Chapter 38.

It's finally here! This chapter picks up during the events of 4x05 and covers Daniela's new lifestyle off at college. Sorry that it's not amazingly long.

Enjoy and let me know what you thought!

Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless.


18 weeks later.

Daniela dropped her bag down on the floor beside her seat and readied herself for her last class of the day. Reaching into her bag, she procured her notes that she had taken the last lesson and placed them on her desk.

She tapped her pencil against them absently as she waited for class to begin. It wasn't long before more students filed in and took their respective seats around the room. As one, in particular, passed her, Daniela did a double-take.

The person was already looking at her and smirked when he saw her. Daniela simply stared back before deciding to save any thoughts about that for later. Shaking her head, she focused on the front where her professor was getting ready.

"I have the results of your practice exams here," said the man, holding the papers up to show the class. Looking over his shoulder, he gestured towards the guy sitting beside his desk. "Chris, can you hand them out please."

Daniela watched semi-interested as he did as he was asked. When he made his way to her, she noticed him slow down and purposefully kept her eyes locked onto her notes which were then covered by her test papers.

She waited until he was two students down before she flicked through it. She made a small noise of approval to herself, having expected to do much worse but she was happily surprised. Then again, her idea of a pass was a bit less than what it should've been.

Daniela turned a couple of pages when she spotted a sticky note stuck to the third page. She frowned lightly as her eyes read over it.

Still convinced you don't need that tutor?

Glancing up, Daniela saw that Chris' eyes were already on her, obviously waiting for her response. He quirked an eyebrow in silent question. Unimpressed, she shook her head causing him to laugh under his breath.

Her eyes dropped back to her notes, the curtain of hair managing to hide her own small grin.

An hour later, the class came to an end and everyone began packing up their things eagerly. Daniela did the same but lingered behind after everyone had filed out of the room.

Approaching the front of the class, she waited for the TA to notice her.

"Something wrong with the mark you got?" He asked, not raising his eyes from his desk as he continued packing up his things.

Daniela slapped down the sticky-note causing him to pause. Chris' eyes flicked up to hers momentarily.

"Stop leaving these for me to find," she said, her tone half-annoyed, half-amused. He had done it on numerous occasions and Daniela was surprised that the professor hadn't called either out on it yet.

Chris stared at it before shrugging. "I thought you might want some help. You barely scraped through."

Daniela huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "I think the point you're missing in that sentence is that I did scrape through. And it was hardly scraping, that was well above a simple pass."

"If you say so," he replied, putting his laptop away.

"Just because you're some Chemistry whiz," muttered Daniela under her breath; her comment making Chris smirk. Still, she continued to stand there waiting and watched as Chris slung his bag over his shoulder.

When his eyes settled on her standing there, a grin crept onto his face. Nudging his chin towards the door, they both made their way out.

"You could be one too you know?" He said as they made their way outside. Seeing her confusion, he elaborated. "A so-called 'Chemistry whiz'- if you let me help you."

"No thanks," replied Daniela, her voice evasive. "Been there, done that, it didn't end well."

Chris chuckled in response, sensing that there was a story behind it, but relented. "Okay then."

As the exited the building, he glanced sideways at her with a smirk.

"Your dorm or mine?"

"Yours is closer," she said, causing them to head in that direction.

.

Daniela grunted as her back hit the wall of his room. Her hands clawed at his shirt and Chris pulled away from her mouth long enough so that she could get it off of him. At the same time, his fingers worked on her bra.

"I have to be at work in an hour," she told him as his mouth dipped to her neck.

"Are you asking me to stop?" He asked coyly and she could feel his bastard smirk against her heated skin.

Daniela's eyes rolled back and her legs wrapped tighter around his waist as he brushed against a sensitive spot.

"God no."

Taking hold of her, Chris moved her towards the bed before gently laying her down.

/

"So when do I get to take you out on a date?" Asked Chris, watching her back as she pulled on a shirt.

