Chapter 16.
Sorry for such a short chapter! But I didn't think it would work for me to combine this one and the next one together.
Still, please enjoy...
ALSO, I've decided that the nickname for the Daniela/Ethel friendship is Daniethel... It's pretty great in my opinion.
Special thanks to blue Wren and x NikiSt x for continuing to review, I really appreciate it.
Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless.
Daniela loved the heat. It was the reason summer was her favorite season. Along with the warm weather came warm memories of times spent splashing around in the pool or eating a ton of ice-cream.
Her skin drank up the sun's rays as Daniela entered the Gallagher house.
Ian was the first one she spotted, pouring himself a bowl of cereal.
"Morning," she greeted in chipper tone; the constantly nice weather lightening her mood.
Ian glanced over his shoulder, spotting her and smiled back.
"Hey, want some breakfast?"
"Nah I already ate." She waved away the offer and moved to sit at the kitchen counter. Two pairs of footsteps came down the stairs; Carl and Little Hank- who Daniela was not pleased to see carrying a large drill.
"Out of milk," said Carl as he took his brother's bowl of cereal. "Bev wants breakfast."
An annoyed Ian quickly snatched the cereal back as Daniela stared at them in confusion.
"Who's Bev?"
"The hooker Carl rented Frank's room off to," answered Ian not very pleased.
Carl grinned at Daniela. "They call her Double-Bag Bev because she works check out at the Jewel-Osco."
The teen snorted into the cup of coffee she had poured herself.
"That is not why they call her Double-Bag Bev." Carl shrugged before Little Hank pulled him away talking of Bloody Mary mix and Bev's tits.
Daniela raised an amused eyebrow at Ian who sighed in exasperation.
"I see Carl's helping to contribute to the Winter squirrel fund." Her friend nodded, eating his milkless cereal.
"Where can I get knives and blunts?" Asked Debbie, joining them in the kitchen. Ian replied as he worked on making more coffee.
"Alley behind the OTB. Ask for Raoul but bring a rag; sometimes he doesn't bother to wipe the blood off the blade." His sister nodded along, genuinely taking in all the information.
"Why do you want knives and blunts, Debs?" Daniela inquired with worry. The young girl shrugged back.
"No reason."
Daniela made a mental note to ask again later as her eyes surveyed the room.
"Where's Lip?" It had been nearly a week since Karen dropped the baby bomb on all of them. Lip had taken it pretty hard, practically closing in on himself.
Fiona frowned at her siblings. "He still not up?" The pair shrugged and Daniela stood up from her seat.
"I'll go check on him."
She headed up the stairs, missing Fiona's raised eyebrow to Ian and his casual shrug.
As Daniela entered the room, she couldn't help but feel the gloom filling it.
The curtains were closed, letting in the tiniest shred of sunlight. Hazel eyes moved to the figure stretched out on his top bunk- just staring up at the ceiling.
Lip made no effort to look back at her or even acknowledge her presence as she sat down on Ian's bed with a sigh.
"You planning on becoming a hermit for the rest of your life?"
Lip stayed silent for a few more moments leaving Daniela to wonder if he had even heard her.
"I'm tired," he finally said. "Kev and I were out late working on the truck."
Daniela hummed to herself, obviously not believing him.
"Right," she drawled. "You sure this has nothing to do with Karen being pregnant?"
Lip moved with a short sigh to sit up on his bed.
"Can you pass me my shirt?" He pointed to the fabric lying on the nearby desk. Daniela tossed it at him and fixed him with a look.
"Try all you want to avoid the subject but it's not going away." She watched as he pulled his shirt on.
"I'm not bothered by it," lied Lip, his tone not at all convincing. Daniela's eyes followed him as he walked across the room, pulling things out of his drawers.
"Uh-huh. So you're not bothered by the fact that the baby could possibly be yours?" Lip froze at her question, halfway through pulling out some shorts.
Daniela could see the constant clenching and unclenching of his jaw as she began voicing her thoughts.
"Although, it's really a shot in the dark. You can never be too sure with Karen Jackson." She knew she had riled him up, it was partly why she had done it.
Lip stormed over to where she sat, peering up at him innocently.
"Don't talk about Karen like that," he said, his voice hard and his teeth clenched. Daniela almost smirked.
"Why? Because you're still idiotically in love with her despite the fact that she's so clearly moved on?"
Lip didn't bother answering her instead opting to quickly pull on his shorts and leave the room.
As she watched him walk away, her face dropped. No matter what wrong Karen did, Lip would always be following her around. Daniela liked to think she understood Lip. They were friends and before that she had had plenty of time to observe him.
If there were even the slightest chance that the baby was Lip's, then there was no way he was going to leave it.
Daniela hated how much it hurt.
