In Young Hollywood, Episode 10 – Bromance, Frankie’s strange behavior continues, this time its landed him in serious trouble. He may have gone too far with this one… but then again, it’s Frankie Malone we’re talking about.
The Recap
We first learned of Frankie’s strange behavior in Young Hollywood, Episode 6 – Crotch Rocket, when he shows up with a flashy new toy.
“Think the Songbird is a virgin? She spent most of her life on a tour bus, I’m sure there were some messing around going on.” Frankie mused, as he eyed Joel and Leighann.
“Don’t talk about LD like that.” Zax snapped and Frankie threw up his hands in surrender.
“Whether or not he’s getting some, he looks happy.”
“It’s not always about sex, Frankie.” Zax retorted.
“At our age, it should be. We’re at the prime in our lives. A gentle breeze in that area… and up it goes. You have any idea how lucky we are Zax? We need to leverage that. When we turn 60, we’ll wish we could get and keep a hard-on.”
Zax shook his head disapprovingly, “I think there’s too much testosterone in your house.”
Zax noticed Frankie’s pre-occupation when Rebecca Foster entered the dining hall.
“What’s going on there? You guys broke up again?”
“More like a hiatus.”
“Why don’t you just end it for good?”
“Because one day I’m gonna marry her.” Frankie confessed and Zax knew he was serious. “I love her, Z. I just can’t commit right now. It’s my calling to fuck around… get it out of my system and when it’s all done, I’ll chose her.”
“She’s not just gonna sit around and wait for you.”
“We have an understanding.”
Joel joined them at the table. “If you want Bex, you’re gonna have to do better at holding on to her.” He pointed out.
“Does she hate me?” Frankie asked.
“No, but a girl like her is a rear gem.” Joel answered.
“Like I said, we have an understanding, she can date whomever she wants and when the time is right, we’ll make it permanent.” Frankie stated proudly and Joel and Zax exchanged looks. “Fine, I’ll prove it.” He left the table and headed toward Bex and her friends.
“We haven’t done sleepovers since we were Freshmen.”
“Why did we ever stop?”
“We got boyfriends.” Rebecca Foster laughed.
“Speaking of boyfriends, your wasteful ex is on his way over here.” Vanessa scowled.
“Bex, can we talk?” Frankie scowled back at Vanessa.
Vanessa was one of Rebecca’s friends that he loathed and was certain that the feeling was mutual.
“We have nothing to talk about, Frankie.” Bex answered without looking at him.
“Please?”
“What?” She faced him angrily.
He gently cupped her elbow and led her away from prying eyes and upturned ears.
“I want us to end this hiatus. I want you back.”
“We’re not on a hiatus, Frankie, we’re broken up. You broke us up.”
“Okay, then I want us to get back together.”
“It’s always what you want. You want us to break up. You want us to get back together. You think we should see other people. You want to screw other people. I’m tired, Frankie. We’ve been on this seesaw for years and I deserve better.”
“If this is about Astrid Wilson, that was a one-time thing. You didn’t mind me fooling around with other girls before.”
“You think I enjoy being cheated on? Humiliated, laughed at by other girls because my boyfriend was screwing around behind my back? Only you would think that it’d be that much of an honor to be with you. You’re a selfish, inconsiderate, ass, and that’s not even your biggest problem. You need help, Frankie.”
“You’re mad at me because I’m not ready to settle down?”
“I’m not asking you to get married and have babies, Frankie. You’ve never had a monogamous relationship in your life. You treat sex like some kind of sport. You have a problem.”
“What healthy eighteen-year-old male doesn’t have a high sex drive? You’re trying to put up a wall between us, Bex.”
“Get help, Frankie.”
“Hey, if you can’t keep up with the demand…” Frankie grinned.
“We’re done.” Rebecca brushed past him but he caught her arm.
“I was joking, Bex … come on.” He stood in front of her.
“You humiliated me in front of everybody when you dumped me for Kristin Newman. All for what? Now she’s with Zax, and you’re left out in the cold. I’m not your scratching post anymore. We’re done for good, and there is nothing you can do to change that.” She pushed him aside and headed over to her friends.
Warren’s welcome back to Westwood Academy was a good one. He loved returning to school after working on a movie. The professors and especially Principal Johansson treated him like the movie star that he was. Warren figured that Principal Johansson lived vicariously through the stories he fed him about his adventures of being a hot, young, celebrity. Principal Johansson managed to convince Warren that one day he’d get his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame … a dream Warren had had since the day he felt the call to his chosen career.
