Binding 13

After Shannon returned to school, Johnny was called to the office and told by several administrators that he needed to stay away from her. Shannon’s mother brought him his jersey and “mumbled” an apology, and Johnny angrily stalked away intending to ignore Shannon. However, as the days go by, he continues to think and obsess over her, intrigued by her troubled past and her beautiful eyes.

One day after practice, as Johnny and Gibsie are leaving the field, Gibsie spots Claire and teases her, calling her “Claire-Bear” and annoying her. As they walk away, Gibsie confesses to Johnny that he actually likes Claire and envisions marrying her when they are older.

Gibsie confronts Johnny in the locker room about what has been going on with him. When Bella calls, Johnny tells Gibsie that their relationship is done. Gibsie thinks that Johnny should be upset because of how long he was with Bella, but Johnny instead feels relieved that he does not have to deal with her anymore.

Gibsie asks Johnny if he likes Shannon, and Johnny adamantly denies it. However, the only reason he can give is that she is too young—since he will be 18 in a few months, he could get arrested for being with Shannon. Although Gibsie brushes this off, Johnny thinks of how The Irish Rugby Academy will hold something like that against him when he tries to play rugby professionally.

Because her father is out for Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) day on Saturday, Shannon is finally able to go over to Claire’s house and hang out with her and Lizzie. While there, Gibsie shows up with his sick cat, which reacts angrily when Gibsie tries to help it. Shannon gently soothes the cat and carries it home to Gibsie’s house, earning his appreciation.

Shannon learns from Gibsie that it is his birthday and that Johnny is going out to the bars with them. She also talks with Lizzie and learns that she thinks Claire is in love with Gibsie.

Johnny goes out drinking with Gibsie and his friends for Gibsie’s birthday. They go to a bar, something Johnny rarely does for fear of getting into trouble with the academy.

While at the bar, Bella constantly sits on Johnny’s lap and tries to touch and kiss him. Johnny keeps politely turning her away but fears causing a commotion. He also drinks throughout, trying to dull his annoyance and the pain from his injury.

Bella tries to get Johnny to leave with him, but he declines as politely as he can. However, Bella then aggressively kisses him, causing Johnny to throw her off his lap and drawing the glares of people in the bar. He leaves and calls for a cab.

Back at his house, Johnny talks with Claire’s brother Hughie about Shannon. Johnny calls her “my Shannon,” and is “too drunk to defend or deny” Hughie’s accusations that he likes her (112). Hughie tells Johnny that Shannon has a “horrible family,” which bothers Johnny, but he gets no more information from him.

Shannon goes to one of Johnny’s rugby matches with the rest of the school. Although she has no interest in the game, she is impressed by Johnny’s skill and recognizes that he is much better than the rest of his team. In the final seconds of the game, Johnny takes the ball away from the opposing team and sets up the winning kick for Tommen. As the crowd celebrates, Shannon watches as Johnny is praised and celebrated. She is impressed by his “poise.”

Johnny comes up to Shannon and talks to her, which flusters and confuses her. They have an awkward interaction before being interrupted by a reporter asking for a photo. Angry, Johnny pulls Shannon into the photo. As more and more people try to interview and take photos of Johnny, Shannon is overwhelmed by the attention. Johnny gives them her name, then yells at them and they go away.

Johnny invites Shannon to a party they are having to celebrate their win. Although Shannon wants to go, she says that she can’t because she has to help her mother. In reality, she is scared of her father. As Johnny tries to convince her to go, she hurriedly leaves him standing by the field.

On the way home from school, the bus breaks down and Shannon is stuck waiting for a new bus. She regrets not going with Johnny. However, when she gets home, her dad’s anger at her being late reminds her why she couldn’t go with him. She thinks of how her father “terrified [her] worse than any of the bullies at school ever had” (125) and wonders if she has ever loved him.

Johnny goes to the rugby team’s party, where they celebrate winning the School Boys Shield for the fifth year in a row. Johnny is named Man of the Match. However, he sits alone on the couch, thinking about how he was “rejected” by Shannon.

