"Get in there dude!"

She heard the loud raucous laughter of the boys and girls who had started the stupid game of seven minutes in heaven, as someone headed towards the closet.

She didn't pay much attention though, standing in the corner next to Celia, who had been the one to drag her to the party in the first place. She wasn't paying attention to Celia either who was chatting away to a few of the girls from their bio class.
In all honesty she wasn't paying much attention to anything except the clock on the wall. Counting down minutes until Celia's brother would pick them up and drop her home to whatever was awaiting her this time.

So she wasn't paying attention when a boy called her name. She didn't hear him until the third time when he said her name like it was a song.

"Jennifer! Jenn-i-fer Manning!"

Jennifer blinked and look over to where Tommy, Carol and a bunch of the other high school kids were grinning at her, some expectantly, some nastily, some curiously.

"Your up Manning!" Tommy smirked, waving a strip of paper at her.

"I didn't put my name…" she began to protest but Celia cut her off.

"I did Jenn. You need to loosen up and have some fun!"

"But-"

Once again Jennifer's voice was drowned out as Carol rolled her eyes and said loudly

"Oh for God's sake Manning, stop being such a prude for once, just get in the closet!"

Succumbing to the pressure of literally ever person in the room staring at her, Jennifer slowly made her way towards the closet in the little hallway leading to the back door. She got about three feet away when she balked and started backing up shaking her head.

"Cee, I don't want to – HEY!"

This time Jennifer interrupted herself, as two of Tommy's buddies, Mikey and Ross grabbed an arm each and dragged her the rest of the distance to the closet, while Carol opened the door with a smirk of her own saying

"You'll thank us for this when you get in there."

And with that Mikey and Ross pushed her threw the door and Carol slammed it shut, locking it from the outside.

Leaving Jennifer in the darkness of the closet.

She became acutely aware of her own breathing.

Then, she became even more aware of his breathing.

Whoever was in the closet with her. Jennifer's eyes were still adjusting to the dark, so she couldn't see who she had been shoved into a sort of – really – kinda – super awkward situation with.

"Who erm, who's there?"

A beat of silence rang out and then-

"Billy."

Billy goddamn Hargrove.

The young man who had nearly died that summer. He had been one of the victims in the Starcourt Mall 'incident'. People said it was a miracle he had survived, and the rumours were that he owed his life to Jonothan Byers little brother's gang of misfits, including his little sister Max, who Jennifer had tutored throughout the spring semester.

However, his brush with death and two months spent recovering in hospital had apparently done little to change Billy Hargrove.

When he had finally come back to school, over a month into their senior year, he still walked round like he owned the place. Still acted like it was a privilege to know him.

Basically he was still an asshole.

"Billy" he said "Who're you?"

"Jennifer-"

But Billy spoke over her with a chuckle

"Goddamn! Jenny Manning? Little Miss Prude soon to be class of '86. The hell are you doin' in a closet with me?" she could practically hear the smirk through his words.

"Carol and Tommy kind of… made me." Jennifer offered lamely, squirming a little at the way he purred out 'Jenny'.

"Of course they did."

Even though her eyes had adjusted to the darkness inside the closet, Jennifer could still barely see Billy. Just the vague outline of him, from the thin lines of light coming from around the edge of the door.

The shape of Billy began to move towards her, slow and clearly confident even in the dark.

Jennifer backed up until she felt the wood of the door at her back and she couldn't move anymore, but Billy kept coming until he was so close that although they weren't touching she could feel his breath on her face. He smelt like an odd yet not unpleasant combination of cigarette smoke and mint gum.

She sensed rather than saw his hand come up beside her head.

There was a soft click.

And then a dim bulb made a pathetic attempt at lighting the closet.

After kicking herself for being so nervous that she hadn't even thought to look for a light switch, Jennifer was pulled back to being hyperaware of her current predicament, by Billy twirling a strand of her honey blonde hair casually around one finger. She didn't like their current positioning. Aside from the uncomfortably close quarters, it reminded her how short she was. Billy towered over her, and she half found herself wishing that she was wearing heels like Celia or Carol instead of her favourite blue converse sneakers. At least then she wouldn't feel quite so tiny.

