Wordcount: 2676
Chapter Summary: You've been lost in your thoughts a lot lately - this is a heavy thing to go through. Unfortunately, you're too busy with the kids to find Steve.
Notes: Swearing, some violence.
Previous Chapter Here
Even though you had made the decision not to involve Steve, all that you wanted to do was go and find him that night. Laying on the couch as Eleven took over your mattress on Max’s floor again, Billy still MIA, your uncle being absolutely furious about it and steaming away in the bedroom, you just wanted to get his advice. He’d dealt with these things before, twice now, as had a lot of the people that you met today. But going to a kid about how to fight monsters just felt ... wrong somehow. You tossed and turned, your body sinking into the couch cushions despite all of your best efforts and remained exhausted. The image of Billy roaring through the broken window was imprinted upon your brain like some sort of tattoo, burned onto your retina. If Steve looked into your eyes again, would that be what he saw? Would you be haunted by it every time you looked at yourself in the mirror?
Or would you one day soon, hopefully, see Billy as himself again and get over the trauma?
You went with Max and Eleven to Mike’s house, sitting in the basement, watching Eleven do her thing. The blindfold was on, and she was trying to find Hopper. It turned out, he was the Sheriff, and Eleven’s adopted father. He had seemed capable enough when you met him, even though you had lied to him about what had happened with Steve that night. The only other person who knew was Billy -
- Two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead -
You shook your head slightly, trying to get that out of your mind. Maybe you should just admit the truth to Steve. There were already so many secrets and you haven’t even been here that long.
A small hand was lightly on your arm. You turned your head slightly to see Will, the only one who seemed to be paying any attention to you whatsoever, looking up at you concerned. You gave him a reassuring half-smile, or at least you hoped that it was reassuring. He gave you one back and then your eyes both flickered back to Eleven, who was saying that Hopper and Will’s mother were headed to Illinois. No help from any other actual adults - just you.
Max and Ellie went to the bathroom, and the boys started to talk. They were in disbelief that Hopper and Joyce were leaving the state at a time like this. You didn’t blame them. Now would be a damn good time to have the Sheriff around. Your mind went away from the conversations that you were overhearing now, a headache starting to form as thought about yesterday. The Sauna - it was never far from your mind and you probably wouldn’t ever be able to go to the pool again.
“Hey,” Mike’s voice brought you out of your thoughts as he threw a pillow at you. You picked it up from your lap and glared over at him.
“What?” You asked back.
“Why do girls like hanging out in bathrooms?” He asked, and all three boys were looking straight at you. “Are they conspiring in there?”
You looked over to the closed bathroom door, and let out a low chuckle. It seems like no matter what happens, teenagers will be teenagers. It showed you though, that they always bounced back. And you’ll find a way to do the same when this is all over. Maybe Billy would too. Though there was still a lot of sadness behind Will’s eyes. “They’re definitely conspiring against you, Mike. I wouldn’t count yourself as safe either, Lucas,” I said, point towards the latter. “Actually, the safest person here is Will.”
“For once,” Will retorted, which made you laugh again. You couldn’t help but like the kid a lot. You were giving him a smile when there was a knock at the door above.
“NOT NOW MOM,” Mike yelled, making you raise an eyebrow. Because damn, if you spoke to your mother that way, you would have been grounded forever.
“Mike, open the door,” A feminine voice said. It definitely didn’t sound like a mother, and it made Mike jump up and go answer it. Time to meet new people - again.
It was a quick introduction to Nancy and Jonathan. The siblings, who were closer to your age, just a year younger. It felt a lot better not to be the only responsible one here now. Nancy took on that role easily and you were happy to give it.
Actually, she ran away with that role. She came charging down here with theories and with evidence, with paperwork. “It was the same thing, the exact same thing that happened with Will last year.” She was pushing forward a medical chart. At least you weren’t the only one who was wondering who Mrs. Driscoll was, Max had gone ahead and asked that, and you were given a quick answer of just some old woman in town. An old woman who had complained about rabid rats, bringing Nancy Drew - sorry, Wheeler, to the scene.
“He likes it cold,” Will said. Even just him saying that brought a chill to the room. The others started to talk, coming up with this theory that Billy in the Sauna, and this old woman’s medical readings were related. They were both part of the same monster now. As if you didn’t need more proof that you cousin was in deep, deep shit. But more than that, you kept looking towards Will, the person who had gone through this already. First, lost in the upside down and then possessed by this creature. And it felt as if ... as if his friends were looking over it. Not thinking about how he must be feeling right now. And you had this feeling that this was going to Billy when you all rescued him. He was going to be a lot like this haunted little boy, but perhaps worse because he only had you, and sometimes Max to help him get through it.
And now you were going out, piling into the Wheeler’s van. Where Max went, you went, you had decided that pretty early on. You volunteered to sit in the back, in the trunk, without a seatbelt, while Will and Mike got into the seats. It was a tight fit but you were able to keep an eye on everyone from back there. There was a bump against the back as the van hit the bikes. I saw Mike and Will wince.
We were back at the house that we were at before. Heather’s house, where we had the confrontation with Billy. Well, a sort of confrontation. It felt like that to you. Nancy was at the door, ringing the doorbell, the rest of the kids behind her. Once there was no answer, you slipped away unseen towards the backyard. Maybe you were the Bess or George to Nancy Drew. Looking around for your own clues.
The back door was unlocked, and lead directly into the kitchen. The smell was strong enough to singe your nostril hairs, making your face screw up. You brought your hand to under your nose, trying to block the cloying, head-ache inducing smell of all of the spilt chemicals, your eyes starting to water - but not enough to miss the fact that the other had gotten in. Only Max looks a little impressed that you had beat them inside, and you give her a slight smile. If only you had done something cool like Elle and unlocked the door with your mind, or pulled out a lockpicking kit. Eh - they didn’t have to know it was just an unlocked door.
You could almost feel that the house was empty right now. Just like Elle with the blindfold and seeking out people with her mind, you were looking for Billy, just using the connection that you had with your cousin. And he wasn’t here. The Billy you knew had never been here.
You followed the sounds of the rest of the group, feeling like your heart had been dropped right into your stomach. The bloodstains, the rope in the garage. “What if the flaying ... it’s taking place somewhere else? There must be a place where all this started, right? A source.”
“Somewhere he didn’t want me to see,” Eleven said, ominously.
“If we can find the source, then maybe we can stop him. Or at least stop it from spreading or doing whatever the hell he’s doing with those chemicals,” Nancy said, ever the Drew.
“And how do we find it?” You sighed, making them all jump, as if they had totally forgotten that you were there. But you were. Just because you hadn’t been a part of whatever had happened during the fall, it didn’t mean that you were an outsider on this. You were pushing your way in - for Max. For Billy.
“Mrs. Driscoll,” Will said, getting all eyes on him. “If she wants to go back so badly, why don’t we let her?”
The hospital. The building made you think of Steve. Which also made you wonder - had it been Billy that you had been with that night, when he hit Steve’s car? Or had it been - no, no, it couldn’t have been the Mind-Flayer. As cruel as it was, it was all Billy. You kept this to yourself, swallowing it down as you followed everyone else inside. Nancy talked to the receptionist who said that only two could go in and see Driscoll. Of course, Nancy and Jonathan were the ones to go, since they already had a rapport with her.
You collapsed down on one of the annoyingly hard waiting chairs, your head in your hands, fingers burying themselves against your scalp. The only time you looked up was when candy started to spurt out through the vending machine, spilling dozens of the treats out. You smiled a little despite yourself. Seemed like Eleven wasn’t completely over Mike after all. Watching the romance of a bunch of a barely-teenagers had become your soap-opera since coming here. Even Lucas seemed to have noticed this, as he not-so-quietly came up with a plan.
Lucas started tossing skittles at Max, who was catching them in her mouth. Mike went to talk to Eleven, which left Will to come and sit beside you. You gave him a sheepish smile, the one that strangers passing each other in the street give one another if there’s accidental eye contact. “How are you feeling?” I asked. “About all of this.”
“I want this to be over,” he said, and you couldn’t blame him for that.
“Can I ask you something kind of - well, weird?”
“Sure,” He nodded. “I prefer when people ask questions. Everyone else just tries to pretend that stuff didn’t happen until it all happens again. It makes me feel like I’m a little crazy.”
“You might be a bit crazy,” You hummed. “But I don’t think that you can be blamed for that. Still, if I’m overstepping, tell me to fuck right off and I will, okay?”
“Okay,” he said with a little chuckle. He seemed to like how casual you were being with him.
“Okay. When you had that thing ... possessing you ... was it painful at all?”
“Only when it wanted it to be,” he said, his voice sounding hollower than it had a moment ago. “Getting it out was awful. And I don’t feel like it’s left me completely. I still feel it, in the back of my head.”
