Billy wasn't quite sure what prompted him to follow Sarah home. Maybe it was the reason behind her actions, or maybe it was her own strangeness that intrigued him in a way. He had never paid any attention to her before, and he honestly felt that he would've if he had seen a girl with a battered face like hers. It stuck out in a crowd easily.

But for some reason, she was never a blip on his radar. There was no eye contact between the two, no accidental run-ins, no awkward encounters. There was nothing between him and Sarah Aston, and maybe that was why he was interested.

Billy had his own suspicions about Sarah. About her intentions and her own secretiveness, and he only wanted to confirm them. Nothing else.

When he pulled into a run down home that definitely saw better days, Billy's suspiciousness escalated, and he got a feeling he wasn't going to like what he was about to encounter. He shoved down any trepidations and marched up to the paint-chipped door and knocked soundly, preparing himself for what he came for.

Despite all of his ideas running amok in his head, he still had to control his expression when a woman that wasn't Sarah answered the door.

The woman was presumably her mother based on the same green eyes and straight nose. She looked ragged with bloodshot eyes and greasy black hair compared to Sarah's well kept brown. She couldn't have been too old, but the way she took care of herself disagreed with that statement. The woman reeked of alcohol, and Billy almost wrinkled his nose in derision before smiling that grin at the woman, who had narrowed her eyes at him.

"Hi, Mrs. Aston," he greeted politely, leaning against the door, looking up at the woman through his eyelashes. "I apologize for stopping by so late, but is there any possible way I could speak with your daughter? It'll only be a moment."

Sarah's mother was visually flustered at his appearance and speech, and on the inside, he recoiled at the thought of gaining this woman's affections.

"O-of course!" she stuttered, cheeks tinted red. "What did you say your name was?"

"Billy Hargrove, ma'am," he answered with another smile, and she bit her lip.

Just deal with it, he thought disgustedly. Just for a few more minutes.

Sarah's mother turned away to get her daughter, and Billy dropped his polite facade to glance around the house from the doorway.

It wasn't a nice place to live, he could definitely tell from the small visual he had. He could see a few pictures with the family - Sarah, her mother, and two men, most likely her father and her brother she had mentioned. There wasn't too many, and there were a few frames that were face down. Some of the walls had a few holes, and Billy clenched his fist at the thought. He caught sight of Sarah's backpack sprawled out on a clump of blankets, and he sucked in a breath.

This was definitely not a home.

But, the thing that really ignited his blood? The look on Sarah's face as she turned the corner with her mother in tow.

He knew that face well. The defiant yet fearful look that you gave to someone who obviously held more power over you.

He knew it well because he had the same one.

Sarah turned to her mother. "We'll be right outside. It seems really important, but I'll make it quick to finish dinner."

If Billy didn't have his own experiences, he would've missed the flash in her mother's eyes at her daughter's words. But for the sake of appearances, Sarah's mother just plastered on a smile and said, "No rush! Please, take your time. He seemed to need your help."

Sarah just gave her a weak nod and motioned for Billy to step away from the doorway so that she could join him. Once the door was closed, she whipped around the glare at him, crossing her arms.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed lowly, glancing behind at the door to ensure that her mother wouldn't hear.

Billy shoved his hands in his jacket pockets to hide his white fists and shrugged nonchalantly. "Shitty place you got here. Your mom's a real piece of work too."

She looked uncomfortable but maintained the fire in her eyes. "Did you seriously follow me home, Hargrove? Why?" she asked incredulously. Billy rolled his neck and breathed out of his nose.

He wasn't sure why he was so angry. He didn't know the girl very well - at all, really. She was just a random person that happened to know about his home life, but it wasn't like she was an important person to him. He wasn't worried about her opinion on him, so there had to be a reason why he felt so strongly, right?

"Maybe so that your mom wouldn't beat your ass again," he shot her words back at her, and he watched her reaction carefully. She looked like she took a physical blow, and her face was white, yet he continued, "I had my suspicions when you said that to me paired with the colors on your face, so I wanted to see if I was right," he shrugged again. "And I was. Let me ask, is this the first time you've been hit with a bottle?"

Sarah continued to stare at him with wide eyes, and he returned it evenly.

