The last thing Steve had been expecting was to actually hear anything.
Well, sort of. It was more that he was hoping not to. Praying even. So when
he heard something moving fast, he'd dropped the flashlight in surprise.
And then someone had run straight into him, knocking him on his ass and
sending the bat flying out of his hand.
"FUCK!" He shouted, groaning where he landed before scrambling for the bat.
He turned, looking before blinking. In the light of the fallen flashlight,
he found himself staring at...
"No. Oh my god, no way in hell!" He moved forward, careful and hesitant
before crouching down and slowly touching his shoulder. "Billy? Hey...hey
Billy look man. Its me. Its Steve Harrington. I'm not gonna hurt you."
Billy curls himself up so that he's as small as possible and he's quickly overwhelmed by fear, shock and concern so strong it makes him want to throw up.
He knows that voice, recognises it even in this state but he can't place the voice or the name, at least not at first. Everything feels foggy and just out of reach, like there's something that blocking his memories and there's too much going on within his head.
"Steve?" He uncurls himself slightly and looks up at the other man. "Where am I? What's going on?"
His brows furrowed as he continued to stare before helping Billy sit up
slowly. "We're in the steel mill. What are you doing here?" He asked, still
so absolutely confused. Billy Hargrove was dead. They'd even put an article
in the paper about it. So how in the hell was the guy here and alive?
"Man, its been three months since you..." He trailed off, unsure of whether
he should actually tell the other that he had died. "Since
everything that happened at the mall. Umm..." He hesitated before slowly
looking around, wondering if maybe he should try to get them both the hell
out of there before something bad happened. "Maybe we should...go somewhere
else. Come on. Its chilly out. We can go to my house."
Billy stares at Steve with wide eyes as he helps him to his feet and he snatches his hand back as soon as he's on his feet, trying to take in his surroundings.
The harder he tries to remember what happened, the harder it seems to be to reach the memories. Shoving a hand through matted, messy curls, Billy grunts in frustration. Everything feels like too much and he doesn't know why.
That's the only reason Steve is able to lead Billy out of the mill into the fresh air so easily.
"I don't... I don't understand. I was... What? Max? Where's Max?"
He continued leading him, all the way to the car before he started speaking
again. "Hey...look at me." He made the other focus on him. "Max is...she's
at home. Her home." He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should
explain more. "Go ahead and get in." Once he knew the other was in he shut
the door and ran around.
He slipped into the car, turning it on and immediately turning on the heat.
It was just too chilly for them to be out here without the warmth.
"Alright. Where to start." He said, pushing his fingers through his head.
"Look, Billy...you died. I mean, we all saw you. Max was...a mess, but
you...your body disappeared. Shit got kind of bad."
He shrugged, sighing quietly and smiling a bit sadly. "Especially at your
house. Your dad got...I don't know. Weird. Like he went crazy. We were
keeping an eye on things and then suddenly...he snapped. We got Max out of
there before it got too bad and Hopper handled the rest." He smiled wider.
"Hopper took Max in. She's been living with him and El ever since."
It’s too much and he’s too cold and everything seems too loud. He feels like he isn’t alone in his head but it doesn’t feel like Him and Billy doesn’t know what to do with it. So he lets Steve lead him, gets into the car when he’s told and immediately moves towards the heater as soon as the warm air is pumping out.
He’s cold. No. He’s freezing. The chill feels like it’s in his bones and he wonders if he is actually dead.
The world is too bright for him to still be there but it’s cold. It’s cold and it’s hard to tell what’s really and what’s not. What’s him and what’s... something else.
It’s hard to focus on what Steve is saying but he gets the gist of it. He died. His dad went crazy. The chief got Max out. Max was safe.
He watched the way Billy moved closer to the heater, sitting there for a
moment before reaching over and turning it on high. It would probably cause
him to start sweating, but he was okay with that. At least it would help
the other boy warm up.
He thought for a moment before turning and popping the trunk. "Hold that
thought." He got out, running to the back and pulling a thick woolen
blanket out that he'd kept just in case. Along with a first aid kit and
even some flares. Oh, and his bat.
