―

Debbie giggled as she watched her older sister get ready, making Hannah raise an eyebrow at the younger girl.

"What's so funny?" She asked with a suspicious look, tugging on her maroon blazer.

"You in that." Debbie smiled, gesturing to Hannah's school uniform.

Hannah rolled her eyes with a small laugh, "Don't even get me started," She told her little sister, covering the bruise on her forehead with the concealer that she stole from one of her classmates, "I feel like a fucking fascist." She snorted, making Debbie laugh as there was a lazy knock on the door and it swung open to reveal their eldest sibling.

"7:15!" She told them before leaving the room.

Turning to the third youngest Gallagher, Hannah sarcastically asked, "No, really? Our alarms didn't tell us." She rolled her eyes.

―

Lip snorted out a laugh as he followed Hannah downstairs, "Nice bow, Pippi Longstocking." He chortled, tugging on the maroon material.

"Nice stain, jerk-off," Hannah shot back, making her brother look down at his crotch in worry, "Made you look." She sang with a smirk, making her way down the rest of the stairs.

Grabbing herself a bowl of cereal, Hannah glanced over at the calendar on the fridge.

"Fi." She drew her sister's attention over to her, tapping on today's date, which read 'ELECTRIC'.

"Shit," Fiona muttered, putting the milk carton down on the table, pulling out a small box from the cupboard and grabbing it off the fridge, tossing it in the box along with some money. She deftly retrieved the nearly empty milk carton from Lip before he was able pour it on his cereal, dropping the box in front of him, making Hannah laugh, "Electric."

"Coming through." Ian said, charging into the kitchen, Carl on his back, setting the younger boy down on a seat.

Lip was the first to drop cash into the box, passing it on to Ian, "Electric."

Ian complied, putting in his share of cash, passing it to his younger sister who was no sat next to him, "Electric loser."

Rolling her eyes, Hannah rummaged through her inside blazer pocket, "Charming," She muttered, chucking in a three five dollar bills and passing the box over to Carl, "Electric, asswipe."

Carl only repeated the words, handing the box over to Debbie, not contributing anything and Fiona came round, frowning at Carl.

"No," She snapped her fingers, pointing at the boy's Foo Fighter's T-shirt, "You've got a Happy Meal on the front of that shirt."

Carl pouted, reluctantly pulling it off as Ian retrieved a slip of paper from his pocket.

"Field trip," He said, "I need Dad's signature."

Debbie took it from her brother as Lip, Ian and Hannah were shoving cereal into their mouths as if it was their last meal and Fiona turned Carl's dirty T-shirt inside out.

"Arms up." She instructed him, slipping the now inside-out T-shirt back onto Carl as Debbie pushed the permission slip back to Ian, signed. 

Lip nodded at the signature in approval as it passed him, "Wow, Deb, that's really getting good."

"Nice, Debbie." Hannah smirked, standing up and moving over to the washer, tossing in detergent, then hamming a chair under the washer door handle, starting the machine.

"Who's got the phone?" Fiona asked.

"I got it." Lip said, fishing the family flip phone out of his pocket, tossing it to Fiona, who caught it with ease.

"Any minutes left?" The brunette girl asked.

"Uh, 14." Lip said, unsure.

"Hey, I need something for show and tell." Debbie spoke up.

"Want me to see if Mr. Yublonski left his prosthetic leg out in his front yard again?" The middle sister asked, "Or hey, maybe Ian has a pair of spunky boxer shorts in his room." Hannah smirked, gaining a flick on the back of the head from Fiona, only making the redhead laugh.

"How much are we short?" Fiona asked, nodding her head at the electric box.

"Eighteen dollars and thirty cents." Debbie answered.

"I'm tutoring after school, should be able to kick in ten more." Lip said, as Hannah walked past him.

"Cum slut." She fake coughed.

"Hey, did, uh, Carl put in any?"

"Nope." Hannah shook her head.

Debbie frowned at Carl, "You're almost nine, you're gonna have to start pulling your weight."

