dollhouse // billy hargrove

twenty-four

billy's pov

we head out the door and just walked. i didn't know where we were going, but it didn't matter as long as i was with her. i felt safe and wanted, like i had a place in this world. i haven't felt this since my mom left. 

it was probably about 10pm by now, and the more that i thought about it, the more i doubted anything would even be open. 

that was until we heard screaming out in the distance. not a bad type of scream. a happy scream. the closer we walked towards the noise, the trees started to uncover the hawkins fair.

hawkins was a town that was big on fairs, no matter what the weather. they seemed to have one for every month, constantly celebrating their existence. i'm not quite sure why this shithole would be so prideful of their piece of garbage town, but it gave us something to do. 

during the colder months, a lot of the fair games were held inside of a huge tent. there were still rides outside for the people who didn't mind freezing their ass off in the winter.

during the warmer months, everything was just outside.

"lucky for us, it's warm out." i say sarcastically, stepping in slush from melted snow. as we got closer, her eyes lit up from the bright lights. but, they were also filled with joy. innocence. 

"can we go?" she asks using puppy dog eyes. she didn't even have to ask or use her begging eyes. she had complete and utter control in my life.

i grab her hand and lightly jog with her to the front gate.

"how many?" the guy at the ticket booth questions, not even looking up.

"two ple-" she gets cut off.

"well, if it isn't heather pearson..." pausing to look up and down at us, "and billy hargrove?" he questions directly at heather.

"hi chris.." her eyes instantaneously dim from joy into a sadness.

chris morrison. he was the king of hawkins while he dated heather. he still likes to think he's the top dog of the school even though no one else thinks that. they had a really messy break up, mainly because of him. 

chris constantly used heather for sex, which she was talking about in the car ride. he only got with her because dating heather is a huge deal in our school, because she barely dates anyone. he somehow won her over and his ego inflated. it's known, from what people hear, that heather loves deeply. that's why she doesn't date. 

once she's involved with someone, she really would do anything for them. she wants to keep people in her life. now getting to know her better, i wonder if it's because she always feels like she's losing people, like her dad.  

anyway, chris got bored with heather, even though she truly gave him everything. he just wanted something new, but didn't want to say that outright. so, he plotted this whole story that heather cheated on him with his best friend. which "made" him retaliate by spray painting "slut" on her locker and car. and even went as far as going on the morning announcements to completely sabotage her reputation.

and he got off scot free. no suspension. no detention. 

because she was the one in the wrong, according to the most biased source.

however, even after all that he did, he still talked about the sex with her. something about the best sex he's ever had and she's a freak in bed, even though it might not seem like it.

she hasn't dated anyone since then.

"just two tickets." i repeat what heather said, just hoping to get going.

"yeah, yeah. i'm getting it. just catching up with an old friend." he hissed. eyeing heather up and down.

"well, we would like to get in before it closes." she hears the anger in my voice and starts to trace my back with her fingers reminding me to keep my cool. 

he starts to rip two blue colored wristbands off of his stack. about time. he hands them to heather, avoiding all contact with me. 

"thank you." heather replies. no matter how someone treated her, she was always polite. she never let anyone take that away from her.

"of course, anything for you. especially because you seem at rock bottom to let billy hargrove hit it. but hey, billy, enjoy the sex. best i've ever had." he calls back to us as we pass his booth.

i look at heather to see if she wants me to do anything. she shakes her head and just keeps walking.

"i'll beat his ass if you want me to. he'll never mess with you again. just say the words."

"ignore him, billy. i just want to have fun tonight. with you." she repeats to me what i told her before we left the house.

"then we shall!" i shout walking into the fairgrounds, holding my hand reached out backwards towards heather. 

i drag her inside the tent just so we can warm up for a little bit. there's really no one here, because of how late it is and it being a school night.

her eyes are once again lit up just like a child in a candy shop. she stares at all the stuffed animals hanging from the ceiling and the fish in tiny bags that are not sufficient for living–which probably explains why they always die in the same week you get them. 

she gravitates towards the game with the giant stuffed dog hanging right above it. to my luck, it was milk bottle knockdown. six milk bottles were stacked in a pyramid and you had three throws with a softball to knock them all down off the platform they were on.

i gave the man behind the counter a ticket, and in return he gave me the three balls. my first throw i hit right in the center, knocking down the top three milk bottles. now, i had to clear the bottom row, which was the hardest.

i threw the second ball, and completely missed. i hit the platform the milk bottles were on and the ball bounced right back to me.

the third ball was no better. it did actually hit a milk bottle, but just moved it backwards.

he gave me a consolation prize of a tootsie roll. heather giggled at me, encouraging me that i can do better than that. 

after many tickets, tootsie rolls, and encouraging words later. i finally was able to knock down all six milk bottles. 

"about time." i mumble.

"pick a prize! any prize!" the man says pointing to the assortment behind him.

i look at heather even though i knew exactly what she wanted. she pointed to the brown fluffy dog and looked back at me.

"the brown dog, please." i mutter to the man who basically took my dignity from me. 

he passes me the dog and i get down on one knee, "m'lady." i say holding the dog out in front of me to heather.

"thank you, such a gentleman." she holds her right hand out while taking the dog with the left hand. i gently kiss her knuckles.

"now, let's go on some rides!" she giggles as she throws her new puppy on top of her shoulders around her neck.

i probably should have told her about my fear of heights as she rushed to the ferris wheel.