Billy leaned against the car door once more, drawing in a deep breath of air as he kept his gaze forward. “Yeah, I got pretty lucky,” he told her, eyes sliding over to her for a moment and shooting her a bit of a crooked grin. “I didn’t ask for it, if you’re wondering,” he added, watching the street in front of him. The only reason he’d even gotten to drive the car was the fact that his dad thought it was too showy for his tastes, but figured it was better to give it to his son than spend more money on a car. “You assume my car is a she because I ride in her?” He questioned, lifting a brow and shooting her look as a spark of something flashed in his gaze and smirk curled his lips. “And I know a thing or two, depending on who’s asking,” he said, eyes roaming over her for a moment before he stared ahead once more.
The wind blew against his car for a moment and he counteracted it by steering a bit against it, car shuddering slightly. He let out a low whistle, watching the trees around them bending and swaying in the gales for a moment. Chances were, the lights would be out whenever he got back home. The street they lived on had way too many trees along it. There was bound to be one that falls on their power lines with this wind. “Did you like New York?” He asked, brow furrowing slightly with thought. New York was a little more his speed, more like California, he supposed. “I’m either going back or heading some place else. You have your sights anywhere, babydoll?”
A sigh left him as she spoke again, shooting her a look. Honestly, he should be used to it. He dressed the way he did for a reason, but there was no way around it. Sometimes women, particularly the older ones, had a way of eyeing him or saying things that made him a bit uncomfortable. He took it all in stride, however. Better than getting no attention at all, Billy supposed. “Yeah,” he breathed, digging his tongue into his cheek after he spoke. “Way different.” He nodded as she described her house to him, blue eyes studying the houses they were passing closely. He’d been this way once when he’d picked up this girl from school for a date—Lisa, Linda…it was an ‘L’ name, he knew for sure—but hadn’t passed by Evie’s house on his way.
Billy laughed lightly at the snort that left her, bottom lip finding its way between his teeth for a moment. He was beginning to regret he’d followed up on promising her a fast ride. He’d enjoyed their conversation a lot more than any other chick that’d ridden in his passenger seat. Maybe he should have taken his time. “You caught me,” he said with a crooked grin, eyes lighting up as he glanced over to her for a moment. There was look in her eyes for a brief moment, like she’d gone someplace else in her mind. He’d already looked away by the time she was speaking again, to which he merely let out a soft hum of a reply and began to slow the car a bit more as they approached the house she’d described.
“It’s typically the chicks that aren’t in supply. At least not ones that I’m interested in,” he said, a slow smile curling his lips. “Believe it or not, Evie, I have standards,” he added bluntly, shooting her a lingering, poignant look. “Oh I would have. But I’m sure you could paint me a pretty picture of whatever you were wearing that night.” His smile grew into a wolfish grin, mind reeling with all the possibilities of what she could’ve been. Billy’s brow lifted slightly as she rattled off what he was wearing, surprised she’d taken notice of what he was wearing, but he didn’t get a chance to reply as she was suddenly glaring up at the house. His eyes slid along her features before he pulled up to the curb and put it in park. No one looked like they were home; it would have be a perfect opportunity for him had she not been in such a rush to bail her brother out of whatever trouble he’d gotten in to. “You sure you don’t want me to stick around for a while?” He asked, leaning back in the seat.
Kate’s gaze wandered over Steve’s profile, noting that his cheeks had gone rather bright red. “You feeling okay, Steve?” She asked innocently, head tilting slightly to the side as she watched him. “Your cheeks look all flushed, like you’re getting sick or something.” Kate knew what she was doing. She wasn’t stupid. It was just too much fun watching the color blossom on his cheeks. This “King Steve” she’d heard about was pretty bashful, it seemed. It was all in good fun, of course. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d gotten this sort of reaction from someone. “I have a hard time believing that cool kid Steve would be the bad kind of memorable,” she said, returning the grin.
She reached into one of the front pockets of her bag, pulling out some bubble gum. Unwrapping it, she popped a few pieces into her mouth, chewing it quietly as she leaned back into the seat. Her gaze wandered the scenery that was passing them, still not quite familiar enough with her surroundings to know where she was. It should have scared her; being in a stranger’s car and not knowing where they were taking her. It didn’t. Once she’d chewed the gum enough, she leaned her head back and blew a bubble the same color as her hair. A bubble that popped as soon as he coughed. She grinned impishly over at him as she pulled the gum back into her mouth. “Chill, dude. I’m not judging you,” she said softly. “I think it’s kind of cool that you make the effort. Most guys don’t give a shit.” There was a short pause before she added. “Most guys look like shit.”
Her brows lifted slightly at the mention of Hawkins being a tourist attraction. “Of what? Special Indiana cows?” She quipped dryly, a laugh leaving her as she shook her head a bit. “Did you want any gum, by the way?” She asked, pointing down to a few wrapped pieces she still had in her hand. Her lips pulled back slowly into a bright smile at the mention of them trading bad jokes. Her stomach lurched awkwardly as she reminded herself that as soon as she got the information
they were after, she’d be out of Hawkins like she was never there to begin with. She forced the feeling down and drew in a deep breath. “I’m game if you are,
Hair-rington,” she said, grinning over at him.
Kate pulled a bit of a face at him saying she’d gotten the gist of Hawkins. She could handle someone being outright mean to her face. In fact, she definitely preferred it to catty comments made behind her back or whispering and giggling behind hands. Her eyes slipped over to Steve as he spoke, a slow, genuine smile curling her lips. She caught his gaze as he glanced over to her and she looked away as a blush of her own rose to the apples of her cheeks. “Yeah. I don’t really care what they think,” she murmured, eyes flickering over to him. “It just would have been nice to not have to attempt to make all new friends senior year,” she said, her head falling back against the seat.
“Were there any context clues, though?” She asked, a bit more strength in her tone as she turned to look at him once more. A frown pulled at her lips, brow furrowing slightly at what he said next. From what little she knew about him and this interaction now, he seemed anything but. “You’re not,” she said through a sigh, shaking her head a bit. Before she got out anything else, she was distracted by a kid flying towards them on a bike like he was on a mission. It took her only a moment to realize who it was and her brows lifted slightly at the fact that he was waving the car down. She remained quiet as Steve slowed the car down and stopped for the kid, Dustin Henderson—her mind supplied.
The girl pulled a bit of a face at the frown he was directing toward her. For a moment, she was about to snap at him but then she realized he probably expected Nancy to be in the passenger seat. She was about to properly introduce herself, but he was leaning into the car and whispering about something that Steve was “gonna help” with. She shot a look to Steve, gauging his reaction as she chewed her gum quietly. Her brows shot skyward at how pushy this middle schooler was.
“Huh,” was all she could think to say, more of just a noise than a question. She shot a glance to the back of the car then to Steve. There was a beat as she studied him for a moment. “I…I guess I could bike the rest of the way home, if this was urgent-“
“It is,” Dustin interjected. Kate shot him a look, green-speckled amber eyes boring into the kid’s for a moment. “And kinda private.” Her head tilted to the side slightly, a rather unenthused look crossing her features.
“There’s no way we can fit both of our bikes and us in here,” she said softly, turning her attention back to Steve. “So…thanks for the ride and I’ll see you around,” she continued, shooting him a small smile before reaching down to gather her bag.
[I feel like a went a little overboard.
Feel free to cut down on that a bit.]