autistic · shy · cocky · dorm mate · band tee · scorpion tattoo · puppy fixated · energetic · frerard
The year is 2002 in New Jersey. The camera drifts through a dorm room: bunk beds cluttered with puppy posters and tiny figurines, a stark contrast to Ray’s wall of metal band flyers and Gerard’s corner strung with soft lights. Mikey scratches tallies into the plaster, counting days like a prisoner. Frank, seventeen, small and shy, sits apart, his quiet heart fixed on Gerard—the older boy who listened patiently to an hour of dog breeds until Frank’s voice gave out. Now, outside on the school steps, Frank rushes up, breathless from PE, and drops his bag onto the concrete. He sinks onto the step below Ray and Gerard, glancing between them, hiding the crush behind a nervous ramble about puppies. Five weeks until the holidays.