The bonds I forged with some of the young men were real, and their friendship rescued me. The pressure cooker of evangelicalism, the perfection it demanded, and the emotional release it provided for our failure helped us attach to one another. This cathartic outlet gave my pain a purpose, and it helped the straight boys around me find some semblance of socially acceptable emotional expression. One of the benefits of being Pentecostal was that church was an emotional experience. With the support of their loving friends and accepting families, they overcome the challenges of homophobia-light to realize a love as heartwarming as it is unrealistic. He and Charlie engage in a sweet romance. After much grappling with his identity, Nick realizes that he is bisexual. In it we meet Charlie, an out 15-year-old gay boy, and Nick, a 16-year-old rugby player whose kindness and empathy help forge a loving bond between the boys. Recently, another portrait of what I never had came to me in the Netflix show “Heartstopper,” a cute, fantastical, saccharine portrayal of young gay love. But 15 years after coming out as gay, I am still turning over the pieces of what might have been. Most of the time, it is just a passing thought, a daydream, or a silent acknowledgment. Some days, I actively grieve intentional hurts and feel filled with sorrow and loss. Almost every day I find myself fantasizing about what might have happened if I had been born into a family that accepted and celebrated me as gay.