Chapter Text
“I honestly don’t know that I belong here” Frank spoke in a surprisingly calm manner, flicking his remaining cigarette ash into the provided tray, before stubbing it out in a similarly casual manner.
“Isn’t there just some pills you could give me?” he dubbed on, glancing around the office where he sat; which was a distasteful combination of clinical white and 1960’s tosh, with the worst examples of each creating the ghastly amalgamation.
“No, Mr Iero. I feel it’s in your best interests that you stay with us for a while, chances are in a case like yours, you’d only be here for a matter of days, it couldn’t hurt you to try” the other spoke; a psychiatrist, by the name of Dr Williams, who had been assigned to Frank’s case. He was hardly charming.
“I suppose” Frank said, leaning forwards slightly, giving the offer a serious consideration, which he had failed to do to any real extent over the course of the pair’s two hour interview.
Frank had been seeing this particular doctor since he was nineteen years old, he now being twenty-three. Various childhood traumas had led to the young man’s demise, notably, the murder of his father by his mother, who in the aftermath had run off with Frank’s younger brother, and was still nowhere to be found.
Frank often now heard the voices of the two. Generally nothing too sinister. Oddly, he’d not been too badly affected by the proceedings, only the mildest of mild cases of schizophrenia that Dr Williams had ever seen.
But the doctor had gathered that this was perhaps the problem, as anybody else as young as Frank was at the time, being only fourteen, would have completely lost the plot, whereas Frank had not.
He assumed that there was some awful repression going on in Frank’s subconscious that he would need to discover and desperately so, as the voices Frank was hearing were getting increasingly frequent and distressing, to the point where the other simply shrugging it off was no longer an option.
“Are you sure I’m insane?” Frank piped up, sighing. The doctor couldn’t help but laugh lightly. “You hear the voices of your mother and brother, who you haven’t seen or heard from in nine years, they’ve been telling you recently to set fire to things. I’m quite sure” he quipped, causing Frank to giggle in a like manner, glancing down towards the floor briefly.
“I need you to sign this, Frank, your admission form” Dr Williams said, bringing out a flimsy document from behind the desk. Frank inclined forwards and picked it up lazily, glancing over it as if in an attempt to read the over bearing text, of which realistically there was too much.
“It basically states that you are in our care. You are our responsibility. That we are to treat to as we see fit and that you are to comply with the rules. Failure to do this will simply result in harsher rules, not being discharged” the doctor said flippantly, seeing the bemused look about Frank, who trailed his eyes up from the papers before placing them neatly on the desk.
“Don’t be an arse hole, then?” Frank confirmed. Dr Williams laughed. “Right” he stated. With that, Frank Iero picked up the blue fountain pen from beside his hand and without a second thought, sighed away his human rights.
He carefully put the pen back down, watching intently as the other snapped the papers from him, placing them in a desk drawer. “You won’t regret this, Frank. I want to see you get better, you know that” Dr Williams offered, with a warm smile. Frank nodded and laced his fingers together loosely.
“What happens now?” he enquired, shuffling his feet over the floor. “Well, we take you for a search, you’ll be assigned a uniform and then to your room, we’ll brief you on your course of therapy after you’ve settled in, tomorrow morning most likely” the doctor said, standing up.
“Wait, I have to wear a uniform? Like a prison?” Frank mouthed, standing up accordingly with the doctor. “Oh, no, Frank. It’s simple procedure, we only do it so we can be sure you’re not hiding drugs or sharp items in your clothing, we’ll have to do it with any personal possessions you wish to have. You’ll probably get them back by tomorrow” he replied, as he led Frank out of the room.
Frank followed silently, looking around the facility, which he had not seen before then. It was similar really to the office in its décor. White was the primary factor, it having been thrown up the walls and floors, but there was also used-to-be-fashionable worn furniture, as well as the occasional faded wall hanging, generally being either a motivational poster or an advertisement for a band or television series.
The crackly sound of Mama Cass Elliot filled the corridor, Frank assuming its origins were in the main ward, as it appeared to be coming from a distance away. He recognised the morbidly upbeat lyrics to be that of “Glad to be Unhappy”, a song he was sure he’d heard from his mother’s car in his early childhood.
“This way, Mr Iero” the doctor guided him to a blank seeming room, opening the door for him. “Nurse, could you ask them to change the track?” the doctor went on, leaning down and whispering to a blonde woman who had abruptly appeared beside him.
“I have, they’ll just put it back on again” she hummed back, shrugging. Dr Williams rolled his eyes and dismissed her. “Okay, Frank. Your uniform is there, please remove your clothing and put it on. Another doctor will be here shortly to pat you down” he spoke softly.
Frank nodded quietly as the door was pulled to, not completely closed; a safety measure, Frank assumed. He hastily changed his outfit, with the doctor peering in upon his completion and sending the aforementioned other into the room with him, who as quickly as Frank had dressed, cleared him of being in possession of contraband.
Frank shuffled out of the room, holding a towel and some bedding that had been shoved into his folded arms by Dr Williams. “Now Frank, I will need to have one word with you before you go to your room” he said, stopping them in their tracks.
“Um, okay” Frank said, looking about and frowning, exaggerating the fact that he thought the doctor’s voice had suggested that somehow Frank knew that this would happen, which was obviously unrealistic. Stupid, was what Frank had in mind.