“Does it talk to you?” You asked. He shook his head. “It’s more like ... a feeling. Like an electric shock. Makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I feel it’s near.”
“Hey, that’s actually a good trick to have. You’re not going to he caught unaware,” You pointed out. “That might actually come in handy for us all.”
“Maybe,” he said. “We’re going to get Billy back, even if he’s a dick.”
“Yeah, probably the biggest dick,” You chuckled. “I know I’m just here for the summer but - if you need to talk about anything. You’ve got a good group of friends here, but just know that I’m available too, kay kid?”
“Thanks,” Will said, nodding, seeming to really appreciate it, which warmed your heart. Then you decided to lighten up the mood a bit.
“So - your mom and the Sheriff huh?”
You teased him a little, but paused when the lights started to flicker above. Will completely froze next to you, and you turned to him, seeing the fact that as he had said, the hair on the back of his neck was standing up on end.
“He’s here,” Will said aloud, his hand going to the goosebumps that were sprouting.
“Fuck,” You sighed.
We all got up, hurrying past the receptionist who had tried to shout at us to stop but obviously, we weren’t going to. Not a chance. We were following the sound of Jonathan and Nancy, who could be heard shouting each other’s names. Your heartbeat had started to pick up. Ba bum - ba bum - ba bum - as you looked for anything that you could potentially use as a weapon. What the hell do you use against something called a Mindflayer?
Eleven. Eleven is what you use against a Mindflayer.
She made a door come off of the hinges, flying right off like it was a piece of paper that she blew on. But more than that - there was a fucking MONSTER right on the other side.
“Jesus!” Mike let out.
“What the f-” Max started.
“Fuck!” You finished, hurrying to be in front of the rest of the kids as Eleven used her powers to throw the monster against the walls. It got up to charge again, and Eleven pushed it through a window, all the way to the ground outside. It must have fallen three stories. Forty feet. It probably survived that, if the past was to be believed. The kids took off, Max grabbing hold of your hand, dragging you along. You looked over your shoulder at Jonathan and Nancy, who looked like they had been through hell, but left nonetheless, giving them their privacy. “I don’t think we should split up again,” You muttered to the redhead, but she said nothing, just kept pulling you along, hand clammy.
Instead of the remains of a monster like expected, there was a pile of ... goo. There was no other way that you could describe it. It was disgusting, and viscous, and moved in the most gut-wrenching of ways. And where it moved to - the storm drain, leaving behind human bones. The people that it must have taken over - they were dead now. Your heart was pumping quickly in your chest and if it wasn’t for the kids around you, you might have just passed out right there and then. How any of them were able to handle this time and time again, you had no idea, but the greatest respect for now.
You waited around for Jonathan and Nancy to come back out. Your eyes were stuck on the bones. Those goddamn bones. Nobody approached them. They just - laid there, on the storm drain, like something out of a horror movie. Some stray dog would probably come and take them away and then the only evidence that something happened tonight would be the broken window. You looked up to that next, the glass broken in shards, pointing in all different directions.
When Nancy and Jonathan came out, it was agreed upon that you would all go to Hopper’s cabin, where Eleven lived. You didn’t have much of a say in it. But where Max went, you went. Even if that meant getting deeper into this weird monster rabbit-hole, and away from anything more on the sane side.
Wordcount: 6174
Chapter Summary: A hangout? A date? Hard to know exactly what it is, until the end plays out.
Previous Chapter can be found Here.
Next Chapter can be found here.
Despite your best intentions, despite how hard it was to keep the lie inside, you kept finding yourself at Starcourt, especially the food court. You tried to blame it on the air conditioning. You tried to blame it on the fact that you were sick of watching your cousin being shirtless and flirting with the married mothers at the pool and there wasn’t much else to do in this town. You tried to blame it on the fact that Max was spending time with her friends and her boyfriend, as she should be at her age, and you were getting a little lonely. And you tried to blame it on the fact that if you had a friend in this town, it ended up being Robin and Steve was just always right there, working with her. Alright, maybe he was a friend too. He perked up each and every time that he saw you walk in, back straightening up, and already started to get your order ready. You were around enough to have ‘a regular’. And he always made it just right, adding on the extra toppings and never charging you for them.
“I don’t get how you spend your days here,” Steve said, spinning the cap around his index finger as you leaned against the counter, eating your ice cream. You were going to have to slow down on it eventually. There was only so much that you could eat before it started to show. “Once I find a different job, I’m never stepping foot back in this mall-”
“Mostly because you already tried asking out every girl who works here,” Robin chimed in from the back. “And embarrassed yourself monumentally.”
“Not the point,” Steve said, and you noticed that he wasn’t denying it. Actually, the pink tinge on his cheeks gave away that it was the total truth. You tried to hide your laugh. You really did. “I’d still prefer to go to the Hawk Theater rather than this one. Have you seen the size of the sodas? Diabetes in a cup.”
“I haven’t been to either, actually,” You admitted. “Where’s the Hawk theater?”
“It’s hard to miss,” Robin said, coming out, looking bored as usual. “In lovely downtown Hawkins.” She eyed you for a minute though, looking you up and down. “Do you really just spend all your time here and at the pool?”
“You were at the pool?” Steve asked, raising an eyebrow. “Wait - both of you were at the pool?”
“I’ve only been back a couple of times. The last time I went, one of the moms was putting on so much hairspray, I couldn’t get the smell out of my bathing suit. Like, why are you doing your hair if you’re just going to get in the water? And if you’re not going in the water, why go to the pool? I don’t get it,” You shrugged, shaking your head.
“You know why they go to the pool. Billy,” She gagged.
“Yeah,” You said, figuring that to be the truth, unfortunately. It happened in California too. He spent his summers lifeguarding on the beach, and he had a lot of admirers there too, despite being underaged. “If I ever, EVER, become one of those ladies, I want you to find me and smack it out of me, okay Robin?”
“Yes ma’am,” Robin gave you a salute. Steve, on the other hand, was looking disgusted by Billy’s name coming up in conversation, even if you made sure that it breezed past him. It wasn’t a topic that you wanted to get stuck on. You’d just end up telling him about your relationship to his enemy and everything would come crashing down. The bit of fun that you were having would unfortunately end. Luckily, his mind seemed to drift past it, coming across something else.
“What are you doing tomorrow?” Steve asked, resting his elbows on top of the counter, his hat looking like it wanted to fall off of his head onto the floor. You had to think about it. It was just another weekday. A Wednesday.
“I was going to call my parents and tell them all about the excitement in Hawkins,” You said, somewhat sarcastically with a shrug. “Other than that, nada.” Billy was working, and Max hadn’t expressed that she wanted to do something with you. It was a rare occasion when that happened, since she was out there with Lucas and Elle and the rest of their little crew. But when it did happen, you’d cancel anything. Maybe even on Steve.
“I have tomorrow off, I can show you around,” Steve suggested. Robin rolled her eyes, and went into the back, probably to get the ‘you suck’ board. “I got my car fixed. We can go to the theater, maybe drive around. Show you that there’s more to this town than the mall.”
You smirked to yourself as Robin came out wih the board, ready to make a mark under her favorite column. “Sorry Robin,” You told her. “Looks like you’re going to have to put a tally on the other side.”
Steve looked over his shoulder at Robin, confusion covering his puppy dog face. It only took him a minute to realize that it meant that you were saying yes to him showing you around. “Cool, yeah,” He said, running his fingers through his hair, playing it off like he thought you would say yes the entire time. The hat finally fell onto the ground, and he bent down low to pick it up, putting it back on his head haphazardly. “I can come pick you up?”
Your mind shut down that idea quickly. If Steve came before Billy left, there was going to be a scene. He already didn’t like that you spent time with King Steve. He tried to talk you out of it when he found out that the mall was where you spent your days. But shit, if he knew that you two were going to be hanging out with each other one on one, he was going to have something to say about it, and he was going to say it to Steve with his fists. Or even if Neil saw and asked whose car it was that picked you up? Trouble. So much trouble.
“Actually, now that I think about it, I meant to go to the library and return some books,” You said, quickly. “I can meet you there, and then we can head out? I was thinking the early afternoon, but if you have a time that works better for you-”
“No, that’s cool,” Steve said. “I haven’t been there for ages, so you can start the tour with me there,” He grinned.
“You’ve actually been inside the library? Surprising,” Robin commented, dryly. She made a tally mark under ‘You Rule’ though she didn’t look happy about doing it.
--
Another scorching day in Hawkins. Billy dropped you off at the library on his way to work and you were oh so grateful for the air conditioning. You had made an account here mainly for the fact that it had great air conditioning. And it was a quiet place where you could get some peace after the madness of being around the Hargroves. You did actually have books to return, so you didn’t completely lie to Steve. You finished one of them yesterday while you waited for Max to get home. She was in a mood today, her temper flaring up, face nearly as red as her hair.
