At the Start
Chapter Three
That next morning, Sidney woke up from her short sleep with a throbbing between her shoulders and on her sides. She sighed. Once more, her mind wandered back to being caught by Billy.
"He did leave bruises," she varified to herself. "Damn..." she whispered.
'But I'll be damned if that wasn't an amazing tackle...' The feel of Billy's body on hers still sent shivers down her spine. Sidney shook her head roughly and glanced back at her sleeping friend and then to the alarm clock. '7 a.m.'
Before Tatum could wake, Sidney shrugged on a blue short sleeve button up shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans, and slipped into her favorite flip flops. Sidney took one last glance at her friend before walking out and closing the door, but she nearly screamed just outside of it as she came face to face with Billy Loomis.
"Sorry," he laughed. Sidney hit him on the stomach with a glare. He held up his hands with a smile. Sidney rolled her eyes and nudged him on the shoulder.
'It is kinda like we've known one another forever...' She thought as they fell into step with one another. 'What was it mom used to say about soulmates..?' Sidney wondered to herself.
"Mom," Sidney remembered calling, "what are soulmates?"
"Where'd you hear a word like that?" Her mom had laughed. Five year old Sidney had smiled.
"Tatum," she had answered easily. Maurine had patted her hand and laughed.
"Well, it's like...well...you move, he moves. Like magnets. It feels as though you've known him forever. Then when you touch, it's like a perfect fit. Like you were made for him and he for you."
Sidney choked back a laugh and shook her head.
"What is it?" Billy asked. She spared a look at him.
"It's nothing. What are you doing up so early?" She asked as they walked together down the stairs.
"Couldn't sleep," Billy answered with a shrug. "I could hear Stu's snores.." Sidney laughed.
"Yeah, he does tend to snore like a hibernating bear."
"You're telling me," Billy laughed, "I briefly entertained the thought of smothering him with a pillow, but I didn't think Tatum would like me too much if I killed her crush..."
"She's that obvious, huh..." Billy snorted. "But yet, Stu acts like he doesn't know."
"I don't believe he's acting," Billy mumbled.
"Good point. Are you hungry?" Sidney asked as he followed her to the kitchen.
"Yeah." Billy sat down on the bar stool.
"Pancakes sound good?" Sidney asked, looking back at him.
"Yeah, I'll help you."
"Ah, thank you." Sidney and Billy shared a small smile. Sidney flicked on her radio and sang quietly along with the beat of R. Kelly's Bump and Grind. Billy laughed beside her. She smiled.
"Who knew..." He laughed, "that Sidney Prescott listened to such music."
"There is a lot that you don't know about me," Sidney pulled out all of her ingredients. "Can you get the two large bowls from the second cabinet on the left?" He recieved it easily and passed it to her.
"Will you allow me to learn?" Billy asked. Sidney blinked and then smiled.
"Yeah, I would like that. If you return the same to me."
Oh, but of course," Billy grinned.
"Alright, so, what's your favorite color?" Sidney asked as she cracked open the eggs needed into one bowl with the milk.
"Hm...never really thought about it," Billy answered. "I guess red. Yours?"
"Green," Sidney answered easily. "Favorite movie genre?"
"Horror." Sidney laughed as she mixed flour, salt, and baking powder.
"What's so funny about that?" Billy asked as he watched her.
"You know, I really should have expected that," Sidney supplied. "Mine's a mixture. I like all of it. Horror movies I'm very picky about," Sidney admitted. "They have to be different from the usual. First girlfriend?" She added the butter to the mix easily.
"Hmm...Daphne Fonners. It didn't last very long. First boyfriend?"
"Never had one," Sidney admitted as she readied the pan.
"Really? Never?" Billy asked incredulously. Sidney glanced over at him to see his left eyebrow quirked upward. She laughed.
"Nope, like my horror movies, I'm picked about guys. The pan's got to heat for ten minutes, so you have my undivided attention." Billy smiled at her announcement.
"And I intend to entertain every minute of it." They shared a smile. Billy motioned toward the mixture and heating pan in one wide arch of his hand. "It's good you know how to cook. I think the main thing my dad, mom, and I live off of is take out," Billy laughed. "My mom could probably burn water." Sidney laughed lightly.
