❈

AMARA PLOPPED DOWN ONTO the floor next to Silvia and Debbie, the two younger girls huddled together as they gossiped about something the brunette couldn't hear.

"Extra ketchup?" The new guy, Steve, called, looking around frantically. Amara was honestly surprised that he had managed to stay this long, normally the guys Fiona brought home would get scared of the giant packaged deal that came with the her, and scamper off. However, Steve was the only exception, and she was impressed. Steve sticking around was enough to make Amara like him. Plus, he was hot—and he kept buying them food.

"That's mine!" Debbie announced, reaching her hand up for the burger.

"Only pickles?" The man asked, making Silvia's arm shoot up, and he handed it to her. Amara'a face scrunched up in disgust.

"Gross. I can't believe you asked for just pickles."

Silvia stuck her tongue out at her sister, and Steve went to stand in front of Amara. "I take it the plain one is yours?"

Amara grinned at him, and gratefully snatched the burger out of his hands. "You guessed correctly."

"She's picky," Lip informed him, and Amara shot him a dirty look. "She doesn't even like mayonnaise."

"You don't like mayonnaise?" Steve wondered, his voice clouded in disbelief.

"Yeah," Ian chimed in. "Or seafood. She's weird."

"Man, you are weird," Steve said with a smile, and Amara glanced between the three of them. "What's next, you don't like zucchini bread?"

"No, I don't even like vegetables." she said with crossed arms. "And I'm feeling personally attacked right now, fellas. I'm gonna have to ask you to be quiet or you'll all wake up with shaven eyebrows."

"Shaven eyebrows," she heard Carl mumble. "Great idea."

"Amara's never mentally grown out of the toddler stage," Ian continued, and she rolled her eyes.

"Make that physically, too. Look how short she is."

"Who's this?" Veronica asked, cutting their conversation short as she gestured to the blonde girl sitting in the armchair. Amara had to hide her disliking for the girl by looking the opposite direction. She had absolutely no reason to not get along with her, but for some reason, she made Amara's blood boil.

"This is Karen," Lip introduced, sliding onto the seat next to her. Amara watched as the two of them cozied up together, and she swallowed, turning her attention back to the tv.

"Hey Karen," V greeted. "Nice top. What size are you?"

"Shh!" Fiona snapped, smacking the darker girl's arm, and accidentally kicking Amara's back, who grunted in response. Fiona laughed loudly at the noise that emitted from the girl in front of her, and jokingly soothed her back "I'm sorry, you big baby."

"Just for that," Amara said, shifting so she was facing her. "You're sharing your fries with me."

Fiona rolled her eyes, but compelled, and handed her some of the fries that were placed in her lap. Amara took them with a sly smile. The loud room was quickly taken over with silence as they all tuned into the television in front of them.

Suddenly, the front door opened to reveal a bloody Frank, the liquid spilling from his nose, all the way down his shirt.

Steve's eyes widened, clearly not used to the older man's antics. Frank being covered in blood wasn't an unusual occurrence, and most of them tended to ignore him. Although, apparently he hadn't caught onto that part yet. "Hey, Frank. Are you okay?"

Frank didn't answer, he continued to shuffle through the living room towards the kitchen until Ian stood up to stop him. "Is that my shirt?"

"Yeah," Frank answered, taking a threatening step closer to the redhead. The tension in the room was thick, and Amara shifted uncomfortably as they waited to see what would happen next.

"Uh, I'm just asking," Ian defended, clearly worried his father was going to do something.

Frank abruptly head-butted Ian, making him fall backwards onto the coffee table. Chaos quickly erupted, and Amara hurried to check on her best friend.

"Jesus!" Fiona yelled.

"Guy at the bar said to pass it on," Frank announced, and Amara glanced back at the older man, a scowl on her face as her hand still propped Ian's head up.

Steve quickly took action, shoving Frank back with a strength she didn't think he would have. "What the fuck is wrong with you Frank?" He demanded.

"Jesus Christ, dad," Fiona mumbled, shakily pulling both Silvia and Debbie behind her as Veronica covered Carl's eyes.

"You're drunk, Frank. Drunk." Steve firmly told him.

"This is drunk?" Frank questioned, raising his arms.

