After an hour of planning Billy's idea. He and Wally decided to take a break. Maurice suggested having a game of poker, which the other two agreed to. When Billy had finally found out his old poker chips and a set of cards, Maurice text Chad and invited him over. He arrived just as they all sat down to play.
"So it's good that the girls get along so well huh?" Maurice smiled at Billy.
Billy simply grunted in return.
Chad then looked around the room before placing a card on the table. "Where is Kuki anyway?"
"You've just noticed she's not here?" Wally sneered.
"Abby took her out shopping." Maurice replied before Chad could come back with a sarcastic comment aimed at Wally.
Chad widened his eyes in surprise, looking back at Billy. "Wow, that's nice. We get some guy time then."
Billy grunted again in return. Chad rolled his eyes and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. He put one in his mouth and lit it, holding it out to the other three. Wally took one, Maurice shook his head and Billy grinned.
"Fancy something stronger?" He asked, standing up and heading upstairs.
Wally cocked an eyebrow and looked at the other two. "What's he talking about?"
Maurice and Chad shrugged. A few seconds later, Billy returned with a small bag containing white crystals. He sat back in his place and presented the bag. The others remained motionless.
"Marijuana?" Wally stated in disbelief.
Billy sniggered at Wally's lack of knowledge. "You kidding? Amateur stuff! This is meth."
Maurice and Chad exchanged glances and Maurice chose to be the one to talk. "We didn't know you did that stuff."
"I was holding it for someone...They won't notice if a little goes missing right?" Billy smirked, handing it over towards Wally.
Wally shook his head in disgust, he couldn't hold back his thoughts this time. "I don't do that stuff buddy. Not a good idea."
"Never thought that you'd be the pussy." Billy sneered, pulling the bag back to himself and opening it.
Wally breathed, trying to stay calm. But his annoyance got the better of him. "You've got a girlfriend to provide for and you're messing around with that stuff?"
"Come on Wally lighten up!" Billy snapped. "How do you think I provide for her? Huh? You think think that unemployment benefits and odd jobs paid for this house?"
Wally's eyes widened. "What exactly do you do?"
Billy turned his lips up into a smile. Looking very proud of his secret job. "I know a guy who gets raided a lot, I look after his stuff for him because my records clean."
"So you'll put it all at risk just for a little extra money?" Wally snorted.
"Guys, shall we just change the subject?" Maurice said quietly.
Billy and Wally ignored him. Billy rose from his chair, glaring at Wally. Wally kept his stare and refused to back down.
"I can do whatever the hell I want in my house Buddy!" Billy remarked.
Wally glanced over at the other two, Chad was staring at him with eyes of stone. Maurice shook his head, telling him not to retaliate. He turned back and went to open his mouth before Maurice cut him off.
"Hey Wally, why don't we go and get a few beers out of the fridge?"
"What?" Wally asked, pulling his glare from Billy with a confused glance.
Maurice motioned to the kitchen. Wally then understood that Maurice was trying to get him out of the situation. He sighed and stood up, following Maurice out of the room.
"Look, I know it's getting to you but you need to chill out." Maurice spoke in a hushed tone.
Wally glowered back at him. "Chill out? That guys storing drugs in his house! He's using the guys stash! That's going to get him into so much trouble! And it won't just be him caught in it."
Maurice raised his hands in defense in an attempt to calm him down. "I know, I know...but you can't be here for her if you piss him off!"
That thought sank in. Wally breathed slowly as he looked back towards the living room. He looked back at Maurice. "How can you actually like being around him?"
"We all have that one douchebag friend right? Sure he's a pain in the ass but we grew up with him. He can be a laugh." Maurice replied calmly. "Plus we don't want to say anything to him because we're worried about how he'll retaliate with Kuki."
Wally tightened his jaw. "What do you know about it?"
"We've seen him hit her twice. He's been drunk both times." Maurice replied. "He's got a little attitude problem with her, sure, but...I've never seen him get...really violent."
Wally nodded. He knew that Maurice was struggling to phrase it properly. Trying to balance his view that Billy wasn't a complete danger to Kuki but also trying to make clear that he didn't condone a second of it.
"Come on, let's head back in." Maurice replied. Picking out a handful of beers from Billy's fridge.
Wally took a deep breath and braced himself. He walked into the living room, where Billy and Chad sat and stared at him. Wally walked over to Billy and held out a hand.
"Sorry Buddy." He sighed. "I...don't like drugs...I shouldn't have taken it out on you."
Billy took Wally's hand and shook it gently, then gave a grin. "Come on, let's finish our game. Beer?"
"No thanks, I'm driving." Wally replied, a gruff growl in his tone.
They all sat down and got back to the cards.
"You might want to put that stuff away." Maurice muttered to Billy. Motioning to the bag. "If Abby knows about it she'd get into trouble for not reporting it."
Billy stood up and took the bag upstairs.
"Nice stunt Beatles." Chad sighed. "You've never grown out of that miserable phase have you?"
Wally glared back at him. "You really want to start Chad?"
