~Billy~
I knew they were looking at me. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. All of the girls, even the ones holding hands with their so-called alpha boyfriends, just couldn't help themselves. I looked good. No, scrap that. I was on fucking fire tonight. After dropping Max off at the arcade, I decided to go on a bit of a drive. However, the never-ending smell of cow shit put me off the idea entirely so I went back to pick her up after around an hour. There I met Tommy Hagan for the second time today. The guy who had picked up on the news that I was the hottest topic of Hawkins High and immediately extended an invitation to the basketball tryouts. Surprise, surprise. Turned out these guys couldn't play for shit and their apparent star player, according to Tommy, was pussywhipped enough to skip the second round of practice. Anyhow, it turned out he was picking up his younger brother from the arcade and asked if I was free later for a few beers. Naturally, I was always down for a few cans. I was also up for meeting the few girls he mentioned would be there. They weren't the Californian babes I was used to, but they weren't ugly by any means. So, I drove out to meet Tommy and now we were in his backyard by the pool, sharing a joint and drinking to Duran Duran. Girls on Film was playing and two girls were jumping into the pool, the clothes sticking to their wet bodies and revealing every curve. They weren't on California level hot, but they weren't bad.
There were four girls here. Carol, Tommy's girlfriend who hadn't stopped staring at me all evening. She wasn't my type. A girl called Tina who had invited me to a party had sat next to me for the whole night, twirling her black hair in an attempt to woo me. She was cute enough. Some girl called Vicki. She'd been holding onto some guy called Ray's hand all night so immediately was out of the question. Then there was Bryony Hamilton. I'd already caught her eye earlier on. Hell, I'd caught all of their eyes when I walked into this place. But Bryony in particular was giving me the eye. She was blonde, slim and the same cheerleader who had suggestively done the splits whilst leering at me earlier on. I gave her a smirk and it seemed like her legs spread apart a little further. One wink and as she got up, she let a little of her ass under the short cheerleader skirt show. She was going to be easy. I had no judgmental views of her unlike her so-called friends. Tommy had told me earlier that she was a slut. I asked him how many girls he'd slept with. He replied 9. So I asked him whether he called himself a slut or not. He said no. I posed the question, 'Then why the hell is she?'. If she wanted to get fucked by me, that was fine. She wasn't beneath me because she wanted a bit of dick. So when Bryony Hamilton sat on my lap as she took the joint from me, I didn't contest it.
"I don't want a boyfriend" Bryony suddenly declared. Good, because I didn't want to be her boyfriend. I just wanted to fuck her.
"That's fine by me" I was used to this. Hell, I was absolutely fine with it. I got laid, the girl would get laid and we'd both win at the end. No complaints on either side.
I was usually the trophy to show off back in California. Some girls only wanted a bad boy to make their glowing reputation seem a little more edgy. Others wanted to get laid, no strings attached. The latter I got along with more because we both had the same intention. Outside of the motel room or the backseat of my car, we could live our own separate lives. What we shared was one hell of a good time. Nothing more and that's how I wanted it to be. No feelings meant no attachment. I didn't know Bryony too well. I knew she was a cheerleader, that she was my age, her parents were lawyers, and her ass felt good on my lap. I knew she wanted something on the side. She was very knowledgeable in what she wanted. In fact, it was one of the first things she'd said to me. I admired how up front she was. Down to business in a matter of minutes. It saved a lot of time. To my own dismay, when she initiated to go upstairs, I declined. If He saw me getting in late tonight, then there would be hell to pay. Moreover, if He sniffed the alcohol at a relatively decent time, it would only be a slap around the face or some insult at how much He thinks I'm fucking my life up. If it was after 10pm, then I'd be in deep shit. I could always sneak out afterwards when He and Susan went to bed.
"But things were just getting interesting" Bryony pouted and tugged on my arm as I got up to leave.
"And they can get interesting again another time, sweetheart" I shrugged my leather jacket on, gave her a wink and headed to my car.
"How about tomorrow?" she called. I gave her a thumbs up without turning around and got into the Camaro. I was meeting with that girl from English class. Sierra. She was pretty hot. Hotter than Bryony. Bryony looked like the typical blonde whereas Sierra's green eyes and dark hair… well, it turned me on enough to want to meet up with her again. I'd meet them both. I needed some fun in this place. Decision made, I turned around and gave her a lopsided smile, and felt the rush of testosterone build up in me as she returned it. "Then it's a date"
"Cool" I said nonchalantly and got into my car.
