#dude's sixteen ofc he's dumb

[firedragon1321]

You can steal this, btw.

[in-tua-deep]

Ok, so is it so crazy to think that maybe five isn't the only non-human in the changeling au? Like he's the only one that 100% fae and the others where born to human mothers. But they themselves aren't human. Idk it just feels like the perfect opportunity to make Allison a siren and Klaus a banshee :/

I would absolutely be down for a different supernatural au where all the kids are different creatures Reginald went out of his way to collect after finding out the supernatural exist 👀

Maybe none of the kids know what they are - but maybe they’re eight and Five thinks about the way Luther can’t touch silver, the way Allison sings to control, how Diego can breathe underwater. So he cracks a spine and looks and things start to make sense -

So the kids have to figure out what they are for themselves

Luther: some kind of were? Werewolf? Super strong with excellent reflexes. Didn’t realize his senses were heightened and just thought his siblings were being dumb. Ends up stuck in a half shift after some experimenting which is why he ends up with a big hairy body he tries to hide. He’s the most ashamed of not being “human” and goes out of his way to reject his heritage - probably has silver burn scars on his hands because Reginald is a fancy rich bitch and the knives and forks probably literally are silver and Luther lives to obey his father. Oh probably gets dog jokes a lot, mostly from Diego

Diego: they aren’t quite sure tbh. Allison says he’s probably mer with his ability to breathe underwater but that doesn’t explain his ability with knives? Five days he’s a water nymph because water and magic and Diego absolutely hates that because nymph sounds so delicate and he is NOT DELICATE. Diego seems to prefer fresh water to salt water so they’re just all kind of ??? about it. Diego says it doesn’t even matter because he intends to live as a human anyway but secretly wonders

Allison: siren is good! Instead of saying she heard a rumor, all she needs to do is sing a request. Doesn’t matter what tune as long as her intent is to sing. Allison is officially banned from singing along to any of Luthers records but she’s allowed to dance so it’s fine. She sang Vanya into a trance at Reginalds orders when they were four so that he could bind her powers oof

Klaus: banshee poor baby. Despite being a traditionally female spirit who can foretell death, Klaus says fuck gender roles and is an overachiever who can see the dead as well which is awful. He screams,,, a lot. Klaus does not appreciate his powers and never learned how to filter things out because he had no one to teach him (the worst day in his life was when he was sixteen on a mission and he screamed long and hard and he didn’t need to see his siblings faces when he found them to know that one of them was dead)

Ben: a baby kraken. You know Atlantis the sequel one? Where they save the town from this old dude and the kraken and at the end the creepy innkeeper has her baby and is like “we are safe now” and then you see tentacles unfurl from the baby blanket wrap thing? That’s Ben. The tentacles in this AU aren’t a foreign creature but part of his True Form to fuck shit up as a sea monster. Ben doesn’t particularly want to fuck shit up though and prefers his fake human form thanks, plus beaches mean sand gets everywhere and just eh he isn’t a huge fan

Five: fae ofc he is the absolute master of loopholes and wiggle room and lying without lying. He is governed by rules pressed into his bones where he is bound by his word and lies are like coals on his tongue. Can part the veil between worlds to travel which looks like teleporting to humans.

Five, alternate: (if we want to completely divorce from the changeling au) a kitsune. Messenger abilities allow him to vanish and reappear/spatially jump. Mischievous and chaotic and far too intelligent, growth is stunted because kitsune are so long lived oops. Kind of a trickster, like to cause trouble and be at the center of attention. Can really only perform parlor tricks like jumping because he’s so young

Vanya: vanya is incredibly powerful and terrifying and wrathful so I’m going to say she’s either straight up angel or at the very least nephilim/half-angel. Reginald probably performs a ritual to bind her wings/powers when she’s very young, having Allison sing to keep Vanya calm as it’s done. And when she reawakens that part of herself - like five she has very different morality than humans and she is full of wrath and fury enough to end a world

If anyone has better ideas for Diego I’m all ears I can’t place him lmao or better fits for the others I’m down to listen ;3c

[ofhenri]

hellllo i’m hayley n i’m from london so natuRALLY i’ve got the love/hate relationship with gmt. anyway i’m super excited to introduce you all to my dumb but well-meaning son, henri ! 

BIO // PINTEREST // STATS 

first off i, much like henri, never know when to shut up dkjfdfdsf so!! a word of warning is that his bio is LONG but worthwhile if u would like to read some dumb boy antics !

