Chapter 3.

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Daniela wrapped her scarf tightly around her neck and shoved her gloved hands into the pockets of her coat to try and feel the slightest bit of warmth. Winter was her least favorite season as she despised the cold. It also didn't help that she was incredibly sleep-deprived.

She had done some babysitting for the Johnson family that lived a few blocks over. Their twin toddlers and seven-year-old were relentless, never seeming to need sleep. Their parents had gone out for a date night and didn't manage to get back until around midnight, leaving Daniela exhausted.

That morning, Daniela had gotten a text from Ian when she woke up saying that he needed to talk to her urgently. Curious as to what her friend needed to tell her, she made her way over straight away.

When Daniela came to the front of the house, she noticed Steve's expensive car sitting out front and rolled her eyes. Clearly, the man had not gotten the message that Fiona was still more than pissed off at him for the whole Canada fiasco.

He's persistent I'll give him that.

Daniela made her way up the front stairs and opened the door. She was in the process of taking her scarf off when the bitter air hit her causing her to re-wrap it.

"Why the fuck is it so cold in here?" Daniela huffed and then widened her eyes when she saw her own breath in front of her.

"Oh look, everyone! The Ice Queen just arrived," quipped Lip dryly making her scowl at him as she walked into the kitchen to find the Gallaghers, plus Steve, there. "No wonder it's freezing in here."

Daniela's narrowed eyes followed him as he passed by her to get to the sink. "Bite me."

"Pass."

Debbie was propped up on the counter with her laptop and looked up when she heard Daniela enter.

"El!" She greeted happily.

"Hey Debs," Daniela stopped glaring at Lip and moved over to see what the young girl was doing.

"Back for more abuse?" Quipped Lip behind her, his words dripping with sarcasm. Turning, she saw that he had found a new punching bag in the form of Steve. "You're like a boomerang, dude."

"Yeah, no, I lost a bet to Ian on the Islanders game," explained Steve, shrugging as though any of them were actually buying into his excuse. "Need to see what tickets he wants me to get him."

"And we live in the 1700s where telephones haven't been invented yet so of course, you couldn't just call," said Fiona sarcastically.

"Not when I knew you were dying to see me."

Daniela, who had moved to sit beside Debbie, audibly scoffed at Steve's nerve. Her attention then snapped to the stairs when she heard Ian come down.

"Yo, you got my tickets?" He asked Steve.

"Yeah what game? Philly on the 12th or Edmonton on the 27th."

"Oh, Oilers definitely!" Piped up, Daniela. Ian agreed.

"That's a good choice! The Flyers are fags."

Daniela inwardly cringed at Kev's poor choice of words. She noticed Lip's eyes spring up from his bowl of cereal and look straight at Ian. Ian however, showed no signs of discomfort.

"Goddamn, it," cursed Fiona holding a piece of paper. "The gas bill's late. No wonder it's freezing in here."

Daniela moved over to nudge Ian with his arm, catching his attention. "You said there was something you needed to tell me?"

The realization filled his eyes and he quickly nodded, looking slightly terrified. He ushered her into the lounge where Daniela gave him a worried look.

"Mandy Milkovich tried to hook up with me last night."

Daniela's eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped. "Why?"

"The other day, Mr. Bancroft put his boner in front of Mandy's face so I put my bag out so that he would fall over."

Daniela visibly shuddered as she thought of the sleazy prick that was Mr. Bancroft.

He had done the same thing to her the year before. She had then told her brother and after a stern 'talking to', the teacher- and his penis- never once dared to look in her direction again.

"What a hero," joked the girl as she playfully shoved Ian's arm. He didn't seem to find it amusing.

"Yeah and now she has some sort of crush on me. She came to see me at work last night and even stayed to walk me home. Then she tried to give me a blowjob but I refused and she ran out crying, and now I'm kind of freaking out."

Ian exhaled deeply, his face giving away just how much he had been thinking about this. It was silent between them for a few moments before Daniela sighed.

"Well, you're fucked."

"El!" Cried Ian as she held her hands up in defense.

