Chapter Text
August 12th
**Frank's POV**
I was folding my last shirt and carefully placing it into my old gray suitcase, which I only ever used when I visited my grandmother. Letting out a sigh, I sat on my empty bed in my now barren room. College—the place most older teens either dread or dream of attending. It’s where they go to further their careers and make something of themselves. And that’s exactly what I was going to do. Frank Anthony Iero was going to college—a nice school a few hours north in New Jersey, almost bordering the thriving city of New York. My original plan was to join a band and tour the world, but my mom wasn’t too happy about that. So, I chose the second-best thing: a music major, along with a class or two on writing to help improve my lyrics. But that’s really not what matters! (Just to clarify, I don’t think Frank's real-life lyricism is bad; I’m just joking.)
I heard a light knock at my door, and in walked my mom. Honestly, I think I feel worse about leaving her than I do about leaving my friends. I mean hell she’s been there for me my whole life. From when my biggest problem was losing my toy cars, to now where I have barely even a concept of who I want to be in life.
“Well, how’s the packing going, sweetie?” She asked with that comforting and warm smile of hers.
I let out a breath I didn’t quite realize I had been holding in. “Good, I’m pretty much ready to go, if you couldn’t tell.” She giggled at my sarcastic remark. She walked in the room further, and over to where I was sitting. Her footsteps echoed through the Barron room.
“How are you feeling?” I shrugged. Truth is, I really don’t know how I’m feeling about this. Part of me is scared about what’s going to happen, while another part of me is beyond excited about what’s going to happen. “Frankie?” She rubbed my shoulder.
“Oh um…”
“It’s alright if you don’t know. I felt the same way when I was your age” I looked up at my mom and smiled. I will definitely be missing her the most. “Come on” She pulled me up off the bed, “let’s get this stuff into your car”
We both started grabbing boxes and carrying them out of the trunk of my car. It took us a bit considering we’re only two people, and I had a decent amount of stuff to take with me. It’s kind of strange, seeing my whole life has just been packed into a couple of boxes and put into a car.
“Well, looks like that’s everything,” My mom said, as we both took a minute to catch our breath. Everything felt like it was going so fast, feels like only yesterday I was picking electives for my 8th-grade year.
“Yeah, I guess it is…” I stared down at my beat-up shoes. It can’t be time to go yet.
“Alright get out of here now, can’t stand you punkin’ it up in here much more, kid” my mom laughed, shoving me jokingly. I couldn’t help but laugh with her. She always manages to put a smile on my face.
“Okay, okay, I’m leaving!” I took a few steps towards the car before I was pulled backwards and into one of the most comforting things in the world, a hug from my mom. It scares me how tightly she can hold on, she could very easily take out a body-builder with a grip like that. “M-Mom, I can’t-”
“-Can’t breathe, I know, but I can’t just let my baby leave me here!” She whined, loosening her grip, but still holding me in her arms.
“It’s okay Mom…” I said, burying my face into her shoulder, taking one last smell of that floral, yet musky perfume she always wears. I’ll miss that smell.
“I love you so much Frankie, you’re going to do great” As she let go of me the cool fall air kissed my cheek. You don’t realize how warm something is until it’s no longer wrapped around you, keeping you safe.
“I love you too Mom” She smiled again, I could see the tears forming in her eyes. We walked to the car, her arm around me. When we got to the door, she opened it for me and motioned for me to get in. As I sat down in the driver's seat, all I could think about was if this was really the right choice.
“You can call me anytime, okay?” She slowly closed the car door.
“Yes Mom”
“Alright Frankie, give 'em’ hell kid.” She gave me a smirk through the window and took a few steps back towards the house. A way of saying it was my time to leave. I took a deep breath and turned the keys, the loud hum of the car's engine filled my ears. Reluctantly, I let go of the brakes and began to pull out of the driveway. Seeing my mom standing there, all alone, a few tears running down her cheeks, hurt me more than anything has in a long time.