Within five minutes, I was back to aimlessly driving around the dimly lit streets of Hawkins. Cigarette smoke twirled in front of my eyes, burning them ever so slightly. I watched as the smoke abruptly dissipated when I let out a deep breath from my nostrils. Fuck, this was depressing. I didn't want to be in this hick town. At least in California I knew where I stood. Christ, I knew where I somewhat stood with the girls here. I wouldn't have to do much to get laid. I didn't like this feeling of being lost. It felt tight, like a tough rope rubbing against tied wrists. Impatience was a flaw of mine. I did not like being kept waiting and right now, I was forced to wait to see what this cow-shit-stinking town had to offer me, where it would take me. I had no plan for after high school. Sure, I was in AP English. I read books, so did most of the population. That didn't make me fucking special. Screw it. I'd stick to what I knew best. Using my charm on girls, fixing up cars and swimming. Life would be cool as long as I did that.
When I got home, Susan and Him were sat on the couch with their backs turned watching the latest episode of Dynasty. Susan turned around and gave me a small smile. He didn't even move. 21:58pm. Two minutes to get my ass upstairs. I nodded at Susan and made my way up the stairs. Looks like tonight was my lucky night. No indication of Him coming over to give me hell. I could just go upstairs and relax. As soon as I reached my room, I took off my clothes and stood in front of the mirror. Despite being high as fuck, I still looked great. Incredible, actually. Hair was tousled just right. I lit a cigarette and stepped closer to the mirror, marveling at the smoke as it obscured my face, the mask I wore day in and out. As the cigarette burnt until it was merely a stub, my eyes wandered down to my thighs to see my little collection of small, pale circles. Everything had to be intense, always alert. All levels had to be set at maximum to keep me away from roaming around my own head. Reaching my climax after a rough round of sex, the rush of adrenaline when someone had the audacity to piss me off. Anything but the trepidation I felt when I walked through that front door. I was fading again, getting lost in my own world. A small bit of pain would bring me back. I grunted as everything went on high alert again. Don't get lost, you've got to stay present. I threw the stub out the window and looked back in the mirror. The mask was back. Satisfied, I turned off the light and crawled into bed.
Parallel parking was never exactly a talent of mine, but I couldn't help but laugh at the women who ran for their lives as I parked the Camaro outside the grocery store. Inches away from the car behind me, I straightened the car with ease. Getting in was the crap part, but getting out was where the real skill lay. I'd dropped Max off at school around the corner and was cruising round Hawkins, scoping out the talent and seeing where was hiring for part-time jobs, when I found myself feeling pretty hungry. A cute blonde lifeguard at the local pool this morning recommended I try out the doughnuts here. Doughnuts it is, I had said, with a wink before I was back on the road. I had managed to get Max out of the way early enough for a quick morning swim, but it had left nothing in my system. He was in one of His moods this morning so it was easier to get leave earlier than wait around for Him to finally explode.
As I got out of the car, I noticed a sign that said 'No parking'. With a snort, I entered the store and started hunting for those doughnuts. I didn't know whether it was the chick's airy voice, but damn, she made doughnuts sound good. Passing by the many housewives, I grinned to myself as I overheard what was meant to be their secret conversation about how good my ass looked in these jeans. Rewarding the attractive ones with a smile, I chuckled as they lowered their eyes and giggled to themselves. I could see they were right as I caught a glimpse of myself in the sliding glass doors. Hair slightly damp yet tousled, first few top buttons of white my shirt undone, denim jacket and tight jeans, I was on my A-game today.
Just as I discovered the doughnuts, I knew that I could improve myself. That I could go the extra mile. I only knew that when I saw her. Following the curves of her lean hourglass figure as she balanced on the tips of her toes to reach a box of cereal, I allowed my eyes to linger a little longer than what would be socially acceptable. She was the hottest girl I had seen so far in this town and being able to make her blush so easily in my presence was just too much fun. Of course, she tried to hide it. She probably managed to be with other guys without letting herself go. But, I wasn't like the other hicks in this town and she recognized that. I had been so captivated by exploring her that little further, that I failed to realize that I had created a queue of annoyed grannies behind me waiting to get their own doughnuts. Muttering a quick apology, I got to work.
