59. Chapter 59

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Jessica hadn't expected the military to come in on Monday, and she hadn't expected the news reports about it, but there were many.

Nancy's name hadn't been mentioned and neither had Jonathan's, but the tapes they had sent in to multiple newspapers were. They were labeled as 'incendiary' but they'd brought attention to what Nancy had wanted them to.

There was news coverage of military Humvees parked in front of the lab, of people in lab coats being led out by people in military garb. None of the reporters were allowed in, but they were pretty much camped out in front anyway.

Jessica didn't know what the reporters would have found inside. The lab had covered up Bob's death the same way they had covered up Barb's – they'd made it seem like he'd just taken off somewhere.

The gate was closed, thanks to El, and Jessica hoped and assumed the lab had gotten rid of whatever demodogs had been in there even if they had all dropped dead once their connection to the Upside Down had been severed.

The news also covered the military basically making the lab condemned so no one was allowed in.

Because of the tapes, the lab had to admit they were responsible for Barb's death even if they couldn't honestly admit why or how. Nothing supernatural was hinted at, of course, because that would freak everyone right out, so the official story was that some kind of experimental chemical had leaked out into the grounds and Barb had somehow come in contact with it.

How would always be a mystery.

That was how Jessica's morning started on Monday. She'd come downstairs to see her mom in the living room watching TV – the news, of course. Jessica didn't obsessively pay attention to the news – although she'd had a phase where she'd kept up with it after her first encounter with the Upside Down the year before – but she did watch it that morning.

She immediately thought of Nancy when Barb was brought up in the broadcast. This was what she had wanted – the lab was being held responsible for what had happened to Barb.

She also thought of Steve because even though he wasn't responsible for Barb being killed, most people knew that Barb had last been seen at his house. Police involvement had made sure of that.

If she hadn't been about to go to school, she would have called to check on both of them. She would get to see Steve before school started, though, and she would get to see Nancy during lunch.

"Has Dustin seen this?"

"No." Her mom looked at her. "Did you know this girl well?"

"No, just enough to say hi to. She was Nancy's best friend."

"Oh, be sure to check in on her today then."

Jessica nodded. "I will."

Her mom pointed to one of the chairs in the living room and said, "Take those to school with you, sweetie."

There on the chair were two winter coats. One of them was obviously for a male, but the other one Jessica recognized as one of her old ones. The one that had been hers was black and thickly insulated; the one that was for a man was dark brown and lined with wool. That one had belonged to her dad.

"Why?"

"Coats for Billy and Max."

"Mom! That was dad's coat."

"Don't mom me. I'm being nice. And if your dad were here, he'd want that boy to have something to keep him warm."

"I'm . . . Fine! But Billy might not accept it. He doesn't seem to know how to accept things being given to him, or people being nice to him, in general."

"Maybe you should think about why that would be. And anyway, I doubt he'll have a problem accepting something from you."

Jessica shook her head but went to grab the coats anyway, so she could put them with her things.

"There's another inch or two of snow on the ground," her mom said, "but the roads are still pretty clear. Still be careful. Okay?"

"Yeah, I will."

When she got to school, Steve was in his usual parking spot waiting for her. He hadn't gotten out of the car yet, but he had obviously been looking for her because he quickly got out as she approached him. She noticed he had his sunglasses on and realized the extra snow couldn't be good on his eyes.

She kissed him when she reached him and then they started walking hand-in-hand towards the school.

"How's your head today?"

"I still have a slight headache, but I took medicine already and the glasses help a lot."

"Good."

As they walked Jessica looked around for Billy's Camaro, but she didn't see it. Maybe he and Max weren't coming to school because of the snow, or maybe they were running late because of it. Maybe Billy was actually being careful driving for once.

She wouldn't even have bothered looking if she hadn't been planning on giving them their coats. Though . . . she would definitely call to check in on them after school if Billy didn't show up.

She and Steve stopped by her locker before walking her to her English class. She kissed him again at the door and said, "Don't overdo it today, okay. If the headache gets bad, go to the nurse."

