—June 18th, 1985—
-Billy-
The boring ass town of Hawkins, Indiana is nothing but a shit hole. One great big fucking cesspool of a town. To say I hate it here is an understatement. Every little itty bitty thing about the people irk me. The way everyone smiles at each other. How everyone knows everyone here. The way everything seemingly blends together in a weirdly grey, hot blur despite it being the middle of fucking June.
If there was anything I hated more than the town, it was the man that forced me to be here in the first place. I felt a lump of bile rise up into my throat at the mere thought of him. Him. Neil Hargrove, The guy I unfortunately have the displeasure of being related to. My disgusting piss poor excuse of a father.
Don't even get me started on Susan and Max. Sometimes I wonder how he's gotten as much tail as he'd had. Susan, that one brunette before Susan, and...her. I've seen the way he tricks and manipulates everyone around him. Fuck, I've seen it first hand and everyone in the Hargrove household has to now that we all lie witness to the bullshit that is Neil Hargrove.
With Susan I saw the mask he slipped on to catch her. The mask the monster wears outside during the day and slips off the second he steps foot into his house. He wore the mask long enough to catch her in his web. Then married her and moved her thousands of miles away from everyone she knew and loved to strip her of her past identity. To mold her into the doting housewife that now waits on him hand and foot. Quite literally.
The worst part about Susan? She has no backbone. Not a single ounce of courage in her. Which comes to no surprise because my father knew how to pick the weak minded and abuse that to his liking. Especially after mom who wasn't a Susan. So with Susan came max. The ultimate baggage of complete and utter horseshit. Susan comes from a previous marriage from a different asshole. From what I know he wasn't Neil level asshole just a normal one.
Max became my own and personal hell. Neil made it his mission to drill it into me that Max was my responsibility at the ripe age of 16 to now. She took too much of Susan's attention away from him so he dumped her child onto me. Max is getting the same treatment I got when I was her age. Except it's all Ive known. There was no "before this" it has always just been this for me. Max was thrown into it and forced to live the same shitty life I've bared which just makes me fucking angry. How could Susan stay and allow this shit for her kid.
I needed out of here, out of Hawkins completely. Preferably back to California. Back to the beaches and piers. The warm sunny skies of California. I'm one step closer to going back now that I've finally finished high school. Ive been saving every single penny I make to jump ship. Working my ass off to get the hell out of here. I've even considered just moving out and getting a place of my own until I have enough to leave entirely.
I've been working as a lifeguard at the Hawkins Community Pool this summer. Keeping myself busy and out of the house for as long as I can make happen much to Neil's dismay. He'd much rather have me chained up in my room like some sort of mutt I'm sure.
Being a lifeguard had its perks, the ladies being one of them. The way they all flocked to the pool. Prancing around seeing if I notice them. They adored me, I mean how could you not? I get it after having to settle for little shit town assholes like Steve Harrington and Tommy Hagen for the duration of their lives, they want new, hot and interesting and I'm more than willing to provide that. Just as they provide me the distractions I need.
The other perk of working here was the money and the hours I was getting. Surprisingly it paid pretty well and had me working full time which not many summer jobs do. It keeps me out of the house longer so I wasn't complaining. I even teach classes for the children of Hawkins and believe it or not I enjoyed that aspect the most.
This particular class was children 5-6 years old that I taught three times a week. As I walked around the pool in my red swim trunks, noticing the old moms of town ogle me while teaching their children basic swimming techniques in the kiddie pool.
I blew my whistle, "Harvey! Get your finger out of your nose!" I scold little 5 year old brown hair, brown eyed Harvey Duncan. "I need to see you kick your feet or you might sink in the bigger pool, bud."
Harvey quickly removed his finger out of his nose and used that same hand to give me a thumbs up. The rest of class laughing at his antics. I rolled my eyes at the heap of giggles I was hearing.
"Let's see those splashes class! Kick, kick, kick." I holler over the children's chatter. I had them all lined up at the edge of the kiddie pool, holding on to the edge and kicking their feet behind them.
I heard the office door open and my boss, Evan waltzed out to me holding a clipboard. Evan was a pompous entitled asshole and everyone including Evan himself knew it. A year or so older then me and a complete scrawny poor excuse of a man.
"Hey dude, just wanted to show you the upcoming weeks schedule." Evan announces, eyeing my class then handing over the clipboard to me.
I sigh uncrossing my arms and snatching it from him and looking it over. Same as last week and the week before that. Swim classes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. Open swim and lifeguard shift changes all the same. Why the fuck is he showing me this? I was about to question him when I flipped the page and saw the new name in the rotation of employee's.
Raising an eyebrow, looking over to him with a 'okay and?' Expression. His eyes widen and his eyebrows shoot up into his hairline, a total look of disbelief.
"Dude, Jade Delaney! Just started here!" He states, throwing his arms up in the air. Obviously this has got Evans panties in a twist.
