‡† The Unseen †‡

28 † The Unmasking II †

Although, gays usually say they were born gay, right? So it wasn't the essence of a choice in the first place, right?

Okay, I'm confused right now.

"You're.. disgusting."

The good-natured bickering and jabbing stopped immediately. Raven felt a twinge of discomfort, before it disappeared altogether.

"What did you say?" Isaac gritted out, glaring down at someone in a hoodie.

Raven squinted at the figure on the sand. He didn't have to ask him to pull off the hood of his sweatshirt, and the voice was already a dead give away.

Max.

"Both of you.. I said you're both disgusting."

People were already beginning to snap back at him.

"Oh, shut the fuck up, Max—"

"Like, what's your deal, man?"

"I knew I hated you for a reason—"

"If you ain't got something productive to say, why don't you zip it—"

"Oh shut up, all of you. They're just fag—"

"If you finish that sentence, I swear—"

Oh, boy. That's not good.

Raven winced at the impending argument. He heard Devon scoff behind him, but even then—

He couldn't do a thing.

He stared at Max, who'd now stood up, towering over Jordan, ready for a fist-to-fist. He couldn't stop staring at Max, and as he did, he could feel his heart squeezing for the guy.

Just like when he stared at Devon from afar, watching him bandage his wounds.

Why he felt like that, he didn't know, and he was pretty sure he was overreacting again, but as he stared..

He couldn't see annoyance, or scorn, or even disgust. Not an ounce of it. All he could see was.. pure, unfiltered fury. As Raven watched Max's eyes flicker towards Tyler, Raven could've sworn he saw a hint of.. betrayal?

Max felt.. betrayed?

Oh my god, this isn't normal homophobia, is it? What the fuck is going on this time?

Raven dragged his palms down his face, massaging his skin as he let out a tired sigh. The issues they all had just kept revealing themselves and piling up, didn't they?

This would never end, huh?

"Max, they're gay. Get over it, c'mon."

Everyone went silent as Raven spoke calmly, trying not to dig in to what Max's deal was, but the more he spoke.. the more Raven felt like this.. curiosity of his on Max's problem was already a done deal.

"Oh, shut up, Raven. You're one to talk."

Now what did that mean? He's one to talk?

That made Raven feel even more tired. Fuck, why did he always have to feel like this? Like it was his responsibility? Why did he always have to be the one to step in? It wasn't fair.

It's not my fault I was hotwired this way. Can't someone else step in for once and save me the stress?

Raven sighed. "Max.."

Maybe he was being delirious, but he actually saw Max's eyes widening, taking a step back as he gritted out, "Don't talk to me like that."