One

by awalkerlifeforme

Rachel has always known she was adopted; her parents never hid it. But she has a secret and when it nearly comes out, her family moves to the small town of Hawkins, Indiana. Her second chance at life quickly changes as she discovers a secretive government and a girl with a familiar story. But the simplest part of her new life is also the strangest: a handsome young man named Billy.

2. Chapter 2

The week leading up to my first day at Hawkins High School seemed to move faster and faster with each passing day. The hours shrank away, leaving me closer and closer to earning the dreaded title of the new kid. As hard as I tried, I couldn't fight the sunrise on Monday morning, one week after I had arrived in Hawkins. I ignored the chirping of my alarm clock as long as possible until I knew it was time to wake up and get ready for the day. Being the new kid would be bad enough; being late on top of that would have been even worse.

Living in Hawkins wasn't as bad as I had initially expected it to be; of course, I hadn't set foot in Hawkins High School yet. With all the time I would be spending there over the next two years, it would be a big deciding factor in whether I enjoyed or hated Hawkins. So far, I had enjoyed most of my time in the small town. I had spent most of the early part of the week since I had arrived in Hawkins wandering every corner of the town. Hawkins reminded me of a place out of a storybook.

I'd taken some long drives through the backroads of Hawkins during my first few days here. Sometimes it was an attempt to get some fresh air with the windows down and music blaring, other days it was because I was trying to find the small lakes that my father had told me about when we'd first arrived. It didn't matter how hard I tried to find them, I never stumbled upon one. As my father had only heard about them, we had no way to know where they were. I didn't have a map of Hawkins, but I was determined to find them. I would much rather swim in an empty lake than a filled community pool.

Before our first official outing as friends in downtown Hawkins, I ended up spending many of my afternoons with Nancy. The two of us had been getting to know each other well over the last week. Nancy liked hanging out and talking outside where we didn't have to worry about our parents overhearing any of our conversations. Other times, I drove us around town as Nancy pointed out some of Hawkins' local spots including the movie theater and some restaurants that she mentioned would be good for dates.

According to Nancy, she was happy to get out in public with another girl after she had spent so long hanging around guys like Steve and Jonathan. Though she didn't mention it often, I knew Nancy missed Barbara. It was something we shared; we both missed our best friends. After knowing her for a few days, I had invited Nancy into my house. She loved the messiness of my bedroom with my things thrown all over the place. It was nothing like hers. My parents were thrilled to see that I had made a friend so quickly.

A few times, Nancy had invited me over to her house. It was a cute home but it seemed like everything inside was suppressed. Her father was quiet and barely looked in my direction other than to give me a disgusted once-over when he saw the way I dressed. Nancy's mother was sweet enough but didn't seem content in her picture-perfect family. Nancy did once let slip that she didn't think her parents had ever loved each other, rather, they had wanted their nuclear family and settled for each other.

It was sad to hear. My parents could be nightmares when they got involved in my personal lives but they were also my favorite people in the world. I also knew that they loved each other more than life itself. It made it a little sad being in Nancy's house. It was no wonder that she was the way she was. It seemed like Nancy could be a fun person to be around - and she was - but she had been stifled because of her family. I wondered what she would be like when she was away from them. She deserved to be her real self.

As promised, I had spent the majority of Thursday hanging out with Nancy as we explored downtown together. Downtown Hawkins was a town square surrounding a clock tower building in the center that housed the Public Library. Most of the stores were cute mom-and-pop shops. The most fascinating store downtown was Melvald's General Store, which wasn't saying much. I did divulge to Nancy that I missed the big malls back in Florida. She mentioned that she would love to go to one someday.

While we had been wandering around downtown, Nancy had introduced me to her younger brother Mike and the rest of his friends, Will Byers, Lucas Sinclair, and Dustin Henderson. Mike seemed to be the leader of their small group. Will was a little more on the shy side and Lucas was a bit neurotic. I did like Dustin, who had cleidocranial dysplasia, a bone disorder. So far, he was my favorite of the kids. The four of them seemed like sweet little kids, though I hadn't spent much time around children in my life.

On Friday, Nancy formally introduced me to her boyfriend, Steve Harrington. Though she mentioned he had once been a jock with a bad attitude, he seemed very nice to me and we got along well during the few times we'd hung out. Nancy and Steve seemed to be close but they didn't seem to have the romantic connection I normally saw with couples. It was very obvious to me that Steve was head-over-heels in love with Nancy, but she seemed to be trying to distance herself from him. It made me feel terribly for him. They both deserved better.

Steve ended up hanging out with the two of us again the Sunday before school started back up and promised me that he would introduce me to his friends. I hadn't said anything but I knew that Steve had been able to gather that I didn't want to feel like I only had two friends. Steve had promised that his friends would warm up to me quickly, but judging by the look on Nancy's face, Steve's friends weren't the kind of people I would like. According to her, they were exactly like Steve used to be.

Though we had only known each other for a week, Nancy and I had become very close. She had told me all about her friendship with Barbara and I had told her many of my adventures with Casey. Nancy had sat with me on Saturday afternoon when I had called Casey and I had been able to somewhat introduce the two girls to each other. I was glad to see that they had hit it off. It was nice to know that I was going to have at least one real friend before starting my first day at Hawkins High School.

As much as I did enjoy hanging out with Nancy, I did miss having Casey in my life. Our phone calls were good but I missed being able to see my best friend in person. We talked almost every day and every day she would ask about my new life. During each conversation, I continued to insist upon Casey that Hawkins wasn't that interesting. At her badgering, I promised to tell Casey all about my first day at my new school. I also continued to force Casey to tell the rest of my friends back in Florida that I loved and missed them.

My parents had also been doing their best to enjoy their time in Hawkins. As they had told me at least three times before, they enjoyed the slower pace. I knew that they were just trying to make me feel better about the move as it had mainly been my fault. My mother had made decent friends with the other local mothers. My father had become familiar with the other families in the neighborhood, but they hadn't become good friends. On the bright side, he did get himself an engineering job at the local power plant. He did seem to enjoy his job.

Once I'd finally pushed myself out of bed, I slowly began getting dressed for the day. I briefly considered trying to dress down to blend a little bit into the crowd but ultimately decided that I wasn't going to bother. People may as well know the kind of person I was. If they were going to like me, they may as well like the real person I was. So, I dug through my pile of clothes on the floor, throwing them into a new pile on the other end of the bedroom before finally settling on the outfit I wanted to wear.

I stood in front of the floor-length mirror as I began getting dressed, throwing on a red-and-black checkered shirt over my low-cut Ramones t-shirt. I knew that my parents wouldn't be happy with the extremely low neckline of the shirt, but I didn't care. I had always loved it. I tossed on my worn black leather jacket over that and a pair of acid-washed jeans that were torn at the knees. I pulled my long blonde locks over my shoulders to scrunch my hair and grabbed my beat-up boots. I wrapped a choker around my neck and nodded at myself in the mirror. It was good enough.

I decided to go a little easier on my makeup than most of the girls in school likely would. I had never liked the bright-blue eyeshadow trend that had become so popular over the last few months. It looked too cartoonish. I instead painted on what my father called my 'raccoon eyes' and a muted lip. I knew that my parents didn't love my makeup any more than they loved my clothes, but I had always loved the way the black liner made my bright blue eyes pop. My eyes had always been my favorite feature.

Once I had finished getting ready, I gathered my backpack and shoved my books into it. The day after we had arrived in Hawkins, I had gone with my mother to Hawkins High School and handed over my old transcripts. The principal had been able to slip me into most of the classes I'd wanted and I was grateful for it. I didn't want to wind up in any remedial classes. I was smart enough to be in all advanced placement classes, just as I was in my old high school. I tossed my textbooks, notebooks, and pencils into my bag and slung it over my shoulder.

I tucked my pack of cigarettes and lighter into my jacket pocket and pushed a hair tie onto my left wrist. Once I was satisfied that I looked okay and had everything I needed, I grabbed my car keys, aviator sunglasses, and headed into the hallway, kicking my door closed behind me. I headed downstairs and dropped my things on the counter so I could grab breakfast. My parents were already downstairs; Dad was reading the paper before he had to leave for work and Mom was making breakfast.

"Morning," I greeted, walking over to the dining room table.

"Good morning, darling," Mom chirped happily.