/
"How are things going with Malik?" Grinned Daniela as her fingers worked through Ethel's hair. She was styling it into a side braid. They were currently sat outside Kev and V's house waiting for the boy to show up.
"Malik and I are taking our children for a playdate at the park," responded Ethel, trying to contain her excitement but failing miserably.
Daniela smirked at the back of her friend's head.
"You sure this isn't a date?" Ethel coughed loudly, choking on her saliva. Daniela tapped her back with a chuckle.
The young mother turned to look up at Daniela who was perched a step above her, her cheeks red.
"No! Malik is just a friend." Ethel turned her attention to her fingernails. "Besides, it wouldn't be right. I'm already a married woman."
Daniela resisted the grimace at the mention of her friend's husband.
"So Clyde can have as many wives as he wants but you can't? Sounds a bit hypocritical to me."
Ethel pursed her lips as Daniela angled her head left slightly to continue her braid.
"I suppose you're right," mumbled the girl before perking up. "And I do rather like Malik. I don't know if he feels the same way, though."
"Are you serious?" Cried Daniela in mock shock. Ethel's eyes were wide. "That boy is head over heels for you."
"You really think so?" Smiled the young girl hopefully. Daniela nodded.
"Mm-hm." Her fingers tied off the braid with an elastic band before she clapped her hands together. "All done!"
Ethel picked up her hand mirror next to her and looked, gasping at what she saw.
"I love it!" She cried ecstatically. Daniela stood up with a proud smile, Ethel following her before enveloping her in a tight embrace.
Daniela wavered on the step, eventually gaining her balance back and returning the hug.
"Thanks so much, Daniela," mumbled Ethel into her shoulder. Pulling back she gave her friend a small shy smile.
"I've never had a sister before- apart from the other wives... But this is different." Daniela's heart swelled at the young girl's words.
Her attention was pulled away at the sight of Malik arriving. Daniela squeezed Ethel's shoulder and gave her a wink.
"Have fun on your date." The girl blushed once more before getting Jonah who had been buckled up in his stroller already.
Daniela watched the young pair leave, a smile etched on her face when she heard Malik complimenting Ethel's new hairstyle. She gave her blushing friend one last thumb up of encouragement before heading back to her own house.
/
An hour later, Daniela woke from her nap on the couch by a knock on the door. She had fallen asleep after finishing up making her arroz con gandules and pastelillos for the neighborhood barbecue later that day.
Sluggishly, she opened it to see Debbie standing there practically bouncing on her feet. With a quick 'hello' the girl pushed her way through.
"I need to borrow some of your pheromones," said the girl already halfway up the stairs. Daniela frowned before following quickly.
"Debs." The girl had managed to easily locate Daniela's room and was now perusing her perfume. She sniffed each one, deciding whether she liked it before spritzing herself.
"Debbie, what are you doing?" Frowned Daniela again. She gently took the perfume bottle from the girl's hands and placed it back down.
Debbie dragged out a sigh and flopped down on Daniela's bed.
"I need pheromones so that Little Hank will like me." Daniela leaned against her doorframe and pursed her lips in amusement.
"Who told you that?" She had a vague idea already.
"Lip," answered the girl, placing her cheeks in her hands.
The teen moved from her spot to sit beside Debbie and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Debs, pheromones are biological." At Debbie's frown, she continued. "They're made in the body and can be pumped out through sweat." She laughed at the girl's look of disgust.
"Different people have different pheromones and different people are attracted to different people's pheromones." The gears in Debbie's head turned as she tried to understand.
"So," she began. "If you like the smell of someone's sweat, you find them attractive?"
Daniela chuckled but nodded.
"Basically." Debbie nodded, finally getting it. Tilting her head, she eyed Daniela coyly.
"Do you like the smell of Lip's sweat?"
"W-what?" Blubbered Daniela, completely caught off guard. The younger girl giggled at her shocked expression.
Daniela regained her composure and frowned.
"Why would you say that?" Debbie shrugged.
"You two have been acting differently around each other. Plus my brother is always looking at you when he thinks no-one else will notice. But I do."
Daniela kept silent, unsure of what to say. Shaking her head, she changed the conversation.
"Didn't you come here for help with Little Hank?"
"I want him to like me," admitted Debbie shyly.
"Why wouldn't he like you?"
"He likes Holly Herkimer." Daniela cringed in disgust at the mention of the 15-year-old. Ian had filled her in on the drama that had gone down at Debbie's sleepover. Needless to say, she wasn't a big fan.
"I want boys to like me like they like Holly," said Debbie a bit more desperately.
"No you don't," frowned Daniela wiping a strand of hair behind the girl's ear. "Boys look at Holly because she makes herself look easy and convenient. They don't like her for her personality. They like her because they know she's low-maintenance."
