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Fourteen

When Allison finished telling him everything, from her childhood at the lab, their escape, the Upside Down, the Demogorgon, the gate, and finally, her and Eleven's powers, it felt like hours had passed. Billy had sat in silence the entire time, refusing to say a word, giving her an occasional look of disbelief. 

"Well? Say something!", she pleaded, his reluctance to speak, making her anxious.

"What do you want me to say?", he scoffed, standing up and burying his hands deep into his pockets.

"That you believe me!", she shouted, jumping to her feet alongside him.

"I can't do that-"

"I get it. You're trying to think of a logical explanation for what you've seen. You think I must be crazy. To be more specific, you're wondering why the hot ones are always crazy.", she cut him off, reciting his thoughts word for word. 

"Lucky guess.", he muttered, trying to deny the proof that was right in front of him. Allison rolled her eyes and outstretched her arm towards his car, starting the engine and repeatedly honking the horn until he demanded that she stop. 

As he looked back towards her, he raised a finger to point at the blood running out of her nose and she quickly wiped it away. The front door creaked opened and Eleven stuck her head out, searching for the source of all the noise. Her eyes narrowed on Billy and she took a step forward, putting herself between him and Allison like an overprotective guard dog.

"El, this is Billy. We can trust him.", Allison introduced Eleven to Billy, and she responded with a look of disproval before storming back into the cabin. "Sorry about that, I guess it can be hard to trust people when you can't hear what their intentions are."

"You don't say.", he muttered, his voice thick with sarcasm.

"Are you worried about what my intentions are?", she asked, feeling an unexpected sadness at the thought of him not trusting her.

"You're the mind reader, you tell me.", Billy sighed, giving her permission to read his mind as he stepped forward to bridge the gap between them. Allison felt her heart rate quicken, as she reached up to caress the side of his face. "Is that necessary?", he hissed, trying to ignore how her touch made him feel.

"Everyone's mind is different. Some people are an open book, with their thoughts sitting just below the surface. While others push their thoughts deep down, where they're almost impossible to reach. I have a feeling that you're going to be a bit trickier than most, so yes, making physical contact will help.", as she gave him a long-winded explanation, Billy stared down at her, nodding in understanding.

After checking with him one last time, Allison closed her eyes and tuned into Billy's thoughts. A collection of words and images, filling her head. As she dove deeper into his mind, she was met with resistance but forced her way through it, until it overcame her. When it all became too much, she forced herself back to the present moment, breathing heavily as she looked up at Billy.

"Deep down you know that everything I'm saying is true, and you want to trust me, but you've refused to trust another person since-", she cut herself off mid-sentence, afraid that she might say something that she'd regret.

"Since?", he pried, glaring down at her. "Say it!", he demanded, the sudden increase in the volume of his voice, startling her.

"Since your Mom left.", she whimpered, watching his face drop. "You trusted her and she abandoned you, knowing exactly what kind of man your father was."

"Enough.", he warned, pulling away from her.

"You were just a kid Billy, you deserved to feel safe and loved-"

"I said, enough!", he shouted, storming off of the porch with Allison following close behind. As he arrived at the drive side of his Camaro and reached for the handle, Allison lifted her hand and locked all of the doors. Billy's let out a loud huff and dropped his head, his hand remaining on the handle.

"You told me to read your mind, I don't understand why you're mad.", she verbalized her confusion, taking another step closer. 

"I'm not angry. Now unlock the door!", he demanded, pulling at the handle and jiggling it violently.

"Then why are you leaving?", she closed the gap between them and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Reluctantly, he turned his face towards hers, trying to blink back the tears in his eyes. His father had taught him to hide his emotions, and never cry in front of others. As Allison stared at him, her big, green eyes filled with concern, his father's voice echoed in his head, telling him that he was weak and pathetic.

"I don't need your pity-", Billy started to defend himself, but Allison threw her arms around him, stunning him into silence. 

She felt him tensed up and it only encouraged her to keep holding on, until his body relaxed against hers. Unable to suppress his emotions any longer, Billy rested his head onto her shoulder, allowing himself to cry silently, his tears falling onto Allison's hair. 

Grateful that he had found someone to cry in front of without judgment, Billy reciprocated the action, wrapping his arms around Allison and pulling her closer, until their bodies were pressed tightly against each other. The cold had caused Allison's nipples to harden, and Billy couldn't ignore them as they pressed against his chest.

His hands began to wander down the side of her body, sending chills down her spine, before coming to rest on her hips. Allison responded by moving her hands up towards the back of his neck, and then slowly tilted her gaze upwards until she was staring into Billy's eyes.

As the tension between them grew, Billy licked his lips and began to slowly move his face towards Allisons. When their mouths were only inches apart, the sound of a vehicle approaching interrupted, causing Allison to pull away. Billy shot her a look of confusion as Hopper's truck pulled up behind the Camaro, and he jumped out, storming towards the pair.

"What the hell is this?", Hopper asked them breathlessly, side-eyeing Billy.

"You live with a cop?", Billy blurted out, questioning Allison, as if Hopper wasn't standing directly in front of them.

"That's Police Cheif Jim Hopper, to you! And yes, she does.  Which means not only are you trespassing on private property but that property belongs to me, the man who can make your life a living hell.", Hopper threatened, bringing himself to stand between Allison and Billy.

"Leave him alone!", Allison pleaded, grabbing Hopper's arm and tugging as hard as she could.

"Then tell me why he's here.", he lowered his voice as he spoke to her, his eyes scanning over her face for answers.

"He just wanted to talk.", she shrugged, glancing back at Billy who was shifting uncomfortably nearby.

"You were doing a lot more than talking when I got here. You said there was nothing going on between you two!"

"There isn't!", she blurted out, watching a pained expression flash across Billy's face. He shook his head and turned away, reaching for the door handle on his car, before remembering that all of the doors were still locked.

"You mind?", he asked, clearing his throat loudly, while he refused to look back at her. Allison forced down the lump in her throat and popped up the locks with a snap of her fingers. She then glared up at Hopper through her tears and stomped into the cabin, listening to Billy's car speed out of the driveway behind her.