~Billy~

My mind retreated to that evening driving back from The Communion. Question No. 34 was, 'Where do you have the best memories and why?'. She had said her best memories were at her grandparents house because it was always peaceful there and I said the Boardwalk back in California because I would go there with friends after school. That was before Susan and Max were on the scene. But I also had not wholly departed with the truth behind that answer. It was my favorite place because Mom would always take me there to play arcade games after she took me surfing. So you can imagine when I saw the scarlet red and white writing that said 'Indiana Beach, Boardwalk Resort', I was gobsmacked. When I had been playing around with her, I said that if I won that coin toss that I could get something I wanted. I was going to originally push my luck and say a kiss. However, I then thought it would probably be better if I said to drive her car. With any other girl, I knew they would probably say yes. Hell, I knew Sierra would say yes. But I wanted to know for certain that when she would, it was because she wanted to. Fuck, I really liked this girl and this just made that feeling get stronger. She had remembered my answer to one of many questions and actually kept it a secret that she was taking me here.

"Indiana Boardwalk?" I murmured, as if in a trance.

"Well, you said you had the best memories at the Boardwalk and you're new in town. I've never moved home, but I can imagine it's tough. I guess I just wanted to help you make some good memories here too" she replied.

Sierra had planned this entire day around ensuring I felt happy, to create memories I could look fondly back on. Stuck was the only word I could think of. I was stuck on how to feel. No one had ever done something this nice for me before. No one, for a long time, had actually considered how to make me happy. My so-called family never did, but this girl who I had known for a week had. She had put thought and energy into this. I hadn't even looked at her, my vision transfixed on the deep lake encompassed by the bright lights of the Boardwalk. She was explaining how it probably wasn't like the ones in California because this was built next to Lake Shafer, but that she hoped I would like it. It didn't have to be the Boardwalk in California. It was the fact of how she actually remembered what I had said and put a plan in motion to take me somewhere. I felt a heat rise in my throat and I started trying to produce enough saliva to swallow it away. It was a feeling I hadn't felt in so long that I believed it had become extinct. So alien to me that my first instinct was to destroy it with the smoke from my cigarette.

"Well, Nightingale, you've really outdone yourself" I tried to say, but a croak made it impossible to play the usual charm.

I just couldn't believe Sierra had done this for me.

"You like it?" she beamed, those green eyes of hers radiating with happiness.

I looked at her and smiled, nodding. Bowing my head slightly, I grinned to myself. Shit, I was actually happy. This is what it felt like. Like meeting an old friend for the first time in forever.

"So, what was your demand going to be?" she asked.

"I was just going to ask to drive your car. But this seriously beats that" I said.

"Huh, I didn't expect you to have such a tamed answer, Hargrove" she giggled as we pulled up. We got out of the car together and I went over to help put on her plaid shirt that she had taken off at the gas station. "But in all seriousness, is this okay for you?"

Her tone had gone from cheeky to meek, an earnestness I had only heard a couple of times in my life. She was genuinely wanting to know if this was okay for me, if I was comfortable. I did something there and then that even surprised me a little. As I stood behind and wrapped her jacket around her shoulders, my hands smoothed out the slight creases of the arms, feeling how toned she was. Before I knew it, I had kissed her cheek, lingering long enough to feel the tepid heat of her blush.

"Don't worry, it's great" I replied, smiling at her. It wasn't the usual smirk I had glued to my face. No, I was really smiling. Moving away, I playfully got a hold of her sleeves and started tugging at them. "Come on!"

Damn, I felt like a kid again. Breathing in the fresh air, feeling the nostalgic warmth rush through my body, I felt carefree. Able to go and just enjoy myself. Hell, I did that now. But this was just different. I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was that made me feel this way. Was it the atmosphere or just the sheer fact of Sierra planning all of this? I didn't know, but I wasn't going to get involved in overthinking.

We sauntered onto the main promenade together and immediately I took Sierra's hand to drag her over to the shooting game where a formation of stuffed toys waited for their new owners. In front of them stood a bored looking woman who appeared to be in her mid-50s. Rummaging for a loose bit of change in my pocket, I managed to find anything but. A spare lighter, a condom that should stay hidden for the remainder of this trip. Although, I wouldn't turn the opportunity down if she presented it. I had enough foresight to bring my wallet. Handing the woman what was needed, I inspected the stuffed toys to see which one was the biggest. I was so absorbed in what rewards I could reap that I barely noticed the woman looking at my chest. Hm, if I didn't win, at least my charm could work.

Leveling the rifle so it was in prime position, I started hitting the targets with the accuracy of a skilled soldier. Voices of friends beckoned me to go back. Back to that old memory, the rage.

The sweltering Californian heat beat down on us. No clouds or shadows to defend us. It was merciless. We were totally exposed. Shirt off, I submerged myself into the shallow creek waters. A wonderful freezing sensation spread all over me, cooling me down instantly. However, that glorious cool feeling would soon be eradicated by the rage that paralyzed me.

