Cardigan - Steve Harrington

CHAPTER THREE: OH BILLY

It was late. Really late. 2:30am to be exact when Billy quietly as he could barged into his stepsisters room.

"Billy?.. what the-." Olivia yawned and cut herself off when she saw it. The large purple bruise forming under the Hargrove boys eye and a deep cut on his lower lip, deep enough to be obvious but not deep enough to need stitches, "Oh Billy..." She sighed.

She didn't sigh out of pity or disappointment from whatever he'd done that had triggered his father's anger because most of the time, all it took was them being in the same room. She sighed because she was upset. Upset that she couldn't do anything other than clean him up afterwards. Upset that Billy had to just sit there and take it with a pinch of salt. Upset that this was normal.

Liv got the mini first aid kit out from underneath her bed. She handed Billy an ice pack to hold against his eye while she poured some rubbing alcohol on a cotton bud. He hissed when the alcohol dosed cotton bud made contact with his cut.

"Sorry. Sorry." She grimaced.

Once his cut was clean she got a bandaid out which Billy tried to fight against since he thought it made him look dumb, so Liv told him just to tell people that they should see the other guy.

"Thanks Livy.." He painfully smiled at her. She sadly smiled back at him before hugging him. He was slightly taken aback until he felt Liv's tears fall onto his bare shoulder. Cradling her as if she were a toddler, like he was sheltering her from the dangers of the world, the last part was true. He'd destroy worlds if that's what it took to keep Liv safe. She was the only person who had truly ever been there for him, and he'd protect her with his life.

—

The next day when they were all in the car on the way to school, Billy had taken his bandaid off because he said, "He would not be caught dead in public with anything that could make him seem weak.".

Billy was explaining how him and his friends were going to "end" Kieran for what he had done to Liv the night before.

Like everyday, once they arrived Max jumped out and skated off to the middle school as fast as she possibly could. Billy and Liv got out and Billy stormed off into the school, a short freckly boy calling his name running after him.

Liv sighed, she loved Billy and how much he cared but she sometimes wished that he'd think these things through.

Olivia was walking up to the school when she heard someone calling, "Via! Via!". She turned already knowing she'd see Robin running towards her waving. She smiled at the approaching girl.

"Hey Ro, where's Hayley and Maya?" Liv asked her, confused at the fact that Robin was alone.

"O-oh, um, yeah they're not in today. Um Hayley's got a uh, doctors appointment, so she's just taking the whole day off and um Maya, well Mayas got a case of Parents are out of town and majorly hung over so um, it's just uh, it's just me and you today." Robin rambled, smiling despite talking about her friends absences.

"Oh, that's alright. Like you said, we still got each other." Liv smiled at her before proceeding to walk into school, not seeing Robins face go a couple shades pinker before running after the redhead.

"My stepbrothers got his basketball thing and asked me to come watch, you can come too if you want! The whole basketball team will be there, half of them without their shirts." Liv laughed.

"Uh, sure. Why not?" Robin awkwardly laughed along while following the Mayfield girl to their first class.

—

A little later in the day, Olivia and Robin headed into the sports hall and up into the stands. Billy saw her once she'd sat down and called her over.

"One sec Ro." Liv excused herself before heading over to Billy.