𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐘 𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄
Summer in Derry fucked off as soon as it arrived. The sun never visited their small town, and on a lucky day, even the rain wouldn't bother. But of course, just her luck, the sun decided to finally turn up just as Teagan was off on a trip to the middle of god knows where.
Her summer was going to end in a dingy old house on a stupid 'friends across the barricades' retreat that Erin roped them all into joining after she hated it on her own last year.
The main, and only selling point was the promise of fit boys, but two weeks later Teagan met James and suddenly fit Protestants Weren't high up on her list of priorities anymore.
But still, she couldn't flake on Erin, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself.
At least she enjoyed some aspects of her summer. Working weekends at 2nd time around was sometimes enjoyable, spending time with her family was occasionally descent, and hanging out with Michelle was more than fun. The two spent Countless nights going from random house party to random house party, even sometimes just making their own party in the park if they couldn't find any.
Teagan had a perfect schedule; wake up hungover at 12, go to Michelle's to watch tv if she hadn't already stayed over, spend time with James when Michelle was out the room, and finally leave Michelle's at 7:30, returning the next morning to do it all again.
On Sunday nights Michelle would meet her after work at the shop and they'd go straight to a party, although Teagan never remembered that part. Nor did she remember staggering up Michelle's stairs to her bedroom, but somehow making it to James's room instead. Her feet guided her towards his bedroom every-time without her brain even trying to.
The first time she drunkenly crawled under his covers and put her arms around him, he freaked out, waking up instantly and screaming. Thinking Teagan's small 5'3 frame was a potential murder.
She simply shushed him in her unconscious state and closed her eyes again.
Once James's heart finally stopped trying to leap out his chest on fall on the floor, his breathing soon followed suit and went back to normal, and immediately he checked to see if it actually was Teagan and not a serial killer who looked insanely like Teagan, of course it was her, who else would just climb into somebody's bed at — he squinted at his alarm — 4:49 in the morning.
Convinced Teagan wouldn't kill him unless he gave her a reason, he soon settled back into the crook of his pillow, wrapped up with Teagan's arms around him.
James was wrong to believe that nights event would be a one off. Every Sunday without fail Teagan groggily made her way into his room at precisely 4:49 am. It quickly became part of his routine.
Once Teagan Caught on to what she was subconsciously doing, she stopped drinking as much as she would of, and instead of instantly falling asleep the moment her head hit James's pillow they stayed up talking until the birds started to sing outside. When they finally fell asleep, huddled up together, with James's arms around her waist.
Unfortunately, however, unlike her usual Sunday mornings she grown accustomed to of waking up at midday next to James, She was in fact laying down on her own bed. submerged in her thick duvet and blankets, surrounded by comfortable pillows, plus she didn't have a headache. But she would trade all that for James.
At least the birds still sang out side the window, unfortunately she wasn't in the mood to listen to birdsong at 8:30 am.
Snaking a arm out of her cocoon, she blindly tried Hitting snooze on the alarm clock.
Teagan groaned and hid her head back under he pillow, maybe she wouldn't have to go to friends across the barricades if they couldn't find her.
Nothing sounded more abysmally boring than sitting on a rickety bus for two hours to befriend some Protestants. Why did they even have to be friends? Teagan already had too many friends, she didn't want anymore.
Defiant rays of sun peeked through the gap in her blinds and reflected off the glass straight in into her eyes. For the love of god, could she get some sleep.
The universe answered her question
"Teagan!" The familiar dire voice of her mother squawked from, presumably, the kitchen down the hall.
Teagan Nearly screamed in frustration but stopped herself.
Stay calm and collected. Calming breaths — in ........ — and out. She coached her way through the process as she resisted the urge to punch the closest object to her. One morning! One single peaceful morning was all she was asking for.
She pushed off her quilt and sighed, looking up at her ceiling and willing her self to get out of bed.
"Teagan! You're going to be late!" Her fathers voice replaced her mums.
Even if they were trying to help her out! it still pissed her off.
Muttering various colourful insults under her breath as she did so, Teagan climbed out of bed and traipsed over to her door and took her dressing gown off the hook, wrapping it securely around her before leaving her room.
The utter loudness of her house hit her like a ton of bricks as she left her room. Her ears struggling to adjust to the wall of sound that hit her.
From the kitchen she could hear and smell Bacon frying on the stove, the kettle boiling, and her parents arguing and then laughing. In the living room her little sister Aylish was watching a music video on MTV at full volume and dancing around in mismatched pyjamas and a pair of their mums heels.
Deciding the kitchen was most likely the calmer Option she turned back around and casually strolled in and stepped down off the shallow step.
"Aye, she is up!" Her mother chastised. Obviously having a conversation about her before she entered.
"Yeah, it's a Christmas miracle" Teagan bleakly muttered, rolling her eyes. She pulled out a spare seat at the wooden table. "Listen, I've been thinking. You can't send me on this thing if I'm sick can you? So maybe if I ate some of mums cooking I'll puke my guts up" she suggested.
