Chapter 15.
So yeah this one's pretty shit. These first few episodes were really hard to work with so I'm just trying to get them all over and done with. This one is a triple episode chapter- so 2,3&4.
Sorry if it seems all over the place. I just really needed to get past it because it was giving me a lot of grief.
Special thanks to x NikiSt x, blue Wren, ItsMalecNotLeviosA, sarabeara188, Doppelganger99, ImagineryFreak00, and Shorte-J!
Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless.
"Someone looks especially happy today," teased Daniela when she saw Ian. Her friend grinned at her and shrugged his shoulders.
"Mickey gets out today," he said, pulling on a t-shirt. "Mandy and I are going to pick him up."
"Right." Daniela nodded slowly and clicked her tongue. "Forgot about that." She continued to watch her friend get ready. Ian noticed her silence and turned to look at her.
"You okay?"
"Mhm. Yeah," assured Daniela with a wave of her hand. Her friend gave her a knowing look but didn't question her any further.
Standing up, she walked over to the small desk in the room, spotting a brochure. When she saw the name on it, she held it up to her friend.
"What's this?" Ian turned once again and stopped when he saw what she was holding.
He shook his head. "It's an admissions packet for West Point." Ian had been meaning to tell her but it had slipped his mind. Daniela watched him with shock-filled eyes.
"Ian, you haven't even finished high school yet."
"Yeah, I know. But I thought it would be a good idea to check it out anyway," explained the boy. "Lip found out too. He's helping me with the academic side."
Daniela let out a sigh and dropped her hand. Glancing down, she flipped through the pages, eyes skimming over the recruitment pictures.
"You sure you wanna do this?" She asked Ian seriously. Her friend nodded his head slowly in response. Sighing to herself, Daniela placed the papers back down and crossed her arms.
"You know I'll support you with whatever decision you make."
Ian looked at her, eyes full of relief, and smiled softly at her. "Thanks, El."
"Yeah," she nodded back. Moving forward, she threw her arms around him in a tight hug. Ian held onto her, thankful for the support of his best friend.
/
Daniela flicked through a teen magazine in boredom. It was a slow day in the shop and Linda was asleep upstairs, leaving her alone with no-one to talk to. She still had an hour to go on her shift before Ian came to take over.
She had yet to talk to her friend since Mickey had gotten out the day prior and she wasn't sure how she was going to handle tolerating Mickey. Daniela wasn't sure if the Milkovich knew that she was even aware of his relationship with Ian. Either way, the whole situation was going to a be tense one that she wasn't exactly looking forward to.
Her eyes skimmed over the article of the latest teen heartthrob when the bell above the door signaled customers. Glancing up, she did a double take at the sight of Ian with an annoyed looking Mickey following behind him.
His eyes snapped to hers and instantly she felt herself pumping out waves of animosity. Mickey stared back with a clenched jaw, obviously just as unhappy to see her.
Remembering her promise to her friend, Daniela turned her attention back to Ian who stood with his hands in his pockets.
"You're early," she commented with a raised eyebrow.
Ian nodded and leaned on the counter. "Yeah, I came to talk to Linda before I started." He pointed his thumb over his shoulder to Mickey who had moved over to perusing the shelves. "I was gonna ask if she could give him a job."
Daniela made a choked sound at her friend. "Why?" She asked curiously, eyeing Mickey warily.
"His parole officer said he needs to get a job otherwise he'll be thrown back in juvie," Ian explained defensively, knowing that she wouldn't like the idea. Daniela bit back asking if that was really a bad thing.
"Okay," she began slowly. "Even if Linda said yes, what would he be doing?"
Ian rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "Well, he was thinking he could do some security work." Daniela scoffed loudly, grabbing Mickey's attention.
"There a problem, Kaufman?" He asked angrily, advancing towards her. Ian stopped him by placing an arm on his chest.
"No, I just find it a little ironic is all," breezed the girl back, tilting her head.
Noticing that things had more than escalated, Ian began to diffuse the situation. He sent a pleading look at Daniela, urging her to calm down. The girl clenched her jaw but nodded.
"How's Linda doing?" Asked Ian, changing the subject. The other two noticed but let it happen, both caring for the Gallagher too much.
