#off of us talking about billie having a summer job

[littlemissmiller]

𝑀𝑎𝑑𝑒 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑌𝑜𝑢

Pairing: joel miller x fem!reader

Summary: the summer before you graduated college, Joel Miller became a regular at the bar you worked. he was perfect except one small problem…you already have a boyfriend

Warning: 21+ (drinking), fluff, slight age gap (reader is in her early 20s and Joel is 30) smut, oral (f receiving) p in v, slight body worshipping, porn with plot

Word count: 5.2k

A/N: i did it! i finally wrote a fic to live up to my blog name! i’m so proud of this one y’all like omg…i love it, it’s so perfect. such a cute lil fluffy smut (≧◡≦) ♡ also still can’t get over the fact that people like my little hobby, so thank you for all the love! it only encourages me to write more. speaking of which, i have so many stories for the summer coming up, especially with tom blyth coming back as billy. i already have a few stories started so hopefully they will be out sooner rather then later. ok that’s it i have nothing more to say. enjoy ❣︎

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It was your last summer before graduating college and being home made you want to cherish your last year even more. You were looking forward to it and ready to be done bartending so you could see your friends and have some real fun. Sure, this job made you a ton of cash, but being home was nothing in comparison to being with your college friends in a town totally catered to you and your fellow students. Although your hometown had its perks. At least it used to. Your longtime boyfriend had never left your hometown or went to college. He had instead opted for going into a trade and becoming an electrician.

Your relationship was strong at first, but every semester it became harder and harder to navigate. Time after time you had convinced yourself that he was still your best friend, but meeting new people in college and getting to experience the joys of youth on your own for the first time, had given you a lot of perspective. So every birthday, holiday, and summer, you felt like you were coming home to a completely different man. Yet you stayed with him because you really wanted to make it work and you told yourself you loved him. Yet something unexpected had happened. One evening at work, a group of men came in to watch the Rangers game. That’s when you first met him and that’s the night Joel Miller would become a regular at your bar.

He was clearly older, at least thirty, but you couldn’t help but practically gawk at him all night. And you couldn’t help but think that Joel was eyeing you too. But you felt a wave of guilt overcome you. You knew you shouldn’t feel like this. You knew you shouldn’t be staring down another man like that but you couldn’t help it. But his arms looked so strong, like he could carry you effortlessly. You couldn’t help the way you smiled every time he would share a boisterous laugh with his friends. His own sweet smile drew you in and you noticed he had the cutest cheek nimble on top of it. From his big chiseled nose to his perfectly crafted jawline, he was an absolute Adonis. Just then another wave of guilt washed over you and you tried to shake away your feelings of disloyalty as you walked into the kitchen, putting their food order in.

As you walked out of the kitchen and brought them their next set of drinks, you tried not to look at him so much but it’s hard not to. Then he spoke up.

“Hey darling? Could I get some more napkins when you get the chance?”

“Yeah sure!” You scurried off and came back immediately

He smiled at you as he thanked you which made your heart flutter. As you made your way back to the kitchen, another server catches up to you.

“Who’s the handsome cowboy at 13?” She asked

“Oh” you started “I’m not sure. Are you talking about the man in the white shirt?” You lied acting like she was talking about someone else

“Girl, don’t play. I can see him undressing you right now”

You glanced over, and caught him smiling at you while he sipped his beer. You started to smile back, when the guilt hit you again and you turned back to your co-worker.

“Oh…yeah…h-he is handsome yeah…but not like I’m interested.” You lied again

“Okaaay whatever you say…” she said unconvinced, rushing off to her table

Joel and his buddies left around 9 and you noticed that Joel leaves the biggest tip out of everyone. Around 10 o’ clock you clocked out and headed to your boyfriend’s house where you had planned on spending the night. Once you arrived, you walked straight into his room where he was playing some PC game. His back was towards you and he didn’t notice you at first with his big headset on. You hugged him from behind and kissed his cheek. He startled and you jumped back.

“Woah! Hey! Your home” he remarked, clutching his chest, barely glancing at you “Jesus you scared me.”

“Clearly” you giggled

“God don’t sneak up on me like that. Could have cost me the game” he sighed, as he returned his full attention to the screen.

“What ya playing?

“COD” he remarked dryly

“Are you gonna be finishing soon?” You inquired

“Ahh probably not. I figured you’d be too tired to hang after your shift so I told the boys I’d be on tonight.”

“I thought you said we would watch a movie after work tonight?”

“Oh yeah, I mean I don’t know I just kinda figured you’d want to go to bed when you got home. Plus you fall asleep to every movie we watch together”

“Yeah” you sighed in disappointment, wanting to follow it up with “but that’s not the point.” You knew he’d get upset at you for pulling him away from his game. “I just want to cuddle you.”

“Ok ok I got ya. I’ll be in bed soon, ok.” He said halfhearted, still not looking at you.

You changed into a pair of sweat shorts and an old shirt and got ready for bed. As you climb into bed you want to cry. And you questioned your guilt from tonight. Maybe it was because it had been a while since a man seemingly flirted with you that made you realize just how lousy your boyfriend has become. When was the last time he genuinely made you feel special? You fell asleep, but were woken up by small kisses on your neck, but your boyfriend began to move more aggressively, trusting and grinning his crotch against your ass. At that point you’re too tired for sex, and all you wanted was for him to hold you and care for you.

“Mmm babe I’m really tired” you whined

“I thought you wanted attention?” He asked, continuing his actions. You pushed away slightly but he continued, only pulling you closer against his chest.

“I do, just not like this. Not right now ok? I just want to sleep.”

He sighed, turning over

“See this is why I don’t want to do a movie with you. I knew you would be too tired.”

“That’s not…” you wanted to finish your sentence again and say “that’s not fair” but once again that would probably upset him and now he was annoyed with you so you don’t want to push it. “I just want to sleep now ok.”

“Ok. It’s fine. Goodnight.” He huffed, falling asleep.

The next couple of shifts your mind is preoccupied by your newfound feelings about your relationship. Your boyfriend wasn’t abusive by any means, but it was clear the relationship wasn’t healthy anymore. That’s when the crying at work started. Mainly because you had just come from his house before each shift and every interaction with him pained you. The only thing that kept you from continuously calling off was Joel. Almost every shift around 5 o’clock he would come in, order a few beers, maybe something to eat, and chat it up with you.

By the third week, all your co-workers were teasing you about him. Whenever his truck would pull up in the parking lot, someone would come get you.

“Your cowboy is here!” Someone yelled out to you, stepping out of the kitchen. You left the servers station to greet him.

“Hey Joel! Mich Ultra? You asked

“You know it darling. How you’ve been?” He smiled, causing you to practically melt into a puddle. You gathered yourself and smiled back at him.

“About the same as the last time you saw me.”

“And still as beautiful as ever.” He winked

“You flatter me Mr. Miller. I bet Mrs. Miller is one special lady hmm?” You asked more or less trying to see if he was actually flirting with you or just being nice.

“She would if there was one.”

“Oh I thought you said you have a daughter?” You questioned more

“And a man can’t be a single dad in this world? How sexist of you” he chuckled sarcastically

You rolled your eyes at him and laughed along.

“I just thought such a handsome cowboy as yourself would have a beautiful gal to go home to.”

“I wish…” he sighed, eyes giving you a once over

“So where is she then? Your daughter? If not with her mom. You know we allowed kids in before 9 right?”

“Yeah, she just has soccer practice at this time three days a week. I figured why not wait for her to be done and come see you since I’m out and about.” He explained

“Ain’t you just a charmer.” I’ll get you that beer.”

You walk over to behind the bar and fetch Joel his beer.

“He’s just all over you” one of the bartenders remarked

“And he tips well too.”

“Gee I wonder why” they smirked, giving you a look “how does your boyfriend feel about him?”

“I mean he’s just a customer. They flirt all the time and who doesn’t like the extra cash?” You started quickly

“Mhmm sure” they said

You walk back to him, bringing him his beer and continuing to chat with him. He ordered another beer then left to go pick up his daughter Sarah.

Now every time at work shift, it felt like an escape. It also felt like a fantastic secret that only you knew about. A fantasy being played out in real life. Joel was so charming.

Even though he was older, his youthful demeanor shone through. He was caring too. If he wasn’t asking about you and your life, he was talking about his daughter. You could tell she was his world. He absolutely adored her, and you loved to listen to him go on and on about her. You didn’t quite care what your co-workers would say or how your boss didn’t like that you hovered around his table, sometimes neglecting your other ones.

But he couldn’t complain too much given Joel was a respectful, paying customer. And a great tipper. And he would always leave a little note on his receipt. Nothing too flirtatious, just innocent enough to toe the line. This went on for a couple more weeks, your boyfriend none the wiser. Not like he was paying much attention to you anymore. Every note, you would take them and make sure to hide them when you got home. You stored them in your sock drawer and kept them secret like everything else about him. You still felt guilty though and realize that you need to end things with your boyfriend. It’s harder than you thought and truthfully you don’t know how to leave someone you’ve cared about that much. And been with for so long. But talking to Joel made you realize what you needed. And what you wanted. And you wanted him. And something told you he wanted you too.

Then back at home, living with your boyfriend it was a totally different reality. He felt so disconnected from you, so indifferent. And the more you faded away from him the less you felt like you really loved him still. And he noticed you pulling away from him. One night, you came home and had kept another one of Joel’s receipts.

“See you Wednesday :) Joel”

You left your server book out on his bed, along with your purse and hopped into the shower without thinking. When you got out of the shower, your boyfriend was sitting on his gamer chair, nose deep in your server book. You froze and tightened the towel around you nervously.

“Oh hey babe. When did you get home? I thought you and the boys were having a boys night? “

“We decided to just get dinner instead. What’s this?” He asked, holding up the receipt.

“Oh, just one of my regulars. Don’t worry about it.” You giggled, trying to play it cool reaching for the book. He holds it back from you and stands up.

“Who’s Joel?”

“My regular” you repeated

“Oh yeah. I bet he tips you well hmm? Pays you lots of attention?” He asked accusatorily.

“I-he…he’s just a regular we get them all the time.”

“Yeah, but you said he is one of YOUR regulars. Why yours? Why is he writing you notes?”

“He-he just always sits in my section I don’t know. That’s not too unusual…and a lot of customers write thank you notes and stuff I can’t control them!” You insisted, readjusting your towel again

“You expect me to believe that?”

You scoffed and rolled your eyes.

“Why are you acting like this?”

“Well I don’t need creepy men hitting on my girl at work.” He barked back

“He’s not creepy and you’re being ridiculous.”

“Oh then what is he?”

“He’s just a customer!” You argued even though it was a lie

From that moment on, your boyfriend had grown highly suspicious of your relationship with him and Joel. Wednesday rolled around and Joel showed up again as expected. You nervously approached him as he sat down.

“Well hey their sugar” he smiled

“Hey Joel” you replied, only giving him a half smile

He searched your face and could tell something is up.

“You ok?”

“Yeah, just life stuff. So Mich Ultra?”

He nodded and you walked off. His eyes followed you, watching you as you went to the bar. You came back and gave him his beer. You wanted to set it down and walk away, but Joel’s concerned eyes beckoned you to say.

“Thinking about food?” You asked him

“Maybe. I’m sorry doll, I don’t mean to pry but if I did anything to put you off-“

“No Joel of course it’s not you it’s just…relationship issues” you huff

“Sorry to hear that sugar. I hope y’all can work it out”

“I hope so” you sigh, knowing it’s a lie.

Just then your boyfriend storms into the bar. You don’t notice him at first, but then you hear a set of heavy footsteps approaching towards you and you look up. Confused, you call out his name.

“What are you doing here?”

“Can’t visit my girl at work anymore?” He asked glancing at Joel

“Excuse me.” You mumble to Joel, walking over to him and grabbing his hand. You lead him out of the building.

“What are you doing?!” You shouted

“Is that him? Is that Joel?” he sneered

“Why do you care all of a sudden hmm? You’ve barely paid attention to me in the last few months. What happened to us?” You nearly sobbed.

He sighed and shook his head

“What do you want from me? I mean I’m frustrated with you too if that helps. You have completely shut yourself off, don’t tell me shit! I’m upset too! Especially that I know you’re flaunting yourself around weirdo old men.”

“Stop! That’s it, I can't do this anymore. I’m so scared to tell you anything because of how you act when I share your feelings. When I come home, you ignore me and frankly it seems like you only give me affection when you want to fuck me!”

He rolled his eyes and scoffed, throwing his arms up.

“Oh my god! You over exaggerate everything. Is this why you’re acting like an attention seeker? Because you think I don’t pamper you?”

“Unbelievable. Pampering really…you know what I’m not arguing with you! I’m done! We’re done!” You shout and storm back into the back

“Done? Really like that? Four years done like that? Fine whatever, be that way, I know you don’t mean it. I’ll see you at home.” And he storms off back to his car.

You wanted to cry as you stormed back into the bar, but you held yourself together.

You tried to hide your clearly upset face as you rushed back into the kitchen and into the back alley next to the dumpsters. Joel noticed and ran out of the bar looking for you. He searched around the building then he called out to you.

“Hey. What’s wrong.”

You can’t help it. One look at him, and you ran into his arms. He embraced you, holding you tight.

“Hey my little firefly…what’s wrong?” He asked, his sweet southern drawl falling like your tears.

“I loved him Joel… why do people stop loving you back…” you sobbed

Joel gently stroked your hair, attempting to calm you down. It didn’t feel strange to be held by him. You felt safe, and comfortable in his arms, despite barely knowing him or even having any interaction with him outside of work, that moment felt right.

“I don’t know darling.” Joel sighed

You eventually gathered yourself and go back inside with him. Your boss thankfully didn’t notice your absence. Joel returned to his table and you returned to your other patrons. After his beer, Joel left and you didn’t really get a chance to see him leave. When you went to collect his tap you saw another note this time with his phone number and it read:

“Gotta go get Sarah. Call me if you need to talk”

Your heart dropped. He had finally given you his number and at the same time you still felt guilty. Even though you had, despite what your now ex-boyfriend thinks, finally ended your relationship. And here the opportunity was. Right in front of you. You look at the receipt, take it, fold it and immediately put it in your pocket to keep it safe. You clock out at ten and are all too eager to get into your car to call Joel. Once you do, you dial the number and it rings.

“Hello?”

“He-hey Joel it’s me…” you uttered

“You ok darling?” He asked sweetly

Maybe it was his voice, the question, or the fact that the weight of the burdens of your life seemed to have fallen apart around you, but you cried again. Letting it all out and at the same time feeling better than ever.

“Hey hey hey” Joel whispered “I just put Sarah to bed…why don’t you come over here? We can talk ok?”

You nodded and sobbed.

“Ok…”

Joel texted you his address and you put it into your GPS. It’s only about a ten minute drive to his house and when you pulled up, you nervously exit your vehicle. You walked up the front door and knocked quietly, not wanting to wake Sarah. A moment later, it swung open and Joel’s handsome face looked at yours with deep concern.

“Come on in.”

You nodded and walked into his home. As expected it’s much nicer than your boyfriends, but then again Joel is an actual adult, with a kid, and mortgage to pay off so it was to be slightly expected. It wasn’t too fancy, just your standard suburban home. You walked over to the couch and Joel followed you.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

“Honestly I need something a little strong. Got any whiskey?”

He smiled ear to ear.

“Ya betcha.” And he rushed off into his kitchen.

You made yourself comfortable and tried to relax as you looked around Joel’s living room. You curiously strode over to his bookshelf and read the titles. Lots of history books, a few fiction and then you noticed the framed photo of him and his daughter. You realize you’ve never seen a photo of her, but she’s just as beautiful as you could have imagined. You smiled and Joel caught you in your curiosity.

“She’s been my little gem since day one. Just me and her. I don’t think I ever told ya, but her mom left us so…” he remarked.

You looked at him, smiled and nodded.

“She’s beautiful, Joel. You’re a great dad.”

Joel sat the glasses of whiskey down on the shelf and reached for your hand. You gasp slightly, look at where he’s touched you and then look up into his eyes. He tucked a piece of your hair behind your ear.

“You asked me why people stop loving people back and ya know, I still don’t have a good answer for that. I guess it’s because I’ve been asking myself the same thing for the last twelve years.”

“Joel…you’re such a good man…” you sighed, squeezing his hand.

“You’re too kind darling.” He smiled

“No really.”

You stared at him for a moment. His eyes searched your own looking for what he suspected you wanted from him. He cupped your face and he leaned in to kiss you. His lips fit perfectly against yours, like he was made for you. It was perfect and passionate. He was so gentle, yet you could feel how badly he had wanted this moment with you. He pulled back for a moment to make sure he hadn’t crossed the line.

“Got a bedroom?” You smirked

Before you knew it, Joel was crawling on top of you and you took off your shirt. At the same time he was busy frantically kissing your neck and jaw. He tossed it off and Joel took a moment to admire your chest. He gasped and reached to grope your breasts. Your soft, perky mounds fit perfectly in his hand and he began to massage you. He was in utter awe of you. Almost overwhelmed that he was getting to have you like this. You stared back up at him, equally in awe at that moment.

His big brown eyes melted your heart and all your troubles melted too. Fuck your lousy ex. All you wanted and needed was Joel. He kissed you again as he continued to play with your breasts. You let out a few giggles that turned into harsh, sharp moans as he moved his mouth down your body.

“Fuck…” you whispered, the word dancing around the room.

As his lips trailed you, your body reacted, your hips bucked and you were practically squirming under him. When his mouth found your cleavage, you felt the heat in between your legs grow stronger.

He continued to kiss you, only breaking away to take off his own shirt. He was toned, his skin smooth and he was unbelievably broad. You couldn’t help but admire the way his collar bone met his neckline. It was clean and sharp. You tried not to think of your ex, but in comparison he was not as fit as the gorgeous man in front of you. You placed your hands on his chest and felt his pecs, running your fingers down to his abdomen. You leaned up to kiss him again. His lips were so soft and addictive. You could’ve kissed him all night, but your desires beckoned for more. He held you up slightly and flipped you over. As he did he unhooked your bra and you let it fall off your chest. He tossed it on the ground and admired your bare chest for the first time.

“You’re so gorgeous. “ he uttered as your hair fell in front of you.

He pushed it out of the way and cupped your face. He pulled you back down to capture your mouth once again, lightly gripping the back of your neck. Your bare boobs pressed down against his chest, a feeling which you love. Skin on skin, the close intimacy and the feeling of being wanted more than just something to fuck. That’s how your ex had made you feel the last few months when you and him had sex, so being touched, cherished by Joel made your head spin. You weren’t used to it and you could feel your body reacting to the unfamiliar sensations. Joel noticed.

“Baby, you ok?”

You blushed at the nickname, smiled and nodded.

“It’s just been some time since I felt like this.”

“When’s the last time he touched you?”

“I-I mean we would have sex once or twice a week…”

“When is the last time he really touched you though. Made you feel special?”

You simply stared at him speechless and tilted your head.

“You know what, forget about him. Just focus on me. Let me make you feel good like you deserve.”

With that, he decided to be bold and reached for your mini skirt. He pulled it down past your hips and you lifted them up so he could pull it off you. He tossed it on the ground with your bra and his hands immediately moved to cup your ass. He squeezed the pillowy flesh as you moved your hips. You could feel him getting hard under you and you eagerly reached for his belt. His hands moved up to your waist, rocking you more. You undo his belt and he lifted up his hips to take off his pants. He slid them off along with his boxers, revealing his length. It was perfect. Just the right size, the mushroom tip red and swollen. Encouraged by his actions, you slide your panties off and you are both completely bare in front of each other.

He soaked the sight of your naked beauty in, eyes trailed over all your curves and edges. You were simply divine to him, a work of art. He runs his hands back up to your chest, briefly groping them, his eyes completely focused on your face. You grab his cock and began slowly stroking it. His mouth drops slightly as he watched you. He tilted his head back on the pillow briefly, before he looked back up to watch you. His breathing became ragged and you picked up your pace. You start to move on top of him, guiding his cock to your entrance, but he stops you.

“Let me get you wet.” He insisted, grabbing your hips and flipping you again. Immediately, he kissed down your body, worshiping you. “You’re so perfect. If you were my girl I’d never stop showing you how perfect you are.” He muttered in between kisses.

He kissed your inner thigh before he experimentally rubbed your clit. You gasped, your hips bucked in his face. He smirked at your reaction, loving how you responded to his touch. Taking that as a sign you wanted more, he gently kissed your slit. He gave you another one and another one until the little pecks of his lips turned into the sloppy mess of his tongue. It had been ages since a man had gone down on you like this. Your ex-never warmed you up beforehand anymore, too eager to satisfy his own desire and pleasure. Joel knew how to be a real man. His tongue and lips suck and rub at your core. He moved his head too, adding to the friction. You reached for his brown locks, desperately in need of something to hold onto. He hung onto your hips and he moved you against his face. He moaned against your core, eating you out like you were the most delicious meal of his life. He pulled back, out of breath and drunk in your juices.

“Could taste ya all day darling.”

You nodded as he inserted a finger in you, twisting it. He slowly pumped it into you, curling it up as he added another finger. He watched as your face scrunched up in pleasure. He sped his hand up, totally focused on getting you to finish.

“Joel…Joel…Joel…” you chanted “Gonna cum”

He nodded and worked you a bit more until you tightened down around his digits. You came hard, the euphoria rushed through your body like a roller coaster.

“So beautiful oh my god.” He praised, rubbing your thighs.

He crawled back up to you. He kissed you letting you taste yourself. You hadn’t felt this kind of passion in a while, this intense feeling of intimacy.

“You ready? He asked, slowly rubbing your clit again.

You nodded as he lined himself up with your slit. You felt as his cock pushed past your folds and stretched you out perfectly. You gasped and he kissed your cheek feather light. He cooed at you as he slid in, hitting the back of your cervix. You gasped, which turned into a raspy moan that floated from your lips. Joel cupped your face, stroking his thumb across your cheek. You two shared in the silence of your pleasure for a moment, taking in how good the other felt. He moved, slow at first then he sped up. He felt so full inside you, and you lost yourself in the sensation of his length. You could have stayed like that all night, the steady motion of his cock pumping into you was pure bliss.

“Does that feel good?” Joel inquired lovingly

“Yes, please Joel I want more. I need more of you.”

Per your request, he gave you more, slightly giving into his own desires to want to ravish you. But given it’s your first time with him, Joel didn’t want a sloppy, lustful encounter. Yet, he picked up his speed, his length now hitting the back of your walls at an almost brutal pace. Joel makes sure to keep checking in on you to make sure you’re okay or that it doesn’t hurt too much. You panted and panted as he continued, gripping onto his waist with your legs, pushing him deeper into you. He moved a bit more then flipped over. You smiled at him, slightly out of breath.

“I want to see that beautiful body riding me. Is that ok?”

You nod enthusiastically, slowly starting to move your hips. Joel’s hands groped your ass, rocking you on him more. He sat up, pressed his lips firmly against yours and held you tight. You started to bounce on him which elicited a guttural moan from his lips. He moved his hand to your hips, looking up at you in awe.

How could anyone not treat you like the absolute treasure you are?

Joel thought and wondered to himself as he held you. He couldn’t believe that your ex-boyfriend would neglect you. What a foolish man, but now he had you. In the exact moment he had imagined. He had you. He moved his hips in sync with yours. You steadied yourself on his shoulders, ecstasy, providing you escape. Your breath hitched as you feel his cock stiffen more inside you. He was close. You didn’t want it to end but then again you had a feeling this wouldn’t be your last encounter with Joel. A few last rocks of your hips and he was spent. He pulled you off him abruptly as he shot his load onto his stomach. You caught your breath, resting your forehead against his. You held his jaw in your hands, settling your hips.

“Joel…” you whispered, the words ghosting over your lips.

“Yes darling..” he whispered back

“Y-you have no idea how much I wanted you like this.”

“I know. Me too, but not just like this. I want you. All of you. Can I please have it?” He nearly begged

Your enthusiasm took over you and you planted a spontaneous kiss on his lips.

“Yes Joel…you can have all of me.”

꧁✩★✩꧂

[pinchofhoney]

be careful what you wish for

coriolanus snow x fem!reader

word count: 1.7k

warning: platonic relationship, quite angst-ish, text in italics is a flashback

summary: Turning in a district boy to the authorities felt like the right thing to do for Coriolanus. But what if, in doing so, he betrayed you as well?

a/n: absolutely no one asked for it, but i'll deliver it to you anyway<33 i'd say have fun but i'm not sure i'd be appropriate here

pages that may interest you: masterlist ♡ taglist ♡ who i write for

taglist: @watercolorskyy

gif is not mine, credit to the owner

The moment Sejanus shared Billy Taup's escape plan with you, there wasn't much hesitation on your part. It's not that you acted without thinking; it's just that you didn't need much time to decide.

The summer was scorching, feeling like an unending oven. The sun never let up, and even when you hoped for cooler nights, the heat lingered. You've gotten used to the coal dust that's practically become your second skin in District 12, but what truly got to you wasn't the clinging dirt. It was the musty scent of men's sweat, a scent that clung to the air, heavy with the hard work that defined your daily life.

Being one of the few female Peacekeepers among a crowd of men wasn't your ideal situation. Many other girls had come and gone, unable to stand the sacrifices the job demanded, but you stood your ground, determined to prove yourself in this role, even if serving in this particular district wasn't your dream come true.

At least until a certain point.

When you first arrived in District 12, your main goal was to pass your officer's exam as quickly as possible and secure a transfer elsewhere. But when young Plinth kindled the idea of a life beyond authority and rules, the seed of belief in freedom took root within you. The very thought of it resonated in your mind, sounding truly incredible, and you couldn't wait to leave the filthy district behind, escaping through a gap in the wire mesh fence.

But, of course, life wouldn't be too easy if everything just went as planned, right?

One moment, you were getting ready with Sejanus and the other rebels, gathering the basics for your escape north to the supposedly destroyed District 13. The next, you found yourself standing behind one of the empty houses on the Seam with Coriolanus. He held onto your shoulders, telling you urgently that you had to leave the District as soon as possible.

“What?” was the first word that slipped from your lips, your brows furrowed in confusion as you looked at your friend. “Isn't that exactly what we're working on?” you added, slightly amused, pushing Coriolanus' hands off your shoulders.

Shaking your head, you were about to update him on your progress when he caught your forearm again. “I think you misunderstood me, Y/N,” he said, his face dead serious. “You need to get out of here now,” he continued, and seeing your raised eyebrow, he almost gritted the last word through his teeth.

“What do you mean, Coryo?” you asked, breaking the silence after staring at him for a while, tired of him speaking in riddles.

Now Coriolanus was the one staying silent, his cool eyes fixed on you. You couldn't decipher his expressions; it felt like he was betraying a hundred feelings at once and, at the same time, nothing at all.

“I… um, there's…” the blond man started, stumbling over his words, unsure how to share the information he needed to tell you. “There's a chance that the talk Sejanus and I had, which you joined not long ago, about your escape plan, might have been fully recorded by one of the jabberjays.”

You seemed not to grasp the gravity of Coriolanus' words, so you stared at him, searching for any hint in his eyes that he might be joking.

“Okay, so what?” you eventually asked, once again furrowing your brows, this time with a bit less intensity.When a twig snapped around the building's corner, you quickly turned, thinking it might be someone eavesdropping, but finding only a small hedgehog, you shifted your attention back to the boy in the bluish uniform.

“So what?” Coriolanus repeated your question, unable to believe your difficulty in connecting the dots. “Y/N, these birds are headed to the Capitol. To the lab of the woman who’s the Head Gamemaker of the Hunger Games. And do you know what the Capitol authorities do to rebels?” he asked the question, not waiting for your response. “They hang them on the hanging tree, Y/N.”

You stared at Coriolanus, steadying yourself with a hand against the wooden building. With every word he spoke, you felt the color drain from your face.

“How… How did this happen?” you asked, trying to keep your emotions in check.

Coriolanus happily took care of the mockingjays, moving their cages, tagging them, and passing them along. As Bug left with the fiftieth cage, Sejanus burst into the room, full of excitement. He shared the good news about the upcoming package from his mother with his friends, watching Bug leave with a smile before turning to Coriolanus, who had just finished dealing with the bird marked as number 1.

The bird chirped in its cage, mimicking the last mockingbird, but once Bug was gone, Sejanus' cheerful expression faded, replaced by a troubled look. He glanced around the hangar to ensure they were alone before speaking in a quiet voice.

“Listen, we've only got a few minutes. I know you might not like what I'm about to do, but I need you to at least understand it. After what you said the other day, about us being like brothers, well, I feel I owe you an explanation. Please, just hear me out.”

This was the moment, the confession.

Now was the time for the pieces to be explained, especially about the alliance with rebels and money that he found in Sejanus' belongings. Once Coriolanus heard it, he'd be as good as one of them, a traitor to the Capitol.

Panic, running, or trying to silence Sejanus could be expected, but Coriolanus did none of these things. Instead, his hands moved instinctively. His left hand adjusted the cover of the jabberjay cage, while his right, hidden from Sejanus's view by his body, reached for a remote on the counter. Coriolanus pressed RECORD, and the jabberjay fell silent.

Turning his back to the cage, Coriolanus leaned on the table with his hands, waiting.

In the middle of Sejanus' explanation, you dashed into the hangar like a hurricane itself.

“There you are!” you exclaimed, both happy and a bit annoyed to find young Plinth. “Why didn't you wait for me? I said I wanted to go to Coryo with you,” you added, crossing your arms on your chest as you closed the gap between the boys and yourself.

It seemed that Coriolanus, noticing you in the hangar, tensed up a bit. He glanced briefly at the cage with the bird recording the conversation on the table, but neither of you or Sejanus noticed, and together, you continued explaining your plan to him.

During your report, where you and Sejanus competed over who could give Coriolanus more details, he lowered his head and rubbed his brow with his fingertips. It looked like he was trying to gather his thoughts, unsure how long he could stay silent without seeming suspicious.

But Sejanus rushed on, “I couldn't leave without telling you. You've been like a brother to me. I'll never forget what you did for me in the arena. I'll find a way to let Ma know what happened to me. And my father, too. I'll let him know the Plinth name lives on, even if it's in obscurity.”

The mention of the Plinth name was enough.

Coriolanus's left hand found the remote, and he pressed the NEUTRAL button with his thumb. The jabberjay resumed its earlier song.

Something caught Coriolanus's attention. “Here comes Bug.”

“Here comes Bug,” the bird echoed in his voice.

“Hush, you silly thing,” he scolded the bird, secretly pleased it had returned to its normal pattern. Nothing to alert both of you. He quickly covered the cage with a cloth and marked it with J1.

“I swear, I have no idea,” Coriolanus lied, wearing a worried expression. “While rearranging the cages, one of them must have snagged the remote control.”

You lightly bit your lower lip, eyeing your friend. Without any reason to doubt him, you finally let out a shaky breath.

Gazing up at the sky, you counted to three in your mind to steady your nerves. Then, you looked back at Coriolanus.

“Does Sejanus know?”

“Of course, I told him first,” he lied again, his gaze fixed beyond your shoulders without losing the concerned look on his face.

“God, what are we going to do now?” nerves took over every cell in your body as you asked another question. You leaned against the wooden building, slowly lowering yourself until you were sitting on the ground.

You lifted your head to meet Coriolanus's eyes, and he crouched in front of you, placing his hand on one of your knees.

“Hey, don't stress. You're heading back to the base now. Pack what you need, and tonight, you'll slip out of the district just like you planned with the rebels. You'll meet Sejanus at the lake, alright?” he spoke with a calmness, almost like talking to a kid, trying to reassure you.

Even though Coriolanus despised rebels — those who went against the Capitol's rules — he didn't want you to suffer the consequences that would surely befall Sejanus. He had nothing against you; in fact, he genuinely liked you. Your innocence about a better life beyond the Capitol's control wasn't his concern because you hadn't caused him any trouble, unlike young Plinth who had stirred up problems more than once.

“But won't it be suspicious if I suddenly vanish? They'll be searching for me, Coryo. They'll find me and punish me,” you said, placing your hand on his.

“I told you not to worry, remember?” Coriolanus replied, a bit sharper but still maintaining his reassuring tone. “I'll figure something out. No one's going to harm you.”

