A/N: The weeks I update may be a little scattered and unpredictable since I have a few things on my plate at the moment. But the days I post will still be Sundays. With that said, enjoy the chapter!

The Palace Arcade

Max was bored.

She slumped on the couch, elbow on the armrest and cheek boredly draped over her knuckle as the TV buzzed a show she didn't care to pay attention to. Right now, she wished she could be out with her friends playing board games or watching horror films, but she was caged inside the house like a damn animal.

A couple days ago, Max was more than ready to head out to Dustin's place. He was going to show them how to make little homemade poppers. But her mom, at the worst timing, stopped her just minutes before she had to leave to say, "You know I was thinking that maybe we could take a cooking class together. It's a little local mother-daughter class for the winter, so you could meet some of the other girls."

Max had nothing against spending time with her mother, but it was the mention of "some of the other girls"—the hint of her hanging around too many boys—that made her decline. "It's not really my thing mom," she had said.

Susan gave an anxious smile. "Wouldn't it be nice to hang around other girls for a change?"

And there it was.

"You act like I don't hang around enough of them at school."

And as ill fate would have it, Neil so happened to walk into the room just as she said it. "Listen to your mother, Maxine," he'd said. "You'll go to that class with her."

Her mouth dropped. "Why? Just because you guys can't fathom a girl hanging around a bunch of guys?"

His eye darkened. "Watch your mouth, Maxine, or you'll be sorry."

"I'd rather be sorry than at some stupid cooking class."

And like that, her mouth had sealed her fate. Max couldn't go out with her friends that day, or the days after for that matter. Neil told Susan that she was hanging out with them too much. So he had decided that she needed to spend more time with her mom. It didn't make any sense because Susan was working most of the time and was only ever home after six. So what time did she have to spend with her beforehand?! Even when the weekend rolled around, they were too tired to do anything. It was unfair! The only person that was home most of the time, except for Max, was Billy. But it was mostly OK, she decided.

Somehow, things felt a tiny bit more... open around him, like she could be herself a little more, and it seemed he could as well. After their game, Billy would still make his snide remarks about her "bitchy" attitude or her inability to be on time, but he smiled a little more when he passed her, and even kidded around with her, shooting a balled-up napkin into the trash from across the room and saying, "That's how you make a shot." But all of this only lasted for a few days until he slipped back into pestering and teasing her again. Even took the time to sit out in the cold for a few minutes and watch her shovel the driveway like she'd promised, just so he could mock how weak and slow she was. But it wasn't the same as before. It wasn't a teasing out of malice or a need to humiliate her. It was more...playful and—dare she say—brotherly.

Still, Billy only went so far.

Max sighed, shifting on the couch. On top of her being stuck in the house, none of her friends could come over. Not necessarily because Neil said so—they all had plans for the holidays. Dustin had to go out of state to visit family. And Mike practically lived at El's house. Lucas did try to call her once or twice, and even then they had very little time to talk.

One time, Neil answered the phone. Max's heart stopped for a second, wondering if he'd be able to tell Lucas' skin color based on his voice alone. Luckily, all he did was hand her the phone and tell her to "Make it quick" before walking away. She had been so nervous about that time that she'd ended up asking Lucas if she could call him instead.

She sighed again. Now, she was even more bored.

Billy on the other hand. He was moodier than a girl on her period. Having his car taken away and being stuck in the house and hating the cold weather was really starting to take a toll on him. He had been cranky, snapping almost instantly at the slightest inconvenience. Like when Max accidentally kicked one of his weights on the floor. He'd nearly had a conniption. "Don't touch my stuff!" he'd said, like the weight hadn't nearly broken her toe.

Neil locking Billy's car up, one would think he was being tortured, like actually having his nails pulled from his fingers. Because he had been "misusing it". Billy hated not being able to use his car more than being stuck inside the house and bitched about it any chance he could get. And somehow, even when he did get a chance to leave (typically on weekends), he'd only come back looking tired and more aggravated. His temper had been off ever since.

He glared at the thermometer. This punishment might have been bearable if it wasn't so fucking cold. All he wanted was his car back, and until then, well, he refused to be the only miserable one.