“What did the jerk do this time?” You had asked, and she went into the most recent argument that she had with Lucas. This was far from their first break up this summer. It was also unlikely to be her last. After she got all that out, she asked you about your day - and you spilled it all too. You were going to be getting a tour of the one and only Hawkins, Indiana by King Steve Harrington himself.
“I knew you thought he was cute,” Max had teased.
“Hey, give yourself a year and you’ll see it too,” You returned.
She actually woke up with you that morning and helped you to pick out something to wear. You didn’t want to seem like you were trying too hard. But you also didn’t want to turn up looking like slop either. You managed to find something in between with a pair of shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, and of course you slathered on the sunscreen, just in case he wanted to take you somewhere outside. You’ve heard rumors of this Lover’s Lake.
You were already in too deep, you might as well go swimming.
You waited for him at a table near the doors, picking up a magazine at random and flipping through it. You were reading an article about which kind of perm might be right for you, when his scent caught your attention before he did. Sandalwood. That’s what it was. He didn’t take the seat next to you but he did lean over the table, hands pressed down on it. That was the first part of him that you saw that day. His hands. The tendons on the back of them jutted through the skin, creating all sorts of lines that it would have been nice to run your fingers over. And then you noticed the watch, definitely an expensive one by the looks of it. He hadn’t been wearing it at work so it appeared like he was dressing up for you too a bit. That was real cute. “You’re thinking about a perm?” He asked, his head tilted, reading the name of the article that you were looking at.
“I don’t think so. I heard they smell rancid,” You said, closing it up and pushing it aside. “Have you ever thought about getting one?”
“And damage all of this?” He asked, picking up one of his hands and running it through his hair. “No way.” You shared a laugh together at that. He was really leaning into the Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington persona, but it was a good look for him. It looked amazing today, tousled enough to look like it was natural but you knew how much effort it really took to make a hairstyle look effortless.
“No, you’re right, leave it as is. The world needs it,” You joked, getting onto your feet, and pulling your bag back over your shoulder. “So this is the library. Over here is the magazine section. And then you’ve got fiction over there to the left - and non fiction to the right,” You said with a grin, since he did say that the tour should start there. “Is there anywhere else you want to look? The bathrooms are pretty nice but the decor isn’t anything to write home about.”
He cracked up at you. He didn’t seem to be tensing in pain anymore which was a sight for sore eyes. He recovered really well. Bounced back amazingly. That lessened up your guilt little by little. “I already got us some tickets to the matinee, hope that’s alright,” He said, that grin on full display. He probably practiced it in the mirror because it was perfect. The right amount of teeth. “They’re showing Splash again, with the like .. mermaid chick.”
“Perfect, I missed it in theaters last year,” You said, stepping out from the seat, away from the table. As if by instinct, Steve was right there to push your chair back in, tuck it away properly. It was a cute gesture. More considerate than you had been expecting. He stayed right beside you as you walked out of the library together, not pushing any boundaries or entering your personal bubble. It made you wonder what exactly this was. A friendly show the summer girl around town? Or was it more of a date? Against your better judgment, you hoped that it was the latter. A summer romance might just be the thing that you needed. Even if that came with the challenge of it only lasting for a summer.
Steve’s car was parked in front of the library, but he didn’t head in that direction. Still, you ended up giving it a look as you passed on by. The windows were fixed, and the dent that Billy’s car had made was buffed out. It must have cost a lot to get it back in this condition. “I thought we’d walk,” Steve explained, scratching the back of his neck. As he did so, the blue button up shirt that he was wearing lifted up ever so slightly, revealing a sliver of flesh from the hem to the top of his blue jeans. The main takeaway here is that he really is tanned all over. His skin held that healthy glow. The second was that there was definitely a hint of a treasure trail under his belly button. The shirt fell back down and you really tried to make it seem like you hadn’t been looking. “- downtown is pretty small so...”
“Good idea,” You smiled at him, moving closer to him to allow an older woman to pass by. His hands instantly went to your shoulders, holding you steady until you moved back into your earlier position. “Are there any cool places outside of downtown?”
“I wouldn’t say cool...” Steve thought, his lips pursing together. “Lover’s Lake is a good spot...”
It felt like something right out of a movie. They all had those, right? A place overlooking the water or the city where teenagers go in their cars and make out in the backseat. That’s what your brain is focusing on now. That’s what you couldn’t get out of there.
“There’s a lot of woods around, but I uhh - I wouldn’t recommend camping,” He continued. “-cougars and stuff,” He said, quickly. It was a good cover. You knew exactly what he was actually talking about - the demogorgon, the Upside Down. Eleven had closed it all though. Or at least, that’s what Max had told you when she caught you up on everything that had happened. You were her one confidante outside of the group that had been originally involved. But Max wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, so you were keeping it on the downlow too.
“Then it’s a good thing I’m not super into camping,” You told him, watching as relief flitted by his face. “But if there’s a lake, I’d like to see it. I miss the water. I lived by the beach for most of my life so it feels weird only having the pool as an option.”
“Do you go to the pool often?” Steve asked, trying to keep his cool. Was that a touch of jealousy that you saw? Or was he just being protective because of your cousin’s reputation? Either way, it did make you feel a little special.
“Only a couple of times, just to lounge out and read, people watch,” You explained. “Gets lonely though, except for that one time that I saw Robin there. The mall is a lot better.”
That seemed to placate him, for now. The Hawk Theater wasn’t that far from the library at all. Just a block down and over a little bit. The marquee stood out, creating a shady space to stand under, and there was a bored looking man in the booth. He glowered at Steve as he walked up with you and showed that he already had tickets. You noted the interaction, sheepish Steve and the angry man, and raised your eyebrow at him once you were in the cool and carpeted interior. “Is there a story there?” You questioned.
“A bit,” Steve admitted. “I don’t really want to talk about it. I was - kind of a dick a couple of years ago,” He admitted, full on. Now that was another surprise. People didn’t usually know that about themselves, let alone tell other people about it. Or take responsibility for it.
“Wow," You said, stopping close to him as you stood in line to get popcorn and a drink. He already had his wallet out, putting his hand out to stop you from grabbing yours, his palm touching the back of your hand. He shook his head.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s on me. I’m the one who asked you,” He said, a dazzling smile then appearing on his face. You returned it, and decided to let your wallet stay in your bag for the time being, since he was being so nice about it. The smile did drop off of his face though as you both took another step closer to the counter, one less person in line. “It uh - took a while to do some of that ... self-actualization stuff. That’s what my friend Dustin calls it, anyway.”
You’ve heard a lot about Dustin from Max. It sounded like he used to have a little crush on her, before she started to date Lucas, only she hadn’t realized it. It was cute watching these kids navigate through feelings and stuff. You were just happy that Max had some really good friends in those boys, and in El.
“Sounds like a smart kid,” You commented. The conversation was interrupted by the ordering of snacks, Steve ordering quite a few. And just one large drink, which he ordered more shyly than the other things.
“I can never finish a whole one, so-”
“Totally fine with me,” You assured him. He paid, being the gentleman that he was. The cash looked brand new, like it had just come from the bank. Crisp bills. A sure sign of being well off if you had ever seen one. All your own was crumpled up inside of your bag or creased from the fold of your wallet. But not Steve’s. It reminded you of how fast his car was fixed up, and how it looked like it had never been damaged at all. He came from wealth. The people you knew back in Cali who were like that were often pretentious, snobby, rude. But Steve didn’t seem like any of these things. You were liking Indiana more and more. Once you were in the theater and found the prime seats, the conversation resumed. “I can’t say that I know you too well but - you seem like you’re doing great, Steve.”
There was a long pause between your words and his next ones. You wondered if you had said the wrong thing. But then out came a soft, “Thank you.” You looked at him and smiled just as the lights dimmed down and the previews began.
There was something about being in this older theater that made the movie more enjoyable. The old style animation commercials advertising popcorn and drinks that could be bought from concession. Local commercials, like for the Fourth of July festival, Bradley’s Big Buy, Enzo’s Restaurant. A few were thrown in for upcoming movies but it was mostly staying local. The seats were comfortable, having been stuffed and sewn and restuffed and patched over the years rather than feeling like they came right out of a factory.
And the movie - the movie was glorious. Daryl Hannah was beautiful, Tom Hanks was a cutie-pie. Your shoulders were touching Steve’s the entire movie, both of you subconsciously leaning in towards one another. There was a point, when the mermaid character was biting into a lobster, where you held up one of the candies that you chose, and Steve ate it right out of your hand, his lips brushing against your fingertips. That’s never happened before. That feeling of intimacy.
After the movie, the two of you stuck close. Walking beside one another, the back of your hands brushing against each other. This felt like more than a tour of the town now. This was beginning to feel like a ... well, a date. God, you really were falling for your summer-time crush weren’t you? Getting all nervous and sweaty palmed and averted gazes and fluttery eyelashes.
