#a day in the byers hopper hargrove household

[harringroveera]

That was one hell of a gummy, Argyle

[lizard-ratt]

Just a quick fic that's been rattling around my drafts. I might continue this, I might not. If you find any typos, no you didn't.

Anyway, enjoy!

WC: 1,608

Ellie remembered when she saw him. The day she came back from the city, from her time with Kali. Memories slotted back into place like a missing puzzle piece. It wasn’t a sudden flood of information, just a soft recognition.

She knew what he had done, too. He looked at her, and there was familiarity, a fondness that would remain no matter what, but those memories– what created that warmth– had vanished. She held no anger toward him for it, no bitterness, but it was still lonely. She wondered what was so bad that he would erase his own memories. She didn’t know if she wanted to know.

She still kept a close eye on him, there in the Byers’ living room, still remaining as close as possible. He told her his new name. Steve Harrington. It suited him as well as any name he had told her before. Like a coat to slip on and off, to wear for protection. He stayed close to her, too, but it was clear he had no idea why. He wanted to know, though. He wanted to figure out what that thread between the two of them meant. She worried that he would seek out answers.

She worried that he wouldn’t.

The internal debate was a hefty one, for Ellie. On one hand, she wanted her brother back. She wanted the soft smiles, the warm hugs, the protection. She wanted Seven. On the other hand, she didn’t want to hurt him, and if remembering everything hurt, she didn’t know if she wanted him to remember.

Another major problem arose in the form of the bond between herself and her siblings and her siblings and each other. It had disappeared, but the second they made eye contact, it was back. A single string between Steve Harrington and Jane Eleanor Hopper. He felt it, too. 

Two days after that, after she shut the gate, after Steve got a grade three concussion fighting Billy Hargrove, after they went into the tunnels anyway in order to create a distraction, she felt it. A tug down the bond, curious and careful. Not harsh, just a little nudge. After much consideration, she tugged back.

That weekend, with permission, the Party went over to the Harrington Household and El got to see Steve in person again. She stayed close to him again, and he made special care to ask her how she was doing, what she’d been up to, so on and so forth. The Party noticed the warmth that was there, but clearly didn’t even know what to ask, so they said nothing. 

Even though he didn’t remember her, Ellie liked being with her brother again.

He kept a close eye on her, and he wore his thinking face, eyebrows pinched, lips tight. Still she said nothing. The question stayed in her mind. Tell him or don’t tell him? Tell him or don’t tell him?

Was she lying to him by not telling him? Was she protecting him? At what point did information become something that someone needed? What if something bad happened? What if they needed his abilities? Back and forth, back and forth. She needed to tell someone, get it out of her head, but what if they told Steve? After the sleepover, back at the cabin, Ellie sat down to talk to Hopper.

“I know something important,” she started with. “I know something about someone that they do not.”

Hopper considered the words. “Are they in danger?”

She swallowed. “They are like me. Like Kali. They do not remember.”

“Put yourself in their shoes,” Hopper said. “If you were them, would you want to remember?”

Ellie thought about it. “I do not know.”

“Do you want them to remember?”

“Yes.” She wanted her brother back. More than that, she wanted someone to understand, to be there and hold her hand and talk her through all that she didn’t know. Someone who knew where the gaps were in her understanding of Outside. She wanted what she was afraid she couldn’t have.

Hopper took a breath, running his hand down his face. “Would it… hurt them more to remember than if they stayed ignorant?”

She didn’t know the answer to that. “He is curious,” she said instead. “He recognizes me. He is looking. I am afraid he will find what he is searching for.”

“And you’re afraid that he won’t.” It wasn’t a question. Hopper just gave her a knowing look.

��Yes.”

He nodded. “I think, if he asks for help, you help him. If he decides he doesn’t want to know? You let him forget.”

For some reason, something sank in her chest. Despite her own best interest, despite what Hopper had just said, she gave her bond to Steve a tug. He hesitated, but he tugged back.

“Okay.”

Hopper worked his jaw. “Are you going to tell me who it is?”

“No.”

Hopper nodded, and they moved on to lighter topics. She kept part of her attention on the tether to see if Steve would do anything else.

He didn’t.

It took Steve a week after that to approach Hopper to ask to talk to Ellie. Ellie knew that Hopper suspected pretty heavily, based on the look he gave her as he left them in the cabin after asking way too few questions. They sat across from each other at the table, and she waited for him to ask.

He stared at her for a while, eyebrows pinched, mouth tight, and then tugged on the tether. She tugged back.

“That’s you.” 

“Yes.”

“Why can I…” another tug. She tugged back. “That! Why… Why can I feel that?”

The point of no return, the precipice. If she answered his question, she could be hurting him. She could be helping him. “Do you want to know?”

He must have seen it on her face, or heard it in her voice, because he considered it. “I have a theory, but I don’t know how that theory would work or how… how any of it would make sense. It’s dumb and I- I just need help here and I think you can help me.”

“I can.” She took a breath. “What is your theory?”

He slumped. “Please don’t judge.”

“I will not.”

“I thought about it a lot, and I thought about my past.” He pulled up his sleeve and revealed his wrist, where his tattoo would be. Instead, there was a painful looking burn scar. “I tried to think about what happened, and it felt off. Like, the memory was wrong. Is there any way to, like, have a fake memory? Like, something plasticy and off to cover up… No, it’s dumb, I’m sorry, I’m hearing it and-”

“Yes.”

He froze up, completely stiff. “And is there a way to tell what’s fake and what’s real? Like do the memories feel different?”

“For you? Yes. For others? No.”

His eyebrows drew together, thinking. “Why would I be able to tell?” Something in his voice told her he already knew. 

“Yes. Why?”

He thought there, for a long while, and Ellie waited, patient. He stared at the table, picking at his nails, working his jaw, fiddling with his hair. If Ellie were to guess, she would say that he was looking through his memories and discerning real vs. fake. He didn’t like what he found.

“You know me.” A non-question, more sure of himself that time. His eyes bore into Ellie, searching. 

“Yes.”

“I know you. Somewhere in here.” He pointed to his head, avoiding eye contact. 

“Yes.”

“Do you want me to remember?” Very fitting, that Seven would go after her wants before his own. “Can I remember?”

Ellie hesitated. “You can remember, if you want to.”

His eyes kept burning into her. “Do you want me to remember?”

She swallowed, uncomfortable. If she answered the question, he would do whatever he could to do what she wanted, even at the cost of his own happiness. If she didn’t answer, he would keep pushing until she did. 

Decisions, decisions.

“It is not nice.”

Seven Steve nodded. “That’s still not answering my question.”

“... Yes.”

And that was that, the decision was made for him. Would she regret that? Probably. She just couldn’t stand the look that he kept giving her. “Okay. I’m going to need help, I think. Does it- does it work like your abilities? Like, how…?”

“We will try.”

She took him to the living room and sat him down on the floor in front of the TV. “Static helps. So does a blindfold.” 

He nodded, taking in the familiarly new information. She grabbed the blindfold from her room, then the box of tissues and she tried not to seem too eager. Anticipation buzzed under her skin, though. She tugged at the bond with Kali, who responded immediately. She sent down what she could of what she felt, hoping it transferred. Excitement, anticipation, good, good, good. Sibling. Found. 

Nothing too complex, nothing too big, just enough. Kali sent anticipation back in turn. 

She sat down in front of Steve, close enough that their knees touched.

“What do fake memories feel like?” she asked. That is the part she never learned. How her siblings' abilities worked. She just knew what they could do. She wanted to know.

He chewed on the inside of his cheek, frowning. “It’s- it’s hard to explain. Fake. Plasticy, like- like a sticker, covering something.”

“Peel the sticker.” She stood and rounded behind Steve, wrapped the blindfold around his face, then she turned the tv on for static. Just like the others did for her, she leaned Steve into her lap and waited.

[melancholyink]

SNOW BALL CHAUFFEURS.

» pairing // steve harrington x (hopefully) gn!reader

» pov // second person

» word count // 1.2k

» tw & cw // swearing, short billy hargrove mention, not beta'd LOL

» ao3 link // here

» note // first time cross-posting!!! if you enjoyed this little oneshot, think about giving me a shout out on ao3 too ♡

" Something in the air changed, it was more relaxed than it had been when you first climbed into the car tonight. It was more relaxed than any time you had interacted with Steve before.

Dare you say it��it was nice. "

With every passing day, Hawkins gets colder.

The temperature drops and along comes the cheery holiday spirits and the hope for snow, but each cold breeze just sends shivers down your spine and brings you back to the junkyard full of demodogs. Back to fighting for your life and to protecting the kids that were with you. You look back to your car knowing there was a well-used axe and newly stocked first aid kit hidden under blankets in the back of your trunk--you knew better this time around, you had to be prepared… for anything.

You turn away from your car and knock three times on the front door of the Hargrove/Mayfield household, and smile at the crooked poinsettia wreath that hangs in front of you before quickly returning your hand to the pockets of your jacket.

The door opens and Billy stands in front of you, the bruises from his fight with Steve long healed by now, but the bruise on his neck--passed off as a hickey, surely--from the syringe of anesthesia his own step sister had plunged in to him was still visible, now yellowing.

He takes a drag of the half-smoked cigarette in his hand, "See something you like?"

You frown, unsure if Billy even knew about the Snow Ball. Or if Max even wanted him to know, "I'm here to pick up Max."

Billy rolls his eyes, "Whatever."

***

"Thanks again for the ride," Max smiles as she gets out of your car.

"Of course," you smile back, "I'm taking you home too, so just look out for me when you're ready to leave." She nods before heading in to the school.

You pull in to one of the many empty parking spots; most parents just dropping their kids off and waiting for a phone call to come back and pick them up. Looking across the lot, you see Hopper and Joyce, even Steve; and you know both Jonathan and Nancy are inside, but it still didn't feel right to leave. What if something happened?

Picking at the polish on your nails, you start to think about the junkyard. How nervous--no, terrified you were for Dustin, Lucas, and Max's safety as you got them in the old school bus. How you had stood your ground when Steve tried to get you in too, but you weren't going to let him fight those demodogs alone. You had called him a fucking idiot.

You think about the Byers' house. A place that had been a safe haven, turned in to a madhouse. How tightly your hands had gripped the axe as your heart raced and you wondered if you were going to die that night. How you had screamed as Billy threw punch after punch at Steve, trying to pull them apart.

You shake your head, trying to stop the catastrophic thinking.

Grabbing your keys you slam your door open and closed, hands again finding their home in your jacket pockets, practically running across the parking lot to Steve's BMW and knocking softly at his passenger side window.

Steve is caught off guard, but still rolls down a window, "What?"

"Let me in."

His face doesn't change at your answer, and he repeats himself, "What?"

You sigh, "Just unlock your door and let me in, Harrington."

He shakes his head, but complies and reaches over to unlock your door; you quickly get in.

The prominent purple bruises from his fight with Billy are gone, save for a few along his jaw that were still fading to match his skin tone. And all of the cuts had scabbed and healed, leaving only a ghost of a scar through his top lip. You feel a small twinge of guilt in the pit of your stomach, you haven't spoken to him since that night at the Byers', you haven't bothered to check on him after the beating he took from Billy.

You give him a small smile, "It looks a lot better."

"Yeah, it’s nice being able to see out of both eyes again." he laughs, "What're you even doing here?"

"I drove Max, you?"

"Dustin."

You nod, "Oh, right," you remember, "he was saying something about you giving him--" you hold up air quotes and laugh, "--'hair secrets' the last time I saw him."

"Last time you saw him?" Steve raises an eyebrow, but the small wince from the movement wasn't lost on you.

"Ever since you stole my title as best baby sitter ever, I've been working part time at the library."

"Sorry about that," he frowns.

"Don't be," you smile and shake your head, "the kids love you."

Hearing that puts a smile on his face, one different from any you had seen from him before. But, it wasn’t like you were close, so what would you know?

An uncomfortable silence takes over the car. The sounds of your fidgeting seem amplified, making you too stiff to find a comfortable sitting position to be in.

Steve sighs, “This is weird, isn’t it? Us hanging out.”

“A little.”

“You would think now that we’ve almost died together—“

“Twice.”

“Now that we’ve almost died together twice, ” he amends, “That we could at least sit together in a comfortable silence. We did it in what? Biology?”

You’re surprised he remembers the sophomore year class you shared, “The biology class you slept through?”

“What?” He shrugs, “It was first period! I’m not a morning person!”

The tension in the air lightens as you both genuinely laugh, what feels like the first light-hearted moment you’ve had in a while.

“You’ve changed since then, though.” You twist in the passenger seat, moving to face Steve.

“I have?” he sounds nervous, unsure.

You nod.

“Good change or bad change?”

“Definitely good.” You turn your head, watching as a few snowflakes start to fall from the night sky, “You were kind of a douchebag.”

Steve doesn’t know whether to laugh or to groan, and does a weird combination of the two, “Yeah I know,” he says with a twinge of embarrassment. “It all seems so long ago.” He leans his head backwards, closing his eyes.

You hum in agreement.

There’s a loud bang, and you both startle with your heads whipping towards the sound. A small group of kids laugh, not having meant to push the door to exit the school’s gymnasium so hard and causing it to slam against the brick of the wall behind it.

You glance at each other with a sigh relief--just kids having a nice time.

It takes a few minutes for your heart to stop racing and you wouldn’t be surprised if Steve’s heart was racing too.

“Hey,” you begin, “I’m sorry I never called to see how you were doing after, well, you know...” You’re chewing your lip and keeping your eyes focused on your lap, “I should have.”

“Oh, it’s no biggie,” he brushes it off, “We’ve all got shit going on, it’s fine.”

“No, it’s really not,” you frown, your eyebrows knitting together, “I should’ve been a better friend.”

Steve turns his focus on you, wholly this time, "Friends?" he asks.

“Yeah, we almost died together—“

“Twice.”

You smirk, “We’ve almost died together twice now," you turn to match his gaze, focusing on him, "I think that makes us friends, Steve.”

Something in the air changed, it was more relaxed than it had been when you first climbed in to the car tonight. It was more relaxed than any time you had interacted with Steve before.

Dare you say it—it was nice.

“Yeah, friends.”

[inthelonelycoolbeforedawn]

Harringrove April Days 3, 7, & 22: Spring Break, Daisychain, & Yellow

Spring break was Billy's favorite school holiday.

He didn't like winter vacation because that meant Christmas, and Christmas meant mean Grandma Hargrove, and pretending not to be bored listening to all the old people talk, and lots of yelling and his mom crying afterwards.

Summer was okay, because as long as his chores were done he got to play with his friends and spend more time at the beach.

But spring break was the best, because he got to spend time alone with his mom while his dad was at work.

Sometimes they'd stay home. They'd go to the park a few blocks away, then she'd read him his favorite stories and play toy cars and teach him how to make cookies.

Sometimes they'd go to the beach to swim and walk along the sand, looking for shells or rocks or sea creatures. When he started learning to surf, she'd watch, cheering him on. They'd usually stop for ice cream on the way home.

Sometimes they'd go for walks. She would point out the plants and flowers they passed in neighbors' gardens or along the hiking trails. Once they found a meadow full of wildflowers and she taught Billy how to make daisy chains. She smiled when he proudly set the lopsided daisy crown he'd made all by himself on her head, and she wore it the whole time they sat there watching clouds drift lazily across the sky.

No matter what they did it was nice, and every year Billy looked forward to spring break.

Until the day Neil came home early and found them in the yard, laughing as they blew on dandelion puffballs and making wishes on the tiny, feathery seeds.

"Scattering goddamn weeds everywhere," he shouted. "Do you know how hard I work to keep this lawn looking nice?"

Billy snuck off to his room but he could still hear his dad yelling about goddamn weeds and turning the boy into a pussy with that goddamn hippie shit.

His mom stopped wishing on dandelions after that.

And Billy stopped looking forward to spring break.

*

They moved when Neil married Susan. This house was bigger but had no yard, just a cracked concrete driveway with an old basketball hoop at the end.

Billy spent hours out there, practicing. Neil didn't mind, because real men were supposed to be interested in sports and cars and girls. And he was good at basketball. Liked it even. It was better than baseball at least.

He hated the dandelions that sprang up in the cracks though.

Max ran over them with her skateboard, not even noticing. But Billy noticed every time another little yellow flower popped up, and made sure to stomp on them when he ran and jumped for the net.

Part of him ached every time he squished one. He wondered if they felt pain, if they knew what it was like to be crushed and smothered, yanked up and thrown away.

