Chapter V:

Family

Jane

Jane had heard someone talking in the house and after stopping Will from going in, she looked around outside. There were no vehicles besides Joyce and Steve's cars. In fact, everything looked just as it had when they had left. She closed her eyes in concentration and tried to focus on hearing what was being said. Just as Jane became close to determining the words, whoever it was had stopped talking. Though she didn't hear what they said, she had picked up on something. Jane became aware of some sort of connection – one she had felt before.

She cast her fear aside and reached for the door handle. "Stop! Get behind me," Steve pushed her aside with one hand and he held the baseball bat with nails in the other. He must have retrieved it from the trunk of his car while Jane was trying to enter the Void. She started to protest, insist that it wasn't necessary and that it was just her sister, Kali. "Steve it…" "Shh!" Steve interrupted her and opened the door. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" Steve demanded of the unseen intruder. Jane peeked around Steve and saw an unfamiliar teenage girl.

The stranger smiled, "Eleven." Jane quickly glanced at her arm and saw a tattoo bearing the number "005". Before Jane could speak or Steve could react, the girl dematerialized. "What the fuck? What the fuck! Where did she go?" Steve was understandably freaking out. Jane knew that there were others like her but Kali was the only "sibling" that she had been made aware of and that was due to her mother's help. Mama had showed her that Jane and Kali had spent time together in the Rainbow Room but Jane did not remember it. Jane thought that it was possible she had met her other "siblings" but had no memory of it.

Will meekly asked, "What happened?" Steve had dropped the baseball bat and was nervously running his hands through his hair, "She… some girl just disappeared into thin air. She was here and then she wasn't." Mike walked up to Jane and put a hand on her arm, "El, do you know who she is?" Though everyone else had grown accustomed to calling Jane by her birth name, Mike still called her El. It was the affectionate nickname that he had come up with so she didn't mind when he called her by it now. "No, but she is like me."

Lucas and Will cautiously entered the house. Will closed and locked the door behind him. Lucas rationally suggested to Steve, "Maybe you should check the rest of the house and make sure nobody else is here." He had been pacing back and forth until Lucas said something. Steve stopped, nodded, and picked up the baseball bat before tiptoeing around the house. He checked in every room and did not find anyone. "Nobody is here, not anymore at least," Steve determined and announced to the rest of them. He sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands.

"This is insane! It's – I just can't handle all of this crazy bullshit right now." He sat in complete anguish for a few minutes. Jane knew that he was dealing with something else beyond what had just happened. She couldn't quite sense what he was going through but she assumed it had to do with his love life. Jane was still learning about relationships and love but she had experienced heartbreak and jealousy herself. She could tell that Steve was feeling something different. Jane had seen him and how he had looked at Nancy and Jonathon.

Now, Steve still had a sad look in his eyes but his shoulders were no longer slumped and he had stopped dragging his feet. His back was straight, too straight, and his shoulders were raised and tense. He was anxious, scared. Jane thought that perhaps he had found someone new and was worried that he'd lose her like he did Nancy. Jane remembered how angry and sad she had felt when she saw Max and Mike together and could relate to Steve's emotions. She glanced at Mike and hoped he was different than his sister. A sudden banging at the door caused everyone to jump.

Robin

Robin did not know why she had agreed to hang out with Dustin and his friends. Her initial thought was that it was out of boredom but then she attributed it to her loneliness and isolation. Robin had a falling out with her friends, well former friends, at the end of the school year. Her best friend's boyfriend had begun flirting with Robin. After rejecting him several times, he forcibly kissed her. She slapped him and told her best friend, Liz, what had happened. Liz confronted her boyfriend, Dan, who lied and said that it was Robin who initiated the kiss. Unfortunately, Liz and the rest of the group took his side and Robin was cast out.

Left with no friends to spend time with over the summer, Robin applied for a job at the theater. Stuck at a boring job, Robin appreciated it when people were kind to her. Dustin was always cheerful and he tried to make Robin laugh. The day he had asked her to hang out, Robin's ex-friends had all showed up at the theater earlier in the day. Liz had called Robin a slut and she spent a good 30 minutes crying in the bathroom. When Dustin arrived, he was immediately able to cheer her up with his chipper attitude and friendly demeanor.

While they had walked to the back office, where the lost and found box was located, Dustin asked Robin, "So do you like working here? I mean you probably get to see movies for free right?" "We get discount tickets but I haven't bought any. It's mostly pretty boring." Dustin frowned, "Oh. So what do you do for fun? Like when you are not working." It was Robin's turn to frown, "Well, I've sort of been bored all summer." She used to hang out with her friends, doing random or stupid things, but it was fun. However, Robin had not been ready to discuss the falling out she had with her group of friends. Dustin was nice but she hadn't known him well enough to be talking about her social problems.

