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-'ˏ Margo's Pov ˎ'-

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Billy Hargrove's Driveway

Wednesday , 6:53 a.m

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I stood there as tears began spilling down my cheeks. Billy asking why I was crying had only made me cry harder. The idea of leaving Hawkins was amazing until the harsh reality sets in. That you are leaving everything that's familiar to you.

Billy didn't hesitate as he quickly took the boxes from my arms and set them down before pulling me forward into a hug. His large frame towered over mine with his arms wrapped around me.

"Hey, whats wrong?" Billy cooed as if he was talking to a child. He hooked his arms under my legs to pick me up before he sat down on the back end of his car. It was silent as his hand roughly came up to wipe away tears. Every time a new tear would fall he would wipe it away before placing a kiss where it had been.

"I don't wanna leave Dustin." I finally choked out.

He leaned back and entwined our fingers together. "You don't have to leave. I told you I don't wanna uproot you from your life here." He said sadly as he brought both of our hands up to rest on his cheek.

I shook my head vehemently at him. "I wanna go."

He shook his head at me. "You can't go with me. Not if you're so upset."

"I-I'm fine." I rushed out.

"I want you to be happy." He told me as he placed a quick kiss on the back of my hand before placing it back on his face. "You seem happy here. You've lived here your whole life."

"I can't stay here with my dad. I'll miss Dustin but there's nothing else for me." I said quickly taking back the tears that were spilling just moments before.

You could tell that he was nervous as he bit his lip and looked down at the ground. "You sure?" He questioned. I quickly nodded before scrambling down off him. I didn't get too far before he lazily reached back out and pulled me back.

"Where you going?"

I pulled away from him again before trying to push him off his trunk. He laughed and got up after my feeble attempt to push him had failed. He watched as I picked up the boxes and placed them in the trunk quickly before slamming it shut. Billy raised an eyebrow at me questioningly.

"You can't leave without me if you have my stuff."

"I'm serious Margaret you don't have to come with me."

"I want to go Billy."

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We had been driving on and off for the past couple of days to get to California. We listened to a lot of way too loud rock music and had lots of laughing fits as we went. As fun as it was, it was also tiring even though I hadn't been allowed to drive Billy's precious camaro once.

After what must have been my third nap, I felt Billy gently shake me awake. I sat up and rewrapped the blanket around my legs before looking over at him.

"Hi sunshine. We're almost there." Billy said as he pointed out the window.

Suddenly fully awake, I whipped my head around to look out the window.

You could feel the sun radiating off every surface even through the window. Beautiful palm trees littered the barren stretches of road as we drove. The ocean was even visible through the trees at certain points. All together the place was absolutely gorgeous and I found myself gawking.

I was too busy staring up at the vividly blue sky that was rarely visible in Hawkins to notice that Billy had pulled into a parking lot. I looked over at him excitedly. Practically bouncing out of my seat. There was a large multiple story building in front of us and a smaller secluded section off to the right.

"Stay here for a second." Billy told me before walking towards the smaller building. It looked like a small office area. I watched him knock and place his hands back into his pockets as he waited. The door swung open and a gruff man stepped into view. They stared at each other for a second before they broth broke out in smiles and embraced each other in a rough hug, slapping each other on the back excitedly. They talked animatedly for a moment and the man nodded eagerly before making odd hand motions. Billy then pointed back at his car towards me. The man waved and I waved back before they both disappeared into the building for a moment before stepping back out. Billy had pocketed an item before I could really see what it was before giving the man a firm handshake.

He practically ran in excitement back to the car before opening the door and offering me a hand so I could step out.

"Who was that?"

"Family friend." Billy replied waving his hand dismissively before slapping his hand over my eyes.

"Ow. Billy-" I mumbled trying to pry his fingers off.

"Just cooperate sunshine." He said with a laugh. I couldn't help but crack a smile and allowed him to try and lead me.

"Fuck! BILLY!" I screeched as he got tired of trying to maneuver me up a flight stairs. He settled for picking me up bridal style and jokingly yelled at me to keep my eyes closed. I complied with a giggle and dramatically squeezed my eyes shut.

When he finally put me down he placed his hand back over my eyes.

I heard a jangling set of keys and I immediately couldn't help myself and tried peaking out from under his fingers. Finally the door creaked opened and a rush of cool air hit me.

"Billy!" I mumbled still trying to see.

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