The sound of the ringing alarm causes me to sit up quickly. I scan my surroundings and hear a small gasp as I see that Billy has done the same. I look at the time. 9:00. We'll be in Hawkins by 2:00. Light filters into the bedroom we've spent the last few months in. Billy and I both hop out of bed, and go downstairs together to grab something to eat. We don't talk much, Billy isn't that hungry.
"You have to eat, baby." I say.
"I know." He sighs.
When we finish, he's about to exit the room when I say "wait."
He turns to face me. There's an expression on his face that is unlike the Billy I used to know, but not the Billy I know now. It's fear. He walks over to me and leans in, we press our foreheads together and just enjoy each other's presence for a moment. Billy's expression changes, as does mine.
"Let's do this." He says.
"Let's do this." I echo.
We release each other with a playful shove, and Billy lights a cigarette, then stalks off to the downstairs bathroom. He has his outfit and everything he needs down on the guest bed, and all my stuff is upstairs. I turn on the radio as I get ready, taming my perm a little and putting on makeup.
I'm wearing a white shirt, tucked in, hi-rise , very ripped jeans, a black belt with a gold buckle, my Vans, and there's a red bow in my hair. My sunglasses are of course glued to my face, I look at myself in the mirror. Perfect.
I check the clock. We're right on time.
I pack up and blink around to my storage unit and the new house to move the rest of my belongings. I'm done.
I pick my way down the stairs and enter the downstairs bathroom.
Billy is wearing a white button down with quite a few buttons undone, a denim jacket, denim jeans and his biker boots. He has an earring in and his hair is done as well. His classic, denim on denim, suits him well.
He turns to look at me. He smiles seductively and I melt into his arms. He kisses the top of my head and I kiss his neck.
"Ready to go?" I ask.
"Ready when you are, princess." He purrs, pushing my hair behind my ear.
We clean up a little bit and I move his stuff to the new house. We look around the house that we spent so many months in, and I sadly turn off the lights. Our surfboards stand in the hallway, waiting for us solemnly.
"Let's go home." I look into Billy's beautiful eyes and he looks into mine. He closes his eyes shut, long lashes batting, and I blink us to the new house. We're ready.
One thing Billy is great at is making an entrance, and what an entrance it will be.
I blink us to the Hawkins house.
Easiest move ever, right?
All our belongings are already set up.
I touch the wall of the house, looking around. It doesn't feel like home. Maybe it will soon.
Billy flicks open his lighter, playing with it. The dancing flame eats hungrily away at the few seconds of oxygen it gets before he cuts it off. I look up to his blue eyes, the fire reflecting.
I used to think Billy was like fire, passionate, raging, and burning. I knew Billy could burn me, so I used to be careful around him. Beautiful to look at but not to touch. But then after he took me surfing I realized how much he was like the ocean. Gentle with the ones who respected him. Angry with the ones who didn't. Emotional. Pushy. Beautiful to look at, and to touch. To run my fingers over his curly hair, his hair that looks like little cresting waves, is just as nice as that first dip of your fingers into the ocean. To have his heartbeat lull me to sleep, is just as nice as the ghost ocean waves. He is both fire and water. He is a force of nature, indescribable, immeasurable. And with him, with my powers, we are unstoppable. There isn't anything we can't flood, burn, or blink away.
After all, we've both always found comfort in chaos.
I take Billy's cigarette out of his hand and take a puff from it.
"Lets go." I smile wickedly.
▶️ Lay it Down by Ratt
I focus my energy to teleport the car to our spot in the woods, and it works perfectly. No cars around, no people. Just trees. Just the forest of Hawkins. Billy turns the car on and it purrs to life. He smiles devilishly and revs the engine a couple of times. I flip through the radio stations and stop when we hear the familiar opening of "Lay it Down," by Ratt, the song of the summer. Billy taps the beat on the steering wheel as we drive in. I put my feet up on the dash, and chew a piece of gum. My hand is on his thigh, and my eyes are on the road. We see the sign that says "Welcome to 'Hell'" and pass it. We're headed into town. My heart beats fast, but I put on a brave face.
"Relax." Billy touches my hand. And squeezes it gently. I realize I've had a death grip on his thigh so I loosen up.
I can see the buildings of the town up ahead, the people look like little ants. There's no cars in front of or behind us at the moment. Billy revs the engine of the car a couple times as we go into town.
This is it, there's no turning back now. No more running away.
We pass stores and turn heads. People whisper. Billy and I look at each other and he shrugs. I blow a bubble.
We're approaching the general store, and Billy says "why don't we stop in there for a drink?"
"B, that's where that lady saw me blink." I tell him.
"Who cares." Billy shrugs. "Besides, that lady's son runs in the circle with my sister, she's seen a bunch of crazy shit. You're probably not the first unicorn she's seen."
"Hmph." I roll my eyes and smile. Billy pulls up to the curb and parks the car.
"What if I run into trouble?" I ask.
"Then I'll be right behind you." He says.
"Maybe the store manager knows where your sister is." I say.
"Yeah, wouldn't hurt to ask."
I walk into the store and I am not expecting the scene before me. There's about four younger kids and four kids my age, as well as the lady from the store watching me.
No, no, no, NO!
Blink and time slow ready, I am on high alert. I want to blink away, run, bolt, every cell in my brain screams at me. But I keep my cool. I have to, I can't act suspicious.