ABOUT 

so. it really all starts with a mamma mia styled adventure to europe in 1998. henri’s mother, tabitha, was just out there living her best life as an artist and sleeping with her muses ( i wouldn’t be surprised if it was still complete with musical numbers bc she’s That bitch ). until she returned back home and realised a big oops... the big oops being henri ofc. 

i said it in his bio but he really is a bit more of a concept than a person!! tabitha named henri after her favourite artist, henri talouse-lautrec, but also guessed the last name of one of the potential dads based on the fact she liked paris most from her trip so henri came to be known as henri rousseau as more of a reminder to the trip than anything. kinda like a keychain or a snowglobe but y’know. a baby. 

he was actually born in the obx!! but his mum was only there for a lil trip so they moved to chicago when he was two weeks old. very much a ‘they didn’t have much, but at least they had each other’ kind of situation in a one-bedroom apartment for his early years. 

up until the time he was nine things were pretty idyllic! he had a little too much freedom to explore potential hobbies and his mother really wanted him to follow in her footsteps with painting, but all he really liked doing was making his mum smile ( a Sweet boy what can i say ) ... and playing pranks on his classmates ( not so Sweet )

then his mum met his step-dad, bill, when he was nine at an art show. bill was always a little sterner than his mother, he was an art critic, with a six-year-old daughter called meaghan. henri slowly saw his mum put aside her dreams, albeit in the form of taking down pictures and replacing them with new dreams of having a family. and it hurt! because his entire being is based off his mother’s dreams. by the time henri turned eleven, his mother and bill decided to move in together, and so they moved from their familiar little apartment into a much fancier townhouse in chicago with bill and his daughter.

henri didn’t really adjust to moving schools too well, especially with trying to make new friends and kinda took to just goofing around as that’s totally how you make friends, right? except it came at the cost of his grades n when his report card arrived by the summer he was told something straight out of the fresh prince - go stay with theo in the outer banks as they both thought that being around the other boy would be good for henri. calm him down a little or inspire him to do better. his mum gave him a camera as a parting gift and the rest is history. 

after that things passed without much note. his summers were spent in the outer banks and the rest of the year he’d be in chicago trying to discover what he was good at to no real avail. classrooms always felt a little too limiting and he was honestly more interested in joking around than taking academics seriously. 

( tw: miscarriage ) then when he was sixteen his mum became ill. except he didn’t quite understand why she’d grown distant and sad? or why bill and she were suddenly arguing so much? so he just did what came naturally to him! JOKES a plenty! until one hit badly at the dinner table causing bill to snap at him and his mother to tell him that she’d suffered from an early stage miscarriage. 

and so after that he just got worse as he blamed himself for the continued arguing! he spent more time out of the house, partying, skateboarding around the city n just generally fucking around.

until it neared applying for college and suddenly everyone was more serious about it and honestly he was just like wtf?! about it but uh! he told everyone it was all Gucci - he’d just apply to art school in paris. pay homage to his roots y’know. except he never ended up applying as he got too scared to be so far from home without a familiar face around and instead settled on going to the university of illinois urbana-champaign to study art and design bc not going to college was also just.... not an option? 

and he was due to graduate this year! except uh, surprise surprise! he dropped out!!  because the prospect of getting a real job? growing up? terrifying. but he’s told absolutely no one that he’s done this. like... to the extent he’s probably done some photoshop sorcery to keep up appearances. 

PERSONALITY

okay but that grilled cheese aspiration on the sims is him in a nutshell and i’m not even sorry about it. 

very indecisive. the person to pick up a hobby on a whim one week and then when you ask them about it, will be like ‘aw no, dude, gave that up.’ he spent a long time deciding what he wanted to do at college and wondering if he would grow tired of it. 

takes everything Too Seriously and Not Seriously enough simultaneously. he has a big bucket of emotions that he doesn’t really know what to do with, so the best thing to do is just laugh ‘em all off! lots of humour to mask the fact that he’s v. terrified about the future. 

trusting and Soft. especially when it comes to the gang because he has so much faith in them all. probably greets them all each year with a bear hug and snaps impromptu photos of them all when they’re off having fun or asks them to take part in photoshoots just because. 

with the gang, he’s a bit of an impartial entity. he’s Switzerland. he was raised by his mother to be quite diplomatic and to treat everyone’s views with kindness n respect even when he doesn’t agree, and it’s very much something that’s carried through with him! so he’s the first to diffuse some tension with a joke or by doing something dumb. doesn’t mind if people laugh at his expense, ya know. just wants them all to be happy. 

enthusiastic with a million-watt smile at each and is very willing to support every idea that comes to anyone’s head! even when he doesn’t necessarily agree, he also doesn’t shoot an idea down straight away. 

little bit of a peter pan energy to him, ngl. visiting the outer banks is a bit like his neverland as it means that for the summer he can put aside a lot of his ‘at home’ concerns. 

