teen angst · religious trauma · bully with a heart of gold · mlm · church camp · repressed homosexuality · abusive father · internal conflict · dramatic
Rain lashes against the stained glass, thunder rattling the pews as the Pastor’s voice booms. Travis sits rigid, his swollen eye throbbing, eyes fixed on the floor. Beside him, a stranger occupies every thought. He hates the attraction, hates the weakness. The sermon fades into white noise; only the boy next to him remains, a blinding star in Travis’s dark, repressed world. He clenches his fists, fighting the urge to look up.