High School Will Never Hurt You (Frank Iero) Part 25...Come Out Of The Closet

I thought I didn't like cigarettes.

That's because I don't.

Then why...?

I opened my eyes, but saw only an expanse of skin. That was certainly odd. I tried to sit up to see better, but the arms around me tightened unconsciously.

I - wait, skin - arms - what?

Wait, then - oh no. Oh nonononononono.

Frank -?

Yes.

Then I - ?

Uh-huh.

And he -?

Yes.

And we -?

Oh yeah.

Shit

Quite so.

I lay back in my original position, with my face beside his neck (oh God), and slowly tryed to disentangle our limbs. Our legs were twined together, and I went with agonizing slowness, trying not to jostle my bad leg, or to wake him up. If I actually had to face him now...
Oh God, I couldn't even think about it.

How had this even happened? There must be some devine being up there, who is using me for their personal entertainment.

I carefully pulled my arms out from under his shirt, where they had been clinging to his bare back.

Ohgodohgodohgodohgodohgod.

Now there was the small problem of getting him to let go of me. I tested his grip, trying to pull away from his arms, but they just tightened around me and he nuzzled his nose into my hair a little more.

Breathe, breathing is important.

His arms were wrapped around me, holding me close, his hands resting just under the hem of my shirt, against my lower back. I carefully reached around to my back, keeping my eyes glued to his face, praying that he wss a deep sleeper. I gently took hold of his wrist, slowly, slowly, lifting up his arm. He muttered something in his sleep and I froze. I held perfectly still for a full minute, still holding his arm.

Fianlly, when I was sure he wouldn't wake up, I set his arm against his side, and slowly sat up. There was one terrifying moment when I thought he was going to wake up, but he just rolled over onto his stomach as I swung my legs over the side of the bed.

I got slowly to my feet, my muscles aching from both the abuse to my leg and from the ah, unusual sleeping position I had spent the night in (oh god!).

I looked around the room. Where the hell were my clothes? I scanned the floor, seeing no sign of my clothes, but something on the wall caught my eye. I padded over, realizing that they were the same drawings of Gerard's that had caught my eyes last night.

The first one was of...me. What? I looked more closely. Yep, there I was, in two of my trademark poses, hands on hips, and tucking my hair behind my ears. Did I do that a lot? Did they realized that I did that a lot?

The second...oh my goodness. Was that really...? I traced my finger over the dripping shape of Frank's bleeding heart, my own heart beating a very unusual pattern in my chest.

The events of last night, paired with these...was it really possible that he...felt the same?

Across the room, Frank started to stir. I really should have stayed, should have talked it over with him, should have found my stupid clothes, but I didn't.

I ran.

By sheer dumb luck, I found my shoes in a corner of the room. I tucked them on quickly, not bothering to tie the dangling laces on the one, and took off out of the house, just as Frank was waking up.

As I walked back down the now well-lit path around the park, keeping close to the houses, I felt a horrible pang in my chesy when I pictured Frank waking by himself, wondering if what I had said and done last night had meant anything to me or were just the effects of overly-strong pain-killers.

Maybe I was just kidding myself, maybe he didn't care either way, maybe he was just glad to have gotten some action last night, maybe-

Stop. Just - stop. No more "maybe"s, just get home and deal with explaining to my why I have a huge gash on my leg. Yes, I had just remembered tht my parents were coming home today.

This was not gonna be a fun weekend.

As expected, my mother practically had a seizure when she found out why I had a huge bandage on my leg, and vowed never to leave me alone again til I was thirty.

At school, people had pretty mixed reactions. Some people acted like I was made of glass, constantly asking if I needed to rest or go see the nurse. Others were convinced that the story had been exaggerated, and thought that I was over-doing it with the thick bandage. Still others wanted to see my battle scar, while some guys used it as an excuse to check out my legs.

Alex and Mari were understandably protective of me, scaring off well-wishers and the generally annoying.

Alex was sweet, but was wearing on my nerves more with every passing minute, constantly asking if I needed immediate medical attention.

