A/N
"Out of me, into you, yeah,
You can't hide, it's just a one-way street,
Oh, I believe I'm in you, yeah,
Open wide, that's right,
Dream me off my feet,
Oh, believe in me"
Def Leppard - Hysteria
/
Joss locked the door, leaving the arcade morosely silent and devoid of all lights. She put the keys in her jacket pocket and slowly followed the form of Billy into the now deserted parking lot, towards his dark blue Camaro, the click of her heels against the asphalt sounding far too loud in the sudden stillness of the night. Joss couldn't help noticing how the car was all sleek lines and bulging curves; what her dad at one point would have claimed was a 'muscle car', driven by some wise ass who liked life loud and lewd. Not someone she was meant to get mixed up with if she wanted to remain invisible, this car's whole purpose was to draw attention.
Billy unlocked the car and gestured for her to get in. Joss pulled open the door with a metallic clunk and hesitated, not really knowing if this was the greatest idea she'd ever had. She was dancing with something dangerous with Billy; exposure. She glanced up into the dark sky, the soft chirping of some far off insect and the rustle of leaves all that remained on the empty roadside. What could one ride really hurt? She finally slipped into the passenger seat, feeling the cool leather upon her warm skin, and pulled the door closed behind her.
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim interior, illuminated by one sparse yellow dome light on the ceiling, it was clean, almost obsessively so. No cartons of fast food or half finished cans of soda, even the ashtray was unused, pristine glimmering steel. She supposed he threw all his cigarette butts out the window, which kind of suddenly made him seem like even more of a slob.
"You keep it spotless," Joss commented, as he pulled off his jacket, threw it into the backseat and settled into the seat next to her.
"She's my baby, got to look after her." He patted the dashboard with joking tenderness. He let his fingers caress the steering wheel, all the while keeping his eyes firmly upon her, and Joss could feel herself squirm under his intense provoking amorous stare. His fingers trailed down to the ignition and with a little comedic lift of his brow, he flicked it on with a deft turn, the gesture somehow coming across as an explicit innuendo. The engine revved into sudden life as he laughed at her clear discomfort and popped a tape into the player, bringing a blast of music from the speakers as 'Lay It Down' by Ratt started, half way through the song.
Billy pushed his foot down hard, making the wheels spin and squeal in response, they stayed motionless for only a second before they shot out onto the road with a large puff of exhaust.
Joss didn't think she'd ever driven this fast and it took her a moment to loosen up and start to enjoy it. The night was so humid and warm that she and Billy rolled the windows down all the way, letting a gust of fresh air wash over them as the music urged them ever onwards, ever faster, and soon she was laughing at the sheer joy and exhilaration of feeling so free. She stuck her head out of the window and gave a whoop as the greenery of their surroundings rushed by in a blur. She heard Billy laughing, enjoying her releasing pent up emotion, before she sat back down, allowing her arm to lazily hang out the open window, the rush of air against her palm deliciously exhilarating.
"So, where are we going?" she shouted over the music.
"Somewhere we won't be found!" Billy said, with a whoop of his own.
Joss laughed and rolled her eyes. "Hope that's not lingo for you being some kind of demented serial killer," she joked, and he mirrored her own humour with a deep chuckle.
With a movement she had not been expecting, he lightly grasped her hand in his for a brief moment, she resisted the urge to flinch and draw back.
"I'm not a serial killer," he said, smiling wide and squeezing her hand reassuringly, his thumb stroking her fingers with a slow sensuality, his charm in full use. "But I have been known to leave some dead hearts behind."
Joss felt a shiver run down her spine as she realized he was teasing her, his lips barely containing a bubbling laugh. "Oh my god. You asshole!" Joss said, pushing him and making him turn the wheel a little too harshly, but he corrected it quickly, only causing them to swerve harmlessly to the other side of the empty road.
"Easy!" He looked at her, laughing, a smug grin upon his face.
