“I don’t know, Danny. It just seems awfully boring . . . .”
Danny stopped, his heart missing a beat, and looked seriously at Kevin. Kevin stopped too, as he saw the expression on Danny’s face. “Kev, you have to come. Attendance is mandatory!”
“Oh come on, Danny!” Kevin flashed his cockiest grin. “It’s probably just another initiation and who cares about that?”
Danny’s face clouded at the mention of the initiations, but after a minute he cautioned softly, “You should care, Kev. Someday, you’re going to be in the Bull Dog Hall of Fame. Don’t you want people to come to your meeting?” Kevin shrugged, but Danny could tell the point had resonated at least a little. “In any case, I don’t think it is an initiation, Kev’bo,” he continued seriously. ‘At least not that type of initiation,’ he thought mordantly. “Whatever the purpose, though,” he battled to keep his tone as neutral as possible, “it’s important for you to be there.”
Kevin was studying his face intently now, and Danny did his best to pull his mind back from the fog of dark associations that had descended at the mention of the traditional initiation meetings that always took place at this time of the year. “I don’t get it, Danny,” Kevin repeated in a genuine effort to be respectful of his brother’s tone. “Why is it so important that I have to miss the last and probably best part of my own party to be there?” Danny looked away uncomfortably as Kevin continued to gaze at him. “Unless . . . ,” Kevin started as if a light was just dawning. “Unless . . . is it like a surprise party or something?” Danny hesitated, and Kevin grinned. “It is a surprise party, isn’t it?” he demanded triumphantly. “I knew it!”
“Oh, it’s a surprise all right,’ Danny thought bitterly. ‘Damn you, Steve! Why’d it have to be THIS weekend?’ “Just make sure you’re there!” he replied edgily as he finally met his little brother’s eyes once more.
“I don’t know,” Kevin started teasingly, “it still seems pretty boring. Did you guys bake me a cake? Because the girls baked me a cake . . . .”
Danny grabbed Kevin’s arm hard, cutting him off. “Don’t play this, Kev!” he commanded. Kevin squirmed, trying to pull away, but Danny just held tighter. “Promise me you’ll come!”
“Oww, Danny! Oww! Ok!” Kevin flinched at the serious intensity of Danny’s countenance.
“Promise me, Kev!”
“Ok, Man, Oww! You’re hurting me!” He tried once more, unsuccessfully, to pull his arm away. “Ok! If it means that much to you, I’ll come!” A lance of guilt pierced Danny’s gut as he let Kevin go and walked ahead, leaving his little brother to rub his arm in wonder. Kevin caught up a moment later, but he remained silent. His big brother was acting very strangely. Danny was rarely so intense about anything, at least not with him, but Kevin knew better than to question him when he was.
File Three
The Confrontation
"I seek the crucial region of the soul where absolute Evil and fraternity clash."
-Andre Malraux
The common room was full now, and as he entered the house behind Danny, Kevin was mildly disturbed by the impression that the chatter had slowed if not completely stopped upon their arrival. Ryan looked up from where he was now sitting at the common room table, working on a last minute report of his own. He quickly averted his eyes when Kevin looked his way, however, and returned to his typing. Steve was nowhere in sight. Kevin did not like the feel of the atmosphere in the house right now, though he couldn’t explain why. It seemed a mixture of gloom and anticipatory liveliness and it struck him as an odd combination. He became more disconcerted as he looked around and noticed that it was all of Steve, Ryan, and Danny’s closest friends who seemed quiet and anxious. They all refused to look at him. ‘I’m sure I’m imagining things,’ Kevin tried to shake the feeling off as his own best friend and roommate, James, came up to greet him. Nothing was unfamiliar about James’ greeting and the two headed up the stairs to their room, leaving what Kevin felt was the general funk of the common room behind. ‘Maybe they’re just stressed about exams,’ he pondered. The older guys were so much more serious than he and his friends were. ‘I hope I never get to be like that,’ he thought.
Danny watched them go, grateful that James had been there to distract Kevin, whose sharp eyes and ears would undoubtedly pick up things. When they were safely upstairs, Danny made his way over to Ryan and sat down next to him. “Everything ok, now?” Ryan asked.
