Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth
CHAPTER ONEAndie rubs her eyes a few more times before realizing this will only make them look redder than they already are. She takes a few deep breaths and fakes a big smile to try and make it look like she hasn't been crying. The small glass window in the door tells her it doesn't work. She sighs. Her mother probably isn't even home. When she walks in, the coatrack shows her she was right. Andie's mother is barely ever home. She has ignored Andie all her life. Lois never wanted a child and she's not ashamed of it. Andie thinks her mother is probably a gold-digger sociopath. Andie walks into her room and over to her closet. She wipes her eyes once more time and decides this is the first and last time she is ever going to cry over that asshole. She scans her closet for something clean to wear but is interrupted by loud screeching tires. She frowns and looks at the window. The screeching happens again but now a little closer. She walks up to the window and looks out into the street. At that very moment a car comes flying around the corner so fast it makes Andie jump. She's not good with cars but she knows that this is a car only douchebags drive. It's looks nice enough, but it almost always compensates for some sort of personality flaw in its driver. Also, the speed might be an indicator on the very same topic. The car takes another risky turn. 'Douchebag,' Andie mumbles to herself. She throws on a Led zeppelin tee and some jeans and decides to start walking to school as it's now getting late. She's exhausted.
As Andie walks onto Hawkins High School parking lot she notices the douchebag-car sitting in the driveway. Just what we need, another fucking asshole kid in school, she thinks to herself. The bell rings and she hurry on to class. The moment she enters the biology classroom her eyes lock with his. It has to be him. Surfer Ken, douchebag edition. Andie grins to herself and sits down in her usual spot, next to Richard. That's when she notices miss Janet staring at her angrily. 'Are you not even going to acknowledge the fact that you are late to my class, miss Mann?' the teacher says with her loud smokers' voice. 'I'm sorry miss Janet my locker was jammed.' Andie quickly makes up. Miss Janet gives her a look and continues with her story. Something about the upcoming Halloween festivities. Andie quickly loses interest and her thoughts go back to the guy sitting behind her. Andie can't deny that he's gorgeous. She wonders what his name is. Could she sneak another peek? No that would look ridiculous, he is sitting right behind her. A loud whisper awakes her from her thoughts. 'Hey, Andie' her friend Samuel sitting in front of her whispers while waving a piece of paper in her face. She grabs the paper. Something is written on it. Hang out tonight with me n Rich? Ps. You look garbage Andie reads. She chuckles, and writes Can't have work on the back. He reads it and shoots an angry look back at her. She shrugs. Whose Tan Ken behind me? She writes on a new note, and she throws it on Sam's desk. After reading the note Sam snorts loudly which makes Andie do the same. Miss Janet shoots her an angry look. 'I'm sorry' Andie says sweetly. Sam waits until miss Janet is back to her lesson before handing the paper back. Tan Ken = Billy from California. Andie reads. That certainly explains the tan. Suddenly she feels a warm breath on her neck and a husky whisper follows. 'You asking about me, sweetheart?' Her heart skips a beat as she quickly crumples up the note and pretends to turn her attention back to miss Janet. She hears him chuckle as he sits back in his seat. Andie closes her eyes regretting her reaction immediately. He's new, it's not that weird she's asking who he is. She should have just said something. She overreacted. The rest of the class consists mostly of Andie pretending to listen to the lesson and being way to aware of every little movement behind her. When the bell rings she bends over to put her books in her bag very slowly. When she gets back up Billy is gone.
