#by the time all the upside down stuff happens billy's gotten to the point where he'd step in front of his dad's fists for max if he had to

[reineyday]

imagining a billy & max role reversal au where billy is max's feral little brother who only loves one (1) person and it is his older sister who stepped in when no one else would

[shroomvie]

Stranger things fic idea:

Honestly I just wanna read something like this -

In season 2, down in the tunnels, Mike got sprayed in the face by one of those weird looking plant things, a few months later he runs into the bully guy, Troy, in town. Troy takes him into some kind of alley and beats him up a bit and Mike doesn't do anything, you wanna know why? He doesn't feel it, he registers the force of the hit and can tell that there's alot of force put into the punches but he doesn't feel it.

Once he gets home he checks himself over, his body doesn't ache at all, there's no bruising or bleeding or anything, he seems completely fine. So he goes downstairs into the kitchen and tests it, he slices his own hand. Blood wells up almost immediately but he watches in awe as the wound closes right in front of him immediately, he's practically indestructible. Mike's first instinct is to keep it to himself, he never let's himself get injured badly directly in front of others and since he doesn't feel the pain of getting beat up he tends to stick up for the smaller kids at school by confronting bullies after class and bad mouthing them while no one's around.

Slowly but surely he gains himself a reputation, but of course since he's keeping his indestructibility to himself he tells his friends none of this and they're all confused as to how everyone suddenly knows him and where all the rumors came from. Eventually time flies and we're at season 3, like Will he has some kind of sixth sense for the upside down, that's why whenever Will feels something Mike immediately knows. (I'm ignoring all the relationship shit rn cause idc about ships)

Things progress and at some point Mike sees Billy, the moment he sees him he knows something was wrong but brushed it off as him being paranoid cause of all the shit that happened in Season 2. When it comes to that scene at the pool where they confront Billy, they both stop and stare at eachother, the others watching on confused as Billy begins to yell about Mike being a traitor and how they were one in the same, ofc everyone doesn't really trust Mike after that since he doesn't talk after that and focuses on getting Billy into the sauna.

This is as far as I've gotten, basically indestructible!Mike, kinda an au of Mike getting powers from the upside down. That's the basic summary but if you wanna write this stuff then just tell me amd tag me then it's all yours.

[everlywindex]

YOU'RE A GENIUS THANK YOU SO MUCH.

time to drop some more thoughts in response. this might be the most i've written for the au so uhh yeah get ready!

(INHALES)

i was wondering how i'd go about the diane thing and you have such good ideas here i love it

one thing i'm really thinking on in regards to that is how the season two "hiding el in the woods" thing would go with vance involved. i don't think hop would let him in on the secret since he's already trying to hide el from the government and the last thing he would want is for said government to have a reason to target his son as well

how he would keep it secret from vance i'm not 100% sure on. maybe he tells him that work's gotten a lot busier lately and that he won't be home as often and it works for a couple weeks since vance spends a lot more time out with friends or at the arcade (by the way vance is like full-on a gamer ahead of his time he would THRIVE in arcades once they get popular)

but then the weeks of this turns to months and vance is like. Hm.

i think vance would definitely have some underlying Issues thanks to his strained relationship with hop so when he Finds Out about this he would be. Extremely distressed! i imagine him losing his cool entirely and accusing his dad of not trusting him when hop just wanted to keep him safe. and the fact that vance is totally getting the idea that hop is trying to replace sarah with el Doesn't Help At All!!!!

so this leads to hopper having fallen out horrendously with like both of these kids in the span of like a week. Ouch

in terms of which of the basement boys know about the upside down chaos i'm still thinking on it. i don't want them to all discover it at once because i want them to still have individuality in this story instead of like.. only functioning as a unit

so my thinking (very much open to change btw) is that finney will be right with the party throughout season one's events, gradually realizing that not only does el remind him a lot of gwen but that he's also finding himself capable of some vague psychic shit as well

meanwhile gwen teams up with erica (they're best friends and i want to give erica a bigger role this time around. For funsies) in order to investigate her own dreams that could explain what happened to their brothers' friend

at some point nancy and jonathan's own investigating leads them to gwen and erica and they realize that these kids also know stuff about what's going down so they start trying to convince the girls that this is way too dangerous and it goes about as well as one would expect lol

meanwhile robin a. and donna, who aren't part of the party but are friends with finney, are worried about him after will's disappearance and are trying to check up on him but he isn't being honest with them because he doesn't want them to get hurt. But they end up finding out anyway and they insist on helping him whether he likes it or not

in season one, bruce, billy s., and griffin aren't going to be directly involved. that'll change in season two when they end up as the new kids to all this tomfoolery alongside max

vance is kind of in a weird inbetween where his dad doesn't tell him Anything even though something's clearly up. hop spends the entirety of season one trying to make sure vance doesn't learn too much and therefore doesn't get put in danger

so vance is technically in the same boat as bruce, billy s., and griffin but unlike them who are pretty sure something's up but not 100% on it, vance is like absolutely certain something's weird especially once season one ends and in the course of like, a day, robin and donna have gone from being certain alongside him that something is wrong to, when everyone is sworn to secrecy, vehemently denying it when vance asks and pretending like everything's fine

so yeah vance is in like. Peak angst and anger at everyone around him in season two Except for bruce, billy s. and griffin who didn't witness all of this for themselves and therefore aren't denying anything. the only ones who vance is sure aren't lying to him, willing to hear him out and support him in his suspicions

a few more things i'm wondering about

1) maybe erica initially helps gwen but at one point gets separated and doesn't see most of the crazy stuff actually go down. so gwen is told to keep it secret from her which she initially agrees to do but then at one point gwen's like Fuck It and tells erica everything in secret during season two

2) i wonder if finney and el would ever team up for season two. not for like el's Entire journey, probably, but finney basically runs into el at one point and they have a "my dad is keeping me from figuring out the truth about my mom, my powers, and myself" solidarity moment and they decide to help each other figure it out somehow

3) i want donna and either billy s. or griffin to be siblings. could work with either of them but yeah it'd be cool. make everything even more interconnected y'know. i'd also be down to make her related to a stranger things character if it works so if anyone has ideas on that lmk

(PASSES OUT FROM NOT HAVING BREATHED A SINGLE TIME DURING THAT ENTIRE RAMBLE)

stranger things and the black phone fans need to come up with crossovers more often. there is so much fun potential with the respective main kid squads why are we not tapping into that. there’s so much to do here.

the tbp kids grow up in hawkins? yes.

jim hopper is vance’s dad or otherwise relative now? totally.

gwen and erica ultimate bestie duo realness? you fucking bet.

the blake siblings retain some of their vague psychic abilities that allows for finn to speak with the dead to some extent and for gwen to have cryptic foreshadowing dreams that can help everyone get more information on the mysterious events at play? hell yeah, absolutely.

shenanigans between robin a. and robin b. as they are my two favorite characters therefore it is necessary? without a doubt.

the addition of five more kids into the main group leading to what could almost be an entire classroom’s worth of teenagers going to fight vecna? hilarious. we need this

everyone feel free to suggest more ideas for this concept it’d be so silly

[please-buckme]

A Broken Heart.

Lee Bodecker x fem!reader

Chapter 2

Chapter warnings: 18+ mentions of death, mentions of sex, cursing, Lee being an ass, angst, meninist behaviors

Chapter summary: You move back home after three years to find your heart still in shambles.

Masterlist

Series Masterlist

Chapter 1 // Chapter 3

3 Years Later

After moving a whole county away, Highland Ohio to be exact, you stayed for quite some time. Your aunt was amazing and the sweetest woman you’d ever known, and living with her was a breeze. She’d even gotten you a job at the auto shop her recently deceased husband left to her, which you loved. Life was good, for a while. You never had a reason to come home until your momma got sick.

For the past year you watched as your momma slowly faded away until the last week of April when she finally passed in her sleep. You were devastated, of course, but not only because of her death. She didn’t have much to her name besides a couple thousand in the bank and the house you’d left so long ago, which she left all to you.

The house was old. White paneling a faint tint of brown, grey shutters that were almost all off their hinges and rust anywhere you looked. It was a fixer upper and there’s no way you could sell it in its current condition. So, you decided to move back to Knockemstiff, just for the time being.

In all honesty, you’d grown to hate that town. Nothing but bad memories and any good memories you’d had were tarnished completely. So, once the house was decent enough to sell, you were out of there and back to the life you’d created in Highland.

Your aunt and you drove together in her pick up truck back to the house after your momma passed. She helped you unload your stuff and take things to the necessary rooms.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay? I can make my famous pancakes. I know you love’em.” She grinned.

“As tempting as that sounds, I’m fine. Please, I insist you go now before it gets dark.” You pull your aunt into a hug, a tight hug.

“I’m gonna miss havin’ you around, kiddo.” She sighed, her breath fanning over your neck.

“It’s only for a few months. I’ll be back to annoying you in no time, oldie.”

“Hey, I’m not old.” She laughed and pointed her finger at you sternly but still in a lighthearted way.

“And I’m not a kid.”

She laughed a little more then sighed, “Well, I guess I’ll head out. Call me if you need anything and don’t forget to go down to Billy’s tomorrow. He’s excited to bring you in.”

You smiled, “How could I forget? I need some sort of income to fix this craphole up.”

You walked your aunt to her car and waved her goodbye as she drove way. Your eyes welled up but you made sure not to cry in front of her or she’d never leave.

Once you went back in, you immediately got to work. Starting in the kitchen, you didn’t have much but a few coffee cups. The house was still occupied with your momma’s things and you were already dreading having to go through it all.

Things started to come together room by room as you worked most of the day away. You cleaned and rearranged things to your liking now that it was your house. It felt almost empowering to do what you want. You’d never lived alone so, in a way, this was an adventure as well.

You took your old room instead of the master, since that’s where your momma passed. It gave you goosebumps just thinking about and you knew you’d never get any sleep if you stayed in there. Your room wasn’t big but it was good enough for now and much better than sleeping in your momma’s death bed, hard pass.

You’d taken a seat on the couch with some tea you’d brewed up earlier that morning. This was the first time you sat down since arriving, and of course there’s a knock at the door.

“Whatever you’re selling, I promise you, I ain’t interested.” You shout, too exhausted to even attempt getting up.

The knocking continued, “Oh, for fucks sake.” You groaned under your breath and stood on your aching feet to tell them to fuck off in person. You opened the door, “did you not hear me the first time. I said-“

“Hi, Y/n” Lee greeted as he removed his hat.

You scoffed, “Can I help you with somethin’, Sheriff?”

Lee stood there, fiddling with the bill of his hat. His belly had gotten a little bigger and his cheeks had gotten a little chubbier, but you couldn’t help the hitch in your throat when his wedding ring caught your eye. Just a basic silver band, nothing special. But it still left a hollow pit in your stomach.

“I-“ he cleared his suddenly dry throat. “I heard you was back in town. Thought I’d come see for ma self if the rumors were true.”

“Welp, here I am. You can go now.”

“Y/n, I-“

“No, Lee, please. I’ve had a long day and I honestly don’t feel like talking to you right now. No, I take that back. I don’t feel like talking to you at all.”

“That’s a bit harsh, don’t you think, doll.” He grins.

“Goodbye, Sheriff.” You shut the door only to hear him holler at you from the other side.

“Still can’t say my name, huh, Doll? Boy, I really did a number on you, didn’t I?” Your heart sank at his words. It seemed your pain was a joke to him this whole time. You’d always pictured him crying alone like you were but clearly that was never the case. Y’all’s relationship didn’t seem one sided until you were the only one hurt by the fall out.

“Welcome home, Y/n.” He said before you heard his boots click against the porch as he left.

You took a deep breath as you backed away from the door. Tears rimmed your eyes and you scoffed aloud to yourself. After three years you still weren’t over him and you knew that. You didn’t know, however, that he’d still have such a hold on you. And by the way he reacted to how sensitive you were towards the situation still didn’t help the ever growing void that ran through your entire loveless body. The only man you ever loved looked at you as if you were a quick fuck and a punchline.

A tear burned against your cheek and you were quick to wipe it away. You swore to yourself that you’d never cry over that man again and you won’t, instead you decided it was time for a much needed bath.

The bath was scolding hot, just how you liked it, and you opened up a bottle of wine as a sort of reward for the work you’d done today. Once the water got cold and the wine ran out, you brushed your hand and teeth and went to bed.

//

The sun beamed down against your skin as you walked to the local auto shop where your aunt had set you up with another job. You were always good with numbers and they desperately needed someone on the books. Your job would be to look at their spending over the last few months and figure out some sort of budget. You did that for your aunt at her shop, so this didn’t worry you at all.

“Hi, you must be Billy.” You greet the owner, “I’m

y/n, Peggy’s niece.”

“Oh, yes. I’m glad you finally made it down.” He beamed, shaking your hand, “How long will you be here for?”

“I’m not sure, actually. Just until I get my house fixed up enough to sell.” You say, retracting your hand from his sweaty one.

“Ah, well as luck would have it, our secretary just quit on us last week, so there’s a position you’ll adjust to right fine.”

You scoffed, “Wait a minute. Did you say secretary?”

“Yeah. You need to get your hearing checked, Honey?” He grinned. What is it with the men in this town?!

“No, I heard you just fine. My problem is that I was supposed to be your Budget Holder, not a damn secretary.” Your face was turning a touch of pink as you became increasingly annoyed.

“That’s a man's job, sweetie. We don’t you blown a fuse tryin’ ta add up all them numbers, now do we?”

“You can’t be serious.” You say flatly.

“Look, it’s the only position we got. Take it or leave it.”

Everything in you wanted to March out of that shop and never go back again. A secretary's position is nothing to frown upon, but to only be offered it because you’re a woman was despicable. Sadly, you needed this job and it would only be for a few months. So, when you told him you’d take the job you swallowed every ounce of respect you had for yourself. Knockemstiff was truly the worst town in America.

“Sounds great. We’ll see you tomorrow for training. There’s no dress code but there are a few things you’ll need to know before starting. I’ll fill you in once we start your training tomorrow.” He shook your hand again, completely ignoring the furious grimace on your face.

“Great. See you tomorrow.” You mumbled, walking away so you didn’t ‘accidentally’ hit your new boss.

//

Before heading home you decided to stop and grab some things for the house. Being sick, your momma didn’t eat much besides soup, and there was an over abundance of vanilla flavored Ovaltine cans littering the kitchen counters, which you hated.

The second the doors opened, all eyes were on you. You even heard a faint gasp coming from the woman at the register. A smirk crept upon your face. These people's lives were so boring that they still aren’t over your breakup that happened so long ago. Rolling your eyes, you grabbed a cart and headed down the produce aisle.

Once you grabbed the vegetables you’d need for a stew, you headed towards the baking aisle. You need the ingredients for an upside down pineapple cake your momma used to make for you as a kid. Your aunt was coming into town on Saturday to lend a hand and celebrate her birthday. You told her to go have fun, but she insisted on spending her special day with you.

As you searched for the baking soda, you heard your name.

“Did you see Y/n’s back in town?” A lady with a high pitched voice whispered.

“I did. I just saw her. Poor thing. She’s probably still caught up on the sheriff. Prolly wish it was her that was on his arm instead of Laura-Jean.”

You rolled your eyes.

“I know it. Wouldn’t you, though? He’s so handsome.” The lady with the high patched voice giggled.

“Oh, hush! Don’t say things like that.” The other lady joined the high pitched one in whispered giggles. “Oh my goodness, here he comes.” She cleared her throat, “Afternoon, Sheriff.”

“Evenin’,Ladies. Y’all behavin’ yourselves?” You could hear the smirk in his voice.

They both giggled and in unison said, “Yes, Sheriff.”

“Oh give me a break.” You grimaced to yourself.

“Heard Y/n’s back in town.” The high pitched one spoke up. Your face burned. Why would they bring you up to him so bluntly like that? Everyone in this town was so unbelievably nosy.

“I- I heard. Actually just went to see her yesterday.” He said, clearing his throat.

“Uh-oh, the misses didn’t like that, I’m sure.” They giggled.

“Oh, no. She didn’t mind. I was just droppin’ by to give her my condolences about her momma dyin’. Then, she slammed the door in my face. I guess she’s still pretty upset with me.” He was pouting, trying to get some sort of sympathy. If you rolled your eyes any harder you thought they’d pop out of your head.

“Oh, you poor thing. Is there anything we can-“

Suddenly the baking soda slipped from your hand and scattered all other the floor in a puff of dust. “Shit, shit, shit.” You whispered to yourself.

“What was that?” One of the ladies asked.

“Excuse me, ladies.” Lee said. You could hear his boots clacking against the floor on there way over to you.

Shit.

You desperately wanted to run away but leaving this mess for someone to clean up wasn’t right, not even with the predicament you found yourself in. “Well, well, well,” Lee mocked as he rounded the corner. “Only here for less than a day and you’re already causin’ trouble.”

“Stay out of this, Bodecker.” You huff, trying to scoop the baking soda back into the card box it spilled from.

“Was you eavesdroppin’, girl?” He asked, kicking the soul of your shoe.

You scoffed, “Oh, please. I could give two shits what you say about me, Bodecker.”

He leaned in close, hovering over your left side. You heard him chuckle which startled you. He was so close. You could feel the familiar heat radiating from his body and smell that familiar cologne. His lips came down close to your ear. He licked them and then whispered, “If ya weren’t eavesdroppin’, how’d ya know I was talkin’ bout you, hm?”

Your eyes shuttered closed as he spoke, feeling his hot breath against your cheek. His deep southern drawl always made you weak. It took you back to those times in the back of the cruiser. He whispered such dirty praises in your ear when you would ride his cock. Those dirty words that could make you cum in seconds.

“You still with me, doll?” You felt him tuck a strand of your hair behind your ear.

You flitched and stood up, “I- don’t touch me and stop calling me doll, alright? I really don’t have time for your games today, sheriff, and I’m not even really sure what you’re playin’ at in the first place.”

He smirked, running a thumb across his lip, “Darlin, I think the only thing I ever played was you..”

“I-“ your breath hitched in the back of your throat, “I have to go.” You turned to walk away, leaving the mess you’d made and your cart behind. Your eyes welled up with tears again. You didn’t know the man that stood in front of you. Lee was nothing but good to you when you dated and now he’s the most hateful man you’d ever met. The man you loved had disappeared and there’s nothing you could do to bring him back, no matter how bad you wanted to. A tear stained your cheek as you sped through the aisle. You could hear Lee hollering for you to stop but you wouldn’t this time.

All the heartbreak and sorrow that you’d left behind was creeping its way back in. The sooner you sold the house and got the hell out of there, the better.

Dividers by: @firefly-in-darkness

Taglist: @haydens-moles , @c00lkidvibes , @tcc-gizmachine , @buckysm3talarm , @gogolucky13 , @cryptidcasanova , @heavenlyseb , @writersbuck , @teddy-bearbaby , @bbmommy0902 , @sweetllamaparadise , @thereblogcrusader , @aleemendoza2425-blog , @frostbytebaby , @jessyballet , @emotionallyandphysicallydone , @sarge-barnes-sir , @generalbagelcookieslime , @lady-loki-ren , @dime-piece-xo , @greeneyedblondie44

(Dm me to be added to taglist)

[tillxthexearthxstartsxtoxcrumble]

So I have a theory for Stranger Things but I don't wanna even possibly spoil anything for someone so if you haven't watched the new season don't read on from here.

I think Nancy is gonna die.

I have many reasons, and before any of you get mad at me for saying that; I love Nancy, it is not a comment on her character or me wanting her to die. I think it's where the show is headed.

Reasons:

Biggest one is because Nancy is caught in the trance by the end of the season.

Why take her of all of them? He doesn't know much about her, all of them pretty much have easy things to target in some way or another.

They've gotta up the stakes this season, more than they have been doing. Someone has to die. They hinted at Max but since she didn't die during that encounter, I think for the most part Max will be safe. Why have her escape if they're just gonna kill her again? But Nancy they didn't set up before. Nancy was chosen and is hearing the backstory. She helps them solve things a lot, she is connected to so many characters. They've killed some people before but not really any truly main characters. The biggest one we lost was Billy (and Bob). They fake killed Hopper, but brought him back very quickly.

The cops are making it very clear they are searching for Nancy and are worried about her. She kinda seems to be their biggest concern at that time. Since everyone in town is looking for someone to blame, it would be awfully inconvenient for Eddie to be right where another victim has been found.

She has had a lot of her relationships being developed this season

Such as: Steve, Robin, Jonathan, and pretty much any other character. She's gotten a deeper connection with them.

First with Steve: They're pretty much saying Steve and Nancy will get back together.. but what if that doesn't happen? What if, after they started liking each other again, she dies when she's right next to only him in the upside down? Considering most of the time in the series he's trying to protect Nancy and him being into her has been a key part of most of this, it would hurt Steve a lot. They've had a couple times where they point out how willing to go head on into danger to save each other Steve and Nancy are. Her jumping into the lake without a second thought, him not wanting Nancy to go alone (or even with Robin.), every time he goes to protect her first. It would make it an extra gut punch if he was the only one actually there and able to interact with Nancy but he couldn't save her, no matter how much they tried to this season.

Next up with Robin: They pretty much didn't interact last season at all, but this season they're already getting really close. Robin goes with Nancy and they discover clues together, she and Nancy split up together to search, they agree that they've become friends, they obviously have grown to like one another. Robin doesn't have many close friends, and she seems to be getting attached to Nancy really quickly, and it would be another person hurt to lose her.

Mike: They've spent the entire show so far growing closer. You can tell they care about each other and dont seem to really hate each other nearly as much as most siblings anymore. Mike has a need to be there and help as many people as possible, and if something goes wrong he blows up. Whether it's to himself or someone else, there is a lot of blame and he will blame someone. Especially if he wasn't there to know what happened.

Finally, Jonathan: Jonathan would take it really hard. There would be a lot of intermalization and he would probably pull away from everyone. He'd most likely feel guilty for pulling away from her and not going over to go to college with her. They finally got together, and then they were pulled apart again; this time they won't get together again, though. It'd be the final ending for them, after all their on-and-off relationship stuff, he wouldn't have Nancy anymore. He wasn't there to save her, he couldn't help, and he lost one of the most important people to him.

Those are pretty much most if not all of my reasons so far, I really hope I'm wrong, but a lot of things are pointing me to that theory so..yeah.

[hargrove-mayfields]

this was requested by @deardmvz ! based off of this lovely post!!

Billy is released from the hospital a few months after he’s out of that place, having been dragged back to his own world a bloody mess by a group of government men in hazmat suits.

They said he was lucky to have spent as long as he did in a toxic environment and come out of it only needing a weekly breath treatment and a couple of bandages. But he knows it wasn’t luck.

Because if there was such a thing as lucky, Billy Hargrove was not it.

Rather, it was because he’d learned how to give the monsters over there what for. Didn’t hide and come whimpering at the first signs of rescue, begging for their protection like everyone was expecting him to after dealing with monsters and breathing polluted air for six months.

Six months. He couldn’t believe that. To him, on the other side, it had felt more like years.

But he’d stumbled out of that place all the same, dripping axe still gripped tight in hand, in case this was his mind giving up, in case his hell wasn’t really coming to an end after all, and in the end, he was tougher, more resilient, unafraid.

But the doctors didn’t really believe that, did they?

As soon as he was given the clear in the emergency room, onced over for physical injuries he’d thankfully avoided and the doctors having given him something that made him cough up most of the gross stuff that’d been collecting in his lungs, he was sent straight to the psych ward.

Because he could kill as many monsters as he wanted, and he could spend months as a survivor, doing what nobody before him had been able to without super powers, but he was never going to be able to shake the isolation, the uncertainty of everyday he spent over there. Not without help.

The upside down was a no man’s land, he didn’t have the time of day to think about what he’d done, who he’d lost, what had happened to him. But the moment he’s free of it, he’s back to reality.

Back to being the kid down on Cherry, with years of baggage to carry even before all this interdimensional bull that he’d never worked through. With a sister who thought he was dead, and a father who probably wouldn’t care less whether or not he was.

They see all of that, so he pushes them away, refusing every attempt the nurses make at helping him. He doesn’t want their help anyways, he doesn’t want to be in the hospital anymore, and he sure as all hell doesn’t want to be a part of some government conspiracy.

But with enough personal questions and screenings, they’re able to, a couple of weeks into the program, coax it out of him, working him up to the breaking point and the following outpouring of guilt.

Pushing him to admit things about himself he’d never had to look in the face until that hard shell he’d had to build up to protect himself from monsters of all kinds since he was just a kid dissolved away, and he was left a sobbing mess in a support group, going on and on about having chased his mother away, how he was working on chasing his little sister away.

About the way he treated his peers and the way he let others treat him. About Heather Holloway and everyone else and how he’d killed them.

Straight away they get him in to see somebody, something he doesn’t really like the sound of at first, but they say they’re willing to release him from the psych ward if he agrees to go regularly, so it’s worth a shot.

That is, until he realizes he has nowhere to go except back to his house. 5280 Cherry Lane, where Neil Hargrove, the very first monster he’d ever had to fight, would be waiting for him.

He tries to get out of it, to go back to who he was before he’d let all this stuff get to him, but it doesn’t last. He’ll bark out nasty things at the nurses and refuse to cooperate when they get to trying to evaluate his head again, but there’s no bite behind it, and he can’t keep it up.

That seemingly infinite well of hatred and pain had been drained by his time on the other side, until he just didn’t have it in him to be angry all the time anymore.

Billy tucks his tail and goes to the shrink, signs the release papers at the hospital and goes straight to that first appointment like he isn’t terrified of what will happen the minute they let him go home for the first time in forever.

Some part of him knows it’s no different than what he’d already been dealing with in intensive care, but there’s still something about being out there on his own, shooed away from what had become his sanctuary after escaping just to have some government approved doctor tell him he’s mentally unwell, that doesn’t sit right with him, and he walks out of that office even more nervous, more jittery to return than before, but he can’t avoid it forever.

The house isn’t too far from downtown where the office is, so he just walks home. He thinks of stopping at a payphone and call ahead, to let them know he’ll be coming home, but he hasn’t exactly been carrying pocket change with him, and he thinks it might be better if they’re not expecting him anyways.

It’s bitter cold outside, a dusting of snow on the ground making him walk slow over slippery sidewalks, unused to the conditions, but it’s the most fresh air he’s gotten in a long time, out in the kind of cold he can appreciate.

Over there, it was a clammy kind of cold, the type that clung to his skin and seeped into his bone, like he was under water. But this is different, the sun shining overhead taking off some of the bite, a cross wind that blew his hair back in his face and made the tip of his nose go numb.

By the time he reaches the door, he still doesn’t know exactly what he’ll say. How does one go about breaking the news to their family that they aren’t really dead?

The general idea is this: ring the doorbell, hope against hope that Neil isn’t afraid of zombies, appeal to his inner anti-government conspiracy theorist, and pray that he’ll buy it for long enough not to shoot him dead and maybe let him inside.

First step goes smoothly, and he’s ready to move on to blocking punches in the case of a kinemortophobic, but when the door is yanked open, it’s not his dad, and the rest of the plan goes out the window. It’s Max that answers, and before he has time to even process that, she wraps her arms around his torso in a hug tight enough to knock the wind out of him.

He doesn’t know what to do, this wasn’t what he’d been anticipating, so he kind of just, awkwardly pats her back and tries to ask her if he can come in, but all she does is squeeze him tighter.

Susan peers around a corner in the house, “Max, who was at the…” They lock eyes, and she trails off, a mix of relief and apprehension and maybe something like fear on her face. “Bring him inside, dear.”

Max pulls away and lets him in, wiping at stray tears with her sleeve pulled up over her hand. She waits for Billy to sit on the couch, and sits down right next to him, pressing into his side. “Where were you? We watched you die.“

“Wasn't me.” He eyes Susan, trying to communicate to Max that this was top secret, don’t tell your step-mom immediately after leaving a government facility information, but Susan chimes in.

“She told me everything. After what happened she was too upset to remember her agreement. We both signed the NDA.”

And for a second that pisses him off. Not at Max and Susan, but the agents who knew what was happening and still had the nerve to bring them in to threaten them without even bothering to mention he was still alive.

Right now that’s the part he tries to focus on. That he was still alive, and had better things to worry about than what he couldn’t change. “It was a clone. A fail safe made by the shadow in case your merry band killed me. When he died, I was trapped.”

“In the upside down?” Max’s eyes were wide as could be, the color drained from her cheeks. “But-but that almost killed Will and he was only there for like, a week.”

“Do I look like a scrawny twelve year old kid?”

“Muscles can’t protect you from toxic air, jerk.”

Susan’s looks frantic in that way she used to around Billy’s dad, who is notably not present, as she scolds, “That’s enough, Max. He’s been through a lot to get here, let’s let him ask some questions.”

It wasn’t like Billy really minded Max’s questions, he was sure he’d have quite a few himself if it was Max who had come back from the presumed grave, but he did have one of his own sitting heavy at the front of his mind. “Where’s Neil? He get his work schedule changed or something?”

“He’s gone.” Max deadpans.

At her tone, Billy feels his stomach drop, his heart stutter. “He died?”

“Heavens no. We got a divorce three months after we buried you, or what we thought was you.” Susan looks at Max tired, remorseful. “He was never the same without you.”

Things had been close to boiling over even before everything, he worried who had filled his shoes. He nods towards Max. “How bad was he?”

“Better and worse. He never laid a finger on us, but he was…”

An overdramatized shiver runs through Max as she finished her mother’s sentence, “Creepy.”

Susan nodded in agreement and explained, “So nice, so reserved, it was like we were constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“And he’s not coming back?”

“Why should he? He didn’t even tell us where he was going.” Max scoffs, missing the implication of what he asked. Seeing her still be so clueless made Billy infinitely grateful that Susan had finally given his old man the boot, even if that meant he was somewhere in the middle now.

He figures that was something he was willing to deal with if it meant Max was okay, and Neil wasn’t anywhere near her. Now he just needed to know if Susan would be expecting him to go find his dad on his own and move in with him.

He doesn’t mean to let as much tension into his voice as he does when he asks, “So what’s all this mean for me?”

“What else? You are never leaving me again, asshole.”

So it was settled, and judging from the look Susan gave him, she agreed with Max’s answer. Which was, overwhelming, to say the least.

Not that Neil had exactly been a family man, but the fact that they were willing to accept him back into their home without him around was more than Billy knew how to process just yet.

His room had already been converted into a storage space as Neil had been moving out, dragging everything that had never been unpacked in the first place out into the one space he viewed as disposable.

They thought he was dead, he couldn’t have expected them to keep his room the way he left it, and though it did sting a little when he found out half of his stuff was missing, either taken by Neil or thrown out in the process, it was soothed by Max giving him a box of all the things she knew were the most important to him, having snuck in and gone through his belongings herself.

Billy decides to let Susan keep her little storage room, it had been too drafty in there to make for a decent bedroom anyhow, so he moves into the carpeted corner of the basement, which he notices is finished now.

Before, the ceiling had been wide open, half built wooden slats coated in years of dust and cobwebs, a single exposed light bulb offering the only source of light. Now it looked like an actual room, and it made him feel something tight in his chest.

Because Neil had retiled and painted the upstairs bathroom when his first wife left him, and he had finished the basement when he thought his son had too.

Billy doesn’t know how he’s supposed to feel about his dad anymore. He’d been dreading the moment he would have to walk through the doors of his own house out of fear and hatred of that man, but learning he wasn’t even there, he almost missed him.

Almost. But then he thought about the way Susan and Max were now, so distinctly different in the comfort they exhibited in their own space, no longer having to constantly cower in fear of the overbearing head of the house, the person he’s free to be now that Neil isn’t around, and suddenly he’s not so remorseful.

Though he does catch Susan once, standing in the kitchen one morning and crying over an old photo of her and Neil.

