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It’s just Billy’s luck that he manages to get a fucking cold in late fucking June. He figures he might’ve gotten it from Heather though. She didn’t come into work yesterday, and last time Billy spoke to her on Sunday she’d been acting weird, spending most of her shifts inside or out of the sun.
He keeps a towel over his lap all day and wears his Everlast crop top even in the sun, every puff of the breeze across his abs making him shiver. And it isn’t that he’s unaware of Max and the brats watching him from the bushes, it’s just that Billy can’t be arsed to care. He’s got a job to do, his focus fixed on the pool in front of him and any leftover energy spent on organising the storage closet.
But he hadn’t expected them to take the chance to play this sick fucking prank on him.
Billy knows that Max’ friends don’t like him, but hell, even he can tell that this is a little excessive. And as for Max, Billy knows their relationship still isn’t near as good as it’d been during the high points back in California, but he’d thought they were getting there. Were getting better.
He never thought she’d have it in her to lock him in the motherfucking sauna just before closeup.
Billy stares bewildered out the fogged up window in the door. He thinks one of them must be turning the thermostat up. The heat makes it hard to breathe, made even worse by Billy’s clogged up nose.
“Max. Max, what the fuck do you think you’re doing? Max! Hey, let me out! What the fuck is this?!”
He kicks the door, hard, and regrets it almost immediately as he’s hit with a dizzy spell that makes him stumble back and sit down on the bench.
It’s getting uncomfortably hot. Billy pulls at his shirt, trying to pull the collar down but it doesn’t help.
He forces himself up and to the door on legs that feel like half-cooked spaghetti noodles. “Is this some kind of sick prank, huh? Is that what this is?”
They don’t answer. Billy hears one of them tell another to turn up the heat. He’s getting desperate. His hair sticks to his skin from sweat, trailing down his neck and spine.
“Well it’s not funny!”
There’s no air getting in through his nose. He can’t stop gasping, but the air’s so hot and full of steam it feels like he isn’t breathing in any oxygen at all.
“Max. Max, I’m not kidding. You gotta let me out.” He can’t believes he’s begging her. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry. Whatever… Whatever I did, I’m sorry, but you gotta let me out. You got your revenge, okay? But this… This- this is dangerous, okay? I can’t- I can’t fucking- I can’t breathe.”
Max’ face appears in the window. From what Billy can make out of her expression, she looks close to crying. But that can’t be right. Why would she do this to him then?
“It’s okay, Billy,” Max says. Her voice sounds wet. Billy feels lightheaded. “We’re doing this to help you, just-“
A sudden cramp in the muscles of his thigh sends him to the floor, and there’s a surge of nausea that sends vomit rushing up his throat. Billy gags and retches and falls on his back beside the pool of vomit. It clings to the humid, sweltering little room, and the stench just makes him more nauseous.
Max had sounded so much like Neil. Always telling him it’s for his own good when he gets hurt.
The room’s spinning.
Billy lies on his back with bent knees and a heaving chest, the crop top sticking uncomfortably to his skin but it’s also the only thing proving some kind of protection against the frankly scorching tile floor so Billy’s loath to take it off.
The kids are shouting, he realises. Billy can’t make out what they’re saying, can just hear their raised voices.
It feels like his brain’s being fried inside his skull. Each time he blinks it feels like more time’s gone by.
He’s so tired.
He doesn’t know what’s going on.
—
Jonathan hadn’t expected this to be how his day would go.
First he got fired from the Post. Then he had a fight with Nancy. And then he got a frantic call from his little brother.
Which led him to where he is right now.
Staring at a passed out Billy Hargrove the kids have somehow managed to drag halfway out of the sauna. The sauna, whose door has chains on it.
“What did you do?” Jonathan asks and rushes forward. There’s an almost overwhelming smell of vomit wafting out of the sauna along with the still dissipating steam.
“We thought he was possessed!” Lucas says.
“Turns out he wasn’t,” Mike mumbles.
Now that he’s closer, crouching by him, Jonathan realises that Billy isn’t as passed out as he’d thought. His eyes are closed, and he’s curled forward, mumbling, “I’m sorry,” and, “I didn’t mean to,” and, “I don’t know what I did,” on repeat until the phrases start to run into each other.
Jonathan reaches out, intending to shake his arm, see if he’s aware enough to notice, but pulls back when he feels the frankly insane heat of Billy’s skin.
