Carina's pov
next day: Monday
"So then Dustin went to check his score on Dig Dug and he is now in second place instead of first. Someone named MadMax is first with over 700,000 points." Sofia just went on and on about her night at the arcade while i drove us to school.
"Wow thats so crazy." i couldnt have been more monotoned.
I pulled into a spot in the parking lot and turned off the car.
"Be here right after you get out! You always have me waiting 10 minutes longer. I cant be late this time i have work."
"Okay okay." she rolled her eyes while hopping out the car.
I watched as she headed towards the middle school as i sat on the hood of my car.
"Carina!" I jumped at the sudden yell of my name as i turned around all i see is Dean headed towards me. Oh god.
"What Dean?" i crossed my arms once he reached me.
"You totally bailed on me last night! What the fuck!"
"Yeah well you were being a dick." i rolled my eyes at him.
"I was joking around with you. I have a lot of respect with the fact that you're celibate or whatever." he tried to snake his arms around my waist.
"Im not celibate, Dean." i exhaled, "I just don't want to have sex with you."
He scoffed. "Oh so im not good enough!" he let my words get to him.
i pushed his hands from my waist. "Im just saying, i dont want to have sex with you when we're on dates in public. And you constantly pushing the idea onto me isnt going to make my panties drop."
"Well why didnt you just say that!" he threw his arms in the air. "I cant read your mind ya know!" he groaned in annoyance.
There was a loud car rumbling through the parking lot, but i was too busy yelling at Dean to care.
"I shouldn't have to tell you! It should be clear to you that i dont want to!" But at this point Dean was a lost cause. He was too busy trying to figure out who was in the loud car that rolled in.
So I turned around to see they had parked a few spots down, leaving spaces between us. It was a blue Camaro, and it was a nice to say the least.
I watched as the door opened and I immediately made eye contact with the guy in denim. He had long curly hair and i could tell he had blue eyes from 5 parking spots down.
I watched as he put a cigarette in his mouth and just took in the Hawkins High school scenery. Then he turned his head and looked directly at me. As if he could feel my eyes. He had a smug grin on his face thinking he caught me checking him out. Meanwhile some little red head hopped out the car and skated her way to the middle school.
"So you're not celibate?" Dean tried to rejoin our conversation.
I rolled my eyes and turned to face Dean. "You're an absolute idiot." i pushed him away from me so i could stand up from the hood of my car.
"Carina!" he called after me but i was too busy walking away from him.
I headed towards the main entrance of the school and went towards my locker to put my things away.
Turning the corner, some freshman bumped into me, causing them to drop their things. They immediately freaked out and a string of apologies came out while they tried to pick up their things that was getting stepped on by on goers.
I frowned at the their fear of me going off on them. I never once used bully tactics on anybody unless they deserved it. A guy like Tommy or a bitch like Carol would most definitely cuss this guy out for bumping into them. As if they are so high in the school hierarchy.
"Its okay. Its not your fault." i helped them pick up their belongings.
One guy purposely stepping on one of his notebooks. Me being the bitch i am, i swiped the notebook out from under their foot, making them lose their balance.
They jerked their head towards me to say something, only to freeze up when they realized who did it.
"Oh shit. Sorry Carina." they apologized before scurrying off.
I dusted off the footprint and handed it to the innocent freshman.
"Here you go." i flashed him a smile before walking off. I got to my locker and grabbed the things i needed.
"Hey Carina." i turned my head slightly to see Jonathan leaning against a locker beside me.
"Hey. Whats up?"
"Soooo somethings up with my car... and"
I let out a small laugh and nodded my head. "Just bring it into the shop. I'll take a look at it." i grabbed my math book before shutting the locker, revealing Dean and his stupid friend Tommy.
"I heard you're mad at my boy. What did he do?" Tommy had his arm over his shoulder, except hes struggling because Dean is way taller than him.
"Leave me alone." i turned to face Jonathan so we could walk the other way.
"Ready for math?" i glanced over at him as he nodded and smiled. We took our usual seats and soon enough Nancy came walking over to her seat beside me.