“But Coryo, you-” you began, but he quickly cut you off.

“Enough, Y/N,” Coriolanus said firmly, standing up from his crouch. “Get up. We're heading back to base,” he reached out a hand to you, which you took after a moment's hesitation. He helped you stand, silently conveying to act naturally before stepping out from behind the building.

You had no choice but to go along with Coriolanus' questionable plan, clinging to the hope that he knew what he was doing.

Little did you grasp the reality—that he was the cunning architect behind the recorded conversation. Sejanus wouldn't show up at the lake beyond District 12's boundaries. Instead, his fate would take a dark turn as he dangled lifeless from a tree in a matter of days.

[madelynraemunson]

CALL ME WHAT YOU WANT 𓆩♡𓆪

(Book #1 of the Hellfire Gentlemen's Club series)

𝐌𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐍 𝐀𝐔 18+ plz

strip club owner!eddie x fem!exotic dancer!hargrove!reader

Chapter 002: Wing Man

You start your first night of work. Eddie requests a private show. But not for him; for his friend — a rich and lonely bachelor who can’t seem to get over his ex.

* = somewhat smut

** = smut

↳ chapters: 001, 002*, 003** , 004**, 005 , 006 , 007* , 008**, 009, 010, 011, 012* , 013**, 014**, 015, 016**, 017, 018, 019, 020

word count: 7.2k words

NSFW — lap dance, steve creaming his pants, abusive relationships, talks of trauma, steve and reader trauma dumping lol

pairing: lonely bachelor!steve x fem!exoticdancer!hargrove! reader (and lowkey eddie)

author’s note: yes we get with steve before we get with eddie, but we will get there okay??? 🫣🫣🫦 also don’t tell me you guys wouldn’t homie hop in hawkins because these men are SO FINE

tags: @changemunson , @the-fairy-anon , @ali-r3n

“Let me see you dance I love to watch you dance. Take you down another level, and get you dancing with the Devil” -Wicked Games by The Weeknd

♡

A sultry black set.

A hot pink set with bows. Caribbean blue. Army green for the military men. Some cuffs. Personal wet wipes. Sanitizer. And lastly, a stethoscope to play the part.

“I can’t believe you accepted a caregiving job,” Max scoffs as you both make your way out of Scrubs 4 Less. “Do you even have healthcare experience?”

Your stepsister loved to mask her prying with carefully crafted screening questions. Even if they sounded pessimistic.

“Sure I do,” you shrug. “Remember that summer I cared for Great-Aunt Dotty when she had Parkinson’s? Figured maybe it’d be similar.”

“I guess.”

You take it upon yourself to remind Max that you are certified in CPR. And with that cert, you saved numerous people from drowning as a lifeguard. Of course that was for one year during high school, but it was experience nonetheless.

"Well, what about the heavy lifting?"

"Easy. All in the legs." you pat your thighs. Despite being calm on the outside, you are getting nervous now. About everything.

"Takes a lot of core strength too. And upper body."

It's like she knows what you actually will be going to be doing. However, there are parallels between both professions, and you made sure you made a choice like that so you wouldn't have to lie as much about the physicality of things.

"You seemed to have gotten the job pretty fast,” Max notes.

"Nursing homes are really short staffed. Especially with the pandemic and everyone leaving from all the burnout, they’ll take anybody who qualifies."

"Did they even determine if you do?"

"Are you questioning my ability to take care of people?”

You know you’re being manipulative. You can spot a manipulator from a mile away. But this little white lie is for you and Max’s own good. Even if it means selling her a fake story. Even if it means lying. Living a double life.

“An abusive home life and all-timers isn’t comparable.”

“Have you considered that some people with Alzheimer’s are combative as well?”

“And you had to accept the graveyard shift?” she pries further, ignoring all your valid points.

“It pays more,” you answer sharply, readily. “Two dollar shift differential.”

“Oh my god, we’re practically millionaires.”

The sudden change in Max's behavior is really catching you off guard. She was optimistic on her birthday. A little withdrawn when the weekend was approaching. Now the pain is evident it is almost unbearable. Sure, Billy isn't a problem anymore, but with all of his chaos, Max has found solace in using her hobbies as coping mechanisms. Her body needs that adrenaline, and now you have cut off access to all of it.

Max can't go surf. She can't run around freely just yet because she doesn't know good routes and trails. She doesn't have friends in the area besides you, Robin, and Vicky. She misses Donovan.

Max is hurt. You know she is, but you don't blame her. Still, you’ve had it.

“Hey.” you snap.

Max halts. She knows she went too far.

“I know it's sucky... the situation we're in right now," you sigh. "But I'm doing this for us, remember? It’s temporary. We just need a soft place to land, and this is paving the way towards that.”

At least that’s something you didn’t have to lie about: It’s a sacrifice you were making for her.

———————𓆩♡𓆪—————-

Orientation day comes in a blink of an eye.

Eddie is giving you a tour of Hellfire while discussing how his particular ‘system’ works. You’ve got to give him credit. His system makes sense.

“I don’t ask my girls to pay to dance here,” he explains. “I just think that’s bogus. Also, it’s Hawkins. Not that many competitors, so if I let you dance here, you’re automatically staff.”

You two walk down the hall. Eddie shows you where you would clock in and out, promising you your punch-in code by the end of the week. You learn that everyone gets paid out every Friday, because in Eddie’s words, “fuck that biweekly shit”. Tips go home with you every night, but you are expected to help tip out staff members patrons don’t really see or interact with. Therefore: Jonathan’s girlfriend Nancy whose House Mom, Henry, and Argyle. The boys make their money from bussing and serving. Jonathan earns tips from POTIONS.

“I figured as much.”

You graze your hand along the kukris on the wall as Eddie talks. He stops to take note of it and gives you a boastful smile.

“You like ‘em?”

“Yeah, they’re pretty cool.”

“That’s the perk of owning your own business,” Eddie says exuding a lazy stretch to graze the kukris himself. “You choose where the money goes, when it goes, how it goes.”

He ponders for a while longer.

“Most of the time at least.”

Clearly a majority of the money also went to the chicken wings.

Eddie leads you to back of the house where he then proudly showcases his wing menu to you. There’s the Hawkins Hot Chick for Nashville inspired hot chicken. Chicken Strippers for the picky eaters. And the ‘Hot As Cluck’ buffalo wings with spice scales named after Metallica songs: Fuel (mild), Fight Fire with Fire (medium), Creeping Death (hot), and The Unforgiven (Extremely hot). All are served with one’s choice of carrots and celery or crinkle cut fries on the side.

“Crinkle cut fries are the best kind of fries,” Eddie states. “Ain’t that right, chef?”

“Ay ay!”

One chef. For the entire back of the house. Though that seems like the textbook definition of a staff shortage, the friendly Latino man with long, black hair that he concealed with a hairnet and baseball cap most likely had it covered. He flashes you a kind grin with kind, hooded eyes to match, quite possibly revealing to you that he’s likely stoned out of his mind. But if it helps him through the shift…

“Argyle’s the man,” Eddie explains. “Pitched the chicken wing idea to me when we were both blasted.”

Suspicions confirmed.

“Is it just Argyle?” you inquire waving hello to him.

“Sometimes Eds helps out back here too,” Argyle answers for him. “Like when we’re really fucking shlammed, he’ll come back here and help cook.”

Argyle turns to you. You smile at him.

“But most of the time I got it,” he says. “That man’s got enough on his plate.”

“Yeah, Argyle’s a beast,” Eddie confirms. “Don’t know what I’d do without him.”

While Eddie tidies up back of the house, you and Argyle converse with one another. He’s 28, produces music on the side, and learned how to cook from his mom at the age of three. California native as well. By observing the mini station he has set up, you notice that Argyle keeps a stash of Yerba Mate with him at all times, and some bud in his mini gym bag. You also learn that he and Eddie often take breaks together, hot boxing one another’s vans as if it were some sort of competition. But, as Argyle had mentioned, with how much Eddie currently has on his plate, those joint breaks (no pun intended) have been pushed to the backburner.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Hargrove,” Argyle concludes. “Excited to have you on our team.”

“Likewise!” you shake his hand with a smile. “Looking forward to bugging you for chicken wings.”

“You bug me all you want, mamas,” he insists. “I’ll make you allll the chicken wings in the world.”

“You a flats girl or a drumstick girl?” Eddie questions.

“Flats,” you respond instantly.

You receive a distraught gasp from the cook while Eddie cackles.

“Atta girl,” Eddie smirks patting your back. “I knew I liked you.”

“BLAS.PHE.MY!” Argyle screams. “Drumsticks are where it’s at bro.”

The three of you argue back and forth about chicken for the next couple of minutes, Eddie sticking beside you through and through. Though play-fighting with your new coworkers seems meniscal in the grand scheme of things, you reveled in it. It’s the first time in a while you felt a sense of community outside your sister. You wanted to savor it, especially since you know that this is temporary.

“You’re a red flag, Hargrove,” Argyle jokes, clutching his chest. “You were perfect in my eyes until you said you were a flats girl.”

“Well it’s a good thing she’s mine and not yours,” Eddie jeers.

Your heart flutters. Eddie and chicken wings. You’ve GOT to be in heaven.

“Alright, word,” Argyle calls after Eddie as he pulls you away from the kitchen. “Word. I’m still gonna spoil her with food like she’s mine though.”

“He’s such a flirt,” Eddie says to you once you’re both out of earshot. “Endearing and endangering at the same time.”

“All in good nature right?”

“‘Course!” he exclaims. “We’re all about respecting women at Hellfire. Everything’s lighthearted banter.”

And you’ll revel in that too. Especially since ‘respect’ and ‘lighthearted banter’ weren’t things you were able to experience at home.

“Also!” Eddie adds. “Respectfully… Wear something simple but classy on Friday.”

“Ooh,” you chime. “Simple and classy?”

“Yeah, I’m talking neutral tones. Red lipstick also preferred but you can do whatever you want. I’ve got something I need you to do for me on your very first day.”

I’ll do anything for you, Eddie. Your intrusive thoughts are starting to take over.

———————𓆩♡𓆪—————-

It’s Friday night now and everyone is in their respective stations preparing for the rush. Argyle is prepping the fryer while Chrissy flirts with him for nachos. She waves at you with her fingers and gestures that you can have some too. You smile and mouth a, “thank you” to her.

You really like Chrissy. Of all the dancers you’ve seen so far, she is the most memorable. She is charming and sweet, soft but firm with her boundaries. She has regulars lining up for her daily, all with different types of quirks and interests. But Chrissy somehow fits all of their molds, just by how fast she can switch from doe to siren depending on her audience. You want to be just like her.

You and Eddie stop by the kitchen before heading off to finish orientation. There are chicken wings — flats only, of course — on the line waiting for you with a note scribbled on the back of an old ticket order.

“Shy Girl&lt;3”

“Eat up, mamas,” Argyle encourages you. “Gonna need the energy for tonight.”

“Yeah!” Chrissy cheers. “It’s Fridaaay!”

You thank them before heading out with Eddie once again. Eddie steals a flat from you and flashes a thumbs up to the cook before you two leave.

“Mm,” he approves. “Fight Fire with Fire Buffalo.”

You are just about done with wrapping up orientation training and ready to start the first night on your own. That is until Mike Wheeler, Nancy’s younger brother and bus boy, comes along and interrupts Eddie’s train of thought. You walk with Eddie in silence, munching on your food while Mike relentlessly hounds him about bringing his girlfriend into the club. She is 18 but Eddie is refusing.

“But but-” Mike stammers. “The club is already eighteen plu-”

“But nothing,” Eddie interrupts. “This is Hellfire Club. Not babysitting club.”

“Well I’m 19 and you let me work here. Why does it matter if she’s 18?”

“Because you’re a dude, Wheeler,” Eddie hisses in return. “It’s different for the ladies.”

Not willing to risk any liabilities, he leaves Mike with just that. You follow Eddie, fiddling nervously with your hands as you watch him tsk and shake his head in disapproval.

“I can’t have teenage girls in here,” Eddie mutters. “That’s just blatantly obvious right? Or have I lost it?”

“No, right. Totally!” you agree.

Eddie has another rule. No strippers under the age of 20. Anyone under, including ages of 18 and 19 are children to him. He admits that he gets squeamish when guys bring their younger looking girlfriends into the club. You assume it pertained to his colleague’s girlfriends too.

You walk past the bar with Eddie, waving hi to Jonathan as you did so. Dustin is at the bar as well but is too busy to say hello. You manage to glance over and watch him fix his hair, trying to look his absolute best while FaceTiming his Mormon e-girl from Utah, Suzie. After eavesdropping for the past couple of days, you pick up that she insists on video chatting with Dustin every time he is at Hellfire to ensure his fidelity. Suzie wanted to be his “only wifey” to which ‘Dusty Bun’ assures her that she is.

“Uh oh,” comes a voice ever so soft it sounds eerie when it echoes through the club. “Someone’s in a bad mood today.”

Slithering into your periphery is the same tall, lean guy that you ran into earlier last week. Today he's sporting a white tank top that revealed a couple small tattoos scattered around his body, black pants that were tight enough to be yours, a loose wallet chain belt, and chunky work docs. His gorgeous blonde hair looks attainably messy by what you suspect is mousse. He smells of beer and cigarettes tonight, his tired eyes a precursor to his lust-filled gaze. A poster boy for all the men you wouldn’t want to bring home to your parents is none other than,

“Henry Creel,” Eddie says. “Mike’s just picking a bone with me. Have you met Hargrove? She’s our newest dancer.”

It’s seemingly Henry’s first day back. From the first day of orientation to now, you’ve only had run-ins with Jim, the older gentleman who is also a bouncer. Jim spent years with the Hawkins PD, but after a scandal that only Eddie and his peers seem to know about, Jim found a home protecting young women at the Hellfire Gentlemen’s Club. The only place that gave him a chance.

You like Jim. You like everyone here. You are also ecstatic to see Henry again, this time as a dancer. You can see the excitement blooming in his eyes, with a steady increase in his pupil size by the second.

“Well, well,” Henry smirks. “Look who decided to join us.”

You two shake hands again.

“Henry’s my other bouncer,” Eddie explains, but you already knew that. “He’s my right hand man. He’s tiny but mighty. Could snap bones in an instant.”

You peer over at Henry with shocked eyes, to which Henry acknowledges with a dramatic bow.

“You’ll see it,” Eddie hovers a hand over your back. “I sure hope not anytime soon, but there’s always that one douchebag.”

“And they always underestimate me too,” Henry says. “I get a nice kick out of it. It’s a win-win.”

Henry is certainly not beefy, but judging by his muscle tone and sharp upright demeanor, he can put up a fight. Dude seems like he does a lot of the dirty work for Eddie. He can get away with it too.

After bidding ‘see you later’ to Henry, you continue walking with Eddie.

“So,” he starts. “Did you put together a cute simple outfit for tonight?”

“Mhm,” you nod.

“Good,” Eddie says. “I can tell it’s gonna look amazing. I dig the red lipstick and the choker.”

Eddie wanted classy so you gave him classy. Underneath the cloak, you are sporting a lacy black set with a matching black choker and classic red lipstick. Your hair is straightened tonight since beach waves are your signature.

“You want a sneak peak?” you smirk.

Eddie quirks up. “Oh man, do I? Let me at it.”

You take off your cloak to reveal what you have underneath.

Eddie stops in his tracks, taking in the sight in front of him. His gaze is both soft, yet lout. Delicate in the brows, yet carnivorous in the eyes. Slowly, his jaw lowers, uttering a silent gasp as he fully processes the sight of the vixen — you — in front of him.

“Jeez…” he strains. “You look…”

You blush. Electricity whirls through you as Eddie continues to relish in your beauty.

“Showstopping,” Eddie finishes.

He reaches his arms out and you take them, letting yourself fall into his chest as he pulls you to him. During the embrace, he sets his lips beside your cheek, brushing against them delicately as he gives you a verbal kiss.

“Mwah!” he exclaims, leaving you longing for a stronger peck. You feel like you’re on a cloud when he spins you to get a full 360 of your look. “I was expecting like a light color, or pastel…but black — black is your color.”

“Yeah?” you reply. “It’s not too edgy? Choker and all?”

“A lil rough around the edges won’t hurt,” the club owner approves. “He’s gonna love it.”

You follow closely behind. “He?”

Your first client. You had a feeling that’s what Eddie had planned for you today, but reality didn’t sit in until right now.

"Ever given a lap dance before?" Eddie inquires.

"Yeah, but not in this setting."

He seems amused with your answer. Eddie smirks as he gives you a nudge. "Perfect."

You two are walking down the corridor now, down to an isolated room at the end masked by a beaded curtain. You’re unsure if the goosebumps that form on your skin is because of the slight chilliness of the club or because you were walking into a seductive hideout with the boss you had the hots for.

You two stop just a yard short of the curtain. Eddie turns to face you.

"I've got a buddy named Steve. Not short for anything, his parents just... loved the 80s." he chuckles. “You’re giving him a private show tonight. One hour.”

Eddie’s buddy. The pressure is on. The name rings a bell, you believe Dustin was talking about him the first day you set foot in Hellfire.

“Oh,” you say. “I think I heard your friend Dustin talking about him last week.”

As if it were some inside joke, Eddie sighs and rolls his eyes.

“Oh, yeah,” Eddie mutters. “Don’t even get me started on those two.”

Eddie motions you forward, extending his arm to signal an “after you” gesture as you proceed into the private show room. The beads of the curtain carelessly clash into one another as Eddie saunters in.

"Anyway, Steve has been going through it lately. His lady left him for another dude, he lost his job because the city wanted another basic coffee shop instead of a place to rent cheesy B movies…and the last time he worked in the food industry he had to wear a sailor’s uniform, so he’s since opted out.”

You wander around what was going to be your office for the next hour as Eddie aimlessly takes his own path and furthers his lay-down.

“His folks want nothing to do with him because he doesn't wanna be nepotized by them. When he’s not working, he’s babysitting — you guessed it — Dustin and the rest of the boys when they’re not here or playing D&D with me. Oh yeah, and on the topic of girlfriend, he hasn't gotten laid in a fat minute.”

Eddie pauses.

"It's kinda depressing,” he says. “Now that I say it all out loud.”

He makes a sharp turn and walks toward the boombox he kept in the corner of the room.

"That is depressing," you mumble nonchalantly, as if you yourself had not been laid in a fat minute… contrary to your obnoxious brother’s popular belief.

“How do you sleep at night knowing you’re a fucking slut?” Billy’s voice haunts you.

You’ve only had one real boyfriend and Billy knew that. And that boyfriend, shortly after he left you for the girl he told you not to worry about, admitted that you were simply a placeholder for him. They’re happily married now and it tortures you knowing that being the first choice was never in the cards. Billy knew that too and used that backstory to fuel your insecurities. Billy knew you hated feeling used, yet brought it up every chance he got. Making his victims feel small, that was the source of his power. You shudder it off.

You watch as Eddie plays around with the boombox, ensuring that the aux chord was working along with all its other components.

"Tell you what," Eddie begins to barter. "You give him a good show, you can keep a hundred percent of your tips tonight. Consider it a sign on bonus."

“Wow, Eddie really?” you exclaim. “That…helps me out a lot. Thanks so much.

“Of course, doll,” Eddie grins. “Happy to help.”

Eddie finishes up tidying the room before walking back over to you.

“I can’t get over how amazing you look,” he adds one last time. “You’re gonna knock his socks off.”

“Thank you, Eddie,” you thank him one last time.

“You’re welcome, sweetheart.”

He lingers for a while longer before going outside to look for Steve. Meanwhile, heart’s-a-fluttering you try to acquaint yourself with the place, choosing a seductive song of your liking before getting prepped.

Wicked Games by The Weeknd.

More ruckus sounds from outside of the show room. You assume your client has arrived.

“That’s the boy,” Eddie confirms. “BRB-right back.”

You excuse your boss as he makes his way over to his friend. While you wait, your mind begins to race. Does your outfit look okay? Does your breath smell? Do you smell? Despite all the wardrobe and wellness checks you’ve done, your mind is insistent that something else was off. To calm your nerves, you decide to take a quick gulp of Bombay Sapphire, a gin Eddie had provided for the room, before Steve walks in.

Liquid courage. May help with the performance too.

“There he is,” Eddie cheers as the two men greet each other outside. “What took you so long?”

“There was uh, traffic,” a softer voice responds.

“I call bull.”

The two talk a bit more, voices too quiet for you to make out what they’re saying. That, or the sound of your heart pounding against your chest drowned out their conversation. Steve sounds friendly. Timid, but friendly nonetheless.

You listen in on Eddie’s spiel about you. He called you stunning, explained that you just moved from California, and that you are exactly Steve’s type. Whatever that could possibly mean. You then hear Eddie go over the rules. No touching you without consent. No verbal or physical harassment. No sexual intercourse. And to tip generously.

“She sounds lovely. Thanks for the run down, Eds.”

“‘Course. She’s all yours, Big Boy.”

The beaded curtains clash once more.

In walks a man around Eddie’s age, late 20s, early 30s with sleek mahogany hair and slight puffy eyes. He’s sporting a gray North Face sleeveless jacket with a plain black shirt underneath and denim blue Levi’s. He’s a lot more preppy than you thought he would be. Steve’s reaction to you was similar to that of Eddie, despite how different they seem from each other.

“Hi,” he greets you.

“Hi,” you smile. “You’re Steve?”

He nods shyly. “You’re who they call Shy Girl?”

“That’s meee.”

It doesn’t take a body language analyst to see that Steve is guarded. It takes another fragile, sullen demeanor to know one.

“Are you one of Eddie’s shy friends?”

The comment earns a laugh from Steve. “You think I’m shy?”

“Just a little.”

He attempts to mask a gulp. “I’ve just never gotten a lap dance before.”

“You think I’m supposed to believe that?”

You stalk towards him and rest a hand on his chest when proximity and Steve himself grants you permission. You sink your palm in deeper when you pick up he’s receptive to it.

Oh yeah, that’s all gin.

“With your handsome self?”

Steve’s blushing now. “Yeah…strip clubs are kinda not my thing. They’re starting to be though, cuz I always come and support Eddie.”

“What a nice boyfriend,” you joke.

“Eddie and I do have a budding bromance,” he admits with a laugh.

“Boy I’d love to be in the middle of that,” you tease him honestly.

Steve is left stunned and speechless while you grab his hand and lead him to the futon in the middle of the room. He attempts to relax, exhaling the tension out of his shoulders and manspreading as he watches you encompass him. You walked in a slow circle around Steve as the music starts and he peers up at you with curious eyes. Alas, you stop in front of him, cupping his face softly in your hands and synchronizing your hip movements to the rhythm of the song.

Relate to your customers. Talk to them. Build a connection with them, you think to yourself.

“So how’s your day been?”

Steve cracks a faint smile. "Good, how's yours?"

"Good," you chime as you slowly lower yourself onto his lap.

Steve sharply inhales, sucking the tension he had just released right back into his body. You shake your head in disapproval and stroke his face calmly.

“No, no,” you coo. “Just sit back, relax. You’re safe with me.”

“I’m safe with you, huh?” he responds in an is-that-so kind of fashion. “You seem like pure danger to me.”

“Oh, please,” you snarkily disregard his comment. “I’m an angel.”

“In a place called Hellfire?” he challenges you. “I find that hard to believe.”

Steve wants to touch you. So bad. But he refrains. You feel it in his levitating palms, resting just inches away from the small of your back. You start to lightly ride his thigh, hoping to catch his palm in passing as you move your hips about. Instead you’re met with something hard at the base of his pants, an outline and protrusion that wasn’t there before.

Steve looks down and acknowledges it with a shrug.

"Sorry," he chuckles. "It has a mind of its own."

You laugh faintly in return. "It's okay. I'd say it's responding appropriately."

"Yeah?"

"Given the circumstances," you say as you grind slower, deeper. "Yeah."

"Well, that's a relief."

Steve is cute. And a polite man who values your consent was sure to receive it. You two lock gazes before one of you dared to speak again. It all feels like a blind date, and you’re two giddy young adults.

"You..." you start. “You can touch me if you’d like.”

"Really?" Steve asks. "Usually dancers don't let you do that."

"It depends who you ask," you smile. "Consent is subjective...and you have mine. C'mon."

He obliges and starts to graze your ass softly with his hands. You run his hands through his hair, then along his neck without lifting them. A muffled moan is slowly released from his mouth.

"Shit," he sputters. "Feels really good."

He tosses his head back.

"You make me feel so good."

"Aww," you grin. "Me?"

"Yeah you," his voice is deeper now. Huskier. "All because of you."

His hand moves upwards towards your bra and he begins to fiddle with the straps, and then the clasps. You continue your steady grinding, rolling your hips to the beat of the music, tossing your head back for the full effect while Steve holds back the urge to cup your perfect breasts in his kneady hands.

A whimper escapes Steve’s mouth when you find the sweet place to roll, resting a palm over his abdomen for leverage.

“Needy, are we?” you tease him. “Needy for me, Stevie?”

“So fucking needy,” he breathes, a nervous gulp swallowing another sneaky groan. “You’re gonna be the death of me, woman.”

I’ve got my heart right here, I’ve got my scars right here.

Suddenly, you cease the grinding, going from cowgirl to reverse. Grabbing a hold of both his knees with the back of both your hands, you sink down to the floor, knees bent, slightly out turned. Your hands move from his knees to encompass his elbows, accommodating the playful headlock he abruptly decided to have you in, watching you squat down beneath him.

“Mmm,” he hums. “You’re so fucking pretty, baby.”

His arms creep from the sides of your face to the front of your face. You crane your head upwards, peering up at him and refrain from shivering when he brings an arm across your neck. His other hand rests on your face, stroking it tenderly.

“Get up here and, ride my thighs again, please.” he pleads. “It was feeling so good.”

“Okay,” you oblige before standing back up.

“Before you do though, let me get a good look at your ass.”

You stand there for him, bending down ever so slightly so he could run his hands across your back. He grabs a fist full of your hair gently with one hand and strokes your ass cheek with the other.

"Wow," Steve hums as he runs his fingers along the birth mark on your lower back. "I like this birthmark."

"Yeah?" you say. "Some people have said it looks like a tramp stamp."

"It's cute," Steve insists, pulling you onto his lap. “It kinda looks like a bat."

He points to where the wings would be and the fangs and you laugh. No one's admired your tramp stamp-esque birthmark the way Steve did.

"Thanks," you reply. "My brother has a matching one."

You pause.

"Sorry, that didn't sound all that sexy."

Steve tosses his head back and chuckles, hand resting firmly on your ass again. "You look sexy talking regardless, so I don’t mind.”

The chemistry between you and Steve feels so natural. You know if your nurturing heart felt like this with all clients you would be in big trouble. This profession isn’t for everyone and you realize that. But you decide to realize everything else later. Meanwhile, your focus right now is pleasing Steve.

You resume the thigh riding per his request, and chase your own subtle high as you did so. Steve whimpers and whines, seeming to long for you even more with every stroke of his hair, every brush against his cheek, every steady and calculated grind against his—

"Woah, are you okay?"

Suddenly you’re cut off by Steve abruptly pushing you off his lap. When you peer over at him, his face has gone completely red.

Did you do something wrong? Did you violate a boundary? Millions of thoughts race through your head. You can’t get fired on the first day of your new job…

"Y-yeah, I'm fine, I just..." Steve stammers, flushing a deeper red hue with every word. “I... uh, kinda came in my pants."

"Oh..." you begin.

"I am so sorry," Steve sighs. "Embarrassed is an understatement. I’m such a loser.”

You two start frantically talking over each other, one extremely apologetic, another sympathetic to the concerns. Again, it’s like you two are clumsy young adults on a blind date set up by your bold friends.

"It's been a while... so..." Steve stammers.

"Steve," you stop him.

"And..." he cuts out.

"It's okay," you reassure him. “It’s okay, Steve. If you need a break, we can stop.”

“Sounds good,” he agrees with a resigned sigh, the red colored flush migrating to his ears. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

You go to put your cloak back on again and strut towards the gin. Perhaps offering the man a drink would help loosen up his nerves.

"What should we do with the allotted time left?" Steve wonders eyes following you. He’s rubbing his knees anxiously with his palms. “Eddie has this room booked for an hour. He needs to think you're doing splits on my dick or something or else he won't be satisfied."

Laughter erupts from the deepest parts of your belly at Steve's comment. Steve can't help but laugh as well.

"Hm, we can wait a bit and I can give you another lap dance?” you suggest. “Or a strip tease?"

You weren't used to those words coming out of your mouth, so you attempted to make it sound as normal as possible. Wow, you really just gave a lap dance. And someone came from it.

"Do you think..." Steve inquires. "That we can just... talk?"

----

So you and Steve do exactly that. You talk about your families, and your aspirations, your deepest fears, and your core values. Steve Harrington isn’t the loser he thinks he is. He’s a really cool guy. But deeply misunderstood.

“So you and your brother have similar birthmarks?” Steve questions.

“Yeah,” you confirm. “Except his is on his belly. We literally took the term identical twins to a whole new level.”

He laughs.

“Your brother sounds cool.”

“He was.”

Steve gasps in astonishment.

“Oh, my god. I’m sorry. Is he…”

“He’s not dead. Just an asshole.”

The color returns to his face. He exhales steadily and shakes his head. You find his reaction funny, despite how twisted that made you sound.

“Dead to you though?”

“Pretty much,” you giggle. “Dead to me.”

You two do a cheers to that with your alcohol-filled glasses and take another painful sip. It burns.

“Tell me about yourself now,” you prompt him.

There’s a dramatic pause.

“Well,” Steve begins. “I’m an only child. So eyes have been on me for as long as I can remember. What’s Stevie up to? This is what we expect of him and this is what happens if he’s not what we make him out to be. It didn’t take til young adulthood to realize that I have been living in my parents’ shadow. I don’t even know what I like.”

Steve spurs on about how he has struggled with his identity, going back and forth between if what he was pursuing was a desire of his or his parents’.

“And for a while I thought I knew who Steve was. Until I lost myself again in a girl named Nancy.”

“Aw,” you pout.

“A girl,” Steve pauses waiting for you to catch on. “Named Nancy.”

Your eyes widen. “House Mom Nancy?!”

Steve nods as you slowly piece things together.

“So Jonathan’s girlfriend is your…”

“Ex girlfriend,” Steve confirms. “Small world, huh?”

You suppose it wasn’t good that Hawkins is so small. You’d hate for someone to recognize you when you’re taking a casual stroll outside.

Nonetheless, you push that concern to the side and continue your conversation with Steve.

“What happened?”

“Some petty high school shit,” he explains. “But it’s always been her. She made me a better me. The closest to Steve that I’ve ever felt.”

“Wow,” you say. “So you saw a future with her?”

“Marriage, kids, everything,” Steve confirms. “Then she decided I wasn’t what — who — she wanted.”

It’s silent for a while. Steve shakes his head bitterly and downs the rest of his drink. You slosh yours around waiting for him to speak again. Besides, if you did, you’d end up ugly crying about your ex. And no one wants their stripper trauma dumping on them when they’re supposed to be performing.

Thankfully, Steve is the first to speak again.

“Yeah, Nance. She looks… she looks happy,” he turns to you with dismal eyes. “I don’t ever wanna get in the way of that.”

“Do you ever see her here?”

He shakes his head. “Nah, she’s in the back being House Mom, making sure all the girls are taken care of and all that. And I’m sure she doesn’t come up front because she knows Eddie has been trying to play wingman.”

You chuckle. “With a stripper?”

“With anyone,” Steve chuckles. “God that sounds awful. I sound like a loser.”

“Would you stop saying that?” you snap. “You are not a loser, Steve.”

“I know I’m not a loser. Just feel like it sometimes. Especially when it dawns on you that you’ve been living life for other people.”

“I kinda know how you feel.”

You two lock eyes again. Steve rests a hand on top of yours, intertwining your fingers briefly before he begins playing with each of your fingers one by one.

"I guess…going back to the previous topic…” he proceeds. “If I could change anything about myself, I would've done more of what Steve wants to do. Not what Todd and Marsha want Steve to do. Or what Tommy H. and Carol want Steve to do. Because maybe then Nancy and I would’ve been endgame. Or maybe Allison. Possibly Tammy? Who knows? See? Everyone’s world but Steve’s.”