"Breakfast?" Dad offered, throwing his head back toward the kitchen.

"I'm not that hungry but I will take an apple," I said.

"That's it?" Mom asked.

"Yeah," I muttered. "I'm not feeling like eating."

The lack of confidence in my voice was enough to surprise them. Dad stood up, patting me gently on the back. "Don't be nervous, kid. Everything's going to be okay. The kids at school will love you," he commented.

"That's not what I'm nervous about, Dad," I mumbled.

It had only taken one stupid mistake for me to get us stuck in Hawkins. What if I ended up making that same mistake again? "You're going to be okay. No one cares that much about the new students. You're going to be interesting for a day or two and then people get over it," Dad said. I shrugged. Being the center of attention wouldn't make things any easier. "You'll be blending into the crowd in no time."

"Not in that outfit," Mom muttered pointedly. I rolled my eyes. My parents hated my clothing choices. "You didn't like the outfit I laid out for you?"

Before I had gone to sleep last night, I had seen the outfit laid out on my bed. It was a pair of high-waisted khakis and a white button-down shirt with a pastel sweater that was meant to go over it. "That was for me?" I asked, my eyebrows shooting up to my forehead. "I thought you were shipping it off to the convent."

I smiled at my mother, who was scowling back at me. "I should have shipped you off to the convent," she snapped.

"Just kidding," I chirped.

We smiled at each other as I sat at the counter, taking a large bite out of my apple. I glanced out the window and after a few minutes started to see cars flying down the road. I imagined that most of them were students heading to school or parents driving them there. I wrung my fingers together as I watched them. I was somewhere between excited and nervous for my first day. Once I had finished my apple, I tossed the rind into the trash and glanced up at the clock. It was already a quarter past seven. School started at seven-thirty.

"Shit," I gasped, springing up from the table. "I have to go."

"Rachel. Language," Mom chided.

"Right. See you two later!" I called back.

"Have a good day!" Mom called after me.

"We can't wait to hear all about the day later!" Dad shouted.

"Bye, guys!" I yelled.

They were both waving at me as I kissed them both on the cheek before grabbing my things and taking off. I burst through the front door and sprinted toward the front door, practically flying into my car. I had seen Steve's car come to pick up Nancy about ten minutes ago. They would be waiting for me in the parking lot. I had to get the hell out of here to make sure I wouldn't be late. I slung my things into the passenger seat and stepped on the brakes, starting the engine as the car roared to life.

I slammed on the gas and reversed out of the driveway, likely leaving skid marks as I threw the car into drive and shot down the road faster than I had since I'd arrived in Hawkins. I soared down the backroads toward the high school at nearly sixty miles an hour, desperately hoping that I wouldn't be late. I didn't want to draw even more attention to myself than I already would. I wound up grinding into the parking lot five minutes before the first bell went off. I pulled into a spot in the empty section of the lot and relaxed slightly.

I was antsier than I had expected to be on my first day at Hawkins High School. My knees were bouncing as I sat back in the car and listened to the radio for a moment. I lit myself a cigarette as I waited for the bell. Steve's car was on the other side of the parking lot. At least I knew where to go when I was ready to get out of the car. I saw a lot of eyes directed at my car; likely because no one had ever seen it before and because I was playing my music far louder than anyone else in the parking lot. I was almost ready to get out of the car when I heard something in the distance.

Everyone in the parking lot stood upright when they heard the blaring of a car radio coming closer. I wasn't the only person to look up from their spot. I glanced over as a car shot over to my side of the parking lot. It was the same blue Chevrolet Camaro that I had seen blazing down the road my first day here. I arched an eyebrow. So, the driver wasn't an adult. It was another teenager. Today the car was blaring 'Rock You Like A Hurricane' by Scorpions. Every eye in the parking lot was drawn to the car with its blaring music.

Both guys and girls were watching closely as the car stopped almost too late three spots down from me. It was thrown into 'park' and the engine turned off as a young child got out. I smiled at the little red-headed girl. It was the woman I'd seen last week. It must have been the driver's sister. She jumped on her skateboard and headed toward the middle school. The door was then thrown open to reveal the driver, who slammed his booted foot onto the asphalt. The boy got out of the car and turned toward the school as he slammed the door behind him before turning back.

The boy had sandy blonde hair that was done up in a curly mullet. It wasn't a style that I normally liked on guys, but it looked damn good on the boy. I grinned. Maybe there was a hot rocker dude in Hawkins. The boy was in a jean jacket, white sweater, and light-wash jeans that hugged him in all the right places. He even had small gold hoops in his ears. I smiled as I threw open my car door, letting AC/DC's 'You Shook Me All Night Long' blare. The faces in the lot briefly turned from the handsome boy to me.

It wasn't just the students who turned to look at me. The boy's head also swiveled in my direction when he realized that the others were looking my way. We were both puffing on a cigarette, his much lower than mine. I met his eyes, giving him a pointed half-quirked smile. He returned it, winking at me. I chuckled, puffing on the cigarette again. He was a major flirt. My gaze shifted to his car. It was exactly the model I'd thought it was. I nodded to the boy's car, ignoring the fact that everyone was going to listen to our conversation.

"You've got good taste," I called to him, shutting my car engine off.

The parking lot was plunged into silence as the boy ran his tongue over his teeth flirtatiously. "So do you," he replied, his voice deep and gravely.

I didn't need to be able to read his mind to know that he also meant himself. I kicked my car door closed and walked over to the boy's, acutely aware of the students' gazes that were turned our way. I was also aware of the boy's eyes. He didn't hide that he was looking at my body and I didn't tell him to stop. It didn't bother me. I thought it was flattering. I listened to the clicking of my booted heels as I crossed the parking spots to meet the boy. I spotted the California license plate on the boy's car and nodded to it.

"A fellow kindred spirit," I noted.

The boy nodded as I took another puff of my cigarette, blowing the smoke into his face. He struck me as the type that loved the tease. I knew that I was right when he didn't hesitate to step into me. "Good taste in cars. Good taste in music..." he trailed off.

"Oh, those aren't my only good tastes," I replied, grinning at him.

He chuckled as I ran my tongue over my glossed lips. I didn't miss the way that his eyes darkened. "Rachel!" Nancy's voice yelled, interrupting my salacious thoughts. She darted into my vision, hanging at my shoulder. "Hey, glad you made it."

It took me a few seconds to break the eye contact I had with the boy. "Did I have much of a choice?" I asked Nancy.

She smiled at me before giving the boy a nervous look. "Come on," Nancy said, gently tugging at my arm. "We should go and get your schedule."

"Yeah, okay," I said, letting out a deep breath. I flashed the boy a brilliant smile before looking back at Nancy. "Let's go."

"You didn't even get my name," the boy called after me.

The boy's voice feigned hurt but he still wore his flirtatious smile, meeting my eyes with a flash of danger in his eyes, his cigarette hanging from his lips. I turned back to him with a smirk, shaking my head. "Oh, I don't need it," I chirped, which I said for two very different reasons. "I'll see you around."

The boy took a deep inhale of smoke as he passed me so close that his arm brushes gently against my chest. Nancy stepped back away from the boy, her hand still wrapped protectively around my other arm. The boy breathed smoke into my face, the way I had done to him earlier. I could feel my head pounding in my chest as he growled, "See you later, Rach."

No one had ever called me by a nickname. I had always gone by Rachel. "It's Rachel," I corrected.

It took me a moment too long to realize that he had shifted us around to place me up against his car. Nancy's possessive grip on my arm had been broken when I'd moved. I could tell that she wanted me away from the boy, who either didn't notice or didn't care that everyone was watching us. The boy reached over and pressed an arm against the car, trapping me in between us. My heart hammered with excitement. No one had ever been as immediately bold with me as this boy had.

"It's Billy," the boy said.

His voice was dark and made a shiver work its way up my spine. A grin split my lips as Nancy said, "Rachel, come on."

I flashed a little wink in Billy's direction as I took a deep breath and moved toward the school. He grinned back at me. I didn't want a boyfriend as I didn't plan on staying in Hawkins longer than I had to, but that didn't mean I couldn't have a little fun. Especially not with the hot new guy. Billy glanced around the parking lot briefly before flicking his cigarette into the grass and heading down the hill toward the high school. Every gaze followed his movements. I noticed three girls near me watching him walk.