'What were you guys laughing about?' Richard asks when the three of them are walking to their next class. 'Tan Ken' Sam says. 'What does that mean?' Rich asks. Andie rolls her eyes. Rich never gets jokes. 'You know, Billy.' Sam explains. Richard makes a sound that says he understands but you can see the gears turning in his head. 'The new guy is hot and has a tan, Rich.' Andie says dryly. 'Ah' Rich mumbles. 'So, what are you guys doing tonight anyway?' Andie asks. Sam has to get his books out of his locker so Andie leans against the lockers next to it. She sees Billy getting his gym bag from his locker. She takes him in head to toe. He's got long blonde curly hair and his jeans are the tightest thing Andie has ever seen. Damn. Everything about him screams confidence. His movements are almost theatrical as he seems to be aware of every step he takes and every look he gives. He says hi to Tina as she walks by, checks out her ass and licks his lips. Andie rolls her eyes. What a tool. Billy slams the locker shut. Andie stares at him shamelessly as he walks away and wonders if her ass looks as good as Billy's. Omg you're doing the same thing he was, idiot. She quickly focusses back on the conversation. Suddenly Nancy seems to have joined the group. 'Thanks for the heads-up, Nancy. See you later.' Rich says to her. She smiles and walks away. Andie frowns as Sam and Rich start walking away too. She quickly catches up. 'Thank God Mister Johansson is sick, I did not have the energy for English today.' Richard says. 'Nice!' Andie exclaims. Sam an Rich give her a confused. They walk past Tina who is now handing out flyers in the hall. Andie walks up to her and grabs a flyer. Tina looks kind of disrupted but quickly goes back to handing them out. 'Guys we gotta go to this thing.' Sam grabs the flyer and frowns. 'Really, a cheerleader party? Have we sunk this low?' Andie grabs the flyer out of his hands. 'I need to get shitfaced. Come on guys, you know this party is going to be crucial and I'm off Halloween night.' She exclaims. Sam grunts. 'Fine I'll go but I'm going to get blackout drunk if I'm going to be surrounded by these all-American shits.' They both look at Richard. 'Come on Rich we need a ride,' Andie says pleading. 'Yea I'll go whatever' Richard says. Andie smiles. 'So, is Johnny-boy joining us?' Sam asks Andie. Andie's face drops immediately. 'Did something happen?' Sam's voice sounds worried. 'We aren't really going out anymore.' Andie says in the most monotone voice she can conjure up. 'Oh, shit dude, you guys broke up?' Richard asks. Andie sighs. 'Well we weren't really together…' Andie starts but Sam interrupts her. 'Did something happen yesterday? You were really excited to go see that band with him.' Andie signs again and throws her hands up. 'Yeah, well, apparently his girlfriend likes them too.' 'You're kidding' Andie shrugs. 'He left with her and I had to walk home. I got home just this morning hence the looking like garbage' Sam shakes his head. 'What a class A douchebag.' Rich mumbles. Andie fakes a smile. 'Well I'm going home and sleep a bit before work, talk to you later.' She turns around just in time to hide her watery eyes and walks out.
It's been a very slow night at Bandito Video video-store and Andie is bored out of her mind. The nap she took gave her a surprising amount of energy, but it's not being put to any good use. Usually around Halloween it's busy but today is the excruciating exception. Andie has turned on the radio and is checking if the tapes are still in alphabetical order. She dances through the rows of tapes and gets a little too carried away singing along to Genesis' That's all when she hears a tapping noise. Her face drops and she turns to face Billy tapping a video tape on the counter with an evil grin on his face. Her face turns completely red. 'Erm... Sorry I didn't know... I didn't hear you come in.' She stutters as she walks towards the counter. WHY did she not hear him come in. She curses the gods. 'Don't worry, kid. It was quite the show,' Andie puts all her energy into faking a smile 'You know how to move, Miss Mann'. She mumbled some sort of thanks. Billy smiles. He's leaning on the counter and his eyes shoot over Andie's body. 'So, you and your boyfriend know all about me, but I know nothing about you.' 'Sam's not my boyfriend' Is all Andie can think of answering. Why does she feel so flustered? 'Good for you.' Billy says. Studying your face with his penetrating blue eyes. 'I figure Mann's your last name?' He says patiently. 'Andie... is my name' What is wrong with her. She needs to get a hold of herself. 'Nice to meet you, Andie.' He says in a low voice, smiling. 'Listen Andie, you're a delight but I've been here a while now and I'd like to take this baby home.' He throws a copy of Sophie's Choice on the counter. He leans forward on the counter and smirks. 'I have a date.' Andie raises her eyebrows, her face finally returning to its normal color. She looks at the tape and back at Billy. He's not shy with the eye contact, but Andie is getting her confidence back now and she lets out a little chuckle. 'I got to warn you Billy, if you're wanting to get to 3rd base – or any sort of base for that matter- you picked the wrong movie.' Billy frowns and leans back. 'I would recommend something a little lighter.' Andie continues. 'Did I ask?' Billy bites at her. Andie frowns. He grabs the tape and throws some cash on the counter. 'Continue your howling.' Billy says before walking out, leaving Andie standing in the store with a stunned look on her face. 'Asshole' Andie mumbles at him.
