#billy's supernatural verse tag tba.

[godstrayed]

Billy didn’t really think this through. At least, not fully. He knew what he thought was right and what he felt was wrong. He was doing the right thing that much he was convinced of within the first few minutes of talking with Harrington. Billy just has that echoing thought in the back of his mind if he gets caught what this is going to mean for him. Thankfully, he has a history of deception and has some practice in it. 

He just has to stress reasons for Steve to be careful even if he fully cannot tell him. Uncertain if he could handle the secret and something feeling so terribly wrong about exposing his family to him even if they were in the wrong. It would be too difficult to explain they were all raised in this, convinced what they were doing was right, and not knowing the outside world / its capacity for some goodness.

None of them would ever see any good in Steve. Not like this. He’d be a dead man walking.

Billy’s face sobers some and he drops his little jokes and prodding ‘cause he truly is curious how this has happened to Steve. For starters, where were the werewolves that infected him? They were the threat his family would be focused on. The hellish creatures spawning from the cracks in the dimension that tied Hawkins to wherever the fuck else was out there. His fingers flip over the pendant on his neck in thought, listening in on everything the other male was saying.

He remembers that night ‘cause he had gotten his ass chewed out for not stopping Max. She would be the death of him - given responsibility over a kid sister who was far more stubborn than him and just as capable as being mean. But she knew what she wanted and she knew of what was out there. She had wanted to help her friends. Billy selfishly just didn’t want the backlash from Neil somehow always sprayed in the aftermath of everyone else’s decisions. He had been reckless and angry when he had found Steve. He had really let him have it in a way that wasn’t fair or right, misdirected at the unsuspecting male.

“The fact you didn’t fucking die ‘cause what the fuck, Harrington? Do you want to die or some shit? ‘Cause there are easier ways than getting mauled by a fucking werewolf, dipshit.” He is murmuring a second later ‘cause he is really telling him he went at it with a baseball bat against a werewolf. No, he had said werewolves. Plural. But it’s important that no one else knows. No one else Billy has to keep an eye on to keep their fucking mouth shut. “There is a whole lot of shit out there—I am sure you don’t need me to tell you that now—real awful shit, so you gotta keep this to yourself. Can’t tell your mommy, not your daddy, none of those dweeby snot-nosed ass kids.” He couldn’t afford this to get back to Max, truly. She’d butt her head into it and inevitably draw the wrong kind of attention.

“No one you wouldn’t expect to die with your secret. But fortunately for you, you got an ally in me.” He has his own secrets and no real reason to help Steve but it was enough the other didn’t deserve to deal with this alone. Didn’t deserve to be thrown to the wolves—quite literally. Certainly didn’t deserve to die because of something outside of his own control. “The thing is we can’t be seen too friendly in public.” It’s tricky. Billy has been given some freedoms but he was still very much under the watchful gaze of those around him, “It’s in your best interest to act like you hate me. But when it comes down to it, I’ll help you figure this out.” It’s what his mom would have done. It’s what she would have been proud of him for. A kindness she could discern for others but not necessarily for him. “There is a lot of stuff out there you don’t know - a lot of stuff I don’t fucking know but I think you’re odds are a little better if you don’t lone wolf it, Harrington. Plus you fight like shit. You honestly need me.”

ㅤUnfortunately, it wasn't just brainwashed, cult-like mentalities that could look at Steve Harrington with the knowledge that he was a werewolf and think that he was a threat. Steve fully expected Hopper and most of the people who had been there that night when they'd all deal with the wolves to react in much the same way. It wasn't just Billy's family out in the woods looking for wolves now that there had been another death. It wasn't Steve, but he knew Hopper was also looking for the monster. Dustin was probably the only one of the kids that would hesitate, for fuck's sake.

