Whoever had the idea to host the party at the abandoned warehouse: genius.
Their basketball team had won the first game of the season, and like all ridiculous high school seniors, they had to celebrate that win at the beginning of the year with a bang. So people had called other people, alcohol had been brought with fake IDs or stolen from parent's liquor cabinets, an impromptu student DJ was assigned to bring party music and speakers, girls went home to change into their trashiest outfits, and voila. A party had been born. Everyone at school had been invited to partake in the celebration of their team's great victory.
Billie hadn't really been interested in going to the party since she had long ago lost interest in watching drunk idiots grind on each other, but had gone so that Drew wouldn't have to go alone. They'd had taken a couple of shots at the start so it hadn't been such a big deal, but now that Drew was more interested with trying to get with Prince, Billie felt like she was third wheeling hard. And even though Brandon was a part of the reason why the party had kicked off in the first place, she hadn't seen him all night. Not that she was particularly looking at him or anything...
"Drew. I'm getting some fresh air." She shouted over the noise.
"Be safe!" Drew responded, holding her cup haphazardly over her head as she backed up into Prince.
Billie left the clumped mass of bodies and headed outside to the front, sitting on the curb of the sidewalk, away from the couple heavily making out against the wall. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms when a light breeze passed through the dense summer air. It wasn't particularly cold, but the sudden air on her naked arms was enough to make goosebumps rise.
Though she wouldn't lie. Billie loved this weather. She loved the evenings when the night was sticky with heat and a light breeze kicked up, unsettling that bubble of warmth that would surround her. On nights like those, she always believed something big was going to happen. She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply and rocking side to side. She wished there was a way she could take the feeling of the wind and put it directly into the perfect song. She'd tried before, but it never came out the way she expected or wanted.
Her thoughts were broken when someone shuffled out of the warehouse and plopped down next to her.
"Not really in the partying mood?"
She opened her eyes and glanced at Brandon. He had that drunken, crooked grin on his face.
"Nah..." she said, leaning her head on his shoulder. She loved the scent of his cologne. "Just came to get out of the house. You?"
"I got bored."
"How?" she snorted, "You're like the star of tonight's party, Mr Captain. Isn't everybody all over you?"
"You aren't..." He muttered, playing with a lock of her unruly hair.
"What?" She snickered incredulously at his words.
She turned to look at him, and her smile faded slowly when he just watched her intently, his expression solemn. She swallowed thickly and looked back out towards the cars parked in the street, knowing that her face was flushing rather quickly.
"You played really well tonight, Kane." She said, quickly changing the subject.
"Probably my best." He agreed, grinning boyishly, "It's because you were in the stands cheering me on."
Billie stiffened. What game was he playing? Why the hell was he making these comments? She glared at him, feeling flustered and slightly out of control.
"Cut it out!" she said, shoving his shoulder. He laughed hard, catching her hand when she tried to push him over again. "It's not funny..."
"Hey...I'm kind of hungry." He said, nonchalantly enclosing her smaller hand in his facing their fingers together. "Don't you live nearby here?"
Billie stared at their entwined hands, her heart beating abnormally fast. She wondered why it felt natural, why it felt so right. And even though she felt so nervous, she still didn't want to remove her hand from his.
"Yeah. I'm sure we have some shit somewhere in the fridge."
A shit-eating grin appeared on his face. "Race ya."
Before she could even register the loss of warmth from his hand, he shot up and took off in the direction of her house. Billie's eyes widened, and she stood up quickly, stumbling a little over her feet before she chased after him.
"Not fair! You're way faster than me!"
They raced through the streets, ignoring disparaging and exhausted looks from night owls prowling around and catcalls from the hookers. She vaguely wondered what the two drunk teens must have looked like to other people.
When she finally reached the front door of her home, Brandon was leaning against her door with a smug expression on his face.
"Took you long enough..."
Billie glowered at him, leaning against the wall to catch her breath for a second.
"How the hell are you not breathing hard right now?" she groaned, snatching up the spare key from under her welcome mat.
"Seasoned athlete." he shrugged.
"It's not fair. Your legs are longer than mine..." she whined under her breath, unlocking the door and slipping the key back into its proper place.
"It's not my fault you're so tiny, Billie" he chuckled, avoiding her drunken fist when she tried to hit his arm.
"You're an ass."
Billie shoved him aside with her hip and pushed open the door. She shivered at the sudden barrage of air conditioning that assaulted her. She had left it running on accident while she and Drew had been getting ready for the party. Crap, if her Dad found out, she'd get in trouble for wasting money, never mind the fact that she was bringing a guy home unsupervised.
