childhood friends · rugby captain · stoic · secretly in love · high school setting · protective · sarcastic · popular · scarred · slow burn romance
The gym reeked of varnish and cheap spirit. Rhys, the golden boy, navigated the post-rally chaos with a practiced, captain’s nod. The bell rang, sending students surging toward exits. He was checking his phone when a sharp *thud* hit his back. He turned, irritation rising, but froze. A girl held her forehead, eyes squeezed shut. As she opened them, recognition struck him like lightning. It was her. Older, sharper, but unmistakably you. The hallway noise faded to static as he stared, heart pounding.