To live would be an awfully big adventure ✨

“So, how did you two meet?” your dad asked as he took a sip of his whiskey.

Your sister practically glowed at the question as she grinned over at Lip, “when he walked into my English lecture and sat behind me, kicking my chair the whole time,” she giggled.

You paused slightly and looked over at Lip who was hunched over his plate and you could see a flush starting to form on his cheeks. You remembered how much he had complained about having to take an English class and you talked him into it, telling him you would help out as much as you could. He’d met you first and he still chose her? It stung.

Just before dessert, you excused yourself to go to the bathroom, you had to catch your breath and force the tears back. You decided to text Jess.

‘I need to get out of here, gonna leave before dessert, have a glass ready for me? xx’

She texted you back a couple of minutes later, ‘you know it! Xx’

Taking a deep breath, you plastered a smile on your face and left the bathroom, both Heather and Lip looked up at you as you walked back in, “I have to get going.”

Your parents looked like they couldn’t care less, while Heather and Lip spoke in unison, “you do?”

You nodded, “yeah,” you smiled as you pulled your sweet sister into a hug, “I’ll see you soon, okay?”

Heather smiled, “yeah, next time I’ve got a day off we’ll go for lunch.”

You nodded, though you knew what lunch with your sister would entail, she would gush about Lip the whole time. The guy you had practically fallen for, “it was nice to meet you, Lip,” you gave him a tight smile.

He nodded but didn’t say anything back.

You glanced back at Heather, “I’ll text you,” you smiled before you walked out of the door.

Before you could get down the porch steps, you heard footsteps behind you, “Y/N, wait.”

You glanced over your shoulder to see Lip hurrying after you with a lit cigarette dangling from his lips. He was so gorgeous, it hurt.

“So, what? We have to pretend like we don’t know each other?”

You sighed as you looked at his face, “it’s for the best, after all, you’re just some guy that comes into the bar,” your tone was nonchalant and you had to play it like he meant nothing to you. A look of hurt flickered over his face and in that moment, you hated yourself.

“You know that’s not all we are, I wanted to make an agreement that we wouldn’t make things awkward. I know we both like a bit of a flirt,” he chuckled and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

The only thought in your head was that you had to protect yourself, “you realise that’s my job, right? I get more tips if I flirt with men.”

Lip raised an eyebrow, a response quick on his tongue, “but you never let me pay.”

You rolled your eyes, all you wanted to do was tell him how you felt. But you couldn’t, “whatever, Lip.”

Lip took a drag of his cigarette as he ran a hand through his hair, “I don’t know what I’ve done to upset you, but whatever it is, Y/N, I’m sorry.”

You shrugged as you kicked a stone onto the driveway, “I guess you’ll be wanting your sweater back?”

“What?”

He didn’t remember? “the sweater that you let me borrow when the heating was broken at the bar.”

“Yeah, Y/N,” he nodded, “I remember the sweater, why the hell would I want that back? I gave it to you, you look much better in it,” he chuckled.

“Thought you might want to give it to your girlfriend.”

Lip bit his lip as he shook his head, “I didn’t give it to her. I gave it to you,” his voice was so soft and sincere.”

“I gotta go, Lip. I’ll see you,” you smiled weakly and this time he let you walk away.

As soon as you walked into the bar, Jess saw the look on your face and she poured more wine into your glass until it was full to the brim. Without a word you walked behind the bar and gulped the wine down, almost finishing half of it in one go.

“I take it dinner went great?” she laughed, before you could reply or even make a face you spotted Ian, Lip’s younger brother walk out of the bathroom.

“Hi, Y/N,” he smiled as he sat at the bar and took a sip of his drink, “what’s wrong?” he asked with a laugh when you narrowed your eyes at him.

“Did you know your brother had a girlfriend?” you asked.

Ian shrugged, “I knew he was seeing someone, I thought,” he trailed off, biting his lip. He only answered when you raised an eyebrow in question, “I thought he was seeing you.”

You scoffed as you took another gulp of your wine, “close, he’s dating my sister.”

Ian’s eyes widened and Jess let out a gasp of shock as she rubbed your shoulder, “oh sweetie, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

You thought about it for a minute, were you okay? Eventually, you settled on a nod, “yeah I’m okay. A little hurt that he met me first and he still wanted her,” you thought back to the conversation you’d had with him outside the house, “oh god, I was such a bitch to him.”

With another large glass of wine, you told your friends what had happened outside the house and how you tried to make it out like Lip meant nothing to you. Ian smirked – it seemed like the first time Lip had been given the cold shoulder by a girl – while Jess gave you a disappointed look. The guilt only grew as you drank more wine and you knew that you needed to apologise. If he apologised would he forgive you?

When Jess went into the back to get more wine, Ian looked at you, “you know I am a little surprised that he’s dating your sister. Did you have a boyfriend when you guys met?”

