"gotta love these half-days," ian grinned, side by side with mandy on their walk home from school while addison and lip trailed closely behind.

"good thing the public school system is broke," mandy quipped, prompting a playful hitting contest between the faux couple.

"yeah, waste of time anyways, the only thing those people are equipped to teach is how to live with disappointment." lip muttered beside her, swinging the strap on his bag.

"you know, some people find it fulfilling." addison retorted, her tone tinged with irritation. she shifted her gaze away from lip, focusing instead on the road ahead as they walked.

lip shrugged, seemingly unfazed by her response. "sure, if you say so," he replied casually, his attention already drifting elsewhere.

addison frowned. she wished he took school more seriously. sure, he had the grades and potential to go far, but addison feared that his ego and south side pride might hinder his future at times.

"hey, wanna catch a movie tomorrow? brandy can sneak us in." mandy offered ian with a mischievous grin. "can't," he responded with a shake of the head. "gotta be at work by three."

"boo." mandy pouted playfully. lip glanced over at his brother, acknowledging the new jacket ian was sporting. "nice jacket that kash bought you by the way."

"thanks." ian replied with a smirk, adjusting the collar of the jacket. "i'll take it in the ass if kash will get me free stuff." mandy joked with her signature bluntness.

"hey!" an unfamiliar voice suddenly called out, causing all four of them to turn around in confusion. lip and ian instinctively moved to stand in front of the girls, "yeah i'm talking to you."

"yeah?" lip raised a brow, leading the conversation. the man eyed them skeptically before getting straight to the point, "you got a phone?" he asked.

"why, your truck break down?" lip inquired with a hint of sarcasm as he glanced back at his vehicle.

"no, genius," the man scoffed, "i like standing in a shitty neighborhood with my dick in my hands. look, i'm already two hours late on this load. i try to take one shortcut, this is what i get. my goddamn kid drained my phone playing doodle jump. my goddamn wife took my charger. listen, i'll give you five bucks, you let me use your phone. just-just one call."

lip and addison exchanged a quick glance, silently agreeing on their response. "oh-oh, we don't have a phone." he stated bluntly, his voice devoid of any sympathy.

"yeah, our dad says we're not allowed to have a one until we're eighteen," addison continued, wearing an apologetic frown.

"um, but you know what?" lip pointed in a vague direction. "there's a bar, i think, about ten blocks that way," he pointed in a direction behind them. "what's it called? uh, o'flaherty's. tell them your family's from county cork."

"ten blocks?" the man doubtfully raised a brow. "maybe five," ian shrugged. "straight shot."

after a moment of consideration, the man sighed and pulled out a bill from his pocket, "this is yours if you keep an eye on the truck."

"five bucks? oh cool, thanks mister." ian sarcastically exclaimed. with a nod of acknowledgment, the man began to walk away, his pace quickening as he disappeared down the street. "make sure no one gets near it."

"you've got it, sir!" addison yelled out in the distance.

mandy knowingly glanced at lip, handing him her phone. as the man continued on his way, lip quickly dialed a number, bringing the phone to his ear. "yo, kev. forty-third, and halsted. bring a crowbar."

📸

in the chaos that ensued once the neighborhood discovered the contents of the truck, addison, lip, and ian, and mandy found themselves caught in the frenzy. despite being the instigators of the robbery, they had to fight their way through the crowd to retrieve as much frozen meat as possible.

veronica surveyed the small fridge skeptically once they were back at the house, gesturing towards it with a furrowed brow. "how the hell we gonna fit all of that in there?"

they'd stolen a ridiculous amount of meat, far more than the fridge could accommodate. "we can fit some in my fridge, probably." addison suggested. "i have no problem throwing jordan's crap out to make room."

"good idea," veronica agreed, nodding in approval.

"we could also hang some of it in the garage till spring, hack off what we need." steve proposed, scoping the amount of meat in the kitchen.

"the rats will get it," fiona argued, voicing her concern about the garage storage, but carl appeared from around the corner with a giant pair of pliers. "rats won't be a problem."

📸

addison stood outside with lip, carl, and debbie, chopping up the meat like a culinary lumberjack. "so, for a rough estimate, how many cows do we think were slaughtered?" she questioned, wielding the cleaver with determination.

"probably the whole damn farm," lip smirked, eyeing the massive pile of meat they had liberated.

"addison?" a voice interrupted her rhythmic chopping. addison's eyes shot up, her grip on the cleaver faltering for a moment as she spotted reece cameron standing nearby, looking equal parts confused and intrigued.

"reece? hey." addison greeted, trying to play it cool despite the fact that she was currently elbow-deep in stolen meat. she'd never admit it out loud, but she was definitely attracted to him. he was just so damn charming.

reece's gaze flickered between addison and the pile of meat before him. "hey, ...what's goin' on?" he asked, clearly perplexed by the scene.

