𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 ➪ 𝐬. 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

Part Two - Chapter Five

"Well, now you definitely have to hook up with him since you told him you wanted to do it when you're sober." Heather stated, exiting the vehicle, followed by the other brunette. "I said 'we should,' not 'I want to.'" Allison corrected, walking inside the school with Heather on her side. "Well, do you want to?"

"I don't know. I mean, don't get me wrong, he's gorgeous and extremely attractive, I just would want to get to know him better first- like building the trust and relationship before jumping in and throwing it all away." Allison admitted as the two approached her first period classroom. "I keep forgetting you're not the hook-up or once-and-done type. Girl, you should at least try it once, but make sure it's not for the sole purpose of getting over a guy, because that'll never work."

"Well... that's the thing. You know I've only ever... done it... with Steve. And I don't want to just sleep with Billy if I'm still thinking of Steve. I just need time, or something." Allison whispered, stopping in front of her class. "That 'something' is some good dick, and I'm guaranteeing you Billy is exactly that." The curly haired brunette paused with a quiet laugh; "See ya at lunch!" She whispers back before turning on her heels and sashaying away. With a roll of her eyes, Allison enters the classroom and sits down in her seat, both Billy's and Steve's seats empty.

As a time passes, Billy is the first to enter, followed by Steve minutes later, right before the bell rung. "You feelin' any better?" Billy's voice came from beside the brunette, drawing her attention. A small smile tugged at her lips at his question, reminding her how reassuring he had been the night before. "Yeah, thank you." She replied, getting shushed by their teacher. Getting a stack of notecards from her bag, she takes one, writing, 'talk in gym?' on it before sliding it his way. A couple seconds pass, and he slides it back, reading 'sure thing Darlin.' She sends a smile and nod his way, leaning her head in her hand as the old man babbles on.

As lunch approached, Heather and Allison sit together, eating the flavorless cafeteria food. "Did he notice them?" Heather asked before drinking some water. "Not that I'm aware of." Allison blankly replied, letting out a sigh. "Steve?" The brown eyed girl questions, stabbing her fork into the salad in front of her. "Hopefully not... actually, you know what? I don't care. I'm not his girlfriend anymore, I mean, it's not like I'm cheating on him. I'm just hanging out with the only guy he doesn't want me hanging out with."

"Did he tell you not to?" Heather inquires as she stops chewing, looking seriously to her best friend. "Kind of." The brunette mumbles, looking down to her food. "I don't understand why your friends with him, he's so toxic babe!" The Holloway girl states, shoving more greens into her mouth. "He's not toxic, Heth. He's just... overprotective."

"Toxic." Heather corrects, shaking her head. "Being friends with him and the princess doesn't do you any good. They both wronged you while knowing it would hurt you, and as your best friend, I think you'd be better off without them. If it were me, you best believe I would've been the pettiest, most cruel bitch towards them." Heather rambled, rubbing at her temples. "You know I can't just do that. I can't just move on after everything." Allison mentioned, running her fingers through her hair. "Yeah, yeah. I know. You have a good heart babe. Kudos to you, cause that could never be me." Heather laughed quietly. "I just don't want you to get hurt again by either of them. I hated watching you tear yourself apart as if it were your fault in any way. I love you too much to see you go through that again, so if either of them do something, you tell me."

With the nod of Allison's head, Heather smiled, holding on to the hazel-eyed girl's hand. Once lunch had concluded, Allison split from Heather and headed towards the gym, changing into her gym shorts and t-shirt. She had planned on throwing her hair up into a ponytail, but after seeing her reflection in the mirror, realizing there was no collar to hide the purple-tinted love bites on her neck, she left her hair down and returned to the gym from the locker room. The female coach instructed the girls to be seated on the bleachers for the period, seeing as the male coach would be having the boys play shirts vs. skins. Allison had been half relieved that she wouldn't be participating in any physical activity for the day until she realized it had meant Billy would be on the floor playing, and unable to talk to her.

