#𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚 / frankie + jesse .

[frankiefms]

* ◦ . ·     𝘾𝙊𝙎𝙏𝙊𝙉  𝘽𝘼𝙔   ;   𝙈𝙊𝙉𝘿𝘼𝙔  ,  𝘈𝘓𝘍𝘐𝘌 '𝘚 𝘎𝘈𝘙𝘈𝘎𝘌 & 𝘔𝘈𝘙𝘐𝘕𝘈    ››     𝙵𝚁𝙰𝙽𝙺𝙸𝙴  &  𝙹𝙴𝚂𝚂𝙴     ·

“ so , are you going to tell me ? ” frankie’s gaze flicked up to the clock above the office door . 8 hours . 24 minutes . he’d lasted nearly the whole day without asking . she was almost impressed — almost . she had expected him to grill her the minute he’d stepped through the open garage door . especially when all she’d given him was a singular text : don’t worry about picking me up , i got a ride ; before proceeding to ignore every single text that rolled in after . at least until the morning after and she'd told him she had made it home safetly . but she knew it was only a matter of time . jesse graye was just about as nosy as her whole family was — which made sense ,  he was as much family to her as her cousins were — & with her dad spying the car outside the house , it was only a matter of time before everyone knew . nothing stayed a secret for long in the delgado family . but that didn’t mean she had to give him what he wanted straight away . “ tell you what ? ” frankie replied , a tone of confusion lightening her words , as she pushed off the corner of the car jesse was currently working under the hood of . sending her in another spin around on the chair she’d dragged out from the office . “ you know what . ” she didn’t have to look to see the irritable look on his face as he straightened , & shifted a singular step back , to allow her to come into his view . “ no , jess , i really don’t , ” she started , head lolling back to allow her eyes to lift towards the spinning corrugated roof above , “ you’re going to have to be a little more sp — what the fuck ? ” the goading words cut off in a curse as the chair came to an abrupt halt & her feet flew out from under her to hit the solid floor . rebalancing herself before she toppled over . 

her head snapped around , eyes narrowed at the man that had reached out to catch the back of the office chair . “ get off . ” it was stated as she hit out at his wrist , pushing off his grasp to allow her to spin back to face him . he was just about as unamused as she was . her cheeks puffed out as she fell back , arms raising by her sides in a show of dramatics ,  “ why do you want to know all the sordid details anyway ? any other time i’ve tried to tell you anything , you’ve put your hands over your ears & shouted , like a fucking child , until i pried them away. ” the image alone was enough to bring a small amused smile to her lips as her head fell to the side , brows raising in silent question . “ so you did go home with someone friday night then , ” jesse’s own brows rose back at her as he wiped his hands on the rag he pulled from his back pocket , “ you didn’t just get dropped home . ” the smile faded from her lips as she righted herself . so he knew then . he knew & he was going to do everything in his power to make her say it out loud . she pushed herself up from the chair , sending it rolling back away from her , as she walked to the tool kit set beside the car . fingers reached for one of the many wrenches that lay loose in the open drawer before she passed it between her hands . eyes focused down upon it , “ i thought you’d be happy you got off the hook from having to come pick my tipsy ass up from a bonfire that you’d never want to be caught dead at . ” “ frankie . ” “ jesus . fuck . alright — ” the wrench landed in the drawer with a clatter as she chucked it back in . gaze snapping up to the irritating man that refused to get the message . she could lie . say she did go home with someone . but they both knew she’d be lying . not only because it was obvious he knew just who exactly had dropped her home . but because frankie was a terrible liar . at least to anyone that she cared about .

“ nicky dropped me home last night . ” her shoulders shrugged as her arms lifted slightly from her sides , “ happy ? ”  but even though there was a smugness glinting in jesse’s blue eyes , she couldn’t say he looked all that thrilled . it was why she continued before he got the chance to say anything , “ we went for a swim , ” half truth , half lie . he didn’t need to know just how she’d ended up in the water . “ and i knew for a fact you wouldn’t let me into your car soaking wet because you’re fucking precious about that thing . so when he offered to drop me home, i said yes . excuse me for not wanting to have to walk home along side your car . ”  “ i wouldn’t have made you walk . ” frankie’s features cleared of any emotion as she stared at him . “ okay . i would have . but that’s not the point here . ” tucking the rag back into his back pocket , he sat lightly back against the car’s hood , arms crossing over his chest . an action frankie copied as her brows rose once more . “ the point is , you let nicky haven take you home . ” “ he dropped me home . ” “ same thing . ” “ no . it’s not . ” “ basically . ” “ hardly . take me home means he took me back to his . dropped me home means he dropped me at my place and then he left . ” jesse’s head fell forward as he let out an audible breath . no doubt attempting to calm the irritation that was brewing in him . a smug smile spread across frankie’s lips . 

