The Light of Willow Hills - Chapter 2

Billy fished around in his pocket for his lighter and once he felt it, he took it out to light up the end of the cigarette hung from his mouth. The end of the cig glowed a nice amber color as he inhaled. Hot smoke flooded his mouth and throat, traveling all the way into his lungs. He pulled the burning stick of paper and tobacco away from his lips than exhaled a cloud of bellowing smoke into the air.

His mind drifted off to the new girl in his English class. The daughter of a pastor who had moved here of all places. The mere fact that she was so calm and collected when the resident group of mean girls said those nasty comments about her and her father. It baffled him to say the least.

Saying something about her and her not reacting and giving them the satisfaction that they got from pestering the new girl, he could understand. The comment around her father, however, would have warranted any reaction and justified said reaction wholly.

He took a few more drags of his cigarette and flicked the ashes from the end like he had done countless times out of the propped open window in the bathroom. He watched the clouds of smoke swirl and dance around one another. Billy held onto his breath before taking his final drag just as Robbie, Freddy, and Russ waltzed into the sparsely populated bathroom.

“The principal is gonna kill ya when he catches you smokin’ in the bathroom again.” Robbie said with his light brown brow curled ever so slightly, paired perfectly with his confident smile. He strutted over to Billy perched up on the window sill above the last sink and his boot pressed against the porcelain white makeshift ledge. Freddy and Russ weren’t far behind him, standing on either side of the sink with Robbie between them.

“Yeah, yeah.” Billy grumbled dismissively with a wave of his hand. He lifted his boot and snuffed out the end of his cigarette against the soul before flicking it out the open window. His backpack laid temporarily discarded in the window sill, keeping the window propped open.

Russ’ dirty strawberry blonde brow raised, noticing how distracted Billy seemed to be when they walked in. “What’s on your mind, B? You seemed like you were in another world there.” He asked, stuffing his hand into the pockets of his sturdy and thick brown jacket.

Freddy made his way over to Russ and Robbie, standing off to the side. “I was about to ask the same thing.” He said, his own reddish-brown brow raising up a little on his forehead. “Are you feeling alright?” His fingers fiddled with the hem of his cardigan.

Whether it was a nervous tick or just the gears in his head turning to put that creative spin of him being in his own world or to come up with some lighthearted joke, Billy wasn’t entirely sure as his brow raised a little towards his friends. “I’m fine. Just needed to smoke a cig and didn’t feel like going outside for it.” He half-stood up and pushed himself off of the window sill, plopping down on the white and grey speckled tiles with a loud thud. In a fluid motion, he swiped his backpack causing the window to close behind, cleaning up the evidence that he was there.

He scoffed, brushing past his friends. “You guys don’t have to put that much thought into it.” Billy slung his backpack over his shoulder and shoved his hands into his leather jacket pockets. He moved towards the exit of the bathroom, expecting his friends to follow him along, and walked out into the hall on his way to the cafeteria.

Which they did after sharing skeptical looks with one another and trailed slightly behind their friend. “He seems a lot more aloof than normal, right?” Russ posed in a low conspiratorial tone, opening up the door for Robbie and Freddy.

Robbie pursed his lips a little, thinking it all over and shrugged his shoulders. “Nah. Not really.” He murmured. “This is pretty normal for him.”

He was so easy to brush it off where Freddy and Russ weren’t. “Somethin’s off.”

“I agree.” Freddy chimed in. “Not that the guy is happy-go-lucky all the time with rainbows and butterflies fluttering around him.”

A light scoff fled from Robbie’s lips as he shook his head a bit. “Ya both really are thinkin’ too much about it.. I’m sure if somethin’ is on his mind that he’ll tell us eventually. He usually does. Just a matta of time.”

Those whispers between the three of them echoed against the halls and wandered into Billy’s ears, making him groan lowly. Each sentence from them caused his shoulders to tense up more and his fist ball up harder in his pockets. A heavy exhale fled from his lips as he attempted to quell the hot rambling thoughts in his mind.

The urge to set his friends straight and convince them was overwhelming to his senses. His blood came to a simmer in his veins as a dense fog clouded his mind. His nerves felt like pinpricks against the surface of his skin. His gaze fell to the floor, nearly boring a hole into it. If looks could have burned the brick, his intense stare at the ground would have. A tensed sigh fled from his lips and his jaw clenched.

Billy turned on his heels, facing his friends trailing behind him. “If you guys are going to be talking about me, say it to my face. Don’t talk behind my back. Got it?” He stated firmly before continuing on his way to the cafeteria, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets.

Freddy, Robbie, and Russ halted in their steps the moment Billy turned around to face them and his statement caused an unanimous falling of their hearts into their stomachs. Guilt riddled all of their features as they looked to one another in the hallway. The sound of Billy’s footsteps echoing was the only thing they heard. Each step caused the pit in the depths of their stomachs to drop further and fester with shame. Their minds littered with memories of the last time, years ago, that he had lashed out at them for gossiping amongst themselves about him.

Billy sauntered into the cafeteria and looked around at the crowd of students all sitting together, talking together, laughing together, eating together. He let out a little huffed exhale followed by a scoff. His brown eyes lazily scanned over everyone until his gaze landed on Rosalie.

She was sat at a table all by herself with a brown paper bagged lunch. Her hands clasped together and her eyes closed. Her mouth moved, but he couldn’t make out what she was saying. If he was a gambling man, which he wasn’t, he would bet she was praying and saying grace over her food. Seeing her do this felt like the most sincerest thing Billy had ever seen.

