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Game Over
chapter nine
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"WHAT DO YOU EVEN WEAR TO A WEDDING?" she thought aloud from her place at the picnic table. Sitting beside her was Dicky Peterson, his mouth full of tater tots. She twisted the plastic spoon in her grip before sighing. She had been rambling on about Veronica and Kevin's wedding for a good hour and a half. She was bubbling with excitement for her two friends and a little for herself. It was a new experience for her. "Whatever you wear, I'm sure you'll look amazing," Dicky hummed as he finished off the fried potatoes. "But don't wear white. That's, like, a huge no-no. My cousin did it at my older sister's wedding and I thought she was going to send her straight to the grave." Phoebe's smile brightened her face as she fought back her laughter. He was so refreshing in her usually fucked up life.
"I don't think I want a white dress when I get married," she announced. She popped a few pieces of mandarin oranges in her mouth after that, scrunching up her nose. "I think I'd want to wear green, or a royal blue. Something dark but not death dark." Dicky snorted. He leaned against the table, smiling eyes directed toward Phoebe. "Why not live your dark, vampire dreams?" Her eyes narrowed playfully as she flung her napkin at him. "Shut up," she chuckled. "I'm serious, though. Granted, it may not even happen, but its nice to plan, right?" She stuffed her mouth once more with a spoonful of mandarin oranges, eyes not once leaving Dicky's.
Her parents had two weddings. One was to make her Halmoni happy, which was the more traditional style for her South Korea born family members. The second was an extravagant one to close the last chapter of their separate lives. Her mother wore a blinding white, mermaid style dress with a long train. The torso was intricate lace over sheer, skin colored cloth. The fact her mother had gone all out, Phoebe figured she wouldn't. She didn't care about all of the material things. She only wanted to marry her soulmate in front of her people, regardless of where it happened. "I could always, you know.. Help you pick out a dress for the wedding," Dicky hummed.
Gently, his fingertips danced over the skin of her thigh. The cold air had created goosebumps on her skin. She hummed as she took his hand that trailed higher up his leg and moved it further down with a forced laugh. "That's very nice of you," she told him, ignoring the discomfort her brain was signaling. Instead, she finished off her cup of oranges and turned to Dicky. "You should show off your legs." Instead of pulling back, he only returned his hand to her leg. He sighed heavily through his nose as he ran his palm over her skin. "Dicky," she muttered, an uncomfortable smile crossing her face, "we're in public." Her reminder didn't seem to phase him.
Her skirt lifted slightly as his hands slid up to her waist. In one swift motion, he pulled her toward him on the bench. "St–Stop," she uttered. She clenched her knees nervously and fought his hands from her. "Dicky—" He cut off her protests with an intense kiss. One of his hands came to cup the back of her neck, his tongue forcibly entering her mouth. Her heart was racing at this point. It pounded against her chest in wariness. She forced her hands against his chest and used her strength to force him off of her. "I said stop!" she shouted in annoyance. She stared at the boy before her in disbelief. How could he go from someone so sweet to this? In disappointment, she stood from her spot and gathered her food back into the bag she had brought with her.
"Wait, where are you going?" Dicky asked nervously. He stood to his feet in a flash and before Phoebe could get away, he grabbed her wrist. "Let go," she sneered. She didn't falter from looking into his eyes with a hard glare. He, though, looked utterly confused. "Did I do something wrong? Why are you mad at me?" She jerked her hand from his grip, ripping one of her bracelets in the process. It fell to the dirt below their feet. "Don't play dumb. Leave me alone." She turned once more, only to feel his arms wrap around her torso. He held her body flush against him, his chin resting at the crook of her neck and shoulder. "No, don't leave," he muttered into her hair.
