He's a quiet, caring gay boy struggling with his mental health and his homophobic parents.
He's a loud, rebellious bisexual boy with terrible self-preservation skills and a skateboard.
She's a smart, anxious lesbian with a love for flowers, coffee, and cats.
She's an edgy, passionate pansexual girl named after a goddess with a dog named Argus.
They're a cool, punk aro ace enby who solely owns black and leather clothing.
It's senior year at Hamilton High School for Aiden, Skyler, Ivy, Hera, and Phoenix. They are all friends and have known each other for at least a couple of years. Aiden moved to Hamilton High from Nashville in their freshman year and made friends with Ivy and Hera. By the end of freshman year, Skyler and Phoenix became a part of their group.
Ivy likes to call them 'the queer squad'. It's fitting, seeing as they're all part of the LGBTQ+ community. Not all of them are out, however. Skyler is bisexual. Ivy is a lesbian, Phoenix is not only aromantic and asexual, but they're also nonbinary, and Hera is pansexual. But Aiden is still in the closet. No one except for his small group of close-knit friends know he's gay.
As the senior year goes on, things get hectic. People get together, a sibling gets hit and their brother gets into a fight, a boy breaks his arm skateboarding and can't hold his boyfriend's hand. Someone's father leaves after they come out to their family. Another girl gets into a car crash and one of her family members passes.
Senior year is supposed to be fun. It's supposed to be the year where you enjoy as much of your childhood you can. But for the 'queer squad', almost everything goes wrong. But they all stick together. They always do.
Before I knew it my shirt was torn away from my torso and tossed on the floor, Charlie's doing the same. Our kiss intensified and I felt him groan against my lips. I swear to god, this boy is making out with me like his life depends on it!
And that's when reality punched me in the gut... the words 'this boy' kept running through my head over and over again until it got through the thick fog of vodlka and whatever else was in those stupid drinks.
I, Ace Loughty, was kissing a guy. A fucking guy. A fucking straight guy named Charlie Simmons who of course had to be one of the most popular dickheads in Meadow Ridge High.
I am so unbelievably fucked.
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17 year old Ace Loughty was never one longing to be in the spotlight. In fact, he craved the exact opposite: being left alone. When Ace was 13, the tragic death of his younger sister Eleanor caused him to rapidly gain popularity and pitiful looks. He hated the attention. All of a sudden everyone wanted to be friends with the dead girls brother, they'd promise Ace he would never be alone that they would always be there for him, which he of course knew was untrue, they're all just hungry for attention. Sometime later the school moved onto other drama and gossip, things started to die down and people finally left Ace alone. He moved on with his life, convincing himself he was over Eleanor's death and as quick as the whole thing started, he returned to being lonely, weird, quiet nobody Ace. Just how he liked it.
That is until 4 years later when he found himself sprawled out on a bed. With Charlie Simmons hovering over him. Charlie Simmons who was kissing Ace like he would die if he ever dared to stop. Which was all too true. Without kissing Ace, Charlie was as good as dead.
*WARNING*: This story will contain themes of severe depression, suicide, abuse and somewhat graphic depiction of self harm. If any of these things may trigger you please rethink reading this story!!
Started: January 21st 2020