Chapter Text
Mr. Cooper’s chemistry class was Penelope’s favorite place, even when there were people streaming in and out of it. She preferred it empty, when there was no one around to distract her from her work. The cool black lab tables and the rows of gleaming, empty beakers felt like another world from the sad, dingy slowness of the rest of Hawkins. It reminded her that there was something more than this, something to look forward to.
She was taking her time gathering her things up after class. Penny rarely rushed. She was organized and composed, and she knew she had enough time to get to her next class with some to spare. She also knew there was someone standing behind her. She could sense eyes on her even before she turned around, but she wasn’t expecting those eyes to belong to Billy Hargrove. He was leaning against a lab table like someone had posed him, all tight jeans and slow smirk.
“Hey. You got a minute?”
“Maybe one,” she allowed cautiously. She had several minutes, but she wasn’t certain she wanted to spend them with him. They’d never had a conversation before. They certainly didn’t run in the same circles. Penny wasn’t sure she wanted to start now.
“Good. I need your help with something. You’re pretty good at this chemistry shit, right?”
“I’m pretty good at a lot of things. Why?” she said coolly. She was afraid she knew where this was going. Billy had caused a scene during library tutoring sessions earlier in the week. Penelope hadn’t been there herself, although she was a volunteer there during study halls, but she’d heard all about how he’d shouted at his tutor—a nice girl Penny knew in passing named Allison—and flipped a table. He was banned from the library for the rest of the year.
“Because I need to pass, or I can’t play basketball.” There was a thread of anger in his voice over the injustice. He wasn’t quite glaring at her, but the smirk had faded.
“And?” She wasn’t going to make it easier for him. He clearly didn’t know how to ask someone for help, and she was worried she was going to do something stupid—like say yes. She was hoping if she stretched this conversation out, he would give her a reason not to.
“And I want you to help me.” The anger was more pronounced now. Billy scratched the back of his neck, then dropped his arm and straightened up off the table. It took her a moment to realize he was uncomfortable. That made two of them, but Penelope kept all her discomfort on the inside. She’d had years to perfect it.
“Why would I do that?” But really she was saying give me a reason not to. Billy didn’t disappoint. He slammed a hand down on the lab table in front of her. Penelope didn't jump, but the look she gave him warned him to be careful.
“Listen.” He made a visible effort to rein in his temper. It had already cost him something once this week. “I need to pass chem so I can get the fuck out of this place. You're pals with Cooper, so I know you can make it happen.”
She studied his face, searching for some sign of sincerity. She knew what it was to want to leave Hawkins. Not just to want it, but to need it way down deep. It was knowing that if she stayed in this place for too long, it would kill her. Not all at once, but a piece at a time. She couldn't tell if it was the same for Billy, but there was something in his expression that made her hesitate.
He must have seen it because he reached for her arm. Penny automatically took a step back. He froze before he could touch her, then raised his hand like he was surrendering and let it drop.
“What do you want for it?”
Shit. Penelope took a slow breath. There was nothing that she wanted from the keg king of Hawkins, and the fact that he even asked it that way—like people didn’t just do kind things for other people—made her insides twist. If he had been almost anyone else, she would have offered her help freely by now, without the song and dance. She wasn’t being fair to him. Silently studying his face, she guessed she wasn’t the first person to be unfair to Billy Hargrove.
“What I want,” she repeated slowly, “Is for you to never try to intimidate me into something again. Do you understand?”
He met her gaze, the hint of a smirk touching his lips. “Can I try other ways?”
Penny smiled, realized it would give him entirely the wrong idea and made herself stop, then smiled again before she could help it.
“If you think you can.” Oh Penny, you did not just tease him. She went on before he could say anything else. “You can do whatever you need to do to blow off steam—yell, throw things, whatever—but if you lay a hand on me, then we’re finished. Okay?”
The smile faded, instantly replaced by simmering anger. She imagined she could feel the heat of it from two feet away “What kind of guy do you think I am?”
