Hawkins Sweetheart - 𝐁.𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐕𝐄.

Seven - Janus-Faced

Chapter Seven -Janus-Faced

"The emotion is Janus-faced: we are torn between a nostalgia for the familiar and the urge for the foreign and strange. As often as not, we are homesick for places we have never known."

As the school day went on, every student had now walked past the red-stained locker at some point. They stopped to talk about it with their friends or to snap a photo with their camera. Jessica hid in a nearby classroom for the rest of the day. She couldn't bear to look at anyone's faces after what had happened. She was utterly embarrassed. The sound of the door opening woke her from her miserable daydream as she turned to see who it was. Billy slowly walked through the door but stopped once he saw her sitting against the wall inside.

"Oh shit, sorry, I didn't-"

"It's fine."

"Sorry, I usually just come in here to smoke since no one ever comes in here."

"To smoke?" She paused. "Aren't their smoke alarms?" He moved towards her and sat down, leaning his back against the wall.

"Nope." He confirmed. Jessica looked down at his knuckles, they were red and bruised.

"The fuck happened?" She asked, flickering her eyes between Billy and his hands. He looked at where the bruises were forming and paused for a moment.

"Oh, um, just a fight." 

"You got into a fight?" 

"Yeah, some idiot pissed me off, don't worry about it." He added, moving his reddened hand out of sight. He rummaged through his jean pocket and pulled out a pack of Marlboros. He flicked open the lid and pulled one out before moving the box slightly towards her, offering her one. She quickly took one from the box and held it between her fingers. Billy placed his in his mouth and lit it, covering his hand over the side of his face to stop the air from blowing on the flame. Before Jess could grab his lighter, he pulled the cigarette out from between her fingers and placed it in between her lips. He placed his hand gently beside her face and lit the cigarette for her. She smiled as she looked into his blue eyes, watching her reflection in them. She had never seen his face this close before. She'd never noticed the singular curl that fell over his forehead or the small scar that sat above his eyebrow, or even the redness that scarred his seemingly clear skin, probably because he scratched a pimple.

Jess inhaled before pulling the cigarette from her lips and blowing smoke into the room. Her head softly fell back against the wall as she sighed. 

"You alright?" Billy asked. Another puff of smoke escaped her lips as she turned her head to look at him. 

"Yeah, I'm totally fine." She replied, sarcastically. "It's not like I was just called a whore and humiliated in front of everyone." Billy sucked his teeth and cringed at her words, turning his head to look away from her. 

"Well, stop being a whore then!" He joked, furrowing his brows. Jess chuckled softly and smiled at the blonde-haired boy. 

"You know, you aren't that bad, Hargrove." She added. He slowly turned to meet her eyes. It was just now that he began to notice how close they were. How had he never noticed the bags under her eyes? Or the light freckles that laid across her nose? The more he studied her face, the closer to her he felt. Then suddenly, the face moved away. Jess looked down and quickly bought the cigarette to her lips. "I'm gonna get out of here." She said through smoke. She collected her things from beside her and put out her cigarette. She lifted herself off the floor and Billy quickly followed. 

"To class?" He asked.

"No, no. I'm still too embarrassed." She replied, slinging the strap of her bag over her shoulder. "I've got some studying to do anyway, so." She opened the door and quickly made her way through it. Billy watched her as she walked down the hall and around the corner. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair. 'What the fuck am I doing?' He thought. 'What the fuck is she doing?'