Chapter 5.
Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless.
I know Daniela hasn't really interacted with Lip properly. Next chapter is Parent Teacher Night and that is when the plot will really start to kick in and their relationship will build.
Special thanks to guest, scarlettsoldier, Ivoryskin, lynnenikko666 and Pixie Poet!
Enjoy the chapter and please don't forget to review. Even just a simple 'great job' goes a long way for a writer.
Daniela wiped a hand over her face in exhaustion as she made her way out of her last class of the day. It had been Art, which really wasn't that bad- great actually! But the day plus her two jobs had drained her and she found that she couldn't properly focus.
Opening her locker, she slowly began loading in books and grabbing her bag. She let out a shriek when she closed it, coming face to face with an unfamiliar person. He offered her an apologetic look for startling her.
"Sorry, Daniela," he said sheepishly. The girl narrowed her eyes at him, trying to put a name to the face. "I'm Simon," he smiled. "We have trig together."
Daniela nodded in recognition. "Right, what's up?"
The boy seemed shy all of a sudden and Daniela vaguely sensed where this was going.
"Well, I was just wondering if things were over with you and that Gallagher kid?"
Daniela did a double take.
"Who?" She frowned curiously and grabbed onto the straps of her bag.
"The red-head one. Ian. I thought you two might've broken up since he's been hanging around with Mandy Milkovich." Simon gave Daniela a look like what he was saying was completely obvious.
Did everybody think Ian and I were dating?
Sure they basically only hung out with each other but that didn't mean they were in a relationship. And the likelihood of that ever happening was zero since he was gay- not that anyone at school knew that. Simon was right about Ian hanging around with Mandy though. However, that was only at school- for appearance's sake.
Majority of the time, Daniela hung out with him after school at his house or at work. He was still her best friend and this whole thing with Mandy hadn't dampened their friendship much.
"Oh no,"answered Daniela, taking in Simon's disappointed expression. "Ian and I weren't dating. He's just my best friend." The boy noticeably perked up at this knowledge. He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck nervously and Daniela realized that he was kind of adorable.
Awkward, but adorable.
"Well, i-in that case," Simon cleared his throat, building courage before looking her in the eye. "Would you like to go on a date? I mean it doesn't have to be a date, it could just be us hanging out. No candles or roses or anything like that. Just two friends- or acquaintances, getting to know each other and all-"
His rambling was brought to a stop by Daniela pressing a finger against his mouth. He stared with wide eyes at her as she pulled the digit back.
"Sure, Simon," she smiled, trying to not let her tiredness show. Simon began bouncing on his heels slightly.
"Cool, great! Um, well is Friday okay?"
"Yeah, Friday's good," nodded Daniela and pulled out a pen and paper from her bag before scribbling her phone number down. "Text me the details. See you around." She handed the boy the note before turning and making her way home.
She needed sleep.
Daniela was awoken two hours later by a banging on the front door.
"El!" Came a voice. The girl groaned and sat up in her bed. Wiping the drool off of her face, she shuffled her way down the stairs to open the door. She was greeted with a smiling Veronica.
Daniela frowned at her. "Sup, V?"
"I wanted to know if you were still up for coming to Target with Debbie and me to pick things for the wedding registry?"
"Wait, I thought the wedding was off," wondered Daniela. Veronica shook her head in response.
"Nope. Well, it's not actually going to be a legal wedding. I'll explain it later, so do you still want to come?"
"Yeah, that sounds great!" Grinned Daniela. "Just let me get a coat."
When Daniela was ready to go, the two women made their way to the Gallagher house to get Debbie.
"Hey, Debs you ready to go to Target?" Called Veronica when they stepped inside.
The two were hit with a strong smell as they entered the kitchen, causing Daniela to wrinkle her nose. She couldn't tell if someone had puked or if it was cheese. Veronica shared her thoughts.
"What's that smell? It's either vomit or fancy cheese." Daniela saw the Gallaghers crowding around what seemed to be a lasagna on the table.
That explains the smell.
"It could be both if you want," stated Carl, eating lasagna out of a cup.
