33. Chapter 33

Chapter Thirty-Three

The whole of October was spent focusing on finding things for the Halloween costumes everyone was going to wear. Jessica and Steve were still going as Sandy and Danny, and the kids were dressing up as the Ghostbusters. Dustin was even spending time making a replica of the ghost container thing from the movie. Jessica didn't know the real name of the thing.

It was a few days before Halloween now and Jessica was just getting off of work. Now that she was back in school, she had the evening shifts again, so it was almost nine o'clock. It had been a long day and she honestly just wanted to go home and fall into bed.

She hadn't been sleeping well and she'd been a little jumpy lately. She didn't know why.

She reached her car and began digging around her purse for her keys. Why did they always have to fall to the bottom of her bag?

The quiet of the night was suddenly ripped apart by the squealing of tires and the blaring of music and her head snapped in the direction of the sound. A dark blue car – a Camaro? – had just made a quick turn onto the main road and it was coming fast.

It rushed by her and she backed herself against her car because whoever had been driving was a maniac, apparently, and had been close to hitting her.

She hadn't recognized the car at all, so maybe someone was just passing through. She hoped whoever it was hit a speed trap somewhere.

She let out a quick huff and realized her heart was pounding. She had to sit for a few minutes to get her bearings once she was seated in her car.

Once she was calm enough, she started the car, but before she could go anywhere, she noticed Mike and Will outside of the arcade across the street. Mike had his arm around Will's shoulders and was leading him into the building.

It was getting late, so she decided she would go and check to make sure they had a ride home.

She checked both ways for maniacs driving blue Camaros before crossing the street and going into the arcade. For it to be so late, the place was still full, but she immediately homed in on the sound of her brother's voice shouting about somebody having beat his high score on Dig Dug.

She shook her head fondly and made her way over to him and his group. Lucas was going back and forth with Dustin about the score, because apparently whoever had beat Dustin's score had beat it by over a hundred thousand points.

Mike and Will were a little ways away and Jessica noticed that Will had a haunted expression on his face. She wondered what that was about.

"Hey," she said, and they all looked her way.

"Jess?" Dustin said. "What're you doing here?"

It was a fair question. She hardly ever frequented the arcade because she was terrible at the games.

"Saw you guys were here. Wanted to make sure you all had rides home."

They all nodded.

"Will is getting a ride from his mom," Mike said. "The rest of us have our bikes."

Jessica stayed a few more minutes, long enough for Dustin to have asked one of the employees who had beaten his score? The guy was a jerk about it, didn't want to tell him unless Mike promised a date with his sister, which was just a gross thing to do.

Jessica knew the guy. His name was Keith and he had graduated the year she'd started high school. He probably wasn't a bad guy once you got to know him, but he'd always given her the creeps.

While Jessica was at the arcade making sure the kids were okay, Steve was at home looking over college stuff again. He still hadn't made any big decisions and he still didn't know what he wanted to do. Honestly, there really wasn't much he was interested in – not enough to think about getting into it professionally.

He wasn't like Jessica, who knew that whatever decision she made about a job she wanted it to be something dealing with kids. She was great with them, he had to give her that.

He was in his room at his desk, everything spread out, and it was overwhelming him. There were just so many decisions and so many choices and he really didn't know what to do with any of it.

It was just as he was beginning to think he should just stop for the night that his mom knocked on his door and walked in. He thought it was maybe just her coming to tell him she would be leaving with his dad the next day – which she probably was – but that wasn't what she wanted.

"Still busy, I see."

"Uh, yeah. I was almost done."

"Oh, I can come back when –"

"No," he said quickly. "Mom, it's okay. You can stay."

Steve looked a lot like his mother. Brown hair, wide brown eyes, smooth skin.

"I wanted to talk to you about something. It's something you and your dad have . . . talked about . . . but I don't feel like he's gone about it the right way."

Steve felt that there were so many things his dad did that he didn't go about the right way, but he wondered what specific thing his mom was talking about.

"Have you considered that maybe working for your dad is the best thing for you?"

"Oh, Mom –"

"Now listen, before you say no. I want you to think about it because it's your senior year and you and Jessica are still together. I would say that's pretty serious. If you worked with your dad after graduating, you'd already be ahead of most people. And there would be benefits – insurance, retirement plan if you stick it out."

"Mom –"

"Just listen. I want you to think about why you don't want this job. I want you to make sure you're not making a mistake. Don't throw away potential just because you don't want to work for your father."

Steve already knew the answer. His father was a lot of the reason that he didn't want to go into the real estate business, but it wasn't the only reason. He really just wasn't interested in what the job was . . . however, the benefit part did interest him. If he had that behind him, he knew he would at least be able to take care of himself and Jessica once they were out of school.

She could go to college and he could work. They would live together and if she was still working too, they would be set for a while.

Maybe his mom was right about the whole thing, and he really had been being stubborn about it just because he didn't want to work for his dad.