“Your roommate’s name is Gerard Way. I must warm you about him, Frank. He’s not physically dangerous, not from what we’ve seen.
But he’s slippery; he’ll get under your skin if you’ll let him” the elder paused, finding his words. “We don’t have an exact diagnosis for him as of yet, but we do know he’s a psychopath, completely and utterly a psychopath…” he mumbled off, biting his lip somewhat.
“I don’t want to worry you Frank. You’re probably one of the most sane people on the ward, I know you can handle him, I just felt I should say something, in case he bothers you” Dr Williams finished, starting to walk again, Frank following.
“Uh, okay, thank you, doctor” Frank said as coolly as he could, not so much concerned by the other’s words, but really more curious.
They came to the door of the ward, the doctor pressing it open cautiously. Several heads flicked around as the pair walked in side by side, some smiled and waved nervously, some merely stared, others appeared to cower, mumbling amongst themselves. It appeared the same as the corridor they had just walked from.
“This is the day room, Frank. You’ll spend most of your free time in here. We have the TV in here, the radio, record player, games and such” he pointed in the vague direction of the sitting area as the wondered past.
“Here is the therapy area, the separate rooms are for individual sessions” Dr Williams continued as they walked, going through another white room with a series of doors. “Through there is the schooling areas, art rooms, music rooms…” he mouthed, pointing down another hall way he obviously didn’t intend upon showing Frank at that time.
“And this, is your room” he finished at the end of the hall, tapping lightly on the door before them. There was no response so the doctor tapped again, followed by a same response. Dr Williams gave Frank a quick look before opening the door.
Frank noted immediately, in an almost shocked manner, another man, laid across the bed, seeming only to be staring at the ceiling. His hair was matt black, his clothing was that provided by the hospital and his nails were painted.
“Gerard, this is your new roommate, Frank” the doctor said, urging Frank into the room as he uttered. Gerard continued to gaze for a time, before his glace shifted to the alarmed boy in the doorway.
“I see” he said simply, resuming his original stance. Frank looked over at the disconcerted doctor, who nudged him towards his bed. “Remember you gave group therapy at six, Gerard. Before dinner” Dr Williams offered, trying it would seem to break the silence, for Frank’s sake.
“I have been told” Gerard replied, in his previous monotonic fashion. “You’re to behave this time” the doctor cleared his throat. “And I shall, Dr Williams” Gerard flashed back instantly, his body nor his face changing in movement. The doctor looked as though he would pipe up again, but simply gave Frank a quick nod before leaving the room.
Frank sat down on what he assumed was his ascribed bed and stared over the wall before him, trying not to obviously look at Gerard, though secretly this was his aim. He still felt strangely calm, his mood hadn’t really changed much from his meeting earlier that day; he was still feeling very arrogant about the situation, sure that he would get out in no time at all.
Abruptly, almost making Frank jump, Gerard stood up and walked towards the door of the room, closing it with light fingers before returning to his bed. His movement, Frank observed, was stern yet calm, his posture was astounding yet it appeared to come to him naturally. His head was up, his chin high and his arms stayed almost elegantly by his sides. His facial expression still never changed.
After a while of awkward quiet, Frank stood up again. He took the sheet that was draped across his arms and carefully made his bed, placing the towel he had been given at the end of it. Frank sat down on the bed, letting out a long sigh.
“So…” he finally spoke, his voice perhaps more forward than he had planned. “I guess we’re roommates” he continued, drumming his fingers on his thigh. The room was quiet again, but before Frank could press anymore, Gerard decided to speak.
“Tell me, Frank, do you always speak so casually, or is this a put on to convince me, or yourself, that you’re actually a confident person? I bet in your own time you’re rather quiet to yourself, you think like a child.
You think that you’re lonely and tired and that’s why you need to act the opposite. You think that because someone died, didn’t they, Frank? Someone who you loved, they died, didn’t they? When you were young, thirteen or fourteen I’d suppose” he said, his expression not shifting. Gerard turned his head and looked dully over the boy who sat in disbelief beside him.
“I can tell it in your eyes mostly, Frank. They look so sad even though you were smiling. I bet it would take a staff member here a full week to deduce that, but I can see it. I can feel it in the way you sit” he quipped, sitting up suddenly.
“I’m going to the day room; they allow me to use the stereo at four o’clock, on the rota. I much can’t stand this popular music. Goodbye” At that, he stood as gracefully as he had previously and swiftly exited the room, leaving Frank in an odd fantasy sense, questioning what had just happened.
The man was a fucking genius, Frank thought, a damn odd one at that. Frank mopishly stood up and glanced out of the now open door, noting the various people who still inhabited the day room. He couldn’t see Gerard; he assumed that the boy was now tucked away in the corner where he had seen to stereo.
Cautiously, Frank stepped out of the safety of the dorm and gradually walked down the corridor. Reaching the designated area, he was met with more looks from the others, who had noticeably backed away from the strange new acquaintance of Frank.
Frank stared down at the floor as he took his seat in a sofa far away from the others. He found himself thinking, oddly of little, but concentrating none the less.
Every now and again, he’d glance up at who he now knew as Gerard, who was holding the radio on his lap and humming lightly to some variation of a classical music, his eyes slipped shut. Frank couldn’t help but shift his thoughts to the boy. He was curious, above all, Frank thought.