Sky is the limit / Billy Hargrove

Chapter Seven - The Record Store (2)

"Ready to go?" Billy asks, and I glance over at him.

"Don't you need to wait for Max?" I ask, noticing she isn't with us yet, and he seems to be her means of transportation.

"Nah, she's late. That little shit can skate home. Let's get out of here." He says moving to the other side of the car and flicking his cigarette butt on the ground.

"Woah, calm down. I don't mind waiting for your sister. No need to rush out of here." I say hoping Max won't need to skate home because of Billy's impatience.

I ruffle my hair to the other side, a habit of mine. Billy's entire demeanor changes and he seems to be pissed off.

"Don't call her that," he mumbles as he opens his door not yet getting in the car. I stare at him over the roof of his car, my face changing to confusion and somewhat shock at his comment.

"Don't call her what? Max? Isn't that her name?"

"Sister. She's not my sister. Got it." He states now getting into the car, his mood completely ruined. How can he change moods so quickly? It feels like I get whiplash trying to keep up with him. 

I lean down and look at him through my open door. "Look, you weren't here last year when a bunch of crazy shit went down. A kid went missing for a while and everyone thought he was dead. You don't want to go through that entire experience with Max, whether you like her or not! So, stop being an asshole and realize that Max skating home alone is dangerous even in a small town like this." I rant, not happy that Billy is acting like a dick.

He is silent for a moment before speaking to me. "You coming or not?" He mutters, looking from his steering wheel to me. 

I don't move, and he sighs in response. "She's probably with her new friends anyway. There is no need to wait for her."

I continue to look at him, trying to decide if I should believe him or not. He sees that I am still apprehensive to get it. "I think she mentioned something about AV club or some shit."

I give him one final look over, "I'll go, but only if I get to choose the music."

He rolls his eyes, but I can see a small smile on his face. "Yeah, yeah fine. Only because I know you have good taste, now get in already" he demands.

I slide into the seat, quickly buckling my seatbelt before he squeals out of the parking lot. I look around his car for his tapes but can't seem to spot them. His car is clean and organized which I wasn't really expecting from him.

"Looking for my tapes?" He asks after I open his glovebox and begin rummaging through it.

I see some condoms and scoff "Well, I am certainly not looking for these" I jokingly tell him, a small condensing smile on my face.

He smirks before replying "Not yet you aren't but soon enough maybe." I give him a chuckle in response, not denying or agreeing to what he has said. "They are over here sweetheart." He tells me, pointing to the driver's side door compartment.

"Can you hand them to me please?" I ask politely.

"I can't be distracted while I drive Sky, I need to keep two hands on the wheel at all times. Guess you'll have to get them yourself." He suggests, allowing his smirk to turn into a full smile.

I look at him unamused and give a huff. "Fine." I mutter before unbuckling my own seatbelt and leaning over him. "As if this is any safer" I whisper under my breath and Billy gives a quiet laugh in response. 

I have to awkwardly have one hand on his leg and my other one on the door in order to stay balanced, his arms are on top of my back still somehow remaining on the wheel.

I quickly just try to scan all his tapes; my eyebrows raise when I see one is labeled 'hot jams' in sloppy handwriting. I grab it quickly and get it ready to play. I am not prepared for the first song that comes on and I look at him in disbelief. 

'Karma Chameleon' is in the middle of playing and I start laughing. Billy's face starts to become red and he quickly turns off the tape.

"Hey! What did you do that for?" I exclaim

"You know damn well why I turned it off." He grumbles, rubbing his hand over his face.

"We all have guilty pleasures Billy. No shame in that." I respond, attempting to make him feel a little bit better after being embarrassed.

"Yeah, well I would rather people not know this about me. Ruins my bad boy image I have going on." He admits but I can't tell if he is joking or not.

"You? A bad boy? Don't be a fucking cliché Hargrove." I scoff at him turning my head to look out my window.

"I'm not the only cliché here Sky. Have you looked into a mirror recently? You might as well as have the word tattooed on your forehead." He fights back slightly, and I still can't read his mood.

"Me? How am I the cliché here?" I ask not believing a word he is saying.

"The entire hot and mysterious bad girl act you have going on." He exclaims, as if I am pretending to not know what he is talking about.

"How am I a hot and mysterious bad girl exactly?" I question, not believing people actually think this about me.

"Your whole persona screams bad girl. What you wear, how you do your hair, your makeup, the music you listen to, your tattoos, your piercings and just you as a person. Yet no one knows anything about you, they know that you hook up with people, yet they never seem to find out who exactly it is." He begins to rant, moving his hand up and down as if to emphasis what he is telling me. 

"They don't know much about your life in general, honestly most of what I've heard about you are just rumors that other people have heard. And, I'm sure you know why I added hot in the mix. Cause baby, you are smokin'." He smirks at me.

I let out a sarcastic laugh. "You obviously aren't asking the right people then, surprised you haven't heard about my reputation yet. I feel like everyone in this fucking town pretends to know everything about me, Jesus." I huff getting upset thinking about my past. 

"Can I bum a cigarette from you again?" I ask, craving the nicotine to calm my anger in the moment.

He nods his head yes, and I open his glove box remembering they were there from earlier. I appreciate him not asking for more details about what I told him. He just continues driving and beating his hands along the steering wheel to the music.