you drove to the pool to pick billy up-- like you always did. things were rocky —to say the least— lately, but you figured until the two of you made your break up official, you'd continue the normal routine. it was the least you could do, after he called you about his totalled car, anyways. things were rough, but you at least had the decency to give the guy a ride.
you parked your chevette in its normal spot, spinning the key ring around your finger and snapping your gum as you walked to the front gate. you pushed it open easily, holding it for a moment as the last few kids fled out before they were kicked. it was just a little past official closing time, and billy technically had another half hour or so left in his shift to clean and lock everything up, but he never did.
billy wasn't in sight when you walked in, and you figured the usual— that he was just changing in the locker rooms. but, you decided to ask about it anyway, because the manager at the desk always had something funny to say about the workday and was pretty cute, too.
"Y/N!" he cheered as you walked towards him. katie, another lifeguard who sometimes shared the shift with billy, was sitting on the file drawers beside him, sipping her New Coke with a pink bendy straw and giving you a cheeky grin.
"hey, boss man," you teased him, making him and katie both snicker a little. "where's bill?"
"in the locker rooms, probably checking himself out in the mirror, as usual," katie joked, taking a sip of her Coke and smiling a little more when you laughed her.
"he seemed off today," freddy— the manager's actual name, no one ever called him it besides all of the teenagers who wanted to flirt with him— suddenly changed the mood, his smile falling and the magazine in his hand slowly closing. "i thought maybe the two of you had ended it, with all the weird brooding he was doing."
you tilted your head and started to open your mouth to question what he meant, but katie chipped in before you could.
"yeah, and he didn't take time to flirt with the desperate housewives like he usually does, either." katie had a witty brooklyn accent, and though you usually teased her for sounding like cliché mobster, when she said shit like that the accent made your blood boil.
you refrained from adding a remark about how he shouldn't be flirting with anyone else at all, but you decided to brush it off. it wasn't like you hadn't been flirting with freddy for half of the summer, ever since you and billy started having issues.
"weird," you decided to say, figuring that you'd spare freddy and kate from having to listen to your relationship troubles. "I'll talk to him later." you didn't really plan on talking to him about it later.
an awkward silence filled the room and you twiddled with your thumbs and snapped your gum impatiently. kate and freddy gave each other a side glance behind your back, questioning each other about your sudden annoyed state silently. neither of them had been specifically told about your and billy's patchiness, but it was easy to read your expressions when the two of you were together.
billy finally walked out of the locker room, and when you looked up at him you immediately knew exactly what they had been talking about. he was weird. he was holding himself weird and he was holding his bag weird and he was wearing a shirt. his hair and face were still damp with a mix of sweat— from the stupid fucking indiana humidity— and the shower he had taken. you couldn't put your finger on his expression and his stance, he looked dazed almost.
"finally, bill!" freddy said, sitting up and leaning his chest on the desktop. "Y/N's been waiting here forever, i thought maybe i would have to give 'em a ride home."
you clenched your jaw, knowing that billy would take freddy's joke as a hint towards your flirty stance with him— but it wasn't like he didn't already know, anyways.
but billy didn't say anything, he didn't even fake a laugh. he glanced towards freddy then you, and you avoided eye contact by forcing yourself to look over at freddy and give him a forced smile.
"Y/N." billy said in a low mutter.
you frowned slightly, not liking his tone, you knew that when you looked at him he'd be giving you a stern glare. regardless of the issues between you two, he still had the audacity to micro-manage your relationship with every guy. you turned your head to look at him, but he wasn't looking at you. he was staring out the front gate at your car, and you gulped slightly before turning to katie and freddy once again, who stared back at you with wide, merciful eyes.
"well, guess we'll be seeing you," you waved to the pair before forcing yourself to face billy. you mutter a low "come on" before walking to the gate once again, and you didn't know if you were more relieved or terrified when you heard billy's dragging footsteps follow.
you climbed into the driver's seat, buckling and starting the car as billy slowly climbed into the passenger seat beside you. once you heard the door click shut, you shifted into drive and sped away, wanting the ride with billy to be as quick as possible, as you already knew he was going to start some lecture fuelled by freddy's comment.
but you had made it about a mile and billy hadn't said a word. you could hear his heavy breathing, and out of the corner of your eye, you could see the way his damp hair stuck to his forehead and how he stared forward-- at absolutely nothing.
"do you want like--" you gulped, your own voice sounding strange once you broke the silence, "--do you like, want anything to eat? i was just gonna go through the Burger King drive-through."
he didn't respond. when you looked at him, he hadn't moved in the slightest. you weren't even sure if he was blinking. "okay," you responded dryly, "well I'm getting a shake. just tell me if you want anything."
you pulled into the drive-through, ordering the chocolate shake you had been craving with no comment or additions from billy. you pulled to the window to pay and get your shake, giving a risky comment to the boy there-- well, risky in front of billy. but at this point, you would rather have him yell at you then have to eat your shake while listening to him breathe.
billy said nothing. you took your shake from the cute employee-- he wrote his number on the cup, and you purposely held that side in billy's direction. if he was going to give you the silent treatment, then you figured you may as well be just as stubborn. you could do better than an asshole like him, and you wanted to show him that.
you pulled into a parking spot, putting your car in park and turning up the radio while you ate. if he wasn't gonna say anything, you were going to take his silence as an advantage. he didn't complain. not about how you had stopped to eat, at least.