That house.

Where she had left me to be hurt by Him.

Gunshots sounded, penetrating the peace.

Harry and Michael were getting their target practice in. A lit joint behind his ear, Michael joined me in the water.

"Yo, Billy, what's the problem?" he asked. "You need to mellow, man"

The herbal fumes couldn't even relax me. But I still took it. Taking the longest drag I could, I tried to rip my eyes away from the white paneled house, the same curtains still in the windows. Red silk. A warning to those who wanted to come in.

"Pass me that gun" I ordered.

Extending my arm out, I continued to look right at my target. Like a lion right before it pounces. Deadly and determined. Harry, psyching himself up for a show, eagerly passed me the pistol. It was a present for his recent 16th birthday. His dad said it would make him into a 'real man'. I wondered, if He was watching, would he consider me one too?

Then, I saw her.

Mom.

The skirt of that ethereal white dress fluttered in the gentle breeze. Tending to her flowers as normal. The only thing she could do without Him yelling. But I knew it wasn't real. She was never coming back.

Locked, loaded and ready to kill.

The deafening gunshot was followed by cheers.

Then another one, and another one.

My hands shook violently, jaw clenched. Out of bullets, I handed the pistol back and got out of the creek.

"Hey, Billy, where you going?" Harry called.

Nowhere. I was going nowhere.

And that was precisely what the problem was.

"You got it, Billy!"

Breathing in sharply, I snapped out of the reverie. Had I shot that last target without being mentally present? What the fuck was wrong with me?

Any apprehension I felt diminished as soon as Sierra hugged me. Clapping at my triumph, she asked what I was going to get. I gave my head an inconspicuous shake.

You're not there anymore. Come back.

"Well, that entirely depends on what you choose" I replied smoothly.

As if I was surfacing from a deep ocean, the waves crashing over me grew louder and louder. A cacophony of carnival music, kids screeching and laughter invaded my ears. The world around me soared to a deafening roar. The words leaving my mouth felt foreign. With a blink, I snapped back into motion.

"I do quite like the dog" Sierra said.

I looked over to see what she was talking about, having completely forgotten the reason I was holding this rifle in the first place. I had hit every target. Winning should have made me feel elated, right? Away for God knows how many seconds, the aim wasn't to win a toy. However, as I peered over my shoulder to see Sierra hanging onto my arm from behind, her chin barely reaching my shoulder as she attempted to rest it there, a calm rushed over me. A reminder that I was no longer in the past. The present was here. She was here.

She was here and she wanted the large, beige dog toy. By the way she was holding onto my arm, Nightingale definitely wanted something else here too. The woman who owned the stall handed me the stuffed animal and in turn I gave it to Sierra who let out an excited squeal.

"Okay, this is going to sound so lame but I love these things" she admitted, as if it was a terrible secret.

I wrapped my arm around her waist and after thanking the lady, we walked over to a patch of grass next to the lake.

"Something to cuddle at night?" I laughed.

"Well, I don't exactly have anything else" she sighed with a shrug.

"Hm, a pretty girl like you won't have to deal with that for long" I replied.

Giving her a smirk, I sat down at the edge of the lake and pulled out a cigarette. Allowing the flame to heat my nose slightly for a moment too long, I passed it to her before lighting my own.

I shouldn't have gone back to the creek.

"And what makes you think that?" she asked, her tone bewildered.

I chuckled at her. She had to know she was fucking beautiful and ridiculously smart. That since Day 1 of meeting her I could see she stood out from the crowd. Then all those conversations, real conversations. And those goddamn doe, green eyes of hers. Shit, it had woken up this feeling in me that I had never truly felt. Only an inkling, but it was still so weird to experience. She had to know that I liked her beyond being an English partner or a friend. I wanted to reject the warm sensation I so much as found my eyes locked to hers. A man like me wasn't meant for romance. Only late night partners who could be discarded. No attachments, no harm caused.

"You'll find that out later" I coolly responded.

I'd never had what one could consider a real girlfriend before. Sure, I'd had my fair share of flings, one night stands, stuff like that. However, I knew a lot of girls were with me for my looks, status of being the 'bad boy' and to elevate whatever social status they had in school. As for me, I saw it more like a transactional relationship. They got to date the hot bad boy, I got to get laid. If there was anything a little more than that, it wouldn't ever go beyond 2 months. When I said 'anything a little more than that', I meant actually finding them okay to hang out with. Weirdly enough, I found Sierra more than just okay to hang out with. Despite these strange flutters I could feel whenever she spoke, there was also this dread that coursed through me.

What if I was like Him?

