Drowning • Billy Hargrove

Chapter 35

I awoke to Max, El and Will all giggling in the kitchen.
"You guys are going to burn the house down!" Will yelled, panicked.
"No we're not!" Max yelled back, laughing.
"What are you guys doing?" I ask, causing them to all look at me.
"Finally!" Will seems relieved. "An actual adult!"
"We're trying to make bacon and eggs for breakfast!" El says.
I nod my head. "I can see." The trio made a complete mess of the kitchen, trying to make the simple meal.
"Can you do it?" Will politely asks.
I nod my head and smile. "Scoot over!" I say, making my way over to the stove.

After breakfast, Max, El and Will all left to go to Mikes house and now it was just me left all alone.
I decided to walk to the arcade to see Steve and Robin, since I was extremely bored.

I arrived around thirty minutes later, to see Robin behind the counter.
"Hey!" She says when she sees me.
"Hey! Is Steve here?" I ask.
"Hotstuff is running a little late today." She checks her watch. "About fifteen minutes late."
I smile. "That sounds like Steve."
She nods her head. "You're Kate, right?"
I nod my head. "And you're Robin."
She nods and smiles. "So how long have you known Steve for?"
"I think we were six when we met eachother. We were best friends until he and Nancy broke up. From there, we drifted apart."
"I heard Nancy really broke Steve."
I nod my head and frown. "She did."
"Hey ladies!" Steve finally says, walking in the front door.
"Look who decided to show up!" Robin says, giggling.
Steve rolls his eyes. "Ignore her."
"Anyways, I've got to go to the back and unpack some new prizes."
I smile at Robin as she walks away. Steve takes her place behind the counter and looks at me. "You came!"
I nod my head. "Yeah, I don't have anything going on today."
"You don't? I would of assumed you'd be with Billy or El."
I look down at my shoes. "I did too."
"So what happened?" He asks, knowing something was off.
"Billy and I are on a break and El is out with the gang."

Steve and I talk for over two hours, about our childhood and future. I forgot what it was like having Steve Harrington as a best friend and I was lucky I was gaining that back.
"Wow! I'm impressed Harrington!" Robin interrupts us.
"About what?"
"I've never seen you talk to a girl for this long! I thought you were incapable of doing it!"
Robin and I begin to laugh as Steve, once again, rolls his eyes. "I am so capable of speaking to women!"
"Sure Steve!" She responds.
"Watch this!" Steve gets out from behind the counter and walks over to a group of girls.
"Hi?" The one girl asks.
"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Steve. Steve Harrington."
The group of girls begin to giggle. "I think we're doing just fine." The girl says, noticing his name tag and work uniform. I assumed she thought he was asking her if they needed help finding anything.
Robin and I begin to burst out laughing as Steve slowly walks back over to us.
"Awh! Stevey can't get a girlfriend!" Robin says through a fake pouty face.
"I can so get girls. They're just not my type!"
"What's your type, then?" I ask.
He shrugs his shoulders. "Not those girls, that's for sure!"
Robin and I continue to laugh as Steve just sits there. Eventually, he begins to laugh since our laughs are contagious.
"I think I'm going to head out now." I say, checking the clock on the wall.
Steve nods and walks around the counter to hug me. "Okay. Call me sometime."
"I will." I say, inhaling the smell of his cologne.
"Goodbye Kate."
"Bye Steve."

Even though I didn't want to, I decided to walk over to Billy's to tell him how I currently felt and how I wanted to be on a break.
I walked to his house, which thankfully wasn't far from the arcade. 

I walked up to the front door and knocked, knowing that Billy was home since his car was out front. Susan, Billy's stepmother, answered the door.
"Kate!" She says, pulling me into a hug. Before I left Hawkins, Susan invited me over to have dinner with herself, Billy, Max and Neil. I learned that Susan is a really lovely lady.
"Hey! Is Billy home?" I politely asked.
She nods her head. "Yeah he's in his room. How are you?"
I smile. "I'm okay. And you?"
"I'm great! Well I hope to talk to you again, soon." She says, walking back into the kitchen.
I nod my head and walk over to Billy's door. I gently knock, waiting for him to answer.
Sure enough, the door swings open.
"Billy."
"Kate... You're here?"
I uncomfortably smile. "Yeah just for a few minutes."
He nods and lets me into his room. He closes the door behind me and sits on his bed. "What's up?"
I was really trying to stay calm and keep my voice at a normal volume, especially knowing Susan is in the house.
"I just came to tell you, I think we should take a little break."
He lets out a long sigh. "Why?"
"Why? Because you cheated on me and I can't look at you the same way."
He nods his head. "Okay."
"Billy, I still love you. I just think we should just keep our distance for a little while."
"I understand and I'm sorry."
I smile and go to open the door.
"Wait!" He calls out after me.
I stop and turn to look at him. "What?"
"I'll miss you." He stands up and pulls me into a hug. I obviously hug back, feeling tears sting in my eyes. So, I let go and walk out of his room without saying a word.

I arrive back at Joyce's to see if El was home, and sure enough she was. I was planning on spending some one on one time together, before I left.
"El!"
"Yeah?" She responds.
"Do you want to go out to eat at the diner?"
She nods her head. "Yes please."
"Okay let's go."

El and I went to the same diner that we always would go to. We sat at our usual booth and order our usual meals.
As we began to eat, El told me all about her group of friends. She said that Suzie and Dustin were still going strong in their relationship and that Max and Lucas broke up two more times, but not surprisingly, got back together.
El and Mike were also still deeply in love. I was happy for her because that's what she deserves, to be loved.
We spent the rest of the time talking about school and throwing french fries at one another before we realized we should get going.
I paid and tipped the waitress as we got up to leave.

When we arrived back, it was time for me to head to the train station.
"I'll see you soon, okay?" I say to El, hugging her.
She nods her head. "Okay! Bye Kate."
I say a quick goodbye to Will and walk out to meet Joyce who was waiting for me in the car. Thankfully, she offered to drive me to the train station.
"You got everything?" She asks me.
I check everything quickly. "Yeah, I think so."
"Okay, let's go!"
We drive for awhile, listening to the radio before I break the silence. "What are we going to do about my dad?" I ask.
She sighs, not taking her eyes and attention off of the road. "I can give Doctor Owens a call and tell him what we think."
I nod my head knowing that if he was actually in there, every second counted. "Okay. I'll call you if anything else weird happens."
She nods her head. "Okay."

Eventually, she drops me off at the train station.
"Thank you for letting me stay and the ride!" I say, hugging her.
"Anytime Kate! And I mean anytime."
I smile at her and watch her climb back into her car.
I wave to her as she drives off, disappearing behind the trees.

Now, it was just me standing all alone in the darkness as I waited for my ride.
"Kate!" I heard a voice call out to me, making me jump. I turned to the direction of where the voice was coming from to see a silhouette of a person standing across from me.
"Who's there?" I called out in fear.