"Need a hand?" I asked and watched as she turned around to face me, losing balance a little. She was below the average height, around 5ft2, I'd say. She was wearing a button up, black denim skirt with fishnet tights, a black turtleneck and an oversized leather jacket. Jesus, that outfit really highlighted her ass. I had to tear my eyes away before she would catch me out. I chuckled a little and grabbed the box of cereal she'd been after, stretching myself enough for my shirt to lift up ever so slightly. I held the box out to her and let a smirk crawl effortlessly on my lips. "Here you go"
"Oh, thanks" she said and placed the box in her basket. It was the cheap stuff. This intrigued me. The girl drove a top of the range car yet was buying the budget cereal. Interesting. "We really need to stop running into each other like this," she laughed.
"What fun would I have then, Sierra?" I chuckled, flashing a grin at her.
I thought I had used all my charm this morning at the pool, but those green eyes of hers were just daring for me to say something, like she wanted to gratify me with a reaction. A quick blush, giggle of embarrassment, that was all I needed. She was just too damn easy to play with.
"It's a small town, Hargrove, I'm sure you'll get bored of me eventually" she said whilst checking out the rest of the cereal section. Her tone was cool, unbothered. Was she teasing me?
"I'm sure these can keep us a little more entertained," I told her and gestured to the doughnuts as I strolled over. "My treat, English partner"
She raised her eyebrows at me as I got closer, inches away from her, and I knew for a fact that she was struggling to contain a smile.
"Well, I have been told I make a good English partner" Sierra laughed and began inspecting the doughnuts. "You've tempted me now, Hargrove"
"Then, just give into temptation, Nightingale" I whispered and gave her my signature smirk.
She returned the smirk, biting down on her bottom lip and I knew from there I was going to be in for an interesting ride today. We had English at third period, time to get some new material together. Reset and reload, so to speak. A date at that place she mentioned. She never specifically mentioned it being a date, but it didn't need a label. I had spent the majority of my first week here helping Him out with getting the house painted. One streak of paint in the wrong place, and it was a bucket of paint thrown over me. There had been no time for fun. Sure, Bryony had been interesting enough but I had met tonnes of broads like her. She just wanted the usual setup. Friends with benefits. My kind of style. Meeting Sierra had been the most fun I'd had since getting out here, and now she was starting to show me that she could give it out as much as she could take it. I was in for a good ride, that much I knew for sure.
"Hey, Sierra!" a voice suddenly called. I'd heard this voice before at basketball practice. Blonde, a little Yuppy shit.
Jokingly, I rolled my eyes at Sierra at this interruption, maintaining the smirk. However, she seemed less amused than she had mere seconds ago under my spell. Intrigued, I turned around to see who had quite clearly bothered her. And, there he was, walking towards us with a spring in his step. I was right - it was the blonde Yuppy. From what I overheard, his name was Jason Carver. Dude was in the grade below me and had rich parents who was dating Chrissy Cunningham until a few days ago. Some guy I met had told me they had a very on-again, off-again relationship. He was the very embodiment of perfection in a parent's eyes. Their kid had made it to the top of the food chain and would probably never have to properly work for anything. The guy approached us both and gave me a light slap on the back. His greeting wasenough to make himself appear as being friendly, but was tentative. He didn't touch Sierra. He was unsure of me. What I, a newbie, was doing here with a popular girl. I'd heard all about Sierra yesterday. She hung out with someone who was referred to as 'The King of Hawkins High' and did cheerleading. She wasn't at yesterday's practice though. I would have spotted her if she had been. Bryony had been droning on about how pissed she was that Sierra didn't turn up to the second practice. " Just because her Daddy is rich she thinks she can get away with this kind of shit" was her actual words. Tommy jumped onboard and said how she was probably hanging out with a girl called Nancy, that she was going down in the ranks if she kept it up. I rolled my eyes at them. All these kids were so invested in their little cliques. It was pathetic.
