Chapter 27.
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Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless.
Daniela wiped the sleep out of her eyes and walked through the hallway of the Gallagher house, pausing when she heard splashing in the bathroom. Frowning, she moved closer to see Debbie submerged underneath the water, her eyes scrunched in determination as she held her nose. The little girl finally sat up, her lungs gasping for air.
"What was my time?" She asked Daniela as she wiped hair out of her eyes.
"Huh?"
"I'm trying to hold my breath for more than 90 seconds so the kids down at the Sullivan Street pool don't drown me," Debbie explained, pulling herself out and grabbing a towel. "I'm nearly there."
The teen shrugged. "I'm gonna be a lifeguard there this summer so I'll keep an eye on you."
Daniela gave the girl a smile before turning and heading down the stairs where Carl was getting ready to leave for camp. She wasn't even sure how Frank had managed to get him into one. Apparently, he had won it.
"You all set?" She asked him, eyeing his rucksack. Carl nodded, his eyes becoming sadder before he took her by surprise and wrapped his arms around her.
"You're really cool, El. I know I haven't told you that before but I thought I should. Just in case."
Daniela stared down at his shaved head oddly but returned the hug. "Thanks, Carl. Have fun at camp."
She ran her hand over his bristly head soothingly as Ian came down the stairs with his ROTC sleeping bag.
"Wow," grinned the boy. "Thanks, Ian."
Feeling a buzz in her pocket, Daniela pulled out her phone and saw that Simon was calling her.
"Si, what's up?"
Her friend sounded jittery over the phone as he spoke in a hushed voice. "I was wondering if you and Lip would be able to help me out with a friend." He paused to clear his throat and regain some of his composure. "She's kind of going through some trouble right now and I think you two could help her out."
"Uh. Sure. I guess we could come," Daniela nodded just as Lip walked through the front door to say goodbye to Carl. "Where should we meet you?"
"I'll text you the address," supplied Simon hurriedly before hanging up.
The girl frowned down at her phone and turned to Lip who was finishing up his conversation with his little brother.
"What was that all about?" He asked, nodding to her phone.
"Simon wants us to go and help him out."
This time, Lip frowned. He wasn't exactly close with Daniela's friend even after she had cleared the air about their past relationship.
"With what?"
Daniela simply shrugged as she felt her phone vibrate again seeing that Simon had texted her the address.
Turning it towards Lip, she showed him the message. "That's his friend's address."
Once he read it, Lip couldn't hold down the deep chuckle, noting Daniela's clueless look.
"What?"
He shook his head, not wanting to spoil the surprise. "Nothing, but this should be fun. Let's go."
Saying one final goodbye to Carl, the couple left the house and set off on their journey to help Simon's friend. The entire way there, Daniela continued to pick up on the amused smirk that seemed to be glued to Lip's face and she wasn't sure why but it annoyed her that she was out of the loop.
The closer they got to the address, the more she started to recognize her surroundings, a feeling of dread settling into her chest. A crazy thought popped into her mind but Daniela wasn't willing to accept it. However, as they approached the dreaded house, her fears became truer.
"You're kidding," she drawled as she took in Simon sitting beside Mandy on the front steps of her house. At the sound of her voice, both heads whipped to her and Mandy's eyes narrowed.
"You called her?" She accused Simon, angling her body away from him while sending him a vicious glare.
"This is the friend?" Asked Daniela similarly, pointing a disbelieving finger at the Milkovich.
"Why the fuck did you call her?"
Simon was floundering under the intense glares of the two girls. Lip, who was standing behind Daniela, watched the whole scene with barely contained amusement. "I thought they could help."
"Hold on," interrupted Daniela as she pressed her fingers to her temples. "What's going on here?"
"Well," Simon trailed off, scratching the back of his neck.
"This should be good," muttered Lip having already figured it out.
"We've been fucking," Mandy announced bluntly, standing up in defense and fixing her glare on the other girl.
"Yeah... What she said."