"I know, I know," Steve said and smiled slightly. "I'll see you at lunch."

"You bet. Love you."

"Love you too, Jess."

Steve turned to walk away and Jessica went in the classroom to take her seat. As had been suggested by the missing Camaro, Billy wasn't there. He didn't show up until halfway through the class period, either, and he didn't look happy to be there.

He plopped down onto his desk chair and Jessica looked him over briefly but didn't say anything because of the mood he appeared to be in. He was in a white T-shirt, blue jeans, boots, had his leather jacket on still even though it was warm in the school.

He huffed when he realized she was looking at him.

"What?"

"You're late."

"Yeah, because of the stupid snow. My dad had to jumpstart my car because the battery was dead this morning. He got pissed because it made him late to work."

"Oh. Sorry. Yeah, the cold drains a battery like nothing else."

"It's whatever. I've got enough saved up for a new battery if it happens again."

During class they found out that they would be presenting on Wednesday, so that took a little heat off of them for that day. It wasn't until after class, when they were getting their things together, that Jessica noticed the slight bruise Billy had beside his right eye. His face had been turned away from her most of the class period, so she didn't blame herself for not noticing.

She paused in what she was doing and said, "What happened there?"

Billy paused also, raised his eyebrow at the question, and shook his head as if he didn't know what she was asking.

"Your eye."

"Oh." Billy shoulders came up, tensed like they normally did when something he didn't want to talk about was brought up. "Another fight. No big deal. Doesn't even hurt."

"Okay then." She continued gathering her stuff then. "Uh, can you meet me at my car after school, before you go to practice?"

Billy looked at her, gave her a smirk, and said, "We goin' on a date, Princess?"

"Billy, no. I just . . . I have something for you and something for Max, so just meet me out there. Okay?"

"Fine. Whatever."

By the time lunch time came around Jessica had heard so much about the news broadcast that morning that she was just tired of it. Nobody had really said anything to her, but she'd heard muttering and mumbling in the hallways.

Jessica met Steve at the entrance to the cafeteria as she did every day and the went to their normal table to put their bags down before going to get in line. Steve was quiet but didn't seem to be letting the talking or anything get to him.

"How's your head?"

"Better. It doesn't hurt, but my eyes are still sensitive to the light."

She leaned her head against his arm and he brought it up to wrap around her shoulders.

"Hey, uh . . . once you walk me to my car after school can you wait in yours? Mom wanted me to give Billy something for him and Max, but I know for a fact he won't take it if you're there."

"I, uh, yeah?" Steve sounded confused. "What is it?"

"Winter coats. She was worried because all Max wears is that thin jacket and she thinks Billy's leather and jean jackets aren't good enough for Hawkins winter, so . . . yeah."

Steve shook his head but there was a small smile playing on his lips, so he wasn't upset.

"I know." Jessica grinned. "She's just being nice."

"A'right, I'll walk you out and meet you again after you give him the coats."

"Thank you." She leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Love you."

"Love you too, Jess."

When they got back to their table, they found that Jonathan was there but Nancy was not. She'd apparently been given the day off because of the news about Barb. Jonathan let them know she was with Barb's parents because they were the ones who would most understand her loss – at least in the way that Nancy needed them to; they could grieve with her about the loss if not the reason for it.

"I'll have to call her later," Jessica said. "But if you see her after school, let her know she can call if she needs me."

Jonathan sent her a grateful smile, small and closed-mouth like his normal ones. "I will."

Billy was surprised when he walked outside and Jessica was at her car by herself, no Harrington in sight. She'd probably arranged it that way, to be fair. She was probably worried about him maybe rearranging her boyfriend's face again, which . . . he wouldn't. He'd gotten in fights before, but he'd never hurt anyone as badly as he'd hurt Harrington.

"A'right, you got me out here," he said, stopping in front of her. "What do you have for me?"

"Uh . . . winter coats."

"What?"

He noticed she seemed a bit embarrassed, but she opened the door to the backseat of her car anyway and pulled out two thick coats. She tried handing them to him, but he didn't take them.

"Come on," she said. "They're from my mom. The one for Max used to be mine, and – and the one for you was my dad's."

