The impact of glass against the dark walls of the Alibi Room is a familiar sound. It is a sharp crunch and is usually paired with a drunken brawl. Tonight, however, it is just Lip Gallagher who sits at the bar. The lights are off, save for the one hanging directly above the counter. Kevin and Veronica put trust in their close family friend to lock up for the few hour during which the bar would be closed - forcing the alcoholics who practically live there to go home to their families. Instead of locking up, Lip, only eighteen - but having drunk since twelve - thanks, Frank - nurses an assortment of liquor.

As much as the young man drinks, it fails to make the ache in his chest disappear. It is a heavy weight over his heart, knotting his stomach and making his throat weak with the risk of throwing up. While he wouldn't admit it to anyone, his heart is broken. Lip Gallagher didn't fall in love - at least that is what he claimed when he sleeps around with the south-side girls. Then, Karen Jackson came along, looking for a tutor and a thankful pair of lips around his length. Blowing quickly escalated to fucking, and from there he fell.

Today he made a discovery, Karen Jackson is a selfish cunt. While she is bedding him, she was fucking countless other men on the side. She is an addict, as are the others who destroy his life, his mother, and father.

Of all the people in his life, why is it the one person he cares about that fuck's him over? It makes his hands quiver in frustration, and stormy blue eyes grow wet with tears. Lip knows crying won't change anything, but it releases his frustrations. Erupting from his lips comes a scream, one that wakes the drunkard sleeping in the back alley. He pays no mind to the racket as it is a norm in the south-side.

"You skanky bitch!" Lip shouts out into the emptiness of the alibi. It is a message to Karen that she will never hear. "Do you not understand what you've done to me? To the other guys you have fucked? You were my best friend!"

Sweaty palms take hold of another glass, slinging it towards the wall where it shatters.

"You were my best friend," he repeats, the frustration in his words heavy as he mutters it to himself over and over, "and you broke me! You used me for my body. My heart. Made me believe that maybe something good could come out of a life where everything is complete and utter bullshit!"

His voice is raw from yelling now, his chest breathing heavily as he leans forward to support himself against the bar.

"And you know what Karen? Fuck you. FUCK YOU!" It is his final outburst of anger. Eyes shut, trying to put the tears to an end, and his head hands off his shoulders in defeat. While he doesn't like the idea, it is time try to move on.

Slow strides of heavy boots meeting the floor, Lip drags himself to the light switch by the door. A thumb closes the circuit and brings darkness to the bar, but when he steps out of the Alibi and into the streets, all he sees is the bright light of the sun taking its place in the sky. It is the start of a new day, a new beginning.