Warren saw Zax and his jock-mates hanging out in the courtyard. They were the only ones who didn’t care if he returned or not. Did they even notice that he’d left for three months? They were the only people who got more recognition from the school than he did. As far as he was concerned, they were all Westwood Academy royalty; while he was the prince… they were kings.
After Warren’s first visit to the hospital, he was not allowed to see Adriana. Her uncle’s guard dogs made sure that he wasn’t allowed on the same floor that she was.
‘Damn Adrian Banovic to hell!’
Warren’s anger propelled him towards Zax and his crew, and within seconds he was standing in front of Zax, demanding to have a word with him. Silence fell over the group and all eyes were upon them.
Zax walked a few feet away from the group and Warren followed. His knees began to buckle as the adrenaline seeped from his body and absorb into the earth. A sprinkling of sweat formed in the palm of his hand and he discreetly wiped it on his pants. Zax waited for him to speak and Warren felt his throat go dry. He swallowed hard and fought to remember the reason for the confrontation.
‘Oh yes, Adriana’.
“Why can’t I see Adriana?” Warren tried to remain firm and angry, but he couldn’t look at Zax, and maintain his composure.
“You got a pair of brass balls for asking me that after the shit you pulled in the press. What did you expect?”
“I told the press how I felt.” Warren defended himself.
“You know your relationship with my sister is a lie, you’re just making things worse for yourself. Right now, my family needs privacy and you’re stirring the pot with the media.”
“Yo! Man, Z, you gotta see this.” Frankie approached them, armed with his phone.
The headline of The West Post read, ‘Warren Voss public plea to the Banovics’. The article portrayed the Banovics as trolls standing in the way of true love and that Warren and Adriana were star-crossed lovers.
“You prick!” Zax grabbed Warren by the collar and the group rushed over.
Frankie parted them and nodded at Zax.
“Allow me,” and with that Frankie threw the first punch knocking Warren flat on the grass. “Get up!” He yelled.
Warren held his jaw and cowered, a crowd was formed.
“Get up, pussy!” Frankie yanked him up for a second punch.
Zax grabbed Frankie’s arm preventing him from smashing it into Warren’s face.
Mr. Wells, the math professor, and his TA came running over.
“Frankie! This is your second fight this semester. Principal Johansson’s office. Now!” Mr. Wells barked and escorted him away, while Warren disappeared with the TA.
Zax waited outside Principal Johansson’s office for Frankie. He noticed that his friend had been acting out of character recently. First, he’d gotten into a fight with Joel for reasons Zax still didn’t understand. Then he turned in his beloved Lamborghini for a crutch rocket. He thought about how Frankie egged Warren to get up… he wanted to continue the fight. But why? On the surface, Frankie’s action seemed extreme. He’d already humiliated Warren by messing around with his girl, and to Zax, the battle wasn’t worth the spoils.
“I heard what happened, is he gonna be okay?” Leighann sat in the chair next to Zax.
“Yeah.” Zax’s tone was less than convincing.
“You think he’ll get suspended?”
“I dunno, Frankie’s dad is a major financial backer of this school. But if Johansson doesn’t punish him, Voss might make a stink.”
“Kind of like the whole Adriana and Astrid thing.” Leighann said half to herself. “Your family built a wing and they still expelled her.”
“Yeah, but my family is less influential.”
“Maybe it’s best that she can’t remember all the bad shit that happened here.”
“I love my sister, but she was responsible for everything that happened to her here.”
Frankie walked out of the office and Zax rose quickly. “What happened?”
“I have a hearing in a week.” Frankie replied.
“And Voss, is he going to press charges?”
“Probably, that’s what the hearing is for.”
“Frankie, why’d you hit him?” Zax demanded.
“I wasn’t thinking! They’re gonna call Richard.” Frankie looked worried.
“Is he in the country?”
“No, that’s why we have to wait a week.”
“Frankie, talk to your dad, explain to him what happened.”
“Richard’s not like your dad, Zax.” Frankie walked away and disappeared into the mob that occupied the hallway.
Look for Episode 11 on November 9. Missed Episode 1? Read it now.
Look below to find previous episodes.
In the meantime, learn more about The Family Portrait series. Or get the box set which contains books 1 through 5.
Copyright ©2018 Gillian Felix. All rights reserved. This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the author, except as provided by United States of America copyright law. For permission requests, email the author Gillianfelix23{AT}Gmail.com
