The Innocent Can Never Last

The Calm Before The Storm

Emma's POV

I honestly don't know how long Billie and I lay there on that dock, but when we finally did get up, both of us had to stretch and yawn sleepily, no doubt a result of the fact that we had been there for a while. Billie and I began walking slowly back to my towards my car, with our arms wrapped around each other, both of us feeling peacefully content and tranquil.
When we got back to my old, rusty Honda, Billie and I both became aware of a group of thugs who were all skating around in the parking lot, making a terrible ruckus. They had no doubt come from the old abandoned warehouse that loomed over the whole parking lot. I immediately began to label them as trash, until one of them looked in our direction and smiled broadly at the two of us. I instantly vanquished these thoughts, as I smiled back at him, before continuing on to my car. I was about to open the door, when I suddenly realized that I had to pee really badly. Looking around and spotting a McDonald's across the street, I leaned across the hood of the car and said to Billie, "I'm gonna run across the street to pee, do you need to go?"
"No, you go ahead, I'll wait here," Billie said.
When I came out of the McDonald's some five minutes later, I spotted Billie, sitting on the hood of my car, as the group of skaters crowded around him, listening intently as he talked to them. I walked over to my car and wormed my way to the center on the group, where Billie was saying something like, "Yeah, I'll probably be leaving sometime next week..."
Wait. What was he talking about? He wasn't going anywhere next week, was he? I almost said something, but when Billie saw me, a look of fear mixed with surprise crossed his face, but it quickly passed, as he grinned nervously at me and said, "Oh, yeah, this is Emma...she's my...girlfriend."
"Hi, Emma," several of the boys said in unison.
"I'm Roan," one of the boys said, as he stepped forward and shook my hand. I recognized him to be the one that had smiled at me earlier, so I quickly wiped the confused look off my face and said, "Nice to meet you, Roan."
I liked him. He seemed like a nice kid. Roan was a very tall, with dark reddish-brown hair and electric blue eye. His skin was fairly tan, but his face was nonetheless covered in hundreds of little freckles. I grinned at him, before turning to Billie and saying, "Where are you going next week?"
"Uh...nowhere," Billie said quickly, and Roan gave him a piercing look.
"But you just said-"
"You know, Emma, we'd better be going-"
"But-"
"We'll see you guys later," Billie said, as everyone looked at us in confusion.
Roan crossed his arms and gave Billie a harsh look, before Billie jumped into the car and motioned for me to follow. "Bye, guys," I said, wondering if I would ever see any of them ever again.
I got in the car and looked at Billie, saying, "What was that all about?"
"Nothing, I'm just ready to go home," Billie answered, as I pulled my car out of the parking lot.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"Nowhere, I was just joking around with those guys," Billie said.
I didn't believe what he was telling me, but I didn't want to make him mad by saying so, therefore I simply shut my mouth. We rode along in silence for a while, before I finally said, "Billie?"
"Yes?" Billie asked, tearing his empty eyes away from the window.
"Did you mean what you said about me being your girlfriend?" I asked.
"Yeah, I guess," Billie said. "But only if you want to be."
"Of course I do!" I exclaimed.
Billie grinned at me, and I grinned back, before pulling my car over to the side of the road.

"You made out in a ditch on the side of the road?" Melanie asked me, later that night, as we sat on the floor in my bedroom.
I was telling Melanie all about the day's events, as she sat there, staring at me in disbelief. "Yes, well, I don't really know how it happened, it just...did," I said slowly.
"Weird," Melanie said, shaking her head at me.
"Oh, Melly, I think I'm in love," I said, getting up and skipping around the room. "Crazy in love."
"If you're so crazy in love with each other, then how come Billie isn't here right now?" Melanie asked.
"Melly, he went over to his aunt's house to see his mom, she filed some kind of a report against Steve today," I said.
"Well, I still think he night have invited you to go with him if he loves you so much," Melanie said.
"Oh, Melly, you're too young to understand," I said. "Just because we love each other it doesn't mean that Billie can't have some private time with his mom."
"Whatever," Melanie said, shaking her head, before getting up and leaving the room.
"You'll understand someday," I said to her retreating back.
I sighed, before falling into my chair next to the window. 'Yeah, I'll probably be leaving sometime next week...' Billie's words suddenly came back to me, and again, I began wondering what he had meant when he said it. Where was he planning on going, and why wouldn't he tell me about it? Was I just overreacting? There was no way to tell.

"Emma, wake up," Billie said, as he gently shook me awake.
I opened my eyes, realizing that I must have drifted off while sitting in my chair. I met Billie's eyes, and saw that he was smiling. "It's over, Emma," he said. "Mom got a restraining order against Steve for both of us, so he can't touch us ever again."

