The light above the table had a green mosaic cover, bathing them in a slight greenish hue. She shifted on the barstool, forcing her face to look neutral and bored. She had totally been in bars before, including the notoriously seedy Proud Stout. Because she was of age and not doing anything illegal whatsoever.
The bartender gave a chuckle at something Billy said, glancing up at Diane for a moment before shaking his head. His name tag was partially shrouded by his stubby hand as he reached into the front pocket of the pocket of his leather jacket and pulled out a lighter. He lifted a cigarette up to his thin lips almost hidden behind his thick brown beard.
Scratching his ruddy cheek with one hand, he gave Billy the lighter with the other. Then he swiped the cash off the table, and poured two beers from the tap. They came with a thick layer of foam.
Taking one in each hand Billy came over to join her.
Both Judith and Rob had their backs turned to her, and all she could see was the face of the man with the sharp dark eyes. His lips were drawn tight together as he gave a terse nod. In one hand was a still untouched beer, condensation running down onto the top of his hand.
Then the mans eyes flickered over to her, sensing her staring. Quickly she glanced down at the table. The stool creaked as Billy threw his leg over the chair and dropped down.
Her lungs began itching with every inhale of smoke that filled her lungs and coated them in their toxins.
Billy eyed her. "Relax. You're actin' guiltier than a nun after a one-stand."
"I am completely relaxed right now." She said impatiently.
He raised a brow, before taking a giant swig of the chilled beer. He hastily wiped away the beer foam on his upper lip with the back of his hand. "You'd be a lot more convincing if you talked with me instead of staring at that table like you want to murder them."
Diane turned towards him. "I do not look like I want to murder him."
"You don't look like you're for fun."
"I know how to have fun and look like I'm having fun too."
"Except looking serious is your default setting."
She grabbed the other beer and took a sip.
"An entire teeny, tiny sip? You're going off the rails." His mocking words were softened by that charming smile he had perfected.
"Ha, ha. Real funny. I have a beer, I'm sitting with you. I look natural now." She took another deeper sip. She hated the bitter taste of beer.
Then her eyes flickered over to the table with the officials to see a tan folder being slid across towards the stranger. The folder bulged with papers, and several corners of documents were peeping out through the top and sides.
By the way the stranger quickly grabbed onto the folder and pulled it down onto his lap, this wasn't official government business. Was he Russian?
"We have to tell someone. This can't be legal."
"Tattle on some shady dealing you don't understand? I'd pay to see the police department tell you that you're just a imaginative, bored teenager, except I know I'll get it for free."
"Their job is to help us. They'll listen. The weird animals, the wire-tapping, the dealings. I don't know, it's all tied together somehow. And if we told the police they probably already know about it."
"Their job isn't to protect you, or me, or any other schmuck in this town."
"So what do they do?" She whispered furiously, barely paying attention to the shady dealings.
"Not their damned job." He answered back breezily, but there was a sharp glint in his eye again. "They only look out for themselves."
"Seriously why do you have such an issue with them? Their job is to protect, and have you seen them around Hawkins? They do their job. Especially Chief Hopper."
"Just - trust me, Diane. You got problems, they'll tell you to fuck off and deal with 'em at home, sweet home." There it was, that venom that tinged his words again and the constant fire that burnt like molten lava in his eyes resurfacing. Then he took several large gulps of his beer, depleting half of its contents in seconds.
Both Judith and Rob were getting up and Diane quickly turned her backs to them. She grabbed her beer and took another swig. Light flooded the room for a moment as they strode outside, not paying attention to the two teenagers in the corner.
Then they were shrouded back in the dimness of a bar that was too cheap to pay for more than four light bulbs. Even the brief contact to the outside world helped to clear some of the smoke out of the room.
The stranger sat all alone now, slowly finishing his drink as he stared at nothing in particular, lost in his own mind.
"I'm going to go over and talk with him." Diane said.
Billy looked her up and down. "Like that?"
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"
"You look more like you're gonna talk with him about the casket trade than whatever you're planning."
"I was planning on charming him. Then getting some information from him."
He looked at her coyly. "Dobler and charming don't go in the same sentence."
With a scowl she began pulling the sweater over the top of her head, then fluffing her hair out. She adjusted the tank top back into her skirt. "Just because I don't flirt with you doesn't mean I don't know how." She finished with a scowl. "You're just upset I won't be entertaining you."