“No, why?” you asked and Ian bit his lip, you knew he was contemplating how much to tell you, “oh come on, don’t do that! You can’t just start and not finish.”

Ian laughed as he ran a hand through his short hair, “god, would you just chill? Lip’s my best friend. Mostly, we tell each other everything and when he first met you he came home raving about how he’d just met the most beautiful girl in the world.”

You flushed, hoping it was true, “then why is he dating my sister?”

Ian shrugged with a sad look, “I don’t know, because he’s an idiot,” he chuckled, “look Lip cares about you, he’d never hold a grudge against you,” he smiled, answering your silent question before he checked his watch and slid off the bar stool, “I gotta get to work, how about you come over next Friday for dinner? Lip comes down from college.”

You scoff, “I’m not going if he’s bringing my sister.”

Ian grinned, “Lip usually comes over way before dinner. How about I text you and let you know?”

“That would be great,” you grinned and waved at him as he left the bar.

You decided that now would be a good time as any to call Lip, it would definitely be better to do it now before you got drunk and started another argument with him. Or told him too much. Shelving your pride, you selected his name from your contacts and called him. It rang for a little bit too long and you were worried he was ignoring your call. Just before you were about to hang up, he answered.

“Hey, Y/N.”

“Hi,” you smiled, relieved when he answered.

“So, what can I do for you?” he prompted you when you fell silent and you had almost forgotten why you were calling.

“I wanted to apologise,” you sighed, “you were right, we are more than just strangers, you know if you want I can tell Heather that we know each other? I’ll make up some excuse to why I was pretending like I didn’t know you,” you laughed.

“No, no, it’s okay. Don’t tell her, you were right, it would be best if she didn’t know that we already know each other,” he paused, “I accept your apology by the way, I’m sorry too.”

“I don’t like fighting with you.”

“Me neither,” another pause, “does that mean you’ll help me with the Gatsby essay?” you could hear the smile in his voice.

“Wow, just using me for my amazing writing skills?” you giggled, “why don’t you ask my sister? You guys can have a little middle school study date,” you fought hard to keep the bitterness out of your voice.

Lip laughed, “oh shut up! Besides, my plagiarising off of you is something special that we share, don’t want to ruin it.”

“Of course not,” you giggled.

“Listen, I gotta go but thanks for the call and I’ll see you soon, yeah?”

“Yeah,” you smiled, “bye, Lip.”

“See you later, Y/L/N,” he laughed before hanging up the phone.

You smiled, you were glad that you had managed to work things out, it didn’t mean you had to like it though. Though you supposed you’d better get used to it if you wanted to keep your relationship with Heather and your sister intact. You wondered whether Jess could introduce you to any cute guys.

------------------

You pouted at her, “you’ve said that about every single outfit I’ve chosen,” you look down at the dress.

She rolled her eyes with a smile, “because it’s true, you’re beautiful. You could wear a bin bag and Carmy would still be crazy about you.”

You smiled as you sat next to her, your date with her brother wasn’t until later on tonight but you were nervous. You really wanted this to go well and you didn’t want to do anything that would screw this up.

“I’m nervous, Nat,” you admitted and she smiled at you, placing a hand on your shoulder.

“You don’t have to be nervous, Carmy really likes you, Y/N,” she sighed as her phone buzzed and she checked it, “damn, I gotta go, they need me at the restaurant. Good luck tonight, you’ll do great,” she smiled and pulled you into a hug.

All day you lounged around, doing nothing, last night you’d had the shower where you scrubbed and shaved everything and everywhere. You weren’t expecting anything to happen, not on the first date – Carmy would be too shy to make a move – but you just wanted to be prepared. Finally, it was time for you to get ready, you curled your hair and applied your makeup light and pretty, with the help of a large glass of wine.

When Carmy knocked on your door, you slipped your heels on and grabbed your bag before pulling open the door. Your throat went dry as you looked up at him. He looked so gorgeous, he was wearing a tight white button down shirt that accentuated his muscles and over the top he was wearing a black suit jacket. He was holding a bouquet of your favourite flowers. His cheeks were flushed as his eyes drank in the sight of you.

He smiled as he ran a hand through his curls, “you look amazing.”

“Thanks Carm, so do you.”

The redness on his cheeks only deepened as he held out the flowers, “these are for you.”

You smiled as you took the flowers, “they’re beautiful, come in and I’ll put them in some water,” you let him in as you arranged the flowers in a vase, “you want a drink?” you glanced over your shoulder.

He shook his head as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, “nah, don’t want to miss the reservation.”

You smiled as you finished arranging the flowers and took his hand, “then let’s go,” you flushed as he linked your fingers together.

