Chapter VI:

Showdown

Steve

Billy had been divulging deep secrets and showing a vulnerable side, that few or perhaps nobody else had witnessed, before Max screamed. Steve wanted so badly to wrap Billy in his arms after he had talked about his mother. He was afraid that one of the kids would see them, holding Billy's hand was risky as well but Steve knew he needed to do something. Billy had pulled away quickly and gave a gruff reply, a reaction that Steve was uncertain what to make of. He thought that perhaps Billy had been embarrassed of his own emotions.

After Max's shrill shriek had interrupted them, Billy raced towards the house with Steve following. Steve was expecting the mysterious disappearing girl but was surprised at the true cause of Max's scream. There was a snake in the kitchen. Billy picked up the baseball bat and walked towards the small snake. Steve grabbed a hold of his shirt, "What?" Steve explained, "It's just a harmless garter snake." Steve then went over and picked up the reptile. Billy took several steps back and the look of disgust on his face resulted in Steve laughing.

"What's the matter? Didn't they have snakes in California?" he asked both Billy and Max. "Yeah, but we never had any in the house," Max spoke with wide eyes. Steve jokingly waved it towards her, eliciting another scream. Billy warned him, "Hey, man." Steve put his free hand up in defense, "Alright, I'm going to put it outside." He promptly walked out the open door and took the frightened creature outside before placing it on the ground and watching it slither away. Steve looked up and saw four people looking at him, one of which was the disappearing girl. Before he had a chance to react, Steve felt an intense amount of pain before losing consciousness.

When he awoke, Steve was in the passenger seat of Billy's Camaro. It took a few moments for him to acknowledge his surroundings and make sense of it all. Someone moaning and crying out in pain from the back seat had been what finally roused Steve. He looked to the back seat and saw Billy writhing in pain in the back seat. He looked over at the driver seat and observed that Max driving and it was still just as unsettling as the last time. She was crying but doing a good job of focusing on the road, so Steve avoided distracting her. Though he desperately wanted to ask her what had happened, Steve kept his mouth shut.

After about 10 minutes of driving, they made it to the hospital. Max jumped out of the car and yelled for help. Three hospital employees came out to their assistance, with two of them seeing to Billy and one of them asked Steve if he needed emergency care. "No, I'm okay. I was unconscious but now I'm fine. Just help him." Steve turned and watched as the staff tried to carefully get Billy out of the car. They were asking about his injuries and Max was rapidly answering, with what Steve assumed were lies. "He has a bunch of broken bones. He fell off of a roof."

One of the employees asked, "What about you? Why were you unconscious?" Steve quickly came up with a response, "Umm, I guess I fainted. You know, after seeing him like that." The hospital staff member briefly nodded before turning his focus back on Billy. They were somehow able to get a stretcher into the backseat of the Camaro and get it out with Billy on it. Max started to follow them and Steve was about to exit the car and do the same. However, Max instructively yelled, "Steve, park the car." Though he was reluctant and did not want to leave Billy's side, he figured he should do as she commanded.

Steve was still a little off balance but was able to make his way to the driver side of the car. He was able to find a parking spot close to the door before he rushed inside the hospital. He looked around the emergency room and did not see Billy or Max. "Hey, ma'am, where did they take Billy Hargrove?" he asked the lady at the desk. "Sorry hun, I don't have anyone on my list by that name." Steve sighed in exasperation, "The guy that just came in with a lot of broken bones?" "Oh! He's in – actually only family members are permitted to see him."

"I'm his brother," Steve blurted out. The desk attendant looked him over with questionable doubt, "Hmm… I d –" "I'm his step-brother, can I please see him?" She squinted her eyes and twisted her mouth in concentration, "I don't see why not. He's in Surgery Room 03, down the hall on the right." "Thank you," Steve said hastily before sprinting in the direction he was given. Billy had been given a sedative and several doctors and nurses were standing over him. Max looked on as she softly sobbed. Steve hugged her tightly, "He's going to be okay." He wasn't sure if he was trying to reassure Max or himself.

