Frank did not remember falling asleep. But now, as his eyes opened and sleep lingered as a blurry film over his irises, he realized that at one point he must have cried himself into a state of exhaustion, or keeping his eyes shut led him into sleep even if he did not plan to do so. However, as soon as he awoke, he remember glimpses of the dream he must have had - familiar pictures of his dreamland he hadn't ventured to in so long, only empty fields and a sun brighter than the one he remembered seeing in reality. He escaped his dream somehow and now his body would not let him fall back asleep. His eyelids felt heavy and his eyes dry, eyelashes carefully disentangling the more he blinked. As he looked up above him, the first thing he noticed was a plain off white ceiling staring down at him. There were lights overhead, white light bulbs screwed into slots in the ceiling and shining at their full capacity to keep the room as bright as it could be. Looking right into the light after barely opening his eyes made Frank wince as his pupils rapidly shifted size from the sudden brightness assaulting his vision. He sucked in a breath through his mouth, squinting and turning his head to the side.

He noticed that his body was laid carefully on a bed pushed against one of the white walls in the room. He was laying over white sheets and a thick mattress held up by a black bed frame, with one single cream colored pillow underneath his head. The mattress felt hard, if he were to sit on a corner it seemed that I would not sink in as a soft and comfortable mattress would underneath sudden weight. He looked down at himself, his hands at his sides and his fingers curling around the thin sheets. But now that he caught sight of his body, he realizes that his clothing was not what he had been wearing before he was taken away. Instead, he had been changed into a thin black shirt that reminded him of the scrubs nurses would wear in hospitals, the high v-neck and the short sleeves exposing his arms to the cold air. His bottom half was dressed in gray and thin sweatpants, the material slightly thicker than the flimsy fabric his shirt was made out of. His shoes, plain and white, appeared brand new and brought the outfit together to create a collage of morbid colors decorating his body. His skin crawled momentarily at the thought of someone's unfamiliar hands stripping him of his clothing as he slept, just imagining what parts they had seen. He inhaled shakily, slowly sitting up and taking in the rest of his surroundings.

In front of him was his own reflection sharing directly back at him. He could see his wide hazel eyes and his ashen face, his messy disarray of dark hair and how small he looked to his own self. There was a door there, a tall and white exit that appeared to be barred shut, a small slot resembling a doggy door built into the bottom of the sturdy steel. The room was otherwise empty despite a single lonely chair in the corner of the room, a countertop with a sink and cabinets beneath it that were heavily chained with a sturdy looking lock hanging from the thick and ruthless chains. Just from glancing at them, he knew they were cold and sturdy, if he wrapped his hands around them then his palms would sting from the chill seeping under his skin. He shuddered at the thought and bit his chapped bottom lip, assessing the sight in front of him before turning his head to see what sight the other wall held for him.

Some part of him expected to see himself once again, his side profile and his positioning on top of the bed with the heavily uncomfortable mattress. He blinked slowly, drinking in the way the lights reflected off of yet another thick glass wall, bright glares winking back at him to reveal the glass was the cleanest it would be. When he saw past the glass, he saw a room that mirrored his own in format and colors, including everything inside of it. The floors were pure white tile, without a stain or a smudge ruining the pristine surface. Frank's eyes drank in the room, so close to feeling hysteria sinking in, until his eyes landed on his own reflection once again and suddenly, he choked on his own breath.

His reflection was not his reflection. The person his eyes landed on was sitting with their knees drawn to their chest, dressed exactly the same as Frank, and appearing equally as pale. His nearly shoulder length black hair was knotted and disheveled, his lips were close to colorless and there was a particularly violent looking bruise tainting his beautiful porcelain skin. He was staring straight ahead of him with no expression on his face, like someone had reached into his chest and stolen all of the emotion from his heart.

Gerard.

On instinct, Frank moved towards him. He swung his legs off the side of the bed and stumbled to his feet, ignoring the wave of vertigo hitting him the second he went into motion. He wobbled towards the glass, his breath becoming ragged the second he saw Gerard move - he licked his lips, bringing his gaze down to his knees. Frank pressed his hands against the glass, curving one into a fist and rapidly tapping on the glass to get Gerard's attention. As soon as the vibrations of the touch ran through the thick glass, Frank's heart leaped in his chest and Gerard jumped after being startled. He turned his head to the side and his wide eyes captured Frank's immediately. Frank's throat tightened as he took in how bloodshot Gerard's beautiful eyes were, the corners red from crying. He hated when Gerard cried, he wished he could take all of his tears and cry them out for him.

