✲

"WHAT THE hell is that?" A voice asked from behind Silvia, who was rapidly rinsing her hands underneath the cold water from the kitchen faucet. She tried not to wince at the sound of her older sister's accusing and suspicious tone. If there was anyone that could catch Silvia in a lie, it would be Amara.

And all of the evidence was pretty much just sitting on the palm of her hand. Literally.

"What's what?" Silvia tried in attempt to not look or sound guilty, but she knew it was a lost cause once Amara peaked into the trashcan and spotted the can of spray paint. Her sister held it up, brows raised. "Oh, that's funny," she mused. "Never seen that before in my life."

"What did you graffiti this time?"

Silvia murmured her answer, and Amara crossed her arms. "Acompcar."

"A what?"

"A cop car."

It wasn't often Amara got utterly exasperated with her younger sister, but Silvia could tell she was coming close to it as she squeezed her eyes shut. "Okay, that's it. No TV and no hanging out with Debbie or Carl for a week."

Silvia turned off the faucet in protest. "What?" She whined, moving to grasp her pleadingly. "Amara, come on—"

"I'm serious," she said, before pointing to the direction of the living room. "Go do your homework."

Most people probably would find this funny. Silvia was sure a lot of older sisters were bossy and demanding, but they didn't necessarily have the right to tell their siblings what to do. Amara and Silvia weren't like normal sisters. Silvia could barely remember her father, and from what Silvia could gather between the few moments she saw her mom a week, she was never sober.

Amara was the only parental figure Silvia ever had. It was why she huffed in annoyance, but followed her sister's orders, and plunked herself on the floor in the living room, wedging herself between the space of the couch and the coffee table where she'd left her bookbag.

She heard Amara climb up the stairs, and she waited until she heard the door to her room shut before flicking on the television. She'd do her homework like Amara requested, but it didn't mean she had to follow all of her orders. She deserved some entertainment while practicing her multiplication tables.

The front door suddenly opened, and Silvia turned excitedly. There were few people who entered the Gilbert household without knocking: Lip Gallagher, the eldest brother of their next door neighbor's rather large family, and Amara's best friend since presumably literal birth, and Silvia's own best friends from the same family, Debbie and Carl.

It was pretty much fate. Amara had been welcomed into the Gallagher household with open arms, and that meant Silvia had been, too. They'd always been next door neighbors. Late night swims in their above ground pool that usually led to Carl trying to drown Silvia, and s'mores that hung off the sticks they'd found from the backyard were normal nightly activities for her.

Silvia didn't know any different. And she hoped she never would. Because no matter how fucked up things could be sometimes, she knew they'd always have her back.

She deflated at the sight of her mother stumbling in. Yeah, she was apart of the no-knock list, too, but she'd been gone for a few days. Silvia hadn't expected to see her back so soon, missing a shoe, clothes ripped, covered in dirt, and maybe a little bit of vomit. She averted her gaze back to the television in hopes that Margot would not speak to her, and listened as she shuffled through the house to the bathroom.

She refrained from jumping as her mother started to pound on the bathroom door, and winced at the words that shouted from her mouth. "Open up you cuntmuffin!"

Amara appeared down the hall a moment later, and Silvia rushed to flick the TV off. "Mom," her sister's voice called out hesitantly. "You have to turn the doorknob."

Silvia wondered how her mother survived day-to-day activities if she couldn't even figure out how to open a bathroom door. Amara sighed, and grabbed her coat from the rack on the wall. "I'll be back later."

She waited until her sister was out of sight on the sidewalk before turning her show back on with a smug grin.

✲

There was a tapping on the tiled floor that drew Silvia out of her trance. She was cold, the jacket she'd brought to school was barely insulated enough to keep out the chill of the November air. Curiously, she watched her best friend bounce her leg, and twist her pen between her fingers as if she were anxious over something.

They were supposed to be doing a worksheet, or at least that was what Silvia gathered. She didn't care much for school, and the only reason she went was so they wouldn't call truancy and request her father's presence.

"You good?" Silvia asked, her voice lowered to a hush so Mr. Collins couldn't hear her.

Debbie turned her head to face her. Today, her red hair was pulled into two little braids, and her flushed cheeks from the cold brought out her freckles. She stopped the tapping, confused. "What?"

