A month before Starcourt

Summer was never a favourite time of year for Samantha. Sure, she enjoyed not having to be at school, but generally speaking she disliked the entire season and everything it stood for. She hated the large queues in stores, she hated that everyone felt the need to be outside all of the time, and above all else... She hated that she and her brother basically became parents to their younger step sister Max.

Both Neil and Susan had no problem dumping the young girl on their laps, forcing the pair to look after her whilst also working around their own tight schedule. Billy had just started working as a lifeguard, with Sam working the check in desk at the pool. She helped restock the vending machine and kept the towels clean, doing everything that the other lifeguards didn't have to do. Working together was strategic, it meant that Max had a place to hang out with all of her friends whilst the two of them worked.

It was a win win scenario.

Sam liked the fact that she didn't have to stand outside in the blaring sunshine all day. The very idea of it made her skin burn, hating the heat. That was why she was currently hiding away in the storage cabinet, sorting through the pools hoard of cleaning supplies. No one had explicitly asked her to sort through it all, but the disorganisation was irritating her to the point that she had to do something about it.

She had comandeered Max's walkman this morning when they dropped her off at the mall, not caring about how agitated it made the girl. The only response Max got from the sneering twins was a shout in anger from Billy when she slammed the door, not caring about the car. She was glad that she had stolen it, using it as a distraction whilst she worked methodically. She had the volume turned all the way up, allowing her to fully immerse herself in the task at hand.

However, by doing that, she was effectively cutting herself off from every other sound around her. She had the door to the closet wide open, providing a breath of fresh air into the stale dark room. She didn't hear him approach, only snapping her headphones off when she felt his hand clasp her shoulder.

"God sake, Billy! How many times have I got to tell you not to sneak up on me?"

"Not my fault you weren't listening." He shrugged, leaning against the doorframe as he watched her through his sunglasses.

"Do you actually need something? Or are you just here to annoy me?" She wrapped the headphones around her neck, pausing the music as she resumed moving the heavy bottles of cleaning fluid around.

"I need you to pick Max up."

"Are you kidding me?" She placed the bottle down, whirling around to face him angrily. "Why can't you do it?"

"Because I'm going to see a movie with Tina." He responded as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Tina? Really? Who the hell is Tina?" Samantha asked incredulously. "You're really going to not pick Max up, for some random woman you've found?"

"Exactly that. I need you to do it."

"And what makes you think I will?"

"Neil."

That name made Samantha stop, frustrated that she knew she had no choice but to pick the younger girl up. "Fine. How do you expect me to get to her, though? Because I'm not sure you've been paying attention or not, but Neil sold my car."

"Here," He tossed a set of keys over to her. "Take the Camaro."

"Man, you must really not want to pick Max up if you're giving me the car." Samantha taunted, enjoying the grimace on his face.

"Have her back in one piece. If I see one scratch I'll-"

"Take everything I own and throw it into the garden." She mocked, waving her hand dismissively. "Heard it all before."

"Well, if you've heard it before then actually listen this time."

"It wasn't my fault the tree branch fell onto the hood! How many times have I got to tell you that?" Her voice rose with indignation.

"How many times have I got to tell you that?" Billy mimicked, his voice high pitched and whiny. "Just listen this time. Max said to get her at three."

"Three?" She glanced down at her watch. "Billy that's in twenty minutes."

He shrugged, "So?"

"So... Why couldn't you have told me sooner?"

"Didn't feel like it."

She shook her head, laughing under her breath. "Unbelievable." She turned back around, making the last few final tweaks to the bottles.

Billy didn't say anything, silently sliding his sunglasses onto the top of his head. "I 'preciate it, Sammy."

She waved her hand again, "You're lucky you are my favourite brother."

"I'm you're only brother." He pointed out with a grin, laughing as she rolled her eyes at him.

"Lucky me," She deadpanned, moving away from the shelf and checking her watch again. "Will you tell the boss where I'm going?"

"Sure. No problems. She loves me." Billy grinned.

"Thank you, Billy."

He shrugged, uncomfortable with her kindness. "Don't mention it."

"Don't worry, I will. To everyone." She nudged his arm teasingly. "You going to be okay for the rest of the day?"

He nodded, "Of course."

"Call me if you need anything, alright?" Her voice was much warmer now, her genuine concern obvious.