"Who is that?" a light brunette in a bright blue sweater asked.

She and the rest of her friends were smirking as they watching Billy walk off. "I have no idea, but would you check out that ass?" the second girl asked. "Just look at it go."

The last girl grinned happily, watching Billy walk as she twirled her hair around her fingers. They lowered their voices, but I could still hear them. "Looks like he's got an eye for the new girl," she whispered.

"Please," the first girl snapped. "Who would like a girl like that?"

I smiled bitterly as I walked past the trio of girls with Nancy and Steve walking hand-in-hand behind me. "The new guy, it seems," I said as I passed the girls.

Their jaws dropped as I walked past, smiling and flashing the girls a little wink. I knew that they were horrified that I had overheard them. If I was being honest, I didn't care much about their insult. I had anticipated some nasty responses from the girls at Hawkins High School. That was the thing about girls; we were territorial. I didn't care. I wasn't going to step back just because some of the local Hawkins girls felt a little threatened. I walked off toward the school in the same direction Billy had with Steve and Nancy at my sides.

The smile on my face faded as I glanced up at the school with a deep breath. I missed my old school. I missed seeing everyone running around playing volleyball over the fence and coming into morning classes soaking wet from a quick morning trip to the beach. Hawkins High School was dreadfully boring with its muted orange brick face and students who were all carbon copies of each other. The only interesting thing was the tiger poster that reflected the school mascot. I frowned as we walked forward. I was broken from my thoughts by Nancy's voice.

"Thirty seconds into the year and you're already flirting with the new guy?"

I'd figured he was new from the California tags on his car and the way everyone had looked at him curiously. "What's wrong with flirting with the new guy?" I shot back. "He's hot and I'm sure I'm not the only one to notice. Hell, I know I'm not the only one to notice."

"He looks like a dick," Steve chimed in.

"They're the hottest ones, Harrington," I replied. Nancy looked down with a little smile on her face. I looked between the two of them with a knowing grin. "You both know I'm right."

Steve glanced at his girlfriend and scowled. "Oh, come on. I wasn't that bad."

"Eh..." Nancy shrugged.

I laughed at the pair. "You never know. You two might warm up to him," I said, throwing my arm over Nancy's shoulder.

"That's doubtful," Steve huffed.

"Oh, come on. He flirted and I flirted back. What's the crime?" I asked.

"You've got a taste for danger, my friend," Steve said.

That was where Steve was correct. I did have a taste for danger and Billy was the kind of danger I liked. "I'm already the weird new kid. I may as well have some fun with it," I told them.

"That much fun?" Nancy asked disbelievingly.

"Absolutely," I said happily.

The three of us laughed as we walked off. I noticed that the air between Nancy and Steve seemed to be a little less tense when I was around them and I was happy to help out their relationship. Steve and Nancy had been good friends to me over the last week. I felt like I wasn't completely alone now that I was friends with them. Nancy took my arm and gently led me toward the front office to grab what I would need. We said goodbye to Steve along the way, who had to get to his first class of the day.

Nancy stayed with me as I grabbed my class schedule and padlock for my locker. It was the first time I'd ever had a locker as we didn't have them in Florida. I noticed that the gazes of the students remained on me with each movement I made throughout the morning. Boys whispered about my appearance and stared at my curves. It made me grit my teeth in annoyance. They could have at least been a little less obvious about it. The girls all whispered snarky comments about me. Again, it was nothing I hadn't expected. I had known that the girls wouldn't like me.

After Nancy had left for class, I did briefly spot Billy in the office and smile at him. We stood near each other without speaking for a moment before we were called away to get our respective schedules. I liked mine enough. I was taking Advanced Placement Language and Composition, Advanced Placement European History, Advanced Placement Calculus, Advanced Placement Chemistry, Advanced Placement Physics, and my one extracurricular, swimming. I noticed Billy standing over my shoulder as I looked over the schedule.

"Jesus," he scoffed. "Do you plan on ever having fun?"

I looked up at him and smirked. "Oh, I have plenty of fun. I've also got a plan for the future."

Billy leered over my shoulder and snatched the schedule from my hands and read it over. I rolled my eyes as I leaned back against the desk, placing myself up against his arm. "Chemistry..." Billy said, a half-grin in his voice. "You planning on offering to tutor?"

"Something tells me you don't need any help with chemistry," I replied.

"You can teach me something about chemistry..." Billy said, pressing himself against me. "I can teach you something, too."

Heat spread over my chest as I tried to keep the blush from spreading upward to my cheeks. "I'm not so sure you'd be teaching me anything," I said, turning into him.

Billy smirked, looking down at me. "You can always get better." My body buzzed with a strong desire to say yes. Billy's spare hand fell against the zipper of my jacket. I swallowed thickly as he gently tugged me into him. "It could be a productive evening. Hours spent studying chemistry, just you and me," Billy said, leaving even an atom of space between us.

I was about two seconds away from saying yes to him when the class bell rang. Saved by the bell... I gently pushed Billy off of me and walked past him. "If you'll excuse me," I said, feeling like I could finally take in another breath. It didn't take me long to notice that Billy was following me down the hallway. I raised my eyebrow at him. "I know you're not going to AP Language."

"What makes you think that?" Billy asked. "You're not the only smart student here."

I narrowed my eyes at him. No way. "Favorite novel?" I asked.

Billy grinned. "I'd rather examine something a little more tangible."

A smirk broke over my lips. He had used a big word, at least. I was about to shoot back a retort when he backed away into the standard algebra class with many of our fellow students. I laughed under my breath and rolled my eyes, walking away from him with my hips swinging. I knew that Billy's eyes were just one pair that were following my movements through the halls. I could hear the girls near me griping, likely about Billy's quick interest in me, but I ignored them. Their feelings toward me were not my problem.

My first class of the day passed without anything truly interesting happening. The teacher was a middle-aged woman that I didn't like very much. She didn't seem to have much tolerance for any fun in her classroom. She did have a good taste in books, though. The first book that we were going to be reading was Don Quixote, which had always been one of my favorite books. I noticed that the class was mostly senior students. I figured that most of my classes would be full of seniors rather than other juniors.

As our classes were only forty-five minutes long, we only had a chance to discuss the book summary before being released to our next class. I went to European history, which was a small class. We spent the majority of the class mainly focusing on a syllabus review. I ended up getting stuck at a three-person table with two senior boys who were far too interested in me for my liking. I would have much rather listened to the lecture than be forced to sit next to the moronic jocks who only joined the class because there were no other openings.

Calculus came up next and I was quick to notice that I was one of only two females in the class. The rest were senior boys who looked like they belonged in the AV Club. Our teacher - a man in his late fifties - mainly ignored us. The other girl in the class - a senior named Amy - and I sat next to each other but didn't speak other than to introduce ourselves at the beginning of class. We had one thing in common. We were both women in a place we weren't wanted. Amy and I quickly formed a silent bond, rolling our eyes at the student's and teacher's comments.

When I finally made my way out of calculus and into chemistry, I had a hard time not laughing. I kept thinking about my conversation with Billy this morning. He managed to catch my eye as I walked into the class and blushed as he shot me a wink. I tried to remind myself that he was an asshole, already surrounded by other girls, but I was still very interested in him. The chemistry class wasn't very interesting, but I had to take it. I did however spend much of the class thinking that studying chemistry with Billy would have been far more interesting.

Just as I had expected, many students tried to speak to me throughout the day. They wanted to know where I was from, why I had moved to Hawkins, and all about my life. I wanted to tell them to go to hell but instead settled with answering them with as boring of statements as possible. These people didn't need to know everything about me. I shot down most of the questions, instead, trying to push the conversations back to the others. It didn't matter. No matter how boring I made things, people still seemed fascinated with me.

At lunch later that afternoon, I met up with Nancy and Steve and sat at the table with them that had been claimed as theirs. I sat on Nancy's right side with Steve on Nancy's left. They were trying to make sure I felt comfortable around so many people I didn't know. I spotted many gazes straying toward me and even had some boys ask me what I was planning on doing that night. I told every boy that asked me out that I was planning on finishing unpacking my room - even though that wasn't true, I had already finished unpacking.

