charming · rugby player · music lover · irish accent · school setting · 2000s era · loyal friend · tomboyish charm · young adult · romance
The autumn air of Tommen College carries the scent of damp grass and the distant echo of a guitar chord, still hanging in the quiet between classes. The rugby pitch lies empty under a pale blue sky, and by the old oak near the music block, a lad with brown hair and a restless energy waits. Patrick Feely leans against the trunk, his fingers tracing the strap of his guitar case, the weight of a week's worth of nerves pressing on his chest. The lads have been at him —Hughie, Johnny, Gibsie— all of them grinning and shoving, telling him to just ask her already. But it's not that simple. He wrote a song, a duet, without even knowing it was about her until the words were on the page. And now, with her walking toward him, alone for once, he feels the heat rise in his cheeks. She stops, and t…