"Target?" Questioned Fiona from the fridge.
Daniela moved to sit next to Ian and grabbed a piece of cheese from out of his plate and popped it into her mouth. Her friend responded with a fake glare.
"Debbie and I are going to help V register gifts for the wedding," informed Daniela, picking another piece.
"Stop that!" Laughed Ian, gently smacking her hand away. He handed her a cup and fork so that she could get her own.
"I thought the wedding was off," frowned Fiona at her best friend to which Veronica just shook her head at.
"Back on."
Daniela dug into her lasagna and moaned at how good it was. "Where did this even come from?" She asked, looking at Ian.
"Fiona got it in return for a clean pee sample."
"Damn, tell whoever it was I'll pee in a jar for her if she'll give me free food," joked Daniela, taking another bite.
When Daniela and Debbie were finished eating they left with Veronica and took Kev's truck to go to Target.
/
The next day, Daniela had work at the KG. It was inventory night and there were shelves that needed to be restocked. Linda began writing out a list of the things that needed to be refilled and handed it to Daniela.
Both of them heard the bell above the door ringing and looked up to see Ian walk in wearing his ROTC uniform.
"Better late than never," greeted Kash, moving over from the fridges.
"Even better, on time," complained Linda assessing Ian. "What's with the costume?"
"ROTC," answered Ian proudly. "I made lieutenant colonel today." Daniela gasped and rushed around the counter to hug her friend.
"Congrats, Ian!" She felt him chuckle against her as he squeezed her back.
"Thanks, El," she pulled back to see her friend positively beaming.
"That's great!" Congratulated Kash, carrying a box to a shelf.
"Congratulations. When I get back I want the new stock shelved with all the labels facing the same direction," ordered Linda. "I gave El a list of everything there is."
"Where are you going?" Frowned Kash to which both his wife and Daniela rolled their eyes. Linda had told him an hour ago where she was going.
"Your head is like a funnel," said Linda in exasperation. "The boy scout trip is this weekend."
"Muslim's have boy scouts?" Pondered Ian making Daniela snicker quietly.
When Linda finally left, Daniela got to work on bringing out the new stock. She walked in from the back to see Ian and their boss standing closely and making plans.
"Why do I feel like the third wheel here?" Questioned Daniela to herself. Kash turned and looked at her, embarrassed whereas Ian just grinned cheekily at her.
"Maybe you should finally get a boyfriend," joked the red-head as he took the box from her hand. "How long has it been?" Daniela flipped him off in response before placing her hands on her hips.
"I'll have you know, I've got a date on Friday," smiled Daniela. Ian looked at her in surprise and cut open the box.
"Really? Who's the unlucky gentleman?" He asked and laughed when she shoved him hard.
"Asshole. And his name is Simon. We have trig together."
"Oh yeah, I think I know the one. He's liked you for a while I think." Daniela frowned at her best friend as she loaded tubes of Pringles onto the shelf.
"How do you know?"
"He was always staring at you at school," answered Ian and Daniela shrugged.
"Doesn't mean he liked me. He thought we were dating though. And that we had broken up because you're dating Mandy now." Ian laughed and shook his head.
"Please, like I would date you," smirked the red-head. Daniela's mouth fell open in shock before she whacked him on the arm with another tube of Pringles.
A smirk of her own graced her face when her best friend yelped in pain.
/
"Hey," greeted Ian after school the next day. Daniela smiled at her friend and greeted him back. "You coming with us to see Father Pete?"
"Ew, Pedo Pete?" Scoffed Daniela throwing a disgusted look at her friend. "Why would you want to go and see him?"
"Well, Kev and V need a real priest to conduct the wedding otherwise they don't get the money V's dad left behind for her. So, Lip came up with an idea to use Carl as bait so we can blackmail him," informed Ian quickly and casually.
Daniela's eyes grew wide and she shook her head. "Wow." Shrugging her shoulders, she sighed. "Okay, it sounds interesting."
With that, the pair made their way to Ian's house and met up with Carl and Lip who were already waiting for them. Daniela ruffled Carl's hair as a hello and looked at Lip who gave her an unimpressed look.