"Don't pull that pick up shit on me. It won't work!" She was laughing now. "Jesus, you had me worried for a moment." She batted at him again, more playfully. "Does that line work for you often, Romeo? Because inquiring minds want to know." She pretended to be holding a mic: "Joss Tanner here for the National Enquirer, with Billy 'Heartbreaker' Hargrove, asking just what mind control you have over the common cheerleader? Is it in fact, supernatural energy? The ghost of an old romantic poet? Or something entirely more sinister?" She moved her hand over to him, waiting for an answer.
Billy scoffed out a laugh. "Sounds more like questions from the Weekly World News," he said with clear distaste, before he cleared his throat and thought a moment, a smile flickering upon his lips. "Well, Miss Tanner, I guess it's all in the eyes and hips, one look and thrust and they fall like flies. Although I have often been told my undeniable good looks are indeed, supernatural."
Joss guffawed out a laugh before relaxing back into her seat. "Sure, sure, whatever you say," she finally scoffed.
"You just haven't been around me enough to fall under the spell, you will, you'll see," he said, still grinning, and Joss couldn't really tell if he was carrying on the joke or not.
"I doubt it, I'm immune to spells, I'm a level 12 Druid... Elf... or something."
Billy gave her a confused look.
"DandD , Dungeons and Dragons, I used to play it... well, okay, I watched it being played when I was at another school for a few years, I never really got into it... but levels and different mythical beings seemed to be kind of a theme."
"Nerd shit," Billy derided with a sharp sniff.
"You're a nerd for metal and horror movies," she laughed.
"You can't be a nerd for metal and horror! That stuff is anti-nerd."
"Uh-huh," Joss said with another roll of her eyes. "Pop quiz! What traumatic event sends Karen White on a vacation in The Howling?"
Billy hesitated a moment knowing he was about to fall head first into a trap but seemed to accept his fate. "A stalker, well technically he's a werewolf too. The effects were sick as fuck, come on, that transformation! And the gore! And the naked witchy werewolf dancer, hot!"
Joss was grinning now. "What trinket does Ash give his girlfriend in The Evil Dead?"
"A necklace with a magnifying glass, weird gift." Billy was actually acting like he was enjoying himself. "That had some cool gore too, the tree scene, man, messed up!"
"The Shining, what does Danny call his special power?"
"Tony," Billy said without a beat, like he couldn't help himself.
Joss made the sound of a buzzer before he could tack on an excuse as to why it was too cool to be 'nerd shit'. "Wrong! It is actually, 'The Shining'! Answer was in the title."
"Screw you Tanner! I am not wrong! You're thinking of the damn chef dude, he calls it 'The Shining,' Danny calls it Tony."
Joss blinked, realizing she was in fact incorrect and he'd caught her out in her own game. "Well, shit," she said, crossing her arms like a moody child.
"See, no one beats me at anything. I plant, draw a charge, win every damn time," he was smiled with gleeful delight at beating her, even in this small game.
"What the hell does that even mean?"
He grinned at her like a cat that had not only discovered the cream but intended to drink every single drop.
"Oh my god!" Joss suddenly cried, pointing out of his window. "What the hell is that?!"
"What?" Billy was now half paying attention to the road and half glancing out at the scenery whizzing by, his grin dropping into a stern look of aggression "Did you see something?" His whole body seemed to bristle with sudden energy as if he'd be willing to slam on the brakes, jump out of the car, and beat the shit out of anything that even bore a slight resemblance to a threat.
"It's awful, it's a... a... Nerd!" Joss cried, her mouth open in a howl and her finger now pointing at him like Donald Sutherland in The Body Snatchers.
Something rippled across his face, his patience clearly wearing thin, and for a small moment Joss thought she'd pushed him just a little too far with her teasing. He seemed to hold onto the dogma that offense was the best defence, and he didn't like being the butt of anyone's jokes. She could see him wrestling with an emotion that could have been annoyance or outright anger, but finally he rolled his shoulders and let it flow away with the release of muscle tension. "Screw you, Tanner!" He was laughing, but his voice had a sour edge to it. "You're lucky I'm in a good mood to put up with this immature shit. If you didn't like rock and weren't kinda hot, I'd let you walk home." He seemed to find this prospect very amusing and Joss thought there was too much truth to it too.