"Who the fuck is Jade?" I ask, with a bored and even look to my face. How the fuck am I supposed to know who people are? I don't give a shit about the people here.
He looked at me like I grew two heads and shit golden eggs right here on the ground. "Jade fucking Delaney? Eh, I guess you wouldn't of known her she left alittle over 2 years before you arrived here. She was wild man. A year below me in high school but she sure knew how to have a good time." He went on about how everyone bowed down to queen Jade until out of nowhere she just up and left middle of her sophomore year leaving behind her legacy. Her parents, the Delaneys stayed here in Hawkins and wouldn't tell a soul about what happened to her or where she went. I guess now she's back and Evan is having a whole cow about it.
That's about the only thing that I've even remotely found interesting since setting foot into this town. That and hearing about zombie boy Byers. But this could be fun, she would be working along side me a lot of the time. She even looks to have her schedule as full as mine here.
"Is she hot?" I ask him, looking back over my swim class as they play the last few minutes of the lesson. Counting heads to make sure I'm not missing any as they do often try to scurry about.
"She was back in high school, a total fucking absolute dime actually. Everyone back then was pining over her." He says, looking like he just won the lottery over even getting the chance to be in her presence again.
"She'll be here today to get a little look around and see how we work." He winks at me. "Heather will be showing her the ropes." He grabs the clipboard back and walked back to his main position of sitting on his ass in the office.
After some time, I turned back to my class and blew my whistle "Alright, end of class, kids. I'll see you Wednesday!" I shout. They all got out and rushed me with hugs and fist pumps and made there way to their moms.
I watched as Mrs.Wheeler came over and picked up her daughter while she smiled flirtatiously up at me. "Thank you, Billy. Holly really likes learning in this class with you-oh and her peers of course." She says, blushing.
Mrs.Wheeler, the only older women here that even remotely catches my attention. She just recently enrolled Holly, her 6 year old into swimming lessons. I'm sure she did it to gawk at me longer. Fine by me I love the attention.
I take a step closer and lean in, "Oh it's my pleasure to have her in my class. I hope you are enjoying your time too, Karen." I whispered, gruffly. I smirked knowing damn well what I'm hinting at.
Her cheeks turn a deeper shade of red as she looked up at me through her mascara covered lashes. She hesitantly took a step back from me, clearly flustered.
"Yes of course—Um well, we'll see you Wednesday." She mumbles, quickly turning around with Holly in her arms and walking to the girls changing rooms.
I watched while the rest of the moms exited too with a smug smile on my face. They all waved at me as they walked by with children in tow. Too easy. They are all just too easy. It was barely any fun. Not even flustering the old and married is distracting anymore.
I took the time to clean up the pool from class before open swim started. Checking filters and chemical levels. I was walking around the edge of the pool with the net, picking up leaves and bugs when the flash of long blonde hair distracted me.
Through the clear window to where the main office resides, I could see the back of someone. She was wearing blue jean cut off shorts that showcased tanned toned legs and a black tank top with flip flops on her feet. She had blonde wavy hair that reached the middle of her back. There was a tattoo of what looked to be a small palm tree on the back of her right arm near her elbow. Evan handed her a whistle and a work bathing suit. They looked to be having a nice chat with how Evan was staring at her. It was more like leering.
I tore my gaze away to finish my work routine just before open swim started. Katie, a brunette bimbo which also happens to be another one of the employees came out sporting the regular lifeguard bathing suit. We hooked up the first week working here and i am here to say it was not one of my best ideas. Since then she has been a level 5 clinger even after showing her what kind of real asshole I am.
"Hey Billy, looking hot today." Katie winks, dragging her fingers across my chest while brushing past me to the lifeguard post.
Not wanting to have any conversation with her, I simply nodded and pulled down my aviators over my eyes that I had placed on my head earlier. I put the net away in the storage area and threw away the trash I picked up, then made my way back inside to the break room to wait before shift rotation.
Once inside the break room, I shuffled over to the fridge and idly searched through other peoples lunches and drinks. Deciding I didn't give a shit, I grabbed someone's water and downed half of it instantly and put it back.
I always get here and regret not bringing anything with me. I could always grab something from the concession stand but having what tasted like gas station nachos everyday was just not appealing.
Trying to curve my nicotine craving, I popped a stick of gum into my mouth. The worst part about this fucking job is having to refrain from cigarettes the majority of the day. Something about not smoking in front of the guests or some shit. It made me a miserable fuck the first 2 weeks of working here. Although I'm pissed off most the time these days it seems. I wasn't always like this. That's life with Neil I guess.
Just then Heather Holloway strolled in with someone behind her.
"This is the break room. You can keep your food and liquids in here— oh, Billy! This is our newest employee! She'll be here full time like you!" Heather exclaims wearing a wide excited smile like she always does.
