#billy: i will put a curse on myself i swear i will

[billymarvel]

a magic user reading up on ancient texts talking about The Champion and their obligations and trials they go through, and thinking out loud 'wow, this guy is insane. if that were me, i woulda lost it long ago'.

cap standing not too far away bc theyre at jld hq and hes just downing a coffee that he never needed, thinking 'the only thing keeping me sane is that goddamn tiger and the game console waiting for me at the rock. and also the several people in my corner, but we wont talk about that'.

[nvtstvrns]

Scared? - Matt Sturniolo

soft!matt, soft!reader fluff, Halloween night

Summary: y/n and Matt decide to stay home for Halloween and they watch horror movies together. Y/n gets a little scared during one of the movies so Matt comforts her.

Contains: fluff, cuddling, some dirty talk (not a lot), horror movies, mentions of killing, Halloween

message from me: I miss writing fluff guys holy shit this is fun

Divider credits @bernardsbendystraws

I was waiting for the popcorn in the microwave when Matt walks out of his room, he was finding the movie Scream for me to watch because it’s my favorite horror movie. He wraps his arms around my stomach from behind as his head rests on my shoulder.

“Hey, did you find it?” I ask referring to the movie. He hums behind me.

“With the way you’re lookin right now I don’t think I want to watch the tv…” he says kissing my neck and trailing his hands up my shirt. I shrug away from him and I take the popcorn out of the microwave dumping it in the bowl.

“Well…it’s my favorite movie so I think I’ll be able to watch it.” I say turning back around to be met with him right in my face.

He scoffs and puts his hand into his pockets and he licks his lips. “You only like scream cause you think Ghostface is hot.” He says opening the fridge and getting out a root beer for himself and a Dr. Pepper for me.

“He is! But he has to have the mask on.” I say picking up the popcorn bucket and walking towards his room.

“You’re deranged.” He says following me.

I lay in his chest as we’re about done with the movie, Billy and Stu reveal themselves and I grin burying my head in his chest.

“Seriously? What do I have to do to get that kind of reaction from you?” He asks rolling his eyes.

“Get a ghostface mask.” I say grinning as I play with his hair.

While laying on his chest I breathe deeply trying to match my breathing with his. He holds me tightly rubbing my back with his hand. I yawn when the movie ends and I try to get up but he holds me closer to him.

“You’re so warm…don’t go.” He says holding me tighter. I groan trying to lift myself up.

“I’m just gonna go make more popcorn, you find another movie, I’ll be right back I promise.” I say kissing him softly. I walk out of his room my fuzzy socks brushing against the floor. Chris and Nick were watching their own movie in the living room.

“Have you been able to keep your hands of each other for once? You don’t look like he tore your insides apart yet.” Chris says pausing his movie to look at me.

“Chris, shut the fuck up you’re so weird.” I say running a hand through my hair as my face turns red in embarrassment. “We can keep our hands off each other…” I say as I put the popcorn in the microwave.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard of you two making it through a whole movie without touch—”

“Okay Chris stop.” Nick says freeing me from his comments. I go back to Matt’s room and he has smile pulled up.

“Hell no Matt. I’m not watching smile.” I say sitting next to him in the bed.

“Come on, I wanna see it.” He says hitting play and wrapping an arm around me. I groan and settle into his side. “I’m gonna kill you if I get scared.” I mumble.

Near the middle of the movie I jump and Matt holds me tighter. “Come on sweetheart it’s fake, look.” He says pushing my head towards the TV. It was not a good time because the smile demon was in the corner of the room. I whimper and try to get closer to him if that was even possible.

I made it through a good amount of the movie without being scared but when it came to the end I jumped and screamed at every little thing, at some point I started crying and he paused the movie.

“I don’t like movies about demons Matt…I never have.” I say sobbing into his shoulder. He mumbled a curse word and holds me tighter.

“Y/n I swear I didn’t think you’d get this scared I’m sorry…” he says rubbing my back. He shushes me and tells me to breathe. After a while I’m fully calmed down and he hits play on the movie again.

“Remember baby, it’s all fake, it’s not gonna hurt you I swear.” He says moving his attention back to the tv. “I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere.”

When the movie was over I climb off of him and wipe my eyes. “We should watch a cartoon.” He laughs and changes the show. A random cartoon playing.

“That good?” He asks. I nod and I end up falling asleep next to him.

Thanks for reading. I fucking love horror movies but the only movie that has ever scared me was Smile fuck that movie bro 😭

[thatrandomwriter]

The Lake

Billy Loomis x Reader

Warnings: Suggestive language, cursing

Summary: Reader is confronted with their attraction to Billy as they try to cool off from the summer heat.

It was the hottest day of the year, the kind of heat that slowed everything down, making me sleepy and essentially useless. My saving grace had been Stu, surprisingly, who knew about a lake nearby, perfect for all of us to cool off in.

“Holy shit, it’s colder than a witch’s tit in here,” Stu exclaimed. He was the first to jump into the lake, pulling Tatum closely behind him. She squealed as he yanked her into the water, splashing her in the face.

“Thanks a lot, Stu. I was trying to keep my hair dry,” She splashed him back, but he grabbed her, lifting her up in the air and dunking her underwater. She came up gasping and swearing, whacking him on the shoulder.

“Come on in, guys, the water’s fine,” Stu seemed to already have disregarded his previous statement.

Randy began to unfold a camping chair, “Are you serious? You’re not doing a brilliant job of making it look appealing, and besides, the water’s probably full of all sorts of bacteria,”

“Don’t be such a pussy,” I ran forwards down the bank of the lake, launching myself into the water after Tatum and Stu. I knew that if I had approached it any slower, I most definitely would have chickened out just like Randy. The cold of the water made me gasp.

“It’s not so bad,” I said, though my body betrayed me by shivering slightly, shuddering at the cold.

“Very convincing,” Billy said from the bank, squinting at the water as if considering deeply whether the cold of the water was better than the heat.

Sidney shrugged off her shirt to follow us in, splashing through the shallow water first, letting herself slowly get used to the water.

“Get a move on, Sid,” Stu said, “Tatum and I challenge you two to a chicken fight - loser has to shotgun a beer,” he gestured grandly at the cooler by Randy’s feet. Billy had already taken one.

“So long as Billy doesn’t drink them all first,” Tatum added. Billy flipped her off from the bank.

“You’re on,” Sidney said. I let her hop up onto my shoulders - I wasn’t convinced that we could beat Tatum and Stu, and didn’t particularly fancy being tossed into the water.

Tatum seemed far more comfortable on Stu’s shoulders than Sidney did on mine, but Sidney put up a good fight, determined to win.

“Come on, Sid, push her harder,” I encouraged from underneath her.

“You’ve got this, Tate, those two don’t stand a chance,” Stu said, enjoying the opportunity for trash talk, “You call that a push? Don’t make me laugh, Sid,”

Sidney almost toppled Tatum, but something hooked my leg from under the water. Sidney and I both fell with a spectacular splash, freezing water entering my nose. I emerged, spluttering and soaked, pushing wet hair back and out of my eyes.

“You’re a fucking cheater, Stu,” I said.

He flung his hands up in surrender. “I don’t know what you’re talking about - maybe you tripped on a log? Or a fish? Either way you lose, drink up!”

“That was a clear violation of the rules,” Sidney protested, “But since you two don’t know how to be gracious losers, we’ll take the forfeit,”

I followed her out of the water, aware of Billy’s eyes on the two of us. I probably looked ridiculous - my hair was slicked back with water in a way that I seriously doubted my ability to pull off. As soon as I looked up to meet his gaze with a smile, he glanced back to the lake.

Randy threw me a beer with slightly more force than strictly necessary - he didn’t appreciate being called a pussy, especially not in front of Sid, who he handed a beer to directly. I leaned down to fish around in my bag for a key, but Billy handed me his penknife,

“Thanks,” I said.

He managed to maintain eye contact this time, smiling slightly, “No problem,”

“You should join us in the water - it’s not as cold as you think, I promise,”

Billy narrowed his eyes at me, “Quit stalling - you finish that beer, and I’ll think about it,”

“You drive a hard bargain,” I glanced over to Sidney, “You ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” she grimaced slightly.

I punctured the can and opened the tab, holding it up to my mouth and tilting my head back in an attempt to avoid spilling any beer. Drinking anything this fast was an unpleasant experience, bubbles burning the back of my throat slightly, but consuming copious amounts of alcohol was exactly Stu’s idea of fun so I was well practised. It was gone within a few seconds. I saw Sidney struggle with hers, pausing halfway through before managing to finish the drink. Tatum and Stu cheered loudly from the water.

“So, you coming in or what?” I asked Billy.

“Someone has to help you take down Stu and Tatum,” he said, looking pointedly over to Sidney. Randy had opened out another camping chair for her, and was already beginning one of his movie-related rants. Sidney leaned her head on her elbow to listen in closer.

“Yeah I’m definitely down a team-mate, you think you’re up to the challenge?”

“We’ll find out, won’t we,” Billy pulled his shirt over his head, stripping down to shorts to enter the water. His body was angular, and I couldn’t help but admire the hard edges of his broad shoulders, imaging what it might be like to lean against his chest, have his thick arms wrapped right around me. He glanced up and I looked down, immediately averting my gaze. My stomach flipped as I realised that he must have known exactly what I was looking at.

“Hurry up, I wanna sunbathe once we’re done kicking your asses,” Tatum called out to us.

“Yeah, get your asses in here and quit flirting,” Stu added. Tatum hit his arm.

My face felt hot at his suggestion. I chanced a glance over to Billy, whose gaze was set on Stu, glaring intently at him through furrowed brows. I was grateful not to be on the receiving end.

The water felt slightly less cold the second time, but I shuddered as I entered nonetheless. Billy was close behind me, though I didn’t dare look back at him for fear that he would think I was staring at him again.

Stu seemed fascinated by my every movement as I got up onto Billy’s shoulders, watching the pair of us with a gormless grin on his face. I tried not to think about Billy’s hands on my legs holding me steady, or his broad shoulders, sure that Stu would know exactly what was going through my head if I did. I locked hands with Tatum, who was stronger than she looked, almost knocking me straight into the water, but I regained my balance, only just.

“You two have no chance at beating us - we’re a power couple, we’re built to defeat you,” Stu teased, but Tatum was slowly slipping, losing her balance.

“Leave it alone, Stu,” Billy said, just as Tatum slid entirely from his shoulder and into the water. Normally Billy coped well with Stu’s insufferable humour, but today he seemed to have finally hit his limit, though I was not sure entirely what it was that had done it.

Tatum emerged from the water, spluttering slightly, “Shit, guess it’s our turn,” she led Stu by the hand up to the bank to drink their forfeit. Billy watched after them, likely ready to glower at Stu once more if he turned back to us. Not particularly wishing to be involved in their quarrel, I laid back in the water, letting myself float on my back as I squinted up into the sky. It was the brightest blue I had seen it, the colour of forget-me-not flowers. I paddled gently with my hands, allowing myself to drift into the middle of the lake.

After a few minutes of peace, I heard the splashing sound of someone approaching. I let my feet sink, toes barely touching the ground in the deep water, seeing Billy stopping next to me.

“Everything alright with Stu?” I asked. He pushed dripping hair out of his face. His whole body glistened with reflected sunlight and water.

“He’s just being an ass. Nothing too out of the ordinary,” Billy smiled wryly at me. I smiled back.

“Okay, but if he ever bothers you, you know who to come to,” I made a show of fiercely driving my fist into my palm in a faux-threatening manner. It made Billy chuckle, but turned out to be a mistake - without my arms to paddle, keeping me upright, my feet slipped and my head almost ended up under the water. Billy noticed my struggle in less than a second, grabbing my waist to right me, holding my tightly to ensure my footing. He felt solid, legs long enough for him to be planted firmly on the ground. I held onto his shoulders.

“Thanks,” I said, somewhat embarrassed that I had so nearly ended up falling.

“No problem,” Billy’s face was close to mine - had we ever been this close before? I didn’t think so. “If I knew you were such a drowning risk, I never would have let you near the water,”

“What makes you think you could have stopped me?” I was distinctly aware of how breathy my voice sounded. And how dark his deep brown eyes were, never leaving mine. I was utterly trapped under the intensity of his gaze, unable to glance away even for a second.

“I can be very persuasive you know,” His voice was low. His face inched close to mine, and mine to his, the two of us drawn in to each-other by an unstoppable magnetism. My chest rose and fell with heavy breaths, eyes fluttering shut as his lips met mine, slow and intense and deeply passionate, in a kiss that lingered on my mouth as he pulled away. This was entirely unacceptable to me. My hand buried in his hair, something I had not realised just how badly I had wanted to do until I did it, and I pulled him back down to me. There was nothing slow about our next kiss, his lips moving against mine with a fervour, stealing my breath and making my pulse race. An electric feeling expanded in my chest. The arm around my waist tightened, pulling me flush against his body, fingers gripping into my side with desperate firmness, pressing me into him. His teeth found my lower lip, biting until I gasped. His tongue grazed my lip before sliding into my mouth. I shuddered, this time not from the cold. My free hand found his back, tracing his spine before moving to his chest. His muscles were taught beneath my fingers. I felt him tense in anticipation of my touch. He reached under me to secure my legs around his hips, eliciting a sensation which made me dig my fingernails into him. He groaned into my mouth. I was utterly entranced, lost in the feeling of his body, so solid against mine, his fingers that were sure to bruise my side, his lips that had become an utter necessity that I would surely be unable to live without.

A wolf whistle drew my attention, but for a long moment I was still entranced, incapable of pulling away.

“My God, get a room you two,” Stu called out to us. Finally we broke apart, though my legs remained wrapped around Billy’s waist, his hands never leaving my body.

“Fuck off,” Billy responded. I let out a laugh. “See what I mean? He’s being an ass,”

“He’s not completely wrong though - maybe we could find somewhere nice and private,” I could not believe the words coming out of my mouth.

Billy’s eyebrows quirked up for a second, dark eyes heavy on mine once again. “Right now?”

I nodded, punctuating my point with a heady kiss that had him leaning down, following my mouth even when I meant to pull away.

“I’m going to make you all mine,” he murmured against my mouth, nose brushing mine, as if he couldn’t bare the distance between us, despite it being less than an inch.

I couldn’t bare it either, “All yours.”

[krash-and-co]

haven't done this in a while, so here !! l&co as stuff I've heard/said in the past few months, bc I don't remember exact exchanges before then 👍👍

arguably more unhinged for reasons unknown. fate of Gods favorite clown idk

Lucy: I thought Billie Joe Armstrong went to the moon for a long time, honestly.

~

Lucy: [calling Barnes] there's a stranger at our house. she tried really hard to get in, and--

Lockwood, in the distance: we broke all the stranger danger rules.

Lucy: we broke all the stranger danger rules.

~

Holly: Lockwood, you have the coolest style.

Lockwood: thanks!

Lucy: what?!? she just tells me I look gay.

Lucy: and homeless.

~

holly: I want to help disabled kids ride a tricycle. wait, I meant to say horses.

lockwood: you want to help disabled horses ride a tricycle??????

~

Lucy: I don't have mommy issues I just don't like my mom.

~

Lucy: you gave me a framed photo for my birthday

Lucy: and within thirty minutes you stepped on it.

Lockwood: but then I bought you a new frame!!!

Lucy: and then I opened it, and it looked like you stepped on it.

Lockwood: well I'm not buying you another one.

~

skull: ugh, theyre so obsessed with how they look.

lucy, nodding: yeah, they're all "oh I'm so perfect!" preps. they definitely shave their legs.

~

Lockwood: I need to work on my swearing problem, cuz there are adults around and they don't li-- *drops thermos* ow FUCK

~

Lockwood: shut the windows. shut the fucking windows, I feel like we're being watched.

Lucy: hahaha, this is fucking terrifying.

Lockwood: here are the knives.

Holly: do you have any baseball bats? I don't want to stab people.

George: no, but we have crutches. we can hit people with them.

Holly, nodding: that's good.

~

Lockwood: I'm stupid.

Kipps: no you're not- yes you are. I don't know why I said you're not, so I had to correct myself.

~

holly: if we kill someone, we'll get in.... trouble.

~

George: shit!! I mean fuck!!! I mean crap!!!

Lucy, hitting him repeatedly: stop CURSING YOU FUCKING-- DANG IT!!!!!

~

Holly: do you ever get the urge to be randomly violent, like-

[loud clatter as lockwood and kipps beat each other up in the background]

holly: yeah like that.

~

Kipps, on searching for Bobby: I used to just grab any kid I saw about his height with brown hair, but that caused problems.

~

Lucy: what's your biggest fear?

Lockwood: what? spiders.

Lucy: no the other one

Lockwood: change.

Lucy: no the-- the other one.

George: what do you WANT FROM HIM-

~

lucy: you're going to make me have a gambling addiction.

skull, nodding: that's the idea.

~

George: pff my mom says im special.

Lockwood: im also special! they put me in classes about it.

[Lockwood and George burst out laughing while everyone else stares]

~

[Lucy and George are punching each other, screaming, and spewing out profanity in sign language]

George: literally nobody even looked up

Lucy: we're at the point where it's normal

George: yeah, haha!

Lucy: haha!

[a moment of heavy breathing and grinning before they begin fucking attacking each other again]

~

George, to Lucy: ugh im so sore. why do you keep punching me.

[Lucy punches him]

~

ok last one but this was a hell of a fucking convo and it was so funny everyone just jumped in with random twists 😭😭

[kipps crew, l&co, and flo are all sitting in barnes otherwise empty office]

George: kipps sounds terminally online, but I can't figure out yet if it's the normal kind or if he has. like. a kin list.

Lucy: the two extremes. normal or homestuck.

George: I read all of homestuck but it's okay I'm normal now

skull: im-

lucy: skull YOU'RE terminally online, but like the video gamer kind. kipps sounds like he had a my hero academia phase.

Lockwood: I was friends with someone who would roleplay mha all the time.

George: like pretend to have powers or something?

Lockwood: no, like pretend to be the characters. interact as them.

bobby: I don't roleplay, but I like to imagine I'm a different person with powers sometimes :)

ned: ha, furry.

flo: furry? one of my friends knows a furry who got her tail stolen, and she's in the office right now.

Lockwood: like today??

flo: yeah today. she's there right now.

Lockwood: [silence] oh.

flo: yeah they just. yoink.

[silence]

bobby: .....im not a furry but--

Lucy: aaaand gonna stop you right there before you make things worse for yourself

kat: why can't we EVER have normal conversations

[kaittalkstoomuch]

🚨CHAPTER THIRTEEN IS LIVE! 🚨

Tw: mentions of longing for someone without realizing it. I try to write from experience what it’s like to not know you had a crush on your best friend until you come to realize who you are. Jason is also a little bitch.

‘86 // Chapter Thirteen: The Save

The afternoon of March 22nd, 1986

I pull up to Gareth’s place and my nerves are all over the place. “C’mon Rox. Obviously they know Eddie isn’t a murderer, snap out of it!” I tell myself as I grab my bag containing my essentials, including the walkie talkie. I get out of the van and make my way to Gareth’s garage. The guys are seemingly surprised to see me. “Hey guys.” I say nervously as I put my messy auburn waves behind my left ear. Gareth notices my anxiety while Jeff and Grant are just super happy to see me. “Hey, I’ll be right back. Roxie, do you want to grab a water or something?”

I start shaking a bit at the question. “I would, thank you.” I say as Gareth leads me to the inside of his home. We’re both in the kitchen and he just flat out asks, “beer or water?” “Beer.” I quickly reply. He hands me a bottle and I start drinking it. Gareth is deeply concerned, being the one I’m closest to out of the group. He can tell something is off. There’s a reason why we call him “Gareth the Great.” “Roxie, you know you can tell me anything right?” “Right.” “So, what’s going on? Is Eddie okay?” I stop drinking my beer at the question.

“Eddie’s okay… he’s innocent. He didn’t kill her.” Gareth’s eyebrows furrow and he nods with his two hands intertwined and his elbows on the table. “Is he really okay?” I blink a couple of times thinking about everything. “Yeah… he’s just very shaken up.” “How bad?” I hesitate telling him. I made an oath not to say anything, especially for Eddie’s sake. “Gareth, I can’t say.” “I swear to god I won’t say anything. Not even to Jeff and Grant. I’m extremely worried about Eddie. And you know I’m like your comrade.” “I know Gareth….” I consider it and sigh, taking another swig of my beer. “Fine. You have to be quiet about it. Nobody can know.” “Promise.”

“We gotta sit for this. It’s a lot.” I say as I grab my beer and we sit at the table like we’re talking over coffee. I take a deep breath before I start and settle my nerves. “Okay, you know how this shit town is ‘cursed’? That’s not entirely wrong. Do you remember the boy who went missing a couple years ago? Will Byers?” “Yeah.” He whisper as if he doesn’t want anyone to hear. “Well, a supernatural entity took him…. To another dimension… we call it the Upside Down. By ‘we’, I mean my brother, Mike, Lucas, Robin, and Nancy Wheeler. I should also mention Steve Harrington… and now, Eddie.”

Gareth takes this in like a champ. I knew he was more level headed than Jeff and Grant, but he’s taking me by surprise. “We found him… then a similar event happened a year later, which led to the murder of Bob Newby. That’s also when I found out about it. Keep in mind, you know I believe in shit like this. Starcourt Mall? Ran by Russians underground who opened a sealed gate to the Upside Down. It ultimately killed Billy Hargrove, and supposedly Chief Hopper.”

Gareth nods a bit more. “What’s going on this year? Since it seems to be a yearly thing.” He asks. “That’s what we’re trying to figure out. What killed Chrissy… it definitely wasn’t Eddie… Chrissy was possessed by something. We call it ‘Vecna’. So, Steve, Max and Dustin are at the school trying to get answers about Chrissy. While Nancy and Robin are at the library to get dirt on Victor Creel.” “How was the reunion with Wheeler?” “So….. weird…. I can’t explain it dude, but it felt right with her being there. It reminded me of old times. I miss those times… I miss her.” “I still think you had a crush on her.” “Buckley says the same thing!” We both laugh. “Did you have a crush on her?”

I think about it. I mean, I did get extremely jealous anytime I’d see Harrington with her. But, that could be because she was my best friend and all she did was shut me out. She’d hardly ever talk to me unless it was advice for Stevie boy. I’d brush her off too. “I’m not sure what that was…. I mean, it could’ve been…. Truly. I mean, I’m so happy with Eddie. She seems content with Jonathan. We’re both extremely happy.” “Did you ever think about her sleeping? That sounds so creepy.” “That is creepy what the fuck Emerson?” “Sorry, I mean. Did you think of her constantly? Being in Steve’s place. There’s so much resentment towards her that I can see that.”

“I mean, she is cute, yes. I would protect her at all costs. Maybe even better than bozo Harrington and creep Byers….. oh hell.” “Bingo!” I bite my bottom lip for thinking of everything. “How’s Wayne?” It gets quiet for a moment as I take a huge swig of beer after just coming out. “We haven’t talked to Wayne, except for Nancy, who says he’s worried. Eddie’s terrified. Soon, the whole town could be after him. That’s why I offered to be the red herring trying to throw off everyone.”

As I say that, we hear commotion outside. “What the hell?” I ask as we look out the window and see Jason, his goons, and their pitchforks. “Fuck.” I say nervously looking at Gareth. I grab my bottle and finish the beer when I see Sinclair. “I have an idea, you may not like it.” I say. “What?” “Distract them while I get Lucas.” “Yes Dungeon Mistress.” He says as I laugh over the nickname. “It stuck.” “Of course, we’ve been calling you that for over a year.” We go outside where I remain semi hidden from the idiots. The moment Gareth and Jason face off, it’s my cue. I quickly jet to the van and Lucas and I make eye contact. Target acquired. “Come here.” I mouth and motion to him.

The scared little boy looks at his “friends” then back at me and jets to the van. I open the back inside and he jumps in quickly. We shut the door and I look out the window with binoculars. Nobody bats an eye. He climbs in the passenger seat and I climb in the driver seat. “Hey buddy. Having fun with your ‘buds’?” I start the van. “Roxie, what is going on?” “Eddie’s in trouble. Upside down trouble. He’s at the cabin. I’d like to ask you the same thing, Sinclair.” He sighs. “You don’t like them at all and you are far from being like them.” What’s going on?” I start my big sister speech.

“Rox, it’s a popularity thing. I’m so insecure. When I’m with them, I feel powerful, like I’m the coolest person in the world. With DND… I don’t know.” “You think it’s uncool?” I blink a couple times catching his stench of being hungover and I start to ask. “Can I be honest?” “Yes. You always are.” I chuckle at the boy. “DND is really freaking cool. It’s awesome. It shows creativity. Everytime I watch you guys play, it brings so much joy! You love basketball? Awesome. Congrats on your big win last night. Robin wouldn’t stop raving about it.” Also, you’re insecure of what? Jason Carver and the Idiots? Fuck them. They don’t matter. You’re only just a freshman. High school is fucking terrifying. Don’t get into the wrong crowd. I mean, getting wasted one night and extremely hungover the next morning with those jerks sound fun to you? Or spending time with your best friends playing a silly little fantasy game better? Let’s not forget Max.”

His smile beams once I mention Max. “Look at that smile.” I compliment him. “Thank you Roxie.” “Of course, that’s what I’m here for.” We hug and hear more commotion. I break away from the hug and look out the rearview mirror. Carver just punched Gareth in the face and the guys try to help. “Hang on to something.” I tell Lucas angrily as I put the van into gear, revving up the engine. I make damn sure Jason stops and stares for a second, maybe to catch a glimpse of me.

I look in the rearview mirror and I make eye contact with him. I give him the finger before driving off. Lucas is highly impressed. “Wow Rox. Thank you for taking me away from them.” “Of course. It’s what big sisters do…. I was so tempted to run him over. He’s such an asshole… do you want to meet Steve, Max, and Dustin at the school or go back to the cabin?” “School, I need to see Max. Make sure she’s okay.” I smile at the thought as I jet off.

[veawrites]

Fuck me like the slut I am

Warnings: ok so this is pure raw dogging smut nasty def going to hell

Description: you piss your boyfriend off by talking to billy Hargrove and he gets mad and teaches you who you belong to

Note!?: enjoy DONT steal my work or I’ll call yung gravy and tell him to fuck ur mom! Much love tho 🤍

—

I don’t know how I get myself into these situations and I never know how to get out without seeming rude. Here I am standing here talking to Billy Hargrove while my boyfriend Steve Harrington stands on the stairs staring at me. I knew he was gonna be pissed but Billy talked to me. I was rushed out of my thoughts when I heard Billy’s voice say “so Saturday night me and you motel six?” I rolled my eyes at him “yeah no I’m not some casual hook up for you I’m not some whore” you say walking up the stairs trying to pass by and angry Steve when he grabs your wrist and pulls you out to his car.

He slammed the car door shut locking you in as you buckled up “so you wanna be a whore and talk to Hargrove” he said more like asked “literally He was just talking to me it’s no big deal your overreacting over nothing” I say shrugging and I feel the car pull onto the side of the road “you think I’m gonna let my girlfriend mine talk to Billy Hargrove I mean honestly you were eye fucking him” he says turning off the car and turning to you. “Steve I was not eye fucking him he asked me out and I told him hell no” and he just rolled his eyes “yeah ok” he groans

“I swear Steve I don’t want him” I say and he places his hand on my thigh “baby if you wanna act like a slut then I’ll fucking treat you like one” he says trailing his hand up your body snapping your bra strap and you yelp “Stevie not here” you say and he climbs to the back seat “come on” he says and you crawl back there and sit beside him. He puts his hand on your thigh and starts to kiss you grabbing your breast with the other one. “Take your fucking dress off” and you do it “are you not wearing panties” he asks me surprised “no” I whimper as he puts his fingers over your clit rubbing right circles “god your such a whore not wearing panties” he says kissing you rubbing your clit “ah fuck Steve oh-my” you moan out “did you just say fuck” he asks pulling his fingers away from your pussy “Steve” you whimper grabbing his hand trying to put his fingers back onto you and he jerks his hand back “no you cursed you can’t fucking say that your not allowed” he says climbing back into the front seat when you grab him “no please Steve please touch me please I need you to do it” you whimper pleadingly “so fucking needy you little whore” he says kissing you

“Yes I’m your little whore” When you swore he smacked you “don’t fucking swear I already warned you once” he says and you shake your head yes “come on my fingers baby you can do it” he says pushing his fingers in and out of your pussy “ah holy shi- Steve ah oh my please ah” you moan loudly “god you sound so hot come sit on my dick ride me” he says and you sit onto him and adjust “god fuck it’s so big” you moaned and he slapped your thigh “don’t fucking cuss”

“I’m gonna cum Steve” you said riding his dick putting your hands on his shoulders and moving your self up and down “god hm Steve I need more holy” you say and he laughs “my needy little whore so hungry for daddy’s cock” he said pushing you down onto him “cum in me” you say and he lets go inside of you “god your so hot, let me eat it out of you” he says pushing you back onto your back in the day and gets down between your legs and begins to eat you out. With each movement of his tongue you buck your hips. “Holy fuck hmmm” you whimper “I don’t even care that your cussing honestly I’m just happy this pussy is mine” he says and your eyes roll back “and I will fucking ruin you your body will be mine I will ruin you cause I can and because I can do whatever I want to this little pussy” he says climbing into the front seat right before you cum and leaving you high and dry

“Steve what the fuck” you tell climbing up into the seat and Steve looks ay you “I swear if you fuckinng curse again I’ll take you right in front of everyone back at that party” he says “fuck you steve” you say and he glared at you “you’d like that but I’m not doing anything for you you can go without and if I find out you touched yourself I will punish you”

—

You were asleep on top of Steve but you could feel yourself still horny so you rubbed against him against his cock “y/n what the fuck are you doing” he says sitting up with you on his lap “keep going” he says and you grind against his hard cock “hmmmm oh my jeez Steve ah” you moan “feel good pretty girl” he says kissing your neck “hm yes” you moan “I can’t believe you were grinding me on me you little whore” he says as you guys both release the cum into each other’s pants

“I love you y/n god fucking love you” he says holding you kissing your cheek “I love you too Stevie” you say holding him close

[soup-14]

Steve Harrington x Fem!Reader

Summary: Steve and y/n have been best friends since childhood. They've drifted apart since entering high school but y/n is always there for Steve when he gets into fights.

