Louise stood momentarily stunned after Billy had knocked Steve to the ground, and rushed towards them once Billy continued to wail on Steve. All Steve could do from that angle was try to block the kicks.
"Hey, stop it!" Louise pushed him away from Steve, who he tried to kick again. Billy easily pushed her away with one arm, which caused her to stumble back, and made his way to the front door. Louise knelt down once she'd caught her balance to check on Steve, who wheezed on the ground.
"Help the kids." Steve wheezed out, as he pushed her away. Louise looked up to see Billy slam the door shut behind him.
With a battle cry, Louise ran up the steps, flung the door open, and launched herself onto Billy's back. She locked her legs around his waist, hands locked over his eyes to try and pull him away from the kids. He gripped her legs and rammed her back against the door frame. While winded, she kept her grip with one arm, and tried to use her free hand to pull his hair. The kids screamed all around them, but Louise kept her focus on him. He rammed her back again, and this time was able to dislodge her. The doorknob had shoved into her hip so bad, she knew there would be a bruise come morning.
Her vision swam as Dustin tried to help her up, and she winced from the movement. The kids continued to scream around her as Billy made his way to Lucas, Dustin's grip under her arms the only thing steadying her. He had just dragged her safely out of the way, when they looked up as Lucas kneed Billy in the groin. She made a mental note to buy that kid whatever he wanted, since he just achieved what almost everyone in that room wanted to do.
"You're dead, Sinclair!"
"No, you are!"
Louise hadn't even noticed when Steve had entered the house, too enraptured by Lucas hitting Billy where it counted. Steve swung his fist into Billy's face, which caused him to bend down. The room was silent, everyone tense as they waited for Billy's response. Louise thought he would have fallen, or winced, but instead he just laughed. A psychotic laugh that rang out through the tense house. Her eyes were drawn to the Bat of Death that was perched against the dining room table.
She pushed herself away from Dustin, who had his full attention directed at Steve and Billy. She didn't know what she'd do once she had it, but it was bound to get Billy's attention off of Steve. At this point, that's all she could really hope for. She inched along the wall, halfway there, eyes trained on the teenage boys. Soon whatever tense conversation there had been between the two was interrupted by Billy, who took a swing, only to miss and instead get hit by Steve.
Steve had him backed against the sink, and it looked like he had the upper hand, until Billy slammed a plate over Steve's head. He staggered back, and soon it was Billy who had the upper hand. Louise didn't think after that, didn't ponder what to do, whatever plan she'd had was lost as Billy stalked towards Steve. If he got his hands on Steve again, the odds weren't great. She launched herself at Billy's back, and slammed her fist into his shoulder over and over, which admittedly only hurt her hand.
Billy didn't seem to be affected by her punch, not even inconvenienced. He'd easily pushed her back, headed towards Steve. She was left to shake the pain out of her hand, as Steve was backed towards the dining area with each swing Billy made.
Within seconds, he had Steve pinned again, and Louise quickly grabbed one of the coffee mugs from the dishrack. She just hurled them at Billy, with the hope that they would hinder him. The first one missed, and shattered on the floor. The second one hit Steve in the leg, to which she yelled out a quick "I'm sorry!" over the shouts of the kids. The third one nearly hit Steve in the head, but he was able to duck in time.
"Stop helping!" He huffed out, before Billy headbutted him, which sent him spiraling onto the living room floor. Louise winced and went for another plate, as Billy pinned Steve to the ground.
She'd planned to go up behind him and just smash it over his big head, only Max got there before her. She'd jabbed some kind of syringe into his neck, which caused him to immediately pause. He stood up slowly as he pulled it out, and glanced between the syringe and Max. He swayed on his feet, and Louise ignored what he said as she rushed past him to check on Steve.
His face looked rough, like her mother's meatloaf after she coated it in ketchup, but right before she stuck it in the oven. She gently slapped his face in an attempt to get him to look at her. Her attention was diverted when Billy toppled, and his laughs still bubbled out. His laughter ended as soon as Max swung the Bat of Death between his legs. What's with the scary twelve year old girls in this town?
