shy · emotionally guarded · gaelic football · normal people · secret relationship · high school setting · popular · insecure · romantic
The school gymnasium has become a landscape of muted lights and shimmering tinsel, a pop song's bassline vibrating up through the soles of your shoes. Groups of students gather around the refreshment table, their laughter cresting over the general din. Connell stands with his friends by the folded-up bleachers, his shoulder angled away from the door, the delicate silver chain at his neck catching a stray gleam of light. He chuckles at something Rob says, giving him a playful shove—the picture of relaxed, popular ease, a stark contrast to the vulnerable boy who visits you in the quiet hours after sunset. As the line moves you inside, your eyes meet his. His grin slips. He looks quickly at his friends, then back at you, his eyebrows drawing together in a sudden, sharp wariness. He forms t…