"Steve," you start. "I hope you realize that I have no idea who any of these people are. It’s kinda hard to keep up.”

"And that is such a relief to hear that," he sighs again, this time in exasperation. "I just feel so free talking about them to someone who doesn't know who they are. Hawkins is small, you know. And it’s good that the only bias you can form is in my favor since you only know of me."

You offer him a consoling pat atop the hand, to which he responds by leaning his head on your shoulder. With how tender everything has been with Steve, there’s a temptation to plant a delicate kiss on his forehead. But you stop yourself.

"I'd like to know you, know you, though,” you find yourself saying.

He gazes up at you. You two smile at each other.

“I’d like to know you more too, Shy Girl,” he answers. “If you’d let me.”

“Duh, it’s what I just said.”

He chuckles. “You’re not saying that for the tips?”

“No. Just human to human.”

You stroke his cheek longingly, running your hand along his stubble.

"It's also been a while since I've gotten laid too," you admit. "And I've got a lot of pent up stress I need to release. You seem like a trustworthy person to do that with.”

The energy changes. Steve’s grip on your hand tightens.

"Oh yeah?" He rubs your thumb with his and soon you find yourselves holding hands.

"Yeah.”

“Sounds like we have a deal then, Shy Girl.”

Before Steve gets any ideas, you interrupt him.

“I don't wanna have sex at work," you admit. "Especially not on the clock."

"Oh, yeah I didn’t think it’d be now. Some people do find that hot though.”

"It's my first day. I can’t disappoint Eddie this early in the game.”

"You're kidding."

You shake your head.

"Wow, I would've thought you've been doing this a while."

You blush. "Thank you. But nope, you’re my Guinea pig.”

Steve continues to gawk in amazement. Then he reaches for his wallet, grabbing a huge wad of Benjamin Franklins and handing it to you.

"Tell you what," Steve bargains. "You buy yourself something nice, get your bills paid, and come through in a couple days. The roomie won't be home so we'll have the place to ourselves. We can get takeout or something too. Whatever makes you comfortable, of course.”

You bite your lip. "I'd like that."

“Good. I’d like that too.”

———-

"So, how was it?" you hear Eddie ask Steve.

"Dude...I just about creamed my pants," he says as you hold back laughter. "You got yourself a good one."

"Nothing's ever too TMI for you, Harrington," Eddie says. "But thanks for the imagery."

"Yeah. I gotta get going now. I got laundry to put away at home. It's been piling so much I think it's going to tip over."

“Roger,” Eddie says before bidding him goodbye. “Oh, speaking of which, did you tip her good?”

“You bet I did. Woman like her needs to be spoiled rotten.”

————

You make your way back to the dressing room after saying bye to Steve and finishing the flats Argyle had specially made for you. At your locker, you subtly attempt to count the hundreds Steve gave you for his lap dance and talk session. The man left you 10 of them. A whole band.

You were stunned. What did King Steve do for a living anyways? It didn’t matter to you. You had enough for groceries, gas, and a portion of your rent, all earned in an hour’s work, and all yours to keep as Eddie insisted.

The realization makes your heart skip a beat. You and your sister were good for the next few weeks.

Knock, knock.

“Don’t freak out ladies, it’s just me!” Eddie shouts from the other side of the door. “Put your cloaks on I’m coming in!”

You watch as the girls scurry to get their covers back on. The amount of respect Eddie has for his dancers is insane. Perhaps it’s common decency but it was such a striking difference than what you were used to. It warmed your heart in a way, but also made you sad. You deserved this respect all your life.

When Eddie finds you, he starts towards you, a look of approval spread wide across his face. As deeply as you wanted it to be because he found you attractive, you infer that it’s because you’re bringing in good business — and that you’re good, given a small amount of experience with the pole.

You two are face to face now. Eddie speaks up first.

“Steve, uh,” he says. “Steve really likes you.”

“Oh really?” you smile. “I’m glad.”

“You’re just a natural, Shy Girl,” he compliments you. “Everyone’s just raving about you.”

“Yeah?”

“Based on what I’ve seen so far and what Stevie told me, yeah,” he confirms. “But I guess it’s no surprise. Shy girls are almost always the freakiest, huh?”

You try not to laugh while you’re witnessing the imagination of your boss running in the complete opposite direction of what really happened between you and Steve. Nevertheless, you let him. You didn’t mind taking up space in your dashing boss’s mind.

“You should come to work a little early next time you’re on,” Eddie says. “I’d like to take you to lunch.”

Heat spreads across your cheeks. “Really?”

“‘Course! I do it with all my dancers as a welcome thing. I’d like to know more about you. You’re more than just a pretty face and someone who simply works for me.”

‘I do it with all my dancers.’

Your heart sinks. Back to square one.

Eddie clears his throat.

“Anyway,” he says. “I’m gonna head out now. Gonna go see the lady friend. I’ve got Johnny boy, Argyle, and Henry holding down the fort.”

The tinge in your heart intensifies.

“Oh, sounds fun!”

“Yeah, I rarely see her cuz she bartends. Even though we work similar hours we work opposite days. But she got first cut tonight so I’m heading over.”

“Have fun, Eddie.”

“I sure will,” Eddie says. “Goodnight, Shy Girl.”

“Goodnight, Eddie.”

Eddie soon disappears out of sight and now your shift seems ten times longer. Regardless, you stuff your tips into your tote bag and prepare to meander around the club, enticing other bachelors for a dance.

Without Eddie around, it seems less exciting.

“Doing it for Max,” you remind yourself while fixing your hair in the mirror in front of you.

You reach for your phone to see the amount of time that has transpired since the private show with Steve. But the clock wasn’t your concern when your Home Screen lights up.

Your heart nearly sinks to the floor.

Billy Hargrove

1 Missed Call

Billy Hargrove

iMessage: 1 message

You open it.

What the actual fuck.

[writethrough]

Life Guard

(Billy Hargrove x Female Reader)

Synopsis: It's the middle of summer and everyone decides to go to the pool. You don't know how to swim, but at least Billy's on duty.

Warnings: Language, almost drowning, protective Billy

Word Count: 3169

A/N: Here's that protective Billy fic I was talking about! Also, is the title cheesy? It's definitely cheesy. Should I change it? And I just had to use this gif. I mean, look at his back!

The hottest day of the year meant one thing: pool day. Everyone had agreed to meet there after picking up their assigned children.

“I’m pretty sure this is what Hell feels like,” Erica said after closing her door.

You chuckled and agreed, pulling out of the Sinclair driveway.

“You both brought your sunscreen, right,” you asked, looking in your rearview mirror at Lucas and Erica.

They nodded.

“Good. Max?” You glanced toward her before turning back to the road.

“Do you really need to ask?” She tugged gently at her hair.

“Just checking,” you said. “I have extra if anyone needs it.”

It didn’t take you long to reach the pool. When you arrived, Steve, Robin, and Dustin were already there.

You caught the last second of Steve cannonballing and splashing Dustin when Robin waved you all over.

“Finally! The testosterone was becoming too much!” Robin said, dramatic as ever.

“Have you been here long?” You set your bag beside the lounger and took a seat. Max, Lucas, and Erica didn’t waste any time jumping in.

“Ten whole minutes,” she whined, making you chuckle.

“Then it’s a good thing I got here when I did,” you said, grinning.

You relaxed into your chair after slipping your sandals off. The umbrella provided enough coverage to keep the sun off you. It was as cool as you were going to get out here.

Not knowing how to swim certainly put a damper on things during the summer months, but it was never something you were in a rush to learn. For you, summer meant working and saving up for college, not hanging out at the pool—one of the many reasons your friends insisted you come with them. They all knew you couldn’t swim. They also knew a public pool wasn’t the most conducive to learning, but you knew it’d be fine. Robin and Nancy would sit and chat with you anyway. The boys and the kids were the ones who took full advantage of the water.

“So,” Robin grinned, leaning in closer, “who do you think's gonna get water up their nose first?”

You tapped your chin as if in serious thought. “Dustin.”

“I was thinking the same.” She nodded as if you had concluded an important meeting.

Said child seemed to be having a race with Steve and Lucas toward the deep end while Erica and Max were leaning on pool noodles and laughing.

Faintly, a lifeguard’s whistle was mixed with shrieks of joy and splashes. The piece of metal fell to the guard’s exposed chest. Your eyes trailed along his strong shoulders and neck to land on his face.

Billy.

The heat in your cheeks was no longer from the weather.

Your friendship with Billy Hargrove was unexpected, to say the least. His friendship with the rest of your group—even more so. Fighting an interdimensional monster would do that to someone.

He’d changed a lot since last summer. Fortunately, it was for the better. It was obvious in the way he handled his job here. Billy had ruled the pool with an iron fist before. Now, he was less severe. You’d been here a few times already this summer, and not once had he threatened banishment to some too-excited kid who disregarded the safety rules.

You clocked the scars along his abdomen.

It had taken months of reassurance and support for him to take his shirt off. Before then, you never would have described Billy as insecure, but the Mind Flayer stole so much from him. You were just thankful it wasn’t worse. Joyce had closed the gate right on time.

Now, he sat in his chair with his shoulders back, relaxed, and surveyed the area like he used to.

Though he wore sunglasses, you knew he was looking at you when his head stopped in your direction.

You gave him a small smile and a little wave, and he answered with a flirty smirk of his own.

“Get a room,” Robin groaned. “You’re both ridiculous!”

You playfully swatted her.

She’d known for a while now how you felt about Billy. She had caught you staring a little too long, then at a sleepover, made you spill. And it brought you such relief to tell someone.

“C’mon, you’ve been flirting for months!”

“You know he flirts with everyone,” you said.

“Not since what happened,” she countered. “And I know you’ve noticed it, too.”

You had, but you were sure it was just because you'd been there. He had no reason to hide from you. And that gave him the space to be himself again. It’d only be a matter of time before he was chatting up one of the women strutting by his tower trying to get his attention.

She sighed. “All I’m saying is, I think you should give it a chance.” She poked your arm. “You have chemistry, and I know you’d be good together.”

You squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”

She stood, stretching. “Anytime. Now, I’m gonna get something from the vending machine. Any requests?”

“Whatever you’re getting.”

She nodded, walking toward the machines.

You pulled out your book, determined to finish it before you left the pool. Or before Billy got off his shift.

“Hey, (Y/N)!” Dustin called. “Can you bring me my goggles?”

“Sure!” You scooped them up from the edge of Robin’s chair and walked over to him. “Here”

“Thanks.” He gave you that smile you loved.

“Where’s Steve?” you asked, looking around.

“He’s gonna do the high dive. I think he’s trying to impress the girl in the blue bikini,” he said, nodding across the pool.

You shook your head slightly. “He knows that won’t actually work, right?”

He shrugged. “I tried to tell him.”

“In other words, ice cream is a must after this.” You usually followed the same rulebook for Steve’s failed flirting as you did for Robin: ice cream and a bitch sesh.

“Ice cream is always a must.”

You laughed, eyes focused on his smiling face.

Maybe if you were paying more attention, you would’ve seen the little boy running to the diving boards. You may have moved in time to avoid him bumping into you and sending you straight into the deep end.

—

Billy spotted you the moment you walked toward Robin with your gaggle of children. Max had told him she’d be here with the rest of your group. So, when the first to arrive were Steve, Robin, and Dustin, he deflated a little.

Ten minutes later, he straightened and ran a hand through his hair. He hadn’t felt like this since he was a little kid. You made his stomach twist in the best possible way and your smile? He’d do anything to see it.

Every so often, he’d glance back your way. You and Robin laughed at something and his lips ticked up ever so slightly.

He always kept an eye on you. He didn’t want to miss the way your shoulders shook as you laughed. Or the smile you gave El when she wanted you to watch her hold her breath. Or the view he’d get when you bent over facing toward or away from him—he didn’t know which he preferred.

He also knew you couldn’t swim. And every time you showed up, he watched you—made sure you stayed away from the edge. Part of him wished you wouldn’t come to the pool, but the selfish side loved when you did.

It was easier when he was off duty. He didn’t have to pay attention to everyone else. He’d sit at the foot of your lounger and talk to you while the others swam. You’d poke him with your toes if he flustered you too much, and he’d grab your feet and move closer to put them on his lap. He’d graze a finger up the bottom of one, and when you went to pull away, he’d grip your ankle and laugh, promising not to do it again.

You’d ask him to reapply sunscreen to your back. And each time he’d massage it into your shoulders, your neck—his thumbs pushing the tension away—down until he reached your swimsuit, and then move onto your arms. You’d always tell him you could do that part, and he’d grunt at you, wanting to touch you a little longer.

Then, when he finished, you’d offer the same, and he’d turn around, stifling a moan when your hands rubbed his shoulders and down his spine. He’d tease you, ask if you could do his chest, to which you rolled your eyes, but did it anyway because you told him once you didn’t think he applied enough to begin with. You never said it was because you liked touching him, too.

He continued scanning the rest of the pool. It wouldn’t be long before his shift ended, and he could finally join you.

Everything was relatively calm—kids playing, parents sitting with one another, high schoolers gossiping as they floated. Everything was normal.

“(Y/N)!”

His head shot to the panicked voice, dread clawing his gut.

Dustin’s arms waved frantically at Billy.

Where were you?

And he dove in.

You were sinking, bubbles no longer escaping your mouth. And the feeling in his gut worsened as your eyes slowly closed.

He’d taken his eyes away from you for a second.

That was all it took.

Just one second.

He wrapped an arm around your waist, using the other to propel himself upward.

Dustin was still panicking and had gathered the attention of his friends, who had rushed forward when Billy emerged.

Billy vaguely noticed Steve above him.

“Help me get her out,” Billy called. “Lay her down.”

Steve hauled you by your arms, using the towel around his neck as a pillow. Billy was beside you in a moment doing compressions.

“C’mon,” he muttered before pinching your nose and pushing air into your lungs. “C’mon.”

Each press into your chest made his hurt.

He couldn’t lose you. He just couldn’t. Not like this, not when you survived so much. Not when you’d become so important to him. Not before he could tell you.

You coughed, water spurting from your throat as you instinctively turned to get it out.

Relief washed over him.

“It’s okay, baby. Just breathe,” he whispered, rubbing your back. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”

Your coughing slowly subsided, but your breath shook, and the urge to cry crept up your nose. You’d been so close. You felt the water burning your lungs as you sunk further and further.

Billy’s body heat comforted you as you shivered. You rested your head in the crook of his neck. The warmth of his skin made you shudder at the contrast. All the energy had been drained from you. You were just so cold, so fucking scared.

“I’ve got you, honey,” he repeated, placing a towel around your shoulders. “Let’s go to a chair, okay?”

He was so gentle with you, only his tone registering, but whatever he was saying, you’d agree with.

He hooked an arm under your knees and his other around your back and walked you to one of the Adirondack chairs.

Kneeling in front of you, he covered your hands with his.

“(Y/N).”

You stared at your joined hands, wanting to burrow into him to have some semblance of warmth.

“Sweetheart, I need you to look at me,” he said.

You did.

“You’re safe now.” He used one hand to graze the side of your thigh. “How ‘bout I take you home?”

You slowly nodded. This was the last place you wanted to be. Your nerves felt so exposed here.

“Okay.” He smiled gently, brushing your forehead with his lips as he rose to his feet.

“Here,” Robin said, setting your tote beside you. She placed a hand on your shoulder, and you touched it in thanks.

Billy pulled your coverup out of it and slipped it over your head.

“C’mon,” he shouldered your bag, “let’s go home.”

His arm went around your waist as he led you through the locker room to get his belongings.

When you got to his car, he placed you in the passenger seat and hooked you.

The way to your home was silent. And that was okay. You were still trying to settle yourself, and just being out of there helped.

Billy had put a hand on your thigh, needing to remind himself that you were next to him—that you were still breathing.

It comforted you—he did that in general. Maybe in a different situation, it would fill your stomach with butterflies. But right now, it was the contact you needed.

He was right here. And so were you.

You were grateful your parents were out when you arrived. You didn’t think you could handle any questions.

Billy’s hand was at the small of your back as you walked inside and went to your room to change. And he went to the kitchen to get you some water.

You got out of that swimsuit as fast as you could. Once Billy left, all you wanted was for him to come back.

It was like your chest didn’t hurt as much when he was in your line of sight.

He’d changed out of his suit and was waiting on the couch, patting the back of it when he saw you.

“Feel any better?” he asked.

You nodded slowly. “A bit.”

“What about inside? Anything hurt?” He leaned toward you, scanning your figure like he could pinpoint those spots.

“I’m fine, Billy,” you said. “Really. Maybe a little shaky, but that’s it. You don’t…” You didn’t want him to go, but you didn’t want to force him to stay. “You can go back if you want to. I know you wanted to hang out with everyone.” You didn’t want to feel like a burden. Billy deserved more than being tied down here with you.

He didn’t speak.

He wanted to hang out with you. He may have befriended everyone else, but you were the one he wanted to be around.

You had stopped shaking and coughing. Your breathing seemed normal, and the fear in your eyes was gone. You looked more exhausted than anything.

But still, he kept flashing back to you sinking.

He could’ve lost you. If Dustin hadn’t yelled, you might not be here. And he feared if he left you now, it’d somehow all be a dream. You wouldn't be sitting next to him. You’d be at the bottom of the pool, and he’d have to live with the guilt of not being able to save you.

But you were here. And you were okay. And he had to keep reminding himself of that.

“Let me stay,” he breathed, eyes pleading.

Yours softened, and you nodded.

He gave you a grateful smile. “Good. How about a movie? You can pick anyone you want, sweetheart.”

The pet name sent shivers up your spine, and he noticed. A concerned look covered his features.

“Are you okay? Are you still cold?” he asked, scooting closer.

You shook your head. You were definitely far from cold.

“Does it hurt anywhere?”

“Billy, I’m fine,” you urged.

“You inhaled a lot of water—”

“I promise.” You put a hand over his. “I just…I like when you call me that.” You played with your fingers, avoiding his gaze.

His face pulled in confusion. When he called you what?

He tried to think of what you were talking about, and then it dawned on him. He hadn’t even noticed he’d been doing it.

A grin spread across his face.

“You like it when I call you ‘sweetheart’?” He moved, his knee touching yours.

You nodded slightly.

“What about ‘honey’?” His head tilted so he could try and meet your eyes.

Again, you nodded, but the smallest of smiles tugged at your lips.

“And ‘baby’?” He lifted your chin with a finger, and your breath hitched.

“Yes,” you whispered. “I like it.”

“How would you feel if I used them all the time?”

You bit the inside of your cheek, but the smile still spread. “I’d like it.”

“And what if I wanted to use them in front of our friends? Would you be okay with that?” he asked, leaning in.

“Only if you asked me out first,” you said.

He chuckled. “Could I still kiss you right now?”

“You better.”

His lips pressed against yours a second later. He tasted like mint and the barest traces of smoke and chlorine. He pulled you into his lap so you straddled him, and your hands cupped both sides of his neck. 

You loved how warm he was. Every time you saw him, you wanted to burrow beneath his clothing and find a home there. You didn’t know if it was his Cali sun-kissed skin, or maybe the fire from his cigarettes, or a combination of both, but it was entirely Billy.

His hand trailed up your back to your neck, his other gripping your thigh, trying to plant you there. And part of you wished he’d squeeze harder so the bruises would remind you of this moment.

But you had to pull away.

You panted into each other's mouths, foreheads pressed together. And his hands slid to your waist and wrapped around you, hugging you to him.

“There’s somethin’ I have to tell you,” he whispered, lips brushing your cheek.

“You can tell me anything,” you said, thumb rubbing his jaw.

“I love you.”

You pulled back to look at him better. “What?”

“I,” he cleared his throat, “I love you.”

You caught the panic in his eyes, but before he could move, you put your hands atop his.

“I love you,” you breathed, smiling.

He laughed, cupping your cheeks to kiss you—soft and sweet, and it felt like love.

“Does this mean I can call you ‘baby’?” you asked, a teasing lit to your voice.

He grinned, pulling you closer by your hips. “You better.”

He kissed you again, and you had the passing thought that you could do this all the time.

—

The next time you went to the pool, Billy had a lounger and umbrella for you right behind the lifeguard chair.

He greeted you with a kiss, his hand slipping down to squeeze your ass. But you caught it. As much as you liked how physical he was, you weren’t about to let the other pool goers see.

“You shouldn’t have anything to worry about, honey. Just sit back and relax,” he said.

“Why’s that?” you asked, pushing one of his curls behind his shoulder.

“‘Cause I banned that little shit.” He shrugged.

“I’m pretty sure you can’t actually do that,” you said, laughing lightly.

“But he doesn’t.” He kissed you again. “I’ve got you, sweetheart. Now, enjoy the show.” He winked, then reclaimed his place on his chair.

You shook your head slightly but did as he said. And at one point, when you called out a ‘baby’ to get his attention, you knew the flush on his cheeks wasn’t from the sun.

[suspiciousmindsxo]

Here's a funny memory.

It was the summer of 1972, we were in Vegas, I had just started working for Elvis. On this day, it was my turn to be "on call" or "on duty" this day. When it came time to wake Elvis up, I had to be the one to do it.

I was sitting in the den of Elvis' suite with Rick and David, talking when they reminded me it was time for Elvis to wake up. So, I got up and walked into Elvis' bedroom. I walked over to him and smiled when I saw him, he looked like a little boy all snuggled up.

I said, time to get up Elvis. He didn't respond. I reached over and shook him a little and said, come on boss, time to get up. He didn't respond. I shook him a little harder, but he didn't respond. I thought, I better go ask Rick and David what I should do, since they both had been doing this longer than me.

I walked out of the bedroom to the den. I was greeted by, did you wake him up? I said, no, I couldn't wake him. Then I asked, what should I do? That's when Rick and David started kidding me. They said stuff like, you rookie, we get you a job with Elvis and you can't even wake him up. Is this how it's going to be? Do we have to show you everything? I smiled at them and said, I guess so. Which they both took great delight in. lol

They both got up and said, okay rookie we'll show you how it's done. Then David said, you may need to take notes, so we won't have to show you again. I just smiled at Rick and David and followed them to Elvis' room.

When we got to the bed Rick and David did the same thing I did, but he wouldn't wake up. I said, I did that y'all. You see, he won't wake up. The 3 of us stood there for a second or two. Then Rick noticed a bucket next to Elvis' bed. We always put water bottles with ice in it, before Elvis went to bed. Sometimes Elvis would wake up and be thirsty, that's why we had the water there.

Anyway, Rick looked the water bucket, it only had water in it, now. David and I saw what Rick was looking at. We all smiled. Then Rick said, if I do this, we are all in this together, right. David and I said, all the way, Rick. Rick picked up the bucket, he held it for a second and looked at me and David. I thought to myself. Oh God, please be with us, now. Then Rick threw the water on Elvis.

I have never seen anyone move as fast as Elvis did. He came off that bed like tiger. He tackled all 3 of us with ease. That's when the battle started. Elvis said, throw water on me, I'll show you what happens when you do that. Me, Rick and David were laughing so hard we couldn't fight back. That made Elvis laugh, also. The 4 of us were wrestling around on the floor. First it was Elvis on Rick, with David and I trying to pull Elvis off. Then it was Elvis and David, with Rick and I trying to pull Elvis off. Then it was Elvis on me, with Rick and David trying to pull him off.

We must have been making a lot of noise because some of the guys walked into the bedroom, to see what the commotion was. When we saw them, we broke out laughing again. That's when we stopped and just laid there out of breath. As we laid there, we talked about the wrestling match, which made us laugh again.

When I look back on this day, I realize, Elvis wasn't really asleep. He just wanted to see what we would do. None of us would have pulled this trick on Elvis alone, but collectively we would.

Every now and then brothers share a moment in their lives that they will never forget, this was one of those days.

Via: Billy Stanley

[thatrandomwriter]

The Lake

Billy Loomis x Reader

Warnings: Suggestive language, cursing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Thanks,” I said.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[hairstevington]

songs that voices never share

Deaf!Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson

Summary: Everything's felt a little off since the Fourth of July, and no one's talking about it. Of course, one part of Steve's summer is a bit hard to ignore - he's losing his hearing. As luck would have it, a friend of Dustin's ends up playing a key role in Steve's adjustment to his new normal.

WC: 4K

Warnings: Deaf!Steve, use of ASL, angst/references to events of season 1-3, this fic will disregard the events of season 4 because I said so, canon universe, hurt/comfort, angst, platonic Stobin forever, Steve and Will are buds, some sad stuff but overall it's a love story like come on it's me we're talking about

A/N: Hello! Everyone loved my drabble about Deaf Steve so I'm expanding it into a full fic. The plan is 7 chapters, and I'll probably post them all both here and on Ao3. Please note that ASL is written in all capitals when notated in English, and the grammar is a bit different.

-----------------------

Chapter 1 - I'll take a quiet life

Steve was kind of prone to getting beat up. God knows Dustin never let him forget it.

After the fight with Jonathan, he felt more or less the same. Then, Billy beat the shit out of him, and Steve started getting migraines and hearing a ringing in his ears every so often.

But after being tortured by the Russians for a couple hours? That’s when the real damage was done. 

Everything felt a little off since the Fourth of July, but no one talked about it. Even though so much had changed, Steve and the rest of the group all tried to get back to any normalcy they could find. Steve and Robin got a job together at Family Video and ultimately ignored everything they'd experienced together. It just felt like it was too big to talk about, so they didn't. They pretended like it didn't happen honestly - which might have been more successful had it not been for one fairly major thing.

The ringing became almost constant. Steve’s hearing was piss poor some days and kind of okay other days, but eventually the bad days were more frequent than the good. Steve knew he got beat up a lot, and he figured there were probably some consequences, but he never had time to think about it. Then, when he had trouble hearing one day, he figured he was just swollen and needed time to heal. And then he blamed it on allergies. And then he felt stupid for not taking it seriously, so he ignored it. And then, when he finally went to the doctor, he realized the full extent of it all. 

They called it a perfect storm of injuries. At least, that’s what he thought they said. Apparently he’d had too much trauma to the area and not enough medical attention after multiple concussions and ruptured eardrums. He also apparently broke some of the bones in his ears??? They told him a lot of things that he couldn’t quite understand.

He wasn’t stupid. He just couldn’t hear so well anymore. 

Steve had never been the smartest person in the first place. He wasn’t great at school, especially with English or history, and he never cared that much about it either. He breezed his way through high school and focused on sports and popularity.

So, when Steve couldn’t keep up in conversations with his friends, they didn’t really think anything was out of the ordinary. Classic Steve, always a few sentences behind. 

He got away with it for much longer than he had any right to. Robin was the first to notice. 

They worked together at Family Video most days that summer, and it was a good job because anyone could do it, really. They were never really that busy, so a lot of the time was just Steve and Robin getting paid to hang out.

A lot of times, Robin rambled at him about movies or music or how hot Molly Ringwald was, and he could just nod and smile and occasionally say something like, “yeah, totally,” and she would be none the wiser. If they were looking at each other, he could kind of tell what she was saying based on her lips, but only because he knew her well enough to do so. He couldn’t really understand anyone else, except maybe Dustin sometimes. Then again, Dustin used a lot of tech speak that went over Steve’s head even before his hearing deteriorated. 

Steve was putting tapes back in the proper places, oblivious to Robin calling for him. He nearly jumped out of his skin when she tapped him on the shoulder. 

“Shit! Hi!” he exclaimed, realizing he must have missed something again. “Sorry, I’m kind of out of it.”

Ah, his go-to excuse. It worked every time.

“Bullshit, Harrington,” she replied. Before Steve could defend himself, she continued. “You can’t hear very well anymore, can you?”

Huh. Okay, it worked every time, until now. Steve nodded, realizing he had no reason to hide it from Robin anymore.

“How’d you know?” he wondered. Usually, Robin paced back and forth and avoided eye contact during her rambles, but this time she stayed put and faced him head on.

“Steve,” she began. “You’ve always been a little oblivious, but recently it’s like you’re never listening to me at all. Plus, I’ve been throwing random things into conversation to see if you notice. Hey, Steve, just figured out that hamsters aren’t real. Dingus, I just got a tattoo of your face on my face. You know, things like that. You’ve never said anything about it, so at first I thought you were just stressed or depressed or - wait, shit. You can’t hear. Maybe I should write this down.” She went to search for a pen and paper, but he grabbed her arm to stop her.

“I think I got the gist,” he responded. Thankfully this was one of his better days, otherwise he never would have been able to follow. “Wait, hamsters are real though, right?” Robin’s face fell as she genuinely pondered whether Steve was being serious. “I’m kidding. Yes I know what you’re saying.”

“Okay, cool,” she replied, relieved. “Anyway, once I realized nothing was wrong with your psyche, I started doing other tests. But sometimes I’d stomp my feet and you’d react, so I worried I was making it all up. One time I snapped right by your ear, but then I accidentally flicked you on the temple.”

Steve remembered that. She said it was a bug.

He could hear some frequencies, and it also depended on the day and the season. It was best in quiet spaces where he only had to talk to one person. That’s how he got by so well at work, because it was a relatively quiet place. 

Well, except for Robin and her constant rambling. 

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked. Steve shrugged.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I didn’t wanna admit it, I guess, but I think it’s just gonna get worse.” The prospect of losing his hearing entirely and permanently was on the table, especially if he was to get punched again or something. Considering his group of friends and their history of getting into trouble, that didn’t seem unlikely. Robin put a caring hand on his shoulder and gave a comforting smile.

“Well, I talk too much for you to not understand me, so this means we’re both gonna have to learn sign language.”

“What?” Steve winced at the idea. “No way. I took three years of Spanish and I only know how to ask where the bathroom is.”

(He actually forgot how to say that, too.)

“Yeah, but maybe sign language will be different. I mean, it’s visual, right?” Robin put her elbows on the counter and continued. “Come on, you know I love languages, and I’m soooo booooored.” As she spoke, her body slowly sank onto the counter until she was face down. 

Steve chuckled. He wasn’t surprised that she was the first to figure it all out, and her reaction was incredibly on brand. 

“Yeah, okay,” he said. “Let’s give it a shot.”

Steve picked up the alphabet pretty quickly. He already knew most of it from Sunday School as a kid. Then, for about a week or so, Robin drilled him by practicing different signs during their shifts together. There were only a few weeks of summer vacation left before Robin went back to school for her senior year.

Steve was grateful he’d already graduated by the time his hearing got worse. He would never have had the courage to ask for accommodations. Although, Robin probably would have bugged him into asking for it anyway. 

Whatever, He didn’t need to think about that. 

MOVIE, Robin signed to Steve during a standard shift at Family Video.

“Uhhhhh…cheese?” Steve guessed. Robin shook her head. 

“No, but close!” she countered. Steve groaned. 

“How is it close, Robin? How?” he complained. She laughed, then showed him the sign for CHEESE versus MOVIE. They were honestly not that different. “Oh. Okay, yeah.”

W-O-R-K, she fingerspelled next. Steve’s eyes lit up. 

“I know this one!!!” he exclaimed, hitting one of his fists on top of the other to sign WORK.

“Yes!” Robin cheered. She quickly corrected herself and signed YES. Steve smiled. CANDY TIME.

When Steve got a sign right, she’d throw an M&M his way so he could catch it in his mouth. It was something they’d started doing together at Scoops Ahoy with various toppings.

M&M’s were much less messy.

Sure, the study and reward method was a bit juvenile, but it worked. Steve practiced, and he learned some basic signs. THANK YOU. PLEASE. SORRY. I KNOW. I DON’T UNDERSTAND. WHAT? AGAIN. He also learned random ones. BIRD. BASKETBALL. VAMPIRE. SODA.

And then, of course, the two of them learned the other essentials - words that they usually just had shared glances for.

HOT, for when an attractive customer came in. COMPLAIN, for when an annoying customer came in. FINISH, when their shift was over. 

It worked. They started signing to each other instead of talking whenever possible. Robin let him have all the tasks he could do in the back room or by himself, and she handled a lot of the customers to cover for him. The pressure and stress Steve had been feeling started to melt away, and his headaches got better since he didn't have to focus so much all the time.

His parents knew about his condition, but they never talked much in the first place, so nothing really changed at home. He’d go to work and make do, and then he’d go home, and everything was alright.

About a week of study sessions later, Robin had an idea. 

