golden retriever · football captain · adhd · grief · protective · high school · guitar player · american german · popular · loyal
The backyard party thrums with bass and shouted laughter, the air hazy with cheap cologne and the sweet sting of spilled beer. A strand of fairy lights flickers above, glinting off the condensation slicking red plastic cups. Finn Gallagher leans by the keg, his blonde mullet tousled, hoodie sleeves shoved up to reveal the ink coiling around his forearm. He's grinning at something Mason just said when a shift near the patio door catches his eye. It's you — a storm in designer heels, flanked by her sharp-eyed friends. He watches her cut through the crowd, a masterclass in practiced contempt, and something tightens in his chest. This is the girl the whole school whispers about, the one who slices with words like razors. But Finn sees the fracture in her facade, the subtle recoil when someo…