Chloroform (Billy Hargrove)

Chapter 3: Great Balls of Fire

"Tesla! I'm going out tonight with a few work friends, and I probably won't be back until the morning. If you're going anywhere remember to wear your gloves and lock the door. Also be careful! Love you bye!" Lina yelled, slamming the door behind her, not giving me enough time to reply. I let out a small sigh, standing up from my bed, closing the Biology textbook that I had been reading for the past hour and a half. My eyes glanced over at the alarm clock, the bright red numbers dawning the time. 6:22. Billy was going to pick me up at eight for that Halloween party, which he somehow convinced me to go to, so that meant I had about an hour and a half to get ready and dressed in my costume. I stretched my arms out and up, listening to my bones crack and pop, before letting out a small sigh, making my way out of my bedroom towards the bathroom, quickly taking my shirt and shorts off. I took a quick glance at myself in the mirror before turning on the shower and letting my hair fall from the loose bun I had it up in.

I felt sick, and I wasn't entirely up for the party, but I promised Billy that I would be designated driver, since I was kind of afraid to say no to him, he was quite intimidating, and even though I could set him on fire, I was still scared of him for some unknown reason. Maybe it was because of how much he reminded me of Brenner, and he had a vibe of authority to him like he demanded respect through the act of being tough. Or maybe it was the fact he almost hit a couple of kids on bikes today. I had many temptations to rake through his mind, to find out why he acted this way. Sometimes he had anger outbursts especially with his step-sister Max. I twisted the cold water knob, ridding myself of the remaining undergarments that I had, placing them on the counter of the sink. I slid into the harsh stream of water, letting it cleanse my mind, steam beginning to cloud around me almost immediately, the sounds of the water sizzling on my skin filling the bathroom. I want to know what is wrong with him, and I have no idea why I do. He's the only person that I have been able to get along with in the slightest, apart from the very few conversations that I've had with Steve and Nancy. I picked up the florally scented bar, running the soap over the unseeable raised scars that were as pale as my skin. They held many memories that I didn't even dare to think about, it was in the past, and I just had to live with them. I let out a light huff, turning around to let the water run down my back, the sizzling echoing off the walls of the bathroom, my nails dragging across my skin, the steam causing my hair to stick to my face. Suddenly I heard a knock coming from the front door, my brain instantly scanning the house. The all too familiar black aura was invading my senses. Why the fuck is Billy here already? I turned the water off, squeezing my hair out, before getting out of the tub, wrapping a towel tightly around myself. The remaining water droplets on my skin evaporating from the heat that my body was providing, as I rushed to the bathroom door and exited into the hallway, almost falling down the stairs in the process. I unlocked the door, clutching the towel against me tightly with my other hand. I peeked through the small crack, seeing Billy in a leather jacket that was fully open, exposing his bare, muscular chest and abs, his arm resting on the frame of the door. He raised his eyebrows, his eyes scanning over my barely covered body, a smirk plastered on his face.

"Wow...You could just ask to sleep with me. You don't have to give me these undeniable signs." He joked, his eyes still trailing over my body as if his brain was recording this very moment. I moved out of the way to let him into the house, trying to hide behind the door so he would just stop looking at me.

"Why are you here so early? You said you would pick me up at eight." I complained, walking by him to go back upstairs to my room since I did not want to be talking to him with only a towel covering me.

"I said the party starts at eight. I thought we could go visit the diner before we went." He yelled, proposing the unknown plan to me, while I entered my room, closing the door behind me.

"Well, I guess we have to go to the diner now. I'm not going to send you home so that you can pick me back up again." I slid the towel off my body, placing it on my unmade bed.