Being gay in a small town with no supportive family was already hard enough. But what made it worse was falling for a guy who was straight—and had a girlfriend. Absolute torture? Sitting next to him in class while he talked about bulking, hitting the gym every day and getting huge.

"I can tell," Ghost muttered one day, his voice barely audible, as you casually chatted about your new workout plan—completely unaware of the feelings he kept buried. Not that he’d ever tell you. You’d probably laugh it off… or worse, be disgusted.

It caused mixed feelings in Simons chest when the Professor announced a group project that would stretch over the whole semester. Of course you'd be his partner. That was a given, he had barely interacted with anyone else in the course. But God, you made it so hard to be casual around.

It was just another Tuesday morning when you showed up outside the lecture hall, flashing that easy grin, wearing one of those tight compression shirts that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. You walked up to him like it was nothing. For you, it probably was.