He’s pretty sure, from the glimpse that he gets, that it’s from the first church registry photoshoot they did as the Hargrove-Mayfields, when the photographer had mindlessly said something like “now just mom and dad,” making both him and Max gag, which made Susan cry after it was over.

That night had been her first taste of the real Neil Hargrove when Billy got a beating in the parking lot. He still remembers the horrified look on her pale face as she told him it was alright when he apologized, snotty nose and bruises on his skin.

He knew the feeling was the same for her, torn between the man they needed Neil to be and the man he had actually been to them, so he pretended not to see her tears. Silently, she agreed to do the same, and ignore the way he sometimes sat in Neil’s chair with a glazed over look in his eye, or sighed and trained his gaze to the floor when he passed the family photos still hanging in the hallway.

It takes a long while for the three of them to settle. Max is a constant ball of excitement, reminding Billy so many times a day that she’s happy to have her brother back that he might just cry about it once he’s alone, and Susan and him are nervous 24/7, pinballing off one another as they try and fail to forget the ghosts of the house.

He thinks about leaving for a while, moving in somewhere all on his own, but his therapist tells him it’d only make things worse now, to lose his support system. Besides, he didn’t have a penny to his name, so it wasn’t like he had much of a choice but to just suck it up and stay with the Mayfields.

In the meantime, he gets himself a job working stock at Melvald’s. They had an open position after Mrs. Byers skipped town, and he thinks they would’ve hired just about anybody to try to get back on their feet after the now demolished mall almost put them out of business, even zombie boy 2.0. His boss is understanding enough, doesn’t say a word when he has to go into the back and have a panic attack when a grieving family member comes in.

They tell him that’s what’s best for him, getting out there and doing something, even if it’s not the something he would ideally be doing at this point in his life. It had never been his intention to stay in Hawkins after graduating, he wanted to go to college back in his home town, but he had to admit it was growing on him some, and setting up roots there was supposed to be good. Maybe that was just the fact he wasn’t allowed to leave talking though.

The guy they’re sending him to, he thinks is somewhat of a quack. His advice is shaky at best, and he treats Billy like some kid, giving him tasks and a reward system more fit for Holly Wheeler than an eighteen year old with enough trauma for the whole town.

So even though he does cooperate, does everything last thing the guy asks of him, he doesn’t particularly feel the need to go beyond that, face the deeper set issues his therapist doesn’t even know about.

Billy’s lack of cooperation makes the whole thing more complicated, gives him less that his therapist can tell him to work on, so he asks him just to talk to Susan.

They’re closer now than ever before, far beyond all the tension and avoidance and misplaced resentment, but they still don’t really talk about any more than what’s necessary. Things like, how was your day, could you help me with this, are you okay, but nothing substantial.

It should be easy, they’d been living under the same roof since he was twelve, so they should have plenty to talk about, it just never seems like the right time, though he has been thinking about it a lot, the way he treats her despite how much she’s done for him.

He doesn’t really have a plan to bring it up, he’s fully prepared to go back to another appointment the next week reporting no dice, but there’s one morning where the clock keeps ticking and the both of them are still wide awake in the living room, like a stalemate of who’ll give in to sleep first.

They both look like they need it, Susan’s hair is frazzled, the bags under her eyes as dark as the coffee she drinks. Billy knows he’s not looking so hot either. He doesn’t remember the last time he could go to sleep without his subconscious taking him back to that place, so he doesn’t even try anymore, just waits until he gets so exhausted he’ll pass out into a dreamless sleep.

He doesn’t know what it is that compels him to say anything, because it’s not awkward or even tense silence really, but he does, his tired voice cutting into the quiet.

“I dunno how to make it up to you.” He’s looking down at his hands, at the barely there scars that still litter the skin there. He thinks for a moment about how much worse it could’ve been, before looking to her. “I mean, I’d get it, if you didn’t want me around.”

Susan looks back at him, not having expected him to say anything really, let alone something so heavy. “What’s this about, Billy?”

“M’not even your kid, Sus. I just- I dunno. Why’d you let me back in?”

She looks baffled. “Should I not have?”

“I’m an adult. don’t need to be moochin’ off my ex-stepmom.” He feels like he had the very first time he ever met her, scared to look her in the eyes, only this time for an entirely different reason. “M’not your burden to carry.”

“Honey, you’re not mooching. You go to work, you help around the house, you help me with Max. That’s more than I could ask for.” She hesitates, unsure of how wide his boundaries are, then adds, “And, maybe you aren’t my son by any stretch of the imagination, but you will always be Max’s brother.”

He had been expecting something about his dad, always had some suspicion that he’d forced a dependent on Susan after he left, but the total opposite seems to be true, and that makes a lump rise in his throat.

In the absence of a response, Susan continues, “If there was one thing you could do for me though, I know you lie to your therapist. Don’t.”

He doesn’t have it in him to fight it, has enough sense about him to know she’s right. All he can manage is a breathless, “Okay.”

She pats him on the shoulder gentle as can be, and stands up from the couch. He doesn’t look up as she retreats to her bedroom, afraid the tears that had welled up in his eyes would spill over if he did.

When he hears her door close softly is when he lets the tears fall. It’s still a lot for him, to have someone be so casual in looking out for him in that way he still hadn’t quite grasped was possible.

The very next day Billy fesses up, and to his surprise, they don’t immediately cart him off when they hear he’s been faking. That had been his biggest fear, with the power that these people held. They’d threatened to lock him up if he ever ran his mouth, so he didn’t know what to expect.

He did feel stupid though, opening the damn for the same guy who gave him stickers for taking his meds about all the things he’d bottled up. But it works to get him into a better program than what they had him doing before, and he realized he’d had it backwards.

The fear of what they were going to do to him kept them from doing anything at all, and it gave Billy a deep sense of relief, that he’d finally broken free of that.

So instead of being assigned things like brushing his teeth or going outside for five minutes a day, which was decent advice, but completely irrelevant to what he needed, now his therapist had started telling him things like throwing out the razor blade he’d been saving for a rainy day, dumping the last of the nonprescription pills he kept in his night stand.

The more he did, the more complicated they got, until he was told that, in exchange for completing his tasks, he would only have to visit the office once or twice a week instead of every day. His last assignment before that could happen was to make amends with his past.

The most obvious thing the doc wanted him to do was forgive his parents, but Billy didn’t know where to even begin on that one, or really, if he had or hadn’t already done as much, so he went with the other way first, apologizing to everyone he had, or felt he had hurt.

He started at the cemetery. Max came with him and held his hand as he broke down graveside, begging his repentance for all the people who’d died last July. Talking to their survivors was strictly out of the question, they still thought he was the hero that tried to save as many as he could and was killed in action, not the one responsible.

That had been the story spread it the public by the people who had known all along he wasn’t really dead, monitoring his activity on the other side while they turned murderer into martyr. The more time he spent in the shrink's office, the less sure he was that even he knew what side he was on.

Apologizing to the living proves to be easier. He starts with the Sinclair kid at one of the weekly nerd meetings Max holds at their house, now that it’s safe, pulling him aside for a few to say his piece, which, judging from his reaction, Max had already done most of the heavy lifting for him.

When they came back he got fixed with a glare from the unfamiliar little girl that was always around these days, and he realized he and Lucas had that in common, a weapon of a little sister.

Next came minor inconveniences, people like Tommy who he used as a punching bag just because they were friends. Most of them blew the whole thing off, they were in high school when it happened, didn’t understand the moral dilemma of it all, and everyone but maybe one kid who he might’ve punched a little too hard when a fight broke out after football practice forgave him.

Last on his list, the one person standing in the way of what was supposedly the next step of his healing process, was Harrington.

Steve’d had his own fall from grace, and Billy fell much, much harder than he had, so it could be the easiest apology he has to do, but there were reasons it might be the hardest too. He didn’t think he deserved forgiveness for the way he’d treated Steve, which he’d never even apologized for in the first place, and it seemed like a cheap shot to be doing it now, more than a whole year after beating his face in.

He tracks him down at work, rifling through shelves lined with tapes he wasn’t interested in until he had the guts to approach the counter and ask Steve to follow him outside. The bastard doesn’t even look suspicious, doesn’t hesitate in giving him his warmest smile and inviting him behind the counter instead with a, “What’s on your mind, man?

It should be awkward, uncomfortable at the very least, they're having a conversation that should be happening anywhere but in two folding chairs behind the counter at Family Video, and yet, Billy feels none of that unpleasantry, just a conviviality he’d never expect to have with Steve Harrington, of all people. T the one apology he’d expected to be turned down is accepted with a simple, “It’s okay, Billy.”

That’s what made him different. He wasn’t like Tommy, who’d told him to forget anything ever happened, or Susan, who was adamant that it wasn’t his fault; Steve actually forgave him without ignoring what he did, and that, that was what this was about.

He finds himself frequenting the video store on his off days, trying to make friends with the one person other than Max he felt like he could trust, who trusted him, and from there it turned to swinging by Steve’s place after work, going out on the weekends together, falling head over heels in love.

That last part Billy tries to deny, tries to rationalize that maybe he’s just clinging to something constant after so long in isolation, but the longer he spends around Steve, the more he knows there’s no way around it. Billy was so gone for him and his stupid hair and his stupid laugh and his stupid little family video vest.

There’s a while where he tries to distance himself a little, feeling guilty about crushing on the only person to extend the olive branch back after he got out, but then Steve starts showing up at his door, and Max would hide a guilty smile behind her hand.

Once summer hits, just a few short weeks shy of the anniversary of when the shadow got Billy, Susan and Max get more and more careful around him, like they don’t want to set him off, and he gets that. Sometimes Max or one of her little friends would mention something that had happened last July, a sort of ‘hey, remember when we,’ and he would get a little, off.

Never violent, never cruel, never the Billy he had been before, just, reserved.

He thinks they’re afraid he’s going to snap. That they’ve gotten the wrong impression from all this recovery stuff. The very last thing he wants is for Max to think just he’s a shmooze, faking being better to get on her good side.

But they’re not. They’re just want to give him his space, after everything, and he knows he’s got to get out of his head about it.

For now though, when he’s afraid he might break his promise, he takes off, but it depends on what kind of day it is where he’ll go. Sometimes it’s the pool, at the picnic table on the other side of the fence, or to the cemetery again, making the rounds between all of the markers, the ones he put there, or even to visit the totaled Camaro, sold to a junker and kept in the corner of some private property, his blood still on the seats.

Once, he’d made the mistake of going to the steelworks, just to sit on a railroad tie outside of the place for hours, having a panic attack alone as he tried and failed to forget bad memories, bruised ribs, falling fast, losing control.

None of those were particularly healthy places for him to be spending his free time, so per therapist recommendation, he starts finding better spots to hang out, places that weren’t just a way to retraumatize himself.

The problem is that in Hawkins, there isn’t anywhere really to go unless he wanted to spend all day in a dingy old diner or in half abandoned shops downtown. He liked taking Max to the drive-in on the outskirts, but the point is he needs somewhere to go away from his step-family.

When Steve finds out about his new assignment, the rides to and from work and quick drop ins just to say hello turn into days off spent at the quarry together, nights spent in front of Steve’s huge TV set.

One day after a double shift at Melvald’s, they end up out back by the pool. The air conditioning in Steve’s old house was not the best when it came to humidity, and Billy doesn’t like to be too hot. Something about the feeling is too familiar, too much like being on the floor of the sauna, sweating bullets and pleading for his life.

Heat is also one of the many things that triggers coughing fits, making him hack up his lungs from the months he spent without clean air to breath, so Steve’s ushering him outside to dip their feet in the pool and get out of the stuffy old house before he gets sick.

The smell of chlorine wading off of the pool isn’t all that much better. The strong chemicals make his nose and his throat and his whole chest burn like fire. Just the smell of it is enough that he has to try to remember that that hasn't been his reality for almost a year now, that he isn’t in the storage room at the pool downing bottles of poison.

It doesn’t bother him so much though, because the bad stuff, that’s all in the past now, isn’t it?

He tries instead to focus on the good things, on the breeze that they do get in the beating down sun and the way it carries cool air off the surface of the pool, offering more relief from the heat than they could get inside Steve’s inferno of a mansion, and on feeling the sunshine warming his skin again, the cold water and the smooth liner against his calves submerged in the pool. He even tries to focus on Steve, leaning all his weight back on his hands outstretched behind him, sitting so close to Billy their knees bump in the water every time Steve kicks his legs out.

And quite frankly, it’s not particularly hard, paying attention Steve with the way he’s practically glowing in the summer sun. As much as winter was his season, his forever pale skin and how he could rock a sweater didn’t even hold a candle to the way he looks now.

Maybe he is wearing preppy khaki shorts and a sun visor, but the way his back freckles in the summer, the skin on his cheeks and his shoulders flushing from the heat, his long hair sticking to the back of his neck with sweat, it’s a sight that makes Billy's heart pitta-pat.

Still, as nice of a view as Steve makes for, nothing can distract him from the nagging feeling that has Billy on edge. That sense that his flesh will start burning if he stays out here too long, that he’ll lose control of his body. That he’ll hurt Steve.

If Steve’s old nail bat propped against the pool shed, or their newer method of self defense, a machete from the hardware store purchased after Billy's last panic attack, hidden underneath of the chairs, offer any indication, the feeling may be mutual.

Despite the aviators perched on Billy’s nose, Steve must notice that distant look in his eye, because he offers Billy a quaint smile and, using one hand to stand up, he announces, “Be right back, gonna go get us some stuff.”

Billy nods and vaguely wonders what ‘some stuff’ means before turning his attention back to his surroundings. Back to following his therapists advice and watching the ripples in the pristinely kept water, listening to the rustle of untrimmed grass when a breeze comes through, bumble bees in the neighbors yard, anything at all that might stop his mind from wandering.

He’s almost feeling grounded again when he feels a chill run down the back of his neck. Goose pimples fan out across his skin, a deep seated cold to contrast the heat. He knows the feeling well, he’d gone through six grueling months using it as his only advantage over the monsters out to get him.

Some rational part of his mind tells him it’s just a bead of sweat rolling down his back, a loose strand of hair from the messy bun Max had put in his hair that morning brushing against his skin, the fact that his legs are still submerged in the 70 degree water, but he isn’t feeling rational after that, and he feels panic setting in again.

He wants to go run and tell Steve, wants to grab something to defend himself, but he can’t, he’s just, frozen to the spot.

The feeling is gone as quickly as it came, but everything else feels different now.

The pool water feels sticky and warm, almost like it’s sucking him in. The cement surrounding it feels rougher against his palms, and so hot to the touch. He’s scared to even blink, afraid that on the other side of that calm darkness, he’s in that hell again, and this has all been some delusion.

There’s a bang from behind him, and he’s on his feet, heart racing a thousand miles a minute. He’s just short of reaching for the machete under the chair when he notices it’s just Steve.

He’s standing by the sliding door, having pushed it open with his knee so far that the glass hit off the other door, and balancing way too much. Feeling like his legs are going to give out from under him and bringing one hand absently to his chest, Billy breathes out, “Damn it, Harrington.”

“Sorry.” There's a sheepish smile on his face, which has gone pinker than even the sunburn with a hint of embarrassment. He has a bulky radio balanced on his hip, a glass of something in each hand, and a deck of cards tucked under his chin. “A little help?”

Hurrying up the steps, Billy takes the radio before Steve can drop it and smash it to bits on the concrete. Steve takes the opportunity to explain himself, “I made lemonade, my gramma's recipe, and I thought we could use something to do.”

Maybe it’s reckless, maybe it’s the exact opposite of what he should do, but he puts the radio on the table and lets Steve distract him from that creeping feeling with mundanities.

It’s almost funny, how getting out of the house for him used to mean partying and sneaking out to wreak drunken havoc on the town. Now it meant sipping lemonade and playing double solitaire and go-fish with the fallen King poolside, like he was in some retirement community or something.

The only thing that kept him from feeling too ridiculous was the radio, which was playing a decent selection of rock music, not too much of the glitzy stuff he pretended not to like or the poppy stuff Steve definitely did.

Once the sun went down, the smallest bit of orange and pink sky disappearing behind the thick trees, and all the breeze had died out, they moved away from the pool's edge to the plastic chairs, pushing two together and sitting cross legged so they were facing one another. The night air was thick with the smell of a burning citronella candle and chlorine.

The cards had been long ago abandoned, both of them favoring just being in each other’s company, swapping stories of how bad work had sucked that day, and things like plans for the week. Billy sort of just likes having an excuse to look at Steve all night.

It’s more calm than Billy’s had in a long while since coming back, and he almost get to appreciate it before the chill comes back, this time accompanied by the distant rustling of leaves.

He could’ve pretended it was just a critter moving around or the trees settling, but then they hear the unmistakable sound of a monster's trill further out in the woods, and there’s no longer any doubt about it.

Steve freezes, looks to Billy with eyes as wide as saucers and, slowly as can be, reaches blindly behind himself until his hand closes around the base of the wooden bat, which had been moved closer as night fell.

He rises to his feet, stopping cold when the chair creaks as his weight lifts off it, trying to make as little noise as possible, an action mostly pointless with the radio still on. It’s too late anyways, they’d already been seen. Billy could feel it.

“Stay here. I’m just going to check it out.”

“No way, out of the two of us, I’m the only one who’s ever killed one of those things.” Steve looks like he wants to argue, wants to be noble and brave like he has to be for everyone else, so Billy tells him sternly, “I’m coming with you.”

And maybe Steve doesn’t refuse his help, but he isn’t looking at Billy either. His gaze, empty and exhausted, is trained on the trees, searching for signs of the monsters they’re both used to handling on their own. He leans into Billy’s side as they start into the woods, and he can feel him shaking.

The leaves and twigs all along the ground that crunch under their tennis shoes as they move deeper into the woods sound impossibly loud, drawing enough attention to their location that this was guaranteed not to be a surprise attack.

Billy would’ve preferred it that way, they were easier to kill if they weren’t expecting a fight, but he supposed he should just be grateful that they’d found them before they could make their way into Steve’s backyard and take them by surprise.

They reach a clearing and he gets a dreadful feeling like his entire body has been dipped in ice water, and he knows they're right in the middle of a swarm. Instinctively, he puts his arm out across Steve’s chest. “Stop.”

“What?” Billy doesn’t respond, but as Steve’s eyes adjust, he notices them too. About six or seven demodogs, behind trees and bushes, hiding from their prey. He whispers harshly right into Billy’s ear, “Do you think they see us?”

“No shit.”

“Then what the hell are they doing?”

“Waiting for their chance. But we’re not gonna give it to them.” He digs the heels of his Chuck’s into the dirt, grip tightening on the machete. He glances over at Steve and tries not to think too hard about the apprehension written across his features, “You ready for a fight?”

Steve pales, like he was never expecting it to get that far, but they were about thirty feet, maybe further, into the woods already, they wouldn’t be able to book it back to Steve’s house in enough time. The damn things were much too fast. He swallows hard, whispers, “How do I kill one?”

“Aim for the base of its skull. Never let it get your weapon in its mouth. Always pay attention to your surroundings.” His voice is quiet, but stern, trying not to let any fear slip into his tone that might make the other boy more afraid. He was the experienced one, if he were to let it show that he was scared, Steve might go running for the hills. “And Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“Plant your goddamned feet.�� Steve nods, furrows his brows and tries to force a breathy chuckle at the call back, but he barely manages a huff, and Billy can tell he’s terrified.

They don’t have time to think about it though, in the middle of a swarm he can’t let him dwell on it for too long, so he turns his attention off of Steve, and whistles, shouts “Hey, assholes! Come and get us!”

There’s a breathless second where the dogs don’t move an inch, he can tell Steve is about to say something that could’ve gotten the both of them killed so he cuts him off, “Get ready, Harrington.” One of the demodogs, he’s guessing the leader of the freakish pack based on the sheer size of it, shrieks, the cue for the others to start charging them.

These ones are fast, probably faster than even he’s used to, and he doesn’t like how close the first one gets to Steve before he brings his bat down it, so he pulls him closer by the back of his shirt, presses their backs together so there’s less room for a surprise.

The big one comes after Billy, the bigger threat of the two. The sense works as a two way street, if he can tell where they are, they can tell where he is, and they don’t like that.

It only takes him a few swings to get it stumbling, two more to finish it off, but in the time it takes him to kill the one, he loses track of where Steve is. Frantically he looks around, taking note of the location of the dogs, until he finds him in the dark a few feet off from where he is, swinging his bat at the runt over and over, making sure it was good and dead.

And Billy would be impressed, except for there was another dog charging him, just a few seconds off from closing its teeth around Steve’s arm on the backswing. It’s too close for him to try to kill it, so he kicks it, making it hiss and tumble across the muddy ground.

Steve looks over at him, blood spattered on his face and fear in his eyes. Billy wishes he could stop and appreciate the close call, but it’ll come back, and there’s another charging from the other side, so he settles for shouting, “Just remember what I told you and you’ll be alright!”

With the biggest out of the way it’s easy pickings, Billy takes out the next one that tries him quick, but another catches him off guard, clamps it’s teeth down hard on the machete, lodging it in its mouth. It gets cut bad, but not enough to really do much damage to it. If he lets go, he’s defenseless, if he doesn’t, he’s going to lose his arm.

That’s a call he’s almost willing to make, wrenching his weapon free at the risk of getting himself bit, but he doesn’t have to, because Steve takes it for him, running over from somewhere and bringing the bat down hard on the back of its head.

It would be too distracting to thank him, so he just nods his way and turns back to the last two dogs still alive, Steve taking the one that was still hiding and leaving the other for him.

At this point, he’s feeling pretty confident, one dog on its own is nothing much to worry about, and it seems it knows it too, because it stops a few feet off, daring him to come at it first. He takes his own advice and plants his feet in the dirt, daring it right back.

It charges him, and he stabs it straight through its head. It was a weak one, a last line of defense they didn’t expect to need, and it hisses out it’s final breath after only one go.

Billy hears the one Steve went after scampering off too, judging from the uneven drag of its weight across the forest floor, hurt badly enough it won’t last long.

He tries to feel for any others, but they don’t travel in packs that big, not without an order to follow. He rolls his shoulders and relaxes his stance, but he doesn’t dare dream of letting go of the machete yet. Even as it drips sticky slime and gore in thick drops onto the ground, even if it feels so heavy in his hands, also splattered with gooey blood.

There’s a moment of disturbing calm, the bodies of maimed demodogs scattered all around them as Billy tries to remind himself that they’re in his world this time, instead of him in theirs. He closes his eyes to shut out the panic and just listens.

Listens for gentle reminders that he’s in the real world. The sound of the katydids in the trees. A stray breeze rustling the leaves, dry from the relentless heat. The distant scratch of tires on pavement. Softly bubbling water from the jets in Steve’s pool.

He notices that the radio is still going, making the whole thing feel somehow more eerie, as if interdimensional monsters lurking in the neighborhood wasn’t bad enough on its own. Like when a car goes off the road, still playing a reckless teenager's final anthem. Billy wonders what song he’d like to be playing when he died. Maybe some Misfits.

But he isn’t dead, not yet anyhow, and that’s not the music that’s drifting out to where he’s still standing stock still in the woods, waiting for reality to hit him.

REO Speedwagon with Can’t Fight This Feeling carries softly out to their location, probably one of the lamest songs to fight monsters to if you were to ask Billy.

I can't fight this feeling any longer

And yet I'm still afraid to let it flow

What started out as friendship has grown stronger

I only wish I had the strength to let it show

Though he’s got to admit, it’s not a horrible song for this thing he has going with Steve. After that close call of the dogs stalking so close to his house, Billy doesn’t think he has it in him to let the chance to bring it up with Steve slide through his fingers again. He’d never forgive himself.

I tell myself that I can't hold out forever

I said there is no reason for my fear

“Harrington.” When he opens his eyes again Steve isn’t there, and for a second he’s got to fear the worst. To wonder, if the dogs aren’t the only thing he’ll find dead. “Steve?”

'Cause I feel so secure when we're together

You give my life direction, you make everything so clear

“M’here, Bill.” He's leaning against a tree, his bat still held close at his side, looking winded, but alright, from what Billy can tell at least. “Just needed to, to catch my breath.”

And even as I wander, I'm keeping you in sight

You're a candle in the window on a cold, dark winter's night

And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might

“You scared me, asshole.” Billy gathers his courage, rides the wave of adrenaline to take a step closer, until he’s hovering right in front of him, dangerously close, to say, “Listen Steve, there's something I’ve been thinking about for a while, and after this I just, I can't fight it anymore.”

He gets the memo, half-lidded eyes focusing on Billys lips, making him flick his tongue across them on instinct, tasting remnants of strawberry chapstick and lemonade dulled by the scent of copper. “Then don't fight it.”

And I can't fight this feeling anymore

I've forgotten what I started fighting for

It's time to bring this ship into the shore

And throw away the oars, forever

Their weapons are tossed to the ground before Billy closes the small gap that was left between them, ignoring all the muck and goo and blood splattered on their clothes and their skin to cup the side of Steve’s face, kiss him as soft and as sweet as he knows how after a fight like that.

'Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore

I've forgotten what I started fighting for

And if I have to crawl upon the floor, come crashing through your door

Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore

Steve pulls away too soon, a soft gasp escaping his lips as he leans forward, forcing his weight onto Billy. The magic of the moment comes crashing down, when he notices how dreadfully pale Steve is, even in the darkness of the woods, untouched by street lamps or moon light.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Through gritted teeth, he mumbles into Billy’s shirt, “I think one got me.”

“Jesus, you're telling me this now?” He helps him lean back against the tree again, feeling he has the right to fret over him after a first kiss. “Where at?”

“My leg.” He says it so casual, Billy’s expecting nothing more than a nick, a last attempt at a scratch from a dying dog, but it’s bad.

Skin and muscle are torn through in a gash probably five inches long on Steve’s leg, deep enough he swears he can almost see bone. It’s already bruised dark, deep purple and black under all the blood, and bent just a little, like the bone had been cracked, but not quite broken.

Billy has to fight the urge to wince, to gag, to let any sort of panic over the severity of the bite show, because he knows Steve hasn’t seen it yet, that he’s maybe even in shock right now. The moment he let it show how bad he thought it was, Steve could pass out on him. Or worse.

“Why didn’t you say something?”

“Thought we were having a moment.”

“Well I’d like to have at least a few more, if you wouldn’t mind.” He sighs, but he drops the attitude. Stressed as he may be, Steve needs him level headed right now. “Can you walk?”

“Sure, yeah.” Something about the way his voice sounds like he’s struggling for air makes Billy not believe him, but he offers him his arm to let him test his weight anyways. It doesn’t go well, “Son of a mother bitch!”

“Yeah, I’m gonna take that as a no.” Billy figures it’d be better just to come back for their weapons later than to wait around for a second attack with an injured Steve, or to get sliced to ribbons carrying them and Steve back to the house. Because that’s what he’s going to have to do, from the looks of it.

He bends down and lets Steve wrap his arms loosely around the back of his neck, and hooks his hands under his knees to lift him. With his leg off the ground, he’s guessing Steve must catch a glimpse of how badly it’s torn up, because he throws his head back and mutters an “Oh shit.” to the stars.

Billy wishes his voice sounded more certain when he assures him, “You’ll be alright, just don’t look at it.”

There’s blood dripping from Steve’s leg on the grass, all on the concrete steps from the backyard that lead into Steve’s house and then the hardwood floors. Billy tries not to think about how they’re leaving behind a trail that would lead the monster straight to them.

They’d killed the dogs though, so he tries his damndest to believe that his biggest worry right now would be not being able to get the stains out before Mr. and Mrs. Harrington got back.

“Where do you keep the first aid around here?”

“Upstairs bathroom, third door on the right.”

Billy frowns. Trying to get him up the stairs was going to be awkward, the space between the wall and the banister so narrow, and Steve’s legs so long. The only way he can keep from dragging his wound against anything, which he’s almost positive would kill Steve at this point, is to turn sideways.

It feels like it takes forever to get up the steps and walk down the upstairs hallway, dodging side tables and potted plants until they reach the bathroom.

Even once they get there, Billy winces, taking in the tall, but thin door frame. “M’not fitting through here with you, Stevie. Gonna have to let you down.”

“Okay.” His jaw tightens, like he knows it’s gonna be hell to put pressure back on his leg, and Billy thinks about how he’d rather knock out the entire wall than have to watch Steve hurt himself.

But slowly, with Billy’s help, he gets his good foot back on the ground, and his arms unwrap themselves from the back of his neck. Billy keeps one hand holding tight on his hip, to keep him from toppling over while standing on one leg.

“Let me go in first, okay?” Turning around so they’re facing each other, he gives Steve both of his hands and kicks the half opened door the rest of they way open to reveal the dark bathroom behind him. He gets Steve to use the doorframe as a brace long enough that he can turn the light on, then gives him his hand again.

Steve takes the first step, hopping on one foot and making barely any progress. A steely look crosses his face, like he’s already decided what he’s about to do, and he lets his other foot down to the ground.

“That’s it, Stevie, just like that,” Billy mutters little encouragements under his breath, tries anything to keep Steve from thinking about walking on a broken leg. “Keep it coming, baby, just a few more steps.”

The closest thing to the door is a double tiered wooden shelf with magazines and towels on it, so Billy pushes the towels onto the floor with one hand and helps Steve sit down on it with the other.

Maybe it’s the wallpaper, but his complexion looks ghastly, all green and grey where he should be flushed and lively. Before he starts getting everything together, Billy puts his hand on Steve’s shoulder. “You good?”

It was a stupid question, Steve scoffs and says, his voice strained, “No.”

“At least you’re honest.”

Steve groans and stares up at the ceiling, ignoring his leg and the puddle of blood spreading on the tiled floor. “Shouldn’t I be at the hospital right now?”

“Normally, I would say yes,” Billy crouches down by the sink, digging in the cabinets underneath it for the first aid and a rag, “But closest hospital to us is the general hospital, and they’re not going to be thinking about demodog infections. They’ll put a cast on this thing and kill you.”

“Oh.” A poor choice of words, because Steve whispers, “I’m not gonna die, am I?”

“Not if you let me take care of you.”

He soaks through three wash rags with blood before the bleeding slows down enough that Billy can clean it, and slowly the shocked state of mind he was in starts to wear off. At least, judging from the way he’s gripping the edge of the shelf he’s sitting on so hard his knuckles turn white, it’s starting to hurt him pretty bad.

But Steve stays agonizingly quiet as Billy works anyways, hardly even wincing, despite the obvious amount of pain he’s in. Billy clicks his tongue, “I know you’re holding back on me, Steve.”

“You’re one to talk.” He’s defensive, borderline hysterical. “Mister pretending to be tough just because you’ve been through this once.”

“Next time I’ll just let the dogs get you, then.”

Ignoring Billy's rudeness, Steve mutters, “It just hurts so fucking bad.” A tear he’d been trying to hold back slips past, running a track through the dirt and blood that had gotten on his face.

“I’ll get some pain meds in you in a minute, just need you to be alert for this.” 

He swallows thickly, like he’s scared. “Ready for what?”

“Well, you’re gonna need stitches.” 

“Do you even know how?” 

He didn’t. The most he’d ever sewn was a tiny hole in a jacket sleeve, but he didn’t feel it wise to tell him that. “I think it’s pretty self-explanatory.” 

“No way. Absolutely not.” Steve grabs his hand tight to emphasize his point. “You are not coming anywhere near me with a needle.” 

“Look, the alternative is it gets infected and you lose the leg. Or, you know, since nobody has ever survived a bite, your life.” He’s not trying to be snappy, but the more blood Steve loses, the more nervous he’s getting about wasting time arguing.

“Man, could you cut back on being an asshole for like, five minutes.” Billy rolls his eyes and tries to reach for Steve’s leg again, but he pulls away from his touch, blinking real slow like he made himself dizzy or he’s getting sick, before he tacks onto the end, “I’m wounded.” 

