Billy Hargrove // DNA

Chapter Seven

Amelia woke up with a weird feeling in her stomach. This weekend had been a wild, exhausting rollercoaster. Billy portrayed confusing behaviour; on Friday he seemed so angry and controlling towards Max while he was so nice to Amelia on Saturday night. She couldn't help herself feeling kinda glad she would see him today even though she didn't know what mood he would be in. She got out of bed and got herself dressed. Amelia decided on a brown skirt with a blue blouse. She brushed her hair and put it in a loose ponytail. She went to the bathroom and got some makeup to cover up any blemishes. Afterwards she went over to Cora's room and made sure she got dressed.

Amelia was drinking some water when Benjamin entered the kitchen, looking horrible. His face was very pale and he could barely stand straight. ''Sweetie, what's wrong? You look sick.'' Her mom felt his forehead with her hand and looked concerned. "I threw up last night. I'm really not feeling good." Clarice grabbed him by the elbows and led him back upstairs. "You're going to stay home today." 

John had barely looked up from his newspaper. Apparently the sport news was more important than the health of his son. 

The meaning of Benjamin's absence slowly came to her. This meant she had to drive to school with her stepfather since her mom wouldn't be going to work for another hour. The thought of being alone with John scared her. She quickly got up and walked over to the telephone in the living room. Without thinking she dialed Steve's house number. 

"Hello, Mrs. Harrington. Could I talk to Steve, please?" His mother replied quickly and screamed something in the background. A few moments later Steve came to the phone. "Hi, can't get enough of me?'' Amelia rolled her eyes at his smooth remark. 

"Benjamin isn't going to school today, he's sick. So I was wondering if you'd be so kind to pick me up?" She asked while she twirled her fingers in the cord. "No problem, I'll see you soon." Steve said. After Amelia had ended the phone call, her mother came back downstairs. "Steve's going to pick me up." Amelia said. "Good." Her mother nodded happily. 

After Amelia said goodbye to Cora, she grabbed her denim jacket and waited outside. Twenty minutes later she saw Steve's car pull up. She got inside and flashed a sweet smile. ''Steve, my savior.'' He laughed while running his hand through his hair. "If you're gonna praise me, I'll come pick you up every day. You're good for my self-confidence." 

He started the car and as they passed Billy's house she couldn't help herself; she waited for a sign of him since his car was still in the driveway but he didn't come out. "Don't you mean your ego?" She said jokingly. Steve rolled his eyes and gave one of his iconic half smile. "I could let you walk to school." 

The two teenagers arrived at school later than she would usually. Some students were still standing outside and Amelia quickly noticed a few girls looking at her while they began to whisper to each other. She rolled her eyes. Rumors about her and Steve would spread very quickly around school. "At the end of the day we will be dating." 

Steve looked confused as she said that. Amelia nodded her head towards the girls. "Oh. Well, let's spark the rumors some more." They passed the girls and Steve draped an arm around her shoulder. He stuck out his tongue which made her laugh.

As they made their way over to Rebecca who was waiting on a bench, Amelia suddenly remembered she saw her friend talk to Jeremy on Friday. "Hey, girl." Rebecca said enthusiastically. "Hey. So, I recall seeing you with a very handsome boy. Tell me everything about Jeremy." Rebecca laughed. "Well, after you two left, we kept talking for a long time. I discovered that he's not as stupid as he seems." Steve grinned. 

"Well, he is friends with idiots." Steve referred to Tommy H. and Carol. "They were your friends too." Rebecca replied smoothly, her comment was well served. Steve ran his hand through his thick hair and rolled his eyes. "Whatever."