Daniela was shocked into silence. This had come completely out of left field. Never had she anticipated this happening, least of all between such an odd pairing.
Mandy seemed satisfied with her stunned reaction, getting what she wanted and Daniela took note of it. She had done this to get a rise out of her. And she had succeeded.
It also struck the girl that both of her best friends had taken up with two Milkovich siblings. It made her want to laugh.
Sensing Daniela's anger, Lip stepped in. "What exactly did you call us here for? Apart from dropping this little bombshell on us."
Mandy's eyes flicked to him as if finally registering that he was there too. Instantly, her demeanor changed.
Simon coughed uncomfortably. "Right. Well, Mandy's sister-"
"You have a sister?" Frowned Lip.
"Half-sister," deadpanned the girl through gritted teeth. She was still pissed off at Simon for telling Daniela. She didn't want him to call her but she didn't even think he would.
"Anyway," continued Simon. "She called this morning saying that her mom overdosed and that she didn't have anyone else."
"And what does that have to do with us?" Daniela finally chimed in, having broken out of her daze to look between the two in confusion.
Mandy continued to glare at her. "Great question."
"I thought maybe you two could help convince Mandy that she should go and get her sister."
"It's not our decision," shrugged Daniela feeling annoyed at Simon for calling her here.
"What do you know? Something we can actually agree on."
Lip frowned, focusing on Mandy. "Maybe Simon's right."
All three heads swiveled to look at him. Daniela and Mandy in shock and Simon in happiness. He shared an apologetic look with Daniela before continuing.
"Look, we don't know what kind of people your sister is gonna be put with," he walked towards Mandy, watching as her crossed arms loosened. "You really want to take that risk? The kid should be with whatever family she has left."
As the Milkovich stood there in contemplation, Daniela stared at Lip, her eyes softening.
Finally, Mandy shrugged and dropped her arms back to her sides. "Even if I was to get and get Molly, she's all the way in Milwaukee. How am I supposed to go get her?"
"There's always the ice cream van," offered Lip but Daniela quickly shook her head.
"That thing won't make it ten miles."
"We could take my mom's car," piped up Simon, grabbing everyone's attention. "We'd have to steal it though because there is no way she'd let me take it willingly."
"Sounds like a plan," nodded Lip as he rubbed his hands together. "You go get the car and meet us back there."
Mandy perked up. "You're coming?"
"We're going?" Asked a confused Daniela at the same time. He looked between the two and shrugged.
"Yeah, why not?"
Daniela raised an eyebrow, dropping her gaze to the ground where she scraped her shoe back and forth. She had a few reasons as for why not. One very big one literally glaring across from her.
A sly grin spread on Mandy's face as she looked Lip up and down appreciatively. "I have no problem with that."
"Of course you don't," muttered the other girl under her breath.
"Mandy?" Called Simon expectantly making the girl huff as she was forced to pull her attention away from Lip to the other boy's smiling face. "You coming?"
Daniela's narrowed eyes followed the girl's movements as she grudgingly trailed behind Simon to get the car. Once they were a safe distance away from the house, she turned to Lip, folding her arms over her chest in wait of an explanation.
"What?"
"You know what I'm gonna say."
Lip heaved a sigh. "It's no big deal."
"No big deal?" Stretched Daniela incredulously. "Lip, you're volunteering to help rescue her sister- something that can be taken a lot more seriously than you think. How is that not a big deal?"
"All I want is for the kid to be taken care of," defended Lip, holding his hands up. "It has nothing to do with Mandy. Besides, she has Perkins now."
"Oh please," Daniela rolled her eyes at him. "You saw how she was. She barely acknowledged him. The only reason she agreed to this is because you said it would be a good idea."
"You're reading too much into this," argued Lip, shaking his head.
"No. I'm reading into it just enough. She still likes you."
"Then why is she screwing Perkins?"
"Because she's mad!" Daniela's voice raised and her hands flew up in the air before moving between them. "At you and at me- mainly me. Why else would she go after Simon?"
