69. Chapter 69

Author's Warning: Billy needs a warning all on his own, but there are implications of child abuse in this one and also a fight in school.

Chapter Sixty-Nine

The rest of the weekend went along without a hitch other than Jessica waking up with a slight hangover. It wasn't a big deal. Steve made sure she drank some water and took some aspirin. She was back to normal by midday.

They spent half the day doing homework on Sunday and the last half of the day at a local park – even though it was in the mid-forties - before going to dinner.

They met in the parking lot on Monday morning like they normally did and walked into the school together. They stopped by her locker so she could get the things she needed for the day.

She kissed Steve on the cheek when she reached her English class and said she would meet him outside the cafeteria for lunch before going in the room. She had kind of figured that Billy wasn't there due to the fact that his car hadn't been in his usual spot in the school parking lot, but now she was certain because he wasn't in his seat either.

She couldn't help but feel relieved. She didn't want to risk him bringing up their conversation from the party on Friday night. They had both been drinking, and she just wanted to forget about it.

Class started and the teacher reached down to pick something up from behind the desk. It was a cardboard box. Inside it were the books he would be handing out. "All's Well That Ends Well" by William Shakespeare.

Half the class groaned when they realized who they would be reading. Jessica wasn't too thrilled about it herself even when the teacher tried to appease the class by claiming that at least this work was supposed to be considered a comedy rather than a tragedy.

"We will be studying this for the next two weeks, and you'll take the test the Friday before Spring break. If we can stick to that plan, you won't have any work from me over the break. Start reading as soon as you get your book. I want Act One done by tomorrow morning."

Jessica was already in the middle of the first scene when Billy came in. He almost stomped into the room, drawing attention to himself as he normally did, and made his way to his seat. He was called up to get a book of his own once the teacher was done with the list. When he made it back to his desk, Jessica noticed that he was sitting stiffly almost like he didn't want his back to touch the chair.

Billy had been late to class before, and he had appeared injured each time. He'd always blamed it on a fight, but now she knew that actually meant that he and his dad had gotten into it and that his dad had more than likely gotten physical with him.

She didn't say anything about him seeing injured, though, because apparently her showing that she cared made Billy think that she wanted to be with him, which she didn't, so she left it alone.

All she said was, "You're late."

"Yup."

"Oversleep?"

Billy scoffed. "Sure."

"Hm." Jessica didn't like how closed off Billy was being – he hadn't been that way with her in a long time – but she realized that maybe she deserved it. She also realized that it might be a good thing. He didn't flirt with her when he was like this. "Anyway, we have to have the first act done by tomorrow."

"Thanks." His tone was clipped, almost cold, and she didn't like that either.

"Billy –"

"Stop," he said, and looked her way. "Just stop."

"I'm not doing anything."

"Yes, you are," he practically hissed. "You're acting like you care when you don't, so just stop."

Her breath caught in her throat as his words hit her. "You know, just because I don't care the way you want me to doesn't mean I don't care at all."

Billy didn't say anything, but he clenched his jaw and made a show of turning away from her. He opened the book and silently began reading it – or at least acted like he was.

Fine. If he wanted to act like a child, she would let him. He would either get over it or he wouldn't. Either way, she didn't need that kind of behavior from a seventeen-year-old.

Billy was aware that he was throwing a tantrum, but he had had a bad weekend and an even worse morning.

He had gone home relatively early Friday night, considering he had been at a party. After the disaster that had been him dancing with Jessica, he hadn't much felt like partying so he'd gone home. Neil and Susan had been in bed already when he'd arrived, but that hadn't lasted long when he'd basically slammed his bedroom door shut.

He'd been hurt by Jessica's words and therefore had become angry and careless. He hadn't even thought about it, he'd just released the anger by loudly forcing his bedroom door closed. That had earned him a shouting match with his dad – he'd been expecting more than that, to be honest.

Billy had still been in a bad mood Saturday morning, had come out of his room late and missed the breakfast Susan had made, which, to Neil, apparently made him ungrateful because he obviously didn't appreciate the food being provided for him. Because he hadn't been there for breakfast, he wasn't allowed to eat until lunch was served, which put him in an even fouler mood.

What had really set Neil off, though, was when he'd argued with Max on Sunday. She hadn't really done anything, had only asked if he was okay, and since he didn't want to talk about what was putting him in a bad mood . . . he'd basically told her to leave him alone and she hadn't. She'd wanted to know what was wrong because he hadn't been in such a bad mood in a while.

