☺
Luckily, they weren't in a trial when it happened.
Frank had Jake's head rested on his lap, completely passed out when everything started rapidly falling apart.
Everything besides the items they'd gathered from trials or brought with them initially slowly began to disintegrate, screams coming from every direction making Frank's head spin.
The noises around them went past the other Survivors screaming- he could feel the souls of those tortured before him, the ones that haunted the basements of each trial being released from whatever prison they'd been kept in.
They were either going to die for real, or they were going to get out- Frank could feel it.
He grabbed Jake's hand, hoisting him up from the ground as he lay there, still in a state of shock.
If anything had prepared him for this moment, it was his stupid fucking childhood.
"We gotta go, grab what you can and let's make a break for it!" He shouted, swallowing the fear that threatened to consume him.
He had to keep ignoring the fear that he was about to lose Jake- everything was going to be fine.
It had to be.
♕
Jake gave Frank's hand a squeeze.
He could feel the other man shaking, but he was sure he was too. He felt his teeth chattering, and quickly surveyed the area in a desperate attempt to locate any of his friends.
He quickly swooped down to grab the teddy bear he'd swiped from Ormond- one he'd been meaning to give to Frank but hadn't yet, and the blankets he'd stolen from God knows where.
Regardless of what happened, he knew he'd need that in the very least.
He and Frank had taken to wearing all of their clothing they had just in case this was to happen, considering everything had been a waiting game up until this point.
He tugged Frank out of the tent, eyes fixating on the most amazing thing he'd ever seen.
A brilliant orange rift appeared before them, with what looked like a forest just beyond it.
There were people on the other side, ones frantically waving for them to get out.
It seemed safe, but the fears intensified as they drew closer. Who knew what world was beyond this- how much things had changed.
"Jake, wait!"
Jake paused, turning to look once again at Frank.
The brunette's hand found Jake's chin, gently lifting his head to look at him.
Jake's heart was in his throat- not just because their world was collapsing but because Frank had chosen now to finally make a proper move after he knew they'd both been too afraid to.
Their lips met, Frank pressing the softest kiss Jake had ever experienced on his lips. Something about it just felt right- like it hadn't been the first time they'd experienced it.
And Jake felt like his heart could burst, only yearning for more when Frank stepped away from him, almost as quickly as he'd pulled him to him in the first place.
Within reason of course, they were running out of time. Now wasn't exactly the best time for sweeping romantic gestures- in fact, Jake would argue it was the worst time Frank could have possibly picked.
But that seemed to just be their style.
"I couldn't live with myself if I never got to do that- I'm sorry the timing was bad."
Frank was laughing as he spoke, but it wasn't his usual laughter- it was nervous and frightened, and he quickly grabbed Jake's hand again, intertwining their fingers together.
"Please don't let go of me."
Jake forced himself to smile as they walked to the portal.
"I won't."
☺
He was so fucking scared.
Honestly, he couldn't remember the last time he was so afraid of anything- somehow this felt even worse than when they'd arrived here.
He took one last look at Jake, memorizing the features of the person he'd grown to love, repeating to himself over and over that everything was going to be alright-
And they stepped through the portal.
☺
The worst pain he'd ever felt radiated through his body.
Frank found himself screaming until his voice was raw, the sensation of falling taking over him until his vision saw only darkness.
Memories from his childhood came rushing back to him- memories of high-school, of Julie.
He clutched the blanket from the tent in his hands, but when he reached for Jake he wasn't there.
Jake?
Jake!
But he was still falling, surely when he landed Jake would be there, right?
Frank didn't know- he could only focus on the memories and the pain he'd been feeling until he felt himself collapse on the ground, and experienced the sun shining in his face.
The real sun.
It was hot, and beamed down on the top of his head.
It felt foreign- he'd hardly remembered what real heat had felt like, and he was sure they were freezing from being trapped inside the Entity's realms.
He squinted, making out a few bodies surrounding him.
One looked like Kate- but where was Jake?
Frank forced himself to stand, throwing the blanket over his shoulders despite not needing the extra warmth.
