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Thirteen

Several days had passed since Eleven had shut the gate, and life had returned to a new sense of normal. Hopper had taken the time to tell Allison everything that had happened and why he had been gone for so long, while Eleven filled her in on every detail of her journey to meet her mother and a girl named Kali, that had once been at Hawkin's Lab with them.

Jonathan and Nancy had stopped by to visit, telling her everything from their trip to meet a man named Murray, and how they had ended up together. Allison was happy for them, but couldn't help feeling bad for Steve, not only had his heart been broken by Nancy, but he had taken a severe beating from Billy.

Hopper had allowed Mike, Will, Dustin, Lucas, and Max to go to the cabin for a visit, after letting Eleven rest for a couple of days. They had all kept her and Allison entertained for hours, retelling the events that had taken place since Halloween night.

Eventually, the day arrived when Hopper decided to go back to work, leaving Allison and Eleven alone for the first time since everything had happened. He had procrastinated on his way out, trying to look for a reason to stay, but eventually got into his truck and drove away, staring in his rearview mirror the entire way.

After waving goodbye to him from the front door, the girls went back inside to decided how they wanted to spend the rest of the day. Eleven went straight to the television, that Hopper had taken the time to fix, and turned it on. While she flipped through the channels, Allison paced back and forth, trying to fight the boredom that was already starting to creep in.

"Dance?", Eleven asked, flipping to one of the music channels and giving Allison a grin.

"Sure!", she exclaimed happily, walking across the room while Eleven turned up the volume to as loud as it would go. They laughed as they spun around on the carpet without a care in the world. Every so often, one of them would try to copy the dance moves on the screen, sending the other into hysterics. 

Suddenly, Allison found herself overcome with a strange feeling, that she couldn't begin to explain. She tried to hide it from Eleven, who had continued to dance, blissfully unaware of what she had sensed, but as a loud sound approached outside it became impossible to hide.

Eleven's eyes went wide with fear as they locked with Allisons and she quickly shut off the television with a small tilt of her head. The inside of the cabin fell silent, making the noise outside much more apparent. As it got closer, it became clear that it was a vehicle, but they both knew that it wasn't Hoppers.

They listened as it came to a stop just outside the cabin, prompting Allison to cautiously creep towards the kitchen window to see what was going on. When she realized who had just arrived, she calmly told Eleven to stay put and then ran out the front door, just as Billy Hargrove climbed out of his car and shut the door.

"What are you doing here?", she asked aggressively, rushing down the steps towards him. Instead of answering her question, he leaned against his car and eyed her up and down, taking the cigarette out his mouth and exhaling the smoke slowly. 

"I thought you might want this back.", he answered, holding her jacket out towards her. She snatched it out his hand, forced out a quick thank you, and turned on her heel. Her breath caught in her throat as he grabbed her by the wrist and spun her back around to face him. "And I need some answers.", he added, looking deep into her eyes.

In the close proximity, Allison immediately noticed how tired Billy looked, almost like he hadn't slept in days. His normally vibrant blue eyes were bloodshot and surrounded by dark circles, while his signature cocky grin had been replaced by a somber tone.

"First, I need answers. How did you find this place?", she inquired, pulling out of his grasp and giving him a stern look.

"Fine. I followed Max the other day. I figured she knew something and I was right.", he answered with a shrug before continuing. "My turn. How about you start by explaining what I saw you do the other night?"

"You'll have to be more specific."

"You know...with the bat.", he whispered, his eyes darting around in all directions as if he was afraid that someone might overhear him.

"I'm not sure what you thought you saw, but I'm sure it had something to do with the tranquilizer-"

"Don't!", he shouted, grabbing her by the wrist again. "I know what I saw...", he trailed off, catching sight of the tattoo on the underside of her wrist.  She pulled her hand away and hid it behind her back, shooting him a defensive glare. "009? What the hell is that?"

As she stood in front of Billy, fighting back the tears that formed at the corners of her eyes, her mind wandered back to her time at Hawkin's Lab, when she was nothing but a number.  Her blood boiled as she replayed Dr. Brenner's words in her head, telling her that nobody would ever understand her, that she was something that would only be feared.

Billy watched her hands clench into tight fists at her side, noticing how the wind had begun to blow harder, rustling the leaves in the trees around them. Allison was pulled back to reality as Billy reached out and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, the subtle action enough to tell her that he wasn't afraid of her.

"I'll tell you anything that you want to know, but you need to promise that you'll keep it a secret.", she murmured, looking up into his eyes.

"Who would I tell?"

"I'm serious! You being here is already putting me and my sister at risk. I need you to promise me!"

"Okay...I won't tell anyone. I swear", he promised, his tone sincere. 

"You might want to sit down for this. If you want to go get comfortable on the porch, I'll go tell El that you aren't here to take us away.", she sighed nonchalantly, turning to go back into the cabin and face her sister. As she stepped inside, Eleven was crouched down behind the couch, waiting patiently.

"Bad men?", she asked, slowly climbing to her feet.

"No. It's Max's brother. He just wants to talk. I'll be right outside, okay?", Allison grabbed one of the blankets that were draped over the back of the couch and wrapped it around herself, before heading back outside. Billy was standing on the porch, looking out of place, a smirk spreading across his face when he saw that Allison had taken the time to bundle herself up. 

She walked past him and sat down in one of the chairs nearby, crossing her legs underneath herself. As she gestured to the empty chair beside hers, Billy accepted the offer and lowered himself into it, waiting for her to start speaking. She took a deep breath and held out her tattooed wrist towards him, preparing to explain everything from the very beginning.