ㅤRegardless of Billy's reasoning for not telling, Steve was probably not really prepared to find out that there was a whole group of families that had caravan'd into town like some awful circus to kill him and any other monsters they found. He had no way of knowing about the strangeness of thinking of himself as a monster when Billy Hargrove was so absolutely certain that he wasn't, so this conversation was already hitting a weird tone; he kept waiting for the other shoe to drop and for Hargrove to turn it around on him and make threats, or just act on the violence they both knew he was capable of.

ㅤInstead, Billy looked kind of upset, and Steve's eyes narrowed in curiosity and very clear attention when he heard 'there are many ways you can get hurt' because that was not the focus he was expecting. He was prepared to be mistrusted, to be told he had to be careful that he didn't hurt anyone, to be threatened that if he slipped up, he was going to die. Why did Billy sound more concerned for him than about him. The 'advice' about going anywhere he was alone or could be cornered made him tense a bit, all too aware that he was very much alone with Billy right then, but that wasn't what it sounded like. This sounded a lot like Billy Hargrove actually thought there was someone out there that was going to try to hurt him during the day, as a person.

ㅤThat made him sit up straighter, focus drawn in. His eyes really narrowed when Hargrove got his digs in - silver lining, time of the month - but other than the irritation fed by absolutely legitimate fear, he let it slide for the moment. Billy was offering to help, even if he was being a little bit of a dick about it. Less than usual, but Steve was pretty sure it was a chunk of his personality even when he wasn't trying. He was coming back around to that advice, but he released a harsh, long sigh at the questions because that was probably a better place to start.

ㅤ"So you remember the night we fought," he started, because there was no question there, but he sounded tired instead of accusatory. "After they scraped me off the Byers' floor, it was to go protect a bunch of kids and fight werewolves with a baseball bat."

ㅤHe left that image to sit in the air for a moment, because Billy knew the damage he'd done and if he knew as much about all this as he claimed, he probably knew how bad of an idea a baseball bat is against werewolves. It was the nailbat, but it wasn't silver. "Fortunately, I was already fucked up enough that nobody even noticed I got clipped, so no, nobody else knows. It was just a little thing and then I got checked out for a concussion and two days later there was a full moon."

[godstrayed]

Navigating this was going to be tricky for him. Had his family found out there would ultimately be consequences. Billy wasn't sure how bad they’d be since it was unprecedented that anyone interacted with outsiders much less someone deemed as the enemy. It was a frustrating situation because it proved how foolish cult-like communities could be. Who would ever see someone like Steve Harrington as a threat besides a brainwashed idiot? 

He is thankful he has gotten some since he removes his shoes kicking them off to the side as requested before he sits on the sofa. He makes himself comfortable despite being a little uncomfortable just ‘cause he knows this has to be against at least half the rules he had grown up falling obediently until that point. And for what? A new werewolf who Billy didn’t want to see blasted by his family?

Billy is curious about how Steve got to this point. Surely he hadn’t been born into it. Not with this kind of reaction. And obviously not with any more werewolf friends lurking around. A lone wolf, packless dog. How sad ‘cause even if Billy’s family was full of bigoted assholes he had at least had someone. A lot of wrong someones…. But who did Steve have?

He doesn’t want to tell Steve the truth because 1) Steve might think poorly of him since he was a part of it 2) didn’t really want to put any of his family at risk no matter how wrong they were and 3) it was conditioned in him to not. Despite knowing it was wrong, so terribly wrong in the case of Steve, there was just something about being raised to believe something. He didn’t have to accept it as his truth but it had been true at some point. Plus, it was kinda a lot. Not something he could just thrust on someone who was already trying to find their footing in this world.

“It’s complicated in how I fucking know.” Billy admits, running a hand through his hair, a sign of stress. My family kills creatures like you and they’re in this town for that sole reason, ha. It would be too much, right? “Just know there are many ways you can get hurt and people tend to not take too kindly to things they don’t fully understand.” Steve probably already knows this but how else can Billy warn him without fully saying it? “You really shouldn’t go to any place where you are alone or can be cornered.” He adds for good measure. “But I have a silver lining. I don’t fully know everything but I know enough and I can give you a hand in keeping his secret. You know when it’s your time of the month. Alibi, friend, ally, someone to keep a spare change of clothes.” 

