Chapter Text
"Come on I just got you back, do you really have to go again?"
Billy's voice was muffled, his face nuzzled up in the crook of my neck, strands of my black hair entangling with his dirty blond locks. Over the course of the past month I had been travelling all around the surrounding states, venturing from one art exhibit to another in order to possibly find some new customers and generally get to know some people in the business. He had jokingly suggested that I should set up shop in the mall, legally or not, however soon shrugged off the idea when my jokingly scolding glance lasted a bit too long.
"It's gonna be the biggest one yet, I can't ditch it," I hummed, my fingertips trailing up and down Billy's arm, occasionally lingering above his fairly new tattoo for a few seconds before resuming their previous movement.
"Oh but you can ditch me?"
"You could come with me? You know ..." I suggested with a smile. "Like a road trip."
Skeptically raising an eyebrow, Billy pulled away from my neck to properly look at me. "Are you serious?"
"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Immediately I let the smile drop from my lips and furrowed my brows, slowly leaning towards Billy with a stern expression. The bed creaked softly, however the sound was drowned out by the music emanating from the stereo across the room.
A chuckle escaped Billy's lips and he grabbed a hold of my head-one hand on either of my cheeks-pressing a swift kiss onto my lips. I attempted to maintain a serious expression but failed terribly, as the corners of my lips arched upwards and the crease in between my eyebrows faded when he softly rubbed his thumb over it.
"I mean technically I do still have to work. I got classes to teach and kids to yell at."
"And mothers to model for. I get it, that's important stuff," I added, patting his right hand that still lingered on my cheek, before I intertwined my fingers with his and grinned at him.
"Yeah. Totally. Maybe I should drag you to the pool tomorrow and just make out with you in front of everyone so they'll stop staring."
"And traumatise the poor little children? Come on now, that's a bit harsh."
Billy chuckled, glancing down at our hands. "Jeez do you ever leave the house? You're so pale, look at that!" He held up his arm next to mine to display their difference in skin tone, him being fairly tan thanks to his job as a lifeguard, whilst my own skin barely showed any difference compared to its state during winter.
Rolling my eyes I swatted his arm away. "Steve does that all the time already, I don't need to hear it from you too!" I whined, letting myself fall on my back. My eyes rested on the ceiling for a few seconds before darting back to Billy, who was still shaking his head in disbelief.
"Come to think of it," he began, shuffling around a bit until he sat with his back against the wall, facing me. I had propped myself up on my elbows on the other end of the bed. "I don't think I've ever seen you at or even near the pool."
I shrugged, exhaling sharply. "There are just always so many people there and the kids piss into the water and it's just all really not for me, you know?"
Billy leaned forward, a cocky grin spread on his face. "Do you even know how to swim?"
In response to the assumption I stuck my middle finger directly into his face and fell onto my back again, letting my head hang over the edge of the bed. For a second I caught caught my reflection in the mirror across the bedroom before I attempted to decipher the title of a new vinyl in the corner, which proved to be rather difficult when everything was upside down.
Shuffling could be heard, and when the blood accumulating in my head started to send a painful throbbing sensation through my skull, I sat back up only to end up directly in front of Billy. He was still grinning triumphantly, hovering over me.
"You do not know how to swim," he asserted, his face now merely an inch away from mine, our noses nearly touching.
"I know how to not drown," I corrected him, stretching my chin forward slightly like a pouting child would. The scent of Billy's cologne made it difficult for me to think.
As though he had read my mind, Billy chuckled yet again. "Seems like someone needs a few lessons, huh? What if something happens to you but I'm not on duty or even there? I'd never forgive myself if I knew full well you would have been fine had I just taught you."
"That's a bit grim. Then again, how could I possibly say no to that?"
At that he immediately pulled back and swung his legs over the edge of the bed.
"What, now?" I asked in disbelief, furrowing my brows.
Billy rolled his eyes. "Of course now. There are no people at the pool at night and we clean it right before locking everything up. So there is no valid excuse you could possibly come up with to not have to get in the water. Come on."
He held out his hand for me to grab, looking at me with a raised eyebrow and waiting expression of his face. Reluctantly I got off the bed and followed him out of the room after he had peered around the corner.
"Where are you two going?" Max asked, who was sitting on the couch next to her mother, reading a comic book. Cluttering sounds could be heard from the bathroom, presumably where Billy's father was currently.
"Out," Billy replied, almost sounding annoyed and I gently nudged him with my elbow. He sighed. "Last minute decision to go see a movie. We'd bring you along but it's R-rated."