The restaurant was just an uber ride away and Carmy held your hand as he helped you out of the car. The restaurant looked beautiful – and fancy – you felt a little out of place. Carmy must have noticed because he squeezed your hand and you looked over at him.

“You okay?”

You smiled as you leaned over and kissed his cheek, “yeah, as long as I can take you to my favourite dive bar afterwards.”

“Sounds like a plan,” he grinned.

At first, you thought it was going to be awkward but as you were sat at the best seat in the house the both of you launched into conversation just as easily as you always did.

“How’s the restaurant?” you asked as you took a swallow of wine.

Carmy rolled his eyes with a quick laugh, “everyone’s at each other’s throats but they seem to be working together well enough. How’s the pasta?” he grinned with a twinkle in his gorgeous eyes.

“It’s good,” you nod as you eat a forkful, “but your pasta is my favourite.”

He grinned as he nudged his leg against yours, “you’re my favourite.”

For dessert the both of you shared a dish of lemon sorbet with a couple of vodka shots poured into the bottom. By the time you reluctantly let Carmy pay the bill – he wouldn’t let you split it – the both of you were pretty buzzed as you stumbled to the bar. The bar was a typical dive, the floor was sticky and it stank of beer but you felt comfortable, and you could tell that Carmy was too.

He thanked you as you handed him a pint of beer and he nodded over at the pool table, “you wanna play?”

“I’m rubbish at pool, I can barely hold a pool cue,” you laughed.

“C’mon, I’ll show you,” those big blue eyes talked you into it and you relented as he led you over to the pool table.

He set up the table and you couldn’t stop watching as his tattooed fingers rearranged the balls and he gave you a lazy, lopsided grin, “you wanna break? I’ll show you how.”

You smiled, “sure.”

Butterflies shot through your stomach as he took your hands in his, he stood behind you and showed you how to properly hold the pool cue. He leaned over you, just like they did in the movies and with Carmy’s help you managed to break.

“There you go,” he whispered in your ear and tingles shot up your spine as he kissed your cheek.

It was hard to keep up the pretence and you slipped up when you pocketed a ball. Carmy stood there staring at you with his mouth open.

“You lied! You’re hustling me!”

You laughed at his accusation, “fine, I’m not as bad as pool as I made out to be. And hustling is when you do it for money.”

He rolled his eyes with a grin, “you owe me.”

You ended up winning the game of pool and Carmy looked at you with a look of mock disappointment on his face as he shook his head, “I am so disappointed, that you won by cheating.”

You giggled, “you’re so dramatic. How’s this, I’ll let you pick your consolation prize?”

Carmy grinned as he pulled you closer by your waist and kissed you deeply, you were in shock and you hesitated for a split second before you kissed him back. You placed your hands on his firm chest as you pulled away just a little, “wow that’s funny, that’s exactly what I was gonna pick for my winning prize.”

He smirked as he cupped your cheek, “what an amazing coincidence,” he chuckled as he wrapped a hand in your hair and kissed you again, this time he snuck his tongue into your mouth. That’s how you spent the rest of the night, playing pool and making out.

He walked you up to your apartment, his fingers laced through yours, “I had a really good time tonight, Carm.”

“Me too, even if you did cheat at pool.”

You laughed, “I did not cheat!” you got your keys out of your bag and you looked at Carmy, “you want to come in?”

Carmy smiled but shook his head, “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Y/N, I’d end up doing something we’re not ready for,” he chuckled as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, “but I’ll see you soon?”

Lip smirked as he walked up to the bar, “and what about me?”

“Hmm,” you pretended to ponder as your eyes roamed up and down the length of his body, “you’re alright I guess.”

He laughed as he slid onto a stool as he balanced Liam on the one next to him, “rude. Can I study here? At this time of day, it’s quieter than the library,” he ran a hand through his curls, leaving them even more tousled.

“Sure!” you laughed, resting your hip against the bar, “but I’m not serving you any alcohol until next year.”

“Oh, Y/N,” he pulled a face.

“My bar, my rules,” you grinned at the smallest Gallagher as you made him a diluted juice.

Lip scoffed as he took his college work out of his bag, “it’s your parents bar.”

You rolled your eyes as you poured him a glass of coke, “yeah and they want nothing to do with it, so it’s mine,” you laughed as you put the glass of soda in front of him.

He narrowed those gorgeous blue eyes at you but he thanked you all the same, while Lip got to work you entertained Liam by watching a Disney movie with him on your phone.  It was a random Tuesday at 2pm, the bar was very dead so you could spend as much time as you liked with the Gallagher brothers.

You didn’t realise Lip was watching you until he spoke softly, “you’re good with him.”

You glanced up at him, his eyes were warm and he was giving that soft smile that showed off his dimples. You laughed as your cheeks warmed up and you stood up straight, raising an eyebrow, “so are you.”

