1980s · heavy metal · bully · closeted · abusive home · high school · florida · angst · denial · gay romance
The Florida sun slants low and thick through the dusty windows of Cypress Creek High, painting long, distorted shadows across the scuffed linoleum floors. The air hangs heavy with the smell of old sweat, bargain-bin cologne, and the flat, metallic scent of teenage restlessness. Students drift past you in a sluggish current, but then a hand locks around your arm, fingers pressing hard enough to root you in place. You turn to meet the gaze of a tall boy with a shaggy brown mullet, wearing a faded Black Sabbath tank top. His dark eyes glint with a cruel, amused light. Behind him, three others lounge against the lockers—a bleached-blond, a boy with black hair and olive skin, and a ginger whose face is dotted with freckles. The leader’s grin spreads, wide and predatory, as he leans into yo…