Warnings: toxic masculinity, cursing, mention of drugs, underage drinking, violence, talk of sex, Billy being a complete jackass.

Fluff/angst, slight friends to lovers, hidden romantic feelings.

Takes place during season 2. I feel like Steve is a tad ooc in this one.

This was based on some head cannons I saw on TikTok, which I'll be writing more from.

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Steve gets into a lot of fights at school. He gets riled up easily. “King Steve” has to uphold his tough image, to make sure everyone knows he basically runs the place. “King Steve” has to put up with his asshole friends, the ones who never stop talking shit, the ones who spread rumors, and the ones who egg him on in a fight. 

He rarely wins. Most fights usually end with Steve bloody and bruised. It’s a miracle he's still able to see out of his left eye considering the number of black eyes it’s received. Even after all of that he never seems to learn a lesson, always trying to prove himself more of a man.

It’s what his dad had always taught him. His asshole dad who gave him a cigarette on his 13th birthday, clapped him hard on the back and said “real men smoke a pack”. The irony of the situation. Steve’s dad rarely smoked, and was quite against the idea of drugs all together. But his father had told him the same thing on his 13th, and his father before.

Steve had gone to his neighbors after that. To his best friend. “The girl next door”. Y/n L/n.

They had known each other since forever. Most people in this small town have. 

When you opened the door you gave him a big hug and wished him a happy birthday. If it weren’t for you he probably would have forgotten.

You two spent the night hanging out in your basement. Blasting loud music, playing video games, stuffing your faces with snack food.

Steve had told you what his dad had given him, and you laughed. He was confused at why you thought it was funny but then you just shouted “Bullshit. That’s bullshit Stevie.”

“No, no, I swear that’s what he said.” Steve defended.

“I believe it. But you don’t have to smoke to be a man Steve, I doubt your dad has ever touched a cigarette, what a pussy.”

Steve laughed, and you got up from the couch searching the room for something. You shot up from the floor moments later, a magazine in your grasp. “This-“ you said, pointing at the page, where The Police stand posing for the camera. “This is being a man Stevie, you have big hair and wear tight pants, and I mean tight.” You laugh and he joins in, making light of the situation.

“Cigarettes are gross anyways.” Steve chuckles.

“Oh, I have something for you.” You perk up. “I’ll be right back.” You say, dashing up the basement steps. Steve waits patiently for you to come back. 

When you do you’re carrying a small white box. You sit down next to him and place the box in his hands. “Open it.” You say. Steve lifts off the lid to reveal a colorful blue bracelet neatly placed inside. He takes it out and holds it in his hand. Examining the craftsmanship and design. “I made it myself, I’ve got a matching one, see?” You say showing him your wrist where the same blue bracelet sits. 

“Here.” You say, and take the bracelet from his hand. You place his wrist on your lap and tie the thread on nice and tight, so it’ll never fall off.

That’s when Steve’s crush on you really started. A silly child crush, but that’s when he knew he liked you more than a friend. That he wanted to be with you, and do everything in his power to protect you and make you feel safe.

You and Steve were linked at the hip for as long as you two can remember. But of course things start to drift once entering high school. Each finding your selective friend groups and hobbies.

In school you were classmates, acquaintances even. But as soon as school was out you became best friends again. You both understood the way it had become. Having to appeal to the fucked up hierarchy of Hawkins High. It's not like you can’t let anyone know you’re friends. It’s just easier among your separate groups to appear as if you barely know each other. 

You aren't exactly the preppiest kid in school. Choosing to spend your time with the band kids, and nerds. Joining the oh so famous D&D group “The Hellfire Club” run by the infamous Eddie “The Freak” Munson.

Steve thinks he’s a bad influence on you, but you argue that his friends aren’t good for him either.

There’s one student who really doesn’t help your case. Billy Hargrove, who had just moved to Hawkins from California. He had instantly gained popularity, along with Steve’s title of “King” of Hawkins High.

It didn’t bother him all that much. Steve had listened to you and started to separate himself from his toxic friendships, but they always lingered, he still felt like he had to be popular to make it through highschool. He couldn’t afford to end up a nobody in his senior year. Not after all of his hard work of becoming the biggest most beloved asshole in school.

Billy is one of those few who rile Steve up. He tries to not let it bother him but sometimes Billy just doesn’t let up. 

There was one particularly bad fight.

It was Halloween. Steve went to a party for all the popular kids. He brought you along, since you loved Halloween. There were maybe a few burn out kids you knew, but everyone else was from an entirely different world. 

You would much rather be at home watching movies with Steve and stuffing your faces with candy, or adventuring around the dark town, climbing trees, smashing pumpkins, loitering around the graveyard. But instead you’re stuck here in someone else’s house surrounded by sweaty drunk teens in Halloween makeup and slutty costumes.

There’s loud music and drugs and so, so much drinking.

Steve only had one. Billy had just chugged an entire keg. He was drunk as hell and looking for a fight. And who better than Steve Harrington.

Billy saunters up to Steve and pokes him in the chest. “Hargrove, what do you want?” Steve asks.

“Steve Harrington,” slurs Billy,the “king” of Hawkins High. Or should I say- former king. It’s clear you’ve been dethroned, Harrington.” Billy raises his voice causing other party goers to look over at the pair. “Fuck off Hargrove, you can have the title I don’t care.” Steve says, shoving Billy’s hand away from his chest. “Aw, Harrington is giving up his crown.” Billy laughs mockingly, gripping the collar of Steve’s shirt. “What happened to you? You’re not the Steve I heard about. You’re too much of a pussy. A big softie.” Steve was starting to get mad at this point. He didn’t want to get into a fight with Billy. Not tonight. He could leave their rivalry to hip checking on the basketball court.

“Maybe it’s that little freak bitch you hang around with.” Billy chides. 

That’s what gets Steve. He was trying his best not to let himself get riled by Billy’s meaningless comments but the second he mentions you- he just snaps.

At this point a large majority of the party have come outside to watch their fight go down.

Steve grabs Billy’s jacket with both hands and shoves him back with a snarl. Billy laughs. “Oh so it is her?” 

“Shut up.” Says Steve, seething with anger. There’s something In Billy’s eyes that just ignites at the sight of an angry Steve. “You know she’s kind of cute actually. You think she’s as freaky in bed as she is in school?” Billy laughs, and the crowd joins in, enjoying the show. 

Steve charges at Billy. All rational thoughts leave his head, and he tries to tackle the boy. Billy, despite being shit faced, easily sidesteps Steve’s lunge, grabbing him and throwing a heavy punch to his gut. Steve lets out a gasp and doubles over in pain. He stumbles forward and begins to straighten up again, raising his fists, ready to fight.

Before Steve can even refocus on his opponent Billy delivers a sharp right hook to his face. Steve stumbles and catches himself on his hands and knees.

“Yeah I bet she’s great in bed.” Billy says while kicking Steve in the side, knocking him to the ground. “You don’t mind if I fuck her do you Harrington?” Billy kneels down and grabs Steve’s shirt, punching him square in the nose. “I know she’s at this party.” Another blow to the face, and another, and another. 

Steve feels helpless. He’s never been good in a fight but tonight he didn’t even stand a chance. He couldn’t even try to fight back. For you. The whole reason he was being beaten bloody on the patio at a Halloween party was to protect you. He couldn’t even pull that off and you weren’t even in any active danger.

Steve can feel the hot blood running down his face from his nose and lip. Billy’s grasp is still tight on his shirt but the blows to his face have stopped finally. Steve’s vision is blurred and he takes a deep gasping breath, choking on blood.

Billy finally lets Steve go and releases his shirt with a shove. The crowd outside goes back to the party which continues to rage on without him. Steve is left outside, passed out on the blood splattered pavement.

You and Steve had been standing outside talking and enjoying your drinks. You had left to go to the bathroom, and to just take a moment to yourself away from the bustle and loud music. When you finally came downstairs you’d noticed the house felt a lot more full than before. You soon figured out why. 

You search around the main floor for Steve and when you can’t find him you go back out to the patio which is entirely empty, except for one. Your heart falls to your feet when you recognize who it is laying on the ground.

You quickly make your way over to him, dropping to your knees. Panic starts to rise in your chest when you see the blood covering his face. “Shit, Steve?” You mutter, patting the sides of his face in order to wake him up. “Steve? Steve! Hey, wake up Stevie, come on, wake up.” Steve starts to open his eyes- or rather his right eye, the left is swollen shut and you can tell a dark bruise is going to form. “Y/n?” He mumbles while trying to sit up. “Hey, there he is. Careful, careful let me help.” You reach around him and lift him to lean against your side. He gasps and groans in pain when you grab his side. “Oh shit sorry.” You apologize.

Steve spits blood onto the pavement “It’s alright, I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah but you’re not now Dingus.” You force a smile trying to hold back tears. “We gotta get you out of here. Can you stand?”

“Yeah, yeah I think so.” Steve nods.

The two of you slowly stand from the ground and Steve leans onto you for support. You make your way around to the front of the house where Steve parked. “Hey Steve, you got your keys?” You ask. He nods and reaches into his jeans pocket pulling out his key ring. He places them in your hand, you notice his blue friendship bracelet tied onto the ring and you smile.

The drive home is a quiet one. It feels longer than it is. Your hands grip the steering wheel tight and your palms are sweating.

You feel something bump your hand and glance over to see Steve’s hand nudging yours. You loosen your grip on the wheel and let your right hand slide into his. 

His hand is warm and soft against yours and he gently rubs his thumb against your skin. He seems a lot more calm about the situation than you. He’s been beaten up before so you bet he’s used to it. You would never get used to seeing him like this though. You’re upset that you’ve had to witness it more than once.

Steve’s hand squeezes yours and you snap out of your thoughts. You hadn’t even noticed you’d parked in his driveway.

“You okay?” He asks. 

“I should be asking you.” You say letting out a breathy chuckle.

You let go of his hand and exit the car before he can tell you he’s fine again. You help him get out of the car and walk him inside and up to his bathroom.

You retrieve the first aid kit from under the sink and start cleaning his wounds. Steve leans against the counter and places a gentle hand on your waist. He keeps his eyes down, not wanting to see the worried expression on your face.

You gently hold his jaw in your hand as you wash the blood from his face with a wet cloth. He hisses when you touch around his swollen eye. “Sorry.” You whisper and continue cleaning. Once the blood is gone you clean the cut on his cheek and apply a colorful bandaid. You run your thumb over it and hold his face in your hands. Steve closes his eyes and leans into your touch. You lean in and press your lips against his forehead, then resting your cheek on his head.

“Steve?” You mumble into his hair. “Yeah?” He replies, his voice no louder than a whisper. “What happened?” You ask.

Steve wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you close to him, burying his face in your shoulder. “Billy.” He grumbles. “Fucking Billy.”

“Ah… makes sense.” You reply. “What did he say?” Steve holds you tighter, his hands gripping your shirt. “He was talking about you, calling you a freak. He did it to make me mad— and it worked y/n, it worked.” Steve chokes on a sob and you place a hand in his hair, running your fingers through it. “Hey, it’s okay Stevie.” You whisper. “Don’t listen to Billy, he's a total jerk.”

“I know, but what if something happened to you? What if he tried to hurt you?” Steve sniffles.

“No one tried to hurt me Stevie, I’m alright, I’m here.” You say.

“I would never let anyone hurt you y/n, you hear me?” Steve says, pulling away from your shoulder.

“I believe it.” You say placing another kiss on his forehead. When you pull away Steve is looking at you, with those big brown eyes- well a big brown eye and a swollen one. Dried tears stain his cheeks and you dab them away with your sleeve. “We should get some ice on these bruises. Then get you to bed, you’ve had a hell of a night.” You say. Steve nods and follows you out of the bathroom. You leave him to get changed and grab a bunch of ice packs from the freezer and wrap them in hand towels.

When you knock on Steve’s door and open it slowly you’re met with the sight of Steve’s bare back. You can feel a slight heat rise to your cheeks, but you ignore it and go over to help him. He’s struggling to take his shirt off because of the large bruise forming on his side. You help him remove the cloth and you can’t help but let out a quiet gasp at the full fight of his side. “Oh shit Stevie.” You say.

You help him get into pajamas and as you begin to turn away from him he grabs your hand quickly. There’s a pleading look in his eyes. “Y/n? Will you… will you stay with me? Just for tonight.” He asks, a small hint of desperation in his voice. It really hurt you to see Steve like this. “I wasn’t planning on going anywhere Stevie, don’t worry.” You say while grabbing some of Steve’s clothes for your own.

Once you’ve changed you enter Steve’s room again to see him sitting in bed holding an ice pack against his eye and side. You close the door behind you and make your way to the bed, pulling back the covers and climbing in next to Steve. He turns off the lamp on his bedside table and slowly turns over to face you groaning in pain. Once adjusted, he places a hand on your waist pulling you close to him. This time he places a kiss on your forehead and closes his eyes resting there. “You know Steve.” You break the silence, your voice just above a whisper “you may be the hero, and the protector, but I’ll always be here to patch you up and take care of you.”

“Thank you y/n. For everything.” Steve says. “Anything for you Stevie.” You reply, reaching up to comb your fingers through his hair, helping him fall asleep. 

You two fall asleep in each other’s arms. Steve’s nose nestled in your hair. Yours under his chin. His arms wrapped securely around your waist, afraid that you might slip away or disappear. For once in a long time Steve feels secure, safe, in a place where neither of you have to worry about image and reputation. Where you feel at home, in each other’s arms.

Steve gets into a lot of fights at school. He gets riled up easily. “King Steve” has to uphold his tough image, to make sure everyone knows he basically runs the place. “King Steve” has to put up with his asshole friends, the ones who never stop talking shit, the ones who spread rumors, and the ones who egg him on in a fight. 

He rarely wins. Most fights usually end with Steve bloody and bruised. It’s a miracle he's still able to see out of his left eye considering the number of black eyes it’s received. Even after all of that he never seems to learn a lesson, always trying to prove himself more of a man.

It’s what his dad had always taught him. His asshole dad who gave him a cigarette on his 13th birthday, clapped him hard on the back and said “real men smoke a pack”. The irony of the situation. Steve’s dad rarely smoked, and was quite against the idea of drugs all together. But his father had told him the same thing on his 13th, and his father before.

Steve had gone to his neighbors after that. To his best friend. “The girl next door”. Y/n L/n.

They had known each other since forever. Most people in this small town have. 

When you opened the door you gave him a big hug and wished him a happy birthday. If it weren’t for you he probably would have forgotten.

You two spent the night hanging out in your basement. Blasting loud music, playing video games, stuffing your faces with snack food.

Steve had told you what his dad had given him, and you laughed. He was confused at why you thought it was funny but then you just shouted “Bullshit. That’s bullshit Stevie.”

“No, no, I swear that’s what he said.” Steve defended.

“I believe it. But you don’t have to smoke to be a man Steve, I doubt your dad has ever touched a cigarette, what a pussy.”

Steve laughed, and you got up from the couch searching the room for something. You shot up from the floor moments later, a magazine in your grasp. “This-“ you said, pointing at the page, where The Police stand posing for the camera. “This is being a man Stevie, you have big hair and wear tight pants, and I mean tight.” You laugh and he joins in, making light of the situation.

“Cigarettes are gross anyways.” Steve chuckles.

“Oh, I have something for you.” You perk up. “I’ll be right back.” You say, dashing up the basement steps. Steve waits patiently for you to come back. 

When you do you’re carrying a small white box. You sit down next to him and place the box in his hands. “Open it.” You say. Steve lifts off the lid to reveal a colorful blue bracelet neatly placed inside. He takes it out and holds it in his hand. Examining the craftsmanship and design. “I made it myself, I’ve got a matching one, see?” You say showing him your wrist where the same blue bracelet sits. 

“Here.” You say, and take the bracelet from his hand. You place his wrist on your lap and tie the thread on nice and tight, so it’ll never fall off.

That’s when Steve’s crush on you really started. A silly child crush, but that’s when he knew he liked you more than a friend. That he wanted to be with you, and do everything in his power to protect you and make you feel safe.

You and Steve were linked at the hip for as long as you two can remember. But of course things start to drift once entering high school. Each finding your selective friend groups and hobbies.

In school you were classmates, acquaintances even. But as soon as school was out you became best friends again. You both understood the way it had become. Having to appeal to the fucked up hierarchy of Hawkins High. It's not like you can’t let anyone know you’re friends. It’s just easier among your separate groups to appear as if you barely know each other. 

You aren't exactly the preppiest kid in school. Choosing to spend your time with the band kids, and nerds. Joining the oh so famous D&D group “The Hellfire Club” run by the infamous Eddie “The Freak” Munson.

Steve thinks he’s a bad influence on you, but you argue that his friends aren’t good for him either.

There’s one student who really doesn’t help your case. Billy Hargrove, who had just moved to Hawkins from California. He had instantly gained popularity, along with Steve’s title of “King” of Hawkins High.

It didn’t bother him all that much. Steve had listened to you and started to separate himself from his toxic friendships, but they always lingered, he still felt like he had to be popular to make it through highschool. He couldn’t afford to end up a nobody in his senior year. Not after all of his hard work of becoming the biggest most beloved asshole in school.

Billy is one of those few who rile Steve up. He tries to not let it bother him but sometimes Billy just doesn’t let up. 

There was one particularly bad fight.

It was Halloween. Steve went to a party for all the popular kids. He brought you along, since you loved Halloween. There were maybe a few burn out kids you knew, but everyone else was from an entirely different world. 

You would much rather be at home watching movies with Steve and stuffing your faces with candy, or adventuring around the dark town, climbing trees, smashing pumpkins, loitering around the graveyard. But instead you’re stuck here in someone else’s house surrounded by sweaty drunk teens in Halloween makeup and slutty costumes.

There’s loud music and drugs and so, so much drinking.

Steve only had one. Billy had just chugged an entire keg. He was drunk as hell and looking for a fight. And who better than Steve Harrington.

Billy saunters up to Steve and pokes him in the chest. “Hargrove, what do you want?” Steve asks.

“Steve Harrington,” slurs Billy,the “king” of Hawkins High. Or should I say- former king. It’s clear you’ve been dethroned, Harrington.” Billy raises his voice causing other party goers to look over at the pair. “Fuck off Hargrove, you can have the title I don’t care.” Steve says, shoving Billy’s hand away from his chest. “Aw, Harrington is giving up his crown.” Billy laughs mockingly, gripping the collar of Steve’s shirt. “What happened to you? You’re not the Steve I heard about. You’re too much of a pussy. A big softie.” Steve was starting to get mad at this point. He didn’t want to get into a fight with Billy. Not tonight. He could leave their rivalry to hip checking on the basketball court.

“Maybe it’s that little freak bitch you hang around with.” Billy chides. 

That’s what gets Steve. He was trying his best not to let himself get riled by Billy’s meaningless comments but the second he mentions you- he just snaps.

At this point a large majority of the party have come outside to watch their fight go down.

Steve grabs Billy’s jacket with both hands and shoves him back with a snarl. Billy laughs. “Oh so it is her?” 

“Shut up.” Says Steve, seething with anger. There’s something In Billy’s eyes that just ignites at the sight of an angry Steve. “You know she’s kind of cute actually. You think she’s as freaky in bed as she is in school?” Billy laughs, and the crowd joins in, enjoying the show. 

Steve charges at Billy. All rational thoughts leave his head, and he tries to tackle the boy. Billy, despite being shit faced, easily sidesteps Steve’s lunge, grabbing him and throwing a heavy punch to his gut. Steve lets out a gasp and doubles over in pain. He stumbles forward and begins to straighten up again, raising his fists, ready to fight.

Before Steve can even refocus on his opponent Billy delivers a sharp right hook to his face. Steve stumbles and catches himself on his hands and knees.

“Yeah I bet she’s great in bed.” Billy says while kicking Steve in the side, knocking him to the ground. “You don’t mind if I fuck her do you Harrington?” Billy kneels down and grabs Steve’s shirt, punching him square in the nose. “I know she’s at this party.” Another blow to the face, and another, and another. 

Steve feels helpless. He’s never been good in a fight but tonight he didn’t even stand a chance. He couldn’t even try to fight back. For you. The whole reason he was being beaten bloody on the patio at a Halloween party was to protect you. He couldn’t even pull that off and you weren’t even in any active danger.

Steve can feel the hot blood running down his face from his nose and lip. Billy’s grasp is still tight on his shirt but the blows to his face have stopped finally. Steve’s vision is blurred and he takes a deep gasping breath, choking on blood.

Billy finally lets Steve go and releases his shirt with a shove. The crowd outside goes back to the party which continues to rage on without him. Steve is left outside, passed out on the blood splattered pavement.

You and Steve had been standing outside talking and enjoying your drinks. You had left to go to the bathroom, and to just take a moment to yourself away from the bustle and loud music. When you finally came downstairs you’d noticed the house felt a lot more full than before. You soon figured out why. 

You search around the main floor for Steve and when you can’t find him you go back out to the patio which is entirely empty, except for one. Your heart falls to your feet when you recognize who it is laying on the ground.

You quickly make your way over to him, dropping to your knees. Panic starts to rise in your chest when you see the blood covering his face. “Shit, Steve?” You mutter, patting the sides of his face in order to wake him up. “Steve? Steve! Hey, wake up Stevie, come on, wake up.” Steve starts to open his eyes- or rather his right eye, the left is swollen shut and you can tell a dark bruise is going to form. “Y/n?” He mumbles while trying to sit up. “Hey, there he is. Careful, careful let me help.” You reach around him and lift him to lean against your side. He gasps and groans in pain when you grab his side. “Oh shit sorry.” You apologize.

Steve spits blood onto the pavement “It’s alright, I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah but you’re not now Dingus.” You force a smile trying to hold back tears. “We gotta get you out of here. Can you stand?”

“Yeah, yeah I think so.” Steve nods.

The two of you slowly stand from the ground and Steve leans onto you for support. You make your way around to the front of the house where Steve parked. “Hey Steve, you got your keys?” You ask. He nods and reaches into his jeans pocket pulling out his key ring. He places them in your hand, you notice his blue friendship bracelet tied onto the ring and you smile.

The drive home is a quiet one. It feels longer than it is. Your hands grip the steering wheel tight and your palms are sweating.

You feel something bump your hand and glance over to see Steve’s hand nudging yours. You loosen your grip on the wheel and let your right hand slide into his. 

His hand is warm and soft against yours and he gently rubs his thumb against your skin. He seems a lot more calm about the situation than you. He’s been beaten up before so you bet he’s used to it. You would never get used to seeing him like this though. You’re upset that you’ve had to witness it more than once.

Steve’s hand squeezes yours and you snap out of your thoughts. You hadn’t even noticed you’d parked in his driveway.

“You okay?” He asks. 

“I should be asking you.” You say letting out a breathy chuckle.

You let go of his hand and exit the car before he can tell you he’s fine again. You help him get out of the car and walk him inside and up to his bathroom.

You retrieve the first aid kit from under the sink and start cleaning his wounds. Steve leans against the counter and places a gentle hand on your waist. He keeps his eyes down, not wanting to see the worried expression on your face.

You gently hold his jaw in your hand as you wash the blood from his face with a wet cloth. He hisses when you touch around his swollen eye. “Sorry.” You whisper and continue cleaning. Once the blood is gone you clean the cut on his cheek and apply a colorful bandaid. You run your thumb over it and hold his face in your hands. Steve closes his eyes and leans into your touch. You lean in and press your lips against his forehead, then resting your cheek on his head.

“Steve?” You mumble into his hair. “Yeah?” He replies, his voice no louder than a whisper. “What happened?” You ask.

Steve wraps his arms around your waist and pulls you close to him, burying his face in your shoulder. “Billy.” He grumbles. “Fucking Billy.”

“Ah… makes sense.” You reply. “What did he say?” Steve holds you tighter, his hands gripping your shirt. “He was talking about you, calling you a freak. He did it to make me mad— and it worked y/n, it worked.” Steve chokes on a sob and you place a hand in his hair, running your fingers through it. “Hey, it’s okay Stevie.” You whisper. “Don’t listen to Billy, he's a total jerk.”

“I know, but what if something happened to you? What if he tried to hurt you?” Steve sniffles.

“No one tried to hurt me Stevie, I’m alright, I’m here.” You say.

“I would never let anyone hurt you y/n, you hear me?” Steve says, pulling away from your shoulder.

“I believe it.” You say placing another kiss on his forehead. When you pull away Steve is looking at you, with those big brown eyes- well a big brown eye and a swollen one. Dried tears stain his cheeks and you dab them away with your sleeve. “We should get some ice on these bruises. Then get you to bed, you’ve had a hell of a night.” You say. Steve nods and follows you out of the bathroom. You leave him to get changed and grab a bunch of ice packs from the freezer and wrap them in hand towels.

When you knock on Steve’s door and open it slowly you’re met with the sight of Steve’s bare back. You can feel a slight heat rise to your cheeks, but you ignore it and go over to help him. He’s struggling to take his shirt off because of the large bruise forming on his side. You help him remove the cloth and you can’t help but let out a quiet gasp at the full fight of his side. “Oh shit Stevie.” You say.

You help him get into pajamas and as you begin to turn away from him he grabs your hand quickly. There’s a pleading look in his eyes. “Y/n? Will you… will you stay with me? Just for tonight.” He asks, a small hint of desperation in his voice. It really hurt you to see Steve like this. “I wasn’t planning on going anywhere Stevie, don’t worry.” You say while grabbing some of Steve’s clothes for your own.

Once you’ve changed you enter Steve’s room again to see him sitting in bed holding an ice pack against his eye and side. You close the door behind you and make your way to the bed, pulling back the covers and climbing in next to Steve. He turns off the lamp on his bedside table and slowly turns over to face you groaning in pain. Once adjusted, he places a hand on your waist pulling you close to him. This time he places a kiss on your forehead and closes his eyes resting there. “You know Steve.” You break the silence, your voice just above a whisper “you may be the hero, and the protector, but I’ll always be here to patch you up and take care of you.”

“Thank you y/n. For everything.” Steve says. “Anything for you Stevie.” You reply, reaching up to comb your fingers through his hair, helping him fall asleep. 

You two fall asleep in each other’s arms. Steve’s nose nestled in your hair. Yours under his chin. His arms wrapped securely around your waist, afraid that you might slip away or disappear. For once in a long time Steve feels secure, safe, in a place where neither of you have to worry about image and reputation. Where you feel at home, in each other’s arms.

[lordofthenerds97]

Wasting Away: Chapter 5

Rating: M for eventual chapters, mild cursing, and nonexplicit sexual content Pairing: Eddie x Reader, Past Billy x Reader, and onesided Steve x Reader if you squint Summary: You were broken. Falling apart. Trying to put yourself back together. Whatever the hell they wanted to call it. All you knew was you were hurting. The Upside Down had been the bane of your existence for a long time. But now you had a reason to hate it. Will your hatred be enough to help take down the latest in a long line of monsters? TW FOR THIS CHAPTER: •Mentions of suicide •Unhealthy coping mechanisms (borderline Bulimia, other eating disorders) • Reader has flashbacks/mild panic attack Masterlist

With a frustrated sigh, you crumpled the note and chucked it at the nearby trash can. 

