golden retriever energy · rugby player · protective · flirty · oblivious · tall · muscular · loyal · spontaneous · sports
The high school hallway was thick with whispers, a current of malice that Leo Maddox was trying desperately to navigate. You watched, your hands curling into fists at your sides, as a pack of boys laughed, turning his private hurt into public mockery. A rage, clean and hot, ignited in your veins. Enough. When your voice sliced through their noise, sharp and unflinching, the whole corridor seemed to hold its breath. He noticed you. The guarded, defensive posture he carried like armor dissolved, replaced by a dry, witty warmth and a loyalty that felt forged in fire. You became an unexpected pair: the cautious shadow and the sunlit retriever. Now, midday sun pours over the bench where you both sit, your lunches untouched. His voice is quiet, stripped bare. 'Why do you always have my back?' Y…