Middle Child Syndrome- Ian Gallagher

hey, ryder

A month passed since Ian and I broke up. I still felt shitty about everything, and it wasn't easy seeing him at work most days of the week. Sean tried his best not to schedule us at the same time, but it had to happen sometimes.

In the meantime, I was looking for other jobs to avoid seeing Ian. It sucked because the pay was pretty good, but it'd be better for my mental health to not have to see him all the time. 

That day in particular was nuts. Otis, the assistant manager got arrested outside of Patsy's for drug possession. Sean would need a new assistant manager. I didn't even bother asking because I already knew who he'd pick. Fiona. 

I came home from my shift to see Persephone looking at her phone giddy as ever.

"What are you so happy about?" I said. 

"Carl's home early from jail!" She said, jumping up and down,  "Got out on good behavior."

"Carl?" I said, "You're back on him? What happened to Anthony?"

"We're done," she said, "Broke up a week ago."

"Oh, honey. I'm sorry," I said, "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, "Dude was a jerk anyway. They're having a welcome home party for Carl tonight. You coming?"

I laughed, "Not a chance in hell. But tell everyone I say hi!"

"Oh, also. Debbie's pregnant!" Persephone said.

My jaw dropped, "She's WHAT?! Who's the dad?"

"Some guy at our school named Derek she's been seeing for a while," she said, "You sure you don't wanna come?"

"Yes, Seph," I said, "I don't wanna see Ian, and Ian doesn't wanna see me."

Persephone hugged me, "Ok. I'll bring home a piece of cake for you."

I nodded, "Thanks, hon."

She left the house as I pulled out my phone. I didn't know why, but I ended up calling the person I hadn't talked to in months.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Ryder," I said, "What are you doing right now?"

___________________________________________________

I went over to Ryder's house, and we ordered Halal. I got a lamb souvlaki platter and holy shit, it was so good. 

"You got a bit of tzatziki on your lip," Ryder said, pointing to it.

"Shit," I laughed, wiping my mouth, "Thanks for having me over. I honestly didn't even expect you to pick up your phone and answer me."

"Why?"

"Because the last time we talked, I was a bitch to you."

"Not like I didn't deserve it," he scoffed, "I'm surprised you called me. I wouldn't have wanted to talk to me if I was you."

I sighed, looking at my half-finished beer, "I needed someone to talk to who isn't my family or the Gallaghers. Everyone tells me that time heals this sorta shit, but every day just gets harder and harder. And it's different this time. I didn't dump him. He dumped me."

"What happened?" he said, "If you're willing to talk about it. I know it's none of my business."

"No, it's ok," I said, "Ian needs meds. He can't function properly without them. Unfortunately, he hates the meds. He told me he doesn't feel like I love him anymore and that he doesn't want me to worry and wait for him to have another episode. That I can't change or fix him because he doesn't need to be fixed."

Ryder didn't say anything. He just sat there and sipped his beer.

"Whatever happened to you and your ex?" I said, "What was her name, Emma?"

Ryder laughed, "We were together for two years. Turns out she was cheating on me for the last six months of our relationship, with my best friend. Well, now ex-best friend."

"She's a cunt for that," I said, "Checks out, though. She was always a bitch and tried to copy off me in math."

"Don't know how I didn't catch up on it sooner. Those last six months, she was like a different person. I loved her, you know? Almost tried to kill myself over it."

"I'm sorry," I said, "I had no idea."

"Don't worry about it," Ryder said, "I'm over it now."

"How do you get past it?" I said, "How do you begin to feel normal again?"

Ryder sighed, "Well, after my attempt, I appreciated a lot more things in life. My parents, my friends, work. Having a routine really helped. And meeting you helped too."

"Me?" 

"Yeah, you," he said, "Dude, you're like one of the best people I've ever met."

I laughed, "Shut up."

"No, I'm dead-ass!" he said, "You're funny, you're sweet, you stand up for yourself. And personally, I think you're beautiful."

I smiled, "Thank you."

"You ever watched Scarface?" he asked.

"Nope," I said. 

"You wanna?" he said, "It's a cult classic."

"Sure," I said, "I can see what all the hype is about."

We went into the living room. Ryder put the disk in and turned on the TV.  

2h, 45m later

"Holy shit!" I said, "Ok, that was fucking amazing."

"I'm telling you!!" he said, "Tony Montana, man. He could've really taken over the industry if he didn't kill his best friend."

"He shouldn't have married Elvira," I said, "She only married him for his money, and he never loved her. He just wanted to fuck a hot blonde."

"I mean, can you blame him?" Ryder said, laughing.

I shrugged.

"I'm glad we're talking again," I said, "This was fun."

"Me too," he said, "I missed you so much."

I turned my head to look at him. Throughout the movie, we inched closer to each other, and Ryder put his arm around me.

"Is it bad that I wanna kiss you right now?" I said.

"Not at all," Ryder said, putting his hand on my cheek and pressing his lips to mine.

His tongue slowly entered my mouth, and I let out a small moan.

He pulled away, "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

I giggled.

"Wanna go upstairs?"

I nodded as he picked me up, and my legs wrapped around his waist as we made out the entire way up the stairs into his room.

Ryder threw me onto the bed and took his shirt off, showing off his toned stomach and abs. 

"God, you're so fucking hot," Ryder said as I took my shirt off.