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CHAPTER NINE: suffocating loop of the past _______________________________ THE AGONIZING AND DREADFUL PAST OF VALERIE REVORA HAD REVISITED HER.
People her age should be worrying about making it to college, or getting a job to make themselves useful. But, nope! She was in the process of watching the ultimate face-off between Steve Harrington and Billy Hargrove, a day that was bound to come.
Selina seemed to be enjoying the scene currently taking place. Could you blame her? Steve and Billy had been competing against each other for the title of king for a reasonable amount of time. Valerie, on the other hand, knew that Steve was probably gonna get his ass whooped. Considering the rage and ornery Billy radiated, odds were that Steve would be down within minutes. At least Valerie could officially say that her night couldn't get any worse!
Valerie could only apprehend what the two were saying from the door. So, as soon as Steve stepped outside, she quickly paced towards the door, pressing the side of her face up against it. "Am I dreaming, or is that you, Harrington?" Billy scoffed. He's such an asshole. "Yeah it's me. Don't cream your pants." Steve responded. Make that two conceited assholes. "What are you doing here, amigo?" Billy called out. "I could ask you the same thing." Their voices began to fade as Steve distanced himself from the door. "Shit. I can't hear what they're saying." Valerie sighed, speedily walking towards the window. She obviously couldn't hear what they were saying, but at least now she had a view of what was taking place. Billy had a cigarette between his lips, the same old look of conceit and vanity plastered on his face. Billy took a step closer to Steve, removing the cigar from his lips. "This is where it gets good." Selina spoke, getting closer to the window for a better view. Valerie had gotten used to Selina's amusement in terrible situations.. It looked as if Billy kept moving his head back-and-forth between Steve and the house, but not necessarily the window. She was so focused on the situation taking place, that she didn't even realize Max was clearly visible from outside the window. "Shit, shit, shit. Get down." Valerie called out to Max. She quickly hopped off the couch, sitting on the floor with her back towards the window. "Do you think he saw me?" Max asked, immediate regret overfilling her. "I- I don't know." Valerie bit the inside of her bottom lip anxiously. She watched the two, who appeared to be having a normal conversation. That was until Billy shoved Steve to the ground, Steve immediately falling onto his side. Billy hovered over him, forcefully kicking his stomach. "Oh, shit!" Selina exclaimed. Valerie immediately ran to the front door—in attempt to lock it before Billy walked in. But time was not on her side, because right as she laid a finger on that lock, there Billy was, barging right through the front door. She moved right on time, barely dodging the door. As soon as Billy caught sight of her, a smirk became apparent on his face. "Well, isn't this a lovely surprise?" He said sensuously. "Unlike you." Valerie sneered. Billy scoffed at her response, his eyes landing on Max and Lucas. "We'll save this conversation for another time, sweetheart." He stepped aside from her, walking towards Max. "Lucas Sinclair. What a surprise." Valerie turned to Lucas and Max, catching sight of Selina. Valerie didn't know what happened to make Selina look as wrathful as she did, but she had no time to think about it. "I thought I told you to stay away from him, Max." Billy spoke sternly. "Billy, go away." Max responded, desperation in her voice. "You disobeyed me. And you know what happens when you disobey me." Billy's knuckles began to turn white as his fists clenched. "I break things." He grunted, picking up Lucas by the sides of his jacket. Valerie immediately grew infuriated with Billy. He had exhausted her patience, which was not an easy thing to accomplish with Valerie. Right after Valerie turned the corner, Billy had slammed Lucas into the wall, glass shattering and shelves falling off of the wall. Valerie slammed his head onto the wall