Daniela sighed with a shrug. "Fine. She keeps asking for weird sandwiches but she drifted off a little while ago. I think she's trying to not freak out over Kash for the baby."
"Prick," spat Mickey from his position against the counter. Daniela raised a surprised eyebrow at him but agreed.
"Yeah, pretty much."
Linda's voice crackled out over the baby monitor behind the counter. "Daniela, can you bring me a grape soda please?" The girl let out a breath and turned to give the security camera a thumbs up.
Walking over to one of the fridges, she pulled one out and handed it to Ian. "Here," she said casually. Ian took it with a frown. "Go ask her."
Ian nodded in realization, sending a look to Mickey before they both headed upstairs.
They re-surfaced a half-hour later and Daniela noticed the smug look on Mickey's face and gathered that he got the job.
Ian handed him a jacket with the word 'security' splayed across the back. As Mickey pulled it on Daniela felt a buzz in her pocket. Pulling out her phone, she saw that it was a text from Lip telling her to open the back loading door.
She walked over and lifted it up to see the ice-cream truck backed up and the back roller door open already. Lip smirked at her and hopped down as Kev got up from the driver's seat.
"How's it going, El?" Greeted the man with a wide grin that instantly made her return it. "We're here to load up the truck."
"Oh yeah," she remembered, going to pick up a checklist of all the things they had ordered. With a glance over her shoulder, Daniela gestured her head to Lip."Follow me. All of your stuff is in the back freezers."
Lip nodded, following behind dutifully. She directed him to the boxes of ice-creams and drinks and helped him carry them to the truck.
"How's business going?" Wondered Daniela.
"Pretty good, actually. We're gonna hit up the park after this. Should be plenty of customers." Lip handed his box over to Kev who began unloading it into the coolers.
He turned to give her a once-over. "You finishing up soon?"
"Yeah," nodded Daniela back.
"You should come along," suggested Lip casually. "We could use your help. Plus the younger boys are more drawn to buying from us if they see a pretty face." Daniela barked out a laugh and batted her eyelashes at him.
"You think I'm pretty?" She asked in a sickly, sweet voice. Lip's eyes traveled over her face for a moment. He had always thought she was attractive and it seemed to grow even more after that night all those months ago. He had pushed it to the back of his mind ever since, deciding to focus more on Karen instead.
"Mickey's working here now?" He asked her with a frown, changing the subject.
Daniela nodded, slightly put out. "Yeah. He's doing security." Lip didn't miss the irony in the situation as he let out a low chuckle.
"We're taking six cases of beer, Linda," spoke Lip to one of the security cameras.
"You two can put that back, or I can smash your skulls on the pavement," drawled Mickey calmly, not even looking at the two boys stuffing candy bars in their pockets. The two kids hurriedly put them back and left the store.
Daniela laughed quietly. "Subtle." Mickey gave her a smug shrug as Lip asked for their help moving some soda.
"Hey," called Mickey. "You want me to get you some blow? Uppers, downers, Special K?"
"You know, thanks, Mickey, but we're keeping it old school," denied Lip. "Beer, joints, cigarettes. No one under 14." He turned to his brother and pulled out some cash. "Ian, could you ask Linda to order more of those Rocket-Pops. And um, keep it up with those geometry theorems."
Daniela grabbed her bag from behind the counter and slung it over her shoulder.
"Okay, well my shifts up," she said joyously, patting Ian on the shoulder. "Have fun tending to Linda."
"Will do," sighed her friend, unenthused as Lip offered out a hand to help pull her up into the truck.
/
"Hey boys," grinned Daniela out the window. The two young kids stared up at her, one of them a little too shy to ask. She tried not to laugh at them. One of the boys shoved his friend, whispering at him to speak.
"Oh. Yeah," stuttered one of them. "Can we get two joints?" Daniela eyed them suspiciously.
"How old are you?"
"14," answered the other one, puffing out his chest. Daniela doubted they were telling the truth but pulled out the bag of joints anyway, waiting for them to hand over the money. The two boys high-fived each other, glad to have gotten away with it.
As they walked away, Daniela noticed a white bus pull up to the park before a group of elderly citizens began slowly piling out. She spotted Veronica getting out of the driver's seat along with another familiar figure.
Smiling, she turned to Lip and Kev. "Do you guys mind if I take a break?"
