Chapter 40.

Yes, I am aware that this chapter is horrendously short but that's because the majority of it takes place in the past. It's not the most exciting of chapters but it gives a lot of insight into why things aren't too great between Daniela and Ian.

Disclaimer: I do not own Shameless.


7 weeks ago.

"Fifty-four…fifty-five…fifty-six…"

Ian expulsed a breath as he performed his morning sit-ups. He felt the muscles in his abdomen working as he did a few more. For a month or so, he found that he had so much built up energy that needed to get it and what better way than by keeping himself in shape?

He was so focused on his exercises that he missed the sound of someone groaning. It wasn't until he heard a sharp yelp that he finally snapped out of it to take in the girl with bed-hair holding a hefty textbook in her hand, armed and ready.

He grinned in return, flashing his teeth up at her. "Morning."

The girl faltered; the book in her hands dropping slightly. She watched, bemused, as the guy continued to do crunches on the ground of her dorm room.

"Um," she licked the roof of her mouth. "Are you a friend of Daniela's?"

"Yeah," answered Ian before wiping his forehead with the back of his head and offering it out to her. "Ian."

She nodded and daintily shook it. "Megan. Do you know where Daniela is?"

Just after the question was uttered, the door swung open to reveal a wet-haired and fresh-smelling Daniela. Her eyes widened a fraction when she took in the situation.

"Shit," she muttered under her breath. "Sorry, Megan. I can explain."

"Yeah, that would be nice." Rising from the bed, Megan stepped around Ian to talk to the other girl by the door. "I don't mind you bringing guys back here but could you at least do it when I'm not in the same room? It's a little weird."

Daniela pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's not like that. He's a friend who showed up last night asking if he could crash here for a little. I was waiting for you to wake up so I could ask you."

"Right, and how long is he planning to camp out here for?"

"I'm not entirely sure," admitted Daniela with a small hopeless shrug. "We haven't had a chance to talk about it yet."

Megan seemed to be thinking about it for a long moment before finally sighing. "Look I don't mind him staying for a little while but he's gonna have to lay low. We could both get into a lot of trouble for this."

"I know. Thank you," expressed Daniela wholeheartedly. She wasn't sure what she would say to Ian if her roommate wasn't on board.

Pressing her mouth, the other girl grabbed whatever she needed to get ready for the day and headed to the door. She turned back to Ian before leaving.

"Well.… it was nice meeting you, Ian."

"You too!" He waved back. When she was gone, he turned his grin to Daniela. "She seems nice."

With a small sigh, she moved to sit on her bed and watched as he did his sit-ups.

"So," she began, placing her hands on her thighs. "How long do you think you'll be staying here for?"

"Not sure yet."

"Well, should I at least call someone to let them know you're here? Fiona, Mandy, Lip?" The last name was said much more hesitantly than the others.

Mid sit-up, Ian shook his head. "Nah, I don't think you need to worry about it."

Daniela tsked and leaned forward, her brow creasing. "Did something happen, Ian? Because you can tell me."

"I know that."

Silence ensued causing Ian to sigh when he saw that she wasn't going to drop the issue. Pausing, he leaned his arms against his propped up knees.

"Look, I came here because I missed you."

"I missed you too," replied Daniela genuinely.

Ian nodded to himself before tilting his head. "I'd just appreciate if we kept this between us. I don't really feel like going back home right now."

"Ian, I don't-"

"El." Sitting up, he fixed her with a look so deadly serious it caused her to tense up. "They don't need to know."

"Okay," she relented albeit reluctantly after a long moment. "I won't say anything."

Satisfied, he stood up with a quiet groan and wiped his sweaty palms on his shorts. His face relaxed and the seriousness was quickly replaced with a casual grin.

"Hey, do you think you could show me where the showers are?"

Nodding, Daniela stood from the bed. "Yeah, this way."

She waited for him to get his stuff together- which really wasn't much when she looked at it- before leading him to the showers. It didn't take long for her to drop him off outside the door.

Grinning, Ian reached forward to pinch her cheeks. "You're the best."

Daniela could only muster up a weak smile in return as she watched him push the door open. Before entering, however, he turned back to face her again.

"Also, it'd probably be best if you didn't tell Simon and Mandy either," he implied rather than suggested, with a shrug. "Just until I get myself figured out."

He didn't give her any time to say anything back as he entered the showers leaving Daniela to wonder if this was really the best idea.

/

Present.

Daniela wiped down the counter where a customer had just left. Sweeping crumbs into her hand, her attention snapped up at the sound of Mandy busting in wearing her famous scowl. As she passed by, Daniela quirked a brow at her.

Mandy emerged from the back a few minutes later looking no less happy than she was before. Daniela eyed her curiously as she refilled a man's coffee.

"What's wrong?" She asked causing Mandy to roll her eyes, though not at her.

"Mickey."

"What did he do?"