Danny slumped and put his head in his hands. “For the moment,” he replied.
Ryan looked at him, sympathetically. “Dan, none of this is your fault. We all knew this was the way it would play out. Stop beating yourself up.”
Danny remained silent for a moment, and then looked at his brother miserably. “He thinks we’re throwing him a surprise party,” he said quietly. “What?” Ryan stopped typing, and stared at Danny with concern. “Where’d he get that idea?”
“Well, he was hedging again about whether to come tonight or not, and I simply reiterated that attendance was mandatory, and it was important for him to be here. You know Kevin, though. He’s convinced himself, now. Nothing’s going to change his mind.”
There was another long moment of silence, and then finally Ryan spoke. “Well,” he started, smirking at his brother, “it’s not as bad as what you thought last year.”
“It’s pretty fucking close!” Danny snapped, not appreciating the humor in his brother’s tone.
Ryan sighed, “He’ll get over it, Dan.”
“Right! Maybe by next year!” Danny replied sourly. “This is so fucking hard!”
“I know it is,” Ryan returned supportively, placing a hand on his arm.
“He’s going to hate me!”
“No he won’t. He’ll understand, in time. You don’t hate me, do you?”
“No,” Danny grumbled, “not anymore.”
“Exactly,” Ryan returned with another faint smile, giving Danny’s arm a squeeze before he continued typing.
“Where’s Steve?” Danny asked.
“He’s upstairs,” Ryan replied.
"Wish he'd just stay there!" Danny carped.
"Hey, Danny, come on. You know Steve would have done things differently, if he could. He has no choice, but to follow the rules."
"Right," Danny muttered. "He's only the fucking fraternity president. Obviously he has no control at all." Ryan's intent blue eyes settled on him reprovingly and Danny's scowl deepened, but he refrained from expressing any further thoughts of this kind.
There were no freshmen in the common room now. Those who ventured in, didn’t stay long. They all sensed the same moodiness Kevin had, and attributing it to exams like he did, they removed themselves from the distasteful atmosphere. They knew nothing. Freshmen, especially those close to Kevin, could not be trusted to keep secrets, so they were in the dark, as unsuspecting as Kevin was himself. Tonight was meant to be a wake up call for all of them. Kevin was just the example.
Ryan’s best friend, Sean, now made his way, from where he had been talking quietly with some of the other juniors, over to the table where Ryan and Danny were sitting. He placed a hand on Danny’s shoulder as he sat down next to him. “How you holding up?” he asked. Danny shrugged. “It’s going to be ok, Dan,” Sean encouraged. Danny still didn’t respond, and Sean looked at Ryan, inquiringly.
“Kevin thinks that tonight is a surprise party,” Ryan explained softly with a worried glance at his little brother.
“Oh Shit!” Sean exclaimed. “How’d he arrive at that conclusion?”
Ryan shrugged, “Just all the importance placed on his attendance, I guess.” He looked at Danny again. “Kevin kept threatening to blow the whole thing off, and I guess Danny, Steve, and I might have gone a little overboard in our efforts to make sure he didn’t.”
“Fuck,” Sean muttered as he tightened his grip on Danny’s shoulder. An awkward silence passed, and then finally Sean spoke again. “It’ll be all right, Danny
,” he reassured quietly. “You know, last year, Ryan thought you would never forgive him, but look at you guys now. You get what it was all about. You understand that it was necessary, and in time, Kevin will come to the same conclusion.” Sean couldn’t help the little smirk that flew to his face. “After all, what Kevin thinks is no worse than what you had in your head. If you could forgive Ryan, surely Kevin can forgive you too.” Ryan smiled a little again too as he perused the screen in front of him.
“Yeah, ok, hardy, har, har,” Danny bristled. “What about the meantime, though?”
Ryan stopped typing again and he and Sean locked eyes. “I’m not going to lie and tell you it’s easy, Man,” Ryan said at last. Danny’s friend, Jesse, entered the room at that moment and Sean silently waved him over. “You’re definitely going to need your friends. Those three weeks last year when you refused to talk to me, even went out of your way to avoid me, were some of the worst weeks of my life. I never felt so low. I don't know what I would have done without Andy, Sean, Steve, and Matt.” Danny put his hands over his face, and a moment later he put his head down on his arms. Ryan put a consoling hand on his back.