But a bigger, louder part of his brain sneered that those kinds of thoughts were for faggots and pussies, and he wasn't a faggot or a pussy.

So he smothered those thoughts, crushing them down like his feet crushed the dandelions.

*

They had a bigger yard in Hawkins, and Neil made it clear that Billy was old enough now to take responsibility for keeping the yard maintained. He discovered he hated shovelling snow, longing for sunny skies and ocean waves as he cleared the walkways and the driveway. But slowly the snow melted, and his next task was raking up all the dead grass and leaves, tidying up last fall's debris to make sure the lawn looked good for summer.

When the first dandelions poked up through the grass, little bits of sunshine dotting the lawn to announce the coming of spring, Billy went out with the weedkiller.

He sprayed the poison over the plants, soaking them in it, making sure not a single one survived.

At the dinner table that night, he blamed his red-rimmed eyes and hoarse voice on the chemical fumes. Luckily Neil believed him.

*

Spring turned to summer, and suddenly everything he ever knew was uprooted.

It was October when they finally released him from the hospital. By then the world was gray again, the plants and trees and flowers dying off for the long Indiana winter.

There were a few bright spots though.

He was staying at Joyce Byers' house. It was crowded, since Hopper and El had moved in too. But he shared a room with Jonathan, who was a surprisingly understanding roommate and didn't even expect him to talk if he didn't want to.

He passed the days doing his exercises and whatever household chores he could manage. He spent time with El and Will, and with Max, who visited as often as she could.

And sometimes Steve came over.

The entire group had formed deep, lasting friendships as they all healed together, and Billy still couldn't quite believe he was part of that group now. But he'd apologized, and meant it, and they were willing to give him a chance.

At first he'd just join in when Steve and Robin brought the rest of the kids for movie nights. Then they'd started hanging out without the kids, occasionally going to Steve's house, or to a movie, or the diner. Jonathan and Nancy had even come along a few times.

But, as winter turned to spring, there'd been a few times when it ended up being just Steve and Billy. And the more time Billy spent with Steve, the more he realized he couldn't deny his feelings anymore.

He was in love with Steve. And he had to tell him. It might cost him everything - Steve himself, all the people who'd taken him in and given him a home, who he'd begun to trust and care about - but he couldn't keep lying to himself or anyone else.

He got his chance when Steve came over on an unseasonably warm April day. Hopper and Joyce were at work and the kids were at school, so they had the house to themselves.

"Hi," Steve said when Billy answered the door. "I'm off today so I thought we could, um. Hang out. If you want. It's such a nice day, it'd be a shame to waste it, right?"

"Yeah," Billy said. "You want to sit outside for a bit?"

"Yeah, okay," Steve said.

With his sunny smile and a yellow T-shirt Billy had never seen him in, he looked like a personification of spring. He was beautiful.

Billy pulled the door closed and they settled onto the old porch swing that creaked when it rocked. Steve's arm bumped Billy's, and their thighs were almost touching.

They rocked on the swing slowly, not talking.

And then Steve spoke.

"They're kind of pretty," he said.

Startled, Billy turned to him. "What?"

"The dandelions." Steve gestured towards the Byers' front lawn, dotted with the little yellow flowers, some already gone to seed. He chuckled. "I know most people think they're weeds - my parents hate them - but I don't know. I kind of like them."

"Me too," Billy blurted, before he could stop himself. He looked down. "My mom - she always said if you blew on the seeds and made a wish it would come true."

"Yeah?"

Steve's voice was soft. Billy was too scared to look at him.

"Yeah."

"Well, my grandma said if you blow on a dandelion and all the seeds come off, the person you love loves you back."

Billy tried to laugh. It came out as more of a wheeze.

"Maybe they're both right," Steve said. "Your mom and my grandma."

"Maybe," Billy said quietly.

"Do you want to, uh - ?" Steve took a deep breath, lacing his fingers together, then untwining them and laying his hands flat on his thighs. "Find out?"

"Okay," Billy whispered.

They stood up in unison and walked down to the grass. They both plucked a dandelion and faced the road.

Billy closed his eyes and blew as hard as he could. He hesitated before opening his eyes, almost afraid of what he'd see.

He was holding an empty dandelion stalk that matched Steve's, the little white seeds mingling, dancing away on the breeze.

"Did your wish come true?" Steve asked softly.

Billy kissed him in response, just a brief, tentative touch of his lips to Steve's. He drew back immediately, expecting Steve to scrunch his face up in disgust, shove him away, and run.

Instead Steve took his hand and drew him in for another, longer kiss.

Billy didn't even realize he was crying until they parted and Steve's thumb was on his cheek, gently wiping away his tears.

He put his arms around Steve, hesitantly at first, tightening his hold when Steve hugged him back.

"I guess your mom was right," Steve said.

"I think your grandma was right too," Billy said, when he could speak again.

"Yeah," Steve said, eyes soft and smile warmer than the sun. "Totally."

[shadowcodexx]

What if— Billy Hargrove

(Edited/added on)

As soon as his body died, the real billy wakes up in the upside down, connected like will had been. The mind flayer made contingencies this time and billy was his most prized puppet.

Hopper had jumped through the portal in the underground lab in hopes of having some chance of getting back to Joyce and El someday. He didn’t expect to find a scared billy Hargrove trying to hide from the monsters.

They bond and hopper tries to help this traumatized kid deal with all of this. They share hoppers remains pack of cigarettes and he realizes this kid has gone through much more than being possessed by an evil entity. His dad is beating him. He only knows this because billy jolts awake from a nightmare and makes a comment. Hopper pieces it together.

“Your dad again?” “He’s not my dad.”

Then they start to see the Demogorgons getting attracted to something. It’s a new portal. They take their chances. They get through the portal and they’re in a Russian base in Siberia. Better than that place.

Somehow, they get out and they’re both scarred. The Russians had figured out that the creatures reacted to Billy’s presence and experimented on him. They put him in fighting rings and whatever was left in him from the mind flayer gave him extra strength. They tested that too. Made him take on some Demogorgons themselves. He had won. Every time.

They find themselves back in Hawkins for whatever reason—idk how they get there—but it’s Christmas and yknow snow. When max sees billy stumbling up their driveway she runs and hugs him. She’s wearing his leather jacket. El runs out a moment later with his denim jacket on like they had been reminiscing. The sleeves are all rolled up. Then she sees hopper. She starts crying and he has just enough strength to hug her. Joyce, will and Jonathan has come up so they could celebrate Christmas and see some of their old friend. They ended up getting one of the best Christmas presents yet.

The people that had been in change of Hawkins lab come back when there’s news of the chief of police and a young man presumed dead, are found. They’re so worn out from the journey and strain they’re passed out for days.

When hopper wakes, mostly everyone is around his bed. Steve has been up from college, so he decided to visit. They all did. He hugged and greeted all of them and they told him of everything that had happened and so forth.

When billy woke up, max was asleep next to him. No one else was there. Hopper made the nurses move him into Billy’s room with him. Billy quietly appreciated that. Steve patted him on the shoulder and el sat on his other side and he educated her on the vending machine snacks.

“What’s....a powerbar?” Billy raise and eyebrow. He looks over at hopper who’s smoking a cig even thought he’s not supposed to—“you have not done this kid justice.” He grabs the bar and opens it while saying, “it’s quick meal—“ Steve walks in saying, “no it’s not Hargrove.” He glares halfheartedly and responds looking at el, “yes, it is.”

Billy father barges in with Susan one afternoon and stands silent and angry. Susan asks how he’s doing and tries to grab his hand, but Neil won’t let her. Then he goes on, very menacingly, how Billy’s a no good son who just decided to up and leave—“with a whore no doubt”—and that all this Russian business is a coverup mean to put him in a good spotlight so he’ll get sympathy etc and hopper just, yeets the curtain separating them away and in his ‘hopper’ voice goes “you ever talk like that again to him, I’m going to have an officer remove you indefinitely from this room.” And Neil leaves in a fit dragging Susan, and trying to force max. But of course she doesn’t budge. He raises his hand and sees hopper in the background. He turns it into a pointing-in-her-face gesture and leaves.

After they get to leave from the special wing of the hospital, billy had to move back in with his dad and Susan. Hopper and Joyce are going steady. She rents back their old place and they all live there for the time being. By then Billy’s missed half the school year, and goes to Nancy’s (who won’t ask questions because she knows) and gets help with tutoring.

Mrs wheeler opens the door and has a look of shock on her face. He gives her a half smirk and says, “this time, I’m looking for Nancy.” She has him wait in the kitchen, asking how he’s doing, she heard they found him and hopper in he woods and that everyone who knew them were overjoyed. But she notices Billy’s not quite himself. He’s not giving her innuendos and his shirt isn’t as unbuttoned. He looks like he just got a haircut. His mullet is shorter now. He’s got a quiet sort of contemplation like he’s grown up too fast. Nancy comes in and is surprised to see him. She agrees to help him.

Christmas Day, billy is beat up again by his father. He hadn’t even said anything. He had just grabbed the remote and Neil slammed him into the wall. And it had to be the worst possible time, too. The doorbell rang. Neil opened it and sees the re-appointed sherif Jim Hopper and his daughter, El. He says they brought a gift for billy and max. Neil tried to take them but el says she wants to give it to them. Max comes out and hugs eleven and whispers one word— “help.”

El looks at Neil and shoves her way past with max leading the way. Hopper notices the blood on his knuckles. He follows. He walks in slowly, surveying the area. Max leads el Into the kitchen, where billy sits, his face bleeding. El grabs his face and makes him look at her. Max grabs some ice and he accepts it. Hopper comes in a few seconds later. “What happened?” Neil answers. “He got in a fight with a kid a few hours ago. Disgraceful to do it on Christmas Day if you ask me.” “I didn’t.” Hopper walls closer. The bruises are fresh. Billy just looks at him.

“See the funny thing about that mr. Hagrove is that your knuckles are bleeding.” Hopper steps closer to Neil, towering over him. “Billy if I take him in will you testify?” Billy looks at him. “Yes.” Neil trues to lunge at him, cursing him out but hopper catches him. He calls it in and shoves Neil into his car.

It turns into a news story and Billy’s at the station a lot. Susan won’t testify, of course. She’s too nervous. Neil tries to use all of Billy’s mistakes against him like his poor school conduct and the speeding tickets. Hopper knows better. He’s stuck with that kid for half a year and he knows him better than anyone. Reminds him of himself in some ways. They tell billy they have to call his mother bc he needs a legal guardian to finish high school. He argues he doesn’t but a little part of him wants to see her. Hopper says he’s sorry, he knows it’s soft spot but it’s good to mend old wounds. Susan tries to take max with her but max refuses. She wants to stay with billy, el and hopper. They have an argument and max throws out, “Your not stupid mom your just a push over! You’ve watched him get beat up every week and didn’t do a thing. I’m staying with him until all this blows over. If you need me I’ll be staying with Hopper and Joyce.”

Billy also lives with hopper and Joyce for the time being. School starts up and he dreads it. Hopper tells him his mother was contacted and she’s coming up from California to see him. Billy starts to lash out because he doesn’t know what else to do and Joyce calms him down. They have a cigarette out on the porch and she talks to him and he starts to break down and she just holds him. And he can’t remember the last time a mother held him like this.

He often gets up in the middle of the night because of nightmares and he finds will in the kitchen. They talk about it and eventually talk about their crappy dads and billy tells him he likes wills mother and that he’s got a good mom. Will mentions he saw some bands that billy had on vinyl and tape and says he likes them. They talk about music until will falls asleep on Billy’s shoulder. Joyce listened to the whole thing from the living room and couldn’t help but smile.

Billy find that his life is much more peaceful in the hopper-Byers household. In the morning, Joyce makes them all breakfast. Max and el share a room so they’re usually the last ones to the table. Billy and hopper both drink black coffee. Billy and Jonathan have a silent respect for each other after Lonny tried to visit one day out of the blue. Billy helped Jonathan get him to leave. Will sits next to billy because there’s always something on his plate he doesn’t eat that billy silently takes after he’s done. The two Hargrove kids have practically moved in. Hopper got two extra beds and max eventually brought everything she owns to the house via the window to her room. Billy moved everything out weeks ago. Jonathan and will share a room and el and max share one. Billy is the only one who doesn’t share a room.

The first day of school, billy takes el and max to school. By now everyone heard of billy Hargrove, the kid who came back to life. Or was captured by the Russians. The facts were a little fuzzy. His cronies and fake friends hound him pretending they were affected by his disappearance. Billy’s tired of high school. He understands why Steve stopped being king. It didn’t really matter anymore. Life has hit him straight in the face and it was time to grow up. And now he had some people who were gonna be there for him. By the end of the day he had so much makeup work, he had to find Nancy. By then, they were easy acquaintances. Not friends per se, just bonded experiences. Tommy started making fun of him, acting as if he were trying to get in Nancy’s pants but he ends up slamming him into a locker.

Tommy and carol and all the other jerks hang around billy as usual, but there’s an air of wariness like they’re waiting for him to do something. And honestly, if it weren’t for max or el, he would have. El understands what makes him, him and she can tell when he’s about to snap. Max is like a similar version of him. Not quite the same, and less corrupted. The middle schoolers have a field trip, or something that causes the high schools to have the same lunch as them. When they come running in, everyone gives a collective grumble. Most of the gang sit with Nancy and Jonathan + Robin. El taps billy on the shoulder and his friends sneer at her. But el asks one question. “What’s a Hershey?” Carol starts laughing but billy silenced her with a look. He looks over at max, a little ways behind and smiles. He jumps up and pulls out a few cents. They follow him to the vending machine and he buys one. This leads to many days of el quietly sitting down and whispering s question in his ear. Billy would then answer.

By the end of the week he was sitting with Nancy and returning student, Jonathan because he was so tired of all the bull. One day he was walking into the middle school to check max and el out early , (because he wanted Mexican and he knew el didn’t know what that was, and he figured he could give her some world experience) he saw max beating up some kid. He shoves in and pulls her off. The kid had called will and el a freak and other slurs she wouldn’t repeat. Susan has to be called in, and it was a mess. She blamed billy but max said the truth and she didn’t seem to want to accept that. Neil had already been put in jail for 20 years so Susan was considerably panicking. Joyce came by after being called and calmed her down. The rest of the gang had been involved bc they wouldn’t stand by either so all of the mothers were called. The ended up supporting Susan and helping her find a place for her and max and finding her a good job she liked and all that.

Billy’s tired of sleeping around. Part of him did it to show that he could and prove he was top dog. But now all the girls except Nancy and robin annoyed him. They always tried to fix him, get him to meet their parents, etc. now it was oh poor billy and pity pity pity. he didn’t get as drunk at parties. He didn’t like not being aware of everything around him anymore. If he were wasted he wouldn’t be as alert. Can’t stand the sound of fireworks anymore.

The next day billy gets called out of class. He’s told his mom is here to pick him up. He kind of freezes up and numbly asks if it’s Joyce and the secretary says no. He refuses to go up and instead leaves and goes to the sheriffs station and barges into hoppers office. “She’s here.”

Hopper calms him down and offers to be there with him. Billy says no he can do this. He walks out and she’s sitting in the waiting room. He hurriedly looks away and sits down near her. She nervously looks at him and asks what he’s here for. He says something about seeing hopper. She says the same thing. She’s looking for her son who moved here with his dad. She says she’s here to see her little boy again. He looks at her and says, “that little boy is gone. He died when you left.” She’s shocked and follows him out and begs him to listen. He turns around and yells “you left me with him!” Tears are streaming down both of their faces. She hugs him and he buries his face in her blond hair.

She rents a place in town and gets to watch him graduate high school. He passed with good grades thanks to Nancy. After the graduation ceremony he picks up Nancy and spins her around, thanking her for the help. He pats Jonathan on the back and messes with wills hair. He and Steve do a fist bump handshake thing. Dustin can be hheard muttering, “not as cool as ours.”

He goes to Cali and brings max and el with him. He teaches them how to surf. Hopper and Joyce come, because, reasons and the entire gang ends up coming. On a completely random chance, their buying snow cones on the pier and he hears his name. It’s his mom. He awkwardly hugs her and she invites them to dinner. She’s married. He’s not too happy about it. The guys nice though and he can’t blame her. He’s just wished she’d taken him with her. Then maybe he’d have had a better father figure, like John. (The guy)

On the beach, he crashed into a girl carrying an icebox. (Courtesy of max) he helps her pick up the spilled drinks and the breath is stolen from his lungs. She’s a knockout. He smooth talks her and she see through the bull. His charm—king billy Hargrove’s charm turned off a girl. He’s internally yelling at himself. She picks up her board and walks to her friends. He asks if she surfs—“duh” and holds up her board. Max is quietly laughing behind him. He asks is they wanna catch some waves. She gives him a long look and says sure.

