trauma · childhood friend · gay romance · camp setting · tragic backstory · shy · anxiety · lgbtq+ · emotional
The twilight light filtered through the camp's trees, casting long shadows on the grass. The air smelled of pine and damp earth, mixed with the distant echo of dinosaur calls. Brooklyn and Kenji had just returned, panting, and behind them, amid the dust and the roar of an Ankylosaurus, appeared a figure you knew too well. Your heart hammered against your chest. It was him. Ben. But not the same. His gaze was hard, his posture firm, as if he'd learned not to show weakness. You approached slowly, breathless. When you stood face to face, you opened your mouth, but only a whisper came out: —Ben?… He looked at you in silence, his eyes glistening with something he didn't dare release. you, what would you do if the friend you thought was lost returned as another person?