He noticed the stutter before the admission that the coat for him had belonged to her dad at one time, but he didn't say anything about it.

"We can't take these. What am I supposed to say if my dad or Susan asks where I got them?"

Knowing his dad, the guy might think he'd stolen them or something.

"I mean, I don't know. Why would it matter? My mom is just being nice, and it's probably your fault, anyway, for showing up with a half-unbuttoned shirt like you don't know how to dress yourself properly."

He still hadn't taken the coats, so she pressed them more firmly against his chest.

"Come on, just take them. Even if you just toss them in the trunk of your car and never wear them, take them so I can tell my mom I gave them to you."

Billy reached up so the material could fold over his arm. He guessed he could just keep them in the car. He'd have to tell Max that she had to keep hers there as well. They might come in handy, anyway. He already had a few blankets in the trunk for the rare nights his dad got so mad that Billy knew he had to get out before things got really bad. He'd slept in his car more than once.

"Thank you," she said when he took them. "Anyway, who was your fight with?"

"What?"

"Your eye. You said you got in a fight."

"Right. Just some guy."

"Oh."

He hadn't been lying when he'd told her that his dad had been pissed that morning because the battery in his car had been dead. But that wasn't why his dad had popped him one. What had made him dad hit him on the side of the head, which wouldn't have hurt if he hadn't been wearing a ring, was when Billy had questioned how the dead battery was his fault. The thing was old and not used to cold, snowy weather. That wasn't his fault.

"Billy?"

"Hm?"

"The last four or five time you've shown up hurt . . . I haven't noticed any evidence of you fighting back with whoever you claim to be fighting with."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said, not liking what she was implying.

"You haven't had bruises on your knuckles since your fight with Steve."

"Maybe I haven't wanted to fight anyone but Steve." Billy backed away from her a bit. "Anyway, tell your mom thanks for the coats. It was nice, like you said."

Billy didn't know how to show it, but he actually was grateful for them.

"Yeah, I'll let her know."

He needed to get away from her now. He didn't like the path their conversation had taken at all. He still didn't know why she cared or why she was noticing when he was hurt. They weren't really friends.

The only reason they'd been hanging out outside of school was because of the stupid project. She shouldn't have been worrying her pretty little head about one stupid bruise anyway. It wasn't like –

Suddenly he was toppling backwards. His foot had come in contact with a slippery patch of asphalt and since he'd been backing up, he hadn't seen it.

He dropped the coats, reaching out for the nearest thing to try and keep himself from actually hitting the ground. That just happened to be Jessica, whose eyes had widened when she'd realized what was happening and had begun to reach out to him as well.

The problem was that Billy probably had a good forty pounds of muscle on her and there was no way she was going to be able to keep him from falling, so what happened was that he ended up bringing her with him.

He heard her yelp as she was yanked forward, and they both grunted when they hit the ground, though Billy hit harder and more fully than she did as she landed half on top of him. What he wouldn't have given to have her on top of him in any other situation . . .

He cursed as pain shot up his spine from falling on his butt. He heard her curse too, but hers was more because she'd gotten tangled up in her backpack when she'd fallen and she was trying to straighten herself out.

She did so quickly and then looked at him. He didn't know what he looked like, but her hair was a mess from the fall. She quickly took care of that too, before pulling herself away from him. He hadn't known he'd still been holding onto her arms until they slid down when she leaned back onto her knees.

She grunted again, as if in pain and scrunched her nose up.

"Ow."

She was still able to get up, but Billy saw the problem now. Her jeans had torn at her left knee, and now it was bloody, scratched up from the asphalt.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I –" she started but was interrupted by Harrington calling out her name as he hurried on over.

Of course he was coming over. Jessica had fallen – well, been pulled down, at least – and was slightly hurt.

"Are you guys okay?"

Billy didn't know why Harrington was including him in that question.

"Yeah, just . . . the stupid ice, you know?" Jessica said, stepping gingerly away from Billy and towards Harrington.

