Part of Adrienne was ruing the day she ever agreed to have a roommate while staying in the dorms. The other part of her enjoyed having a roommate, even if the girl could be insufferable at times. It was the company and companionship that was offered by the other girl, although it was not often they sat down to talk with one another. Usually, the only time they spoke was when Adrienne was getting out late at night to pick up the drunk and belligerent college coed who seemed to forget that her roommate had a test or class the next morning. It was going to be one of those nights again, apparently. As the dorm's phone began to ring in the most obnoxious way possible, Adri rolled over, groaning and grumbling in her sleep, eyeing the alarm clock near the phone. "The fuck," she muttered, picking up the receiver and pressing it to her ear. "Who the hell is this?"
There was a whispered voice in the background, words barely made out, but Adrienne was certain the person said 'it sounds just like Ma!' The ensuing discussion on the other end of the phone made her groan, body twisting amidst the thick comforter that covered her. "Listen, Josie, I want to know where the hell you are so I can come pick your drunken ass up." The irritation in her voice was almost tangible. The person on the other end of the line found their attention drawn back to who they were talking to just then.
"Oh, uh…is this..Ah-dre-ine?" The slow enunciation of her name made Adrienne sit upright slowly, wondering if Josie was drunk enough to be STUPID enough to try and play a trick on her.
"Listen, Josie, I'm in no mood for thi—" Before she could get her sentence out, she was abruptly cut off by the voice once more, the Irish accent now distinguishable.
"Nah, lass, dis ain' Josie you're speakin' ta. I got yer friend, though. Wee bit tipsy, tha girl is." Definitely not Josie. The voice was distinctly male and distinctly Irish. Slipping out of bed and shucking her shirt off, Adrienne reached for a bra, sliding it on while keeping the phone pressed to her ear with her shoulder. "Was wonderin' if ya could come get tha girl. She tol' us to call ye, said ye was 'er roommate."
"Yeah, I'm her roommate. Just give me the address and I'll come fetch the drunken idiot. Let me find a pen, first." As Adrienne dug around for a pen to write down the address, she wondered just why she kept bailing her friend out of these situations. Really, they were not even friends. The only thing that kept her sane was the fact that, come May of next year, she'd be out with her real friend in an apartment of their own. No more dorm roommate and no more sleepless nights. Pen in hand, she ripped off a piece of paper from some random note on her desk. "Okay, got it."
As the voice on the other end of the line began to speak, Adrienne felt her former agitation rise up again. "Fuckin' South Boston?!" she squeaked out, glaring at the receiver briefly, as if the look could do anything to the person on the other end. "I'm going to kill her," the young woman ground out, teeth clenched together as she slammed the phone back on its receiver before the person on the other end could make any comment. Picking up a sweater nearby, Adrienne tugged it on and then stuffed the important things into her pockets—wallet, dorm keys, and the extra money she had stored away, just in case.
After hailing a taxi and giving the man the address, and stressing that she had the money that would get her to where she needed to go, the young girl settled back into the seat, wondering if this so-called "friendship" was really worth the 3 AM phone calls she received quite often so close to the weekend. 'Just another year,' she stressed to herself in her mind, watching as the buildings went by in a blur. The only good thing about getting a cab at 3 in the morning? Little to no traffic. While the young woman expected it to take quite some time to get to the bar they had mentioned in their little phone call, it did not, and before she could really even contemplate what sort of bitching her friend would receive, the man had pulled up and rattled off the price of the ride.
Without caring, Adrienne tossed him the money, plus a little tip, and decided that she would find a new taxi once she was able to get her friend outside. Getting out and looking up at the bar, Adrienne suddenly felt very vulnerable and very aware that she was in a strange neighborhood where anything could happen. Before those thoughts took hold of her, the door opened and a man stepped out, eyeing her briefly. "She's 'ere!" he called back through the open door and then motioned for the girl to follow him inside. Well, he sure sounded certain of who she was! Following behind him, the Irish accent the only reason she even vaguely trusted him, Adri stepped inside the bar and looked around briefly, then eyed the man who stood before her.
"'ey, Conn, 'elp me get tha girl up, will ya?" The voice came from the opposite end of the bar, where Josie was slumped over, sloppy-drunk style, and another man stood there with her, working on getting her on her own two feet. Mr. Tall-Dirty-Blond-and-Handsome moved off to help Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome with her friend, and Adrienne followed behind him like a lost puppy. Adri was going to offer to help but both men had the girl on her feet within a matter of minutes, the brunette just smiling at her friend and drunkenly slurred something about her date and then slumped over, stumbling over her own two feet.
Staring between the two who held her up, the redhead looked apologetic. "I'm really sorry about her being this drunk and such a burden. She doesn't know when to stop, sometimes."
'Which is a damned shame because she's only 19 years old and she's spent quite some time in the bottle already.' Thoughts only for her to know, though. If those two knew that either of the girls were underage, she had no doubt they would call the cops.