Dustin had kept silent for several seconds and then finally stammered out a response, "Umm... Well i-if you ever wanted to, you could hang out with my friends and me. We mostly bike around town and play games, either at someone's house or at the arcade." Robin thought about it for a moment before answering, "I don't have to work tomorrow so I could hang out, I've never been to the arcade." Dustin's eyes had lit up, "Oh okay, yeah! We were going to meet up at my friend, Will's house at 12." Dustin had then given Robin directions and she told him she'd meet them there.

Robin had definitely not been expecting Steve Harrington to answer the door. She was just a freshman so of course he probably hadn't noticed her at school. She had awkwardly asked if Dustin was there. Robin had nearly laughed out loud when it was explained that Steve was their babysitter. From what little she had known about Steve, it seemed like the least likely situation imaginable. In all honesty, Robin did not know very much about Steve. She knew that he was popular, or at least he had been. Dan, Liz's boyfriend, was a junior and mentioned Steve was more popular before dating Nancy Wheeler.

The news that Steve and Miss Perfect had broken up eventually reached Robin and her friends. Just a week or two later, Nancy had been walking in the hallway and holding hands with Jonathon Byers. Robin had noticed Steve was pretty much despondent the remainder of the school year. She couldn't understand how he was able to continue being friends with both Nancy and Jonathon. She thought that perhaps that was why he looked miserable all of the time. However, even melancholy could not take away from Steve's attractiveness.

Robin knew that someone like Steve Harrington would never even notice her let alone want to date her. However, that did not stop her from having a major crush on him. For some reason, she never told Liz about it. Steve was not the typical guy that Robin and her friends would go for. He was athletic, popular, and liked all of the music and other stuff that they hated. Robin thought that perhaps Liz would judge her for her crush and even laugh at her. Therefore, Robin kept it a secret.

Seeing and actually speaking to Steve was unnerving. He looked better than he had in months and she hadn't been able to stop looking at him. While they were at the creek, she could tell he had been deep in thought. His facial expressions had greatly varied, from scowls to smiles. He had looked up now and then to check on everyone and then resumed his contemplation. God he is beautiful, Robin thought to herself as she had watched him.

When it was just she and Dustin at the arcade, Robin began to ask him a number of questions about Steve. She could tell that Dustin was starting to get annoyed, "I'm sorry Dustin, I know I'm asking a bunch of questions. I–I was just curious." He smiled, "No, it's okay." After a few minutes, Robin noticed him frowning. She could tell that Dustin liked her, it was very obvious. He was really nice and funny but Robin didn't like him beyond a friend. She could tell that her questions about Steve were upsetting him and she didn't want to hurt Dustin's feelings. Robin figured it was better if she stopped inquiring about Steve.

There was a long period of awkward silence between the two of them as Robin watched Dustin play a game. After he won, he asked if Robin wanted to try. "Oh, uh I don't know. I don't think I will be any good at it." Dustin urged her, "Come on, you should at least try." Robin sighed, "Okay, but you have to swear to not make fun of me if I'm bad at it." "I promise," Dustin smiled. She took over the controls and stuck out her tongue in concentration. Robin played the game just as she had watched Dustin. To her surprise, she won the game.

Robin jumped up and down, "I won! I won!" She laughed, "Wow, I didn't realize how fun this was." Dustin smiled from ear to ear, "You should come here more often." Robin was about to agree when she saw a familiar face; it was Dan and his friends. She turned and tried hiding from him. Robin asked Dustin in a low voice, "This has been really fun but can we get out of here?" "Oh, okay. Sure." "Robin? Is that you?" She shut her eyes tightly and hoped she was imagining it.

Dan grabbed her shoulder and pulled her around to face him. "I thought I recognized your hair," he said as he took a strand of her hair and rubbed it between thumb and forefinger. She knocked his hand away. Dan laughed, "What's the matter Robbie? Haven't you missed me?" Robin scoffed, "Yeah, right. Why don't you do me a favor and fuck off?" He grabbed her around the waist and whispered in her ear, "How about we just get it over with and fuck each other?" She shoved him away.

Dustin spoke up, "Hey man, leave the lady alone. Just walk away." Dan and his friends laughed, "Or what?" "I – I'll get Steve Harrington to kick your ass!" Dan laughed some more, "Like you know Steve Harrington anyway, nerd." Dustin stuck his chest out, "I do, he's my friend. Just wait you assholes, he will fuck your shit up." Dan turned to his friends and laughed but ended up walking away. Robin sighed in relief, "Thank you, Dustin." "Don't worry about it, let's get out of here."

