DONTMAKEMEFALLINLOVE || Billy Hargrove, Stranger Things

Season 4 Bonus Chapter VI.

Thursday March 27, 1986

Max's trailer home was packed with ghosts. The early hours of the day brought the group to her trailer after what had happened in Eddie's trailer home. They all crossed the grass from Eddie's to Max's home in utter silence. Nancy had spent way too long under Vecna's curse. No one knew she was going to wake up. There was nothing to wake up Nancy with; surely the girl didn't listen to heavy rock tunes, and that's all the music they owned in Eddie's trailer. Nancy refused to talk for the first few hours; she was so shaken by what she saw she couldn't. Steve held her upright as he guided her to Max's residence.

Strained and exhausted faces piled inside the home. Once everyone went up the stairs from the porch and into Max's trailer, Diana stayed behind. She needed to be alone for a while. She sat at the edge of the steps outside and fixed her attention on the only thing she could; Billy's Camaro. It sat outside the home beside Max's mother's car. With all the rain recently, the Camaro had dried rain drops scattered all over the paint. Diana wondered if Max ever started practicing driving with it. A faint smile crept over her lips. Diana was physically and mentally exhausted. Anything that reminded her of Billy was how she kept herself from endeavoring another damn breakdown.

Max was one minute away from death. Nancy too. Steve had been one bat away from death. Who else was next? Was she next? Dustin? How many more chances until someone does die? The fear finally set in Diana. She felt lifeless. Drained. There was no more smile on her face. Her eyes never tore from Billy's car, but she wasn't exactly looking at it. She shuddered from the morning breeze but didn't try to pull her leather jacket closer to her chest.

She heard Nancy's voice from the open window beside the front door. Nancy started to talk about what she saw under her trance. Diana heard Nancy crying while she spoke. An army of monsters. Hawkins. Her mom and her siblings. Four gates. Four chimes from the clock. Diana listened to Steve console Nancy about what she saw; he said it just a scare tactic.

"We have to go back in there," Nancy said, "back to the Upside Down."

"No, no, no, no," Steve immediately shut her down, "what?"

"Nope," Eddie stated.

"Let's think this through," Steve started.

"What is there to think through," Nancy defended.

Steve shook his head and raised his voice. "We barely made it out of there!"

"Because we weren't prepared," Nancy expressed, "but this time we will be. We'll get weapons and protection. We'll go through the gate, find his lair, and kill him."

Diana refused to go inside based on the group's debate. Shit, Diana thought, you leave them alone for one minute and they're already planning an attack.

"Or he'll kill us," Steve sneered, "the only reason you survived is because he wanted you to! He's not scared of us."

"And for good reason," Robin said, "we were wrong about Vecna. Henry. One. He's a number like Eleven, only a sick, evil, male, child-murdering version of her with really bad skin. But my-my point is he's super powerful. He could turn us inside out with a snap of his fingers. It's not a fair fight. We're just kids, Nancy."

"Then why fight fair," Diana heard her brother say, "you're right, he's like Eleven. But that gives us an upper hand. We know Eleven's strengths and weaknesses."

"Weaknesses?" Erica questioned.

Dustin explained, "When El remote-travels, she goes into this trance-like state. I bet the same is true of Vecna."