𝐋𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 -- s. harrington

→ twenty-two.

A MONTH HAD gone by and Andrea's summer went from good to horrible. Summer had only started over a month ago and it was already the worst one she'd ever gone through.

          Three weeks ago, Andrea and Steve called it quits on their relationship. It was mutual, thankfully, and they both decided to be friends. They both got busier with work the more the summer went on but Andrea just wasn't herself and she didn't want to push all those negative vibes onto Steve. Steve didn't deserve that and he didn't deserve a girlfriend who was too upset to be around him. Even though the two agreed to be friends, they saw each other less and less because of work and they were right back to where they were last year.

          Andrea pulled her shirt off over her head and shoved it into her locker. She loved her job but ever since her split with Steve she hadn't been enjoying much anymore. Getting out of bed every day and driving to work was a task for the teenager but without her job, she'd be stuck in her house all day in her room that still had pictures of her and Steve scattered around the room.

          "Hey, Blondie," Billy sighed and leaned up against the lockers next to Andrea's. He rested a hand on his hip and smirked at the girl, taking in her body that was in nothing more than a tight, red swimsuit. "We've got a shift together."

          Andrea shut her locker slowly and turned toward Billy, the images of what he did to her flashing through her head quickly. "What makes you think it's okay for you to talk to me?" She asked and cocked an eyebrow.

          "Work friends and all that," Billy replied and met the girl's eyes, frowning slightly at the hidden look behind her green iris's. Seeing the sadness in the girl's eyes made Billy's chest tight. He wasn't sure if it was because of him or something else. "Are you okay?" He asked, feeling some sort of worry wash over him. Andrea and Billy had never been friends and, to be fair, he hurt her last year and didn't blame her for not wanting to be around him but he wanted to fix it and it was only now that he got the courage to speak to her.

          "I'm fine," she snapped and pressed her lips into a straight line. Andrea wasn't in the mood for Billy, nor did she even want to be around him. He hurt her but she hurt him too and the guilt and hatred she felt whenever she was near him was too much to handle. "Now, can you please get out of my way so I can start my shift?"

          Billy leaned off the lockers and held his hands up on defence, stepping out of the girl's way. "My bad, Andrea," he said, making sure to emphasize that he had called her by her name and not the stupid nickname he had for her.

          Andrea huffed out a sigh and slipped between Billy and the lockers, rolling her eyes once she got away from him. "Thanks," she muttered.

          "Hey, Andrea?" Billy called out and rubbed his hands together nervously. His chest tightened when she stopped and looked over her shoulder at him. "I know we're not friends and you probably don't want to be, but if you ever need someone to talk to I'm here."

          A hint of a smile crept onto Andrea's lips as she looked away and nodded slowly at what the boy had said. "Meet me at your car after our shift so we can talk," she said and inhaled deeply. "Maybe we can work on forgiving each other and work toward being friends, alright? But that's all we'll be - friends."

          Billy smiled and nodded even though she couldn't see the expression or gesture. "That sounds like a plan," he said and ran his tongue over his lips. "Blondie."

* * * *

Steve tapped his foot impatiently on the floor as he sat in one of the booths with Andrea's sister. Every time Valorie would show up to Scoops, Steve would pull her into a booth and question her about Andrea because he was too scared to ask his ex-girlfriend himself.