Chapter 14.
SORRY! Let me just explain that I've been preparing for exams and just finished them today meaning that I am now free to put this out. Yaaay! I would really like to thank all of you who left a review for last chapter. It was the most so far and it felt really good and made me want to get back to you all even faster.
Enjoy!
Special thanks to vany, x NikiSt x , soccergurl382, blue Wren, ItsMalecNotLeviosA, littlelovelylottie, guest, Spencee98, gracious dweeb, annechou59, lostboysgirl18, CCL, kikip98, Shorte-J, AGingerKitten, kimboik, Starbucksluv, TheShastaMasta and bvblover1230!
Holy fuck that's a lot. THANK YOU!
Disclaimer: I don't own Shameless.
Daniela strolled into the Gallagher residence, a cheerful smile slapped on her face. Not only had summer holidays just begun, but she had finally received her grades for the year. Needless to say, she was ecstatic.
She whipped up the stairs, ruffling Carl's hair on the way to the boys' room. The door was already open when she entered, with the two eldest boys sprawled out on their beds as per usual. The windows were wide open as the weather had finally begun heating up; another thing that delighted Daniela.
Ian turned his head to look at her, smiling in greeting. It was then replaced with a frown when he saw her open up their drawers and dig through them.
"Uh, what are you doing?"
With a satisfied sigh, Daniela brought her hand out holding one of Lip's nicer shirts before grabbing some jeans. She practically skipped over to the teen's bunk, dumping the clothing on him unceremoniously.
"Put this on," she ordered firmly, ignoring his curious look. Lip held the shirt up above his face to inspect it.
Frowning, he sat up on the bed. He couldn't help but notice the bright smile she wore. "Why?"
Daniela rolled her eyes, her smile still permanent. She placed her hands on her hips and watched him patiently. "I'm taking you out."
Lip's eyebrows hiked up. On the other side of the room, Ian's did the same.
"Why?" Lip asked again.
"I got my results back for the Physics exam," began Daniela slowly and suddenly Lip's interest piqued.
She had come a long way from when he had started tutoring her. Lip honestly thought it couldn't be done. Yet, by some miracle, she began to pick up on the Science more and more. "I got a B!" Exclaimed Daniela, throwing her arms up in the air.
Ian let out a whoop of cheer as he jumped up from his bed to hug his best friend.
"Congrats, El!"
"Thank you," blushed the girl. She turned her head back to Lip who had dropped down from his bunk to stand in front of her. He wore a smile and hugged her quickly.
"Hell yeah! Congratulations," cheered Lip. Daniela chewed on her lip, feeling the wave of accomplishment roll over her. "I knew you could do it."
Daniela shook her head. "Not without you." Realizing how differently that statement could be taken, she grabbed the clothes off of his bed and shoved them into his chest.
"Which is why I'm taking you out. To say thank you."
Lip stared down at her, eyes flicking over her face. His mouth opened to speak but stopped when the girl held up a hand.
"It's not up for negotiation, Phillip. So hurry up and get changed." With one last look, she made her exit, giving him some privacy to get changed.
Once she left the room, Lip glanced at his brother with a raised eyebrow. Ian just shrugged, smirking slightly.
/
Daniela chewed on the straw of her milkshake. She didn't want to admit it but nerves had piled up in her stomach. She wouldn't say it was butterflies- God no! Rather, it was the fact that she and Lip were at a sit-down dinner- well not really. They were at a small diner albeit the best one on the South Side.
Still, the idea that it was just going to be the two of them was something that had slipped her mind when she came up with the plan. This was to be her opportunity to thank Lip for all the help. Yet somehow it felt more like she had trapped herself in an awkward situation.
Neither had really brought up what happened between them almost three months ago. Instead, they had glided over it, burying it in the past. Well, at least, she tried to. Daniela wasn't going to lie and say it was an easy thing to do.
Lip and Karen had rekindled their relationship; something that affected the girl more than she thought it would. Still, she digressed and slid back into the position of a good friend.
It didn't stop the insistent thoughts that would slip to the forefront of Daniela's mind. It had happened once in Physics class when they were doing an experiment in teams. Lip had been in hers when the images sprung to mind, causing her to turn a deep shade of red.
It unsettled her.
