★

THEY CROWDED AROUND THE living room of the Gallagher residence, staring at the cop in front of them, shock written all over their faces. "In Canada?" Fiona asked, bewilderedly, as she took the paper from Officer Tony's hands.

"Wait, how?" Lip wondered.

"Embassy says he admitted to drug charges," Tony explained. "But that's before they even accused him, so they think he's a juicer."

"They charge him?" Steve questioned.

"They just want him off Canadian soil as soon as possible."

"Yeah," Amara nodded. "Can't blame them there."

Ian gently smacked her stomach with the back of his hand, not even looking up from his spot, and she rolled her eyes.

"The US won't let him back in without his passport," Tony continued.

"Frank doesn't have a passport."

"Then he'll have to apply for one."

"How long does that take?" Lip asked, grabbing the paper from Fiona's outstretched arm. Amara leaned over to read it, and Lip moved it into his other hand so she could get a better view.

"Couple months," Tony answered.

"Months?" Fiona repeated.

"He can apply for an emergency one, at the embassy in Toronto."

"How long does the emergency one take?"

"I don't know," Tony shook his head. "Maybe a week."

"Kev has a passport," Veronica announced, and everyone turned to look at him.

"What good does that do?"

"You could drive up there," V replied. "Help him with the paperwork at the embassy. Pick up a pile of cheap pharmaceuticals, sell them to the local geezers at my nursing home."

"Hello," Amara interrupted. "That sounds illegal. Which you know, normally I'd say I'm down for, but there's a cop in here!"

"He's fine," Veronica said. "Ain't that right?" She asked Tony, who looked uncomfortable, but nodded. "That's what I thought."

★

Later that night, Lip and Amara sat at the counter, the two of them doing their homework in a comfortable silence. Every so often, Amara would find herself getting bored, and doodle random pictures on the side of the page. Lip would catch her in the act, and kick her leg to make her concentrate again.

Fiona quietly washed the dishes, and Amara would sometimes feel her gaze on the duo, as if she was trying to figure something out. But every time Amara looked up, Fiona would be facing forwards.

"What did you get for five?" Amara asked, and Lip went to answer, but a sudden knock on the door interrupted him. The three of them perked up, and Lip hopped off the stool to open it. Tony stood there, his hat in his hands, and he followed Lip back into the kitchen.

"Hey Fiona," the officer greeted.

"Hi Tony," she replied with a grin, and she quickly turned her attention back to the plate in her hands.

Amara peered over to glance at Lip's worksheet, trying to see what he got as an answer, before Tony leaned his arm over the paper, and gave the two of them a look. "Amara, Lip." He nodded his head in the direction of the staircase, and they both took the hint.

"I think we're gonna finish our calculus homework upstairs," the blonde boy told his sister as he gathered his papers. Amara copied his actions, grabbing her textbook and her pencil before following him up the stairs.

Lip plopped himself onto Ian's bed, his books and papers sprawling in front of him. Amara sat on the top bunk, shifting so she could get comfortable.

"You think they're gonna bang?" She asked after a few moments, and Lip let out a soft laugh.

"I don't know."

"Do you want them to?"

"I kinda really don't want to talk about my sister's sex life."

"But it's so interesting!" Amara said, dramatically flipping onto her back, making her head slide off the edge of the bed.

"To you!" He protested. "Not to me!"

"Oh come on—" She cut herself off with a yelp as she lost her balance, and tumbled off of the top bunk, landing on the floor with a groan. Lip immediately went to her aid, he crouched on top of her, peering down at her with a concerned expression on his face.

"Jesus, Mar. Are you alright?"

Amara cracked a smile at him. "You still didn't tell me what you got for number five."

★

Frank was welcomed back with a crowd of people waving Canada's flag in his face. Cheers echoed throughout the street, and Kev beamed in response, while Frank looked pissed, and told everyone to fuck off.

A frantic woman storming across the street caught Amara's gaze, and she recognized the person as her mother. Who was clearly drunk, again. Somehow, she didn't seem to notice to swarm of people two houses down from where she was, and she waltzed into their home without a second glance. Amara let out a breath of relief she didn't know she was holding.

Her mom was never the nicest person around the Gallagher's, she somehow saw them as lesser to her own, which Amara thought was ridiculous. She'd rather have her mother and her true family have as little to none interactions at all.

Soon, the crowd dispersed, and Amara and Silvia made their way home after saying goodbye.

"I can't believe Frank went to Canada!" Her sister mused enthusiastically. "I want to go to Canada."

"We'll go there one day," Amara promised as they stepped inside. "I hear they have really good maple syrup."

"Cool!" Silvia jumped up and down, beaming. "I love syrup! Ooh, can Debbie come too?"

"Of course."

"Yay!" Silvia eagerly ran up the stairs into her bedroom, and Amara narrowly avoided stepping on her passed out mother, who laid in the middle of the kitchen floor.

With a sigh, she looked around the house. It was a total mess. Beer cans were thrown around the counter, a lot more were there now than hours ago. She grabbed all of the remaining trash around the house, and lugged the bag outside. She dumped it into the bin outside, and glanced over just in time to see Lip come into view, carrying a brown paper bag. Probably groceries.

She watched as he grabbed a can out of the bag, and threw it at something in distance. Amara's eyes widened, and she hurriedly rushed after him, jumping over the cheap fence that guarded her backyard to see what the hell he was doing.

"Did you just throw a can of beans at a child?" She accused, loud enough for him to hear, and he turned around with a smirk.

"You caught me," he bent down to pick up the bike the kid had fallen off of, and Amara let out a shout of laughter.

"You're a dick. You're gonna steal that kid's bike?"

"Training him for the real world. Come on, come with me."

"To where?"

"Frank's acting weird."

