{83}✔️

Billie's POV

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"This would look cute on you," Kai shrugged, handing me a crop top. I glanced at it for a brief second before snatching it out of her hands and putting it right back onto the rack. "It's gonna be too cold to wear something like that."

"It's gonna be like 70 degrees tomorrow."

I shrugged and continued to go through the clothes on the rack in front of me. I asked Kai if she wanted to come shopping with me after school so that we could spend some time together. I figured that since she's gonna be in my house for at least another week or two and we agreed to be civil, I should try hanging out with her a bit. You know, without threatening her life every time she speaks.

She's not that bad actually. We seem to have a lot in common when it comes to our taste in music and tv shows and shit like that. Fashion, though? Not at all.

"I don't know, man, I bet I could just find something at home to wear." I mumbled tiredly, rolling my eyes as I walked away from the clothing rack. This store doesn't seem to have anything except for tight, brightly colored, girly clothes. It isn't my style at all, but Kai's found like a billion things that she wants.

"Billie, come on. It's V-day we're talking about. It's special!"

"Not really," I grumbled bitterly. Maybe if Dahlia and I were still together I'd be obsessing over finding something good to wear, but we're not together anymore and it doesn't seem like we will be any time soon, if ever again, so why should I give a shit what I put on to cover my ass? "I should just wear something casual so it doesn't seem like I'm trying too hard. Cause I'm not."

"Yeah, you're not trying at all," She rolled her eyes. "Billie, Dahlia's gonna be there and I bet she's gonna look great! Don't you wanna impress her?"

"No. What would be the point?" She doesn't want me back. If I got all dressed up I'd be doing it for no reason.

"You've been in a slump since you two broke up, and that's fine, you get to be sad, but don't you think you'd feel just a little bit better if you found something nice to wear out? You'd feel confident again, and that's exactly what you need! Plus, this is the first time you two are gonna be hanging out since breaking up. Other than working on the project, of course."

She's not wrong.

Plus, we turned that project in today which means that tomorrow will be our first time hanging out, not because we have to, but because we want to.

I mean, this is a friend group thing, not just the two of us, but still. It's something.

We've got another project coming up literally the day after tomorrow, so I guess I don't really have to be worried that we won't be seeing much more of each other after finishing up the last one, but still. I want to know that we'll still hang out without being forced to. This is gonna be like...A trial, kind of?

If tomorrow doesn't go well then she probably won't wanna hang out again outside of school and shit. So that means tomorrow has to be fucking perfect, and I can't blow it.

The first step to not blowing it is dressing nicely.

"Let's go into rue 21 after this," I mumbled, letting out a small sigh. "Their clothes aren't nearly as disgusting."

Kai nodded and we headed up to the counter to pay for her stuff. While we waited for our turn, I looked around the disgustingly colorful store and smirked as I saw the ugliest shirt I've ever seen in my life. It looked like something Cora would wear, so I went to grab it and then went back to stand next to Kai.

"I'll pay for your stuff." I offered once we got to the counter. Kai shook her head quickly and pulled out some cash.

"My mom's stash. Remember?"

She grabbed the shirt I was buying too and paid for it. I didn't argue. I'm just gonna put all the money she spends today back in her stash when she goes to sleep anyway.

"So, I was thinking, and I bet you'd look great in a leather skirt!" She grinned as we walked away after paying.

"I'll beat your ass again, Kai, I swear to god."

***

Dahlia's POV

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"I have no idea what to wear tomorrow," I pouted as I pulled the sucker out from between my lips and tilted my head, staring into my closet. "Everything's shit."

"Everything is not shit! You've got some nice stuff." Cora grinned as she rambled through my closet.

"Character growth." I smirked.

"What?"

"You used to hate my style a lot."

"Yeah, well, I guess it's alright. Liza likes it, anyway. That's why I'm borrowing something from you." She said matter of factly.

"I did not say you could borrow anything from me!"

She gave me the puppy dog eyes and I sighed after a few moments before nodding. "Fine, whatever." I rolled my eyes, smirking as I shoved her practically into the closet.

"So, why aren't you and Billie doing anything special, like, alone?" She asked as she began to go through my clothes again. I sighed as I went over to my bed and sat down.

"We just...Decided not to?" I tried. She sent me a look. "We broke up." I mumbled after realizing she didn't buy it.

Her eyes widened and she ran over to me, jumping on the bed beside me. "What do you mean you broke up?! Why? When? Why didn't you tell me?!"