It took a few seconds for Harrington to do it, but he offered Billy his hand to help him up. Billy had half a mind to ignore him, mostly because he thought the guy would just shove him back down like he himself would've done, but his butt and back really did hurt and the hand was appreciated.

Once he was back on his feet, he grabbed the coats from the ground and turned to walk away, more carefully than he had the first time. He'd been wanting to get away anyway, but he definitely did now that Harrington was there.

From the dull ache he was still feeling, he knew practice was going to be great. He was definitely going to wake up sore in the morning.

"We should get that looked at," Steve said, opening the door to Jessica's car so she could sit down.

"I'll clean it when I get home."

"Does it hurt to move it."

"Not really. I mean, it's stretching the wound, but it doesn't feel sprained or anything."

Steve had been doing what she'd asked him to do when he'd suddenly seen both Billy and Jessica take a fall. Well, he saw Billy slip and reach for Jessica to try to steady himself. He couldn't even blame him for that. It had been an instinctual thing to do, try to keep from falling.

He hadn't been able to stay in his car after that, though, because he'd wanted to see if they were okay. Even Billy. He could've fallen hard enough to bang his head against the concrete, and even if he didn't like Billy all that much, he still didn't want the guy getting a concussion – he wouldn't wish that on anyone, even if said person maybe deserved it.

Steve was half-surprised that Billy hadn't used the situation to his advantage, hadn't tried to cop a feel or something, but he'd mostly been surprised by the fall and then concerned when he'd realized Jessica had hurt herself.

"That was a nice thing you did for Billy," Jessica said. "I'm surprised he let you."

"The shock of the fall maybe," Steve suggested.

He couldn't help but smile fondly as he took in the disheveled appearance of his girlfriend. Her cheeks were rosy – either from the cold or from the embarrassment of having landed on Billy earlier – and her hair was a mess.

He leaned down to kiss her briefly, smiled when she responded.

"You wanna come over after work? Especially if you're going to be gone tomorrow."

"I think I can arrange that," she said, grinning. "I have to go now, though, so I can get cleaned up.

"Okay. Keep an eye on the knee. It could still swell up later if you hurt it worse than you think you did."

The rest of the week went by fairly smoothly. Jessica stayed at Steve's Monday night as she'd said she would and she did go shopping Tuesday. She knew her mom had gotten Dustin a Nintendo console, so she got him the Mario game for it. It was expensive so that was his only gift from her, which was fine because she knew he'd understand that. Well, to be fair, he had another one, but it was more a group thing. She was getting matching Swatch watches for the kids in the Party. Promoting solidarity and all that – the real reason was because Swatches were relatively inexpensive and she thought it would be cute if the kids wore them at the same time.

The hardest person to buy for was Steve. It wasn't because she didn't know what he liked – she very much did – but she didn't want to just buy him anything. She wanted it to mean something. He was good at picking out thoughtful gifts – like the snowflake necklace he'd gotten her because it had reminded him of their snowball fight – so she wanted to try finding something like that.

Her mom was pretty easy to get for. Photo albums or arts and crafts supplies, things like that.

All in all, she spent about three hours in Indianapolis looking around for Christmas gifts. It was hectic and she hated the crowds. In the end she had a headache from all the busyness around her and she couldn't wait to get home.

On Wednesday, she and Billy presented their debate and aside from a little stumbling on her part near the beginning, everything was fine. Billy had asked her how her knee was and it was fine so that was what she told him. He's also asked about the military stuff that was going on and she told him what she could, what she was allowed to.

Thursday and Friday seemed to fly by, and then it was the day of the Snow Ball. Jessica went over to Hopper's around five while Steve went to her house to help Dustin get ready.

El already had her dress on the bed, so Jessica laid out the makeup El had previously chosen there as well. El had already taken a shower and when she explained to Jessica what she wanted to do with her hair, Jessica decided to slick it back, much like it had been when she'd come back from her little road trip. Only it was in a more fashionable way.

"Your hair is pretty, though, El. It's just curly and thick, so it can be hard to do anything with if you don't have the time."

El nodded. "Gets tangled."

"Mine too. It's okay."