“Bye, mom…” I whispered under my breath, holding back tears of my own. Soon the home I had spent my whole life in, was long behind me, and what lay ahead was full of fear, worry, and dare I say it…regret.
-ARRIVING AT THE SCHOOL-
As the final hour of the car ride came to an end, I found myself in an unfamiliar town, on an unfamiliar campus, full of unfamiliar faces. I drove past a few dorm buildings before making it to the main building where freshmen orientation was taking place. I pulled into the parking lot, which seemed to be filling up quickly, but luckily I managed to find a spot not too far from the entrance of the building.
As I parked my car, a feeling of uneasiness washed over me. Pushing the feeling away, I got out of the car and headed towards the main auditorium, where many other students were heading.
As I walked in, the buzzing sound of people chattering filled my ears. Cheerleaders stood by the entrance as we walked in, waving their pom-poms and giving everyone who walked in (especially the guys) sweet, welcoming smiles. I found a seat towards the back of the auditorium, away from most of the other students. This feels like my first day of high school all over again, no friends, no clue what’s happening, and no idea where to go.
Soon the principal and administrators walked on stage and began giving speeches, about the school, classes, and the layout of the campus. I’m quite thankful for the information on the layout of this place, it’s fucking huge. The presentation didn’t last very long, fifteen minutes at most.
We were told to head to the student commons when we got the chance so we could get our dorm assignments. I wasn’t very excited about dorming with a stranger, I mean, they could end up being a total weirdo. But I guess they could also end up being pretty cool, right?
The student commons happened to be almost right next to the auditorium, the two were separated by about a 5-minute walk. Figuring that it would be best to get it out of the way, I made my way to the student commons. The more time I have to meet my roommate and unpack, the better. I’d like to be decently prepared for tomorrow.
“Last name?” The lady at the desk asked me, not even looking up from her computer.
“Iero” I replied.
“Frank Iero, majoring in music, with a minor in writing?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Alright, you’ll be in room 235, floor 3” She looked up from her computer and handed me a key with a tag reading ‘R-235 F-3, MENS’.
“Thank you” I left the student commons, key in pocket, and headed back to my car. It took a bit to get out of the parking lot, there were so many people coming and going. It was making me worry a bit, all the people. It seems like a lot. I know it’s a big campus but still.
The dorm building was a bit further away than I expected. (only about five minutes, but still). Another thing that was a bit unexpected was the lack of an elevator. Lucky me, I’ll get to climb 3 flights of stairs every day now, oh joy, oh joy.
After lugging both myself and my luggage up these scarily steep stairs, I was finally at the door to my new home for the year. I set down the heavy stack of boxes and pulled the dorm key out of my pocket, making sure I was at the correct room; and I was. I pushed the key in and turned it, I pushed open the door, and was met with my new roommate.
He had short black hair and messy eyeliner. He was frantically unpacking while listening to a terrible excuse for club music with an emotional twist. I couldn’t help but stare, I mean, it was quite the scene to be witness to. Suddenly my stare was matched with that of the frantic boy’s. He shut the music off instantly.
“Hey! You must be my roommate! My name’s Pete I’m majoring in psych, what’s your name? What are you majoring in?” I took a breath. This Pete guy sure can talk.
“Uh, I’m Frank, I’m majoring in music” I replied shuffling my feet awkwardly.
“Woah, dude, that’s sick! Here, I'll get out of your way so you can unpack” He smiled at me and moved his pile of lord knows what and himself over to his bed. I returned the smile and began unpacking my things.
The dorm was quite small, not terrible but definitely…cozy, you could say. To my pleasure, unpacking did not take nearly as long as packing did. I was almost done unpacking the last of my clothes when Pete got up and put on his shoes.
“Hey I’m gonna go hang with my bros, I’ll see you later man, it was really nice to meet you” Pete waved at me and smiled again as we walked out of the door, he was out pretty quickly so I didn’t get the chance to reply.
