---
Rumors had a way of sticking to Brian like gum on the bottom of a sneaker.
No matter how many smiles he forced, how many times he slung his bag over his shoulder like he owned the place — he could feel it in the way people whispered when they thought he couldn't hear.
He used to date Nicky, right?
What's up with him and Scott?
You think he's…?
He slammed his locker door a little too hard one afternoon, the echo snapping down the hallway like a whip.
It made Nicky flinch where she stood a few feet away, pretending to scroll her phone.
"Easy," she said, voice low. "You'll break it."
"Better than breaking my damn head," Brian muttered.
---
They walked down the hall side by side.
Every laugh felt too loud, every glance over his shoulder made his palms sweat.
All the while, Scott stood at the other end of the hall with CJ, Zeke, and Dylan — the four of them bent over some inside joke, backpacks slung lazy over broad shoulders.
Scott threw his head back to laugh, a sound Brian could feel in his bones.
Scott didn't look at him. Not once.
---
"Go talk to him," Nicky said, reading his mind the way she always did.
Brian scoffed. "And say what? 'Hey, I'm still a spineless coward who can't admit I love you?' Real smooth."
"Better than picking some poor cheerleader to parade around like a prize," she snapped.
Brian slowed his steps, glaring at her.
"You think I want this? You think I like feeling like my chest's caving in every time he won't even look at me?"
Nicky crossed her arms tight over her chest, eyes glassy. "I think you're scared. I think you're lying to everyone. And I think you're about to break your own heart."
---
It happened later that day — the final straw.
Marissa, sweet Marissa with glossy lips and perfect curls, cornered him by the trophy case.
She'd always flirted a little. It was harmless, easy. The same routine he'd been playing since freshman year to make sure no one ever guessed the truth.
"So, prom," she said, twirling her hair around one finger, blue eyes wide. "You got a date yet, Brian Drake?"
His stomach turned, but he smiled anyway — that practiced grin that made girls melt and guys nod in respect.
"Nah," he lied. "You wanna go?"
Her squeal echoed down the hall. She threw her arms around his neck, the smell of her perfume choking him for a second.
And right then — over Marissa's shoulder — he saw Scott round the corner.
---
They locked eyes.
Scott's lips parted like he might say something — but then he didn't.
He just nodded stiffly, turned on his heel, and kept walking.
The fake grin slid off Brian's face so fast he nearly tripped over his own feet.
Marissa was still giggling in his ear, rattling on about dress colors and flowers.
He didn't hear a word.
All he heard was the way Scott didn't say his name.
---
That night, he sat in the back of Nicky's beat-up Corolla, parked behind the gym where no one could see them.
She tossed him a half-eaten bag of chips. He pushed it away.
"So, that's your big plan?" she asked. "Take Marissa. Pretend Scott doesn't exist. Smile for the cameras."
He didn't answer. He just stared at the scuffed toes of his sneakers.
Nicky sighed. "Brian, he loves you. Or at least, he did. And you're just gonna let him stand in that stupid prom with CJ and Zeke like you're a stranger?"
Brian squeezed his eyes shut. The ache in his chest felt like an open wound.
"I can't do it, Nick," he rasped. "I can't lose everything."
"You already did," she shot back, soft but merciless. "You lost him."
---
Brian sat there in the dark car long after she drove him home, the streetlights painting his skin in broken stripes.
He checked his phone — the last message from Scott was still there, weeks old now.
I can't be your secret anymore.
He thought of Marissa in her sparkly dress. He thought of Scott in a suit that probably made him look like a dream.
He thought of how much it would hurt to stand on the opposite side of the gym, pretending they were nothing.
He pressed his palms to his eyes, trying not to cry.
---
For now, the lie would hold.
Brian Drake: big man on campus.
Star player.
Perfect boyfriend.
Even if every heartbeat whispered the truth.
---