Hello everyone! This chapter along with the next one will explain y/n's parent situation!
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That night, you and Billy had crashed at a motel. You couldn't sleep at your place, for obvious reasons, and Billy had insisted you didn't sleep at his house. You weren't completely sure why, but you had a suspicion it had something to do with the shouting you had heard from his house that day. Deciding not to interrogate him, you had just gone along with the motel idea.
When you returned home the day after, Steve hadn't been a happy camper and it took Steve a few days to stop being angry at you after the pool party. After all, you had pretty much complicated things in your friend group and left him to deal with it alone. But as Steve always did, he eventually got over it.
Now the weekend was over and the Monday promised an eventful day.
"Why are we always late", Steve groaned and hastily gathered his stuff and put it into his backpack.
You were already ready and observed Steve's frustration in amusement.
"Maybe if you used less time on your hair, we'd be in less of a rush", you snorted and pointed to Steve's voluminous hair.
Steve had many nicknames, and after Billy had enrolled in school and stolen his title as King, Steve had acquired a new one. Now he was referred to as "Steve The Hair Harrington", and it was absolutely hilarious and way too fitting.
Steve scowled at you and threw a pencil case at you. You jumped to your side in an attempt to dodge it and frowned.
"Or maybe, if you started packing your shit properly, so I wouldn't have to remember it for you, then we wouldn't be so late", he barked back at you and looked at his wristwatch to check the time. You pouted and bent down to pick up your pencil case before putting it into your bag.
"It's 7:30", Steve exclaimed, and you both ran out to the car.
"We gotta go"!
You and Steve made it just in time, and when you made it to the school entrance, Billy was waiting for you. He was grinning arrogantly.
"Well, I do hear that time is relevant", Billy joked at you being so late, and Steve scoffed in annoyance. and wasted no time and went inside. He was doing his utmost to avoid being near Billy.
Billy looked after Steve with an unimpressed expression.
"I don't think I like your brother", Billy said with a sour voice and you chuckled.
"I think the feeling's mutual".
Billy gasped and looked at you with wide eyes, pretending to be upset, and you hit him playfully.
"You're such a douchebag", you laughed and rolled your eyes. Billy laughed, not caring the slightest, and followed you inside the halls, before walking to his locker.
The halls were filled to the brim with people gathering books and whatnot from their lockers, and further down in the hall right at your locker, you saw Carol and Tina. They also had their locker there, and it meant you still had to see them.
You re-adjusted the strap to your backpack over your shoulder and confidently walked over to your locker and you were met with judgmental eyes.
Carol and Tina glared at you in silence, clearly trying to get to you. But you weren't faced by it. It made them look pathetic. It meant they didn't dare confront you themself, so instead, they tried to make you feel guilty and make you do it.
"Morning girls", you said casually and watched as they got worked up and nearly bitch out on you. But just before they could do so, their expressions quickly softened, and they replied with another overly sweet "good morning".
Billy scooped up on your side and rested his body against the locker beside yours. He had a smug smile plastered on his lips, amused by the tense atmosphere between you and the girls.
It was ironic how quickly Carol and Tina faked being nice when Billy came into the picture, and you got more and more thankful that you weren't friends with them anymore.
"How's Tommy", Billy asked Carol mockingly and Carol's innocent smile instantly replaced itself with a dead silent frown, and she stormed off angrily. Billy smirked, pleased with himself, before tapping on your arm to get your attention.
You were also smiling from Billy's remark and Carol's reaction to it.
"You free today? Max is going to the arcade, and I want some company", Billy asked you, and you gave him a sorry smile.
"I have to stay late and do some homework. I have an English assignment due tomorrow", you sighed disappointedly and closed your locker tiredly.
Billy rolled his eyes at you.
"Guess I'll just ask another bitch then", he dramatically spoke, popped a piece of gum into his mouth, and winked flirtily at the next pretty girl walking by. You knew he didn't think of you as a bitch, but he definitely would find himself another "bitch".
You rolled your eyes at Billy and gave in.
"Fine Romeo, I'll bless you with my great company to the arcade", you scoffed and patted his chest teasingly.
Billy chewed vigorously on his gum and looked at you triumphantly.
"I'll pick you up after school".
>> Time-skip to the end of the day and after the arcade <<
The blue Camaro quickly drove off, loud as ever, and you hummed as you skipped to your front door.
After school, you and Billy had given Max a ride to the arcade where she was to hang out with her friends, Lucas Sinclair and Dustin Henderson. You didn't know Lucas, but Dustin you were well familiar with because of Steve.
After dropping Max off, you and Billy had hung out downtown until you had to pick her up again. You and Billy had gone out to watch a movie, and after it had finished, Billy had been flirting left and right, while you had watched, amused. And when Max finished, Billy had given you a ride home.
You jerked the doorhandle open. Your day had so far been amazing, but that was about to change.
Inside you were instantly met by a familiar scent, and you flinched.
The house smelled like apple pecan pie, which wasn't weird itself. But neither you nor Steve knew how to bake. Only one person in your family knew how to bake, and that was your mom.