"I suppose you're coming too?"
Daniela narrowed her eyes at the boy and held her chin up childishly. "Yes, I am."
Rolling his eyes, the boy sighed and gestured with his head for all of them to start walking.
As they made their way to the church, Lip and Ian began giving tips to Carl on what he should and shouldn't do.
"Smile," instructed Lip, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket and putting it in between his teeth. "Make it look like you actually want to be an altar boy."
"But I don't," frowned Carl angrily.
"Just pretend," spoke Ian.
"What do I do if he tries to take my pants off?"
"You hit him over the head with something heavy," responded Daniela as if it was obvious. "Just don't kill him." The small boy looked at her and laughed.
"Awesome."
"Or!" Interjected Lip, throwing a dark look at Daniela. "You just call out to us and we'll come get you." Carl didn't seem as happy with his brother's option compared to Daniela's.
"Nah, I like her idea better." The girl fixed Lip with a satisfied smirk and continued walking ahead of them, feeling his narrowed eyes on her.
/
"Why do I have to do it?" Asked Carl once again as the four of them made their way through the seats and towards Father Pete's office.
"Because you're the only one who's young enough to be an altar boy," answered Lip smoothly behind them.
"We'll stop him before anything goes down," assured Ian from up on a row.
"Or anyone," smirked Lip. Daniela also found the comment amusing, the corner of her mouth tugging upwards before ruffling Carl's hair again.
"And if we don't get there in time, just do what I told you to do." The young boy looked up at her and smiled mischievously.
Ian knocked his fists against the door of Father Pete's office, causing the man to look up from his book. Daniela tried to fight a scowl at the sight of the repulsive man.
"The Gallagher boys!" He greeted before his eyes traveled to Daniela. "And Miss Kaufman. How lovely to see you." His beady eyes roamed her body before looking back to the boys. "If you're here to steal the offering basket, you're out of luck. Already off to the bank."
"No, no," denied Ian taking off Carl's beanie. "Carl here is interested in being an altar boy." Daniela could practically see Father Pete's eyes light up at the news.
"That's a big responsibility," he said.
"Yeah we know, we tried talking him out of it," sighed Lip as he rested a hand on his brother's shoulder. "But he cried and cried so we thought we'd bring him in."
Father Pete bent down and smiled at the young boy. "Hello there, Carl."
Daniela tried not to outright laugh at the boy's poor effort of a smile.
"Be back for you in a bit, bud," whispered Lip to Carl before the three teenagers left the office.
Daniela made her way to the seats and stood on top of one, looking up at the ceiling and over the railing below. She hadn't been to church in forever. While she wasn't exactly religious, she had certain beliefs and had attended church with her mom and brother.
"Wanna watch Scarface tonight?" Asked Lip to his brother.
"Can't, got a date."
"Ooh, Mandy date or Kash date?"
"Kash date," admitted Ian placing Carl's beanie on the seat beside him.
"You're a slut, man," grinned Lip cheekily. His attention turned to Daniela who was still wandering around looking at the church. "How 'bout you?" The girl turned and looked at him blankly.
"What?"
"You wanna watch Scarface tonight?" Daniela raised an eyebrow at him. She found it hard to believe he would actually want to spend time with her.
Shrugging her shoulders, she shook her head. "Can't. Got a date."
"Ugh, you two suck," groaned Lip, leaning against the railing.
"Maybe you should make some friends."
"No thanks."
A grunt sounded out from Father Pete's office, ending their conversation. The three teens opened the door to see Carl standing over a pained Father Pete, swinging a thurible. Daniela laughed loudly at Carl's smug expression.
"Nice job, Carl!"
"Looks like we have a priest for V's wedding," smirked Lip throwing a pitiful look at the man curled up on the floor.
/
After the priest was secured, Daniela split off from the three boys and made her way home to prepare for her date.
Not really sure what to wear, she went fashionably-casual, choosing a nice shirt, jeans and flats. Simon had messaged her saying he would pick her up at 7:30 from her house leaving Daniela with two hours to get ready.