After finally finishing unpacking, I flopped onto my bed, breathing a sigh of relief. Pete was still out, so it was just me, and my thoughts. It’s finally starting to set in, that this is it, I’m really here now. I don’t have a clue how tomorrow will go, anything could happen, literally anything.
I’m glad that my roommate ended up being pretty normal, I mean don’t get me wrong, Pete is most definitely a little different from your average dude, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. I’m curious, though, why was he so frantic to unpack? He seemed very frantic in general, the fast-talking, his very sudden, and quick movements. Maybe it’s just cause of the whole college thing, it’s a lot.
Yawning, I decided to give up on this whole melodramatic, over-thinking thing, and take a fat nap. All the driving, packing, and unpacking took it out of me. I kicked off my shoes, not caring where they landed, and almost immediately passed out.
-A FEW HOURS LATER-
When I looked at the clock on my bedside table, the time read 6:00 pm. “Damn, didn’t mean to sleep that long” I sat up and looked around the room, Pete seemed to still be out. I figured that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get up and walk around campus a bit. I could find out where my classes are at, and maybe even find something to eat. Mom made me breakfast this morning, but lunch had completely slipped my mind cause of all this college shit. No wonder I felt so drained.
Slipping on my shoes, I grabbed my dorm key, headphones, and phone. I turned on some music and made my way out of my dorm, and outside. Going down the three flights of stairs is a hell of a lot easier than going up them, that’s for sure.
When I stepped outside, my face was met with the cool, yet comforting, Fall breeze. Fall will always be my favorite season, there’s just something about it, you know? To both my surprise and joy, there weren’t many other people walking around campus. I’m not anti-social or anything, I just am not particularly interested in talking to anyone at the moment. All this college shit is a lot.
While walking, I noticed a small building between the library and the cafeteria, I couldn’t quite make out the words on the building from a distance. When I got closer, I realized that it was a coffee shop. It was closed at the moment, so no coffee now, but I’ll have to stop by sometime soon when they’re open.
Besides the cafeteria, there were a few other restaurants nearby, most of them being cheap, fast-food places, but there were one or two ‘nicer’ looking restaurants as well. On my way into town, I took note of a few bars nearby as well, I’m not twenty-one yet, but it’s college, so I might as well know where they’re at.
Eventually, I got bored with walking around aimlessly and decided to head back to my dorm. I did stop by a convenience store before, though. I was hungry, and I mean like really fucking hungry. Could eat a whole field of cows, and considering I don’t eat meat, that’s saying something.
The door made a little ding, as I walked in. I walked around for a bit before deciding to get two slices of cheese pizza, and a couple of diet cokes. Not all the diet cokes are for tonight, but I figured why not grab a few while I’m here? I was about to head to the counter to pay before I decided to grab an extra slice of pizza, just in case Pete wanted one.
After making my purchase, I headed back to the dorm. Bag in one hand and dorm key in the other, I unlocked the door and saw that Pete had returned and was now lying on his bed typing away on his computer.
Pete looked up from his computer upon my entrance, “Hey!” He waved excitedly. I smiled back at him.
“I got some pizza from the convenience store, did you want any?” I asked, getting the pizza out of the plastic bag.
“Woah, yes, please! Thanks, dude!” Pete got up from his bed and over to my desk, where I had the pizza boxes sitting. I kid you not, the second this guy took the slice of pizza from me, it was gone.
“Damn dude, did your bros not feed you?” I asked, chuckling slightly.
“Oh no, there was food, I just was having so much talking to them that I kinda forgot” he wiped the sauce from the corner of his mouth and smiled to himself.
“Oh makes sense man, I would’ve gotten you more if I knew, here, take my second slice” I offered, holding out the extra slice of pizza.
“No, that’s yours, man, keep it, I feel fine now” Pete smiled and walked back over to his bed and started back up with his typing. I shrugged it off and ate both slices of pizza. And let me tell you, that shit was delectable. I wiped my face, and put my stuff down on my nightstand.
“So, Franklin, what made you decide to do music?” Pete asked, typing away on what seemed to be a… Blog?
