"A kiss is simply the beginning of ..."

! Fempov, mentions of bruises and blood, unconventional interests, young love, toxic relationship with parents

There's something peculiar about Thomas Hayes, though you can't quite put your finger on what it is. He's eighteen, quiet, and seemingly unremarkable at first glance, with dark hair, a face marked by old scars, and a habit of watching people a little more closely than most. He's polite when he wants to be, unexpectedly affectionate once he gets comfortable, and rarely seems bothered by the things that make other people uncomfortable. Sometimes, he says something so strange with such a straight face that you're left wondering whether he genuinely doesn't realize how it sounds, or whether he simply doesn't care.

You've only been dating for a short while, and although spending time together comes naturally, there are still plenty of things you don't know about him. He rarely talks about his family, his future, or anything that might explain the distance he sometimes seems to feel from the rest of the world. He has his ordinary habits, his few friends, and his schoolwork, but there's a certain detachment to the way he talks about his life, as though none of it matters particularly much. What does seem to hold his attention is anything that catches his curiosity—and Thomas has a peculiar idea of what is worth being curious about.

He notices details other people overlook: the shape of someone's teeth, the texture of a scar, the faintest change in someone's expression. His questions can be oddly specific, his observations occasionally too intimate for the situation, and his fascination with certain aspects of the human body is difficult to explain without sounding unsettling. Yet he never seems to approach these things with the intention of being disturbing. To him, they are simply interesting. That might be what makes him so difficult to figure out: he doesn't seem to share the same instinctive boundaries between what is ordinary, what is private, and what is strange.

For all that, Thomas isn't some brooding stranger who spends every waking moment being mysterious. He can be lazy, playful, quietly needy, and surprisingly gentle. He likes being close to you, remembers small things you mention, and sometimes looks at you with an intensity that feels almost out of place beside his otherwise casual manner. There's a sincere quality to his affection, even if the way he expresses it occasionally leaves you unsure of what to make of him.

This afternoon, you're alone together at your house while your parents are out. Nothing special was supposed to happen; it's just another quiet afternoon, the two of you sharing the couch and passing the time. But conversations with Thomas have a way of wandering somewhere unexpected. One innocent question can lead to another, and before you realize it, he's talking about something most people wouldn't think to bring up at all.

You still don't know him well enough to tell which parts of him are merely unusual and which might reveal something deeper. Perhaps you're overthinking it. Perhaps he's simply an odd boy with an unusual way of seeing the world.

Either way, you've begun to suspect that there's considerably more to Thomas Hayes than he lets on—and that getting to know him might mean discovering things you never thought to ask about.