They just didn’t seem to get the hint. 

Ms. Kelly had left yet another note in your locker. This time, there was a veiled threat of expulsion should you not follow directions. She was again insisting that you see her. 

Both you and your parents had explained that you had no desire to see a school’s counselor when you were seeking help from an actual professional. But they didn’t seem to get the message. 

It made you more angry than anything. 

You slammed the locker door shut and stalked towards the counselor’s office. Your knuckles turned white as you gripped the strap of the bag slung over your shoulder. You had to remind yourself to take deep breaths to try and calm the rage that was boiling up inside you. 

As you stepped down the few stairs, you saw that the door to her office was open. Taking the opportunity, you stalked inside. 

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re-“ 

“Look,” you interrupted with a scowl. “I’ve told you and I’ve told the principal; I’m not going to see you for counseling. I’m seeing an actual therapist. She’s helping me. I’m coping. I’m grieving. So leave me the hell alone. I’m gonna have my bad days and not be able to get myself out of bed to come to school. I’m not going to force myself, either.” 

She blinked quickly a couple times, looking taken aback by your outburst. “I think if you just let me-“ 

“I swear to god, if you try to talk me into coming to talk to you, I’m walking out this door and never coming back. To you or this school.” 

Ms. Kelly took a deep breath. “Can I ask you a question?” 

You rolled your eyes. “You already did. But fine.” 

“Why are you so against talking to me.” 

Letting out a huff, you gave her a blank stare. “I literally just told you. I’m seeing a therapist. Someone who can actually help me.” 

“What makes you think I can’t?” 

“Because as much as you like to think you do, you have no idea what the hell you’re doing. You’re going to tell me literally the same thing every other person does; to get out of the house, spend time with my friends, get back into the world. I’m sorry Miss Kelly, but you have no clue what I’m dealing with. You don’t know the burdens I carry, the guilt I feel, or the pain I have.” 

She opened her mouth to answer, but you kept right on going. 

“I think you want to do your best to help, but you’re not fully equipped. How do you help kids with PTSD? How do you help someone who had another person die in their arms? How do you help someone who’s seen so much shit that they can’t sleep…and when they do, they’re plagued with nightmares? How do you look someone in the eyes and tell them that the world they knew is gone forever? How do you teach someone to trust again? How do you help someone with a mind so broken that they think the only way to fix it is to kill themselves? If you can answer those questions, Miss Kelly, then I’ll gladly sit down and pour my heart out to you.” 

She looked taken aback, and for a moment, you felt a little guilty for the onslaught. 

“I didn’t realize you were dealing with all of that…I’m so sorry.” 

You sighed. “There’s a lot about me you, and everyone else, don’t know.” Tears had welled up in your eyes but you managed to blink them back. “I know you want to help, I don’t fault you for that. But, please…let me get the help I need. And please stop trying to pressure me into talking to you.” 

She hugged her arms around her middle as a guilty expression took over her face. “I’m sorry. Of course, if what you’re doing is helping you, keep doing it. You’re right…I can’t answer those questions. But eventually, I’d like to learn how.” 

You nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate it. And…thank you for trying to help Max. I know she’s a tough nut to crack, but she needs it.” 

“Of course. And…thank you for seeing me and explaining this to me. You’ve helped me understand a lot. Thank you.” 

Giving her another curt nod, you turned on your heel and headed back in the direction you’d come from. You had to take a deep breath to keep the tears back as you walked. Your sneakered feet would squeak every once in a while with a step. 

Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot. 

Another deep breath.

Right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot. 

Breathe.

“I love you trouble. I’m sorry…” 

You faltered, your injured leg shaking under your weight. 

Grunting quietly, you forced yourself to recover, the muscles screaming in protest. 

“You okay sweetheart?” 

Turning your head slightly to the right, you saw Eddie approaching you with a concerned look on his face. “Yeah, just an old injury that hasn’t healed.” 

He frowned. “What happened?” 

“I got impaled by a piece of rebar in one of the many explosions in the mall.” The lie slipped easily from your lips, and you had to force yourself not to wince. You didn’t want to lie to him. 

“Damn. Yet another badass moment.” 

You snorted and rolled your eyes. “Morning, Eddie.” 

At that, he grinned. “Morning sweetheart. How was your night?” 

A half shrug was your answer. “Better than normal but still not great.” 

His concern was back in an instant. His brows furrowed and he examined your face closely. “Need to talk about it?” he asked gently. 

“Another nightmare. I didn’t wake up screaming this time, which was nice. But I woke up at 3:27 and wasn’t able to go back to sleep.” 

He hummed quietly. “I’m sorry. Did you at least make yourself some breakfast?” 

You were quiet, deciding the floor was more interesting than his face. 

“Sweetheart?” 

“No…” you mumbled. 

He chuckled. “I figured as much. I stopped at Terry’s on the way.” He pulled his hands out from behind his back, holding up two white paper bags. “Breakfast sandwich or a burrito?” 

Your eyes lit up and you grinned at him. “You didn’t have to do that, Eddie.” 

He smiled at you. “I know. But I wanted to. So, sandwich or burrito?” 

“Burrito please.” 

His smile didn’t leave his face as he handed you the bag in his left hand. He watched as you quickly unwrapped the burrito and took a few bites. “Dusty told me you haven’t been eating like you should. We’re gonna change that.” 

You paused mid bite, looking at him with a raised eyebrow as your mouth had began to clamp down around the tortilla. “What?” you mumbled.

He laughed. “You’re cute when you’re befuddled.” 

Swallowing, you glared at him. “I’m not cute!” you protested. Then you paused. “Did you just say befuddled?” 

His grin widened. “I did.” 

Now, it was your turn to laugh. The glare melted away as the humor of the sentence hit you. “Who says befuddled?” 

“I do!” 

You shook your head at him and turned back to your burrito. He was right…you were hungry. And the caffeine high you were on was slowly fading away. You were going to need something to help keep your energy up. 

“I’m serious though, sweetheart.” 

You stifled a sigh and continued eating, allowing him to plead his case. 

“Trust me, I know the feeling. I barely ate for weeks after mom and Casey died, Hardly even enough to keep me from starving. Lost a lot of weight and muscle. Almost got my ass hauled to an institute for attempted suicide. My Uncle helped me get straightened out. Now, I can tell you don’t look like yourself. Dusty said you’ve lost some more weight, too. I know you don’t want to eat…sometimes the thought of it even makes you sick, right?” 

Looking at the floor again, you nodded. Sometimes even though you hadn’t eaten in more than 24 hours and you were actually hungry, the thought of forcing down food made you want to puke. It sent a small shudder down your spine just thinking about it. 

“We’re gonna work on that. Breakfast is a start.” He smiled gently at you, nudging your arm and making you look up at him. “You know, I can see why Dustin calls you Bambi. Those doe eyes are adorable.” 

You rolled your eyes and snorted. “Thanks,” you mumbled. “Actually, it came from a DnD campaign. I got polymorphed into a doe. And then I got hunted.” 

Eddie couldn’t help it. He let out a loud laugh. “My god, sweetheart.” 

You smacked his arm. “It wasn’t my fault! I was trying to fight the Hydra that was attacking Will and Lucas!” 

He shook his head. “How the hell do you get polymorphed and not realize it?” 

You glared, knowing full well how. “Dusty is a sneaky little bastard.” 

“Who said what about me?” 

Both you and Eddie turned to see Dustin walking up with a grin. 

“I said you’re a sneaky little bastard!” you said, giving him the side eye. 

“That’s me!” 

Eddie couldn’t stop chuckling. “He really is though. Puts up quite a fight in my campaigns.” 

Rolling your eyes, you finished the last of your burrito and threw the wrapper into a trash can not far from you. “If you two will excuse me, I’ve got to find Max.” 

“I’ll catch up with you at lunch, Bambi. I need some help with some Lit homework if you don’t mind.” 

You nodded. “Sure.” 

Eddie raised an eyebrow. “The smartass needs help with homework?” 

Dustin shoved him slightly, but Eddie didn’t even budge, just smirked at the teenager in front of him. 

The thought made you stop for a moment. It made you wonder briefly what was stopping Eddie from graduating. You knew he’d flunked his senior year a couple times, so that put his age right around 19 to 20. Judging by his appearance, you’d guess closer to 20. Not wanting to bring it up in front of Dustin, or for fear of embarrassing him, you let the thought go. But you made a mental note to cautiously ask him about it later. 

“I’ll see you guys.” 

~*~*~*~ 

It didn’t take you long to find Max. After hunting for a few minutes, you found her sitting outside on top of one of the picnic tables in the shade. She had the headphones of her Walkman covering her ears, and you could make out the lyrics of Running Up That Hill. Glancing down at your watch, you saw there was about 15 minutes before classes started. 

You made your way over to her, dropping your bag on the ground beside hers and plopping onto the table top. She looked up when she felt the wood move before doing a double take when she realized who had sat down. 

“Hey, Max.” 

“Hey,” she greeted. “What’s up?” 

You sighed. “I’m sorry.” 

She frowned, confused. “What? Why?” 

Turning to fully face her, you tucked one leg under the other. “I know I haven’t been there for you…I know you’re dealing with your own shit and grieving in your own way. I know your mom helps as best she can. And I’m so sorry I haven’t been there for you, Max.” Your eyes teared up again as you spoke. “Billy was your brother. I know you guys didn’t get along all the time, but I also know you were both trying. He did love you…you know that right?” 

She blinked in confusion, the corners of her mouth turned down in a frown. “Where’s this coming from?” she asked suspiciously. 

You sighed again and wiped the tears that fell. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot. And I needed you to know.” 

She eyes you cautiously. “You’re not…you’re not doing anything stupid…right?” 

You shook your head. “No, I’m not.” You felt your throat start to close up. “Billy made me promise. No more cutting.” Your problems ran deep, and there were a lot of things you had struggled with over the years. Billy had caught you with a razor in your hands and blood on your arms. After cleaning you up and making sure you were okay, he made you swear you wouldn’t ever hurt yourself again. 

After he died, you’d felt the urge more than once. The guilt was a crushing pressure on your shoulders. It wouldn’t ever make up for his death, you knew that. But having the cool metal pressed against your skin felt like a penance, something you could do to make up for it. 

After all, it was your fault. 

If you hadn’t called him, he never would’ve been on that road. 

And it would’ve been you that was the puppet. 

You pulled yourself out of your dark thoughts and took a deep breath. “I’ll be honest, I’ve picked up a razor a couple times. But I made a promise to him. And I’ll keep it if it kills me.” 

Max nodded. She had seen the aftermath. Billy was on his way to drop her off to the arcade but stopped to get you first. Your parents weren’t home and you were fighting in a depressive episode. He’d screamed for her when he found you.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I haven’t been there for you either.” 

Without a word, you wrapped your arm around her and pulled her to you. You crushed her in a hug, and she returned the favor. 

“You’re coming with me this afternoon. We’re gonna go to the arcade and then rent some movies to binge tonight.” 

She laughed. “I don’t really have a choice in this, so I?” 

You shook your head with a chuckle. “No. Besides, I need to spend time with another girl for a change.”

Max raised an eyebrow as she pulled out of your embrace. “What do you mean?” 

You rolled your eyes. “Dusty and Steve are starting to run off on me.”

She snorted. “Yeah, we need to change that.” 

~*~*~*~

The end of the day rolled round fairly quickly. You weren’t surprised when you saw Dustin waiting for you by your locker. “What’s up, kid?” you said, opening the blue door and grabbing a couple books you would need for your homework before shoving a few others back in. 

He shrugged. “Not a lot. Wanted to check in on you again.”

“I’m actually planning on taking Max to the arcade for a while. Then we’re gonna get a couple movies and have a girls night.”

“That’s a really good idea for both of you. I know you guys need it.” 

You nodded. There hadn’t been a lot of fun in the last several months. Admittedly, you had tried. But that didn’t mean you would always be successful. You were always close with Max. The two of you usually did have quite a bit of fun together. But even that had slowly dribbled away. But, you were trying. “We do.” 

“I was gonna hang out with Steve for a while tonight, we were actually thinking about going to the arcade. But we can totally avoid it if you and Max want to be by yourselves.”

Chuckling, you rolled your eyes. You knew you weren’t going to be able to get away from them so easily. “It’s fine. Just try not to hang around all night? Part of the point of me spending time with Max is because I spend too much with you and Steve. I’m starting to pick up some nasty habits from you two.” you said, scrunching up your nose. 

Dustin snorted. “We’ll play a couple games with you and then get some pizza. Sound good?”

With a dramatic sigh, you resigned. “I guess.” 

In all honesty, it didn’t bother you. While you were looking forward to spending time with Max again, you knew you were going to feel awkward. Logically, you knew you had no reason to. But that didn’t stop the pit from forming in your stomach. It had been a long time since it had been just the two of you. Looking back on the summer, you knew the grief was too raw for both of you. While they weren’t related by blood, Max had so many of Billy’s personality traits. His signature eye roll, a knowing smirk, and the way she carried herself. It was too much. While you were stuck living the nightmares in your dreams, having her right next to you every day was a living hell. 

You felt bad for having those feelings. Now, it tore you to your core. But like Allie had told you, there were things you weren’t going to be able to do for a long time.

Spending time alone with Max happened to be one of them. 

You needed to drag yourself out of those thoughts. For a second, you frowned. “Where’s Eddie?” You hadn’t seen him since the encounter at the beginning of the day. 

Dustin shrugged. “Not sure. Wouldn’t surprise me if he skipped out. Why?” 

“He brought me breakfast this morning. I wanted to give him a few bucks for it.” 

He raised an eyebrow. “Breakfast?” 

You chuckled. “Yeah, you came in on the tail end of the conversation, buddy. I guess someone told him I wasn’t eating and lost some weight.” You gave him a pointed look, to which he rolled his eyes. 

“He might’ve asked about it.” he said with a shrug. “He seemed pretty worried about you the other day. I was too. But I’m glad you’re making friends. Just be careful, yeah?” 

You snorted. “Don’t worry,” you mumbled. “I’m already over analyzing everything.” 

Dustin gave you a sideways look, but you weren’t really laying attention. His warning had sent your head into a tailspin again. 

Everything you’d thought of that morning started running through your mind a million miles an hour. It wasn’t long before you got lost in the abyss.

It took Dustin snapping his fingers in front of your face to snap you out of the trance. 

“Sorry,” 

“You went all zoned out on me, Bambi. You okay?”

The thoughts quieted for a moment as you blinked and regained your focus. “Yeah…just gets overwhelming up here sometimes.” 

He nodded and adjusted his bag as Max knocked into him with a smile. “Hey,” she said. 

Dustin grinned. “Hey yourself, Mad Max. I heard about girls night. Enjoy!” 

She nodded and looked at you. “We will.” 

A small smile took over your face and you threw your arm over her shoulder. “Let’s go.” 

Dustin waved as the two of you headed towards the exit. He continued watching as you walked out the door and down the sidewalk, his eyes not leaving you and Max until you had rounded a corner and were out of view. He quickly dug into his backpack and pulled out a walkie. 

“Steve?” 

“Yo.” 

“Let’s move. Bambi is headed to the arcade with Max.” 

“Get your ass out here, Henderson! We don’t have all day!” 

~*~*~*~

You and Max were killing it at the arcade. 

Your initial feelings of awkwardness had immediately been dispelled as soon as the two of you walked into the arcade. The neon lights and smell of greasy pizza brought you right out of your shell. 

You’d spent the last few hours playing almost every game in the building. And contrary to what Dustin had said, you’d seen neither hide nor tail of him or Steve. 

It didn’t really bother you. 

Max was laughing. You were laughing. 

And that’s what was important. 

Glancing at the watch on your wrist, you grabbed Max’s shoulder gently and tugged her out of line for the bathroom. “Hey, we should head to Family Video if we still wanna rent some movies. My parents are gonna be home and working on dinner soon.” 

“Good because I didn’t really want to use this bathroom anyway.” she chuckled. 

~*~*~*~

You headed down the street, bag of movies and snacks in hand. Max was going on about the counselor, and how annoying she found Ms. Kelly to be. 

You snorted. “Max, you know I would 100% support you seeing Allie. She’s helped me a lot. But if you’re not ready to, I’m not gonna try to force you or press the issue. As far as Ms. Kelly goes…I do think she wants to help. She’s got the right intentions.”

She rolled her eyes. “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” 

A chuckle escaped you. “That’s true. But she’s trying. She doesn’t know exactly how to help, but she wants to. I know you and I don’t really talk about what happened…” 

“BILLY!” 

You heard Max’s scream as one of the tentacles tore through your leg. 

You blinked and cleared your throat. “And that’s okay. But I think you need to open up to someone.” 

You landed with a thud beside Billy. He was covered in blood and black goo that could have only come from the Flayer. You ignored the searing pain in your own body as you sobbed and crawled your way to him. 

A choked sound came from you and Max immediately stopped, setting a hand on your arm. 

“You okay?” 

“Shit,” you gasped. You latched onto the hand that was on your arm. 

Panic. Pain. Fear. Anger. All those emotions ran through you at once as you grabbed onto Billy’s shoulders. He grunted as you pulled him into your lap, coughing and making more blood bubble up from his throat. The gaping wound in his chest stared up at you. 

“-snap out of it!” 

A gasp took over and you almost lurched forward. Max gripped your arms tightly and managed to steady you. Your heart hammered in your chest and it felt like you’d been punched in the gut. 

Max said your name again, putting her hands on your cheeks and turning your head so that you were looking at her. 

“Breathe. You got this.” 

You followed her instructions, breathing in shakily before exhaling through your mouth. Your whole body shuddered with the breath, and you couldn’t help the tremor that ran down your spine. 

“Flashbacks?” Max asked? 

You swallowed a cry that threatened to bubble up your throat before nodding. “Yeah. They’re more hellish than the nightmares sometimes.” 

She nodded in understanding. “I get them too.” 

You took a moment to try and compose yourself before you straightened. “Come on. I’m sure dinner is almost ready.” 

Max gave you a knowing look as you squared your shoulders. “Do you need a few minutes?” 

You shook your head and clenched your teeth. “If I take a few minutes, I’m gonna lose it.” 

“Okay. We’ll just slow down a bit then.” 

You glanced over at the redhead as she looped her arm through yours and leaned some of her weight on you momentarily. You reached over with your other hand and set it on her arm. “Thanks, Max.” 

She looked up at you and smiled. “Always.” Then her eyes softened. “Do you want silence or a distraction?” 

You sighed. “A distraction would be nice.” 

She laughed. “Yeah? Alright…well, I’ve been thinking about joining a club.” 

You raised your eyebrows. “Oh?” 

You fell into easy steps as Max talked about some of the different clubs and activities that were offered as a Freshman. Like you, she had been secluding herself and keeping herself closed off. It was starting to affect her and she was craving the chance to throw herself into something. 

The conversation carried itself with you asking a few questions and providing your input. Before you knew it, you were walking up the sidewalk to your house. 

Both you and Max paused. 

Dustin was standing there with his hands in his pockets and a wide, dorky grin on his face. 

That immediately made you suspicious. 

“Dustin…” 

“Hey Bambi.” 

Max looked just as suspicious as you did. “What’s going on?” 

He shrugged. “Oh, nothing. Steve and I just thought we would come by and drop off a present for ya.” 

“What?” you asked. 

He beckoned you forward. “Come on.” 

You shared a confused look with Max before following Dustin around the front of your dad’s Bronco. The garage door slowly began to lift up, revealing Steve sitting on the top of a vehicle covered by a grey sheet. 

“Hey Princess.” 

You just got more confused. “What’s going on?” 

“We all know you’ve had it rough, Bambi. Anyone can see that. And…we know there’s not a lot we can do. But we wanted to do something for you.” 

Steve took that as his cue to hop off the vehicle and walk around to the side. Without saying a word, he grabbed the sheet and ripped it off, sending dust flying in every direction.

You coughed, waving your hand in front of your face. But then you saw it. 

The front end was sanded and dented in places, scratch marks still lining the bumper. The windshield that had been blown out was replaced, a shiny new sticker in the top drivers side corner. 

It was beat up, there was no doubt about it. 

But the open blue door was unmistakable. 

Billy’s Camaro. 

Taglist: @yourdailymemedelivery@1-fuzzy-squirrels@shiggay@chrisevansmarvelmcu@mrsyixingunicorn10@rebelcthulhu @ethen-often @liv-raines@inthemindofaweirdo@mystrangerfics@mattysheelies@hargrovesprincess@ssstutteringbbbill@fuchsia-knight@gooddoggodrogo @jaaxely@sebastiansloserclub@acthenerd@dollface-80 @prettyboyhargrove@uncle-keery@sydneyisnotawriter

[shaybabywavy]

"The Breakfast Club"

Summary: Steve Harrington x Reader used to date before his feelings for Nancy Wheeler got in the way. Billy Hargrove came to town and healed all of your open wounds from Steve but, then he dies and Steve comes back in your life to patch those very same holes that re opened.

Word count: 1.4k

Warnings: Mentions of Death, Unhappy content.

AN: I swear MA content is coming soon, just have to get the sappy stuff out here first.

-----

“Hey y/n you ok? Haven’t seen you in a while.” Steve says as you enter Family Video. You came here to rent “The Breakfast Club” it was one of your and Billy’s favorite movies. When you tell people that they’re shocked that strong and confident Billy would like a cheesy movie like that but he was different when he was around you.

“Good.” You gave Steve a weak smile and Robin waved to you and you waved in return. The two of them knew you were still heartbroken over the loss of Billy. Steve found it heart-wrenching seeing you in this state. Even though Billy was a dick Steve knew he made you happy probably the happiest he’d ever seen you and it pained you that he never gave you the same.

You got “The Breakfast Club” and brought it up to the counter where Steve and Robin were.

Steve gave you a remorseful smile and grabbed the dvd.

“Hey uh are you doing ok? I’ve been meaning to check up on you but between driving Dustin around and work I haven’t had time.” You shook your head.

“I’m fine Steve. Just taking life day by day, y know?” Steve gave you a smile and nodded.

Steve gave you back your movie with a receipt “The Breakfast Club?” Steve questioned.

“Billy and I’s favorite movie to watch together.” Steve nodded and mentally cursed himself for questioning your movie taste.

“Oh i’m sorry I didn’t-“ You cut Steve off “It’s okay Steve you don’t have to walk on egg shells around me.” You hated how everyone kept apologizing for saying what they think is the wrong things. You didn’t lock yourself in your house because you hated what people said to you. You hated how they treated you like a new born who needed to be watched and cared for every second of the day.

“I know I know it’s just I don’t want to say the wrong things.” Steve ran his hands through his hair in a nervous manner.

“Billy’s dead Steve. There’s nothing worse you could say or do than him being gone. He’s gone. I can’t hold him anymore. I can’t tell him “it’s ok, we’re gonna leave this town forever.” I can’t-“ You started choking up.

“I’m gonna go. It was nice seeing you, Steve, and Robin.” You were about to walk out of the store before Steve stopped you.

"Wait!" He yelled. You turned around and Steve came from behind the desk.

"I get off in 10 if you maybe would like some company?” You pondered Steve’s question for a little bit before responding.

“Sure?” Unsure if this is really what you wanted or not.

“Ok, um i’ll meet you at your house?” You nodded and walked out of the store. What have I gotten myself into you thought.

-

Twenty minutes later Steve had arrived. You had already set up a few snacks; pretzels, some soda, and candy. And the movie was ready for you to hit “Play”.

You walked to the door to let Steve in. There he was, in all his Steve Harrington glory.

“Brought some beer!” You looked at the case in his right hand as he held it up to you.

“Perfect.” You said and moved over to let Steve in.

“Uh I already have everything set up in the living room, I’m gonna go change into something more comfy.” Steve nodded and smiled as you jogged up the stairs to your room.

You put on one of Billy’s old shirts and it still smelled like his cologne no matter how many times you’ve washed it. You held it up to your nose and took in his scent.

You pulled yourself together and went downstairs,

“Hey, are your parents in town?” Steve asked, you shook your head.

“No they went on vacation for spring break. I didn’t want to go.” Steve nodded and popped open a soda.

You plopped next to Steve on the couch and grabbed the remote.

“Y/n.” Steve said, you turned to him.

“Yes.”

“Can I be honest with you?” You gave him a look to proceed.

“I miss you so much. I miss your smile, your laugh, the way you roll your eyes every-time i open my mouth.” You smirk and Steve smiles.

“Hey! That’s something.” You put a hand on your knee.

“Steve. I’m sorry. I know I haven’t been… present. Everyone lost something or someone that day and it’s not right of me to block everyone out.” You move closer to Steve.

“It’s just I’ve never experience loss like this. And to see him die like that in-front of me. It was traumatizing to say the least. I don’t think i’ll ever recover from that.” Steve put a hand on your thigh and rubbed the inside with his thumb.

“Your feelings are valid y/n. I want you to have as much space as you need to process and grieve but you don’t have to do it alone.” You look down as Steve continued.

“I know I wasn’t the best boyfriend. Always was about me wasn’t it?” You nodded and Steve put a finger under your chin to lift your head up. Your eyes were now locked with his.

“But, it’s not about me anymore. It Never was. I want to be here for you. I want to check in on you. I want to make you laugh and smile. I want to make you feel close to as happy as he made you feel.” Tears started streaming down your face and you jumped into Steve arms to hug him. Your head dug into his neck and Steve rubbed your back.

You pulled back, still crying. “I just miss him so much Steve.” Steve wiped your tears with his thumb.

“I know.” Steve pulled you into him again and you two sat like that for minutes. You in his arms crying while he rubbed your back. You eventually stopped crying and pulled back again. You looked Steve in his eyes while he looked into your sad, red ones. Your eyes moved from his to his lips and back to his eyes and then back to his lips.

You leaned into him and your lips met his pink ones, you two stayed like that for a minute. Your lips on his and being in his arms. You needed this. You needed someone who cared. You pulled away your lips plump and red. You had dried tears on your cheek and you smiled, a genuine smile.

“Thank you… Steve.” Steve rubbed the back of your head.

“Anything for you. You know that.” Steve moved his hands from your head to your waist and squeezed it.

“You can talk about him… more if you want.” You gave him a look to make sure it was ok. Kind of weird talking about an boyfriend who died to an ex.

“Ok.” You said lowly. You looked around your living room trying to find the words to say.

“I know Billy wasn’t always the nicest, he wasn’t the nicest to me when we met but, when you got to know him, and you got to know why he acted the way he did and the lord knows that doesn’t excuse his behavior, you tend to still love him.” You smiled as a memory popped in your head.

“Our second date, it was here. On this couch. We were going to watch a movie at the theaters but it was raining. He told me to just pick a movie we had on DVD and my mom had just rented “The Breakfast Club.” Anyways, he came over he asked what we were watching but I didn’t dare tell him because I knew he woild complain. I popped it in, told him to close his eyes so I could hit play. Once I did he opened them and groaned so loudly it vibrated the whole room.” Steve laughed.

“But, then we actually started watching it and he seemingly enjoyed it. To my surprise. From then we would watch it every month. Just us. On this couch. Anytime it rained.” Tears swelled up in your eyes.

“That was a beautiful memory y/n.” You smiled and nodded.

“Thank you, Steve. It felt nice to talk about him.”

“You can talk to me about anything. I’m here for you.” You smiled and got off of Steve’s lap to grab the remote.

“We don’t have to watch this if you don’t want to,” Steve shook his head.

“No, no.” Steve grabbed your arm and looked up at you.

“I want to watch it. With you.” You pressed play, sat back down on the couch and cuddled with Steve as you too snacked on pretzels, enjoying the movie and each others company, while keeping the memory of Billy alive in your heart.

[lovemesomeeddiemunson]

Fugitive Houseguest

Summary: With the townsfolk gunning for Eddie, Steve and Dustin decide he’ll be safer under the care of an old friend. 

F! OC. 8657 Words. Oops.

Part 1 of 2.

Warnings:  MAJOR ST spoilers ahead.  Explicit sex scene in part 1 (Minors DNI.) There is also a hinted at sexual situation in part 2 in which OC is not in their right mind, which may make some uncomfortable. ST-esq violence. Slut-shaming (talking about that moment from volume 1, which was not okay.) Food eating mentions. Cursing.

