A/N: Thanks everyone for the well wishes about the hurricane! Thankfully it didn't hit us too badly. I would've gotten this out sooner, but I was at horror nights this weekend. I got to see our boy Billy and walk through the Palace arcade. I'd definitely recommend going if you can!

Teddi woke up the next morning with a loud groan. The sun was shining so brightly in through the window she was almost too afraid to open her eyes. She also had the overwhelming feeling that something was off. Holding a hand up in an attempt to shield herself from the light, Teddi slowly cracked one eye open to look around at her surroundings. This definitely wasn't her room. Her heart started to beat a little faster as she tried her hardest to remember everything from the night before. She remembered getting ditched, playing beer pong...Billy? Had he given her a ride home? Something about that didn't feel right.

She remembered hanging out with Max and El, and when Teddi spotted the empty popcorn bowl and three empty cans of coke sitting on the dresser she realized that maybe Billy had given her a ride. To his house. Neither Max or El were there. It didn't really sound like anyone was home until Teddi picked up on the sound of the shower coming from down the hall. She groaned again, rubbing at her temples as the bathroom door opened and Billy strolled out surrounded by a cloud of steam.

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," he teased. Teddi only stared blankly at him as Billy moved to Max's doorway, toweling off his hair. "You're not dreaming, Larsson. It's really me." it was like he could read her mind. His cocky tone was enough to knock Teddi back into reality and she rolled her eyes.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You got wasted last night. And you wouldn't tell me where you lived, so I brought you here and you crashed with Max. I thought that was better than you waking up on David's couch." Teddi rubbed at her eyes and smudged the makeup she had forgotten she'd been wearing. Billy watched Teddi as she stared up at the ceiling for a moment before she slowly sat up.

"...I think I'm gonna puke." she announced. Billy wordlessly moved aside to let Teddi pass. She hurried into the still steamy bathroom, kneeling down in front of the toilet and emptying her stomach. Billy watched on with an amused look.

Teddi's top rode up her back slightly as she bent over the toilet, and Billy caught a glimpse of something bright and pink peeking out from the top of her skirt. He crossed his arms over his chest and grinned. "Is that a tattoo, Larsson?"

Teddi's hand instinctively reached behind her to pull her top down. She glared over at him before grabbing a few pieces of toilet paper. She wiped her mouth and flushed the toilet. "Are you seriously checking me out while I'm throwing up? Don't you have any shame?"

"Nope."

She rolled her eyes. Now that she didn't feel quite as sick anymore, it was a little more obvious to her that Billy was in nothing but a towel. "God, can you put some clothes on?"

"Why? Am I making you nervous?" it was driving Teddi absolutely insane how amused and almost happy Billy seemed to see her in this state.

"I'm just trying not to puke again." Billy chuckled as Teddi stood and moved to the sink to wash her face. Her black eye, now turning a yellow shade as it healed, was in full view. Billy pretended not to notice.

"That why you were telling me how strong I was last night?" he asked.

Teddi scoffed. "I definitely don't believe that...I didn't totally freak Max and El out, did I?"

"How the hell should I know? I dumped you off in Max's room and went to bed." that wasn't entirely true. After he had gotten in bed he could hear the three girls giggling like idiots, so the two girls had clearly enjoyed whatever it was Teddi had been talking about. Max hadn't said much the next morning. She threw his bedroom door open and told him that Neil and Susan left for a movie date and she was going over to El's before throwing a "Your girlfriend's still asleep." over her shoulder. The little shit.

Teddi couldn't remember much of what happened during the impromptu sleepover. She was pretty sure she had told them they should start an all girls D&D group, but that was about it. She let out a groan. "...What time is it? I have to be at the pool at ten."

"It's Christmas Eve, Larsson. Pool's closed."

"Shit..that's right. I guess now I can knock out for a few more hours until I have to be at the arcade," she sighed with a short laugh. She couldn't believe Christmas had crept up on her so quickly. She felt like she might have to throw up again.

Billy was pretty sure he'd never seen someone so completely depressed at the idea of Christmas Eve. He also wasn't sure if Teddi knew how much she was letting her disappointment show. He felt like he was getting a peek behind the chipper, always happy Teddi curtain. "Uh...just let me get dressed. I'll give you a ride back to your car." Teddi only nodded and gently splashed her face with warm water again.

A few moments later Billy emerged from his room in a pair of his infamous tight blue jeans, a white tank top and a jean jacket. Of course he looks like that and I look like roadkill, she thought bitterly. Teddi pulled on her boots and her jacket and silently followed Billy out to his car. The awkward silence during the drive made her want to scream, and she let out a relieved sigh when Billy turned the radio on with a jab of his finger.

"Um, so...thank you. For all of this…" Teddi knew that Billy didn't like pleasantries like this, but she truly did appreciate that he had looked out for her.

Billy shook his head and refused to meet her glance. "Don't worry about it, Teddi."

"No, really. I mean you could have just left me there-"

"I'm not a complete fucking dick, Larsson," Billy snapped. "I give you shit sometimes. I'm not about to leave you passed out on the couch for some creep to feel up on." and while that was just...common human decency, Teddi was a little surprised to hear something like that from Billy. It made her feel a tiny bit guilty for thinking so little of him so often. He could be a dick sure, but he wasn't evil.

Teddi pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's not what I meant. It's just...I guess I'm not used to other people looking out for me. I usually look after myself. So can you just let me say thank you without arguing with me like a normal person?" she snapped.