A cranky Bily wasn't a good Billy. Max tried to avoid him when he started bothering her again. Some days, he'd barge into her room, yelling for her to leave her door open just to annoy her. If she was reading, he'd pull her chair from under her to snatch the comic out of her hand. If he was in an even worse mood, he would dump any snacks she had lying around down the toilet.

In short, Billy went out of his way to bother her. And being stir-crazy was making him erratic and more dickish than normal. It was like their little game never happened! But in truth, Max wasn't all that surprised; anytime something bothered Billy, he would usually take it out on her. Her pain somehow eased his boredom. When he'd get like this, she'd usually leave the house. The only issue was that, now, they were stuck in it together.

Max sighed even louder. She took her hand from her knuckles and looked to the hallway. This whole journey to better things with Billy—sometimes it felt like she was going nowhere. Every time they took a step forward, he would do something impulsive and aggressive, and they'd take two steps back. Somehow, she needed to get things under control. Bullying her might ease his boredom, but she couldn't take it anymore. The thought of spending the entire winter break at home with him, and being bullied made her want to cry, especially when she remembered her own stir-craziness all those weeks ago ended with him getting a beating. On top of that, she felt him pulling away, retreating back to "the old days." Everything she worked so hard for... all the ground she covered... the momentum they built... She'd be damned if they lost all the progress they made just because of some freaking crankiness and boredom.

She needed him to get out of the house for her sake and his.

Besides the cold, the only issue was that Billy would only leave the house if Max wanted to go somewhere. And even then, her "wanting to" wasn't a guarantee he'd take her. When she saw him, he was mostly standing around, not doing anything. He did go outside on the weekends when Mom and Neil were home and he didn't have to watch her, but for some reason, that never seemed to make a difference; He wasn't any kinder when he came back inside. Usually, he seemed exhausted upon his return, not like his pepped-up self after coming from a date or with a drunken sway after a party. Instead, he had the look of a working man.

Is it work? Did he get the job? But Max couldn't worry about that now.

Max decided to try asking him for stuff—going for a walk outside or a quick run to the gas station for a pop—anything, just so that they could get out of the house, but that only seemed to annoy him. Most of the time, he'd just ignore her, but sometimes he would yell at her to leave him alone.

Max thought back to their game of HORSE. Back then, he had felt like an ordinary brother, and she liked it. In fact, she really enjoyed spending time with him, at least when he wasn't being a dick. Still, she wanted to do it again, but she had to do something clever. Knowing him, if Billy found out she liked spending time with him, he would use it to make fun of her or simply never spend time with her again just to be petty. She thought about it. She couldn't just come out and say it, but if she said that it was to make them both less bored, he would probably not suspect anything. Convincing him to even step one foot outside, however, would be a challenge. She'd already used her shoveling snow tokens, so she'd have to come up with something else.

She approached him that Friday. He was busy doing bicep curls with the weight bar. The TV blared on the music channel, loud enough to hurt Max's ears. Billy seemed unbothered. She didn't understand how he could stand such loud music.

"Billy," she called out, shouting over the music. He didn't seem to hear. "Billy!" she tried again. He grumbled, slamming the weights back down on the rack before glaring at her. The annoyed look only meant he had heard her the first time, and just decided to ignore her.

"What?!" he said.

Max hesitated for a second. "I want to go to the arcade. I think—"

Billy barely looked at her. She was pretty sure he scoffed at her. "I'm busy," he said, and went back to lifting.

"We could go after your workout."

"And I'll still be busy."

"Doing what?"

"Not taking to you."

Max crossed her arms. "We don't even have to go today."

He didn't even turn to look at her. Instead, he grabbed the remote and raised the volume on the TV. Max sighed and stomped away. Obviously, he was having another bitchy day. But she couldn't give up. She'd just have to try again later.

. . .

She decided to approach him around lunchtime a few hours later. He was eating a sandwich in the dining room, less likely to be annoyed than during his weight lifting. She started.

"We could—"

"Don't bring up the arcade," he said, never taking his eyes off his food.

Or maybe not.

Max puffed up her cheeks and stomped away. When Billy was done eating, he headed to his room, but she intercepted him in the hall. Max opened her mouth to say something, but Billy quickly flicked her head, and she stopped.

