"Honey, can I come in?" Susan Hargrove questioned, as she knocked on her daughter's door.
When she got no response, either way, she pushed the door open, her eyes widening as she looked around the room. There were almost a dozen lamps placed in strategic places and metres of fairy lights covering the length of Krystal's bedroom.
"When did you do this?" Susan inquired, finding Krystal reading a book on her bed.
Krystal made no sign that she had heard her mother and flipped over to the next page in her book.
"Neil's asked Billy to get our grocery shopping for the week while we go out for date night. He wants you to go with Billy" Susan explained, as Krystal looked up with a frown.
"He wants you to keep him in line, I think" Susan went on, as Krystal raised an eyebrow before looking back down at her book.
"Max will have to go with him otherwise-" Susan informed her, as Krystal threw the book onto her pillow, pushing herself up from the bed.
"Is that a yes?" Susan tried to clarify, as Krystal pushed past her.
"Honey, why won't you speak to me?" Susan asked as she grabbed Krystal's wrist.
Krystal's eyes snapped to her mother's as she let out a scoff, pulling her wrist from her grip. She couldn't believe her mother was so oblivious to how Krystal would feel about being abandoned for so many years. Her mother never cared about her before, so she didn't understand why she was trying to act like she did. Krystal threw on a large leather jacket and exited the house where she found Billy smoking against his car.
"What are you doing?" Billy questioned, as Krystal opened the door to the car.
"Babysitting" Krystal shrugged, as she sat in the passenger seat.
"My dad put you up to this?" Billy guessed as she nodded.
"Do you want me to leave?" Krystal raised an eyebrow, as he got into the driver's seat.
"Not unless I want a matching bruise" Billy mumbled, looking in his front mirror at the bruise which had become more noticeable throughout the day,
"You can barely see it with all that hair" Krystal pointed out, getting a look from Billy.
"Says you. Your hair's so long it's practically touching your ass" Billy retorted.
"At least I don't have a hairy ass" Krystal teased, with a small smile.
"I don't have a hairy ass!" Billy exclaimed, making Krystal laugh at his childish behaviour.
"There, there. Mind your blood pressure" Krystal mocked, patting him on his shoulder.
"I didn't think it was possible but your actually more annoying than Max" Billy scoffed, brushing her hand off him.
As if on cue, Max opened the backdoor and flopped into the car, as Billy turned around expectantly.
"Mum says you have to take me to the arcade" Max announced, as Billy rolled his eyes.
Krystal couldn't keep the amused smile off her face, as Billy was clearly revaluating who the more annoying sibling was.
"What's so funny?" Max questioned, but only got a shrug from Krystal in response.
Max leaned back against her seat with a huff, she couldn't understand why her sister seemed happy enough to talk to Billy of all people but would blank her at every opportunity. It wasn't fair, it was their mother who had abandoned Krystal, not her, Max thought to herself.
"If you're even half a second late, I'll leave without you" Billy told Max, as he parked outside of the arcade.
"No, you won't" Max mumbled, as she opened her door, knowing Billy would fear the repercussions from his father too much.
"What did you say? Don't test me, Max" Billy warned her, turning around in his seat.
"I'll be here, alright? Jesus" Max grumbled as she slammed the door shut.
"Don't close the door so fucking hard!" Billy yelled as Max flipped him off before storming into the arcade.
"Oh God, are you one of those guys that think his car's his baby?" Krystal guessed.
"If I so much as chip the paint on this car my dad's going to rain all hell on me" Billy admitted.
"Then why don't you just tell Max that?" Krystal stated.
"Why don't you just talk to her?" Billy retorted as he started the car.
Krystal opened her mouth to respond but seemed to think better of it, and shut her mouth, crossing her arms as she did. Billy could tell immediately he had found a sore spot for Krystal and couldn't help but push it further.
"Are you really that jealous that she's clearly your mum's favourite?" Billy guessed as Krystal shook her head.
"You think that's what this is about?" Krystal scoffed.
"It's not?" Billy insisted.
"I'm not mad at Max" Krystal replied.
"Jesus, I'd hate to see when you actually like someone then" Billy mocked.
"Likewise. How exactly did you charm Carol enough to stick your tongue down her throat?" Krystal asked.
"A gentleman never tells" Billy joked, as Krystal let out a small laugh.
