Fallout || Stranger Things [2]

seven || stabbings and stereos

Billy Hargrove closed his eyes tight as the hum of a razor neared his head, wincing for good measure when the blade hit his glorious curls.

     "Still with me, son?"

     The college freshman popped one eye open, face still contorted in pain. He squeaked softly as the barber wiggled a detached ponytail in the air. "I'm okay," he managed to say, slowly relaxing in the chair.

     The seasoned barber quirked an eyebrow behind large but stylish glasses as he removed the rubber band and dropped the luscious locks to the ground. "You're a grown man, aren't ya? Why are you getting rid of your honky tonk hair? You're not going into the military, are you?"

     "No, no I'm not." Billy considered the awful sight of U.S. Army trucks and helicopters swarming Starcourt Mall, a pit swirling in his stomach. "Not really my thing."

     "Is it for a girl?" the barber asked, buzzing the sides close to his head.

     Billy paused, watching the razor come close to smacking the hoop in his ear. "Kind of."

     He thought of the constant twitches at the nape of his neck, waking up to the sensation of hands playing with his curls. In class, in bed, even when he was trying to study.

     "What do you mean 'kind of'? Did a lady in your life ask you to get rid of the mullet?"

     "Not in so many words."

     Although the barber wasn't quite sure what that meant, he didn't inquire further. He ran a final hand of product through Billy's hair, pulling it away with a flourish to reveal a masterpiece of short curls on top. "What do you think?"

     And even though he instantly missed his treasured mullet that had taken all of high school to grow, he smiled at himself in the mirror.

     Billy plucked a curl on top of his head, letting it bounce back with a snap. "It looks great."

     "This is why I love working in a college town. I get to do all the fun haircuts. Back home in Cheboygan, I only had old people come to my chair."

     "Where?" Billy asked with a laugh, rising from his chair as the cape was removed from his shoulders.

     He waved a mild hand. "Upper Michigan. Way too cold for my taste."

     Billy laughed softly, retrieving a fiver from his pocket. "I'm from California. This whole part of the country is too cold for me."

     "Lord, what are you doing all the way over here? It's gonna start snowing after Halloween. You could be one a beach instead."

     Billy only smiled. "Too many ties here."

     The barber referenced Billy's head. "The girl that probably begged you to cut the party in the back off?"

     Although Billy felt like he had been stabbed in the gut, he only shrugged. "I just can't bring myself to leave." He waved a hand in parting, grabbing his jacket off of the coatrack before heading out the glass door of the barbershop favored by IU students.

     October hadn't been hit by fall as hard as it usually was, keeping mittens and hats at bay for at least a couple more weeks.

     The stroll back to campus itself was nothing – so easy that Billy hadn't even bothered driving to get there.

     He toyed with his hair the entire walk, constantly snapping curls and running his hands along nearly buzzed sides.

     He could've sworn he hadn't even hit puberty the last time his hair was so short.