The Difference Between You & I

[Sarah_Lewis]

This is an awesome fic cant wait to read the rest!!

[linzie_mac01]

I love your descriptive writing, i really feel like i'm there when i'm reading!

lol and that was just the intro looking forward to the update.

[Pierced Musie]

Authors Note: Thank you all for the reviews on the prologue. Skykat, it is good to be writing again. And to whoever suggested Johnny/Ric... maybe, maybe not. Oh and this may be going further than 10 chapters. Enjoy!

Chapter One

A Welcome Gift.

He opened his eyes, staring up at the all too familiar ceiling, as the door was unlocked and it swung open, indicating that daylight was upon him. The sounds of his fellow inmates reached his ears, some joking around. He stayed on his bed, waiting for the noise to settle down. He had learnt, from the one week he had been there, that it was always noisy at breakfast time. Ric couldn't figure out why, since the food served at breakfast time could barely pass as edible.

He didn't want to move. Didn't want to venture out of his cell at all. Like the last seven days, all Ric had wanted to do was dodge Johnny and his gang of thugs. It wasn't an easy task to do in prison but he had managed so far. And while dodging Johnny and his pals, he had also managed to isolate himself from other prisoners who were trying to make an effort with him. Both tasks made seven days feel like seven years.

In those seven days he had stuck pictures on his wall, staring at the familiar faces for hours. He hadn't realized just how much he would miss them all. With this act, the cell had begun to feel like home, in a weird kind of way. It made it easier to stay in the cell all day. But like many things, hunger won over comfort. As Ric began to feel the hunger pains, he stood up and prepared himself for breakfast and the day ahead.

When he finally joined the queue, he was one of the last few. He glanced round, trying to locate Johnny or any of his thugs. Satisfied that they were no where in sight, he went to the nearest empty table and sat down, tucking in to the almost cold porridge he had opted for. But, after seven days of calmness, it was finally over.

"Now why would you wanna sit on your own when you could have the company of your friends?" came a familiar voice, followed by a bowl slamming down on the table. Ric didn't need to look up from the table; he knew who was offering him company. He could feel them watching him. Ric could practically feel Johnny’s grin, but he did nothing. Didn’t dare look at Johnny, for fear that anger would take over. So he just pushed his empty bowl away and placed his hand, palm down, on the table. A move he would come to regret.

“Why do I get the feeling you are avoiding me?” Johnny went on, revelling in the uneasy feeling he was bringing out in Ric. “I get transferred here just for you and all you can do is hurt my feelings.”

“I didn’t realize you had feelings,” Ric spat out before he could stop himself. He dared a glance at Johnny, seeing that the wicked grin hadn’t faltered.

“I have feelings but do you?” he asked. Before Ric could decipher the meaning of his words, Johnny showed him. The pain didn’t hit him at first, his brain too focused on the object sticking out of his hand. It was only when Johnny twisted it that Ric felt the sharpness of the weapon. He gritted his teeth, biting back a cry of pain.

“We can make this whole experience easy for you if you work with us. Help smuggle a few harmless things in and we can take care of you,” Johnny told him, the genuine tone in his voice scaring Ric a lot more than the pain in his wounded hand. Within seconds the weapon was out of his hand, blood beginning to pool in the shallow wound.

“So what do you say?” Johnny finished. Ric glanced at each and everyone of the gang before focusing his full attention on Johnny. He didn’t respond verbally; he had been taught that actions speak louder than words. He stood, turned and walked away, carefully hiding the wound from the prison guards.

It was only when he got back to his cell and tended to the wound that he realized that he was shaking.

\\\\\

He looked pale and tired. That was the first thing that Morag noticed as Ric sat down opposite her. She tried to hide the pain and shock of seeing Ric so... un-Ric like. Ten days in and he was already like a different person. She dreaded the thought of what a full sentence would do to him. It made her even more determined to overturn the sentence.

"How is everyone?" he asked, longing to hear about his friends and family.

"They are all working on freeing you. Matilda is doing everything she can think of to drum up support," Morag told him. The mention of his girlfriend brought a familiar spark to Ric. He smiled, as if knowing all that Matilda was doing for him.

"How is she?" Ric asked, wanting an honest answer. Lucky for Ric, Morag had never been one for watering down the truth.

"She is still struggling but is putting her energy elsewhere. After the sentencing she was a mess but we took care of her," she answered, Matilda's sobs still fresh in her memory. She had let the others take care of her, unable to handle the girl. It wasn't that she didn't care. It was because she didn't want to upset her even more.

"Promise me you'll take care of her until Beth comes back," Ric said, the worry for his girlfriend obviously more important than his own worries.

