CHAPTER 21
KING STEVE

"STEVE!"

Veronica's scream pierced the air, almost shattering the windows of the Byers' home. She sprinted forward as Billy stalked towards the house, allowing her to shove him out of the way. Veronica's feet skidded to a stop in front of Steve, who laid on the ground, holding his forehead. "Fuck," he groaned as Veronica struggled to figure out what to do. He was bleeding. And Billy was already in the house. And she needed a bandage. And she needed to kill Billy.

"I told you to stay on your feet, Harrington!" Billy shouted as he swung open the porch door.

Veronica hurled Steve to his feet, smacking his face a few times. "Wake up, Steve. Wake up," she muttered. Veronica then shook his shoulders, which caused him to blink his eyes. "Come on. Come on. We gotta go."

Steve nodded quickly and followed her dash to the house. She pushed the front door open, and her ears were welcome by Billy screaming, "YOU ARE SO DEAD, SINCLAIR! YOU'RE DEAD!"

Veronica's feet went still when she reached the scene, eyes growing wide as Lucas kneed Billy in the crotch. Steve pushed Veronica behind him, much to her dismay. She shook Steve's arm to let her past, but he wouldn't move. He then grabbed Billy's arm, pulling him back into the kitchen. "No," Steve seethed, "you are."

Steve then sucker-punched Billy in the nose. He crouched down from the punch, kneeling almost into the counter, but then he was ... laughing? Billy stood up fast, cackling in Steve's face. "Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh?!" He exclaimed with joy, leaning close to Steve. "I've been waiting to meet this ... King Steve everyone's been telling me so much about."

Lucas was embraced by his friends tightly. Veronica shielded them behind her before she stepped in between Steve and Billy. She placed her hand on Billy's exposed chest, feeling his heart beat fast from adrenaline and his skin excruciatingly hot. Her glare cut into his as she ordered, "Get the fuck out of this house."

Billy paused, staring at Steve before his eyes slid to Veronica's. They narrowed in her direction, breathing heavily onto her face. Suddenly, he shoved her back into a wall and swung for Steve, who quickly dodged the punch. Steve went for him, throwing his fist into Billy's jaw and causing him to fall on the table. The kids continued to cheer on Steve. Billy laughed. Steve continued to punch, shoving him into the kitchen sink.

Veronica rubbed the back of her head. The impact of it on the wall felt crushing, and she had to blink her eyes a few times to adjust them to the light. When her dizziness faltered, she heard Billy's penetrating laughter. She saw him take a dirty dish from the sink and shatter it on Steve's head.

Steve fell back, staggering into the kitchen. Veronica never heard a shriek so loud come out of her mouth than that moment. Dustin tried stopping Billy, but the older teenager just pushed him away. Billy suddenly grabbed a rotating Steve by the collar, pulling him upward to face him. The side of Steve's head was gushing blood.

"No one tells me what to do," Billy fumed before head-butting Steve.

Veronica could feel the adrenaline crawling in her veins, almost on instinct. She could move now; her fear wasn't plaguing her still. She launched herself forward as Steve fell to the ground. Billy was kicking him in the gut, laughing as he did so. "HE'S GONNA KILL HIM!" Dustin screamed as Steve slid on the wooden floor.

Billy kicked him in the back, causing Steve to roll on the ground. "C'mon, Harrington!" He hollered. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?!"

"HEY, NEW KID!" Veronica called out, her voice loud and threatening. She hurled Billy from the ground by his shirt collar, which was a surprise to her own strength. Steve barely moved an inch on the living room floor. Billy wobbled on his feet when he was pulled up, staring at Veronica with lazy eyes and blood running from his nose. Veronica cocked her head to the side. "You wanna know what I want, babe?"

Billy laughed menacingly, holding his stomach. The kids behind them went silent. "What?"

Veronica grinned the slightest bit. "Cool guys like you out of my life."