Steve's head rested in her lap as Max rummaged through Billy's pockets, and held car keys up like a prize. She locked eyes with Dustin, his eyebrows raised high.
"Let's go."
The room just stared at Max as she twirled the keys on her finger. "While cool, we're not taking Billy's car. Where are we even going?" Louise wasted no time to discourage that crazy plan.
"We're going to burn an area of the tunnels you found, to divert the demodogs' attention away from El." Dustin's answer was so straightforward, that Louise had to do a double take. El was back?
"And do the adults...know, that this is the plan?" Her voice trailed off skeptically. She highly doubted that Hopper would encourage any of them to go down to those tunnels to become bait.
Each child had a look of guilt, except for Mike who had a very stubborn look on his face. She didn't trust that face. She'd seen that face on Nancy freshman year of debate club, and nope.
"We're going, whether you're on board or not." Max chimed in as she headed towards the door. She glanced over her shoulder, and with a start Lucas followed her.
Louise closed her eyes, and let out a sigh. "Guys, please. It's been a long night."
Mike gave her a glare, arms crossed. "We're helping El." And with that, the council had spoken.
Louise huffed out a breath, and glanced down at Steve's badly beaten face. "Do you at least know where the band aids are? And where Steve put his keys?"
"We don't need his keys, we're taking Billy's car." Max jingled the keys once more as a reminder.
"Yeah, I'm not driving his death trap. He's going to come to, and I'm pretty sure he'll be pissed off enough without us touching his car."
Max rolled her eyes and headed out the door. "I'll drive."
"You're like twelve, you can't drive!"
"I'm thirteen, and Billy has shown me how before." With that, the angry thirteen year old stormed out.
Lucas handed Louise a handful of random Band-Aids and followed Max. She watched as each kid walked by, with Dustin who refused to look her in the eyes. Louise groaned, and gently laid Steve's head on the ground. Guess we're doing this.
The kids had already started to pile into the car, with Max shoving what looked to be chunks of wood at the gas pedals. "Can one of you at least help me with Steve?"
Lucas and Dustin shared a look, before they climbed back out and helped her carry Steve to the car. Not even 6 hours ago she'd believed her brother had died a gruesome death. Now they were going to be packed like sardines in the back of Billy's car, with Steve Harrington's bloodied head on Dustin's lap, while she fought against the nausea that only grew with each jerked movement of the car.
The car stopped and started, and jerked along the road for the first few minutes. Louise gave Max a glare through the rearview mirror. "You've driven before?"
Max refused to meet her eyes. "Once. In an empty parking lot."
They were doomed.
He didn't know how long he'd laid there, but his mouth was dry and his mind was foggy as fuck when he'd finally come to. Whatever Max had injected him with, had been some serious shit. Not even his worst nights out made him feel like this.
With a groan, he pushed himself up, and looked around at the empty room. He'd heard rumors about what freaks the Byer family was, most of which had come from the mouth of Tommy H, but it truly did them no justice. Crayon drawings littered the walls, and took up every surface as it trailed throughout the house. What the fuck is going on here?
The room still spun and took him a moment to focus. His insides were still woozy as he walked, his legs feeling like Jello. He made his way towards the dining room table, and flopped down on a chair before his legs could give out. He'd be pissed as fuck at the little runt, if it hadn't been so impressive. The kid had laid him on his ass, with more fire than he'd ever seen her have. He knew she had it in her, and he'd loved to push her until she snapped; he just never thought she'd snap that hard. Not over some loser hick kids she'd only just met.
He had to admit, she packed more of a punch than King Steve. And Mouth Gear; it pissed him off how she'd perked up at the sight of that pussy. He couldn't even take him in a fight, and yet the girls still swooned after his bullshit. From what he'd heard, he couldn't take anyone in a fight. Her comment about Steve stayed with him, and fueled his hatred for the pansy who didn't live up to his own reputation.
