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15
Bathroom breaks and Propositions
Sha
When people say something is too good to be true, then it usually is.
That was exactly how I felt when I stepped out of the bathroom on Tuesday evening after school and collided with a hard chest.
Surprised to find anyone standing outside the bathroom when the final bell had long gone, I let out a small squeak.
"How's it going, Sha
The halls were relatively empty, with only a few students rambling down the corridors, leading me to believe that he had been waiting out here for me.
After all, the girls' bathroom was an unusual spot for a boy to loiter outside of, especially one togged out in a jersey, shorts, and football boots.
Panic mixed with a large dollop of wariness flared to life inside of me.
"Um, fine," I replied, tucking and then re-tucking my hair behind my ear, a nervous trait. "How are you?"
"Better now I'm talking to you," he a
"Were you waiting out here for me?" I forced myself to ask, needing the vocal confirmation. Don't ask me why, but I needed to clarify the crazy. "In your –" I gestured to his attire, "P.E kit?"
"I was training and forgot my mouthguard in my locker," he explained, not one bit embarrassed by any of this. "I saw you going into the bathroom when I was heading to my locker so I figured I'd wait around to talk to you." Shrugging like his nonsense explanation was a perfectly acceptable one, he added, "I'm Ronan, by the way. Ronan McGarry. We have French together."
His tone was friendly, but I knew better than to be fooled.
Friendly could turn to bully in a nanosecond.
"Yeah. I know." Taking a step back to regain my personal space, I added, "Well, it was nice of you to come say hi, but I have to go catch my bus. It leaves soon and the driver won't wait –"
"I saw you on the pitch that day, Sha
My heart sank.
Every muscle in my body locked tight with dread.
This was it.
What I had been waiting for.
The inevitable taunting.
I was vaguely aware of Ronan McGarry, having sat in front of him in French class the past few weeks, but I hadn't realized he was on the rugby team.
I hadn't noticed him on the pitch last week, but then, I hadn't noticed anyone other than Joh
I guess it made sense though, what with the muddy kit he was currently wearing and the bruised cheekbone.
But I didn’t have anything to say to him, so I kept my mouth shut and waited for him to speak.
He would.
They always did.
"And I have to be honest, Sha
Feign indifference, Sha Pretend you don’t care. Stepping sideways to free my hair from his grasp, I brushed off his words with a small shrug and readjusted my bag on my shoulders. He stared at me for a long time, eyes dancing with excitement, before saying, "You're a shy little thing, aren’t you?" "No," I replied, voice small, and it was the truth. I wasn’t shy. I could be as outspoken and verbose as anyone when I was with people I trusted. But I was cautious. I had good reason to be. And I didn’t trust him. "Well, shy or not, you're fucking gorgeous under those clothes," he stated lowly, dragging his bottom lip into his mouth as his eyes roamed shamelessly down my body. "I would really love your number." My mouth fell open. Was he serious? I gaped up at his face, trying to gauge him. He looked completely serious. "I, ah, I, no…" Shaking my head, I narrowly avoided his hand once more when he tried to tug on my braid again. "I'm sorry, Ronan, but I don’t give out my number to strangers." The very last thing I wanted to do was give anyone aside from Claire and Lizzie my phone number. Giving out my details meant the bullies had a direct line to my psyche 24/7. And while I had made that mistake once before in my old school, a new phone number and the burning remnants of hard-earned wisdom meant that I would never do so again. Ronan scoffed. "I'm hardly a stranger." "You are to me," I replied, forcing myself to stand strong. "Come on, Sha "No." I shook my head. "I'm sorry, but I don’t know you well enough to give you my number." "You could always get to know me," he purred, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. Even though I couldn’t feel his touch through my thick winter coat, I immediately recoiled from the contact, but he didn’t move his hand. "I have a bus to catch," I strangled out, repeating my earlier words. My shoulders were stiffer than concrete when I added, "I need to go now or I'll miss it." I was clutching at straws, but I wanted away from this boy. "Seriously, the driver won't wait for me." "There’ll be another bus," he shot back. "There won't be another me." Dear god, I hoped not. "Listen," Ronan pressed, tone taking on a flirtatious lilt. "I'm supposed to be at an after-training talk with the team down on the pitch. Coach likes to get us all together to talk strategy after our training sessions." He told me this like he actually thought I cared. I didn’t. I only cared about him getting the hell away from me. "But I don’t have to go." His hand trailed from my shoulder to my elbow. "I could blow it off for you." His hand moved lower, tracing the hem of my skirt. "What'd'ya say?" he asked, leaning into my ear. "Fancy going back into that bathroom and getting to know me a little better?" "No," I snapped, jerking away from his touch. "I'm not interested." "Come on, Sha Ronan didn’t have the chance to finish that statement when he was carted off – literally dragged away by the scruff of his neck by a much bigger, much older, boy. "You're a suicidal little fucker, aren’t you?" the boy was saying in an oddly light tone as he sauntered down the hallway with his huge hand cupping the back of Ronan's neck, forcing him to double over and waddle to keep up with his long strides. He was dressed in the same attire; a black and white striped jersey, white shorts, and boots that made clickety sounds against the floor as he walked, sods of muck and grass falling away from the studs. The only contrast was a number 9 on the back of Ronan's jersey and a number 7 on the big guy. Immediate recognition hit me. Number 7. Gerard 'Gibsie' Gibson. Claire's crush. The cat walker. The strange one. Thank god! The students still loitering in the hallway all stopped what they were doing to watch the drama, but no one stepped in.