"Are you in a fight club?!" Lip turned to face Ian and Maisie who walked into the bar, Ian covered in bruises and cuts, but the boy didn't bother responding and instead walked off. "Kash's wife found out he was fucking her husband so punched him, the whole thing was both eventful and very traumatic" the girl laughed filling Lip in on the details of his brothers life knowing Ian wouldn't bother.
"Oh, fuck, Frank! Another TV?" Kev shouted as he heard the noise of something tearing away from the wall to see Frank had fallen over drink still in his hand.
*
"Is that a Taser? Where'd you get that?" Fiona exclaimed as she looked in the bathroom to see Carl pretending to taser Lip, Liam and Maisie. "I let him borrow it." Lip smiled as he looked over at Maisie who grabbed Liam off him helping to change him.
"Carl finally got invited someplace by normal kids. Robbie Rebello's having a paintball party. Towel?" Ian poked his head round the shower curtain as Fiona passed him a towel.
"Yeah, but he's not going, so I gave him the Taser to play with. Don't worry. It doesn't work." Lip assured her but Maisie smirked knowing Mickey could happily fix it for them. "Who's Candace?" Debbie questioned reading a message of Steve's phone while he remained asleep.
"No idea. You aren't going, Carl?" Fiona pieced her brows together knowing it wasn't like the boy to pass down an opportunity like that. "No. It costs $27." he scoffed his face lighting up when Fiona took some money out her bra.
"Hey Liam" Maisie smiled taking him of Lip while he went to talk to Fiona. "Woosh" she pretended to fly the boy around the room like an aero plane making him giggle with excitement. "Here you go Fiona, they should last a while I used to wear them when I was little" the girl smiled passing the boy to Fiona who smiled to the boy cheekily.
"Steve got a text from Candace. 'Sweetie, call me. It's important.'" Debbie read the text from Steve's phone but Fiona quickly took it from her shutting the phone off. "Hey, you don't read other people's messages." she reminded the girl quickly skimming over the message while she wasn't paying attention.
"Come on Debbie, school" Maisie shouted up from the bottom of the stairs waiting for the girl impatiently.
Maisie hadn't been home in 3 days now because her dad had been drinking a lot which caused him to get angry and lash out so she tended to avoid it, usually she would've gone out on the streets but now she had the Gallagher's she spent most of her nights there along with Mandy.
*
"Hey Kev, hey-" Maisie stopped speaking staring at the girl in front of her who had her hair all done up and a light blue dress on, clearly Kev and V hadn't dressed her.
"I'm Ethel, pleasure to meet you" she almost curtsied at the girl causing Maisie to look at her in confusion. "Maisie" she introduced herself back restraining herself from curtseying back at her.
"We're going over to the Gallagher's, you coming" Kev questioned after the awkward interaction between the two girls came to an end. "Obviously" she scoffed wiping her top from the paint Carl had shot at her when she walking over to the house.
"What happened to you anyway, decided to fight with paint instead of a human being" he mocked looking at her hair and clothes noticing the paint that seemed to have not missed a single spot.
"Carl shot at me when I was on my way over, he's just got back from some paint ball party, done something to his eye" Maisie laughed running water through her hair before walking out the house behind V.
"Hey, hey! I want you guys to meet our new daughter." Kev announced walking into the house with beers in his hand. "Foster daughter." V corrected walking through the house into the kitchen clearly in a mood.
"Why you got to do that?" Kev shouted after her rolling his eyes at his wife. "Hi, I'm Karen. Nice to meet you." Lip's girlfriend held her hand out to shake Ethel's but instead she went to curtsy again causing Maisie to raise her brows wondering where the girl had actually come from and what she'd been taught to do.
"Oh, right, 'cause it's 18th-century England." Karen smiled taking her hand back. "Frankie's home!" Debbie ran into the house, Frank coming in soon after with a huge smile on his face.
"Oh, my God, I am so wired." Debbie jumped up and down on the sofa, Maisie looking at her in confusion. "You took drugs" she questioned trying to look at the girls pupils but failing because she wouldn't stop moving.
"Debs, what's going on?" Fiona asked walking out the kitchen wondering where all this excitement had come from. "We got high on sugar, because Daddy quit drinking." she announced causing Maisie to snigger knowing there was no way Frank was giving up the drink.
"Whose daddy?"
"Me daddy. Me, me, me-me-me-me."
"shit." Lip cursed as Frank disappeared of into the kitchen. "What?" Fiona looked over at her brother in worry. "He's done this once before." Lip admitted not finding any shock in his dad's new desire to quit drinking.
"We gotta help Daddy stay busy and keep his mind off of drinking, so he can make $3,000." Debbie told Fiona still bouncing up and down on the sofa almost loosing balance. "Hey, everybody, come here. Gather round." Frank announced walking back into the front room moving Carl further into the room.
"Um, I know I haven't been the most exemplary father for the past three or 15 years. But now I'm gonna need your help to get through this. From this point forward, we're going to be a family again." he went to speak again but looked at Ethel who was stood in the corner of the room looking scared.
"What the hell is that?" he exclaimed looking her up and down as if she wasn't real and he was making sure he wasn't imagining her. "Shut up Frank" Maisie scoffed, quick to defend the girl as everyone turned to face her, she still remained quiet though looking at the floor in embarrassment.
"Ready, set, go!" Kev screamed as they came up with the first plan which was supposed to keep him busy. The group ran upstairs through to the other side, spinning Ethel round, going under the wooden stick Debbie and Kev held and diving onto the sofa Fiona being the first one to get there.
Carl and Frank went to run round again but stopped when Frank saw the piano his eyes lighting up. He went to sit down in front of it Debbie joining his side as he played it.
Everyone stopped in shock as he started to sing everyone joining in apart from Lip, Maisie and Karen who remained silent.
"I can't believe you guys are buying into all his bullshit." Lip finally spoke up walking towards the front door in annoyance. "Come on. I'll walk you home." Lip pulled Karen up from the sofa as Fiona turned to face him, confused where the boys sudden disapproval had come from.
"What difference does it make? He'll be drinking again by tomorrow, anyway." Fiona laughed watching as Maisie took herself off to sit on the stairs with Carl saying bye to Lip and Karen.
"No, not when money's involved." he snapped walking off leaving Karen stood awkwardly, she smiled at Fiona mouthing bye to her before joining Lip and making her way back to her house.
"Nice hair Mae suits you" Carl mocked looking at the blue and pink paint that remained stuck in her hair. "You wanna get pushed down the stairs" she warned grabbing the back of his shirt and playfully pretending to push him.
