Chapter Text
Billy was fucking pissed.
But even beyond that, he was fucking scared.
And there was nothing he hated more than feeling scared.
That helpless feeling that weighted him down like lead, like he was still that scared nine year old kid who couldn’t do shit to protect his mom, to keep her from leaving, to keep his piece of shit father from taking everything out on him.
The fear had been gnawing at his stomach, eating him up from the inside out from the moment Neil had shoved him up against the shelf, demanding to know where Max was.
He had to find her.
He couldn’t go back without her, if he did, Neil might just actually kill him… and he might just finally put his hands on Max when she finally turned up.
And for as much as he found the little shit annoying… he couldn’t stomach the idea of having to see her learn to cover up bruises and shrink into herself even more than she already did whenever Neil started screaming.
She wasn’t his sister, would never be his sister… but if Neil went after her in a fit of rage Billy might just be idiotic enough to try and step in.
Take the hit.
And for fucking what?
A little shit who’d seemingly run off and was still nowhere to be found in the middle of the night?
She’d better be dead in a ditch somewhere, that was the only acceptable excuse for why Billy couldn’t fucking find her.
Or at least he couldn’t, until he pressed down on the breaks and parked in front of the Byers household, Steve Harrington of all people already waiting outside, hands on his hips, lies on his lips.
Billy got up close and personal, trying to see if he’d back down.
He didn’t and some small crumb of respect made it out before he caught sight of Max peeking out through the window with another two kids and he pushed Steve down with a reminder that he really had to learn how to plant his fucking feet before kicking him to make sure he stayed down long enough for him to get Max.
Nearly kicking the door down finally brought him face to face with Max and-
Oh, oh did he recognize the look in her face, the one she tried so desperately to hide or shove down but couldn’t quite manage to.
The fear.
The dread.
The panic at what would happen now that she’d been found.
And there- the tiniest dart of her eyes to her right.
To the thing she was worried about the most, not her own safety, no no no, but instead-
“Well well well,” he took careful steps forward, trying to figure out just how frightening the kids found his presence, “Lucas Sinclair, what a surprise.”
The boy didn’t seem too surprised that he was approaching him instead of Max, and to his credit, he didn’t cower, didn’t back down.
Max took the tiniest step forward, like she wanted to step in front of the boy but didn’t want to reveal how much she cared, how much she didn’t want him to wind up getting hurt, “Billy-”
“I thought I told you to stay away from him Max.”
“Billy go away.”
He nearly saw red.
Didn’t she fucking get it?
Didn’t she realize what Neil would do to her if he found out who she seemed to be smitten with?
Fuck- what he’d do to Lucas? And probably Billy too for good measure.
Couldn’t she smell the danger?
“You disobeyed me, and you know what happens when you disobey me…”
For a split second, he hated himself for the fear growing behind Max’s eyes, reminding him far too much of his own terror still pulsing through his veins at the thought of having to go back home without doing what his father had ordered him to do.
“Billy-”
But it was better for him to deliver a warning even if it meant terrifying both kids than his father finding out and possibly killing one or both or all three of them.
“I break things.”
He went after Sinclair, barely hearing the alarmed screams of the other kids and Max pleading for him to let Lucas go as he pinned the younger kid against some shelves deeper in the kitchen.
“Since Maxine doesn’t listen to me maybe you will.” He told him coldly, trying to show rage instead of the fear trying to crawl its way out of his throat, he could practically see the scene playing out if Neil found out, could almost see the bruises on Max’s cheekbones and Lucas with either a broken arm or a bullet wound in the center of his forehead, “Stay away from her. STAY AWAY from her… you hear me?”
“I said get off me!” Lucas yelled as he kneed him right in the crotch, the surprise in it just enough to make Billy’s grip loosen and for the kid to shove him away.
But Billy doubling over in pain only lasted a second.
Now he was just fucking pissed.
“You are so dead Sinclair! You’re dead!”
“No.” A hand on his shoulder forced him to turn around, facing Steve, a silent fury behind his eyes that told Billy everything he needed to know about what his next move would be, “You are.”
The hit caught him in the cheekbone, nearly knocking him off balance.
Steve had good form, knew how to put his weight into his fists.
He’d give him that much.
The situation was so fucking ridiculous he couldn’t help but burst out laughing, even if he caught Sinclair hurrying back to the safety of his friends out of the corner of his eye, catching Max reaching for him, shoulders sagging with relief.
