35. Chapter 35

Chapter Thirty-Five

The next morning Jessica woke up to an empty bed, but she knew Steve was around somewhere. He wouldn't have left without saying anything. When she got up to go to the bathroom, she saw Steve in the room that was for his stuff. He was in the middle of his hair routine, so she stopped in the doorway to watch, a soft smile across her lips.

"Good morning," she said.

He looked at her and matched her smile. She went over to him and hugged him from behind, letting her head rest against his back.

She knew she would have to face people talking about what had happened the night before and would probably have to face Nancy herself, but right now she could just enjoy this – for a few minutes at least.

Once Steve was done, he turned to her and hugged her properly before kissing her.

"You ready for today?" he asked.

"Nope. Not even dressed yet."

"You know what I mean."

Jessica shrugged. "I really do need to get dressed, though."

Once she was done, Jessica went downstairs. She was surprised to find that Dustin wasn't at the kitchen table. He usually beat her downstairs on school days. Was he still asleep? Maybe recovering from trick-or-treating and probably eating way too much candy the night before?

"Where's Dustin?" Steve asked from behind her.

"He said he had a project he wanted to work on at school, so he went in early," her mom, who was already in the kitchen eating toast, said.

Jessica guessed that could be possible, but Dustin hadn't mentioned any project to her.

"Are you feeling better?"

"What?"

"Last night when you came home, you said you weren't feeling well."

"Right. I'm still not a hundred percent, but I'll be okay."

She did not stop to eat breakfast, and she knew Steve would mention it when lunchtime came, but she just kissed her mom on the cheek before heading out to her car.

She and Steve were still going to drive separately because he had basketball practice that day after school. She still had no desire to watch that.

Once they got to school, Steve walked Jessica to first period like he usually did. He kissed her cheek at the door and then she went in to her usual seat. The work for that day was already written on the board. They were supposed to go over Act 3 of Othello. Apparently, she'd missed some of Act 2 the day before. It was fine; she'd make it up in time if she started reading right away – which she fully intended to do until Billy Hargrove strolled into the classroom and took the seat right beside her.

This was not supposed to be an everyday occurrence – it was only supposed to be if he needed help, and he didn't.

"So that red Chevelle in the lot is yours?" Billy asked her.

She was pleasantly surprised. At least he wasn't flirting.

"Yeah."

"Daddy buy it for you?" he asked, a bitterness beneath what could have been a casual question.

Okay, he was done being pleasant apparently.

"I went half-and-half on it with my mom, actually."

Something changed in Billy's posture – like maybe she'd passed some sort of test – and some of the bitterness faded.

"She's a nice car."

Jessica scoffed, but it was in a good-natured way. "She's a great car. She's my baby."

After a few seconds of deliberation Jessica said, "Yours is nice too. Even if her driver is psychotic."

A grin pulled at Billy's lips – just a small one, but it was there. "There's nothing wrong with my driving."

"Jury's still out on that one."

Jessica was able to read for about five minutes before Billy was talking again.

"What was wrong with Miss Priss last night?"

"What?"

"The Wheeler girl. Why'd you let her shove you around?"

Jessica shrugged. "She was drunk, not acting like herself."

"It true she used to date Harrington? Tommy said you guys had some kind of triangle going on last year."

Jessica's spine stiffened as she took that in. Of course Tommy was talking to Billy about them. It was true Tommy hadn't actively been messing with them for a while now, but Billy was new so of course Tommy would try to give the guy ammunition against them.

"Tommy isn't the best source of information for anything that goes on in this school. Nancy was with him for a few weeks. I got with Steve about two months after they broke up. There was never a triangle. Nancy and I are friends."

"Didn't seem that way last night, princess."

Jessica turned back to the play in front of her, trying to focus on reading. What did any of this matter to Billy anyway? Was he just being curious or was he maybe just bored and needed something other than class to occupy his mind?

After what felt like forever, the bell rang for first period to end, and she was able to gather her things to leave. She did so quickly because she wanted to at least get a few minutes with Steve before having to go on to second period.

The conversation with Billy had thrown her a bit – the whole thing; the civil part about their cars and what had followed when he'd asked about Nancy. And he was still calling her princess. She'd been joking when she'd told Steve that Billy might not know her name, but now she was beginning to think that really was the case.

That day at lunch Steve met Jessica at the doorway to the cafeteria like he always did and went to get in line with her. He had his arm over her shoulder and she was leaning against him, moving forward slowly as the line began to move forward.

"I don't want to eat with Nancy today," she said.

"Okay. We can . . . pick a different table or maybe go outside."

"Outside."

Steve was actually surprised by the fact that not that many people were talking about what had happened. Maybe they chalked it all up to Nancy being drunk or something, but he hadn't had to answer any questions or roll his eyes at any rumors so far.

