the brain project [1]

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everett

"what're you thinking about?" he asks. he tries to study the boy a couple of feet away from him, but he's never been good at judging anyone's emotions.

aidan rubs his thumb over the quarterback's palm, looking at their hands. "nothing."

he can sense the lie despite his cluelessness, but he won't stay quiet. if he and aidan are a 'thing,' he will speak, something that others in aidan's past relationships obviously haven't done. "what're you thinking about, aidan?"

aidan curses under his breath, but faces everett. "you."

"what about me?"

"what we might be," aidan says, dropping his gaze. "what i might be."

"hey," everett tilts his head up to look at him. "hey, don't you dare be ashamed of who you are, okay? whatever your sexuality is, doesn't matter to me, and you shouldn't care about what everyone would say either."

"what about you? what did you tell your family?"

he freezes. "i'm pansexual, but... i haven't told anyone."

"why not?"

"because my mom is all that i have left," he whispers. "because if she doesn't accept me for who i am, i'll have no one."

aidan squeezes his hand. "you'll have me."