Gerard rose quickly from the bed, crossing the room with clumsy footsteps until he too was pressed against the glass, his palm laying over where Frank's was spread out. The glass was too thick for them to feel each other's warmth, only the cold chill of a barrier keeping them from reuniting. Frank knew if somehow he could melt down this wall, he would intertwine his fingers with Gerard's, draw him close to his chest and breathe him in, not waste as much as second he had left with him. He could see Gerard panicking, feeling around the glass, trying to find a weak spoke. But the second his eyes landed back on Frank's, Frank shook his head slowly at his love. There was no possible way for them to get to each other, whoever had placed the both of them wherever they were made sure of that. It was a devilishly brilliant plan to make them suffer, placing them in an area where they could see each other so clearly but never have the opportunity to touch each other, not even being able to share the same air. Gerard slammed his palms against the glass, his frame trembling, expression crumbling into one of despair. Tears were building up in his eyes and Frank had never felt so helpless in his entire life. He breathed out shakily, leaning his forehead against the wall and squeezing his eyes shut.

Of all the dreams he had endured, the years he spent without being able to have Gerard before he finally had him, he found himself landing back at square one. His heart was tattered and broken in his chest, just the way if had been before. He prayed that none of this was real and he was sleeping soundly in Gerard's bed with him back in the city, their arms wrapped around one another and providing the most blissful feeling of security. He would give anything to have that once again, to be able to awake peacefully and press his lips against his love's hair, his soulmate who would still be sleeping with a glow of pink coloring his cheeks shyly.

Frank opened his eyes again and looked up at Gerard again. The latter was staring at him, his fingers sliding over the glass, exactly where Frank's cheek had been pressed against just one second ago. Tears were slipping down Gerard's pallid cheeks, glistening under the glaring lights overhead. He looked so terribly broken, Frank knew they shared the same pain and he wished Gerard did not have to feel even a fraction of the pain squeezing his chest like a vise. He smiled without joy at Gerard, just a weak movement of his lips, and his fingertips pressed softly over the barrier. Where Gerard's trembling lips were, though Frank was not actually touching them, but tracing the shape of them nonetheless. They were not as pink as they usually were, they were chapped and unlike the soft silk Frank loved to feel pressed against his own lips. Gerard stared at him with large eyes, his lips shaping around Frank's name. Frank's gaze flickered to Gerard's stare and he responded by whispering Gerard's name. Gerard hesitated behind the wall, opening his lips again, and resting his hand against the glass.

"Can you hear me?"

Frank nearly jumped out his skin the second he heard the voice. Gerard also jumped back, his eyes widening and a sparkle entering them as soon as Frank had reacted. He shook his head, tapping on the glass again.

"Frank, you heard me? That was me, how did you hear me?" It was clearly Gerard's voice, though lowered in volume, and Frank could see his lips moving along with the words. He swore he felt his blood rushing warm again in his veins and a swell of relief spread through his insides. He could hear Gerard's soft voice, tiredness straining it slightly, but it was still so beautiful and Frank needed its comfort more than anything right now.

"I can hear you, oh my god." Frank responded, and he knew Gerard heard his voice as well when his eyes lit up and his body jolted subtly with a gasp.

"How is this possible, the glass is too sturdy to let sound escape." Frank's fingers slid over the glass, his eyes flitting over the expanse of it. Both of their eyes wandered over the wall between them, searching even the corners of the room, until Gerard exclaimed and pointed to something on his side of the room.

"There! There's a vent on the bottom corner, do you see where I'm pointing towards?" Gerard pointed his finger again, Frank's eyes followed the direction until his eyes fell upon a rectangular vent on his side of the glass, smooth metal allowing noise and air to escape so the two would not suffocate in their rooms.

The both of them moved over to this side of the room so the vent was directly in between them and they would be able to hear one another more clearly. They pressed their hands against the glass again, mimicking palms pressed against palms, and moved as close as the barrier allowed them to.

