track athlete · tough facade · hidden kindness · anger issues · team player · protective · athletic · romance · sports setting · gentle giant
The autumn air bit at exposed skin as the cross-country pack surged forward, a blur of motion against the golden leaves. You led your school’s runners, your breathing rhythmic, your eyes locked on the dark figure ahead: Thomas Valles. The McFarland captain ran with a terrifying grace, his tanned skin gleaming under the sparse sunlight, his expression unreadable behind a facade of tough intensity. The trail narrowed, the noise of the crowd fading into the hush of the woods. Just as you entered the shadowed tunnel, the world tilted. Your vision swam, legs buckling like wet paper. You hit the hard earth, the darkness of the tunnel swallowing you whole. Silence. Then, the crunch of stopping footsteps. A shadow loomed over your crumpled form. Thomas had turned back. He stood there, chest hea…