★

"SO MUCH FOR 'I'LL stay in school,' huh?" Amara mumbled. "I can't believe that dumbass got expelled."

"Yeah," Silvia replied. "Debbie says he ran away too. Fiona gave him the choice to go back to a different school, or leave. And he left."

Amara stared at her younger sister in shock. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah. I don't know why he didn't just decide to sleep here. I mean, you guys always sleep together."

Amara choked on her orange juice. "No, uh, we just sleep in the same bed, Via. Nothing more."

"Right," Silvia sounded unconvinced.

"Oh, whatever," she replied, ruffling her hair. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Yeah," Silvia waved her off. "Later."

★

"Can't believe Mickey is back in juvie," Amara said, shaking her head as she applied some of Mandy's mascara to her eyelashes. "What's he in for again?"

"Assaulting a police officer," the girl replied, not looking up from painting her toenails. "Such a dumbass. Hey, speaking of dumbasses, how's Lip?"

Amara laughed, settling herself down onto the bed next to Mandy. "He's so smart yet so dumb. I don't get how the fuck he got expelled. I mean, I know how. He threw a chair through a window. I just don't know why he's making his life so complicated for himself. The boy is a genius, he's never gonna get anywhere in life if he keeps acting out like this."

"You really care about him," Mandy noticed, and Amara sighed, glancing to her.

"Mandy, I think I'm falling in love with him."

"Woah," she sat up, her eyes wide. "Seriously? Tell my the details."

"Well, I don't know. It's just, whenever I picture myself dating someone—marrying them, it's always been Lip. I've been thinking about this for a while, you know? And then I blamed it on teenage hormones, cause come on, we spend so much time together it'd be weird if at least one thought like that didn't cross my mind."

"And?"

"I guess the more I've thought about it, the more I've realized that maybe I do have a crush on him. But, aren't you supposed to get nervous around the guys you have a crush on? Because I don't around him."

"You spend so much time with him, your nerves are probably used to it at this point. So, did you ever tell him?"

"No," Amara denied. "I don't think he feels the same way."

"Why not?"

"Karen," she reminded Mandy. "I mean, you should've seen how attached he was to her. And now with the whole baby shit, I don't know."

"Well, he broke it off with her, right? He just wants to support his kid. He's not actually dating her or anything—that's a good sign."

"I think he just got pissed off cause she's a whore," she said with a laugh. "You think I should tell him?"

"I do," Mandy stated, grinning. "Where is he staying?"

Amara rolled her eyes. "Probably Karen's. See? Look, if he felt the same way I did, he'd stay with me."

"Or he didn't want to feel like a burden to you. The guys basically depends on you for everything. Like you said, he's so smart, but he's a total dumbass. He needs you, Mara."

"We're a couple of bitches, you know that?" Amara asked, and the two of them broke out into twin laughs. "We're sitting in here talking about boys. What has gotten into us?"

"Ah," Mandy breathed. "The sweet sensation of being a teenage girl. Don't you love it?"

★

Ian and Amara walked home in silence together, the two each lost in their own thoughts. Amara felt stupid for exposing her crush on Lip to Mandy, she never told anyone her secrets, but lately she'd been slipping up. For some reason, she found herself trusting Mandy, although she hardly knew the girl, and now she felt like back-peddling away before she spilled anymore secrets.

"Hey, sweetie," a feminine voice greeted once the pair walked into the Gallagher residence, and Amara'a eyes widened once she realized it was Monica. "Oh, Amara! It's great to see you!" The older woman gave her a hug, which she didn't return, Amara kept her arms down, looking around awkwardly. Monica seemed to take the hint, because she quickly stepped back. "I made some cookies."

"Cool," Ian said, brushing past his mother. "Now we're square for you abandoning us and stuff."

Monica sighed, obviously not expecting his attitude towards her. "Are you two going to Carl's game?"

"Yeah," came Ian's reply. "We always go to Carl's games, because we actually give a shit."

"Actually," Amara cut in, feeling uncomfortable, and like she was intruding. "I'm gonna go catch up on some of my homework. I'll meet you there?" When Ian nodded, she sent him a small smile, before turning on her heel, and walking out the door to her house.

As she made her way into the living room, she screamed, covering her eyes once she saw her parents both halfway naked on the couch. "Jesus! Get a room!"

"We're in a room!" Margot snapped. "Now you get out!"

Amara did what she said, for once, not protesting at all—considering she saw enough of her mother's ass for a lifetime. She jogged up the stairs into her room, shutting the door behind her as she sat down at her desk, and pulled out her homework from her bag.

It was around midnight when she heard something hit her window, and she looked up from the essay she was writing. Amara carefully took a step forward, peering out the glass, and instantly relaxed once she saw a familiar face outside. Then, she was filled with rage, and she ran down the stairs angrily.

Once she got outside, she shoved Lip back with a strength she didn't know she had. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Expelled?! You said you were going back to school. You promised me, Lip!"

"Look, I don't need this bullshit from you too, alright?" He snapped, "I already got this from Fiona, Kev and V, and now you."

"Yeah? Well maybe if all of these people are saying the same thing, there's some truth behind it! God, you are such an idiot! How could you do this?"

"I have a baby on the way," he reminded her, and his voice was surprisingly calm compared to hers.

"It's not even yours!"

"God, Amara, I was going to ask if I could stay but never-fucking-mind if you're gonna act like this."

"Seriously? I'm only acting like this because I want whats best for you! I told you before, Karen is not what's best for you, and guess what? I was right. Because look where we are now."

"Fuck off," he told her, turning around, but Amara grabbed his arm.

"Jesus, you prick. You can stay," she said, dropping his hand. "But not because I'm not mad, or disappointed in you. But because I don't want you sleeping under the L where you'll freeze to death, or get mugged or something. See? Look, here I am again, wanting what's best for you."

"Will you stop? I get it, I fucked up. Ruined my life."

"It's not totally ruined. You still have that offer from that school."

"I'm not going back to fucking school."

"Fine," she threw her hands up. "But for the record, you're sleeping on the floor. We're not sharing a bed. Don't want your stupidity to rub off on me while I'm asleep."

★