"Kinda hot?" she raised an affronted eyebrow. "Gee, thanks."
"Don't go getting all pouty on me."
"Nice to know what my worth is to you," Joss said with a sulky re-crossing of her arms.
"Come on, Tanner, don't go all girly on me. You look like a different person at school, covered up in your Plain Jane costume. It took me three days to even realize who you were! Always sat in the back like some ghost."
Joss didn't really feel like conceding, because some of what he was insinuating was shitty, but, then he wasn't really wrong. She did deliberately cover herself at school and if she was honest, she wouldn't be sat here in this car with him, if she didn't think he was hot either.
"Rather be a Plain Jane than a nerd!" she smirked in impish delight.
"You can't be a nerd and like horror!" Billy insisted. He laughed, humour coming back into his face, that smile making him look approachable again.
Joss eyed him suspiciously, "Nerd," she mouthed.
He shook his head in laughter but said nothing more, as finally the car slowed and they pulled up into a secluded wooded area. Joss knew it was the local picnic hangout during the day, but at night the tree canopy looked like a frame for all the thousands of stars. She used to come up here in summer with her dad when she was a kid, sometimes they'd spend one night out camping further into the woods, but that was all before he left.
They sat in silence for a long time, listening to the music and rustle of trees around them as the breeze made the early summer heat feel almost bearable.
"It's so peaceful out here," Joss finally said, breaking the quiet.
"Yeah," Billy said, leaning back in his chair. "I come out here a lot. All the stress with school and... you know... family bullshit. It helps."
Joss nodded in eager agreement, "If I had a car, I'd come up here all the time too."
Billy laughed, "You should learn to drive, it's a kind of freedom."
"I didn't say that I couldn't drive. You take everything I say so literally, I said I don't have a car." She stretched a hand out into the breeze. "Must have taken you a long time to save up the money for this." She patted the car.
"It did, two jobs, one after school, and all my weekends, back in Cali."
"Bummer," Joss said, "least you got a ride though."
He nodded and put his head back against the headrest, closing his eyes in relaxed enjoyment.
She took the chance to covertly study him, her eyes grazing across his handsome face, the toned muscles of his chest and arms, it was hard for her not to feel attracted to him. Her gaze lingered upon his bicep as she noticed something she hadn't seen before, maybe because he was usually wearing his jacket in the arcade.
"When'd you get the tattoo?" She reached out, touching his shoulder with a gentle brush and his eyes opened at the contact, his gaze settling upon her, watching her with keen determination. "Pretty cheesy," she teased.
She stroked a fingertip across the inked art of a skull, its mouth open, and a cigarette seemingly floating next to it, smoke rising in a curl. It was crudely done and a little generic, but Joss still found it somehow endearing.
He touched his own shoulder in response to her words, their fingers brushing for a brief moment before Joss pulled away.
"About a month ago. I didn't think too hard about what I wanted, just something to piss my old man off, you know? So I just picked whatever from the artwork the guy had."
"Seems like a great and meaningful reason," she joked.
He didn't smile back this time.
They fell into silence again, the music making it somewhat comfortable. Joss began to realize that in reality this was the first time they'd been anywhere together other than their meetings at the arcade. What did they really have in common other than music, horror movies and escaping the expectations of those around them? Once he had driven her home and school came around, would they be like strangers all over again, each one having to perform a different part in a play of social politics? She didn't want to be seen at all, and all he wanted to do was be seen. It was swiftly becoming a confusing mess. She wanted to understand his thoughts and just what his expectations were, and maybe make her own crystal clear too.
She brought her knees up onto the seat and turned to him. "So, what are we doing?" She was curious, trying to understand, half wanting it to be something more and half wanting it to be nothing at all. Perhaps she hoped he'd echo her own thoughts, tell her he wanted the exact same thing, something that would remain the same, late night secret meetings. She felt like he had all the answers and all she had to do was ask to reveal those hidden secrets.