"it's too hot in here," billy broke his silent streak, his husky voice coming as a surprise and chilling you to the bone. you looked at him just as he was turning to look at you, the curly mop on his head was damp and clinging to his forehead.
"well shit, bill," you leaned forward to turn the air up, "i didn't realize you were dripping fucking sweat. you should've told me earlier," you set your shake down in the cup holder, holding out napkins to him. he didn't take them from you, and you watched him slack-jawed as his eyelids sunk and he didn't even notice you.
"jesus fuck, billy. are you fucking serious with this shit?" you snapped, slamming the napkins onto his leg and finally drawing his attention towards you. "look, i get your pissed or whatever because of whatever the fuck freddy said, but the silent treatment? are you in the fifth fucking grade? it's not like you haven't been talking to other people either, I've seen you talk to karen fucking wheeler--"
"--Y/N," he cut you off, your name accented by his raspy voice, and you were ashamed at the way it chilled you to your core.
you huffed, ignoring your shivering feeling and glaring at him, "fucking what, billy?"
billy met your gaze, he had a piercing look in his eye that you couldn't name. but it forced you into silence-- you pursed your lips together tightly and you weren't sure why you felt so complied to. "Y/N," he repeated, "i..."
he trailed off, glancing away for the slightest moment before looking back at you. you saw his eyes begin to water. "Y/N, i... love you. Y/N. i love you, Y/N." billy said it slowly, like jam being poured from its jar-- like he was just figuring out what the words were himself.
"billy," his name escaped your lips in a low whisper, the only way you could respond in your shocked state. even before things got rocky, the two of you had never exchanged 'I love you's. you thought maybe he didn't hear you, he didn't move a muscle.
but then his reaction was sudden, you saw his eyes widen for a moment with new clarity. billy leaned in, grabbing the sides of your face and pulling your head towards his until your lips connected.
it was a stiff kiss, billy's grip was firm and unwavering and he pushed his lips against yours with the same force. when he finally pushed your face away, you didn't notice the tear streaming down his cheek, nor did you notice his pained expression when you pulled away with glazed eyes. He grabbed your hand gently and put it to his cheek, closing his eyes.
"billy," you whispered, afraid that being too loud would shatter whatever moment the two of you were having, "what the hell." you furrowed your brows at him, but he didn't open his eyes to look at you-- he just pressed his cheek against your hand, eventually removing one hand from your head and resting it atop of yours, more tears falling from his eyes.
"billy." you spoke again, this time just the slightest bit more firm. billy opened his eyes, the happy look in his eyes disappearing once he saw your confused expression.
"Y/N," he breathed, lowering your hand from his cheek and holding it in his lap.
"what?"
there was a slight moment of silence before billy pulled you towards him again, pressing your lips against his with the same intensity as before. you grunted a bit before scooting forward in your seat, trying to get closer to him.
your free hand slid into his sweaty mop of hair, and you tugged on it slightly the way you knew he liked. billy groaned a bit before pulling away again, grabbing your wrist to pull your hand out of his hair. he held it instead, his grip tight, and soon your gaze again met his piercing one.
"i love you," he breathed it again, sending a shiver down your spine. you nodded, not knowing how to respond back to him.
suddenly, you heard a rushed pounding from behind you, and you jumped around. there was the same Burger King employee from before, the one that had scribbled his digits onto your cup. he had a pissed look on his face and was pounding on your driver's side window so hard you were sure he would break it soon.
not letting go of billy's hand, you rolled down the window, blocking your face with your hand when he kept pounding in the air.
"what's your problem?" you scoffed at him, trying to ignore the way he glared at billy and the shake.
"we're closed, and my manager won't let me leave until you two are gone," he barked at you before turning and walking back to the building where, sure enough, an older-looking woman stared at him and the two of you with an aggravated expression on her face. you leaned back on your seat, rolling the window back up and letting out a sigh.
"Y/N."
you turned and looked at billy, who once again had a blank look on his face. "do you trust me?"
"y-yeah. of course, bill." you responded, smiling at him.
billy physically beamed pack at you, though his eyes screamed pain. "great, let me take the wheel. i have someplace i want to show you."
I'm really sorry for late updates, my mom and my school's been breathing down my neck about GCSE's, so I didn't have any time to write chapters. I've been in Greece for a few days since it's half term, and all the homework I could bring with me is done.
I'm also feeling generous, so here's some Harringrove pics, cause who doesn't like this ship?