Unseen

Prologue

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I shout as I fall back on the couch, tugging at my unruly blonde hair.

"Language!" my dad shouts from upstairs and I roll my eyes as Flynn snorts beside me.

"Yeah, Dalton, language." He shoots me a cheeky grin as he places his controller down on the coffee table and I sigh.

"I can't believe you beat me again," I huff as I put my controller down beside his.

"It's not my fault you suck." I punch him in the arm as he starts laughing and I stand up, raising my arms above my head to stretch.

"I'm hungry, do you want anything?"

"Yeah, just bring me whatever." He pulls out his phone and starts scrolling through his socials while I disappear into the kitchen to find something to eat.

It's the summer before sophomore year, and Flynn has been over almost every day to hang out. My dad's joked about him just moving in to save on travel time, and I may or may not have blushed a bit at that thought. I definitely wouldn't complain. Being able to see him first thing in the morning and before bed every night after spending all day together? Yes, please.

We've been best friends since we were six, and have been practically inseparable ever since, but for whatever reason, last year I started seeing him as... more. I always assumed I was straight, because society has dictated that that's the human default setting until you're proven otherwise (and even then, it's probably 'just a phase'), but after a particularly raunchy dream starring none other than the guy sitting in my living room and I woke up with a raging boner, I started wondering if maybe I wasn't as straight as I thought.

"Dude, I need sustenance! Hurry up, I'm withering away!" he calls out and I roll my eyes as I grab a bag of chips.

"If you're that hungry, you could always eat at home," my pop grumbles as he shuffles into the kitchen, his Australian accent even thicker than usual. I raise an eyebrow and he freezes when he sees me, giving me a sheepish smile. "Hey, kiddo. How's it going?"

"Do you want me to send him home? Because I can." He shakes his head and waves me off as he starts preparing himself a cup of coffee.

"It's fine, I'm just grumpy; ignore me." I frown and lean against the counter, setting the bag beside me.

"Is everything okay?" He looks over at me and I can practically see his brain going through the pros and cons of confiding in me, but the cons seem to win as he shakes his head again and gives me a blatantly fake smile.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it." He tousles my hair as he walks past, steaming cup of coffee in hand, and steps out the patio door that leads to our backyard.

I stand there staring at the door, debating going out to make sure he's okay, when I hear giggling coming from the living room. My head snaps in that direction and my nostrils flare as the sound continues, like nails on a fucking chalkboard. I quickly grab the bag and a couple sodas from the fridge, then head back into the room to see my twin sister, Maddie, perched on the edge of the coffee table in front of Flynn, flirtatious smile firmly in place while she bats her blatantly fake eyelashes at him.

"Here," I say, tossing the bag towards Flynn. It narrowly misses hitting Maddie in the face since she managed to jolt back just in time and I frown. She fucked with my target. She glares at me and I give her an innocent smile as I fall down on the overstuffed couch beside him and hand him one of the cans I'm holding.

"Thanks, man." I nod and crack the top of mine before taking a long drink. "So what time should I pick you up?" I glance over at him to see him smiling at the she-devil and I almost choke on my drink. No, this is not happening.