Within a few minutes the lot of them were gathered in a trendy club downtown. The entire place was packed and the room vibrated with music and energy. �They got settled at a table and after ordering a few refreshments, they all headed out for the dance floor, eager to just relax and have a good time, and relieve the stress of the past few days. �All that is, except for Mattie. �Nicky and Georgina and Bryan and Caitlin had started dancing, and Kian, being Kian, had already found a girl. �When Shane noticed that Mattie was still sitting nonchalantly at their table looking like she had no plans to go anywhere, he held out his hand. "Wanna dance, Peanut?" he asked. Mattie shook her head. �"No, not right now...maybe later," she replied, giving him a bright smile. "You sure?" Shane said, giving her a puzzled look. "Yeah, go on ahead and have fun Shane, I'll be fine." "Okay," he said uncertainly. �He gave her a final perplexed look before turning away and it wasn't long before he had found a girl to dance with, but Shane still couldn't shake the uneasy feeling that Mattie was up to something.
���Meanwhile, Mattie sat at the empty table, surveying the placked club carefully. �She had already made a decision, she was going to have a fantastic time tonight or die trying. �It was about time that she let loose and had a little fun, and she wouldn't think about Mark if it killed her. �And she figured the easiest way to get him off her mind was a little male attention, and being a women, she had a pretty good idea of how to get it. Mattie reached up and undid the clip that held up her mass of hair and it fell in soft waves over her shoulders. �She ran her fingers through it several times to straighten it out and try to arrange the curly ends that had formed from her usually straight hair being put up in the clip. Mattie took out her mirror to give her face one last inspection, then put it away and stood up, at the same time sliding her cardigan off her shoulders. �Mattie shook back her hair and smoothed down a non-existant wrinkle in her leather skirt, which stopped right above her knee and had a slit going up the side. �She pulled it down a little lower on her hips, creating more of a distance between the skirt and her dark red tube top to reveal more of her flat and, thanks to the Florida sun from last week, evenly tanned stomach. � Mattie raised her head and surveyed the crowd and it didn't take long for her gaze to settle on a group of guys sitting at the bar giving her approving looks. �She took in a deep, determined breath before giving them a coy smile of her own. One of the guys smiled back at her before saying something to the otheres and then getting up and heading towards her. "Hey cutie," he greeted when he reached Mattie. �"What's a fine thing like you doing here all by yourself?" His speech was a bit off and Mattie could already tell that he was well on his way to being smashed. �She was a bit put off and would normally have brushed him off and went on her way, but something stopped her. �Mattie recalled the decision she had made not even an hour earlier, she was going to be a different Mattie, starting tonight. �So instead, she ran her fingers through her hair and gave him playful smile. �"Oh, I'm not doing much," Mattie replied airily. The man grinned at her. �"Well hows about we change that? �Can I buy you a drink?" �He took her hand and led her to the bar.
The rest of them - Shane, Bryan, Caitlin, Georgina, Nicky, and Kian - were at the moment sitting at their table, watching in disbelief as Mattie acquainted herself with half the blokes in the club. �Each of them had tried at least once to pull her aside and tell her to slow it down, but she had brushed them all off and told them in so many words that she could take care of herself. �Now, they had all given up and were forced to just sit back and watch her helplessly. "This is insane," Nicky said, shaking his head. "I've never seen her act like this, what is she doing?" Caitlin bit her lip. �"I don't know, but this isn't Mattie. �I can't imagine what's gotten into her!"
"Shouldn't we do something?" Bryan demanded. �"She's obviously drunk off her arse already, I'm surprised she's still standing after all the things I've seen her drink tonight. �She's like, Mattie the Camel or something." �Everyone turned to him with puzzled expressions. �"You know how camels drink a lot?" Bryan explained. �Their faces remained blank and Bryan sighed heavily. �"Don't look at me like I'm off me rocker. �God, don't you lot ever watch the nature channels on the telly?"
Kian shook his head and turned his attention back to Mattie, who at the moment was dancing rather provocatively with one of the blokes who had been paying her the most attention all night. �"I'm really worried about her," he said as he watched her dance. �"If any of these guys does anything to her..." "We are going to make sure that doesn't happen," Shane answered firmly.
