HARD TIMES ━ lip gallagher²

10 | long lost prince of england

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FIONA STORMED INTO PATSY'S just as Amara finished her rounds, and handed one of her one of customers a fresh glass of Coke. Her brows raised as she got closer, and Amara stepped out of the way to lean against the counter. "Someone drown your fish?"

"Fuckin' Monica," she shook her head. Amara shared a look with Anissa, one of the other waitresses. She'd heard about Monica's arrival back in town, but she hadn't personally ran into her yet. Amara wasn't complaining, though. And apparently Monica was the same as always—she just knew how to get under your skin.

"What's up?"

"Nothing," Fiona waved them off.

"You check Yelp yet?" Max asked, sliding two plates filled with food over to them to serve. "We all wrote great reviews to bury the bad one."

"Besides Amara," Anissa cut in teasingly. "She said the checkered floor gave off 80's vibes and then called the owner a hot piece of ass."

Amara smirked and grabbed one of the plates to help. "Not like I lied."

"It's fine," Fiona assured them, shaking her head. "I'm over it."

"Yo," Lip greeted as Anissa turned to bring the plates to her table. Fiona did a double take once she saw him, and Amara sidled over.

"Hi," Fiona replied. "It's your day off."

"Yeah, I know. Just came in for my check."

Fiona glanced over her shoulder and walked towards the back. "I'll go grab it."

Lip slid into a seat. Amara offered the coffee pot in her hands and he nodded. She moved to grab a mug, but he gently seized her arm. "No need. I've got my own."

Amara eyed the cup he'd brought, but poured the liquid in regardless. "This isn't BYOC."

He smiled weakly. "Not planning on sticking around. Want to take this to go."

Amara's brows furrowed. "Actually, that's a good idea."

"What is?"

She shrugged. "Offering a pick up to go service." Amara turned to the door as it opened, watching as a group of girls slid into one of her booths. "I'll be back. Gotta serve this table."

When she placed the order, she stood next to Fiona, who had just slapped down Lip's check. "Whatever you do, don't go to the laundromat."

Lip glanced outside. "She's over there?"

Amara cocked a brow. "Want me to give her an ass kicking? What'd she say to you?"

Lip smirked. "Yeah, did you unleash your wrath on any poor, unsuspecting victims yet?"

Fiona rolled her eyes. "Nope. Cool as a summer breeze. Might as well kiss that twenty goodbye!"

"Day's still young!" Lip called after her as she left the diner. He turned back to Amara. "Three o'clock."

Amara scoffed, "please. She won't make it past twelve."

☆

"Oh my god," Amara breathed, coming to stand next to Celia, who had beckoned her over frantically as if something was wrong. "Is that...?"

"Yup," Celia nodded. "The chick who wrote the bad review on Fiona's laundromat."

The two girls shared looks, before Amara flipped out her phone to call her. "You should get over here," she said.

She could practically feel Fiona straighten up. "Why? Is there a problem?"

Amara hesitated, but then replied truthfully. "That bitch who wrote the Yelp review is here."

Fiona hung up, and Amara lifted her gaze to see her crossing the street. Celia pursed her lips and nudged Amara's shoulder before getting back to work. Amara texted Lip with a slight smirk. About to win our bet. You owe me $15

Not a chance.

She nearly snorted out loud, and dropped her phone back into her pocket. She watched from the corner of her eye as Fiona sat down into the booth, Amara tried not to let it distract her from her current customer.

It was practically impossible to do, though. Especially when Fiona stood from the booth to wipe a burger covered in mustard and ketchup all over Jesse's pink shirt. The younger girl ran out of the building, but Fiona didn't stop there.

"Yeah, maybe you should stop being such an asshole, huh?" She yelled after her. Celia and Amara shared another wide-eyed look from across the diner. "Go cry to your daddy about your trust fund, you little bitch!"

Amara's smirk only widened, and she texted Lip once more. 11:58. I win. Pay up, whore

☆

Later that evening, Amara sat next to Lip on the front steps of the Gallagher house, leaning her head against the creaky wooden railing as she rested an arm on his knee, staring upwards. It was nice, she realized. Being around him again. Just as friends. It was how things were before it all got complicated. Of course there were those few moments of when he'd say something that would completely catch her off guard, and she had to control herself so she wouldn't become a blushing mess, but other than that, it was pretty normal between them.

They were just Amara and Lip. No labels. No promises to each other. Just two people who were bound together by something neither of them would ever be able to understand. James would say it was fate. She nearly laughed aloud at the thought.

Fiona pushed the gate open, shuffling her feet as the pair stared at her expectedly. She huffed, and reluctantly pulled out her wallet to hand Lip a twenty. "I don't want to talk about it," she mumbled, taking the cigarette from her brother's hands. "Nice seeing you two together again."

"Yeah well," Lip shrugged and took the cigarette back. "Felt like I was missing my left arm."

"Really?" Amara titled her head to the side. "I felt like I was missing my hernia."

"My pancreas, too."

Amara narrowed her eyes. "We're not turning this into a competition"

An unfamiliar car rolled up before Lip had the chance to respond, shining a bright light right in their faces. She held up her hand to block it. "Jesus."

"Woah! The fuck is that?"

"Does Ian Gallagher live here?" A man questioned, standing in front of the light. Amara scrunched her nose.

"Why?"

"Detective Raymond," the man introduced, holding out his badge. "Just need a minute of his time."

Fiona straightened and turned to the door. "Hey Ian? Can you come out here?"

They waited in quiet suspense unti Ian stepped out, who faltered once he saw the detective. Trevor appeared a moment after him. "Ian Gallagher? According to corrections records, you visited Mikhailo Aleksandr Milkovich in prison on multiple occasions."

"Mickey?"

"Damn what a mouth full," Amara muttered. "Why the fuck is his name so long? Is he the long lost prince of England or something?"

Fiona reached around Lip to smack her arm. "Shut up."

"Has he contacted you?" Raymond questioned.

Ian blinked in confusion. "No."

Raymond stared back at him blankly. "He escaped last night."

Complete dead silence. Amara couldn't take it anymore. "Holy fuck."

☆