He turns to the kids, wide eyed. “He’s burning up! How long did you keep him in there?”
“Just a few minutes!” Mike says, at the same time that Will, staring at the ground, mumbles, “A while.”
He spares a glance at Max. She’s leaning against El and staring at the scene before her with wide, teary eyes.
Jonathan looks back down at Billy. “Okay. Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. We need to cool him down, so I’ll get him to the showers. One of you, go get him water. Will, call mum.”
“I already tried.”
“Call her again. Keep trying. Call the house, or Melvald’s, or Hopper’s cabin.” He looks up at El and Max. “El? Can you try to see where they are if she doesn’t answer?”
El nods. The boys run away, hopefully to do what they’d been told.
Jonathan, more prepared for the warmth this time, places a hand on Billy’s shoulder and shakes him. He’s pale, and his skin is clammy, despite how hot he feels. All he does is let out a low moan and try to curl away.
Okay. Fine.
He sighs. “I’d been hoping you’d try to work with me, Hargrove, but fine. Let’s try this.”
He manages to prop Billy up to sitting and get one of his arms over Jonathan’s shoulders. He grasps Billy’s wrist and winds his free arm around Billy’s waist, slowly heaving them up to standing. Jonathan isn’t weak, he can lift Nancy, but Billy’s much taller than her - hell, he’s about an inch or two taller than Jonathan - and all muscle. Billy’s awake enough to get his feet under himself, although Jonathan does most of the work dragging them toward the showers.
He spends a second wondering how he’s going to do this. Billy’s head is lolling against his.
Fuck it. Fuck it, this isn’t the weirdest thing Jonathan’s done.
He turns so he’s got Billy in front of him, arms around his chest, and backs into a shower stall, lowering both of them to sitting. It’s a struggle getting Billy’s crop top off him - all he does is groan - but it’s gotta be done. He doesn’t notice that Max’ trailed into the room after them until he’s thrown it a few feet away and is about to reach up and turn on the shower head.
She fidgeting as she stands against the doorway, rubbing her arms and looking unsure.
Jonathan looks from her to Billy’s sprawled legs, the sneakers on his feet. “Can you get his shoes off?” Jonathan can’t reach from where he’s sitting behind him.
Max must nod, because she comes over, crouching by her brother and pulling off both his shoes and socks. Why a lifeguard is wearing sneakers and socks in the middle of summer Jonathan doesn’t know, but whatever.
Max backs away afterward, and Jonathan turns his attention from her. He reaches up, turning the water to cold if not completely freezing, and turns it on.
Billy whines as soon as the cool spray hits them, flinching and trying to get away. All he succeeds in doing is pushing further into Jonathan.
Jonathan holds him a little tighter. He doubts Billy’s got enough energy to escape, but the guy’s also ridiculously fit.
“‘S too cold”, Billy mumbles.
Jonathan shakes his head. “It’s not. Gotta cool you down, man.”
“Hurts.”
Jonathan doesn’t know what to say to that. Where the hell are the kids? What’s taking them so long?
As though summoned by that exact thought, Mike and Lucas come rushing into the shower room, one with two bottles of water, the other with two of Gatorade. Both come to a stop, staring at Jonathan in shock.
“What the hell?” Mike asks.
Jonathan lets go of Billy with one arm to wave it at them. “Give me those,” he says in lieu of answering. He knows this looks weird. He’s aware they paint a weird picture.
Jonathan’s had a weird fucking day.
Lucas takes one of the water bottles from Mike and hands it along with a bottle of Gatorade to Jonathan, quickly backing away to keep from getting wet.
Jonathan figures he’ll start with the water bottle and leaves the Gatorade on the floor beside him, getting the cap off and holding the bottle up to Billy’s mouth.
“Hey, Billy, come on. You gotta drink. It’ll make you feel better.”
It takes a little more nudging and encouragement before he gets him drinking.
Will and El come running in by the time Jonathan’s managed to get him to drink half the water bottle and start taking a few slow sips of the Gatorade.
El holds out a thermometer. “Joyce said to check his temperature. If it’s over 104 then we should call an ambulance.”
Jonathan internally curses. He doesn’t know what to say if they end up having to call the hospital. How to explain to them why Billy got locked into the sauna by his little sister and her friends without mentioning the Upside Down. Or hell, how to even explain why this is the second time in as many days that Jonathan’s there when someone gets taken away in an ambulance. With his luck, it would be the same EMTs as with Mrs. Driscoll.
