Conor at BCS

Mallory

I barely had time to get my books out of my locker this morning before Serena was beside me, nudging my arm.

"Since when does your cousin go here?" she asked, nodding toward the other end of the hall.

I followed her gaze, already knowing who she meant. Conor Kavanagh, my hot-headed younger cousin- only by a year but that didn't matter-, was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, scowling like someone had personally offended him just by existing.

I sighed. "Since this morning, apparently."

Serena's eyebrows shot up. "What happened? Did his da finally get sick of him?"

I snorted. "Nah, he got himself expelled from Tommen."

Her eyes widened in amusement. "For what?"

I glanced at Conor again, shaking my head. "Fighting, obviously."

Serena let out a low whistle. "Must've been bad if they actually kicked him out. Tommen lets their lads get away with murder."

I shrugged, shutting my locker. "Well, guess he finally pushed it too far. So now he's stuck with us."

As if sensing we were talking about him, Conor's gaze flicked toward me, his scowl softening just a little. I gave him a small wave, which he returned with a nod before looking away.

"Think he's gonna last here?" Serena mused as we started walking to class.

I smirked. "Doubt it."

By lunchtime, the entire school seemed to know that Con had transferred from Tommen, and everyone had their own theories about why.

"He knocked out a lad from the rugby team," someone whispered behind me in the lunch line.

"I heard he went after a teacher," another voice chimed in.

Serena and I exchanged a look, barely holding back our laughter. People loved to exaggerate.

We spotted Conor sitting alone at a table, arms crossed, his usual scowl in place. I grabbed my tray and made my way over, Serena right behind me.

"Enjoying your first day at BCS?" I teased, dropping into the seat across from him.

Conor huffed. "It's a dump."

Serena snorted. "You say that like Tommen's any better."

He didn't respond, just picked at his food.

I raised an eyebrow. "You do actually plan on lasting here, right?"

He shrugged. "Depends."

"On what?"

"On whether or not someone tries to start shit again."

Serena tilted her head. "So you did get expelled for fighting?"

Conor sighed, like he didn't want to talk about it, but he must've known we weren't going to let this go.

"It wasn't just some fight," he muttered. "Some prick from fourth year was messing with Caoimhe. Saying things about her he shouldn't have. I told him to back off, but he thought it was funny—so I broke his nose."

I blinked.

That? That was why he got expelled?

"Jesus, Con," Serena muttered.

I exhaled sharply. "You were just sticking up for your sister."

"Doesn't matter. The school didn't care why I did it. Just that I did it." His jaw tensed. "Da wasn't exactly thrilled either. Plus, his da's a governor."

I could imagine uncle Johnny's disappointed face.

Conor wasn't exactly an angel, but he wasn't the type to pick fights for no reason. And if he was defending Caoimhe—well, I couldn't even be mad about it.

I nudged his foot under the table. "For what it's worth, I think you did the right thing."

His lips twitched slightly. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," I said firmly. "But maybe... just try not to get kicked out of this school too?"

He smirked. "No promises."

I barely had time to reply before I felt a presence behind me.

A familiar, cocky voice drawled, "Didn't think you were into bad boys, princess."

I rolled my eyes before even turning around.

Kian. My boyfriend

He slid into the seat beside me like he belonged there, his arm slinging over the back of my chair. Dean dropped into the seat next to Conor, grinning like he'd just walked into the most entertaining conversation of his life.

"Conor's my cousin," I said flatly.

Kian smirked. "So? Doesn't mean he's not a bad influence."

Serena snorted. "Pretty sure you're the bad influence, Holland."

Kian pressed a hand to his chest in mock offense. "Me? I'm an outstanding member of society."

Dean nearly choked on his drink. "Yeah, sure ya are, mate."

Kian ignored him, turning his attention back to me. "So, what's the family gossip? Why's our dear Kavanagh lad gracing us at lil ol' BCS with his presence?"

Before I could answer, Conor spoke up, his tone dry. "Got kicked out of Tommen for being an upstanding member of society."

Dean let out a low whistle. "Must've been a good fight."

