California, October 1984

The smell of smoke and the cool breeze of the night woke her up from her slumber. Opening her eyes she looked towards her bedroom window to see Billy, smoking the last of his cigarette in only his white briefs.

"Hey stranger." Her voice was quiet, but she got his attention nonetheless. Billy turned his head towards her as he put the cigarette out, his blue eyes shining in the moonlight that was coming through the open window, a sad smile on his face.

"Hey babe." He closed the window and sat down on the edge of the bed, reaching for his jeans.

"Wait, you're leaving already?" She scooted towards his bare back, pulling the sheet around her naked front as she leaned against him.

"Bryce, if I don't leave now, I won't be able to leave at all." He couldn't look at her, if he did, he would start crying, and he'd be damned if he let her see how much he really cared. How much he loved her.

"Billy, don't you dare shut me out now, not when we only have a few short hours left together," Bryce shook her head, her brown hair brushing his back, "Babe, stay, just a few more hours. Please?" She wrapped her arms around his bare waist and let the sheet fall as she kissed his shoulders.

Billy sighed, enjoying the feeling of her lips on his skin, groaning when her teeth nipped at the dip between his left shoulder and neck.

"You still want to leave?" Bryce teased when he put the weight of his back on her chest as he relaxed against her.

"You know I don't. But I have no choice babe," He sat up, looking at her over his shoulder, her green eyes glistening with unshed tears, "Bryce, please. Please don't cry, I-" He didn't finish his sentence, instead he kissed her.

The kiss was rough and needy, both putting in every unsaid word that they felt. Billy slowly laid Bryce onto the messy sheets, his hands roaming her naked body as his lips moved down her jaw to the crook of her neck. Bryce's arms wrapped around his neck, slender fingers tangling in his long hair as he kissed down her stomach.

"God I love you." Billy breathed out, not realizing he had said the words out loud.

"You- you love me?" Bryce smiled, tears threatening to fall. She had wanted to hear those three words from him for so long.

Billy rested his forehead on her stomach, wondering if he had made a mistake in telling her how he felt mere hours before he would be leaving her for god knows how long.

"Of course I do, how could I not?" He replied seriously as he wiped away her fallen tears.

"I love you too, so fucking much." Bryce pulled him into a kiss, her hands heading towards his briefs.

Their tongues battled for dominance as he quickly got rid of the little amount of clothing he had left. Billy's fingers played with her slit as he lined up his throbbing member with her slick entrance, becoming one with her for the last time. Bryce moaned in ecstasy as he filled her completely, hooking a leg behind his back for a deeper angle. This time was different than before. Before was rough and needy, full of tension and anger at the fact he had to leave. This time, Billy was going slow, like he wanted to memorize the feel of being inside her, like her wanted her to never forget him.

Yes, they promised that they would reunite after graduation. He would come back to California for her, but deep down he knew that she would find someone else, someone better than him, and with how his dad was, who knew if he would even survive to graduation. All he knew is he had to leave the girl he loved to go to some shit town in Indiana, god he wished he was 18 so he could stay with her.

"Billy, baby you need to go faster." Bryce groaned out, she could feel her orgasm approaching.

"As you wish." Billy kissed her roughly as he picked up the pace, his fingers finding her clit to speed up the process.

He pulled her up into his lap as he held her close, hitting her sweet spot every time he thrusted up into her. He was close, but he wanted her to come first, she was his priority. She always was. Bryce grasped onto him, her head in the crook of his neck as she came. Her walls clenching around him pushed him over the edge, coming inside her as he laid her back down on the sheets. He held her there as the aftershocks of her orgasm rocked her body for a few moments after.

"Fuck." Billy breathed as he rolled off her and looked over at her heaving chest.

"Yeah." Bryce lightly laughed before getting out of bed.

"What are you doing?" He questioned as she walked over to her desk and opened a drawer.

"I have something for you, a goodbye present." She replied as she pulled a box out and walked around the bed to lay next to him as he opened it.

"Oh yeah?" He smirked as he wrapped an arm around her waist as he opened the box.

"I hope you like it." She said nervously, they had never given gifts to each other.

The gift was a St. Christopher pendant. Billy held it gently in his as he looked at it. Looking over at Bryce, he saw that she was biting her bottom lip, a thing she did when she was anxious.

"Bryce, I love it." He kissed her tenderly, she smiled widely into the kiss. Ecstatic that he approved of the gift.

"I'm so glad, I got because it kind of has a special meaning to it. People give it to loved ones when they go on a long journey, so that the person that gave them the pendant is always close to the heart." Bryce explained, voice cracking at the end.

"Hey," Billy kissed the top of her head, "You will always be close to my heart, hell you are my heart."

"I just don't want you to forget me." Bryce smiled as she took the necklace from him, motioning him to sit up so she could put it on him.

"Babe, you're unforgettable."

Billy looked over at her alarm clock on her nightstand, he was leaving in two hours. He sighed as he pulled her in for one last kiss.

"I have to go. I still have some packing to do and my dad will kill me if I'm not done." Bryce nodded in understanding, swallowing down the lump in her throat.

"Be nice to Max." She said as he stood to pull his jeans up, his bare back tensing at the name of his step sister.

"What?" Anger dripped in his voice. Turning to look at her, he saw that she had thrown her light blue nightshirt on that he had ripped off her hours prior.

"Billy, this isn't her fault. She's losing a lot too don't forget, treat her right please. For me?" Bryce stood up and walked around to his side of the bed and wrapped her arms around his naked waist.

Billy looked down at her, hating how she cared about his step sister. She was too good, too good for him.

"Yeah well, we'll see how it goes. How does that sound?" He smirked, trying to make her smile before the inevitable tears came.

"You're an ass Billy Hargrove." She lightly punched his chest before bending down to pick up his gray t-shirt.

"Yeah, but you love me." He smiled before throwing the t-shirt on.

"Yes, I really do." Bryce chocked, trying not to cry in front of him.

"Hey shh, come here," Billy wrapped her in his arms, holding her as she sobbed into his shirt, "I'll be back before you know it." He promised, holding her face in his hands, wiping her tears once more.

"No," She shook her head in disagreement, "You're gonna meet someone and forget all about me."

"That's not possible, don't you ever think that." He said sternly, making sure she believed it.

"Promise?"

"Promise." Billy pulled her into a kiss one last time before pulling away and opening her bedroom window. He turned to look at her one last time, taking in her small frame, her long brown hair that never stayed curled in the California heart, her bright green eyes that he had fallen for the first time he looked at her freshman year.

"I love you Bryce." His voice cracking for the first time in front of her.

"I love you too Billy." She followed him to the window and gave him one last hug before he jumped to the tree that was right outside her window.