“I know, I'm just trying to help you, Stevie. Please.” 

Sighing and running his fingers through his hair, he puffs his cheeks out with a sigh and gives in with Billy’s pleading. “Whatever, just, get it over with quick.” 

He goes back to not saying anything, biting his tongue while Billy tries to do a decent patch up. It looks somehow even gnarlier than before, with crooked and sloppy sutures, but it stops the bleeding for long enough that Billy can wrap it as tight as he can with some gauze and an ace bandage.

He sits back on the balls of his feet, and takes note of how they were definitely going to have to go to the government hospital where he’d been treated in the morning. Steve’s quiet so he asks, “Steve?” 

“M’good.” He assures halfheartedly, leaning forward to hold his head in his hands. “Doin’ just peachy fucking keen.” 

They stay upstairs, Billy completely unwilling to try to get Steve back down to the main living room on a busted leg. He'd have to worry about showering and getting the stains that’re all over the Harrington’s floors off later, right now he was just worried about making sure Steve made it through. 

There’s a second living room, a foyer, Steve calls it, at the end of the hall, so he takes him in there, lets him sprawl out on the couch while he goes to get a phone and something for Steve to take from the first floor. 

He snatches up the rotary off the coffee table, and goes digging in the medicine cabinet for pain killers. Near the back is a bottle of Vicodin, thank god for Mrs. Harrington’s many ailments and her equally surplus supply of pain pills. 

Before making his way back up to Steve, he remembers to make sure to lock the sliding doors. Not that it would do much to really stop a demodog, but it’s the thought that counts. He decides to tack a blanket up to block the glass too, in hopes that it might make their scent at least a little harder to track. 

Steve is hesitant to take his mother’s prescription, afraid of the side effects, but then he tries to drag his leg up from the floor to prop it on the coffee table so he can get more comfortable, and his mind changes right quick. He almost convinces Billy to let him take more.

Next is letting somebody know. Part of him wishes they could just sweep this whole thing under the rug and forget it, but this was a small town. The woods behind Steve’s house stretched all the way to the now empty Byers’ residence, to the Wheeler's, and from there to Hop’s cabin. 

Keeping this a secret would cost lives, that he could be sure of. One measly pack of demodogs weak enough to be taken out by the two of them was guaranteed not to be the last. This was the start of another battle, and they needed as many people as possible to be ready for it.

He sits down with the phone next to Steve on his own cushion, careful not to jostle the couch too much. “Do you know Hop’s number?” 

“Just give it here.” 

Billy watches Steve dial the number, not a fan of how instinctual an action it seems to be, and as he barely gets a word in edgewise over Hopper on the other end of the line. When he get the chance to breaks the news, the call is over almost immediately, Hop getting ready to warn everyone else. He hangs up with tears in his eyes and a defeated posture. 

The instant the phone is discarded on the side table, Steve tells him, his voice thick with tears and exhaustion and pain, “I don’t wanna do this again, Bill.” He presses the heels of his hands into his eyes and shakes his head. “Just, last time, we were so close to losing Hopper, losing you, and I just- I can’t do it.”

“Hey. Look at me, Steve. It's not gonna be like last time. You got me now.” Steve does look over at him, his eyes wide, but he only cries harder. 

Not knowing what else to do, Billy tosses an arm over his shoulder and pulls him close, and Steve leans into his touch, but there’s a deep frown on his face. Billy thinks his heart breaks clean in two as he insists, in a voice so worn, so dejected, “That’s just one more thing for me to lose.” 

“I say it’s one more person looking out for you.” His heart fluttering in his chest, he prays the kiss in the woods wasn’t a heat of the moment thing, and presses another to the side of Steve’s head. 

As best he can with his leg up on the coffee table, Steve settles up against Billy's side, sighing heavy through his nose. 

Long enough passes that he thinks Steve’s fallen asleep, the pain meds would hopefully knock him out soon, but then he breaks the silence with a quiet, so gentle Billy almost doesn’t hear it, “Will you?”

“Will I what?” 

“Look out for me?” The way he says it, it’s almost like he’s embarrassed to ask, so unable to believe that somebody would care about him instead of the other way around. 

“‘Course.” Billy smiles despite the way seeing Steve so broken makes him feel, lets the fingers on one hand trail lazily up and down Steve’s arm in a way he hopes is comforting. “Even as I wander, I'm keeping you in sight, remember?” 

Steve rolls his eyes, but he presses himself somehow even closer to Billy and sighs a little laugh, sniffling. “God, you're never gonna let that go, are you?” 

“Hey, I’d rather remember our first kiss as being to REO Speedwagon, which is super lame by the way, than with you bleeding out in the woods, so.” 

“Yeah, yeah.” Steve sits up a little straighter so he can look him in the face. There’s still some sadness in his expression, but there’s a hint of a smile too, and Billy will take that as a win any day. Teasingly, Steve says, “Maybe you’ll like the second one better.”

“We’ll just have to see won’t we?” He leans in, but it’s Steve who initiates the kiss this time, leading with more heat behind it than before. He tangles his hands in Billy's hair, deepening the kiss with the press of his tongue against Billy’s. 

The angle isn’t very comfortable, a crook forming in Steve’s neck to reach Billy, and they pull apart for a breath. Face flushed beet red, Steve whispers, “Hey, Billy?” 

Billy hums in response, too flustered to get his words in order, “Hm?” 

“REO Speedwagon isn’t that bad.” 

[yikesharringrove]

His Fault.

Thank you @thinger-strang for the commission! 💕

Read on Ao3

Steve took Max first, grabbing her around the knees and lifting.

He didn’t know which kid was which, just picked them up and shoved them through the hole in the ground.

No thoughts in his head besides getting the kids to safety.

He was still dizzy from the fight, from Max’s wild driving, from being thrown into low oxygen conditions.

He grabbed Dustin.

The last kid to get through.

There was a rumble.

The ground shook.

And Steve stared death right in its face.

A pack of demodogs, heading right for them.

He grabbed Dustin, thought maybe, maybe he could shield him.

If this kid dies, it’s all my fault.

But the ‘dogs passed them by.

On their way to protect from El.

Because their plan didn’t work. Their carefully crafted idea to help El was bullshit.

He pushed Dustin up to safety.

He had brought these kids down here for no reason.

They had all gotten hurt for no reason.

All because of him.

-

Steve’s knuckles were white as he gripped the steering wheel.

He was trying to get himself to get up, get out of the car.

Staring through the windshield at the small service.

Barb’s funeral.

The girl that died right outside his house. The girl who died in his pool.

The girl he killed.

By being too preoccupied with Nancy. By being too much of a stupid fucking jock.

It’s all his fault.

He got out of the car, stayed mostly to himself throughout the service.

He hugged Barb’s parents afterwards, offered his condolences.

He got the feeling that they never really liked him.

That’s okay. He doesn't really blame them.

And if they knew, if they knew what he did to their Barb-

They would do more than just not like him.

He spent the rest of the day in bed, thoughts of your fault your fault your fault whipping through his brain.

He killed Barb.

-

Steve was trying to think quickly.

It was a little tricky, what with the pounding in his head, the hits he was taking right to the gut.

He needed to somehow talk his way out of this.

Which sucked because talking has never been his strong point.

But he brought Robin into all of this. He had let Erica climb through those vents to get them into the elevator. He had helped Dustin suss out what the message meant.

Actually, he hadn’t.

He had been too fucking stupid to help with that.

No.

He had just encouraged the translation that was happening around him.

Had just walked three people right into the clutches of the Upside Down, and these violent goddamn Russians, and-

That one hurt.

He woke up sometime later to Robin yelling.

“Hey, will you stop yelling?”

“Steve! Oh my God! Steve!”

She sounded, actually relieved.

“Are you okay?”

-

“I’m sorry I dragged you into this.”

Robin was sitting next to him, both wrapped in thick blankets.

They had their own ambulance, Nancy and Jonathan in the one next door.

He had watched them take Billy off on a gurney, watched them slam a defibrillator to his body until his heart started beating again, watched them load him into the back of an ambulance, and take him off to the hospital.

The adrenaline, the heavy drugs, it was all out of his system.

And he was crashing.

“I shouldn’t have roped you into this. I shouldn’t have talked Dustin into translating the tape, I shouldn’t have-”

“Okay, Dingus. Let’s get some things straight. I’m pretty sure Dustin talked you into the translations. I don’t know if you’d be able to talk Dustin into anything. And you didn’t rope me into shit.”

“I mean, I mean with the Upside Down. This whole fucking conspiracy. You deserved to go your whole damn life without knowing any of this.”

“But Steve, I know about it now. The milk has been spilled. So stop crying.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s not your fault.”

Yes, it is.

-

“Hi, welcome to Family- Nancy?”

Nancy had stopped in the doorway, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

“Steve. I didn’t know you were working here.”

“Yeah. You know, with the mall being all, burnt down. And stuff.” She nodded slowly, stock still in the doorway. “Can I help you find something?”

“No. Thanks. I’m just browsing.”

“Well, uh, let me know if you need help. Or ask Robin, maybe. She’s better with the recommends.” Nancy seemed to startle, stepping into the store properly.

“Thanks, Steve.” He smiled tightly at her.

They really hadn’t talked since breaking up.

Of course, they’d spoken in the summer, but that was less exchanging pleasantries, more how do we stop the giant fleshy monster that’s trying to take over the whole world?

Which isn’t quite the same.

She browsed through the aisles, Steve doodling on the carbon pad next to the register.

She smiled tightly at him, a few tapes in hand.

“So, uh, how are you?” They hadn’t spoken since that night. Since he wandered over to her ambulance, checking in with her and Jonathan.

“I’m okay. Just working and stuff. Obviously.”

“And how’s Billy?”

“Managing. He’s in all kindsa therapy and stuff now.”

“That’s, that’s good.” She was all stiff as he handed her her change. “It’s good to see you, Steve.”

“Yeah, Nancy. Yeah, you too.”

He hated how shitty and awkward that had been.

Hated that she was the person he felt closest to for the better part of a year, and now they’re stuck with light conversation and forced smiles.

He pushed her so hard.

Always poking and poking.

Always too clingy, always too emotional, not emotional enough. Too insensitive, or just too much work.

He doesn’t know how anyone puts up with him.

-

“Hey,” Billy smiled softly at him. “How are you feeling?”

“Better, now that my little nurse is here.” Steve rolled his eyes, smiling back as he sat on the bed next to Billy.

He had brought him to his house from the military hospital.

Billy still had a long road of healing. His scars were pulled together, and the wounds were closed, but everything was still pretty rough.

“Can I get you anything?” Billy reached over for him.

His hands were scarred and rough, and he was still trying to regain feeling, the nerves having suffered far too much damage.

“Nah. Just sit with me.”

Steve took one of his hands, stretching his hand like the doctor had shown him.

“Have you eaten today?”

“Nah. My stomach’s all outta whack today. Don’t know if I could keep anything down.” Steve furrowed his brows.

“Are you, can I make you something? Soup?”

“Stevie, I’m okay. One day’s not gonna kill me.” It felt like the bottom dropped out of his stomach. Something must've shown on his face because Billy was trying to sit up. “Sorry, that was a shitty joke.”

“No, I just-”

“It’s okay. Sorry.” Steve tried to gather himself.

“Don’t like jokes about you dying. Thought you were dead for, for like a week, you know. Before they told us you were stable.”

“Baby, it’s alright. I know it was hard on you.” Steve blinked rapidly.

“But I mean, it’s like, youwere the one, the one in the hospital I shouldn’t,” he stood up, Billy wincing as the bed shifted. “I’m gonna make you something.”

He was holding back tears as he spread peanut butter and jelly onto saltine crackers.

Billy had the best luck keeping it down when he felt sick.

He felt like shit whenever he did that. Got all mopey on Billy.

Billy was the one trying not to die in a hospital bed. Steve was just, doing what Steve does.

Making everything about himself.

He brought Billy the plate, kneeling next to him in bed.

“You okay?” Steve just shook his head, plastering on a nice smile for Billy.

“I’m fine, Bill. Just try to eat? For me?”

Billy managed three of the crackers before he heaved into the garbage bin placed next to the bed.

Steve felt like shit.

Billy’s core muscles were still healing, and throwing up only made him sore, made him tired and in pain.

“Billy, I’m sorry.”

He shouldn’t have made Billy eat. Shouldn’t have tried to make himself feel better by force-feeding Billy while he felt bad.

When he finally stopped, Steve helped him to the bathroom to wash out his mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

“Steve, it’s not your fault.”

“But you said you didn’t feel good.”

“You’re just trying to take care of me.”

Keyword here being trying.

Trying and failing at taking care of Billy.

-

“Steve, are you busy tonight?” Dustin had thrown open the door to Family Video stomping inside.

“I mean, no but I thought, isn’t tonight your big tournament?”

Dustin sighed dramatically.

“The arcade is closed.”

Dustin had been saving up for months, using the end of the summer to mow neighbors’ lawns.

Steve had even paid him to mow his own lawn.

He and the gang were going to rage for hours, Dustin organizing a special secret prize for whoever got the highest cumulative score.

He had put so much thought into everything, had been so excited.

And the arcade was closed.

“Can I talk to Keith?”

“Be my guest.”

Dustin pushed into the backroom.

Steve could hear his voice, could hear him arguing with Keith.

He came back out, Keith following behind.

“Harrington, I told you, customers aren’t allowed in the back.” He pointed to the Employees Only sign on the door. “Can you even read?” Keith rolled his eyes. Steve studied his shoes.

“And Henderson, I told you, the arcade is closed for renovations. A pipe burst in the storeroom.” Dustin Huffed. “Just, rent a movie or something. But you know, don’t ask for Harrington’s recommendation.”

Keith laughed to himself as he retreated to the back.

“Like I would ask you for a recommendation. I know what kind of movies you like.” Steve forced a smile at him.

“Sorry about your game night.” Dustin shrugged.

“I thought it’d be fun. We haven’t played DnD since Will moved. It just feels wrong without him, I guess. I thought this could bring us back to the fun spirit.”

“It’s a good idea. I’m sorry you’re gonna have to postpone.”

Steve just kinda lived with a big ol’ bit in his stomach these days.

But every time something like this happened, something where his friend was sad, and Steve was completely useless to help him, the pit seemed to grow.

He wonders what happens when the pit gets too big.

-

Billy stretched his arms above his head, wincing slightly.

“You okay?”

Billy blew out a breath, rubbing his chest.

“Yeah. Just cold. It hurts.” They were standing outside, waiting for the kids to be finished with school.

Steve drove Dustin and Max home, usually brought Billy along with him.

Neil had been one of the flayed, the only casualty Billy said he didn’t feel bad for.

So Max had moved with her mom into a tiny two-bedroom house.

Billy was still staying with Steve for the time being.

“Oh! I got a sweater in my trunk.” Steve ran around to the back of the car, unlocking the trunk and digging through.

He kept his car pretty clean, just his bat, some jumper cables, and a go-bag.

So he should see the sweater right away.

But he didn’t.

He frantically shifted everything around.

“No, no.”

The sweater wasn’t there.

“Fuck are you, are you serious?”

He genuinely could cry.

Billy was blowing into his hands, rubbing them together when Steve slumped back over to him.

“Billy, I’m sorry. It’s not in there.” Billy squinted at him.

“That’s okay.”

“I thought it was, but I must’ve taken it out, I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize. Just, you know, come here and make it up to me.” He had a lazy smile on his face. “Come keep me warm.”

Steve wrapped himself around Billy, burying his face in his neck.

“I wish I could keep you warmer. I wish I had that sweater.”

“Baby, I’m okay. Just achy.”

Steve made sure to turn up the heat full blast when they got back in, the kids in the backseat.

-

“Fuck!”

The bottom of the box had given out, tapes crashing to the tiled floor.

He had been on his way to reshelve everything, after spending all day in the back rewinding.

But here he was, checking each plastic tape for cracks as he tried to find something else to put them in.

“Jesus Christ, Harrington.”

Ah, yes. That’s what he needs right now. Keith standing over him while he cleaned up the mess of tapes.

“What’d you do now?”

“The box, it just fell apart.”

“You know, Robin really went out on a limb to you to get this job.” Keith was standing over him, staring down at Steve sill kneeling on the ground. “Maybe I should just fire you both.”

“Wait, no!”

Steve’s heart was in his throat.

It felt like he was gonna choke on it.

“You, you can’t, I don’t care if you hate me, okay, just, just don’t fire Robin!”

Keith loved to do this. Dangle his measly power as manager over Steve.

Robin said it was some kind of revenge fantasy for how shitty Steve was to him in high school.

Steve just figures he deserves it.

Bottom of the food chain now. That’s where he is.

The guy that thought he was the hottest shit to walk the Earth. The guy that barely graduated. The guy that had to linger around his hometown. The guy has no life. The guy that has no future.

“Why not? She vouched for you.” Keith was eating a pack of M&Ms, crunching each one loudly between his teeth.

“Just, just don’t.” Steve felt like he could cry.

“Then get this cleaned up, and I’ll consider letting you both stay.”

Steve just nodded.

He didn’t think his voice would work without cracking all over the place.

He found a crate in the stockroom, stacking the tapes as quickly as he could.

He liked reshelving.

The organization system made sense, and he could do it easily without having to know anything about the movies, without having to know anything besides the alphabet, and the genre sticker each tape had.

Robin was better with customers.

Better at making change and recommending movies. Better at talking to people without sounding like an idiot.

But he finished reshelving, and had to retreat behind the counter.

“You’re being weird today.”

Steve had zoned out, staring through the front windows.

“Sorry.”

“Bad night?” he just nodded slowly. He didn’t want to tell her about Keith’s little threat. She would just go on a rampage. Probably yell at him a lot. And if Steve being a fuck up didn’t get her fired, defending him for sure would. Plus, it’s not like it’s a lie. Most nights are bad. “Steve, are you sure you’re okay? It feels like,” she glanced around. “It feels like you’re getting, like, worse.”

“Sorry.” She furrowed her brows.

“That’s not something you need to apologize for, you know that, right? I’m just worried about you.”

“Sorry.” Her face pinched up even more.

“Steve.”

“Yeah, I, just you know. Not sleeping much.”

“I could come over? You said it’s better when there’s sound in your house. I can stomp around for a while.” He huffed a laugh through his nose, giving her the biggest smile he could muster.

“That’s okay. I’m managing, Rob.” She raised one eyebrow. “And besides, I, uh, I won’t be home tonight.”

She made a face at him, pursing her lips so she didn’t smile.

Billy had gotten his own apartment with the money the government had given him, a little thank you for your discretion gift when he was released from the hospital.

He had spent nearly a month in a coma, a month in which Steve had only left his room a handful of times. After waking up, delirious, and in pain, he had spent the next six months in heavy rehabilitation, in daily therapy, both mental and physical, in which Steve practically lived at the hospital with him.

They had bonded more than Robin could ever know, both boys spilling everything to one another, every dark thought, every bad memory.

Long story short, they were inseparable.

“Then have a fun night. And talk to Billy. Tell him you’re struggling.”

“I’m not-”

She stomped her foot, giving him a stern look.

“Yeah, okay.”

-

“Shit.”

Steve knew he had a key to Billy’s apartment.

But it wasn’t on his key ring.

“Are you kidding me?” He knocked on the door.

It took Billy a few minutes to come get him.

“I’m sorry, I, I lost my key.” Billy looked tired . It was Thursday. Billy was a stockboy at Meldvald’s on Thursdays. His doctor said getting a job would be nice, that it would help him rejoin society, make him feel good to support himself, all this shit.

Mostly, it just made Billy’s sore.

“It’s okay.”

“No, but, it’s not on my ring! I don’t know where it fell off, it could be anywhere, you might have to change the locks or-”

“Steve! It’s fine. Just get in here.”

Steve snapped his jaw closed. Billy shuffled back to the couch, groaning as he sat down slowly.

“Can I get you something? Have you eaten? I can rub your back if-”

“Harrington, just come sit with me.” Billy was giving him a little half-smile.

Steve stumbled over to the couch, and tucked himself right under Billy’s arm.

“What are we watching?”

“Some soap. There’s been a marathon all evening. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever seen.” Steve leaned his head against Billy.

He had no clue what was going on. Had a question on the tip of his tongue, ready to ask about the plot points, the characters.

But he’s bothered Billy enough tonight, making him get up to open the door, always, always bothering-

“Hey, where’d you go?” Billy was stroking one rough hand through his hair.

“Nowhere.”

“Robin called me from the video store.” Steve sighed, burying his face into Billy’s neck. “We’re worried about you.”

“Don’t be. I’m okay.”

“Yeah, you’re always okay.” He said it like he was mad, like he was frustrated with Steve.

He pulled back, sliding to the other end of the couch.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sorry.” Billy was staring blankly at him. “I didn’t mean to make you mad.”

“I’m not mad. What are you even-” he cut himself off. “Steve, talk to me. You’re getting, distant.”

“I’m-”

“Please stop apologizing.”

Steve swallowed thickly.

“I don’t know what’s going on with you. You’re slipping through my fingers, and I don’t know how to help you.”

“I-” Steve’s throat was closing up. “I don’t know what to do.”

Billy shifted stiffly, reaching out for Steve’s hand.

“Talk to me, Baby. You know I’ll listen.”

“I, uh, I just.” His jaw was moving, but he couldn’t form any words.

Billy took his hands, pulling him gently.

Steve let himself be tugged, let himself fall into Billy’s lap.

“It’s all my fault.”

“What’s your fault?”

“All of it.”

“Can you, maybe elaborate?”

“Everything. It’s all my fault.” His chest felt pulled tight, and he couldn’t fucking breathe. “Everything, everything. My fault.”

Billy had no fucking idea what to do.

Steve was breathing sharply, his eyes squeezed closed.

He had both hands in his hair, pulling roughly.

“Steve, hey.” He took his wrists, trying to stop him. “Steve, I need you to breathe, okay? Can you do that?” Steve shook his head.

“Just, just try to take as deep a breath as you can, okay?”

Billy was trying to remember what his shrink had told him, the tips for dealing with his own panic.

But watching Steve fall apart, well. It was hard for Billy to keep it together.

He sat with Steve, holding his hands until he opened his eyes, until he was breathing without Billy reminding him to do it.

“Steve. Sugar. Talk to me.”

Steve was still slumped over, still had his head in Billy’s lap.

He turned to bury his face in Billy’s thigh.

“Sometimes I feel like the world is crushing me. And I don’t know what to do about it.”

“Can you explain that to me? You said everything was your fault.”

“Like, like Barb. She, it was my fault she died, and my fault the kids almost got hurt in the tunnels, and my fault that Dustin and Robin and Erica got stuck in the lab, and, and, and I’m so bad at taking care of you. I can’t do anything right.”

Billy could feel his tears, wet patches soaking through his sweatpants.

“You do a lot of stuff right!”

“Keith told me he was gonna fire Robin today, because I messed up again.”

“Fuck Keith. No way that creep has firing power. And maybe you should talk to Robin. Or go to your boss about him. He just likes going on a power trip with you.

“And as for, well everything, Pretty Boy, none of that was your fault. Barb was killed by, by a monster-”

“At my house, at my party, in my pool.”

“Still not your fault.”

“I thought she had left, you know? I didn’t know she was out there.”

“That just proves my point! You didn’t know she was out there, you didn’t know what was going to happen. That whole event , it had nothing to do with you. And the kids like, fully kidnapped you to bring you to the tunnels. If anything, that’s my fault for, you know. Doing what I did.”

Billy took a deep breath.

“I know a lot about guilt. I know how it feels like you’re just, you’re drowning. And you’re never gonna get to the surface, but that, that stuff. People make their own choices. You can’t control what other people do, you can just control what you do. And you, you do nothing but good. You just love, and you love, and you love. You always do what you think is best, and that’s what matters.”

“I feel bad all that time. Like, like right now I feel bad because, because of course you feel guilty, and I’m saying shit that doesn’t matter, and my problems they don’t-”

“Don’t you dare say your problems don't matter.” Billy was tangling his fingers through Steve’s hair, playing with it gently. “Your problems matter . They matter to me. It hurts me that you're struggling. It hurts me that I didn’t notice.”

“Billy, it’s not your fault.”

“You say that like it’s so easy. You take my guilt and you ease it. And that’s what I want for you.” Steve wasn’t crying anymore, but he was still curled up on the couch, still had his face pressed against Billy’s leg.

“I don’t know how. I’ve been so thoroughly crushed under all this that I’m scared of what happens if I claw through it all.”

“Maybe you won’t feel like shit all the time.”

“Feeling like shit is the easy part. It’s predictable.”

“I know. It’s safe .”

“Yeah. What do people even think about if they aren’t thinking about all the problems of the people closest to them and finding ways to blame themselves?” Billy laughed at that. Steve could feel his belly moving next to him.

It was a nice moment.

“I don’t know. That’s what movies and books are for. When you’ve got shit else to think about because you’re not trapped under a mountain of guilt.”

“Probably why I’ve read so few books, then.”

“We need to start watching more movies.”

-

“We need to talk about Steve.”

“Hi, Robin. It’s great to see you. How’s your day?” Robin rolled her eyes. She was leaned over the counter at Family Video, flicking through a magazine.

“He had a break down last night.”

“Finally. He’s been hanging on by a thread for weeks,”

“Yeah, try years.” She looked up at him.

“What do you mean?”

“He like, unloaded fully. He still blames himself for the girl that got killed in his backyard.”

“Wait, he thinks that’s his fault?”

“Yeah, and the kids in the tunnels, and also you and Dustin and Erica being brought into the whole mess. And also that he’s bad at taking care of me? Which, don’t know how he got that one. He does a really fucking good job taking care of me.”

“Jesus. He’s like, stressed.”

“To put it lightly.”

“So, what’s up? Where do I come in?”

“I’m planning an evening. A We Love Steve Harrington party.”

“I can be snack duty.” He smiled at her, clapping her on the shoulder. “It just us?”

“Yeah. I figured to leave the kids out of this one.”

“Good choice.”

“Be over at seven.” She nodded once, giving him a two-finger salute.

-

Steve was curled up, Billy spooned up behind him when there was a knock on the door.

“Go get that, will you? I’m all stiff.” Steve turned around, looking at Billy all concerned. “Go on. I’m okay.”

Billy had to shove him away before he finally went to answer the door.

“Oh, Robin, uh, hey.” She pushed one of her shopping bags into his arms.

“I was invited for an evening of bolstering you up.”

Billy came lumbering in, throwing himself down on the couch.

“I, don’t get it.”

“Robin’s here because you need some lovin’.” Steve’s bottom lip wobbled.

“That’s really nice.”

“You deserve it.” Billy was looking at him seriously.

Steve tucked himself into Billy’s side, Robin shoving herself next to him on the little couch.

Billy had pulled out all his lumpy blankets, and they had already torn into a box of cookies.

Steve was all warm.

Curled up in the blankets, watching The Aristocats.

“Thank you, guys. For this. It means a lot.”

“Can it, Dingus. Thomas O’Malley’s gonna sing.”

[theonewiththefanfics]

Hawkins’ Charm (Part 1/?)

Synopsys: They had gotten out of Hawkins. After all the shit that had happened, all the heartache and pain, Billy and the Reader had gotten away from that hellhole, building their life in California as he had dreamed. But when Max’s graduation rolls around and they go to celebrate, it’s as if the Upside Down was just waiting for all of them to return. And it has a bone to pick.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x f!Reader; platonic!Steve Harrington x f!Reader

Genre: angst, fluff, implied SMUT

Warnings: implied SMUT but not full on, blood, gore, mentions of death and injuries, mentions of abuse, swearing, mentions of anxiety and PTSD

Word count: 5007

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT CONDONE BILLY’S ACTIONS AND THE THINGS HE’S DONE! THIS IS BASICALLY AN AU, WHEN REALLY LOOKING AT IT! SPOILERS FOR S3! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!

Billy was a sight for sore eyes as he stepped out from the ocean, blond curls stuck to his head much like his swim trunks to his legs, the board slapped under his armpit as he shook out the warm droplets from his locks.        He ran past a little girl with light hair as she built a sandcastle and dropped down next to Y/N, who had been hiding under an umbrella to escape the direct heat of the day, a book clutched between her fingers.        “You gotta come into the water,” he groaned and laid down on his back onto the sheet, eyes locked onto hers that were hidden behind sunglasses. “It’s amazing.”        And it was. Everything was amazing ever since they’d fucked out of Hawkins. He was a different man; he had scars to prove it. The second September had rolled around, and he had been discharged from the hospital, Billy had gathered his stuff, Y/N hers, and together they’d made their way to California.        “I bet it is,” she mumbled still not looking down at him, “but stuffs getting pretty amazing here as well,” she nodded with her chin to the book where the main character was gearing up for the final showdown.        Billy huffed and rolled on top of Y/N’s legs making her grunt as she felt his weight settle on her thighs, and his hand snatched away the book, but not before dogearing the page.        “Yeah, well, the weather report says it’s gonna be pretty shit for the next two weeks, so why don’t you keep that for when we can’t get outside the apartment, and get a bit wet right now,” his tone was sultry and suggestive even though he meant it in a bit different of a way than usual. But Y/N could also play that game.        “I dunno,” she slid her palm up his chest noting how her blue nail polish had chipped away at the edges, “I’d like it if it was you making me wet.”        She got the reaction she had hoped. Billy moaned dropping his head to her chest, and his hands wove around her waist gripping at her sides as if she’d disappear unless he held onto her.        For so long it had felt that way. Y/N had been an enigma when he’d first seen her. She had made sure everyone in Hawkins knew – she was back. 