"But she's not listening to us!" Georgina said in frustration. �"We've all tried to get her to stop whatever she thinks she's doing, but she's brushed all of us off, every time."
"Did you try talking to her too Caitlin?" Nicky asked her.
She nodded. �"Yeah. �But she told me that she thought I was the last person to lecture her, considering that I was the one who insisted that she forget Mark and move on. �But this was not what I had in mind."
"Hey, when did you tell her that?!" Bryan demanded. �"That is totally the opposite objective of Operation Mark and Mattie! �You are a bad, bad person!"
Caitlin rolled her eyes. �"This was before Operation Mark and Mattie, you deutz." �She shrugged. �"I want those two together as much as anyone else, I pretty much said all that just to kind of push her into doing something about Mark. �I didn't know she would - " suddenly, Caitlin broke off her sentence and gasped in shock. �Immediately, everyone's turned to what she was looking at, only to be equally stunned as they saw Mattie deep into a heavy snog with the guy she had been dancing with. Bryan made several shocked squeaking noises as Kian stood up abruptly, the chair making loud scraping noises on the floor. "That is it. �I can't watch her do this anymore, I am going to get here and we're going back to the hotel." �With that, he strided off towards Mattie, not heeding the halfhearted protests from the rest of the group. �As he made his way out on the dance floor, he heard a voice behind him.
���"Hey Jason, do you know where that Irish girl is? �I've got her drink."
���Kian whirled around and came face to face with some drunken bloke holding two drinks. �"Listen to me, you little shite," he growled as he gripped the guy by his collar. �"You go near 'that Irish girl' and I will kick the living piss out of you, you got it?"
���"Dude man, chill out!" the guy said as he backed away. �"Who put the stick up your ass?" he muttered, walking off.
���"Feckin Americans," Kian said under his breath as he turned around again to look for Mattie. It was a few minutes before he caught sight of her again, and when he did, he strided his way purposely over to her. �He fought the urge to pry the guy off her face, but instead cleared his throat loudly. �When neither responded, he reached out and tapped Mattie on the shoulder. �
���At that, Mattie finally broke away and turned around to see Kian standing behind her. �"Kian!" she exclaimed delightedly. �She stumbled over to him and fell into his arms. �"Oh Kian, I'm having so much fun!" �She giggled giddily, but stopped when she saw the look on his face. �"Oh Kian, are you not having fun?" Mattie asked sympathetically. �She leaned towards him conspiratorially. �"If you want, Cory here can get you a lil something, cause he's twenty one." �Mattie nodded solemnly. �"I bet he could get you something."
� "I don't want a drink Mattie," Kian began, but Mattie held up her hand.
��� "Please Kian, it's Madeline tonight," she said a seductive tone. �Well, it was meant to be seductive, but the wooziness of her speech offset the seductiveness. �"So what will you have, I'm sure Cory will get you anything you want." �Mattie turned around to ask the person she had been dancing with, but he seemed to have disappeared. �"Now where did he run off to?" �She scratched her head. �"Ah, it's no matter, we can find someone else Kian, follow me!" she said as she took his hand and set off on a quest for another suitable twenty-one year old.
��� Kian tugged at her hand to stop her. �"No Mattie, no more drinks, it's time to go home."
��� Mattie gasped. �"We're going back to Ireland?! �What happened? �Did you lads get in trouble? �Are the cops after you? Are you wanted by the FBI?" �She clucked her tongue. �"What a shame! �And I was having such a good time. �You might be a little more considerate of others Kian. �What did you lot do this time anyway? It must have been something quite atrocious."
��� Kian sighed. �"No Mattie, we're not going back to Ireland, we're going back to the hotel," he said loudly and slowly for Mattie's benefit.
��� "Ohhhh," she said. �She stood for a moment looking thoughtful. �"No, I want to stay here," Mattie decided finally. �"I'm having quite a lovely time, you all can go on back to the hotel if you like and I will just take a taxi back when I feel like going back." �Mattie gave Kian a final pat on the cheek before turning around unsteadily to walk away, only to have Kian grab her hand and yank her back.