As she made her way to the bleachers, the boys were being sorted into two teams, separating into two lines. When the coach approached Billy, he pointed to the skins team, to which Billy happily tugged his shirt up and over his head, tossing it to the side. Although Allison had already seen his perfectly toned torso before, it still sent electric shivers through her body. As she seated herself, she continued to observe the two fully divided teams, placing themselves in the appropriate areas.

The brunette's eyes skimmed over to Steve, who was on the shirts team; his eyes meeting hers. There was something different about him, but she couldn't quite place it. He offered a small, thin-lipped smile to her with sad eyes, sending a little nod. She nodded back, shooting him a thumbs up for luck. She'd seen him play before in his time of basketball, and hers as a cheerleader, and a supportive girlfriend. He was good, but never quite had his heart fully in it. The Hawkins Tigers won games, but never a championship.

Allison wondered if Billy had taken up Basketball back in California as he had with surfing, shortly being proven once the game began. As the game progressed, Billy pressed himself against Steve, appearing to be speaking to him as the brown-haired boy's facial expressions shift, wearily dribbling the ball in front of him. In mere seconds, Steve is pushed to the ground as Billy snatches the ball, shooting it into the hoop. The whistle blows, and Billy turns to face Allison, sending a wink and point her way. His eyes move back to the brown-eyed boy, tauntingly licking his bottom lip. A call for Steve comes from the right of bleachers, drawing both Allison and his attention. There Nancy stands, one hand in her pocket as the other clutches onto a textbook.

The brown-eyed boy stands in place for a couple of seconds before walking her way, and the two exit the gymnasium together. "You wanted to talk to me?" Billy's warm voice comes from the left of the Byers girl, gaining her attention. "Aren't you supposed to be out there right now?" Allison points to the court, raising her eyebrow. "Eh, they can wait a few more seconds." He replies, smiling to the girl. "Thank you, for last night- it meant a lot that you understood... and I'm sorry for passing out."

"You don't have to apologize; you needed the rest." He responded, looking up into her eyes. "Right. I didn't know you played basketball." Allison mentioned, smiling at him. "Well, you do now... impressed?" He questions, a smirk forming on his lips. She rolled her eyes playfully at his words, before observing how the sweat on his tanned skin made him look shiny and somehow magnifying. "Not yet." Allison replied with a grin as Billy placed one of his hands over his heart, mouthing 'ouch.' "Hargrove! Let's go!"

"I'll impress you eventually." He finishes, walking backwards before turning on his heels to join the others. Steve still hasn't returned as the game continues, the shirts team losing heavily. Billy scores several points for the skins team, absolutely crushing the others. Eventually Steve walks back in after being retrieved by one of his teammates, looking utterly crushed. Allison notices this immediately, recognizing his heart broken look immediately. Her smile drops at this, but she redirects her gaze to Billy, watching him until the game concluded. She hopped off the bleachers to wish him a 'good job,' but he had been swept away by Tommy before she had the chance. As everyone filed into the locker rooms to change, Allison observed Steve retrieving his water bottle by the wall. Despite her previous thoughts, she made her way over to him, placing her hand gently on his elbow to get his attention. The brown eyed boy quickly turned to face her, his facial expressions relaxing upon seeing her. "Hey." He quietly spoke, tucking his water bottle under his arm. "Hey um, are you okay?"

"Oh... yeah. Yeah, I'm alright." He replies, offering a thin-lipped smile. "Steve... you know I know when you're lying, right?" Allison responded softly, pulling her arms into a crossed position. He lets out a breath, his eyebrows raising as he nodded. "Do you want to talk about it?" She questioned, giving a sympathetic look to him. "Not here."

"Okay... did you want to meet somewhere after school?" The hazel-eyed girl inquired, shrugging her shoulders. "No, it's okay. I don't want to bother you, it's really nothing." He lied, biting down on his bottom lip. "Steve..."

"It's okay. I'll be fine." He spoke, trying his best to smile reassuringly as he made his way over to the men's locker room. She remained standing in the corner for a few seconds, watching him walk further away. The brunette was saddened at the feeling of a withering friendship that she had tried so hard to regain. She cared so much for the Harrington boy, but felt helpless in this situation. Whether it was because of her and Billy, or something else, she couldn't help but feel as if it was her fault that there was a growing gap between them, and it killed her.