Brandon closed the door behind him. "Where's your parents?"
"Overnight road trip to see my brother" she said over her shoulder.
Billie cut off the air conditioning and then walked over to the fridge, opening up the bottom door and checking inside.
There was nothing but a couple of waters and some milk. And something green in the back corner that she knew was no longer edible. Shit. She was supposed to go food shopping today before her parents got back. Whatever, she would get up early and do it in the morning. Maybe.
She slammed the fridge shut, and yanked open the freezer, standing on her tip toes to rummage through the mess of ice cream and most likely rotten frozen dinners.
"I think we've got some microwaveable burritos that are still good." She said, her voice slightly muffled, "I can't really reach them, though. Can you-"
And she froze.
Brandon's hands were trailing lightly on the exposed skin of her waist. Goosebumps exploded on her skin. She could feel him nuzzling her hair. The intimacy of his action made her face burst into colour, and she sucked in a breath of air, caught off guard by the sudden heat that pooled at her core.
"Brandon, what are you doing?" she stifled a gasp, trying to ignore the way she felt tingles between her legs when he rubbed feather light circles on her skin.
"Have I ever told you...how sexy you are?"
And then Billie laughed out loud. She couldn't help it. It was such an un-Brandon thing to say and his words were a little slurred from the alcohol. The whole thing was just kind of ridiculous.
"Alright, Que" she rolled her eyes, closing the freezer door, "Settle down."
"I'm serious, Billie" He growled lowly, lips pressed against her neck. "I want you."
Billie's body heated up almost immediately, and she gripped the door of the freezer when his hands slipped just underneath the top of her panties in her skirt. She let out an involuntary shiver when she felt an intense throbbing of want pass through her body. His tone had been sinfully low, entirely vulgar, and such a turn on that her knees almost buckled, and she rubbed her thighs together, a small, dull ache slowly building under her navel.
"Brandon..." she near moaned, focusing on taking deep, even breaths. "You're not thinking straight. You don't"
But even as those words left her mouth, she still felt herself turning around in his arms to face him. Brandon's eyes were heated and trained patiently on hers. His expression was intense, and he was watching her like she was his entire world. She knew her face was on fire, and she licked her lips nervously.
"I do" he replied softly, kissing her eyelid, then her other cheek, then her jaw, then the corner of her mouth. Billie's breathing harshened, and she averted her gaze, her pulse fluttering erratically when he gently tucked some loose hair behind her ear. "Billie. Look at me."
She shook her head, conflicted, and her whole body being scared. Part of her wanted to. Part of her really wanted to just let it happen. The other part of her was absolutely terrified. This was Brandon. He wasn't supposed to be here in her home caressing her skin like she was something precious he never wanted to let go. He wasn't supposed to be kissing her like she was his whole world, and he was lucky to have her. He wasn't supposed to be looking at her like the only thing he wanted to do was hike up her skirt and take her right against the fridge.
Brandon gently took her chin in his hand and turned her face so she could see the sincerity in his gaze. His eyes had darkened, and she felt electricity run all the way through her body from the tip of her head down to her toes. That, coupled with the fact that she was pressed up against the fridge trapped by his body, made her realize he was making it hard for her to think about anything besides the growing pleasurable ache between her legs.
They stared at each other, gazes locked together and searching for something Billie didn't know. She slowly drew in a breath, Brandon's scent assaulting her nose and constricting her breathing. He shifted, easing a leg in between hers and causing a friction that made her fight to catch her breath.
Shit.
He hadn't really kissed or even touched her yet, and she was already wet.
She wondered if it was really worth it. But lust was far outweighing logic, and she found her gaze dropping to his lips. What would kissing him do to their already precarious friendship.
Brandon extinguished any thought racing through her mind when he leaned down and pressed his mouth firmly against hers. Billie groaned and slid her fingers into his hair, deepening the connection. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her flush against his body as she arched her back, pressing herself closer to him. His tongue trailed her lower lip, and she parted them, meeting it in a sensual dance that had her curling her toes in pleasure.
She couldn't get enough of his kisses, his scent, the taste of coke and rum lingering on his tongue, the feel of his body trapping her against the fridge. She was dizzy, her head spinning and her body flushed with heat and want.
Billie let out a little moan as he broke away, sucking lightly on her lower lip before releasing it. She was dazed and a little confused but as she stared into Brandon's eyes, she knew they were reciprocating whatever the other feeling. Billie knew things had been off with them for a while. They'd been teetering over the edge just past friendship for a while. She knew it, especially in the way they'd hold each other's gazes, and she would see something intense and profound swirling in his irised. And judging by the way he was watching her right now, his gaze heady and shining with desire and warmth, she knew he felt the same.
