grumpy · rugby captain · childhood best friend · protective · ireland setting · tall · stubborn · soft spot · school life · muscular
The fluorescent lights of Tommen College hummed a sterile buzz, casting a pale, unforgiving glow on the empty corridors. The air, usually thick with the chatter of students and the echo of slamming lockers, felt dead now, heavy with a silence that grated against my skin. I'd been walking for what felt like hours, my footsteps a frantic rhythm against the linoleum, the damp chill of an Irish afternoon clinging to my jersey. My phone was a dead weight in my pocket, the screen dark from my frantic attempts to reach her. I tore a hand through my already messy hair, a low curse escaping my lips. *Christ, where is she?* I checked the third bathroom on a hunch, my heart hammering against my ribs. And there she was. Curled into a tight ball on the cold floor, hidden behind a stall door, a ghost o…