This is what they meant by creepy. He attaches to those around him, like a parasite. Phoebe's chest felt constricted and not from the doing of his arms wrapped tightly around her. No, she was scared. She struggled in his grip with wide, fearful eyes. "Let go of me," she demanded angrily. His breath warmed her skin as he started pressing gentle kisses to her neck. His hands dug into the fabric of her hoodie. "Why are you fighting me?" he asked, his voice small. Her breath hitched as he began to fondle her, hands groping her breasts through her hoodie. He sighed heavily into her ear. "Stop," she demanded, her voice cracking.
She used her nails to dig into his wrists, forcing him to let go. Slowly, his arms unwrapped from her as she scratched him. She whirled around to face him in disgust. "What the fuck, Phoebe!" he roared in confusion. Small globules of blood decorated the long, red marks she had made. Her eyebrows furrowed at his anger. "You're mad?" she asked in disbelief. "You're mad at me?" Her eyes welled will water as she tried to compose herself. She had been in situations that scared her. There was the one time the police stopped her after she had been drinking and she felt like she was going to shit herself. But this trumped that experience.
It was insane how quickly his attitude had changed. His eyes met her and the stone cold glint in them softened toward her. His face had been growing red, unshed tears sparkling against his waterline. "No," he replied, sadly. "No, I'm not mad. I'm just upset. You– You scratched me." Phoebe sucked in a breath. She could stand there for hours trying to reason with him, but she didn't exactly have that time. She didn't really want to be anywhere near him, as well. So, instead of replying, she finally brushed up her courage and walked away. She rushed off with tears blurring her vision, her chest feeling like a tightly wound string ready to burst at any given moment.
She felt like the world was spinning way too fast, ready to fall right off of its axis. Her hands fumbled for her phone that was resting in her hoodie pocket, quickly flipping open the device and scrolling for a particular number. She didn't know who had the phone that day. It could be Lip, it could be Fiona, or maybe even Ian. Either way, she didn't care. She pressed the call button and placed the phone up to her ear, sniffing. As it rang, her heart drummed in her ears. She was finally leaving the park they were eating at. The sound of traffic gave her somewhat of a comforting feeling, knowing that she was getting further and further away from Dicky Peterson.
She crossed the street, ignoring the honks she got by the drivers. A cab screeched to a halt behind her and laid on his horn, cursing her through the opened window. Instead of apologizing, she flicked them off whilst jogging to the other side. After six rings and what felt like forever, someone had finally picked up the phone. "Lip's Testing Service," they greeted with a dull tone. A sigh of relief billowed from her mouth as she stopped amidst the sidewalk. Hearing his voice was enough to make the tears sitting on her waterline fall. "Lip," she croaked out, mentally cursing herself for getting so worked up over this. "It's, uh, it's Phoebe." She wiped angrily at her face and continued to walk, looking cautiously behind her. The line was silent for a moment before he spoke up.
"What's wrong?" It wasn't rocket science to know something was up with Phoebe. Her voice was tight, and he could vaguely hear the little sniffles through the receiver. He felt his own chest tighten with worry. "Dicky freaking Peterson," she muttered. Her mouth had filled with saliva as every gland in her head weeped. Her eyes leaked, her nose leaked, her mouth became as wet as an ocean. "I should have been more careful," she admitted. "I shouldn't have ignored Ian or Karen... He's a creep. He's a freaking pervert." She was rambling and her words were slowly melting together into a heap of gibberish as she slowly lost control of her emotions. She walked down the sidewalk in tears, blubbering into the phone. "What did he do? Where are you?"
"I wanna come home," she cried. Her legs were growing weaker. Her eyes were burning. She wanted nothing more than to hole up in the boys' room with Denton and a bag of Salt and Vinegar chips. She could hear Lip sigh through the receiver. "I'll meet you there, okay? Let me get some snacks, maybe a movie?" She sniffed. She could really go for a bottle of tequila right about then. "Can you get M&M's?" she asked in a small, shy voice. She glanced around her to take in her surroundings. It wouldn't take but fifteen minutes on foot to get to the Gallagher's residence. She heard him laugh breathlessly. "You and your salty sweet shit," he breathed out.