"Billie...what are we doing?" he asked breathlessly.
"I don't know..."
But she knew where this was headed.
And they both knew he wouldn't be leaving her home that night.
There was a lot of things they needed to talk about. And there were a lot of things they needed to consider if they slept with each other, but she was tipsy and he was tipsy, and she didn't really want to think about any consequences. She just wanted him.
"Stay..." she whispered earnestly against his lips.
She wasn't exactly sure what she had meant by it herself, but Brandon's gaze darkened, and he seized her mouth in a possessive kiss with a ferocity she didn't know he was capable of. It was crude and demanding and almost brutal, and Billie could do nothing but whimper against his lips, grabbing the front of his shirt and tugging him ever closer.
His hands found her hips and trailed down to her legs, hoisting her up when she hooked her leg around his hip. Billie wrapped her legs around his hips, snaking her hands around his shoulders as they continued their heated lip-lock. He gripped her ass, the weight of his body pinning her up against the fridge and supporting her. She could feel his erection straining though the confines of his pants and rolled her hips forward, grinding herself against his crotch. Brandon swore under his breath, letting out a groan from deep within his chest.
His hands traveled slowly up and down the smooth expanse of her leg as he dragged his lips down on her neck, sucking on her pulse point and coaxing out a lewd, strangled moan from her mouth. She tilted her head to give him more access, clutching at the taut muscles of his shoulders and upper back as an intense shiver ran through her entire body.
She could vaguely hear him muttering words against her neck, but her mind was cloudy with lust and unresponsive.
"What?" she gasped, her breathing ragged.
"I don't have any condoms.." he muttered, backing off of her neck and meeting her eyes in concern.
"It's okay, I'm covered." she said, eyes half-lidded in a haze of pleasure. It was hard to think when she could feel him pushing so persistently against her.
"You sure?"
She was pretty sure she was. She'd missed four days of her birth control pack that week, but she'd probably be fine. It wasn't a big deal. She'd just make it up the following day and take five at once.
"Yes."
She pulled his mouth back to hers, effectively ending the conversation and any lingering uncertainty.
There was no going back.
______________________________
Brandon searched her eyes silently, his brows furrowed and mouth turned down in a frown. She could see some confusion in his eyes, but his gaze was, for the most part, carefully guarded.
"You're pregnant?" Brandon said, his expression difficult to determine.
She swallowed thickly, her courage quickly plummeting at the indecipherable look in his eyes. Billie knew this had been a bad idea. She gripped the bottom of Drew's sweatshirt.
"Is that all you have to say?" she said through grit teeth, feeling the sting of tears behind her eyes.
Calm down Billie..
"I don't really know what to say." He said, looking away. "Is that why you've been so distant?"
She was right. He didn't want anything to do with her. And now their friendship was fucked up, and he would never speak to her again. Guys like Brandon Adams wouldn't stick around for girls like Billie O'Connell. She tried to force down the growing lump in her throat.
"Who's the father?" he asked, his expression a little peeved.
Wait, what?
She rose a brow at him, giving him an incredulous look. What part of she was pregnant and telling him did he not understand? She swore, sometimes he was so dense it made her want to punch him in the face.
"Brandon." She said in exasperation, grabbing his face with both hands and forcing him to look at her, "You're the father."
His brows skipped, and he stared at her in shock, the expression in his eyes almost completely astonished.
He pointed to himself, "I'm...?"
"Yeah."
"From...that night?"
She nodded, dropping her hands from his face and blushing at the reminder.
"Oh."
"Yeah."
They sat in silence for a moment, Brandon taking deep, uneven breaths while Billie fiddled with a frayed cushion on Drew's sofa. Her nerves slowly increased with each second he continued to remain silent. His gaze was trained on a spot on Drew's rug, and it was honestly starting to piss her off.
"Brandon. Say something." She finally huffed in irritation, falling back against the window, "I don't care what it is. Just fucking speak"
"I'm just...I'm shocked, I guess" He glanced at her, and then his gaze dropped quickly to the floor. "I thought we were safe."
"I guess not..."
"How long have you been..?" he gestured to her general abdomen.
"Pregnant?" she gave him a pointed look, "Ten weeks."
"Shit..." he breathed out, raking his hands through his hair and dropping his head, "That long?"