He unfolded the blanket, fanning it out before moving over and wrapping the
blanket around the other boy. "Here, use this. I'm...we're gonna go back to
mine. I'm gonna...make you something to eat and we'll get you cleaned up.
Then I'll call Max?"
Billy holds the blanket tight against himself, shivering despite the warmth it and the heater offer. He offers Steve a smile in thanks, but it's tight and doesn't meet his eyes. At least he tries.
"How did you know I was there?" Billy looks over at Steve in the driver's seat and his brow furrows in confusion. "Max. I wanna see Max."
He feels lost and it's hard to focus on the words Steve's saying and the words that fill his head, the ones that don't seem to be coming out of his mouth but that he can still hear. "Steve? Something's wrong. With me. I can hear things."
"El and Will said something was happening, but they couldn't tell me what
exactly. They felt...something. From the Upside Down. I guess they were
feeling you coming out." He said, shrugging a bit before hesitating and
then turning the vents more towards him to help him warm up more.
"First we take care of you. Food and get you cleaned up. Then I'll call
Hopper first thing in the morning to bring Max." He said softly as he
pulled away from the building. He frowned at the others words though, brows
knitting together.
"What do you mean...you can hear things?" He glanced at Billy, thoughts
running through his own head, worry for Billy. Wonder at what this could
possibly mean. Whether the Gate was opened again.
"El? The girl... with the powers?" Billy blinks for a moment, leaning further into the heat with no sense of subtlety. "And Will? Byers?"
Shaking his head, Billy frowns too. "I'm not hungry. I'm just... cold." And covered in his own black blood. Was it still black or had it changed back? Billy flinches when he remembers those final moments, when the Mind Flayer had tried to kill him. He was still covered in blood and when he pressed his hand to his chest, he could feel the raised skin that indicated scars.
"I can hear... I can hear..." He clenches his eyes closed tightly, trying to think of the best way to describe it. "The Gate. You think the Gate is open. What's the Gate and why are you so afraid of it?"
"Yeah. El. Eleven actually. I mean, Hopper called her Jane, but...anyways!
Yeah. Her and Will Byers." He said, still watching him as he sped through
town to get to his house. He kept glancing over at Billy, waiting for his
answer.
The one he got wasn't what he expected and he ended up pulling to the side
of the road instead of swerving all over in shock. He threw it into park
and turned, staring at Billy carefully. That he knew of, no one had ever
mentioned the Gate to him. There hadn't really been time. He'd gone from
possessed to...well, supposedly dead before any kind of talk could happen.
"How do you...what..." He shifted, still staring before blinking. "Wait,
did you read my fucking mind?" Holy shit. Oh Holy shit. Could El do
that? No one had ever told him if she could or not.
"I..um..shit." He said, leaning back in his seat and staring straight out
the window. He wasn't trying to freak the other out, but when he'd been
asked why he was so afraid...he pictured the demogorgon and the demodogs
and all those fucking vines that tried to kill them running through the
tunnels. His fists clenched and he closed his eyes, shaking his head.
"Look, I can...I'll explain what I can. There...there's another dimension.
Next to or...underneath out own? I don't know how it works. El might could
tell you better than me, but we call it the Upside Down and there are
places it comes through. The main one is called the Gate. We closed it.
Well, Joyce Byers closed it...the night you di-disappeared. It killed the
Mind Flayer...you know, the thing that possessed you? Yeah. Its just...a
lot to explain?"
Billy watches the emotions that flicker across Steve's face and he feels them wash over him, blinking against it. "Yeah. I can hear them as if you were just speaking out loud. It's like... I don't know. I can feel things too. Like your fear and your shock."
As Steve tries to explain the Gate and the Upside Down, it all suddenly clicks. Billy knows exactly what Steve is talking about and he knows exactly why he's afraid, as demonstrated by the shiver runs down his spine.
"Steve... I know what the... The Upside Down is. I've... I've been there." He can feel his own fear spike and his breath stutters in his chest. "Steve... that's where I was. When it... He died, when the Gate closed... I've been there this whole time."
Billy telling him all of this is...weird. Because hello, the other guy
could READ HIS MIND!? Well, he would have to get used to that, but
then the other teen is speaking again and he raised an eyebrow slowly. No.
No there was no way.
