Same Drugs (Billy Hargrove)

the art of caring less

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***

School the next morning was nothing like the morning after the locker incident. It was nothing like it at all. I wasn't ashamed anymore, I was just pissed off. All I knew was that I wanted nothing more than to see the goddamn look on Sam McCallister's face when I walked into school with Billy Hargrove, my head held high. 

I didn't care anymore. The paint stunt was awful, don't get me wrong, but I was far over it by now. I could give fewer shits. 

I walked straight to my locker, which was right near Sam's. I swung it open, Billy leaning on Sam's locker. Perfect. 

As Sam walked over, I saw a sullen expression planted on his face. I realized that he had seen the two of us together in the hallway. "What's the rush?" I asked when he got to his locker. Billy pushed himself off of the locker quickly but stayed put standing in front of it. "Yeah, got somewhere to be, buck?" Billy taunted. I smirked and watched Sam squirm. He clearly didn't think I would speak up. Chances are, he expected me to be quiet and embarrassed for the rest of the month. 

No. 

I wouldn't do that to myself this time. 

Sam scratched the back of his head and looked at me meekly. His eyes hardened though, and his demeanor became a lot more confident. "Well, would you look at this. You actually showed up! I have to admit, that's pretty ballsy," He snickered. 

"Shut the fuck up for thirty seconds, would ya?" I asked Sam. He looked at me, stunned by my response, and I chuckled at him. "Thanks for the paint at prom, the color really suited me," I said, and he shook his head. 

"You're not upset about that?" Sam asked, not sure of how to react to the chain of events that were unfolding before his eyes. I rolled my eyes, grabbing the last of my things, and pushed past Sam. Billy walked next to me and we both headed for homeroom, the same place I would see Oliver, who would ask us endless questions about prom. As we reached the door, I stopped, debating about whether or not I should go in. 

"You know, maybe I should just-" I said, turning away from the door. Billy stuck a hand in front of me, however, making sure I wouldn't go anywhere. "Ah. You're not going anywhere," Billy said. "Why?" I whined out loud, desperately wanting to avoid confrontation. "You're not about to skip out on class because of a little embarrassment at a school dance," Billy said sternly. 

"Come on, wouldn't you much rather go get some food and... you know... hang out in the car for a little bit," I said suggestively at him, which made him bite his lip slightly. He shook his head though and shook me lightly by my shoulders. "You're not skipping, even though it would be great," He said. I sighed and nodded, and we both walked into class. I felt a few eyes on me right away, but while everyone still found their seats and talked to their friends, I hurried to my regular spot. Billy took his spot next to me, and I shut my eyes, tuning my surroundings out. 

I felt a tap on my shoulder that tuned me back in, though. I looked next to me a saw an inquisitive looking Oliver staring back at me. "Please explain," He said, and I put a hand on my forehead, not sure where to begin. 

"I'm sorry I skipped out on you guys, but I had to get away from prom as fast as I could. Billy drove me home. I was just so upset," I said, barely explaining anything at all. He seemed to understand though. "It's not me you have to explain anything to, I get that it was hard for you. That was such a shitty thing for Sam to do. However, Decker and Libby were pissed as hell. I had to physically prevent Decker from ripping Sam's tonsils out with his hands," Oliver explained. 

"Oh, shit," I said, slapping a hand on my forehead. "I don't think I can face them. This is so fucking embarrassing," I said sheepishly. Oliver rolled his eyes at me like I was dumb. "Are you serious? They're your best friends. Decker and Libby couldn't give two shits about anything that you think is embarrassing. You need to talk to them," He said. I sighed, he was right. I needed to find Decker and Libby and explain things to them. They probably had so many questions about what happened that night, but I felt like I didn't want to talk about it so much. 

I knew they deserved answers, though, and the first thing I would do during lunch would be to head out to Decker's car and hope that they would have the same idea. 

***

After my classes leading up to lunch, I headed through the hallway to get to the parking lot. Billy went to play basketball during lunch, which he usually did with his free time, and I walked to Decker's car with my head held high. 

I leaned against the hood and waited. I debated whether or not I should go back inside and avoid this whole thing, but when I saw Libby coming out to the car, I realized it was too late to back out. 

She saw me and walked a little faster. "Hey! Where have you been?" She exclaimed. I shrugged lightly, "Around. You know. Why, did something happen?" Libby noticed my fake oblivious attitude and smiled, punching me lightly in the arm. "At least you're being cool about the whole thing," She said, and I nodded, smiling a little bit. "I just decided to-" 

"WELL, THERE YOU ARE," I heard a deep male voice say from behind me. 

I turned around and saw Decker stomping towards us, arms almost flailing wildly. I shook my head, "Sorry I've been AWOL." 

"AWOL is the understatement of the year, love." 

"I'm sorry," I said, not sure of any other words to say. Soon, we all went in the car and drove to a coffee shop in the heart of our town, sitting down to hang out for a little bit and talk things through. I told them everything about that night, and they nodded their heads, understanding what I was telling them. "Sam's really a tool," Libby said, and I nodded, taking another sip of my drink, "Totally." 

"I'm sorry that happened to you, I thought he really liked you. I didn't think he would turn out to be such an ass, he was so normal before he moved away," Decker said sweetly. 

I smiled and looked around at my friends. We were back to our original trio, and it felt better than I had ever anticipated.