The Milkovich scoffed as she made her way around the counter and fixed her apron. "The question isn't 'what did he do?', it's 'what won't he do?' which is apparently anything!"

"Anything in particular?" Wondered Daniela so that her friend could continue to vent.

Mandy placed the pot of coffee down on the bench before turning to face her head-on with a hand on her hip.

"I told him to deal with his shit and go see Ian."

Daniela's brow lifted in surprise. Until now, nobody had bothered to let Mickey in on the fact that they already knew about his relationship with Ian.

"And did he?"

"Who fucking knows?" Sighed Mandy before taking off to take care of her section.

Daniela watched her walk away and tapped her fingers on the counter. Silently, she wondered if she should do the same.

.

Later on during their break, the two of them occupied their usual spots outside the diner sharing a cigarette. Daniela flicked the ash off the end of hers as her eyes read over her text messages.

D: How are things going?

L: Handling.

D: Do you need any help with anything? Liam? Or Debbie and Carl?

L: Nah, I think we'll be okay. I'm trying to keep him close by just so I don't worry too much.

L: Thank you though. I do appreciate it and I'll let you know if there's anything you can do.

"How's Lip?" Asked Mandy, shocking her out of her reading and causing the small smile on her face to disappear.

Looking up, Daniela saw that the girl was lazily glancing over her shoulder at her phone. Tucking the screen against her uniform, Daniela shrugged up at her.

"How should I know?"

Mandy gave her a knowing look, curious as to why she was even trying to hide it. "You're texting him aren't you?"

Daniela blew out a long breath, causing her shoulders to sag along with it. "Please don't make a big deal out of it because it is not a big deal. Really. I just wanted to check up on everybody."

"Mhm." Mandy took a puff of her cigarette. "I believe you."

"Mandy…"

Said girl smirked at Daniela's deadpanned expression.

"Look, he may be going through some shit right now but that doesn't mean you can just forget about what he did to you."

"I haven't," frowned Daniela, her eyes narrowing slightly.

The Milkovich raised her hands non-threateningly. "I'm not saying you have. I'm just saying it can happen and then emotions get in the way and suddenly- boom! You're back together again."

"That's not what's going to happen," promised Daniela with determination as she shook her head. "I won't let it."

"You keep telling yourself that."

Daniela watched as the other girl extinguished her cigarette and walked through the door. She knew Mandy hadn't meant it in a rude way but more in a brutally honest way. Truthfully, she appreciated that she had someone like her around to keep her in check.

She observed her phone, wondering if what Mandy said held any weight to it. She couldn't deny that since the Liam incident, her and Lip had been corresponding more and more, even if it was just through text messages. She didn't want to allow herself to consider the implications.

Pursing her lips, Daniela's heartbeat unknowingly spiked at the sight of another text. She tried to crush the disappointment she felt when she saw Chris' name.

C: Hey, you free this weekend?

Ignoring it and her pesky feelings, Daniela stubbed her cigarette out and headed back inside.

/

5 weeks ago.

Ian had been staying with Daniela for nearly two weeks and while things may have started out promising, they soon soured with each passing day.

It started three days in when he suddenly decided to wake her up at the crack of dawn to go for a morning jog with him to which she would then angrily decline, and after that came his incessant need to wander around campus like it was no big deal.

Daniela had managed to catch him in time on two occasions just walking about and interacting with a group of students like he had been there the whole semester. After hurriedly pulling him aside, she had had to remind him that her ass was out on the line if he managed to draw too much attention to himself.

When he wasn't drawing attention to himself outside, he was needlessly making his presence known to let her know how bored he was being cooped up in her dorm all day.

"Well," Daniela had said with an edge. "If you really hate it you could always go home."

For some reason, it managed to shut him up every time which was not something Daniela was complaining about. She had seriously never remembered her friend being such a chatterbox.

But as each day passed, her worry grew as she struggled to find out what had happened to him. Her first suspicion had been drugs but Ian had remained stubbornly tight-lipped about the whole thing which managed to just increase her ire.

On a particularly bad day, Daniela had returned to her dorm after getting the results back on one of her assignments that she had put as much effort into as she could considering the constant distractions from Ian that were messing with her sleeping pattern. When she had entered her dorm to find Ian smoking a joint with two people she had never seen before in her life, she almost burst into a fit of anger.

A part of her hated thinking it but as she forced herself to cool off, Daniela couldn't help but think about how everything she had tried to leave behind was coming back to haunt her. Of course, she knew Ian didn't mean it but he had unintentionally disturbed the little bubble of peace she had managed to create at college.

Still, true to her word, she hadn't told a soul about him staying with her, though she was starting to think it might not be for the worst considering how he had been acting.

.

Daniela's feet ached as she climbed the stairs of the dorm. She had just finished a shift at the diner after an already long day at school and was completely drained. She felt as if each step was a mission she wasn't willing to endure as her head pounded.

