Liam O'Donovan

Friendship (Ep2)

Later that same morning, after the liam aid got cleaned up, the house sit around the table.

Aria smirks at Liam who's still whipping down the counter. He meets her eyes and sarcastically smiles back. Aria was lucky and never got made to clean up the kitchen much to his complaint.

"Shall I add Tracy not doing lunch to my list of what she's done wrong?" Gus asks with his note pad out.

"No thank you Gus. Go sit down."

"Well let's see," Gus carries on anyways, sitting at the head of the table by Aria. "She was late for work, she didn't help Carmen move rooms. She wrote in my book. Not doing lunch makes four."

"Eh, Tracy promised me a burger," Frank says to Gina who was about to serve his food.

"Yeah well Tracy isn't here is she Frank?"

"I'm definitely adding Franks burger to my list."

"Don't you think that's a little unfair though Gus?" Aria asks. "She probably feels bad enough already. You writing it down makes it even worse."

"Yeah," Liam says sitting down in the spare seat inbetween Aria and Frank. "What do you think people thought if you first arrived?"

"You were strange," Harry answers.

"Yeah well you think your giraffe talks," Gus fires back.

"Maybe he does. Have you ever heard Jeff speak?" Aria asks him, cutting into her fish fingers. "I've watched most of you come into this place, everyone was off when they first joined."

"You should make a list of stuff she's done right since she's been here," Liam says to Gus. "She helped me out at the cop shop." He adds as an after thought.

"Oh yes. And Tracy's criminal record is an inspiration to us all," Gina sarcastically says.

"Aria's record is an inspiration to me," Sapphire mutters.

"Sapphire," Mike warns hearing the older girl.

****

Lunch was soon after and Tracy suddenly comes storming in. Liam, who was still sat at the table, nudges Aria's arm signalling towards the older girl.

The two stand by the door, knowing Gina will say something to Tracy. Especially now that she spilt ketchup on Johnny's favourite jeans.

"Tracy?"

"What?"

"This can't go on," As Gina says this, all the children close by stick their heads round the door frame waning to listen on in the conversation.

"You have been late for work every day. And when you're meant to do lunch, you go out and worse, and even more unforgivable ... is that you keep on breaking your promises to the kids."

"I do not!" Tracy argues.

"There's Carmen, Lily, Frank, Gus," Gina lists off on her fingers. "Hmm? You keep letting them down and it happens every day! And you out of all people should know you can not break your promises to children in care. So come on Tracy, you better get your act together otherwise you're out!"

"You can't fire me! You're not in charge, only Mike can fire me."

"Tracy. Kids," Mike turns around waving the group of children away. "Go on. Off you go." The children all run to the next wall, still having a clear view of the scene in the kitchen.

Mike speaks to Tracy quietly until she turns around to shout at him, "Let me save you the trouble. I quit!" And with that, she chucks the bowl she was holding onto the ground, smashing it into pieces.

She storms past the children who are standing on the stairs and towards the door, grabbing her coat on the way past.

It's quiet, until Aria suddenly bursts out laughing. 

"I quit!" Aria laughs, clutching her stomach. "Oh I gotta go tell Sapphire what just happened!" She laughs running away up the stairs and into Sapphires room.

"Oi. Sapp!" Aria yells barging into her room not caring about how mad she will get. "Tracy just quit. What a laugh!"

"What?" Sapphire asks, obviously irritated that the girl let herself in but not caring as much since it was Aria.

The younger girl tells her what happened, putting on different voices for different people and using hand gestures.

Suddenly, a piece of paper slides under her door causing both girls to look at each other confused.

Sapphire picks up the note and reads it before opening her door to see Gus standing there. "That's a weird question."

***

"Aria," the quote voice of Carmen says startling the girl as she closes the bathroom door.

"What's up?" Aria asks turning around before frowning. "What's wrong? Why you crying?" She pulls the young girls into her arms concerned.

"Do you know where Lily is?" Carmen says after a while of hugging the girls back. Everyone knows that if you want a nice hug, you go to Aria because she gives the best ones.

"Reading her sisters a story I think," Aria responds. "Why?"

"She said she doesn't want to be my friend anymore," Carmen responds.

"I'm sure she didn't mean it."

"That's what Liam said. I want to apologise."

"Go find her then Carm," Aria says pushing the girl away and fixing her hair. She wipes the runny mascara from under her eyes with a smile. "Go get your friend back. It's not nice loosing them."

"Thank you Aria," Carmen says sincerely running away to go fix her friendship.

Aria watches her go with a small smile and a shake of her head.

"What was that about?" Liam's voice asks from behind her.

"Friendship," Aria responds tinting around to face him. "I'm glad you're back Liam."

"I'm glad i'm back to. Dunno what you would of done w'out me," Liam chuckles throwing his arm over the girls shoulder.

***

Later that evening, the whole house gather around the fire pit waiting for Tracy to burn a letter from her mum.

Liam has his arms wrapped around Aria protectively, her resting her head again this chest.

They all cheer for Tracy when she puts the lighter against the paper, the flames dancing in the wind. Her past getting burnt away to focus on the future.

A/N

SO PEED OFF RN. I WROTE TWO CHAPTERS. THEY WERE RLLY GOOD AND EVERYTHING BUT THIS SILLY BILLY APP DECIDED TO DELTE THEM!!!

also thanks to everyone who is readying this story, please comment and vote it means a lot :)