Only You - [Lip Gallagher]

love hurts

"Last night of Mom's ovulation cycle." V says as we are sitting outside the court, waiting for Ginger's case to be called. "Good, I can finally come over without risking a jump scare." I joke and she nudges me, "What time is it?" Fiona asks and I check my phone, "Three fifteen." I say, "Still no Patrick." Jimmy adds on and an unsettling feeling fills the room, "We don't want him to come do we?" Debbie asks, "Kinda yes and kinda no." I explain, "What do you mean?" "Well, if he doesn't show up, we keep the house but he could be dead. If he comes, we will lose the house but he's not dead." I explain in a low tone and she nods. "The estate of Ginger Gallager." A man comes out and calls; still no Patrick. We all exhale deeply and stand up, just then Carl speaks, "Guys, he's here." He mutters and we all turn our heads to see him walk in, he looks pissed. I mean who can blame him, he was just poisoned.

++

"What now? Start packing?" Ian asks as we sluggishly walk into the house, "No choice." Fiona sighs, "I'll help you pack up your room." I say to Ian as we walk upstairs, "So, no more Lip and Sade?" Ian asks as we start folding his clothes and putting them in a box, I shrug, "No intimate Sadie and Lip but him and I can be friends, no hard feelings on my end. I knew it was going to happen; there's no point in holding hatred in me, I just need to let it-him go." I explain and he nods, "How are you feeling?" I ask, referring to Mickey's marriage, Ian shrugs, "Numb, in denial." Ian says, I sigh, "I get it, you need to talk to him." I say, "He won't talk to me." Ian says, chugging a beer, "I'm sorry, want me to try?" I offer and he shakes his head, "Just let it be, remember?" Ian reminds me of what I just said, "But Ian, you and Mick are different. You're not his second option he's just fucking scared to love you because he doesn't want to be made fun of but I know that he loves you, a lot. Don't let him go." I explain as he sits on the bed, "Please don't." I say once more as I continue to fold his clothes and put them away.

++

"Unpack that box, we didn't lose the house!" Fiona barges into the room, "What?" I ask, "Debbie bullshitted a story about Patrick and he agreed to five hundred a month, 50 year lease." Fiona is ecstatic, "Oh my god, that's amazing!" I shout and hug Fiona, "Everything is gonna work out." She smiles before heading downstairs. That's the best news I've heard in a few days, I'm so happy for the Gallaghers, especially Fiona.

++

"Hey, dipshit, you have an appointment with MIT here, 3:30." I say to Lip as I walk past his room, "I'm dipshit now?" He asks, offended, "Yeah, isn't that how friends greet each other, name calling?" I smirk and lean against his door frame, "Why did you schedule me an interview?" Lip asks, "Someone had to, you're too up your ass to do it yourself or realize your potential." I roll my eyes and go to leave, Lip grabs my arm, "I love you and I miss you." He says to me, I remove my arm from his grasp, "You should've thought about that." I chuckle and head downstairs, "Don't be late." I call up to him as I start cleaning the kitchen for Fiona. "I have my temp office job today, I don't know when I'll be home, make sure the kids don't kill each other." Fiona explains to me and I nod, "Good luck." I smile at her and she kisses my forehead, "Thank you, for everything." She says and hurries out of the house.

++

3:30 finally arrives and the MIT guy knocks on the door, "Hi, I'm looking for Phillip Gallagher." He says and I sigh, "He's not here, he should be here in about thirty minutes expecting that you left, he's very stubborn and hardheaded. If you don't mind waiting, please." I explain and he nods, "I'll wait out here so I can catch him." The guy says, smiling. I gently close the door and watch out the window like a lonely puppy.

Finally Lip shows up and I book it upstairs to hide and listen from atop the staircase. "Jesus, give me a fucking pen." I hear Lip shout as he walks into the house, I giggle to myself in my head, this is going just as planned; plagiarize a well known essay so people are confused as to how someone so smart can be so dumb.

