A/N: As promised, here is the next chapter! I've started planning out the next one so hopefully I'll be back with another update soon.
~Billy~
The alarm stopped blaring before it even had a chance. Instead, it ended up on the other side of my room. My head was pounding, vision bleary. My mouth was so thick with saliva that I couldn't even let out a frustrated groan. As I attempted to move, the dull ache came over like a wave crashing to shore, ebbing and flowing.
He rapped on the door before commanding me to come out. Moaning, I disobeyed him and fell straight back onto my pillow. God, I could have just smothered myself. I had come back around midnight having made my debut as Keg King. I found it amusing how these Yuppies thought that title was everything. It really wasn't, but it opened a pathway for me. Hopefully the pathway would make some use so I could spend as much time as possible out of this house. Although in this hicktown there were barely any parties. It was a stark contrast to California where every night was an opportunity to get loaded.
After Sierra had left, I went back to win another round of beer pong. Tommy, a guy who was making himself useful to me, produced a small bag of white powder from underneath his bandana so we did a few lines and headed away from the party to play some baseball in a remote field. After that, I went back to Tina's to pick up the Camaro and dropped the guys back home. No matter how drunk I was, I would always be able to drive that car. For a little while, I considered driving down Sierra's street. I could see in her eyes that I had hurt her and I gave a shit about that. She was a nice girl who had done good things for me and I had been an asshole. Sierra never let me explain myself. What could I explain though? How I didn't know I was going to have feelings for her before I went on a date with Bryony? Sierra and I didn't even go on a date, not explicitly anyway. But for the entire drive back to the house I wanted nothing more than to knock on her door and kiss her like we did in that bathroom. Passionate, fiery. As I crawled the car into the parking space back at the house, I had already anticipated the argument He and I were going to have. Hell, I could have scripted it in my head. What I didn't foreshadow was for me to break.
"What time do you call this, William?" He was seething. That much I could tell.
I stayed quiet. There was no right answer here, not when he was like this.
"You left Max to walk home by herself"
So this is what it came down to. Max, yet again. His son had just come in - drunk, high and at the wheel of a car. It could have killed me. But this is what was important here.
"She doesn't need a babysitter 24/7. She's 13 years old" I grumbled and made my way to go upstairs.
Before I could even process putting one foot in front of the other, He had pinned me against the wall.
"We've talked about this so many times now, boy. When will it get into your thick skull?" He jabbed a finger into my temple. "Respect - "
"And responsibility" I finished for him.
"That's right"
But I had my limits. At that moment, the needle was exceeding the red zone of my temper.
"But what about you, Dad?" I spat out the respectful title with such venom that I could feel it sizzle on my tongue. I was starting to bristle - fed up and ready to fight back. "Do you know what I was doing tonight. Huh, Dad? What your son was doing? Ask me" It came out in a whisper, an order. But He merely stared at me through those heavy lidded eyes, indifferent to this performance. He knew I would surrender. Not tonight. "Ask me!" I roared.
He would never relinquish this fight. I could only persevere.
"I did four, chunky lines of coke" I declared, pushing my chest against his. Spit flew into his face with each spiteful word. "I became Keg King three times and I drove myself home. Know how much beer you can down in over two minutes? Definitely over the limit for someone to drive, isn't it? Did you want Max to be in the car then, hm? You want a repeat of California with her in the car? Would you beat my ass if it was just me? Oh, of course, but only if we're all alone. Just like we are now. Because God fucking forbid you are seen as anything but the family man"
Tears spilled out of my eyes, cascading down my lips. He had no remorse. No reaction. Just a strike to the face. I could square my shoulders, challenge him all I wanted. This would have only ever ended in one way.
Respect and responsibility.
He had none of that for me. This was all we were. The attacker and the target.
Before He could land another punch on me, I stormed upstairs. He wouldn't follow me. No, He would keep the news station on a cycle until He had calmed down enough for Susan not to be afraid of Him.