Her name is Avaline, or ava. She mentions her and her friends are road tripping and she mentions their route. Their going through Hawkins. He tells her they live there and that she should visit. She gives him a brilliant smile and agrees. Max and el love her.

Joyce and hopper ended up buying a house together and Susan got a house coincidentally, near them. It was a street or two over from will and Lucas and a straight shot to Dustin’s. The entire club was back together.

Aveline visits at the most inopportune time. She knocks on the house at the address billy gave her. No response. A crashing sound echoes through the house and she jumps. She tucks her beach blond hair behind her ear and leans in to listen. A beat of silence. She gets thrown backwards with the door. A Demogorgon has flown through the door due to elevens telekinesis.

They all rush out fighting a pack of demodogs. Aveline groans as she touches the blood running down her head. Billy calls her name and hits a demo dog with Steve nail bat. He throws it back to him and Nancy throws him a shotgun. He loads it and shoots one coming behind her. He helps her up and she asks if their being invaded by aliens. Robin comments that she likes how this girl thinks.

Joyce nurses her wound and and they all explain. Ava knew billy was some kind of trouble but she didn’t know he was trouble with a capital T. They load up and try to lead the creatures away from Hawkins. Joyce has to hurriedly call all the kids parents saying their staying with will for a sleepover and she’s sorry about the inconvenience.

“I knew it.” Aveline says holding the ice pack up to her head. “Knew what?” Billy asks, while Duran Duran plays, his hand tapping along to the beat. “You’ve slept with every girl at you high school, haven’t you?” He huffs a laugh and looks at her. “Not all.” She shakes her head. “You can let me out.” “What?” She repeats. She tells him she’s not about to get in a relationship with a guy who has a rep. He says he’s not the person he was when he came to Hawkins. They’re out of the car at this point yelling and arguing and he kisses her. She melts. She hits his chest and jolts back. “Sorry” he says breathless. She pulls him back and hugs him. “You’re frustrating.” He huffs. “That’s a first.”

Of course the Russians weaponized the Demogorgons and all that jazzy stuff and they go on this big adventure and cue a scene where they all end up at s gas station to restock and get a game plan. the cashier just looks at hopper and all the teenagers behind him and raises and eyebrow. Him and Joyce look at each other and Joyce says “our kids” gesturing weakly begins her. He shrugs because he’s not paid enough for this and checks out the tons of stuff they buy.

Steve and billy bond over trying to babysit insane children and Steve is trying to keep them from doing dumb stuff and billy is yelling at them not get killed. Much betting is involved. Robin and billy actually become buddies and it freaks Steve out. Aveline just watches it all.

And after all the fiasco stuff is over, everyone is royally freaks out when Steve Harrington shows up to bring lunch to all these kids and then sits with billy freaking Hagrove and they start chatting like their old buddies.

Billy gets a job at the sheriffs station because he actually has a good head for telling people what not to do and just generally bossing people around. Hopper takes him under his wing and they patrol and keep the weirdness of the town under control. He regularly takes el and max to eat at different restaurants because he’s determined to give el some ‘worldly knowledge’

His relationship with ava is one of his longest they’re going steady. She moves in with him and they go back to Cali every summer to see her parents and his mom. They get married on the beach. Lucas makes a comment on how they’re going to have kids and when el asks billy how they have kids it’s the one question he won’t answer. Hopper was standing next to him when she asked and he gave her the Look. Billy re-evaluated his answer.

The kids think billy is kinda cool now and he keeps them in line while Harrington is off getting a degree. Billy finally has some peace when Harrington gets back and takes them off his hands.

And most importantly billy is happy.

[cigtray]

Pull over

Billy Hargrove x reader

Warnings: Cursing, smutty stuff towards the end, abuse, typos prolly (sorry)

Hopper has caught Billy Hargrove parked in his Camaro so many times that at this point it’s just a common occurrence.

A few taps at the window of Billy’s Camaro woke him up, looking up at the light with half open eyes Billy stumbles to get out of the car to meet the Chief. “Yes sir?” Billy mumbled, he crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the car. Tonight had been a particularly rough tumble with his dad, or more, his dad had been pissed about something when Billy got home and Billy got the short side of deal.

“You can’t be here, Hargrove. Go home.” Hopper told him, looking at Billy’s black eye. “No fuckin way.” Billy’s eyes shot open to meet Hoppers. “Excuse me?” Hopper met Billy’s eyes, meeting a hard cold reflection of what Hopper only imagines his eyes looked like. “I’m not going home.” Billy told Hopper. Hopper was getting frustrated with these meetings, every time Hopper told Billy to go home it was like watching a little kid wrap themselves around their parents leg so that their parent couldn’t go anywhere. And it was exhausting.

“You are, and I’ll be escorting you home.” Hopper told him. The first few times Hopper caught Billy out he had assumed the asshole kid, as he had heard from his little gang, either had a girl, was drunk or had gotten into a fight. Low and behold that first time Hopper found him Billy had a really shiner. But there were times when Billy didn’t seem like he had gotten in fights. And he wasn’t drunk. And he didn’t have a girl. Hopper never really cared too much why exactly the kid slept in his car. It just made Hopper’s job a little harder.

Hopper sat in his car behind the Camaro, listening to roar as Billy started to go home, the chief on his tail as he had been promised.

Pulling up to his house Billy felt a little sick, and pretty sure that a beating was in order. He could already hear Neil when he stood at the front door, Billy felt sure he could already smell the alcohol on Neil’s breath, and maybe Billy was positively sure he could already feel more bruises forming on his back. This week might’ve been the worse one yet, as soon as his bruises had gone from that purple blue color to that yellow green, more bruises were put there. His sides were pretty fucked up too, and Billy was pretty sure after seeing a cop in the driveway his face wouldn’t be any prettier after tonight.

Before Billy realized what was happening Hopper was next to him, knocking on the door. Billy sharply inhaled as the door was flung open. “Where the hell have you been.” Neil seethed “Well sir he was parked on the side of the road, it’s happened numerous times, so if you could tell him to not let it happen again it may save you a ticket.” Billy could see the anger and the beating brewing in Neil’s eyes. He didn’t understand how Hopper couldn’t see it. “It won’t happen again” and Billy was pulled in the house.

When Hopper next saw Billy it was the next day, Billy was waiting to for Max. He had leaned himself against the Camaro, sunglasses on and a jacket that seemed unnecessary for the weather they were having, but maybe it had something to do with him being from California.

“What happened.” Max asked, looking at the road. “None of your fuckin business.” He hissed. Usually Max would have badgered him a little more, but she heard the beating, Billy knew she had heard it. Sometimes he felt bad that she had to hear it, sometimes he thought maybe he’d get her a record player and some headphones so she wouldn’t have to hear. But they were all really expensive and Billy was trying to keep himself out of the house as much as he could.

When they got home Neil wasn’t home, so Billy sped off. He drove, and he drove fast. Until flashing lights shined through his back window, and much to his dismay he pulled over. Three taps at his window as usual, “yes officer?” Billy asked in the most sickly sweet voice he could muster. Billy let his hands tap on the outer part of the car. “Take your glasses off when talking to me.” Hoppers stern voice told him. Billy gritted his teeth and pulled the glasses from his face. “What the fuck do you get up to? I left you at your house and you already have another damn black eye?!” Hopper was angry, what would it take to keep this boy out of trouble?!

“None of your goddamn business, pig.” Billy spat, a flurry of anger and fear coursing through Billy. “Your knuckles,” Hopper said, “what?” Billy asked, why the hell was Hopper inquiring about his knuckles. “You haven’t been fighting. Your knuckles are fine, and I’ve seen your knuckles after a fight. Don’t lie to me.” Hopper said sternly. “I said, none of your goddamn business.” Billy was terrified that Hopper had got him, he felt trapped, maybe. “Get out of the car.” Hopper softly yelled. He watched as Billy stiffly got out of his car, turning to Hopper with a hard face and a devilish glare. “You’re coming to the station.”

Billy sat in Hopper’s office was he going to call Neil? Was Neil going to be thrown in jail? God he hoped they didn’t tell Max more then she already knew. Would they drag Susan in to question if she knew? If she did know would they take her away? If they took her away what would happen to Max? Billy’s head was swarmed with thoughts. He was scared that Hopper knew what was going on at his home. He was scared that he had just screwed up Max’s childhood. He felt dumb for letting anyone see enough to put any of the puzzle together.

“We’re going to need you to take off your shirt.” Hopper had watched Billy’s demeanor change as soon as Hopper took him to the station. Billy had stopped responding all together, his face blank and his hands were wrapped around himself. “Hargrove.” Billy only stared, he could hear them. He knew what they wanted. They were too close, oh god, they knew, oh fuck.

“Hold him.” Before Billy could try to defend himself two cops had his arms, tugging his jacket off, and then his shirt. Billy wrestled to keep them from getting his shirt off, but with three grown men encircling him, exposing his deepest secret he felt helpless. And so off the shirt came, after the Billy was like a rag doll as they saw the damage his father had done.

Hopper gawked, Billy’s entire back was covered in color, not only did Billy have black eyes but Hopper had missed the bruise around his neck that Hopper could only guess was from being choked. “Who did this to you.” Hopper already knew, but it had to be said. Hopper watched as Billy’s back began to shake, as he began to shake and sink to the floor. Fuck had he broken the Hargrove kid?

Billy sobbed on the floor of Hoppers office, his arms wrapped around himself again. “Billy?” He heard a soft voice looking up to see the Byers mother. He let her get closer then he’d let the men get in the last hour. Her hands soft against his face as she held him in a motherly embrace, and maybe that’s why he let her near, she had an air of motherlyness about her.

“You’ll stay with me.” Hopper told Billy who sat in Hopper’s passenger seat. Billy only looked out the window. Hopper didn’t push any further as he knew the boy had been through too much today, and maybe he should’ve been gentler with the whole shirt thing.

They pulled up to the hut and Billy silently walked behind Hopper, following into the house. What surprised Billy was that two girls popped up from behind a door. “These are my daughters, El and (y/n).” Hopper told Billy. “Hi.” El said and (y/n) gave him a wave.

“You’ll sleep here” Hopper awkwardly told the boy, almost positive that El was spying on them. “Thank you.” Billy said in a stiff tone. “I’m sorry for today, and for the blowup mattress, it was the best I could get from Joyce’s store.” Hopper told Billy in maybe just as stiffly a tone as Billy felt. “It’s okay, sir, thank you.” Billy repeated, standing so straight Hopper could’ve mistaken him for a soldier if not for the mullet. “No problem, goodnight.” Hopper said swiftly walking to his room, leaving Billy in the living room.

Billy cried that night, for the first time in a long time. It seemed like everything he had held back for years flooded in as the fresh tears rolled down his face. The beatings, the move, loosing everything he had known and had, it all came with the tears rolling down his face.

“Are you alright?” The older girl of the two asked, light peaking from behind a door in the hallway. Billy turned to see her, to really focus on her through his teary eyes. She almost looked like an angel with the streak of light pouring out from behind her. Her hair was messy from sleeping, and she wore a large shirt and some shorts as she padded toward him in bright yellow socks.

“I’m fine.” He grumbled, wiping the tears from his face as quickly as he could. “You’ve been crying. I don’t think your fine.” She said stubbornly. “I said I’m fine, little girl.” He hissed through a fresh wave of tears. “I’m not a little girl, I’m your age, dumbass.” She muttered to him as she made her way to the kitchen, reaching for the water glasses that her father had placed on a frustratingly high shelf. As she turned to get a chair she was met with a bare chest as Billy reached over her to get her the glass. “Here you go.” He laughed a little at the wide eyed look and blush slowly spreading over her face. Flirtatious, she thought as she met his shining eyes, tears still welled up in them.

This was one way Billy got his emotions out since Hopper had him on house arrest until the police department sorted things out with his ‘situation’. As Billy was made aware they were currently working on getting Max out of the household, because as often it was for Billy to be missing from the house it wasn’t so common for Max besides the day. They didn’t want to alert Neil. This was one thing that chewed away at Billy, that Neil would be alerted that the police knew and he’d take his little ‘family’ and end up using Max as his new punching bag just in another state.

So, he put all his emotions into flirting with (y/n), chess games with El and chopping wood with fury that Hopper hadn’t seen in someone in years.

“(Y/n), did you know that your ass looks splendid on those shorts?” Billy asked as you walked past him. “Billy did you ever know you ass looks so very smackable in those denim?” (Y/n) returned the gesture, turning to look at him through her lashes. “Goddamn, (y/n).” He practically moaned at the way she always fired back at him, and the tone she used with him whenever she gave her remark to him. “Don’t cream your pants, Hargrove.” She purred to him while she waltzed back to her and El’s room.

“I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT.” Hopper howled as the remarks going back and forth between (y/n) and Billy made his ears bleed. Hopper had come into the house to hear the two teens yelling comments to eachother from different rooms. The first Hopper had heard was from (y/n) saying that she would rip that denim off his body if she had to and Billy’s response being not to get him so hot and bothered unless she was going to handle it. To say Hopper was a bit irked was an understatement. Alas he couldn’t much stop them seeing as he was gone most days.

Billy felt her arms snake around his waist as he stood in the kitchen at 11 PM making waffles (seeing as they were overly stocked on them). “Dad is going on a date and El is staying with a friend.” She mumbled into his back. Billy twirled around, looking at (y/n) “you trying to say you want some of this, (y/n)?” Billy mocked as he gestured to himself. She pulled away much to Billy’s dismay. “Saying you don’t want some of this, Hargrove?” She gestured to herself, in those little shorts Billy had come to love. (Y/n) pulled her shirt over her head, letting it fall to the floor, her pretty little black bra on show for Billy. “How bout now, Hargrove?” She purred, taking a few steps back from him. “Oh I want some.” Billy growled, his eyes darkening and tone dropping an octave as he slowly stepped closer to you.

(Y/n) gave him a little smile, eyes piercing as she took a few more steps back, and dropped her shorts. Billy took three large strides eager to press her to him. She let herself turn and pad farther from him to take off her socks and let a bra strap fall from a shoulder. With this action Billy was quick to press her against her and El’s door. “What’re you doing to me, little one?” He lowly groaned in her ear. Pressing his denim clad erection against her thigh. She took her lip between her teeth as she let her thigh grind against him. Billy gave a soft moan in return, his hands digging into her soft hips to still her.

Pulling her up to wrap her thighs around his waist he smashed his lips against hers, biting and sucking at her bottom lip. Her hips grinder into his hands holding her up by the ass. She could feel him flex under her as his hand ran up her back and unsnapped her bra. His mouth trailed down before taking her pretty pink nipple in his mouth, swirling his tongue around it and softly nipping at the bud. Her head against the door as she mewled, her own hands running through his hair and over his shoulders, letting her nails scrap against the top of shoulders.

“Oh baby girl,” He hummed letting the nipple go with a ‘pop’ “such pretty noises for daddy.” He hummed into her neck as he opened the door and laid her on her bed. “Let’s see if I can get more out of you hm?” He asked as he closed the door and pulled his shirt over his head. Looking at his tan body towering over her, relishing in the sight of her splayed over the bed waiting for his next move.

He watched as she let one of her hands dip under her panties while looking at him, his chest, his jaw, his eyes. Looking at her like prey. She moaned, her eyes slipping closed “Billy” she moaned her other hand digging into the mattress. Billy grunted as he watched her hand dip into her wet core, grabbing her by the waist her set her on his thigh. “Ride.” He said curtly. She looked at him, her hips rolling on the denim. Bringing her hand up and showing him her wetness still on her hand, he smirked as he licked it away. She moaned, throwing her head back as she bounced on his thigh, rolled her hips, grinded down. “Oh little one, you are so good for me aren’t you?” Billy hummed to you.

You threw your other other leg over her lap, sitting directly on his erection. Pushing him down while you ground down on him, looking at him with false innocence. He threw a hand over his eyes “fuck, baby girl, don’t give me that look.” “Don’t cum in your pants Hargrove, I need more fun then that.” She panted letting herself angle her legs up so he could see just how wet she was through her panties. Wasting no time he grabbed her by the ankles pulling her to sit on his face. Ripping her panties off her body.

