Kasey Gallagher

The Gallaghers were the poster family for the South Side, with too many kids and absent dead beat parents. In spite of that, they were a tight-knit group of misfits just trying to get through the drama and problems each day brought…like bills.

"Electric!"

"Kasey's gone already, but he said to throw this into the pile" Ian passed over a neatly folded envelope with Kasey's doodles inked on the front.

"He left already? He didn't eat any breakfast, and I didn't see him at dinner last night either." Fiona's forehead was creased with worry as she ripped open her brother's envelope and took out a wad of cash worth 80 large smackers.

"What the hell?! Where the f*** did Kase get that?" Lip plucked the cash out of Fiona's open palm and held random notes up to the light, checking for any signs of forgery and let out a low whistle when he found none.

"Is Kasey selling himself?" It was probably the wrong thing for Ian to say as Deb's face fell harder than a bowling ball. Lip shoved him before trying to soothe his sister from across Carl, who was more invested in stabbing the wood of the table with a knife that looked suspiciously like Ian's.

"Nah Deb, you know Kasey. He's gotta be the only person in the Southside above the age of 5 to not drink, smoke, do drugs or f***" That was about when Fiona decided to just wait til she could corner Kasey herself to ask what the hell he was up to. Meanwhile, the money would go a long way with the latest bill. The container went around the table as each person added some cash into the collection, Carl notably not putting anything in.

"Did Carl put any in?"

"Carl you're nearly nine. You've got to start pulling your weight." Deb looked unimpressed as Carl just shrugged in response.

"That's right, and get a real job, not just dipping into the collection plate at St. Tim's." Lip warned, amusement lighting his eyes.

"I got a field trip, need dad's signature" A beat later and Deb had finished with Ian's form, handing it back over.

"Wow Deb! That's getting really good."

"We still short?" Lip did some quick calculations before smiling at Fiona.

"Nah, we even got extra." Fiona was pleased but still unsure about Kasey's latest contribution and recent absence from home.

"Alright, into the squirrel fund. I'm covering Candi's shift today so I need someone to take Liam."

"Can't, I've got a calculus test and I'm tutoring later." Lip shoved his bag on, ready for school.

"I got work after school." Seeing Lip was ready, Ian quickly crammed the last bits of his toast into his mouth and stood up.

"Show and tell?" Deb was throwing on her scarf, eyes fixed on her sister.

"Yeah, take Liam. Show them his birthmark, it looks like Latvia." Debbie took Liam into her arms and joined her brothers as they headed outside.

"Later Fi!" Before they were out of earshot Fiona yelled out after them.

"Can someone tell Kasey to stick around tonight?" A few thumbs up from her boys and the door was closed behind them.


Lip and Ian were making their way to their lockers when they caught a glimpse of a familiar figure, the prodigal brother. Kasey had been really strange last year, like he had a secret that kept trying to come out. When the kid turned fourteen it seemed like he was finally settling down – up until now.

It was like he'd suddenly stumbled off the face of the earth with how often they'd seen him the past week. He was leaving home early, getting home ridiculously late and was apparently raking in the cash. Without a word they both walked towards their younger, wayward brother.

"Hey stranger." Clearly unaware of his surroundings Kasey flinched at the sound of Lip's voice. Slamming his locker shut he turned to face his brothers.

"Guys. Listen, I've got English first up and I really don't want to be la-"

"Hold it. What the hell's been going on with you?" Without him realising they'd crowded around him, keeping him from slinking away.

"Bit dramatic there eh Ian?" Kasey had intended his laugh to come out casually but winced when it was thick with nerves. He could practically feel the sweat forming at the back of his neck.

"Hey Gallagher!" A group of girls walked past the brothers, giggling in the way only teenaged girls knew how to. A leggy blonde, no doubt the centre of the pack threw a flirtatious wink in their direction before calling out "you were great last night!"

They walked off with another round of obnoxious giggles. Kasey groaned, letting his head fall back, lightly banging it against his locker door as his brothers looked at each other. Just another reason he could add to why girls were nothing but trouble. He hoped Lip's sleazy leering would convince Ian the girls were talking about Lip. It didn't have to be for long, just long enough for him to escape the inevitable interrogation.

"Jeez Lip, how many girls are you 'tutoring'? I didn't even know Shannon was taking science." Kasey held his breath and prayed Lip would lie, or that Ian would move an inch more to the side so he could initiate his escape plan. Move…move…MOVE!

"Hey, if I was getting some from Shannon Michaels you KNOW I would tell you guys. Now Mr. mysterious over here is a whole other story." Kasey was just about mortified when Lip slapped his arm in congratulations, Ian giving him a disbelieving grin.

"I'm proud of you Kase. I thought you were going to stay a f*****g virgin til you were 40 but here you are, banging the school's-"

"I'm not BANGING anyone Lip. For f***s sake!" He shoved past his 'too nosey for their own good' brothers and power-walked towards English. He ignored their calls and was probably for the first time in his life immensely pleased when the morning school bell rang. He'd just have to find a way to avoid his family at lunch now.


School was as usual, an unprecedented bore until Art class came along. Kasey hadn't had much exposure to sculpting, unless it involved stacking the trash at home in a way it didn't all come tumbling down on the floor. So when Mr. Brunner said they'd be delving into clay and sculpture media Kasey had been psyched. So much so that he forgot about dodging all things Gallagher at lunch. Which is of course when they caught him.

