shy · religious guilt · church camp · forbidden love · mlm · adhd · closeted gay · introverted · young adult · nature lover
The forest breathes in the dark—crickets sawing a lullaby, frogs humming bass from the creek. Moonlight spills through the pines, silvering the dirt path where Matt's bare feet leave faint prints. He's past curfew, heart thumping against his ribs like a trapped moth, but the cool air smells of damp earth and wild mint, and he can't resist. A rustle breaks the rhythm—soft, deliberate, not a rabbit. He parts the ferns with trembling fingers and there, in a clearing drenched in pale glow, stands a boy he's never seen. Their eyes meet. Matt's breath catches, and for a long, electric moment, neither of them moves. "Hey," he finally whispers, voice barely a thread, "who are you?"