��� "I don't think so missy," he said as he began to lead her away from the dance floor. �
��� Mattie resisted, trying to pull her hand away from Kian's grasp. �"No, I want to stay here!" She tried again to take her hand back, but Kian's grip was firm. �"My goodness Kian, have you been working out?" she grunted as she continued trying to get him to release her hand. �Kian merely rolled his eyes and continued on.
��� Finally, Mattie managed to extricate her hand from Kian's and once she was free, immediately started back to the dance floor. �
���"Mattie!" Kian exclaimed as he ran back to get her. �Considering Mattie's gait was well past wobbly, she hadn't got far when Kian reached her again. �He grabbed her arm but she managed to grab onto the nearest stationary object, which happened to be the edge of the bar. �Mattie hung on as well as she could as Kian struggled to get her away. �
���"No - I - don't - want - to - leave!" Mattie cried, holding onto the bar with both hands while Kian tugged at her waist in an effort to make her let go.
���"I - don't - care - you're - going - to - ANYWAY!" Kian pulled hard and Mattie lost her grip on the bar as they both went crashing down to the floor.
���"Ow, my bum hurts," Mattie said as she rubbed her sore spot. �"You made my bum hurt Kian!" she accused him as she turned around to face him. �
���Kian's face was flushed red with frustration and anger. �"What the hell is wrong with you Mattie, we're going back to the hotel RIGHT NOW, and THAT'S THAT! �And I want NO more arguments, do you hear me?"
���Mattie opened her mouth ready to reply with a rude retort but then suddenly she seemed to change her mind and instead smiled at him in a coy manner. �Kian looked at her suspiciously. �"Mattie, what are you - " �He cut off his words and his eyes widened as Mattie leaned closer and licked her lips as she ran her finger down the buttons of his shirt.
���"Did anyone ever tell you how dead sexy you are when you're mad?" she said in a velvety voice. �Kian sat in shock as he watched Mattie leaned even closer and it wasn't until he felt her lips on his that he realized what she was doing and pushed her hastily away.
���"MATTIE, WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" he all but screamed at her.
���Mattie sighed in exasperation and pulled away from him, pouting. �"Kian you are no fun."
Back at the table, five people were sitting in shock, not believing what they had just seen.
��� "Oh my God..." Georgina said in a half-whisper, half-squeak as she brought her hands to her mouth.
��� "Is it me..." Bryan began hesitantly. �"Or did Mattie just try to snog Egan?" �He got no answer from the other four, who were still speechless.
��� Slowly, Shane shook himself out of his daze and stood up. �"I - I think maybe Kian needs a little help with her," he said uncertainly before he started off towards the dance floor where Kian was helping Mattie to stand back up.
��� Mattie smiled brightly up at Shane when he reached them. �"Shane darling!" she squealed happily, her enthusiastic greeting punctuated by a very unelegant hiccup. �"I'm having such a lovely time! Actually, I was before Kian here came along and spoiled it all." �She shot him a murderous look.
��� Kian rolled his eyes and stood up. �"You try reasoning with this human liquor decanter," he told Shane irritably. �"Mattie's being impossible and just now she tried to snog my face off."
������ Mattie sighed in exasperation. �"How many times do I have to tell you? �It's Madeline. �You're really cramping my style Egan. And will you quit being so melodramatic? I was NOT trying to snog your face off, I was just showin' some love! Jeez!" �She rolled her eyes and shook her head.
Shane sighed and held out his hand. �Mattie stared at it for a second before a light dawned on her face. �She took his hand and shook it cordially. �"No Mattie, I'm not shaking your hand, I'm helping you to get up so that we can go back to the hotel," he explained to her patiently.
Mattie waved her hand at him dismissively. �"Oh no, it's no bother, I can get up myself." �With that, she attempted to stand up on her own, but after a few seconds she gave up and looked at Kian and �Shane pathetically. �"It seems that I have lost motor control in the lower half of my body," she explained to them.
Shane and Kian gave each other an exasperated look before both bending down and helping Mattie up. �Shane signaled to the others that they were leaving as he and Kian struggled to support Mattie as she attempted to walk wobbily along. �By the time they had got to the front of the club, everyone else was already there, waiting for the taxis to arrive.
