Maddie's POV

As soon as Billy left my room, I quickly shut the door and stood in front of the mirror. Damn. Even with my eyes half-closed from still being half-asleep, I could clearly see that my cheeks were still quite flushed because of the damned dream I had just had. With him. I just hoped I hadn't said his name out loud while he was there, or I'd be terribly screwed, torturing myself forever over it. More damn it.

"Madeleine! You have 15 minutes or you're walking!" Billy's shouts from the end of the hallway reached my room, snapping me back to reality.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" I replied, opening the door, but Billy didn't respond. I didn't see him either, he must have already been outside. I was surprised to be met with silence instead of one of his absurd comebacks or his threatening glare. I chose not to insist on knowing where he was, since it seemed that morning could be somewhat peaceful, so it was best to take advantage before he snapped. Before going to the bathroom, I changed my underwear and quickly dressed in a black long-sleeved sheer top and high-waisted jeans, not without first adorning my neck and fingers with silver jewelry.

Once ready, I went to the bathroom to splash some water on my face, put on some makeup, and fix my hair a bit. As I was adjusting my hair and waking up more, flashes of images flooded my mind, making my eyes widen. At that moment, I realized why Billy had left my room without a word: he was hiding a massive erection behind the pillow. I couldn't help it, and remembering the image, I started giggling. I couldn't believe that my dear stepbrother, the so-selective Billy Hargrove, that blue-eyed blonde who hated me so much, had gotten aroused watching me dream. The situation was so utterly ridiculous that I couldn't stop laughing.

"What the hell are you doing, Maddie?" Billy's voice startled me. "Apart from wasting time, no matter how much you insist, even if you dress up a monkey in silk, it's still a monkey..." he said mockingly.

"N-Nothing..." I instantly covered my mouth to hide my laughter.

"Are you laughing to yourself?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning one shoulder against the doorframe. "I really thought that day would come much later. But it will be a pleasure to commit you to a psychiatric hospital and finally get rid of you." he said with an ironic smile.

"Yeah, sure..." I whispered, calming the racing heartbeat caused by my internal laughter.

"What did you say? You know we both want to get rid of each other, better if you disappear first." he replied angrily, but as soon as I looked into his eyes, I could see a hint of unease. This confirmed that my vision from this morning was real. "Hurry up." he quickly changed the subject but kept his distance.

"I just need to get my backpack and grab the coffee to go." I bit my lower lip as another smile threatened to escape, seeing that, for once, Billy was showing some weakness. "I'm coming." I approached him to push him aside so he would let me out of the bathroom.

"You have five minutes, not a second more. Otherwise, you're going by bike." he muttered, walking ahead of me down the hallway without even looking at me.

"If you stop getting in my way, maybe I'll hurry up." I murmured, already a bit annoyed. It was clear that the calm wasn't going to last long, he was starting to be himself again.

Billy didn't respond, just let out some kind of grunt before pulling out his pack of cigarettes and heading outside. On the way to my room to grab my backpack, I saw that Max's was empty, so she was probably already outside. I didn't like leaving Max alone with Billy for too long, so I didn't waste any more time. I grabbed my backpack and quickly went to get my coffee, then headed out towards the car where my two siblings were already waiting for me.

I smiled at Max before getting into the car, taking the passenger seat. We drove in silence the whole way, with only the sound of Iron Maiden's cassette playing from Billy's player. I was dying to make fun of him for what had happened this morning. But as I calmed down and thought about it rationally, I realized that might backfire. After all, he had also seen me having a wet dream, which put me in a bad position and he could retaliate. It was probably better to keep quiet, for now.

We arrived at the high school, and I said goodbye to Max before she headed to the middle school. I could see those boys watching her again from the door as she approached the building.

I turned and saw Billy clenching his jaw and fists. "Do you plan on stopping being an idiot at some point?" I said, snatching the cigarette pack from him to distract his attention from Max.

"And do you plan on stopping stealing my cigarettes?" He took the pack from my hands, but I had been quick enough to snag one.

"They taste better than mine, honestly." I laughed, winking at him before getting serious again. "Understand one thing, Billy: before you lay a hand on Max or threaten her in any way, you'll have to go through my dead body, got it?"