About twenty minutes later I hear Lip's notebook slap the coffee table, "Here." Lip mutters. "What would you wanna study at MIT?" The man asks, "Provided you could get past my well-meaning oblivion' and the proximity of the Red Sox." He adds. "Robotics, but none of that undergrad-filler bullshit. No two hundred seat lectures taught by TA's. I just want the shit out in front of me." Lip explains, "This shit?" He asks, "Yeah, the tools. The toys. The stuff I can't get access to in my ghetto high school. " Lip explains, "Why?" "Because I'd like to hang out with C-3PO in my lifetime and at the rate you're going, that's not gonna happen." Lip's nerdy Star Wars side comes out, making me quietly giggle to myself. "So you don't want to go to classes, you just wanna play in a lab?" The man asks. "I don't want to sit in a lecture that teaches me how to modify algorithms instead of think for myself." Lip makes a valid point, "And?" "The people working the weaving machines in the 17th century, they didn't see the steam engine coming. One invention, industrial revolution. I mean, Encyclopedia Britannica didn't see Wikipedia coming. Great things don't happen in tiny increments, trust me from personal experience tiny progress is not better than no progress because at the end of the day it gets you nowhere." Lip explains, he sounds upset, "They happen when someone thinks completely differently and all you geniuses, you're just modifying algorithms." He adds on, "C-O, huh?" The MIT guy chuckles, "That dude's a badass. You know he's fluent in over 6 million forms of communication." Lip says, "I didn't. I like you, I'm gonna talk to my people, I'll be in contact." The guy says and the door closes. "You can come out now." Lip says, "How'd you know I was here?" I ask, coming down the stairs, "No matter how mad you are at me I know you wouldn't miss that." He says cockily, "You plagiarized Nelson Mandela?" he asks, "On purpose, knowing any admissions counselor would be so confused as to why a 4.6 student did such an idiotic thing to make sure there was some originality to those applications." I explain, "Which, I think I deserve a thank you for because unlike some people you chose to keep in your life I actually give a fuck about you." I punch his chest, he kisses me and I push away, "No, you hurt me one too many times. We're done." I walk back upstairs, "Sadie," "Lip, you chose Karen over me every single time and I'm stupid enough to keep taking you back. You give me empty promises and I hope like a fucking idiot that maybe you'll come through because I am so in love you with Lip Gallagher. You fucked a child molestor, you fucked a Milkovich, and you fucked Karen. We're done." I say with tears in my eyes and just as I turn to go up the stairs, Karen walks in, "Have a good night." I say keeping myself together, "No, Sadie, listen. Everytime I promised I was done I tried, I told you I can't do commitment but now I know what I have to do Sadie." Lip says, his voice filling with sadness as I continue up the stairs. I stop at the top of the stairs as I hear Lip talk, "Karen, I can't see you anymore. You're not good for me, Sadie is. I fucked up too many times and I can't fuck up anymore. She is what I want and always has been. I'm just a fucking idiot. Please, go home and don't come near me anymore." It's silent until I hear the back door slam, I sniffle and go into Ian's room.

"You doing okay?" I ask and sit next to him, he shakes his head, "Doing just about as good as you." He pulls me into his chest, "Go find him." I insist, "What good will that do?" He asks, "He loves you, he's just scared to. Like Lip." "Aren't you done with Lip?" Ian asks, I shrug, "I wish it was that easy, love hurts, go save yours before it's too late." I pat his chest lightly and he gets up and goes to find Mickey.

++

Ian storms into his room, face full of blood, "Ian, what happened?" I get up from his bed and help him lay down, "Mickey." He mutters as I wipe his nose and his eyebrow, "I'll kill him." I say as I hold Ian's face gently. "Don't bother." He rolls over and sniffles, I big spoon cuddle him, "It'll be okay. Do you want me to leave you alone?" I ask, rubbing his arm, "No, please, stay." His voice is full of sadness, my poor Ian. "I won't leave you." I say in a whisper tone and cuddle him closer.