It was such a contrast to all his other classmates and students here doing what they always did. All laughing, eating, talking, and gossiping. They all had their cliques yet Rosalie seemed unbothered by what everyone else was doing. Even seated by herself instead of anxiously asking to sit at a table with other people.

It made the smallest of smiles curl on his lips. For the briefest of moments, he felt peace. An unexplainable peace he hadn’t felt since he was just a little boy when everything was as it should have been. That peace, however, was interrupted by someone behind him commenting on the line moving. Which he gave a quick apology before moving through the line and getting himself something to eat.

Lunch for him wasn’t much, but it was what he could afford with the last handful of change from his part time job at the local garage. A ham and cheese sandwich, a piece of fruit, and a small carton of milk. Shortly after he plopped down the coin for lunch, his friends appeared just in time to pick out some seats from a nearby table clearing up.

Robbie was the first to chime in as he set down his tray. “Hey, I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we’re sorry for talkin’ behind your back man. We shouldn’t done that.” He dragged the seat out to the right of Billy, and flipped it around to sit in it backwards, draping his arms over the back of the chair where it only went about halfway up his torso. His usual blasé glint in his eyes softened into something apologetic as he turned his head over to Billy.

Russ took his spot on the other side of Robbie while Freddy sat down on the left side of Billy. He placed his tray down gently and leaned forward in his chair, knitting his fingers together. “Yeah. Rob’s right. It’s not right to talk behind your back like that.”

Freddy reached over and laid his hand on Billy’s shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. To which he received a momentary glare before pulling his hand away then patting where his hand once resided. “I’m sorry…for earlier and the hand on the shoulder thing.” He offered a twitch of a smile as his brows stitched together in the hopes that Billy would forgive them.

The moment lingered on as Freddy, Russ, and Robbie all looked between one another before landing their unified gazes back on their sulky friend. Billy’s brow raised slightly and he let out a little scoff through his teeth. “This is too weird, guys. All of you lookin’ at me like that. It’s like some sad little puppies looking for someone to adopt you.” He murmured with a little half-chuckle escaping past his lips, breaking the silence.

“‘Course I forgive you. Let’s just eat and move on, yeah?” Billy suggested, offering them a slight smile and nodding towards their trays on the table.

Freddy let out a theatrical sigh of relief. “Good. Because I’m not sure how much more of this I could have taken. You really know how to stir up a crowd with that brooding act of yours.”

“It isn’t an act. He’s always been like that.” Russ began to say as he grabbed his apple from his tray and tossed it gently into the air before catching it effortlessly in his hand. Then took a bite from it with a sizable juicy crunch. “Since the day Robbie and I met him. All dark and mysterious.”

“Kinda like a scary movie boyfriend or somethin’. ‘Cept he looks all tough, but he’s more mouth and bravado than anythin’.” Robbie chimed in with a proud little smirk sprawled across his face.

Billy shook his head and let out a hint of a chuckle. “You guys are real funny, you know that?” His gaze wandered over to Rosalie once more. Still by herself at that table, eating, and being herself unabashedly. Like there was nothing more to her world, yet there seemed to be so much more to her than met the eye.

His attention stayed on her for a beat long enough for his friends to notice his stare. “Ooh. It seems like our brooding friend over here has his eyes on someone.” Freddy teased before following where his eye line was right over towards the culprit herself. “Who are you staring at? Who is that?”

Robbie and Russ immediately straightened up in their chairs and glanced towards one another, their brows furrowed. “Billy bein’ interested in a gal?” Robbie asked like it was the most obvious fact in the world. He let out a little scoff, an amused smirk curled on the ends of his lips. “That’s a new one.”

Russ casually followed Robbie and Freddy’s eye line over to the girl all by herself. His strawberry blonde brow raised and the corner of his mouth quirked into a slight smile. “She’s the new girl. I’ve got history with her and Robs.”

“Knew I recognized that mug of hers from someplace.” Robbie said before shoveling a spoonful of food into his mouth. He chewed on it a bit obnoxiously causing his best friend since middle school to shake his head while uttering a small chuckle.

“You really are something else, man,” Russ picked up his fork and picked a bit at his food with the end of the prongs. “You’re usually the ladies man out of all of us.” The corner of his lips curled into sly, knowing smirk. “You’re paying more attention to your food than the new girl.”

Robbie glanced up from his food and glared only half-maliciously towards Russ. “I’m not about to cross B over here for his girl.”

Billy dramatically rolled his eyes. “She’s not my girl.” He stated firmly, holding his own ground a bit with his friends trying to mettle in his romantic life. “I haven’t even said a word to her yet. She’s just in my English class, got it?” The front of his head began to ache from all the bickering between them and he rubbed his temples between his thumb and middle finger of his left hand. He hoped to create enough pressure for him to relieve the subtle throbbing beginning to take root at the forefront of his mind.

“It’s okay to have a crush on someone.” Freddy chuckled gently, reaching out to pat Billy’s back between his shoulder blades. “It’s not like you are going to get arrested or anything for having a crush on the new girl.” He gave him a couple of firm pats, earning him a glare that made him pull his hand away and hold his hands up in the air. “Sorry… Too soon?”

“A bit, yeah.” He groaned with a shake of his head. A heavy sigh left his lips. Though the little quip from Freddy did earn him a round of chuckles from Robbie and Russ with the way he reacted paired with the lighthearted timbre in his voice.

“Let’s just eat and move on, okay?” Billy suggested with a glance between his three friends he had somehow garnered over the past couple of years. There was a glimmer of something there momentarily. Hope, paired with a small brief smile.