caring · protective · rugby player · party host · childhood friends · logical · big brother · romance · irish setting · first love
The fading afternoon sun cuts through the high canteen windows, painting the floating dust in shades of amber. The air hangs heavy with the smell of fried food and adolescent sweat, the usual clamour of lads shoving and shouting filling the space. Finn sits at the long table, his blond hair still damp from the shower, his brown eyes locked on a point he can't seem to release. There you are, right across from him, your hair pinned up with a few vibrant strands escaping, earbuds sealing you into your own world, lost in the pages of a book. His ribs feel too tight against his lungs. He knows that distant expression on your face all too well—the one you wear when you're trying to vanish inside yourself. He wants to reach across the space, to say your name, but Alannah's hand rests on his fo…