He had called her a nosy little bitch and Neil had heard him, had come to his room, told him he'd basically been asking for it all weekend with his attitude. His back and side had taken the most damage from Neil's most recent bout of anger. Billy no longer had the excuse of playing skins at basketball practice anymore, so his dad had taken advantage of that fact plenty of times since the season had ended.

He'd been sentenced to his room for the rest of the night with the warning that he'd better be able to get up the next morning to get Max to school.

To add salt to the wound, Max had come to his room around midnight, an hour after Neil and Susan had gone to bed, with a bag of ice and some pain medicine. It had made him feel like a real jerk for yelling at her earlier and calling her names. It had also made him worry about Neil finding out about her helping him.

Max had rolled her eyes at him and had said something along the lines of, "You may be a jerk, but you're still my brother. Which means I'm stuck looking out for you now."

He'd said pretty much the same thing when he'd told her to stop hanging around Lucas Sinclair. It wasn't fun having his words thrown back at him, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

Neil and Susan had both been gone by the time Billy and Max had to leave for school that morning, but Billy had been stiff as a board from trying not to move too much the night before. Hence why he was late.

Honestly, his mood had been a little better that morning until he'd walked into first period. Jessica hadn't noticed right away that he was sitting up straighter than normal, but she eventually did and he'd seen her face scrunch up in concern. All the hurt and anger from Friday night had come flooding back and he had snapped at her.

He scanned over the words of the play he was reading because he had already studied it in California, and glanced at Jessica every now and then. She was also focused on the play, but it didn't look like she was actually reading it.

It took him the rest of the period to get up the courage to apologize, but he eventually did when the bell rang. It was as they were packing up their things to leave the room that he said her name.

She kept walking up the aisle towards the door. He caught up with her and grabbed her arm, not hard enough to make her stop but enough to make sure she didn't get away from him once they were in the hallway.

"Billy –"

"I'm sorry, okay?"

She shook her head and sighed as he pulled her to the side so they wouldn't be in the flow of students trying to get to their next class.

"For what? Friday night? This morning?"

"For – for saying you didn't care. And . . . maybe I pushed your buttons on Friday night, but that doesn't mean that what I said isn't true. You're scared to feel something for me, and it has nothing to do with you not trusting me."

Jessica's arm tensed under his touch and he knew she was going to pull away. Every time he brought up the fact that she might feel something for him she pulled away. To Billy, it just proved that he was telling the truth.

"Billy, relationships don't work that way. I can't be with someone I don't trust. Okay? And . . . honestly, you scare the hell out of me sometimes. You're unpredictable and the least little thing can set you off."

Billy couldn't even deny that.

"I've seen you attack a kid, Billy. A kid! I've seen you get so angry you almost killed someone. You've left bruises on Max. You've shoved me around before. I never know what you're gonna do."

Billy's hand fell to his side.

"I know that's not what you want to hear, but that's – that's how it is. I don't always know if I'm safe with you. That doesn't mean I don't care about you or that I don't like talking to you when you're not being a jerk. It just means that it can't be more than that."

"Well –"

"Look, I have to get to class. I'm gonna be late enough as it is."

Jessica spent most of the first half of the school day feeling bad for having obviously hurt Billy's feelings. She wasn't sorry for telling him what she had, exactly, but she was sorry for the defeat she'd seen take him over once she'd said them. His eyes had become a little dull and his shoulders had slumped before she'd turned away from him.

She ate lunch with Steve, Nancy, and Jonathan. They could tell something was wrong, but didn't ask any questions until she said she'd gotten into it with Billy again.

"What do you mean, got into it?" Steve asked.

"Well, you know, him being Billy and also being a dumb guy and me trying to tell him why he's being a dumb guy."

"And him obviously not getting it?" Nancy said.

"Obviously," Jessica said and grinned, feeling better since Nancy seemed to understand why that would upset her. "Anyway, I . . . had to be a little harsh with him and I didn't want to be."

"It's probably good for him," Steve said, half-way teasing.

She laughed and shook her head even as she said, "Maybe."

Jessica felt a little better after lunch and she didn't even complain when she and Steve made it to the gym to find out that they were practicing on the balance beam that day. She almost twisted her ankle at one point, and she would have if Steve hadn't been there to make sure she didn't actually fall.

Steve really was her safety net, but not in the way Billy thought he was. He was her safe place to land. She knew he would be there to catch her when she fell.

It worked both ways, though, because she knew that she was also Steve's safe place to land.

After everything they had been through together, they needed that safe place.

