Chapter Text
word count: 2491
requested by: none
warnings: none
au type: high school
summary: you really wish you could understand why you were stood up by someone who worked so hard to get you to go out with him
inspired by: none
authors notes: listen. i love me some resolved angst and soft billy ok
other parts: none
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You should have known agreeing to go on a date with Billy Hargrove was a bad idea. You should have known it was only going to end in you getting your heart broken.
But more than anything, you should have known it was all just a prank.
Billy Hargrove had been pining after you for weeks trying to get you to agree to a date with him. He would show up at your locker after every class to walk you to your next one. He would immediately shut down anyone who so much as looked at you in a way that wasn't friendly. He would insist on driving you home after school – and even though you always said no, he still asked every single day. You'd never had a guy who seemed to like you as much as Billy did, so it was all weirdly endearing to you that he kept trying even though you'd always reject him.
And maybe that was what made you finally accept his advances.
He'd started to give you the usual 'ah, come on, kitten – just one date' spiel he always would after you said no, so it was kind of amusing when he cut himself off in the middle of it when he realized you'd said yes this time. The look of surprise on his face made it difficult for you not to smile at him, even giggling softly when he asked several times if you were actually saying yes. You assured him that you were – that you really did want to go on a date with him – and finally gave him your number.
Unfortunately, however, that was where the lightheartedness of the situation ended.
The next day was a Friday – a Friday that you had the day off from school and the day you'd agreed to the date with Billy. You were planning on meeting him at Hawkins Lake for the date – he wouldn't tell you what he was preparing for you – and since you lived close, you figured you'd just walk there.
But right before you were about to leave, your phone vibrated to signal you had a message. Your heart skipped when Billy's name popped up, but sank the moment you read the text. You read every single word on your screen a few times, trying to figure out if he was just playing some sick joke on you.
~
Monday morning
Needless to say, you spent the rest of that weekend beyond hurt. You genuinely thought that Billy was into you, but it seemed like he just saw you in the same way everyone else did: a loser who had no real friends to defend her so they did whatever they wanted.
But that hurt soon turned into anger.
How dare Billy think he could treat you like that. Just because you didn't have many friends didn't mean you were worth anything less than someone who did – than someone like him.
You stood at your locker that morning before school, hanging up your backpack and gathering everything you needed for first period. You really didn't want to see Billy that day, so you made sure to arrive at school right before the warning bell so you could just hurry off to class and avoid him altogether.
Of course, you'd have been naive to think you could ever be that lucky.
"Hey, kitten!" you heard Billy's voice holler the moment he and his posse turned the corner and saw you at your locker.
You could tell he was annoyed – him annoyed with you? Good one, Hargrove – and if it weren't for the action of you taking deep breaths to remain calm, you would have scoffed in his face right then and there.
"You mind telling me why you never showed Friday night?" he went on, only drawing more attention to the two of you as he came to a stop beside you.
You simply ignored his presence, but you still noticed him cock an eyebrow when he didn't get a response. And honestly, you would have been surprised if he hadn't said anything about it.
"Ignoring me now, huh?" he sighed dramatically, leaning back against the locker next to yours, "Don't suppose I could get a reason out of you for it then?"
"I don't want to talk to you," you finally answered with a grumble.
"Yeah, kitten?" he taunted, "And why's that?"
"Billy, don't start," you warned.
"Start what, kitten?"
And even though he was the one riling you up, he still jumped when you slammed your locker door shut in response.
"What did I just say, Hargrove?!" you all but screamed back at him, shocking everyone around you.
You were obviously more of a quiet person, so no one expected to turn around and see that you were the one who yelled – and at Billy Hargrove no less.
"Don't talk to me," you narrowed your eyes at him, a lot lower than your previous outburst – and you were honestly surprised your voice never wavered, "Don't come near me. Don't look at me. Don't even think about me. Find a new girl to fuck around with, and leave me alone."
~
Later that night
Billy, to your surprise, actually did leave you alone for the rest of the day. In fact, you didn't see him around at all. You figured he and his friends just skipped school, not that you particularly cared. You were relieved that he wasn't around to bother you.
You found yourself on the living room couch that evening, sitting in silence in the dimly lit room. Your parents had gone out for date night – as they did every Monday – and left you to your own devices. You'd already finished your homework and ate some leftovers from the fridge, and were now unfortunately lost in your own mind.
You couldn't understand why Billy would suddenly change his mind about wanting to go out with you after how hard he'd been trying to reel you in in the first place. The only thing you could suppose you were thankful for was that he'd even bothered to text you at all – letting you know he wasn't going to show was better than waiting around thinking he was just running late, right?
Your thoughts were soon interrupted, however, by a hard knock on your front door that made you jump. Your parents obviously would have used their keys and they hadn't told you anyone was coming by before they left, so you had no idea who would be at your house so late.
You held your breath despite the person on your porch obviously not being able to hear you. You hoped they would think no one was home and would just go away, but they didn't.
Though, you probably would have preferred an actual serial killer to whose voice you heard after that.
"Y/N!" Billy's voice echoed through your ears after another hard knock, "I know you're home! Open this damn door right now!"
If your heart hadn't already been pounding at the thought of an unknown visitor, hearing it was Billy definitely would have gotten it going. He pounded on the door again and you were forced to get up and open it, knowing he wasn't leaving until he got whatever he wanted.
"What do you want, Hargrove?" you grumbled the second you opened the door.