"Are you okay Izzy, do you need to rest?"

"I'm fine Alex, we've gone ten feet."

"Because we can stop if you're tired, you look a little tired -"

"Alex..."

"Oh, the stairs are coming up-"

Alex-"

"I can carry you if you want-"

"Alex!"

I finally managed to escape from him after school, when I left for tutoring with Gerard...and Frank. I was terrified of seeing him, but it was either that or stay with Alex, whose last comment had been "Do you need help carrying your book? 'Cause they look pretty heavy, I can help you if you want. DoyouneedmetocloseyourlockercauseIcanifitstoohard-OW! What'd you hit me for?!"

I trudged along the hallway, walking like I had an appointment with the electric chair. I spotted Gerard and Frank,leaning against a wall by the entrance to the school. I fixed my eyes on the ground to avoid looking at Frank, which resulted in me bumping into several lockers, a garbage can, and an underclassman.

"Oh hey Izzy, there you are!" said Gerard brightly. Frank said nothing, but I could feel his eyes boring into me.

"Hi," I mumbled, kicking my foot against the floor. "Where do you want to go?"

Gerard looked outside thoughfully, where the strong wind was sending stray papers and litter swirling across the lawn in multi-colored tumble weeds. "Want to just find an empty classroom?" he offered.

I nodded, and followed him as he set off down the hall. Gerard was in lead, peering into the rooms we past, followed by Frank, sauntering after. I brought up the rear, trailing along behind them.

If I raisd my head a few inches, I could see him. And if I closed my eyes, I could still feel his lips, his arms wrapped around me-

"Oof!"

"So," he said, "math." I stared at him, not sure if I wanted to hug him or decapitate him with a butter knife.

Half and hour later, I had pretty much gotten Gerard caught up with his work, although there were definately still some areas we needed to work on.

I honestly don't know if Frank was doing his homework, because I was being diligent in my refusal to even look at him.

"I need an eraser," said Gerard suddenly, "Now."

I looked at him blankly. "Can't you just use another pencil?" I asked finally.

"No. Will you please go get me an eraser?"

"I-"

"Thanks doll, you're the best. There's a closet by the library that has a whole box full of them."

"But I-"

"You're right! You don't know where it is. Frank, go with her."

"What-"

"Oh, don't worry Izzy, he knows the way. See you in a few."

He sort of shoved me out the door, and - to my amazement and horror - Frank followed me obediantly. What was he doing? He never followed Gerard's orders. Oh God, what if asks me why I bailed that night? What if he - does anything? I don't think I can hndle him doing absolutely anything.

We walked down the hallway in deafening silence that said more than the words I couldn't force myself to say.

***Gerard doodled absently on his math homework, as Izzy and Frank faded from view. After they were long gone he looked up, and called casually "Oh, and be careful of that door," He smirked at his paper, "The lock sticks."

"Here," he said, his voice startling me after the long silence. "I think this is the one he meant."

I nodded and tried the handle. It opened easily, revealing a surprisingly deep supply closet, boxes lining the walls.

I propped the door open and slowly walked inside, careful to avoid touching Frank as I slipped through the doorway. I looked along the shelves along one wall, keeping my distance, trying to find the stupid erasers so I could get the hell out of here. Fucking Gerard, how badly could he need a fucking eraser?

"Do you see them anywhere?" Frank asked, his voice startling me again.

"No," I said, my voice hoarse from being silent so long, "Do you?"

"No. Maybe they're - hey! The door!" he shouted. I spun around just in time to see the door swing shut, enclosing us in absolute blackness.

I heard a crash to my right.

"Shit," Frank muttered. I felt my way along the wall, until my groping hands met with the smooth wood of the door. I felt along it's length until I found the handle. I turned it. A muffled rattling sound met my ears. I turned it again. It didn't budge. I pushed hard on the door. Nothing.

"I think it's locked," I said, my voice cracking.

"What?" Frank voice asked, a few feet away. "Here, let me try."

