"What's wrong, Enzo? You look exhausted."
"I'm fine."
"Seriously."
Enzo rolls his eyes.
Just a little.
"My sister had a nightmare last night. My younger sister. Big deal."
Dan's eyes focus on him. "And you were up all night for her? That's sweet."
"It's not sweet. And I was only up for like, half an hour."
I just didn't get back to sleep afterwards.
"How many sisters do you have?"
"Three." Pause. "Four, including Izzy. And a brother."
Another pause.
"You?"
"One sister. Artemis. She's eight."
"Artemis?"
"Yeah." Dan grins. "Like Diana, the virgin huntress, you know?"
"And do you think your sister would make a good virgin huntress?"
Dan snorts. "No. A few kids in her class staged a fake wedding for her and this boy the other day, in the playground. I bet she'll be pregnant before she's sixteen."
Enzo laughs. It surprises him.
If Dan notices, he doesn't say anything.
"You said you were different," Enzo says. Cautiously, "Yesterday."
"Yeah," Dan says, "I am."
Enzo frowns.
"I'm not a guy guy," Dan says. "I'm not a bloke. You know? I hang out with the girls at school. Most people think I'm gay."
"Do you get teased for it?"
Dan shrugs. "Sometimes. But I think, in the end, I'd much rather be with the people that I get - like, actually get - rather than those who just spout a load of open-ended nonsense about who snogged who last summer."
"Don't girls do that, too?"
"Hah. I guess. But they're more...normal about it. Not so...confrontational."
"You surprise me."
Enzo looks at him, then. Really looks.
His eyes are the ocean.
"And...are you gay?"
Now it is Dan's turn to laugh.
It is a proper laugh.
A good laugh.
It makes Enzo jealous.
"What do you think?"
YOU ARE READING
The Anatomy of a Parody Heart
Teen Fiction|| Highest rankings: #1 in notfittingin (30/03/19) #9 in antibullying (25/05/18) || - COMPLETED - Enzo knows that he is different. He knows it in the way that people look at him. Talk about him. Bu...