"Billy?"
She was standing behind her door, blue eyes poking out. Hiding away from us. I wanted to believe it was to hide from Him. But I knew too well that she was scared of me.
"Get some sleep, Max" I growled and slammed the door behind me.
The gentle clink of glassware woke me up and I found myself sat at the dinner table - fully dressed in a white shirt, jeans and denim jacket. Hair styled, taste of nicotine in my mouth. Somehow, I had dissociated and relived the memory whilst having the ability to get myself here. If only job applications accepted such a talent. Susan placed a glass of orange juice in front of me, repeating the same actions from each morning as she donned a bright yet reserved smile and presented Him and I with a plateful of bacon and eggs. Only the best for my boys. The devoted, obliging wife. God, how I despised her. Max, dressed in her usual hoodie and baggy jeans, took a seat next to Him.
He ruffled her hair and gave her a smile.
My grip tightened around the glass, feeling the condensation seep into my skin.
Immediately, I wanted to get the hell out of there.
I could barely stomach the smokiness of the bacon and bland eggs, and it wasn't because I was hungover. The Tylenol had sorted that out. The sooner I wouldn't have to look at them both, the better.
There was no idle conversation at the table this morning. Not even between Him and Susan. Instead, an awkward silence cast over the room. The only sounds heard were the sloshing of the balmy sink water as Susan cleaned the plates, the bursting bubbles of the coffee reaching its boiling point before fizzling out. The perfect metaphor for the environment right now. Reaching its boiling point. I would get out of here before it got to that whether Max was ready or not.
I was getting my bag prepared for the day when He finally spoke. A big announcement from the sounds of it.
"I thought I'd save this for today, seeing as we're all now together" He flashed me an infuriated glance. It was all my fault that He had to delay whatever important news he had to share. What a goddamn shame. "My boss has been very impressed with the work I was doing in the California office and now he's seen it here in Indiana, he's given me a promotion! Got talking about the new developments being made in town and he said he wants me to lead in the new department!"
Susan immediately stood to attention, heeding every word He said as if it was said by Christ himself. Max and I simply hovered by the front door, ready for when this speech would be over. We shared a begrudging look, just wanting to get the hell out of here.
"So, there is a networking event tonight, but families are welcome because the boss knows its a school night. His family will be there along with all the families of the guys I work with, so we're all going to go together. Perhaps, Billy, you can find something for after you graduate" There was no hope in His eyes. It was all talk. So when everything came crashing down He could just say with disdain that the opportunity was there and I had blown it.
He would love that. For me to follow in His footsteps. Despite His dominating front at home, He was a kiss-ass in the workplace. That was the way they liked Him. No power, but doing all the workload. He was popular at the office though and these sorts of events were pretty common. However, He had only taken me when I was a kid. Never after she left us.
"Congratulations, hon!" Susan squealed and planted a compliant kiss on His cheek.
Simultaneously, their eyes drifted up to look at Max and I standing by the door. The expectation had been set.
"Congratulations" Max and I said in unison, pinning sunny smiles to our lips. It was enough for them to leave us alone.
Despite Him being the instigator of most fights, Susan wasn't the greatest either. Whilst Max and Susan didn't have the same brutality, there was an air of resentment between the two of them. Susan wouldn't be content until the day Max conformed to her expectations of what a teenage girl should be like. In her mind, Max should trade the skateboard in for a bag of makeup, replace the baggy jeans with a nice, modest dress and join her in the kitchen to bake cookies. The day that happened, Hell would have frozen over. It was never going to happen. Yet Susan remained optimistic and hid her disappointment behind a sweet smile and simple, "Okay, honey" whenever Max brought up going out to the arcade.
No goodbyes shared, I walked out to the car as Max trailed behind, skateboard under her arm. We were silent, dreading the night ahead of us where we would have to portray characters who were the complete opposite of us. Suddenly, He rushed out of the door. This was unprecedented. Leaning against the door, I sighed heavily. I just wanted out of here and He was stopping me. He knew what He was doing. Max had forgotten her lunch. With a final ruffle of her unruly ginger hair, He headed back in.
