Chapter Text
"I don't get it—is the car possessed or why does it just … do what it does?" Steve asked, his mouth full with popcorn. "Remember that guy who died in the beginning? Maybe it's him."
I furrowed my brows. "I mean in the book it was haunted right from the start. And don't forget the guy with the broken hand before any deaths whatsoever."
"Oh riiight. You know, we might have to watch this one again because, if I'm being honest, I still don't get it."
"Sure, or you could read the book if you want?" I suggested, absentmindedly running my hand along Loki's back.
Steve scoffed. "Didn't you learn anything the last time I borrowed a book from you?"
I rolled my eyes and tossed a few kernels of popcorn in his direction, some of which got stuck in his hair. Steve exhaled sharply and tugged at his hair to get them out again.
"Hey, by the way, how late is it?" I asked as Loki stirred. Steve let out a huff of air before turning around to look at the clock in the kitchen. With a groan he dropped back onto the couch as he clutched his side.
"Oh I think I pulled something," he whined, breathing deeply.
I raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't sound like the time."
Steve lightly smacked my shoulder while I also turned around to glance over into the kitchen. It was nearly midnight. I frowned, tugging at the hem of my shirt.
"Hey, Luce, is everything alright?" Steve asked, immediately stopping his exaggerated complaints about the pulled muscle. I shrugged.
"Billy said he'd honk when passing your house to let me know he got back alright." I pressed my lips together as I stared at the end credits that flashed up on the TV screen without really seeing them.
"Maybe he just forgot. Or he had to head back to his own house? Maybe he forgot something there," he suggested, tilting his head to the side slightly.
I sighed. "I don't know. Hell, I told him I'd come along! I shouldn't have let him go all alone and—"
Steve grabbed my shoulders and held me at arms length, looking at me. "You don't even know if anything happened. I know, you always worry about everything, and I know you can't just turn it off. But please just take a deep breath and consider the possibility that, maybe, he was tired and just forgot to honk."
I had a strong urge to go and check if he really just forgot and maybe was already fast asleep in my room. I held on to the image of him looking so peaceful, spooning a pillow so that I would have to spend half an hour removing it from his grasp without waking him, before I could take its place. In the meantime Loki would have already laid down in his usual spot by the foot end of the bed.
"…could be fun. What do you think?"
Looking up, I found Steve holding up two VHS tapes and I just assumed he'd asked me which one I preferred. "Uh—Cam rented Scarface the other day I think. Alice was raving about it a bit too so let's watch that I guess."
With a sigh, his hands sank to the ground and he tucked both tapes back into their respective plastic cases. When he got up and picked up a jacket I looked at him, confused.
"Let's go check on Billy. I'll drive you."
"Steve, it's okay, I'm probably just over thinking again and—"
He held up a hand to stop me from finishing my sentence. "Like this you're just gonna be distracted for the rest of the night. If it worries you this much we should go and make sure things are okay."
"Is that really okay with you?" He nodded. "You really don't have to drive me, though. I've got Loki."
"Can you stop not wanting to be a burden for one second and just accept my offer? Come on."
He tossed me my jacket and my bag, Loki trailed around the room nervously, sensing how tense I had gotten. I realised that Steve wouldn't take no for an answer and slid into my jacket and threw the bag over my shoulder. Steve was already in the driveway, getting the car started, when I put on my shoes and ushered Loki outside before closing the door as quietly as I could.
"Your place?"
I nodded as Loki curled up in the backseat. It didn't take very long to get there since Steve and I didn't live too far from one another. Although there was no car in the driveway except for my own I jogged up to the door to check whether it was unlocked. It wasn't.
Steve turned his car around immediately when he saw that I came back. Soon enough we pulled into Maple Street. I spotted the Camaro right away, the headlights nearly blinded the both of us and Steve suppressed a groan. "Well, there he is. You wanna hop out?"
"Thank you, really. I promise I'll make it up to you. We could go see Back To The Future? I'll pay."
"Depends if your boyfriend would be okay with that."
I rolled my eyes, feeling a bit calmer now that I knew Billy to be within walking distance.
"I think he's been warning up quite a bit. Maybe you two might even get along one day," I joked and Steve snorted.
"Yeah alright, you're getting a bit unrealistic there."
Now it was my turn to scoff. "Remember when you were a complete asshole? You grew out of it, luckily. Now give other people a chance too."
"Yes, mom. Are you gonna get out before a cop comes along and gives me a ticket?"
"Oh yeah, sure. Again, thank you for understanding."