Lip laughed as he ruffled Liam’s hair as the little boy looked up at him with adoration, “he’s my little brother.”

You smiled as you took a sip of your soda as you tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear, “do you guys want some pizza rolls?”

Lip groaned and pulled a face, “that’s sweet but for the past week, I’ve had cold pizza for breakfast.”

You laughed as you nodded, “fair enough. Are you doing much tonight?”

At your question, Lip’s easy smile fell from his lips and he started fidgeting with the drawstrings of his hoodie, “I’m meeting my girlfriend’s parents.”

Your heart dropped like a stone but you managed to keep your face under control as you stared at him. The pressure in the bridge of your nose swelled and you knew you were moments away from crying. You looked away from him and started cleaning the front bar – even though it was spotless – and you finally trusted your voice to speak.

“Didn’t know you had a girlfriend.”

He scoffed, “yeah, I’m pretty sure her family didn’t know she had a boyfriend until recently, it’s been going on for a couple of months and I think she’s barely said a word about me,” he shook his head as he glanced up at you with a small smile, “what about you? What are you doing tonight?”

You smiled, happy for the slight change of subject, “dinner with my parents.”

Lip laughed as he ran a hand through his hair, “wow, so you’ll be having just as much fun as me.”

You nodded with a roll of your eyes, you hated having dinner with your parents. The dinners were nothing more than a chance for your parents to remind you just how disappointed they were in you.

“Something like that. Is Liam going back home when you’re at your girlfriend’s?”

Lip shook his head as he scrawled something in his notebook, “no, my sorta roommate is taking him.”

You scoffed, normally you withheld your judgement but this time, you couldn’t stop it, “so you’re gonna leave him with someone you barely know instead of leaving him with your sister?”

“My roommate didn’t nearly kill him with a stash of cocaine, Y/N.”

“Lip, surely it was an accident, maybe you should give her a chance.”

Lip looked up at you, a crease forming in between his eyebrows, “for once, Y/N, just stay out of it,” his voice was unnaturally harsh that you almost flinched back. His eyes went wide with guilt, “Y/N, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, you’re right, I shouldn’t get involved.”

“Hey,” he closed a warm hand around your wrist, “I like it when you get involved,” you smiled as your cheeks flushed.

Lip studied for about half an hour more before he checked the time and told you he had to go, “good luck for tonight.”

Lip grinned at you as he dressed Liam in his coat, “thanks Y/N. I’ll let you know how it goes.”

You nodded, with a smile, pretending like you couldn’t wait when in reality, you couldn’t think of anything worse. At the end of your shift, your best friend and bar manager, Jessica came to relieve you. She grinned at you as she pulled you into a hug.

“Where’s your boyfriend?”

You scowled at her as you slipped into your jacket, “he’s not my boyfriend.”

Jess quirked an eyebrow “oh yeah? Then how did you know who I was talking about?”

You sighed, “he has a girlfriend.”

“What? How? I mean that boy looks at you like you put the stars in the sky. You know it won’t last right? This girl is probably someone he fucked and now he’s too nice to tell her he doesn’t want to be with her.”

You laugh, “hopefully. I’ll see you later, I’m having dinner with the assholes tonight but I’ll try and get out of it early.”

“Okay, babe. I’ll see you later.”

You smiled at her as you leave the bar and headed home. As soon as you started working at the age of 16 you began saving for your own place, you didn’t want to live with your parents any longer than you had to. As you got ready, you had two glasses of wine, there was no way you were showing up to your parents’ house sober.

You got an uber over to their place and it was your dad who opened the door with a roll of his eyes, “you decided to show up did you?”

You scoffed as you walked into the house, “wait, I had a choice?” your dad didn’t reply which was so like him.

You walked into the dining room where your mom was setting the table. The set up looked fancy, fancier than usual, and that was saying something. Your mom glanced up at you as she poured wine into a couple of glasses. You only had wine on special occasions.

“I hope you won’t embarrass us tonight, Y/N.”

You scoffed as you leaned your hip against the doorframe, “no promises. What’s the special occasion?”

“My boyfriend is coming over,” your sister replied as she walked into the room. She looked beautiful in a dress of green lace that complimented her red hair.

Your eyes widened, “I didn’t know you had a boyfriend. Why didn’t you tell me?”

She shrugged, a sheepish smile on her face, “you know my whole thing that as soon as I tell people, it all goes to shit. I really like this guy, Y/N.”

You gave her a warm smile and you knew she was telling the truth; she was the only one in your family who was ever happy to see you. Before you could say anything the doorbell rang and you walked back through the hallway to get the door. You pulled the door open and fell into silence when you saw who was at the door.

Lip’s jaw fell and all you could do was stare at each other, both of you as shocked as the other.

“Y/N! Are you gonna let him in or what?” Heather giggled as she came to the door and pulled him inside.