"oh. this probably looks.. i'm just uh, choppin' some meat." addison explained, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment as she hastily brushed strands of hair out of her face, attempting to regain some semblance of composure.

"i can see that." reece nodded, his tone laced with amusement as he tried to hide his smile. he found addison's awkwardness endearing, though he couldn't quite understand why she was chopping meat outside with a cleaver in the first place. "uh, i came by your house but your sister said that you were over here."

"oh crap, i totally spaced. i know we were supposed to go over some stuff today but do you think we meet up tomorrow? this just came up." addison grimaced, feeling utterly mortified by the whole situation as she stared down at the meat.

reece nodded understandingly, "yeah. yeah, definitely. i'll just call you." he replied, shooting the brunette a reassuring smile before making his exit.

"great." addison called after him, her face scrunching in mortification as he disappeared from view.

"well, that was.. really cool," lip remarked mockingly, a smirk playing on his lips.

"i'm gonna kill you." addison threatened, shooting lip a glare that could curdle milk as she picked the cleaver back up.

"why is that kid always up your ass?" lip grumbled, his tone laced with annoyance.

addison couldn't help but chuckle at the blonde's frustration. "because i'm tutoring him, and he's paying me." she replied, trying to downplay the situation.

"are you gonna wipe his ass for him if he pays you for that too?" lip quipped earning a glare and obscene hand gesture from addison.

lip rolled his eyes, a smirk lingering on his lips, as he continued chopping. at that moment, steve and fiona emerged at the top of the outdoor stairs.

"you think you guys can survive one night without fiona?" steve's voice echoed through the yard. "no!" debbie's exaggerated scream filled the air, followed by a mischievous grin. "just kidding."

"sure," carl responded with a nonchalant shrug, impaling another piece of meat on a stick he had found nearby. "yeah. have fun," lip agreed.

"we'll be okay, fiona," addison assured her, watching as fiona scoffed before turning on her heel to head back inside. steve followed suit, leaving addison, lip, and the others to their meat-chopping endeavors.

📸

addison sat at the gallagher's table, savoring a juicy bite of the freshly cooked meat. sydney had joined them, engaging in lively conversation with carl and debbie. however, addison was too focused on her meal to pay much attention to their chatter.

suddenly, frank barged in, his disheveled appearance drawing everyone's attention. "what happened to you?" lip inquired, his words slightly muffled by the food in his mouth.

"a huge guy jumped me," frank explained, removing his scarf with a weary sigh. "two eighty, maybe two ninety. steroids... who knows?"

"good for him," lip remarked casually, prompting a light chuckle from addison as she continued to enjoy her meal.

"okay, i need your help." frank announced, turning to his daughter with a sense of urgency. "i've got maybe two bucks," debbie confessed, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"no, no, no. show of hands, how many of you, at one point or another, have wanted to see me dead?" frank inquired, his tone surprisingly upbeat.

the group exchanged glances before reluctantly raising their hands in unison.

"yeah!" frank exclaimed, sounding overly enthusiastic for someone who had just been informed by his entire family that they wished him dead. "here's your chance."

📸

once again, the gallagher household was a flurry of activity as they prepared for frank's fake funeral.

addison rushed home with sydney and quickly threw on an old black dress, she sighed inwardly, realizing she had no better options; the dress had been a owned since middle school. after getting sydney ready as well, she hustled back to the house, shuffling around to make everything look like an authentic wake.

from the corner of her eye, she spotted fiona and steve entering through the front door, both looking thoroughly bewildered. addison didn't have a moment to explain the situation; she was too busy trying to get a drugged up frank in the coffin.

"stuff the ice in the shirt," fiona commanded, knowing what to do once debbie filled her in on their situation. "stop, enough!" frank snapped, but debbie ignored him, continuing to roughly apply ice to his face.

"your body needs to be cold." sydney smacked his hand away, letting debbie finish. "more morphine!" the man demanded in response.

"it's horse tranquilizer," veronica stated matter-of-factly. "get in the coffin before you pass out, frank," lip ordered, resignation in his tone as his frustration grew.

"just a little taste?" frank requested, stumbling over to the casket.

"i don't even know why we do this for you," lip scoffed, sliding up next to addison, who was watching the scene unfold with narrowed eyes.

"you think it's easy?" frank retorted, rising to his feet once again. "being a parent? letting fiona be the good cop? the important thing is you kids." his gaze flickered around the room before settling on carl, the second youngest gallagher. "carl, i remember when the nurse in the hospital handed you to me."

"carl was born in the back of the van. you weren't there." addison interjected sharply. frank whirled on them, "i slapped his little ass myself."

in an instant, lip lunged forward, his fist clenched as he struck his father, sending him stumbling backward and crashing to the ground, unconscious.