In pain from his groin and injuries from the game, Johnny sulks on the couch until his teammate Patrick tries to give him an excuse to leave. As he tries to leave, however, he is stopped by Gibsie and made to stay. The team hoists him into the air as they celebrate their win.

Sunday night, on the phone, Shannon confesses to Claire that she “really likes” Johnny (133). Claire offers to give Shannon his number, but Shannon refuses, unsure what she would even say to him.

On Monday at lunch, Johnny sits with Gibsie but cannot stop staring at Shannon. He thinks she must have no interest in him because she declined his party invitation after the rugby match.

Gibsie interrupts his thoughts. He insists that Johnny either stop staring at Shannon or go over and talk to her. When Johnny refuses, Gibsie tells him that he will talk to her for him. Gibsie gets up and goes over to Shannon’s table, and Johnny hurries after him.

At Shannon’s table, Gibsie teases Claire about how he loves her. He tells her that he got his new car and that his parents are gone for the week so he wants to have a sleepover. He invites Claire and Shannon to the movies with him and Johnny. Claire agrees; Shannon wants to go but thinks of how angry her dad would be if he found out. Shannon declines and Gibsie tries to push her to go, but Johnny interjects and tells Gibsie to “drop it.”

Tuesday after school, Shannon runs into Ronan as she leaves the restroom. He flirts with her and then tries to get her number, but Shannon declines. He then forcefully puts his hand on her shoulder but is pulled away by Gibsie.

Gibsie drags him down the hall as Ronan fights back. He throws Ronan out the front doors and then holds them closed, not allowing Ronan back in. Shannon watches, confused as Gibsie tells Ronan that Johnny will be mad at Ronan for breaking “the rules.”

Johnny then comes around the corner. As he angrily approaches Ronan, Shannon goes back into the bathroom. She locks herself in a stall and is angry with herself for freezing when confronted by Ronan, feeling that she should have either fought back or run away.

Shannon then realizes that she has missed her bus. She tries to call her brother but cannot reach him. After sitting in the bathroom for half an hour, she comes back out, thinking how she will have to wait for the next bus and face her father’s anger. At the bathroom exit, she runs directly into Johnny.

Johnny drags Ronan into the locker room. Ronan insists that he did nothing wrong. In the showers, Ronan tries to punch Johnny, so Johnny reacts by breaking Ronan’s nose with his forehead. He then turns on a shower and holds Ronan under the freezing water. Ronan pleads with Johnny and apologizes. Johnny warns him again to stay away from Shannon, insisting that something worse will happen the next time.

Johnny leaves and goes to his car. He thinks of Shannon and contemplates whether to leave, finally deciding to go to the girls’ bathroom and wait outside. He thinks of how he has more important things to do and should stay away from Shannon for his own good. Just then, Shannon comes out of the bathroom.

Johnny and Shannon awkwardly talk outside of the bathroom until Shannon’s phone rings, interrupting their conversation. As Shannon explains her situation to Joey, he tells her that he cannot come to pick her up because of work. Johnny overhears and offers several times to take Shannon home. Joey hears him and demands to talk to Johnny.

Johnny takes the phone and Shannon listens to Johnny’s half of the conversation. He hears them talking about rugby and hears Johnny tell Joey his age and say that he knows how old Shannon is. When he hangs up, he tells Shannon that he has permission to drive her home.

Shannon is impressed by Johnny’s expensive car. Johnny asks Shannon about her brothers and she tells him about their success in the sport of hurling. She says Joey is good enough to be a professional but is struggling to balance school and his social life with the demands of his training.

Johnny asks Shannon if she plays any sports. She admits that she does not but enjoys watching rugby. He boasts mildly about how good he is, but Shannon says that she has no idea how good he is, only that he is the best on the Tommen team. She thinks to herself that he got a lot of attention after the game, but she assumed it was just because he was the best on the field. Johnny “smirks” but does not explain his skill level further.

