Basorexia - J.MAGUIRE

[2.36] wedding

James Maguire was probably the most punctual person that she had ever known. Since she had known him, he had always appeared wherever he was supposed to be at the exact time discussed. Not a minute earlier and not a minute later. Chip liked that about him. She liked the fact that his appearance at the door would never be a surprise, that she could pinpoint the exact moment it would occur and be ready for it. She often opened the door just as he reached up to knock. He was reliable in that way, easy to predict.

So when he appeared at the door fifteen minutes earlier than they had discussed on the phone that morning, Ciara still had to finish fixing her hair and put on her shoes and coat. They greeted each other with a brief hug, one of her hands still holding up the twist she was working on in her hair. The brief discussion that followed was all about her past few weeks, the highs and not the lows. She didn't want to think about those times again, let alone speak about them.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked him as she pulled on her boots, taking extra care to tighten the laces as they were new and she didn't want them to rub too much.

"Yeah I am now, sorry for that phone call. I just... I wanted to talk to you," he responded and after cleared his throat, fidgeting with the zipper on his jacket.

"It's okay James, honest. I'm glad you're okay," she smiled, looking up as she tied the final knot in her laces.

"You look better, happier," he commented as she took the final check of herself in the hall mirror, making sure she hadn't somehow gotten makeup or something else all over her face in the past two minutes. She herself had noticed the slight glimpse of light behind her eyes now, the healthier look of her skin that was no longer covered in a sheen and almost transparent due to her malnutrition.

"I feel it, marginally," she chuckled softly as she shrugged on her jacket, instantly becoming overwhelmed by a smell that was not hers. She had, through no fault of her own and due to her distraction, reached for the wrong hook on the coat rack. Cal's dark grey jacket that he always wore when driving without a destination hung heavy on her shoulders. But she made no attempt to remove it, instead just took the things from her jacket pocket and placed them inside the pockets of the jacket that didn't have anything in it. "Shall we go?"

-

As they walked up a rather unstable path to the wedding party they had been invited to, Ciara grumbled to James, "I hate weddings. Uncomfortable things, far too many judgemental people."

"We can leave if it gets that bad," he whispered back, shrugging as if the offer of such a necessity was completely casual and meant nothing at all. To her it meant the absolute world. Usually she would just disappear without anyone knowing or without anyone seeing because they just wouldn't understand how overwhelming it could all be for her. It was an indescribable type of feeling to know that he, one cared enough to notice and two, offered to go with her. They were in fact in a dodgy part of town and she would not quite feel comfortable walking around alone.

"I can't exactly say to you that I'm uncomfortable, the girls would get suspicious."

"Okay..." he paused, clearly thinking something over. Suddenly an idea passed through his mind, flashing in his eyes, "Pass me your hand?"

Chip narrowed her gaze but complied, offering her hand up. "Okay so this," he paused as he gently took a hold of her hand. Both ignored the feeling traipsing down their palms, choosing to instead focus on something different entirely. "Is asking if the other is okay. One squeeze," he paused as he squeezed her hand once, feeling the cold of the metal on her fingers against his own hand. "Is yes. Two is no."

"Smart," she nodded, letting her hand fall to her side as he let it go. She then used that hand to hold the door open after Michelle had nearly shut it in their faces (jokingly) and tried desperately to ignore how the cold air felt odd against her palm after the brief hand holding.

"Aye we're pack animals Mary," Chelle announced to Erin's Ma, who looked rather appalled by the number of people her daughter had invited to the party.

"I love your hat, Mrs Quinn," James complimented as they both came to a stop behind all the others, giving her a thumbs up.

Mary blushed, "Thanks son."

"Dickhead," Michelle commented under her breath. Ciara had honestly thought the complete opposite but did not say a word, not wanting to elicit and unwelcome response from her. Once Erin's Ma had left, Michelle turned to the group and grinned, "Ok, girls, who wants to do drugs? Nothing heavy, just a bit of blow."

"Sorry?" Clare gasped as Chip nodded and shrugged, not finding anything wrong with the suggestion.

"Where are you even going to get it from?"

Chelle paused her response as an older man walked past, causing the group to crowd in a little closer in fear of being heard. "Right, well, you know Macca?"

Chip nodded, noticing how James tensed up at her side, "Oh aye Macca. Joyrider?"

"He said he could hook us up. Class or what?" Chelle grinned.

Clare scoffed and Michelle's grin fell, "It's not happening. Drugs are for mugs, folks."

Ciara turned and frowned, exclaiming, "Hey!"

"Ach come on Chip, you can't-'' she was interrupted by the flashing of lights and the changing of the song that blared through the hall. Every single person in the group recognised the song after a few seconds of melody. "Rock the boat. It's rock the boat!" Clare exclaimed, momentarily forgetting the confrontation of before.

"Happy fucking days!" Michelle yelled, initiating the scramble of people onto the dancefloor. Now normally Chip would sit this sort of thing out. Crowds of people all shoving to get into places, other people just watching from the sidelines? It sounded to her, like something worse than the recurring nightmare she had of her brother's death. But today she decided to partake - partly because she felt comfortable enough to do so and partly because she had promised Rosa that she would make the effort to try to take all the chances she could to remind herself of the great things in life. It was the little things that made you feel like waking up in the morning, apparently.

She sat in between Michelle and James and laughed along with the others as they progressed through the dance. "Look, Michelle, drugs are illegal, drugs are addictive but perhaps most importantly, in this country, you can lose your kneecaps if you're caught doing them. And I like my kneecaps, Michelle!"

"You do have cracking kneecaps, Clare," Orla yelled back with a grin.

"Is that true?" James half yelled behind her, trying not to be heard by others but also making sure she could hear him was proving to be rather difficult.

"Sort of," Ciara shrugged, not bothering to lower her voice as there wasn't that suspicious of a question really.

"But what about-"

"Don't say a word James," she laughed as Chelle made the effort to try and smack Ciara round the head (jokingly of course), it was something they had always done during the dance. "Haven't been caught have you?"

He leaned forward, dropping his voice to a whisper into her ear, "I was more concerned for you."

She shrugged, having not giving it too much thought ever before. She wasn't about to start worrying now, there wasn't much point in that anyway. "Ach it's fine."

"Chip-"

"Macca'll go down before I will. I've got a list longer than the bible of all the dodgy people I could dob in. Plus I'm a minor and unlikely to get caught cause i'm careful-"

Everyone stilled as a thud echoed through the room, eyes all focused on the unmoving person who now lay on the ground.