"I kinda had to learn," Sidney explained, "my mom started leaving the house when I turned twelve on business trips. Or that's what she calls them..." The tone of her voice darkened. Billy raised his eyebrows and suppressed the urge to press for more information.
'She will tell me when she trusts me enough to know,' he reassured himself. 'And in time she will.'
"Alright, so who was your first crush then?" Sidney laughed.
"Ironically, I had my first crush when I was maybe seven and the boy I was crushing on was years older than me," Billy's eyebrows met his hairline. "Dewey Riley." She admitted. "Of course, I was very young then." Billy laughed. "Now, I wonder what seven year old me was thinking." As Sidney cooked, they learned about each other. The final pancake was being set down on the table when Stu and Tatum stumbled into the kitchen.
"Ah, Sid, you're an a angel!" Stu cooed as he piled two thick pancakes onto his plate. Tatum and Sidney's eyes met over Stu's shoulder. Tatum grinned and shook her head.
"As if," she whispered.
"Get your pancakes and shut up, Tat," Sidney mumbled. Billy laughed beside her, drawing her attention to him. His eyes danced as he looked over at her.
"If you have bruises in the morning let me know and I'll make it up to you.." That slight promise came back to her now as she looked into his brown eyes. She looked away quickly and bit the pancake off of her fork. Tatum and Stu were sharing a smile.
"Geez, Sid, these things are thick!" Tatum exclaimed, as she took a bite.
"Yeah, that's why they're only four." Sidney answered. "They're so thick that...well...unless you have a long stomach, it would be difficult to eat more than that."
"Well, they're still delicious," Stu laughed, "no matter the size." He wiggled his eyebrows. Tatum laughed along with Billy. Before Sidney could dodge it, Stu's hand came down on her back. It was a friendly gesture, one that Sidney had grown used to getting from Stu and one that he was used to giving. But at those times, she didn't have black bruises splattered across her skin. A sharp gasp escaped her lips at the blow.
"Sid?" Stu's eyebrows furrowed in worry. Sidney considered lying, but the look on Tatum's face warned her not too. Sidney knew her friend well. If she tried to lie at this point, her shirt would be over her head and her torso exposed for the whole table to see.
"Just a little bruised," Sidney mumbled through gritted teeth.
"I'd say more than alittle," Tatum scoffed. "You don't give into pain easily."
"How bad are they?" Billy asked. Sidney turned her attention toward him. Sidney bit into her bottom lip at the worried gaze he gave. A small gasp escaped her lips as he pulled her bottom lip from in between her teeth. His thumb seemed to linger there. Her bottom lip seemed to tingle where he had touch.
"Um...black and stretch from my back to my sides," Billy hissed at her admission along with Tatum and Stu. Sidney bit into her bottom lip and turned back toward her food. Silently, she wished that the others would do the same. "We'll talk about it more later," Sidney mumbled. Her words intended for Billy's ears only. He nodded and turned back toward his own food.
'What just happened?' Sidney wondered to herself.
The room slowly filled with more than just the tinking and clicking of silverware against plates as Stu and Tatum started a conversation among themselves. They would occassionally pull Sidney and Billy into it with well aimed questions. Sidney allowed her eyes to linger on Tatum.
'She suppresses her rage well, but I know that it's all just an act. Soon, she's going to explode whether it be on Billy or me.' Sidney thought. 'She'll probably even try to convince me that Billy isn't so good for me, after all, like she once thought.' Sidney let her eyes travel over to Billy, who was halfway through his pancakes. 'But I'm too far gone now to care...'
After breakfast and the dishes were clean, Billy turned to Sidney as Tatum and Stu left the room.
"Alright, we had a deal. If I left you bruises, which I did, you could ask one thing of me," Billy spoke. Sidney worried her bottom lip with her teeth again. Gently, Billy tugged it out. He watched memerized as her lips parted gently. Her breath fanned over the pad of his thumb. Slowly, he began to rub his thumb across her bottom lip. "What will it be?" He felt the resistance in her bottom lip. She was trying to worry the already reddened skin again. "You do that again and I'm going to go after it with more than just my thumb," he warned. Sidney blushed. "Tell me what I can do to make it up to you, Sidney?"
