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-'ˏ Margo's Pov ˎ'-

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Hawkins High School

Tuesday , 3:02 p.m

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"Now you have to get married." Nancy smugly told me as I stalked off with her hand in mine.

"I can't go to tryouts like this." I said ignoring her statement. Pointing at myself I referred to both my head injury and outfit choice.

She pressed her lips in a hard line as she very obviously tried not to laugh. "You don't even want to try out."

"I don't." I admitted. "I hate losing."

"It wouldn't be so bad if you married him?"

"He'd kill everyone in a ten foot radius of me." I pointed out.

"You don't like people anyways so I still don't see the problem."

I grumbled incoherently about the mildly awkward situation I was in. We still have to talk about Josh and that was awkward in itself. But now I have to go back out there and tell him I wasn't going to any tryouts.

Nancy came in for a hug. "Just go home." She said before she walked off waving to me and headed towards Jonathons car.

I trudged slowly towards the sleek blue camaro waiting in the lot. The walk of shame clear on my face. I opened the passenger side door and got in. Placing my backpack down on the floor I looked back out the window and hoped he wouldn't speak.

"So," he drawled out "no tryouts?"

"No.." I muttered still looking out the window wanting to die.

"What happened to no more yelling no more secrets?" He asked as his voice dripped with sarcasm.

I turned and looked at him. His face was set in a blank look. I opened my mouth to answer but quickly shut it when I knew my answer would sound stupid.

"I'm sorry." I muttered.

"You are the one spouting all that no more yelling no more lies shit, and look you're already telling these little white lies."

I cringed inwardly knowing he was right. Billy tapped his hand on the steering wheel in an obvious anxious tick.

"Well. YOU are the one beating random people up."

I watched his nostrils flare as he reached up to rub his face.

"Not random." He responded while making dead eye contact with me.

"Um okay. Care to explain your reasoning then?" I clearly already knew the answer but wanted to hear it from him.

He stared at me for a second, like he was fighting the urge not to yell.

"He. Said. He. Was. Fucking. You." He said enunciating each word slowly.

"Well I've clearly been at home by myself with the exception of you."

"Well then he should have kept his damn mouth shut Margaret. I don't know what else to say to you about it."

"Well it was my problem who said you could walk up in here and deal with them for me?"

"I'm your BOYFRIEND?" He said raising his voice.

"Well then I don't want you to be my boyfriend if you are going to act like a dick." I retorted. I regretted it the second it came out of my mouth as I watched his face crumple.

He nodded his head curtly and started the car. Billy raced down the street with his hand gripping the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. I sighed angrily and looked out the window.

It only took a few seconds of watching the landscape go by quickly that I started to feel sick. My heart felt like it was trying to claw it's way out of my throat as I imagined something speeding in front of the car again. Trying to focus on breathing I put my head in between my hands. It felt like I was breathing but no oxygen was entering my system.

"Billy?" I whispered.

He ignored it and turned the radio on.

"BILLY!" I screeched. "Pull over NOW or I swear to god I will puke all over your precious camaro."

He didn't hesitate and quickly pulled off to the shoulder of the road. He cut the engine and threw the keys on top of the dashboard. I was still fighting my own brain to breathe.

Billy still didn't say anything as he unbuckled my seatbelt and pulled me off my seat and into his.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Billy cooed to me as his hands slowly traced circle patterns on my arms.

"I- uh. I don't think I'm a fan of your car anymore." I said trying to swallow the lump in my throat.

He just nodded and wrapped his arms tightly around my waist.

I leaned forward and relaxed into his chest. "I didn't mean what I said. About not wanting you to be my boyfriend." I muttered to him as I tried copying his breathing.

"I'm sorry for pushing you earlier. You weren't suppose to be there."

I nodded as my face was still pressed into his chest. We sat there blanketed in a comfortable silence for what seemed like hours.

"Neil is not going to happy that I've been out so late." He finally said.

I nodded understandingly and tried to crawl back into my own seat so we could leave. Billy pulled me back down by the hips and reached out to grab his keys. He easily picked me up and wrapped my legs around his frame as he got out of the car. Gently putting me down he shut the car door and locked it. I started to form a question but Billy silenced it with a quick kiss.

"We are walking."

I looked at him quizzically. "But-"

"I can come back for it later." He said shrugging nonchalantly.

He loved his car more than himself and I grappled to understand why he would leave it on the side of the road without argument.

Still not giving me time to respond he grabbed my hand and began walking.

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The sun was already in the beginning stages of setting as we neared our neighborhood. Billy's hand was still locked firmly in mine. The time on my watch read 6:57 and I grew worried that Neil would return home before Billy had the chance to go back and get his car. I already felt bad that I couldn't even ride in a car without freaking out. But imagining Billy suffering the consequences for it made me feel even worse. We were only a couple feet from my mail box that sat perched right in front of the driveway when a tan pickup truck slowly drove by us.

"William James HARGROVE." A gruff voice called out from behind us. Billys hand quickly left mine as he turned around to see Neil leaning out of the window of his truck angrily.