"Hey, of course. That's what I'm here for." He did an exaggerated wink before motioning towards the door and I got out of the car, Loki following suit as I grabbed his leash.
Despite his previous jokes about getting a ticket, Steve stayed by the side of the road while I walked up to Billy's car. The headlights were still on, however the engine wasn't running. I couldn't tell if he was in the car still, or if he had just forgotten to turn off the lights. Maybe he really was tired.
I stopped next to the passengers side of the car and glanced in through the window. Billy was still sitting inside, hands holding on to the steering wheel and his eyes were fixed on the road. I furrowed my brows as I heard Steve drive past us slowly. Billy's gaze darted to the side for a split second before my knocking against the window distracted him.
When he looked over to me I motioned for him to get out and so he did after turning off the lights. I wrapped my arms around him before he could say anything and for a moment he returned my hug, before he took a hesitant step back. It was only then that I noticed the blood on his forehead, sweaty locks of hair sticking to it.
I glanced back at his car and noticed the broken glass of the windshield.
"Oh my god, what happened? Are you okay? I mean obviously you're not but—maybe you should sit down? Let's get you inside first so we can clean the wound."
Billy was still holding on to my arms, his grip tightening slightly as his eyes met mine and his pupils dilated for a moment. He let his arms fall to his side and clenched his jaw. "You should go home, Lucy."
"Billy. You're hurt. I have to clean the wound to see how deep it is and I have to make sure you stay awake in case you have a concussion. Come on."
I grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the front door; he staggered along the way and I was afraid his legs might give in any moment. Billy unlocked the door while I tugged at Loki's leash to bring him up the stairs, but he pulled into the opposite direction. With a sigh I tied the leash to the fence around the back of the house and instructed him to wait for me to come back.
When I got back to the front door, Billy nearly knocked over the dresser in the hallway that contained all sorts of keys and a bunch of decorative items, but I managed to steer him in the other direction. He staggered towards his room and into the bathroom connected to it, immediately running cold water over his hands and splashing it on his face.
"Are you warm?" I asked and he simply nodded. I stripped him of his jacket and he promptly got rid of his shirt as well, revealing multiple bruises all over his torso.
I hurried to sit him down on the toilet seat before retrieving what remnants of a first aid kit I could find in the drawers under the sink.
"Billy, hey, look at me." I gently held on to his chin with one hand and wiped his forehead with a wet towel. He groaned as his eyelids fluttered open before falling shut again. "You gotta stay awake, alright? Can you do that for me?" He nodded vaguely as I began to disinfect the wound, at which he flinched. My hand came to rest on his warm forehead.
"Shit, you're burning up."
"Mhm…" he hummed, and I quickly put a bandaid on top of the cut before guiding Billy back to his room, where I sat him down on his bed.
"Can you tell me what happened?" I asked while I rummaged through his dresser drawers for some clean clothes which I handed to him and he changed into.
"I—I'm not sure," he responded, slurring his words barely noticeably. "Something hit my windshield, a bird or something, and then—" He paused for a moment, his eyes searching the room before they settled back on me. "Then I don't remember anything. I got my car to work and drove back home."
I nodded. "Okay, so that's probably a concussion. You gotta stay awake for a bit more, can you do that?" He moved his head up and down slowly. "Alright. Do you want me to stay?" He hesitated for a bit before repeating his earlier movements. I took a deep breath and picked up his blanket to wrap around him. He groaned.
For the next few hours I kept him awake by asking him some questions about how he picked up the pieces to fix his car and he complained about now having to fix even more. We turned on the radio on the lowest volume possible so as to not wake anyone else, and I almost constantly rubbed my thumb over the back of his hand that was laying in mine.
By the time the sun came up I had to fight off sleep myself and placed my hand on Billy's forehead for what felt like the hundredth time. And for the hundredth time it had gotten warmer yet again.
"I'm gonna run by the pharmacy to pick up some medicine for you, your bathroom cabinet's pretty much empty. Just stay right here and try not to fall asleep, alright?"
"Okay," Billy mumbled, already attempting to shrug off the blanket again.
I leaned over to him and pressed my lips to his forehead before I stood up and walked towards the window at the back of the house, opening it slowly in order to make as little noise as possible. Loki hopped onto his feet immediately, wagging his tail excitedly and I swung my legs over the windowsill.
"Lucy?" Billy called and I turned to look at him. "You shouldn't come back here," he said with a stern look on his face at which I frowned. Then his features relaxed again and he sent a weak grin in my direction. "You know, I'll probably end up getting you sick too."
I shook my head. "Don't worry about that now, alright? I'll be back soon. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."