GAME OVER ━━ Lip Gallagher

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

She scoffed in disbelief. Only then did Ian's exterior crumble a bit. "How fucked up is that, huh?" Ian punched in the numbers onto the cash register, tearing his attention away from his brother. Lip looked between his two best friends. One chewed away at a Twix bar while looking over a magazine, the other staring blankly back at him with tense jaw muscles. They weren't even trying to accept his reconciliation. How else is he supposed to make things better? He scoffed. "That's it?" he asked, voice tight. Phoebe refused to look up from the perfume ad, tapping two fingers against the concrete counter. "Nothing?"

They knew his patience was growing thin. It wouldn't be long before he said something snarky or threw a fit. Instead of preventing it, the two continued their game of cat and mouse. "You two are just gonna... ignore me, huh?" He leaned closer to Phoebe in hopes of catching her attention. She only turned her head toward the window, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Hm? Just gonna give me the chin?" His head snapped toward Ian. It was remarkable how composed the boy could be in a tense situation. Although they had been there before many times being brothers. As silence filled the room, Lip's breathing became shallower. He stared hard at Ian, who in turn only stared back.

Out of anger, he slammed his hands down onto the counter. The force was strong enough to knock over Phoebe's Sprite bottle. She jumped at the action, flinching when he darted past her. His first idea was to grab a soft produce item — a tomato — and throw it against the tile flooring. It splattered everywhere, covering the floor in juice. "How about now?" he asked, challenging his younger brother. Phoebe looked at Ian in shock. Looked like Lip was choosing to be a child this time. "No?" When Ian didn't react, he went back for more. Three tomatoes rested in his grip. The first was flung at the camera watching over the store. "No?" he asked again, this time louder than the first. The next was flung at the door, zooming past Phoebe and splattering against the back of her legs.

She gasped at the feeling, jaw falling slack in pure surprise. Though surprised, she couldn't give him the satisfaction of acknowledgment. Instead she looked at her legs with a frown. "Napkin?" her voice was small, but it made Lip's body light up. It had been so long since he last talked to her that he had started to miss her voice. Ian kept eye contact with his brother as he passed her a few napkins to clean off her legs. "Really?" Lip asked. "Nothing!?" The third tomato hit the counter, splattering both Ian and Phoebe with its insides. It hit his face, smeared against her shirt, sprayed their fronts with its body. But they didn't give in.

No matter how badly she wanted to yell at him, she only kept her eyes forward. It would be worse giving into him now. He had to learn how to take responsibility for his mistakes and apologize. As a last attempt, he took the ripest watermelon he could find on the stand and smashed it. It crumbled over the tile floor. Lip stared, waiting for just one of them to snap. "C'mon," he spoke, voice dry. "Say something." Phoebe and Ian met eyes. They both were seething. Seconds pass and finally Lip storms out of the store. He stomped over the watermelon pieces as he went. Once the door was closed behind him, the two let out heavy sighs. "What a dick," she muttered, wiping away the tomato juice from her chest.

Ian wiped the juice from his face with a frown. "That's Lip," he responded. The two glanced toward the mess that had been left. "Linda's going to kill me." Phoebe shook her head. She still had a bit of time left to kill. "I'll help you clean up," she offered, reaching over to ruffle the boy's hair. "Come on, Raggedy Andy. Let's get to work."

—

She sat patiently at the cash register, staring at the customers walking past with their grocery carts. It had been a fairly slow day. There were a few kids who came in for candy, a few older people with bread and eggs. She hadn't had a lot of excitement save for the temper tantrum Lip threw back at the Kash 'n Grab. She sat on the stool behind her cube, kicking her legs over the side, waiting for the next person to approach her. She wondered who it would be next. What would they be buying? Would they be friendly or less talkative? She always heard the best stories from the customers at the grocery store.