the_freak | Dear Billy

Eddie shrugs, and those palms raise again, rolling his eyes with a huff, "That right? It's not all...body building the sun?" he quips, gesturing at Billy, not able to help himself.

He's slower to exit the bathroom, patting his pockets down and pulling out a cigarette, but after a glance towards Max he sticks it behind his ear for later. He'll have to find a slightly less destructive way to rid himself of that holding on by a string anxious energy.

"...I should get outta here," he mutters.

A cigarette. He'd been clean for how long of it? But the desire for that nicotine stick that Eddie tucks behind his own ear is there in his eyes. He could be good, try to stick it out, or fill this place up with smoke. Fingers flex as Hargrove makes his decision and keeps his hands to himself.

He frowns at the words and looks away. "You said... something. Makes me think I am supposed to be dead. What's the fucking date anyways?" How long had he been gone? "The mall was the last thing before they took us."

Before they took us.

For all his many, (many) faults, Eddie is at least observant. He recognizes that hungry look, and after a moment he wordless tosses the rest of his crumpled carton across to Hargrove without a word. They don't need to acknowledge it. There's not much left in there, but it's something.

"That was like...I dunno- shit... a year ago, man," Eddie answers, head tilting in question. He does not need more god damn mysteries to solve. "Kid and her mom moved into the trailer park. Your dad's out of the picture. I dunno, but... It's the end of March. You were...they buried you." Or...buried a box at least.

Almost an entire year.

A year.

Supposedly dead for almost a year.

At least his dad was gone. Shame Max and Susan left the house, but maybe Neil forced them. It was something he'd do and Hargrove knew it. He takes a seat next to Max, facing the door again just in case. It's not safe again, so Billy can't come out. Not yet.

Those features, the sun kissed skin pale and dirty, scrunches up at the news. He was dead. And buried. "Almost a year," he says softly, though there's a tightness in his voice that he hates. Like it's a weakness.

"I could tell you something but you probably won't fucking believe me Munson." His voice has tightened more, and he's staring at Max in the bed, eyes blazing.

Eddie looks unsure what to do with himself, nodding with an uncomfortable but sympathetic look. The hell do you say to something like that? "...You look good, considering," he offers, lips quirking a moment before there's an apologetic duck of his head. Maybe not the time...

"...Try me, Hargrove," he offers with an exhausted sort of knowing, echoing Max's own words to him when he was at his lowest low. He understands intimately the need to be believed in the face of all this utterly unbelievable shit.

'Try me' comes the answer. Not entirely what Billy was expecting for said answer, but after all the shit he's seen, the blond isn't really surprised.

Those eyes are still set on Max, though they're not looking at her. They're distant, remembering. Remembering a night that he's dreamed and had nightmares about for almost a year. A night that changed far more than anyone had expected. He breathes out and shudders as he takes another in.

"The night in the mall... when that freak of a girl went to save me... having two things in our head..." He pauses. Licks dirt off of his lips. Or, what he hopes was dirt. Maybe it was dried blood from some point. "Both of them in there, grappling for control... it snapped. We're two now."

He frowns, trying to think of a way to explain it but comes up metaphorically empty handed. How could you explain something like this? "One... half is the boy that the girl saw. The other half is me. Billy and Hargrove." Two sides of the same boy. A boy that was dead and buried and was sitting right next to his step sister.

Eddie squints, head tilting as he tries to process what he's saying. He still doesn't fully know what really went down in the mall, just the bits and pieces he's put together from different stories, and in the end that's more than enough context.

He catches his tongue between his teeth as he thinks and nods faintly, brows furrowed. "...right." His fingers tap anxiously against his thigh. "Um..." That's a lot. He nods again, more sure, and makes a point to meet ~~Billy~~ Hargrove's eyes. "I believe you," he notes, lips quirking a little- "Not sure I understand yet, but I believe you."