Billy looked at her with appraisal, then smirked when he caught that rare look of utmost determination sparkling in her eyes. Then he held up his beer and tipped it slightly, in feigned permission towards the stranger.
She slid off the stool and made her way over to the stranger, almost lingering in the process. She had this. It wasn't like she didn't know how to act flirty or giggly. She had spent enough years with Tommy and the like to know exactly how it went down. Still, she was a little rusty.
Then she thought of the way Billy was probably staring at her with that infuriating smile of amusement behind her back.
"Pretty sure you're not a regular here." She said, a few feet away.
The man glanced up, and smiled as he drank her in. An interested high school girl right in front of him. He was in his thirties and it was clear the thought didn't deter him. "Pretty sure you shouldn't be a regular at all."
A slow smile began forming on her lips. Then she gave a light shrug. "Bartender operates on the same motto I do: age is just a number."
The stranger grinned, then gestured towards the seat. A bead of sweat trickled down his temple.
"It's only polite to introduce yourself." She teased.
He hummed, eyes flickering to her lips, lingering long enough to make his intention clear. "Let's skip the introductions."
"Okay, Stranger it is then." She toyed with the edges of a stray coaster. "How long are you in Hawkins for?"
"I was planning on skipping town tonight. But I might pay another night for a room at the motel down the road." His rough, calloused hand went to rest on top of hers. His thumb brushed her wrist. There was a pale line on his otherwise tanned line where a wedding ring used to be. Beneath the light, his dark hair gleamed.
The blush that flared up was unavoidable at his directness. "I still don't even know your name."
"Makes it all the more exciting, doesn't it."
"You could be a serial killer. I mean, give me at least something to go by. Where do you work?"
He brows raised a fraction, slightly amused by her stubbornness. Bold enough to come into a rundown bar and go up to him, but not impulsive enough to take a chance on a stranger. "You ask a lot of questions."
"And you don't ask any at all."
Diane was desperate to get her hand back. The stranger had scooted closer, and his knee bumped with hers. "What if I already have the answer to my questions?"
She stared at him, lost for how to get back on track without raising suspicion.
He took her silence as a challenge. "Fine. How about you can ask me questions while we walk around for a bit."
"I'm guessing this scenic tour will take us towards the Motel?"
The stranger chuckled. "It might."
"Think she said she wasn't interested in going home with you." Billy said behind her, causing her to jump.
Cool eyes surveyed the stranger opposite him, and his arms were wound tight across his chest. Diane began standing up. "This isn't any of your business-"
And in one swift moment the stranger had pulled out a small pistol and aimed it right at them, shrouded inside his jacket. From here, no one could see he was threatening them. Dark eyes stared at them, sharp with determination. If they moved, he would kill them. His finger played at the trigger.
"Take a seat." It wasn't a request.
Both stools scraped across the linoleum as they reluctantly sat down, never breaking eye contact with the tense stranger.
The stranger continued regarding them with feigned curiosity as he reached for his beer and took a few gulps, Adams apple bobbing. Carefully he set it back down on the faded Blue Ribbon coaster. Then the stranger raised his brows and gave them a small smile.
After years of working at this rundown establishment the bartender was well versed in peaking up unease in his bar. He shot the three of them a glare. "Whatever's happening break it off or I'm throwing you out. And no you can't take the damn drinks out with ya."
At the interruption of the bartender both of their eyes flickered up to stare at him. Come on, couldn't he see their plea through their eyes?
"Say anything and I'll shoot you before you can finish your sentence." The man said with a polite smile, revealing a row of even white teeth. Then he turned to look at the bartender. "Everything's fine."
Their eyes met for a moment, burning blue clashing with shocked grey, but she broke it off and looked at the gun again. It was small and sleek, occasionally catching the light from above along the cold edges of the weapon. Everything about the stranger from his finger ready to pull the trigger, to the way he sat spoke of someone with enough experience in the field. A shiver ran up her spine.
"This is all a misunderstanding-"
The stranger shook his head sharply and Diane fell silent.
For a moment the bartender scrutinised them, but after seeing only one smiling face next to two blank ones, he sighed and went back to drying the glasses.
"Who sent you?" The stranger asked, eyeing both of them.
"No one." Both Billy and her answered simultaneously. Billy's hand that lie on top of his jeans curled into a fist.
