"He's gonna be so pissed when he wakes up."

"Yeah. I know."

"So how are we stopping the psycho from killing us all?"

Steve rubbed the back of his neck, forcing himself to try and think of a solution. Billy was out cold, but it was likely that when he woke up Steve was likely to get another beating, which obviously wasn't a favourable idea.

"We could tie him up?" Max suggested, eyes scanning the room for something to bind her step brother's hands.

"That just looks a little psychotic, doesn't it?" Mike commented. Steve merely shrugged, it wasn't like they had abundances of other options. With a heavy sigh Steve started barking out orders.

"Max, find some bleach and something to tie him up with. Dustin, Lucas and Mike, help me move him." Dragging Billy over to a chair and lifting him up was like trying to drag a car, the teen was pure muscle and when unconscious said muscles became weights. Steve's head still pounded from his earlier beating, all the added effort however had it throbbing, it felt as if his skull was going to concave in yet here he was, the one who had to be responsible for all these kids. Steve just silently prayed that Billy wouldn't wake up whilst they were moving him, it was likely the kids would get hurt in that scenario. Eventually they managed to restrain Billy on a chair, catching their breath they all took a step back and examined his slumped figure.

"Guess we better wake him up then." Steve muttered as he poured a small bit of bleach onto a cloth. He approached the unconscious teen and placed the strong odour under his nose. With one sharp inhale he awoke almost instantly and began to fight against the restraints.

"What the fuck? Why am I tied up?!" He half yelled, the familiar look of anger washing across his face.

"I didn't particularly want my ass to get beat again when you woke up."

"So, what? You tie me up after drugging me? Because that's not messed up."

"Probably equates trying to beat up a 12-year-old." Steve snapped back. Billy simply spat out what remained of blood from his mouth, eyes not flickering away from his glare once.

"You remember what I said?" Max asked, voice wavering ever so slightly. Billy scoffed before turning his glare to his step sister.

"To leave you and your friends alone? Yeah, I got it. Now untie me?" They weren't the sincerest sounding of words but then again, Steven couldn't imagine Billy becoming anymore tame than that. He nodded at the blonde before approaching him. He hesitantly untied his legs first, half expecting a knee to the face, yet none came. He then moved on to the hand restraints, leaning right over Billy. He was overly aware of just how close he was to the guy who had nearly killed him merely a couple hours ago. He could feel Billy's warm breaths through his bloodied shirt, hitting his chest; it was a horrible feeling. The way all his hair stood on end and a weird energy flowed through him, it just made him cringe. The hand restraints didn't come undone soon enough and Steve quickly backed away, standing in front of the kids defensively. All eyes were glued to Billy as he rubbed his wrists and stood up slowly. He glared at Steve for probably the millionth time that day and Steve was getting used to it at this point. His eyes softened only the tiniest fraction before turning to Max.

"We have to go. Now." He commanded.

"You're crazy if you think I'm gonna let her go with you." Steve scoffed. Billy opened his mouth to argue with anger back in his eyes but instead calmed ever so slightly and spoke to Max again.

"Please. He's mad…" The words seemed to have an effect on Max as she took a couple steps toward her step brother.

"It's fine. My mom is probably worried by now." She admitted. Billy said nothing as he turned on his heel and stormed out, slamming the door. Max glanced around apologetically before hugging everyone goodbye, running after her brother at the sound of his engine running.

"We literally fought demo-dogs and closed the gates of hell today, however, that's the weirdest thing I've seen today." Dustin retorted, earning an almost silent giggle from Lucas.

Rumours of the fight circulated around the school very fast, people connecting the dots of Steve's black eyes, excessive swelling and Billy's bust lip and crooked nose; all without the real details of course. The wildest rumour Steve had heard was that Billy had tried to sleep with Nancy which led to a fight where Steve got his ass handed to him. It was obvious that he couldn't really reveal the story to anyone without any major questions being asked so he chose to merely ignore all the questions. Nancy of course had tried to dote on him out of sympathy and guilt, but he couldn't quite stand to be near her just yet, not without feeling like a wounded puppy anyway.

Since the fight Steve had done everything within his power to avoid the more aggressive boy, only seeing him in gym class and what few other classes they shared. Even when in close proximity of each other Billy said nothing; he was still a complete dick during practise but at least when Steve got knocked over there was no cruel words or uncomfortable shower talks to accompany the ache. In fact, Steve never saw Billy in the shower room. The ending of gym was signalled with the sweet sound of a bell that let the boys head home after a long practise. All the boys jogged towards the locker room excitedly, adrenaline not fully gone just yet however the coach had called over to Steve, asking him to stay behind.

"Whats going on Harrington?" he asked although it seemed that he didn't really care for the answer.

"Nothing Coach, why?"

"Just wondering why your games been so off recently. Keep like this and I'm gonna have to bench you." He stated, expression blank. To say this chat was unexpected would be a complete and utter lie but Steve found himself felt the self-disappointment nonetheless.

