HEART FLAYER | b. hargrove

CHAPTER 008.

2 MONTHS LATER
January 7th, 1985
(gonna start posting some of my fav billy edits at the top of some chapters... the edit I put on this one hurts my lil heart so I'm sORRY but it's so good)

Quite a bit happened in the last two months following the closing of the gate to the Upside Down: El got to go to the Snow Ball, Barb got a proper funeral, and Hawkins Lab was officially shut down for good. The latter of which, Arwen may have celebrated a little too hard by getting very drunk at Steve's house and throwing up in his empty pool. Luckily, he forgave her and just thought it was funny. 

On top of it all, Hopper actually bought Arwen her own used car for Christmas. It wasn't anything flashy or crazy, but it was hers and in her mind was a symbol of even more freedom. Of course, it'd now be her job to give El rides to and from school (and likely wherever else she wanted to go), but it was hardly a sacrifice to make in exchange for such an amazing present. Hopper probably thought that he had sacrificed much more by teaching Arwen to drive and endangering their lives for a week before she got her license. 

Today was the first day back from winter break and honestly Arwen felt eager to return to school. She didn't think she had a real reason why, but knowing she'd see her friends in class definitely had to be a big part of it.

She pulled into the parking lot and parked her car, bidding her sister to have a good day before they both got out. The infamous blue Camaro was only a few spots away and El met up with Max before they started heading off towards the middle school. Arwen, having a few minutes before she had to head into school, laid her backpack on the hood of her car and leaned against the front of it. 

Her eyes locked with Billy's as he got out of his car and lit a cigarette hanging from his lips. While her expression was blank and almost bored, his was a cold and menacing glare. He peered at her is if she were the Devil in the flesh. 

Their stare down was interrupted when both Robin and Eddie approached her. She looked at them and a big smile instantly broke out on her face, giving them each a big hug. When she glanced back towards the Camaro, the blonde mullet of a menace was gone. 

"Okay, hear me out, Arwen..." Eddie began, grinning.

"Oh boy. What is it?" She asked with a joking tone as she crossed her arms.

"One of my Hellfire Club boys had to drop out, saying he had to 'fix his grades and graduate' or some shit. I don't care because I'm definitely not graduating, but anyway..." He placed his hands on her shoulders, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I was hoping that you'd take his place."

Arwen gaped at him. "Really? Fuck yeah, I'd love to join!"

Eddie fist pumps in the air dramatically, smiling so wide it looked like it hurt. "Oh thank God, I had no idea what I'd do if you said no! We're meeting after school for a little bit and we can all discuss your character and a new campaign, if you're free?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll be there. I'll see if I can get El a ride home."

"I can talk my mom into it, don't worry about it." Robin assured her.

"Bless your mom, honestly." Arwen grinned, wrapping her arm around the girl's shoulders as they started their trek into the school.

"Anything for you nerds."

"Says the band geek."

"So rude!" Robin gasped in mock offense.

"Oh you love me." Arwen smirked. 

"Why do I feel like the third wheel in this friend group?" Eddie joked and squeezed in between them, putting his arms around both girls with a chuckle. 

"We should all get summer jobs in the new mall when it's done being built," Robin proposes. "I heard it's almost ready so I wanna go in and apply to somewhere as soon as I can."

Arwen nodded. "Yeah, that'd probably be a good idea. I doubt my dad will wanna continue paying for my car's gas for too much longer. Plus I don't really wanna go to college after this year, so might as well get a job."

"Me? Work?" Eddie scoffed, wiggling his eyebrows. "Corroded Coffin is gonna blow up and I'm gonna be famous in five years tops." 

"Famous for breaking the Guiness record for the most ear bleeding in one public space maybe..." Robin sassed, earing a dramatic gasp from Eddie.

Arwen broke into laughter that was so hard that she thought her spleen might explode. When she separated from them to go to her first class, she felt relief at the fact that things were back to normal again. No more Lab, no more Demodogs or Demogorgons... just a regular old high school.