"Steve, stop!" Fiona ordered.

"Don't do this to your kids," he went on, completely ignoring Fiona.

Amara gently pulled Ian up, trying her best to stop the blood from continuing to ooz out his nose. She pressed a napkin against his face, her back turned to the scene going on behind her.

"Jesus, are you okay? Does it hurt?"

"Yeah it fucking hurts," Ian replied with a humorless laugh, and Amara bit her lip nervously.

"Well damn. Sorry. I'm not a nurse."

Debbie ushered Steve out with a frying pan, Silvia following behind her protectively. It would've been cute if it weren't for the situation they were currently in. Steve clearly bristled at the insults Frank was throwing his way, but luckily, the fight didn't go much further, because he left without a word.

Veronica crouched down next to Amara, who quickly pulled the napkin away from his face. V cringed at the sight, and turned to look at Frank. "Ice!" She demanded.

"It's a bloody nose. He's not going to die."

"Really, Frank?"

The man didn't move, and Amara pushed herself up with a sigh. Clearly, the deadbeat father wasn't going to help his own son, who he just happened to give the injury to, so she decided she'd get the ice herself.

The brunette rushed into the kitchen, grabbing ice out of the freezer, and wrapping it up in a paper towel. She turned around, and nearly crashed into a chest.

"Jesus, Lip."

"Sorry," he said quickly. "Just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Well I'm not the one who has a bloody nose," she responded dryly, confused herself to why she had an attitude. Amara attempted to brush past him, but Lip caught her arm.

"What's the matter?" When she didn't answer, he pressed on. "Mar, seriously what's wrong?"

"Nothing," she yanked her hand out of his grasp, glancing to Karen who was watching them with narrowed eyes. "I have to get this to Ian, okay? So let me through."

Reluctantly, Lip stepped to the side, and Amara marched back into the living room, handing Veronica the ice pack. Everyone crowded around them, worried about their brother's wellbeing.

"I got it!" Ian snapped, grabbing the pack from Veronica, and storming up the stairs. They watched him go, none of them saying a word. There was nothing to say. Nothing was needed to be said. They knew the drill with Frank, but as far as Amara knew, he'd never laid a hand on any of them before.

And that's what reminded her of her own father. She was terrified that Frank was slowly turning into him. Of course, Frank wasn't father of the year. That much was obvious. But he was a much better father than her own. If he took that next step, there'd be no going back.

★

Amara hesitantly knocked on the bedroom door, a nervous bubble forming in her stomach. Ian swung the door open immediately, clearly on his way out.

"Hey," she said softly. "How's the nose?"

Ian shrugged, "better. Thanks for the help, by the way. You're not as bad as a nurse as you think you are."

Amara smiled at him as he gently shoved past her, making his way to the bathroom, and she swallowed, stepping into the room and shutting the door behind her. Lip stared at her, a blank expression on his face. A sign that he was upset. She sighed, and sat down on the opposite end of the bed.

There was a tense silence between them before Amara spoke. "I'm sorry," she started, her eyes trained on her hands in her lap. "For being a gigantic bitch earlier. I don't know what came over me. I was just um, worried about Ian, I guess."

Lip huffed out a breath, shifting on the bed so that he was closer to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Apology accepted."

"Really?" She reeled back. "That was too easy. Who are you and what have you done with Lip?"

"Nothing, it's me, I promise." He lifted one of his shoulders up into a shrug. "You're my best friend, is all. I don't like fighting with you. It's too weird."

"So we're good?" Amara questioned, still not quite believing him.

He scoffed. "Jesus, Amara. Yes, we're fine. You've really got to stop with the second guessing yourself shit."

"Hello, I have trust and abandonment issues," she reminded him, her tone teasing as she nudged his shoulder. "Asshole."

"Gigantic bitch."

Amara let out a giggle, and the two of them fell back into a conversation, the awkward tension was quickly forgotten as Lip grabbed a pillow and smacked it over her head, leading to a fight between them that ended up breaking a lamp on the nightstand table. They both looked at each other, panicked expressions painted on their faces, before bursting out into a fit of laughs.

"You're totally cleaning that up."

★

author's note:

the way i'm already writing s2 lmfao i've been so bored someone help