"Both of you! Enough!" Maurice snapped.
Billy reappeared, chuckling at them. "What is it with you two?"
"Wally just couldn't stand a little healthy competition when we were younger." Chad sniggered. "He's still sore because his crush used to be hooked on me."
Billy snorted. "Well what happened to her? You're both single right?"
Wally sucked on his teeth before admitting. "She found some other douchebag."
Billy laughed and looked at Wally. "You should've shown her you meant it Wally. Don't let your girl go searching! That's where guys go wrong and lose them."
Wally gritted his teeth, knowing that he was going to regret asking. "Well, how'd you do that."
"You ever heard of treat 'em mean keep 'em keen?" Billy chuckled. "They're like fish, give them a little slack and then yank them back in when they're getting too far."
He kept his eyes on the cards, it was all Wally could do to prevent himself from throwing himself at Billy's neck. He simply breathed before saying. "My mom always taught me not to push people away...she said you never know, they might prefer it out there."
Billy placed his cards face down to the table, looking Wally in the eye with a wicked grin. "It sounds like your mom had a little too much of an opinion in your house."
Wally was about to snap before the sound of the door opening took their attention.
"We're back!" Abby called merrily.
Maurice beamed and rushed to greet his girlfriend. "Hey!" He said softly. Placing his hand on Abby's cheek, leaning down and kissing her before pulling her into a hug. "You have no idea how happy I am that you're back!"
Kuki smiled at the exchange between the two. She gave Billy a wide smile as he arrived in the doorway.
"You look beautiful!" Maurice exclaimed. Tracing a finger along Abby's newly applied make up. "Don't they look great Billy."
Billy stared at Kuki. "You look...different."
Wally couldn't help but stand and walk into the hallway to see what all the fuss was about. When he saw Kuki and how stunning the simple makeup made her look he stopped in his tracks and turned his lips up in a dreamy grin. Kuki's eyes met his for a second she blushed before looking down at the floor.
"Had a good day?" Wally asked, his eyes still fixated on Kuki. Amazed by how a small amount of dark shadow made her stunning green eyes light up. Her now cherry tinted lips looking almost irresistible.
"We had a great day!" Abby responded excitedly. "We went shopping and bought milkshakes, then we got pedis then got lunch...oh! And we met some guy called Ken that seemed to know you Billy."
Billy's eyes shot up in panic. He snatched the piece of paper from Abby's hand and inspected it thoroughly. Despite the few words on it, it took him a while before he looked up. Kuki frowned in confusion when she saw the worry and panic in his eyes. Wally noted the tension too and glanced over Billy's shoulder to see what it said.
2 days?
"Y...You know guys...today's been a great day. But right now I've got a few phone calls to make and stuff...I'll see you all soon okay?" He stuttered, rounding people up to push them out of the door.
When they were all on the opposite side of the house he gave a wave and yelled stepped forward to bid them all goodbye but Billy closed the door quickly. He turned around and looked at the note once more.
"Billy, is everything okay?" Kuki asked, walking over to him and running a hand through his hair.
Billy snapped his eyes up to hers, he showed her the note. "The guy who gave you this, what did he look like?"
Kuki shrugged. "I don't know, I didn't really see his face, it was pretty shadowed because he was wearing a hood. I think he was blonde, he looked pretty pale, really slim…"
Billy threw his hands in his hair and muttered to himself. "No..Shit...No."
"Billy what's wrong?" Kuki asked, once again moving towards him, only to be pushed back when she neared within arms length.
"I need to go and make a phone call." Billy muttered. Beginning to walk into the living room, eyeing Kuki up and down before he past her. "Get that slut paint off your face."
Kuki blinked, trying to hold back the hurt that just hit her. "I got it for you, I thought you might like it if I made an effort…"
"You've been parading around town looking like a tramp! Go wipe it off before I really lose my temper Kuki." Billy snapped. Flinging himself onto the couch and pulling out his cell phone, beginning to dial and glaring at Kuki for her indication to leave.
She held back tears as she walked upstairs. She sauntered straight into the bathroom to do as Billy had ordered her. She gazed at her reflection first. Maybe he was right...she did look a little done up for going around town, what would have they all thought of her? Especially the guy who knew Billy!
She sobbed and ran a hand towel under the warm faucet, gently scraping the make up from her face. When she finished she looked back at her reflection again, seeing a plain, red eyed stranger. She didn't see beauty, she hadn't for years, but now she also noticed...she didn't see happiness either, she didn't see life in the eyes of the girl in front of her who she was allegedly supposed to know inside out. She sighed and turned away, not being able to bear the hatred for her reflection much longer.
When she heard Billy in the middle of what sounded like a deep conversation downstairs she lay on the bed and fished out Billy's laptop. Logging herself in and scrolling through her feed.
She beamed when Wally's name popped up in a private message.
Wally - Hey.
She typed back in haste. Simply seeing her friend's name made her frown disappear and her low mood lift. Kuki couldn't help but smile as she typed back two simple letters.
Kuki - Hi.