Authors Note:  This started as a simple bandaid to cope with Volume 4. Definitely got away from me lol. It’s a fix it fic y’all!! As such you’ll see pretty clearly where I took some…artistic license to make the OC more central to the story. I hate myself sometimes I swear but this fic practically wrote itself. 😂 Much as I love my reader inserts, I felt that the protagonist in this fic just had too many specific traits to NOT be an OC. Also, some hints of OC X Billy and maybe even OC X Steve if you squint.  This is part 1 of 2, no further installments currently planned. 

Also, I am always looking for inspo, so I will absolutely take requests for one-shots, blurbs, and head canons. If you don’t have an idea and just wanna chat, that’s cool too! I promise I won't bite.

“Where the hell have you been?” Steve reprimanded the approaching woman as she threw her Chevy Cavalier into park.

“Went to see Raul.” She explained, still bandaged from the encounter.

Steve did a double take, eyes widening. He knew what that meant. “You do realize that it’s the end of the world, right?”

Yeah, she wanted to tell him, but it was the end of the world, again, and she would be damned if that meant canceling her appointment. 

Instead she just smirks. “You have your coping skills, and I have mine.” 

As he follows her to her front door of the cute house on the edge of Lover’s Lake. She unlocks it for him and lets him inside. “Did you at least come by it honestly?” Steve asked with raging sarcasm.

She snorts, playing along and upping the ante. “Unless trading some sloppy head for ink is ‘coming by it honestly,’ then I highly doubt it.” 

He nearly choked, which she’d hoped for when choosing her words.

Back in Steve’s car parked in front of hers, two people huddle together, whispering. 

The older of the two, a long haired boy she had not met before, asks if she’ll really be able to help.

The younger boy, Dustin Henderson, nods vigorously, explaining that it’s cool, she’s cool. The best, actually. The other man couldn’t be in better hands. 

Eddie huffs at that and exits the vehicle, following Steve and her inside despite the former’s insistence that he wait in the car, so he could bring the woman up to speed.

That didn’t look like what Steve was up to. To Eddie, it looked more like flirting. Gross.

“You wanna see it, don’t you?” He hears her tease Steve as he enters without knocking, the man’s arms crossed and expression put out.

“No!” He protested, too quickly, before his eyes flashed to Eddie, Dustin entering the house behind him. His voice dropped low all at once, jokingly. “Show me later.” He muttered under his breath.

She giggled, heading over to the fridge and pulling out several glass coke bottles. Handing one to Dustin first, that giggle is still in her voice as she asks the kid how he’s been, rubbing his cheek lovingly.

Dustin was flushing, even as he lightly protested. “I have to regretfully inform you that I must reject your advances; I have a girlfriend now.” 

The kid is totally serious, but the sigh she lets out is theatrical. “All the good ones are taken, huh?” She quips, eyes suddenly on Eddie, the act sobering. She seems to straighten up suddenly, down to business.

“So, we don’t speak for a couple months and you guys make it up to me by bringing me a person of interest in a murder investigation.” It’s said lightheartedly.

“Right so…His name hasn’t gone public yet, but we figured it’s only a matter of time. And if we’d managed to track him down at Reefer Rick’s then it’s safe to assume that others will too…We figured there’s nothing linking the two of you together so he should be safe here, until we can figure out a way to clear his name.” Dustin rambles. 

She takes a swig of the cola, humming thoughtfully. “…So, when you say, ‘End of the world’…” she eyes the bottle. “What’s the plan?”

“We’re…in the brainstorming phase.” Steve admits.

At that she starts to mumble incoherently - raising her voice louder to punctuate a sharp rant in Spanish, that has Steve objecting.

“English, babe, English. You know I can’t understand you when you talk like that. I’m not Robin.” He soothes.

“Forget it.” She dismisses. “Just…cursing my luck. In any case, I’ll harbor the fugitive. We can work out the details later.”

“It’s Eddie.” Eddie crosses his arms over his chest. “Eddie The Banished.” He adds dryly.

She gives a wave of her hand, “I’ll harbor the fugitive Eddie-the-banished.” She says, not missing a beat. Eddie cracks a smile for the first time in what feels like forever.

“Thanks Amilia.” Steve sighs in relief as Dustin gives her a big hug. She pats his back sweetly.

“Take care of him, yeah?” Dustin asks nervously. 

‘Amilia’ draws a small ‘X’ over her chest, right above her heart. “With my life.” She swears to him.

Then the two boys make their exit, and it’s just her and Eddie, standing about awkwardly. He racked his brain for something to say. Torn between letting the woman know he’s grateful, and spitefully insisting that he doesn’t need anything but a place to crash.

Instead of all that, he starts simple. “So, uh, Amilia was it?” Eddie questions. She nods. 

“You uh, you live here alone?” He asks. “I mean, uh, your boyfriend’s not gonna randomly show up and want to kick my ass, right?”

“It’s just me. Last boyfriend I had kind of got brutally murdered by a spider creature from another dimension 8 months ago.” The words are about as lighthearted as her clarification that Eddie was wanted for murder.

Eddie is surprised. He opens his mouth, and then closes it, sheepishly admitting. “I had a crush on the girl they think I killed…and now…my memories of her will forever be overrun by the sound of her bones snapping and the sight of her lifting off the floor.”

Giving a slow nod, Amilia takes in his downtrodden expression, voice soft. “Look at us, two traumatized souls, finding each other in this crazy world. What are the odds?” Spinning around, she grabs and raises her half drunk Coke bottle in solidarity. “To the fallen.” She toasts.

“To the fallen.” He agrees in slight surprise, touching his own bottle to hers.

Then she eyes him up and down, noting thoughtfully, “You know, you look like someone who could use a home cooked meal.” 

And Eddie is rendered speechless as she stands up and heads over to take some things from the fridge.

He watches in awe, as she brings out a cutting board, jumping as she chop, chop, chops, not looking up at him, tentatively asking. “What was she like?”

“Pretty cool actually. Nice.” Eddie says it casually, like these were passable qualities indeed.

“You like nice girls?” She sounded skeptical.

It made Eddie laugh. “Sometimes.”

“Sometimes.” Amilia mocks him.

“Well, what about you?” He counters.

“Sometimes.” She responds, a glimmer in her eye. “Nice is fine, but who wants it nice and easy all the time? Gotta say, I prefer a person with some range.”

Eddie finds this whole thing really odd. A week ago he was planning a brutal campaign, trying to think of how best to slaughter his friends.

Now here he was, on the hook for an actual brutal murder that he had only witnessed - in a woman’s house he’d only met today, agreeing with her on several fundamental levels.

Eddie wonders if he scratches under the surface any deeper, just how much more they’ll have in common.

“And he had range?” He smirks.

“He was a walking complexity.” She agreed.

The sadness in her voice - Eddie’s unsure if it’s akin to how he’s feeling. Feels deeper than what had happened with Chrissy. More raw. “Did you love him?” He wonders aloud.

She shakes her head. “Never got the chance.” A snort. “Still, the whole thing hurt like hell. I wonder if after that I’m even equipped to love anything beyond, like…a really good dog.”

“So cynical.” Eddie beamed in admiration. 

She doesn’t mind the accusation. “Think it might have worked out between you and your crush, if she had lived?” 

“Hell no.” He scoffs. “We came from two different worlds, for starters. And she also had this terrible boyfriend, who I’m sure is leading the search party for my head.”

“Yeah, well unfortunately for that guy he has to go through me first.” A threat if he’d ever heard one, Eddie hides his smile behind his drink.

She keeps cooking - more seasonings on one shelf than Eddie has in his whole trailer, which she used liberally. 

“So, Amilia, just how is it that you got mixed up with the likes of me?” He asks curiously.

“Hm...I think it’s just an added bonus to being mixed up with the likes of Steve and Dustin.” She laughs. “Yeah, we uh, we worked together to save the world a few times…This is just the latest installment.” Her smile falters. “Sucks' cause I thought it was all over. Now here they are pulling me out of retirement.”

“Well ‘The Hair’ was certainly happy to see you.” Eddie says it sharply, wondering why it bothered him, but unable to deny that he couldn’t get the interaction out of his head.  

“Steve?” Amilia laughs at the thought, shutting down the assumption. “Yeah I mean I guess that whole ‘bit’ came out of retirement with me. It's been hand in hand with us working together ever since we figured out a few years ago how riled up we can get Wheeler.” 

Eddie considered that, the confession shining a new light on their whole meeting. He’s intrigued.

He gets her to tell him more - about their dynamic, takes from how things were before - she tells it all. Even lets him in on Steve and Nance’s tragic love life which he could have done without.

In the end though, knowing about all the supernatural crap going on in Hawkins while he was unaware, he feels just slightly better about his chances. 

They’ve been doing this, apparently, for years. Finding a way out of it seems much more likely than when he was going it alone.

After they talk, maybe an hour or so later, Amilia places a plate in front of Eddie with chicken and rice, and he has to grasp every semblance of self control that he has in order not to let out an obscene moan at the first bite. 

He cleans his plate, leaning back in his chair until he sees Amilia rise from another seat at the dining table, headed to the kitchen sink. 

Eddie quickly scrambled to his feet once he realized her intentions. “Let me do that.” He protests gruffly.

When she gives him a funny look he takes the sponge from her hands. “Least I can do.” Is what he grumbles, gently maneuvering himself between her and a sink full of suds.

She flashes him a smile that sucks the air out of his lungs.

When the hour grows late, Amilia insists that Eddie take her bedroom, telling him that he’s been through too much to sleep on a stiff couch.

He refuses - punching a throw pillow to soften it and waving her goodnight with his many ringed fingers.

She huffs and stomps back to her room, and then she’s back, dragging a pillow and blanket with her. She stubbornly throws it on the floor in front of him, making him promise not to step on her if he gets up to pee.

Eddie laughs, commenting on how insane she is, but really he’s glad for the company.

He crashes, feeling oddly safe, warm. 

He isn’t sure how long he slept but when he wakes up he finds himself in an empty house, with nothing but a note left behind with the time she’d left, that she’ll be back in an hour, tops, and to stay put. 

Stay safe. She had emphasized the word, underlining it twice. 

Eddie smiles crookedly before shaking his head and checking his watch - she had twenty minutes before he grew paranoid.

Only eight minutes later, he hears a car pull up so he peeks through the window shades, only to see Amilia grabbing a trash bag from her back seat, hoisting it over her shoulder.

Eddie opens the door for her, offering a hand. “Thanks,” she tells him, handing the bag off.

“What’s all this?” He asks, following her where she collapses down onto the recliner in the corner.

“Open it up,” she suggests, instead of answering. So Eddie does so.

“These are my clothes,” he says accusingly. 

She merely shrugs, saying. “The crime scene isn't active anymore.” As if that explains it all. 

He’s stunned - it’s just another act of hers that shows how thoughtful she is. And Eddie isn’t used to being…cared for. 

Sure, Wayne leaves him cigarettes, money for food, and beer - but for all that, he doesn’t anticipate Eddie’s needs before he has them. 

“Thank you.” He utters softly.

“No big deal,” she deflects, waving a hand as if she might swat the gratitude away. 

“Did uh…did you happen to notice if my uncle was home?” Eddie asks, concerned about the older man.

She gives a shake of her head. “He wasn’t.”

Eddie isn’t sure if he’s saddened or relieved, hoping that the kids figure something out soon, so he can explain himself to Wayne. At the very least let him know he’s alright.

With new clothes in hand, Eddie takes a shower. Amilia directs him to a spare toothbrush under the sink and gets started on a simple lunch for the two of them.

When he emerges, toweling off his wet hair, he’s surprised to hear Judas Priest’s Love Bites blasting in the kitchen. 

Once Amilia notices his approach, she hurriedly apologizes through the familiar song, before turning it down, trying to be kind and telling he can play whatever he wants if it’s not his thing. 

But holy hell is it his thing, and Eddie is in awe.

What follows that realization is honestly…pure domestic bliss.

The two develop their own routine. She cooks him three meals a day. The two discuss music, books and movies. Eddie makes her laugh as much as he can, and thoughts of her invade his brain long after he’s supposed to be asleep.

By his third evening with her, he can’t take it anymore. As she sets his plate down in front of him, he catches her wrist very gently, tentatively sliding his fingers through hers.

When she raises a brow at him, he suddenly blurts. “Have dinner with me.” 

She raises an eyebrow in confusion, remarking. “I was planning on it,” Only for Eddie to shake his head, flushing. “I…I mean, like, have it with me.”

Understanding washes over her at the implication. She keeps her teasing tone to hide the nerves suddenly threatening her voice. “Eddie, are you asking me on a date?”

Eddie offers his most charming smile in reply. “So what if I am?”

There were several ways she could think to respond to that - but she had to admit, she was flattered. 

Eddie’s face falls a bit. “If I’m out of line at all…”

“You aren’t.” She promises. 

He lights up. “Good, because uh…I really like you.”

“I really like you too.” She tells him, her confession causing him to make a face at his plate. 

“Sure, I mean what’s not to like?” He tries to make it sound like a joke, but visibly cringes.

“Oh you know. Just a nice guy - smart, funny, easy on the eyes.” She shrugs innocently.

“Nice?” He gasps. “Are you saying I don’t have range?” Laughs and eats more of his food.

“Yet to be seen.” She tells him, which he takes as a challenge.

“You think you’ve seen it all, hm? I hate to break it to you, you know, but there is a difference between domestic Eddie and bedroom Eddie.” He winks at her.

She holds a hand to her heart at the scandalous suggestion, derisive. “Well I wouldn't know from the first date!” 

Eddie chuckled. “Alright, say I wanted to show you…how many dates are we talking about?”

“Five?” She says innocently.

“Five?!?” He blurts out, suddenly standing dramatically, waving his arms about. “Okay, let me think. The other day when you kicked my ass at Torpedo Run, that counts. We also watched a movie last night with popcorn. And today we got high and listened to Peace Sells, and I’m sorry sweetheart but if that’s not romance then I don’t know what is.” 

She giggles at him, agreeing. He snaps his fingers thoughtfully. “Okay, I got it. One fifth date, coming right up.”

He disappears into the living room. “Eddie! I was kidding.” She complains.

“No, no.” Amilia hears him protest, as he starts rearranging the furniture. “We’re doing this.”

She follows him out there. He looks through her cassettes, plucking one from the pile. “Oh, this is too perfect.” Eddie chuckles. “Why would you even own this?”

He slips Elvis’ Blue Hawaii into the cassette player, to her horror.

“Oh god Eddie!” She complains in embarrassment. “I’m pretty sure this was my mother’s at some point before I was born.” 

He laughs at her. “Our mom’s would have gotten along. Now come on. You brought it into this house, now you have to dance with me.” He doesn’t take no for an answer.

So she lets him pull her in tight, slowly swaying her along. Though his feet don’t really leave the floor, he’s actually not a terrible dancer.

Like everything he does, he commands the room. And Amilia’s fixation with him doesn’t go unnoticed.

After a minute he asks softly over the ukulele. “Can I kiss you? I really want to kiss you.” 

She gives a small nod in return, “Yes.” 

Eddie smiles and leans down, pressing his lips against hers.

It’s slow, and sweet, and she’s melting in his arms thinking how she’s never fallen apart so easily, with such a simple act.

The power this man holds…Eddie smiles into the kiss - a bit cocky, like he can tell, holding her tight like he can’t get close enough.

Her arms wrap around his neck while the two kiss passionately in her living room. 

And then the song is over and Eddie is aggressively spinning to turn off the tape, not wanting to ruin the moment.

“So,” she asks, her eyes flickering back towards her bedroom. “You wanna…?”

“We don’t have to, you know? I was only joking earlier. I can give you five real dates. Longer if you want.” He’s sweet, and completely serious. 

He must have more optimism than she possesses, assuming that the two of them would get that kind of time. Amilia didn’t have the luxury of being so sure. 

“I want you.” She tells him. And damn if that confession doesn’t almost cause his undoing right there on the spot.

He kisses her again, leaning down to grasp the underside of her thighs, picking her up where she wraps them around his waist, allowing him to carry her to the bedroom in between heated kisses.

He lays her out gently on her bed, breaking the kiss to ask, “This okay?”

She nods eagerly, pulling him back in. “Want you.” She repeats against his lips. Eddie groans softly. 

“Want you too.” He admits, and that much is obvious. Still it’s nice to hear while he’s crawling on top of her. 

Then Eddie’s hand is wrapped loosely around her throat, and he’s kissing her like he might never stop.

He loves how responsive she is beneath him, the sweet sounds she makes and the way she eagerly rolls her hips against his, hands running through his hair.

Eddie kisses every bit of her exposed skin, stripping her of her shirt and bra in quick succession.

He mutters how beautiful she is, perfect, perfect for him. And latches onto her nipple, sucking eagerly on the one before alternating, always playing leisurely with whichever his mouth isn’t attached to.

She writhes beneath him, crying out at the overwhelming sensation and Eddie smiles into his work. 

He lets go while she pouts, kissing down to her ribs and back, laughing against the skin of her collarbones, his face buried there, tracing every line of her tattoos with his tongue.

“Eddie, please.” She grumbles, and she can feel his laugh reverberated through her, causing her to tug at his hair playfully.

He groans aloud at the sensation, causing a mischievous smile to appear on Amilia’s lips as she gives another experimental tug.

He whimpers.

Then he’s batting her hands away, grinning at her, long hair falling down to curtain either side of her face.

Her brain is fuzzy. She’s drunk off of him, intoxicated, when his tongue plays lazily against hers.

Amilia makes him back away so she can take his shirt off, mumbling compliments about his tattoos, but he’s too impatient to let her appreciate them.

He’s tugging her jeans down her legs, burying his face in between her thighs before they even hit the ground. 

His teeth pierce the soft flesh of them, nipping harshly and then peppering soothing kisses. Doing nothing to help the deep ache she feels in her core.

She lets out an impatient sigh of his name, tugging on his hair again, and suddenly he’s giving what she wants, easing her panties down her legs and tossing them carelessly to the side with the rest of her discarded clothing.

Almost too slowly he pushes his tongue inside - and she’s not sure which it’s meant to be, the torture or the reward. 

He teases until she’s writhing and then he’s licking her fully and properly, tongue flattening out as he makes long strokes through her wetness.

She cries out when he adds a finger, slipping it inside while she rides his tongue. When he’s bold he adds another, filling her up just right and sucking on that little nub that has her teetering on the edge.

Eddie is almost disappointed when she comes - not wanting to stop tasting her, but then she’s dragging him away, crying out from the over-stimulation, and begging him to be inside her, and well, she’s really pretty like this…

Her hands eagerly fumble with the handcuffs he’s using as a belt buckle, and then she’s pushing his jeans and boxers off his hips giddily.

She reaches into the nightstand, Eddie taking the offered condom from her, tearing it open and rolling it onto his weeping cock, lining himself up with her once he’s fully sheathed inside it.

He fills her up, letting out helpless moans at the feeling of Amilia gripping him so demandingly. Cursing and sweating while she begs him to fuck her properly.

And how could he refuse?

He works himself in and out a few times before slamming back in, the harsh thrusts each accompanied by the harsh smack of Amilia’s headboard against the wall.

He drives into her, changing pitch and pace for whatever she begs for, harder, faster, slower, deeper - gives her everything.

While he thrusts he rubs on that sweet sweet spot just at her crest until another orgasm is crashing over her, drawing him in.

Eddie grins, pulling out and flipping her over, guiding her onto her hands and knees. 

When he slips back inside she’s moaning helplessly into her pillows. 

Not having that, Eddie gently winds his hands into her hair, pulling her up by it so he can hear the explicit sounds she releases as he pounds into her from behind.

Her cries and screams encourage him as he absolutely rails her, feeling her grow impossibly tighter still.

It’s not long before he’s stuttering in his movements, giving a few more sloppy thrusts before he comes, hard, against the cry of her name.

Eddie thinks he might have even blacked out for a second.

Wincing when he pulls out of her, he disposes of the used rubber in the small trash bin at her bedside before collapsing next to her.

She rolls onto her back with breathless panting, and they meet each other’s eyes at the same time, big grins splitting their faces.

“So…what’s the verdict?” He asks innocently.

“You look real pretty in the afterglow, Eds.” She teases, mushing his cheeks and avoiding the question.

He laughs. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Humming softly, she reaches out again, ecstatic when he receives her, actually pulling her in closer, burying his face in her hair. 

She confesses. “So, domestic Eddie is actually not a far cry from bedroom Eddie.” He was too sweet, through and through. Despite how rough he could give it to her.

“Hey!” He whines loudly, seeming inclined to remind her of that fact, making her laugh.

“But! You do have range.” She readily admits.

“Thank goodness.” He sighs, planting a kiss on her lips.

The two of them cuddle up the rest of the night, a tangle of limbs and tattoos, falling asleep in a bed for the first time since they’ve met.

The next morning Eddie wakes up, disturbed when he rolled over and she wasn’t beside him. 

He gets up slowly with the intention of going to find her, stretching and yawning and pulling his discarded boxers on before walking out of the bedroom. 

She’s in the kitchen, wearing his shirt and scrambling some eggs. It makes Eddie’s heart ache.

He wraps his arms around her waist, resting his chin atop her head, murmuring good morning.

She tilts her head back to smile at him widely, and he presses a quick kiss to the tip of her nose.

Eddie thinks he could get used to this, being in hiding, if it means everything that comes with it. Food, sex, good music, and the present company that he isn’t sure how he ever lived without.

Still, all good things must come to an end. 

That night it comes in the form of the unmistakable sound of a car pulling into the driveway. 

At the sound, Amilia gets up and looks out, past the window curtain. It’s not Steve or one of the kids.

“Eddie, I see varsity jackets.” She tells him, letting the curtain fall closed.

“Shit, how the hell did they know to look here?” He blurts, jumping to his feet.

“Go, hide in my room. I’ll get rid of them.” She orders, shoving him towards the bedroom door.

“What? Fuck that I’m not leaving you with them.” Eddie complains.

“I’m not asking.” She presses. “Seriously, Eddie, go. If there’s a chance they don’t know you're here yet, we have to take it.” She pushes him away before going to answer the knock on the door to the two basketball players on the other side. 

“Can I help you?” She asks with a sweet smile, reminding herself that there’s no reason that she should be defensive or angry at their presence. Wary, maybe, as a woman living alone with uninvited guests, but no more than that.

“Sorry to bother you, ma’am…” Jason starts.

“Ma’am?” She laughs. “Jason, I tutored you in Spanish when you were a sophomore and I was a senior, remember?”

“Oh. Right. You look…different.” He confessed.

“Grew my hair out.” She jokes, since it’s always been this long. What she hadn’t had before was the tattoos - at least not the currently visible ones - the creeping vines blooming across her shoulders and collarbone. “Anyways, what can I do for you?”

“We were looking for some people - Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair, Mike Wheeler…we know they come around here sometimes.”

She frowns innocently. “Sorry, but I haven’t really seen the kids since…well I guess since the mall burned down. Their regular babysitter’s hours got freed up since Scoops Ahoy is gone.” 

“Hm.” Jason said skeptically, his eyes narrowing.

She raises an eyebrow. “I mean…you’re welcome to look around?” Then laughs. “But all you’re gonna find is some refreshing lemonade.”

Amilia turns and heads inside. “Let me get you some for the road.” She’s not asking, pouring the drinks into plastic cups for the two goons, and walking them outside.

Jason won’t drink, but Patrick does, not feeling so great when he suddenly cries out in pain, bending over, cup still in his hand, clutching his abdomen.

“You poisoned it!” Jason accused, glaring at her in turn, grabbing at her arm roughly.

“It’s just lemonade!” She protests, grabbing the red solo cup from Patrick and taking a huge drink. “See?”

“No,” Patrick gasps. “Wasn’t the lemonade…I’m fine.” He explains weakly.

“What the hell are you trying to pull?” Jason snaps at her.

“Me? I literally just gave the guy a drink! What the hell is wrong with you?” She snaps right back. 

“I know you’re lying.” He snarls, getting in her face.

She glares right back at him. “Carver, get the hell off my property.”

“Let’s just go.” Patrick utters softly, he doesn’t look so hot.

“No! She’s hiding something.” He growls, stalking back toward the house.

“Oh for fucks sake!” She snaps as he bursts in, heading straight for the bedroom like he was reading from a map.

Patrick trails behind apologetically, but when the door opens, Eddie is nowhere to be seen. 

Jason searches the whole house. Eddie’s gone.

“Did you accomplish what you wanted? Fucking prick. Get out of here before I call the cops.” She snaps, bluffing, but knowing that cops scared people like Jason. 

As it is he’s flustered, pointing a finger at her. “This isn’t over.”

“Dude, there’s nothing here, get a grip.” Patrick insists, all but dragging him out.

“Don’t you get it? She’s with them! A devil worshipper!” She can hear him shout as he’s wrangled into the car..

She watches them leave, biting her lip, knowing that she can’t search for Eddie until the two leave, but hoping he’s safe. 

He was, but not for long. His disappearing act had only bought him a little time.

When he had snuck out the back during Amilia’s conversation with Jason, not trusting the man not to search the place, he took cover in the boat that came with the house.

When they went to get in their car, Jason spotted him in his rear view mirror, huddled down in the dark. “Look!” He tells Patrick. “There!”

Eddie hears, pushing off the shore, trying the engine to no avail, only to have to try and row away as Jason scrambles from the vehicle.

Amilia heard the commotion, leaving the house and heading parallel to Jason, into the woods.

Jason all but drags Patrick to the shoreline, shouting at him, as they shed down to their underclothes, jumping in and swimming after Eddie.

They gain on him quickly and Eddie stops paddling.

“Hey stay back, man! Stay back!” Eddie yells, wielding the oar like a weapon as Jason approaches.

He turns back to Patrick to yell at him for not keeping up. “Come on, let's go, we almost have him!”

The other boy treads water and Jason calls his name. It’s the last thing he says before Patrick is dragged under.

He rises out of the water then, up into the air where he hovers, body bending and snapping.

Eddie backs up so far in the boat that he falls in. 

Amilia bites back the scream threatening to tear its way out of her throat, hugging the shore line as she keeps moving, moving toward Eddie.

She barely registers Jason collecting the mutilated body, bringing it to shore.

She’s trying to keep an eye on the older man, tearing through the woods until she finds where he’s emerged, clambering soaking wet from the water.

“Woah!” He shouts as she nearly crashes into him. “Woah, easy.” 

“Gotta hide.” She says breathlessly.

They run a considerable distance away, and then the two of them spend the night in the woods. Stealing blankets from a nearby clothesline, they huddle together for warmth, leaned up against a large oak.

Eddie holds her close, her trembling much more intense than his despite his wet state. He murmurs words of comfort to her, kissing her hair, and eventually she falls into a restless  sleep in his arms.

In the morning the two of them keep moving, trying to find a way to contact the others when Eddie decides to steal a walkie talkie from a construction site.

It takes over an hour for them to meet the pair at skull rock - and they come bearing bad news. Vecna had gone after Max - his third attempted victim - unsuccessfully, during the morning before the guys had made contact. 

“Jesus,” Eddie complained, head in his hands.

“Well, we're one step closer. We know how Vecna attacks. And we know he’s doing it from the Creel house.” Max resolves, explaining how they’d gone poking around in it. “So now we just need to sneak into his lair in the Upside Down and drive a stake through his heart.” 

Robin scoffs. “If he even has a heart.” 

“A stake? Is he like a vamp? Is he a vampire?” Steve asks in borderline excitement.

“It was a metaphor.” Max rolls her eyes.

“A bullet should work on him, right?” Eddie chimes in.

“I say we chop his head off.” Lucas offers.

Nancy shared her agreement. “Yeah I’d say all of the above, but we can't do any of that 'til we find a way into the Upside Down.” 

“We need El to get her powers back.” Max sighs.

“Everything was like, way easier.” Steve agrees, looking to Eddie to explain, “We had this girl. She had superpowers….”

“Superpowers. Yeah, you mentioned her.” Eddie said gruffly, thinking how useful that would have been and watching Dustin pace back and forth. “Hey, uh, Henderson's not, uh, cursed, is he?”

“Cursed? No, no. He's fine. Mental? Absolutely.” Steve uttered sarcastically.

As if to emphasize that point Dustin suddenly stops, turning sharply to yell, “Boom!” The exclamation echoing as he points at Steve, walking closer. “Bada… bada… boom. I was right. Skull Rock was north.” 

Steve almost throws a fit. “Seriously? You're serious?”

“Mm-hmm.” He says smugly.

“This is Skull Rock. Okay?” Steve gestures to it. “You're totally, absolutely, 100% wrong. Right now.”

“Yes. And no.” Dustin says as Amilia raises a brow, looking on incredulously. 

“Oh my God.” Steve moans, head in his hands.