The next morning rolled around and Jessica met Steve in the parking lot like she normally did when she got to school. He was waiting for her by his car. He had on the jacket that she had bought him for his birthday. He was leaning against the car, arms crossed over his chest.

"Hey," she said when she reached him.

"Hey."

He relaxed his stance so he could wrap his arms around her. She kissed his cheek and then his lips. He didn't smile into it like he normally did, so she knew something was wrong.

"Steve? You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Just . . . Mom and I had a talk last night."

"Okay . . ."

"About the future and how working for my dad might not be such a bad thing."

"Steve –"

"There's insurance and benefits and all that adult stuff. I could – I could still go to college – take business courses."

"You literally have no interest in that. You'd be miserable."

"Yeah, but at least I'd know I'd have a job and be able to take care of us and stuff, right?"

"I mean . . ." He was willing to put himself through one of his versions of hell just to make sure his future with her was secure. "I love you."

His brown eyes became even softer and he smiled. "I love you, too."

"Good. But Steve, I don't want you to do this just for me, okay? I want you to be happy. So think about it, and if you decide you do want to do this, then I'll support you one-hundred percent."

She kissed him again, this time a little longer than the first one they'd shared. They were interrupted by the sound of an engine – an angry-sounding one – and the blaring of rock music.

Was that Scorpions? It was. She recognized the song even though it was fairly new.

Suddenly, a blue Camaro gunned into the parking lot. A now familiar car, seeing as to how it had almost run her over the day before.

The car was parked close enough to notice that it didn't have Indiana license plates, but it wasn't parked close enough to read where it was from.

A young girl got out of the passenger side. The first thing Jessica noticed was that she had red hair. She was wearing a red jacket with white stripes on the sleeves. She had a skateboard with her.

The person who got out of the driver's side demanded attention. He was wearing a white shirt, a jean jacket, blue jeans that were so tight they looked painted on, and boots.

He was smoking a cigarette and looking around, taking everything in. He didn't seem impressed with anything Hawkins had to offer. He watched the red-head skate away towards the middle school and then took off towards the entrance of the high school.

Jessica noticed other girls' heads turning as the new guy walked by them. He even caught Carol's eye. She had been without a boyfriend for months.

Jessica scoffed and shook her head.

"What?"

"Nothing, just – that guy can't drive. He was going about twenty over the speed limit on the main road last night. I saw it when I got out of work, nearly ran me over."

"What?"

"Yeah. He came around the corner like a crazy person."

"Wow."

Steve held her closer for a second and then kissed her head. It was his way of showing he was glad she was okay.

"I gotta get to class," she said. "Don't wanna be late."

Jessica had English first period and as soon as she got in the classroom the teacher called her to the front desk. She knew she wasn't in trouble and she didn't have any overdue classwork, so she really couldn't guess what the teacher wanted.

"We have a new student in the class today. I'd very much appreciate it if you would show him around the school if he wants you to."

"Oh." She hadn't expected that. "Well, sure."

"Thank you. He should be here once everything is done at the office. Do you mind sitting with him today to make sure he's okay with the work load?"

Jessica knew the maniac with the Camaro was the guy she would be helping. There was almost no chance that there were two new people starting the school today. Well, just because he was crazy behind the wheel of a car didn't mean she couldn't help him out the first day he was there.

She remembered what it had felt like being the new student when she'd started the sixth grade. It had been terrifying until she'd made a friend – until Steve had become her friend.

Having to switch schools in high school was probably worse.

Once the guy entered the room, he was introduced as William Hargrove, but he quickly let everyone know he preferred to be called Billy.

The teacher called on Jessica and she raised her hand so Billy would know where he was supposed to sit.

Now that he was able to see him up close, she saw that Billy had dirty blond hair, stiff with some kind of hair spray, styled in a mullet. He had an ear-ring dangling from his ear – it looked like a feather or maybe a fang. He was a darker shade of tan than most people in Hawkins and he had pretty blue eyes.

Billy didn't say anything. He just plopped down in his seat. He barely even paid attention when the teacher started talking.

The class was in the middle of reading Othello and Billy didn't really do anything until the assignment was passed out. The class basically had to analyze Shakespearean language to make sure they knew what was being said.

Billy looked at the work and then rolled his eyes. He started writing, flying through the sheet like he wasn't even trying, or like he already knew the answers.

"What're you staring at?" That was the first thing he said to her.

He barely even looked up, but she saw a smirk playing at the edge of his lips and he sounded amused.

"Uh, nothing. I was just . . . I was supposed to help you with that."

"Don't need your help, princess."

"Okay, then."

She turned back to her own paper then.

Billy moved closer to her desk anyway, probably taking advantage of the fact that she was supposed to be helping him.

"So you're gonna be my tour guide, huh?"

Jessica knew exactly what Billy was doing with the charming smile and the hooded eyes – and the ever leaning towards her. He was flirting with her and he was totally barking up the wrong tree. He was new so he had no idea who she was or that he had absolutely no chance with her because she was with Steve – happy with Steve and had been since she'd been with him.

