Don't Call Me Baby (Billy Hargrove)

-Chapter fifty six-

Emilia

'You're doing it again' Steve states as I rest my head on my palm and stare off into the distance. I shake my head and snap back into reality before briefly apologizing and facing back toward him. We were currently eating in a diner, sharing a casket of fries while sipping on milkshakes and eating ice creams, this was pretty much the start to our date night.

'I'm sorry, it's just been school work- pretty stressful' I lie knowing fully well that Steve cam sniff out when I'm lying in a heartbeat, so I wasn't surprised when he groans loudly.

'You're worried about Billy is that it?' Steve says as I show him a guilty look and sigh heavily.

Billy returned to his own home yesterday, claiming he's much better, and that he might aswell go back home and spend the rest of his healing process there, and knowing that his dad had done that to him, made me even more worried now that we were separated. But I know he isn't really my concern anymore, I shouldn't be treating him like he's my boyfriend, because he's not, Steve is.

'I promise that's the last time, I'm just worried about him- just us two for the rest of the night, okay?' I say reassuringly as I grasp ahold of his hand and squeeze it, he inhales heavily before breathing out and putting a small smile on his face.

Eventually we finish up at the diner and make our way toward his car, and since the night is still young, we decided to go out to the cinema and watch a movie. I didn't mind too much as to what we were going to see, so I let Steve pick one, and obviously it was going to be some cheesy horror movie, but since I said I wouldn't mind, I bared through it with my hand in Steve's.

'That movie was shitty' I state as I throw my plastic cup away, and Steve lets out a laugh before nodding.

'Yeah, it wasn't that great' Steve says as we make our way to his car and get in. We bicker over the movie for most of the car ride, and I was so distracted by this that I barely noticed he had parked up outside of his house.

'Up for a swim? My parents won't mind if we use it' Steve says as I trail behind him toward the backyard, and despite it being 10pm, he still wanted to go take a swim, even if I didn't bring any swimming gear, he swum in his boxers and I swam in my bra and underwear.

I've been a bad swimmer for years, ever since I was at the age of ten, I knew that swimming was something I was never going to excel in, so I stuck to my doggy paddles and occasionally dipping my head under the water, while Steve swam like he was competing for the Olympics. So eventually, I left him to continue to show off his professional swimming skills while I sat on the edge of the pool.

I watch him in awe, wondering what it would be like if Billy was in his place, but I know fully well that Billy can't stand swimming pools, let alone swim in one. But I find myself day dreaming again, staring off into the distance as I kick my legs gently back in forth in the water, watching the ripples as they changed the surface.

'You okay babe?' Steve questions me as he swims toward me and places a spot between my legs, and I feel his hands grip my waist before he gently pulls me toward him. I nod silently as my hands come up and brush my fingers into his hair.

'I'm fine, just thinking' I say trailing off, and Steve shifts before he hoists himself up onto the edge and sits beside me with his legs still in the water.

'Thinking about Billy again? You don't have to lie to me about it' Steve says reassuringly and I groan before rubbing my eyes with my palms and shaking my head.

'I hope you understand that although Billy wasn't a great pick, he still had personal issues, and I know his personal issues, and it just worries me sometimes, epically more so now than ever' I sigh out as I confess, and Steve just hums before he splashes me with some of the pool water, causing me to cringe at how cold the water is, epically now since I've been sitting out of it for awhile.

'You still care about him, I get it, like how I still cared about Nancy' Steve says before the silence grows around us as he dives back into the water.

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'Happy Birthday Nanc!' I exclaim as I pull her into a tight hug and give her birthday wishes, but my present is still tucked away in my bag, I decided I'd give it to her after.

'Unfortunately you will have to wait a little bit for your gift...but it will be worth it' I say and she argues with me over the fact that I had been teasing her with this present for a few weeks, but she settled when Steve came over and I praised him for shutting her up.

'Happy birthday Nancy' Steve says as he drags her away to talk with her, Jonathan is out of action right now because he's running some errands, so I know Steve saw this as an opportunity to talk to Nancy alone, I didn't mind either, because I could see Billy down the hall.

I just wait by my locker, admiring the atmosphere while waiting for my friends to finish up, and I just let my eyes roam the hallways, admiring the people deep in their conversations while I waited patiently. But something caught my eye, Steve had moved from Nancy and wasn't talking to her.

Instead I catch him trying to sneak off discreetly, toward the direction I never thought I'd see him going in unless it was clear of the guy he hates, moving toward the person I'd never thought he'd start a conversation with unless it was an an argument.

He was talking to Billy.

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Sorry my updates have been slow as of late, and I'm tryna start a path for my story (if you get what I mean) apologies if this seems rushed - D ♡