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Her whole body hurt and she couldn’t hear anything over the blood pumping through her veins. Somewhere in her subconsciousness she noticed how Billy lay her down in the main hall of the mall. He was almost gentle as he took care to not let her drop. She felt his hot breath fanning over her ear as he whispered: “Don’t be afraid. It will be over soon. Just try and stay very still.”, in his gravy voice. She could feel a shudder going through her whole body as their eyes met, his intense gaze boring through her. All she could see was all-consuming anger and pain and she knew in that moment that she would do everything she could to get him back.
The shaking mall tore her attention away from him as she watched him stand up and look to her right. She followed his gaze and a whimper escaped her as she saw the monstrous Mindflayer approach. It was enormous. A foul odor reached her when it opened its grotesque mouth and revealed another, smaller mouth screeching at her. Then a sudden burst of light tore her out of the stupor she’d been caught in and her gaze flickered to the railing going around the mall. Her friends stood there, throwing fireworks onto the monster, a distraction and weapon all at once. The fireworks distracted her for too long.
Suddenly Billy kneeled over her, his hands gentle around her neck, until they weren’t gentle anymore, pressure cutting off her air supply. She gasped, the memories of his she had seen just a few hours ago resurfacing. “Seven feet.”, she gasped, struggling for breath, “You told her the wave was seven feet.” He stopped and she could see his eyes clearing from anger. Just slightly, but it was enough for hope to bloom in her chest. “You ran to her, on the beach. There were seagulls. She wore a hat with a blue ribbon. A long dress with a blue and red flower. And yellow sandals, covered in sand.” His eyes cleared even more, the hands around her neck slowly moving down to rest on the floor on both sides of her. She could see the fight in his eyes and hoped, begged, with all her being that her words would reach him. “She was pretty.” Tears streamed down her face as she looked up into his eyes. The urge to touch him was almost overwhelming but she was scared any movement from her side would break the spell he seemed to be caught in. “She was really pretty. And you,” she sobbed, “You were happy.” His eyes were almost clear and she couldn’t help herself. Slowly, like she would do it to a wild animal, like she could spook him with her movement, she reached up and cradled his cheek in her hand. His eyes were clear and he turned his head away to look at the monster still under attack.
Suddenly the fireworks where overwhelmingly loud in her ears and she watched him jump up, determination clearly written in his face. He just stared at the monster screaming into their faces while she frantically tried to slide away. Her gaze flittered between Billy and the Mindflayer until it made ready to attack. She yanked her arms up automatically to protect her face, but it didn’t even get near her. Billy’s scream made her tear her eyes open again and she saw with dread how his hands were engulfed completely by the monster’s mouth. Another one of it’s mouths clamped down on his one side and a third one on his other side. His screams made her blood freeze until she screamed herself and scrambled up. She could see another appendage ready itself for an attack and she knew that he wouldn’t survive another one. This couldn’t happen. He wasn’t allowed to die just like that. Despite all the horrible things she had heard from her friends and the things she had seen him do under the Mindlayer’s influence, she didn’t want him to die. She wanted him to be her friend.
Her scream ripped from her chest with such an intensity that she could feel all her friends turn their eyes from the fight between Billy and the Mindflayer to her. Blood was already trickling down from her nose, but she didn’t stop. She couldn’t. If she did Billy, and probably all her friends, would die. She screamed and screamed and screamed, blood was tickling down from her ears as well. But she wouldn’t stop. She wasn’t sure how long she could hold the monster back anymore, was so, so scared she wasn’t strong enough. It felt like her insides started to tear themselves apart and she begged for it to be over.
Suddenly the Mindflayer screamed and staggered. The mouths still clamped on Billy’s body ripped open and the boy fell down, landing hard on the marble floor. He gasped and writhed on the floor. She wanted to run to him, make sure he was okay, but she was scared the monster could attack him again if she let her concentration falter. Her eyes followed the monster’s movements until it suddenly broke down and didn’t move anymore. Slowly, so slowly, she let her arms drop. When it still didn’t move again she turned around and ran to the still form of Billy lying on the floor.
“Billy!”, she gasped as she fell on her knees next to him, her hands carefully turning his had to her.
“Billy!”, Max’ scream tore through the mall as she ran to her step-brother, panic coloring her voice. “Billy, Billy, please, oh god!”, she gasped when she finally fell on her knees right beside him. “Is he…?”, she asked, her voice shaking.
“Guys, I can hear an ambulance!”, Steve shouted from the railing, where he and Robin had still been standing, staring. They ran down to get to the entrance and only a few moments later they led the paramedics to where Billy still lay unconscious.
The following few hours were an overwhelming mix of colors and noises.
Her gaze was like ice and she shook her head for the umpteenth time. Hopper sighed exasperated and tried to stare down his daughter. “El, seriously. You can’t just stay here. We’ll go home, shower, sleep, eat and get back in the morning, okay?” A determined shaking head was the only answer he got. She turned around and grabbed Billy’s hand in hers. Max sat on the other side and had his other hand in hers. They had called Max’ and Billy’s parents almost two hours ago, but they hadn’t come by the hospital yet. She didn’t understand. Billy almost died and his parents weren’t there yet. Hopper would have come as soon as he heard. Hopper was a good dad. She still wouldn’t leave to go home. Billy was her friend and friends stayed with friends.
It took another four hours in which Max and her dozed in turns. Billy shouldn’t wake up with no one awake to talk to, to explain what’s going on, what happened. She had been staring out of the window, where the sun had decided to start the new day when Billy moved his hand in hers and groaned quietly. Her head whipped around to look at him. His eyes fluttered open and he stared at the white ceiling for a bit before he turned around to look first at Max sleeping with her head on the bed he was lying in and then to the other side where she was staring at him.
“El…”, he whispered exhausted. She smiled slightly and squeezed his hand. “Sleep. Exhausted.”
He didn’t even nod before he was asleep again.
The next time he woke up Max was awake as well. She almost shrieked when she noted Billy was awake, could barely keep her voice down. “Billy! You are awake, oh god, you are awake!”, she sobbed, tears streaming down her face. Billy seemed confused at the display of affection. “Happy you’re alive.”, El explained smiling, her small hand still holding his. “Why?”, he asked, his voice breaking halfway through the word. She cocked her head slightly to the side, her eyes wandered from him to Max, who had her face burrowed in his chest by now, and back to him. “Family,” she smiled, “love.”
His eyes widened a fraction. After a few moments in which he stared at her he untangled their hands to stroke Max’ back. He didn’t say anything, one hand stroking Max’ back and the other clasped in her shaking hand. His gaze never left her smiling face.
She was there when he was finally allowed to leave the hospital. He had been there for almost a week and hadn’t it been for her and Max he would have freaked or died of boredom. Their parents hadn’t visited him since the first time and luckily he had been unconscious for that meeting. Harrington had come by with the Robin girl and the boys – more often than he had liked, but they wanted to stay with the girls. They didn’t trust him, despite her insistence that he was her friend. The first time she told Mike and Dustin in no uncertain terms that “He is my friend. Friends are there for each other.”, he had stared, eyes big. She liked the confused, but tentatively hopeful look on him.
“Come, Billy.”, he smiled a bit when she grabbed his hand to lead him down the corridor, Max carrying his bag right next to him. Steve was waiting in his car downstairs to take them to Hopper’s cabin, where all her other friends waited.
She was excited for the sleepover with all of her friends together!