[Kieran's ears and cheeks turn pink as he considers the question and he starts picking at some hypothetical lint on his pants--even though he clearly can't see that there isn't any there. It isn't that he's uncomfortable--Ben is a close enough friend that Kieran knows he won't poke fun at him for his experience...]
That, uh, I can't say I got much goin' on there.
[...or lack thereof.]
But, u-uh, before I showed up here [re: died], there was a girl who was with the Van der Lindes. Mary-Beth.
[The way Kieran almost whispers that name, breathy and heartfelt, hints at how much she really did mean to him.]
She--she was just so kind to me from the start. Hell, she broke the rules and gave me water and talked to me when they had me tied up to that tree. Only one other person did the same thing.
I remember the first time I got up the nerve to talk to her after they freed me... I was just tryin' to make some conversation, but I wound up blurtin' out that she was pretty.
D-Didn't end well.
She said I was sweet, but then she called me a horrible O'Driscoll. I, uh, I kinda stormed off after that. She didn't really get a chance to apologize, but then again, it wasn't her fault. Far as she knew, that's all I was. That's a-all I was to the whole camp at that point, and I didn't exactly do anythin' to change her mind with how I reacted.
[He takes a moment to rub at the back of his neck. Kieran had been as polite as anyone could be when up and leaving a conversation, but it still sends a guilty pang through his heart when he thinks about the look on Mary-Beth's face when she realized she'd hurt him.]
W-We talked again, though. She was nicer to me after that, but as far as I was concerned, it was water under the bridge, anyway. We joked around, ate together, cleaned together... I even asked her about readin' once--Lord, Mary-Beth loves readin'.
[A smile had already began to cross Kieran's face, but then it breaks out into a full grin.]
Her eyes would light up every time she got a chance to talk about one of her books, and, I-I don't think she knew she did it, but her nose would scrunch up every so often when she turned a page. Sh-She had these real cute freckles that just made it all the more special.
She said she'd teach me how to read after I told her I couldn't. The way she said it, though, I... you know... I think she meant somethin' more.
no subject
That, uh, I can't say I got much goin' on there.
[...or lack thereof.]
But, u-uh, before I showed up here [re: died], there was a girl who was with the Van der Lindes. Mary-Beth.
[The way Kieran almost whispers that name, breathy and heartfelt, hints at how much she really did mean to him.]
She--she was just so kind to me from the start. Hell, she broke the rules and gave me water and talked to me when they had me tied up to that tree. Only one other person did the same thing.
I remember the first time I got up the nerve to talk to her after they freed me... I was just tryin' to make some conversation, but I wound up blurtin' out that she was pretty.
D-Didn't end well.
She said I was sweet, but then she called me a horrible O'Driscoll. I, uh, I kinda stormed off after that. She didn't really get a chance to apologize, but then again, it wasn't her fault. Far as she knew, that's all I was. That's a-all I was to the whole camp at that point, and I didn't exactly do anythin' to change her mind with how I reacted.
[He takes a moment to rub at the back of his neck. Kieran had been as polite as anyone could be when up and leaving a conversation, but it still sends a guilty pang through his heart when he thinks about the look on Mary-Beth's face when she realized she'd hurt him.]
W-We talked again, though. She was nicer to me after that, but as far as I was concerned, it was water under the bridge, anyway. We joked around, ate together, cleaned together... I even asked her about readin' once--Lord, Mary-Beth loves readin'.
[A smile had already began to cross Kieran's face, but then it breaks out into a full grin.]
Her eyes would light up every time she got a chance to talk about one of her books, and, I-I don't think she knew she did it, but her nose would scrunch up every so often when she turned a page. Sh-She had these real cute freckles that just made it all the more special.
She said she'd teach me how to read after I told her I couldn't. The way she said it, though, I... you know... I think she meant somethin' more.
Probably wishful thinkin'.
[His smile falters.]
Never got to find out, either way.