Games| B. Hargrove

11

After washing the germs from her delicate hands, Nicole turned the door knob to exit the bathroom. Only, the second she tried to get a clear view of the hallway, there was a broad chest that stood in her way. Based on the unbuttoned shirt, she already knew who it was, and she let out a deep sigh.

"Do you mind moving out of my way?" Blue eyes looked up through long lashes, to get a view of the face in front of her.

"Why do you have to happen to be everywhere I am, princess?" Billy's smirk was so large it was almost plastered across his entire face.

"You and Michael hang out with the same group, don't flatter yourself." A scoff escaped the girls lips, causing Billy to frown.

"Why are you really with Michael?" The boy stepped forward, grabbing a piece of Nicole's blonde hair and twirling around his finger, flicking his eyes up to meet hers.

The girl sucked in a sharp breath and gulped, "b-because he's sweet, Billy. He treats me how I want to be treated."

"I think you forget that he was completely okay with getting in your pants at the first moment you showed him any sort of attention, not caring that you were drunk off your ass at that," he paused to shift his hand to cup her cheek, lightly brushing his thumb across the blushed surface, "he doesn't have the right intentions with you, Nicole. He's got this nice facade going on, but he'll show his true self soon enough."

"Why do you care? You're so.. back and forth, I can't keep up. One second you can't stand me, the next second you're looking out for me." Nicole grabbed the boys hand to pull it away from her face.

Billy's eyes lingered for a moment, flicking across Nicole's round face. His tongue darted across his bottom lip before he opened his mouth to speak.

"What's going on here?" A voice called from a few feet away, causing Nicole to snap her head in the direction it came from.

Immediately, she knew how it looked. The look in Michael's eyes said it all. The way Billy lingered over her small body stuck in the door frame, how her hand didn't fully let go of his own, her flushed appearance from being so up close and personal. It was obvious that it looked like something had been going on between the pair, even though there wasn't. So, she immediately went to defend herself.

"It's not.. I was trying to come back and bumped into Billy. He started talking and—" her small voice was cut off.

"Talking about what?" She couldn't help but notice the slight change in the boys eyes as they flicked from her, to the boy stood in front of her.

She noticed how Billy tensed as soon as he received the look, his jaw clenching.

"Nothing important. Some creepy guy had been lurking close to my house and you know, since Billy's my neighbor he saw it and wanted to make sure my family and I were alright." The lie was quick to roll off her tongue, and Billy was surprised that she saved his ass.

"Alright.. is that all then?" Michael's vision pointed back toward Billy.

"Yep. I gotta piss, so.." the blonde boys voice came out bitter.

"Yeah, right. Sorry." Nicole moved her body out of Billy's way, making her way toward Michael.

However, when she reached him she couldn't help but note how aggressive he slung his arm around her shoulder. She stumbled with how he jerked her body close to his, flinching at the sudden movement. As the boy started moving their two bodies, she couldn't help but glance back over her shoulder ever so slightly. There in the hallway stood Billy, his jaw clenched so tight you could see the muscle restricted. Just before Nicole turned her head back to the front of her, she watched Billy walk into the bathroom and shut the door rather harsh.