McSavage
Prompted by Llanea, what if Dirk had found JP when he was locking up the school on the 9th January?
Dirk locked the door of the hall and sighed deeply. In all honesty, he didn't really like his job as the caretaker; sure, it paid pretty well and he enjoyed interacting with the kids. Except for that Robbie Roscoe, of course – he was a pain in the backside: telling Dirk that someone was trying to break into one of the I.T rooms when nothing of the sort had happened. It was just a stupid and immature joke by an equally stupid and immature boy, and Dirk wasn't even going to try to work out why Robbie decided to trick him. Dirk was a family man, he wanted to be with his family instead of unlocking and locking up classrooms every day, but he also needed the money, and beggars can't be choosers, can they?
John Paul grunted softly into the cold, hard floor. He could still hear the echoes of trousers unzipping and the rough panting in his ear as well as his own weak whimpering of fright. His body felt numb and he had no idea how long he had been lying on the floor for since Finn had escaped. Slowly, John Paul wiggled his fingers and began to regain some sensation in his body, including the searing pain in the back of his head. John Paul whined quietly at the pain, but barely had the strength to do anything else.
Dirk's head whipped around to where he detected the soft whine. He realised that one of the doors was slightly ajar and wandered curiously towards it.
"Hello?" Dirk began uncertainly as he entered, "John P- Oh My God!" he exclaimed, noticing John Paul splayed out on the floor in the dark room, trousers and underwear hanging below his hips. Dirk was utterly confused by the sight before him, but it didn't take him long to realise what had happened to the teacher, however difficult it was to comprehend. He bent down and gently shook John Paul's arm.
"John Paul, it's Dirk" he whispered, "Are you ok?"
John Paul managed to shake his head slowly and Dirk could hardly blame him for not being alright considering his state.
"I'm gonna help you up, is that ok?" he asked softly.
John Paul nodded feebly against the floor and Dirk grasped each of John Paul's arms gently just above the elbows, then slowly helped him up. John Paul's white hands clenched the desk for support as he rose and his whole body trembled. Although Dirk himself was shaken by the situation and could only imagine how John Paul was feeling, he cleared his throat awkwardly to inform the pale man about his condition.
"Uh, John Paul, your trousers are kind of…"
John Paul glanced down and looked horrified. With shaky hands, he quickly pulled his trousers and underwear up together, then fumbled with the zip. The noise that it made reminded him of Finn unzipping his own trousers and John Paul flinched at the memory before hastily tucking his shirt in.
"I- I was hoping that it was just a bad dream" he mumbled to himself
Dirk rubbed his arm soothingly and was at a loss for words, "I'm so sorry mate" he apologised quietly, "maybe I should call an ambulance for you or something"
John Paul swallowed and shook his head fervently, "I'm fine" he muttered flatly
Dirk glanced at him disbelievingly and there was a silence as John Paul tried to steady his breathing.
"Look, you should go to the police" Dirk suggested delicately, "Someone… attacked you, you need to report it"
John Paul shook his head then closed his eyes tightly. Dirk realised that he was retching and reconsidered forcing the man to go to the police immediately. Besides, John Paul was clearly in no fit state to go out: he could barely stand or speak. Instead Dirk came up with an idea and moved so that he could look John Paul in the eyes.
"Hey, why don't we go to the staff room, yeah?" he proposed kindly, just wanting to get himself and John Paul out of the classroom. John Paul nodded quickly in agreement and let Dirk wrap an arm around his shoulder carefully before he was lead out.
xxx
Dirk placed a cup of tea on the coffee table in front of John Paul, then sat down opposite him. After a few moments of watching the man barely move, Dirk tried to do something to take John Paul's mind off of what had happened to him.
"I don't think I've ever been this room before" he commented casually, "I always imagined that the staff have raves in here or something. I mean, I know I would"
He noticed the corner of John Paul's mouth twitch and was inwardly triumphant that he had helped in some way. Trying to continue the slow progress, Dirk attempted to get John Paul to speak by asking him how Matthew was.
"He's fine" was John Paul's brief response, and Dirk was slightly disappointed so he tried again.
"Not causing chaos like the rest of you McQueen's?" he joked.
Again, John Paul smiled slightly, "No, he's the only normal one in that house"
Dirk chuckled, "Now that I can believe"
John Paul sniggered, then suddenly looked panicked, "Matthew!" he exclaimed, "I should be at home, I need to go"
John Paul began to stand up, but his body was weak and quivering, and he almost lost his balance. Dirk raced over to his side and held him steady.
"Don't worry about Matthew, I'm sure your family will be spoiling him rotten" he reassured the teacher. John Paul nodded reluctantly, still shaking.
