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Those Three Boys | Prologue

AS I STEP FORWARD, I feel the floor shift underneath me. I gulp down a gob of spit and steel myself, trying to force my lungs to breathe deeply.

"Okay Lucas, deep breaths, you're going to be absolutely fine," I mumble to myself, shaking my wrists in a vain attempt to throw away my nerves. "Nothing is going to go wrong--you've rehearsed this several times in your head. Your siblings will be shocked but they will support you blindly in the end. You'll be okay. I'll be okay. It's gonna be fine fine fine..."

Stepping out of my hiding spot in the hallway, I walk out into the apartment's living area, spotting both of my younger siblings in their natural habitats. Jayden is sitting by the dining table, typing away furiously on his laptop, while Sereena's on the couch, nestled comfortably between two fleece cushions, completely absorbed in her console game. Neither look up at me as I enter the room.

Neither can see my shaking hands, or hear my breath hitch, either.

"All right nerds, I have something to tell you both," I shakily say, clearing my throat.

No response.

Clashing battle armour from Sereena's game is amplified tenfold, and Jayden's incessant typing is starting to sound like white noise. I steel myself and clear my throat loudly.

"Guys?"

"What, Lucas?" Sereena groans, angrily pausing her game, "Are you finally admitting your superiority at doing chores? Because if so, I have washing that needs doing. Thanks."

She resumes her game. Bright flashes of neon green, vermillion red, and icy blue streak her face as her in-game character continues his onslaught.

Come on, Sereena, don't give me an escape route.

"Sereena, this is serious-"

"Can it wait?" Jayden asks, interrupting me. He's poking his head above his laptop, somehow nearly knocking his coffee cup over. "This assessment is due in less than ten minutes and I only started two hours ago."

I shake my head no. Jayden groans dramatically, throwing his head back, while Sereena continues playing her game.

I've done enough waiting. I can't hold this in any longer--if I don't do this now, I can guarantee myself that I'll end up bottling my feelings and never knowing the touch of a man.

Growing annoyed, I fold my arms, glancing at either of them. "Guys. Seriously. This is important, and I'd appreciate it if you stopped doing whatever you're doing for five seconds, and listen."

Sereena pauses her game and Jayden begrudgingly shuts his laptop, both staring at me. Sereena has her arms folded, and Jayden's eyebrows are tightly knitted together. "Okay, shit, what's the announcement, Lucas?" Sereena says.

"Can you both come here? It's hard talking to you when you're on opposite sides of the room."

With a loud groan, Sereena gets up, leaning casually against the armrest of the couch. Jayden shuts his laptop and shoots of out his seat, walking towards me with his arms folded and a scowl on his face.

"This better be fucking good," Sereena mumbles to Jayden.

Well, here goes something.

"All right," I begin, sitting on the kitchen's bench stool, looking at my irritated siblings. "You two are the closest people to me in the entire world. Due to that, you two should be the first to know about this aspect of me. There's no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to spit it out--"

Sereena sighs, waving a hand dismissively. "Yeah yeah, get to the point."

My hands begin to tremble again. I rub the back of my neck, avoiding their gazes. "W-well.. not spit it out yet... I've just believed that for a while, if you want something you've never had, then you've got to do something you've never done, s-so uh, I guess um what I'm trying to say is-"