Note from the author:  This chapter contains ⚠️Smoking/vaping and drinking 

Carl Gallagher's point of view

"Did you know that when guys get hanged they get a boner?" I tell Debbie. The one thing learned in anatomy this year.

"Carl that's gross! I really didn't wanna hear that." Debbie replies with a look of 'grossed out' on her face. 

We're sitting in her room, she's flat ironing her hair. Currently, I'm slumped on her bed. Debs is lucky, she has her own room. Why can't she share with Fiona and I get this one? Oh right, Fiona and Debbie are in beef. Debbie turns around, faces me, and stares at my body. The expression on her face looks disgusted.

"Is that what you're wearing?" She judges. I mean I'm wearing a hoodie with the sleeves ripped off and blue jeans. To be honest I don't know what I'm supposed to wear.

"Yeah, why?" Cluelessly I ask. Debbie and I are the only ones going tonight. We're the closest with dad. Lip's babysitting Liam, Ian's nowhere to be found, and Fiona's working.

"You look like a garden gnome," Debbie chirps. That's offensive.

"You look like a high school rejects who got knocked up and whose boyfriend left her, oh wait you already are!" I growl playfully back. Debbie spins back to the mirror to continue working on her hair.

"I was just trying to help Carl, you have to look presentable. Just let me help you!" Debbie grumbles. 

Debbies wearing Fiona's black dress. We can't waste any money on a party that will celebrate a marriage that won't last. But I guess Debbies is right. Maybe she should help me, for Dad's reputation with his new lady's sake.

"Fineeee," expressing my change of heart. Debbie puts down her hair tool, then calls me to follow her.

After what feels like hours of searching through Ian and Lip's old clothing Debbie finally found something acceptable. A white button-down shirt, and beige khakis.

"Basic but it'll do! You're gonna look like a million bucks. 

Rolling my eyes I grab the outfit out of her hand and quickly get dressed. As for my hair, I part my hair in the middle creating a middle part. Debbie says girls love this hairstyle. I guess it'll do. Then I grab my backpack off my bunk bed.

"Debbie are you ready to go!" I call down the hallway. Debbie steps out of her room and she's wearing large hoop earrings and lots of makeup.

"Yep, who's driving us?" Debbie asks like I know the answer. I mean I did have to run lots of errands for Frank today, that's what he needed my help with. I had to find him a suit, flowers, and a caterer. Not an easy job.

"I mean I could?" I suggest. Debbie rolls her eyes.

"Carl you would literally kill us, you're like YEARS away from your license. Nice try!" Debbie yelps already heading downstairs.

"So how do you think we're gonna get there? The party is on the other side of the city Frank said," Huffing and following my sister down the stairs. Rushing we slip on our shoes.

The sky is dark, a navy blue color. The air is crisp but not cold enough to wear a jacket. I spot a large limo parked outside our house.

"Debbie, did you order this?" I wonder nodding my head in the direction of the limo.

"Hell no,". Suddenly the driver steps out of the car. He heads towards the front gate where we're standing.

"Mr. and Ms. Gallagher? I'm here to take you to Frank Gallagher and Shannon French's party," The driver informs us. 

 Taking the lead I approach the man and hop inside the limo. I've never been in a limo before, inside there is candy in cup holders and alcohol in the portable mini-fridges. Sneaking a few bottles of vodka in my bag for later.

"Carl, don't make it so obvious!" Debbie grunts sharply while entering the car. Seconds late we're off. It's like a movie honestly, this lifestyle.

"So our new stepmom's loaded. Great,".

                                                                                ⚘⚘⚘⚘

The limo finally comes to a stop. The diver opens the door for the Debs and me. We're in the driveway of a tall white modern building, the windows are one-sided I'm guessing because you can't see. Thinking we're downtown because I smell weed and hear loud music. The architecture is brick-like and basic. It's kinda what I would build in Minecraft with quartz blocks. Once outside the fancy car, it speeds away fast. Debbie and I approach the building and we notice there's a bodyguard standing outside for us.

"Here for the party?" He asks us. He's big, with lots of muscle. Make the wrong mood and he could kill you.

"Yes sir!" Debbie beamed. She sounds excited, I don't think she's ever been to a party downtown. Or a party at all.

"Don't get your expectations up. There's probably just gonna be middle-aged people here," Leaning over to whisper in her ear. 

Debbie only responds with another gunt. Pregnancy has gotten the best of her, she can't laugh at my jokes anymore. The bodybuilder bodyguard opened the large steel door upstairs.

"Upstairs to your left!" He calls after us. God, there are a lot of stairs. They look even more intimidating because of the grey cement color, so if you fall you could like die.  If this family is so rich why can't they afford an elevator?

Upstairs there are 2 doors, one to the left, one to the right. The door to the right is playing rap music, while the door to the left is playing NO MUSIC.

"Wanna dip and go to that party instead?" I suggest pointing to the door to the right.

"Carl!! You're the one who wanted to come in the first place, YOUR COMING!" My sister exclaims. Rolling my eyes, I follow her as she opens the door to the left.

Stepping inside I see there are a lot of unknown people. Balloons fill the ceiling and colorful lights roam the room. A DJ and a dance floor lay in the middle. I spot Frank, he's by the bar of course, with some of his drinking buddies. Debbie and I walk slowly over cautious of all the unknown people. Imagine how much money I would make if I sold guns to all these people, I might be able to buy a house. But that's the old me, the one I left with Nick. Now Nick's locked in prison.

"Oh here are my babies, Debbie and Carl!" Frank says, pulling us into his conversation.

"We know your kids Frank, all 6 or 7 of them," Kermit, one of Frank's drinking buddies, responds.

"Not to you! I'm practicing introducing them to Shannon," my father states.

"Aren't you still married to Sheila?" Debbie ponders. 