I heard him come over, grunting a few time as he bumped into various objects. Finally, he came over, his hand brushing against my shoulder as he felt for the door. I shivered, and moved out of the way. I heard the same dull rattle a few times, followed by what sounded like a strong body hitting the door repeatedly. It didn't look like he'd had any better luck than I had because a minute later he muttered "Fuck."

"Well, Gerard knows we're here, he'll wonder where we are soon," I offered, full of false hope.

Frank laughed derisively, "Right, because Gerard is reliable like that."

I didn't say anything, just felt my way back to the door. I tried the handle again, hoping that it had magically come unlocked in the last minute. Nope, still locked. I growled in exasperation and kicked the door.

"Damnit!" I shouted, clutching my foot. That fucking hurt! Frank chuckled, disturbingly close to my ear, and I felt a pair of hands settle on my hips.

"Always trying to run away," he whispered in my ear.

"Frank, I-" I started, but then I felt his lips on my neck and I completely forgor what I was going to say. His lips trailed up my neck, kissing me just behind my ear when I found my voice again.

"Frank," I said, turning around, his hands still resting on my hips, "I'm sorry. I really am. I just, I woke up and I didn't know what was going on, then I remembered and I just paniced, I thought maybe you didn't know what I meant and I-"

"Shhhh," he whispered, cutting me off mid-rant. I fell silent, and he pulled me closer to him, my body pressed against his. "Isabelle," I heard him say, still in blackness, "I want to be with you. And I want you to stop running away from me. It's tiring chasing after you all the time," he said, and I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Hey," I said, irritated, "I never asked you to chase after me. And if you didn't keep putting me in situations where I had to run away, maybe I-" his lips cut me off, with incredibly accurate aim in the pitch-black.

Completely forgetting that I was pissed off at him, I wrapped my arms around his neck, as he pulled me more fully against him. He kissed me with a growing fierceness that I returned. It became clear to me that I had been wanting to do this from the moment I ran out of his house that weekend. And judging from Frank's enthusiasm, he had been wanting the same thing.

An odd buzzing was spreading through my entire body. He took my bottom lip between his, and before I knew it I was letting his tongue into my mouth. A second later he returned the favor, and pushed me up against the wall. He tripped over a box, didn't notice. I felt a shelf jabbing me in the shoulder, didn't care.

I pulled away and kissed along hi jawline to his neck. He groaned and pulled me back to his lips, pushing me hard against the wall again. He kissed me almost painfully, but I didn't care, just pulled him against me. His lips traveled down my neck, his teeth pulling against the delicate skin. I moaned and arched my neck against his touch. He had just returned his mouth to mine, when I heard voices outside the door. I broke away and whispered for him tto be silent while I listened.

Yes, there they were, there was definately someone outside the door. I pulled away and he drew back while I went over to the door. I pounded on it loudly.

"Hey! We're in here!" I called, hammering on the door again, attempting to straighten my clothes. God only knew what making out in a supply closet had done to my hair.

"See, there they are," said Gerard's voice as the door opened, flooding the small closet with light. I blinked, momentarily blinded by the sunlight. Gerard was standing in front of me, next to a man I recognized as a custodian, who was holding a large key ring.

"That lock sticks something aweful," he said, looking at Frank and I sternly, "Everyone knows that."

"You don't say," muttered Frank, glaring at Gerard, who smiled innocently.

I looked back and forth between the two fo them. Why that little - I was going to kill Gerard. Horribly. Superglue was going to be involved.

Frank and I walked out of the closet, I was blushing furiously, hiding behind my hair, while Frank sauntered with a practiced ease. I heard the custodian mutter something about kids today and their damn-fool hair. Curious as to what he meant, I glanced up at Frank and snorted when I saw that my questing fingers had left parts of it at right angles to his head. He didn't even look at me, just smiled lazily, and took my hand in his. His large hands were rough and calloused against mine. I smiled slightly and decided that perhaps I could let Gerard live.