"You're nervous," Silvia said, gesturing to the leg that was still bouncing. "Why? Did Carl hide your underwear again?"

"Shush!" Debbie looked horrified at the thought of any one else knowing that her brother had done something like that. Nobody around them seemed to be listening, anyway. "And no, he didn't."

"Then what is it?"

"Fiona has a new boyfriend."

Silvia blinked. Fiona was the oldest of the Gallagher family, and basically a second mother to her own sister Amara. Silvia couldn't figure out why this was an issue or why it had been making Debbie nervous.

She frowned. "Is he mean?"

"No," Debbie shook her head. "He's really nice."

"Oh." Silvia's confusion grew. Fiona dated a few mean guys that none of them approved of, but if this one was nice, what was the problem? "Is he super ugly?"

Debbie's flush grew deeper. "Um, no."

Silvia didn't really have a definition for ugly. Though she supposed she never found anyone cute. Her sister never really dated, except for one guy her freshman year, and Silvia tended to follow what she did.

"He's nice and not ugly. What's wrong with him?"

"He's rich."

That had Silvia grimacing. Her sister once told her that rich guys only went after south side girls for one thing: sex. Silvia now understood why Debbie was so off-put by Fiona's new boyfriend.

"Oh no."

"Yeah," Debbie grimaced. "He invited everyone for dinner tonight. Kev, V. Lip's girlfriend Karen will be there. Mara, too."

Silvia felt her brows furrow. She'd heard a lot about Karen, especially from Amara and her friend Ian. And not many things were good. "They're officially together?"

Debbie shrugged. "Dunno. I'm guessing so. Weird 'cause Amara spent the night in his bed last night. I thought that's what couples did."

"Lip and Amara are different," Silvia said, because she herself had asked her sister what was going on between them, and was met with the same answer every time: we're just best friends. "They're just close."

"I guess," Debbie replied, just as Mr. Collins stalked down the aisle between their desks.

"You two," he pointed at the pair of them. "Separate now."

Silvia and Debbie shared dubious, unsurprised looks. This hadn't been the first time they'd been pulled apart in a class, and it probably wouldn't be the last.

"We're innocent, Mr. Collins," Silvia stated.

"This isn't the first time I've had to throw you out of my class, Silvia," he told her, seriously. "Don't make this week start out poorly for you."

"I'm poor every day of the year," she replied, dryly. "Makes no difference to me."

Mr. Collins was unamused, as he usually was. He was a grumpy old man, though she shouldn't have been surprised, her sister and Debbie's older siblings had warned them how much of a prick he'd been when they were in middle school, too. Her classmates snickered and watched the scene unfold, but that somehow only encouraged Silvia's mischief further.

"You're being a disruption," he accused.

"No, you are. We were talking quietly. The only reason the class stopped is 'cause you came back here to yell at us."

"Via!" Debbie scolded, eyes wide. "If your sister gets another note she'll murder you with her bare hands!"

"Out of my glass this instant, Miss Gilbert." Silvia was unbothered as she packed her things. "And detention later this week!"

Silvia waved him off as she pushed her bag onto her back, and exited the classroom. The hallways were deserted, only a few stragglers going to the bathroom and eighth grade hall monitors remained.

She was sure the principal was expecting her arrival on an early Monday morning, and was probably wishing for just one calm week. Silvia grinned to herself as she turned down another hall, and ran right into her other best friend: Carl Gallagher.

"What are you doing out here?" She asked.

Carl shrugged. "Got kicked out of class."

Silvia nodded approvingly. "Me too."

His face lit up, and he flashed her a toothy grin. "Really?"

"Yeah." Eagerly, she looped her arm through his and pulled him to the direction of the office. "Wait until Principle Burns sees the both of us walk in. Sure he'll have a heart attack."

Carl only beamed further at that, thrilled at the thought of terrifying the man who assigned them the worst detention days and who constantly wrote them up. "I can't wait."

✲

authors note

fyi !!! the first few seasons will move quicker just because carl and silvia r so young and i want to get to the real romance of them

already getting so much support and i appreciate u guys so so much. i've missed shameless a lot (especially amara as if she's literally canon ?? she is in my heart tbh . i'm very excited to write more of her) and i'm glad to see that u guys are just as invested as me . much love xoxox