"You're so dramatic sometimes, Madeleine." he said mockingly, then stepped in front of me and looked me in the eyes with coldness. "I won't do anything that's not strictly necessary. But if she causes problems at home, I won't hesitate to take measures. After all, she's your sister, she'll end up like you."

"Max is not like me. Luckily." I said, lighting the cigarette. "So leave her alone and let her have fun like any kid her age." I took a deep drag and blew the smoke in Billy's face. "I'm not going to let you ruin her pre-adolescence like you ruined mine." I added, poking him in the chest with my index finger. "Do whatever you want to me, I'm not a doll and I know how to defend myself. But forget about her." I finished and turned to head into the school.

"Stop playing the saint for once." he said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me back until the distance between us closed.

"I'm just stating the facts, William." I confronted him, frowning and pressing my chest against his, never breaking eye contact. "I've been screwed since the day you became my brother, and I won't let you break Max too."

"You're stupid if you think you're the only one screwed up and broken because of all this, Madeleine. Your arrival also messed up my life, remember that." he swallowed hard, and due to our closeness, I could feel his heartbeat quickening against my chest. "It screwed it up even more than it already was."

"Great, let's leave it at that then. You annoy me, and I annoy you, just like we've been doing for the past few years. But Maxine stays out of it. Now, let me go." I said, trying to sound calm and firm, though I also noticed my heartbeat quickening with nervousness.

"Stay away from me all day." he finally let go of my hand and stepped back.

"That's what I'm trying to do, but you won't let me!" I growled, watching him walk away.

That blonde really drove me crazy. I don't know what kind of black magic clouded my mind last night to have that stupid dream. He was annoying, arrogant, and overbearing; not in a million years would I touch him, even if they paid me all the money in the world. As I finished the cigarette, I tried to erase the dream and the image of Billy naked next to me from my mind.

"Do you really want to erase that image? Is that what you really want?"

I shook my head vigorously, flicked the cigarette butt away, and went to my locker, ignoring the guys trying to get my attention. As I grabbed my books and closed the small locker, a silly laugh pulled me out of my thoughts: Tina.

She was acting like a teenage girl with Billy, surrounded by her friends. That stupid girl had ruined my night just to get my stepbrother's attention. On top of leaving me without any action, she managed to get Billy to smash the poor guy's face. I had a bad feeling about her from the start, but this wasn't going to end here. I grabbed the strap of my backpack tightly, ready to confront her.

"Seriously, did your brother break Chad's nose?" Steve stepped in front of me, interrupting my intentions.

"Well, hello, Harrington," I said with some annoyance. "I assume Chad is the tall, blonde, green-eyed guy I was with last night, right?"

"That's him." he said, looking serious.

"Well, yes. It was my idiot brother." I huffed. "Do you want something else?" I asked, irritated.

"Are you really so arrogant and self-centered that you don't care if your brother breaks a guy's nose because of you?" He put his hands on his hips.

"Look, handsome." I crossed my arms over my chest. "First of all, it's not my fault that my brother is a brainless orangutan."

"Well, maybe..." I saw him relax a bit.

"Second, no, I don't actually care. I was planning to apologize to him, but I haven't seen him around yet."I replied, annoyed.

"Because he hasn't come..." he murmured.

"Ah... Is he okay?" I asked, a bit calmer.

"Yeah, just that he's been advised to rest until Monday."

"Then I'll look for him on Monday." I whispered. "Anyway, did you need anything else, or did you just come to insult me?" I added impassively.

"Maddie..." was all he managed to say.

I noticed he seemed somewhat upset.

"Well, in that case, I'll take my arrogance and self-centeredness to class. See you." He was about to respond, but I left him hanging.

I went to class and sat at the back of the room, far away from Billy. Tina spent the first few hours of class kissing up to him; it was pathetic because it was clear he was just using her until he found something better to entertain himself with. Besides, the idiot kept throwing glances my way, and I was convinced he did it to let me know he could be with any girl in front of me while I'd better not be with any guy in front of him.

