Insane in the membrane-Stranger things

Chapter 12

The next day at school just seemed to drag on but it became somewhat enjoyable when Jess sat on the bleachers watching Steve's basketball game, she barely watched though since she had her nose in a book and was occasionally looking over the top of it to see Steve getting intimidated by Billy.

''Harrington, I heard you used to run this school, that true? King Steve they used to call you, right? Then you turned bitch,'' Billy taunted, his sweaty chest pressed up against him trying to get the ball.

''Hey maybe you should just shut up and play the game,'' Steve exclaimed back.

Jess wasn't afraid of Billy, just grossed out by him; she watched as he shoved Steve to the floor and did a fancy layup towards the basketball net trying to act cool but Jess didn't buy it. Billy then glared directly at her, licking his lips and raising his eyebrows. Jess had just about enough, she slammed her book closed and stepped down the bleachers and headed over to Billy. ''Who the fuck do you think you are?'' she shouted. ''First you nearly run over my brother, next you nearly break my wrist, you then shove Steve to the floor and now you're flirting with me.''

''What you gonna do about it, Dorothy?'' he asked, teasing her.

''My name isn't Dorothy you asshole, you don't scare me Hargrove,'' Jess yelled, she raised up a fist to punch Billy square in the jaw but he grabbed it, twisting it. Jess screamed in pain and Steve just sighed, pulling Jess away from Billy's grip and sitting her back down on the bleachers.

''Steve?'' came Nancy's voice. Steve turned around and headed down to Nancy.

Later on the day, Jess was sitting on the hood of Jonathan's car with him and Nancy. ''What so he asked you to take me home?'' Nancy asked, raising an eyebrow at Jonathan.

''Yeah, he was upset, I mean he was really upset but he was still worried about you,'' Jonathan replied.

Nancy looked down at her feet, she felt really bad for what she had done to Steve.

''Hey, you gotta cut yourself some slack, okay?'' Jess comforted her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

''Yeah, people say stupid things when they're wasted,'' Jonathan added. ''Things they don't mean.''

''But that's the thing what if I did mean it,'' Nancy sighed, Jess just gave her a warming pat on the back. ''All this time, I've been pretending that everything's fine, but it's not. I... I feel like there's this...I don't know, like this....''

''Like there's a weight you're carrying around with you. I feel it too Nancy, like Will came home but I just...I try to help him and protect him but he's not the same anymore,'' Jonathan explained.

''That's true, I don't think our lives will ever be the same again, I mean we've already gone through so much and I have a terrible feeling that this bullshit isn't over,'' Jess explained.

''Yeah you're right Jess but we will get through it, together all of us,'' Nancy smiled.

''Thanks both of you, well I gotta go I need to talk to my chemistry teacher about that stupid test I didn't do all that well on. Catch you two later,'' Jess smiled, grabbing her things.

''All right, catch you later Jess,'' Nancy exclaimed.

''See you, Jess,'' Jonathan smiled.

Jess waved to her best friend and new friend and headed back into Hawkins high. Later on that day after school Jess headed home, for the first time in a long time she was home alone, her mum wasn't home from work and Dustin wasn't home from school. He was probably doing AV club today with his friends, Jess grabbed herself a snack from the pantry and poured herself a glass of water before heading upstairs to her room to get her homework done and out of the way. Suddenly she heard a loud tap at her bedroom window, she glanced over and saw Steve, she pulled up the window and he practically leapt in. ''I have a front door, you know,'' she teased.