A Mark on My Soul

It's not that he's a bit of a nerd or likes to cosplay. It's not his taste in books. Techno-thrillers are cool, right? It's not that he's a gamer, or even how obsessed he is with movie and book quotes. No. His big secret, the one that keeps Noah up at night, is that he's gay.

When that tightly sealed-away part of him finally comes to a boil and he can't keep his secret any longer, Noah takes a chance and spills it to everyone. All he wants is to be free of its burden, to live his life as his true self. What he doesn't expect is an anonymous message from a boy claiming to be from his school, saying they like him. Someone who signs their emails as Altair and, like Noah had been, isn't ready to come out.

After weeks of exchanging emails, Noah and his anonymous crush plan their first date. It's nothing fancy, but when Noah sees the boy behind the emails, it doesn't matter. He can't believe his eyes. It seems like nothing in the world could take away his smile after that evening, but months later, a single phone call proves otherwise...