Cheaters = Losers

Lazy mornings were always my favourite type of mornings, and that particular morning was perfect. The soft sounds of The Beatles' I'll Follow The Sun was floating through my old stereo and the smile filtered onto my face immediately. Memories of being a teenager, listening to music from before my mother was born and falling uncontrollably in love with it, that was even before I found Green Day. Unlike the usual groggy feeling I was hit with when I woke up, it felt like there was a bubble in my chest, I was so happy. Everything felt great, old records in the familiarity of my room, the smooth heat from the body next to me, looking up and as my vision cleared seeing the black fluff swim into view. Just looking at Billie sleeping made we want to kiss him and hug him and keep him close, his cheeks were still a little flushed, hair well and truly messed up, sticking out everywhere, there was a sleepy smile on his face and his arm was still wrapped around me, keeping me pressed against the patterns on his chest. Even the realisation that I was naked didn't bother me. Fuck it, I thought, it's nothing he's not seen.

It dawned on me, as I laid there, slowly stretching while trying not to disturb Billie, that for the first time in my recent memory I was completely and totally happy. I was at home, in complete comfort and right beside me was the love of my life, it was still early days for Billie and I but we had been going strong since we met months ago and I had been fantasising about him years before that. I decided that everything could wait right then, the world could stop turning and I couldn't care less, I was so damn happy that nothing was worth getting up.

"Y'know, I can feel you staring at me," Billie's chest rumbled as he spoke, his voice was gruff with sleep and slightly rasped from the night before. I could have wake up next to him a thousand times and I would still melt like a teenage fangirl when he spoke, hell, when he did anything.
"Stop being so perfect then," I shrugged, tracing patterns lazily across his bare skin.
"You need your fucking glasses, girl," he chucked darkly, and I kissed his jaw in response, uttering a my disagreement under my breath. His hands were running across my back, it was a strange new sensation because so far every time Billie had come anywhere near making contact with me, there was some kind of electric storm and neither of us could control ourselves and we'd either end up fucking or in an intense make out session, but right then there was nothing sexual about it. I closed my eyes and sighed softly into his touch.

"Ew! You're naked!" Billie's voice was shrill and imitating a female.
"So are you, spanner," I muttered, ignoring his childishness to relish in the moment a little longer. Until Billie began to bloody giggle like an actual girl and lifted the covers up shyly to check, playing coy. I slapped his chest halfheartedly, a small laugh escaping me anyway.
"You ruin everything," I shook my head at him lightly and he just grinned at me. I slid out of bed and got up, searching around.
"Nice ass," I could hear the smirk in Billie's voice as I pulled on a clean pair of underwear, flipping him the V casually as I dug around in his pile of stuff that had been unceremoniously dumped in my room. Finding what I was looking for I pulled the soft fabric of his favourite Ramones shirt over my head. He'd worn it a few times which is exactly what I wanted - it smelt just like him.
"Hey! That's my favourite shirt," he said indignantly.
"Get up earlier then, you lazy ass," I shrugged nonchalantly. Billie then slid out of the bed and slipped on a pair of boxers as he padded over to me. I found a pair of pyjama shorts and stood in the mirror, examining my new look. "Looks better on me anyway," I said as he snuck up very obviously behind me. His bare arms wrapped around my waist.

I stared at us in the mirror. His head was on my shoulder, nose in my hair a little. I saw how our features contrasted each other's, with my light blonde hair and Billie's jet black fluff, his hazel-green eyes were searching my grey ones, my pale arms resting on his brightly coloured ones, fingers intertwined. I didn't care how self-centred I sounded, because all couples do it secretly, but right then I couldn't think of anything other than the fact that we looked amazing together.
"What are you thinking?" He murmured in my hair, I pushed against his back in appreciation, loving how in sync we were. "Your hair smells good," he added. I shrugged, a little embarrassed by my thoughts.
"What're you thinking?" I countered instead.
"That we're probably the hottest couple on the planet," I laughed and felt the heat creeping up my skin that he had hit the nail on the head.
"You were thinking it too!" He shrieked gleefully.
"I was not!" I snapped indignantly, my pride instantly stopping me and my arms automatically crossed across my chest.
"You so were, I know you were," he smirked and poked my sides. "It's okay, y'know, to think the truth," his grin only widened and I playfully knocked him on the head. He pulled a silly face and I leaned in and pecked his pursed lips.
"We're so cute," I agreed.
"'course we fucking are," he slung his arm around my shoulders and we headed downstairs to join the family.