"If you'd man up and try it, you'd like it too," she retorted. He scoffed in disbelief. "Man up? Wow," he replied, dragging out the last syllable. "See if I buy you anything now." She hadn't even noticed her tears had dried up. She sniffed once more. "Thanks, Lip," she sighed. "I.. You're the best."
—
"You got RED?" she exclaimed as Lip held up the DVD case. He waved it tauntingly in front of her with a knowing smirk. "What kind of man would I be if I didn't get your favorite movie?" He turned toward her bags sitting on the floor. "Is your laptop in there?" She bounced her head into a nod. After tossing the case onto the bed where Phoebe resided, he then dug through her school bag. He took out the laptop and slid it onto the mattress. "I also got your chips, M&M's, and a case of Mike's Hard Lemonade." She clapped at the announcement excitedly. He knew how much she enjoyed the sour taste, though Lip liked to dump a shit ton of sugar into them (don't tell anyone).
He hauled the case onto the bed along with the plastic bags. Following that, he brought his own drinks to accompany him. Finally, Lip joined his best friend up on his bd. The two leaned against pillows propped against the wall, a drink in their hand and the laptop resting against Lip's lap. Her chips had been ripped open and mixed with M&M's, though she kept a lot in the candy bag for Lip to snack on. "Now," Lip began, popping the top off of his beer. "Tell me what happened before you get shit faced and I can't understand you." Phoebe smacked his shoulder defensively. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.
He looped his arm behind her neck, his hand coming to rest on the outside of her opposite arm. "If its as bad as I'm thinking, you'll only get more emotional when you're drunk. And you have a tendency to switch languages on me. I'm not fluent in Korean, you know." Phoebe furrowed her brows. She never really realized that she did that. Lip never really mentioned it either. "But I have learned how to cuss someone out or threaten someone's life," he teased. Her cheeks flushed. Instead of responding, she opted to shove a handful of chips into her mouth. The space was full of the crunches of her chewing, along with her soft breaths exhaled through her nose.
She focused on the muted previews playing on the laptop screen and not on how warm his embrace was. "Come on," he pleaded, turning his head to rest on the wall. His blue eyes scanned the side of Phoebe's face. "You sounded upset on the phone." She sniffed in distaste. Glancing over, she felt her heartbeat quicken at their proximity. He was right there. He was always right there. Why was she getting so worked up over it now? "You'll kill him," she whispered, locking gazes with Lip. His mouth opened to argue, but he soon closed it once he realized that she was probably right. "We were at the park eating and talking. And then he started getting really handsy."
She took in a deep breath and turned away from Lip's eyes. They were warm as they stared at her. He noticed the tension building in her neck and shoulders. "I told him to stop and.. I told him to stop, but he wouldn't. So, I went to leave and he grabbed me—" She exhaled a heavy groan. Her hand came up to pinch the bridge of her nose. Thinking back on it, she felt so stupid. "He just hugged me from behind and was telling me not to leave like he did nothing wrong. But he was pushing up my skirt and I kept telling him to stop. I felt so... so powerless. It was infuriating!"
His eyes never faltered as he listened intently to her rant. His heart hammered in his chest. His blood temperature rose ten degrees. His teeth gritted at the thought of Dicky touching her in a way that was unwanted. To be put simply, he wanted to break his hands under his shoe... or a car tire. "I don't want to feel like that again," she muttered ashamedly. "I don't want to feel like a damsel in distress." Lip's brows furrowed for a moment. "Hold on a second. You are not a damsel in distress," he stated clearly. "You punched Joey fucking Milkovich in the nose for calling you a racist name." A laugh broke from his mouth at the memory. He still couldn't believe it, despite the time where her knuckles were swollen and bruised.
