battle of starcourt
july 4th 1985.
"Flay this, you ugly piece of shit."
The Mind Flayer falls backwards as a firework hits it in the side, it turns his head towards Lucas, Dallas and Will, as its mouth opens wide and it moves towards them Lucas throws one into its mouth making it fall backwards.
Dallas lights a bunch of fireworks, handing some to Will before throwing her own at the creature.
Billy grabs El's leg dragging her towards the Mind Flayer and Dallas yells for her, "You guys going to be okay by here?"
They nod and she runs around towards the escalators, going the other way so she doesn't have to pass Steve and Nancy, she slides down, ducking as fireworks go off eveyrhwere.
Steve pasues watching the girl run, sliding underneath one of the Mind Flayers legs, "Hopper!"
He goes to run after her but Robin stops him, "You can't help her down there."
"Billy!"
She stands in front of him stopping him from getting to the Mind Flayer, chest rising and falling with each long breath she takes, "Billy, let her go."
He tilts his head, dropping the girl and she crawls backwards, "Look, I'm not going to stand here and say this isn't you, me and you both now you're a little messed up, but we also both know you're not this messed up."
She glances over at El who is still struggling to pull herself backwards, holding a hand out in front of her she walks forward carefully, "I mean, come on, we were starting to get along, right? You gave me a few rides, kept me company on some shifts. I mean, yeah we aren't best friends, but I'll still be a little bummed if you become some evil smiley hizard thing."
Billy's face doesn't change as he stares at her, eyes dark and lips curled. "Come on, Hargrove."
She walks a little closer to him, breath stuttering as she swallows the lump in her throat. "Come on. You were changing, you were- you were getting nicer-"
He takes a single step forward and she freezes at the quick movement but he doesn't do anything else, she finally breathes again releasing the breath she was holding and takes another step step forward.
His eyes fall to the hand outstretched, he can see the purple bruise he made peeking out over the top of the leather band of the watch.
Noticing his gaze there she switches hands, risking another glance at El, 'Go' she mouths but El shakes her head as she keeps dragging herself backwards, "Go."
Billy shakes his head, moving forward quickly, hand locking around her throat and squeezing, eyes darkening even more as he lifts her from the floor as if she weighs nothing.
He drags her closer, the tips of her shoes scraping the floor, she chokes as he pulls her face closer to his, "Stay out of our way."
She gasps, hands coming up to his wrist clawing at him to let her go, "B-Bi-lly."
He squeezes harder and her eyes start watering as she gasps, eyelashes fluttering, she's fighting off becoming unconscious, hands going from pulling his wrist to weakly slapping his shoulder and chest, getting a few hits in at his face.
As her hands begin to go numb, she grabs his wrist tightly, "Bi-"
Her eyes flutter, finally falling closed for a few seconds as her hands go weak falling to her sides.
El yells as she swings the metal pole down on Billy's back, making him drop Dallas who falls to the floor with a gasp, eyes snapping back open as she hits the tiles.
Dallas coughs lying on her side as she tries to get up, the weight of her body making her arms buckle.
"El."
Billy grabs her, pinning her to the floor and Dallas tries once more to get up but she can't, she cries out, screaming at herself to just move.
El stares up at Billy, the fireworks lighting up above his head, as he winces when one hurts the Mind Flayer.
"Seven.. Feet."
Billy pauses looking down at her, "You told her, the wave was seven feet."
She sighs, blinking away the tears, "You ran to her, on the beach. There were seagulls. She wore a hat with a blue ribbon."
Billy sniffles as tears start blinding his vision, but not the vision of his mother, he can see her clearly in his head, her blonde hair, pretty dress.
"A long dress, with a blue and red flower. Y-" She gasps, sucking in a breath, "Yellow sandals covered in sand. She was pretty. She was really pretty."
Billy sniffles again, nodding his head as he cries, his tears falling down onto El's yellow shirt as she goes on, "And you, you were happy."
She slowly reaches up a hand, laying it on his face and he closes his eyes leaning into her touch. The fireworks above them stop and Billy stands in front of El, protecting her from the Mind Flayer.
Dallas manages to stand, legs not being able to hold her upright, Billy plants a hand on her shoulder shoving her backwards towards El and she grunts as she hits the floor.
She pulls El backwards as the Mind Flayer hisses at them, one of its long arms stretching out and reaching towards them.
El screams pushing Dallas out of the way but it doesn't reach them, Billy yells out as he stops it from reaching them, arms holding it out in front of him.
He pushes against it, walking forwards and pushing it back, but another long arm stretches out, latching itself to his body making his grip weaken.
More attach to him, draining him of his energy, of his life. Blood pours out his mouth as he screams and Dallas crawls forward.
"Billy!"
One final arm pushes through his chest, he grunts as he falls to the floor and Dallas crawls forward.
She reaches Billy looking up at the Mind Flayer as it walks towards her, her hands clutching Billy's white tank, only the Mind Flayer doesn't reach her.
It falls backwards away from them, crashing into the on the upper floor before completely collapsing to the floor.
"Billy?" He chokes and she pulls off her overshirt to hold it to his wound on his chest, "Hey, hey, shh."
He gasps and she pulls her hand back when they're covered in his blood, she stares at them for a second before pushing onto that wound as well, but then she feels her knees getting soaked as another wound is made known to her.
"El." Mike runs over grabbing ahold of his girlfriend and holding her close as Max walks forward slowly.
"Billy?"
She drops down beside him as he gasps and she holds onto him, "Billy, Billy, get up, please. Billy, get up, please."
"I'm sorry."
"Billy, Billy, get up, Billy please. Billy, Billy."
Dallas hangs her head when he doesn't answer and leans back on her knees as she pants heavily.
Max sobs as she shakes his shoulders, tears falling down her face. Dallas bites her lip as she closes her eyes and looks away.
"Max..."
She falls into Dallas who wraps her arms around her bringing her into her chest, "Shh, Max, everything will be okay."
El crawls over to them, taking over as Max falls into her open arms, "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay."
Dallas leans forward, closing Billy's eyes as her chin wobbles and tears fill her eyes. "I'm sorry, Hargrove."
-
Dallas looks around the area, limping as she turns in a slow circle, eyes going from Steve and her brother talking with some officers, to Robin and Max on a stretcher then to Nancy and Jonatahn both getting checked up, and finally to Joyce, El and Will.
Joyce.
The woman catches her eye for a few seconds, tears rise, then she looks away as El says something to make her give a teary laugh.
Dallas' brows furrow and she turns away from them, Murray, he's limping towards Erica and Lucas but when he sees her standing there in the middle he frowns.
He shakes his head, slowly, then looks down as he mouths an apology.
She shakes her head, stepping back as he changes his journey to her, her lips turn downwards and she trips, catching herself as she steps back again.
"Dallas-"
"No."
"Dallas, he was a hero-"
"No, no," She shakes her head breath, hiccuping as a sob falls from her lips, "No, no, no, he- no-"
He reaches out, "Dallas."
She takes a quick breath in before turning and running between the ambulances she hears Murray call her name once more, and the distant call of her brother shouting for her but she doesn't stop.
Not as she turns and runs down the main road, her legs carrying her as fast as she can go.
She doesn't stop as she turns down the path that leads into the forest.
She doesn't stop as she runs through the trees.
She doesn't stop when her thighs start burning.
She doesn't stop when the rain starts hitting her skin.
She doesn't stop until she trips on a tree root.
Hands stopping her fall, cuts from branches making blood rise, her own blood that mixes with Billy's.
She takes a deep breath in, resting back on her knees before she can't hold it anymore.
And she sobs alone in the middle of Hawkin's forest.