We were just heading down the stairs when I got the fright of my life. Chris had jumped down, seemingly from nowhere.
"Bloody hell! Chris!" I gasped and hit her arm, Chris just cackled to herself. "You're so weird, what are you even doing?" I stared at the young woman in front of me who was clutching a notepad and her precious Swear Pot. I was immediately suspicious of her, she could be the sweetest thing but also devilishly evil, as she liked to say, a Slytherin and proud.
"How was the reunion? Did you have a good night?" The wicked grin stretched up to her eyes.
"'S'alright," I grumbled.
"It sounded so,"
"Are you on something?"
"Nope,"
"Great, then move because I want breakfast," I tried to shove past her, but the waif held fast. "Chris," I growled, then noticed that she was eyeing Billie. Sighing, at her grin, I gave up.
"Fine, spit it out Chrysanthemum,"
"Fuck off," she scowled at her name. "Anyway," she grinned, finally looking at her notebook, "You owe £583.50 in the swear pot," she most definitely cackled and hopped down the stairs, leaving me and Billie in shock.
"What the fuck?" He murmured, staring at the spot where my whirlwind of a little sister was. I blinked slowly for a few seconds as the cogs turned in my brain, and I swear you could hear the penny drop as it dawned on me and I burst out laughing.

Poor Billie looked more than a little bewildered at the hyena in front of him where his girlfriend used to be.
"Oh- oh my god she heard us!" I managed to force out between deep guffaws. Billie blinked his widened eyes at me deadpan. "She, she heard us last night!" I cried, collapsing into his chest where he caught me with ease. "Oh my god the sick little fuck heard us and listened and counted every swear word!" My eyes were tearing up and I wasn't exactly sure why. I probably should have been mortified at the thought that my little sister had heard me having sex with one of her idols, but I just thought it was hilarious that she had indeed heard us and instead of being embarrassed she just used it as a business opportunity.

The next morning I was woken up by Chris screaming, jerking me awake and causing me to stare around blearily.
"Wha-?" I managed before she was in my room, completely oblivious to the fact that I was sprawled across Billie's naked chest as she jumped on the bed.
"Lily!"
"What!?"
"Look outside! Look!" She was bouncing up and down and dragging me across the room. I shoved my glasses on hastily.
"Hey! Billie could be naked!" I snapped. Chris cast an eye over the figure of my boyfriend, who was not naked but had the sheets pooled around his waist, his bare chest on display, she raised an eyebrow and shrugged. I slapped her upside the head and pointed at Billie, who was watching our interaction quietly with a vague smile, as using.
"Mine," I grumbled warningly. I dragged my feet lazily as I followed her, thankful that I had crashed in one of Billie's shirts again and it was big enough to cover everything. "Alright, Squirt, what am I looking at?" I asked disinterestedly, parting the blinds with my fingers and peering out to see nothing.
"On the drive!" I could feel the energy humming off her and it was kind of terrifying, so I cast my gaze down and gasped at what I saw. There, right on the drive outside of my house was a very big ice cream van with a big, black bow on it.
"Oh my god," I said softly. Chris seemed to explode as she flailed around in front of me and shouted something illegible. "How much have you had today?" I asked the slightly shaking figure in front of me.
"I don't know, six, seven cones maybe. I've gotta go get more now, bye!" And just like that the little whirlwind blazed out of my room.

I collapsed sleepily back down on the bed.
"I was not ready for that," I felt the bed shift a little with Billie's soft chuckle. "Ya think?"
"You bought her an ice cream van?" I stared up at him, a little bit in awe, Billie shrugged bashfully and I could feel him getting a little embarrassed.
"Yeah well, now the dept is payed off and she's out of our way," Billie made it very easy to forget he was rich. He was so genuine and real, he was grounded an sensible and while he had nice things, and everything he needed at his home in Oakland, nothing was of extremity enough to say that he was a very well off rockstar, until he did 'simple' things that a normal person would never be able to imagine. Such as buying a corrupt little sister with an addiction an entire van full of ice cream.