OTHER TID BITS 

note: i paraphrased some of these from his bio bc :’) 

john! hughes’!! biggest fanboy! henri likes to capture moments of youthful energy in his photography and hughes is defINITELY his artistic inspiration. he makes ferris bueller jokes, he references breakfast club too much. and i’m sorry but he’s definitely the person to ask ‘HoW haVE yoU neVER seen IT’ and then try to force you to watch them with him lmao

his Style is very much Baseball Cap toting, flannel-wearing, Tourist-looking chic with a camera strapped around his neck. it’s low effort at its finest ( but he does spend hours picking out the specific caps to pack for his obx trips so is it...... is it really )

former theatre nerd. yes he can sing. but he won’t bc he’s too shy (!!!!) 

could talk about anything for hours but particularly cryptids. pls talk cryptids with him 

massive chicago cubs fan and hasn’t missed a single televised game in five years and it’s become something like a bit of a bragging right to him at this point tbh.

skateboards everywhere and this should be a relief to everyone bc he’s a terrible driver

is fluent in french as his mother really wanted to have Something of his potential dad’s. if he’s particularly angry sometimes he’ll swear in french as he thinks it sounds less aggressive 

took sea monsters too seriously as a child and is terrified of the ocean as a result. he would rather linger on the beach and take photos of everyone. 

his jokes are terrible n i apologise in advance. bc you all will have to suffer through them w/ me. he tries. he really does. they’re still bad lmaooo 

[hunnywrites]

Arcade Dreams: Chapter Sixteen

Summary: There’s a new girl working at the Palace Arcade and Hawkins’ Family Video. Billy can’t stand her, and the feeling is mutual. No matter what everyone else seems to think.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove/OFC

A/N: We’re gonna see good ol’ Brian Jean in this chapter! Here’s a bit of fun fluff because the next chapter is gonna be rough :)

Working at the Hawkins public pool really wasn’t that bad of a job. It was at this awkward point in time between Christmas break and the weather finally becoming warm, so there really weren’t too many people around aside from the occasional swim class. Teddi had been able to take on her own class finally. Every Saturday morning she taught a group of five year olds the basics, albeit not with the same instant success as Billy. 

Her class had ended about half an hour before. A few of the kids were still splashing around in the shallow end while they waited for their parents to pick them up, and Teddi was perched up in the lifeguard’s chair waiting for her shift to come to an end. Then she could swing by her house and change, rent some movies from the video store and head over to Billy’s to help him with Max’s sleepover. All in all a pretty laid back day.

She noticed Brian Jean walking in. She ignored him. He was just there to pick up his brother, and he’d be out of her hair once again. Teddi didn’t feel any real resentment towards Brian. She hadn’t even wanted to go on that date in the first place. If anything she was more annoyed with Cheryl for ditching Billy to screw around with Brian. She didn’t really like Brian though. It was easy to see now that his whole nice guy act was just that: an act. 

Teddi supposed Billy was a bit guilty of the same thing. He’d put on the charm whenever a cute girl was around. But the way Brian did it was a bit more...sinister somehow. Billy wasn’t really as unassuming as Brian was. Or maybe she was just mad that she hadn’t been able to see through it herself. She didn’t know. Billy was more upset than she had been about the whole thing. Once they got back to school Billy was nearly constantly trying to pick at Brian to get on his last nerve.

“I’m supposed to let him fuck with you and get away with it?” he had asked. “It’ll be fine, Ted. He’s a soccer player. I’m not afraid of him.” but it was more than that. Teddi didn’t want to Billy to solve all his (or her) problems with his fists. If he’d gotten in trouble for fighting it would’ve been a lot more than just being sent to detention where he could sneak out and no one would be any the wiser. He’d get suspended. And that would mean Neil finding out. And Teddi was not gonna be responsible for Billy having to deal with Neil over something so pointless. 

Eventually he let it go after she had to actually forbid him from doing anything. Of course not after he keyed Brian’s car while they were in the parking lot after school waiting for Max. While Teddi definitely didn’t approve of it, she had to admit it had been pretty funny. 

Unfortunately Brian still seemed pretty interested in her regardless of her attempts to ignore him. He was honestly starting to make her feel a little uneasy. He was just sitting there on the bleachers looking at her. God, just take your brother and go, freak, she thought. Teddi turned slightly in her seat in an attempt to get rid of the creepy feeling she had. She could maybe call Freddy over and tell him what had happened. He’d definitely kick Brian out. But that seemed so silly. She would just ignore him.

She let out a loud sigh of relief when she saw Katie headed her way. “Happy to see me?” she asked Teddi with a laugh. 

Teddi climbed down from her chair. “You have no idea. I gotta get outta here. I’ll see ya later, Katie!” she threw a wave over her shoulder and nearly bolted for the locker room. She made quick work of changing. She could grab a quick shower at home. Whatever it took to make sure she could get out before Brian could corner her again.

Unfortunately that plan didn’t work out. “Uh, hey Teddi…” Teddi rolled her eyes, but didn’t stop as she walked past Brian. He followed after her. “C’mon, Teddi. Can I just talk to you for a second?” he asked.

“Fuck off, Brian.”

“I’m sorry about the party, okay? I was a dick. Can’t you give me another chance? Maybe we can get together for Valentine’s Day or something.” he offered. 

Teddi stopped and turned towards Brian before she let out a heavy sigh. “Look, I know this might be hard for your tiny brain to process, but I’m not interested. I was never interested. I was just being nice. And you rewarded me by screwing my friend’s date and abandoning me. So, no. I don’t want to do anything for Valentine’s Day. I don’t want anything to do with you at all. So leave. Me. Alone.” 