(Y/n) gasped as she felt his tongue lick up her slit. Groaning into her as she bucked her hips into his face. “Billy” she whimpered as his tongue entered her, lapping her up. She grinded down on his face before letting her hip thrusts match that of his tongues handy work. “Billy, I, I’m so close.” She moaned, eyes squeezed shut in pleasure. Moaning into her pussy was all it took to send her over edge, cumming in his mouth.

Flipping them over Billy growled “so, so, good for daddy, baby girl. You ride my face so pretty princess.” He threw his pants and boxers off, making himself comfortable between her legs. “You want this?” He asked looking at her, her thighs were trembling and her dripping pussy was so very tempting, but Billy had to make sure. “Yes, Billy, please.” She drawled, her nails lightly slipping over almost healed bruises.

To say Hopper was not happy to find a trail of his daughters clothes leading to the abused boy hunched over his daughter would have been the biggest fucking understatement of the year. In fact Billy was almost sure he was going to have a new addition to his collection of healing bruises (he didn’t end up with one, luckily.). However he wasn’t allowed near (y/n) and was to be removed from the house as soon as possible, and he was.

“Hey doll.” Billy whispered, as he slipped through her window. It was only three days later but Hopper had managed to work fast in getting Billy situated with a foster parent along with Max. This being Joyce Byers, Hopper was helping with payments for things.

“Can I see?” He hummed, El was with Max today so it was just the two of them. (Y/n) nodded, letting her towel drop to put all her marks on show. She had some bruises on her hips from Billy’s hands, she seemed to adore them. Hickies littered her body, and Billy was rather proud. “Wanna add more to the collection?”

[hawkinsschoolcounselor]

Mike and Eleven are an unhealthy couple, and other ST relationship notes

Relationships have been shown to be a big part of Stranger Things from the beginning. In Season 1, we’re treated to The Party’s unique dynamic, Nancy’s rocky romance with Steve, Joyce’s interactions with her ex-husband, and Johnathan and Will’s brotherly bonding. We are also introduced to Eleven, who more or less instantly bonds with Mike. These relationships allow us to get to know the characters in a more intimate way, and help drive the narrative. In Season 2, we get deeper into these relationships and also see new ones bloom. We witness the special bond that Mike and Will share, the abusive dynamic of the Hargrove household, Dustin and Lucas spar over Max while she adapts to being adopted by a group of nerds, Steve and Nancy’s relationship fails and Johnathan and Nancy’s begins, and even Karen get frustrated over her boring rut of a marriage. We also see Mike, at least early on in the season, desperately reach out to Eleven, and it’s indicated he’s been doing this for just shy of a year (353 days I believe).  In Season 3, a heavy-handed theme is “we don’t understand each other.” This is displayed prominently by multiple relationships. It’s most obvious with Johnathan and Nancy, where I believe it was directly stated. Nancy feels he doesn’t believe in her and her journalistic hunches, while he feels she isn’t considering how badly he needs that internship since he lacks her familial resources. Joyce and Hopper’s relationship goes on a roller coaster stemming from Hopper seeing Joyce as playing around with him as he tries his best to open his heart again, but Joyce still has grief over Bob and understandable paranoia about the lab holding her back. Max and Lucas seem ok, showing some playful banter, but we’re also told they’ve broken up five times. Seeing as how they’ve only been together for about 7-8 months or so. That’s a sign of a lack of understanding, but sadly we don’t get much more out of Lucas this season. Karen is tempted by Billy to bring some excitement into her life, though Ted is shown to be rather content with his boring family life. We’re also treated to the heartwarming friendship of Steve and Robin, which is teased as a romance through yet another misunderstanding. This brings me to the crux of this post (finally), and that is Mike, and his horrible (or horribly written) relationships in Season 3. I can totally buy his attachment to Eleven. She helps him find Will in Season 1, and is traumatized by her disappearance (and apparent death) during the final battle with the Demogorgon. It’s completely understandable that he’d be affected by that, possibly feeling guilty and responsible, and desperate for her safe return. It’s totally realistic for a 12-year-old to develop a crush on a girl in a short amount of time such as the week he knew her. It’s unbelievably realistic for him to be immensely happy and relieved when she comes back in Season 2, safe and sound. It’s totally in-character for him to be a nervous wreck when she goes to close the gate. At no point, however, does this have the appearance of a romantic relationship, at least not a true and healthy one.

In Season 3, however, he is completely obsessed with her. It’s revealed by Lucas that he’s been neglecting his friends. He’s been seeing her every day, at least since summer started, and there are implications that Eleven primarily only sees Mike (Max is shocked to see her, we see no interactions between El and the others, she’s still not allowed to be out in public, etc.). This girl has had no opportunity for social or emotional growth in the roughly year and a half since she’s been out of the lab. Her question to Max (”How do I know if I like something?” or something along those lines) should be jarring. She’s never considered anything for herself. Pre-dumping, she and Mike are shown basically just making out. There’s no conversation, no getting to know each other, no simply enjoying each other’s company. The only time we see them with the others, Mike and El very quickly leave, which the others know means they want to make out. El is supposed to be friends with them too, but she seems equally obsessed with this relationship. It’s been months since the Snow Ball, they should be out of the honeymoon phase even if Mike’s opportunities to see her during the school year were limited.  So, unpopular opinion, Mike and El share an unhealthy relationship. He’s more annoyed than upset when she dumps him, while El has a blast hanging out with Max. It’s nice to see her grow with this, but she’s quite honestly depicted as being better off without Mike as a boyfriend. I’m not saying they couldn’t grow into a better couple, but we see nothing like that in this season. They make up in the hospital, and Mike awkwardly tries to talk about feelings in the grocery store, but they just aren’t hearing each other. They don’t understand each other. They still don’t at the end, to be honest. While many people seem to think they rekindle their relationship before the Byers’ move, Mike seems legit confused. He stands there, stock still, as El kisses him. He doesn’t kiss back, he doesn’t close his eyes, he doesn’t put his arms around her, he doesn’t return her “I love you”, and, as she walks off, he doesn’t get a goofy grin, a sad smile, or a hopeful look on his face. He stands there, confused, as if that kiss was unexpected and he doesn’t know how to feel about it. That wasn’t a boy who had been going out with this girl for the past three months post-Starcourt. If they were meant to be seen as a happy couple, tragically being torn apart, then the writers did a terrible job of it. It’s almost too obvious that we’re supposed to compare this to Mike’s strained relationship with Will, though at the same time it’s like we’re meant to forget all of that. There’s curiously no acknowledgement to any of the bonding they shared in Season 2, even through flashbacks. Will is portrayed as being upset at the slightest sign of Mike and El’s romance. He doesn’t show frustration with Max or Lucas, and he’s amused at the prospect of helping Dustin contact his camp girlfriend. If this wasn’t intentional, then it’s either poor acting or poor writing. Both Mike and Will become single-minded, Mike towards El, and Will towards D&D. There’s many possible explanations (besides the aforementioned bad writing) that could explain Will’s change of character, but that’s a post for another time, if people are interested. Will reaches his breaking point in a conversation that reads more like a breakup than anything else. Again, though, it’s clear they don’t understand each other. This is where the “Is Will gay?” speculation hits a crescendo, as he angrily states it’s not his fault Will doesn’t like girls. Will is...devastated, shocked, terrified? It’s hard to nail down. Mike is immediately remorseful, though his apology is severely lacking. Will’s parting words of “I guess I did. I really did.” again seem more like a breakup. I’d like to go on more, but besides Mike tracking Will down in the rain (not unsignificant), we see little between them until the goodbyes. Their scene is shorter than Mike and El’s, but significant in that it’s the only goodbye Will is shown having (apart from all the hugging). They speak in code again, with Mike worried Will may replace him, and Will reassuring Mike that could never happen. It’s worth mentioning that the smile Mike shows in this scene is the most genuine we see all season from him.  I’m not sure what to think about it all. Mike and Will’s relationship is somehow portrayed as stronger and deeper that Mike and El’s, but simultaneously less significant. It makes more sense for Mike to be closer to Will than El, and it’s curious that he and El are never shown trying to get to know each other. My ultimate conclusion, drawing on personal experience and someone with degrees in psychology and counseling, is that Mike and El are bad for each other, at least based on how they’ve been depicted thus far. They’re shown to be better outside of their relationship.  Ultimately, Mike lost both of these relationships at the end. While we know the three of them will meet again, they simply have the hope of visits and calls. Mike is left visibly upset as the Byers family drives off, but it’s ambiguous as to whether Will or El leaving upsets him more. I don’t think he knows the answer to that either. As he enters his mother’s embrace, he appears in a state of shock. This scene parallels him being comforted in season 1 when Will’s fake body was pulled from the water, even going so far as to include the same song. It’s possible he’s coming to a realization involving Will, which could explain the shock. I think the simplest explanation, though, is that we’re supposed to be as confused as Mike as to what all this means. Mike starting to consider that Will is more than just his best friend would be a breath of fresh air for a story like this, but I doubt it.  If you made it this far, let me know if you’d like more posts from me. I have thoughts on the effects of trauma on the characters, theories for season 4, and general opinions about seasons 1-3.

[ao3feed-harringrove]

The Way to A Man's Heart is Through His Stomach

https://ift.tt/2VoB0Fv

by youcallherhephanie

Steve and Billy weren’t ever really close. They had their shared responsibilities; school, basketball, babysitting. That was where their interactions ended. Nothing more. But when Steve begins to notice that Billy spends his days more hungry than not, he decides to take action into his own hands and invite the boy in for dinner — let him taste the goodness of the Harrington household. Afterwards, he finds he doesn’t exactly mind Billy’s presence at all.

Or

3 times Steve cooked for Billy, and the 1 time Billy cooked for Steve.

Words: 2696, Chapters: 1/4, Language: English

Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Dustin Henderson, Mike Wheeler, Eleven | Jane Hopper, Will Byers, Lucas Sinclair, Mrs Byers, Neil (minor)

Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington

Additional Tags: Fluff, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, food and cooking, Confessions, First Kisses, mentions of abuse, Period-Typical Homophobia, - minor, Friends to Lovers, Minor Injuries, Aftermath of Violence, Declarations Of Love, Legit a lot of fluff, this has been a long time coming, point of view change

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2VoB0Fv

[hunnywrites]

Chapter Four: Lifeguards On Duty

Summary: The town of Hawkins has been turned upside down with the news that Will Byers has suddenly gone missing. Teddi Larsson and Billy Hargrove are gonna get to the bottom of things. Season one AU.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove/OFC

A/N: I guess I’m bumping the rating on this to mature now. I should throw out a disclaimer that I sort of hate writing smut so that’s why it’s so brief. We’re also getting our first glimpse of papa bear Hopper. Trust and believe that if he could legally adopt Teddi and Billy he totally would. Hope you enjoy!

Once Teddi and Billy made sure that Dustin, Lucas and Eleven made it home safe, they headed back to Billy’s place. The lights inside the living room where on. Probably Susan waiting up for Billy and Max to come home. Teddi parked her van a little ways down the street and hurried to the back side of the house to Billy’s window. She rubbed at her arms roughly to try and warm herself up as she waited for him to let her in. 

His light flicked on, and Billy quietly opened his window and helped pull Teddi inside. “Sorry,” he muttered. “It’s already on the news about Will. Susan had a million questions.” Teddi pulled her puffy jacket off and plopped down onto Billy’s bed. 

“Is Max okay?” she asked quietly. 

Billy sat next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his chest. “She’s gonna be okay. It’ll just take awhile. Susan’s making her hot chocolate.” he said with a small laugh. Like he thought it was funny that Susan seemed to think hot chocolate could fix the fact that Max’s friend was dead. 

Teddi’s eyes burned. Her bottom lip was trembling again. She clasped a hand tightly over her mouth to try and quiet the sob that escaped her. Will was dead. He was gone. She would never see him again. And the last image she had of him was his body being pulled out of the quarry. She felt Billy place a kiss on the top of her head, and his hand rubbing slow circles on her back as she cried. Teddi knew that he hated it when people cried. He would always say that he never knew what to do. But he was better at comforting than he thought. All she needed was for him to sit there with her. 

She cried for Will. And for Joyce and Johnathan. She cried for Mike, Lucas, Max and Dustin. Even El. Why did life have to be so unfair? Why did Will have to be taken so young? Why had Benny felt so alone that he had killed himself? Why did she, Billy and Max have to live in such terrible households? 

Eventually her crying quieted. Teddi wiped roughly at her eyes and sniffed loudly. “...You want me to get Susan to make you some hot chocolate?” Billy asked lowly, a hint of teasing in his voice. Teddi let out a soft laugh and shook her head. 

“I’m okay...god, I should probably head home.”

“Stay,” he said into her hair. “You shouldn’t have to be alone tonight.” 

Teddi sniffed again and frowned up at him. “What about Neil and Susan? We’ll get caught.” 

“Let me worry about it. We can skip school tomorrow. Go out to the lake or something.” His hand moved from her shoulder to her waist, and he picked Teddi up with ease. She twisted around and settled onto his lap, straddling him. She idly played with the collar of his jean jacket as she considered his offer. Maybe Will’s death had made her realize that life was short. Maybe this was a seize the moment type of thing. Maybe it was because she felt so vulnerable. Or maybe it was the way Billy was softly nipping at her neck, his fingers digging gently into her hips...

“I don’t wanna do this anymore.” Teddi said suddenly. Billy pulled away from her almost as if she had slapped him. 

He blinked a few times. “...You don’t want to do what anymore?” he asked carefully. 

“This. Us,” Billy only frowned and she shook her head. “I mean...god, what do I mean?” she asked herself, her hands grabbing onto his jacket tightly. “I don’t want to see other people anymore. I want you. Us. I want you to take me out on a real date. Even if it’s just to fool around at the drive in,” she said with a soft laugh. “I mean, I…” why couldn’t she just say the words? She felt it. She knew she did. 

“...Are you saying you love me, Larsson?” he wasn’t teasing her. He said it quietly, as if someone was trying to listen in on what they were saying. 

Teddi let out a relieved sigh. The fact that Billy knew exactly what she was trying to say solidified her decision to speak her mind. It also gave her the boost of confidence she needed. “I love you.” she repeated. 

Billy smirked at her, pressing two fingers behind his ear and turning his head. “Sorry. I don’t think I heard that. You mind repeating it?” 

Teddi smiled, rolling her eyes and giving his shoulder a playful shove. “Shut up, dick.” Billy chuckled, pulling Teddi to him and kissing her deeply. There was a small part of her that worried he wouldn’t say it back. She sort of expected it. Billy had grown up with the idea that showing genuine affection made him look weak. And while he had made leaps and bounds in that area, he still had issues every now and then. He didn’t have any trouble with physical affection, but the emotional affection was still a sore subject. 

Billy’s hand ran up and under the back of Teddi’s shirt, his fingers drawing circles on her skin. She pulled away from him and took his face gently in her hands. “...And don’t feel like you have to say it back, okay?” she added shyly. 

Billy shook his head. He tucked a strand of Teddi’s sandy blonde hair behind her ear. “But I do,” he said. Teddi’s heart was hammering so hard in her chest she was positive that he could probably feel it. There was a second where his guard went up again. He almost looked like he regretted saying it. But it was gone in a flash. He knew he was safe with Teddi. 

That casual smirk was back. “Guess it’s you and me ‘till the end then, Larsson.”

“‘Till the end…” Teddi mused with a smirk of her own. “...I don’t know. Not sure if I’ll be able to stand you for that long.” she teased. Billy scoffed and tossed Teddi off of his lap and back onto his bed. 

He hovered over her, Teddi’s hands finding a home on his biceps. “If I have to put up with your mouth then you have to put up with me.” he grumbled, kissing her again. “How ‘bout I put that Kate Bush shit you like on and we consummate this thing?” 

Teddi fell into a fit of giggles. She covered her mouth to quiet her laughter and nodded. “Took the words right out of my mouth.” she teased.

Something about the way Billy touched her that night was different than usual. It was almost like he was afraid he might break her. Her own hands felt like they couldn’t stop shaking. It was more than just her nerves being shot from the night’s events. It was like the two of them saying those three little words had somehow changed the entire dynamic of their relationship. 

