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THIS WAS A MUCH NEEDED DISTRACTION.
BILLY HARGROVE HAD NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL HAD HAPPENED.
But he ran for his life as he sprinted towards the car before he got in and floored it, driving away from the abandoned shed and until he found a phone box. As soon as he saw it, Billy stopped and got out of the car before sprinting over to the phone and immediately he knew he had to call for help. Billy hesitated for a moment and thought about calling Isadora, but a part of him wasn't sure she would even answer the phone or come and help him, so instead he decided to call 911.
"911, what's your emergency?" A voice asked. Just as Billy went to answer the question, he saw flashes of what had happened to him and he looked up as the light above him flickered. Billy looked around and hung up the phone as he walked out of the phone booth before he noticed the group of figures making their way towards him.
"What do you want? Hey, I said what do you want? I said, what do you want?" Billy yelled, as there were flashes of red lightning behind him. All of a sudden, he saw himself standing in front of him and Billy was really confused about what was going on right now.
~*~
"He did what?" Kendra asked, as she lay down beside Isadora in her bed, the two completely unaware about what had happened to Billy. After the fight at the pool, Isadora had called Kendra in tears and her best friend had ended up coming over to Isadora's house with all her favourite snacks and had had listened as Isadora told Kendra about the fight she had had with Billy.
"He flirted with Karen Wheeler. Honestly Steve recommending to me a job that I should apply for kinda pales in comparison to that," Isadora ranted.
"He's unbelievable," Kendra scoffed.
"Y-Yeah. I guess. I still love him and I ... I feel bad for fighting with him. He may have flirted with Karen but the fight was also my fault," Isadora said. Kendra look towards her best friend and smiled sympathetically at her.
"Of course you still love him, Isa. Why don't you just try talking to him again?" Kendra suggested.
"Yeah, I guess I could try talking to him again. I called him an asshole, Ken," Isadora sighed softly, as she rested her hands on her stomach and looked up at the ceiling.
"From the sounds of it, he kinda deserved it."
"I don't know, Kendra. I kind of think I was the one who was the asshole. I don't really blame him for being upset with me when he just wanted to be the one to help me get a job. Anyway, do you want to stay the night? I don't really feel like being alone tonight," Isadora said.
"Of course, I would be happy to. Plus, my parents aren't home tonight anyway, so I was going to be spending the night alone, but a sleepover sounds way more fun."
"There's only one more thing we need," Isadora said.
"There is?" Kendra asked.
"We need ice cream! I'll be right back," Isadora said, as she got up and made her way down to the kitchen to grab some ice cream and spoons before she hurried back upstairs and joined Kendra on the bed again. She handed Kendra a tub of ice cream and a spoon, and soon the two girls were eating ice cream before Isadora gasped and nudged Kendra, "Do you remember the girl from Steve's pool party who came with Max?"
"Vaguely," Kenda nodded.
"Well I ran into her at the community pool while I was there today and apparently she has a bit of a crush on Billy, or well at least I think she does. I mean, she said she wishes he would notice her and that she wasn't just Max's little friend. It was kind of cute, actually. I remember being her age and having a crush on a boy who was probably about four years older than I was and I always wished he would notice me," Isadora said.
"And she just told you that she has a crush on Billy?"
"Not in those words exactly, but I kind of guessed," Isadora smiled before the two girls returned to eating their ice cream and talked for a while longer before they decided to get ready for bed and soon the two girls fell asleep. When they woke up the next day, the girls got dressed before it was decided that they would head to the Hawkins Community Pool so that Isadora could try and talk to Billy, but when they arrived, Isadora spotted Billy's car and she felt herself freezing up as she stared at the blue Camaro.
"His car is here. I don't ... I don't know if I can do this," Isadora said, as Kendra pulled up in the parking lot.
"Did you want me to come with you?" Kendra asked her best friend, as Isadora looked over to where Billy's car was before she looked back towards Kendra and shook her head.
"Uh, no, thank you. I really think that this is something I should do alone. Do you mind waiting here though, you know, in case it doesn't go well. I mean, I hope it does, but I guess you never know. I mean it was just a stupid fight. Maybe I shouldn't be here but I want to talk to him. I want to know what's going on," Isadora rambled.
"Isa, breathe. I'm sure it's going to be fine but I will be waiting right here for you," Kendra reassured her. Isadora nodded and hesitated before she got out of the car and made her way towards the lifeguard change rooms. She searched for Billy but when she realised she couldn't find him, Isadora walked over to the lifeguard chair was, where Heather Holloway sat and the petite blonde folded her arms across her chest.
"Where the hell is he?" Isadora asked, making Heather turn to look at her.
"Hi, strangely aggressive tiny girl. Is there something I can help you with?" Heather asked her, keeping her attention focused on the pool, as people swam and enjoyed themselves.
"I'm looking for Billy," Isadora told her, trying to calm herself down a little. Heather folded her arms across her chest as she looked over at the blonde girl.
"I haven't seen him," Heather shrugged.
"His car is here," Isadora told her.
"Oh, he might be in the supply room then," Heather said. Isadora nodded and thanked her before making her way over to where the supply room was and when she walked in, she saw Karen Wheeler in there with Billy and Isadora froze.
"Billy, please. Will you talk to me?"
"Stay away from me, Karen," Billy snapped before he walked past her and out of the supply room, but he stopped when he saw Isadora was standing just outside the supply room with her arms folded across her chest.
"B-Billy," Isadora said softly, as she met his eyes.