He cackled at the tension in Steve’s frame as the other boy clearly waited to see what Billy’s next move would be.
A part of him had been dying for this, the way everyone spoke about him, the way the kids in the room all seemed to fully believe they were out of the woods just because he’d given Billy a singular punch like he hadn’t received hundreds in his lifetime-
“Looks like you have some fire in you after all huh?!” He questioned with a smile, genuinely amused that Steve took a split second to adjust his hair, “I’ve been waiting to meet this King Steve everyone’s been telling me… so much about.” He finished as he got up in his face.
He didn’t take the bait, reaching out to gently push at his chest, Billy letting himself take a step back, “…get out.”
There was steel in his voice despite the fact it was nearly a whisper.
Somehow that only made him angrier.
Did he think that a single punch and a whispered order were enough to deter Billy?
Did he think he’d leave this house without the little shit he’d been ordered to bring home?
Why was Max even here? Why was Steve even here?
Why were the walls covered in drawings? Where the fuck were the Byers? And- was that a bat covered in nails and a shotgun? What the fuck had they gotten his sister- Max involved with?
No. This wouldn’t stand.
But right as he planted his feet and prepared himself for a swing of his own, Steve seeming ready to dodge it-
The lights started to flicker like crazy, a crash coming from the wall- no from within the wall near the door, the kids stumbling back in panic.
“What the-”
“SHIT!” Steve hurried forward.
“Hey we’re not done here!” Billy tried to grab him, only to be shoved away.
“NOT NOW!”
Steve went to step in front of the kids and pick up the spiked bat.
“What is that?!” Max cried out as Lucas prepared- was that a fucking wrist rocket? What-
Something burst out from within the wall, pale grey, gangly limbs that seemed like arms emerging, followed by what he could only assume to be a flower-like head, petals closed, featureless.
“WHAT THE FUCK-” a whole new kind of fear flooded him, what was he seeing?
“DEMOGORGON!” The kid with the curls- Henderson?- cried out as the creature- thing- monster- fully emerged from the wall, gangly clawed feet landing on the floor.
Steve’s grip on the bat turned his fingers white, tension in his whole body as he moved to further block Henderson and the other kid, -wasn’t that Wheeler’s brother?- from the thing’s reach.
Steve let out a war cry before lunging forward, going to hit the thing with his spiked bat, landing two hits as the creature tried to hit back.
Steve barely managed to dodge its claws, but then the thing launched itself, not at him, nor at Wheeler and the curly haired boy, but just a tiny bit more to the side, towards-
“MAX!” Billy moved before his brain had fully processed what he was going to do, all but tackling both Max and Lucas out of the monster’s path, rolling on the floor painfully for a moment, a hand tucking Max’s head against him, the other gripping the back of Lucas’s jacket.
Then he was scrambling up, staying in front of them as the creature scampered about, clearly hungry- starving even.
He saw the leather handle, the gun leaning against the wall, but he couldn’t move without leaving Max exposed or-
Steve moved back in, trying to batter the thing away, giving Billy just enough leeway to reach the wall, grab what he needed and-
The thing opened its face, revealing several petal-like sections covered in sharp teeth, an inhuman scream leaving it as it stalked towards Steve, clearly ready to leap and-
“GET DOWN HARRINGTON!”
Steve barely had enough time to drop before Billy released the first shot, hitting the thing in the back, waiting for it to turn around and open its face again before shooting it again, the shotgun quickly becoming warm in his hands as he managed to get it right in the open face, Steve hitting it behind what he could only assume to be knees, the creature stumbling for just a second, a rock from Lucas’s wrist rocket getting it behind the head.
“BACKDOOR BACKDOOR BACKDOOR!” Harrington was screaming, all but dragging Wheeler and Henderson back up from where he must’ve shoved them, screaming and gesturing for them to run.
Billy did the same with Max, hauling her up and nearly shoving her at an already-standing Lucas, who was the only one of the kids not screaming his head off and who instantly dragged Max away, towards the kitchen.
He and Steve closed up the march, not daring to turn their backs to the monster blocking the front door.
“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING?!” Billy demanded as they walked backwards through the kitchen, nearly tripping on paper and tape as the creature dropped to all fours to stalk them, Billy releasing another shot as the kids threw the door open.