"Jake?" He found himself calling out, in a voice that sounded weak and tired.
Nothing.
Panic washed over him as his eyesight adjusted to the light, and he could actually get a better look at who was surrounding them.
Jake was nowhere to be found.
An unrelenting anger washed over him, as he fell back to his knees.
This was it.
This was his punishment for being such a raging piece of shit his entire life.
The Entity was going to make him find someone he was willing to be open with and tear him away from him.
This always happened to him- with his parents, the foster families. Ripped away from anyone that cared about him at all, even the most miniscule amount.
This was the ultimate form of punishment- taking away the only person that Frank could truly say he'd allowed himself to feel any love for in his whole adult life.
"Fuck!"
He slammed his hands into the dirt, tears he hadn't realized were coming spilling down his cheeks.
He was making a scene but he didn't care. If this was how his life was going to be, he didn't care about making a scene. He didn't care what people thought of him, or that he looked pathetic and stupid crying over someone.
This was his fault, anyway.
Allowing himself to be weak- getting himself attached to someone that he knew he had a better chance of being separated from than staying with.
It was just one more thing in a long line of eternal fuckups.
"Bring him back !" He screamed, gaze not daring to find the others, "Bring him back to me!"
Frank collapsed into himself, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his head on his arms. He could feel himself shaking, teeth chattering together as he tried to calm himself down.
The blanket in his hands smelled like him- and it was probably all he had left.
All alone again- just as he deserved to be.
He should have known having Jake in his life was too good to be true.
A hand rested itself on his shoulder and he quickly shrugged it off.
"Hey, Frank?"
It was Kate.
"Don't fucking touch me," He growled out, not bothering to look up from where his gaze had settled on the horizon. The trees in the distance blurred together, as he focused intently on the foliage.
He knew he shouldn't be acting this way- it wasn't Kate's fault and she was just trying to help him.
Kate let go of him, but Frank saw her sit down next to him out of the corner of his eye.
"Sorry," He breathed, gaze finding Kate's, but only for a moment.
Kate smiled somehow, despite all the fucking bullshit they'd just experienced.
"It's alright, I shouldn't have touched you without asking- but we'll find Jake. I'm sure there will be other places for them to come out from. Then, I can start looking for Cheryl!"
Frank wanted to console her- offer some sort of positivity back despite everything.
It's what Jake would have wanted him to do, especially after being a raging asshole.
Again .
"What if we don't find them?" He found himself whispering, too tired to keep up the same front as before.
"Well then at least we have each other."
♕
If Jake was anything, he was resilient.
He was exhausted, muscles aching with every step but he had to keep moving forwards.
He'd ended up somewhere after the whole portal ordeal and he had immediately started walking in the direction he'd heard rumours of the other exit.
Jake clutched the bear to his chest, finding this furry creature to be the driving source of his inspiration to move on.
He had to get the bear to Frank.
He needed to get back to him, too, but Jake wanted to give the bear to Frank so he could sleep with it, and maybe have less nightmares.
Jake felt this was childish of him- of course some stupid stuffed animal wasn't going to do anything to combat years and years of untreated trauma, but Jake wanted to believe it would. The logical side of his brain just needed to shut the fuck up.
His legs screamed at him to take a break from walking, his head pounding in his skull.
A tear rolled down his cheek, and he carefully scrubbed it away with the back of his hand.
He didn't want to be alone anymore- he'd grown so used to the company back at camp.
"Where are you, Frank?"
☺
"What year do you think it is?" Frank asked, as he and Kate walked down the shoulder of a country road.
He'd managed to calm himself down a little, enough to ask questions at least, to try and keep his mind off things.
Kate hummed.
"Well, based on the car we saw, I actually think it's near when I would have been taken... Maybe twenty-twenty?" She guessed, "I have the awful feeling that barely any time passed here, but we've been gone for what feels like forever to us."
Frank blinked.
"I'm from... Nineteen-Ninety-Seven..." He stated, running a hand through his hair, "So much is gonna be different..."
Kate whipped around to stare at him.
