The Bet

"So who is the mystery girl?"

Billie Joe's thoughts were interrupted by her voice. He looked from the clock that hung on the blue brick wall, which read one-fifty, and back to the girl who had wandered over to their lab station.

He must of zoned out.

"Excuse me?"

She pointed to his stitched up lip.

"I heard you and Dave got into a fight over a girl,"

Shayla. Where was she?

"Quite the lucky girl," she continued, moving closer as she put her small hand on his chest.

Before Billie could react, the door of the classroom burst open and a breathless girl appeared. He watched as her textbook slipped from her grasp and landed on the floor with a thud.

"Mr. Culver phoned to say you would be running late," Ms. Jackson explained without looking up from her desk.

Billie felt a playful smile tug at his lips as Shayla's red face tried to hide the irritation.

"There she is." Billie spoke as he slid off the black top.

Too mortified to move, Shayla watched as a figure knelt in front of her, picking up her fallen textbook.

She barely recognized the brunette.

"Careful next time, yeah?" He joked, smiling even though it was painful.

"W--Thanks," She choked, taking her book from his hands.

Shayla had grown used to the silence since his suspension. She had also made good progression with the lab, and she was in no mood to fill him in.

"Yeah, come on, I think I figured out some of the answers in the packet that you left blank."

Shayla followed her partner to their lab station, where Allie stood with her arms crossed.

"You're in my way," Billie snapped as he pushed past the girl he had dissed.

Shayla watched as Allie scoffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder, before returning to her original place.

"Um," She stuttered. "Did I interrupt something?"

"Not at all," Billie spoke as he scribbled down the answers. "Now I figured out what you were missing."

She blinked twice as she stared at the stoner in surprise.

"What?" He chuckled, straightening up as he set the pencil down.

"Nothing," She whispered. "What did you figure out?"

Billie smiled before looking down at their packet. "Well, for starters, you have been looking at the wrong equation..."

After surprising her with his knowledge, Billie began to put their equipment away.

"It was his fault," he said, breaking the silence.

"I know," She replied quietly.

"But I'm the only one that got busted. Doesn't seem too fair."

Shayla sighed. "Billie-"

"Save it. I'm kind of glad I got to beat up on him. What the bastard does to you. Sick." Billie shook his head in disgust, throwing the test tube down onto the counter.

"What? Dave? You think Dave..." She stopped talking as she realized how horrible things could get.

"Well, who else could it possibly be?" He felt his eyebrows fall together in confusion.

"It's not Dave!" She squealed, tugging at her hair. Dave was going to confront her. Her comfortable world was going to fall apart.

"Are you scared?" Billie questioned.

"No! Maybe! Billie, he's going to think I told you something!"

"Does Captain Douche Bag not have eyes? I see the bruises, Shayla," Billie hissed through his teeth.

Before Shayla could stop herself, she reached out and slapped him, hitting his lip.

"Stop insulting him! You know nothing," She hissed back, backing away from him.

Billie felt something cool roll onto his bottom lip. He lightly touched his lip, bringing his hand down in front of him. Blood.

She had busted his lip open.

"Yeah, lets fucking keep it that way," He muttered as he started toward the door.