beside him, leaving a dent into the wall, along with scraps of dried paint hitting the floor beneath them. The grip he had on Lucas loosened enough for him to escape. Dustin was cheering for her, while Lucas, Max, and Selina were in amazement at Valerie. Billy's head turned to Valerie, the gash on the left side of his forehead dripping down his eyebrow with blood. "Y'know, Valerie. I always knew you were a cunt. Didn't expect you to be a bitchy bruiser too—" And that was all Selina had to hear come out of Billy's mouth before she jabbed him straight in the jaw. Billy's tongue grazed the inside of his cheek, scoffing at Selina's sudden attack. "And you. The slut who still doesn't have a special someone. That has got to be the most ironic shit I've ever heard." He laughed wickedly. Valerie was about to slam his head into the wall for a second time, hoping it would knock some sense into him this time, until Max spoke up. "Billy, go away!" She exclaimed, fear plastered across her face. "You're so dead for this, Maxine. You're dead." Billy scoffed. "No, you are." Steve spoke, catching everyone off-guard at the forceful punch he threw at Billy. There came that wicked laugh again. "Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh?" Steve repositioned himself at the sight of Billy leaning up. "I've been waiting to meet this 'King Steve' everybody's been telling me so much about." Billy exclaimed. Steve laid two fingers on Billy's chest to ensure that he'd stay at a distance. "Get out." Steve warned. Billy stood there for a moment before randomly throwing his fist at Steve, which Steve barely dodged before managing to land a punch on Billy. Billy fell back onto the table, glass shattering and the table screeching. Everyone cheered Steve on as he continued to beat the shit out of Billy. Maybe Steve Harrington was capable of winning a fight after all. Billy landed near the sink, grabbing a plate and smacking it against Steve's face. Steve fell back, the pain caused by the glass injuring him. Billy punched Steve, which resulted in him landing into the shelf. He grabbed Steve by his jacket, them two standing face-to-face. "No one tells me what to do." He yelled, colliding his head forcefully into Steve's. That's it. Steve was done for. Meaning that Valerie had no choice but to step in. She grabbed Steve's bat from the wall, using the knob of the bat to vigorously strike him in the back. His back arched slightly before losing his balance, falling to the ground. He groaned before slowly getting back up. But before he could fully stand, Max grabbed the syringe that they used to put Will to sleep, inoculating him with the drug. He managed to stand up afterwards, but that didn't last long when he noticed the needle that was inside of his neck. He removed the syringe from his neck, throwing it onto the ground while walking towards Max. "The hell is this? You little shit, what did you do?" His eyes began to flutter close, falling straight to the ground. The same wicked laughter had returned for the third time, which only irked Max even more. She grabbed the bat from Valerie's hands, positioning the bat right above her shoulder. "From here on out, you leave me and my friends alone. Do you understand?" Max warned her step-brother. "Screw you." Billy replied emotionlessly. She slammed the bat right beside his leg, making everyone slightly jump. "Say you understand! Say it. Say it!" Max demanded. "I understand." Billy spoke in a tone barely above a whisper. "What?" She asked, signaling for him to repeat himself. "I understand." His tone was loud and clear this time. She dropped the bat, walking closer to him and snatching the car keys out of Billy's pocket. "Let's get out of here." Max tossed the keys to Valerie, who was still in shock about everything. Valerie inspected Steve and all of his wounds. "Selina, you drive." Valerie tossed the keys to Selina. "Wha- Why me?" Selina whined. "Someone has to make sure he isn't concussed when he wakes up." Valerie sighed. Selina knew that Valerie wasn't going to change her mind. So, Selina miserably lead everyone out the door, while Valerie and Dustin dragged Steve out of the door and to the car.
