𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔, "𝙸'𝚖 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚢."

𝚆𝚑𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚢?

𝚂𝚘 𝚙𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛.

𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛.

𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚠𝚘 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜,

𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜.

Lennon's eyes widened and adverted from Eddie's nervously. He was getting closer and based on the look in his eye, Lennon knew he was up to no good.

"What's taking Jason and Patrick so long?" Lennon chuckled nervously, trying to ignore the burning butterflies in her belly as Billy finished filling the remaining cups a quarter way with beer.

"Hello again," Eddie strode up to the pair of them and pressed his side to the open doorway.

Billy turned towards the voice and stared at the metalhead of the town with contempt.

"What do you want, freak?" Billy spat back defensively, seeing that Lennon already dealt with one too many boys on her own for the night.

"Billy..." Lennon rolled her eyes and complained.

She didn't sound defensive, just disappointed. However, Eddie was smiling at her comment. She might not have shown her discomfort with the nickname, but he knew she was defending him in her own way.

"What's up, Eddie?" Lennon bounced a ping pong ball off the countertop, causing the small orange sphere to land into one of the cups in front of her. She crossed her arms over her chest and took a deep breath to face him.

Billy set both his hands down on the table, standing in between the rivalry groups of cups on either side of the table.

"You two look in need of an opponent," Eddie drew out darkly. The tip of his tongue ran over the edge of his teeth with satisfaction as he pushed himself off the frame of the door and rounded the other side of the table to face Billy.

"Jason and Patrick-" Lennon tried to intervene but Billy and Eddie had other plans.

"I don't think it'd be very fair for you to go against a Hawkins champion," Billy narrowed his sterling blue eyes at Eddie and glared hauntingly.

"I don't know, man," Eddie squinted and curled his lips into a mischievous smirk. "Tossing balls into laundry baskets doesn't seem difficult if you ask me..."

"Who the hell even invited you?" he shook his head and shot Eddie a questioning gaze.

"Hmm," Eddie's eyebrows shot upward as his smile widened pompously. "Your girlfriend did," Eddie lazily turned his head and caused Billy to look over as well.

Her eyes moved from Eddie to Billy with a look like a deer in headlights. She kept staring back and forth between the pair before she pressed her lips together and forced her eyes to stay loyal to Billy.

"It's a Christmas party... The more the merrier," she shrugged guiltily.

Billy's eyes fell to the floor in contemplation before he looked back up at Eddie.

"You're gonna need a partner, freak," he spat back, taking the ball in his hand and pelting it at Eddie's face.

When Lennon expected it to hit him right in the teeth, Eddie's hand appeared in front of his face as he flinched backward. Catching the foul ball, Eddie chuckled and started leisurely walking towards Lennon like he was sizing her up.

"Billy..." she called out again with tired eyes. "Don't be a bully. We're not in middle school," she ridiculed him.

Billy wasn't taking her seriously. He assumed her kindness was getting in the way of standing up to Eddie but little did he know, it was more than that, and Eddie's smile revealed that he knew it too.

"Wheeler!" Eddie cupped his hands around his mouth and called out to his group in the other room. He stood beside Lennon as he forced Billy, and many other's to look toward the people sitting around the fire for an answer. "One of you, front and center!"

Eddie turned toward Lennon and let his eyes fall to her neck. The mark that he left was covered with makeup and as respectable of a response as that was to his marking on her, he didn't like it being hidden from Billy.

"Oh no," he tilted his head and dropped the smile. "You've got something on your neck," Eddie took his palm and quickly rubbed at the makeup, smearing it slightly but being unable to recover anything significant before she pushed him away.

"Thanks," she spat back bitterly with an intense warning look in her eyes. "I got it," she pressed her hand over the spot on her neck, keeping her deterrent gaze pointed right at him like a rifle to the chest of an elk.

She held the side of her neck with worry and watched as Eddie disappeared behind her and stalked over to Billy on his side of the table. Billy turned, growing in height and puffing his chest. He exhaled deeply as he shoved his hand against Eddie's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks and forcing his eyes on him now.

"Do you have to touch her?" he threatened darkly, staring dauntingly at the older man and grinding his jaw with restraint.