This was the first time in a long time that the pair had actually hung out- apart from the tutoring lessons. The school work had been a happy distraction for them but now they didn't have that. Tonight it was just the two of them.
Lip read over the menu, a slight crease in his forehead. Daniela, already knowing what she wanted, took the time to admire how well he scrubbed up. Lip hadn't gone all out. But the girl definitely took notice of how well he wore the plain white dress shirt and jeans. Her eyes traveled across his arms and over his chest.
Realizing she was staring rather obviously, Daniela coughed and leaned her forearms atop the table.
"The steak here is really good," she piped up, grabbing his attention. Lip looked up from his menu and nodded.
"You been here before?"
This time she nodded. "Simon brought me here a few weeks ago." At the mention of the other boy, Lip felt a tug of annoyance. Daniela had gone out on a few more dates with Simon over the past few months but nothing between them was really official. She found that she enjoyed the other boy's company.
The pair were saved from the slight tension by the waitress asking for their orders.
"The cheeseburger with extra pickles and fries please," ordered Daniela.
"I'll have the steak and wedges, thanks," finished Lip. The waitress nodded, collecting their menus and leaving them alone once again.
"You know you didn't have to do this right?" Began Lip once she was gone.
"I wanted to," shrugged Daniela, toying with her sleeve. "You deserve it for managing to put up with me and pulling off a miracle."
He waved the praise off casually and took a sip of water. The girl raised an eyebrow at him.
"You're awfully humble," she commented humorously. Lip chuckled to himself and leaned back in his chair. "I was expecting your head to inflate from all this praise."
He rolled his eyes in response, a slight smirk on his face. "Well, it is well deserved. You weren't lying when you said it was a miracle," he placed a hand on his chest.
"I mean I honestly thought all of my hard work and efforts was in vain. But true enough, I pulled off my magic." Lip smirked at her. "Who knows what you'd do without me. You were terrible, I honestly thought it couldn't be don-"
Daniela scrunched up a napkin and threw it at his face, catching him in the eye.
"Okay, that's enough now," she laughed. "What are your plans for the summer?"
Lip contemplated it for a few moments, throwing another shrug once again.
"Me and Kev were gonna fire up the ol' ice-cream truck again. You know the one?" She did. She remembered him and Kev driving around in it the previous summers.
"Aside from that, I've been managing a few guys in the fight clubs." Daniela's eyes widened at that one.
"What for?" She questioned curiously.
"I have a few guys who fight and I make money off of the bets placed on them. Well, that's if they win. It's quite lucrative. You should come to one, Ian does sometimes." She tilted her head, biting down her lip.
"Sure, why not. Let me know when the next one is."
"Will do," agreed a smiling Lip. He flicked his head at her. "What about you?"
"Oh," she fidgeted with her napkin. "Um, well I was thinking of going to this art thing in the city. It's just a meet up for young artists to network with each other. Not that I'd ever consider myself an artist. I thought it would be a good experience," answered Daniela hesitantly. Lip assessed her with a nod.
"From what I've seen, you're pretty good." The girl crawled into herself a little from the praise. She was still harnessing her skills.
She quirked an eyebrow at him. "You've seen my stuff?"
Lip shrugged uncomfortably and nodded. "Yeah, sometimes when I pass the Art room I see you working on some pieces or I see them on the walls."
Their conversation was interrupted once again by the waitress carrying their food. She placed the plates down on the table and left Daniela and Lip to dig into their meal.
/
ONE WEEK LATER
"Holy shit!" Cursed Daniela with a wince. Her hands rested on her cheeks, her fingers covering her eyes slightly. The abandoned building they all stood in was only illuminated by the dingy yellow ceiling lights. Cheers and bets rang out around her as all eyes stayed glued on the two men brawling in the middle of the circle.
Lip took another stiff punch to the cheek eliciting deep hisses from Daniela, Ian, and Mandy. The guy he was fighting was much larger, managing to make Lip look like a stick in comparison.
"Come on, Lip!" Yelled Ian to his brother in encouragement. Daniela stood quietly, taking everything in. The energy in the air tickled the hairs on her arms and back of her neck.
She took a swig from her beer and watched as Lip tried-and-failed- to throw a hit back. In retaliation, the other guy grabbed him by the head, driving his knees into Lip's stomach leaving him winded. He stumbled backward into them with Ian catching him.
