CHAPTER FIVE:
BILLY 'DOUCHEBAG' HARGROVE
🎸🤍
HAWKINS PUBLIC POOL was almost as busy as the Starcourt Mall when the heat rose, sweating Hawkins down. Danny hadn't had a chance to enjoy a sweltering day at the pool since the summer started but that was about to change. He had been frequently sneaking away from Scoops Ahoy ever since his sleepover at Mike Wheeler's house, so that morning after feeling the intense heat of Hawkins, Indiana, Danny decided he deserved a day at the pool. Danny gathered a backpack full of his swim trunks, sunscreen, sunglasses, and a water bottle full of liquor to add to a slushie from the pool.
Danny lived close to the pool so he decided to walk instead of riding his bike. Danny loved the pool and considering that the temperature in Hawkins had only been going up, Danny was extremely excited to hang out at the pool all day. The only thing Danny hated about the pool was how busy it could get. Every inch of the pool could get filled with kids to the point where there was barely any room to move. Despite that, there were many perks of the Hawkins Public Pool including the snacks, drinks, and the many girls that flirted with Danny. Danny knew that he was attractive, especially with his shirt off. He had been blessed with a nice body and it was only elevated when he started working out, giving him impressive muscles that all the girls swooned over. Danny even caught some of the moms staring sometimes.
As Danny approached Hawkins Public Pool, he spotted a strange sight in the parking lot. Danny knew that Lucas Sinclair and his friends were strange but this summer, he had discovered that they were stranger than he originally thought. Danny approached the group with Max Mayfield in the center with binoculars pointed at the pool. Danny overheard them talking about Max's brother, Billy 'Douchebag' Hargrove. Danny furrowed his brows and looked at Billy who was a lifeguard at the pool. The strange thing was that Billy was attempting to shield himself from the sun in every way possible. Danny thought it might be because he was hot and wanted more shade but the group seemed to think otherwise.
"But, he's lounging at the pool, which is, like, the least Mind Flayer thing ever," Max commented as Danny approached them.
Danny furrowed his brows at the name. Mind Flayer. It seemed strange and unlike the super secret Russian spy code, Danny was more interested in whatever the Mind Flayer thing was. Danny smirked at the group as he stood behind them, "Mind Flayer, huh?"
All five of them whipped around, their eyes wide once they saw Danny. They quickly looked around at each other, wondering what to say. Mike opened up his mouth and closed it multiple times before finally saying, "Um... yeah — yeah that's — it's the name of a — a —"
"Band!" Lucas interrupted, practically yelling.
Mike nodded, "Yes, yes, a band."
Danny furrowed his brows, not believing them whatsoever but he didn't question them no matter how much he wanted to. He knew that they wouldn't give him an answer about it as it was clearly some sort of huge secret. Danny, however, was very interested to know exactly what they were talking about.
"Okay, well, that's bullshit but whatever, I guess. I don't care." Danny did, indeed, care. "You guys are terrible stalkers. You gotta work on being sneakier, I mean, seriously, what is this shit?" Danny gestured to them, his brows furrowed. "You guys are completely exposed out in the open, not even trying to hide. I mean, what the fuck, guys?"
"We're great stalkers!" Lucas argued. The rest of them all whipped their head toward Lucas, giving him strange looks. Lucas had just confirmed that they were stalking Billy Hargrove. Danny had no idea why but he wanted to find out.
Danny raised his eyebrows, "Really? Okay, sure, Sinclair. Whatever helps you sleep at night."
Danny walked away from them, heading toward the entrance to the pool. He headed to the men's locker room. Danny quickly changed and slathered on some sunscreen. As he started to move toward the exit, Lucas, Mike, and Will charged past him. Danny furrowed his brows and watched as they started to talk amongst each other, pointing at different things in the locker room. Danny knew something was going on but he just couldn't figure out what it was exactly.
He saw them focused on the sauna specifically before they finally left. Danny made his way out to the pool, the sun basking on him and making his freshly slathered chest shine. The sun and the sunscreen enhanced his already prominent abs and the moment he stepped out, eyes were on him. He walked past a group of moms, including Karen Wheeler, who all stared at him. Karen stared at him more like a mother, deciding to smile and greet him instead of checking him out like the other moms. Danny greeted her back before finding an empty chair and sitting down.
