Chapter 1 and Description of MCs

🌸 Emery Leonard

• 18 years old

• 5'2

• Red hair

• Freckles

• Soft facial features

• Long eyelashes

• Pastel aesthetic

• Loves flowy tops and skirts

• Wears cute rings

• Wears hair clips

• Wears anklets

• Wears waist chains and belly chains

• Wants a belly button piercing

• Autistic

• Bubbly

• Shy

• Hyperactive

• Clingy

• Anxious

• Stutters when nervous

• Hums to himself

• Loves marshmallows and chocolate

• Lives in London (at the start of the story)

• Loves looking pretty

• Very affectionate

• Easily attached to people

• Wants everyone to like him

• Senior

🖤 Roman Moretti

• 18 years old

• 6'4

• Olive skin

• Jet black hair

• Handsome

• Athletic build

• Quarterback

• Popular

• Lip piercing

• Tattoos on his arms and back

• Italian-American

• Rich family

• Intimidating

• Brooding

• Nonchalant

• Playboy reputation

• Emotionally avoidant

• Doesn't like getting attached

• Keeps people at a distance

• Sarcastic

• Mysterious

• Protective (deep down)

• Senior

I can't seem to find any pictures that'll suit my babies so how about some details to let your imagination do all the work I'm sure it's better that way.🙃🙃

Don't forget to vote⭐️ and comment💋

Your gurll

Ivelisse❤️

*Enjoy!!*

Emery walked home like he always did.

Same streets. Same corners. Same little cracks in the pavement he avoided without really thinking about it. His bag kept slipping off his shoulder in that annoying way it always did, and he kept fixing it with small, impatient fingers like the strap had personally offended him.

The sky was that dull London grey that never really committed to rain or sun.

Just... there.

Not loud. Not soft. Just existing.

He hummed under his breath without noticing at first. A song he didn't even fully remember the words to, just fragments of melody that felt comfortable in his head.

School was over.

That part was nice.

He loved learning just not the place learning was held.

Mostly.

When he reached the front door, he paused for half a second before going inside. Not because he didn't want to go in he always liked home but because the transition between outside and inside always felt like stepping into a different version of himself. Like some Anime he stayed up watching last night

He pushed the door open.

Warmth.

Quiet footsteps in his head slowed a little.

"Emery?"

Rachel's voice.

He blinked and stepped in properly. "Hello."

Rachel was on the couch, legs tucked under her like she belonged there more than the furniture did. The moment she saw him, her face lit up in that way she always did like she had been waiting for him specifically.

"There you are," she said, smiling.

Emery smiled back a little. Small. Careful. "Hi." not knowing what else to say.

She stood up immediately and pulled him into a hug.

He froze for half a second, then slowly relaxed into it, hands hovering before settling lightly against her side like he was remembering how to do this.

"How was school?" she asked when she pulled back.

"Good," Emery said.

It came out too fast.

Rachel tilted her head. "That 'good' sounds suspicious."

"It was good," he repeated, softer this time, like repeating it made it more believable.

Rachel reached up and ruffled his hair without warning.

"Rachel—" Emery leaned away slightly, but not enough to actually stop her. His curls shifted messily into his eyes.

"You always say 'good' when it's not good," she said.

"It was fine," he corrected gently.

"Uh-huh."

Her eyes lingered on him for a second longer than necessary. Like she was checking something she couldn't see.

"Anyone bothering you again?" she asked.

The question always landed a little differently.

Emery paused.

Just long enough to feel it.

Then he shook his head quickly. "No."

Too quick.

But he added, "I was with Jackie."

That part was easy.

Rachel's expression softened immediately. Jackie was safe. Jackie made things make sense in a way school didn't.

"Oh good," Rachel said, letting out a small breath. "She keeping people in line?"

"She talks louder than them," Emery said, like that explained everything.

Rachel laughed.

Emery's shoulders loosened slightly at the sound.

Rachel knew the school. She had been there before him. She knew how people could be when they thought no one would stop them.

She stepped back and pointed lightly at him. "If anything happens, you tell me."

"I always tell you," Emery said.

"That's not true," she said immediately.

He opened his mouth.

Then closed it.

"...I try to," he corrected.

Rachel sighed like she was pretending to be annoyed, but her eyes were warm. Always warm with him.

"Mum went out," she said. "She said she has something important to tell us later."

Emery tilted his head slightly. "Important?"

"Apparently," Rachel said. "She didn't look stressed, so don't start overthinking."

"I don't overthink," Emery muttered.

Rachel gave him a look.

He looked away.

"Are you hungry?" she asked instead.

Emery thought about it properly.

Not really.

"No," he said.

Rachel squinted at him. "Marshmallows again?"

He hesitated.

"...Maybe."

She groaned. "You're going to turn into sugar."

"It's not sugar," Emery said quickly, almost defensive. "It's... nice."

Rachel laughed under her breath. "That's what sugar people say."

Emery ignored that.

Instead, he walked past her into the kitchen.

He opened the fridge himself, like he had done it a thousand times, scanning without much urgency until he found what he wanted.

Marshmallows.

Chocolate.

Comfort things.

He grabbed them carefully, like they might disappear if he moved too fast.

Rachel leaned on the counter behind him. "Eat proper food later."

"I will," Emery said.

"You won't."

"I will," he repeated, a little firmer.

Rachel hummed like she didn't believe him at all.

Emery shut the fridge and turned slightly.

"I'm going upstairs," he said.

"Of course you are," Rachel replied.

