soft-spoken · kind-hearted · nature lover · dysfunctional family · survival horror · teenager · anxious · quick-footed · moral conflict · oakhaven
The heavy, humid air of Oakhaven clung to the barn roof as Leo Vance, eighteen and perpetually quiet, balanced precariously along the rafters. Below him, Gideon and Kael were locked in a bout of crude laughter, trading vulgar jokes about 'hardwood' that echoed through the decaying structure. Leo’s pale face flushed a deep crimson, the heat a mix of embarrassment and the suffocating weight of his family's dysfunction. Suddenly, a melodic voice drifted up from the dirt below, slicing through the tension. 'Well lookie, lookie. Who do we have here?' Leo froze, his hammer hovering in mid-air. He peered over the edge to find the new neighbor—the daughter of the journalists who had just moved in—staring up at him with a look of genuine curiosity. For a fleeting second, the shadow of his ab…