"Mandy is definitely going to tell her brothers. You need to be careful, Ian. Seriously."

Her friend sighed and nodded his head. "I know, that's what I'm afraid of."

Daniela laid a comforting hand on his shoulder and gave him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. The two teens headed back into the kitchen and sat down at the table. She chose to sit down on the left of Ian and made herself a bowl of oatmeal.

"Hey Kev, can you pass a toast?" The man handed her one as the girl happily dug into her oatmeal. She normally wouldn't eat at the Gallaghers but today she had skipped breakfast to talk to Ian.

Said boy set his elbows on the table, his hands clenched together, and breathed out. "I think I can see my breath," he grimaced.

"We need $587 or they won't turn the gas back on," informed Fiona.

Lip, who was sitting across from Daniela, turned and spoke. "I'm taking the PSATs for some Polish kid over on Ridgedale. He's supposed to give me like a hundred bucks."

It had always amazed Daniela how smart Lip was, not that you'd ever know it if you were unlucky enough to be in his presence for less than 5 minutes. His careless, don't-give-a-fuck attitude always made her forget how intelligent he really was. Even in their shared trig and physics class, he tended to not speak unless he disagreed with something the teacher or one of the other students said.

"I saw online that we could get an extra $200 a month from the state if we say Carl's retarded."

Daniela stifled a laugh at Debbie's suggestion, the intensity of it growing at the sight of the young boy acting strange beside her.

"I get paid Friday," said Ian to which Fiona nodded.

"Okay, I'll figure out the rest." The woman then looked at the clock before quickly ushering them out of their seats. "School, let's go. Everyone out!"

Daniela stood up from her seat and slung her backpack over her shoulder. Ian, who was quickly finishing up his breakfast, followed before holding the door open so everyone could get through.

"Such a gentleman," she smirked as she stepped past. Ian laughed before closing the door behind him.

/

Daniela had never been so bored in her life.

She honestly didn't know why she had chosen Physics as one of her subjects when she sucked shit at it and couldn't care less that distance = speed x time. She honestly wondered how she was even still in the class considering how little she knew.

Daniela found that she was far more creatively minded than logically; preferring creative writing, art or even woodshop. Trig was the only thing math-related subject that she properly understood. Sadly, two of her classes had clashed and Physics was the only thing that she could take instead. So here she was, doomed to a period of a class she never wanted to be in.

Daniela could feel her exhaustion deepen, fuelled by the utter disinterest she held for this subject. She slowly felt herself drifting asleep but was pulled out of it by the teacher calling her name.

Dazed and undoubtedly confused, she furrowed her eyebrows at him.

"What?"

Her teacher stared at her unimpressed as her classmates snickered.

"Perhaps you could supply us with the answer, Miss Kaufman?" He raised an eyebrow at the girl as she still sat there stunned.

Daniela trailed her eyes towards the blackboard where a whole lot of numbers and symbols stared back at her, none of which, she understood.

Wracking her brain for an answer- any answer- Daniela begin to fidget uncomfortably and she realized that almost all of the class was staring at her. Suddenly, a bored voice spoke up from the other side of the room.

"The velocity= 53m/s." Daniela turned to stare at Lip who was slouched back in his chair, twirling a pencil between his fingers.

Their teacher, Mr. Davis, turned to the young man and huffed. "Thank you, Mr. Gallagher. Though perhaps next time you could allow Miss Kaufman to think for herself." He turned back to the blackboard, carrying on with his teaching and Daniela found that she was incredibly thankful for Lip's interception.

She shot him a thankful look to which he simply replied with an eye roll before staring at the board. Daniela scoffed and rolled her own eyes wondering why she even tried to be nice.

Asshole.

/

With the school day finally done for the day, Daniela made her way to work, hoping to see Ian. He had been MIA during most of the day and she'd had no way to contact him while Fiona was using their singular mobile phone. She just hoped it was only by choice and not a nasty run-in with Mandy's family that he'd disappeared.

