all in favor | ian gallagher

OUT OF MY LEAGUE [FIVE]

*sensitive content ahead*
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From the possibilities that they were given, this certainly wasn't the one any of them were expecting. As they drove back home from Galena, Petal felt uneven.

They had not only left the peaceful quaint town, but a sweet old lady with a gift. That gift was her ability to plant wisdom into a youthful, developing brain. Petal wished she could be as wise as her someday.

Another downside to the drive was how bitter the tension between Ian and Mickey had been. Each lane the car swerved through was more tension on their plate.

Petal sat in the middle of the two boys, blaming herself for the way they'd glare at each other. Little did she know that the thoughts roaming their minds weren't at all like the expressions of their faces.

If Ian knew Mickey better, there's a chance he could get along with him. But with Petal in the picture, things were hard.

"What you did back there— that was pretty badass."

Mickey whipped around to meet Ian's eyes, puffing out a mock of a chuckle.

"All I did was snatch the guy's wallet. Ain't that badass, is it?" he questioned.

"I usually condemn this kind of stuff but I will agree. It was cool, Mick," chimed in Petal.

He shook his chin up and down to hide his witty grin as Lip sped off. The motions circling him seemed to reverse when soft giggles filled the car.

Behind Next to him, Ian was throwing his head back in joy. His hand was pressed against his stomach to control some of the tearful shrieks of laughter that fell from his lips.

When Petal awoke from her nap shortly after they arrived in Chicago, she was nestled into the crook of Ian's neck. He didn't seem to mind. In fact, his posture made him look relaxed— happy that she'd done so.

With a yawn, Petal lifted her jaw and took in her surroundings. They were near the south side at that point.

"Are we dropping Mickey off?" she asked drowsily.

Lip switched on the blinker and made a sharp turn onto a different street. "We'll see."

"We'll see?" she scoffed. "What do you mean 'we'll see'? Mickey can't ignore his dad forever."

That didn't go over well with the Milkovich sitting beside her.

"For fuck's sake, don't you know how to keep your thoughts to yourself?" Mickey jeered, adjusting his position to get away from Petal.

Ian raised a brow at his older brother through the mirror above his forehead.

"Talk to her like that again and see what happens," he blurted out with vex.

"Oh, yeah? Wanna test me, princess?"

"Guys— guys!"

All of their faces went emotionless when Lip forced his foot down on the brake, flinging his upper body toward them to say, "Stop. It won't get us anywhere if we sit here and yell."

Vehicles honked at them from other lanes but it didn't faze him. The only thing he cared about was dissolving the quarrel that had burst.

"Let's bring Mickey to our place and then we can sort this out. Just keep your composure until we get home. Please."

They rolled their eyes in unison. The next ten or fifteen minutes which remained would be a fun time.

Once the car doors were open, Mickey, Ian, and Petal hightailed it to the house. Luckily, the front door wasn't locked so they could each shove themselves through and storm into a room of their choice. Without being together, of course. Even Petal and Ian weren't upset about having separate rooms.