"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
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."