But any hopeful thoughts went out the window at the sight of three men stepping out of the Kash & Grab. She stiffened at the sight of them, willing her brain to let her turn and head anywhere else.

But today just wasn't her day.

"Yo, Kaufman!" Yelled one of them after spotting her across the street.

Despite herself, she felt her heart pound in her chest. She could've made a run for it, but there were three of them and only of her, and she really didn't see that boding well for her in the end. So, instead of running, she straightened her spine, took a deep breath, and mustered up a look of nonchalance.

Mickey Milkovich advanced on her, flanked by two of his brothers.

Daniela fought back a cringe at the sight of him, her neck recoiling as her eyes and nose were suddenly assaulted. His grubby face inched closer to hers anyway and she forced herself to maintain eye contact, all the while gritting her teeth so hard she thought they might shatter.

"Where's your friend, Ian, huh?"

The girl shrugged, pretending to be bored. "How am I supposed to know?"

Mickey let out a quiet chuckle and rubbed his fingers against his mouth in frustration. "You see, Kaufman. That little ginger-pubed bastard attacked my sister, so we need to make him pay. You get me?" He cracked his knuckles in her face to further explain.

"And you seriously believe that Ian would do something like that?" Laughed Daniela, crossing her arms over her chest. "Please, Ian wouldn't touch Mandy with a ten-foot pole. He knows better than to mess around with a walking STD."

In a flash, she found herself turned around and pushed against a wall. She let out a cry of pain when Mickey twisted her arm behind her back. His teeth bared at her like a hound as he inched his face down beside her ear. Hot tears stung her eyes, though she wasn't sure if it was his breath or him applying more pressure that had been the culprit.

"You better watch your fucking mouth, Kaufman. Don't think we haven't forgotten about what your daddy did. You might just be next." With a final twist, he released her before turning and leaving.

Daniela cradled her throbbing arm instantly. When she tried to extend it, a sharp pain jolted her shoulder making the girl cry out. She felt something wet falling down the side of her face and lifted her uninjured arm to see what it was. When she pulled her fingers back, she realized that it was blood and that she must've cut her head on the wall when Mickey pushed her into it.

"Fuck," she cursed.

Knowing that she should probably get it checked out, she made her way to see Veronica.

/

"Ow! Fuck, V!" Cried Daniela as she clenched her teeth. She stared up at the cracked paint and, somehow, footprints on the ceiling of the Gallagher's lounge. Her head had been patched up and Veronica had assured her that it wasn't too serious but to be careful just in case.

The woman standing above her rolled her eyes before giving her a sympathetic smile.

"Sorry babe, but it's dislocated. I'll need to push it back in." Veronica began to push on Daniela's arm again, causing her to groan loudly at the pain and twist. The woman stopped to stare at the girl in frustration. "You need to stop moving or I won't be able to do this."

Sighing, she stood up before heading into the kitchen. Daniela winced and watched her quickly return with a tea-towel that was promptly rolled up and shoved between her teeth.

"Bite down on this."

Without warning, Veronica began again on Daniela's arm. The girl, not bothering to hide her pain this time, screamed into the tea-towel. Sweat began pouring down her face before she felt grinding and heard the click of her shoulder being put back into place. Veronica stepped back proudly, admiring her handy work.

"There. All done." She pulled the towel out of Daniela's mouth and began dabbing her forehead while the girl let out a relieved sigh. "Your grandma was asking about you the other day," informed V as she began wrapping Daniela's arm in a sling. "Was wondering when you were gonna go and see her next."

Daniela's grandma had been staying in the aged-care facility where Veronica worked for six months and hated it more and more every day. The old lady's only enjoyment was when her grandchildren would visit and given everything that had been going on with their mom, those visits had slowed down dramatically. However, she was always trying to convince them of her plans to sneak out whenever they got the chance to speak over the phone.

"I might go see her tomorrow," said Daniela, hissing slightly at the dull pain that still lingering in her shoulder. It was far less than what it had been ten minutes prior and, for that, she flashed a tired smile at her friend. "Thanks, V."