Throughout their conversation, Shannon notes how he keeps rubbing his thigh—the same one he favors when he limps. She asks him about it, and he explains that he had surgery. As Johnny talks about his injury, he suddenly becomes annoyed and defensive. He tells Shannon not to “gossip” about it like girls do, which annoys her. In the silence, he leaves the parking lot and drives fast to her home, playing music loudly.

Once at Shannon’s estate, Johnny attempts to apologize to her. He tells her that he would “appreciate [her] discretion” concerning his injury and that he “know[s] what most girls are like” (181). This misogyny offends Shannon, who is angry at how nice he was only to turn cold. As Johnny fumbles with what to say, Shannon lets out her anger, telling Johnny that he is to blame for not allowing his injury to heal and that she sees how injured he is even if other people don’t. She then tells him that they should not see each other again before angrily leaving his car.

Johnny drives home, angry and frustrated over his time with Shannon. Mostly, he is annoyed that she is correct about his injury: It is worse than he will admit and he should not be playing so soon after surgery.

He goes inside and finds that his mother has returned from her business trip. She is a fashion consultant and frequently out of town, while his father is a barrister and often leaves as well for court cases. He is not bothered by his parents’ frequent absence from the house, however, as he likes being alone.

His mother questions him first about his injury. He claims it’s fine, but she comments on his limp. She then asks him about Shannon, as their photo together received an entire page in the newspaper. Insisting that Shannon is just his friend, he angrily goes to his room. As he sits in the shower, Johnny thinks about how bad his injury is and how he’s jeopardizing his future by playing, but he feels as though he has no choice because he can’t fall behind by sitting out. He also thinks how—despite everything going on—he still can’t stop thinking about Shannon.

Shannon arrives home to her father, who is drunk and angry at finding the photo of her and Johnny in the newspaper. He slaps her across the face with the newspaper and slams her against the wall, choking her when she claims that she doesn’t even know Johnny. Just then, Joey comes home and her father releases her.

Shannon thinks back to a few months ago when Joey and her father got into a fight. It ended with their father breaking Joey’s nose, but Joey also showed his ability to fight back, pinning their father down and repeatedly hitting him in the face. Since then, their father has been afraid of Joey.

Joey sends Shannon upstairs, telling their father to leave her alone. Shannon goes to her room and plays music through her headphones but can still hear Joey and her father fighting.

After several minutes, Joey comes up with blood on his face. Shannon tries to apologize for starting the argument, but Joey insists it’s not her fault. He allows Shannon to sleep in his bed, while he makes his bed on the floor—something he does often. They also discuss leaving home, with Joey promising that he will take Shannon with him.

Their conversation then shifts to Johnny. Joey asks how Shannon knows him and she explains that Johnny is the one who hit her with the ball. Joey talks about Johnny’s rugby career, mentioning that the academy where Johnny trains accepts only the best rugby players in the country. It dawns on Shannon that she had no idea Johnny was that good. She also realizes why he got so defensive about his injury—because of his fear of ruining his career.

As Joey falls asleep, Shannon lies in bed and thinks about everything. She thinks about all of her bullying, her father, and her past problems. She considers this kind of thinking a form of “self-harm,” but can’t stop herself from reliving her trauma.

The following morning, Shannon’s mother is up and waiting for her in the kitchen. The two argue about Shannon’s father, as her mother defends her husband. She demands to know how Shannon got home last night, and Shannon admits that Johnny gave her a ride. Her mother insists on calling the school and having Johnny suspended. However, Shannon angrily tells her mother that Johnny is not the problem; their father is. After Shannon tells her mother that she will “tell [the school] everything [her mother doesn’t] want them to know,” her mother breaks down and begins crying as Shannon angrily leaves the house (214).

That morning, Shannon goes to find Johnny. She decides that she wants to remain “invisible” and that her feelings about Johnny will make that too difficult. She apologizes and tells him that she did not know how her mother was treating him, but that he no longer has to worry about her. She also apologizes for leaving his car so abruptly, admitting that she still doesn’t understand his situation with rugby but that she knows “fear,” and can understand how he acted out of fear. He is shocked but does not really respond, and Shannon walks away. She spends the rest of the day intentionally ignoring him to try to get over her feelings for him.