Danny put on his sunglasses before leaning back in his chair. As he did so, he spotted Will and Lucas rushing toward the back of the building. Danny sat up slightly and furrowed his brows. He lowered his sunglasses on the bridge of his nose and Will and Lucas rushed out with a large metal chain, a large metal pole, and duct tape. Danny watched in confusion before muttering to himself, "What the fuck?"
Danny looked over his shoulder, seeing Max by herself, the binoculars still set on her brother. Danny looked over at Billy who was still trying desperately to cool himself down, even drinking a slushie. Danny wondered what the hell Lucas and his friends were planning on doing. Whatever it was, it seemed crazy which only made Danny want to know what was happening even more. Danny decided he was going to figure it out. He was going to prove to them that he was a better stalker than they were. He was going to watch them and try to figure out what it was they were planning and what the hell Mind Flayer meant.
🎸🤍
Danny had spent the rest of his pool day watching Lucas and his friends as he sipped on his spiked slushie. It seemed like a waste at first but judging by how they hadn't left the pool but also hadn't even gotten into the pool and just stayed outside behind the fences, it seemed less like a waste. Just like Danny, they hadn't left the pool all day except none of them were even in the pool area. He had waited hours for the sun to go down and the group was still there, hiding in the shadows. Danny made it look like he was leaving the pool but instead, went to hide behind a large tree, his eyes on the group. As the sun went down, the group snuck back into the pool.
Danny slowly followed them in, making sure to keep in spots where they wouldn't see him. He hid behind the front desk first, watching as they started to go in with their supplies. They had the strangest supplies with them and Danny was starting to wonder if they were just planning on pulling a prank but the serious looks on their faces said something entirely different. Danny snuck into the men's locker room, hiding behind a set of lockers as the group started to set things up. They put one of the dummies that were used for CPR training in the sauna and duct-taped a walkie-talkie to it. Danny was utterly confused.
Billy Hargrove was the last person at the pool. Danny assumed he had the closing shift. As Billy stepped into the shower, the group started to hide. Danny hid as well, starting to think it really was a prank but there was something about it that felt very strange. Danny made sure to hide from the view of the group, knowing they probably wouldn't like that Danny was spying on them. Despite that, Danny had to admit that he was an excellent stalker, although, he wasn't surprised considering he was an excellent criminal. He knew how to hide and how to not act suspiciously.
Once Billy exited the shower and started to get dressed, a door slammed making Danny jump slightly. Billy sighed as he shut his locker, looking tired, "Pool's closed." Another slamming of a door sounded, prompting Billy to get angry and annoyed. "Hey! Do you hear me? Pool is closed!"
Billy started to head to the exit door of the men's locker room but found it locked. Billy slammed the door a few times trying to get it open but to no avail. The lights went out soon after, prompting Billy to stop hitting the door. Danny looked around at the now-dark locker room. Danny slowly stood up from his hiding spot behind the lockers. He still had his backpack on his shoulders and he slowly started to move from his spot, wanting to see exactly what was going on.
"Billy!" A voice called out.
"Who's there?" Billy asked cautiously.
"Billy!" The voice called out again in a sing-song tone. Danny thought the voice sounded a little bit like Mike Wheeler.
Billy replied in the same sing-song tone, "Who's there?"
There was some giggling as Billy started to check the showers. Danny continued to hide behind some lockers but was slowly moving closer. Billy continued to rip open the showers, getting angrier by the second at the group trying to prank him. Mike continued to call out Billy's name, egging him on. Danny watched as the door to the gym opened and then gently closed. Billy followed the sound and opened up the door, slowly walking in. Danny stayed at his spot as the group came out from their hiding spots, heading toward the door. Danny stayed hidden and watched them as Mike continued to tease Billy with the walkie-talkie.
The group entered the sauna and Danny slowly followed, peeking through the window. Billy had grabbed the dummy and raised it into the air by its neck. Mike's ex-girlfriend, El, stood in front of the door as Billy turned around. She said hello to him before jerking her head up, Billy flying into the wall of the sauna immediately. Danny's eyes widened at the sight. He quickly rubbed his eyes, thinking he definitely made something up in his mind. No way had that just happened. He had heard of the experiments done on people and the telekinetic powers they had but this was too crazy to be real.
El jerked her head again and the door to the sauna closed shut. Danny watched with wide eyes and his mouth dropped open at the sight. The group rushed over and Lucas, Will, and Mike put the metal pole through the door handle, locking Billy inside and tying it with the metal chain and a lock. Danny couldn't stop staring at the scene, thinking it was insane. Lucas and his friends seemed psychotic, and apparently, Mike's girlfriend had some sort of strange powers.