"That's the thing. When this happened..." She shifted on her side, her thumb running along the cold surface of her drink. Her eyes met his. "I froze. I froze like Kelsey Hammond did when she lost the Chicago Girls Pageant." She bit down on her bottom lip. She couldn't explain the way she felt in words. She didn't feel confident enough to admit that this occurrence had indeed scared her. She didn't want to admit that her mind went to places she wished didn't exist. She didn't even know if he'd understand. He was a guy; a fearless one at that. Would he have ever felt that mind numbing fear of having your control ripped from you and being forced to do something you didn't want to?
Suddenly the laptop screen flashed red, alerting the duo that the previews were now over. The start screen came up and Phoebe's favorite actor, Bruce Willis came into view. "That's okay," Lip finally spoke up, turning to face the laptop. "You don't have to know what to do in every situation." She snorted. He may have been right, but that didn't seem to settle her mind. She kept tearing herself down. She should have done something. She should have been more assertive. She should have punished him for doing what he did. But she didn't, and she felt sick about it. "Lip," she breathed out. Slowly, she moved closer, her shoulder resting below his armpit while her head landed on his shoulder. His arm tightened around her.
"Do you think I'll ever find someone?" She didn't know how the question came up. Maybe it was because she had been doubting everything after Dicky. He had seemed so interested in her, to the point where she thought there was possibility for a relationship, and yet she was wrong. He craned his neck to meet her eyes. Their noses almost touched. He sighed, his breath fanning over her face. "So you can have a baby?" he asked, bringing up her previous desire. Of course, you could say that was a reason. She did want to start a family, and preferred to do so with someone she loved. But a romantic partner wasn't necessarily required to achieve her goal. A simple hookup would suffice.
She smiled up at him. "No," she whispered. "No, not for a baby. To be, you know, happy? Like Vee and Kev." He paused to think. There were many things he could say. First, he thought she would. He figured that if anyone in this filthy, animalistic world deserved a happy ending, it would be miss Phoebe Ji Lim. Second, he didn't want to sound corny, but he would most definitely give her the world if no one else would step up. Whether it be platonically or romantically, he didn't care. And thirdly, he didn't want to admit to feeling jealous. He felt jealous of the way she made people feel so comfortable around her. He felt jealous of the way people gravitated toward her. Because he could never be that.
Finally, he sighed and ran his hand along her ink black hair. He looked deep into her eyes with a kind smile, one that reflected in those baby blues like they were a pool of crystal clear water. He touched her tenderly, looked at her lovingly, and whispered gently, "Yes." Maybe it was the alcohol, despite his having only one drink out of a bottle, but he found himself looking down at her lips. They were stretched into a smile that put her top row of teeth on display. They were not chapped for once, though he figured it could be because of his excessive reminders of using her chapstick. He hated seeing them crack and bleed since she smiled way too much for any sane person.
The lights of the laptop flashed as scenes played on the start screen, but both parties had begun to ignore it. They were too engrossed in one another to notice the light from outside dimming or the fact the front door was opening and closing behind the rest of the Gallagher clan. They were too engrossed in one another to notice the other leaning in, dying to finally know what the other's mouth felt like or to feel the sudden brush of their noses. Phoebe had always wondered what it would be like to feel his eyelashes bat against her skin. But the feeling would never be revealed as Ian barged into the room, the door loudly banging against the wall and shattering whatever tension the room had once been filled with.
Lip kissed the top of Phoebe's head as she curled into him, laying to rest on his shoulder. His heart drummed noisily in his chest and he just knew she could hear it. However, she was too busy shouting at herself in her own head to notice the fact he was full of thunderous affection. Instead, she was regretting even going there in the first place.
from rumi . . .
am i spoiling you guys with so
many updates?? maybe, but who cares!!
let's live it up while we can!!
so this chapter is completely au.
and i am super proud of myself
for it tbh.
sorry about dicky. i had to have
some drama for phoebe that was
outside of the gallaghers. like i
said before, i didn't want any of
the oc vs karen thing. so i took it
in a different direction. 🙃
the next chapter will mostly be au,
though it is meant to take place in
episode five. just an fyi.
don't forget to vote + comment!