Dustin gestures to his compass. “This worked correctly when we left the Wheelers'. Correct when we got in the car on Curly. But it started to slip the further east we went. Now it's way off. When I was leading us here, I wasn't wrong. The compass was.” 

“So you're using faulty equipment. You're still wrong.” Steve argues, hands on his hips.

“Except it isn't faulty.” Dustin turns to his friend. “Lucas, remember what can affect a compass?”

“An electromagnetic field!” The other boy realizes.

“Yep.” Dustin grins.

“Uh I’m sorry, I must've skipped that class.” Robin deadpans.

“In the presence of a stronger electromagnetic field, the needle will deflect towards that power.” Dustin explains. “So either there's some super big magnet around here, or…”

“There's a gate.” Amilia realizes.

“But we're nowhere near the lab.” Nancy frowns.

Dustin clasps his hands together. “But what if, somehow, there's another gate? A gate that we don't know about. It'd have to be smaller. Way less powerful.” 

“Snack-size gate.” Robin theorized.

Steve glances her way. “How? Why?”

Dustin shakes his head. “No idea. All I know is that something is causing this disturbance, and the last time we've seen anything like it, it was a gate. And I hope it is because then we'd have a way to Vecna. And a shot at stopping him from taking another victim.”

“Where are you going?” Steve starts to shout after him. “Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Eddie's still a wanted man. Amilia’s compromised, we can't just go hike in the woods.”

Dustin holds up his compass. “This little steel capsule might be the key to saving everyone.”

“Fuck it, I’m in.” Amilia walks to Dustin’s side, grasping his right shoulder. 

He looks to his dungeon master since he has the support. “What say you, Eddie the Banished?”

Eddie has a hand resting on the side of his face, lost in deep thought. “I say you're asking me to follow you into Mordor…Which, if I'm totally straight with you, I think is a really bad idea.”

He glanced up, “But, uh, the Shire…The Shire is burning.”

Dustin starts to bounce beneath Amilia’s grip in excitement. Eddie stands. “So, Mordor it is.”

So the group all goes traipsing through the woods, finding that the wonky compass is leading them right back to Lover’s Lake. Eddie stops Dustin from walking straight into it.

“This is confounding.” Dustin exhales at the sight before them.

“There's a gate in Lover's Lake?” Max questions.

“Whenever the Demogorgon attacked, it always left an opening. Maybe Vecna's the same way.” Nancy speculates.

“Yeah, only one way to find out.” Steve says, before the gang rustles up a boat and some oars.

Eddie and Steve place it down in the water as Steve chastises Eddie for his manner of handling. “Easy. I…I said easy, man.”

“Sorry, dude.” Eddie grumbled. 

Robin places a hand on both their heads, stepping over them and into the vessel. Eddie’s next in, offering a hand to Amilia and Nancy, pushing against Dustin’s chest lightly when he tries to clamber in after them. 

“Hey, hey, hey, you trying to sink us?” This thing holds four people tops, okay?” Eddie scolds as he sits next to Amilia.

Nancy instantly agrees, adding. “It's better this way, okay? You guys stay here. Keep an eye out for trouble.” 

“You keep an eye out. It's my goddamn theory!” Dustin protests.

“You heard Nance.” Amilia tells him as he whines. “Who put her in charge?” 

“I did.” Amilia responds simply. 

“Compass.” Nancy holds a hand out, Dustin handing it over, only for him to call out once in aggravation Steve jumps into the boat after pushing it off. “You said four!”

“Sorry.” Steve whispers as the older kids all row away.

“Bedtime at nine, kiddos.” Robin called, spotting the finger Dustin flips her. “Miss you already!”

As they all head further into the lake, Nancy eyes the compass. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. Slow down, guys.”

The compass has gone haywire.

“Guys, what's going on?” Dustin says over the walkie-talkie. “Come on, talk to me. What's going on?”

“Uh, Dustin, your compass has gone

from wonky to wonky with a capital "aah!"” Robin utters.

Nancy’s eyes widen as Steve starts to take his socks off. “Steve, what are you doing?”

He continues to undress. “Somebody's gotta go down and check this out. And unless one of you four can top being a Hawkins High swim co-captain and a certified lifeguard for three years, then…It's gotta be me.”

Amilia snorts. “You can’t even hold your breath longer than I can.”

“That’s true she can hold her breath for a really long time.” Robin reminded him. 

“I know I know!” Steve almost laughed. “I remember.” He winked at her, and Nancy squirmed in her seat. “But, they say fresh tattoos shouldn’t be fully submerged in water for at least two weeks after application. Isn’t that right?”

Amilia rolls her eyes, arms crossed over her chest. “Smart ass.”

“No complaints, all right?” He stands in the boat and sheds his shirt.

“Hey, I'm not complaining. I do not wanna go down there.” Eddie grumbles, wrapping a flashlight in a plastic bag for Steve and wishing him good luck.

“Thanks.” Steve says.

Eddie starts to light a cigarette up from the stress, but Robin snatches it with a complaint of “Gross.” Tossing it into the black water that Steve is staring out into.

“Steve,” Nancy stops him. “Be careful.” He nods, and dives in, beginning his exploration.

After a short period, Robin asks “Where we at, Wheeler?” Her eyes on the surface of the water.

“Closing in on a minute.” She tells her.

“Okay.” Robin mumbles.

Back on the shore, Dustin, Max and Lucas duck and hide from approaching police men.

Steve bursts through the surface again while the older kids are none the wiser, all of those in the boat exclaiming in surprise. 

“I found it!” He announces. “It's pretty wild. It's more a snack-size gate than the mama gate, but still, it's pretty damn big-” he’s cut off as something drags him under water, pulling him down with a hash jerk.

It startles all of them, the boat lurching dangerously. 

“Steve!” Amilia calls out in horror as Nancy shrieks the same name - over and over again.

Eddie protests, “No! No! What the hell was that, man?” While Robin looks at the other two girls, asking. “Really, what happened?”

“Jesus!” Eddie screeches before anyone can answer, Nancy standing up. Amilia offers her a hand the second she sees her intentions.

“Wait, wait, wait. You're not going in there, are you?” Eddie objects.

“Just…wait here.” Nancy orders as Amilia tries to soothe Eddie’s fingers away from her hips that he’d latched onto, a bit too insistently.

“No, Nancy!” Robin screams as the other girl jumps in. “Nancy!”

“Goddamn it!” Eddie curses when he loses his grip on Amilia, watching her head for the edge. “No, no, no, no, no, no. What are you doing? She said wait.” 

“So stay put then.” Amilia tells him before she jumps in after her. Moments later Robin readies herself to go after them all too. 

“Are you kidding me?” Eddie shouts. “Don't you go. Don't you…” she ignores him completely.

“Goddamn it…Son of a bitch!” He screams, standing and stomping his foot. “Oh, this is so stupid. This is so stupid. This is so stupid. Shit! Shit! Shit!” He falls into the water more than jumps in.

On the other side Steve is fighting for his life, and losing until the rest of the group shows up. They all fight against bat-like creatures, until the bat’s numbers diminish.

“Steve!” Nancy sighs in relief.

“Jesus Christ. Jesus H. Christ!” Eddie curses, throwing down the oar of a boat that he’d been using to slay the things.

“Are you okay?” Nancy asks Steve, ignoring the other man’s theatrics.

“Well, they took about a pound of flesh. But other than that, yeah, never better.” He tells them all as they sigh in relief.

“Uh, do you guys think these bats have, like, rabies?” Robin whispers.

“What?” Steve asks at the same time Amilia mutters how “They better fucking not.”

Robin swallows. “It's just that rabies are, like, my number one greatest fear. And I think we should probably get you to a doctor like really soon because once symptoms set in, it's too late. You're already like dead.”

Robins concerns are interrupted by a loud shrieking from the sky. Everyone looks up to see more bats converging, landing in front of them with hisses and snarls.

“All right. There's not that many. We can take 'em.” Steve says before quietly adding, “Right?”

As he does so the sky fills with more, and Amilia mutters. “You were saying?”

Nance glanced behind them all, formulating a plan. “The woods. Come on.”

“Great. More running.” Robin grumbles.

The five of them hide from the bats, waiting until the sounds of the swarm have died down. 

Steve nearly collapses as the adrenaline wears off, and Nancy makes him sit, tearing her shirt up to bandage him.

Robin talks rapidly at Steve while she does so, more for her own nerves than anything else. “So the good news is I'm pretty sure wooziness is not a symptom of rabies…But if you start having hallucinations or muscle spasms or you start feeling aggressive, like you wanna punch me, let me know.”

“Robin.” Steve chokes out.

“Yeah?” She asks.

“I kinda wanna punch you.” He confesses.

She exhaled loudly through her nose. “Sense of humor is still intact. That's a good sign.”

Nancy bandages Steve up tight as Eddie crawls to the top of a rock, taking in the Upside Down. “So, uh, this place is like Hawkins, but with monsters and nasty shit?”

“Pretty much,” Nancy says.

Amilia hisses softly at Eddie. “Watch out for the vines. It's all a hive mind.”

“It's all a what?” He asks.

“All the creepy crawlies around here. They're, like, one or something. Step on a vine, you're stepping on a bat, you're stepping on Vecna.” Steve explains, hand to his side.

“Shit.” Eddie grunts, moving very carefully.

“But everything from our world is still here, right? Except people?” Robin asks the resident Upside Down Experts.

“As far as I understand it, yeah.” Nance agrees.

“So, theoretically, we could go to the police station and steal guns and grenades and whatever we need to blow up those bat things that are guarding the gate.” Robin rationalized.

“I highly doubt the Hawkins PD has grenades, Robin.” Steve mutters. “But guns, yeah, sure.”

“Well, we don't have to go all the way downtown for guns. I have guns, in my bedroom.” Nancy offers.

“You, Nancy Wheeler, have guns, plural, in your bedroom?” Eddie asks skeptically.

“Full of surprises, isn't she?” Robin breathes.

“A Russian Makarov and a revolver.” Nancy explains.

“Yeah, you almost shot me with that one.” Amilia grumbles, remembering how this mess had all started back in 83’. 

She’d told Steve he was an ass who deserved to have his face bashed in when he and some of his loser friends had put up graffiti that Nancy was a slut. 

Then she’d gone ahead and persuaded - threatened him, really - to go apologize, riding over with him only to find Nancy holding a gun at him when she followed the sound of an argument.

That gun had just as quickly turned to her, while Johnathan tried to talk Nancy off the ledge. And then the lights were flickering, the Demogorgon was approaching, and the rest was history.

“Me too.” Steve remembers.

“You almost deserved it.” Nancy smirked at him.

“Totally.” Amilia agrees, her soft smile accompanying the exchange, and Eddie doesn’t like the way she looks at Steve like that.

He throws his vest harshly his way. “For your modesty, dude.” He says sarcastically.

The ground suddenly rumbles and shakes, knocking Amilia into Robin, Nancy into Steve, and Eddie to the ground.

When the earthquake stills, a loud roar tears through the silence.

“Yeah so guns seem like a pretty good idea to me.” Eddie admits, scrambling to his feet.

“Yeah, me too.” Robin seconds, and so they head for the Wheeler's house. 

Robin’s up ahead, complaining loudly to Amilia and Nancy as they lead the way through the woods, leaving Steve and Eddie talking softly behind them.

Eddie murmurs, “Still super jealous as hell by the way…Which is why I would never have jumped in that lake to save your ass. Not under any uh, normal circumstances.” He glanced at Amilia, shaking his head. “Nope. Outside of D&D I am no hero. I see danger and I just…turn heel and run. Or, at least that’s what I’ve learned about myself this week.”

“Give yourself a break, man.” Steve slaps his chest lightly.

Eddie stops walking, hands gesturing ahead to the girls to make his next point. “See? The only reason I came in here was because those ladies came straight after you…Now, I was too ashamed to be the one who stayed behind. But Wheeler right there, she didn't waste a second. Not one second. She just dove right in. Now, I know what happened between you two, and if I were you, I would get her back. 'Cause that was as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen.” 

Steve opens and closes his mouth, unsure of what to say. And then the world rocks on its axis.

“Here we go again.” Eddie says through gritted teeth.

Up ahead Amilia curse’s Vecna’s mother in Spanish, and when all of them scramble up and on with their journey, the Wheeler house is soon spotted in the distance.

When searching it for weapons, it’s discovered that the house is trapped in a version of itself from 1983 - the year the gate opened.

Before all of them can settle in their impending doom though, those upstairs can hear Steve yelling down below. 

“Dustin!” He calls out, the rest of them rushing to him. “Dustin! Dustin, can you hear me!?” He screams into the silence.

“Steve - what are you doing?” Nancy asks. 

“Shh! Just listen.” He orders, gesturing to the space around him.

Sure enough all of them hear Dustin talking, starting to shout out for him too, searching the space for a sign of where he is.

Right side up, the kids are at The Wheeler’s after they’d been caught and interrogated by police - and even worse - their parents. 

“All right, either this kid can't hear us or he's being a total douchebag.” Steve decides.

“Will found a way.” Nancy huffed.

“What?” Steve asks.

“Will. He found a way to speak to Joyce through the lights.” She explains.

“Lights?” Steve repeats as Nancy moves away from him. “Yeah,” she growls, trying to flick a lamp on and off.

“The switch. Try the switch.” Steve tells her, and she does. “It's not working.”

“Guys?” Amilia questions softly, seeing small glittering dust around the chandelier. “You seeing this?”

Slowly the five of them all approach it, hearing Dustin speak faintly. Nancy is the first to reach up and touch it, her fingers skimming along the shimmer. 

“Woah,” Eddie agrees, as the rest of them reach up to do the same.

“It…Tickles.” Steve sounds weirded out.

“It kinda feels good.” Robin smiles.

Nancy dropped her hand. “…Does anyone know Morse code?”

“No.” Amilia, Robin, and Steve say with shakes of the head. Nancy looks down in disappointment.

“Wait, does SOS count?” Eddie asks innocently, wide eyes landing on Amilia’s smile. “Is that…is that good?”

She could kiss him, instead nodding eagerly.

He taps S-O-S repeatedly in Morse code against the chandelier, alerting Dustin, Erica, and Lucas on the other side.

From there they brilliantly rig up a Light Brite for them all to communicate through. Dustin suggests that there are gates open at every murder site.

And so the rest of them all bike to Eddie’s trailer, looking for what they hope is another portal, unguarded by Vecna’s creatures.

The kids ditch their parents and the cops, biking to Eddie’s on their end, before using a broom handle to burst through the barrier of his living room ceiling.

Celebrating in triumph, Dustin leads the charge, using Eddie’s mattress as what looks like it will be a landing pad.

When it hits the ground above them, Eddie addresses the group. “Those stains are uh…I dunno what those stains are.” 

Amilia clicks her tongue, Nancy making a small noise of disgust and Robin one of indifference. As it is they’re much more concerned by Dustin, tossing a makeshift rope of sheets their way, suspended by wonky gravity.

“All right pull on it, see if it holds!” He calls up, Robin being the first to tug, and then the first to climb up and out, where she falls.

“Oh thank god! That was fun.” She laughs.

The rest all look at each other, Nancy making the climb-turned-fall fearlessly. And then Eddie’s had enough of this place, saying “All right, I guess I’ll go.”

“Easy, easy,” Steve murmurs as he and Amilia both watch his ascent.

Then Eddie touched down on the mattress, hair crazy as he sat up. “That…was fun.” He breathes out, slapping his hand into Dustin’s to help him up.

Amilia catches his eye as he smiles up and down at her, her heart fluttering torridly. 

Steve catches her attention, saying, “See you on the other side.” Always having to be the first into danger and the last one out of it.

Amilia ruffles his hair playfully, grabbing the sheets and wriggling up it with a small boost.

There’s a dopey smile on her face still, feeling the whoosh of air when the ascent becomes a fall, expecting to hit an unforgiving mattress but instead falling a lot longer and a lot farther than she should have before landing on cold, hard, ground.

“Oh!” She gasps, hearing a clock chime. One, twice, three, and then four times.

She hears the slithering sound of a maniacal laugh, the darkness surrounding her indicating that there is no way that she’s landed in Eddie’s room.

- Read Part 2 here.

[xtrashmammalstefx]

How To Piss Off An Old-Fashioned Ghost (A Zak Bagans SMUT!)

WARNINGS: Smut, cussing, all that jazz.

Special Thanks to: @xcazzax​ who never fails to give me ideas and inspire me to write shit like this. 

We were about to investigate the mecca of haunted hotels. The one place you go to and know you made it as a paranormal investigator. The majestic and infamous Stanley Hotel.

To say the guys and I were ecstatic would be an understatement. I swear you would think we were kids at Disneyland we were so excited. So much so we agreed to take a different approach to this one.

You see normally we’d investigate a place for one night, take a quick nap, and then be on our way home or to the next haunt the next day. For this one though we knew we had to do it differently. After all many people purported having things happen to them during the night whilst everyone else was asleep. So we got ourselves the most haunted rooms and were gonna sleep there the whole night with night vision cameras recording us the whole time.

“Ready to get it on with a cowboy?” I asked Aaron as we were being checked in.

“You know he only goes for the ladies right?” he said. “As in he’d probably react more to you than my bearded ass.”

“Yeah but…”

“Uh, Y/N, did you want your own room or..?” Zak asked.

“I told you I’m not chickening out of the plan,” I said.

“Plan?” Aaron questioned.

“Remember when the guide mentioned Mrs. Wilson having shit fits when unmarried couples share the bed in her room?”

“Oh…” Aaron nodded. “Wait...since when are you and Zak a thing?”

“We’re not,” Zak said. “Which will only add fuel to the fire.”

“Exactly,” I smirked.

“This isn’t an excuse for you two to bone is it?” Nick asked.

“What? NO!” I snapped at him.

“Dude! We’re literally gonna be in front of a camera the whole time!” Zak said starting towards the elevator.

“Yeah ‘cause sex tapes aren’t a thing,” Aaron said. I smacked him on the arm as we stepped into the elevator.

“Dude this is strictly work. As in we plan on remaining professional at all times,” Zak explained. “And the same goes for you two, alright? No scratching your nuts or your ass in front of the camera.”

“And for the love of GOD let’s hope none of you wake up with morning wood,” I added. All three men raised an eyebrow at me. “Oh come on last thing anyone wants is for our careers to go down the crapper all because you all woke up and revealed tents in your pants.”

“She does have a point there,” Zak said shrugging.

“Pun intended,” I muttered making them burst out laughing.

Later that night Zak checked in with our guys while I made myself comfortable under the sheets.

“All good here bro,” Aaron said over the walkie.

“Yeah everything’s good to go here Zak,” Nick added.

“Alright see you in the morning,” Zak said putting the walkie down. He got under the sheets beside me and turned off the light. “Ready?”

“Let’s do it,” I whispered. Zak laid down and I draped my body over him. “Night babe.”

“Night, gorgeous,” Zak said leaning down. His lips pecked mine. It sent a jolt through me; as though his lips had finally found the home they always wanted. My heart drummed in my chest as Zak deepened the kiss.

As his lips lingered on mine he wrapped his arms around me and flipped us over so that he was on top. I pulled back and chuckled. “Babe it’s late,” I said as Zak peppered kisses on my neck. I moaned. “We’re gonna get a noise complaint!”

“Only if you’re too loud,” he said bringing his lips to mine. I ran my arms along his bare back pressing my body closer to his. I guess our act worked a little too well, for not even a moment later Zak screamed. “GAH FUCK!”

“What’s wrong?” I asked as he got off of me.

“Something scratched my back,” he said. “Oh fuck!” He was suddenly tumbling over off of the bed, landing on the floor with a thud. I switched the light on and joined him.

“You okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, Mrs. Wilson just nudged me off the bed,” he said.

“Turn around so I can document this,” I said before running to get a camera. Zak turned his back to me the second I got back. “Holy shit.”

“What?” I took out my phone and took a picture of it. I showed it to him and the blood left his face. On his back were three intense scratches. Tiny droplets of blood spurted out of them. “SON OF A BITCH!”

I grabbed my toiletry bag and dug out bandages, a small towel and alcohol. “Bite the blanket,” I said sitting in front of his back.

“What?”

“I’m gonna clean them up,” I said unscrewing the cap. “Bite something before people call the cops on us for murder.” I poured alcohol onto the towel and ran it down Zak’s back. Thankfully he listened and bit down on the blanket so rather than a scream he let out a muffled groan. I blew on the wounds gently then applied the bandages. “Okay you’re good.” I put my first aid stuff and the camera away and checked the night vision cam. It was still running smoothly and caught every single moment of the attack. Once I was done I put the night vision cam back in place and rejoined Zak.

“I think I’ll just sleep down here the rest of the night,” Zak said.

“Alright, um, night I guess,” I said before pecking him on the cheek. I switched the light off and started standing to get back into bed.

“Y/N?” Zak’s voice made me freeze and turn back.

“Yeah?”

“I know I shouldn’t but…” he never finished what he was saying. Instead he leaned in and crashed his lips to mine. The same jolt I’d felt before was back, only this time it was stronger. My whole body melted into his and we laid back on the floor.

“Do-Do you think we could…” I said as he sucked on the skin on my neck. “I mean with the camera right there?”

“Camera’s aimed at the bed,” Zak said. “As long as you don’t make too much noise we should be safe.”

I smirked. “No promises, Bagans.”

He kissed me one more time before helping me off with my shirt. We tossed aside along with my shorts, and panties. Zak’s lips pecked at my breasts. His tongue flicked at my nipples causing a moan to escape from my lips.

“Remind me to apologize to Billy later,” I said.

“I think I’m just gonna have to edit this footage myself,” Zak chuckled. Feeling more excited now I reached down and started nudging his pajama bottoms down. Zak got the hint and pulled them off; his length springing out hard and thick, just like the rest of him.

“Mrs. Wilson is gonna kill us,” I laughed.

“You forgot to ask me if I give a fuck,” Zak said lining himself up with my entrance. “Which, by the way, I fucking don’t.” He pushed in.

I held on to him as he moved inside me. The feeling was something out of this world. I mean sure, I’ve been with other people before (as I’m sure Zak has) but none of those experiences compare to the one I was having with Zak. It was like my body was made for his, and vice versa. I thrill of it only added to it. After all Zak wasn’t exactly the ‘fuck on the job’ kind of guy; on the contrary he was professional at all times. So seeing this change in him now...it felt kind of ballsy...like we were kids again breaking the rules.

Apparently Mrs. Wilson thought the same. “OW FUCK!” I screamed after feeling a sharp pain in my arm. Zak froze.

“What’s wrong?” I pulled my arm back and touched it gently. When I pulled my fingers back they were slightly wet.

“Mrs. Wilson punished me,” I said. I felt him brush his hand on my arm.

“That bitch!” he cursed.

“It’s okay, just-just keep going,” I urged him.

“You sure?” he asked.

“I need to cum real bad so yeah I’m sure.” Zak started thrusting again.

A few minutes later he groaned. “Please tell me that was you,” he said.

“What was me?”

“Fuck!” he groaned. “Mrs. Wilson just scratched my ass.” I fought back a giggle and instead addressed the old bitch.

“Alright if I say I’m going to marry him will you please stop?” I asked Mrs. Wilson.

“Wait what?” Zak looked at me shocked. “You serious right now?”

“Zak, I’ve loved you for so long,” I said. “And, if you’ll let me, I very much want to spend my life with you.”

“I want to spend my life with you too,” he muttered.

“So...does this mean we’re officially engaged?” I asked.

“I-I guess it does,” Zak said.

Very well… I heard someone whisper.

“Did-did she really just give us her fucking approval?” Zak asked laughing.

“I- I think she did,” I chuckled furiously before getting back to the other subject at hand. “Now are you gonna fuck me or do I need to see if Billy is available?”

Zak stopped laughing and growled furiously. “You’d have to be insane if you think I’m gonna let another man fuck you instead of me.” He started thrusting harder, and angrier. He was so wild with rage that his cock hit me right in my sweet spot.

“OH FUCK!”

“Huh you like it when I fuck you there?” Zak asked before hitting the same spot again.

“Fuck baby, yes yes yes,” I moaned. “Right there, right there, right there.” Tension started to brew within me. “Fuck I-I think I’m gonna…” My body tensed up and I tightened around his length, damn near screaming his name.

My body trembled as I came down from my high and as I did Zak tensed up and I felt him twitch inside me. He groaned as he emptied himself inside me. Once he was empty he collapsed beside me.

“Who knew pissing off ghosts could be one hell of a turn on,” I said breathless.

“Pretty sure that was the best sex I’ve had in my life,” Zak said equally breathless.

“I know that was the best sex I’ve ever had,” I said.

We passed out soon after. The next morning we met up with Nick and Aaron in the lobby.

“So how’d your plan go?” Aaron asked.

“Amazingly,” I said blushing.

“Really?” he looked at me curiously.

Zak then approached us with Billy in tow. He wrapped his arm around me and pecked me on the forehead.

“See, I told you it was just an excuse for them to bone,” Nick said.

“Dude during an investigation, really?” Aaron judged us hard.

Zak and I just snuggled into each other and flipped him off.

He judged us still a year later as we enjoyed our wedding reception.

“DURING AN INVESTIGATION!” he went on and on.

We ignored him though and just focused on each other, soaking in the love we felt as Mr. And Mrs. Bagans.

[brendaaaa]

Please Hurry?! (Billy Hargrove x fem!Reader)

“Oh my god-! Billy, babe are you okay?!” Your eyes widened as your boyfriend climbed through your window, collapsing on the end of your bed. He groaned and lifted a hand to his purpley bruised face, grimacing at the blood on his fingers. “No…?” he didn’t seem sure of his condition, nor very right in the head on this Friday night.

You put your hands on his shoulders, shaking him to make sure he wouldn’t pass out. “Stay awake, Billy. You hear me?” He nodded dazedly. “Good. I’ll be right back.” You made it to your bedroom door, took one glance back at him to make sure you weren’t hallucinating, and walked to your bathroom to get supplies. He was a mess, and would surely need to be cleaned up. You were generally a pretty tough-skinned person, but even this threw you off. You wouldn’t exactly consider you and Billy’s relationship as secret, but it was along the lines of hidden.

Your parents had never met him, although you occasionally dropped his name as a nice boy that you did school projects with. Which was not true of course, Billy didn’t do shit for school, but the idea was that if maybe you eventually were going to introduce him to your parents it would help soften the blow if they had heard his name in a good liking before. You and Billy had been more or less dating for three months. You weren’t going to lie, you liked his bad boy persona, but after spending more time with him, you realized that there were moments when you could see right through it. When he was vulnerable, and seemed like he didn’t want to be the way he was. So that’s why it broke your heart when he came through your window tonight, bloodied and bruised.

It appeared that his bad boy act had gotten him in some trouble. You held up two tubes of medicine to see them better in the light, one labeled neosporin and the other bacitracin. The hell am I supposed to know which to pick? You thought to yourself, and groaned, mentally cursing Billy for getting himself into this mess, and took both tubes with you as you walked back to your bathroom. When you entered your bedroom again, to your relief, Billy was still conscious, and sitting on the stool in front of your mirror. He grimaced as he lightly touched the cut on his forehead, pulling away almost immediately. You smiled sadly, wrapping your arms around him from behind and resting your head on his shoulder. You leaned around and kissed his bruised cheek before setting your supplies down on the end of your bed, except for the washcloth you held in your hand. You gently wiped some of the dried blood off his face, being careful not to graze any areas that were directly wounded. “Mind if I ask what happened?” You said, raising an eyebrow as you worked at cleaning him up. “I got in a fight,” he stated shortly. “No shit,” you put a hand on your hip, stopping your process to look him in the eye. “What I mean is who did this to you? And why?” You wondered, exasperated. “Can you please hurry up?” Billy pleaded, glancing over at your alarm clock, balanced precariously on the edge of your nightstand.

“Why?” you gave him a suspicious look. “You have somewhere to be? Cause I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be going anywhere in the state you’re in.” He put his palms together, like he was praying, and took a deep breath before saying, “Y/n. This is serious. I promise that I’ll tell you about it, but can you please fix me up while I do?”

You huffed, but nodded. “Okay…” “And please hurry,” he added. You nodded again in compliance as you resumed cleaning the blood of his face. “You know, I’m not apart of any gangs or anything-” he started to say, but you cut him off, “You better hope you aren’t, pretty boy! I might just beat your ass myself if I heard of any such thing!” He made eye contact with you in the mirror, clearly annoyed. “Don’t interrupt if you want to know the story.” “Fine. Sorry,” you held your hands up defensively. “As I was saying, I’m not a part of a gang, but what I got involved in tonight was gang violence.” You had to physically bite down on your tongue in order to prevent yourself from cutting in.