YOUR FRIENDS, she began. Steve stared at her and waited for her to elaborate. She took a deep breath. TELL-THEM YOU CAN. 

Steve continued to stare at her quizzically. She was learning all the grammar and shit, and he was still on vocabulary. 

MY FRIENDS…YES? He guessed, trying to mimic the one sign he couldn’t remember the meaning to. She shook her head. 

C-A-N, she clarified. Steve thought about it. YOUR FRIENDS LOVE YOU, she continued, slower this time. SHOULD KNOW.

Steve sighed. He’d been avoiding Dustin a lot more these last few weeks, because he knew the smartass would figure him out in seconds. 

Steve sighed, knowing Robin was right. 

O-K, he agreed. 

Dustin took it well. He had a lot of questions, but most of them Steve didn’t know the answers to. He quickly decided he would also learn some signs to support Steve. The support made Steve feel so relieved, he told all of his other friends. Well, he told the kids. Max. El. Will. Mike. Lucas. El and Will were planning on moving to California pretty soon with Jonathan and Joyce, so El decided it would be good for her to practice writing letters to Steve, since she’d be doing long distance with Mike and all. Lucas and Mike also made an attempt at learning signs, but they were even shittier at it than Steve was - which honestly made Steve feel even better. They treated it like a secret code they all were learning - kind of like the weird phrases they insisted on saying whenever they used the walkie talkies.

It was all very cute. 

Since Steve wasn’t in school, he ended up practicing sign language during most of his free time. It felt good to be doing something for himself. It made him feel smart, and he didn’t feel smart that often. Robin also picked it up pretty fast, which was to be expected. 

But then, all of a sudden, school was starting again, and everyone was busy. Steve continued to work and study ASL, but he didn’t have as many shifts with Robin. He would drive the kids to school and to their clubs and stuff, but it was impossible to communicate with a bunch of kids in the car. He went on dates, but the talking part of it all didn’t really work out. He wasn’t connecting with anybody, and he couldn’t understand them half the time. Plus, most of his date spots required loud noises - movies, sports games, etc. He’d go out with women, and he’d have a decent albeit exhausting time trying to keep up, and then sometimes they’d have sex, but if he was being honest - he wasn’t even really enjoying sex as much anymore.

Crazy, right? He couldn’t believe it either.

He was isolated, but getting by. He kept spending down-time at work watching videos about sign language that he’d borrowed from the library, and everywhere he went he tried to think of the sign for what he saw. TREE. CAR. LIGHT. RESTAURANT. BICYCLE. HOUSE. BOOK. STORE.

Eventually, it all started coming together. 

-

It was October - Halloween season. Considering what had happened last Halloween, Steve wasn’t too thrilled about it. Neither were some of the kids, primarily Will and El. Times had been tough for El especially after losing Hopper, and Steve knew that. It seemed like she had a decent support system though. Jonathan’s mom had taken her in, and she was dating Mike as well. She’d be okay, Steve hoped.

Then came the big moving day for the Byers and El. Steve had to admit he was a bit jealous. He’d wanted to get out of Hawkins forever, but now he had Dustin and Robin tying him there. 

Jonathan got to escape this town and he was dating Nancy? Such bullshit. 

Not that Steve was pining over Nancy anymore. He’d always love her, in a way, but he’d moved on. They didn’t work together, and that was that. Over and out, as the kids would say on their stupid walkie talkies. 

Anyway, El may have been alright, but Steve had his doubts about Will. He didn’t really know how to broach the subject, but he noticed that when he picked the kids up, Will was usually pretty quiet. 

An outsider, kind of like Steve.

So, when moving day arrived, Steve offered to help. He knew that Nancy and Jonathan would be there and their farewells would be a whole thing he had no interest in being around for, but he was pretty strong and he could carry boxes and help the kids, at least.

But when he showed up, he saw Will in the backyard by himself. Steve gave a small wave, then slowly approached the kid and sat down beside him. 

WHAT’S-UP, Steve signed. It was one of the signs he taught all the kids. Will shrugged. Steve watched Will intently as he waited for his response.

“I don’t want to move,” Will said. “I like my house. And my friends.” Will caught himself, realizing he knew an applicable sign, then added FRIENDS. Steve smiled.

UNDERSTAND, he replied. That was another sign he taught the kids. “This sucks.”

“How do you sign that?” Will asked. “That it sucks.” 

Steve knew that one, obviously. He knew a lot of signs now, but that was one he used a lot. He brought the tip of his pointer finger to his chin and frowned. Will repeated the action, then raised his eyebrows. Steve nodded in approval. Will’s hands dropped back into his lap, and the forlorn look on his face came back.

“I guess I just -” Will began, averting his eyes from Steve and staring in the distance. “They’re gonna forget about me here. They’re already -” He sighed. “It feels like I’m being left behind, even though I’m the one leaving.” Steve nodded gently, understanding the feeling all too well.

Will was the member of the party Steve had interacted with the least, probably because the other kids were a bit - uhhh - louder. Dustin and Steve were like brothers, Lucas and Steve could talk about basketball, El and Max were by no means close with Steve but he still felt like a surrogate older brother to them, and Mike was - 

Okay, Mike and Steve didn’t really get along. That was to be expected, considering everything. They weren’t mean to each other or anything, they were just awkward and mildly annoyed with each other most of the time. 

Will was different. Steve had been filled in on what happened to Will through Dustin, and it was - well, yeah. Will had it rough. And no one ever really talked about it. It was like, Will went through this whole traumatic thing, but he was back to “normal” now, so everything was fine. But it wasn’t fine, and he was getting sick and tired of pretending it was.

Whoops. Okay. Maybe Steve was connecting with Will more than he anticipated he would. 

That was probably where a lot of the disconnect came from with everyone in Steve’s life except for Robin. The two of them had been tortured together for hours underground. Steve got the brunt of it. And they were drugged and threatened and nearly killed dozens of times. But they escaped and got out and then they were fighting a giant monster and fireworks were going off and then people died and there was no space for Steve to talk about what had happened to him. 

He probably needed a therapist, but if he saw a shrink his dad would never let him hear the end of it. Besides, how could he explain any of his trauma to them? He couldn’t talk about it with anyone except his close group of friends, and he didn’t want to burden them with it, so he just…didn’t talk about it. 

Steve wanted to say so many things to Will, but he also felt like he had no right to give any advice on friends or happiness. Steve had left the majority of his friends behind, willingly, and he didn’t regret it, but he also was sad about it. He missed it in some weird, fucked up way he couldn’t explain. Especially Tommy. God, all they did was argue and get in each other’s faces, but they knew each other better than anyone else. The best and the worst of it - mostly the worst, though.

“Well, I won’t forget you,” Steve said, hoping the reassurance would provide some kind of comfort. 

“You don’t know me,” Will replied. “And don’t you hate my brother?”

Oof. Valid argument, but still. Steve’s thoughts on Jonathan were…complicated, to say the least.

“I don’t hate him,” Steve responded. “And your brother isn’t you.” 

When Steve spoke, he tried to translate it in his head. It had become a habit. HATE DON’T. YOU, YOUR BROTHER, NOT-SAME.

He was getting pretty good at the sign language thing.

“I’m probably just going to sit out here and be sad,” Will said with a shrug. 

“Okay,” Steve replied. “Is it okay if I sit here and be sad too?”

Will turned to Steve, confused at first, but then his face relaxed into something different. He nodded. 

Everyone inside seemed to be doing just fine without them, anyway.

-

The Byers (and El) moved to California. Lucas, Dustin, and Mike joined Hellfire club, which they were really excited about. The first few times Dustin had told Steve about it, the dipshit was so excited Steve only got like half of what he was being told. For example, he thought the boys were getting ready to drink champagne for the first time or something, which was weird, but whatever. Kids are weird. And then later he realized they were preparing for a campaign.  

They had shirts. Steve recognized the shirts. Then, it all made sense.

He’d heard of Hellfire before. They were kind of hard to miss. They were the exact opposite of cool, even though Dustin seemed to think that wasn’t the case. An underground sort of cool, he’d explained. 

Yeah. Sure, buddy.

Steve knew from his years at Hawkins High that those guys were not treated with any sort of respect. The only popularity they had was the negative kind. People knew who they were, and they stayed away. They were weird.

At the same time, Steve wasn’t surprised the boys had joined. It was a Dungeons and Dragons club, after all - Of course, Steve didn’t actually make that connection until Dustin had made him aware. He wasn’t sure what he thought Hellfire did back when he was in school, but it certainly wasn’t a nerdy roleplaying game. They gave off a different vibe. Like, a chaotic anarchist kind of vibe. Most of Steve’s perception came from the guy who led it - Eddie Munson, the school freak. That’s what they called him. Steve and Eddie had never really interacted, because why would they have? They were both seniors when Steve graduated, but Eddie was a year older. And he still hadn’t graduated. 

Tough deal.

Anyway, Dustin was obsessed with Eddie. He worshiped the guy, basically. And Steve couldn’t help but be a little jealous - not that he’d ever admit that, of course. But Dustin was around Eddie more often, and they could talk about things they enjoyed freely and without having to stop every ten seconds to repeat themselves.

So, yeah. Steve was bitter about it. 

He usually picked the kids up from Hellfire after school, because the “champagnes” (no, they never let Steve live that one down) sometimes went pretty late. Plus, Steve was the wheels in most circumstances - he drove Robin to school every morning, too.

He was probably at Hawkins High more often than he had been when he attended the damn school. 

Anyway, one night in particular, Steve waited outside the drama club room for Lucas, Mike, and Dustin to walk out and hop in the car like they always did, but they were running late. 

Again. Oh, joy. 

Steve parked the car and headed inside, only to find everything packed up (thankfully), but everyone was still absorbed in conversation. 

Steve couldn’t follow. They were all talking over each other and about things that he didn’t really understand well in the first place. Plus, there was music playing in the background, which muddied everything else in his brain. So, he waited and watched them interact. And then everyone was looking at him, and he didn’t know why. 

“What?” Steve asked, totally lost. He turned to the boys, who all tried to explain what Steve had missed in their own way. Steve caught them flashing a few signs his way. JOKE. IGNORE. HE DON’T-KNOW. 

Ehh, Steve kind of pieced it together. Eddie probably made some sort of comment about how awkward Steve was being without knowing why. It was probably for the best that Steve didn’t hear it. Instead, he turned to Eddie so he could share what was going on. 

But then, Eddie signed to him.

YOU DEAF?

Steve’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He nodded. YOU SIGN?!

MOM DEAF, Eddie explained. Before Steve had the chance to ask a follow-up question, Eddie answered one of them. MOM DEAD NOW.  Eddie turned away to face the boys, then pivoted back to Steve. BEFORE, COULD HEAR. RIGHT? HAPPEN WHEN?

Eddie’s signing skills seemed almost natural. Clearly he’d been doing it for ages. Steve nodded.

NEW, he explained. He was blanking on the sign for “recent” due to the fact that he was so stunned. MY SIGNING… Oh, God. Steve couldn’t remember how to say anything. He wanted to say that he was still learning, so he wasn’t that good. Instead, he did the universal hand gesture for “iffy,” which worked well enough. The boys and the other club members all watched this interaction in awe as Eddie processed this with a small nod.

O-K, Eddie replied. 

And that was it. Eddie went back to talking to the boys, and presumably dismissed them as they all scattered away to collect their bags. Eddie wasn’t even looking at Steve. 

That was kind of a bummer.

Up until then, Steve hadn’t met anyone else who signed (except for Robin), so this was kind of huge. At the same time, it was Eddie. Like, Steve had come a long way from his King Steve days, but the dude was a loose cannon. He was always drawing attention to himself and jumping on tables and shit. They had nothing in common, originally, but now they had two gigantic things in common - Dustin and sign language. 

Steve took the kids home as he usually did, but he didn’t even attempt to focus on what they were saying. Besides, he was still thinking about, well, everything.

A part of him was annoyed, because of course the other older brother figure for Dustin was cool enough to know sign language. Of course. The other part of him was over the moon. He had someone to talk to and practice with. Although, that was only if Eddie was interested, which he very well might not have been. Plus, it was also kind of against the rules of the school. The jock and the freak spending time together? It just didn’t happen. 

Then again, Steve wasn’t going to Hawkins High anymore. He could make his own rules. 

He couldn’t wait to tell Robin about all of this. She was going to lose her damn mind.

------------------

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[buckysgrace]

Chapter One

This is the first chapter to my fic Cruel Summer. There are more chapters on my AO3 if anyone is interested in catching up there faster! This chapter is the shortest and a bit of a filler but I hope you enjoy it!

Billy X Fem!MayfieldOC (Includes Stepcest, smut and violence so please read to your own discretion.)

The sun was hot against Kim's back as she walked across the even warmer pavement. The water from her hair was dripping down her back and onto the cement. She used to really like the summer. She liked spending her days at the beach with Max, enjoying the way the breeze danced across the waves. Summer in San Deigo was different than in Hawkins. Here, the air got muggy and overbearing. It was almost too hot and there were very little places for her to cool off in. She flocked to the pool, just like everyone else was. 

She walked towards her familiar spot, pulling a journal out of her bag. Her friend was sprawled out on one of the beach chairs, soaking the warm sun into her dark skin. She raised a hand over her head, looking towards Kim curiously. She grinned, excited that she had finally shown up. She didn't have the best luck making friends. Addi seemed to be the only one that she was ever going to make in Hawkins. 

“Look,” She moved Addi’s legs to the side, water still dripping off her one piece as she held out her journal towards her, “I’ve got it all mapped out.” She was proud of the hard work she had done. She had spent hours up past her bedtime last night, writing in it by Neil's flashlight. She had sectioned off every part in her journal, detailing how exactly she would find weed and try it. Where and when she would have her first kiss and the boys she would prefer to kiss. She even wrote down how she wanted to lose her virginity, and who she wanted to lose it to. One name kept popping up repeatedly. 

“Fuck, that’s cold!” Addi cursed sitting up from where she was sun tanning. She smiled apologetically, not actually meaning to get the water on her. The girls had taken to hanging around the pool as the mall had proven to be too dangerous for their wallets. Their first paycheck had been quickly blown at the various different stores, “Seems like a solid plan, but you know in order to attract male gazes,” She quoted from your writing, “You probably need to wear those bikinis we bought and not the one piece your mom got you.” As if to make a point she pulled on the skirt of Kim’s one piece.

She gaped at her, “This is very cute.” She mumbled rubbing her hands down over the frills on top of the suit. All of her new and mature clothes currently sat hanging in the back of her closet with the tags still on them. Her confidence of wearing them outside had been quickly diminished when she had overheard Neil talking to her mother about the slutty clothes girls wear now while giving her a pointed look. Like he was just waiting for her to make that mistake. She had stared down at the floor, wondering if it was too late to return the outfits they had gotten. 

No, she was unsure if those outfits would ever see daylight. She didn't like when people yelled at her, and Neil was sure to do that if he seen her in any of those outfits. And Neil didn't really need a reason to yell at anyone. She was too easy to succumb to her tears and that only made him madder. He usually didn't get mad at her for the most part, but she couldn't say that it had never happened. 

Summers were usually harder. She hadn't lived with Neil for very long, only a few years, but she hated not having the excuse of being in school. School being out meant that she had to see him more, that she had to pretend that everything was normal in their very dysfunctional family. She had gotten a job as soon as she could, thankful that it gave her time to be away from her parents. 

“Right, it’s cute," Addi agreed with a nod of her head. Kim watched her closely, feeling like she was being sarcastic, "You need sexy!” Addi pushed her long black hair behind her shoulders. She had chosen to wear one of the bikinis she had picked out at the mall. The current one was a light blue that contrasted nicely against her brown skin. The two girls may have been spending their days at the pool, but Addi hated the water and never did much more than dip her toes in and watch as Kim swam laps.

“I know,” She moaned pushing her wet, red hair back, “It’s just so hard, I’m scared people will sit there and laugh.” She sighed, rubbing her pale, freckled arms feeling a sudden chill come over her despite the hot sun beating down on her back. She hated the feeling of people watching her. She remembered starting the new year and every single teacher making her stand in front of her peers and announce her name while having to tell them about herself. She had never felt so humiliated. She must've not been very good at it, as no one paid her any attention after the fact. She was lucky that Addi moved there not too long afterwards. 

“You just need to do it." Addi told her seriously. Kim groaned, knowing she was right. It would be easier to do if she actually had any confidence. She was used to hiding in the back of the classroom. She wasn't sure how she was supposed to suddenly change that about herself. She liked staying hidden, it made her feel safe. She really didn't want that much attention on her. Not really. Just enough to gain someone's attention. 

"It's scary," Kim tried her best to explain her reasoning. She wished she had an ounce of Addi's personality. She could be so bold at times. She wished that she had that inside of her, "I just don't like feeling like people are judging me." Addi sent her a knowing look, making Kim shrug her shoulders sheepishly. She knew it was dumb, but she couldn't help the way that she felt. It was like it was buried deep inside of her. 

"How else is Steve Harrington going to notice you and get in your pants?” Addi questioned scanning over her journal again. She nudged her arm softly, feeling a flush spreading over her body at the mention of the brown eyed boy. She was sure she had the biggest crush on Steve. He just seemed so sweet, so nice. More importantly, she liked how big his brown eyes seemed to be. She was smitten. She furrowed her eyebrows, feeling a shadow come down over them. 

“Get in whose pants?” The deep voice that appeared from behind caused Addi to slam the journal shut and clutch it to her chest. Kim jumped, feeling her heart race as she tried to think of some excuse as she peered up at her older brother who was glaring down at them. He had pushed his sunglasses on top of his dirty blonde curls and was chewing on his gum obnoxiously. She tried to stop the pounding in her chest. 

She didn't really consider him an older brother. They had both been about fifteen when they were all forced to play happy family together. Things always felt off between them, Kim didn't know how to place it. She didn't hate him, she pitied him mostly. She hated the way Neil treated him and could understand why he was so quick to anger. She always felt guilty when Neil would beat him and had spent many nights cleaning up his cuts and bruises when he would allow it. Still, he was nice. He had taught her a few things before, and he always drove her around even if he didn't have to. She appreciated that. Their relationship wasn't the best, but it wasn't bad either. 

Still, it didn’t feel like they were close in a way that siblings would be. Her feelings towards him were so very different than the feelings she felt towards her baby sister, Max. She didn't know how to place her feelings. She blamed it on the fact that they met when they were much older. Referring to him as her brother put an odd taste in her mouth. She'd describe him as a friend, but they weren't friends either. He was basically a stranger to her. 

Billy stood there in his lifeguard uniform, not that there was much to it, his red shorts clinging to his hips and his whistle resting comfortably between his pecs. Her face still burned every time he walked around her, and he was shirtless. She wasn't used to seeing guys like that, but the fact that he was so toned made her face burn even more. It was embarrassing, thinking of him in that way but it was hard not to. There was no denying that he was attractive, no matter how hard she tried. He looked down at her expectantly, waiting for an answer as he blew a bubble with his gum. The sound of it popping drew her away from her thoughts, making her jump. 

The two girls glanced at each other, both waiting for the other to make some excuse. Kim's mouth parted and opened wide, trying to think of anything. Addi did that for a moment, laughing nervously as she looked back at Billy. She swatted her hand in the air before they were both looking back up at him and answering in unison.

“No one's!” Kim winced but was glad that they were both thinking of the same thing. She watched the way Billy chewed his gum, looking anything but amused as he watched her. She always felt like he could see right through her. She glanced away quickly, having a hard time keeping eye contact with him. He was just always so intense. She didn't know how anyone was able to look at him without melting away. 

Billy huffed then motioned towards the journal, which Addi had a death grip on, “What’s that?” They both looked at each other again. Kim felt dread tickling up her back, she couldn't imagine the embarrassment if he found out what was in it. He would do nothing but tease her about it for the rest of her life. She wished she hadn't brought it, that she had remembered everything and only told her friend. That way, there couldn't be any evidence. She didn't need him to hold this over her head. She knew it would be scandalous. 

“Homework.” She finally spoke up, raising her hazel eyes up again to meet his piercing blue ones. They were so intense, such a bright blue color. A fuzzy feeling traveled through her skin as she gulped hard. She furrowed her eyebrows together and tucked her drying hair behind her ears, knowing that it was a terrible lie. There was no one doing homework this early into the summer. She breathed out, hoping that he wouldn't question it. His lips curled into a smile as he flicked his tongue across his teeth. 

“School has been out for two weeks,” He spoke up, watching her with an amused gleam in his eyes. Her eyes flickered to behind him where the group of mothers were looking at him like he was the last meal they would ever have. She didn't understand how he handled it all day long. She wondered if he liked the attention. He never told them off, she was sure that he liked a little bit of it. Still, she was always curious if he got irritated by them as well. She shrugged and smiled sheepishly as she turned her attention back towards him, "What kind of homework could you possibly working on?"

“It’s never too early to get a head start?" She stumbled for a moment, ignoring the way his shorts seemed to dip down on his hips, "It's math. Math is always hard." She spoke awkwardly. Addi shot her a look, shaking her head and letting her know that she had blown their cover completely. She forced a quick smile to her lips, trying her best to remain as innocent as possible. 

“Shouldn’t you be watching the brats and I don’t know, making sure they don’t drown?” Addi asked dryly, leaning back in her chair and resting her legs over Kim’s. She relaxed softly, grateful for her friend. They had both met last year and bonded over their similarities. Both had come into the school year nearly at the same time and moved from different parts of California. She was more brash and bold, but still had a soft heart that she kept locked up behind big walls. To Kim, she was her first real friend. She never had much time to make friends when she was younger. She was always busy watching Max. Her mom worked long hours and her dad struggled with his addictions. As far as she was concerned, Max would forever be her best friend despite their age difference. 

Addi had been the one to suggest they both have an unruly summer before school starts and Kim had been more than happy to agree. She was tired of visiting the library each day and searching for different romance books to try and fill the void in her life. She wanted a boyfriend, she wanted to feel like she was living her life. The hardest part seemed to be coming out of her shell. Her shell was nice. It was warm, it was safe. It kept her from embarrassing herself. 

Billy laughed, flicking his tongue over his teeth again, “I’m on break but thank you for your concern,” He glanced at Addi, crossing his muscular arms over his chest before he looked back at her, “What do you want with Steve Harrington?” She wished she could scream. He had overheard, of course, he had overheard. He always seemed to figure out everything that she was hiding. Sometimes she would stare at him, wondering if he could read her mind. Sometimes he would stare right back at her and leave her even more uncertain. 

“Nothing he just seems like a nice guy,” She tried to reply as casually as she could. She knew he was a sore subject for Billy. They had some sort of competition last year that resulted in the both of them getting burned. Still, Billy's bruises from that night weren't as bad as Steve's. She had remembered seeing him, completely shocked at the mass amount of bruising that was left upon his pretty features. She had missed out on the whole fight, and it seemed like no one wanted to tell her what had really happened. The same way she really didn't know why they had to move. All she knew was that Billy and Max had both done something bad.  Kim felt like she got part of the backlash from the boys fight as well, even though she wasn't involved. Every time she went to Scoops Ahoy, she’d watch as he’d flirt with girl after girl but when it came to her, he always deadpanned and referred to her as Kimberly before scooping out her mint chocolate chip ice cream. She would pout every time afterwards, wondering what she had done wrong.

She was determined to change that by the end of the summer. She wanted things to be different, she wanted to gain his attention. She was sure that she had it in herself. It was just buried, deep down inside of her. She'd figure out how to get it out, one way or another. 

“Yeah," Billy laughed again, looking at her almost in disbelief, "Pretty boy will only want one thing from you,” He leaned down until he was inches away from her face. She paused for the longest time, feeling her heart beating against her rib cage. He was so close to her face that she could see the freckles that hid within his golden skin. His intense blue eyes shot back down towards her, “Stay away from him.” She stared back, wishing she was brave enough to tell him that she didn't mind if that's all that he wanted. She wanted it too. She kept quiet, unable to look him in the eye. He straightened up, pushing his sunglasses down again. As quickly as he appeared, he left heading towards the concession stand. She scoffed, shaking her head as she turned to face Addi again. 

“Can you believe him?” She groaned as she reached for her journal again. She wrapped her fingers around it softly, beginning to tug when Addi refused to let it go. Kim looked at her confused, only to notice that Addi was paying no attention towards her. Addi's dark eyes were zeroed in on Billy, watching the steps he took as he walked away from them. Kim groaned, still hating how everyone seemed to gaze after him, “Addi!” Addi jumped and thrust the book back at her. She knew the effect that he had over people, and she had yet to find someone that didn’t swoon the first time that he opened his charming gaze to them.

“Damn, sorry. He is hot though.” She shrugged, and Kim groaned, shoving her journal back into the safety of her bag. She wasn’t the first person to say that, and Kim knew she wasn’t the last. She hated that other people called him attractive. She didn't like the way other people would watch him. It gave her an odd feeling that she didn't understand. Kim always felt awkward, but she hated to admit that it was true. Billy had always been good looking, and he knew it too. She had to live through constantly seeing the different girls he brought back and listening to their happy screams as Max would giggle and call it. Her and Kim would joke around about it at times, but it still left a sour taste in her mouth. She blamed it on the fact that many girls tried to use her to get to Billy. She was sure that was the only reason. 

“He’s the reason Steve hates me.” She groaned dramatically as she crossed her legs in the seat. The warm chair was beginning to burn into her skin, and she wondered if she'd be red when she stood up. Addi shook her head, giving her an incredulous look, as if she as wrong. But she knew it was true. She knew that if it wasn't for Billy and his anger that Steve wouldn't ignore her the way that he did. She wished that he would spare her a second glance, that's all that she was asking for. Just one chance. 

“Steve doesn’t hate you, he’s just indifferent right now," She tried to lessen the blow with her kind words. Kim sighed softly, playing with her hair again, "I’m telling you, once you show up in that cute little dress you bought, he’s going to lose his mind.” She smiled sweetly, gripping her hand and giving it a small squeeze. She happily accepted the feeling and squeezed back in return. Her face still felt warm as she thought about the dress that she had bought. It was different, it was new. She was excited for the prospect that she may wear it one day. 

“You really think so?” She smiled hopefully and Addi nodded again. Steve had been the first guy to give her any attention when she moved here, not that she really qualified that as him being into her. He was being more polite than anything, guiding her from the front office to her first class of the day. He had rambled on about the different classes that he was going to be taking. She had listened to every word, breathing in the gentle smile he had placed on his lips. He had been with Nancy Wheeler at that time, now, she had heard that they had split and felt like it was okay to make a move on him. Nancy was with Jonathan now anyways; she didn’t see what the problem could be.

Until Billy.

“Of course, I do and if he doesn’t - fuck him. You’re beautiful and there’s a guy out there for you. Even if it isn’t Steve.” She proclaimed. At this point, it was only a rehearsal from the hundredths of other times that Addi had told her the same thing. Kim nodded feeling a bit better about it, but she truly hoped it was Steve. He was just so sweet that she couldn't imagine her being with anyone else. Hawkins wasn't very big; she didn't have many options in terms of guys.

She hoped that one day she could move back to California. She suddenly missed her home, desperately. She missed her dad too. She knew that deep down, Hawkins wasn't the place for her. 

“I gotta leave a little early today,” Addi spoke up again grabbing her bag, “I told mom I’d help make enchiladas tonight. Argyle should be here soon; we can drop you off at home if you want?” She asked, turning to face Kim and waiting for her answer. Kim considered her offer for a moment, thinking about it hard. 

Neil was off today and knowing her luck, he'd be busying himself inside of the house, pretending to do something. Usually that meant he'd be snooping around, trying to find something that was wrong within the house. He would probably try to talk to her and make unnecessary comments if he didn't like something she said. She hated dancing around him. She'd rather be alone the rest of the day, rather than having to speak to Neil. 

“No, I want to swim for a while longer. Thanks for the offer though, I’ll see you at work tomorrow?” They both worked as waitresses on the morning shift at Patsy’s Diner and insisted that they needed the same shifts in order to get through the day. Luckily, management was desperate and usually allowed them to do just that. She usually asked Billy to drop her off before he headed to the pool in the mornings. She thought it was funny that he had to teach little kids to swim, but surprisingly, he seemed to like it. He was also really good at it. She had witnessed too many children running up to him, thanking him for the morning session. It was almost cute, watching their little hands tug on his own. He seemed completely different at those times. 

"See you later, babe." Addi smiled, picking up her things right as Argyle's van pulled into view. She sighed, giving her a tight hug before she was leaving. Kim rested back against the seat, playing with her fingers as she thought about her choices. She could wait a few more hours in the hot sun, before she walked the dreaded distance towards their house. She was sure she would arrive in a pool of sweat and blistered skin. Or she could track down Billy and oh so sweetly ask him for a ride home. She'd still have to wait until the end of his shift, but at least she wouldn't have to walk under the warm sun. She sat there for a few more minutes, hoping that he would come out soon. She sighed, realizing he was probably going to ignore her unless he found out the information he wanted anyways. She'd have to be the one to ask him. 

So, she took a giant breath until her lungs felt anew. She moved her legs to the side of the chair, her feet burning as she stood up against the cement again. Her hair was completely dry at this point. She crossed her arms as she walked, holding them across her chest as she headed towards the break rooms. It was always dim and cold in the backrooms. She wasn't technically allowed back there, but she figured no one would really say anything to her. 

The Employees Only sign glared down at her as she nibbled on her bottom lip. She sighed softly, hating the idea of this more and more. She wasn't sure why she felt so anxious, but she did. Kim pushed down hard on the handle, waiting for it to open but it didn't. She tried again, furrowing her eyebrows together in confusion. She didn't understand why the door would need to be locked in the first place. She huffed, turning on her heel and heading back in the direction she had come from. 

She looked around for a moment, wincing at the loud screaming that hit her ears. She stepped forward, trying to make out anyone else in the mass amount of people. She finally spotted Heather in her red swimming suit. Kim played with her hands as she walked towards her, feeling nervous again as she realized she'd actually have to talk to someone. She looked down at Heather's bored expression. 

“Hey,” She walked back up to Heather, smiling apologetically. The other girl barely spared her a glance before looking back down at her nails, “Can I use your key to get into the supply room? I think that’s where Billy went, and I need to ask him something." She explained, fiddling with her fingers some more. Heather looked up at her finally, nearly having to crane her neck from how much shorter she was than Kim. 

“Did you knock?” She questioned, smacking her gum but pulling her key out of her bag regardless. Kim shook her head, feeling a bit dumb as she didn't think to do that. She waited for Heather to question why she needed to talk to Billy, but she never did. Kim shrugged her shoulders softly, appreciating that it wasn't that hard of a job to accomplish. Kim held the key in her hand happily. 

“I figured he’d ignore me if he knew it was me.” She grinned and thanked her, before stalking back to the room, wondering if this was even worth the hassle. She could just wait until the end of his shift anyways and force him to take her home. Then again, she may get stuck in the car with him and whichever girl he decided was worth his time. It all sounded so miserable. She really needed to work on getting her driver's license, but her driving lessons hadn't been going well. 

She stared at the door for a moment before quietly sticking the key in and turning it until she heard it unlock. She pressed her ear against the door, listening for a moment to try and hear what he was doing. She furrowed her eyebrows again, hearing nothing but heavy breathing. She didn't think much of it, realizing that he did some weird things anyways. Her fingers wrapped around the doorknob as she considered her options again. She took one last deep breath, and she pushed the door open wide.

“Hey, Billy-” Her words jumbled in her throat and her mind blanked as she stared at the image in front of her. Billy had jumped so far that his back slammed against one of the metal storage racks, sending goggles and life jackets tumbling onto the floor. His cheeks were flushed, and the fly of his shorts unzipped, with his hand quickly trying to shove himself back into his shorts. Kim stared for the longest time, her face burning brighter than the sun as she realized he was holding his cock in his hand. Her mouth suddenly felt dry at the realization that he wasn't small either. It was big and she felt a rush traveling through her body. She gaped, blinking hard as she tried to look away from him, stumbling about.

“You brat! You couldn’t be a normal person and fucking knock?” He yelled harshly, giving her a dirty look. She noticed he was flushed all the way down his neck and couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or from something else. She was still trying to think of something to say, trying to think of something that she could do to make everything better. She swallowed hard, her whole entire body warming. She was trying not to stare at the outline of it in his very tight shorts. 

