LOGINLEON'S POVThe hallway was buzzing with the noise of chattering students as I quietly stood in front of the vending machine, mindlessly tapping my fingers against the glass as I debated between a sparkling water and a soda.My head was still spinning from my last encounter with Damian the day before. And I hadn't seen Aaron all day, which for some reason, was affecting my mood.Maybe I'd just gotten used to him bothering me everyday.But at least Rose wasn't with me, which meant there were no unnecessary added attentions being drawn.āYou should get the new strawberry soda, it's amazing.āI turned my head to see May standing behind me, grinning.āHi Miss pretty,ā I murmured, smiling back at her.She blushed, ducking her head. āWhat's up, Leon?āI shrugged, ānothing major, just trying to get through senior year and also decide on what to drink. Thanks by the way, I'm trying the soda.āShe nodded, adjusting her glasses. āUm, I'm having this little picnic thing with my cousins on Saturda
DAMIAN'S POVMy words lodged in my throat, unable to let me bring them out.Then I shrugged my shoulders and sighed as I sat down.āAgain, I told you, I simply approached him because I was curious.āāUh huh,ā Dakota cooed, nodding her head slowly even though I could see the disbelief shining in her round, hazel eyes.āWhat?ā I blurted out.And she exhaled a laugh that made a few strands of her bangs flutter upwards.āNothing,ā she shook her head. āJust trying to digest the bullshit you're feeding me right now, Damian.āI threw my hands up in frustration as I grunted, dang she still knew how to piss me off.She was always like that even when we were children.āSeriously I feel like I'm being rage-baited by you, Dakota.āāYou wish,ā she sneered, eyeing me with mild disdain. āAnyways, back to what you were saying. You say you only talked to this guy because you were curious?āI rolled my lips, staring off into the distance as I inwardly debated whether to keep talking and responding to h
DAMIAN'S POVāFuck!ā I cussed, tapping the screen of my tablet harder just before I was completely eliminated from the game.āFuck it!ā I snapped again, barely able to hold back from tossing the still glowing gadget.On a whim, I swiped off the tab and opened the reading app I'd downloaded three days ago.Then I clicked it open, swiped until I saw what I was looking for, then I tapped and began to read.I felt the stark white light of the document on my face, the cursor blinking at me like a taunting heartbeat. I had already read it three times now. Once for shock, once for analysis, and a third time because, much to my growing annoyance, I couldn't seem to stop thinking about the story.āOkay, spill. Youāre being weird, Damian and it's making me uncomfortable watching you, ā Dakota taunted, tossing a throw pillow at me from the other end of the couch.āStop it, Dakota,ā I replied grimly. āAlso you don't have to watch me, just leave or close your eyes.āāOh please,ā Dakota rolled her
LEON'S POVThe library was my favourite sanctuary.As usual, it was speckled with dust motes and muffled silence. It was the only place where I could truly breathe.I sat in my usual secluded corner at the back, the screen of my laptop casting a pale, bluish glow against my face as my fingers rapidly danced over the keyboard.I was deep in the vibe of the story, in the way the words flowed, the descriptions of skin and desireā¦things that Iād never actually dared to speak aloud.āI knew I'd find you here.āThe voice came out of nowhere just as a shadow stretched across my keyboard.I slammed the lid of my laptop shut so fast my heart skipped a beat, my blood turning to ice. I looked up, prepared to stammer out some excuse about homework or notes, only to find Damian standing there.He wasn't wearing his usual unreadable expression, and he wasn't surrounded by his group of tittering minions. He also looked different in the soft, amber light of the library, more human, almost approachabl
LEON'S POVI didn't move.Not back, not forward, just stood in my doorway in yesterday's clothes at seven thirty in the morning and looked at Reid Calloway on my porch and breathed.The manila envelope was under his left arm, casual, like he'd just picked up mail on his way over. His expression was exactly the same as the libraryāpatient, warm enough to read as friendly if you didn't know what you were looking at.My phone was upstairs.Aaron was across town.It was just me and a door I'd already opened and a person I hadn't invited here."How do you know where I live," I said. My voice came out even, which surprised me slightly."You'd be amazed what's publicly available," Reid said. "Voter registration. Utility records. Nothing nefarious." He said *nefarious* like it was a word he found slightly amusing. "Can I come in?""No."He nodded, unsurprised. "Okay. We can do this out here." He shifted the envelope from under his arm, held it at his side but didn't open it. "I want you to un
LEON'S POVNobody answered or at least not immediately.Which was fine. Some questions needed a moment before anyone should try to answer them, and what do we do about a person who has two years of private letters and a burner phone collection and apparently nothing but time* was one of those questions.I wrapped both hands around my coffee cup and thought.Aaron was doing the sameāI could see it, the inward focus, the way he went quiet when he was actually working through something rather than performing composure. Marlowe was watching both of us with the patience of someone who'd learned to wait."What's in the letters that he'd actually use," I said finally. "Specifically. Not everythingājust the thing he'd lead with."Marlowe looked at the table for a moment. "There's a sectionā" he stopped, recalibrated. "About six months in. I was in a bad place. Notā" he glanced at me briefly, then Aaron, "ānot dangerous. Just low. The kind of low that's hard to write about without it sounding
LEON'S POVāLeon, Leon!ā Rose chirped excitedly as we walked out of the third class for the day, āI'm going to sit with Aliyah and Cassie, we have so much to catch up, while me and youā¦ā she paused, giggling, āwe can talk on our ride back home and all through the night, you okay with that?āI smile
LEON'S POVThe doorbell chimed, a bright, intrusive sound that sliced through the quiet of our house. I rushed to open it, pulled the door open, and for a second, I simply just stared.First at the familiar round, cherub face, pouty lips and big, hazel eyes framed by softly arched eyebrows.Then my
DAMIAN'S POVThe Monday morning bell had a sharper, more annoying edge to it that felt particularly aggravating today.I stood by my locker in the hallway, my eyes tracing the movement of the crowd of students, and then finally settling on Leon. He was leaning against the lockers, books pressed to
AARON'S POVLeon turned to look at me, his eyes soft and searching. āI didn't know it was you, Aaron. I swear it. I wasn't using you.āI let out a small, sad laugh, casting him a quick sideways glance.āIt sure felt like it.āāI apologize for that,ā Leon murmured.āIt was dark, and I was delirious







