Nicole found herself listening to Billy that next morning and went to school. He was right, she would be behind if she chose to chicken out of another day of education. Billy only had one more day of suspension, and she was hoping that by the time he came back he'd be off her back and giving her a break. The way the two had been for the past couple days gave her some hope that things would change. However, she knew how unpredictable Billy could be, and she knew that he could switch up how he wanted to act in the blink of an eye.
There was one thing he was right about, and that was the fact that no body was bothering her anymore. It seemed like they all moved on to the next topic of high school drama, and Nicole felt like she could breathe again. Of course, people were still stuck on the old news, but that was bound to happen. It was just nice that not every pair of eyes were on her that school day. Steve was still no where to be seen, and she was beginning to grow worried at his absence.
Nicole thought about making her way to the Harrington household, but that was a far walk and the air was much cooler that day. Eventually he had to show up, so she shouldn't be too worried.. right? Nothing exciting happened, school was back to being the boring routine it once was. Michael was suspended the same day Billy was, so he wouldn't be back until Billy would be. That sure eased the girls nerves quite a bit.
The walk home was long and dreadful. It was beginning to snow by this point, and the clothing nicole decided to wear was not any where near as warm as she hoped it'd be. She should've been smarter when she pulled out her bell bottoms and sweater, at least grabbing a jacket to use in a just in case situation. Billy was watching as the girl arrived, shivering and teeth chattering. Her hands fumbled with the front door knob trying to get inside, but her shaking was making it near impossible to grip the door handle.
He felt awkward staring through his window at the girl. Stalker-ish even, but it wasn't intended to be that way. He just found himself being curious about her well-being. There was no reason why, he didn't necessarily care for the girl, he just liked being informed on everything. So, he waited until he saw the light turn on from the bedroom he knew all too well, before he turned away.
Nicole began to strip from the cold clothes she walked home in almost immediately. The snow that was falling caused them to become damp, and they were more uncomfortable than anything. So, she changed into her warmest sweater and sweatpants and even put on a pair of thicker socks. She threw her hair up in a bun as she made her way to her window to watch the snow fall. She always loved to do so, there was something so calming about it.
Her arms were crossed and she almost missed the pair of eyes on her. Almost. If she didn't intentionally look toward the Hargrove household, she would've never realized Billy standing in his window, looking her way. It startled her in a way, and she began to wonder how long he'd been looking her way. He didn't move when he was caught either, instead he threw up his hand in an attempt to wave. The gesture caused a smile to grown on Nicole's face, before she returned the hand movement.
Billy then looked behind him, before he moved out of the window. Nicole's smile dropped, but she kept her gaze on the window, honestly hoping that he would appear again. Isn't that odd?
But he did, and he had his leather jacket on.
It didn't take long to put two and two together once he began climbing out of his window, creeping around the side of his house. Before she knew it, she was opening her window because the boy was in a full sprint to get across the street, most likely trying not to be caught because he was obviously sneaking out. He slid his body through and quickly shut the window, taking his shoes off as soon as he was comfortable in the warmth of the room.
"Hey, stranger." Nicole smiled as he finally faced her direction, pulling off his jacket.
She stole a quick glance at his body due to the fact that he was only wearing a cut off tee and some sweats, and his muscular arms were very prominent.
"How was school today? Anybody bug you?" He quickly questioned, taking a seat on Nicole's bed but quickly pulling her body down with him, so she was sat on his lap.
Through a blush she tried to answer without stammering, "no. Everyone was kind of onto the next thing."
"I told you. It's not as bad as that pretty head makes it seem, huh?" He smirked, obviously proud that he wasn't wrong.
"I suppose so. There were still a few people who had something to say. A lot of the talk was actually on you." Her eyelashes fluttered as her eyes shot upward to glance at his face.
Something that drove Billy wild.
"Yeah? What'd they say, tell me." His hand subconsciously rubbed the outside of her thigh.
"It was all about you sticking up for me. Now they think somethin's going on between us." A small smile took over Nicole's face over the fact.
"They're not completely wrong, are they?" Billy felt his eyes flicker to the girls lips, desperately wanting an answer to fall from them.
"I don't know, you tell me." Her words came out breathless, and it only took a matter of seconds before Billy's lips collided with her own.
