Chapter Four: What?

Lip was supposed to come by in an hour and walk with Mandy to the community college. It was kind of the least place Mandy wanted to spend her freed up afternoon. Since making up with Lip, all Mandy really wanted to do was fuck him until he forgot about Karen Jackson completely. She could spend hours working on that, and it was only one in the afternoon. School had let out early today because of a kid bringing in a homemade bomb to science class. So Mandy had a good four hours before five o'clock, when the office shut their doors. Probably she could convince Lip to hang back for at least part of that time.

Mandy stared down at the papers in her hand. Ian had bombarded Mandy with a wad of pamphlets on hair school, and after thinking about actually maybe going for two straight days, Mandy figured she would at least go talk to someone. Since her confession and spat with Mickey four days ago, Mandy had been doing a lot of thinking. Serious thinking, especially for someone who was supposed to be merely a fuck-up, going nowhere fast. So she sat back on her bed, thumbing through some of the pamphlets. This one was on financial aid. Mandy wouldn't have been able to pay for classes herself, so Ian had thought ahead with in argument. She read over the first few pages slowly, frowning. She hated feeling like a charity case.

A knock on her bedroom door made Mandy jump. She tossed the papers to her feet and looked up, scowling. "Who the fuck is it?" she barked out, throwing her legs over the edge of her bed. No one in this house fucking knocked.

"You decent?"

Mandy's scowl turned into a state of confusion. "Yeah, Mick," she growled sarcastically.

He threw open her door and stood there against the frame. Mandy was seriously confused, and not just because her brother suddenly had some damned manners, but because Mickey was supposed to be at his new job. She thought back on his nightly excursions and tried to keep her thoughts to herself. Mickey was seriously concerning her lately, but she didn't really want to let him know that. Things were awkward enough since Mickey's release.

"Well, what?" Mandy asked, brow knitted. She had hurried to tuck the pamphlets under her ass so that Mickey wouldn't see them. He would only have picked fun, like the rest of her fuckwit brothers. Told Mandy she was wasting her time. And she already felt like maybe she was, so Mandy certainly didn't want anyone affirming her fears.

Mickey scratched his head and looked around her room. "You busy?" he asked, never once looking directly at her.

Mandy shifted about, feeling the rough paper scratch the back of her thighs. She chewed her bottom lip, staring at her brother. Who was slowly growing into a stranger to her. "Kind of," she said. "What's your damage?"

Mickey shrugged, looking Mandy over.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" Mandy asked, making a face full of sarcasm and distaste. That's what the Milkovich siblings did. They were cruel to one another. That's how things worked around this house, and Mandy hoped Mickey hadn't forgotten it, or he was as good as chopped liver.

"Got fired," Mickey said simply, crossing his arms.

Mandy snorted. It figured Mickey had gone and gotten himself fired. Even more reason for Mandy to suspect Mickey was on some kind of drug. "What'd you do?" Mandy asked, hoping maybe to gain some insight on what was going on in her brother's life. He was a ghost around the house lately. Mandy hated spending time mostly alone or stuck playing video games with one of her other two brothers still living here.

"Took one of the cars I was working on for a drive," Mickey began, stepping into Mandy's room and plopping sloppily down in her swivel chair, " and got sideswiped by some dumb shit who ran a red-light."

Lips twisting into a grin, Mandy chuckled. "You going to get a new job?" she asked, kicking her legs about and watching Mickey with growing curiosity.

"Have to," Mickey sighed, twirling around in the chair. He stopped and picked up a pen from Mandy's nightstand. Began chewing on the end of it and twirling again.

Mandy rolled her eyes. Since they were children, Mickey had seen fit to destroy everything his grubby hands touched. Be it tearing things into small pieces and flicking them around the room, playing with every meal their mother had once cooked, or chewing on everything in the house until it had Mickey marks all over it. That's what their mother had once called the teeth marks on everything small laying around the house, like the remote or all of Mandy's broken Barbie piece; Mickey marks. He never had grown out of it. Mandy frowned and reach behind her, grabbing a pillow and chucking it at Mickey.