When they reached the lunch counter, they each grabbed a tray and he frowned when he saw Jessica pick up a fruit cup and a chocolate pudding cup.

"Jess?"

"I'll eat when I get home. I promise."

He picked up a water bottle and placed it on her tray. He didn't want to be pushy, but literally all she'd picked up was sugar. She shook her head and smiled at him.

"Fine."

There was a very small picnic area on the high school campus and hardly anyone used it. There were only about three other people there when Steve and Jessica got there and they chose a spot where the sun was directly hitting so the November air didn't bother them too much.

"So how was English this morning?"

"I have extra reading to do because I missed yesterday, but it was okay. Billy actually talked to me without trying to flirt, so that was a plus. We . . . talked about our cars."

Jessica shook her head and Steve smiled. Maybe the guy had gotten the hint at the party the night before. Steve didn't mind her having male friends – he wasn't that insecure, and he trusted Jessica with everything he had – but he still liked that Jessica had blatantly ignored Billy's advances and had tried to steer him in the opposite direction.

Lunch was almost over when Steve saw Nancy making her way over to the picnic area. Jessica stiffened beside him and he heard her sigh. She obviously didn't want to deal with Nancy right now.

The closer Nancy got to them, the easier it was to see that she was probably a little hungover. She had dark circle under her eyes and her skin was a shade or two paler than normal.

"Jonathan told me I should talk to you," Nancy said, obviously looking at Jessica.

"Did he?"

"Yeah. Look, I'm . . . sorry? I don't really remember much from last night."

"Probably because of the alcohol poisoning you put yourself through."

"Okay, so what happened last night?"

Steve wasn't sure what Jessica was going to say or if she was even going to say anything at all because it took her a few seconds to respond.

"You basically told me that I wasn't a good friend and that because I didn't want to help you anymore that I didn't care about you."

To be fair to Nancy, she did seem like this was news to her, what she had said. She probably really didn't remember. She wasn't lying to save face or get out of trouble.

"Jess, I – I know that's not true. Jonathan said you guys made sure I got home okay. If you didn't care, you wouldn't have done that. I just – I got so mad at . . . everything and –"

"Yeah, but you took it out on her," Steve said, deciding he'd pretty much had enough. He'd been silent about how Nancy was treating Jessica and he just couldn't anymore. "She's been helping you for months and the minute she decided she couldn't anymore, you made her feel like crap."

"I didn't mean –"

"Well, you did."

The bell rang and everyone had to get to class. Steve hoped he hadn't overstepped a boundary. He knew Jessica liked taking care of her own problems, but he felt he'd had to say something. What Nancy had done was something Tommy and Carol would've done, was something they had done to him when he'd outlived his usefulness to them. It hadn't been right of them to do it, and it wasn't right of Nancy.

Even if she had been drunk.

The rest of the school day went by uneventfully, but Jessica found it hard to concentrate in the after-lunch classes. She was just really glad when the last bell rang and she could go to her locker and talk to Steve for a few minutes.

The conversation with Nancy was still on her mind. Nancy hadn't even remembered what she'd done. She had apologized, but did it really count if she didn't remember what she needed to apologize for?

She was glad Steve had said what he had because it was exactly what she had been feeling.

She was done putting away what she didn't need and packing what she did need by the time Steve got to her. It was so cliché and cheesy, but she felt some of her stress fade just by seeing him and having him near.

"Hey," she said, smiling at him and wrapping her arms around his middle. "If I was even mildly interested in sports, I would come watch you practice."

She felt him laugh before she heard him. It caused her to relax even further.

"So . . . I was thinking . . ." she began, "maybe I could meet you at your place later. Your parents aren't home . . ."

"Oh. You wanna come over, take advantage of me in my vulnerable state?"

She couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.

"Absolutely."

Jessica slid her hand down and pinched his butt through his jeans, causing him to jump and her to laugh.

"I could, ya know, just skip practice," Steve said.

"Or you could just think about later until you see me again. Is five okay?"

"Definitely."

Steve still walked her to her car, where they spent a few minutes kissing against her car, but he did eventually have to go back inside.

It was on the way home that Jessica started feeling stressed again. This time it had nothing to do with Nancy.

There were five white vans parked on the side of the road near a field. Multiple people in hazmat suits were standing in that field – a pumpkin patch, actually – and there was another car parked nearby. She didn't recognize it.

She did recognize Hopper's police truck, though. He was there as well, then.

What was going on? Why were lab people there? Were they from Hawkins Lab?

If Hopper hadn't been there, she definitely wouldn't have stopped, but he was and so she did. As soon as she got out of her car, the smell hit her. She knew the pumpkins had to be rotten. Was that why the lab was there? Rotting crops? That . . . that wasn't too bad a reason – or too scary of one.

