Chapter Five: The Unwritten Rule
The world didn’t just narrow. It cracked down the middle with a soundless, seismic roar, and Justin was falling through the fissure, his stomach left somewhere behind. One second, they were talking about the Game, their words a brittle, frantic shield against the panic coiling in his gut. The next, that shield didn’t just shatter; it vaporized.
He didn’t decide to kiss Tim. It was like a circuit in his brain, fried by a week of fear and proximity