“So what area of town are you staying in?” Steve asked casually, a question that had your heart pounding for another reason. If you lied, you could be caught out easily, especially if he offered to drive you home afterwards, which was what this was leading to. “Maybe I know your cousin. It’s a small town.”
Oh, he knew your cousin alright. Loathed one. Saved the other. “Oh, maybe,” You said, shrugging casually. “But I see them everyday, not you. I want to know more about you.” It wasn’t a lie, actually, you did.
“Really?” He said, looking at you with surprise in his eyes. He then coughed a little into his hand, like he was trying to regain himself. “I mean, yeah, sure, what do you want to know?”
“Hmm... oh, okay. If you had to rename Cool Whip, what would you call it?”
“What?” Steve asked, looking at you with an expression of pure incredulousness. “Cool whip?”
“Yup, Cool Whip,” You grinned. “If you think about it, they probably didn’t settle on the name right away. The marketing team had to come up with different names, and that’s the one that they decided on. But what do you think some of the other names were?”
You weren’t sure if Steve was actually going to play along with this game. He walked with you back to his car, but before he unlocked the doors, he stopped, one hand on his hip, and the other on the roof of the vehicle. “Creamy Dream?”
That surprised you. That surprised you enough that you let out an embarrassing bark of laughter, and covered your mouth. He seemed to realize what he said and a light blush flitted across his tan cheeks. He started to laugh along with you, even as he finally opened the doors and let you inside of his car.
“That’s my new favorite,” You say, still laughing as you put on your seatbelt. “Puffin lovin,” You suggest, and he cracks up again. He gets the car onto the road and we keep on spouting ideas, laughing hard. You don’t even know where you’re headed. You don’t really care.
“Whippy-whips.”
“Whiffy Puff.”
“Sweet dreams.”
“Puffy cow?”
“You came up with the best one already, I'll never forget creamy dream.”
“Never going to live that one down, am I?” Steve asks, and I notice that the houses, the buildings, are growing fewer and fewer and the trees are growing thicker.
“Never,” I smile. “I’m just tempted to tell Robin,” You tease, and Steve groans.
“Please don’t, she teases me like crazy anyway.”
“Okay, okay, I won’t tell for now, just because .. this is going really well,” You admit, your body turned in his direction, giving him my complete attention. Although this area is darker than the streets, due to there not being nearly as many streetlights, you can still see his handsome visage. The straight arch of his nose, the soft jaw, the hair perfectly in place. “So Steve, which part of the tour is this?”
“Thought I’d show you the lake,” He offered.
“This ... Lover’s Lake?” You asked, teasingly. “Are you sure you’re not getting a little ahead of yourself there?”
Steve instantly turned a color of red that you had only seen on a tomato. Itt was almost the exact shade actually. It was impressive. “I wouldn’t - I mean, if you want to but - that’s not what I was .. not expecting?” He stumbled, his mouth going faster than his brain. Was this really the King Steve that my cousin used to complain about all the time? He seemed a lot more humble, a lot more .. down to earth, not nearly as cocky as he had been made to seem.
“I’m just messing with you,” You chuckled. I knew Max did the same thing to him all the time, it was now officially a family trait. “I’d like to see the lake, it sounds nice.”
He looked at you with disbelief and then chuckled, shaking his head. “You scared me for a minute there,” He admitted. “Thought you thought I was going to try to force you into something. I would never do that by the way. Never’?
“No, I didn’t think you would, I swear,” You said, feeling the need to do a little damage control. “Really, you don’t strike me as that kind of guy.”
“Good, that’s good,” He said with a nod, his perfect hair bobbing in his face. It’s amusing to watch. You lean back in my seat as we pull up real close to the water. We must be off the road by this point. But wow.
Wow.
The way that the sun was just beginning to set and the sky was turning from a blue to a peachy color, just starting, was magnificent to behold. You had seen a lot of beach sunsets in California but something like this was just - unreal. With all of the trees becoming mere silhouettes rather than detailed. You were just staring with awe through the windshield.
You didn’t even notice that Steve was staring at you, you were too busy being absolutely amazed. “Do you wanna step out?” He asked, his entire face soft when you turned to look at it. Almost like a .. a puppy looking at their favorite person. “No .. roof in the way,” He pointed out, and then winced at himself. You chuckled because God, if he wasn’t the most adorable dork in the world, you’d eat your own hair.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” You said, undoing your seatbelt and stepping out of the car, onto the pebbled beach which turned into water. You crouched down and picked up one of the rocks. It was a light gray color that many might have thought of as just plain, smooth, round, but you picked it up regardless. You rubbed your finger across the warmth. It had just been soaking up the sun all day. “Do you ever skip rocks here?” You asked.
“I used to when I was a kid. Used to come here every day in the summer,” Steve said, stepping up beside you. He was looking down at the rocks too, before finding one that was smooth and flat. Perfect for something like this. “Dunno if I still have the skills though.”
“Go on then,” You said, jutting out your chin to the water. “I wanna see what you got. I promise, if you’re awful, I won’t tell Robin and give her something else to tease you about,” You joked playfully. He rolled his eyes and gave you a little nudge before turning his body to the side, and whipping his hand out, letting the rock fly. It skipped across the water twice before sinking under the ripples of its own making.
“Yup, I still got it,” He said, picking up another stone, and tossed it like it was a coin, grabbing it again. You chuckled and then tried yours, though it only skipped the one time, before disappearing.
“Never had it. That’s the best one that I’ve ever done,” You said with a grin, still proud of yourself even if it only did the one.
“Come on, I’ll show you,” He said. For a minute there, you thought this was going to be one of those corny moments that you see all of the time. Where the guy tries to teach the girl how to play pool but pressing himself up against her, to try to ‘hold’ the pool cue properly. But it wasn’t like that at all. He actually stood across from you, showing you how to hold the stone, lightly touching my hands and your hands only. Then he mimed throwing a stone, to demonstrate the way that the arm should move as you whip it. “Try it now,” He said, finding another stone, handing it to you.
“Okay, let’s see how good a teacher you are,” You chuckled. You moved in the way that he showed you, and to your surprise, it skipped once - twice - thrice - and then dropped below the surface of the water. “Wow. A better teacher than a doer,” You said, looking at him, your face filled up with glee. “Three - that’s a record I don’t think I’ll ever break.”
“That was great,” He said, his own grin as he looked out at the water and then back at you. In the natural light, he really did look ... spectacular. And the way that he was looking at you too. It was just so .. soft. There was no leering and no ogling, he kept his eyes on your face and looked at you as if you could be ...
Salvation was the only word that came to mind. He noticed that you had caught him looking at you and looked embarrassed for a second but then, didn’t look away. “Steve...” You heard your voice say, without even knowing what you were going to follow it up with. Maybe you didn't even have to follow it up at all. He stepped in a little closer so he was still a respectful foot and a half away from you but it still felt really close.
“Are you really only staying for the summer?” He asked. He looked almost forlorn when he asked it. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed, waiting for the answer that he knew wouldn’t come. You could only nod, because it was the truth. You both had to stay in the reality of this Summer, or ... who knows what could possibly happen?"Just my luck. Coolest, and most beautiful girl in Hawkins and she’s leaving at the end of the season.”
You did have to smile at the compliments. They were really nice to hear from someone, and the way that he was looking at you. This still wasn’t King Steve. He seemed to be long gone. This was someone new, that you haven’t heard about from Billy. This was more of the version that Max saw, but not nearly as annoying. Probably because he wasn’t trying to tell you what to do in the case of a giant monster attacking. And even if he did, you would probably listen to him since he has way more experience with that kind of thing in Hawkins than you do. “Yeah, it does sound like shitty luck,” you admitted. “But ... if you think about it, the summer can feel pretty long sometimes. And we still have another two months of it...”
“A lot can happen in two months,” He figured out. You moved in a little closer to him, nodding.
“And there’s these things called phones, if we want to worry about the after...”
That seemed to be all of the permission, the affirming that he needed before he crashed his lips onto yours for the first time. And as odd as it was, he just tasted like the summer. Like sunscreen and fireworks on the Fourth of July, and excitement on the beach and days where you go to the mall just to soak up the air conditioning. His hands still didn’t wander to anywhere inappropriate. They rested themselves at the bottom of your ribcage, his fingers fitting into the grooves so well. You had your hands on his chest now, moving one up to hold onto his chin, to show that you liked this. That you wanted this. Turns out neither of you had intended for anything cliche to happen at Lovers Lake, but here you were.
There wasn’t any tongue in these first kisses, no pushing further than what felt natural for the time. And it broke apart smoothly, softly, your eyes looking into his that were the exact color of dark honey. “So I can call you in September?” Steve asked, picking up where the conversation had left off.