This time Debbie frowned, causing the teen to question her.
"What?"
"Lip said those were the things that caught his eye with Karen."
Daniela nodded with a swallow.
"See? Girls like Karen and Holly are not what you want to be, Debs. You want to find a boy who likes you because of your personality first and your looks second." Daniela wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer.
"You're still developing. Don't stress yourself out so much about impressing boys." She bopped Debbie's nose gently, making the girl grin up at her.
"Thanks, Daniela." Debbie threw both arms around the teen's stomach. Daniela rubbed her back, smiling softly.
"No problem, Debs."
/
"How's your studying coming along?" Asked Daniela, flipping through an answer sheet to a test Lip had given to Ian. Her friend sat at the small desk in his room bent over the same test.
"Not too good," mumbled Ian as he tried to concentrate.
"I thought you passed the last tests Lip gave you," wondered Daniela curiously. Ian quickly glanced at her and shook his head.
"I cheated." Daniela let out a low breath and read through the test. It was for geometry.
"Well, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it soon," she said encouragingly. "I was terrible at Physics and now look at me! I got a B on my finals."
Both of their heads perked up at the sound of someone knocking at the door.
They headed downstairs with Daniela close behind Ian. She could hear the visitor speaking to Carl and saw Ian's posture straighten when he caught a glimpse of who it was.
Daniela watched from the steps as Ian stood at attention and saluted the uniformed man.
"Exemplary salute," he praised.
"Cadet Colonel Gallagher, Junior ROTC," introduced Ian, resting his arms on his back.
"Colonel McNally." The man reached out for a handshake. "Are you Lip's brother?"
"Ian." Daniela could see the admiration in her friend's eyes as he continued to talk to the Colonel. "He mentioned you were taking an interest but I didn't think you would stop by."
Daniela moved to the kitchen to get herself a cold drink while the two conversed.
As she walked towards them again, her heart dropped.
"Big future, your brother," said Colonel McNally. Daniela could pinpoint the exact moment Ian's excitement died.
"The nature of combat is changing," continued the man. "We need all the creative thinkers we can get."
Daniela sipped from her drink as the Colonel asked Ian to make sure Lip received the admission papers for West Point. As soon as the door closed, Ian clenched his fist, crumpling the papers.
"Ian," began Daniela gently. He looked over his shoulder at her, obvious anger etched into his face. When she saw his eyes glisten she hurried forward to hug him. Ian held onto her for a moment before pulling away and marching upstairs.
She trailed behind warily.
Daniela watched as Ian furiously tossed the papers on the bed before getting down to start doing push-ups. She knew he was working off his anger.
By the time he got to 60, she sighed.
"Dude quit it. I'm feeling exhausted just watching you." Ian shook his head and continued.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, he began counting even louder.
"65, 66, 67."
"Went to Karen's," said Lip entering the room and sitting next to Daniela.
"68, 69, 70."
"Tried to step up. She told me to fuck off. Can you believe that?" Daniela scoffed and rolled her eyes, scooting away from him.
"73, 74, 75, 76, 77."
"She'd rather play house with Keanu." Daniela truly wondered what shit went through Lip's head. Her and Ian did not care about his drama with Karen.
Still, Ian continued doing push-ups.
"81, 82."
"Did you hear what I said?" Asked Lip, lighting up a smoke. He turned to look at Daniela with an annoyed expression. "What's his problem?"
Daniela just glared back, shifting her eyes away to look at her best friend.
"How many push-ups can you do?" Ian finally said to his brother. Lip frowned.
"Right now? Stoned?"
"Your best day," clarified Ian, still going. Daniela took a sip of her grape soda knowing that things were going to get bad.
"I don't know. Five, six," shrugged Lip casually.
Ian continued firing off questions to his brother with Daniela just sitting back and watching. The two continued going back and forth as things moved out to the hallway.
Daniela would get involved if she had to.
"Fuck you, Lip," spat Ian from the bathroom. His brother was already halfway down the stairs. "Get back to your whore who can't be sure if her kid is your son or your brother."
Daniela's mouth dropped open at the sharp insult. She would have cheered him on if Lip hadn't of hurried back up and punched Ian in the face.
The brothers stumbled into the bathroom, knocking over everything as their fists flew at each other. Daniela got up from the bed and rushed into the bathroom as Ian tackled Lip into the bathtub.
"Hey!" She yelled out just as Ian went to smash his brother's face against the edge of the tub. "You got it out of your system now that's enough!"
Her voice grabbed both of their attentions. Daniela watched as her friend angrily let go of his brother and stood up, wet from the tap that had turned on.
"I'll make West Point on my own," he declared, walking past Daniela. "I don't need you."