Billie chewed on the inside of her cheek nervously Brandon hadn't necessarily rejected her. But he hadn't said anything to alleviate her fears that he would either.
"God...No wonder you've been acting that way." he finally said, peeking up at her from over his shoulder. "You found out that week you were avoiding me like crazy, didn't you?"
She nodded silently.
"I'm assuming you're keeping the baby?" He sat back up and watched her, his brows furrowed.
She nodded again, still not understanding what he was getting at. She hated this feeling. She hated not knowing what he was thinking. She hated the fact that she was still uncertain if he had even decided on being involved.
What if she had been wrong? What if Brandon really didn't want anything to do with this mess?
The thought sent a sharp pang in her chest that made her want to curl up into a ball and cry her heart out. If he said he wanted nothing to do with them, she really wouldn't know what to do. And for some reason, the thought of his rejection hurt more than her parents kicking her out of their home.
"...Are you mad?" she whispered, her voice cracking as her throat tightened dangerously.
"No..." he leaned back against the couch, staring at the ceiling, "It's just a lot to take in at once...I'm having some trouble grasping my mind around it..."
"Well believe it, Brandon." she spat, glaring at him ferociously, "I'm fucking pregnant and you're the goddamn father and now our entire lives will be screwed!"
To her horror, tears spilled from her eyes before she could catch them. Her lip trembled and she snapped her gaze away from his as he stared at her, stunned by her sudden outburst.
"Billie what..."
He reached for her, but she pulled away from him, standing up quickly and walking away, hugging herself as she sniffled. He probably never wanted to talk to her again. And now he was going to leave and pretend like none of this had ever happened.
"I understand if you don't want to talk to me ever again." Her voice broke when she glanced at him, "And I get it if you want to leave.."
"Billie, what are you talking about?" he was absolutely confused by her reaction.
"You want nothing to do with me!" she shouted, turning back around and facing the wall in embarrassment. She knew there was snot running down her face, but she didn't care.
"When the hell did I say I wanted nothing to do with you?" he asked slowly, irritation laced in his voice.
Billie didn't respond, biting her lip and trying to keep herself from sobbing. She'd already made herself look stupid enough in front of him as it was. There was no way she was going to let him see her at her absolute worst.
Brandon growled under his breath and stood up, striding over to her with purpose. He took her shoulders and spun her around, forcing her to face him.
"Let me make something clear. Just because I'm in shock, does not mean I don't want anything to do with you." he frowned, "Fuck, you just sprung this on me. How was I supposed to react?"
She blinked up at him in shock, her mouth shutting in surprise.
"I'm in this all the way, Billie. It's my responsibility as the father of the kid. Our kid." He said firmly, "I'll do everything I can to support you."
"I-I don't want your pity, Kane" Billie said sharply, frying to hold onto any shreds of dignity she had left. She hated crying in front of anyone. Especially idiot, dense boys who always managed to make her heart double time every time he looked at her.
Brandon smiled in relief and hugged her to his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around her shoulders, despited her stiffening against him.
"Billie, it's not pity. I want to be part of this." He rubbed her back lightly, "I'm sorry for getting you into this situation."
His apology was so sincere and so heartwarming that Billie's eyes welled up with tears again, and she clutched the front of his t-shirt, looking down and hiding her face.
"It takes two to tango, Brandon." She mumbled.
"I know...But you've already had to suffer by yourself for a while. I want to make it up to you."
"You don't have to do me any favors." she pointed out stubbornly, her voice unsteady, "I can take care of this kid with or without you."
Her lips tugged up into a watery smile.
"You're fucking up your life if you stay."
"You're ridiculous, Billie"
"Shut up" She said, burying her face in his chest.
She was crying. She was crying so hard because she was so unbelievably happy that she couldn't breathe. He held her close to him, rubbing soft circles on her back as she sobbed quietly into his shirt, staining it with her tears.
Dammit, why was she so emotional? Shouldn't her tear duct reserves have depleted by now?
"You know Drew's listening through the door, right?" Brandon muttered, resting his chin on her head.
"Yeah. I can hear her breathing."
Feet scampered away rapidly.
"...So what happens now?" Billie asked tentively.
"I guess we wait for the kid to arrive."
"Jellybean" Billie corrected softly. "We call the baby Jellybean."
He smiled, letting out a little laugh, "Okay. We wait for Jellybean to arrive."
She nodded, snuggling against him comfortably.
"I guess I'll have to tell my mom I'm going to be a dad."
