mary. [ BILLY HARGROVE ]

xviii. CHAPTER SIXTEEN

~*~

     That night, after Billy had fallen asleep on her bed, Mary just looked at him for a while. She watched his chest rise and fall, scared that it would stop at any moment. She was scared that she wouldn't hear his gentle breathing, so she didn't sleep. She finished her decorating her room, then just listened to music while reading for a bit. 

     The next morning, Billy woke up feeling better than the night before. He remembered what happened all at once, screwing his eyes shut. He shoved the bed sheets off of himself, grabbing his jacket and car keys from the side table. Driving to the Henderson's house and showing up at Mary's window was a spur of the moment decision, and he hated how weak it made him feel. 

     Mary opened the door to her room to see Billy gathering his things, so she shut the door behind her quietly. Billy pulled the jacket up his arms, going to the window very quickly. Mary checked her watch, timing how long it would take him to realize that she was in the room. Right as Billy turned to leave out the window, he saw Mary standing against her bed post with her arms crossed. She tapped her watch, then looked up at Billy. 

     "Thirty seconds," she said.

     "What?" 

     "Oh, it took you thirty seconds to realize that I was here," Mary said with a prompt nod. "Leaving so soon?" 

     "My dad's going to kill me," Billy said as he started to climb out the window. 

     "It's only eight," Mary shrugged, walking to the window and leaning out once Billy was on the ground. 

     "He'll find something," Billy grumbled, pulling his car keys out of his pocket. 

     "Billy, it's freezing out, there's snow everywhere, and you'll probably get stuck in the snow anyways. I mean, Max stayed here, so did Lucas," Mary shrugged at him. "You're not driving right now, trust me." 

     "I can handle snow," Billy snapped. 

     "Hey, Cali boy, you haven't lived here your whole life. Trust me, there's no driving through eight inches of snow," Mary snapped at him. "Come on, get back in here. It's freezing." 

     "I'm leaving," Billy said again. Mary rolled her eyes, pulling on her shoes and jumping out the window. Billy turned at the crunch of the snow, eyes widening at her. "Mary, stop it! Get inside!"

     "Not until you come to terms with the fact that you're not leaving," Mary protested, crossing her arms. Billy looked to his car parked out front, seeing the enormous amount of snow on the windshield. He sighed, walking back to Mary and hopping through her window again. She smiled triumphantly, pulling herself in. She kicked the snow off her shoes, then shut the window once she was inside. Billy sauntered around her room, studying it the same way he had the night before. This time, things seemed much clearer. 

     "Mary!" Dustin called from outside her door. She walked that way, sliding open the door, blocking Dustin's sight of the room so he wouldn't see Billy. "Mom says one of us has to shovel the driveway." 

     "I'm not doing it," Mary shrugged. 

     "I did it last time!" Dustin complained. "Plus, you don't have any friends over." 

     "Yes, I do. I have someone over," Mary answered him. 

     "Really? Who?" Dustin asked. "Is it Ashley? Or Steve? Or Nancy?" Dustin suddenly gasped. "Did you have a boy over last night without telling mom?"  

     "It's Steve. But he's still asleep so if you could keep it down," Mary said, quieting her voice. 

     "Bullshit, you were talking with someone in here earlier. Who is it?" Dustin asked. He tried pushing past her, Mary glaring at him. "No, let me see!" He pushed past her, eyes landing on Billy who was going through Mary's record collection again. Billy looked over to the younger one, nodding slightly, uncomfortable now. Mary scratched the back of her neck as Dustin turned to her slowly. "Can I talk to you? Alone." Dustin walked out of the room, Mary turning and following him out of the door. He stopped at the end of the hall, then turned to her again. "What the hell is he doing here?"