TBP preferences because I said so

87- "Newspapers" Gift! Part 2.

River's POV:

I went outside to the officers and my... dad.

"Hello there, River (l/n). Mind explaining why you ran away?" One officer asked.
"I just... I didn't mean to run away. I just went for a walk and lost track of time." I said.
"Okay. Go home with you dad, alright kiddo?" Another officer said.
"Alright..." I mumbled.
"Let's go." My dad said firmly before dragging me to his car.

"Why did you run away!?" My dad practically screamed at me once we were in the car.
"Because! I'm- just forget it..." I said, resting my chin on my palm. I was responded to with a slap to the face.
"That isn't a goddamn answer, River! Answer my real fucking question with a real fucking answer!" He shouted.
"I needed a break! From you, from mom, from all of you!" I screamed, fed up.
"Oh, really? You're tired of us? All we've ever done is provide for you! Why can't you just be grateful for once in your stupid little life? Like, I swear you're always complaining about something! You never hear me or your mother out, oh! Or anyone else! All you care about is yourself you selfish brat! It's always, 'oh, stop' or! Or sometimes it's 'I can't stand you guys anymore'! Like shut up! Me and your mother have it hard, y'know? You don't know real stress until you're my age. So shut up and go ride a bike and stop being so 'sad' all the time!" He yelled. I was now shedding some tears.

"I hate it when he yells at me."
"I hate his stupid voice."
"I hate his stupid face."
"I hate his stupid clothes."
"I hate his stupid reasons."
"I hate his stupid tantrums."
"I hate his stupid guts."
"I hate him."
"I hate everything about him."

I thought as he continued 'lecturing' me. Once we got home, he was still yelling at me even as I got out of the car and went inside. I went to my room and shut the door on his stupid face. I went to my bed and crawled into it, crying myself to sleep.

I woke up at seven in the morning.

"You slept for ages, dumb bitch." My mom said from my doorway. "Get your lazy ass up and go to school. It's my only day off so don't bother coming home." She said before leaving the room to god knows where. I got dressed for school and left.

I made it to school and didn't bother to chain up my bike. That thing is old anyways, and I prefer walking because it takes longer. I went inside and grabbed some books from my locker before going to class.

After that class I was on my way to the next one. Out of nowhere, I heard someone shout.

"Look! It's River! The person Tarrah said she was going to fight!"

"What? I never said I'd fight Tarrah..." I thought. Tarrah is one of my bullies.

I decided to ignore it and just go through the day as I normally would. After school, I went to look for my bike, praying somebody had taken it. Oh thank god, someone finally took it! I could walk home with a decent excuse now. I was about to walk away, when Tarrah's annoying ass voice called to me.

"Where are you going, River?" She called.
"Home." I said, turning to face her ugly ass.
"Well, I have other plans. You and I are going to fight. Right here, right now!" She exclaimed. I know what she usually goes for. She goes for hair, legs, and groin. I'd have to protect those parts. Tarrah actually has asthma, too, so I don't know why she's doing this. Besides that, I was still scared. A bully of two years towards you isn't something you'd like to handle.

Tarrah set her backpack down and so did I. We both stood there for a second before she ran towards me. I moved to the side and she turned so she was still running towards me. I ran towards her backpack, but she tackled me, making me hit my nose on the floor, successfully breaking it. I managed to reach into her backpack and snatch something. I got up before charging to her, too. I punched her in the diaphragm and she was struggling to breathe. I took advantage of this and threw more punches and kicks before a teacher came out. I noticed Tarrah reaching into her backpack before freaking out.

"Where's my inhaler?!" She shouted, gasping.
"Oh, you mean this?" I asked, holding it up. She looked scared as I threw it at least thirty feet away from her.

After that I started walking home. On my walk home, however, I heard a bike coming from behind me.

"Y/n!" Paperboy called out.
"Paperboy?" I asked, turning around.
"Nice to see you again. You okay?" He asked, referring to my broken nose.
"Yeah, got in a fight." I admitted.
"A fight?!" He asked, scared.
"Yeah, but I'm okay." I said.
"How about we go to my house, I can ask my mom to help bandage you up." He asked.
"Sure." I said. We both went to his house.

"Oh my gosh! Y/n, was it? Are you alright? Here, let me help with that." Paperboy's mom asked pretty much as soon as we walked in.
"It's cool that my mom is a nurse, huh?" Paperboy asked.
"She's a nurse?" I asked.
"Yep." He said. His mother came back with the tools necessary to help my nose and got me patched up. Me and paperboy went to his room again, where I saw my picture on the wall.
"You...You hung it up?" I asked.
"O-oh, yeah." He said, embarrassed. "I can take it down if you'd like." He said.
"No, it's alright." I said before we both sat down in a comfortable silence together.

After a little while, we started playing board games until it was dark out. Luckily, the police didn't come this time. My mom must've convinced my dad that they shouldn't look for me, or they both got drunk or high or something.

"Alright, it's nine. Should you go home?" Paperboy asked.
"Actually...Could we have a sleepover? Sorry, I know it's sudden and all." I said.
"Oh, let me ask my mom." Paperboy asked, getting up and leaving his room. After a minute or so, he came back. "She said it's fine as long as you go back home tomorrow." He said.
"Thanks." I said.
"Wanna watch some movies?" Paperboy asked.
"Sure!" I said.
We stayed up 'till two in the morning watching movies before we fell asleep.

I woke up the next day to my head laying on Paperboy's shoulder, with his head on top of mine. I didn't want to wake him up, so I sat there comfortably for ten more minutes until he woke up. I pretended to fall asleep again, and he moved his head.

"Oh." He said.

Billy's pov:

"Should I wake them up?" I asked myself. I felt them move a bit before also waking up. I stood up and went to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth and hair, blushing the whole time. After that, I went back to my room to find that River had already left.

"Oh, they must've gone home." I thought sadly as my blush died down.