Sean and Jesse remained quiet for a minute, but finally Jesse reached across to touch Danny’s arm. “It'll be ok, Man. Patrick and I got you through last year. We’ll get you through this year too. Don’t worry.” He squeezed his friend’s arm firmly, but Danny did not look up and nobody knew what to say.
“Danny? Are you all right?” Kevin’s slightly rattled voice carried across the common room. His friends, James and Alex, stood behind him, and they exchanged glances. There was no doubt about it this time. The whispered conversations had all but stopped when they entered the room, and something was clearly really bugging Danny. Exams couldn’t be this big a deal, could they? Jesse got up and made his way over to them.
“Aaa . . . don’t worry about him, Kev’bo. He’s all right. Just running a little short on sleep and you know how Danny is when he hasn’t slept. Don’t you have a party to get to? I hear the girls are going all out.”
“Yeah, sure, I guess so,” Kevin replied uncertainly, his eyes still on Danny who had not moved. Ryan poked his little brother, and finally Danny raised his head.
“Fuck,” he muttered, looking away for a moment. Ryan squeezed his arm encouragingly once more, and finally Danny got up and approached Kevin and his friends. Jesse moved in close to him as he came up beside the little group, and Danny tried to gather his courage. “You taking off, Bro? You look very sharp.”
“Thanks,” Kevin replied, still sounding unsure. “Are you sure you’re ok, Dan? Do you want me to stay?”
“No, Man,” Danny’s voice wavered, and he looked away. Jesse put a hand on his friend’s shoulder as James and Alex looked at him strangely. “It’s like Jesse said,” Danny finally continued, “I’m just stressed and a little short on sleep. I’ll be ok. You better get going! Birthday parties don’t last forever, you know.”
“Ok,” Kevin grinned, seeming mostly convinced, and he turned with his friends to go.
“Kev,” Danny called him back and all three boys turned to face him, “ten o’clock, don’t forget.”
“Right,” Kevin smiled again, and winked knowingly at his brother, “and don’t worry,” he added in a conspiratorial whisper that only Danny, Jesse, and his two friends could hear, “I’ll be sure to act surprised.”
“Just don’t be late!” Danny retorted.
“Ok! I won’t,” Kevin called over his shoulder as James and Alex dragged him away.
Jesse looked at Danny inquiringly as they heard the screen door at the end of the hallway close behind the three younger students. “What was that about?” he asked.
Danny put his hand to his eyes. “Kevin thinks we’re throwing him a party tonight,” he replied.
“A party?” The surprised exclamation came not from Jesse, but from the unseen figure lurking behind him. “He thinks tonight’s meeting is a party?” Gregg Mcarthy snickered. “Oh, that’s rich!”
“Shut it, Gregg!” Jesse snapped. Sean and Ryan both looked up from the table, and got to their feet as Danny clenched his fists and glared at their rival.
“Ohhhh . . . no!” Gregg responded to Jesse. “This is good! This is way too good to sit on!” Ryan was glaring at him now, too, and his smirk widened. “Hey everybody,” he called out loud to the now busy common room.
“Shut the fuck up, Mcarthy!” Ryan’s challenge rang out as the buzz of activity began to die.
“Guess what?” Gregg continued with a malicious sneer.
“Not another word,” Danny glowered, “or I’ll . . . .”
“. . . or . . . you’ll . . . what?” Gregg baited. Danny looked at Ryan, and Gregg too shifted his gaze to include Danny’s older brother. “Come on, then! Let’s see what you’ve got!” He leered at them nastily. The room was deathly silent now as Gregg continued tauntingly, “Some of us think a summons is long overdue for you two, so high and mighty because you’re the president’s younger brothers. You’re both so damned spoiled!”
“That’s enough, Gregg!” Sean reacted, but Danny and Ryan did not. They didn’t give a flying rat’s ass what this loser had to say about them. It was only Kevin that they cared about right now.
Gregg sensed it and returned to his former target. “Poor Kevie,” he jeered.
“You are such an asshole,” Jesse hissed, placing his hand on Danny’s arm as Danny took a threatening step in Gregg’s direction. Gregg ignored him and continued as Sean now placed a restraining hand on Ryan as well.