Her fist collided with his nose, sending Billy to the ground. The sound his body made at the impact was enough to terrify her, but she couldn't stop herself then. She kept kicking him. She shoved her foot into his crotch, into his side, into his stomach. She held him down and sat on his chest, ramming her fist into every side of his face, which bruised with each touch she gave. Low chuckles seeped from his mouth as the kids yelled at the top of their lungs. She stuttered between every punch: "THIS. IS. FOR. LEAVING. ME. ALONE. AT. THAT. PARTY." Veronica gave him nine punches in total.

Her hand hurt. She flexed her fist, pausing to catch her breath. Billy could barely keep his eyes open, but he still gave her his usual wicked smirk. Veronica glanced to her fist, watching blood trickle down from her knuckles. She turned back to Billy. "And this is for Steve –"

Just as she was going to punch again, Billy shoved her off, and Veronica's butt slid to another wall. Billy slowly got to his feet as Veronica rubbed the back of her head. He pulled her up by her arms, squeezing them tightly in his grip. "BILLY, GET OFF!" Max screamed in the background, and yet, Billy chose to not hear her.

Billy smirked, and when he opened his mouth, Veronica saw blood staining his teeth red. She tried pressing her cheek against the wall when Billy leaned into her face, whispering through gritted teeth, "Stop acting like you didn't want it. You should feel lucky."

"How's this for luck?!" She screamed, quickly cut off by Billy's movements. His knee went between her legs, not hitting her hard, but enough to cause a yelp to escape her lips. Veronica fell to the hardwood floor as Billy backed away, not noticing his sister grabbing the syringe formerly used to sedate Will on the counter. She pushed through her friends, approaching him from behind as Lucas screamed for her to get back. Mike tried calling Steve's name for the hundredth time, but he barely moved.

"YOU SHOULD FEEL LUCKY, VERONICA MOREDA!" Billy thundered, spit flying towards the girl on the ground. "YOU SHOULD FEEL –"

Max shoved the syringe in his neck.

Billy halted his actions, no words escaping his mouth. Veronica breathed, holding her crotch with both hands as the back of her head bled out. She blinked rapidly as Billy staggered towards Max, clearly disoriented. He took out the syringe and winced. "The hell is this?" He asked Max. "What ... what did you ... do?"

He slipped and fell, spreading his body on the floor. Billy struggled to keep his eyes opened, but he still continued his laugh. Veronica held her temples, his chuckles causing a pain to overcome her head.

Max grabbed Steve's spiked bat laying in the corner of the living room. She stood before Billy, lifting the bat up threateningly. "From here on out, you leave me and my friends alone. Do you understand?" She seethed.

"Screw you," Billy whispered.

Max threw down the bat and pierced the floor space in between Billy's thighs. The older step-brother looked up in surprise. "SAY YOU UNDERSTAND!" She screamed. "Say it! SAY IT!"

Billy licked his lips. "I understand."

"What?!"

"I understand," Billy said louder, before he, eventually, became unconscious.

Max dropped the bat to the ground, stepping over her brother to take his keys from his pockets. "Let's get out of here."

Veronica's ears perked up at that. She struggled to sit up, but she could still hold her finger up. "No!" She exclaimed, trying to get up by her knees. She fell down again, but found a way to finally stand, eyes resting on Max holding car keys. "No, no," she breathed heavily. "Don't you think about it."

"Well, can you drive?" Mike asked.

Veronica's mouth opened and closed. Her hand felt sticky with blood. "I ..." She paused to gather herself. Her mouth tasted of blood and nicotine. "I don't have my license."

The kids all looked towards each other as Veronica staggered to take the keys away from Max. Steve groaned slightly on the floor. All were silent, except for Dustin, who hesitantly approached Veronica with his hands behind his back. He looked like he did something terrible, and maybe he had.

"I don't want to have to do this to you, lady." He sighed, bringing his hands out to reveal a roll of duct tape. "But I have to."

Veronica's eyes went wide, and before she could stop them, she had a team of kids strapping duct tape over her mouth.

•••

A/N: Y'ALL ALMOST THOUGHT BILLY WOULDN'T GET HIS JUST DESSERTS BUT HERE WE ARE

( made by JustSav )