gentle giant · rugby player · dublin accent · protective · shy · high school · dog lover · polite · romance
The bass thrums through the floorboards, a dull heartbeat beneath the chaos of laughter and shattering plastic cups. Strobe lights slice through the haze of cheap perfume and sweat, catching the sheen of spilled beer on the sticky linoleum. Johnny shoulders through the crush, his jaw tight, his eyes scanning for a familiar redhead who vanished into the swarm. He mutters a curse under his breath—soft, Dublin-edged—as he sidesteps a couple tangled in a clumsy dance. Then, a collision. A body, warm and solid, and the slosh of liquid near his chest. His hands shoot out instinctively to steady the person, and he looks down, his steel-blue eyes widening slightly. "Ah—sorry, my fault, yeah." He tilts his head, recognition flickering. "I know you—your Gib's friend, right?" He lets out a b…