ʙʏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʜᴏɴᴇ|ʙɪʟʟʏ ʜᴀʀɢʀᴏᴠᴇ

☥𝟢𝟣𝟢☥

⇰ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕋𝕖𝕟.
-𝕎𝕒𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝔹𝕪 𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℙ𝕙𝕠𝕟𝕖 ℙ𝕋.𝟚.

I slept in the living room on Friday night just hoping for a callback. I had left several messages for Billy, even asking Mrs. Mayfield to relay one. She told me to be patient, that Billy hadn't been himself at home lately either. Which, there was no surprise there with Neil around them. 
From what I could tell though, him being beat within an inch of his life had really taught him a lesson. I'd see him and his wife leave at night, and him even driving away with Max. Sometimes, violence is really the only solution to one's problems.

That single thought made a light bulb appear above my head. I jumped up from the couch and threw on my jacket and boots. 
The phone started ringing before I could grab my keys. I hurried over to it and answered. "Billy?" The other line was dead silent for a few seconds. "Yeah... Yeah, it's me, Bex."
My heart skipped a few beats at just the sound of his voice.

The way he makes me feel is sickening. I lost all dominance when it came to him, not being to control myself or my emotions. "Why haven't you been answering?" I pressed. He let out a soft sigh. "I'm gonna pick you up later, be ready at nine."
I scoffed. "No, you're gonna tell what's been going on-" The other line went dead silent as static began to pour through. That motherfucker just hung up on me.
I slammed the phone back down, grabbing Anthony's bike keys and helmet before racing down to the station. A few officers waved to me when I got in, but I didn't bother with them. I went straight to Hopper's desk, sitting down in one of the chairs next to it. "Something on your mind, Bex?"
"Billy's been ignoring me for days and now he's talking about picking me up at nine."

Hop sighed, shoving his paperwork in the drawer of his desk before giving me his full attention. "Thought I warned you about him," He huffed. "Since when do I listen to anyone? I don't even listen to myself."
"Look, kid. You guys are still young, you're gonna mess up at times-"
I cut him off, "I didn't do anything, Hop! He's been ignoring me, he's the one who fought my best friend and created a disgusting feud between them, not. Me."
He reached into one of the other drawers, pulling out a book. "Prom of nineteen-sixty," He said. "Damn, you're old." He rolled his eyes, flipping through the pages and showing me pictures of him at his senior prom. "Prom seals the deal between you and someone else, but only if you make it your night."
"What do you mean?"

He flipped some more before landing on a page filled with pictures of him and his date at the Quarry with friends. "We ditched prom and set up shop at the quarry for the night. Tents, a fire, smores, string lights -- the whole nine yards, right? And it was the best night of our lives back at that age. We didn't wanna spend prom night like everyone else, we wanted our experience to be unique to us."
My brows knitted as confusion washed over me. "So... What does this have to with me?" He slammed the photobook closed. "Ask Hargrove to prom, Bex. Trust me on this, I was your age once."
I scoffed, "Yeah, like a millennium ago."
"Get out, I'm tired of your face." With a grin, I gave him a side hug before heading out and hopping on Anthony's bike.

The house was packed when I got back. Steve, the kids, and even my brothers were home. "What're you all doing here?" I asked. "Jiffy pop detail." Steve held up two big bowls filled with popcorn and the kids showed off the array of snacks on the coffee table. 
Hanging my jacket up, I picked my boots off and sat in between Steve and Mike. "You're so grown up now," I frowned. Out of all the kids, the ones I was now closest to were Dusty and Max. I never really spent a lot of time with the rest of them after juvie. "Don't start this-"
I brought him into a tight hug, resting my head on top of his. "God, I can't believe I'll be graduating soon, this blows."

"You have months before that even happens, and half the summer to spend with us before you're off to Duke." Duke. I had completely forgotten about Duke since Steve and I's fight. College had been far from my mind lately. Anthony and I would be the first two out of the last generation of Rockefellers to go to college. "Just remember us when you're some big-time soccer player, alright?" 
"Yeah, we'll be cheering you on from the sidelines with VIP passes," Max chimed in. "Ugh, I love you guys." Steve laughed from next to me. "You act like they're your kids," He said. "They're our kids, momma Steve."
Dustin pressed play on The Goonies. We sat there for hours watching movies before there was a honk from outside 
I got up with a sigh. "That's Billy, be on stand-by in case I need backup, Scoops Troup."
He saluted, "Roger that, Dark Scarlet." 

I shuttered at the name. "Never, ever, ever, call me that again, Dustin." With that, I threw my stuff on and headed out to Billy's car. We didn't speak a single word to each other during the drive. He stopped at the quarry, turning the car off without a single sound or peep from his mouth.
I didn't say anything either. There was a fire burning within me, and I was internally trying to put it out as fast as possible. But it only grew larger. The water wasn't water, it was fuel. He was fuel.
"I waited by that phone for days and you just never answered."
"I know," He said. "You didn't pick up not one time, Billy. Not a single. Fucking. Time," I continued.

"I know."

"And that whole time, I was wondering what I did wrong, not what you did. I blamed myself for your silence for so long that I truly started to believe that this was all my fault."
He let go of a shaky breath, eyes turning red and glossy. Or maybe that had already been that way. I wouldn't know, he wouldn't look at me the entire ride.

"Can you just fucking look at me, Billy? Can you explain to me why you've been such a fucking asshole to me-"
His hands gripped the wheel harder than ever, "I can't do this," He said. "Get out." A lump formed in my throat when he spoke those words. I scoffed. "No, no you're gonna tell what the fuck has been going on with you cause I'd love to know, enlighten me, Billy. Tell me why you've been ignoring me and being such a jackass!"
"I'm not good for you!" His sudden outburst made me sit back in my seat. Sure, I was tough. But I couldn't take someone yelling at me. Ironic, isn't it?
He took a deep breath. "Just like Harrington said, alright? I'm not good for you. I'm fucking everything up for you, I shouldn't be around you -- You shouldn't be around me."
"That's not your decision to make."

"It is when your future is on the line, Déja," He countered. "You have so much ahead of you-"

"And you don't?" I stopped him. I couldn't listen to him make lame ass excuses for leaving me. "If you don't wanna be with me, just say. Because if that's the case, I want you to stand by it and never speak to me again," I said, "So what's it gonna be?"

"Déja-"

"No," I spoke, "You don't get to get me attached and then vanish and ignore me like it's nothing -- like what we had was nothing, Billy. I have never in my life felt how I do with you, you make me so fucking happy and so mad all at once," I started, "But lack of communication really shows you how shitty a person can be." My eyes stung as the hot, salty tears began to pool. "Please, Bex. Don't cry, don't do that to me." His hands rested on both sides of my face, placing a kiss on my forehead and resting his on mine. "I'll do better, I promise..."