Isn't it weird to be with someone and pretend like you aren't? I mean- Billie and I were technically together now. But nothing changed.

We was sat with Mike and Tre. Mike was rambling on about Mae. They had a date last night while Billie was hiding in my closet.

And yet none of them knew. Tre was oblivious, Mike was oblivious, Mae was, Kennedy was, Layla was. I use to think that those three girls would be the people I ring up straight after and gossip to about it. But I didn't.

Maybe it was because it accidentally happened. And it was only said proving a point. Maybe that was it, because he still felt like my friend.

Wether I was suppose to be happy about that or not. I wasn't.

Being with Billie, having said or not, was something I desperately wanted. And now I have it... things feel no different.

"And then- she kissed me." Mike finished off his explanation of last night. Leaning back in Billies spiny chair crossing his arms proud of himself.

"Score!" Tre shouted high fiving him.

"Congrats dude, you guys a thing now?" Billie asked.

"Well... I don't think so. It's not been officially stated or anything... y'know?"

I nodded. The rest did too.

"Why don't you just ask her?" I asked Mike. Who at my question instantly turned a deep crimson shade.

"What- l-like to be my girlfriend?"

"Yeah, what's the harm? She'll obviously say yes. She talks about you all the time to us," I laughed.

"Yeah dude! Do it!" Billie joined in.

Tre began to chant the words as the rest of us joined in, Mike becoming more embarrassed every time we repeated them.

"Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! Do i-"

"-Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up!"

"Jeeez." Billie winced rubbing his ear. "Alright Mike,"

"Well I don't see you asking Echo out!" He defended.

"Actually I did!"

"Ha! Billie got rejected!" Tre laughed.

"Actually I said yes..." I slowly admitted.

Mike and Tre looked over at me. Confused for a second.

"It...accidentally happened!" I said in mine and Billie defence.

"How does that accidentally happen!?"

"Well-!"

-ring ring, ring ring, ring ring.

I paused. Slowly getting my phone out my back pocket. "Sorry... it's my mom... I should probably take this,"

They nodded understandably as I answered the call lifting the phone to my ear. "Hello...?"

"Echo! Where an earth have you been all day!"

"At B..." I slowly cut myself off realising what I had nearly said. "At Mae's,"

"Mae is here!"

"What!? What do you mean she's there!?"

"She's come here asking where you are! Now I'll ask you again and I want the truth this time! Where. Are. You?"

I bit my bottom lip, looking at the three guys nervously. "Kennedy's,"

"Kennedy's?"

"Oh don't tell me she's there as well,"

"Yes! And Layla!" She shouted. Seeming very angry. "So I want the truth out of you this time,"

"Alright... I'm out,"

"Out... where?" I heard my dad ask in the background of the phone call.

"Yes. Out. I'm actuallyyyyy at the ermm..." I looked around Billies room for any ideas of what to say. Looking on his desk, at his posters, on his floor. Before seeing his pile of clothes. "Clothes shopping,"

"Clothes shopping?"

"Mhm, yeah. I'm just looking for some.... new tops,"

"Well I want you back home. Now," She bluntly ordered.

"Alright- alright alright. I'm on my way... let me just check out with these clothes,"

The call ended, guessing she had ended it on me. Before I sighed dropping my phone on to the floor and throwing my head back to face the ceiling. "Parents suck,"

"You're only realising this now?" Billie asked me, walking behind me. Before wrapping his arms around my waist from behind and resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Clothes shopping? Really Echo?" Mike asked me, laughing slightly.

"It was the only thing I could think of! Why an earth are all the girls at my house! Did I do something wrong?"

"So what are you gonna do when you walk back home with no new clothes, no bags full of stuff, no anything?" Tre quizzed.

"Fuck..... fuck! Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!" I cussed walking out of Billies arms. "What the fuck am I gonna do!?" I asked out loud, but specifically looking over at Billie.

"Say you was in a rush to get home so you didn't buy them?" Mike suggested.

"That's not gonna work idiot she already told her mom she was checking out," Tre criticised.

"Billie." I said, turning on my heels to look back over at him. He looked over at me confused and a little worried.

"Y-yeah?"

"I'm gonna need a bag of your clothes,"

~

I walked straight into my house with the bag of Billies clothes. Walking into the living room where they sat.

Sorry- where... they all sat.

Kennedy, Layla, Mae, my mom and my dad.

The thing with my mom was... she pretty much likes the girls more than me. From what she seen of them they were kind, sweet, polite and smart.

But to her I was selfish, rude, blunt and stupid.

And that was also the thing. Since my mom was always to nice to the girls they could never understand why I hated her and my dad so much. That's why I was often called over dramatic when I said I was gonna leave the house, or stupid for wanting to run away.

I was always thankful that Billie understood. Mike and Tre did as well as. But Layla, Mae and Kennedy just did not see why.

"What did I do?" I slowly asked, dropping the bag at my side.

"Echo where was you?" Kennedy asked sitting up off of the sofa and walking over to me. Mae copied her actions as she picked up the bag beside me and looked through it as I answered Kennedy.

"I told you, shopping,"

"And these are what you bought?" Mae asked slowly lifting up one of the tops.

I tried not to laugh looking at the top. "Who knew that apparently I was a fan of that band,"

"Echo we had plans?" Layla reminded me. Still sat beside my mom on the chair.

I looked over at all of them, flickering my eyes between the three of them. "We... did?"

"Yes! We was all suppose to meet up today?" They tried reminding me.

I shook my head, still not understanding.

"Next time your mother asks you where you are you tell her the truth the first time," My dad spoke up bluntly, his nose in his newspaper like an old man. Sometimes I wanted to just snatch it off him, roll it up and hit him on the head with it. It's a dream of mine actually, but I don't have a death wish just quite yet.

