Chapter Text
If Anna had a choice in the move, she would’ve said fuck no and lived with her part-time boyfriend part-time friends with benefits.
There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with small town Hawkins, Indiana- but there wasn’t anything right about it either. She missed California, with its summer winds and bright sun that made hair stick to her neck even though it didn’t even go down to her neck ever since she cut it to her ears last year.
So, the day her mom sat her and Max down and told them they were moving halfway across the Country, Anna had stood up and told her that her new boyfriend was making her go batshit crazy. She hated Neil, more than she hated his piece of shit son, Billy.
She knew she couldn’t entirely blame the boy; living with that guy your entire life would make her a little mad too. But, his attitude was inexcusable. He once tried to punch the lights out of Simon because, quote, ‘he was standing like a fag’. She hated that, too- the unhidden and confident hatred for queer people. She thought maybe a new addition to the family would be a new person she could trust with her only secret- God, what a dream that was. All around, she hated just about everything about Neil and his dickbag son.
Her least favorite part was when she was sitting in the car listening to the radio, squeezed between Max and Billy because her sister had flat out refused to sit next to him. Two hours of half-listening to Max’s music through her Walkman, half ignoring everyone and everything until, thank God, they arrived at the airport.
She slept through the flight, thankfully with no anger-issued blondes beside her. Max taking the window seat, and Mom on her right; she felt at peace for once that entire day. Anna had a small, victorious smile as the Hargroves sat in the seats across from them.
And now they were here. Packing all their shit into a shitty house in an even shittier neighborhood, compared to her real home back in Cali. It was nearly Halloween, and she had begged her mom to stay in California just until after, so she could spend the day chilling out (and, most likely, banging) with Simon. Her answer had been a sigh, and a shake of the head.
Anna drove Max to the nearest arcade the day after they moved in, and the girl had immediately found her way over to some Dig machine. Dig Dig, Dig Down, something she couldn’t really pay any mind to because she, quite honestly, couldn’t force herself to care about.
The girl had grinned about how she beat some poor kid’s score the entire ride home, only shutting up when Neil met them on the porch. He was pissed about how she hadn’t said where they were going, only an off-handed comment about how they’d be back soon.
She had, coming as a surprise to nobody, ignored him. Easily.
Anna thinks that maybe Billy didn’t take the hint when he offers, more-so demands, to drive her and Max to school after two weeks, when the next Monday rolls along.
She called a goodbye to Max when the girl skated away, not bothering to spare a glance to Billy when she walked ahead of him to Hawkins High. This did not mean she didn’t catch the girls who were wide-eyeing him on her way there.
One of them, an orange haired girl with sort-of hot eyes, approached him with a strand of hair twirled around her finger. “You know that blonde guy?” She asked, not even trying to pretend this conversation wasn’t just about Billy.
“He’s my step-brother, we all just moved here,” She shrugged, “His name’s Billy. Don’t waste your time with him, he’s a douche.”
At first, Anna was afraid she’d been too forward in the first minute of their conversation. She wasn’t all that familiar with Hawkins High social cues, none the less how far she was allowed to go with some of them. But, either way, the hot girl smiled, popping her gum loudly.
She glanced Anna up and down, putting a hand on her left hip and leaning to that side,“You’re funny.”
“Wasn’t trying to be,” Anna muttered, desperately willing herself to look away from the girl’s eyes. If she didn’t, she had a deep fear of losing herself in them.
“Doesn’t matter. Come on, we’re friends now, okay?” The girl gave a surprisingly gentle smile, reaching her hand out to Anna, “I’m Carol. You should be on the cheer squad, you’re a total look. Guys will be all over you.”
While Anna didn’t quite understand what the hell that was supposed to mean, Carol looked nice enough for a high schooler Hawkins. Though, she was also one of the first high schoolers she’d known in Hawkins.
Maybe that was why she took her hand and smiled back. Or maybe it was the feeling tugging at the tightly wound coil in her stomach that she’d promised herself in California to keep as it was: tightly wound; begging to be unleashed. Maybe it was the glimmer in Carol’s eyes, maybe it was the way the side of her lip twitched up every time she made a movement. She wasn’t quite sure.
