Back Masquerade
Chapters (13)
  1. About the Author
  2. Title Page
  3. 1
  4. 2
  5. 3
  6. 4
  7. 5
  8. 6
  9. 7
  10. 8
  11. Acknowledgements
  12. THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING
  13. Copyright

‘I know, right?’ He adjusts himself down there. ‘I think it’s the spandex. It shows off my best features. And, by best features, I mean my ass.’

‘Such a way with words.’ Bec laughs. ‘How are you not boiling alive in there?’

‘Oh, I absolutely am.’ Josh lolls his tongue out for emphasis. ‘But we must suffer in the name of fashion.’

‘And jester outfits are in this season, are they?’

‘They will be after tonight.’ He beams. ‘Vogue are gonna slide straight into my DMs.’

‘Oh, absolutely,’ Chase says. ‘I hear Anna Wintour is constantly checking Instagram to see what random teenage boys are wearing to prom.’

‘Who?’ Josh says, oblivious, fiddling with his hat. ‘Have you guys seen Owen yet? He’s really trying to solidify his allyship status. He’s actually wearing a Pride flag.’

‘I am not,’ Owen says, approaching. He’s wearing a plain suit with a shimmering sparkle and a matching sequinned mask. Josh is kinda right: it does sort of look like he’s dressed as a rainbow, almost as if he got lost on his way to a Pride parade.

‘Allyship!’ Josh says, making him do a twirl so we can get a better look.

‘It’s not a rainbow,’ Owen says with a laugh. ‘It’s iridescent.’

‘Sure it is,’ Josh says, letting his hand fall limp for emphasis. Some straight guys would be annoyed by the implication, but Owen is just taking it with his usual dopey grin.

I hear raised voices then and look across to see Cameron and Ethan seemingly in some kind of argument. Their energy has changed drastically in the past thirty seconds.

‘What’s going on?’ I ask.

‘I’ve no idea,’ Bec says, noticing it too.

I look around and see people checking their phones. They’re whispering and pointing very unsubtly in the direction of the twins. Tiffany marches over to Ethan, their conversation growing heated before she pulls out her own phone and makes a call.

‘Oh shit …’ Josh mutters, looking down at his phone now too.

‘What is it?’ I ask. Chase and Bec appear equally confused.

‘Pictures of Ethan,’ Josh says. ‘They must have been leaked …’

‘Pictures? What kind of pictures?’ Chase says, peering at the screen. I realize what Josh is talking about before Chase does. ‘Oh. Pictures.’

‘They’re everywhere,’ Josh says, showing us his phone now. ‘Celebrity Buzz … Girl Gossip … Influencers Gone Wild …’

‘I don’t think we should be looking at this,’ Bec says, pushing the phone away.

I see one of the images for just a split second. It’s Ethan, posing in the mirror. He’s completely naked, but sort of half covering himself with one hand. You can’t see that much, it’s more playful than pornographic, but even so – for a picture like this to leak without his consent …

‘How did this happen?’ Chase says.

‘Someone must have gotten into his phone …’

‘You mean you think it was someone at Oakbrook?’