"I swear to god, Max. If you bring up the arcade, I'll destroy your room."

Max backed away. When she didn't leave, Billy took a step closer to her, and she hurried into her room. She dumped herself on the bed. If he wasn't so stubborn, they'd be on their way by now. But now, she wasn't brave enough to ask him again for a while. He kicked her door as he walked past and she jumped. She would have to let him cool down.

She stood up and walked to the window, which was still glued shut from Billy's last act of vengeance. Everything was covered in frost. She glared at it; Billy would never agree to go out as long as it was this cold outside. The bus station wasn't that long of a walk. Maybe five to ten minutes. She might be able to use that to convince him.

Who am I kidding? That's an eternity to Billy.

Max looked at her door. It probably had a dent. He had already started reverting back to old—well, older—ways; there was no reason for him to hit her door. He just did it for the hell of it. She sighed, a thought crossing her mind. Max could drop her attempt to get him out of the house, leave it alone... but she reminded herself that she was doing this for both of their sakes. She couldn't give up now. She just had to continue to ask him. If she didn't, they might end up where they started; with Billy bullying her out of pure malice.

Max sighed again. Fine, she thought. Time to start playing dirty.

. . .

Later that day, Max had a plan. It was a game of patience—she needed to wait for the perfect time for her plan to work. So, she waited and waited, until that time finally came.

Billy's door clicked open.

Max, her door slightly ajar, looked through the crack, watching Billy slip from his room and head down the hall, straight to the bathroom. The door shut. Max sat on the edge of her bed, waiting only for a moment to make sure he wouldn't come out soon. When a moment passed, she darted out of her room, holding a hairpin in one hand. Her dad had taught her how to pick a lock back in California, and now, it would finally be useful.

She stuck the needle in the door and, after a moment, heard a click. Max ripped the door open and barged in. Billy, sitting on the toilet, jolted and yelped, his hands flying to his crotch. He had just sat down.

"Max! What the f—!"

"I want to go to the arcade," she said, her heart beating heavily in her chest.

"I'm not taking you! I don't feel like taking you!" Billy screamed.

"Then I don't feel like giving you this." Max took something from under her arm and held it up. It was a roll of toilet paper. She'd taken it about an hour ago and hid their other batch, just in case. Billy's eyes snapped to the empty rack beside him, and he cursed under his breath. Then, he looked up and snatched Max's towel from the towel rack.

"How 'bout I just wipe my ass with your towel?" he threatened. But Max stood her ground.

"I thought you'd say something like that. But mom and Neil won't be happy to see shit stains on a towel. They'll be real shitty... Might even ban you from the car even longer." She crossed her arms. She had to be confident.

Billy paused. His face contorted as he juggled his options. Then, he grumbled a bit and conceded.

"Fine. I'll take you to the damn arcade." He reached out for the toilet paper. She was about to hand it to him but pulled it back.

"Promise?"

"Max, just give me the fucking—!" he said, growing angry for real.

"Promise!" she said again and took a step back.

"Okay! Damn!"

She looked at him for a moment. Slowly, she held out the roll, and he snatched it from her.

"Ugh, you stink." She pinched her nose, grabbed the air freshener off the counter, and dramatically sprayed the air, waving her arm in exaggerated motions. Billy threw her towel at her face. She stopped and stumbled back.

"So annoying!" he yelled.

Max yanked the towel off her face and glowered at him. She set the spray down, holding her glare as she walked out of the bathroom. As soon as she closed the door, she smiled. It worked. It had actually worked.

. . .

Max was dressed and waiting by the door. She wore the new coat that her mom had bought just for the winter break. After a while, she worried that Billy would back out of his promise, albeit a forced one. But then again, her broken skateboard proved that he did keep his promises. She felt a bit sad thinking about it, but not for long. Eventually, Billy emerged from the hall, wearing his leather jacket and a fresh scowl on his face. He glared at her and stopped at the door. Max just watched him. She shuddered—she felt cold just watching him.

Billy opened the door, but Max stayed put.

"Well, are we going or not?" he said, annoyed.

