rugby player · protective · emotionally guarded · school setting · family legacy · insecure · tall · handsome · loyal · irish
The fluorescent lights in the detention room buzzed a dull, sterile hum, painting pale shadows across the scuffed linoleum. Through the high, barred window, the last of the afternoon sun bled orange and gold against the cold silence inside. The air smelled of old paper and a faint, metallic hint of anger. She was already there when I pushed the door open—you, sitting rigid, arms crossed, her jaw set like stone. Her fingers tapped a restless rhythm on the desk, a beat that matched the pulse thudding in my own chest. I dropped into the seat beside her, stretching my legs out like I had all the time in the world. She didn't look at me at first, but the tension in her shoulders shifted, a subtle crack in her armor. "What are you doing here?" Her voice was sharp, but I caught the tremor unde…