The Stupid Little Things - Part 6/? Carl Gallagher x Reader
Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5
âCarl?â I called, snapping my fingers in front of his face âCarl câmon!â
Heâd been zoned out from studying for a good few seconds and he was starting to freak me out a little.
âCarl stop fucking staring at my face!â
Thatâs when he snapped out of it, blinking a couple of times before shaking his head and inhaling.
âI wasnât staring at you,â he said and I sighed angrily so he changed his story.
âYou look different thatâs allâ he said defensively before turning away and flicking his pen between his fingers âI havenât seen by best friend in two years,â
âYouâre not my friend,â I said quickly âLetâs get back to the questionsâ
I did everything but look at his face, because there was that look of harrowing sadness plastered across which I knew that if I looked at I would break. Iâd try to forgive him. But I didnât want to do that.
âHow does Shakespeare present the theme of a male aggressive behaviour in Romeo and Juliet?â I asked and Carl shook his head and laughed coldly.
For a second our eyes met, and a chill ran through my whole body
âYou really do hate me donât you?â he said and I could have sworn his voice cracked.
I ignored him and pointed at a copy of the play
âI mean even in the opening scene, the servants are threatening to fight each other to the death. It hits you straight in the face like âboomâ aggressive male behaviour, itâs the only thing they seem to care about,â
âY/N is this some kind of joke to you?â
âI mean the whole plays practically a big showcase of male aggressive behavior. Greed and hate and selfishness and cowardice and aggression andâŠâ
âIs that what you really fucking think of me huh? That Iâm aggressive, that Iâm a cowardâ
He wasnât shouting which was honestly more frightening to me. He sounded sad.
âItâs just an English questionâ
âCan we answer the fucking questions so I can leave and you can go back to doing whatever sketchy things you are doing these days,â
Carl scoffed and leapt up
âYou donât fucking get it do you?â
I looked at him questioningly and he continued
âI learnt the hard way, I lost everything. I fucking lost youâ
âThat doesnât change anything,â I said paying no attention to him âNow can you finish this question so I can leave,â
âIt changes everything,â
He was right, but I wasnât going to admit it to him. How the hell could I tell him that.
âNo it doesnât,â I said.
âRight. Yeah. It doesnt change a thing does it,â
He slumps back down beside me on the bed, sheets of paper and copies of textbooks forming a circle behind us.
âIâm choosing a new question,â he says and files his way through the pack until he finds one he he feels is appropriate and slams it down in front of me.
âExplain the significance of Shakespeare presenting Juliet as an innocent character despite deceitful behavior throughout the playâ he reads.
âWhat the hell are you trying to say?â
âItâs just an English question,â he repeats back at me completely deadpan âYouâre just not the precious princess people see you as. I know you too well to believe that,â
I shifted uncomfortably on top of the covers.
âYou donât know anything about me anymore,â
âBullshit,â he replied quickly.
âIn the twenty minutes youâve been in this room youâve chewed on your hoodie strings the whole time, wrinkled your nose every five second and youâve not stopped tapping your foot. Somethingâs wrong, somethingâs very wrong and I know full well it has absolutely fuck all to do with me,â
Every single piece of me.
And I didnât want him to.
Neither of us said anything for a while and then before I knew what was happening Carl reached for my hand. As soon as his skin met mine, I snatched it back from him, scowling slightly protectively. Carl just blinked a little and shook his head, taking my hand a second time and holding it with both of is.
âJust because you stopped caring doesnât mean that I did asswipe,â
I refused to let myself smile at the old nickname and just sighed theatrically.
âI hospitalised two people todayâ I said after the silence got too much.
I felt him release my hand a little, but it was still engulfed in his.
âShit Y/N! What the fuck?â
âI broke her nose, gave her a black eye. Heâs got a fractured cheekbone. Nearly cost me my whole high school career,â
He just looked back at me with a look of concern.
âIâm not proud of it okay⊠they just⊠they just fucking deserved it,â
There were tears welling in my eyes and I was begging myself not to cry in front of my ex-best friend.
