When Mickey first sees Ian with a young handsome guy standing next to him, his blood boils and he sees red. His fists curl and his heart starts beating faster with the adrenaline that rushes through his veins. The guy is tall and slim, with olive skin and short curly black hair. He looks around 25 and his smile shows perfect white teeth. Mickey watches them from the shadows, sitting inside a bar sipping a cold beer while they stand on the street outside, Ian casually chatting with Mandy. Mickey tells himself that it doesn't mean anything, that it can be just some random guy, some friend of Ian's, but when the stranger puts his arm around Ian's shoulders, Mickey stands abruptly, knocking down the chair he'd been sitting on, which falls to the ground with a loud clank. The other patrons look at him and he quickly picks it up, and when he looks back, it's to see that Ian's shrugged off the guy's arm and taken a step away from him, and Mickey smirks and sits back down. So, Gallagher's got the boyfriend he wanted so much, after all. Big deal. It's not like Mickey is jealous. Not at all. Ian has moved on with his life, and Mickey has moved on with his. It's the way things are. He is happy for Ian, really. He's finally managed to be with someone who's worthy of him. The guy is young and good-looking, and seems decent enough, as far as looks can tell. And he isn't ashamed to be with Gallagher. He isn't like Mickey, who had to hide who he was, who couldn't be seen showing affection in public, who was even afraid to show affection in private, who wasn't able to admit his feelings even once, even to ask someone to stay. Ian deserved more. And if Mickey wasn't able to give him more, he is glad someone else was. And so what if his heart breaks into a million pieces when the tall guy takes Ian's hand, so what if imagining Ian with someone else stings like a bitch and makes him feel like crying, so what if Mickey's insides have died and he wants to puke. That's just life, and life's a bitch.