Gerard paced across the bedroom floor, his bare feet rubbing against the soft fur of the carpet. He nibbled at his bare fingernails and cuticles. Outside, the TV played, but all was muffled behind the thick closed door. A laugh erupted from the living room — a human one, not from the TV. Gerard's hand dropped, only so he could roll his eyes, and plopped down on his messy bed.

Through his groan, he didn't hear the TV click off and the floorboards creak just outside his door, so he was understandably surprised when he heard a knock on the door. After weeks of avoiding each other, Frank and Gerard had grown accustomed to pretending the other wasn't there. The latter of the two was very good at this.

"Gerard?" Frank's muffled voice floated through the air. "I'm going out. Do you need anything?"

"No," he responded almost immediately. "Thanks," he added quietly after a moment.

Gerard heard ruffling and jingling, followed by the front door opening and shutting. He sighed and walked out of his dark room, looking around to make absolutely sure his new roommate was gone.

His first stop was the kitchen. On the island sat a plate of cookies Gerard hadn't seen before. He examined them and grabbed one, biting into the soft pastry, which he then instantly identified as one from Ma's shop. With half a cookie hanging out of his mouth, he walked over to the coffee machine. It seemed that Frank had made some and left about a cup for Gerard, which he eagerly poured into a mug and drank outside on the balcony.

He lounged on a chair that Frank had bought to "spice things up a bit", looking up at the clear blue sky. Not a single cloud could be seen. Gerard felt a chill run through him, the cold weather finally catching up to him. The coffee wasn't hot anymore and didn't help, but he drank anyway. Eventually, even the last drop was gone.

"Hey." Frank appeared behind Gerard. "What're you doing out here? It's gonna rain."

Gerard just shrugged. He brushed off some crumbs from his earlier cookie and stood.

"Don't forget your mug," Frank said, sighing, and walked back in.

"Gee, thanks, what would I do without you?" He mumbled sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He looked out to the dark grey clouds forming, shuddering a bit at the thought of more rain.

"Get in or stay out. Whatever you do, just close the goddamn door!" Frank called from inside, earning yet another eye-roll from Gerard. He stepped in and shut the door harshly, grabbing Frank's agitated attention.

"What's up with you?" Gerard grabbed a bag of chips from Frank. "You're all bitchy."

"Takes one to know one," Frank shot back under his breath, glaring at Gerard, who pulled the bag open and stuffed a chip in his mouth slowly, a bit taken aback. Frank looked away, sighing, and walked off. "Whatever," he said from the hall before slamming his door closed. Gerard stood still, completely dumbfounded at what had just happened. In the short time he had known Frank, he knew him to be always positive; joking and laughing and smiling.

His phone started ringing, yanking him out of his thoughts. He pulled it out of his pocket, staring at the door to Frank's room. The screen read "Lyn" in black font in front of a picture of her smiling in the shop, balancing three plates and a mug expertly and gracefully. Gerard was the opposite when it came to carrying multiple things. Lyn always urged patience and practice and promised that he would get better. He didn't believe her.

"Hey!" Lyn's voice blared through the speakers of his phone only a second after he accepted the call.

"Hi," Gerard greeted with a small laugh, peeling his eyes away from Frank's shut door and his thoughts. "What's up?"

~~~

Frank stared up at his ceiling, trying to block out the sounds from outside his room. Gerard was on the phone with someone. He shut his eyes tightly and tried to breathe normally, instead of his uneven hard breaths, and draped his arm over his forehead. It's fine, he told himself again and again, willing himself to believe it. The curtains flapped against the wall, the cold air rushed in and made him shiver. It was dark in his small room and the only light that could enter was shielded by the curtains, so he pushed himself off the mattress (he didn't yet gotten a bed frame, which Gerard found very odd) and parted them open, light rushing in and nearly blinding him. It was getting late and the sun hung low in the sky, at eye-level to Frank.

He stood there in front of the window, a slight breeze blowing his black locks around his pale face, with eyes closed, just thinking. The gold of the evening sun kissed his face, a warm contrast to the cold September air. He breathed in a long breath, taking in the smells of the city mixed in with the light scent of flowers from Ms. Calin's balcony below, who loved to garden on her small terrace. If he looked down from his window, Frank could see the abundance of plants: roses and daffodils and ferns and others that he didn't know the names of. They all encircled a small chair with a round glass table standing next to it. Nearly every morning, Ms. Calin would sit there with a cup of tea just knitting and enjoying the fresh air. Sometimes, if Frank woke up early enough, he'd lean out the window and she'd look up and they'd talk a little. He could use one of those morning talk sessions right about now.

He looked down, as if she was sitting there with her tea and her small glasses and wrinkly skin (that she completely embraced), and started to talk.

"I went to the store today. That, uh, the little one on Adams street that has those muffins you like." He glanced at the peach and purple sky filled with clouds. A few stray drops of rain fell on his forehead and hands, which hung out of the window frame. He turned his head back down, hair shielding his face from any other raindrops. "Marlin was there. He asked about you again. I-I, uh, didn't know what to say." His voice dropped to a whisper and he gulped. "I miss you."

The abandoned chair shook from the wind, as if weeping for the loss of its owner. An empty cup, left on the table, slowly filled with rain. Teeth gripped Frank's bottom lip, leaving red indents. He looked down at a rose. It's petals, papery and thin, showed their first signs of decay, the edges darkening and curling. Beads of rain like confetti sat upon the faded-red, making the delicate flower bow toward the ground. In that moment, all Frank wanted to do was run downstairs and take up the responsibility of keeping them; a task that Ms. Calin could no longer accomplish.

He cleared his throat, washing away the somber thoughts as the rain washed away her memory. With him safely inside, the vacated balcony out of sight, he slid the window shut with a click, trying to separate himself as to not have to think about it anymore. He groaned, realizing he'd have to apologize to Gerard, who'd become victim to his sadness.

The white door, now grey in the dark of his room, stared back at him, as if it was judging him. He glared at it and whipped it open.

Gerard sat on the couch, feet tucked beside him. He focused on what was playing on the TV, eyes wide and darting across the screen. Frank stood at the entryway of the hall, beside the TV, waiting for Gerard to notice him. When he didn't, Frank cleared his throat, catching his attention. His eyes scanned over Frank's body, examining the way he stood: awkward and small.

"What?" He said, looking back to the TV, which, Frank discovered, was playing the weather channel. Storms for the rest of the week. Lots of rain.

"Uh, I just, um." He tripped over his words, not really knowing what to say. He settled on whispering "sorry" and moving to sit by Gerard on the couch. But just as he sat down, Gerard hopped off the couch and stalked off.

"It's whatever, Frank."

Frank stared at his back, covered in a blue blanket, and sighed as he shut his door.

"Does he always have to leave as I enter the room?" Frank mumbled to himself, changing the channel.

1447 words

September 29, 2019
——
Kinda a filler chapter (sorry), but some of this stuff will be important so