"So are we doin' this or not? Tick tock Jenny."

The flurry of thoughts that ran through her head felt like they took a long time but really only took a matter of seconds.

If she didn't at least kiss him, Jennifer was sure that Billy would tell absolutely everyone and she would be faced with a torrential amount of ridicule. People's opinions of her were usually quite low down on Jennifer's list of concerns, but if it came out that she had snubbed the current king of Hawkins High… br /School was one of an extremely limited number of places that Jennifer liked being and she was pretty sure that would change.

It was just one kiss.

She could do this.

Just one kiss…

"Okay" she almost whispered.

Billy didn't need telling twice. His hands came up, one leaning against the door by her head, the other soaring up to cup the side of her face. Jennifer felt her head be tilted up slightly and then Billy's lips were on hers.

He was far more gentle than she was expecting. He was dominating and controlling the kiss yes, but he was not being rough as she had feared he might be.
Jennifer found herself on her toes, as Billy used his height to his advantage. Her hands on his shoulders, one of his still on his face and the other dropping to the small of her back.

And she was almost enjoying it.

Until Billy's hand found it's way under the hem of her blouse and grazed across the bare skin just above her hip.

That was when Jennifer froze.

Billy clearly felt it and pulled away, looking down at her.

"What?" he asked, but he didn't sound angry… almost concerned.

Jennifer never got the chance to answer however as the closet door suddenly opened behind them and she tore herself away from Billy, stumbling slightly in her haste to get out of the closet.

"Oooooooooooh! Look at little Miss Priss! Told you you'd thank me Manning!" Carol crowed as Jennifer passed her, head bowed and cheeks flaming at the laughter.

She looked at the clock and then looked around for Celia, because her brother should have been there by now. But Celia was nowhere in sight. Gritting her teeth, Jennifer turned to face a grinning Carol and asked quietly

"Where's Cee?"

"She left already. Lightweight." Carol said and Jennifer's shoulders sagged. Turning away from the cackling Carol and her cronies, she made her way outside, taking deep breaths of the cool night air.

Celia had been her lift home and now-

"You need a ride?"

Jennifer jumped at the sound of Billy's voice so close to her.

She turned to find him looking down at her, his denim jacket slung over one shoulder, revealing the dark red shirt that was unbuttoned almost to his waist. That meant it showed the huge scar down the middle of his torso.

"Eyes are up here Jenny!"

She flushed again and tore her eyes away from the scar and more importantly, away from Billy's chest.

"I'll walk. I'm fine."

"For God's sake stop being a stubborn ass and get in the damn car." Billy ordered walking towards his Camaro.

Not seeing another option, Jennifer followed him.

Great.

Trapped in a small space with Billy Hargrove for the second time in one night./

How did she get so lucky?

Let me just say this.
I do not condone or support ANY of Billy Hargrove's violence, attitude, abuse of Max, or any of his (for want of a better word) "bad" behaviour.

I don't think it can be justified but it can be explained.

Billy came from a broken home that started off as dysfunctional, then became toxic and abusive. He was exposed to abuse from an early age, first seeing it happen to his mother then experiencing it first hand. And yes that shit does affect you. It's one of the reasons that often people believe a sign of sexual abuse in children is overly sexualised behaviour at a young age (some not all). So yes it isn't completely ridiculous to think that the abuse billy witnessed and experienced had some impact in his own behaviour.

Has anyone considered that that could be one of the reasons the mind flayer went after him? Because despite his own abusive (most likely learned) nature , Billy was vulnerable to abusive and powerful figures? Just a thought.

No I am not an expert on abuse and it's affects but I know a thing or two about it and the rest is actually just common sense.

My point is, billy isn't justified in his behaviour but it can be somewhat explained.

And I personally think he deserved so much more than what he got.

Don't get mad at me for my own theories and opinions.

Here endeth my rant.

Let me know what you think.
More soon.
Geronimo xx