Billy started to bang on the door, trying to get it to open. He stared at Max before Will rushed over to the sauna and turned it on. The sauna started to heat up as Billy continued to bang on the door. He called out for Max to open up the door but they just stared. Danny furrowed his brows, no longer thinking it was a prank but not being able to figure out what else it was. He was also still extremely confused at what El had done without touching anything.
Danny finally had enough and slowly opened up the door. He walked in but the group didn't even notice that he was there as they were too focused on Billy. Danny watched with wide eyes, starting to feel bad for Billy. Billy finally noticed him and looked over at him, the group following his eyes as Billy called out, "Hey! Hey! Help me!"
Lucas's eyes widened when he saw Danny, "Danny? What are you doing here?"
"What the hell are you guys doing here?" Danny retorted before gesturing to Billy. "And what the hell are you doing to Billy? I get that he's a dick but what the fuck?" Danny then gestured to El. "And how the fuck did she close that door without touching it?"
"Shit!" Mike cursed, looking at El.
Lucas rushed over to Danny, "You need to leave, now!"
Danny scoffed, "Not until you tell me what the fuck is going on!"
"You kids... you think this is funny? You kids think this is some kind of sick prank, huh?" Billy asked, anger lacing his tone. His voice was angry enough to freak Danny out. Danny had also heard enough rumors about Billy Hargrove to want to steer clear of him. "You little shits think this is funny? What is this? Open the door. Open the door! Open the door! Open the goddamn door! Open the goddamn door!"
Danny shook his head and pushed past Lucas and the others, heading toward the sauna, "Open the door! What the hell is wrong with you guys!"
Mike stepped forward and grabbed Danny's arm, pulling him away. Danny shoved Mike back as Mike yelled at him, "You need to leave! This is dangerous!"
"Yeah, it is!" Danny scoffed before gesturing to Billy who had now collapsed onto the floor of the sauna. "You need to let him the hell out! Do you guys actually think this is funny?"
"Danny!" Lucas groaned, marching over to Danny. "You need to leave!"
Will looked over at the temperature dial next to the sauna, "We're at two-twenty."
"It's not my fault. It's not my fault," Billy started to cry on the floor of the sauna. Danny furrowed his brows at Lucas who looked worried as he stared at Danny. "It's not my fault, Max. I promise you, it's not my fault."
Max stepped forward and peered through the sauna window, "What's not your fault, Billy?"
"I've done things, Max, really... bad things," Billy continued to cry. Danny took a step back, never having seen Billy Hargrove act like that. "I didn't mean to. He made me do it."
"Who made you do it?" Max asked.
"I don't know, it's like a shadow," Billy explained. Danny saw Lucas and his friends each give each other a similar look. Danny continued to furrow his brows in confusion at what Billy was saying and how everyone was acting. "Like a giant shadow. Please, Max."
"What did he make you do?"
"It's not my fault, okay? Max, please," Billy cried. Danny watched as Max started to cry at the sight of her brother in so much emotional pain. "Please, believe me, Max. It's not my fault. I tried to stop him, okay? I did. Please believe me, Max. Please believe me."
Max put a hand on the glass window, "Billy, it's gonna be okay. We want to help you. You just have to talk to us, okay? You have to talk to us."
Danny shook his head at the sight. The whole prank or whatever it was had gone on too long and Billy was clearly in distress. Danny looked back at the group, "Okay, whatever the fuck this is has gotta stop. He's clearly in pain. Let him the fuck out!"
Will shakily placed a hand on the back of his neck, "I feel him. He's activated."
Danny furrowed his brows once more, "What? Who is activated?" Danny shook his head, feeling so confused. "What the fuck is going on?"
Lucas grabbed Danny's arm, trying to pull him back toward the door, "Okay, enough bullshit, you need to leave. Now."
"No!" Danny tore his arm away from Lucas's grasp. "I'm not leaving! What the hell is going on, Sinclair?"
Lucas looked back at the sauna as Max continued to try to comfort her brother. Will still had his hand on the back of his neck and Mike stared at him with wide eyes, "Get away from the door, Max." Max looked over his shoulder at Mike, tears streaming down her cheeks. Mike whipped his head toward her. "Get away from the door!"
Lucas's eyes widened as he turned back to Danny. He looked incredibly worried, almost scared for Danny, "Danny, please! Please! Go!"
