Insanity

|4|

CHAPTER FOUR

"Smile!" I say with a bright smile as Jonathan snaps a quick photo of my brother in his Ghost Busters costume. He grins, proudly showing off his accessories before rushing off to walk into the middle school with his friends.

    "Thanks for taking the pictures. My mom completely forgot to this morning." I thank Jonathan as he puts his camera away, and he gives me a goofy grin.

    "No problem. Listen, I gotta get to school early to meet Nancy, so I'll see you there." he informs me before turning and heading towards his car. I watch him with a small smile, leaning against my open door for a moment longer before climbing back into the driver's seat.

Pulling into the high school, I park in my usual spot and grab my books from the backseat. I close the door behind me, shoving my free hand into the pocket of my jean jacket as I make my way towards the school. I notice Billy to my right, his tall frame leaned against his car and a cigarette resting between his plump lips. I quickly walk by, avoiding his gaze as I focus my attention on the school doors.

"Hey, Cartwright!" Billy calls out, and with a soft sigh I turn to throw him a glare.

"You know my name, please use it?" I plead, keeping my voice stern as I hold my school books against my chest.

He leans in with a soft chuckle, his warm smokey breath dusting my face. I hold my breath, narrowing my gaze as his lips curl up into a devilish grin.

"No.... I don't think I will." he says with a smug look, and it takes everything in me not to slap him.

"What do you want, Billy?" I ask with a defeated sigh, wanting more than anything to hurry up the conversation so I can get away.

"I wanted to apologize for the other day. I was a dick, and I didn't mean to piss you off." he says softly, cigarette bouncing as his lips move.

His answer catches me off guard. I blink, lips parting ever so slightly as I try to think of a comeback. He could be lying, and if I fall for it it could bite me in the ass later.

"Yeah, you were a dick. But apology accepted." I finally say, deciding not to stir up any more trouble than I should. My answer seems to please him, as he visibly relaxes and the grin on his face widens.

"You're coming to the party tonight, right?"

The question throws me off, and it takes me a second to reply. "A—actually, I'm going with my friend to walk our brothers around." I say quickly, chewing at the inside of my cheek.

He snorts, looking around before tossing the cigarette onto the pavement, neglecting to put it out. I go to say something about it, but he interrupts me.

"Well, if you decide to ditch those lame ass plans, I'll see you tonight." He winks, chuckling before stepping around me to walk inside when the bell rings. I stand there for a moment as students pass me, replaying his words in my head before letting out a shaky breath and following everyone else.

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Author's Note: I am so, so, sooo sorry that I'm just now getting around to posting this. I had it ready to publish, but had family in town and a lot of other shiz going on that I completely forgot. Anyways, please enjoy, and I'd love to know what you guys think so please leave a comment.