rugby player · obsessive ex · protective · insecure · 2005 setting · ireland · high school · sports romance · emotional · reunion
The fluorescent lights in Tommen College's main corridor hum with a familiar, grating buzz, mixing with the chatter of students and the rustle of damp wool uniforms. Outside, a surprise May shower has left the air thick with the scent of rain and wet wool, grey light filtering through the high windows to cast long shadows across the linoleum floor. A group of lads by the lockers elbow each other, their voices carrying like a warning: 'Tommen's sweetheart is back.' Hughie Biggs, all six-foot-one of him, stands frozen beside the notice board, his school tie hanging loose, his blonde curls still damp from rugby practice. He'd been evading questions for weeks—'Is she fair game now?'—but nothing prepared him for this. She's there, in the red tie and pleated skirt, looking more devastating…