DONTMAKEMEFALLINLOVE || Billy Hargrove, Stranger Things

XXXVII.

July 3, 1985
1:04 pm

Diana's eyes had opened from her hellish sleep because of the rays of light shining on them. Her eyelids felt extremely heavy this morning after crying for what seemed like hours. Thoughts swirled in her head all throughout the night. She had probably only gotten four hours of slumber at most.

She then had gotten dressed, no ripped jeans this time to cover her bandages. Washing her face after, she was on foot to Dustin's room. But he wasn't there. Everything was still intact, his bed made.

She could've sworn she heard the door last night.

She checked the living room, her mothers room, the garage...nothing. "Shit," she curses. He has to be at Scoops Ahoy already, right?

She grabbed her car keys from the kitchen counter, deciding she was going to Starcourt to check on them. But soon the phone had rang, as Max was on the other line. "Hello?"

"Hey Diana. Could you possibly err–drive over Heather's house again?" The red haired starts, confusion now etched on Diana's face.

"Wait what? You guys aren't over there, right?" Diana bites her bottom lip, a headache now arising.

"Not yet. We came up with a theory about what's really going on with Billy and we'll explain it to you," Max replies, a little too overwhelmed at the moment.

"I'll be there but is Dustin there?" Diana asks while her leg shakes nervously.

"No he's not...actually we haven't seen him since the day he came back."

Diana groans, worry starting to cross her mind as she hangs up.

He's with Steve, he has to be okay, she thinks to herself, Steve only has one brain cell but even I can say I trust him with my life.

Convincing herself enough to not go to Scoops and that they're okay, she opens the fridge and retrieves bread, mayo, ham, and cheese to make a sandwich. Putting everything back where it belongs, she steps outside and closes the door shut.

•

"Heather," Diana calls out as the group enters, next to El as the newly added members, Nancy and Johnathan are in the front. While Max comments on the freezing temperature, everyone piles into the kitchen. "Do you guys smell that?" Nancy asks. The girl in the lilac dress turns, finding the source of the aura. "God, more chemicals."

"You think they're guzzling this shit?" Johnathan nears the cleaning supplies that are all splayed out, some pouring out.

"Either that or they just went on a hell of a cleaning spree."

Diana dismisses herself from the group, now slowly entering the dining area where she last saw Billy as a normal looking human. The vision of those black veins didn't let her sleep that well last night. On the wooden table, she finds the cookies Heather offered them the other night, still on the pan. All plates still lay there, as they look to be half eaten, and a stain of wine on the table cover.

Have the Halloways not been home since?

"Guys," she calls out, footsteps soon trailing behind her. They stop when they too notice the state of the table, Nancy pointing out the bottle of wine that's on the floor and the blood stain on the carpet. "He was attacked," the seventeen year old states.

•

"Where do you think you're going?" the receptionists the hospital asks Nancy, looking at the girl as if she's crazy. Nancy tried to make it look like this is a normal occurrence, but she stops in her track and looks back at the lady, the others behind her.