"If there's one thing you're not, it's a gentleman, Billy" Krystal pointed out, as they shared a knowing look.
"C'mon, if you want to become King of the school then you need to make sure your costume is good" Krystal announced, as they looked around a costume store.
Krystal had convinced Billy that he should go to the upcoming Halloween party if he wanted any chance of becoming popular.
"This girl, Tina? It's her party, right?" Billy questioned, not sparing a look at most costumes.
"Yep, she's the most popular and probably richest girl in the school" Krystal told him.
"Is she hot?" Billy asked, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"She's irritating and a smart ass, so I expect she's just your type" Krystal replied, as Billy huffed a laugh.
"Oh, so the kitten does have some claws?" Billy questioned, raising an eyebrow at her.
"I used to…can you just pick something already?" Krystal mumbled, getting annoyed as he hadn't been paying attention to the costumes for at least ten minutes.
"Trust me, I'll be much more popular out of my costume" Billy smirked, as he exited the shop with Krystal following behind.
"Tina's party might not have a dress code, but I think there might be a problem if you turn up naked" Krystal informed him, with a shake of her head.
"Who said anything about naked?" Billy exclaimed, his eyes landing on her leather jacket.
Without another word, he had stripped off his shirt in the street, getting a disapproving look from a group of middle-aged women. He sent a wink their way, enjoying the way they blushed.
"The hell are doing?" Karmen frowned, looking away from his shirtless chest.
As much as she had tried to ignore it, her new stepbrother was irritatingly good looking. With his dirty blond hair, piercing blue eyes and from what she could see, rippling abs, he was enough to make any girl weak in the knees.
"Give me your jacket" Billy stated, holding his hand out.
"What, why?" Krystal questioned.
"You want me to wear a costume, well I think I just found the one I want" He pointed out, as he came to stand behind her.
Billy pushed her hair to the side, his fingertips trailing against her neck as he did so. Krystal shivered slightly, not used to the intimate contact from anyone, especially someone who looked like Billy. He then pulled the jacket off her shoulders and shrugged it on, finding that it fit him perfectly as it was too big for her.
"It was my Dad's" Krystal admitted, when Billy seemed to be questioning why it was so big.
"Oh…uh, I can find something else-" Billy started, feeling a rare sliver of guilt.
"It's fine. I took half of his wardrobe. I have like seven of his jackets" Krystal shrugged.
"Huh, and I thought your mum had a lot of clothes" Billy joked, taking a cigarette out of his shirt pocket.
"Maybe that's the reason she liked him" Krystal laughed lightly.
"You know I think you've talked more tonight than you have the past few weeks" Billy stated, feeling it needed to be said.
"Right back at you. What happened to the annoyed glares you've been sending my way for dragging you to this 'hick town'?" Krystal questioned, as Billy lit his cigarette.
"Maybe you're not the most annoying stepsister after all…besides we were gonna' have to leave California anyway" Billy shrugged, as Krystal grimaced at the use of the word.
"Okay, I vote that we never use our names and brother and sister in the same sentence" Krystal suggested.
"Deal" Billy nodded, with a twitch of his lips.
"You should ask Tommy H. for an invite to Tina's party tomorrow. She and Carol are joined at the hip, so he'll definitely be able to get you an invite" Krystal explained.
"You're not coming?" Billy realised.
"Well I wouldn't want to ruin the King to Be's reputation" Krystal mocked.
"It's that or go trick r' treating with Max. Trust me, it's better than staying in alone with my dad" Billy stated.
"Parties aren't really my thing…not anymore" Krystal mumbled.
"What if I say I'll throw my drink over Harrington?" Billy suggested as Krystal shook her head fondly.
"As much as I would like to see that…it's still a no. It's just not a good idea" Krystal insisted.
Billy decided to drop the subject, not understanding himself why he had been pushing so hard for her to come. For someone who was usually so quiet, she was easy to talk to.
"This doesn't mean we're good now or anything, okay? I still don't like you and the rest of your family" Billy told her, as she put her hands up in mock defence.
"And I still think you're an ass" Krystal shrugged, walking past him.
Billy opened his mouth to reply but found the words died in his mouth. Instead, he felt a smile tugging on his lips.
Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'd love to know what you guys think of Krystal. Is there anything, in particular, you want to see in this story? Please leave a review:)
Guest: Thank you for the review! I'm glad you're liking it so far, and I hope you enjoy this chapter:)