Chapter 4: First day Jitters

"Still didn't answer my question." He said. "You stalking her?"

"Yes," I responded. "You caught me, stalking Max. At my school. During school hours." I put my hands on my hips and sighed. "Shocker."

Billy rolled his eyes but didn't leave, instead he was looked me up and down so slowly, my stomach flipped. I wasn't wearing anything special, jeans, a red windbreaker and a t-shirt, and yet he was staring. I shifted and sighed. "Do you like your teachers?" I smiled at Max.

"They aren't the worst," Max said.

"They are idiots," Billy countered. "Fits this bum setting."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, I am glad you had some fun. I wish I could stay Max, but I have some-"

"Genie," I flinched internally. I didn't know what Billy would do, but I doubt Billy would be happy that I was hanging out with Ricky right after I told him we were over. But I didn't care. "I think we should drop your stuff at your place before we go out," Ricky said. He looked over my shoulder and gave a polite nod to Max and Billy. It looked like he was going to introduce himself, but I wasn't going to let that happen.

"Sounds good," I smiled. Refusing to look back at Billy. I looked at Max, whose face told me all I needed to know. "See you tomorrow!" I gave her a hug and then followed Ricky.

"Let's go, Max," I heard Billy snarl.

"But didn't we park over-"

"I said, let's GO!" I flinched at his tone, but Ricky didn't seem to notice. He was too excited. I kept my mind on him instead of the man who was going to kill me.

When we got outside, I looked around. "Are you looking for the truck" Ricky teased.

I rolled my eyes. "I totally forgot," I said.

He pushed my shoulder gently. "Figured, I almost did too." Ricky then motioned towards a motorcycle. "There it is,"

"Ricky…" I began. I looked at him with my jaw on the floor. "You… this looks amazing." The bike looked brand new.

"Yeah," I turned to see him blushing with pride. "I had a lot of time on my hands… you know after." Richy paused and stared at me. "Who knew we needed to end things for me to actually finish it."

I gave a smile and stood next to it. "So… how do I get on this."

"Right… let me grab a helmet." He got the helmet and gave it to me. "I brought two… I figured you would say yes." Ricky gave a confident smile.

"This is all about your bike," I teased. "Nothing to do with our friendship,"

"No, never," We laughed as we put our helmets on. "

When Ricky got on, my mood wavered. That's when I realized I would be hugging him for most of the day. Well here we go-

"What do you think you are doing?" Billy was suddenly there.

I glared at him. "Getting on a bike."

"I thought you were done with him." Billy hissed.

"Who the hell are you?" Ricky asked.

"Her-… Family friend." Billy said, then turned back to me. "If you need a ride, just get in my car." He reached forward as if the decision was already made. Which was the wrong move.

I took a step back before he could touch me. "No… I want to go with him." I said.

"Does he even know how to drive it?" Billy asked.

"What are you, my dad?" I rolled my eyes. "I can take care of myself."

Billy looked stunned. "Fine… be dumb. It's your decision."

"It is," I said flatly. Right before I got on the bike.

"Hold on tight," Ricky was smug. Great, just what I needed. I got on and held on to the back of his jacket.

As we sped away, I looked back at Billy one last time. He pulled out a cigarette and then kicked a trash can. What was his problem?

**

"So… who was that guy, really?" Ricky asked as he filled the bike with gas.

"He is a family friend. Billy is moving here, and all you need to know is that he is an asshole," I said.

"He kind of gives that impression," Ricky leaned next to me while we waited for the gas to pump. "I am guessing if we keep hanging out … I should stay away from him."

I shrugged. "Billy just needs to find something else to do." I sighed. "You should see him when he has to spend time with me, it's like his whole day is ruined,"

"Seemed pretty eager to get time with you today,"

"Yeah, I have no idea what that was about," It was also all I had been thinking about since we drove off, and still I had nothing to show for time though.

"I thought he was a new boyfriend," Ricky said. "I'm glad he isn't… I don't think I am ready to see you with someone else."

I gave him a look. "It won't be Billy… but we aren't getting back together. Okay?"

Ricky held his hands up in surrender. "No argument there… but if you ever want to skip home ec and make out, you know who to call."

"Patrick Swayze?"

Ricky laughed a bit and pushed me. I always did better with men than I did with women. In that regard, carol and I were practically twins.

"Alright, lets head out."

**

It was late when we finally came home. My father was sitting out on the porch. I knew he was nervous when I first went out, but seeing me safe and homemade him feel better. "Hello, Sir." Ricky came up and shook my father's hand.

"Ricky… its been a while. I hear you two are friends again." My father's tone was curt, something both Ricky and I expected.

"Yes sir… I was fortunate Genie forgave me." Ricky replied.

"Do you have a license?" My father suddenly asked.

"Uh… a permit sir,"

My father nodded, and my stomach dropped. I knew what was about to happen. "I am going to be very clear, Ricky. My daughter will not get on that bike with you until you have a license." He looked up from his book and stared at him hard. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir. I am sorry, Sir," Ricky stammered.