"You're welcome, babe. Now, you wanna tell me what happened?" Veronica sat down on the coffee table and raised her eyebrows causing the girl to sigh deeply. She knew she owed her an explanation at the very least.

"Mickey Milkovich was looking for Ian. He came by the shop with his brothers and found me instead." She tilted her head, face screwing up regretfully. "I may have implied that their sister was disease-riddled...and the rest is obvious. Made sure to remind me how he hadn't forgotten about what my dad did."

At that, Veronica kissed her teeth and shook her head at the girl. "You shouldn't have egged him on."

Daniela shrugged defensively. "I know that. But he was accusing Ian of something he didn't even do and well, I just couldn't help myself."

The woman gave her another disapproving look before standing up and grabbing a bottle of pills. She threw them quickly, watching as Daniela scrambled to catch them with her other hand.

"For the pain," she explained.

Daniela struggled to open the bottle at first before popping two of the pills into her mouth. Veronica was still far from satisfied as the girl stood up and headed to the door.

"And for God's sake, try not to go around picking anymore fights with the Milkoviches! I have a feeling you got off easy this time."

Daniela kept her face forward but nodded in agreement. Her hand moved to grab the handle of the front door when it was yanked away from her. A cold breeze smacked her in the face as Lip brushed past her. She angled out of the way, managing to avoid colliding her arm with his body.

"Watch it, asshole-", but any frustration she might've felt in that moment soon melted away at the sight of Lip battered and bruised. Her brow raised in astonishment. "Jesus Christ...you look terrible."

The boy had blood everywhere and even with his hood up, she could see that his nose was broken. Lip gave her a once-over before his eyes settled on her arm.

"I could say the same for you."

Veronica rushed over to him and carefully grabbed his face to observe his wounds. Swearing to herself, she pulled him into the kitchen and sat him down at the table.

Daniela curiously followed. She had no doubt his injuries were also from Mickey. She stopped by the fridge before pulling out a bag of frozen peas and placing it on her shoulder; the cold helping to alleviate the pain slightly.

Frank, who she just realized had been in the kitchen the whole time, gave her a confused look before turning back to Lip and Veronica.

"El," the woman snapped her fingers with urgency "Got a tampon?"

With a strange look, Daniela nodded before heading into the lounge where her bag was. The woman nodded in thanks as she took it and unwrapped it. She then proceeded to shove it up Lip's nostril.

"Nothing sucks blood up better than a tampon," explained Veronica as she continued her observations. "Did you know the nose is the most commonly broken bone in boys between the ages of 13 and 25?"

"That's fascinating, but who's the old dude?" Questioned Lip. Daniela had briefly wondered the same thing when she came in but was in too much pain to ask.

"It's not a dude, it's your Aunt Ginger," answered Frank, taking a swig from his bottle.

Daniela looked at the man- who was so clearly a man- and shook her head. "Nope. That's a dude." She also couldn't help but notice that he looked slightly familiar.

"What, the one that owns the house?" Asked Lip again and Frank nodded.

"That's right. Ginger! Say hello to your nephew." The man in the corner just looked plain confused and Daniela wondered where Frank had even found this guy.

Fiona, who had joined them in the kitchen, turned to her father with a tired sigh. "Dad, stop."

"Why is he trying to pass off Mr. Perry as Aunt Ginger?" Wondered Lip curiously, tossing a strange look at Daniela who had snapped her fingers with a loud 'aha!'.

"Who?" Replied Frank.

"Mr. Perry, he used to drive the bus," answered Daniela as she walked over to the man. Leaning down, she smiled at him. "Sup, Mr. P." The man gave her a dazed smile in return.

"Yeah, now he sleeps behind the dumpster over at the A&P," continued Lip.

"Social Security wants to talk to Ginger and he's too lazy to get the real one."

Daniela snorted, not surprised at all.

"That's kind of retardedly brilliant," praised Lip.

"Thank you."

"Or brilliantly retarded," said Fiona

"Thank you," smiled Frank, unfazed.