'I don't know where he gets off acting like that, but the boy has some serious mood-swings.' Andie concludes her re-telling of the events of the night before.' 'So, Lisa is coming tonight.' Andie looks at Sam, raises her eyebrows and looks back at Rich. Speaking of assholes, I guess, she thinks. 'Really?' Rich answers Sam. 'The infamous Lisa...' Sam rolls his eyes. The three of them are sitting at a table in the school library thinking of what to wear to the Halloween party tonight. 'Come on guys, could you at least pretend that you like my girlfriend?' Sam asks. Andie leans forward. 'Would she be willing to go as Viv Savage?' Rich snorts loudly. Sam shoots her an angry look. 'What?' Andie asks as she throws her hands up dramatically. 'What's wrong with Viv Savage?' 'We're not doing Spinal Tap, Andie' Sam says, 'I'm going to go' and he gets up. 'Oh, come on, Sam.' Andie grabs his arm and pulls him back into his seat. 'I was just joking. It'll be fun to see her again. We'll go as something else' She's lying. Lisa is a stuck up jealous girl who hates Andie. And Andie really likes the Spinal Tap idea. 'We're way too late to make anything good anyway. Halloween is tonight.' Sam says. 'Let's just not dress up, Andie, and I really do have to go. Bye guys.' Sam gets up and walks out. 'Did I do something?' Rich asks with a confused look on his face. Andie sighs as she leans back in her chair. 'Sam is in denial. Lisa would make a wonderful Viv Savage.' Billy enters the library, but Andie doesn't notice. 'Can't we just do a two-person Spinal Tap?' Rich asks. Andie smiles. 'That's more like it, dude' She starts singing Hell Hole and Rich joins in.
'Ain't got no future
Ain't got no past
And I don't think….'
Rich sees Billy coming towards them and stops singing. He motions to Andie to stop but she doesn't notice it and keeps going. 'You really just have to stop serenading me sweetheart. It's starting to embarrass me.' Andie nearly falls off her chair. Billy walks out of the library and gives her a wink over his shoulder. She hears him laughing loudly as the doors close behind him. Andie grunts, puts her hands over her face and smacks it down on the table. She yells something incoherent. 'What?' Rich asks carefully. She lifts her face back up 'WHY does this keep happening!' She yells. An angry librarian appears from behind a bookcase. 'Quiet' She hisses. Andie throws her head back on the table. Rich pets her back. 'There, there. It was only slightly mortifying' Andie gets up and straightens her back. 'Okay, change of plans I'm going as a slutty something tonight.' She says. 'That hot guy keeps seeing me on my worst and I have got to do something about it. It's a primal thing. And it needs to happen.' Andie nods, grabs her bag and walks out leaving behind a very confused Rich. 'Slutty Spinal Tap?' He yells after her. The librarian pops her head out again and Rich shoots her an apologetic look before quickly running out too.
That night the cold surprises Andie. She pulls her collar up and walks a little faster than she usually does to warm herself up. When she turns the corner to Richs house she almost bumps into the local chief. 'Careful, kid' He says to her after grabbing her shoulders to avoid collision. 'Sorry' Andie mumbles when he lets her go and she quickly moves on down the street. When she looks back over her shoulder Chief Hopper is still looking at her, but she can't tell his expression. She turns back and makes a frustrated noise. When her father had just died, Andie would try everything to get her mother to just speak to her. But while she wants nothing more than a loving mother, Lois is obviously not capable of it. A couple years after her father's heart-attack, when Andie was eleven, before deciding that trying to get her mother's attention wasn't worth it, she had had a bit of a public meltdown. Usually on her birthday her mother would give her some money and tell her to take her friends to the movies. That year she forgot Andes birthday. If that would happen nowadays Andie would just shrug it off but when you're eleven your birthday is the most important day of the year. She went to school and when her teacher congratulated her she started crying and screaming and would not stop. Chief Hopper was called. He calmed her down and paid for a trip to the movies afterwards. She was just a kid then but Andie to this day feels so embarrassed about it. They haven't really spoken since, but he always looks at her as if it happened yesterday.
'Finally!' Rich yells at her when she walks up his driveway. 'Oh, please, I'm five minutes late.' She says as she gets in the car. She buckles up and looks over her shoulder at Sam and Lisa in the backseat. 'Hey, Lisa, how are ya.' Lisa is dressed as a cat, and Sam is wearing an eyepatch, so he's probably gone for last-minute pirate. Lisa mumbles a 'Hi' back at Andie and looks out the window. Andie turns back and gives Rich a knowing look. Rich shrugs and takes off. 'What are you supposed to be, Rich?' Andie asks him. 'I'm a porn star, obviously.' He has glued on a big moustache and is not wearing a shirt. 'I have a cucumber in my pants.' He adds. Andie laughs. 'Genius. I wish I thought that.' Rich chuckles. 'And you? Did you find a slutty thing to be?' Andie nods her head. 'I felt empty without my pop-culture reference, so I compromised.' She puts on her sunglasses. 'I'm slutty terminator.' She has slicked back her shoulder-length dark-blonde hair and is wearing a leather coat with a lacy bralette underneath and waist-high leather pants. 'Well it's working girl,' Rich says. 'I guess she left her self-respect at home' Lisa says to Sam. Andie turns around again. 'I'm sitting right here, Lisa. And I respect myself plenty thanks for your concern.' 'You look like a prostitute.' 'Excuse me?' 'Come on, Lisa, be nice.' Sam warns her. 'Of course you'd take her side.' Lisa mumbles. Andie turns back around and sighs. Lisa and Sam continue arguing in the back. 'Step on in, Rich, we need to get to the alcohol.' Andie says to Rich. This was promising to be a long night.
