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Twenty-Eight

After making a quick detour to Billy's house so that he could change his clothes and grab his own drinks for the party, he and Allison made their way across town to Lover's Lake. The drive was spent making awkward small talk, as the pair tried to avoid discussing what was on both their minds. 

Allison leaned forward in her seat as the car began to slow down and turned off the road onto the small dirt path that led down to the lake. The leaves on the trees created a canopy that blocked out the sun, while the outstretched branches hit the windshield and bounced off as the car continued to move forward.

"I haven't been here since Halloween.", Allison stated, reaching out her open window to let the leaves brush against her hand.

"Me neither.", Billy whispered, as he reached into his pocket, pulled out a cigarette, shoved it into the cigarette lighter on the dash, and placed the unlit end between his lips. Allison gave him a doubtful look as he exhaled a cloud of smoke into the air between them. "What the hell is that look for?", he mumbled, keeping the cigarette in his mouth.

"Nothing. I just find it hard to believe that you haven't brought any other girls here after all this time.", she laughed with a small shrug.

"Well, I'm telling you that I haven't!", he snapped, his sudden aggression startling Allison as the clearing and the lake came into view. He gripped the steering wheel tightly, causing his knuckles to turn white as he searched for a spot to park amongst the vehicles that were already there. 

"I'm sorry if I said something wrong.", she apologized, placing her hand on Billy's upper thigh as the car came to a stop, the sounds of crickets replacing that of the engine.

"You didn't. It's fine.", he insisted, refusing to look at her. Allison began to open her mouth to object, knowing that something was bothering Billy, but he cut her off before she could make a sound. "I don't wanna talk about this right now, so if we could just go join the party that'd be cool."

"If that's what you want-"

"It is.", Billy reached into the backseat, grabbing the small pack of beer that he had brought along and pulling it onto his lap. Refusing to wait for him, Allison opened her door and stepped out, immediately catching the attention of those standing nearby. She reacted by shrinking under their looks of scrutiny, feeling extremely self-conscious.

Several of the boys eyed her up and down hungrily, while the girls appeared enraged by the sight of her. Suddenly and without explanation they all turned away, returning to the conversations they had been having before her arrival.  Confused, Allison turned to see Billy standing by her side, glaring towards the others.

"Why were they staring at me like that?", she whispered, looked up at Billy for answers.

"They're just jealous."

"Why would they be jealous?"

"Because you're hot. The guys wanna fuck you and the girls wanna be you. My advice?  Get shitfaced and pretend they don't exist.", Billy whispered, placing the pack of beer on the hood of his car and pulling two cans out of the plastic rings that were holding them together. He cracked both open with ease, winking at Allison as he handed her one and began to chug back his own.

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Allison found herself seated on Billy's lap, next to the roaring bonfire, having lost track of how many beers she had drunk since arriving. As the rest of the party-goers arrived, they each stopped to stare at them, before continuing on their way. Billy had been right, the alcohol in Allison's system made it much easier to ignore everyone else.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out across the clearing and a large group of boys began playfully shoving Tommy into the middle of the crowd, while his girlfriend Carol trailed behind laughing with several of her friends. Allison and Billy exchanged a look of confusion as Tommy climbed onto the hood of the nearest car and began tearing off his shirt, prompting the crowd to go wild.

"Well folks, we came, we conquered, and we're finally done with all of the bullshit! You fuckers know what that means! ", Tommy shouted, throwing his shirt to Carol who caught it out of the air. 

"To the water!", everyone shouted in unison, jumping to their feet and undressing. Some had swimsuits under their clothes, while others only had on their underwear. As they kicked off their shoes and began stampeding towards the lake, Billy and Allison stood up, staring at each other awkwardly, waiting for the other to make the first move.

Billy took the initiative, putting his beer down and taking off his already unbuttoned shirt, followed by his pants, leaving him standing in only the swim shorts that he had on underneath. Allison's stared at his chiseled body, her heart pounding in her chest as she realized that it was her turn to undress.

She shrugged off her jean jacket and passed it to Billy, who clutched it tightly in his hands as he watched her pull the sundress over her head, revealing her tight, one-piece swimsuit. Allison shifted uncomfortably as his eyes wandered up and down her body, taking note of every curve and inch of exposed skin.

"What are you staring at?", Allison giggled, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"I dig the suit.", Billy answered, gesturing to her swimsuit. "You ready to go try it out?", he added, glancing over Allison's shoulder at the water behind her. She nodded, carefully kicking off her shoes and following him towards the lake. 

Billy went in ahead of her and she tried to keep up, slowly entering the water until it came up past her knees. She stopped in her tracks, the wet sand squishing between her toes as she observed all of the people swimming around her. They made it look easy, but she feared that she wouldn't be able to do the same.

"What are you waiting for?", Billy called out, noticing that she had frozen in place. When she didn't respond, he stepped out of the water towards her, his body glistening under the remaining sunlight.

"I don't know how to swim.", she admitted with a sigh, feeling embarrassed by her confession.

"Lucky for you, you're looking at Hawkin's newest lifeguard.", Billy boasted, with a grin.

"You got the job? Billy! That's amazing!", she squealed excitedly, practically jumping in place.

"It's not that big of a deal.", he shrugged, downplaying his accomplishment. "The point is, that you'll be just fine on my watch, okay?", he insisted, taking her hand to try and coax her further into the lake. As the water rose around her, she felt her chest tighten, memories from Hawkin's lab flooding back.

"I can't!", she cried, digging her heels in, refusing to move. Billy appeared irritated by her reluctance at first, but his expression soften when he noticed how scared she was.

"Shit, you're shaking. What's wrong?"

"It's nothing..."

"That's bullshit, just tell me."

"Fine. Back at the lab, they would force us to go in these big tanks full of water, to teach us how to harness our powers. It was so dark and cold, and we were all alone.", her voice trembled, as tears began to pool in her eyes. Annoyed with herself, she tried to blink them away as Billy grabbed her face, forcing her to look him in the eyes

"Hey, look at me. You aren't alone now. I'm right here. Do you trust me?", he spoke calmly, trying his best to reassure her. After a moment of hesitation, Allison nodded, gently squeezing his hand and allowing him to lead her further into the water.