She nodded and walked outside. They walk together to the bus station. Usually, he'd take long strides to get to the station as quickly as possible. But not today. Max watched as he took a cigarette from his breast pocket and lit it, the small embers and smoke rising into the chilled air. She remembered the cigarette ad she read in the mail a while back. The one with the disclaimer about the dangers of smoking.

"You shouldn't smoke those things," she said. Billy sighed.

"You care about me smoking now, huh?" he said and took a deep puff. She just stared at him, "Yes" being the first thing to come to mind. But for some reason, those words wouldn't leave her lips. In truth, she didn't really understand why she cared. And she wasn't sure why it was so hard to say. Maybe she thought she'd only say it because it sounded like the right thing to say. Or maybe... maybe she thought he wouldn't believe her.

Billy sighed again. "What?"

She kept staring at him.

"Max," he said, even more annoyed now.

She turned away. "Nothing."

The bus came and the two hurried on. Billy sat as far away from her as possible, which wasn't far at all. Just two seats over across the aisle. Max looked outside. It hadn't snowed too much the past week, at least not enough to cover the roads. But the temperature had dropped into the 20s several times, and today was no different. They had warned about it on TV. She clenched her hands inside the coat. Her mom had bought it because they said that this year would get cold. She looked at Billy—he was just wearing his leather jacket. She wondered if he had a thicker jacket or if the thin leather jacket was all he had.

I'd never be caught dead with a winter coat.

Max pursed her lips, remembering the words. So stubborn.

Finally, they arrived at the Palace Arcade. It was one of the few buildings that looked alive. She could see people moving around inside. A few kids kept running in and out. Billy stopped her and pointed to his watch.

"You've got an hour," he said before plopping down on a bench along the building. He didn't seem to care that it was covered in frost and probably freezing to sit on. He was planning on leaving for the nearest, warmest building the second she stepped inside anyway. Max hesitated.

"You're not coming inside?" she asked.

Billy snorted. "Why the hell would I go in there? I wouldn't be caught dead in a place like that." He gestured to the colorful building. It probably had more color than Billy had worn in his entire life.

"But it's freezing out here." Max somehow felt cold beneath her thick jacket. Billy was probably even colder. She didn't want him sitting outside like that in the cold.

"You think I'll stay here watching you? Nah. There are plenty of places for me to go. The theater, the bar. Might even find a nice piece of ass." He leaned on the bench.

Max's expression softened. She felt bad for him. She knew he didn't have any friends or anyone to hang out with. Everyone he spoke to never seemed to hang around him for long. All he had was bluster and confidence. She clenched her fists. She had gotten him this far. She would not stumble on the victory line.

"I want to go to the arcade," she said, unable to meet his eyes.

Billy tensed. He gestured around him. "Are you blind? We're already here!" he yelled. Max curled away from him.

"No, I mean you and… me..." She blushed. She didn't know why she suddenly felt embarrassed to ask. But Billy just stared blankly at her. The silence was unbearable. She felt compelled to speak again.

"It's just... I mean… you've been stuck in the house… so I thought maybe… maybe you'd like to play with me…like you did with basketball..." She tapered off.

Billy continued to stare at her.

"I... I just… you know... with Neil... and your punishment..."

Billy dropped the cigarette he was holding, his eyes blank. "You trying to get me in trouble?" he said and clenched his fists.

Max backed away and held up her hands. "No, no! You've just been stuck in the house and—" Max paused, realizing something. "You'll be following Neil's rules if you do. Technically, you'll be watching me, right?"

Billy seemed to think it over. Then a gaggle of children came out of the arcade. He pointed at them. "I'm not going in there with those rugrats. They'll be crowding the place because of the break. Besides, that 'play time' like basketball was a one-time thing."

She didn't back down. "Come on, it could be fun. If you beat me, I'll... I'll get you a new radio."

Billy scoffed, pressing a finger against her forehead. "With what money?"

Max hesitated. "I... know people," she lied. Billy didn't seem convinced.

"You know people? Really? And who would that be?"

Max fumbled with her words. She looked around, trying to buy some more time, but she couldn't figure anything out. "Ok fine. I'll find a way to end your punishment early."

