robin buckley had decided that if she was going to die, it might as well be under the bleachers behind the gym, curled up on a metal bench. she lay on her side, arms wrapped around her stomach, breathing through the kind of cramps that made her reconsider every life choice that had led her to this moment. the distant shouts of the basketball team echoed through the gym, each one stabbing her brain like a fork.
she squeezed her eyes shut. maybe if she stayed still enough, the universe would forget she existed.
instead, the universe sent billy hargrove.
sheâd just closed her eyes when a shadow fell over her.
âyou dying or something?â
she knew his voice. everyone knew that voice. billy hargrove, resident bad boy, king of dramatic entrances, and the reason half the girls in school cared about lip gloss.
robin blinked up at him, startled. âuh⊠no?â
he raised an eyebrow, like he didnât believe her for a second. he was leaning against the side of the bleachers with his beefy arms crossed, hair wild, bruises blooming across his cheekbone like abstract art. he looked like trouble, which was exactly his brand.
robin, meanwhile, looked like a crumpled napkin.
âyou sure?â he asked. âyou look kinda⊠not great.â
âwow,â she said. âthanks. thatâs very comforting.â
he smirked, just a little. âiâm a comforting guy.â
she snorted. âthatâs not what iâve heard.â
and then she froze, because oh god, sheâd actually said that out loud. to billy hargrove. who could probably end her socially with a single hair flip.
but he didnât get mad. he just laughed under his breath, like sheâd amused him.
âstill⊠you okay?â he asked, voice softer.
he hadnât left? that was the weird part. no, it was weird they were even talking in the first place! theyâd never spoken, despite sharing an english class where he pretended not to know the answers and she pretended not to notice he definitely did.
robin hesitated. she didnât owe him anything. but something about the way he askedâŠ.like he actually cared, like he wasnât just killing time, made her answer.
âcramps,â she croaked out. âpretty bad ones.â
billy nodded, not grossed out, not confused, just⊠thoughtful. which was suspicious. most guys reacted to the word âperiodâ like it was a nuclear threat.
robin watched him rummage through a beatâup gym bag slung over his shoulder. she blinked as he pulled out a small bottle.
she stared at it. then at him. then back at it.
âyou carry tylenol around?â she asked.
âyeah.â he shrugged, looking away. âmy-â his jaw tightened for a second. âmy stepsister, maxâŠ.she gets headaches. wonât be long til sheâs cramping too. i keep some on me.â
it was a lie. or half a lie. robin could tell. but it wasnât the kind meant to deceive. more like the kind meant to protect something he didnât want to talk about.
she took the bottle. âthanks.â
she sat up to swallow two pills dry then curcled back down onto the bench. billy stayed stood, like he wasnât in a hurry to get back to the gym full of yelling jocks.
âyou want me to walk you to the nurse?â he asked.
robin snorted. âabsolutely not, sheâs totally useless. iâll be fine once these kick in. i just needed to escape the entire population of hawkins high for a while.â
they sat in silence. not awkward, surprisingly. more like a truce. robin wasnât sure what to do with that. billy hargrove was supposed to be chaos incarnate, not⊠calm.
she was about to make a sarcastic comment when the gym doors slammed open.
âhargrove!â steve harringtonâs voice echoed across the court.
billy turned instantly, posture straightening, expression shifting into something robin had never seen on him before. he smiled. not the cocky smirk he used on girls or the sharp grin he used before fights. a real smile. soft and warm.
steve jogged over, hair bouncing as his grey tshirt stuck to him. he didnât see robin tucked under the bleachers, which was fine. she was basically a cryptid at this point.
âcoach is looking for you,â steve said, slightly breathless. âyou canât just disappear in the middle of drills.â
âyeah, yeah.â billy waved him off, still smiling. âIâm comingâ
steve rolled his eyes but grinned, starting to walk backwards. âthen come on man!â
billy turned to robin before leaving. âso, you gonna be okay?â
the fact that he asked again made something twist in her chest. not romantically, god no! but in a way that said maybe billy hargrove wasnât the oneâdimensional disaster everyone assumed.
âyeah,â she said. âthanks.â
he nodded. âsee you around, buckley.â
he said her name like heâd known it all along.
then he jogs after steve, falling into step beside him. they bumped shoulders, laughing about something robin couldnât hear, and disappear back into the gym.
robin watched them go, and something clicked. the smile. the softness. the way billyâs whole body language changed when steve showed up.
well, that explained a lot.
she lay back down, the painkillers finally starting to dull the worst of the cramps. sunlight filtered through the bleachers, warming her face. the gym noise faded into a distant hum.
âthanks again,â she murmured, even though he was already gone.
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