"They said he has a ruptured spleen and they have to remove it," she said quietly in between sobs. A few minutes later, a nurse ushered Max and Steve out of the room and into the hallway. There was a window but the same nurse closed the blinds. "Bitch," Steve said under his breath but Max caught it. A small smile crept upon her lips despite her tears, "Right?" The smile quickly faded but it helped Steve to relax a little.

Steve held Max's hand as they sat in the chairs outside of Billy's room. After several minutes, Steve finally mustered enough courage to ask Max, "I know it might be hard to talk about and you don't have to tell me right now… but I have to ask, what happened?" Max looked around and made sure no one was in earshot, "They had powers, like Jane. One of them was able to make you pass out. Billy grabbed the bat and started to go after him. Another one, she broke Billy's arm holding the bat. But Billy being Billy, that just pissed him off more."

She paused as a nurse passed them. Once she was out of sight, Max continued, "So Billy managed to get a hold of the guy that made you faint and was choking him with his good arm. Then… that girl, she must have broke most if not all of Billy's ribs. Thankfully, Jane stepped in and threw an old tire at her before she could hurt anybody else. Jane fought with the other two, one was a huge dude but he didn't use any powers. Jane was able to knock him down but the last one wasn't even there! She was like a ghost or hologram or something, everything Jane threw at her went right through."

Before she could say anything else, a woman, who did not have scrubs on but was wearing a hospital employee badge, walked up to them. "Hello, my name is Sandra and I'm with the hospital. I need to ask you some questions about your brother so that he can properly be admitted." Max's eyes quickly flashed towards Steve and then back at Sandra, "Okay, technically he's my stepbrother though. What do you need to know?"

"What is your brother's full name and date of birth?" "William Herbert Hargrove. I know his birthday is July 1st and he just turned 18 so that would make his birth year… 1967? Yeah July 1st, 1967." Steve had to stop himself from grinning when he heard what Billy's middle name was. Sandra quickly scribbled in her notepad, "Thank you so much sweetie, do you know his social security number by chance?" Max shook her head. "That's okay, can I get your telephone number so I can speak to your parents?"

Max appeared uncertain but gave Sandra the number. "Great, I'll give them a call here soon. I have one more question for you though. Could you tell me everything about what happened to William and where it occurred? For insurance purposes," the high-pitched tone of Sandra's voice was starting to really irritate Steve. Max thought it through, probably rehearsing the lies in her head, before responding, "He fell off of a roof but that's all he managed to say. He was in too much pain. One of his friends dropped him off in the front yard and took off."

Sandra seemed dissatisfied but nodded, "Okay, I see. Thank you so much for the information." She shook both Max and Steve's hands before walking away. Steve glanced at Max and noticed her eyes were filling with tears again. When she and Steve made eye contact she asked, "Do you think he is going to die? Is that why she was asking those questions?" Steve grabbed her hand, "Billy is going to be okay. They always ask stuff like that, it's totally normal." He wasn't sure if that was true but he didn't want to worry Max.

She let out a sigh of relief but Steve was still worried sick. Earlier, he had barely been able to look at Billy's unconscious face on the operating table out of fear of becoming emotional in Max's presence. Now, Steve regretted that decision and thought it may have been the last time he would have seen Billy alive. Steve tried to push that terrible thought aside, but it was too late. Before he could do anything to stop it, he started to cry. Steve hoped Max would not see his tears but he could not wipe them away inconspicuously, so he let them cascade down his cheeks.

Steve could not understand what had come over him these past couple of weeks – months really. He had always been sensitive, though he fought hard to keep that aspect of himself hidden from others. Instead, Steve used humor or feigned ignorance to mask his true feelings. Even when he was upset, it usually manifested itself as anger or Steve ran away from the problem. Now, Steve was crying all of the time. He wasn't ashamed of his tears, but right now, in front of Max, he was worried that she would be able to interpret the reasoning behind them.

Luckily, there was a distraction that gave Steve a moment to wipe the tears off his face. A man was yelling down the hallway, near the entrance to the emergency ward. "I want to see my son, now!" There was a slight pause before he continued, "Billy Hargrove, William Herbert Hargrove! Where is he?" Max's eyes were wide with fear and she quickly whispered to Steve, "This is bad, really bad. He was pissed at Billy already so…" Neil Hargrove came into view, stomping down the hallway towards them with Susan following.