When Teddi said that Brian was dumb, she meant it. He was clearly incapable of reading very obvious signs. As Teddi turned once again to leave, Brian grabbed her by the arm. “I’m not done talking to you!” He pleaded. 

Teddi wasn’t a violent person. She really wasn’t. She’d told Billy time and time again that violence wasn’t the answer. If anything this was her father’s fault. Brian grabbing her arm with the amount of force that he had sent a jolt of fear through her. It triggered her fight or flight senses immediately. But Brian wasn’t her father. She could fight back. So Teddi whirled around and sent her fist flying upwards towards Brian’s nose with as much force as she could manage. There was a sickeningly satisfying crack. 

Brian let out a yowl and his hands flew up to his nose. “You bitch! You broke my nose!” 

Teddi couldn’t help but let out a laugh. She pressed her lips together and covered her mouth to keep herself quiet. “I told you to leave me alone.” she said with a shrug and a smile. She didn’t care that everyone at the pool had seen. He deserved it. A few of the moms were watching in shock as Brian dabbed at his bloody nose, groaning and moaning to himself. Katie was stifling her laughter up on her chair and Freddy was at a loss of what to do. Teddi took that as her sign to leave. 

She held her composure until she was safely in her van. “Jesus Christ.” she muttered, shaking her fist rapidly to try and get ring of the stinging feeling in her knuckles. The skin was red and irritated and she was sure that it would probably bruise. As bad as she may have felt for hitting Brian, she couldn’t lie and say it hadn’t felt a little nice. It would definitely get him off of her back from now on. 

She just had to hope that she wouldn’t lose her job over it. 

---

“Max, do you have to listen to that shit so loud?” Billy asked, shoving her bedroom door open. Neil and Susan had left about an hour before. Now Max and El were jumping on her bed, hair brushes in hand as they sang along to Total Eclipse of the Heart. He wanted to blow his brains out. 

The pair stopped jumping almost simultaneously and looked at him. “What’s wrong with Bonnie Tyler?” Max asked.

El grinned. “Probably reminds him of Teddi.” she teased, her and Max falling into a fit of laughter.

Billy let out a groan. “Just turn it off. Or I’ll turn it off.” he warned, turning and stomping back down the hall towards the living room. The stereo shut off and the sounds of the two giggling girls quickly following after him filled the house. 

“When’s she coming over anyways?” Max asked. “Did she get the movies? Did she say what she got? Is this like a date or something? We can go hang out in my room if it is.” 

Billy ran a frustrated hand over his face. He didn’t think there was anything in the world more annoying than teenage girls. “I don’t know, Max. She just said that she’d be here after work. And it’s not a date. Can you two shut up with that already?” the two looked at each other and giggled almost as if they had shared some joke telepathically. 

It was starting to get dark out. Teddi probably should’ve been there a few hours ago. He figured that it probably had something to do with what happened at the pool. Freddy had called him a little earlier to tell him. “Dude, you will not believe what happened. Teddi totally decked Brian Jean!”

Billy had only felt proud for someone that wasn’t himself twice in his life. The first was Max. He worked hard to make sure Max had a thick skin.That she wouldn’t take shit from anyone. And sometimes he thought it could be a little too thick. But that night at the Byers’ after he’d woken up back at home with bits and pieces of the night’s events coming back to him he could help but feel a little proud of the way she had stood up to him to protect her friends. He could have gone without her threatening to turn his dick into mush, but he was still proud. 

He was definitely proud of Teddi. She was always so passive when it came to...well, anyone that wasn’t him. Always avoiding confrontation. And he understood it. It was an easier route to take at home. But when Freddy called him to say that Teddi had broken Brian’s nose he felt a huge wave of pride. 

The doorbell rang, and Max jumped up to answer the door. Teddi was finally here. She had bags from Melvald’s and Hawkins Family Video hanging on her arm and she was balancing three pizza boxes in her hands. “Hey, Maxamillion! The party’s here!” Billy got up to help her with the pizzas as she handed the bags to Max. “There’s our movies and some candy. Mrs. Byers told me to tell you guys she said hi.” 

Max and El both made quick work of dumping the bag of candy onto the floor in front of the tv as Billy and Teddi went into the kitchen. “So,” Billy began with a smirk. “How was work?�� 

Teddi froze for a brief moment. “...It was fine.” she said with a shrug. 

Billy set the pizzas on the counter, leaning against it and grinning over at her. “Really? Nothing interesting happened?”

Teddi’s eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. “...What do you know?” 

“Everything. Freddy called me about twenty minutes ago,” Teddi groaned. “Is that why you wanted me to stay away from Brian? You wanted to handle it yourself?” he asked in a teasing tone. 

“No,” Teddi sighed. Billy watched as she fidgeted nervously in front of him. “I was just gonna ignore him, but then he grabbed me and...I don’t know. I think I might be wound a little tighter than I’ve realized.”

Billy held his hands up. “Wait, wait. He grabbed you? What do you mean he grabbed you?” the next time Billy saw Brian he’d have a hell of a lot more than a broken nose. 