“I um-” Words couldn’t seem to come to Kim as the image of him holding his cock in his hand seemed to burn itself in her mind. She wondered who he had been thinking about that made him had to jerk off at work. She still couldn't find what she needed to say. Her mind was completely blank, the only image that was popping inside of her mind was his cock. She hoped he couldn't see the way it had affected her. 

“Needed these,” She muttered awkwardly, picking up a pair of bright green, square goggles that had landed in front of her feet, He looked at her exasperated, like he couldn't believe the words that had left her mouth, “Thanks.” She muttered, looking anywhere but at him as she moved, slower than normal, and shut the door behind her. Once the door clicked shut, she moved with haste before he could come out and say anything else. What was his problem? Who does that?

“Hey- Hey my key!” Heather shouted after her. Kim stopped so fast that she thought she may fall face forward into the ground. She gulped hard, turned and thrusted Heather’s key back towards her quickly. She smiled sheepishly, hoping her face didn't show what she had just seen. She was so humiliated. 

She quickly gathered her things, deciding that anywhere would be better than spending the rest of the evening anywhere around Billy. She wanted to die, to melt away somewhere else. She was sure that she would never, ever be able to look him in the eyes again. She rushed into her flipflops, moving twice as fast with her bag so she could be gone before Billy got back out. Her heart was racing as the image played over and over again in her mind. 

God, she was in so much trouble.

[bigbangharringrove]

squeeze your hands (around my bleeding heart)

Author: @billysblueeyes (Ao3: deathinasmalltown) Artist: @dreaminginpencil (Ao3: ShinyDirtyCoin) & @alicetallula (Ao3: tallula03)

Summary:

“It’s really no problem, Mrs. Wheeler.” Steve has to hide his annoyance with her. “I just assumed Holly already learned how to swim.”

The woman’s eyes widen, “uh, she was learning last summer, but then Billy Hargrove…” she trails off faintly.

Billy was possessed and almost died at the tentacle limbs of an interdimensional monster shaped like a giant spider, controlled by a psychotic (former) human with an inferiority complex.

Not that she knew that.

“Who’s doing the lessons this summer?”

“Oh. Well,” she swallows thickly, “Billy is. I was told he was just doing swimming lessons. I guess no one wanted to take on the job again this summer.”

That takes Steve by complete surprise.

OR

It’s the summer of ’86, and Steve is figuring out his life after the party’s latest run-in with the upside down. He’s agreed to chauffeur Holly Wheeler after her swimming lessons, and it gives Steve a real chance at falling in love again. Who would’ve thought it would be with Billy Hargrove? Rating: E Pairings: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington, Heather Holloway/Robin Buckley Content Warnings: Brief description of (past) non-con

Excerpt:

“Me? Talk to Billy Hargrove?” “He literally saved all our lives and not a single one of us has ever thanked him. And you know his relationship with Max is really good nowadays. And I know you two fought that one time, but weren’t you the one who said you threw the first punch, and he had a point about Max being in that house alone with you boys—” “I remember what I said, it’s just…where do you even go from there? Our entire relationship has been one volatile interaction after the other. Even playing basketball our last season. We could hardly get through a game without him hogging the ball or the two of us not being kicked off the team altogether. That’s why our team sucked. What do I even say to him?” “Hey Billy, no hard feelings for that fight we had that one time. I know we have a bad history, but let’s let bygones be bygones. Also, thanks for saving my life that other time. Out of curiosity, have you ever banged Mrs. Wheeler?” Robin shrugs. “Easy peasy.” Steve contemplates her words. He decides that it definitely doesn’t sound easy peasy. Owning up to your shit is very much an adult thing to do. And even adults don’t do it well. Steve would rather gnaw off his own foot than play out some big apology for any wrong he’s done. And he doubts Billy would even want to hear it from him anyway. Or maybe he would. This would be a lot easier if Steve knew even just a little bit about the blond. The only real thing he knows about Billy Hargrove is how he smells… “Did you know he smells like chlorine, coconut tanning oil, and Aramis?” He decides to change topics, instead. “Uh…no.” Robin looks at him weirdly. “How do you know that.” “I smelled him, obviously.” Robin balks. “Am I supposed to have an opinion on this because that’s a lot to unpack.” “What?! There’s nothing to unpack! I’m just telling you—” “That you know what Billy Hargrove smells like.” She snorts. “You know that sounds really gay, Steve.” His mouth falls open in shock. “So, I can’t appreciate the way the guy smells?!” “Oh. So not only do you know how he smells…you like it? What’s next, you think his body is attractive?” Steve turns away from her and busies himself with the return box by the front desk, piling tapes in his arms. “Oh. My. God.” Robin squeals. “You do!” “I just appreciate the fact that he kept his physique after everything that happened to him! Plus, he cut his hair to his ears; it’s really curly! That, and his scars look cool! That’s all!” “That’s all?” Robin chases after him as he goes to put the tapes on their respective shelves. “That’s all?!” She presses herself against his back, squeezing her arms around his waist and practically screams in his ear. “THAT’S ALL?!” “Get off of me!” Steve pushes back until she lets him go. “Steve, we have to talk about this new addition to your sexuality!” “No.” He turns to glare at her. “There’s no new addition!” “You like Billy Hargrove!” She whisper-screams. “No! I like women! I hate Billy Hargrove!” “Have you never seen a romantic comedy in your life?! This is always how it starts!”

[neonponders]

Inspired by @gorbovsky-l ‘s art ✨🏀

[ Steve goes to the s4 basketball game but it’s for Billy. ]

~ my drabbles anthology on ao3 ~

• • •

Steve was grumpy, he could admit that. Well, he could admit it now that it had been a few hours. That didn’t stop him and Robin having an immature spat in the car over over Fast Times with the word boobies flying around.

Then, “Just get whatever is occupying your braincell off your shoulders, already.”

Steve’s jaw had dropped, openly gaping at the road towards Hawkins High. “We’re talking about your love life - lack thereof.”

“Hush.”

“Oh, am I talking or hushing?”

Robin burst out into tired, 7am giggles. “You’re so petty when you miss him.”

Steve sighed through his nose in defeat. He did miss him. Between the summer, the school year starting for the new batch of seniors, and winter basketball camp, Steve felt like he rarely saw his boyfriend. He had a green Hargrove 7 jersey in his trunk since the team was using the white jerseys for their final game, and that in itself was annoying.

Come get your jersey.

Come see me.

Steve couldn’t even fault Billy for being committed to something. He just wished it was a little more Steve and a lot less basketball.

But everything was fine. The bubble was about to break. They were finally having a home game, and it was the championship to boot. Steve’s back seat was crowded to show for it with Robin’s band attire: feather duster helm and all.

Steve was a sap. He knew it. He was ready for something long haul, but he hadn’t grown too far from the feeling of being a senior. He knew what it felt like to be a strong, upperclassman. Looked up to. On the verge of the rest of his life. He didn’t want to steal that from Billy just because they’d spent the summer being split up by jobs, hospitals, school, basketball camp...saving the world from a catastrophe that nearly took Billy away forever.

Maybe Steve wasn’t being too unreasonable.

But it also meant that Billy needed normalcy more than ever. He certainly deserved it.

So Steve dropped Robin off, and he went to Family Video for the long wait before tonight’s basketball game. The phone usually wasn’t too busy during the day, but he could predict some noise around lunchtime and the end of his shift. Today, lunchtime rang.

“Family Video, this is Steve.”

“Steve! It’s me.”

“Oh, hey, Dustin,” Steve greeted in something just a little better than a monotone. As if Dustin didn’t call from the school’s payphone every other day. “What’s up?”

Steve slowly grimaced as Dustin told him he had to fill in for Lucas at that night’s D&D campaign. Dustin got demoted back to his last name.

“Henderson, I graduated. I can’t go to your silly club session.”

“Well, Lucas has his stupid basketball game!”

“It’s not stupid. It’s the championship. You, me, and Max all know how much work he and the team have been putting into this season.”

The team. Billy. Billy was the team. Even with his injuries, recovery, and hard ass mindset that made him a lousy patient, Billy still maintained the stage presence to run the court.

He was still an asshole, but an observant one that had him taking Steve’s place as captain instead of the entitled judge’s son, Jason Carver. Billy might’ve been mean on the court but he was indifferent - even nice - in the locker room. Carver played nice on the court but wasn’t so nice off stage. Everyone’s doubts at the start of the season had been quickly put to rest.

“It’s a game, Steve - ”

“And your weird board game isn’t?”

“D&D involves weeks of plot, strategy, improvisation, and the statistical gamble of dice - ”

“Yeah, I seem to remember weeks of planning, myself. Whatever, I’ll be at the school supporting your friend for you. Uh oh, customers. Gotta go. Bye.”

“No- Steve!”

He was pretty sure he could hear Dustin cussing him out even though the phone was back on its mount. He smiled at the customers and tried to keep his glances at the clock to a minimum.

The day was easy until 4pm. Steve almost leapt out of his skin when he realized school had ended. Old habits. Today, it did mean the end of his shift, though, so he clocked out and went home to freshen up.

Freshen up for what, he didn’t know. He might have some old habits but he’d forgotten how stuffy the gymnasium could get during a game. Probably because he usually spent games on the spacious court, not the stands -

“Hey, Steve!”

He rotated to see...Stacie. No. De-uh-B-Brenda! “Brenda, hi.”

Her teased and permed hair floated around her as she smiled and walked with him into the gym. “How are you? It’s so weird. Like, half our class is gone, and the rest are hard to find.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Steve said, even though he didn’t, really. All of his enduring friends were younger. With the exception of a very - tragic - few, they were somehow all alive, too.

Brenda meant alumni who had moved away. Steve didn’t contribute this much.

Predictably, spaces were available in the bleachers next to the band. People usually didn’t want to be right next to the noise, but this meant he could be close to Robin. He kept his tone jovial and polite as he curtly gestured at the bleachers. “I’m heading up.”

“Sure!” she chimed, accepting his hand for a boost. Not really his intention, but he’d never had any issue with Brenda. She was nice, smelled good. Great at math but just as crap as he was in Mrs. Click’s English. She tasted like bubble gum when they made out at a football game three years ago. All things considered, she and Steve were on easy footing.

Until Tammy Thomson showed up to sing the National Anthem.

He and Robin caught each other’s side-eye the same time. Told you, he mouthed. Muppet -

“Wow,” Brenda breathed. “She sounds amazing, doesn’t she?”

Steve smiled on autopilot, and just as quickly recoiled once her head had turned back to the performance.

He tried not to rock too strongly on his feet. He didn’t need everyone on the bleachers looking at him like x-ray vision, making him feel exposed and ready to scream over how he needed Robin’s sass, the weekend, a freaking burger, and Billy to run his mouth. A lot of mouth. A lot of...

Steve raked his hands through his hair, stuck between thinking the world of his boyfriend out there on the court and the fact that they were losing. The white jersey actually covered all of Billy’s scars, but Steve and Robin could see his fatigue arriving faster than the rest of the team. They glanced at each other, only interrupted by Max manifested between them.

“Hey,” Steve frowned. “Have you been here the whole time?”

She glanced at him, deadpan. “Duh. Which of us is going to convince him to sit on the bench?”

Steve blew air between his lips so they vibrated. “I thought you knew him better than I did. Billy doesn’t take losing well.”

Max glared at him. “He’s going to have a heart attack.”

“He’s in good hands,” Steve defended, but he could feel his confidence rapidly draining. “Peter Townsend is diabetic and the couches always kept an eye on him.”

Max grimaced at him like he had spoken another language, but as soon as she tried to say more, their coach called for a timeout. The team huddled up, and it wasn’t a big wonder why. Their best player had more than run out of steam, he’d overspent himself, and they only had a minute left to get anything done. Covered in sweat and rocking with their breaths, the team listened to Carver arguing with coach until a decision had been made. They needed a fresh player who could make the most out of a minute, and they had one.

“SINCLAIR! You’re in!”

Max and Steve heard the freshman gawk. “Huh?”

“You’re in! Son, let’s go!”

He ditched his warm-up jacket and ran into the huddle for the plan. Steve crossed his arms after giving Max a tug on her jacket so she would get off the stairs and stand with him. Billy would skin them alive later if they made a scene of approaching him on the bench, so they had to stay put.

To everyone’s trepidation, shock, and jubilant relief, Lucas delivered. Saving the world a few times had made him sharp, adaptable, and frugal with every second. The nerd managed to convert all of it into a game he had only started playing this summer.

And to top it off, he landed the final shot. Hawkins High won the game.

Steve exploded, jumping and yelling and waving his arms. Max screamed Lucas’s name, clapping her hands until her palms glowed scarlet. When the referee’s whistle coupled the scoreboard in announcing the game over, the team crowded around Lucas and Billy, and the court flooded with people.

Steve moved through the crowd easily with Max in tow, and finally - finally - got a face full of Billy. Running made his hair light and fluffy, eyes glowing as he realized who were holding onto him.

He called, “Hang on! Hang on!” and Steve let him go as the team finally set Lucas down onto his feet after hoisting him up. Billy gripped his shoulder for his attention, and Lucas accepted his hand. “Not bad, Sinclair. Not bad.”

Lucas beamed, only for his smile to drop into shock at seeing Max. “Max! You came?”

“Yeah, whatever,” she scoffed, but with a smile. Then Lucas hugged her and she looked ready to punch him. “Oh- Ew. Gross, you’re disgusting. How are you this sweaty after only a minute?”

The older teammates laughed for some reason but they all got hustled into the locker room - including Steve. He didn’t realize his blunder until the coach started doing a congratulatory speech to the team, and Steve slipped behind a wall of lockers to head toward the door...but he didn’t leave. He wanted to know what the coach had to say on Billy’s behalf. He wanted to know how the team treated him and Lucas.

He both got it and didn’t, since the coach tactfully uplifted everyone without dragging out everyone’s flaws. That was good. Billy couldn’t take a compliment without being reminded of how he had to sit out the rest of the game. More importantly, the coach spoke about how grateful he was to have the seniors under his wings after such a year.

For a gut-wrenching second, Steve thought the coach was going to mention the kids who were still “missing” from the summer.

He didn’t. He kept the room on high feelings, warning the rest of the team that winning a championship wouldn’t make things easy next season, and that they had summer training to look forward to. He reminded them to clean up after themselves, and saw himself out right as somebody unearthed a boombox from their gym bag.

“Why the hell did you bring that thing?”

“To either celebrate or wallow in our sorrows,” came the reply, followed by laughter and rowdy singing...

Steve looked up when a pair of pants was thrown over the wall of lockers. Right under the waistband of the sweatpants, was a Hawkins tiger, and a yellow number seven. Steve smiled and yanked it all the way onto his side.

Billy soon followed, coming around the lockers to find his pants in Steve’s hands. A bright smile flashed on his face before he reigned it in and sauntered toward him. He had to get close to be heard over the noise of music, singing, and locker rattling. “You’re a weird dust bunny.”

Thank goodness for the noise, because Steve snorted as he reached for him. “Come here.”

Billy let him. Billy never would’ve let him before July of 1985. But Billy let him now, cradling the sweaty-damp junction of his skull and neck, nuzzling his nose with Billy’s to encourage Billy to finish the distance. Billy’s lips were soft, unbearably soft and insistent. His arms initially went around Steve’s body, hands sliding over his shoulder blades and then down, down to give the hillocks of his ass cheeks a lift.

At least Billy had some tact, because the bubble burst and Steve tilted his head for more. Billy’s hands lifted up for his waist, incidentally hiking up Steve’s grey shirt but no further. Lockers chimed behind Billy’s back when Steve pushed him against them. Steve felt more than heard Billy’s low hum in his throat, the vibration on his lips and the breath from his nose.

Steve didn’t care that Billy had a game’s worth of sweat and filth on his skin. The only thing keeping him in check was his concern for Billy’s heart and lungs. Kissing made him out of breath, sometimes. For Steve it was as blissful as it was scary.

But this time, Billy chased his lips when he pulled back. His hand found Steve’s hair and Steve felt teeth in their kiss -

A locker slammed over the music, inducing someone to holler, “Sinclair! You comin’ tonight?”

“Uh, let me think on it. I’m gonna shower real fast!”

Billy stepped off where he’d been leaning against the lockers and Steve composed himself in time for Lucas to step into view. He tried to play it casual, but his wide eyes said, Scram, already!

Steve smiled bashfully and waved him away. To Billy, he asked, “Are you coming over?”

Billy scoffed and Steve couldn’t blame him. Big championship party tonight -

“You joking? I’m moving in. I’m exhausted and I want pancakes everyday for the next week.”

A stupid giggle spat out of him. He might’ve actually spit a little. Steve felt like he could cry. He didn’t, though. He’d cried enough for a whole summer.

“Deal... How do I get out of here?”

Billy smirked and nodded his head toward the bathroom side of the locker room. “We’re about to run Sinclair out of the showers.”

[damnghouligans]

Rewatching GF may have saved my brain from complete annihilation….. but I miss the rush :(

I offer post-series headcannons as consolation:

- the Stans had a GREAT time having to explain to the family wtf happened with Ford…… they basically said they were in witness protection and Stan broke the rules. If you say it with enough conviction, people believe you.

- the Pines return to gravity falls in the summers throughout Mabel and Dipper’s high school years to spend time together…. Things change, however:

- Wendy finally did move to Portland! She left for college and stayed, but she comes and visits her family often.

- we have little sooslets running around!! Stanley, Laura, and Lucia. They’re all girls. :)

- Pacífica eventually opens her own restaurant and cuts her family out… mostly. Their relationship is complicated

- all the kids all have frequent communication via social and text and video calls… which is great because eventually everyone leaves or changes or has different schedules. Yall know what it is. Time is fleeting and all that jazz.

- the Stans take the kids with them on their adventures when the kids are adults. The whole Paranormal TV show thing??? Takes WAY off. The Pines are world famous. Sort of like a weirder crocodile hunter situation

- McGucket’s hut is pretty much entirely honkified!! Fiddleford throws a big hootenanny cookout every summer for the town, and uses pretty much the entire mansion as a lab/playground.

- He and Tate run McGucket Labs Enterprises together. They’re pretty much what Musk and Jobs wish they were …. But way more fun

- mcgucket is pretty billy gibbons coded now. Still as fun and unassuming as before but with better teeth and nicer overalls. And occasional shoes. But only well worn ranchers boots. He’ll be damned if he’s gotta wear them fancy foot prisons.

- When Fiddleford’s not making the world a better place through his inventions, he’s basically the worlds best OP artificer to the Stans

- Ford was kinda….. weird when seeing Fiddleford again for the first time after the Stans sailed off. Because they were back in town to ask for something and Fiddleford was all too happy to oblige. Which is great…. But ford still feels bad about all of the hurt he caused.

- Stan pressed him on it and Ford talks out loud with no real point… just talks about college and their time in the lab together. The gloves Ford’s kept all these years. The globe. Frilliam. All of it. How the guilt absolutely kills him inside. How excited he is to see his friend anyway. He nervously talks about the gifts he’s bought Fiddleford across the globe in hopes of somehow making it up to him. In hopes of ….. idk, salvaging a glimmer of what was somehow….

- Stan clocks Ford’s crush immediately. Fishing out the backstory was to figure out how that crush came to be, and now….. well it sounds like the feelings are mutual. Or at least WERE once upon a time. McMillionare’s rich now, and he’s actually really nice from what Stan knows of him. Beats the shit out of the triangle, anyhow …. Fuck it. He’s playing matchmaker now. 12 year old Mabel would have been proud.

- yes this is ABSOLUTELY a fiddauthor fic idea. They’re end game and you won’t tell me otherwise.

[nancywheelersgirlfriend]

could u write a fic where nancy fully finds out what happened to robin and steve under starcourt

here u go, beloved anon. thank u for waiting so long and so patiently <3

so much braver (than i credit u for) (2,029 words)

T.W. implications of sexual assault, canon violence

The wear and tear were hardly visible in the summer sunlight - that's where Steve thrived, with his tan skin and admittedly nice chest and excellent swimming skill - but now, sat in front of his parents’ campfire with his head against his fist, he looked decades older than he really was. Nancy held her roasting stick tentatively, the marshmallow threatening to collapse into the fiery pit below as she distracted herself in tracing the shadows that fell underneath his eyes. In the harsh light he looked almost in a constant state of grief, with heavy eye bags and lines along his forehead, lips pressed in a thin line and hair limp from the heat.

Robin sat beside Nancy, the two having commandeered the foldout loveseat upon arriving in his backyard. She was expertly placing two roasted marshmallows onto their respective graham crackers - one burnt to all hell and one barely cooked. She passed one to Steve, who had his hand open and waiting as if second nature to accept food from Robin. He liked his barely cooked, apparently.

Eddie was nearly passed out in the lawn chair across the fire from them, a few purposeful feet from Steve after a day spent trying and failing to get a summer job. Surprisingly, nobody wanted to hire the assumed leader of a deadly cult. Robin suggested using it as a resume builder. Nancy suggested changing his name and trying out the next town over. He had his arms folded across his chest, a bit of marshmallow stuck to a long curled strand that Nancy didn’t have the heart to bother him about picking off.

Steve seemed to be contemplating shoving the entire smore in his mouth in one go. 

“You alright?” Nancy asked, immediately wincing at both the lack of tact and impersonality of her question - they’d known each other long enough to forgo conversation starters like that. “You look, um.”

“You look like shit,” Robin helpfully interrupted, sucking off a bit of marshmallow from her finger and generally being the bane of Nancy’s existence. Steve looked up from the smore as if he’d forgotten they were there completely, a little look of shock on his face.

“I’m fine,” He said, but his tone of voice was anything besides reassuring. “I’m, uh, just not getting much sleep lately.” Nancy nodded, fully prepared to drop the whole awkward thing anyway. Clearly, Steve didn’t want to talk about himself or his well-being - he hardly ever did.

“Me neither,” Robin agreed. She took a bite of her burnt-as-hell smore, wordlessly taking Nancy’s stick from out of her loose grip and holding it patiently over the fire for her.

“Thank you,” Nancy whispered to her side. Robin knocked their feet together in acknowledgment.

“I haven’t slept since 1983, honestly,” Steve added, and while he was laughing as he said it Nancy didn’t take it as a joke.

“I have trouble sleeping too,” Nancy admitted to the both of them, hoping to coax them out into the open. Steve and Robin were a bit like frightened animals - make them talk about their feelings too much and they’d scurry away. Deer in headlights type. She had to be gentle. “I dream about - Barb. And Fred.” Just saying their names still made her choked up. Nancy ducked her head into her sweater, prepared to blame her watery eyes on the heavy smoke from the campfire. As she sniffled into the fabric, Steve hummed in neutral agreement.

“I dream about the mall,” Steve said. Beside her, Nancy felt Robin move her whole body to nod.

“You saved my life,” Nancy said, smiling wetly as she remembered both t-boning Billy’s precious sports car seconds before he flattened Nancy into the concrete. “With Toddfather.”

“That was, actually, a highlight of the night,” Steve said, laughing a little in reply as he bit into his smore. “Perfect, Rob.”

“Did you expect anything less?” She asked, pulling back Nancy’s stick just as it was beginning to catch fire. If smore-making could be a job, Robin would be making six figures, no doubt. It was little things like that that made Nancy love her so heartbreakingly. Even watching her do something as simple as making her a smore with the correct amount of chocolate and graham made her heart try to pull itself out of her chest. 

“In most of my dreams,” Steve said, face grounding itself as he tapped a careful thumb against the top of his smore. “I’m - um. I’m back in that room.” Nancy frowned in confusion, taking Robin’s offered smore robotically as she looked at him.

“That room?” She asked. “What room?”

“We never told you?” Robin replied, a little surprised and a little cautious - Nancy’s heart began a steady descent down to her sneakers. What the hell had they not told her? 

It was hard to check in on everybody, especially after that night. She and Jon had been so in the dark about everything else - and the hospital, god. She hadn’t allowed space in her brain for anything else, which she could admit now was a little selfish. Still, Nancy had never asked. And Robin had never said. Certainly, Steve hadn’t. She hardly knew a thing about his childhood, despite dating him for two years and being one of his closest friends for another.

“I know you guys got messed up by some Russians,” Nancy said quietly, surveying both Steve's and Robin’s faces. In the firelight, they looked eerily similar - almost haunted. “But I don’t know the details. I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” Robin reassured her, hand coming to pull her waist in close and squeeze the outer pocket of her jacket. “We forgot to tell you. I guess it never came up.”

“Who wants to talk about it, anyway?” Steve said, mostly to himself. He took another bite of his smore as uneasy silence fell on the group. Nancy felt terrible to push, but her journalist curiosity got the better of her.

“So - what did happen?” She asked. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

“It’s fine,” Robin replied. Nancy watched her make eye contact with Steve, and they proceeded to have a conversation with only slight twitches on their faces. It was the innate ability that came with being best friends the way they were. “You know about the elevator, right?” Nancy racked her brain, then: yes, a hazy recollection of Erica explaining how they’d ended up in the underground base in the first place.

“Yeah, I do.”

“Well, after they set off the alarms and figured out we’d broken in, we all rushed into a backroom,” Robin began, eyes firmly set on the fire. As if she were embarrassed to tell Nancy - or nervous to see her reaction. “Dustin and Erica managed to get themselves into the vent system, to try to get out - but Steve and I had to hold the door to give them enough time. We were grabbed by a bunch of Russian guards and spilt up for interrogation. They kept us there for hours.”

“They beat me so bad I nearly died,” Steve cut in, teeth gritting against each other as if the words were forcing themselves out. Nancy noticed his empty hand, the one not holding his smore, was balling into a tight fist against his leg. “They didn’t believe me when I said I wasn’t working for anybody - they just kept hitting me over and over and over again. I couldn’t breathe, it hurt so bad.” That’s why his face was messed up so badly. Nancy couldn’t help her mouth from dropping open.

“When they brought us back together, I thought he-” Robin cut herself off, gasping as she suddenly realized she was crying. “Jesus, I. I’m sorry. I thought Steve was dead.” The last three words were mere whispers as if saying them to the air made it all more real. Nancy took her hand. Steve’s fist immediately unfurled to take her other, stretched beside the fire to grip with a fury she had never seen before. Robin continued to stare into the fire, unseeing.

“Did they beat you up, too?” Nancy asked. Robin let out a little breath through her nose in careful excess at the question.

“No,” She said quietly. “Well - they did. But not as bad as Steve. It was only in reaction to - when they dragged me in there, I was wearing my Scoops uniform. You know, it’s a pretty shitty outfit for espionage, yeah? And - my skirt - I thought they were going to - so kicked one of the guards in the face, and that’s when they beat me up. But they mostly left me alone.”

It was difficult to pin down exactly what Nancy felt at that exact moment. At first, it was cold horror at the steady, small implication of what Robin was saying; what those guards would’ve done to her, had she not been as ready to fight back or them not as lenient in letting her alone. But horror gave way quickly to a tidal wave of fierce, untamable anger. One that roared in Nancy’s chest and took over her whole being, face reddening with intensity and hand gripping Robin’s with white knuckles.

“Nance,” Robin chided. She looked away from the fire finally to make eye contact with Nancy. “It’s okay. I’m okay. You don’t need to break my hand.”

“Sorry,” Nancy choked out, releasing her grip only slightly. She was worried if she let go, Robin would float away - or worse, be dragged back down to the depths of the mall.

Steve’s face, in comparison, was a steady, heated anger - just as angry as Nancy, but none of the surprise. He’d known about this. Perhaps the entire time. Nancy desperately wished he’d said something, but on the same thought acknowledged it was all within Robin’s jurisdiction. At least she was telling her now.

“And then they drugged us,” Steve said. “And almost took off one of my fingers as a torture tactic.”

“Luckily Dustin and Erica came in then,” Robin finished, shaking her head and smiling despite the tears in her eyes. “The fucking idiots. I could’ve killed them if I had been able to stand up.”

“Horse tranquilizers,” Steve told Nancy, a similar smile on his face. The silence returned for a second or two before Steve was all but collapsing into Robin, pulling her into a tight hug that she returned whole cloth. Nancy stayed on the loveseat as the two best friends stood up for a better angle, gripping each other as if holding each other together. She rested a careful hand on Robin’s back and let her girlfriend fall against her shoulder, emotionally and physically exhausted, when the hug finally broke.

“I’m sorry,” Nancy said, because there was nothing else to say. Steve finished the rest of his smore and looked back into the fire. It seemed some of the shadows, while not entirely going away, had gotten a little lighter. As if the words they had spoken were floating off in the smoke. Robin looked about ready to fall asleep. “I wish I had been there.”

“I am so fucking glad you weren’t,” Robin said, voice muffled. She tucked her head against Nancy’s shoulder and shut her eyes. When Nancy managed to stop looking at the beauty that was her girlfriend in the firelight, she looked back at Steve.

“You can fall asleep, too,” Nancy offered. “I’ll keep watch.” Steve gave her a wiry grin and suddenly he was sixteen again, and the butterflies in her stomach awakened just enough for her to give him one in return.

“Thanks, Nance,” He finally decided, leaning back into his chair and tucking his hands into his jacket pockets. “It’s over, yeah? Like Rob said, it’s okay. We’re okay.”

“I don’t know what to do,” Nancy admitted, carding a careful hand through Robin’s choppy bangs. Steve’s smile grew as the fire winked. 

“You’re already doing something,” He said, gesturing to Robin and her prone position against Nancy’s shoulder. “You’re something, Nance. That’s enough. That’s more than enough.”

Nancy, once again, blamed her tears on the fire. Steve didn’t say a word about it.

[munsonsreputation]

Soon You'll Get Better

Chapter Two: Best of a Bad Deal

↢ chapter one | series masterlist | chapter three ↣

summary: max begins her sophomore year of high school heading into it with optimism and the hope for things to turn back to normal. as she navigates through this new stage she can't help but feel undeserving of this happiness that seems so foreign after the guilt of billy's death. after she has a heated run in with a bully, steve sweeps in to take care of the situation, but it's clear that max has plenty of unsolved and pent up emotions about billy's death that must be put to rest.

word count: [20.5k] kinda proof-read

: ̗̀➛ pairings: big-brother!steve x max & big-sister!reader x max

: ̗̀➛ romantic pairing: steve harrington x fem-college-student!reader

: ̗̀➛ warnings: talks about mental and emotional health, billy's death, self deprecation, difficulty grieving over death, swearing, bullies, max collapsing (she's ok!), tons of tears (get ur tissues ready), steve being supportive, max and steve are a bunch of fluff balls.

With fall setting in and summer dwindling away in the rearview, everyone had seemed to enter a new stage in life. Starting a new school year, getting a little older, job promotions, finding themselves—everything.

For Max, she had started a few new moments in her own life. Recently turned sixteen a few weeks ago in early July and was about to be a sophomore in high school. She was also making an effort to try to get better, to take care of herself a little more and embrace the help that people were willing to give to her—especially Steve and his girlfriend.

“Say cheese!” You bubbled too enthusiastically at seven in the morning.

Max yawned, rubbing her eyes as you stifled your amusement behind the enormous camera and standing by until she flashed you a smile before taking the picture.

“Okay, c’mon, let’s get you to school before you’re late.” Steve snickered, pressing himself off his car as he ushered the young girl towards him.

She yawned once more, wandering into his arm that he slung over her shoulder, “What time did you go to bed last night?” He rose his brows, scanning her drained features as she shrugged.

“Around twelve, I couldn’t stop tossing and turning—just a little anxious.” She told him, getting into the backseat as he held the door open for her.

You looked behind at her, already settled in the passenger with the developing polaroid in your lap, “S’ok sweetheart, everyone gets a little nervous when they start something new.” You consoled her with your soothing voice as she smiled gingerly and buckled in.

“Do you have any classes with El?” Steve inquired, fingers shifting the car into drive as the ride continued under the early morning sky.

“Ummm, I think so,” 

She reached over, unzipping her backpack and finding the folded piece of paper that was at the bottom of the bag. Beginning to read off her schedule before she came across the one class she and her best friend shared.

“English with Mrs. O’Donnell.” Max spoke, folding back up her schedule and placing it into her bag.

“Wasn’t that Eddie’s English teacher?” You rose your brow, glancing towards Steve who chuckled and nodded.

