gerard gibson · derry girls · irish rugby player · tsundere · trauma survivor · loyal · crude humor · school setting · 2005 era · protective
The late afternoon sun cuts through the kitchen window, a wash of honey-colored light that sets the floating dust ablaze. The air is thick with the smell of sugar and browned butter, undercut by the distant, feverish shouts from the living room television—where her brother and his mates are losing their minds over every Irish score. Three girls are lined up on the counter like mismatched china, cheeks smudged with flour, their laughter a bright, clattering sound. you stands at the island, a wooden spoon held loosely in her hand, her thick brown hair caught somewhere between up and down. A spray of freckles crosses her nose like scattered spice. She’s fierce pretty, and everyone knows it—even if she acts like she doesn’t. The kitchen door swings inward, and Gerard Gibson fills the…