Daniela tossed him an odd look over her shoulder. "Please don't make this a thing."

"This isn't the first time this has happened which technically means this is already a thing," he rebutted cockily causing her to roll her eyes.

Sighing, she twisted her body to face him better.

"You've already had sex with me, what else do you need?"

Her seriousness offended him and he sat up straighter. "That is not all that's important to me."

Daniela simply gave him a look that said otherwise before bending down to pull on her shoes. "We both know I am not the only one you're screwing right now."

Chris tilted his head, seeing her point but nevertheless leaned forward to stroke her cheek.

"But you are the prettiest."

Daniela scoffed and rolled her eyes before standing from the bed. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, trying to search the room for her coat. Spotting it, she moved and swiped it from the ground. The feeling of two arms snaking around her torso caused her to stiffen in shock.

Chris pulled her deeper into his warm chest, causing her eyes to drift shut as his face came to bury itself in her neck.

"I have to get to work," she reminded him impatiently.

"Let me drop you off."

"No thanks," she denied, pushing off of him so that she could finally pull her coat on. "I'm a big girl, I'll be fine."

Daniela heard him sigh behind her as she picked her discarded books up from the floor. "I have to stop by my dorm on my way back anyway so," she added, trying to soften the impact.

Flicking the hair out from under her coat, Daniela finally turned to face him. Chris stood watching her, his face indicating that he wanted to say something but it was promptly cut off by Daniela walking forward to drop a quick kiss on his cheek.

"See you."

"Bye," he waved sarcastically, seeing her already out the door. The door swung closed behind her a second later.

Daniela checked her phone, cursing at the time. She had to hurry across the campus to get to her own dorm and then go to work. She was definitely going to be late. Shooting a quick text to Mandy to let her know, Daniela huffed and picked up the pace.

As she was crossing the quad, a chiming in her pocket alerted her of a call. Pulling it out, Daniela smiled seeing that it was Debbie.

"Hey, Debs," she greeted warmly.

"Have you heard from Ian recently?" Asked the girl, getting straight to the point. The mention of her best friend managed to slow Daniela down.

She blinked at her surroundings. "Uh…I can't say I have. Why is something wrong?"

Debbie's sigh crackled through the line. "We think he might be in some trouble." Daniela's breath hitched, her forehead creasing as she continued walking to her dorm.

"How much?"

"I don't know," answered Debbie. "Lip didn't say."

Daniela's stomach churned despite herself at the name. She hadn't seen or heard from him ever since the night he showed up on her doorstep to tell her about getting into MIT.

Despite her own selfish thoughts that she didn't want him to be so far away, Daniela had hoped that he would take the scholarship but Debbie had later told her that he was studying there in Chicago.

A small part of her had been relieved.

"So you haven't heard from him at all?" Asked Debbie, pulling her out of her thoughts of Lip and into fresher ones.

.

7 weeks ago.

Daniela groaned as her head hit the pillow.

She had only been at college for a few months but she was still getting used to how different everything was there. However, getting away from everyone after the year she had been having was a big positive.

She was just in the process of falling asleep when the loud vibration of her phone on the nightstand stirred her awake. Glaring at the hateful noise, Daniela pulled it over to her and blinked down at the name.

Her mood brightened somewhat when she saw that it was Ian.

"Hello?" She started, rubbing her tired eyes.

"El!" Responded the chipper voice that had her cringing at the sheer volume. "I know it's late but I just needed to ask you a quick question."

Sighing, she tilted her head. "What?"

"What's your dorm room number?"

At that, Daniela frowned, suddenly more awake. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just answer the question."

Daniela groaned but relented. "207."

Ian repeated the number under his breath seriously, causing Daniela's confusion to grow.

"Ian?" She asked but was cut off by a noise out in the hallway that was followed by someone knocking on the door.

Slowly, Daniela rose from the bed and tossed a wary look at her roommate, thankful that the other girl seemed to be a heavy sleeper. Shuffling over to the door, Daniela opened it only for her eyes to bulge at what she saw.