I smiled at Billie. "That's great, sweetie, it's about time," I said, opening my arms to him.
Billie gratefully fell into the chair next to me and rested his head on my chest, as I wrapped my arms around him and kissed the top of his head. "So when is the court date set for the divorce? I'm assuming she filed for divorce, right?" I asked.
"It's not for another couple of months, but I don't care. Right now I'm just happy we got the restraining order," Billie said. "Maybe things will finally start looking up again."
"I hope so, love, I hope so," I said.
"Mom says I can come stay at Aunt Ruth's house now that the coast is clear," Billie said, and I smiled, knowing how much it meant to Billie to be able to live under the same roof as his mother again.
"Do you need help packing or anything?" I asked.
"No, I'm not leaving until tomorrow sometime," Billie said, as he lifted his face up and kissed me gently on the lips. "I wanted to stay with you for one more night."
"Mmm...How sweet," I said, running my hands through Billie's hair and kissing him lovingly on the lips. Billie kissed me back for a few minutes, before he suddenly looked over at the clock. I followed his gaze, and saw that it was nearly eleven p.m. "Let's go to bed," Billie said, getting up and stripping down to his boxers, before walking over to my bed and falling heavily on top of it. I sat there and stared blankly at him for a few minutes, before Billie finally laughed and said, "Emma, I'm not looking for sex, I just want you to lay with me. I feel safe with you."
I smiled, before walking over to the door and turning the light off. I then stumbled over to the bed and crawled in next to Billie. "I love you," he muttered, placing his head on my chest, as I wrapped my arms around him.
"I love you, too," I said, nuzzling my face into his soft hair, before drifting off to sleep.

The next morning dawned bright and sunny, and I woke up with the feeling that all was right in the world. I opened my eyes to see Billie lying next to me, his mouth hanging open slightly, as he slowly drooled all over the pillow. I smiled happily to myself, before slowly crawling out of bed and heading into the bathroom to take a shower.
I emerged twenty minutes later, and I walked into my bedroom and threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt, before pulling my hair up into a ponytail. I had just finished putting my make-up on when Billie began to stir. I sat down on the edge of the bed, and said, "Good morning, sunshine, how are you today?"
"Couldn't be better," Billie said, before stopping and adding, "Okay, maybe I'm not that good, but I'm all right."
I grinned, and kissed him gently on the mouth, before backing away and saying, "I've just realized something; what's Mike gonna say about all this?"
"You know Mike, Emma, he won't care," Billie said.
"No?"
"Nah, he'll dig it," Billie said.
"Good," I replied.
We sat there for a few minutes, before Billie finally said, "What's today?"
"Today is Saturday, love," I said. "We have today and tomorrow, and then we go back to school on Monday."
"Oh...yeah, back to school," Billie said, somewhat awkwardly.
I stared at him sceptically, and Billie said, "What? Do you expect me to jump for joy at the thought of going back to that hellhole?"
"Well, no," I admitted. "I just-"
"I'm going to take a shower," Billie said quickly, getting up and running out of the room.
I rolled my eyes, and sprawled out on the bed, wishing that I knew what the hell went on inside his head sometimes.

"So, I'll see you in a few days?" I asked Billie, as I wrapped my arms around his waist and stared up into his grey eyes.
"Yeah," Billie said, pulling me close to him and resting his head on my shoulder.
We were standing on the front porch of Billie's aunt's house that afternoon, as I prepared to leave.
"Do you need a ride to school on Monday?" I asked.
"Uh...no, I'll take my mom's car," Billie said.
"Okay," I answered.
We stood there for several minutes, before I finally pulled away from Billie, saying, "I need to go."
Billie let go of me, and said, "All right, but can I have one last kiss?"
I grinned, and wrapped my arms around Billie's waist, and kissed him tenderly on the lips. As soon as our lips met, I once again felt that wonderful sense of surging passion, along with a pleasant, tingly feeling that started in my fingertips and worked its way down to my toes. "Mmm..." I moaned, when Billie and I finally broke apart. "I'm going to miss this until Monday."
"Yeah, me too," Billie said, kissing me twice more. He went in for a third kiss, but I pushed him away, saying, "I'm sorry, but if I let you kiss me one more time, I'll have to stay here all day. I've got to go."
Billie grinned, and after saying our good-byes, I bounded down the front steps and jumped into my car, with a happy grin plastered on my face.

For a moment,
I saw the sun,
And I began to think of happier times,
But just like that,
The clouds came back,
And the rain fell down once again