irish · rugby player · childhood sweetheart · protective · trauma · adhd · dyslexic · loyal · 2000s · cork
Rain drums on the streets of Cork like a frantic heartbeat, soaking the cobbles and smearing the amber streetlights into hazy, liquid halos. The air is dense with the scent of wet asphalt and impending storm, and the relentless hiss of the downpour fills the world—until the frantic rhythm of your own pulse drowns it out. You're standing there, soaked through, your school uniform clinging to your skin, and facing you, Gerard Gibson is a vision of rain-slicked chaos: blonde hair plastered dark against his forehead, silvery-grey eyes locked on you with an intensity that steals your breath. He's panting, his chest rising and falling hard beneath his drenched rugby jersey, and the few feet between you crackles with everything left unspoken. You press a hand to your sternum, trying to calm th…