"We had a big fight a few weeks ago and broke up. We're friends again, but we're still not together, and I didn't tell you because I didn't wanna talk about it." I shrugged.

"Well, that sucks." She frowned. "I hope you guys get back together. I was really hoping Billie would be around for my next birthday. She gives the best gifts."

I shoved her head to the side and got up again, leaving my room. She stayed in there, probably snooping, but I didn't care.

I knocked on Denver's door and waited this time for him to tell me to come in. He was sitting at his desk, writing something.

"What ya doing?" I asked curiously as I plopped down on his bed. Denver's room is a lot cleaner than most guys, and I'd say his room is the neatest of all of ours. He makes his bed up every morning too, and he washes his sheets more than the rest of us. They always smell like lemon or vanilla or something. I could crawl into his bed and stay there for the rest of my life. One day I'm gonna lock him out of his room and do just that.

He spun around in his desk chair and smirked at me. "Doing some calculating. If my calculations are correct, I'll be making a thousand dollars—give or take a few—when I start my new jobs."

I sighed and shook my head at him before grabbing one of his pillows and lying down on my stomach. "Denver, please. You know dad wouldn't approve of you selling drugs while you're living under his roof. You have to move out first and then offer him at least 20% of the profit, just like y'all discussed."

"Haha," he laughed sarcastically before rolling over to me. "No, see, I'm doing multiple jobs. Finneas was able to get me a raise at the music lounge so I'm gonna be getting paid $325 a week instead of just $315. Doesn't seem like a whole lot, but trust me, it is. Then, I signed up to tutor Mrs. Martin's bad ass kids on Mondays and Fridays, and that's $100 a week. Then, I'm cutting grass for, like, five of the lazy ass neighbors. I got them all to agree to give me $50 every time I cut it for them. Then, there's seeing about Mrs. Crane—"

"Mrs. Crane?! Are you kidding me? That lady is insane!"

"Rumors," Denver shook his head. Mrs. Crane is an old lady who lives about a block away and I've never met anyone who had anything nice to say about her except for her daughter, May, but I really think she's just lying to make it seem like her mom isn't absolutely insufferable. "May offered to pay me $100 a week just to go over there once a day and make sure she hasn't kicked the bucket, make sure she's well fed and gets a good bowel movement every now and then, all that shit."

"Wow." I mumbled.

"Yeah," he grinned. "And then I've got a couple of odd jobs here and there too, and I'm looking into getting, like, a real full-time job after I finish with high school, but this will get me all the money I need for now."

I nodded slowly, looking down at my hands as I began to play with my fingers.

"What's wrong?" He questioned,

I forced a smile as I looked back up at him, trying to pretend I was happy, but I could tell I wasn't fooling him. I sighed as I sat up on my knees and shrugged my shoulders. "I'm really proud of you for doing all that, it's just...You're gonna be working all the time. You're gonna be exhausted and...When are you gonna hang out with your friends? When are you gonna take a spontaneous road trip? When are you gonna go to a concert or go out to eat on a whim or go to a football game—What about college? Are you still gonna do that? What about what you wanted to do in the future? Is all that gonna change because...You know?"

I just feel so bad for him. I tried to act cool and like this was no big deal, but this is huge. Denver's having a baby and that means that everything he planned is kinda ruined. I hate to think like that, so negatively about what's supposed to be a beautiful thing, but I can't help it. I don't have any idea what I'd do if I ended up getting pregnant.

I mean, first of all, I'd be pretty freaked out because I'm gay and I only like pussy. So, how I'd manage to get pregnant in the first place is beyond me. It'd be a real shocker, I know that.

But, like, if I was straight or whatever and I ended up getting pregnant at this age or even at Denver's age. I don't know what I'd do. A baby is a big deal. A baby is...A whole baby.

Babysitting is exhausting for me. A couple of hours and I'm about ready to fling myself off a bridge. How could anyone deal with having a tiny, little baby around all the time?

He sighed as he got out of his chair and sat next to me on the bed, grabbing my hand. He brought a thumb up to wipe away a tear that was making its way down my cheek. I feel stupid for crying about this. It's not even my fucking baby. It's just...I don't know. A lot is changing, and fast.

