Yours Truly | B. Hargrove

27

That next day Billy showed up at work, looking disoriented as ever. He looked like he had been extremely hung over as he entered the pool with sunglasses on and a shirt covering his usual bare torso. As he sat at the lifeguard tower he couldn't help but think about the previous night.

"Build what you see." The terrifying shadow like monster's words played through his kind over and over.

What terrified him most was in the front of the group, his beautiful girlfriend stood in a zombie like state. There were hundreds of innocent people as the shadow loomed over them. Billy felt like himself, but there was something that ran a chill down his spine and made him feel unreal. Hawkins was hot, it being the middle of summer, but today was overwhelming. He kept his shirt on as if to try and keep the sun off of his skin. He couldn't run far enough away from it.

As he decided he needed to get some proper shade, he didn't realize the fuming girl that was hot on his trail. Billy was completely out of it, he wasn't even sure as to why he showed up at work. Just before he could fully submerge himself in the locker room, a rough hand spun him around by his shoulder.

"So we can show up to work, but our date just flew out of your head, huh?" In front of him stood his very angry girlfriend.

"W-what?" He stuttered, a whisper creeping into the back of his head.

"Our date, 8 o'clock, motel 6? God did you just get completely loaded last night?" Eden took in his very pale appearance and the fact he was shivering even though it was 87° outside.

"No, no Eden i swear I-" he was going to tell her what happened but his mouth snapped shut. It felt like someone else was in control of his body.

"Grab her." The looming voice spoke to him in his head, "make her one of us, Billy."

"You what?" She snapped the boy out of a daze.

"You need to go." He suddenly demanded.

"What? No, you don't get to-" she was cut off.

"Now! Get out of here!" He yelled causing the girl to jump back in fear.

"Fuck you, Hargrove." Eden snapped as tears pricked her eyes.

Billy wanted nothing more that to grab her and pull the girl into his chest, but he knew he would hurt her. He felt like he was losing his mind as he stepped out back into the scorching sun and took place back on the lifeguard tower. A towel was now swung across his legs. Everything was too loud, too bright. It felt like the hangover train ran him over, reversed and did it again. He knew he didn't drink last night though, maybe it was a concussion from the crash?
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Eden came back around the pool after she finished her short shift at work, ready for round two with the blonde boy. She was beyond furious at his unusual answers and decided that she deserved a proper explanation. However, as she reached the fence for the poop she was stopped by a red headed preteen, accompanied by a brunette. 

"Have you talked to Billy, he's not himself." Max made up a short lie.

"No, no he's definitely himself. A royal pain in my ass." She muttered, venom laced in her voice.

"No Eden, when does Billy ever wear a shirt? Let alone ever cover himself up fully?" Max sighed out.

"I don't know, Max. He's probably hung over or some shit."

"He didn't come home last night... was he with you?" She bit her lip.

"What? No.. no he was supposed to meet me but never showed." Eden felt her heart drop to her stomach.

"Come with us." The girl she didn't know suddenly spoke up.

"There's something you have to know." Max added.

"Okay..." for some reason Eden had a heavy feeling that something was really not right.

The group snuck into the showers, since none had paid for a pass into the pool that day. Eden couldn't help but notice the lifeguard attire that the brunette, who's name she didn't know, held. This only confused Eden further, as Max sat her on a bench.

"Okay.. listen. What we're about to tell you is going to sound.. crazy. Heather never showed up to work today, and we found these today." The brunette girl handed Eden a lifeguard whistle and Fanny pack, which had trickles of blood on it.

"W-what is this?" Eden threw the items down, thinking this is a sick prank.

"We brought them here, they're Heathers, at least that's what the other lifeguards said. She didn't show up to her shift." The brunette now spoke.

"Like, Heather Holloway?" The older teen furrowed her brows.

"Those were in Billy's bathroom." Max whispered.

"I don't understand." She scoffed, shaking her head.

"Okay, look. This is Eleven, El for short. She can.. see things that aren't there, and has telekinesis. She escaped from Hawkins Lab a couple years ago, and she's the only who saw Billy attacking Heather and giving him to... something. This isn't the first time something like this has happened, El's done this twice before and I've only done it once. There's a place called the upside down, it's like Hawkins but creepier. You cannot tell anyone this, it's like serious shit." Max ranger out.

"Ha-ha. Funny joke." Eden deadpanned, not believing it for a second.

"Watch." The girl, Eleven, spoke up and rose her hand. Soon enough a knob for one of the showers turned on it's own causing the water to turn on.

"H-how- what-" the 18 year olds eyes widened, pointing to the shower.

"I told you." Max rolled her eyes, "this is serious Eden. I mean it, no one can know."

"Who else knows?" The girl breathed out, still in shock.

"Well, us. Lucas Sinclair, Will and Jonathan Byers, Nancy and Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, Steve Harrington, Hopper and Joyce. I think that's it." The small girl listed off.

"Hold on, Steve knows? Is that why he's been ditching me for the past year?" Eden glared at the boys actions.

"Um- probably I don't know. Anyways, El needs to figure out where Heather is. We need to save her from Billy. If Billy's actually bad." Max explained, still not truly believing that her brother may be possessed by something in the upside down.

"Okay.. how do I help?"