CHAPTER NINE
ARRIVAL

        Against Alex's vehement denial, Steve stands on the front porch like a Centurian guarding their kingdom.  His hands are placed on his hips.  He stares down the blue Camaro that has pulled into the driveway.  Abby hovers just above the five teenagers as they press their foreheads against the window, watching the scene before them play out.  Abby notices that despite the calm, blank expression Alex wears, her knuckles turning white as she clutches the window sill tightly.  Abby doesn't say anything, she merely places a comforting hand on Alex's shoulder and gives it a squeeze, but the small action is enough to convey a comforting message to Alex.  

Abby purses her lips together as Billy steps out of his sleek blue Camaro.  A could of wiping smoke billows out of his lips as he removes the cigarette clamped between his lips.  He wears a black leather jacket and tight jeans.  He wears a smile, but it's not a kind one or a soft one, it's the kind that sends chills down your spine.  The kind of smile the killers in the movies wear before they bring down the knife.  Abby supposes that Billy is the killer in this scenario.  He's got a knife hidden on him somewhere, she only hopes that he doesn't have to reveal it and that they won't have to use a weapon of their own against him.

From what Max was able to tell them in the short time that they had before Billy had pulled into the Byers' driveway with his horrifying grin and rats-nest of a hairstyle that he's a terrible person.  She tells them that he's always angry, that he's violent, and he's not afraid to hurt anybody.  He's gotten into a lot of trouble in California, and she knows that he's the real reason why they relocated all the way across the country.  He's racist, she had frantically told them.  He had warned her to stay away from Lucas because "there are certain types of people in the world that you want to avoid".  If he catches them, they're doomed.  Abby had seen the fear that shines in Max's eyes when she warned them about Billy.  It's something that no kid should have to feel when they talk about their family.

Abby can barely make out his lips moving around the cigarette as he sheds his leather jacket to reveal a partially opened shirt.  Alex tenses and Abby notices her hand jump toward Max's beside her instinctively as Steve steps off of the porch and makes his way toward Billy, seemingly undaunted.  They watch, hearts hammering as Billy licks his lips before he turns his head and points in their direction with the lit end of their cigarette.  Abby feels her heart stop in her chest.

"Fuck!" Abby hisses as she drops to the ground while the five teens all slide down in a fickle attempt to hide from Billy.  They know that they were seconds too late, they know that Billy has seen them, but still, they cling onto the false hope that maybe he didn't see them.

"Shit," Dustin curses.  "Did he see us?"

Billy Hargrove tears into the house like a bullet just as the kids are scrambling out of the living room.  The door thuds against the wall with a loud bang and there in the doorway stands Billy Hargrove in the doorway with a complacent smile on his face.  Instinctively, Abby steps in front of the group of teens, shielding them with protective arms as Billy steps forward.  He's not looking for Max, that much is clear.  His malicious eyes are fixated solely on Lucas.  Abby is quick to step in front of him protectively, shielding him from the deadly eyes of Billy Hargrove.

"Well, well, well," Billy says as he slams the door behind.  "Lucas Sinclair.  What a surprise."  He turns his snake-like gaze on Max who stares up at him with fear in her eyes.  "I thought I told you to stay away from him, Max."

"Billy, go away, please," Max pleads with a slight tremor in her voice. 

"You disobeyed me," Billy hisses in a dangerous undertone that sends shivers down Abby's spine.  He's painfully calm, but rotten all the same.  Like the rattle of a snake, his voice slips out from his lips, a warning that he can be scarier if he needs to be, a warning that he's poised to bite and sink his venom into them.  "And you know what happens when you disobey me."

"Billy ..." Max whispers in one final pleading attempt to call the boy off.

"I break things," he finishes.  

Abby should've seen the strike coming.  In the split second, before she realized what was bound to happen, before anybody can react, Billy lunges straight at Lucas.  He shoves Abby out of the way and sends her stumbling, arms pinwheeling into the wall with a loud thud.  His fists close around the fabric of Lucas's collar as he lifts him with and shoves him back into the china cabinet.  Dishes and cups rattled together by the sheer force of Billy's shove.  Screams erupted from the five teenagers, huddled together in the living room, begging for Billy to stop.