And they’d have to contact Billy and Max’ parents, who would definitely want to talk to the others’, and with everything going on right now they don’t have time for that. Jonathan’s barely seen his mum in the last three days. And Will’s rubbing the back of his neck and staring at Billy like he still thinks he might be possessed.
El steps into the spray like she thinks it’s nothing to get a little wet and hands Jonathan the thermometer.
Jonathan’s keeping his own head out of the spray, but his shirt is wet and clinging to him. He pulls Billy back so his face is away from the water and fumbles to get the thermometer between his lips. Billy groans at the sensation and his eyebrows draw together in displeasure.
“Yeah, yeah,” Jonathan mutters. “Gotta check your temperature, man. Calm down.”
Part of him hopes Billy won’t remember any of this tomorrow.
It’s a tense silence as they wait for the thermometer to beep, the kid’s eyes all focused on him and Billy. Jonathan doesn’t like attention. It makes his skin crawl. All his life he’s done his best to melt into the background.
What feels like hours later it beeps and Jonathan takes it to check. “102,” he reads, and hands it back to El. Okay. It’s not 104.
He moves Billy back under the water. He’s started to shiver, which is probably bad, will probably drive his body temperature back up.
Jonathan turns the water a little cooler. He reaches for the Gatorade and makes Billy drink a little more.
He wonders where Nancy is, what she’s doing, and is somewhat glad she isn’t here to see this.
Jonathan is so relieved to see his mum enter a few minutes later with Hopper in tow. Jonathan sees his eyebrows climb as he surveys the scene, eventually landing on El. “Jane?” he asks, completely confused.
“Did you take his temperature?” Joyce asks, rushing forward to crouch just outside the spray’s reach. Jonathan wonders how much Will told her, and how much she told Hopper.
He nods. “102.”
“Okay. That’s good. How long have you stayed in the shower?”
Jonathan shrugs. “Fifteen, twenty, minutes?”
“Let’s give it fifteen more. If it hasn’t climbed below 100 we’ll still need to take him to the hospital.”
“Alright,” Hopper says. He points at the kids. “You lot. Explain.”
They spend the next fifteen minutes going over how everyone’s spent their last three days. Jonathan tells them about Nancy and the rats and Mrs. Driscoll. He sighs, telling his mum he got fired.
She looks like she wants to hug him. Jonathan wishes she could, but Billy’s in the way. “They didn’t deserve you anyway.”
Will tells them about the Mindflayer being back, about how they thought Billy had been its new host.
And apparently their mum’s been running around bothering Mr. Clarke about her fridge magnets and spending the night checking out the lab with Hopper while being chased by a Russian hitman.
The kids say they haven’t been able to reach neither Dustin nor Steve, who works at the mall. The mall, which has apparently been acquired by the same Russians the hitman - Grigori - works for. Because the goddamned mayor is a corrupt bastard.
Jonathan honestly longs for the day next year when he can leave for college in New York.
Once they’re all caught up on the last fed days’ events, his mum tells him to check Billy’s temperature again. El hands the thermometer to him and it goes easier this time, Billy somehow being more cooperative.
Jonathan takes it once it’s beeped, and frowns at it. “101.” He looks up at his mum. “That’s bad, right? You said it should be below 100 by now.”
To Jonathan’s surprise, it’s not his mum who answers him, but Billy, his voice still low and frail but more coherent than he’s sounded for the last forty or so minutes. “It’s fine. I’ve had a fever for the last three days.”
Max looks relived. “That’s why you had all those clothes on and seemed so weird.”
Hopper frowns. “Why’d you come into work sick, kid?”
“Wasn’t so bad,” Billy mumbles. “Needed the money.”
Jonathan sighs. “Been there,” he mutters, quiet enough he hopes his mum doesn’t hear. She always wanted them to stay home when they were feeling bad, but Jonathan knows they could need the money he got when he used to work at the Hawk.
“Byers?” Billy asks, weakly turning his head. “That your scrawny ass behind me?”
Jonathan scoffs. “God, you’re such an asshole.”
Billy lets out a short sound that, had he been anyone else, Jonathan would’ve called a laugh. “So,” he starts, raising a trembling hand to smooth his wet hair back. “Anyone gonna tell me what the fuck a Mindflayer is, and why there are Russian hitmen in the mall?”
Jonathan hadn’t realised he’d been awake enough to hear that. Oh well.
They could probably use another person to help, anyway.