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Chapter 1:
It had been a long boring day in school and both Barry and Oisín were looking forward to playing FIFA and just relaxing, maybe watching some match of the day.
They both hurl their school bags onto the ground, sitting on the beanbags that Oisin had gotten at Christmas purely for gaming. They talk about important things such as the new girl and how much homework they were getting even though they were on their TY. They played mindlessly for about 2 hours occasionally shouting abuse at the PS4 and teasing each other.
“I’d say your parents will want you back home by now Barry”, Mrs Flanagan sneers, as the boys have been gaming for 4 hours now. He looks up. “10 more minutes, please mam!”, Oisín pleaded. “Alright, only this time. and Barry, you better be out of this house at 10 or so help me God”, She says while looking at her watch to add a touch of drama. Barry gets up to leave, almost feeling lightheaded from not moving in so long. “See ya at school, sound?'', Barry said as he pulled on his coat and got his bag, tiredness making him clumsy. He lingers in the doorframe as Oisín gets up to walk him to do the front door, a weird tradition they’ve always had. For the first time, their eyes gaze at each other with something other than simple friendship. Barry realising how awkward it’d be in school if they keep staring decided to defuse the moment with a cough and briskly leaves to go home, which is only next door.
Chapter 2:
It’s Friday evening and Barry invited Oisín over to his popular friend’s house. Oisín isn’t welcome and that’s made quite clear, as the others don’t really know him. however, Barry really wanted him to come, which was a surprise to him. Free food though. which meant, of course, he was coming. The boys’ mum had bought them two pizzas which were enough for the 4 lads. They were taking turns taking the piss out of each other and playing PUBG on PS4. Barry and Oisín went to get a piece of pizza at the same time, their hands brushing against each other. They were made aware of it as if they were touching a hot iron. Both of them were blushing profusely, but the other 2 boys hadn’t noticed, as they were invested in their game so much.
A few days later, Barry is walking along the road going home from rugby training, when he turns, taking the shortcut through the alleyway he’s taken for years when he sees Oisín bent over hurt after evidently being punched in the face. “Oh god, what the hell happened?!” He said, As He ran towards him, arms outstretched to reassure him. They walk back to Barry’s gaff. With both his parents out (which was a normal affair) he could properly tend to Oisín.
He was so tentative and gentle, making sure he heard every bit of the story while wiping the blood off his face. “It was McWiggins from St Kierans, he just kind of came up from behind me and pushed me against the wall, hitting me cause I’m a pansy.” Oisín hissed as the antiseptic touched his cuts but continued his story: “ I managed to push him off and tell him to fuck off. I just felt really sick afterwards, I wasn’t expecting it.” Barry looks so sad as he listens to his friend trail of the events, but by the end of the story he’s finished cleaning him up, so he stands up and looks Oisín dead in the eye saying in such a quiet yet serious voice: “Don’t ever call yourself a pansy, it’s not a flaw to be gay. There’s nothing wrong with you for having feelings towards guys.” Oisín is completely taken aback by his friends’ seriousness and compassion. It wasn’t the same Barry that everyone at school knew, it wasn’t the Barry who was the most popular boy in the year, this was a kind, emotionally scared boy that Oisin hadn’t seen since they were about 9. “Thank you” he quietly muttered-They left the conversation there and didn’t talk about it for a week.
Chapter 3:
There’s an obvious elephant in the room between the two boys. One day, Oisín builds up the courage to ask what is wrong.
“I just hate the way you get treated, it’s unfair, if only they’d actually learn what you were like!”
Barry shouts, with pain in his voice, as he gets up to leave, and it is at the door when Oisin grabs his forearm
“Why should you care though? You’re popular, you don’t need to waste your time being friends with me, I’m just a loser anyways.”
Barry looks up, surprised and a little disappointed with Oisin’s reaction, and for thinking their friendship isn't that important. “Do you think I’m friends with you to be more popular?!” Barry looks quite annoyed now.
“No, of course not” Oisin stammers, quite taken aback.
“My mum doesn’t want me to be friends with you cause you’re gay and my friends don’t want to acknowledge that I’m best friends with you cause you’re not as popular as them, but guess what Oisin?! I’m still friends with you because you are kind, humble, caring, and such a sweet fucking human being!”
They’re both silent for a few seconds
“Why can’t you realise that? Please understand how much you mean to me, you welcome me into your home and put up with my annoying traits without complaint all for nothing, I don’t deserve you, nothing I could ever do for you could make me deserve you.”
Oisín looks up from his lap as he’s fixed his eyes on the seam in his trousers. While Barry was ranting, he notices that Barry looks almost broken, as if he’s shown his cards and can’t put up his walls again, totally at Oisín’s mercy. Oisín steps forward slowly and hugs Barry, not sure if he’ll retreat or push back offended, but he simply accepts the hug, crumpling into Oisin, “ Thank you” comes feebly from Barry and a “You deserve the world I hope you know that.” from Oisin. The two stand there hugging for a few minutes in the doorway until Barry pulls away leaving the room with a sad yet pleased smile for Oisin. They seem to have cleared the air that was lingering over them like a thick fog. The days after that night they become closer, not really sure what they are meant to do next. Both of them in their minds debating if they have some feelings for the other.