"Hullo, all!" Mattie greeted them cheerily. �"And how are we this fine night?"
"We're fine," Caitlin answered. �"But what about you, are you okay Mattie?"
��� "Oh, I'm quite grand!" Mattie assured her. �"Just lovely, in fact. �It's been a lovely night! Isn't this a lovely club? �Kansas is quite a lovely state. �Such a lovely country also, the States is. �I think - "
��� Suddenly, Mattie was interrupted by a chorus of rowdy calls from a group of men leaving the club. �Shouts of �"Bye, Madeline!" and "See ya later Irish girl!" were heard in abundance as Mattie waved at them cheerily.
��� "Americans really are a top sort of people, aren't they?" Mattie mused contemplatively. �"They're not quite the rude bastards that everyone thinks they are!" She giggled, then hiccupped. �Just then, the taxis arrived and everyone said a silent prayer of thanks as they all got in and headed back to the hotel.
"Shite!" Bryan exclaimed as he and everyone bent down to help Mattie back up. �"Mattie I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that, you just took me by surprise. �I'm so sorry Mattie, are you hurt?"
��� She rubbed her sore backside again. �"I'm okay, don't worry about it Bryan."
��� "Why on earth did you holler like that, Mattie?" Nicky asked her as she was standing up.
��� Mattie thought for a moment, then shrugged. �"I think it's cos I'm drunk."
���"Come on now, time for bed sweetcheeks," Bryan said gently as he put an arm around Mattie's waist to steady her while he led her towards her room.
���Just then, Mark came out in the hallway dressed in a t shirt and boxer shorts, rubbing his eyes and blinking in the bright light of the hall. �Everyone froze where they were and looked at each other with wide eyes. �How would Mark react to seeing Mattie in a state like this?
���"What's going on out here?" he asked sleepily. �"I heard some kind of screaming - " Mark broke off when he saw Bryan trying to support Mattie, who at the moment was standing rather precariously, looking like she was going to fall over any minute. �"Mattie?" he questioned curiously. �Mark focused his eyes and took in Mattie's disheveled state. �"What happened to you?" �When she didn't answer, he tried again. �"Mat? You okay?" �He walked over to her as everyone else stood still in an uncomfortable silence. �The moment Mark reached Mattie, he could smell the overwhelming scent of alcohol that clung to her. �
��� �Jesus!� he exclaimed. �"How much have you had to drink tonight?" Mark questioned sternly.
��� Mattie tossed him an irritated look. �"Save the lecture, Mark, I've got a dad."
��� Her harsh remark left him momentarily stunned. �"What?"
��� "You didn't hear me the first time? Can you not pay attention or something." Mattie's tone washard and icy, there was a hostility in her voice none of them had ever heard out of her. �It sent chills down everyone's spine. Mark stood there, only able to stare at her, his mouth open in shock. �Mattie rolled her eyes and sighed disgustedly. �"Will you close your mouth, you look like a goddamn fish," she ordered.
��� Georgina gasped audibly and Bryan tightened his arm around her waist. �"Alright, that's enough, Mattie," he said gently. �"You've had too much to drink and you're not feeling like yourself. �You just need a good night's rest." Bryan started to lead her again towards her room, but Mattie twisted away from him.
��� "Oh please," she retorted. �"Don't start doing that, the last thing I need is someone telling me what I feel, I can figure it out for myself. �They are MY feelings, after all." �With that, Mattie began to walk on her own unsteadily towards her door when she stumbled and lost her balance. �Instinctively, Mark reached out and grasped her arm to steady her, but she yanked it away.
��� "Don't touch me," Mattie said angrily. �"You are also the last thing that I need." �All eyes turned to Mark, who had a stricken look on his face. �He looked lost, hurt, and hopelessly confused, and no one could blame him. �No one, that is, except Mattie.
��� "Oh, don't look at me that way, with your sad blue eyes," Mattie said impatiently. �"I am not falling for that again. You can't honestly expect me to feel sorry for you."