“Y’all ready for this?” Gregg gloated as he looked around the now silent common room. Sean and Jesse each tightened their hold as Danny and Ryan both fixed Gregg with an intimidating scowl. “Our little Kev’bo thinks tonight’s meeting is a party to celebrate his birthday! Isn’t that sweet?!”
The two brothers lunged at Gregg. Sean was ready and as the taller of the two had a fair amount of success containing Ryan, especially as their friend Andrew moved in to help. He had witnessed the scene from the landing, and anticipating mischief, had come downstairs. He was standing in the common room door when the trouble broke out and he moved quickly, pushing Ryan back as he struggled to break the hold Sean had on him.
Jesse, however, was neither as tall nor as strong as his friend, and Danny practically ran him over in his rage. “Pat!” Jesse called, spying his second closest friend in a corner across the room.
“No, Danny! He’s so not worth it!” Patrick bolted out of his seat. “Get out of the way!” he barked in frustration at anyone sitting or standing in his path as he leapt over chairs and sent garbage cans flying in a mad effort to reach his friend. Jesse made one last desperate grab for Danny’s shirt, but it was too late.
“I’ll fucking kill you!” Gregg’s derisive laughter was cut short as Danny grabbed him by the throat and forced him against the wall. “You sick son of a bitch! You are so dead!” he cried. Gregg was choking now and clawing at Danny’s wrists. A second later, Sean’s strong hands were prying Danny’s fingers from Gregg’s throat. Patrick came up beside them and Danny fought as his friends dragged him back. “Let me go! Let me go! I’ll get you, Mcarthy! I’m going to fucking kill you! You hear me?” Danny pitched himself violently against Sean, and Sean braced himself, successfully keeping him back with Patrick’s help.
Andrew, meanwhile, was still restraining Ryan who had calmed considerably as his concern for his brother pushed aside his own hot-headed anger. “Let me go, Andy!” he demanded, pulling away from his friend.
“Are you calm?” Andrew asked him.
“Yes,” Ryan replied huffily, trying once again to push past him.
“You don’t look calm,” Andrew returned.
“Well, I am!” Ryan snapped. “Come on, Man! I’m not going to do anything!”
“All right,” Andy replied, “but remember, you promised.” Ryan nodded, and Andrew released him.
“Calm down,” Ryan ins
tructed his brother now as he came up beside Sean and Patrick. Danny was still fighting them, and Patrick looked grateful as Ryan motioned him to step aside. “Calm down!” Ryan commanded again, pushing Danny back as his younger brother rushed at them once more. Ryan looked at Sean and a moment later Sean stepped aside too. Ryan closed his arms around Danny and pushed him back once more. Danny continued to struggle briefly, but Ryan was used to him and knew how to handle him; he kept his little brother well in check as Danny glared menacingly at Gregg over his shoulder.
Gregg, during this time had still been struggling to regain his breath. He had his own hand to his throat now, and was still wheezing and gulping for air as he tried to recover from Danny’s unexpected onslaught. It had really been a surprise. He certainly had hoped to get a rise out of Steve’s brothers, but, despite the poignant taunts he had leveled at them, he had underestimated the probability of his success. Danny, after all, was two years younger than he was, and the president’s second youngest brother. For him to attack a senior would be unheard of. Gregg didn’t think either he or Ryan would have the guts, and he looked smugly now at Danny as the air finally came back into his lungs. “Congratulations, Lockheart!” he sneered. “You just guaranteed yourself a summons!”
Danny’s struggles subsided some and he turned ashen as he looked at Ryan. Ryan too turned deathly pale, and his little brother clutched at him. “Oh God, Ry! He’s gonna kill me!” Danny whispered. “What am I gonna do?”
“I don’t know, Kid,” Ryan swallowed as he looked into his little brother’s panicked eyes.
“I didn’t mean it, Ryan!” Danny hid his face on his big brother’s shoulder. “I didn’t mean to do it!”
“I know,” Ryan soothed. “I know you didn’t. Let me talk to him.” He tightened his arms as Danny clung to him. “It’ll be all right,” he murmured. “I’ll talk to him.”
The Fraternity Files Page 3