MISS AMERICANA & THE HEARTBREAK PRINCE / STEVE HARRINGTON

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

APPARENTLY EL WAS friends with the other middle schoolers. Maggie had found this out when her dad took Mike to a different room to talk. He said something about "Protecting El" and when El went to hug Lucas and Dustin. 

Not only that, but what Dustin told Maggie earlier that day was true. El had these powers that would help bring Will back and she knew what to do to close whatever gate Will was talking about. 

After a while, Hopper told everyone they needed to head to their cabin. He told Maggie to stay behind with Steve and the kids. After the told her to not be stupid, in which she responded with a middle finger to her dad's face. In a different scenario, Hopper would've been livid that his daughter had the audacity to flip him off but he had other things on his mind than his poorly behaved daughter. 

The group that stayed at the Byers house was preoccupied with cleaning and other random things around the house when the kids began to make a game plan on how to help the others out. Steve quickly shut the kid's ideas down but was cut off by an engine revving in the distance. An engine that Maggie knows all too well, it was Billy's car.

"Steven, do not go out there," Maggie pointed her finger at him as Steve started to walk towards the door. 

The girl tried her best to barricade him from getting to the door but Steve placed his hands around Maggie's shoulders and lifted her up and walked her to the bathroom. "Stay here," he told her. 

"You can't just put me in a bathroom like I'm some dog!" She fought back.

"Stay," was all Steve said before he closed the door with a few inches left to be open. 

Maybe she was like some dog because Maggie stopped talking. To make a Hopper quiet must be a power the Harrington siblings had. It made Maggie think of how Allie always knew how to make Maggie stop talking. Good or bad. God, Maggie missed the friendship she and Allie had, but Maggie missed how it felt to walk the halls next to Billy more. Oh my god, Billy.

Maggie for some reason forgot that Billy was here until she heard the door slam open and shut. 

"Well, well, well," Billy said from the other side of the door. "Lucas Sinclair. What a surprise." His voice was low, nothing like Maggie had ever heard him sound like. "I thought I told you to stay away from him, Max."

"Billy, go away," Max pleaded.

"You disobeyed me. And you know what happens when you disobey me."

"Billy-"

"I break things." 

The kids began yelling as ruckus arose from the kitchen. What the hell was going on with Billy? 

Maggie felt nauseous hearing whatever Billy was doing to the kids. Her ears were ringing, her knees weak. God, why can't Maggie's love life be simple? 

She couldn't hear the yelling in the other room, she mostly refused to. She couldn't admit to herself that Billy was actually a bad person. He was just trying to seem tough, not wanting to give up his fame within the town of Hawkins. He was just like Maggie right? That's why they were perfect for each other! They were willing to do whatever it took to remain the talk of Hawkins High. 

Maggie couldn't tell if her tears were because of what she was hearing on the other side of the door or because she couldn't tell what was going on with her and Billy. Maybe he had been this shitty the entire time, she just hadn't caught him at a bad time yet. 

The screams that were once encouraging Steve to "Beat Billy's ass," (per Dustin's words) had now turned into the kids begging Billy to get off of Steve. There was no way Billy would actually get to a point of actually hurting Steve, actually almost killing him. No.

Maggie had to see for herself, whatever her supposed boyfriend was doing. She poked her head out of the bathroom to see Billy's back turned to her, on the floor, on top of Steve. Without thinking, her feet took her out of the bathroom. 

If she wasn't helpful defeating those monsters outside, she could at least be helpful and defeat the monster right in front of her. 

She grabbed a syringe that was used on Will and walked over to her boyfriend. He was to preoccupied to notice the kids fell silent behind her and that Maggie was standing over the boy in red. Her arm wound up and before she could fully understand what she was doing, Maggie plunged the needle into Billy's neck.

Instantly, the boy stood up from on top of Steve. His vision quickly going blurry. The dose wasn't going to instantly knock him out since it was for Will but it would at least make him drowsy enough to stop killing Steve. 

When Billy turned around, she was face to face with Billy. His face covered in blood and sweat. But his expression was softer, sure it was the drugs but under all of the gross bodily fluids, it was her Billy. 

He felt for the syringe and grabbed it out, only a slight wince coming from his mouth. "The hell is this?" he began to walk towards Maggie. Not his normal walk that she was used to, a walk where his heels dragged on the floor, one that seemed like he wasn't putting on a show for their school's entire student body. "You stupid bitch, what did you do?"

Maggie took a step forward so she was only inches away from Billy. His heavy breathing hitting her face. Without breaking eye contact, Maggie held up one finger and placed it onto his shoulder, pushing Billy down to the ground with ease. He began laughing the instant he fell to the floor. 

The kids were standing behind the girl as she turned to grab the bat Steve had earlier and gave it to Max.

"From here on out, you leave me and my friends alone." Max held up the bat to Billy, a confidence radiating from her that Maggie had never seen when she was around her step-brother. "Do you understand."

A slurred, "Screw you," left Billy's lips.

Max swung the bat just between Billy's legs, sticking straight into the floor. Maggie would be lying if she said she didn't wince at the sight of her possibly crushing Billy's...you know.

He looked at the bat then quickly at Maggie, his eyebrow raised for a second.

The redhead lifted the bat back up, "I said do you understand?" She yelled with all her might. "Say it! Say it!"

"I understand," Billy licked his lips and mumbled.

"What?"

"I understand."

Billy's head fell back, whatever drugs Maggie put into his system finally fully working. Max threw the bat down and bent down to grab his keys out of his pocket. 

"Let's get out of here," Max held the keys up and looked to her friends.