He looks back towards the door way and with a frown. "Look...man, if either of us get seen right now it's going to be trouble. Are you-...do you have somewhere...?"

It's hard to explain. And Billy - well, Hargrove, to be exact - is not used to explaining things, let alone people listening to him. It's a strange concept.

He grits his teeth and clenches his hands into fists. "We're two now. Two personalities. And I'll be fucking damned if I let anything happen to the other side ever again. No more monsters, no more fucking broken plates, no. Never again." This was one thing he was going to be able to control now, especially if Neil was gone.

Everything is still tense when he finally, finally looks at Eddie's. There's fire in his gaze, though not fury or madness. Just a promise that he really would protect the other half for as long as he could by any means. Some of that goes out at the question and he looks away.

"If my dad's skipped down, and my stepfamily isn't at the house anymore, then no. All I've got is the lab." He licks his lips, glancing at Eddie. "You sure he's gone? If my dad is gone, I want to go to the house and see if there's something he left behind."

Which, he's pretty sure Neil did. The man was still sore after the way Billy's mother left.

The emphatic tone tone earns a cautious nod from Eddie. He's seen the damage the guy could do when he wanted before he was...mentally torn in half. And so far in the span of ten minutes he's managed to trigger this other- very protective- side of him, so...he wants to be careful to toe the line until he's got a better read on the guy. "Yeah man. I have no beef with Billy," he swears, "...Or, uh- or you. We're cool."

"That's what Red said," Eddie confirms with an uncertain shrug, "He definitely didn't come to the trailer park with them. You uh...you want a ride out there, or-?" he offers.

If there's one thing he's glad for, is that Eddie doesn't...really question anything that Hargrove is saying. So maybe he does believe him, even if believing doesn't mean understanding. That would probably come later.

There is a small pat to Max's hand and he gets up. His clothes practically hang off of him and Hargrove tries his very best to not think too much about that. And that's easy, focusing instead how Neil really is gone.

Hargrove settles a cool gaze on Eddie, thinking about the offer. Obviously he could walk, he wasn't a cripple. Just half-starved and supposedly dead. That might make people nervous. "If you're offering, you should drive. Don't know how well people will take to a dead man walking the streets." Probably better than some things that roamed around in this shithole of a city.

Eddie doesn't think now's the best time to properly fill Hargrove in on the fact that he's not exactly a welcome sight in Hawkins himself. Everyone's to preoccupied with the 'earthquake' to notice him anyways. So he nods and flashes Max a smile and a small wave she can't see in farewell.

"Come on, man. This place is crawling with cops," he encourages, taking them out a backway he's learned relaxing a little once they've stepped back out into the air. He passes Hargive a crumple pack of cigarettes, pushing it into his chest and nodding vaguely towards the parking lot.

"I'll uh...I'll pull around," he offers, covering for the fact that he needs to go...borrow a car for them.

Cops. Hargrove wants nothing to do with them, not after the few military police down in the lab. There had been three at one point, but he had reduced that number by one before the scientists drugged him into cooperation. If one could really even call it that. Going in and out of consciousness wasn't what either side of Billy would call cooperation.

There's a soft noise at the crushed carton pressing to his chest, but he grabs them and follows Munson outside. He breathes in the air that lacks the sharp sterilization within. It’s fresh by comparison to their, and the must of the abandoned lab.

He nods, feeling on edge and lighting a cigarette. What kind of car did Munson even drive? "I'll wait over by the corner." Because Hargrove wasn't going to wait for cops to approach him. When the other heads off, the blond goes to where he's indicated he'd wait.

The van he used to drive probably wouldn't have done much to impress Billy, certainly hadn't left a lasting impression in school, but how could anything next to that masterpiece Hargrove rolled up in. Eddie thinks his collection of tapes at least might have earned his approval.

He scouts the lot for a suitable candidate and hates that this is becoming a regular part of his life. When Eddie pulls up, he's awkwardly tossing a beaded seat cover into the back seat of the station wagon, refusing to acknowledge how obviously out of place he is in this vehicle.

