Tadhg

"No way, the Roses are on a roll this season, that's never gonna happen, you guys have no-"

"What? Shut up! We are so going to kick their-" I say, cutting Courtney off. As I'm about to finish my sentence, the sight of Caoilainn sitting across the cafeteria with Nick makes me lose my train of thought. Something about the look on Nick's face gives me pause, but I'm not sure what it is. He seems...eager.

They're sitting alone together, and Nick has Coda with him. Coda is Nick's therapy dog. He must be taking him over to the children's hospital with him this afternoon.

When Nick's brother Gabriel was three, his cousin Rachel was pushing him in a coach. They were celebrating Samhain and everyone came dressed up in Halloween costumes. A lot of the older kids and adults were roasting marshmallows for smores around a fire pit in Nick's uncle's backyard. There's a bit of a slope in his Uncle's backyard, especially preceding the fire pit.

When Rachel was riding Gabriel around she tripped and lost control of the coach. She wasn't able to regain control of the thing in time to prevent Gabriel from falling forward over the edge of the fire pit. It was a terrible accident.

Luckily for Gabriel, most of the worst burns were sustained on his hands and arms, just barely missing his face. They were painful for him but because he was so young they healed fairly well. His left leg, however, was injured quite badly from his knee to his thigh. He sustained third degree burns in that area and needed a skin graft.

When Gabriel was in the hospital's burn unit Nick went to visit Gabriel everyday. When the risk of infection passed he brought their family dog, Max, in to see Gabriel which made him very happy. Nick believes it helped move the healing process along.

When Gabriel finally came home Nick decided that other children in the hospital could benefit from time with pets as well. A few years later, after Max passed, Nick talked to his parents and they helped him get paired up with Coda, a lilthe white greyhound who has proven to be quite gentle. Nick joined our college's pet therapy group as a freshman and has been a member ever since. He graduates this June and intends to continue in animal therapy for his BS degree at a four-year college.

As I walk through the gym I hear Courtney trying to get my attention.

"Is anybody home? Tad-hg? Hel-looooo, Tadhg? Where'd you go?" waving her hand in front of my face, Courtney breaks my concentration.

"What was I saying?" I ask her.

"You weren't saying anything. One minute you were talking about the team and then all of a sudden you disappeared on me." Courtney explains. She looks at me and then follows my line of sight across the gym. When it lands on Caoilainn and Nick she says, "Oh, good. There's Nick. He'll know where Pete is. We're supposed to meet up after school but my mom asked me to work at the shop. Her co-worker left early with the flu." Courtney runs ahead of me while I drag my feet.

When I come up to the table, Ruari and Siofra enter from the back entrance in time to meet up with me at the same time. "What's up, Ruari? How's it going, guys?" I call out sitting down on the bench across from Caoilainn.

Before then Caoilainn hadn't noticed me. When she catches my eye she looks away quickly and then glances back at Nick, biting her bottom lip and looking down at her hands. Before I can get comfortable she leans in closer to Nick and faintly whispers to him, "I like you, Nick. You're a great guy, but I...I don't think I can. I hope I haven't offended you."

Nick smiles at her and whispers back, "Of course not, Caoi, of course not." She offers him a weak smile before turning to look away from our group. When Nick turns his attention away from her and on to something Ruari asks Caoilainn starts to organize her things at her seat.

Nick's a great guy. Caoilainn would really like going out with him. He has a lot to offer her, too. He's smart as all get-out, having snagged three separate full-ride scholarships to three different universities this coming fall. He's very social and is actually a really good friend. I know he'd treat her well. I'm surprised to hear her turn him down.

I frown internally. Not that I want her to accept an offer from Nick.

"Yo, Tadhg, what's goin' on, man?" Nick asks offering me his fist to bump. I give him a tentative tap leaning over in his direction. "Not much. What's up, Nick? Hey, Coda," I say petting his dog on the head. I turn back around and look forward at Caoilainn.

