Moping; that's what Lip called it anyway. Ian simply ignored his brother because he wasn't moping, or so he told himself.

"Look, failing your trig and algebra classes isn't the end of the world, Ian," Lip said as they sat on Ian's bed passing a joint between them. "You wanted to go to West Point for the wrong reason, anyway."

Ian scoffed. "Oh yeah," he turned to face his brother, "and what was that?" he asked, faking an interested tone. Sometimes he really hated Lip's intelligence and not just because he was book smart but because he seemed to just get things. That fact alone made Ian question why Lip had stuck by Karen through all the shit she put him through, but he thought feelings probably had a lot to do with that; feelings seemed to make a lot of things far more messy and complicated than they needed to be.

"You thought that joining the fucking army was the only way you could get out of this place and that's just stupid-"

"Thanks," Ian muttered, interrupting.

"Jesus Ian, do you really wanna get out of here so badly that you'd rather die in some foreign fucking desert? Because that doesn't make sense and yeah, that is stupid because it isn't even about fighting for your country or any of that patriotic bullshit to you and you know it," he took a short drag and blew out smoke rings. "You wanted to join the army because some pretentious officer came into your class and told you that that was the only way you would ever get out of here and that isn't true because you could do a hell of a lot of things to get out of here, man, and that is the truth."

Weed made Lip ramble, made him chatty, but it also made him honest and Ian knew that and deep down he had known everything Lip had just said all along. It wasn't about fighting for a country that thought he was "one of God's mistakes" - it had been so long since he had heard those words but they stuck in his mind - it was about getting out the only way he thought he could. Maybe Lip was right, maybe he could get out some other way and not get his ass shot dead in the process. Ian hoped so.

A few days later Mandy phoned him up telling him to come round because she never asked - a trait all the Milkovichs had - and so Ian did because it was the weekend and he had a day off work and no plans.

Mandy was playing on the X-Box when he knocked and she opened it quickly, didn't even say hi, then went back to her game. All she had on was her underwear and a too tight t-shirt because it was Spring now and Mandy didn't need much of an excuse to wear as little clothing as possible without catching hypothermia.

Ian sat down on the couch beside her and she instinctively put her little feet onto his lap. He looked at her for a while, expecting her to talk, to gossip about her friends, but all she did was carry on shooting animated people.

"Mandy? You okay?" he asked, putting a hand on one of her ankles, finally getting her attention as she paused the game.

"Don't hate me, alright?" she turned to face him and she couldn't have been comfortable in her current position but she didn't move.

Ian frowned a little. "Alright."

"I have to dump you."

A smile spread across Ian's face. "Yeah? Have you met someone?" he asked, genuinely interested.

Mandy looked confused like she had expected him to shout at her, get mad. "Uh, yeah... you don't hate me?" she gave him her best puppy dog eyes which, quite surprisngly to Ian, looked exactly like Mickey's - not that he'd seen that look all that often.

Ian laughed a little. "Why would I hate you?"

"Well, because I was like your cover or whatever. I don't want you gettin' shit just 'cause you like dick."

Another laugh left him. "Yeah well, after "dating" you, I don't think anyone is going to guess that I'm gay," he said reassuringly. "So who is he? Is it still Lip?"

Mandy shook her head then proceeded to tell him all about her new boyfriend: his name was Louis, he was really tall, taller than Ian, he was two years older, worked on some construction site and was "like crazy hot". She said how they hadn't even had sex on the first date and that he actually liked to hang out with her.

Ian was pleased, mainly because Mandy had found someone who didn't sound like the usual type of dickhead she went for, but also because, even though he wasn't planning on properly coming out anytime soon, pretending to have a girlfriend felt like he was lying to himself; he wasn't ashamed of being gay but pretending to be straight and staying in the closet were two different things and Ian only really intended on doing the latter.

An hour later and Mandy had finally stopped talking long enough to make them pizza bagels, though that wasn't technically true because she was still yammering on even in the kitchen.

"I went to see Mickey a couple of weeks ago," she stated, walking back into the room balancing two plates and two beers like a pro.

Ian's head shot up, his eyes slightly wide. If he was honest, he had been waiting for Mandy to bring him up because he was desperate to know how he was doing. Annoyingly.

"He's still an asshole," she said with a smirk handing him his beer and plateful of food. "He's actually made a friend, can you believe that?" she laughed a little. "I mean I know you guys were like kinda friends but that's 'cause you worked togther and stuff."

And because we were doing it, Ian thought.

"She's this girl he met in, get this, his fucking anger management class!"

Ian nearly choked on the beer he was swallowing. Mickey in therapy? The idea seemed logical but at the same incredibly stupid because Mickey was just Mickey, he would never change, he'd always be that idiot thug who loved to fight a little too much and was more than a little rough around the edges. Or so Ian thought, found himself hoping sometimes. That didn't really make sense because he had always wished Mickey had been just slightly sensitive. But a calm Mickey just wouldn't have been right.

"Wow," Ian finally said because that's all he could think to say.

Wiping her fingers on her t-shirt, Mandy nodded her head. "I know, right?"

There was sudden, loud knock at the door that startled both of them. Nobody ever really came round the Milkovich's house: Mandy's other brothers had all moved out now doing God knows what, Mickey was in juvie and her dad was high off his ass in the kitchen

She got up and answered the door and in walked three police officers - one of them Tony Markovich - and a bald middle-aged man in an ill-fitting suit Ian figured was a detective. Tony nodded at Ian and he nodded back.

"I'm Detective Smith, is your father home?" the man in the suit asked looking at Ian.

Just as Ian was about to explain Mandy walked so she was infront of them. "He doesn't live here and yeah, my dad's home. Why?" Her face was straight and there was an obvious edge to her voice.

"Where is he?" Detective Smith asked, looking around briefly before spotting someone in the kitchen. He looked across at the three police officers - Terry was well known for being a wild one and Ian wondered if three cops would be enough - then pointed to the kitchen.

There was a loud bang and soon Terry's shouts of protest were filling up the house. Ian stood with Mandy at the doorway, an arm around her shoulder, as the officers fought to control Terry which was made easier by how high on multiple drugs he was. The two of them stood there as they finally wrestled him to the ground three broken plates and an upturned table later and cuffed him whilst one of them read him his rights. They stood there as he was told he was being arrested on the suspicion of murder on two accounts.

Mandy didn't so much as flinch when she heard that. Ian guessed that growing up with Terry Milkovich meant that Mandy knew what he was capable of and that just because this was the first time he had gotten caught, didn't mean it was the first time he had killed.

He was hauled off the ground and escorted outside to the police car still shouting out nonsense and giving the cops a hard time controlling him.

"Hey!" Mandy shouted at Detective Smith.

He turned around and walked back up the stairs to the house. "Yes?" he asked like this was the hundredth question Mandy had asked and he was getting bored of it.

"Make sure the fucker rots in a cell," she snarled because Mandy hated her dad more than anyone and ever since he got her pregnant she was no longer afraid to show it.

A week later Terry Milkovich was sentenced to twenty to life. Mandy had told Ian that as she wrote a letter to Mickey explaining the situation.

Ian wondered if it would change things once Mickey was released, whether he'd apologise or just stop being such a cold-hearted prick becaue Ian knew that, above all, Mickey was scared shitless about his dad finding out and killing him and that scared Ian just as much.