mary. [ BILLY HARGROVE ]

xxxiv. CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

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warning: violence, mature language

FIVE MINUTES EARLIER

     Billy was sat outside the principals office, leg tapping up and down as he knew Max was going to give him shit for being late to the car. He pulled the sleeve up on his jacket, seeing that the time was just a few minutes past the bell. Finally, the principals door opened and the woman stepped out to look at Billy. 

     "Mr. Hargrove?" she questioned. He stood from the chair, following her into the office. He took a seat as Principal Sanders took her seat behind the desk. "Mr. Hargrove, do you know why you're here?" 

     "Could you just say Billy?" he asked. Miss Sanders took a deep breath, sitting up as she leaned forward. 

     "Do you know why I called you in today, Billy?" she asked. 

     "Not really," he shrugged. 

     "Here are your grades two weeks ago," Miss Sanders said, setting a sheet of paper in front of him. They were all low A's, or mid nineties. "Here they are after today." Billy looked at that sheet to see that nearly all of them were in the low seventies, closed to failing. "Care to explain what has happened, Billy?" He knew exactly what happened, but it's not like the principal would care. 

     "I don't know," he said. "Does it matter?" 

     "The college you are going to in San Francisco has offered to pay half your tuition, but they won't if they see how fast your grades have dropped," Miss Sanders explained to him. 

     "They were going to give me a scholarship?" Billy asked, raising an eyebrow. 

     "Yes, they still want to. But you have to pull your grades up quickly," Miss Sanders said with a reassuring smile. "We an offer tutoring sessions, give you the help you need before graduation." Billy stared at the two papers in front of him, a sigh escaping his lips. 

     "I'll do it myself, Miss Sanders," he told her. "No need to worry." 

     "Billy, if something is going on, please tell me," Miss Sanders said, leaning forward in her chair. His mind wandered to the previous night as he sat outside Mary's window, screaming for her to just love him again. To open the window and just love him. He could feel the tears threatening his eyes, but he wiped them away quickly. 

     "It's nothing. Leave me alone," Billy said. He stood from his chair, grabbing his bag and rushing out of the office. He was walking to his car when he saw Alex wrap his arms around Mary's waist. His gut wrenched at the sight, and tears began to threaten his eyes. He could feel the need to throw up and scream, but he wanted to go punch Alex across the face. He wanted to tell him that Mary was his girl. But he knew how much she hated it when he said that, so he never did.

     Alex's moves quickly turned violent, and he grabbed Mary's wrists harshly. Billy could hear Mary gasp in pain, his eyes darkening at what he was seeing. He walked to them quickly, dropping his bag to get the full range he needed. He reached them, bringing his fist back and punching Alex across the face as hard as he could in one motion. Alex went to the ground, clutching his face as Billy now stood in front of Mary protectively. 

     "What the fuck?!" Alex screamed, pushing himself off the ground. He turned to Billy who was stood up straight with his fists clenched. 

     "Don't touch her," Billy warned, beginning to pull his jacket off. The sleeves of the red shirt hugged his biceps, and he dropped his jacket to the ground. Alex laughed, looking between the two.