"Hey, Caoi," I say smiling at her as I dip a French fry in my ketchup. "You alright?" I look her over but she seems to be a million miles away.

"Hi, Tadhg," she says quietly.

Then everyone's talking to each other at once about different things. Courtney's asking Siofra about Pete; apparently Nick didn't know where Pete is so now Courtney's checking with Siofra. Ruari's petting Coda and asking about the shift at the burn unit, while Caoilainn sits quietly eating a cup of chocolate pudding.

Looking up and then back down towards to the group, Caoilainn turns and announces that she has to go to her locker for a book she forgot to get before her next class. I instinctively stand up and offer to go with her but she turns me down.

"NO" she says firmly, and then more quietly, "I mean, no, thank you, Tadhg. It's ok. I'm fine. I'll talk to you guys later," she says, turning back towards the group. A frown passes her face and I turn behind me to see Corrine walking this way.

Before I can react Caoilainn runs out of the cafeteria and is gone. Corrine never stops at my table; she was only on her way to the vending machines behind us. We haven't spoken since the party and neither one of us seems hurt about it. I heard she's already moved on to one of my rugby teammates. I wish her well.

"Dude," Nick says to me, pulling me back into the conversation. "You must have the magic touch, man."

"Huh?" I reply distracted.

"Caoilainn," he says as if it's self-explanatory. "You're like the only guy she'll talk to. I mean I just asked her to join me at the hospital and I thought for sure she'd go but she turned me down flat. Did it nicely, mind you, but still. Crash and burn, man.

You're the only guy she ever talks to longer than a few minutes, that is. And the only guy she ever goes anywhere with. You lucky bastard." He picks up a slice of pizza and starts to swallow it whole but then stops mid-stream. "Although, come to think of it, I haven't seen her speak more than a few words to you these last two weeks. What'd you do?"

As he continues to inhale his lunch before getting up to leave for the hospital with Coda, I pick at my own. The chicken fingers and fries on my plate taste a lot less appealing to me than they did a few minutes ago. Even dipping them in ketchup makes no difference.

I drop a limp spud on my paper plate and look blankly across the room.

I hadn't noticed Caoilainn's silence this week. What with everything going on with the team, and our mid-terms I've been trying to study for, the days have just been moving.

Nick's right, though, now that I think about it. Ever since the party Caoilainn's words to me have been minimal. Interestingly enough since I brought Corrine to the party I've now been present for two friends showing interest in her. And rumor has it that some guy in her chemistry class asked her to be his study partner for mid-terms but she denied him. Said she wasn't that good with chemical equations. Which, and I would know since she's tutored me in the chemistry in the past, is total bullshit.

What's going on?

"Hey guys, I gotta go," I explain standing up and walking away from them with my tray. They wave me off and I walk over to the nearest trashcan to dump my stuff. As I turn away from it with empty arms, Siofra bumps into my shoulder.

"Shoot!" she says tripping backwards. "Sorry, Tadhg. I didn't mean to knock into you."

"It's ok, Siofra. I didn't hurt you, did I?" I ask, holding her elbow to steady her on her feet.

She lets out a deep breath and blows her bangs out of her eyes. "No, of course not.

Hey, listen, have you seen Fionn this morning? He was supposed to share some math notes with me before my next class but I haven't seen him."

"No, which is weird because he usually meets up with me on the way into the cafeteria. His English class lets out right down the hall from my History class." I answer her.

Siofra shakes her head and rolls her eyes in disgust.

"Everything ok?" I ask taking in her hostility.

"Yeah, I guess," she sighs. "At least I hope so. Dammit. He better not be off somewhere with her."

"Her?"

I'm confused. I didn't know Fionn was dating anyone. He's a self-proclaimed bachelor.

"Shit," she comments.

"Sorry. I don't think I'm supposed to know, let alone share his business."

"Know what, Sio?" I ask her.