"Let's go, Sunshine," he beckons with a teasing grin, leaning over to push open the passenger door.

Hargrove would probably recognize the van, but not who owned it. It was just another flaw on the road to him, another vehicle holding him back that he had to get around. While he waits, a cigarette gets lit up and shoved between lips and teeth to work at while he waits. He hears people milling about off behind him. Talking about the earthquake, the strange shit that's opened.

No one knows that a dead man is back. Not yet at least.

Either way it keeps Hargrove on edge. Like he's waiting for Neil to suddenly spring into existence like a boogeyman or a cop to appear next to him.

So when Eddie shows up with a station wagon that's probably seen better days in its mileage, the blond gets in. Doesn't bother buckling up. He snaps the door shut and gets comfortable. Already he hates this. Hates not being in the driver's seat, but whatever. "The house... Cherry. If you see a Buick Regal, dark blue, you keep driving."

"Buick Regal," Eddie repeats, giving a nod and pulling away. He vaguely wonders when it was his life had gotten so strange that this hardly even registered for him anymore. Probably around the time Chrissy had wandered out to do business with him...

He steals the odd glance at Hargrove, fingers tapping on the steering wheel as he sits at a light. "So uh...is Billy gonna remember this, or if he pops back up is he going to think I kidnapped him?" he asks casually.

What could even be considered normal anymore? Driving with someone roughly Eddie's age in the passenger seat seemed pretty normal. The fact that said someone was now suffering from a split personality due to having a creature mind control him and a girl rip that control out....

Okay, maybe not so normal after all.

He settles into the seat, crossing his arms over his chest. The car makes its way down the road. His foot starts bouncing the closer they get to the house. Finally, Hargrove looks to Eddie. "No, he probably won't remember. I don't know how I ended up in a hospital with you." But he knows that Billy had something to do with it. But the problem was, was that Billy didn't know about Hargrove. Not yet. He thought he was just losing time between falling asleep - the times that Hargrove was the one in control.

"He'll be out again when it's safe." The trigger for the protective side's appearance apparently, back in the hospital room. Eddie had caused enough panic for a switch to happen.

"That'll be fun to explain," Eddie nods almost absently, but then turns his head in surprise after turning those words about in his head for a moment.

"Did I...make you feel not safe?" he realizes, replaying the earlier events over in his mind and looking a bit conflicted. He knows there's people who find him scary, it's not the first time he's heard that, but he never imagined scaring someone like Billy Hargrove, and especially not without meaning to.

"You scared him, not me," Hargrove clarifies, scowling at Eddie. "You did something that startled him enough that we switched."

The foot continues to bounce. "I could snap you over my leg with my bare hands if I wanted to," and he probably would, given enough motivation. "I'll do it to anyone that threatens us."

He points down the street to an unassuming house on the right. "It's that one." No car in front at least. Hargrove feels tense, even if his dad really is gone from town.

The scowl makes Eddie's guilt fall away, and he rolls his eyes defensively, huffing a laugh.

"Yeah, man, I've seen your handiwork," he quips easily. Again, not him exactly, but him before the split.

He follows Hargrove's gesture and nods, pulling over. "...It's nice," he offers, mostly to break the silence once he's cut the engine. Hell of a downgrade for Max.

The handiwork could be seen in scars and hushed conversations of crossing the blond when his personalities were still whole. When he was still influenced by the man that raised him in the abuse his mother escaped from.

Once the car stops, Hargrove exits and slams the door behind him. Yet, even with his apparent haste to get out of the vehicle, he stands at the steps. Worn and a bit broken from people and time. There's no furniture or lights to indicate someone's home. The lawn is overgrown, the foliage out of control. Hargrove knows that Susan would be sadden by that - the flower bush had been her favorite to care for.