âWhoâs they?â he said slowly, an odd malice in his voice that made him sound as though he wanted to knock âthemâ out.
âHe fucking cheated on me with Olivia. 7 months heâd been seeing her. 7 months heâd lied to me, would go to her house straight after mine I heard, straight after. I found out at lunch.â
âShit,â Carl said in surprise.
âYep,â I laughed sadly, âWelcome to my life,â
Carl raised a finger, as if signally that heâd be a second before flipping through the question pack until he found another card. He held it up under his chin as if he was taking a mugshot. I read it.
âHow does Shakespeare present the strength of friendship in Romeo and Juliet?â
âCarl, you know weâre not fri-â
âSeriously! Stop saying that! What do you have to gain from it! Canât you see Iâm sorry?â
âYou pulled a gun on me Carl, you could have ki-â
âNickâs going to jail,â He said.
And then he looks at me in a way that actually shatters me, that tears down the last barrier that Iâd put up and makes me want to bawl crying.
Carl Gallagher looked scared.
âI just⊠i just canât stop seeing that dead body in my head. Itâs just there. Itâs always there. I donât wanna see that Y/Nâ
The tone in his voice was breaking my heart.
âI donât wanna see that. I didnât want that to be me. I donât wanna hurt people, I donât want to hurt people, so I got outâ
And obviously there was nothing I could say to that.
âYou know what Frank said Y/N? He said, in front of the principal and most of the kids in my grade, he told them Iâd be picking up garbage on the side of the road in an orange jumpsuit. That was my future he told them.â
âBut I wonât. And I just wanted to let you know, Iâm truly fucking sorry.â
Again I donât say anything, but I do stand up. I stand up and open my arms, closing my eyes and waiting for him to reciprocate.. Â
âTrust me when I say we both need this hug right now,â I say with my eyes still closed.
The next thing I felt where two strong familiar arms wrap themselves around my waist, and a head nuzzle into the side of my neck, warm breath pressing against me skin. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close as I felt his fingers gently rubbed my back. This is what Iâd missed, Iâd missed his touch, his comfort, his smell, his arms, hands. Iâd missed Carl Gallagher. Two years of being stubborn and Iâd left my best friend to fend for himself when he needed me the most. Despite the heaviness in my stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of his body pressed against mine, as if he embodied everything that was simple and familiar. The hug was a simple enough gesture - but it was the start of something else. I knew then, whether my brain liked it or not, that he was forgiven.
âIâm sorry Y/N,â He whispered into my neck
âIâm sorry Carl,â I whispered back and he pulled away away a little so that he could look me in the eye.
âWhy?â he asked softly, his eyes as wide and vulnerable as a small childâs.
âYouâre nothing like Frank. I shouldnât have said that, you know, that night,â
Carl buried his head further into my hair
âHow about we just forget that night ever happened?â Carl asked hopefully.
âDealâ he said, but he didnât let go.
âIâve missed you, you know. No matter what Iâve said before. I have.â
Carl smirked a little and I could see his usual mischievous glow return to his cheeks.
âThatâs a good job, with all of this tutoring shit it looks like youâll be spending half your life with meâ
âGlad to see your back in the room Gallagher,â
We pulled apart and he smirked even wider; I rolled my eyes checking my phone for the time.
âShit! No way is it this time already!â I said to myself âCarl Iâve got to go⊠Iâve got toâŠâ
âChill,â he said, putting his hands on my shoulders âGo,â
âBut weâve hardly covered anything,â
âIâll be fine, Iâll answer it myself and let you know if I need any help,â
I smiled warmly, if not a little skeptically, and tried to laugh a little.
âI guess Iâll have to unblock you then,â I said as I walked towards the bedroom door.
âYou only blocked me? I presumed youâd deleted my fucking number.â
He laughed a little and he lingered in the door frame before I left
âFriends?â he asked, almost nervously.
âFriends,â I agreed, kissing his cheek gently before I waltzed back out of his bedroom, leaving him stood frozen to the spot
âGood job asswipe,â he called eventually, when I was halfway down the stairs âbecause you ainât fucking getting rid of me that easily this timeâ