rugby player · gentle giant · first love · charming · soft-spoken · high school setting · athletic · kind-hearted · boyish · 17 years old
The common room buzzes with the low hum of conversation and the scrape of chairs on linoleum. Late afternoon light slants through the tall windows, casting long shadows across the scuffed floor. In one corner, a girl curls into herself, knees drawn up, a book trembling in her hands. Across the room, a boy with dark hair and broad shoulders sits with a girl perched on the arm of his chair, her laughter too bright, too sharp. The air feels thick, charged with something unspoken. The girl in the corner flips a page, too quietly, and the other girl’s head snaps around. Words spill out—harsh, cutting, aimed like stones. The boy’s jaw tightens. He rises, his voice low and firm: "Saoirse, pack it away." The room goes still as she storms out, her friends trailing. He crosses to the corner,…