“September, October - all of the Bers,” You said with a smile.
“My dad’s going to kill me over the phone bill,” Steve cracked a grin.
“So make sure you keep doing an amazing job at Scoops so you can pay for it,” You say, teasingly. “I can call you sometimes. Switch it up. I don’t think my dad would mind.”
“Perfect,” He said, and laid a kiss on your forehead. And it did feel that way. As long as you were out together, everything felt perfect, with the still lake and the faint smell of sunscreen and the feeling of his strong hands always right behind you - not on you, but lingering - when he walked with you back to the car, ready to catch you in case you slipped on any of the rocks.
You didn’t let him take you home. He wanted to, and he had this little look of confusion on his face when you asked him to drop you off at the corner a couple of blocks away.
“I don’t want my aunt and uncle asking questions about why I’m letting some random boy drop me off after sunset,” You explained, though it was much more about my cousin. He just didn’t need to know that ... yet.
“I want to meet them though,” Steve said, hesitantly pulling over to the curb at the corner. “You know, walk you up to the door. Maybe give you a kiss goodnight?”
He looked so cute, so hopeful when he said all of this, it made your heart beat quicker and your cheeks start to feel tight from smiling. “Maybe next time. I have to keep some mystery alive,” You say, trying to play it off as something cool. Like you weren’t concerned about Billy seeing Steve coming up to the house and come walking out with a tire iron or something similar. Or about Steve recognizing the house as Billy’s for some reason. Or more than likely, Max’s, probably dropping her off the same way that he was with you right now.
“Okay - I’ll remember you said that,” Steve said, his voice so warm. Giving in without pushing back.
You undid your seatbelt, let it roll back into the holder. You turned my body towards Steve, and saw that he was already turned towards you, giving you all of his attention. There was a faint smile on his lips, like maybe he was trying not to look too eager. “You can give me a kiss goodnight right here, if you wanted to...” You said, softly.
“Would that be okay?” He asked, and you nodded. Now that the first kiss was out of the way, you were able to relax more into the second one. You both moved in at the same time, your arms going over his shoulders, elbows resting there, pulling him in more. His went under your arms, around your back, warm, large. And your lips met in the middle, hot breath coming from nostrils, hair tickling your arms - and though he was there to support you, to keep you upright, it felt like you could be falling. Melting.
It broke off when a car drove around the corner, and your senses just went haywire, pulling away to see who it was. Not Billy. Just some station wagon going down the street. You sighed in relief and met Steve’s eyes, which looked quizzically at you. “Sorry, startled me,” You said with a little laugh. “I’ll come into the mall and see you again soon.”
“Wait,” Steve said, the backs of his fingers brushing against your arm. “Could I at least get your phone number? Just in case you .. don’t make it in?”
You smiled, took his hand from your arm and gave it a light squeeze. You started to open the car door with your other hand. “If it’s fate, you’ll guess it,” You said with a wink and got out. You closed the door behind you and started to walk down the street.
Of course it wasn’t that easy. Steve, being the sweetheart that he was, drove alongside you at a really slow pace, eyes focused more out of the passenger door window than at the road ahead. “Come on, at least let me make sure that you get to your door safely,” He said, leaning out of his seat towards you. “I’ll worry all night if I don’t.”
“Oh Steve,” You sighed. “You’re too cute for words, you know that? But my uncle is going to be even more suspicious if I’m walking down the street with a car tailing me. I’ll be fine, I can see the house from here."
“You’re absolutely sure?” Steve asked. He still had that concerned look on his face as he spoke through the window.
“Yes,” You laughed. “What do you think is going to happen?”
You regretted asking that though, as you saw his face fall. You realized he must be thinking about Barb. About what happened to Will. The dangers. But you weren’t supposed to know that stuff.
“Okay,” He finally gave in. “Will you at least come out to the mall tomorrow?”
You laughed lightly again, this time not regretting what you were about to say.
Wordcount: 2641
Chapter Summary: There's some strangeness around Billy. Steve-free chapter.
Previous Chapter can be found here.
Next Chapter can be found here.
Something was going on with Billy. You couldn’t quite put your finger on what it was but he was spending more time out than usual. He was yelling back at Neil more than usual. He wasn’t playful with you or Max, he wasn’t teasing or offering to spend time with you. He only really came home to sleep. At first, you thought perhaps he found himself a girlfriend rather than fucking around all the time, that could be an explanation for being out at all hours of the night. But not the surly attitude. And not him ignoring you like this. He had never done that before. What if he had found out about your date with Steve - what if he had overheard Max asking you about it when you got home afterwards? No, even that wouldn’t account for this. He’d be mad but he’d most likely try to lecture you about it, to remind you of what a piece of shit Steve was. He wasn’t the type to keep it bottled inside - he took it out on the world.
But it also wasn’t as if Billy was the kind of guy who would let loose his feelings if he was pestered to. So you just watched him from afar, and hoped for the best. There was nothing else for it.
You grabbed a Popsicle and sat outside on the front porch, trying to catch any of the breeze that was supposed to be out here, according to the weatherman. But there was no breeze - just clouds starting to form, threatening a storm. You sighed and went over my options for the day - bus to the mall, bus to the library… all involving buses because Billy was MIA. There was only a small oil patch on the ground where his Camaro usually was. You licked the cherry Popsicle and stared at it, thinking about the night that we got into that accident. And how that really showed Billy’s character. That he just took off after that. Left you there because you wanted to help. Maybe you didn’t know your cousin as well as you thought that you did.
“Do you know where Billy is?” Max’s voice hit you. You looked up to see her and Eleven starting to walk up towards the house. Their expressions were extremely serious. Much more serious than someone their ages should be.
“No idea, he was gone before I was awake,” You said, looking between the two. “I don’t even know if he came home at all last night.”
Now the two girls looks at each other.
A moment later, after filling you in about what they had done last night, Eleven with her astral projection or whatever it’s called, you were in Billy’s room with them, keeping a look-out though everyone was at work. “Why do I get the feeling we’re going to find all kinds of wrong in here?” Max asked.
“Just don’t touch any tissues, they’re not used for sneezing,” You advised, wishing you had thought to put on some dish washing gloves. But you were too curious not to be in here. Too concerned not to.
Billy’s room was messier than it usually was - not that he kept it clean exactly but this was the room of someone that had been distracted. Dirty clothes spilling out of his laundry basket and onto the ground; his radio still on and playing metal music; his ashtray overflowing and so he started using a plate that still had sandwich crumbs on it. You remembered making him that sandwich. That was days ago.
Max went to his night table, opening it up and peering inside. “Ugh, gag me with a spoon,” She said, closing it back up quickly. You didn’t have to ask what was in there. Teenage boys. Disgusting.
You don’t find anything in the bedroom, other than the signs that he hadn’t been cleaning, so you three went into the bathroom. It had changed since you had taken a shower yesterday afternoon. The bathtub was filled with water, and empty plastic bags were swimming on the surface. Bags of ice from the corner store. The ones used to fill coolers and the like.
“Max?” El asks. Your redhead cousin stepped forward, grabbing one of the empty plastic bags.
“Ice,” She said, reading the bag. “It’s just ice. It’s probably for his muscles or something. He works out like a maniac, right y/n?”
“He does,” You had to agree with that, but the fact that he would just leave the mess in there despite knowing that Neil would get on his case about it … that was a bad sign. And then your eyes caught on another one. Blood. You definitely hadn’t noticed that today. El noticed too. Her breath was trembling, and you lightly put your arm around her, trying to reassure her that everything was going to be okay, that there was an explanation for this, a reasonable one, there had to be. But she pulls from you and opens up the cupboard beneath the sink. She pulls out the garbage bucket that was in there. The one that you cleaned a few days ago, emptying into the trash bin.
“What is it?” You ask with a tremor.
El pulled out the red lifeguard first aid kit, and then there was a lanyard, with a bright yellow whistle. Or it had been bright yellow. Now, like the lanyard, it was blood stained.
“Well shit,” You sighed.
--
And somehow, you ended up in the locker room of the pool, after discovering that Billy wasn’t there, and that the lifeguard first aid kit, and the whistle, belong to Heather Holloway. The locker room smelt like wet clothes and unwashed feet, something that was noticed by Max too as her nose curled up once you were in there. But there wasn’t much time to waste.
You start flooding the locker room, turning on showers, sink taps, everything that we can in order to help El find Heather. Find Billy.
“This could just be .. jerk Billy behavior right?” You asked Max, as El was putting duct tape over a diving mask. “You don’t think it’s…”
“I don’t know. He’s always been weird,” Max said, which you could understand. “But he was doing a lot better since you came here so…”
Although that was a really nice thing to hear, it didn’t help that much right now. “Wish it worked enough that he would actually talk to me when something is wrong,” You mumbled.
