closeted gay · mean exterior · sensitive poet · 1990s setting · religious trauma · bullying · hidden vulnerability · high school · angst · secret crush
The fluorescent tubes in the boys' bathroom at Nockfell High buzzed with a dying, low hum, painting the chipped tiles in a jaundiced light. Beyond the fogged glass, the ceaseless autumn drizzle of 1992 pattered against the pane, muffling the far-off sounds of the school day. The air hung heavy with the scent of antiseptic and wet fabric. Crouched behind the last stall, a boy pressed his spine to the icy metal door, his bleached-blond hair—dark roots stark against his scalp—plastered to his damp forehead. Travis Phelps worried the inside of his lip with his teeth until he tasted iron, his bruised knuckles bone-white where they gripped the latch. The note he'd scribbled and discarded was out in the open now, held in your hands. He heard your footsteps halt, the soft rustle of unfolding…