"It's fine. This time." He said. "Now, would you like to stay for dinner?"

"Uh… thank you, sir, but I think I should head home."

"See you soon, Ricky. With that License," My father waved him off. As we watched him leave, my father looked at me. "I meant what I said. If I here you are on that bike and doesn't have a license, you will be grounded."

"I know, Pops." I said, "I am going to set the table."

"Good girl" He smiled.

As I was setting the table, the phone began to ring. I reached up and grabbed it. "Conte's Residence," I said.

"Curls?"

My stomach dropped. "Billy?"

"Yeah."

We were both silent. "What's going on."

"Nothing… Max wanted to know if you were going to be at school tomorrow."

"Oh, I will be. Unless I get polio overnight," I said.

"So I guess everything went well on your ride then" If tone could kill.

"Yeah… It was fun." There was a pause. "We didn't… we didn't do anything." Why the fuck was I telling him.

He didn't say anything for a moment. "I… just glad max doesn't have to worry about you then."

"Well, glad max had some clarity," I said.

"Same. Less bitching." There was silence.

"So…" I wasn't sure what to say… but I wanted to keep the conversation going. "Are you excited…"

"For?"

"Tomorrow. School," I said.

"Oh yeah." I could feel how completely unexcited he was by the thought. "I can't wait for teachers to bore the shit out of me.��

"At least you will get to meet people," I said. "And… I will…"

"You will what Gene" His voice was… gentle?

"I will be there… so if you need anything… I can show you," was I blushing?

"You don't have to do that, Curls. You don't have any obligation to me." I could feel that he wanted to hang up.

"It's not that," I said urgently. "I … I want to."

More silence, but he was still on the line. "I remember what it's like… coming to this school. You… shouldn't have to deal with it alone. I want to be there… for…. To help you."

He said nothing, and I had nothing else to say, "I will see you tomorrow, Curls."

The line hung up before I could say anything else.

"Was that Billy?" My mother said.

"uh… yeah," I said as I returned to setting the table. "How did you know."

"He called a few times today. Seemed eager to check something with you."

I looked back at the phone. Was I stupid enough to hope Billy was worried about me?

I knew logically it made a lot more sense for Max to want to check-in. But it brought the question to mind.

Why didn't max call?

**

"He has my bike," I said as Ricky followed me down the parking lot.

"You can get it after class."

"He drove off the last time, it would just be easier to get it."

"Okay… are you sure it's a good idea for me to be with…"

"Oh its Steve, you guys are friends."

"After we broke up… he told me if I ever talked to you again, he would beat the shit out of me."

I sighed and looked up at Steve's car. "I will tell him I'm forcing you to do chores for me to gain forgiveness."

"I like that idea."

I smiled as we walked to the car. That's when I saw the blue Camaro. "On second thought… maybe you should head out."

"Yeah…" He said before he bolted. Ricky was not someone I would expect to have my back. He was a good kid, but scared.

I walked over to Steve's car. He sees me and opens the back seat. "Do you have any idea how annoying this is? I couldn't use my back seat."

"I will buy you a milkshake tonight."

"Oh, I cant… I have that dinner."

My stomach knotted, I knew what Steve was talking about.

"Bridge after?"

"Bridge after." he echoed.

I gave him a hug before I took my bike back. When I turned around, Billy was looking at me, and everyone was looking at Billy. My eyes flashed over to the girls staring at him, and I felt angry. I didn't know why it bothered me, but I knew I didn't like it. I took a breath and continued down the path to where I could lock my bike up.

"Curls." He said Flatly.

"Mullet," I responded. He smirked and then walked up to me. "You know where room 321 is,"

I stared at him blankly. "That's my lit class…"

"Well," He took out a piece of paper from his back pocket. "It seems to be my class too."

Was it too late to fake sick? "Perfect."

"You going to show me." He gave me a small smile.

I sighed and began to walk up the stairs. When Billy didn't follow me, I turned to him. "Come on,"

He gave a shy smile that melted any frustration I had for Billy. How was it so easy for him to disarm me? Billy bounded up the stairs and looked at me one last time, and there it went. The smile faded, and his hard look returned. "Now I got to wait for you?" He snapped.

I sighed as I walked down the hall. "Do you have your locker yet?" I said as we stopped at mine. Mine was always a controlled mess, but Billy didn't seem to notice as I searched through the danger.

"Yeah, but I don't think I will ever use it," He replied. Before I could do anything, Billy took them out of my hands. When I raised an eyebrow, he rolled his eyes. "Don't read into it. It's just a thank you for showing me the room,"

"Okay," I rolled my eyes right back at him, but smiled too. "We are at the top." We went up to the top floor the whole way Billy was close to me, making sure I didn't get swept up in the crowd and away from him. This was different behavior from the Billy I was used too, but I liked it. When we finally got to our room, I took my assigned seat. Billy sat right next to me, but he had to kick someone else out first.