���Mark stepped back at her harsh words. �The rest of the group stood in awkward silence in the middle of the hall, their gazes shifting between Mark's hurt expression and Mattie's accusatory glare. It seemed like an eternity before Mattie finally spun on her heel and stumbled back towards her room. �She pulled out her key and slid it through the slot before going in and leaving them all still standing in the hall. �Georgina and Caitlin quietly excused themselves, saying they were going to help Mattie get settled for the night, then disappeared inside with her. �
��� The hurt, bewildered expression never left Mark's face as he stared at the other five lads, looking for answers. �"What the hell is with her?!" Mark exclaimed. �"What happened to her tonight?" �His questions were met with silence as the others kept their gazes trained on the floor. �"And how in hell did she manage to get so drunk?" More silence. �Mark turned to Nicky. �"Nicky, were you the one who bought her drinks tonight? �God man, don't you know when someone's had enough?"
��� "It wasn't me," Nicky said quietly. �
�� "Then who was it?" Mark demanded. �"The laws here are hard-arsed, even Mattie couldn't charm a bartender into selling her alcohol, not over here. �Who bought her the drinks?"
Shane shrugged uncomfortably and mumbled something indecipherable.
Mark cocked his head and stepped closer to Shane. "What was that?" he asked suspiciously.
"It was...a couple of people," Shane admitted hesitantly.
Mark gave all of them a hard look. "What people?"
Bryan looked down at his shoes. "Just a few blokes she met tonight."
"A few?" Mark asked incredulously. "What, are you saying you all let her go off with blokes she didn't even know and stood back as you watched them get her drunk? Are you insane? How could you do this?! How could you let this happen?"
"Will you calm down, Mark?" Nicky said. "We tried to tell her to slow it down, all of us did, but she wouldn't listen."
"Well, you should have made her listen," Mark replied angrily. "I can't believe you lot. Just look at the state she's in! You should have done more. What if something had happened to her?"
"What else could we have done?" Shane asked him. "What else? You know Mattie, she doesn't let anyone tell her what to do. What could we have done, Mark? She's a grown woman, and she can make her own choices. And we wouldn't have let anything happen to her."
Mark let out a disgusted noise. "Oh please. You let her go off and get raging drunk with God knows who, who could have done anything to her and you did shite about it. Who knows what else you would have let her get away with?"
"Alright, that's it," Kian cut in angrily. "What right have you to lecture us, Mark? Where were YOU when all this was going on? At least WE were there. WE were there in case anything happened to her, but where the hell were you? Don't hand us this bullshit, don't blame us because you are feeling guilty because you weren't there for her. �And what business is it of yours anyway, if she feels like getting drunk? �Mattie's not a little girl anymore, can't you see that? �Oh, but wait, I forgot, you're the only one who can't."
�����"Kian - " Shane put his hand on Kian's arm, but he shrugged him off.
�����"No way Shane, I'm just getting started." �Kian glared at Mark. �"I'm starting to get sick of what he's doing to her. And he can't even fucking see it!"
����� "What?" Mark stared at Kian in confusion. �"What the hell are you talking about, man? �I'm not doing anything to her!"
�����"Oh you aren't, are you?" Kian retorted. �"Jesus Mark, how can you be so goddamn dense? �I can't even begin to understand you. �How can you not see? �How can you not see?"
�����"See what? �What in hell are you talking about, you aren't making any�goddamn sense." �Mark's expression was still confused, but he was beginning to get angry himself.
�����Kian clenched his fists. �"Don't you dare talk to me about sense when you can't even see what you're doing," he countered angrily.
�����"Kian - " Bryan began warningly. �"Don't."
�����"Oh come on, Bryan!" Kian exclaimed. �"Don't tell me that you're not sick of this too. �I'm sick of seeing Feehily acting like such a fucking idiot that he can't even see what he's doing or who he's hurting."
"What the hell is wrong with you Kian?" Mark said, taking a step closer to him. "Can someone please tell me what the fuck he is on about?" He turned to see Nicky, Bryan and Shane all giving Kian death looks, but Kian was too busy glaring at Mark to notice, or care.
"Oh please!" Kian nearly shouted. "You think none of us see what's going on?" He stepped closer to Mark so that they were almost nose to nose. "You don't even fucking know what you have when it's right in front of your face. Or maybe you do know, and it's just a hobby of yours to make the people who care about you suffer." Kian's tone was now dangerously low.