"That's right, and get a real job," Lip added, "Not just dipping into the collection plate at St. Tim's."

Fiona sat down at the table, feeding Liam, "I'm filling in for Candi, I can cover the rest." She told her siblings.

"Extra kraut on mine." Lip requested the free food they'd get after his sister's shift.

"Cheese on mine." Ian added.

"Just ketchup for me, please and thank you." Hannah smiled sweetly.

"Somebody's gotta take Liam." Fiona shrugged.

Everyone scrambled for an excuse.

"Uh, I got a calculus test." Lip said, putting on his backpack.

"I'm working after school." Ian shook his head.

Fiona looked over at Hannah with pleading eyes, making the redhead scoff as she put her bowl in the sink, grabbing her own bag, "You really think he'll wanna sit in on Math class at Ackrington fucking Academy? No chance."

Fiona then turned to Carl, only receiving a blank stare, leaving Debbie.

"Show and tell?"

Fiona looked between her two siblings, "Uh, show them the birthmark on his back. It looks like Latvia." She grinned.

The Gallaghers all then piled out of the door, rushing their way to school.

Turning back to her sister, who was struggling to carry Liam down the stairs.

"You got him, Debs?"

"Yep." The younger girl nodded, giving Hannah a thumbs up.

"Great," Hannah nodded, looking at her watch, "Right, I've gotta go, love ya Debs!" She cried, before running down the sidewalk.

"Love you, too!"

―

Hannah raised an eyebrow, staring at her English teacher, "The drama club? Really?"

Theo Carter sighed, "We just need numbers - you could just direct, even."

"And why'd you ask me?"

Theo laughed, "Other than you being my favourite student?"

"Well I better be." Hannah laughed, leaning back against her desk in the empty English classroom.

"Look, I need someone who knows plays," Theo told the girl, "And that's you."

Hannah rolled her eyes, crossing her arms, "Fine. But I'm not singing or acting."

"What if I told you we were doing Agatha Christie." Theo smirked.

Hannah's eyes widened, "Fuck off."

"Hey, language," Theo scolded, "Just kidding."

Hannah laughed. 

Theo Carter grew up on the South Side, just down the street from where the Gallaghers now lived. He was always close to Kevin and Veronica, meaning that he had a bond with the Gallaghers as well. And after submitting one of Hannah's stories that he found in the trash, which is how she wound up at Ackrington Academy - where he was an English teacher. Needless to say, the pair had a sibling-like bond.

"So, are you in?" Theo smirked.

"When are the auditions?"

―

With the yellow skirt of her diner uniform flapping against her legs, Hannah skated down the street she lived in, on her way home.

"Hey, Hannah!" A voice called, making her turn to see Kevin jogging up to her.

"Hey, Kev." The redhead greeted with a tried smile, slowing down her skating speed as he began to walk with her.

"Rough shift at the diner?" The man knowingly asked, taking off his jacket and draping it around the small girl's frame.

"Thanks," She smiled, "And you have no idea. Creepy men at eleven at night just don't know when to stop."

"Tell me about it," Kevin sighed, as they made their way over to the Gallagher house, "V texted saying that she was here and I don't have my keys."

Hannah chuckled slightly, "Maybe you should invest in another set."

Kevin sent the fourteen-year-old a smirk, "Why would I do that when I could buy us vodka?"

"Fair point."

"Yo, Veronica. You got my keys?" Kevin yelled as he and Hannah entered the house, stopping int he entrance of the living room, seeing veronica sat on the sofa, a shirtless man sitting between her legs as the rest of the Gallaghers were scattered around the room.

"This better not be some fucked up kind of orgy." Hannah shook her head, sitting on the couch armrest.

"And that would be Hannah." Fiona nodded.

"What's going on here?" Kevin asked.

"This is Steve," Veronica introduced, "Decked the bouncer at Purgatory to defend my honor."

"My honor." Fiona corrected.

"Yeah? Which bouncer?" Kevin raised an eyebrow.

"Jimmy Clifton." The eldest Gallagher revealed.

