It had been a long day and I was ready to just go to bed. My apartment building was being fumigated because there were termites found in one of the downstairs apartments. My dear friend Maggie offered to let me stay with her until I could go back to my place, an offer I gratefully accepted. However, I had to go to work with her first before she could take me back to her place. There wasn't enough time after I got done at the school and when her shift at McGinty's so here I was sitting in a booth listening to my second audio book of the night sipping on my fifth glass of water. I didn't mind waiting for Maggie to finish her shift, I didn't even mind the rowdy crowd around me. What I did mind though were the idiots who tried to come and talk to me. There was a reason I had headphones on but apparently that meant nothing to some people. A few guys offered to buy me a drink, I politely told them no and after ten minutes of trying they eventually left me alone. Maggie would always come over and check on me afterwards but I always waved her off telling her I was fine.

As the night wore on the crowd got rowdier as the drinks poured out. I was doing fairly well at being left alone and for a moment thought that the rest of my night would pass by uninterrupted. This, however, was not the case. A guy sat down next to me in the booth and flung his arm over my shoulder. The weight on my shoulders was crushing as he pulled me closer to his side. He reeked of alcohol and his skin felt sweaty under my fingers,

"Hey there gorgeous." The mans speech was slurred and his voice was grating, "How's abou' you and I get… get ta know one another."

"No thanks." I ducked out of the man's grasped and pushed myself further away from him. He grabbed hold of my wrist and yanked me closer so I was sitting on his lap. I tried to get up but he held me firmly around the waist,

"Aw come on sweethear'… I jus wanna talk." I scrunched up my nose,

"Well I don't. Now le' me go." Instead of letting me go his hand wander up to my face,

"Why ya wearin' sunglasses inside? It's dark out… I wanna see your eyes, prolly jus as… jus as pretty as you are." I felt him reach for the glasses and smacked his hand viscously,

"What I choose ta wear is none of your concern, now let me go."

"Oi!" I was quickly yanked out of the man's grasp and pushed into someone else's grasp who gently moved me aside, "Keep ya hands of her."

"Aye, the lass doesn't want ya to be pawin her so leave her alone."

"Aw we was jus havin' some fun." I scoffed,

"Like hell we were."

"Now ya see, the lass doesn't want ya."

"Ya best be leavin' an' keep your hands ta yourself 'fore we break it." The man grumbled some curses but one thing he said was very clear,

"Stupid slut." After that the sound of a fist cracking bone was heard followed by more curses,

"Now tha' wasn't very nice was it. Ya shoulda just left when ya hand the chance."

"Aye, ya didn't need to go insultin' the poor lass."

"Now, are ya gonna apologize and walk outta 'ere or are we gonna break ya jaw next and throw ya out." The man grumbled drunken obscenities but the sound of the door slamming was enough to tell me that he had left. "Are ya alright lass?" Before I could say anything I was quickly pulled into Maggie's embrace,

"Oh are ya alright Chris?"

"I'm fine Maggie."

"Thank you boys so much."

"Ah it was notin' Maggie."

"Aye, we couldn't leave the poor lass to fend him off by herself."

"Boys, this is Christian Doyle. Chris, this is Murphy and Connor MacManus." Each boy took my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles,

"Pleasure to meet ya lass." I nodded my head, feeling quite shy at the moment.

"Boys, can ya stay with Chris for the rest of the nigh' for me. At least until I get off my shift?"

"Maggie-"

"O' course we can!"

"Aye, be no trouble at all." She laughed,

"Thanks boys, I'll grab ya beer. On the house." Maggie squeezed my hand before whispering in my ear, "They're good lads. They'll watch out for ya." I nodded again,

"Okay Maggie, I trust ya." She kissed my temple,

"Good girl." She led me back to the table and helped me slid back into the booth. One of the boys slid in next to me and the other across. The man across from me spoke first,

"So Christian,"

"Please, call me Chris or Doyle."

"Chris then. What are ya doin' here at McGinty's?"

"Aye," The one from beside me spoke up, "never seen ya 'round 'ere 'fore." I chuckled,

"My apartment's bein' fumigated so I'm stayin' with Maggie for a few weeks." They both made noises of acknowledgement before a thought crossed my mind. I let my hand slowly wander the table, trying to be inconspicuous as I looked for my Walkman but found nothing. Silently I cursed myself, "Hate to have to ask this but do you boys see my Walkman anywhere?"

"Aye, here it is." There was a slight scraping sound from the far corner of the table before the one beside me gently took my hand and placed it in my palm. I swallowed and felt a blush creep up my cheeks,

"Thanks."

"No problem." I waited with baited breath for the onslaught of questions. The ones that always made me feel insignificant and made people treat me like a child. It was the one across from me who spoke first,

"So where ya from lass?" I let out a small breath and relief flooded me,

"Well, I was born 'ere in Boston. My parent's both came over from Ireland 'bout five years 'fore I was born, it's why my accent isn't so heavy. What 'bout you boys?"

"Same, we were born 'ere but our ma took us back ta Ireland when was three."

"Came back 'bout ten years ago."

"Been 'ere ever since." As the night went on so did the conversation. I learned a lot about the boys and in turn I told them a bit about me. Never once did we broach the topic about me not finding my Walkman or why I was wearing sunglasses inside. It was a nice change, and they made me feel quite comfortable. In fact, they made me feel safe enough to ask them something that had been bugging me all night long,

"Um boys?"

"Yes lass?" I bit my lip a little and felt a slight blush creep up the back of my neck, "I know your names but… not really sure which of you the name belongs to." I could feel my cheeks burning but I wanted to know. They had been so nice and hadn't treated me any differently so far so I took a leap of faith. The one beside me covered my hand and squeezed it lightly,

"I'm Murphy, and that clod across from ya is Connor."

"Eh! I'm not da clod you are!" And just like that the two were back at it, bickering and swearing at one another like only brothers can do. A smile spread across my face, they just dismissed the situation entirely. I knew then that these boys were something special. That I could trust them. So without a second thought I took my sunglasses off and sat them on the table next to my Walkman. The conversation went on and the boys told me story after story of all the mischief they've caused. I had never laughed so much in so long that the sound was almost foreign to my ears. I think at this point I could honestly call the MacManus brothers my friends and the thought made me smile. I didn't have many friends, though not for lack of trying. Many just didn't know how to be friends with someone like me and I didn't want to be pandered.

As the night went on the patrons slowly began to dissipate until it was just a handful of men that I assumed were the regulars. It was late and my eyes were growing heavy. I was tired, but I didn't want my conversation with the brothers to end. Connor excused himself to go to the bathroom leaving me alone with Murphy. Murphy's arm dropped heavily over my shoulder, pulling me closer to him,

"Ya can close your eyes if ya like lass." I sighed and sleepily mumbled,

"I'm okay." He chuckled,

"No ya not. Ya barely awake." I let out a small laugh before snuggling closer into his chest, letting the warmth of his body spread through me,

"Okay, maybe I am a bit tired." He said something to me in what I thought was Gaelic but I couldn't be sure before everything started to fade around me. All I was aware of was the warmth that surrounded me, the sound of Murphy's heart beating, and the thought of finally having two friends who didn't care that I was blind lull me to a peaceful slumber. Maybe, just maybe, things were finally starting to go my way.