Chapter 7: Break Up Kit

When I looked in the mirror the next morning, I saw a zombie staring back at me. But a happy Zombie none the less. I threw on a green t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Not sure what to do with my hair other than dutch braids.

"Gene…" My mother called from downstairs. "Your ride is here."

I didn't think that Steve was going to get me today, but I was grateful that my stomach was queazy. As I headed downstairs, I took one last look at the jacket sitting on the foot of my bed. Billy's leather jacket, he would want it back. My fingers glided over the leather, and I smirked. He could want his jacket returned all he wanted. But it was mine now.

"Hey, where are the curls?" I froze when I heard Billy's voice. I looked through the doorway to see him standing with his usual playful smile.

"What are you doing here?" I smiled as I stepped forward.

He shrugged. "I figured you could use a ride." He reached forward and touched the ends of my braid. "Nice jacket,"

I smiled and looked to the ground for a moment. "Thanks, Mullet" I pushed passed him and headed to the car. I could see max sitting in the back. "Uh… Max, do you want the front?

"She is fine," Billy said as he opened the door for me. I smiled slightly and got into the car.

"So," I turned to her and smiled. "How was Halloween for you?"

"Fine," I was surprised at the tone Max used. We usually had a good relationship, but for some reason, she was trying to keep quiet today. "I will tell you more later." Max's eyes flicked to Billy as he crossed over to his side of the car.

"Max… is he-"

"Is who what?" Billy said as he opened the door.

"Are you going to park in the back lot or the front?" I struggled to find something to say.

"I don't know why?" He looked at me like I asked the dumbest question in the world. In his defense, I did. However, I had to keep the lie up.

"Uh… I was going to check out Ricky's new paint job on his bike. he usually parks in the back."

"Aren't you not allowed near his bike."

"Correction," I said. "I am not allowed to ride Ricky's bike." Billy didn't smile at my correction. "So front or back?"

Billy gave me a stern look. "I will be parking in the front lot."

I rolled my eyes. "What is your problem with Ricky?"

"Not going to get into it curls." He said.

The rest of the car ride was quiet. I turned to him and smiled. "Thanks … for coming to get me." He didn't say anything, so I continued to talk. "I was actually feeling pretty sick this morning. So it's nice that I don't have to bike."

"Do you still feel sick?" He suddenly asked. I turned, and he was giving me a hard look. My eyes drifted to his sharp jaw for a moment as I pondered a response. He threw his cigarette out the window and left them open. The fresh air was much appreciated, and I know he did it for me.

"Not right now, no," I said. I couldn't help but admire Billy.

"Good." He said, I could see the relief in his eyes. "I don't want you vomiting in my car."

I rolled my eyes and smiled. I like to think I knew Billy just a bit better after last night. I knew when to take him seriously, at least.

When we got to the school, Billy parked in the front lot as far away from the back lot as possible. I shot him a look, but Billy just shrugged in response. "You should probably head to class anyway."

"Where are you going?"

"Don't worry about it," He said, leaving Max and me by the car.

"So…" I turned to her as we walked to the school. "How was it?"

"Great," She grinned. "I got to hang out with these dorks, we got a lot of candy."

"Ooo," I smiled. We talked for a little more before I waved goodbye and headed to class.

My stomach began to get more sickening. I doubt I looked good. When I sat down, I let my head slump to the desk. The cold was soothing on my forehead.

"Jesus Curls." I heard Billy say. "You should just go home."

"No, I will be fine," I muttered. I heard Billy slump down in his seat. "This is not my first hangover. Plus, I can't go home; I'm bombing my science class."

"Well, drink up then." He said.

"Drink what?" I turned to face Billy, only to see two juice boxes sitting in front of me. I reached for one and then looked up at him and smiled. "Thanks"

"Whatever… if you don't finish both during this class, I'm pouring the rest on a freshman."

"Seriously?" I smiled as I began to sip. The juice was good. It cooled my stomach down. The rest of the day, juice boxes would suddenly appear on my desk.

I was so touched by his small gestures that I ignored Nancy as she pulled me down the hall.

"I mean, there has to be a reason." She said as she stomped beside me. Something had her wound up. I wasn't sure what.

"For…" I asked, finally snapping back into reality.

"Steve," She gave me a look. "You weren't listening…"

"I am sorry… I am so hungover."

"He didn't pick me up today, but he is here. He hasn't even said anything to me today."

"Oh…" I sipped my juice box "Wait, why am I going with you?" I stopped in the hall for a moment.

"Because he was supposed to pick you up too… remember?"

"Wow, I totally forgot." I shrugged. "I think it's a bad day for us all."

"Yeah…" Her voice was tight. "He is so irresponsible," I agreed with her a little with that, but it seemed that Nancy was freaking out for no reason. I knew when someone was looking for a fight.

"Nancy," I stopped and turned to her. "I love you, and I love Steve, but I can see the signs."

"The signs?"