Billy wasn't a stranger to confrontation. In fact, he thrived in it. He liked dominating the other person and he found satisfaction when he came out on top. But, in this particular situation, he wasn't feeling satisfaction or pride when he had the upper hand in this situation. He only felt more anger.

"The day after you dropped Max off," he began, seeing that she wasn't going to be saying anything yet. "That's when you looked like a punching bag. Did you get in trouble because of that?"

Sarah flinched at his words, and he almost thought she was going to lie to him until she nodded, looking away from him with a scowl on her face.

"I came home late."

She knew that he didn't need any other explanation. He knew that he didn't need any other explanation. Billy pursed his lips.

"Let me talk to her."

Sarah shot her head to look at him again, her mouth agape. "O-oh, uh, no. You really don't need to."

Billy shook his head at her protests and gave her door a pointed look. "Either you open the door or I will."

Sarah continued to stare at him, eyes looking for something in his, and Billy adamantly stared back. She finally sighed and opened the door, calling out, "Uh, Mom? Billy wants to talk to you before he leaves. I'm not sure what."

Billy threw on his smile for the mother - if he could even call her that - and stepped inside, following behind Sarah. "Mrs. Aston, if I'm honest, I'm not doing too hot in school," he relayed, forcing an embarrassed flush on his face as he chuckled. "Sarah here is one of the best, and I came to ask for your permission that she could tutor me after school."

"Well..." Mrs. Aston seemed to contemplate, throwing a look to her daughter, who looked uncomfortable in the situation.

"I would really appreciate it," Billy implored, biting his own lip. "Surely, she got her smarts from you. You must've had lots of handsome men asking for your help, right?" he complimented, feeling the taste of bile in his mouth at her reaction to his charming words.

"You're not wrong about that, Billy," Mrs. Aston giggled, and Billy was sure he would vomit. "I couldn't allow my daughter to ignore a call for help, could I? What type of mother would I be?"

Even without looking straight at Sarah, Billy knew she was gearing up to say something harsh, and despite the fact that he thought this woman deserved it, he wanted to prevent her from stirring her mother's temper. He sent her a quick look before smiling again.

"Of course, Sarah must've learned all about selflessness from you, am I right?" he flattered. "I was also curious... Would it be too much to ask if you would allow me to drive her? You seem like you're busy, and perhaps having access to a car might help."

"Oh, yes, yes!" Mrs. Aston assured, and Sarah glared at him. "She does hog the vehicle even when I ask politely!"

"Probably because I paid for it," he heard Sarah mutter, and luckily her mother didn't hear.

"She should be flattered that a handsome boy like you would ask for her presence! Grateful even!" Mrs. Aston exclaimed, placing a hand on Sarah's shoulder. Billy could see the tightening of it. "You should thank him, sweetheart."

Billy couldn't help the small smirk at the twisted lips of the teen.

"Thank you, Billy. I appreciate it."

"No, no," Billy said amused. "Thank you, Sarah. You're the one that's helping me."

Sarah glared daggers at him again, but even he could see the slight relief in her eyes at his intervention. He wasn't sure why it made him feel better.

"Well, I'll walk him out, Mom," Sarah cut in, and her mother nodded, not removing her eyes from Billy, raking up and down. Billy shuddered inwardly, and Sarah led him back outside, shutting the door behind him.

"Why did you do that?" she asked him, softer than before. Billy glanced at her and saw that she was looking ahead, keeping her eyes away from his. He frowned.

"Is it wrong for me to return the favor? And besides," he grinned wolfishly. "I really do need a tutor."

Sarah looked back up at him, a quirk on her lips, and Billy could truly see how tired she was, the bags under her eyes much more pronounced now that he was looking at them. His grin was replaced with a frown, and he grabbed her arm, gentler than the last time.

"Look, I know that this is weird, because God do I think this is weird, but we can help each other out, alright? My dick of a dad seems to like you and so does Max. And I know your mom definitely likes me."

Sarah glanced down at his hand before slowly nodding. "What a pair we are, huh," she huffed out, lips curling up slightly, and he gave a short laugh before nodding along.

"Yeah," he let out. "I'll be here to pick you up tomorrow. And I'm sure Max will have questions, so you can figure out how to deal with that shit."

He walked away from her and could faintly hear a, "Thanks, Billy."

He gave his own small smile before pulling out of the driveway and dealing with his own family.