Their movements were clumsy. The pair shared quiet laughter each time their heads knocked together or when Teddi bit down on Billy’s lip just a little too hard. The butterflies in Teddi’s stomach were almost overwhelming. Her stomach flipped and turned with every touch, every kiss, and every slow rock of Billy’s hips. Teddi’s fingers wound themselves into Billy’s hair as that wonderfully warm feeling joined the butterflies in her stomach. His fingers dug softly into her hips, his nails leaving small crescent moons in her skin.

Teddi’s eyes still ached from all the crying she had done earlier that night. Her eyelids were drooping sleepily as she curled up at Billy’s side. He was smoking and talking to her about something. She couldn’t really make out what. For the first time in days her mind seemed clear. Empty. Eventually she drifted off into a deep sleep. She didn’t dream that night.

---

Billy woke up the next morning with a start. Someone was knocking on his bedroom door. “Billy?” Susan called softly. Teddi stirred gently next to him. He shot out of bed, quickly getting dressed before popping his head out of his door. Susan smiled at him somewhat nervously, her hands fiddling together as she hovered awkwardly out in the hall. “Could you do me a favor? Max is staying home today, and I have errands to run...could you maybe watch her? I’ve been so worried since we heard the news about Will…” she swallowed thickly. “She’s not speaking much. I don’t think she’ll be much of a bother.”

“Yeah,” Billy nodded. “Sure, Susan. No problem,” Susan could drive Billy crazy on a good day. Now with everything going on and the added fact that he had a naked, sleeping Teddi in his bed made him want to all but shove Susan out of the house. “I’ll see you later, huh?” he shut his door, whirling around to focus on Teddi. He almost didn’t want to wake her up. She looked so peaceful. 

He crawled back into bed, wrapping an arm around her middle and burying his face in her neck. “Ted, come on. Time to wake up. Susan’s gone so we’re in the clear.” much like Billy, Teddi wasn’t much of a morning person. Teddi let out a whine like groan and turned over, hiding her face in her pillow. 

“Can’t we just stay here?” she asked, her voice muffled. 

Billy let out a chuckle. “Yeah, sure,” he pulled his shirt over his head. “But as much as I don’t want you to, you should probably put this on. Max’s is staying home.” 

Teddi grumbled, snatching his shirt and slipping it on. As if on cue Max knocked on Billy’s door before slowly peeking inside. “...Can you give me a ride to Mike’s?”

“Now? It’s seven AM.” Billy muttered, his lips clamped around a cigarette as he lit it. 

“He says it’s important. Something about Will and El.” she explained. Billy only rolled his eyes. Max looked over at Teddi, who was bundled up under the covers, with a pleading look. “Teddi, make him give me a ride.”

Billy scoffed. “She can’t make me do anything, Max.”

If Teddi was given 900 guesses as to what Mike could possibly have to say about Will and El she probably wouldn’t be able to guess. So she was pretty intrigued by it. Plus, she wanted to check in on Eleven after the way Mike had treated her the night before at the quarry. “Come on, Billy. Let’s give her a ride. What’s the worst that can happen?”

Billy shot her a look. “You honestly have to ask that?” he looked over at Max, and then back at Teddi. This wouldn’t be a fight he’d win. “Jesus, fine. I’ll take you.” Max was out of the room and down the hall to change nearly before Billy could even agree. He looked over at Teddi, who was failing to hide a smile. “...You don’t make me do anything.” he repeated firmly.

“No, no of course not.” she said, crawling over him to get out of bed. 

Mrs. Wheeler wasn’t home when they arrived. Mike said she took Holly out to run errands and wouldn’t be back for a few hours. “We have to get El to school. So she can call Will.” he explained as he lead Teddi, Billy and Max down to the basement. 

Teddi and Billy shared a look. “...What do you mean so she can call Will?” Teddi asked carefully. 

“That body they pulled out of the water last night wasn’t Will.” Mike said firmly.

“Mike…” Max said with a soft sigh.

“No! You have to trust me. Last night Eleven called Will on my walkie. He’s still alive. He was singing that song he likes so much. But she can’t call him for long. So we need a bigger radio.”

“The AV club.” Max said, as if it were obvious.

“Exactly. So we’re trying to disguise El so we can get her there without anyone noticing her.” as the four of them entered the basement, Lucas and Dustin were fitting a blonde wig on Eleven’s head. She smiled when she saw Teddi, Billy and Max.

“Oh yeah, that’s not conspicuous at all.” Billy said sarcastically. Teddi elbowed him harshly in his side. Eleven was hovering awkwardly, her fingers fidgeting with each other as her wide eyes surveyed each person in the room.

Teddi leaned forward, resting her hands on her knees. “What do you think, El? I’m digging the new look.”

El smiled softly and nodded. “Pretty.” 

“Very pretty,” Teddi agreed with a smile. “...Has Mike been feeding you?”

Lucas let out a snort. “He gives her half of whatever his mom makes him.” he said. Mike shot him a cold look.

Teddi held out her hand. “Come on, I’ll make you something while these guys finish up their grand scheme. Can’t call Will on an empty stomach, right?” The thing was, Teddi wasn’t much of a cook. She lived off things you could pop in a microwave and fast food. But she figured anything she could make would be better than Mike’s lukewarm leftovers. 

“So...how are things with Mike? Did he apologize?” Teddi asked as she started to rummage through the kitchen cabinets.

Eleven nodded. “Yes.”

Teddi looked over her shoulder at the girl and smiled. “...You don’t talk much, huh?” she asked. El shook her head, a shy smile forming on her lips. “That’s okay. I can talk enough for the both of us. At least that’s what Billy says,” she said with a soft snort. 

There wasn’t much in the way of microwaveable food. Which didn’t really surprised Teddi much since it was Karen Wheeler’s kitchen. Eventually she pulled out a box of Eggos from the freezer, holding it up to Eleven. “How ‘bout it?” 

Eleven noticeably perked up and nodded. “A girl after my own heart. I’ll make you my super special breakfast of champions.” she popped four waffles into the toaster. 

“You can’t feed her waffles and coke.” Billy said as he walked into the kitchen. 

“And what should I feed her?” Teddi asked, grabbing a can of coke and a jar of strawberry jam from the fridge. Eleven watched the exchange quietly, observing the two teens. 

“I don’t know...what do kids with superpowers eat?”

Teddi rolled her eyes. “What do you think they eat? Radioactive rocks?” Billy pulled a face at her. Teddi spread the jam on each waffle, stacking them onto a plate and topping it off with some whipped cream. “There ya go, Ellie Bean.” El looked at the treat with wide eyes before digging in. 

Billy groaned beside her. “If you name it you’ll get attached, Ted.” he warned in a sort of sing songy way.

Teddi shot him a look. “She is not an it, Billy. And will you stop it with that already? I’m being nice.” El wasn’t paying attention to them anymore. She was nearly shovelling the waffles into her mouth like she hadn’t eaten in days. 

Billy opened his mouth to argue, but Max and the rest of the kids came running up the stairs. Max looked between Billy and Teddi, taking in their angry expressions. “...What are you two bickering about now?” 

“Nothing.” they said at the same time. 

Billy gave Teddi one last look before turning to Mike. “Can we get this over with? Go get in the car.” he ordered, shooing the kids through the kitchen and out the front door. Eleven shoved the last bite of waffles in her mouth, wiping some excess whipped cream away with the back of her hand. She smiled up happily at Teddi before running off to join her friends in the van. 

If you name it you’ll get attached. Teddi scoffed at Billy’s words. And why couldn’t she? What was so wrong with that? Eleven didn’t have anyone. Why couldn’t that be Teddi? She knew that this was probably some deep, psychological thing that a therapist would have a field day with. Trying to make up for the shitty childhood she had and all that. 

She didn’t really care. 

---

Teddi and Billy dropped the kids and their bikes off at the middle school. They promised that once El got in contact with Will they would ride their bikes back to Mikes and call them to tell them what happened. Now the pair were at a diner that sat on Hawkin’s main street. 

“You think they’ll find anything?” Teddi asked, absently stirring her strawberry milkshake with her straw. She had her own doubts. Mainly because they had seen Will’s body the night before. If he was really alive, how could anyone possibly explain something like that? 

“Nope.” Billy answered firmly. His mouth was full with chilli cheese fries. 

Teddi let out a loud sigh and sunk further into her seat. “Can’t you be a little more optimistic?” 

“Nope,” he repeated, taking a large swig of coke. He let out a soft sigh when he saw the sad look on Teddi’s face. “...What do you think they’ll find, Ted? I mean, you saw Will’s body-”

“I know. I know...I don’t know what I expect. I just hope they find something. For their sake, I guess.” 

Their conversation was cut off when there was a loud knock on the window beside them. Chief Jim Hopper was looking down at the two teens with a stern look, his hands on his hips and his jaw set tightly. “Great…” Billy muttered. 

Hopper walked into the diner and over to the two teens. He wasn’t in his uniform, which Teddi found a little odd. “Aren’t you two supposed to be in school?” he asked, checking his watch. 

Billy and Teddi exchanged a look. “...We’re sad about Byers.” Billy said eventually. 

Teddi rolled her eyes. “We are sad about Will.” she shot Billy a dirty look. 

“You know, Powell and Callaghan are looking for you two. They’re over at the high school questioning your friends.”

Billy noticeably tensed up. “Questioning us for what? We haven’t done shit.”

Hopper looked over his shoulder quickly before sliding into the booth next to Teddi. “Barb Holland’s missing. We got a call from Karen Wheeler. She says you’re the last ones to see her.”

Teddi’s eyes widened. “Barb’s missing?” she asked. This was a nightmare. An absolute nightmare. “What do you mean she’s missing? I thought she was sick.”

Hopper raised an eyebrow. “Who said she was sick?” 

Billy let out a low groan and sunk in his seat. “Nice going, Larsson.” he muttered.

Teddi glared over at Billy. When she turned back to Hopper her expression softened. Teddi was more confused than she had ever been. There had been so many twists and turns the past few days that she barely knew which way was up. But she knew that Hopper would listen. He might not believe her, but he would listen. “Barb didn’t come to school yesterday. Nancy was worried because I guess Barb left the party early-”

“We were already gone by then.” Billy interjected, earning another glare from Teddi.

“So I told her that maybe Barb was just sick or something. She cut her hand-”

Hopper held up his hand to stop her. “She cut her hand? How?” 

“...Shotgunning a beer.” Teddi said, not meeting the chief’s eyes. Now it was Billy’s turn to glare at her.

Thankfully Hopper only gave what passed as a stern look before moving on. “But you two haven’t seen her since this party? Haven’t heard from her?”

Teddi shook her head. “We left to go pick up Max just after she cut her hand. And he probably couldn’t pick her out of a lineup,” she jabbed a thumb in Billy’s direction. He didn’t argue. “Do you think something bad happened? Do you think it’s related to what happened to Will?” 

Hopper gave her an odd sort of look. Like somehow they were both in on the same secret and he didn’t want anyone else to know that they were in on it. But it was gone in a flash. “What happened to Will was an accident. It’s horrible, and it’s sad, but it was an accident. We’re gonna get to the bottom of what happened to Barb. And until then I want you two to keep your noses where they belong, okay? No more parties after curfew, and no more skipping school,” 

Teddi and Billy both shifted awkwardly. Hopper reached over and took one of Billy’s fries. “I’m gonna look the other way this time. But I want you two back in school tomorrow. And you stop worrying so much, kid,” he put a gentle hand on Teddi’s shoulder. “You’re gonna give yourself a stroke.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling her.” Billy said with a smug look. Teddi rolled her eyes. 

Hopper looked over at Teddi with a sort of teasing smile. “See? You know if it’s serious if me and him are agreeing. You two stay safe, okay? I gotta get going,” he rose from the booth, turning and pointing a finger at each of them. “School tomorrow.” he reminded them. Billy gave a mock salute and Hopper was off. 

There was a long silence before Teddi finally spoke up. “We need to do something.” 

Billy let out a sigh. “Like what, Ted? Go monster hunting?” 

“Exactly.”

“Teddi-” 

Teddi leaned across the table and looked at Billy with a tired expression. “Did you see Hop’s face when I brought up Will? It’s like he knows something. Maybe he knows what we know, and he just doesn’t want to say it.” 

“You mean about the Demo…” he drifted off, clearly not able to remember the name. 

“Demogorgon,” Teddi finished for him. Billy gave her a look. One that said ‘do you hear how crazy you sound?’ Of course she knew that. But she was past the point of caring. “They said that Will drowned, Billy. What are the chances that Will drowns and Barb runs away? You know that Quarry. We used to hang out there all the time in middle school. If you fell into it you would be dead before you hit the water. Every single bone in your body would break. You saw his body. Did it look like anything was broken to you?”

Billy couldn’t argue that point. There had been this rumor when they were kids that some guy had fallen into the quarry back in the 60’s, and when the cops dragged his body out of the water he looked like a jellyfish. Will definitely hadn’t looked like that. He hadn’t had a scratch on him. 

Billy took another bite of his chili fries before thoughtfully looking over at Teddi. “Well, what’s the plan, Teddi Bear? We’re gonna go camp out in the woods until something tries to kill us?” 

---

“This is one of the dumbest fucking things I’ve ever done,” Billy muttered. “And that includes the time we were gonna run away to Disneyland when we were ten.” Billy and Teddi were sitting in Teddi’s van. They had driven a little ways into the woods, not far enough to lose their way from the main road, but far enough in that no one driving past could see them. 

“...That was a pretty decent plan.” Teddi defended. It wasn’t. Somehow they had seemed to think they could actually walk to California with nothing but some clothes and their toothbrushes shoved into their backpacks. Hopper had found them about twenty minutes into their grand escape plan. He took them to the bakery down the street from the police station, bought them both donuts and talked to them about what things were like at home before he took them back to school. Steve had been pretty pissed that they hadn’t invited him along. 

Billy turned in his seat and pointed back where there was a bottle of kerosene and a can of Billy’s hairspray they had tossed into the back of the van. “How can you say any plan is worse than this?” he asked. 

“It was your idea to be Smokey Bear’s worst nightmare, Hargrove. Not mine,” she argued. Teddi shut the van off and hopped out. Billy grabbed the kerosene and hairspray and got out behind her, muttering angrily. “Besides, we have to be able to defend ourselves somehow, right?”

Billy gave her a tired look. “Defend ourselves against the make believe monster? Oh, sure,” he turned to the woods that sat before them. “Watch out, Demogorgons! Lifeguards on duty!” he called sarcastically.

“Be quiet!” Teddi hissed out, slapping her hand over his mouth. “If there is something out there it’ll know that we’re here!” 

Billy rolled his eyes and pushed Teddi’s hand away. “Let’s just get this over with.” he muttered. 

Teddi let out an annoyed huff and took off ahead of Billy. She hated when he got like this. All grouchy and stubborn. It was rare that it was aimed in her direction, but Teddi was never one to put up with Billy’s attitude. 

Billy’s jaw tightened as he watched his girlfriend venture further into the woods without him. He let out an annoyed breath out of his nose and followed after her, nearly stomping like a toddler having a tantrum. Teddi flicked on her flashlight, the bright beam illuminating their path. 

Billy was firm in his belief that there wasn’t anything in the woods. But still, he had to admit he felt a little uneasy the further they walked. It wasn’t too far. If he turned around he could probably still see the outline of Teddi’s van. But he couldn’t help but feel like they shouldn’t be there. Like they were trespassing almost. 

He felt like they were being watched. The little hairs on the back of his neck were standing on end. Billy tried his hardest to make his eyes adjust to the dark. He couldn’t see anything or anyone. But there was something out there. He could hear something moving around them. Getting closer. 

Teddi jumped a little when she felt Billy’s hand gently touch her arm. He had caught up to her, taking a step or two ahead as if he were trying to shield her from something. She opened her mouth to let out some sassy comment when Billy held a finger up to his lips to quiet her. She frowned up at him, watching in confusion as he surveyed the area around them. He started fumbling for the lighter in his jean jacket. 

“Billy, what-” Teddi’s question was cut off by a horrible screech. It was that same horrible sound they had heard the night Will went missing. It was close. Teddi’s entire body started to tingle. Her hands couldn’t stop shaking. The scream had been so loud she could hear a quiet ringing in her ears. 

Billy wrapped his hand around Teddi’s wrist and he pulled her closer to him. “We’re going back to the van.” it wasn’t a suggestion. Teddi wasn’t going to argue. There was a loud snap somewhere nearby. Teddi jumped at the sound. Something was coming towards them. Slowly. 