Less than an hour into the day, she had three friends: Carol Perkins, Tommy Hagan, and Nicole Denvers. For her first day at Hawkins High, she thought that was pretty damn good.
The school day went by in sort of a blur, her thoughts drifting from how Max was doing in school to what the actual fuck she was supposed to be doing in her class. Her teachers all talked too fast, and she got hit on a whooping two times. That’s two times too many for her.
Stealing an invitation from whoever the hell Tina was for a ‘Halloween Bash’, turning her head when someone shrieked before realizing it was just some prep gnashing teeth with her boyfriend, if Anna had to say- she couldn’t wait to go threaten some blonde cheerleaders to let her on the squad.
Carol and Nicole walked with her to the gym, arms already linked with Anna like they’d known her for years.
She had actually done cheerleading in California, surprisingly. For a good four months, she was a White Cats cheerleader; until she eventually moved away after a heartfelt goodbye from Elaine, Abbie, and Hillary. All the other girls either hadn’t said much, or were too busy crying about losing one of their only sophomores- since most of the freshman quit the second they were able to in sophomore year.
But, when she entered the gym and saw a bright blonde girl with a green hair tie and a Hawkins High cheerleading uniform, she knew she wouldn’t be threatening anybody.
Chrissy, was her name, she learned in just about a minute as the girl bounded over with a bold smile. They exchanged greetings, and the moment Anna indicated she’d like to be on the squad- Chrissy was grabbing her hands and pulling her over to the team; already referring to her as ‘our newest member’.
When she left the gym, Anna was quite pleased with her fourth friend of the day.
She told Billy to give her sister a second when he was about to drive off because Max was, God forbid, two minutes later than he deemed acceptable. She came over about thirty seconds later, got in the back, and glared at the floor the entire ride.
The moment the car stopped, Max was out and holding open the door for Anna to follow. “My room,” She muttered to her older sister as she turned, walking up the path to their house.
She went, of course. Anna was quite sure she would jump off a cliff if Max asked her too. She was willing to do anything to make her little sister happy, especially after the move- and getting Billy as a step-brother.
The minute she entered her sister’s room, Max was talking. “These guys were following me around at school, how do I make them stop?”
Anna was stunned for a good moment, just taking in the sight of Max sitting on her bed, legs crossed, looking about ready to murder someone.
“Who?” Was her first question, and then next was, “How many?”
“I don’t know,” Was her first response, and the next was, “Four. Two had brown hair, two had black. One of them had this really weird hat.”
Anna sat beside her sister, hands in her lap, “Well. First day of school, and you’ve already got some secret admirers? Wow, Max, you move quickly for a twelve year old,” Anna smiled, lightly nudging her shoulder, making Max grumble.
“I’m thirteen, Anne,” Max pushed back, Anna leaning into it and laying on her side on Max’s bed, holding her shoulder dramatically as she whined about a wound inflicted to kill, “You’re such a baby!” Max complained, attempting to pull her sister back up and yelping when she only pulls her to the bed alongside herself.
“If I’m going down, you’re coming with me!” Anna shook Max, the younger pushing and shoving against her, but it was obvious to both of them she wasn’t trying.
For the first time in Hawkins since Carol gave her that small smile, Anna was truly happy. With her sister, play fighting and rolling around on a new, freshly cleaned bed- she was happy. So, when the door shoved open and Billy stepped in, glare in his eyes, her mood demanded to not be diminished.
Anna sat up with her sister, Max’s smile dropping quickly at the blond boy’s intrusion. “Jesus, knock would you?” Anna glared at him, pulling her hands away from Max.
“Can you two shut up in here? Some of us have actual shit to do,” Billy glared at them, slamming the door without waiting for a response.
Anna turned to Max, a small smile replacing the big one from before, and the moment the two girls met eyes they were folding over into fits of giggles again. “Actual shit to do- what bullshit is that?” Anna laughed, bringing her sister back into a hug, “Yeah, maybe burning through cigarette’s like it’s a job. Sure.”