"Surprise!"

"Oh my God," said Daniela, stunned. Ian grinned back at her, his widely-spread arms coming to scoop her up into a tight hug. She laughed breathlessly as he lifted her off of her feet and her arms clung to him. "What? How?"

Ian's deep chuckle reverberated against her chest before he placed her back down. He smiled down at her and she returned it, seeing the utter happiness on his face.

"I missed you so much, you have no idea, hey, is it okay if I crash here for a bit?" He asked in one big breath. Daniela, feeling a little winded, nodded.

"Sure. You'll have to keep it down though," she jutted a finger over her shoulder towards the other bed in the room. "My roommate's sleeping."

Ian's brow hiked up and he shook his head. "Oh yeah, no problem, she won't even notice I'm here." Moving past her, he stopped to place a kiss on her cheek. "Thanks for this, El."

Daniela pressed her lips together before closing the door behind him and walking back into her room. Her arms crossed over her chest as she watched Ian lay out his sleeping bag on the floor. She still couldn't believe he was here- she just wasn't sure why.

Ian glanced up at her as he spread the sleeping bag out and offered her a wide grin that triggered her own smaller one.

.

"Hello? Daniela?"

Debbie's voice pounded into her eardrums, shocking Daniela out of her memory.

Shaking her head, she adjusted her hold on the phone. "Yeah?"

"You haven't heard from him?" Asked Debbie again, hoping that she was actually paying attention this time.

"Uh," Daniela blew out a long breath and raked a hand through her messy hair. "A few weeks ago I heard that he was staying with an old boyfriend, Lloyd. Lip will know who he is."

On the other end of the line, Daniela heard the girl conversing with her brother before her voice rang out loud and clear again.

"Okay, well we're going to head over and see what he knows. Thanks, El."

"No problem... Wait!" She said just before Debbie had the chance to hang up.

"Yeah?"

"If you find him, could you let me know?" Asked Daniela with a small sigh. "I've been worried about him."

"Sure," promised the younger girl. "I'll call you later."

The line went dead leaving Daniela to wipe a hand over her face. Opening her eyes, she sighed and kept walking to her dorm.

She was definitely late for work now.

/

Half-an-hour later, Daniela pushed through the doors of the 'Waffle Cottage'- the diner she had been working at for the past few months. It was near campus and had the added benefit of Mandy already working there to help get her through the day.

Most days, Simon would stop by to see the two of them whenever he didn't have class- though Daniela was probably sure it was more so that he could flirt with his girlfriend- but she digressed.

Her eyes caught on the back of his head as he sat at the counter where Mandy was busy pouring him a cup of coffee. She grinned down at him, the two murmuring things to each other that Daniela did not want to be privy to when Mandy's eyes flicked up to rest on her.

"Oh, look who finally showed up," she joked, a smirk tugging at her mouth as Simon spun around to also see her.

"You're late, missy," he chided, tapping his wrist that was bereft of a watch like an old man.

Daniela simply huffed despite her amusement. Mandy placed the pot of coffee down on the counter, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend.

"Don't worry," she said, leaning forward. "I covered your tables."

Daniela sighed in relief and adjusted the collar of her uniform. "Thanks, I got caught up after class."

Mandy gave her a look signifying that she didn't believe her. "Sure."

"Yeah, nice sex hair by the way," smirked Simon as he brought his mug up to his mouth. He tossed her a cheeky wink for extra measure.

Daniela's eyes widened before she quickly hurried into the staff room to fix it; the traitorous sound of her friends' laughter ringing out behind her.

Returning a few minutes later looking much more presentable, Daniela scowled at Simon.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?"

His eyes flicked to the clock and they widened. "Shit, yeah I do." Leaning over the counter, he kissed Mandy goodbye before heading towards the door. "See you later!"

