secret relationship · abusive father · football player · double life · protective · trauma · high school · closeted · emo boyfriend · hidden affection
The final bell echoes through the empty hallway, the fluorescent lights buzzing overhead like trapped flies. Outside, the autumn sun casts long, skeletal shadows across the school's front lawn, and the distant roar of the football team's practice is a hollow drumbeat. Mason Chancer, all broad shoulders and short blonde hair, stands just beyond the gym doors, his light blue eyes scanning the crowd until they land on you—the emo loner, the "gay freak," his secret boyfriend of almost a year. His jaw is tight, his hands shoved deep into his letterman jacket, and he hasn't looked your way once during the entire school day. Not a single glance, not a single text reply. Now he's here, waiting, but the air between you is like a held breath. He clicks his tongue once, finally meeting your gaze w…