I get ready for Tina's party, dressing up as a slutty angel, and head down into the kitchen to use the landline. I dial Carol's number and wait for her to answer. "Thomas residence," Carol's Mom answers and I cringe at her voice. She hates me and my sisters with a burning passion.

"Hi, Mrs. Thomas," I reply, trying to pretend like we don't have history and that she doesn't hate me. "It's Elizabeth Peterson, I was wondering if I could speak to Carol."

Silence is all that comes through the phone and my heart beat quickens. "How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling here?" She snaps after a few moments. "I'm kind enough to let Carol still be friends with you. If you or your sisters call here ever again and I'll call the cops. Goodnight." With that, she hangs up the phone. I stand there, shell-shocked.

I decide to call Tommy instead, but no answer. Then, Jonathan - he's trick or treating with Will. Then, Steve - he's already at the party. I try my hardest to remember everyone's landline numbers, but my memory is terrible. I peak out of the window, looking for the last resort. The Blue Camaro is still in his drive.

I sigh, picking up my bag and heading out. Turns out, I have impeccable timing and Billy is just leaving the house. Without any words exchanged, we both get in the car. He turns the ignition before speeding off in the direction of Tina's house. "Cool costume," he speaks up after around ten minutes of silence.

"Thanks," I reply, quietly, nodding my head. "I would say the same for you, but you're not dressed up," I say, shrugging my shoulders, turning my head in his direction.

"What do you mean?" He asks, defensively. He looks down at his clothes, gesturing to them. "I'm the mysterious new guy, it's terrifying, right?" I try to hide the smile on my face, not wanting him to think he has actually made a joke I think is funny. "But in all seriousness, you look great."

"Again, with the flirting," I sigh, in slight annoyance. "I'm not going to have sex with you, Billy." Something washes over Billy and I can tell straight away he's annoyed.

"Oh, so by complimenting you, that means I'm trying to get in your pants?" He retorts, angrily. "This is why all girls are cows. You can't say one thing nice about them without the whole female race going batshit crazy."

"And like you're not trying to get in my pants," I scoff at him, folding my arms over his chest. His face looks like that if it weren't for him driving, he would be doing the same as well. "You just took your fourth left," I tell him, pointing out his driving.

"So?" He questions like it's supposed to mean something - which it very much does.

"Four lefts mean we're going in a circle you dick rash," I explain, making him realize he has no idea where he is going. "Oh my God, get to the end of this block, turn right and carry on going straight down that road until you get to the t-junction, then turn left. Her house is at the bottom of that road."

"Look, do you want to drive?" He yells at me, making me flinch. "Then don't order me around. I know where I'm going." I sit in silence, not wanting to rile him up anymore. Despite that, he still follows my instruction and we arrive at Tina's in a few minutes. We pull up and before we get out, Billy locks the doors.

"What the hell are you doing?" I ask him, starting to get panicked by the action. "Unlock the door before I smash the window."

"Chill your ass," Billy shakes his head at me. "I'm trying to apologize for yelling at you, Lizzie."

"Elizabeth," I state.

"What?"

"Don't call me Lizzie, Liz or Beth," I snap at him. "Especially Beth, that's the worst one."

"Listen, Beth, I'm sorry for shouting and raising my voice and getting all irate," he says, trying to annoy me even more. "It was very irrational of me." He puts his hand on his heart, jokingly. He unlocks the door and gets out, ditching me for the party.

I walk around, trying to find Carol and Tommy, but they are nowhere to be found. I notice Steve and Nancy dancing in the busy living room - they are dressed up as Joel and Lana from 'Risky Business'. I smile at the effort put into the costume and continue trying to push my way through the crowds to get to the punch bowl.

I get myself a drink and knock it back like it's water. I head out to the porch and see everyone crowding around the keg. "Thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty, forty-one, forty-two!" Everyone chants before cheering. I push past everyone to see Billy spraying everyone with the leftover beer from his mouth. "We got ourselves a new Keg King!" Tommy yells. Everyone starts chanting Billy's name and he casually gets out a cigarette, getting ready to smoke it.

"That's how you do it, Hawkins!" Billy shouts over everyone after getting so hyped up by everyone. "That's how you do it!" Billy is escorted, by Tommy, over to Steve and I follow, wanting to know what is going to happen next.

