Love me •|Billy Hargrove|•

•|3|•

I walk in right before the bell, throwing my bag on the floor, and taking a seat. The teacher starts talking, so I tune out, glaring at the desk.

I feel something lightly tap my ankle. I look up and see Billy's crystal blue eyes starting at me.

"You ok?" He whispers.

"I'm fine," I say, deciding not to let Steve's words get to me.

...

I walk into the library to read in silence for a bit. After I finish a few chapters of my book, I go to the cafeteria. Lunch isn't over yet so I sit at my table. The only seat open is by Billy so I sit down.

I smile at him. He smiles back and we start to talk. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Nancy and Steve looking at me. I decide to ignore it, continuing my happy conversation.

———

The final bell rings and I rush out of my classroom, but someone grabs my shoulder before I can walk out the big double doors.

It's Tina.

"Hi, Cassidy. I need to talk to you about something," she says with a sweet smile. I scan her face. Her smile doesn't reach her eyes.

"Please," she says again. Deep down I feel that this isn't right, but I go along. Maybe she really does need to talk to me about something important.

"Ok." I reply. She leads me down a hallway and out a side door into a small alley like area.

Her two friends are standing there, waiting.

Red flags wave inside my head. I look at her with my eyebrows furrowed.

Her expression changes. "How long have you been hooking up with Billy?" She asks, taking a step toward me.

"W-What? We haven't," I say, taking a step back. Her friends circle in a bit, backing me further into the alley.

"I know you've been sleeping with him. Why else would he ever talk to you?" She sneers. Her words hurt my hurt. I can't help but wonder if she's right. Maybe he's only pretending to be a good person. I push those thoughts away, knowing it's all in my head.

"Maybe because I'm a good person and not an easy slut like you," I say back, remembering what Billy said to me about being confident.

"You bitch!" She yells, grabbing a handful of my curly, blonde hair. I yelp and grab at her hands, but she pushes me to the ground. I fall on my back, nocking the air out of my lungs.

When I go to get up, I feel a heeled boot kick me in the stomach, causing me to go back down. Two other pairs of shoes start to kick at me. Instinctively, I curl into a ball, resisting the urge to throw them against the wall with my mind. The kicking ceases and I look up at Tina. She just smiles and lands another kick right into my face.

I whimper and roll over, tears streaming down my face as I spit out blood. My entire body hurts.

I hear her and her friends laugh and walk away. When I'm sure they're gone, I push myself off the ground. A little dizzy from the kick to the face, I grab onto the brick wall for support. Blood grips out of my mouth. I spit some of it onto the ground.

I start walking to my car, with my head held down, stumbling a bit.

Billy is leaning on his Camaro looking at the middle school. I realize I have to walk passed him, so I don't make eye contact.

"Hey, Cass. What took you so long? You're usually the first out the door," he says.

I look up at him and his eyes go wide. I watch as his jaw tightens and his blue eyes scan my face.