However, at the sound of equally pounding music, she frowned. As she came to her level, her eyes widened slightly at the sight of the crowded hallways, and her nose crinkled at the smell of weed and cheap beer.

Huffing to herself, she mentally cursed whatever asshole decided to throw a party on a Wednesday.

She shouldered her way through a group of lip-locked couples and past a group of guys playing beer pong smack bang in the middle of the hallway. The scowl on her face faltered when she raised her eyes to see Ian half-naked and covered in some gelatinous substance as he danced with the other students.

"Daniela!"

The girl's head whipped around at the voice until she found Megan lingering nearby looking equally unimpressed.

"Megan, what happened here?"

"Your friend decided it would be a good time to throw a party," answered her roommate with a scowl. Daniela's eyes clenched shut with a tired sigh.

"Megan, I am so sorry. Look, I'll talk to him-"

"Yeah," laughed the girl dryly. "You will. You seriously need to deal with him, El. I can't even study for my microbiology test in my own room because of how loud it is up here. I said he could stay for a little bit and I meant it but unless you get him under control I don't have any choice but to kick him out."

"I know," nodded Daniela trying her hardest to get a handle on the situation. She raked a hand through her unkempt hair. "Please, just give me until tomorrow night, okay?"

Megan chewed on her bottom lip in thought until finally nodding in agreement. Thanking her, Daniela went in search of Ian.

Making her way towards him, she caught his eye causing him to raise his arms in delight and cheer loudly. She didn't have much time before she was pulled over and glued to his chest.

Grimacing down at it, she narrowed her eyes at him. "What the hell is going on?"

"It's a party!" Yelled Ian over the roaring music. She honestly wasn't sure how the whole thing hadn't been shut down already. "You should invite around that cute guy you've been sneaking around with." He suggested with a saucy wink, managing to momentarily catch Daniela off guard.

"How did you know about that?"

"He stopped by the other day to return your gray sweatshirt."

"I was wondering where I had left that…" commented Daniela to herself before snapping out of it. "Anyway! That's not the point. The point is that you're getting a little out of hand. Actually, you've been like this for a while and I know that there's something you're not telling me so you better spill or so help me God I will have no choice but to get you to leave."

Ian frowned to himself as the boy next to him passed around a joint. Taking it between the pads of his fingers, he took a long drag before observing the joint with disappointment.

"I think I'm gonna need something stronger than this," he chuckled.

Daniela narrowed her eyes at him in disbelief. "Did you hear anything that I just said?"

Sighing, Ian lazily met her angry stare. "Of course I did, El but now let me tell you something; loosen up." Grabbing her elbow, he coaxed her out into the middle of the hallway before trying to get her to dance with him.

When a guy passed by with a few beer in his hands, Ian grabbed one before offering it out to Daniela. "Here, have a drink. It'll help."

She grimaced in return and pushed it away. "No thanks. What's going on with you?"

"Nothing," he shrugged. "I'm doing great."

"No, you're not. Something happened when you were away and I want to know what it was. Did they not like you there? Was it harder than you expected?"

Ian scoffed outright. "Please. I friggin' aced that shit. What I didn't like though was the stupid officers trying to control me every second of every day."

"But isn't that what they're supposed to do?" Frowned Daniela, clearly confused but Ian's attention was soon glued to his cup.

He tapped the side of it in absent thought. "I need a refill."

Without another word, he left in search of one. A shocked Daniela watched his back push through the crowd. She felt like she was losing control of everything and it was eating her up.

Looking around, her eyes connected with Megan's who simply raised an eyebrow at her. She offered her an apologetic look before sighing and pushing her way to her room. After managing to get inside, she whipped out her phone to call Mandy.

"What?" Came the girl's blunt greeting. Daniela didn't waste time either.

"There's something wrong with Ian."

"Ian?" At the sound of their friend's name, Mandy instantly perked up. "How do you know, did he call you?"

"No," sighed Daniela as she raked a hand over her face. "He's here with me."

"What?" Asked Mandy, confused.

"He's been staying with me for the past two weeks."

"Right. And you thought this would be a good thing to keep quiet about because…?"

"He told me not to and I tried to trust him but he's getting way out of hand," explained Daniela, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. "Do you think you and Simon can stop by tomorrow to help me talk to him?"

"Yeah, sure. But what's he done?"

Cracking open the door, Daniela peaked around to catch sight of Ian who was chugging down another beer. She grimaced with worry.

"I have no idea."


Another short chapter so sorry for that. The chapters will fluctuate depending on how much Daniela has to do in each of the episodes but by my estimations, this season should be wrapped up within 4 more chapters.

Special thanks to killjoy13213, Guest, Yunginity, I was just thrusting you, Laurafxox, 13teen, RHatch89, Guest (2), Volleyball Babe22, SweetRiceball20, Naruhina1519, peroxxxideprincess, and xenocanaan for reviewing; the 5 who followed and the 3 who favorited!

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