{MI MALA}

Princess Don't Cry

It was later in the night, her dad had come home but her mother had stayed at her sister's house, her brother stayed in his old room and Noel just stayed in the living room, the television was on but her focus was anywhere else other than on it. She was in deep thought, she wondered if Carl had actually meant any of it. She wasn't sure anymore, Noel knew that he had the habit of saying whatever he wanted when he didn't want to lose what he had, she had seen that habit of his. It wasn't anything new to her but it was just strange for him to say anything that would actually mean that he had feelings of any sort.

"Quieres hablar sobre lo que te molesta, amor? Or am I overstepping my boundaries?"

Noel turned her head, she smiled, patting the seat next to her.

"Can I ask you something, pa?"

Her father sat down next to her and looked over at her, he nodded. Her father always knew what was wrong with her even when others didn't, it was a gift that Javier and he had. Her mother wasn't good with knowing when someone was feeling down, she was the 'I'm going to lose a shoe up your ass if you insult my family again.' - type of person.

"Yea, what's up mija?"

"What do you think of the Gallaghers?"

On her father's face there was a thoughtful face. "Well..they're a mess but they look out for each other. Fiona's a hard worker, Lip is too as well; they have to be after everything they have been through. I admire those two kids, they grew up way too fast especially Fiona, she's strong. Sometimes when she's need a temp, I give a small job at the shop..booking the car appointments and getting us some coffee. It's not much but it beats starving."

Noel nodded, her father's family had known the Gallaghers back when Fiona was just a child back before everything went to hell and Monica had just gave up on her family. Her family was always good to anyone, though her mother's side was more on the stuck up side and didn't care much for people that weren't like them. "What if I had started messing with someone from that family what would you say?"

"Depends on who. I know it can't be Ian for sure, he kinda...well, he kinda seems that he plays for the other team. No offense but it's just parent's intuition."

Noel laughed it off, she wasn't sure how to reply to that, so she just kept quiet knowing her father was right but she wasn't about to share Ian's business like that. "No, It's not Ian, he's a good guy but not my type."

'More like Mickey's type' she inwardly said.

"It can't be Carl, because I mean I know you and you try to stay away from guys like him especially after you saw what happened with Javier." Her father spoke with a bored tone as he scratched the back of his head. The man had felt sorry for his son, but the things that boy had done...well, he kinda deserved what he got, in his opinion.

Noel stayed quiet, she knew that she couldn't say anything but her father kept secrets for her from her mom but this one- this one he might not. Either way, she decided to tell him. "It turns out I didn't learn from Javi, I decided to go after Carl. But worry not, we aren't together anymore, so it doesn't matter or at least in my opinion it shouldn't. It didn't him when he dumped me and threw me away like nothing mattered."

Her father hadn't looked surprised, even after he said he didn't expect it to be Carl something inside of him knew. Then his voice turned serious and his eyes were glazed with a certain hardness that had never been seen by Noel in her life, then he spoke to her. His voice low and full of malice.

"Listen Noel, you're Santiago, which means you shouldn't be here mourning the loss of that relationship even if you had fallen for him, it means you rise back up and keep on going and make him see what he lost. The pain that I saw in your eyes these past months, make him suffer like you did."

Noel's smile was replaced by a smirk full of pride and malice, she nodded. Her father had a point, who was she to look weak? Carl should be the one to grovel and cry like she had, she wasn't supposed to let her crown fall; not her tiara. Her crown, she wasn't a damn princess, she was the damn QUEEN and she was going to make sure that the Gallagher boy didn't forget.