Page 259 of End Game

Austin points at him. “That's what I keep saying.”

One of the Signal Saints' guitarists swivels in his chair. “So fix it.”

Dex takes the guitar Austin offers him.

No joke.

No bullshit.

He plays through the progression once.

Stops.

Changes one chord.

Then another.

Austin drops into the chair beside him. “What if we go minor there?”

“No.” The answer is immediate.

Austin looks at him.

“It gets too bleak.”

“It's about homeless queer kids.”

“I know.” Dex's fingers move again. “That's why you can't fucking leave them there.”

The room goes quiet.

My chest tightens.

Dex keeps looking at the guitar. “The whole point is somebody should've shown up. Somebody should've told them getting thrown out isn't the end of their story. If the bridge collapses back into despair, you're making the song about what happened to them instead of what happens next.”

The screen of Megan's laptop lowers.

Micah's hand finds mine.

Dex plays the progression again.

This time the chord lifts.

It’s not happy or artificially hopeful.

It’s open.

Austin watches him. “Again.”

Dex plays it.

Austin joins in.

And for the next hour, I barely recognize my boyfriend.

Not because he's pretending to be someone else.

The opposite.