Provokingly, Eddie didn't show fear but rather showed defiance. "Don't worry big boy," he smirked nonchalantly. "She's all yours," he clicked his tongue and winked before briskly walking past and meeting Nancy a little way down.

Billy had come up beside Lennon and whispered to her to see if she was okay. Of course she was fine, but she found it incredibly brazen and ballsy of Eddie to actively provoke and irritate Billy, knowing he didn't like him and knowing how Lennon felt about them both.

He just couldn't stand the silence. He just had to shove it in everyone's faces. He had to prove his friendliness with Lennon. He wanted to prove more, but he didn't want to push all his boundaries in one night.

"What? Mike too busy discovering fire?" Eddie said to Nancy sarcastically, peering into the other room and seeing all his bandmates looking back at him with their undivided attention, wondering why he was calling for a partner and quietly questioning why he was with Lennon Seagrave and Billy Hargrove.

"I don't think I should..." Nancy looked up at Eddie with a puzzled look as she frantically shook her head. But the girl's eyes strayed from the trickster and found their way to Lennon's. With Billy leering at Eddie from afar, Lennon looked back at Nancy with a silent plea in her eyes. She widened them and pouted, furrowing her brows ever so subtly and begging her to stay.

Nancy tilted her head sympathetically and sighed. When Lennon's stare didn't waver, her shoulders fell loosely and she reluctantly agreed.

Eddie and Nancy both turned, standing side by side like Billy and Lennon when the girl in the middle of the mess mouthed a desperate 'thank you' to Nancy before closing her eyes and collecting her thoughts.

"Nancy!" Lennon changed her attitude and forced a smile. "Go first... Please," she begged the girl flatly, trying to avoid Eddie's playful gaze as he watched Lennon grow flustered and uncomfortable underneath it.

Nancy threw the ball and missed and Lennon went next. She too missed the first shot but knowing the weight of the ball now, she knew she could get it on the next one.

Eddie cleared his throat and focused his attention on one of the red cups set up in a triangle across the table.

He tossed the ball and scored a point. Instead of showing his pleasure in proving a point, he smiled impishly. "Drink up, Hargrove," he teased, moving for another ball and fiddling with it in his victory.

"Why do I have to drink?" Billy scowled.

"Oh, for fucksake," Lennon plucked the cup from the table and flung the beer off the ball before downing the contents. "Go," she cringed on the bitter bite of the liquid and hurried Billy along.

He was looking down at her incredulously, growing concerned about the amount of alcohol the girl seemed to want to consume. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"Yes!" she rebuked. "I'm fine. I'm good. Happy; I'm happy. Now go," she cleared her throat and swallowed again to try and clear her palette of the ale she despised.

Billy didn't drop his concern but did as told. He got the ball into one of the cups and Nancy drank to keep track of her and Lennon's drinks. Once it was her turn, Nancy missed again and looked over at Eddie disapprovingly.

"You're fine," he gently nudged her on the arm and spoke quietly. "You're good," he assured her, turning to watch Lennon land a cup with her bottom lip pressed between her teeth. The sight caused him to blush and when the drink was pulled to his lips, his eyes ran coldly to Billy.

The younger man was glaring and Eddie swore that if looks could kill, Billy and the dining hall would be covered in Eddie's blood. He didn't want Billy to think he had the upper hand and refused to show any sort of weakness so he chuckled before setting his cup inside the one Nancy finished. He threw the ball shortly after and manage to score yet another cup.

"Told you, big boy," he teased Billy and winked at the man cheekily. "Easy." Eddie was being irritating and caused Billy to grow more infuriated as the man mocked him.

Billy growled when he swallowed the beer inside the cup and swung the ball at his side to rid it of beer. He didn't even look at the remaining cups and simply stared at Eddie with darkness looming behind his eyes. He tossed the same ball, keeping his eyes on Eddie, and also getting another cup.

"You were saying?" Billy spat back defensively.

"Nice one," Lennon forced another smile and encouraged Billy by gently knocking her side into his and snapping him out of his trance.

Nancy swallowed another drink and finally got one of her balls into the cup. The game continued tensely and gained a crowd when people noticed the hot shot basketball player and Eddie the freak Munson spitting bitter remarks at one another. Lennon was a little more than tipsy by the time Eddie and Nancy had four cups remaining and Nancy had to call in someone from the other room to sub for her.

