[Twice Featured Noteworthy Novel & Staff Pick on Tapas.io] ✔
[Previously featured on Tapas.io's LGBTQ+ Community collection] ✔
One night. That was all it took for Senn Reyes' life to change drastically--and permanently.
Senn Reyes is a seventeen-y...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Friday
Julian and Senn split ways inside, Julian heading over to some of his old friends, while Senn went to search for his friends. They weren't at the side of the pool any longer, so Senn decided to look for them inside. They possibly went to get themselves drinks while he was away, or dance with the girls after they had begged them for an hour or so already.
What he hadn't expected, was to find them in the kitchen, in the company of none other than Elio—who was downing two shots while a few girls where cheering him on. Other girls, who Senn passed on his way into the kitchen, were fawning over how good he looked.
Senn couldn't agree more.
He tried to keep the lovesick smiling to a minimum, but he couldn't stop himself from smiling at the sight of Elio no matter how hard he tried.
"Elio? I didn't know you were planning to go to this party?" Senn joined his friends, his smiling fading when he noticed both Lucas and Avan's worried frowns.
His smile dropped in total when Elio turned to face him, sending him a cold look, right before he threw another shot down his throat.
"What's wrong?" Senn asked, noticing Joyce and Samantha in the door opening, the former with her arms crossed and anger in her eyes while she looked at Elio.
"I don't know, Senn," Elio grumbled, turning away to search for a bottle of whatever he had been downing in multiple shots. "How'd you feel if you like someone and you find them kissing someone else when you head over to a fucking party you don't want to be at just to surprise them because that's just how much you like them?"
"I—wh-what?" Senn stuttered, exchanging looks with Lucas, who shrugged his shoulders in surprise to tell him he had no idea what Elio was talking about.
"Probably the same way I felt when you dumped me," Joyce snapped at him, causing both Senn and Elio to send her a cold look.
"This isn't about you," Senn snapped at her, while panic arose inside of him.
"No," Elio swirled around on his feet until he could plant a finger against Senn's chest. "This, Senn, is about you."
Senn felt his face heat up as he saw Joyce's anger turn into confusion that matched Samantha's facial expression.
"Elio..." Senn muttered, pushing Elio's finger away from his chest. "Not here," he whispered, though the sound of the music blasting through the house possibly made it impossible for Elio to hear. Whether or not he heard it, he didn't care that they were surrounded by at least a dozen students from their school that were slowly tuning in on their conversation—or argument.
"It's about you, kissing another guy outside," Elio continued his rant, pushing his finger back against Senn's chest. "And here I was, thinking you actually liked me."
"What?" Joyce asked with a high-pitched voice, while Senn heard a glass shatter to pieces, somewhere close to where she was standing. "You and Elio... just, what?"
