Our Foundations from Decay

Frank POV

God, I'm such a dick. As I forced my way through the barrage of students, guilt jabbed at me like a citrus-coated knife; sour and painful. He's just a random guy. Why am I assuming the worst?  I held valiantly onto hope until  I watched the stranger practically grab Gerard by the head, ruffling his hair like he was some kind of dog. A toy. An object. Heat flooded through my blood, and not the good kind.

Standing before the both of them, I took in the sight of the mystery-man. To my utmost dismay, he was undeniably handsome. Disgusting. The predatory glint in his tilted eyes clearly glowed for the boy next to him, mouth pulled in a foxy grin as he leaned in close. Does this guy think I'm an idiot?  My gaze shifted to Gerard, watching the way he shrunk in on himself, fidgeting with his gnawed-on fingernails.

This asshole is making my boyfriend uncomfortable, huh?

Briefly, my mind wandered to the words of my old anger management counellor. At the time, I had gotten into some shit with her for punching another kid in the face. I felt like I had back then; agitated frustration building up into a cess-pool of unquellable fury. "Frank," She had said in that condescending tone of hers, "next time you feel aggressive, I want you to take a deep breath and think for a moment. Is what you're about to do helpful, safe, fair, and non-violent?" It was absolute crap, yet that drizzling of advice had saved me from all sorts of trouble before. Now it'd save me from troubling Gerard.

Taking a deep breath, I succeeded in suppressing my rising temper, yet it still managed to seep into my voice as I spoke.

"Hey babe," I gritted out, head held high. That's right, he's my boyfriend, you bastard.  "I got you those Cheetos you asked me for. Who's this?"

"F-F-Frank, this is an old acquaintance, Bert." Gerard stuttered out, nervous blush drifting across his face in crimson waves.

Oh, so they know each other? Maybe Gee isn't as uncomfortable as I thought. Crap, I should apologi-

"An old acquaintance? You break my heart, Gee." The man's devious smirk stretched farther across his face, toothy grin reminiscent of a carnivorous beast.

What the hell?

The red flags practically started ticking themselves off, blaring alarms ringing in my ears.

1. Gerard's earlier discomfort, brought up by the same name as the man in front of him... Bert. Stupid ass name. Mine's better. 

2. The way 'Bert' touched and talked to the other boy like they were all 'buddy-buddy', while Gerard only referred to him as an acquaintance.      

3. The man's bullshit comment about Gee 'breaking his heart'. Right in front of  his boyfriend, too!        

4. His reputation. I'd heard the rumours. Heard the way he slinked around, disloyal to the bone. 

5. Nicotine. The man smelt like the lovechild of 2 passionate cigarettes, burning scent palpable in the cafeteria air. He could probably smoke better than me. Dammit.

In the half a second of thinking, I had found five entire strikes to the guy. Five entire reasons to distrust him. Five entire reasons to get us out of there.

I took a deep breath, quelling the crashing waves of my stormy temper. "Well, nice to meet you, Bert. Me and my boyfriend were just on our way to lunch so... see ya 'round." My words came out gravelly through gritted teeth, grabbing Gerard's hand in my own, dragging us towards the exit.

I blocked out the presence behind us, trying to ignore the way my boyfriend kept peeking over his shoulder. Just as I thought we'd escaped with our heads, a voice suddenly crawled through the already tense atmosphere. Bert's unnaturally smooth tone reeked of unwarranted flirtation; leaving absolutely no room for misunderstandings.