“I thought Freddy told you everything?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Apparently not. Why the hell would he grab you?”

Teddi let out another loud sigh and hopped up onto the counter. Her legs swung back and forth slowly as she picked at the hole in the knee of her jeans. “It’s not as bad as it sounds. He kept trying to ask me out so he could make up for the party. Something about Valentine’s Day,” Billy let out a snort and rolled his eyes. “But I told him I didn’t want to and he wasn’t taking fuck off for an answer…” she covered her face with her hands and let out a loud groan. “I just wish I hadn’t decked him in front of everyone.”

Billy scoffed. “I wish you had done a lot more than that. Too bad I wasn’t there to see it, though. I bet it was pretty hot.” he smirked.

Teddi bit down on her lip to keep herself from smiling. “You’re a bad influence, Hargrove.” 

“You know it, Baby.” he grinned. 

Teddi’s cheeks flushed a little before she hopped down from the counter and walked over to the pizzas. “I’m starving. I got a cheese for the girls and I got us two pepperonis since you put away food like a bottomless pit.” she teased. 

Billy held up an arm, flexing and patting his bicep. He relished the way Teddi’s blush grew deeper. “Gotta feed the machine.” 

She laughed. “The machine? Do you ever hear yourself? Oh, who am I kidding? I bet you love to hear yourself talk.” she giggled, sticking her tongue out at him and grabbing a slice of pizza. 

His response was cut off by Max poking her head into the kitchen. “Can you guys stop flirting for two seconds so we can watch the movies? This is so boring.” 

“Max…” Billy began.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Shut up, Max.” she said in a mocking tone before disappearing into the living room. Teddi only smiled at Billy before she piled two more slices of pizza onto her plate and followed Max. 

“Alright, so since El isn’t a big horror fan I picked up Midnight Madness and Splash,” Teddi announced. “And don’t even think about complaining, Hargrove. It’s three against one. Ladies night means we watch Splash.”

Billy groaned loudly and dramatically as he flopped down onto the couch. He’d rather tear his own eyes out than watch some chick flick. He’d sat through a few on dates, but it was a small price to pay to get to feel up whatever girl he’d taken out that week in the theater. And that definitely wasn’t gonna be happening with Teddi. Especially with the gruesome twosome around.

If he was honest El was probably his favorite out of Max’s friends. He still didn’t trust Lucas completely and Mike and Dustin annoyed the shit out of him. The Byers kid was okay. But there was something about him that gave Billy the creeps. El was quiet for the most part. She didn’t talk back like Mike always was (even though he was constantly trying to weasel rides all around town from him) and she wasn’t always babbling incessantly about all that weird nerd shit they all liked.

Still, Billy would’ve preferred it if the two of them weren’t there so he could try to put the moves on Teddi. Yeah, like that would work anyways, he thought bitterly. If all his flirting so far hadn’t worked, he definitely doubted that whole yawn and stretch trick would work on her like it did the other girls. So instead he crossed his arms firmly across his chest and pouted. He only moved to light up a smoke halfway through Midnight Madness.

That hadn’t been such a bad movie. He’d gotten a few laughs. He’d also caught Teddi watching him a few times whenever she knew a funny scene was coming up to see if he’d laugh or not. She almost looked proud each time he did. Like she had his approval. 

Splash however...was a nightmare. God did he hate it. But he wasn’t surprised Teddi had picked it out. Some idiot finds a mermaid and falls in love with her. It had Weird Girl written all over it. They were about halfway through the movie when he finally complained. “This movie sucks,” he spat, a cigarette between his teeth. He lit it and tossed his lighter onto the coffee table. “You can’t even see anything! What’s the point of having her topless the whole damn movie if they’re gonna just cover her up?” 

Teddi scoffed and gave his arm a soft shove. “Of course she’s not naked! There’s impressionable eyes in the room.” she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Billy grumbled loudly. 

Max turned to face the two of them with a smirk. “Yeah, Billy. Save your nudie movies for when it’s just the two of you.” she and El fell into a fit of giggles. Billy glared at the back of Max’s head. He grabbed a handful of the popcorn Teddi had made in between the two movies at threw it at the back of his step sister’s head. She only laughed. 

He glanced over at Teddi. She was trying not to laugh herself. But her cheeks were flushed. She patted Billy on the shoulder. “It’s almost over,” she promised. There had only been about a half hour left. To Billy it had felt like ages. Max cracking jokes about how John Candy’s character was gonna be Billy in about twenty years definitely didn’t help either. When it was finally over Teddi stretched and fell back into the couch. Her head lolled over to look at Billy. The corner of his lips turned upwards. She smiled back at him. 

“...I should get home,” she sighed. “I told my mom I was working an extra shift at the arcade. I don’t want her getting suspicious.”

Max and El whirled around. “What? You just got here!” Max complained. 

“Max has board games!” El argued. 

Teddi let out a whine like groan and scrunched up her nose. “Believe me girls, if I could sleep over I would. Maybe next time, okay? I’ll bring more chick flicks.” she grinned over at Billy. He rolled his eyes. 

