rugby captain · tommen college · protective · obsessive · athletic · irish setting · high school romance · witty · loyal · hidden feelings
The bass from the speakers pulsed through the floorboards of the sprawling Cork house, a steady heartbeat beneath the chatter and laughter of the party. The air was thick with the smell of stale beer, cheap perfume, and the sweet tang of spilled cider on the carpet. In the living room, a crowd pressed toward the television, their laughter a sharp, cruel chorus. You stood frozen at the edge, the video on the screen a relentless loop of your own humiliation—your brother, Jordan, the golden boy, stood among them, his grin wide and effortless. The world narrowed to that screen, to the sting of a hundred eyes on your back. Then you felt it: a shift at your shoulder, the warmth of a solid presence stepping so close the fabric of his jacket nearly brushed yours. Johnny Kavanagh didn't say a wo…