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"JEEZ, WHAT TOOK you guys so long?" Lola's arms were folded across her chest, a perplexed expression pasted on her face.
"My brother Carl was being a bitch," Debbie sighed, running a hand through her hair. She then turned to me. "Sorry about him. Sorry about my whole family, damn."
"Your family's fine. I mean, it must be nice to have one." I blurted out, immediately regretting what I said. "Shit, I'm sorry."
Debbie paused to give me a sympathetic smile, and then pulled me into a hug. "I guess we're all kinda fucked up, huh?"
"Excuse me," Lola piped, snapping Debbie and I from our thoughts. "Let's go, I wanna drink some freakin' vinegar!"
- ♡ -
It was nearly three in the morning when Debbie collapsed onto her pillow. Lola had already fallen asleep around two, and I was still wide awake.
I decided to gaze outside the window, since I'd always had trouble sleeping anyway.
There were no cars, but I could faintly hear the brushing of tires against the pavement. All of the lights were off in the houses in the neighborhood, not a speck of light was able to be seen except the hazy glow of the soft moon.
I was staring off into space when I heard a faint yell from not too far away. It wasn't my business, but I wanted to investigate anyway.
Being careful not to wake up Debbie or Lola, I slipped on my Vans and pulled my red hoodie over my head. I kept questioning what I was doing, but I felt as if my mind was telling me to go outside.
I stepped out into the cool night air, the chilly breeze sending chills down my spine. I rubbed my arms in an effort to keep myself warm, but it hardly made a difference. I could see the air coming out of my mouth when I breathed, and gazed up as I watched it fade into the night sky.
I could hear the yelling voice growing louder and louder by the second. I followed the sound, and ducked down behind a bush when I saw a figure moving. I squinted my eyes, trying to make out the face of the person standing in the middle of the street.
"God, I feel so alive!" said a voice too familiar to forget.
What the fuck?
The figure turned in my direction, and I squatted down lower as they turned their head.
"You think you're so . . . slick . . ." They slurred their words. "I *hiccup* can see *hiccup* you."
Clearly, whoever this was had too much to drink.
I was abruptly pulled away from my thoughts when I saw Carl Gallagher standing next to me, staring me down with a confused expression on his face.
That was Carl?
"W-why *hiccup* are *hiccup* you *hiccup* s-spying *hiccup* on me?"
I put my hands up in defense, slowly getting up as I did so. I turned to face him, trying to hold in my laughter. His eyes were bloodshot red, his hair ruffled and he had the cheesiest smile glued to his face.
"I wasn't spying. I was just curious when I heard yelling. I thought it was something else." I replied honestly.
Carl studied my face for a moment, and then tilted his head to the side while biting his lower lip. I watched him as he glanced around at everything. And I wasn't complaining about the view, either. How could he still look this attractive while being mindlessly high?
"Wuh-what? I d-didn't understand anything you just said." Carl was now walking back and forth, kicking small pieces of cement from the broken pavement.
"It's just—nevermind. Let's get you home."
I stifled a laugh as Carl tried to walk, but he ended up tripping over his own feet. My eyes widened at the sight of him falling, and I quickly extended my arm for him to catch. He grabbed onto it—tightly—and his weight pulled me down to the rough sidewalk. I pulled him down with me, finally letting out the laughs I was holding in as our bodies hit the ground. I felt as if my heart was being lifted as I genuinely laughed, the sound echoing off the walls of the nearby houses.
I was so distracted that I hadn't realized that Carl had been sitting next to me, watching me intently the whole time.
"What . . . are you laughing . . . about?" Carl asked, having no clue to what the answer was.
"N-nothing." I turned towards him, pressing my lips together and supressing the rest of my laughter.
"No, tell me!" Carl whined, causing a smile to tug at the ends of my mouth. "I wanna . . . know . . ."
I pushed myself up from the ground, still beaming. I shook my head and extended my hand, and this time Carl was able to get up. "It's nothing. Let's just get you home, okay?"
Carl paused for a moment, and I watched his eyes dart around from the moonlit cars, the windows of the houses, and finally settling on eyes of my own. "Fine."
"Cool," I said, still grinning. Carl being drunk and vulnerable gave me some sort of happiness I couldn't describe.
I was about to take a step when Carl slung his arm over my shoulder. I immediately froze at his touch.
"Carl, what are you doing?" I questioned, my brows furrowed together in confusion.
"Leaning on you." Carl answered, as he rested his head on top of mine.
Why couldn't he be like this all the time?
I gave him a small smile, uttering an almost inaudible 'okay'.
I supported Carl as he walked. His steps were slowly beginning to straighten, which slightly scared me because I didn't want him to blow up at me once he regained sobriety. I guess all there was left to do was cherish the beautiful moment while it lasted.
We finally reached the Gallagher household. It was almost five in the morning, but it was still nearly pitch-black outside. Carl detached his arm from my shoulder—which, I'll admit, caused me to frown—and collapsed onto the couch as soon as we entered the living room.
I peered over the couch, seeing that his eyes were halfway closed in the midst of drifting off to sleep. I fetched a blanket and laid it over him, careful not to disturb his sleep.
I kneeled down beside him, watching him snore softly. I smiled once more, because I had cracked open Carl Gallagher's hard outer shell. Even though he wouldn't remember a thing in the morning, I would. And tonight was a night I would never forget.
- ♡ -
hello lovelies :) i'm so sorry for not updating yesterday, i was working on another story which i will publish soon. it's called "play-pretend" and it's based off of ethan cutkosky himself. i hope you guys like it !! also please vote and comment if you enjoyed this chapter, love always kate xo