His eyes met Max’s in the rearview where she laughed, knowing the story already, “Yeah, three years in a row.”

“Give him a break! I’m just glad he finally passed and graduated.” You said, undoubtedly proud of your friend for not failing for the fourth time.

“Well, I hope her class isn’t too hard.” Max said from the backseat, watching the window as they slowed by cars also heading in the same direction towards school.

Steve tutted, peeking back towards her, “It shouldn’t be and if you need any help, you can ask El or us too.”

Steve wasn’t necessarily the best student per se, but ever since the kids started going to him for help with projects and studying, he made the effort to use whatever he remembered from all his years of school to help them succeed.

She grinned sincerely and nodded, “Thanks,”

Max wasn’t bad at school. If anything, she was a straight-A student. Passed all her classes with flying colors. But it wasn’t the contents of the class that was difficult it was the people in the class.

Last school year was an absolute nightmare. She was known as the girl with a dead brother who sacrificed his life to save her and her friends. Everyone couldn’t stop talking about it—everyone whispered in the hallways and behind her in class and even if they thought she couldn’t hear them she knew already.

You would think that people would be more sympathetic to her situation. She wasn’t asking for pity from the student body, but just the respect to not talk about such a sensitive topic that they didn’t know the full story about. But instead, all she got were those murmurs of rumors and sick jokes about her dead brother.

Max was just hoping that this school year would be different. That finally she could move on from last year and have a fresh start that she deserved. She knew that getting better was going to take time, but it also wasn’t just up to her. But up to being treated right by others—to not allow herself to be walked all over and dragged around. She knew that Billy wouldn’t want her to take that lightly.

She took a deep breath as Steve turned into the school parking lot, getting in the line of all the other cars who were dropping off students before it finally came her turn. Unbuckling her belt, she leaned in towards the middle console, giving you and Steve a head tap.

“See you guys after school?” She sought, sliding her arms through her backpack loops.

You and Steve beamed back and her, nodding your heads, “I’ll be in class but I’ll meet you guys back at the apartment okay?”

“Sounds good and don’t forget to pick me up at 2:30, Steve!” She called out, opening the car door and stepping out.

He whistled, flashing her another smile with a thumbs up, “Have a good day bug,” He shouted out.

You and Steve waved goodbye, watching Max do the same before she pulled her headphones over her ears as she walked through the crowded parking lot.

Music seemed to be her calmness these days. It helped her focus on other things rather than just the thoughts running through her head.

She was able to focus on the beat, lyrics, trying to picture the scene in her head—like a movie, but just for her ears and imagination. She was just hoping that the soundtrack of Kate Bush would keep her at bay until the end of the day.

Thankfully, for the most part, the angelic voice of Kate Bush was great. It kept her busy just like she hoped, and even El asked to give it a listen during lunch. The only thing that Kate Bush couldn’t black out was the voice of her named being called in the middle of the class after Mrs. O’Donnell had picked up the phone and covered the speakers as motioned Max up to her desk.

“Miss. Lawrence wants to see you in her office and she’s in A13 down in the administration office.” She spoke.

Max nodded, waiting for further instruction while the rest of the students watched on. Mrs. O’Donnell hung up the phone, reaching over her desk and ripping off the bright orange slip where she scribbled down a quick hall pass in case Max would be mistaken for ditching class. 

After signing her name, she passed it to her, a small smile on her face, “She says you might be in her office until the rest of the class, so it’s best you take your things with you in case the bell rings. I’ll see you tomorrow, Maxine.”

Max returned the smile, half surprised that Mrs. O’Donnell wasn’t such an old hag that Eddie said she was, “Thank you…see you tomorrow.”

She walked back over to her desk, stuffing her books and binder into her backpack before turning to El who sat behind her and quietly murmuring, “I’ll meet you in the parking lot when the bell rings.”

Her best friend smiled, nodding her head as she reached for her hand, giving it a warm squeeze. “Okay! Good luck!”

Max was aware of Miss. Lawrence who was the sophomore counselor. Last school year, her counselor, Mrs. Bear, told her about Miss. Lawrence, saying that if she wasn’t in for the day that she could visit the sophomore counselor for whatever she needed. 

Max only visited once, just to get out of class after a particularly hard day.

“Max! Nice to see you! How was your summer?”

She gradually closed the door behind her, walking over to the chairs and taking a seat.

“Summer was fine. What about you?” She asked, resting her backpack on the free chair, looking over at the woman who had a cheery smile on her face.

“Great! I took my daughters to Indianapolis for a few weeks. Very fun, but not much to do once you’ve explored it all.”

She and Max shared a short laugh before she told her a little more about the trip and the interesting landmarks they were able to see. Then she reached for a file of papers, pulling a few of them out and sliding it towards the young girl. The papers being the emergency contact forms that were filled out last year.

Her mother’s name and contact information being the only one written down, and under it a scribbled out box where Billy’s name and homeroom number was once written. 

“I called you in here to see if you wanted to add anyone to your emergency contact list. If you only want to keep your mother’s information on file, that’d be fine, but I just wanted to reach out and see if you’d like to add anyone.”

If Billy were still alive, he’d already be graduated and she would have added the home phone number, but that wasn’t the case anymore. 

She thought about maybe adding Joyce, considering the fact that she was like a mother figure to her, but Max knew who she really wanted the school to contact if something were to ever happen.

Somebody who would drop everything to be there for her.

“Umm, would it be ok if I add Steve and his partner?” She leaned forward, plucking out a pen from the jar while she waited for Miss. Lawrence’s response.

A smile and curt, “mhm” prompted her to begin filling out your and Steve’s names along the dotted line along with your phone numbers. She practically had your numbers memorized, being able to press the buttons on the home phone without even looking because she called you two very often.

Sometimes to just check in see how things were going at home with college and Ollie. But also wondering if you two were free so that she could come over. She loved that you guys always picked up her phone calls, and on the rare occasions that you didn’t, she would leave voice messages, saying to call her back ASAP because she needed to get out of the trailer.

Her sudden fast moving pen abruptly came to halt when the ballpoint hovered over “relationship.”

You and Steve weren’t related to her by blood obviously, but at times she really did feel like you two were a part of her family. She really had no other family besides her mom, so she’d take you two willingly into her chosen one.

“Brother” she wrote into the relationship slot next to Steve’s name and “Sister-In-Law” she wrote next to yours.

Sliding the paper back to her counselor and capping her pen, she sat and waited, watching as Miss. Lawrence examined the paper before placing it back into the folder.

She looked up at her, crossing her hands over her desk and smiling, “Steve Harrington? He used to go here didn’t he?”

Max nodded with a tight smile on her face, “Yeah, we’re sorta close…or not sorta, really close. He’s like a brother figure to me and his partner is there for me lots, too.”

The young girl shrugged, hoping there would be no issue of putting you and him on her contact list. If she couldn’t then basically it’d just be her mother’s work number and home number, and since she was barely home, she’d just have to hope her mom wasn’t too busy at work to pickup the phone if it was an emergency.

“Well, that’s really nice of them and I also want you to know that I, myself are here for you no matter what alright?” She patted the tops of Max’s hands, reaching under her desk with the other to grab a card, sliding over the desk to her.

Max grabbed it, examining the contents. On the first line a phone number to her school office, and the other a personal telephone number in case of emergencies.

“In case you ever need to talk, just feel free to call, and if at any time during class you feel like you need to talk to someone you’re always welcome to my office, alright?”

“Thank you,” Max replied serenely, moving back over to her backpack and placing the card in the front pocket for easy access if she ever needed it.

Miss Lawrence looked at her watch, just a few minutes before the bell would ring and the first day of school would come to an end, “You’re welcome to leave now, but just don’t walk out of the front gates before security goes all bezerk.”

She laughed, giving the girl a warm smile, observing her sling the backpack over her shoulder before waving a goodbye and exiting her office.

There was a sense of relief walking out of there without bringing up Billy’s name because she really had thought this was going to be those miserable counselor meetings where she had to sit there watching the poor woman pour her heart out and not know what to say in response.

Talking about Billy and even bringing up his name was a bit triggering now. The only person who was allowed to bring it up was her and if someone else did, she thinks she would immediately see red because all she wanted to do now was to move on.

If that was even possible.

It still hurt to know that he wasn’t here, yet she accepted the fact that she couldn’t bring him back. But really, was this grief worth dying over? For a few months, she thought it was, but at the end of the day she knew Billy was better off dead than surviving that attack.

For crying out loud, he was impaled by a fucking Mindflayer.

There was no plausible or possible way for him to survive.

But even though a piece of her died when he left, she also knew that she could survive this grief.

It would just take time and a lot of realizing that she had to make the best of a bad deal.

As soon as the last bell of the day rung vehemently, she pushed through the big glass double doors and strode against the rough gravel, stopping beside the bike racks that were right next to the parking lot.

She pulled her headphones over her ears, not wanting to hear the commotion of everyone filing out of their classes, and instead watched the doors, waiting until she was able to see her best friend. It was only a couple minutes, and almost halfway through a song that she spotted El on the other side of the glass, but she wasn’t walking alone. 

There was Will, her brother.

El waved eagerly towards her, as if they didn’t see each other just a little while ago, but that’s something that Max always admired. That no matter how much time went by, El was always so thrilled to see her.

She waved back, placing her headphones around neck and pausing the tape as they got closer.

“Hey Max!” Will approached, opening his arms in a hug.

She smiled casually, opening hers, and hugging him, “Hey Will.”

Things weren’t necessarily uncomfortable between Will and Max, but they definitely grew a little distant after what had happened at Star Court. In hindsight, it also was a little funny because before the Upside Down crap came back haunting Hawkins—Max, El, and Will were like the little trio that summer.

They had begged you and Steve to drive them around town or supervise them at the pool, per their parents’ request. The three of them connected to the hip and having fun doing their own thing while the others did whatever they constituted as fun.

That was until after Star Court and the breakup that happened between Max and Lucas.

She always understood that Will was inevitably closer to Lucas than he was to her. They had grown up together their whole lives, and Max only entered the picture recently. And even if Will didn’t pick sides, because he didn’t—she knew that everything would be ok and if she had El that was all that mattered.

But still, it was nice to hug her friend again after this entire summer of being missing in action. When they pulled away, they moved a little closer into the parking lot, waiting on the curb as they watched the carpool line move.

“So what happened?” El nudged her delicately, gripping her binder to her chest while on the lookout of the cars entering the pickup section.

“Miss. Lawrence asked me about my emergency contact form and let me add two people.” She told them and they nodded.

“Do you think I could sit with you guys at lunch tomorrow?” Will asked kindly, looking between his little sister and Max.

Today, he had sat with Mike and Dustin at the usual DnD table and while he loved the comfort of his two best friends, he also missed Max and wanted to hang more. 

Plus, the DnD table just wasn’t the same without Eddie and the rest of the seniors who had graduated. Hellfire didn’t have a good reputation either, so not many freshmen or newcomers signed up.

Will knew that it was only a matter of time before Hellfire would no longer be a club at Hawkins and instead just better off being played in the confines of the Wheeler basement or Eddie’s trailer.

“Sure,” Max nodded her head, glancing over at him, “Did the guys do something?” she rose her brows and he shook his head wrapping fingers over his backpack straps and holding.

“No, well…kinda? They’re just being friendly to some of the freshman, but I’m not really good with new people, so it’s a little awkward, and plus, Lucas sits with the jocks now, so yeah.”

Will sounded a little disappointed, not at the fact that his childhood best friends were evolving, but more so at the fact that he felt like he was being left behind. 

Maybe that’s why the three always gravitated towards each other in a way.

El was, of course overlooked.

Max was misunderstood.

And Will was underappreciated.

“You can sit with us every day if you want!” El offered graciously, giving Will a wide smile and reaching over to squeeze his wrist assuringly.

Max did the same, expect in her own loving way. Poking him the in the side and grinning like a maniac because even if Will hated getting poked in his prime tickle spot, this was like a form of love in some weird way.

“Max! Wait up!”

The three of them whipped their heads back and found a jogging Lucas waving his hands up in the air as he made his way towards them.

“Should I tell him to go away?” Will requested under his breath, just a few seconds away from Lucas coming closer.

She bit her lip and shook her head. Telling him to go away was the last thing she wanted and quite frankly all she did this past summer was push him away. It was time that she faced the music and owe him an explanation.

Lucas was always so good and kind to her. Constantly asking if she was ok, even when he knew she wasn’t. Trying his best to get her to open up about her feelings. Leaving a pile of picked flowers on her doorstep even when she wouldn’t answer the door.

All of the things he did because he loved her and she pushed him away like nothing.

It was horrible what she did, but she knew it was for her own sake.

“H-hey!” Lucas coughed out stiffly, rubbing the back of his neck as he stared on at her, watching a little smile appear on her freckled face.

“Hi jock.” She pestered light heartedly, scrunching her nose at the patch on his letterman jacket that now was going to become a new staple in his closet.

She and Lucas always used to make fun of the jocks that they’d seen all over town back when they were in middle school. Acting like Hawkins’ Royalty just because they got to go to states only to come home without a trophy. It felt a little funny that even after those years of those conversations; he was in front of her wearing one of those jackets.

“But I’m a nice jock.” He clicked his tongue and pointed his finger at her, making her laugh.

Will discreetly reached for El’s wrist, gently tugging the two of them a few feet back to give Max and Lucas some much needed privacy. 

For the first time that they conversed after the breakup, they didn’t seem so tense or weirded out by each other. And to them, seeing their friends look somewhat happy in each other’s presence felt like a good step.

Max rolled her eyes sarcastically, moving her feet across the gravel. “I don’t know if being a nice jock is even possible.”

Lucas simply amused her, making a ‘X’ over his heart and mouthing the words, “I promise.” She knew he would always be a nice person. But a jock? She never thought that would happen. 

“So…umm, how have you been?” He stammered the question out, anxiously rubbing his hands together, hoping to hear some good news.

Max swallowed, and smiled, a real genuine smile, “Better,” she began, “A lot better, kinda…Steve and his girlfriend have been really there for me, so it’s nice.”

Lucas beamed at the response, finally glad and thoroughly convinced that Max was indeed doing better, maybe not 100% the same Max from before, but she was getting there little by little.

“How about you?”

Max gestured over at him, obviously wanting to hear about when he decided to change up the look and go for total jocky balls and laundry basket mode, as Eddie would call it.

She watched him dig into his jean pockets, pulling out a key and smiling wide.

“I got my license a few ago! And my dad let me get a new stereo system for crushing basketball tryouts—it’s cool! It comes with a tape player and everything, so maybe one day we can drive around and blast that Kate Bush tape.”

He pointed at her Walkman clipped to her jeans. The Kate Bush tape that he knew she loved, confined within the two pieces of plastic and could be seen through the little clear window in the front.

Her fingers trailed over the Walkman, resting there, as she looked up at Lucas with sorry eyes and a frown.

“I-I’m sorry for pushing you away for so long. I swear it’s not what I wanted to do…but it was what was best for me.” She admitted, pursing her lips and watching Lucas shake his head.

“No, I should be the sorry one because I kept pushing you to talk even though I knew you were still hurting deep down. A-and why you said that it wasn’t because of me, and you blamed yourself for me being stupid and pushy—”

Max swallowed, shaking her head, “uh, uh” cutting Lucas off, leading him to raise his brows and stop.

“I meant it when I said it was nothing to do with you, Lucas.” She said quietly enough to hear despite the chatter from the rest of the students passing by.

Max’s eyes looked from side to side, making sure no one was able to hear what she was about to say. And when she knew the coast was clear, she stepped forward, somewhat closing the space between them and hugging herself to find some comfort.

“What happened last summer fucked me up. Really bad,” she buzzed, feeling Lucas so close to her, “I’m still trying to heal from it and the last thing I want to do is rope you in with everything. So I mean it when I say it’s not you, it’s me.”

Her eyes darted up to his, seeing them filled with acceptance and a slight bit of hopelessness. She could read Lucas like the back of her hand, and she knew that it was still painful for him. 

After all, they were quite literally each other’s first love.

“I believe you.” He whispered back, his hand reaching for hers and clutching it tenderly.

She gave him a tight-lipped smile, stepping back and opening up the space between them. The space that she knew would one day once be filled again, but right now she had to put herself first, even if it was selfish. 

Even if a boy, straight out of her dreams, who did nothing but make her laugh and never tried to change her was waiting on the other side.

Your words and Steve’s echoing in her mind and reminding her that she was the priority. That this space between her and Lucas would never fully close unless she put herself first and got better.

Not because Lucas deserved it.

But because she did.

“Bug!”

The crunch of the tires on gravel, followed by Steve’s voice, made her look back. His face looking at her from the passenger window where he waved. Max and El were already starting to make their way into the backseat of his car, and she had to go.

She turned back around to Lucas, seeing him give Steve a wave and smile before redirecting his attention back to his favorite red-head.

“I’ll try to call sometime…and I look forward to that ride one day.” She told him, reaching out to pat his shoulder as she gave him a soft smile and turned on her heel.

But before she could go, he grabbed onto her palm, placing a piece of paper folder up between them before he squeeze and finally let her go. 

She looked puzzled at first, wondering what it could have been, but just seeing the words Lucas mouthed reassured her, “Read it and let me know.”

She swallowed, nodding her head understandingly and clutching her fist around the paper. Walking towards Steve’s car, she could already imagine the questions that he was about to ask by the slight crinkle of his forehead and curled lip.

“Save it,” Max groaned jokingly, holding her hand up to his face as she slumped into her seat and buckled her belt.

Steve shook his head, looking back at the other two kids in the backseat, pretending to look as clueless as possible. His eyes shifted back to Max, clicking his tongue, “Start talking missus.”

She turned her head away, peering out towards the passenger window, where her fingers carefully opened up the note. In messy blue ink, he wrote, “first game on Friday…hope to see you there!” signed off with his initials and two stick figures: him and her.

With a smile on her face, she tucked the paper into her pocket, turning towards Steve who was already staring right back at her with a grin, “I’m going to a game on Friday.”

When they got back to the apartment, Steve couldn’t help but eavesdrop while he got some food going in the microwave overhearing the conversation the other three were having in the living room only a few feet away.

“You guys are like totally obsessed with my non-existent dating life!” Max accused jokingly, spread out on the floor with Ollie laying on her rib cage.

Will and El had already gotten started with their homework fanned out across the coffee table, multitasking as they chatted with Max.

“We’re not obsessed, just mildly concerned.” Will told her, eyes never leaving his calculus worksheet that he was flying through.

The red head sat up, cuddling the dog to her, as she looked over at Will, “What do you mean concerned?”

He finally looked away from his homework, shooting her a knowing glance. “Lucas is going to think this means that you two are getting back together.”

“He’s right,” El murmured, setting her pencil down and laying her head over her arms, still concentrating her eyes on her best friend, “It doesn’t help that won’t shut up about you.” El added, watching Max inhale and shrug.

Unlike Max, El still hung out with the guys mostly because of Mike and as of recently her best friend was the topic of discussion. Lucas asking the boys for some girl advice, which was ludicrous because usually it was them asking him for advice.

Will and El would share uncomfortable and silent glances, knowing that Max wasn’t going to budge on her stance with the relationship. Nothing was going to make her magically change her mind and decide to get back together with him. This wasn’t like their previous petty breakdowns where Max would keep Lucas on his toes, but eventually take him back with a snap of her fingers.

This was something more, and they both knew that.

“Well…we’re not going to—I’m just not ready for it, don’t know when I will be, but that doesn’t mean I have to stop caring about him.” She told her friends, looking away subconsciously.

But Max knew that El and Will were a smart pair of siblings. They both probably already knew everything she was going through, but didn’t want to ask or bring it up because they knew it would make her uneasy.

“Which is why no one is forcing you to go to that game for Lucas’ sake,” Will responded, pressing a comforting hand on her knee, “You should go because you want to, not because you feel like you have to.”

“Who’s forcing who to do what?”

Steve came into the living room balancing a plate of hot pockets on one hand and three bottles of water in the other.

Max looked up at him, putting Ollie down on the floor as Steve placed the food on the coffee table and sat back on the couch.

“Nothing! No one is forcing me to do anything. They’re just concerned about the game on Friday.” Max said, shaking her head and picking up a hot pocket and taking a bite.

Steve observed, seeing Will and El passing him troubled glances, not wanting to be caught by Max who would totally tell them they were freaking out for no reason at all, when in fact they had all the reasons in the world to.

“Do you actually wanna go to the game?” Steve urged, sitting up slightly and watching her chew before answering with a dismissive bobble of her head.

“Yeah, I guess…it’s not like I have anything to do, anyways.” She told him, prompting Steve to let out a sigh, running his hands up and down his legs, wondering what was the right response to give her.

“Max, if you want to go, you should go. It’ll be a nice change of scenery for you, but you don’t just have to go because you feel like you owe Lucas something, alright? You make your own choices for yourself. Don’t let him or any of us pressure you into doing or going to something you don’t want to do.”

She knew where they were all coming from, considering the amount of protectiveness they all had for her, especially Steve. He knew the struggles she was facing that El and Will didn’t, so his words were hinting at that something more without explicitly saying it or being too obvious.

Max wasn’t only on the road to getting better mentally and emotionally, but also facing the grief of Billy. The thoughts of going back to the basketball court where she would obviously have memories of her late brother was something she wasn’t quite sure she was ready to face alone.

It wasn’t like she was scared or terrified, but more so just apprehensive to see what the outcome would be. Would she only be able to see the ghost of Billy out on the court, or would she freeze and run away when she saw Lucas there?

She wasn’t quite sure if it was Lucas or Billy’s ghost she was fending off, but she knew she wanted to do this—just not alone.

“Do you think you and her could come to the game?” Max proposed, looking at Steve who grinned tightly and nodded.

“Of course,” Steve replied, reaching forward to ruffle her hair as she playfully rolled her eyes and smacked his hand away.

She looked at her two other friends, watching with smiles as they ate their afternoon snack, clearly pleased with Max’s more confident answer this time around. She knew they knew that things were difficult for her—more difficult than it was a year ago. It was that sort of silent pact and understanding that they had between the three of them.

They knew, but they just wouldn’t speak of it for her sake. But what they would do was advocate for her best interest and remind her that she was in control of everything that was left up to her.

“Guys wanna come too?” Max suggested, wiggling her brows at the two who grinned. 

“But you have to swear we won’t have to do those stupid cheers that the crowd does to get pumped up!” Will pointed with a laugh as Max crossed her fingers over her heart.

“Promise!” she added with a giggle.

“If Lucas has trouble shooting, do you think I could use my powers to help?” El looked at Max with an innocent look of curiosity before the redhead turned to Steve.

“Can she?” Max smirked, and Steve looked at her with a grin.

“Y’know, it’d probably be really helpful, buutttt we should let the game play out without super powers, alright?”

He turned to El with a chortle, following as she moped somewhat, but went straight back to eating her hot pocket and doing her homework.

The front door knob wiggled, the lock turning while Ollie hopped excitedly, sprinting around in circles before you finally came through the doorway.

“I’m home!” You sparkled, toeing off your shoes and placing your stack of books on the little table at the entrance of your apartment.

Steve was up from his place on the couch in an instant, coming to greet you at the front door with a peck to the lips.

“Missed you,” Steve murmured, placing a kiss on your arm while he guided the strap of your backpack down and off your shoulders.

You smiled warmly, stepping up on your tiptoes to give him another kiss, “I missed you too.”

“Yeah, you know we’re here too!”

Steve sneered playfully, taking your bag to the bedroom while you stooped down to pick up Ollie in your arms before walking over to the teens at the table.

“Helloooo, Ellie…Willie….and Maxie.” You singsonged, pecking the tops of their heads as they grumbled at your corny nicknames before you rounded the coffee table and plopped down on the sofa.

“How was college?” El sought, scooting closer to your legs as she reached an arm up and petted Ollie behind the ears.

“Plenty of lecture notes to go through, but that’s boring! Tell me all about your first day! Any cute girls or guys? Mean teachers? New cliques?” Your eyes darting to the three who smiled and shrugged lightly.

“My classes are alright. Mostly full of kids from last school year, but my teachers are really nice! Mr. Krasinski said that if we all turn in our syllabus on time we get one pass to skip any pop quiz throughout the semester, we would just have to vote on it as a class.” Will explains

“When I was in high school all my teachers were lame, you guys are lucky!” You pestered.

You tilted your head towards the girls, squinting your eyes, “Soooo, is Mrs. O’Donnell really an old miserable hag?”

Max and El shook their heads, cackling loudly at your comment that you definitely got from Eddie Munson himself.

“She’s actually kinda nice! Maybe Eddie really just gave her a hard time.” Max spoke, dusting off her fingers and reaching for her water bottle to take a sip.

Just then Steve had exited your bedroom, heading towards the kitchen to grab yourself a snack which was usually string cheese and a bag of lays.

“Did you tell her about Lucas?” Steve called out while ripping open the new pack of string cheese he had bought for you a few days ago.

He snickered when he heard your dramatic gasp, startling Ollie who hopped out of your arms and ran over to him.

“Oh, here it goes now…” Max groaned, shaking her head with no malice as you dropped onto the floor beside her with a bemused grin on your face holding her by the shoulders.

“Tell. Me. Everything!” You shook her gingerly, catching Steve in the distance who was coming closer with your favorite snacks.

Perfect timing.

You let go of her shoulders, hands instantly grabbing the food Steve was offering to you, before you settled your back against his legs where he sat down on the couch and ran his fingers through your locks smoothly.

“Well, he came up to me after school and asked me how I was doing.” Max started getting relaxed next to you as you nodded and listened, peeling strings of the cheese as you ate.

“Then I apologized for pushing away this whole summer and he took it surprisingly well actually, then he invited me to his basketball game on Friday.”

You turned your head strongly, looking at her with widened eyes. 

“He’s a jock now? Since when?”

Max snorted somewhat in an agreeing manner, “I guess he took up basketball over the summer and tried out. He’s on junior varsity and plays point guard.”

You took in that information, chewing slowly, trying to decipher which questions you wanted to ask because really you had so many, but you settled on the most important one for the moment.

“Do you want to go?”

A smile began to tug at Max’s lips, making you raise your brows as you watched her throw her arms out wide, “Yep! And you and Steve are coming with!”

You pretended to whimper, sending your head back on Steve’s knees where you stared at him upside down, “Why!? You know I can’t stand watching laundry baskets and balls!”

He tsked, bopping your nose, “I’m going to ban you and Eddie from hanging out. I was on the basketball team you know!”

You sighed, throwing your head right side up and looked at Max, trying to hold back a smile.

“You’re lucky, I love you.” with that you wrapped your arms around her, embracing her in a hug that silently told her that you were in fact looking forward to it and would go anywhere she asked if it made her feel comfortable.

To be honest, you were probably the most nervous for Max’s first day of school even if it didn’t look like it because you didn’t want her to see through your worry. Kids her age knew of the Billy incident, and you also knew that they were ruthless.

Your heart couldn’t handle knowing that today could’ve been a horrible one for her, where she felt ostracized by her classmates and you and Steve weren’t there to scoop her up and tell all those other bullies to fuck off.

And the funny part is, you and Steve shouldn’t even be this concerned in the first place, but you knew deep down that the both of you would always be this worried for her and her wellbeing. 

Max had been through a lot, and you were grateful that she found a safe space with you and Steve because you knew she needed it more than anything. The both of you would do anything for her in a heartbeat because you both cared for her that much.

Honestly, you could’ve cried seeing how happy she looked sitting in your living room with her two friends while they did homework together. And for the first time in a long time, you could see that this wasn’t just one of those half exteriors that she would put on to convince her friends that she was ok.

This was Max finally starting to let her guard down and begin to heal.

The old Max would never really make a return—that Max was the one who died when she watched her brother go. But this also wasn’t the old Max who wanted to retreat from social interactions with people she actually enjoyed being around.

This was Max coming into her own again and you were glad that you got to see it happening in the flesh.

The happiness wasn’t something that was just passing for Maxine, for once it felt steady even in a time where she wasn’t quite sure how sure she was of its presence.

Having Will and El sitting with her at lunch gave her a sense of security, knowing that there were two people she could go to at any given time. It was an even bigger plus having El with her during the last period of the day because they could walk to class together and even talk during free time.

She gushed over the phone when she’d call to tell you about her day at school when she wasn’t spending time at your apartment. Even telling Steve about her obnoxious classmates during the car ride home or begging him to drive slower, so she’d just be a tad bit late before the first bell.

It seemed as though that sophomore year wasn’t as scary as she had thought it out to be. It was less lonely, even if it was only two of her friends keeping her company. There were fewer eyes staring at her and murmuring in the hallways from last school year, and it felt like everyone had moved on—which was great, because she wanted to as well.

Today was one of those days where Max didn’t get dropped off by Steve nor was going to be picked up by him. El and Will suggested that they head to a diner after school to grab an actual appetizing late lunch while they did homework. Joyce was in charge of the early morning drop off and Hopper would do the picking up and dropping Max back to the trailer.

Max liked the new routine: dropping in at your place on certain days of the week and also spending her time with her friends just being regular high schoolers trying to get through the next two years. 

There was a sense of normalcy about it that she found freeing. A part of her knowing that she didn’t have to stay locked up in her trailer, wasting the days away, and instead it felt good to go out and have a distraction to help her get through whatever she was feeling.

But she also loved the fact that if at any moment things got too heavy for her or if she just needed a break, you and Steve’s door was always going to be open.

It was a rarity for your college classes to get cancelled, but when they were, it was almost like a cheat day. Spending your time at home, getting to lounge around and watch movies or better yet catch up on your naps that you’d been missing out on thanks to studying and work.

This time, though, you’d gotten to do just that before Steve had called out of work early to spend the rest of his afternoon with you, bringing home a new tape and some candy bars for an extra touch of love.

“I could totally do that.” Steve grumbled, tossing more popcorn into his mouth while the screen displayed Patrick Swayze lifting Jennifer Grey up into the air.

“Hmm sure,” you dragged out, rolling your eyes lovingly as you bit into your second chocolate bar of the afternoon.

A knock sounded on the front door, prompting Ollie to hop down, sniffing and running around in circles at the guest.

“Did you forget to pick Max up?” You paused the movie, looking over at Steve.

He glanced down at his watch, shaking his head, “She said she was getting a ride from Hop to head to the diner with El and Will. It can’t be her.”

“Thats weird,” you thought out loud, shaking it off and heading to the door, leaning down to pet Ollie as you unlocked it.

“Hello?” You started as you opened it, coming face to face with Lucas, 

“Lucas! What are you doing here? Did you need a ride or something?”

He shook his head, a smile on his face as Ollie ran to his feet and began jumping excitedly, “Hey Ollie,”

“I got my license a few weeks ago, Dustin didn’t tell you?” He laughed, petting your puppy’s head as Steve came to your side.

“Did they make you parallel park?” Steve asked, smiling at the scene.

I nailed it pretty quickly…do you think I could come in for a bit?”

You nodded, opening the door wider as he stepped in with Ollie in his arms and took a seat on the couch.

“How can we be of service?” You plopped yourself on the opposite couch while Steve sat beside him.

He took a deep breath, looking between the both of you as his hands continued petting Ollie who now laid comfortable across his lap.

“It’s umm, about Max…”

You sat up and so did Steve, who straightened his posture and nodded his head like the protective older brother he was to her. 

“What about her?”

“I invited her to my game tomorrow.” Lucas started, the two of you nodding, already knowing this information because she told you guys over dinner a few days ago, “She said she’d come and she actually seems a bit happier now, which has me thinking…”

Steve rose his brows arms crossed over his chest, “About what?”

“To win her back! I just need help trying to come up with a plan. I talked to Dustin and Mike about it, but all their ideas suck. And I even went to El and Will, but they said they can’t help me. So I was thinking you guys could help?”

His voice was hopeful, but the looks that you were giving him weren’t necessarily mirrored with the same smile he had. If anything, you and Steve were quiet, not quite sure on what to say or where to look, so instead you looked at each other, eyes fighting silently over who was going to tell him you two couldn’t help.

Truth be told, after the kids had left your apartment on Monday afternoon, Steve had spilled his guts about the conversation that the three had about Lucas and his invite to the game. He knew it wasn’t his place to throw himself into some teenage issues, but Max was like a little sister to him, and just as El and Will had said, there was a point to be mildly concerned.

