BILLY & EVE (GirlxGirl)

Part 1 - 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover

"You know, I don't find this stuff amusing anymore..." Billy sung lightly under her breath, picking the toast out of the toaster quickly as it burnt her fingers, it flew slightly before bouncing off the side of the counter onto the floor. "Shit. I can call you Betty..." The sound of Paul Simon in her headphones drowned out the blaring box TV in the kitchen and before she had time to pick up her toast Morris had picked it up from under her feet and trotted off. "Fuck." She drawled, and then, "you can call me Al!" She sung loudly, and finger picked the bass solo on her imaginary bass air-guitar. Watching the mutt slobber over her toast she decided to abandon breakfast altogether and instead left her father alone in the kitchen watching the Formula 1  racing highlights on the TV and peering over his glasses at the newspaper. She hopped up the stairs humming You Can Call Me Al, and once safely in her bedroom, discarded the headphones onto her bed and scanning her record collection for the appropriate song to get ready to.

Pulling out the Toto single, she delicately placed it on her record player and the track began. For her rough-around-the-edges and hard-ass attitude, Billy was incredible delicate with her records. As the first few bars of Rosanna played, she threw off her T-shirt and shorts and searched the floor of her room for a suitable pair of jeans and oversized T-shirt she then wore over a white long-sleeved top, and barefoot she climbed out of her window onto the flat roof where she landed in her rotten deck-chair.

She pulled out a cigarette from her jean pocket and smoked as the song played out. This was a normal morning routine for Billy and it was her favourite part of the day. When the song was finished she climbed back in, brushed her teeth and checked her calendar on the wall. "Shit." There in Jared's shitty handwriting he'd written 'Jared back from Uni!!!' and then in smaller writing that overflowed into the following day 'don't forget dipshit.' Billy groaned and checked the time. 11:03AM. It was at exactly this point that she heard the front door open and the sound of Emma's pretentious and pointless small talk filled the downstairs hallway and for the third time this morning, muttered "shit," under her breath before leaving her room and jogging down the stairs.

"Hi sweetheart, we're back." Emma stated obviously, Billy nodded in response. She didn't like small talk at the best of times, and decided long ago that all small talk was completely not worth her time. Emma somehow managed to make everything that came out of her own mouth completely hollow and empty, and Billy often realised that not replying to her amounted to the same as when she actually summoned a response.

"Alright dipshit," Jared said, dumping his bags on the floor. Billy hummed in response, although what Jared said often had more of a point than Emma, it was what he said that Billy decided not to reply to as well. At that point the front door, which had been ajar, pushed open and a tall girl with sandy blonde hair struggling to carry a large suitcase entered.

"Billy this is Eve, my girlfriend, she's staying with us for a few days, I won't ask you if that's ok becasue it's happening." Jared said taking the bag off the girl and throwing an arm around her.

"Hi there... Billy? I'm Eve - obviously." She added, and followed it with a forced laugh. Billy smiled, also forcefully, and nodded slightly.

"Eve, this is a nice surprise." Billy said slightly passive aggressively, directing a stare and a small smile at Jared, who scowled in return. Eve must have picked up on this exchange and narrowed her eyes, her fake smile faltering slightly.

"Billy sweetheart, will you put the kettle on for Jared and Eve? They've had an awfully long journey." Emma said, breaking the silence.

"Yeah cheers sweetheart." Jared said with a sneer, and followed Emma and Eve into the kitchen.

"It's 3 bloody hours to Birmingham you dick, it's not exactly a trek, make your own tea." Billy complained, but followed them into the kitchen anyway and filled the kettle up.

She listened to Eve and Emma and their inane chatting while she made 5 cups of tea. Eve, though very pretty in a striking way, Billy decided she had very little about her at all. Her voice was very posh and she seemed to place herself above everyone else in the conversation, everyone except Emma of course, who tried to one-up Eve at every opportunity. When Billy brought the tea to the table, Eve made sure to broaden her smile even more, but Billy noted her lack of manners, and her snap judgement of Eve was made. She didn't like her. Billy smiled back and turned away, rolling her eyes. She took the tea to her room, and put another record on, this time it was another Paul Simon, 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover. Billy smiled and turned the volume up, loud enough that Jared would hear it, and hopefully get the hint.

Later on, Billy was sat out on her deck chair smoking, when she heard Jared and Eve in the room next to hers through the open window. She leaned in through her window to turn the music down, and couched below the windowsill.

"Your step-mum's nice." Eve said. From the roof Billy scoffed and rolled her eyes, of course Eve liked Emma.

"You don't have to be kind, she's terrible,"

Eve sighed and laughed, "okay thank god, she's not terrible Jared she's just, a lot to take in."

"Yeah, trust me I've been 'taking her in' for 4 years now, she doesn't get any easier. Billy hates the woman. I'm just lucky I don't have to live with her anymore."

"Yeah it's quite obvious Billy doesn't like Emma." Eve muttered, and then added, "or me for that matter."

Billy grimaced, its true she hadn't been the kindest to Eve in their brief encounter, but what she hadn't realised that Eve wasn't so far up her own arse that she'd actually noticed.

"Billy's alright she's just a moody teenager. She doesn't like anyone but Dad. Or Morris."

"How old is Billy again?"

"18. 19 in a few months."

"Oh. Right. She seemed younger than that. Bit immature if you ask me."

"Oi that's my sister you're talking about," Jared said, and Billy heard the impact of a pillow hitting a body and then a posh laugh. Billy didn't stay to hear the rest. 'Bit immature?' Billy thought. Well then that finalises my opinion on you, Eve, you're posh, shallow and have terrible taste, clearly.

Billy sat and sulked, blasting Common People by Pulp and smoking angrily on her deck chair, wondering what her brother saw in this girl at all.