Head pounding and thoughts swimming, Abby frantically searches for the nearest weapon she can find.  Her eyes land on the empty vase that sits on the coffee table.  She hopes it's not a family heirloom.  "Sorry, Mrs. Byers," she whispers before she lets out a yell and charges at Billy, raising the vase above her head.  Billy turns around a split second too late as Abby brings down the vase right on top of his head.

Fortunately, it effectively took his attention away from Lucas who managed to scramble out of the way.  Shards of the ceramic clattered to the floor and fell into Billy's eyes and tangled in his matted hair.  Unfortunately, the vase did not have the same effect as vases to the head tend to have in the movies.  

"Oh, you so did not want to do that," he growls.

"Actually, I kind of did," Abby responds, squaring her fists.  She tries not to show on her face the fear that courses through her veins and shuts out the voices that scream at her to turn around and run away.  She wasn't going to back down from this fight.

Billy scoffs.  "Yeah, well, I think I can take on a g—"

Before Billy can finish his sentence, Abby plants a kick right in his chest.  Billy stumbles back into the china cabinet with a satisfying thud.  Abby curls her lip.  "You talk too much."

Billy lets out another ferocious yell and chases and Abby, catching her around the waist and slamming her into the far kitchen wall.  Abby brings her head forward and smashes it against Billy's nose with a loud, sickening crack and a spray of blood.  Some of the flecks land on her face and soak into her shirt as Billy stumbles backward, cupping his hands over his nose.

"You bitch," he growls as he charges at her once more.  

Abby attempts to duck under his outstretched hands, but she's too late.  With his blood-stained hands, he grabs her by the hair and slams her head into the edge of the nearby counter.  Hard.  Partially blinded by the blood that starts to trickle down her forehead and into her eyes, Abby crumples to the ground.  A searing white-hot pain rushes through her head as she lets out an anguished yelp.  Her ears ring as she attempts to push herself up, the world around her warps as two Billy's come surging toward her, and two legs kick her ribs.  She lets out another pained yelp and crumples to the floor again.  Shouts of Abby's name erupt from the teens as Billy delivers another kick to her ribs.  The boy poises to deliver another kick to Abby's ribs, but before he can, Lucas Sinclair delivers a kick where the sun doesn't shine.

Billy turns on Lucas, rage building in his eyes as he roars, "You are so dead, Sinclair!  You're dead!"

"No," says a voice behind Billy.  Steve grabs him by the shoulder and shoves him away from the trembling Lucas.  "You are!"  He swings a punch at Billy's face, his fist connecting with his jaw.  

Billy lets out a groan, he doubles over before he stands back upright.  He seems unfazed by Steve's attack.  A sound escapes his lips.  It's a laugh, a loud, high-pitched, cackle that causes Abby to shudder as she lets out a groan, pushing herself up from the ground.  Everything around her is still double.  Her arms wobble slightly and for a moment, she thinks that she's going to puke.  Alex—two Alexes—runs toward her, and falls to her knees in front of Abby, and starts to help her up.

"Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh?" Billy mocks.  He sounds exhilarated as if split knuckles and black eyes mean nothing to him.  As if hurting another human being for the sake of it means nothing to him.  "I've been wanting to meet this King Steve everyone's been telling me so much about!"

Steve doesn't swing his fist.  He doesn't give in to the rage that fills him, seeing Abby on the ground or seeing Lucas being harmed.  He thinks he finally understands what Alex means when she says she gets so angry.  He only stares hard at Billy with a clenched jaw and pushes him back with a single hand.  "Get out."

For a single, optimistic moment, as Alex shakily helps Abby to her feet, she thinks that Billy will comply.  There's a silence that fills the kitchen as he stares at Steve before he swings a fist at the boy.  Steve easily ducks under his fist and delivers his own blow that sends Billy toppling into the kitchen table.

"Yes!" Dustin cheers.  "Kick his ass, Steve!"