It wasn't just Steve, Nancy, and I at our table. Some of their other friends were at the table with us. Tommy H. and Carol were at the other end of the table, mostly absorbed in themselves and their relationship. The girls from the parking lot this morning were also at the table, spending much of lunch glaring at me. The students at the table were mostly discussing the other new student, Billy Hargrove, as I'd learned his last name was. While many people were interested in me, they were even more interested in Billy. I was grateful that he had drawn some attention away from me.

I was about to dig into my mashed potatoes when I realized that I had forgotten to grab a fork. I stood up from the table to go and grab one. "Rachel?" Nancy asked, looking up as I walked off. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just forgot my fork. I'll be right back," I told her.

Some of the girls at the table began muttering among themselves as I walked off. I headed back into the cafeteria and walked over toward the utensils. I grabbed a fork for my potatoes and was about to head back to the table when a larger boy, likely a senior, stepped in front of me with a wild grin. He was wearing a spirit jersey and had long dark brown hair. He reminded me of the football players at my old high school. I sighed. Football players were not and never would be my type. I tried to push past the jock but he stepped in front of me again.

"You must be the new girl," the football player greeted.

"So I keep hearing," I replied dully.

"I'm Mark."

"Rachel."

We stood in silence for a moment, staring at each other. He didn't see the boredom in my eyes. "Are you planning on going to the game this weekend?" Mark finally asked.

"Game?" I asked.

No one had said anything about a football game to me. "The big welcome-back football game. It's on the first weekend of the new school year. Everyone always goes," Mark explained.

I'd only been to two football games in my life and I hadn't enjoyed either one. "Oh, I don't know," I told Mark.

"I could use some support," he teased.

He was trying to flirt with me, but he wasn't my type and I was bored with our conversation already. "A star football player needs support from a new girl he barely knows?" I asked irritably.

"We could get to know each other," Mark offered.

I had to fight extremely hard to not roll my eyes. I wanted nothing to do with Mark. He was not my type. "Maybe another time, Mark," I offered. "Football games aren't my kind of thing."

"Have you ever been?" Mark asked.

"I've been to a couple and never enjoyed them," I admitted.

"Maybe I can change your mind," Mark teased.

"Rach."

The nickname could have only come from one person. I turned back as Billy walked up to my side, standing as close to me as he had this morning. I glanced up and nodded at him. "Hey, Billy," I greeted.

All three of us stared at each other for a moment. Mark was trying to smile at me but seemed unnerved with Billy standing so close. He must have been waiting for Billy to leave, but Billy wasn't backing down. Mark finally admitted defeat, his chest deflating slightly. "I'll see you around, Rach," Mark said.

"It's Rachel," I hissed as Mark walked off. I turned back to Billy with another scowl on my face. "That goes for you too."

"You should be thanking me, Rach," Billy teased.

"For being an asshole?" I asked.

"For saving you from jockstrap over there," Billy said.

The only thing Billy was doing was showing that he didn't want any other guys flirting with me. "We both know that you weren't saving me," I told him. Billy arched an eyebrow as if to ask what I meant. I rolled my eyes and threw my head back toward where Mark had gone. "Asserting your dominance already, I see?"

Billy grinned but didn't look like he was planning on denying it. "Just accept the help."

"I had it handled," I snapped.

"Please, I could see your eyes rolling into the back of your head from the other end of the cafeteria," Billy scoffed.

"But yet you can't see it when it's right in front of you," I replied.

Billy grinned as he stepped into me. He must have known that I wasn't serious about wanting him to stay away from me. A blush crept over my cheeks as I looked at him. "That's not how I make a woman's eyes roll back," Billy told me quietly. I swallowed a lump in my throat. Not many men could manage that, but I bet that he could. "Come on, Rach. What are you doing tonight?"

"Not you, Hargrove," I said, smiling up at him.

"We'll see," Billy said, running his tongue over his teeth.

"We will not," I snapped.

We both knew that was a lie. I rolled my eyes as Billy winked at me and ran his tongue over his lips again. The tiny hairs on my arms stood up as the two of us brushed past each other. I bumped against Billy's arm but he remained firm in his stance as I pushed past. His face was within inches of mine as I passed. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to slap him or kiss him at this point. I ignored Billy's pointed stare but continued to sway my hips as I walked back to my table. Unsurprisingly, everyone was watching me.

The moment I went back to my seat Steve said, "Where's your fork?"

"Damn it," I groaned, shoving my plate back. I wasn't getting up again. "You know what? I'm not that hungry."

"If you're not going to have it..." Steve muttered.

"Go for it, big guy," I told him.

The rest of the students at our table went back to eating as I began playing with my lighter. "So, what does Billy Hargrove have to say to Rachel Winters?" Nicole, a red-headed senior girl at our table asked.

"What? You couldn't strain your ears that hard?" I snapped irritably.

Billy didn't attempt to keep our conversation private so I wouldn't either. The girls at the table were staring at me. "What do you mean?" Carol, one of the girls who had been admiring Billy this morning, asked.

She was the same one who had insulted me. "I'm not blind or an idiot. I know you've all been listening to every conversation Billy and I have had since this morning," I said.

"I'd just like to know what he sees in you," Tina, the girl who had commented on Billy's ass sneered.

"Not an uptight pretentious bitch?" I suggested.

Nancy and Steve snorted into their lunches but otherwise remained silent. "He only likes you because you're wearing the lowest-cut shirt I've ever seen," Carol hissed, motioning to my shirt.

If she'd thought that would insult me, she was dead wrong. They didn't bother me. I liked my style and her comment proved to me that she and the rest of the girls were jealous. I snorted at the girls' laughter. They weren't going to change my mind about my shirt. I liked it just the way it was. "Yep," I said plainly.

"What?" Tina gasped.

"I've known him for about three hours. Do you think he likes my personality? He doesn't know my personality. Whatever he likes about me is completely physical," I told them. I wasn't a moron. I knew Billy didn't like me, he just liked the way I looked. "Don't believe me? I'll happily recount some of our conversations."

"You're just the new toy," Vickie, the first girl who had mentioned Billy, snapped.

"Sweetie, this is his first day here. We're all the shiny new toys. Guess I was just the shiniest," I shot back.

Tina, Vickie, Carol, and Nicole looked furious with the way I was speaking to them. I imagined that no one had ever countered them before. Much like Tommy, they must have been used to running the school. The four girls grabbed their trays and stormed away from the table just seconds before the bell rang again. I smirked at the four girls as they walked off, muttering nasty swears about me. I had never had an issue getting along with the boys. It had always been the girls that I didn't get along with.

"What the hell did you do?" Steve asked. I looked up, not understanding what he was talking about. "Rub pheromones on yourself this morning?"

I laughed as Nancy asked, "Was it like this at your old school?"

"No, but I had lived there my entire life. Everyone knew me. Like I told them, I wasn't the shiny new toy," I said.

"They'll get over you soon enough," Steve reasoned.

"Yeah? How many new kids do you get in Hawkins?" I huffed.

Steve flushed. "Fair point."

The second warning bell rang and I smiled bitterly at Steve and Nancy, standing up from the table and dumping most of my lunch into the trash can. I said goodbye to Steve and Nancy, who were going to their respective classes. I thanked the pair briefly for keeping most of the students from asking questions. I knew that they would eventually, but I could at least avoid my first day at Hawkins High School being a complete mess. I would get a few days of peace before I had to answer any difficult questions.

After lunch, once I had said goodbye to the two real friends I'd made in Hawkins, I headed to physics. I didn't like the older teacher that much as he was about as chauvinistic as they came. He said nothing to me during class and focused on the eighty percent of the students that were male. It reminded me of my calculus class earlier in the day. I was thrilled when the bell rang for the final class of the day. I only had to deal with this place for another forty-five minutes and then I could go home.

My final class of the day was swimming. The physical exercise classes were divided by gender, so I was stuck with many girls who didn't want me anywhere near them. I desperately wanted to get in the water but our coach told us that we would only be going over the strokes and our time goals would be for the first few days of class. I spent much of the class watching the boys playing basketball through the double-doors into the gym; shirts versus skins. To my pleasure, Billy was on skins. It was easy to spend the bulk of the lesson enjoying myself getting lost in daydreams.