"Yeah sure, go ahead," answered Kev lazily. Lip watched as Daniela smiled and moved over to the group, her eyes trained on her grandmother.
Wilda was in the middle of an excited conversation with another woman when she spotted the teen heading over to her.
"Daniela!" She greeted, happily.
"Hey, Oma." The girl bent down to hug the aging woman. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, we were out on our weekly trip and a few of us asked Veronica if she could bring us to the park. We haven't been anywhere exciting in ages. I'm just glad to have gotten out of that shitty retirement home."
Daniela laughed and took hold of the handles at the back of her grandmother's wheelchair and began wheeling her over to an area where the rest of the elderly were joining in on a game of baseball.
She parked Wilda's seat beside a park bench already occupied by her grandmother's only friend from the home. Daniela plopped down beside them, immersing herself in the game.
As the heat began to rise, she noticed the uncomfortable looks filling the faces of the senior citizens.
"I'm sweating like a whore in a church," spoke a flustered Wilda, fanning herself with the opening of her thin cardigan. Daniela looked at her, tearing her eyes away from the game. A lightbulb went off in her head.
"How about an ice-cream?" Chirped the girl, already up and at the back of her grandmother's wheelchair. Wilda nodded quickly, longing for a frozen treat. Daniela rounded up the rest of the group before directing them over to the truck where Kev and Lip sat.
The two men gave her stunned looks when she reached them, a horde of the elderly trailing closely behind.
Instantly, they were lining up, desperate for something to cool them down. Daniela headed back into the truck to help with the mass of oncoming orders and money flying their way.
"Hell yeah!" Cheered Kevin brightly with a grin. "Good thinking, D."
"Yeah," agreed Lip seemingly impressed. "Nothing pays like hipsters, minors and the elderly." He clapped a hand on her shoulder, dragging it across her back as he went to grab some more frozen treats from the coolers. Daniela's eyes trailed after him, hating how easily his touch managed to make her skin flare up.
She decided to blame it on the heat.
The girl smiled a little, turning back to hand out a Rocket Pop to a man she knew was named Robert. He thanked her before tearing off the wrapper and diving in.
It continued like this as more of the elderly would come back to cool themselves down once again. After reassurance from Kev that he and Lip had it under control, Daniela wheeled Wilda back to a spot under a shady tree to continue watching the baseball game.
/
Meanwhile, back in the truck, Kev and Lip were counting up all the money they had received.
Lip leaned against one of the coolers, flipping through the bills. There was a lot running through his mind.
"Hey, uh," he began hesitantly. "If a chick, you know, she's taking it slow with a guy- not sleeping with him. What do you think that means?"
Kev sighed, picking up a beer. "Means you're not getting laid." He handed the can out to a boy outside the truck before turning his attention back to Lip.
"Gotta watch out for the chicks that don't sleep with you," he warned, tapping Lip's chest lightly. "You know what it means? It means they like you. Like, 'like-like', you. Like 'love you' like you."
Lip's eyes followed Kev as he made his way outside the truck closing up the windows. He chewed on the inside of his mouth. If what Kev said was true, then Karen really did like this Jody guy.
Absently, Lip's blue eyes glanced over Kev's shoulder to Daniela who sat underneath a tree laughing and talking to her grandmother.
"They keep, you know, holding back because they're so into you but they're also waiting for you to grasp how awesome they are," continued Kev with a grin. "So that when you do finally have sex for the first time you're 'making love' or some shit."
Lip's jaw clenched as he realized he could quite possibly be losing Karen. That wasn't something he wanted. He had told himself he was in love with her, even if he wasn't entirely sure he knew what love was.
Then there was that night after he found out about her and Frank where he thought he might not actually feel so strongly about her. And then Daniela was there, comforting him and being her usual helpful self. That night, when he kissed her, Lip forgot about Karen for a few moments.
He tuned back into Kev's words of wisdom as the man finished shooing away an underage customer.
"Chicks that hang out with you and don't sleep with you: run the other way, dude. Because she's ready to stop playing and settle down."
"Who's ready to settle down?" Asked Daniela, joining them in the truck. Lip's head snapped to her when she hopped in and took a seat. Kev made his way back around and got into the driver's seat.
"No-one. Just giving Lip here some relationship advice."
Daniela raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the boy. "About Karen?"