“LATER!” Steve yelled back, “GET TO THE SHED!”
They half stumbled down the steps before taking off into a full run, constantly glancing over their shoulders.
“Grab the gasoline cans!” Steve yelled at the kids running ahead of them, the boys automatically listening to him.
“Gasoline?!” Billy didn’t dare slow down, the thing had all but torn the backdoor off its hinges, stalking down the steps on all fours.
“They don’t like fire!”
Billy decided not to question that, the kids snatching up cans as they ran, nearly slamming into the shed doors, hurrying inside, Steve quickly shutting the door behind them, Billy going to slide in the wood beam to lock the doors before they stumbled back, starring at the door.
Billy took only a split second to glance around, “What the…” all the walls were covered with tape, papers, carton and plastic, made to be something almost clinical if it weren’t for the fact the makeshift covers over the walls were mostly made up of trash.
“What… the… FUCK IS HAPPENING?!” Billy demanded, instantly being shushed by Steve, who was trying to get a look through a hole in the door.
“The freaking Mind Flayer sent a Demogorgon after us!” Henderson nearly screamed, also being hushed by Steve.
“You are not making any fucking sense-”
“Will you all shut up?!” Steve hissed.
Wheeler went to step up to Billy, stone-faced, worry buried deep down, “There is a different universe beneath us. Think of it like a mirror, a version of our world but… cold and empty… and with monsters. There is… a gate that was opened, since then things… like the Demogorgon- that’s what we call it at least- have been slipping through. Part of the party went to try and stop the big bad behind all the monsters, the Mind Flayer.” He glanced down for a moment, “It must be trying to give El a distraction… I think we might be bait.”
“Mike- figure things out later, that thing is sniffing around.” Steve quickly said.
Billy wasn’t sure he understood everything, he didn’t know who the fuck El was, but an alternate universe with monsters that were invading their own… as insane as it sounded… what other explanation could there be?
He could demand the full story later, now…
He hip-checked Steve, ignoring his undignified yelp to look through the tiny gap in the wood.
The creature was sniffing at the door, mere inches away from the wood.
Billy cursed under his breath, glancing around.
“Are there windows?” He whispered under his breath.
Lucas pointed up, “Too small to crawl through.”
Billy looked through the hole again, then glanced at the gasoline can still clutched in Max’s hands.
“Sinclair… how good are you with that wrist rocket?”
Steve instantly caught on to what he was thinking, taking a chair also covered in cardboard to place it under the small rectangular window, sliding it open.
“What are our odds of killing the damn thing?” Billy asked as he found a small box of shot gun rounds and shoved as many as he could into his pockets.
“Slim.” Mike said, coldly honest as he paced, “If El closes the gate everything connected to the Mind Flayer should die, it’s a hive mind but-”
“They barely left ten minutes ago.” Henderson continued, “They need more time.”
Once Lucas was ready to give them the distraction they needed, Steve slowly walked up to him, seemingly resigning himself to the fact that it was going to have to be the two of them against the monster, testing his bat, “You’re not gonna go coward on me are you?”
“Fuck you.” Billy spat out, all the confirmation Steve was going to get.
Harrington just rolled his eyes, turning to Wheeler, “Stay close to the doors. Stay low. If you can make a break for it… do it.”
Billy only hesitated a split second before he shoved his keys into Max’s hands, her eyes going wide, “If this goes sideways… fucking run.”
Max clenched her jaw before nodding once.
They all jumped at a thud against the door.
The creature- Demogorgon, Billy reminded himself, was starting to throw itself against the door.
The door wouldn’t hold for long.
“Sinclair.” Billy called out.
That was all the signal Lucas needed, shooting out a few rocks to provide a distraction.
Henderson, who was watching through a different crack in the wall, gestured for them to go.
Max brushed his sleeve once, “Don’t get yourself killed.”
Billy didn’t answer as Steve opened the door and they both quickly crept out.
They swiftly pulled the door mostly closed behind them, leaving only a small gap so the kids would know if they had an opening.
“You got a lighter ready right?” Steve asked as he took the lead, waving the bat before him to clear up the fog of the night.
“How exactly did you get involved with all of this?” Billy asked instead of answering, holding his breath as he wielded the shotgun before him, almost shoulder to shoulder with Steve.