"I don't know maybe she likes him."
She sighed to herself, trying to regain her composure. "Before all of this, she never spoke to him. She never even knew he existed. Then suddenly she's showing an interest in him when she knows he's one of my best friends. That doesn't seem odd to you?"
Lip simply shrugged, not seeing what the big deal was. "Maybe they started talking one day and she's moving on. You should be happy. You don't have to worry about her."
Daniela's gaze dropped back to the ground feeling like she should be worried.
It had been a week since the whole teacher/pedophile incident and since then, she had been a lot more on guard about Lip's actions. Her insecurities were still getting the better of her and Lip jumping at the chance to help Mandy rubbed her the wrong way.
At her silence, Lip sighed and walked towards her. "You don't have to worry about her." He said with emphasis as he took hold of her shoulders to help get the point across.
Daniela's shoulders loosened and she uncrossed her arms. "I still don't like this whole thing between her and Simon though."
"Don't forget that Ian- your best friend- was in a similar situation with Mickey. You managed to look past it and accept it despite the differences you had with Mickey. Why can't this be the same?"
"Because you weren't having sex with Mickey. Unless there's something I don't know about."
Lip's chest rumbled with a deep laugh as he wiped a thumb over his nose. "I just want to help her sister. That's all. I know how fucked up the foster care system can be."
Daniela frowned at him. "You were in foster care?"
He seemed reluctant to share but did nevertheless, shrugging it off. "It was back during one of Frank and Monica's drug binges. We weren't in there for long but it was long enough to know that no kid should have to go through it."
She watched him shuffle uncomfortably and began to wonder what horrors he had seen. Placing a hand on the back of his neck, Daniela pulled him towards her, bringing her other arm to wrap around his torso.
He settled into her arms before pulling back, the topic drifting away as they moved onto happier conversation.
Fifteen minutes later, they heard the toot of a horn and turned their heads to see Simon excitedly driving his mom's car their way. Beside him in the passenger seat, Mandy rolled her eyes and grumbled under her breath.
/
Needless to say, the entire car ride to Milwaukee was painstakingly awkward.
Lip had taken over the driving once he realized Simon was terrible at it. Mandy was still in the passenger seat and still throwing glances at the boy beside her, striking up conversation much to the irritation of Daniela.
She watched with narrowed eyes as the other girl laughed outright at something Lip said that wasn't even that funny. Simon sat beside her looking a little put out at how giddy Mandy was being with Lip. Daniela noticed this, feeling bad for him. He didn't know he was just being used as a way to get back at her.
Leaning across, she whispered to Simon. "Am I the only one that finds this awkward?"
"Yes," answered Mandy bluntly having heard her. She twisted in her chair to look at the older girl. "Tell me. Why are you here again?"
Daniela grit her teeth, a re-buttle all set to go when Simon chimed in.
"I don't have a problem with it," he shrugged, popping a couple of chips into his mouth that he had packed for the trip. "I actually think it's kind of funny. Think about it, we've all shared spit now."
Daniela's face was one of disgust as she shook her head. "You're disgusting." From the front seat, an amused Lip chuckled under his breath catching his girlfriend's glare in the rear view mirror.
When they finally arrived outside of Molly's apartment, Daniela wanted to get out of the car and kiss the ground. Mandy stared up at the run-down building through the car window, seeming unsure.
"Would you come with me?" She asked, turning to Lip. He looked like he had been put on the spot and glanced between her and Daniela who was watching with a raised eyebrow from the backseat.
"Uh, sure." He unbuckled his belt before following the Milkovich into the building. Daniela huffed and sunk into her seat, glancing sideways at Simon.
"Are you and her together now?" She finally asked, breaking the tense silence.
"No," Simon shook his head. "She said it was just sex."
"How did this even happen?"
"She started talking to me at school," began Simon hesitantly. "And then she started getting more bold in her advances until we finally just…"
"Fucked?" Guessed Daniela, using Mandy's terminology.
