And Theo’s elementary school counselor called him in for bullying, deciding to stand by the convictions which had brought her to this vocation despite pressure from the school’s administration and Theo’s parents, and she caught a glimpse of a ring of bruises around Theo’s wrist.

In this other world, they were noticed.

And the adults around them stepped in.

In this other world, Jack got adopted by the Daughertys, and Theo’s mom was brave, confronted by the reality of her husband’s monstrosity, and filed for divorce. Jack met Darius earlier, and they shared all the bits of themselves, and Jack learned how not to be afraid of that secret within him. Theo still read fairy tales—but no longer hiding in his closet, and sometimes his mom read to him, eager to love him and make amends for all she had done to harm him, now that they both were free.

Jack could afford school uniforms, but he willingly picked out some of the used jackets because money meant less to him—he didn’t crave it in the same way, and appearances mattered less, and he smiled at the blond boy in the shop because he had no shame. The blond boy smiled back because he knew now what affection felt like.

That first day in the dorms, Theo still went room to room, still competitive, still driven to do well, but no longer cruel. He recognized Jack from that brief meeting a few weeks ago, and he held out his hand. Jack took it.

They were friends. It was—it was good.

That spring day of freshman year after final exams, Jack and Theo stretched out on the grass, side by side, and Meg was there with Charlie, no longer bullied and flirting outrageously, and Dare was still sketching and playing Cuban jazz, and Jack looked over at Theo and his heart pounded and he thought, still terrified even in this better universe, God, I want him. And the world wasn’t perfect, and it was still so scary and new, but a year later, Theo cradled his face when they were up in the Japanese maple tree and they kissed, and it was sweet.

Long afternoons in the grass with bare chests and the wind blowing and smiles which weren’t a secret.

And they went to prom together, even though the school didn’t approve—but they didn’t hate themselves, and their friends got along, and they all got drunk by the creek and tossed rocks into the water, and Genni took off her heels and Phil laughed and Tom bumped elbows with Quinn as Quinn explained one of their English Literature textbooks. Dare looked at them all and spent hours painting them, black and red and the silver of the moon.

Shots at Pride, dancing filthy, the long glimmering sunshine, the purple-black dark.