wild one - steve harrington

combat

Billy pat her on the back with his right hand, his left arm tightly around her back giving Roxy the odd sense that half of him was holding on for dear life. "Where have you been?" She asked, monotone. She was more mad than concerned now that she saw he wasn't hurt. He didn't answer her. Abruptly, he let go of her just as his arm started to shake. Roxy's eyes widened at him, urging for him to tell her what was going on. 

"We just wanted to make sure you were okay." Max piped up, also just as confused. 

"Okay? Why wouldn't it be okay?" Billy asked. His voice was a higher pitch than his usual angry drawl. Roxy felt ill seeing how sickly sweet he was acting; as if he'd lost his mind.

"Where is she." El demanded, and Roxy lifted a steady hand to her shoulder, warning her to back off. Roxy heard the ticking of a bomb going off all around her, waiting for something or someone to self-destruct. 

"I'm sorry, where is who?" Billy asked, more forcefully. Not caring about causing a scene, Roxy moved in between the two of them to look Billy dead in the eye. She was about to question why in hell was he apologising more in two minutes than his whole life when a new voice came in to the room. 

"Well, they're a little burnt, I'm sorry-" Heather began, stopping when she saw three new girls in the room. 

"Heather! These are my sisters, Roxanne and Maxine." Billy said enthusiastically, putting a hand on Roxy's shoulder before looking at El as if he was trying to scare her. "And I'm sorry, I did not quite catch your name." He said robotically, his eyes burning. 

"El." She replied, giving him a stare back. 

"El." He repeated, pointing at her. He was more intimidating now than when he gets physically angry. "Now what was it you were saying, El? You were looking for somebody?"

El started stuttering when she saw Heather, clearly confused. "I- I saw you-" She began. Roxy's heart rate picked up, and she was about to say something to divert attention when Max saved it. 

"Your manager. At the pool." Max interrupted. Roxy let out a breath. "When we came to see you."

"He said you guys didn't come into work today, so we got worried. Thought we'd come and check on you." Roxy finished, saying the last part to Billy. 

"Heather wasn't feeling so hot today so we thought we'd take the day off and nurse her back to health." Billy replied as if it was obvious. "But you're feeling just fine right now, aren't you, Heather?"  

"I'm feeling so much better." Heather answered, almost exaggerating. "Do you girls want a cookie? They're fresh out of the oven." Heather offered the tray forward. Roxy shook her head and looked back to Billy. Growing up together, they'd be able to tell what the other was thinking from a facial expression. But Billy was deadpan. 

"Didn't mean to bother you guys. Walk us out." Roxy gave a nod to Heather and her smiling parents, linking her arm with Billy's as she walked to the front door followed by the young girls. She shooed them out the door to get into the car, wanting to have a word with her brother alone. "Cut it out, Billy. What's going on?" She asked him in a hushed whisper. His face still gave nothing away. 

"Everything's fine. You need to stop worrying." He said, tilting his head to his right. Roxy sighed, visibly frustrated.

"I know everything's not fine. For god's sake Billy, it's obvious!" Roxy tried to keep her voice down. "Did you want me to stay here?" 

"You can't be here for this." Billy said, and although Roxy couldn't see it, his protective side was coming through. She rolled her eyes at him but decided that she'd leave if she wasn't wanted there. Billy held her shoulders, his left hand slightly trembling with a stronger grip, and kissed her on the forehead. 

"Look, just come home soon, okay? As much as I need you, I won't be allowed to take the other car again." Roxy joked, hearing a breath of laughter from Billy as she walked out the door and into the rain. That gave her a little bit of relief, knowing he wasn't completely brainwashed by this shiny new family he was having dinners with. 

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Max, El and Roxy sat in Roxy's room, trying to rationalise things. "There's nothing to worry about anymore, okay?" Max reassured El, who looked concerned, and Roxy, who looked impatient. 

"It doesn't make sense." El replied, looking back and forth between the two others. 

"What doesn't make sense?" Roxy asked, genuinely wanting to know someone else's take on the situation. 

"Heather." El answered, looking down. "The blood. The ice." Roxy stood up to look out her bedroom window. 

"Heather had a fever, so she took a cold bath, but she's better now." Max explained, being the most level-headed in the room. "That has to be it. I don't know where that blood came from-"

"She's a lifeguard. Someone just got hurt at the pool, I bet." Roxy said, convincing the others and herself. "We saw her. She's fine. Billy's fine." Roxy looked over to see El's worried face. "He's just... I don't know. Trying to impress this girl's parents, probably." 

"Yeah. He's being weird, but it's nice to know he's not a murderer, because that would've totally sucked." Max joked, and Roxy laughed along. El finally smiled, and Roxy sat back down on the bed. Getting rid of all the worried energy in the room made her feel a lot more at ease. 

"Who... is that?" El asked, pointing at the Wonder Woman comics Max laid out on the bed. Roxy smiled.

"See, this is why you can't just hang out with Mike all the time." Roxy lay forward, holding up a comic under her chin. "This is Wonder Woman, AKA Princess Diana." Max explained as Roxy giggled. 

"She's from Paradise Island, which is like, this hidden island where there are only women Amazon warriors." Roxy said, flipping to the first page.