"Yeah. Please don't be mad at me."
Daniela finally looked at him properly, her head tilted and her eyes softened. "I'm not mad at you, Si."
"Don't be mad at Mandy either. She's not as bad as you think."
At that, Daniela scoffed. "Simon. She's barely acknowledged you at all today." Her friend sighed to himself.
"I know that she still has feelings for Lip."
"Then why are you getting involved with her?" Simon simply shrugged not entirely sure himself. He liked Mandy, that much he knew.
When she wasn't being completely cold to him, he could spot those little traits in her that he enjoyed. He knew she had only shown an interest in him because he was friend's with Daniela but he hadn't really cared and he quickly began enjoying their little meet ups.
The conversation was brought to an end when the pair saw Lip and Mandy returning to the car with a little girl they assumed was Molly. Simon opened the door, offering the girl a kind smile.
"Hi, I'm Simon. Mandy's friend."
"Molly," replied the girl as she moved to sit between him and Daniela. She frowned up at the other girl curiously. "Are you my sister's friend too?"
"No," echoed both Mandy and Daniela making them glare at each other.
Lip cleared his throat uncomfortably and looked at Mandy. "Where to next?" All eyes moved to her expectantly as she thought it out.
"I have an aunt who could take care of her," she grumbled hating all of the attention. The boy beside her nodded and turned the ignition, pulling away from the curb.
Daniela sighed and settled into her seat, preparing herself for the long ride back to Chicago.
/
"You brought a girl to my house without asking me first?"
Daniela stood off to the side with Lip watching as Mandy tried to convince her aunt to take her sister.
"You took me in when I needed it," she reasoned as they both looked over at a smiling Molly who was playing Patty Cake with Simon, their hands loudly slapping together.
The woman shook her head apologetically. "My MS has got real bad. I can't be taking care of little kids right now."
"Can you at least watch her until we find a place for her?"
"One day, you won't have your Aunt Rande to come to when you need help. That day is today." Mandy stared as her aunt closed the door in her face. Her jaw tightened as she turned to look at the others, her eyes falling to Molly who was occupied with Simon.
Despite her less than positive feelings for Mandy, Daniela still felt bad that the little girl was stuck with no place to stay. She had warmed up to her during the ride back, finding her bubbly and amusing despite the bad lot she was given in life.
Mandy huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, I'm out of ideas."
Beside her, Daniela heard Lip sigh. "She could stay at my place."
"You would do that?" Asked a shocked Mandy, her eyes softening.
Daniela glanced between the two, feeling her stomach twist. She knew Lip was just trying to do the right thing but that didn't stop her from pondering if it meant more than that.
Shuffling her feet, she walked to where Simon and Molly were. She felt Lip's eyes on her back as she leaned up against the fence purposely avoiding his stare.
"Can I join in?" She asked smiling down at Molly. The girl nodded eagerly, shifting her position so that they could play properly. Simon picked up on his friend's sadness and offered a small, kind smile.
It didn't take long for Mandy to agree to Lip's plan. She was rather eager about it, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear like she was blushing as they all piled back into the car.
This caused Daniela's anger to heighten. Lip, who attempted to talk to her on the way to the car, was promptly shut down as she slammed the door closed before he could get a word in. She wasn't in the mood. She just wanted to drop Molly off and then head home.
/
"Where have you two been?" Frowned Ian when they all filtered into the kitchen. His eyebrows raised as he took in the whole group and the little girl. "Who's this?"
"I'm Molly." She stuck out a hand which Ian shook, still confused. "Mandy's sister."
"You have a-"
"Half-sister," clarified Mandy with annoyance and the boy simply nodded.
"Right." His eyes traveled over all of their faces, still confused as to why Simon was standing in his kitchen or why Mandy and Daniela were even in the same vicinity.
Speaking of his best friend, the girl looked like she wanted to be anywhere else, her attention elsewhere. Ian also picked up on the worried glances his brother kept sending her way and began really wondering what had happened.
