Mine // Carl Gallagher

Chapter 25!!

         Fiona was preheating the oven while Debbie was eating a piece of raw cookie dough. Sophia walked into the kitchen and placed the box on the counter, "Here ya go. Sorry it took me like two million years to find it." Fiona laughed and pulled cookie cutters out of the box, "Ah don't worry about it. Thank you so much for getting it, I know that closet is a hot mess." Sophia returned a friendly smile, "No problem. Is there anything else I can do to help out? I'm really trying to keep myself busy here before I go crazy." Fiona shrugged and chuckled, "Nope, I think I'm good. But maybe you should go check on Carl, I haven't heard from him since breakfast." Sophia nodded and said, "Will do." She turned around and went upstairs. Just as she was about to walk into their bedroom, she remembered he was setting up the surprise for their first date. She knocked on the door instead and said, "Carl? You okay?" He swung open the door and smirked, "Yup. Are you?" Sophia smiled and blushed, "Yup. How's the surprise coming along?" "It's coming along great, you'll love it. But, I'm not even close to done so... Shoo." Sophia giggled and walked back downstairs, "Alright alright", and he closed the bedroom door.

       It was a long, boring day for Sophia. It was a whole lot of watching dumb Christmas movies that apparently everyone loved, failing at making cookies, and being so cold that not even hot tea and four blankets helped. But, she still enjoyed the experience of holiday festivities. It just killed her to barely spend any time with Carl all day. He was taking a lot of time to set up, though, so she knew it was going to be amazing. It was 6 o'clock at night and she hadn't heard from him since Fiona had her check up on him.

         Sophia finally went back upstairs and knocked on the bedroom door. No answer. She knocked again and slightly raised her voice, "Carl? Are you in there?" Nothing. She decided to just go into the bedroom because now she was a little worried. He wasn't in there and it didn't look any different. What had he been doing all day? And where was he? She panicked and texted him:

Sophia: Where the hell are you??
Carl: Don't worry about it babe. Just please don't go snooping or else it'll ruin the surprise. All you need to do is wear something nice :)
Sophia: Fineee, whatever you say bossy pants. But are you saying that my baggy sweatpants and old sweatshirt aren't nice?
Carl: Of course they're nice! You always look nice! But you know what I mean ;)
Sophia: Alrighty then

        She had no clue what to expect and she hated that he wasn't very specific. How nice should she dress? Like diamond ball gown nice or casual sundress nice? She managed to find a medium, though. Sophia decided to wear that little black dress that he liked. She straightened her hair and put on some makeup, trying her hardest to look extra special tonight. All while she was getting ready, she was slightly anxious since she hated surprises. Plus, she couldn't help but think about what sparked his massive transformation as a human being. From an intelligent and innocent little kid, to a badass felon with cornrows. What in the world could've possibly happened that made him the way he currently was?! Sophia physically had to shake her head to get rid of the distracting thoughts and just focused on looking pretty. When she finally finished getting ready, she texted Carl since she had no clue where he was anyway:

Sophia: Okay I'm done getting ready... what now?
Carl: Meet me on the roof

     She took a deep breath, looked in the mirror one last time, then opened the bedroom window to climb up to their spot on the roof. When she went up there, she couldn't believe what she saw. There were candles all around, several blankets and pillows, and rose petals. But she didn't understand, where was he? Suddenly, she felt someone touch her waist. She gasped and turned around, then was met with Carl standing there with his classic smirk on his face. He looked so good... yet different. Carl had taken out his cornrows and was actually dressed like a normal human being (think season 7 carl). She gasped and hugged him tightly, neither one of them could stop smiling. Sophia pulled away and he said, "Is this an okay first date? I know it's a little out of my element." She nodded and smiled, "It's perfect. This is amazing, you look amazing. And, I've never seen you without cornrows!" She ruffled his hair and he laughed, "You look gorgeous. And for the record, you would've looked gorgeous even if you showed up in sweatpants and that sweatshirt." She rolled her eyes as they sat down and wrapped themselves in the blankets. Carl said, "By the way, I'm so sorry that it's freezing. I forgot that Chicago is totally in the middle of a deadly snow storm right now." Sophia laughed and snuggled into his arms as they looked over the city from above, "It's okay. As long as you promise to keep me warm." He wrapped one arm tight around her body and held her small hands with the other, "I promise."

