Cherry Bomb // BillyxSteve

Growing feelings

As Billy pulls into Steve's driveway she feels all of her senses going wild. We're just hanging out, that's all, nothings going to happen, she repeats over and over in her head. A shakey breath leaves her throat as she opens the car door, watching as Steve exits his BMW.

"You know, part of me thought you'd ditch me and head back to your place," he chuckles.

"To be honest, it wasn't completely off of the table," she replies, walking over to him.

"That doesn't surprise me," he laughs before walking towards his house and unlocking the door for them. "Make yourself at home," he says while swinging the door open.

She steps in and is surprised by how homey and cozy the atmosphere is. Her house always felt so cold and the lack of love throughout the household doesn't help. Meanwhile, Steve's home was so welcoming with a warm aura exuding from it.

"Wow, this place is beautiful," she compliments as she walks around the family room, her fingers grazing the cold bricks of the fireplace. She'd love to curl up in front of that on a cold winter day.

"Yeah, I guess..." Steve sighs, his eyes trailing over to a collage of photos on the wall consisting of pictures of him as a baby and young boy, along with some family shots. "To be honest, this place doesn't feel like home," the words slip past his lips before he can stop them.

"It doesn't?" Billy asks, taken aback.

"My parents are never home so I always have the place to myself. Which probably sounds like a dream come true to a lot of people, but it gets lonely," he sighs at the end of his explanation, expecting Billy to use his confession against him.

"I'm sorry," Billy replies, taking them both by surprise. "That must be hard. Neil and Susan are around most of the time but to be honest, I wish they weren't," she opens up to him, feeling like she had to give him something back after what he just told her.

"I'm sorry you have to deal with that," Steve frowns. He wants to ask her if her father is the one that gave her the bruise that's still lingering on her cheek but he decides against it, not wanting to push her too far.

"For what it's worth, this place looks great considering you're the only one living here. Most teenage guys living alone would be living in a dump," she laughs, lightening the mood.

"Is that so?" He smirks. "Well, I'm glad my cleaning skills are up to par."

"Very impressive, Harrington," she giggles while sitting on the arm of a chair. "So, I was promised a movie?"

"Of course! Where do you want to watch it? There's the tv down here and there's a tv in my room," Steve says, regretting bringing up his room almost immediately.

Billy's lips part slightly and Steve swears he sees a light blush paint her cheeks.

"I-um," Billy stutters. God, what is wrong with her? She never gets nervous, let alone stutters. She curses herself for feeling so flustered because of Steve of all people. "Your room works."

"Okay," Steve says with a hint of surprise in his voice. "why don't you head up and choose a movie while I order us some food? It's the room at the end of the hall."

"Okay, sounds good," she nods before hurrying up the stairs so he doesn't see her face heating up. With each step she takes her anxiety grows and she wonders why she did this to herself. She could have said she wanted to watch the movie downstairs. She could have just gone home after the movie. Hell, she could have turned down the movie altogether and stayed at home. She can't deny that spending the day with Steve so far has taken her mind off of everything that happened less than twenty-four hours ago.