mary. [ BILLY HARGROVE ]

xxv. CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

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     Friday came faster than Mary thought it would. She always thought that no matter how excited she was about something, time seemed to move slower. But this time, time was moving as it always had. She had on a light blue off the shoulder dress that stopped just above her knee's. Billy told her to wear something nice, so she chose her homecoming dress that she never wore.

     The knocking on her front door made Mary look that way quickly. She could hear the click of the lock as her mother answered the door. She looked to herself in the mirror again, heart pounding against her chest. She wanted to have this nervous yet excited feeling every time Billy came to pick her up, and so far it had come back each time.

     "Mary, Billy is here!" Mrs. Henderson called from the living room. Mary grabbed her coat from the chair, pulling it up her arms. She glanced at herself one more time before turning and walking towards her living room. She walked around the corner to see Billy standing in beige slacks and a white button up with a light blue tie. 

     "Wow," Billy breathed out. His eyes looked Mary up and down several times before their eyes met. "You look... amazing." Mary blushed at his words as she walked to him.

     "Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself," Mary said, a smile forming on her face.

     "Oh, you two are adorable. Can I just get a few pictures?" Mrs. Henderson asked, grabbing her camera from the coffee table.

     "Mom," Mary seethed, looking to her feet in embarrassment. 

     "No, it's okay. We can do a few pictures," Billy said with a wide smile. Mary rolled her eyes at him, but he placed his arm around her waist anyways. They looked to Mary's mom, who held up her camera.

     "One, two, three!" She snapped the picture, grabbing the Polaroid photo from the top. "Oh, you two are adorable."

     "Can we get one more? I want to take one home with me," Billy said, looking down at Mary. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, Billy's arm finding its way around her waist again. Right as Mrs. Henderson snapped the picture, Billy pressed a kiss to Mary's cheek. She looked at him as her gave her a smile, kissing her cheek again.

     "Here you go, Billy. It's perfect," Mrs. Henderson said, Billy taking the photo from her hands. He put it in an inside pocket of his jacket, then laced his fingers through Mary's.

     "Ready to go?" he asked. She just nodded in response, the two beginning to walk to the door.

     "Remember your curfew time!" Mrs. Henderson called.

     "Midnight!" Mary called back, Billy mouthing it along with her. "I'll see you later! Bye!" The two exited the house, Billy rushing to the car and opening the door for her. "Ah, such a gentleman tonight. I wonder where we're going."

     "It's a surprise," Billy smiled, turning the car on. "Put in any tape you like."

     "Now you're being too nice. Where are we going?" Mary asked, kind of nervous now. Billy saw that she was onto him, then sighed a bit.

     "Fine, we're having dinner with my parents," Billy admitted. "Well, my dad and Susan."

     "Didn't he threaten to kill you on Monday?" Mary asked, her voice getting more gentle. Billy took a deep sigh as he thought back to the event.

     "Yes, but Susan talked with him about his temper. He's going to try and be a bit nicer when you're at the house," Billy said, glancing over at Mary. "So, I told them that I wanted them to meet you. I figured if my dad knew you, he'd understand." Mary nodded slowly at Billy's words, then she pulled out the tapes from under the seat. She grabbed the first Black Sabbath tape she found, popping it into the player. Slowly, the music began to play, and Mary leaned back in her seat.