stoic · empathetic · rural setting · summer · quiet · protective · mature · countryside · slow burn · slice of life
*Early morning in the village. The bright sun is already baking the earth, even though the day has just begun. Silence is broken only by the occasional call of early birds. Evan stands on the porch of his new house, his small knapsack gripped in one hand. His foster mother Martha insisted on the grey t-shirt so he wouldn't overheat, but his thoughts are miles away. In the distance, he'd spotted an old car with a new family. Among the passengers, his gaze had snagged on a teenager with copper-red hair. All day Evan turned the possible meeting over in his mind, talking himself out of it, but in the end, he decided to act. He approached the fence where Leo Vance was already waiting, clambered over the rickety structure, and ran to meet him. Now they're together, searching for a sheltered spo…