"lip!" fiona's voice cut through the commotion, but she halted her protest as she comprehended lip's motives. together, they hoisted frank into the coffin with effort.

"well," veronica sighed, "he looks dead. shallow breathing. clammy. just put some more ice on his head."

"got it," carl affirmed, tending to his father.

as the group circled the coffin, feigning grief, the two men seeking frank's demise entered. addison lowered her head, a knot of anxiety tightening in her stomach.

noticing, lip gently grabbed her hand. he had an uncanny ability to decipher addison's emotions, a skill that had always bridged the gap between them, rendering words unnecessary in moments like these.

"sorry for your loss," one of the men muttered, "accident?"

"suicide," lip answered, his tone firm. fiona turned to bury her face into steve's chest, while debbie sobbed loudly beside frank, peering down into the coffin. the same man stepped forward, yanking the unconscious frank from the coffin and began shaking him violently.

"i know you're faking it!" he yelled, prompting a shocked silence among the group. "come on, open your eyes, you lying, squirrelly sack of shit!" he smacked his hand across frank's face, causing debbie to scream in horror.

"jesus, rob," the other man snapped, pulling rob up by the shoulders. "what's the matter with you? look at him, he's dead." the two men backed away from the scene. "sorry, he's been under a lot of stress lately."

"gonna check with the boss," rob announced firmly. "nobody move." the other man dialed a number on his phone, prompting addison to lean her face into lip's shoulder.

"yeah, there's nothing here worth taking," the nameless man explained over the phone while addison noticed carl discreetly sneak out the back door. "unless you want the little girl. eleven, maybe twelve. she's cute, but not really a looker. how about frank? any fingers, toes, you know, for proof?"

the group shared bewildered looks, none daring to utter a word, uncertain of what to do next.

"okay," the man concluded, hanging up the phone. "keeps his extremities."

"and you'll be going?" lip inquired, glancing backwards. "soon as he's in the ground." rob responded.

"what? no, why?" debbie screamed in panic as sydney gently grabbed her arm. "boss's orders. we stay with this scumbag until he's in the ground." the other man told her.

suddenly just when all hope was lost, a car alarm blared, causing both men to spin around. "that's me," one of them muttered before they rushed out to investigate the commotion.

once they were gone, the group resumed their panicked conversation. "they're gonna bury him?!" ian asked incredulously. "if we keep our mouths shut," lip shrugged.

"we need something to put in the coffin," fiona whispered urgently, her eyes scanning the surroundings for a solution.

a light went off in addison's brain, "the meat," she suggested. "we have the rest of the meat!"

"it could work." fiona tilted her head, thinking it through.

"you're a genuis." lip let out a sigh of relief, quickly grabbing her head and planting a kiss on her forehead in gratitude.

the group hurriedly descended the back stairs, and fiona lifted the trash can lid, revealing its putrid contents. addison wrinkled her nose in disgust, noticing the same reaction from the rest of the group.

"we need more time," fiona realized, glancing back at the four remaining members on the staircase. "can you stall them?" veronica smirked knowingly, before revealing a strategic glimpse of cleavage and sauntering back inside.

working quickly, they dumped the meat into the coffin as if racing against time. finally, they managed to create the illusion of a body inside, hastily shutting the lid to conceal their deception.

"lift!" fiona ordered, and they obeyed, each groaning under the weight of the coffin's newfound heaviness. "fuck," lip muttered under his breath, expressing the collective frustration of the group. "holy shit," ian exclaimed in annoyance. as they carried the coffin outside, they found veronica and rob still engaged in conversation.

"carl's not lifting his share!" sydney blurted out giving the boy a side-eye. "yes i am!" carl protested, his voice strained with effort.

"let me help," rob offered, grabbing the front of the coffin. "jesus, stiff's starting to get ripe."

📸

kev's spoon tapped against his glass, the metallic sound cutting through the chatter as he stood on the small stage at the back of the alibi room. the room hushed, all attention drawn to him. "uh, frank gallagher. loving husband. devoted father."

addison stifled a laugh leaning into ian chest, it was utterly ridiculous. "truly respected, and a cherished member in this community. he was a good friend. a good neighbor. and he will be sorely missed. i just hope that in the afterlife...they treat him as kindly as he treated us. to frank."

"to frank!" echoed throughout the alibi, glasses raised in tribute. as the two men departed slowly, lip rose to secure the door behind them, the lock clicking with finality. he turned back with a grin, lifting his glass in celebration.

"fuck, yeah!" frank cheered, emerging from behind the counter. "they're gone."

veronica nodded along to the music kev started, a sly smile playing on her lips. "now we can party!"