It was a constant thought that tortured my mind. There had been times where I identified it, softened, but it came back. Sometimes, I didn't even realize I was doing it. I could go for weeks until it all came crashing down in some melodramatic panic. Again, I shook my head. I didn't want to be having these thoughts right now.

"Are you having a good day out?" Sierra asked.

She had spread herself out on the grass, cradling her head in the palm of her hand. I hadn't seen her appear so chilled out since The Communion. Even then, that was only a glimpse. My defense had come straight up when asked about California and so did hers when I asked about moving out of Hawkins. There was something that lay beneath the surface there, so deeply rooted that she may not have even recognized it. But here, she just looked at peace.

"Yeah, it's great. I didn't expect you to bring me here" I laughed and took a drag on my cigarette.

I watched as she mirrored me, perhaps subconsciously. There was something about the way those green eyes fluttered when she smoked that drove me crazy. Breathing out the smoke, she soon rolled up to meet me.

"Well, I can imagine it's hard to move somewhere far from home," she replied, stretching her torso slightly with a grunt, as if something had pained her. I was about to ask if she was okay when she continued talking. "It's nice to get a little taste of home every now and then"

"Do you think when you go to college you'll come back?" I asked.

Taking a contemplative inhale, she lowered her long, dark eyelashes and bit her bottom lip. She ran her slender fingers through her curls and let out a slight laugh. Just like me, she had no idea where to go.

"I have a brother here," she responded, her head still bowed "who is only very young and still needs someone"

"What about your dad?" I asked.

I knew I was pushing boundaries now. But I just had to know. How alike were we?

Sierra shrugged and tilted her head towards me. She released that slight laugh again and shook her head, peering out towards a group of kids on the lake attempting to row a boat. For a moment, the corners of her mouth arched into a smile as she watched them. It stayed for just a moment, before becoming a shadow of her former self.

"Let's just put it this way, Billy, my dad should just stick to his day job" she curtly said before readjusting her position so she was leaning back on her hands. There was a lot of tension in her body, that much I could tell. It went beyond anything to do with her thoughts. Something was actually causing her pain. "So, why did you move out to Indiana?"

I was on the cusp of telling her the real reason. How Max had ran away to her father's so many times - a gambling addict who adored Max, the real her, but could never be a true dad - and how I went off the rails. Every now and then, I still felt the surreal euphoria from that cocktail of rage and recklessness when I crashed my last car. He and I had an argument about how I wanted to find Mom, to get something other than her phone number, and He had ended it by saying if I had never been born then all of this would have never been a problem. That they would have had a happy marriage. I saw red there and then. He was excusing everything, using me as the scapegoat as always. He may as well have just told me that I was the reason He used to beat her and then His supposed heartbreak was the reason He turned on me. Usually, I would have just gone straight to my room, slamming the door behind me. This time, I just stormed out the door of the house and got into my old car. Oddly enough, it was the older version of a Camaro, the same color. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realize I was veering towards a street light. It took all of about a second to see what I was doing. An active deathwish. When the cops brought me home, I received one hell of a beating. My nose was still bleeding from the accident when He brought the belt out. Lash after lash until I was on the floor. Everything else is a blur except Max offering me her hand to get up.

"Get away from me, Max"

I didn't talk to anyone in the house after that, just skulked about in my room smoking and jumping out of my window at the dead of night to meet Harry and Michael to get shitfaced, returning at the crack of dawn to sleep throughout the day. I would hear Susan and Him talking. Susan would be weeping about how the kids were so ruined by their other parents, dismissing how He had been the one to instigate all of this shit in the first place, and He would just be the hero and say that He would make everything alright. That's how we ended up here. There were only two things Max and I silently agreed on: He was an asshole and moving here was not the remedy to our problems.

"Parent's job" I simply replied.

I had lied to her. But there was no way in hell I could reveal how much of a mess everything was. She would just run.

"Well, do you see it as less of a shithole now?" she asked.

"Hm, getting there, Nightingale" I chuckled and laid down with my hands behind my head.

I reached out to pull on her shirt and dragged her down with a laugh. She rolled onto her side, looking at me.

"It's not too bad of a place. Mostly just boring, middle-class people who mull around looking for the latest gossip" she said.

I had heard that the tranquil dreariness of Hawkin's had been shattered last year. There was a lot of talk at Hawkin's High, namely about two people called Will and Barb. How both went missing, but only Will turned up alive afterwards. God, if these people thought that was big news, they should come down to California some time.

"What happened last year? I heard a lot of talk about it" I said.

Pondering on whether she should say anything, I realized that Sierra was the only person who hadn't really talked about it. She was a cheerleader yet appeared to never conform to their lifestyle. No, she wanted to dance to Live Wire in a group of squealing girls possessed by Madonnamania. Why did she do it to herself, was she actually happy with it? Or was all of this for show? Conformity in a place where they forced it on you.