He had been taken by surprise by Sinclair and Mouth Gear, who had lasted longer than his intended target. It was a cheap shot on Sinclair's part, but the kid had balls. Probably would go far in wrestling. Mouth Gear, Henderson, had proven she had no problem putting herself on the line. Where she lacked in strength, she made up for in sheer drive. She'd used the full weight of her body to her advantage, and if she'd been after someone like Harrington, she'd have probably had a fair chance.
He glanced once more around the empty room, broken shards of glass from thrown dishes littered the floor, and those weird ass drawings were spread out in there as well. He picked up the yellow legal pad that was on the center of the table, and gave it a quick look over. Merrill's Farm was written, with coordinates he didn't understand. He knew where the farm was though, having sped down that road plenty of times.
The drawing of a weird spider thing caught his attention, and he tossed the yellow legal pad down before he picked it up. It looked ominous as it loomed over power lines. His mind flashed back to the thing he hit, and the story Henderson had given him. He'd really thought she'd just made up some stupid ass story, but he started to suspect otherwise.
There was something off about Hawkins, and to make matters worse, Max was missing once more. Where the fuck did everyone go?
He glanced back to the yellow legal pad, and decided to try his luck. If Max was hurt in any way, Neil would have his ass, and he wouldn't have that. He stood, and only felt a little dizzy that time. He patted his pockets for his keys, but they were suspiciously empty. A quick walk to the living room, and a peek out of the curtains confirmed that his car was gone.
Son of a bitch.
Eventually Max found her way, and Louise gave her tips and words of encouragement as they went. She couldn't stop Max, but at least she could help her not kill them all in a car accident. Louise made a mental note that she would be the one to drive them home, the consequences of Billy killing her be damned.
"Ease up on the accelerator." Louise told Max as she kept an eye out on the road ahead. They were close to Merrill's farm. Max followed her directions, while being mindful of the turns Lucas told her to make. She had to admit, for a thirteen year old, Max was doing pretty good behind the wheel.
"You put up a good fight."
Louise looked around Dustin to see that Steve had started to stir. The colorful band aids Lucas had found adorned his face, and they did a very poor job of covering the scrapes.
Louise could pinpoint the moment Steve came to, because he started to panic once he saw Max behind the wheel. The kids tried to discourage him from panicking, but their voices only merged together and became a chorus of chaos.
Louise tried to talk over the kids, to sooth his worries. "It's okay Steve, we're almost there. She's been doing a really good job."
Louise was made to immediately regret the words of encouragement, because Max completely disregarded what she'd said and pressed down on the accelerator. Louise screamed and braced herself against the door as Max made impact with a mailbox, and then made a sharp left turn. Everyone screamed, Steve yelled at Max to stop the car, Lucas shouted out directions, and Louise shouted for her to get her goddamn foot off of the accelerator.
After what felt like an eternity, Max eventually slammed on the brakes, and they all jerked forward with the sudden stop. The car shifted back and forth as it settled, and Louise eased her death like grip off of the door and Dustin's arm.
"You're never driving again." Louise informed Max, and Steve shot her a glare.
"You let her drive?!"
"No! I didn't even want to come, but they outnumbered me."
"You were overpowered by a group of middle schoolers?"
Louise turned her head sideways and gave him a fierce look. "This group of middle schoolers kicked Billy's ass." She glanced over at Max, who stared at them through the rearview mirror. "Apologies, Max kicked Billy's ass while you were passed out on the floor."
That shut Steve up, with only small grumbles to be heard as they filed out of the car. Mike started to hand them supplies, bandanas and goggles. Louise didn't know when they had the time to pack that stuff, let alone where they found it. She started to tie the bandana around her neck, as Steve and Dustin argued over whether or not they were doing this. Steve angrily took the Bat of Death, and marched over to the hole.
"If we're doing this, we're doing it my way. I'll go first, and you follow my lead. I tell you to run, you run. I tell you to duck, you duck. Do you understand?" Steve said, hands on hips as he looked over all the kids. Louise stood next to him, and gave the fiercest Mom look that she had, as if to drive home what Steve already said.