He scoffed again. "Oh right, that's smart. If you ask Neil, he'll get the wrong idea, and you'll just get me in more trouble." Billy crossed his arms. "Is that what you want, Max? To get me in more trouble, huh?"

Max sighed again; she knew he was right. "Fine. What do you want?"

Billy stared at her again. "What does it matter? I'm not doing it, and even if I did, you're not planning to lose. So no, I'm not going to play in the stupid arcade with you."

Max held back a smile—she knew what to do now. "Are you planning on losing?" she taunted.

Billy's glare grew. His fingers twitched. Billy wasn't one to turn down a challenge. But then the door opened again and children's screams could be heard. He pulled back.

"Nice try," he said. "Hurry up and go. Your hour is ticking away." Max pouted. She didn't move. Billy sighed, annoyed. "Just go by yourself. Like you always do. Why do I have to?" he whined.

Max stayed quiet. She knew it was silly, but she felt an ache in her chest from his refusal. She folded her arms and plopped down right next to Billy, right on that cold bench. Billy grumbled.

"Ugh! What was the point of coming here if you're not even going to go?"

"What was the point of coming here if you're not going to go with me?!" she asked. Her voice felt thick.

"Why the hell does it matter if I go with you? Just go play with some random kid."

"Because I wanted to hang out with you again, ok?!"

Billy paused, stunned. So sappy, he thought, but something warm flickered in his gut. He wanted to ask why. Why him? His mouth moved, but no words left.

Max sucked in a breath. "I just... I don't want to play with some kid... I wanted to go with you." Her voice was a whisper. She took another deep breath. "We don't have to go to the arcade... We can go to the theater or… we can do what you want," she said.

Billy stared at her. What I want she says. I wouldn't be out here in the first place if it wasn't for her. He grumbled a bit. "Ugh, you girls are so complicated. Goddamn." He got off the bench and walked away.

Max frowned, thinking he'd head towards the bus station, but then he swiveled towards the arcade doors and turned to look at her.

"Are we going or not?!" Billy barked.

Max's mouth fell, too shocked to move. Finally, she bounced up, something bright fluttering in her gut as they headed inside.

Billy visibly relaxed, his shivering muscles going still as he gave a relieved sigh from the warmth. But then he tensed again. The arcade was filled with kids ranging from elementary students to high schoolers. Billy figured he would have looked out of place, but he wasn't the only older sibling there. He seemed taller than a majority of the kids there, however, and the only one wearing leather. Some kids turned and looked at him. He glared at them, and they scattered.

He couldn't believe that he let Max talk him into going here. It sucked. There were only—what he considered—kiddie games, and they were surrounded by kids. Their screeches hurt his ears. The arcade was dark, except for some light going along the walls. Kids' faces were lit up by the screens on the machines. They looked almost inhuman. Max dragged him past the awards counter. He frowned at the cheap-looking prizes—bouncing balls, gum, candy, slinkies, and playing cards. There was nothing there that he would ever want.

Max checked her pockets and paused. Slowly, she took out the money given by her mom and the twenty Billy gave her. She let her fingers brush over the bill. The creases and wrinkles of that twenty reminded her of their deal. She slipped it back into her pocket; she had to keep it. The money from her mom would be enough for an hour.

She turned to Billy. He was still looking at the prizes. "Billy, come on," she said. He pulled away from the prizes and followed her deeper into the arcade.

"Why the hell do you love the arcade so much?" he asked, He was not looking at her, instead keeping his eyes on a pac-man game. The kid playing was close to tears; he died and punched the buttons.

Max shrugged, unsure what to say. "I guess it's because me and my dad used to play a lot together."

Billy went quiet. He often forgot that Max had had a dad that she loved and missed. His own dad wasn't much to write home about. It was odd to think that Max loved hers. He didn't like the feeling rising inside of him. He kept staring at her, part of him felt angry. But not at her.

"Wish your dad hadn't taught you how to pick a fucking lock," he muttered under his breath to distract himself. If her dad hadn't, they wouldn't be in the stupid arcade, and he wouldn't have asked that stupid question.

