In the middle of Des Plaines Illinois three boys find themselves in a tangled knot of angsty lust and amateur love.
Evan Webster has an average American life. When he isn't at swim practice or the movie theater, he's trying to make time to study bi...
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OCTOBER
Evan focused his Pentax MX camera on Nadine and Kenneth, snapping a picture when they both smiled. The two hadn't separated since the disco ball had begun spinning, but Evan knew their smiling faces only lasted this long when they were in public.
"Would it make Nadine jealous if I danced with Heather?" Chris asked, staring at the dance floor with sad eyes.
"Chris," Evan started. He had deemed his white hair his new trademark, gelling it down with pride. "Heather would skin you alive and make you into a purse if you tried to talk to her."
He turned to his friend with hope. "Would Nadine come to my rescue?"
"Nadine wouldn't even come to my rescue," he said. "And I'm her brother."
"Yeah, but, I'm the love of her life," Chris replied, pointing to his own face. "She just doesn't know it yet."
Evan shook his head and snapped another picture of a random couple. As if to prove a point, Chris buttoned his suit jacket, puffed out his chest, and strolled toward Heather. Evan watched the encounter through his camera lens.
Heather was giggling with a few other senior girls as Chris approached, looking like Mr. Potato Head walking up to a Barbie doll.
"Ladies," he greeted, tipping his head slightly. "Can I borrow Heather for one dance?"
"Jesus Christ," Heather cringed, looking Chris up and down. She noticed his tux was at least two sizes too small, and to Heather, that was a crime.
"That's not usually the name I go by, but I'm not opposed to being deified. If that's what you're into," Chris trailed off. "Most people just call me Chris. Except when I was in little league—all the guys used to call me Pidge because there was another Christopher on the team. And there can only be one Chris, right? Like, what were they supposed to call me? Topher? That sounds ridiculous..."
Chris snorted at his own ramble while Heather simply stood there in her blush-pink dress. Her mouth was agape in utter disbelief, wrinkling her nose in revulsion. Without a word, she turned to walk away.
"That's fine. You go mingle," Chris called out to her, but she couldn't care less. "We'll circle back to this conversation later. Enjoy yourself!" He waved to her.
The brief encounter was like a verbal face plant, but Chris could bounce back from anything. He would embarrass himself time tens over if it meant getting one step closer to Nadine acknowledging his existence. He didn't care what anyone else thought of him. He just cared about Nadine. In a weird way, it was like an untouchable superpower. Wearing his heart on his sleeve made him somewhat invincible. Evan didn't have that luxury, not while he was with Danny.
If Chris knew Evan liked guys, he wouldn't understand why Evan had picked a guy who preferred to keep their encounters private. Evan wasn't the type of person to be anything other than himself, and neither was Chris. That's why they were best friends. Evan didn't think Chris would approve of Danny's hush-hush stipulations. Maybe that was part of the reason he hadn't told him about his secret dating life. Chris might tell him he deserved better, but distantly, Evan wondered if it was Danny who deserved someone better. Somehow he felt selfish for keeping him around.
"That went extremely well," Chris said, coming back to stand next to Evan.
"Did it?" Evan played along.
"Couldn't have gone better," Chris stated. "I think she likes me. Nadine will be jealous by next week."
Evan gave his friend a half smile and aimed his camera elsewhere. Chris had been crushing on Nadine since they were kids. Evan had become accustomed to his friend's good-hearted antics.
Among the crowd of dancing students, the red-headed boy was in the corner. Evan clicked his camera, capturing a photo of Jackson standing awkwardly—looking like a lone matchstick.
Shifting, Evan guided his lens to the left, stopping when he saw Bones. The monstrous boy was leaning against the gym wall with a sour look on his face, as if he saw something on the dancefloor that made him angry. Evan captured the expression with one click.
Danny stood about two feet away from Bones. So naturally, Evan aimed the camera at the dark-haired boy and snapped another picture. As if sensing Evan's attention, Danny's eyes pierced through the lens.
Evan lowered the camera, dropping Danny's vacant stare.
"My camera is out of film," Evan lied, gesturing toward the exit. "I think I left an extra roll in the darkroom."
Chris nodded understandingly. He was content at the snack table, filling himself with Jell-O squares. Evan wandered out of the gym with Danny's eyes tracking his movements.