Billy never understood why she felt the need to mother him all of the time. She was one of the only people who truly cared about him, and he was still unsure about how to react to it. He knew that Samantha understood he cared too, even if he wasn't always able to show it to her. "You too, Sammy."

She blinked, smiling widely after a moment. "See ya later, Billy."

As she walked, she nodded at him. She had gotten a few steps away from him when he tugged her arm back, holding her in place. "Rememeber... Only a few more weeks."

She held her hand out, fist closed, which Billy met halfway and fist bumped her. "A few weeks." She confirmed, saying no more as she made her way back through the community pool area.

She could hear Billy shouting at some unfortunate behind her, but she didn't turn around to see the events unfold. She made her way back to the staff lockers, stuffing her cap into the locker and taking out her leather jacket. It didn't matter that it was the height of summer outside, she still needed to look the part.

Locking the door, she swung her jacket on and pushed her long blonde hair out of it's ponytail so that it hung like a wave down her back. She didn't speak to anyone as she made her way out of the building, smiling to herself once she saw the Camaro.

She loved the car as much as Billy did. It was a reminder for both of them about everything they had left behind in California. She didn't get to drive the car all of the time, what with Neil only liking Billy driving the car, so when she got the opportunity she enjoyed it as much as she could. Despite the fact that Billy was always uptight about his car, he was never bothered about Samantha driving it. Whether he said it or not, he trusted her.

She flung herself into the familiar leather seat, grinning as the car roared to life along with the incredibly loud rock music the pair had been listening to on their way into work. She tore out of the car park, enjoying the squealing tires as she moved at speed.

She might have only had twenty minutes to get to the mall, but with the speed she was going it only took her fifteen. She pulled up outside of the mall, braking with such force that she was sure she had marked the tarmac. Max was already waiting outside of the mall, a scowl on her face as she leant up against the wall.

Samantha didn't have to use the car horn to get her attention, as the loud sound of wheels screaming to a halt brought her focus over to the car. Max looked embarrassed to be walking over to the vehicle, her head down.

Samantha greeted the younger girl with the Hargrove trademark grin, letting the pair of Billy's sunglasses she was wearing slide down her nose, making direct eye contact with Max as she got into the car.

"Where to, little red?" She drawled, pulling out of the car park with another screech.

Max kept her head down, letting her hair fall infront of her face as she looked out of the passenger window. "Mike's house."

"Mike? Ooooh!" Samantha teased. "Who's Mike? Should I be worried?"

"No. Gross. He has a girlfriend." Max looked over at her step sister with agitation. "He lives on Maple."

"Ah... That Mike. Mike Wheeler. I've heard a lot about him." Samantha nodded slowly, never looking over at Max. "You sure you want to go there?"

"Just because you're driving Billy's car, doesn't mean you have to be an ass like him."

Samantha held a hand up to her chest, "How you wound me." She laughed, glancing over at Max. "Cheer up, honey. It's not that deep. I'm just making sure you're okay."

"Since when do you care?"

"Since you came into our lives," Samantha rolled her eyes at Max. "Keep up, red. I've noticed you and Billy have been weird for the last few months. Just wanted to make sure nothing was going on that we should know about."

Max blinked, put off by the woman's admission. "What did he tell you about that?"

"That you knocked him out. Threatened him with a bat. That sound about right to you?" The car came to a stop at a junction, the lights up ahead red giving Samantha time to properly study her sister. "I can see your guilt from here. Why won't you just tell us why you were there that night? With Steve and that whole group?" Max stayed silent, her head falling back down. "Look at me, Max. Stop playing the victim here. You attacked Billy. Tell me why."

Max looked up, eyes ablaze. "He tried to kill Steve. He attacked Lucas. He deserved it."

Samantha laughed, venom dripping from her words. "Please, Max, cut the shit. You know as well as I do that Billy wouldn't have killed anyone. He wanted to protect you. He had no idea what was going on. Can you really blame him for it?"

"Protect me?" Max scoffed. "Are you high?"

"Billy cares." Max's laugh stirred anger up with Samantha. "He does! Look, he might not show it, but he does!" A car horn sounded behind, making Samantha jump. She immediately threw up her middle finger at the driver behind, putting the car back into motion. "You just have to be nicer to him. Cut him some slack."

The look Max sent over to Samantha would have had anyone else reconsidering their request, but Samantha had dealt with the girl enough to know that she was all bark and no bite.