Billy slammed his fist through glass window, almost hitting Max who screamed and moved to the side. Danny watched with wide eyes at the scene as Billy attempted to hit her as he screamed out, "Let me out, you bitch! Let me out! I'll fucking gut you!"
Danny clenched his fist, anger taking over him at the sight. Billy was attempting and threatening to kill his sister. Danny didn't care how angry Billy was, threatening his little sister wasn't okay and even though Danny barely knew Max, he was going to defend her. Lucas attempted to stop him but Danny marched forward and punched Billy across the face as he stuck his head out of the window. Billy grabbed a piece of the cement wall and attempted to slash Danny with it but Danny stepped back.
Billy reached down and grabbed the pipe that had started to loosen with how hard Billy was hitting the door. Lucas pushed Danny aside, "Go, Danny! Now!" Lucas grabbed a slingshot and put a large rock in it before shooting it at Billy, hitting him in the head and knocking him to the ground. "Max, come on!"
Danny stepped forward and quickly helped Max up. She rushed over to the group, pulling Danny with her. As the lights started to flicker, Lucas grabbed onto Danny once more and shoved him toward the door, "You need to leave right now, Danny! I fucking mean it! Get out! You're gonna get yourself killed!"
Danny scoffed and yelled back, "And you're not? We should all leave!"
The lights continued to flicker harshly. Danny and Lucas both looked up at them as well as the rest of the group. Danny wondered what was going on. First, El had used her mind to shut the door and push Billy against the wall, and then Billy tried to kill his sister, and now the lights were flickering strangely and Lucas was telling Danny that if he stayed, he could get killed. Danny finally looked back at Billy who had stood up. He had dark veins covering his entire body and he roared as he slammed himself against the door.
Danny's eyes widened, "What the fuck..."
Billy continued to slam his body against the door and Danny jumped with every hit. Lucas looked back at Danny again, "I get that you hate me and you have every right to but please, please Danny, just leave!"
Danny saw true concern and fear in Lucas's eyes. Danny shook his head, "I'm not leaving unless you do! You could get hurt, too!"
Billy slammed his body against the door again. Lucas sighed, "I've been through things like this before! I can handle it! You can't!"
"I'm not leaving," Danny practically growled.
Lucas sighed and shook his head at Danny as Billy slammed his body against the door once more, "Fine. Stay behind me."
Danny obeyed Lucas which was something he never thought he would do but it was a life-or-death situation so Danny figured it didn't necessarily count. Lucas went back to the group and Danny followed him, standing behind everyone. Billy continued to slam his body against the door as Max asked, "He can't get out, can he?"
"No way," Lucas shook his head, trying to sound sure but Danny could hear the faltering in his voice. "No way."
Billy roared once more and with one final slam, he broke the door down and fell out. Everyone jumped back and Danny felt his blood pressure rise. All of them backed up except for El who stood face-to-face with Billy. Danny watched with wide eyes as she raised her right arm making a barbell rise on its own. What the fuck. She flung it at Billy without even touching it. The barbell slammed him into the brick wall by his throat. She put both of her hands up, pushing the barbell deeper into the brick as Billy struggled. Her nose started to bleed as she seemed to be using a lot of strength to hold him there even though she wasn't touching him. Billy placed his hands on the metal bar, pushing it off of him and throwing it at El who ducked before it could hit her.
Billy stepped forward and grabbed El's hair, pulling her head back as she struggled. Danny tried to step forward but was held back by Lucas who stopped him. Billy looked at the group before placing a hand on El's throat, choking her. Danny's eyes widened as Billy lifted El up by her neck as she cried out and attempted to fight it. As she gasped for her, Mike grabbed another metal bar and slammed it onto the back of Billy's head.
"Go to hell, you piece of shit!" Mike yelled out making Danny raise an eyebrow.
Before Mike could hit Billy again, Billy turned over and grabbed the metal bar, throwing it to the side. Billy stepped forward, backing Mike up into the wall. El got up from the ground, having gained her breath back. She placed her hands up again and lifted Billy into the air without even touching him. They both cried out loudly before El threw her hands to the side, throwing Billy through another brick wall. Danny watched with wide eyes as Billy landed on the grass outside before he got up and ran off.
Danny stared with wide eyes and took in the scene around him, "What the fuck?"
🎸🤍
[ 3.6K WORDS ]
alright it's starting!!!!
danny is so incredibly confused and lucas is just as
worried about danny being involved now like he was
when max first got involved