Lip shrugged in response, causing her to roll her eyes back as Kev started up the truck to take them home.
/
Over the next week and a half, Daniela didn't spend much time over at the Gallagher residence. Ian had been spending more and more time over at the Milkovich house with Mandy although Daniela suspected it was just a cover so that he could see Mickey. Even though she still saw her best friend on a regular basis at work, it wasn't strange to see Mickey very far behind him.
Aside from work, she had gone to visit her father again. It was now a normal thing where Jakob would drive her up to the prison every two weeks to see him. Their relationship was still on the mend but was without a doubt better than it had ever been.
Today she was headed over to the Alibi for Kev's 'beach-party' that she had been invited to.
Daniela walked in, noticing the various beach-themed decorations around the bar. Relaxing island music played over the speakers as the few people in the bar drank from plastic pineapple cups.
It was kind of sad really.
Kev spotted her as she entered and walked over.
"Thanks for coming, D," said the man gratefully. Daniela tore her eyes away from his bold Hawaiian-flower shirt.
"No worries, Kev. The place looks great," she smiled attempting to cheer up his gloomy look. Kev scoffed a laugh and slapped her on the shoulder.
"It's a fucking disaster." The two snickered at the pitiful turnout before Daniela moved over to the very end of the bar to order a drink. Behind her, she heard the sound of pool sticks hitting balls as she felt the presence of someone come up beside her.
"Haven't seen you around in a while."
Daniela rotated her head to see Lip resting his elbows on top of the bar, fixing her with a look. The corner of her mouth hiked up, showing off a few white teeth.
"Aw, were you missing me?" Tilting her head, Daniela batted her eyelashes innocently. Lip's gaze flicked to her mouth before going back to her eyes.
Casually, he shrugged and ordered his own drink. Daniela noticed the certain slump in his shoulders causing her to frown. She was about to question him about it when she spotted Karen sitting at a table with a rather good-looking man she had never seen before.
Judging by the clear affection between the two, she assumed this man was Jody. Daniela's jaw ticked more and more as she watched Lip continue to send longing looks Karen's way.
The blonde was either very good at ignoring him or simply didn't care, continuing to laugh and smile with her new boyfriend. Daniela sighed to herself, feeling kind of bad for Lip.
She leaned forward to speak to him in a low voice. "Quit the staring. You look like a little kid whose parents didn't let them go play on the playground so instead, you sat and watched all the other kids playing and having fun."
"What?" Blinked Lip clearly not paying attention to her lengthy analogy. Daniela rolled her eyes. She noticed she did that a lot with him.
"Your jealousy is incredibly obvious," answered Daniela more clearly. Lip scoffed lightly and drank his beer, not even bothering to deny that she was right.
His face took on a more somber expression as he placed his drink back down.
"Apparently Jody's going to propose. Karen said she'll say yes."
Honestly, Daniela was more than a little surprised that Karen Jackson was willing to settle down. Though she didn't know how long it was going to last. She also wasn't going to deny the fact that she felt slightly happy at the news.
"Don't you think it's high time you moved on from Karen?" Sighed Daniela once again before waving a hand in the direction of the blonde and Jody. "Clearly she has."
Lip's jaw clenched in frustration as his eyes connected with Karen's from across the bar. The blonde raised an eyebrow at the closeness between him and Daniela, something Lip almost smirked at. He wasn't the only jealous one.
Instantly, he got an idea.
Daniela, clearly fed up with his lack of response, groaned in frustration and threw her hands up in the air.
"Why do I even bother?"
Lip placed his hand on top of hers making her eyes go wide. She picked up on the sudden change in his body language. He angled his body more towards her, sitting a little closer to create a smaller, more intimate feel.
"What are you doing?" She asked warily. Lip's face held a little smirk as he moved even closer.
"Trust me?"
Daniela gulped and frowned.
"Now I'm worried," she joked lightly to try and cover up how shaky her voice had gone. Lip laughed and with one final glance at Karen, kissed Daniela.
To say she was surprised was an understatement. Still, Daniela melted into the kiss, the initial shock wearing off quickly.
Lip's hands grasped her waist as her own went to the side of his face and the back of his neck. She felt a familiar knot in her stomach as her lips moved against his.
And then suddenly it was all over.
