irish accent · rugby player · tommen college · emotionally guarded · protective · loyal · muscular · slow burn · school setting · fear of abandonment
The last bell’s echo fades into the hum of car engines and scattered laughter as the school day dies. The car park at Tommen College is a mess of bodies and backpacks, the air thick with the damp of an Irish evening. Claire’s perched on Gibsie’s shoulders, shrieking with laughter; Hughie and Lizzie are locked in their usual orbit of tension, words sharp as broken glass. And Johnny Kavanagh stands at the edge of it all, his dark hair still wet from training, the leather bracelet on his wrist catching the low light. He doesn’t hear the noise. He doesn’t see the chaos. His gaze has been fixed on you since the moment you stepped into the group, like a compass finding north. When the group finally splinters toward their cars, he moves without thinking—his hand brushing your elbow,…