Steve snorted, “Same way you did… showed up at the Byers at the worst possible moment.”
“The Byers haunted or something?” He asked as he shifted the gasoline can hanging from his belt loop, making sure he’d have good aim.
“You could say that… the younger one Will… he didn’t get lost in the woods last year… he got lost in the Upside Down. And now that Mind Flayer- shadow bitch whatever you wanna call it… possessed him in a sense.”
It was more than surreal, talking about possessions and alternate dimensions and monsters while being completely serious.
Just a few minutes prior his biggest worry was how exactly his father was going to beat him up if he couldn’t find Max, now it was fighting this thing and hoping they wouldn’t get their fucking faces eaten.
Just what had his life become?
“Where’s the little shit now?” His voice fully dropped to a whisper, barely able to hear the sound of another of Lucas’s rocks being shot.
“With his mom, Jonathan and Nancy… they’re going to try to exorcise it outta him.”
“Of fucking course they are… how?”
“Heat.” Steve cast him a single glance, “Will says it likes it cold. Same goes for everything that comes from the Upside Down.”
“Well then let’s light this bitch up.”
The demogorgon came into view as they edged their way towards the corner of the shed.
The thing looked like it was gearing up to throw itself against the side of the shed.
It must’ve sensed them, or maybe it just smelled them, turning to them and opening its face again as it rose up to its full height.
Billy shot at it, the boys diving away from one another as the creature leaped at them, Steve spinning and hitting the thing in the chest with the bat, delivering blow after blow.
Billy hurried to unclip the gasoline can from his belt hoop, waiting before managing to somewhat douse the thing with the liquid, only a few trails, not enough, not yet.
He dropped the can as the creature threw itself at him, knocking him down and-
Oh- it opened its face, drool dropping down over Billy’s neck and face, making him gag at the smell of rotten meat and decay.
Steve, idiot, somehow fearless dumbass that he apparently was, all but jumped on the thing’s back, wrapping his bat around its neck and trying to heave it off of him.
Billy placed his hands on the ends of the bat, over Steve’s, feeling some of the nails scratch at him as they worked together to try and get the thing off him.
The creature half rose up, only to raise an arm with claws and-
Billy barely managed to roll away, the claws catching him on the side, over his ribs in slices, but not as deep as they could’ve been.
Billy groaned as he shoved himself up, Steve being launched back by the creature as it fully rose up, he scrambled for the shotgun, trying to get a proper shot.
Steve snatched up the gasoline can as Billy took a shot, doing his best to douse the thing.
Billy’s side stung, he knew the gashes weren’t deep enough to be fatal, but they still hurt like a fucking bitch.
Steve delivered two more blows before Billy shot the thing in the back, Steve all but throwing the gasoline can at the thing, “There! That’s-”
The thing launched Steve to the side, batting him away with one of its long gangly arms, Steve slamming against the side of the shed, head hitting the wood and falling to the ground, not moving again.
Damn it.
The Demogorgon dropped down to all fours, ready to pounce and-
“HEY!” Billy let his shotgun drop, quickly picking up the bat Steve had dropped, getting closer and hitting at the thing’s back, “You want some fucking fresh meat?! Then fucking come and get it!!!”
The monster turned to him, opening its face again.
He had to get further away, he was too close to Steve, to the shed, to the easily burnable wood-
“COME ON!” The thing tried to circle him, Billy doing his best to put some distance from the shed, “COME AND GET ME YOU SON OF A BITCH!”
The thing jumped, Billy dropped and rolled before running for a moment, managing to get a few feet of distance, turning to see it running at him.
He dug his lighter out of his pocket as the demogorgon jumped again, knocking him down, his head harshly hitting the floor as the thing tried to claw at him, Billy shoving the bat between them and managing just enough leverage to flip it off him.
He was getting dizzy, he could feel blood seeping out from the gashes, adrenaline starting to plummet as weakness started setting in.
He saw the thing stalking towards him, ready to jump.
He flicked his lighter open, barely managing to throw it the distance it needed.
The demogorgon instantly caught fire, flames close enough to nearly lick at Billy, the thing screaming and scrambling, trying to put the fire out.
He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself even as his limbs became heavier with exhaustion and the fear he’d been shoving down for so very long.
Billy leaned his head against the grass and just watched the beast on fire thrash about.
It felt good.