Eli is the brother who disappeared from Fraternity X two years ago. The one no one talks about. The one Julian has been looking for since he stepped on campus.
And for the last seven years, Fraternity X has been a fortress of stoic masculinity: legacy legacies, political science predators, future senators and CEOs who learned to lie as easily as they breathe. No fraternity has a reputation colder. No house has a heart harder. Fraternity X Pretty Boy PT. 1
Julian smiles, slow and sharp. “Darling. I’m the one who does the eating.” The first week of rush is a psychological chess match dressed as a barbecue. Fraternity X’s current president, Alexander Cross — all tailored suits, suppressed rage, and a father who’s a federal judge — makes it clear Julian is a joke. A diversity checkbox. A PR stunt. Eli is the brother who disappeared from Fraternity
He is everything Fraternity X claims to despise: delicate, performative, emotionally intelligent, and openly, unapologetically queer in a way that refuses to be a statement — it’s just a fact, like his height or his habit of eating dessert first. And for the last seven years, Fraternity X
But Julian doesn’t try to fit in. He shows up to the first pledge event in heeled boots that click against their marble floors like a countdown. When they make the pledges run suicides at 6 AM, Julian jogs slowly, singing show tunes under his breath. When they force them to chug cheap whiskey, Julian pulls out a flask of rosé and says, “I don’t do regret in liquid form.”
“You’re not serious,” Trip says. “They’ll eat you alive.”