Daniela moved to sit down at the table as Fiona got up to speak with her dad and his hair-brained idea to pass their old bus driver off as his Aunt. She felt Lip's eyes on her as she sat down.

"What happened to you?" He asked, tilting his head. Daniela shrugged.

"Probably the same thing that happened to you," she said, giving him a once over. The boy nodded before Veronica whacked his shoulder to get him to stop moving.

"You're as bad as this one," she said, flicking her head over in Daniela's direction. The girl raised her one hand in defense.

"Hey! You try getting your shoulder popped back into place without squirming." She sighed before looking at Lip again, the sight of a tampon sticking out of his nose nearly made her burst out laughing, the situation reminding her of that movie She's the Man. Instead of irritating him further, she opted to ask if he had heard from his brother.

"Nope," answered Lip, emphatically.

Behind them, his dad and sister continued their own back-and-forth. "How are we gonna get Ginger?"

Frank's glassy eyes stared back at his daughter. "She's dead."

"What?"

Debbie, who had just gotten home from school, joined them in the kitchen. "Who's dead?"

"Aunt Ginger," answered Lip.

"No!" cried the young girl.

"Debs, you never met her," said Lip, acting uncharacteristically gentle.

"And now I never will!"

Daniela stood up from her seat before moving to wrap an arm around Debbie's shoulders. The two girls listened as Frank and Fiona went back and forth over Ginger's death. They were all shocked to learn that the lady had died twelve years ago.

"What are we gonna do now?" Asked Fiona, raking a hand through her hair.

Veronica fiddled with the tampon wrapper, an idea lighting up her face.

"Well..."

/

Daniela made her way through the retirement home, Veronica and the others trailing behind her. Her nose crinkled as the undeniable smell of old people filled her nostrils.

As it turned out, Veronica's grand plan involved stealing one of the geriatrics from her work for a little while so that they could pass them off as Frank's Aunt Ginger. While others may have balked at the proposition, Daniela and the rest of the Gallaghers had agreed that it was a brilliant idea.

They stepped further into the care home. Leading their group, Veronica rattled off information about each of the women there. Not particularly intrigued with this part of the process, Daniela turned her attention elsewhere.

Her eyes swept across the room, surveying each face before locking on one in particular. She made her way over to the woman who was sat by herself in a wheelchair, glaring at everyone around her. But the old woman's eyes softened entirely when they fell onto her.

"Daniela!" She cried happily.

"Grandma," the girl beamed, bending over to where the woman's arms were already open and waiting for her. She pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"You've finally come to break me out of this shit-hole, yes?" The elder lady whispered into her ear, her slight accent evoking a warm sense of comfort for the girl.

Daniela let out a short laugh before shaking her head.

"Sorry, Grandma. Not today." She took a seat beside the woman and looked at her.

Wilda Kaufman was a stern but loving woman. A native of Germany, she had emigrated to the States following the end of the second world war with only seven dollars to her name. One tumultuous and spontaneous marriage followed by an even more stressful divorce soon left her juggling work and two young kids alone. After that, she learned the hard truth about building a new life in a foreign country and did whatever she could to scrape by. So it was no surprise that she had settled down on the South Side. Nor was it a surprise how easily she picked up on things revolving around the darker underbelly of the area.

Focusing on her granddaughter, Wilda's eyes widened at the cast wrapped around her arm.

"What happened to your arm?" She asked immediately. Her eyes narrowed dangerously and she lowered her voice. "Do I need to kill someone?"

The young girl rolled her eyes playfully, though she had a good sense that the woman's question was not genuine. Though she had never explicitly said as much, Daniela was certain her grandma had led quite the colorful, albeit criminal, life.

"No, Grandma. It was nothing serious."

Daniela noticed her grandmother's raised eyebrow but was glad when the lady did not push any further.

"Made any friends yet?" She asked as

she relaxed in a chair beside her. The woman scoffed and shook her head ruefully.

"These old boring bastards annoy me."

Daniela grinned and shook her head, having already expected such a caustic response.

"I'm sure they're not that bad."