"Morning." she smiled at us as we greeted her back. Then the final bell rang and our teacher walked in.
Class wasn't so bad. At least not for me because i was sitting between two of the smartest people in this class.
When we started to file out the classroom, Tina was handing out orange fliers to her Halloween bash to everyone.
"Thanks." i smiled at her as she smiled back.
"You better be there Cari."
"For sure." i called out while staring at the paper.
"Oh, could i get one more?" Nancy turned to Tina.
"Yeah, sure." she said handing her another.
Jonathan stood in between us as we walked further down the hall.
"You're coming to this." Nancy handed him the other flier.
"Come and get sheet faced." he read aloud, the judgment in the pun made me smack his chest. "Hey! Tina and I spent a good hour coming up with that." I was offended. It was last week when my friends and i went to her house to help prep for this party.
"Im not going." he laughed.
"You're going." I argued with him. I watched him shake his head. "We'll have a bunch of fun! Plus I know for a fact you have nothing else lined up."
"Yeah, we cant let you sit all alone on Halloween. Thats just not acceptable." Nancy added.
"Well, you guys can relax. Im not gonna be alone. Im going trick or treating with Will." he smiled at us.
"All night?" Nancy raised a brow.
"Yeah."
"You're gonna be home by 8pm listening to the Talking Heads and reading Vonnegut or something."
"Sounds like a nice night." he shrugged.
"Jonathan, just come. I mean who knows, you might even, like, meet someone." Nancy opened her locker only to be attacked by Steve Harrington.
Jonathan and i exchanged looks as they began to make out.
"Get a room." i teased my friends. They both pulled away and looked at me with smiled on their face as they laughed.
I playfully gagged as Jonathan and i slowly walked away from them and i still wouldnt drop the conversation.
"Seriously Jonathan? Trick or treating? With our little sibling friends? No way am i letting you do that." i shook my head in disbelief as he shrugged. I know hes been trying his best to constantly be around Will for the sake of his safety but also because he didnt want to waste any moment he could.
"No way am i going. I hate parties,"
"Thats because you never go," i nudge him.
"If i go, im just going to be left alone. Nancy will be with Steve, and you'll be with Dean and your other friends."
"I promise i wont leave you hanging! Just please go!" i begged as he shook his head.
"I hate you, Byers." i let out a sigh as i let him walk off.
"Likewise, Flores." he called out with a playful smile before heading down the hall.
I stopped to turn the other way so i could head to my next class. Except when i turned around someone stumbled into me, almost making me fall, thankfully the lockers behind me held me up.
"Watch where you're going." We locked eyes as i tried to balance myself.
"You watch where you're going, you walked into me idiot." I argued with the same guy from this morning. He looked at me taken aback at the fact i matched his rudeness.
I rolled my eyes and continued to walk the other way. He's new here and hes already being an ass.
—
Later that day
3rd period
"Hey Babe." Dean tried playing with my hair in 3rd period. I continued to swat his hand away. "Seriously Dean." i grabbed a hold of his wrist. "I'll cut your hands off."
I could hear Tommy and his other friends sitting behind us just laughing at Dean.
"Hey Carina!" Tommy called from behind me.
I dropped my pencil down on my notebook and turned to face him. "What?" i rolled my eyes.
"Give this to freak Byers?" he handed me a folded piece of paper.
I glanced over to the front of the class where Jonathan sat. I usually sit next to him but since i started talking to Dean, ive been sitting with him.
I unfolded the paper just to see a drawing of what is supposed to be Will. His eyes were crossed out and everything. At the top it wrote:
"Zombie freak." Tommy read for me.
"This isn't funny." i started ripping the paper up. and putting it on his desk.
"Why are you friends with him anyways? That entire family is-"
My temper got the best of me as i slid out of my chair and grabbed him by the shirt.
"You leave the Byers family alone." Our faces were inches apart, his freckled face grew red from embarrassment that i could pick him up so easily.
"Or what?" he managed to choke out.
"Remember how i kicked your ass freshmen year?" i smirked at him as he tried getting my hands off him.
