Keep me Closer - Billy Hargrove - Stranger Things

16: Angry

Billy just looked at me with anger in his eyes for a moment. His fists clenched and he swallowed. "Don't tell me, what I think." He said through his gritted teeth.

I had never seen him so angry around me before. My eyes were watering and I was fighting back tears. My throat felt like it was knotting when I swallowed. I didn't say anything I just looked at him. And my nose started to bleed.

" Will." I mumbled.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing. I have to go." I said. He rolled his eyes at me. I wanted to say something but I knew he would have just gotten more mad and we both just would have started yelling at each other. " I have to go." I said again and started walking. He sighed and threw his head back in annoyance. Not from me but for himself.

"You just gonna walk there?" He asked with frustration in his voice.

" Yes." I said quietly so he wouldn't know I was on the verge of crying.

"Byers." He said again and I stopped walking. I closed my eyes and sighed. Then I turned around to face him.

" Yes I'm walking Billy." I said and turned back around and kept walking and he didn't stop me again.

He got in his car slamming the door and started it. He drove over to me walking. "Get in Byers." He said blankly.

" Billy I-"

"Look Byers the sun is setting. It's about to get dark, it's absolutely freezing outside. Just get in the car."

"I-"

" Get in the car." He said getting angrier the longer he waited.

I scoffed and opened the door. I buckled my seatbelt and rested my head on my hand. My arm was leaning on the car door and I just stared out the window as he drove me back to his house. It was silent the whole way back. But not our signature silence. Not our ' I'm enjoying your presence' silence. It was more like a 'We are both annoyed but still gonna take care of you cause I care for you.' Kind of silence. Yes I got all of that out of silence.

Completely forgetting about Will I just followed him inside his house. No one was home and it was almost completely dark outside. I followed him to his room and he shut the door. We just stayed silent in there too. He sat on his bed and I awkwardly just stood in the corner near his door. He just stared at me for a moment and then lit a cigarette.

"Look, Billy I'm sorry I assumed but you were- I just- I hate- I hate seeing you like that. And I hate that you pretend to be okay when you're not." I said and he didn't reply. He just continued to sit there inhaling cigarette smoke. "It breaks my heart seeing you like that. And you never admit anything." He kept staying silent. "Ever since the first time I talked to you, you would always ask me all these questions and I would answer. And then I would ask you a question and you would dance around it never really answering. You never tell me how you are. I'm always the one talking to you. Billy, you have to give me some sort of sign that you actually care and some sort of indication that you aren't just a zombie without any feelings; I know you act tough. And I also know that inside you're vulnerable. I told you the other day, you were just misunderstood. Your silence on that gave me all the answers I needed. Billy I do know you whether you want to admit it or not. I admit it cause I'm you. I may not beat up freshmen but I too act 'tough'. Me and you aren't so different and I think that's why we get along so well."

"W-who told you about the freshman?" He finally said something.

"Thats really what you just took out of everything I said? Billy, it doesn't matter. What matters is you don't trust me enough to be honest with me."