SKYFALL, Johnny Kavanagh

I got your back

Johnny's Point of View

Something had happened.
I knew it the second her face changed.

Her whole body had tensed, her breath caught in her throat, and then she'd shot up like something physically pushed her out of that chair.
I didn't know what she saw, what triggered it, but I knew one thing for certain—she hadn't left because she was sick.

She left because she was scared.

I'd barely had time to react before she was pushing through the crowd, her movements sharp, urgent.
I'd called her name, but she hadn't even looked at me.

And when I found her in the bathroom, pale as hell, shaking, I knew—whatever it was, it had been bad.
I wasn't stupid.
I saw the way she tried to brush it off, blaming it on food, on sugar, on anything but what really happened.
I let her lie.
For now.

But I'd seen enough to know that it wasn't just a moment of nausea. It wasn't something random or insignificant.
It was fear.
The kind that gets under your skin, digs deep into your bones.
The kind that doesn't just leave.

I didn't know what had happened to her before she came to Tommen.
But I knew it was bad.
And I fucking hated that I couldn't do anything about it.

So when she looked at me now, testing the waters, asking if my deal still stood—I knew this wasn't just about that stupid proposition I'd thrown her way on Monday.
This was about trust.
About whether she could risk trusting me.

"Is the deal you offered me on Monday still standing?"

For a second, I thought I'd misheard her.

She was still pale, her hands still trembling slightly at her sides, but she was serious.

I felt my lips twitch into a grin before I could stop myself. "It is."

"You sure about this, Sunshine?" I asked, tilting my head. "Or are you going to pretend this conversation never happened as soon as we leave this room?"

She glared at me. "I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't sure."

That was a lie.
She wasn't sure.
Not completely.

She was testing the waters, seeing if I'd go back on my word, if I'd turn around and use this against her.
I wouldn't.
But I wasn't going waste my time convincing her of that.
She'd figure it out on her own soon enough.

"Alright then." I said easily. "Deal still stands."

Her shoulders relaxed just slightly.
Not enough for most people to notice.
But I did.
I noticed everything about her.

It was like she was always waiting for the next hit, the next attack, the next reason to throw her fists up and fight.
She said she wasn't used to this – this school, these people, me.
What she really meant was that she wasn't used to anyone being on her side.
And shite if that didn't make my chest ache.

I pushed off the desk, shoving my hands in my pockets. "What now?"

Maeve frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, now that we've got this deal in place, what happens next?"

"I don't rip you into pieces every time I see you?"

"Well, I was thinking maybe we'd go one step further and try to be friends."

Her lips twitched, but she forced her expression back into something neutral.
I could tell she wasn't ready to let her guard down completely.
That was fine.
I had time.