"Of course," was all she could say. They sat in silence for what seemed like hours, Morag subtly observing him. She watched as he scratched at his hand. It was only then that she noticed the material wrapped round it. With further inspection she saw the pinkish marks on the homemade bandage, knowing exactly what it was. When he caught her staring, he hid his hands under the table.

Morag took the hint.

\\\\\

That afternoon, Morag did nothing but curse in her mind. She cursed the jury for being too blind to see the truth, she cursed Matilda for the evidence she gave in court and cursed Sally for ever giving Rocco Cooper a chance. But she was not angry at them. Deep down she was angry at herself. Years ago this would not have hurt Morag so much. Now, as she saw how much this had devastated the people she considered friends, Morag felt pain. Pure heartbreaking pain.

But she got her act together, her mask going back on, before she entered the house. She answered their questions in a professional manner, telling them what Ric had told her to say. Left out the information that Ric had pleaded her to keep confidential. After all, she did owe him that much.

The questions went on through the day, from various people of the small community. The words of support comforted her while the words that had no thought put in them cut like a knife. Yet she stayed professional.

In the late afternoon, when school was over, Morag came face to face with Matilda. The girls enthusiasm and hope turned out to be Morag's saviour. They discussed the case again, Morag explaining in detail the things that Matilda wanted to know. It was almost like the teenager was studying law.

When the day was over, and Morag was finally alone, the mask came off. As she sat sipping a drink laced with alcohol, thoughts of Ric locked away in prison whirled through her mind. His wounded hand continued to stick in her thoughts, haunting her.

Even though she didn't think it then, she would begin to thank her brother for knowing her so well. For knowing the professional manner which she addressed everyone was just a mask.

"The truth, Morag," was all Alf had to say to get the whole truth from her. With the truth out, Morag felt better.

\\\\\

"If the wound begins to irritate too much then come back. It should be fine though," said the nurse, giving him a small smile. Ric didn't respond. He just stood up and left the nurse, heading back to his cell. As he walked passed other prisoners, he glanced at a few of them. Only a few looked at him before continuing with their activities. He knew he should join in and try to make friends but he just couldn't. It was too painful.

So he went straight to his cell to rest before dinner. But the thought of rest quickly disappeared when he walked in to find Johnny and two of his friends waiting in his cell. Johnny didn't look at him; his attention on the photo in his hand. One look at the wall and Ric knew which picture he had taken down.

"Put it back," he said, protective over the image of his girlfriend. That was when Johnny finally began to pay attention to him. He grinned at Ric before sticking the picture back on the wall, right where it had been before.

"Calm down, mate. I've done many things in my time but underage is not one of them," Johnny told him as he stood up. Much to Johnny's amusement, Ric didn't move back. Didn't even flinch as he stepped closer. All Ric did was stare at him, hatred in his eyes.

"How's the hand?" he asked, one of the thugs laughing. Ric lifted it, showing off the clean bandage that had been placed on his wound. Though he hadn't wanted to involve anyone else, Morag had persuaded him to go to the prison hospital to make sure it was really okay. He wanted to thank her when he saw her next. Johnny glanced at the hand, noticing the familiar prison bandages. He wasn't impressed.

"If I find out you told them then that is it," he threatened. It was Ric's turn to smirk. In a flash he was up against the wall, being pinned in place by Johnny.

"Scared?" Ric asked, the grin still firmly in place. The look on Johnny's face was enough to know that he was in for a beating. Ric just laughed.

"Play time is over. It's time for your welcome present," Johnny replied. He pushed Ric hard against the wall before letting go, backing away.

Ric had taken just one step away from the wall before he was manhandled by the other two, one holding his arms tight while the other held him still, his hand clamped over his mouth. All Ric could do was watch as Johnny pulled out a metal knife, along with a lighter. His eyes went wide as Johnny began to heat up the metal, the flames licking at the weapon. When Johnny began to step towards him, Ric struggled and tried to get away. His head was roughly pulled to the side, exposing his neck. He tried to shout but the hand on his mouth muffled his attempts. Later he would kick himself for not thinking about biting the hand but at that moment, all his mind was focused on was the hot metal that was edging closer to his skin.

"This will only hurt for a second," Johnny murmured, that wicked grin on his face. Ric closed his eyes, gritting his teeth as the metal finally fell on his neck. The first few seconds there was nothing but a tingling sensation. Then the feeling caught up with him and he let out a muffled scream.

"Okay, so maybe I lied," Johnny said before laughing. Ric kept his eyes closed, using his hearing to determine when it would be over. And it didn't take him long to realize that Johnny was just getting warmed up.

When dinner time came round, Johnny just told the guards that Ric was feeling unwell. None of them went to check on him.

\\\\\

Lights out had been an hour ago, the darkness welcomed by Ric. He had spent most of the evening crouched on the floor, his forehead resting on his knees. He had rocked back and forth gently, his eyes closed, as the pains from the burns began to subsided. When the lights had been turned out, the door slammed shut and locked, relief fell over him. He had stood up and moved over to his bed, laying down as his eyes had adjusted to the dark.

