Guys I did it 😁 anyone who is interested in reading my work....
This is the first chapter
Chapter 1: Just like this
Chapter Text
It started with shared boots.
Not intentionally, of course. Conor forgot his at home, and Jarell—being Jarell—offered his without thinking twice. “Bit big, but you’ll grow into ‘em,” he grinned, flinging them across the dorm room like he was passing a rugby ball.
That was first year at the academy. Room 214. They weren’t roommates then, but somehow Conor always ended up there anyway—sprawled on Jarell’s bed, pretending to study while Jarell paced and talked too loud about whatever team they were facing next.
By second year, they were inseparable. Inside jokes whispered between drills. Conor’s hoodie mysteriously going missing, only to find it stretched over Jarell’s long frame like a second skin. Sleepovers became routine. “Training’s early,” they’d say. But really, it was the comfort—of being near, of being safe.
One night, Conor was half-asleep, curled in Jarell’s bed after a long day. His head rested near Jarell’s shoulder, breaths slow, but not quite sleeping.
“I like this,” he mumbled.
“What, my bed?” Jarell chuckled, voice a bit too high, a bit too hopeful.
Conor blinked slowly. “No. You. This. Us.”
There was a long pause. Jarell’s arm, resting beside Conor’s, shifted just slightly—enough to brush knuckles. Neither pulled away.
“I thought you’d never say it,” Jarell whispered, barely louder than a breath.
The silence after wasn’t awkward. It was soft. Charged. Like the hum in the air before kickoff.
And when Jarell finally turned his head and their foreheads touched, it wasn’t dramatic. It was slow, shy, clumsy. The way young love always is—quiet and full of wonder. Like passing notes in class. Like their first assist on the pitch together. Like a secret only they shared.
From then on, Room 214 felt different. It smelled like shampoo and sweaty kits and something warmer. Safer. Sweeter. Home.
They still joked, still kicked each other under the dinner table, still argued over FIFA rankings. But now, there were lingering glances. Sleepy morning hugs. Fingers brushing too long while tying laces.
And when they finally kissed—beneath the flickering hallway light at midnight—it was soft. And certain. And everything they hadn’t known they needed.