Catching Daniela's eye, Ian sent her a questioning look to which she just shook her head.
"Do you think Fiona will let her stay here?" Lip asked, gesturing to Molly.
Oh, thought Ian. So that's why.
Now he understood why his friend was so mad.
Scratching his head, Ian shrugged. "I don't know. I guess we have a spare bed now that Carl's at camp."
"That's what I was thinking."
"She's upstairs if you want to ask her." Ian pointed a finger at the ceiling. His brother nodded and gestured for Mandy and Molly. At that moment, Simon's phone started ringing.
His face paled when he saw the caller ID. "It's my mom," was all he said before walking through the kitchen door to talk outside.
This left Daniela and Ian behind in the kitchen.
He eyed his friend, taking in her tired expression. "You want to talk about it?"
Daniela sighed and leaned against the counter across from him. "I know I shouldn't be worrying but for some reason, all these ideas start popping into my head."
"Volunteering to have Mandy's little sister stay here is basically a ghetto engagement."
"Not helping," glared the girl before raking a hand through her hair. "Oh! And she's fucking Simon."
Ian's eyes widened. "What?"
Daniela nodded in agreement. "I know right? Who saw that coming? Because I didn't." She blew out a deep breath and shook her head. "I should've picked up on it. A week ago he came into the store and bought a box of condoms and said that they were 'for a friend'. Yeah right."
Ian snickered at his lame excuse. "Even so. You wouldn't have guessed it would be Mandy he was seeing."
Daniela shook her head as her fingers drummed on the counter. "It annoys me how easily she can get under my skin."
"Don't. Mandy is altogether a cool person but she can be a bitch when she wants to. The best thing to do is just ignore it," advised Ian, watching as the girl nodded.
"I guess so. Thanks for letting me vent," she smiled gratefully.
Ian waved it off. "That's what best friends are for."
"Yeah. I think I'm gonna head home now. My head is pounding." That wasn't a lie. Her headache had been building up throughout the day and now Daniela felt dizzy and disoriented the more she moved around.
"Okay."
Upstairs, Mandy sat on the edge of Lip's bed where she would be staying for the night. Molly's small body had already fallen asleep on the other side of the bed. Fiona had given them the green light, albeit reluctantly.
"Thanks for everything." Mandy gave Lip one of her shy smiles.
Beside her, Lip shrugged. "It wasn't just me. If Simon hadn't have stolen his mom's car, we wouldn't have been able to even go and get Molly. You should be thanking him too."
"Still, thanks for letting her stay here. I really appreciate it." Mandy bit her lip and eyed his hands resting on his knees.
Feeling confident, she placed her hand over his in hopes that he would reciprocate the gesture. She watched his face change from calm to uncomfortable.
"Mandy," he sighed, frowning down at her hand before switching to her face. "I've got a good thing going with Daniela right now. I don't want to mess it up."
The girl nodded looking put out and withdrew her hand. "I get it."
Lip felt bad. He didn't want to hurt her but he didn't want to screw his relationship up with Daniela. He knew she was pissed off at him and that made him feel worse.
Hearing the sound of feet making their way up the stairs, both of their attentions turned to see Simon standing in the doorway. He looked sheepish as he toyed with his phone.
"So I'm grounded," he announced grimly making the other two quietly laugh.
Lip nodded past him at the stairs. "Is Daniela downstairs?"
"I think she went home."
"Shit," cursed Lip before standing up. Simon stepped aside to let him through as he went after his girlfriend.
He gulped once he realized it was just him and Mandy (plus a sleeping Molly).
"I'm sorry I couldn't have done more," he began, sounding unsure.
Mandy shook her head, frowning at him in disbelief. "Are you kidding? You did a lot." Her gaze dropped to her fidgeting hands. "No-one's gone through so much trouble to help me before."
Simon failed to hide his grin which brought a small smile to Mandy's own lips.
