Binding 13

Shannon stays home from school for the week to care for her mother and her younger brothers. Her mother hardly speaks to her, while her father blames Shannon for his abuse of their mother and for the miscarriage that abuse caused. Although Joey comes home after three days, Shannon also realizes that one day he will not come home.

When she returns to school on Monday, she feels immense relief and safety.

After her last class of the day on Monday, Shannon goes into the locker room to change. She tells Claire about going to the pub with Johnny and about going to his house. As two other girls in the locker room talk about Johnny, Claire joins their conversation. She then reveals to them that Shannon has hung out with Johnny a few times.

The girls are adamant that Shannon needs to be careful of Bella. They tell her that Bella won the competition known as “Operation Binding Thirteen”—a competition among the fifth- and sixth-year girls to be the first to hook up with Johnny—with 13 being a reference to his jersey number (371). Embarrassed and anxious, Shannon leaves.

Overwhelmed with anxiety, Shannon stops to throw up in the grass. She then realizes that she does not have her toothbrush—she forgot her bag in the locker room—so she goes back to get it. When she gets there, there is a note on her bag from Claire apologizing for mentioning her friendship with Johnny to the girls and assuring her that Bella will not do anything.

On the way to the bus stop again, Shannon runs into Johnny. He insists that she accept a ride home from him. His mother is coming to pick him up because his car is getting fixed, but he assures her that his mother will drop her at home.

Johnny gives Shannon his coat to wear because it is raining, and she struggles with its size. As she tries to get the water out of her shoes, she loses one and falls in the rain. Johnny picks her up and puts her inside his mother’s car, then goes to chase after her shoe.

With Johnny gone, Johnny’s mother talks with Shannon. She tells Shannon that she worries about Johnny’s obsession with rugby and wishes he would just be a kid sometimes.

Instead of going to Shannon’s house, Johnny’s mother invites Shannon over for tea and food. Johnny tries to get her to take Shannon home, but his mother insists, and Shannon accepts. Nonetheless, she believes she is making a big mistake both in getting closer to Johnny and his mother and in coming home late from school.

Back at Johnny’s house, Johnny worries that he has become “obsessed” with Shannon—watching for her in the halls, threatening people not to mess with her, and worrying all week when she didn’t come back to school. As they stand in the doorway to Johnny’s house, he asks her to come up to his room to change into something dry.

In Johnny’s room, he shows her a picture of himself with his parents when he was little and tells her that his father is his hero. Shannon then spots his PlayStation and asks him if he plays Grand Theft Auto. She then tells him that she is great at the game—having played Joey’s for years—and challenges him.

Shannon plays for over an hour and is extremely good at the game, impressing Johnny but also frustrating him because he hates losing. The two joke and flirt, ending in Johnny playfully trying to get the controller away from her.

Just then, Johnny’s mother walks in and insists that Shannon shower and change out of her wet clothes. Johnny tells her to leave them alone, then forces her out the door and locks it.

He apologizes to Shannon, but she thinks how lucky he is to have a mother who cares so much. He then leaves so Shannon can shower.

Johnny confronts his mother in the kitchen about bringing Shannon home and encouraging her to shower. He points out that she encouraged a girl to get naked in his bathroom. She defends herself by saying that she can tell that the two are in love and that she was trying to help him be happy and distracted from rugby for a change. He assures his mother repeatedly that he and Shannon are just friends, but internally he notes how untrue that feels.

When Shannon comes out of the bathroom, Johnny is getting dressed. She stops and looks over his body, surprised by how “perfect” it is. He turns and sees her, then comes over to her.

As Johnny looks at Shannon, he sees a red mark on her cheek where her father hit her. He asks her about it, then he takes her into the bathroom to look in the mirror. He then asks about the finger marks on her neck, and she tries to say that it happened in gym class. However, Johnny mentions many of her past bruises and marks he has noticed and insists that they can’t all be accidents. He repeatedly asks her who is harming her, insisting that he can help. Shannon refuses to tell him, thinking he will only make the situation worse.

Shannon, on the verge of crying, plays with Johnny’s dog, Sookie, on his bed. The dog starts to climb up on her lap, and she feels distracted and happy playing with him. She doesn’t notice when Johnny comes back and gets Sookie off her. As she lies on the bed, she realizes that her towel has fallen and hastily pulls it back up.

As she looks at Johnny, Johnny stammers and says that they should go—that he can’t be alone with her. She can see that he is struggling to calm himself. As she looks at him, she realizes that she is “desperate for him” and grabs his neck and kisses him (421). However, Johnny does not kiss her back. Embarrassed and overwhelmed, she pulls away. As Johnny tries to talk to her about it, she quickly goes into his bathroom and locks the door.

As Shannon kisses Johnny, he uses all his self-control not to kiss her back, convinced that this “temporary” situation would not be good for her. He is also overwhelmed by the fact that, for the first time in his life, he feels “exposed and vulnerable,” having true feelings for her (424).

Johnny goes to the bedroom door and begs Shannon to come out. He insists that they can talk about what happened, but she ignores him. After several tries, he tells her that he won’t bring it up and they don’t need to talk—instead, he will just take her home. Finally, she comes out, and Johnny battles with his desire to speak to her.

As Johnny drives Shannon home, he pulls over and forces her to talk. He tells her that he is leaving soon and it will only be worse once he is gone. He feels he needs to focus on rugby and can’t give Shannon the attention she deserves.

Despite what Johnny says to her, Shannon is convinced that he is rejecting her and does not like her. She tells Johnny this, and he insists that he does, but it does nothing to change her thoughts. She refuses to continue the conversation. Frustrated, he drops her off at home.

Shannon goes inside, feeling embarrassed and mad at herself. Johnny knocks on the door and gives Shannon her bag, which she left in her car. She tries to give him his jacket back, but he tells her she doesn’t have to go get it and can just return it later. He again tries to talk to her, but she refuses and goes back inside.

That night, Claire calls Shannon and apologizes for telling the girls after gym class about Johnny. Shannon insists that she is not mad.

Shannon then tells Claire about what happened with Johnny. Claire is angry and insists on blaming Johnny, but Shannon tells him that it was not his fault.

At school the following morning, Johnny tells Gibsie what happened with Shannon. After hearing about the events, Gibsie insists that Johnny rejected her, despite Johnny’s protests that he didn’t. Gibsie explains that Johnny has driven her home multiple times, taken her to the pub, and had her in his bedroom—yet didn’t respond when Shannon kissed him. Anyone in Shannon’s position would be hurt and confused. Gibsie also tells Johnny that a friendship between the two will never work, since Johnny is clearly in love with Shannon. Johnny insists that, though he cannot be with Shannon romantically, he needs her in his life.