Page 62 of Unbound
"Holy shit, that was—" Phoenix appeared at my elbow, eyes wide with excitement and shock, their phone already out and recording.
"Not now." Andrew materialized on my other side, his face grim. He took one look at my expression and immediately stepped into crisis mode. "We need to get you out of here."
"But did you see—" Phoenix started.
"Phoenix. Not. Now." Diana's voice cut through whatever they were about to say. She appeared with Elijah flanking them, and suddenly I was being shepherded off the stage and toward the exits.
The walk across campus felt like running a gauntlet. Word was spreading faster than wildfire—I could see it in the way conversations stopped when we passed, in the way people turned to stare and whisper behind their hands.
"Adrian Costas and Jesse Miller—"
"—kissed right on stage—"
"—isn't he the one from those protests—"
"—his parents were there, did you see their faces—"
Phoenix kept checking their phone, their expression growing more alarmed with each notification. "Uh, guys? We might have a problem."
"How bad?" Elijah asked.
"Remember that video of the cat that fell off the table that got twelve million views in four hours?" Phoenix held up their screen. "We're tracking to beat it."
My stomach dropped. "Show me."
"Adrian, maybe we should wait until—" Diana started.
"Show me."
Phoenix reluctantly turned their phone toward me. The video was grainy, shot from somewhere in the middle of the auditorium, but the audio was crystal clear. I watched myself finishing my argument about love and freedom, watched Jesse's face as something shifted in his expression.
And then I watched him kiss me.
Even in the shaky phone footage, you could see everything. The desperation in the way he grabbed my face. The hunger in the kiss itself. The pure terror that flooded his features the moment he pulled away.
The comments were already pouring in:
"YOOOOO did that just happen??"
"Plot twist of the century"
"Someone's getting disowned tonight"
"His parents were literally RIGHT THERE"
"Topeka Covenant kid comes out HARD"
"This is either the most romantic thing ever or the most tragic"
"Both. Definitely both."
I handed the phone back to Phoenix, my hands shaking again. "How many views?"
"Fifty thousand and climbing. Fast."
We walked in silence for a few more blocks, my friends forming a protective bubble around me. But I could feel their tension, their uncertainty about what to say or do. This wasn't just campus drama anymore. This was a potential disaster.
"He's from Topeka Covenant Church," I said finally. "Elder David Miller's son. Their poster child for conversion therapy success."
