girl!" he said quickly, bursting into a sprint, trying to catch his dog.
Lucy seemed to think this was some kind of chasing game, which didn't benefit Frank. He watched as his dog continued running from him, but he didn't stop running. He couldn't lose Lucy, he needed her to keep him company. She was all that he had left.
The stranger sitting at the bridge heard the commotion and turned around, staring at Lucy. He stood up and walked in front of the dog's path, catching her. Picking Lucy up in his arms, he cuddled her and patted her head. He grabbed the leash and held it out for Frank who had just arrived.
Frank caught his breath for a moment, pressing his palms to his knees and bending over. "Thanks, man," he puffed, still out of breath.
"You're supposed to hold onto this so your dog doesn't run away," he said, a small grin on his face, watching Frank take the leash.
Frank laughed. "Yeah, I just got distracted. Thanks for catching her." Frank hugged Lucy, embracing her warmly as if they had been separated for ten years.
"No problem," he mumbled, walking back to his spot on the bridge.
Frank watched as he walked away. He didn't even catch his name. Frank briefly glanced down at his wristwatch and decided he had enough time to talk to the stranger before sunset. He found himself walking back to the stranger sitting on the bridge.
"Hey," Frank greeted, sitting next to the stranger, embracing Lucy so she wouldn't run away again.
The stranger looked at Frank with a somewhat surprised look on his pale face. "Oh, hi," he said quietly, an uncertain tone in his voice.
"My name's Frank, by the way," Frank introduced himself with a kind voice, sticking out his outstretched palm for the man to shake.
The stranger stared at Frank's hand for a moment before shaking it. His grip was very loose, almost like he didn't want to shake his hand. "Nice to meet you," he said quietly, pulling his hand back and rubbing it against his other.
Frank stared at the stranger who had his hands pressed together awkwardly as if he had something gross on his hands and he was trying to get it off. "My hands are clean," Frank awkwardly said.
"Oh," the stranger stalled, noticing what he was doing with his hands, "it's not that, I just don't like people touching me. I hope I didn't offend you." He looked guilty even saying that.
"Oh, that's okay. And I'm sorry, I didn't know," Frank apologised. "So, what's your name?"
"Why do you want to know my name?" he asked, looking at Frank uncertainly.
"Uh..." Frank hesitated, not expecting him to ask, "I don't know, you just tell people your name to introduce yourself. I mean, I introduced myself, so I thought-"
"Gerard. My name's Gerard."
Frank's face softened. "Nice to meet you, Gerard. I walk on this bridge every afternoon with Lucy," Frank said, patting his dog's head, "I always see you sitting here."
"Yeah, I noticed. You always talk to your dog like she's gonna respond to you," he laughed softly. "Yeah, I like sitting here. It's relaxing and overlooks the water. It's a good place to think, y'know?"
"Yeah, it is a nice spot," Frank agreed. "Would you like to hold Lucy?" he asked, holding onto Lucy tighter since she was becoming restless.
Gerard's face seemed to light up as if he was wishing Frank would offer. "Sure, I'd love to!" He extended his arms.
Frank handed Lucy into Gerard's arms, and he immediately embraced her. He looked so happy with Lucy in his lap. "Lucy loves you so much!" Frank exclaimed, laughing.
"She's so cute," Gerard cooed, petting her head. "I love animals..."
"I noticed you're always out here alone. Do you have any friends?" Frank asked, changing the subject.
"No, not really. I'm kind of like a loner. Why do you ask?" Gerard responded, tilting his head.
"I just wanted to know if we could be friends. I feel like we'd get along pretty well." Frank shrugged and smiled. "I mean, we already have a love for dogs in common."
"Yeah, I guess we do...Of course, we can be friends." Gerard smiled slightly. It was all Frank had ever seen Gerard smile. His smile never reached his eyes and Frank had a sad suspicion it was fake. "It's getting late. Are you okay to go home?" he said, noticing the sun was beginning to set.