"Sid," Sidney spoke. Billy tilted his head in a cute, but confused, way. "Just call me Sid. Not Sidney. That's all I want." Billy's hand fell from her lips to the side of her neck.
"May I ask why?" Billy asked. He knew that many girl would jump at the oppurtunity to get something out of him. They would maybe try to steal a kiss or two.
'Trust Sidney...Sid to be different.' Billy thought with amusement. He smiled slightly.
"Sidney makes our friendship sound so formal," she stated. Billy gave her a warning look as her lip pulled backward again. Quickly, she stopped. "This..." She motioned between the two of them. "This closeness we have isn't formal. Nothing about this is. We just met and then just like that..."
"There's attraction," Billy finished. Sidney nodded.
"And I'm not quite sure either of us know what to do about it," she mumbled.
"Well," Billy stated as he sat down across from her on the barstool, "I know what I want to do about it."
"Which is?" Sidney pressed. Billy smiled.
"I want to take you on a date. I want to get to know you better. I wanna know your most cherished memories and create some of our own." Billy leaned closer to her. His breath fanned over her trembling lips. "I wanna be the one that steals your first kiss..." Sidney's eyes fluttered closed. Billy leaned closer to where their lips were inches apart.
"Damn," they heard a distinctive male whisper. Billy stopped and fire caught to Sidney's face as her eyes snapped open. "That was so smooth, I almost fell in love with him!"
"Stu!" Tatum scolding was accompanied by a smack. Sidney choked back her laughter and looked into Billy's dancing eyes. An easy smile slid on his face.
"Ow!"
"You got us caught!" Tatum wailed. Sidney smothered her laughter and laid her head on Billy's rather close shoulder. Sidney could feel Billy's chest shaking in suppressed laughter.
"How do you know?" Stu whispered back.
"Well, they stopped, didn't they?"
"Oh, yeah..." A small snicker escaped Billy's lips. At the sound, a small giggle escaped Sidney. Her hand slowly fisted his shirt in an effort to stop the laughter. He moved to adjust to her comfort. Then just like a strike of a match, Sidney realized something.
'I mold to his body almost like water and we're like magnets...' Sidney thought as she took in his warmth through her amusement.
"You move, he moves...then when you touch, it's like a perfect fit. Like you were made for him and he for you." Sidney smiled against his shoulder.
"Idiot..."
"Hey!" That was the final straw for the struggling teens. Laugther exploded from both of them. Sidney was aware of Stu and Tatum sulking guiltly into the kitchen.
"Alright, alright, it wasn't that funny..." Tatum grumbled as the teens struggled to calm down. Tatum couldn't help her own smile though.
'I wonder if they even realize that they're holding onto one another,' she wondered. Sidney's hand was fisting Billy's shirt still and his arm was wrapped around her waist. His head lay on her shoulder and hers on his. 'They fit almost perfectly...' Tatum realized. 'I had been hell bent on convincing Sidney to stay away from him, but now...I can tell there would be no point...as I said, they're like magnets. They'll always find a way back to one another, no matter how far you pull them.'
As the teens calmed down, they slowly detached from one another.
"You guys want to go outside?" Sidney asked.
"And do what?" Stu questioned.
"Well, we could play football or crank the radio up and have ourselves a small party," Sidney shrugged.
"I'm in!" Stu exclaimed. "Anything to see two beautiful girls dancing!" Tatum blushed at the comment while Sidney just rolled her eyes. "I bet you can tear up a floor, Sid." Stu insinuated, "all the shy ones can."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, just get your ass outside before I kick you there," Sidney grumbled. Stu laughed and saluted her, then out the door he ran. Tatum grabbed her drink from the counter and followed him, eager to show him what she was made of. Sidney rolled her eyes. "They need to hurry up and get together. The whole sexual tension they give off can't be good for them..." Billy laughed beside her.
"They might spontaneously combust," Billy joked back. Sidney nodded, but jumped lightly as his breath fanned over her ear gently. "But we might be in the running for that." Sidney felt a blush creeping up onto her face. "I fully intend to steal that kiss," he whispered then he too was out the door behind Tatum. Sidney grabbed the counter for a minute.
