Exactly T^T my did he have to test him like that???? Now look what's happened
Like, I get where the author is at - his teasing is like the (stereotypical) socially acceptable way for a guy to seek out emotional information from another guy without putting himself out there. I think what’s tough here is that - aside from them being guys and that they have a complicated sexual history - he wasn’t sensitive to how emotionally tenuous the situation was for a friend. Then again, we humans are awkward and mean so much of the time in order to hide our vulnerabilities. Doesn’t make it easier to watch :(
The lie backfired. Now his past trauma has been fully triggered into his awareness and, once again, he feels he can only love people who don’t love him in return. This feels like a recipe for self-destruction, worse than he has already done...