He leans forward, shaking his hair out, and clasping his hands together. “When did this happen? And how? And does anyone else know?”

ㅤWhen stepping out of the way to let Billy Hargrove into his parents' home, Steve honestly wasn't sure what to expect. It was going to be some weird shit, obviously, because they'd both already established that Hargrove knew what he was - the slowly healing burn on the back of his hand that he'd been blaming on the oven made that clear. He didn't know why Hargrove just harassed him and never actually did anything about it beyond that, or why he was there that night offering to 'start over', but there was a very real concern that the bastard was going to kill him in his own home.

ㅤWhat a fucking story that would make - local teen murdered while home alone, parents unreachable for two weeks.

ㅤHe snorted at Hargrove saying he had it made from where he was lingering back a bit, giving the guy space, but deadpanned, "Yeah, sure. Shoes off before you hit that carpet," because his mother cared more about that carpet than his grades. That grin on Hargrove's face made his head tilt just the slightest, cautiously curious; this very well might be the night that the guy who beat him unconscious even before he'd gone to fight werewolves (and therefore the guy that could probably shoulder at least a little of the blame for his current state) finished the job he started, and he absolutely knew Billy could laugh like a maniac before going absolutely feral, but he didn't seem like he was going that direction.

ㅤIt wasn't surprising at all that the guy sprawled onto the couch the way he did, but Steve didn't give a shit. The couch was the most well-loved thing in the house after Steve's own bed, and decently comfortable. Steve dropped onto the loveseat instead, maintaining that bit of space. He'd let him in and said okay to the 'starting over', but trust was slower, and Billy Hargrove had a lot to say.

ㅤThose first words - don't wolf out on me, alright? made him roll his eyes, releasing a long sigh as he laid back against the cushion, but anything he might have said was held in favor of hearing the guy out. Billy knew what he was, yes, that was clear. Steve was a novice and didn't know what the fuck he was doing, thanks for noticing! Dangerous, yes, he knew werewolves were dangerous, and yes, he knew that if someone who believed in them found out, he was probably dead.

ㅤHe actually laughed a little when Billy stressed that he was being real as fuck, but it was a sad, helpless little thing because what the fuck had his life become that this was a conversation he was having?

ㅤ"Dude, what do you think I'm trying to do? I'm not out here like, advertising this shit. I have no fucking idea what I'm doing!" Not that Billy needed the confirmation. He groaned a little, rubbing at his face. "Listen, it's not like I have anyone teaching me this shit. We killed the bad ones and I definitely wouldn't have wanted to ask them shit, anyway."

ㅤHe'd thought that over a few times, what if they hadn't killed them all. Would it be easier if he had literally anyone he could trust and ask questions, but he knew it wasn't worth it. He didn't want to learn how to be a monster, so as messy and difficult as it was, he was trying to work it out for himself. "How do you even know all this? I thought the only people in town who knew about it were there that night, and I sure as hell can't tell them."

ㅤThat was a little bitter, because at least they would have known what was going on, possibly had suggestions and made plans - if they weren't all set in the belief that it made him a monster, so they had to put him out of his misery. He could imagine Hopper's hand cannon, silver bullets loaded. It was really only a matter of time, he figured.

[godstrayed]

To be fair, his occultist clan had moved to Hawkins for a particular reason which was tied to the supernatural events happening. It was a tip and a rumor that had moved the small group of them into the shit town that looked like a picturesque scene from a Texas chainsaw massacre. It took a whole lot of convincing to allow Billy to even be put in the public school since the cult didn’t really allow for that. The sect firmly believed in homeschooling and Neil was the head, determiner of what was to be followed.

