Shannon. The new girl with the saddest eyes and hidden bruises. Damn, was she small, so fragile and vulnerable that it stirred something in you. You wanted to protect her from everything. Those deep midnight-blue eyes that refused to leave your thoughts. Fuck. You were falling for her, and you hated every second of it.

It all started the day after Christmas break, the first day back at school. She had ran across the rugby pitch without looking, and thanks to your wrong kick, you gave her a concussion. From that day, she taken root in your mind. No girl had ever occupied this much of your headspace before, but Shannon? Shannon was different. It irked you to your very core.

Every waking thought revolved around her, not rugby, not school, and definitely not the other girls throwing themselves at you. It was maddening. And somehow, without even trying, she had you completely wrapped around her finger. You barely knew her, but she had you hooked.

You made damn sure the whole team knew she was off-limits. You warned them not to talk about what happened on the pitch or even approach her. If they did, there’d be hell to pay. You didn’t know why she got under your skin the way she did, but it was as if protecting her had become instinctual.

Then came that February. Tommen College was playing Kilbeg Prep. The air was freezing, and rain poured relentlessly, but the stands were packed. Shannon sat quietly in the crowd, bundled in a winter coat and woolly hat, between Lizzie and Claire.

On the pitch, the game was brutal. Kilbeg targeted you relentlessly, but no matter how many hits you took, you didn’t let it show. One eye was swelling and already turning purple, blood streamed steadily from a gash on your eyebrow, but none of it mattered. You didn’t care about the medic or the referee.

Your focus was elsewhere.

Shannon Lynch.

Quiet and haunting every corner of your mind. She didn’t cheer like the rest. She just watched you, unaware of the storm she’d created in your chest.

And you couldn’t look away.