She stepped out from behind Heather with her hands in her back pockets. Gazing up at me with her naturally thick long black lashes were her big heavenly eyes and dazzling smile.
My heart skipped a beat as I stared at her for the first time. Then it picked back up 10x as fast as it was going a second ago.
FUCK
She slipped a slender hand from her pocket and extended it to me.
"Jade Delaney, Hi." She says, her voice low and silky, reminding me of warm sunny days on the beach.
Without being able to break my gaze, I slowly took a step forward and grasped her hand in mine. I took my other hand and gently laid it on top of hers. Slightly caressing her skin with my thumb.
I took a second longer to look at her whole face. My eyes darting back and forth to take it all in. She has the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen. Quite literally the color of the deep ocean. Her dark perfectly kept eyebrows are starkly different from the color of her dirty blonde hair. She has the cutest little beauty mark on the right side of her face near her naturally red full lips. Jades smile widened displaying adorable dimples on either side of her cheeks.
Realizing I've just been staring at her this whole time, I shook my head slightly from embarrassment. Trying to keep my face from heating up, I cleared my throat.
"Ah Billy, Billy Hargrove" I finally respond in my normal deep gravely voice, even though I'm freaking out on the inside. Holy fuck Evan was right. Jade is fucking breathtakingly beautiful.
I lingered a second longer before carefully letting go of her hand and taking a step back to scan her whole body. My eyes traveled up her curvy toned figure. Her skin tan and smooth. She was portioned perfectly in her tits and ass. Not too big and not too small. Don't even get me started on her long beautiful legs. Fuck, just fucking perfect.
My dick twitched in my shorts like a prepubescent middle school aged boy. I tore my gaze away from her to calm myself down before I embarrassed myself further.
Looking back up at Jade I noticed her amused expression as she nonchalantly stared back at me. Clearly unaffected by the way I was looking at her. Which was a first for me. l don't think I've seen a single woman stare at me like that unless it was Max or Susan. Even 75 year old Dottie across the street has been caught a few times gaping at me.
"You will most likely be working a lot with Billy here as you and him have the same hours." Heather explains, interrupting my train of thought.
Jade's focus turned to Heather. "Oh we are the only full time employees?" She asks, her eyebrow arched as she swept some of her hair away from her face to behind her back.
"Yeah pretty much, even Evan didn't take as many hours as you two." Heather answers with a chuckle.
Jade cracked a half smile and shrugged as she looked back up to me. "I'm guessing you like money just as much as i do huh?" She giggled. God did that giggle just make my whole body tingle? Speak dumbass.
I chuckle, "it's definitely one of the bonuses of working that much, yes." A breathy laugh escaped her mouth. Oh shit there's the tingles again. I looked back over to Heather so that I wouldn't get stuck in her gaze.
What the fuck is the matter with me? I'm Billy fucking Hargrove why am I so nervous right now? It's just a girl calm the fuck down. Just a girl...the most perfect girl I've ever seen...Jesus christ.
Heather was eyeing me suspiciously. Probably because I was acting like a fucking dumb ass. Get it together Hargrove.
After taking a subtle breathe to calm my nerves, I met Jades eyes with mine and leaned in towards her. "Since we'll be working together a lot if you have any questions or need any help I am more than happy to...give it to you." I tell her, a small smirk forcing its way onto my lips.
Jades brow quirked and an amused smile erupted on her face, showcasing her dimples again. Mmmm sexy little dimples. She didn't respond to the double meaning behind my words the way I thought she would. She didn't even blush. I furrowed my brows at her. To say I'm shocked is an understatement. None the less I slipped my charming mask on and gave her a smile.
"Well aren't you just so helpful around here." Jade retorts back, statement clearly dripping with sarcasm.
"Ha! Billy helpful? That's a laugh." Heather quips, laughing at her own comment then quickly covering it up with a cough when she caught my glare.
"Ah well Jade that's about everything to look at around here. Billy, Chris. and I all work tomorrow with you so there's no need to get into training until your on the clock" Heather winks at her.
"Great! Thank you so much for showing me around Heather I appreciate it" She turns to look at me "I suppose a thank you to you as well, Billy for your...generosity." Jade smirks at me.
My entire body erupted in heat the second I heard her perfect kissable lips utter my name. Dear god I want to fuck her right here on the break room counter. Shaking myself from my thoughts. "No worries, baby. I aim to please." I reply with a smug smile.
She rolled her eyes at me and sauntered out of the room with Heather. Following them out, I stopped in the hall and watched her hips sway as she walked to the entrance of the building. With one final glance over her shoulder, she laughs. "Bye Hargrove."
Evan comes up behind me, laughing at my expression. "What I tell you man? Jade fucking Delaney."
This would be the one and only time I'd agree with Evan. Jade fucking Delaney alright. I shake my head at him and saunter down the hall the opposite way.