       Def Leppard blasted through the air as she drove inside the school’s parking lot, hands tapping against the wheel to the rhythm of the song. Billy’s eyes had immediately latched on to the Oldsmobile 442 and the Y/H/C haired kid who jumped out of it.        “Don’t be late, I have shit to do!” a girl hollered after the boy as she stepped out of the car, but he just held up a middle finger in response, as she heard his old friends scream in excitement seeing Alex return to their group.        “Is that Y/N Y/L/N or are my eyes deceiving me?” Steve Harrington’s annoying voice was next, but the smile that the girl threw his way from where the other guy was coming behind him, knocked Billy off balance. He didn’t even know her, yet he was already done for it.        “I dunno,” she bounded over to Steve and wrapped him in a tight hug, making Billy suck harsher on the cigarette between his lips. “Is that the King of Hawkins or just a dick?”        Steve sighed and rolled his eyes. He didn’t even get the chance to say he’d been dethroned a year ago when Nancy’s squeal made him put his hands over his ears.        “Holy shit, I can’t believe you’re back!” she leapt out of Johnathan’s car without even waiting for him to properly stop.        “Better believe it, Nance!” Y/N muttered in the crook of her best friend’s neck. “Hawkins!” she suddenly hollered. “Your heart and soul is back!”        Billy had watched the interactions without even a word, just admiring the stranger with the shining Y/E/C eyes before Tommy and Carol broke the silence with a scoff.        “Can’t believe that bitch is back," she mumbled under her breath.        “What?” Billy whipped his head to the side and saw Tommy shake his head.        “After Barb went missing, she moved to New York. The Big Apple for fuck’s sake.” Seeing the blond’s raised eyebrow, he elaborated. “They were best friends. Guess it took a toll on her, and she couldn’t stay here anymore. The chick’s really an idiot if she’s back. Fuck, what wouldn’t I give to live in New York?”        Carol only sneered. Y/N had been one of the most popular girls in school, but she hadn’t been a bitch or stuck up, and every guy seeing her step out of the car in the mornings would instantly start to drool at the sight of her.        “Hey Y/L/N!” Carol yelled over the commotion of the arriving students and plastered on a fake smile, drawing Y/N’s attention to her group. When Billy saw her eyes scan over him, he felt an unfamiliar feeling settle in the pit of his stomach. He bristled a bit as she gave him a small smile before giving Carol the attention she craved. “Didn’t expect to see you here. Thought you’d forget our small town after moving to the East coast.”        But Y/N just shrugged leaning against Steve’s side. “Hawkins has it’s… charm.” She was not going to admit that the real reason her mom had moved them to New York was because of her anxiety and PTSD since the Demogorgon incident had been so bad she spent her nights jolting awake every five minutes. Thinking it was because of Barb’s disappearance her mother decided to take Y/N away from the place that stimulated those fears.        Now that she was done with therapy, they’d come back for senior year. Despite everything, Hawkins was her home.        Billy snorted at her response, and that only made her raise her eyebrow. “Hawkins’s a shithole.”        “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure,” Y/N winked in his direction, making a smirk appear on his face. Yeah. He liked her a lot already.        “You going to Tina’s bash tonight?” Carol butted in, popping the bubble she’d made with her gum.        “Depends, are you gonna be there?”        Carol scoffed. “Of course. Everyone who knows what fun is, will be there.”        “Then Imma pass,” Y/N gave her a sarcastic smile. “Don’t want my night ruined by a bitch in faux leather pants.”        Steve, Nancy and Johnathan all let out small laughs as she turned around, hooking her elbow through Steve’s and Nance’s arms making their way into the school, and leaving behind the new king with his lackeys.        But Billy had to just make her notice him fully. “Hey sweetheart!” he hollered, making Y/N turn around and smirk. “And if I said I was gonna be there to keep her away from you?”        “I dunno,” she yelled back at him. “Are you gonna save me a dance?”        “I’ll save the whole night for you!”        Y/N gave him a wide smile and skipped backwards, not giving him an answer. As the bell rang, he yelled again after her, but she just waved her hand above her head and disappeared into the crowd.        In the end, she had shown up at the party. With AC/DC’s TNT roaring through the house, Y/N had pulled Nancy and Steve along. Johnathan was back at his house, Will and the rest of the Party welcoming Alex back with their usual D&D match, but because Joyce had to take a late shift, he was stuck there babysitting.        “I’ll get us drinks,” Steve said over the loud noises and the counting as someone was doing a keg stand.        The two girls nodded, and Y/N started to sway to the rhythm of the music.        “He’s bad news, I’m telling you,” Nancy repeated for like the twentieth time that day.        “I’m not going to do anything, Nance, come on,” she whined and chuckled. “Yeah, he’s a hot piece of ass, but you mess with my friends, you mess with me. I was just trying not to be a complete bitch.”        “I mean that’s pretty impossible, but sure,” Carol’s sarcastic voice invaded their conversation, and Y/N had to give herself a mental pep talk to not clock the other girl in her teeth. Some things had changed in Hawkins, but that hadn’t.        Turning around she put a hand on her hip and tilted her head. “Takes one to know one.”        “Don’t be a dick, Carol,” Billy interrupted before she could sneer a response. “Besides, I think I saw Tommy sucking Vicky’s face so you might wanna check up on that.”        With a flick of her hair, she stomped away weaving between the already drunk and the about to be drunk people.        “I didn’t need you to save me,” Y/N remarked. “Let alone from Carol. She’s a pain in the ass, but she’s harmless.”        “Yes, well, I did promise to keep her away from you,” Billy turned his charm on from ten to one-hundred as usually by that point the girl was ready to slip to her knees, but not her.        “That’s before I found out that the biggest dick is not the one between your legs, but just you.”        “Come on, dollface,” he leaned against the doorway where she’d remained as Nancy had gone to look for Steve and what was taking him so long to get the drinks, “you told me to save you a dance,” Billy said through a sly smile, but his heart dropped to his stomach when she responded, arms crossed over her chest. Usually, when a girl did that, his eyes immediately would flit down to be greeted by a gorgeous sight, but Y/N’s face had none of the light-heartedness that he’d seen in the morning.        “And it turns out, you beat up one of my best friends, and a middle schooler last year. I don’t deal with shitbags like that.”        Billy’s jaw clenched as Y/N turned around and ventured into the kitchen having given up on her two friends to find their way back. They’d meet at some point.        “Yeah, well it was warranted.”        “Really?” she raised a perfectly shaped eyebrow downing a cup of Pure Fuel like it was nothing when even Billy scrunched up his face while drinking that piss. “So, what did Lucas, a thirteen-year-old did so bad that he deserved to be smashed against the wall by practically a grown up?”        He hated being called out like that, the fist at his side balling up in anger as Y/N just stared at him unwavering and steady.        “Thought so,” she muttered, grabbed another drink and ducked under his arm that had been placed by her head        For the first time in his life, he said, “How do I make it better?” as she turned to look at him where he remained in his spot.        “You start with an apology,” and then she was lost between the moving bodies. He’d searched for Y/N throughout the night but was unable to come upon the feisty new-girl-that-was-not-so-new, and somehow, he knew she wouldn’t show up unless things changed.        And though he hated change because nothing good had ever come out of it, he actually tried. The next day after basketball practice Billy had apologized, through gritted teeth and clenched fists, but he had asked Steve’s forgiveness, and that same evening he’d followed Max inside the arcade to see Lucas and say he was sorry.        Despite how he had started off the previous year as the Keg King and the newly crowned King of Hawkins, slowly Billy started to clean up his act. Sure, he never backed down from a fight once he was involved making sure the person knew not to mess with him, but he no longer instigated them, unless it was warranted, and the walls he had so meticulously built around his heart were broken down brick by brick by a girl with a wide smile and eyes that sparkled like the stars in the sky.        The following summer changed everything though. As he’d gotten a job at the local pool in order to gather a bit of money for when he’d skip town for California, an alien from another dimension had taken control of his body. It was right after their eight-month anniversary as he’d taken Y/N to see Terminator because of her incessant begging, his world had been turned upside down. Literally.        Billy was basically a prisoner in his own mind, made to watch how his hands had wrapped around Y/N’s throat at one point and squeezed so hard that she’d passed out. It was Eleven’s harsh slam of telekinetic power that sent him through the concrete wall of the boy’s locker room at the pool, that somewhat allowed him to understand what was happening.        But it was far from over. Only when the Mind Flayer had brought its monster to the mall, Eleven limply hanging over his shoulder as he placed her on the floor did his eyes snap to the back of the court and zeroed in on his girlfriend’s face. More so the blue-black bruises that adorned her neck like a brutal chain.        Fireworks exploded all around him, and he felt the Mind Flayer recoil in pain from the flashes. It was Y/N firing a shotgun to take its attention off of the incapacitated girl when Billy was able to fully break free from the grasp, it had on him.        Two tentacles latched onto his sides, but the pain would all be worth it if he could make it right. He’d been the one to screw everything up. He had to make it right.        One that was aimed dead centre on his heart came flying out of its mouth, but it never struck. It hovered in the air a bit, as Billy saw Eleven’s outstretched hand keeping it away, and then next motion was a leaping Y/N with an axe in her hand chopping away at the limbs before the Mind Flayer retreated and stumbled all around as it screeched loudly at the feeling of the Gate being closed.        The last thing Billy saw before the monster the Mind Flayer had created fell dead, was Y/N’s face with tears streaming down it, her gentle palms holding onto his cheeks, and he heard Max calling his name.        He woke up in absolute agony, his sides burning and screaming from where the thing had latched onto him. After having heard Billy’s whimpering, Y/N’s head shot up from where she’d fallen asleep and called for a nurse. As he was sedated once more, he had dozed off to the soft whispers of her voice telling him it would all be okay. He wasn’t alone. And she’d be right there. His father hadn’t even visited, but Y/N never left. Never would.        And she was right there. Sunglasses pushed up to her forehead and smirking at him, gentle palms having settled on the nasty scars that adorned his sides. Y/N still loved him despite that.        “Trust me,” he groaned coming back to the reality of California and out the memories that had been his senior year and summer in Hawkins. “I wanna do that so bad, and I know I don’t have to do much to have you writhing and panting my name,” Billy leaned down and bit her earlobe, hearing Y/N’s shaky exhale. “And I will when we’re home, don’t you worry… but first, we gotta catch the little monster!”        He flipped around and grabbed at the little girl that had stopped playing in the sand and had decided to sneak up on the pair.        “Daddy, no!” her loud squeals as Billy tickled her sides were echoed by the other kids also laughing somewhere down the beach.        “You think you can sneak up on us and not suffer the consequences?” he gently lifted the toddler in the air and blew raspberries on her stomach making her laugh harder than before.        “Mommy, save me!”        “Sorry, hunny,” Y/N replied placing her sunglasses back on her nose, “I can’t hear you!”        But the girl just laughed harder, and Billy’s smile widened. This was his life now. A kid, a wife, a beautiful apartment that overlooked the beach. He’d gotten his dream despite all the shit that had happened, despite the shit his dad had put him through, calling him worthless and a waste of breath, Billy had proved him wrong.        Well, Neil didn’t know that. The only person in Hawkins he still kept in contact with was Max, who was also the only person in his family that knew about his marriage and baby girl Clara. He wasn’t going to let Neil taint the one pure thing in his life.        “Mommy save me from the tickle monster!” her daughter screamed as she was running to jump in Y/N’s arms, Billy chasing the three-year-old. She was just about to let Clara leap in her lap when her little fingers dug in her own sides, grabbing at the skin and tickling her.        “You traitors!” Y/N laughed seizing her daughter and returning the favor.        That’s how their day went – giggling and relaxing by the beach, with Billy surfing the waves of the Pacific Ocean and helping Clara build sand castles from time to time. As the sun slowly dipped closer to the horizon, they gathered their stuff and placed everything in the Camaro that Billy still couldn’t let go of.        Their cat Thor greeted the trio as they finally arrived home, Y/N having been and still being a nerd in her own right.        “Kitty!” Clara squealed, and the cat dashed away from her grabby hands.        “Come on,” Y/N sighed placing the big beach bag on the floor and putting her daughter on her hip, “let’s go get a bath, otherwise you’ll make the house one big sand pit.”        The apartment was beautiful, and every day Billy marvelled as to how they’d gotten there. He had actually been a really good student despite his antics. His dad would have his ass if his grades dipped down below a B-.    When they arrived in San Diego, he was going to apply for a local auto shop to work as a mechanic, but Y/N had come into their beat-up studio apartment with a flyer that advertised an accountant’s position at the same agency she worked at.        “You’ve always been good with numbers,” she’d mumbled while handing him the flyer. “Why not try and get an interview? It wouldn’t hurt, would it?”        It truly amazed Billy as to how much faith Y/N had in him. She pushed the man to do things that were out of his comfort zone, but never in a violent way. If he said no, she’d back off, though remained encouraging. She was the reason he’d gotten into university in the first place, and she was the reason the two of them were in their final year of it, with him majoring business management and her photography and journalism.        “Okay,” he’d sighed. “I’ll call them up tomorrow.”        He actually had. Y/N had helped him button up his wide-open shirt and made sure he was as presentable as possible.        “Good luck,” she’d leaned over to his side and given him a kiss before bounding off to her own office leaving him to rehearse for the questions that could be asked.       It could’ve gone better but it also could’ve gone worse. A week later he’d had a job offer, and let’s just say, the next day Y/N went to her job with a noticeable limp which her co-workers teased her relentlessly about.        Slowly but steadily they climbed the ranks of the PR company, and a year later, they had enough money to put down a deposit for a beautiful double bedroom apartment that overlooked the Pacific, because by that point, for Billy it was no longer to provide for Y/N and give her the best possible, nor was it to spite Neil who was still doing the odd job in Hawkins. It was to give the bean growing inside of his girlfriend the utmost that he could.        And he had. Billy had made sure of it.    A week after Clara was born, despite his protests that Y/N should not get out of bed and should rest, they went to the courthouse and got married.        Max had been pissed off that she wasn’t invited to the wedding, and that he hadn’t informed her he was a father the second Y/N found out she was pregnant, but Billy had just taken the berating through the phone with a soft smile on his face as he watched his wife give his daughter breakfast.        “You’re not even listening to me are you, shitbag?” Max sighed rolling her eyes.        “Nope,” Billy replied, the smile never fading. “Not one bit.”        That smile hadn’t disappeared even now three years later. As he got ready to prepare them a homemade meal, because both of them had been quite lazy during their time off work, the phone rang.        “Hargrove’s,” he grunted and heard a ‘yeah, no shit,’ from the other side of the line.        “Hello to you too, Maxine.”        “Call me that again, and I’ll knock out your teeth. We’ll see if Y/N likes you when you’re missing some of those pearly whites.” As an almost eighteen-year-old the redhead had sure become even more spunky than he remembered.        Billy heard the water running indicating that Clara was having her bath. “Listen, I don’t have much time, the girls will be out soon, and I haven’t started dinner.”        “Aww,” Max cooed. “Look at what a doting husband you are.”        “Unless you want your skateboard showed down your throat, you’ll shut it, and tell me what’s happening.”        “My graduation’s happening, that’s what… and I was wondering if you and Y/N were coming.”        Of course, Billy remembered that Max was a senior now, but he hadn’t really intended on driving back to Hawkins. Ever. They’d talked about her flying out to California during the summer, but he’d been quite clear he wanted nothing to do with Neil, and unfortunately that meant missing Max’s big day.        “Look,” he heard her sigh, and the water turned off in the bathroom. “I know you didn’t leave things the best way here but… I miss you,” it sounded like it pained Max to say, and Billy smirked, “and I miss Y/N, and I’d really appreciate if you two came.”        He heard the little pitter patter of Clara’s feet as she rushed to the living room and leapt up to the sofa, her tiny body adorned by a Winnie the Pooh robe, and Y/N’s shirt was very much so splashed by soap water.        “Max?” she mouthed in his direction, and he nodded.        “I don’t know if we can afford much more time off or find Clara a nanny in such short notice.” There were only two and a half weeks left until the ceremony, and though it was only half true, they were actually real issues. He knew Y/N was definitely going back, her brother was graduating as well, so he had decided to stay with their daughter while she was there for a bit.        “Then bring her with,” Max whined. “You know I love that little gremlin.”        “Hey, watch your mouth, that’s my gremlin you’re talking about,” but where once there would be animosity in his tone, nothing but love could be heard now. Almost five years away from Neil did wonders. “Besides, I don’t want him anywhere near her, so if we’re going, Clara’s staying in San Diego. You’ll be able to see her when you get here.”       “Fine,” Max grumbled. “Just please call me sometime this week, if you’re coming.”        He sighed and looked over his shoulder where his girls were making them dinner because he’d been preoccupied with the call, Clara holding the jar of sauce. “I’ll talk to Y/N, and we’ll figure something out.”        “Okay,” she sighed in defeat. “Tell your wife and kid I love them. Bye.”        “Yeah, yeah, whatever, bye.”        The thought of seeing Neil or Susan made the rage that had been flushed out of his system years ago, come back with a vengeance, but it melted away the second Clara asked, “Who was that daddy?”        He turned back to face his family and shook his head with a smile, bringing the blonde girl to his lap as Y/N placed plates of spaghetti Bolognese in front of them. “Just Max.”        “Is she coming?” Clara gasped in excitement.        “A bit later in the summer, you know that.”        “But I want now!”        “Clara,” Y/N soothed the toddler that was about to throw a tantrum, but there was a warning edge for her to behave in her tone. “You know Max can’t right now. She’ll finish school, and then she’ll come for a visit.”        But their daughter crossed her tiny arms over her chest and turned away her head when Billy tried to put the food in her mouth. “I hate school. School stupid.”        “Clara! What did we talk about using those kinds of words?” Y/N scolded her.        She didn’t even respond, her Y/E/C eyes looking at the wall.        “Clara,” Billy said her name in a low tone. His temper was always in check around the two, he’d never let anything jeopardize the best thing in his life, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t strict when needed. “Answer your mom.”        “Only grown-ups can use them,” Clara mumbled and accepted the fork of spaghetti, her arms still crossed.        “And are you a grown-up?”        “No,” she grumbled again but it came out unintelligible because of her chewing.        Billy just chuckled as did Y/N. They cleaned their plates in silence, the only other sounds being the honks of cars down in the streets of San Diego before he pulled her out of the chair, and her small fingers wrapped themselves in his curly hair. He’d still kept it long saying it was too much trouble to go to a barber, but he had been considering cutting it, though, in moments like these, where one of his girls softly carded their fingers through the locks, he instantly decided not to.        “Come on, you little Terminator,” he huffed and plopped down on her bed. “Let’s get you to sleep.”        “Monsters?” Clara extended a finger and pointed at her closet. Billy was up and throwing the doors open, pushing her little dresses, shirts and pants aside. If only she knew how real monsters were.        “None.”        “Under the bed?’        Crouching down he looked at the carpeted floor and shook his head. “Nope, not one.”        “Okay,” she said through a sleepy yawn. A few more seconds later, Billy stood up pecked her forehead and whispered a ‘goodnight princess’, but she was already out like a light.        He found Y/N washing up the last of the dishes, and his face immediately fell to the crook of her neck as his arms wrapped around her waist bringing their bodies flush against one another.        “Max asked to come to her graduation?” her fingers were damp with dishwater as she wove them through his placing the last plate to dry on the rack.        “Mhm,” Billy mumbled. “And I wanna go. I actually do, it’s just… I can’t’ have him ruin the one good thing in my life. I can’t have that asshole taint this…”       He meant his new life. Neil hadn’t even met Y/N properly, just seen how she had climbed in Billy’s car one time, and once his son had come back from his date, regarded to her as just ‘one of his new sluts’, so there was no way Billy would let him anywhere near his wife.        “He won’t,” she had turned to face him now, running a cold thumb across his cheek. “Not if you let him. We’ll be there for Max and Alex and all of those other little shitheads. Not for Neil or anyone else.”        He knew Y/N was right, as always. Well, except that one time they’d run off to the beach, and she’d been so confident she could surf but then on the first try had plopped into the water as if she was a baby deer just learning how to walk.        “You know how he gets under my skin,” Billy let out a shaky sigh, gripping on Y/N’s hips a bit tighter to ground himself. “I hate the person I become when he’s around.”        “Not gonna lie, I don’t like that Billy either,” she mumbled in his shoulder. “But that’s why I’m gonna be there every step of the way, and I won’t let him hurt you.”        Billy let out a sad snort. “I should be the one saying that to you.”        “Yes, well, I kinda get pissed off when someone I love is either upset or being hurt. Demogorgon, shit friends, a shittier father… things don’t end well for them.”        “I love you, you know that right?” he muttered pulling back and looking into Y/N’s eyes. Clara’s eyes.        “Yeah, I do, you absolute softie,” her lips were like clouds, gentle and fluttery as they skimmed over his. “I love you too.”        “Do you think we could get Jess to watch Clara on such short notice?” Billy referred to the high schooler they always hired if they wanted to have a date night or had a company thing.        “I’m sure she won’t mind.”        “Fuck,” Billy groaned letting his forehead rest against Y/N’s. “And here I thought I could leave Hawkins behind.”       He felt her shoulders lift as she shrugged. “It has a disgusting way of pulling people back. But I think that one time it did, somehow things turned out better in the end. Maybe it won't be bad this time around either.” Her smile was faint, but it was there as she remembered meeting the boy who’d become her life.       “Can’t deny that.”        But as Billy connected his lips to Y/N’s his hands hoisting her legs around his hips and carried them to their bedroom, something in Hawkins was stirring awake. Something evil and craving to destroy.

Tags (crossed out wouldn’t take): @lumelgy @palaiasaurus64 @supernaturalbaesduh @breezy1415 @crazy--me @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @sea040561 @staryeyedgirl @deathbyarabbit @s-c-a-r-e-d-po-t-t-e-r @reblogger-not-a-blogger @m-a-t-91 @dalilx @i-need-a-hero-i-need-a-loki @maladaptive-ninja-returns @averyrogers83 @in-the-end-im-still-trash @gallifreyansass @dewy-biitch @avxgers @unlikelygalaxygiver @sweet-ladyy @magicwithaknife @ollyoxenfrees @bnhvrdy @tvwhoresblog @celebsimagines @thatkindofgurl @sj-thefan

A/N: My first Billy fic :) I just wanted to write this cause I think there was so much they could do with that character and to be quite honest I’m a bit upset about him being axed off :D But I do gotta say - Stranger Things has more balls than Game of Throne. don’t come for me please :D

This might be a 2 parter 3 parter or even a mini-series, but we’ll see how things go. If you wanna be tagged, drop a message :)

Also, I wanna say sorry to those who saw spoilers on my blog. It was not my intention, and I completely forgot to tag the reblogs that contained them. Again, didn’t want to ruin that for you, but it was an honest mistake done at 3am. 

P.S. what did ya think?

P.S.S. if you wanna be added to the taglist or removed, please drop a message :)

[steebharringt0n]

cat's in the cradle

infant | toddler | child | teenager | young adult

a 5-part story exploring the relationship between billy hargrove and his first-born son, adam

pairing: billy hargrove x you

rating: t

a/n: i’ve been craving softdad!billy for literally weeks, so this happened (and yes this is based off the song cat’s in the cradle) ....

---

part one - infant

Billy Hargrove was a heavy sleeper.

He could sleep through his alarm clock in high school, he could sleep through Neil screaming at him early Saturday mornings to start up his chores, hell, he could probably sleep through a White Snake concert if he wanted to.

But then Adam came along and suddenly Billy could be woken up by a mouse scurrying through his kitchen floor.

The pregnancy wasn’t planned. You both had just left Hawkins and had finally settled on a small apartment and looked over the San Diego coast. Billy was ecstatic to finally be back in California, while you were just ecstatic to be anywhere else but Hawkins. You had plans, dreams of becoming a teacher - the University of California, San Diego would help you achieve those dreams. You had gotten accepted your senior year and it just fueled you and Billy even more to leave Hawkins.

Billy however, didn’t really have much plans. “I’ll figure it out when I get there” he would huff to you after your much constant badgering. 

You would just roll your eyes. You knew he had a knack for cars, so you urged him to look into automotive classes, something where he could use his hands for good - and not for punching assholes who would hit on you.

You weren’t sure when Adam was conceived. Maybe it was in the back of his camero? Maybe it was the night you both christened your new bedroom? Or that time he decided to literally christen every room (”If you think I’m not going to bend you over the kitchen counter and fuck you from behind ... “). Hell, you weren’t sure. But when your aunt flo decided to stop visiting - panic started to set in.

Logically, you thought through this in a poor effort to keep yourself from freaking out.

Maybe it was the stress of the move? Maybe you just overworked yourself too much? 

But when you ran down the street, hair wild and eyes wide, to the nearest pharmacy, and you held the pregnancy box in your trembling hands, you knew.

Call it a motherly instinct, but you knew you were pregnant - and Billy Hargrove’s dick was the reason for it.

You slammed down a ten dollar bill to the cashier and ran back up to your apartment. Billy was out meeting with old friends - you knew he wouldn’t be back for a while. So you were left alone, alone with a pregnancy test with 2 pink strips in your ugly yellow bathroom.

After reading said positive pregnancy test, you proceeded to bond with your toilet, expelling all of your breakfast from earlier in the morning.

There were a couple of things that instantly came into your mind soon after:

1. your dreams of becoming a teacher were effectively put on pause 2. this apartment was not big enough for a baby 3. how the hell were you going to tell Billy?

The thoughts continued to swirl around your head as you continued to bond with your toilet - but you knew the biggest challenged that poised itself to you was telling your mullet haired-anger prone-’I hate kids’ boyfriend who you knew would not be the slightest bit happy that you were carrying his little spawn.

A little Billy. The image of a little boy with dirty blonde curls and a wide smile popped into your mind. Leaning against your bathroom door, your hand instinctively reached down and placed it against your belly. 

Call it another motherly instinct - but you knew it was going to be a boy.

“Hey little guy ... whether your dad loves you or not, I’m going to love you” you spoke softly to the little being inside of you.

Your happy baby thoughts were shattered when you heard Billy walk in through the front door. You glanced at the pregnancy test in your hand - well, it was now or never. Putting on your best brave face, you stood up and stomped right over to him.

He stared at you, his blue eyes wide in surprise as you shoved the pregnancy test in his hand.

“Listen, I know you don’t want kids - hell, I know you hate kids, but this is our baby, my baby, and I’m keeping it”

You ended with a huff, crossing your arms and avoiding his soft gaze. You fully expected him to leave, to pack up his stuff and scram out of here.

But Billy Hargrove is full of never-ending surprises.

“You’re pregnant?” he squeaked out.

You turned to look at him and your expression soften. Your arms fell to your side as you let out an loud exhale from your nose, “Well ... yeah, we’ve fucked like non-stop these last couple of months”

Billy stood quiet.

You stood quiet.

Everything was suddenly quiet.

You continued to stare at him as his eyes never left the pink pregnancy test in his hand.

Fuck he was going to become a father.

“I don’t want to be like Neil” he suddenly blurted out. 

Your shoulders relaxed and you let out a soft sigh. You felt a pang in your heart as he uttered those words. You knew he wouldn’t be like Neil - he had grown so much from the old Billy Hargrove who bullied his way to the top of Hawkins High. He still had his moments but everyday was progress.

You walked over to him and scooped him up in your arms, pressing your head in his chest. He smelt like cigarettes and mints - a familiar scent that comforted you in times of despair.

“You’re never going to be like Neil. You’re going to be a good father, the best. I’ll be with you along the way”

He then proceeded to cup your face and kiss you with so much passion and vigor that you swore that your knees were going to give out.

It wasn’t just you and Billy anymore - it was you, Billy and the baby now.

Plans were suddenly shifted, doctor appointments were suddenly made, and life suddenly turned upside down.

You had decided to defer your acceptance to the University of California. Accepting an office job nearby to start saving up money. Billy started work at the local automotive repair shop. 

The first 20 weeks of your pregnancy were absolutely fantastic. You had the pregnancy glow, and no morning sickness. You were rocking this pregnancy and on top of that, you were horny,

All. The. Time.

You couldn’t keep your hands off of Billy, and he was more happy to help fulfill your needs.

In the shower, in the kitchen, on the couch, on the bed, in the camero, and almost - almost, on the balcony.

At your 20 weeks appointment, your motherly instinct was confirmed. You were indeed having a boy.

A little Billy, and big Billy couldn’t have been any more happier with the news.

Not that he didn’t mind a little girl, someone who looked exactly like you, but he was excited to teach him how to surf, how to fix cars, how to play baseball. Be the father that Neil never was to him.

To say the rest of your pregnancy went smooth sailing was a lie.

Suddenly something went off like a switch in your baby boy and he wouldn’t stop kicking, wouldn’t stop turning, and was giving you so much heartburn you couldn’t eat Mexican food for weeks - and that’s all that you were craving. Your ankles had swollen up, and walking was almost impossible.

“I’m so fat” you sobbed to Billy one night. Your hormones were making you certifiably crazy and all Billy could do was hold you in his arms, peppering kisses all over your head.

“You’re so beautiful, you’re carrying my baby, our baby” he murmured to you, comforting you as best as he could.

Your water broke a couple weeks later and you were laying on the hospital bed, squeezing Billy’s hand so hard that you swore you were going to break it. But he stayed by your side, encouraging you with every push until you both heard the most beautiful scream in the world.

Adam William Hargrove came into this world kicking and screaming, a tuft of dusky blond hair, a set of piercing blue eyes. He looked everything like Billy and nothing like you - not that you minded of course - you knew your bouncing baby boy was going to be a heartbreaker like his father.

You held the little boy in your arms, his arms and legs flailing around as he searched for warmth.

“Hi, hi little guy ... I’m your mom” you cooed to him, your fingers gently combing back his hair.

Billy laid beside you on the hospital bed, holding you in his arms as the both of you gazed down on your little boy in wonder.

10 fingers and 10 toes, he was absolutely perfect. Worth every second of the pregnancy.

2 months later you both settled yourself into a routine with Adam. You’d stay at home while Billy worked, and the afternoons were spent together. Either walking down the boardwalk, heading to the beach, or just hanging inside. The three of you were a little family and every time you saw Billy hold Adam against his chest, you swore your heart was going to explode.

It was one particular night that you could not get Adam to sleep. Relentless, like his father, stubborn, like his mother. It was nearing to be 12 AM and your eyes were begging you to sleep, hell you wouldn’t have mind passing out on the floor but his screams were piercing and you just did not know what to do at this point.

Adam was fed, he was changed, you checked him to see if anything was hurting him.

But nothing, his wailing's still continued.

“C’mon buddy ... what is it? What do you need?” you muttered, gently patting his back as his head laid in the crook of your neck.

Billy suddenly appeared at the door of Adam’s bedroom, leaning his body on the frame of the door. A smirk adorned his face as he watched you in amusement.

“Sleep much?”

“Ha-ha” you deadpanned.

“Here, let me try” he said, walking over and taking Adam from your hands.

“Good luck, I’ve been trying to put him to sleep for the last hour, but if he’s anything like you ... “ you trailed off and he threw you a look.

“I know my son, and I know I can put him to sleep” he teased. You stuck your tongue out at him, wiggling your ass as you waltzed back into your bedroom, throwing yourself to your bed.

“Keep wiggling that ass and Adam will soon have a little brother!” he shouted at you down the hall.

You didn’t answer him as you quickly fell into a deep slumber, finally letting your body dissolve within your bed sheets.

Billy held Adam’s little body with his hand, his other hand cradled his head. He gently rocked him back and forth as his cries still echoed throughout the apartment. An idea suddenly popped into his head, if his son was anything like him, this would instantly put him to sleep.

He walked out into the living room and towards the bookcase that held the millions of records that you and Billy had collected throughout the years of being together. He pulled out Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy, balancing Adam in one hand, and placed it on the record player.

The familiar guitar strum of The Rain Song played quietly throughout the apartment. Billy adjusted Adam in his arms, letting the tiny baby rest his head in his chest as he rocked back and forth to the song, planting small kisses on the top of his head.

But I know that I love you so Oh, but I know That I love you so These are the seasons of emotion And like the wind, they rise and fall

The melody of the song woke you back up - not that you minded, you were curious to see what Billy was up to. All dressed in one of Billy’s button up shirts as your pajamas, you quietly walked over to the living room, peering around the corner as you watched your boyfriend and son sway slowly to the music. You felt tears prick your eyes at the scene unfolding in front of you, it filled your heart with so much love you felt you were about to burst.

Billy glanced up and spotted you, “Well if he’s anything like me, he’d fall asleep to Led Zeppelin ... “ he casually explained. You sauntered over to him, Billy reached his free arm out and pulled you close to him. The both of you slowly swayed together as Adam quietly, and slowly fell asleep on his father’s chest. His eyes fluttering shut as your fingers caressed his chubby cheek.

“See, told ya I could” Billy smirked.

“Keep it up Hargrove and Adam won’t have any siblings” you warned.

Billy let out a chuckle and kissed the top of your head, squeezing you tightly against his body.

Thing didn’t quite necessarily go as the two of you planned, hell things never quite do, but right now, life was as perfect as it could be.

And for right now, that was okay.

[unfortunate-stranger-losers]

Right-Side Up AU, Part Three: It’s the End of the World {AO3} {tumblr} {Part One} {Part Two}

Chapter Eleven → Party Planning

“Yes, yes.” Joyce nodded. She was on the phone again, while Jonathan sat on the sofa beside Nancy, who they’d laid out. Hopper was telling him what he remembered about emergency first aid, but Nancy was still unconscious. They’d be fine, probably. Probably. 

“Are you sure? And if you wanna drop Lucas off-” 

“Yes, yes, it’s fine. He might wanna spend the night.” Steve had called, saying that Dustin and Will were planning some sort of surprise and wanted to spend the night at his place. She was fine with that, because she trusted Steve and Dustin and really didn’t want to have to explain this all to Will. Hopefully they’d have it figured out tomorrow when he got back. 

“We’ll call you-” 

“If there’s anything, yes.” Joyce nodded. “Just make sure he doesn’t leave the house? Yeah. Yeah, okay, I’ll see you tomorrow- afternoon? He’ll want to go to the mall, I’m sure- yes, that’ll work. Okay, tell him I love him and to stay safe. Alright, bye.” 

