KY$ ✓

Twenty-Four | Lent

SOTC: Thousand Miles by The Kid LAROI

Ten Months Ago

"Hey."

Upon slamming my locker, I met a sculpted fair face with dark chocolate eyes now glued to my own. One cross earring and a regular diamond in another ear was just visible through a light mess of a white fuckboy cut. A few other small details: he was arguably one of the most popular guys in Chadwick, and Zoe Banadax's universally beloved Squish.

Kygo Maxon.

"Can we um... can we talk?" he asked.

"Um... why?" That was all I thought to say with an eyebrow raise.

"Just... please?"

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"Thanks for agreeing," Kygo said as I sat beside him on the ledge of the school roof.

Suddenly, no subconscious need to annoyingly heighten my pitch drove me to admit, "I'm still confused as to why I'm here." No; I was doing mental gymnastics. Kygo Maxon has never even asked me how my day was going; just made short non-recallable comments when I would make a point. Mainly about Zoe like everyone else due to her status.

Why today out of all days?

It was as if he read my mind when he replied, "Zoe's absent today."

"So why not go to Steph or Pia?" The defense rattled in my vocals. He was Zoe's boyfriend, so wouldn't mans go fucking chill with people close to her that he knew longer?

"You've never directly commented on when Zoe would talk about our um..."

"What?"

"Sex life."

"You brought me here to talk about your sex life?" The massacre of all five of my brain cells couldn't pitch my voice at the absurdity that poured out this boy's mouth like Niagara Falls.

Yeah. Men don't deserve rights.

"Kinda but no," he breathed out.

It was a miracle my eyes didn't pop out of my head upon a blink.

"Did Zoe tell you about what we did at Kayson's birthday party?"

It took me a second to answer. "Yesterday during our girls' Juul break. Why?"

His face fell into his extended palms.

"Um... what?" I drew out, squinting.

"Fuck." Kygo whiplashed his jaw out of both hands upward, sucking air through his nostrils. It was then as the Sun peaked its rays through the clouds my vision fixated on his gleaming red eyes.

"What?" I repeated.

He chuckled. "Have you ever told someone no? By that I mean no because your new stepfather isn't a shitbag, and you wanted to participate in Lent together to be closer to God and you gave up sex? Then you tell your girlfriend and she tries to throw your bedroom vase at you? How about days later, after she's purposely ignored you in the hall for a week, you go to a party. Your girlfriend drugs the one drink you limit yourself to and rapes you in your friend's parents' bedroom."

"Um.." I breathed.

"There, I did it," Kygo gasped. "I finally fucking did it."

"Trauma-dump me?!" I snapped.

He chuckled. "Something like that, if that's what you call it."

"Literally why?"

"I need someone to know I came clean." Kygo breathed out. "I have a feeling that if I never knew for sure I came clean to myself, accept it for how it really is and move on, it'll come for me. Dark shit, not an I-don't-give-a-fuck mask or the humor one you or others decorate to cover it head to toe.

"The shit that makes you wanna kill yourself."

A/N: Do you think Kygo is right to be upset about what happened to him? Should he have told Clara? All opinions welcome, sharing ideas is vital to society because that's how we evolve.

Next Chapter Teaser: Clara has a less than pleasant memory about her dad...