You had to turn away when Heather pulled him in for a kiss, tangling her hand in his curls.

When they pulled away, Heather gestured at you, “Lip, this is my sister, Y/N.”

Before Lip could say anything you spoke up, “nice to meet you, Lip.”

His jaw clenched as he stared at you with hurt in his eyes, “yeah, it’s nice to meet you too.”

It sounded like you were underwater as Heather introduced Lip to your parents, she went off to the kitchen to get him a beer and your parents attended to the dinner. With a sigh, you turned and walked straight outside as you lit a cigarette.

“You’ve been driven to smoking now?” Lip laughed nervously as he came outside with you.

“I smoke when I’m stressed.”

“Y/N, look,” he started but you cut him off.

“Are you cheating on her? She really likes you Lip, and I know your track record with women.”

Lip scoffed as he ran a hand through his hair, “no, Y/N. Of course I’m not cheating on her. You mad at me or somethin’?”

“No, I’m not mad, I just,” I wish I were Heather, “I just want you to be good to her.”

Tuesday; Heather (Lip Gallagher x Bartender!Reader) - You've fallen for the smart college kid who frequents the bar you work in. The only problem? He has a girlfriend.

Friday; World on Fire (Carmy Berzatto x Reader) - A funeral and a job offer pull you back to Chicago. Back to him.

“Mum, we’re gonna be late!”

“We won’t be, sweetie, I promise. I’m ready,” you toed your shoes on and then you were out the door.

Thankfully, you had missed the early morning rush and you made your way through the streets without too much hassle. You glanced over at Meg who was gazing out of the window, she’d taken to Chicago a lot quicker than you thought she would have. Better than you had taken to it anyway.

“Called your dad today?” you asked.

Meg hummed in response as she glanced back at you, “yeah. He says he misses us, misses you.”

You sighed as you glanced back at the road, “Meg, me and your dad are not getting back together. We tried, it didn’t work.”

Meg made a face, “then you need a date.”

You laughed, “what makes you think that I need a date?”

“Because you’re cranky.”

You raised an eyebrow as you pulled up outside the house, “I don’t think so,” you scoffed as you looked over at her, “I’ll pick you up at 6, okay?”

Meg nodded, “are you sure that you don’t want to come in? Your friend Richie will be there.”

You smiled as you tucked a flyaway curl behind her ear, “I’m sure baby, you have a great time.”

Meg kissed your cheek and got out of the car, you watched her head up to the house and made sure she got in okay. You didn’t restart the engine, you sat there for a couple of moments, looking up at the house as you debated on whether you should actually go in or not. After a good few minutes you decided to listen to your daughter and join the party.

It was Richie who opened the door, an unlit cigarette hanging from his mouth, “hey,” he grinned, pulling you in for a one armed hug, “good to see you.”

You laughed as you hugged him back, “and you. Jimmy won’t mind that I’m here, right?”

“Nah, course not. C’mon, let’s go and grab some food.”

Richie led you through the crowded house and into the backyard. Meg was talking to a guy with curly hair who was cooking hot dogs on the grill. As you came outside with Richie, Meg turned to look at you.

“Mum, you came!”

The guy Meg was talking to turned around and you felt the smile slip from your face as you stared at the handsome man. His hair was a little longer than it had been in high school, a couple of scars littered his cheek and he’d gotten some tattoos. His eyes though, his eyes were the same.

“Y/N,” he breathed, you didn’t know how to feel about him saying your name like that after so long. You wanted to hate it, you wanted to hate him. But you didn’t.

“Carmy, you’re back,” you didn’t know what else to say. Why hadn’t Richie told you he was back? Carmy nodded as he stared at you, the atmosphere was a little awkward. That was until Richie spoke.

“You gonna fuckin’ stare at her cuz, or are you gonna get her a hot dog?”

You laughed as Carmy rolled his eyes and he began to make you a fresh hot dog. Meg went over to join her friends as Richie poured you a cup of the luminous green punch.

“This meant to be the shit from Ghostbusters?” you asked, giving it a tentative sniff. Richie nodded and you took a small sip, “it’s good,” you laugh.

Richie went to cause chaos elsewhere, leaving you with Carmy. You thanked him as he passed you a hot dog and you slathered the sauce on top.

“So, you’ve got a kid huh?” he started with a raised eyebrow, when you nodded he busied himself with dishing up more hot dogs for the kids, muttering beneath his breath, “never knew that you wanted kids.”

You scoffed as you took a bite of the hot dog, trying to ignore how good it tasted, “well you know we never really got to have that conversation did we?” your voice was unintentionally bitter and you saw Carmy almost recoil.

“Yeah I know. Look, Y/N, I’m,” you cut him off, you didn’t have time for this.

