After reluctantly pulling herself out of bed, Allison rubbed at her eyes, hoping the fatigue would dissipate. Her mouth felt dry, and her head had begun to slightly ache; Groaning at the grogginess and sensitivity to the early morning light seeping through her window, she slid her closet door open, revealing Billy's leather jacket hung within. A smile embraced the brunette's face as she slid her hand down the material, hearing the voices of her family in the hallway.
Following getting dressed, the Byers daughter exited her room, grinning at the sight of her family and Bob seated at the kitchen table. "Goodmorning." Allison greeted, crossing over to the kitchen counters to grab a slice of toast, inserting it into the toaster. "Morning honey." Joyce replied with a smile as the others repeated a simple 'morning.' "How was your time with Billy last night?" Joyce questioned as she felt her pockets for her missing keys. "Oh! It was good. I had a great time." The brunette replied, lathering jam onto the toasted piece of bread before shoving it in her mouth.
"Looks like it..." Jonathan mumbled, giving his sister a bland look. In return, Allison raised her eyebrow at him, unsure of what he had meant. "How was trick-or-treating with Will?" The brunette questioned her brother, receiving the same look from him that she had given. Will shifted his eyes down to his plate, poking at his eggs. He had clearly been distraught but wasn't going to speak of his experience the night prior. "Okay... well, I'm going to head out now since I'm picking up Heather, so I'll see you guys this afternoon." Allison broke the silence, retrieving her bag from her room before tugging a pair of high-top converses on.
As she crossed to the front door, she kissed the top of Will's head and received a hug from Joyce, wishing them all good days before shutting the front door behind her. The ride to Heather's was fast, and the curly haired brunette looked just as dazed as Allison had. "Rough night?" The Byers girl asked her best friend as she heaved herself into the car, slumping her head against the headrest. "Oh girl, you have no idea. You'll never guess how bad I screwed up." Heather whined, rubbing at her eyes as she chugged water from her bottle, offering it to Allison. "Hit me." The brunette obliged before guzzling down almost the remainder of Heather's water. "I hooked up with Christopher right after I told you that I'd better see Billy with you when I came back."
"Oh my god. I was wondering where the hell you went- but Christopher? Really? I thought you were done with him!" Allison stated in shock, passing the bottle back to the brown eyed girl. "I know, I thought I was too- but those green, dreamy eyes- I just can't help it babe!" Heather exclaimed, placing her head in her hands. "Long story short, I got blackout drunk after it and here I am, a fucking mess." She continued, shaking her head at herself as Allison offered a sympathetic look towards her friend. "Wait, look at me again-"
"Heth, I have to keep my eyes on the road." Allison responded, clutching onto the steering wheel. The curly haired brunette ignored the response, reaching towards her friend and pulling Allison's chin to face her, gasping in shock. "What!?" The hazel-eyed girl inquired with a hint of startlement, her eyes growing wide. "Did you and Billy fuck!?" Heather questions with a smile, shifting in her seat to face the brunette. "What? No-"
"Then did y'all at least make out?" Heather asks desperately, her grin growing wide. "No, we didn't do anything." Allison replied, intently looking ahead. "You are such a liar, Allison Byers." the brown-eyed girl laughed, back-handing Allison's shoulder. "What do you mean? We didn't do any of that, I swear."
"Tell that to the hickeys on your neck." Heather giggled, receiving a bewildered expression from her best friend. As the two pulled into Allison's parking spot at Hawkins High, she quickly pulled out a pocket mirror from her glovebox, pulling the collar of her blouse down. Small splotches of purples and reds were visible on the left side of the Byers girls' neck, memorably from the night before. She realized that her family had probably seen the love bites, now making Jonathan's words to be understandable. Sighing out loud, she recalled the previous night to Heather, telling her that Billy had snuck in her room, given her permission, and the two had a small moment together before Allison shut it down, realizing that it would be best if both are fully in the right mindset to truly consent.
"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.