"Frank, I'm so sorry all of this happened, I should have thought of another place to run to so we could be safer." Gerard whimpered softly, his eyes squinting with the guilt.

"This isn't your fault. We both knew no matter what we did, they would find us." Frank shook his head, licking over his dry lips and looking into Gerard's eyes. "Please don't blame yourself."

Gerard sighed, raking his hand through his dark hair, which was rendered a useless action when it only cascaded down again and framed his face. Frank wanted to reach over and brush his hair away from his cheeks, tuck a lock of it behind his ear to ease his frustration.

"Where are we?" Frank asked softly, glancing around the white room without any ease whatsoever.

"I heard the words 'institute' and something about isolation." Gerard drew in a shaky breath and licked his lips, shaking his head. "Those two don't sound so welcoming put together that way."

Dread flourished in the pit of Frank's stomach. Gerard was right, the combination had fear filling him faster than any other emotion ever had. He wondered briefly if they were going to be trapped inside these empty rooms for the rest of their lives, if their punishment was never being able to touch each other again. It was cruel enough, if anything else was stacked on top of it then Frank was convinced he would die sooner than he thought he would. Could a person so young die from heartbreak, or from longing itself?

"Are you afraid?" Gerard asked suddenly. His voice shook and claimed all of Frank's attention again.

Frank did not ever want to admit to Gerard that he was afraid of something just so the latter could stay strong, he never wanted Gerard to feel worse than he already did, but something tugging his chest painfully told him to tell the truth. Gerard's eyes begged him to tell the truth as well, the way they looked past Frank's own eyes and gazed into his soul.

Frank gulped, slowly nodding at first. Then, he opened his lips and said, "Terrified."

Gerard spared him an emotionless smile, and his eyes broke away from Frank's to drop down on the ground beneath him. Frank's heart fell, falling down onto the ground and sinking below it if that were possible. He knew his truth would hurt Gerard, but who was he to lie to person he loved the most after all they had been through.

"I am too." Gerard admitted. Somehow, he sounded stronger than Frank had before. He shuffled his feet and pressed his forehead against the glass. Automatically, Frank did the same. "I don't know what they'll do to us here. What if nothing happens at all, we'll just be trapped here and be done for in less than two weeks?"

Frank winced at the idea of the suffering yet to come if that were the case, the horror of watching Gerard deteriorate with him. He refused to let any more tears rise to his eyes again and chose to dig his nails into his palms instead.

"I have a feeling that nothing they choose to do will be pleasant." Frank swallowed to soothe his drying throat. "But, can we please not talk about that right now? I'm sorry, but I . . ." Frank could not even pinpoint what he was feeling in that moment, it was too much for him to absorb at one time. There were times where he was not the least bit afraid of death, and there were others where he was undeniably scared of what came after someone put a bullet through his head. If whoever had kept him captive decided to give him that nice enough of an end, a quick and final blow almost too rare to survive.

"There has to be some way out of here. Maybe if we hit the doors hard enough with something, although there isn't much in here that would suffice." Gerard's eyes glanced over the bed, the desk too heavy to lift with one man's strength.

"They made it that way." Frank licked his lips. "The doors are barred shut by heavy steel, even if we -" Frank meant to go more into depth with his statement, but he was suddenly shutting himself shut when the watched the metal bar crossed over the pure white door beside him suddenly lift, sending in a cold breeze as the door smoothly swung open.

Frank stared with wide eyes at the person who entered the room, dressed in all white, the door suddenly snapping shut behind them loudly and locking once again. He did not have the courage to turn and look at Gerard, he was afraid he would have something done to him if he spared even a one second glance at him. His wide gaze was set on the woman who had stepped into the room, a woman with dark hair held back away from her face and thin framed glasses perched on her small nose. Overall, she had a small frame and tanned skin, and she had close to no expression on her face as she assessed Frank with her dark brown eyes. He felt goosebumps rise over his skin at the feeling of her cold gaze piercing into him, almost like she were looking at an animal rather than another human being.

"Frank Anthony Thomas Iero, correct?" She asked, taking a stylus pen from her pants pocket and lifting her tablet to tap at the screen.

"Y-yes." He answered with a tight throat.

"Mhm." The woman muttered, typing in his name and pulling up a page on the device in which he could not see. "Everyone's heard about you, Frank. And your lover caged up next to you."

