Chapter Text
The bell signalling lunch rang loudly and the class started packing up their belongings while the teacher tried shouting over the noise something about homework but no one was listening. You were no different, looking to get out as quickly as possible so you could nab a table in the cafeteria quickly before there were no spaces left. You swung your bag over your shoulder and left the class swiftly before almost anyone else had managed to get out. The hallways were already crowded though and you tried weaving your way through the crowd of students in the direction of the cafe. You were almost there, but before you could get in, you walked straight into someone.
“Watch it, pretty girl!” The boy shouted, before walking straight past you.
You caught a glance at him before he wandered off but you didn’t recognise him, he must be new. And with this encounter, you made a mental note to stay clear of him before muttering “asshole” under your breath and resuming your walk into the cafe.
The table you normally sat at was empty. You breathed a sigh of relief and made your way towards it. Sitting down, you took out your lunch and began eating it. You saw a boy making his way over to you, Steve Harrington. Steve was too popular for you to have interacted with him much but you knew of him, supposedly being king of the school and all.
He reached your table and opened his mouth to speak. Though he didn’t say anything and just stared at you as if trying to send you mind signals.
“You need something?” You asked him, confused as to why he was trying to talk to you.
Steve sighed and ran a hand through his perfect hair. “Can I sit here?” He gestured to one of the empty seats at your table.
You didn’t understand why he didn’t just sit with his friends. You looked around the cafeteria and saw that the people he hung out with were nowhere to be found. You shrugged, “sure. Take a seat, Harrington.”
He sat down and slowly took out his lunch, he seemed off but you didn’t question it. You didn’t know Steve all that well so it’s likely he wouldn’t confess anything to you anyway. You continued with yours, still surveying the room for signs of Steve’s friends. A scene outside the window caught your eye. The boy you ran into earlier was out in the parking lot surrounded by people and, more notably, Steve’s friends.
“Who is that guy?” Your words were sprinkled with a hint of disgust. You pointed out towards the new boy, causing Steve to look up from his food and in the direction of your finger.
Steve furrowed his brows and looked back towards you. “He’s new, name’s Billy. Only been here a week and he’s already managed to take everything from me.” He sat back in his chair.
“Is that why you’re sitting with me?” You laughed slightly but saw that Steve wasn’t amused. “I’m sorry.” You leant forward in your seat and almost touched Steve’s hand in reassurance, but decided not to. “If it means anything, I don’t think he’ll have all this attention for that long, he’s a dick.”
“That’s precisely why he will have the attention.” His words were bitter. You knew that Steve hadn’t been doing so well the last year, he only really hung out with his girlfriend and Jonathan but he still managed to keep his crown. You didn’t know much about what had happened, only little bits Dustin had managed to tell you. He kept saying it was too dangerous for you to know more.
“Where’s Nancy?” You asked, realising that if she were here, Steve would be sitting with her. Your eyes circled the room one more in search of her.
You noticed his expression change now, more to anger. “She dumped me.” He almost spat the words out. “Weren’t you there at the party last week? How do you not know all this stuff?”
You thought back to that night. You spent most of the party on the side-lines, and you were fairly certain you must have left before Billy showed up since if you had, you definitely would have remembered him. Though you realised it was now Friday and were confused as to how you hadn’t heard of him until a whole week later. You shot Steve a look of sympathy. “I didn’t know, Steve. I’m sorry.”
Steve sighed in frustration before grabbing his bag and leaving the table without a word. You didn’t know what you had done wrong but you decided to leave him to it. Pursuing him would only make matters worse.
At the end of the day, you headed to the parking lot, ready to go home for the weekend. You saw Billy leaning against what you presumed was his car, parked right next to yours. You tried to walk right past him but he stopped you from ending your day peacefully.
“You’re the girl who rudely walked into me earlier.” He stated when you were close enough to hear. He had a cigarette hanging from his mouth and he blew out a plume of smoke before taking the cigarette into his hand. You tried to ignore the boy and get to your car instead but he taunted again. “You know, you really should watch where you’re going.”
You were at the door of your car now but you looked over at him. “You know, you really should find better things to do with your time other than harassing girls and ruining people’s reputations.”
Billy only smiled at your remark and raised his hands to signal his defeat. “We make do with what we’ve got, sweetheart.”
You rolled your eyes, disgusted at the nickname, and got into your car. As you drove off, you noticed Billy chastising a little girl who had come up to him. She got into his car visibly annoyed, but you were gone before you could see more unfold.
Your evening was fairly uneventful until you brother came barging right into your room.
“Dustin, what have I-” You aimed to shout at him for coming into your room, but he cut you off before you could remind him of your privacy rules.
“[Y/N], I really need your help and I really don’t have time for you to say no.” Dustin looked worried, as if something had scared the hell out of him. He was your brother and so you trusted him and went along with whatever he was saying.