CHAPTER FIVE
THE CALL

There was no reason to expect Delilah the next morning and so Jess walked herself to the front of the school. The boisterous blonde was probably nursing an awful hangover and sipping on juice mixed with crushed up aspirin.

And that's precisely why Jess unleashed a banshee-like scream when Delilah crept up on her.

"What the hell? I thought you'd be home," Jess breathed out, laughing as she tried to regain composure. She began walking again as Delilah fell into step with her on their journey toward the building.

"Nah, my favorite classes are today. Ceramics, photography and my free period." Delilah glanced down at her arm, scrubbing relentlessly at a speck of dry blood until her skin peeled. "Why in the world would I miss those?"

"I dunno, maybe because you were so buzzed last night that you passed out." Jess shook her head and shrugged. The sound of skin being rubbed to the point of no return was enough to make her nauseous. "Do you have to be so aggressive?"

"Yes, Jessica, I do. I don't want to be labeled as the girl who cuts herself," Delilah grumbled. Appalled by her statement, Jess simply stared at her, not willing to be entertained.

"But you don't?"

"Exactly," Delilah said as she raised her eyebrows knowingly. "And to answer you, I wasn't black-out drunk. I was sleeping, there's a difference."

"So..." Jess began, taking in as much air as she could to get her nerves to dissipate. There was no way she could bring up this topic without blushing. "You remember kissing Billy?"

An unrestrained laugh erupted from the pit of Delilah's bosom. Her hand flew to her chest, right above her lungs that were now wheezing for air. "Oh God, Jessica. You're such an open fucking book, I swear."

Jess scrunched her nose and her forehead crinkled. "I'm serious!"

"I know," Delilah nodded as she recovered from her fit of giggles. "If you're worried about me... don't be. It was a drunken, sleepy mistake."

"I'm not worried," Jess said defensively.

"Yeah, okay, sure."

"Seriously..."

"Okay!"

"Okay..." Jess watched Delilah to see if she was bluffing. The thumping of her heart calmed once she saw that Delilah was indeed telling the truth. "So, you seem chirpy this morning. How are you not hungover?"

Delilah ran a hand over her scalp and down her head. Her blonde tresses were messy, yet each strand seemed to have fallen in exactly the right place.. At long last, they arrived at the school doors and stepped inside, heading straight away toward each other's lockers.

"I didn't even down one drink last night," Jess chimed in before she could respond. "I was too busy playing babysitter. First Nancy, then you- "

"Woah, Nancy?" Delilah stopped her mid-sentence. They stood in front of Jess's locker, 271. The dial turned easily as Jess stopped it at each number perfectly.

"Yeah, she and Steve got into a fight. I was looking for you and I opened the door to the bathroom and- "

"Gross!" Delilah stuck her tongue out and made a gagging noise.

"- they were fighting!"

"No way!" Closing the locker door harshly, Jess nodded and started to walk Delilah to her locker on the other side of the hall.

"Yeah, Steve left and I had to carry Nancy out until Jonathan appeared."

"Jonathan was there?" Delilah's eyes widened in awe.

"Only for a second; he took Nancy home."

"Damn..." Jess nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but don't mention this to Steve." She pointed a warning finger at Delilah. "He's probably super sensitive about it."

"Oh, please. The only time he ever spoke to me was when he asked for a pencil in P.E last year. In P.E, Jessica." Delilah's short blonde hair whipped Jess in the face as she turned to her locker. "He's a weird kid."

"You're one to talk." Jess remarked, struggling to remove strands of blonde hair out of her mouth. "And speaking of P.E, I should get to that."

-

The sound of basketballs bouncing against the polished hardwood floor coupled with the neverending squeaky sneakers made it impossible for Jess to concentrate on her Stats homework. At some point, she realized that her attempts to focus were futile and threw down the textbook, watching the game instead.

It was at that moment that Billy looked up into the stands and saw Jess without her nose in a book.