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We had two weeks left before we were due to return to California, and Billie was determined to make the most of it. He took me out almost every day, and in Jimmy's words, everything was nauseatingly adorable. We went on evening strolls hand in hand around St James' park, sitting on the benches and feeding the squirrels and watching the world moving past us. We went to the markets in Camden and every time I paused to look at something Billie insisted on buying it for me, simply refusing to hear me when I told him it was too much. We went on the bus tour and took embarrassing selfies at all the famous landmarks that we'd already been to.

One evening Chris presented me with a fancy bag from one of the more upscale shops on Oxford Street, and helped me into a stunning backless vintage-style red dress, complete with black heels and a stunning necklace. Billie met me at the bottom of the stairs, wearing his signature jeans, but had on a black shirt and grey blazer and a rose in his hand.
"Billie," I had gasped as he escorted me into a very nice restaurant. It was fancy, but not so much that we couldn't have a good time, there was a friendly atmosphere and good music, and excellent food.
"We're going on that date," he smiled softly "The one we never finished at the beach," that night was one of the best nights of my life. Billie was being such a gentleman, holding my hand softly across the table, showering me with compliments, refusing to even let me look at the prices. We actually managed to talk for once without jumping each other, and I was learning that as well as good music taste and a fuck ton of sexual tension, we had quite a lot in common despite our polar opposite lives growing up. At the end of the night we walked all the way home, swinging our hands like children, stopping at my porch before entering back into family life.
"Billie?"
"Yeah?" I pulled him gently by his collar and kissed him.
"Thank you so much for tonight," his arms encircled my waist, keeping us close together
"It was very much my pleasure," he grinned and kissed me again.

The next morning Billie was up and dressed and dragging me with him.
"Now what?" I asked but he just shook his head. He took me to the train station and kept me distracted for the entire journey with idol chit-chat and kisses, until we pulled up in a very familiar station.
"Liverpool?" I stared at him in shock, in response he shrugged at me with a boyish smile and tugged me along. I showed him where my old university was before we took a walk around Albert Docks, Billie was fast falling in love with the industrial harbour and I was remembering how much I adored this city. He surprised me by producing two tickets for the Magical Mystery Tour, I had been on it before when I first moved to Liverpool, but not since and the grin on Billie's face only widened when I squealed and wrapped my arms around his neck. Once the tour was finished we spent an incredibly long time in the Cavern Club, drinking and listening to old English rock music. Billie surprised me again by insisting on dragging me up and dancing with the old couples, and for once I didn't even care if people were watching us because I was so absorbed in the perfection in front of me. We crashed in a hotel on the Docks that night before going around the Beatles Museum and heading back into London the next day.

After that Chris had demanded my attention and Billie had found some music convention he wanted to go to, so he travelled up to Birmingham for a few days for that while I stayed in London. I didn't mind because it gave me a chance to reconnect with my family. Mum and I went shopping, although I didn't really get anything, and Dad and I had found a rock gig by some small band at the local club, it was like before I had left and it felt so good to be back with them. Growing up, no matter how much I hated my sheltered life, I had always been incredibly close to my family. We did everything together and we told each other everything, being back with them settled something in my chest that I hadn't even noticed was wrong. I also spent a while reconnecting with Chris, who was entirely different to the one I'd left behind.

We had stayed up until gone midnight one night, gossiping about everything from my friends in CA to her friends at the Art College to Billie, all while playing Mario Kart on the ancient Wii that was still set up in her room.
"So, what about you?"
"What about me?" She shrugged
"Are you still with that David bloke?" I asked. Before I left Chris had been seeing some model called David, and they had seemed to be going pretty strong, however apparently I wasn't at the top of her mailing list because we had barely spoke since I moved away. Clearly something I had said was funny, because she suddenly burst out laughing, triggering me to do the same as I shoved her playfully.
"Tell me!" I demanded, tickling her sides as she shrieked, kicking at me as hard as she could.
"We broke up ages ago Lily!" She cackled, I didn't really get what was so funny, and I told her so.
"Oh my God you really have missed loads," she pointed out. "Anyway, no, I'm seeing someone else know. I thought we could go for Lunch together tomorrow with Billie?" Agreeing, we crashed in the same bed like we used to do when we were younger. I had forgotten how close I was with Chris.