Tina's Halloween Bash is already off to a good start when Andie and her friends get there. Andie walks straight to the punch bowl and throws back a cup-full. Damn that's strong. She raises her empty cup to Sam who is walking towards her. 'Sorry about Lisa. Maybe I shouldn't have taken her.' Sam yells over the music. Andie shrugs. 'As long as you keep her at least ten feet away from me at all times we should be fine.' Andie yells back. She smiles at him and he smiles back. He walks back to Lisa. Andie spots Rich talking to some people from the basketball team and scans the crowd for familiar faces. She hears loud shouting coming from outside and then people are chanting Billy's name. Andie frowns. She decides she is not nearly drunk enough for this and fills up her cup again. She walks over to Rich and crosses paths with a very wired looking Billy. He is not wearing a shirt and his chest is glistening with either sweat or beer. Or both. He looks amazing. She joins the conversation with some of the basketball boys but follows Billy with her eyes. He seems to have some sort of stare-down with former king-of-douche Steve Harrington. Andie turns her attention to Rich who is trying to explain to the group that he doesn't have a boner, it's part of the costume. Andie throws her drink back and starts dancing. It's actually a really good party and Andie is having a blast. She talks to some people, has a few more drinks, dances some more and has a few more drinks. She is hanging outside for a bit when Rich says 'Let's dance some more.' She agrees. They walk in the room just in time to see Nancy spill a full cup of punch all over herself. She storms off into the bathroom and Steve goes after her. Andie slurs something incoherent. The booze is hitting her hard. Rich asks what she's saying and Andie yells 'Trouble in paradise' in his ear. He still doesn't understand her, but he just nods, and they start dancing. She doesn't know why but she keeps trying to spot Billy and every time she does he is staring at her from across the room with an unidentifiable look in his eyes. While she feels like she should be uncomfortable because of his shameless staring, she isn't. It turns her on.
The next hour is a bit of a blur of some more knocking back drinks and dancing. For a while Andie gets completely lost in the music, until Rich is dancing up behind her and Andie notices him getting unusually close. She frowns but she is feeling pretty wound up and doesn't make a move to stop him yet. She tries to find Billy in the room while she feels an arm wrapping around her waist pulling her closer. He must be even more wasted than I am. Andie thinks to herself. She is about to push him off her when suddenly she sees Rich on the other side of the room, talking to some girl. A warm panic washes over her. She pulls the arm off her waist and turns around looking straight into Billy's eyes. A wave of an entirely different feeling hits her. He is even more mesmerizing up close. He has a look of concentration on his face. There is something else in his eyes but she can't quite place it. He grabs her hands and puts them around his neck. She complies. He wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her tightly against his naked chest. He's strong. This is way too intimate for a dance with someone you barely know, but it doesn't feel weird. Andie is completely relaxed in his arms. She recognizes the look in his eyes. Lust.
A couple feet away from them Sam is dancing with Lisa. 'I just don't get it. This afternoon she was talking about how much of an asshole he is and now she's dancing with him like they are prom king and queen.' Sam says. 'Sometimes I just really don't understand her.' Lisa stops dancing and pulls his arms off her. 'Really? You are going to talk about her?' She yells at him. Sam sighs. 'I'm just worried about my friend, she's acting out of character.' Lisa makes a frustrated noise and walks outside. Sam follows her yelling apologies.
Andie doesn't notice any of this. She and Billy are grinding up against each other and she feels the heat radiating between them. She moves her face a little closer to his and they are inches away from their lips touching. 'You look fantastic.' He whispers to her with the hoarse voice of a drunk man. She feels his breath on her lips and tilts her head slightly. 'You don't look too bad yourself.' She whispers back. For a moment they are going in for a kiss, but someone bumps into them and Billy gets pulled away immediately by his drunk friends cheering him on to do something beer related. As soon as his warmth leaves her, confusion hits Andie. She feels her head spin and stumbles to the back door for some fresh air.
