In a Second

Bill stared at the machine with a blank stare.

"Fucking great." He cursed.

He wasn't sure what to think. Some one who hasn't came around or been in his life is coming to visit. He felt like there was a bigger reason to why she was coming. He knew she didn't really care about him or who's here to take care of him or if he's by himself. She was always up to something.

The only thing that could possibly take his mind off of this subject for a while at least was music. He ran upstairs, to his room and was about to grab the notebook that had his lyrics in when he saw the geometry book lying on his bed.

With a sigh, he went to that first and got it done. When putting it away, he discovered more homework. History homework awaited him in his bag, also. Groaning, he pulled the piece of paper out and finished it.

After finishing both assignments, he was exhausted. Too much going on in one day, he thought. He looked at the clock on his phone; 9:30 pm. It was late enough. He quietly got ready for bed and was out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

~

Buzz, buzz, buzz

Opening one eye, Bill looked around to see what the noise was. He glanced at his phone, saw it lighting up.

Almost tempting to hang up, he hit the answer button.

"Hello?" He mumbled into the phone.

"Bill!" Andi screeched on the other line.

"Hey, Andi."

"Just wondering if you were awake yet." He laughed.

Blinking a little, he finally opened his eyes and sat up. "What time is it?" He asked.

"It's 11. You're just waking up, aren't you?" He could hear the smirk Andi was giving him.

"Ugh," he groaned. "Yes, I forgot to set my alarm last night. Was up doing homework."

"Well you've got an hour to get ready. I'll meet you in the food court around 12:30."

The both said goodbye and hung up. Bill shot up, rushing to get ready.

~

After settling on black skinny jeans and a graphic t-shirt with black boots, Bill was out of the door. He was only able to straighten his hair and tease it a bit with the time he had to get ready, but it worked. He had eyeliner on, but it wasn't thick like he'd liked it to be.

With a quick drive to the mall, he met Andi in the foot courts, already got their food and sat down at a table mainly away from others.

"So how's Central?" Bill asked while taking a bit of his surroundings. To the left of his seat was the food court and where most of the people were. To his right was the movie theater. People were constantly coming in and out. Families, friends, couples, everyone. Straight in front of him was basically the mall. That's where are the stores started, with a couple of jewelry stores. Behind him was the doors and arcade room.

"It's okay, I guess. A few more cops there on a daily basis thank yours. You still got one, yeah?"

Bill nodded.

"Yeah, there's a few more fights going on and stuff. There’s more violence, too. That's really why there's like, three cops. But not much different." He shrugged.

Bill glanced around. This was getting a bit awkward. They haven't really been around each other in quite some time nor really kept in touch, so they really didn't have anything to talk about.

So obviously, Andreas had to ask this question,

"So, dating anyone?"

Bill looked down at his food. "Nope."

Andi gave him a look. "Why not?! Why wouldn't anyone want you? You're gorgeous!"

Bill shrugged. "I guess I'm repulsive to people? I don't know! It's not exactly my choice, but whatever."

He heard his name being called. At first, he thought it was Andi just saying his name, but then he heard it again, but louder and closer. He looked around until spotted a dread-head. He waved him over.

"Hey, Tom!" He smiled at him.

"Oh." Andi said in a knowing tone. Bill turned and glared at him, meaning "don't say something stupid".

"Hey, Bill. I forgot you were gonna be here." Tom laughed.

"Yeah, just sitting here talking to Andi. Andi, this Tom. Tom, Andi." They exchanged a small hello.

"Sit down with us," Bill offered and Tom sat.

"So are you too good friends?" Andi questioned while taking a fry and eating it.

"Well, we're friends. Tom's new, so I've only known him for a few days."

"Where are you from? You sound sort of like Bill..." Tom nodded.

"Yeah, I'm from Germany, too."

"What part? Maybe you're from the same area and not even know it!" Bill realized he didn't ask him what part he was from.

"I'm from Leipzig, what about you Bill?" Tom asked.

"I'm from Magdeburg!" Bill laughed. So they weren't from the same place but it was pretty close, but it was still awesome to find someone from the same country.

Andreas stood up and cleared his throat.

"Well, I'll be back. Gotta run to the restroom."

"We'll be here," Bill smiled at him.

For a second, Bill thought Andi did this on purpose. He was pretty good at reading people and probably picked up on it pretty quickly. Andi was always a good friend when he needed one, but just became too annoying at times to handle. There were times Bill missed Andi and there was times he was glad he didn't hang around him like he used to.

"So how's today going so far?" Tom smiled.

"It's been going well, actually," He shrugged. "He had to call and wake me up or I'd probably just be waking up right now." They laughed.

"Late sleeper, huh?"

Bill nodded. "All the time. But it's been going good. I think all I needed was a break." Bill laughed. "Oh, he's coming back. I said nothing."

