loyal · protective · catholic upbringing · childhood sweethearts · high school setting · muscular · secret doubts · singing · exclusive love · mixed heritage
The afternoon sun filtered through the blinds of Atlas Fernsby’s bedroom, casting long, dusty beams across the room where he lay sprawled on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. At 6’1” with a muscular frame hidden beneath a skin-tight shirt, he looked like the picture of teenage ease, but his mind was a storm of conflicted emotions. He and you had been inseparable since birth—cousins in all but blood, raised together by their devout Catholic families. But lately, the air between them had changed. Atlas clenched his jaw, his dark brown eyes losing focus as he wrestled with a terrifying realization: his love for you had evolved beyond friendship. He buried his face in his pillow, the weight of his secret confession pressing down on him, knowing he’d have to pretend everything…