Sheila moved away a couple of years ago after Frank blew up their house. He wanted a proper house(which he later blew up), and Sheila wanted to adopt kids. I had almost 5 more siblings, phew luckily they got turned down.

"Shhhh, Shannon doesn't know that!" Frank whispers.

"Where even is Shannon," I exclaim, looking around the room almost half of the people here are middle-aged moms.

"Come with me, I'll introduce you!" Frank cheers standing up from his spot at the bar. He grabs Debbie and my hands.

He pulls us to see a woman in the corner who is by herself holding red wine. She looks sad until she sees Frank come over. I don't know why but she looks like Cruella DeVille from that dalmatian movie.

"Oh here are my babies, Debbie and Carl!" Frank repeats.

"I've heard so much about you kids," Shannon says, faking a smile. Debbie smiles very broadly too, I just stare her down. I mean she seems like Frank's type, especially if she's rich.

"Same here! Franks told us so much about you!" Debbie lies, we both just found out our own dad was engaged today.

"My daughter, Oliva, should be here any moment, she's running late," beams Shannon. Oh. A daughter, a new step-sister? What we need in the world is more Gallagher's.

"Great, well nice to meet you, my sister and I are gonna head to the food table," I report trying to get us out of that painful conversation. Grabbing Debbie's hand I rush her to the food table.

*play song 'Formula' by Labrinth*

https://youtu.be/N7EKS2aW_oc

"Carl! What was that all about!" Debbie hisses through her teeth. Sometimes she can be too polite.

"I saved us," Shrugging and looking at what the food table has to offer. Fancy sausages and cheese. Not my cup of tea but I'll eat anything. Laying the food on my plate, I take a bite of the sausage.

"This party is boring as fuck, and this music sucks ass," I boom while talking with my full of food.

"It could be fun? If there were more people our age..." Debbie mumbles loud enough for me to hear.

"Facts," I emphasize trying a bit of the cheese, it's gross so I spit it back out on the plate.

"Carl gross!" Debbie grunts.

"What? It's not like there's anyone to impress here," pointing out to her. Debbie doesn't hear me and searches around the room like she's looking for someone in particular. Maybe she's looking for a "father figure" for her baby. Good idea considering most of the people here are rich.

"Screws' em lose, on the Monday," Debbie murmured. I guess she knows this song, She's bobbing her head along. 

Must be a popular song. I don't listen to pop music, mostly rap and hip-hop. I feel a piece of cheese on my face, and wipe it off with the back of my hand rather than a napkin.

All of a sudden I hear a large bang. It sounds like it's coming from behind the entrance door. There are a few moments of silence, the chatter stops, but the music keeps playing. Then, the doors burst open. A pretty, dark blonde girl wearing a short red dress enters. Her brunette-haired friend follows closely behind her. I notice that the girl in the red dress is vaping, smoke coming out of her mouth. And god does she look good while she does it too. The adults don't look surprised by this and go back to their conversations.

"Wow, she's hot," Debbie says, eyes trailing after the red-dress girl.

"Who the hell is that," I say, trying not to stare too hard.

I settle my plate down and follow the mystery girl to the bar. She's sitting far away from my dad, her brunette friend sitting on the left of her. Her friend is hot too, but something about this red girl's vibe. It draws me in. Settling down I sit next to her on the right side.

*stop song here*

Red dress takes another inhale of her Juul and exhales it slowly. Personally, I don't smoke but nearly every girl my age does it, excluding Debbie.

"What's your name, shorty," I nod at Red Dress.

"You can call me Liv," She says without even making eye contact with me.

"Liv, can I get you a drink?" Asking her will grow a smirk on my face. She looks back at her friend who shakes her head. As if she would reject The Carl Gallagher.

"No, I don't drink," She explains while taking another hit of her Juul.

"You sure like smoking," I point out informing Liv that I noticed.

"It's therapeutic," Liv tells me, rolling her eyes. She's smooth, and chill. But I can tell deep down she enjoys talking to me. I'm good at that, reading people.

"It's actually mine!" Liv's friend tells me, she tries to reach for the Juul but Liv stuffs it in her bra.

"I'm not supposed to vape anymore...Or drink," Liv fumes, I guess she's annoyed that her friend reminded her she's not supposed to be smoking.

"I prefer drinking, but smokes chill too," Hinting, trying to let her know that I'm 'cool'.

"So, you broke one rule tonight why not break the other?" I suggest raising my eyebrow. One of the tricks I do while flirting.

"I'm underaged," Liv complains. I can feel her friend giving me the death stare, maybe she thinks I'm a bad influence. She's the one who owns a vape though!

"Same, that's why I brought my own drinks!" Reaching into my bag and pulling out the vodka I had taken from the limo.

"Fine, boy you're so pushy," Liv says smirking. I can tell she's wearing a lot of makeup, and both the girls are. Women can be transformers nowadays.

"Boy, I like that mystery. Call me that for the rest of the night," Winking at Liv.

"If we're drinking one of us has to stay sober," Liv's friend jumps in. 

I didn't know her friend is joining us. But I guess she doesn't want Liv hanging out with a stranger all by herself.

"My sister, she's preggo as can be!" I suggest waving Debbie over. Debbie pushes in front of me and leans her elbows trying to be seductive I guess? Sorry Debs but lives mine, I dibs her.

"Debs she's mine, she's really into me," I whisper in her ear. Debbie rolls her eyes but lifts her elbows from the tabling listening.

"Mind watching us drink? Could you stay sober and make sure we don't get too crazy," Liv politely asks. I know Debbie's going to say yes, especially when she likes someone.

"Fineeee," Debbie agrees. 

When the bartender isn't looking I steal some shot glasses and pour the first round for 3. Taking a sip we drink the night away...