The others offer similar cheers of encouragement as Billy recovers, letting out another gleeful, crazed laugh.  Steve only screws up his face and swings another fist at him.  They fall into an endless cycle of it.  The hitting, the crack of the fist against the skin, the stumbling, the crazed maniacal laughing, on and on and on until Billy ends up slammed against the kitchen sink.  He lets out another laugh before he grabs a nearby plate and smashes it over Steve's head.  Steve lets out a groan and doubles over, stumbling away from Billy.

"Billy!" Max's scream pierces through the commotion, but the boy pays no attention.  His eyes are on Steve now, and Steve alone.  Nobody is going to stop his mission.  Billy swings another punch at Steve, who stumbles past the younger teens and into the living room.  Billy follows after him, purposefully and grabs Steve by the arms, whirling him around as Steve weakly tries to twist out of Billy's iron grip.  

"No one tells me what to do," He snarls.  He brings his head back, and just as Abby had done before, slams his head into Steve's.  The latter is sent flying across the room as he collapses to the ground, sliding across the floor.  Billy lets out a cry of exhilaration as he approaches Steve.  "Get up!"

When Steve does not stand back up, Billy begins to pummel him.  The air is filled with the sounds of fists meeting flesh and groans of pain.  Left.  Right.  Left.  Right.  Over and over and over in a vicious circle.  Left.  Right.  Left.  Right.  Until suddenly, the feeling of Alex's steadying hands on Abby's arms disappears, leaving her to clutch to the countertop for support.  The girl is charging at Billy, her fists are clenched tightly as she leaps onto his back.

"Get off of him!" Alex yells.

She gets a grip on his hair and yanks back hard.  Billy stumbles backward, but regains his footing and rams her into the wall with a sickening crack.  Abby watches in a queasy sense of horror as Alex's grip around Billy slackens as she tumbles off of him and onto the floor limply as if she's nothing but a rag doll.  Screams of horror erupt from the teens as Billy returns to Steve and the endless hitting.  Left.  Right.  Left.  Right.

And then Max breaks away from the group, red hair flying and determination glinting in her eyes as she clutches a syringe tightly.  She runs at the manically laughing Billy, raising her fist in the air before plunging the needle into his neck.  The vicious circle was broken.  Billy stands up, a little unsteadily as he turns around to face Max who stands before him.  She trembles slightly but does not back away.  He reaches up to his neck and with his bloody hands yanks the needle from his neck.

"What the hell is this?" He questions, staring down at Max as he blearily stumbles forward.  "You little shit, what did you do?"

And then he collapses heavily, falling backward with a satisfying thud.  Billy lets out a delirious laugh as he stares up at the ceiling.  Abby slowly makes her way forward as Max's eyes land on Steve's bat, resting on the nearby table.  Max takes it in her hands and stands before Billy with her jaw set.  She aimed the bat right at Billy.  Abby doesn't think she would hesitate to pummel him with the bat.  Not after what had just happened.

"From here on out, you leave me and my friends alone," Max says coldly, but calmly.  There's an edge to her voice.  A commanding sort of tone.  "Do you understand?"

"Screw you," Billy slurs.

Max isn't taking any more of this.  Not tonight.  She slams the bat down right between Billy's splayed legs.  "Say you understand!" She screams.  "Say it.  Say it!"

"I understand," Billy whispers, his voice crackly and hoarse.

"What?"

"I understand," he repeats, louder this time.

Billy's eyes shut closed and Max lets the bat clatter to the floor.  She doesn't spare her step-brother a second glance as she digs the keys from out of his pocket.  Max turns back to her group of friends, to Abby who has made her way into the living room and uses the wall for support, to Alex who blearily sits up, and rubs the back of her throbbing head and holds up the keys to Billy's sleek blue Camaro.

"Let's get out of here."

author's note: billy assaulting abby, lucas, steve, and alex is soooo hot 😍😍😍, i'm so attracted to billy 😍 /j /sarc

on anything note, both abby and alex can and would kick billy's ass, but unfortunately for plot reasons, i could not allow that :(