Now he stood in front of the mirror above the small dirty sink, his eyes on the burns on his neck. Through the darkness he could see the red of each line that Johnny had inflicted on him. He touched the three neat lines, wincing at the pain. Years of safety lessons finally became handy and he turned on the tap, letting the water become almost ice cold. He placed his hand under the water, letting it get thoroughly drenched.

This time when he touched the burns, he did not wince. He kept soaking the raw skin with water until it became numb, his eyes never leaving the reflection.

To Be Continued...

[Zetti]

That was really good, i loved the way you described it.

more soon

[Liska]

Good chapter! You can describe it so well!

[Cerise]

I love the way you describe things. I can really feel what Ric's feeling, it's done so well. Update soon

[Skykat]

Wow...wow...wow.

That was awesome. I was gripped start to finish, it was completely not what I expected and completely compulsive reading.

since the food served at breakfast time could barely pass as edible.

Both tasks made seven days feel like seven years.

With this act, the cell had begun to feel like home, in a weird kind of way.

But like many things, hunger won over comfort.

I loved these little human things, they really hammered home his desperation at being in there.

“I get transferred here just for you and all you can do is hurt my feelings.”

“I didn’t realize you had feelings,”

“I have feelings but do you?”

Amazing dialogue. Really, really effective.

Ric glanced at each and everyone of the gang before focusing his full attention on Johnny. He didn’t respond verbally; he had been taught that actions speak louder than words. He stood, turned and walked away, carefully hiding the wound from the prison guards.

Again I was living this with him, I felt like I was cheering him on from the sidelines. Pure strength of character, so true to character and really effective.

She tried to hide the pain and shock of seeing Ric so... un-Ric like.

Matilda's sobs still fresh in her memory. She had let the others take care of her, unable to handle the girl. It wasn't that she didn't care. It was because she didn't want to upset her even more.

Morag subtly observing him. She watched as he scratched at his hand. It was only then that she noticed the material wrapped round it. With further inspection she saw the pinkish marks on the homemade bandage, knowing exactly what it was. When he caught her staring, he hid his hands under the table.

Morag took the hint.

Again really effective writing, you got the characters spot on I actually felt like I saw Ric as Morag saw him.

Now, as she saw how much this had devastated the people she considered friends, Morag felt pain. Pure heartbreaking pain.

Even though she didn't think it then, she would begin to thank her brother for knowing her so well. For knowing the professional manner which she addressed everyone was just a mask.

That was almost as devastating as the stuff with Ric. Theres something really effective about seeing a strong person crumble.

"Calm down, mate. I've done many things in my time but underage is not one of them,"

"If I find out you told them then that is it," he threatened. It was Ric's turn to smirk. In a flash he was up against the wall, being pinned in place by Johnny.

"Play time is over. It's time for your welcome present," Johnny replied. He pushed Ric hard against the wall before letting go, backing away.

The faced paced dialogue, the veiled threats, KI can hear the menacing tone and the underage line is fantastic.

All Ric could do was watch as Johnny pulled out a metal knife, along with a lighter. His eyes went wide as Johnny began to heat up the metal, the flames licking at the weapon.

The first few seconds there was nothing but a tingling sensation. Then the feeling caught up with him and he let out a muffled scream.

"Okay, so maybe I lied," ...

So effective, amazingly described, a really vivid picture was created.

When dinner time came round, Johnny just told the guards that Ric was feeling unwell. None of them went to check on him.

That was really effective, I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know what they'd done to him.

Lights out had been an hour ago, the darkness welcomed by Ric. He had spent most of the evening crouched on the floor, his forehead resting on his knees. He had rocked back and forth gently, his eyes closed, as the pains from the burns began to subsided.

Now he stood in front of the mirror above the small dirty sink, his eyes on the burns on his neck. Through the darkness he could see the red of each line that Johnny had inflicted on him. He touched the three neat lines, wincing at the pain.

He kept soaking the raw skin with water until it became numb, his eyes never leaving the reflection.

Seriously amazing description, so well described.

This was...hard to describe, so gritty, I really felt involved in it, it had such depth. A really fantastic chapter and so well written.

[Sarah_Lewis]

That was awesome!! I love the way you write lol =]] Updayes when you can =]

[clarky24]

That was such an awesome chapter. I don't usually have much time to read many fan fictions but this one has been the best one i have ever read. I also liked how you brought Morag into this chapter. Explaining the two different sides to her - masked and unmasked was excellent. Look forward to reading what Johnny has in store for Ric next. I just hope it doesn't involve too much more pain for him.

[MarMar]

I agree with Kat. I'd also like to point out that this is the first fic ever to get my attention.