The Neighbor's Cat (Billy Hargrove x OC // Stranger Things)

4. Fabio, the Accidental Hero

"Are you sure you'll be alright walking home alone?" Nancy asked, packing up her books.

Randy waved her hand. "I'll be fine, Nance. I walk home all the time. And I know you and Steve have been looking forward to this for a while now, so go enjoy yourselves."

Ever since Barb's mysterious disappearance the year before, Nancy has had a hard time letting her friends wander off alone. Ally was less of a worry – her mom usually picked up her and dropped her off, and on the few occasions she couldn't, Ally would usually snag a ride with someone else. But Randy's general distance from her friends and her lack of a ride had made her a pretty stinging concern for Nancy. Which was touching, but Randy really was used to walking alone, even in the dark. Her parents' work left her without any other way home, so it was a reality for her that she had learned to accept.

Even so, Nancy wasn't letting it go. Face twisting, she glanced up to Steve with eyebrows rose, and Steve, always the "whatever you want, Nance" kind of guy, just shrugged.

"Not a big deal to me, Andy. If you need a ride home, it's only a few minutes out of the way." Nancy looked more imploringly at him, and he added quickly, "Besides, Nance is right. You shouldn't be walking home alone. Especially in the dark."

Nancy meant his words, but Randy could tell that Steve – as nice of a guy as he was – did not. And as great as a ride would be to escape the chilly autumn air, inconveniencing them seemed stupid when walking was something she was so accustomed to.

"It's alright, guys. I really don't mind." She slung her backpack over her shoulder. "See you tomorrow, Nance. Have fun on your date."

"But–" Nancy attempted, only for Randy to reply more pointedly,

"Bye Nancy."

She heard Steve ushering Nancy away, mumbling something about how "she'll be fine" and "she's tough enough to kick ass", which was pretty bracing for Randy who was barely five foot and had never hit a living creature in her life.

But the moment of pride lasted scarcely two minutes, because the moment she was outside the school's doors and the cold and the dark were around her, she felt like a puny child.

It was colder than she had expected it to be, for one thing, and for another there was a heavy fog descending, which always made the dark seem creepier and the walk seem longer. Add to that fact that she was given an ungodly amount of homework for the first time in weeks and it was killing her back, she wished she hadn't stayed so late to study with Nancy in the library.

Groaning, she stomped her way down the school steps like an angry two-year-old and began her long walk home.

"Should've just accepted the ride," she muttered to herself. "Should've done it."

Worse still, it was quieter than usual. There wasn't the customary thrum of insects or animals, cars, or people. Not even a breeze. Just a dead, chilly hush that settled into her bones.

Walking home in the dark wasn't usually awful. In warmer weather there were crickets and peepers and cars, people walking their dogs, teenagers milling about, and kids riding their bikes. Even the colder, chilly months of autumn and the frigid winter nights saw human activity, because even though it was dark it was still relatively early – only 4 o'clock, and people were getting out of work, going to dinner, and running errands. The general hub made it feel like she wasn't walking alone, like the darkness was only half there and anything that resided in it was barred away. But in this still silence it was like night had blanketed everything. She could hear the hum of the streetlights, the distant crack of bare tree limbs, the crunch of her own footsteps as if she were in an empty, dark room. Her breath was loud in her ears, her heart an unsteady thrum that bounced over her eardrums.