Your parents were home.
Nervousness crept up on you, and your throat quickly became dry. Your parents hadn't been home since the semester's start, so it was a month since the last time you had seen them. Your clenched your fists and jumped up and down, agitated, trying to calm yourself down, before mustering up your courage to walk to the living room where dinner was being served.
You walked slowly, doing your best to be as quiet as possible, and you could hear Steve chat with your father, and your mother piling food onto a plate. They were laughing happily.
You quietly stepped into the living room, and the floor creaked slightly. Your mother turned to you, and her eyes widened in excitement when she saw you.
"Y/n 'my baby. Welcome home, I missed you so so very much", your mother, Gwyneth, chanted and hurriedly pulled you in for a hug. The hug was warm but too affectionate for you to bear, so you ended it almost immediately.
"My how you've grown skinny", she gasped, but you ignored her. Your mother was a plump woman, so you didn't give it too much thought.
"You didn't call and tell that you were going home", you stated questioningly and pulled the chair beside Steve out to sit down. And Steve moved a little to the side, granting you easier access to sit closer to the table.
"We thought we would surprise you and Steve", your father, Richard, replied and shoveled some roasted potatoes into your plate. He glanced at you and put some extra potatoes on the plate afterward.
"You're mother's right, you're too skinny", he added, and you frowned a little offended, but accepted the plate anyway.
"Well, we're glad you're home either way", Steve said and gave them a happy smile. This made your mother smile the whole way up to her ears, and you found yourself getting a little irritated by the whole situation. It was too chummy.
You fiddled a potato with your fork, having no appetite. You were uncomfortable. Plates and glasses clinked while your family put down the food, and your mother turned to look at you.
"So, Steve tells me there's a new boy at school... What was his name"? Your mother looked at Steve for help, and Steve spoke.
"Billy Hargrove".
"Billy Hargrove", she repeated, and you looked at her puzzled, not understanding why she was bringing it up.
"I hear he's a real troublemaker, causing some disturbance at school", your mother stated with hints of judgment in her voice. You looked at Steve, confused as to why he'd told your mom, and wondered just how much he'd told her.
"Uh, well, yeah. Billy actually just dropped me off at home half an hour ago", you replied, taken aback.
"Here, eat some pie", your father mumbled and put a piece of pie next to your already full one. You looked at him baffled, and annoyance was tingling in you. You looked at your mom again and forced a smile.
"Why? Are you gonna tell me I can't hang around Billy anymore", you said jokingly, but your mother smiled delightedly at your words.
"Yes, actually! We don't think you should spend time with bad influences like him. You're much better off with people like Tommy", she sang confidently, and you frowned slightly. Anger was boiling inside of you, and it was hard for you to contain it. However, you did your best to keep your calm and stuck your fork into the pie and took a small bite.
It was sweet, but with a bitter aftertaste.
"Billy's actually nice, mom. He isn't such a badass", you tried to put in a good word for Billy, but Steve snorted mockingly.
"What", you hissed, and Steve gave you a judgmental look.
"He's a total douchebag to everyone, y/n", Steve scoffed, and your mother's face soured.
Your parents had seen you for less than an hour, and they were already controlling everything like they actually had a clue of what was right and wrong.
"Look, I don't want to see you hanging around him anymore. He'll just spoil a nice girl like you", your mother said firmly, and you lost it.
You slammed your fork into the table and looked at your startled parents with wild eyes.
"Well, if you were actually ever home, then maybe I wouldn't feel the need to hang around such bad influences", you hissed, struggling not to scream. Steve's expression darkened, and he grabbed your shoulder angrily.
"Y/n"!
You slapped his hand off of you and stood up abruptly.
"No, Steve", you dismissed his attempt to make you stop saying anymore. Your eyes welled up, and you looked at your parents, heartbroken.
They were the reason that you felt lonely every god damn day. They were the reason you went to bed crying. They were the reason you sought intimacy from strangers. THEY were the problem.
"You haven't been home for 3 weeks! 3 weeks! You haven't the slightest idea of anything that's happened and yet the first thing you do is dictate how I am to live my life", you scoffed in disbelief and facepalmed.
Your breaths were quick and you felt like you were going to vomit at any moment. You laughed in frustration
"You DO NOT get to waltz in and out of my life as you please, just to return and act like all mighty parents! I DON'T HAVE PARENTS", you shouted from the top of your lungs, and your mother looked at you frightened.
You turned to Steve with pain in your eyes.
"And you! I can't force you like Billy, but if you weren't so god damn busy feeling self-righteous and butt-hurt all the time, then you'd know that Billy makes me feel less lonely", you cried frustratedly and looked back at your parents with anger evident of your face.
"And for the record! Tommy and his gang are actually the real losers. But you wouldn't know that, because you're never home"!
You left the room completely silent with your honest words, and you ran out of your house hastily. You wanted your parents gone. Everything had just started to get good. You weren't as lonely anymore, but now they'd gone and ruined it.
You needed to talk to someone, and that someone was Billy.