It was funny, you had waited years for an apology but now, you didn’t want to hear it, “Carmy, you don’t have to say anything. Y’know, I can’t blame you for how you felt.”

The guilt was clear in his eyes and that honestly wasn’t your intention. You couldn’t say that you were necessarily happy to see him back but you weren’t going to be a complete child about it. You took another bite of the hot dog as you let the silence stretch between you, the only sound was the sizzle of the grill and the party going on inside the house.

“I’m really sorry about Mikey, Carmy.”

He let out a nervous laugh as he bent over the grill, refusing to look at you. He’d always been that way when he was nervous, “thanks, that’s er, that’s really nice of you. I know how much he meant to you as well, so y’know, I’m sorry too,” he smiled as he finally met your eyes, looking vulnerable and lost, “he left me the restaurant, Y/N. In his will.”

You couldn’t say that you were surprised, Mikey loved that restaurant and he loved his brother even more. What did surprise you was the bitter look on his face, it seemed as though a lot had happened while you were in London. But, you weren’t going to unpack that right now.

“That’s why you’re back?”

He nodded as he ran his hands through his hair, looking conflicted, “need to get the restaurant up to scratch.”

“And then?”

Carmy scoffed, rubbing a hand down his tired face, “and then. I don’t know,” he swore beneath his breath as he tried to squirt some ketchup onto the hot dogs but none came out.

You laughed a little as you watched him shake the bottle, his brow furrowed, “need some more ketchup?”

“Yeah, yeah, that would be great thank you.”

You nodded at him as you walked back into the house, managing to make your way through the group of pre-teens as you headed for the kitchen. You opened the fridge and found a half empty bottle of ketchup towards the back of the fridge and you grabbed more relish in case Carmy needed it.

As you turned to go back outside you saw Richie arguing with Jimmy and you walked over to them. Jimmy greeted you with a welcoming smile, “hey kid. Good to see you.”

“And you, Jimmy,” you smiled before you glared at Richie, “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me Carmy was back!” you hissed.

Richie held up his hands in mock defence and plastered an innocent look on his face, “it didn’t seem important.”

You scoffed, “didn’t seem important? Oh, and I suppose you told Syd not to mention anything either?” you’d met Syd at the restaurant on a day when Carmy clearly wasn’t there and you guys had become pretty close.

“Look, Y/N! I don’t know what you want me to fuckin say, you were heartbroken when you and Carm split. Sorry if I didn’t want to upset you.”

Richie’s words made you feel guilty but you pushed it right down. You shook your head as you pushed past him and went back outside to Carmy. Natalie was out there talking to Carmy but she looked pissed, she’d told you that she wasn’t coming and had conveniently left out the part about Carmy being back. Did everyone think you couldn’t handle it?

She waved at you as you came outside and she pulled you into a hug, “hey, you.”

“Hey,” you smiled as you put the bottle of ketchup and relish on the table, “good to see you. Thought you weren’t coming.”

She shrugged as she glared over at Carmy, “thought it was stupid not to come just because I’m pissed with Carmy. I’d never go anywhere if that was the case,” she laughed, when she realised what she’d said she shot you an apologetic look before she quickly changed the subject, “how’s work?”

You made a non-committal noise as you poured yourself another cup of the punch, “it’s going pretty well. Meg isn’t exactly thrilled with having to spend the nights that I’m at work at my mom’s.”

Nat laughed and pulled a face, you knew by her look that she remembered what your mom was like, “I’ll take her when you have to work.”

“No, Nat. I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

She laughed, “well that’s good because you’ll notice that I didn’t ask, she’s a great kid.”

Carmy nodded in agreement as he looked up at you, “she is, looks a lot like you.”

You laughed as you watched your daughter with her friends, “yeah, she’s got her dad’s attitude though.”

“Is he awful?” Carmy asked.

You looked up at him, his cheeks and nose were red from the cold and his curls were blowing in the wind slightly. There was genuine interest in his blue eyes as he waited for you to answer his question.

You sighed and looked away from him, shaking your head, “no, her dad’s great, we just um,” you trailed off, “let’s just say Meg was the only good thing to come out of our relationship.”

Carmy opened his mouth to reply but he was cut off when Meg walked over, “Mr Carmy, can I get another hot dog?”

Carmy grinned, “sure kid.”

You watched with a smile as Carmy quickly whipped up a hot dog, helping her put on the mustard along with the crispy onions and relish. When you and Nat approached Meg with the idea of her staying with Nat while you were at work. The look of relief on her face unfortunately told you that your mom was just as awful to your daughter as she was to you.

After the party you were driving home and you couldn’t ignore the happy look on Meg’s face as she ate another hot dog. Carmy had made her one for the road.

“You know mum, if you’re not getting back with dad, you should date Carmy.”

You laughed, “oh god, you don’t think he’s cute do you?”