"It was pretty horrible in all honesty. Everyone at school calls him 'Zombie Boy' and I wish they would stop. Basically, he went missing for a week, even had a funeral for him because a body appeared and it was identified to be him, and then he just appeared out of nowhere. He literally has no recollection of what happened to him" she paused, breathing in the last embers of the smoke from the cigarette before stubbing it out. I brought out my hand so she could pass it to me and placed it in my coat pocket to dispose of later. My life may be crazy, but that didn't mean nature had to suffer. "I babysit Will occasionally and I can see what effect it's had on him. Like, just this week - " Again, Sierra stopped herself and shook her head "Either way, I don't like it when they call him that. Just how would they feel if all of that happened to them and their family?"

"What about Barb? I've heard her name floating around a fair few times"

Not in the best light either. These Yuppy kids were pretty ruthless. A girl goes missing and all they could say was she was a nerd whose glasses needed stamping on.

"She was in AP English and Nancy's best friend. Truthfully, I only started getting to know her properly last year. But, again, I don't like how the focus is on how she was in school and not on the life-changing, more important fact that she's still missing and has a family that misses her" Sierra let out an exasperated sigh and ran her fingers through her hair. "It pisses me off. It's like they just don't realize the impact they have on those who miss and want her back. Like, who cares if she was into reading and got good grades? Why isn't that seen as a good thing?"

I could tell from the way her eyes widened that this was a serious issue for her, something that incessantly bothered her. I wanted to delve further.

"Do you say that to them?" I asked and was instantly met by a shocked, furrowed brow that demanded I repeat the question. "Like, do you tell them?"

"They don't really speak about it in front of me" she said, flicking her head back towards the lake.

"But, you know they speak about it still" I rebutted. Letting out a sigh, I stretched myself out. We'd been lying down for too long. "Don't worry too much, Nightingale, there's not much you can say"

"That's the problem" she revealed just as I was about to get up. "I did say something. That's why they don't speak about it in front of me" Following my lead, she got up. "I told them I thought it was insensitive and they got all offended that I dared question their morality"

"And this is why you want to dance to Live Wire instead of Madonna" I laughed. "You actually have the balls to be different"

With a smirk, she held the stuffed dog close to her chest, giving it a squeeze.

"Which reminds me," she began and turned around to gesture for me to look in her bag. Rummaging through it, I found a Motley Crue cassette.

"Oh, more dance moves for me, Nightingale?" I chuckled. We started to head back to the Boardwalk, entering the electrified crowds.

"I can be a little more advanced than living room dancing, you know" she giggled.

"Now, that I would love to see, Nightingale" I smoothly replied and grinned at her.

"You'll find out later, Hargrove" she laughed, copying my own words from earlier.

Shit, she was getting good at this. Usually, I would have started trying to make a move by now. There were motels around here, that much I was sure. But I wanted to savor this time with her away from a motel room and actually talk. We explored the Boardwalk together, chatting non-stop about everything we could possibly talk about - from the state of the Reagan era to the worst hangovers we'd ever experienced. It wasn't until the sun began its descent that we made it back to my car. Another stuffed toy in tow, a blonde dog to match the original one, we got into the car and stuck on the cassette, starting the journey back to Hawkins. I got us lost once which Sierra found hysterically funny. As we approached her street, now dimly lit, a silence fell over us. Back outside of her house, I saw her examine all the windows. Black, no light. Only then did she relax.

"Thanks for today, Sierra" I said and leaned over to give her a hug.

"It's my pleasure. I hope you had a good day. Guess I'll see you at Tina's" she replied and went to get out of the car. However, her fingers hovered over the handle for just a second before she made the decision to turn back around to face me. Quickly, she moved over and kissed my cheek. It was gentle, rushed out of embarrassment. "See you at the party tomorrow!"

And with that, she scampered off with the stuffed toys under her arms. With a final look behind her shoulder, I saw her giggle to herself before she went back into the house. Bowing my head as I chuckled to myself, I started to make my way back to where I lived. Even as I approached the building, seeing all the lights were still on, the smile she had left me with refused to be erased. I still smelt like her - a mixture of sweet fruits and smoke.

Upon entering, even as He stood there with his assertive hands crossed over a puffed out chest, my smile didn't leave. He so desperately wanted it to disappear as he barked at me, interrogating me on why I was back so late yet again. But the smile never wavered. Sierra had seen me. She had shown me kindness and given me the gift of a great day out, a kiss on the cheek.

All good things come to an end though. For me, that end was a swift elbow to the face.

But as I went upstairs, blood trickling out of my nose, it came back to me. Her soft lips grazing my stubble. Beautiful sweet breath expanding over my skin like a warm blanket as she moved away. Perhaps, just this once, good things would last.

A/N: And that's the end of Part 2! What did you all think? Also, I hope you're all enjoying Volume 2 of Stranger Things. I can't believe we have to wait 2 more years until the final season :(