"If I don't attack you first," Sidney whispered. "Jesus, that boy is dangerous. And I like it.." She laughed at her own monolouge and shook her head. Sidney pulled herself together, locked her horomones tightly back in their box, and grabbed her drink off the counter. With her head held high and face free of a blush, she walked out into her backyard.
Then her mouth hung on hinges at the sight that greeted her. Tatum was grinding against Stu, who had his hands around her waist, to the 112's Only You.
'Oh my ga!' Her thoughts screamed. 'What happened to Casey?'
"Kinda shocking, isn't it?" Billy whispered.
"She's pulling out all the stops..." Sidney returned. "I can't blame her really." Billy's head snapped over to her. Both of his eyebrows rose quickly to his hairline. She laughed. "Casey's never been faithful. She was probably hitting on you the first time she met you and more than likely hitting on Joey in Stu's presence." Billy rubbed the back of his neck.
"Yeah, that is true..." He mumbled.
"See? Tatum's just giving Stu a better...alternative.." Billy laughed at Sidney's pause. Sidney tilted her head and listened to the beat of the next song as Stu and Tatum took a break. "I Love You Always Forever by Donna Lewis!" Sidney recongized. Billy watched as Sidney started slowly shifting on her feet to the beat.
"Ohh!" Tatum laughed, "grab her now, Billy, because this will be the only time you'll get her to dance. Unless you know, La Bouche's Sweet Dreams comes on.." At the end of her words, Billy turned to Sidney and held out his hand. Sidney smiled and with a small blush touching her cheeks, she took his hand and allowed him to pull her closer.
They slow danced in the beginning, then the beat began to pick up and they were swinging and bouncing to the beat while an amused Stu and Tatum stood watching.
"Go get the camera..." Tatum whispered. Stu crashed through the house and was back just as the beat picked up again.
"I love you always forever," Sidney sang as Billy spin her away and back to him. His hand fell to her hip. Her back was to him as she swayed quickly. "Say you love me, love me forever! Never stop, never whatever! Near and far and always! And everywhere and everything!" She sang along with the first, then stopped and focused on her movements. Billy swung her up in the air by her waist. "Billy!" She squealed. His laughtered reached her as he spun her over his shoulder. He set her on her feet and they swayed near the end before parting.
"Bravo~!" Stu cried and snapped the camera shut. The recording light went off.
"Stu!" Sidney cried as Donna Lewis' song faded into the background and No Doubt's Spiderweb started, "give me that!"
"No way! I'm so keeping it!" Tatum cried throwing herself in front of Sidney. "That was so cute! I might just give it to you when your embarrassment calms down." Billy's laugther cut off whatever Sidney was going to say. She turned to look at him. An easy smile came onto her face.
"Maybe it's not so bad," she whispered.
'If I can see him like this everytime..' She thought. Her eyes turned gentle as she stared at him as his laughter faded.
"Stu, let's go find a place to hide it before she changes her mind," Tatum whispered into the taller boy's ear. He nodded and then the two were gone into the house. Billy raised his eyebrows at Sidney's stare and the way her mouth would open then close.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Alright, we're going to kick it old school!" The radio announcer cooed. "With some Luther Vandross with Here and Now!"
The slow, seductive tunes of the song were washing over the two teenagers. Looking at her and she at him, Billy moved forward. Sidney looked up at him. He leaned forward. Their lips, finally, met.
There was none of the rumored fireworks, only a large sense of fullfillment and wanting. Then just as quickly as their kiss had began, it ended and left them with the aftermath of their meeting. Sidney smiled up at him and he smiled down at her.
"Hey," Sidney laughed.
"Hi," he returned with a small chuckle. He pecked her on the lips again before stepping away from her. About one minute later, the sliding door opened. Stu tilted his head to the side. Billy looked at Sidney and smiled. She smiled back then laughed.
"Why do I get the feeling we just missed something?" Stu asked. Billy fell into laughter beside her.
"It's not just a feeling," Tatum huffed. "We missed something; we missed something big..."