This Means War // Billy Hargrove x Reader

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐘-𝐒𝐈𝐗

You were frozen in place as your eyes met his, darkened by the creature within but still a brighter blue than you'd ever seen before. He revs his engine and you can vaguely hear Nancy shouting at the kids to get back inside the mall, but you couldn't move.

Breath hitched in your throat, you watch as his hands tighten on the steering wheel, an emptiness to his expression that wounded your already shattered heart.

"Billy..." You plead his name though he couldn't hear it, the organ in your chest clenching in on itself. Your pulse was so loud in your ears that when Jonathan pulls you free of your trance, you jump in reaction. "We have to get inside." He takes your arm gently and guides you away from your spot and back inside, where Mike was frantically trying to get hold of Steve's group for backup since you had no car to go anywhere now. 

"Billy has found us. I repeat, Billy has found us." He enunciates into the walkie but it was a pointless effort since nobody responded.

You were blindsided by seeing him, caught so completely off guard that you were struggling to string together a coherent thought that wasn't just his face staring back at you. "You're gonna kill him, aren't you?" Max's question as Nancy steals a gun from one of the downed soldiers steals your attentions at last, the idea not having crossed your mind yet for fear it might linger as a viable option. 

Nancy looks between Max and you before shaking her head lightly as she loads the gun before flicking the safety on. "It's just a precaution, okay?"

"And not just against Billy." Will adds, hoping to relieve some of the tension around the subject. "If he knows we're here, so does the Mindflayer."

"We need to get out of here," A breathy sentence you weren't sure anybody even heard, but they apparently do as they all look at you in sync. "Any chance that thing'll drive?" You ask, pointing at the flipped-over vehicle laying helplessly on the floor of the mall.

"We don't need it to drive." Jonathan's lightbulb moment was taking over, it seemed. "We just need it's ignition cable." God, of course. You just needed to flip the damn thing over to get it out and then you could escape and get to where you needed to be - hopefully before the gigantic mushy monster came for you all. 

But it was absolutely not as easy as it looked in the movies. After five minutes of pushing, El takes over and offers to do it with her powers but not even she can seem to budge it. A mixture of her wound weakening her and over-using her powers, you guess, but worrying all the same. The poor thing needed a vacation after all this for sure. 

Mike, baby genius that he was, comes up with idea to use metal poles as levers to pry the car where you needed it to be. You didn't think it would work, but with all of you doing it you manage to finally get it on it's side, and then pushed onto the ground in the right position. 

"Fucking Christ; never ask me to exercise again. I'm sick of it." You complain, muscles crying out for relief and relaxation that they weren't likely to get any time soon. 

Nancy pops the hood and Jonathan gets to work as you hop up onto the counter, electing to supervise since you had no clue what to look for. From the corner of your eye, Will begins to turn and when you look at him something feels off. 

The dark pit in your stomach extends and warps into a feeling of impending dread and you drop from the counter to close the distance between you and him. "What is it?" You ask him, though you weren't sure you even wanted to know the answer.

A deep rumbling creaks through the mall, centered above you and drawing your attentions upwards. Your lips drop open in trepidation as heavy breaths release at the sight before you. The creature from the cabin was here, clambering over the glass above. "Run!" You shout, scattering the group of friends dotted about the room just as Jonathan pulls free the ignition cable. You head for your brother, Max and El, instinct to keep them safe taking over.