"I vowed not to fight anymore if we survived the Great War."
Isadora Jones was not the biggest fan of Billy Hargrove, so when has to work with him on a school project, she's less than thrilled but soon she finds herself intrigued by the boy from Ca...
"Hi. Beatrix came over to see today, and I have to admit I am a little worried about her, Billy. Has she been in to see you again?" Isadora asked, as Billy shuffled over and made some space so Isadora could join him on the bed, and she smiled at him before sitting down beside him on the bed.
"No, I don't know if she's avoiding me or the hospital, but I haven't seen her since that first night she was here," Billy told her, as Isadora opened the box of cookies she had brought with her and held them out to Billy, who laughed as he took one, "Were you a little sick of hospital food, Princess?"
"Yes, I mean have you tried the shit? It's absolutely disgusting," Isadora scrunched her nose up, as she took a bite of her cookie, and Billy laughed and rolled his eyes at her.
"Oh, come on, Is, it's not that bad," Billy told her. Isadora chewed thoughtfully on her cookie for a few moments and Billy watched her before he wrapped an arm around her. As he did, he noticed the bruises on her neck had almost faded and he nodded towards them, "The bruises look like they have almost cleared. How is your neck feeling? And your leg?"
"Oh, it doesn't even hurt anymore," Isadora shrugged the question off.
"Uh huh, I noticed you were limping earlier," Billy retorted and Isadora rolled her eyes and shrugged as she took another bite of her cookie.
"I still have a slight limp, but honestly, it doesn't hurt anymore. You know, I'm sorry that I called you an asshole before everything happened."
"Is."
"No, I should've spoken to you first about getting a summer job. I know you just wanted to help me and I'm sorry I didn't talk to you," Isadora said.
"Princess, you have nothing to be sorry for. I was acting like an asshole, and I'm sorry for everything, for fighting with you and for flirting with Karen Wheeler in front of you, that was an asshole move," Billy said.
"You know, in retrospect, after everything that has happened, that fight just seems so trivial in comparison, so why don't we just ever forget it happened," Isadora suggested.
"I like the sound of that, Princess," Billy said and Isadora nodded before looking down at her hands and Billy noticed, so he reached over and gently lifted her chin so that she was looking at him, "Why do you look so sad, Is?"
"None of this ... none of it would have happened if it wasn't for me. Maybe if I had stayed, the —" Isadora trailed off and Billy watched her, as she wiped the tears away from her cheeks.
"Is, none of what happened was your fault, none of it. Please try to stop blaming yourself for what happened," Billy said. Isadora nodded, as she looked away from him and towards the TV, which was playing another report about what had happened that day at the mall.
"On the Fourth of July, a terrible tragedy struck the small town of Hawkins, Indiana, leaving 30 dead in a horrific mall fire."
"So, that's what happened? It was a fire at the mall?" Billy asked her, and Isadora looked over at him in surprise. Since he had been in the hospital, they hadn't really talked about anything that had happened and so she hadn't been sure if he even remembered what had happened or not, but his question seemingly confirmed that he didn't remember any of it. Little did Isadora know he remembered everything, but he wasn't about to let her know that.
"Uh, yeah. Hopper died trying to save others from the fire," Isadora lied. If Billy didn't remember the truth, Isadora wanted to keep it that way so he wouldn't have to have the same nightmares that she'd been experiencing every night since the Fourth of July. Billy nodded, wishing he didn't have to remember the fact that he was the one responsible for the injuries Isadora had sustained, and he watched as she looked towards the television again before shaking her head as she turned her attention back towards Billy, "It's all anyone in Hawkins has been able to talk about. They've been talking about how Hawkins might be cursed."
"Cursed?" Billy asked her.
"Yes, cursed. Anyway, I think they're planning to demolish the mall and build a memorial dedicated to all the victims of the fire," Isadora told him, as she grabbed another cookie before looking back towards Billy, "Bea sensed something was wrong that day. Somehow, she knew before I even told her anything, like, she had some kind of twin intuition. Is that even a real thing, like, can you two sense what the other is feeling?"
"I guess so. I've never really thought about it though," Billy told her.
"Do you think — actually, you know what, that's not a question that needs to be answered," Isadora grimaced before shaking her head, as Billy raised an eyebrow at her.
"What is going on in that pretty little head of yours?" Billy asked her. Isadora rolled her eyes as she looked towards him.
"Nothing, don't worry," she laughed, as she took another of her cookie, "So, when are you allowed to leave?"
"Hopefully soon. I am sick of this shitty place," Billy told her. Isadora nodded and looked down at her hands as she wondered if he was going to go back to living at home when he left the hospital. She remembered when she had spent the night with Max, Eleven and Laura, Isadora had seen the lock on the outside of the door and she couldn't help wondering why it had been there, but she didn't want to ask about it.
"A-Are you going to go back home?" Isadora asked him.
"I mean, I guess so. I don't really have a choice," Billy shrugged.
"You — you could always come and l-live with me. At least — well, if you wanted to. You don't ... you don't have to if you would prefer to go home," Isadora rambled.
"Is, are you doing?" Billy asked her.
"Yeah."
"I would love to come and live with you," Billy told her. A blush creeped across her cheeks, as Isadora smiled at him and he brushed her cheek with his finger, moving some loose strands of hair away from her face as he did.
"Neil's leaving. He — uh — well, Max told me that apparently he decided he didn't want to be in Hawkins anymore," Isadora said.
"What? That son of a bitch is leaving?" Billy asked.
"Y-Yeah, and I guess ... I don't know what's going to happen because everything has changed, but I want you to know that you, Beatrix and even Max will always have me," Isadora told him.
"I know, and I'm so grateful that I have you, Isadora, and there's one thing that hasn't changed."
"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Isadora asked him.
"How much I love you, Princess," Billy told her.
"I love you too, Billy," Isadora said, smiling as she lay down beside him and cuddled up to him. She knew everything was about to change again, but right now she just wanted to enjoy this moment of normalcy in their lives.
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Here's a little bit of a happier chapter - we have three more chapters of post s3 before we go to season 4.
Enjoy! Xo
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