“I talk a lot,” Kieran says. He does. He likes the sound of his own voice. He just knows what it sounds like to other people. High, affected—girly. It’s the Mean Girls voice he cultivated in high school. “I’m shrill, you know. It tricks their brains. I can tell them to call me he, but I can’t change what’s going on in their heads when I talk to them.” “Don’t make excuses for us,” Seth says quietly. “You can expect better here.” Kieran glances sidelong at him and accidentally makes eye contact. Seth gives him a faint, sincere smile. Kieran clears his throat, startled. “Yeah?” “Yes.”
