Still Time / Billy Hargrove

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CHAPTER NINE

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THAT NIGHT AT THE PARTY CHANGED SOMETHING FOR BILLY. When he first moved to Hawkins he felt like he had to make sure everyone saw that he was this scary tough guy that you shouldn't mess with. It's why he was so quick to react, or overreact.

It was also why he never made it a point to try and make friends. Or be overly affectionate with any of the girls that tried to hook up with him. And he hadn't been too affectionate (in public) with Addie either, apart from the occasional arm around her shoulder or kiss on the cheek.

He didn't know if he was ready to be the kind of boyfriend that he knew Addie deserved, but for the first time in a long time, he really wanted to try.

After they danced, they went back inside and spent the rest of the night just having fun. Addie only had that one beer when they first arrived, because after her talk, and special moment with Billy, she knew she wanted to be as sober as possible to hold on to what she knew would be some of her favorite memories.

By the time they left the party hours later, she was completely sober, and so she demanded Billy's keys. While he hadn't gone overboard, he was definitely drunk.

Still, he was very protective of his car. He'd actually never let someone else drive it before. His dad did a handful of times, but Billy definitely didn't let him. Neil had come in demanding the keys, and Billy knew what would've happened if he said no so he'd just silently hand them over.

But he looked at Addie and saw that she wanted to drive his car so that he didn't have to, so that she could take care of him and make sure he got home safe, and he did the same thing. Without a word, he fished the keys from his pocket and handed them over. This time, however, there was a smile on his face.

Addie had a pretty good memory and once they got back onto the main road, she remembered how to get to his house. Billy looked at the house before getting out of the car, and sighed in relief. Yes, his dads car was home but the only light on, he could tell it was from Max's room.

After handing him the keys, Addie realized she didn't know how she was supposed to now get home. She decided to push that thought from her mind until she got Billy in the house and made sure he'd be okay.

Before they went up to the front door, Addie had an idea. She crept up to Max's window just incase her mom or Billy's dad walked by, but when she realized it was just Max, who was only flipping through a book, she knocked as softly as possible. It took a few knocks but eventually Max looked up, surprised to see Addie standing there.

"Hey," Addie whispered. "I brought Billy home. He's not completely wasted but can he climb in through your window?"

Max nodded. "Good idea, Neil fell asleep on the couch and my mom didn't want to wake him, so he's probably still there. He definitely would've woken up if you went through the front door."

Billy climbed up with ease, and turned around to lean down and help Addie. Once they were both inside Max's room, they all laughed at how ridiculous the situation was.