Lennon stepped away from her side of the table after taking her turn and forcing Eddie to drink. She pulled Nancy to the side as she cringed at the taste of the beer she had to consume for the sake of the game. She wasn't much of a hugger, but she hugged Nancy and whispered, "Thank you so much," she pulled away with a very apologetic smile. "So much," she said in her normal voice before returning to Billy for the rest of the game.

"Henderson!" Eddie yelled, waiting for his shorter friend to meet him in the dining hall.

"He's thirteen, Eddie," Lennon complained, lifting her hand and shooting him a look of distaste.

Eddie and Billy both turned to her. Eddie to counter her and Billy to show his support.

"I'll drink for him," he crossed his heart with his index finger and raised his right hand as if that meant some kind of oath.

Dustin joined the game and did surprisingly well considering he had never played before. By the time the game was over, Lennon barely won since Dustin's ball bounced back out of the cup, causing him and others around them to moan and groan in disbelief.

When the final ball was thrown into their opponents' cup, people cheered and Billy took Lennon into his grasp and hugged her in triumph. "Fuck yeah!" he cursed, lifting her off her feet and causing her to realize how badly she needed to pee.

She excused herself from the massive grouping of people around the table as they watched and found the downstairs bathroom to be surprisingly open considering how many people showed up.

She relieved her bladder and checked the time, feeling the effects of the alcohol now that some of it was leaving her system and the loud buzz of the music from outside was muffled through the door. It was almost midnight which meant she had been at Heather's for almost four hours. She wondered if now was a good time to ask Billy if he wanted to leave but she also didn't feel like she had done enough to fulfill her end of their agreement.

All she managed to do in that time was almost cause a fight between him and Steve, have a few drinks with him, and force him to suffer through a game of beer pong with Eddie and his friends. It seemed more catering to her than him and that's why she exited the bathroom with a newfound appreciation for the party.

Even though she did want to go home, she wouldn't be able to rest feeling like she didn't do a good enough job at being Billy's date. She went back into the dining hall but Billy was nowhere to be found. She moved into the living room and sat down beside Nancy who had her head resting on Jonathan's shoulder.

She knew there was no way they weren't together. Nancy wasn't the type to be physical with anyone, especially boys. Lennon thought they were good together. They shared more in common than Nancy and Steve did and Jonathan was sweet. Steve was a reckless bully. Maybe he would treat Nancy a little better than Steve did.

Grant was sitting on the other side of Lennon as he and Jeff, who was somehow now on his back, on the floor in front of Grant, were throwing miniature marshmallows at one another like it was a snowball fight. Will and Mike took up the place Dustin and Gareth had before by the coffee table, discussing D&D with tired looks on their faces.

Not only could Lennon not find Billy, but she didn't know where Gareth or Eddie went either. She just hoped they weren't getting themselves into trouble or else Lennon wouldn't be able to forgive herself. She started to talk to Jonathan and Nancy about their personal journalism project and for a few minutes, all seemed well.

The party started to die down, people seemed content in their friend groups, and nobody was bickering. That was until Eddie and Gareth came back from the upstairs with six familiar faces following them like shadows.

"Who's up for a bit of spin the bottle?" it was Heather who made an appearance for the first time all night, holding up an empty Coca-Cola bottle and relishing on the amount of bodies they managed to capture.

Heather and Tina stood closest together. Behind them, Lennon could make out Argyles long hair that ended at his tailbone and a dazed smile was spread across his face like he was just happy to be alive. Beside him, a girl from band with a delicate face and nervous stance was looking around for someone she knew in the group. She had pretty blue eyes and healthy, shoulder-lengthed hair. Lennon didn't know her name, but she had seen her and Steve hanging around school recently.

Then there was Steve. He looked high and laughed mindlessly like he was drunk, but otherwise, he looked just like how she left him.

Eddie and Gareth took the coffee table and lifted it from between the couch and the pair of boys sitting by it. They both placed it in the corner by the desk that everyone was told to ignore and people were told to get off the couch so it too could be moved back.