There could be something wrong with the soil, or maybe someone had used some type of chemical and the pumpkins hadn't reacted well to it.

She began making her way to Hopper, who was talking to an older guy with gray hair, but was stopped by a guy in a hazmat suit before she could reach him. It was only after Hopper said it was okay that she was able to get to him.

"What're you doing here, kid?"

"This is my way home. What's going on?"

"Something's killing the crops, the grass, everything. They're testing the soil to see what's going on."

"We're going to have to keep this area clear for a couple of days," the guy said. "Let them get done so we can convince you that nothing is wrong here."

"Why are we concerned with just one field? Maybe it's just a bad batch."

"It's not just here, kid. There are areas all over a three-mile radius where things are just dying for no reason. Guess what's in the middle."

"The lab," she said.

"Are you sure you should be talking so openly?" the guy asked Hopper.

"I already know what went on last year. I was there. Who are you?"

"This is Dr. Owens."

Will's new doctor. Why was he even here? With the lab people. He wasn't supposed to be affiliated with them at all. He was just supposed to be helping Will.

The doctor began to walk away towards the car Jessica didn't recognize. He shouted over his shoulder, "Just keep people clear of this field."

Once Dr. Owens was gone Jessica turned to Hopper and asked, "Why would anything at that lab make the ground die?"

"Look, just go home, okay. It's nothing for you to worry about."

"I worry a lot if it's something that can make things die."

"I've been making sure everything is . . . okay. All right? It's all part of the deal I made with the lab. I help keep everything quiet and they make sure all of that stuff stays out of Hawkins."

"Stays out?" Jessica's breath caught in her throat. "Are you saying it could come back? That thing?"

"That's not what I'm saying."

Hopper grabbed her by the arm and began leading her back to her car.

"Look, no one else knows but Joyce, and I wouldn't be telling you now if you didn't look like you were about to faint, but a gate was opened last year."

"Yeah, I know. That's how that thing got over here."

"I'm not talking about the gates that opened to let that thing go between worlds. I'm talking about the one in the lab that Joyce and I went through to go get Will back. It's like a literal rip in the universe between our worlds. It . . . did not close when the creature was killed."

Jessica stopped walking. Why was she just hearing about this now? Shouldn't they all have known this so that . . . well, so that they would've just known not to let their guard down.

"The lab guys are keeping it contained. They burn it every couple of days to keep it from opening completely. Nothing has come out of there since last year, Jess. Everything is fine."

"Are you sure?"

"As sure as I can be with these lab guys." He nudged her gently forward again. "Come on."

When they reached her car, she turned to him and said, "Am I allowed to tell Steve. I don't want to keep this from him."

"You can tell Steve. Don't tell the kids and don't tell Nancy."

Well, he didn't have to worry about that. Nancy was obsessed enough as it was. She didn't need to know this stuff as well. And she definitely didn't want to worry the kids about it either, but she couldn't keep it to herself.

She guessed she was going straight back to the school. There was no way she could just go home right then.

Once she made it to the school, Jessica didn't know if she should go to the gym or not. On the one hand she really wanted to see Steve and let him know what was going on, but she also didn't want to interrupt and distract his practice.

The decision was made for her when she saw Joyce Byers' car racing out from behind the middle school. Mike, Lucas, her brother, and some girl came walking around the building a few minutes later. When she noticed the red hair, Jessica realized this was the girl she'd seen get out of Billy's car the first day they'd arrived at school.

Jessica got out of the car and walked over to them. Given that Joyce had been driving quite recklessly and that Will wasn't with the group, she assumed something had happened to him.

"What's going on? Why are you guys here so late?"

"AV club ran over," Mike said.

"Oh. Uh," she looked at the new girl. "I'm Jessica. Dustin's my brother."

"I'm Max." The girl held her hand out confidently, and Jessica didn't hesitate to shake it. "I have to go, but I hope Will's okay."

Jessica watched Max skateboard away. It was the first time Jessica even noticed she had a skateboard with her. She was really distracted.

"Why wouldn't Will be okay?"

Each of the boys started in at the same time and it became increasingly overwhelming to try and understand them talking over each other.

"Hey! From the beginning. One at a time."

From their stories Jessica found out that Dustin had found a slug-looking thing in their garbage can the night before and had brought it into their house and had been trying to find out what it was, which . . . considering Dustin was the most curious out of all of them, she wasn't surprised.

He had brought it to school to show Mr. Clarke to see if he knew what it was, but they hadn't been able to show him because Will thought it was something from the Upside Down.

"What?"

"We're not sure," Lucas said. "It's just . . . Will's been having these . . . flashbacks –"

"We don't know if they're flashbacks," Mike said. "But he's been having episodes where he feels like he's back over there. He swears the sound the slug makes is the same noise he hears when he's having these episodes."

