"How do we keep getting into these situations?" you huffed quietly, crouching behind a shrub to try and avoid the beam of light threatening to expose you and Frank.

"Eleven years of friendship and I still don't know," he replied, scooting closer to you.

"Yeah, well, since this is the – what, third? – time that we're hiding from the police in the last two months, I'm kind of regretting ever becoming your friend."

Frank clutched his chest and let out a gasp in mock offence. "Oh please, you practically begged me to be your friend in kindergarten."

Your head immediately snapped towards Frank as you frowned at him. "I'm not sure what parallel universe you're living in, Iero, but you're the one who's been obsessed with me from day one."

"Bitch, please," he sassed "I don't obsess over any girls. Never have and never will."

"Oh, realllly?" you raised your eyebrows at him. "Let's take a trip down memory lane, shall we?"

~11 years earlier~

Stepping out of the sanctuary that was your parent's car, you stood still as a statue on the sidewalk, toying with your hands nervously. Your mother knelt down in front of you so that she was level with your wide eyes. Smoothing out the creases on your clothing, she smiled at you, eyes crinkling and full of love as she did so.

"Okay, sweetie, are you ready for your first day of kindergarten?"

You shook your head urgently, eyes becoming wide with fear once again. Your mom brought you closer to her as she planted an affectionate kiss to your forehead.

"It'll be fine, baby. I'll be back to get you before you know it."

"But-but what if I don't make any friends?" you asked as you kicked at the loose paving of the sidewalk with your foot, lip quivering.

"I'm sure you'll make tons of friends sweetie. Just remember to be friendly and kind to everyone and everything will be okay. And then when I pick you up a little later, we can go for ice cream. How does that sound?"

You nodded your head enthusiastically, your mother letting out a light laugh.

"Alright then, sweetie," she said, gathering your tiny hand in her much bigger one, "Let's go."

~

Standing up and brushing the excess sand from your skirt, you took a step back and smiled to yourself, proud of the magnificent castle you had just made.

Your pride was short-lived, however, because almost as quick as lightning, it came toppling down. You mouth fell open as you saw your masterpiece crumble, the sound of a boy giggling eliciting anger in you. Balling your hands into fists, you turned towards the sound of giggling, preparing to yell at the very rude person who had knocked down your sand castle. When you looked at the green-eyed boy, he began to giggle again and before you could open your mouth to talk, he sprinted away, leather jacket flapping in the wind.

Over the course of the next few weeks, the green-eyed boy continued to do anything he could to annoy you. He would pull on your hair, spill paint over your artwork, steal your blanket during naptime, throw balls at you on the playground and anything else he could think of to bring misery to your life.

You'd made friends with most of the other kids in your class and they were all perfectly nice to you.

Except this boy.

Eventually, you'd had enough of the bullying and proceeded to tell your mom about the "boy with the green eyes who wouldn't stop being mean" (you never bothered to learn his name. You thought you'd heard one of his friends calling him 'Frank', but you weren't sure.) Your mom spoke to the teacher about it and everything was fine for the next few days.

But your peace was short-lived.

You were sitting cross-legged on the play mat, quietly playing dress-up with a couple of dolls when someone's black sneakers appeared in your line of sight. Looking up, you realised that it was the boy who was being mean to you. You frowned slightly at him, remembering all the times he'd been rude to you. He, on the other hand, smiled broadly at you.

"Hi, I'm Frankie," he said while waving at you enthusiastically, the sleeves of his oversized leather jacket swallowing his tiny hands. "And you're (Y/N). I think that's a really pretty name."

You couldn't help but blush a little at his words.

Even though you didn't like him.

Or think he was cute.

Not at all.

"My mom said that the teacher told her that you said that I've been being mean to you, and that I have to apologise," he said matter-of-factly. "So, I'm sorry I was mean to you and hurt your feelings. But I didn't mean to," he continued, green-eyes wide, "I just thought it was funny. But I really wanna be your friend; you make the coolest sand castles."

"S'okay," you shrugged shyly. "I just wish that you hadn't destroyed all my artwork," you pouted.