"Sorry Coach, I'll do better. I promise." He agreed. The Coach seemed satisfied enough with the answer and sent Steve off to the locker room. Most of the other boys had headed out immediately, opting for a shower at home rather than showering with everyone else. Steve would've done the same, but his parents were away (again) and being alone I the house only offered abundances of opportunities to overthink everything. Grabbing a towel, he headed to the shower room and stripped off. He heard the water already running, meaning someone else had chosen to stay behind but he thought nothing of it. Stood under the water was the familiar mass of muscles, rubbing shampoo through his long blonde locks. To say Steve was slightly anxious about being alone with that lunatic was a major understatement but he hung up his towel and approached one of the showerheads. At first Billy completely ignored his existence, continuing to clean himself in complete silence. How awkward the situation was ran through Steve's head over and over again, making him wish that he was literally anywhere else in the universe, even the upside down sounded appealing in that moment. After a lot of resisting he couldn't help but gliding his eyes over Billy's torso; it was bruised all over, black and blue, highlighter with grazes every now and then. At first thought Steve felt bad, not realising how badly he had injured the other boy. It was odd though. He ever remembered hitting Billy in the ribs. He must've done so badly, after all, Steve's bruises were yellowing, threatening to fade away any second yet Billy's looked brand new. Unless they were? But who?

"Take a polaroid, it'll last longer." Billy muttered, pulling Steve out of whatever trance he was in which instantly sent a tidal wave of embarrassment onto his cheeks.

"Sorry, uh, I was just-" he stuttered. "How'd you get those bruises? I thought I only punched you in the face…" Billy looked instantly uncomfortable with the words. It was as if Steve had hit a nerve which only unsettled him, regretting even asking.

"Don't flatter yourself Harrington, you couldn't mark me up like this in your dreams." Billy retorted, the tinge of humour in his words clearly covering for something.

"Well I gave you that black eye, didn't I?" Steve snapped back. Billy merely chuckled at the words. He switched his own water off before patting Steve on the shoulder.

"Stay out of business that isn't yours, yeah?" and with those words, Billy was gone.

No matter what Steve did he couldn't get the bruising out of his mind. There was something odd behind them, he couldn't shake the feeling that something sinister was going on. After heading home to do homework Steve was thankful to get call from Mrs. Henderson asking is he wouldn't mind babysitting the kids whilst they played Dudgeons and Dragons whilst she worked a late shift at work. He was glad for the distraction from the empty house and loud thoughts that come with it, plus he'd grown very fond of all the kids, especially Dustin.

Upon arriving at the house, he found himself being dragged into the kid's game. He sat at the table with the boys, Max and El. He didn't understand the rules one slightest bit (neither did El which was somewhat comforting) but Dustin helped him as much as he could. He had to admit, he did really enjoy the game in a really weird way although he'd never admit it to anyone at school. The night flew past seamlessly, excluding the small argument between Lucas and Mike about some spell and before they knew it, it was Nine o'clock and Dustin's mom had returned. Joyce drove by to pick up Will and El, the boys remaining then cycled off home, leaving just Dustin, Max and Steve. He didn't know why he was waiting around, Mrs Henderson had already paid him and relieved him of duty, yet he didn't want to leave till Max did. Time continued to tick on and soon nine turned to nine thirty and still no one had come to pick up Max. Steve couldn't help but notice the concern on her face as she peeked out of the window, searching for a car. She was completely sure that she'd told her brother to pick her up at nine, and nine on the dot, she was also pretty sure that despite being an asshole, it was out of character for Billy to be late. They had no choice but to wait.

It wasn't until quarter to ten that a knock on the door finally came and Steve rushed to open it, why he was so eager he didn't know. Much as expected Billy was stood behind the door but he wasn't his normal self. The black eye Steve had given him was definitely and undeniably darker now. It wasn't just the black eye though, there was a trace of redness around his nostrils, something smeared as if to get rid of it. Lastly his eyes, completely bloodshot, twinkling with a wetness that definitely wasn't normal for him. He kept his eyes to the ground, not looking at Steve.

"I'm here for Max." He grumbled. Steve flat out ignored that though, his own questions pressing at his tongue.

"What happened? Your eyes look like you've been smoking dope and…" he didn't even know what to question first, Billy looked a complete mess.

"I told you earlier Harrington, stay out of my business." He growled, anger flashing through his eyes.

"I'm not letting you drive home Max if you're high so." Steve stated, arms folded. He could tell Billy wanted to hit him, it was just a repeated situation but surprisingly Billy didn't swing.

"I'm not fucking high. Look, just let me take my fucking sister home. I'm not playing around." Steve opened his mouth to argue but he felt the door open behind him, revealing the small ginger girl. Her expression when he saw Billy sent a shiver down Steve's spine, why did Max look so sad and scared all of a sudden?

"Uh, thanks Steve but it's okay, Billy's cool to drive me home." She said with a forced smile. Steve very much wanted to argue but the two had started already heading to the car. The two hopped in and it was merely seconds before Billy zoomed away with Max.

If the feeling of something sinister was already in Steve's stomach, it had possessed his whole body now.