"We got ourselves a new Keg King, Harrington," Tommy boasts, trying to get Steve all riled up. "Eat it, Harrington." Steve and Nancy don't take any notice of them and just walk away to the punch bowl. Tommy leans over to Billy and whispers something in his ear. Billy's face lights up at whatever Tommy tells him and nods his head. The three of us dance for a while before Tommy leaves to go find Carol.

"So, you're the new Keg King already, that's quite impressive," I admit to Billy, nodding my head. He puts his hand by his ear, telling me he can't hear me. I repeat myself again, but it's no use. He grabs me by the wrist and leads me outside. I repeat myself another time and he shrugs his shoulders.

"Harrington just isn't cut out for the title," he tells me, grabbing a beer from the cooler, his words slurring as he speaks. "It was just a matter of time before someone took his title, and here we are."

"What are you saying? This is like a whole new era or something?" I laugh, jokingly. "The Age of Billy Hargrove?"

"I guess you could say that," he replies. The porch seems to get more crowded, so everyone gets pushed together. Billy and I are literally millimeters apart. "I was being serious earlier on about you looking really good, you know?"

"Thanks, Billy," I smile up at him. All of a sudden, his lips crash on mine and he hungrily starts to kiss me. I pull away quickly. "Billy, I - I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything, just kiss me," he puts his hands on my cheeks again, beginning to kiss me. I push him off me, with a strong shove.

"Billy, you're drunk," I shake my head at him. "This doesn't mean anything to you, you won't even remember this in the morning."

"It doesn't matter if I'm drunk, all I know is that I want to kiss you," he explains, trying to go in for another kiss. I throw my hand up and slap him, hard. Everyone around us begins to jeer and I walk away, heading inside. I try to run to the bathroom, but the door is locked, so I push my way through the crowds before I bump into someone.

"Jonathan?" I question. He smiles at me, while I steady my balance. "I called you earlier but your Mom said you were trick or treating with Will."

"Oh, yeah, he told me he wanted me to go have fun," he explains. "And I don't really know why, but I came here - the last thing I would call 'having fun'."

"Nice costume," I laugh at him, noticing he isn't wearing one.

"Yeah, I'm going as a guy who hates parties," Jonathan nods his head, awkwardly. "Anyway, I'll see you around." I hug him goodbye before heading to the punch bowl to grab another few cups for myself. "You an alcoholic?" Some guy asks me while I fill up three cups.

"No, they're - uh - for my friends," I say, trying to sound convincing. He doesn't reply to me. "Okay, maybe a borderline alcoholic." I leave the room, heading out to the front and lying on the grass in front of the house. I quickly drink my three cups of punch - someone has clearly spiked it with some sort of spirit because it's a lot stronger than before.

I'm not sat there for long until I am joined by someone. "Shit night?" The voice asks. I look up to see Steve, coming to sit down next to me. I nod my head, downing the last bit of alcohol I have left. Steve pulls out a flask and grabs my cup. He puts a bit in the cup before I glug it all away. "I've missed this. The way we used to be."

"You mean before Nancy?" I question him, totally irrationally. He opens his mouth to speak, but no words come. "Has something happened?"

"Yeah, but she's drunk she doesn't mean any of it," Steve rushes out, trying to shrug everything off. I give him a knowing look and he sighs. "She was talking about how she blames herself for Barb and how it's all her fault and how we can't just pretend we're in love and how I'm bullshit and how everything's bullshit."

"Yikes," I reply, feeling a little floaty from all the alcohol. "Pretend?" Steve nods his head, looking down at the ground. "Hey, don't frown, my dude, being broken up may hurt, but being alone is way worse." Steve sends me a look of panic and I laugh. "That makes no sense."

"Do you want me to take you home?" Steve offers, concern written on his face. "I don't want to leave you here by yourself because we both know that Carol and Tommy are definitely not going to help you make your way home."

"I'm fine, dude, seriously," I reply, belching straight after. "I feel slightly out of it, but I don't think I'm going to be sick or anything."

"Come on, I'm taking you home," Steve shakes his head, standing up. He holds out his hand and I take it, almost straight away. I stand up a bit too quickly and I get vertigo. "Woah, you okay?" Steve questions, putting his hand on the small of my back to stop me from falling.

I lean over and spew all of the alcohol I had consumed that night. Steve has known me long enough to know the drill - don't move me, let me be sick, rub my back to make sure everything comes up and most importantly, HOLD MY HAIR BACK. He grabs my hair in his hand and follows the procedure. "What's going on here?" I hear another voice. I look up to see Billy, walking over to Steve and me.

