Disclaimer: I do not own Stranger Things. Kayla is my OC but that's it.

Author's notes.

This is the first Stranger Things fanfiction I have done. This is based after the first season when Billy and Max first come to town. It will have spoilers, if you haven't watched season 2 or 3 yet then you should probably watch them first.

Chapter three

She could make it, probably, she thought keeping her head down and hoped the driver didn't notice her, or even better maybe it would hit her.

Unfortunately, luck just didn't seem to be with her as she heard the car slow down to match her pace. Looking over she resisted the urge to groan. Casually keeping pace with her was a beautiful blue, 1979 Chevrolet Camaro LT.

"Need a lift Doll?"

"Doll?"

Kayla shook her head, realising she had been staring at him. "Do you even know who I am?"

"Kayla Adams?"

"Yeah… Kayla Adams… one of the freaks of Hawkins High. I'm sure you've worked that out by now. You realise if I get in your car, you'll lose any chance of popularity you have, right?" He just shrugged. "Do you even know where I live?"

"Does that matter?"

"Yes! I might be in the complete opposite direction to you." She sighed.

Billy ran a hand over his face. "Jus' get in doll." She hesitated for a second before deciding that hypothermia wasn't worth it, she had tried to warn him, sighing, she walked around to sit in the passenger seat. Kayla closed the door, gently running her hand over the leather in admiration. "A fan?" He smirked.

"She's gorgeous…" Kayla muttered absent-mindedly.

Billy grinned. "Thanks. Yours ain't so bad either." Kayla tilted her head when she looked at him. "The Black 1972 Chevrolet Chevelle SS Convertible, right? With the white racing stripes?" He asked. The model of the car just rolling of his tongue as if it was the most obvious information in the world.

"Yeah…" She looked at him surprised, Kayla hadn't thought that Billy had even noticed her let alone the car. He had been in school for what? A day? "She was my dad's baby…"

He cleared his throat. "So… Where am I taking you?" He tried changing subject, keeping in mind what Tommy had said about her parents.

"Take the next left. My house is past the Byers, down towards the quarry on the other side. You'll have to pass through Mirkwood…" It didn't occur to her that he probably didn't know what any of that actually meant.

She felt the vibrations echo through her body as he started the car, revving the engine. She couldn't help but smile as she listened to the Camaro purr before pulling off.

"I take it you aren't from around here originally either?" Billy asked trying to break the silence. "Texas?"

He had obviously picked up on her faded accent. "Yeah. Move here when I was thirteen. Back then I thought that the twenty hours to get here were the worst."

"Twenty hours? Why did it take so long?"

"We brought our two horses with us, a dam and her colt. That was four years ago. Our dam died a while back and my parents…" She trailed off. "Well it's just me and Hugo now."

"Hugo is your horse?"

"Yeah, he's five now. Aren't you from California? Isn't that horseback country?"

"Yeah. Max knows how to ride but we never had a horse. I preferred to surf anyway, we lived right by the ocean."

"Must have been nice. We weren't by the ocean, so I've never seen it."

"You never visited it?"

"No, we lived to far away and my parents were always working." Silence settled over them again.

Kayla yawned. In her panic to leave the party she had forgotten how tired she felt. It didn't help that Billy's car was warm, it only made the feeling come back with vengeance. Why was he being nice to her? Wasn't he supposed to be some hot-headed asshole? Was Billy even safe to drive? He was probably way over the limit, she should care, but she didn't. Did he know where the Byers and the quarry was? After all he'd only been here a day. No? He could have been here longer, today was the first day of school for him. Maybe he'd already gotten to know the place? She didn't remember if she had managed to ask him or not because the next thing she knew, Billy was shaking her roughly.

He breathed a sigh of relief when she moved. "This the place Doll?"

"Hmm…? Sorry?" She stretched, her joints cracking. She blinked. "How did you…?"

"I rang Tommy to get Harrington's number. He gave me directions to where you live. They guy has one hell of a stick up his ass."

"Wha…? You rang Steve? Where did you find a phone? How long have I been asleep?" She could feel that panicky feeling starting to rise in her, one that had become a constant part of her life this past year. "Why didn't you just wake me?"

Billy instantly picked up on her panic, in some ways he understood it, after all he was technically a stranger and they were still both drunk. "Easy, you're okay. I tried Doll, you wouldn't wake up. It was either Harrington or I took ya to the hospital."

She sunk her nails into her leg, try to calm herself down. "Sorry, sorry… I just…" She swallowed as she looked at him. "Thank you." Kayla said as she got out, staggering up to the door of her isolated one-story house.

Billy watch as she wrestled the lock open, but the door didn't budge. He was considering getting out to help when she pulled out a flick knife from between her breast, wedged the blade between the door and frame and slammed her hand against the butt of the handle. To his surprise the door swung open with ease. He had never met a girl quite like her. Does she always carry a knife around with her? Why? She paused before going in, tapping her fingers against her leg as she thought.

Kayla called out when she turned around. "You know you're wrong about Steve Harrington. It's not because he's 'intitled' or 'proud' that he acts like that. He's been through a lot, he's actually a decent person." She shrugged before walking inside, wood groaning as she closed the door.

He sat there in the car for a while before starting the engine. Something about this girl made him curious. Maybe it was the way she defended Harrington, saying he had been through a lot when she had lost her parents less than a year ago. What had Steve Harrington been through that was so damn bad? He was rich for fuck sake, money could solve almost everything. Maybe it was the fact that she carried a knife around with her or because she wasn't bothered with popularity or seemed to put others above herself, even a stranger. She didn't seem back down from a challenge, in fact she seemed to welcome it, or maybe it was because Kayla was the first girl he had ever met who had been more interested in his name than what was in his pants. Whatever it was had made her stand out and catch his attention. Only time would tell if it would be a good thing or not.