He paused.

"...That sounded like judgment." he said his nose scrunched up

"It was affection," she said immediately.

Emery accepted that without argument.

He went upstairs.

His room was always quiet in a way that felt chosen.

Baby blue walls. Soft pink bedding. Little pieces of him everywhere without it feeling crowded. A space that didn't ask too many questions.

He dropped his bag near the desk and let it fall sideways.

Then he sat on the bed.

Only then did his face relax properly.

He opened the marshmallows and ate one slowly, letting it melt without rushing it.

School replayed in his head in fragments.

Not in order.

Just pieces.

Words. Laughter. A look he didn't understand fully. Someone saying something and someone else laughing a second too long. It wasn't his fault he didn't understand some jokes or did things he thought was normal but obviously wasn't.

Normal things.

He was used to it.

Emery shifted slightly on the bed, pulling his knees closer. His fingers fidgeted with one of his rings, twisting it around and around.

He wasn't weird.

He knew that.

He just... didn't always fit into the way people expected things to be.

He always told himself it was fine.

Dad used to say he was special. Not like others. Not less. Just different in a good way

Emery liked that word better than most others.

He looked down at his feet.

Smiley face stickers on his toes.

He giggled softly, just a small sound that came out before he could stop it, remembering Jackie painting them there during their last slumber party like it was the most important thing in the world.

Jackie hadn't come to school today.

But he hadn't told Rachel that.

He didn't like when she worried too much.

Jackie was fine anyway. She was always fine. Just... not there today.

Connor had been there though.

Connor who knew him from forever ago. Connor who sometimes looked like he understood, and sometimes didn't, but still stayed anyway.

Emery didn't fully understand that kind of friendship sometimes. It was confusing to the point he had to space out and have some one on one conversations with his brain.

But he liked it.

He lay back on the bed, marshmallow still in hand, and opened Spotify.

Music filled the room softly.

Not loud. Never loud.

He changed into something more comfortable.

A loose pastel hoodie that slipped slightly off one shoulder, soft shorts underneath, and one of his flowy tops that didn't press too much against his skin. He liked clothes that didn't feel like they were holding him too tightly. He didn't like tight clothes when his brain feels loud.

Better.

Always better.

He curled slightly on the bed, one arm tucked under his head.

Then Rachel's voice called from downstairs.

"Emery!"

He sat up immediately. "Yeah?"

"Mum's home!"

Something shifted in the house.

Not loud.

Just different.

He stood up slowly and went downstairs.

Rachel was already there, arms folded.

Their mother stood in the living room.

She looked... happy.

Emery noticed that first.

Not nervous. Not tired. Not worn out from work like she usually was.

Happy.

"Hi sweetheart," she said when she saw him.

"Hi," Emery said softly.

Rachel didn't wait. "Okay, what's going on?"

Their mother smiled.

"I've been seeing someone," she said. "For a while."

Rachel blinked...

"And... he proposed so we're getting engaged"

Silence.

He looked at her face, and something in him softened immediately.

She deserved that.

After everything.

After nine years since their father passed, after all the quiet evenings and tired smiles and holding things together alone... she deserved happiness. She thought he didn't see her sitting on the sofa crying some nights after coming back from work whenever he came down to take something from the kitchen.

A small smile formed on Emery's face.

"That's... good," he said gently. "I'm happy for you."

Rachel looked at him quickly, then at their mum.

"Yeah... I mean, if you're happy, I'm happy."

Their mother looked relieved.

Then she hesitated.

"There's more."

Emery tilted his head.

"He has a son," she said.

Rachel straightened slightly.

"He's your age, Emery. A little older. They both live in America."

Emery blinked.

America.

Okay.

That was... far.

Their mum smiled slightly. "He lives in America."

Rachel straightened immediately. "Wait—America?"

"Yes."

"Okay, that's a detail you should've led with,"

Rachel said, pointing slightly.

Their mum laughed nervously. "I was getting there."

"We both met when he was on a business trip in London and ever since we just clicked y'know he might be the one" She said dreamily

"I see," he said softly already thinking of a whole new different schedule

Their mother continued. "We'll meet him tomorrow."

Rachel's voice shot up immediately. "Tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"And we're flying?"

"That soon?"

"Yes."

That part made everything feel suddenly real

Rachel groaned. "You could've started with that why are leaving the most important information for last" "She must really be in a hurry then" Rachel said so only Emery could hear.

Emery chuckled at that

Mum looked guilty. "I was getting there."

Rachel stared at her like she had just invented chaos.

Emery didn't speak.

He just absorbed it slowly.

New place.

New person.

New everything.

But... maybe it could be okay.

He wasn't sure yet.

The next day

The airport was loud.

Too loud.

Emery stayed close to Rachel without thinking about it, fingers brushing her sleeve sometimes just to check she was still there.

"It's fine," she said gently.

"I know," Emery whispered.

But his chest still felt tight.

Through the glass, a plane waited.

Big.

Real.

Mum came back with tickets. "Ready?"

Rachel said, "No."

Emery didn't answer.

He just nodded.

And they walked.

Toward the gate.

Toward the plane.

Toward somewhere far away.

Somewhere new.

Somewhere everything was about to change.

Hii Lovelies I hope you'll like this story this is my first time writing a gay romance and I have to say I can't wait to see how it'll unfold I'm just an audience my brain and my hands are the real creators. 🤭🙃🙃

If you do like it don't forget to vote⭐️ and comment

Your gurll

Ivelisse❤️

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