"Megan, you need to just tell him how you feel" Mickey complained to me as I paced the living room with worry, him smoking on the couch watching me.
"I can't"
"Why not?" He countered with a groan of annoyance.
"Because he's my best friend and I don't want to lose him" I said, everything bubbling up.
"Oh shit, you really love him" Mickey realized with amusement.
"You are the ones who's been telling me to confess my feeling to him and you didn't even think I loved him?"
"Of course I knew you liked Ian, anyone with eyes can seen that and of course our twin telepathy helped out"
"We do not have twin telepathy!" I argued back with frustration.
"Really?" He crossed his arms, accepting the challenge. "Because I can tell you right now that you are about to run out that door to the Gallaghers house to figure out what's going on" he shrugged as I stopped my pacing and stared at him blankly.
"How?" I asked in shock.
"Twin telepathy" he pointed to his head. "Now go before you make me even more dizzy" he grumbled as I rushed to grab my bag and head towards the Gallaghers house.
"Jimmy?" Fiona called out into the house when the front door opened.
"Darker." Veronica said walking into the kitchen.
"Hey. Talk to your caseworker?" Fiona asked.
"Unfortunately, yeah. Two reasons why we can't take in your brood." Veronica started thinking back to the woman.
"One. The fact that you had a foster child in your home that ran away under your 'supervision.' Two. Technically, the investigation's still pending as to the quality of your care." The woman at CPS told Veronica when she applied to take the Gallagher kids a few hours earlier.
"The quality of my care? You're saying her running away is my fault?" Veronica snapped back at the woman.
"Oh, you know what? Do not get all up in my grill, sister girl, okay?" She snapped back.
"Well, it was worth a shot." Fiona sighed.
"Hey" I greeted, walking through the back door to find Veronica and Fiona in the kitchen.
"Hi, Megan" Fiona sighed, knowing she had nothing good to tell me.
"Now what?" I asked, freezing in place as worry started taking over again.
"Gotta kick it into high gear. Figure out where the kids are staying. Get the house ready for home inspection. They're gonna require a fit parent to get the kids back, so I'm hoping to find Monica so I don't have to deal with Frank." Fiona listed her plan. "Why does it always come down to Frank?" She sighed. "I'm gonna get them back" She promised, pulling me in for a hug to comfort me slightly.
~~~
"So?" Mickey questioned when I met up with him at work. I shook my head as I tried to keep a strong face. Mickey saw right through me and I finally broke, crying over everything that was happening. "Come here" He pulled me in for a hug.
"I don't know what to do, Mick" I pulled back to look at him, wiping away my own tears.
"You've said this has happened before, right? It'll work out in the end" He tried with hope.
"Yeah, it'll work out in the end" I nodded along, trying to make myself believe my words.
~~~
"What is this stuff?" Ian pushed around the food on his tray.
"It's pus from your mother's monkey. Thought you liked the taste of that." The kid who threatened them earlier commented.
"What's your problem, dude?" Ian tilted his head.
"Nick, Salvador, find another table. Come on, chop-chop." The man in charge ordered as he walked over. "Proof of your employment came through, so you go to work today. I need your employer to sign this, times in and out. Understand?" He sat across from them and handed Ian papers.
"You know, I'm actually pretty excited to get out there. Start looking for work." Lip claimed.
"Nice try. You have court-mandated community service hours you owe." He reminded Lip.
"Yeah, but only a few. Then I can get out there and start looking for work, so I can become a contributing member of our great, capitalistic society." Lip smiled teasingly.
"You think you're better than everyone here, don't you?"
"Oh, that's-- that's rhetorical, right? I mean, you don't actually want me to answer that, do you?" Lip asked back.
"Cute. See, I could smack you across the face. But I think it's better I get out of your way. Let life bend you over instead." He stood up and left the two boys.
"Dude thinks he's in an episode of Scared Straight." Lip whispered to Ian who chuckled slightly with the shake of his head.
