𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝𝐲 ⟿ s. harrington

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐫

NOT EVERYTHING IS A
CRY FOR HELP !

☀︎

EVEN THE MORNINGS IN HAWKINS, INDIANA WERE JUST AS HOT AS THEY WERE THROUGHOUT THE DAY. Hawkins pool was flooded with people all ready to get a dip in the pool to cool off. Still, no one was as hot as Billy Hargrove had been. The summer heat had gotten the best of him and he was still forced to sit up at the lifeguard stand.

Sitting under the shade of the umbrella, he had still been dripping of sweat as the sun had continued to beat down on him. Squinting up at the sun, he had felt himself shake in pain as the rays had beaten down hard causing his skin to feel as if it were bubbling. Closing his eyes, he felt his heart pounding against his chest as he tried to keep his cool.

When he had felt the cold press of a can against his leg, he had opened his eyes and looked down at Alex Henderson holding onto a cold can of Coca-Cola. "You look like shit," she said simply as she moved the can closer to his hand.

He had hesitantly taken it as he had looked her over. Her wet hair had been in braids and her bag was already on her shoulder and ready to leave. "You're leaving."

Adjusting the bag on her shoulder, Alex had looked over her shoulder before turning back to him. "We got here as soon as the pool opened so we're heading to the mall." She stopped herself as she narrowed her eyes at him curiously. His quick wit had been lackluster and his focus had seemed distant. "Are you doing okay?"

Wiping the sweat dripping from his face, he had held back the harsh words that clung to the tip of his tongue. The heat had exhausted him to an unfortunate return of his short temper, but another part of him had been battling to stay a changed person. "I'm fine," he said in a single breath. "Don't worry about me, sweetheart."

Alex gave a small nod in response though she had thought he was anything but. "Yeah, well, if you aren't okay, you can tell me."

"Just hot out here. Nothing I can't handle," he said with a small and forced smile.

However, Alex had been all too familiar with her own behavior from last year to know that his behavior had been off. A child had ran passed and unlike Billy, he had completely ignored it as his eyes shut for a brief moment to push away the pain. Taking a step closer, concern had gotten the best of Alex. "Did something happen?"

Billy opened his eyes long enough to meet hers and there had been a desperate moment to tell her everything he had seen. Only, the last thing he wanted was to create a barrier between him and Alex after finally feeling he had someone to trust.

If he had asked her about the crazy story he had heard Max and Alex talking about in the back of his car the night of the Snowball or why she had been so strange last year, he could get the help he desperately needed. As always, the Mind Flayer had other ideas when he had seen the good memories Billy had held closely between him and Alex and put him to a stop before he could utter a word.

"Henderson," he said sternly. "Nothing happened, I'm fine. Not everything is a cry for help. You can't fix everyone."

Alex had taken a step back as her mouth had parted slightly in surprise by his words. "I'm not trying to fix you," she said with a small frown. "I was only asking..."

"Right," he said regretfully. "I'm sorry, Alex, okay. I'm good."

All Alex could do was nod her head as she had kept her eyes off of him. Feeling that maybe she had pushed too far, she had decided it was easier to walk away than to search for an answer. After all, she had wanted to believe that everything was actually okay. She had already seen too much before and didn't think she could handle much more. "All right, well, I have to get to Starcourt."

"Thanks for the drink," he said just before she could leave. "And don't worry so much about me."

"Yeah, okay," she said softly. Giving him a tight lipped smile, she had turned away to find Erica Sinclair.

Ready to follow after her to apologize once again for his behavior, Billy had almost climbed down from his seat until the sun had hit his skin. The burn had felt as if fire was shooting over him. Rather than try and fight the heat, he had settled back down under the shade of his umbrella which has acted as his safety.

After all, he truly believed that after what he had seen, no one could ever help him. He was always going to be a lost cause. Growing up, he had believed it was in his blood to be as much of a screw up as his dad, and now he felt he believed that more than ever.

Rather than ask for help from one of the few in Hawkins that could help, he was left to fight on his own. It was a losing battle, but he was also unwilling to lose the friend he had made in Alex Henderson so soon.