Declan Hankinston is on a mission to find a new prom date amidst the pain of his first heartbreak. Encouraged by his cousin Aubrey, he ventures into the world of gay online dating and signs up for Grindr to seek a companion. Little does he know, Aub...
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I still haven't been home. I still haven't faced Mom and Dad. I don't know how. I'm scared of what's to come. I'm afraid of what I'll say at the moment. I was up most of the night, tossing and turning, thinking about my life and every little detail, and it all makes sense now.
Mom latches on to me because she fears losing what's not hers.
Dad refuses to have a relationship with me because I'm not his.
How can I look them in the eyes and have a civil conversation after discovering they've been lying to me my whole life?
I was in and out of sleep all day, watching Netflix and snacking on hot Cheetos. My stomach keeps screaming for actual food but I can't bring myself to leave Tucker's bedroom. Tucker told his Mom that I'm 'going through some things', so she hasn't come up here at all.
Dad's been blowing up my phone, and Mom has sent a fuck-load of texts asking me when I will be home. Aubrey just texted me a few minutes ago in a group chat with John, asking, can we talk?
Now she wants to talk? She had all the chances in the world to speak to me and tell me what was going on, but she didn't. What she did do, though, was get shit-faced drunk and then embarrass me in front of our entire class.
But now she wants to talk? Putting me in a group chat as if they both haven't already screwed with me enough? Now, they want to apologise and make things right?
Fuck off. I respond.
I back out of the group thread, find my way to Grindr and scroll through my messages with Matt. My eyes glass over and my nostrils flare from the sinking feeling I have in my chest. His responses that once made me smile are now just words that I can't trust anymore, words that now mean nothing. So I delete my profile, and then the app.
It was all a lie any way.
"Where's Lyss?" Tucker walks into the bedroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair is wet and dripping water all over his off-beige, dirt-stained carpet.
I sink back into my phone and don't answer him right away so he continues with "Okay, I need to ask a question." he stands in front of me with his hands on his hips. "If I were gay, you'd tap this. Right?"
It's an admittedly funny question, and I know he's only asking to try and make me smile, so I respond with, "Well, no, because tapping that would make you a bottom. I'm clearly the bottom in every scenario. So no. No Tucker, I would not tap that."
By the way his mouth drops, I'm sure his ask did not go like how he had it planned out in his head. But nothing ever goes according to plan for anyone, right?
"She left to do exactly what you were doing. Said she'll be back in a few." I backtrack to his initial question.
"Are you gonna hop in? You have to change out of your clothes, dude. You're welcome to wear whatever. Just not my underwear." He smirks. "Unless you wanna put your balls where I put mine, that's fine too."
