Saving Her || Ian Gallagher

Let's Bowl

-Lexi's POV-

"I want to take things slow." I say and Ian immediately stops kissing me.

"I-I just, you know, with this boot and all. And rushing things isn't-" I say and then he interrupts me with a kiss.

"Of course Lexi. I do too. I love slow." He says with a smile. We both sit up and I check my phone for the time.

"I don't really feel like going home right now. I mean if that's okay." I say, looking over at him. He smiles and nods.

"Of course. We can put in a movie and make popcorn." He says getting up.

"That sounds great. I know this is a little weird but do you have something I can change into? I don't really want to wear this dress anymore." I say laughing. He nods and then disappears into what I assume is his room and comes back with pajamas and a T-shirt. I take them to the bathroom and get changed. I come back out and see Ian playing the beginning of one of the Star Wars movies. He grabs a blanket and we snuggle up together on the couch. I lay my head on his shoulder and slowly feel myself falling asleep.

*Morning*

I open my eyes to a direct beam of sunlight. I put my hand up to block it and sit up. I look over at Ian asleep and snoring softly. We both must have fallen asleep during the movie. I grab my phone off the table to see that it's only 8am, however, I also see three missed calls from my mom and a bunch of text messages. The least Serena could have done for me after that heart felt convo was cover for me.

I slowly get up and make my way to the bathroom to change back into my dress. When I get home Mom and Dad should be at work, and it's better to go home in my clothes rather than his. I look around for some mouth wash but don't find any. I pull gently on the mirror to see if it opens, and thankfully it does. When I open it, I find the mouth wash, but also a small orange pill bottle that stands out to me.

I grab the mouth wash and debate about looking at the bottle, which clearly has pills in it. I mean I really shouldn't snoop. It could be old medication for all I know, for severe headaches, or maybe he broke something a while back. It could be anything, including nothing. I drink some of the mouth wash and swish it around, all the while staring at the bottle and contemplating. I spit and put the wash back and right before I close the mirror I decide to look at the pill bottle.

I roll it around in my hand so that the label is facing me. I see "Ian Gallagher" clearly printed on the label and also "Zyprexa (Olanzapine Tablets)". I pull out my phone quickly to look up the medication and see it is most commonly used to treat bipolar disorder. I stare at it for a moment and see it was filled recently. I put it back and shut the mirror. Ian? Bipolar? That can't be. Can it?

I walk out of the bathroom and see Ian in the kitchen. He is leaning over the stove, making what I assume to be eggs. When he looks up and sees me he smiles.

"Planned on leaving without saying goodbye huh?" He says looking me up and down. I look at him and all I can think about are the pills. The whole time I've known him he's seemed relatively happy. Maybe that's because the pills work? I mean I can't blame him for not telling me. It's not that big of a deal right? Right.

"No, of course not. I just woke up and saw that my mom tried to reach me a bunch of times." I walk over and kiss his cheek and then sit at his table. I stare out of the window and down at the street as he talks. Eventually he sets a plate down in front of me and I tune back in.

"Lexi?" He says, staring at me confused.

"Huh, what?" I say, trying to recall what he said.

"You must be really tired. I asked if orange juice was okay." He says smiling.

"Oh, yeah of course." I respond and he grabs me a glass.

"Crap, I gotta shower and go to work soon." Ian says, checking his watch. He goes to his room and I finish my breakfast and then grab my stuff. Before I leave he comes back out.

"I'll call you later okay?" He says opening the door for me.

"Okay, have fun at work." I say, leaning up and kissing him on the cheek quick. The whole way home all I can think about is the pills. I try not to think about it but then I think about it. Do I bring it up? Do I never mention it? Do I let him talk about it when he's comfortable? I have no idea.

I pull into the driveway and immediately go to my room to shower once I get home. Afterwards, I sit on my bed and open my laptop. School starts again in about two weeks already. I actually like my schedule a lot and I'm mostly excited for my psychology class. It intrigues me a lot, it's just not a practical career suit for someone who sucks at talking to people.

Because I have no plans for the day I turn on Netflix and watch Stranger Things. At about 12:30 my phone rings and I see it's Ian. I didn't think he would call that fast so it makes me think something may have happened.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hey, Lexie. I'm on my lunch break and I just wanted to call and see what you were doing tonight." He says and I sigh of relief.

"You should know by now that I never have plans." I respond, laughing.

"I don't want to assume too much haha. But, do you want to grab dinner and hang out? Is this weird that I'm calling you so soon? I kind of feel like a total loser now that I'm thinking about it."

"No no no, you're completely and totally fine."

"Don't go making me blush now Lexie. Haha, I'll pick you up at 7:00pm." He says and then hangs up. I decide to take a nap and watch more Netflix to pass the time.

Once 6:00 comes around I start to get ready. Seeing Ian still gives me butterflies each time and I always want to look good. I put my hair in a half up, half down style and curl it slightly. I put on my usual makeup, and put on black shorts, a floral top that stops just a little past my belly button, my converse, and of course my stupid boot.

When Ian arrives I slowly make my way to his car. He gets out and opens the door for me. He's wearing jeans, a white T-shirt, and a blue button up shirt, unbuttoned and sleeves pulled up to his elbows. I smile because I can't help but think about how good he looks.

"You look good." I say, leaning up and kissing him on the cheek.

"Thanks but as always, you look better." He says chuckling and closing the door after I get in.

"So where are we going?" I ask him once he gets in.

"You'll see." He says with a half smile. He drives for a bit and then pulls into the parking lot of a bowling alley.

"I haven't bowled in forever." I say and he smiles.

"Neither have I. And it should be pretty doable even with your boot." He says and then gets out and opens my door. We walk inside and the familiar bowling alley aroma hits me. It reminds me a lot of high school. I used to come here a lot.

We go to the counter and buy the games and then get our shoes and bring them to our alley. It's pretty busy, filled mostly with groups of people laughing and drinking. I type our names into the computer right away.

"Hey do you want something to drink before we start?" I ask him and he responds with just water. I go up to the counter and ask for two waters. When the bartender sets them on the counter I slowly pick them up because they are filled to the brim. Keeping my eyes on the cups, when I turn around a body slams into me, making both cups spill all over me.

"Shit!" I yell in response.

"I'm so sorry." The guy responds. I immediately look up at the familiar voice.

"Jake?"