Wilda tsked before gesturing to a woman who seemed to be having a conversation with a plant.

"Crazy old people," she stated and Daniela refrained from reminding her grandmother that she was also old. Wilda made a gesture, symbolizing someone who was mental.

Turning back to look at her granddaughter, she sighed childishly. "Why must I stay here? It is hell. I want to leave!"

"Grandma, you can't leave. Dad said this place would be good for you." At the mention of Daniela's father, the woman sucked her teeth.

"Stupid boy! He doesn't know what is good for me. I don't need to be here. I should be with my grandchildren!"

"I know this upsets you, Grandma. But I can't just let you out. You're better off in here where you have someone on-call 24/7."

Wilda was silent, letting her anger and frustration ease away. Releasing a breath, Daniela looked around to see that Fiona and Debbie had taken their pick of the litter and were currently in the process of leaving.

Turning back to her grandmother, she squeezed her hand before planting a kiss on her cheek. "I have to go but I'll come by sometime this week with Jake, okay?"

Wilda nodded, sad to see her go. But as Daniela stood, she felt her grandmother's hand wrap around her good wrist. The old lady stared up at her, her face more serious than the girl had expected.

"Go see your father, child. I know he misses you."

Daniela swallowed.

She hadn't properly spoken to her dad since her mom had been diagnosed, and even then there hadn't been much interaction on her part. Reluctantly, for the sake of her grandmother, she nodded; a silent promise. Wilda smiled and released her grasp on her.

/

When Daniela arrived at the Gallagher home later that evening, Ian was there. The redhead, who had been sitting on the couch, stood alert when his eyes landed on his friend's arm and forehead.

Rushing over, he tentatively touched her bandage, his own forehead creased.

"Was this Mickey?" He asked but Daniela stayed silent. Ian's jaw tensed as guilt filled his face. "I'm so sorry, El. This is all my fault."

"No, it's not," denied Daniela. "I egged him on. Besides, you weren't the only topic of discussion."

"Your dad?" Daniela nodded slowly causing Ian to sigh. He knew it was a sore spot for her and empathized.

"Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you were still alive," joked Daniela with a sigh. "I think I'm gonna head home. These painkillers V gave me are making me drowsy."

"What's your brother gonna do when he sees your arm?"

"Freak out, probably. I'll just say I got into a fight after school that resulted in me dislocating my shoulder."

Ian gave her a look, showing that even he wouldn't believe that. Daniela was not one to get into fights. At least, not without good reason. Still, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder carefully before laying a kiss on the top of her head. "I'll see you tomorrow."

The girl nodded before leaving. As she stepped out of the door, she heard the hollering voices of Mickey and his brothers across the street. The noise grew louder when they spotted her.

"Hey, Kaufman! How's the arm?" Cackles followed but Daniela kept her eyes straight, counting each step that she took before she finally reached her own house.

She closed the door a little harden than she had intended to before leaning against the wooden frame. Her eyes dropped to her shoulder and to the sling. She didn't even know how long she had to wear this thing for.

Making a mental note to ask Veronica about it tomorrow, Daniela made her way to the stairs. She stopped halfway up when she saw her brother coming out of the bathroom. Cursing silently to herself, she tried to sneak her way past.

She failed.

"Dani?" The girl turned to her brother and watched as shock, quickly followed by anger, filled his face. Storming forward, he observed her arm. "What the hell happened to you?"

"It was nothing," assured Daniela with a wave of her single hand. "Just a bit of an argument at school."

Jakob scoffed and crossed his arms. "Sure, sis. Now you wanna tell me what really happened?"

"I did! A girl pissed me off so I hit her."

"You're not usually one to start fights, Dani."

"Technically, she started it. I just finished it," corrected Daniela.

"Well, then why didn't you go to the hospital?"

She shrugged. "I didn't want to run the risk of running into you or mom so I went to V instead."

"And why didn't the school call me?"

Maintaining a straight-face, the false narrative rolled off her tongue easily. "It was after school."

Jakob sighed tiredly before running a hand over his face. "You're being completely honest?"

