Seven Hues of Love is a character-driven coming-of-age story about trauma, self-discovery, and the many ways love can exist without being permanent.
From the innocence of first friendship to the weight of betrayal, from healing that feels safe to pa...
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My mother ran away for a man she met on Tinder.
She left Harrisburg, left my father, left me, and followed a promise all the way to Dubai. After that, nothing in our house ever settled the same way again. We don't talk about her much. Not because we aren't allowed to, but because my father looks like he's about to break down crying whenever her name comes up.
He's a sweet soul, my dad. He never pressures me, never makes me feel like I have to fill the space she left behind. Even now, when I'm seventeen, he still buys me One Direction merch and overly juvenile clothes with slogans that feel more suited to a 10-year-old. I never stop him. I think it's his way of pretending I'm still small enough that nothing bad has happened yet.
Most days, my life exists at Hawthorne. That's where I study. That's where I disappear into the crowd and try not to stand out too much. I don't have many friends there. Just one.
Casper.
And that was okay with me. One true friend felt better than a bunch of fake ones.
Casper had eyes that stood out in a way mine never did. His eyes were bright with a blue that never wavered, not even when he confessed on a bleary night.
"I like boys," he told me. Then, after a pause, "But I'm not ready to say it out loud. Not yet."
He asked if I could pretend. Pretend to be his girlfriend. Just for a while. Until he felt safe enough to be real.
I agreed, only to discover that my heart had started believing in it anyway, as if love was something that could be hyped up in rehearsal, then swiftly called off when a better actor arrived for the part. I told myself I was helping a friend. I told myself it didn't mean anything. My heart didn't listen.
I saw them at the end of the hallway one morning.
Casper's hand was locked with someone else's - a boy I had never seen before. Casper locked hands with Fletcher, a handsome, tall, Latin American boy with sun-kissed skin and warm eyes. A transfer student, I realised distantly. That explained why he felt like a sudden rewrite.
They walked together like they weren't afraid of being seen. Like they wanted to be seen. I had never seen Casper look like that before- so sure of himself, so openly claimed. In a way, it felt deliberate, like he wanted to make something clear.
My heart dropped. I partly blamed myself for falling for someone who had never really been available to me in the first place.
I tried to walk away before he noticed me.
"Percy!"
I froze.
I turned around slowly.
"Meet Fletcher," Casper said, smiling. "My boyfriend."
The word hit harder than I expected. Boyfriend. Solid. Final.
I didn't know what to say. I managed a greeting. The morning bell rang just then, loud and perfectly timed, and I used it as an excuse.
"I've got class," I said quickly. "I should go."
As I turned, Fletcher stopped me. "Wait- Percy. What class do you have now?"
"Co-op."
"With Mrs Byers?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, cool. I've got that too. Mind if I walk with you? I barely know anyone here."
I adjusted the strap of my backpack and nodded. Together, we merged into the stream of students heading down the hallway toward our co-op class.