"Maxine, is Billy in there? If he's not dead already, I'm going to kill that bastard. First, he doesn't come home for two days and now the piece of shit is in the hospital." Max started crying, not knowing what to do or say. Neil grabbed her arm, hard. "Are you deaf? Answer me!" She was terrified and sobbing. He squeezed her arm harder and she yelped. Susan placed a hand on Neil's shoulder and pleaded, "Neil, you are hurting her. Please let her go."

He dropped Max's arm and then suddenly turned, smacking Susan across the face with the same hand that previously had a grip on Max. "No one tells me what to do!" Steve stood up and tried to get in between the two of them, "Not cool, man. I think you need to calm down." Neil poked him in the chest, "And I think you need to get out of my way, faggot." His breath reeked of alcohol. Steve stood his ground, "The name-calling is not necessary. Billy is in surgery and it is possible he does not make it. Is this really how you want to act right now?"

Neil stared him down with a cold look in his eyes, the same cold blue gaze that Billy had given Steve once before. "Who are you to tell me how I should act? This is my family, my business." He pushed past Steve and burst through the door to Billy's room. One of the nurses told Neil, "Sir, I'm sorry but you can't be in here right now. You will have to wait outside." "He's my son, I have every right to be in here!" Neil furiously yelled at the nurse. She looked frightened but was persistent, "I understand but it will be better if you remained in the hall until we finish the procedure."

He sighed, "Fine, but can you at least tell me if he's going to live?" The nurse gave a brief smile, "Sir, your son will be okay. Your daughter had said he had broken bones but we were unable to locate any recent breaks. The only major trauma was to his spleen, which they are removing now." Neil gave a small nod before leaving the room. He turned towards Susan who had her arms around Max. "Susan, go home and take Maxine with you." They began to walk away but Neil shouted, "Wait! Maxine come here!"

She turned around, looking terrified. She hesitated for a moment but then took a deep breath and slowly approached Neil. "Max, tell me exactly what happened." She immediately became flustered, "Uh… I'm sorry, I – I don't know. He said… he fell off a roof and someone left him in the front yard." Neil stared at her for a couple of seconds before grabbing her arm again. "I know you are lying! Tell me the truth, I know you know! Where has he been and what happened?" She tried to pull away from him and yelled, "Let go of me! I don't know anything asshole!"

With that final word, Max's eyes grew large as she realized she had made a mistake. Neil hit her across the face, hard enough to throw her off her feet. Susan let out a small cry of distress. Neil stood over Max and told her, "Not only are you a liar, you are a disrespectful little bitch. Get up and apologize, now!" Steve had been in shock but as soon as he saw Max's bloodied lip, he was moved into action. He shoved Neil as far as he could away from Max, "Get the fuck out of here, you abusive piece of shit." He smiled that same devilish grin that his son constantly wore.

"I'll ask you one more time, who are you?" Steve looked at Max as she made her way over to her mother, "Max's… and Billy's friend." Neil scoffed, "The same friend that left my son in the front yard?" "No." "And do you know where he's been for two days?" Steve tried to think of a careful response, "I –" Neil interrupted him, "No, wait. I already know that he's been staying with you." He smiled wide as he leaned in close to Steve's face before whispering, "You've been fucking him, haven't you faggot?" Steve angrily pushed him away.

Neil laughed, "I'm going home but be sure to tell Billy that I'm going to kill him. Though, maybe he will save me the trouble and die in surgery." Steve reacted, without thinking, and punched Neil in the face. "You get off on being an asshole, don't you?" Neil touched his cheekbone where the force of Steve's blow had split the skin. He laughed maniacally and momentarily glared at Steve before grabbing him by the shoulders and throwing him to the ground. Neil sat on top of Steve, effectively pinning him to the ground as he threw punch after punch.

Max and her mother were both screaming, begging Neil to stop. He didn't listen and continued to hit Steve. Neil was a large and powerful man and each blow did significant damage. After only three or four hits to the face, Steve began to lose consciousness. He heard Max's screams and the muffled sounds of footsteps approaching. Neil was able to get a couple more punches in before Steve could feel the removal of Neil's weight and then everything went black.