Daniela breathed heavily and stared as Lip laid back in the tub, scrubbing a hand over his face.
Noticing the water still running, she twisted the handle to turn it off. Lip leaned his head back, catching his breath and looked at her.
She knew he hadn't meant for this mess up with the Colonel to happen and that he had only had done it for his brother.
However, she knew how badly this meant to Ian and couldn't help sympathizing with him.
Daniela gave a soaked Lip one last long look before leaving.
/
Later that day, she headed to the Independence Day barbecue. It was now an annual tradition for the neighborhood to celebrate a local woman shooting her abusive husband with a nail gun while he was asleep.
Everybody had turned up, bringing along a plate of food each. Jakob walked alongside her, carrying her dish of Arroz con gandules. The smells wafting from it were heavily enticing and Jakob looked just about ready to dive into it.
They moved over to the tables laid out with all the food. Jakob placed it down before looking around the area with a disgruntled look.
He hissed when his sister delivered a sharp elbow to his gut.
"Why did I have to come to this?" He whined for the fifth time since they had left the house.
"Oh, come on. Where's your community spirit?" Daniela placed her hands on her lips and stuck her bottom lip out. Her brother rolled his eyes.
"I don't have any," he deadpanned. Daniela laughed loudly and slapped his shoulder lightly.
"Walk around, mingle, make some friends!" The siblings looked around, their eyes taking in their neighbors. Daniela eyed her brother playfully.
"Never know. You might meet my future sister-in-law here." Jakob scoffed a laugh and shook his head.
"No, no. I've already met the woman in this neighborhood and no thank you."
"You're such a downer," groaned Daniela with an eye roll. Her face lit up when Debbie bounded over towards her.
"!" She cried happily. "Look what Little Hank gave me". Debbie waved around the hand-picked (most likely stolen) bouquet of flowers.
Daniela shook her shoulders and cheered. She was happy for Debbie despite the wariness she still held for the boy.
"Are you wearing makeup?"
"Yeah," grinned Debbie. "Mandy did it for me."
Daniela was less than enthused but smiled at Debbie anyway, glad to see she was happy.
The young girl eventually left them, off in search of some cold beverages for her and her crush.
She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see a smiling Simon standing behind her.
"Hey!" Daniela pulled him in for a hug. "I thought your parents were taking you to visit family in Denver?"
"Yeah we got back this morning," answered Simon.
"It's so good to see you. Come on, let's get you a drink." Daniela grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the buckets of ice.
/
Daniela sipped on her ice-cold grape soda just soaking in the heat with Simon. Her brother had seen Tony and a few other cops show up and had headed off with them.
Glancing around, her eyes spotted Ethel and Malik sitting a little ways away from them. Daniela watched with a smile as Malik put whipped cream on her nose. Ethel turned her face with a laugh and spotted her friend.
Daniela sent her a knowing grin and raised her soda can at her. Ethel blushed once more before her attention was pulled back to Malik.
Daniela chuckled and turned back to Simon. He was catching her up on his trip when she saw a bloodied-faced Lip storming past her.
Quickly, she excused herself and followed after him.
"Lip!" She called as he reached the street. Daniela knew he heard her because he began walking faster.
She jogged to catch up to him.
"Hey, Lip!" She called once more, managing to snag his elbow. He fought her grip but she managed to catch his face between her hands.
Lip's eyes stared past her back at the barbecue as she looked at the damage.
"Did you get into another fight?" Asked Daniela, her voice laced with worry. "Come on, let's go get some ice and a rag to clean your face."
Lip sucked on his teeth and pulled her hands off his face angrily.
"Look why don't you just fuck off, alright?" He spat, shocking her. Daniela frowned and moved towards him again.
"What's wrong? I'm trying to help you." She swallowed hard when Lip let out a dry laugh.
He moved closer, getting up in her face. When he spoke his voice was slow, detached and venomous.
"I don't want your help. I don't need your help. So why don't you just do me a favor and leave me the fuck alone."
Daniela stood frozen. Her eyes were filled with hurt at his harsh words.
Lip stared at her, his anger nearly disappearing at her crestfallen expression.
Clenching his fists, he twitched his nose and swiveled around, leaving Daniela stood rooted to her spot.
She could feel the very persistent tears pricking at her eyeballs but refused to let them go. She didn't know why he had said those things to her and she didn't like how much they affected her.
Fine, thought Daniela. If he wanted her to leave him alone, then that was what she was going to do.
She was done wasting her time on Phillip Gallagher.
Dat angst doe.
Anyways, I hope you guys like it and please don't forget to leave a review or follow or favorite. I love hearing from you guys and getting your thoughts on everything because it sort of has an influence on the story.
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far!
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