Inhaling sharply, I got into the car. Idly tapping my fingers on the wheel as Max took her time to join me. I watched as He stood in the doorframe, waving at her.
Just her.
Not me.
As soon as Max got in, I turned the key and fired the engine. I lit a cigarette when we got to the intersection. My new routine.
"You two best friends now?" I asked sarcastically.
Max had no response.
"Well?"
"No, Billy"
"Don't look like it to me"
No comment.
That was fine. She didn't have to reply. There was no need to.
My foot slammed on the accelerator.
Targets acquired.
"Then you won't mind if I hit your other ones, make some room for Him. You know He doesn't like to share" I turned up the volume, Wango Tango drowning out the exhaust as it hit overdrive. "Bonus points if I get all of them in one go, huh?"
"Billy, stop!"
No one told me what to do. I thought Max had understood this by now. Then again, I thought she also was smart enough to comprehend when someone was an asshole. But from what I saw this morning, she was lapping up the attention He gave her. I'd told her right from the start He wasn't a nice person. Clearly, she had chosen to disregard this. She was given a chance. Just one. That was all she needed. It was all I was ever given.
The kids turned around, their faces going pale as realization dawned on them that there was a car going at 40mph right behind them. Their peddling grew frantic. Max could deny they were her friends all she wanted. It didn't irk me that she had friends. What irked me was how she appeared to have an argument with one of them over something and then went Trick or Treating with the same guy, forgiving him for whatever had happened. Perhaps Susan didn't realize Max had inherited her mentality. Get shouted at, forgive Him, rinse and repeat. Max was going down the same way. I could just see it.
At the last minute, I overtook the kids and slowed down. I threw my cigarette out the window and carried on like normal. Perhaps next time she would think about who she valued the most. Him or these kids. We should have been in this together, but she went another way. He and Max could share a joke. She'd just so much as grace us with her presence and He'd ruffle her hair and sing her praises. Max had learned long ago to accept her position in the family. Be His little princess, to leave the room when the belt came out and wait it out in her bedroom until it was all over. Only then would she come out, get rewarded with a pat on the head and be told she was a smart girl. She'd only intervened once. It was safer for Max to just follow the protocol of the Hargrove household. As much as I despised seeing her receive the luxuries I didn't have, I would swallow the bitter pill every day if it meant he didn't turn on her.
I pulled up at my usual spot, seeing that Sierra's car was already here. She wasn't in it though. Must have arrived early today. Max jumped on her skateboard and glided down the pathway to the middle school. I flicked a fresh cigarette with my tongue, feeling it jolt from side to side on my bottom lip, before lighting it. Soon enough, Tommy, Ray and Carol were at my side.
"Hey, man! How'd you feel this morning?" Tommy asked and patted my back. A sign of friendship outwardly, but his heavy hand tried to outdo mine.
"Nothing a couple of Tylenol pills couldn't solve" I grunted and leaned against the car, winking at Carol whose flirtatious gaze had landed on me. "You guys?"
"We hit up McDonald's on the way. Got you an English muffin" he replied, donning the most cringey posh English accent. I thanked him either way and took a bite out of it, the hangover hunger becoming insatiable. "Half of our grade was in there this morning, man. Jimmy Parkinson apparently slept on Tina's lawn the whole night and came in with his toga still on!"
"Shit, you Indiana kids know how to party hard" I chuckled. They should try turning up to school still drunk, in the clothes from the night before, eating the McDonalds in the first class you had, and going to another party straight after the school day was over.
We made our way into the building and weaved our way through the masses. They all moved out the way for us whilst everyone else had to squeeze through to get to their destinations. I guessed Keg King meant more to them what it did to me.
