Mean Boy | Billy Hargrove

16 - Don't Leave

There was quite a queue in the hallway leading to the bathroom. "Fuck," Amber mumbled under her breath. Why is it so hard to do anything around here? She just wanted to lock herself for a few moments in there, turn on the sink, and splash some water onto her face in order to maybe regain some sense. She put her hands into her jeans' pockets and squeezed the small pill bottle she always carries around everywhere.

"I think they're making out in there."

She was startled by a voice—it was the guy beside her. He stood towering over her, he was tall—maybe even taller than Billy. He has long curly brown hair and a cheeky expression on his pale face. Amber managed to read the words written on his T-shirt despite the dim lighting—it said "Hellfire Club".

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you like that," he realized that Amber was staring at him in a stunned silence. He took a step back and gave her a friendly grin.

"How do you know that?" She asked, once again impatiently taking a glance at the closed bathroom door.

"They've been in there for like half an hour," he said. "I am going insane. I can't physically hold my pee in anymore."

"Uh—okay..."

The guy cackled out of nowhere, and it startled Amber once again.

"Speaking of going insane, do you want to come and unwind for a bit?"

Amber frowned. "What?"

"I could sense that you have something going on in your mind. I'm something of an empath myself, you see."

He was talking so fast, Amber got even more confused. "Huh?"

"I have something here that might help take things off your mind." He gestured to a black backpack he was carrying. "You're new here, right? I haven't seen you around. Fifteen percent off for new customers!" He winked playfully.

She stared at him in disbelief. "Are you—are you seriously trying to sell drugs to me right now?"

"Drugs? What?" He scoffed. "Fuck that shit, man. What I am offering is simply the devil's lettuce—the sweet, sweet MJ. That's all. I am a merchant, yes, but I am not the kind that sells destructive, toxic chemicals to my friends—my customers. You get what I mean?" As he explained, he waved his arms around dramatically.

She kept quiet for a moment and looked down at her shoes. "I don't mess with that stuff," she murmured, "not anymore, anyway."

"What was that?" He could barely hear what she said, and he leaned closer to her.

"Hey, freak," suddenly, a strong hand grabbed the collar of his T-shirt and yanked him back aggressively. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Everyone in the bathroom queue turned in shock. It was Billy. He looked angry—it seemed like he was ready to seriously hurt the guy in front of him.

"Whoa, whoa," the guy raised his hands and stepped back. "I was just talking to her, Hargrove. Chill."

"Billy, it's okay," the girl quickly ran to Billy's side. "That's right—we were just talking."

He ignored her and slowly walked closer to the brunette guy, still maintaining eye contact. His fists were clenched, his muscles tense. "Stay away from her—or else. You know what's gonna happen. I'll wreck your shit up, Munson. You understand?"

His threatening words sent chills down Amber's spine, but she couldn't move. It was as if her shoes were glued onto the floor.

"Alright, alright!" The guy let out a long sigh. "You don't have to be so pressed about it."

Billy gave him one last sharp glare before turning to grab Amber's hand and rushed upstairs.

"Show's over, people," the Munson guy yelled. "Get back to whatever you were doing—and for you perverts hogging the bathroom—get out and hook up somewhere else!"

***

Billy had dragged her into a bedroom and immediately slammed the door closed. When he finally let go of her, she could feel that her wrist was sore.

"What was that about?" She frowned, clearly disliking his overprotective demeanor.

"Listen, Amber. You need to stay away from that creep."

"I don't understand," she replied in annoyance. "Who was that guy?"

"Eddie Munson. He's the school freak—and everyone knows not to get involved with him."

"Because he's a drug dealer?"

"That's not the point!" Billy yelled in anger. "Just—trust me. I can give you a list of why you shouldn't get involved with him. First of all—he had to repeat senior year. How much of an idiot are you to be held back a year at school? Second of all..."

"I have to repeat junior year too, you know. I should've been a senior this year. If that makes him an idiot, then the same goes for me." She cut him off before he could finish, feeling hurt by his words.

"For real?" Billy was stunned—she'd never told him. Now he was starting to regret his choice of words.

"Now, like you said—if that's not the point, can you tell me what the point is? Since I'm too much of an idiot to understand." Amber whispered sharply, trying to keep the anger inside.

"You're not an idiot," Billy let out a sigh, feeling defeated. "It's just—I don't like him going all up in your face like that."

Hearing those words, Amber couldn't help but laugh. All of her anger was suddenly gone. "Are you... jealous?"

"Are you crazy?" He got flustered—a bit too obvious. "He was too close to you!"

"The music was loud, so of course he couldn't hear me well," she tried talking some sense into him—not realizing now that the panic attack had gone before it came. "That's why he had to lean closer."

"Again, you're missing the point," he growled, feeling utterly irritated. "I can't just stand by and let someone else take you away from me. You can't do that to me—you can't just leave. You hear me?"

She stared at him in astonishment. "A guy stands one inch too close to me, and you instantly assume that he's going to take me away from you? I am not some kind of property!"

Billy opened his mouth, but then closed it again—as if he was about to say something. After struggling for a while, he finally vomited the words, "I'm sorry!" It was almost too hard to say. "I'm sorry, okay? I've just had enough people walking out of my life."

He started tearing up, but he tried very hard to hold it in. She stayed quiet, waiting for him to continue.

"My mom—she was my everything. The one person I love the most." He unconsciously touched the pendant on his chest. "But she left—she escaped from the living hell which was our life and left me alone to deal with the monster."

The monster—is it his dad? Amber thought to herself.

After taking a couple of deep breaths, he was finally feeling calmer. "This is stupid. This is so fucking dumb," he whispered, mostly to himself.

"Billy..." She walked closer to him and gently took his hand. "If I wanted to leave, I would. But believe me when I say I don't. I am here. I'm not going anywhere."

He looked down at her, and behind her eyes he could only find one thing—sincerity. But could he trust her? Is this the time to finally let his guards down? God, please let this time be different.

After spending a few moments in silence, he finally leaned in to kiss her. It was intoxicating. It felt right. Delicately, his arms slithered around her body, leaving no space between their bodies. He could feel the warmth of her skin against his own as he started unbuttoning her shirt, one by one...

Just before he could reach the last button, the bedroom door had slammed open, startling the two of them. A swarm of boys stood among the doorway with an enthusiastic expression on their faces.

"There you are, Hargrove." Tommy H. stepped forward with a grin on his face. "It's time."