"I spent some time here. That summer mom was sent away for knifing a poodle." Frank explained to Fiona when they pulled up outside of the group home.
"Hey!" Fiona welcomed her brothers with open arms as they came outside. "I missed you guys." She hugged them both.
"Oh, yeah!" Lip said.
"How you holding up?"
"Aw, we're fine. The place is a joke." Lip said, pointing to the building behind him.
"They still serving that rotten porridge?" Frank questioned.
"He already on the wagon?" Lip asked Fiona, making an effort to avoid Frank.
"Oh, why do you have to say that?" Frank complained.
"As of right now." Fiona patted Frank's arm proudly. "You out on furlough?"
"No, I've gotta work. He's gotta finish parole hours." Ian explained.
"Oh check in on Megan at work, she's been worried sick" Fiona reminds Ian who nodded sadly, knowing how much I hated it when they got taken away like this.
"You guys want a lift?" Jimmy-Steve offered them.
"No, we gotta get our bus passes signed by the driver." Lip told him, having a smoke. "You find Debs and the boys?"
"Not yet, but I will." Fiona promised with certainty. "Do you need anything? You need cash? Clothes?"
"No, no. Look, don't worry about us, we're fine." Lip pulled her in for a final hug. "Worry about him." Lip looked over at Frank. Ian hugged Fiona next before they started down the street towards the bus stop.
"Where's my hug?" Frank asked them, only to receive the middle finger from both boys, Fiona laughing at her family's antics.
~~~
Mickey and I were moving boxes into the back silently when I heard the door open with the ring of a bell.
"Ian" I gasped seeing the red head walk in with a smile at my reaction. I rushed over to hug him and he seemed slightly startled by the impact of my hug.
"She really missed you, wouldn't stop talking about you" Mickey told Ian with a pat on the back. I stepped back with a glare to Mickey before worrying about how Ian was holding up.
"Hows the group home? Are you with Lip?"
"Yeah, I'm with Lip and the home is like prison" He complained.
"You don't know prison" Mickey commented.
"And he never will" I pointed to Ian with a stern reminder. "I hate to leave, but I have to help Mandy with the grocery shopping" I sighed after checking the time.
"Hey, I'll be out of there in no time" Ian smiled comfortingly, knowing how worried I got when he and his siblings were thrown into the system that I grew up in.
"I hope so," I commented softly.
~~~
"I mean, there's just no privacy. If I wanna jack-off, I gotta do it in the bathroom." Ian complained to Mickey while they stocked the shelves together.
"Can't even begin to imagine what a pussy you'd be in juvie." Mickey said, Ian sending him an unamused look as he tossed a can at Mickey who simply laughed and caught it. "You fuck anyone in there yet?" Mickey interrogated.
"God, no."
"Wise choice. Even if you're propositioned, it's probably just a setup. Guys want to find out if you're gay and pound the shit outta you. And not in a good way." Mickey set the can back on the shelf. "That and if you lead Megan on, I'll break every bone in your body" He finished with a threat, now knowing how serious I was about my feelings for Ian.
"Great." Ian nodded with slight fear.
"Hey, my dad took my brothers on a run out of town for a couple days, so you wanna ditch that dump and crash at my place, you can." Mickey offered.
"Was I just invited to a sleepover?" Ian smiled teasingly.
"Fuck you, is what you were invited to." Mickey said, Ian laughing as Mickey went to grab another box.
~~~
"Jacobs." The man in charge of the group home called out as the boys were all tucked into bed.
"Here."
"And Weston. Weston!"
"Here."
"All right, good night, you shits of Chicago! Pricks of Illinois!" The man laughed as he walked out for the night. Ian and Lip both sat up once the lights were out, sneaking Ian out of the building and sneaking Mandy inside.
"Have fun." Ian told Mandy as he left and she went in.
"You too" She smirked knowing exactly where he was going.