Billy

Though he was still hurting when he awoke, Billy was in considerably less pain than he had been on the way to the hospital. The doctors told him that they removed his spleen but when he asked about his broken bones, he was surprised at their response. Billy was told that he did not have any fractures. That witch, whatever she was, must have broken and then healed the bones. Billy had been in shock from the excruciating experience and must have not felt the repair of the fractures. Thinking about the events that occurred before he ended up in the hospital was driving Billy crazy. He just could not wrap his head around it all.

With no visitors for two days, Billy had a lot of time to reflect on everything. He figured his father wouldn't show but he couldn't fathom the reason why Max or Steve didn't stop by to see him. Billy tried to tell himself that Steve was just being careful and that Max didn't have a ride but his mind always circled back around to thinking that nobody actually cared about him. He was also feeling left out, sensing that Steve, Max, and everyone else that was at the Byers' house knew about that strange girl and the other people with powers.

On the third day, after Billy received several vaccines, he was allowed to stand up and walk around his room. While up and about, he finally had a visitor, though it was not anyone he had been expecting. It was Susan, "Hello Billy, how are you feeling?" "I'm okay, I should be out of here in a day or two." She nodded but looked solemn, "There's something I need to tell you." Billy noticed a bruise across her cheek and immediately knew his father was responsible, "What happened?" Susan sat down and nervously played with her hands, drawing Billy's gaze.

Her wedding ring was absent from the left hand. "When your father and I received the call notifying us that you were in the hospital, we headed here straight away. Neil had been drinking and seemed angry, though I thought it was just his way of worrying about you." Billy scoffed but Susan kept talking, "But when we got here, he started screaming at the hospital staff and then at Maxine. And then… he was hurting her. I asked him to stop b – but he hit me." She took a deep shaky breath, "Your friend, Steve? He stood between us and tried to prevent things from escalating, which worked for a moment."

"Neil then went into your room and demanded answers from the doctors and nurses attending you. After hearing what they had to say, he asked Maxine what had happened. She told him what she knew but – but Neil wasn't satisfied. He called her a liar and then she called him an a-hole. Then…" Susan began tearing up and pulled a tissue from her purse before continuing with a quiver in her voice, "Then Neil called her a bad name and hit Maxine. He hit my daughter!" She sobbed and blew her nose into the tissue. Billy grew hot with the rage boiling under his skin.

After Susan gathered up some composure, she resumed telling Billy everything that had happened. When he heard that his father had beaten Steve, Billy felt sick and had to sit down. Susan then explained that Neil was arrested and while he was in jail, she and Max packed up several belongings. Susan left behind her ring and a note for Neil, demanding a divorce. Billy finally spoke, "Is Max okay?" Susan nodded, "Her lip bled for a little while and though she still has a fat lip, I think she will be alright besides being shaken up about the whole thing."

"The next time I see my father, I'm going to kill him. He's hurt enough people, someone has to stop him." Susan stood up and walked over to Billy and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Billy, he's done some terrible things but it is not your responsibility to stop him. You cannot kill your father." He shrugged her hand away, "I can and I will." Susan sighed, "I should have realized, I should have done something when he would hit you. I didn't agree with it but I thought it wasn't my place to interfere with him disciplining his son. I was wrong, I'm so sorry Billy."

"Please don't apologize for that, it was better for you that you didn't do or say anything. My mother… she used to try to stop him and it just made it worse for the both of us. She learned the lesson and stopped trying to protect me but… I think it destroyed her. I don't think her death was an accident. I think she killed herself because she couldn't handle it any longer. She's dead because of my father. I should be apologizing to you, I should have warned you. I was worried for you and Max but yet I said nothing. I fucking knew something like this would happen! But Steve…"

Billy put his head in his hands, "This is all my fault. I could have stopped him; I should have stopped him a long time ago. I don't care what happens to me but I can't let him hurt anyone else." He looked up at Susan, "How is Steve? Do you know where he is?" "I'm sorry, I don't know," she then put a finger to her chin in concentration. "I'll ask the front desk for you, maybe they will know?" she suggested with a shrug. Billy nodded, "That'd be great, could you ask them something else for me too?" "Of course." "Could you ask them to give me my clothes and stuff back? They aren't letting me leave for a couple days but I'm dying for a cigarette." Susan gave him a scolding stare but nodded, "Okay, but only if you promise not to do anything stupid. Like trying to kill your father."