Max stood her ground about not getting back together with Lucas. Yes, she wanted to go to the basketball game to show her support towards him, but that did not mean they were getting back together—none at all.

Those were boundaries that Max was setting, and you both knew that you couldn’t sit here and look at this kid and give him the false hope that somehow he could pull off a miracle to win her back.

Eventually the staring contest came to an end, and Steve won.

You sighed, getting up from your seat and sitting beside Lucas, “I’m sorry bud, but I don’t think we’ll be able to help with that,” you said wistfully, a soothing hand resting on his shoulders where they slumped.

“W-why?” He asked disappointedly as you grimaced, squeezing his shoulder trying to get him to relax.

“Because Max isn’t a girl who can be won back, Lucas,” You started, turning your body towards him as you explained, “Look, I know you care about her a lot and there no doubt in my mind that she cares about you the same way, but she just needs this time alone.”

You said it slowly, watching as the young boy’s face settled even sadder, if that was possible. His hands stopped petting Ollie and instead rested smoothly on his thighs. His mouth moving yet the words stuck in his throat as he tried to understand.

“I—I just don’t understand, we’ve been broken up for months. The longest we’ve ever been broken up—”

Steve cut in, patting him on the back. “Trust us, we know.”

Lucas shook his head turning his attnetion back to you, “Isn’t that enough time alone? I just don’t get it.”

You smiled tightly, lifting your shoulders and letting them fall as you grabbed his hands and squeezed, “Because maybe it’s not for you to understand, but it’s something you need to accept Lucas. She needs her space to take care of herself. Don’t you think she’s been through a lot in the last two years?”

Lucas swallowed thickly, nodding his head before hanging it low, “So you’ve gotta let her do this. She comes first no matter what. With that being said, you’ve gotta focus on yourself and the stuff that makes you happy.” You told him sternly, patting his hands before going to grab a glass of water that it looked like he needed.

The young boy was quiet, sulking with disappointment and sadness, knowing that this was completely out of his hands and like you had told him, he had to accept it. It was just painful to know the only girl he ever wanted just couldn’t be with him right now.

Steve knew how Lucas felt. He too was a sophomore chasing after a girl who couldn’t be with him, but under different circumstances because sophomore year Steve was an asshole, but Lucas—not a bad bone in that kid.

“Dude, c’mon, don’t let this get you down.” Steve shook him by the shoulders, attempting to get a smile, but all he got was a frown that didn’t look like it could be flipped upside down easily.

“I just miss her…a lot.” He blurted out, making Steve click his tongue and nod sympathetically.

He knew that Max and Lucas spent less and less time together. And while Max wasn’t fond of talking about boys and romance in front of him, he knew that she missed Lucas as well. How she’d bring him up in random conversations when something reminded her of him. Little things here and there let him know that Max missed Lucas. But many things also outweighed the fact that a relationship would not be good for her right now.

You and Steve were two of the only people to really know what was going on with her and what she was going through with everything inside and at home. So while Steve hated to play favorites and lie—he knew it wasn’t his place nor yours to tell Lucas what was really going on with Max.

That one day, they could have a conversation around it with themselves and work it out like adults.

“I know you do, but you were her friend before you were her boyfriend,” Steve explained, nudging him with his elbow, garnering the young boy’s attention, “Be there for her as a friend. Listen to her. Talk to her. But for the love of god, do not dare push her, because I’ll find out and you know that if I hear that you made her upset—”

Your eyes widened, quickly strolling back into the living room with an ice cold glass of water that you passed to Lucas who stared at Steve nervously before you came back in.

“He’ll have a civil conversation with you!” You finished for him, turning your head towards Steve’s, widening your eyes to tell him to cut it out.

Steve shrugged his shoulders, Lucas paying no mind to you two as he downed the drink, “Yeah, that’s where I was getting at…thanks babe.”

“No biggy, Stevie.” You smirked to yourself, picking up Ollie and cuddling him into your chest as Lucas and Steve watched on.

“Thanks guys, I really needed to hear that. I’m actually pretty glad I came to you two before I followed through with what Mike and Dustin said.” Lucas laughed to himself, shaking his head, making you and Steve curious.

“What was their plan?” Steve rose his brows, sitting back on the couch as you nodded your head wanting to know too.

“Serenade her with some Kate Bush…Dustin said Suzy took him back when he sang Never-Ending Story.” He shook his head laughing, covering his face as he remembered the looks that he and Mike shot the curly headed teen who seemed so serious about it.

You snorted, knowing that while Dustin was an intelligent kid, that dude was just not the go to for relationship advice.

“Well, thank god you didn’t because you would have ruined Kate Bush for her!” You bantered, patting him on the shoulder as he pouted up at you.

“Hey c’mon! I have pipes!”

Steve chuckled, swinging his arm over his shoulder, “You’ve got pipes, but not Kate Bush pipes.”

“You’re right.” Lucas pointed, a smile on both of their faces, before he stood up, dusting off his jeans.

“I gotta run back to school and pick up Erica from band practice,” He told you, pulling out his car keys from his pocket, “But my first game of the season is this Friday—Do you guys think you can make it?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.” You assured, giving him a tight hug that he welcomed before turning towards Steve and shaking his hand.

“We’ll see you then…and make sure you work on your three-pointers, remember, to turn your feet and size up the basket before you release…”

You sighed, shooting Lucas an apologetic look that he waved off as he continued listening to Steve’s advice, taking it, knowing that it would probably come in handy for this week’s game. As Steve finished off what looked to be a demonstration of a three pointer that had you and Lucas on the verge of cracking up, you planted a hand on the center of his back, leading him towards the door.

“Okay, Steve, I think he gets it, and I don’t think Erica would be happy waiting around for her dear brother to pick her up.” You sing-songed, opening the door for Lucas so he could get a way out from hearing more of Steve’s coaching.

“Go before he keeps rambaling!” You screeched, pushing him out the door where he shouted out a “bye steve!” before jogging down the apartment steps and hopping into his car.

You waved bye to him as he drove off, before Steve’s arms wrapped around your body, him slotting himself behind you and nuzzling his face into your neck as you giggled and shut the door.

“Work on being less confrontational when it comes to Max,” you chided softly, poking his cheek as he pouted dropping his arms around you, yet keeping his chin on your shoulder.

“I was not.” He moped, making you snort, unimpressed by his demeanor.

“Babe, you totally were! When I left to get him water, I came back to you nearly seething and Lucas looking scared out of his mind!”

He grinned lazily, eyebrows raised as he stared at you from the weird angle, “Really?! So it worked, huh?”

You tiled your head, “What worked?”

“Intimidation. You know I was never a big fan of it, but Lucas had to know that I won’t tolerate him trying to force Max to get back together.” He finished, removing his head from your shoulder and going towards the kitchen.

You trailed behind him, a smile on your face as he got water, gulping it down as you leaned back on the counter and stared, “I’m sure Max would appreciate it, but I’m also sure Lucas would never do such a thing.”

He placed the cup down, leaning back on the counters opposite of you, “Oh I know…I just had to remind him.”

You closed your eyes, huffing out another laugh, “You’re impossible.”

Steve knew that he was probably protective of all the kids, but he just felt more protective of Max. He knew things weren’t easy for her, even before the death of Billy, but things just got progressively worse after he passed. 

Max would no longer call him and bug him to take her to the movies, and a little piece of him missed the redhead and her quip remarks. If he had known sooner what she was going through, he would’ve stepped in and at least tried to prevent it from getting this bad.

And even though he could never go back into the past, he just hoped that now Max knew that you and he would be there for her in a heartbeat. That you two would do anything you possibly could to see her happy because it’s what she deserved after everything she had been through.

“And it’s in!” Max cheered on with her friends, watching as Hawkins continued to lead the game.

Steve never thought that he’d be back inside the very gymnasium where Billy essentially threw him on his ass, but alas here he was sitting on the bleachers cheering on Lucas while his girl and the teens conversed through most of the game.

Max wasn’t as tense as she thought that she would be, and while this definitely wasn’t her usual scene, she felt composed. She wasn’t sure if it was having her friends here with her or maybe it was just some internal nervousness that she made up in her head that she forgot about, but it was nice.

For this being the first game of the season, the gym wasn’t as crowded, so it didn’t feel too suffocating. She could see Erica and the rest of Lucas’ family sitting closer towards the court, his mother and father often bolting out of their seat when their son made a basket.

It made her smile despite her distaste towards jocks and the whole idea of the sport as a whole. Remembering what Lucas said about being a “nice jock,” she knew deep down that he really was a good guy. Maybe with his addition on the team, there could be some sort of revolution to the Hawkins’ rule book where all jocks didn’t actually have to be complete assholes and instead compassionate meat heads who threw balls into a basket for fun.

Eddie’s insult was totally rubbing off on her, too.

Steve noticed Max’s spurt of silence, catching her staring off onto the court without following the ball with her eyes. He nudged her slightly with his elbow to capture her attention, but not obvious enough for you and the others to catch.

Her eyes flickered to his, jutting her chin up, “Yeah?”

“You okay?” Steve asked, studying her features to see if she was hinting that she wanted to leave early or was getting tired.

She nodded with a smile. “I’m good, was just thinking of stuff.”

“Wanna enlighten me?” He quipped, as she shrugged and turned her eyes back to the court, watching as the opposing team had begun to catch up.

“Do you ever miss being in high school?” She asked.

He tapped his foot against the stands, thinking before answering, “Not really. High school wasn’t the best time for me and I had a bad reputation I was living up to. I’d only ever go back so I could make things right and maybe meet her a little sooner.”

She watched Steve look over at you, smiling wide at your absentmindedness too busy paying actual attention to the game while biting down nervously on your thumb. She could tell that Steve was madly in love with you, and she even wished that Steve had met you earlier too, because you changed him in a way.

You made Steve “the king” Harrington less jocky and more focused on him and his future. Plus, you made him soft in the heart which was a plus because the kids totally used it to their advantage.

“By making things right…do you mean with Billy?”

Maxine wasn’t stupid. She had already known about Steve and her brother going at each other’s throats even before Lucas and Dustin had invited her out to search for Dart, which is when she met him.

Back at home, she could hear Billy talking to himself while he lifted weights in his room. Something about him wanting to beat the shit out of Steve Harrington and take his place at Hawkins High.

And maybe Billy was a bit insecure when it came to Steve because she knew that Steve was who he wanted to be. For all she knew at the time, Steve was wealthy, lived in a big house, and had all the ladies frothing at the mouth for him.

Obsessive…totally, but she knew he couldn’t help it, especially with the upbringing that he had.

She thought that she was going to hate Steve, because while Billy and Max barely agreed on certain things—they both hated pretentious people, which is exactly how Billy had described Steve.

But she couldn’t hate him. 

Not when he stepped in front of a real life monster to save her life in a very cramped school bus in the middle of nowhere. Plus, throwing himself outside of said school bus to attract the monsters and kill them by himself to put the kids out of harm’s way.

Maybe Steve Harrington was soft all along.

“Uhh, yeah, partly... yeah," Steve stuttered, not really know the right way to go about this conversation.

The last time Max had brought up Billy’s name was when she had that mini panic attack back at home after the doctor’s appointment. That had been nearly a month ago, and since then she hadn’t spoken about him and you and Steve were more than fine with that—neither of you bringing him up, either.

Billy was a touchy subject for a multitude of reasons.

The first was that he was killed in the line of fire protecting Max and her best friend from death, all while uttering an apology as he took his last breath and she could only watch.

The second is that while Billy did apologize, there were things that he did that were unforgivable in her eyes that would never leave her memory.

His death didn’t excuse any of the abuse that she or other faced.

They all knew this.

Billy was verbally abusive and at the time resorted to physical violence. He would have beaten Steve to death if it weren’t for Max stepping up and injecting him with a tranquilizer. It wasn’t a secret that he’d get physical with Max too—gripping her wrists too tight or straight up, slapping her across the face when she disobeyed him.

But Billy wasn’t always like this and even Max who didn’t know the past version of him, saw that this monster was created—by his father, of course.

She was conflicted a lot of the times, not knowing if it was really right for her to still feel that twinge of anger towards him for the stuff he had put her and her friends through. Or if it was something that she was supposed to magically let go now that he was dead.

She didn’t know if she would ever know how to go about that.

Max tore her eyes away from the court, looking over at him with a grimace to her face, “…I’m sorry for the way he treated you and whatnot.”

He didn’t know where this was coming from, obviously a place of guilt, but why now? And why would she ever think she would have to apologize for something she had no part in?

“Hey, it’s not your fault…you don’t have to worry about that stuff anymore.”

It was long gone for Steve, in all honesty. He had gone through way more traumatic stuff than getting his ass handed to him on the court by Hargrove and nearly dying by a few punches. But he could tell that for Max, it still bothered her. This was like a wound that was still opened, not yet fully healed, even when it wasn’t on her to begin with.

“I know, but still—”

“But nothing, alright? What he did isn’t a reflection of you…you gotta remember that.” His tone was soft yet firm, watching as she nodded and gulped thickly.

His hand came down to her shoulder, resting it there as he looked at her, “Give yourself more credit, Max, you’re nothing like him. What he did isn’t your fault and what happened to him isn’t either. Some things….you just gotta let it take its course.”

All along, that’s what Max was trying to find a semblance of control.

By spending summer locked away in her own thoughts and feelings, she was able to be in complete and utter control. Her brain was wired like a television that replayed and imagined anything she wanted on command.

She could go back to the past and ponder it. Switch channels and jump to the future where she thought up something happier for herself. Go back to the original channel she was on and realize that there was no such thing as a happier future right now.

Stay there, sitting in silence, hearing the static between her screams and breathing. Close her eyes and turn it off, knowing it’d be there for her to turn back on whenever she wanted.

It didn’t occur to her at all that maybe she wasn’t the only one affected by Billy’s death.

Eleven had literally been kidnapped and almost met with her death because of him.

Lucas had to face his horrible words of hatred and assault just because he wanted to be friends with her.

Steve had spent weeks getting verbally and physically tormented by him, and on top of that suffered a fractured nose after the nasty brawl.

Was it selfish for her to assume that she was the only one hurting and grieving even after what everybody else went through?

All along, was it supposed to be her coming out of all of this as the lucky one because she finally escaped her toxic brother?

Was his death supposed to be a silver lining?

But was it her responsibility to make it up to everyone he hurt?

Was everything that went down this summer all just self-absorbed of her?

Why couldn’t she just let it play out like Steve said?

Why now, when she was feeling just a bit better about herself and the future, did she have to feel like she didn’t deserve this?

Why?

“Oh my god! C’mon Lucas!”

Neither her nor Steve had been paying attention to the game.

Max too caught up in her head, thoughts billowing like a whirlpool, going round-and-round with the same emotions, not know if she’d get sucked into the darkness again, or keep swimming until she survived.

Steve was caught up in watching her, reading her features that screamed confusion in a million different ways. Almost like watching her haze out and suddenly lose her own presence sitting in front of him.

It wasn’t until the crowd roared and you shouted out that she had come through. Snapping her eyes open and shut, shaking her shoulders before nodding aimlessly at him and darting her eyes to the court.

Lucas had scurried towards the basket, jumping high as he tossed the ball up before the buzzer sounded.

Hawkins took it home.

“Woooo!”

There was a strain in her cheer that only she or Steve could catch, because only they knew the conversation they had seconds ago. With still so much left unsaid, he hoped what he said stuck with her. That maybe it was just her taking in his words and realizing that the past was past, not something he was still stuck on even after Billy’s death.

“That was awesome! He did really well….so well that I didn’t have to use my powers!” El cupped her hands around Max’s ear, concealing the last bit of her sentence that made Max break out in a smile.

There was an ease to her now. Steve could let it go, just until he knew that she was really fine and didn’t need any more reassurance—but even if she needed it, he’d always be there to fall back on.

“C’mon, let’s go congratulate him,” Steve told everyone, gesturing his hand out to lead them out of the narrow stands and down the stairs first before he followed closely behind.

His hand, holding yours as you walked in front of him and smiled, seeing Lucas’ family embrace him in a hug, even Erica who looked just as pleased at her brother’s buzzer beater.

Max stood timidly, waiting before his parents let go of their hug before Lucas had noticed her standing there.

“You came!” Lucas smiled broadly, opening his arms wondering if it was okay to hug her.

She smiled, nodding as she opens hers and wrapped her arms around his frame, “Didn’t want to miss it. First nice jock in Hawkins history to beat the buzzer is totally one of the history books.”

His chest bubbled against her cheek as he laughed before pulling away, “Thanks for coming, it means a lot.”

“You did great dude, Mike and Dustin are going to be so mad they missed out on this.”

El and Will immediately clung to either of his sides, giving him a hug as he thanked them for coming, knowing that sports wasn’t really their thing.

“Great hustle on that last shot, man. You did great!” Steve cheered, giving him a firm handshake before embracing him in a hug.

“We’re so proud of you, Lucas! I’m gonna need to get you a pin that says, “Hawkins MVP,” then you can add it to your lettermen!”

You were the cheeriest out of the bunch, which was surprising considering that you didn’t like sports very much, yet there you were totally immersed by the game and now most certainly going home to make that custom pin for Lucas despite his protests.

Steve was sure that if he had really gotten serious about his own basketball career and got signed into the big league, you’d be one of those hard core basketball wives.

You were totally into tossing balls into laundry baskets now.

“Invite me to the next game, alright?” Max said cooly, watching Lucas’ face light up as he nodded.

“Of course! And thanks for coming again guys, it’s nice to have my friends here!”

They shared a smile, giving him a wave as they exited the gym and let him have a moment to reel it all in with his family and teammates. And like Steve said, it was a nice change of scenery, not only for Max but for everybody who was so used to not going to school functions like this.

Now they actually had a reason to show up, Steve just wished that next time everyone would be in attendance because Lucas deserved to see everyone who cared about him in the stands—win or lose.

“You guys hungry? Wanna stop by McDonald’s before you head home?” You asked from the passenger seat as the kids hummed “no” in the backseat of Steve’s car.

Steve glanced up to the rearview mirror, getting a glimpse at their tired features. “You sure? There’s one coming up and I could go to the drive-thru?”

Will caught his eyes in the mirror, giving him a reassuring shake of his head before looking at his sister.

“Mom said she was cooking risotto and roasted potatoes tonight so we’re going to have the leftovers.” He told you both.

Steve flickered his eyes from the road, back up to the mirror to see Max staring mindlessly out the window. 

“Bug? No McDonalds?”

She shook her head, answering without catching his glance, “No, I’m ok. My mom left a note on the fridge this morning and said she’d be home for dinner. She probably cooked something for the two of us.”

A warm smile tugged at your lips as you twiddled your fingers in your lap, Turing your head over your shoulder “That’s nice! She probably misses having dinner with you!”

Max didn’t tell you or Steve much about her mom. Often times it consisted of, “she’s busy,” “she’s working,” “she’s tired,” “she’s fine,” or “she said it was ok.”

And Max didn’t really like conversations about her mom to begin with. There was really nothing to discuss other than the fact that she was always working and almost never home. She had grown accustomed to it, accepting that work came first, yet you were still here to suggest she stay over at yours so that she wouldn’t eat dinner alone.

In a lot of ways, you filled the shoes of her mother, but more so in an older sister aspect. She could tell you things about her life without seriously getting in trouble because she never did bad things to begin with. It was just that she didn’t have that close knit relationship with her mom to even discuss little things in life.

It was just that simple.

“It’s fine…she told me she took off this weekend so we’re gonna spend some time together, hopefully decluttering because she’s been avoiding getting rid of a lot of stuff.”

You could all tell that Max wasn’t looking forward to it, but you hoped that her mind would change after spending the weekend to bond with her. Her mother wasn’t the best of all time, nor was she perfect—there were definitely aspects that you and Steve didn’t agree on when it came to the parenting she showed Max, but then again it was a tricky subject to go about because neither of you were Max’s legal guardians.

And on top of that, neither you nor Steve were in her mother’s shoes—facing the loss of a son and having her partner up and leave her. She was the one forced to pick up the pieces and try to do her very best to provide for Max and put a roof over her head.

And maybe she got too caught up in the work and money to realize that what Max needed the most was the support around her. Just to have someone to talk to and confide in so that she could understand that what she was feeling was okay, but needed to get the help to get better.

But it wasn’t too late for her mom to make it up to her, and there was a silent hoping that maybe finally, she and her mom could go back to their old mother-daughter relationship. The one where she could tell her anything and seek her advice when she really needed it.

Steve tapped his fingers against the steering wheel, turning on his blinkers as he made a turn into the trailer park, “Well, I’m sure the two of you guys have a lot of catching up to do…we’ll get back to our regular schedule on Monday alright?”

Max undid her belt, humming out contently. “Yeah, plus, it’ll give me time to really miss you guys, especially Steve’s snoring.”

She let out a laugh as you giggled, shifting in your seat to watch her hug her friends before leaning up to wrap her arms around your shoulders, “Call anytime you want, alright? I’ll make sure to give Ollie plenty of cuddles and kisses while you’re gone.”

She grumbled against you, totally forgetting the cute furball that she was always attached to the hip to when she was at your place, “And give him all the treats in the world! I’m going to smother him with cuddles on Monday!”

“Will do, sweetheart…have fun okay?” You pulled away, tucking a peice of her stray hair behind her ear as you smiled warmly, “I love you!”

“I love you too. See you Monday.”

You closed your eyes lovingly, feel her kiss your cheek before she got out of the car and Steve followed, walking her up to the front door where they would always talk for a bit before they said goodbye.

It was routine and part of you knew that they both needed it.

“Is Max okay?” El asked, watching Max nod her head as Steve spoke to her sincerely.

You shrugged your shoulders lightly, knowing it’d be best to not tell them even if you did know or not, “I think she’s okay,” You reached back, clutching the girls hand warmly, “Steve and Max…they have a special bond together, they’re very similar in a lot of ways.”

“Really?” Will asked, to which you nodded with a tight smile.

“Yeah, I think Steve sees a lot of himself in Max and he wants to protect her from going through things that he went through as well.”

It didn’t take a genius to know that while Steve didn’t play favorites with the kids—Max had always been number one for multiple reasons that the kids didn’t really seem to mind with, anyway.

Looking at Max was like looking at a younger female version of himself. The one who used to be happy without a care in the world, then suddenly pushed into the knowingness that life wasn’t at all what it was when the rose-colored lenses were off.

When Steve was her age, he didn’t have present parents to lean on when it came to his troubles and instead it led him to going down a horrible path. One that was filled with chasing after romantic relationships, hoping it would solve his issues instead of confronting the problems in front of him.

The course of his teenage years revolved around destructive relationships and low self-esteem, despite the rumors of the might king Steve would wasn’t shaken by anything.

He knew Max was smart though, but the slightest probable chance she had of actually following down his pathway wasn’t something he was going to risk and let her do. So yeah, maybe Steve Harrington did play favorites, but with good intentions.

He’d throw himself in front of Max no matter what was ahead if it meant shielding her from all the bad because he wished he had parents or even an older sibling who would do the same for him.

If Billy were still alive, Steve wouldn’t hesitate taking another near death experience at the hands of fists if it meant keeping Max untouched.

Max was always going to have someone to depend on as long as Steve was around.

“Try to enjoy the weekend, alright? And go into with a positive mindset, I know it isn’t easy with what you have going on with your mom…but just try, ok?”

She sighed defeatedly, hoping that Steve would tell her that she could pop in whenever she wanted if the weekend wasn’t going well. But Steve also had a point—going into it with built up resentment and anger wouldn’t do her or her mom any good. If there was any chance at their relationships being repaired, she had to try to go into this a little more optimistic than she was feeling.

Max shook her head to herself, giving Steve a tight hug before she murmured into his chest, “I know, I will…just don’t eat all the bagel bites while I’m gone. You know those are my favorites.”

He chuckled, resting his chin on the top of her head when he hugged her close and nodded, “I won’t. I’ll actually save them all for you so you can spill the beans on Monday over some very delicious bagel bites.”

“Can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m actually looking forward to a Monday.” She laughed, pulling away from him.

“You’ll survive two days. Drop off on Monday morning?” He asked.

She shook her head, looking at her mom’s car, parked in the grass, “Mom is gonna drop me off, but can you pick me up?”

“I’ll be there.” He grinned, patting her arm, “Night bug, love you.”

“G’night Steve, love you too.”

They shared another quick smile; her waving to the car where you three were watching, and shot her a big smile and wave.

She took a deep breath, preparing herself as she turned open the front door, “I’m home, mom!”

Monday came by soon enough, and to Max’s surprise the weekend wasn’t half bad. She and her mom had spent the two days going over boxes and storage bins of things that they hadn’t been able to go through since they moved out of the house on Cherry Lane.

Most of the items were Billy’s. A collection of baseball cards, magazines, knick-knacks from childhood, and clothes. They both knew they had been throwing it all off to go through those things, mostly because their move to the trailer park was sudden.

After Billy’s dad learned of his son’s death, he didn’t hesitate calling off the engagement with her mom and packing only his things and leaving. The only thing they knew was that he was going to sell the house, and they needed somewhere to go quickly.

Forest Hills Trailer Park it was.

They made do with what they had and tried to make the best out of the situation. Trying to make the trailer a home as much as they could, even if it really would never be that way. All of Billy’s belongings had been shoved into one of the storage closets, and there was a silent agreement that neither of them would go through it until they were both ready.

So while a few tears and laughs were shared between mother and daughter, Sunday was the day where they finally said goodbye to most of his things. Max picked a few t-shirts, a binder of baseball cards, and even Billy's signature leather jacket to keep, and the rest of it would be going to the nearest Goodwill where it would find a new home.

Honestly, it was a little overwhelming, all of the boxes reeking of cigarettes and Billy’s smell even after these two years. She was happy that Monday rolled around because it meant getting out of the trailer and not suffocating in the lingering scent of her brother, feeling like he was there, but he wasn’t.

Meanwhile, Mondays were always slow ones at Family Video, especially with the kids back in school. The only customers they’d get were parents returning their kids’ late tapes and middle-aged people coming in to rent the same movies they’d always get.

“You promise you’re going to let me have next week Thursday off?!” Robin nagged from the counter, watching Steve stock the shelves with recently returned tapes.

He folded his hand over his chest, his face dropping annoyingly, “For the millionth time Robs, yes…you’re going to have next week Thursday off.”

This week, however, was a more exciting one for Steve Harrington because he was moving up at Family Video. From store associate to now manager, seeing as though Keith was finally leaving, and he was going to take his spot.

Initially Robin was supposed to get the position, but declined knowing that it was going to be too much work for her to be in charge of creating schedules and dealing with annoying customers who complained about not knowing how to work a VHS in this day and age. 

She would much rather stock shelves and appoint all those customers to Steve while she got to giggle and listen in from the back of the store.

“Just making sure! You know how important Vicky is to me, and I don’t want to screw up our anniversary.”

Despite Robin’s insistent nagging over the past few weeks about her very important off day, Steve understood because he remembered his first anniversary with you. More so, the fact that Robin was completely head over heels for this girl and it made him happy seeing his best friend finally get a chance at romantic love after all these years of pining.

He knew it was only a matter of time before things got really serious with her and Vicky, which would probably lead to the point where Steve was in life. Getting ready to move in with you in your apartment and finally get to call it home.

You were the one who had actually asked him to move in, months ago, but he had declined, seeing as though he didn’t quite make enough to help you out with all of the bills and rent that came with living in the apartment. And even though you assured him that you could cover it yourself, he was stern in the fact that he wanted to make enough first so that both of you could give it your all not have to worry so much about money.

So it was safe to say that Steve was ecstatic to get the position of manager and up his salary just enough to cover half of the rent and the utility bills that now the both of you would half on.

“You’re gonna get Thursday off, but I’m gonna need you to close on Friday because Max needs a ride to the skate shop to change the barrings on her board.” He told her, folding up the cardboard box and throwing it off to the side.

She snorted, resting her hands on her knees as she watched Steve walk up to her. “How is she, by the way?”

Robin never explicitly asked Steve about Max’s wellbeing, because it was none of her business. She understood her place as simply someone who was concerned on the sidelines and only hoped that the young girl was doing okay. By the looks of it, Max trusted Steve out of all of the others, and she could understand why.

Because, like you, Robin knew that Steve and Max were very similar.

They’d bottle up their emotions, let it boil over until it was too late.

Resort to self deprecation and act out on emotion.

They were basically long lost twins.

“She’s doing a lot better. Now that school started its keeping her busy, plus she wants to take up skateboarding again, which will be a good hobby for her to have.” He grinned as she smiled back.

“That’s good. Just don’t try to hop on that board because the last time you did, you almost ruined that pretty face of yours.” She smirked, bopping his nose with her fingertip as she spun around and hopped off the counter and towards the computers to check on late returns.

“That was one time!” Steve argued, holding up his finger as she snickered and continued scrolling through the names of people she would have to call later on in the day.

He couldn’t help but shake his head, knowing he definitely wasn’t a great skateboarder, and his job was actually better off cheering Max on and encouraging her as she practiced dips and tricks on her board.

The phone to the store suddenly rang, catching the two’s attention. Robin who was closer to it, didn’t hesitate to pick it up before the second chime had a change to ring.

“Family Video.” She answer plainly, pushing her shoulder up to stabilize the phone against her cheek while she continued to scroll.

Steve rested his elbow on the counter, watching to see if it was another prank call or irritant customer on the other line.

“Can I speak to Steven Harrington? It’s about his sister, Maxine Mayfield…she’s in the principal’s office.”

Her eyes went wide, snapping her head towards Steve and covering the receiver as she whispered sharply, “It’s about Max.”

Second period came along in the school day, just lunch and two more periods to go before she’d finally get to kick back with her favorite pup Ollie and snack on some bagel bites—something she had been craving all weekend.

Mr. Watson’s chemistry class was actually for upperclassmen, but since last school year Max had showed excelling grades and understanding in biology, she was able to move up to a more rigorous science class this year.

The upperclassmen weren’t that intimidating. If anything, they were just taller and older—but other than that, they and Max were all equal. Mr. Watson was one of those take it easy teachers who basically lectured for the first fifteen minutes of class, then allowed the rest of the time for students to independently work on the assignments before class ended.

It was the most enjoyable class in terms of workload since the worksheets were fairly easy, and it was just was a lot of listening and making sure to read the textbook for the answer. That wasn’t hard at all for her because with Kate Bush blaring through her headphones, focusing was pretty simple.

Today, however, there was a shift. She could hear the whispers coming from the table behind her, a group of boys who were juniors and even one sporting a letterman jacket: a jock. But she didn’t pay it any mind, assuming they were just helping each other on today’s assignment.

“Psst…Maxine,”

Nevermind.

She ignored them, scribbling her pencil a little firmer, enough for the lead to chalk up against the paper as she wrote vigorously.

“Maxineeeee, I know you can hear us! That shit you’re listening to can’t sound as good as us.”

God they were disgusting.

“Just ignore them and keep working, they’ll stop once you show them you’re not giving in” is what Max was saying to herself in her mind.

“Maxine—”

“What the hell do you guys want?”

She couldn’t take it anymore. Yanking her headphones off and slamming the pencil on to the desk, catching the attention of everyone in the classroom. She stood out of her seat, facing the group of childish boys sitting behind her.

The groups boys, cackling to themselves like maniacs while Max glared sharply, moving her head side to side as a way to get them to tell her what they so badly needed to say.

The one with the lettermen leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest, “Feisty. You must get that from Billy, right? Or did he give it to you when he burned alive in that fire?”

Her whole world stopped.

She could hear her own heartbeat and blood rushing to her ears despite the boy’s undying laughter. It was sick and twisted. Those words that were spat out as a joke, which clearly wasn’t taken as one by her. At any moment, she felt like she could throw herself at him, punching away at his face and showing him how really tough she was.

But that wasn’t Max.

“Miss. Mayfield….Miss. Mayfield….Miss….”

Her breathing started to quicken as she could hear Mr. Watson calling out her name from the front of the class. Eyes clouding over with salt, the shouting of her name and the laughter got louder. Looking around the room, it seemed the faces of her classmates resembled ones that mocked her, laughing in her face and pointing at her like a mockery.

That was all she remembered.

