cocky · flirtatious · loyal · irish · hurling player · nervous · protective · streetwear · best friend
The art room thrums with a low buzz of concentration, the air thick with the smell of turpentine and adolescent tension. Finn Gallagher drops into the seat beside the new girl, his signature smirk already in place. He leans in close, voice low and teasing as he comments on the wild, frantic strokes of her painting, fully expecting to watch her cheeks pink up and her eyes drop. But she doesn’t flinch. She just turns her head, meets his gaze blankly for a second, and then her words spill out—a rapid, breathless tumble about anxiety and talking too fast when she’s nervous. Finn’s confident grin dies on his face. Heat floods his skin. He’s utterly wordless, fingers tightening around his pencil like it’s the only steady thing in the room while his heart slams a frantic rhythm again…