Meanwhile, Max was surprised that he remembered her telling him her dad taught her how to pick locks, or that he even noticed that she had picked the lock to begin with. She shrugged it off. Then she spotted it. It just got free and no one was in line for it. She grabbed Billy's arm and dragged him towards the lone machine, her favorite game. She put a quarter in and pressed the yellow button, and the game lit up. The words Dig Dug appeared together with three characters—a helmeted man, a blob, and a crocodile.

"I have the highest score," Max said.

Billy looked at her, disbelieving. "Yeah right."

"I do." Max opened the high scores screen and pointed at the name at the top. "See."

Billy leaned in to look at the screen. The name MAD MAX stood proudly at the top with a huge 100,000-point gap between a kid named DUSTIN in second place. He was surprised to say the least. He didn't know this about her. He assumed she sucked, like she did with nearly everything else, at least in his eyes.

Billy chuckled, still eyeing her alias. "Mad Max," he said. That's what he called her the first time they met. Well, he had called her Maxine at first, and she had told him that it pissed her off when people did that. He smiled, remembering what he had said.

"We'll you've got a mouth on you."

"Only when people piss me off."

He laughed. "Mad Max. All right, then."

Max turned to see him grinning at the name, remembering that day too. Now that she thought about it, he didn't have to call her Max. Plenty of people still called her Maxine, and he could have continued doing it as well, even if only to get under her skin. But he hadn't, for some reason. She smiled a bit. That was another thing for the very short list of Nice things Billy has done.

Billy poked her to get her attention. She turned to him, letting Dig Dug die.

"What the hell...is all this?" he said, his eyes scrunched as he gestured towards the screen.

"It's a maze game." She started another round. "Billy, come play."

He shook his head. "Nah, I don't like kiddie games."

Max stared at him. "Do you even know how to play?"

He snorted. "How hard can it be?"

She raised a brow. With a skeptical smile, Max stepped back and gestured for him to have at it. His eyes darted from her, then to the game. With a sigh, he approached and positioned his hands over the buttons. And just as soon as the game started, it ended.

Turns out that it can be hard. Especially if you don't know the controls. Far different from basketball. Max smirked. He was in her domain now.

"Wow, that was great," Max said, trying to stifle a laugh. "That's really showing them."

Billy pointed at her." I could leave. I don't have to play with you. I can leave and do my own thing, Max."

She just raised her hands in surrender. "OK, OK." She pointed to the machine. "You still have another life."

Billy gave her a scathing look and started again, the game quickly coming to an end once more. A snort slipped through Max's nose. He turned to leave.

"I don't have to take this shit."

Max quickly grabbed his jacket. "Don't be such a sore loser. You can't leave me stranded here anyway, remember?"

Billy scoffed, but he didn't pull his jacket away from her. "You're not gonna snitch."

Max paused. She shouldn't have felt warm from that statement, yet she did. It felt like Billy trusted her more now.

"Look, if I can handle you laughing at my shitty basketball skills, then you can handle me laughing at your shitty gaming." She thought for a few seconds, knowing Billy liked to compete. "Here. I can teach you. If you know how to play, you might be able to beat me," Max teased.

Billy turned back around. "Fine, show me," he said.

Max smiled, inserted a quarter, and started the game again. "So, the joystick controls how you move." She pushed it upwards and Dig Dug moved. "The yellow button shoots out the beam." She pressed it and the figure attacked the blob with a yellow beam. "You sort of have to plan how you move. You can kill enemies with the rock too..."

She went quiet as she concentrated on the game. Billy was quick to notice, watching as her eyes glossed over, her attention laser-focused, like nothing else was in the room with her. He shoved her, and the controller pried from her fingers. Dig Dug moved right into an enemy, and she lost.

"Hey!"

Billy shrugged. "You said it was a demonstration. So move. My turn."

Max stepped to the side, and Billy started his turn. He managed to kill some blobs but lost when he miscalculated with a rock. Max laughed again.

"You suck at this," she said.

"I don't suck at this. I just haven't played. Who even takes this stuff seriously anyway?"

Billy patted his jacket, sliding his hands down to his pants, giving them a quick pat. When he found nothing, he held out his hand. Max stared at it, confused.

"Well," he said. "Are you gonna hand me a quarter or not?"

. . .