More than enough time.
She was done by 7 and so decided to go and see what her brother was doing downstairs. He was sat at the kitchen table, looking over some papers she deducted as bills judging by the crease in his forehead.
Daniela moved to stand behind him and peered over his shoulder.
"Hospital bills?" She questioned with a grimace.
"Yeah," answered Jakob, rubbing a thumb over his mouth. The girl sighed and sat down beside him.
"Can we afford it?"
"Just," scoffed Jakob before going quiet. "I'm thinking about selling the shop." Daniela frowned at her brother curiously.
"Why?"
"Well, for starters, it started out as a cover-up for dad to sell illegal items and now it just sits there. There's not much money rolling in from it. And I don't exactly enjoy the idea of running it for the rest of my life."
"What would you do instead?"
"I don't know," shrugged Jakob. "Get a real job. I've got skills and my diploma." Daniela nodded and looked down at her hands.
She had never really cared for the auto-repair shop so the decision didn't really bother her. It was just the question of where they would get money from if they closed down.
"I think you should just do what you want. If you want to sell it, sell it. But maybe just make sure you have a job set up before you do it." Jakob nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Thanks, Dani."
A knock at the door caught Daniela's attention as she rose from her seat. Jakob threw her a curious look.
"You going out with, Ian?" The girl shook her head and picked up a small shoulder-strap bag.
"No, um, it's a date." Daniela watched as her brother's eyebrows raised slowly. Casting a quick glance at the door he narrowed his eyes at his sister.
"Do I need to give him the talk?" The girl rolled her eyes and shoved her brother making him belt out a laugh.
"Dick," she muttered, moving to open the door. She smiled when she saw Simon standing out on her porch.
"Hey, Simon." The boy looked nervously excited before pulling out a single rose from behind his back.
Shyly, he handed it out to Daniela who took it with a soft smile.
"For you."
"I thought we agreed on no roses?" She joked before lifting the flower to her nose and sniffing. Her lips curled into a smile at the scent. "Let's get going." Simon nodded quickly and was shocked when Daniela looped her arm through his as they made their way towards the L.
/
The pair came to a restaurant and Daniela's eyes lit up when she saw that it was an all-you-can-eat buffet. She turned and gave Simon an excited look as they made their way inside. It was by no means a fancy restaurant, neither of them would be able to afford that. But it wasn't a dump either.
The hostess led them to a booth before encouraging them to eat to their heart's content.
"I will don't you worry", assured Daniela. The boy across from her laughed as they got up to fill their plates.
Simon had already returned by the time Daniela got back but hadn't begun eating. The girl slid her plate onto the table before shuffling herself into the booth.
"This looks amazing!" Beamed Daniela happily.
"Not as amazing as you," spoke Simon.
Smooth.
"That was terrible."
"I realized as soon as I said it. I'm sorry."
As the two settled in and began eating, Daniela realized that she didn't really know Simon and began to ask him questions.
Over the course of the next two hours, she learned that Simon: had an older sister named Amber who was away at college, was allergic to dogs, liked the color orange, lived with his mother and that his parents were separated, that he was actually quite smart, and that he hated public speaking.
Daniela had told him the basics of her life, not really going into much detail about her father's incarceration. She figured he probably had a broad idea of it all seeing as it ended up traveling throughout the neighborhood.
By the end of the night, Daniela was delightfully stuffed. Simon had walked her home and had been hesitant about what was appropriate for a first date. Daniela had taken the lead and kissed him on the cheek. The boy had then walked happily home, a wide smile on his face.
Daniela made her way up the stairs and collapsed on her bed. She had probably eaten too much but she didn't really care because she hadn't been able to do that in forever. Stretching herself out, she quickly drifted asleep.
/
The big day was here; Kev and V's wedding. Well, fake wedding.
Nevertheless, Daniela was excited and had even splurged some of her money from work to buy a gift from the registry. She wrapped it up beautifully, her artistic and perfectionist skills coming into place.
