SKYFALL, Johnny Kavanagh

Annoyingly insightful gorillas

Without a second to spare I opened my wardrobe and started to look for something that would suit the occasion. Immediately I discarded my uniform and a few dresses that Aunt Marie had bought me that even a nun would find too conservative.

About to give up, since all the dresses I had were either for disco nights or for special occasions I decided to look into Shannon's side of the closet, knowing she wouldn't mind it if I borrowed anything. After another couple of minutes I finally found what I was looking for, a dress Joey got for Shannon last year Christmas.
Shannon rarely wore it she because she hardly went out, and when she did she opted for some more comfortable clothing.

On her it was nothing scandalous, it was a bit short and loose around the chest area, however still very cute, on me it was a whole other story. The fabric that should have arrived midthigh stopped just below my butt and, being a size too small, the dress fit me almost too tightly around the bust and waist.

Deciding that the outfit wasn't enough, I quickly headed to the bathroom and styled my hair so that it would fall in waves instead of its usual flat appearance. I then went into Joey's room and stole some makeup I knew Aoife left there to complete the look.
Once I was satisfied with my appearance I headed downstairs.

"What are you wearing?" Screeched Gibsie in a tone so high that Madonna herself had to envy him.

"A dress." I spoke bluntly, noticing that Joey had gone to work.

"You do realise that if you go out like that your brother will have my balls." He almost shouted.

"I think you mean that he will have your head." I corrected.

"No, he was very specific that if anything were to happen to his baby sister, my balls would pay the price." He said looking scared.

"No one is going to mess with me, I'm going with the team's flanker." I stated.

"Is that your way of admitting we're friends?" He asked tentatively.

"No, that's my way of saying you're a gorilla of a boy who came into my house without notice and refused to leave until I agreed to go to the game with him." I replied.

"I didn't come without any notice, just without yours." He grinned.

"Not my point." I chimed exasperated.

"Still if you go out wearing that our team will lose."

"Why are you superstitious, or something?"

"No, but our best player will definitely be too distracted to concentrate." He announced.

"Johnny?" I asked confused. "Isn't he shacking up with Bella Wilkinson?" I said referring to the gorgeous girl in the year above me, who was known for winning the infamous "binding 13" operation. Ew.
According to Niamh some girls that at the time were in fifth year came up with the whole idea, which basically consisted in trying to tie down number 13 – Johnny's number on the team – to a girlfriend, or rather a habitual hookup.

"Nah, she's been hooking up with one of our teammates for months behind his back."

"Ouch." I said feeling a tad sorry for the lad. "Who?"

"Well, I like to refer to him as Judas Iscari-cunt, but you might know him as Cormac Ryan." He spat.

"Oh yeah, he's friends with Niamh's brother." I recalled.

"Don't get even me started about how Pierce is acting lately." He lamented.

"What do you mean?"

"He's been hooking up with Lizzie Young in third year." He hissed.

"I know her, she's one of Shannon's friends. Blonde girl with a serious attitude problem, right?" I replied, a bit confused.

"Yes, and lately it's gotten worse, especially with me." He said looking conflicted. "That girl is the devil and Pierce doesn't do anything to stop it, he just ignores it and tells us she's going through a rough patch."

"Is this about what happened to her sister?" I said, remembering what happened between Lizzie's sister Caoimhe and Gibsie's stepbrother Mark.

"You know about that?" He asked curious. "You told me you moved here when you were ten, that happened a few years before."

"No, I told you I moved back here when I was ten." I corrected. "I only lived in Dublin for a couple of years, why do you think I don't have an accent?"

"I don't know, I thought that you had acquired a Cork accent in the time you came here maybe."

"I don't even know how to comment that." I exhaled. "And I don't know all the details about what happened, I was little and my memory is fuzzy, not to mention my mother forbid from ever bringing it up in front of anyone, saying it would only make people upset."

"Well, she wasn't wrong about that. It makes me upset even thinking about it." Gibsie whispered.

"Alright let's change the subject, what has me wearing this dress got to do with Johnny playing badly?"

"Like you don't know." Gibsie rolled his eyes. "He's only human Maeve, and you're a girl – a very attractive one at that – wearing a bordering-on-indecent dress."

"So? I'm sure there are plenty of attractive girls there dressed like me waiting to capture his attention." I shot back.

"Yes, but you already have it, and you know it. It's the reason why you decided to wear the dress in the first place." He recounted. "You want him to be just as fazed by you as you are by him."

Not knowing how to respond, I just grabbed the keys, opened the front door and gestured for Gibsie to get out of the house with me while he snickered.