Valerie was holding an ice pack onto Steve's forehead, where the glass had sliced through his skin. Selina was driving, which probably wasn't the best decision considering she cannot drive to save her life. But it was better than any one of the kids driving, right? The ice began to melt, resulting in the sound of sloshing all throughout the car ride. Steve's swollen eyes began to open, looking to Valerie. "Nancy?" He muttered to Valerie. She was quite offended that he recognized her as someone else. I mean.. come on! Valerie had the face of no other! "Valerie, actually. Sorry to disappoint." She corrected. He moved the ice pack off of his forehead, about to mess with his wound, before Valerie slapped his hand away. "Are you trying to get it infected?" Valerie scoffed. "Yeah, no. Don't touch it, buddy." Dustin added. Steve's eyebrows furrowed, his mouth slightly open in attempt to talk, until Dustin shushed him. "It's okay, you put up a good fight. He kicked your ass, but you put up a good fight, buddy. You're okay." Dustin nodded in reassurance. "Okay, you're gonna keep straight for a half a mile. Then make a left on Mount Sinai." Lucas told the directions to Selina. "What's going on?" Steve questioned. That's when Steve realized, they definitely did not follow his plan. "Oh, my God!" Steve panicked. "Just relax. We have other 'almost adults' to take care of us." Dustin put his hand up to Steve. "Oh, my God." Steve kept repeating, considering that this plan can result in one way or another. Selina began to press harder on the gas, speeding up the car. Why? Valerie had no idea. But Selina was unpredictable—so it wasn't necessarily the worst thing ever. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! What's going on?" Steve exclaimed. "Oh, my God! No, whoa! Stop the car. Slow down." Steve demanded. "I told you all he'd freak out!" Mike sighed. "Stop the car!" Steve continued to request, but his words went right through one of Selina's ears, and out of the other. "Can you stop yelling at me for like two seconds? We're almost there." Selina rolled her eyes. "Oh, wait, that's Mount Sinai! Make a left!" Lucas pointed to the left. "What?" Selina questioned, considering they were in the middle of nowhere. "Make a left!" Lucas exclaimed. Selina forcefully swerved the car, crashing into a mailbox. They all shouted as everyone fell out of their seat, which resulted in Valerie hitting the side of her head onto the car door. "What the fuck, Selina!" Valerie exclaimed, holding onto the side of her head. It didn't help that Steve's arms were practically fighting the air, almost hitting Valerie in the process. Selina finally slowed down the car, everyone's body jerking backwards, which made Valerie hit her head for a second time. "And I was worried about Steve having a concussion." Valerie shook her head.
Shortly after Valerie got her head slammed twice, they had finally made it to their designated location. Lucas was the first one to hop out of the car, rushing to the trunk. Everyone else had gotten out of the car, leaving Valerie to help Steve out on her own, yet again. "Okay, okay. Move your body to the right." Valerie spoke. "Yeah, yeah. I know how to get out of a car." Steve defended, putting his hand up at Valerie. "Okay, then." Valerie scoffed, getting away from the car door just enough to where Steve couldn't grab onto her. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he came tumbling out the car, groaning at the pain it caused. "I thought you knew how to get out of a car." Valerie laughed at him. If any girl at Hawkins High saw him falling out of a car the way he just did, his entire reputation would be over.
"Guys." Steve called out when he saw everyone digging through the trunk for helmets and safety equipment. "Oh, no. Guys." Steve sighed. Mike began to walk away from the car, heading towards the hole that Hopper dug. "Hey! Where do you think you're going? What are you, deaf? Hello?" Steve questioned as Mike continued to walk away. "We are not going down there right now. I made myself clear." Steve spoke sternly. They all ignored Steve, continuing to walk away. "Hey, there's no chance we're going to that hole, alright? This ends right now." Steve shook his head. "You're wasting your breath, Steve." Valerie shouted. "Nope, no. This is not happening." Steve shook his head. "Steve! You're upset, and I get it. But the bottom line is, a party member requires assistance—and it is our duty to provide that assistance." Dustin declared. "Now, I know you promised Nance that you would keep us safe. So, keep us safe." Dustin added, holding out the backpack full of equipment to Steve. Steve sighed, snatching the backpack from Dustin's hands. Dustin sighed of relief, following the rest of the group. "Very persuasive, if you ask me." Valerie smiled, holding her hand out to Dustin for a high-five. His lips immediately extended into a grin, clapping his hand with Valerie's.
Valerie trusted herself enough to ensure that everyone stayed safe, especially the kids. Considering Selina does not do babysitting (well.. not without a paycheck), and that Steve's entire face was swollen, everyone's safety was up to Valerie. That exact thought made Valerie shiver in anxiety. But she did not come this far for nothing. If the universe let Valerie live to this specific point in her life, there was obviously a reason.