However, Susan, his step-mom, was newer and Max had only ever gone to public school. And frankly, Susan wasn’t fit to be a teacher to both Billy and Max. At least, not how Billy’s mom had been. If Max was going to public school then Billy was too to keep an eye on her and to also scope out the townspeople. 

Billy for as long as he could remember was raised in this. The only difference was he had his mom’s influence on him before she decided to leave - leaving Billy behind in the shitshow of zealotry. She had been kinder from what he remembered, not fully subscribing to all the ideas Neil taught, and tried to instill some kindness into Billy. 

All young men should be able to fight, know how to kill these unnatural things; be able to protect their communities. It was always an us vs them scenario. A reminder it was Neil and his people over the outside world. Kill or be killed.

Billy had seen them. The monsters that lurk on the edges of society trying so desperately to fit in. Some appeared quite human. But it didn’t matter ‘cause as soon as they were sniffed out by someone from the cult… well, they ended up dead. From a house fire, from being shot, or just plain disappeared. They’d be lucky to find a body in a lot of the scenarios. 

And even if he didn’t fully believe all of it there was no way he could speak a word of it to anyone on the outside. Who would believe him? And even if they did, he’d be forsaken by the only people he had ever been around his entire life. If not killed himself for betraying them…

Figuring out Steve was fairly easy ‘cause Steve already had a massive target on his chest when Billy showed up. The King of Hawkins. Doesn’t help that they run in the same circles and Billy is vying for his throne. 

He had his suspicions but he had to make sure ‘cause despite everything, Steve doesn’t seem like a cold-hearted killer. Doesn’t seem like the type of monster from the storybooks that needed killing or that killed humans. He had to make sure so if it was true he could do something. Looking at Steve was like looking at a fucking puppy. Billy was far from a bigot. He knew some of what his clan did was fucking insane and some was necessary to save innocent lives from monsters who did have bloodlust.

It was just hard to imagine Steve Harrington as that kind of monster.

But something was killing people in Hawkins. Something was out there in the woods. And his clan was out in those woods. They’d kill Steve without batting a fucking lash.

But he doesn’t trust Steve to not try to bite his head off after everything so he’s not taking off his goddamn necklace. It would be insurance if he was wrong but he doubted he was. After all, Steve knows he knows. He hadn’t come looking for Billy and had done his best to avoid him. Steve didn’t want problems. Steve didn’t seem bad at all.

So, he can only say he doesn’t want to see someone like Steve not be aware of what’s waiting out there for him. 

Stepping inside the nice home he finds himself peering around curiously. Makes sense. Already knew Steve was well off and the house looked pretty from the outside. Much better than the rundown home he has.

Thing about the cult was they all lived in the same neighborhood of shitty houses to stay close with one another since they didn’t mingle with the townsfolk, all dirt cheap ‘cause most of the people had shit jobs. They didn’t mingle, rarely went to college, and stuck to things that could keep them unaffected by the outside world. And it meant, any outsider was spotted immediately and stuck out like a sore fucking thumb. Trust and believe any unknown vehicle was reported on the hotline of phone calls that would have one member warn another and so on til everyone knew an outsider was amongst them.

“You got it made, huh?” He asks with a tilt of his head back in Harrington’s direction with a crooked grin. Was he worried Billy was here to hurt him? Didn’t Steve know if he wanted to, he would have already done it? He surely knew how. But the thought had never crossed his mind after burning him with his pendant. A real shithead move but a forsure way of figuring it out. He steps further into the home and walks right into the living room and drops to a sofa making himself comfortable.

“Don’t wolf out on me, alright?” He says after a moment, “I am here ‘cause I know what you are. And I know you sure as shit are a green novice werewolf. Doubt you know what the fuck you’re doing and that poses all kinds of danger. For you, mostly. But for others too. Listen, I am being real as fuck. You gotta hide it better.”

He didn’t want to sell out his family. Or himself. But he was at a crossroads here and wasn’t sure how honest he was going to be yet. He just knew he wanted to keep Steve from being fucking murdered when he had no intention of harming anyone.