Dirk gradually helped John Paul back into his seat before rubbing his shoulder, "Look, I really don't think you should go anywhere yet" he told him, "Don't worry though, I'll stay with you until you're ready"
"You don't have to stay" he whispered
Dirk shrugged, "Well I have nothing better to do tonight" he lied. John Paul smiled slightly in gratitude and Dirk returned the smile before glancing around.
"So, first and foremost, where are the biccies kept?"
John Paul nodded to the cupboard above the kettle, "The chocolate chip ones are on the top shelf and the custard creams are on the bottom"
Dirk was secretly pleased that John Paul was focused on something as trivial as biscuits, rather than on the ordeal that he had just faced. Dirk retrieved the biscuits from the cupboard and offered them to John Paul, who politely declined. Dirk was concerned – though not surprised – by his refusal to eat anything; he couldn't understand how John Paul must be feeling, but figured that food was probably the last thing on his mind. Dirk glanced at him sympathetically before taking a couple of biscuits and placing the packets down in the middle of the table, so that they were there if John Paul changed his mind.
xxx
After a lengthy silence, John Paul's mobile began to ring, causing him to jump. It took the man a moment to realise what the sound was, then he rummaged around in his shoulder bag for it. Noticing that the caller was Ste, John Paul hesitantly answered it.
"Are you riding in on the back of a snail or what?" was the first thing that John Paul heard as he put his ear to the phone.
John Paul wasn't sure how to respond and hesitated, "I... I can't" he choked out
There was a pause on Ste's end of the line, "What do you mean you 'can't'? Are you not coming?"
"I'm sorry Ste" he murmured regretfully
"I can't believe this" Ste began, sounding annoyed, "What, was this some kind of sick joke or something?"
John Paul shook his head in disappointment and annoyance, then hung up without responding. He was still traumatised by his ordeal and was way too shattered to even try to come up with a reason for not making it to the date. Dirk raised an eyebrow.
"Wow, you and Ste" he noted, "I didn't even know you guys liked each other"
John Paul shrugged, "Nana tried to set us up" he mumbled
"Oh yeah, how is Marlena since the attack?" Dirk asked, remembering what had happened to her the night before and hoping to distract John Paul again. He noticed John Paul's face become grave and even paler (which he didn't think was possible), and figured out that his attack must have been related to Marlena's in some way to evoke that response from him. Suddenly John Paul shot up out of his seat.
"I should really go" he announced uncomfortably
Dirk stood up and put a hand on John Paul's shoulder, "I'll go with you"
John Paul shook his head and moved out of his grasp, "You don't have to"
"I insist. Just give me a minute to lock up"
John Paul was too tired to argue so he nodded before grabbing his shoulder bag and hurrying out of the room. Dirk watched after him before reluctantly making his way towards the classroom where the disgusting attack had taken place. If even he didn't want to go near that room again, he could only imagine how John Paul would be feeling about the prospect of returning there the following day. Dirk seriously hoped that John Paul would take some time off to recover from his ordeal, and wouldn't go back to work before he was actually ready.
xxx
Dirk watched John Paul from the front door thoughtfully. The young man's clothes were crumpled and he was hunched over slightly. His face was grey and gaunt, and he was still shaking. Dirk was slightly concerned that John Paul would collapse at any moment, so he hurried over to his side and laid a gentle hand on his upper arm.
"Are you ok?"
Immediately John Paul nodded, then paused and shook his head.
"I don't know what to do" he whispered helplessly
"Well what you should do is go to the police" Dirk pointed out, "But the most important thing is what you want to do. What do you want to do?"
"Honestly?" John Paul asked, then turned his head to look at Dirk properly for the first time that evening, "I want to go home and pretend that this never happened"
Dirk nodded in understanding, "But you know that reporting this is the right thing to do, don't you?"
John Paul looked away and nodded.
Dirk sighed, "I'll tell you what, we'll go to the police station. They'll look after you there and you can tell them what happened. Then you can go home and get some sleep" he smiled reassuringly, "Usually things are better in the morning" he finished, though he was not entirely convinced by his own words.
John Paul smiled slightly and nodded in agreement.
"Ok" he breathed.
Dirk smiled with relief and carefully led him away from the school.
There was a silence filled with anticipation and tension while Dirk walked with John Paul to the police station. He wasn't sure what to expect once they had arrived but he wanted John Paul to get justice and to speak up about his attack. Dirk understood that a huge number of sexual assaults were never reported – whether it was out of shame, fright or because they may not be believed – whatever the reason, he hoped more than anything that this one wouldn't be on the list as well. Dirk wasn't sure if he'd be able to cope knowing about John Paul's ordeal, seeing him every day keeping it bottled up and never reporting it. He didn't think that he had ever been so desperate for anything before in his life, especially as he barely even knew John Paul, but he seriously needed the man to speak up about this.
