JANUARY 23RD 2002
JOEY
“ARE you going to the disco at the weekend?” Sam, one of the girls from my terrace, asked at lunch on Wednesday. She leaned a hip against the railing at the back of the PE hall and took a second hit from a spliff before passing it back to me.
“At the Pav?” I asked, taking a deep drag, as I balanced on the metal railing.
“Yeah.” She exhaled a cloud of smoke. “From what I hear that blonde in your class has some big plans for you.”
“Who?” My heart did a flip in my chest. “Aoife?”
“Yeah.” Sam snorted. “You wish.”
Yeah, I did.
Regularly.
“No, what’s her face… Danielle,” Jason O Driscoll aka Dricko offered, taking the spliff. “She’s got it bad for ya, Lynchy.”
“Jesus,” I muttered, rubbing my jaw, as the familiar wave of warmth and dizziness washed over me like a warm blanket. “Then no, I won’t going to the Pav at the weekend.”
“Are ya mad, lad?” Dricko laughed. “You’ve got pussy on call with that one.”
“Nice, Jason,” Sam huffed, elbowing her boyfriend in the rib. “Real nice.”
“What?” he purred, hooking an arm around her and pulling her into his chest. “He’s the one fucking her. My baby’s right here.”
“I’m not fucking her,” I growled, shifting in discomfort.
“Again,” Alec chimed in, taking the spliff from Dricko. “Because you’ve been there already, haven’t you, lad?”
“Did you, Joe?” Sam laughed, joining in the fray. “Have sex with Danielle?”
“No,” I bit out, lying through my teeth. “So pack it in, the lot of ye.”
“Because there wasn’t much sleeping happening,” Dricko snickered. “When he was giving it to her up against the back of the pavilion on Halloween night.”
“Nice, asshole,” I grumbled.
“Oh my god, you didn’t!”
“He did, and he can’t even deny it because half the school was there.” Alec erupted in a fit of laughter beside me and I swiftly leaned over the railing and smacking the back of his head. “Ow, Jesus, what was that for?”
“Being a tool.”
“I heard your ma showed up, lad?” Dricko continued to torment me. “Shit luck, huh?”
“Ah, no, she didn’t?” Sam groaned, covering her face with her hand. “Oh my god, Joe, you poor boy.”
“Well, I’m off.” Disgusted with myself more than the topic of conversation, I sprang down from the railing, threw my bag over my shoulder, and sauntered off with my middle finger in the air. “Fuck the lot of ye.”
Ignoring the laughter and taunting behind me, I strolled back into school, dutifully ignoring a smiling Molloy and glowering Paul as I walked.
Knowing that she had once again taken the prick back made me want to erupt like a goddamn volcano.
I couldn’t look at her when she was with him.
I couldn’t fucking bear it.
Seeing her with him made me want to bleach my eyeballs.
It made me fucking ache.
“Hey.” Breathless, Molloy caught up to me at my locker a few minutes later. “Didn’t you see me back there?” she asked, reaching up to grip my arm to steady herself, as she panted.
“Jesus, you need to do something about your fitness levels,” I stated. “You legit ran from the entrance to the lockers.”
“So you did see me?”
“Yeah, I saw you.” Grabbing what I needed from my locker, I slammed the door shut and snapped the small silver lock back into place. “But don’t expect me to talk when you’re with him.” Zipping my bag closed, I threw it over my shoulder and turned to look at her. “I refuse to enable your bad behavior.”
Now, she smiled. “Are you feeding me my own lines, Joey Lynch.”
“Absolutely,” I replied. “And you should take your own advice.”
“Joe.” She blew out a heavy breath. “About Paul—“
“I don’t want to hear it,” I quickly cut her off. “You’re back with him. Fair enough, Molloy. Good for you. I’m not going to say another word to try to dissuade you, but don’t expect me to pander. I don’t like him, and I won’t pretend to.”
“And I don’t like when you’re swapping girls like they’re sweets in a tub of Quality Street, but you don’t see me turning my back on you.”
“Who said I was turning my back on you?” I demanded. “Because I sure as hell didn’t.”
“You hate me.”
“No.”
“You’re mad at me.”
“Yes.”
“You want to scream at me.”
“Because I—“ Stopping short before I blew a head gasket, I released a furious growl and tried to regain some control before speaking again. “I’m not turning my back on you, Molloy.”
“Prove it.”
“How?”
“Give me a hug.”
“Molloy.”
“Hug me, Joe.”
Exhaling heavily, I hooked an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to my chest, knowing that there wasn’t any point in fighting this girl when she set her mind to something. What she wanted, she got.
“Don’t hate me for trying to move on,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around my waist, and burying her face in my chest. “I’m doing what I have to move past this.” A shaky breath escaped her. “Same as you.”
“Yeah, Molloy.” Feeling my anger dissolve, I sighed heavily and dropped my chin to rest on her blonde hair. “I know.”