-

The rest of the day is pretty average and eventually Arwen finds herself in the last class of the day. Eddie is turned around in his seat before class starts and they gush back and forth about their excitement for Hellfire after school. They're laughing about future possibilities in the campaign and how she plans on having her character be an absolute menace to the party, but her attention is broken by the agitating sound of Billy's foot loudly tapping from his desk beside hers. 

She focuses for a moment and uses her powers to subtly force his foot to stop moving, the ghost of a smirk arriving on her face as she's proud of herself. But she can feel Billy's angry eyes on her after he'd finished glancing at his own foot in confusion.

"Woah, are you alright?" Eddie asks suddenly. 

Her nose is bleeding, of course. She wipes it quickly on her sleeve and smiles in reassurance. 

"Oh, yeah. Just winter air, you know? It's dry and I get nose bleeds easily." 

She could faintly hear a scoff come from the douchebag next to her as he could hear her lie to Eddie. But before he could say anything, Mrs. Smith walked into class and the bell rang. She begins to announce a new project they'll be working on that will be a huge part of their final grade for the year. They'll have to reenact a love scene of their choice from a book or play in front of the class in exactly a week from today. Arwen honestly doesn't mind the project in itself, especially since she has a story in mind already, until Mrs. Smith says the most crucial part.

"You'll be working in the same partners as you did a couple months ago... so the person beside you will be your 'romantic interest,' so to speak."

The sound of Arwen's head as it thumped against her desk was heard in the quiet classroom and the teacher let out a frustrated sigh. Eddie's stifled snorts of laughter were also audible and Arwen silently planned her revenge on him for finding her pain so hilarious. 

Once Mrs. Smith has given the word to start on their projects, Billy reaches an arm over and pulls Arwen's desk over to connect with his, taking her seat - and her - along with it. 

He leans over to whisper in her ear, "You'd be smart to stop using your little powers on me."

"Pftt," Arwen scoffs loudly, lifting her head to quirk a brow at him in challenge. But she keeps her voice quiet as she responds, "It's crazy how you've already forgotten that I could just kill you."

"Fair point, Firecracker." He smirks. "So what's our project on?"

She once again digs out her copy of 'Return of the King,' slapping it down on her desk and flipping to the Appendices of the book before landing on a page titled 'The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen.' 

"This book again? Really?" Billy asked with a roll of his eyes.

"Yep. Again." Arwen said firmly. "Not only will it get us a good grade because my own name is in it and Mrs. Smith will think that's adorable, but it's a story that's in the Appendix of the book therefore doesn't get talked about enough. I guarantee you half these kids will pick 'Romeo and Juliet.'" 

She can hear him mutter a quiet 'whatever,' so she gets to work. She takes out a notebook and pen, glancing between the paper and the book so that she can write down Aragorn's lines for Billy to memorize. The story is a decent length even if their main focus is only on the lines belonging to Arwen and Aragorn and excluding Elrond's, so she decides that it'd probably be best to set aside time outside of class to practice. Even though she really would prefer not to, but Mrs. Smith did mention that she'd have further assignments in class for them this week so working outside of class time on this project was recommended. 

However, she'd also rather not be seen by anyone reciting gushy love story lines with Billy Hargrove for more time than necessary. She definitely wasn't looking forward to the day when they'd present in front of the class because Eddie would surely torment her for days after. 

"So... you free to work on this at your place later?" Arwen asked without looking up from writing.

"My place?" Billy asked and she noticed his jaw clench briefly.

"Yeah. I'd prefer not to deal with my dad be tense as fuck about a boy being at the house." 

"Uh, sure. What time?" He seemed to give the answer very hesitantly which was unusual for his typical cocky attitude. But she had a hunch as to why.

"I have Hellfire for a little bit after school, is it okay if I head over after that?" She finally looked up at him, her expression relatively blank.

"The fuck is Hellfire?"

"Dungeons and Dragons. Eddie's club."

Billy rolled his eyes and started to tap his foot obnoxiously again. "Yeah, whatever."

Arwen just gave him a dirty look before they ended up just sitting in silence as she continued her notes. As soon as the bell rang for the end of class, Billy was the first one out of his seat and disappearing out the door. She briefly wondered if what had crawled up his ass today, but remembered that this was usual behavior for him.