The girl showered and washed her hair, getting rid of the night before. She had woken up to two texts from Simon. One from when he had gotten home saying how much of a good time he had had and another from that morning wishing her a good day.
After typing back a quick response, she got out of bed and made her way into the bathroom to shower.
Once she had finished combing her wet hair and tying it up into a bun, Daniela grabbed her scarf and jacket before walking to the Gallagher house. She had to see Ian and make sure they were still going to the wedding together.
When she stepped into the house, she saw Veronica walking around the lounge in only her underwear. Fiona was sat on the couch beside Kev and Daniela couldn't stop the loud laugh that came from her mouth when she saw that he had a giant dick drawn onto his face.
Bachelor party must've been wild.
"I'm the maid of honor at your fake wedding and I didn't even know you had a brother!" Mused Fiona. Daniela frowned at Veronica and casually pointed a finger at her.
"You have a brother?" The woman gave her an exasperated look and continued pacing around in her bra and underwear.
"There's a reason for that," replied Kev lowly.
"He busted out of prison?" Guessed Fiona and Daniela was momentarily worried when Veronica informed them of her brother's colorful criminal record. The girl's eyes caught onto a figure making their way down the stairs.
"That's a good look on you," she smirked at Lip, crossing her arms and looking at his name written backward across his forehead. Lip frowned at her, obviously not knowing what she was talking about.
"Arson, who you talking about?" He asked instead, turning his attention towards Veronica.
"V's brother," answered his sister with wide eyes.
"Oh is that like a sibling-brother or just a black guy-brother?"
Daniela rolled her eyes at him before moving around him and heading up the stairs to see if Ian was there. When she saw that he wasn't, Daniela turned to leave but found herself colliding with another body.
Lip's arms reached out to steady her instantly. She expelled a sharp breath, thankful for his quick reflexes given her terrible balance. She looked up at him to see him staring back with narrowed eyes.
"Watch where you're going," he warned irritably.
Daniela rolled her eyes as they traveled further up to his forehead. She scoffed back a laugh.
"Mm, you might wanna wash this off," she joked snidely while gesturing to her own forehead.
The boy's eyebrows crinkled once more before he moved to the bathroom door to see the writing in the mirror. Groaning, he marched over to the sink and began rubbing it off with water to little avail.
Daniela raised an eyebrow and watched as he struggled to get it off. The writing had been done with permanent marker and was more difficult to get off than a regular pen.
Uncrossing her arms, she sighed and walked up behind him.
"That's not going to do anything," she said. At the sound of her voice, Lip's frustrated eyes met hers in the mirror.
"I suppose you have a better idea?" He quipped dryly. Daniela tilted her head slightly. She just might.
"Got any nail polish remover?"
The boy nodded and gestured up onto a shelf where the bottle sat. Daniela nodded and grabbed it before getting a towel from the cupboard and wetting it with warm water.
Using her foot, she put the toilet lid down and gestured for him to sit. Lip gave her a wary look before complying. Daniela tilted the bottle upside down with the towel flush against it. She held it for two seconds before turning it right side up and setting the bottle down on the sink.
"Close your eyes," she ordered and once he had, she began gently wiping the towel against his forehead.
"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Mumbled Lip carefully. Daniela rolled her eyes at the boy and continued to wipe.
"Of course I do." She had needed to get ink out of her skin plenty of times before and this always helped.
Continuing her administrations, Daniela happily noticed that the ink was starting to fade away. Folding the tip of the towel over, she kept wiping. Lip's nose crinkled at the smell of the nail polish remover.
"Why the fuck does it smell so bad?"
"It's acetone," informed Daniela absently. One of the boy's eyes popped open and looked up at her.
"It won't kill me will it?" The girl rolled her eyes at his question and shook her head.
"No, it won't kill you. I just have to make sure I don't apply too much."
Standing back, Daniela smiled at her good work and leaned over towards the sink to dampen another piece of the towel and rub soap onto it. Both of Lip's eyes were open now and staring at her as she moved back and began dabbing his forehead again.
"This should be the last bit and then you'll be all done...there." Daniela nodded to herself, assessing her work, before cleaning everything up and putting it in its place.