Steve was the first to go down, followed by Mike, Lucas, Max, and then Dustin. Louise was nervous as she sat on the edge, hand tightly wrapped around the rope. She wasn't the most athletic person, and she feared her arms would give out as she went down. That she'd hinder everyone if she broke a leg or something.
"Come on Henderson, I've got you!" Steve called out; arms outstretched towards her.
With one last deep inhale of clean air, she pulled her bandana up, gripped the rope and tried not to let go. Her gloved hands slipped on the small rope, and soon she was sliding down faster than anticipated. She would have been embarrassed by the squeal that left her mouth, but fear overrode humility. Steve caught her firmly around the waist, and jerked her towards him, in an attempt to break her fall. Louise was very happy that her face was covered with goggles and a mask. She could feel her face heat up with how close she was pressed against Steve, very aware of how solid he felt against her.
Steve cleared his throat, and the two backed away from each other with jerky movements. Her face felt on fire, as she looked around to the group of middle schoolers. She could feel Dustin's eyes on them despite not actually being able to see them. She waved him off, and Steve moved ahead of everyone, bat in hand. Louise brought up the rear, behind Dustin.
Everyone walked single file through the tunnel, and Louise was amazed by how much bigger this one was compared to the one in their basement. Weird ash like stuff floated all around, everything twinged in a light blue. There was no shed skin that lined the weird vines, so that was a bonus. She was scared to think about how big the demon dogs had to be, since these tunnels were ginormous.
She inspected the sides of the wall, and tried to find where the faint sound of air came from. It made it sound like the vines were breathing, which only added to the eerie environment. She traced the vines, and jerked her hand back when they seemed to reach towards her as well. She tried it again, and the little vines unfurled towards her once more.
The sound of Dustin's screams got her attention, and she rushed over to where her brother, who rolled back and forth on the ground and wiped at his mouth.
"Are you okay?! Dustin! Dustin, what happened?" Louise knelt next to him and tried to force him to look at her. She had the flashlight trained on his face, and inspected him over. His bandana had fallen, and his lips looked swollen, but nothing else was amiss. "Can you breathe?!"
"I'm fine, I'm okay. It got in my mouth." He looked up and she followed his line of sight to the weird inverted flower at the roof of the tunnel. Fresh ash/dust stuff floated about. It was more like spores, if she remembered what Mr. Clarke had taught them in eighth grade.
Steve helped him up, and turned back to the group. "Come on, let's keep it moving."
They all followed suit, and Louise stuck right by Dustin's side when there was room for it. When there wasn't wasn't room, she was close behind him, no longer trusting him to not get in trouble with something.
"I'll buy you all the Three Musketeers you want after this." Louise promised him, and he smiled at her, the bandana that was securely tied around his mouth again slightly raised on his cheeks.
They walked a little bit further until everyone had stopped. Louise could make out a weird heart like thing in the center of the cavern, where all the tunnels seemed to connect.
"I think we found your hub."
With gasoline in hand, Mike looked back at them. "Let's drench it."
They all started to pour gasoline over the cavern walls, and the weird heart thing that Mike called a hub. Louise took extra care to pour gasoline on the weird vine things that reached out. Lucas and Dustin had the left side covered, laser focused as they doused the walls and ground.
"Careful! Don't cross the streams." Louise said, to try and lighten the mood.
They both looked at her confused, until it clicked. Lucas visibly cringed, and Dustin just stared at her blankly. She gave him a shrug, before she dumped more gasoline over the hub. She'd thought she was funny.
She continued on, and dumped the gasoline on whatever surface that hadn't been covered yet. The place reeked as the fumes grew stronger, each pour only adding to it. Eventually her container was empty, and she was left to stand on the side, while Steve continued to spray the ceiling.
Once everyone's canister's were empty, Steve made them stand back. He pulled a lighter from his back pocket, and Louise was surprised. She didn't know that he smoked, at least not enough to carry around a lighter. They all watched, transfixed as Steve tossed the lit lighter towards the hub, and everything lit up at once.
