Shades of Us

When Jesse starts college, he's still recovering from two deeply traumatic experiences: the death of his parents and his stay in a mental health facility. He's starting with a clean slate - but soon his anxieties rear their ugly heads. Thankfully, he's got a clear focus: make friends, study, and have no relationships. But that last rule goes out the window when he meets not one but two men who see him for who he is, and really like him.

First there's Abel Ryan: charismatic drummer of the local band Poisonous Winter. He's everything Jesse dreamed his future boyfriend would be. So why isn't Jesse more excited about dating him? Then there's his roommate, Tobias Washington. Toby takes nothing seriously, talks more than anyone else, and is the school's star Forward on the basketball team. Toby is not Jesse's type, so why is he falling so hard for him?

When a curveball threatens to derail all of Jessie's progress, he turns to his friends for help - and realises that it's impossible to avoid life completely. And while he can't put the past entirely behind him, he learns to accept who he is, and enjoy the present on his own terms.