Keep me Closer - Billy Hargrove - Stranger Things

8: Just a Guy

"Mom! It's okay! I'm okay! I hate being trapped in this house all the time. I go nowhere except school! I'm sick of it. I just wanted to get out of the house!"

" Do you understand the physical and mental pain I went through when I lost you the first time?! I told you what you are not allowed to do. I told you, this is my house, you are my daughter, you aren't 18. You have to listen to me." My mom yelled.

" Mom I'm not a kid anymore! I can defend myself and you know it. You know it!"

" I don't care how old you are or what you can do! I don't care if you can shoot lasers out of your han-"

" Their not lase-"

" I don't care what you can do. I need you to be safe. And I need you to listen to me. I don't ask you do follow many rules. I try to give you freedom. But you just- you make it- you- "

" What? I what? Make it difficult? I'm sorry mom. I'm sorry that I'm sick of constantly being home. Never going anywhere but school. I'm sorry that I wanted to go outside and walk around. I'm sorry that I make life soooo difficult for you."

She breathed in. " Honey, you don't make my life difficult, you just make me worry. I worry about you. And I have a right to worry about you because I'm your mother. You live under my roof, you're not 18, I've lost you before. Just-"

She was cut off by Will uncomfortably and awkwardly moving in his chair. We both looked at him forgetting he was there.

" Will sweeting you can go to your room." My mom said and Will took off to our room closing the door.

" Just accept that I have rules."

" Mom it's not fair!"

" Fine we can compromise. You aren't allowed to walk by yourself past 10  and you're not aloud be out past 11. You have to have someone driving you. "

" Fine." I said.

" And you can tell me things Quinn, who was the guy?" She smiled.

" It was just a guy, no one really he just dropped me off. That's all."

" Was it the same guy Jonathan mentioned the other day."

" I don't kn- wait what?!"

" Jonathan, he mentioned a guy he saw you talking to at school. He seemed upset when he got home from school and after a while of me asking why he finally just told me."

" I- I- I don't know he could have seen me talking to anyone?" I said yet I completely remembered him staring at me angrily the other day while I was talking to Billy.

" O-oh okay." My mom said sensing that I didn't wanna talk about it. "Well its very late, go to sleep okay, no more sneaking out."

" Okay, love you. Night." I said hugging her and walking to my room. On the way I saw Jonathan up as well. I walked into his room and quietly shut the door to avoid unwanted attention. "Thanks for ratting me out!" I whisper/yelled.

"Ratting you out?! I didn't tell mom anything other then the fact I saw you talking to that asshole."

"Jonathan you think everyone is an asshole!"

"Most people are! And so what if I told mom you talked to some guy."

"So what? What do you mean so what? You know how mom is, she'll never leave me alone about it and plus me and Billy just talk, that's it, we both have sh*t lives so we just rant to each other cause we would rather do that than be home."

"I'm sorry your life is so hard with 3 people who constantly love you and just want to protect and look out for you."

"Jonathan, you know exactly what I mean."

"I'm sorry, and I do. But you and Will disappearing was the hardest week of my entire life and I don't see anything ever topping how hard that was for us. We thought you were dead Quinn. We had a funeral. A Funeral. You can't expect us to never get worried about you."

"I know, I just don't think it's fair that I'm constantly stuck here with no time to myself and I'm not even allowed to be on my own for more than 20 minutes without someone loosing their sh*t. I can protect myself."

"I know you can, but what happens that you don't see coming. You're not invincible, things happen and we just want you safe."

"I know, thanks. I'm just sick of being at home." I sighed and walked out of his room and back to mine. 
The lamp was still on and I saw Will drawing. "Hey Will, can't sleep?",

" No.. I- yeah, no."

" Whatcha drawing?" I smiled and looked over. I saw his picture and my head immediately flooded with memories and fear. I backed up stumbling over my feet. I swallowed before asking, " W-h-a- Wait no.. I- what- how- how did- what is that?"

"I- wait do you- have you-"

" Seen it? Yeah.. I have." I blinked a few times fast to try and keep up.

" D-do you kn-" He started.

" Know what it is? No I was hoping you would." I whispered.

" Why would I?"

" I don't know you're the one drawing it!"

" Well if we have both been seeing the same thing.."

" It must be real. We didn't even know each other saw it so it can't be all in our heads..
l-like the doctors say. It has to be real. Right? Both of our heads can't make this up."

" I hope not." He said innocently. I hugged him.

" If it's in the UpsideDown. It can't get us. We aren't there. It can't get us."

" How do you know?"

"I don't. But, we aren't there. We are here. It's just a-a dream. Like PTSD. It had to be. It can't get us. It would have already gotten us by now. I'm sure." I said not really sure but hoping I was convincing enough to him.

He hugged me and tears of fear and sadness formed in his eyes.

" We have to go to bed now, okay? Don't worry. I'll protect you. Always." I smiled. And I got comfortable then turned off the lamp.

I couldn't really sleep, despite how incredibly tired I was. Fear kept me awake. Fear has such a role in our lives. It controls how we act. It controls our lives and we can't even help it. Fear holds people back but it's not our fault. Especially this. It's not something we deserved. It's not something Will deserved. This fear that is controlling his life. The fear given to me, this sudden overwhelming power and responsibility. Fear causes a physical and mental toll on both of our body's that no one deserves.