Daniela nodded.

"Please, no more fights, Dani. It's kind of the last thing I need right now."

Biting her lip, Daniela nodded, feeling slightly guilty for putting added stress onto her brother. She knew he was just trying to keep them afloat.

Leaning forward, she gave him a one-armed hug. "I'm sorry Jake, it won't happen again." Her brother simply nodded tiredly as Daniela turned to enter her room.

/

The medication Veronica had slipped her had done wonders for her flimsy sleep schedule. No sooner had her head hit the pillow had she been out like a light. And given that the weekend had now arrived, she had every intention of spending the whole day in bed.

If only the asshole banging on the door would just go away.

She had spent the first 30 seconds trying to push the sound from her brain. But then it had kept going, and going, and going. What seemed to be the end of it soon turned out to be a short pause for the door-knocker.

Feeling her anger spike, Daniela groaned and pulled a pillow over her head.

"Jake! Door!"

Hearing no footsteps, she realized that he had probably left for work already. Not that it mattered much because the next thing she heard was a voice calling out her name.

"Hey! You awake in there?"

The girl rose from her bed slowly and made her way to the window that overlooked the street. Her eyebrows creased when she saw Lip standing there.

Pushing open the window, she leaned her head out. "What do you want?"

"Good morning to you too," scoffed Lip. "I think Ian's gone to confront Mickey on his own!"

Daniela's face paled before she quickly shut the window. She hurried down the stairs, quickly grabbing a coat and sneakers.

When she opened the door, Lip was standing there waiting, a cigarette dangling from his fingers. He observed her pajama-clad state with a raised eyebrow.

"Come on let's go!" Hurried Daniela, not wanting to waste any more time.

The pair quickly made their way towards the Milkovich house and Daniela was starting to curse her healing arm. She had tried to put her jacket on but in her frenzied state, she had forgotten about her sling and the fact that it would be very difficult to put the coat on.

Unfortunately, this did not leave her in a very good state. She was currently in a loose tank top, pajama shorts, and sneakers. Lip gave her a curious look as they jogged.

"Are you wearing a bra?"

Daniela's eyes widened as she felt the hint of a blush travel up her neck and onto her cheeks. She was not wearing a bra.

Throwing an annoyed look at Lip she continued on. "Fuck you."

Her embarrassed response made the teenage boy smirk as she wrapped her good arm around her chest.

Lip wasn't going to lie. Her running braless beside him was a distraction- albeit, not an entirely unwelcome one. Even he was willing to admit that she'd been pretty well endowed in the chest department. And if he wasn't currently trying to catch up with his brother, he'd probably savor this opportunity to rile her up even more. It wasn't like she made it difficult to do so. And he could at least admit that it wasn't the first time he'd taken note of her body.

Whatever his thoughts on her were, they were quickly interrupted by Daniela pointing to a figure crouched behind a bin across the street from the Milkovich house.

"There," she said before moving towards Ian. Lip followed closely behind.

Ian jolted as they snuck up behind him. "Shit," he swore taking in both of them.

"So what's the plan?" Questioned Lip, bobbing behind the second bin. Daniela crouched behind the third, looking through the gap to the house across the street.

"Hit Mickey over the head with a bat when he comes out."

Daniela scoffed. "That's a shit plan."

Lip nodded in agreement. "What about the other brothers?"

"They'll probably beat me to death," noted Ian causing Daniela to roll her eyes.

"And I repeat: Shit. Plan. I can not have you dying on me Gallagher. I can't lose my ginger."

Ian looked at his concerned friend and gave her a warm smile.

"I'll fight him off while you run," said Lip. Daniela looked at the boy's hand to see him holding a brick.

"Wait, if you're hitting Mickey, and Lip's hitting the others, who am I supposed to hit?"

Lip rolled his eyes before turning to her. "No-one." His response did not sit well with Daniela.

"Mandy it is then. I've been itching to hit the bitch."

"And how are you planning on doing that with one hand?" Asked Lip with a smirk.

Daniela raised an eyebrow at him. "I wasn't aware you needed two to punch someone."

