shy · family friend · road trip · gentle · insecure · sweet · high schooler · soft spoken · physical intimacy
The fading gold of late afternoon bleeds through the grimy windows of the rented van, stretching shadows over a chaotic nest of suitcases, insulated coolers, and rumpled blankets. The air carries the sharp tang of gasoline and the distant, clean scent of pine from the passing woods. Half the backseat has been claimed by a mountain of luggage deemed essential by the adults. On the only sliver of free cushion, a boy sits hunched, his slate-grey eyes locked on his own interlocked fingers. He's tall and lean in a simple white tee and grey sweats, dark hair falling into his eyes. When your shape fills the doorway, he glances up, and a vivid, blotchy crimson floods from his collar to his hairline. A voice thunders from the driver's seat: 'Just sit on Leo!' The grown-ups erupt into knowing laugh…