She hung up and moved back, pushing books aside to sit on the table. “Okay, recap again. Ms Driscoll is eating fertilizer and we got her to the hospital, and you call us-” 

“Because we went to check out the Lab,” Jonathan said, “And got attacked.” 

“What do you remember about the guy?” Hopper asked. 

“Is this official police stuff?” Jonathan asked nervously. “Or ‘We destroyed an alternate dimension last year’ stuff?” 

“Do you think it’s actually related to that?” Joyce asked. 

“I…” Jonathan paused. “I think he said something to Nancy. She’d been yelling about the other world and I- I think that’s why he attacked her. But… but I don’t know, I got there later… are we sure she’s okay?” 

“She’ll wake up soon.” Hopper said. “I-” 

They heard the door open down the hall, and within a few seconds, El ran in, saying, “Guys, we have an emergen- what the fuck happened to Nancy?” 

Joyce turned, startled, and her terror grew more when she saw the children. Lucas had an arm around Max, who looked about ready to collapse, and even he had a fear behind his eyes. Mike was shaking, and when he saw Nancy, he let out a cry and raced forwards to her side, kneeling by the couch and throwing his hands over hers. All of them were soaking wet and looked very, very, scared. 

“Did you say emergency?” Hopper asked. 

“What’s going on?” El asked, looking between them all. “Nancy’s unconscious- what’s-” 

“What’s going on with you?” Jonathan asked. “You all look like you’ve seen ghosts.” 

“Not really.” Max shivered. 

Lucas took a breath, and then walked in with Max, sitting down on the floor. “It’s all happening again, isn’t it?” he asked. 

“What is?” Joyce turned to him. 

“What keeps happening to us since we’ve been out.” Lucas said. “We have some calm, and then things happen to everyone, and then the world ends.” 

“Well, not everyone.” El said nervously, helping Mike into a chair. “Dustin and Will are- where are they?” 

“They’re sleeping over at Steve’s.” Joyce said quickly. “Lucas, Steve said I can drop you off if you don’t want to sleep over he-” 

“The Mind Flayer’s back.” Max said. 

Everyone fell dead silent. 

“And we’re fucked.” Max completed, before dropping her head onto Lucas’s shoulder. 

“Language.” Hopper said instinctively. 

Max, in turn, flipped him off, and El said. “Why don’t you guys start, and we’ll move around to the return of all our nightmares?”

“First thing’s first,” Hopper said, looking around. “Are you all okay?” 

“As we can be.” El shivered, giving her father a nod. 

“What about Nancy?” Mike asked. “Is she okay?” 

“She’s just unconscious. She should be awake soon.” Hopper said quickly. “She’s already been drifting in and out. We- Jonathan?” 

“We, um, went to investigate the Lab.” Jonathan sighed. “Some weird shit’s been going on with the magnetic fields around town, and we thought there might be something, but the place is still deserted. But someone came out and attacked Nancy. I… he had some kind of an accent, but I suck at identifying those-” 

Mike narrowed his eyes. “I’ll hurt them. Whoever hurt her.” 

“Mike, listen-” 

“I can do it.” 

“Mike.” Jonathan leaned forwards and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Calm down. We’ll figure this out when she wakes up.” He glanced over at his Mom and said, “And, uh, well-” 

“Rats are eating fertilizer,” Joyce sighed, “And so was Ms Driscoll, one of the women in town. We just rushed her to the hospital. Clearly something’s… going on.” 

“It is.” Max nodded. 

“Billy’s back in town.” El said, giving Max an apologetic look. 

Hopper turned sharply to her. “The Hargroves-” 

“No, just Billy.” El sighed. “He scared Max so Mike looked him up in the Void and saw him hurting someone. We tracked her today, her name’s Heather, and we found her at her house, she seemed fine, Billy was there with her and her parents- but they were weird-” 

“Heather Holloway?” Jonathan asked. 

Mike nodded grimly. “Her Dad’s the ‘shit boss.’ He sucks.” 

“Yeah, we can discuss that later.” El said gently. “While that was happening, Max… Max-” 

“I felt the Mind Flayer.” Max said numbly. “He’s back. I don’t know anything else, but he’s here.” 

Joyce narrowed her eyes, letting this information circle in her head. “Billy’s acting weird, so are Heather, Ms Driscoll, and the rats. The Mind Flayer is back. Someone attacked Nancy when she mentioned the other dimension.” 

“So. I think we can conclude that the Mind Flayer is fucking with the town again.” El said. 

“Are we allowed to say ‘fuck’ now?” Lucas asked, glancing over. 

“Nobody fucking cares.” El waved him off. 

“But he can’t have gotten back.” Jonathan said. “Mike closed the Gate.” 

“I did.” Mike nodded, looking around at the others. “It’s closed, we’re safe.” 

Max slowly stood, and walked over to the table, grabbing a scattered stack of papers. She looked at them, almost regretfully, and said, “We’re not safe.” 

“Max-” 

“I’ve been feeling him back for a while.” Max said. She walked over to the table, and picked up a spare paper, flipping it over in her hands, staring down with wide eyes. “But I… I don’t think I wanted to believe it. The first time I felt it was in the theater, when the power went out. Then when Billy was freaked out by the light. Then tonight, in the Cabin.”

Hopper and Joyce shared a concerned look, and Hopper leaned forwards. “What does it feel like?” 

Max considered. “You know that feeling when you’re on a rollercoaster, and you drop?” 

“Yeah.” El nodded. 

“Yes.” Jonathan said. 

“No.” Lucas and Mike both shook their heads. 

Max glanced at the boys, and then said, “It’s like… everything inside you is falling at once. But… this is worse. Your body gets cold and you can’t… you can’t breathe. I’ve felt it before. Whenever he was close. When he was going to hurt someone. Or me.” 

“Max…” Mike bit his lip. “I closed the Gate?” 

“What if he didn’t leave?” Max turned to him, and then her voice broke. “What if we locked him out here with us?” 

Mike froze a moment, and then slowly sank onto the ground and curled up. 

“But we got it out of you.” Joyce said, reaching over and putting a hand on Max’s shoulder. 

“Maybe…” Max slammed the paper on the ground, and then reached around, finding a stray crayon. She drew fast, sketching a dark shape. “This is him, right? That day in the field, part of him attached to me.” She swiped her hand across the paper, and held it up so they could see the black mark. “You got it out, and Mike closed the Gate. But the part that was in me- what if it didn’t make it to the Gate? What if it’s still on this side?” 

She flipped the paper over, and hit it with her hand. A small black handprint was left. 

“It’s been growing.” she said, her eyes focused downwards while everyone stared at her. “Gaining power. And now it’s strong enough to attack.” 

“But the demodogs died when Mike closed the Gate.” Jonathan pointed out. 

“If the brain dies, the body dies.” Hopper added. 

“Well, I don’t fucking know! I just know he’s back.” Max said, finally glancing up. “He’s still here.” 

“And if he’s still here-” Joyce began. 

“He’ll want a new host.” Lucas said. 

Max shut her eyes tight, and then Mike said, “Would this host… be able to see me in the Void?” 

El shuddered, and Max said, “Maybe. Wh-” Her eyes widened, and she looked to Mike with fear. “Oh, fuck.” 

“Okay. Everyone calm down.” Hopper held up his hands, and they quickly turned to him. “We need a game plan. Firstly, we need to know who attacked Nancy.” 

“Why-” Max began. 

“If they attacked her for knowing about the Upside Down,” Hopper said, thinking hard, “They know something about the Upside Down and don’t want that information spreading. And here’s something else- the brain dies the body dies, we just said that, right? But if someone knows about the Upside Down, and there’s magnetic incidents in Hawkins-” 

Joyce realized what he was saying. “You think someone’s opened another Gate?” 

“It may not be open yet.” Hopper said. “Mike, they tried to have you open it, right?” 

“I did open it.” 

“But you saw the Demogorgon in the Void before it opened, and then-” 

“The wall cracked.” Mike remembered. 

“Maybe they opened something,” Hopper said, “That’s letting the Mind Flayer reach the part of itself still here.” 

“It’s possessing something- doing something.” Lucas said. 

“Heather could be possessed.” Max suggested. 

Mike said, his eyes going wide. “That’s when she fell into the Void.” 

“When she what?” Joyce asked. 

“But she didn’t look possessed.” El said. 

“Neither did I.” Max shivered. “It shuts off sometimes. Like… he only takes over when he needs to.” 

Lucas paused, and then said, “Billy?” 

Max stiffened, and Mike said, “That would… make sense. Why he could see me in the Void.” 

“Why he freaked out when my light hit him.” Lucas said. 

“No.” Max shook her head. “No, I don’t think-” 

“There’s gotta be some way to tell.” El narrowed her eyes. 

“Well,” Joyce paused, “When we exorcised Max, we used heat.” 

“I’m pretty sure grabbing a teenager to exorcise him is illegal.” Hopper said. 

“How would you know?” El shot back, sitting on the arm of the sofa. 

“I’m a cop?” 

“Is there somewhere we could have plausible deniability?” Jonathan asked. 

“Oh my God.” Hopper put his head in his hands. 

“Don’t the guys have a sauna at the pool?” Joyce asked. 

“And Billy works there.” El nodded. “Wouldn’t be hard be lock him in.” 

“Um?” Max hugged herself and glanced up. “I really don’t-” 

“Yeah, again, illegal.” Hopper said. 

“Oh, please,” El groaned, “As if you care.” 

“I have a job to do.” 

“Since when have you given a shit when there’s other-dimensional threats? Come on, we won’t kill him. Probably.” 

“Probably?” Max said. 

“I wanna kill him.” Lucas said. 

“And your Stepdad.” El added. “How much of your family do we have to kill, again, Max?” 

“Please, don’t.” Max said. 

“No, we’re gonna.” El assured her. “We can trap Billy in the Sauna- tomorrow night, before he leaves the pool. In the meantime, we can help you track the guy who attacked Nancy.” 

“I think the best way to do that,” Jonathan muttered, “Is to wait for her to wake up.” 

They all cautiously turned to the unconscious Nancy. She didn’t look that bad, thankfully- almost as if she was asleep. Mike put his hands over hers again, and Joyce said, “How about we all plan when Nancy wakes up? You kids should get some sleep. It… it sounds like you’ve had quite a day.” 

“No.” Lucas shook his head. “We wanna talk to Nancy.” 

“It could be a while.” Joyce said cautiously. “And… you all really should get some sleep. We can call you when Nancy’s awake.” 

El paused, and then said, “Can we sleep in here? So we’re here when she gets up.” 

“Please?” Mike turned around, pleading with his eyes. “She’s my sister.” 

Hopper and Joyce shared a look, and then Hopper sighed, “Kid, now you’re just manipulating us.” 

“Is it working?” 

“Kinda.” Joyce admitted. She glanced at Jonathan. “Can you show the kids where the extra blankets and pillows are? I can- shit, what should we tell Steve, Dustin and Will?” 

“We can inform them after we kick Billy’s ass.” El said. 

“Can you stop saying that?” Max said, staring at the ground. 

El paused, and then said, “Don’t worry, Max. We’ll protect you. Right boys?” 

Lucas nodded very quickly, reaching out and grabbing Max’s hand. Mike nodded, too, though he quickly turned back to Nancy. Jonathan paused and said, “Alright. Let’s go get your stuff.” 

As he stood up, and El, Max and Lucas followed him out, Joyce and Hopper carefully stepped away from Mike and Nancy on the couch. When they were far enough away, Joyce looked over at him and said, “Well. It’s happening again.” 

Hopper shut his eyes tight, clenching his fists. “Yep.” 

“What do we do?” 

He took a deep breath. “I don’t know. But… but we’ve beaten this twice before. What’s one more time?” 

“‘What’s one more time’ is ‘last time we had to set Max on fire.’” 

“That won’t happen again.” Hopper said, glancing towards the hall his daughters had disappeared into. “None of our kids are going to get possessed by that thing again. We just need to make sure it knows we mean business. It needs to get the hell out of our town and leave us alone.” 

Joyce wrung her hands and nodded. “I just… hope Will stays safe. We’ll catch them all up when Steve drops the boys off tomorrow. Unless… should we call them? This seems like an emergency.” 

“I mean, they’re just at the mall.” Hopper said. “What could happen to them there?” 

“So much.” 

“I mean, from the Upside Down.” 

“Still…” she shut her eyes. “I mean, they’re probably asleep now. We should… just get back to the others.” 

“Yeah.” Hopper reached out, squeezing her hand. “Don’t worry. We’ll fix this.” 

She sighed, smiling slightly. “Yeah. We’ll fix it.”

[hunnywrites]

Chapter Three: Phone Home

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

Pairing: Billy Hargrove/OFC

A/N: Boy this is a long one. Billy has also become like the surprise comic relief in this fic and I sort of love it. Hope you enjoy!

Billy and Teddi both stood at the foot of the stairs of the Wheeler’s basement, arms crossed and looking sternly at the four kids that had formed a wall to shield the new girl. Teddi noticed how scared she looked. She was tiny. She almost reminded Teddi of a little stray kitten. Her intimidating demeanor nearly faltered a few times because she wanted to give the poor thing a hug. 

Mike held up his hands as if he was trying to keep Billy under control. Like that was even possible. “You have to promise that you won’t freak out before I explain anything. Both of you.” the thing about Mike was that he had never really learned the right way to talk to Billy (or vice versa). Teddi and Mike would butt heads pretty often, Max said it was because they could be so similar. But Mike and Billy could be a dangerous combination. Teddi was positive because relationships between a Sagittarius and a Cancer could be pretty volatile, but they both hated when she brought up her horoscope stuff. At least they could agree on that, she guessed. 

So all things considering, Billy was handling this situation really well. He glared down at Mike. “And why would we freak out?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. “What the hell have you losers gotten yourselves into now?” there was a long pause as the group looked at each other, trying to decide who would be the one to explain. “I’m waiting.” Billy snapped.

Max let out a heavy sigh and stepped forwards. “We were out in Mirkwood, looking for Will,” she began. “She was out in the rain, so we brought her here. She knows something about what happened to Will. That’s why we haven’t told anyone. We can’t. There are bad men after her.” Billy and Teddi shared a look before Teddi turned back to Max.

“What do you mean by bad men?” she asked nervously.

The girl shook her head slowly before raising her fingers to the side of her head, mimicking a gun. “Bad men.” was all she said.

Billy let out a humorless chuckle and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Jesus Christ…” he muttered. 

Teddi looked over at him pointedly. “Now do you believe me that something weird is going on?” she almost wondered if maybe this was a prank. Like the kids had gotten some girl from school to come and pretend to be some sort of runaway to freak them out. And while the kids liked to pull the occasional prank on Billy and Teddi, she knew that now wasn’t the time for that sort of thing. 

“Are you guys insane?” Billy asked through his teeth. “You can’t harbour some runaway kid in your basement. Especially with Byers missing. You’re gonna get caught and then we’re all gonna be in deep shit.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Chill out, would you? We have this under control. The only reason anyone’s gonna find out is if you can’t keep your mouth shut.” he spat up at Billy. Teddi let out a tired sigh as the two started bickering. She couldn’t really make out what they were saying. Just that Billy kept jabbing his finger in Mike’s direction and Mike standing on his toes to make himself as tall as possible as he shouted back at Billy. 

Teddi moved past the group and over to the girl, who was watching the two boys argue with wide eyes. She knelt down in front of her, smiling softly. “Hi. Um, my name’s Teddi. What’s your name?” she didn’t say anything. Teddi couldn’t really blame her. To be lost in the woods and then suddenly finding yourself in Mike Wheeler’s basement while he was screaming about government agents coming to kill him had to be a lot to take in. It was almost too much for even Teddi to handle. 

“Her name’s Eleven,” it was Dustin. “She doesn’t really talk much,” he explained with a shrug. “We’ve been calling her El.” 

“Eleven?” Billy asked with a scoff. “How the hell can her name be Eleven? That’s a number, not a name,” El remained silent. She held up her arm, pulling her sleeve up to show 011 tattooed in thick black ink on her wrist. Teddi felt her stomach drop. “Jesus Christ,” he repeated. “You little shits are really in it this time.” 

“This is just like ET,” Teddi found herself saying. Billy and the kids all turned to look at her. “What? Elliot finds ET in the woods and hides him in his house from his mom and the government. This is totally ET.”

“You can’t call her that,” Mike argued. “That’s totally offensive! She’s not an alien.” 

“It’s not offensive! It’s like one of the best movies ever made!”

“Can you two stop arguing about your nerd shit for two goddamn seconds? We have a feral preteen in the basement!” Billy spat. Mike and Teddi shared one last glare before Teddi turned back to El. She was sure that Mike and the gang were taking care of her. As much as four twelve year olds could. But Teddi felt like she needed to find somewhere safe for El to go. She just didn’t know where that was.

“...Should we tell someone? Maybe we should call Hopper, Billy. We can tell him about that screech out in the woods. And I’m sure he’d know what to do about El. We can trust him, can’t we?” 

Billy didn’t get a chance to respond, Lucas looked at Teddi with a frown. “Wait, wait. What do you mean that screech out in the woods?”

Teddi didn’t say anything right away. She chewed on her lip and looked over at Billy. He looked put out by this conversation. She almost wondered if he thought there was a chance he was dreaming. Like maybe he had passed out at Steve’s and this was all pretend. His eyes met Teddi’s, and he gave her a nod as if to say it was okay to tell them. 

“The night that Will went missing,” Teddi began. “All of this weird stuff happened. Like the power went out at the arcade. And the radio cut out. But it was all at once. Like all of Hawkins went completely dead for a few seconds. And then when Billy was giving me a ride home we heard this...noise out in Mirkwood. It was like a scream but worse. It didn’t sound human or like an animal.”

The group gave each other a knowing look. “The Demogorgon.” Dustin said quietly, his eyes wide. 

Billy’s face screwed up into a pissed off, confused expression. “The hell is a Demogorgon?”

The kids and Teddi rolled their eyes at him. “It’s a monster from Dungeons and Dragons,” she explained. She turned to the kids. “What do you mean it was the Demogorgon? How is that even possible? It’s a game.” 

Lucas moved over to the table El was sitting at and flipped their game board over. He picked up a small, metal monster. The Demogorgon. “This is what took Will,” Teddi knew that she was looking at him like he was speaking another language. “It’s out there in Mirkwood. El says that it took Will, but he’s alive. He’s hiding from it. She’s gonna show us where he’s hiding tomorrow.” the hopeful looks on each of their faces made Teddi’s heart hurt. It wasn’t that she didn’t believe them. If anyone in town was going to believe them it would be her. But the idea of a monster from a board game coming to life and essentially kidnapping Will was almost too crazy for even Teddi to believe.

“No.” Billy said behind her. “No way. You guys aren’t going out into the woods with some...science experiment to look for Byers.” he crossed his arms firmly across his chest. The kids collectively groaned. 

“Billy, come on…” Max pleaded. 

“I said no, Max. There’s no fucking way I’m letting you out there with whatever the hell it is that killed Will!” 

“He’s not dead!” Mike argued. 

“Well I don’t see him around anywhere!” Billy’s voice had taken on a cold tone. “Do you? Do any of you?” the kids wouldn’t meet his gaze. Teddi turned and placed a hand on Billy’s chest, gently pushing him away from Mike. 

“Billy…” she said gently. He was breathing heavily. His jaw clenched tight. Billy looked down at Teddi and let out a shaky breath through his nose. “Maybe...maybe we should go. You know they’re gonna go on their own regardless. At least if we’re there we can make sure nothing happens to them, right? And who knows? Maybe El can actually help. It wouldn’t be the strangest thing to happen around here lately.” she reasoned.

There was a tense silence that filled the room. The kids were all still and watching Billy, like they were afraid he might snap again if any of them moved. Billy looked at each of them for what felt like forever before he swallowed thickly and pointed a finger in their direction. “We’ll pick you up tomorrow after school in Teddi’s van. If any of you leave without us, you’re dead. You hear me?” 

They all nodded at once. Billy rubbed roughly at his forehead and sighed. “Max, let’s go. We’re gonna be late.” he turned and headed back upstairs without another word. Max muttered her goodbyes and followed after her brother. 

“I’ll be there in a second, Max,” she called after the red head. Teddi cast a quick glance in El’s direction. “Mike, are you sure this is a good idea? What if your mom finds her?” 

Mike rolled his eyes. “Not possible. I could have El and ET down here and my mom wouldn’t have any idea.” Teddi believed him, but she was still nervous about leaving her. 

She let out a shaky sigh. “Okay...but you have my number. Call me if anything happens, okay?” 

Teddi couldn’t stop thinking about El for the rest of the night. Not on the drive home. Not when Billy got out and walked her over to her window to help her sneak in. Not when he kissed her and said he’d see her tomorrow at school. And not when she finally crawled into bed. 

Did she have anyone that cared about her? Parents? Family? Anyone at all? She didn’t even know her own name. And who the hell would want to hurt a harmless little girl? This was all so...much. And to add in the fact that the kids were convinced that Will had been taken by the Demogorgon? How was something like that even possible? How would El know that a monster had taken Will, much less where to find him when over half the town had been out looking for him?

That night Teddi dreamt of Will, El and the Demogorgon. 

---

Teddi picked up Billy and Max the next morning on her way to school. Most of the drive was spent with Billy lecturing Max about how stupid her and her friends were for going out into Mirkwood alone. At one point Teddi had flicked on the radio on just to shut him up. The kids had enough on their hands. Max didn’t need to add Billy’s over protectiveness to it. 

Now she was on her way to English. She hadn’t seen any sign of Steve, Carol or Tommy yet and she wondered briefly if maybe they had all stayed home with the hangovers they no doubt had after the party. 

“Teddi!” someone called from behind her. It was Nancy. She hurried down the crowded hall towards Teddi, her books hugged close to her chest. The nervous expression on her face didn’t do much for Teddi’s already shot nerves. “Hi, um have you seen Barb at all today?” she was trying to keep her voice as steady as possible, but Teddi definitely noticed how she could barely stand still.

“Oh, no I haven’t yet...is everything okay?” she asked with a frown.

Nancy bit her bottom lip and looked up and down the hall as if she expected Barb to magically appear. She finally gave an attempt at a casual smile and shook her head. “Yeah! Yeah, it’s fine. I’m having a weird day, I guess. Barb left the party early last night and I haven’t heard from her.”

Teddi felt a jolt of panic shoot through her chest. Will, Benny and now Barb? No. Barb was fine. There was no reason to think that anything bad had happened to her. And she especially couldn’t let Nancy know that she had any concerns. “Well, it was cold last night you know? And then with her cutting her hand...maybe she just stayed home sick? I mean I nearly stayed home myself.” she said with a small laugh that she hoped sounded convincing. It wasn’t so much for feeling sick reasons though. It was more for Mike Wheeler has a runaway in his basement reasons.

Nancy nodded and gave her a thin smile. “Right. Yeah, you’re probably right. I’ll call her after school. Thanks, Teddi. I’ll see you later?” Teddi nodded and gave her a small wave and the two parted ways. Teddi spent her morning wondering if she, Billy and the kids would find Barb along with Will out in the woods. Her stomach wouldn’t stop churning. 

When lunch came around Billy was out in the parking lot, leaning against Teddi’s van with a cigarette between his lips. Teddi opened the back doors, hopped up inside and let out a heavy groan. Billy only looked on with a raised eyebrow. “Nany can’t find Barb.” she huffed out. 

“...Who the fuck’s Barb?” Billy asked with a blink. 

Teddi rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her hair. “Nancy’s best friend? The red head that’s always with her?” 

“Oh, yeah. The lesbo...what about her?” 

“She’s not at school! Nancy said she left early last night and she hasn’t heard from her since. What if something got her like it did Will?” 

Billy flicked the rest of his cigarette away and hopped up into the back of the van next to her. He was giving her that amused grin he usually gave her when he thought she was being ridiculous. “Teddi, babe...you can’t actually believe that there’s some monster out in the woods.” they looked at each other for a long moment, like Billy was waiting for her to laugh and admit that she was only kidding around with him. 

That wasn’t going to happen. He knew that it wouldn’t. “Billy. Listen to me. I know that those kids have wild imaginations, okay? I know I have a wild imagination. But they don’t lie. And they don’t make things up,” Teddi looked around to make sure that no one was listening to them before lowering her voice. “And now with Eleven showing up? I’m even more willing to believe them. I’ve played D&D with them more times than I can count. I know that they know the difference between the real world and make believe.” 

Billy knew that Teddi knew those kids better than anyone in Hawkins. He knew that if he considered all of the facts that had piled up since Will went missing that he could admit that something weird was happening. But if he did that then he knew Teddi would only worry more. “...Whatever. I still don’t think we’re gonna find anything out there.” he muttered. 

Billy ended up convincing Teddi to skip her last period. He said it would do her some good to just relax instead of sitting in class worrying about monsters and calculus. She didn’t really have the energy to argue. So they sat in the back of her van smoking and listening to music until the bell at the end of the day rang. They were headed over to the middle school when Tommy and Carol stopped them. “Have you seen Harrington anywhere?” Tommy asked. 

“Not in a few hours, why?” Teddi asked. While Tommy and Carol had nearly permanent smirks on their faces, Teddi was surprised to see how annoyed the couple looked now. 

Carol looked around to make sure none of the other students walking past them could hear their conversation. “Nicole said that she ran into Byers in their little geek den and said that she saw he had photos of us at Steve’s last night.” she sneered.

Teddi frowned. Had it been Johnathan that she had seen in the bushes? What in the hell was Johnathan Byers doing hiding in Steve Harrington’s bushes? “What? No way. What was he even taking pictures of?”

“Who cares?” Tommy asked, crossing his arms firmly across his chest. “That freak thinks he can spy on us and get away with it? We’re gonna go find Steve and meet Johnathan out by his car. There’s no way he’s getting away with this. You guys in?”

Billy looked like the idea intrigued him. But before he could agree, Teddi stepped in. “We can’t. We have a thing. Call me and tell me what happened, okay Carol?” she didn’t give her time to respond. She grabbed Billy by the arm and practically dragged him over to the middle school’s parking lot. The last thing they needed was Billy, Tommy and Steve getting into a fight with Johnathan and the four of them getting detention or even suspended. 

“The hell is that little weirdo up to now?” Billy muttered. He angrily shoved his hands into the pockets of his jean jacket as he fell into step with Teddi. “His brother goes missing and he’s spying on us? What the fuck’s that about?” 

“I have no idea. We so can’t focus on that right now, okay? We have bigger issues. Do you see them anywhere?” she stood up on her toes to try and catch a glimpse of Max and her friends. Billy nudged her with his elbow and pointed. The kids were waiting at the school’s entrance. Mike was looking at his watch and tapping his foot impatiently. 

“Finally!” Mike said, throwing his hands up. “What the hell took you so long? We’re supposed to meet El at 3:15! She’s gonna get nervous if we’re late!”

Lucas rolled his eyes. “Would you calm down? She’ll be fine! You just can’t wait to see your girlfriend.”

Mike glared over at his best friend and Billy rolled his eyes. “Get in the van, shitbirds. You can argue on the way there. I have better things to do than drive you and baldy around the woods.” 

Max gave her brother an unimpressed look. “Better things to do? Like what? Go home and lift weights in the mirror?” Billy shot her a look while Teddi tried her hardest not to laugh. Someone had to act like they were on Billy’s side. 

Billy jabbed an angry finger at Teddi’s van. “Get in the van.” he repeated. Max rolled her eyes dramatically and the kids followed dutifully. Teddi was helping each of them hop into the back when Steve came jogging over. Teddi stifled a groan.

“Wheeler, have you seen your sister anywhere?” Steve asked Mike, turning to scan the parking lot once more as if Nancy he’d suddenly be able to spot her. 

Mike made a face. “How the hell should I know? Do I look like her babysitter?”

Steve frowned. He looked slowly at Mike, Lucas, Dustin and Max before turning slowly to Teddi and Billy. To say he looked confused was an understatement. “...Why are you guys hanging out with a bunch of ten year olds?” he asked. 

“We’re twelve, asshole.” Mike spat. Steve recoiled a bit from him, muttering out a “jesus” before looking at Teddi with wide eyes. Billy let out an annoyed grunt and picked Mike up, tossing him into the back of the van before harshly slamming the doors shut. He stood in front of them as if he were trying to keep the kids in and Steve out. 

“We’re babysitting,” he said cooly. “Carol and Tommy are looking for you. Something about Byers being a pervert in your bushes.” Steve only looked at Teddi as if he were asking if Billy was telling the truth. She smiled thinly at him and nodded.

“Right…” Steve said, looking between his two friends suspiciously. “Okay...I’ll go find them then. I’ll see you guys later…”

“Bye, Steve!” Teddi called quickly, rushing around to the driver’s seat and hoping in. Billy climbed in with an irritated grunt and crossed his arms. Teddi turned and fixed a stern look on Mike. “You gotta stop cursing, Wheeler. You’re twelve.”

Mike only pointed an accusing finger in Billy’s direction. “He curses all the time!”

“I’m a fucking adult, I can do what I want.” Billy said firmly. 

“You’re seventeen,” Teddi and Max reminded him. Billy only scoffed, reaching into the pocket of his jacket and pulling out his cigarettes. Teddi yanked the pack out of his hands and threw them up onto the dashboard. “No smoking around the preteens.”

Billy glared back at Mike, his expression falling when he finally took him in. “Hey, what happened to your chin?” he asked, nodding at the large cut. Teddi whirled around in her seat with wide eyes.

Mike covered his chin quickly and shook his head. “What? Nothing.”

“Are those little assholes still giving you guys shit?” Billy asked. The party remained silent, but it answered his question. Troy Walsh and James Dante had been terrorizing Mike and his friends ever since they started middle school. Both Billy and Teddi had offered to scare the little shits off for them on a few occasions, but the kids were too proud to take up the offer. “You guys need to start sticking up for yourselves. If you stick up to a bully, they’ll know you’re not scared of them and they’ll leave you alone.”

“What are we supposed to do?” Lucas asked. “Hold him down and kick him in the nuts?”

Billy only shrugged. Four pairs of eyes were now trained on Teddi as if asking for permission. She let out a heavy sigh. “...I’m not really one for violence, but Troy could probably use a good kick to the balls,” she mumbled. With a small huff she grabbed Billy’s cigarettes, rolled down his window and tossed the pack at him. “You can have one.” 

The pleased grin on Billy’s face remained there for the entire drive to the Wheeler’s, then when they picked up El, and didn’t go away until Teddi parked at the edge of Mirkwood. “The first sign of any weird or dangerous anything, we’re out of here. You hear me? And I don’t want any of you out of my sight.” Billy said sternly. 

Dustin saluted him. “Yes sir.”

“Don’t call me that.” 

“...Sorry.”

The kids piled out of the van, Billy and Teddi close behind. “Alright, go...sniff Will out or whatever it is you do,” Billy said, waving a hand at El. Mike and Teddi shot him dirty looks. Eleven didn’t really seem to understand the joke. She only turned and walked off alongside Mike. Billy looked over at Teddi and blinked. “What’d I say?”

“She’s not a dog, Billy. She’s a little girl.” Teddi scolded.

“...You know, Max told me she can move things with her mind,” he said with an amused grin. “I’ll believe that when I see it.” 

Teddi only frowned, looking ahead of them to where El was. “...What do you think happened to her? Like, say she can move things with her mind. Or somehow magically track down Will. Where do you think she came from?”

“A school for kids with superpowers?” Billy offered with a laugh. 

“You’re so funny. Of course she’s part of the X-men. Why didn’t I think of that?” wherever it was that Eleven had come from, Teddi had a feeling it was a little more sinister than Xavier’s school for gifted youngsters. “...What do you think is gonna happen once all of this is over? I mean, she can’t live in Mike’s basement forever.” 

