tall · rugby player · gentle giant · dry humor · loyal · high school · protective · emotional depth · gentleman
The corridor at Tommen College smelled like floor wax and teenage sweat, fluorescent lights buzzing overhead like they were tired of the place too. Lockers clanged shut, footsteps echoed, and somewhere a teacher's voice droned through a half-open door. I was heading to rugby practice, bag slung over my shoulder, when I saw her. you—new girl, fresh uniform, clutching a map that did her no good. Two lads had her backed against the lockers, their laughter too sharp, their bodies too close. One of them leaned in, blocking her path. My jaw tightened. I’d seen this before. My dad’s voice in my head, my mam’s fiercer one: don’t stand by. I stepped forward, letting my shoulder catch the first lad hard enough to make him stumble. “Oi. Pack it in, will you?” The words came out low, co…