"Yeah… you are not happy, and honestly, Steve deserves better than being committed to someone who isn't committed to him. You also deserve better than being in a relationship that doesn't make you happy."

For a moment, Nancy looked at me with an expression I saw on my pet goldfish when I was ten, gobsmacked. "You… that is not even true," she snapped as she began to march forward. "Are you coming or not?"

I held up my hands before following her, I knew I hit my mark. Nancy wouldn't listen to me now, I knew that. But hopefully, she would ponder it later.

When we entered the gym, everyone was rowdy and yelling. It didn't take me long before I saw Billy breaking from the crowd and make a perfect shot. I also saw my cousin pushing himself from the ground. I felt for him.

Billy stuck his tongue out at Steve. I couldn't help but bite my lip at the sight of him sweaty and shirtless. The sweat highlighted the dips and curves of the muscle on his body. He made my mouth dry and wet all at the same time. When Billy saw me, he gave a sly wink then returned to the game, leaving me warm and fuzzy. He must have realized I was gawking because when I finally looked back to meet eyes with him, he was practically oozing with confidence.

Heat rose to my face, and I turned away from him and focused on Steve. My cousin walked over to us, but he didn't look happy. He acknowledged me first with a raised eyebrow. "Where were you today?"

"What do you mean?"

"I went to grab you-"

"Oh, are you kidding me?" Nancy interjected. "Steve we need to talk,"

I gave him a look and shrugged. "I think I should wait here…"

"Yeah." Steve did not look entertained. Something was wrong, something just out of my understanding. "Bridge tonight?" He seemed desperate.

"Always,"

They left me standing awkwardly in the gym alone. Not sure what else to do, I sat on the bleachers. Billy would look over at me right before he performed a trick. I smiled as I watched him. This was finally becoming what I wanted when I heard he was moving here. I don't know what happened last night that change us, but I am glad it did.

"Gene," I snapped out of focus to see Ricky, also shirtless, in front of me. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh," I smiled, blinking a bit in surprise. "Nancy and Steve are fighting, so I guess I am waiting for… I don't know who."

Ricky grimaced and sat next to me. I didn't need to look over at Billy to know he was perfectly aware. I scooted away from Ricky and then scolded myself. Ricky was my friend, Billy didn't get to say otherwise.

"Steve told me they broke up last night," He panted.

"What" I turned to him with wide eyes. "You are lying."

"Swear to god." He leaned forward and sighed.

"But Nancy still thinks they are together."

"Probably because she was so wasted last night," Ricky replied as he turned to me. "Last I saw of them, Steve was running out of the party.

"Who took her home?" I shifted towards him.

"Jonathan." He said bitterly. Ricky had his flaws, but he was one of the most loyal people you could ever meet, which made him hate Jonathan. When everything happened between Steve and Nancy last year, he tried going after Jonathan at the hospital.

"Fuck" I muttered. "How is he doing?"

"Bad. Steve loves her, Gene" He gave me a profound stare while placing a hand on my thigh. "You know what it's like to love someone and end things."

I leaned back. Making a choice not to move Ricky's hand. "We have to … we have to do something. Do you think we could visit your cousin after school?"

"Ben? Yeah, but why?"

"Why do I ever want to see Ben." I gave him a look.

"Oh, shit, you want to pick up?" Ricky raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah. Just a few joints. I have cash we can go after school-"

"I brought my bike, though," Ricky said.

"Maybe I could ask… Billy, to drive me?"

"Drive you where Curls" I could hear the venom in his voice. I turned to Billy and tried to flash him my happiest smile.

"Well… I was wondering… if you were free after school. I was wondering if you could take me to meet Ricky's cousin…"

"Why the hell would I take you to some random guys house. Especially someone related to Rodney," Billy asked as his eyes flicked to Ricky.

"I am right here, man." Ricky spat.

"Exactly," Billy's voice was controlled. "You have been here while your team has been doing the heavy lifting,"

Ricky got up from his seat and stared at Billy. "I won't be with you… but I will meet you there." He said before running off.

It was silent for a moment before Billy refocused on me. I gave him a smile, which he did not return. "Talk. Now."

"You heard about Nancy and Steve?" I stood up, hoping I could warm Billy up before asking for anything.

"Who are those people?" He said flatly. I knew he knew.

"My cousin, you know who he is, and my best friend who you also know. They broke up." I could tell Billy wasn't following me. "I want to cheer steve up; that's where Ben - Ricky's cousin comes in- has some shit I want to buy off him."

"Ohhhhhh," Billy raised his eyebrows and smiled. "Weed"

"Shut up," I retorted. "But yes… if its too much trouble, I will just ride on Ricky's bike with him."

"I will drive you." He said flatly. "I just need to drop the kid off."

"Max, of course., I said and then smiled up at him and took another step closer. I was perfectly aware of how close I was to his body, and I would be lying if I said I didn't want to be closer. "Thank you… If you want we can grab shakes after… as a thank you,"

Billy smiled. "Sure, Curls," He then looked over to the door and then back to me. He put his thumb under my chin, stroking it for a moment. "I will be at your locker at the end of the day." He pulled away and joined the group of boys again.

