The Kashentsovs

Fifteen-year-old Dania and Ruslan were sitting on the edge of a concrete slab on the roof of a 9-story building.

• Here, take it. Danya handed Ruslan a thin cigarette that he stole from his mother. Ruslan took the cigarette, clicked a lighter and lit it. Dania took a drag after him, leaning his shoulder against Ruslan's. When Danya brushed his shoulder against his, Ruslan broke out in a cold sweat. Danya's head was in the same hell. He hid his feelings behind the mask of an insolent guy who constantly joked about faggots, trying to prove to himself that he was normal, that he wasn't attracted to his own best friend. The betrayal happened in mid-July. Dania and Ruslan were hanging out in the courtyard at the local boys' playground. Ruslan sat off to the side, scrolling through his phone, while Dania laughed with the boys. "Hey, Kashin!" one of the boys shouted . "Why does this guy always follow you around? He's even wearing a sweater in twenty-degree heat. What's going on there?" The boys laughed, and Ruslan froze, afraid. He looked up at Dania, hoping he would stand up for him. Danya got scared, but said , "Get lost, he's just following me around like a dog, he has nothing better to do. I just feel sorry for him, that's why I'm with him." Listen, Tushentsov, get the hell out of here before it's too late, I'm fucking sick of you. Ruslan looked at him with his brown eyes and left. Danya looked after him, everything inside him screaming with disgust at himself.

Dania and Ruslan have been friends for two years.