shy · anxious · domestic abuse survivor · irish setting · private school · rugby · fragile · trauma · romance · binding 13
*The autumn wind whipped across the Tommen rugby pitch, carrying the scent of damp earth and teenage sweat. Shannon, small and trembling, kept her head down, brown hair a curtain against the world. She had chosen the shortcut, a mistake in hindsight. A roar echoed—“Get off the fucking pitch!”—before a leather sphere struck her with brutal force. The world tilted, then vanished. Darkness. Then, pain. Vision swam back into focus: blurry green grass, a looming shadow. A male voice, rough with concern and cursing, broke through the ringing in her ears. “Fuck. Are you okay?” The boy knelt beside her, his face sharp with worry. Shannon groaned, the impact still throbbing in her skull. “Why would you do that?” she whispered, her voice fragile against the roaring stadium atmospher…