Half Past Five.

Chapter Seventeen: Sleepovers.

"Come on, pick up, pick up-" Elijah mutters into the phone, waiting for her friend answer.

"Hello?" She hears Mike answering, internally sighing.

"Hi Mike, it's Leah. Is Nancy there?"

"Nancy! Elijah's om the phone!" He yells at the top of his lungs, Elijah removing the phone from her ear as she waits for him to finish. "I'll place you over to her."

"Thanks Mike-" But before she can properly thank him, Nancy's at the phone.

"Hey Leah. Do you want to come over, escape the likes of Steve for a bit?" This is why she loves the girl. She instantly knew.

She instantly knew.

Wait a minute.

"Yeah... How'd you know?"

"Well, after Steve forced me to tell him what was going on, I assumed there was going to be a nuclear war at your home and-"

"You told him?"

"Well, I didn't have another choice, Leah-" Elijah stands baffled at the phone, mouth agape, trying to process this as Nancy continues talking. That means, that all the private conversations she shared with Nancy about Billy, was now exploited.

And, oh God. That means Eddie did it too. Because how else would Steve kmow that she confided in him?

"Actually, Nance, I'm just going to stay at home, talk things through with Steve. I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

"Are you sure-You're always welcome..."

"Yeah, I'm sure, thanks Nance." And with that she ends the call. And now she resorts to plan B.

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About an hour later
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He hears a knocking at his window, playing it off as a bird tapping against the pane of glass. But when it persists, he throws his finished cigarette down on the ashtray and moves to the window too inspect the consistent noise.

And then he sees her, so he quickly lifts the glass.

"Am I dreaming, or is that you Harrington?"

"Yeah it's me, don't cream your pants." She mutters, Billy basically leaning out the window, offering his hand to help her into the room.

"You make it hard to resist, darling. I guess I'd have to save it for my socks once you leave." She rolls her eyes, taking his hand nonetheless and allowing him to pull her into the room.

"You flatter me." She huffs, using all of her strength, and like, sixty persent of Billy's as well, to launch herself into the room.

Billy loses his balance as he helps her inside, causing a catastrophic fall-where Elijah is plummeting through the window and Billy's dropping straight on his ass, followed by Elijah dropping straight on him.

Elijah swears that the moment is from a comic book or a cartoon, because it all happened so quickly but in slow motion. Elijah is now entirely on top of Billy, who's one hand is holding onto her waist, and the other is on the floorboard next to him. Elijah is inches away from him, her hair cascading down and falling at the sides of his face.

He's staring up at her, a devious smirk planted on his lips and a suggestive raise in his eyebrow.

"What was it that you said about creaming? Because I swear I can feel you sweltering on top of me." Once the words leave his mouth, Elijah's quickly up on her feet, brushing the dust from her and hiding the rosy hue that crept onto her cheeks. In her peripheral view she sees Billy, still sporting his smirk, his hands resting behind his head as he stares up at her. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Ms Harrington? Or did you miss me too much?"