Conor shrugged. "He deserved it."

Kian raised an eyebrow, glancing at me. "You okay with this, princess?"

I narrowed my eyes at the nickname, but Kian just grinned, knowing exactly what he was doing.

"He was sticking up for his little sister," I said simply.

Kian nodded, as if that was all he needed to hear. "Fair enough."

Dean turned back to Conor. "So, you throwing hands here too, or are you actually gonna try and last?"

Conor smirked. "Guess we'll see."

Kian chuckled before shifting his gaze back to me, his fingers tracing idle patterns on the back of my chair. "Anyway, enough about him. You been ignoring me, Lynchy?"

I rolled my eyes. "I saw you this morning, Kian." i drawled.

"Not the same." He leaned in, his voice dropping just enough to make my face heat. "You didn't kiss me 'hello'."

Serena made a gagging noise, and Conor's expression darkened instantly.

"The fuck is this?" Conor asked, eyes darting between us.

Dean snickered. "Oh, you didn't hear? Your cousin's gone soft for Holland."

I kicked him under the table.

Conor's gaze flicked to me, then back to Kian, his jaw tightening. "Since when?"

Kian smirked, completely unbothered. "Since she realized she can't resist me."

I groaned. "Oh my God."

Serena grinned. "It's actually disgusting. She smiles at her phone like a big eejit whenever he texts her."

Conor didn't look amused. "We're gonna have a chat about this later, Mal."

Kian laughed, clearly enjoying my cousin's reaction. "Relax, mate. I'll take good care of her."

Conor's glare could've burned a hole through the table. "You better."

The rest of lunch was painful.

Conor spent the whole time glaring at Kian like he was planning his murder, while Kian, being the absolute menace that he was, kept deliberately pushing his buttons.

Leaning in close to me. Smirking whenever I looked at him. Dragging his fingers lightly over my arm like he knew it would make me shiver.

Serena and Dean, of course, found the entire thing hilarious.

"You know," Serena mused, biting into an apple, "I think this is the most fun I've ever had at school."

Dean nodded. "Yeah, nothing better than a Kavanagh about to throw hands over something they care about."

"Nobody's throwing hands," I muttered.

Conor scoffed. "No promises."

I shot him a look, but before I could say anything, Kian stretched his arms over his head, the hem of his shirt lifting slightly, revealing just a hint of the bruises I knew were there.

Conor noticed.

His gaze sharpened instantly. "What the fuck happened to you?"

Kian's smirk faltered for just a second before he recovered. "What, this?" He gestured lazily to the marks. "Rough night."

Conor didn't look convinced. "With who?"

"Don't worry about it."

I stiffened, knowing exactly where those bruises had come from, but Kian's eyes flicked to mine, a silent warning to stay quiet.

Conor, however, wasn't dropping it. "Nah, I am worried about it." His voice was low, controlled. "That doesn't look like something from a fight—"

"It wasn't a fight," Kian interrupted, his tone sharp. "And it doesn't matter."

Conor's jaw tensed, his eyes narrowing as he looked between Kian and me. He might not have known exactly what was going on, but he wasn't stupid.

Before he could push it any further, the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

"Right," Serena said, standing up and stretching. "Time to pretend I actually care about maths."

Dean grinned. "I know you don't care about maths."

"Exactly. That's why I have you to do my homework." She winked before grabbing my arm. "Come on, Mally, walk with me."

I hesitated, glancing at Kian, who just smirked. "See you in English, princess."

I rolled my eyes at the nickname but couldn't fight the small smile on my lips.

Conor, however, was not amused. He stood up and clapped a heavy hand on Kian's shoulder. "We'll talk later."

Kian just laughed under his breath. "Looking forward to it, cuz."

I groaned, dragging Serena away before I got caught in the middle of their stupid little standoff.

As we walked down the hall, she nudged me. "You and your ma so have a type."

I frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She gave me a look. "Mysterious, broody, and just a little bit self-destructive?"

I huffed. "Kian is not self-destructive."

Serena raised an eyebrow.

I bit my lip. "Okay, maybe a little."