dream » stranger things.

ix. a stupid poster

lori carmichael stirred the pasta in the pot that rested upon the stove.
"wendy, you never told me how your date with that boy went." lori commented.

"oh! well, it was amazing. it started off bad, but then everything is okay now." wendy said, smiling as she thought about billy.

"it was amazing?" lori questioned, hoping that her daughter would elaborate.
"yes—we laid out on the football field and we just talked and watched the stars." wendy smiled.

lori looked back at her daughter, seeing that wendy was totally head over heels with this mystery boy.

"i hope you used protection." lori commented slickly.
"mom! it was nothing like that! we haven't done anything like that yet." wendy's face grew red from embarrassment.

susie carmichael walked into the kitchen, looking at her sister.
"hey, wendy, your stupid poster fell off of your wall." susie commented, annoyed.

wendy's hazel eyes widened as susie used their secret code.

typically, 'your poster fell off of your wall' meant that a boy was in her room. it was usually steve, but now she was unsure.
"my stupid poster?" wendy questioned.

"yep." susie nodded without any further explanation.
"wendy, surely you can wait until after dinner to pick up the poster." lori stated.

"i don't think i can, mom. it's a pretty important poster." wendy shook her head. the seventeen year old scurried up to her room.

wendy opened her door, seeing billy hargrove walking around her room.
"what are you doing here?" she asked, shutting her bedroom door.

"my dad's an asshole and i needed to get out of there before i did something that i would regret." billy stated.

"well...what happened?" wendy questioned, walking over to billy. he began to reflect on the situation that had happened almost an hour before he came over to wendy's house.

"max and i were arguing, about what, i don't remember. but we were arguing and she said something a-and i got angry so i smashed one of her skateboards, you know, as you do, and she told my dickhead of a father," billy rolled his eyes.

"and he made this big deal about how i need to buy her a new skateboard. max is such a bitch! now i'm going to have to spend my money and buy her another skateboard. she has two already!" billy groaned, becoming angry just thinking about the situation.

"don't call her that. she's your sister, billy." wendy touched his arm. billy shoved her hand off and sat on her bed.

"step-sister, and i'm sorry that we all can't hold hands with our family and sing fucking kumbaya." billy glared up at wendy.

"hey! you came to my house to vent, don't talk about me like that." wendy defended herself.

billy laid back on the bed, staring up at wendy's bedroom ceiling.
"sometimes, i want a different life. i wish i didn't have to leave california. i wish i had a different dad." billy whispered.

wendy climbed onto the bed and laid next to billy.
"hey." she whispered softly. billy's blue eyes glanced over at her.

"if you had never left california, you wouldn't have met me." she smiled softly. billy moved closer to wendy, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"you're right," he stated. he moved a piece of hair out of her face. "you're the only good thing in my life, wendy." he whispered softly.