Her parents Made eye contact with each other and Katherine raised her eyebrows at her husband as Teagan grabbed a piece of toast off the rack, checking for scorch marks to verify it was her mums creation.
Her dad cleared his throat, receiving his wife's message. "So... Teagan, all packed?" He asked casually, though the constipated look in his face suggested otherwise.
She eyed him suspiciously, and then her mum, who only smiled uncomfortably in response. Her mum made her pack her bag in front of her last night on the living room floor to make sure she didn't forget anything.
"You must be looking forward to it .... Trip away .... With your friends... with James...." Her dad trailed off.
She felt her eye brows knit together in confusion, as she took a rough bite out of her toast, chewing around the burnt bits.
"What are you talking about?" Seriously? Had her parents not been listening her complain about not wanting to go all summer?
"I was your age once too Teagan, and I remember what it was like on trips away with friends. Glastonbury 1971, I say trips away with friends..." her dad started to grin, "I didn't see much of them, I met a girl, ... Anya who -.." he caught his wife's disapproving glare and cleared his throat.
"I — um, what I meant to say was, um, what was i meant to say?" He asked, scratching his beard in thought and looking back at his wife who rolled her eyes and walked over to the table.
"What we're trying to say Teagan is .." her mum lovingly smiled at her, before her grin dropped into a scowl.
"no funny business between you and the English fella 'dya hear me? In fact! Stay ten feet away from him at all times! Jason do we still have that caution tape? We could wrap her up in that" her mum mimed spinning her up and tape, but Teagan only blinked in response.
Funny business? Is that parent slang for sex? If so .... Ew fucking hell.
"We're not his biggest fan as it is," her mum continued ranting, but Teagan only caught bits and pieces. Oh god no.
Please, please god if you're out there, let the ground swallow me up, she begged. Alas she stayed rooted in her seat, unable to move out of pure shock. Why? Why did her parents have to do this to her?
"And then you'll get pregnant and die—.. Teagan are you listening?" Her mum stopped mid rant. No of course she wasn't bloody listening! She couldn't hear anything over the sound of blood rushing in her ears.
Teagan thought she had avoided the awkward sex talk with her parents. Surely at sixteen she was old enough to know by now. And she almost escaped it, but the suddenness of her whirlwind relationship with James and the unaccompanied trip, her parents decided it was a good time to warn her off.
"Teagan! Pay attention!" Her dad said, seemingly he too was sharing her discomfort about the subject. But her mum was still going.
"And before you even know it you'll be a mother of five living in a one bedroom flat and James won't provide for the family! No, he's a lazy Brit you see"
"I — uh I — no ..." Teagan stuttered awkwardly sinking down into her chair.
Enough was enough she had to put a stop to this, before her mum started planning her sixth granchild.
"Mum,mum,mum! Enough okay" she raised her voice to cut off her mums rant. Teagan stood up abruptly and her chair scraped across the linoleum flooring, causing an awful screech.
"Teagan! I'm trying to have a serious conversation with you here!" Her mum called.
Teagan stopped in the door frame and turned to look back at them "and I'm trying to avoid it!"
"This isn't a joke Teagan, we're just looking out for you that's all —.." her dad started but Teagan cut him off again.
"Im a virgin okay! So please, take your talk some place it's needed, because, it's seriously not needed!"
Her mum and dad sat there, a unreadable look shared on the faces. What now?
Teagan rolled her eyes and turned around to go back to her room. Suddenly getting away from her parents for a few days sounded ideal. She slammed the kitchen door over and walked the short distance before slamming her bedroom door too.
Her parents sat in silence for a few seconds before her mum spoke up, clutching her mug of lukewarm tea "I'm starting to like that boy more and more"
After practically sprinting out of her house, heavy rucksack strapped to her back, and a unmoving red tint to her cheeks, the ugly friends across the barricades t-shirt tucked into her jeans.
Teagan stopped by work to grab her latest pay check before making her way to Erin's. She even convinced Cian to allow her to borrow a pale tarten a-line skirt. With the promise of returning it next Friday.
She wasn't sure how she planned on wearing a skirt whilst hiking up mountains and rock climbing, but she needed a teensy bit of retail therapy to get rid of her embarrassment.
Christ, either she was more persuasive than usual or Cian was feeling generous because she also left with a pair of vintage pink tinted aviator glasses and burgundy denim bucket hat.
Before Cian could come to his senses, Teagan quickly said her goodbyes and made her way to Erin's.
The Quinn's house was a long trek from the high street, and Teagan considered just sacking the whole thing off. Surely they wouldn't miss her that much would they? Fit Protestants lads, Erin and Michelle would be too occupied to even notice she was gone. Sure Claire might notice, Orla wasn't even on the same planet most of the time, but James would definitely notice her absence.
She threw her head back and groaned, Christ, why was she such a good friend. She was seriously going to use this as guilt trip material soon.
"Who pissed in your corn flakes,?" Michelle asked as she saw teagan approaching her and James with a face like thunder. "Is this about your man?"
