Work Text:
Billy Boy: gonna be a bit late. traffic’s terrible right now.
You: no worries. i’ll just order some wine and wait for you. see you soon!
Billy Boy: you’re an angel <3 xo
You set your phone down and looked at the wine list your waitress had given you. As you were deciding on which bottle to get, you saw someone sit across from you. You looked up to see a beautiful blonde woman sitting where Billy was supposed to.
“Can I help you?” you asked politely.
“You’re dating, Billy Russo, right?”
“Not that it’s any of your business but yes.”
The woman snickered, “Huh. Seems like he downgraded a lot.”
You opened your mouth to say something but Billy rushed to your table, “Sorry, I’m late, sweetheart.” he bent down and pecked your lips. When he turned to sit, his smile faded, “Eliza,” he gritted out.
Eliza, as you learned, looked at Billy up and down and smiled, “Hi, Billy. How’s it going? Met your lil’ girlfriend here. I must say that you seemed to have lost your touch with the ladies. Now you’re going for trolls.”
Billy’s jaw clenched. He grabbed Eliza’s arm and pulled her up, “You shut the hell up and leave this restaurant now.”
She laughed, “Seriously? You’re gonna spend your time with some plain thing like her? C’mon, Billy, we both know you could do much better than her!”
You couldn’t take it anymore. You tried not to let her words get to you, but you failed. You abruptly stood up and rushed passed Billy.
Eliza let out a giggle of satisfaction, “Now that she’s gone, how about we talk about us?” she seductively ran his fingers along Billy’s jaw and he pushed her away.
“You stay away from me. If I see you near me ever again, I won’t hesitate to make you disappear.” he then marched away, rushing to follow you.
Once you exited the restaurant, the cool New York air hit you. Everything seemed so blurry as your eyes began to well up. Your chest felt heavy, there was a pounding in your ears, and you couldn’t silence the hateful words in your head.
You look nothing like her. Billy deserves to be with someone like her. You’ll never be beautiful. Billy will never truly love you. You’re too short. Too chubby. You’re not pretty at all. You’re so plain.
Over and over again, your insecurities repeated themselves like a broken record. You tried walking forward more but you couldn’t. You needed to sit down. You ducked into an alleyway and slid down the brick wall. You let out a sob, not holding back from the overwhelming negative feelings.
“Y/N,” you heard Billy panting as he found you. He knelt in front of you trying to get you to look at him, “Y/N, baby, look at me. Please.” he pleaded.
You shook your head, “I can’t, Billy.”
“Sweetheart, remember, five things. Can you name five things you love about yourself?”
You hiccuped into your arms, “My humor. My creativity. M-My,” you hiccuped again.
“You can do it,” he murmured.
“My willingness to try new things. My obsession with corgis. My compassion.”
“And I love your smile. How you laugh at your own jokes. How emotional you get over baby animals. How your eyes shine when you talk about something new you learned. Your ability to see past my looks.”
You were still hiccuping, trying your best to calm down. Billy took your chin and tilted it up so he could get a look at your face, “Eliza doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She doesn’t know you, or us. She doesn’t know how I fell in love with your attitude, your witty comments, and your ability to put me in my place. She doesn’t know how every time I look at you, I know I can be the best that I could be. She doesn’t know how I’m hopelessly in love with you.”
“She’s a bitch,” you mumbled which made Billy laugh.
“Yeah. She is, which is why I broke up with her in the first place. Only wanted me for my looks and money. She used me.”
You stared at your dress, playing with the hem, “I’m not really in the mood to eat out now.”
He nodded in understanding, “That’s fine. Why don’t we just get some take out, change into our pajamas, and cuddle?”
“Yeah. That sounds better,” you said in a mousy voice.
Billy then stood up, offering a hand to help you to your feet. He wiped away the rest of your tears and slipped his hand in yours. He leaned in and kissed your lips, “I love you.”
“I love you too.”