It took about an hour to get El's hair done and then they tried out the makeup with Jessica letting El try first. She got frustrated easily and just asked Jessica to do it.

"Makeup is an art," Jessica informed. "You're young, you'll get it."

It didn't help that she was being raised by the macho Chief of police.

It was as they were zipping up the dress that Jessica noticed that El's hands were shaking a little.

"You nervous?"

"Nervous?" El asked as if she didn't know the word. She probably didn't.

"Um . . . worried? Maybe your stomach hurts?"

El nodded. "Worried."

"You don't have to be. Mike and the others will be there. Nancy and Jonathan are going. I can stay until you get comfortable, if you want."

El nodded again.

"What are you worried about?"

"People."

"That you'll be recognized?"

"No. Too many people."

"Oh. You know, I don't like being around a lot of people either. It can be a bit much. Too much noise or too much . . . everything. That's okay, too. If it gets to be too much, just let someone know and they can get you out, okay?"

"Okay."

Jessica rode with El and Hopper to the middle school, leaving her car behind. Steve would take her to pick up her car later. El kept picking at her nails on the way, an outward sign of her nerves, so Jessica grabbed on of her hands to keep her from doing it.

"Remember you can leave whenever you want to," she said.

El nodded, squeezed her hand, and tried to relax.

"What's it like?"

"Going to a dance?"

"Yes."

"Well, it's kind of cheesy, but the first one is usually cool because it's new. You'll have your friends there, so it'll be even better. There's food and usually punch."

"Fun?"

"It should be."

"I'll be right outside," Hopper said. "I think Joyce is sticking around too, for Will."

When they reached the school there was a line of parents dropping their kids off at the front door, so El and Jessica stayed in the car until they reached the doors.

She wondered if Steve had dropped Dustin off yet. She was going to meet him in the dirt parking lot of the middle school once she knew El was okay by herself – or as by herself as she would be with Mike and the others with her.

When they reached the doors, El and Jessica got out and Hopper pulled away to go park in the dirk parking lot as well. Jessica would be able to find his car easily once she came back outside.

She stood there with El for about a minute. She wasn't going to rush the girl. El needed to decide to go in on her own. She'd been forced to do too many things in her short life.

El seemed to stiffen her resolve as she took a deep breath and took her first step towards the front doors. Jessica followed her in and stopped when El did.

Both girls were taking everything in – El because it was her first time at a school dance; Jessica because it reminded her of her first school dance.

Because it was a Christmas dance, there were a few lit up Christmas trees spread around the gym and there were blue and white balloons on the floor, paper Mache snowflakes hanging from the ceiling.

Typical school dance decorations.

Mr. Clarke was manning the front table, getting a count of how many people were attending and collecting tickets as the students came in.

Hopper must have bought El a ticket because the girl handed one over when she was asked for one.

"And Ms. Henderson?"

"I'm not staying. I'm just making sure this one gets in okay."

She probably should not have been able to get away with that, but Mr. Clarke knew she could be trusted, so he let her in.

Once inside the actual dance they were able to take in more of the decorations – streamers that were meant to look like icicles and twinkle lights strung in hoops from the ceiling, a banner advertising that the dance was, in fact, the Snow Ball.

A few kids were seated on the bleachers, but most of them were on the floor, dancing to some upbeat pop song. Nancy was manning the refreshments table, and Jonathan was off to the side taking pictures of the kids as they came in.

He stopped when he spotted them and gave them a wave. Jessica returned it and made a not to ask him to maybe snap a picture or two of El and the others later on. El couldn't be singled out right then, but when the crowd lessened it would probably be okay.

Hopper would probably appreciate a picture or two.

Even though they were still under the balloon archway at the entrance, it didn't take long to find the Party. They were seated at a table off to the side. To be honest, she'd spotted them because of Max's re hair. She was able to take each of them in, though, the closer she and El got.

Dustin had on a mint green button up with a darker green sui and a bow tie; his curly hair was slicked back. She preferred his natural hair, but she wasn't going to tell him that.

