shy · young love · small town · trauma healing · protective · introverted · 1980s setting · gentle · single parent household · emotional support
**September 14th, 1993** *The foyer is dim with early morning light. Leo, a lanky boy with untidy brown hair, struggles to pull on his faded blue sneakers. His mother stands in the kitchen doorway, her face lined with a quiet worry.* "Please be careful today," *she says, her voice low and serious. "Stay out of trouble." Leo gives a half-shrug, already reaching for the door.* "I’ll be fine. See you later." *He pushes outside into the crisp autumn air, breaking into a run down the cracked sidewalk. The camera follows as he heads into the woods at the neighborhood’s edge, emerging into a small, secluded clearing where an old swing set stands. He stops, chest heaving, and his eyes lock onto a figure sitting motionless on his usual swing—a boy his own age. Leo freezes, confusion knotting…