Hargrove still can't get his feet to move, seemingly cemented to the concrete stairs as he looks at the house. Neil was gone, it was just a house. "It's not," he finally answers with and his baby blues Slide over to meet Eddie's dark ones. "A place I lived, nothing more, really." It had been missing a mother's touch.

His mother. Not Susan.

Unsure if he should follow, Eddie slides out of the car a bit belatedly, crossing round slowly and casually wandering after in a manner he can easily abort if that glare's turned on him again. He pats himself down to pull out a smoke before realizing Hargrove still has his pack, and by then he's caught up, toeing absently at the stairs. He seems to understand Hargrove's meaning, at least if his uncharacteristic silence is a clue, meeting his gaze and giving a slow nod.

Another beat and he takes a few steps, breaking the invisible barrier Hargrove can't seem to cross, rocking up on his toes to peer at the place before looking back.

"You wanna check inside still, or- ?"

It looks like a prison, with the white supports of the screen wrapping around the porch. Hargrove didn't realize how much of one it was until this instance, staring up at the house. He's vaguely aware of Eddie moving around outside of his like of sight. It's only when the metalhead moves past him towards the house does it shake Hargrove out of his thoughts.

"...Yeah. It's not too far in at least." He pulls a loose brick from the pillar on the porch to pull out the spare key they had left for Max. It slots into the keyhole with ease and the door creaks open.

Inside, the living room is pretty barren dust fluffs into the air as Hargrove heads in with slow steps. Last he had been here, his mind had been controlled by that thing from the Upside Down. The good thing though, was there really was no Neil. Furniture was gone, and almost all traces of a family living here.

Save one item.

He heads to the mantle, hand going to a dusty vase that had been left behind. Within, it was filled halfway with shells that weren't found anywhere near Hawkins. Hargrove traces lines through the dust that had settled on the sea-green glass.

A viable shudder runs through him and he sits, quickly. In time, too, as he goes lax for a long moment or two. Eyes have fluttered shut before they snap open and he ducks in a breath like a man waking with a start.

"...Where m'I?" Came the sleepy and soft voice of Billy as he looks around.

Following after, Eddie's feet wander a bit absently while Hargrove moves to the mantle, taking in the space and imagining what it might have looked like before.

"Hargrove??" His head turns when Hargrove drops, half afraid to approach, and once he's gathered the courage he's delivered the jump scare of Billy starting awake. "Jesus Christ man," he mutters, shaking off the fright before his brow creases. Shit they really are like two different people...

"...Billy?" He feels suddenly very unqualified for this shit. Is he supposed to keep Billy from knowing, like...how you don't wake up someone who's sleep walking? "You're um...we're in your old place, man. Just pickin' up a few things."

It's strange, waking up somewhere else than where you went to sleep. He had been in the hospital when he fell asleep, with Eddie...dragging him? Dragging him somewhere. Then it had been sleep until now. His house? No, it was empty.

Billy sits up, looking around. First at the emptiness of the room around him, then at Eddie when he hears his last name, then first. He blinks, still a bit confused but he didn't seem to be in any danger. That had to be good at least. Boots scuff against the floor as he gets up, shaking some of the dust out of his hair.

Picking up some things? Weird. Why would he bring Eddie? "Yeah, it's me. What're you doing in here?" He spies the glass vase of shells again and goes over to take it down quick. Like it'll disappear if he doesn't. He holds it, protectively, and then looks around. "...If my weight set isn't here," which it clearly wasn't, "then this is all I need." All he wanted.

What is he doing here? Hell if Eddie can answer that one. He toes at the ground and shrugs. Something about Hargrove's words earlier makes him feel he shouldn't reveal too much, but it's hard to explain away how exactly the pair of them wound up here. "M'just...I've got the car," he gestured lamely out towards the front like that explained it, watching Billy cradle that vase curiously.

"Yeah? We should probably get out of here then." Before the cops spot that stolen car out front and the wanted man inside. Not that Eddie really know where exactly he's planning on dropping Billy, assuming he even wants to come with him.

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