"Sitting in a parked car in the woods listening to music?" He laughed, his tone a little unkind.
"Don't do that," she said, frustrated, "you know what I mean."
"Having a minute of peace, does that satisfy you?"
"No," she said, crossing her arms across her chest, enjoying the feeling of goading him just a little. "I'm worried this is fast becoming something... friendship or... whatever. I'm not sure I want any of that."
"Come on. I have to deal with shit all day. Can't we just let this be what it is right now?"
"And what is it?"
He looked over at her, his fingers once again caressing the wheel. The song changed and the familiar steady pulse of 'Hysteria' by Def Leppard began, sounding like a heartbeat.
Joss wanted to tell him straight, this, whatever the hell it was, had to remain secret or it had to stop, which was probably the most sensible route, but instead she found she didn't want to form any words, what she wanted was...
She expected him to break their prolonged eye contact but he brazenly held it, and slowly he reached over, his hand coming to rest on her waist. He curled his fingers around the curve of her body and pulled her forwards, meeting her with his other hand on her shoulder.
"I don't know," he said, his hand coming to gently brush her cheek. Joss felt like her heart was matching pace with the drumbeat, and her breath felt suddenly hard to catch, but she didn't move or pull away. She just looked back into his eyes, trying to gain some reading of the man before her as his fingertips traced a deliberate path down to her neck, leaving little shocks of pleasure with each soft touch.
"Are you going to kiss me?" Joss blurted, never one for subtlety.
"Do you want me to?" Billy asked, shifting his body just a little bit closer.
He was near enough now that she could smell the mint gum he had been chewing earlier that night.
"I don't know. Maybe."
That seemed good enough for both of them and his lips found hers in a soft kiss. They parted as if both unsure if they should continue, but Joss made that choice for them, and her hands came to his neck, pulling him to her as she kissed him back. Her fingers running through his hair as her lips urged him on, their kiss deepening, tongues and hands exploring tentatively, fingertips and thumbs brushing the contours of shoulders following the curve of necks. And then her palms were pressed against his chest and she was moving, out of her seat and onto his lap. In that moment all that mattered was him, this kiss, and this feeling, all consequences forgotten in the wake of discovering each other.
His hands moved underneath her jacket, exploring the curves and lines of her body, not quite daring to go further than a light touch at first; but as their heavy make out continued his hands grew braver and one palm cupped and softly began to squeeze and knead her breast causing Joss to pant into their kisses. His other hand came to caress her backside, his touch urging her closer, pressing their bodies together in the now sweltering feeling heat of the car. His fingers lingered upon her bare leg for a moment before moving up across to her inner thigh, allowing a teasing stroke across the sensitive skin, and then he moved again and his kiss became even more intense and rough as his hand reached between her legs. At the briefest brush of contact, Joss stiffened, her mind flaring in alarm and she broke apart their kiss. Within a quick movement she had returned to her own seat, not allowing him to continue his very well versed play book of getting to third base.
Billy let out a frustrated sigh, "Seriously?" He was still panting heavily and shifted in his seat, looking very uncomfortable in his overly tight jeans.
"Seriously," Joss repeated, her own breaths hard to catch, feeling a little shocked by just how quickly everything had escalated.
Billy pushed himself back into the head rest and rested the heels of his palms to his eyes. "Fuck!" It was a harsh declaration of frustrated defeat.
"Not tonight!" Joss said, reaching for her normal tension-defusing humour, and was surprised when instead of meeting her rejection with anger or annoyance, he started to laugh too.
/
A/N
Hello all. Welcome back.
I did try to only use songs that were out in this time period but some later ones like Hysteria snuck in, because this song is a whole vibe.
I would sincerely love to hear any thoughts you have, but I do ask you keep it cute and cordial, if you aren't enjoying, the back button is right there. My characterisation of Billy isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea but that's alright.
If you are enjoying, welcome! I hope you'll keep reading and your comments are most welcome. I'm taking a break next week, but I will be back the Friday after, I hope you'll join me then.