Another thing that caught my attention during the morning was that Steve avoided Nancy all day, and she spent hours talking to that brown-haired guy with dark circles under his eyes. I finally learned his name: Jonathan Byers. From what I gathered, his brother had disappeared last year and then came back "from the dead." It made me think I might have to eat my words about nothing happening in this town.

By the end of the day, I had a free period but zero desire to study, so I decided to take a walk around the school. As I passed by the basketball pavilion, where the team was practicing, I saw Steve walking back inside with a grim expression. I looked in the direction he came from and saw Nancy in a small alleyway, looking a bit shaken. I couldn't help it, and curiosity got the best of me, so I ran after Steve.

"Steve!" I yelled to get his attention as I approached him. "Steve, wait!" I finally got him to stop.

"Is something wrong?" He looked at me, confused, when I reached his side.

"Are you okay? This is the second time in less than twenty-four hours I've seen you storming off," I grimaced. "If it's about Wheeler, I don't think..."

"Are you really going to pretend that you care about what happens to me?" He interrupted.

"Are you seriously going to keep talking to me like this every time I try to care about you? Go to hell, Harrington." I rolled my eyes and began walking briskly.

"Wait!" After a few seconds, I heard his voice following me. "Sorry, Maddie, I'm just having a bad day... I have to practice now, or my teammates will kill me. Can we talk later?"

"Fine." I said, trying to calm down. He smiled at me before heading toward the gym.

For some reason, I found it hard to stay mad at him. I think it was because he was the first guy who didn't seem interested in sleeping with me. In fact, he was genuinely nice to me on the first day of school and didn't look at me with that lecherous gaze I was used to from men. He was also the first guy ever to stand up for me when he saw Billy arguing with me. And maybe, as a defense mechanism, maybe because I'm an idiot, or probably out of fear that Billy would do something to him, I made sure I came off as unpleasant from the first day. So I guess I deserved all the bad responses I'd gotten from him these days.

"Harrington!" I ran back to him, just as he was in front of the door.

"Mayfield, I have to practice now. I've already told you."

"Supposedly, the practices are open to students, right?" I asked with a smile at the corner of my lips.

"Yeah. I didn't think you were into basketball." He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Basketball, no, but athletic guys, yes." I laughed, winking at him.

"Really, Maddie? Is that why?" He snorted, narrowing his eyes as he entered the gym.

"Partly." I laughed, walking alongside him into the gym. "But a girl should be able to watch someone who offered to be her friend, right?" I smiled as our eyes met.

"Well, this is unexpected. The bad girl turns out to have feelings and wants to be friends with the good guy." He chuckled mockingly as we continued walking.

"Well, well. Don't get too excited, don't get ahead of yourself." I elbowed him and saw him trying to hide a smile. "I just... I'd just like to try and take your word..." I put my hands in my back pockets; trying to be friends with a guy was something I was really bad at.

"If that's your way of apologizing for almost spitting in my face on the first day..." He stopped and looked at me seriously. "I accept it."

"Let's pretend it never happened." He smiled and I saw that he intended to give me a hug.

"Sounds good." I stopped his steps and, instead of letting him hug me, I shook his hand. He looked a bit puzzled. "You should go play, your teammates look a bit nervous. We'll talk later." I smiled nervously.

"Oh... yeah, sure. See you later." He released my hand, still somewhat confused, and joined his team. I sat on one of the bleachers to watch the practice.

It might have seemed contradictory that I didn't let a guy hug me when I had never turned down a man's closeness before. But, as I talked with Steve, I noticed Billy watching us. If Steve had hugged me, I could only imagine what would have happened. After making up, I couldn't be rude to him again, so I figured that shaking his hand was the least damaging option for everyone involved.

It might have seemed strange for me, and it probably was, given that I had rarely been empathetic. Sometimes, a person just gives off a sense of trust from the very beginning. I'd only experienced that with my two best friends back in California, but there was something about Steve that made me feel comfortable. For some reason, he made me feel like I didn't have to be on guard all the time or defensive.

I know my temperament makes it difficult to be friends with me, especially if I'm only here for one school year. Despite my bad temper, I didn't like being without friends, and mine were miles away. I didn't want Billy to ruin it for me, like he ruins everything else. And precisely for that reason, I wanted to tread carefully with Steve, as he might be the only friend I'd make this year.