Meg made a face, “ew no! He’s old like you but he’s really nice mum, he’s really nice to you.”

You turned back to the tomato you were cutting which you instantly regretted. As the knife glided through the skin, some juice squirted in your eye causing you to wince and drop the knife.

“Ow!”

At your pained cry, Carmy dropped the knife he was holding and immediately hurried over to you, “baby, what happened?” he cupped your cheek.

You looked at his worried face through your one good eye, “I got tomato juice in my eye,” you pouted as your eye stung, “I hate cooking,” your bottom lip jutted out.

You could tell that he was trying not to laugh as he sat you on the counter, “let me look,” Carmy smiled as his gentle fingers stroked against your cheek and he cleaned the tomato juice out of your eye.

When you were able to open your eye without it stinging, you pulled him closer, “I don’t hate cooking really,” you murmured, your fingers threading through his soft curls.

“Really?” he raised an eyebrow, “and why’s that?”

“Because cooking reminds me of you, and I love you.”

Carmy smiled as he pressed a slow sweet kiss against your mouth, his hand cupping the base of your neck. After a moment he pulled away and pressed his forehead against yours.

“I love you too, how did I get so lucky?”

You flushed as you rolled your eyes with a smile, “c’mon, Carmy.”

“I’m serious, Y/N. You could get anyone you want and you still chose me.”

You were about to reply but you were cut off by Mikey, Carmy’s older brother walked in with a smirk on his face, “and what’s going on in here?”

Carmy rolled his eyes as Mikey punched his shoulder, “making dinner, obviously.”

Mikey grinned as he nodded over at you, “staying the night again, squirt?” he ruffled your hair, smirking when you glared at him.

“No, I gotta pack for college, I leave in about two weeks and I haven’t packed a thing,” you laughed.

“Cambridge right? Congrats.”

Carmy stood with his back against the counter, running a hand through his hair. Every time someone mentioned you going away to college, Carmy fell silent. You and Carmy had talked about it, he knew you were too smart and talented to not go to college. You’d had your heart set on Cambridge ever since you were a little girl and Carmy was not going to let you give up your dreams for him.

There had been a lot of arguing and tears from the both of you but you had both come out the other end and you were going to make it work. You forced a smile of thanks and after that Mikey left you alone so you and Carmy could finish making dinner.

After a large helping of pasta, Carmy drove you home. He was silent as he manoeuvred his way through the dark Chicago streets. You glanced over at him and you steeled your nerves.

“Are you really alright with me going to college in the UK?”

Carmy glanced over at you, a look of surprise on his handsome face, “sweetie, we talked about this. Extensively as I recall,” he chuckled, “it’s what you wanted.”

“What if I want something different?”

“I’d believe it if I thought it was true, you really want to stay here?”

When you fell silent Carmy had his answer, the only reason you would consider staying in America was because of him. You’d been going into his family’s restaurant for years when you and your friends would rebel and smoke in the alleyways but not once did you expect to fall for him.

“Y/N, I love you, and you going away to college isn’t gonna change that. We’ll make it work like we said we would, I promise. We can and we will have it both ways.”

You smiled as you brought his hand that was resting on your thigh to your lips and you pressed a kiss against his knuckles, “I love you, Carmy.”

It was silent for the rest of the ride and he soon pulled up outside your house, “I’ll see you on Friday for the BBQ?”

Carmy scoffed as he cupped your cheek, his thumb rubbing over your bottom lip, “am I invited?”

“Course you are!”

Carmy smiled as his bright blue eyes flickered down to your lips, “then I’ll see you Friday,” he grinned and pulled you into a deep kiss that made you feel all warm on the inside.

Your parents’ annual BBQ went well, better than it usually did. Your parents weren’t a fan of Carmy, according to them he was from the wrong side of the tracks. As a private school student they weren’t shy about letting you know that they wanted more for you. But, it was your life and you loved Carmy. You watched with a smile as he helped your Uncles cook the meat, every time he passed you, he rubbed a hand up your lower back and kissed your cheek. The boy was smitten and everyone could see it.

Carmy was silent in the days after the BBQ which was unusual but for the first couple of days it was alright, you had so much to do. But, it was clear after about five days that he was purposely dodging your calls. He wasn’t working at his parents’ restaurant either and it was weird for you not to spot him in the kitchen.

Finally, you decided you’d had enough so you went over to Carmy’s place, pounding on the door as you waited for someone to answer it. It was Mikey who opened the door, his hair damp from the shower.

“Hey kid. Haven’t seen you in a while.”

You smiled, “is Carmy here?”

Mikey nodded, “yeah, he’s in his room. Go right up.”

You smiled at him in thanks as you ran up the stairs and knocked on Carmy’s bedroom door before you opened it and walked in. He was slouching on his bed, throwing a basketball up at the ceiling. His head turned to look at you as you walked in, his expression closed off.