By the time the school day ended, Jessica had all but forgotten her talk with Billy because she had made plans to meet Steve at his place that night after work so they could go over the English assignment together. She had read a little bit of it herself and even she had trouble translating the Shakespeare speak. Steve hated reading, but he hated Shakespeare the most.

She was at her locker getting her things together when Billy came up to her and leaned against the locker beside hers.

She glanced his way but didn't say anything.

"Can we talk?" he asked. "Before Harrington gets here?"

She sighed. "I don't think we really need to. I've said all I needed to say."

"Well, I didn't."

"If it's more of the same –"

"It's not. Okay? You were right this morning. I can be a jerk."

"A big one."

"Jess –"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm just messing with you." She shut her locker door. "But you can be a big jerk."

"Can I finish?"

"I –" She looked around him. "Steve is coming."

"You let him tell you who you can talk to?"

"No. Just hurry up."

"Fine. I am unpredictable, like you said."

"Yeah, that's the problem."

"But I – I don't mean to be, okay? I don't mean to do half the things I do."

"Yeah, but you still do them, Billy," she said gently. "And that's another problem."

She turned to Steve when he reached them, mostly to gauge his reaction to finding Billy at her locker but also to let him know that she was very much aware of him even if Billy was around.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. We were just talking."

"Yeah, nothing to worry about, Harrington."

"Wasn't worried, Hargrove."

"Hm." Billy smirked. "That explains why she was dancing with me Friday night while you were getting high off your ass."

"Billy!" she hissed. Then to Steve, "I wasn't dancing with him. We were dancing in the same group of people."

"Doesn't change the fact that you were dancing because I asked you to."

Steve scoffed. "Did you ever stop to think that she only puts up with you because she feels sorry for you?"

"Steve!"

Jessica had allowed herself to be a buffer until then, had allowed herself to be in the middle of them, but now Billy was moving past her and towards Steve. His jaw was set and his eyes were cold.

"Did you ever stop to think that you're going to be the reason she's stuck here for the rest of her life? She could go anywhere she wants, do anything, but she won't because you're here, and God knows you're not going anywhere."

And just like that, Steve pushed Billy away. Billy had said the exact wrong thing. He had hit on one of Steve's insecurities. Jessica knew Steve was worried about college and the SATs and not being able to make it into school with her – not that she had even decided on a school yet. But because Steve had shoved Billy, Billy had to shove back.

Jessica shrank back against the lockers to get out of the way, as did the other students around them, but they eventually formed a circle around Jessica and the two boys. She shouted at both of them as they continued to push each other around.

Billy held back at first – she could tell because he was more controlled than he had been the night he and Steve had fought the first time. It wasn't until Steve was on the floor that Jessica became really worried, because that was when Billy kicked him once in the ribs before straddling him to land a few blows to Steve's face.

The hairline fracture Billy had caused the last time they had fought had only just healed completely about a month ago. Steve didn't need to be getting hit again so soon.

The students surrounding them were urging them on, but Jessica ignored them. She just reacted. She picked up her bag, which had three of her main text books in it, and stepped forward to swing it at Billy's back. It was the only thing she knew to do.

The reaction she got shocked her enough that she dropped her bag almost instantly.

Billy had almost bounced up onto his feet, turned toward her with his fist raised as if he were going to hit her, and stormed towards her. She was forced back into the lockers again, only this time she wished she could sink into them.

Billy was hovering over her, yelling in fury. She turned her head away as real fear took her over and let out a scream of her own. He could hit her right now, do as much damage as he had done to Steve the last time they'd fought. His fist hit the locker beside her, the sound loud in her ears, and she let out another scream.

She was terrified. She hadn't been this scared of receiving bodily harm since she'd been trapped in the tunnels with the demodogs in November. She couldn't even raise her arms to push against him because she was frozen in place.

There were a few more sounds of Billy's fist hitting the locker beside her head before he was suddenly pulled away from her. She had stopped screaming, but the screams were replaced by sobs, and she slowly slid down the locker to the floor, where she landed on her butt.

"What the hell is wrong with you, huh?" Steve. "You're scaring her, leave her alone."

She was aware of someone kneeling beside her, flinched away until she realized it was Nancy, then reached for her just to have something to hold onto.

Across the hallway, Billy was being held back by both Jonathan and Steve, who wasn't as hurt as he could've been given who he'd been fighting with. They were both shouting at Billy . . . who wasn't putting up much of a fight now. He was mostly just looking at Jessica. It was like he'd realized what he'd done and almost couldn't believe it himself.

Now that the damage was done, a few teachers had finally made it through the crowd. One of them was the gym teacher and coach of the basketball team that made his way through. The students began to go their own way now that the fight was over.