The two of you fell into silence when El put on the blacked out diving mask, and began to look for Heather. You sat on one side of her, Max on the other, your shoes becoming soaked by the flooded floor. You just looked at her. Her powers were fascinating to you. This was the first time that you had ever seen her use them.
“What do you see?” Max asked.
“A door. A red door.”
After another minute or two, El takes off the mask. Her nose bleeding. You immediately get up to find a towel while El collapses in Max’s hands. Your cousin and yourself look at each other, and you're both thinking the same thing.
Whatever this is - it’s not good.
She comes around a short time later, and she tells everything that she saw. The red door. Heather, the missing lifeguard, she’s screaming, she’s reaching to El for help, but then she gets quickly taken away by … something. And if it wasn’t something to do with the Upside Down, then El should have been able to see it. But it wasn’t clear what it was. Something was stirring in Hawkins again, and you were apparently going to be here for it.
In your still wet shoes, you flirt with the manager of the pool, and you get him to tell you the address of Heather. It took some eyelash batting but you got the job done, thanking him for being so helpful, and how he’s such a good man to do this favor, and you even wink at him, sticking your tongue out as you turn back around.
You take the address with me back to Max and El, who are getting ready on their bikes.. “Let’s go,” You said, jumping onto the back of Max's, holding on to her shoulders.
The streets aren’t flooded yet but if the rain continues, they just might be.
Max knew the city better than you or El, but the three of you were squinting through raindrops, trying to read the numbers on the mailboxes to find the right one and then - red door.
“Is this it?” Max asked.
El nodded and together, you three walked up. You felt responsible for these kids now. Was this how Steve had felt, when he watched over them at the junkyard? When he nearly sacrificed himself to take care of the demodogs, as Dustin had called them? Whatever, you just knew that you were going to go through everything that they did. Not leave them alone in the off chance that there was something, anything that you could do.
Especially if Billy was somehow involved.
We didn’t bother knocking. Or rather, El didn’t, since she somehow unlocked the door with her mind. You walked in behind them and noticed that the interior made everything really look like it was the perfect family home. As you walked down the hallway, you saw a large family portrait. Professionally done. Mother, Father, Daughter, happy posing smiles. Looking like something straight out of Leave it to Beaver.
You hear a laugh and the three of you looked at each other. It was the last sound that you expected to hear, if Heather was really in trouble. And then seeing the happy family together, with Billy sitting there, was the last thing that you had expected to see.
“Isn’t that cute, huh?” Billy was saying.
“He’s too funny,” Mother was saying to Father.
And that’s the scene that we walked in on. And just because we were in the shot of it now, didn’t mean that it was over, apparently. Billy saw you. He saw Max. He said your names out loud.
“We didn’t mean to barge in,” Max said, speaking for the three of you. El and Max both looked like they were in disbelief. You were studying Billy, trying to figure out what was so different about him. “We tried to knock, but maybe you didn’t hear us over the storm.”
“I’m sorry, who is this dripping all over my living room right now?”
“I’m sorry,” Billy said. That was one of the startling things right there. He didn’t apologize for anything. Not unless he was being forced to and even then, it only ever came out as sarcastic. “Janet, Tom, this is my sister Maxine, and my cousin Y/N.”
He stood up, and started to walk over to you, El and Max. You stood your ground, dripping but not moving, and you were looking straight into his blue eyes.
You had known Billy all of your life. You spent time together in the same crib. The same playpens. He was at almost all of your birthday parties until they had moved here to Indiana. He was the one that you went to when you were angry, because he either helped hype up that anger until you burnt yourself out, or he was able to help you, when he didn’t even know how to help himself. He was the boy that was only scared of his dad and of dark places, like caves, or even the tubes inside of McDonalds play-places when the lights were dimmed.
So essentially, you knew Billy. Better than his father did, better than Max did. The only person who might have known him better was his mother. The person whose eyes that you were looking into right now - you knew that it was not Billy. It might have looked like Billy. But it was definitely not him. Like someone made a doll of him, a puppet. There might have been a trace, far back, but right behind those eyes was someone else. Something Else.
“What on earth are you doing here? Is something wrong?”
Your immediate reaction was to protect these girls, despite the fact that Eleven was an actual weapon and that Max could definitely handle herself, as she showed Billy last fall. You are the adult here. You need to act like it. So you pushed yourself between the two girls, standing in front of them, even as they spoke.
“We just wanted to make sure everything was okay,” Max said, her confusion showing through her voice. And now here was fake Billy with his fake concern.
“Okay, why wouldn’t it be okay?”
“Where is she?” Eleven asked.
“I’m sorry, where is who?”
Coming out of the kitchen, carrying a tray of cookies, the smell hitting you before the realization of who it was that was carrying them, came Heather. Not a scratch on her. Almost too squeaky clean. Not at all the way that Eleven had described.
But because of how Billy was acting, you believed Eleven. There was something not right going on here.
“Well, they’re a little burnt, I’m sorry-” Heather said, in her usually sweet voice. It was definitely her own voice, her own face. But whether it was actually Heather, you didn’t know. This whole scene was looking a bit too.. domestic bliss.
“Heather, this is my cousin y/n, and my sister Maxine,” Billy introduced. “And I’m sorry, I did not catch your name.”
“That’s not important,” You spoke, staring at Billy. “What are you doing here?”
That’s when El spoke, not to say her name, but to stare at Heather. “I … saw … you -”
“Your manager, at the pool,” Max said quickly. “He said you guys didn’t come in to work today, so we got worried.”
“Heather wasn’t feeling so hot today, so we thought we’d take the day off to nurse her back to health. But you’re feeling just fine now, aren’t you Heather?”
“I’m feeling so much better,” Heather agreed.
Billy looked past you at Eleven. And the look that was in his eyes - it proved to you even further that this was not your cousin. This was not the Billy that you had grown up with. There was something else in there, wearing his skin. Pretending that this was Halloween and that this boy was simply a costume. The three of you were offered cookies by Heather and her mother but you weren’t going to take them.
You didn’t want to leave without Billy. “Could you drive us home?” you asked him, pleaded with the Billy that still had to be inside of there somewhere. You couldn’t believe that he was gone. “It’s raining pretty hard out.”
“I can’t be rude,” Billy said, which was … not true. Billy could be rude. Billy was rude. The light drained from your eyes then, and you turned to the girls behind you. “Let’s go.”
The three of you in disbelief, you headed back outside into the rain. You didn’t skateboard this time. You just tucked it under your arm and walked along with the girls as they moved slowly, not able to see too much as the fog rolled in with the pelting drops. You took one last look over your shoulder at Heather’s house, and saw Billy, watching through the window. The look that he exchanged with El was more chilling than the cold rain.
“That wasn’t him,” You said, as you made your way back to Max’s house. El looked at you, like she believed you. Like she had seen it for herself, even if she didn’t have the most experience with Max’s brother. But your red haired cousin - she didn’t look so sure.
Wordcount: 3906
Chapter Summary: No Steve in this one, I’m afraid. Max, Billy and Robin filled though!
Warnings: Super douchebag Neil, some language.
Song mentioned: Modern English - Someone’s Calling
Chapter Three
Chapter Five
You were able to hear it through your headphones. The argument. You were laying on the ground with your tape player, enjoying the cassette tape of Modern English’s After the Snow, when you heard the garbled voices. They became more clear as the arguing duo came in closer to Max’s closed door. Between the lyrics, words became coherent.
“And as our bridges burned to dust-”
“THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THIS WEEK YOU CAME BACK LATE-”
“A useless theme was quite enough-”
“- I had to walk, my headlight is busted..”
“I felt as you, one with the night-”
“Well maybe if you spent less time looking in the mirror like a little faggot-”
“Someone’s calling in the night....”
“- you’d spend more time working and you can fix your fucking car!”
You took the headphones off of your ears and looked up at Max who had been reading comics in bed up until that point. Now she was staring at her closed door, mouth slightly open. Right. She didn’t know the extent of Neil’s anger. She knew that he had a temper but - this was the true Neil starting to come out. You were up quick as a flash, going to the door and turning the flimsy little lock on it. It wasn’t much, but it was something.
“Put on my headphones,” You said, turning your head towards Max. She was still just gaping. Not moving. “Now, Max,” You hissed, trying not to let your voice go beyond the door. And that little shitbird cousin of yours, she didn’t listen, only closed her mouth and glared at you for daring to try to tell her what to do. That red-haired temperament, she’d have to be careful with that, lest she end up in arguments like the one in the hallway. But you glared at her in a way that you never had before. And reluctantly, watching you, she picked up your cassette player from the ground, and slipped the thin headphones over her head. You breathed out a sigh in relief. The voices might carry through the music but at least it would sound a little less angry. Less loud.