“But I’m guessing she can live in your basement with you?” He asked.

“What? No. I wasn’t thinki-”

“Of course you were. It’s just who you are, Ted. But she won’t be anymore safe with you. Not with your parents around,” Teddi looked down at her boots and frowned. He was right. She knew he was right. “Look,” he sighed. “When all of this is over...if we do actually manage to find Will, we can figure out what to do with the kid, okay? We can tell Hopper about her. He’ll know what to do,”

He looked over at her, smirking and throwing an arm around her shoulders. “Come on, Teddi Bear. Turn that frown upside down,” he teased. Teddi shot him an unamused look and gave him a playful shove. Billy let out a laugh and fell back into step next to her. There was a short, comfortable silence before he spoke up again. “...Seriously though, what do you think Byers was taking pictures of? Think he was perving on Nancy?” he asked, wriggling his eyebrows. “Then again, the guy probably doesn’t have it in him.”

“I doubt he was perving. He’s not you,” Teddi teased. “...I don’t know what he could’ve been taking pictures of. Or why he was even out there,” even if he had been out looking for Will, what could he have possibly seen in Steve’s backyard? Maybe Billy was right. It was hard for her to imagine, but maybe Johnathan was just peeping at Nancy. It was obvious he had a thing for her. “...Maybe he was taking pictures of you.” Teddi suggested, barely able to keep her laughter in.

Billy shot her a glare and shoved her back playfully. “Real fuckin’ funny, Larsson.” he muttered, cracking a smile at the sound of her laughter. The spent the next few hours like that, joking around with each other and the kids. Anything to try and lighten the mood. Eventually it started to get dark, and Billy tried to persuade the group to turn back. 

“No! El says we’re close. We can’t go back now!” Mike said.

“Wheeler, your parents are gonna start freaking out if we don’t get you home soon,” Billy argued. “We’ll just have to start up again tomorrow, okay?”

“We’re not turning around!” Mike spat. Eleven took Mike by the wrist and pulled him along behind her as she broke into a jog. Teddi, Billy, Max, Lucas and Dustin were all quick to follow. There was a clearing up ahead that Eleven was headed towards. It was the Byers’ house.

“Here.” she said, coming to a stop. The group all looked at each other. 

“Yeah, this is where Will lives…” Mike said unsurely. 

“Hiding.” Eleven clarified.

“No...no, this is where he lives,” Mike argued. “He’s missing from here, understand?”

Billy only looked over at Teddi with a raised eyebrow. “...How the hell did she know where Will lives?” he asked. Teddi shook her head. Maybe there really was something special about Eleven. She was much more willing to believe that she could move things with her mind. 

Lucas let out an annoyed sigh from beside Billy. “What are we doing here?” he asked.

“She said that Will is hiding here,�� Max said in an annoyed tone. “El, how’s that possible? I mean they definitely would’ve found him by now if he’s hiding at his house.” 

“She’s probably making it up!” Lucas argued with her. “That doesn’t make sense! She had us out here walking around all day for nothing! I told you guys she doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about! I’m with Billy and Teddi. We need to call the cops and tell them everything that’s happened.” 

Teddi had moved around the boys and had an arm around Eleven. The girl was looking on helplessly as the boys argued. “Hiding.” she repeated, looking up at Teddi. 

“We’re gonna find him, okay? You just gotta wait for the boys to stop...being boys.” 

Mike and Lucas had broken into an argument and Dustin was trying his best to intervene and calm his friends down. The three boys voices had risen, and it was nearly impossible to make out anything they were yelling at each other. “Hey!” Billy snapped. “Will you guys shut the hell up for a minute?” the three boys glared up at him. He only pointed out at the road. The sound of police sirens was getting closer and closer before a police cruiser and a fire truck went whizzing past them. “Not to state the obvious, but I don’t think that’s a good sign,” Mike was off and running. Lucas and Dustin were close behind. “Goddammit, I said no one leaves my sight!” Billy boomed, following after them down the road. 

Teddi looked down at Eleven and Max and let out a sigh. “See? Boys.” the three girls followed after the group as fast as they could. They would never be able to keep up with the police cars or fire truck, but Teddi knew where the street would end. The quarry. Her heart was beating so fast she was worried that it might explode. 

Hopper was there. He was standing at the edge of the water. While Teddi was relieved to see the chief, she knew that that couldn’t be a good sign. Billy pulled the boys behind the fire truck as to not be seen by and of the adults. There were two men in the water, pulling something out along with them. A body. 

“That’s not Will. It can’t be.” Mike said quietly. 

It was. There was no doubt that it was Will Byers being pulled out of the quarry. He was so small. Teddi couldn’t get over how small he looked. Was this really it? This was how Will Byers died? It wasn’t fair. He didn’t deserve any of this. Teddi wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. But she couldn’t. Not in front of the kids. 

“Mike…” Eleven said softly, reaching to touch his shoulder.

Mike whirled around and smacked her hand away. He glared at her. “Mike? Mike what? You were supposed to help us find him alive! You said he was alive! Why did you lie to us? What’s wrong with you? What is wrong with you?”

Teddi stepped out in front of El. “Mike, stop it. This isn’t her fault, okay? This isn’t anyone’s fault.” 

“Yeah, kid. Back off, huh?” Billy said lowly, warily eyeing Eleven. The poor girl looked scared to death. Mike scowled up at the both of them before turning and running off back up the road. “Mike! Come back here!” he yelled. It was no use. 

Teddi wrapped her arm around Eleven again, pulling the girl close to her. “Just let him go...I think maybe we should all get out of here. I think it’s time to get you guys home.” her voice was coming out thick. She was doing everything she could not to cry. Dustin and Lucas couldn’t seem to pull their eyes away from the quarry. Max was crying. She threw her arms around Billy, who somewhat awkwardly did his best to comfort her. 

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Yeah, we should go before the cops see that we’re here.” he said quietly. Eventually they got the four kids to head back to the van. It was a quiet ride home to say the least. Teddi felt like she couldn’t get her bottom lip to stop trembling. The image of Will’s body being pulled out of the water played over and over in her mind. 

Maybe Billy was right. Maybe Hawkins was just a shitty place where shitty things were always happening. She just wished that Will hadn’t fallen victim to it. 

[your-iron-lung]

No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross 10

aka ‘The House That Dripped Blood’; available to read on AO3 HERE

Story Synopsis:  Some weird low-key occult parties start popping up that Steve can’t in good conscience ignore and takes it upon himself to investigate. Billy gets caught up in the consequences of his meddling, and isn’t it funny? For all the strange things the Upside Down has thrown his way, it’s werewolves that Steve has trouble accepting exist.

Chapter Word Count: 7927

Pairings: Eventual Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington

Genre: Supernatural/Drama/Horror-ish

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Next Chapter: 11

Notes: if you follow me you may have noticed i havent posted in a while- this is bc i spend all my time playing ffxiv instead of setting aside determined amounts of time to spend on writing/drawing and i have a bunch of artist alleys coming up that im ill prepared for and im terrible at budgeting UH YEP bad excuse but WHAT CAN YA DO here we are

(ive also set up a ko-fi account if you want to give drop me some tippy tips if u enjoy the word things i do) ((no pressure tho))

"Bigfoot."

Hopper leaned back in his chair; let it creak and groan under his weight until he knew it was at its limit, and then pushed it a little more. He studied the no-nonsense expression on the hunter before him, and intrinsically knew that the man was speaking truth.

"Bigfoot," the old man said again, speaking a little sterner than he had before once he recognized Hopper's amiable expression of disbelief. "I seen't him out in the woods just the other day."

The aging man had lumbered into the police station almost immediately after Hopper came in, bundled in some worn hunting gear that looked almost as old as he was. The deputies had offered to speak with him after hearing his initial claim, but they'd been refused when Callahan couldn't stop smirking. The old hunter had insisted on speaking with Hopper, who leaned forward now, taking the stress off of his chair to take a sip of the coffee Florence had brought in for him. He didn't look at the old man as he drank.

"So let me get this straight," Hopper began, setting his coffee aside to rub at his forehead, "you came in first thing in the morning worried about a missing friend of yours, but now you're telling me you're worried about Bigfoot."

"You know me, Jim," the hunter said, a slight hint of pleading desperation edging out of his voice. "You know I ain't some crazy old coot. I ain't seen Lamm in a long while, and yessir I'm worried 'bout him, but when I went out to his cabin to check on him I seen it: I seen Bigfoot!"

As incredulous as the claim was, Hopper believed him- not about it being Bigfoot, exactly, but he believed that the man had seen something out there in the woods, and it had the possibility of being that something he'd spent the last two weeks fruitlessly searching for.

Regardless, he didn't want to let the old hunter know he was taking him seriously. The last thing he needed was for his community to think he believed in this sort of nonsense, but people in town were going missing, and people he knew were getting hurt: if his only lead should turn up in the form of an old man believing he'd caught sight of an urban legend, then so be it. He'd follow it through, but he'd be subtle about it.

"You sure it wasn't just a trick of the light or something, Wes? You know your eyes aren't what they used to be," Hopper remarked casually, softening his voice to let him down easy. "And this isn't the first time Lamm's gone missing; you know he's one of those types of shut ins. Remember those weeks he was gone hunting 'vampires'? He's the kind of guy who lives in his own head more than he lives out here, he'll turn up again on his own time."

The hunter's lips twitched into a frown. "Alright, maybe Lamm is a little off kilter," he relented, averting his eyes for a second, "and maybe it weren't Bigfoot, but the tracks it left were huge 'n mighty, by God, and I ain't seen nothin' else like it before. If it weren't Bigfoot, then at the very least it had big feet, Jim, and I ain't never seen feet quite like 'em."

Interest piqued, Hopper became more attentive. "How's that?"

"Well, they was stretched out lookin', for one." The hunter paused, tilting his head slightly as he tried to recall the details of what he'd seen out in the woods. He held his hands up, spaced apart in an approximation of how long the prints he'd found had been. "Human lookin', almost, which is what had me thinkin' it coulda been Bigfoot. They weren't the tracks of somethin' native 'round here, and I only caught but the barest glimpse of it, but it was tall, Jim; taller'n you or I."

That sounded right; the prints he'd found and unsuccessfully tracked were, as the hunter said, 'huge 'n mighty' and matched the description of what he'd just been told. It didn't take an expert's opinion (though he had consulted one) to discern that the markings just weren't natural. Hopper set his mug of coffee aside and pulled out a notepad from one of his desk drawers. He uncapped a pen and held it to the page for a moment before writing down a few preliminary notes for himself on the top line.

The hunter cocked his head and leaned forward to look at what he was writing and said, "That don't look official."

"Because it's not; this one's just gonna be between us, alright?" Hopper said, looking up to meet Wesley's blue, watery eyes. He held the stare long enough to get his point across, waiting for a sign of affirmation before looking back to the notepad and pressing the tip of the pen to the paper. "Tell me where and when exactly you saw this 'Bigfoot' of yours."

The day was cold and grey at its start, with harsh, biting winds ushering in thick clouds that blocked out any hope of the sun ever making an appearance. Steve eyed the sky apprehensively as he made his way back to his car, wary of the way the clouds looked as though they might start dropping hail on him at a moment's notice. Billy feigned disinterest as Steve opened the rear passenger door and leaned in to shove the box of things he'd bought at the Hunting & Camping store into the backseat. Even with his vision obscured in part by the sunglasses he'd elected to wear, he didn't miss the strong look of annoyance that graced Steve's features when he came around to the driver's seat and entered the car with a pout.

"That guy give you a hard time or something?" Billy asked as Steve buckled in and put the BMW into reverse, turning in his seat to hastily jerk the car out of the parking lot. "Why do you look like someone shit in your cereal?"

Steve clicked his tongue. "He just kept asking what a 'kid like me' needed with a bunch of chains and rope and shit. My god, he just would not let it go, like he thought I was trying to build my own sex dungeon or something. Fucking annoying."

"You mean that's not what we're doing?" Billy asked, grinning a bit at the way Steve's face pinched up in disgust. "What'd you say?"

"I told him the truth; said it was to tie up a werewolf. 'It's a full moon tonight, y'know? Gotta tie 'em down or they go all crazy on you', I said to him, and you know what he said to me then?" Steve asked, speeding out of the little downtown shopping area Hawkins played host to and sounding every bit as gossipy as Carol did when she caught wind of a scandal.

"How the fuck would I?" Billy drawled, turning away from the conversation to watch the scenery pass by disinterestedly.

"He said, 'Damn fool kids will never learn'," Steve said, ignoring him. "'Damn fool kids will never learn', like, what the hell does that mean?"

Billy shrugged. "Who knows? As long as he accepted daddy's plastic then what does it matter?"

Steve clicked his tongue again in annoyance and rolled his eyes. "Fuck you."

Feeling the beginnings of a headache coming on, Billy declined to retort. They rode on in silence, the chains in the box Steve had bought clinking together softly in the backseat before the radio was finally turned on to mask the sound.

Regardless of whether or not Steve actually believed something was going to happen to Billy that night, he couldn't deny that the whole day leading up to that evening just felt… off. From meeting up with Billy earlier that afternoon to go by the camping store, to grabbing lunch together before heading over to the Henderson's house, it all felt wrong.

It was something Steve had difficulty pinpointing the origins of, but as they began work on clearing out enough space in the cellar for Billy to do whatever it was he thought he was going to do, he soon came to realize that the feeling of wrongness seemed to stem from Billy himself.

Few words could better describe Billy than 'annoying' or 'smart-mouthed', but he'd been uncharacteristically tight-lipped all day. He'd become a remarkably dull version of himself, and Steve wasn't sure quite how to handle that.

Usually one to argue and bite back at everything Steve said, when he'd begun dishing out instructions on how best to clear out some floor space in the cellar, Billy hadn't talked back to him a single time; merely lit a cigarette and blinked at him slowly, silently acknowledging what had been asked of him before getting on with it.

It was unsettling. Steve could almost say that he hated how submissive Billy was because of how used he'd gotten to the back-talk and smart-ass remarks Billy usually had ready for him, and though, yes, there were times he had wished for this kind of attitude from him, the silence and absolute subordination coupled with all of the other behavioral changes Billy was exhibiting were enough to set Steve on edge.

Billy kept tonguing the gaps in his teeth where they'd fallen out over the course of the week, and he never seemed to realize he wasn't alone. Sometimes he'd jump at the sound of Steve's voice, or shake his head and crease his brow in confusion when he turned around to see Steve moving stuff somewhere behind him, but arguably the worst part of it all was that he stank.

He'd tried to mask it with an overabundance of cologne that had nearly suffocated Steve when they began working in closer quarters, but buried beneath that was a hint of something that smelled awfully rotten. If he had to, Steve could liken it to the stench of the monster they'd encountered in the woods, but he chose not to, instead chalking it up to a severe case of nervous b.o. or something. The implications that the scents could be related bothered him too deeply to believe, and even then he wasn't sure he really wanted to know what the source of the smell was.

The stench of decay emanating from Billy's person was worrisome enough on its own, but with so much to do in order to get ready before sunset, Steve had a hard time figuring out where to primarily apply his focus: there were simply too many things going on for him to worry about one thing more than another.

The giant hole in the wall that Dart made to tunnel out of the cellar was his immediate concern, but Dustin had done a good job of hiding it from his mother by placing a tall shelf in front of it, essentially blocking it off. That didn't mean it wasn't entirely inaccessible, but Steve wasn't sure what more he could do about it. In all honesty, he'd forgotten about it until he'd tried to move the shelf aside and then found himself peeking into the eerie tunnel. He'd knocked over several things in his haste to put the shelf back in place, but Billy hadn't seemed to notice it, and if he didn't, maybe he wouldn't think to use it if- or when- he lost himself to whatever supernatural effects he was experiencing.

"Big if, though," Steve muttered aloud to himself. Turning away from the shelf, he looked over to where Billy was inspecting some old power tools, turning a nail gun over in his hands before setting it back in the box he'd pulled it out of. "So, are we good or what? This baby-proofed enough for you?" Steve asked, startling Billy out of whatever ruminations he'd been lost to.

Billy looked at Steve blankly, face impassive and emotionless. He frowned, and then looked around himself as though he'd forgotten where he was. When he spoke, his voice was monotone and devoid of his usual arrogance as he said, "I don't know, Harrington; is it?"

"You tell me, man, this was your idea." Steve watched as Billy returned his focus on the box of tools he'd originally been rummaging through. Picking up a hammer, Billy balanced its weight in his hands before gripping the handle tightly. Steve distrusted the look in Billy's eye as he held it. "What are you, a child? Quit rifling through their shit, put it back," he said.

Billy didn't reply or even acknowledge that he'd heard him. Ignoring Steve's demand, he stepped up to the abandoned work bench to splay his left hand out over the wood and lifted the ballpeen up.

"What the fuck are you doing? Put it down," Steve said again, his voice rising slightly in pitch when he understood what Billy was doing. He started towards him in an effort to stop him, but halted when the hammer was brought crashing down.

It missed his hand, but the force of the impact splintered the wooden table's surface. Steve gaped as Billy turned around, a cocky little smile turning up his lips.

"Someone could get hurt real bad down here if they weren't careful, huh, Harrington?" he said, a fierceness that Steve hated to admit he'd missed charging his voice. "But we've been real careful cleaning this shithole out, haven't we, pally?"

"You sick piece of shit, give me that," Steve snapped, snatching the hammer away from Billy's pliant grip. "Fuck you, Hargrove; you could've just said you wanted to move this shit out of here."

"Had you pegged as being more of a visual learner," Billy sneered as Steve threw the hammer back into the box of tools. "Your concern was touching, though, really."

"You're the one who came asking me for help, fuckface. Begged me, almost, if I'm remembering right. 'Oh, Steve, help me, I'm so scared of fake movie monsters!'"

Steve hadn't meant to rise to the taunt, but Billy's insufferable attitude had him stooping to his level as he hoisted the hefty box of tools in his arms and lugged them over to the stairway. Billy laughed dryly at Steve's mocking tone.

"We both wish that fucking thing had been fake," he said as Steve placed the box on the ground at the foot of the stairs beside the box of supplies he'd bought earlier. They were both quiet for a moment, their attempt at a conversation dying as quickly as it had been brought on.

"Only one thing left to do then," Steve said morosely.

Billy blinked and turned to face the stairway, eyes rising slowly up to where the cellar doors were propped open wide. Steve felt the guilt of having to lock him in prematurely and had to remind himself that he wanted to be locked in.

"Better hop to it then, Harrington," Billy said lowly, lips curling back into a familiar grin, but without all his teeth in place to flesh it out, Steve found the display to be more unsettling than annoying. "Let's get this sex dungeon set up."

Steve grimaced. "Not even in your wildest dreams, Hargrove."

"Nothing's off the table in my dreams, pretty boy." Billy breathed out a small laugh at the disgusted look on Steve's face, but the grin he'd been displaying slowly fell away. "Is it getting dark yet?"

"Uh, kind of, but the sun hasn't set yet," Steve replied, stepping up into the stairwell to check the status of the sky. It was as dull and grey as it had been all day, the overcast weather acting as a harbinger for the snowfall the local meteorologist had foretold was coming. "If you took off those fucking sunglasses you'd be able to tell."

"These are for your benefit as much as mine," Billy snapped, frowning suddenly.

"Yeah, okay, whatever that means," Steve said dismissively as he began to fish out the cords of rope from the box, letting them spool out onto the ground before gathering them into his hands. "How do you uh, how do you want to do this?"

"Aw, is this kitten's first time tying someone up?" Billy purred, not moving from where he stood in the middle of the cellar, directly under the light. "Who knew 'King' Steve's favourite flavor was vanilla."

Steve rolled his eyes as he brought the ropes over, wrinkling his nose at the mixed smell of rot and cologne that got stronger with proximity. "I've dated girls kinkier than you'd know what to do with," he retorted as he gestured for Billy to hold out his hands.

"Oh please," Billy said with a snort, "there are no kinky girls in Hawkins or I would've found them by now."

"You're obviously not looking hard enough," Steve muttered in response, gesturing again for Billy to hold out his hands.

Shrugging out of his leather jacket and tossing it over the work table he'd splintered, Billy held his hands up obediently and watched stoically as Steve wound the rope around his wrists, binding his hands together roughly.

"What's should our safe word be?" Billy teased, smirking as Steve wound another, longer length of rope over the original knot.

"There is no safe word because this isn't a sex thing!" Steve insisted angrily.

Flustered, he sighed irritably as he wound the long part of the rope around Billy's waist, hating how close he had to get in order to make sure the rope was tight enough, though Billy seemed to be enjoying how close he'd gotten. He kept shifting his weight around, trying, it seemed, to get Steve into a more compromising position. Annoyed, but determined to finish, Steve did his best to ignore Billy's constant movement and the disgusting, rotten musk that was wafting off of his person to finish tying him up.

"Why do you fucking stink so goddamn badly?" Steve finally asked with a scowl, repressing the urge to gag as he tied the ropes off into a clumsy knot. He stumbled away from Billy, reaching up to pinch his nostrils shut so he wouldn't have to smell the rot anymore, but the rancid scent seemed to have lodged itself deep into his nose. "You smell like a dead Calvin Klein model or something, holy shit, did you use a whole fucking bottle?"

The amusement Billy had held while taunting Steve left his face. His smirk shrunk into an awkward grimace as he looked away in embarrassment.

"I don't know, alright?" he admitted bitterly. "It doesn't matter how much I bathe, and between that and my eyes I have no idea what the fuck's going on with me."

"What about your eyes?" Steve asked hesitantly, unsure if he really wanted to know the reasoning behind why Billy had insisted on wearing sunglasses all day.

Billy faltered for a moment, hesitating briefly before reaching up and plucking the sunglasses off his face. With both hands bound together, he awkwardly folded the legs against the lenses and tucked them into the collar of his button up. He turned his gaze to Steve, who couldn't help but suck in a slight breath of surprise.

His eyes were so bloodshot they looked ready to start bleeding straight out of the sockets. There were hardly any whites left in the sclera to be seen as Billy winked at him, looking immensely uncomfortable at the way Steve was gaping openly at him.

"Do they- hurt? Or whatever?" Steve asked, unconsciously taking a few steps forward to get a better look. In the dim lighting of the basement, even the blues of Billy's eyes looked reddish.

"What's it to you if they do?" Billy snapped, suddenly irritable. He squared his jaw and looked away, unable to face the amount of concern Steve was showing him.

The worry Steve felt for the both of them in that moment grew stronger as he backed off, letting the matter of the changes in Billy's physicality drop, despite how alarming they were. "If I don't hear anything an hour after the sun goes down, I'll let you out," Steve said abruptly as he walked backwards towards the stairwell, grasping for the hand rail behind him blindly, unsure why he was so reluctant now to let Billy out of his sight. It was what they'd agreed upon earlier, and he said it meaning for it to sound reassuring, but the way Billy's lips twitched made it apparent he didn't interpret it that way.

Billy didn't respond.

"Well, uh, I guess that's it then," Steve said as he bent down, placing his box of chains atop the box of tools Billy had been messing around with before lifting them up together to carry them up and out of their man-made dungeon.

The cellar doors shrieked loudly as they were closed, a high pitched agony that erupted when the metal grinded against itself uncooperatively. Steve didn't mind that so much as he hated the sound the chains made as he wove them through the door handles, reminding him of what he was doing and who he was imprisoning as the steel rattled sharply against the doors. He winced at the commotion, but continued to loop them through the small door handles until no more could be fit between them. He tested their sturdiness by attempting to pull them open, and to his pleasure, they remained shut. The doors were secured; the cellar, as far as he was concerned, was now a suitable prison. All that was left of him now was to play the role of the jailor appropriately.

He stared down at his handiwork for a moment before the cold, blowing winds prompted him to seek shelter. Already a few snowflakes were fluttering out of the sky, flying into his cheeks as he turned away, re-gathering the box of tools in his arms and headed for the door Dustin promised he'd leave a key for.

Searching under the backdoor mat, Steve found the promised key, and true to the rest of Dustin's word, the entire home was empty, save for the cat that chirped a greeting for him from atop the kitchen counter. With a deep intake of breath Steve glanced at his watch, stepped inside, and shut the door behind him, wondering if he really was prepared for the worst. In the trunk of his car his bat waited for him, ready to be put to use just in case shit really did hit the fan, but he found himself questioning if he'd really be able to use it; bludgeoning monsters to death was one thing, but turning it on a boy he knew was only a monster figuratively was something else entirely.

For both his and Billy's sakes, he hoped it wouldn't come to that.

Shrugging out of his thick coat, Steve set it down beside him as he took a seat on the Henderson's couch. He glanced at his watch again, dismayed by the fact that time wasn't progressing as fast as he wished it was and sat in anxious worry about what the rest of the night might have in store.

But at least he was comfortable and warm.

The cellar was not.

It wasn't the cold that Billy minded, so much as it was the anticipation: when would the transformation start? Exactly at sundown? A little before? A little after? Would he actually end up transforming? And why the fuck did the word 'transform' make him so damn uncomfortable? The unknown factors surrounding his circumstances were almost worse than any of the physical symptoms he'd been experiencing as of late, and he'd been experiencing a lot.

Anxiety wasn't something Billy had a lot of experience with, but it was the only thing he could think of that explained why his heart had been beating oddly all day. It was running at a notably higher rate, as though he'd been playing basketball or working out extraneously, and brought on palpitations he wasn't used to dealing with at the elevated speed.

In short he felt terrible. His whole body ached like it was going through puberty again. Both his arms and legs were sore in ways that mimicked the aches that came with growing pains when he'd had them, but he couldn't understand why he would begin to hurt in that way again. He hadn't had the energy to work out in two days despite eating practically anything he could get his hands on, so the soreness in his limbs was unwarranted. Either his body was preparing itself for the coming night, or he was having an incredibly drawn-out heart attack.

Standing at the foot of the stairwell, Billy felt the cold permeating in through the closed opening and moved away to find a better spot to wait. He wanted rub his arms to bring some warmth into them, but couldn't with the way they were bound. Already the ropes were beginning to dig into his wrists, rubbing uncomfortably against his skin as he realized he wasn't actually that cold anyway, despite the frigid weather; his body temperature had been on a steady incline leading up to now, leaving him with a rosy complexion and a near constant fever, the long-term effects of which left him feeling severely disoriented.

He could barely remember meeting up at Steve's house only a few hours ago to carpool to his kid friend's house, riding with the windows down in spite of the severe wind-chill as they went into town to get lunch and buy rope. Even though they'd ridden together, he couldn't remember now if they'd actually talked about anything or not. All he could remember were the low tones of the radio and the resonating throbs of the wind as it swooped in through the open windows, rushing to fill the audial space between them. It was as though his mind had been steeped in a fog, and he couldn't accurately think through it: everything was clouded over, incomprehensible, like waking up the morning after a bender and being unable to remember everything he'd done the night before, but knowing all the same that he'd taken part in some memorable shit.

Would there be pain, he wondered, and would it come on as suddenly as it had to the character in the movie he'd made Steve watch? Even though 'American Werewolf' was just a movie, stories like that had to spawn from some sort of truth, didn't they?

The dim little lightbulb that hung overhead flickered briefly, drawing Billy's attention to it as he took a seat at the work table's bench, wishing his eyes weren't a dry and sore as they were.

Coming from above, he could hear the muffled sounds of a TV show permeating through the cellar's ceiling. He couldn't help but think ill of Steve in that moment, but if their situations had been reversed, he probably would have been doing the same thing; he couldn't fault Harrington for finding a way to pass the time, though he wished he had something similar to do for himself. There was nothing interesting to hold his attention, and time passed at a dreadfully slow rate.

Stretching out on the bench, he laid himself down slowly, mindful of which parts of his back hurt the most, and gazed up at the cement overhead disinterestedly. He listened to the muffled sounds of the distant television, trying to conjure an image in his mind that corresponded with what little dialogue he could hear, but the rapid beating of his heart overpowered the noises coming from the TV. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing in an attempt to lower his heart rate, but it just kept going, pounding in a determined rhythm that seemed to be quickening with each passing minute. A bead of sweat trickled down from his scalp and over his ear as he wondered if the tingling he felt in the tips of his fingers was because of the cold or from the ropes being tied too tight.

He flexed his fingers, opening and closing his hands into a fist to try and bring sensation back into his fingertips, but to no avail. They remained numb, and the cause of which eluded him.

Frowning, Billy stiffly sat up and began to pinch at his skin, belatedly realizing that the numbness was spreading slowly down the lengths of his fingers, a sensation that sent a chill running down the length of his spine.

"Oh," he said. "Oh shit."

The pain, when he finally did begin to feel it, started in his feet. There were still thirty minutes before the sun went down.

Billy licked his lips nervously as he tried to get his boots off, his numb fingers and bound hands fumbling uselessly with the laces as the pain centralized in his toes and grew in sudden intensity. He was no stranger to pain, but this was unlike anything he'd ever felt before: it was sharp and stabbing, with each throb of pain stemming from the bones in his toes, as though they were growing more pointed in an attempt to pierce their way through his skin as they elongated. He could feel them cracking; each joint slowly popping free of itself as the bones began to push themselves forward.

"Oh, shit," he repeated, and could hear the muffled sounds of a laugh track from whatever sitcom Steve had turned on upstairs roaring in delight as he struggled to finally pull his boots off.

The stabbing sensation didn't relent, even once his shoes lay discarded by his feet. He peeled away his socks with shaking hands and stared down at his toes.

They'd turned a bright, beet red and were bulging like they might burst apart, his skin bubbling up around toenails that were already starting to peel off. He couldn't help the whimper as he tentatively felt them, a pain like touching a freshly popped, skinless blister causing him to draw his fingers back.

It was real. It was happening.

Sweating freely now, he reached away from his feet to brush his dampened hair away from his forehead as sweat rolled down the sides of his face. He paused when he felt his hair pull free from his scalp, clinging to the back of his hand stubbornly. Billy stared at the loose, curly strands with a horrified expression and reached up with a shaking hand to grab more. When he pulled, a handful of his hair came away easily, eliciting another whimper from deep within his throat. Disgusted and frightened, he threw his hair away to the floor.

Breathing quickly, he hastily rubbed his hands free of the loose strands in a panic and tried to calm himself. His whole body trembled as he breathed in deeply through his nose, wondering if he should try to call out to Steve to alert him that the worst case scenario was indeed unfolding. Another laugh track from upstairs came through the ceiling as he felt a sharp, sudden stab of pain in his ribs, prompting him to gasp loudly and curl forward over himself. He could actually feel some part of his ribcage shifting inside his torso as he tucked his arms in to his sides. Any lingering thoughts of trying to remain calm left him as he transitioned from panic to full on fear.

He stood up not knowing what he was going to do, but regretted it instantly: as soon as he put weight on his foot, his ankle collapsed in on itself and brought him to the floor. A shout almost came out with his fall, but he managed to internalize the pain as he was used to doing and grit his teeth as his foot essentially broke itself in half.

The central part of his foot that arched snapped without warning. Billy swore loudly and reached for his foot instinctively, wanting to hold the break in place, but he couldn't bear the agony that came with the contact. Warm tears leaked from his eyes, and when his other lateral arch also split in half, he couldn't help but cry out.

From up above, the noises coming from the television ceased. Steve must have heard him and was listening for him now, trying to gauge whether or not he should intervene. Billy clenched his jaw tighter, determined to keep quiet, but gasped loudly when two of his molars gave out under the pressure, snapping to the side and coming loose of his gumline. The copper taste of blood filled his mouth as he spat the teeth out, shuddering uncontrollably when he felt the vertebrae in his spine begin to pop, one by one, pushing up against his skin that was quickly beginning to feel too tight.