"Whether I was having a baby or not, I'd still be working this hard. I mean, the whole baby thing definitely sped up the process of me trying to find more ways to make money and shit, but this was always the plan. The one thing I was sure about was that I wanted to make a lot of money," he chuckled. "I'm gonna be busy a lot and I'm sure it'll be pretty difficult for me to hang out with my friends, but I'll make the time. It's not like I've got a billion friends anyway. I have acquaintances, mostly, that I fully expect to stop talking to after high school because all we have in common is football and hating school."

Ouch. I don't even wanna think about after school. I mean, I can't wait, but shit. That's kinda depressing to think about. After next year, it's all gonna be over for me. Wow.

"But my real friends...Finneas and you, really. You two are my best friends in the world, and I'll make sure to make time for you guys. Especially you, Dahlia. I'll always make time for you," He smiled before leaning over to kiss my forehead. "I'm still gonna go to college and I'm still gonna live my life too. That's not gonna change just cause I'm having a baby. I'm obviously shocked that Julia's pregnant and it's not exactly what I wanted, but it's what happened so I've gotta deal with it. We've been talking things over and, obviously, we're not gonna be together, but we're gonna be co-parents and shit. The baby is gonna know we love it. That's all we're really sure of right now."

He sighed a little as he squeezed my hand. "This is a real shocker, and I know it's gonna be hard, but this isn't a bad thing. If anything I'm more motivated than I ever was before. I have a lot of maturing to do, a lot of learning to do, a lot of work to do. And I'll do it. I've always said I wanted to be great at whatever I do. I'm gonna be a dad. I wanna be a great dad, and I'm going to."

"You will be a great dad," I whispered. "I can tell. You're already a great brother, and you're already super mature. You're handling this better than I ever would...Denver, I just want you to know I'm there for you. If you need money, I'll help you. If you need me to babysit, I will. If you need anything, I've got you, I promise."

"I know," He smiled. "You're one of the best sisters in the world. I'm really lucky to have you, you little shit head."

"Thanks so much, ass wipe."

"Well, I'm glad you two are so close."

I jumped, gasping as I turned to look at the door. Cora was standing there with tears running down her own face. "You two never tell me anything. It's like I don't even exist sometimes."

She stomped out of the room and Denver and I both hopped up, running to catch up with her before she could slam her room door closed. I pushed on it with all my force and she sighed as she realized she couldn't close us out, opting instead to lay face down on her bed, toward the wall. Denver sat down beside her head and I sat next to him.

"You heard that, huh?" He asked softly, rubbing her hair.

"I heard a lot more than that too. You guys act like these walls are paper thin. It's crazy dad hasn't heard anything he shouldn't have yet," She laughed bitterly, the sound muffled by the pillow her face was planted against. "My room is right next to yours, Denver. That means I get to sit and hear all your deep talks with Dahlia. Then when you finish talking to her, I get to hear you come in here and say 'night' or 'I'm leaving, bye' or 'sup' before you go back into your room. It's like I don't even have a brother."

Fuck. I definitely did not know she felt this way, and I feel so guilty now that I know she does. Denver and I have always been super close, especially since we're just one year apart, but I never really thought that we left Cora out of things all that much.

"Cora, I'm sorry I don't talk to you as much. I love you just as much as I love Dahlia!"

She remained silent and scooted closer to the wall. We both just stared at her back as we listened to her cry, both of us feeling beyond guilty.

"Look, I don't talk to you as much because we don't have that much in common. I mean, you're into all that girly shit I don't give a damn about, and I'm into all the super, mega manly shit you don't care about." He joked. She let out a short laugh before hiccuping and then sniffling. She still didn't say anything, so he continued.

"That's not really an excuse, though, is it? So—Okay, so how about this? How about I sit through one of those stupid ass romantic comedies you love so much and take you to get mani-pedis or something, and then we can sit down and watch a football game and pig out. Just the two of us making each other miserable all day. How's that sound?"

We waited for her to say something, both of us smiling when she slowly turned around to face us. She wiped her face with her hand and looked at Denver as she thought about it. "...Can we have meatballs and hot wings?"

"Anything you want, kid."

"Okay." She nodded, smiling largely.

I smiled as they hugged and he kissed her cheeks, tickling her sides and treating her like she was a little kid again.

He's gonna be a great dad.

"I'm really sorry for hogging him, Cora," I told her once he was done. I leaned down to grab her hand and kiss her cheek, and then I whispered. "Trust me, he isn't as cool as he seems, anyway."

"Really? That's sad. He already seems like a total nerd."