"Oh we remember that!" Their TJ called out with a laugh. How could anyone forget, he tried to make out with me and got thrown into a full set of lockers. He also went home that day with a black eye.
"Doesn't matter how many push ups or pull ups or heavy lifting you try to do. I can still kick your ass." i slammed him onto the surface of his desk.
"Carina Flores!" Our teacher continued to call from her desk up front.
"What?" i turned to glare at her for interrupting,
"That is not how you set an example for our new student." she pointed over to the desk next to TJ, it was the asshole with the Camaro. The one who had bumped into me this morning.
"Never said i was a role model, Mrs. Heinz." i glared at the guy in his denim jacket as he leaned back in his seat just looking at me with those blue eyes.
"Principal's office! Now!" she shouted as the entire class sat there watching this all unravel.
"Gladly." I just flashed her an innocent smile while gathering my things.
I stormed out of the classroom and headed straight to the principal's office.
The office ladies just looked at me and shook their heads in disappointment. I pushed the principal's office door open.
"Yeah she just arrived." the principal let out a heavy sigh when he noticed me. I took a seat in my usual chair and glanced over at the principal.
"Thank you Mrs. Heinz. I'll have a talk with her." he narrowed his eyes at me. "Thank you. Bye Bye." he hung up the phone.
Here's the kicker.
"Carina!" he ran his hand down his face in frustration, "Seriously you're stressing me out, kid!"
"Sorry."
"You know your mom is going to strangle us both if she finds out about this?"
"Then dont tell her." i shrugged.
"I have to tell her. Shes your mother, and my wife."
Yup you heard him right. The second we arrived to Hawkins, my mom met the principal and fell in love. Deep infatuation that they got married a year after we arrived. Now they've been married for 2 years.
Principal Darryl Robinson
My mom clearly didn't waste time moving on. Although I'm happy for her, i tend to take a lot more time healing from our past.
Darryl is a great man. I wont admit it, but he treats my mom great and helped us out when we were settling in Hawkins. We stayed in some shitty house until they got married. Darryl's parents left him their house in Loch Nora, where all the rich people live. Our life definitely changed after we fled California.
When we came here we started fresh. Changed our last names from Cruz to Flores. We lied to everybody saying we moved here after our father past away.
We couldn't lie about where we came from because the Impala has a California license plate.
We try to keep our past to a minimal response.
Darryl knows our truth and doesn't seem to mind. He accepted it and has tried to be a better father figure.
"I wont tell your mom, if you promise to fix Sof's bicycle."
"Hell no." i shook my head.
"Cmon, Carina! You ran it over and shes been upset that she cant hang out with the boys whenever she wants because you have to drive her around."
"Then she should learn how to take care of her things." i shrugged.
He gave me a serious look.
"Please." he begged.
"Its impossible to fix. The bike frame is bent in half."
"Okay them how about you save up to get her a new bike."
"Absolutely not!" i argued.
"Carina please! Your mom is already under enough stress with work and it wont be any easier with Sofia's constant nagging for a bike."
I had a lot of money saved up over the years working at a auto shop, but that was college money. Money to get me the fuck out of here. At first it wasn't so bad until last year when Will and Barb went missing in the Upside Down.
"Its a lot of money, Darryl," i huffed out a sigh.
"I'll make sure Sof does chores around the house to earn herself an allowance. You can just cover half the cost and she'll work for the other half. Thats only fair."
We were silent. He was waiting for my answer.
"Fine." i gave in.
"Good. Now go back to class and behave!" he stood up to get the door. Just in time for another troubled kid to enter his office. He was breathing aggressively as if he had just beaten a kid up.
"Jesus christ." i mumbled as i slipped out of the office.
I decided not to go back to that class and just take an early lunch. Lunch was about to begin in 20 minutes anyways.
So i headed to my car which was the meet up spot for the girls to meet me at. Freshmen year, my first year here i made friends with Maggie & Carla. They were pretty popular around here because they were rich and pretty. Even though they were in the same friend group as Carol, they werent bitches like her. Thank god because around here its hard to find genuinely nice human beings.