"You want to explain what that was at school today?" he ranted, "And what the hell Friday night was about while you're at it? You didn't have to go and-"
Billy cut himself off when he finally took in your expression, realizing you'd been crying long before he'd ever shown up. And even though he was still pissed at you, he immediately softened up to his usual demeanor whenever you were around.
"What's wrong with you?" he asked, "Why are you-" He lifted his hand up to wipe your cheek, but you recoiled before he could touch you.
"You need to leave, Billy," you whispered, making him furrow his eyebrows.
"I'm not going anywhere until you tell me why you didn't show up Friday," he stated firmly, walking past you and entering your home.
"Why would someone 'dumb enough to think you'd want to date them' ever even want to show up?" you stated bitterly, shutting the door as it was clear he wasn't leaving anytime soon.
"What are you talking about? Who said that to you? I'll make sure they-"
"You did!" you finally shouted in frustration, taking him aback, "You said I was stupid for thinking you'd ever want someone like me!"
"No, I didn't," he insisted, his voice softer than before, "Why would I? After all I went through to get you to even agree to a date?"
"Obviously, you didn't think I'd actually say yes," you sniffled, wiping the remaining tear stains from your cheek, "My fault for ever believing it, I guess."
"Y/N, you know that's not-"
"Yeah, it is," you rolled your eyes, "And it's okay, really – I know I'm not the kind of girl guys like you wa-"
You were cut off by Billy coming up to you, grabbing your chin, and pulling your chest to his. It wasn't often that he would get this close to you, making you lose your breath almost instantly every single time, and you'd be lying if you said you didn't love when he did it.
"I could take you to your bedroom right now and show you just how much I want you," he said lowly, feeling your breathing hitch on his lips – and God, did he want to kiss you right now. But he didn't. "But that's not how you do things," he continued, "And you're one of the few people I respect enough not to go and screw over."
"I-I am...?" your voice broke slightly.
Billy's grip on your chin loosened, but he didn't move his hand from your face. Instead, he slid it up the side, letting his thumb gently stroke your cheekbone.
"Don't know what it is you do to me, kitten," he admitted softly, "But being around you makes me want to be a better person just so I can hear you say you're proud of me."
"Then why would you send me that text?" you swallowed, feeling yourself start to tear up again.
"I didn't send you any text," he shook his head, "I left my phone at my buddy's house after school Thursday and just got it back today." The look of confusion on your face worried him, making him cock an eyebrow. "What do you think I told you?" he asked. You sighed softly, stepping away from Billy and leading him to the couch.
You grabbed your phone from the cushion beside where you'd been sitting, going to your message thread with him and handing him the device. You simply sat back down, not even looking at him as he read what he'd supposedly sent. And despite the anger bubbling up in his chest because of what someone else – someone who was supposed to be his friend – sent to you under his name, he pushed it to the back of his mind to deal with later, only caring about you in that moment.
"Kitten, I-" Billy sighed himself, sitting next to you and grabbing your hand. You felt your heartbeat quicken when he touched you – as it always did when you were around him. "I know I can be a grade-A prick, but... I would never do that to you," he said assuredly, "You know I'm not one to show much emotion, but you have no idea how excited I was when you finally said you'd go out with me."
You finally turned your head to look at him, taking note of the obvious look of hurt on his face as he'd spent that weekend thinking you stood him up and not the other way around. You swallowed the lump in your throat and your eyes got watery again, but Billy didn't get to wipe them away that time. His hand released yours when you turned your body so you could wrap your arms around his torso, burying your face in the exposed skin of his neck beside the collar of his leather jacket.
Billy, although surprised by your actions, immediately wrapped his own arms around your shoulders. He hugged you back tightly, pressing his lips to your temple to comfort you.
"Gonna make it up to you, you know," he murmured into your skin, "Gonna take you on a date a million times better than what I planned before."
"What were you planning before?" you asked curiously, though your voice was so soft that he almost didn't even hear it.
"Planned a picnic by Hawkins Lake," he said, "Wasn't a lot, but I thought you'd enjoy it..."
"You like to go on picnics?" you cocked an eyebrow, tilting your head up on his shoulder to look at him.
"No, but you do," he admitted, keeping his gaze off of you and not noticing your gentle smile.
"What would everyone think of you if they knew you were that sweet?" you questioned, making him let out a breath of amusement as his eyes met yours again.
"Guess I'd have to remind them why they don't try to cross me," he tried to say intimidatingly, only making you giggle. He pressed another kiss to your forehead, letting it linger for a moment until you spoke again.
"Billy," you whispered, making him pull back to look at you, "When y'find out who did this, please promise me y'won't do anything stupid..."
"Not like he doesn't deserve it," he grumbled, obviously already knowing who the culprit was, "No one makes my girl cry and gets away with it." You felt your cheeks heat up at being called his girl.
"Billy..." you repeated his name. He patiently waited for you to continue – though he was still taken aback by the question you had for him. "C-Can I... Can I kiss you...?" you asked him.
"You sure, kitten?" he murmured, "Haven't even been on a date yet." He barely smiled at you when you giggled again under your breath, his heart skipping when you nodded anyway.
And even though you asked to kiss him, he made the first move anyway.
Billy felt your lips twitch when they met his, the unmistakable feeling of a smile as you kissed him back. One of your arms unwound from around his waist and rested on his chest, your hand finding his cheek right after. He felt his insides warm up when you started stroking his cheekbone, his stomach now full of butterflies too.
"You're gonna be the death of me, kitten, you know that?" he murmured after pulling away for air, making you smile again.
"That's the plan."