“Because he's a bully, Elijah! You just embarrassed him in front of his friend group, you can't expect him to not recoil!” Steve yells at her as they walk back to the car, the one Max is leaning against.
“Well he wouldn't try hurting you again, would he?” She counters, Steve sighing out of frustration.
“Who says that guaranteed? Who says, the next person he'll hurt wouldn't be you? What if he hurts you?”
“I don't think he'd try it, Steve. That was a moderate slap and he was flat on his ass.”
“What happened?” Max asks, wanting to join in on the conversation.
“Leah slapped Billy.” Steve answers before Elijah, glaring at his sister and her stupidity.
“Holy shit! Really?” Max asks excitedly, before climbing into the car.
“Yes, really! And now Billy knows about the ignition cable!” Steve grunts, mad at his sister for protecting him, but even more mad that he can't protect her if this transpires badly.
“You knew about the cable?” Elijah asks.
“Yes, I knew about the goddamn cable! What were you thinking?”
“Wait until he finds out about the spark plug.”
“What happened to the spark plug?” He asks, Elijah blatantly ignoring him. “Elijah? What happened to the spark plug?”
—————————————————— At home ———
It's about a quarter past seven when there's a knock at the door. Elijah lazily glances behind the couch, trying to see if she could check who it was without lifting her ass. Unable to yell at Steve to get the door, she yells to the person behind it instead.
“Who is it?” But the person doesn't answer. She yells again, and is yet again, met with silence.
She suspiciously walks over to the door, walking on her tiptoes to be as quiet as possible. Steve left to get dinner, so Elijah was home alone, and weapon-less. So she grabs her mother's nearest vase, walks over to the door and prepares for impact.
She swings open the door, only to find blue eyes staring down at her, a soft smile playing on his lips.
“Hello, darling.” He greets her, pushing her aside and entering the house. “I like the vase. Classy. Harmless.” He mocks, watching her place the ornament back down on the table.
“What do you want, Hargrove?” She spits, Billy only wearing a wicked smile. She notices his cheek, bright red, as if she had hit him a few minutes prior, and not a few hours.
“I'm here to strike a deal. A treaty, if you will.” He murmurs sweetly, Elijah knowing that what's about to follow will be anything but.
“Get out of my house, Hargrove. You're not welcome here.”
“Uh uh uh, not so fast darling. You're going to shut up and listen to me.” He snarls, the once charming appearance he had now gone and replaced with something much darker. “Starting tomorrow, you're going to fix my car. For free. You will also be supplying any broken materials. Secondly, you will drive Maxine and me, where ever we need to go, until my car is in proper shape, like it was before.”
“And if I refuse?” She snaps.
“Then I'll simply go to the police, file a harassment report, as well as a claim stating that you caused damage to my property while breaking and entering. Now. How does that sound, darling?” He snarls, Elijah biting down on her tongue to stop her from answering. “Also, I like beer, so if you don't mind bringing some round tomorrow, that would be great.”
He slowly saunters over to the door, preparing to leave. “Just one last thing. If you ever try what you did today, I'll make your life unbearable. You got that?” He spits.
Elijah walks up to him, invading his personal space like he had hers earlier today. She places her hand on his chest, his muscles stiffening to the touch.
“Let's get one thing clear, Hargrove. I'll fix the car. Easy, done. I'll drive you around. No problem. But I will not let you come into my house, threatening and blackmailing me if I refuse. Unless I don't hear those pretty little lips of yours mutter please, you're not getting jackshit out of me. And do you really think I'm frightened by your threats? Number one, you have absolutely no proof that it was me who tampered with your stupid fucking car. And number two, I've already got two cases of assault on my name. If I feared a third, I wouldn't have sat you down. So let me be clear. No please, no service.”
Billy looks like he's seen a ghost. He has never experienced a girl to hold so much authority over him, and honestly, it was terrifying.
“Mutter please for me, why don't you?” And hell, Billy will never admit it, but that almost made him weak in the knees. That was an attractive sentence.
“Please darling?” Elijah doesn't know if she's imagining it or dreaming, but there was no sarcasm or hidden intentions lingering in his voice.
Without a warning, he starts backing her up, all the way until her back hits the wall.
He leans down, his breath hot on her lips, so close she can practically taste the mint chapstick he's wearing. He moves his mouth to her ear, a husky whisper traveling from her ear to her spine.
“Then I'll see you tomorrow love. Don't be late, I like to be at school around a quarter to six. Don't forget your tools, and wear something short.”
“Why short?”
“I've got to have something to look at while your bent over my hood, no?”
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