Nancy laughed nervously. "Yeah, no thanks, Heather. I think these boys have had enough excitement for the night. Will, Mike, Dustin... C'mon," Nancy got to her feet and took Jonathan by the hand.

Everyone said goodbye to the people they knew and Jonathan, Nancy, Mike, Will, and Dustin all left, leaving the guys from Corroded Coffin, Steve, Argyle, Tina, Heather, and the unnamed girl from band with Lennon.

Grant and Lennon both got off the couch and helped move it back but they didn't sit down immediately like Heather and the group that followed her had. Jeff was now sitting upright as the girls, Steve, and Argyle all sat around the fire in a circle.

"Lenny?" Heather turned over her shoulder and questioned.

"I don't..." she trailed off, finding Tina's stare to be the most burning from across the room. She was going to mention Billy but she didn't want to upset her. "I think once I find Billy, he would be more than happy to join," she tilted her head towards Tina with a forced smile, about to make her way out into the drawing-room near the back of the house before there was an eruption of hoots and cheers.

Everyone's attention went towards the sudden noise before it was muffled again by the sliding glass door being shut. That's when Lennon realized there was nobody else in the room. There was still a crowd nearby around the pool table, but the secluded add-on Lennon found herself in was entirely empty with the exception to those wanting to play spin the bottle.

As if on cue, Billy came stumbling into the room with Patrick and Jason on his shoulders.

"Whoa..." he cleared his throat, coming to a halt and seeing everybody looking back at him all of a sudden. "What's going on?" he leered suspiciously.

"Spin the bottle," Heather smiled. "C'mon, sit," she patted the ground with her hand and subtly glanced over at Tina.

"Uhm, pass," Jason rebuked. "I'm gonna go find Chrissy and head home. I'll see you guys later," he turned back into the dining hall with a wave 'goodbye'.

"That keg's not gonna drink itself, my dude. Later," Patrick patted Billy on the chest and ran back outside to join the crowd.

"Were you outside that whole time?" Lennon furrowed her brows with concern.

"The... yeah," Billy wiped his mouth and approached his date with a soft but drunk smile. "There's a keg outside," he looked down at his chest and saw the beer strains that were left on his shirt.

"Well..." Lennon took a deep breath and turned towards the group forming a circle on the ground. "Sit by the fire then."

She took a moment to think. She knew, logically, if he sat next to her, the chances of the bottle landing on her would be slim and if he sat next to Tina, her chances would be slim. So, she had to take the evil glaring for the time being when she sat down between Billy and Jeff, who looked to have been caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Her whole plan was to get Billy to kiss Tina. Maybe then they would give it a chance. Maybe Tina would stop hating Lennon and maybe Billy would see that she wasn't as head over heels as he hoped.

Lennon sat between Jeff and Billy. Heather sat beside Billy, then the girl from band sat beside her. Steve was between the girl with the short hair and his friend who reeked of marijuana then there was Tina, Gareth, Grant, and Eddie on the other side of Jeff.

If it weren't for the alcohol and the fact Lennon needed Billy and Tina to get together, she would've never put herself in this situation.

If it weren't for the fact Lennon was sitting in the circle, Eddie, and the rest of his band would've never done so either. Eddie was playing and so he forced his friends to play too. It wasn't very fair but nobody backed out and nobody else knew about it except the boys.

So, the game began.

Heather spun first since it was her party and the bottle landed on Steve. It was ironic how perfect that went. Lennon had a bad feeling that if she had landed on one of the guys in the band, Heather would've either backed out and destroyed what little self-confidence they had or she would've looked disgusted. She hated the idea and the longer people took for their turns, the more Lennon got anxious and nervous for herself and those she cared about.

Heather kissed Steve. Jeff landed on Gareth and as a joke, he licked the side of the boy's face which lightened the mood for everyone else who was unsure about playing with the freaks. By the time it was Tina's turn, she had landed on Grant. The poor boy looked too stunned to speak and stared at her with sorrowful eyes.

However, Tina smiled and rolled her eyes. "Why not?" she shrugged and crawled across the expanse to kiss Grant with a genuine want to play by the rules. He had gone red and never quite recovered from Tina's touch but people continued to take their turns.