Before he could take a bite from his PB and J, they'd hooked their arms under the crooks of his elbows and tugged him towards the isolated bleachers-thankfully free from discreet couples. He didn't go without a struggle, he fought them every inch of the way, sending wild kicks at their legs.

Naturally, they were quite happy to drop him to the hard ground once they were under the shadows of the bleachers.

"What in actual hell guys?!" Kasey scrambled to his feet and glared at the manhandling pair. His hands were sticky with his ruined lunch and while he mourned the loss, couldn't help the self-satisfaction that came with seeing his brothers wincing at their new bruises.

"That f*****g hurt Kase!" Ian flinched at a particularly bright purple blotch on his normally pale calf.

Lip was ignoring his sore leg in favour of making sure Kasey couldn't weasel himself out again. There was something going on with Kasey, and Lip was going to make sure he hadn't gotten himself into something stupid. It wasn't like him, but then going AWOL and being so secretive wasn't like him either…and honestly, doing something stupid was Gallagher modus operandi.

"You kidnapped me." It was said in such deadpan that if his leg wasn't so discoloured Ian might have laughed.

"Alright, time to come clean now Kase. Where have you been disappearing off to? Fiona's worried, and right now? So are we." Kasey pointedly shoved the remnants of his sandwich into his mouth and just stared at Lip. He was buying time to think up an excuse but Lip's face told him he wasn't fooling anyone, least of all his brainiac brother who'd known him his entire life.

Ian leant against one of the metal beams and waited for Kasey to speak, hopefully to tell them something tame and unrelated to criminal activity. A guy could always dream right?

Sighing, Kasey realised he really had no way out of the situation and after thinking up various lies, decided on telling them part of the truth. "Look, it's nothing. I just got a new job. It pays really well but it has a lot of contact hours and that's why I've been out a lot. Tell Fi she doesn't need to worry."

"Thing is Kase, we can't tell her that when you haven't told us jack sh*t. Consider it from our point of view, okay? What kind of jobs offer a fourteen-year-old kid more than $80 a day?"

"The incredible kind that I was really lucky to find." Kasey knew it sounded naïve and stupid the moment he said it.

"Just…tell us you aren't doing anything illegal?"

"I…" Technically, his job wasn't and his family would hardly care about the venue, though the cops might think differently.

"Kasey, I swear to…if you've gone and joined a f*****g gang-"

S**t…Kasey was going to have to tell them something. They were jumping to all kinds of conclusions.

"I haven't joined a gang, I'm not prostituting myself, selling drugs, moving contraband, or whatever else you're thinking. I promise Lip."

"If it's nothing bad, what's with all the secrecy?"

"I'm not ready to talk about the job just yet." He shook his head at them the moment their mouths opened to protest. "I'm only on a trial period right now, and until it becomes more permanent…I don't want to get my hopes up."

"Kasey, that's not good enough. We have no idea where you're going at nights, and you're fourteen. It's not safe." Lip, clearly agitated at the situation lit up a cig and was going through it like a practiced chain-smoker.

"We live in the South side Lip. It's never safe."

"Less so at night." Ian had a point, but Kasey felt it was his right to pick when he'd tell his family about the job, and they'd just have to wait.

"I'll talk to Fiona myself, and make sure she's not freaking out about it. But you all gotta give me til Friday to explain things fully. That's when I'll know if I'm staying on at the job."

"Like HELL we're giving you til-"

"Okay." Kasey shot a relieved smile at Ian, both of them ignoring Lip's indignant sputtering.

"Cool."

"Fine. But, you've got to be at dinner tonight." Kasey was only meant to go in for a practice run after school, so he agreed to Lip's demand. It was a small price to pay for his silence. It was only when he walked away from them did Kasey realise Lip had never actually promised to be quiet about it…f**k. He groaned and trudged his way to math, hoping aimless chatter with his fellow bored desk mate would get him through the double session of algebra.

When the last bell of the school day screamed out, Kasey ran out the building as fast as he could, hoping beyond all hope that he wouldn't have another family reunion on his way out. He ran a fair distance, steering clear of any of the Gallagher stomping grounds before calling for a taxi to his next destination.

The ride was a little pricey but was more than covered by his new source of income. As the taxi pulled up to the familiar building Kasey breathed a silent wish into the universe that he'd exceed Derek's expectations during his trial period. Lord knew his family could really use the dough, and if he was honest with himself, he was a little in love with the job.


If you'd like a physical description of my OC:

So Kasey kind of looks like a young Max Barczak with curly blonde hair a shade lighter than Lip's, but with Ian's green eyes. Should be able to see an image of him in the image attached to the story : )

There's an image of Max Barczak in a maroon shirt leaning against what I think is a silver framed mirror, which is just about perfect-his hair in particular!

Kasey's quite slight in build, I mean he IS 14-but he's also tall, and rather determined to be the tallest amongst his siblings. He has some breadth to his shoulders, though perhaps not as much as his brothers-he's destined to be lithe, lanky and noodle limbed mwahahaha.


Right, so in terms of ages and where Kasey slots into the Gallagher family…

Fiona - 21

Lip - 17

Ian - 15

Kasey - 14

Debbie - 12

Carl - 11

Liam – 2

The ages of the Gallaghers are just guesses on my part as I've only recently started watching Shameless (yes, yes, I'm quite late to the party). I basically binge-watched Gallavich one day and THEN realised I HAD to watch the show…at which point I also really wanted to start an OC fanfic set in Shameless' bizarre universe.

Hope you guys like this!

Reviews would be awesome and incredibly appreciated!