Teddi couldn’t help herself. She shined the light of her flashlight to their left. The beam of light was shaky, but she saw a flash of something moving over behind the trees. She let out a small gasp, and Billy’s hand tightened around her. 

“What the fuck is that?” Billy asked. He was breathing heavily. He pushed Teddi further behind him and took on a defensive stance. It was an animal, he thought. It was too big to be a coyote. Too thin to be a bear. Whatever it was, he was sure it was stalking them. 

There was another loud snap. Teddi pointed the flashlight out in front of them. She’d caught it this time. Neither of them knew what they were looking at. It was...a creature. Nothing they’d ever seen before. It was on all fours. It had paused mid stride. It had a long, thin, almost sort of gangly grey body. It didn’t have a face. It’s head almost looked like a flower that hadn’t bloomed just yet. 

Teddi’s hands were shaking so badly she almost dropped the flashlight. She felt Billy’s entire body go tense. Her heart was pounding so loudly in her ears that she almost hadn’t heard him. “When I tell you to run, you run back to the van and you don’t look back.” 

The monster slowly rose to its feet before them. It easily had to be seven feet tall. Teddi suddenly noticed the way that its long, thin fingers ended in sharp points. She thought she would be sick. It’s face opened, revealing six red petal like appendages that were lined with rows of tiny, sharp teeth. It let out that horrible scream again. Billy told her to run. She did. She knew that Billy was behind her as she carried herself back through the woods and to the van. The monster wasn’t far behind them. Teddi let out a startled gasp as it screeched again, stumbling over some branches. 

Her van was close by. She could see it through her blurry, tear filled vision. Teddi willed her legs to move faster. She couldn’t let herself think about what would happen if that thing caught her. 

Billy was telling her to get in the van. He had slowed down behind her. Teddi threw the driver’s side door open as Billy came to a stop in front of the van. He held up the lighter to the can of hairspray, a large flame shooting out in front of him and towards the creature. 

It screeched again. Like it was in pain. Teddi started the van, screaming for Billy to get in. He didn’t let up with his makeshift flamethrower until he was safely back inside next to her. “Hit it.” He said firmly.

“What?” Teddi asked helplessly. She felt like she couldn’t catch her breath. 

“Run the fucking thing over!” He yelled. 

Teddi slammed her foot down on the gas. There was a loud crunch. The entire van lurched forward as she collided with the monster. She was sure the front of her van had been crushed. It felt like she had run into a semi truck. Teddi threw the van into reverse and sped backwards towards the main road before taking off down the street. 

She didn’t let up on the gas until Mirkwood was no longer in view. 

[slut4supersoldiers]

Someday. Maybe. Chapter 7

Summary: Throw together a boy and a girl and another boy and 5 middle-schoolers, two adults, a little girl with telekinetic powers, and a monster from another dimension and you’ll get the perfectly strange story.

(AKA: I suck at writing summaries.)

Pairing: Steve Harrington X OC (fem reader) X Billy Hargrove  

Words: 1K.  This is sort of a filler but the last two chapters (9th most likely being the last will be bigger)

Warning: Angst-ish, Strong language, fight, bullying.

I do not own Strangers Things nor the GIF.

PART I

PART II

PART III

PART IV

PART V 

PART VI

MASTERLIST

REQUESTS ARE OPEN

Next morning I rolled out of my bed and after doing my entire routine I headed downstairs like I did every day. I was not surprised when I noticed Flo’s absence. Since the mysterious decaying of pumpkin fields struck the small town of Hawkins Hopper was constantly busy and consequently Flo had to take care of the police station along with few officers.

Hawkins was getting colder as we neared the end of the year. I quickly grabbed my car keys and jacket from the coat hanger and headed out. But before I could rush into the warmth of my car I suddenly halted. Jacket. Billy’s jacket. I was so busy pushing the painful exchange with Steve at the back of mind that I forgot about Billy and last night.

A smile crept on my face as I marched upstairs to my room and picked up Billy’s jacket that I had laid on my dressing table. I ran my hands over the fabric of the jacket my smile only widening as I thought of Billy.

I admit that when Billy walked in the school with his head held high and chest puffed out I wanted nothing to do with him. Was he attractive? Yes. But he was also the classic example for the sexy but trouble stereotype and that clearly was something I always tried to (operative word: tried) steer away from. But since my last night Billy Hargrove, my opinions about him changed slightly. I had no intention of throwing myself in the arms of the blonde haired, heart-throb but I couldn’t deny that he was the only sense of comfort I had felt in a while and I wanted more of that.

Shaking my head at my thoughts I rushed downstairs straight to my car. I drove to the Henderson household only to find Dustin impatiently waiting outside his house. On seeing my car he ran over and sat in the passenger’s seat.

“Hi Dusty. How was Halloween?” I asked him. My voice coming out chirpier than I had anticipated.

“It was so cool and I took all of Lucas’ nougat bars. I also hung out with this new girl Max. Best night of my life (Y/n).” He flailed his hands as he excitedly talked about his night

“Nougat? How do you like that?” I scrunched my nose as I briefly glanced at Dustin.

“Okay (y/n) first off all Nougat is what heaven must taste like and secondly is that all you got from what I said. Did you not hear about me hanging out with a girl?” I could practically hear the disbelief roll off his tongue.

“Sorry Dusty. Who is this lovely lady?” I inquired.

“She is new in town her name is Maxine but she prefers Max. She plays video games and she has fiery red hair and sh- Hey wait whose jacket is that?” Dustin reached out to grab the jacket that laid across my lap.

“Nobody’s” I bit my lip as I tried hard not to smile. Damn me and my teenage hormones making me all giddy.

“Oh look you’re blushing. You’re red. Is it your boyfriend’s? Wait is it Steve Harrington? He is Nancy’s boyfriend, right? Honestly I never liked them together especially after I found out you like him. I mea-”

“Hold up Henderson! Firstly I don’t have a boyfriend and how did you find out I like Steve?” I ran a frustrated hand through my hair.

“Well I might have accidentally read your diary. But I thought you liked him I didn’t know you still do. Do you?” I could see Dustin shifting in his seat.

“I don’t know.” I grabbed onto the steering wheel tightly as all the happy thoughts slipped away from mind and were suddenly replaced by the haunting memory of mine and Steve’s conversation from yesterday. “But it doesn’t matter. He doesn’t care about me. Don’t think he ever did.” I heaved out a sigh as Dustin sat back quietly. I mentally thanked God for the silence.

After driving in the comfortable but slightly awkward silence I dropped Dustin off and headed towards the parking lot of Hawkins High. Like always I drew in a deep breath and got out of my car. Before I could delve on the thoughts of Steve Harrington I saw the one person I had been wanting to see since the morning. Billy Hargrove. He was at his usual spot; perched on the hood of his car blowing out cigarette smoke.

From Billy’s behaviour towards me around his friends compared to his behaviour in their absence I had concluded that he did not want to be seen with me when they were near. So I was not surprised when he nodded in my direction, seeing as he was alone that moment. Maybe I should’ve walked away and ignored him because I would only end up getting my heart and hopes crushed, the more I got attached. But I didn’t turn around because 1. I had his jacket and 2. My rational-self had bid me adieu a long time ago. So I smiled and walked towards him.

As I raised my hand to give him his jacket, Billy grabbed my wrist. “Are you okay?” He asked while crushing the cigarette under his boot and putting it out.

I looked at him; confused. He shook his head and looked back at me.

“I heard what happened between you and Harrington, never got the chance to ask yesterday.” He narrowed his eyes at me as if trying to gauge my reaction.

I smiled at him and before I could continue Carol’s shrill voice fell on my ears and just like that Billy dropped my hand. His concerned expression was suddenly replaced with a more stoic expression.

“Ms.Freak-enstein is now stealing things.” Tommy chuckled as he pointed to Billy’s jacket in my hand.

“Aw (y/n) I knew you doodled Mrs. Hargrove on the back of your books but this is crazy. I’d say you beat Byers in the obsessed stalker department.” Tommy doubled back in laughter as Carol pouted feigning pity.

“Carol, shut the fuck up.” Billy half-heartedly mumbled. I was used to Carol and Tommy but Billy’s nonchalant attitude and lack of interest to stand up for me, hurt. But it looked like Carol didn’t register his voice.

If I was frustrated before I was murderous the moment Carol opened her mouth again. “Didn’t mommy tell you not to steal?”

My anger got the best of me, the sudden surge of emotions dictated my actions and before Carol could say anything else I slapped. The imprint of my hand was now visible on her pale cheek The next thing I know Tommy was holding a shrieking Carol back while Billy’s arms were wrapped around my waist, stopping me from causing anymore trouble; ironic.

With the anger pulsing through my veins I jabbed at his ribs with my elbow to free myself. With one last glare I threw his jacket to the ground and shoved past him to my car.  The sudden wave of emotions that took over me was creating a havoc in my head. I was tired of constantly getting hurt and being made a fool out of simply for trusting someone or giving them a chance. So for the sake of my sanity I decided to skip school.

The moment I sat in the car I let the tears flow. I could still feel some stares linger on my hunched figure. Sparing myself any further embarrassment I drove away.

After driving around without a destination I decided to head over to the police station. Maybe engaging myself in some other work would help me take my mind off things. I finally arrived outside the station. Making sure I looked presentable I walked towards the station. Too busy thinking about the lies I’d tell Flo to keep her from worrying about me I accidentally bumped into someone. Before I could fall back from the force two hands reached out to hold me.

“Sorry. It was my fault.” I refused to look at the person before me. I had faced enough embarrassment already.

“It’s okay kid. Something on your mind?” As soon as the familiar voice fell on my ears I looked up. A very concerned Hopper was looking down at me with furrowed brows.

“Yeah. All good.” I gave him a half-hearted smile and tucked the rogue hair strand on my forehead behind my ear.

“You don’t look okay. (Y/n) have you been crying?” He drew his hands back and narrowed his eyes.

Averting my eyes from his scrutinizing gaze I shook my head, “No. Like I said I am fine.”

“Okay but if somebody is giving you trouble let me know, yeah?” He ruffled my hair a little making a small smile appear on my face.

“Yes chief.” I saluted him as I finally gave him a proper smile. He nodded.

Hopper finally got into his car and drove away. And I finally made my way into the police station.

TAG LIST:

@wefracturedmotivation @thoughstofaredhead @savannah-m-99 @spideyjoy @peanutlicker5000 @lovelydreamer-2000 @mysticfluffyness

[harringroveera]

Joyce: Ah, you know, kids, Mr. Clarke knows a couple of bands. Maybe he could get you those tickets to the concert you wanted to?

Jim: Hey, I said I’d get those tickets for our kids, and I’ll get them, Joyce!

Joyce: Oh, well, maybe he could get them backstage passes?

Jim: Backstage? I’ll get them on the stage! They’ll even break a bloody guitar over their damned heads!

Billy, Jonathan, Will, El: Cool!!

[tozierswheelers]

being the middle byers child [headcanon]

Requested: By some of y’all who seemed to like the ‘being the middle wheeler child’ headcanons!

Pairings: Jonathan Byers x reader (platonic), Will Byers x reader (platonic), faint Steve Harrington x reader (if you squint)

this is so long i’m so sorry :((( season two continues below the cut!!

you were Lonnie and Joyce’s second child, born a year after Jonathan

as horrible as it sounds, you were always Lonnie’s favorite

you were tough and much more driven than Jonathan was, never complaining when you guys went hunting.

when Will was born, you just knew that you would do anything to protect your little brother.

when Lonnie left, you realized just how much of a dick he was

you were the one who helped Joyce get through the divorce.

as you got older, Joyce quickly realized that you were incredibly intelligent

this led to you skipping a few grades in school

although you were a year younger than Jonathan, you were a year above him in school

(this meant that you were in the same grade as Steve)

((spoilers! y’all were best friends))

around Tommy and Carol however, Steve pretended not to know you

so you decided that you just wouldn’t pay him any attention.

next thing you know, Steve is dating Nancy Wheeler and both you and Jonathan are heartbroken

Jonathan has always liked Nancy, so he was upset.

but you and Steve…

you guys were close

and i mean close

you did e v e r y t h i n g together.

he was your best friend who never teased you for being an ‘overachiever’ 

he didn’t care that you were two years younger than him. 

y’all were best friends.

platonic soulmates if you will.

you began spending a lot of time with Will, seeing as how Jonathan was always out working or taking pictures of stuff.

the night that Will disappeared, you were taking a walk in the park

when you got home, you were slightly suspicious but shrugged it off, thinking Will had stayed the night at Mike’s.

you realized you were wrong the next morning

Joyce had never yelled at you before

but this time she did, upset with you for not being at home the night before

you immediately make your way towards the Wheeler residence, seeing Nancy’s shocked face when she opens the door

“(Y/N)? What are you doing he-”

“I need to talk with Mike. Now.”

You’re directed towards the basement, where you see Mike upset, tears in his eyes.

“(Y/N) I just heard about Will.”

“I know you plan on going out to look for him Mike.”

Mike makes an offended face, mouth agape.

“(Y/N)! Why would you ever think such a thing?”

“Cut the crap Wheeler. I know you guys are going to look. Count me in.”

Mike smiles and tells you to keep Will’s walkie close by.

the night they go out to look for Will, you get separated pretty quickly.

one minute, Dustin was next to you

next thing you know, you’re surrounded by nothing but darkness.

you hear the boys calling out for you and Will and run towards their voices

you run into Eleven instead ((oops))

you and Mike convince the others to trust El and take her back to Mike’s house.

the middle schoolers promise to take care of El, so you hesitantly leave.

the next day, you try to go back but Steve intercepts you when you try to leave the school.

“hey Byers, I know this isn’t the best time but do you wanna hang out tonight? my house?”

you snort and walk away, leaving Steve to sigh and kick a locker in frustration. 

eventually, you feel guilty and make your way towards Steve’s home…

…where you immediately regret your decision.

Steve is only paying attention to Nancy and Tommy & Carol are making snide remarks towards you. 

you sit awkwardly next to Barb, exchanging pained glances and desperate smiles. 

you stay outside when Barb gets hurt, only approaching the door when you hear arguing.

you meet Steve’s gaze and when he smiles in an apologetic way, you simply shake your head, turning to follow Barb.

you freeze in shock however, when you notice a large figure behind the sulking redhead

you open your mouth to warn Barb but in the blink of an eye, both the redhead and the mysterious figure are gone. 

you can’t help but feel the uneasy due to what you saw

it isn’t until you’re walking through the woods, halfway home, that you realize what was bothering you so much

the mysterious figure didn’t have a face.

you run the rest of the way home.

the next day, you overhear Nancy asking about Barb

concerned, you both team up and decide to locate the redhead

you patiently wait by Nancy’s side when she calls the Holland household, cringing at her poorly executed excuses.

when you both arrive to the parking lot, you’re thoroughly confused

you sort of agree with Steve: Jon’s stealthy pictures are kind of creepy.

but he’s your brother

the moment when Steve has Jonathan’s camera in his hands is tense.

((you’re holding your breath))

and when he lets it drop, all hell breaks loose.

as Jonathan scrambles to save his camera and Tommy and Carol rip up his pictures, you stomp up to Steve

a regret-filled look crossed his face and he opens his mouth ((to apologize but you don’t know that))

he never speaks because you punch him in the face.

you definitely split his lip and you can’t help but grin as you notice the bruise quickly forming on his cheek. 

everyone. is. shook.

I mean, you two were best friends. two peas in a pod. 

but your family was super important to you.

you hear that Will’s body was found later that day and against your better judgement, you make your way to Steve’s house.

Steve opens the door with a scowl but once he hears the words “Will”, “body” and “dead”, he wraps you up in his arms.

you cry your eyes out and eventually, you both fall asleep.

you leave bright and early the next morning, making your way to the Wheeler residence

where Mike tells you that Will is still alive.

you don’t believe him but once you hear what El did, you’re convinced.

you spend the rest of the time with The Party, ready to get your little brother back. 

you’re the one that breaks up the fight in the junkyard and follows Eleven after scolding the boys.

once convincing El to go back, you rush to find Troy and James at the quarry.

enraged, you’re the one that scares the boys off while El saves Mike.

eventually, you escape the government agents and meet up with Hopper, Nancy, and your mom and brother.

Joyce is relieved that you’re alright but upset that you’re wrapped up in everything. 

you force Joyce and Hopper to let you go with them to the lab. 

