Confusion (Quinn, Flynn, Reagan) {Backstory}

[myeyesarehollow.livejournal.com]

When Malachy O'Reilly finally returned to school after being held and questioned by the police, his triumphant return did not go unnoticed. It was quite the hot topic from the moment someone saw him walking towards the fonrt doors of the school. Mal ignored them, distracted by the fact that he saw his girlfriend, Rage, walking towards him. He broke into a run, ending up at her side. "Rage, what are you doin' here?!" Rage had quit school to focus on her music...or that had been the plan anyway.

"He made me come!" Rage wailed, and the way she was shaking when she wrapped her arms around Mal let him know that she hadn't come willingly. Her fuck of a father had forced her to. Physically.

Mal leaned down and he kissed her head. "Fuckin' dick! How badly are you hurt?" He whispered into her bright red hair.

"I'm fine." Rage lied, and she sniffed against his chest. "He said I'd be worse off if I didn't come back to school. He rang the principal. They're gettin' me a counsellor and everything!"

"Tell the fuckin' useless bitch what he does to you!" Mal hissed, hoping that Rage would tell the counsellor her father hit her sometimes, and they'd stop it.

Rage pulled away and she shook her head, her jaw firm. "I told you, goddammit, I don't want anyone else to know. And if you tell them, I'll rip your dick off!" And with that, she reached out and she pinched his nipple.

"Ow! Hell, girl!" Mal put his hand over his sore chest and he looked at her incredulously. "What in the fuck was that for!"

"It was a warning." She hissed. "Come on, walk me into that godforsaken place." She said, pointing at the school.

Mal sighed and he slipped his arm around her. They walked towards the doors of the school, ignoring the whispers about prison and car bombs and cops and PIRA. They walked right inside the doors until someone came running up to them.

"Hey! Hey, Malachy?"

Mal turned and he raised his eyebrows as he was approached by someone he halfway recognised. "Uhm. Hey?" Mal ran the fingers of his free hand through his hair while pulling Rage closer to him with his other arm. "What do you want?"

"You uhm...left this in class." Ardal Quinn held up Mal's bag and he blushed lightly. "I...kept it for ya. Heard you were back. So uhm...here." Ardal held out the bag awkwardly.

"Oh." Mal took his bag and he slung it over his shoulder. "What's your name?"

"Ardal." He said, smiling.

"Well, Ardal. I think I left some fags in here. You didn't smoke 'em, did you?" Mal raised his eyebrows.

Ardal had been expecting a thank you, and he hadn't receieved one. He realised this was dangerous ground now and he shook his head frantically. "No! No, I didn't even look inside! I swear!"

Mal let out one barking laugh and he punched Ardal's arm in a friendly fashion. "I'm just fuckin' with you, Kid, relax. Run along to choir, or whatever it is you're studyin'." He winked and then he continued on, arm in arm with Rage, without looking back.

Ardal stood there in the middle of the hallway, feeling like the biggest fool ever. He had been foolish to expect gratitude. Foolish to expect that returning the bag would mean something. Malachy O'Reilly was nothing more than a thug.

Or so he believed. He had no way of knowing that Mal's mind never strayed far from the topic of Ardal for the rest of the day, even if he couldn't explain exactly why. His mind should have been on his girlfriend. She'd been hurt and it was his job to protect her. But he wasn't thinking about her much at all.