They bolted down the tunnels, and Louise pushed the kids forward to go ahead of her. Dustin was in the rear, with Steve close behind him. Louise stood to the side as they raced ahead, and Steve yanked the map from Mike as they ran.
Louise followed behind Dustin, and was nearly tripped by one of the vines that writhed on the ground. She skidded to a stop, and turned to warn Mike, only to watch as he was tripped. It wrapped around his leg, and pulled. Louise rushed to grab his arms, and tried to pull him out of its grasp, Mike becoming an unwilling victim of tug-of-war. Her voice chorused with Mike's as they called out for help, and soon more arms reached out to help her pull Mike away from the vine. Steve swung the Bat of Death over his head and beat the vine off, and each swing lessened the hold it had.
It made weird chirp noises as he hit it, and Louise was eventually able to pull Mike up with the help of Lucas. She pushed Mike and Lucas behind her as the vine shriveled up, and disappeared back into the wall.
"We've gotta go, we've gotta go, let's go guys!" Steve urged, and started to shove kids ahead of him towards the rope. The sound of the demon dog's shrieks started to echo through the tunnels, and Louise could feel her heart as it pounded through her chest. One small growl came from just ahead, and they all slowed to a stop.
She shielded Lucas and Max behind her, arms splayed out as they all eyed the yellow spotted demon dog that blocked their path. Dustin started to walk forward, and Louise reached out to grab him, only for the demon dog to growl at her. It was the size of the one that had chased her, and icy fear shot up her spine at the idea of how big that one must be now.
"I've got this, it's okay." Dustin tried to soothe her.
He walked slowly towards the demon dog, and crouched down. He spoke to the creature in a soft and steady voice, the same tone he'd use when mom would get worked up about something small. When he pulled a Three Musketeers bar out of his pocket, Louise realized with a sinking feeling that this was Dustin's pet. The demodog that killed Mews.
Dustin waved them all ahead as he broke pieces of Three Musketeers up for Dart, and Louise was transfixed at how fondly he treated the demon dog. Dart was clearly something-someone that he cared for. And if everything went as planned, he would be dead before the night was over. She squeezed by the wall at Lucas's insistence, but waited for Dustin once she reached the entrance of the tunnel. He joined shortly after, scooting past Dart who scarfed down the candy. She squeezed his hand as he said his final goodbye.
"We've got to hurry, I don't know how long the nougat will hold him." Dustin admitted, while his eyes lingered on Dart.
Louise gently pulled him forward, and once they were out of sight of Dart, they booked it. They had just caught up with the others when the tunnels shook, and Louise had to grab the sides of the wall for support. She quickly pulled back once the vines started to reach out once more. A terrifying chorus of growls echoed down, and Louise pushed Dustin forward once again.
"Come on, we've gotta go!" Steve yelled as he raced ahead, only to ricochet back as he turned the corner. The kids bottlenecked at the corner, and caught Steve before he could fall down.
"What the fuck are you doing down here? Where's Max?"
Billy freaking Hargrove stood there, the visage of a horrible nightmare that wouldn't end. The light that filtered down through the hole lit his features, and he looked pissed. He really had a talent for popping up when least expected to, for better or worse.
The tunnel floor vibrated, the walls trembled, and Louise had to brace herself against the wall once more. The faint rumble got louder and louder, a sign of the demodogs getting closer and closer. She was only faintly aware of the argument that ensued between Billy, Steve and Max. She tried to swallow down the anxious fear that bubbled up, which felt suspiciously similar to bile.
"Newsflash asshole, you aren't my babysitter!"
"Unfortunately, that's not the fucking truth. You'd rather be in a fucking hole with Mary Poppins over here, doing God knows what to you?!"
"Hey, it's not like that! They kidnapped me, not the other way around!"
"You were overpowered by a bunch of fucking ten year olds?"
"I'm thirteen, asshole!"
Mike pushed his way towards the front of the group, and shoved the arguing teenage boys away from each other. "Shut up! We have to move!"