“You know Max Shepard and his boys right?” He continued without waiting for your response, “Well I was chumming with one of them. I was just at the old dirt bike grounds, hanging around, I swear to god, y/n, I didn’t know who he was. We were talking about going to his cousin’s place, smoking a joint or two, having a good time, when some other dude jumped us. He beat the crap out of me.”

Billy paused to take a breath, and continued with his story. “He got some good hits,” he gestured to his face, “And then left me alone, and got a few in on my buddy, before I’d had enough and trashed him good. Me and my guy were just going to leave, get the hell out of there. See, I had no idea what was going on here. But then my friend told me he was one of Shepard’s boys, and that the guy who jumped us was one of them Hawkins Tigers, you know, the football jocks.” You nodded, worried about where this was going.

“That’s when I realized that I’d gotten into some gang shit, and that this was going to be harder than I thought to work my way out of. Because, now, more guys were showing up and they were pretty pissed that I’d knocked one of their own out cold. Before my buddy and I knew it, they had us surrounded. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get out of that, because, c’mon, me and my friend vs ten other guys? Stacked odds. But lucky for me, my friend’s pretty good at talking, so he cooked up this plan, this whole car race. It’s in…” he glanced at the arm clock. “Twenty five minutes. All I have to do is show up, and win the race. The Tigers will let me off the hook, and I’ll have nothing on my back.”

“And then what?” You asked, taping the last bit of gauze to cover one of his bigger gashes. “You become one of Max’s gang?”

“No,” he spun around on the stool. “I don’t do any of that gang stuff, and you know it, y/n.”

He kissed your neck gently, the highest place he could reach from where he sat, and you leaned your head on his, hands going to his hair.

“Ok,” you finally said in a whisper. “You should probably go now,” you kissed the top of his head.

“What? You’re actually going to let me go?” He smiled lightly.

You rolled your eyes, “Yes. But please come back here when it’s over. I need to know that you are safe.”

He nodded, getting up and heading towards the window.

“Billy?” He turned around at your voice. You grabbed onto his shoulder, looking him in the eye a moment before you said, “I love you.”

It was the first time you had ever said that to him.

He tucked a string of your hair behind your ear, looking at you as if you were the single most most precious thing in the world, and said, “I know.”

And he left your window.

Word Count: 1286

[hawkinsindiana]

i don’t want you to worry

ALMOST PARADISE: PART THREE - CHAPTER ONE OF ELEVEN (?)

pairing: steve harrington x henderson!reader

word count: 3.8k

a/n: six months later, here’s part three! i’m not gonna lie to y’all, i have no idea how many chapters there are gonna be or if it’ll get updated regularly, but fuck it. i’ve been sitting on this for a while and figured we could use a bit of levity! thank you for your patience! hope you enjoy! lmao i didn’t feel like making a gif pls forgive me

masterlist

Fog is hovering just above the ground; you can practically feel how thick and wet it is against your skin. The hairs on the back of your neck all stand as a gust of wind flows through the air - the freezing temperature makes you shiver.

The ground is wet, squelching underneath your sneakers as you move forward, still uncertain of where you are; the environment’s been completely coated in the dense fog. When your surroundings finally begin to clear a bit, your heart starts to race in fear once you recognize where you are. 

It’s the junkyard.

“Stay close, yeah?” 

The voice sounds like it’s right inside your ear, but at least he’s here - you’d recognize him anywhere.

Steve’s to your left, bat slung effortlessly over his shoulder, and his presence helps calm your nerves. You won’t have to face this alone. 

You want to thank him before the situation gets any worse, but your mouth won’t cooperate. All you’re able to reply with is a nod. 

Suddenly, the palm of your hand feels heavy with the weight of your weapon; Steve presses on, moving through the space to approach the threat that lurks beyond. A form begins to take shape behind the grey clouds, hunched down on all fours as it stalks towards your position. Your fingers tense as you prepare to fight and adrenaline begins to overtake you, until the silhouette rises onto two legs. It’s not supernatural, it’s human. 

You want to call out to Steve, tell him to fall back because it’s too dangerous but your voice still doesn’t work - you can’t warn him what’s coming. The soles of your shoes dig into the ground as you run to catch up with him, fingers extended out to grab and yank him away. 

But it’s too late. One moment he’s right there in front of you, the next he’s gone, vanished right before your eyes. You blink.

On the ground, Steve’s in the dirt, blood spilling from his face; Billy Hargrove quickly approaches.

And then, it’s just like that night. You’re unable to move, unable to save him as Steve tries to fight back but Billy’s too quick. His crimson colored fists are tearing skin with each impact until the brunette boy on the ground is lifeless, as if all warmth was drained right from him. Billy’s twisted grin never falters as he relishes in your pain, tears streaming down your face until-

You wake with a gasp, body jolting, hands shaking. 

God, it feels so real, like you’re still there; your nose can smell the disgusting metallic scent from the blood, skin still chilled from the temperature, veins still threaded with adrenaline. 

That was only a dream… right?

As soon as that thought is introduced to your worried mind, you throw off the covers before grabbing the nearest hoodie off the bed post. Tugging it over your head, your bare feet skid across the hardwood floor as you rush to the phone in the living room. 

Your fingers are trembling as you press the buttons of the number; you have to know if he’s okay. You have to confirm it was just a dream.

“Fuck, Steve,” You start to mutter to yourself, counting the rings to attempt to steady your breathing, “Come on, pick up, pick up.” 

The longer it takes, the more nervous you become. The darkness that surrounds you starts to close in, and when you squeeze your eyes shut, the image of him bloodied and lying dead in the dirt haunts you. 

“I swear to Christ - Dustin, if that’s you and those bozos again, I’ll come kick your ass myself,” Steve’s voice, tired and very irritated, comes through the speaker.

“Steve! Oh my god-” The back of your throat starts to burn at the feeling of tears welling up; the relief crashes over you in a wave, “Are you okay? Where are you?”

“What? Jesus-” He pauses, his tone softens once he hears it’s you, “Why wouldn’t I be okay? It’s nearly-”

Steve stops again; you reckon it’s to glance at the time.

“Shit, sweetheart it’s nearly two in the morning, what’s goin’ on?”

You sigh, finally realizing that you must’ve awoken him, “Fuck I just-”

The phone is gripped tighter in your hands as you speak, “I really just needed to know that you're okay. It’s stupid, I shouldn’t have called. I’m sorry-“

“No, no it’s okay-”

“But I-”

“No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about me,” Steve’s reassurance helps to slow your pounding heart; he’s okay. He’s safe at home. 

There’s nothing to worry about anymore.

You repeat that to yourself multiple times, whispering it to yourself under your breath. At this point, you think that you’d do anything to forget that night. 

Your back slides down the wall as your body grows exhausted from the severe reaction; Steve’s voice continues through the phone, “Did something happen?”

“I had-” You force a deep breath through your lungs, face scrunching in fear at the memory, “I had a really bad dream, Steve.”

Your arm wraps around your knees to pull them into your chest, forehead coming down to meet them and dig into the soft material of your pants, “I woke up and fuck, I was so scared. I was so scared and all I could think to do was call you. And I’m all alone. I’m all by myself tonight and I hate that I can’t be alone anymore. And I haven’t slept through the night in weeks-”

“Weeks? What do you mean weeks? I mean - I knew you weren’t sleeping well right after, but Christ it’s been nearly two months!”

You curse at yourself for rambling, words suddenly escaping your mind as you hesitate to respond. With your silence, Steve huffs; you can imagine the disappointment and worry over his face, “Why didn’t you tell me?” 

You bite down on your lip before answering, only letting up on the pressure when the taste of blood touches your tongue; you’re ashamed of the answer, “I don’t know… I’m sorry, Steve.”

All you feel is guilt in the moments that follow. Something like this… dreams about him dying in front of your eyes isn’t something that should be kept from him. 

“Hey,” Steve’s soft tone reels you back in, “You call me whenever you have to. I’ll always pick up, okay?”

You exhale as you nod, before remembering that he can’t see your reaction through the phone, “Okay, yeah. Thank you.”

“Of course, anytime. Are you okay?” 

You weave the phone cord between your fingers, “I’m better now. Uh, I’ll let you go then.”

“Okay. Try to get some rest, for my sake,” Steve pleads. You twist the cord tighter, “I will.” 

He sighs at your oath, finally able to relax a bit more, “Hey, we don’t have to do anything tonight, if it’s too much. Or if you’re tired… ” 

You hum at his words, head leaning back against the wall. A smile creeps over your lips at his consideration, wishing that you could thank him in person for his words, “No, no let’s do something. It’ll be good for me.” 

He laughs a bit; even with how horrible the quality might be through the receiver, it still makes your stomach flutter with butterflies, “Okay, good. I’ll see you tonight. Get some sleep.”

“I’ll try, Steve.”

After wishing him a good night, you place the phone back onto it’s base. Standing up on wobbly legs, a shaky exhale leaves your lungs when your fingers remove themselves from the smooth plastic. The image of him is still there when you blink.

Fuck - you should’ve told him.

—

Three taps against the window pane startle you awake. Rubbing your eyes as you sit up, you check the time - you were only able to finally fall asleep twenty minutes ago. Anxiety starts to creep over the back of your neck - until you see the culprit. 

“Jesus…” You mutter to yourself. You can’t help the small smile that erupts over your face at the sight of Steve, fingers nervously drumming on the window sill. His expression relaxes a bit once you come over, and you’re already rolling your eyes as you move to pull it open.

“You know that I’m the only one home, right?” 

Steve nods, not following your logic, “Yeah? And?”

“You could’ve just come to the door, Steve.”

The boy in front of you shifts at your words; his retort stutters as he tries to come up with an excuse, “Okay, alright. But you know, I didn’t want to scare you or anything!”

You step back to cross your arms over your chest, “And coming to my window while I sleep seems a whole lot better to you?”

“Alright whatever, Henderson,” He answers quickly, waving off your tone, “Will you just let me in already?”

You gesture for Steve to enter, laughing quietly to yourself as he does. As soon as he’s crawled his way through the opening, you latch and lock the window closed. He huffs, “You have no idea how thrilled I am that your house only has one floor.”

“Did you drive across the neighborhood just to scare me?” You ignore him, pulling the cord on the lamp by your bedside. The light illuminates the worry on his face.

“No, I just-” Steve pauses as he fiddles with his keys, “I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said. I had to know you were okay.”

You nod, crossing your arms over your chest once again, “Y-yeah, of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”

Steve’s brow raises at your deflection, “Um, did we not have the same conversation over the phone?”

“We did,” Your answer is laced with a bit of aggression, “You didn’t need to come all the way over here, okay? I’m fine now-”

“But are you?” Steve interrupts. His voice is genuine, soft, and you want to spill everything because he has that look in his eye; you’re not sure you can push him away forever.

“Of course, Steve-”

“Don’t lie to me,” Steve puts more force behind his words - it’s like a demand. He takes a few steps closer, “Please don’t lie to me.”

Hearing Steve plead with you like that makes your heart shatter. It’s killing him to watch you stand before him like this. He’s known you long enough to know when something’s not right, and he’s gotten especially good at reading you over the past few weeks. And by the way your jaw clenches, Steve knows you’re about to crack.

A shaky inhale comes through your lips; you have to tell him something. But how much?

“I just… I don’t want you to worry,” You mutter. Your voice is just above a whisper, although it doesn’t matter; it’s not like there’s anyone home to overhear. You’re scared to admit there’s something wrong. He shouldn’t have to do this for you.

Steve almost laughs. He runs his free hand through his hair, “It’s like, a year too late for that, you know.” 

You sigh, realizing that he’s absolutely right. Of course he should worry, especially with how vague the conversation over the phone was. Letting him in is something that you’ll have to get used to.

Even though you’d been friends for a while, it was always more about him than you. You always wanted to be there for him, if he ever needed anything, how he was doing. It’s something neither of you understood was happening until your relationship became more; it was no one’s fault. 

All of a sudden, Steve realized just how much you’ve done for him - he’s wanted to return the favor. And this… is all new to you; you’re not used to someone checking in. 

“Oh god, you’re right,” You mumble under your breath. Your hands come up to cover your eyes in shame as you continue, “I’m sorry, Steve. I shouldn’t have lied to you.”

Witnessing your sudden change in mood, Steve moves towards you; he sets his keys down on your nightstand as he does. He goes to reach for you, pulling your body into his, “Hey hey, it’s okay, it’s fine.”

He wishes he could come up with something better to say. You’ve always been better with words than him. You’re better at a lot of things than him. But he’s trying - he’s trying to be better to be worthy of you.

Your arms wrap tightly around him once Steve’s pressed against you. He smells like freshly washed cotton, like pulling sheets from the dryer when they’re still warm.

It’s all so overwhelming, it makes you want to cry. You feel like you should, but the familiar burn behind your eyes never comes. Instead, you resume speaking.

“I guess I just…” You trail off, wanting to give him a reason - he deserves one.

Your fist knots the fabric of his tee; Steve’s palm slides up over your back, “I’m just not used to leaning on others for help. I’m trying to get used to it.”

“Sometimes it’s okay,” Steve’s reply is muffled by your hair. He ponders what to add, lips pressed into a firm line as he thinks, “Sometimes you gotta do stuff on your own and sometimes you need somebody else. That’s just how life works.”

Your chest heaves as you sigh at the weight of his words, this moment cements a single fact inside your brain - you won’t plan on hiding anything from him.

Well, except for that one thing. You’re still not ready to admit that to him yet. 

You wish that pulling away didn’t mean losing his warmth; but his gentle eyes meeting yours mimics a feeling like it that fills your chest. 

“You can lean on me, you know,” Steve says, and the smile that was already pulling at your lips widens even farther. And then he nudges you - his mouth curls into that stupid smirk of his, “However you want.”

You crack a laugh, accompanied by a roll of your eyes, “Yes, I know. Sometimes I just need a little reminder."

Suddenly, you remember just how lucky you are to have him. How fortunate you are to have him there to brighten your darkest moments, even if he’s sometimes battling his own demons at the same time. 

“Thank you,” You say, bringing your gaze back to meet Steve’s again. He nods slightly, tone genuine and soft as he answers, “Of course. Anytime.”

The pads of your fingers graze over his cheekbone before tucking a strand of brunette hair behind his ear; Steve shivers a bit at the gentle touch before you meet his lips in a kiss.

He still gets a bit nervous each time, only because this feels so much more different than the others. The level of comfort and security he feels when you’re in the room was never there before he met you. Like really met you.

And you - well, you’re still so overwhelmed that you finally, after all that time, get to be with the one you love - you feel like you could jump out of your skin with joy. You’ve treasured every single moment, because it’s never been lost on you how it all could be taken away in an instant.

The brilliant grin you two share after pulling away shakes it all from your mind. Your fingers move to grip his hands in yours; you just like being able to do it, even if it is in the privacy of your own bedroom.

But then that feeling settles in your stomach, the one that doesn’t go away until morning. The dread that something’s going to happen. Steve can sense your growing anxiety - it’s almost like the air surrounding you changes. Leaving you now, something about that doesn’t sit right with him.

“I’ll uh, stay if you want.”

He mentions the idea quietly because, well, you’re not officially together. But to be fair, he hasn’t asked - but neither have you. Even though your hands are still in his, pressing into his skin, Steve finds it important to ask and make sure you’re on the same page.

You can’t lie - the idea of Steve spending the night makes you a little nervous. Although, knowing that you’re safe with each other might just be the push you need to relax. And with that thought, you’re stepping away from him, “Okay. Yeah, sure.”

The doorknob is so cold against your skin as you exit to grab an extra pillow from the closet in the hallway. The darkness of the living room seems to go on forever; it almost feels like something’s creeping up your neck once your back is turned to it.

After quickly shutting the door once you’re back inside, you turn around to see Steve, perched silently on top of your comforter - his presence warms the entire room, bringing life and love into it.

He hasn’t spent that much time in this space; he’s trying to take everything in, because it’s very reflective of you. There are neat piles of VHS tapes and comics on top of the dresser, a closet dominated with dark colors and sneakers, and some of your well worn denim tossed over the desk chair.

But his eye catches on a stack of photographs on the desk’s surface, and he’s halfway across the room before you can interject. You clutch the pillow a little tighter to your chest as Steve flips through them, laughing at one of you and Dustin from a few years ago at Christmas wearing matching pajamas.

He spins to show it to you, “I’m never gonna let him live this down.”

You approach his side when he finds another one of you as a child, playing with a cake battered spatula in your previous house. Baby curls framed your face, and your eyes were wide with adventure and wonder, “Holy shit, look at you!”

“I don’t know why I remember that day so much,” You mutter.

Steve’s silence pushes you to continue, “It was Mom’s birthday, and my grandparents baked her a cake - double chocolate I think. I wasn’t tall enough to reach but I wanted to help so badly. So they sat me on top of the counter and let me mix everything. They even let me tell her that I made it.”

You laugh quietly before the memory turns cold in your mind, and your wistful smile turns to a slight frown, “I haven’t seen them since we moved here.”

Steve isn’t even looking at the picture anymore. He listened to every word that left your mouth; you don’t speak much about the rest of your family. Instead of trying to probe further, he leans over to press a kiss to your forehead, a gentle and silent reminder of his support.

This feels strange. Opening up to him like that, making yourself that vulnerable - that’s a level of intimacy you haven’t explored quite yet. At least not with him… or anyone really.

Thankfully, it hasn’t seemed to scare him off. If anything, Steve’s more relaxed. He likes knowing how you feel.

Steve flips through the others while you rest your chin on his shoulder, your eyes intently watch his reaction to each one - you think you could stay in this moment forever.

And then he comes across one - an image of you and the kids on Halloween a few years back all dressed like Jedi. He pauses on it, “When do you think we should tell them?”

A sharp inhale comes through your nostrils at his comment; you hadn’t thought about that.

In all your bliss, you had completely forgotten - no one else knows. Not even your brother.

“Oh God, Steve-” You start, removing yourself from him, “I don’t even know how we would do that.”

“What are you talking about?” Steve replies, turning back to meet your gaze, “We just… tell them. It’s not rocket science.”

You squeeze your eyes shut as you answer, clenching the pillow a bit tighter in your grasp, “It’s really not that simple with them, Steve. You know that. And honestly, I still feel like I’m trying to figure out how to do all this.”

You sigh, running a hand through your hair, knowing just how messy involving the kids could make your relationship, “I’ve kinda liked it just being about us. You know, we’re together because we wanna be, it’s not for anyone else. And trust me, they’ll have so many opinions-”

“So let’s keep it to ourselves then,” Steve interjects, shrugging his shoulders a bit as he answers, “We’ll tell ‘em when we think it’s right, when we’re sure if this is serious or not.”

You hated keeping your feelings for him a secret. You hated that you were never able to tell him, but this is different. The idea sends a rush of excitement through your veins, you can’t deny it.

He smiles a bit and sets the photos down before continuing, “I know it might be too early to tell, but I feel like this could last, you know.”

You feel blood rise into your cheeks when he looks at you like that - irises filled to the brim with admiration. His hands come up to cup your face as you reply, “Me too.”

Steve leans in to drink a slow kiss from your lips, the kind that leaves you breathless when it’s over.

“Good,” He mutters, earning a small grin from you. Steve takes the pillow out of your grasp, “What do you say we try and get a couple hours of sleep in? I guess Dustin wants to go to the arcade before lunch.”

You laugh, pushing your hair back away from your face as you answer, “I will never be able to get used to that, I’m sorry.”

Steve tosses the pillow onto the empty spot on the mattress while you pull back the comforter. The bed dips as you both settle under the covers; Steve’s arm starts to slide over your waist before stopping abruptly, “Is this okay?”

You clear your throat, “Yeah, yeah that’s fine.”

The darkness washes over the room after you pull the cord to the lamp; it doesn’t feel as scary with Steve lying behind you. His touch stops your mind from wandering as it so often does - it can’t concoct anything to torment you with.

That being said, the sight from the earlier nightmare does appear behind your eyelids when you blink.

“It was about you,” You mutter, “The dream.”

It’s spoken before you can stop yourself. You instantly regret it, due to the lack of a reply that follows.

But then Steve tugs you closer, and you feel like you could melt against him. He tucks his nose right underneath the base of your hairline, deeply inhaling as you relax into him.

“I’m sorry,” He mumbles against your skin; your fingers curl around his as a quiet thank you.

Steve thinks that this is probably what home is supposed to feel like - warm clothes, the scent of your shampoo, a comfortable silence to lull you both to sleep. He doesn’t think he’s ever been more comfortable.

And for the first time in what feels like forever, the pair of you have finally found a bit of peace.

—

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[creepypasta-archive]

Jeff: A First Encounter

by Akuuri

To be completely honest some of these i haven't read in forever so i had no idea what was on this one. But it's notable as this is the last story I have labelled as Canon in my list (that's not the 2 lemons and the joke video) Fun fact i located this story on the timeline based on the iphone model and the vague weekday/number on the intro

CW// loads of swears, laceration, stabbing, blood, murder, bad representation of mental illness, self mutilation

Click below to read the original unedited story

Here you are.

Here am I.

While we're both here.. I'll tell a story. Introduce myself a little. My name is Lucas. Last names aren't important. Besides, if anyone is reading this.. you'd better hope I'm dead at last. I live in Vermilion. A town somewhere in the United States. I want you to know me. And fear me. Listen closely, because this is where it all began.

Dear Diary,

It's my birthday! January 13th. Finally. I love it when my birthday falls on a Friday. Everyone calls me cursed. It's great fun. It's a shame I had to work today as well. 

But something a little strange happened today. I'm not sure if I should tell anyone..

But no one's going to see you except for me, right diary? Well.. I'll try.

Like most days, I had to take the trash out at work today. Happens when you're only 17, and you work at McDonalds. Nothing new there. I worked late tonight, it's why my entry is so late.. OH! I forgot to log my time! It's 11:55 pm. Hehe, sorry about that diary. Where was I..? Oh right, the trash.

Well, I gathered all the trash and put it on the cart as usual. They made me go out the front door because it was late. Safety reasons. I managed to get all the way to the dumpster without spilling anything for once, so I was a little happy about that. 

There was someone at the dumpster. He had one of our trash bags. It's easy to tell if it's ours, they're super thick. He seemed to be having a little trouble getting it in the dumpster. I'm rather lenient if it comes to rules, especially if it's just some random person using our building's dumpster. Besides, he seemed to be wearing one of our crew shirts, so I figured "What the hell? Why not."

Heh.. I wish i would've followed the rules and reported someone I didn't know.

His face was hard to see. It was mostly covered by a white hood. Nothing strange there, it was cold tonight. Middle of January. I walked up to the guy and tried to see if he needed any help.

"Hey there. Having problems?"

"..." He just stood there, staring at the bag. As if just looking at it would cause it to move.

"I can help you, if you want. I'm not very strong, but two people to a trash bag should be enough, hmm?" I tried sounding casual. I'm not good with people.

"...Alright." I could've swore I heard him chuckle a little. It was...really throaty. Something you hear from movies.

"Hey, what's your name? I haven't seen you around before." I was curious. It's not everyday I find someone screwing with our dumpsters.

"Jeffrey.. Just call me Jeffrey." Oh. Okay. Normal name. Billy would've scared me. Meeting a Billy at a dumpster in the middle of the night. 

"Awesome. You can call me Luke." Great, we introduced ourselves.

I leaned down to the trash bag and motioned a hand at him to help. When we both had it gripped, we lifted. Jesus fucking Christ. Talk about heavy lifting. We barely got it to the lid of the dumpster. Unfortunately, it was one of those "I'm too heavy, so I'm going to rip" trash bags.The side of it ripped, and half it's contents spewed out onto the ground.

It's contents... They were so dark.. So fresh.. you could smell it was just done. The blood was still a deep red. I didn't quite understand what it was at first. Not until I saw the name tag, neatly placed into his forehead. "Cameron" 

..Cameron? Could've sworn he ran out for orders earlier... Oh. 

"Oh." I said it out loud. I didn't know what else to say.

"Ahahaheeeee!~ It spilled! Look at the mess we made. Now everyone's going to see. Oh well. It's never too late to add to the mess.." 

He was talking to me. Or at me, it was hard to tell. I was in shock. What the fuck was going on? Did this..Jeffrey... kill Cameron? Was he.. going to kill me?

I guess not.

He rushed forward, knocking me over.. and then he stood over me. I couldn't say anything. My brain was still trying to grasp the situation.

"Awwwhhhh! Look at the kiddee. He's confused... Maybe he's tired!" I noticed him pull out a knife at that point..It was huge. Not a steak knife, no, more like those huge carving knives you see for Thanksgiving.

"You really are tired hmmmmmm~? You're not talking to me... That's rude you know! But that's okay..You're sleepy." He kept edging closer and closer until his face was only inches from mine. He pressed the cold steel against my throat, and that's when my brain clicked into place. I'm about to die. He killed Cameron, and now he's going to kill me.. But something else also clicked. I knew him. I had to have seen him from somewhere.

His face was far too close to mine for me not to see it perfectly. His eyes. They were ringed in black, as if they were scorched. He didn't blink. Bloodshot, unblinking eyes.. and then his mouth. I almost screamed. His mouth was torn upwards on both sides into a permanent smile. 

"J..Jeff." It was all I could muster.

"Oh? Hey there! You spoke. It's a shame we don't have any time for a conversation though, I really must move on here.. Let's make this quick ok? Just..just go to sleep.." 

I felt the pressure on the knife increase. He's going to kill me.. No. 

NO.

I threw my head forward as hard as I could, slamming it into his face. With him leaning over me, it was the only thing I could do. It seemed to work. He stumbled back a bit and spit up a little blood.

"..You made me bite my tongue. It's been so long since I've seen my blood..It's so dark.. so beautiful..Ahheehaha!~" He was laughing again. Louder. It was the sound of a madman. A murderer. A psychopath.

I tried crawling backwards. I needed to get out of there..

"What? You don't want to play anymore? That makes me rather sad you know.. But I have an idea! I'll leave you, for now. I've never let someone live for very long. I don't get to see what happens. Will you go to the police? have the entire town play with poor Jeffrey? Or will you stay quiet.. And wait for me in the night.. when you finally go to sleep. I'll be there, watching and waiting Luke. Make this fun, kiddee. Heee~"

What?

I'm.. he left me.. Alive?.. 

I watched him turn around and walk off. I must've sat there for an hour. It was all too much. I stood up, slowly. Everything seemed to stop as I stood. My body was moving in slow motion.

I ran. As fast as I could. I couldn't go back into work. They would ask me what happened. I couldn't, I can't.. go through it again.

Except for you diary.. You can keep a secret. I guess I have to sleep now.. I think it'll be safe. Jeff wanted to watch me.. Not end me as quickly as he could.

But.. That laugh. I can still hear it. It's haunting my ears; playing over and over again..

Goodnight. 1:06 am.

Dear Diray, Deray, Diary,

It's 3 AM.  January 27th. 

I hane't haven't slept in 6 days. Everyimte Every time I close my eyes.. I hear his laugh. It's piercing my body. I feel it, evrywherr everywhere. My legs.. my fingers, my spine. It's everywhere. Chilling my body. Making me shudder. I remember everything. It's like it just happened. Why? Why am I here. Still alive while Cameron's dead?

What is he playing at?! I watched the news the other night, even though I told myself that I shouldn't. The polie police are investigating. How logn long until they're eghre here? 

How long until they question me? Do I tell them? I haven't seen Jeff since.. since that night. But I hear him. his laugh. Everywhere. In everything. I feel liek like I'm going going insane. 

This entry looks horrible. I'm sorry Diary, for all these mistakes. I'm just a little bothered y'know? Afeter After everything that just happened..

I'm sorry this entry won't be asl as long as the last one Diary. I don't know what to say. my mind's been in such a flutter. I'm so confused.. and afraid. I know he's there. He told me he'd be watching, and I believe him. He's having fun watching me breakdown...

Goodnight Diary, it's time to go to sleep.. 4am.

Dear Diary,

 Februrary 2nd, 4am.

I couldn't use a pencil for this entry, Diary. The pencil's gone now. So is Henry, my pet hamster. He squealed as it went through him. It was almost comical, watching him run around, afraid for his life with a pencil sticking out his side. It brought me so much joy.. I laughed, and laughed.. I'm still laughing. Jeff's laughter.. I hear it through my own laugh now. He's laughing with me, I can hear it. Hhheeeeeee!~ 

No one at school talks to me anymore. Marcus and Chad said I was acting strange. They didn't want to "associate" themselves with someone who "Couldn't remember what they did last night" or why every time I came to school my hands had more cuts on them. As if they would know. As if they could even live with themselves if they had been through what I had.