"This is my problem alright, not any of yours," snapped Ian, making them look at him again.

"It'll be fun," shrugged Lip. "I owe them one."

"Me too," added Daniela as she motioned to her banged-up shoulder.

Their attention moved back to the house when they saw Mandy step out. A grin grew on Daniela's face at the sight of her.

"Me first," she stated, moving to go around the bin only to be pulled back by Ian. She eyed him oddly.

"Just, wait here," he said before going after Mandy.

"What? What is he doing?" She hissed to Lip. He shrugged in response as they were both left waiting for Ian to return.

"Get away from me, you fucking perv!"

Daniela shot up at the sound of Mandy's voice.

"That little bitch." She made her way out and across the street, her fist itching to collide with Mandy's face. Once again, she found herself being held back, this time by Lip. She fixed him with a glare which he quickly brushed off.

Gritting her teeth, she watched as Ian explained to Mandy that he was gay. She didn't seem convinced at first, no doubt thinking this was an elaborate excuse to get her off his back. But as Ian continued to explain, her hardened expression shifted to one of understanding.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Ian turned back to his brother and friend who were watching carefully. "You guys can go. I'll be okay."

Daniela didn't want to but knowing that this was what her friend wanted, she obliged.

"Do you think she'll stay quiet?" She wondered aloud. Her teeth chewed nervously on the inside of her cheek and her good arm was wrapped tightly around herself, trying to fight off the bitter cold.

Lip shrugged and lit his cigarette. "I guess we'll find out eventually."

The rest of the journey back to the Gallagher's house passed by in silence. But as they walked, Lip couldn't help but notice the girl beside him shivering. She had been struggling to put on her coat ever since they'd left her house. And while he'd usually find her frustration amusing, he didn't like the idea of what his brother would say if he let her succumb to pneumonia. He rolled his eyes as she made another pathetic attempt.

Daniela slowed to a stop. The fabric of her coat had been unceremoniously torn out of her hand. She stared at Lip curiously. He said nothing as he wove her good arm through one sleeve and draped the coat securely around her shoulders. Then, as if nothing happened, he continued walking. Daniela lingered behind for a moment, unsure as to why her body was suddenly too warm. She brushed any further thoughts from her mind and welcomed the heat from the coat, pulling it tighter around herself.

/

Later that night, after she had finished work at the store, Daniela made her way to Ian's. She frowned when she heard the sound of laughter coming from his room, noting that it was distinctly female and not belonging to either of his sisters.

Daniela's eyebrow raised when she saw Ian and Mandy sitting together looking incredibly at ease in each other's company. Ian spotted her and smiled widely.

"Hey," he greeted as Daniela looked between the two.

"Hey," she replied slowly. Mandy kept quiet, probably feeling a little uncomfortable around Daniela.

"Mandy and I are dating now," informed Ian humorously causing Daniela's eyes to widen.

"Sorry, what?"

"Well, she's my beard."

The girl nodded, barely understanding before sitting on the desk adjacent to Ian's bed. Mandy continued to stay silent towards Daniela and the girl could feel the awkwardness wash over them. The Kaufman's and Milkovich's had a history so now that Mandy was 'dating' Ian, things would be a lot different.

Feeling a buzz in her pocket, Daniela checked her phone to see that her brother had messaged her saying that he was driving to the hospital soon if she wanted to come. Not really wanting to be around Mandy, Daniela replied with a yes before standing up. She felt Lip's eyes on her as she made her way towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Frowned Ian. The girl turned and flashed him a quick smile.

"I'm going to see my mom. Bye Fiona," said Daniela as she made her way past the stunned woman.

Fiona stared at the girl curiously before turning and looking at Ian and Mandy on the bed.

"Hey, above the covers," was all Daniela heard before she made her way down the stairs and out of the house.


Things with the Milkovich family and Daniela's family will be explained later on. Daniela and Mandy will have a difficult relationship- as should be expected- as the only thing really connecting them at the moment is their friendship with Ian.

I hope you enjoyed!

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