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Mickey is sitting on the L, waiting for his stop. His stupid sister forgot to pay the water bill so now he has to ride up to the north side to pay in person.
He's sitting toward the back with headphones in. They aren’t attached to anything, but it’s a clear message to everyone to leave him alone.
He notices Fiona Gallagher get on. She’s talking really loudly on the phone and it makes him wish he had music or something playing through the headphones.
Mickey settles in, glancing out the window at the town whizzing by. He still has a while until his stop.
It’s another fifteen minutes later when he sees Fiona stand up and head toward the door. Her stop must be next. Right as the doors open, Mickey sees her purse out of the corner of his eye. That stupid woman left it behind on the train.
Mickey grabs it, jumping off the L at the last second. He shakes his head at his fucking conscience. He runs up to Fiona, tapping on her shoulder. She whips around, looking at Mickey, the purse in his hand and then back up to his face, scowling.
“Are you trying to steal my fucking purse?” She growls.
“What? No! I-“
Fiona yanks it out of his hand before he can explain.
“You better watch yourself, Milkovich.” She spits, before turning back and stomping away.
“Shit.” Mickey breathes.
*
“Alright, Mickey. I’ll be back later. Don’t let anyone steal anything.” Linda barks.
“Wait! Is Kash still here?" He asks.
Linda looks at him like he's dumb. “Yeah, Mickey. He’s your boss."
“Right.” Mickey nods. Linda storms out the door.
Mickey plops down behind the counter.
“Fuck.” He whispers.
Mickey hates Kash. Kash is always flirting with him, even though he’s told him over and over that he’s not interested. That creepy freak won’t take a hint. Thankfully, it seems like Kash might take a night off from harassing Mickey.
Working at the Kash and Grab is pretty easy. Mickey spends most nights stocking the shelves. That’s what he’s doing tonight when the door slams open to reveal the Gallagher Brother Trifecta.
There’s Lip, the brains. Carl, the brawn. And Ian, the leader. What he lacks in brains, he makes up for in fearlessness and what he lacks in muscle, he makes up for with bite. The guy is not afraid of anything and that’s the scariest quality to have.
“MICKEY MILKOVICH!” Ian bellows as Mickey flees to the back door. “YOU MESSED WITH THE WRONG GIRL!”
Mickey runs as fast as he can, barely making it out of the alley before he sees Carl running his way.
“CARL!” Mickey hears Lip yell. “You’ll never catch up. He’s fast as fuck.”
Mickey cheers internally as he hears the footsteps behind him stop. He still sprints all the way home, not stopping until he’s in the comfort of his own bed.
Mandy waltzes into his room, having seen his speed racer impression.
“You training for track meet?” She teases.
“No.” He pants. “Gallaghers. After me.” He squeaks out between frantic breaths.
“Fuck, Mick. What’d you do to the Gallaghers?”
“Gave Fiona her purse back after she left it on the L.” He replies, still trying to gain control of his breathing.
“How is that a bad thing?” Mandy asks.
“She thought I had stolen it.” He explains. “Cause she’s a bitch.” He adds.
“That she is.” Mandy nods.
The eldest Gallagher was notorious for her horrible, ‘only care about myself’ attitude. As soon as she turned 18, she ditched her siblings and got an apartment by herself, leaving the children behind, scrabbling for cash. But they still beat up whoever she claimed to have done her wrong because she has this weird sort of twisted hold on them.
“Well, that sucks, Mickey.” Mandy empathizes. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know!” Mickey exclaims. “None of them can be reasoned with. And they know where I work. Ugh.” He groans.
Mickey sighs, lying back on the bed. “I guess I just take the beating and then move on with my life.”
*
Mickey tenses every time someone enters the store for the next week. So far, not a single Gallagher has stopped by and it’s really freaking him out.
At this point, he just wants to get the ass-kicking over with.
Mickey jumps when a hand touches his shoulder. He turns to find himself face to face with Kash.
“Jesus, Kash. You scared me."
“Oh did I?” Kash whispers, in what Mickey assumes is supposed to be a seductive voice.
Kash wraps an arm around his waist, pulling Mickey tight against him.
“Get off of me, man.” Mickey protests, only for Kash to tighten his hold.
“I’m serious! Get off!” He says again, but Kash doesn’t relent.
He begins kissing at Mickey’s neck and shoulders even though he’s squirming.
“Stop, Kash! Get off of me! Please!” Mickey pleads.
“What the fuck?” A voice yells. Mickey raises his head to meet Ian’s eyes straight on.
Ian storms over and Mickey braces himself for the punch, but its not him who gets hit. Mickey is released as Kash flails backward.
“You think it’s fun to force yourself on teenagers, you fucking perv!” Ian growls, placing kick after kick to Kash’s rib cage. Ian reaches down, pulling Kash up. “Get the fuck out of here!” He sneers, prompting Kash to dash out of his own store as soon as Ian lets him go.
Ian spins around quickly, reaching a hand out like he wants to touch Mickey, but isn’t sure if he should.
“Are you okay, Mickey?” Ian asks.
Mickey nods. “I’m fine.” He whispers.
“Well, I came here to apologize.” Ian says. Mickey snaps his head up.
“What?”
"Fiona explained what happened and I realized that you were just returning her purse.” Ian expands, shaking his head.
“Oh thank god.” Mickey breathes. “I was preparing to get my ass beat for something I didn’t even do."
Ian grins. “Yeah. Fiona can be-"
“A bitch?” Mickey suggests.
Ian laughs. “For lack of better word, yeah."
“Can I ask you something?” Mickey inquires.
Ian nods.
“I heard what she did to you guys, so why do you still fight her battles?"
Ian shrugs. “She’s family, right? Family is all that matters to me.” Ian says. “Well, mostly.” He adds, looking Mickey up and down.
Mickey blushes.
“Let me take you out to dinner.” Ian blurts with no hesitation. He sees Mickey about to refuse so he amends his offer. “You’ve been through a lot, part of it my fault. It’s the least I can do."
Mickey bites his lip, thinking about it for a moment before nodding.
“Okay.”