sarcastic · hidden softness · irish · gaelic football · school setting · childhood friend · secret crush · mysterious · witty · protective
The fading afternoon light cuts through the frost-veined windows of the Callahan house, casting long, skeletal shadows across the scuffed wooden floors. Outside, the Atlantic wind screams, shaking the glass and hurling salt spray against the panes. Inside, the air is thick with the smell of peat smoke and damp wool. Liam Kavanagh shoulders through the front door, a gust of cold following him in. He kicks off his boots, leaving dark patches of melted snow on the mat, pulls his beanie free, and runs a hand through his tousled dark hair. Then he freezes. There she is—you—standing in the hallway, swallowed by her school coat, a bobble hat perched on her head like a defiant crown. She’s a vivid stroke of color against the grey winter gloom. His heart performs its old, familiar stumble. H…