"Frank's always acting weird," Amara told him, stepping closer.

"Weirder than weird. Come on, we're wasting time. You coming or no?"

Amara glanced between her house and Lip, before she hopped onto the pegs on the back of the bike, wrapping her arms around Lip's neck so she didn't fall off as he began to pedal.

They followed Frank to another house, and Amara had to bite back a laugh as the older man stuck his head through the doggy door, obviously trying to get in. Lip glanced back at her with a smile, clearly amused as well.

"Moving out again?" Lip questioned as Frank stomped down the stairs.

"Fuck off. I don't like the way I'm being talked to around my own house."

"Maybe it's cause you're a deadbeat asshole who hit one of his kids in the face for no apparent reason," Amara suggested, and Frank glared at her.

"What do we say to you?" Lip asked.

"'You never get me this, dad.' When can I have that, dad?' Yak, yak fucking yak. All six of you."

"Trust me, none of your children are dumb enough to ask you for anything," Amara mumbled, and she could feel Lip's shoulders heave with a silent laugh.

"Never mind I'm a single parent!" Frank continued, oblivious to their amusement at his complaints. Lip continued to follow him on the bike, and Amara clutched his shoulder harder as they got onto rocky ground. "Never mind you wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for me. Surround-sound bitching is the only thanks I get."

"Maybe in your next life you'll remember to keep it in your pants," Amara said with a sly grin. "You know, or at least use a condom."

"Lip, tell your gigantic bitch of a girlfriend to shut up," Frank demanded.

"Hey!" Amara cut Lip off before he could speak. "Only Lip can call me a gigantic bitch, you prick. And I'm not his girlfriend."

"Yeah," Lip said, still trailing after Frank. "Not my girlfriend."

"Good, don't start dating. Woman are like dogs, you have to feed them, give them attention. Rub their stomachs." Amara scrunched her face up in disgust knowing full on that she never wanted anyone to rub her stomach like a complete freak. "Love is hard. Life is hard! We all know that. Money is harder. I can only stretch it so far."

"Do you even know how much money we spend on groceries a week?" Lip asked.

Frank glanced back. "Too much! That's how much."

"Hundred and twenty bucks," Lip answered, pedaling faster to catch up with Frank, and Amara would've lost her balance if it weren't for the hood on the back of Lip's jacket. She was clinging to it like a lifeline. "Fiona pays seventy, me and Ian go on twenty-five each."

"Plus gas, electric and taxes," Frank protested.

"You don't pay that," Amara said with a frown. "They do."

"Well it's about time they contributed," Frank mumbled, shaking his head.

"Do you know how much you spend a month at the Alibi?"

"None of your damn business!" The older man snapped.

"Over seven hundred," Lip went on.

"That's Kevin, right?" Frank asked. "My friend Kevin, telling you that behind my back?" Lip circled around him, and Frank had to turn continuously to look at them. Amara held back another laugh. "Well, he screwed the golden goose now! Watch what happens to his tips when I boycott the Alibi."

Lip scoffed. "And go where?"

"The Lamplight."

"You're barred," Lip reminded him.

"The Fountain."

"Barred," Amara cut in, failing to hide the smirk on her face.

"Elmo's head."

"Burned to the ground like two weeks ago," Lip informed him. "Arson. Besides, I don't need Kev to tell me." Lip slowly turned the bike around, pedaling in the opposite direction, and Amara grew confused. "I check your pockets every night."

Frank spun, dropping his bag onto the ground as he started to chase after them. Amara's grip tightened around Lip's neck, and she glanced back to watch Frank struggle to keep up. She ducked when he threw a rock at them. "You better run!"

They discreetly followed after him again, stopping once more when Frank walked up the stairs into another random house. Amara got off of the bike, putting her weight against the fence. The position she had to lean in wasn't ideal, and her back hurt. Frank was suddenly hurdled down a flight of stairs, and he gripped the railing to stop himself from falling.

Amara hopped back onto the bike, and Lip trailed after him again. "Forget you owed him money?"

"Everybody thinks I owe them money!"

"You pawned his flat-screen."

"I've been nothing but a friend to that fat jigga prick."

"Did you take his microwave too?" Amara questioned. "Oh, right, you did. He caught it on his security footage, and then came to our school to warn us about drugs. And not to do them."

Frank glared at her again. "I won't say it twice. Go home."

"What?" The two of them asked in unison.

"I won't say it twice—" Frank whirled on them, discovering their matching grins, and Amara snickered at his expression.

"Okay," Lip sighed. "People are laughing. But they only thought Toronto was funny once they knew you were okay."

"I didn't split like your mom did!" Frank snapped. "I could have! I could've split like Monica! Or your own father, Joe!" Frank pointed at Amara, who quirked a brow.

"Yeah, well my father was an abusive, druggie asshole. He kind of did us a favor by leaving, but thanks for including my family issues into your temper tantrum. It really means a lot."

Lip, upon sensing her aggravation, turned the bike around, and began to head back home, neither of them bothering to inform Frank—who continued to rant, even though nobody was listening.

The ride back to their houses was mostly quiet, the only times they would talk were when they were mocking Frank. Finally, they arrived, and Amara hopped off the pegs, punching Lip's shoulder as she did so.

"Thanks for the, lovely, peaceful bike ride, loser."

"Why of course, m'lady," he responded, and Amara chuckled. "See you tomorrow?"

She waved him off as she walked into her backyard. "Night." Amara shut the door behind her, leaning against it as her heart raced in her chest for a reason she couldn't place. Eventually, Amara found herself flipping through old picture books, ones that included her father. She wanted nothing more than to have some sort of parental figure. She had nothing.

A loud snore came from the living room, and Amara glanced over to see her mother once again passed out. She stifled a sigh.

Amara was right. Her life was a never ending shitshow.

★