Billy

The Byers' door opened and Steve nearly swung at him with a baseball bat that had nails driven through it. Suddenly, Billy had a flashback to the night he fought Steve. Max had threatened him with that same bat. "Harrington! What the fuck, man?" Steve immediately lowered the bat, "Bi – Hargrove, what are you doing here?" Billy smiled and ran his tongue across his teeth, "Dropping Max off, she's in the car. I wanted to speak to Lucas first, in private." Steve raised one of his dark brows, "Why?"

Billy pushed Steve aside and walked into the house, "Lucas, I want to have a chat with you. Alone." Lucas just stared at him blankly until finally Billy groaned, "Now, Lucas." Billy started to walk towards the back and found an empty room and waited for Lucas to follow. Once he entered the room, Billy closed the door behind him. "Lucas, first off I want to apologize. I assume Max told you what happened in San Francisco?" Lucas nodded and Billy continued, "Well regardless of that, there's no excuse for how I treated you. I'm truly and very sorry."

Lucas blinked his eyes rapidly but did not talk. Billy took a deep breath, what he was going to say next was difficult, "I support you and Max being friends, more than friends, but you need to listen to me. You have to be careful. My father cannot see you two together, ever. Not even as friends. He… nearly killed me for getting in fight for sticking up for a black guy." Lucas stared at Billy with wide eyes and nodded. Billy inhaled shakily, he'd never told anyone this before, "My asshole of a father used to beat my mother. Sh – she died in a car accident. If my father lays a hand on Max, first I will kill him and then I will kill you. Understand?"

Lucas visibly gulped, "I understand. I promise, I swear to be careful." Billy patted him on the shoulder before exiting the bedroom. Everyone else was standing around, just the same as they were when Billy first arrived. Something had happened to make them so jumpy. "What is up with you nerds?" He asked no one in particular. Near the center of the room, he noticed a strange girl he'd never seen before. Not receiving an answer, Billy scooted around Steve and left the house. He made sure not to make eye contact with Steve, he didn't know if he'd be able to control himself.

He went over to Max and spoke to her through the open passenger window of his Camaro, "Everything is sorted. Go on in." Max rolled her eyes, "You know Billy, sometimes I think that I liked you better when you were an asshole. You are starting to remind me of my mom." She opened the car door and stormed through the yard, up the steps, and through the front door. Instead of immediately leaving, an odd feeling made Billy stay behind. He did not want to go back into the house, so he leaned against the hood of his car.

After a few minutes passed, Steve emerged from the Byers' house. He silently came up beside Billy and mimicked his pose. Billy took a deep breath and tried to not reach for Steve's hand. To get his mind off of it, Billy asked Steve, "So what was the deal with the bat?" He leaned his head back and slowly looked at Billy, "Hmm?" "The baseball bat. Who were you expecting to be at the door?" Steve cleared his throat, "Uh, well it's a long story." Billy nodded, "You should tell me some time." He looked around cautiously and leaned in close to Steve.

"I missed you," he whispered. Steve immediately blushed, "It's only been a couple of hours." Billy slowly inched his hand towards Steve's, "So? You haven't missed me?" Steve looked over at him and sighed, "Well, yeah I missed you." Billy grinned and continued inching his hand closer, "God, do you even realize how sexy you are?" Steve turned bright red, "Shut up." Finally, Steve's hand was in reach. Billy lightly stroked Steve's pinkie with his own, "I wish I could fuck you on this hood, right now."

Steve cracked a small smile before attempting to keep a straight face, "I wish you could too. Though I can't imagine what all the kids would think of it." Billy laughed, "Yeah I think Max would have a stroke. I've already embarrassed her enough today." Steve laughed in return, "Oh yeah? Due to the 'talk' you had with Lucas?" Billy nodded, "I just wanted to apologize to him, formally, and caution him against… getting caught with Max by my father." Steve scrunched his brows together and ran a hand through his hair, "Oh, what would happen if they were caught?"

"Umm, I'm not sure but nothing good. I – I'm worried that he would beat Max for it. He can hit me all that he wants but I don't know what I'd do if he hits her." He took a breath and continued, "He… used to hit my mom. It was usually after she tried to protect me from him. Eventually, she stopped getting in the way but… I think it messed her up to watch and not be able to do anything about it." Billy could feel himself tearing up and bit his lip to quell his emotions, "I th – I think she killed herself. Her car drove off the road and into a tree. They called it an accident but there were no skid marks and she hadn't been drinking or on drugs."

Billy was shaking; he had never said the words out loud before. Now that he was telling Steve, it made it seem even more likely that it was true that his mother had committed suicide. Steve grabbed his hand and squeezed it, "I'm so sorry Billy. I wish I could hold you right now but…" Billy pulled his hand away and brushed a tear off of his face, "It's okay." It really wasn't okay but there was nothing to be done about it. A scream pierced the air; it was coming from inside the house. Billy recognized it as Max's and sprinted towards the sound.