The guys were running back and forth throughout the gym, grunting and cheering. I knew that I wasn't the only person watching them. I kept my eyes mainly on Billy as they ran. I could see why the girls were so jealous of me. To me, at least, Billy was the most attractive person at Hawkins High School, and had he not already had his eyes on me, I would have wanted them on me. Of course, I had exactly what I wanted but I'd never been one to give in to a man; I loved the chase as much as it seemed that Billy did.

When the bell rang to alert the students that the final period of the day was ending, every student took off to head home. Most of them headed for the parking lot immediately. I heard most of the students talking about the big game that Mark had mentioned to me. A few of my new acquaintances I'd met during the day asked me if I was planning on going but I kept telling them that I wasn't sure yet. As I'd said earlier, football wasn't my thing and I didn't know if Steve and Nancy were going yet. I wasn't going to go if they weren't.

As I started getting ready to leave, heading toward the main hallway through the basketball court, I saw Billy and the rest of the male students packing up their things. I noticed Billy making eyes at many of the girls as he walked off and I rolled my eyes at him. Player... At that moment, he glanced back and smirked at me as I ran my fingers through my hair, giving him a vague smile in return. Billy ran his tongue over his lips and winked at me from across the court. I rolled my eyes playfully, picking up my things from the bench and heading out.

Before heading out to the parking lot I stopped by the front office to gather the paperwork that my parents would have to fill out before the end of the week. They were enrollment forms and other paperwork that hadn't been ready for us when we'd come to enroll me in the school last week. I was on my way back to my locker to grab the books that I had left while I was in swimming class, cigarette and lighter in hand, when I ran into Steve and Nancy. They were likely heading out to Steve's car.

"Hey, Rachel," Nancy greeted. "I'm heading home with Steve."

"Yeah, I'll head out soon. I have to get my books from my locker," I said, motioning back through the hallway. "I'll see you a little later."

"See you at home," Nancy said.

They were about to walk off when Steve stopped, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Hey, Rachel. It'll get better," he promised.

"Yeah? That doesn't instill much confidence coming from the supposed king of Hawkins High School," I teased.

Steve laughed, patting me on the back. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Steve," I said. I was about to walk off again when I spotted the college essay Steve had been griping about when I'd met him a few days prior in his hands. I nodded down to it. "Good luck with that college essay."

"Thanks," Steve chuckled.

As most of the students headed to their cars I wandered back into the school to gather my things. I needed my books and then I could head home. I walked into the main hallway and to my locker, grabbing the books that I needed to do the little bit of homework I had gotten for the first day. I stuffed my things into my bag and grabbed my car keys, heading back toward the parking lot. About half of the cars were already gone. I figured that no one wanted to hang around school longer than they had to on the first day.

Once I had gotten to my car, I tossed my backpack into the passenger seat. I vaguely took note that Billy's car was still in the parking lot. I stood at my door for a moment, trying desperately to light my cigarette before I left but I couldn't get the lighter to ignite. It wasn't the wind - the air had been mostly still all day. The damn lighter must have been out of fuel. It had been a long time since I'd refilled it. I muttered a few curses under my breath as I tried to get the lighter to ignite, but it seemed that I was out of luck.

"Having a problem?"

My head snapped up to see that Billy was leaning on my car, watching me with a playful grin. "You following me, Hargrove?" I snapped.

"You'd be so lucky, Winters," Billy replied.

His eyes flashed with playful malice. I rolled my eyes so far back into my head that I thought they would get stuck there. I had heard others say his last name all day but I wasn't sure how he found out mine. We didn't have any classes together so he hadn't heard a teacher say it. I assumed that he had probably asked around until someone had told him. I doubted that Steve or Nancy would have told him (or that Billy would have spoken to them) but maybe Tommy had. I noticed the lighter in Billy's hand and dropped my eyes to it.

"While you're standing here, you may as well be useful," I said.

Billy grinned, flicking the lighter open and igniting it. "Come here."

My heart gave a pathetic little flutter as I moved toward Billy. He reminded me of the kind of guy I had always wanted. I loved the kind of guy that wasn't afraid to go after what he wanted. I put the cigarette up to my mouth, slipping it between my lips. Billy took his lighter and lit the end as I took in a deep breath, feeling my nerves relax immediately. I held the smoke in for a moment before puffing it back out into Billy's face as he still hadn't moved back away. I sent him a playful grin as I straightened back up.

"Thank you," I said.

"That's the only way you can think of to thank me?" Billy asked.

I arched my eyebrow at the bluntness of his statement. "Really?"

Billy laughed, throwing his head back for a moment before looking back at me with piercing eyes. "Don't think so lowly of me, Rach. Maybe I just meant by getting a drink," Billy said.

It was my turn to laugh now. "Oh, I don't think so," I said. Billy looked surprised at my outright denial. "You've already got a long line of suitors."

Billy chuckled, looking at the ground before meeting my eyes again. "Rach," he purred. I had already given up on trying to get him to call me by my full name. I knew he wouldn't. Billy moved toward me, lowering his head to speak into my ear with a deep growl. "We can't just be friends?"

"I know exactly what being your friend would be like," I replied, turning my head into his.

"You should be jumping at the chance, then," Billy teased.

"Someone thinks highly of themselves," I commented.

Billy shrugged proudly. "I've never had any complaints."

"We wouldn't want to risk ruining that perfect record," I said, my resolve beginning to die.

"It won't be ruined," Billy said confidently. "It'll be the best -"

"Three minutes of my life?" I interrupted.

The bright smile on my face did nothing to quell Billy's distaste for my comment. He took my jacket tightly in his hands and yanked me into him. I stumbled forward into his chest, having not been expecting his grip to be as tight as it was. His hands were still wrapped around my jacket as I placed a hand against his chest, unsure if I was trying to pull him into me or push him away. My breaths were coming out in heavy pants as I looked up at him. I wasn't afraid of Billy; I didn't want to admit what I felt for him. Judging by the look on his face, though, he already knew.

"Nervous?" Billy asked, speaking so close to my ear that I could feel his jaw moving against mine.

Yes. "Not even slightly, Hargrove," I hissed.

If Billy had been angry about my comment (I assumed that he wasn't), he didn't show it. "Come on, Rach," Billy said, running his tongue over his teeth, something I found myself enjoying more and more each time he did it. "What's wrong with having a little fun?"

"You want this?" I asked boldly. Billy smirked at me as I dropped my hand to rest on his belt. I must have surprised him as his eyes widened and his lower stomach muscles clenched. "Work for it." Billy chuckled, not releasing his grip on my jacket. I gently shoved his belt from my hand. "In the meantime, it looks like you've got plenty of willing study partners."

The two of us glanced around and chuckled at the huge portion of the student body who were watching us. The remaining half of the students who were still at school were all intently watching our interaction. I rolled my eyes. Billy would be beloved by the rest of the school because he was attractive and bold and I would be hated because Billy had shown the most interest in me on the first day. I wondered briefly if Billy would eventually lose interest in me. It wouldn't be that shocking. He seemed the type to flit from woman to woman.

It was a moment later that I realized that Billy didn't just appear to be speaking to me, it looked like he was waiting for someone. "What are you still doing here?" I asked Billy suddenly. "I pegged you for the type to be out of school the second the bell rang."

Billy grinned again, but this one didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm waiting for someone."

"With no date?" I asked, surprised.

Billy looked me up and down, his eyes resting at my low-cut shirt. He didn't attempt to pretend he wasn't staring down my shirt. "They're not my type," Billy said pointedly.

"Hargrove, everyone's your type," I shot back.

Billy smirked at me as I rolled my eyes. I was certain that many girls had shown some interest in Billy and he had likely responded to them to a degree, but for whatever reason, he seemed to have set his sights on me. I reached up and took a long drag from my cigarette. I didn't realize until it was too late that my leather jacket sleeve had moved upward and revealed my wrist. Billy had been watching my every movement since he'd walked over to me and I was positive he'd seen. He confirmed my thought when he spoke.

"You've got a tattoo?" Billy asked.

"Yeah," I muttered awkwardly.

I'd never enjoyed explaining my tattoo to new people, but I knew Billy wouldn't leave it alone. I moved my sleeve up to reveal the tiny tattoo on my right wrist, two zeros followed by the number one. "One?" Billy asked curiously, taking my hand in his.

I laughed awkwardly. "You get a little too drunk at a Halloween party one year and start thinking you're the number one person on the planet and next thing you know, you have the number one tattooed on you forever," I muttered dumbly, lying right through my teeth.

