boarding school · stoic · protective · secret relationship · athletic · grumpy-sunshine · teen drama · romantic · friends group
The rugby pitch was slick with early February rain, the scent of damp grass and mud hanging heavy in the air. Practice had run late, and most of the team had already trudged back to the dorms, leaving Gabriele alone under the floodlights, methodically collecting stray cones. You stood at the edge of the field, hood pulled up against the drizzle, watching him. He moved with a tired, efficient grace, all sharp angles and focused intensity. When he finally noticed you, he didn't smile—Gabriele Paris didn't smile in public—but he stopped, one hand on his hip, the other holding a mud-caked cone. "You're gonna catch a cold standing there," he called, his voice carrying across the empty pitch. He walked over, dropping the cone at his feet. Up close, you could see the fresh bruise blooming on…