"Why can't you just try and be more civil with him, Max?"

"I hate him. He hates me. What more is there? Nothing will fix that."

"He doesn't hate you-"

Max cuts her off, "He tells me everyday."

Samantha sighed, bored of her step sisters anger. "He says a lot of things, Max. Not all of them are true." She slowed the car down to a stop outside of the Wheelers house, turning fully to face Max. She put a hand on the girls knee, keeping her in place. "Look, trust me when I say this, but you should really try and build a relationship up with him. You never know when you might need his help. He's let up on you ever since you threatened him, why can't you do the same?"

Max blinked, over thinking her words. "Why are you telling me this?"

Samantha couldn't look at her sister, looking out of the windscreen. "We are leaving, Max. I shouldn't tell you... But I can't let the two of you continue like this. I don't want to leave on bad terms."

"Are you kidding me?" Max's sharp tone had Samantha wincing. "Why? Why are you leaving? When?"

"We've been saving up for months. We nearly have enough for a few weeks in a motel. We don't know where we are going yet, but... It will be far from here." Samantha sniffed, bringing her hand back over and onto her lap. "We didn't want to tell you, but I couldn't keep this from you. Billy will be upset but... I think it's worth it. You deserve to know."

"You're such shit. You and Billy." Max spat, Samantha looked over then, shocked at the pure hatred on her face. "I hate you both."

"Max..."

"Why do you get to leave and I have to stay here?"

"You're just a kid, Max. There's nothing I can do about that." Samantha shrugged, trying to mask her pain.

"How do you get to make that decision? Why did no one talk to me about this?"

"No one wanted to risk Neil finding out. We have to get out, Max. If we don't leave soon we never will. Billy can't be around Neil for much longer. Do you not care about him at all?"

"No. Screw you both." Max opened the door. "Don't even bother telling me when you are leaving. Just go. Go and don't come back. You want to leave me here? Fine. Do it. I don't care and I don't care about you or Billy. I will be fine without you both. I don't need you."

"You don't mean that, Max..."

"I do. I really do." Max got out, slamming the door behind her harshly, the entire car rattling with the force. Max didn't look back, storming up the driveway and into the Wheeler's house.

Samantha watched her go, tears filling her eyes as she began to angrily pound her hands against the steering wheel. She didn't even care that the horn blared out as she did, she couldn't hear anything over the roaring white noise in her ears. She didn't notice the slight parting of the blinds from within the Wheeler's house, or the small red headed girl that briefly watched her sister have a breakdown from within the car. All Samantha noticed was her own frustration building and desire to be away from it all. Knowing that Neil and Susan would be out of the house at this time, she sped off home.

One week after Starcourt

Home felt like prison. Samantha had never felt so trapped. Behind her, she could hear the screaming of both Neil and Susan coming from within the house, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

Sitting on the step, with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, she stared vacantly at the burned wreckage that was her brothers Camaro. The entire vehicle was wrecked, and she was sure she could smell the smoke coming off of it from a mile away. It was a depressing sight, but one that Samantha couldn't look away from.

She hadn't slept since that night. The night that everything changed. She missed everything about her brother, and hated the fact that he decided then was the best time to be a hero. Why did he have to help in a random mall fire? It wasn't his job. He didn't have to step in and get himself killed. Samantha wasn't sure whether or not it was worse to be upset at her brother for trying to help, or the fact that she was upset that he had been the only one killed. She didn't wish bad on anyone, but at the minute she couldn't understand it all.

It was as if her entire soul had been destroyed that night. Words hadn't made sense since then, she hadn't bothered saying anything to anyone as she spent all day huddled outside looking at her brothers car. She had burned through a whole pack of cigarettes, thankful that she always kept a spare pack under her bed for extra stressful days.

Neil hadn't cared about anyone else as he took out his anger on everyone within the Hargrove household. No one was safe from his rage, his constant outbursts making his feelings known. Samantha stayed out of the way, not wanting to get involved with it all. It was clear that him and Susan were heading for a divorce, the death of his only son clearly shattering whatever illusion he had built up around his life. He had no reason to pretend anymore, not caring about the fact that Samantha would have yet another parent walk out on her as he continued to threaten his departure from the household. Max wasn't bothered, but Susan was. That's why they constantly fought- Susan didn't want to let go of her dream husband but Neil couldn't stand to keep her anymore. Samantha had to give Susan credit, the woman really could argue with the best of them. But it would be pointless in the end, just another failed marriage for Neil to tuck under his belt.