((they’re pretty intimidated by your tone that they agree))

you and Hopper are the ones to perform CPR on Will.

as soon as he wakes up, you wrap him in your arms and lead the way out of the Upside Down.

when he wakes up in the hospital, you’re the first to greet him, wrapping him up in a hug and kissing his forehead.

“you loser. never scare us like that again.”

Will smiles weakly.

“I didn’t mean to.”

almost a year later and you’re super concerned.

Will had ((luckily)) confided in you about the visions he’s been having about the Upside Down. 

that + college apps = lots of stress.

you start spending lots of time at the arcade to wind down, meeting Maxine Mayfield 

you quickly grow close to the little red-haired girl ((does anyone get this reference?))

Max, in return, looks up to you, admiring your intelligence and humor.

when you hear that she beat Dustin’s high score in Dig Dug, you know that things are going to get interesting.

the boys soon come up to you when school starts, knowing that you spend a lot of time at the arcade.

they beg you to find out who “MADMAX” is, feeling offended when they find out that you know who it is and you haven’t told them.

eventually, your life starts to feel normal

the only thing bothering you is Billy Hargrove, who keeps bothering you to go on a date with him. 

((you refuse each time))

(((Max has told you all about the things he’s done)))

on Halloween, you volunteer to stay with The Party, telling Jonathan to go enjoy Tina’s party.

when Max joins you, she immediately hugs you.

“(Y/N)!!”

“Max!”

The Party looks at you in shock and betrayal.

“you already knew her?!”

“yes Dustin. calm down.”

you and Mike find Will after his episode and manage to calm him down

eventually, you also get caught up in the Dart fiasco. 

when Will has his vision out on the field, you and Joyce freak out, trying to get him to snap out of it.

you’re pretty freaked out at will’s new actions.

you know that the shadow monster has inhabited a part of him. 

when you try to take a nap, you hear Dustin calling for help on the walkie-talkie, which you never gave back to Will.

you respond to Dustin’s cries, and he tells you to meet at the Wheeler’s residence.

before you can tell him that Mike is there with you, he disconnects.

sighing tiredly, you make your way to Mike’s house, leaving a quick note for Joyce and Bob.

you’re surprised to see Steve with Dustin when you get there.

you haven’t talked to Steve in a long time.

the last time was when you punched him in the face.

((lies, it was when you went to his house crying over Will))

you all stand there awkwardly before you break the silence.

“wait. Steve, you know about the Upside Down?”

“yeah, I helped Nancy and your brother fight against it.”

Dustin rolls his eyes before dragging you to his house…

…where you find Dart gone. 

you and Steve can’t help but exchange exasperated glances at Dustin’s actions.

“why did you keep that thing?!”

“I thought it was a pollywog!”

you decide to set up a trap in the junkyard.

when Max arrives, you scold Dustin and Lucas for dragging her into the situation.

when the demodogs arrive, you follow after Steve, holding nothin but a metal pole.

Steve is low-key worried for your safety.

((that worry quickly disappears when you save his life 10 two times))

the kids are all in awe because damn you can fight.

“that’s how I fend off your brother,” you wink at Max, causing her to cackle.

you all eventually regroup at the lab and quickly move to your home.

you lead Will’s interrogation, knowing that he’ll try harder to communicate with you.

you eventually get the message and you all rush inside when the phone rings. 

when Eleven steps through the door, all badass, you’re the second person to hug her, after Mike.

you stay with Steve and the kids as everyone else goes to do their thing. 

when Billy arrives, you’re the one who gets him off of Lucas.

you punch him first, and when Billy goes to swing back, Steve stops him. 

“didn’t anyone teach you not to hit girls?”

you’re super proud when Max finally stands up to Billy. 

you let Max drive while you tend to Steve’s wounds and when he starts freaking out, you manage to calm him down. 

after torching the tunnels, you push Mike out of the way

you get caught by the vines instead of him.

you don’t cry out for help, but Mike does.

by the time Steve arrives, you’re already hacking at the vines with a pocketknife that Jonathan had once given you “for protection”

Steve and the kids are impressed once again. 

you make sure all the kids get out of the tunnel first.

when you hear the demodogs approaching, you and Steve embrace each other tightly.

you each apologize for being horrible friends to one another.

when you emerge from the tunnel, you hug him once more.

“I really am sorry Steve. you’re the best friend I’ve ever had.”

“nothing like a near death experience to bring us back together, huh (Y/N). just kidding. you’re my bestest friend too.”

you snort at his words but hug him tighter anyways. 

a month later and everything finally is back to normal.

you and Will are inseparable, along with Jonathan.

you mourn Bob with your mom for a while.

you actually really like him, he cared about both your mom and her children.

you and Joyce both drop off Will and Jonathan at the Snow Ball.

while Joyce goes out to smoke, you stay in the car, listening to music before you see Steve arrive.

you casually jump into his car while he’s giving Dustin advice.

“remember act like you don’t care.”

“that’s shit advice Steve. just be yourself Dusty.”

you kiss Dustin’s cheek before he enters the school.

you turn to Steve, a mischievous smirk on your face.

“hey Steve. wanna go to the dance with me?”

Steve rolls his eyes and sighs before smiling widely.

“let’s do this Byers.”

you and Steve sit on the bleachers together and watch Nancy dance with Dustin.

eventually, The Party, Nancy, and Jonathan all sit at a table and watch you and Steve as you laugh and joke around.

Dustin is the first to speak.

“okay, I know that they’re best friends and all that shit but you can’t look at them and tell me that they’re not gonna end up together at some point. I mean, look at them! they’re practically soulmates!”

the rest of The Party and Nancy nod in agreement.

except Will

him and Jonathan punch Dustin in unison.

“hey! what was that for? you guys know i’m right. Byers and Harrington will end up together.”

Will and Jonathan begrudgingly nod in agreement after a few minutes. 

up in the bleachers, you gently nudge Steve before tilting your head towards your friends.

following your gaze, Steve snorts and wraps his arm around you pulling you into a hug and laughing.

you lean into his embrace.

for the first time in over a year, you’re relaxed.

you’re not thinking about the Upside Down, or college.

as far as you know, your brother is completely safe, El is alive, the Gate is closed, and you’ve fixed your friendship with Steve.

yeah, life couldn’t be better.

Tags: @delicrieux, @broken-pieces, @toekeery, @stanleyurisalive, @tapetayloe, @thekidsofneibolt

[myriadof-fandoms]

i, uh, wrote the thing. little drabble of the idea that i first described in the tags above. this whole concept is just too amazing 👉👈

It hits them out of nowhere.

No one sees it coming. No one ever would have expected it, so how could they've seen the signs? Even if, in retrospect, all the signs were there.

The dishes.

The subtle change of atmosphere.

The mentions in passing that make no sense. 

They would've just needed to open their eyes to know.

The day starts normal enough in the Wheeler household though. Normal for 4th of July at least. Which means Karen is about to lose her last bit of sanity, Mike is hiding from the work, Holly is crying, Nancy is annoyed and Ted is unbothered.  So, really almost the usual for any other day as well, except the strain and stress from preparing their traditional party has added just enough of an extra piece of tension to make it special. 

They don't bother with breakfast, instead everything is focused on getting the garden ready, setting up the benches and the barbeque and finishing off the decorations.

Everything goes according to plan, just like it always does, even if it's hard to believe with how Karen is just as stressed and upset the entire day. Her struggles pay off when the first guests arrive to not only find everything in perfect order but also to the entire family, sans Mike, wearing their best smiles. 

Then even Mike lights up when the Byers-Hopper troop arrives and Will and Eleven join him at the table he was moping alone at. At the same time, Nancy's smile becomes a real one too no doubt thanks to Jonathan, and Karen silently vows to remember to send Joyce a thank you basket for somehow creating the only beings that will make her own kids fall in line.

The party can really only be counted as a success. The guests are punctual, all of them arriving within half an hour. The kids, both the pre- and the actual teenagers get on. It’s almost astonishing how well they get along to the surrounding adults. How Nancy and Jonathan both don’t mind sitting with their little siblings. How even Steve and Robin seem to have a bond with the younger kids. How mature Steve and Nancy are coping with their breakup, sitting together and laughing. It’s the cause for lots of compliments to their parents.

Really, all in all, it's a wonderful day. 

Right when everyone is settling into the comfort and fun they’re having, it happens.

Nancy notices first and for a second she thinks she's hallucinating.

But then Jonathan stops speaking, as well as Dustin and Mike who are sharing a bench with them and thus also share their view. They all quieten down and stare in the same direction as she is.

So it must be real. Except it can't be. Because there simply is no reason for it. 

Why should Billy Hargrove come to their 4th of July party? 

Within moments everyone at their table has noticed him too. There’s a collective shock second before they start talking all over each other. 

“Is that Billy?”

“What’s he doing here?”

“No way that’s him.”

“What does he want?”

“Why isn’t his shirt buttoned?”

“Is he trying to pick a fight?”

“Mom is going to lose her mind if he destroys something.”

“Did you invite him?”

“Wait, me?” Steve interrupts the chorus of mumbling by raising his voice and staring at Nancy, who had clearly directed the question at him. “Why would I invite him?”

“No reason.” There’s a blush rising on Nancy’s cheek and she’s pointedly not looking at Robin who looks very demonstrative the other way as well.

Dustin cuts in before Steve can further question the insanity happening around him, “Shut up and look.”

Perhaps, they were all experiencing a shared hallucination. At least, that’s what Jonathan thinks when he watches Billy Hargrove walk up to Karen Wheeler and kiss both her cheeks.

“Karen, hi,” Billy’s smile is wide and is reciprocated just so by Karen. “You look fantastic, I love your hair like this. I told you cutting off a little more and some highlights would do so much for you.”

Mike does a double take when he realizes that his mother did indeed get a haircut. When he looks over to Nancy her wide eyed stare and the lack of color in her face are enough to tell him she hadn’t noticed either. 

Opposite to her daughter Karen gains some color high on her cheeks and her smile gets a little more honest before she says, “Your suggestion with the curl treatment actually did a lot, thank you again.”

When Billy reaches out and puts his hand on Mrs Wheeler’s arm while telling her there’s nothing to thank him for and really he is the one who’s thankful for being invited, Steve is thinking that this must be the point where he wakes up. He can’t be watching Billy Hargrove flirting with Karen Wheeler. It just can’t be happening.

Opposite to what the Party might’ve thought, the arrival of Billy hadn’t actually stopped the rest of the gathered people from continuing with the celebration, thus it was only now that someone else stopped being distracted by balloon animals made by Chief Hopper and realized there was a new guest.

“Billy!”

Will has often stayed at the Wheeler’s house. He’s eaten dinner with them countless times. He’s slept over a lot. However, he’s fairly sure this is the first time he’s heard Holly Wheeler sound so excited. 

She’s running past their table towards where her mother and Billy are standing some 30 feet away and, as if this is something he’s completely prepared for, Billy bends down to pick her up and twirls her around when she reaches him. Seeing that, Will realizes he’s also never seen Holly allow anyone but her mother or father to pick her up without pouting and now she’s balanced against Billy Hargrove’s hip and plays with his hair. On either side of him, Eleven and Lucas are watching the scene with equal confusion.

Billy turns away from Karen after telling her that he has to do the polite thing and greet the man of the house which earns him a look from her that Max doesn’t quite understand. There is something clearly fond in Mrs Wheeler’s eyes, however she mostly looks exasperated which doesn’t really seem like the typical reaction to someone wanting to be polite? Max vows to herself to question Billy about it.

When Billy walks by their table, Lucas is fairly sure he makes out parts of the conversation between the blond and Holly. What he thinks he hears is Billy asking, “Do you remember the word I taught you?” And then Lucas could swear, he sees Holly nod and hears her say, “Yes! Fuck is much easier to remember than shitbird was!” Lucas turns to Max and tells her to remind him to ask his mother to take him to an ENT.

Billy does exactly what he said he’d do and stops by Mr. Wheeler where he’s looking over the grill, greeting him like he sees him daily and thanking him profusely for the invitation. Then, Billy reaches out and lets his hand wander over Ted Wheeler’s upper arm.

"Mr. Wheeler," Billy's voice turns buttery soft with flattery. "Wait, oh my, have you been working out? I swear your arms…"

Steve considers whether eating his thoughts is as possible as eating his words. Because he did think Billy was flirting with Mrs Wheeler. It was nothing, literally nothing, compared to how Billy flirts with Mr. Wheeler now.

When he bends down to put Holly back on the ground, he purposefully twists around to have his back arched right in Ted's view. 

When he straightens back up, his shirt is somehow even more unbuttoned than it was before and he keeps leaning into the other man's space.

Dustin can't begin to even find an idea for a logical explanation for this.

Throughout the entire conversation Billy keeps up his smirk and somehow manages to make Mr. Wheeler show him how to properly tell when the meat's ready to be turned. Full on gets in the man’s personal space and lets his hands be guided. 

Ted seems utterly clueless about what’s happening.

Meanwhile, Max notices that Mrs Wheeler’s expression of exasperation has strengthened while she’s watched the entire scene from the side. There is a small smile on her face as well though.

When Billy tells Mr. Wheeler that, "Yeah, you look like you know your way around meat." Nancy chokes and coughs so loudly that she earns multiple concerned looks.

For the first time, Billy turns to their table as well.

The smile on his face turns gleeful.

"Oh, I'll have to go greet the rest of your family, Mr. Wheeler, please excuse me."

There’s a little huff and then to Nancy’s horror, "How often do I have to tell you to call me Ted?"

"Maybe just once more," Billy says with a brighter smile before he reaches out to squeeze Ted's arm again and walks away.

When he reaches their table his first words are addressed to Mike, "Wheeler, if you don't close your mouth soon you'll catch flies." 

For a full minute they all stare at him like he's grown a second head. Mike closes his mouth only after another moment of shock.

When no one picks up a conversation but just continues to stare at him, Billy sighs.

"So you are about as fun at parties as I expected you all to be," he looks at them like they've personally disappointed him by fulfilling his expectation. But then he turns to Steve, "I really did think you'd know how to have some fun though, pretty boy. Too bad, but I guess if you need a lesson sometime you know where to find me." Billy winks at him and turns smoothly on his heel, disappearing as quickly as he came and joining Karen again. (No one but Max notices that she lightly smacks his arm when he reaches her which in turn makes him actually laugh out loud.)

Nobody speaks. Perhaps if they don't address it they can pretend it didn't even happen.

However, Nancy and Lucas realize something at almost the exact time; ever since Billy showed Max has been quiet. She doesn't even look confused at all. 

"Max," Nancy's tone is cool and quiet, mistrust laced in her voice. "Do you know what that was?"

Max is unimpressed, "'Course I do."

Suddenly, everyone finds their voice again and there is a new chorus of questions.

“What?”

“How does he know our parents?”

“Why is he here?”

“Is he trying to poison us?” 

“How could you keep this from us?”

Max has to almost yell to be heard, "Alright, shut it!"

They do. Max' very aura demands to be listened to. 

She turns to Mike and Nancy only when she says, "He's here every Wednesday for dinner. The night the two of you always sneak out. Has been going for months. And for the record, I never mentioned it because I assumed you know who hangs out with your family."

And with that she gets up and follows Billy. 

Once again, they all sit in silence. 

They are all lost in their own thoughts, focused more or less around what just happened. There’s a little bit of guilt about not knowing about this development (Nancy), annoyance because no one told him about it (Mike), confusion about why everyone is so upset about seeing Max’ brother (Eleven), indignation about why Max didn’t at least tell him (Lucas), questioning the reasoning as to why Billy would flirt with Mr. Wheeler (Steve), calculations about when enough time would have passed to get back into their prior conversation about D&D (Will).

What they don’t know yet and no one is even thinking of as a possibility either is that they only just experienced the first of many appearances of one Billy Hargrove at their get-togethers.

Their silence lasts longer than it did previously. 

When it's broken this time, it's by Steve, who with just one question unknowingly signs up for a conversation with Nancy and Robin about obliviousness and the concept of bisexuality sometime in the near future.

"Did he just flirt with me?"

.

.

.

ao3

“What if Ted answered the door and Billy put on the same act, but Ted just thinks he’s a really nice man instead? And Karen is just there like 🤨.” (insp)

for @ihni & @memes-saved-me ♥

part 2 | part 1

[ao3feed-strangerthings]

The Way to A Man's Heart is Through His Stomach

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2VoB0Fv

by youcallherhephanie

Steve and Billy weren’t ever really close. They had their shared responsibilities; school, basketball, babysitting. That was where their interactions ended. Nothing more. But when Steve begins to notice that Billy spends his days more hungry than not, he decides to take action into his own hands and invite the boy in for dinner — let him taste the goodness of the Harrington household. Afterwards, he finds he doesn’t exactly mind Billy’s presence at all.

