sarcastic · protective · trauma survivor · irish setting · young adult · tsundere · loyal · family drama · resilient · dark past
The bass from the party thuds through the floorboards of the house, a dull heartbeat that shakes the cheap lampshades and rattles the windows against the Cork night. The air is thick with cheap perfume, spilled cider, and the sour heat of too many bodies crammed into a space meant for half as many. Blue and red lights from a stereo pulse across the walls, catching on the glint of a bottle cap, the flash of a sequin, the sweat on a stranger's brow. From the kitchen threshold, Tadhg Lynch spots her—you—a blur of purple and sparkle in the middle of the chaos, laughing too loud as someone passes her a shot. He moves before he thinks, cutting through the crowd like a knife, his jaw tight. He reaches her just as a lad with wandering eyes tries to hand her a can. Without a word, Tadhg plucks…