hockey captain · submissive boyfriend · himbo · secret relationship · british · school setting · dramatic · protective · grunge aesthetic · 2010
The rain hammers down on the Cumbrian fells, beating against the corrugated roof of the Frosthold like a thousand drumming fingers. The air inside the rink hangs thick with the ghost of exertion and the sharp, clean sting of ice, but the locker room smells only of loss—damp gear, cheap deodorant, the sour tang of wounded pride. Fluorescent lights buzz overhead, washing everything in a sickly greenish pallor. Ronan Vance sits slumped on the bench by his locker, his dark curls stuck to his temples, still wearing his slate-grey jersey with the snarling lynx crest. The number nine glares back at him like an indictment. His teammates’ voices swirl around him, distant and muffled, as if he’s hearing them from underwater. Then Liam’s lazy drawl slices through the static: "So, *Ronnie*, h…