LIKE A HURRICANE ⭑ - Billy Hargrove ⭑

07 | Reality

The next couple of hours pass by in peaceful quiet. Since his and Max's talk, Billy's been in a good mood, which hasn't been long, but he has felt significantly lighter.

He helped Max get her homework done before heading to his bedroom to set up his personal box-shaped television. It's pretty old with a slight dent in the bottom left corner and one of the tuning gauges broken off. He bought it for cheap with his own money from a yard sale about a week ago with its sole purpose to have MTV playing while he worked on his reps. He honestly wouldn't be surprised if it is as old as Max, but as long as it still works he won't complain.

He plugs it in and something inside of it hums with electricity. He smirks but tries to keep his hopes low in case the screen doesn't come on when he flips the switch. However, that would be hard considering this is the newest belonging he's bought for himself in a long while. He angles it on his dresser to face his bed, then he flicks on the power button. The screen blinks on with some trouble, then rolls like a VHS tape before growing steady. The faded screen shows off a news station from the nearest city.

Billy grins triumphantly before sticking a common-blade screwdriver into the broken tuning station. He turns it experimentally to change the channel and it works! He masterfully finds the MTV station and turns the volume up before taking a step back to admire the work he's done.

"You got it to work?" Max questions from just outside his door.

He glances back at her and grins wider, "Yep! I told you I could."

She smiles, mischievous, "I never doubted you for a second."

Billy snorts and picks up his packs of cigarettes, "Sure you didn't." He pulls one out and sticks it between his lips, earning a disapproving look from Max in the process. He ignores her and lights it anyway, "Where are you going?"

"The kitchen," She replies, still from outside the door, "Getting a snack."

He nods, "Okay, don't get lost."

"As if," She snorts, as she disappears out of view, "This house only has three bedrooms."

"It's still large enough to get lost in," Billy calls back, teasing, as he picks up his barbell. Since he hasn't done it in a while it feels a bit heavier than what he's used to, but he's ready to fix that starting today. No more falling behind on routine.

With his music going, he quickly falls into a rhythm. Five, ten, fifteen. It comes back easy and the burn comes on too easily. He hits twenty, then twenty-one, twenty-two— and then the doorbell rings disrupting his flow. And it continues to ring as if it has been possessed or like the person ringing it is.

"Max, will you get that?" He yells, nearly throwing the bar on the floor from his sudden loss of focus. He manages to drop it down on its stand instead before reaching for the hand towel he had set aside to wipe his face. By the time he's partly cleaned up and turned his music on mute, the doorbell is silent but he can hear Max talking to whoever is standing just outside.

"Who is it?" Billy calls, putting one step outside his door. He has a clear view of the front door, but it's mostly closed but Max is blocking the crack enough to keep him from seeing who is just outside, "Max?"

Max steps back inside quickly and looks as though she's trying to hide the boy behind her from Billy's view. However, Billy sees him and recognizes him as the one who followed her out of the school and the arcade's doors. He looks out of breath and on the verge of a frenzy with his wide eyes and sweat dripping down the side of his face. Lucas, that was his name, right?

Billy glances back at Max to see her staring at him with begging eyes. "What's going on?" The blond asks, coming forward.

"Billy, it's an emergency," Max huffs, "He says he has proof."