Idiots. All of them. Don't they know life is horrible? It's better ended short.. But not mine. I've things to do.. needs to sate.

I get these pains. Every morning. Right in my stomach.. These knots that don't go away for hours at a time. The pain was enough to bring tears to my eyes.

Until I stabbed Henry. Slipped an entire pencil right through his ribs... The pain subsided. It was replaced with that familiar pain from laughing too hard.

I see..

Barely. It's hard to see once your eyes start slipping half way down.

Oh god, What's happening to me? 5am

Dear Diary,

February 16, 9:30 Pm. 

I know you want to hear what happened today.. So I'll just cut to the chase.

The police came.. Idiots. I knew they'd come. Idiot. It started as any normal morning.. I woke up.

Big fucking shock huh?

I managed to get to the bathroom before I pissed myself. Drank way too much last night. first time drinking. Not even a headache. How.. awesome. Hehe..

I turned and looked at myself in the mirror.. Aha..Oh man. It was obvious something happened. I needed a haircut before I even had my birthday. Now it was just too long.

My hair's dark brown. You know that Diary. 

Well, now it's dark brown and in the way. The front nearly hangs to the end of my face. I keep having to brush it out of the way. The rest of it reaches my shoulders. Such a  nuisance. My hair's always been thick. Now it's just a jungle.

Not too mention I haven't washed my head in weeks. Thick, greasy mess. Oh well. Doesn't bother me any.

I'd been sleeping in the same clothes too. A white zip-up hoodie, and a pair of some old faded black jeans. I also decided that i needed to protect myself.. in case that bastard ever showed his face again. So, I kept one of the kitchen knives with me. I don't know what people call it, it was a rather thick fillet knife. I sharpened it every night.. not sleeping.. just waiting.

I just didn't feel like I needed to change. What was the point? Dressing up to meet my horrible future? Fuck that, it can meet me at least halfway.

I've had that pain for days... I haven't done anything since Henry. I've no other pets... No release.. My arms quiver every time I relive the moment. It's a shame he was so small..

i trudged my way downstairs. I wasn't in a hurry. Figured I'd grab a bite and have a walk around the town. Work fired me days ago for not coming back in. Fuck 'em. They wouldn't understand.. No one would. It's why I haven't told anyone. 

I had just gotten a big spoonful of cereal shoveled into my mouth, lucky charms..something about those marshmallows made me love them..Err, right.

I heard a couple of knocks on the door. Not the friendly introducing you to the neighborhood knocks, but the hateful gonna fuck your shit up if you don't answer knocks.

Meh.. I stood up when the pain came back. It wasn't too bad, just enough to make me rub my stomach. So, I opened the door.

"..Yeah?"

"Hey there. Are your parents home by any chance?" Fuck.. Police.

The feeling in my gut intensified. I groaned a little and nearly doubled over. One of the cops so kindly walked closer.

"Hey kid, you alright?" Idiot.. don't come any closer..

I couldn't speak; i was gritting my teeth together. I straightened back up and bit my lips until they nearly bled to keep from crying out.

"No. Why?" Simple answer. 

"Are you.." He stopped and looked down a slip of paper. Can't remember a name? Asshole.

"Lucas?" Pff. 

"Yeah. Luke, actually. Look.. if you've got questions, come in. I'm tired of standing." These assholes. Making me stand up to tell them my name. I walked back and sat in my chair, staring at my now soggy cereal. Bleck.. Assholes.

They walked in, rather slowly. I almost laughed. Worried cops. Heeee~...And that's when it happened, again.

The pain. It tightened. It was like my intestines all shriveled and knotted themselves inside of my stomach. It was horrible. As if my insides were being shredded.

I couldn't help falling out of my chair and sputtering, gasping for air. I clutched at my chest, my heart racing faster than I would've thought possible. 

Is this where it ends?...It was my only thought. My body was shutting itself down. I'd broken down too much. My last vision was going to be of my now scarred hands. There wasn't anything I could do about it.. Jeff won.

Aha..So I thought..

The two police officers had rushed over to me. One of them knelt down and placed a palm on my back, yuck..he touched me. Filthy person. Why would someone so low touch me.. He should know. Life was horrible. No one deserved to live a full life of misery..

And with that, I had my last sane thought. 'I'll help him.. I'll put his memory to rest.."

I remembered...the feeling went away when I killed Henry. Such beautiful joy took it's place..

"Hey, kid, you alright? We'll call an ambul-" His hand clutched his throat. 

Jeff hadn't won quite yet. This was only just the beginning.

These were low ranked rookie police officers.. they didn't even have guns. Worthless filth. I was doing them a favor..

I laughed as his blood sprayed over me. I choked and coughed as it sprayed into my mouth, staining my teeth. It was beautiful..The smells, the feelings..the feel of the air around me. It was like someone set the ends of my nerves on fire. Sent a volt of electricity through my brain.. woke me up. I almost forgot that i hadn't slept in weeks.

It was sticky, I almost spat it out. The warm, metallic blood. It tasted like iron. It was so warm..and so thick.. I didn't swallow it. But I let it sit there. I enjoyed the feeling, the taste. My hands came up to meet my face, touching the thick blood that now coated it.

But there was still one left. He's not going to get away.. The pain was almost gone..his death would do it.

I rose from my crouched position and stared at the other rookie police officer. He'd obviously pissed himself. He was frozen in shock.. Poor guy... I really should be thanking them. I would've died without an outlet..I'll make it quick then. Let him know i appreciate him.

That's what I wanted to say.. That's not what came out.

As I stood, I laughed. I let the knife hang from my fingers as I tilted my head back and laughed. My sides burned in pain and my lungs couldn't get any air; i was laughing too hard. The blood started dripping down my neck as I stared back down at the rookie. I made my way over to him. His gaze never left mine. Not when I threw him back against the wall, and not when I stuck the knife in between his eyes.

"Goodnight.." It was all I could say in between giggles. I nearly flinched as the knife slid through his skull. The crunch of bones echoed in my ears as I was once again sprayed with an onslaught of blood.

It wasn't enough. He fell to the floor and I grabbed my knife. Not enough.. I needed more. I shouldn't have done it so quickly.. I wasn't satisfied. His blood fueled my happiness..

I needed more. I was smiling. A toothy smile. It was great. Ice filled my veins as I leaned down. I was so close. I layed him flat on his back and grinned a little wider, cutting his uniform off of his chest and stomach. Average guy, nothing to be bullied about. nothing to brag about..Hehe.. so.. I guess I get to learn body types..

I plunged the knife hilt deep into his stomach. I looked away, noticing how the blood oozed quickly from his forehead. I looked back and grinned, a pool already forming at my hands. The thick mixture quickly brightening as it came into contact with the oxygen. I stopped for a second and took the scene in.

What was I doing? Have I completely lost my mind?! I just killed two police officers! There was..blood..blood everywhere..

And I couldn't have been happier. I learned the poor bastard onto his side and grabbed the hilt of the knife, ripping his stomach open until i met his ribs. I watched as his intestines oozed out onto the floor. The steaming pile of organs was disgusting. The smell was enough to make me retch, but.. I got used to it. I'd be seeing this a lot more.I dragged my knife out of his sternum and giggled, dragging my tongue over the blade of the knife. the thickened mixture of blood mixed with his organs was.. Gross. But I liked it.. I loved it. The adrenaline.. and the pain. it was gone. I was perfect. I was alive.

It'll be a while before I can take the time to write to you again, Diary. But you'll wait.. Goodnight It's not goodnight if i don't sleep is it?

I'll see you soon, diary. 1:37 am.

Dear Diary,

February 28th 4 am

It happened again.. it was so much fun this time diary. They didn't scream.. but they ran. I gave chase as well! I'll give you all the details, I promise diary. This was the first day since the incident with the police that the pain troubled me. I tried ridding myself of it. I cut myself instead. My hands, my arms..and when I ran out of room, my face.

It's strange diary. I hate him. Jeffrey. And yet, I'm becoming more and more like him. All this killing.. it brings me so much joy.. I love it. I won't stop.. i can't stop. I NEED to kill.

My face is scarred from the cuts Diary. I'll never look the same again. But that's okay! A new look for a new me, right? aheeehehaa!Yes indeed! Lucas died with those police. I don't need a name to know who I am. I can't stop smiling.. even if i wanted to.. The scars go past my lips.. A permanent smile. I look just like him.. But my eye lids are still here. And my face isn't white. 

My teeth were stained red a while ago. That officer's blood..AHhhheeeaaa!~

It's been so long since I knew the comfort of sleep. But.. I think Jeff wants to end our little game. I'm not sure if he knows it yet.. But I saw him the other night, watching me. What I'd give to slip a knife in him, to let his blood flow onto my hands. 

But not yet. The hunted shalt not hunt the hunter, yet. The new me isn't perfect.. Not yet. So much more to do. I have to rid myself of that past life.

Everyone. Everyone I know has to die. They'll thank me for sure.. ending their lives before they learn of the miseries it contains. Heee... is that just an excuse for an outlet? Maybe. But who's going to stop me?

I'm sorry Diary. I got off track. I want you to know what I did. You see.. I have to perfect myself before I can take on the already perfected.

They all must die.

But, why only one at a time? Why not a mass of them..pooling their blood into a lake for me to relax in? I hear warm liquid soothe the body. I wonder how blood would go..

The McDonalds I worked for was very small business. Franchise. We only had 6 or so employees. They all opened and closed the building. It was time to make my appearance..

I waited until 20 minutes before close. I knew the schedule. Most of the food was put away. Everyone was sitting around, cleaning here and there just to find something to do until they could all go home. 

Not tonight. Not a single one of them would be leaving alive. But I couldn't let them know that. How to do this.. sneak through the back and kill them all silently?

I walked through the front door. Let's keep names anonymous hmm?!~ In case someone reads you, diary. can't have them, knowing exactly who.

"Emily" the kitchen manager, approached me at the counter as if to take my order for food.

"What can I ge..Lucas?" She seemed puzzled. As if I wasn't ever going to show my face again.

"Good evening, Emily.. How's the story?" I had my plan..

"It's.. fine. What's up? here to order?" she didn't suspect a thing!~ It was going to work..

"No, not really. I just came to talk to "Alex" if that's alright."

"I suppose. Make it quick, you know we're closing for the night." 

"Not a problem, it won't be long." I'm in. Idiot. Heheeeeha!~ I walked right past the counter and got into the kitchen area. Everyone was gathered around near the middle, talking about one thing or another, that doesn't matter.

Now diary, let me explain how pathetic humanity is. They don't know how to react to difficult situations, no not at all. If something unexpected happens, they freak out and end up causing more harm than good. Let me give you an example,

I managed to stab 3 of them before they started to run. How.. stupid. I made the kills clean and quick. Nothing to them. I slammed the blade into their spines and severed it. It was great, like feeling a giant rubber band snap before they fell in front of me, bleeding. Their blood pooling, just like i thought it would. 

The other three decided to run for the doors. Hee, diary.. I blocked off the doors. They happened to leave a bucket of tile glue outside near the dumpster.. figured I'd put it to good use.

They struggled.. Emily screamed..not for long though. I reached her first before all the others. As my blade found it's way into her side, past her ribs and into her lungs.. she screamed louder, and then gagged as blood began filling her lungs. I took a step back to admire my work as she died. First kneeling over, and then spitting up large amounts of blood. Her head hit the ground with a resounding thud. 

Only two left. I grabbed my knife and got to work, easily cutting down the other one as he fought with the door. Such simple minded people. I switched it up a little for them. the first one must've been in pain the most. I dug my knife into his left shoulder blade and dragged it down, cutting along side his spine. He thrashed around on the ground for a while before his eyes shut for the last time.

It was so exhilarating.. Every time one of them died, I became more and more perfect.. more beautiful. I couldn't stop now. The rest needed to go. 

And there was only Alex left. Alex must've at least had half a brain. I met him in the kitchen, he had one of the blades used for cutting chicken.

"S-s-st-stay Back! I'll f-f-fu-fucking k-kill you!" Poor guy.. He couldn't even speak.

Before we get to detail.. let me describe the chicken blades. It doesn't even have a handle! Nor is it sharp. This idiot thought he could take me on with.. ha..aha.. Ahaha!~ Oh my. Back to the story, hmm?

I slammed my body forward, toppling into him. It was to hurt him, it was only to get close.. I slapped my hand over his mouth, and he jabbed me with the flat bladed chicken cutter.

Fuck. I couldn't stop laughing after that. I was sitting over top of him, laughing my ass off, until tears were pouring down my face.

"You..fucking.. idiot! Gah, that made my night y'know? The only thing better would..be to.." 

He couldn't speak see, I had my hand over his mouth perfectly. I watched tears roll down his face as I traced MY knife over his chest. My beautifully sharp, pointy blade. He squirmed as I pressed it into his sternum. He screamed through my fingers as the blood just began pouring out of his chest. I think he said something about.. stop, or help me.. couldn't be sure. Didn't feel like moving my hand.

But i felt something new! Something even more joyous than just cutting him open. But, it also angered me. My accuracy was off, i was stabbing into his sternum, but rather.. his heart. I began feeling his pulse through the hilt of my blade. It tickled, I laughed. I had to move it slower.. I needed to feel it stop. I needed to watch the life drain from his skin as it paled.

And I did. I sat there over top of him, laughing until the only color that remained was the blood that run down his torso. I've lost it, Diary. HAHA, it's gone! The pain. My pain, my memories.. They're leaving! It's leaving me so light.. so fast... I'll help them all! Rid them from this world before they can feel the pain that i did.

But.. there's so many people.. Who do I help next? How could I decide..Oh.

Oh yes. They've always been there. They've helped me! I'll help them.. Greg.. Marcus.

I'm coming. 9 am, no sleep.

My beloved Diary, Date unknown, dark

Yeck.. Diary. They almost got me tonight. But they didn't, they never could. In the end, I saved them. They sure as hell didn't want it, but what would they know? They know nothing of the pain in this world.. And now they never will. They'd been my friends for over 5 years. I knew them. Marcus, with any luck would be at Greg's.. Greg happened to be my neighbor, so I didn't even have to go far! Haha, wonderful.

Greg reads a lot. I know he's read plenty of scary stories.. so why not surprise the guy? It wasn't hard. And he didn't suspect a thing..

I waited until it got dark before I walked over.. I just stood outside of his window. Every couple of seconds, I'd tap it with the end of my knife, he had to have heard it. 

Ahaaa, he did. Oh the look on his face brought me to tears. He looked through the window and just fucking SCREAMED.

He came to a few seconds later and realized it was me. Goody~ Which meant he also opened the door and let me in. I wonder if I should've ended his life right there.. 

Oh well. I didn't i waited a little while. I followed him back to his room, where of course I found Marcus. Marcus was laying on a bed, messing around on his fancy dancy iPhone.. thing.White phone, does shit that I don't care about.

How to play it off.. how to start? Oh, there were so many possibilities. Just, do it quickly? Torture them? No.. Haha, I know!

As soon as my foot went past the door, I tripped. Of course, i let my head bounce off the ground, which kind of hurt. I had to bite what was left of my lips to keep from giggling from the pain.

Poor Greg.. Idiot just had to be kind. Greg had always been that guy. Could tell a raunchy joke, but was still like everyone's favorite teddy bear. He was always there to help. It was time I helped him..

He reached down to help me up... I almost felt bad for the guy. So, I hesitated. I took his hand and we propped me back up. Everything flashed in front of my eyes as I stood there.

I knew that this was..like the final checkpoint in a game. Once you cross it, there's no going back. And yet, you still have time to turn around. Could I do it? Was i really going to start killing off my friends, to save them? What if they didn't want to be saved? Who was I to take away their freedom of choice? The more I thought about it.. the more I felt like everything was changing back to how it was before. I looked down at my hands; they were a little red from dried blood stains. I stepped back and went into the bathroom, staring in the mirror. It was.. a shocking realization to what I'd become.

My hair. Nothing.. really special about that. Thicker than ever, dropped down to my neck.. greasy. 

My eyes. It had almost looked like I was beaten senseless. The bags around my eyes were so dark, they were almost black.. I just now noticed that my eyes were half shut. It's been.. it's been weeks Diary. I haven't slept in weeks. My lips, if you could call them lips, were disgusting. They'd become chapped about two weeks back.. there was almost nothing left from the constant rubbing and biting. The skin on my lips was replaced with dried, caked blood.

What was I to do? I'd begun gaining my sanity back.. But, it wasn't replacing what had grown their in its place. It was fighting. It was giving me a headache, giving me.. that pain. I hadn't felt that gut wrenching, stabbing pain in a while. As soon as it hit.. I knew what I had to do. I needed to destroy this persona completely. So I left. I ran back into my house. It's strange to think how much time had passed. Despite everything I'd already done, the house looked like nothing had ever happened. There were no blood stains, no dead cops.. They clean up nicely. I went into the kitchen, and dug through a drawer until I found a lighter. Perfect. 

Why? Why a lighter? Because.. you can chop away skin, and it has a very high chance of growing back. But, burn it away.. and you damage it permanently. 

But.. what was i destroying? I had to rub my eyes to keep them open. apparently, remembering about sleep made me tired.. Then it hit me, my eyes. I won't sleep if they can't shut, right? Haha, perfect! So, I held the flame to the end of my knife.. didn't want blood everywhere.. After the blade steamed with heat, i stretched my eyelid out a little bit.. and then i sent the knife through it. 

My first reaction was.. nothing. I didn't feel it.. but the pain hit. It burned. That was it, I'd felt worse from falling off of bikes. The second eyelid was easier, knowing what to expect. though, i did have to press the knife to the torn skin to keep it from bleeding. I figured my eyes would get used to the air. Haha. Right? I was beginning to look.. perfect. I was so much closer to becoming the perfect living organism. Everyone else.. they were flawed. They weren't even living. They didn't feel the joy that I do.

But this wasn't enough, I began enjoying the ideas that were swimming through my mind. 

Lips. Why not? The bastards were only causing me trouble. I pulled out my bottom lip, figuring it was just like the eyelids.. i sent the knife through it. Gah, that was a mistake. Haha, or was it Diary? I sometimes forget I'm telling you all of this. Well, see,  I didn't think it would hurt that badly.. And when it did, I flinched and sent my arm flying up. Carved right through my cheek, up until i hit the bone. Great. So, not only was that tear jerking pain, which had begun to make me laugh again I might add, but now my face is half torn. How fucking stupid would that look. That's not perfect.. So i had to make it perfect. It took a little precision, and a lot of teeth grinding to do it. But i did it Diary.. I look perfect. I could almost cry.

I had to carve the same line to my other cheek.. I thought it would be done there, but the pain was taking it's toll. It was like i was on ecstasy.. The pain was driving me wild, i couldn't stop. i sliced through my upper lip until i carved out entire sections of my cheeks, on both side. There was no blood.. The lighter saw to that. I began laughing again. It was such a heavy laugh, my sides hurt.. but of course, that pain made me laugh more. I was perfect. I was like a God. Who else could merely laugh off pain like this? 

I took a final look in the mirror, and it hit me. I was smiling. I couldn't stop, I had carved my face into a smile. Black and red circled my eyes. Haha, Hey Jeff. I look like you now. We could do things together.. we'd be like brothers! you could be that older brother I didn't have..

What? No. I want to kill him. He freed me from the pain of everyday life.. And now I can free him, permanently. He'd never have to save anyone again. I'd do it all for him. But, he has to die first..

I made my way, slowly, back over to Greg's house. I didn't even knock, i just.. walked in. if you could call it walking. I was staggering, drunk on the adrenaline and the pain. Getting off didn't even feel this good.. this was.. this was a whole new pleasure.. Knowing I was about to cross an undeterred precibis. 

Greg saw me in the hall, but it was too dark for him to see my face. I wanted him to see it. I wanted it to be the last thing that he ever saw in his miserable, begotten life. I threw myself at him, as hard as i could. We went through the door to his room, right fucking through it. I grabbed him by the hem of his shirt, and stuck my knife through his throat, front to back. Blood instantly pooled from his neck onto my arms, even sprayed into my face. This was it. I was alive, and I was perfect.

He dropped without a word. Marcus, however, was standing as soon as Greg hit the ground.

"What.. the FUCK" Uh oh, someone's mad! Hahaaa!~

"He touched me! I swear! ha..aha..aahahaa!" I couldn't bear the laughter anymore.

But that's okay, Marcus didn't seem like he wanted to talk. I barely got the chance to stand before he tackled me. Asshole.Slammed me right into the closet door. I laughed.

He was quick. Skinny bastard, he managed to hit me a few times before I slammed my forehead into his. Split my head open, the blood poured down my face. My blood. When was the last time I bled? It smelled... great. I licked my lips, shuddering as the familiar taste of iron coated my tongue. 

Marcus was a little taken back, so he took a few steps backwards as though he was ready to fight me. He would've had a better chance running. he should've.. he was in track before. He probably could've outran me.. but for how long? Hunting was easy.. And hunting a skinny, nerdy looking fuck? Easier.

So i thought, until the asshole leaned down and pulled my knife from Greg. Didn't think the bastard had the stomach for that. I just stood there.. Smiling as the blood dripped from my head.

"Is the kiddee going to play or not?" I wanted to taunt him.. I wanted his rage. this was fun, no one ever fought for very long. 

Which is exactly what I got! I didn't get to take a step forward before I got kicked in the throat. It actually dropped me down for a moment, Gah. Wasn't a nice feeling, i rather like breathing. Can't help the poor kid if I can't breathe.

But that's okay.. he was scared. He didn't know i was trying to save him. He was desperately trying to keep me from doing just that. He almost had my intent.. he was ready to kill. As soon as my knees hit the ground, he brought the knife up, and then down.. Luckily, he missed my spine by an inch. Whew, the pain! It woke me up. The sharp cool blade..My blade.

That asshole. I was pissed Diary.. He used my knife against me.. I threw a cheap punch. Wasn't very nice.. But it dropped him. Getting punched down there.. it just doesn't feel good. Almost feels like getting stabbed by your own knife. Asshole. I stood, and placed my foot over top of his throat, i didn't want him dead.. not yet. He caused me more pain when i was just trying to help him.

Of course, this got my leg slashed at. What a dick! I was doing everything i could to help him, and this is my payment? He was seriously starting to piss me off.. I even stopped laughing. 

Of course, i started laughing as soon as he swung upwards at me.. Bad mistake Marcus. I caught his wrist and grinned as i bent it backwards, watching his face as it snapped. Ohhh the sound.. Like a bundle of sticks breaking slowly. He screamed in pain... and dropped the knife. I let go of his wrist and grabbed my knife, staring at the blood on it.

My blood. It was.. different.. it reminded me of something.. But what?! It was driving me insane...

It was black.

Jeff.

I stabbed him. In the stomach, nearly buried the hilt in him. He didn't have time to scream before i stabbed him again. And again. 

"You.. FUCK. Bringing back the memories I'm destroying? Who do you think you are? I was TRYING TO HELP!" Asshole. He needed to just fucking DIE. I made sure he did.

I sat there.. for over half an hour.. stabbing him. His blood pooled onto the carpet. It was sopping, flowed up between my toes when I stood up. I couldn't stand the look on his face. It was pure terror, just like everyone's usually is.

But, damn it. he pissed me off, and i didn't want to see it anymore. So i traced it.. I outlined his face with my knife until the most perfect line was formed around it.. And then i cut it from him. haha..It was kind of gross. Like, pulling a piece of paper from wet glue. All the strands that stick. i had to cut them free with my knife. Euck, ew? I certainly didn't want to  keep his face.. So i grabbed a nail, and slammed it to the front of his door. haha.. His parents.. They wouldn't know what to do..Heee.. I might have to stick around just to see! I'm still here actually.. Sitting next to them. Writing. I wanted this memory to be fresh for you, Diary. See.. I tell you everything Diary, and you don't stab me. You don't hurt me. You listen.. Marcus didn't. That's why he doesn't have a face anymore. He doesn't get that privilege. Haha.

I don't know what time it is this time Diary. I should get going though..I've new plans. For Jeff.

((Oh jee, I finally fixed the fucking story because you stupid cunts removed it.))

[neonponders]

I’m sorry, I couldn’t help myself @hoegrove your Bond!au is just too strong.

Based on their post here ~

I hope you like it 🥺 🌹 it’s on ao3, if that’s easier for anyone to read 🌹

• • • • • • •

013.

Fucking 013. Not 00.

Which meant he’d have to wait for whoever got the 00 status he deserved to either die or become incompetent.

“Congratulations, Hargrove. Report to HQ for briefing.”

He’d rather be headed for the private plane that would take him to some tropical location, where capitalist monsters waited for his bullet.

Hargrove stepped out of the elevator onto the spacious floor. He really wished HQ would renovate. The concrete floors, glass walls, and metal beams were urban but not chic.

He found the corresponding desk of his... “partner” of sorts. Every number had a letter. The computer and the muscle. As Hargrove removed his outer garment, though, only the computer desk was present, while the person - 

“Could you not dump your nasty jacket on my work station?”

Hargrove sighed and found the loon - on a bicycle. He frowned. “What the hell are you doing on a bike inside?”

“It helps me think,” Q said, riding slow laps in between the cubicles. Granted, there weren’t many of them, and Hargrove was pretty sure he’d only ever seen Q and maybe three other people on this entire floor, unless there was a crisis.

Maybe that’s why he had yet to be promoted to 00. Too much peace.

“Take your jacket off my seat!”

“Jesus Christ,” Billy cursed. He balled up the ruined jacket and threw at the bastard’s head. To his credit, he didn’t crash into anything. “Clean freak.”

“That’s Q to you,” he barked, dumping the raggedy garment into the nearest bin.

“Sure, Steve,” he purred, knowing his partner loathed the fact that he had figured out his real name. Hargrove wouldn’t work for just anybody, after all. And he was a detective first. Hired gun second.

He didn’t actually need Q. So he told himself. But Steve sure came in handy.

“So help me god, Billy. Did you at least keep my pen intact?”

“Your what?” He landed in Steve’s spinning chair, forcing the guy to lean his bike against his cubicle and stand with his hands on his hips.

“My pen, dip shit. You know, the one that’s basically a Swiss army knife. The one sanctioned by HQ to one Asshole Hargrove - ”

“Oh, that,” he said distantly, gazing out at the city around them. “It broke.”

Not surprised, nor impressed, Steve remarked, “You realize that if some nerd civilian reverse-engineers half the shit you lose, we might be genuinely compromised, right?”

“Then make better stuff.”

“Stop losing it, and you might actually be 00 one day.”

Billy glared with all the menace a man could while having his chair rolled out of the way. Steve shoved him aside with his foot and entered his computer password before navigating to the corresponding case briefs. Billy let his head recline on the seat while Steve went through the list.

“Target?”

“Deceased.”

“Car?”

“Totaled, but returned.”

“Pen: lost in action. Suspect?”

“Null. Excellent in bed, though.”

“You’re a cliche.” Steve glared from behind his glasses.

“Stop giving me cases with attractive people, then,” Billy smirked. “Who’s my next target? Tell me they live somewhere expensive and sunny.”

“Like a desert?”

“No, like Marseilles.”

“Oh, Marseilles is nice,” Steve chirped distractedly. “If you like French people.”

Billy snorted, but it evolved into laughter. “What’s wrong with French people?”

“They’re French.”

“Wow. Picky.”

Steve giggled under his breath and said, “I’m sorry I don’t have a gig for you in France.”

“I’m sure I’ll managed,” Billy sighed. “What do you have?”

“Something more domestic.”

Billy exhaled through his nose, warranting a curious peek from Steve. “Yeah, that’s what I’m stuck with. One zero and domestic jobs.”

“You’ll get there,” Steve reassured. Softly. Which was...odd.

Billy’s head rolled over the back of the chair to stare at him. Steve quickly added, “If you stop breaking the shit I loan you.”

Billy looked toward the ceiling, pressing his lips into an impertinent line...

“Q.”

“Hm?” he asked while typing away.

“There’s a bird in here.”

Steve looked at him. “What?” and followed his gaze up to the metal rafters. A grey bird gazed right back at them. “Oh shit - ”

Billy already had his pistol out. One shot knocked the bird off its perch. It landed with a loud, metallic clatter.

Steve's body doubled over when Billy wrenched his arm in the direction away from the device, and not a second too soon. The force of the explosion knocked them both over one cubicle and roughly onto the concrete floor.

"Q," Billy growled when the guy scrambled to his feet and back to his desk. He reached underneath it, uncovering a baseball bat of all things, and swung right over his hard drive. Metal and plastic debris rained over the floor, and then he ran to the router standing on a low piece of furniture along the wall. He wrenched its cables out and smashed the thing too.