"Oh," his smile faded, replaced with a look of regret. "Well, we can paint something even better, together!" he jumped up excitedly.

"Sure," you smiled, jumping up too.

"Yay! Let's go!"

Frank grabbed your hand and the two of you ran over to the art station.

~Present Day~

"You flirted with me since the beginning, Iero."

"I wasn't flirting!"

"Shh, keep your voice down, idiot," you whisper-shouted at the raven-haired boy. But it was to no avail, since the police officers' voices and footsteps drew nearer, and before you could even attempt to make a run for it, you and Frank were both staring into the bright light of two flashlights.

"Are you two aware that you're trespassing on private property?" one of the officers questioned in a voice that practically screamed 'I'm so sick of this bullshit'.

You remained silent while Frank let out a sigh of defeat.

"And you do know that I'll have to take you in and call your parents?"

This caused you to let out a very loud groan, prompting Frank to jump to your defense.

"Look, officer," Frank stood up and raised his hands, "this is all my fault. It was my idea to come here. She's innocent."

"I'm taking you to the precinct so you can get home safely; I'm not arresting you. There's no need to play hero, boy," the officer replied, gesturing to you to stand up, which you did.

"Sorry, (Y/N)," Frank shot you an apologetic grin. "I tried."

"Just know that when my parents kill me – which they will – I'm coming back to haunt your dumb ass."

~

The potent stench of urine and alcohol wafted through your nostrils, causing you to scrunch up your nose in response before covering it with your jacket. Ten minutes had passed since you'd arrived at the precinct and you knew that your parents would be there to fetch you soon. Crossing one leg over the other, you huffed as you mentally prepared yourself for the shitstorm of lectures you would no doubt receive when you got home.

"I'm really sorry I got you into this, (Y/N/N). I'm such a jackass."

"Yes, yes you are," you turned to face him, his face etched with guilt. "But," you sighed, "You're also my best friend. And as much as I hate to admit it, our 'adventures' are the highlight of my life."

He smiled at you, your words filling him with warmth and delight. You smiled back at him before scooting closer so that you could rest your head on his shoulder.

"I'm still gonna come back to haunt you, though."

"Looking forward to it," he chuckled.

You sat with your head unmoved for a while before Frank cleared his throat, capturing your attention.

"So, uh," he started softly, "I know that there isn't anything I can do to stop the torture you have coming your way when you get home, but," he reached into the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a tiny silver box which he twirled around in his hands a bit. "It was supposed to be your birthday gift but since it's only a couple weeks away..." he handed the box to you, which you accepted.

Nervously undoing the tidy bow on top, you removed the lid; breath immediately taken away by the beauty of what was inside the box.

Frank watched you intensely as you studied the necklace, trying to gauge your reaction.

It was clearly vintage; a gold, curbed chain with a ruby heart embraced by angel wings as the centrepiece.

"Frankie..." you whispered in awe. "It's magnificent."

"You like it?" he asked, still unsure about your feelings towards it.

"Like it? I love it," you gushed. Turning it over, you saw a date engraved on the back.

You ran your fingers over the grooves, letting out a small gasp. "Is this th-"

"The date we became friends."

"How did you even remember that?" you questioned, laughing in disbelief.

"It was an important day in my life," Frank shrugged.

"I don't even know what to say," you shook you head, examining the necklace again. "Do I have to put it on myself?" You held it up.

"Nah, I could do that," he smiled, taking the necklace from you before brushing your hair to one side so that he could fasten it at the back of your neck.

Sighing contently while your fingers played with the charm around your neck, you leaned over and placed a kiss to his cheek.

"Seriously, Frank, thank you so much. This is the best gift I've ever gotten."

"Anything for the girl I've been obsessed with since kindergarten," he said jokingly, smirking.

"I thought you said that you're not obsessed with any girl. Never have been, never will be," you said in a deep voice, mocking him.

"Yeah, well, you've always been the beautiful exception, (Y/N)."

"And you've always been a flirt, Iero."

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Thank you for reading x