Billy scoffed, but said nothing. Like the day at Melvald's, Billy had caught a glimpse of a genuine anger that he hadn't known that Teddi had. It was more than just the general annoyance she felt when they bickered. This was something he could see in her eyes. It looked similar to the anger he felt. Teddi was just obviously much better at working past it than he was.

Teddi knew that Billy hadn't believed her lie about falling on ice. She knew that in some capacity he had put two and two together and he knew that there was something more going on that she didn't want to talk about. And there was part of her that wanted nothing more than to just tell someone about it, especially at a moment like this. But it was Billy. If she said anything she knew that he wouldn't have cared.

So she bit back the rest of her explanation as to why she had been grateful for Billy looking out for her, and instead neither of them said anything. They both sat silently as Billy drove her back to the arcade and listened to the Scorpions. When he finally pulled into the arcade's parking lot she almost let out a cry of relief. "So...thanks again. I guess I'll see you...whenever,"

Billy held up his hand in a short wave, but said nothing. Teddi quickly slid out of the Camaro and took a step back as Billy nearly peeled out of the parking lot and sped off. "Such a jackass," Teddi muttered as she headed over to her van. She rested her head against the steering wheel and let out another loud groan. She was never going to let herself drink that much again. Her head felt like a rock.

The drive home felt like it took forever. It was silent except for the thump, thump, thump that repeated in Teddi's head as if her skull was threatening to explode. Thankfully her dad's car wasn't in the driveway. Whether that meant he was working or somewhere else, Teddi only cared that he wasn't home. Her mother was though. Bonnie Larsson was sitting at the kitchen table flipping through a magazine and completely unaware that Teddi had come home.

"...Hey, mom." Teddi muttered.

Her mom didn't look up. "Hmmm? Hi, Teddi. Aren't you supposed to be at work?" and to think Teddi had been so worried that she'd get in trouble for being out all night. She probably could've taken a trip down to Mexico with Billy and neither of her parents would have noticed. It almost annoyed her.

"I don't have to go in until later...where's dad?" she asked tentatively.

Bonnie flipped another page of her magazine. "He's working. Some big meeting today or something." Teddi found that to be unusual. The construction team for the Starcourt mall was having a team meeting on Christmas Eve? Some higher up thought it was important enough to have her dad at that meeting? In any case, Teddi was sure that's all she'd be getting out of her mother no matter how many questions she had now.

"Oh, okay...I'll be in my room," her mom let out a small hum, and Teddi headed down the hall to her bedroom, shutting the door quietly behind her. She landed face first down onto her bed and let out a loud groan. She had half a mind to just fall asleep right then and there with her coat and boots still on.

Then her phone rang.

Teddi groaned again, sitting up and reaching over for the hot pink phone that sat on her nightstand. "Hello?" she grumbled, rubbing at her forehead in an attempt to get rid of her headache.

"Teddi! How could you not have told me?" it was Heather.

"Uh...that depends. How could I have not told you what?" Teddi asked with a frown.

"That you totally hooked up with Billy Hargrove last night!"

Teddi sat up quickly, her eyes going wide. She felt like she was going to puke again. "What? What? That totally, completely did not happen-" she stuttered out. On her drive home she had remembered bits and pieces of the night before. Billy driving her home. Smoking together. She definitely didn't remember anything that was even in the realm of hooking up.

"Teddi, it's me. You can tell me. I can't blame you, I mean he's Billy. You have to tell me what it was like."

Teddi pinched the bridge of her nose. "Heather, I barely even remember last night and I can still confidently tell you that absolutely nothing happened with Billy and me."

Heather let out a short huff. "Please. Tommy said that last night he walked in on Cheryl Burns and Brian Jean hooking up in David's parents bedroom, and then he said he saw Billy carrying you out to his car a few hours later." well, at least that explained where Brian went. The asshole. But the fact that all of these pieces were enough to actually make it look like she had in fact drunkenly hooked up with Billy was enough to make her want to scream.

"Heather, trust me. If I hooked up with someone I would tell you. He just gave me a ride home is all." and of course the insane idea of Billy Hargrove giving someone a ride out of the goodness of his heart probably made her story sound that much more like a lie.

Heather was silent for a few moments on the other line, most likely trying to decide whether she believed Teddi or not. "This is the last time I get gossip from Tommy. He never knows what he's talking about. I'm pretty sure half the time he makes stuff up just so people will pay attention to him. Anyways, I guess I'll see you at work in a few days?"

Teddi nodded, extremely grateful that Heather had decided to drop the topic. "Yep. See ya then, Heather." Heather hung up after an all too cherry "Merry Christmas!" and Teddi set the phone down with a sigh of relief. That relief quickly turned into annoyance as she kicked her boots off angrily in the direction of her closet. Did Billy have any idea what people were saying about them? If they hadn't gotten into that fight in his car would he have told her? Even if he did, what would he care? He probably loved the fact that the entire school thought he'd finally gotten her in bed.

She was muttering angrily to herself as she finally changed from her party outfit and into some pajamas. Even when he was being nice he still somehow managed to be a thorn in her side. Teddi decided that the next time she saw him it would be her throwing him in the pool. But now it was time for much, much needed sleep. If she could stop stewing over Billy. He ruins everything, she thought with a huff.

A/N: Oh man...I'm so excited for the next chapter. It's finally Christmas. Progress is gonna be made. Buckle up y'all.