Episode 1: Lines We Never Drew
Xavier had always been the quiet one.
Not the awkward kind of quiet—just the type who listened more than he spoke, who noticed things people thought went unseen. He noticed the way Dominic laughed louder when he was nervous. The way his shoulders tensed whenever his phone buzzed too many times in a row. The way he pretended not to care when people asked questions that cut too close.
Xavier noticed everything.
He just never said much about it.
That was how they worked.
Dominic talked. Xavier listened.
Dominic joked. Xavier smiled.
Dominic walked ahead. Xavier followed—half a step behind, always.
They'd been friends for years. Close enough that people assumed things. Close enough that rumors didn't feel surprising anymore.
Still, hearing them out loud was different.
"You guys are basically dating anyway."
The words replayed in Xavier's head as he sat on the low concrete wall behind the campus library, legs stretched out, hands folded loosely in his hoodie sleeves. Dominic sat beside him, bouncing his knee like he always did when his mind was racing.
"Bro," Dominic said, exhaling hard, "my mom asked me today if I was hiding a relationship."
Xavier didn't look at him. "What did you say?"
Dominic scoffed. "I laughed it off. But she didn't laugh back."
That earned a glance. Xavier turned his head slightly, studying Dominic's profile—the crease between his brows, the way his jaw tightened.
"She thinks something's wrong with me," Dominic continued. "Like I'm broken or something."
"You're not," Xavier said quietly.
Dominic smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I know that. You know that. But try explaining that to an African mother."
Xavier let out a small breath that could almost pass for a laugh.
They fell into silence, the comfortable kind they'd mastered over time. Birds chirped in the distance. Students passed by, laughing, living loudly. Xavier wondered what it felt like to exist without constantly thinking.
"You've been quiet today," Dominic said after a while.
Xavier shrugged. "I'm always quiet."
"Not like this."
Dominic turned toward him now, really looking. That was dangerous. Dominic didn't look closely often, but when he did, Xavier felt exposed—like glass.
"My aunt asked me something today," Xavier said finally.
"Oh?" Dominic raised a brow. "Should I be scared?"
"She asked if you were my boyfriend."
Dominic froze.
For half a second, Xavier wished he hadn't said anything. He stared straight ahead, pulse loud in his ears.
"And?" Dominic asked carefully.
"I said no."
The word felt heavier than it should have.
Dominic laughed, relieved. "Good. That would've been awkward."
Xavier nodded. "Yeah. Awkward."
But awkward wasn't the word for the tight feeling in his chest.
Dominic leaned back, resting his palms behind him. "People just don't know how to mind their business. Two guys can't be close without everyone assuming stuff."
"Maybe," Xavier said.
Dominic tilted his head. "You don't agree?"
Xavier hesitated. Words crowded his throat. Too many truths, none of them safe.
"It doesn't matter what I think," he said instead.
Dominic frowned. "It matters to me."
That was the problem.
Xavier stood up suddenly, needing space. He walked a few steps away, staring at the fading sky. Orange bled into purple. Day turning into night—another in-between, just like him.
"What if," he said slowly, "we stopped giving them room to guess?"
Dominic turned fully now. "What do you mean?"
Xavier swallowed. His hands shook slightly, hidden inside his sleeves.
"What if," he continued, voice barely above a whisper, "we controlled the story?"
Dominic blinked. "Xav… you're not making sense."
Xavier turned back to him. Really faced him this time.
"You're tired of the questions," Xavier said. "I'm tired of the looks. The whispers. The way people assume but never say it out loud."
Dominic stood too, confusion written all over his face. "So what are you saying?"
Xavier's heart pounded. This was the edge. One step forward and there was no pretending anymore.
"I'm saying," he breathed, "what if we gave them exactly what they think they see?"
Dominic stared at him.
Seconds passed. Maybe minutes.
"You mean…" Dominic started, then stopped.
Xavier nodded once. "Just for a while."
Dominic ran a hand through his hair. "You're talking about pretending to date."
Xavier said nothing.
"That's insane," Dominic said, laughing nervously. "You're messing with me, right?"
"I'm not."
The laughter faded.
"Why would you even suggest that?" Dominic asked.
Xavier looked away. Because he'd already been pretending for years.
Because standing beside Dominic already felt like something more.
Because lying might hurt less than never knowing.
"It would shut everyone up," Xavier said softly. "Your mom. My family. Everyone."
Dominic studied him like he was seeing him for the first time. "And you're okay with that?"
Xavier met his eyes. "I've been okay with worse."
Silence wrapped around them again, thicker now.
"This isn't a joke," Dominic said slowly. "This could mess things up."
"I know."
"And if feelings get involved?"
Xavier's chest tightened. "They won't."
Dominic searched his face. "You're sure?"
Xavier didn't answer.
That was answer enough.
Dominic exhaled, shaking his head. "You really are something else."
"I won't push you," Xavier said quickly. "Forget I said anything."
Dominic looked torn, caught between reason and something he hadn't named yet.
"Let me think," he said finally.
Xavier nodded, relief and disappointment colliding inside him.
They walked away from the library side by side, closer than ever, yet standing on opposite sides of a line neither of them had meant to draw.
Behind them, the question lingered—unanswered, dangerous, alive.
And Xavier knew one thing for sure:
Once Dominic said yes,
nothing between them would ever be simple again.