"Oh, yeah, I'll be fine. I don't live too far from here." Frank planned on standing up and leaving, but he didn't want to - he wanted to keep talking with Gerard. In all honesty, he was the first friend he had had in a very long time. "If it gets too late, I'll just call my girlfriend to come and get me."
"You have a girlfriend?" Gerard raised his eyebrows. Frank couldn't tell if he was interested or sceptical.
"Yeah...she's great. We live together in an apartment." Frank nodded, avoiding Gerard's eyes.
"What's her name?" he asked.
"Uh...Lucy," Frank said keenly, a grin on his face.
"Her name is...Lucy?" Gerard laughed softly, glancing down at Lucy with a different look in his eyes. "Is there something you want to tell me?"
"Wait! No, her name is...Emma," Frank corrected, feeling embarrassed. "Not Lucy, I-I'm not dating my dog."
Gerard stared at Frank for a moment before grinning. "Just say you're gay."
"Wh- How did you know?" Frank said, shocked.
Gerard laughed softly. "Just a guess. I have a hunch for those sorts of things. I can just tell."
"Do you talk from experience?" Frank laughed.
Gerard looked down with a slight smile on his face, and he nodded. "Yeah, I like guys too. Please don't tell anyone."
Frank noticed Gerard looking guilty for even feeling an attraction to men, and his request for Frank not to tell anyone just confirmed it. "It's fine, man." A comforting smile found its way onto Frank's face. He went to rest a hand on his shoulder, but he remembered what Gerard said about not liking people touching him so he didn't touch him.
Gerard stared at Frank's hand, watching him pull it back into his lap, with an almost fearful look on his face.
"I think I'm going to go back home now. It was nice to meet you, Gerard," Frank said, standing up from his spot, clutching onto Lucy's leash.
"Nice to meet you too, Frank." Gerard smiled slightly, but he looked like he was holding back tears. "Will we ever see each other again?"
"Of course!" Frank grinned. "I'll come 'round here tomorrow."
"You promise?" Gerard turned to stare at Frank.
"Of course, I promise." Frank smiled warmly at Gerard, already looking forward to seeing him again tomorrow.
Gerard smiled. "Sure. I'll be here." He turned back around and continued staring at the huge drop and the river below the bridge he was sitting near.
Frank started heading back home, with Lucy's leash clutched in his hands tightly. All he could hear was his footsteps gently tapping against the sidewalk, the gentle pants coming from his dog, and the whirling wind of the open space. It was getting very cold, so Frank threw his hoodie over his head and started walking more quicker. The weather looked angry; there would be a storm coming soon. Luckily, he was almost at his apartment.
Frank entered the building and took the stairs up to his apartment. Upon entering, he was greeted with a clash of thunder, making the windows rattle slightly. Frank didn't like thunder very much; it gave him anxiety. He closed the front door of his apartment and took Lucy's leash off.
"Shh!" he hissed at Lucy when she started barking. He dropped to one knee and petted her head. "Are you hungry, baby?" He gave Lucy's head one last pat and stood up to fetch Lucy some dinner. "You gotta keep quiet. There's no dogs allowed in here, remember?" He dropped to one knee again and began emptying a meaty sachet of dog food into Lucy's food bowl. "There ya go, girl."
Just as Frank stood up, rain began bucketing down. He watched as huge droplets of rain tapped against his window. He thought about Gerard. Surely he would've gone home by now, right?
Frank collapsed to his couch and let out a sigh. Today had been such a long day for him. The truth was, he was struggling. He had worked two jobs today and had to go to night school in a couple of hours. He'd always struggled at school because he wasn't very smart, but he needed his high school diploma so he could get a full-time job in a real profession. Frank's life was packed with tasks he needed to complete in order to keep his mind anxiety-free. It was too much for him, no doubt about it. At that moment, he wished he could be like Gerard, not a care in the world, with all the free time he wanted.
Frank decided to take a short nap before he headed off to night school.