Class was hard; I could feel him staring at me from time to time. I wanted to stare back. When I did, he grinned at me but then looked away. Was this the same Billy who had been so hard on me before? I was honestly thrown off. When the bell rang, I looked over to him. "So… what class do you have next."

"Math"

"Oh… I have Chem," I said, disappointed. Why was I disappointed?

"I can find mine by myself," He said. "Lunch though… I will see you then?" He got up and then looked at me. "Be home around four today," Billy said suddenly.

My mouth opened and closed. "Sure," I said before taking my things and heading to class. I was a ball of light for the rest of the morning.

All good things must come to an end, though.

As lunch began, I walked into the cafeteria and found Billy immediately. The only reason because he was surrounded. Everyone was listening to him. Most of them were girls. I didn't want to be jealous, and I didn't have any reason to be, but if it was that easy to not feel jealous, I would be fine right now.

When Billy saw me, he didn't react. I wasn't sure why. This morning he wanted to be around me, and now it was like he didn't even know me again. I began to step forward when someone called me by my nickname.

"Shark Bite," Carol gave me a wicked smile. "You didn't tell me how attractive he was,"

I sighed. "Must have slipped my mind. Billy's shit attitude tends to take away from all of his good qualities."

"So you think I am attractive" Billy threw a smile. "Careful curls, someone might think you have feelings for me." all the girls giggled around him. Billy gave me a sly smile, he was rubbing the attention in my face.

Heat rushed to my face in embarrassment, I guess Billy could only be friendly to me when no one was noticing. I was stupid to think otherwise. My pride, however, would not allow the insult and had every intention of retaliation.

I flipped him off and walked away. I was not going to deal with that, no matter how nice he tried to seem. It was all bullshit no matter what way you looked at it.

"Hey, Shark bite," Ricky came up beside me. "Steve is sitting outside if you want-"

"Yes," I grabbed his arm like it was a lifeline. "Oh, boy, do I want."

I snuck one look at Billy before leaving to see him glaring at me. I didn't get his problem with Ricky… they seem like the type that would actually be friends. We walked out, and the tension dropped from my shoulders.

"Hey guys," I sat down with Steve, who gave Ricky a look. "Oh, we are friends now. All forgiven."

"Thank god," He smiled. "It was bizarre hanging out with you both while all this drama was going on."

I smiled. And lunch went off without a hitch. Everything was great

For ten fucking minutes.

"Hey guys," I didn't need to turn around to recognize Tommy's voice. "Have you met Billy yet?"

I turned and leaned back on the bench. Billy was staring at the group, specifically Ricky.

"I met you… briefly," Ricky said as he reached forward to shake Billy's hand to only be left hanging. I gave him a sympathetic shrug. He leaned back next to me. Billy's eyes flashed to me.

"We met," I said dryly.

"No shit, Shark bite," Tommy said, causing me to flinch slightly. I couldn't hide my reaction to the name. A best it was a reminder of how close I came to death; at worst, it was a reminder that despite living, all anyone saw was my scar.

"Don't," Billy suddenly said, earning the attention and silence of the group. He wasn't staring at me. He was giving a look to Tommy. I didn't know his looks could get more poisonous, but there it was. A look that could kill.

We all watched him awkwardly. "Don't… what," Tommy stammered.

"Don't call her Shark bite." He said. he then looked at me. "It's boring, to say the least,"

"Yeah…" Tommy knew when to back down. With Steve, he could have pushed more, but that look in Billy's eyes … who would fuck with that?

"Hey…" I looked at Nancy. "Want to go powder our noses."

"Yeah," She said before kissing Steve on the cheek.

"Hey guys," Tina stepped forward, posters in hand. "Gene, I wanted to catch you in case you skip your free period." She handed me an orange slip of paper. "You have to come tomorrow night."

I smiled and looked down at the page. "Totally. Steve… can I get a ride?"

"I… I am driving Nancy."

"Oh…" I thought about it, "I guess Jonathan could take me,"

"Please," Nancy said with maybe too much excitement., "But he didn't seem that keen when I tried to convince to go this morning,"

"If he says no," Ricky slid closer, "I can swing by-"

"Calm down, Curls, I will take you," Billy said.

I gave him a look, "I think she wants-" Ricky began.

"I said I would do it." Billy looked at me. "I will pick you up at seven,"

I looked at him and then walked to the bathroom. What the hell game is he playing at? It made no sense. Billy made no sense, but I was still gliding through the halls with a spring in my step. How did this person have so much power over me? "Hey Gene…" Nancy gave me a strange look. "You … you and Billy."

"Nothing is going on," I replied as I looked at myself in the mirror.

"Does… does he know that?"

I looked at her through the mirror. "I don't know. I am as confused as everyone else. When Carol was there, it was like he couldn't have been bothered. Now he insisted on taking me out to the Party.

What the hell was going on? I hated this. What was he doing to do me?