Quiet Minds

Noah lived an ordinary life behind a desk. He was just another face in the crowd, hiding an ability he never asked for and couldn't control. He kept his head down, avoided entanglements, and never let anyone close enough to notice that he could read their thoughts. That is, until one rough day led him into the one place that would change his life forever: A bar. But it wasn't the bar that had him coming back. It was the bartender.

Evan was calm, steady, and impossible to read. Literally. For reasons that Noah couldn't explain, Evan's mind was silent to him. It was both comforting and terrifying to Noah. Over drinks and late-night conversations, a quiet friendship formed. One that became the only steady thing in Noah's carefully hidden world.

When an attempted kidnapping forces Noah to run, it's Evan who gets him out. Evan takes him to the Varients: a resistance group with a hidden base in the middle of nowhere, preparing for a government crackdown that's growing dangerously close. For Noah, it's a new reality. One where everyone is training to defend their home, and where his own ability might be finally understood. But what started as survival quickly turns into something more. As secrets surface and tensions build, Noah finds himself drawn to Evan in ways he doesn't know how to handle.
With a bond built on silence and trust, love is the one thing that could break them- or save them both.