You stayed against the door, ear pressed against it. Billy wasn’t arguing back. Every time that he said something, Neil would argue about excuses. He wasn’t letting his son speak. It was times like this that you hated that you were related to that man. He was so different than your father, his brother. Your dad would never raise his voice at you like that, never once. Would never raise a hand against you either. He tried to be there for Billy, always offered him a place to run away to - until the marriage to Max’s mom came about and the move to California. He tried to warn you off against coming to visit and being in a place where there was no reprieve from Neil but if Billy and Max didn’t get one, then you didn’t deserve one either. You’d suffer with them, with the hopes of making things a bit easier.
Neil was taking pleasure in the fact that Billy wasn’t fighting back. You could hear it in his sadistic voice. Trying to taunt him on, knowing that he was breaking his resolve, his spirit. Calling him a pussy, a faggot, all sorts of names. The house rumbled as a fist hit something. A wall. You couldn’t handle much more of this, just listening. You turned the lock. It hardly made a noise. And you opened the door.
The door frame into Billy’s room was now cracked, wood sticking out. Splinters in Billy’s hand. His father was ‘laughing, laughing, while Max’s mom was trying to soothingly lure him into the living room, away from the situation. “Oh, big man, can’t even defend himself,” Neil laughed. You could smell the alcohol from where you were standing.
You stepped out, socked feet barely making a sound against the carpeted floor. You closed the door as gently as you could, not wanting to bring attention to Max inside. Anything you said was going to make the situation worse. You knew that. But you couldn’t just let Billy take this, you just couldn’t. “Did you pick up that thing for me, Billy?” You asked, bringing six sets of eyes towards you. You forced a smile on your face, like you didn’t notice the situation. Didn’t notice Billy holding his fist to his side, bleeding. Or Neil’s red face. Or Susan’s horrified one. “Oh, hi, sorry to interrupt,” You lied, trying to keep a tremble out of your voice. This was the first time that you were actually seeing Neil’s anger in quite some time. He must have been trying to keep his cool around you. “I know it made you late, and I’m real sorry Billy. But I do appreciate it.”
Your eyes were on his, staring him down. Trying to get his sometimes thick head to realize that you were trying to give him an out here. Try to get the fighting down to a minimum. All of the eyes went back to Billy who was still breathing in and out through his nose, droplets of sweat on his forehead. Stress sweat. He was only looking back at you. It took him a full minute to get his rage levels down enough to figure all this out. “Yeah,” He croaked. “I got it for you.”
“Great, thanks,” You said, breathing out with relief. For the moment, it looked as if Neil was as thick headed as his son, and was slowly buying into what you were selling. “I’ll come grab it in a little bit. Or you could bring it in later. Whichever works for you. Thanks again.”
You gave a little wave. A meek wave. It was all that you could muster in the face of all that anger. You stepped back and closed Max’s door again, and then leaned your head against the cool wood.
“What the shit was that?” Max’s voice asked. You turned to see that she had the headphones on but was staring at you like she had heard the whole thing. She had heard the whole thing. “Hey, I put these stupid things on,” She said, taking them off and dropping them on the bed. “You didn’t say I had to keep the music going though.”
“Smartass,” You muttered. You pressed your head back against the wall to hear softer voices. There was still irritation. But none of the earlier ferocity. “Alright, crisis averted, for now.”
“Why’d you bother?” Max asked. She snorted and looked out her window. “He deserves to be yelled at.”
“No one deserves that treatment, Max. Not even Billy.”
--
You decided to join Billy at the pool rather than go back to the mall or stay inside of the house. Max was spending time with her friends, and as much as you liked Susan, there was only so much of her humming and singing as she cleaned that you could take. Towel over your shoulders, bag with your new book and bathing suit in it and your handy dandy cassette player with a couple of cassettes thrown in.
Your cousin looked a little less than enthused about you standing by his car, ready to go. “Really?” He asked, walking to his door and unlocking it.
“What?” You asked. “You think I’m going to be spending all day watching soap operas and doing dishes?”
“Yeah? Isn’t that what women do all day, while us men go make the money?” He asked with a smirk. You rolled your eyes and waited for him to reach over and unlock the passenger side door so that you could get in. “Just preparing you for your future. Harrison Ford will want a perfect little stay at home wife.”
“Is that so?” You asked, unamused, watching him as he stuck the keys in the ignition. The car started up with a purr. It really was Billy’s pride and joy, despite whatever Neil thought. He took good care of it - even seemed to get the Steve Harrington’s car-sized dent out of the front.
“Yeah. He’s a proper man,” Billy nodded, starting the drive from the Hargrove house to the local swimming pool. “Probably keeps his wife in little aprons and shit. Strikes you out then. You’re a shit cook.”
You shoved at his shoulder as he started to laugh, flashing you that real and true smile that used to charm many a girl back in California. He didn’t seem to do it much here, in Indiana.Then again, there didn’t seem to be too much to smile about. And that smile wasn’t about to work on you either.
“I’ll have you know - I got better,” You said, crossing your arms. “The only reason that you don’t know is because you don’t deserve my cooking, actually. It’s only for special people.”
“Like your enemies?” Billy shot back. “Oh, I get it. It’s your secret weapon.”
“Screw you.”
“Well that’s just disgusting, you’re my cousin.”
You groaned in frustration, flinging your head back against the headrest, causing Billy to start laughing. At least he seemed to be in a slightly better mood today. He only did this kind of teasing when he was content. Perhaps even happy.
“And even if I wasn’t your cousin, I’d never be like those moms that watch you at the pool. Don’t you ever get sick of being... I don’t know, objectified by women twice your age?”
Billy reached over you to open up the dashboard compartment, all while keeping his eyes on the road. He fished out a pair of aviator sunglasses, and place them on his face, balancing them on the bridge of his nose. He rolled down his window so that the wind would perfectly blow through that curly mullet of his, which he put just as much effort into as his car. What was it with Hawkins boys and their hair? He looked as if he was thinking about it for a minute. And then he turned his head towards you, face perfectly cocked to get the sunlight - oh, he’d been practicing - and he said a single word. “Nope.”
You rolled your eyes and looked out the window instead, trying to memorize the way to get to the pool. You still had quite a bit of time here before you’d be going back to the west coast. Relying on your cousins for directions in such a small town was getting real stale.
The pool was boisterous. Both the people around it and the water itself. Splashing noises pervaded the air, along with the scent of sunblock and - strawberry popsicles. You were out of the car as soon as it was parked in the staff spot, not actually wanting to see all of the looks your cousin would get. Though it would be amusing to see the faces fall on many of the women. You and Billy - you didn’t look much alike. Maybe once someone knew that you two were related, they could see the faint resemblance. But it wasn’t obvious. People might peg you as his girlfriend which was absolutely disgusting. You loved your cousin but if you weren’t related, there’s no way that you’d ever be talking to him. You’d never hang out with him. The racism, the sexism, all which stemmed from his father but that was no excuse. Not even a chance.
You paid the entry fee, despite the fact that Billy could have gotten you in for free, and went straight into the women’s changing rooms. Wow. You hadn’t realized how liberal California was in comparison. You were preparing yourself to walk into a room full of women with no shame. Changing in the open. But everyone was tucked away into the stalls. Or changing underneath their long towels. Well, you weren’t going to start waves - not until you got into the pool anyway. Someone was walking out of one of the stalls right then, so you started to head into it, only to get stopped, a hand touching your arm.
“Y/N, hey!” An excited voice. You caught onto it right away, along with the shoulder length brown hair.
“Robin!” You said, moving off to the side. Someone else slipped into the abandoned stall but that was more than alright, you were distracted now. “Thank god. I brought a book for entertainment but I’d much rather talk to someone. Unless you’re already here with someone?” You couldn’t help yourself. You were hoping that she might say Steve. But also dreading that answer because the last thing you needed was Billy seeing the two of you hanging out. He was bound to say something stupid. Something idiotic. Something offensive, no doubt. And you weren’t quite sure you wanted Steve to know exactly who your cousins were yet.
She seemed reluctant to answer the question. Her eyes didn’t meet yours. But rather, they were focused somewhere behind you. You turned your head, though she immediately started to make noises to protest this. In the direction that she had been staring was a redhead, who looked about the same age as the two of you. Short red hair, a simple bathing suit just like Robin’s. You turned back around to see how flustered Robin got in just the five seconds you looked away. “Do you know her?” You whispered, and then nearly facepalmed. A town this size? Everyone knows everyone.
“Yeah but - we’re not, uhh - we’re not here together,” She said, making your eyebrows raise. “She’s a friend. Sort of. We’re in band together.”
“Okay...” You said, definitely picking up that there was more there. But she clearly felt uncomfortable talking about it. “So you can hang out with me then, cool. I just had to get out of the house. Hawkins feels a bit .. stiffling.”
“Try living here your whole life,” Robin said, rolling her eyes. She wrapped her towel around her body, looking self-conscious. Her eyes kept flickering back to the band girl. “I’ll go claim some chairs for us."