"Okay…" I smiled, "See you."

I turned to see Steve marching towards me. "Hey… Ricky filled me in. Are you okay?"

"No… but I can't think about it right now," Steve said as his eyes flashed over my shoulder. "Are you and him going to be a thing?"

I looked back and shrugged. "Honestly no clue with that, it's only been a few days,"

"Be careful… please?" In some cases, Steve was pretty overprotective, but unless he has a reason, he did his best to trust me.

I smiled and gave him a hug before leaving. "Ew, you are sweaty, but I love you. Bye," I waved him off. The rest of the day was smooth, and when the bell rang, I ran to my locker.

He was already there waiting for me. When Billy saw me trot towards him, he rolled his eyes. "Jesus curls your snapback time is crazy,"

"I had a little help with my recovery," I said as I threw my books into my bag.

"Whatever," Billy said as hid scratched his eyebrow. "Let's go, I don't want to waste to much time at this idiot's house." He reached into my locker and pulled out my jacket, or rather, his jacket. "You know I am going to want this back at some point,"

I tried not to pout, "I can hand it over after the diner,"

Billy thought about it, "You can keep it for a little longer, just don't let Rodney touch it,"

"Here I was, about to sow his name on the tag," I teased.

"Don't joke Curls, or I will take it off you,"

My lips parted for a moment, and Billy gave me a stare, "We don't need to resort to that, just yet,"

Billy smiled and then nodded towards the door. "Ready to go yet?"

"Yeah, can't keep Max waiting," I said as I followed behind him.

"She can skate home if she is so damn impatient," Billy muttered.

"She still has to teach me how to use that thing,"

Billy turned to me and rolled his eyes, "I think you should have given up that dream when you fell,"

"Isn't that 90% of skateboarding?" I said.

"If 90% of an activity is scraping up your hands and falling on your ass, then why do it?"

I pursed my lips. "Maybe I like the line it creates,"

"What line?"

"The worry line that has been getting deeper and deeper since this conversation has started. I pointed to his forehead, and billy scowled at me. "Whatever, like I care,"

I scoffed, and that earned me a more depressing look. "I said I don't care,"

Before I could answer, we were outside, and Ricky was pulling his bike next to the Camaro. Ricky was waiting for us outside, sitting on his motorcycle.

"Ricky," I exclaimed when is saw his bike. It was a deep red. "It's beautiful."

"Thanks…" He grinned. "Actually… I was thinking of you when I was picking it out," Ricky blushed and then looked down at the bike. "I mean, I just kind of think of you when I think of the color red. Nothing weird."

"Too bad, she will never ride it." Billy snapped

"But she already has?" Ricky said as he leaned over his bike. The two boys locked eyes. Ricky was grinning ear to ear, but Billy looked like he was out for blood. I knew Ricky was about to do something that I was going to regret. "And she will probably ride it again."

I missed something. I know I did because suddenly Billy was walking over to Ricky, and there was hell in his eyes.

"Billy," I managed to catch him before he did anything. I put a hand on his stomach. I would focus on how touching him made my heart race, but I was focused on making sure he didn't kill anyone. "Come on, he isn't worth it."

"That's not very nice," Ricky said sarcastically.

"Nor is what you just did." I snapped. "Head out, I will see you at Ben's."

Ricky presented me with a strange look but started up his bike. I turned back to Billy, and he was watching me. That's when I understood my hand was still on his stomach. I wanted to pull away, I knew I should have. But I didn't. "Hey," I soothed. "Are you okay?"

"You shouldn't have gotten in between us, curls," Billy said coldly, but there was still venom in his voice. "You could have stumbled into something bad."

"You shouldn't have tried to fight him," I fired back. "Ricky is all talk."

"I am aware of that, Gene," He said as rested a hand on my hip. "Just… He shouldn't talk about you like that."

"He was saying that to get a rise out of you," I said. "I don't care what Ricky says, so he stopped trying to fuck with me. You got to do the same."

"Or. I could beat the shit out of Rodney."

"Billy," I began to push away from him, but he caught my hand.

"Just promise… you will keep your guard up around him." His blue eyes shot through mine. "Please Gene,"

I sucked in a breath as I stared at him. "Yeah, Billy… I promise,"

He smiled and brushed his finger under my chin one more time. I loved when he did this. It was one of those small gestures that meant everything. "Let's go then."

"What about your sister?" I asked

"She is late, she knows the rules."

"Billy," I began, but he was already heading to the driver's seat.

"And don't call her, my sister. She isn't"

I stopped for a moment, I then realized I missed out on something obvious. Billy hated his father, I knew that, but what did that mean for the two people living with them?

"Gene." He pressed, "Are we going?"

"Yeah," I got in to see him almost give a relieved sigh before he got into the car. I slipped in and closed the door behind me.