"Tell me what two underaged teens are doing here. Keep in mind I've had a busy day, and I don't have time to watch you kids fumble your way through a lie. I saw you staring at me from the moment you came in here." He gave her a pointed look.
In the corner of her eyes she saw Billy's eyes flicker down to the gun pointed directly at him now. He was the clearer threat with the devil-may-care look in his eyes and his muscular built fully angled on the man in front of him.
She knew she couldn't tell the stranger she recognise Judith or Rob. Somehow, she was sure that'd seal their fates instead. Whoever the stranger was, he wasn't working for the Energy department. Or anyone in their government. He couldn't, it wasn't protocol to threaten them like this.
A cool feeling replaced her fear as if she had been plunged into the ocean. Her vision sharpened and all external noise was tuned out. Her lie flowed out sweet as honey and the man eyes snapped over to her the moment she opened her mouth. "I've been flirting with you because I wanted to make Billy jealous. All I've seen him do it flirt and flirt with other girls like we're not together. And after all I've done for him? I mean," she dropped her voice to a whisper, "I might be a Christian but Jesus doesn't count the backdoor entra-"
"Shut up." The man interrupted her, looking regretful for asking. But his shoulders had relaxed a fraction and there wasn't the same determination in his eyes. "You're going to go back to your seats now, and any sudden movements, any cries for help, and you'll be lying on that floor. Am I clear?"
"Crystal." Billy said through gritted teeth.
As the man hastily slid his gun back into his holster and readjusted his jacket with one hand, clutching the tan folder in his other, a piece of paper slipped out as he stood up. His eyes swept over them one last time, and he jerked his head towards the stools.
Billy stood up first and the mans eyes remained trained on him as both of them walked stiffly back to where they had previously sat.
Then second the man was out of the swinging door Billy turned sharply towards her. "You just had to go over there, didn't you?" His eyes were alight again with a fire that wanted to consume her too.
Her eyes flickered to where the man had been just moments before. "I didn't know."
"Yeah well maybe you fuckin' would've if you had taken the time to actually look at him instead of just throwing yourself at him."
"I didn't know!"
With every moment he seemed to move closer to her, and then put a hand on the edge of her stool and another on the table, cornering her in. "Well fuck. We both almost got shot because you didn't know. All because you want to go on some princess-y adventure and become a country bumpkin hero."
"What is wrong with you?" She tried leaning further away, but if she went any farther she'd fall off. "I don't want to play anything. And he wouldn't have tried anything if you didn't come charging at us like some maniac."
"News flash, Dobler. One of us was actually paying attention and saw he had a gun." He hissed. "What, you want to play some hero bullshit? What'd you think will happen? Hawkins will launch a pumpkin parade in your honour? You'll become Homecoming Queen?"
"I don't care about me." She snapped back at him.
There was that unreachable itch always in the back of her mind. If she could just do something, anything that was worthy of her parents attention, then they'd come back. If she was right and there was a spy or a mole or traitor or whatever was going on, then she'd be supporting the same government her parents devoted their lives too. They'd finally come home.
"Well enlighten me." He said.
The walls were closing in around her, and in her periphery she kept seeing the dark, sleek weapon. Her chest tightened. She began struggling against him. "Move. I said move."
She wrestled away from him and dodged beneath his arm. Diane needed air. Desperately. Grabbing her sweater she stormed out of the bar and strode around the corner.
The scraggly weeds were fighting through the cement and the high unkempt grass was glistening with shards from beer bottles littered sporadically and trailing into the forest. She heard his hurried footsteps catching up with her.
"Hey I'm not done talkin' to you." He snapped.
"If all you're going to be is an ass telling me I deserved to get shot then I don't want to talk with you right now." She walked further into the grass, until it swayed around her shins.
"Ever thought I was trying to stop him from shooting you? Or were you too busy flirtin' with him to consider that?"
She whirled around, eyes wide and fearful. "I'm sorry. It was messed up, and I put you in danger and I know you're not ok-"
"I'm not some pussy scared of some government fuck with a gun." He hissed. He had taken her words as an accusation, like a threat that he wasn't strong enough. And he had to be crazy because being freaked out after what had happened just made him human. But God forbid Billy Hargrove was a normal mortal like the rest of them.
"Right I forgot you don't care about anything which is why you're flipping out at me right now."
