At the Start

Chapter Seven

The credits of the movie rolled across the screen lazily as the soft breathing of Tatum and Sidney reached Billy and Stu's ears. Billy's arm was falling asleep, but he didn't want to move it. She was still curled comfortably into him. Vaguely, he wondered how anyone could be mean to the girl in his arms. So far, she had only proved to be sweet and non-harmful. He of all people knew, however, that looks could be deceiving. As Billy stared down at her, he found that he wanted to learn that side of her too. He wanted to know the harmful, mean side of the woman in his arms; that was if she even had one of those sides.

"What was that about this evening?" Billy whispered to Stu. The sandy haired teen looked over at his friend. A look crossed over his face that Billy wasn't used to seeing. Stu was serious.

"Bullies, I would guess," Stu looked down at Sidney. "I was bullied really badly when I was kid. Sidney put a stop to that and unintentionally shifted the bullies' focus to her." Billy looked down at the young girl. "She shoved the kid into the mud alongside me." He chuckled. Billy smiled as she threw an arm around his waist. Stu kept his eyes on the two as he spoke again, "I try to help her. I started doing these 'study nights' in an attempt to distract her. It works for a little bit, but I'm sure she thinks about it." Billy looked back at the sleeping girls and made a small noise.

"Do you think we should wake them up?" Billy asked. Stu looked back toward Tatum and then his eyes trailed over toward Sidney.

"We can't do our homework without her," he said, motioning toward Sidney. "Well, I can, but she makes it easier." Stu smiled slightly. "She's always done first anyway." Billy smiled and kissed her forehead. She stirred softly, but curled deeper into him. His heart jumped slightly. The angle at which she lay made it easy for him to lean down and kiss her cheek.

"Wake up, Sid," Billy said softly. He was aware of Stu waiting to wake Tatum. He was aware of Stu watching him. Briefly, he wondered if the silly man-child had ever had feelings for the girl in his arms. He would hate to have to threaten his new found friend.

"No," Sidney mumbled. "Comfortable." Billy chuckled. The action vibrated his chest and rumbled in Sidney's ear. She tensed and shot up. Billy's chuckle became full scale laughter at the cute, disoriented look on her face. A blush soon followed that look. Billy smiled softly at her. Sidney's heart warmed at the sight. His brown eyes were gentle and warm; she wanted to look forever. An awkwardly cleared throat ended their moment. Sidney turned to see Stu smiling at them.

"Homework time!" He exclaimed with false cheer. Tatum gave a small groan and threw herself back onto the loveseat.

"Can't I just go back to sleep?!" She whined. Sidney could see Billy's small amused smile out of the corner of her eye. It brought a small smile onto her lips.

"I promise caffeine?" Sidney suggested. Tatum pulled her arm from her face and lifted her head up to peek at Sidney. Sidney smiled softly. She was used to this routine. Tatum wouldn't work without a Coke product in her hand. "Yes, you know you want it," Stu and Billy blinked at the nearly seductive tone Sidney was using. It was full of manipulation and promises. It was slightly a turn on for the two teenage boys. "You will just have to do a little work is all." Stu's mind instantly went into the gutter. "You know it'll be to your advantage!" Sidney leaned forward. She propped her elbows propped up on her knees. To Tatum, her eyes and tone were simply persuasive. It was something Sidney was good with doing. "Who knows you might even like it." Tatum fought off a snort. Very rarely did she like homework, but she knew why Sidney had said that even if the boys didn't. Tatum's eyes drifted slightly over to the boys. Oh, now that was the look of two people that just took a trip down pervert's lane and camped out. She couldn't resist adding fuel to the proverbial fire.

"They'll be working too?" She asked her tone slightly pouty. Sidney blinked in confusion and looked back at them. It seemed like the two males were in a daze. Sidney tilted her head. What on earth was wrong with them?

"I would be offended if they weren't," Sidney said honestly. "No offense, Tatum, but it's boring when it's just us. All you do is moan about it." Stu and Billy's mouth fell open. They were now swimming in an ocean sized gutter of perverseness and Sidney was still oblivious to the effect her word choice had. Tatum smirked at seeing the looks on the boy's faces. She suppressed her laughter.

"Alright, girl, go get that caffeine before you make the boys orgasm on words alone," Tatum teased. Small snorts were escaping from her lips. Sidney tilted her head in confusion again.

"What?" Sidney mumbled, her cheeks were flushed at the insinuation. She looked back at the now blushing boys. Sidney crinkled her nose at them when she realized what they had been thinking. "Perverts…" She grumbled as she stood from the couch. Tatum burst into laughter.

"You'll have to forgive Sidney," Tatum laughed, "she knows not what her words are capable of!"

Minutes later they were all crowded around Stu's dinner table. Sidney dug out her binder and text book and laid them on the table. Tatum sipped her newly fixed Coke with relish as she stared at her textbook in great disdain.

"Do I really have to do this?!" Tatum moaned. Sidney glared up at her from the page of a math book. Out of the corner of her eye, Tatum could see Billy and Stu look at one another.

'Yes, gentlemen,' Tatum thought with glee, 'complaining was what Sidney meant by moaning.' Vaguely, she wondered if the amount of glee she got from their discomfort was wrong, but then she decided she didn't care. It was much fun to watch them blush and stumble over their words for a change.

"Yes. Work," Sidney demanded. She suppressed a jump as a hand fell onto hers from underneath the table. She snuck a glance over at Billy. She supposed she really couldn't be mad at him for thinking perverted things. When she looked back on it, her words did sound very wrong. Besides, she was finding out that Billy's eyes made it impossible for her to stay annoyed with him. That impossibility only increased when he tilted his paper for her to see. There scribbled in messy hand writing was the word "sorry." Sidney smiled and squeezed his hand softly.

"Work, Sidney," Tatum teased back. She wisely fell silent as two separate glares fell on her. Stu wisely stayed silent and worked on his math. Silence fell over them as Sidney and Billy returned to their work.

(A/N: To those of you that are reading my other Scream story "Medication Needed," another chapter will not be posted on it until the poll for that story gets more votes. So far the results are at a tie. To those of you that may be interested in the story, it will feature major Billy/Sidney moments as well as Roman and Sidney platonic relationship building.)