"Wait, you've been there this whole time!? Jesus christ no wonder you're so
damn cold. Will was cold all the time too. For a while. He was stuck
there...I can't even remember how long now." He said, shaking his head.
"That was the year before you and Max showed up."
Billy pales at the mention of that little boy being stuck in that place. He wouldn't wish that on anyone -well, maybe his old man, but also, maybe not. It was a certain kind of hell down there. A world that looked like their own but dark and twisted and cold. So fucking cold.
"Steve... how long was I gone?" He thinks he remembers Steve telling him but he can't remember the words, the numbers. He finds himself leaning towards the heater again. "Shower. I want a hot shower. I feel... I feel like I'll never be warm again."
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
The last thing Steve had been expecting was to actually hear anything. Well, sort of. It was more that he was hoping not to. Praying even. So when he heard something moving fast, he'd dropped the flashlight in surprise. And then someone had run straight into him, knocking him on his ass and sending the bat flying out of his hand.
"FUCK!" He shouted, groaning where he landed before scrambling for the bat. He turned, looking before blinking. In the light of the fallen flashlight, he found himself staring at...
"No. Oh my god, no way in hell!" He moved forward, careful and hesitant before crouching down and slowly touching his shoulder. "Billy? Hey...hey Billy look man. Its me. Its Steve Harrington. I'm not gonna hurt you."
no subject
He knows that voice, recognises it even in this state but he can't place the voice or the name, at least not at first. Everything feels foggy and just out of reach, like there's something that blocking his memories and there's too much going on within his head.
"Steve?" He uncurls himself slightly and looks up at the other man. "Where am I? What's going on?"
no subject
His brows furrowed as he continued to stare before helping Billy sit up slowly. "We're in the steel mill. What are you doing here?" He asked, still so absolutely confused. Billy Hargrove was dead. They'd even put an article in the paper about it. So how in the hell was the guy here and alive?
"Man, its been three months since you..." He trailed off, unsure of whether he should actually tell the other that he had died. "Since everything that happened at the mall. Umm..." He hesitated before slowly looking around, wondering if maybe he should try to get them both the hell out of there before something bad happened. "Maybe we should...go somewhere else. Come on. Its chilly out. We can go to my house."
no subject
The harder he tries to remember what happened, the harder it seems to be to reach the memories. Shoving a hand through matted, messy curls, Billy grunts in frustration. Everything feels like too much and he doesn't know why.
That's the only reason Steve is able to lead Billy out of the mill into the fresh air so easily.
"I don't... I don't understand. I was... What? Max? Where's Max?"
no subject
He continued leading him, all the way to the car before he started speaking again. "Hey...look at me." He made the other focus on him. "Max is...she's at home. Her home." He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should explain more. "Go ahead and get in." Once he knew the other was in he shut the door and ran around.
He slipped into the car, turning it on and immediately turning on the heat. It was just too chilly for them to be out here without the warmth. "Alright. Where to start." He said, pushing his fingers through his head. "Look, Billy...you died. I mean, we all saw you. Max was...a mess, but you...your body disappeared. Shit got kind of bad."
He shrugged, sighing quietly and smiling a bit sadly. "Especially at your house. Your dad got...I don't know. Weird. Like he went crazy. We were keeping an eye on things and then suddenly...he snapped. We got Max out of there before it got too bad and Hopper handled the rest." He smiled wider. "Hopper took Max in. She's been living with him and El ever since."
no subject
He’s cold. No. He’s freezing. The chill feels like it’s in his bones and he wonders if he is actually dead.
The world is too bright for him to still be there but it’s cold. It’s cold and it’s hard to tell what’s really and what’s not. What’s him and what’s... something else.
It’s hard to focus on what Steve is saying but he gets the gist of it. He died. His dad went crazy. The chief got Max out. Max was safe.
Max was safe.
“I’m cold. I’m too cold.”
no subject
He watched the way Billy moved closer to the heater, sitting there for a moment before reaching over and turning it on high. It would probably cause him to start sweating, but he was okay with that. At least it would help the other boy warm up.
He thought for a moment before turning and popping the trunk. "Hold that thought." He got out, running to the back and pulling a thick woolen blanket out that he'd kept just in case. Along with a first aid kit and even some flares. Oh, and his bat.