"You shouldn't be here," Billy told her, as Karen walked past the two of them. Isadora watched her go before she grabbed Billy's hand and pulled him into the supply shed so that she could talk to him.
"You know what, I don't care if I should or shouldn't be here because I came here to — to apologise, I guess. I mean I'm mad at you for flirting with — you know what, it doesn't matter. I'm sorry for —"
"Leave me alone, Isadora," Billy warned her.
"Billy, please. Can you please just listen to me? I'm sorry about what happened with Steve and the job at the mall."
"Isadora, leave!"
"Look, I understand you're upset with me, but you also flirted with Karen Wheeler right in front of me and I —" Isadora was cut off as Billy suddenly grabbed her throat and slammed her back against the wall. As she met her eyes, Isadora only saw darkness in them and she knew something was wrong with Billy, and as his grip on her throat tightened, Isadora stated gasping for air, "B-Billy, please. I-I c-can't b-breathe."
Just as suddenly as it had happened, Billy suddenly let her go and Isadora tumbled to the ground, and tears blurred her vision as she looked up at Billy and tried to figure out what the hell had just possessed him to snap like that.
"Stay away from me, Isadora," Billy snapped before stumbling out of the room. Isadora shakily lifted a hand to her neck and ran her fingers over her neck gently before she stood and made her way out of the supply closet, stopping for a moment to watch as Billy stumbled through the crowds of people and made his way over to the lifeguard chair. She had no idea what had happened but Isadora knew she couldn't be here right now and she made her way back to Kendra's car and as she got in, Kendra noticed the blonde was crying and guessed the talk with Billy hadn't gone very well. As Isadora wiped her tears away, Kendra suddenly noticed the bruises forming on the blonde's throat and her mouth fell open.
"What the hell happened?" Kendra asked.
"I don't — I don't know how to explain it, Ken. It was like ... it was almost like he was possessed by something for a few minutes. He snapped at me to leave him alone, but I was trying to apologise for what happened with Steve at the mall. I mean, he did tell me to back off, but I kept trying to talk to him and suddenly he snapped and choked me," Isadora explained.
"He did what? I'm going to kill him!" Kendra snapped.
"I'm ok, Ken. I appreciate but the thought, but I would rather that you didn't kill him. Besides, I was the one who didn't back off when he told me to. There was something strange about the way he was acting though."
"Strange, how?"
"I don't know how exactly to explain it. It was kind of like ... it was like he was Billy, but at the same time he wasn't. When he grabbed me, I — I only saw darkness in his eyes but the way he looked at me for just a moment when I told him I couldn't breathe, I saw a glimpse of the Billy I love, but I — it doesn't make any sense, does it?" Isadora asked.
"Actually, yeah it kinda does," Kendra sighed.
"Come on, why don't we go to the mall? I could really use a distraction right now," Isadora said. Kendra nodded and drove to the mall, and when they arrived, the two girls walked in together. Starcourt Mall had only recently been built in Hawkins but it quickly become everyone's favourite hangout place. The moment they walked in, Isadora grabbed Kendra's hand and the two girls headed to a nearby clothing store together. As they walked in, Isadora noticed three girls trying on clothes and she made her way over to where the girls were before smiling when she saw who it was, "Max! Laura! Eleven!"
"Hi," Laura nodded.
"Hi, Isadora. What happened to you?" Max asked, as the blonde hugged Max, Laura and Eleven.
"Oh, uh, I'm fine," Isadora shrugged the younger girl's question off before looking towards Eleven and smiling, "That's a cute outfit, El."
"Thank you!" Eleven smiled back at Isadora. Max, Laura and Eleven soon hurried out of the store and Kendra and Isadora looked at each other and burst into laughter before the two of them grabbed some clothes and went to try them on. After trying some clothes on, Isadora bought a few things that she liked before the two girls headed over to Scoops Ahoy together and Isadora smiled as she and Kendra walked over to the counter, and Steve turned his attention towards them.
"What happened to you, Is?" Steve asked, as he noticed Isadora's neck.
"Oh, uh, it's no big deal really, but promise me you won't do anything stupid?" Isadora asked him.
"Uh ... no," Steve scoffed. Isadora rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything else, the window opened and Robin told Steve that she needed his help with whatever it was that she was working on.
"Is it alright if I stay here and help them too?" Kendra asked Isadora.
"Oh, yeah, that's fine, Ken. I think I'm going to head home anyway," Isadora said. Kendra nodded but before Isadora walked away, Kendra grabbed something out of her bag and tied it around Isadora's neck before nodding.
"There, now that way no-one should ask any questions about what happened to you," Kendra told her.
"Thanks, Ken. I'll see you later," Isadora said.
"Call me if you need anything," Kendra said. Isadora nodded and thanked her before leaving the mall and heading over to catch the bus home. Also on the bus were Laura, Max and Eleven, and Isadora watched as Eleven and Max hi-fived before the three younger teenagers burst into laughter and Isadora smiled to herself as she remembered what it was like to be their age. Soon, the bus came to a stop near her house and Isadora got off the bus before making her way into her house.
"Shit, that looks bad," Isadora said, as she stood in the hallway of her home and looked at herself in the mirror, examining the bruises that were forming on her neck. She had no idea what had happened to cause Billy to snap and choke her the way he had, but Isadora made a vow to herself that she was going to find out what the hell was going on.
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I do feel bad for Is but she also didn't back off when Billy told her to - he is possessed by the Mind Flayer at this point (not that Is knows that) but the part that cares about her and loves her is trying to protect her.
Enjoy! Xo
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