"Can you not see my guts on the floor?" I question him, pointing to the pool of vomit. "I've been sick, airhead."

"I'm taking her home, Hargrove," Steve snaps, using his hand to point my face back down to the floor. "I don't want to cause any trouble."

"Listen here, Harrington, you need to watch out," Billy warns Steve, pointing in his face. "I'm coming for you and your reputation. I'm taking everything from you, just you watch, Harrington." With that, Billy walks back into the house.

"Billy is so beautiful," I slur, looking up at Steve. "He's such a dickhead, though." I stand up properly, hugging Steve tightly. "I just wish he was like you and actually cares about me, rather than just wanting to have sex."

"What?!" Steve exclaims, holding me at arm's length.

"Well, he just kissed me and he keeps flirting with me, but I can't get away from him because he's my neighbor and he's constantly everywhere I look," I explain, tying my hair back with a scrunchie. "But it's fine because I know not to get involved with him because he's bad news so you don't need to give me a talking to about how pulling out isn't a sufficient method of contraception."

"Liz!" Steve laughs at me, but I don't understand why, I'm just stating the facts. "Well, you're not wrong." I nod my head at him, knowing how right I am. "Come on, let me take you home." I smile at him and climb into his car.

"Steve, I love you," I tell him as I put my seat belt on. I see him freeze in his seat, which confuses me slightly. "You're honestly always there for me when I need you - even when I've been a bitch." Steve's posture softens a bit, him seeming a little more relaxed. He takes my hand in his and laces his fingers with mine. "You're the bestest friend anyone could ask for."

"Friend?" Steve questions me, a little alarmed. I nod my head with a smile to let him know we are completely fine. He hums in response, letting go of my hand. The rest of the drive home is silent, not that I mind. He stops outside my house and doesn't say anything.

"Thanks for the ride, Steve," I thank him before stumbling up the pathway, up to my house. Steve doesn't respond to me at all. He leans over and closes the door I left open before driving away.

I go straight upstairs and climb into my bed. I quickly lull off into a deep sleep. It feels like I am asleep two minutes before I am awoken by a knocking sound at my window. I sit up and look over at my clock. The time reads 2:49 am. I sigh and make my way over to my window. I see Billy perching on the roof of the outhouse. I slide my window up and give him a glare.

"Can I crash here tonight?" He asks me, straight away. I sigh, grabbing the window to slide it back down. He puts his hand out to stop it from closing. "Please?" He begs me. The look in his eyes shows me desperation. I pause, scanning his facial expression before moving aside for him to climb in.

"Am I getting an explanation?" I question him after he carefully climbs in through my window. He turns to me and hesitates before slowly shaking his head. "Okay, then you're leaving." I point at the window.

He exhales sharply before nodding his head. "Fine," he gives in. "I've had a row with my Dad and I've been kicked out." He shrugs his shoulders. "It's no biggie." I turn on my bedroom light to see his eyes are all red and puffy.

"Have you been crying?" I ask him, too much concern laced in my words than I intended there to be.

He scoffs at me and shakes his head. "Don't be so soft, Peterson," he practically laughs at me. "I'm not a pussy. I'm not weak, I don't cry."

"Billy, it's okay to cry, it doesn't make you weak or any less masculine," I explain to him. His facial expression changes and he just kisses his teeth. "Wait here." I leave Billy in my room and go into my Dad's room to get a shirt for Billy to change into. I walk back into my room to see Billy laying on the floor, with two pillows for his head to rest on. "What are you doing?" He looks at me with confusion and I just point to the bed. "Go in the bathroom, change out of your clothes into this shirt and get into the bed."

He stands up and takes the shirt out of my hands. He wanders into the bathroom and closes the door behind him. I make my bed and do a quick sweep of my room to make it a little tidier. Billy exits the bathroom and scrunches up his clothes in a pile on my window ledge. He climbs into bed and I walk over to his clothes. I fold them all up in a neat pile and put them back where he put them. I get into bed, immediately feeling the warmth of Billy radiating onto me. It feels foreign to me.

"Liz?" His voice mumbles. I roll over to face him and hum. "I don't say this often so don't take this lightly," he begins and I nod my head. "Thanks for this." I smile at him, softly. Then I realize how close we both actually are. I don't know what I'm doing until I press my lips up against his. It's a matter of seconds before the kiss deepens with passion and lust.

One thing leads to another and... I'll leave you to imagine what happens next.