Billy was a surprisingly fast learner. They had been game-hopping so that he had a chance to try out different games. He wasn't great at most of them, but he became decent kind of quickly. Billy almost seemed to enjoy himself.

Most of the time.

He was still Billy after all, a ball of rage in all its glory. He got annoyed when things went bad and nearly punched out the screen when he lost to pac-man. He was okay at Dragon Quest, but he kept ogling the 2D woman's breast, which caused him to lose, several times actually. Max had rolled her at him for that.

Max had to drag him to Donkey Kong when she couldn't stand it anymore. Billy seemed to like Donkey Kong; another of Max's favorites. Well, he didn't lose immediately and even made it close to the final level. He played it a few times but never managed to win. They ended up going to the harder section, where the hard games were. There were less people there too, and most of them were older teens. Billy was happy to no longer be around a bunch of kids. He decided to try out some type of space game. He started it up and a little spaceship appeared on the screen. Max stood next to him, watching him play. Her full attention was on him.

To her surprise, Billy seemed to genuinely like Sinistar; one of the most difficult games in the arcade. She had seen people break down in tears over it. But then again, when hearing the type of music Billy listened to, she shouldn't be surprised. The game seemed to fit the rocking, chaotic vibe he loved so well. Now, his attention was on the screen. His brows pressed together in concentration. A face came up with a roar, and both Billy and Max jumped.

"Try hitting it!" Max half-screamed.

"I am trying," Billy said through gritted teeth. He flew his spaceship around. He went right and missed the face.

"Left! No, the other left!"

Billy's ship jerked around, trying to avoid everything on the screen, narrowly avoiding the face. "Would you shut up! I'm trying to concentrate. 'Bit hard with you bitching in my ear!''

Max kept from speaking and instead watched in tense silence. He was so close to winning. Billy's knuckles whitened from how hard he was holding the joystick. He had enough bombs trailing behind his ship as he pelted them straight at Sinistar. With one final BOOM, the character fell. Billy won.

"YEEEAAAAAH!"

They roared, throwing their arms high in the air. Billy pumped his fist and Max raised her hand in the air. Billy looked at it, and without thought, slapped her hand, giving a sharp high-five like he would a player on a basketball team. It was quick, and stung like a whip.

Max twisted her face and shook her hand from the pain, giving an airy "Ahhh", but seeing how psyched Billy was somehow lessened the sting, and after a moment, it barely hurt, and she was back up for another. That's how excited she was. Billy didn't seem to notice either. He was smiling and laughing. It was his fifth attempt to pass that level and he got it. His name flashed proudly on the first screen. Well not his real name, an alias she had given himself since he didn't want any proof that he was there. But that name was proof nonetheless.

And it was odd, seeing Billy so happy. He was like a kid again, like the ones running around the room. She had never seen him like that before.

She loved it.

"That's what I'm talking about!" he said. "That's the way you do it, baby! Woo!"

A sea of kids and teens stared at him. Billy noticed, looked about, and quickly cleared his throat. His tough guy persona was up again. He brushed back his hair and pretended that he hadn't just been celebrating winning a silly arcade game. Max had to force herself to hold back a smile.

Billy turned, doing a double take when he saw the darkened tint of the sky. He looked at his watch, eyes wide. "Shit, time to go." He looked at Max, something in his eyes. Something new. "Unless you can turn back time again?"

Max paused. Did Billy just... make a joke? And a joke about her messing with his clocks of all things?

She smiled. He did. Billy made a joke.

They hurried to the entrance. Billy hurried out, still embarrassed from his scene. But Max stopped mid-stride when something caught her eye. There, on the bulletin board, was a yellow flier. And as she read, her mouth fell:

Arcade Tournament! Win Two Vip Tickets to Metallica's Ride The Lightning Tour!

"Move your ass, Max!"

Max looked outside. Billy was standing on the other side of the street, just a few feet from the bus station. The bus was already on the road. She quickly snatched up the flier and stuffed it into her pocket. Her mind raced, remembering that day—his radio, the beating, the concert tickets... This was something Billy so desperately wanted, something she had selfishly taken away. Something she so desperately wanted to make right.

She followed Billy to the bus station, only one thing repeating in her mind.

I have to win that tournament, no matter what.

To be continued . . .