Another loud breath and Siofra explains that she wonders if Fionn might be off somewhere with Pearl.

I raise my eyebrows, and holding onto Siofra's arm, I drag her back towards the corner of the cafeteria where no one can hear us. "Doesn't Pearl have a thing going on with Brody, Sio?" I whisper.

"Uh-huh. They've been seeing each other," Siofra whispers back venomously. "But I think she has my brother in her sites too, Tadhg. I don't know what to do here. Pearl is my friend but Fionn's my brother. What am I supposed to do?"

Damn. This sucks. What do I say? Anything I say to Siofra will get me in trouble with one of my boys. I'm friends with both Fionn and Brody.

"Fionn knows she's going out with Brody, right?" I ask, looking around to make sure no one else sneaks up on our conversation.

"Yeah that's the kicker," she replies. "He knows full well she's with Brody, but for whatever reason he hasn't put a stop to anything Pearl throws at him. I don't get it. This isn't like him. I don't know what kind of spell she has Fionn under but he's not thinking straight if he lets Pearl get ahold of his heart.

"And Brody? Does he know about Pearl and Fionn?" I ask scratching the back of my neck.

"Damned if I know, Tadhg," she replies disgusted. "No one will tell me anything. All I know is that this little love triangle, if one has started, will not end well."

I put my hands in my pockets and close my eyes while leaning on the nearby doorway for a rest. I'm at a loss. My best bet is to just stay out of it. I'm about to advise Siofra to do that same thing when I realize she's asking me something.

"What?" I ask. I missed what Siofra said. "What was that?"

"I said," she repeats herself. "Have you talked to Caoi, yet?"

Pushing off of the doorway, I move forward with interest. "About what?"

"Have you spoken to her since the party?" she asks.

"No, actually," I reply. "I haven't. In fact, right before you bumped into me I was wondering to myself if she's been avoiding me."

Siofra half laughs and shakes her head.

"What?" I ask. "What do you know? Did she say something to you?"

Siofra stares back at me before replying. I can see her come to some sort of decision before she moves in closer to me. "Have you noticed how many guys have been asking Caoilainn out since that party two weeks ago, Tadhg?

So I'm not the only one who's noticed. I rub my neck unconsciously feeling a little uncomfortable at this turn in the conversation. "I guess."

"Yeah, me too," she says. "I think people are finally getting the message, Tadhg. About Caoilainn, that is."

The few pieces of chicken fingers and fries sitting in my mostly empty stomach start to churn. "What message? What are you talking about, Sio?"

"Duh, that you're not interested in her," and she continues. "Everyone thought you two were going to end up together. They kept their distance. But when you brought Corrine to the party and Caoilainn hung out with Archer most of the night, everyone now assumes she's up for grabs. Guys have been coming onto her ever since. The pigs. I think it's been freaking her out a little bit, actually."

HOLY shit. No, way.

"Wait, what? This is the first I'm hearing about all this," I stammer. "How come people are saying and doing all this but no one's talked to me about it? And, Corrine and I aren't together. I mean that's been obvious since that night."

"Yeah, but between Corrine, and every other rugby groupie who hangs all over you, it won't be long before Caoilainn starts to date other people, too. And since she decided to take a trial run at flirting with Archer that night, well...

Not that it matters; you're not interested in Caoi-"

"Who said I wasn't interested in Caoi?" I demand.

"Are you?" Siofra asks surprised.

"NO!" I spit out reflexively. "I mean, well, I---shit, Sio."

Now it's Siofra who starts to whistle.

"Oh, shut up, Sio!" I whine, pacing in the doorway. "Shit."

"I guess I'm not the only one having a rough day," Siofra laughs shifting her books from her left hip to her right hip. When the alarm on her Fitbit sounds, she grabs my arm and pulls me down the hall towards our lockers. Hers isn't far from my own. "Come on, Tadhg, let's go before we're late."

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