“How ‘bout you guys clean all this shit up, huh? And tell Teddi thank you for the movies.” God, he thought with a hint of disgust, I sound like Neil. Max and El both said their thank yous, hugging Teddi before running off into the kitchen with the remnants of popcorn and pizza. 

Teddi returned both tapes to their cases and smiled over at Billy. “You gonna be able to handle them on your own?”

“Maybe...maybe I’ll sneak some nighttime cough syrup into their Cokes,” Teddi shot him a look and he waved a hand at her. “I’m kidding...thanks for this. Coming over and all.” he shifted nervously, his hands in his pockets. 

Teddi shrugged. “It’s no problem. They’re fun kids. Plus I’d be lying if I didn’t say that I really enjoyed forcing you to watch Splash,” she laughed. Billy let out a short laugh. “I’ll see ya...probably tomorrow.” she said, her laugh a bit more awkward this time. Billy nodded and followed her to the front door. He opened it for her and gave an awkward wave.

“Later, Larsson.” 

“Later, Hargrove.” she grinned, turning and making her way to the curb where her van was parked. Billy shut the door after her van disappeared down the street. El and Max were watching him from the hallway.

“Oh, Teddi I love you!” Max said in a deeper voice that Billy assumed was supposed to sound like him. She grabbed El by the shoulders. El laughed and matched Max’s movements. 

“Kiss me Teddi!” she repeated in the same ridiculous tone before they fell into another fit of giggles.

Billy rolled his eyes and glares at the two girls. “Isn’t it time you little assholes go to bed?”

Max raised an eyebrow. “It’s ten o’clock, grandpa. Shouldn’t you be in bed?” She asked, taking El by the hand and pulling her down the hall to her room. He could still hear their laughter and he let out a groan, falling down onto the couch. He flipped on the TV and mindlessly flipped through the channels. He hated sleepovers. 

[hunnywrites]

Sixteen Candles: Part Two

Summary: It’s the day that Vivian has been looking forward to nearly her entire life: her sixteenth birthday. But between her sister’s wedding overshadowing her big day, and praying that her crush Billy Hargrove will finally notice her things aren’t going too well for her. If she can just survive the under the sea dance at her school and avoid the really weird and creepy Tommy H her night might be salvageable. Maybe.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove/OFC

A/N: Sorry this took so long to get out! Hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner!

“Not a single happy birthday, Robin. From anyone. They almost acted like I was fucking invisible on top of it,” Vivian huffed as she and Robin made their ways through the halls of Hawkins High. Tommy hadn’t even said anything to her and she had at least been expecting some sort of creepy comment from him. 

“Maybe this is some sort of a trick. Or like a joke,” Robin offered. “Like, maybe they’re pretending that they forgot, but when you get home they’ll have some sort of surprise party?” 

Vivian rolled her eyes. “I doubt that. They’re not thoughtful enough to think of something like that. God, I shouldn’t even be surprised. Everything’s been about Sarah lately anyways,” she grumbled, stopping in front of her locker and angrily unlocking it. It had always sort of been that way. Sarah was the golden child. Perfect at everything she did. Carol got attention because she was always getting into trouble. Vivian was the quiet kid with a B average in school. It was sort of easy for her to seem invisible to other people. “Besides, I have bigger problems at the moment.”

Robin gave her a disbelieving look. “Bigger problems than your family forgetting your birthday? Do tell.” 

“I ran into Billy in my kitchen last night.” Vivian said simply.

Robin stared blankly at her for a moment before cracking a smile and raising an eyebrow. “...Is that all?” 

“He said he liked my shirt. And he told me happy birthday.” now that she said it out loud it didn’t sound all that impressive.

“Wow, you’re practically married.” Robin teased. 

Vivian slammed her locker shut and held up a finger. “That’s not all, miss sassy pants. I almost asked him out to the dance.” 

Robin seemed speechless for a few seconds. She blinked wildly a few times, titling her head at her best friend. Vivian said all the time that she was gonna get the courage to ask Billy out one day. Neither Robin or Vivian actually believed her whenever she’d say it though. “You almost asked?” 

The pair took off down the hallway once again. “Well, I brought the dance up, but before I could he said that Cheryl was gonna make him go with her.” she said with a dramatic eye roll.

“Sounds romantic.” Robin laughed.

“I totally don’t get it. Why even date her?” Vivian groaned. That was a stupid question. Cheryl was gorgeous. Even if she was a pain in the ass. And it wasn’t really like Billy was a guy of substance as Robin just loved to remind Vivian. 

“Oh, I can think of one reason…” 

Vivian glared over at Robin. “It’s my birthday. No reminding me that they’re boning.” 

“Just trying to add perspective,” Robin grinned. “Try and keep you as sane as I can when it comes to the whole Billy subject,” it was a fair statement to make, much as Vivian didn’t want to admit it. “I suppose this means we’re gonna spend the night at the dance stalking him around the gym until he notices you?” 

“...I wouldn’t put it that way.” Vivian muttered. 