"Neither do we!" Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Handsome spoke this time, a big grin lighting up his features. For the first time since she walked into the bar and met the complete Irish strangers, Adrienne took a good, long look at them. They seemed so comfortable with each other, movements and actions almost identical, even though they were not. However, the tattoo on their neck was, as well as the forearm tattoos they sported. Interesting, she noted. Were they brothers?
"Aye, we're brothairs, if'n ye were wonderin'." The other spoke this time, drawing her attention solely on him. Had he seen her staring at him so intently? Had he seen the questions written across her features? "Name's Connor, and t'is 'ere is Murphy."
Names. Adrienne was certain she did not need to know their names, but she committed their names and appearance to memory, nonetheless. What was the likelihood she would run into the two again after tonight, anyway? Slim to none, in her mind. They seemed very rough around the edges. Not like she minded that, but they just did not seem like the type of guy she would see on campus. "I'm Adrienne," she said, stressing the correct pronunciation of her name, "and this is Josie."
The moment she mentioned her drunken friend, the girl lurched forward from the stool she had been settled on, the copious amounts of alcohol she had consumed that night apparently not agreeing with her stomach. Before Adrienne could even have time to move, she felt the vomit splash onto her jeans and then the brunette fell down face-first on the floor, leaving the men wide-eyed in shock and Adrienne looking ill herself. "You stupid…" Before anger could take hold, frustration did, and tears welled up within Adrienne's eyes.
It was Murphy who stepped forward first, touching Adrienne's shoulder. "Le's get ya cleaned up, lass." After gently taking hold of her elbow, he moved Adrienne away from her slumped over friend and headed behind the bar, handing her a couple of towels before tossing two to his brother. Connor made quick work of what little vomit had found its way onto the floor of McGinty's and then cleaned up the passed-out Josie.
Murphy bent down to wipe off the vomit but it seemed he was not quick enough. The teary-eyed redhead snatched away the towel from him and went to work on roughly wiping at her jeans, mumbling under her breath about what a great friend Josie was and how things were just oh so amazing between them. Taking that as a cue to step away, Murphy moved back to his brother, tossing the towels he was handed and then he whispered something to him.
After Adrienne was sufficiently clean, she looked up, glaring over at the mass of mussed-up clothing on the floor. Wiping at the tears, she looked back at the men, taking in a deep breath. "I think it's time I get her home." Moving out from behind the bar, she went to pick up Josie, but watched as Connor shook his finger at her.
"I'll git 'er, ya just go on to tha cab." Oh, a cab. They had been kind enough to flag one down for her, apparently. Walking outside, face set in a if-looks-could-kill look, Adrienne opened the door and watched as Connor gently settled the nearly-passed-out Josie in the car. She would have roughly shoved the woman in it if she had been in control of her. Taking in a deep breath, she turned back to the men, forcing a smile.
"Thank you, for putting up with her."
The smile on both men's faces seemed genuine and there was no ill-will directed toward her from their body language, so she took that as a good sign. "Welcome, lass. Git 'er 'ome, aye?" Connor shut the door on Josie's side and Murphy moved to the door where Adrienne would enter, opening it for her. She followed behind him, feeling exhausted and frustrated and murderous. Settling into the cab, she looked up to the man one last time before shutting the door.
The ride home was long, slow, and Josie kept mumbling and squirming in the back, clinging to Adrienne. By the time she had paid the cab driver and got Josie upstairs and tucked into bed, Adrienne realized what time it was—5:47 AM. What was the point of sleeping now? Instead of curling up in bed for a little catnap, Adrienne turned off her alarm, shed her clothing, and went to shower in the bathroom connected to their room. She had decided, during that long, hot shower, that tonight had been the straw that broke the camel's back. Roommate or not, they were not really friends. She would go to Josie's rescue no more.
***
If the night had been bad, her day had been worse. The test did not go as well as she thought it would (or at least not as smoothly as she had planned) and then work was just one problem after another. If someone was not complaining about their food, Sal was bitching at her for not being quick enough with getting orders out. She was tempted to tell him to shove it, but then two distinct voices sounded out through the Lakeview Restaurant, her nerves calming only the slightest.
"Well, lookit, brothair! Our lass Adrienne works 'ere!" At least they had gotten her name right this time.
Looking over her shoulder, Adrienne caught sight of Connor and Murphy settling down at the counter, smiling at her. With Sal eyeing her like she was destined to be fired, Adrienne moved forward, pulling her pen out from behind her ear. They couldn't have known she worked there. Could they?
"What can I get for you, Connor and Murphy?"
--
A/N: This is pre-Boondock Saints. The idea came to mind a couple of weeks ago to write some one-shots dealing with the brothers and a lover. I know most people choose one brother and one OC, but I've decided to delve into the area of both brothers with the same OC. There will be more to come. Some dirty, some not. Some things dealing with the movie, others just off-shots. I may even do something between the two films and one after the second film. Who knows!
Comments and critique are welcomed.
I know there is some confusion about the storyline and such. Check out my profile page for how the stories should be read (once I get to writing them all).