“Yeah, okay, thanks,” You said, eyebrows furrowed as she rushed herself out of there. It did seem suspicious, but it really wasn’t as if you knew Robin well enough to tell if she was acting strangely. The people in Hawkins did seem to be a bit different than the ones that you were used to in California. Dorkier, definitely. Trying to shake this off, you went into the stall and changed into your new bathing suit for the first time. You smoothed it down with your fingers, and hardly spared a glance in the mirror as you walked out, through the locker room and to the bright and sunny day again.
Too sunny. You forgot your damn sunglasses. You had to raise your hand over your eyes to act as a shield while you looked around to see where Robin had gotten off to. The sun was shining off a lot of big blonde hair and pale bodies - it was still early in the Summer, people were only getting a start on working on their tans. It was kind of funny, really. But Robin did catch your eyes, chairs set back a bit from the pool. Far from the moms, you noticed. But still a good vantage point for people watching. Robin had good taste.
“You picked the best seats in the house,” You said, heading towards her. She lifted her towel off of the second chair and you laid yourself down on it, crossing one ankle over the other.
“I think the Douchebag lifeguard is working today, and I want to be far away from him,” She said, settling into her own chair, pulling very smart sunglasses out of her bag. “But I still want to people watch.”
“A gal after my own heart,” You said, biting the inside of your cheek, figuring who Douchebag lifeguard was very quickly. I attempted to keep my tone light. “What makes this lifeguard a douchebag?”
“Just look at him,” She said, motioning with her chin in the direction of the pool. Billy had just come out of the staff locker room, definitely oiled up. Without meaning to, completely against your will, you gagged, which made Robin laugh. You saw him before he walked into the staff room. That was definitely tanning oil on his chest. There wasn’t enough time for a sweaty sheen. Match that with the whistle, the sunglasses, the red shorts. Okay, so your cousin was a douchebag, at least on the outside. “Yeah, you get it."’
“Yeah, yeah I do,” You said, laughing. This was the prime opportunity to come out and tell her that he was your cousin. But it also didn’t feel quite right. She might not be so candid if you told her that. “Did he ever do anything to you?” You asked, still trying to keep up that tone. You only ever heard Max and Billy’s sides of things - and though they are conflicting, it wasn’t enough to get the whole idea.
“Other than existing, I guess not,” She said, shrugging. “I don’t think he knows I exist. And I like it that way. You might be in trouble though, with that bathing suit.”
You tilted your head downwards to look at your body, sprawled out. Okay, so this was no diving costume, but you didn’t think it was too revealing. Not enough to worry about any of the guys here. “That’s hardly going to be a problem,” You insisted. “Anyway, what’s there to do around here? I’ve seen the mall - the pool - is that it?”
“There’s this big fourth of July fair thing,” She said, her head moving slightly. You followed her gaze to see the redhead, who was sitting by the side of the pool by herself, dipping her feet into the deep end. It didn’t take an idiot to start figuring it out. You were from Cali - you were probably a lot more liberal than most of the people around here. We Are Here, We Are Queer; Love Wins; Gay Is Good - such things probably weren’t ever said here. But they could very well be felt. “There’s rides and games, but that’s the only good thing about the summer. Mall has a movie theater though. Dingus is always sneaking his kid friends in.”
The corner of your mouth went up into a smile. Dingus - that had to be Steve. “Are you going to ask her?” You asked, voice lower than before. She flinched at the question, and tried to pull it off like she was going to get something from her bag.
“Ask who?” She asked, her voice high. Oh, now you were absolutely certain. She wasn’t very subtle. Her cheeks were even getting flushed. She kept on going too, running at the mouth. “Ask Vicky? No, why would I ask her? We’re not even friends really. We’re just in band together. She’s probably going with somebody anyway. I don’t know. I don’t know her lovelife. I don’t like stalk her or -”
“Robin,” You said, cutting her off from her rant. “It’s okay. Your secret is safe with me.”
She put her hand over her heart, trying to calm it down. You could hear it beating from where you were. A thud, thud, thud. It was cute, watching Robin get flustered over someone. She went from rambling to being struck speechless, so you filled up the silence, changing the subject.
“A fair would be cool though. Fireworks too, right? Yeah, probably, if it’s the fourth of July. Maybe I’ll check it out. Not like I’ve got anything better to do. I’m here until the season ends, and then it’s back to California with me.”
“Oh,” She said, relaxing little by little. “Yeah, there’ll be fireworks. Independence day, rah rah. If I get off work early enough I might go, but the boss likes us to stay late because of the movie crowd,” She stuck out her hand in a dramatic thumbs down motion, and blew a raspberry. “They’re so full on popcorn, we don’t even make anything.”
“Boooo,” You said, joining her in the motion. “Maybe you’ll get lucky and there won’t be a movie crowd. They’ll all be at the fair?”
“Yeah, that’d be nice,” Robin agreed, with a sigh. “That would be nice.”
You ended up enjoying her company for a while. She was hilarious, she was chatty, she was someone that you could see becoming a friend that you keep in contact with, even after going back home. The kind that would definitely cause you a fortune in long distance phone bills. She rambled on about a lot of things, and kept side-eyeing you to see if you would stop her but you never did. She bitched about her band teacher, she bitched about work, she bitched about having to clean her spit valve all of the time. And then - she started to bitch about Steve.
“I swear, we’re losing customers. Girls come in, order their ice cream, and then he hits on them. Flirts with them. HORRIBLY. The guy is a dingus. I don’t know why people used to call him King Steve, he’s more like a jester, but you actually have to be funny to be one of those... Anyway, then they never come back. Or his friends will come in, don’t you think it’s weird that he’s friends with a bunch of twelve year olds? And he gives them free samples of everything. Erica is going to clean us out one of these days, and I’m going to get blamed for it. Just watch.”
You started to laugh. Robin really was non-biased about everyone, and very willing to give her opinion on them. She had a lot to say, and most of it kept you grinning. But then she seemed to rein herself in, looked a bit more serious.
“Were you really with him when he got in that car accident?”
There it was. You had been hoping that this wouldn’t come up, but of course it was going to. You smiled, shifting a little in your seat to try to get comfortable. “I was just walking by,” You lied. It was becoming easier and easier to about this - you almost convinced yourself that Billy had nothing to do with it. “Trying to get my bearings, since I’ll be here til the end of summer. And no offense to your town here but the mall is the only thing that it has going on.”
“Not offended,” Robin waved her hand. “You should have seen what it was like before the mall opened up a couple of months ago. Dead-ville. This was the place to be during the summer.”
“I dunno,” You said, turning your head slightly to look at the pool-moms, all dressed up for your cousin, barf, and then the kids that were splashing in the pool, a couple of people clearly just working on their tan. It was exactly as you expected it to be. It was ... reliably predictable. “I kind of like the peace and quiet.”
Robin snorted at that, but then got herself comfortable, eyes looking at the pretty redhead beneath her sunglasses, and trying to hide it as best she could. You almost bought it. Almost. Deciding not to call her out on it, you settled in, opening up your book, and enjoyed the sunshine which almost made you feel like you were back home.
Allow me to grace you with the first paragraph of Struck Blind...
"Ragged gasps neared the alcove in which I was hiding. I clutched the stone desperately. I held my breath, the anxiety of giving away my position racking my chest. The clicking of footsteps rounding the corner startled me. Whomever had survived the skirmish in the garden was coming for me. The clamor ceased. Heavy breaths were accented by the soft sound of snakes. 'D-Du?'"
My head found Medusa’s shoulder. I listened to the sound of static resonating from her hair, running my fingers along the length of her arm. There was something about her - the cool temperature of her skin; the unique way her body was never truly silent or still; perhaps even the anxiety and anticipation I sensed from her. She was, supposedly, this terrible monster. Yet, my presence seemed to shatter that notion and reveal the soft, timid woman beneath.
I enjoyed her. Every second of time spent in her company; every inch of chilled flesh upon which I could rest my fingers; every sheepishly related tale of her past, I cherished every bit of her. It was nice, at least, to feel as though I had a friend. As I shut my eyes to revel within the tranquility of the moment, I felt another presence.
Someone sat on the other side of me. Talons clutched my knee in an almost playful way. The electricity that traveled from the site of contact along the inside of my thigh told me it was Stheno. I exhaled, raising my head and turning it towards the woman. “Nice of you to join us,” I taunted.
Struck Blind is the story of the blind Jengu who fell in love with Medusa.
If you don’t know, Miengu (plural of Jengu) are African spirits with an affinity for serpents and water. Only fitting that she was drawn to the small waterfall in Medusa’s garden, right?
I am writing it reverse chronologically, so the story begins at the end and ends at the beginning. This is a very new method of story telling for me, personally. I am greatly enjoying the challenge of writing this way.
