˚* ੈ✩‧₊ 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒃𝒔𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒕𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒕 ⋆ 𝒇𝒊𝒏

twenty-one

gilbert moved aside, noticing billy's concern for the girl. he was confused, however. never in his life had gilbert ever seen billy andrews care about anyone else, besides his sisters of course. billy rushes to autumn's aid, instantly cupping her face in his large hands. "autumn, words can never express how sorry i am." he says worriedly. autumn's cheek was red, hints of blue showing up as a bruise began to form. "jeffrey was talking about you and-and he was saying such horrible things and i couldn't stand it any longer. i didn't mean to hurt you, autumn, i really didn't." he whispers, a slight tear falling down his face. it landed on autumn's cheek, catching her attention. she turns to face him. "bills?" she calls, seeing the boys face. autumn raises her hand and places it on billy's left cheek. he holds it in his, staring at the girl. "i'm sorry, autumn. i'm so so sorry." autumn shushes the boy, telling him it's okay. "are you hurt?" she asks, sitting up to examine the boy. billy holds her hands away from his body. "i'm okay, i'll be fine. you need to lay down." he rushes, making her lay on the hard ground.

"you two. go home, now. school's over for the rest of the day." mr. philips yells at the children. billy rushes to his feet, pulling autumn up with him. she wobbles from the sudden movement, blood rushing to her head. billy held the girl up by her arms, firmly grasping her with fear that she'd fall any minute. "i'm fine, bills. you don't need to hold me up." autumn chuckles, patting billy on the shoulder. he smiles. she had never called him by his nickname before this, he liked it. "s-stay here, i'm going to grab our school supplies. don't move." he says, holding his hand out as he walks backwards towards the schoolhouse before running inside. upon opening the door, he sees autumn's broken pencil. the only one she had for drawing, was split in two on the coat room floor. they broke because of him, because he couldn't control his anger. billy picks up the two pieces of the pencil, shoving them into his pocket before grabbing autumn and his school supplies.

///

once again, the children sat on the floor of autumn's bedroom. this time, however, no schooling was done. autumn laid on the floor, her head in billy's lap as he repeatedly played with her bangs. her bruise had fully formed. "i truly am sorry, autumn." he apologizes, just as he had been since the incident. autumn chuckles, setting her hand against his cheek once again. he leans into her hand, smiling at her. "i accept your apology, bills. although, you probably ruined any chance of me being in the play with this ugly bruise... not that it changed anything anyways." billy furrows his eyebrows, giving the girl a stern but confused look. what was she trying to say? that she was ugly before? or that she already had no chance of being in the musical? he gazed at her, wondering how anyone could see her as anything less than beautiful. "well what part do you want?" billy questions, looking down at the girl who was focused on twisting a lock of her hair around itself. "i'm not sure. i just know i want a part. the fairy queen would be absolutely wonderful, but i could never live up to that amount of beauty. perhaps diana barry or josie pye would be a better choice." she shrugs. autumn was right, both diana barry and josie pye were considered the prettiest girls in the grade. billy was a year ahead of the other girls, but sure didn't act like it.

"autumn, you must stop saying those mean things about yourself." he says sadly. the girl sits up suddenly, her eyes confused. "billy andrews, whatever do you mean?" she asks, looking at the boy who's heart had began to race. this is it, he thought, i can't escape it now. billy opens his mouth, meaning to say something but fails. "uh- um. n-nothing. i'm just s-saying that you put yourself down so often a-and you shouldn't do that." autumn smiles, instantly knowing what he meant to say. "that's all?" she asks, scooting closer to the boy. billy holds his breaths, his palms begin to sweat. he can feel his heart racing faster and faster. she continues to get closer and closer to the boy, smiling as she does so. autumn can practically hear his heart beat as she stops inches away from billy's face. his breath is warm and smells of mint and the apples the two had eaten on the way to the winters household. "am i making you nervous, billy andrews?" she laughs, staring into the boys eyes.

within seconds his lips were on hers. his were far different from jeffrey's. billy's were soft, like petals from a rose. they tasted of mint and the apples on his breath. kissing billy was like biting into a warm chocolate chip cookie. autumn wanted to melt into the kiss, to let go.

but she couldn't.