Then again, not much meant a lot to me other than my car. As my eyes scanned the crowd, they landed on her. Stuffing books into her locker, an oversized leather jacket swathed over her shoulders, black corduroy skirt accentuating her slim, hourglass waist and a white turtleneck to compliment the look. For once, she had made me care for something other than my car. Because she knew all too well how it felt to be treated like anything other than a human. Just like me. Tommy was talking to me about the basketball practice which was due to start second period and some shit about how he couldn't wait to see Steve Harrington's face. Naturally, he was being sarcastic. His voice still droned on, even as I started advancing over to the lockers.
"Hey" I breathed, leaning against the locker next to hers.
Sierra, clumsy from what appeared to be fatigue, dropped her book. I aptly caught them before it hit the ground and turned it over in my hands. It was a copy of The Queen's Gambit. I had never read it, but the blurb made it sound interesting. It would probably make a good TV show. I handed the book back to her and she hesitantly took it from me, wordlessly putting it away in her bag.
"How was the rest of your night?" I asked her.
"Okay" she replied. She wasn't looking at me. All I wanted was to see the glow in her green eyes.
"Sierra" I brushed my finger across her jaw, tilting her chin. Behind that exhaustion, the glow thrived "Let's just put yesterday behind us"
She peered over my shoulder and nodded, gesturing for me to also look. Twisting my head around, I saw Tommy, Carol and Ray all adopting an entertained stance - arms crossed over their chests, smirking.
"Your friends are waiting for you" Sierra closed her locker door and moved her curls over her shoulder. "They're assholes, you know" I laughed a little and bit my lower lip. I could feel the trio's eyes burn into my back. This was degrading, so clearly being rejected by her in front of the people she knew would make jokes out of this. "Hit me up when you figure that out for yourself"
And with that, she was gone. I leaned against my arm, clicking my tongue as I watched her saunter away. Tommy's chortles grew closer and with each bit of laughter, the more the red hot fury started to rear its head.
"Goddamn bitch" Ray murmured, slapping my back.
"Don't call her that" I turned to him, flashing him a warning glare.
"Hey, don't get yourself all worked up, man. You're not the only guy she's rejected" Tommy revealed and popped a stick of gum in his mouth. "Probably too in love with the guys in those books she reads to go out with a real man. God help her at college"
"At least she's gonna go places" I retorted. Sierra was going to get out of this town. I just knew it.
"Yeah, man, apart from with you to your bed" Ray joked and the three broke out in cackles. I just stared blankly at them. "See her as a challenge, Hargrove. She's hard to get. Shit, even I tried to get her on a date and it was like talking to a brick wall. From everything Austin told me about her, she sounds like a good ride"
I was growing incensed from their talk. Shit, this is how I talked about girls. Now I actually cared for one, I started to see just how disrespectful it was. I tried to distract myself from what they were saying, walking in front of them as they bickered over whether Sierra would eventually date any guy from Hawkins High, ranking who would be the most to least successful. They had placed me as second most likely.
"Now Harrington is probably free, he's definitely at the top of the list" Tommy laughed derisively.
"They're just friends" I muttered as if there wasn't the burning sensation of envy in the pit of my stomach.
"Nah, bro, I refuse to believe that for a moment. No girl is friends with Steve Harrington that long without wanting a little something on the side" Ray casually jogged over and passed me a piece of gum. "If they haven't screwed already, they definitely will. Don't get me wrong, Nancy is cute. But Sierra is hot and a cheerleader"
"Sure, she reads books, but she'll come back onto our side" Tommy remarked. "One night with Steve and she'll be too dick drunk to focus on all that academic shit"
The bell's deafening shrill saved Tommy from being knocked unconscious as we all split our separate ways. Tommy's parting words of so-called consolation were too not to worry about Sierra when Hawkins had so many more girls to offer. Usually, I would have laughed along and agreed. I could get any girl I wanted in this place. The problem was, for once, I didn't want just any girl.
I wanted Nightingale.