@godstrayed just can't help being an asshole...

ㅤㅤㅤㅤwhy don’t you invite me in for a few minutes so we can start over?

ㅤBilly Hargrove was a jackass.

ㅤThis was essentially an undisputed fact within the first week he'd been in Hawkins, and then a month later, it was just accepted by everyone in his orbit or forced to deal with him on a regular basis, Steve included. He had enough shit on his plate, considering like two days after their fight and then facing down a pack of werewolves with the Chief of Police, a psychic powerhouse of a little girl and a pile of kids, he'd realized the very awful truth: he'd been infected. Three days surrounding the full moon found him utterly wrecked with nobody to turn to for help with it, so he did the only thing he thought he could do.

ㅤHe pushed through and pretended everything was fine.

ㅤHis face healed up too quickly, but since he'd taken off basically the whole week between his actual injuries and the panic of that first full moon, it was hard for anyone to tell - except maybe Billy Hargrove himself, who knew what the damage had looked like. Steve had come back to school like nothing had happened, put on the act like he actually gave a shit about the social hierarchy that he'd been loosening his grip on before Nancy dumped him, and buckled down. Everything was fine, it would all be normal and nobody would ever have to suspect.

ㅤThe month passed with his façade firmly in place and he could almost forget that it was real until the week before the next moon, when he was restless and anxious, quick to temper and if that meant he leaned into Billy's competitiveness, what the hell was wrong with that? A lot, actually, because he didn't know how hard Hargrove had been watching him, or why. He also had no way of knowing how the longer nights of winter were probably the absolute worst to start this bullshit on and a hell of a lot of other shit that was honestly pretty vital to his survival, but he was learning quickly. Too bad it was messy.

ㅤIt was messy and he didn't know how, but he was pretty sure that Billy Hargrove knew he was one of the monsters now. The guy had seemed curious, a little amused, when he'd gotten back, but then came the week before the moon and he'd doubled down on his antagonism as Steve snapped back, and Steve was pretty sure it was the three days of the moon that really convinced him. Steve didn't stay home those days because he couldn't risk the school calling his dad, so he ended up in class on essentially no sleep outside of the naps he could score in short bursts - he spent all night running through the woods, chasing rabbits and bounding through the fresh snow that had fallen and frankly? It was nice in the moment. Everything else surrounding it sucked, but he didn't feel like a monster. He was just tired those days, and Hargrove was up his ass, which he just didn't have energy for. The week after, he was in too good of a mood and feeling too relaxed and easy to really take it too personally, though he was pretty sure the bastard was being a dick on purpose.

ㅤThen came the silver, and that was just that. He hid the sudden shock of bright hot pain quickly so that other people wouldn't notice, but Billy had the saint's medallion and he'd been watching. It had been intentional, which meant that they both knew that he was a monster, and they both knew each other knew. The jackassery only increased from there, and frankly? Steve had seen what werewolves were like, had fought for his life against them, so he got it. He didn't know how Billy Hargrove knew about them, but he assumed it wasn't good, so he tried to just give him space. He wasn't relinquishing his hold on the social scene or his act because it was protecting him, but he also wasn't interested in anything to do with Hargrove. That was just dangerous.

ㅤIt made his sudden appearance on the Harrington doorstep even more surprising, and Steve wasn't even sure why he'd opened the door, but he stood there for a moment, staring at him and trying to decide if this was going to end with one or both of them bleeding or dying. His eyes flicked down to the very visible silver medallion hanging against the other's chest with a little internal cringe, but he made eye contact again right after. If he didn't go for this, shit would keep going as it had been, and nothing about it was good, so 'starting over' sounded like a good plan. Could he trust Billy?

ㅤNo, obviously not, nothing suggested he could trust him, but he licked his lips a little nervously, fingers twisting on the doorknob before he released a long breath, nodding and glancing away to move out of the way of the other entering. "Yeah, yeah, okay, let's start over then. Come in."