Thankfully, Billy didn't notice. Instead, he laughed and said, "I like it."

I smiled in response. "Thank you."

"That your only one?" Billy asked curiously.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" I teased.

Billy grinned at me, pushing my body up against the door of his car. Somehow, I had followed him to his car during our back-and-forth. "I would," he said, looking down at me.

My voice seemed to be stuck in my throat. I wasn't sure what to do when I saw a flash of bright red and heard a sharp scoff. Both Billy and I glanced over to see that the little red-headed girl from this morning had arrived at the car. I blushed and tried to move - hoping to not scar the little girl too early in life - but Billy didn't seem concerned that she had seen us. Instead, he lowered his mouth to my ear as the red-headed girl groaned in disgust and hopped into the car, slamming the door behind her. Billy ignored the moody pre-teen.

"You and I both know that one day I'll find out," Billy told me.

That was very likely, but I didn't need to tell him that. He didn't need his head inflated more than it already was. "Okay," I whispered, gently pushing Billy off of me and moving past him, shooting the red-headed girl a little smile. "Goodnight, Hargrove."

"Night, Rach," Billy said.

I turned back to him with a half-hearted scowl. "I'm not going to have any luck getting you to call me Rachel, am I?" I asked.

Billy walked back up to me and puffed smoke in my face. "No," he said, shooting me a wink.

Billy and I exchanged a quick grin. He gave me another wink as I rolled my eyes, taking a long drag of my cigarette and jumping into my car. At the same time, Billy's car engine roared to life as his radio blasted 'Hot for Teacher' by Van Halen. I chuckled. At least he had good taste. In music and women, apparently. As he pulled out of the parking lot, I started my car and headed down the road blasting 'Gimme All Your Lovin'' by ZZ Top. I noticed Billy looked up in his rearview mirror and smirk at my music choice. I flipped him the bird in response.

As we both pulled out of the lot I noticed that I drove as fast as Billy did. I had narrowly avoided a few speeding tickets back in Florida. We didn't end up going down the road together for long. I continued straight down the main road as Billy turned onto one of the side roads. According to Nancy, it wasn't the poor part of town but it wasn't as well-off as the part of town we lived in. I found myself mildly curious to know what his home life was life. Hell, I wanted to know who the girl was. She didn't look anything like Billy but she appeared to be his sister.

As much as I wanted to ask Billy who the little red-headed girl was, I'd gotten the sense from him and that he didn't like to talk about her. I hadn't even seen them exchange a single word while they were together. If I had to guess, I would have assumed that the girl was Billy's stepsister. That would have explained the ride-sharing situation but the complete differences in appearances. Perhaps if Billy didn't forget about me by the morning and we ended up growing a little closer, I would man up and ask him who she was.

The majority of my first day at Hawkins High School had been extremely boring. Most of the students at school were the kind of people I had expected to meet. I noticed that the school had a large jock population so I wasn't surprised at all that the first person to ask me out was a football player - the first formal person to ask me out, at least. Steve and Nancy's friends were aggravating and made it no secret that they didn't like me. It felt like the only real friends I had made today were the two of them.

The people that I had sat with at lunch were mainly Steve's friends. They hadn't tried to hide that they weren't happy that I had gotten the most interest from Billy today, but I was certain that he would have moved on from me by tomorrow. Ally was one of Steve and Nancy's nicer friends that I had met. Carol hated me. Nicole, Tina, and Vickie didn't seem to like me either as I had teased them over Billy's lack of interest in them. I assumed that they weren't used to competition. They must not have been used to girls who were as outspoken as I was.

Throughout the day, I had realized that the boys were no better than the girls. They had leered at me all day. I didn't mind guys looking at me. The thing that bothered me was that they leered but didn't say anything. The reason I liked Billy was that he was bold enough to talk to me and openly express his interest. It was better than the boys who asked me questions about my life and pretended to be interested in what I had to say. It had happened throughout the day. I would have rather they just been direct. I might have said yes if they had been.

My classes were pathetic and most of my teachers didn't care much for me. In most of my classes, it felt like I knew more about the material than the teachers did. They never answered me whenever I raised my hand and many of them didn't seem to believe that I was rightfully enrolled in their classes. My physics and calculus teachers had both called the office to make sure I had gotten my schedule correct, which had been mortifying. I knew that they didn't like having women in their classes and they weren't used to it.

The most entertaining portion of my day was meeting Billy Hargrove. I found myself thinking about him at random intervals throughout the day. When I had gotten bored in my classes, my thoughts would drift off to the way he was bold enough to lay his hands on me without approval. I would imagine the way he would lay his hands all over me had I not shut down his offer. I had looked forward to the moments that we had seen and spoken to each other during the day. Those were the moments where I felt a little bit like my old self.

The real question was what I would do about my budding interest in Billy. I wasn't expecting to find someone I liked at Hawkins High School so quickly. It was surprising to me that I found more than Billy's looks attractive. I liked his personality. Most of the boyfriends I'd had in the past began with a teasing relationship, but none of them had been as forward with me as Billy had. I had a feeling that I would give into Billy someday, exactly as he'd said I would, but I wanted to try and put it off as long as possible.

As I pulled into my driveway, I noticed that my parents' car was there. They must not have gone out today. I figured they had come back so they could grill me about my first day as soon as I'd gotten home. I saw that Nancy was out in her driveway with her family's mail in her hands. I pulled into the driveway and shut off my engine. I climbed out of the car and smiled at Nancy, who looked very eager to get my honest assessment of Hawkins High School. I puffed on my cigarette as I walked over to my friend.

"Well, your friends are lovely," I teased Nancy.

She rolled her eyes. "They're not my friends as much as they're Steve's," Nancy said.

"You put up with them just because he likes them," I inferred.

It was always tough trying to get along with a significant other's friends. "Pretty much," Nancy agreed. "I don't know, last year I cared so much about being with Steve and getting along with all of his friends but then I lost Barb and things kind of..."

"Shifted?" I reasoned. I knew the feeling. Nancy nodded sadly. "You got some perspective on what's important."

"Yeah," Nancy muttered.

After a brief silence, I said, "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything," Nancy said.

"Do you love Steve?" I blurted out.

The question had been on my mind all day. It wasn't my business but I was curious about what their relationship was really like. Nancy's eyes widened to the size of saucers. I knew that I had struck a nerve. "What? I - I mean..." Nancy stammered dumbly. I noticed that she wasn't denying it. Nancy hesitated for longer than she likely realized. "Yeah, of course. I love Steve, I do."

She was nodding so quickly that I thought she would give herself whiplash. "Are you trying to convince me or you?" I asked Nancy. I could see her eyes watering at my question so I swallowed my pride and backed away from my curiosity. "I'm sorry, Nance." Her mouth twitched up slightly at the nickname. "I'm not trying to be pushy and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Just know that I like Steve more than almost anyone else I've met in Hawkins, but whatever you tell me stays between us."

Nancy took a deep breath. I figured that she had never expressed her true feelings for Steve to anyone. "Steve was completely different last year. He was the popular guy and a real jerk sometimes," Nancy admitted. I'd figured he must have been an asshole at some point considering so many people called him 'King Steve.' "But he started to like me and I... I don't know. I guess I felt -"

"Excited? Wanted?" I asked, smiling at her.

Nancy laughed. "Yeah." I nodded at her. I knew the feeling, especially after meeting Billy Hargrove. "But at the same time Steve and I were growing closer, I was growing closer with my brother Mike's friend Will's older brother," Nancy continued.

"Is that the guy I saw you with earlier?" I asked.

A few times in the day I had noticed Nancy speaking with another boy in our year. She was the only person I had seen speak to him. "Yeah. His name's Jonathan," Nancy explained.

"You want some honest advice?" I offered.

Nancy laughed, shaking her head. "No, but I think I could use it."

It was my turn to laugh. "You look like you like Steve, Nancy. When the two of you are together, you seem happy. He's got this look on his face when he talks to you like you're the only person in the world, but you look at him no differently than you're looking at me right now," I told her. Nancy's eyes softened at the realization. I felt bad for saying it, but I knew Nancy was already thinking it. She knew that if I saw it, Steve had too. "You deserve to have someone look at you the way Steve does, and he deserves to have someone look that way back at him."

