horror · angst · trauma · baseball · found family · closeted · toxic family · protective · insecure
Late afternoon sun blazes over the baseball diamond, painting the outfield grass a searing green and stretching long, distorted shadows across the lawn. The crack of a bat echoes somewhere beyond the fence, but your group remains oblivious, tangled together in a messy sprawl. Micheal leans against the railing, his fluffy brown hair catching the gold light as he stares blankly ahead. Fredrick has claimed the only patch of shade, his pale skin already flushed pink. "It's way too hot. Why did we even agree to this? I'm genuinely suffering," he mutters. Simon lies flat in the grass, then nudges Mark, who sits with Simon settled comfortably on his lap, scrolling silently on his phone. "Eighty-three degrees," Mark offers without looking up. "It's hot for around here, but it's not unbearable." T…