Lip pulled back, though not truly sure he wanted to. He risked another glance over at Karen to see the blonde brushing off her obvious anger. Finishing off her drink, she took the hand of Jody and left. Lip smirked in satisfaction and turned back to Daniela.
"What was that?" She asked breathlessly. Her heart was still pounding and she desperately wanted it to shut up; afraid that Lip could hear it.
"Right," he rubbed the back of his neck not sure how he was going to explain that he had just kissed her to make his ex-whatever jealous. Daniela however, was way too observant for her own good, looking to where Karen and Jody once were.
If looks could kill, Lip was sure he would be six feet under in that moment.
"Wow," drawled Daniela in disgust. "You are actually so childish."
To think she actually thought he liked her.
"Look I'm sorr-" started Lip before being silenced by her hand.
"Don't." She turned to leave but stopped and walked back. "If you're gonna use me at least let me know first."
Furiously, Daniela marched out of the Alibi leaving a guilty Lip behind.
/
She ignored him for five days.
It would've gone on longer but Debbie approached her on the sixth asking if she would come to her sleepover that Fiona was forcing her to have.
Daniela didn't have the heart to say no.
So that Saturday she found herself walking back into the Gallagher house after what seemed like weeks. Ian gave her a stunned look when she walked through the door.
"You actually came!" He said, standing up from the couch to walk towards her. "Thought you had dropped off the face of the Earth or something."
Daniela grimaced. "Yeah sorry about that." Ian watched her with his arms crossed.
"Don't worry, you can tell me about it later when all the kids are watching Nightmare On Elm Street." Daniela felt bad for inadvertently blocking Ian out too. Her friend got her a beer as they continued to set everything up.
"What's with the graffiti on the door?" She asked as they placed down a few bowls of popcorn.
"Fiona fucked her old crush from high school and he ended up telling his wife," answered Lip with a laugh. Daniela shook her head.
"What a pussy."
Daniela's eyes moved around the lounge, searching for any sign of Lip. She figured he was upstairs.
Ian opened the door to let in a scantily-clad Holly Herkimer. Daniela had no idea why the 15-year-old was at Debbie's party considering she was much older. She hoped the two weren't friends considering Holly's less than stellar reputation.
Ian seemed to be wondering the same thing as he eyed her outfit with a raised eyebrow.
"Yo," called out a familiar voice from the stairs. Daniela stayed in her seat and took a nervous swig of her beer.
"Found some leftover sparklers from the fourth- make sparkler bombs. Where's the duct tape?" Asked Lip moving over to the couch. His voice trailed off when he saw Daniela sitting beside Carl. She stared back and swallowed hard before tearing her eyes away from Lip's surprised ones.
"In my kidnap kit in the van. I'll go get it." Carl jumped up from his spot to head outside.
Daniela could still feel Lip's eyes on her so she continued to drink more of her beer. After a few moments, he snapped out of it, trailing after his brother.
Daniela downed the rest of her beer before getting up to get a new one.
/
After realizing that she didn't exactly want to spend the rest of her night with a bunch of pre-teens, Daniela headed upstairs with Ian. The friends relaxed in his room just catching up on everything Daniela had missed out on.
Ian twirled his beer bottle in-between his hands, eyes focusing in on his friend laying across from him.
"So where have you been?" He finally asked. Daniela felt like clenching her eye's shut. She had hoped he had forgotten.
Shrugging, she looked back at Ian. "You know, the usual. Work, my mom, my dad. Stuff like that."
Ian nodded, deep in thought.
"So you haven't been avoiding me?" He asked seriously. Daniela quickly sat up to frown at her best friend.
"No!" She denied firmly. "Why would I be ignoring you?"
This time Ian shrugged.
"I don't know. Because of Mickey," he admitted quietly. Daniela sighed, guilty that her best friend thought this way. He wasn't the one she was avoiding.
"Ian," she began, waiting for him to look back up at her. "I'm not ignoring you. Remember, I promised I would try with Mickey." Daniela shook her head. "You have nothing to worry about."
Ian nodded, satisfied with her words and slipped back into his usual mellow self. Daniela noticed that he still hadn't given up his look of curiosity.
"So why have you been distant?" Ian watched in amusement as his friend's mouth gaped like a fish.