Billy rolled his eyes, "Fine, I promise." Susan began to walk towards the door but stopped halfway before turning around, "None of this is your fault Billy, do you hear me?" He nodded, though he didn't have any conviction in her words, before Susan turned back around and left his room. It seemed like an eternity had passed though in actuality it had only been about 10 minutes before she returned. Billy's belongings were in her hands and she relayed the information she received from the front desk, "Steve was here the night afterwards but they had a police officer with him in his room. The next day, Chief Hopper picked him up and he was told by hospital staff that he could not return."

Susan handed Billy's belongings to him as he asked, "Could you do me one more favor and get Hopper's number for me?" Susan smiled and retrieved a piece of paper from her purse and gave it to Billy. He smiled back, "Thank you Susan. Not just for this, but everything. You deserve so much better than my father." "So do you Billy. Max and I, we packed a couple of your things as well and you are welcome to stay with us at my friend's house when you get out." Susan's kind words and thoughts were nearly too much for him to deal with at the moment and he choked up a little bit, "Thank you."

Billy hoped that he would be able to stay with Steve but he was very appreciative of Susan's generous offer and didn't want to spoil the moment by mentioning the option. She hugged him and told him goodbye and promised to bring Max by to see him tomorrow. After she had left, Billy immediately called Hopper. Thankfully, he picked up, "Hello?" "Hi, is this Jim Hopper, Chief of Police?" "Yes. Is this an emergency? If so call –" "No, I'm looking for Steve Harrington." "Who is this?" "Billy Hargrove."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the line, "Oh, okay. He's here, do you want to talk to him?" "Yes, please." "Steve!" Hopper yelled, "Phone!" After waiting for a minute, Steve spoke into the receiver, "Hello? Who's this?" "It's Billy. Steve, are you okay? I just heard what happened." Steve sighed and whispered, "I'm okay, better now that I'm talking to you. I've missed you babe. How are you?" Billy smiled, "I'm okay, I'll be out of here in a couple days. I've missed you too, though I thought I had done something wrong because you hadn't been here to see me."

"No! Of course not –" "No, it's okay. I know they wouldn't let you. Susan told me everything." "Who's Susan?" Steve asked, sounding a little jealous. "Max's mom." "Oh, right. Your dad is a real piece of work." He brought his voice down to a whisper again, "He called me a faggot and asked if… I've fucked you." Billy's throat suddenly went dry, "Wh – What did you say?" "Nothing! But I pushed him away and he laughed. Then he said he was going to kill you if you didn't die at the hospital and I made the mistake of hitting him."

"He's a fucking psycho, I guess that's where I get it from. I'm going to kill him first Steve, for what he did to you and Max." "You are nothing like him Billy. He deserves a lot of things but promise me that you won't do anything stupid." Billy rolled his eyes, annoyed that Steve and Susan asked him to promise the same thing. Steve said quietly, "I don't want to lose you because of that asshole. Promise me." "Ugh, fine. I promise. Hopefully, the bastard rots in jail for a while anyway. I should be out of the hospital in two days, can I stay with you?"

"I've been staying at the Byers' house since I got out of the hospital, Joyce insisted. But… I was planning on going home tomorrow and I would love to have you stay with me. I have your car and can pick you up when they release you, just call me. Do you have a pen and paper?" Billy quickly looked around and was able to locate the materials, "Yeah, what's your number?"

Steve listed the phone number as Billy quickly scribbled it down. Billy then read it back to make sure he had the correct digits. He wanted to speak to Steve longer but a nurse entered the room and told him that she needed to test his vitals. "I have to go but I'll call you. Bye." Steve whispered, "Bye, babe. See you soon." Billy heard the click of Steve hanging up and put the phone back on the hook before begrudgingly letting the nurse do her job.