“I have no idea what kind of guy you are,” she said simply. “I’m telling you what kind of girl I am. Do we have an agreement?”
“Yeah. Whatever.” He shook the tension out of his hands, still pissed.
“Alright. Then I’ll see you after basketball practice. Mr. Cooper lets me use this room to study, so we can meet in here.”
“Every day?”
Penny tilted her head. She couldn’t tell if he was bothered by the idea or if he wanted to do this every day.
“That’s up to you. I’m here every day, so I guess… if you’re not coming, just let me know.”
“Fine. Later.” He gave her a curt nod and turned for the door.
“Hey, Billy?” she called after him, and he paused. “First lesson. When you ask someone for help, try using the words please, thank you, and will you help me?”
For a second, he looked like he was about to smile. Then the too-cool-for-everything expression returned to his face. “Fuck off. How’s that?”
Penny shook her head as he disappeared out the door and slid her bag over her shoulder. She knew she’d done the right thing, but she had a feeling she’d be kicking herself for it repeatedly over the next few weeks—assuming he lasted that long.
Perfect grades clearly weren’t enough to make a smart person, she reflected as she left the room. She had to hurry to get to her next class before the bell.
He was fifteen minutes late. Penny told herself she wasn't surprised as she worked through her calculus problems. What she hadn't told Billy was that it didn't matter if he showed. Most days, she would have been in this exact place anyway, working on her homework or an article for the school paper. Mr. Cooper had let her use the lab since her freshman year. He didn't really know anything about her homelife, but he guessed enough not to force her out after he caught her sneaking in a few times a week. The school library was too dark after lights out, while the lab had a row of windows overlooking the quad. The public library was too far to walk every day. By process of elimination, the lab had become her refuge.
His hair was still damp from the shower when he showed up. Twenty minutes. Penelope knew it couldn't have taken that long, but she looked up with a mild smile when he approached her table in the back. In class, she sat at the front like the other model students, but at night, she preferred the extra space at the back of the room.
“Hey.” She gestured for him to take a seat and he did, sliding onto the lab stool next to hers.
“Hey.” His jaw was clenched, and she could tell he wasn’t happy to be there.
“How was practice?”
He scoffed. “What do you care?”
“Why wouldn’t I?”
She could feel his eyes on her again. Billy’s gaze had a weight to it.
“You care about basketball?”
“Not at all,” she admitted, setting down her pencil. “But if we’re going to do this, we should at least be friendly.”
“You want to be my friend?” He smiled slowly, his tongue flicking out over his bottom lip.
“Think your reputation can handle it?” She quirked an eyebrow. Billy gave a low chuckle.
“I don’t usually have friends who are girls.”
“I’m shocked,” Penny said dryly. “Did you bring your book?”
She was surprised when he nodded and pulled it out of a battered backpack that she'd never seen him use before. She'd never seen him with a book before either.
He slammed it on the table between them, seeming to enjoy the noise, and flipped to the chapter they were on in class.
“Actually, I was thinking we should start here.” She flipped back toward the beginning of the book.
“Why the fuck would we do that?”
“Because chemistry builds on itself. If you don't understand the beginning concepts, you won't be able to understand the ones we're on now.”
“Are you saying I'm an idiot?” There was a thread of something dangerous in his tone. Penelope leveled him with a flat stare.
“You asked me for my help. This is what I think will help. Our next exam isn't for three more weeks. That's more than enough time to get you caught up.”
He gave a snort of disdain. “If I skip my social life and hang out with you every day.”
Penny fought down the urge to defend the space. Her space. It wouldn't be helpful right now.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said instead. “Your social life doesn’t start this early, and I have to work at eight.”
He stared at her for a moment, and then he laughed, a surprised sound that ended quickly, but killed any remaining tension. “Fine.” He waved a hand over their books. “Let's do this.”
They did. Penny talked him through the basic concepts of their first few weeks of class. Billy listened with more attentiveness than she'd thought him capable of. He didn't ask a lot of questions, but he was able to explain things back to her when she asked him to.
