HARD TIMES ━ lip gallagher²

11 | my little pony

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"THIS CAR IS MAKING my life so much easier and it's not even mine," Fiona stated, climbing into the passenger seat the next morning as the others piled into the back.

Amara snorted. "You're telling me."

"How'd you get it, anyway?" Debbie asked curiously. "Illegal stuff?"

She rolled her eyes. "No way. It's a company car. I get to deliver catered food to old people or weddings. Sometimes funerals if I'm lucky."

Mickey scoffed. "You'd have way more fun dealing drugs than giving food to mourning old people."

Fiona gave Mickey a look. "Not only old people mourn."

"Fine, mopey, whatever."

Amara masked a laugh with a cough and switched gears. "You guys ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be to see my little brother in military prison," Fiona replied, sighing as she looked out the window.

"Can I have the aux?"

"No way," Mickey shook his head. "You're gonna put on some My Little Pony shit."

"I'll put on Taylor Swift," Amara said, and the car broke out into a chorus of groans that made her look at them all in disbelief. "Okay, don't blame me because you're all tasteless." She flicked on her playlist. "Nice to meet you, where you been?"

"I could show you incredible things!" Debbie joined in, bopping her head to the beat, and Amara grinned at her through the rearview mirror. "Magic, madness, heaven, sins."

Mickey rolled down his window to shout out of it. "Fuck my life."

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"Hi," Fiona leaned over Amara to speak once they pulled up to the guard's stand outside of the gate. "Fiona Gallagher. Here for Ian Gallagher."

"IDS," the man replied without missing a beat. Amara shifted in her seat to grab the card that was in her bag as the others did the same.

"Bottom line, Sammi's a fuckin' snitch," Mickey said once the guard turned away. "I know people who take that shit real serious."

"What do you mean?" Debbie asked.

"I mean, people who will slip that bitch a roofie, strap her to a chair, and pull her fucking teeth out."

"Yeah," Amara nodded. "Felt pretty good making her face bleed yesterday."

"Still can't believe I missed that," the redhead mused.

"Much as I might like to," Fiona started, looking to Mickey. "We are not torturing Sammi. Amara did enough damage already, and clearly she just keeps pulling out random shit to make our family collapse. Let's not give her more reasons."

An engine revved loudly from next to them, and Amara peered around Fiona's head to see Lip pull up on a cheap motorcycle or something with a random man. Immediately, her heart dropped in her chest and she faced forward before they could make eye contact. A small part of her was embarrassed because of the fight, another was confused. She didn't even know what she'd done—and he treated her so poorly that she wondered if they were still even together.

Fiona opened the door and stood with a smirk. "Nice scooter."

"Get back in the vehicle, now," the guard demanded, and Amara pulled a face at him.

"Jesus, keep your shirt on," the eldest Gallagher retorted, and she sat back into the car, Lip following in suit as Debbie moved over to make room for him. Amara studiously avoided looking back to meet his gaze or even acknowledge him as she drummed her fingers against the steering wheel.

"GI Joe's not fucking around, huh?" Mickey remarked.

"He's got a rifle," Fiona stated. "Just want to point that out."

☆

"You get roofies," Debbie said as Amara put the car into park later that night, stopping in front of her house. The only thing that had come from the day was that they discovered Ian could be getting five years minimum of jail time—things weren't looking so good. "I Google waterboarding."

Mickey shook his head and walked with her up to the porch. "I say we put battery leads on her nipples and light her up like a fucking Christmas tree."

Amara snickered quietly, shutting the door behind her as she started towards the house, but felt someone tug on her sleeve, and turned to look with a raised brow, already knowing who it was. Lip had avoided her eyes just as much as she had the entire conference, and Amara could safely say that they had not uttered one word to each other the entire day. Seemed like he was the one that was going to break their shared silence.

"Hey, can we talk?"

"Oh yeah, because our last conversation went so well."

"Mar- Amara, it's not you."

She rolled her eyes. "Uh huh."

"No- no I mean it, it's not you."

Amara stuffed her hands into her pockets, and swallowed the growing lump in her throat. "Look, Lip, if you're going to break up with me just get it over with."

Lip was staring at the ground now. "It's not that I don't, you know, like you anymore. I still do. I always have."

"Right," she glanced away to stop herself from crying.

"I'm just- I've been so busy, you know? And it's not fair to you. I think we should take a break."

She inhaled quietly and turned to him with a nod. "Like a permanent one?"

His response was barely audible. "I don't know."

"Right," she said again, nodding as she began to walk backwards towards her house. "I'll see you."

He stared after her but made no move to follow. "Yeah," Lip agreed. "Uh, see you."

She barely managed to close the door behind her before the tears started to flow, and bolted up to her room without bothering to greet her grandmother who had been sitting on the couch.

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a/n

this is really short so i'll be publishing season 6 intro later !