Daniela waved back at him, a small grin on her face that mirrored Mandy's before each girl went their separate ways to serve their sections. Daniela grabbed the freshly-brewed pot of coffee and made her way around refilling drinks.

Due to it being the middle of the day, service wasn't as busy so the first half of her shift passed by easily enough. Still, she was thankful when her break came around.

She made her way outside the diner with Mandy who leaned against the brick wall while Daniela took a seat on the dusty ground; one leg crossed over another. The two of them shared a cigarette- something Daniela had still been trying to drop.

Mandy must've sensed something was off, judging by her silence and the deep-in-thought frown creasing her forehead.

"Everything okay?"

Flicking some ash away, Daniela pursed her lips and rolled the cigarette between her fingers. "Debbie called me today asking about Ian."

Mandy nodded and adjusted her position against the wall. "What did you tell her?"

Daniela simply shrugged. "I told her that the last I'd heard, he was staying with Lloyd." She paused to take a puff before slowly releasing it back into the air. Her eye moved to rest on her friend's figure. "She said he could be in some trouble."

"She say how bad it was?" Asked Mandy, her face remaining impassive.

Daniela shook her head. "It sounded pretty urgent though."

Mandy breathed a deep sigh after that and rolled her tongue along the length of her mouth.

"You don't think-?"

"Yeah," interrupted Daniela. "I do. Something was wrong with him. He wasn't normal. It has to be because of what happened."

Mandy huffed to herself, her own thoughts drifting to what had happened. A minute later, she glanced inside to peek at the clock.

"Break's over," she announced before throwing her cigarette to the ground and stubbing it out. Before going inside, she turned back to Daniela and gave her a half-smile. "Try not to worry about it too much, okay? He'll come around soon."

Daniela nodded to herself, still not entirely convinced. With a groan, she pushed herself up off of the ground before doing the same with her cigarette and following Mandy inside.

/

Despite Mandy's words, she couldn't seem to stop thinking about it for the rest of the day. It had stuck with her even more so after her lunch break and also as she struggled to get to bed that night.

She had tossed and turned, feeling a heavy guilt weighing down on her chest as her mind ran back to Ian and the last time she had seen him.

After a fitful night of sleep, Daniela gave up and decided to get out of bed early that morning. As she pulled the covers back, a bad feeling churned in her stomach. She knew something bad was coming, she just didn't know what it was.

Daniela stretched, feeling her muscles contract before her arms dropped to her sides. Her eyes flicked to her phone and she reached for it, not expecting to see that she had two missed calls and voicemails.

One was from Debbie and the other, shockingly, from Lip.

Daniela frowned, seeing the timestamps on the calls and quickly checked them.

"Uh, hey." Lip's voice crackled in her ear but that wasn't what solidified that unease she had been feeling. It was the hollowness in his tone. She chewed on her lip as the voicemail continued.

"Listen-uh, I-I know it's late and you're probably asleep but I just- I just really needed to talk to somebody right now, so-" A long silence ensued and Daniela figured he was suddenly regretting this decision to call her.

He released a breath.

"Actually, you know what, just don't worry about it. Uh," he stumbled to find words. Daniela kept the phone pressed to her ear, clinging onto each word. "Sorry."

The message cut off abruptly, leaving her confused and unsatisfied. She didn't get much time to contemplate what was going on when Debbie's voicemail began.

"El," Debbie's voice broke and it was obvious that she had been crying. "Liam's in the hospital and Fiona just got arrested." Daniela's eyes widened and were soon brimming with tears as she heard the other girl sobbing on the other end.

By the time the message was over, Daniela was already half-way finished getting ready.


Sorry that it's so short, it's more of an introductory chapter than anything but it sets up a lot of the storylines this season. I'm not going to lie though, most of these chapters won't be the usual 5k+ just because I don't want to bore you with menial classroom talk.

Special thanks to Gina-B-ookworm, RHatch89, Naruhina1519, 13teen, SweetRiceball20, Laurafxox for reviewing, the five who followed, and the four who favorited!

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