Steve can't stop thinking.
It has been about a week since he and Linda had fought; about six days since Billy had "hired" him again. And yet somehow, he hasn't heard from either of them.
Although Steve has gotten used to the quieter side of school (thanks to Billy taking his spot as the King of Hawkins High School), he misses Linda's sarcastic sense of humor and the way she'd bluntly tell hin if he was wrong.
Steve should really apologize — and he did as soon as he had said that word — but Linda had already made up her mind. She wanted him to "find himself." Steve had no fucking idea what she meant by that, but if "finding himself" consisted of visiting Billy's home to see where he was, then yes, Steve is "finding himself" right now.
The knocks on the hardwood aren't even finished when the door gets opened, and rather than Billy, it's Max.
Oh right, Max is Billy's sister. "Steve?" Max looks extremely confused, and she has every right to be. "What are you doing here?" she questions, looking behind her as a habit to see if anyone is watching them. "My mom is coming home soon. You shouldn't be—"
"Do you know where Billy is?" Steve cuts her off before she can waste any more time. He gets it. Max wants him out of her hair before her parents ask any questions — no biggie. "I thought he was with you, but apparently not because you're not shitting your pants."
Max narrows her eyes. "I wouldn't be "shitting my pants." Don't forget who saved your ass with a bat last year." she snaps back, then replies to his question. "And I thought he'd be with you since you're like, I don't know," there's a pause. "his little bitch now?" she gives a sarcastic smile.
Steve scoffs. "I'm sorry—?!" he's about to retort, genuinely offended—but Max continues to speak.
"If he's not with you then he's probably at that asshole's house." Max mutters, venomous. "I hate that douchebag so much, but Billy says he hosts the best parties or something. You probably want to check there, since you want to see him so badly."
Steve's irritation fades at that. "Which asshole? Hagan's?" he inquires. Steve isn't necessarily ecstatic to return to that dipshit's house, but if Billy is there, than he supposes he has no choice.
Max furrows her eyebrows.
"What, Tommy? No." Max scoffs, crossing her arms. "Billy hasn't gone to his house in like... two, three weeks now?" she states, unbeknownst to the paleness that takes over Steve's face. That's when I started avoiding him. "I'm talking about Jacob's. He's some outsider kid that doesn't even go to school; has some serious bad vibes, too."
"Yeah. Don't think I've heard of a "Jacob."" Steve sighs, placing his hands on his hips. "Okay where does this guy live?"
Max hesitates. "I'm talking about gang-type shit, Steve. Why do you even need to talk to my brother?" she seems completely reluctant, which is scarier because this is Max, not some random scaredy-cat. And if Max's afraid? That's definitely not a good sign. "Can't it wait until school or something?"
Logically, yes. Steve could totally wait until Monday, but for some reason — ever since Billy made this deal with him — everything interesting seems to happen on a weekend. And what's today's date? A fucking weekend. Fate is practically telling him to go find Billy before the week starts.
Steve sighs. "Just give me the address, Max."
Max clearly doesn't agree, but eventually gives in. "Alright, fine."
Maybe Max was right.
As soon as Steve walks into the house (he's surprised that no one was guarding the door, but he ain't complaining), he can see smoke filling the air—okay, maybe it wasn't smoke, but you get the picture.
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𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻 // 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎
Fanfiction"Simmons." Billy starts, as if he's purposely trying to get a reaction from Steve. "What'd he say?" is what comes out of his mouth. There's a sharp edge to it, like Billy already knows the answer. Steve crosses his arms. "What's it to you?" Billy e...