"Kick him back," ordered Ian. "You're punching like a fag." He shoved him back into the middle as the cheers rang out even louder around them. The other guy grabbed him around the waist, hoisting him up to slam him down on his back.
"Oh!" Cried out Daniela at how painful it looked. The other guy was now on top, laying into Lip.
The referee clanged the bell, signaling the end of Round 1. Lip was let up and headed back to his corner taking a seat on a wooden crate in front of the trio.
"Hey Mandy," he greeted casually. She had shown up halfway through the round. The Milkovich girl smirked and waved.
"You know you're supposed to hit him back right?" Joked Ian, pulling out a rag to wipe the blood and sweat off of Lip's face.
"Fuck that kid hits hard," winced Lip as he tilted his head back. Daniela stared down at him with crossed arms.
"Yeah no shit. Look at him, he's huge," she gestured with her hand to the other guy's corner.
"Yeah well I didn't think he'd be able to punch me with his foot. He kicked the top of my head."
Daniela glanced across again to Lip's opponent. She froze when she saw the guy's eyes were also on her. His eyes looked over her slowly as his coach yelled words in his ear. The guy threw her a small smirk causing Daniela to turn back to her friends quickly, her cheeks pink.
Lip watched with a weird look, feeling his jaw clench slightly. Ian pulled his attention away and grabbed his face.
"You wanna throw in the towel?" He asked.
Lip laughed and shook his head. "I would if I was smart."
The referee rang the bell again, signaling the start of the next round. Lip walked to the middle quickly managing to catch the guy with a punch to the cheek.
"Woo!" Cheered the three of them from the corner. However, their cheers quickly turned to winces when Lip suffered another hard hit.
/
"We make anything on my fight?" Asked Lip, taking a cigarette out of his pocket.
"Nobody wanted the odds," shook Ian.
"Well then what did you put on it?"
"What, on the fight you lost?" Laughed Ian and Mandy. "Nada. Fraternal loyalty doesn't extend to stupidity."
Lip scoffed a laugh and turned his attention to Daniela. "What about you?"
The girl scoffed and shook her head no. "No chance I was losing my hard-earned money," she grinned. Lip shoved her with Daniela doing it back until it was a shoving war.
"Calm down, kiddies," scolded Ian playfully behind them. Daniela laughed, slinging her arms around the neck of her friend and hopping on his back. Ian carried her as Lip asked Mandy when Mickey was getting out soon. Daniela could feel Ian's body shake in anticipation for the Milkovich's release.
"In about a week or so," answered Mandy. "If he doesn't stab anybody else."
"You gotta be looking forward to having Mickey home again," wondered Lip, taking a puff of his cigarette. Daniela noticed the large bruise on his cheek and winced. It looked painful.
She flicked Ian's ear when Lip asked the question even though it was intended for Mandy. Ian rolled his eyes and purposely jostled his back, almost dropping his friend.
"Rude," deadpanned Daniela after letting out a shriek. Her friend sent a smirk over his shoulder but continued to give her a piggy-back ride.
When they reached the main road, Lip pulled out a stack of bills and handed them to Ian.
"Hey, I wanna stage another fight next week." He handed the bills to Ian. "Go around to the dojos, round up some more scrappers."
"Sure," nodded Ian pocketing the cash. "Where are you going?"
Lip had already begun walking off. "Karen's," he stated. Daniela fought the urge to roll her eyes.
"Thought you gave up on that!" Yelled back his brother, clearly not impressed. He had been pissed at Karen when he found out that she had had sex with Frank. From then on, he had been amicable to the blonde but only for his brother.
"Karen Jackson?" Critiqued Mandy with a smirk. "After that thing with your dad?" Daniela stayed quiet, slowly climbing down Ian's back.
"I'm sneaking antibiotics into his toothpaste, just in case," he told them.
/
"Good morning, brother," greeted Daniela as she walked into the kitchen the next morning. Jakob stood leaning against the kitchen sink, a coffee cup in hand.
"Good morning, munchkin," he replied causing the girl to scoff. She made herself a bowl of cereal and plopped down on a seat at the table. As she heaped spoonful's into her mouth, Daniela noticed her brother's attire.