Only this time, there was a lack of hunger and lust. This kiss was surprisingly gentle, almost needed. It was obviously that Billy had been craving Nicole's lips upon his own, but not in the way she had thought. Billy's hand made it's way up to the back of Nicole's head, pulling her closer to deepen the kiss. Through the action, Nicole found herself wrapping her arms around his shoulders so she had more stability. Billy only lingered for a few more moments, before he unwillingly pulled himself away.
"That has to be something, right?" Nicole spoke like she needed the assurance.
"Just let things happen, princess." That was the only answer Billy could give her, unfortunately.
He knew he had deeper feelings and wanted the girl for more than just sex. However, he truly never had a proper girlfriend. Of course he knew how to respect and treat women, but he was never good with the commitment that came alongside a relationship. He really didn't want to hurt the girl with his boyish ways, so he couldn't ever promise to be something more than what he was already used to.
After some slightly awkward silence, Billy decided to speak first, "so, does this thing work?"
His gesture was toward the small tv sat in the corner of her room, as he wrapped his arms around the girls waist.
"Yeah, I just barely ever use it." Nicole nodded, looking that direction as well.
"What movies do you have?" He asked before picking the girl off his lap and sitting her on the bed instead, so he could stand.
"All the movies I've got are downstairs, and my parents are home so.." she trailed off, slightly bummed that she could be missing out on watching a movie with Billy.
"I'm gonna grab a few from my place, I'll be right back." He took the girls face in his hand, rubbing her cheek with his thumb and placing a kiss on her forehead.
"Won't your parents know your gone?" Nicole worried as Billy slipped his shoes on once again.
"Nah, my dad doesn't give a shit to check on me. I locked my door, he'll probably think I just want to be left alone if anything." He reassured before he told her he'd be back, quickly sliding out of her window.
It really did only take a few minutes before there was the slight ruckus of Billy trying to climb back through the window. He had a few movies in hand that Nicole grabbed from him, making his life a whole lot easier. As he made his way through and got comfortable once more, Nicole flicked through the movie options.
"Billy.. these are all scary movies." She looked up to find the boy already smirking.
"Yeah, I know." He took a movie from her hands and made his way to the VHS player.
More specifically, he took Poltergeist. Nicole never liked scary movies, they creeped her out to the point she was paranoid about everything. So, to be like that around a guy you like isn't the best thing ever.
"What's wrong, you scared already?" He let out a light laugh, making his way back to the bed.
"No, I'm fine." Only, she didn't sound fine.
"Ah, calm down. I'm not gonna' let nothin' happen to you." Billy wrapped his arm around the girl, leaning the back against the pillows at the top of her bed.
They were just propped up enough to see the tv, but comfortable laying back. Nicole brought her body as close as she could to Billy's own, placing her head in his chest to listen to his heartbeat. The boy made sure to hold a tight grip on Nicole, not sure how freaked out scary movies actually get her. He just wanted an excuse for the girl to be up close and personal and not feel like she had to be distanced. So far, it was working in his favor.
.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.
The movie came to an end, and somehow Nicole was laughing rather than trembling in fear. That was only because of the boy who'd been making sure to keep her in a lighthearted mood. Through the first 30 minutes, Billy realized that Nicole was genuinely creeped out so he decided to crack jokes at any point he could. It wasn't a lie that her laugh was intoxicating and he wanted to hear it, that was another reason he decided to start taking away from the horror.
"Can we maybe not watch another one? I want to be able to sleep tonight." She asked as her giggles died down.
"I could always stay here to protect you, you know?" Billy suggested, with a slight shrug to his shoulders.
"Billy, we've got school tomorrow." Nicole sighed, pressing her head back into his shoulder.
"So? We go to the same place anyways, have to be up at the same time. Look, I'll even lend you a ride." He negotiated, his fingers rubbing at the bare skin of her back.
Nicole thought for a moment, "you'd really be seen with me? That's a shock."
Billy knew she was trying to be funny, but there was a hint of seriousness under the sarcasm.
"Yes, Nicole. I don't care what those losers think, okay?" His gaze was now almost overwhelming as he glued his eyes on her face.
Nicole looked up to meet his gaze, sending him a slight, grateful smile, "okay."
Then, the boy leaned his head down and left a light kiss upon her lips. He was content in whatever the pair had going on, and he could only hope that she would continue to be too.