"I haven't been distant," refuted Daniela, shaking her head. Ian gave her a look conveying that he didn't believe her.
Sighing once again, Daniela's shoulders slumped.
"I haven't been around beca-" Her words were cut off by the reason of her problems poking his head through the door.
Ian tossed Lip an annoyed look.
"What?" Lip's eyes traveled from Daniela to his brother, remembering why he came in.
"Debbie wants you. Something to do with the movie." Ian gave Daniela an apologetic look before heaving himself up and past Lip.
The girl stayed where she was, opting to play with her fingers. Lip moved fully into the room, closing the door gently behind him.
He continued to watch her and brushed a hand over his mouth. He wasn't really sure how to go about this.
Finally, he just decided to go all in.
"I'm sorry, okay?" Tried Lip uncomfortably. He resisted the urge to pull at his collar. "What I did was shitty. Really shitty."
"Yeah," nodded Daniela in agreement. She finally met his eyes.
"I didn't think you would get so worked up over it," admitted Lip, sitting beside her on Ian's bed. Daniela scoffed in response.
"What did you expect? You used me to make Karen jealous! Without fully consulting me by the way."
"Look I'm trying to apologize here."
"And you're doing a brilliant job so far," replied Daniela snidely. Lip looked like he wanted to tear his hair out in frustration.
"Can't you just forgive me so we can move on?" He asked standing up, his voice growing more heated.
Daniela followed him up from the bed, standing chest to chest.
She stared at him incredulously. "Seriously? After that bullshit apology? I don't think-" Lip muttered a curse before grabbing her face and bringing her mouth to his. Daniela's mouth fell open with a gasp, allowing him to slip his tongue in.
His hand tangled in her hair, grasping the back of her neck desperately. Daniela moaned against him and placed her hands against his chest, pushing him away.
Lip staggered back, eyes dark with desire. Daniela pushed down her own.
Gaining back her breath, she shook her head.
"You need to stop doing that," she finally said. Lip let out a clipped laugh, dragging a thumb over his mouth. Daniela took another deep breath. "Seriously. You're still hung up over Karen and I'm not here to be your rebound." Finished, she headed towards the door.
Lip looked down at his feet and called out to her. Daniela glanced over her shoulder at him with a frown.
"Does this mean I'm forgiven?" The girl couldn't help the small smile that lit up her face.
"I guess," she shrugged and turned away again.
Lip raked his hands through his hair. Feeling the tightness in his pants, he went in search for Mandy.
/
Daniela sent a large splash of water into Ian's face, laughing when he started sputtering. Her joy was soon gone when Ian retaliated with a wave of his own. Daniela was laughing so hard she missed it causing her to take a big mouthful.
Her laughter gone, she began coughing up the water. Ian chuckled at her, moving to pat her on the back to help clean out her windpipe.
Sneakily, Daniela reached out for a nearby floating water gun, aiming at his face. Ian held up a hand to try and block it while his friend let out loud cheers.
"It's going up my nose!" Cried Ian, turning his head away whilst continuing to splash her.
Daniela finally lowered the gun, smirking.
They all turned at the sound of Lip's loud groan of pain. Karen stood above him, her foot coming down from his crotch. The blonde was absolutely seething as she shoved a crumpled-over Lip to the ground.
"Why the fuck was Mandy Milkovich at my house trying to screw Jody? He turned her down and told me what happened!" Yelled Karen. Daniela and the rest of the Gallaghers stood just watching in silence.
"Yeah 'cause he's a fucking pussy," spat Lip. He was on all fours on the ground, his face scrunched up in pain. He let out another groan as Karen sent another hard kick to his gut. Daniela winced from the impact.
"Hey, hey!" Interjected Fiona, moving between them to stop any further damage. Ian hopped out of the pool to help restrain Karen as she continued throwing out kicks.
"Stay the fuck away from me! Stay the fuck away from Jody! And stay the fuck away from this baby!"
Daniela's mouth fell open in shock. Ian, equally surprised, let go of Karen allowing her to leave.
No-one said anything as they watched her walk away. From beside her, she heard Kev speak.
"Holy fuck."
Done!
I still don't like this chapter to be honest. But if I do end up changing it in the future I'll make sure to let you guys know.
Thanks again for continuing to read this story despite my less than stellar updating regime.
REVIEW!