"Jimmy CI...? Well, Jesus, man, put it there. Respect." Kevin laughed, holding out his hand, which Steve shook.

"Guy just stands there. Doesn't really do anything." The new guy shrugged.

"Yeah, you'll be his third conviction." Kevin nodded, sitting on the arm of the seat that Lip was sat on.

"Huh?" Steve asked.

 "Third or fourth," Kevin wavered, seeing Hannah hold up four fingers, "Fourth, yeah," He nodded as Fiona snatched a beer bottle out of Carl's mouth, "After that much practice, you'd think the man would have manslaughter down by now. No more fuck-ups."

"Like leaving his dad breathing." Hannah laughed.

Steve's eyes widened, "His dad? "

"Yeah," Kevin nodded, "Five years over an '87 Monte Carlo with 200,000 miles on the odometer. A fucking Monte Carlo!" He exclaimed.

"Okay, time for bed," Fiona instructed her younger siblings, "Up the wooden hill."

Hannah sighed, standing up and slipping Kevin's coat off, handing it to the man with a fist bump.

"Thanks, Kev," She smiled, before looking over at Steve, "Night dead man walking." She laughed, dragging a complaining Debbie up to their room.

―

Wiping the toothpaste off of her mouth, Hannah lazily made her way out of the bathroom, eyes trained on her book, almost bumping into Fiona as she rushed past the girl before running downstairs.

Looking over at a still shirtless, out of breath Steve she asked, "Kitchen floor sex not work out?"

Steve tried to come up with a reply when a small gurgle drew his attention over to the entrance of Debbie, Hannah and Liam's room, where the toddler was looking for his older sister.

Hannah sighed, closing her book and brushing past Steve, "Debbie, why is Liam still up?" She asked.

"Sorry." The youngest sister winced, coming out and picking him up.

Watching her siblings disappear back into their bedroom with a soft smile, Hannah then turned to the shirtless man, "Those the cops?"

"Yeah."

Hannah snorted out a laugh, "You're never getting laid now." She chuckled, making her way to the bedroom.

"Jane Eyre?" Steve asked, gesturing to the book in her hands.

Hannah raised an eyebrow, "What? Project kids can't appreciate literature?"

"N-No. I-"

"Goodnight, Steven." The redhead smirked, closing her bedroom door.

Debbie watched as Hannah chucked her book on the small dresser before she got in the shared double bed with her sister.

"What do you think of Steve?" Debbie asked, cuddling into Hannah.

"I think he's a bit desperate."

"I kinda like him." Debbie shrugged.

Hannah glanced down at her sister, "He's trying. Which is new."

They lay in silence for a small while.

"Wanna go watch him do the walk of shame."

"Oh, yeah." Debbie grinned, the sisters jumping out of bed and making their way to their brothers' room.

―

"Really? An old lady on the train?" Fiona raised an eyebrow, looking between Lip and Ian as the family were scattered around the boys' room, Fiona holding the eldest brother's injured foot.

"Oh, yeah, the doors were closing on her walker and Lip barely got his foot in in time to stop-" Ian's awful lie was cut off.

"Ow! Jesus, Fiona." Lip cried at his sister who kept poking at his food.

"I can't remember whether that's good or bad." Fiona muttered.

From her position next to Debbie on Lip's bed, Hannah said, "I'd say bad. Do it again."

Fiona shot Hannah a look before turning back to Lip and Ian, "More likely you jumped the turnstiles and he twisted it trying to outrun the transit cops." She rolled her eyes as Veronica burst through the door, shaking her head at Fiona.

"No. Always elevate extremities. Move before you give him a fucking embolism," She told Fiona, pushing the girl aside, "You okay, Lip?" She asked the boy, placing his foot under a pillow.

"Please, don't touch it." Lip winced in pain.

"Okay. Wiggle your toes," Veronica ordered, Lip complying with a grunt and a fraction of movement from his toes. The woman instantly turned to Ian, "Go to my house, top of the freezer. Two ice packs. Second cupboard above the sink, liquid ibuprofen, freeze spray, Ace bandages."

