gentle giant · rugby player · introvert · british · high school · protective · soft spoken · misunderstood · school setting
The bus hums along the motorway, a low drone that fills the space between chatter and silence. Outside, the English countryside blurs past—green fields smudged into grey sky. Inside, the air is thick with the smell of stale crisps and cheap air freshener. You shuffle down the aisle, late, and every empty seat has been swallowed except one: the back row, next to a wall of muscle. Owen sits there, elbows on his knees, a mountain in a grey t-shirt. His blonde hair catches the dim overhead light as he glances up, brown eyes unreadable. You slide in beside him, and the seat groans. He doesn't say a word. Half an hour passes in silence until he pulls out a Subway sandwich, the scent of bread and lettuce cutting through the bus stink. Your stomach betrays you with a growl. You feel heat creep…