He unfolded the blanket, fanning it out before moving over and wrapping the blanket around the other boy. "Here, use this. I'm...we're gonna go back to mine. I'm gonna...make you something to eat and we'll get you cleaned up. Then I'll call Max?"
no subject
"How did you know I was there?" Billy looks over at Steve in the driver's seat and his brow furrows in confusion. "Max. I wanna see Max."
He feels lost and it's hard to focus on the words Steve's saying and the words that fill his head, the ones that don't seem to be coming out of his mouth but that he can still hear. "Steve? Something's wrong. With me. I can hear things."
no subject
"El and Will said something was happening, but they couldn't tell me what exactly. They felt...something. From the Upside Down. I guess they were feeling you coming out." He said, shrugging a bit before hesitating and then turning the vents more towards him to help him warm up more.
"First we take care of you. Food and get you cleaned up. Then I'll call Hopper first thing in the morning to bring Max." He said softly as he pulled away from the building. He frowned at the others words though, brows knitting together.
"What do you mean...you can hear things?" He glanced at Billy, thoughts running through his own head, worry for Billy. Wonder at what this could possibly mean. Whether the Gate was opened again.
no subject
Shaking his head, Billy frowns too. "I'm not hungry. I'm just... cold." And covered in his own black blood. Was it still black or had it changed back? Billy flinches when he remembers those final moments, when the Mind Flayer had tried to kill him. He was still covered in blood and when he pressed his hand to his chest, he could feel the raised skin that indicated scars.
"I can hear... I can hear..." He clenches his eyes closed tightly, trying to think of the best way to describe it. "The Gate. You think the Gate is open. What's the Gate and why are you so afraid of it?"
no subject
"Yeah. El. Eleven actually. I mean, Hopper called her Jane, but...anyways! Yeah. Her and Will Byers." He said, still watching him as he sped through town to get to his house. He kept glancing over at Billy, waiting for his answer.
The one he got wasn't what he expected and he ended up pulling to the side of the road instead of swerving all over in shock. He threw it into park and turned, staring at Billy carefully. That he knew of, no one had ever mentioned the Gate to him. There hadn't really been time. He'd gone from possessed to...well, supposedly dead before any kind of talk could happen.
"How do you...what..." He shifted, still staring before blinking. "Wait, did you read my fucking mind?" Holy shit. Oh Holy shit. Could El do that? No one had ever told him if she could or not.
"I..um..shit." He said, leaning back in his seat and staring straight out the window. He wasn't trying to freak the other out, but when he'd been asked why he was so afraid...he pictured the demogorgon and the demodogs and all those fucking vines that tried to kill them running through the tunnels. His fists clenched and he closed his eyes, shaking his head.
"Look, I can...I'll explain what I can. There...there's another dimension. Next to or...underneath out own? I don't know how it works. El might could tell you better than me, but we call it the Upside Down and there are places it comes through. The main one is called the Gate. We closed it. Well, Joyce Byers closed it...the night you di-disappeared. It killed the Mind Flayer...you know, the thing that possessed you? Yeah. Its just...a lot to explain?"
no subject
As Steve tries to explain the Gate and the Upside Down, it all suddenly clicks. Billy knows exactly what Steve is talking about and he knows exactly why he's afraid, as demonstrated by the shiver runs down his spine.
"Steve... I know what the... The Upside Down is. I've... I've been there." He can feel his own fear spike and his breath stutters in his chest. "Steve... that's where I was. When it... He died, when the Gate closed... I've been there this whole time."
no subject
Billy telling him all of this is...weird. Because hello, the other guy could READ HIS MIND!? Well, he would have to get used to that, but then the other teen is speaking again and he raised an eyebrow slowly. No. No there was no way.
"Wait, you've been there this whole time!? Jesus christ no wonder you're so damn cold. Will was cold all the time too. For a while. He was stuck there...I can't even remember how long now." He said, shaking his head. "That was the year before you and Max showed up."
no subject
"Steve... how long was I gone?" He thinks he remembers Steve telling him but he can't remember the words, the numbers. He finds himself leaning towards the heater again. "Shower. I want a hot shower. I feel... I feel like I'll never be warm again."