Teagan blatantly ignored Michelle's question, as she walked past her at Erin's front gate. She spared a small smile to James, but instantly looked away when she remembered her parents talk.
"Well if you mopey fucks ruin this weekend for me!" Michelle threatened, "I will find a lad so help me god, Teagan!"
Teagan sighed and grinned, awkwardly bearing her teeth "yes Michelle i know. we all know. even that man knows!" She said, pointing over to a old man across the road waking out of his gate. She recognised him as Jim, the guy who's tent James lost.
He looked over and his eyes lit up in recognition. Jim could fecking talk for Ireland if giving the chance.
"Oh god run" Teagan groaned under her breath as she pushed Michelle and James hastily up to the Quinn's front door.
Teagan rang the doorbell, then again, and again until finally Erin answered.
"Fuck - a - doodle - doo" Michelle announced, pushing past James and Teagan and following after Erin as she lead them into the kitchen.
"Bet that's what he said when he was nabbed" Michelle said.
"When who got nabbed?" Erin asked.
teagan was intrigued too, stopping to drop her heavy back pack on the floor next to the kitchen table and flopping down on a empty chair.
Michelle stopped next to her and glanced between her and Erin "have you'se not heard?" She seemingly took their silence as a answer.
Michelle grinned "you know your man?," she asked Teagan. "Floppy hair, English, he's all, fuck a doodle this fuck a doodle this"
Teagan tried to connect the dots. Floppy hair? English? That's about every person she fancied.
"He's flat pout going to weddings with his mates, until one of them, the fat bearded one in the skirt" okay Teagan was now completely lost.
Michelle continued explaining it to Sarah, until suddenly her terrible explanation of the plot made sense.
"Hugh grant?" Teagan perked up, almost shrieking. Hugh grant was her celebrity crush at the moment, but it would certainly change next month.
Michelle nodded and clicked her fingers at Teagan. "Well," she started, taking a seat at the table "he got caught getting down and dirty with some hooker in the back of his BMW!" She laughed.
Erin's mum sighed as she walked in the kitchen, "Morning Michelle," not impressed at all. But Michelle ignored her.
"I am buzzing for this weekend! Those waterproof trousers do wonders for my hole" she grinned.
Teagan grimaced. She seriously just wanted to eat her toast and get this whole thing over with. Although ... the skirt she got from work might work well for her too.
"Mine are pink" James muttered "they're bright pink" Teagan failed to suppress her laugh and raised a hand over her mouth to hide her grin from James who looked at her unimpressed.
Teagan tried to cover up her chuckle with a cough. "I'm sure they'll do wonders for your arse, James" she told him, abandoning all attempts to not laugh now.
Michelle along with Erin rolled their eyes, although Michelle took it one step further and gagged, "fucking pervert" she told teagan. "and They were two for one James, stop crying" Michelle chastised
Michelle and Erin's mum started to talk about a bowl? Honestly why where they just sitting around? The sooner they get on the stupid bus the sooner they could get this all over with. Like a gift sent from the gods, Erin stood up and pulled on her jacket.
"We need to shift ourselves" she said the magic words Teagan had been waiting to hear.
She abruptly stood up, accidentally making her chair scrape against the linoleum floor and make a horrible screeching sound. pulling her rucksack back over her shoulder and nearly falling back from the weight, she pulled out the pair of sunglasses she got from work and popped them on, already wearing the bucket hat.
Erin's mums voice stopped her as she eagerly rushed James to stand up, not wanting to mess around any longer.
"Listen wains, ive already said this to Erin" she began, her voice taking on a serious tone.
Already Teagan could sense where this was going, and for the second time that morning she begged for the ground to swallow her up. Erin and Teagan both groaned. "Mammy please!" Erin whined.
It slightly reassured Teagan to know her parents weren't the only embarrassing ones.
"No funny business with these Protestant lads!" She warned, a hand firmly on her hip. "Is that clear? I don't want anybody landing back here.. pregnant!" She looked directly at Teagan and James, and all the others did too.
Heat rushed to Teagan's face and she began to cough, trying to take the attention away.
James took a different approach and cracked a joke "not very likely in my case.." but Erin's granda piped up, "I wouldn't rule it out son"
Teagan still refused to look up from the ground, her whole body beet red with embarrassment.
"We're not doing this to get off with Protestant boys, Mammy" Erin said, but teagan knew she was lying though her teeth. "We're doing this to reach across the divide!"
"Did your mum get a new big bowl?" Miss Quinn asked, once again not caring about Erin's big speeches.
" don't think so," Michelle replied.
"We're doing this for peace!" Erin said.
Mary rolled her eyes "all right Erin! No need to make a big song and dance about it!"
Teagan, although still in her oath of silence from her sheer embarrassment, grinned down at the floor, Erin was spouting absolute bullshit.
12/2/22
2977 words
THIS IS AWFUL AND I HATE IT AND YOU HATE IT TOO ❤️