smooth criminal ➪ carl gallagher

[CHAPTER TWO]

❝i'd love for you to meet my crazy, fucked-up family.❞
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"NOELLE! GET YOUR ass down here now!"

I groaned as I opened my eyes, shielding them from the sun. God damn, what was Frances bugging about?

I rubbed my eyes, propping myself on the side of the bed. I was able to catch a glimpse of myself from the full-body mirror across from my bed. Damn, my hair was a mess.

"Ten, nine, eight . . ."

Jesus. I lazily stood up and proceeded towards the door.

"Seven, six, five . . ."

I purposely took my time walking down the stairs. I had to fight a bitch trying to get her medications and now she's yelling at me?

"Four, three, two, one!"

I was only midway down the stairs when Frances met me halfway, gripped my elbow and pulled me down the rest of the stairs.

When we settled at the last step, I remembered. The screen door was covered with a thin sheet, which I put there last night, in an effort to hide the damage that the burgular caused. It obviously didn't work.

"What the hell happened here?" Aunt Frances dramatically pulled the sheet down, revealing the broken glass from what once was the screen door. Her tone was stern and monotone, I could tell how angry she was with me. I had no choice but to tell her the truth.

I sighed. "Yesterday, while you were running your errands, this guy in a black mask broke in," I said, hesitantly. "Basically, he was running from the police, so I let him hide in our storage closet. And then the police came in and I told them that the guy ran away already. And so they ran out of here, trying to find him, whatever. And then he stole my wallet before he left."

I watched as Aunt Frances' eyes widened and her eyebrows knit together in anger. "You lied to the police?! You let him go?! Noelle! You realize that you set a criminal loose! Who knows what he could've done? This is not how I want you to live your life—you could become a criminal for all I know!" Her voice was raised to a peak, causing me to take a step back.

"He was scared! I saw it in his eyes. I wanted to help him! He's just like me. He's just like you. He's just like everyone else, he was a human and he was scared! And I did what I felt was right!"

Frances inhaled and exhaled deeply. "I'm extremely disappointed in you Noelle. The next time you pull something like this, I won't let you off so easy."

Unbelieveable.

"Fuck this. I'm going back to sleep."

"Watch your fucking language, young lady! And you have to go to school in fifteen minutes, so get your ass moving!"

Hypocrite.

I rolled my eyes, storming back up to my room.

I quickly picked out a white tank top and a black windbreaker, pairing them with black skinny jeans. I slipped on some white sneakers, grabbed my backpack and hurried down the stairs. I didn't bother with my hair, leaving it down and messy. I'd usually sweep some makeup on my face, but there was really no one to impress at school, so why try.

Aunt Frances used to drive me to school, but she doesn't anymore because of her 'condition'. Instead, I bike to school and well, basically everywhere I go.

I hopped onto my bike, ignoring the weight on my shoulders from my backpack. I pedaled as fast as I could, because school started in approximately six minutes. Well, shit. I wasn't gonna be able to make it anyway.

- ♡ -

I pushed on the handle and opened the door to my classroom, ignoring the fact that I was fifteen minutes late and that every head had turned in my direction. I could feel the teacher's eyes burning holes in the back of my head as I made my way to my seat, but I just pulled out the middle finger on him. I smiled sarcastically as laughter erupted from the classroom.

"Thompson, got a late pass?"

"Nope," I quickly answered, as the teacher rolled his eyes.

I made my way to a seat next to Lola. Her face lit up when she saw me, pulling out a chair for me to sit on.

"Dude, I have so much shit to tell you. You won't even believe it."

A wide grin spread on Lola's face. "Same! Tell me at lunch. There's also this girl I met, she's super nice. I'd love to sit with her, if you don't mind."

"Cool, I'll come with. What's her name?"

"Debbie."

- ♡ -

I met Lola outside of the cafeteria. I watched as she anxiously glanced around the lunch tables, searching for her friend. Finally, a pale-faced girl with ginger-colored hair stood up and waved, gesturing us to come sit with her. Damn, two gingers in two days.

Lola took a seat next to Debbie and I sat across from them.

"Nelly, this is Debbie. Debbie, this is Nelly."

"Nelly? Is that short for something?" Debbie asked.

"Yeah, it's short for Noelle."

"Noelle? That's such a pretty name!
I go by Debbie because Deborah is far too embarassing." Debbie announced, her cheeks turning a faint pink.

Lola and I laughed as Debbie opened her mouth to speak again. "Are you guys free on Friday? I'd love to have y'all over for a sleepover."

"Yeah, of course!" Lola exclaimed, and I nodded in agreement.

"Cool! I'd love for you to meet my crazy, fucked-up family." Debbie exaggerated on the fucked-up part.

Soon, I was going to find out what she meant.

- ♡ -

a/n: sorry for the short chapter/lack of action, but it gets super saucy in the next chapter ... nelly meets the rest of the gallaghers ;) please vote and comment so i know you're enjoying the story! thank you, love always kate xo