On the court, Steve was dominating as he ensured Billy could barely reach the ball, let alone steal it. Jess watched intently as it appeared that Billy was speaking to Steve. That was all the time he needed to make his move. He pounced and the ball was no longer under Steve's control. Steve's body hit the ground and Billy looked all too graceful as he skipped over him.

He made an impressive move as he jumped high into the air and swung the ball underneath his leg, dunking it into the basket. Jess smirked a bit and crossed her arms, impressed by his athleticism all the while knowing she'd never give him credit.

"Woo!" Billy jeered.

"The next Sam Bowie, everyone!" Jess called out from the stands, clapping loudly in a sarcastic manner. Billy gave her a tired one arm salute and turned back to Steve. The grin on Billy's face was taunting as he was in no way hiding his victory.

"Steve!" The shrill of Nancy Wheeler's voice called out to the King of Hawkins High. Steve left the court and followed Nancy out.

"Hey, Killer," Billy's gruff voice pulled Jess's attention to him. "What'd you say we leave after school and take a drive?"

Biting the inside of her lip to keep herself from smiling, Jess shook her head. "I have to get home after school, sorry."

"Couldn't you get home later?" Billy prodded. She smiled at him softly but shook her head no once more.

"Who would I be if I went with you on the second day you're here?" Jess asked him with reluctance. Billy gave her a quick shrug.

"My girl?"

A laugh bubbled up within her and despite utilizing every ounce of strength she possessed, it spilled from her lips. Jess doubled over in laughter, holding her stomach as she tried to calm down.

"Billy, are you a hidden romantic?"

"Fuck no." Billy shook his head vigorously.

The coach on the side of the gym called out to him. "Hey, Hargrove! Back on the court!"

Jess glanced at the coach whose face was contorted in concentration as he watched over every student. She shook her head, looking back at Billy who was still adamant for an answer. "There's a chance you may be running with the wrong group, Hargrove."

Billy smirked; it was the kind of smile that didn't show his teeth but it was just as genuine. He turned around smoothly, heading in the other direction. "Catch you later, Killer."

"Don't hold your breath!" Jess called out to him. He never did give a true response. Uneasiness settled at the pit of her stomach and she couldn't do anything about it.

-

"So now that Nancy is freed from the chain that we know as Steve," Delilah drawled, "You think that Jonathan will make a pass at her?"

"First off, from what I've heard, Steve is freed from the chain known as Nancy," Jess corrected. "And secondly, Jonathan is gonna be Jonathan about it. He'll most likely wait until it's too late again."

"I'll kill him if he does," Delilah threatened, holding up a pair of scissors.

"Woah- " Jess grabbed Delilah's wrist and guided her fist down. "Where did you get those?"

"Mrs. Kameyer's classroom. She really needs to lock it during lunch." She threw the scissors into the desolate grass field near the parking lot.

"She shouldn't have to if people like you acted like normal teenagers."

"What's the fun in that?" Jess laughed and kicked at a rock on the ground. With a heavy sigh, she looked up at the students mulling around the parking lot.

"Jesus, why is it so fucking quiet?" Delilah grumbled, following Jess' gaze. The duo didn't handle silence too well. It was usually a sign that the time that they had wasted together was all spent up. A very familiar feeling of boredom swept over Jess and she decided to do something about it.

She flung herself onto the grass and landed on the padded surface with a groan. Delilah stared at her motionless figure, eyes reflecting no emotion. Without uttering a word, she pivoted on her foot and flopped down beside her.

"Are we boring?" Delilah questioned. Jess concentrated her eyes on the sky and the clouds passing by on the chilly November day.

"Nah. Just now you stole scissors from Mrs. Kameyer." Delilah turned her head and eyeballed Jess who seemed dead serious.

"That shit's fucking boring." The blonde sat up and swayed a bit as the blood rushed out of her head. "We need to do something batshit crazy. So crazy that..."

"That we may get in big trouble for." Jess sat up and squinted against the sun to see Delilah's delirious smile.

"How do you feel about a party?" Delilah smirked in a way that would make any other person terrified.

"Fuck yes!" Jess giggled noisily. The duo high-fived each other and fell back onto their elbows as they surveyed the lunch scene.