Then he looked up at Agent Hargrove. "We're compromised."

Billy was already moving toward the scattered carcass of the spy bird. They didn't have a lot of time. Already, another explosive rumble sounded beneath their feet, on another floor. Billy quickly found the piece he was looking for, and pocketed it before yanking Steve in the direction of the stairs.

"I need a car."

"You know where the garage is."

"You're coming with me. That thing heard both of our names."

Steve defended, "We both lost our original identities when we signed up for this bullshit."

"We don't know what we're dealing with yet," Billy reasoned. "Until then, you're safest with me."

"Well that's pathetic." His words might've landed better if they didn't rattle out of him while they did their best to sprint down several dozen flights of stairs.

"You're really sassing me right now? What are you gonna do with that bat?"

Steve ignored that to proclaim, "We need to get to my place. I have a backup computer connected to the system."

"And how do we know it's not compromised too?"

"Because it's mine. Not the system's."

Billy could only frown at him ever so briefly, but he pocketed that information away for another time. For now, they descended into the belly of their organization, where the garage of vehicles rested beneath the city. There, another argument awaited him.

"You're not taking the goddamn Camaro."

"I'm taking the goddamn Camaro," Billy retorted, already ripping the keys out of the cabinet Steve unlocked for him.

"It's loud as all hell!"

"So are you. Get in the car."

Another explosion shook the concrete columns of the garage. Steve ducked his head and coughed on the dust while he threw himself into the car a millisecond before Billy left tire tracks on the floor. "What are you doing?"

Steve was pressing buttons on the dash. Somewhere behind them, a mechanical part was moving in the car. "We don't know how many birds infiltrated the building. I'm rotating the license plates - egh!"

He collapsed against his seat when the car angled up to speed onto the city streets. Billy mused, "And what can you do for speed trap cameras?" and held up a middle finger to the camera angled over the four-way intersection.

"Nothing yet. We'll have to trade cars eventually."

"Not soon enough."

"What?" Steve all but screeched, and turned around to see behind them. "At least you're not the only stereotype in this business."

He got the words out a moment before the large, black SUV rammed into the back of the Camaro. "Put your seatbelt on."

"IT IS ON!"

Steve provided his own chorus of swears and exclamations while Billy navigated through the city, tossing his partner left and right in his seat, avoiding another collision with the SUV that would spin them out of control. When Steve began digging through the glove box and lowering his window, Billy bellowed, "What are you doing?"

"A PEN!" he yelled before throwing something behind them. A second later, the SUV's front lifted off the road so the whole thing fell onto its side.

It was Billy's turn to exclaim, "Those things explode?"

"YES THEY EXPLODE!"

"YOU NEVER TOLD ME THEY EXPLODE!"

"WHY DO YOU THINK I TOLD YOU NOT TO TAP THE PEN THREE TIMES?"

"YOU ARE SO GODDAMN LUCKY MY DICK HASN'T BEEN BLOWN OFF."

Steve pointed out the front windshield. "BILLY!"

Another SUV narrowly rammed them from the side, but Billy pulled on the brake and swung the car into a 180. Some civilian took the brunt of that particular attack, but Billy officially needed to get them the hell out of here. Whoever wanted their heads for trophies didn't care about national news.

Which was possibly the most dangerous piece of this mess. Arguably the most powerful component of a country was its press, and these assholes didn't care if they earned the media's or internet's attention.

It was another aspect in itself that Billy had ridden in one too many black SUV's. That would also account for someone's ability to install too many explosive birds in the building.

"Billy?" Steve piped when he drove down the stairs leading to the boardwalk along the river. Billy focused on the new car behind them. He looked across the river at the opposite riverbank, where the walls sloped up. He needed to get over there.

The car rattled as he sped up a flight of stairs to the street once more, but did a hard left onto the bridge that crossed the river.

Down the stairs again, this time slaloming over the ramped wall, keeping an eye on his rearview to see how tunnel-visioned the SUV behaved.

A hand gripped the wide bell of his forearm. "Billy," Steve rasped. There wasn't a stairwell at the end of this riverbank. Just a concrete wall.

Billy went up the ramp, and braked with a hard turn on the steering wheel. The SUV tried to brake in time, but the Camaro clipped the back tire, and it spun right over the side into the river.

Billy k-turned back in the direction of the stairs. He drove seamlessly into the midday, traffic, turning on his windshield wipers against the heavy drizzle. He glanced at Steve, who had not let go of his arm. At a stoplight, Billy's other hand overlapped his, earning a pale, ghostly stare.

"We need to get to the subway. Then your place."

Despite his shock, Steve nodded and said, "Two blocks down."

Billy found the station, lodged their car in a back alley between a Polish restaurant and a laundromat, and circled the car to help Steve out. "I'm fine," he said even as his knees gave out and he hung between his arms on the car door and roof.

"I see that," Billy replied. He nestled in close to wrap an arm around Steve's softer waist. "Put your weight on me."

He did, and Billy kicked the door shut behind them. "Do you have a metro card?"

"Do I have a metro card?" Billy snorted on their way to the entrance.

"You can't jump the turnstiles."

"I'm not leaving a paper trail. I don't know if my cards are compromised too. That bird sat right over your desk, pretty boy. Someone wanted a real close eye on you. Maybe even kill you. We can try and figure out who else was under surveillance later."

They did not earn approving looks from vaulting the turnstiles, but they made it to the train, and then forty minutes or so later, Steve's apartment. By then, his color had returned to his face, and Billy couldn't help but tease, "Do you always bring colleagues home?"

Steve sighed and didn't grace that with a response. He unlocked his door, and Billy perused the living room and its bay window. The place was nice. White walls. Light wooded floors. Colorful dish ware. A bedroom off to the right with an unmade bed, and a dining room to the left with an array of folders and a laptop on it.

Billy placed the broken bird piece beside the laptop. "I don't know how much you can get out of this. But it's a start."

Steve maneuvered around him and sank into the chair. "Help yourself to the kitchen."

Billy did exactly that, and only found a few hints at the neurosis of a tech genius: Steve's pantry was entirely filled with bags of chips and hot sauce. His apartment also wielded the same characteristic Steve used at work: cleanliness. There wasn't so much as a lingering cereal dish in the sink.

Billy went about scrambling some eggs, frying up some bacon, and heating up a box of leftover diner hash browns. He poured a bottle of white and brought the dishes to the table. He set the glass of wine in view of the laptop. "For your nerves. Try to eat something."

"Thanks," Steve murmured. He didn't touch his food, but Billy sat opposite him and plunged his fork into his eggs.

After he cleaned his plate, he started tapping the back of the laptop screen, causing whatever Steve was reading to bounce. As if tossed out of a reverie, Steve inhaled sharply and took his glasses off to scrub his face. Naturally, Billy chuckled and plucked up the glasses to see how the other half lived...

"Steve."

"Hmm?" he mumbled from inside his hands.

"Explain to me why your glasses are asking for 004 authentication?"

His hands lowered so he could see Billy wearing his glasses and the nearly invisible screens layered inside the glass. The muscles of his jaw ticked as he reached across the table. Billy let him remove the glasses, but his stare did not waver until Steve relented, "I'm not 004 anymore."

Billy blinked, hard, as he absorbed that. "When were you an agent?"

Steve pushed his fork around his plate. "Right as you joined."

"Am I really going to have to pull your teeth for this? Because someone must know who you are, or were. Knows enough to keep an eye on you. How many other 00s are retired into office work?"

"My whole team," he heaved. Surrendered. "It all happened too fast. I was elevated to 00 status and just as quickly flunked out of it. Then they gave me you."

Steve exhaled as if there was a whole lot more there. Then he added, "Consider this a mentorship."

Billy huffed and relaxed against his chair. "So my guardian angel is the one keeping me from my promotion."

It took a second, but Steve processed that and lifted his head. "What?"

"You. I don't get to be a 00 until a 00 gives me the okay."

Something shy of a grimace flitted across Steve's features. "Maybe you'd be one, if you learned how to say thank you. You're not god. I've saved your ass at least twice without even being in the same country as you."

"You're a P.T.S.D. case with a laptop. That's all."

"And you're a gun with childhood trauma and abandonment issues. Welcome to the fucking club. We have special glasses."

He stabbed his hash browns and started eating. Billy crossed his arms and brooded in silence.

Abandonment issues, my ass, he mused, but could not help but watch the man opposite him eat. He'd never actually seen Steve eat. He'd certainly always been available whenever Hargrove called, regardless of timezone or courtesy of sleep.

It's hypocritical to call him an angel and treat him as disposable...after you hauled him around like precious luggage.

Billy didn't like that thought one bit.

This job wasn't actually a business. It was a lifestyle. One that didn't grant angels or precious items. And the same voice that called Steve, Angel, kept whispering in Billy's mind.

Compromised.

Something moved in his periphery and he had his gun out before he even thought twice. "What the hell is that?"

Steve, to his credit, hadn't flinched. "The cartoons refer to it as a pussy cat. She wants your bacon."

The fluffy ginger that had jumped onto the table stared Billy down until he relinquished his last piece of bacon. "Why am I not surprised that you have a cat?"

"Considering your reaction, I'd say you were petrified."

"Shut up, Steve."

"No guns on the table."

Billy groaned and set the device on the console table behind him. "Yes, dear."

It was going to be a long case.

[imagines-by-a-typical-fangirl]

The Perfect Bad Boy (Pt. 16 of 18)

Pairing: Billy Hargrove X Reader

Word count: 3 K

Summary: Working as a lifeguard in the Hawkins Community Pool, you try to fit in after moving from New York. Things were going pretty well when you notice you've been under someone's stare. Billy Hargrove, Hawkins' bad boy, has been staring at you since day one. You never intended to have anything to do with him, judging by the reputation he has. But Billy won't leave you alone, determined to show you his feelings are different this time...

As if your heart flooding you with confusing feelings wasn't enough, there are weird, strange animals lurking in the woods... But those have to be just part of the wild live of the woods surrounding Hawkins... Right?

<- Previous part (15)

Next part (17) ->

{Stranger Things Masterlist}

×

The Loss Of A Friend

You've never been to a funeral. Well, you did, but you were a kid and you didn't know the family friend who was being buried that day. In your child's mind, you didn't get why everyone was wearing black, in uncomfortable silence, crying all day long. You remember clearly that a blue bug got your attention, making your eyes follow its every move, making you smile despite the sad atmosphere.

It couldn't be more different today.

As the coffin is lowered into the ground, where Jason will forever rest now, you hold Billy's hand, the soft fabric of your black dress tickling your tights. You barely feel it though, all your sensations resumed to the weight in your chest, crushing, squeezing your ribs, smashing your heart.

You suddenly remember the day Monica introduced you to Jason. It was the Saturday before you started working at the pool, in the parking lot of Starcourt Mall. He had his little brother on one arm, and the girl walking beside him, tugging on the hem his shirt.

“So that's the new girl.” He said, a smile spreading across his lips as he reached out his hand for you to shyly shake. “I'm Jason, born to bear the weight of being Monica's cousin, but also the coolest guy you'll find in Hawkins.”

That, of course, started a small war of cheesy pick-up lines, insults, and sarcastic comments. You laughed, feeling easily welcomed by Monica's cousin.

Now, what gets your attention is how his young siblings cry, yell, calling out Jason as is he was just sleeping inside the wooden box and would wake up, smile, and start chasing them around again. He won't. Jason is only a memory now.

“I think we should go,” Billy says in a low voice, letting go of your hand to rub your arms softly.

Nodding, you let him guide you to his Camaro, driving you away from the sea of people dressed in black. You've known Jason for such a little time compared to everyone else here, who saw him grow up, studied with him, lived near him for many years. Your pain is just a speck of dust compared to theirs.

When you get home, the sun is setting. You decide to call Diane, just to make sure she's alright, but you don't tell what happened. It would make her come here immediately, and the last thing you need is someone else you care about being in danger. You have to lie, despite hating yourself for it, telling her that your voice is funny because you had to yell a lot with the kids at the pool. But it's better this way. There are more than enough people here you need to worry about.

“Come here,” Billy calls when you finally head to the bedroom. He sits in the bed, back against the headrest and you're quick to crawl into the bed and into his arms. “How are you feeling?”

“I don't know. Sad doesn't really explain it.” Putting your legs over his, you hide your face on his neck, breathing in your favorite cologne, the only one he uses since the day you told him that. “I can't believe I buried Jason. Jason. My crazy-ass friend.” Your voice cracks and you hold back a sob. “I'll never hear those stupid jokes again.”

“I'm so sorry, princess.” There's a pain in his voice too. Billy has been around Jason a bit, mostly with you. But you know he's actually sad because of how broken you are. You can see it in his eyes, that he wish he could take your pain away, and that he's desperate because he doesn't know what to do.

But there's nothing Billy or anyone else could do. You can't fight death. You can't hit it with a baseball bat full of nails until it gives your friend back. The only thing you can do is avenge him. Get whatever took him and destroy it.

“I wanna kill those Demothings.” The anger in your voice is tangible, and you clench your hands into fists. “I swear to God, Billy, I'll kill one of them myself.”

“Anger won't help. We need to be smart about it. We need a strategy.” Billy is often angry with things. Mostly with things that hurt you, but this time, you get why he's taking another path, trying to calm you down instead of putting more wood in the fire. “The meeting is set for tomorrow. We'll find a battle plan to kill those damn things.” His hand comes to lay on your thigh, fingers softly caressing your skin. “But for now you need to rest, ok? I'll cook something you like and then we'll cuddle watching some nice movie. How does that sound?”

“What if I cry through the movie?” You ask because more tears start rolling down, it doesn't matter how many times you try to get rid of them.

“Then I'll hold you tight.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Billy is kind enough to try and get you into some small talk. Nothing too complicated, nothing related to the Demothings or Jason. You're thankful for that. He even manages to get a few laughs from you, although they're always followed by a reality check when the events of the last two days hit you again, and the smile is gone.

A couple of hours later you're watching Jaws, your head on Billy's chest as you try to follow the events of the movie. But it seems way too fast for you, or it's just your mind that's refusing to process anything that's happening.

You just keep thinking about death. About how Jason's whole life was cut short. How all of his plans for the future were erased.

“Billy, can I ask you something?” Keeping your voice low, you speak up for the first time since you came to the living room after having dinner.

“Of course, princess. What is it?”

Biting your lip, you consider if you should really bring that up. It's selfish to talk about your future when someone else won't have one. But this whole situation made you want to make plans because it's a privilege to still be here. It's a blessing to still have time. “What you said to Joyce about... Marriage. Did you really mean that or–” Pushing yourself up from where you were laying on top of him, you take a deep breath. “–or were you just trying to get out of the conversation. Because it's ok if–”

“Haven't I made it clear that I want to be with you for the rest of my life?” He moves to sit up as well, pulling you close until you're placed in between his legs, a hand caressing your cheek. “Because if I hadn't, I'll make it clear now. I want to be with you for the rest of my life. I don't know how it happened, and it did get me by surprise, but the day you walked in the Hawkins Community Pool, I knew something changed in me. I knew I had to get to know you, and I did thought it would pass, that I'd get tired of you as I got of the other girls, but I didn't.” Billy holds you closer to him, your foreheads touching. “You hit me like–”

“Bang.” You finish for him, the memory of the day he was unbelievably honest with you coming back. The day he admitted to you, and somehow to himself too, that he liked you. It was also the day he punched David, and the day he kissed your cheek, making your stomach burn like it has been set on fire.

“Like bang.” He breathes out, warm lips coming in touch with yours. Wrapping your arms around his neck, you pull him as close as you can, the need to feel that he's here, with you, clouding the sound of the TV. Billy moves to lay back down again, and when you move to follow his change of posture, your knee slips and connects to his ribs. “Ouch!” He breathes out, cutting off the kiss.

“Oh, shit. I'm so sorry.” Covering your mouth, you bring the free hand to rub his side. “Sorry, baby.”

Taking a deep breath, he grabs your arm and pulls you down, making you collide on his chest, giggling. “Sorry. I shouldn't be joking around with you now.”

Squinting your eyes at him, you try to get up, but his strong arms come around your body, keeping you from moving. “I hate you, Hargrove.” The fake sentence is soon overcome by a giggle. “I'll kick you right this time, I'm warning you.”

“Oh, I'm shaking like a leaf.”

“Don't test me, Hargrove. Keep in mind we sleep on the same bed and I know all of your habits, baby.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Mhmm.” Mumbling, you manage to stand up, moving back into a sitting position. You know he actually let you go, but there's no reason to acknowledge that. Taking a deep breath, the sudden happiness is stained again, as the memories crawl back. It seems like Billy notices because his smile softens. “I love living with you, you know that, right?”

“I love waking up next to you every morning.”

You can't help the smile that comes to your lips as you bend over again, kissing his lips.

On the next day, Billy calls Anthony to ask him to give you a few days off work. Obviously, you have to urge your hothead boyfriend not to curse the manager and risk losing his job. You feel fine to go to the pool, or you think you do, but the truth is you wouldn't be paying much attention anyway. And much to your dismay, Billy gets a total of zero days off. No discussion, what makes him hang up the phone so hard you thought he broke the poor thing.

Since you don't want to be alone, and Billy would absolutely never allow you to be alone in the house when you're friend just died, he drives you to Joyce's place, where the party will gather to make plans.

Saying it's hard to be away from Billy on the day after you buried Jason is a misunderstanding. Seeing him drive away from Joyce's porch makes you feel like he's taking your heart with him. He didn't seem pleased either, but there was no other choice. You wouldn't make him miss the day, since you know Anthony is a terrible human being, just looking for the right excuse to get rid of the lifeguards.

“Honey, come inside,” Joyce calls a hand on your shoulder. “Can I get you something to eat? We had pizza last night and I have a slice in the fridge.”

“No, thank you, Joyce.” Politely, you decline her offer. “Is there any bed I can crash in?”

“Sure. Come.” Walking through Jonathan and Will, you wave at them, muttering a good morning and trying not to cry at their sad faces. They know Jason was a close friend, and, like everyone else, they don't know what to do or say. “This is Will's and Jonathan's room. Just pick a bed.” Nodding, you choose the one on the left and lie down. “Do you need to talk?”

“There's nothing to say.” Putting your head on a pillow, you stare at the ceiling. You feel comfortable around Joyce, she has this mother thing about her. “I just want this to end. Before anyone else gets... Eaten.” The word makes you shiver as it brings the image of his body back. “I wish I wasn't the one to find him. To... See him that way. I don't think I'll ever forget that.”

“Honey, I'm so sorry.” She comes to sit on the edge of the bed. “When... When they found Will's body, it hurt. I knew in my heart it wasn't him, but the very idea of losing my baby was horrible. So I have an idea of how you feel. Losing someone is a pain that doesn't go away. You'll get used to it, but it remains. All we can do is learn to deal with it and honor them by carrying their memories.”

You're crying through her speech, and you can't help but sit up and hug her, crying on her shoulder. “We have to be careful because I can't lose anyone else.” You're not sure if she can even understand what you're saying, but since she nods, you think she did.

“Don't worry, honey. We'll all be alright.” She pulls away, rubbing both your arms. “The kids will be here soon, but feel free to stay here or join us, ok? Do whatever makes you comfortable.”

“Thanks.” Offering her a small, sad smile, you watch as she leaves.

You hear when they get here, the chattering starts, and you can understand a few words here and there. They talk about you, and about Billy and about the funeral. But soon enough it falls into the major problem. And that's when you tune out, staring at the ceiling, trying not to make yourself too comfortable in someone else's bed.

The only thing you want now is Billy. You want to go back to the time where there was no Demogorgon, Demowhatever lurking around. At least to you. It's weird to know what really happened in Billy's car accident, how he was almost the host for the Mind Flayer. You're happy it didn't happen, that he's here now. You need to thank Max for that, actually. If it wasn't for her and the others, your Billy wouldn't be here. He could be dead, and you'd never meet him. He'd never shoot glances at you, or drive you home, buy you tacos or punch David's face. Or kiss you, hold you, love you. The thought of a life without Billy in it is absurd. Now, more than ever, after you lost someone so dear, you have this need to be with him. Just to make sure he's here.

Breathing out and closing your eyes, your hand comes to hold the necklace. It makes you feel closer to Billy, and there is a silent promise here, one you hold close to your heart, together with the earring.

Eyes open, you get up of the bed. You don't care if you got days off, you have to see him. Even if it's just for a hug. Leaving the bedroom, you make your way to the living room, which is crowded.

“We wait until it's late at night to make sure the Demodogs are out, sneak inside the tunnels, and spill insane amounts of gasoline all over it. Get the hell out, wait until it's morning, and set the whole thing on fire.” Dustin says, hands in the air and a smile on his face.

He's kidding, right? He can't be suggesting that as if it's the greatest idea of the world. “Are you completely insane?” You ask, making your presence known. Arms crossed, your eyes scan through the party. “You can't possibly think this is a good idea.”

“I agree with (Y/N), this is insane,” Joyce adds, her face making it clear she thinks this idea sucks. “I won't let you do that.”

“But–”

“The point is to kill them without getting ourselves killed. And every single idea you come up with has a hundred different ways to get us killed.” Steve says, both his hand on his hips as he paces around the room. “Who thinks this idea sucks raise your hand.” He's the first to do it, and Joyce, you, and Jonathan do the same.

“Count Billy in.” You say, raising the other hand as well.

“And Hopper,” Joyce states, giving you an approving stare.

“It's six against seven. We're doing it.” Dustin exclaims.

“No.” You basically shout, not caring one bit if you sound bossy. All eyes lay on you as you struggle to keep it together. “We're not doing it and that's final.”

“I–”

“I just lost a friend and I will not let you do something that might just end up in another funeral.” There are tears threatening to fall again, but you hold them back. “So come up with something else.”

The silence is deafening. You know you're breaking down again, even though the tears aren't rolling down. Yet.

“Please. There's gotta be something else.” Lowering your voice and looking down at your feet, you beg. You can't even think about someone else dying. You couldn't bear it.

“I saw this thing at school. Like a robot with remote control.” Lucas starts. “If we could build a bunch of them and attach a hose, we could guide it inside the tunnels and spread the gasoline.”

“Yeah, but there are seven holes. Which means a lot of ground we'd have to cover.” Eleven adds as you make your way to the group, sitting on the couch beside Joyce.

“Let's blow up six of them.” You burst out, crossing your legs. “A hell of a explosion that would take those things days to dig it back. Then there will be only one way in and out. Find a hell of a long hose or just connect a bunch of them and a million gallons of gas. The robots will spread it then we'll just need a match.”

“That's good. It could work.” Nancy says. “But we'll need to chip in to buy all these things.

“Hopper can get some for free I'm sure.”

“We start right now.” Mike stands up and the others follow. “Let's get started.”

The rest of the day is hectic. Lists are made, one of the kids teachers come over to help with what they called a summer project. For fun. And the materials started arriving. You don't really know what to do, so you help Joyce make lunch, keeping up with her small talk. Joyce is easy to be around, and you like to hear her stories about Will and Jonathan. You even manage to show a few smiles every now and then. After everyone is fed, you finally sit on the porch, trying to help as much as you can. The kids are genius, literally building remote control robots from random pieces and the instructions from books. It's amazing. Since you can't really be of much help in this aspect, you join Nancy, separating stuff or doing anything they tell you too.

When the sun is setting, some of them had to go home to gather their stuff. They'll crash here and take the robot construction through the night. By the moment you hear the faint noise of Billy's car, it's just Joyce's kids, Steve and Dustin. Leaving the small pieces of metal you were shaping into tiny little circles, you stand up abruptly.

“Where are you going? These circles aren't going to make themselves.” Dustin complains, raising his hands in the air.

“Billy is back.” There's no need for further explanation, so you tiptoe among the stuff, careful not to step on anything.

“It could be anyone.”

“Dustin, is there any other car in Hawkins that sounds like that?” As you speak, the noise gets louder and Billy's car comes to your sight.

“She knows her boyfriend's car.” Steve jokes as you walk to the yard, smiling when Billy stops the car and comes out.

“Miss me, princess?”

“Obviously.” It's a feeling of pure relief to see him. It feels like it's been so much longer than just some hours, but you feel that you'll have this insane need to be around him for a while. Just to enjoy the fact that you're still alive. You can't help but wonder for long the idea of death will hover over you... Probably forever.

“You ok?” He asks, his hand on your hair as you have your head on his chest.

“I will be.” Remembering the audience, you pull away, standing on your toes to kiss him. “Dustin had a terrible idea but I made him change his mind about it.”

“How did you do that?”

“I yelled.” With no intention of further explanation, you turn at the guys. “I'll be back tomorrow morning, alright? Have fun doing crazy science.” Waving at them, you get into the car.

You would like to stay at Joyce's, keep helping as much as you can, but you feel like you need silence and peace. The kid's laughter and jokes make you feel better, but you know that you also need to let the sadness creep over for a while. Keeping it hidden, disguised, makes no good. So as you dry and brush your hair, waiting for Billy to finish his shower, you cry.

For Monica, for Jason's younger siblings, his mother, his father, uncle, and aunt. For every friend he made since he was born. And for yourself too. Jason was one of the people that you imagined you'd be around for the rest of your life.

You're dragged away from your thoughts by the phone's ring. Rushing to answer it, you find it's Joyce, kindly asking if you can pick Mike up and drive him to her place, and of course, you comply.

“Billy.” You call when you hear him coming out of the bathroom. “Joyce needs us to pick up Mike. Nancy can't stop what she's doing there.”

“Sure. Let's go.”

Being out at night makes you anxious, but you try not to let it show. Eyes on the road, you bounce your leg nervously, tugging on the seat belt. Billy notices, and a hand comes to rest on your thigh.

“We'll be fine. Relax.”

“I'm trying.” Stretching your arm, you touch his neck. “I'm sorry if I can't stop thinking about Jason and what happened.”

“(Y/N), you just lost a friend. My responsibility as your boyfriend is to hold and love you through this process. Don't apologize.”

“I don't want this to be your responsibility, Billy.” When he turns his head to look at you, you run your fingers through his jaw.

He takes a deep breath, pulling over by Mike's house. You were about to get out, but since he doesn't move, neither do you. Billy looks like he's thinking, furrowed eyebrows and distant eyes. “Billy? Come back to Earth.” You decide to ask, taking off the belt and turning your body towards his.

“To have and to hold. For better or worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.” He squints his eyes through the words, trying to remember them. It takes a while for you to understand what he means, and when you do, your heart starts drumming in your ears. “To love and cherish till death do us part.”

“Billy...”

“It means I'll stand by your side. Not because I feel like it's my responsibility, but because I love you. And I'm more than happy to take the responsibility of being your–”

“Couldn't you save that up for, I don't know, someday when I'm dressed in white?” The words come out fast, and you're blushing hard, your cheeks burning. “No. You had to do this now. Drive me insane now in your Camaro.” You roll your eyes dramatically when his lips break into a smile, that smug, cocky smile he has when he knows he got to you somehow.

“Be my wife, (Y/N).”

“No.” It's an utter absurd how hard you have to fight not to say the exact opposite. You want to just burst out the word, here and now, because you're so damn sure you want Billy for the rest of your life. “No, baby. We'll graduate, save up money and you'll make a decent proposal.” You hope he can't notice your hands shaking as you step out of the car, almost stumbling on the sidewalk. His words burn through your mind, sending shivers down your spine. “I won't say I'll marry you in the middle of the sidewalk, in the middle of the night, in front of Mike's house.”

“Did I just make you nervous?” Billy's arms come to encircle your waist, his deep voice, and breath on your hair making you sigh.

“Shut up, Hargrove.” With the sweet sound of his laughter on your ear, you knock on the front door, trying to push him away before someone comes to answer. “Let go.”

“Are you using my cologne again?” As soon as he asks, you feel his nose softly rubbing your neck, what makes you giggle and try to push him away again, uselessly. “You are.”

It wasn't your intention to let him find out, but he always does. “Well, it was–”

The door is suddenly open, a yellowish light hitting your eyes as you try to stand up straighter. The woman standing there gives a step back as if she just saw a ghost. Her eyes fly from Billy and back at you, then all the way back to Billy. It hits you suddenly as you realize she's Mrs. Wheeler, the woman Billy was going to meet on the day the Mind Flayer almost got him. They haven't met or spoken since that day, and you weren't expecting her to look so... Perplexed. You try to read her expression, to understand what the look in her eyes means.

“Hello, Mrs. Wheeler.” You manage to say because Billy clearly won't even try to be polite. You feel his muscles tensing up, as he gets immediately uncomfortable under the woman's stare since she doesn't seem to even try to hide. “Sorry to disturb you. We're here for Mike.”

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