Life's not easy when your mum's nuts, your uncle is becoming your aunt, and one of your crushes could -- and probably would -- break your face if he found out how you felt about him. That's Tab's life, though, malevolent gods and all. His text-flirting with Demi, the brother of his best friend, is going nowhere: Demi already has a boyfriend and anyway, who dates their best friend's twin? But then, the pining after Nick is going nowhere either, because Nick probably likes gay-bashing on Friday nights for fun. He's gorgeous, but he's dangerous, and Tab knows better than that. So what's a bit of harmless flirting, when one is taken and the other is straight? It's just a bit of fun. That is until Demi is suddenly single, and Nick is not looking as straight and scary as he was before.

The Suicidal Peanut

“Even Mum doesn’t like him,” Maxi continued, stirring her coffee noisily. “I mean, Mum likes everybody, she even likes you and she’s never met you, so…”


“I mean, he claims he really likes this one—and I want to say give love a chance and everything, right…”


“But he cheated, Tab, that’s just shit!”


“Exactly,” Maxi said loftily, sipping at her coffee. “You never are once you get scribbling. What are you scribbling?”


“Mm,” Tab hummed, fishing for a different, thicker pencil and finding a stub. It would do; he started to sketch the road and traffic lights outside. It was the main road running into town, but the lights changed every thirty seconds because of all the college students wandering off into the housing estate on the other side.


“So did you ask your boxer if you could take a picture?”


“Haven’t seen him since,” Tab lied.


Chapter 8