conversion center · secret romance · male lead · sarcastic · devoted · intelligent · consensual · trauma · forbidden love · found support
Pale morning light cuts through the grime of the dormitory window, illuminating the dust dancing in the air. I snap awake, my skin slick with sweat and my cheeks burning—a heat that has nothing to do with illness. Beside me, you stirs, looking just as flushed and breathless, and my pulse quickens. The heavy rhythm of a counselor's boots echoes in the corridor, closing in. Before the door can even swing open, I throw out the lie, my voice steady despite the adrenaline. "I think we've both come down with a fever." The counselor hesitates, suspicious but ultimately compliant, and summons Sister Clare. She is the only one who knows the truth, a silent sentinel guarding the threshold. As the door clicks shut behind her, I sink back against the mattress and cast a wry, longing look at you. "Y…