Phobia | Frerard

Oneirophobia

oneirophobia

noun

The fear of wanting more.

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Tainted.

Frank felt tainted.

It was 11pm now and he was still awake, laying on his bed and staring at his ceiling that was illuminated by the soft moonlight from his window. He should've gone to bed an hour ago, he should've been asleep so he could wake up for school. But he couldn't. He was being mentally tormented with terror and confusion.

The terror and confusion started after Frank and Gerard spent the rest of the day together after the library where they both ended up at Gerard's house as usual. Nothing exciting happened, but something relatively horrifying did. They only kissed one more time and cuddled while watching reruns of Mr. Ed on tv. It was all well and peaceful until Donald came home from work, angry, and nearly caught his son's head rested on an Iero's shoulder. It was fortunate that the boys had quick reflexes and expert lying skills, otherwise Donald would have thought that Frank was there to be with Gerard instead of Mikey.

That wasn't even the horrifying part of the night. Frank ended up staying over at the Way's for dinner, sat between Mikey and Gerard at the kitchen table. Frank could definitely feel Donald's eyes on him as they both cautiously ate their spaghetti, which of course made Frank almost choke on his food. On the other hand, Gerard was happy-go-lucky as usual, he rambled on and on about his day in the library, being careful to exclude Frank's name from it all. Frank could tell that nobody in the family was listening to Gerard, but Frank was listening. He was listening to Gerard with every piece of him.

It was when Frank stared at the side of Gerard's delicate face that he felt Mikey elbow his side harshly, making him drop his fork onto his plate with a tiny thud sound. Donna only gave Mikey a 'mom glare' and continued to eat her pasta.

Donald was the first to finish his food, he was some kind of speed-eater and it freaked Frank the fuck out. When Frank had managed to force his last fork of spaghetti down, he looked directly into Donald's eyes and glared just as harshly in return. Mikey sensed the tension right away and left the table to 'feed the cat' although it was Gerard's responsibility.

"How did you and Mikey meet, son?" Donald finally asked Frank and leaned back into his chair, arms crossed and eyebrows arched.

"School," Frank replied and wiped his mouth with the corner of his napkin, "he was getting picked on so I let him sit with me."

"Wasn't Pete there to help Michael?" Donna chimed in.

Frank shook his head, "He was absent."

Gerard shifted uncomfortably in his seat and pushed his half eaten plate away from him. Frank's stomach lurched a little. The portion of spaghetti Gerard had gotten was a lot smaller than everyone else's yet he still hadn't eaten it all. Frank had just figured that Gerard was naturally skinny like his brother, but it didn't seem like that was the case anymore.

Gerard sulked down into his chair a little, wide eyes flickering between Frank and his father. He frowned and played with the drawstrings on his jacket. Frank would've given anything to hug him just then, make the frown disappear and have that bright and friendly smile appear on his face.

"You've been acquainted with Gerard, haven't you?" Donald questioned to change the subject. Gerard physically cringed at his father saying his name.

"Of course. He's nice." Frank answered nervously. Donald could see right through his facade and Frank knew it.

"Dad, stop." Gerard muttered, flinching after he said it like he was expecting something bad to happen. Frank swallowed and pursed his lips, staring at his plate to avoid any other family awkwardness.