“No? How would you?”

“...Shut up. Like we have anything better to do.” Vivian and Robin never did much at dances. They normally liked to avoid them, but every once and awhile Vivian’s mom forced her to tag along with Carol in an attempt to make Vivian more “normal”. So usually they’d park out on the bleachers with some punch and make fun of other people until Carol and Tommy decided they were ready to leave. 

Robin laughed and shook her head. “Viv, I’m just teasing. If you wanna spend your birthday stalking Billy Hargrove then I can’t really say no,” Vivan shot Robin an unimpressed look. “Oh look, speak of the devil…” Robin nodded her head down the hall. 

Vivian turned to look as Billy made his way around the corner. His arm was draped casually around Cheryl’s shoulder and she was talking animatedly about something, but it was obvious he wasn’t listening to much of what she was saying. His eyes landed on Vivian and Robin, and a slow smile graced his lips before he nodded his head in their direction before he and Cheryl passed by them. 

Vivian looked over at Robin. “Tell me I didn’t just imagine that.”

Robin’s eyebrows were raised as she watched Billy and Cheryl disappear down the hall. “You didn’t imagine that.”

“...Maybe there’s hope for this birthday afterall.” Vivian said with a somewhat dreamy sigh.

Robin let out a soft laugh and shook her head. “Let’s just get to biology before we’re late, birthday girl.” 

---

Lunch was hands down Billy’s favorite subject in school. Sure, it wasn’t technically a class, but that was sort of the point. The bell at the end of his algebra class would ring and Billy would be the first one out of the room. He’d get a coke from the vending machine by the cafeteria and go out to his car and smoke. 

Some days, like today, Tommy, Carol and Cheryl and a few of their other friends would join him. Tommy and Carol would usually switch between bitching about their classes and playing tonsil hockey while Cheryl would lounge out on the hood of Billy’s Camaro. Even though he had told her more times than he could count never to sit on his baby. What a pain in the ass. 

“Billy,” Cheryl pouted over at him. “I forgot my purse in my gym locker. Can I borrow fifty cents for a coke?” Billy resisted the urge to roll his eyes before fishing two quarters from his pocket and handing them over to her. She pressed a kiss to his cheek, leaving a pink lip print behind, before hopping off of the Camaro and sauntering back towards the school. He watched her until she disappeared inside before turning his gaze to Carol. Tommy was talking to some other guy from the basketball team, so for once she was alone. 

“Hey, Carol,” he said, lighting a cigarette. “What’s the deal with your sister?” 

Carol looked at him like he was speaking a different language. “What the hell do you mean what’s the deal?” she asked. 

Billy rolled his eyes and blew out a puff of smoke. “I mean like her situation. Is she seeing anyone?” 

Carol let out a loud snort, covering her mouth the quiet her loud burst of laughter. “Seeing anyone? Fuck no. She’s a total dork. She’s like a total loser virgin. I don’t think she’s even kissed a guy,” Billy might not have put it so bluntly, but he couldn’t say he was all that surprised. He was pretty sure that other than Carol, the only person he’d ever seen Vivian around with was that girl Robin. “What do you care anyways?” she asked. 

Billy only shrugged. “Just curious.” He’d always had a mild interest in Vivian. He reminded her of the girls back home in California. Easy going. Pretty. Plus he particularly liked how she looked in her leather jacket. He found her more attractive than Carol, but then with a shitty attitude like hers he couldn’t really see how anyone could find Carol attractive. Except Tommy, of course. He was so dumb Billy was sometimes genuinely surprised he could string a whole sentence together. And it wasn’t exactly a secret that Vivian had a thing for him. He noticed the way her cheeks would turn all pink whenever he was around. It was cute. 

“You thinkin’ of gettin’ with that, Hargrove?” Tommy grinned, throwing his arm around Carol. 

Carol let out another snort. “Good luck.” she nearly spat. 

“Yeeeah dude,” Tommy laughed. “Don’t let Cheryl find out! Man, she’d totally kill you.” 

Billy rolled his eyes again. He didn’t give a shit if Cheryl found out. They weren’t dating. He could do whatever he wanted. If there was anything he even wanted to do. “How about you mind your own business for once, Tommy?” he asked, flicking the butt of his cigarette away. “I gotta get to class.” he muttered before walking off. Of course it was a lie. But any excuse to get away from Tommy and Carol was good enough for him. 

It irritated him sometimes. These two weren’t really his friend. They’d dumped Steve Harrington and latched onto Billy as soon as he had moved to Hawkins because he was the new cool kid. He couldn’t talk to them about anything real. He couldn’t ask Tommy for advice about girls or anything else. Any time he complained about the fact that he genuinely couldn’t stand Cheryl, Tommy would make some perverted joke and Billy would regret opening his mouth. So sometimes it was just best to walk away.

“...Did he just say he has to get to class?” Tommy asked as Billy disappeared towards the school.