Mike . . . Well, he had old man clothes on. A blue button up, red tie, what looked to be a tween sweater and a brown suede coat with black slacks.

How was he not burning up?

Lucas was more semi-formal. Striped button-up, gray overcoat, brown pants.

Will had on a tan shirt, long-sleeved, with a black sweater-vest over it. His pants were black.

Max had on a dark sweater and red dress pants. Jessica knew the girl wouldn't wear a dress. She would have been shocked had she seen that. Max's hair was pulled back away from her face, wavier than it normally was.

All in all, they all looked nice in the first-school-dance kind of way.

El grabbed her hand before they could reach the group. El's eyes were wide, her nerves having taken over again.

"What?"

El pointed to herself. "Pretty?"

Jessica's throat tightened and she had to force herself not to tear up.

"Very pretty."

"Okay."

Seeming satisfied El began walking again and didn't stop until they reached the group, who were talking and having a good time. All El had to do was say "Mike," and the whole group turned to them.

Mike was the first one up, but the others quickly followed, and there were hugs all around – aside from Max and El, but at least El wasn't rude this time.

El was eyeing Max warily, though.

"I thought you liked Mike," she admitted.

"What?" Max exclaimed and then burst out laughing. "Ew."

"Yeah," Mike agreed. "Ew."

El smiled and let out a small laugh of her own.

"You look beautiful," Mike said.

Jessica was glad things seemed to be going smoothly. Mike complimenting El had been exactly what she needed.

"Do you wanna dance?"

El looked around, nervous again.

"I . . . don't know how."

"I don't either. Do you wanna figure it out?"

El nodded and took his hand when it was offered. She followed him out onto the dance floor, where Mike placed her hands on his shoulders and his hand on her waist.

Jessica smiled as they began swaying back and forth to the music.

"Okay," she said to the others. "Hopper is in the parking lot. Nancy and Jonathan are here. Watch out for El, okay? I told her to let one of you know if she starts freaking out. She's not used to crowds."

"We've got her," Lucas said. "Or Mike does, anyway. He'll watch out for her."

Jessica knew that was true, so she felt it was time to go. She made sure they were good on their own and then she told Dustin she and Steve would be back to get him later.

She said hi to Nancy before leaving but she didn't stay to chat for long. Nancy seemed to be doing okay since Barb's death had been made public even if the real reason hadn't been.

As she'd thought about earlier, she told Jonathan to get pictures of El and the others before letting them leave that night. Jonathan gave her a look that told her he'd planned on doing that anyway.

She headed for the exit and then outside. She shivered a bit as the cold hit her and then she started towards the parking lot. She saw Hopper's car right away. He was parked beside Joyce's car and the two were leaning against the hood of it, sharing a cigarette.

She made her way over, stopped long enough to let them know the kids seemed to be doing okay, and then went in search of Steve. It wasn't hard to find him because he was standing outside of his car – if he hadn't been, she would've had a harder time.

She wrapped her arms around him as soon as she was close enough to, half-because she wanted to and half-because she was cold.

"Hey," he said, voice soft beside her ear.

"Hey."

"Everything good?"

"Yeah. El was nervous at first, but she was good when I left."

"That's good. Dustin was nervous too."

They stood there for a few minutes, just holding each other, before getting in the car so Steve could drive her to go get hers.

Because his dad was home, Steve was planning on staying at Jessica's house that night, so once she got her car they just went to her place to chill until they had to go pick Dustin up.

When they did go and get him, they waited outside in the car because it wouldn't have been cool for them to go inside to escort him out.

Once Dustin found them and was seated in the backseat, he began talking to them, telling them about the dance. Max and Lucas had danced together, someone had asked Will to dance, and Dustin had danced with Nancy a few times.

It wasn't until he got to the parts about Max and Lucas – and Mike and El – kissing that Jessica snapped her neck around to look at him.

"What?"

"Relax, it was just a quick peck," Dustin said.

"They're like, twelve."

"Mike, Lucas, and Max are thirteen."

"Like a year makes a difference. They're too young."

"I was –" Steve started but was cut off with, "don't say a word," and so he wisely shut his mouth.