Whatever biting comment Billy was about to make, died on his tongue as his attention was finally on their surroundings. The walls vibrated once more, and Louise imagined this is what an earthquake must feel like. She made a mental note to never move somewhere prone to earthquakes. If they survived this, that is. Which wasn't an assured thing, with the way the boys still argued.
Billy shoved his finger in Steve's face, swearing that he owes him a goddamn explanation after this. With a pointed look at Max, he made no comment as he heaved her up the rope. Her insult was muffled, but Louise could still make out the word "asshole".
One by one, Steve and Billy lifted the kids up the rope. First Max, then Lucas, followed by Mike. Dustin was in line to be next, but he pushed Louise ahead of him. She tried to push him, only for him to scurry behind Steve.
"Dustin, what the hell. You're next!"
"No way, you go next."
"Dustin!"
Steve pushed Dustin from behind him, towards Billy, a fierce look on his face. "We don't have time for this!"
Dustin pulled himself free from Billy, with a pointed jab at Louise. "You take her first, or we're all waiting."
She looked from Dustin to Steve, who had a look of regret on his face as he moved towards her. She backed away from him, further from the rope. "Steve! Harington, don't you dare!"
"Lou-"
"The sooner you go, the sooner we can all leave." Dustin cut Steve off.
"You've gotta be fucking kidding me." Was all Billy muttered, before he hefted Dustin up the rope, which forced him to hold on or drop.
"NO!" Dustin wheezed out, as Mike and Lucas pulled him up from the hole.
Louise turned to Billy, who breathed heavily beside the rope. A thin sheen of sweat dotted his hairline, and his once perfectly tousled hair was disheveled distastefully. His red shirt was a rumpled mess, and his jacket had a tear in the side now. Her eyes met his, and he looked so tired. Like all the fight in him died out, and she wondered what he'd be like if he wasn't so angry all the time. He seemed to be taking her in as much as she was him, and she didn't know if she liked being seen. Louise was the first to look away, the intensity of his gaze unnerving her.
"Thank you." Was all she could mutter, her voice quiet and timid to her own ears.
"Yeah, yeah, he's a hero. Can we please hurry up?" Steve's voice cut in as his arm waved between her and Billy.
"Let's go, Henderson." Was her only warning before Billy heaved her up. His grip on her waist was firm and warm. She did her best to grip the rope and climb up, and to ignore the steady grip of his hands. She wasn't athletically inclined to begin with, she didn't need the added distraction. The rumble through the tunnel had become a dull roar during their argument, but now it was like a wave breaking on the sand.
Hands shot down, and helped to pull her up. Once she had a firm hold on the mouth of the hole, she was able to get her knees up for a final lurch forward. She hadn't even fully hit the dirt before Dustin tackled her into a hug.
"Don't you ever do that again!"
"Me?! We could have all been up here by now if you had just gone when you were supposed to!"
"Guys! Knock it off and help!" Lucas yelled from the mouth of the hole, which all the kids surrounded.
Billy was already up the rope, and had pushed off the hands that tried to help him up. He'd quickly pulled himself up and pushed Max away from the opening, before he turned back to help Steve up. Louise peered over his shoulder, to see Steve frozen in place halfway up the rope. Just beneath him, right below where he gripped the rope between his feet, a herd of demodogs charged. The force of the demodogs had Steve swinging back and forth, but his grip never slipped. His arms were bulged from where he held the rope, his knuckles white.
"Come on, Harrington!" Billy yelled down as he leaned forward more, arm outstretched.
Steve took his eyes off of the herd of demodogs, and pulled himself just in reach of Billy's hand. Once Billy had a grip on his arm, he was able to heave him up. Once Steve's other arm made contact with the ground, Louise rushed to help pull him up. They were able to pull Steve forward, so that he could get his knees over the edge. Once up, he pushed himself away from the hole, where his arms finally gave out.
The kids stood in a semi-circle around the teenagers, with a tense silence that filled the space now that everyone was safe. Heavy breaths, and the faint sound of the demodogs beneath them were the only sound as the two teenagers locked eyes. Steve pushed himself off the ground, and Billy braced himself to stand, hand outstretched as he did so. Steve accepted, and the two shared a weird head nod that guys seemed to do.
