Haunted. Terrified. Alone. Those three words seem to be the only emotions that seventeen year old Gabriel Adams knows how to feel. At the age of thirteen, when other boys were chasing after pretty girls and playing in the dirt, Gabriel had been kidnapped and molested. Now, several years later, Gabriel still can't return to the normal life he'd lived before the Incident. He's terrified of the dark, and even the daytime gives him anxiety attacks. Gabriel hates being touched. A simple brush against him will set him off into spasms while panic quickly takes over his mind. It seems as if nothing will relieve Gabriel from the constricting, painful claws of the man who'd done him harm, and Gabriel is becoming desperate. That's when Evan Ricci steps in. Evan, a stubborn yet surprisingly selfless teenager, moves to the small, quiet town of Clydesdale Heights. When Evan sees a small, awkward blond haired boy carrying pop boxes across the street while he's bringing moving boxes into the new house, he decides to help him. Things don't go exactly as planned, though, and their relationship begins with a rather rough start. The two eventually learn to bond, and Evan helps Gabriel learn to deal with the psychological consequences of being molested, which eventually blooms into an understanding so deep they can't imagine themselves with anyone but the other. A hint of infatuation sparks up, but not quite yet will the love blossom out like most. Their love will take time. And lots of patience and persistence, too.

Ethan is sarcastic and sassy. Will is careless and troubled. When Ethan sees how bad Will is struggling, he decides to help the 20 year old. But in order to help Will, Ethan realizes he must face his own dark past. As feelings and secrets emerge between the two boys, Ethan begins to question if Will is really as straight as he claims to be.

Mark Luce is a clueless, kind-hearted 17 year old. Having to deal with his perverted best friend Shaw, his vicious bully Joey, a grandpa that still thinks he’s in World War 2, his constant zoning out, and being openly gay in a homophobic society, Mark has a lot on his plate. When Maxx Falcone, the boy Mark had crushed on for years, reenters his life, things get even crazier. Mark can hardly believe it when Maxx begins to show an interest in him. But Maxx has a deadly secret that could tear apart Mark’s world and shatter his gentle heart if he isn’t careful.

Emerson is miserable with his life. He’s constantly bullied, and his boyfriend, Matt, sides with his tormentors. When Emerson hides in the school’s boiler room to escape everyone, he doesn’t expect to find a journal. The journal looks simple enough, but inside, it contains the shocking story of a boy named Nash. As Emerson reads deeper into the heart wrenching words of Nash’s life, he is unaware that his life is about to change forever.