Photo: View of Athens from Mount Lycabettus at 7:30 PM on April 10th, 2019.

POV: GIDEON

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Noel was the last to arrive and yeeted his bag on the furthest mattress.

'Aww, you don't wanna lay in-between?' Gideon teased. He shook his head and kept silent.

Since Noel just had a birthday party, Gideon and Dante had already spent some time with each other and the latter was sitting on the mattress cross-legged, a blanket draped over his bare legs. He looked like a Greek god to Gideon.

Noel was staring as well.

Without even mentioning it, Dante and Gideon had waited for Noel to arrive before getting to a topic that even came close to what this whole sleepover was supposed to be for.

Gideon felt nervous.

There was a shitload of tension in the air that was usually not there.

'Netflix?' he proposed. It was still too early.

So they watched a movie. And another one. And then, Gideon closed his laptop. 'Is it late enough now?'

Dante sat still, back in his cross-legged position.

Noel shook his head.

'Why?' Dante asked him.

'I'm not sure if I want to talk... about us,' he said.

'I understand,' says Dante quietly. 'It is a bit... strange.'

Gideon nods. 'It is. But it's possible... I think?'

'I don't know.' Noel fell back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.

Gideon also didn't receive convincing acclaim from Dante.

'Okay then. But I do want to tell you... that I feel like that too,' Gideon confessed. 'I want both of you.'

'Oh...' Dante says.

'My father is a preacher,' Noel said. 'I just don't think it's a good idea.'

'That's okay,' Gideon said. 'But can we know your feelings nonetheless?'

'The both of you.'

'You too,' sighed Dante.

Gideon shot up. 'Guys, the fact that all three of us feel the same way, that can't possibly be a coincidence, right? Does that mean it's fate? We can't fight fate, right?'

'It's not that easy, Gid,' said Dante quietly. 'We'll be taking a great risk, and we all need courage to take it. Otherwise it's not going to work out well.'

Noel nodded.

'But what is your stance in this?' asks Gideon right away, curiously. His body is filled with impatience, he needs to know, he needs to convince them, they need to...

Noel kept silent and was still looking at the floor. Dante was obviously hesitant, his gaze turning from Noel to Gideon and his delicate eyebrows furrowed. 'You go first,' he finally said.

Gideon nodded. 'Alright then. I thought this over a lot. It is extremely confusing, these feelings, and besides us not being able to choose, it also means we are not straight. Though I've always known I wasn't. I have watched the two of you before, felt stuff, sometimes for Dante, sometimes for Noel. I never knew who of the both of you I actually liked. But now, now I understand. So I did quite some research last week. We are not the only ones, you probably know that already, and being in a three-way relationship is something that requires a lot of effort from all of us, and we should consider how much we will be disclosing about it and to whom. But in my opinion, I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. It is love, and I strongly believe that real love always deserves a chance. Plus, to be fair, I cannot choose, and I don't want to choose. I want the both of you to be mine, and I want to belong to both of you. This is my stance: I believe in us, and I hope you'll be able to as well sooner or later.'