The two parted ways, and Billy briefly locked eyes on her as she squeezed Dustin to her chest and mouthed a "thank you". He gave her a head nod as Max came to stand in front of him, and sized him up. Billy stared down his nose at her, and seemed to be sizing her up in return. Louise wasn't sure, but it felt as if something had shifted between the two step-siblings.
The car lights started to brighten, so intensely that she had to hide her face in Dustin's shirt as he returned the gesture. The sound of the bulbs as they burned and popped filled the air, and just as quickly as it had started, it stopped. The lights dimmed once more, and Dustin eased up on the hug. Louise looked to Steve, who had shielded Mike and Lucas, to where Max stood with her head crouched down and hands over her ears. Billy was off to the side, eyebrows furrowed and a deep frown on his face.
The quiet enveloped the field, with no demodog growls, or thunder of stampeding feet. The air wasn't as thick, and the slight chill felt light. She could only assume that it meant the portal was closed, and it was finally over. They'd survived another venture with the Upside Down.
Laughter bubbled up from Louise as she looked around her, with everyone in various states of decompression. Steve was leaned over, hands on his knees, bruises darker than they'd been. Lucas laughed with Max at his side, both in a state of hysterics. Mike and Dustin shared a look that was indiscernible to her. And Billy looked from Max and Lucas, to her. She gave him a small smile as she looked away. He was an asshole, for sure, but in the end he'd helped them. She could call a temporary truce.
She was now aware of the car parked next to the blue Camaro; Steve's car if she remembered correctly. Which explained how he got there, but she wondered how he knew where to find them?
"Come on, I don't know about you guys, but I could use a shower." Steve said with a big stretch. Billy tossed him his keys, which he barely caught.
"Who has my keys?" Billy demanded, eyes trained on her and Steve. Max had a mean glare on her face as she pulled the keys from her pocket and tossed them at him. Her "toss" had a little too much force behind it, if the clink as they hit his hand was anything to go by.
Billy closed his eyes, gave a deep sigh, and made his way to his car. "Let's go, Max!"
Louise shared a look with Steve, before she followed after her. "Make sure they get home safe!" She directed at Steve, who gave her a two finger salute, eyes still focused on Billy. An angry Billy who tore the wooden blocks from the pedals of his car.
"I'm coming with you." Dustin insisted, and Louise just sighed. She didn't trust Billy alone with Max, and with the look he gave her, she supposed that he didn't trust Billy alone with her either.
"Why are you in my car now?" Billy demanded from the driver's side, as Dustin and Max made their way to the back.
"Because Steve already has to take Lucas and Mike home. You're headed past our house anyway to get to yours." Louise reasoned, and settled in place on the passenger's side. The only response he gave was a huff, and he reached for the pack of cigarettes he evidently kept in the glove compartment.
"...where's my lighter?"
Louise locked eyes with Max through the rearview mirror. She had a ruthless smile, and Louise knew there was no way he was ever going to get that lighter back. He slammed the glove compartment shut, and threw the packet of cigarettes on the dashboard.
"Your lighter went to a good cause. Smoking is bad for you anyway." Dustin insisted from the back.
"Great, there's two of you."
"Told you so." Louise mumbled as she buckled up.
With another deep huff, Billy pulled off down the road, somehow going slower than Max had. Her reckless driving made Billy look practically cautious.
Louise felt like she spent more time in Billy's car with tense silence than she did anywhere else as of late. She leaned back, and made herself comfortable as the road went on and on.
"Use your whole body."
Louise glanced over, focused on Billy who still stared ahead.
"What?"
His knuckles gripped the wheel tighter, before he eased up again. "When throwing a punch? Use your whole body, not just your arm. A good punch starts in your leg, you twist your hips, and throw your full weight behind it. Otherwise you'll just hurt yourself. And don't use your knuckles, that's a good way to get a broken hand."
"I-okay, thank you?" Louise was confused as to where that came from, before she realized that he was critiquing the punch she'd thrown his way back at the Byer house. "It was only a little personal, since you did try to hit my brother and his friends with your car. And me."
