Hawkins Sweetheart - 𝐁.𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐕𝐄.

Eight - Someone I Know

Chapter Eight - Someone I Know

"Why do the people who have the stones to throw, always remind us of someone else we know?"

That night, Jess couldn't help but toss and turn in her bed. It was impossible to fall asleep with the millions of restless thoughts that ran through her head. She thought about Will and The Upside Down, and worried about having to relive it all over again. But The Upside Down wasn't the only thought that kept her from sleeping.

The thought of Billy going home with Kimmy Baker by his side taunted her. She groaned as she turned over in her bed once more, bringing the covers up to her chest. 'What is wrong with me?' She thought. She had never thought this much about a guy except for Ricky. She didn't have a 'crush' on Billy, and she certainly didn't like him, but watching him drive away with another girl in his passenger seat punched a hole right in her chest. Maybe she was lying to herself. She had never craved validation from boys, especially ones like Billy. But for some reason, she wanted him to like her. She craved his approval, his attention, his admiration. Maybe it was because she was so used to every guy falling at her feet, begging for her to give them a chance. Maybe there was just something different about Billy.

At another house in Hawkins, someone else laid awake tossing and turning. Billy? No. He was sound asleep in his bed, no longer accompanied by Kimmy Baker. Steve Harrington, however, couldn't sleep. He ran his hands through his hair as he thought about Nancy. He liked her, he really did. But the thought of her and Jonathan irked him. He couldn't get what she said at the party out of his head. He sat up against the head of his bed and folded his arms. He thought about the life he used to live. He used to be the king of the school. People would step aside to make a path for him in the halls, but now they just push against his shoulder. Ever since what happened last year, he wasn't the same. All of his friends had left him. People no longer respected him like they once did. He sighed to himself. 'How did I mess it all up?' He thought. Maybe it was for the better. Or maybe it was for the worse. 

Unlike usual, Jessica drove alone to school the next day. Jonathan's car had been fixed on Halloween, which meant she no longer had to drive the Byers boys to school. She pulled into the parking lot and got out of the car. Across the lot from her, Steve and a few of the basketball players were sitting around someone's car, talking about the new recruit. A group of stoners sat on the grass lawn outside the front doors. The footballers tossed the ball to each other from just behind the parking lot. Just a few cars away, Carol Perkins, Stephanie McKinnon and Kimmy Baker we're standing around Tommy H's car. Jessica spotted them from her spot and began walking toward them.

"Wow, so it's like completely new?" Steph asked as Jessica stood beside Carol. 

"Yeah, one hundred percent new," Carol replied, chewing her gum aggressively. She nudged Jess lightly, "Oh my god, Jess, look at my boyfriend's new car!" She squealed, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her around to look at the sides. 

"Wow, it looks great." 

"Doesn't it?" Carol giggled. They moved back towards the other girls. Kimmy Baker's face was glowing. "Omg, Kim, you're totally glowing."

"Hmm, what? Huh?" Kim hummed, awoken from her daydream. Carol and Stephanie giggled at her, before bombarding her with a million different questions about last night. 

"So, like, what happened?"

"Did he open the door for you?"

"What did he say?"

"Did you guys do it?"

"Guys!" Kim interrupted. She sighed lovingly as she leaned back against the car. "He was like sooo hot." Jessica looked at the floor as Kimmy continued, "So we like went to his house, and no one was home," She pressed her hand to her heart and looked at the other girls, "and then we did it." Stephanie squealed at her words but Carol's expression dropped.