"What are you wearing?" Jakob glanced down at himself.
"Oh, this is the training uniform. We're doing some physical testing today," he explained happily. "I'm supposed to be catching a ride with Tony."
"Well, where is he?" Frowned his sister. The man cocked his head towards the kitchen window.
"Still trying to worm his way into Fiona's heart," he laughed sipping at his coffee. Daniela shook her head at the thought of the man.
"We both know that's not going to happen."
"Yeah, tell that to him. I swear all he talks about is her and 'that asshole Steve'." Daniela's eyes lowered to her bowl of cereal at the mention of Jimmy-Steve. He seemed to have dropped off the face of the Earth way back when the boys were arrested.
Jakob moved over to the window and looked out.
"Looks like he's all done. See you later, squirt." As the man passed, he ruffled her hair making her growl.
Once the door closed, Daniela pondered on what she was going to do that day. She had a few hours to kill before she had to go to work. Ian was working, Debbie was running an illegal day care that she wasn't really up to helping with today, and her and Jakob were already planning on going to see her Mom later that night.
That left Lip.
Sighing, she cleaned up, threw on some shades before making her way to the Gallagher house. As she walked past Kev and Veronica's house, Daniela noticed that Lip was already there. Kev was reclined in a garden chair as Ethel did some gardening.
"The tomatoes look great, Ethel," commented Daniela, walking towards them. The young girl looked up from her spot and dirt and smiled angelically.
"Thanks, Daniela. It's a special fertilizer," explained Ethel before going back to her work. Kev peered up at her through his sunglasses and grinned.
"How's it going, El?" She shrugged, shoving her hands in the back pockets of her shorts.
"Nothing much. I have a few hours to kill and I'm bored shitless. Was wondering if you guys were doing anything interesting."
Kev nodded in understanding and perked up in his seat. "Well, today's your lucky day, D. Because Lip and I are fixing up the truck today. You're welcome to join us." Daniela nodded happily, looking between Kev and Lip.
The older man rubbed his hands together in anticipation and stood up.
"Let's go!"
/
"Ta-da!" Grinned Kev as he and Lip pulled off the plastic tarp. The truck looked like it had definitely seen better days.
"You try starting this thing since last summer?" Asked Lip, walking around to inspect all sides of it. Daniela wiped a finger across the hood and pulled it away to look at the thick layer of dust.
"Nope," answered Kev.
"How's the crop coming?"
"It's almost harvest time." Daniela walked to the door and climbed the first step to peer inside.
"Oh hey," called out Kev. "Careful, I have to chase the rats out of the coolers." Instantly, she was a meter away from the truck, a grimace marring her face. Both Lip and Kev laughed at her.
"Oh shut up," she said flipping both of them off. Wiping her hands on her shorts, she headed over to Lip who was looking over the engine.
"You know anything about them?" He asked absently, sticking his hand in to move something around.
"Not really," admitted Daniela. "I mean, my dad and brother are Einstein's when it comes to this stuff but I never really hung around the shop much."
Lip nodded along, listening while he tried to get the engine going.
"Okay, well do you at least know your tools?" When she nodded, he pointed towards Kev's truck. "There's a toolbox in the back." Daniela moved from her spot to pull it out of the truck and over to Lip. He glanced over his shoulder and gestured his head at it.
"Pass me a wrench."
"Can't you get your own tools?" Asked Daniela, annoyed. Lip stopped to turn and look at her.
"Do you wanna help or not?" She rolled her eyes but passed the wrench to him anyway.
It went like that for half-an-hour until Daniela's legs got sore from standing. To fix the problem, she found a bucket and moved it beside the tools. Lip fixed her with an unimpressed look when she sat down.
Kev eventually took off back to work, leaving the two- well one- to work.
"Flathead," droned Lip holding his hand out. Daniela passed it over, shuffling her feet in the dirt to make a dirt cloud.
"How did you learn about all of this?" She pondered, getting bored. Lip shrugged.
"I read books about it and just played around with a few engines to understand them." Daniela nodded, her question answered.
The sun continued to beat down on them, tanning her arms and legs. Even though she wasn't doing much, Daniela felt the beads of sweat on her body.
"Fuck it's hot," she commented, fanning herself with her hand. She looked for something better to fan herself with, coming back with a chunk of cardboard.