Nancy was silent for a long time before eventually nodding. "He does," she muttered.

"Don't be afraid of things not working out with Jonathan keep you from doing what you should. I know that you care for Steve. If you care for him as much as I think you do, you'll let him go," I whispered.

Jonathan deserved a fair shot with Nancy and Steve deserved someone who loved him as much as he loved them. "You know, that's probably the most sound advice anyone's given me about them," Nancy admitted.

"I'm not here to judge. I've done some fairly questionable things in my short life," I told her.

Nancy laughed. "Thank you for not judging."

Who was I to judge someone for what they had done with the opposite gender? I was bad enough. "Never. I'm the last person to judge a woman for what she does with the men in her life," I said, chuckling.

All of my actions with the opposite gender were a little embarrassing. "Speaking of the men in someone's life..." Nancy said, her voice going from sad to excited. I threw my head back and groaned as Nancy laughed again. I knew that she would eventually ask about my interactions with the male population of Hawkins High School. She had thrown me curious glances whenever she had seen me with a new guy. "I don't think I've ever seen the male population of Hawkins High School latch so quickly to someone."

"I am not interested," I snapped.

"In any of them?" Nancy asked slowly. I knew she didn't believe that I wasn't interested in Billy. I shrugged. Maybe I had been interested in one of them. "I overheard Mark ask you to come to the football game."

"He did," I answered.

"Are you planning on going?" Nancy asked.

"Are you? I don't want to go by myself," I admitted.

"Maybe. Steve will probably want to go," Nancy said.

Football games weren't something I had ever been interested in; they had always seemed boring and a little too high school for me. "I'm not sure if I'll go. Football isn't my thing. I'm more of the kind of person to go skinny-dipping in an abandoned lake at midnight to celebrate making it through the first week of a new school," I admitted, smirking at her.

Nancy laughed loudly this time. "I can think of someone who would happily join you." I groaned again. If there was one guy I'd known Nancy wanted to ask me about, it was Billy Hargrove. I had known that she would eventually bring the conversation around to him. "I saw Billy Hargrove talking with about ninety percent of the student body today, but I didn't see him speak to anyone as much as he spoke to you," Nancy pointed out.

"He's not the kind of guy who's used to getting turned down. I think this time he likes the chase," I pointed out.

"He asked you out?" Nancy asked.

A vague grin spread over my face. "In a way about as close to asking me out as Billy can get, I think. He's not a movie-and-a-nice-dinner kind of guy, Nancy," I told her.

"Well, do you like him?" Nancy asked.

The words echoed around in my head for a few seconds. Like him? I liked the way he looked. "I don't know him," I told her. I wouldn't tell her, but I did know Billy. At least, I knew more about him than he probably thought anyone in school did. "From what I've seen, Billy Hargrove is the kind of guy that I would always go for."

"So?" Nancy asked.

"That's the exact reason that I plan on staying far away from him," I answered.

I'd decided before coming to Indiana that I had to stop going after guys who were normally my type. Those relationships never ended well. I needed someone who was sweet and caring, not hot and intense. "I don't know Billy at all, but I have gotten to know you pretty well over the last week. When a girl's got that look in her eyes talking about a guy, it's only a matter of time before they come together," Nancy pointed out.

Of course. Nancy knew as well as Billy and I both did that we would eventually come together. I rolled my eyes irritably. "I'm not giving into Billy Hargrove," I growled.

But Nancy believed me as much as Billy did. "So, that's what this is going to turn into," Nancy said knowingly. I arched an eyebrow in confusion. "It's not that you're not attracted to Billy, it's just that you don't want to give him what he wants."

"Not without him making a little effort," I admitted. "He's the kind of guy that has girls chase him wherever he goes. It might do his ego a little good to try and chase a girl for once."

"But you're not opposed to him?" Nancy asked.

Being with Billy Hargrove would likely be the best time of my short life. "Opposed to being with him? Hell, I'll be dreaming about it," I said. We both laughed as I covered my face in embarrassment. "What about you? What do you think of Billy Hargrove?"

"I think he's not my type," Nancy said.

I looked her up and down teasingly. "Honey, I don't think you're his type either," I said.

"Hey!" Nancy barked. We laughed again as I shook my head at her. Billy wanted someone way more outgoing than Nancy was. She would have never gone for someone as bold as he was either. "I've..."

"You've...?" I trailed off, knowing that Nancy didn't need to hear me repeat her choice. We exchanged a bashful smile as I hummed under her breath. I had wanted to ask while we were hanging out in the week before school started but I wasn't sure if Nancy had trusted me enough to discuss those kinds of things. "Steve or Jonathan?" I asked quietly.

"Steve," Nancy admitted.

She didn't sound as happy about it as she should have. "Ah. Nance, don't feel bad if you're curious about Jonathan. I didn't speak to him today but every time I saw him, his eyes were on you," I told her honestly.

He had been very quiet but he had spoken volumes by the way he was looking at Nancy. She gave a dumb grin to the floor. "What about you?" Nancy asked.

Now that wasn't a memory I wanted to return to. "Yes. The full story though, that's a little more complicated," I chuckled.

"Complicated?" Nancy asked.

"Nancy!" Mrs. Wheeler shouted from her front porch. "We're getting ready for dinner!"

"Coming, Mom!" Nancy yelled back to her mother as she turned back to me. She gave me a pointed look. "We're not done with this discussion."

I laughed, shaking my head at her. "Goodnight, Nancy. I'll see you at school tomorrow," I said.

"Night, Rachel," Nancy said.

The two of us exchanged a quick hug before turning to our respective homes. I let out a deep breath as I walked away from Nancy, not quite certain how I felt about my first day at Hawkins High School. Part of it was thrilling and other parts were as bad as I had expected them to be. I didn't know which part I felt stronger about. I walked into my living room trying to plaster a smile on my face. No one else needed to know about my rather off day. My father was sitting in front of the television, watching the nightly news and my mother was setting the dinner table.

"Honey!" Mom yelled, noticing me enter. "How was school?"

"School was school," I said noncommittally.

"Were the kids nice?" Dad asked.

"No," I answered.

"Did you make any new friends?" Mom asked.

They looked surprised that I was so emotionless about my first day. I thought about it for a moment before nodding and saying, "Yes."

"What?" Dad asked.

"You went to high school once upon a time, right?" I asked.

"Sure," he said. I gave my father a pointed look, waiting for him to catch on. He stood at me for a moment before shrugging and finally understanding in nodding. "Okay. Point made."

"I'm going to get changed," I told them.

"We want to hear everything!" Mom yelled after me.

"I know," I called back.

What could I tell them about my day? Not anything about Billy, the only interesting thing about my day. I wandered upstairs and dropped my bag and the rest of my things onto my floor. One of my faults was that I couldn't seem to keep my room clean for more than a few days. I chucked my car keys, sunglasses, lighter, and cigarette pack onto my nightstand and headed into my bathroom. I wiped off my makeup and quickly rinsed off my face. I tied my hair up and walked back into my bedroom, getting changed into my pajamas - a pair of shorts and an Aerosmith t-shirt.

Once I had finished getting ready for bed, I unpacked my bag and laid my books out on my bed. Since I had nothing else to do tonight, I figured that I may as well read the syllabus' for my class and get started on my homework. Unfortunately, that was perhaps the lamest way I could spend the night after my first day of school... For a brief moment, I wished that I would have taken up one of the boys on their offers of dinner or a movie. Or, even better, maybe Billy on his night of studying.

A few minutes later I headed back downstairs and sat down with my parents for dinner. The three of us discussed our days with as little detail as possible. My father told me about the work he had done all day. He had started working in an office downtown. He seemed happy enough to be working in engineering again but I could tell that he missed his old coworkers and office. My mother seemed to have enjoyed a day with the other women in the neighborhood, but I knew that she missed our old neighbors.

My parents asked me many questions about my first day at school. I tried to be as vague as possible with my answers. I was positive that they wouldn't want to hear about my relationships with the opposite gender and that was the only interaction I'd had today that had interested me. I mentioned my classes and that Nancy and Steve had hung around me for most of the day. They didn't seem convinced that I was telling them the entire truth, but I didn't care. I wasn't telling me everything about my day.