She sits down on a chair and takes a few deep breaths. She slowly realizes what just happened and at that moment Lisa approaches her. 'You need to stay away from my boyfriend!' She is slurring at Andie while walking straight at her. 'Billy?' Andie mumbles confused. Lisa grabs her by her jacket and pulls her onto her feet. Andie now understands that whatever this is about, it's not a fun conversation. 'What are you doing, Lisa?' She yells while pushing her off. Lisa slaps Andie hard in the face. Andie gasps and starts seeing red. She grabs Lisa by the arm and punches her straight in the face. She falls back but immediately gets back up and jumps onto Andie who falls to the ground. Lisa starts hitting and scratching Andie's face while screaming. Andie pushes her off and on her back. She straddles her and starts punching Lisa in the face over and over until she feels two strong arms around her waist pulling her off. Billy has lifted her off the ground. Sam appears out of nowhere and crouches besides Lisa. Andie is flailing her arms around her, screaming every curse-word she can think of at Lisa. She elbows Billy in the face. His grip slips for a moment but he quickly recovers and pulls her inside. 'Motherfucker!' Andie yells over and over. Billy takes her into the bathroom and lets her go. She lunches at the door, but he pushes her back. She falls on the floor. 'Jesus, calm down Andie,' he says to her, frowning, as he leans against the door. This does not calm her down. 'What the fuck are you doing.' She says her voice trembling with anger still. Billy shushes her. 'You have got to calm down.' He repeats. She grabs the sink and pulls herself up. 'Move' She yells at him. 'Relax, Andie' He says. She goes to punch him, but he blocks her hand and pushes her back again. She stumbles and turns around. She puts her hands on her hips and takes some deep breaths. That fucking bitch. She closes her eyes and bends forward. She stands like that for a while until her breathing returns to normal. 'Jesus Christ' She mumbles as she drops her hands and turns to face Billy. He has crossed his arms and is smiling. 'Is this funny to you?' Andie asks him. She grabs a shampoo bottle and throws it at his face. He dodges it and starts laughing. Andie lets out a chuckle. 'It was sexy.' Billy says when he's done laughing. Andie frowns. 'That's kind of degrading' She mumbles. 'Oh, come on, that was some seriously hot girl-on-girl action. Also, you elbowed me in the face.' He says, moving his hand up to a red spot next to his eye, 'Kind of hot,' he adds, and he gives her a seductive smile. They stare at each other for a bit. He is caressing his lips with his thumb. He looks rest-less. Another moment passes. 'You still angry?' He asks her in a low voice. 'Hell yeah.' She hisses. He walks up to her like a predator to its prey. Andie feels a rush coming over her. Billy grabs her head between his hands and looks her in her eyes. He has the same wild look in his eyes as before and Andie feels her rage mixing with lust. She wants him. 'Billy…' Andie starts but she is cut off by Billy pressing his lips against hers. Her lips sting from Lisa's scratches and Andie resist for a spilt second but then gives in and they start making out frantically. It's a passionate and angry kiss. He tangles a hand in her hair and puts his other arm around her. She puts her hands on his chest and moves them around to his back under his jacket digging his nails into his back. He makes a growling noise and pulls her head back by her hair, breaking the kiss. It hurts but she doesn't care. She grunts. He licks and kisses her throat and then her neck. He lets her hair go and wraps his arms around her pulling her tightly against him. She bites his neck softly, moves her head back and licks his lips. He lifts her off her feet and starts moving towards the door. They kiss again as they crash against the door. She wraps his legs around his waist and he starts grinding against her. She moans into his mouth as she feels his jeans rubbing against her. He grunts softly. They keep going like this for a while until Billy sets her back on the ground and takes a step back. He smiles at her licking his lips and panting and she smiles back at him. At that moment Andie hears Rich calling her name. She closes the distance and gives Billy a slow, deep kiss. She pulls away, and goes to open the door. Billy frowns. He grabs her arm. 'What are you doing?'. He asks with a hoarse voice. Andie frowns. 'Time to go.' She mumbles, and she opens the door. She goes to walk through it, but Billy doesn't let go of her arm. 'Let go.' She warns him. 'We were just getting to the good stuff' He says, licking his lips. He pulls her back, but she resists 'Let go, Billy, you're drunk and you're hurting my arm.' Andie says. He lets go, and she drops to the floor. Suddenly a dizzy spell hits her, and she feels like she is going to pass out. She panics and cries out something incoherent. Billy realizes they're not having fun anymore. He pulls her back on her feet and she pushes him. He frowns and lets her go and she stumbles out the door straight into Rich. 'There you are, are you okay?' He asks her. All the emotions of tonight are starting to take their toll on her. 'Please take me home.' She says. Rich frowns looking passed her at a very strung-out looking Billy. 'Yeah, of course, let's go.'