"Kian, stop it, now," Nicky ordered, but they both ignored him.
"Look Egan, either you start making some goddamn sense or else get the hell out of my face," Mark seethed.
Kian sniggered. "Oh, that really scares me Mark. Really. Don't you know that any threat you could possibly make is lost to me? If you're too chicken shit to face your own feelings, then you're too chicken shit to follow through on a threat."
At that, Mark shoved Kian as hard as he could, and the sound of Kian hitting the wall resounded loudly. At first, everyone in the hall stood still with shock, but when Kian had righted himself and started towards Mark, they reacted quickly. Nicky and Bryan went to hold Mark back as Shane stepped quickly in front of Kian and kept him back.
"That's enough Kian," Shane said in a firm voice. "That is enough." Kian gave Shane a defiant look and was moving to push him aside when Shane pushed him back further and leaned forward. "Don't do this Kian," he said in a low, but firm whisper. "He shouldn't find out like this. At least give Mattie that much."
At that, Kian's demeanor softened visibly and he sighed. "Fine. Whatever. As far as Mark's concerned, I could give a good God damn about him. The only reason I'm backing off now is for Mattie."
"Come on Kian, he's your mate. Just go to your room and cool down, sleep it off, and we can talk in the morning, alright?" Kian shrugged and then turned away before going to his and Nicky's room and slamming the door behind him.
Once he was gone, Mark turned to face all of them. He hadn't heard a word of what Kian and Shane had said to each other, but his face was still flushed with anger and confusion. "Would someone care to tell me what the fuck that was all about?" he demanded angrily. Nicky and Bryan looked at each other uncomfortably as Shane struggled to come up with an answer.
"Well I - I guess he didn't appreciate being blamed for Mattie getting drunk," Shane offered lamely.
Mark gave Shane a hard look. "It was more than that, and you know it."
Shane said nothing more and the silence in the hallway was deafening. Finally, he spoke again. "It isn't my place to say anything Mark," Shane said. "You're on your own on this one." With that enigmatic statement, he turned and went back to his own room, shutting the door quietly behind him.
Mark rubbed his hand over his face, then ran it through his hair. His expression was tired as he looked helplessly and Bryan and Nicky, who were still standing silently in the hallway. Suddenly, he started towards Mattie's room and was about to knock on the door when Bryan stopped him.
"Hold on a minute man, what do you think you're doing?" Bryan asked.
"I need to talk to her," Mark said. "I - we need to - " he broke his sentence off and just went ahead and knocked on the door.
A few seconds later it opened and Georgina stuck her head out. "Yeah?" she asked, looking between the three of them in th hall.
"G, can I talk to Mattie for a minute?" Mark asked. "Just for a minute."
"I don't know, Mark..." Georgina answered uncomfortably. "I'm not sure that's such a good idea." She turned to look at Caitlin, who was behind her. Caitlin studied Mark's face carefully as he looked at her with pleading eyes. She sighed and looked back at Georgina.
"Let's give them a few minutes," she said softly. Georgina nodded and stepped out into the hall. As Caitlin went past him, Mark grabbed her hand and gave her a grateful squeeze. She gave him a small smile, then went outside, closing the door. Seeing her troubled expression, Bryan took her hand.
"Come on, let's go in my room until Mark's done," he said. Caitlin nodded silently and they both went into his room.
Georgina remained in the hallway, staring at her door, when she felt Nicky's arms slide around her waist. She sighed and leaned back against him as he softly kissed her hair.
"You alright?" he asked gently, resting his chin on her shoulder.
Georgina nodded slowly, then shook her head. "Not really." She bit her lip and kept staring at the door, a sad look in her eyes. "Oh Nicky, it's so hard to watch this," she said. "One minute you think it will happen, and then the next it all falls apart. And to see what this is doing to Mattie, it breaks my heart. She's changed, Nicky, I can see it in her eyes. She's given up hope. The light's dimmed out. And it hurts me so much because it's like I can feel the pain she's going through." Georgina stopped and drew in a shaky breath. Nicky turned her around and pulled her to him and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck.
