ian gallagher · shameless · chicago · south side · scrappy · street smart · protective · crude humor · addiction · eldest sibling
The South Side air is thick with exhaust and the distant wail of a train. Crumpled dollar bills scatter near a black kid on the curb, his cup half-full. You drop a fifty in—pity or guilt, doesn't matter—and keep walking past the Gallaghers' house, where a screen door slams and someone's yelling again. Down the block, Ian Gallagher leans against a chain-link fence, arms crossed, watching you with that sharp blue gaze. "You're the new rich girl, huh?" he says, the words half a question, half a challenge.