Chapter 4:
Tuesday morning comes and Barry is slightly disappointed that Oisin isn't in class as he’s never late meaning he isn't coming. When Oisin came the next day, Barry heard rumours that Oisin had been beaten up quite badly. Broken nose, large open cut on his face that needed 12 stitches and a black eye. But the wounds were only the pain they could see. Barry knew there must’ve been more bruises under his uniform, and he’d be emotionally scarred with terror, as Oisín hated violence.
“Beat him to a pulp, left him on the street” Ann spat as they sat at the table eating dinner. Barry was glad to be able to eat with Oisíns’ mum, as even though she can be cold to him, Ann treats him a lot better than his mother treats him. She shouts abuses time and time again whenever Barry does something wrong, which is often in her books. she works all the time and never has a chance to just take a breath, so Barry forgives her, but it’s very tiring being around her. Once Barry and Oisin had finished their dinners of chicken nuggets, they swiftly hurried back to the PlayStation to play PUBG. They play it mindlessly, occasionally shouting at the poor machine.
“Fuck, what’s he gonna ask? he’s doing his thinking about something serious, face.” He thought. Oisín's finger slipped and his player died, as he was at a standoff with Barry.
“Haha, got ya!” Barry teases. There was something different in his voice, he wasn't the same as normal, but Oisín decided to put the thought out of his head
“wanna play another game?”
“ye, why not,” Barry replied, as they both readied their players. They sat in silence, other than Ann singing and hoovering downstairs. Barry turned towards oisín with a serious face.
“Oisín, do you mind if I stay over tonight? I wouldn't ask if I didn't have to”
“Ye, of course. Is everything alright?” Oisín is surprised about the request, but would do anything for him, especially after how Barry looked after him when he was beaten up.
“I’d rather not talk about it” he shifts uncomfortably. They’ve been playing for hours now and practically have the characters on the screen ingrained into their eyes.
“Why are you two still up!?” Ann shrieked as she realized the boys were still playing. “It's 11 pm for god's sake! Oh Jesus wept”
“I was wondering if Barry can stay over, just this once... please?” Oisín pouts for effect while begging. Barry stays quiet, not wanting to disturb Ann in thought as he definitely won't be staying over if he nags her.
“Just this once dear, but I'm afraid you’ll have to go tops and tails,” Anne sighed while getting rugs and spare pillows from the cabinet while the boys were prancing around practically jumping for joy... eh no, no they were not, but they were quite happy. They switch over to FIFA and once Anne leaves they play a few more games before turning in for the night.
“So, is there anyone ya fancy, barry?” Oisín asked slyly while they both sat on his bed
“Maybe, but telling would spoil the fun”
“Ok, say yes if it's her. Saoirse, Abby, Aoife, Ciara, Naoimh, Aisling?” Oisín was fully aware that knowing who he had a crush on would seriously hurt him, but still pressed on.
“Okay well, no, no, no, no, no, no” barry chuckles quietly knowing that he’ll never guess.
“Ugh ok, what about Fiona, she’s nice, right? Or Kate, I mean she's nice enough”
“You know, for the smartest boy in the class you can be really dumb sometimes” barry said while pulling Oisín in for a kiss. Their lips touched, only for a second or two, Oisín pulls back abruptly.
“I thought you liked girls.”
“I do, but I also like the odd fella once in a while” Suddenly Oisín was so happy, he had everything he could want in the world. Bullies were no issue for him if he could have Barry. Barry reached over, placing his arms delicately around Oisín, kissing him as if he needed to survive. Oisín finally accepted his amazing reality, kissing him back with yearning. It was magical for them, they’d waited so long to be able to do it and they finally could. They finally could show each other how much they wanted the other. Their friendship went from close mates to something totally different in a second. They couldn't get enough of each other, kissing intently. They were no longer lying top and tails, they were cuddling and fell asleep in each other's arms after a long night of kissing and giggling.
Oisín wakes up slowly welcoming the arms that he was encased in. He's warm from Barry’s body heart, it never occurred to him how big a height difference was between them. Oisín is still marvelling at Barry's lovely hair and that jawline when he stirs in his sleep, waking up slowly as if someone was pulling him out of a trance.
“That was goldhard. Didn't know you could kiss like that.” Barry whispers while grinning at Oisín. Lucky thing Ann hadn’t walked in on them! They both got dressed for school quickly, sneaking peeks at each other once in a while. The rest of the day went quite normally, other than both of the boys constantly daydreaming about what had happened that night.
Chapter 5:
Potential Triggers: homophobia, underage drinking violence and slight gore
A few days go by with many cuddles and kisses behind closed doors. Nobody knows about them, which is a success. Saturday evening comes and Barry is hanging with Oisín when he gets a phone call, they both sit up from their peaceful cuddling.