Huffing in great breaths of air, he panted heavily as the bones of his tones finally pierced through his skin, causing most of the flesh surrounding them to burst open like little balloons. Blood splattered across the floor in gruesome, miniature arcs and Billy finally, finally became undone. He shrieked, unable to keep silent any longer as new appendages could be seen inside the flayed bits of bloody skin, slowly growing outward, already a part of him.

Warm tears of pain streaked down his face in thick lines as the skin of his feet continued to be ripped apart, making way for more muscle, new flesh. He wiped at his eyes helplessly and thought he could hear Steve's voice distantly calling out his name, asking if everything was alright.

He blinked, his vision blurred by the tears that would not clear away as he pulled himself over to the stairway.

Shaking wildly all over, Billy stretched out on the floor, realizing belatedly that the waistband of his jeans was growing tighter and tighter. Hissing sharply, he cursed himself for not having the foresight to undress himself as he hastily tried to undo his belt. A pain similar to the initial agony he'd felt in his toes was beginning to manifest itself in his fingers as both of his hands slowly began to turn red, swelling up under the bonds of the rope as he fumbled with the buckle, desperately trying to get it to come free.

"Fuck!" he shouted in frustration, his clothing growing ever tighter as his body continued to bloat. He felt like he was being pinched in half with his belt acting as an unneeded tourniquet. "Fuck! Fuck!"

"Hey! Talk to me Hargrove, what's going on?"

Steve's worried voice trilled down through the cellar doors as he continued vocalizing his frustrations. Billy felt an organ in his abdomen shift out of place before popping, prompting him to groan and curl in on himself before he threw up. His couldn't undo his belt as his vision began to darken.

"Hargrove!" Steve shouted, banging a fist against the steel door. "What the hell's going on? Talk to me!"

"Fuck you!" Billy screamed, unable to articulate anything else as he tried to rub the blackness out of his eyes, but the more he pressed his fingers to them, they more they began to hurt.

A pressure was building up behind them the more he rubbed, and as it increased, his vision grew ever darker. He kept blinking, over and over, feeling his eyes bulge out of their sockets and against his eyelids, trying now to keep his eyeballs in place. He was hyperventilating when he finally went blind, the pressure behind his eyes becoming intolerable eyes before it finally came too much, and his eyes popped free.

He felt them slide out onto over his checks and onto the floor, the slimy, blood-slick nerves leaving tracks of blood on his face as he became totally and completely blind.

"No," he whispered to himself, retching again on the floor as he scrambled across the cement, trying to find the stairs, unable to see. "No, no! This isn't real!"

Beyond the cellar doors, Steve had his ear pressed against the slight crack between the panels, desperately trying to understand what was going on. He wasn't sure what to make of the noises he was hearing, unable to determine if Billy was just trying to mess with him or if he was in actual distress.

"Hargrove," he said impatiently, turning his head to try and peak in through the crack to get a glimpse of what was going on, "you gotta start talking to me, man; what the hell's going on down there?"

"I'm fucking blind," he heard Billy shout, his voice rife with fear. "I can't see anything!"

His voice was shaking as he spoke, and Steve knew then that whatever was happening was legitimate; Billy wasn't one to openly show weakness.

"Okay, stay calm," Steve stammered, but he wasn't sure if that was actually sound advice or not. "It's- it's going to be okay, okay?"

Billy howled, and Steve understood that the pain that carried with his voice must have been terrible to get him to shriek like that. He licked his lips anxiously, not knowing what support he could possibly offer him. He continuously opened and shut his mouth, words of encouragement dying on his tongue before he could manage to speak them.

And then, all at once, the cacophony of agony ceased.

Steve couldn't hear anything over the rapid sound of his breathing for a moment before he finally spoke: "Hargrove? Is… are you okay?"

"Hurts." Billy's voice, quiet, strained, and barely audible over the sounds of things (flesh, fabric) slowly tearing, sounded disconcertingly like he was speaking with a throat full of water. It was gargling and grotesque; completely unlike the smooth, honeyed voice he'd become known for.

"Okay, what, uh, what… what hurts?" Steve whispered in response, fear quieting his previously urgent tone.

"Everything."

"Shit," Steve said to himself, backing away from the cellar door panels as the sounds of something large and heavy being knocked over made him jump. "Just, uh, stay calm," he said, though he wasn't sure if he was saying it to himself or Billy. From down below, he heard Billy groan loudly before going silent again.

Steve's heart was pounding as he hesitated, unsure of what to do. All the details of Billy's haphazardly concocted plan fled his mind as he tried to think back on what they'd agreed to do if something ended up happening, and his first instinct was to open the doors to go down and check on him. He looked at the chains wrapped tightly around the door handles and bit his lip before crouching down and pressing his eye to the crack.

The overhead light wasn't bright enough to reveal much, but at the base of the stairwell there was a small circle of illumination. Steve squinted, ignoring the cold of the steel as he pressed his face against the door, trying to see all that he could.

Blood stains. Torn bits of… something he couldn't quite make out. Dark masses on the stairwell; lots of evidence that pointed towards Billy transforming, but no trace of Billy himself.

"Hargrove," Steve whispered, and then shook his head to clear himself of his cowardice. "Hargrove," he said again, louder and with more emphasis, "dude, you have to talk me through what's happening down there."

He waited, unconsciously holding his breath as he waited for a reply. It was steadily growing darker as the sun slowly sank, making it all the harder to see into the cellar from the tiny slit. Frowning and unable to see anything, Steve turned his head and pressed his ear against the door. From somewhere in the depths of the cellar he could hear something breathing heavily. It was moving, too; he could hear something shuffling, moving around the floor space cautiously.

When he turned his head again to see through the crack, he caught a glimpse of... something large and hulking cross under the light, tall enough to set the lightbulb swinging. He couldn't help but suck in a sharp breath of air, his lungs and throat burning with the sting of the cold weather. The thing- whatever Billy had become- halted just outside the rim of light. Entranced, Steve found he couldn't move as it emitted a low, threatening growl that sounded more like a man impersonating a dog than an actual beast.

From his limited viewpoint, he couldn't see the way the muscles in its legs were tightening, or how it had begun to crouch; he didn't have time to react as it sprang forward, jumping up the stairs in a single leap to ram itself against the doors.

The chains held the doors shut, but the sudden impact smashed the metal against Steve's nose and soon all he could smell was blood as it drained out of his nostrils. He fell backwards, holding his nose as the Billy-creature growled again. Horrified, Steve could only sit in the snow and watch as the doors lurched forward when Billy rammed against them again, trying to escape. The second impact loosened the restraints, and all Steve could do in that moment was watch as they rattled uselessly in place, beginning to slip through the handles as they hadn't been properly locked into place.

Cursing to himself, staggered to his feet and rushed to grab the chains, but as Billy threw his body against the doors again it soon became obvious that even if the doors stayed shut, they were about to pop free of their hinges entirely. Blood dripped down over his lips and onto the metal panels as he tried to think of what he could possibly do to counteract the damage Billy had done. In an act of desperation, he threw himself against the steel and hoped that his added bodyweight would be enough to keep them in place.

If it managed to do anything, he couldn't tell. Almost immediately Billy was throwing himself against the doors again, nearly bucking Steve off.

"Stop!" Steve cried out, grasping for the chains to hold them in place. His fingers scrabbled against the cold steel links even as Billy let out another deep, throaty growl. With the doors as loose as they were, Steve was almost certain the doors wouldn't survive another body-slam. "Give it up, Hargrove!" Steve said again, desperately. "Just- fuck, Billy, stop!"

He braced himself for another impact, but it never came. Eyes closed in anticipation, Steve blinked them open and exhaled shakily, his fingers trembling as he let the chains go. Crystalized air puffed out in front of his face over and over as he rolled off the doors and stood up unsteadily, trying to wipe away the blood that had already frozen over and turned to crust on his upper lip. Somehow, miraculously, his pleading had worked, but before he could take comfort in that fact, other disturbing sounds began to creep back up to him from down below.

Things were being tossed around; the metallic clang of old paint cans being bounced off the floors and walls mixed with the hoarse, angry vocalizations of the creature Billy had become made his blood run colder than the air currently was. The noises Billy was making were at once both animalistic and human, deep and throaty and more akin to the bellows of a moose than a man or wolf.

Steve stood in front of the cellar doors not knowing what to do. Already their plan was falling apart, and he was quickly becoming aware of how vastly unprepared he was to handle the situation. He wanted the security of the bat in his trunk, but didn't trust himself to leave the doors unattended for the length of time it would take him to run back inside and grab his keys to get it, but he felt so weak without it.

Another loud, crashing noise came from within and Steve stilled, listening intently. Faintly, he could hear Billy snuffling about, and after the sun finally completely descended, all was quiet. His nose was throbbing as he stood attentively, but when nothing more could be heard, his stomach sank.

With trembling hands and his mind screaming at him to stop, he knelt by the doors and slowly unwound the chains from the handles. The fact that he couldn't hear anything coming from within didn't sit well with him; he had to make sure Billy was still down there.

He tried to shift the chains as quietly as possible, but with how nervous he was, he had a hard time keeping his hands steady. They rattled noisily against the door, grating on his already frazzled nerves as they slid free. Heart pounding madly, Steve carefully pulled the doors open and took the first step down into the cellar.

It was silent. He couldn't hear anything as he hesitantly took a second step, mentally berating himself over and over for being stupid enough to walk defenseless into the lion's mouth. He had no idea what Billy was capable of now, or if he'd even recognize him enough to (hopefully) have enough sense to not harm him. The lightbulb that dangled freely from the ceiling was swaying, throwing its light around erratically, showing him glimpses of the gore that lined the steps.

Eyes wide, Steve gagged at the sight of the flayed strips of bloodied skin that were splattered near everywhere. He had to avert his eyes as he took another step, making slow progress as he was careful not to step in any of the mess. At the bottom of the stairs he warily peered around the walls, hoping he'd only stuck his head into the lion's mouth figuratively. To his immediate relief, but long-term dismay, there was no trace of Billy to be seen in the space of the cellar.

Exhaling deeply, Steve tried to even out his breathing as he came to stand in the middle of the room, looking around to assess the damage. As the swinging lightbulb steadied, he turned towards where the shelf that was hiding the tunnel had been and found it on the ground, knocked to its side and several feet away from where it had originally been positioned. His shoulders drooped at the realization of Billy's escape.

He went and stood before the opening of the tunnel and felt all hope of remedying the situation vanish. A numbness overtook him as he recognized his responsibilities of keeping Billy captive had changed; he was the only one who knew about Billy's circumstances, and he was the only one who could do anything about it now. Distantly, and much further away then he would've liked, he could hear the muted, labored sounds of Billy's breathing as he escaped confinement through the underground system.

The burden of his responsibilities threatened to overwhelm him in that instant, but instead of letting himself be overtaken by despair, Steve took a deep, steadying breath and rolled his shoulders back. He hesitated for only a minute before he took charge and ran in after him, disregarding his urgent need to turn back and get his bat out of the car. There was no time, he thought; no time to get a weapon, no time to get a flashlight. If Billy was now as the werewolf in the woods was, then he was capable of speeds greater than Steve could muster, and every second mattered. If he lost his trail now, then it would be lost to him entirely. There was no time; he had to go now or he wouldn't go at all.

Alone and unarmed Steve ran, chasing after Billy into the dark, cold tunnel, hoping he would be able to catch him in time, and dreading the repercussions that would come if he couldn't.

[voxplusherizes]

April Ramble: Eye Troubles, Hair Uncertainties, and Doll Instanity

I’m gonna try to do a monthly update about stuff from now on.

So, Lots of stuff has happened. and at the same time lots of stuff ...hasn’t...happened.

Eyes:

I’ve finished Erasii’s mouth and right eye. However, my confidence with dealing with resin came back to bite me in the ass. Severl years ago, i tried to start a project where i would make large plushes (like Erasii’s size with a wildly different pattern) or all the remnants and i started with Azur. I didn’t get past sewing the arms and legs, and thats because i started on the eyes right away. I used the exact same methode as this time: sculpt an eye from polymer clay, make a mold, cast the eye dome, attach a photo of the eye behind it. Simple. easy. Lmao. Nope. I recall casting three eyes and every one of the had bubbles. every one of them was cloudy. one was very sticky. I gave up back then, and the project was since abandoned.

Until two weeks ago, where I thought i’d done enough research to know how to do it right. Except i forgot that resin has a fuckin vendetta against me i swear to god.

The first eye attempt developed holes at the dome, aka: the front of the eye. This irritated me because when i poured the resin, it was super clear for two hours before i checked it and suddenly: a fuckton of bubbles. I havn’t no idea where they came from. So i tried again (also tried to cover the first attempt in more resin after pokeing holes to the bubbles, which.....ended poorly.) and poured another cast. i watched this version religiously, and it was amazeingly clear! I thought it went perfect.....until i went to check if i could remove it after four days of letting it cure and it was still completely liquid. two extra days did nothing. Evidently, I did not stir it properly enough (i call bullshit, i stirred for three minutes. i timed it.) and i had to scoop the resin into the trash and clean the mold. by far the most agaonizeing part of this one was that it was still completely bubbleless like w h y must u hurt me.

By this point, I’m incredibly irritated. Whenever I get the measureing and stirring correct, my cast developes bubbles for no damn reason. whenever my cast doesn’t develope bubbles, it doesn’t cure. I have browsed forum after forum, video after video, did every trick i could find, fallowed the instructions to the T. and still, my resin has failed to turn out.

I am torn, honestly. I am so pissed at my inability to cast resin properly that i’m determined to keep trying to get it right. but at the same time, i’m wasteing resin and not making any imporvments. on the other side, My mom has a coworker who owns a jewlery buiseness with her husband and most of their peices use a really nice clear casting material. I’m wondering if I could ask them if they’d be willing to make me a complete eye as a commission. I havn’t any idea how they make their casts, however (i assume molds, but not sure) so i’m not sure. i’m also unsure if their casting material is a type of glass. I’ll ask about the durability of the material, and keep it as an option if everything else fails.

I currently have a third eye in the mold. i havn’t checked it since i poured it. i’m scared to, thb. i don’t want to be dissapointed.

Dragon:

On a more lighthearted note, If yall rememeber my dragon pattern from a while ago, i started on that plush. Originally i was just going to work on it until i got the rest of the stuff to finish erasii, but since his eye is taking forever and i havn’t been able to get the yarn to the correct length for his hair, i’ve gotten a lot of it done. the wings and batting inside are completely done (witht he exception of turning and sewing the finger details+stuffing) which was the largest part of the project. I started working ont he gold tail decor but i need to pull out an entire side since the peice didn’t match up properly. i was going to leave it, but i dont want her to look ugly int he end so about two hours of sewing earlier are down the drain Lol.

Hair:

Returning to Erasii, for more bad news, I’ve decided I can’t use yarn for his hair. i can’t get it long enough. I also can’t make a wig for him like i wanted to try, because i forgot his horns existed. Instead, i’ve decided to order saran hair. This....doesn’t sit well with me. I was going to try wefts this time, but i dont feel comfortable attching them dirrectly to his head. but i havn’t any idea how else to attach them either. i was thinking maybe glueing? or somehow sewing the hair directly into the head? the bangs and sides are the main ones i want to look nice since the back of erasii’s head is litterally just A Mess of short hair. I dunno. i’m ordering a crapton of hair, so we’ll see what i can do when i have it in my hands.

Dolls:

I’ve made the mistake of watching doll customizations. and i wanted to do one. except i couldnt make up my mind, and now i have three planned whoOPS

The first one is Pumpkin Pie, a pumpkin themed girl I want to make arund halloween. I have an orange body thats faceless and lacking hair bc it was from a create your own monster kit. she’s the perfect starter.

The second one was the original one i wanted to make, Nyoul. My little girly boy with a taste for cupcakes and human flesh. He was the reason i first went through the way-too-big box of dolls my mom and i bought years ago (over 500 dollars worth like srsly.) to find a duplicate to tear apart. but surpriseingly, we didn’t have any duplicates. We have three frankies, yeah, but they were all different versions, so i didn’t feel comfortable tearing any of them apart. Most unfortunately, this conundrum gave me time to lament, during which time i keep peeking at my Gooliope. She’s 17 inchs high, and i loved that size. I didn’t dare ruin her (she’s by far my favorite) so i kept an eye out for other 17 inchers. And as luck would have it, while stopping by toys r’ us the other day, I noticed one in the clearence bin. orignally 30bucks, dropped down to 15. not bad. the reason for this was because the doll (a clawdeen) was a little bit damaged. both her ears have broken bits and theres a lots of weird plastic at the seems. not so good for a child, a miracle gift from the doll gods for me. i expected to feel a little guilty buying a doll away from a potential kid, but because this one is damaged, i don’t. parents would have told a little girl to put this one back and grab another one anyway, so no harm in giving this little misfit a home x3

There are some....drawbacks, however.

Nyoul already requided heavy modification (ie: tiddy-be-gone) and now he needs even more. I was originally aiming for a frankie, since she has a lighter skin tone and no ears, since my concept for Nyoul has him as very pale. this is because his outfit will have a lot of color and having his skin be near-white would allow them to pop like on a canvase. he’s also aupposed to look like a doll, but also sickly. Cute, but not quite right. I’m going to have to cut off the ears (and boobs), and then repaint the entire body. I do feel.....gross, about doing that. it feels insulting and wrong. But if i’m going to put all this effort into makeing him, why shouldn’t i make him completely what I want?

on the upside of workin on him, I get to make a prop eventually! I love doing that! he carries a big-ass axe and long scissors.

Nyoul’s going to be a very long project. This is why I want to finish both Erasii AND the dragon before i even start him. So Clawdeen’s just chilling with her deformities for a couple of weeks Lol.

And lastly.....my ball joint doll.

Years ago, i purched a ball joint doll from someone used. I’ve always loved ball joints, but they were all too expensive. I was so excited to have a BJD at last, i developed an entire design for her that sadly failed to come to be. I had a lot of trouble as a newbie seamstress back then that i eventually gave up, and tossed her into my closet for a few....years.

and then i took her out of the closet and put her in the attic for several more years. I rescued her afew days ago, and i feel super guilty. I never even put her pants or shirt back on!

I dislike the original design i had for her, so i’ve been trying to think of what to transform her into. I was thinking about a demon popstar, so i could make horns and wings and a tail, but....her face doesn’t fit. she has a very serene sad face, lidded eyes. I’m not sure if i could paint her face to make her look more evil or mischevious or a diva. I really want to try tho. I might have to save it for another 17 incher monster high tho. i keep seeing the popstar design with highheels and my BJD has flat feet. and I can’t order new ones because they’re expensive and also i have no idea what modle doll i even have so whoops.

if i do move ahead with that idea tho, i’ve taken inspiration from Sia and Lady Gaga (and Billy Joe Cobra if i’m being embarisingly honest) especially witht he hair idea. a boxy neck length thats pure white on top, but each later under is a different color of the rainbow with some rainbow bangs. She’d also have sunglasses, piercings, tattoos, long fake nails....just so much stuff.

But its a long way before i’m confident to even try to work on her. just holding her makes me scared i’m gonna break her. (even tho i kinda already did, accidentally had to restring her legs bc i dropped a string trying to take her head off.)

Her time in the closet and attic seem to have done something to her faceup. I’ve been struggleing for the past three days to remove it (bc i want to repaint her and also the colors were ugly and she has a stupid little tear on her cheek) useing everything i could. I tried acetone first (i did a test ont he inside of the headcap to see if it’d hurt the resin) and it did absolutely nothing. so then i tried rubbing alcohol, and again nothing. i tried a magic eeraser which finally worked, but not well. i don’t want to try to buy anything else, so i’ve been dealing witht he magic eraser. i’ve nearly removed everything besides the lips, and i honestly don’t think i’m gonna be getting that lip color out of there. I’ve tried to shove some eraser into there and scrub with a toothpick and it did not do anything. I was planning on coloring her lips a dark color anyway, so meh. bonus shadeing.

[hargrove-mayfields]

Just A Dream Away

Chapter 5/13 read here on ao3!

for @harringrovebigbang

~~~~

Robin gets to the phone first.

Steve was too busy wallowing in his bed to get up and answer, though he figures it might be worth seeing who it is that’s calling. None of the kids call him anymore, but he always considers, even if it’s for just a moment, that it could be an emergency. He’ll know whenever he decides to get up, or if Robin even decides to pick it up.

Its ring echoes shrill and loud in the apartment, the tone making him want to wrap himself in a blanket and never come out, so he slides out of his bed, calling down the stairs in search of a solution to end the noise, “You gonna get that Rob?”

For a moment, he wonders if she’ll even respond. It’s barely been a couple of hours since he made her cry, but she calls back, “Are you expecting a call?”

Relieved to know she at least still tolerates him, Steve answers, “Nope.”

“Then no.” Comes her simple response, and the phone ringing promptly dies out, “Guess it didn’t matter anyways.”

But almost immediately, it starts up again, somehow sounding more sharp than before. Steve tells her just to get it so the ringing will stop, coming down the steps to see for himself who it is calling.

He watches Robin pull the receiver from its base, in the place of a greeting going straight for, “What do you want?”

Steve takes note of the fact that her mood isn’t entirely better yet, though he’s definitely glad she’s taking those feelings out on the telephone and not on him, but, despite her abrasiveness, she still receives no response.

It looks like she’s going to hang up before she hears something, her features closing off as she focuses on whatever comes through the other end, “Hello? I can’t hear you. Who is this?”

There’s a whining static loud enough for even Steve to hear from the other side of the room, getting louder, and then a pop that makes the lights flicker and the phone die out, making Robin shriek and drop it, shaking out her hand.

“Son of a bitch shocked me.” She mumbles, picking up the dead receiver and showing Steve the two burnt ends.

In the moment though, something he’ll perhaps feel bad for another time, Steve isn’t worried about his friend. He isn’t rushing to see what happened and check if she got burnt, he instead just freezes up, filtering through the overwhelming questions filling his head to ask, “Did you hear who it was?”

“No, it just sounded like it was all distorted.”

Her answer is nonchalant, but it makes Steve feel weak and panicky, sitting down at the table as pale as a ghost.

That’s obviously not a normal reaction, and Robin asks, tone more afraid than concerned, which he thinks that’s appropriate for what just happened, “What’s going on Steve?”

Grimly, he explains, “Mrs Byers’ phone did that twice before, blowing up after a call just like that.”

“Okay, well maybe there’s just a storm coming and it’s just a coincidence that happened to her too?” She tries to reason, but Steve already knows, he's felt this dread before. “No, Robs. It happened because Will called her from the Upside Down.”

“But then that means-“ Robin starts, working through the implications, Steve finishing the statement for her, “Someone is trapped over there.”

“Holy shit, but the gate, hasn’t it been closed for a year and a half now?“

“Unless someone else opened it, yeah.”

Stiffly she nods, asking hesitantly, be it because of her questions or the disagreement between them earlier, “Well what do we do?”

A reflection of his lack for anything but pessimistic doomsdaying anymore, Steve worries, “What can we do, Robin? I’ve only ever fought the things that end up in our world, and you’ve never even seen half of the monsters that come from over there. We’re too overpowered here.”

More rational than her friend, Robin suggests, “I think we should get a hold of Eleven. You said she's the one that really understands any of this other dimension stuff. She can help.”

But Steve shakes his head, “Her powers are gone. She might know what to do, but I don’t think she’ll be able to do anything.”

“So you just want to leave whoever it is over there?”

“No, fuck no. That’s not what I mean.”

“Then what should we do?”

“I don’t know..” Steve frowns, thinking hard before he answers determinedly, “But whoever it is, they reached out to us. We have to help them.”

~~~~

The phone doesn’t work.

What is Billy supposed to do? He’s tried everything, and with his last resort at reaching out a dud, he’s not sure what else he even can do.

So, in true Billy Hargrove fashion, he lashes out, cursing and unnecessarily yanking the phone jack out of the wall, the plastic handheld skidding across the kitchen tile into the corner, “Goddamnit!”

The noise may have been a mistake though, because, despite how sure he was the dogs wouldn’t find this place, he hears a chitter, and the click of claws on hardwood floors. The damn thing is in the house, and his machete is by the door.

A recurring theme with these hell beasts, is that there’s never enough time to run, but unless he wants to use decorative mugs or a cookie jar to fight it, he doesn’t have much of a choice but to try.

He makes two mistakes as he runs, the first being that he hesitates, not wanting to leave Steve. Even if he couldn’t find him he had gotten so damn close, but a snarl from the dog puts things into perspective, and, with a heavy feeling of remorse in his chest, he leaves through the backdoor as quietly as he can, bolting down the rotting back steps.

His second mistake is looking over his shoulder. Just as his boots touch brittle grass, he decides just to glance back and see how much space is between him and the hellhound, but the second he sees it, he just freezes up.

Because it’s fucking big, for one thing. It has to force itself through the door frame, meaning it’s wider than he is. It has a lot more teeth than the others. It’s skin is pale and it’s limbs much longer. Something tells him the others he’s seen are immature, and this one is close to its final form, whatever that may be. Either way, he’s decidedly not fucking around with that.

The daunting unfamiliarity of this part of Hawkins, intimidating as it is, isn’t Billy’s main concern right now. He just bolts like a coward, hoping against hope that there’ll be anything along his path he won’t have to corner himself to get that can be used as a weapon, basically his only other option for surviving this that this amped up dog will get bored of him fast.

But, and really, he knew this was the case, he just hadn’t wanted to admit he was prey yet, it easily charges him, going up on its back legs to knock him off his balance. It misses at first, so he thankfully doesn’t get pushed to the ground, but his reflexes, especially when blurred by emotion, are no match to a monster of this size, and before he can even process its next move, it clamps its teeth on his arm.

Now, he’s been here for a while. He’s had scratches and cuts and welts from their tails, but he’d always been quick enough, smart enough, prepared enough to not get bit. Which he really wishes was still something he could still attest to, because it fucking hurts. Razor sharp teeth from too many mouths tear into the muscle, a stinging pain all the way from the point of impact in his wrist up to his shoulder.

It’s his fault, all this stuff with Steve was getting to his head, feeling his presence and hearing his voice again for the first time in god knows how long only to be unable to reach him. It was doing things to his judgement.

But this is still bad. Really fucking bad.

As soon as it lets go, he knows it’s going to latch onto him again, so he does what he does best in a situation where he’s hurt and scared and alone. He cries, for one thing, but he also fights. But where he’d normally just use his fists and his ego to prove his strength, this world is built differently. Even with a pocket knife to stand up for himself that’s not enough to survive, but he’s still going to make it count. If at the end of this he goes down, it won’t be without a fight.

A fight to just get back to the way things were. To prove to himself he could do this and survive. For once in his fucking life, just to overcome hardship and move the hell forward, no cycles of hatred and pain, love and respect drawing him back. Nobody else in control of his body. Nobody else holding him back from being happy.

He just wants to survive this.

There’s blood on his jacket sleeve, but Billy refuses to look at how bad the wound truly is yet. There quite frankly isn’t enough oxygen down here to afford a panic, but from the pain and the blood alone, he knows it’s not going to be good for him.

The fighting isn’t going too well either, with only one arm not weighed down by injury and a knife the size of his palm his last standing lines of defense, it’s mostly him dodging the creature and flailing his limbs to either stop an incoming bite or confuse it, both of them too confident in its ability to tear him to shreds to advance further than that.

But it gets bored of fucking around with him, and it rises to its back legs again, and Billy knows he’s fucked, squeezing his eyes shut and blocking his face, but the attack never comes. There’s a huge crack of lightning in the ever looming storm above, and a chorus of eerie chittering from more dogs at varying degrees of closeness to where they are, and it draws the attention of the big one away.

While the monster is distracted, he uses that opportunity to his advantage, takes charge of his circumstances to give himself a fighting chance. That strategy never worked for him before, only ever got him into deeper shit, but he can’t exactly just stand here and be monster bait either so, though it breaks his heart to put that distance between him and Steve, Billy chooses to run.

[theonewiththefanfics]

Hawkins’ Charm (Part 3/?)

Synopsys: They had gotten out of Hawkins. After all the shit that had happened, all the heartache and pain, Billy and the Reader had gotten away from that hellhole, building their life in California as he had dreamed. But when Max’s graduation rolls around and they go to celebrate, it’s as if the Upside Down was just waiting for all of them to return. And it has a bone to pick.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x f!Reader; platonic!Steve Harrington x f!Reader

Genre: angst, fluff

Warnings: swearing, drinking, smoking, I don’t think there’s anything else :)

Word count: 3998

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT CONDONE BILLY’S ACTIONS AND THE THINGS HE’S DONE! THIS IS BASICALLY AN AU, WHEN REALLY LOOKING AT IT! SPOILERS FOR S3! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!

It truly was high school all over again. As Y/N and Billy walked around the newly rebuilt mall, he kept bickering with Max about her going to a party. They had decided to meet up with everyone for a bowling game instead of sitting with Susan and Neil in tense silence by the dinner table, but the two were going at it like they would at home.        “You were so much worse at my age than I am,” Max exclaimed throwing her hands in the air. “Besides, I wouldn’t get drunk or even drink, I have graduation the next day.”        “You could be drinking water and still get roofied,” Billy’s hand slid into the back pocket of Y/N’s jeans. “Trust me, guys your age only think with their dicks.”        “Like you did?” Max’s ginger eyebrow rose, a smirk on her face as her brother only glared at her.        “Watch it, Maxine.”        “Call me Maxine again, and I’ll drive your Camaro into the lake.”        Billy pointed a stern finger at her as they entered the bowling alley. “Touch my car and you’re dead.”    “How're things between you and Lucas?” Y/N butted in, tired of their arguing. They really were siblings, and it didn’t matter if they were related or not, they definitely acted like it.        “We broke up.”        Billy snorted. “Which time is it now? Twelfth?”        “Fourteenth.”        “What happened?” Y/N asked lacing up the shoes the guy behind the desk had given her, but where she thought it’d be just stupid teenager drama, Max’s face completely fell.        “He’s going to NYU… got his acceptance letter during Spring Break.”        “Max, that’s amazing,” Billy said but his sister’s mood only soured.        “Yeah, well for him, not for us… he’s going to NYU I’m going to UCLA, but the thing is we’d talked about applying to the same ones, and he did it behind my back!” she exclaimed. “He didn’t even tell me he was thinking about it! That’s what pisses me off the most.”

       Billy grunted standing up after having put on his own shoes. “Do you want me to beat him up?”        “What? No!” Max rolled her eyes. “I can do that myself. I just… this isn’t the kinda shit we usually break up over.”        Y/N gave her a sympathetic look. Before she’d ever met Billy, she had been thinking about going to NYU as well. And if she was being honest, for the first few months they lived in California, she had regretted not going to the Big Apple. Things had obviously worked out just fine, but it was a little tear in her heart to know her plans hadn’t really gone the way she thought they would. Then again, Y/N didn’t think she’d have to fight the Mind Flayer either, so there was that.        “And what kind of things did you usually break up because?” Y/N asked as she and Max went to pick out their balls, Billy quickly ordering some drinks and food for them and the rest of the Party as they’d join later.        “I dunno,” the redhead sighed and looked up at the board showing her name. “Like in eighth grade, I dumped him ‘cause he stepped on the back of my shoes for a week. He thought he was being funny, so I told him to back off. Another time was ‘cause he’d been copying my homework, but when I wanted to do the same he wouldn’t give. That’s the kind of stuff we argue abou-“ her train of thought was interrupted as everyone else loudly entered the alley, Nancy's hand in Johnathan's as El, Dustin, Mike, Will, Alex and Lucas all barreling in.        Max's blue eyes locked onto the latter’s brown ones for a moment, before he broke the gaze and took one of the bowling balls. The silent treatment was in full force.          “Did he say he was going?” Y/N asked, after having scored a spare and sitting down onto one of the seats. El was instantly by their side, wanting in on the girl conversation.        “No,” Max groaned looking at Lucas who was holding the ball by his face, trying to figure out the trajectory that would give him a strike. “But that’s not the point. The point is, he didn’t even tell me he was applying… like I think we would be able to manage a long-distance thing… but it’s just… like he didn’t trust me, like he was afraid I would discourage him from doing it.”        “Would you, have?” Y/N hesitated to ask but knew she should. “If he had told you he wanted to go to NYU, knowing you’re set on UCLA, do you think you’d try and talk him out of it?”        “I just…” Max dragged a hand through her hair, tears she never let fall glistening on her lower lash line.  “I love him. I don’t wanna lose him. But he doesn’t trust me.”        By that point, Nancy, Johnathan, Steve with the addition of Robin who’d been busy earlier that morning had joined in on the game, and were all preoccupied with beating the kids' scores.        “Y/N!” Billy shouted, “You’re up!”        “Look, Max, I think you two need to sit down and talk about it,” the girl stood up and went to grab her bowling ball. “Maybe he was scared of losing you too… maybe that's why he didn't say anything...”        Her Y/E/C eyes zeroed in on the pins, arm pulled back and with a little skip forward, she let the ball go, knocking down the ten white pieces of wood.        STRIKE! The board announced with a little animation on it.        Max just huffed at the implication it had.