“What you doin’ here?”

You scoffed as you lean your hip against his dresser, “seriously? That’s how you say hello to me? I haven’t heard from you in days, Carmy.”

He shrugged as he sat up, dragging a hand through his curls, “well, I’m sorry if I needed a little bit of space,” his voice was unusually harsh and it almost made you shrink away.

“I’m literally moving halfway across the world in about a week, soon you’ll be getting all the space that you desperately crave,” he said nothing at your little dig and you were so confused, “what’s up? What happened to the guy who cleaned the tomato juice out of my eye and kissed me until I was breathless?” you asked as you sat next to him and ran a hand through his hair.

He didn’t say anything for a little while, before he looked up at you with those baby blue eyes that you loved so much, “I think we should break up.”

At first you thought it was a joke and you giggled as you slapped a hand over your mouth. When he looked at the floor your heart dropped when you realised he wasn’t joking.

“Seriously? Baby, if this is about me going away to college, I’ll redact my acceptance and stay in Chicago,” tears stung at your eyes, you would do anything to keep him.

“It’s not about Cambridge, Y/N,” he sighed as he stood up and started to pace the room, delving his hands through his curls.

“Then what is it?” your voice broke and he looked at you, the guilt was clear in his blue eyes.

“I don’t love you, Y/N.”

Your breath caught in your throat and you felt acid burn your stomach at his admission, “don’t say that.”

He shrugged, “it’s the truth.”

“No,” you shook your head as you stood up, wiping your eyes, “you don’t get to decide that you suddenly don’t love me anymore.”

Carmy sighed, “I’m sorry, Y/N. It’s over.”

From the look on his face you could tell that he meant it, “have a nice life, Carmy,” you wiped a stray tear as you walked out of his room and out of his life.

Mikey took one look at you and he instantly knew what happened, “he’ll come around, Y/N. I promise.”

But he didn’t come around and soon after you were on your way to Cambridge, leaving your life – and Carmy – behind.

14 Years Later

You glanced over at Meg as you drove to the church, her eyes were fixed on her phone, as usual and you sighed. She had hardly spoken to you for over a week.

“I know you’re unhappy about this but I couldn’t say no to this job. Your father and I discussed this and we both decided it would be better if you came with me. Your dad can visit for the holidays. We’ve been alright on our own so far, haven’t we?”

“I don’t want to start a new school with a bunch of twats.”

“Language!” you scolded, managing to conceal your laughter.

“I’m sorry, mum,” you knew she wasn’t sorry about the swearing, she was sorry for the second reason you’d left London for Chicago.

“Thanks, baby.”

You pulled into the parking space in front of the church and you got out with Meg, you never wanted to be here. Not like this. Richie was smoking outside of the church, his eyes looked and it looked like he hadn’t slept in days. His face lit up when he saw you and he pulled you into a hug.

“Look at you, all grown up!”

“Hi, Richie,” you smiled and he raised an eyebrow.

“You got a fuckin’ British accent too!”

You laughed as you introduced Meg to Richie, “I’m really sorry, Richie. About Mikey.”

He nodded as he flicked the ash from his cigarette as he put it out, “yeah kid. Me too.”

The church was beautiful and you greeted Natalie as you walked in, “hey!” she grinned and pulled you into a hug, her eyes were red too, “thank you so much for coming.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t miss this Nat. How are you holding up?”

She scoffed and you could see the tears in her eyes, “I’m pissed,” she laughed as she wiped a stray tear away, “he’s a jackass.”

You understood how she felt, Mikey didn’t exactly die from natural causes, he took his own life. When Nat had called with the news you didn’t want to believe it, you couldn’t believe it. Being here made it all real, seeing his coffin with the flowers laid over it was hard to stomach.

You were pissed at Mikey too, when you were homesick at Cambridge, Mikey kept you on the straight and narrow. He’d take your call at 3am, his voice wrecked from sleep and he’d just sit there and listen to you cry.

You found your spot and sat down, Meg’s hand in yours, “I didn’t know Mikey had a sister,” Meg spoke up.

“Yeah, he has a brother too,” you smiled at her, your chest clenched as you did so. Though, it wasn’t painful as it once was.

You guys had got there a little early so there was a little bit of waiting around for the service to start. Every time the church doors opened you glanced over your shoulder to see who it was. You were on edge and it was clear that Richie noticed because he came and sat next to you.

“Y’know, he’s not coming, Y/N.”

You scoffed as you glanced at the older man, “he’s not coming to his own brother’s funeral? Why?”

“Because he’s a little bitch, probably. No one had heard from him in months, until he returned a call to say he was in New York and he wasn’t coming.”

“Oh,” you finished lamely.

“Did you want to see him?”