"I know honey, we all feel it. It hurts all of us," Nicky said in a soothing voice, kissing her hair again. Georgina held Nicky even tighter. She was so lucky, hers was the kind of love that people dreamed of. Seeing Mattie just now, seeing how broken and despairing she was, made her remember how lucky she really was. Georgina shivered, thinking of what life would be like without Nicky, how empty it would be without his love, and it scared her. The tears came then, slowly slipping down her cheeks, one by one.
Nicky held Georgina closer as he stroked her hair comfortingly. He didn't ask why she was crying - he didn't need to. He knew she was thinking about how lucky they were to have each other, and he felt the same way. He thanked God every night for her, for allowing him to find the one person that was meant for him, in every way. Nicky couldn't imagine life without her - Georgina was his life. Where he was deficient, she completed him, she made him whole. Nicky sighed as he stared at the door, wondering what was happening to the two people behind it. He could empathize with Mattie. Nicky remembered the wrenching adolescent agony he had gone through when Georgina had rejected him the first time he asked her out. His whole world shattered the minute she said "No." He had found it suddenly very hard to breathe, but managed to eek out an "Oh, okay. See you later then," before getting away as fast as he could. And for the entire year after, it hurt just to look at her. And even though it hurt, he didn't stop taking the long way to English just so he could see her sitting outside her maths class, talking with her friends. And he didn't stop going to the Junior Statesmen of Ireland meetings on Thursdays after school even though he didn't know squat about politics. (And yes, I did totally rip off that Junior Statesmen of America club that we have in high schools here in the U.S., but do you really expect me to know what kind of political organizations they have for teenage high school students in Ireland? Come on now. lol.) Nicky smiled, remembering the hours of boring political debates he'd had to endure being in that club. The only time he paid attention was when it was Georgina's turn to debate and he could just sit back and watch her talk about Bill Clinton and the conflicts in the Middle East, and it was like being in heaven.
Georgina leaned back and looked up at Nicky as he caressed her cheek softly. "You're thinking about the time I turned you down when you asked me out, aren't you?" she asked him, a small smile on her face. Nicky nodded reminiscently. "Yeah...what were you thinking, anyway? Turning me, Nicky Byrne, down, what nerve!"
Georgina laughed a little. "I know, I was a right idiot, wasn't I? Imagine, me blowing off the great Nicky Byrne. Just fancy!" Her laughter softened to a smile as she looked at him. "Oh Nicky, if I've ever caused you any pain, I didn't mean to. I would take it all back in second," Georgina said softly, her expression now serious.
He shook his head. "That doesn't matter. What matters is the we've got each other, right now." He leaned down and kissed her softly. Georgina smiled and leaned her cheek against his chest. Her gaze met the door again and she wondered what was happening.
"Why can't everyone be happy?" she asked quietly. "Why does there have to be so much pain?"
Nicky leaned back and turned Georgina's chin so that she was looking at him. "I know it's hard, but things have a way of working out all right in the end. Mark and Mattie are meant to be together, and they will be. Love will find them."
"But Mattie - "
"Mattie just has to keep up hope," Nicky said wisely. "After all, I did."
Georgina smiled up at Nicky before putting a hand behind his neck and bringing him down for another kiss. "I love you."
"I love you too."
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A few hours later, everyone was seated at their table. �Everyone that is, except for Mattie. �She was out on the dance floor, which she hadn't left once for at least two solid hours. �It seemed like the phermone was on overload because she'd had guys swarming all over her all night long and they were buying her drinks left and right. �Understandably, she was well into the throes of "tipsiness" by now. �And what's more, she seemed to be enjoying every second of it.
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���By the time they had arrived back, Mattie was sleeping quite peacefully, and since it was late they decided that it would be alright to just carry her into the hotel and up to her room. �Luckily, there weren't many people around and no one really took much notice as Bryan carried her in. �They were all the way up to their floor when Mattie suddenly woke up as they were turning the corner for their hallway. �She gave Bryan a wild look before shrieking. �At that, Bryan became startled and promptly lost his grip on her and Mattie fell with a thud to the floor.
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