"Don't stay out too long," Susan reminded us, although it sounded more like a suggestion than anything else. She knew when it came down to it, we were both eighteen and could stay out as long as we wished.
"Again, thanks for dinner, Susan," I said while Billy already headed out of the front door.
I fumbled to slip into my jacket as Susan gave me a warm smile. "Oh anytime, dear." She cleared her throat and continued in a quieter voice. "He's in a pretty bad mood today. Maybe it's best if you stay at your place afterwards. He won't be too happy if he's woken up in the middle of night, you know, light sleeper."
"Oh ... of course. Thank you."
A honk sounded from outside and I sent another smile into their direction before hurrying down the steps leading to the road. I slid into the passengers seat, immediately greeted by music blaring from the speakers and the faint smell of cigarette smoke that I had become so acquatined with over the past few months.
The drive to the Hawkins community swimming pool didn't take more than ten minutes and when Billy walked up to the high fence I crossed my arms in front of my chest. "Trespassing, again?"
Billy chuckled. "It's not trespassing 'cause I work here and have the keys."
"Well if you have the keys, then why should we hop the fence?" I asked.
"I dunno ... fun?"
"Fair enough. But you better not drop me this time."
He let out a groan that quickly transitioned into nervous laughter. "That was one time and you barely even twisted your ankle. Come on, I'm not gonna drop you."
I walked up to the fence and skeptically glanced down at his hands.
"I promise," he said with so much sincerity that I felt my heart melt. How could it all still feel this way after more than half a year?
With a sigh I set one foot down in his hands and, as he pushed me up, held onto the top bar of the rattling chain-link fence.
"You got it?" he asked and I hummed in response, swinging one leg over the top, struggling to get a proper position for my foot on the other side. Billy already took a few steps back, lunged forward and got a hold of the top of the fence within just a few seconds. He swung both of his legs over the top and dropped down on the other side while I still attempted to get my other leg inside, and even took a swift bow.
I finally managed to get both of my legs over the fence and quickly prepared myself for the landing before I let go and dropped down, right into Billy's arms. "Showoff," I mumbled and gently tugged at his hair.
He smiled. "Wait right here, okay? Get ready or something, you can keep on your underwear if you want but you don't have to."
I furrowed my brows as he placed a rushed kiss on my lips and winked at me before jogging off to the small building at the entrance. I shimmied out of my pair of shorts and the t-shirt i was wearing and sat down on one of the sunbeds by the pool, kicking off my shoes. A good minute later I could hear a faint whirring sound and the neon lights flickered before fully turning on, illuminating the abnormally bright blue water.
"You ready?" Billy discarded his shirt on the ground as he walked back outside. When he passed me on the sunbed I pretended to softly push down my non-existent sunglasses.
"Oh Billy you are so-" I mockingly imitated he voices of the middle-aged mothers of Hawkins, but he interrupted me by throwing me over his shoulder.
"I will throw you into the water. Don't test me."
I could hear the smile in his voice and continued. "Oh Billy, if I pretend to drown, will you save me and give me CPR, specifically mouth-to-mouth?"
"Lucy, this is your last warning," he chuckled, stepping closer to the pool.
"Oh Billy. You and your-woah!"
Suddenly I was in the air and in the next second I crashed through the surface of the cold water, arms and legs thrashing around wildly as my head was spinning and I couldn't tell which way was up and which was down anymore. There was another muffled splash as Billy jumped into the water as well, when I finally broke through the surface.
"Look at you, didn't even have to come in and save ya," Billy mused as soon as his head was over water again.
I stuck out my tongue at him. "Told you I know how to not drown. Didn't have to literally throw me right into it though."
He slowly swam towards me until we were right in front of each other. The cocky grin I knew so well found its way back to his lips. "I did give you a fair warning, but you kept on provoking me."
I weakly shoved some water in his direction. "Come on Billy, admit it. You kinda enjoy being gawked at."
He pursed his lips and squinted his eyes at the lights around us before looking back at me. "Maybe a little bit."
"Just a little?" I asked further as I snaked my arms around his neck with a smile. He tilted his head to the side before straightening out his stance so that my hands fell down from his shoulders. I shot him a quizzical look.
"Two lanes, I have to see your technique before anything else."
"Seriously?"
Billy grinned at me, eyeing me up and down before crossing his arms in front of his chest. "First work, then play. I wasn't joking when I said I'd teach you. Come on."