"My lips are sealed." They both started laughing more. Trying to keep it under control, their faces were starting to turn red.

"What's so funny?" Andi asked as he took his seat again. Trying to calm down, they both shook their heads, telling him it was "nothing".

"Hey, you guys want to go to the arcade?" Andi asked, staring at the room full of games and prizes. Bill turned around and saw there weren’t that many people in there. He was game.

"No shit! Fucking hell, I'm excited now." Bill squealed. Tom smiled at him.

While Tom and Andi walked, Bill was one step away from skipping to the arcade room.

Bill walked in and looked around in awe. The semi-dark room was filled with flashing lights and different sounds of the many different games, talking you into playing them. Bill quickly dug into his pocket and pulled out a ten dollar bill. He shoved it into the coin dispenser and grabbed his tokens and ran off.

After Andreas and Tom got their tokens, they went off to find Bill. They found him at a game with guns.

"Andi let's shoot people!" Bill urged.

"Woah, Bill! I didn't know you were so violent!" He laughed as they put in their tokens. Tom stood on Bill's side to watch them play.

"Dude, how do you play this?!" Bill laughed. He was having so much fun and with friends.

"You aim for the guys in blue! See where I'm shooting?" Andi shouted to him over the sounds.

"I'm trying! I don't know how to aim these damn things!"

"Just point it towards the- here, let me help you." Before Bill knew it, Tom's arms were around him and his hands were on his, guiding them to where he was supposed to aim. At first, his breath got caught in his throat, but he quickly gathered himself mentally and got back to the game.

"Yes!" Bill shouted and high-fived Andi and Tom, as they defeated the game. Bill got a look from Andi, meaning a "we need to talk", Bill only rolled his eyes. He looked at Tom and the smiled at each other.

"Next game!" Andi shouted.

By the time they were out of their combined tokens, it was about four o'clock as they left the room with a bunch of silly little prizes.

"That was so much fun, I haven't had that in the longest time," Bill sighed as they sat down at the same table they were at earlier in the food court.

"I hear you. I don't think we even had this much fun, Bill." Andi joked. Bill laughed along. Well, it is true.

"So what do you wanna do now?" Bill asked.

"Can we go to the toy store?!" Andi nearly shouted. This was the annoying side of Andi coming out.

Bill looked at Tom, who shrugged.

Bill shrugged, too. "Toy store it is."

After about an hour in there, they decided to go to the movies and then head out. They decided to see the latest comedy because of the mood they were all in.

All throughout the movie, Bill kept thinking back to when Tom had his arms around him. It literally stopped his breathing and he had to force himself back. He wanted it to happen again so badly. He knew it meant nothing, though. Tom was only trying to help them win the game and that was the only thing he could've done besides push Bill out of the way and take control. It was just a nice gesture, that's all.

After the movie was over, they all started heading to their cars. Except for Tom.

"Hey Tom, did you walk here?" Bill asked as he unlocked his car.

"Yeah. I wanted to get out of the house and knew where the mall was, so I just walked here." He shrugged while digging his hands deep into the pockets of his jacket.

"Dude, it's 50 below zero out here! How'd you manage that?!" He got into the car and started it up. He felt a vibration in his pocket. He grabbed his phone and saw a text from Andi saying "we need to talk". Bill rolled his eyes and placed his phone in a cup holder in his car.

"Not having a car? I don't know. It didn't really bother me." Bill could literally see Tom trying his best to not let his teeth chatter.

"Get the fuck in this vehicle. Dear lord, you'll die of hypothermia and I don't want to feel guilty for it." He pointed to the passenger seat, smirking.

"Ah, dude. I'm so glad you said that, ugh." He quickly jumped into the car. Bill turned the heat up because they both were frozen. The snow started to fall lightly. He started to leave the parking lot, driving cautiously. He always hated driving in the snow and probably always will. He just felt uneasy all the time.

"So what did you think of Andreas?" Bill asked Tom, while focusing on the road.

Tom chucked a bit. "He's a character."

"That's Andi." They laughed.

The drive was silent as Tom kept quiet and Bill concentrated on the road as the snow fall got a bit heavier.

By the time they got to Tom's house, it was pretty heavy. Tom's mother was at the door, making her way to Bill in the car.

"I bet my mom's coming out here to tell you you're not driving home in this snow," Tom opened the door and she poked her head in.

"Bill, I don't want you driving home in this snow. You should stay here with us." She told him sternly, in German. Tom smirked at Bill, but Bill ignored it.

"But I-" He started, but she quickly cut him off.

"No butts. You're staying here. You can call your parents later; just get both of your behinds inside!"

Bill grabbed his bag and locking the doors; he got out of the car and headed inside.

Tonight was going to be fun.