Ian nodded, standing up and reaching for his jacket.

"Should we get it x-rayed?" Fiona worriedly asked.

"With what medical insurance?" Hannah snorted.

Veronica immediately shook her head, "No, you'll be in the ER forever. For what? 'Sub-metatarsal hematoma'," She mocked, "Tell us something we didn't know five hours ago, fuck off," Veronica rolled her eyes, before turning back to Ian before he left the room, "My bedroom, top of the TV."

"Yeah?"

"Pack of smokes and the lighter."

"Okay." Ian nodded, rushing out of the room when there was a loud knock on the front door.

Lip bounced up and scurried to hide under the bed, "I'm not here! I'm not here!!" Lip cried as Ian scrambled back into the room from the stairs.

"You don't know us, Fiona!" Ian yelled.

Fiona stared at her brothers with a clenched jaw, "Oh, what have you done? What have you done!?" She seethed as there was another loud knock and Fiona had to rush downstairs, Carl, Debbie and Hannah chasing eagerly after her.

―

Veronica came down the stairs, into the kitchen, with her hallmark medical bag, assisting Lip to the ground floor, both perplexed by the Sears guy installing a brand new Samsung washing machine.

Veronica raised an eyebrow, "I thought you were broke?"

"That's what I said!" Ian nodded with a laugh from where he and Hannah were leaning against the counter.

Fiona, equally baffled, bit her lip with a grin and reached into the basin where she had put a bouquet of flowers.

"These were inside the washer." She showed Veronica the note in them.

"'Steve'? No!" Veronica said with wide eyes.

"Yeah!" Fiona beamed.

"Who's 'Steve'?"

"The other night!" Fiona reminded her.

Veronica grinned, "No!?"

"I know!" Fiona nodded.

Hannah observed the sheer thrill of romantic novelty on her sister's face knowing that Steve's strategy had worked.

Looking down at Debbie, Hannah said, "Really trying."

―

With her skateboard tucked under her arm, Hannah entered the Gallagher house after a long shift at the diner with a sigh. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Ian sat on the couch.

"Is this a new thing we're doing whenever I get home from work?" Hannah asked, making the older boy laugh, "Cause if so, then next time there better be a banner."

Ian only smiled weakly, making Hannah frown as she saw his teary face and the toilet paper next to him.

"Ian?" She asked softly, "What's wrong?"

Ian didn't reply and only picked at the toilet paper, ripping it apart as she came and sat next to him, refusing to look at his sister.

"Did Lip find your gay porn stash or something?" She laughed, stopping once she saw the look of horror on her brother's face, "Oh my God, he did."

"H-How do you know about that?" Ian stammered.

"Everyone may think that Lip's the smartest Gallagher, but we all know it's me," Hannah smirked, "Besides, I needed a cigarette," She shrugged, "So I ransacked your room. Figured it couldn't be Carl's, considering how he's always staring at V's boob. And Lip's not the one with a poster of hunky men on his side of the bedroom."

Ian laughed slightly, still picking at the toilet roll, before frowning, "Do you hate me now?"

Hannah stared at her older brother in shock, scoffing, "Fuck off do I hate you," She shook her head, taking the toilet roll out of his hands, starting roll little bits of the paper into small balls, "You were Ian before and you're gay Ian now." She shrugged, tossing one of the balls over at her snoring father on the floor a few feet away from them, passed out and snoring.

"You better not start calling me gay Ian." The older redhead laughed, joining in on her game.

Hannah chuckled, "First to get ten in his mouth owes the other twenty bucks."

"You're on." Ian nodded with a smile.

The pair sat like that for a while, chucking toilet paper at their drunk of a father. Fiona came down about twenty minutes later, grabbing a sippy cup for Liam, stopping when she saw the two gingers. Stepping over their father, Fiona let out a sigh, sitting in front of them on the coffee table.

"Just tell me you didn't go and got some girl pregnant." She said to the boy.

