"Marina!" She heard her name, and couldn't help laughing when she saw a very pleased Gallagher running towards her down the halls.
"Well someone did their research." She was surprised when he kept following her, but didn't say anything.
"It's a hot name, by the way. I'm Carl." She turned to look at him again, her nose crinkling.
"Sounds like my grandfather." She immediately felt bad when she saw his hurt expression. "Kidding. It's cute. Carl Gallagher."
"So you think I'm cute?" He immediately jumped on the opportunity but she closed her eyes as she opened her locker.
"Not a chance."
"Why not?" He sounded like a spoiled child. She didn't know why she kept this going. She could've just fucked him now and he'd be out of her hair, but there was something stopping her.
"Because I know your type, Gallagher. You fuck and you leave."
"What's wrong with that?" Nothing, actually. It sounded great. Why was he affecting her so much?
"Because I don't like being used." She sighed as she slammed her locker door close, and faced him one last time. "Try one of the hundreds of other girls here. I'm sure one of them would love to be taken advantage of."
"Hey, Carl." Lip greeted as his younger brother walked in, but he seemed upset. "What's got you down? Kids you bullied stage a rebellion?"
"No. It's this girl." He nodded knowingly, because he'd had his share.
"Well there's Ian's area of expertise." His ginger brother grinned and kicked him the shin before Carl slumped down on the couch. "What's her name?"
"Marina Milkovitch." Ian started choking on his beer and Lip's eyes widened dramatically.
"Shit, there's another Milkovitch? How many kids did that son of a bitch have?" Carl shrugged, staring down at the floor.
"Did she do something to you?" Ian seemed concerned, and Lip knew he was probably thinking about Mickey. He was lucky he'd never felt that way about a Milkovitch. Well, except one.
"No, more of what she didn't do to me." He slumped his head on the couch and sighed. "She doesn't want to fuck. Something about using her."
"Let her go." Ian said immediately, and Lip nodded. "Take it from our personal experiences, man. Milkovitchs cause more trouble than they're worth."
"But I really like her." Carl argued, and Lip scoffed.
"Yeah? How long have you known her, a day?"
"Best day of my life." All three of them sighed simultaneously and there was a bit of silence before Lip spoke again.
"Then show her you won't use her." Carl looked up hopefully.
"How do I do that?"
"Get to know her. Be her friend, I guess."
"And then she'll fuck?"
"Maybe." Was all he could say in comfort. Carl seemed to process this before falling back on the couch.
"I've never been just friends with a girl before." Lip grinned before turning to his other brother.
"Well that really is Ian's area of expertise." Ian kicked him again before turning to Carl.
"Just be yourself around her. And if you start thinking about hitting on her, just remind yourself of the goal." Carl shook his head disbelievingly before grabbing his backpack and walking up the stairs.
"The world is so backwards today. I wish people would just fuck whenever you wanted."