Or

3 times Steve cooked for Billy, and the 1 time Billy cooked for Steve.

Words: 2696, Chapters: 1/4, Language: English

Fandoms: Stranger Things (TV 2016)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Maxine "Max" Mayfield, Dustin Henderson, Mike Wheeler, Eleven | Jane Hopper, Will Byers, Lucas Sinclair, Mrs Byers, Neil (minor)

Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington

Additional Tags: Fluff, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Mutual Pining, food and cooking, Confessions, First Kisses, mentions of abuse, Period-Typical Homophobia, - minor, Friends to Lovers, Minor Injuries, Aftermath of Violence, Declarations Of Love, Legit a lot of fluff, this has been a long time coming, point of view change

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2VoB0Fv

[multiple-fandomimagines]

Billy Hargrove Masterlist *updated 2/15/21*

NONE OF THESE ARE MINE!!! I did NOT write any of these! I believe they are amazing fanfics, written by insanely talented people, and deserve to be shared. ALL CREDIT GOES TO THE AUTHORS!!!

Billy x Steve

Bad by flippyspoon (Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington)(Billy Hargrove & Eleven)(Billy Hargrove & Max Mayfield) Billy hates the cold but he takes walks in the snowy woods anyway. Never know who you'll meet there.

Pain, Will You Return It? by shocked_into_shame (Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington) When Billy gets beaten to a literal pulp by his dad, the police get involved. Billy has to come to terms with what he has done to those around him. He doesn't want to be like his dad. Especially when he sees Steve Harrington. When he sees Steve, he wants to be good.

Marquee Moons by flippyspoon (Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington) Billy helps out with some demodog bustin'.

The Moon-Birds by flippyspoon (Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington)(Billy Hargrove & Eleven) Where Billy goes on Friday afternoons.

Holiday’s at the Henderson’s by ohmbgosh (Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington) For some reason Steve really wants Dustin to get along with Billy. Since it's almost Christmas, Dustin reluctantly gives it a shot.

To Build a Home by inkyreveries (Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington) In which Neil Hargrove dies and Billy and Steve go back to Hawkins.

Runaway by ohmbgosh (Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington)(Billy Hargrove & Jim Hopper)(Billy Hargrove & Eleven) Jim Hopper just wants to find a Christmas present for his telepathic daughter. He didn't ask for all these extra teenagers in his home.

Saint Anger by maikurosaki(Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington)Hopper sighed and scratched his beard. “Look, kid, the reason why I’m offering you a second chance is because you need it. You don’t deserve it, but you need it. So I got your back.” Or how, on his harrowing road to redemption (because second chances don’t come easy), Billy Hargrove loses a good-for-nothing father, but gains a tough little sister, a giant older brother, a preppy boyfriend, and an obnoxious pack of nerds, not necessarily in this particular order.

Angels Come To Us Disguised by AuthorsBane (Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington)(Protective Parent Jim Hopper)It’s a quiet night in Hawkins. That is, until Chief Hopper receives news he would have been able to live without. What follows is the worst night on call he can imagine once Billy Hargrove and Steve Harrington get involved.

"It's like the Body Snatchers!" by ChangeTheCircumstances (Billy Hargrove & Max Mayfield)(Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington) Max wonders if her life will ever be normal again, if anything can be normal in a place like Hawkins. She doubts it but there's at least one thing she's sure of: the last person to ever realize what's really going on in this crazy place will be Billy. No way would anything supernatural ever happen to him.

Don't Tell Me There's No Hope At All/ Together We Stand, Divided We Fall by Straight_Outta_Hobbiton (Billy Hargrove & Max Mayfield)(Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington) Billy's used to being afraid of his father, and he knows he's not the only one scared. But it's one thing to know your stepmother gets smacked around every once in a while and another thing completely to find her body on the bathroom floor.He's a mess, Max is even more of a mess, and Joyce Byers is a queen among mothers, she really is.

Hargrove by petersnotkingyet (Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington) “Chief?” “Yeah?” Hopper responded. It was barely eight o’clock; he’d just made it to the office. “Principal Wallace needs you down at the high school. The Hargrove kid’s sleeping in his car again, and they can’t get him to wake up.”

stand (in the place where you live) by Boardingschooled (Billy Hargrove & Max Mayfield)(Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington) After the gate is closed, Billy Hargrove has to face the consequences of what he's done, and it's all thanks to Hopper and his habit of taking in strays. Alternatively: Billy becomes a good big brother, learns how to apologize, and makes some very gay mixtapes, not in that order.

Holding Out For A Hero by TumbleTree Billy had never cared for the kids Steve called his own. He had already started tolerating them for Max’s sake and not because she almost busted his nuts that one time with the baseball bat. But when Steve had looked at him with those big brown eyes, begging him to keep an eye on the kids while he was on some ‘vacation’ with his asshole parents Billy couldn’t say no.So fuck Steve for putting him in all the situations that followed that conversation. He owed him a ton of blow jobs for all the shit he had to put up with now.—Five times Billy protected their kids and the one time they protected him...sort of.

We Slip And Slide by CallieB It came from the Discord, y'all.Pure indulgent post-S3 fluff, including but not limited to the discussed concepts of: - Billy moving in with Joyce - The Jonathan/Billy friendship we all need - Grouchy Hopper - Jonathan and Billy smoking weed together and arguing about music. Because punk and metal are two different things. BUT they unite against Steve’s taste - Robin and Jonathan being excellent wing-persons - Hop and Billy teaming up against Mike to protect El - Shovel talks all round - Robin being clever and eating popcorn - The you rule/you suck board

the greatest adventure is the family you've searched for coming alive by ThePackWantstheD Billy spends a night fighting monsters with a crowbar in his hand after Harrington knocks him into the Byers' fridge.In the aftermath, he and Max call a ceasefire.or: Billy Hargrove gets the family he deserves in the form of three children taking up the seats of the camaro, in the form of Billy teaching Max that she can be as badass as she wants without being less of a girl because Billy taking care of himself doesn't make him less of a man, in the form of the blood and bruises and broken bones that Eleven and Billy share, in the form of Will Byers learning that he's not the only boy in Hawkins who wants to kiss other boys.

The Great Escape by flippyspoon  Hopper's been in a cell in Kamchatka for three months. He's got a routine and he takes it one day at a time. And then a certain blonde bad boy from Hawkins shows up.

Limits by That_Is_Americas_Ass Everyone has their limits.Max has just finally hit hers.She's done with hiding behind closed doors listening to her step-father Neil hurt her brother, his own flesh and blood son, beyond reason and without remorse. She's done watching her own mother cower in ignorance behind a mask of indifference. She's done hiding in the dark while Billy takes the abuse to try and save her from the heartless man who dared call himself their father.Of all the monsters lurking in Hawkins, who would have guessed the worst of them all was living in Max's own home?

Shovel Talk(s) by Invaderdumbass Max wasn’t a great sister, hell she wasn’t even a decent sister until recently. It took her brother dying, El spilling the secrets that lurk in her home, then him coming back to life for her to shape up.Or a bit of a Max Mayfield character study and everyones got an opinion on Billy and Steve getting together.

Billy & Max

Fleetwood Max by ohmbgosh (Billy Hargrove & Max Mayfield)(Protective Billy Hargrove)(Protective Max Mayfield)(Protective Siblings) One time Max stands up for Billy, and one time he returns the favor

Bad by flippyspoon (Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington)(Billy Hargrove & Eleven)(Billy Hargrove & Max Mayfield) Billy hates the cold but he takes walks in the snowy woods anyway. Never know who you'll meet there.

Still Water by Major (Billy Hargrove & Max Mayfield) The Hargrove household is not a happy home. Billy and Max find a way to get through it together.

"It's like the Body Snatchers!" by ChangeTheCircumstances (Billy Hargrove & Max Mayfield)(Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington) Max wonders if her life will ever be normal again, if anything can be normal in a place like Hawkins. She doubts it but there's at least one thing she's sure of: the last person to ever realize what's really going on in this crazy place will be Billy. No way would anything supernatural ever happen to him.

Still Water by Major (Billy Hargrove & Max Mayfield) The Hargrove household is not a happy home. Billy and Max find a way to get through it together. 

Don't Tell Me There's No Hope At All/ Together We Stand, Divided We Fall by Straight_Outta_Hobbiton (Billy Hargrove & Max Mayfield)(Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington) Billy's used to being afraid of his father, and he knows he's not the only one scared. But it's one thing to know your stepmother gets smacked around every once in a while and another thing completely to find her body on the bathroom floor.He's a mess, Max is even more of a mess, and Joyce Byers is a queen among mothers, she really is.

stand (in the place where you live) by Boardingschooled (Billy Hargrove & Max Mayfield)(Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington) After the gate is closed, Billy Hargrove has to face the consequences of what he's done, and it's all thanks to Hopper and his habit of taking in strays. Alternatively: Billy becomes a good big brother, learns how to apologize, and makes some very gay mixtapes, not in that order.

proud by mercytio (scundtrack) (Billy Hargrove & Max Mayfield)(Steve Harrington & Max Mayfield) max graduates and steve tells her exactly what she needed to hear

Little Boy Blue by AfterGlow13 "Billy would never admit this to anyone, least of all himself, but he still felt like a child. A little boy, barely coming up to his Dad's elbows. Like that kid, Adam, whom he and Heather had brought to the monster. It had almost been too easy. His parents were split, and when it was his father's turn to pick him up from swim lessons he was guaranteed to be 45 minutes late. Billy had scooped him up, one hand over his mouth, and Heather had waited with the trunk of the car open.These were the thoughts Billy was sweating with in the July heat. He'd never liked the cold, and found he liked it even less now. The fan sat in the corner, unplugged."The story of how Billy gets a radio, too.

the greatest adventure is the family you've searched for coming alive by ThePackWantstheD Billy spends a night fighting monsters with a crowbar in his hand after Harrington knocks him into the Byers' fridge.In the aftermath, he and Max call a ceasefire.or: Billy Hargrove gets the family he deserves in the form of three children taking up the seats of the camaro, in the form of Billy teaching Max that she can be as badass as she wants without being less of a girl because Billy taking care of himself doesn't make him less of a man, in the form of the blood and bruises and broken bones that Eleven and Billy share, in the form of Will Byers learning that he's not the only boy in Hawkins who wants to kiss other boys.

Selfish little girl by Multifandom_damnation  Susan always said that she loved her daughter and that nothing would ever change that, but Max soon finds out that the only thing that could change it very quickly is pointing out how much of a prick her new step-father is, and taking Billy's side over Neil's. Susan doesn't deal with this very well, but thankfully, Billy will always be there to pick up the pieces and fix what his father broke.

I Dump Your Ass by That_Is_Americas_Ass After a misunderstanding between Max and Lucas, Max dumps him. Lucas has no idea how to get back on Max's good side after she gets mad at him. He messed up good this time. It wasn't just him though, the guys all screwed up and unknowingly pushed Max away, making her feel like she was an outsider rather than a member of the party.To make things right, they will need help.In a last act of desperation, Lucas goes to the last person he wants to to ask for help.Billy Hargrove.

Limits by That_Is_Americas_Ass Everyone has their limits.Max has just finally hit hers.She's done with hiding behind closed doors listening to her step-father Neil hurt her brother, his own flesh and blood son, beyond reason and without remorse. She's done watching her own mother cower in ignorance behind a mask of indifference. She's done hiding in the dark while Billy takes the abuse to try and save her from the heartless man who dared call himself their father.Of all the monsters lurking in Hawkins, who would have guessed the worst of them all was living in Max's own home?

Shovel Talk(s) by Invaderdumbass Max wasn’t a great sister, hell she wasn’t even a decent sister until recently. It took her brother dying, El spilling the secrets that lurk in her home, then him coming back to life for her to shape up.Or a bit of a Max Mayfield character study and everyones got an opinion on Billy and Steve getting together.

You always were the one to wear the pants by Multifandom_damnation  Susan wants her daughter to be more feminine and to change the way she looks under the superstition that she'll never fall in love looking like a man, but Billy thinks that's a load of bullshit, and knows exactly what to do to fix it.

Sink or Swim by That_Is_Americas_Ass It was supposed to be a relaxing day at the pool.Nancy had agreed to take the kids swimming so they could have a change of scenery. Sure, Hawkins Public Pool was a little crowded but the brats all agreed to stay away from the deep end.What could possibly go wrong?Let's hope nothing does go wrong, because it's Billy's day off and that new lifeguard sure as hell isn't paying attention.

Billy & Eleven

Runaway by ohmbgosh (Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington)(Billy Hargrove & Jim Hopper)(Billy Hargrove & Eleven) Jim Hopper just wants to find a Christmas present for his telepathic daughter. He didn't ask for all these extra teenagers in his home.

The Moon-Birds by flippyspoon (Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington)(Billy Hargrove & Eleven) Where Billy goes on Friday afternoons.

Bad by flippyspoon (Billy Hargrove x Steve Harrington)(Billy Hargrove & Eleven)(Billy Hargrove & Max Mayfield) Billy hates the cold but he takes walks in the snowy woods anyway. Never know who you'll meet there.

the moments that words don't reach by writerblender (Billy Hargrove & Eleven) The girl swallows hard before she speaks again. "Like Papa?" Billy's heart just about stops in his chest [or how billy hargrove befriended a quiet, curled-haired superhero]

the greatest adventure is the family you've searched for coming alive by ThePackWantstheD Billy spends a night fighting monsters with a crowbar in his hand after Harrington knocks him into the Byers' fridge.In the aftermath, he and Max call a ceasefire.or: Billy Hargrove gets the family he deserves in the form of three children taking up the seats of the camaro, in the form of Billy teaching Max that she can be as badass as she wants without being less of a girl because Billy taking care of himself doesn't make him less of a man, in the form of the blood and bruises and broken bones that Eleven and Billy share, in the form of Will Byers learning that he's not the only boy in Hawkins who wants to kiss other boys.

Day 348 by HashtagLEH El is certain she's dying. She's bleeding and in pain and Hopper isn't picking up on the radio, so she runs out of the cabin to find him.Billy came out to be alone one day before he would have to join the kids of Hawkins High. El stumbles upon his car.*Or, El gets her period for the first time, panics, and then causes Billy to panic because he too thinks she's dying before he realizes he's going to have to explain women's bodies to a twelve-year-old he doesn't even know the name of. Somehow, despite not knowing why he even bothers, it turns out okay.

Billy & Will Byers

Along Deserted Avenues by PuddingsWithProblems (Billy Hargrove & Will Byers) Billy was just trying to get to his car he didn't exactly plan to play knight in shining armour to a 12 year old.

the greatest adventure is the family you've searched for coming alive by ThePackWantstheD Billy spends a night fighting monsters with a crowbar in his hand after Harrington knocks him into the Byers' fridge.In the aftermath, he and Max call a ceasefire.or: Billy Hargrove gets the family he deserves in the form of three children taking up the seats of the camaro, in the form of Billy teaching Max that she can be as badass as she wants without being less of a girl because Billy taking care of himself doesn't make him less of a man, in the form of the blood and bruises and broken bones that Eleven and Billy share, in the form of Will Byers learning that he's not the only boy in Hawkins who wants to kiss other boys.

Billy & The Party 

Holding Out For A Hero by TumbleTree Billy had never cared for the kids Steve called his own. He had already started tolerating them for Max’s sake and not because she almost busted his nuts that one time with the baseball bat. But when Steve had looked at him with those big brown eyes, begging him to keep an eye on the kids while he was on some ‘vacation’ with his asshole parents Billy couldn’t say no.So fuck Steve for putting him in all the situations that followed that conversation. He owed him a ton of blow jobs for all the shit he had to put up with now.—Five times Billy protected their kids and the one time they protected him...sort of.

I Dump Your Ass by That_Is_Americas_Ass After a misunderstanding between Max and Lucas, Max dumps him. Lucas has no idea how to get back on Max's good side after she gets mad at him. He messed up good this time. It wasn't just him though, the guys all screwed up and unknowingly pushed Max away, making her feel like she was an outsider rather than a member of the party.To make things right, they will need help.In a last act of desperation, Lucas goes to the last person he wants to to ask for help.Billy Hargrove.