Ian and Hannah stifled laughs at the thought.

"No worries," Ian muttered, glancing across the floor to where Frank was unconscious, "He hates me."

Fiona studied Ian, deciding to throw him a line.

"You just look more like Mom than any of the rest of us," Fiona shrugged, "You probably scare him."

"Oh yeah?" The boy asked with intrigue.

"Yeah." Fiona assured him with a soft smile, Hannah nodding in agreement.

A small smirk graced their brother's lips, "He ain't seen nothin yet."

Fiona looked back over at their father, "He give you money for the field trip?"

"I'll pay my own way." Ian shook his head.

Fiona shook her head, "No. You won't."

Handing Ian the sippy cup, Fiona made her way over to Frank, crouching down next to him, raising one of his legs and shaking it until coins rolls out of his pocket. It's an essential form of mugging she's perfected over years.

Ian and Hannah watched amused by her talents, as Frank remained oblivious.

Ian smiled as he took the cash, "You must be sick of having to think for everybody."

Fiona let out a small chuckle, "At least I can. Proves I'm wanted."

"Jesus, Fiona. If all you want is to be needed, then congratulations. You got yourself a job for life with this joker." Ian said, scoring one last point as he landed a tissue ball into his father's mouth, before standing up and handing her the sippy cup, heading upstairs.

Hannah sent her sister a small smile, kissing her on the cheek, "Love you."

Fiona smiled slightly at her, "Love you too."

Hannah took one last look at Fiona, before grabbing her skateboard and jogging upstairs, entering her room with a sigh.

Looking over at Debbie, Hannah gestured to downstairs with her head, "Frank's out on the floor."

Debbie nodded with a smile, grabbing her pink pillow from her bed and rushing downstairs.

Hannah stared at the open door, a frown on her face, wondering when her little sister would learn that their father wasn't worth it.

―

The Gallagher kitchen was buzzing, the sweet smell of Steve's cooking wafting through the air.

"That's hot." Steve told Debbie, handing her the bowl of scrambled eggs.

"Don't drop it. Please, don't drop it." Ian laughed as he and Lip followed her to the table.

"Please, don't drop it! Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God." Lip laughed as they sat down.

"That sausage is great, huh?" Hannah smirked at Ian.

"Haven't had eggs in a while." Debbie commented.

"Somebody wanna get the pancakes?" Steve asked as a confused Fiona entered the kitchen.

"What's all this?" The eldest Gallagher sibling asked.

"Debbie wakes up earlier than I do," Steve started, "I told her I never eat breakfast but she said it's her favourite meal."

"Pancakes." Debbie grinned down at the plate that the man handed to her.

"And since it's her birthday-"

The rest of the Gallaghers cut him of with cries.

"No, it's not!"

"It's not her birthday."

Heads turned to look at the girl.

"I never said it was, I said I wished it was." Debbie shrugged, before walking over to the table and taking her seat next to Hannah.

"Nice one." Hannah grinned, fist bumping her sister.

"Right, she said she wished it was," Steve nodded, "Sorry, Deb, I totally misheard that. Perforated eardrum on the right." He gestured to his ear, before holding out a plate of bacon to Fiona.

The girl bit back a smile, she was loving all this, taking the plate out of his hand, but, "You've got 15 minutes before school, tops," She told her siblings, joining them at the table, "Ian, Lip, dishes soon as you're done. Debbie, Carl, you need to take the trash out."

The family all laughed, digging into their meals. Steve went to sit down to eat, but his chair was obstructed by Frank - who was flat out on the floor from the night before, Debbie's pink pillow under his head. 

People had been walking round him all morning, like a carpet tumour.

Without making a fuss, Steve delicately crossed Frank's legs to make him look like a sunbather. 

Taking his seat, Steve looked over at Hannah next to him, "You want me to give you a ride to school? It'll save you having to run there."

Hannah smiled slightly at the man, "Sure. Just as long as you don't try and make awkward conversation with me."

Steve laughed, taking the ketchup from her, "Deal."