I waited for the bell to ring and once it did some people made their way outside to just hang out. Nobody liked to sit in the cafeteria and they would much rather sit around outside. At least i did. Cafeteria gave me too much anxiety.
"Hey!" Maggie waved while Carla twirled her blonde hair into her index finger.
"So did your step daddy give you detention?" Maggie leaned against the impala next to me.
"No. He just lectured me and is now making me buy Sofia a new bike."
"Oh my god. Is it because you ran over her old one?" Maggie snickered while pulling out a sandwich.
"Yeah." i laughed to myself.
"Oh my god i remember that. I was in the car with you." Carla let out a laugh. "Your sister was pissed."
We just laughed it off.
"Tommy was so embarrassed with what you did."
"Good."
"What did he even do?"
"He was making fun of Will."
"Will Byers? Sofie's little boyfriend?" Carla teased as i nodded. Im always making fun of Sofia because she has a huge crush on Will. Last year definitely took a toll on my sister because he was gone, but now that hes back shes too chicken shit to tell him she likes him.
"What an asshole." Maggie and Carla muttered in unison.
They dont know the truth behind the whole Will and the Upside Down. They just know that for a moment people thought he died and then boom, hes alive. It does look bad but people need to just fuck off.
I leaned against my car and just buried myself in deep thought with the whole scary past of last year.
"Is this your boyfriend's car?" Two cowboy boots stood in front of me. I slowly looked up to see asshole in denim.
"What?"
"Dean. Is it his car?" he lit the cigarette in his mouth while checking out my car.
"No." i rolled my eyes. "Its mine and he's not my boyfriend."
By now Maggie and Carla had moved towards Carol and Tina's crowd. Maggie was just winking at me the whole time because the new cute guy was talking to me. Everybody keeps raving about the new guy.
In fact i could feel the whole group watching us.
"So you're from California?" he glanced at the license plate.
"Born and raised," i crossed my arms as i looked at the smile forming on his face.
"I just moved here from California too."
"Nice. What part?" i questioned him.
"Long Beach, and you?" he eyed me up and down.
"East LA."
He just nodded his head and continued to check out my car.
"So why'd you move here?" he checked out the interior. I had changed the entire car interior to red leather seats in my sophomore year after my mom finally gave me the car.
I let out a small laugh and shook my head. "Too long of a story. and you?"
"Not long of a story just a stupid one." he looked over his shoulder with a smirk creeping up on his face.
He was staring long enough that i turned around.
Dean, Tommy and the other idiots were hanging around Tommy's car.
"I dont think your boy likes me talking to you." he walked back to the front of the car where i was.
"Hes not the only one." i mumbled but he caught every word and just stared at me in disbelief.
"I wanna apologize for my behavior earlier today when i bumped into you. I was in a bad mood because i now live here in this shit town instead of sunny California." he leaned against the car, sitting next to me.
"I dont blame you." i let out a huge sigh.
"This will be the only time i apologize for being an asshole, so take it or leave it." he took the cigarette out his mouth and blew out the smoke.
"I dont need you to apologize, but coming here acting like a douche bag isnt going to get you very far.." i pushed a strand of brown hair behind my ear to get a good look at him. He had facial hair growing in, perfect straight teeth, and his eyelashes made him look beautiful. All the great qualities that allow you to be an asshole to others and not get hated on.
"Im Billy by the way. Billy Hargrove." He put his hand out for me to shake but i rejected his offer.
"Im Carina. Carina F-"
"Flores." he finished for me. "I know who you are. Queen of Hawkins, so I've been told." he snickered before putting the cigarette back into his mouth. "I see why, you're the only interesting thing about Hawkins. But if I'm being honest..... thats not really saying much." he licked his lips, but not in a weird sexual way. I pushed past his sly insult.
His piercing blue eyes locked in with my brown ones. He was waiting for me to break eye contact out of nervousness, intimidation? I dont know. Except he doesn't intimidate or make me nervous under his gaze. I could tell he used his charm to get everything he wants.
