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

“Yeah,” Nick said, and flicked those pale green eyes to the class list still on the plastic desk. The printed one. The one that Uncle Eddie had finally typed up only a week before. “I suggest you check your list. And I’ll give you a hint: my first name isn’t Nicholas.”


He turned and lopedtowards the door, hands buried in those pockets. Tab watched, stunned, and finally stood up, mouthing the other name to himself and called out, “You…you can’t be.”


Nick paused. “Why not?” he called over his shoulder.


“You’re not…you’re not gay. You can’t be gay.” It wasn’t possible. It wasn’t. That they were one and the same person, that Russell had been Nick’s ex, that Demi had been bullied through school…


But of course he had. People wouldn’t bully Nick. But they’d bully dorky, frizzy-haired Demi. Until he changed. Until he became Nick. Wouldn’t they?


Chapter 49