Thanks To You ✓briffen | tbp✓

✓not my problem✓

Billy went home later than usual that same night. He ended up running into Finney and Robin on his way back home, and they decided on just stopping by the arcade, which was where Billy spent his whole afternoon.

"Ma, I'm home." He called through the house as he opened the door for Harper to slide through. He slid his shoes off at the door, respecting his mother's wishes to keep the carpet white and clean. He still had no response, which wasn't very out of the ordinary. His mother and father were usually asleep by the time he'd get home. And though he'd never admit it, it hurt a bit.

He never really got to talk to his parents before setting out on his morning route. And when he'd get home, they didn't have enough energy to deal with him.

He walked through the cold, quiet house. He peaked into the movie room, finding his mother knocked out on the couch.

He sighed, making his way to the storage closet, grabbing a throw blanket from the top. He closed the closet quietly, making his way back to the movie room.

He unfolded the neat blanket, tossing it over his mother. The TV was still on, so he decided he'd shut it off. After all, it had no reason to be on if nobody had been watching it.

The movie room was quickly consumed in darkness, which Billy found uncomfortable.

He shuffled out of the room, and up the stairs to his bedroom. Harper followed close behind him. So, he opened the door for the dog to make herself at home, before allowing himself in behind her.

He chuckled as she turned in  circles in the middle of his bed, before finally lying down. "Comfortable?" He whispered, to which Harper barked. He quickly brought a finger to his lips, gesturing for the pup to quiet down. She obeyed, lying her head back down.

He made his way over to his bed, sighing as he sat down. Harper moved to the foot of the bed so Billy could lie down. He did just that, and immediately reached for one of the comics sitting at his bedside. Spiderman, he thought, smiling as he opened the magazine, scanning through the pages.

Not even five minutes passed before his phone, which he had left at home, since he usually grabbed it when he came back to drop his bike off after his morning route, buzzed.

He frowned, hesitant to leave his comic book, before picking up his phone. It was messages to the group chat he and a few friends shared.

🌈fairy's express🧚‍♂️

💪🏽Big-manrob😘: fucking hijo da puta

🗞️Puppy-pad🐾: Wow, what's wrong

💪🏽Big-manrob😘: Fucking pendajos jumped Finney!

💢Pin-balls-hopp🎸: Well, shit who

💪🏽Big-manrob😘: Buzz and Matty!

⚾Only-sane°man🫶🏼: Is he okay?

💪🏽Big-manrob😘: I got there before shit could get too bad, still got him pretty good. He's got a bruise the size of a fucking baseball on the side of his face.

🗞️Puppy-pad🐾: Dear God Robin. What happened to the other two....?

💪🏽Big-manrob😘: Well I beat the shit out of them, obviously. Dumbass Buzz tried to pull a knife and get it bloody, ended up cutting his own finger off

Billy internally cringed at the thought, shaking his head. He didn't see how the boys could stand such gore-y fights, and say the details so nonchalantly. Sure, Robin had gotten into many fights before, and Billy had seen a few, but even Robin had limits. He'd never use anything besides his fists, especially not a knife. But, uh...Vance was a story for another time.

His phone continued to buzz, and while he was worried deeply about Finney, his mind drifted. He wasn't sure how it did, or even why it had, but his mind managed to slip from thinking of how bad Finney's bruise looked, to thinking about the bruise that Billy had managed to catch a glimpse of when the boy from this morning had leaned down to help Billy pick up his papers.

It was only a glimpse, but he saw the bruise ever so slightly peering over the boys shirt collar. He wondered where the boy had got it from. It looked old. Had he gotten into a fight? Nah, he didn't look the fighting type. Bullying, perhaps? Billy knew many boys who were unfortunate enough to catch the school bully's eyes, but he wasn't sure if that boy was one of them. He had never even known of the boy before their encounter that morning. That was when something crazy struck him; he never even got the boy's name.

Wait, he paused. Why did he even care about the boy's name? It wasn't like there weren't other kids he didn't know the name of. He sighed, shaking his head as he closed his comic book, tossing it on his nightstand, as well as his phone, before rolling over on his side.

He stared at the band poster that was plastered on the wall across from him. Then, let out a small sigh. Whatever. It wasn't like he'd be talking to that boy anytime soon.

*886 words*