They were quiet for a moment- Anna leaning back against the pillows, letting her breathing calm, while she held her little sister in her arms and tugged her closer every few minutes until she could feel Max’s short breaths on her skin.
“I love you, Max, you know that, right?” Anna muttered after what felt like hours of silence, just basking in the other girls presence. Anna couldn’t quite remember the last time she said the silly three words to her sister, and she wants to die because of that.
Max gives a short nod, some hair brushing against Anna’s chin, “Yeah.”
Maybe they’ll have to put up with years of Billy’s bullshit, until Anna’s old enough to move out and take Max with her. And maybe, sometime in those years, they’ll grow apart. But, for now, they were okay.
Every drive with Billy had to be some custom-designed nightmare, made just for her and Max to hate. Especially to the arcade- even though they’d only gone three times since the move.
Every time, he would rub the fact that she still had yet to get her own car in Anna’s face, then shove her and Max into the stupid thing- that she couldn’t be bothered to remember the brand of.
Whenever they’d get within five minutes of the arcade, Billy would start some shit. Start yelling at Anna about how they both needed to be outside before he’s there, start antagonizing Max about how she’d be skating home and Anna would walk if they weren’t.
Whenever Max got out, Anna would have to hold her hand down to stop her from flipping the bird at the blond already driving away before Anna even slammed the door shut.
“Stop poking the bear, Max,” Anna lightly pushed her forward into the arcade, letting her go off to whatever stupid Dig game she would play together. Probably the same one from before, if she knew her sister.
Max wasn’t the biggest fan of new things, at all. This included arcade games she wasn’t used to, new people, teachers- she’d learned that last one first hand when their old house in California had gotten a call from the school, about how every single time Max was called on by the substitute teacher; she’d been ignored or glared at.
The most obvious was Hawkins in general, or maybe it was the people in it. Even if Anna considered Carol, Tommy, and Nicole her friends- the glares they spared to the outcasts and band nerds didn’t go unnoticed to her.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t just those groups- the ones socially acceptable to hate. Every once in a while, a specific brunette boy with stupid glasses would brush by their group in the hallway; and the trio would sneer and glare at him.
The one time Anna brought it up, asked a question about, “Who’s that guy you all seem to hate?” Carol had scoffed, muttering about stupid boys, while Tommy had stiffened and looked away- Nicole simply leaning against the nearest locker with arms crossed.
Anna didn’t bring it up again, at Tommy’s quiet request after the other two girls had dispersed when the bell rung.
Out of the entire group, Carol seemed the most put-off with the guy. Nicole seemed to not care for him too much, but Tommy was…confusing.
He didn’t seemed to hate him- Harrington, as they always called him, but Anna refused to believe that was his actual name. If anything he seemed jealous, possibly. Maybe that wasn’t quite it- but otherwise, Anna was lost on what it would be.
He didn’t look at Harrington the way that Anna looked at Billy; with hatred and loathing. He looked at him the way that Anna looked at Simon, the way she used to look at Eden before she moved away.
The reminder of Eden was a strike to the heart when she first recognized the resemblance. Eden was her first love, as many times as Simon called himself such. She lived in California for about four years, ages ten to fourteen, living on the same street as Anna herself. The dark-haired girl had caught her attention quickly, drawing her in with quick words and looks that went into her soul.
The first time they kissed, it was when they were both high. They were in Anna’s room, string strewn between them as they twisted it into small bracelets on one another’s wrists. Eden had leaned over, face inches away, to grab some of the pink yarn, and Anna had acted on impulse.
She leaned up before registering what she was even doing, pressing cherry-coated lips to Eden’s, and when she went to pull away- a hand was at the back of her neck, bringing her back in.
When the two had separated, Anna laying with her head on the pillows and Eden’s in her lap, a hand resting her hair, she had asked the question that’d been resting on her tongue for weeks.
“Eden, can I be your girlfriend?”
The first thing the other girl had said, was, “Isn’t it; ‘Will you be my girlfriend?’” and the next was, “Yes.”
They’d gone strong for a year, until Eden and her gaggle of siblings moved to Ohio in the summer of 83’. The last thing Anna had said to her, with her hands wrapped around black hair and lips quick breaths away, she’d whispered a nearly-silent, “I love you,” and then Eden was gone. In the car, and possibly on the plane by the time Anna got back to her room and laid down.