"Right... okay dad,"

Finally he looked up at me. "Don't be rude,"

"I wasn't? I said 'Right... okay dad'?"

"I cannot believe you forgot our plans." Layla sighed going back to sit down. "You spend too much time with Billie now,"

I gasped slightly looking over at her. "Layla!"

"Billie!?" My mom finally spoke up.

I kept my eyes on Layla. Angry at her for just dropping me in everything. Kennedy and Mae looked sort of shocked too. Layla sat back down with an 'oops' sarcastic expression on her face. "You did that on purpose!"

"Billie joe!?" My mom spoke up again.

"Oh shut up!" I finally snapped.

"Echo you will not speak to your mother like that!" My dad slapping his newspaper down.

"And you!"

"Excuse me!?"

"I think we should go..." Mae slowly whispered. Layla slowly got up as they whispered goodbye... not sure who to. But they said goodbye letting themselves out leaving me with this mess.

"I'm sick of this! How would you even know who Billie is?"

"Oh I hear about him from all the other mothers all the time! He's a bad influence and you will not hang around with a kid like him!" My mom ordered. "How are you gonna achieve being a lawyer with a distraction like that!"

"He's not a bad kid, he's actually super sweet,"

"I don't care what he is!"

"Well... you do because you think he's bad and you c-"

"-Echo!" My dad shouted cutting me off my smart remark.

"What dad?" I sighed.

"Go to your room!"

"What?"

"You heard!"

"What am I twelve?"

"I said go!"

"Alright! Alright... jeez." I slowly muttered picking up the bad of Billies clothes and leaving the room.

I made my way up the stairs, kicking the door open and dropping Billies bag of clothes on the floor.

Layla so did that on purpose.

Ring ring, ring ring, ring ring.

I breathed out slowly picking the phone up. "Hello?" I asked rudely.

"Echo are you alright?" I heard Kennedy ask.

"No. I'm not, what the fuck was all that? We didn't have any plans!"

"I know I know! I'm sorry! But Layla was never suppose to say anything like that!" She defended.

"No! Why would you drag me home and say we had plans? What was that suppose to achieve?"

"It was only just suppose to get you home! We had been trying to ring you! You answered your mom but not us it was the only way we knew to-"

"-I only saw my mom calling! The phone didn't ring at all apart from when my mom rang me!"

"Well I'm sorry! It was only so we could talk to you!"

"Well what about!"

"....We was talking... and we hardly see you anymore..."

"Really? That's what this is about?"

"Yes! You're always with Billie now and you're not even together-"

"-Actually we are,"

"What!?" She shouted.

"I enjoy spending time with Billie joe and his friends-"

"-What so you don't enjoy spending time with us?"

"No Kennedy it's not like that- Billie understands when I talk about-"

"-So we don't understand things now?"

"No Kennedy shut up!" I finally shouted. The phone line went silent... she did in fact shut up. "He understands when I talk about how much I hate living here,"

"Oh this bollocks!"

"It's not bollocks! It's true!"

"It is pure bullshit!"

"That's it! You make out like we have plans to drag me home! Layla just 'accidentally' confesses about my boyfriend! You all leave when everything gets noisy and now you call my problems bollocks! I'm going Kennedy! And next time you need me don't fucking get my mom to ring me!" I scoffed down the line. I heard her responding before ending the call on her. Throwing the phone across the room angrily. "It's Stupid," I muttered to myself.

I flopped back on my bed. Annoyed, before I heard a tapping sound on the window. Quickly being alarmed I jumped back up and looked at the window.

"Oh... it's you." I whispered, not that he could've heard me. Before walking over to the window and opening it, helping him into my room. "What are you doing here?"

"How did everything go?" He asked closing the window behind him and sitting down on my bed.

"Terrible." I pouted. Moving over to him and standing between his legs, my hands on his shoulders.

He mimicked me, pushing out his bottom lip. "Why?"

"They dragged me back here and lied saying we had plans I forgotten. But we didn't have any plans, apparently I spend too much time with you,"

"You do?"

"I didn't think I did.... but apparently I do according to them. Then Layla said I'm with you too much in front of my mom,"

"Your mom knows me?" He asked confused, his hands around my hips.

"She said she's heard about you from other people....?"

"Ah... well... I mean- we can... we can spend less time together if you want...?"

"Well... I mean... do you think we spend too much time together?"

"I didn't think we did,"

"Me either..." I muttered, I leant my forehead on his shoulder sighing.

"Are you alright?" He asked, pulling himself back so my head slipped off his shoulder. I pulled my head back up looking at him, he looked at me with his eyebrows raised concerned.

"My mom and dad are going to kill me,"

"What did you do?"

"They know I hang around with you, they wouldn't shut up so I told them to and I got sent to my room,"

He began chuckling to himself. "Sent to your room?"

"Yes! It's not funny Billie joe!" I huffed taking my arms from around his neck and turning around to walk away from him. I felt him pull me back by my waist as he pulled me on to his lap.

"I'm only playing Echo,"

I sighed again, moving on his lap so I was sat horizontally across his legs. "I don't wanna spend less time with you Billie,"

"What?"

"I enjoy spending time with you. You, Mike and Tre. It's fun, I don't wanna cut that time down because they think I should,"

"Then don't,"

"But they want me to,"

"Your mom and dad want you to do a lot of things you don't do, it's not like you've not broken rules before,"

"I know that, but-"

"-There you go then,"

I breathed out smiling slightly. "I hate it when you're right Beej,"

He kissed my cheek laughing slightly. "It's not often it happens, don't worry,"