SKYFALL, Johnny Kavanagh

Different kinds of friends

We got to the game ten minutes later than we were supposed to and thus earned a bollocking from Coach about how important punctuality was. After Gibsie got into the locker room to change I headed towards the bleachers walked around until I managed to find Niamh, who was in the first row already cheering for her brother.

"Look who finally deigned to show her face." She remarked, her face changing after she saw what I was wearing. "You do realize it's like five degrees out here, you'll freeze."

"A small price to pay. If worse comes to worst, I'll just steal one of Gibsie's jumpers." I shrugged, like I wasn't freezing my tits off in this weather when I most definitely was. Not to mention I would have rather died than admit that I was, in fact, cold, which meant I wouldn't be asking Gibsie for anything.

"And why did you decide on this attire?"

"I have a personal vendetta against the captain, and I want to make sure that he loses the game." I admitted.

"Why do you hate his guts?" Niamh asked. "The boy has been walking around like a kicked puppy for the better part of a week, you could let him out of his misery."

"Never. He hurt Shannon." I declared.

"It was an accident." She pointed out.

"He's arrogant." I noted.

"And you're delusional, look it's a match made in heaven." She responded. "Johnny's a professional, you do know that it won't be that easy to get inside his head." She responded.

"Are you calling me easy?" I said laughing.

"Is that what you got from this conversation?" she said looking baffled.

"Didn't you hate rugby players, why are you defending Kavanagh?"

"I do hate rugby players, however Kavanagh is one of the few very good ones at this school."

"He's a whore." I concluded.

"Apparently, from the rumours going around town so are you." She laughed.

"What the fuck?" I asked suddenly feeling my blood boil. "What rumours?"

"Just some fabricated shit a lad was saying the other day at Biddies. I don't think anyone here at Tommen believes it." She replied looking worried that I didn't know about it. "Apparently according to some Pope guy, you went around screwing half the town while you were in a relationship with him."

"What." I said feeling like I was going to pass out from rage.

"My brother told me about it the other day. He went to Biddies and overheard a conversation between Pope and a few other guys." She recalled.

"Podge." I corrected.

"What?"

"His name is Podge, he was my friend." I explained.

"Friend?" She quizzed sceptical.

"We slept together a few times, but that's it. He wanted a relationship and I didn't." I said.

"So, he went around telling people you were a slut? That's some friend." she exclaimed angrily. "I'm going to castrate that little shit."

"No, you aren't. If he's pathetic enough to still be spreading false rumours about me months after the fact, he's not even worth our time." I noted.

"If I don't get to cause serious harm to him, I'm going to get somebody else to." She declared.

"Like who?"

"The fantastic four." She said like it was obvious.

"I think the only one who would get in a fight to defend my honour between them is Gibsie."

"Johnny would and so would Hughie, you said so yourself that you're friends. And Feely would have to tag along to prevent his friends from going to prison for first degree murder." She explained.

"Me and Hughie were friends when we were like ten, and Johnny Kavanagh wouldn't piss on me if I was on fire." I concluded.

"Thank you for the wonderful mental image." She responded. "You're wrong by the way, he pays attention to you."

"Because he's worried I might get him suspended about the whole decking-Shannon thing." I stated.

"No, because you might be the first girl to ever put him back in his place." She shot back.

"I'm sure his mother would disagree with you." I replied.

"You know his mother?" She said looking at me curiously.

"I know of her, she's a very successful fashion designer." I emphasized. "Her clothes are to die for."

"Stalker." She snickered.

Just as I was about to respond coach came out of the locker room with Tommen's team and whistled signalling that the match was about to start.

"This isn't over." I told Niamh.