"Well, get rid of it," she said to Dustin.

"Dart ran away."

That problem was taken care of, then. And anyway, if it was a slug, what kind of problem could it cause anyway?

"All right. Now . . . why wouldn't Will be okay? What happened?"

"He was having another episode and he just . . . started having a seizure or something," Mike answered. "We don't know what happened. We found him that way."

That explained why Joyce had been there and why she'd taken off as fast as she had.

"I'll call her later to make sure everything is okay."

They all really needed to get home. They couldn't leave their bikes there, so she made sure they got off okay and then went to the high school gym. Nobody was in there aside from the coach, and he let her know the boys were in the shower and that she could wait in the hallway.

About five minutes later a few guys came out. In that group was Tommy and Billy, neither of whom she really wanted to see at the moment.

Neither of them said anything to her as they passed by, but Billy did give her a nod and a smirk. She just leaned back against the wall and continued to wait.

Steve had not had a good practice. Everything had been going great until Coach Williams had let a new player try out for the team. Billy Hargrove had played at his old school, so he was allowed to at least try out for Hawkins.

Billy was an aggressive player, which wasn't a problem in itself, but he had targeted Steve specifically and had kept talking to him to distract him, and it had worked. Billy had even tripped him up once.

The guy was still good at basketball, though, and the team would probably be better with him on it.

"Hey, Harrington, your girl's waiting outside!" someone shouted from the exit of the locker room.

Steve was almost done getting dressed now, and he wondered why Jessica was outside waiting. She'd left almost an hour ago and he hadn't seen her at practice at all. She'd obviously come back for something.

"I'll be out in a minute," Steve shouted back.

He could tell that something was wrong as soon as he saw Jessica leaning against the wall.

"What happened?"

She pushed herself away from the wall and gestured for him to follow her.

"We can talk in the car."

"Well, wait, are you okay? Why'd you come back?"

"I'm okay," she said, reaching for his hand. "We can't talk about it in here. Someone else could hear."

Steve tried to prepare himself for whatever conversation they were about to have. He knew that if she wasn't willing to talk about it in the hallway at school then it had to be something lab related.

The parking lot was empty aside from the few cars that probably belonged to teachers, but Jessica waited until they were inside her car anyway to start talking.

Apparently, she had been driving home when she'd stopped on the side of the road because she'd seen Hopper and some lab guys testing some soil in a field filled with rotting pumpkins. That was all fine until she'd been told that it was happening in other places too and it all seemed to be springing from the lab.

Steve could handle a few dead pumpkins – well, more than a few, but still . . . What he couldn't handle was the fact that a gate to the Upside Down had been open since last November. It had been open for a year!

"Hopper said nothing has come out of it. They've been keeping an eye on it, making sure it doesn't open further. As soon as I found out I just . . . I had to come back because I wanted to see you. I'm not allowed to tell the kids or Nancy, but he said I could talk to you about it because I have to talk to somebody and I wasn't gonna lie to you about it, so . . ."

As if Steve wasn't overwhelmed with information already, there was more that Jessica had to say. Dustin had discovered some kind of creature that might have been from the Upside Down – had discovered and lost it – and the reason they thought it might be from the Upside Down was because Will had recognized a sound it had made. Apparently, Will was having more and more episodes and they weren't so sure it was flashbacks anymore. Steve didn't know what that meant, but if it meant that Will was seeing stuff that was happening in real life, then . . . well, Steve didn't know what that meant either, but he didn't like it.

"So . . . what do we do?" she asked him.

Steve was thrown that she was looking to him for direction because, honestly, he'd only been through one day of everything last time. She had more experience with this stuff than he did.

"I mean . . . is there really anything we can do? We don't know what's going on with the pumpkins, and Hopper's taking care of that, right? And Dustin lost whatever that thing was. We can check on Will, but . . . we can't really help because we don't know what's going on there. We're not doctors. And we're not going near that lab or the gate."

"Obviously not."

Jessica sighed and leaned back against her seat.

"I really wanted to meet up at your place," she said. "But now I just . . . I feel like I should go home. I haven't called to check in or anything."

Steve had to admit that he'd been looking forward to her coming over as well, but he understood why she felt like she shouldn't after everything.

"Want me to come with you?"

She turned her head to him and gave him a soft smile.

"When do I not want you with me?"

Despite everything they had just talked about, everything he had just learned, he still couldn't help the smile that came over his face at those words.

No matter what was happening in the world, they still had each other, and that was enough. He was so glad it was enough.

So much for them going back to his place to have fun. lol. Anyway, Billy is hard to write. I thought he was going to be easy and fun, but . . . um, it's so hard getting his character right since he's not in this very much. Let me know what you guys think!