"Oh, hey, look!" Delilah pointed to a couple talking on the roof of a car. "It's Jonathan and Nancy. Do you think...?"

"I don't know, maybe!" Jess's grin spread from ear to ear. Finally, Jonathan had a chance. It was pure agony watching him pine over the girl for all of the three months she'd known him.

"Fucking finally." Delilah had the habit of being overly dramatic and a bit... dirty-mouthed. This amused Jess most of the time and made their time together ultimately pleasant. Jess enjoyed crude humor and cursing at anything and everyone when she had the chance. They were like middle school kids learning how to cuss for the first time and it was great.

It was silent for a moment, but this time it was a good quiet. Knowing that they were going to break a few rules later, the pair felt okay with being soundless. But then something ruined their bubble of bliss.

"Delilah Mason to the front office, please. Delilah Mason to the front office."

"What the fuck could that be?" Delilah groaned as she got up from the grass.

"Want me to walk with you?" Jess asked as she patted dirt and grass off of her ass.

"Whatever," Delilah mumbled as she trudged to the front of the school. Jess ran to catch up with her, not missing the bemused expression on her face.

"Is Delilah Mason scared?"

"Don't be fucking stupid, Jessica. I'm not scared of anything." The air surrounding Delilah felt uneasy, unbalanced almost. Jess knew that it was a lie and deep down lurked certain fears in Delilah's stony heart.

"You know, I think I'm good." Delilah nodded as she stopped in the middle of the hallway. "You don't have to walk me further."

"Delilah?"

"I'm serious, Jess. Thank you, but I can handle whatever it is myself." Judging by the look on Delilah's face Jess had no other choice but to nod and turn around.

Walking out of the school only made Jess's chest feel heavier. Since the moment she met Delilah, they were attached at the hip. They were magnets and the forces between them seemed to have been holding strong. They did everything with each other. Hell, they even discussed burying a body together.

What was important enough to draw her partner in crime away?

"Hey, Killer." A familiar voice greeted her once she opened the glass doors. Her eyes were met with the sight of none other than Billy Hargrove, standing alone as he leaned against the side of the building.

"What happened? Wandered away from your possé?" Jess didn't hesitate to throw him an insult - they took no time to cook up - but he thought nothing of it.

"Nah, I saw you lookin' sad."

"I'm not sad." Jess crossed her arms and kicked at a dead patch of grass and watched as the wind took hold of it soon after.

"Your face is telling me differently."

"So, what? You're a mind-reader now?" Jess scoffed and turned her head towards the wind so that it would blow her hair back and out of her face.

"Jesus, why do I even try talking to you?" Billy walked away, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it. Jess shook her head and flipped him off behind his back.

"Jessica!" Delilah bursted through the glass doors and towards the brunette.

"What? What happened?" Jess took hold of her arms and shook her as if answers would pop right out that way.

"I need your car," Delilah gasped for air. "Please."

"Why?" Jess leaned away unconsciously.

"Jessica, dammit! I need it!" Delilah held her palm out for Jess to put her keys in.

"Can you drive?" Jess asked. She extended her arm toward her outstretched hand and Delilah snatched them right away.

"Sorry about this, I'll come back! Stay here." Delilah ran towards the parked car and peeled out of the parking lot. She left a cloud of dust in her wake as the car screeched down the street. All of the students watched Delilah leave, feigning interest for a second, before returning to their lunches.

Jess was left in front of the school with no car, no friend, nothing.

-

Jess sat on the Hawkins High sign with her leg dangling off aimlessly. She was working on her Statistics homework that she didn't get to earlier.

Everyone had pretty much left the school by then. School got out at 2:30 but it was now sometime around 4:45. There were a few kids around but they were mostly walking home or getting picked up.

She saw Billy leave with a redhead in her class. Go figure. Billy asked her and she said no, but this girl was probably waiting for this moment ever since Billy got to school.

Jess needed to remind herself that she said no, so Billy had every right to ask another girl. But the pain still stung.