Plopping herself back down on her bucket, Daniela began to cool herself down.
"Seriously?" Asked Lip skeptically, taking a break. "You're not even doing anything."
"Not true!" She argued back. "I am a great assistant." Lip laughed quietly and shook his head. Daniela turned the cardboard to fan him instead. "See?"
Lip nodded, enjoying the breeze. He tugged at the hem of his shirt and pulled it off. It caught Daniela off guard, making her stop her fanning.
Her mind told her to get a grip. This sight was nothing new to her.
Lip acted casual as ever heading back to his work. Daniela watched him and began fanning herself once again, trying to banish the heat in her cheeks that was most definitely not from the sun.
Nearly an hour later Lip was confident that he had fixed the engine. He tossed the keys towards Daniela, telling her to start it up.
She climbed in and turned it on, pumping on the gas to rev it up. After a few pumps, the engine roared to life. Lip let out a whoop of happiness and closed the hood to beat on it.
Daniela climbed out and stood beside him admiring their hard work. Well, Lip's.
"Not bad. We make a great team," grinned the girl. Lip scoffed in good humor.
"I'm pretty sure I did all the work."
"Excuse me, I handed you tools, I fanned you to keep you cool," listed Daniela on her fingers. She grabbed a rag from atop the tools and twisted it. Lip seemed to realize what she was going to do and held his hands up.
"Don't." Daniela laughed evilly and snapped it out at him, managing to catch him on the thigh. Lip jumped back and grabbed a second rag.
"You have no idea what you just did," he laughed. Daniela smirked and gestured for him to bring it. He snapped his rag at her but she managed to dodge it at the last second. She fought back viciously. Lip managed to eventually corner her and swung his rag so that it caught onto hers, knocking it out of her hand.
He continued to advance on her as she took more steps backward until she was pinned against the truck. Lip twisted the cloth ready to snap it when she held up her hands.
"I surrender! You win," she cried dramatically. Lip smirked and lowered his arm, his chest glistening with sweat.
"We have a problem," stated Kev coming out of nowhere, pausing for a moment to eye the two teens suspiciously. Daniela jumped at the shock. "We may need to sell some pot."
"Isn't that what you always do?" She frowned as Lip stepped away from her.
"A lot of pot," clarified Kev.
Daniela nodded and checked her phone. She had an hour before her shift started.
"Okay well, I'll see you guys later. I've got work and I need to shower." With a wave goodbye, she left.
Once she was gone, Kev fixed Lip with a sly look and tilted his head in the direction of Daniela. Lip looked at his friend and frowned.
"What?"
/
Daniela strolled into the K&G ten minutes early. Ian was still there, sat bored behind the cash register. He perked up when she walked in the door.
"Thank God you're here," he said tiredly. "I need to tell you something."
"What?" She replied worriedly. Ian shook his head, grabbed her hand and pulled her to the back. "Dude, what's going on?"
"Kash left," blurted Ian.
"Where did he go?" Frowned Daniela, not understanding what the big deal was.
"No," Ian shook his head. "Kash left. With another guy. Permanently."
The girl's eyes bugged. "Holy shit!" Ian quickly shushed her. "When the fuck did that happen?" She whispered angrily.
"This morning. He wanted me to tell Linda."
"What a fucking prick. Did you tell her?" Her friend went silent.
"Not yet," he admitted.
"Ian!"
"I didn't know what to do!" He cried in defense.
"Ugh, you shouldn't even be the one telling her. What about his kids? She's pregnant for Christ's sake!" Daniela shook her head. "Someone needs to tell her." At Ian's silence, she looked up to see that he was staring back with pleading eyes.
"No!" She denied adamantly. "No, no, no. I am not doing it."
"Please," her best friend begged, holding his hands together. "Think about it. Me- the guy who had sex with her husband- can't tell her that he's run off. You should do it, you're a girl."
"And?"
"And, you two could bond or some shit. Girl power, you know?" Daniela rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Come on, we both know you're the best option." She was silent for a long time.
Finally, she relented with a sigh. As she made her way out, Daniela turned to look at Ian who was sending her an encouraging thumbs up. She flipped him off in response.