she watched him as his head lifted and a hand rose to rub at the edge of his jaw . she got why he was worried . he had been the one that had seen her through the worst of the aftermath of nicky’s sudden departure . once she’d finally crashed a few weeks after he’d left . but things were different now ; she knew why nicky had left , knew that he was trying to show her that history wouldn’t repeat itself — again , and she knew that they both wanted the band to work . but most importantly , she knew she could look after herself . her features softened as her arms loosened from their crossed position across her chest to fall to rest at her sides , her voice was strong as she spoke ,  “ i know what i’m doing , jess . ” her gaze flittered over him for a moment before she stepped towards him and came to rest beside him upon the hood of the car . “ i know you think it’s a stupid idea . that i should just try and do it on my own . but i don’t want that . i want to be a guitarist . i want the band . and for any of this to work — i’ve gotta figure out how the hell to be around him again . because no matter what either of us wish , there’s no band without him . ” his gaze stayed ahead of them as he stayed silent . it wasn’t long before frankie’s own shifted there as well , away from him . 

“ you checked out , frankie . you hardly spoke to anyone and even when you did it was like you weren’t really there .  ” her gaze snapped back to him as he broke the silence . it was her turn for irritation to flare . hot and barbed . “ i know what happened . i know what i did . you don’t need to remind me . ” she snapped , jaw clenching tight for a moment before loosening , “ and you certainly don’t need to play the over-protective older brother role . i can look after myself . i am looking after myself . ” she watched as jesse’s gaze directed itself to settle upon her , “ are you ? ” an exasperated breath left her lips as she pushed off the hood of the car , “ fucking hell — yes ! yes i am . it was a fucking ride home jesse . ” she turned on her heels after putting a few strides between them , her hand lifting to run through her hair , “  jesus , you're so fucking — you wouldn’t be throwing a fit if tai had dropped me home would you ? ” “ nicky isn’t tai . ”  frankie’s hands dropped to her side , fingers curling into tight fists . “ things are different . ” she watched as a singular eyebrow of jesse’s rose . it was a silent , knowing question and it turned her stomach . “ things are different . ” she repeated in answer . her voice unwavering even if the tightness of her chest threatened to constrict her throat . “ he’s a bandmate . possibly a friend . but that’s all he’ll be . because i may have forgiven him for leaving . but i haven’t forgiven him for how he left — or for how he hurt me . whatever i felt for him before —”  she swallowed before her lips pressed together . though they parted again only moments later , “ it’s gone . there was a him before and there's a him now . they are not the same and they never will be . ” silence fell between them again as jesse studied her intently . it was scrutinising and frankie desperately wanted to fidget beneath it . but any movement would have exposed her for what she really was and that was the last thing she wanted . for many reasons .

“ if he hurts you — ” the white flag went up and she felt the tension , that had unknowingly gathered in her shoulders , slacken with a breath , “ yeah . yeah . i know — ” she started , cutting him off , before her voice lowered and she pretended to flex the muscles in her arms , “ i’ll kill him . i’ll make him wish he’d never come back to coston bay . i’ll show him who the real no good asshole of coston bay is . i’ll put my toxic masculinity and tiny brain to good use . ”  an oily rag hit her straight in the face . but still , as she pulled it away , a smile was bright upon her features . “ i don’t fucking sound like that . ” a hand lifted to measure a small space between her thumb and pointer finger , “ little bit . ”   “ whatever — ” he replied , loosening a breath from his nose , as he pushed himself off the car . frankie began to move off then , back towards the office , believing the whole damned conversation had finally come to a close . but jesse’s voice followed her , pausing her movements , “ i just don’t want you to go through that again , frank . ” her jaw shifted side to side for a moment , eyes focused upon the door , before she took in a deep breath . letting it out , she forced a small smile upon her lips as she looked back over her shoulder at him , “ i won’t . ” and she wouldn’t . not if she had anything to do with it . nicky haven might be back in her life . but it didn’t mean she’d ever give him a chance to hurt her again .