Same Drugs (Billy Hargrove)

m.i.a.

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Billy was possessed. At least that's what I gathered from what the kids had told me, and I was struggling to grasp the idea of all of it. I had heard about Will Byers' disappearance last year, but I wasn't aware of any of the details. I knew that somehow Steve helped with something with Nancy and Jonathan, but I didn't know how much about it he knew. 

Speaking of which, once I got home, Steve wasn't there. This was odd considering it was late at night, but I had assumed that he had simply gone to a friend's house. My eye widened immeasurably when I realized that I had forgotten to pick him up. I knew they were having their stakeout, but seemed to forget that I had the car. If Robin could take Steve home, he would've been back by now, so, while panicking, I raced to the car in the driveway.  

I couldn't believe I had been so stupid as to forget to go back to the mall for Steve, but as I flew down the road, I couldn't help but let my mind wander to the activities of this past afternoon. I couldn't wrap my head around the insanity that surrounded my relationship with Billy. We had just gotten together and I felt like everything was falling apart. He was so different, which made sense considering something inhumane was literally inhabiting his body, but it was still hard. I knew it wasn't him truly, but I was still upset. 

Once I pulled up to StarCourt, I got out and locked the car behind me. I was slightly stressed because the mall looked extremely closed and I didn't really know how to get in. I took a shot in the dark and tried opening the front door. After rattling the handles for a few seconds, I huffed dramatically, giving up with that idea. I decided to try to find another way in, so I rounded the building, trying to find a back door somewhere. I finally came across a loading dock that had some people with guns walking around it, which, to me, seemed like too much security for a mall entrance. Steve obviously wasn't still in the mall with these goons walking around with loaded weapons, right? 

I remembered, however, that they were on a stakeout. Then, of course, I remembered something else. Points must be taken away for my own stupidity, I realized, and I mentally face-palmed. This was where they were staking out. I nearly laughed at myself, but quickly took stock of my surroundings, recognizing that I was actually in slight danger if I got caught sneaking around. I spotted a vent that seemed to go into the building near me, and I pried it open with my car key. I realized how crazy it seemed, but I took a breath and climbed in. As I shimmed through the ventilation system, I chuckled. I never thought I would find myself here in the insane situation, but I guess nobody ever really does. 

Soon, I saw an opening that dropped down somewhere, so I opened the next vent and jumped down. As my shoes hit the ground, I looked around, hoping no Russians saw me. I walked down the hallway and found stairs that lead further down, and I decided to investigate. I was met with another hallway at the bottom of the stairs, and I turned to the right. I heard laughing coming from a room to my left and I walked towards it warily. 

I opened 

the door and found two incredibly drugged teenagers tied up in chairs in the middle of the room. "Oh my god!" I exclaimed, hushing myself a little bit when I thought about the possibility that whoever was keeping them here wasn't far away. Steve and Robin didn't seem all too concerned with the fact that they were tied up and being held hostage. They kept on giggling, and I chalked it up to the fact that they were probably slipped something to keep them quiet. I tried to think of a way to get them to safety, but I heard someone approaching from down the hall. I panicked, my breath quickening, and Steve looked at me with a pointed finger. "Youu shud probly hide," He slurred, and I didn't think twice. I found a cabinet against the wall and shoved myself in it as fast as I possibly could. 

I peered out of the crack in between the cabinet doors that I had just shut myself in. I tried to slow down my rapid breaths and attempted to stay calm. I saw two figures, oddly short in stature, walk into the room. One seemed extremely distressed and the other was very nonchalantly crossing their arms at the scene in front of them. 

The distressed figure spoke, and I finally realized who it was. I burst out of the cabinet and hugged Dustin as fast as I could and held him tightly. "Thank fucking God," I breathed out, a weight being lifted off my shoulders suddenly. "What are you doing here?" Dustin asked, clearly worried. "I forgot to pick up Steve, and I realized that you guys were still on this stakeout thing, so I decided to find my way into the building, and here I am. I found these two idiots tied up and drugged with something," I informed Dustin. 

"Shit," He huffed, running a hand through his curls. Erica looked at Robin and Steve with distaste as she analyzed the situation. "What did those two bozos do to the Russians? What stupid thing did they do this time?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips. I shook my head, not knowing how to answer the question because I had simply found them like this. 

"How are we getting out of here?" I asked, growing more and more nervous by the second. "Lucky for you, that's what Erica and I are here for," Dustin answered. "We think we found a way to get out of here," He continued. I smiled and began to untie my brother and Robin, which was easier said than done. Once all free, we began the attempt to get out of the maze that was under StarCourt Mall. 

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I am so sorry this took so long, I've been soooo insanely busy. XOXO I'll try to update more!