Ficorpio
Chapter 1
After the campus queen called me a pathetic simp, I snapped and pretended to be gay. I grabbed my handsome roommate, kissed him, and announced, “I like men!”
The problem was, he was actually gay.
From that day on, the aloof campus heartthrob started looking at me differently. He clung to me every day, constantly demanding kisses and hugs, until he became unbearably affectionate.
But me?
I was genuinely straight.
Inside the private room at the birthday party, Vivian Blackwood tossed the scarf I had spent three months knitting into the trash.
“Julian Bennett, could you stop giving me this disgusting crap?” Vivian asked, her eyes full of impatience.
The strange looks from the other students pierced me like needles.
I had been planning to gather my courage and confess my feelings to her. But I had not even taken the engagement ring from my pocket before Vivian’s disgusted reaction made it clear that I no longer needed to.
Vivian Blackwood had been my childhood friend, and we were about to become engaged. Our engagement had been arranged when we were children.
I had secretly loved her since high school. I had tried my best to treat her well, all the way through university.
In the past, whenever she ignored me or treated me coldly, I would feel a faint ache in my chest. But I always talked myself out of it soon enough and continued hovering around her anyway.
Now, as I stared at the scarf she had thrown into the trash, I suddenly felt that none of it meant anything anymore.
People were strange. Sometimes love could disappear in an instant. So could dislike.
Vivian chatted with her friends, and words like “simp,” “desperate,” and “toad reaching for a swan” drifted into my ears.
They were obviously talking about me.
Even if I never confessed, how could she possibly not know how I felt?
She had simply never cared about my feelings.
This was the birthday party I had arranged for Vivian. I was paying for everything, and I had invited her friends as well as my roommates.
Vivian had shown up, but she had not given me a single kind look.
I was done being her pathetic simp.
And I was done imagining that she might ever feel the same way.
Even with that awkward interruption, I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s mood, so I treated it like an ordinary gathering between friends.
When they suggested playing Truth or Dare, I joined in.
Maybe heartbreak had twisted my luck, because I somehow drew the challenge of kissing anyone in the room.
The moment Vivian heard that, wariness flashed in her eyes. Her expression turned openly disgusted, and she looked completely opposed to the idea.
She even shook her head at me, refusing through exaggerated lip movements.
Chapter 2
A mocking curve touched my lips. I had never planned to kiss her in the first place.
I glanced around the room before my gaze settled on the man sitting beside me—Adrian Hawthorne.
He had striking, sharply defined features, a high bridge to his nose, and deep-set eyes that made it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
No wonder he was the campus heartthrob. There wasn’t a single thing to criticize about his looks.
He was also my roommate.
According to everyone, his family was barely getting by and buried in debt. He had to juggle several part-time jobs, which was why he was hardly ever around.
Maybe I’d simply lost my head. Lowering mine, I leaned close and whispered into his ear, “Adrian, play along with me, okay?”
We were so close that I could see his raven-dark eyelashes and the ripples of emotion flickering in his black eyes.
He looked at me, his gaze filled with a meaning I couldn’t understand.
“Okay.”
Joy exploded inside me.
The next second, I kissed him.
He tasted like mint.
Adrian had eaten a mint candy just before.
The people around us erupted into wild screams.
Apparently, no one had expected to witness something this explosive.
I hadn’t kissed the campus queen. Instead, I’d kissed the campus heartthrob.
From the corner of my eye, I caught the shock on Vivian Blackwood’s face. A wave of satisfaction washed over me.
Sure, the campus heartthrob was a guy—and this was my first kiss—but I’d kissed a handsome one. I wasn’t exactly losing out.
Adrian Hawthorne’s ears had turned bright red. His eyes looked as though some wild beast were about to break free, yet he was forcing it back down with everything he had.
Just then, a server wheeled over the Confession Cake and Confession Flowers.
The cake didn’t have a name written on it. Only three words:
I LIKE YOU.
It was a part of the evening I’d arranged in advance. I simply hadn’t had time to cancel it.
Vivian looked as though she understood everything. Then she rolled her eyes at me.
She definitely thought I was about to confess my feelings to her.
For one brief moment, nervousness and embarrassment flashed through me.
Then inspiration struck. I quickly regained my composure, grabbed Adrian by the arm, and pressed on while I still had the chance.
“There’s a secret I’ve kept hidden in my heart for a long time. Today, I finally found the courage to say it.”
I took a breath and announced, “The truth is, I’m gay. I like men. And I think the campus heartthrob is much more my type—he’s tall, handsome, and absolutely irresistible. I like him!”
Who said I had to confess to Vivian?
Couldn’t I choose someone else?
Vivian’s mouth fell open in utter shock.
I’d achieved exactly what I wanted.
Vivian no longer had to worry about me pursuing her.
Chapter 3
And now I could use the opportunity to ask my parents to cancel our engagement. There was no reason more impossible to reject than the fact that I was gay.
I’d brought up ending the engagement with my parents before. I believed that if either person in an engagement didn’t want it, then the arrangement became nothing but a restraint.
But they’d dismissed me as being ridiculous and refused outright.
My announcement sent the entire room into chaos. Cheers and teasing shouts exploded all around us.
A relieved smile tugged at my lips.
Adrian Hawthorne, however, kept staring at me. His eyes were dark and unfathomable, churning with emotions I couldn’t begin to understand.
For some reason—instinct, maybe—I sensed a hint of danger.
Without warning, Adrian rose and moved toward me. He had the air of a predator closing in on its prey, his gaze locked firmly on mine.
“Julian, did you just say… you like men?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“You like me?” His lips barely moved as he spoke.
I nodded again, bracing myself for his rejection. I could explain everything to him afterward. Once we cleared things up, I was sure we could go back to being best friends.
A faint smile curved Adrian’s mouth, and a fierce heat ignited in his black eyes.
“What a coincidence. I like you too.” His gaze dropped briefly to my lips. “You kissed me, so let’s date.”
My mind exploded.
What?
Adrian had secretly been in love with me?
And Adrian was gay? He liked men?
Everyone at the party except Vivian Blackwood erupted into wild screams. Someone even pulled out a smartphone and started livestreaming.
My face burned scarlet. My head spun so badly that I couldn’t speak.
Adrian stepped closer until the tip of his nose brushed mine. His faint lemon scent surrounded me.
“Why aren’t you saying anything?”
Everyone was watching us.
If I backed out now, everything I’d done would be for nothing.
The alcohol I’d swallowed seemed to blaze through my veins, burning away the last of my reason.
A real man didn’t chicken out.
On impulse, I nodded.
In the next instant, Adrian’s dark eyes lit up as though stars had fallen into them.
When I got back to the dorm, my mind was still reeling even after I collapsed onto my bed.
Adrian Hawthorne—the campus heartthrob every girl at the university dreamed about—had just confessed his feelings to me?
Adrian Hawthorne and I were officially dating!
Maybe I should still… tell him the truth?
The next morning, I found out I had gone viral.
A video of me kissing Adrian the night before had exploded across every campus group chat. The entire university knew I was gay.
And the most shocking part was that Adrian Hawthorne and I had confirmed our relationship.