grace | billy hargrove [#1]

5.

☆ G R A C E ☆

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"She said to me:
Forget what you thought
Cause good girls are bad girls that haven't been caught"

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With I sigh I came home. The heavy books in my arms where immediately placed on the table and I took my shoes off. The ride with Billy had quickly turned from a nice conversation to a fight. I walked into the kitchen where my mom was already busy making dinner. She was making chicken parmesan, my father's favorite. I took some apple juice from the fridge and sat on the kitchen island.

"Hi, sweetie. How was the library?" she asked me. I took a sip of my drink.

"It was good. Got some books that I was dying to read." I answered her. After I'd finished my drink, I put my glass in the sink. I grabbed my books from the table by the door and walked up to my room.

I decided to begin with reading The Unbearable Lightness of Being. It had just come out, and I was finally able to rent it. So, I settled down on the couch in my room and opened the book. I was a sucker for cheesy love stories, so I knew I could lose myself in this book. I had just finished reading the first page when there was a knock on my door.

"Hi, honey." my father said, leaning against the doorframe. I put my book down to look at him.

"Hi, dad. How's work?" I asked. He just shrugged and loosened his tie.

"Not bad. Did you get new books?" he asked me now. I know he was just trying to make conversation. My dad and I never really had intimate conversations.

"Mom's making chicken parmesan." I told him.

"Jummy." he smiled. He awkwardly looked around my room before he turned around and left again. Welp, that was weird for everyone.

I tried to focus back on my book, but my mind was quick to get me to Billy again. I felt bad for lashing out on him suddenly. His mother was obviously something sensitive to talk about, but then again... How could I know that? It's not like he told me, it's not like he tells me anything but okay.

"Grace! Dinner!" my mother yelled from downstairs. I sighed and put the book down.

When I was making my way down, the bell rang. My father said something like who'd come at this hour before opening the door. I couldn't see who it was, but when my father turned around I saw it loud and clear.

"Steve? What are you doing here?" I asked surprised. He never came to my place alone. My father excused himself as I closed the door behind me and sat on the porch.

"Nancy and I got into a fight." he sighed, letting his head fall into his hands.

"Oh, what happened?" I asked. I still wasn't sure why he'd come to me about this, but I guess he had nowhere else to go. And I actually felt for him.

"I don't know, she has been all over the place since school started. Now she doesn't even know if she still wants to go to New York with me." he told me.

"I think she just doesn't want to make any mistakes. You know Nance, she always wants to make sure she does the right thing. Don't let it influence your relationship – it's a lot stronger than that." I advised him. He nodded and gave me a small smile.

"For a single lady, you give pretty good relationship advice." he complimented me. I laughed and gave him a little push before standing up.

"Do you like chicken parmesan?"

☾☆

I had just gotten through third period when walking up my locker to change my books. Today felt extra heavy, and I couldn't recall why. My parents got into a fight this morning, so I skipped out on breakfast which made me extra cranky. I sighed as I grabbed my History book and closed my locker.

"Hi." a voice startled me. I looked to the side, seeing Billy. He wasn't in class this morning, but he came now?

"Hi." I said slowly. I leaned against my locker with a book pressed against my chest, waiting for him to say something.

"How was Biology?" he asked me.

"I wouldn't know." I simply said. He chuckled and looked down at his feet. "I mean, I didn't really pay attention."

"And here I thought you were a good girl." he commented. His smile faded as he began about a serious topic. "I wanted to apologize for the way I acted yesterday. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you."

"Do you get angry like that a lot?" I asked him. He was surprised by my question. He looked around him to see if anyone was watching, which made me think this might be a personal issue. "Come, let's talk outside."

He followed me outside, where we sat on the grass. The weather today was beautiful, and I hoped it stayed this warm for a long time. The sun shone brightly through the trees, making the grass look greener than ever.

"I don't like to talk about it." he said, closing his eyes and enjoying the warmth of the sun. I could tell he was trying not to let the anger consume him.

"You don't have to. I just thought it'd be nice to be outside, you know. Now you see Hawkins isn't that bad." I proved him. I motioned for him to look around the pretty nature.

"You were fun at the party last Friday." Billy noted, taking a look at me. He rummaged in his pocket to get out a cigarette before lighting it and taking a drag.

"Only at the party? Well, that hurts a little." I joked. He laughed as he took another drag. "I should head back inside."

"Let me take you out." he suddenly said, grasping onto my wrist before I could stand up. Was he asking me for a date?

"You'd have to try harder than just apologize for that." I assured him. He let go of my arm and I walked back inside the building.

To be honest, I wanted nothing more than to go on a date with Billy. I mean, we had a connection and I definitely had a strong urge to be closer to him. But I couldn't trust his anger. That was the part that held me back.

My next class would be History, with Nancy. I enjoyed History. I might be the only subject that I could pass in my sleep. Nancy was thinking about taking it as a major, but I was leaning more towards art. Even though my parents wanted me to take on Literature.

"Hey, stranger. Where were you during lunch?" Nancy asked when I slipped into the seat beside her.

"Outside." I answered. "With Billy." I added, which made her sit up straight immediately.

"Kissing on school grounds isn't allowed, you know that right?" she commented. I raised my eyebrows and gave her a look.

"First of all, what? And second of all, we didn't." was all I said. I didn't feel like telling her what happened Sunday and how he wanted to take me on a date.

"If you ever feel the need-..." she started but I cut her off.

"I won't." I assured her. She nodded and focused on our teacher.

The two last periods lasted long. Maybe it was just me, but that's how it felt. The last one was supposed to be with both Steve and Nancy, but I heard that he went home sick. Apparently, they were still fighting. After I'd gotten all my stuff from my locker, I met Nancy at the parking lot.

"Jonathan is giving me a ride." she told me. Jonathan lived all the way across town, so it wasn't exactly on the way if he'd also drop me off.

"Oh, I'll walk it's fine." I smiled at her. She wanted to argue, but before she could someone else butted in.

"I'll take you." Billy suggested. Nancy just shrugged. "Come on, I don't have all day."

song at the beginning is: good girls - 5 seconds of summer