Collision Course

Chapter Three: You Gallaghers Aren't So Bad

"I'm sorry for what I said yesterday," Olivia said as she walked beside Lip on their way to school. 

"You don't have to apologize, Olivia," Lip said. "I wasn't exactly nice to you either," 

Olivia smiled. "Liv,"

"Huh?"

"You can call me Liv,"

Lip smiled at her. "Thought you said only people you liked could call you that?"

Olivia giggled. "Well, I'm quickly coming to realize that you Gallaghers aren't so bad," She said.

"See! All you had to do was talk to me!" Lip exclaimed. 

Olivia playfully shoved him. "Shut up,"

Lip could feel himself developing feelings for Olivia. He thought he had real feelings for Karen (although he'd never admit it), but spending time with Olivia, even when they were having their playful banter, he couldn't deny his attraction to her. Especially after what happened the night before, from her running out of her house away from her psychotic father, to her spending the night in his bed, in his arms, and then seeing how she interacted with his crazy family, he knew he wanted something with her. 

"What happened to your brother and sisters after you left last night?" Lip asked Olivia. 

She looked down and licked her lips. "Well, Ryan showed up at your house this morning, so that means they're alive,"

Lip felt horrible for her. An drunk, abusive father, a mother, who was also a drunk, but had absolutely no power over her husband. Sure, Frank was a drunk, but at least he wasn't abusive. 

"If you ever need somewhere to go, you can always come to our house," Lip told Olivia as they finally arrived at the school.

Olivia smiled and hugged him tightly. "Thank you, Lip," 

---

"What's going on with you and Olivia?" Ian asked Lip once Olivia had walked into the building.

Lip looked over at his younger brother. "Nothing's going on," He said. 

Ian could see right through Lip's bullshit. "Okay, but you want there to be something going on. I saw the way you were looking at her while she slept last night, man," 

Lip sighed. "I don't know, man. I just don't know. I thought I had real feelings for Karen, but now I'm questioning that," 

"Well, you need to figure things out, Lip. Because it looks like somebody's moving in on your territory," Ian said, pointing behind Lip, where Olivia stood with a guy named Lance, smiling and laughing at something he'd said.

Lip could feel the jealousy surging through him. But he quickly became aware of the fact that he didn't have a right or a reason to be jealous. She was not his girlfriend. She was free to talk to whoever she wanted. At the same time, however, she did sleep next to him in his bed the night before. Just a few hours before, she was wrapped up in his arms. 

Lip shook his head, bringing his attention back to Ian. 

"She's not my girl, man. She's free to do what she wants," 

With that, he walked away from his brother and went inside.

LATER THAT DAY...

"Are you gonna go home or do you want to come back to my place?" Lip asked Olivia as they walked out of their English classroom. 

Olivia sighed. "I think I'm gonna go home. My dad should be long gone by now," She told him.

Lip nodded, feeling disappointed that he wasn't going to get to spend more time with her. 

"Okay, but if you need anything, just run to my house. Or run to Kash & Grab," He said. 

Chuckling, Olivia nodded. "Alright, I will. Thanks, Lip," 

Lip watched her walk away from him. He felt the worry wash over him as the thoughts of her drunken, abusive father being there when she got home. 

Without even thinking about it, Lip pulled his hood up over his head and started following Olivia. He had to make sure she was safe. He had to make sure that her psychopathic father wasn't home, that he wouldn't see on the news the next day that James Williams had gone insane and killed his family in a drunken rage. 

He just had to make sure that she was going to be okay. 

---

Hours after school had ended, Lip was still standing on Olivia's street, his eyes glued to her house while he finished his third cigarette. He hadn't heard any screaming or yelling or crying coming from inside the house, which told him that Olivia's parents were obviously not home. 

Lip was so confused about what he was doing. Why did he care so much about a girl who just a day before was telling him she hated him and saying he was infested with herpes? He really didn't know. All he knew was that he was falling for Olivia. Hard. His feelings for Karen were nothing compared to the ones growing for Olivia. 

"Is there a reason you're standing outside my house?" Lip jumped at the sound of Ryan's voice.

"Sorry, I just..." Lip started, losing his train of thought as he met Ryan's eyes.

"You care about my sister. I can tell," Ryan said.

Lip let out a sigh and slowly nodded his head. "Yeah, yeah I do," 

"Do you even know anything about her though?" Ryan asked him.

Lip was speechless. He really didn't know anything about Olivia, other than the fact that they had similar life stories. 

"Look, just don't hurt her, okay?" Ryan said. "She's been through so much. Please don't hurt her. I've seen her hurt by assholes before. I hate hearing her crying herself to sleep at night over our parents. Don't give her another reason to cry," 

Lip nodded. "I wouldn't ever dream of hurting her," 

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