Frank's mouth went dry instantly and he glanced at Gerard from the corner of his eye. Gerard had returned to his bed where he was huddled in the corner, his eyes worriedly staring at the woman who was also looking at him. She huffed softly, returning to whatever she was doing on her tablet.

"Where am I?" Frank asked, almost too afraid to ask, but somehow he got the question out.

"I'm not allowed to share the location, but you are in an underground conversion institute."

Frank's stomach dropped, and he swore he saw Gerard twitch from the other room. He knew the definition of conversion, but how this applied to him and his Match was unknown and Frank dreaded to know.

"Take a seat on the bed. I will explain after I send a copy of your file to the doctor here." The lady pointed to the bed and stepped away so she was out of his way.

He slowly crossed over to the slightly rumpled bed, sitting down with his eyes training onto Gerard who was still pressed up against the corner of his bed and the wall. Their gazes met and glinted equally with fear, he was sure Gerard was also trembling like he was. Frank felt cold all of a sudden, or it might have been the bit of terror he was experiencing stirring in his stomach. He could hear the sound of the woman's stylus tapping gently against the screen of her tablet and he was tempted to grab the damn thing and smash it to pieces, but taking risks in an institute could never end well. He bit harshly into his bottom lip, his eyes scanning over her nametag. Apparently, her name was Melanie, but there was no last name initial or full last name on her plastic tag pinned to her scrubs. Not that her name mattered, he was more than sure they would not be friends during the time he spent here.

"Okay." Melanie sighed, placing the tablet on the counter across the room. She grabbed onto the stool there, dragging it over in front of Frank and taking a swift seat on it with her ponytail swinging behind her. She crossed her leg and stared at him. "You know why you're here?"

Frank opened his mouth, stuttering for a moment, and then collected his thoughts with his cheeks turning red. "I fell in love with a . . . with a boy."

"Yes you did." Melanie nodded curtly and folded her hands in her lap. "And you are aware that in a society built like Battery City's, that is completely illegal?"

Frank's brow creased, a twinge of anger pricking at his skin. "Love shouldn't be chosen for you. The society is crooked."

"It would have been just fine if you had not been born, nor the other one, because no hacking would have been necessary and the rest of the Matches created wouldn't have been disrupted."

"Are you here to explain to me about what you're going to do to me or are you here to insult me and the person I love?" Frank snapped at the woman. He would have accepted being told he was a mistake, he could have easily brushed it off, but having someone say Gerard was an error rubbed him the wrong way at a very intense level.

Melanie's mouth tightened and her gaze dulled. "I suppose I should just tell you then." She narrowed her eyes slightly and broke eye contact. "Since your mother has been caught hacking the system, she has since then been arrested and taken into the government's care. As for you and Gerard Way, you were sent here to be placed into conversion therapy, however you will not be sent back to Battery City once your homosexuality is cured."

"C-conversion therapy? How the fuck can you cure homosexuality?" Frank felt like he had suddenly bursted at the seams the second those words came from the woman sitting in front of him.

She did not appear to be fazed by his outburst, she remained calm as she spoke again. "Conversion therapy is very helpful, there are few methods but they normally cure the illness or at least convince the patient to take the right path with their sexuality. According to our studies, homosexuality is a mental illness some people are unfortunate enough to be born with, but we are here to help with that."

Frank felt sick to his stomach. He knew nothing about this sort of therapy, if anything he bet it was torture methods they had stored underneath the blindingly white sleeves of their uniforms. He was so afraid of what they would do, how it could possibly work, and he wondered if it would be painful.

"Will . . . are you going to do the same to Gerard?" Frank whispered all in one breath.

"Yes," Melanie nodded. "Starting tomorrow. During each therapy session, you will not be able to see each other, and soon enough you will prefer for it to be that way."

__

a/n: I actually had to do research on conversion therapy and yes, it actually was a real thing back then, and in some places they still offer it. It's horrible, but I won't write about it for long. We have three chapters left. Please bear with me.

I have another fic plan but I kinda want to co-write it with someone? Idk which author, though, because this kind of fic requires a style and I'm too shy to ask anyone. Sigh. Well, I'll finish up this story soon, I hope this chapter wasn't bad.

"I keep my heart tied to a lie."

-aprilxo