Lip stood from the toilet and looked into the mirror, happy to see that the writing was now gone. Giving his brother's friend a look of approval, he nodded his thanks.
"No problem," responded Daniela lightly. "Any idea where Ian is?"
"Last time I checked, he went out with Mandy," he shrugged. Daniela pursed her lips and nodded.
"Alright, thanks. I'll see you at the wedding."
She folded the towel over her arm and made her way down the stairs into the kitchen. Leaving the towel neatly on top of the washer, she turned and made her way out the back door.
It was an hour and a half later when she got a call from Ian.
"Hey," she greeted cheerfully. "You still my date for the wedding?" Daniela's smile dropped when she heard Ian sigh and she knew the plans had changed.
"Yeah, about that. Sorry, El but Mandy really wanted to come and since we're like 'dating' now I thought it would make more sense for us to go together. Plus she's never been to a wedding."
"It's not even a real wedding," accused Daniela.
She knew she shouldn't have been so angry at him but it was getting harder to get in some good time with her friend. She had hoped today would be a good opportunity for it.
Daniela hadn't replied yet and her friend was starting to grow worried.
"Is that okay, El?"
Daniela swallowed her anger and childishness before nodding. When she realized that he couldn't hear her nodding, she replied verbally.
"Yeah, that's fine, Ian. No biggie." She could hear the relief in her friend's voice when he spoke again.
"Cool. I'll see you there."
With a half-hearted confirmation in response, Daniela ended the call and sat slouched on her bed.
She didn't want to show up to the wedding alone. She couldn't. And yeah she was all for empowering herself but that didn't mean she wanted to spend the rest of her night looking sad and lonely. Fake wedding or not, she needed a date.
Pulling out her phone again, Daniela looked through her contacts before settling on one and calling it.
"Daniela!" Simon's bubbly greeting sounded out over the phone. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling great. I called to ask you something actually." The girl bit her lip nervously. "Do you have any plans for today?"
"No, not that I can think of." Daniela took a deep breath and mustered up her courage. She had never asked someone out before.
"Would you like, want to come to a wedding with me? You don't have to, obviously,"
"I'd love to!" Daniela could practically hear Simon's smile in his voice.
"Great! Um, I'll meet you at the Alibi at 3."
"Sounds good," affirmed Simon before hanging up.
Daniela looked at her alarm clock to see that she had two hours before she had to meet with Simon and quickly got to work.
/
It was now five past three as Daniela got up to the door of the Alibi. Her hands fumbled with the ends of her dress before reaching up to make sure that her hair was in place and still looked good. She hadn't gone all out for today, but she definitely didn't look under-dressed.
Her dress was a lovely yellow, the color seeming to accentuate her tanned skin. It came to just above her knees and flowed out around her nicely. She had paired the dress with some white flats and a few pieces of jewelry. Her hair was natural, the long chestnut waves falling over her shoulders and behind her back softly.
Under one arm was her wedding gift.
Daniela smiled widely when she caught sight of Simon standing outside the bar. He returned her smile.
"You look amazing," he gushed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Daniela felt the heat rise up in her cheeks and stared at the pavement in embarrassment. Glancing up through her lashes, she gave him a look of approval.
"You don't look too bad yourself." Simon laughed and held out his arm for her to take.
"Shall we?" He asked smugly, raising an eyebrow.
"We shall," chuckled Daniela, looping her arm through his.
/
"May daily problems never cause you undue anxiety, nor the desire for earthly possessions, dominate your lives." Daniela watched and smiled softly as Father Pete continued his speech. Carl was stood beside her and looked smugly at the priest, something the girl noticed in amusement.
Nudging him gently, she smirked at the boy who in turn, held back a laugh. Their attentions then turned back to the couple getting married.
"Amen," finished Father Pete with a look of happiness.
"Amen!" The crowd responded and Daniela felt the need to add a 'whoop!' to hers. Simon chuckled beside her and gently pulled her against his side, something she was not at all against.
"You may now kiss the bride!" With the Father's last proclamation, the bar erupted into loud cheers of congratulations- Daniela being one of the loudest.