"Guess I should introduce myself properly then."

"Actually, there's no need." Jessica looked directly at him. "You're the maniac in the Camaro that almost ran me over last night."

"I think I'd remember almost running into you."

"I don't know, it was pretty dark." She shrugged. "I work at the theater. I was getting ready to leave, and there your car was."

"Hm." Billy leaned a little bit away. "Maybe you should learn to look both ways before walkin' into the street, sweetheart."

"Or maybe you should learn to drive more safely."

Billy huffed. "Whatever. There's nothin' wrong with my driving."

The rest of the class period went by peacefully and quickly. Jessica thought Billy was just going to leave when the bell rang, but he picked up his bag and gave her a look.

"So, do I still get that tour?"

"Sure. I need your schedule."

He handed it over and she quickly realized that the English class was the only twelfth grade glass he had. She handed it back once she'd memorized his schedule.

"You're a junior?"

Billy shrugged. "I'm good at English. I've probably already read everything on the list for this year, so it should be a breeze. Cali's more advanced than this Podunk town."

Jessica didn't really know what to say to that, but she led him out of the room and towards his next class anyway.

She had to stop by her locker to switch books. There was an orange piece of paper sticking out of one of the vents, so she pulled it out. It was an invitation to a Halloween party at Tina's place. Well, she knew what she was doing Halloween night, not that she hadn't expected to be doing that anyway.

Tina always had a Halloween party.

When Jessica turned around to start off again, she realized that Billy had already gone off on his own. Apparently, he didn't need that tour after all.

By the time lunch started everyone knew about Tina's Halloween party, even Jonathan. Nancy had basically ordered him to go. He had pretty much refused. It really wasn't his scene.

"I can't let you sit all alone on Halloween. That's just not acceptable."

Steve, Jessica, Nancy, and Jonathan were all sitting together picking at their lunches.

"Well, you can relax. I'm not gonna be alone. I'm going trick-or-treating with Will. Or I'm chaperoning."

Will, Mike, Lucas, and Dustin were going together. They knew all the good spots to get candy.

"Yeah, but you'll be home by eight, listening to the Talking Heads and reading Vonnegut or something."

"Sounds like a nice night."

"It's a valid lifestyle choice," Jessica agreed. "You shouldn't go if you don't want to."

Jessica probably wouldn't be going herself if it wasn't Halloween.

"You should come," Nancy countered. "I mean, who knows, you might even have fun."

Jessica doubted that, but she didn't say anything.

"I don't know, Nance. Will had another episode last night. It really scared him."

"Episode?"

"Yeah. He just . . . he said he felt like he was back over there. It's the first time in a while that it's happened. It scared all of us."

"I saw them at the arcade last night. He did seem a little off."

"Well, he has another appointment with Dr. Owens today. Mom is picking him up early. From what he told us, it seems Will just had a flashback."

"I didn't know," Nancy said. "Of course you should be with him."

"Owens said it's normal for him to be having them now since . . . it's, like, close to the anniversary of . . . Well, it can be a trigger. Wish we could just skip November."

Jessica grabbed Steve's hand and squeezed. Maybe that would explain why she'd been having anxiety again. She hadn't been actively thinking about last year, but maybe she'd still been making connections subconsciously.

Later that day, Jessica received a phone call from Nancy. She had been in the middle of math homework, so it was a welcome distraction.

"Hey, what's up?"

At first all Jessica could hear was heavy breathing and sniffling.

"Nancy?"

"I can't believe it's almost been a year."

Oh. Of course she wanted to talk about that.

"It hit me when Jonathan was talking earlier."

"Right."

"Barb's been gone for almost a year."

"Nance, I don't think –"

"Did you know the Holland's are selling their house?"

"Um . . . no." Jessica had never even met the Holland's.

"It's for that private investigator they wanted to hire. Some Murray guy."

"Okay, Nance, we should not be talking about this on the phone."

Someone could be listening in. It could get the Holland's and that Murray guy in trouble. Speaking of Murray, that had been the name of the guy that kept bothering Hopper.

She should probably let Hopper know what the Holland's were up to. It could cause problems.

"Nancy, you know there's nothing we can do. It's not like we can tell them why they shouldn't hire that guy to find their missing daughter."

There was a pause in the sniffling.

"I didn't tell them not to. According to them, he's a pretty big deal. He used to be an investigative journalist, but now he's freelance."

"We really shouldn't talk about this over the phone."

"Okay. Tomorrow at school, then."

"Yeah, okay. Tomorrow."

As soon as she got off the phone with Nancy she called the police station. Flo answered and informed her that Hopper had gone home for the night. She was hoping to have caught him before he left so she could ask him to stop by some time soon.

She would just have to try again the next day.

Okay, so basically this is the setup for the rest of season 2. Kind of iffy about how I introduced Billy, but yeah, that is what I went with.