"Why are you pushing this so hard?" He snarled. "This shit doesn't even involve you."
"Why am I? Why are you?" She cried, throwing her hands into the air.
"Hmm, let's see. If you die, then the police come to my house." His smile was saccharine sweet.
"So you tell them you drove around with me because you wanted to get into my pants. Then I was an idiot who got shot by a stranger. Then they'll leave. What's the big deal?"
"I can't afford police coming by to my house."
"Why? Scared they'll trace back to what you did in California?"
He stepped forwards, towering over her. His voice was nothing but a raspy murmur. It was the smoke before the explosion. "And what do you know about it?"
Her chest rose and fell rapidly. But she stood her ground and glared up at him. "Just what the rumours say."
Cocking his head to the side slightly he stared at her unblinkingly. "Yeah and what's that?"
She didn't know why she didn't fear him in the way others did. By all means the muscles jutting from his jaw, and his imposing frame leaving her no room to move around in should have made her scared. "You killed someone."
He blinked. Then a small, sardonic smirk began growing on his lips. "Yet here you are."
"I don't believe it." She whispered. "But I think you did do something you don't want to talk about."
"Well shit, you really are Nancy Drew."
"You make it really hard to understand you when you refuse to tell me anything." She crossed her arms to steady them, feeling only the vestiges of adrenaline now leaving short bursts of trembling muscles.
"There's things that happen out in the world that pretty, privileged girls like you never deal with and don't understand."
They had begun so close their breaths were mingling. His pupils had exploded, nearly swallowing up his iris'. His breathing was ragged and cheeks tinged red.
He lunged towards her and for a second she thought he was going to kiss her, throwing out all war raging inside of him right onto her lips. Instead his fingers gently dragged across her face, fingers going into the roots of her hair gently. There was nowhere else to look. "Don't ever try and protect me like that again."
Both of them were hurtling towards some unknown destination, and his emotions had only become as sharp and powerful as lightning striking anything in its vicinity. There was so much unsaid in his eyes that clashed with each other, emotions waging with each other to only result in chaotic explosions.
He released her suddenly and took a step back; Diane released the breathe she didn't know she'd been holding.
Her voice was heavy as she stared off past the trees to where she knew the white nondescript Energy building lay. It was on purpose she didn't reply to his command. Instead she said, "I have to tell them what happened."
"This is the last thing you do, or I'm throwing you in the trunk and driving you home." His words carried promise to fulfil his goal.
"Fine." She acquiesced. "But I'm done with this, okay? I already have no idea what's going on and I can't deal with you screaming at me and telling me I'm an idiot. So if I have to write a note saying I acted on my own just so the police don't come to your house, I will and I'll stick it on the dashboard too."
He blinked, as if taken aback by only realising now how he had acted. With a heavy sigh he gave her a small nod in acknowledgement. His eyes flickered to the scraggly grass popping up around their feet. She swore she had seen a flicker of remorse, but it was too quick to process as his lashes swept against his cheeks.
After a moment she heard him follow her to the car.
They drove in silence through the backroads. Neither had bothered touching the radio and only the low purr of the engine could be heard.
Night had fallen, and the only source of light was from her car, illuminating the road ahead. Not even the trees were stirring now as she got closer to the facility. Diane didn't realise how tense she had been inside the bar until her ache in her muscles began growing. She shifted restlessly in the car seat.
Ignoring Billy's baffling suspicion towards law enforcement, she told herself she'd go to the police department tomorrow if she didn't understand whatever was happening by tonight.
Neither of them realised the path they had put themselves on by pursuing this lead. Or else they likely both would've turned back and never spoken about it again.
When in doubt, it's always the Russians according to the Stranger Things survival handbook.
Caarehme: I wrote this story before ST3 was out + with the introduction of an OC, I can at least tell you the ending of this story will be different from the one we've just seen (luckily, I don't think my heart could take it otherwise.)
Guest: Thanks! I'm trying my best to give him some (positive) character growth while keeping him true to his sardonic, slightly douchebag-y self. He gets nicer though I promise.
Ami: Me too. I was expecting it, but hoping against it. I would've loved to see his ST4 story arc. His past actions were understandable, but not justifiable and he's such an awesomely complex character imo. At this point I'm so upset I might just end up writing a short non-romantic fic about him grappling with his identity post Mind Flayer to get it out of my system. At least this story has some Billy POV's coming up.