Some of the after school clubs like Student Council and AV were in session but Jess wasn't part of those so she was alone on the sign.

She kept on telling herself that Delilah was coming back. Delilah will show up soon. It's been almost 4 and a half hours and still no Delilah.

Jess was in the deepest depths of concentration when the squeal of tires pulled her out of it. She watched as a blue '76 Camaro sped towards the school.

Billy was driving the car that Jess had spotted. He had just got done with the redhead chick that he didn't remember the name of when he drove past the high school.

It was Jess that had caught his eye. She was sitting alone on the Hawkins High School sign. Didn't she say she needed to get home earlier? What the hell is she doing at the high school after hours?

Swallowing his pride and listening to his conscience, Billy switched gears and turned sharply into the high school parking lot.

Jess watched the blue Camaro sped down the lane that crosses her path. With a small sense of inquisitivity, Jess let a small smirk spread against her lips.

The car stopped right in front of the sign and the driver's seat was facing Jess. The window rolled down to reveal Billy looking straight ahead in his aviator sunglasses. Music flowed out of the car to meet Jess's ears.

"So you turn me down to stay at school?" Bill finally spoke and he turned to look at the brunette who was frozen in place.

"You seemed to cope well." Jess shrugged and silently placed the paper she was working on in the nook of the book.

"It was over pretty quick," Billy threw his burnt down cigarette out of the window. "Besides, I got bored."

This was one of the many reasons why Jess didn't want to go with Billy. What if he got bored of her easily? What if she was just another notch on his belt? Another trophy to win over?

"Two-hundred points if you bang the crazy," Jess mumbled to herself.

"What?" Billy called out.

"Nothing."

"Sure," Billy nodded. He then stopped his music to speak. "Come on, I'll take you home."

"I don't wanna go home."

"Well then, where do you want to go?" Jess couldn't see his eyes but she knew Billy was already annoyed with himself for stopping for her but she wanted to see how far she could push him.

"I dunno," Jess shrugged slightly. "Where are you going?"

"Home," Billy's voice sounded tight at this. Jess didn't pick that detail up, though.

Jess nodded "Sounds good."

Billy gave her a look when she said that. "You want to go to my home?"

"No," Jess hopped off of the sign and collected her things. "Just take me home."

"Alright," Billy shifted the gear into third once she got into the car. She slid the seat belt carefully over her torso as Billy sped out of the parking lot.

Billy was going fast. A little too fast for Jess's liking. The trees blurred together into one green blob and the sharp turn was coming up quickly.

"Billy, can you slow down?" Jess squeaked. Billy didn't hear her. Her throat suddenly contracted and her breathing got cut off. It felt as if a hand grabbed her neck, like that night on Halloween.

"Something is choking me... " Jess gasped. She clawed at her neck for the invisible hand to let go, but it kept on crushing her. Her mind felt invaded and suddenly, it went blank.

"Jess?" Billy turned to see what was going on. He slowed down immediately when he saw that she was struggling.

"Jess, what's wrong?" Billy yelled. He grabbed her shoulder with one hand and with the other steered them over to the side of the road. Once he stopped, he took hold of her with both hands and faced her to him.

The girl was shaking in his hands. Her neck slowly turned a sickly shade of purple as did her face. Jess was caught in a powerful vice grip; everytime she tried to breathe it seemed to get tighter.

"Jess!" Billy's face pallored. He didn't know what to do with a seizing girl!

Jess suddenly stopped seizing and sat straight up. Her back was as stiff as a board and she grabbed Billy's denim collar.

"Billy..." she whispered. Something inside Jess assumed complete control over her body, taking advantage of all of her senses. It broke through the walls of her mind with ease and directed its gaze on Billy.

"Jess?" Billy's whisper fell onto deaf ears as she suddenly fell limp and her eyes fluttered shut, unconscious body slumped over in the passenger's seat of the Camaro.

-

[EDITED]

a/n sorry for the filler! again, big thanks to awesomexgurl for your immense help on this chapter. you are amazing, i love you girl!