GJWHF (Billy Hargrove)

chapter 2

"Hey Bob!" Dani shouted toward the cash register as she skipped her way into the only Radio Shack anywhere near Hawkins. The youngest Harrington had known Bob from the countless amount of times that she had been over at the Byers place. He had recently begun dating Joyce, and it was obvious that they were still going strong as Dani watched Joyce walk out from behind the wall next to the storage closet, fixing herself. Dani chuckled, finding their newfound romance to be nothing but adorable.

"Hey there Danielle." Bob smiled at her, blushing a little from whatever had previously been happening between the two adults before the young girl stepped into the store. "Anything I can help you with today?"

"My walkman broke this morning and I'm pretty sure I'll die without it, so here I am. Gimme your expertise, oh wise one. I'll buy whichever one has good quality music."

Bob laughed at the brunette. Of what little things he knew about her, the most obvious were that she loved her music and her friends more than anything. He'd made sure to bring her records and tapes as little gifts so she wouldn't feel left out when he would do the same for Joyce's boys. Dani Harrington was like another family member to the Byers and he treated her as such.

"I've got just the thing for you. It's brand new, the best in the market. I've got one left and it's got your name written all over it."

"You're speaking my language here buddy," Dani beamed at the older man, "how much do I owe you then?"

"For you..." Bob smiled fondly, "half off."

Dani's eyes widened. Typical Bob, always being generous. "You don't have to do that Bob."

"No, no, no, I insist. Any friend of the Byers is a friend of mine. You're like family over there, so you get the family discount here."

She couldn't help the bright smile that lit up her face. She loved knowing that there were people who recognized her as basically being a part of the Byers' family. As she thanked Bob and waited while he priced out her transaction, Dani turned to Joyce who had her full attention.

"Hey Joyce." There was one point in her life where she had probably called Joyce Ms. Byers, but she couldn't remember it. After babysitting Will for so many years and becoming such good friends with Jonathan, the mother of the two boys couldn't handle having Dani call her something so impersonal. "Apparently Jonathan and I are gonna be trick or treating with the little rascals tomorrow night."

"Oh, yes! I completely forgot you'd be going. Did you want me to pay you before or after, I'm sure it won't be more than a few hours."

"No, don't worry about it." Dani assured the woman. "Besides, Jonathan is technically the one on babysitting duty, I'm just tagging along because I have nothing better to do." That wasn't entirely true. Steve wanted her to come to the Halloween party someone from school was hosting with him and Nancy, but Jonathan wasn't up for it and the kids needed a chauffeur, so she bailed.

"I can't thank you enough for everything sweetheart, if you're not gonna take my money then at least let me feed you. We're gonna have dinner at around 6 or so tonight, if you wanna stop by."

Dani couldn't be happier with the request. She was supposed to have dinner tonight with Barb's family, but lately her and Steve were growing uncomfortable with it. The more she saw them, the more guilty she felt. Going to the Byers' gave her the perfect excuse to ditch the dinner. She would feel bad about doing so, but in her defense, she'd gone alone last week when Nancy and Steve both bailed on her.

"I will never say no to free food." Handing Bob the money she owed for the walkman, she began to shuffle slowly towards the door. "Will you be there too, Bob?"