“My names' not Franklin, it's just Frank,” I replied, pulling his shoes off before sitting on my bed, sitting crisscrossed facing Pete.
“I know, I know, just thought we'd give each other silly nicknames since we're gonna become total BFFs,” he says, shutting his laptop to face me with a grin. Pete is like a 7th-grade girl trapped in the body of an eighteen-year-old boy. I grin at the name.“That name makes me feel like my granddad,”
“Frankie then?” I frown at the name.
“Only my mom can call me that…” I miss her so much.
Pete seemed to sense the change in mood and backed off, “Okay well back to what I was saying, why ya taking music?” I took a second to think about it before speaking in a more laid-back but serious tone,
“Ever since I was a kid, I had this… passion for the art of music. I grew up in a split family where every weekend I'd be at my dad's and weekdays with, well, my mom.” I leaned back against the wall. “And those weekends with my dad he’d play these late-night shows at the pub, he was this amazing Jazz drummer.” I smiled at the fond memory. “Every single time he’d let me join him, I just knew I had to do this when I grew up.” I took a look-up at Pete and noticed that he looked quite interested in what I was saying, so I continued to talk. “At ten, I got my very first guitar and one of those kinda crappy beginner songbooks, y’know? And there I was, staying up all night practicing, driving my mother INSANE!” I laughed at the memory softly, “I'm seeming to miss those nights more recently…”
“Yeah, It’s so much harder than I thought it’d be away from my family…” Pete says getting my attention. “We didn’t always get along the best but we sure as hell loved each other” Pete says softly reminiscing his past “I wasn’t the greatest kid, smoked a bit and hell I drank more than my mama did. Even though it wasn’t a lot,” He laughs out a bit.
“She was always so worried about me, I really should’ve cared more…” His tone shifted to a more depressed one, “We're fine nowish!?” He reassures. “I just wished I could’ve done a bit better.” I frown at what he says, feeling sorry for the guy.
“Well, you have a few months until break?” Pete looks up at me, confused about the relevance, “I'm just trying to say that you have until then to try and right yourself in her eyes. Or at least be safer about it, moms do too much stressing as it is.”
Pete nods, “Yeah… I guess, you're right. I’ll try and tame it down for her, I don’t know if I want to fully stop, though, ‘cause it can be pretty fun.” Pete says, twisting his fingers.
“Yeah, I guess. Never really been the kinda guy to do all the jazz.” I say comedically doing jazz hands, getting a giggle from Pete. “Just slight drinking, nothing enough to frazzle my mom. Trying to wait til I’m of age til the partying starts.”
Pete laughs at that, “Well, I’ve heard college is the place to be for parties. Trying to find a few currently by checking the school's blog.” He says, gesturing at his closed laptop resting on his pillow, I nod. “Well, I think your whole thing with guitar is super cool, one of my friends, Joe, plays guitar too, and he’s so cool. We’re actually in a band together!” Pete exclaims excitedly.
“Really? That’s sick dude!” Honestly doesn’t surprise me much, with all his energy it would feel like a crime that Pete isn’t in a band.
“Yeah! We do mostly pop-punk stuff, I play bass!” The smile on his face grew bigger, and even more genuine, with each word he spoke about his band.
“Do you guys have a name yet?”
“Eh, we’re still working on that part…but I’m sure we’ll come up with something soon!” He assured. “You should come watch us play sometime!” Pete suggests, unintentionally putting a bit of pressure to say yes.
“I’d love to, live music is one of my favorite things” Pete gave a small cheer before grabbing his computer off his pillow and opening it up again. I got up and dug around in my drawers for some pajama pants. Pete seemed pretty caught up with his blog, so I just faced away from him and changed quickly as too not flash him or something. After changing, I laid down on my bed. Staring at the ceiling, many thoughts filled my head, about so many different things.
This is the most over-thinking I’ve done in my life, and it’s fucking exhausting. Before I could even consider doing anything else, I was out.