It did surprise me when my mother asked if there had been any attractive boys around. I could tell by the look on my father's face that he didn't want to hear about it. My face burned with embarrassment as I denied that any guys had been interesting. My father seemed relieved to hear that but my mother didn't seem to believe me. I was very careful to avoid mentioning Billy. I knew that my parents wouldn't like the way he was speaking to me, though I was sure Billy would know how to put on a good act for them.

We finished our dinner and casual chats about our days as I began helping with the dishes, laughing, and joking with my parents. They were teasing me about seemingly everything under the sun. They didn't seem convinced that none of the guys in Hawkins High School had been interested in asking me out. I had rolled my eyes, barking at them to drop it while repeating that I wasn't interested in the guys I went to school with. I pointedly ignored my father telling me that I wasn't old enough to date.

It was off the table to tell my father about my previous dating life, then. I rolled my eyes at him. I had been dating guys back in Florida since I was fourteen and had been intimate with guys for a little over a year. Not that my parents needed to know that last bit. I had insisted to my parents that every time I had seen my boyfriends in the past had been in public or groups. I had a bad feeling that Billy Hargrove was going to do everything in his power to change that. With how obvious he was, my parents were sure to find out about him eventually.

Once I had finished helping with the dishes, I turned back and threw my head back toward the stairs. "I'm going to call Casey," I told my parents.

"Give her our love," Mom said.

"Yeah, I will," I told them.

They loved and missed Casey and her family as much as I did. My mother and father each smiled at me and I planted kisses on their cheeks before leaving. I needed to go upstairs and get some peace from the day. I headed upstairs and sat cross-legged on the bed, grabbing my phone and dialing Casey's number. I twirled the phone cord in my hand as I waited for Casey to pick up the phone. Despite the time difference, I knew that my best friend would have gotten home from my old high school recently.

"Hello?" Casey's voice called.

"Hey, Case," I greeted happily.

"Rachel!" Casey yelled in response. "How was the first day?"

"It was all right. It turns out that I'm not the only new kid," I said.

"Really?" Casey asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah. There's another new guy in my year named Billy. He moved here from California," I explained.

"Well, at least someone knows how you feel."

"I suppose."

We remained in silence for a moment as I thought about Casey's reaction to Billy; she was always more attracted to jocks but even she would have admitted that Billy Hargrove was particularly attractive. "There was a smile your voice when you said his name was Billy," Casey said, and I knew a shit-eating grin was on her face.

"Jesus, Case, don't read into things," I groaned.

Casey's voice adopted a sing-song tone. "Rachel. Is he hot?"

"Smoking," I admitted.

Casey barked out a laugh. She always knew when I was attracted to someone. She didn't even need to see me. "I knew you would meet a hot guy out there! Indiana can't be that lame," Casey said, laughing excitedly.

"Don't get too excited, Case. I'm not the only girl who noticed and he's well aware of the attention he drew," I told her.

Casey hummed understandingly. "One of those guys."

"One of those, indeed. But he fits the bill. He pretty much flat-out propositioned me," I said.

"Did you take him up on his offer?" Casey asked.

"No!" I barked.

"Why not? He's hot, apparently, and you're bored," Casey countered.

"Not that bored," I said.

We both knew that was a lie. I was that bored and I would have been more than happy to entertain myself with Billy. "Oh, come on, Rachel! You were always the person I gossiped with and I don't have anyone to gossip with now that you're gone. Please, I need to live vicariously through you!" Casey groaned theatrically.

"Knock it off!" I snapped. "You've got James to keep you entertained."

"No news there yet," Casey said plainly. "Tell me about this Billy guy."

It wasn't surprising that Casey didn't want to let the conversation about Billy drop. I snorted under my breath and rolled my eyes. I knew that she'd always been a little nervous to push things forward with James. She thought that James didn't like her the way she liked him, though I knew he did. He had told me that he cared for Casey but had asked me not to step in, so I had minded my business, even though it killed me to stay out of it. I spent the next fifteen minutes repeating the details of each of my encounters with Billy to Casey, who didn't interrupt until I had finished.

"Wow..." Casey breathed.

Was she kidding? She was supposed to be my best friend and that was all she could say about my newest encounter? "Wow? All you have to say is 'wow'? The Casey I know never shuts up," I told her.

"Rachel, you are aware that he sounds exactly like your type?" Casey asked.

"Yes, Case, and that's exactly why I'm not planning on accepting any of his offers," I snapped in response.

"What's wrong with the guys you've dated?" Casey asked.

"Have you seen the guys I've dated?" I said.

We both knew that the guys I had dated were completely useless and a bit too similar to Billy for my liking. If I wanted someone good for me, he had to be completely different. "What's so wrong with Billy Hargrove?" Casey asked. I remained silent as that was my problem. I didn't know what was wrong being with Billy. "Rachel, he seems like your type, and from what you say he's incredibly attractive. Not to mention he doesn't beat around the bush which we both know you like. What's stopping you?"

"I'm not sure. Case, I just..." I trailed off.

"I get it," Casey said.

"What's that?" I asked her.

"Guys have always given you a ton of attention," Casey said. I rolled my eyes and was about to change the subject when Casey spoke again. "Don't roll your eyes at me, I know you're doing it. You're pretty, Rachel. You're funny and bold and you found a guy who seems to be the male equivalent of you." There was a laugh in Casey's voice that I scowled at. "So, go for it."

"No way," I snapped.

"Why not?" Casey asked.

"Would it be worth all the trouble?" I shot back.

"You'll never know until you find out," Casey teased.

"I'm not sure how interested he is," I pointed out.

Maybe he was interested today, but that didn't mean that he was going to be interested two weeks from now, or even two days from now. "Are you kidding? I wasn't even at your school today and I know he was trying to lure you into bed," Casey said.

"He did the same thing with a bunch of girls," I told her.

"Any as much as you?" Casey asked knowingly.

I sighed. "It didn't seem like it."

"See? He's going after you."

"I know."

Just like the rest of the students at Hawkins High School, Casey knew that Billy had entertained his interactions with me the most. "He likes you! At least, likes the way you look, which has never been a problem before," Casey pointed out.

"No, I know. I just... I don't know, Case. I'm sick of feeling like all I'm good for is being the flavor of the week," I mumbled.

"We both know you're much more than that," Casey said sweetly.

"But does Billy Hargrove? Probably not," I said, answering my question.

"You never know unless you try," Casey prompted.

"If I try, he'll have gotten exactly what he wanted," I said.

"But you will have, too," Casey pointed out.

Maybe we would both get what we wanted, but would it be worth it? What would it be like to give into Billy Hargrove and then potentially never speak to him again? "Yeah, but he's not the type to keep a girl around. Why would he be?" I asked, the grouchiness in my voice more evident than I'd wanted it to be. "He's hot enough to have his pick. You should have seen the girls, Case. It was like a feeding frenzy."

"But you're the one who caught his eye," Casey explained.

"I'm not going to be the first one to go for it," I snapped.

There was a line of girls waiting to go out with Billy. He didn't need me at the forefront. "You've never cared about casual," Casey commented.

Casey was always good to make you realize your faults, whether or not she meant to. "It's not that I'm against hooking up with him, it's just… I don't know," I muttered stupidly.

"You don't want to feel like you lost," Casey inferred.

"You know me well," I told her, laughing under my breath. "He's hot and funny but that's where our communications end."

There was no way our communications would be anything more. Casey hummed as I gulped down some water. "Because you want them to end there or because you're too stubborn to think he could be interested in anything more than your tits?" she asked.

I spat my water across the room. "Casey!" I shouted, gasping, and trying to wipe away the water.

It was a few minutes before either one of us could calm down enough to keep speaking. "Rachel..." Casey said, her voice softening enough to tell me that she was serious now. It wasn't too often that she got serious about anything "People can surprise you. You never know what could happen if you try to get to know him."

Getting to know him was off of the table. We would never get any chance to be anything more than a brief passing flirtation. "Trust me, Case. By tomorrow morning, Billy Hargrove won't even remember I exist," I said determinedly.

A/N: I just wanted to say a quick thank you to everyone who has followed and favorited the story! It's always nice to see some praise. Thank you again and please let me know what you think! Until next time -A

Vincent FGS91: Welcome back! I've been thinking about doing a Stranger Things story for a while but I finally managed to officially start it. Thanks for being my first reviewer! I hope you enjoy the story!

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