"He tried to hit you?!" Dustin leaned forward from the back seat. Max pulled him back, as Louise turned to face him.
"Why are you upset over me and not you?"
"Because you're a girl!"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Max demanded from next to him, and Louise could have sworn that she saw Billy flinch from the front. This was going to be a fun car ride home.
Billy finally pulled up out front of their house, with Dustin properly chastised by Max in the back. Mom's car was in the driveway, just behind her broken down one. The porch light was on, which meant she was up and waiting for them.
"Thanks for the ride home." Louise told him as she unbuckled her seatbelt.
"You didn't really give me much of a choice, did you Henderson?" He sounded annoyed, but there was a light in his eyes that suggested otherwise.
"Well, thanks anyway."
Dustin didn't acknowledge him as he climbed out from the back, but waved to Max and promised to see her the next day at school. Louise lingered as Max climbed in the front, where she could faintly hear Billy as he gave her a speech about respecting his car.
They took off, and Louise followed Dustin through the door, where their mother was perched on the couch with the news on.
"You kids are home late, did anything exciting happen?"
Max had moved to the passenger seat once both of the Henderson siblings vacated his car, and he chose to ignore the glare she sent his way. He didn't know why she was so pissy, it was his car that was stolen and wrecked (he'd suspected as much when he'd spotted the path of busted mailboxes). It was his night that was ruined by a group of thirteen year olds, who were involved with some weird ass shit. It was his ass on the line if anything happened to her, because God forbid Neil and Susan be responsible parents of a thirteen year old with a tendency of running away.
"You mind telling me what the fuck happened tonight?"
"You got your ass kicked."
He squeezed the steering wheel to stop himself before he lashed out at her. Little shit.
"While impressive, you ever pull that shit again-"
"You'll what? Make empty threats you can't deliver?"
"You wrecked my car!"
"You snapped my skateboard!"
Billy took three deep breaths, and focused ahead. He didn't care that he'd escalated it by running over her skateboard the previous night. It was in retaliation for her snotty ass attitude, but if he were honest, he just wanted to get back at her for getting him into trouble all the time. She wasn't even his fucking sister, so why was he held responsible for her actions?
Whatever biting remark he'd been about to sling her way died on his tongue when he glanced at her. Her hair was frizzed, and beneath the obvious anger that graced her face, she looked tired. Her eyes slowly drifted closed before she forced them wide open. Even the crossed arms over her chest went limp for a moment. Whatever adrenaline rush that had kept her going, had clearly faded fast. He'd been there a few times himself.
"You did good. I'm impressed that you'd only managed to dent the front bumper a little. Should be easy to buff out."
A slow smile spread across her face, and she sat a little taller. "You should have seen Louise and Steve's faces."
The mental image of Harrington freaked out made him smile, but he quickly forced the smile away. "How did you end up the one driving?"
Max sat a little straighter, arms folded over her chest as she stared out the window. "Steve was knocked out, and Louise refused to drive your car. It was faster than Steve's, and we needed to be quick."
Billy nodded his head while he slowed down, their house around the corner. At least Henderson had some sense, but then again she'd let a kid drive his car. He spotted the porch light on, and Neil's car parked in the driveway. He made it a point to park in reverse, so that Neil couldn't see the damage to his car. He couldn't explain what happened without getting into even more trouble, and he was already in a heap of shit.
Max unbuckled herself, and Billy reached for her arm before she could open the door. "Wednesday night, got any plans?"
She raised a red brow and slowly pulled her hand from the door handle.
"Why?"
"Neil and Susan have a date night. Figure the best way to keep an eye on you is to keep you busy. Want to learn how to really drive?"
Her eyes lit before her brow furrowed. "This isn't a trick? You aren't going to be a dick?"
"Probably not, but since you already have a tendency of fucking off, might as well leave you prepared."
"Thanks."
With that she was headed for the door, and he was left to question why the fuck he was being so charitable. Maybe those drugs were still in his system.
