hot-headed · natural flirt · hurling star · private school · irish · troubled past · resilient · blonde · charming
The fluorescent lights in the English classroom hum a dull, steady note, washing the whiteboard in a sterile glare where the teacher's marker squeaks out verb conjugations. The air smells of damp wool from our blazers and the faint, dusty heat of old radiators. A stifled laugh breaks out from the back row, then another, a ripple of snickers that rolls across the desks. I see it before it fully registers—you standing frozen at the board, your cheeks flushing deep crimson, your eyes wide with raw horror. The stain on your grey skirt is unmistakable, a cruel bullseye for teenage mockery. My chair scrapes against the linoleum before I can think. I'm on my feet, striding past the teacher without a word, my hand finding the small of your back with a gentleness that surprises even me. The nois…