Billie stiffened again. Brandons Mom was kind hearted and cared about her son and his friends, but would she take particularly kindly to Brandon having impregnated someone? From what Billie had heard from Brandon about his mother, she seemed pretty stiff. In fact, in a lot of ways, Sasha sounded a lot like her own mother. And that was something that scared Billie. No doubt his mother would want to meet Billie eventually. Would she reject her own grandchild like Maggie had?
"Have you told your parents yet?" he asked her, rousing her back into present.
"Let's just say they don't want anything to do with Jellybean."
"What do you mean?"
"I got kicked out of my house"
He held her a little bit away, looking down at her in alarm, "What? When?"
"Yesterday" She frowned, a little uncomfortable with the concern in his gaze, "I'm living with Drew for now. It's why I didn't come to school today."
He opened his mouth to respond but was interrupted when the door suddenly opened. Derek stood in the doorway, smiling widely.
"Billie, you hungry? I bought-"
His words died as he stared at the two of them, eyes moving from one to the other and back again. Something seemed to have clicked into place because the smile slowly dropped from his face and his eyes narrowed dangerously. His cheerful expression was very quickly replaced with a cold fury. Brandon let go of Billie like she was on fire and took a step back, eyes wide.
"...You're a dead man, Adams"
"Oh shit..." Brandon said, eyeing the window.
There was a moment where Derek eyed him menacingly, muscles tense and ready to pounce.
And then Brandon spun on his heels and clambered out of the window, rushing down the drive. Derek chased him out, waving his fists in the air like a crazy old man.
Billie groaned, running a hand through her hair. This was excactly why she hadn't wanted Derek to know.
"Please don't kill him."
"Oh, I won't kill him" Derek said, climbing out of the window. "I'm only going to rip off a specific appendage..."
"...Fair enough..." Billie drawled, hopping onto Drew's bed and plugging her phone up to charge. She had no doubt Brandon would be texting her any second.
"You can run Brandon Adams, but you can't hide! You have to come back and get your stuff eventually."
Derek disappeared out of the window, and Billie shook her head in amusement. Brandon wouldn't be invited to Drew's home for a while after this.
Sure enough, a few minutes later, she got a text from Brandon.
Think I can come back later tonight and grab my bags?
9ish. sarah will be home by then and he'll be distracted.
thanks
np
Are you coming to school at all this week?
I don't think so. still not over the whole 'lost my home cause my parents hate my guts' shit...
I'm sorry
not your fault
I still feel bad though
don't. i don't want your pity
fine
good
should i return the corsage? You're probably not going to prom anymore, right?
haven't really decided
Billie frowned.
how did you manage to pick out a corsage when you have no idea what im wearing?
Drew told me you would be wearing green
Billie rolled her eyes in annoyance. Drew was under no jurisdiction to be giving any details like that. Billie hadn't even told her she was going to Prom anymore, so why had Drew told Brandon what colour dress she'd be wearing? The fact that she had to wear a dress was enough pressure as is. Whatever games she was playing, Billie would get it out of her.
look, its no big deal if you don't want to go anymore. ill just return it, and we can just chill instead.
She felt bad. She didn't want to cancel on him. If she didn't go, it wouldn't be that big of a deal But Brandon was on the court. And a pretty high contender for king. It wouldn't be right if he didn't go.
ill go. dont return it.
you sure?
yeah
good. were all planning on going to dinner at 7. pick you up at 6.30?
come through the window or derek will have your head and i dont mean the one on your shoulders.
i, uh, figured...
if it makes you feel better, he reacted a lot better than i thought he would.
shit i think i see him! See you on friday
Billie wasn't particularly looking forward to going to Prom on Friday, but she wouldnt feel right leaving Brandon without a date. It wasn't like he could technically miss it. And quite frankly, she didn't want his reputation trashed because he skipped out on one of the biggest events of the school year. But she wasn't particulary looking forward to the fan girls who would try to throw themselves at him all night.
But she owed him this at least.
He'd managed to completely assuage her fears that he would run screaming from her and never look back.
Drew's head popped into the doorwar, and she smiled, that excited twinkle in her eyes when something big happened to someone, and she really wanted to know.
"How'd it go, Billie?"
"Green, Drew?"
She grinned sheepishly, "It was a contingency plan. Just in case you did decide to go."
Billie rolled her eyes fondly and pulled herself off of the bed, walking out of the room with Drew.
"C'mon. Let's talk about it over dinner. I'm hungry."
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Billie noted that, even though things were far from okay, she felt like a huge weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders.
_______________________________
Next chapter I'm going to try and fit the entire prom into one chapter so it might take a couple of days to get out. Or not. Who knows.