***

       Dustin ended up being the one who scored most.        “It’s the missing bones, I’m telling you!” he laughed as everyone gave back their bowling shoes and made their way out of the mall, the parking lot practically deserted save for a few cars.        Y/N’s hand was in Billy’s, and he was swinging them back and forth.    “How does that make any sense?” she asked looking up at the teenager. All of them had grown so much, it was practically unfair.        “It’s just the way it is.”        “So, you’re like Gumby or some shit?”        “Uh,” Steve butted in, “I’m pretty sure it’s gumbo. We had this conversation years ago.”        Y/N raised her eyebrow and looked at Robin who just rolled her eyes. “You do know gumbo is a dish, right?”        “Yeah, but does it have any bones in it?” he remarked. Nobody had anything to answer, so he just gave them a smug smirk, opening his car’s door. “Thought so.”        Dustin, Robin and Lucas piled inside Harrington’s vehicle while Nancy and Johnathan would bring Will, Alex and Mike home, Max driving with Y/N and Billy.        “We were actually thinking about going to Tina’s after we drop these ones off,” Nancy said, leaning on her door. “So, if you wanna join, we’ll be there in like half an hour.”        Y/N sighed, nodding her head and giving a small smile before ducking inside the safety of Billy’s car. They drove to Max’s in silence, the rock music that usually blasted on high had been turned down low, so Neil wouldn’t hear them approaching.        “Think about what I said. Please,” Y/N said to Max with a sympathetic smile as the teenager hopped out from the backseat.        She responded with a small nod and then closed the door.        The two watched Max skip up the porch and unlock the door. Only when her bedroom’s light was off and there was no other movement in the house did they pull away and started to drive down the road.        “Do you think we could go to that party?” Billy’s question caught Y/N completely off guard. It was already eleven thirty so without a doubt it would be in full swing.        “You didn’t want to earlier today, what changed?”        He just shrugged and looked back at the road, streetlights guiding their way. “Just thought it might be fun… ever since Clara, we haven’t had much time to ourselves. I absolutely love her and would give up everything for her happiness, but I just thought… I dunno… it might be fun…”        Y/N bit her lip as she watched Billy chew on the inside of his cheek. She didn’t really want to go. The thought of seeing Carol, Tommy and the other delinquents was not an appealing one, and, without a doubt, the woman would try to get a rise out of her, seeing as Y/N had helped the bad boy of Hawkins settle down, but he looked so nervous when he’d asked it, she just let out a sigh and nodded.        “Why not… besides, Nance, Steve and the rest are going as well, so… sure.”        But Y/N regretted that decision almost immediately. She didn’t mind parties, just the people that went to them, and when the first people she saw was Vicky Mulligan and Tina Wakefield sucking on some strangers’ necks she immediately decided to scour the place for her friends, if they had to stay.        “Look who decided to show up,” Tommy slurred, already intoxicated with his shirt buttoned open and sweat or beer trickling down his chest. “Ladies and gentlemen, the King of Hawkins has finally graced us with his presence. Though I have to warn you – he’s quite boring now. Doesn’t drink or even fucking smoke.”        Laughter and booing erupted throughout the house, and Y/N saw Carol snicker, as she had joined them by the driveway, a cigarette hanging between her fingers.        Billy didn’t even bristle as he pulled off his leather jacket and slammed his car door closed. “What’s the record?”        “What?” Tommy laughed dragging a puff before exhaling it through his nose.        “I asked what’s the record?”        Tommy’s lackeys all scoffed and crossed their arms before he answered. “You’re still in the lead.”        Y/N saw him smirk and threw her a wink. “Them I’m about to beat myself.”        She sighed, knowing what was going to happen. As the boys all gathered around Billy, grabbing him by the legs and waist to hoist him up, Tommy passing the hose to let the beer flow, she entered the house, harshly slamming her shoulder into Carol’s, Vicky and Tina sneering at her.        Pure Fuel was her mission, and that’s where she found her saviour in the form of Robin.        “You don’t look like you wanna be here,” she stated handing Y/N a red cup filled with the alcohol mixture. They’d shared English with Mrs Nelson during their last year of school, but other than a couple of group projects the two girls hadn’t interacted much, until the summer that changed it all.        Robin was still someone Y/N looked forward to seeing and hearing from, but she also knew that their friendship was nothing compared to hers and Steve’s. In a lot of ways, Robin had replaced Y/N as Steve’s best friend, but she wasn’t bitter about it. In fact, she was truly happy there was someone he could be completely himself without any other intention than being a friend.        “That’s ‘cause I really don’t,” Y/N snorted and gulped down half her drink. “I have no joy sharing air with those three harpies.”        Robin nodded and sipped on her gin and tonic. “It’s truly amazing how they haven’t changed a bit. It’s like they’re still stuck in high school.”        “You’re telling me,” Y/N shook her head. “Carol looked like her eyes were going to pop out of her sockets when I said Billy’s my husband.”        “I would pay to see that,” Robin pointed with a finger at her and chuckled in her raspy tone.        “I mean, imagine how she’d look if you said you have a daughter.”        They snickered for a moment and shook their heads, Robin looking to the garden where the popular ex-kids-now-adults had gathered.        “You find a girl in London?” the question took her attention away and though unexpected it wasn’t unwelcome. She trusted Y/N enough to come out and had never heard a harsh word from her. The blush that crept up Robin’s neck would’ve been enough of an answer, but she did give a soft ‘yeah’ as well.        “Tell me everything,” Y/N leaned forward, genuinely interested in what this person was like, and if she made Robin happy. But she didn’t get a chance to open her mouth when the deafening cheering of boys bombarded their senses.    “The Keg King still lives!” Tommy hollered over the heads of everyone, and Billy let out a yell of victory.    He couldn’t help himself as he slipped back into that persona that didn’t care about anything or anyone. Obviously, things had changed, and where he used to slink away to find his taste of the week as a teenager, Billy was very much so devoted to his family, but it was nice to let loose for a bit. If only for a moment to become the Keg King.         His wife stood by the door aisle looking at the aftermath of the whole ordeal, but contrary to where her husband had drunk beer for a minute and a half without stopping for a breath basically, she had been nursing the same cup of Pure Fuel the entire time.    In Y/N’s mind, she thought they’d come here, mingle for a bit, maybe talk with a few other of their fellow ex-classmates and go home to rest, but given how it was moving closer to two AM already, she knew that wouldn’t happen.        “Babe, did you hear that?” Billy’s arms were wide open in pride as he looked at her. “I’m still Hawkins’ reigning King.”        Y/N pulled her mouth in a tight-lipped smile and crossed her arms humming in agreement. “Imma get you some water.”       Tommy H scoffed. “Water; if you’re getting him anything get him Pure Fuel. It’s a party, not a sermon.”        “C’ mon,” Billy sighed moving to where she stood, hands grasping at her waist and pressing his forehead against Y/N’s. “Don’t be like that.”        “Like what?”        “A mood killer. This is just one night.”        Y/N scoffed pulling back. “What happened to ‘I don’t drink or smoke’? You were pretty happy to put both Carol and Tommy down when we first met them today, but the second you have a bigger audience it’s back to the old ways?”        “You know that’s not true,” the words were more like a growl than anything else. “I’m just trying to make the best out of a bad situation.”        “You wanted to come here,” she pointed out. “Not me. I’m just tagging along.”        “Well maybe then you should go home.”        That was not the answer Y/N expected to hear from Billy. With wide eyes, she pulled back from his embrace and stepped out of arms reach. “Maybe I will.”        With that, she turned around and weaved between the drunk people, searching for someplace quiet, but given how every single space in Tina’s house was packed, the only unoccupied place would be the woods at the back.        Y/N ran a hand down her face, as she stepped onto the forest floor, the noise of gravel crunching under her feet being replaced by moss, making her steps completely soundless.        “And what are you doing here alone?” a voice from the shadows startled her, but it turned out to be just Steve as it seemed he had run away from Tina’s as well.        “Reliving the first party of senior year, I guess,” Y/N snorted giving the house a quick look. “Billy’s the Keg King again, and I’m hiding in the woods. Seems about right.”        “Shouldn’t’ the Queen be next to her husband?”        “The Queen,” Y/N sighed, “is apparently killing the mood… I didn’t think things would go back to the way they were so quickly…” she bit her lip and exhaled another breath. “Like, I know we’re not that much older, and it doesn’t matter if we’re twenty-two or eighteen, but I thought, you know… we have a kid,” she chuckled. “We’re married… maybe I was just naïve thinking that he’d be the same as he’s in San Diego.”        Steve sighed, a pained look on his face. “Come on, don’t say that,” he went to stand next to Y/N. “The guy’s crazy about you. And I never thought I’d say that about Billy Hargrove. You know, the guy who went around town screwing every girl that would open her legs for him. He hasn’t so much as looked at someone else. He loves you, it’s just those assholes goading him.”        “I know,” Y/N sighed and leaned against the tree trunk. “and I get it, I guess. It’s easier for him to shut everyone out and become someone he isn’t here. At first, it was kind of sweet, that only I’d got to see who was underneath all that brashness and temperament, but now… it just feels like a weight dragging everything down. It’s like all those soft moments we’ve spent together and with Clara mean nothing as long as he gets to beat the record again.”        Steve could understand where she was coming from. They’d been best friends since forever, and after having been through unimaginable shit, he was genuinely happy Y/N had found someone to call her home. And having seen how affectionate Billy could be when they were at the bowling alley, his heart hurt for her.        “Hey,” he tried to distract her, “the junkyard wasn’t that far now was it?”        Y/N shrugged. “A twenty-minute walk. Wanna go?”        And it really was like high school all over again. With the booming sounds of the party remaining in the distance, Y/N walked side by side with Steve, catching up on the things they had missed over the phone or just reminiscing about how things were, and how they’d changed.        “Been drugged by any more Russians?” Y/N quipped as the sound of cicadas chirping trailed behind them.        “No,” Steve replied through a snort. “But anytime I walked into an ice cream shop, I was a bit weary.”        Their conversations drifted from one topic to another without a single pause. Y/N felt like she was seventeen once more, and that feeling only intensified when the smashed carcasses of old cars came in view, both of them dashing to the old bus they loved to sit on top of.        Together they set off into a sprint, loud giggles taking over the quiet of the junkyard, as Y/N leapt onto the hood of an old crushed BMW, but Steve slammed open the door of the bus and decided to use the hatch on its roof.        “I,” she breathed out heavily, “win.”        “You,” Steve mocked her out-of-breath voice, “cheated.”        “I did not!”        “Yes, you did!”        “Really,” Y/N lifted an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “How so?”        “You had a head start!”        “No, I’m just not slow like you.”        At that, he showed her shoulder and she almost tumbled to the ground, had it not been for Steve’s fingers grabbing onto her jean jacket. Billy’s jean jacket that she had stolen to wear. She sighed and leaned her head against Steve's shoulder, nose hidden in the lapel of the piece of clothing, her husband’s smell enveloping her.        “I just really hate them. Hate how they were able to get under his skin when he didn’t even let Neil do it.”        Steve’s arm wrapped around her shoulder as he rested his head against Y/N’s. “Well, Billy was right about one thing – Hawkins’ a shithole.”        For a moment they were silent, eyes trained towards where the lights of the mall glittered brighter than the stars in the sky when something moved between the cars. Something that was coming towards them.        “Steve,” Y/N’s voice trembled as she extended a shaking finger. “What’s that?”

***

       Robin’s heart was pumping as if she had just run sixty miles, Nancy and Johnathan scattered throughout the house as they tried to locate Billy. He had disappeared after his little argument with Y/N either gone to a quiet place to gather himself or Tommy had dragged him somewhere and shoved a bottle of tequila in one hand, a pack of cigarettes in the other.        She finally found him when the Californian exited the bathroom, a desperate girl trying to flirt with him, not noticing how his eyes didn’t even lift to look at her. But he did see a panting Robin, that grabbed onto his bicep and pulled him down the stairs.        “I saw something in the woods.”        Billy was beyond confused. “What?”        “Steve and Y/N,” she took in a breath and quickly exhaled, “they were in the woods, talking and then I saw something."        His heart dropped to his feet at the words, but he masked it quickly with a sneer, trying to push through the crowd and into the kitchen, the anger that had returned to his blood since arriving in Hawkins, slowly starting to boil.        “Yeah, well, I hope those two have a grand fucking time.”        “No, you don’t get it,” Robin shook Billy’s shoulder a bit and yanked him hard enough that the man turned around. “I said I saw something.”        That’s when pure fear took over his body. In all honesty, he would rather Y/N cheat on him, to say she didn’t love him, tell him she was running off with Steve ‘the Hair’ Harrington than what Robin’s words meant.        Immediately, he was running or at least attempting to get out of the house and to his car. He could already see Nancy and Johnathan waiting by the door aisle. He was almost out of the woods, when a slurring Tina stopped him in the middle of his tracks, trailing a hand along his exposed chest.        “Billy, where are you going?” she tried to purr, but he just pushed her away in disgust.        “My wife’s missing, so I’m going to find her.”        “You don’t need her.” The woman was relentless, especially when there was liquid courage in her system. “She’s boring, a snooze fest. Bet she doesn’t even put out.”        Her whiskey stained breath slammed into Billy’s nose, and he physically recoiled.    “You need a woman that knows how to take care of a man’s needs,” Tina continued on.       Billy was fuming by that point. Every wasted second was a possibility of Y/N getting hurt. Sure, she had Steve with her, but as far as he knew, neither had any kind of weapon to protect themselves, and if Robin was sure that a monster from the Upside Down was lurking in the forest and maybe even tracking them, there wasn’t much they could use.    “Someone like you?” he asked.       Tina’s smirk widened, and she was emboldened, sliding her palm down his chest, abs and towards his belt buckle. “Someone exactly like me.”    “Listen here sweetheart,” Billy started grabbing ahold of Tina’s hand. “If in these two minutes that I’ve wasted on talking to you or rather listening to you put down my wife something happened to her, it’ll be your head I’ll be coming after. If even a single strand of hair I find amiss on her head, I’ll scalp you with my bare hands.”        “She’s probably off somewhere screwing Harrington!” Carol hollered after Billy as he pushed Tina from where she’d been grasping at the collar of his shirt.        “Go choke!” was the only thing he dignified them with.        Elbowing away Tommy’s hand that wanted Billy to turn around and prod him to do another stand, he rushed out of the house and to his Camaro Robin following suit while, Nancy and Johnathan piled into her car, but not before she took out a shotgun from her trunk and passed it over to Billy, a box of bullets with it.        “The junction before the junkyard. We’ll try and get there from the other side.”        No more words needed to be spoken as the engine roared to life, Billy speeding away from the party.        “Don’t do anything stupid, baby,” he muttered to himself hoping that somehow Y/N would hear his words. “I’m coming. Everything’s gonna be alright.”

Tags (crossed out wouldn't take): 

Forever tags: @lumelgy @palaiasaurus64 @supernaturalbaesduh @breezy1415 @crazy--me @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @sea040561 @staryeyedgirl @deathbyarabbit @s-c-a-r-e-d-po-t-t-e-r @reblogger-not-a-blogger @m-a-t-91 @dalilx @i-need-a-hero-i-need-a-loki @maladaptive-ninja-returns @averyrogers83 @in-the-end-im-still-trash @gallifreyansass @dewy-biitch @avxgers @unlikelygalaxygiver @sweet-ladyy @magicwithaknife @ollyoxenfrees @bnhvrdy @tvwhoresblog @celebsimagines @thatkindofgurl @sj-thefan @teenwolflover28

Hawkins’ Charm tag list: @genius2050 @aiifandomsunite @ashleymarieriffle @littlefool-smalljester @infinitelycharmed23 @llcalumllhoodll @benevolentgemini @rxmanovbby @euphoniumpets @krazykatykat456 @believerofall @cracked-sidewalk98 @ccidk @babechief @meganmj @blackhood5sos @fml9603 @noodlenerd101 @universefinds @kuroidesuchloe @im-a-stranger-thing @grxxn-gardxns @springholland @beforethebraces @robinisourlesbianmom @queeneliza108 @neenaw-neenaw @lexisntthatweird @choicesismylife @mckenzie2020 @kcd15 @snuggleducky @reckless-sofia @didyouseetheflair @silver-winter-wolf @jay-ta-blog @hopeless-lovex0 @anyasthoughts @robinismyqueen @yeah-butyourenot-dacremontgomery @mcrganstarks @psychoticobsession @cutehipstergirl25 @sbfandom @mickmoon @jackyfrost01

A/N: If you wanna be tagged, please drop me a message :)

P.S. I went to see Spider-Man: Far From Home and it was such an adorkable movie, like omg I loved IT!!!!!!!!

[theonewiththefanfics]

Hawkins’ Charm (Part 9)

Synopsys: They had gotten out of Hawkins. After all the shit that had happened, all the heartache and pain, Billy and the Reader had gotten away from that hellhole, building their life in California as he had dreamed. But when Max’s graduation rolls around and they go to celebrate, it’s as if the Upside Down was just waiting for all of them to return. And it has a bone to pick.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x f!Reader; platonic!Steve Harrington x f!Reader

Genre: angst, bit of fluff

Warnings: blood, mentions of injuries and death, fighting, swearing, mentions of smut, but not full-on

Word count: 2120 (I’m sorry if there are any mistakes :D )

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT CONDONE BILLY’S ACTIONS AND THE THINGS HE’S DONE! THIS IS BASICALLY AN AU, WHEN REALLY LOOKING AT IT! SPOILERS FOR S3! READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!

Italics are flashbacks

“Billy, stop!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, throat burning with every uttered syllable, but no sound came out. When Y/N had come to and seen the bruises he’d left around her neck, she had almost passed out again, but had to remind herself – this was not Billy, this wasn’t her caring sometimes hot-headed boyfriend that had wrapped his palms around her neck and tried to squeeze the life out of her. This was a monster using him as a servant to do its bidding. 

           For a second, their eyes met as she stood at the other side of the mall, the Mind Flayer’s attention on El who laid on the ground before it. And there it was – recognition in Billy's eyes. If only for a moment, he remembered who she was, who he was to her.

           As quickly as that had happened, it was gone, and Billy turned around grabbing a screaming El who had woken up and skidded away by her ankle and dragging her towards the monster. No, Y/N thought to herself, that’s not gonna happen, and rushed to the side where a discarded shotgun laid on the ground. She checked its ammo, loaded and aimed. 

***

           “You,” Y/N pointed at Hopper as they jumped out of the van, “stay in the car and stay low. We don’t need someone to see your face and freak and call the cops.”

           “I am the cops,” he grunted but slid lower onto the seat, masking his face with a baseball cap.

           “No,” El butted in, “keyword – were. You’re technically still dead. At least as far as Hawkins is concerned. And the rest of the world.”

           Like a child, Hop grunted our a ‘whatever’ and watched as the group entered the store, the little ‘DING!’ ringing sharply through the air. “Stay low my ass,” he muttered and slid down the chair to vanish from view.

*

           Y/N tapped her foot against the tiled floor, and each little movement of the muscles tightened the feeling in her back where the salve had seeped into her skin and had lost the cooling effect, making her grit her teeth to keep the whimpers of pain at bay.

           Each beep as the items were scanned amped up her anxiety, and she started chewing on the tip on her thumb which Steve promptly slapped away from her mouth.

           “If your boy sees you without a finger, it’ll be my head he’ll come after,” he grumbled and crossed his arms mimicking Y/N’s stance and tapped his foot at the same time.

           “Oh please,” she rolled her eyes. “Haven’t you two already gone through your dick-measuring phase?”

           “When are boys ever?” Robin snarked from where she stood behind Y/N, and the two fist-bumped at that.

           “Hey, don’t I know you?” the clerk squinted his eyes at Y/N with a pointed finger in her direction. “Aren’t you that chick that ran off with Hargrove?”

           “If by that chick that ran off with Hargrove you mean his girlfriend throughout the senior year and decided to move to California with him then yeah, I guess so.” She was really over all of the judgement from others.

           Her mom hadn’t been too pleased when she’d announced that she’d be going to San Diego with Billy. Especially given how Y/N had planned on returning to New York and going to NYU at the start of the last semester. 

           Sure, it hadn’t been the most pleasant of stays, but the Big Apple had grown on her. She’d found some peace and had been able to collect her mind after everything Hawkins had put her through. That is until the tanned Cali boy slammed his way into her world.

           He completely shook everything up, from what Y/N wanted in life to what she thought she deserved. There’d been a tremendous amount of guilt that plagued her heart since Barb, and once returning to Hawkins it got bad again. 

           She hadn’t been there to help and look for her, she hadn’t stayed and brought justice to one of her best friends, instead, she'd opted to run away. Y/N felt like she’d been selfish and a horrible person. Until Billy helped her understand it wasn’t her fault. And he made sure she knew it.

           “You couldn’t have done anything,” he’d muttered in her hair one night after the boy had climbed through his window seeking solace from his dad, only to find Y/N dry heaving over her toilet seat. “Fuck, sweetheart, it wasn’t your fault, you gotta understand.”

He hadn’t known the real circumstances then, but it didn’t matter 'cause the words hit their mark either way. “That fucking lab and those people were a messed-up bunch, and there’s nothing wrong with wanting to take care of yourself.”

           Y/N had shaken her head. “I-I should’ve stayed. I should’ve helped Nance and Steve. I-I sh-should’ve fought for her.”

           A hand wove into her hair and made her rest her cheek against his chest. “How can you fight for someone else when you can’t even fight for yourself?”

           “So, what do you need all this stuff for?” the cashier asked taking Y/N out from her thoughts and making small talk while scanning the copious amounts of rope and batteries. “Infiltrating the CIA?” Oh, if only he knew how close he was.

           “Going on a camping trip,” Y/N gave him a tight-lipped smile. They seriously didn’t have time for this shit.

           He pulled up the two barrels of gasoline and shrugged. “Must be some trip if you need all this stuff.”

           “You never know,” Robin said curtly hoping he’d just hurry up, “maybe a bear blocks our way back to civilization, and we have to fight it off.”

           “With what? Ropes and walkie talkies?”

           “Exactly,” she gave him a sarcastic smile, and he finally rung up the total.

***

           Billy couldn’t breathe. He felt like his lungs had collapsed and a boulder sat on his chest, pressing down on him. His vision swam, bright lights merging in a sickening dance turning his head dizzy.

           Pain. That’s all he felt. But maybe that’s what he deserved. He’d been an asshole, a major one at that. Maybe this was his way of repenting. Spending his last moments alive in unbearable agony for all the hurt he’d caused while he was alive. Especially to those he loved. 

           His eyes dripped close, but then two hands planted themselves on his shoulders.

           “Max,” he gurgled out, pain shooting through his body right down to the very tips of his toes.

           “Hold on,” the redhead sobbed. Fuck, is she crying? Over me? “Don’t you dare die on me, or I swear I’ll dig up your grave, zap you back to life and skin you alive.”

           “ ‘M sorry,” he choked. “ ‘M sorry.”

           And he knew he was gone when an angel came into view. A beautiful gorgeous angel.

           “Billy,” she called his name. “Billy, please.”

           Fuck, she sounded so much like Y/N. His Y/N. A small smile came over his face. Maybe death wasn’t that bad when it took the form of the only person that had every truly, really loved him. Not even his mom had loved him as much as his girl did. 

           Sure, he missed her like crazy every day of his damned life, but she had left him with that bastard that was nothing more than a sperm donor to him. A little kid on his own to live with a monster. Billy wasn’t afraid of the dark or what hid in it. He was afraid of the person in the next room with a beer bottle in his hand.

           But Y/N… he’d been so shitty to her in the beginning, to her friends. But somehow, she saw through it, saw through the tall and dense walls he’d built around himself and had fallen for the man hiding inside the fortress. 

           “Billy, stay with me,” the angled pleaded. Of course, he would. He could never say no to her.

***

           Once they got to Joyce’s, they split up in groups, Billy taking his sister, Mike and Nancy back to their places while Joyce stayed with Will, and Johnathan took Dustin and Lucas back to theirs.

           “Have you talked with Lucas?” Billy looked over to Max and saw her visibly shrink. She folded her arms and slid down the seat a bit more as if trying to minimize her existence, and it worked as even sitting down he towered over her like a tree

           “About what?”

           “You know what,” he gave her pointed look before returning his gaze back to the road.

           For a moment, silence settled between them, but then Max sighed and groaned out “No. In fact, I actually tried to do that before everything with Y/N went down, but he just waved me off. Said it wasn’t a big deal.”

           Max’s ginger eyebrows were pulled together in a frown of hurt and confusion. “And I know I haven’t been the most understanding and was giving him the silent treatment, but I just… I don’t know what to do… I don’t know how to make it better.”

           Billy sighed, looking at how the trees zoomed past them on both sides before carefully replying. “You love him, don’t you?”

           “Yeah,” she said throwing her head back against the seat surprising him with her blatant honesty. “I mean we’ve been together, on and off, since like being thirteen… kinda hard not to.”

           As Neil’s house slowly started to come in view, Max asked him to stop on the curb.

           “Drop me off here. I’ll just sneak around the house and climb in through the window,” she said and turned to look at Billy grimacing. “Neil doesn’t really let me stay over if there are boys around.” She let out a sneer. 

           Her brother just shook his head and smirked ruffling her head. “You’re trouble, you know that, Maxine?”

           A scoff got stuck in her throat. “Me? Have you met yourself? You snuck out so many times during your senior year just to go to Y/N’s, I’m surprised Neil didn’t pick up on your routine and put bars on your windows.”

           Billy sorted. “If he’d even tried, I would’ve found a way to get to her.”

           “Sentimental asshole,” she rolled her eyes, but he could see that there was nothing malicious behind the gesture. “See you in a few hours.”

           “Stay safe,” he said, and Max nodded, quickly leaning over and pulling Billy in a tight hug. “Everything’s gonna work out. With Lucas, this whole shitshow. I promise.”

           “Do you think Y/N's gonna be okay?” Max mumbled in his ear and opened the door, her muddied up sneakers getting even dirtier.

           "She's the strongest person I know. She'll be just fine,” he looked to his lap and his heart clenched. She was, without a question, but that didn’t make him feel any less worried. Rather it terrified him to the core because who knows what situations awaited them. Billy wasn’t ready to let go of his life just yet, and he knew she'd do anything for those she loved. 

           His knuckles tightened around the wheel.

They’d make it out. No matter what. Or he’d burn everything in its wake. 

***

           A miracle the doctors had said. Not only that vital organs hadn’t been punctured, but that the chemicals Billy had downed a week ago hadn’t fully burned his insides apart. When Y/N heard this from the nurse, she had to rush away from her boyfriend’s side by the bed into the attached bathroom and throw up.

           Her throat burned like ten thousand hot pokers were being pushed down it. Her hands shook as she opened up the faucet and splashed ice-cold water against her face. Y/E/C eyes looked up to see the blue-black bruises littering her neck, Billy’s two handprints like tattoos against her skin. 

           No, she shook her head, not his, but that monster’s that used him as a puppet. Her Billy would never hurt her. 

           “Is he gonna recover?” Y/N asked glancing at the nurse when she reentered the room assuming her previous position. He was the same nurse that had looked at her neck and she had blatantly disobeyed his pleas for her to rest. She had to be with Billy.

           “Physically, yes… Psychologically is a different kind of story,” the nurse said. “But the doctor thinks he’s gonna be just fine. He’ll need a lot of help, but we're optimistic."

           Y/N nodded looking away from the nurse and back to her boyfriend. With shaky fingers, she took ahold of his palm and brought his fingers to her lips. “It’s gonna be okay, baby. I’ll be here for you… We’re gonna be just fine… we’ll make it…”

Tags (crossed out wouldn't take):

Hawkins’ Charm tag list: 

@genius2050 @aiifandomsunite @ashleymarieriffle @littlefool-smalljester @infinitelycharmed23 @llcalumllhoodll @benevolentgemini @rxmanovbby @euphoniumpets @krazykatykat456 @believerofall @ccidk @babechief @meganmj @blackhood5sos @fml9603 @noodlenerd101 @universefinds @kuroidesuchloe @im-a-stranger-thing @grxxn-gardxns @springholland @beforethebraces @robinisourlesbianmom @queeneliza108 @neenaw-neenaw @lexisntthatweird @choicesismylife @mckenzie2020 @kcd15 @snuggleducky @reckless-sofia @didyouseetheflair @silver-winter-wolf @jay-ta-blog @hopeless-lovex0 @anyasthoughts @robinismyqueen @yeah-butyourenot-dacremontgomery @mcrganstarks @psychoticobsession @cutehipstergirl25 @sbfandom @mickmoon @jackyfrost01 @txhmine @dark-princess99 @morgangrice18 @changingmylifestyle367 @sweetdayme4427 @alowexpectation @sexyvixen7 @golddvstwoman @evelynfreakinaddams @sunfucked @sataninsatin @queenbbarnes @venomavocado @rangotangomango @psychosupernatural @sereiins @frickin-bats @bandsruinedmylife @thee-brunette-princess @queenskyster @aspiring-fangirls-world @gracethegeek9902 @katiexdacre @dreamwavej @escaping-reality21 @void-fire-rose @slvtherinseeker @paranoiadestroyah @arromite @jojo-buttercup @danarysstormborn @graveyard--baby--666 @teller258316 @hello-therree @stqrker @bethanystan @enthusiastoffandoms14 @i-bitch-you-bitch @billysgodcomplex @astil-be @kpopishilarious @bae-bino @billyhargrovescigarette

Billy Hargrove’s tag list: 

@la-reina-tigresa @youcanstandundermyumbrella @ephmrl-love

Forever tags: 

@lumelgy @palaiasaurus64 @supernaturalbaesduh @breezy1415 @crazy--me @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @sea040561 @staryeyedgirl @deathbyarabbit @s-c-a-r-e-d-po-t-t-e-r @reblogger-not-a-blogger @m-a-t-91 @dalilx @i-need-a-hero-i-need-a-loki @maladaptive-ninja-returns @averyrogers83 @in-the-end-im-still-trash @gallifreyansass @dewy-biitch @avxgers @unlikelygalaxygiver @sweet-ladyy @magicwithaknife @ollyoxenfrees @bnhvrdy @tvwhoresblog @celebsimagines @thatkindofgurl @sj-thefan @teenwolflover28

A/N: soooo.... it’s been a while.... a lot of things have happened and continue happening, but I hope you can forgive me for posting an update so late. Life just gets hectic and I do this for fun, so when pressing matters come up, I have to focus on them :D

I’ve started my last year of uni and I’m shitting bricks, but other than that I’m immensely enjoying everything I'm doing, mum’s visiting me next week, so that’s a plus, but also my first assignment is in less than two weeks, so yay me! :D

P.S. my tags are always open :)