Knee Socks | Billy Hargrove AU

9

Waking up today was surprisingly easier than most days, only because I knew I had something to look forward to. I made an effort to look a bit extra cute than usual, deciding on a graphic t-shirt tucked into a yellow plaid skirt, a jean jacket to keep me warm and of course, black knee socks over tights. I put some jewelry on that accented my outfit decently well, admiring my look for the day.

My dad drove me to school as usual, reminding me to eat the breakfast my mom packed for me when she got home from work at 3 am. "Don't forget to drink water too, honey! Have a good day, love you," he says as I open the door to get out of the car and walk into the dreadful high school.

"Will do, dad! Love you too!" I tell him with a smile before closing the door shut and fixing my backpack on my shoulders.

I selfishly search the school parking lot for any signs of a certain someone with a smoking addiction. I perk up as soon as I see him whip into the lot with his Camaro, noticing his sunglasses shading his eyes, curly hair dazzling in the wind from the rolled down window.

He gets out of the car quickly, throwing the cigarette in his mouth to the ground and not bothering to put it out. Even though he was a far distance away, I could see the crease lines on his forehead and the look of disdain prominent on his face.

I felt slightly concerned as he started walking closer to where I was standing, white t-shirt tucked into blue jeans with a jean jacket covering his body. He wore a golden chain around his neck that made him look even better.

A small smile plants on my lips as he is nearly in front of me, but instead of stopping to talk to me, he walks right past me and into the building. I try to push the disappointment from within me, eyebrows furrowed in confusion at his avoidance.

I look back to where he parked and noticed a red-headed girl looking stressed exiting the car and basically running into the school after Billy. She looked significantly younger than Billy but held no resemblance to him at all, so I had no idea who she could be. A cousin maybe? It doesn't matter, anyways. I shouldn't have expected Billy to walk me to class again just because he was nice enough to yesterday.

I shake away my absurd feelings and walk into the school alone, one of my least favorite things to do. I sighed, making my way to my locker to put away some items and grab the ones I would need for the day. It was a gym day so I would have to change out of my cute outfit and put on an ugly gym uniform.

As I'm putting my materials away, a loud commotion from the hallway makes me snap my head up to see what was going on. I had to act surprised that it was Billy slamming an underclassman against a locker, shouting swear words at the poor kid. The student looked fearful, and I couldn't help but feel bad for him.

Billy seemed to love unnecessary fights, I didn't know why and probably never would. A part of me had an urge to step between the two of them and pull them apart, but I wasn't a hero nor a confrontational person. Plus I hardly knew Billy and within that short time of knowing him he's started two fights and is an overall violent person.

I watched as Billy's left hand slammed against the lockers next to the kids head, making me jump from the abruptness. I felt my foot inch towards the scene but immediately put it back in place. You don't need to be the hero, Lacey. Let an adult figure it out.

I stayed watching from a distance along with my other classmates in the hall, awaiting a teachers presence to inevitably break up whatever this was.

I am taken aback when Billy's eyes move away from the kid he was harassing and meet my eyes. For the first time today I notice that he has an extremely bad black and blue mark on his temple. This makes me even more concerned, but I just continue to observe rather than interject. He stares at me, as if he's challenging me to come over and stop him. What the hell is he doing?