/
Telling Linda hadn't been pretty. The bed-ridden woman had yelled out obscenities at the world and at her husband. Daniela had just stood there and let her. She truly felt awful for Linda.
She had spent the remainder of her shift going back and forth between manning the shop and heading upstairs to comfort Linda and try and make things easier.
When her shift was over, Linda had thanked her.
Now Daniela was stood in the hospital elevator with Jakob. It was quiet until he broke the silence.
"Hey, you wouldn't happen to know what happened to that bottle of whiskey I keep at the back of the cupboard, would you?" He pondered. Daniela shrugged casually, shaking her head.
"'Fraid not." Her brother didn't seem to believe her, giving her a knowing look.
"Mhm, well I expect whoever took it to replace it." Daniela gulped and nodded as the elevator doors opened.
They headed down the familiar halls to their mother's room. Camille was sat upright in her bed, joined by one of the nurses. She had been learning sign language over the last few months to communicate with people again.
Daniela and Jakob had been learning to and it was something she was interested in.
'Good afternoon', signed Daniela to the women. The nurse- Caroline- smiled and signed hello back.
'How are you feeling today?' signed Jakob to Camille. The woman lifted her hands to respond.
'Better'.
Caroline took them over a few more phrases and words, teaching them the actions.
/
The next morning, Daniela woke to the buzzing of her phone. She checked it and saw that it was Veronica asking if she was free to help out with a job. Texting back a quick reply, Daniela got ready and headed to the Alibi.
Kev took them all down the side alley and down some stairs. Daniela got a shady feel from it all. When the door was opened she let out an impressed laugh.
"Yeah," sighed Veronica, taking in the reactions of her friends. "Sad thing is we need to get rid of it all. So let's get to work."
The group began cutting down the dozens of marijuana plants and bagging them. As they were working, Ian caught her up on Liam being taken as leverage for one of Frank's stupid bets.
Daniela scoffed at Frank's antics, thankful that the toddler was safe back at home.
"Yeah but we still owe him 6Gs," said Ian.
"Why don't you give them some of these," she suggested gesturing to the plants. "It should more than make up for it."
"Good idea," nodded Fiona behind her. "I'll take some over after we're done". The woman then threw a pleading look at her best friend. Veronica sighed and rolled her eyes.
"You can take a bag home if you want." The boys cheered and bagged their own plant. "Take one too if you want, El." The girl wasn't sure she wanted to take a whole plant home and instead cut some off.
Once they were all bagged, they carried them out to Kev's truck. The group stood around looking at the weed. Kev seemed to almost be on the verge of tears at the thought of not being able to keep it.
"It just seems like a waste," he said to his wife. Veronica shook her head knowing the best option was to get rid of it.
"You got any better ideas?" Kev thought for a moment before grinning eagerly.
/
Daniela sat on the tailgate of Kev's truck watching as Ian poured gasoline over the mountain of weed. She, along with everyone else in the neighborhood, cheered when Kev lit it up.
Ethel came and sat next to her, eyeing the beer in Daniela's hand. Noticing her gaze, she offered out the bottle.
"Want some?"
"Oh," said a surprised Ethel. "No thank you." The young girl turned back to look at the spectacle with wonder. Daniela smirked at her.
"This must be a lot different to what you're used to."
"Yes. Very different," confirmed Ethel. "Our parties were usually to celebrate the gift of a new child. My husband, Clyde never let us drink alcohol, even though he did it himself." Daniela sat and listened, feeling bad for the girl for not living a normal life.
She kicked her feet. "You ever been high before?" She asked, already knowing the answer. Ethel turned red in embarrassment and shook her head. Daniela laughed and grabbed her wrist.
"Come on then," the teen pulled her towards the bonfire. Ethel trailed nervously behind. When they reached their friends, Kev and V let out a yell of excitement at Ethel joining them. Kev shook the girl's shoulders and threw an arm around them as Veronica encouraged her to breathe it in.
Daniela left her with them, making her way over to Ian, who was laughing at something Carl had done. The girl flung an arm around his side, resting her head on his shoulder.
Lip stood on the other side of her and held up his bottle to tap against hers.
Ugh, a lot of this chapter felt cheesy as hell. I'll fix it next chapter, hahaha. Also, I really like the idea of Daniela and Ethel being besties.
It's good to be back.
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