The lunch was interesting to say the least, Chris had been incredibly vague about her new mystery man and I was secretly hoping she'd got her hands on the likes of Thomas Brodie-Sangster, however I received a bit of a shock when Billie and I found our way through the crowds at Pizza Express to see Chris with her arm around another girl.
"Oh," was just about all I managed. The girl stood up, she was thickly built and about average height, with a very round, smiley face with warm eyes and a mane of frizzy, bright orange hair. She was wearing a myriad of bright colours and seemed to be radiating sunshine.
"Hi! I'm Katie! You must be Lily and Billie! It's so nice to meet you!" She chirped, engulfing the pair of us in hug immediately. She smelt like washing powder and sweets, and there was something undeniably comforting about her. The lunch passed quickly, I immediately took to Katie and the happiness on my sister's face was evident. We then parted ways as Billie and I headed back home to pack, our plane home was the next day.

Billie had wandered off to pester my dad about something when Chris approached me in my room.
"Alright, Trouble," I grinned as she plonked herself on my bed.
"So, Katie huh?" Chris grinned wickedly.
"Told you I was trying something,"
"Yeah, you sneaky shit, but seriously though, I think you two are great together," I let her know, but the beam barely flickered across her face.
"Hey, is everything okay?" Chris looked down and sniffed slightly.
"You're going again," for the first time I felt a cold bolt. Leaving was different this time, last time I had been so desperate to flee to freedom that I didn't stop to think about the consequences. Now I was here I could see what I was leaving and I felt myself tear in two. Chris looked up at me with eyes swimming.
"Please don't go again," she said quietly.
"What?"
"Please, you don't know what it was like without you," the tears were starting to roll down her full cheeks, and I could almost hear myself tearing apart.
"Chris, please,"
"No! Lily you don't get it. You can't go!"
"Chrissie, my life is there. With Billie and Jimmy and the guys," Chris had turned her back to me and she was refusing to look at me as she spoke.

"You didn't see Mum,"
"Mum?"
"She cried for days, Lily. Nothing could stop her, not me, not Dad. Even freaking Eddie came around and that didn't work,"
"Oh,"
"We couldn't do anything for months. If it reminded her of you she'd go off on one, Dad had to cook!" That wasn't funny. Mum lived for the kitchen, if she wasn't busy cooking something she was reading cookbooks or watching those TV shows.
"It was hard for us too, Dad went really quiet. He would barely even look at me,"
"Chris, I didn't know," I said softly
"And me," she continued. "I didn't know how to cope, Mum and Dad were acting as if you'd died, I went from having my sister and best friend right by me to the other side of the world with no notice and no idea if I'd see you again. I missed you so much too. Nobody else wants to stay up till past midnight discussing the worlds problems over s'mores with me, no one else gives the best hugs like you do, there's not another person on the planet like you, Lils, because you're my big sister. You're my hero and my best friend and my counsellor,"
I pulled her into a bear hug and tried not to let my own tears fall as I held my sobbing sister as close as I could. My heart felt absolutely crushed, I had left in a whirlwind of freedom and new opportunities, thinking there was nothing left for me in England. I hadn't even thought about the potentially devastating effect on my loved ones, or how my sudden departure would effect them. Suddenly, the thought of leaving was making me feel sick.

Chris has gone to bed shortly after and Billie had returned from harassing my Dad about something. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight and all I could feel was my system crashing as I realised I couldn't live without him, but I also couldn't leave my family.
"Ready to pack?" There was a very big smile in his question and his eyes were shining.
"Lily? Are you okay?" He stilled as soon as he sensed I wasn't.
"Billie," I breathed. I could feel him tense up and he stepped away, holding me at arms length so he could desperately search my eyes.

"I don't know if I can go back to America,"