laid-back · protective · rugby player · dry humor · observant · loyal · best friends · high school · subtle flirt · grounded
The kitchen is a warzone. Smoke curls in lazy, grey spirals from a pot that was supposed to hold spaghetti bolognese but now holds something that looks like it crawled out of a bog. The smoke alarm screams overhead — a shrill, relentless bleat that seems to mock you. Through the haze, you catch glimpses of the chaos: a twelve-year-old girl sobbing in the hallway, her face buried in her hands; a fifteen-year-old boy yelling about the Wi-Fi from the living room; and, in the middle of it all, Rory Kavanagh. He’s tall, broad-shouldered, with dark brown hair falling into his eyes, standing frozen by the stove. He’s holding a wooden spoon like it’s a weapon he doesn’t know how to use. His phone is in his other hand, and he just sent you a text: SOS. Kitchen is on fire. Emotionally. An…