The way Tommy looked at Harrington reminded her so deeply of how Eden used to look at her when she was mad, with soft but hard eyes that would always end up forgiving her.
She would never say that out loud, obviously. She’d die before saying that out loud to anyone, not just Tommy Hagan. But, she still held her gaze on him whenever Harrington would pass, watching for the familiar glimmer she’d grown so used to in that year with Eden.
Every time, without fail, she’d find it resting in Tommy’s eyes. Small, but there.
Her attention focused back on her sister when Max lightly hit her shoulder, pointing to one of the clock’s on the wall. Anna barely spared a glance at it, standing up and walking ahead of Max- not needing to look back to know she’d be following.
When Billy’s car pulled up, Anna opened the door for her sister first. Sitting beside her step-brother, arms crossed as he barely waits for the door to shut before he’s pressing his foot against the peddle and leaving the parking lot.
Anna hated Billy. She wasn’t quite sure how many times he had to say that before he stopped insisting of driving them places. At first, she thought that was his way of showing that he did actually care and have feelings- wasn’t just some blank slat of a jackass.
But then he overhead Neil talking about how it’s nice to drive them places, that it’s respectful and if he stops he won’t be going anywhere- she knew that her original thoughts were stupid. Billy wouldn’t, and hadn’t, wanted to drive them anywhere- he’d done it because if he didn’t, he’d be yelled at by Neil, or worse.
Probably worse.
In Anna’s opinion, her first day at school went quite well. For the day before Halloween, she’d expected people to be a lot more bitchy. But, even with the snarky looks Carol, Tommy, and Nicole gave people they considered to be below them- they weren’t ever mean to her. They cared, she could see that. Just weren’t used to caring.
The minute the three of them returned home, Max was out of the car and in her room, and Anna was quick to follow. The house itself was small, up on Old Cherry Road, with three bedrooms- Susan and Neil sharing the main room, Billy getting his own room after he complained about sharing a room with either one of the girls, while Max and Anna had two twin-size beds shoved together in the corner beside the window.
Every night, Anna would let Max lay down first while she laid out an outfit for herself the next day on her desk. Then she would walk over, lightly tug the blanket higher on her sister’s shoulders to stop the quiet shivering in October winds, and lay down in her own bed.
Most nights, Max would roll over in her sleep and the two would bundle up in each other’s arms, ignoring every creak in the house for just a few hours. Other times, on bad days that leaves Anna not wanting any arms or hands or anyone near her- Anna would lay the other side of her blanket over Max, and her sister would understand; shifting closer, but not too close.
In the morning, Anna would always wake up first- around four or five a.m. either with Max’s limbs tangled around her or both blankets on her little sister’s side of the bed, both times would end with Anna getting two bottles of water from the fridge to help her wake up.
Every time, she’d tiptoe past Billy’s room, breath hitching at every movement the floorboards made. One time, he did stir, stepping into the hallway with a glare already in his eyes. His eyes had met Anna’s, standing with heels high to stop the tap against the ground, two water bottles in each hand.
She’d expected him to shout, or at very least get upset about her waking him up before five. Instead, he’d muttered a nearly silent, “be more quiet next time,” then shut the door as he turned his back to her.
Anna stood there for about a minute, staring at the door. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of Billy, thoughts swarming in her head as she completed the walk back to her and Max’s room. She set a bottle on the windowsill beside Max, keeping the other for herself.
Billy Hargrove was an egotistical jackass. She knew this for certain. So why, every time it was just her and him in the room, would he act like a human being? That small, single hallway interaction wasn’t the first time he’d been, surprisingly, normal. It was one of around a dozen that he’d held back all the snarky remarks, the mean comments and glares.
Anna wasn’t quite sure what to make of him anymore. Maybe she didn’t want to know.
Either way, she had school in less than three hours. She would not spend every minute of those precious hours thinking about Billy of all fucked up people. So, she stood up, careful to not wake Max, and began to prepare for the day.
Shit, she’d forgot it was Halloween.