"I know the cat's out of the bag but I was wondering if I could still call you?" He asked tentatively. "It's just that, I've really enjoyed our, ahem, time together."
Mandy nodded, a little surprised. "Sure."
"Okay. Well, I better head home. I don't want to get into any more trouble."
"See ya." He had only taken three steps before he heard Mandy call out. "Hey, Simon?"
"Yeah?"
Mandy hesitated, the words on the tip of her tongue feeling foreign. "Thanks. And sorry that I got you grounded."
"It was worth it," shrugged Simon, smiling a little. Giving her one last wave, he made his way down the stairs leaving Mandy sitting on the bed feeling very confused all of a sudden.
Meanwhile, as Simon and Mandy were talking, Lip raced to catch up with Daniela. She had just reached the bottom of the front porch steps. Hearing the door, she looked up, meeting his stare.
"You're leaving?" He frowned, moving down to where she was.
Daniela shrugged. "Yeah, I'm pretty tired. It's been a long day." She stared up at the house. "Is Mandy staying here tonight?"
Lip nodded but was quick to explain. "Just to ease Molly into it. I'm taking Carl's bed." Daniela bobbed her head, ready to take off when he stopped her once again. "I meant what I said this morning. I didn't do this because of Mandy."
Staring up at him, Daniela smiled. "I know and I understand why you did it." Leaning up, she pressed her lips to his.
"What was that for?" Asked Lip though he didn't really mind.
The girl simply shrugged. "You're a real sweet guy when you want to be."
Lip chuckled before bringing her in for a longer kiss. "How about you come back inside?"
"As inviting and comfortable as sharing a bunk with you sounds, I'm gonna head home."
Lip nodded in understanding, watching as she turned and left. She felt a lot lighter after clearing things up with him but her forehead was still pounding.
/
Later that night, Daniela was woken up by the vibrating off her phone on the nightstand. The incessant buzzing made her groan in annoyance as her hand clawed to find it in the dark.
She winced at the bright light of her screen before her eyes adjusted and she was able to read the text from Lip.
I'm outside.
Sighing, Daniela got up and walked downstairs. She frowned when she opened the door to see him standing there in only his boxers.
"There's this thing called a doorbell," she joked, holding down a yawn. "Or sometimes people knock."
"I didn't want to risk it in case your brother was home," explained Lip.
"He's always at his girlfriend's house even though he refuses to call her that." She smirked to herself but then tilted her head at the boy curiously. "What's up?"
"Jimmy's dad got into bed with me, naked, thinking I was Ian."
Daniela winced. "Oh, that's awkward."
"You don't seem that surprised," observed Lip, moving up the stairs. "Did you already know?"
"Obviously. That's old news."
"Wow. Thanks for telling me," deadpanned Lip. Daniela held her hands up in defense, laughing quietly.
"Sorry. I thought Ian would have told you."
Lip shook his head, feeling a little annoyed. "Nope. But it would've been nice to know before the guy jabbed his dick in my back."
The girl snickered. "How do you feel?"
"Violated," was Lip's blunt response making Daniela roll her eyes as she propped the door open for him.
"Just come inside you, big baby."
Haha! Now you know who Mandy was seeing. I think only two of you managed to guess correctly that it was Simon which I'm actually really happy about.
Let me know what your reaction was!
I also want to thank all of you for reading this story. I know I'm not the best at updating but I truly appreciate you guys putting in the effort to read this. Merry Christmas/whatever you celebrate and a Happy New Year to you all and I will hopefully be seeing you all again in 2017!
Special thanks to: xenocanaan, x NikiSt x, Raging Raven, SweetRiceball20, icantfindacreativeusername, RHatch89, January Raines, Isabeaux3, Spencee98, shadowoffandoms3947, SprinklesAreFun, NeardBby, Natalya Rose, Ashibabi4, peroxxxideprincess, Kenzie216, Megan1212, Aquarine-Valentine, sturr63, sorryitsalex, and Allons-y New York!
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