I tip my sunglasses down. "You all got a problem?" I ask.
They avert their eyes and the younger kids begin to whisper. I can feel the teenagers' eyes on me. I think about who I just saw. Weren't those the kids from the mall? But where's Max?
"Isn't that her?" One of the boys whispers.
"Yeah."
"Maybe she knows..."
"Shhh."
I open the door to the fridge and grab two cokes. I'm on high alert, but I act as casual as possible, blowing another bubble.
I put the sodas on the counter and the lady looks at me, shocked.
I pull out my wallet. "A dollar twenty right?"
I pull out the money and she nods slowly. I slide it over to her. Definitely not going to ask her about Max with all these weirdos around. They might think I'm trying to kidnap her or something.
"You new here?" I turn to see one of the teenagers walking up to me, a boy. I look him up and down. He has brown eyes and brown hair, I know him from Billy's tales that he's Steve Harrington, most easily recognizable by his hair. Billy said he used to run Hawkins, until Billy showed up. Now he's just a loser.
"More or less." I say.
"Nice car." A girl walks up to stand next to Steve. I look to the Ferrari. The windows are tinted so you can't really see Billy, and you definitely can't make out who he is.
She has mousy, wavy, dirty blonde hair, pretty blue eyes, and two chains around her neck. I instinctively touch the spot on my own neck where the Saint Christopher medallion usually hangs, and I silently feel relief when I remember I had the common sense to tuck it into my shirt.
"Thanks." I smile at her, squinting my eyes a little bit.
"Who are you?" Asks one of the kids. He has curly hair and is missing some of his teeth.
"Damn, Toothless, is this usually the welcoming party you people give to newcomers?" I scoff. I turn to pick up the sodas when Steve pushes me against the counter. My butt hits it and a little "oop." Escapes my lips.
"Who are you?" Growls Steve.
I laugh.
"Who are you?" Steve yells again.
"A traveler." I say, pouting my lips.
Come on Billy....lets go! I'm taking way too long, you should know something is up!
All eyes are on me so everyone jumps a little when the car door to the Ferrari slams and Billy hops out.
He stalks over to the doors and pushes them open, walking in. Steve backpedals away from me, grabbing the girl in the process as Billy silently sashays towards us.
"No...no...no..." the toothless kid says.
"We saw him, he died." Says another kid. This one's Lucas, the one who is dating Billy's sister.
"Do you think the Mindflayer still...?" Asks another kid, panicky.
"If he is we're fucked." Says Toothless.
"Especially if he has her with him."
Billy takes his sunglasses off and stands next to me, wrapping an arm around me. He looks around, like a cat, calm and devious.
"Well well well, I see we have a welcoming party." He smiles then turns to Steve. "What's up Harrington? I hope you weren't just harassing my girlfriend."
"I...uh." Steve is speechless.
"Lets get out of here darling." Billy purrs.
I nod and pick up the sodas, we start to leave.
"Wait!" Says the store manager, but we ignore her.
"Max is missing!" Shouts one of the boys, Lucas.
Billy whips around on a hairpin and stalks over to the boy, who trembles slightly but holds his ground. "What did you say about my sister?"
Billy gets right up in the boy's face.
"She's missing." The store manager says calmly, averting Billy's killer gaze away from the kid. "She has El with her, they went missing a couple of days ago. We think they went to go find you, Max believed you were alive and you were in California."
"Oh no..." I mutter under my breath.
Billy looks tortured. "She thought I was alive? Why the hell would she think that?"
"Because she saw her." A skinny kid with dark black hair points at me.
Billy and I exchange a glance.
"Remember, B?" I whisper.
"Yeah." His eyes flick back and forth, he's thinking.
"Who are you?" Asks another teenage girl. I can tell she's talking to me. She looks kind of small and fragile, but she has a great fire in her eyes. A tall boy stands next to her, and he has his arm around one of the kids. A small boy with a bowl cut.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" I smile.
"Lets go babe." Billy starts to leave. "We can find her, you can find her, right?"
I can find her but there's one little thing.
"Wait." I grab his arm and he turns his tortured eyes up to meet mine.
"Pictures." I say. "I need pictures. Do you have any pictures of her at home?"
"I'm not going home." Billy snarls. "Not yet at least."
All eyes are on us.
I look around at the posse.
"Does anyone have any pictures of Max, or the other girl with her?" I ask.
Silence.
"Hello?" I ask.
"Yes." Lucas steps forward. "I have pictures of Max."
"And I have pictures of El." Says the boy with the black hair.
"Then we need them." I turn to Billy and he nods.
"What's your name?" Billy asks him.
"Mike." He says.
"Okay, here's what we're going to do. Mike." Billy walks over to the kids. "You're going to go home, and get us those pictures, so we can find my sister, got it?"
"Listen punk ass." Steve steps up to Billy. "I don't appreciate the attitude."
Billy shoves Steve. "You step back Harrington."
"Don't tell me what to do."
"Boys!" I yell.
They both turn to look at me. I glare at Billy and he sheepishly steps back. Everyone looks at me shocked, and I walk over to the boys.
"How far are your houses?" I ask.
"Like ten minutes away on bikes." Says Lucas and Mike nods.
"That's too far." Billy says.
"No worries." I say. Billy and I exchange a smile. "No worries at all..."
"We know." Says the toothless kid.
"What?" I ask him.
"We know, you can teleport." Says Mike, exasperated.