Edel doesn't do soft. She doesn't do safe. And she definitely doesn't do sober. She walks into BCS with sharp eyes, dirty secrets, and an addiction she pretends she controls. A dead father. An alcoholic mother. A home that never felt like one. Until John Kavanagh. John has money, a future, and a family that still works. A life Edel was never meant to touch. Different worlds. Same school. She doesn't need saving. He doesn't know he's trying anyway. Some girls don't run because they're reckless. They run because staying would kill them.

Tadhg Lynch He's the forgotten witness-the Joey Lynch doppelgänger who was too young to truly comprehend the gravity of Lynch's tragedy but too old to ever forget. He's the quintessential middle child, not too loud nor too quiet. He is stellar at school and sports, with aspirations not as ambitious as others but enough for him. Tadhg has everything he wants, being a Kavanagh means he doesn't live without. For the most part, Tadhg Lynch was perfect, bar his penchant for confrontation. Tadhg doesn't chase fights like an addict chasing their high, he bites when provoked. That being said, that notion seemingly dissolves around Ballylaggin's resident Hellcat, one Olivia Kataria. Olivia Kataria Tommen's resident Hellcat is one of six scholarship recipients from the year. She's incredibly combative with an abhorrent school report by Tommen student standards-especially when that student has a full ride to one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions of academia in the Republic. Low attendance and an even lower patience for people who get on her bad side.

Tadgh Lynch doesn't lose focus. He's sharp, volatile, and not here to play nice. First year at Tommen, he's already collecting enemies-and Leah Daly's at the top of the list. Leah Daly's fierce, stubborn, and hiding the kind of damage you don't talk about. She's built for survival, and Tadgh's the last person she wants anywhere near her. She hates him. He hates her. That should've been the end of it. But the more he sees, the more it looks like his history repeating itself. And once he recognises it, walking away isn't an option. Even if saving her burns him all over again.