SHE DIES IN THE END // shameless

aristocracy and cheerleaders

Reagan was smart... and Carl was somewhat bright. So when it came time for them to start school again, Fiona wasn't surprised that they both got into the advanced classes. This meant that the 13 year olds got put into the ninth grade... along with some other familiar faces.

"Calm down, Rae!" Ian says with a laugh. The little red head was stressed out about what to wear on, technically, her first day of high school. Her older brother, Lip, hands her a bag of clothes from Karen. He says, "just stick with us today, alright?".

She nods and gets changed in the bathroom before running downstairs with her backpack. "You look... like Karen Jackson!" Fiona says, pasting on a smile to hide the fact that she's upset that her little sister's growing up.

"Fiona are you seriously going to let Reagan join the cheer squad?" Debbie asks annoyed. She had her arms crossed and resting above her bump that was slightly hanging out of her shirt.

The oldest girl smiles and grabs a paper from her back pocket. She says, "about that..." Fiona hands Reagan a paper that says, Reagan Gallagher: Varsity Cheer (flyer).

"Are you serious!" Reagan yells, hugging her sister. For once, Fiona was happy for her. Although Rae had the childhood that Fiona didn't get, she realized that the most she could do would be to support her sister.

Ian and Lip heard the commotion and came jogging down the stairs. Ian says, "alright, Rae!" and high fives her. Before Lip can congratulate her they hear a car horn outside. The four teens head to the front door and see Leo. He yells, "come on, losers! we're gonna be late!".

Reagan sits in the passenger seat... making the three boys sit in the back. "What song do you say we put on, cheerleader?" Leo asks. Reagan hides her face in her palm and laughs, but says "Teenage Dirtbag!". She hears her three brothers sigh and Carl grumble, but she says, "nobody wants to listen to Dear Evan Hansen all day!".

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･

"You look like Karen Jackson," Diego says as he walks next to the girl, "which isn't a bad thing, but aren't you 13?". Reagan shakes her head, but before she can speak Karen pulls her away. The Jackson girl says, "I'll let you have her back next period, kk?".

She pulls her into the bathroom and pulls out a makeup bag. Lip's sitting on the counter smoking a cigarette and Ian's laughing at something he had said. "My brother's an asshole," Karen says and applies mascara to Reagan's eyelashes. Lip nods his head and agrees. He says, "Gio's going to end up with an STD from Lindsay. She tried macking the whole high school last year.".

Reagan lets out a laugh and Ian smiles. He says, "she's not even pretty. I'm pretty sure she only made the cheer squad because her brother is Diego.". Karen shakes her head and corrects him, "Step brother. He doesn't even like her!".

"How do you know?" Lip asks curiously. He says, "did you sleep with him or something?". Karen gags and says, "he might be cute, but he's 15! that's like blowing off Ian.". The three teens go quiet for a moment before Karen says, "Rae should get with him. I mean... your brother's his friend and it would totally upset Gio!".

Ian shakes his head. He says, "Reagan wouldn't go out of her way to spite someone! she's like Lexie Grey... if she was a Gallagher.".

Gallagher. The name pierced through Reagan's ears every time she heard it. And maybe she was being dramatic, but being a Gallagher was like a curse. Everybody wanted her until she wasn't fun anymore. Just like how Karen threw Lip out.

"We're having a party and nobody invited me!" Carl exclaims as Lip helps Reagan onto the tall windowsill. Ian shakes his head and says, "it's free period. the jocks are at practice, the band geeks are at band, and we're in here!".

Reagan smiles and says, "I only got tied into this because Karen put a bag over my head and handcuffed me, Carl.". The older, but stupider twin, says, "no fair! that sounds fun.".

☾ ⋆*･ﾟ:⋆*･

"Reagan Gallagher!" a girl yells from a lunch table. She was sitting with a group of popular jocks and cheerleaders. One of the boys yells, "Gallagher, get the hell over here!". They were all smiling. They were happy.

The girl looks over her shoulder to get help from her brother, but Lip pushes her forward to assure her that it's alright to go. Lip and Ian had hovered over her and Carl all day..., but now it was time to let them grow.

Diego waves her over to the free seat next to him and people start to introduce themselves as soon as she sits down. "Woah, guys! Calm down and don't scare her away!" he exclaims. He asks, "how would you like to be one of us now?".

One of us. Reagan just wanted to belong, but to the popular kids?

"Come on, Reagan!" a girl a couple seats away says. Her name was Isabelle. She says, "you're a cheerleader now, so you're basically already popular."

The young girl shrugs and a boy named Jackson says, "I'm throwing a party at my house tomorrow night. You come... and see how you like it!". Reagan smiles at the offer, but says, "my birthday's tomorrow. I have to celebrate with my brother.".

She feels warm hands on her shoulders and a voice says, "well I guess we'll have to bring Carl... and a cake!". Leo sits down beside her and his friends welcome him. He was Lip's best friend, but Lip never liked sitting with the popular kids.
Lip was his best friend, but Leo was a popular kid.

Reagan had found her lunch table and she was beginning to think that maybe... just maybe, she had found her people. Not all of them she was willing to be friends with, but Diego, Jackson, Isabelle, and Leo were willing to be friends with her.