"I'm married, bitch!" Yelled Veronica gleefully. Daniela threw her head back in a laugh and clapped for her friends.
When they began to hurt from clapping too much, the girl accepted Simon's invitation to dance.
He spun her under his arm, making Daniela cheer with excitement. She was pulled back, flush against her date and stared up at him.
"Thanks for coming with me," said Daniela as she leaned her head against his chest.
"No problem. Although, no girl has ever asked me to a wedding as a second date," joked Simon. She could feel his chest rumble from his laugh before she pulled back.
"Don't be getting any ideas."
"Never."
Leaning forward, Daniela carefully pressed her lips against his. It didn't take him long to respond, their mouths settling into a rhythm.
Feeling the need to breathe, Daniela pulled back and looked at Simon happily.
"Do that again!" Yelled a voice from beside them. Daniela looked to see Carl recording them, a grin plastered on his face. With a laugh, she shoved the camera in another direction and shook her head at the boy.
"Get out of here you little perv."
/
As the night went on, Daniela threw back a few drinks and quickly became hungry. Her sweet tooth was craving cake and she had heard from a reliable source that it was from Angelica's Bakery.
Moving over to where Veronica was, she smiled at her friend.
"Is there any cake?" The woman rolled her eyes and looked over to where Fiona was.
"Steve's supposed to be bringing it."
That answer was enough for Daniela to gather why it wasn't here yet. Although she didn't know Fiona's boyfriend very well, she did notice that he seemed to be a bit flaky.
Daniela pursed her lips and rubbed her belly sadly. Veronica downed a shot before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
"I'm gonna go ask her about it," With that, the newlywed was off and across the room to where Fiona was.
Daniela watched them talk before Ian moved up to stand beside her. The red-head nodded to where Simon was coming out of the bathroom and raised an eyebrow.
"He's cute. I approve."
Daniela let out a breathy laugh and shook her head. She felt her friend's arm come around her shoulder and she leaned comfortably into it.
"Mandy looks like she's having a good time," she said, throwing a pointed look at the other girl. Ian nodded and smiled.
The two friends continued to talk and laugh. Soon their dates joined them and the group fell into easy conversation. Daniela was happy to see that Simon and Ian had hit it off.
"Hey, Gallaghers!" Called Kev holding his arms up. The family looked at the tall man to see him holding a camera. "Come here." Daniela watched and stood from the side as the man got them to pose for a photo. "Okay, Gallaghers, you're the only family I've got so let's put this on film."
"Do you want me to take the photo?" Asked Daniela, moving beside him. Kev gave her a large grin before wordlessly handing over the camera and getting into place.
"Okay, on three ready? 1. 2. 3," the camera flashed as it snapped the family. Daniela checked it to make sure it looked good and moved to hand the camera back.
"Ooh, no you don't!" Objected Kev. "Get in here, El." The girl stared at him and Veronica in mild shock.
"Really?" His wife rolled her eyes in humor at the girl before waving her over.
"Get in here, girl. You're family too!" Daniela felt her heart swell in her chest from the love these people had for her. She felt Simon gently take the camera out of hands before nudging her over to the group.
The girl happily got down beside Ian and Carl, the older boy throwing the usual arm around her shoulder. Simon took three photos, making sure they were all good.
"Wait, where's Lip?" Asked Fiona abruptly. The rest of them looked around to find that he wasn't anywhere to be seen. Ian sent his friend a knowing smirk.
"I think I have a feeling where he is." Daniela rolled her eyes and scoffed in response, getting the hint. She was sure she had seen him and Karen sneak into the bathroom a while ago.
When it became late and Daniela could feel the tiredness running through her body, Simon offered to walk her home.
The pair eventually came to a stop outside her door and Daniela reached up to press one more soft kiss against his lips before saying goodnight and heading inside.
Making her way upstairs, she barely managed to get her dress off before she was out like a light.
Like I said at the start, next chapter is when things really start to move. I hope you enjoyed and please don't forget to review, they're always encouraging and make me want to write more.
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