Samantha had never felt so detached from reality. She hated that the world carried on as usual whilst she was left picking up the pieces of her life. She didn't know what the future had in store for her now, she had no idea what she was meant to do. Was she meant to stay in Hawkins? Was she allowed to move on like they had planned to do?

She was too tired to think it all through. Thin plumes of smoke and the charred ash from her cigarette kept her grounded, the nicotine keeping her awake. She closed her eyes as she breathed in, letting the smoke fill her lungs for as long as she could.

She felt cold. She felt alone. She felt like she was isolated from the rest of the world. She was scared to open her eyes, scared to once again see her brothers car. It would be real then, she couldn't pretend that it was a dream when her eyes were open. She had been holding her breath for so long, she couldn't feel the cigarette anymore.

It felt like the air had become thicker, dampening her skin and hair as she sat. She knew it was all in her mind, her sleep deprived body creating an illusion just to confuse her.

But, she had to give her mind credit, it was really able to create a very convincing illusion. When she opened her eyes, she no longer could see the Camaro infront of her. Indeed, the entire world was different now. Instead of it being blue and green, the world was devoid of life in its pale grey blue hues that strained her eyes. There was hardly any sound, just distant crashing and screaming filling the air. Ash flew around haphazardly, making it very difficult to see her own feet.

She stood, impressed that her body was keeping up the illusion. She could smell damp and death, the two mixing together in what could only be described as mephitic. She felt cold chills, her muscles tensing at the feeling of danger lurking around every corner. She had no idea what this was, but Samantha couldn't help how curious she was to see more.

So, she started walking. And, as she walked, she began to scream. She didn't care about what this might all mean for her mental health, she was exhausted and wanted to let out her frustrations. She screamed until her throat was raw and she couldn't anymore, finding herself mute as she walked straight.

When her screams became silent, she felt a hand clasp down on her shoulder. She was spun around so quickly she couldn't comprehend it all, feeling dazed at the motion. She was sure at that moment, she had lost it. Because what she was seeing... It couldn't be real. It couldn't be anything other than a dream.

Billy was stood infront of her, his face upset as he wore blood stained clothes that were barely hanging on. His hair was matted down with blood, his entire stomach visible as the cuts there oozed lazily. "Are you dead?" He rasped, voice missing its normal confidence as he stood slightly hunched.

Samantha blinked, "I've lost it."

"Lost what?"

His question sent her into hysterics, laughing loudly as tears sprung to her eyes. She wasn't sure if it was from the laughing or just the plain sadness of the whole thing, but she couldn't stop crying. "What is this? Why would I make this up? You're dead. You're not real."

"Sammy, listen to me-"

She sobbed, "Stop."

He put another hand on her shoulder, forcing her to look up. "I need your help. Please. You need to get me out of here."

"You died. I can't bring you back to life."

"I'm not dead." She looked up then, taking in how serious he was. "Please. I need help. You need to open the gate up for me. I have to come back through. I don't want to be here anymore... I'm scared, Sammy. Please."

"Billy... Help me understand. I don't understand..."

"There's a gate in the Steelworks. I need you to open it for me. I know you can do it, Sammy. Get Max. She can help."

Billy didn't let her respond, pulling her forward and into his chest for a hug both had been craving since the fourth of July. It made her confused, feeling how warm her brothers illusion was. He felt real, like she could feel his chest rising and falling as he breathed frantically into her hair. The blood that coated him now clung to her skin, staining her clothes and face crimson. He delicately kissed the top of her head, crying as he did so. "Love you, Sammy. I always did."

"Billy..." She sniffed, confused by everything that was happening around her. She couldn't see anything, eyes screwed shut in her brothers warm embrace.

She once again felt cold, no longer feeling the warmth that he provided her with. Instead, she felt a much smaller hand gripping hers tightly. She cracked her eyes open, staring down at the concerned face of Max.

Samantha didn't know what to make of it all. If the look on her sister's face was anything to go by, then she could guess whatever had just happened wasn't a dream after all. And, if she needed anymore proof, the fact that was was now in the middle of the road a couple hundred meters away from her house should have told her something wasn't right. But, what sealed it all off, was the fact that she was covered head to toe in blood.

"Shit."