~~~
"You are out of your mind. Have you seen that fucking ponytail? It's a powerful ponytail, man. That's bullshit." Mickey said, bringing his food out of the oven and walking over. "Segal could totally kick Van Damme's ass."
"Oh, unless-- unless... It's Double Impact Van Damme. 'Cause that's some Van double Damme!" Ian joked, both boys laughing as they tuned the movie on.
"What the hell is this?" I wondered with a smile when I got home to see Ian and Mickey sitting on the couch together. I dropped my bag at the door as I moved towards them both.
"I invited him over" Mickey shrugged casually. "No funny business you two" He pointed between us as he stood to leave and go to his room.
"Where are you going? You're the one who invited him" I reminded, watching as Mickey walked down the hallway.
"I invited him for you, a simple thank you would suffice" Mickey claimed as he finally disappeared from sight.
"What are we watching?" I flopped beside Ian on the couch. He threw his arm over my shoulder on the back of the couch while taking a sip of his beer.
We had both drifted to sleep at some point during the movie, cuddled up together on the couch. Mickey had came out to turn off the movie and cover us with a blanket before going back to his room for the night.
"Fuck." Ian woke up with a start as the door to the house opened. "Shit." He rushed to grab his stuff as I was waking up as well.
"What?" I groaned, rubbing my eyes tiredly.
"What the fuck?" Terry shouted.
"Dad!" I shouted as I noticed him.
"Dad! Hold on! Hold on!" Mickey ran out at the sound of chaos.
"Mandy wasn't enough for you?" Terry stalked towards Ian darkly.
"Dad, hold on!" Mickey panicked as he punched Ian. "Stay back" Mickey pointed to me sternly when I got up, prepared to fight Terry. He gave me a sharp look to tell me he had this handled and he didn't want me to get involved.
"Fucking piece of shit! Piece of shit! Huh? Huh?" Terry repeatedly punched Ian as I held my eyes closed tightly, unable to watch the horrors. Ian's face was bleeding a lot while Mickey tried to pull Terry back.
"Get the fuck off him!" Terry fell back when Mickey tackled him.
"No daughter of mine is going to date a Gallagher" Terry shouted, punching me down hard when I stood to run towards Ian.
"No!" Mickey shouted but I was knocked out cold from one hard hit, smashing my head onto the coffee table on my way down. Terry turned to repetitively hit Mickey who was trying to fight back and get to me to check on me when I failed to respond.
"Sit your ass down" Terry pulled a gun on Ian as he ran to leave. Ian slowly walked back, eyeing Terry carefully. Terry got off of Mickey, leaving Mickey laying on the couch, me laying on the floor and Ian sitting awkwardly on the chair across the room. "It's Terry. Send over the Russian." Terry made a quick call, Ian and Mickey sharing a darkly worried look for what would happen to us all.
I woke up to a sharp pain on my temple, reaching up to feel blood beginning to dry. Ian was sitting in a chair beside us, looking down at the ground as Terry stood by the door and Mickey was beside me on the couch, looking like he wanted to kill someone. He reached over and held my hand in his own when he noticed that I had woken up, knowing I would need the comfort. Terry turned back towards the room with a tall man behind him. Mickey gave my hand one last squeeze before standing up and walking to his room silently.
"That one." Terry pointed to me. "Hes gonna fuck you like a real man" he stated as the russian man stalked towards me.
"No, no" I shook my head weakly as he got undressed in front of me.
"And you're goddamn gonna watch." He told Ian. Lowering his head Ian was unable to watch anymore, blaming himself for this happening to me.
.................................................
Question of the day: What do you think is going to happen now with Ian and Megan's relationship?
Hi everyone, just wanted to give you all a heads up that my posting over the next few weeks might be a bit irregular as I have a lot going on but I will try my best to still post one chapter a day or at least a chapter every other day! As always thank you so much for your love on this story!