Dirk was so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed that John Paul had stopped walking and was frozen on the spot, staring at something. Dirk turned around and was about to call out to him to check if he was ok when he noticed John Paul's ghostly face and fixed gaze. Following his line of sight, Dirk noticed Finn and Robbie standing several metres away, looking curious. The pieces fit together in Dirk's head: John Paul's expression and Robbie leading Dirk away from the door to check on something that hadn't happened; he must have been stalling him whilst the attack was taking place. The timing added up as well, which was just further confirmation. Dirk realised that the attacker must have been Finn – it all made perfect sense now, all of the clues suggested it. Dirk gradually approached John Paul and cautiously shook his arm.
"John Paul, it's ok" he reassured the teacher.
Finn tugged on Robbie's sleeve and led him away. John Paul finally tore his eyes away from the boys and looked down at his shoes.
"It was Finn, wasn't it?"
John Paul glanced up at him, looking shocked and shook his head
"I know it was, John Paul" Dirk insisted, "The way you were looking at him, it was obvious. Everything that happened tonight makes sense now"
Again, John Paul shook his head, but more unconvincingly.
"Please, John Paul" Dirk begged, "Just admit it was him"
There was a pause and Dirk could see the inner conflict through John Paul's eyes. Eventually John Paul glanced down again and nodded.
Dirk let out a breath and pointed to the police station down the street, "Ok. Now you just have to go in there and say that"
John Paul took a step back and shook his head, "I can't"
"Yes, you can"
"No, I can't" he hissed resolutely
"Why not? You've already admitted it to me, that's the hardest part over"
John Paul looked appalled, "The 'hardest part'?" he repeated incredulously, "You think that's the hardest part? What about living with it? Living with the humiliation and the fear and the… emptiness"
"I'm sorry" Dirk apologised hastily, "I didn't mean it like that, but you need to do this to get him punished for what he did"
"You just don't get it, do you?" John Paul exclaimed, turning and rushing away from the police station. However, due to his fragility, he staggered several steps and Dirk raced over to him to prevent him from falling down.
"I want to go home" John Paul told him firmly
Dirk nodded, not wanting to argue with the man who was obviously struggling with the whole situation.
"Ok, just let me take you"
John Paul cleared his throat and stood up properly. With Dirk's support, he gradually made his way back to his home.
xxx
John Paul stood outside the house, eyes flickering over it thoughtfully.
"It's funny, isn't it?" John Paul began softly, "It all looks the same but everything's different"
Dirk nodded in understanding, "You don't have to do this" he assured him, "You can come and stay on the boat tonight if you'd prefer"
John Paul shook his head, "No, I want to be in my own home, my own bed"
Dirk nodded, "Ok, fair enough. But if you ever need anything or anyone to talk to, I'll always be here" he paused, "Well not literally, I'm obviously not gonna stand outside your house, but you get what I mean"
John Paul chuckled, "Yeah, I do"
Dirk hesitated for a moment, still unsure about what he should do.
"Well, I'll see you around then" he told him uncertainly
"Yeah"
As Dirk began to walk away, John Paul called out his name and Dirk turned around to face him.
"Thanks for everything mate" he uttered appreciatively.
"No problem" Dirk responded, and he watched John Paul slowly enter his house and softly close the door before he headed back to his own home.
xxx
After what felt like an eternity of tossing and turning, John Paul eventually gave up his attempts to fall asleep and instead sat up in his bed. Every time he closed his eyes it felt as though he was back in that classroom with Finn, and he couldn't erase that image from his head. John Paul slid onto the floor and reached under his bed. He had shoved his clothes into a plastic bag as soon as he had finished washing himself. His flesh was still red and raw with the vigour that he had put into cleaning his tainted body. In fact, he had used several different shower scrubbers and shower gels to remove any traces of his ordeal from his skin, but none of that made any difference; he himself still knew what had happened, and no amount of washing would make it go away. John Paul stared at the clothes in the bag and was seriously considering washing them as well, but a part of him wanted to keep them for evidence just in case he decided to report his attack to the police after all, which he was genuinely considering.
Dirk lay in his bed restlessly, his mind replaying the evening over and over again. He wondered how John Paul was now: whether he was asleep, whether he was scared or distressed. Although he urgently wanted John Paul to speak up about the attack, he wasn't going to force him to do it before he was ready. However, Dirk desperately hoped that John Paul would report everything to the police, so that Finn O'Connor would get what he deserved and John Paul could get justice for his ordeal.
Thanks for reading! And thanks Llanea for the prompt. This was so harrowing to write, and I know it's a bit dodgy in places, but I'm pretty proud of it to be honest. I really hope this is somewhat close to what you envisioned, and I hope that everyone else enjoyed it too! I really wanted to write a follow-up to this (and I might do in the future) but when I attempted to do it, it came across as really awkward and the continuity got all messed up, so I decided against it: sorry about that. If anyone has any ideas (for either stories), don't hesitate to let me know, and remember that reviews are always appreciated!