The time passed quickly. That wasn't a surprise for Penny, who had always found refuge in her studies, but it was a surprise that Billy Hargrove wasn't that bad when he forgot about being Billy Hargrove.
“Where do you work?” he asked, while he penciled through a practice equation.
“The all-night movie theater in town.”
He nodded like he knew of it. Penny figured everyone did. There weren’t a lot of other options for entertainment in Hawkins.
“Do you get to watch movies for free?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Usually only a little at a time though. If it's a slow night, I can catch ten minutes here or there.”
The scratching of his pencil paused, and he raised an eyebrow. “You don't watch a whole movie?”
“I could, I guess. I don't usually have time.”
“Too busy kissing Cooper's ass?”
Penny didn't think that merited a response.
“Why did you take chemistry?” she asked instead. “You could have gotten by in earth science—”
“With the rest of the morons?” He cut her off, looking angry.
“Of course not,” Penny said calmly. “I just meant that if you're not looking for a career in science, you probably don't need this. Do you know what you want to go to school for?”
“No,” he said shortly, and then he said nothing for so long that she thought the conversation was over. “My dad made me take it,” he said finally.
Penny nodded, recognizing by his tone and the angry press of his pencil into the paper that she shouldn't pursue the subject.
“Why are you in chemistry?” he said after another minute of silence had passed. “Don't they have some advanced shit for you to take?”
“Hawkins doesn't offer AP. There isn't any funding for it. Cooper is going to let me take an independent study with him next year though.”
“Smart girls are sexy.” He grinned.
“How would you know?” Penny raised an eyebrow. She knew what kind of girls he hung out with. He laughed a slow, soft chuckle.
“I’m looking at one, aren’t I?”
Billy’s eyes traced over her, and she felt it almost like he’d used his hands. It was that sort of look. She wasn’t sure whether she should feel flattered or uncomfortable, but her heart raced either way.
“I’m going to be sick,” she muttered instead. Penelope never let anyone think they’d gotten to her if she could help it.
He laughed again, that short, surprised laugh that she was beginning to suspect was his real laugh. She liked it more than the contrived, sexy one.
“You want me to stop flirting with you?”
“I want you to work through that problem.” She tilted her head at his notebook, and he put his pencil dutifully back to the paper.
“Good.” She nodded when he’d gotten the right answer, and he looked faintly surprised.
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“Which one?” She knew which one, and Billy’s look said he knew it too, but he smiled and repeated himself.
“Do you want me to stop flirting with you?”
“I don’t think you could if you tried,” she said honestly.
“Oh, I could.” He rested his arm on the table and leaned toward her. “Most girls at this school would love to have me flirt with them.”
Penny leaned back a little so he wasn’t quite so much in her space.
“I know. That’s part of the problem, actually. I’d be more flattered if I thought you hadn’t said the same thing to every girl in Hawkins.”
“Every girl but one,” he breathed. He leaned closer, and short of getting up and moving away, Penny had nowhere else to go.
“Why don’t we just keep this professional.” She nudged the book toward him. “Tell me what sublimation is again?”
He sighed, but he moved back to his own side of the table without complaint. It was just a game to him, getting her to admit he had an effect on her. He’d probably have an effect on a houseplant if he put his mind to it.
“I don’t remember. Something changing into something else?”
“Solid into gas.” She nodded.
“Right. Without being a liquid first,” he said.
“Exactly.” Penny smiled. “You’re getting it.”
Billy said nothing, because she was the first person to think so. Oh, his teachers and his father expected him to do well. In part, he thought, just to punish him when he didn’t, but nobody honestly thought he could do this. Not even Billy.
The thought sent a strange kind of unease through him, and he did as she asked for the rest of the evening and kept things professional. He’d thought it would be easier if he actually liked this girl. It would make the time go faster, make the act of studying not quite so torturous. But now, he wasn’t sure he wanted to like her. It would just make it that much harder when she walked away.