"What's going on? Hargrove? Harrington?"

"He just went crazy. He attacked Jessica," Steve said.

"Looks like he attacked you."

Steve's side was a little sore from being kicked in the ribs and he knew he had a split lip, but other than that he felt okay.

"I'm fine, but yeah, he did."

The coach brought a hand up, pinched the bridge of his nose, and shook his head. It reminded Steve of something Hopper would do. Coach basically stalked over and grabbed Billy by the arm.

"Let's go, Hargrove."

Billy went with him willingly. Steve was actually surprised he didn't shrug the guy off. He didn't particularly have any respect for authority.

Jessica was still on the floor, backed up against the lockers. She had drawn her legs up and had wrapped her arms around them. He'd been on the floor recovering until he'd heard her scream. It must have caused an adrenaline spike or something, because he'd had no problem getting up after that.

He was still glad Jonathan had shown up. Steve wasn't ashamed to admit that he might not have been able to hold Billy back if it had just been him.

Now that Billy was being led away, Steve went to Jessica and knelt on the other side of her. She had tears running down her face and she was trembling.

"Jess?" he said quietly, not wanting to startle her.

"Steve?" She reached for him and he pulled her to him even though he was a little sore. "I - I thought he was gonna hit me."

"I know. I thought he was gonna hurt you. I thought he was hurting you."

"No, I –" She broke off and turned to Nancy. "Where did you come from?"

"Jonathan and I were leaving and we heard the commotion. We didn't know it was you guys until we got here."

"Oh. I –"

The teachers that had come with the coach interrupted with, "Miss Henderson, Mr. Harrington. You'll both need to go to the office so we can get the discipline report right."

"Discipline report?" Nancy asked. "I hope you mean for Billy."

"Yes, Miss Wheeler, for Mr. Hargrove."

Jessica was still shaking as she rose so Steve helped her get her feet under her and then they followed the teachers to the office. Nancy and Jonathan walked with them until they reached the office and then they went their separate ways.

Billy was already there, seated off to one side, and the teacher made sure Steve and Jessica sat on the opposite side. Billy was slouched in his seat favoring his left hand, which was bloody from having hit the locker over and over again.

One of the administrators tried to talk to them, but Billy refused to say anything and Jessica started crying when she began talking, so Steve was left to explain what had happened.

A report was made on each of them explaining their part in the fight. Billy's was the worst because he'd done the most damage, but Steve was written up as well, and Jessica's name was put in as a side note, mostly because she had been on the sidelines until she'd interfered in the end.

Billy had been silent since he'd been taken to the office. The knuckles on his left hand hurt, but he was barely conscious of the pain. He'd had worse. The reason he was basically quiet was because his mind kept replaying the image of Jessica cowering away from him in the hallway.

He didn't know how it had gotten to the point of him towering over her, but he did remember the second he'd gone from punching Harrington in the face to the second he'd felt something hit his back, which was already bruised up from his dad showing him around and hitting him.

When he'd gotten off of Steve and back onto his feet, he hadn't even been thinking about who might have hit him; he'd only been angry at the fact that someone had interfered with what he was doing.

He'd reacted without thinking, had almost shoved whoever it had been into the lockers, had basically caged them in with his body and arms. If he hadn't heard Jessica scream, he might have actually hit her. As it was, she had broken through and he'd been able aim for the locker instead because he had still very much wanted to hit something.

Harrington and Byers had pulled him away from her and he had let them. The fight had gone out of him by then. It had been pretty much the same when the coach had led him to the office.

Since then, he'd been aware of what was going on around him, he just hadn't participated in it. He knew the administrators were taking notes for a disciplinary report or actually writing the reports out, but he didn't add or take anything away from what was being said.

Once the reports were written, the administrator sighed and shook her head. "You guys sit tight. We have to call your parents and set up a time for them to come in within the next couple of days. This fight happened on school grounds. We are responsible for letting them know."

Billy didn't outwardly react when he found out his dad would have to be called, but his stomach did tighten a bit. Neil would not appreciate getting a call at work letting him know that Billy had gotten in trouble and that Neil would have to come to the school at some point to talk things out.

"I have to go home and get ready for work," Jessica said. "I have to be there at five."

"This won't take long. You're free to leave once we get in touch with your mom."

She slumped back in her chair and sighed. She hadn't looked at Billy once since she'd arrived at the office, and she didn't look at him now.

He didn't blame her. He hadn't hurt her – not physically – but he had terrified her. He hadn't wanted to. He hadn't meant to, but it was one of those things he had ended up doing anyway.