No One Like You ◈ Billy Hargrove

15. Rock You Like a Hurricane

He's licking his lips
He's ready to win
On the hunt tonight for love at first sting
Here I am
Rock you like a hurricane
Here I am
Rock you like a hurricane

. .

To say Eleven was nervous for her first day of public school would be an understatement. She chewed on her bottom lip, chewed on her thumb nails, and even changed her outfit a couple of times. She was used to the presence of her select group of friends, but public school would be making her open up to strangers in ways she wasn't entirely sure she was ready for.

"Hey, stop that," Dani mutters, gently slapping Eleven's hand from her mouth. "You're going to be fine."

"Am I?"

"Yes. Because not only do you have Dustin's crazy butt to make other kids feel uncomfortable, but you have Max in your corner. Billy's little protégé won't let anything happen to you."

"If you say so."

"I know so. Now come with me. We need to cover up our tattoos." Eleven follows Dani into the bathroom where Dani then proceeds to dab and blend concealer over the tattoo on the young girl's arm. "Billy says we shouldn't be ashamed of our pasts, and I'm not, but I rather no one start asking why such a young girl has a tattoo. We don't need questions after we worked so hard to have normal lives."

"Agreed."

"Good. As for me, I'll be wearing a band-aid. I'm pretty sure I'll be showering after P.E and I don't want the makeup to wash off." After placing a band-aid over her own tattoo, Dani then walks back out into her room and slips on a pair of boots. "Alright, so let's go. Dad's already left for work, so your cool older sister gets to drop you off."

Eleven's lips finally twitch into a smile and she's quick to go grab her backpack from the couch. Dani lost count of how many times she told the younger girl a backpack wasn't needed on her first day, but she was too excited to care and Nathan told Dani to leave her be. Then making sure she had her own notebook and pen, Dani pockets some cash and plucks her car keys from the bowl by the front door.

Once settled in the Firebird and making sure Eleven buckles up, the engine roars to life and TNT by AC/DC blares from the speakers. Both girls flinch and the music immediately cuts off, and Dani knows how it was done when sniffling fills the silence.

"You're going to have to be careful with that," Dani says, slowly raising the volume until it's at a tolerable level. "Don't let your powers be controlled by your emotions. You're likely to be jumpy until you become used to your environment, so be careful to not let your powers lash out."

"O-Okay."

Since the middle school and high school are practically next door to one another, Dani rolls into the high school parking lot. She easily spots Billy's blue Camaro and can see her boyfriend lounging in the driver's seat- sunglasses shielding his eyes and a cigarette dangling from between his lips.

Dani revs her engine, grinning when Billy's head lolls to the side and stares in her direction. Max, who's sitting in the passenger seat of the Camaro perks up, rolling her eyes when Billy revs the Camaro's engine in return. The other students lingering around glance between the two vehicles, the girls glaring and the boys staring with appreciation.

Max is exiting the Camaro just as Dani parks and cuts her engine, and Eleven scrambles from the car to rush to the middle school with her friend. Dani smiles when the rest of their group meets them halfway and she collects her notebook before exiting her car, locking it.