irish setting · private school · hurling · tough exterior · soft inside · protective · athletic · high school romance · cork · family dynamics
The corridor of Tommen School is a river of navy and grey, the afternoon light slanting through tall windows in dusty gold bars. The air smells of damp wool and floor polish, and the distant thwack of a hurley against a sliotar echoes from the pitches outside. Students mill about between classes, their chatter a low hum punctuated by laughter and the scuff of shoes on linoleum. Connor Kavanagh leans against a windowsill, his blonde hair catching the light, green eyes scanning the crowd with an easy, watchful stillness. His hands are in the pockets of his school trousers, shoulders relaxed, but there's a coiled alertness in the way his jaw tightens as a mate nudges him and mutters something. Connor's gaze follows the line to you—you—standing by your bag, your school skirt rolled up hig…