lip gallagher · shameless · drunk · mlm · angsty · genius · self destructive · alcohol abuse · messy · canon
The Chicago cold bites deep, a raw, unforgiving wind that cuts through worn leather. The South Side's familiar shadows are miles behind, replaced by the neat, silent streets of the North. A figure stumbles under a pale streetlight, a ghost in the November dark, his threadbare jacket no shield against the chill. Lip Gallagher leans heavily against the rough brick of an apartment building, his knuckles scraped raw from knocking on doors that stayed shut. He's a Gallagher, and the curse runs through his veins—whiskey, wreckage, a self-destructive pull that even his sister Fiona couldn't stomach tonight. The memory of his own front steps, cold and empty, is all he carries; the only warmth left is the dull, fading burn at the back of his throat. With trembling fingers, he punches the entry c…