--- 

Vivian came home to a surprise, but it definitely wasn’t the one she had been hoping for. Her mother, Sarah and Kevin were all home, but they all barely acknowledged her presence as she walked into the kitchen. There had been this tiny part of her that wondered if Robin had been onto something. Maybe they were just pretending to forget her birthday and she’d come home to a cake and decorations. But that definitely wasn’t the case. So instead of sitting around being blatantly ignored on her birthday, she decided to go throw her own pity party up in her bedroom. But her bedroom wasn’t empty. 

“There’s our little Vivian!” her grandpa greeted loudly, throwing his arms open wide as Vivian walked into her room. She looked around with wide eyes. Their luggage was everywhere. And there was so much of it. She was almost worried that it meant that they would be staying longer than just the weekend. Her grandpa wrapped her in a tight hug as her grandma smiled on at the pair, but still no happy birthday. 

“Uh, hi grandpa...what are you guys doing up here?” she asked warily. 

“Your mother said we could stay up here for the weekend,” her grandma explained. She had an almost pained expression on her face as she looked around Vivian’s room. “You know, Vivian, this room of yours isn’t very ladylike,” she scolded. “These posters are all very...violent looking. Why couldn’t you decorate a bit more like Carol or Sarah?” she asked. 

It took nearly all of Vivian’s energy to keep herself from rolling her eyes. Instead she only shrugged. It never did any good to argue with her grandma. She’d only rat Vivian out to her mother and she definitely didn’t want a lecture today of all days. “It’s just how I like it, grandma.” was all she said. Even though she wanted to add a comment about how they could find somewhere else to stay if her room wasn’t good enough. Her grandma pursed her lips.

“Awwww, leave her alone honey. This is what all the kids are into these days, right, Viv?” her grandpa asked, grinning widely at her and nudging her side with his elbow. 

Vivian looked between the two of them for a moment, almost to give them the chance to realize that they too hadn’t wished her a happy birthday. “...Yeah. It’s what all the kids are into,” she said dryly. This had to be a goddamn joke.

“You know, Vivian,” her grandma said. “If you took all these horrible things down and maybe dressed a little more like Sarah I’m sure you could get yourself a boyfriend. Don’t you think, George? You’re really quite pretty underneath all this...grunge,” she poked the tip of Vivian’s nose. “And you’ve got quite a nice little figure!” Vivian’s eyes widened. Was this actually happening?

She took a big step back from her grandma and let out a nervous laugh. “Right. So...I’ll let you two get settled in then...go find out where I’m supposed to be sleeping…” she didn’t give them the opportunity to say anything else. Vivian whirled around and stomped back downstairs and into the kitchen. She felt like she was in the twilight zone or something. 

“Grandma and grandpa are staying in my room?” she asked. 

Her mother turned towards her, giving herself a small slap to the forehead. “Oh, yes! I knew there was something I was forgetting to tell you! I’m sorry, hun. I offered it to them awhile ago and I never mentioned it,” she let out a small laugh and shook her head. “My mind is everywhere these days.” 

Vivian blinked a few times. “Oh sure, sure...is there anything else you’re maybe forgetting to tell me?” Vivian asked expectantly. 

“Hmm? Oh…” her mother shook her head. “I don’t think so. I’ll fix the couch up for you tonight, okay?”

Vivian let out a small huff. This had to be the curse of being the youngest child or something. “How come Carol gets to keep her room? Where am I supposed to get ready for the dance?” all of this on top of the fact that she didn’t even want to go to the dance was the icing on the cake. Metaphorical cake, because she sure as hell wouldn’t be getting a real birthday cake at the rate her day was going. 

“God, do you ever stop complaining?” Sarah asked. “Just get ready in my room or something. I’ll be gone by then. You’re giving me a headache.”

Vivian glared over at her sister. “I’m giving you a headache?” she asked. “Can you even hear yourself whenever you’re crying over your flowers not being the right color or whatever it is you’re always bitching about to mom?” 

“Enough you two!” their mother sighed. “Vivian, language. Sarah, leave your sister alone. Can we all just relax? Everything will be handled. Now ,Vivian, go...do your homework or something.” she waved her away. Vivian shot another glare at Sarah before heading out into the living room and flopping face first onto the couch dramatically and letting out a loud sigh.

“What are you so upset about?” Carol asked, crossing her arms as she looked down at her sister with an amused expression. 

Vivian lifted her head and shot an incredulous look at her. “Let’s think for a second, Carol. Can you maybe come up with a reason I might be upset?” 

Carol only shrugged. “...I guess I’d be pretty bummed out too if I was such a dork.” she said with a smug grin.

“Yeah, well, better to be a dork than a raging bitch.” Vivian spat.

“Vivian! Language!” her mother called from the kitchen. Vivian let out a groan. 

Carol snickered before heading to the stairs. “Dork.” she said, laughing again before bounding up the stairs. 

That was it. Vivian didn’t care that it was her birthday anymore. She didn’t care that Billy had smiled at her in the hall that morning. She wanted this day and this weekend to be over. She wanted Sarah and Kevin to fly back home and only come to visit at Christmas. She wanted her room back. But first she would have to get through the school dance.