The pillow bounced off his head, even though Mickey had seen it coming, and landed on top of the dresser, knocking things over. Mickey laughed and threw the pen at Mandy's face. She caught the pen and smirked. "Dick," she commented, throwing the pen back to him. She missed and the pen landed by Mickey's socked feet. She stared at him, a smile playing on her lips because Mickey was still smirking at her while scratching his head. Mandy wouldn't admit it, but she liked Mickey. Tolerated the rest, but liked Mickey. Sometimes. Especially when Mickey let his walls down and joked. She really liked her brother then, because that side of Mickey reminded Mandy of when things were normal. Because their mother had gone off the deep end. Before their father had been released from a ten year prison sentence when Mandy had been barely eleven.

"So isn't that violating your probation?" Mandy asked, thinking back on the conversation. She brought her legs back up on the bed, twisted awkwardly beside of her. It was almost painful, but Mandy wanted to keep the pamphlets hidden. Didn't want to sour whatever moment she and Mickey were having.

"Nah," Mickey said, clearing his throat and leaning back in the chair while he spun once, quickly. He stopped and spit a piece of dead skin across the room. "Would have been, but the guy who hit me was drunk, and my boss vouched that it was a test run to see if I'd fixed the car and shit."

"That was nice of him."

"Yeah, except he fired me right after," Mickey bit, rolling his eyes.

Mandy scrunched up her nose, looking Mickey over. The papers were digging into her ass now, and she really wanted to move. "So," she dragged out, "what did you want?"

Mickey picked up the small, square pillow from Mandy's nightstand, twirling and tossing it around idly. Finally he threw it at her. Mandy hadn't been expecting that, so when the pillow hit her hard in the chest, she fell back slightly. She yelped and hurried to force herself back up. Baring her teeth at Mickey, Mandy slammed her fists against the bed. "Fucking asshole," she snarled. "That hurt!"

Her legs stung but felt a little relieved from the papers that had been stabbing them. Which was great, until the thought occurred to Mandy that Mickey's catching her off guard had caused some of the pamphlets to fall to the floor. She looked up quickly, eyes widened, watching Mickey puzzle down at the papers. Mandy took in a deep breathe when Mickey frowned and eased forward from the chair.

Scooting the chair some, Mickey bent down, still sitting, and picked up a pamphlet. Mandy stared, eyes glued to Mickey's gripping hand like magnets. Watched him frown at the papers, lick the corner of his mouth, and skim the pages. Her stomach ached and Mandy kind of wished she hadn't let Mickey come in her room at all now. Mickey met her gaze, and reached forward, pamphlet extended to Mandy. His face was almost unreadable. Mandy knitted her brow and took the pamphlet.

"Don't let dad see that shit," Mickey said calmly, getting up from the chair.

Mandy let out a breath she hadn't known she was holding. She watched Mickey walk to her door and step into the hallway. He looked back at her for a second, thoughtful. Mandy swallowed hard, tightening her grip on the pamphlet in her hand. The one on financial aid.

Mickey's eyes searched Mandy for a second. He looked away from her face and down at the other papers sticking out around her legs. Popping his knuckles absently, Mickey extended one arm, fist against Mandy's door frame. He stroked the wood with a thumb, staring at his own hand now. Mandy wasn't really sure what to make of the current situation. Reaction. Wasn't sure what to make of Mickey at all. She watched her brother's eyes trail over his hands, and got the strangest feeling like she knew what he might be thinking. Could tell suddenly that he was reading the ink on his knuckles.

"Do it," Mickey said suddenly. His voice was loud in the tense silence, and made Mandy catch her breath a little. With that, Mickey pulled down his arm and shut Mandy's door.

Mandy blinked, staring at the mirror glued on to the back of her door. Stared at herself in the mirror, but wasn't really even seeing her reflection. Finally she looked down at the papers in her hands again. And wondered what the hell had just happened.