"That's literally when I was born ." She replied, her tone full of disbelief, "Jesus Christ, did she like, freeze you guys or something? You couldn't have been... Doing that for so many years and staying as normal as you are. No way ."
Frank nodded, gaze scanning the area around them. He saw some of the other survivors straggling behind them, but he knew most of them were still back where they started. They were probably smart, waiting there for help, but he and Kate...
Well.
Kate was smart.
He didn't think he was smart, but they both just needed to try and find their friends , and he wanted to take his mind off of everything related to that part of his life.
"She froze us, but I don't remember anything else. I need to find Jake so he can show me Shrek, duh."
♕
"God, it's so fucking hot out!"
Jake was talking to himself again, because of course he was- it was just something he did when he was alone.
He was his own best company, or so he'd thought up until more recently.
He liked being alone, but he'd learned to enjoy other people's company, too, like Frank, and Kate.
He missed them a lot more than he'd ever imagined he could miss someone.
And when he reevaluated his situation, he realized he should have probably asked someone to come with him from the other group. He'd seen Quentin and Steve and they'd talked before- but something made him want to leave right away.
So here he was, back feeling like he did before he got taken in the first place.
Lost, annoyed, and anxious.
Oh, and hungry.
How could he forget the way his stomach was absolutely screaming for food.
They hadn't eaten much in the days leading up to this, not finding nearly enough to sustain them- he was lucky he hadn't passed out completely yet, being driven by pure insanity.
Jake kicked at the gravel, bringing his hand to his forehead to shade his eyes from the sun. He was beginning to see some stragglers, now, other people he didn't recognize by name, but the tired looks on their faces said enough. They were in the same situation as himself.
To his surprise, a pair of-
Wait.
It was them !
Jake found himself breaking into a sprint, somehow finding the strength to move faster than he was sure he ever had before.
He was sure Frank didn't even realize what was happening when Jake careened into him, their bodies colliding with a loud thud and crashing to the ground.
His body was screaming at him as he laid on the gravel, hardly realizing he'd burst into tears.
He was tired, and hungry, and overwhelmed, but he'd managed to find Frank easier than he could have ever imagined, pulling the man to his chest.
He felt Frank's grip tighten around him and suddenly nothing else mattered. If he never let go, it'd be too soon.
His problems before all of this had seemed so significant, but only now was Jake realizing just how small they were in comparison to what they'd overcome- and they were in the clear, now.
At least for the time being they'd be safe, unless this all turned out to be an elaborate dream.
"Oh my God, Jake, we found you!" A voice from above them sighed, and Jake quickly remembered they weren't alone, and that it was Kate who had accompanied Frank on their journey.
Jake looked up at her.
"Kate! I'm, of course, happy to see you, too!" He teased, sticking out his tongue, "Where's Cheryl?"
The blonde's brows knit together, and she gave a small shrug.
"We gotta help her find Cheryl, too, Jake," Frank finally spoke, in a voice that sounded tired and raw, "Did you see her with the others?"
Jake shook his head.
"No, I didn't. But I'm sure she has to be around here somewhere?" Jake offered, watching as Kate scanned the area, "Unless there are other exits?"
Kate bit her lip, bending down to help Jake and Frank off the ground as a car passed dangerously close to them sitting on the ground.
"No, I... I think I'll need more than just today to find her, but I can't elaborate. We'll find safety for ourselves, first, and then we can look for Cheryl. It's what she made me promise before we left."
Jake didn't press any further, only nodding and grabbing Frank's hand. Something more was going on than Kate let on, but Jake didn't want to force her to explain anything. All he knew about Cheryl was that she had special abilities, which could have fucked with something while they were teleporting.
Kate gave them a final grin, before she took off down the road, and Jake went to follow her.
That was until Frank stopped walking, digging his heels into the ground and offering Jake a tired grin.
"Can we go home now?" He asked, running a hand through his hair.
Jake laughed. He liked the sound of that.
We.
They were going to go somewhere together .
"But where's home?" He asked, offering a gentle smile right back.
"Anywhere with you."