He's got a Danger sign written all over him.
We didn't break eye contact until Dean and his friends and my group of girl friends came walking over to get to know Billy.
—
Billy's pov
5th period, History
The teacher was giving us work to do at our own pace. Which means, do whatever the fuck you want i couldnt care less.
So TJ and i just did our own thing in the back of the classroom.
Carina was in this class but she was on the opposite side of the classroom with one of her friends. I think her name is Carly or Carla, i forget.
"Hey so whats this Carina chick about?" I looked over at TJ, one of the first friends i made coming into here on my first day.
He let out a laugh and smiled to himself sitting back in his seat. "Shes uhhh.... shes somethin man." he took a quick glance at her.
"Like what? Shes the school whore?" i raised a brow.
"Nah man. Opposite, shes not a whore but shes also not a prude. When you're one of the hottest girls in Hawkins, you can really just get away with anything." he explained to me. "Somethin about her, shes just super hot, she drives a sick ass car, shes not a ditz but shes not some over intelligent chick that'll make you feel stupid."
"So what? Everybody likes her?"
"Yeah. She doesnt like assholes, shes like nice to everybody, which is why Tommy and her bump heads. Tommy hates her because the second she arrived to this school she ran it. Shes the type of girl to talk back and defend herself. So people just dont mess with her, so its either get beat up by her or befriend her. Shes also the principal's step daughter, so she definitely gets special treatment around here, that and shes loaded. Lives up in Loch Nora."
I nodded. "So why did she try kicking Tommy's ass anyways?"
He let out a sigh, running his hand through his hair with the pencil in his mouth.
"I dont know man, shes weird. She has this close bond with Jonathan Byers, some nerd that goes here. Last year his brother went missing and supposedly died, then out of nowhere he came back to life."
"Came back to life?" I raised a brow.
"Like i said man, its weird. Thats why Steve isnt in our friend group anymore. He started dating that bitch Nancy. Then Steve just stopped being cool. They definitely changed him."
"Okay so what im hearing is, Carina hangs out with weirdos, but shes also popular? What kind of shit is that?"
"I dont know man. Shes just.... Carina." he shrugged.
"So whats the dirt on her?"
"There literally is none. At least nothing i know of."
"And who's Steve?"
"He used to be the King around here. Now he just hangs out with Nancy and Carina. Total bitch now." He let out a laugh.
"And whats with Dean and Carina?"
"Poor guy has been trying for two damn months to get her to look his way. Once he got her attention they started talking, but she wont let him go to the next level."
"So they are dating?"
"Nah. Dean is just tryna get in her pants so he can be the first guy to ever do it. He'd get a lot of respect for it. Guys have been trying for so long. Even me, but she rejected me before i could even say hi."
i let out a chuckle while looking back at her. I could've sworn i caught her looking this way.
That struck a idea in my head.
"You're askin a lot of questions about Carina. You like her or something?" he leaned forward so nobody around us could hear. But everybody was so into their own conversations that it was loud in here.
"Nah man. Just tryna get to know the school." i responded.
She definitely stood out in this town. Yeah maybe i just met her today, but i just knew there was more to this girl than she was giving out.
She comes off as this popular pretty girl who has a picture perfect life. Daddy is the principal from what i've heard. She's got a football douchebag wrapped around her finger, and ive heard about 10 girls talk good things about her in the halls.
She actually pays attention in class when shes not standing up for herself or her weird loser friends.
The Hawkins crowd likes her and wants to be her friend because she was confident and bold. I could tell by the way boys looked at her, and how the girls interacted with her. The way they move out of her way in the halls and flash genuine smiles her way. She was the Queen of Hawkins, she doesnt act like it is that way and she doesn't have to remind people that its that way. They all know. Thats real power.
I was enticed by Carina Flores and her image.
Oh and how badly i wanted to ruin her. I was going to make this hell hole worthwhile.
All i had to do was find out who the real Carina was.
—sweeteasaint
ahhhh first billy pov
i hope you guys like it so far❤️