“Oh alright, would it be alright if I bring my mate oisín? Okay see ya soon, sound” “wanna go to a party with me? We’d have to go only as friends though, is that ok?”
“Uh, party’s aren't really my thing, if I go can we please stay together? Oisín looks nervous and guilty for asking that favour
“Of course, anything for you to feel comfortable.” He gives him a hug and they go to sneak out. Ann would freak if she knew that they’d be going to a party with drinks. The walk there is long so Barry tries to coach him on what to say and what not to
“So don’t tell them you read any biographies, oh and my shirt is too new, I’ll have to spill some beer on it or something”
“Wait, why can’t I tell them I read” oisín huffs, very confused at the logic of lads. They reach the boy’s house within only a few minutes and Barry is instantly welcome as the cool guy everyone knew him as. Barry’s friends are completely oblivious to Oisín but Barry makes sure to include him in everything. After a while of mingling and chatting, everyone gathered into a room to play some game.
“Let’s play, spin the bottle, and no one is getting out of it. Locking the room till we deem the game over” said a very cheeky girl who looks far too old to be in 4th year. Everyone groans at the same time, A very catholic sigh. They all huddle in a circle and started the game.
“Síobhán and Tim” the two shuffles towards each other awkwardly kiss only for a second or two, “Seamus and Amelia” this kind of thing happens many times until the bottle lands on two guys, leaving a silence in the room.
“Ah ah lads, it’s only a kiss, no feelings involved, there’s a pint in it for ya both.” the girl in charge said, replying to the awkward silence. It takes a bit of debating but they finally kiss, only for a couple of seconds. After this happens the first few times the atmosphere relaxes significantly. It’s finally Barry’s turn and to his surprise to spin the bottle, it lands on Oisín, I mean you should have seen that one coming.
“Come on Barry, get it over with! Ya get a beer afterwards,” some random guy shouts, from the corner.
“Ok, people won’t suspect anything if we don’t make a big deal of it” oisín thought. Before he could think anything more about the situation, Barry was kissing him, “this is great, but what are people thinking???” Oisín’s thoughts were going a mile a minute and only then did they both realise that they had been kissing for longer than the normal.
“GAYYY” a drunk girl shouts, seconds later throwing up all over a couch. They broke apart within a fraction of a second after hearing that. It's surprisingly not very awkward probably because seeing as the girl was so drunk nobody took her seriously. After a few more spins the group disperses and the game is over, They’re both handed a beer and Barry steers them over to Seamus his friend. “I don’t drink,” Oisín mutters to Barry. Barry is deep in conversation with Seamus and doesn't really notice.
“I’ll have it then,” a tall 6th year says in a conceited voice as he leans over and takes it from his hands. It was the same guy from the alleyway that had beat him up, why was he here? He pulls oisín outside to the alleyway between the two houses as there are less people here. “Let's have some fun, you're pretty gay arent you” the boy sneers while pushing Oisín against a wall a punching him in the face with.
“Fuck off” oisín says between blows “why do you even care” He tries to push back but just get kicked back into the wall which would definitely given him a concussion.
“I'm Cian by the way, remember my name as the guy who will beat the gay out of you” He glares at Oisín while pulling out a dirty switchblade with smudges of what looked like blood on the handle. It was about now that Barry notices Oisín is gone, he goes upstairs and walks in on a couple.
“Sorry Josh!” double-taking when he sees who the girl is “Really, with Kate?” swiftly turning around to continue looking for oisín, he starts asking people if they’ve seen him, “Fuck, where is he, I promised I wouldn’t leave him.” he’s in the garden when hears oisín from an alleyway shouting, he sounds like he’s in a lot of pain. “GET THE HELL OFF MY FRIEND!” Barry screams as he runs at Cian arms outstretched punching Cian anywhere he can land a hit, only now seeing the knife, luckily rugby training did get Barry good at tackling lads. so tackles him to the ground and throws the blade far away so he can't do as much harm. Cian scatters running back into the house to prevent any further injuries. Barry hadn't noticed how badly cut Oisín was til now. His blood is staining the ground and he has numerous cuts, varying from shallow to dangerously deep.
“Oisín you need to stay conscious, come on don't fall asleep! You're worrying me!” Barry yells for someone to get an ambulance and only now does he realise that nobody even saw anything go down. He reaches into his pocket to call an ambulance, pulling out his old iPhone now streaked with oisíns blood.“My friend is hurt, he’s been stabbed I think, he has a broken nose and a broken arm and he’s bleeding, god he’s bleeding so much. Hurry!” He thinks he’s gonna get sick, he felt so incredibly guilty that he’d let Oisín be alone with his Bully. He somehow managed to remember the address to tell the ambulance driver. He then gets enough attention for people to carry Oisín inside and lay him on the counter, he’s still conscious just about. These precious minutes mean everything to oisíns health.