        She looked around and gasped, "Aren't all these candles on a wooden roof dangerous? You're gonna burn the house down!" He chuckled, "I'm not a total retard, babe. They're battery powered ones, not real fire." She nodded, "Oh, well that makes me feel a bit better." He smiled then said, "By the way, I almost forgot." Carl reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small velvet box, then handed it to Sophia. She looked at him, as if asking for permission, then opened it. Her eyes went wide when she saw that there was a diamond necklace inside that said "Princess" on it in cursive. Sophia gasped, "Carl, no way. This is gorgeous! Thank you so so much. But, this must've cost you so much. This is like actual diamond and crystals." He smiled, flashing his sharp canines, "Don't worry about the price. I'd do anything for my princess." She put it on around her neck and it sparkled perfectly against her olive skin. Sophia leaned her head on his shoulder, everything was perfect. She said, "Wanna play truth or dare? I want to get to know you better."
He laughed, "There's not much left to know about me, but alright. You first."
She smiled, "Truth or Dare?"
"Truth."
"What's your middle name?"
Carl paused for a moment, then hesitantly spoke quietly, "Francis..."
Sophia was quiet, trying to contain her laughter. He rolled his eyes jokingly, "Go ahead, let it out." She opened her mouth and released a loud giggle, "I am so sorry, but that's amazing! Okay, okay, I'm done. You go."
Carl chuckled slightly, "Truth or Dare?"
"Dare."
He smirked mischeviously, "I dare you to tell me if you're a virgin or not."
Sophia's face flushed red with embarrassment, she didn't want anyone to know she was 16 and still a virgin. But, she knew he'd probably find out one way or another.
She sighed and spoke very quietly, "I'm still a virgin..."
Carl's eyes went wide with surprise, but then he  smirked, "Don't worry about it babe, that'll change soon." He winked and she smacked his arm jokingly as she gasped.
Sophia said, "Whatever. Truth or Dare?"
Carl picked truth again.
She asked, without thinking, "Why are you who you are today?" He gave her a weird look, as if asking her to elaborate. Sophia continued and sighed, "Fiona told me to look for something earlier today and had me check in the hall closet. There was a box with your name written on it and I couldn't help but look inside... There were a bunch of old pictures of you with old medals and stuff. You were so innocent and pure, can I please ask what happened? What changed you? I'm sorry, I know it's kind of a random deep question but I've been wondering about it all day. Like you used to be a spelling bee champion and stuff!" Carl sighed and looked up at the stars, then looked straight ahead at the distant city. He said, "Nah don't be sorry. A lot of people wonder about that, too. Honestly, it's cause people treated me like shit when I was younger. When I was young I was this innocent little nerd who everyone would pick on and take advantage of. As I got older, I started to not give a shit anymore and I became rock hard. Now look at me, no one dares to even give me one wrong look. So yeah, that's what happened. I stopped letting the assholes treat me like a piece of shit and I promised myself that I would grow up and show them who's really in control. It's great to be feared." Sophia could hardly say anything. She really didn't expect that to be the answer. She just sighed, she honestly felt sorry for him. Sophia spoke softly and tried to lighten the mood, "Oh. I'm really sorry that happened to you, but thank you so much for trusting me with that. But, anyway, is it true that you were a spelling bee champion for three years?" Carl groaned and threw his head back, "Yeah... it's true. I almost went to nationals at one point." Sophia gasped and laughed, "Wow. So does that mean you can spell... iridocyclitis?" Carl laughed and then continued to spell the word perfectly without even thinking. She was in awe and didn't even know what to say. He definitely didn't seem like a genius speller type of guy.

       The night went on for hours until the middle of the night. It had been filled with laughing, crying, funny stories, random stories, and nothing but happiness. Carl and Sophia felt closer than ever before. NOW they knew everything about each other. It was 1AM and Sophia had started to drift off with her head resting on his shoulder. Carl noticed her eyes begin to close, so he picked her up and carried her inside. He laid her down gently on their bed and shut the window. Carl removed her heels for her and tossed them onto the floor, put the blankets on top of her, and crawled in beside her. He whispered, "Good night my princess. I love you." She mumbled sleepily, "I love you", and he turned off the light to go to sleep. Carl kissed her on the cheek and wrapped his arms around her. He promised that he'd always keep her warm.