"Hey, Sierra" he repeated and positioned himself to the other side of her, resting an arm on the tinned cans section. "I, uh, heard your dad's throwing his annual dinner party pretty soon and was kind enough to invite me along. It'll be good to chat with him, see how the stock market is going"
By her expressionless face and the bored, 'Oh, great' , I could tell Sierra wasn't interested in a single word this guy had to say. Her dad must be someone quite important for Carver to be posing like this. Bryony had said her dad was rich. Her parents must be too if they were lawyers. Christ, even Tommy's house had a pool. So how much richer was this guy to make this guy kiss her ass so hard it borderlined a rim job? I bore my eyes into him and yawned loudly. It was like watching paint dry. If he was aiming to impress her, he had to try a little harder.
"Oh, hey, man. Sorry, I'm Jason. I think I saw you at basketball tryouts at lunch yesterday? Did you make it onto the team?" Jason asked and bounced from his cool facade to shaking my hand.
I returned the handshake firmly, and by the slight jolt I could feel underneath his skin, I had startled him.
"I'm Billy" I replied and gave him a quick smile that was as fake as his dyed blonde hair. "Yeah, I did. Look forward to starting"
Pausing, I surveyed his reaction. A nod and smile, enough for him to say he had treated me decently, but enough for him to not fully associate himself with me. Not letting another moment pass, Jason turned to Sierra again and opened his mouth to speak.
"Sierra and I were just buying some breakfast. Better get them when they're still hot" I told him and gestured to the doughnuts in my hand. Meanwhile, with my other hand, I placed it on Sierra's back. To my surprise, she moved closer to me.
"See you later, Jason" Sierra finally said and instigated us to walk away.
Walking to the checkout, I looked over my shoulder to see a dismayed Jason stand with his jaw practically dangling wide open and his posse question who I was. The answer was simple. I was the guy who would ruin his perfect world. He'd had that vision of having a popular, attractive girl on his arm and probably daydreamed about going to that dinner party where Sierra's father would offer him a glass of cognac, shake his hand and humbly say, 'You can call me Dad, son'. All of that had been shattered for him. Instead, I put my hand on her back and took her away. After paying, we made our way outside to stand by my car.
"Seems like someone has the eye for you" I teased and offered her a doughnut.
"Oh God, don't remind me" she groaned and took a bite. "Jason just comes back to me whenever he and Chrissy Cunningham have a fall out"
"You used to date, I'm guessing?" I asked with a laugh. Nothing wrong with a bit of friendly competition, at all.
"No, but his dad and my dad go way back, so I've had the so-called pleasure of spending most summers with Jason and his family for as long as I can remember" Sierra began and took another bite of the doughnut. She had an appetite it seemed. Mumbling some words, I chuckled at her as she indulged in another bite. "He's quite the people pleaser"
"I bet the folks are preparing the prenups as we speak" I said and watched amusedly as Sierra let out a hearty cackle.
"God, don't!" she gasped and swatted my arm jokingly. "Anyway, we better stop talking, he's coming out"
Carver, that despondency still a shadow on his features, walked out with the Yuppie Brigade in tow. As I started to hum the Wedding March, all of the composure he had built up to seem like he had not been defeated in front of Sierra faded away. With a glare, he angrily ordered his group to hurry up. I nodded at him in recognition that I had seriously pissed him off. Oh, I was looking forward to seeing them in basketball practice.
"Holy shit!" Sierra breathed in disbelief and turned to me. Speechless, she started laughing and desperately tried to suffocate the endless trail of laughter with her hand.
"So, we agree, I'll be the guy who runs in and shouts, 'I object'?" I said and shoved the doughnut box towards her so she could take the last one. I'd had my fill of more than just sugary doughnuts today.
Outstretching her hand out to me, I gave it a firm shake. As it seemed, we had an agreement in place now. She would let me indulge in seeing her blush at my shocking acts and I would ensure Carver didn't have a snowball's chance in hell. Tearing the last doughnut in half, she took my hand out of my jean pocket and placed it in my palm.
"Looks like we have ourselves a deal then, Nightingale" I announced. Boldly, my thumb stroked her hand as I picked up my half of the doughnut and ate it, sucking the sugar from it afterward, all whilst locking my eyes with hers. "Catch you later"
As I made my way into my car, I caught a flash of her grin and winked at her.
I had a feeling Nightingale was going to be my best conquest yet.