Steve was glad that the high school was so close to Family Video, but even then it seemed like time wasn’t on his side. Red lights stalled him. Slow walkers were abnormally slower than usual. Cars wouldn’t yield to him.

Each passing second feeling like an eternity to get to her. 

All he could remember when Robin had passed him the phone was being told, Max collapsed. She hit her head. And she’s in the principal’s office.Those three statements echoing in his head as he jerked his car into the nearest parking spot and sprinted towards the front office. 

The office ladies probably thinking he was a madman, disregarding their pleas for him to sign in on the clip board, but all he could focus on was reaching the principals office. 

Max’s back faced him. Her hair pulled up into a makeshift ponytail with one hand clutching an ice back to the back of her head and the other clenched with a tissue in it.

Steve hurried over, dropping to his knees beside her chair, his face covered with concern and worry while the questions urgently left his mouth.

“Max…are you okay? What hurts? Do we need to go to the hospital?” He was peering at her head, trying to see if there was any trace of blood or a cut.

Thankfully, there were no visible injuries. 

When she turned to face to him, tear streaks stained her cheeks, and her eyes were swollen from the crying she had doing for god knows how long now. Her quivering jaw struggled to form cohered sentences admits her sobs.

The only thing he could make out was, “I—I can’t.”

She couldn’t bring herself to tell him what happened, at least not right now in the presence of the boy who caused this pain. Not to mention how humiliating it was for her to listen to his parents and himself down play the situation so much so that she started to feel bad about herself even when she shouldn’t. 

Steve noticed through her cries, her eyes briefly shifting away from him, directing a glance towards the parents of the boys who was seated on the opposite side of the room. He sat smugly in a char while his parents stood protectively by his side, their faces wearing entitlement as they didn’t carry any remorse for the crying girl. 

That’s when he knew something was up.

Shuffling back to his feet, yet maintaining a close proximity to max, he looked towards the principal. “What the hell is going on?”

Steve was all business. Hands on hips, stern look on face, firm voice calling out to the principal who stood from behind his desk and gestured his hands in the air towards Max then the other boy.

“It seems as though Max and Chad got into a scuffle during chemistry.” He explained, but that wasn’t enough for Steve.

“A scuffle?” Steve repeated, his voice strained with disbelief, prompting the principal to nod in confirmation. 

Steve glared unconvincingly pointing a finger at Max while holding his gaze, “You’re telling me that a sixteen-year-old girl got into a scuffle with a boy, yet she’s the only one with injuries?”

The boy, Chad, had cut in, “Oh, I didn’t do that to her…she did that to herself.”

Just hearing that whiny, teenage boy voice ticked him off, not even trying to hide the irritated sigh that left his mouth as he turned towards him. 

“Really? So she just decided to collapse for no reason and then blame you?”

The man in a suit, presumably the boy’s father, stepped forward in a demanding demeanor, “Watch how you speak to my son…who even are you?”

“Her brother.”

“My brother.”

Steve and Max both answered simultaneously, surprising even themselves by not even hesitating the relationship they had to one another. Though both of them didn’t act surprised, at least not on the outside, as Steve maintained his hard gaze and Max diverted her eyes to her lap. 

“Brother? Didn’t he die—”

The front door to the office squeaked open, but still Steve caught the boy’s remark, prompting a whimper from Max whose shoulders heaved slightly as another set of strained sobs left her. It was evident to Steve that now he knew what this was all about. 

“Max, I’ve got you a fresh ice pack and a bottle of water.”

Miss. Lawrence had stumbled in unwittingly at the wrong moment, right before Steve was about to go all in, but he knew this was the only opportunity to get Max out of the situation before she heard anything he was going to say. 

“You are?” He asked calmly, turning his attention to the woman who approached Max. 

She looked up through her glasses, cracking open a water bottle and passing it to Max. Extending her hand for a shake, she introduced herself with a weary smile, “Miss. Lawrence, Max’s counsellor.”

Steve nodded, jaw clenching as he shook her hand and jutted his chin to the door she just had come through, 

“Could you do me a favor and get my sister out of here? I just need some time alone with the principal and Chad’s family.”

She stared at him for a moment, contemplating if it was the right decision considering that Steve was seething, on the verge of letting out all his anger towards the situation. Knowing that he was an upset and concerned guardian who was not going to back down, she nodded placing a gentle hand on Max’s shoulder, helping her up from the seat. 

As Max got up, she reached for Steve’s wrist, wrapping her trembling fingers around it, and looking up at him through her tear-soaked lashes. 

“T—They’re not going to do anything, Steve….it’s no use—“ 

Max had already looked defeated, like she accepted the fact that nothing was going to change the mind of the principal on where he stood regarding this situation. But Steve wasn’t going to let that happen—he was going to fight for her the way someone should have fought for him. 

He shook his head, brushing some of her hair out of her face before speaking gently, “Go, Max. I’ve got this.”

She sniffled, closing her eyes tightly as she nodded, and followed her counselor out of the office and into the nearby waiting room, away from what was going to be an undoubtedly heated confrontation. 

Once the door clicked closed, Steve didn’t hesitate on advancing towards the desk, speaking sharply with each step he took, “What are you going to do?”

The principal raise an eyebrow, pretending to be perplexed as if Steve was not addressing him in full. But unfazed, Steve repeated himself, emphasizing his seriousness with his palms slapping down onto the wood. 

“What are you going to do to make sure my sister doesn’t have to deal with him again?” 

Annoyingly, the boy’s mother crept closer, mockingly slamming her palm beside his, glaring at Steve as she spoke, “Sir, just cut to the chase and tell this man what you told us, that his sister started it. Plain and simple.” 

Steve was silently thanking all the gods that you weren’t here beside him right now because if you were, this lady would have received an instant face-to-desk introduction. Unlike Steve, you were the one with a quick tongue ready to lash out on any and everybody when it came to protecting someone you loved—he knew if you were here, it would be no different. 

Where Steve’s eyes had drifted, towards the desk where he imagined you’d slam that mother’s face, he couldn’t miss the bright yellow papers that were familiar to him back from his high school days. The form was mandatory for students to fill out when any student came to the principal office for incidents like these. 

“Let me see the reports.” Steve demand, pointing at it in plain sight before the principal would try to hide them away or make excuse for not having them. 

Picking them up, he passed them to Steve who read them intently. Chad’s report consisted of two whole sentences regarding the situation, shifting all the blame onto Max, blaming, “She got angry at a joke then fell and hit her head.” 

Meanwhile, every line of Max’s form were filled, even in the margins, meticulously detailed the entire incident from start to finish, with remnants of her tear drops staining the paper. It included her attempts to ignore Chad and the group of boys who had been relentlessly antagonizing her.

The only thing that Max did was finally snap, asking what they wanted before having a cruel insult about Billy thrown at her, and that’s all she could remember before she woke up on the ground with her teacher and the students surrounding her. 

It made him physically sick and it took every ounce of his composure not to grab the boy by his collar and start beating the shit out of him for what he and the rest of the boys did. 

He swallowed thickly, lips pressed tight, sliding the papers over the desk, “You told them that Max started this?”

Silence filled the tiny office and it was enough to speak volumes to him that this person in authority was protecting a boy who was capable of something so harrowing. 

Steve pointed to the forms again, his voice sharp as he spoke, “What I’m understanding is, you didn’t read Max’s report…or if you did, you didn’t believe her, and you didn’t even call in any witnesses to confirm that my sister is lying.” 

He squinted pointedly, looking Chad then back to the principal, “Yet you read his sad excuse of two sentences and you believed that?”

Silence again, and all Steve wanted to do was to shout…to scream at someone to fucking explain how this could happen and how no one was batting an eye to how insanely unfair and unethical this entire situation was. 

Finally after a few uncomfortable seconds, the boy’s father cleared his throat, attempting to break off the tension with a laugh, even going as far to pat Steve’s shoulder which he slapped away. 

“My son was obvious joking, not the best joke, but let’s not make a big deal outta this—”

Steve snapped, thrusting an aggressive finger in the mans face, “Damn right I’m making this a big deal! My sister isn’t going to tolerate this crap from anyone, you hear me?”

“Mr. Harrington, your language, please.” The principal interjected. 

Steve scoffed, rolling his eyes as he turned back to the now talkative excuse of a principal, “You didn’t give a shit when that boy made that comment to Max. Why should I care about mine? Actually…”

Steve couldn’t hold back any longer, locking eyes with both of the parents and glaring, “why don’t you worry about your sons language? It’s clear he doesn’t have any empathy, but I guess you both taught him that, right?” 

No one dared to speak, no matter how insulted the parents were because it was the truth. If they did speak it would only put them deeper within the crossfire of Steve’s relentless insults that straddled the line between honesty and harsh realities. 

“And you,” He pointed at the boy, stalking up close to him, seeing as though he was wearing a varsity jacket, “You’re on the basketball team right?”

Chad gulped, nodding hesitantly, “Y-yeah.”

Steve made dismissive noise, clicking his tongue, “So you know that being on the team means you can’t rack more than three referrals because then you’ll get kick, right?”

Steve still remembers the rules from his high school experience, and though it had been some time, these were the type of rules that never changed. 

“Y-yeah.”

Kissing his teeth in frustration, he walked back over to the desk, jabbing his fingers on the wood. 

“I know for a goddamn fact that my sister’s file is clean! Not one single referral in her life,” turning to the boys parents he creased his forehead, “you can check if you want.” 

His mother looked away dismissively because deep down she probably knew that her son was a monster who would hurt girls like Max. The father scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest in defensive because he probably knew too, that Max wouldn’t lie about their sorry excuse of a son. 

“I want you to open up his file and tell me how many referrals he has. And you and I both know that this number isn’t a shock so think twice about lying to me because I know the police chief wouldn’t mind investigating this and really making it a big deal.” 

Steve was not fucking around one bit, not even bothering to look at the principal to make sure he wasn’t lying about the number. He kept his eyes on the parents, whose eyes peeks at the principal opening up the file drawer and instantly finding their son’s files. Chad who still sat in the chair, wasn’t looking so smug now, shifting around uncomfortably because he knew what was coming.

“Six,” the principal admitted, closing the folder and taking a deep breath knowing that Steve wasn’t going to let this off. 

Steve nodded, tightly smiling as the parent’s face fell, probably trying to act surprised when it really should be a look of embarrassment and shame. 

“So what this means is that Chad over here, is going to get kicked off the team, he and the rest of the boys going to get removed from all the classes that they have with my sister, and I want them suspended.”

This wasn’t a negotiable for him and was not going to leave this office until things would start to happen, “You better get writing because I’ll get the superintendent—the whole fucking department of education down here if I find out you let him and the rest of the boys off. You got that?” 

The principal gulped, reaching already for a pen to start writing the suspension notes before Steve could double down on his promising threats. 

Steve mostly nodded his head to himself, content with knowing that the boys would pay for what they did to Max and they definitely weren’t going to do it again if they wanted a repeat of today. 

“Don’t mess with me.” Steve muttered, forcefully bumping into Chad’s father’s shoulder as he brushed past him towards the exit. 

“…and don’t you dare talk, let alone look at her ever again. Clear?” His voice carrying threats, glancing at Chad who swallowed thickly. 

“Crystal.”

Walking out of there, Steve couldn’t feel any sense of victory even if he had gotten the situation handled in a way that he saw fit. He just couldn’t feel good about himself when Max was crying in the arms of her counsler, furthering shattering any sense of triumph he would have felt. 

“Hey, it’s okay…I’m right here, Max.” He whispered as he approached her. 

Hearing his voting she untangled herself from the embrace, seeking solace in Steve by aligning to him and burying her tear stained face into his shoulder. 

“Shhh, it’s okay. They’re dealt with. It’s handled ok?” He took on the softest tone he had yet, being as gentle and soothing as possible letting the anger he had felt dissipate knowing that he had to be here for Max. 

He placed a comforting hand on the back of her head as she cried, his fingers lightly searching for a bump on her head from when she collapsed, but thankfully like in the office, he didn’t see nor feel any injury. 

Miss. Lawrence rose from her seat, giving Max’s shoulder a warm touch and offering Steve a sympathetic look a she explained herself, “I was the one you spoke to over the phone. I couldn’t reach her mom or your wife, but I’m glad that you were able to come down.” 

His wife? 

You and him weren’t married and it seemed so weird that she had brought it up like that, but right now wasn’t the time to question how the school even got his number or yours to begin with. What he needed to do was get Max out of here for the rest of the day because keeping her here would only make things worse. 

“Y-yeah, no problem…I’m gonna pull Max out for the rest of the day.” Steve replied, still holding Max tightly while he sobs slowly subsided to uneven sniffles. 

The woman nodded, gesturing towards the front desk, “I can get that sorted out for you guys. It’ll be an excused absence, so she doesn’t need to worry about the missing assignments.”

Steve smiled tight lipped, squeezing Max by the shoulders and pulling her away from him slightly, “C’mon bug, let’s go.”

Max took a minute, covering her face with her hands as she tried to wipe away the tears as much as she could and get herself together. He guided her up to stand, picking up her backpack and slinging a gentle arm over her shoulder, keeping her close to him. 

“Bye Max, feel better and don’t forget you can come see me whenever you come back.” Miss. Lawrence called out softly as Max nodded, trying to flash her the sincerest smile despite her sad features.

With class still in session, the halls were empty giving her a twinge of relief knowing that no one would see her walking out of school this distraught. She could spot Steve’s car a mile away, messily and crookedly parked in the stall that strictly was reserved for staff, but he obviously didn’t care for the signpost. 

Steve unlocked the car, walking the two of them to the passenger side where he let her get in, even opening the glove compartment to give her some napkins to soak her tears. 

He sat in the drivers seat, watching her intently as she dabbed the tissues beneath her eyes, capturing the still forming tears in her orbs. She was really still so shaken up from the situation and he couldn’t blame her because if he was in her shoes, he’d feel the exact same. 

“You’re not gonna have to deal with them anymore okay? I promise.” Steve assured her, his voice genuine and sincere. 

“I know.” She croaked, voice strained but still filled with trust knowing that Steve had meant every word he said. 

Max couldn’t fathom how he managed to handle the situaiton without getting physical, but right now she didn’t want to ask. All she cared about was that the did it for her and that she wouldn’t need to worry much longer.   

She looked over at him, seeing his face still tense and washed over with worry. She didn’t even notice the green vest that Steve was still wearing, realizing that he had come from work to be here for her. 

“Y-you can drop me off home, if you have to go back to work.” She told him, buckling in and still trying to regain her composure after all the crying.

Steve shook his head, following her lead, “Robin said she could cover for me the rest of the day. I could drop you off if you want, or we can go get lunch, or maybe go to the skate shop now. Wherever you want.”

Her throat tightened, her eyes meeting his, “Can we go to Billy’s grave?”

“Sure.” Steve replied without a moments hesitation, evidently understanding that she wanted to go there for a reason. 

The last time that Steve had been to the cemetery was for Billy’s funeral. It was an intimate occasion, only a select few people had been invited, meaning basically Max’s entire friend group and her mom. Billy’s dad couldn’t bring himself to come that day. 

He was unsure if Max had come to visit Billy on her own time, but seeing as though it was quite a ways from the trailer park, and she hadn’t ever ask for a ride here before, he assumed that this was both of their first times being back here since last summer. 

Of all the places, he just wondered why here and why now? But he knew he had to understand where she was coming from because despite all the options he had laid out on the table, she had dismissed them and made it her choice to be here.

Steve trailed behind, watching as Max approached the grave stone, her fingers tracing the etched letters of his name. She sat down before it, her gazed fixed upon the headstone unclear if she wanted to say everything outlaid or keep it buried. 

“Are you okay?” Steve took a seat beside her, his brows furrowing trying to comprehend how she was feeling in the moment. 

She shrugged with a mix of frustration and sadness, “It just would make sense that this w-would happen…every time I start to feel happy, everything just comes crashing down—a-and it all leads back to Billy.”

Sure Steve wasn’t the brightest when it came to emotions but he wanted to see the bigger picture and understand, “You mean what happened today?”

“Yeah!” She exclaimed weakly, looking up at the sky, “It’s like, ever since school started, I’ve actually been feeling a lot happier you know?” She looked at him, tears welling again. 

“I finally started hanging out with my friends again. I made up with Lucas. My mom actually called out of work for the first time in forever. All of these good things start happening, b—but I can’t help feeling like I don’t deserve it.”

The world was a cruel place, and Hawkins was an exceptionally cruel town, one that was literally cursed in the most horrific way possible. Max lived in the constant state of what felt like haunting where every corner she turned to there was a fear of the past coming back, seeking to take her under. 

In today’s case, it was the guilt of feeling like she wasn’t destined for any type of happiness after what she had been through and what Billy had put the others around her through. Maybe Billy dying was the curse haunting her because she felt responsible for every bad thing he had ever done and there was no way for her to shake that feeling off.

What if Chad had been bullied by Billy long ago and maybe this was him getting back after the torment? 

She should’ve just sucked it up and not be so affected by his words. 

Now she was gong to need to take all the shots that were supposed to be fired at Billy for the rest of her life. She was going to be the punching bag for all of the hurt that he caused. Maybe this was her destiny—to just take all the pain that Billy caused and fix it. 

Her thoughts were screaming at her and it was like she could hear Billy in the distance shouting loudly. Fury and anguish sparked within her, her fists clenching tightly as they barreled into the grass beneath her with forceful strikes. 

“I should hate you! I should hate you because you made me like this…you made me feel this way. L—like I owe everybody, but I don’t know how…”

Her fists impaled the stiff earth while the desperation and longing to hurt the remnants of her brother six feet under heightened. She wanted to hurt him like he had hurt her—to make him feel her pain for once. 

“Hey, stop that…c’mon Max, don’t do that.” Steve pleaded, urgently reaching out to grab her hands, coaxing her to cease the self destructive assault that would only cause her further harm. 

She sobbed bitterly, body trembling as she wrangled around, trying to get her fists out of her hold so she could keep going. 

“Why—how can you guys even look at me knowing that I’m related to this monster? Shouldn’t you guys just let me be miserable? I deserve it after everything he put you guys through.”

There was a firmness to his hold on her, shaking her hands gently.

“You’re not thinking straight.” He said sternly, getting her to finally look up at him. “You don’t deserve any of this because of what Billy did. You’re not Billy.”

She shook her head with a trembling whisper, “N—no, I was a horrible sister to him. I could’ve changed him. I-I could’ve made him better, but instead…I just let him—”

“You were a child, Max, and you still are,” His voice was loud, but not in an angry tone, just one full of unwavering conviction letting her know this was true, “You aren’t responsible for who he turned out to be and what he did. You can’t beat yourself up over that. He’s gone. He won’t be able to hurt you anymore…or any of us.

Max struggled to accept it, still consumed by tears and sorrow.

“Listen to me, Max,” Steve urged, letting his hands loosen from her wrist, yet not letting go, “you were the best sister you could be for him. You did the best you could. When he was dying, what did you do?” He asked, watching her cry.

He knew she wouldn’t be able to say, but he knew the answer.

His finger tips finally let up on her, going to touch the gravestone, showing her that this was not her fault.

“You asked him to stay alive. You told him that you loved him. You did everything that you could. His death wasn’t your fault and it never will be.” 

She needed to hear it to truly believe it. 

Steve grasped her shoulders, making her look at him through the cloudiness behind her eyes.

“You might not feel like you were the best sister to him, and I can’t change your mind about that, but I can tell you right here, right now, that you’re the best little sister I’ll ever have. In my eyes, you're the best sister there is. I’m not Billy. B—but it means something, yeah?”

Max cried harder, tugging on Steve’s heartstrings, finally breaking his strong exterior as tears escaped his own eyes. He couldn’t help but hold her face, fingers trembling while he brushed the tears away and felt her sobs against his skin. 

“Whatever Billy did in the past is his burden to bare, not yours. He made his bed and now he’s lying in it…but you, you don’t have to lie in his, you don’t have to protect him. You need to take care of yourself and realize that people really do care about you. I care. I will do whatever it takes until you realize that, Max, because I love you.”

That was it. Now she believed it. 

She flung her arms around his neck, clinging to him tightly, sobbing into his neck, muffled yet still able to hear,  “You’re the best brother I’ll ever have.”

Holding each other and crying in front of Billy’s grave wasn’t how either of them had expected to spend their Monday afternoon, but alas, making the best out of a bad deal was better than just sulking all day. 

Steve would have held her there all day if it meant that she would finally grasp the truth—that she wasn’t obligated to carrying the weight of someone else’s mistakes on her shoulder. Max was too young and good for they should to should that kind of pain and responsibly. He wished he could shield her from this feeling and those alike, giving her the childhood that she deserved, but he knew that wasn’t reality.

In the real world, bad things happen to even the purest of people, and Max had been apart of that unfortunate bunch. Reality meant sitting here and talking her though it. Helping her realize that thee burdensome emotions were valid considering her situation but she wasn’t going to go through it alone. 

It was time that Max had laid it all out to rest. To leave it here with Billy where it belonged. 

Opening the front door to your apartment, you didn’t expect the scene before you at all. 

Max laid sprawled out on the couch, her body slipped and drained. Ollie, her ever loyal companion, nestled beside her, with the both of them tucked under her favorite blanket that you owned. Steve was sitting in the arm chair with a cup of coffee in his mug when he flickered his gaze from the muted television to you in the doorway. 

His voice was hushed as he approached you,“Hey,” through the dimmed living room, you could only see the concern etched across his face when he settled right in front of you. 

You raised a brow, flickering a concerned gaze towards Max and keeping a quiet voice, “What happened?” 

Steve sighed heavily, taking your hand and walking the two of you into the kitchen for more privacy not wanting to wake Max who really needed to sleep after a long day. Your mind was racing with questions and the worry in Steve’s eyes when he settled against the counters let you knew that something had gone wrong. 

“She had a tough day at school. An incident with some bullies. The school called me and I went over there and got it all worked out.” Steve explained, his voice heavy and broken. 

Shock coursed through your veins, instinctively reaching for his hands to clasp together tightly, “Bullies? What the hell did they do to her?” 

Steve grip remained soft, rubbing his thumbs against your skin, “They said some not so kind things, but she wants to tell your herself and it’s important it comes from here because it’s a lot.” 

You wanted to cry right then and there. From the look on Steve’s face alone you could tell he had been crying and it was only going to make your heart shatter even more when Max woke up and you saw her. Your heart ached at the thought of Max having to go through this after how far she had come already. 

Steve could tell you were on the verge of tears, leaning his face forward to brush his lips against yours in a tender kiss, silently reassuring you that things were going to be okay. 

“It’s gonna be okay, she’ll tell you.” 

Time seemed to stretch as you waited for Max to wake up, every passing minute feeling like an eternity. You attempted to distract yourself with studying, but your mind was consumed by worry, entangled in a web of worst-case scenarios. You knew that patience was the only way forward, that Max's voice deserved to be heard, no matter how agonizing the wait.

But it wasn’t long after three in the afternoon that Max finally fluttered her eyes open, stretching her arms out wide as she began to wake up. Her eyes felt swollen but that was a given, yet she could see you sitting on the floor beside her, mustering a gentle smile. 

“Hey, bug…” You greeted, brushing a strain of hair from her face, “feeling better?” 

Max nodded, leaning closer into you touch knowing that it was only seconds before she would be crying in your arms. The heartache was palpable and the weight of the unspoken conversation lingered in the air, but you spoke out, giving her the reassurance. 

“You can tell me whenever you’re ready to talk, okay?” 

She took a deep breath finally sitting up and catching the encouraging nod that Steve gave to her. In this moment she knew she had to come clean because you weren’t going to judge her. Like Steve, you were going to be there and comfort her when she needed you the most. 

She had to lay it to rest. 

“I’m ready to talk.”

a/n: did i make you cry???? IM SORRY IF I DID! whew! well im back with chapter two of this series and im so sorry it has taken me this long, but i hope you enjoyed this part! i wanted to depict the guilt that max must face when it come to billy death, but also for his past actions and the steps shes taking to move on. let me know what you think!! also, aren't steve and max literally the softest chosen family siblings out there?? ugh, steve would be the best big brother to her--i hope she survives in s5!!

 let me know what you think: reblogs, tags, comments, and likes are greatly appreciated!!!

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[thelovelylolly]

Moving On

Part 2 to Break Up Summary : After Robin helps you through a nasty breakup, you learn she has feelings for you. Warnings : mention of toxic relationship, mention of billy hargrove (also this does not follow the canon timeline bc plot convenience tee hee) Notes : thank you so much for the kind response on Break Up! here's part two as requested!

It's been 2 months since you had broken up with your ex-boyfriend. You were happy it was summer time so you didn't have to see him at school, but you also got to hang out with Robin more. Ever since she came over the night of your break up, you two had been basically inseparable.

But in those 2 months, you noticed Robin acting the tiniest bit off. It was little things, like less physical contact and doing things with the rest of your friend group rather than just the two of you. You didn't mind, you didn't want to force her to do anything. But it did confuse you.

You two were best friends, why didn't she want to do the things you always used to do?

One afternoon, you were laying in your bed, thinking. Thinking about summer plans, a job, Robin-

Why did your thoughts keep circling back to Robin? She's your best friend, of course they would. You almost always thought about Robin, especially during your relationship with Billy. While he treated you like some toy, you kept thinking how Robin would treat you better as your best friend. When you talked about Robin around Billy, he got pissed off.

"Oh my god," you whispered to yourself when it clicked. Billy got pissed because he saw Robin as a threat to his relationship. He thought you two were more than best friends, which is probably another reason why he hated when you hung out with her.

But you broke up with him because he treated you like crap. Because he wanted to be selfish. Because he didn't like Robin, but you like Robin.

No, you love Robin.

You quickly got off your bed and stumbled to get your shoes on. You raced out of your house, grabbed your bike, and started off to the home video store.

--

Robin was tapping her fingers on the front counter to whatever song was playing. Her shift didn't end for a few more hours and business was slow. But her head perked up when she hear the bell from the door ring.

You raced inside, breathless from your bike ride.

"Hey-"

"Is anyone in here right now?" You asked, cutting her off as you approached the counter.

"No costumers, but Steve's-"

"Good," you cut her off again. You gently grabbed her shirt, pulled her over the counter and smashed your lips onto hers. Robin quickly melted into it, but you had to pull away after a moment since you were out of breath.

"What...what was that?" Robin asked, a smile slowly forming on her face.

"I just, um, came to a realization I guess," you replied, blush creeping onto your face.

"The realization that you need to kiss me?"

"I guess so," you answered, causing you two to laugh. "Um, another thing I want to ask is...uh, would you want to be my, um, my-"

"Your girlfriend?" Robin finished for you.

"Mhm," you hummed, nervously tapping the counter.

"Let me think..." she said sarcastically, walking out from behind the counter as you laughed. "Sure, why not?"

"I just biked all the way down here for a 'sure, why not'? Are you kidding me?"

Robin laughed. "I'd love to be your girlfriend. Is that better?"

"Much better," you said, leaning in for another kiss.

[shieldofiron]

What about big billy and big Steve?

Two big men- the biggest

I’m talking like head turning in public big,

What about them going shopping together for anything (u pick lol)

And trying to bang in the mall bathroom- but they’re too big to fit in the stall together 😤

Thiccccc Harringrove… hell yes.

“Okay, what if I…” Steve leaned forward, trying not to think of how close he was getting to a public toilet.

“I can’t fit the bags in too,” Billy grumbled.

“Don’t leave them outside, I’ve been looking for a sweater that exact color-“ Steve bit off when he felt Billy’s hand grab his ass firmly, “Did you fit inside?”

Billy chuckles, “The stall? No.”

Steve huffs, “Just checking. Try…”

“Though this has a certain appeal,” Steve can hear Billy’s smirk, “Anyone could walk by and see you… fucking so cute, Pretty Boy.”

Steve yelps as the hand comes down hard across his ass, and the whole stall rumbles with it, “Billy, Jesus.”

Billy’s hand slides up along Steve’s back, fingers curl in the hair at the nape of his neck, “Fuck yes, pretty boy. Remember when we used to fuck at the mall… your little sailor uniform…”

His other hand digs into Steve’s love handles, holding Steve’s hips still. Steve’s stomach fills with butterflies when he remembers when they used to tear into each other whenever they could get away from their summer jobs, then awkwardly trying to avoid each other afterwards. How things have changed.

Steve chuckles, “Definitely wouldn’t fit that any more.”

Billy’s hand strokes along Steve’s neck, tangles in the chest hair peeping from his open collar, “We should have a new one custom made… fuck… I really can’t fit in here Steve.”

Steve huffs, “We’ll have to wait until we get home.”

Billy’s hands linger, and when Steve glances over his shoulder, he catches a glimpse of the raw longing written all over Billy’s face.

“How much more shit are you looking for,” Billy grumbles.

“Just one more thing, then we can go, baby,” Steve backs out of the stall and takes Billy’s hand, kissing it on the back of his knuckles.

Billy’s cheeks go pink, “Better be just one more fucking thing.”

Steve chuckles, letting go to wash his hands and then tugging a grumbling Billy back out into the mall.

Billy’s eyes sparkle under his furrowed brow, and he scratches at his beard when Steve tugs him towards the jewelry store.

“Gotta get a gift?” Billy asks, frowning. Steve isn’t really one for jewelry, he sticks to the same basic watch every day.

“Yeah kinda,” Steve smiles, turning towards the salesperson.

She blinks up at them, swallowing a little, “Hello, gentleman, what can I help you with today.”

Steve leans into the counter, smiling, trying to look a little less like two big bad wolves, “Can we take his ring size please?”

Billy’s mouth falls open, “S-Steve?”

The salesperson pulls a ring sizer from a drawer behind the counter, “Which finger.”

“Left ring,” Steve smiles at her, ignoring his pink-cheeked boyfriend, whose staring with a mix of confusion and embarrassment. And hope. Steve hopes there’s hope there too.

Billy closes his mouth and sticks his hand out.

“Oh,” the salesperson starts flipping rings, “let’s start with a…”

“Thirteen,” Billy says quietly, “And a half.”

She tries it and nods, “There you go. Would you like to see anything?”

Steve eyes Billy, and smiles, “No, I don’t think so. Thank you for your help.”

Billy’s quiet as they walk back towards the parking garage.

“I want to be clear, that wasn’t me asking,” Steve tugs on the bags in Billy’s hands. “I have plans. Bigger plans than fucking in a mall bathroom.”

Billy glances his way and then tugs on his beard a little.

“Flowers. Chocolate…”

Billy groans, covering his face with one big hand, “Pretty boy… don’t go too overboard, please.”

“… Custom made sailor outfit…”

“I’m listening…” Billy peeks between two fingers.

Steve reaches out and touches the ring on Billy’s pinky, too small for Billy’s middle finger any more. It was his mom’s, Billy said. One of the few things his dad never destroyed.

“Would you say yes?”

“Thought this wasn’t you asking?” Billy frowns.

“I’m… pre-asking. Before I rent out the aquarium.”

Billy’s eyes soften, “You know I’m saying yes. Don’t pretend.”

Steve twists Billy’s fingers so they’re entangled again, “Just checking, baby. Just checking.”

I’m getting married in a few weeks so I have rings on the brain @hickory-smoked-ass hope you like it!

[hargrove-mayfields]

@atomrose gave me a rose! 🌹 That means I’ve been tagged to share a WIP!

~~~~

The bruise on the side of Billy’s face stretches from his jaw to his cheek bone to his temple, like his face had been slammed against something hard. Every now and again he leans over and ducks out of sight, spitting out blood onto the pavement. There are still tears in his eyes, which stayed trained on the water below them in the quarry, miles down from where they’re sitting at the top of the cliff, the soft waves licking at the rocks from the cold breeze.

He has the pendant on his necklace between his fingers, twisting it on the chain, the sound of it going back and forth like the buzzing of a zipper, or maybe a cricket. Something Steve understands well by now is that there is something, off about Billy. That’s a terrible way to put it, but it’s like he can never get enough stimulation. He’s always chasing something Steve can’t even see.

Steve learned to not let it bother him when Billy bounced his knee, or turned the radio up and up and up until both of them had ringing in their ears, or when he flicked his lighter open again and again. Flashing lights and clicking metal in an endless cycle.

Honestly, Steve was so used to it that, he didn’t even notice the sound until it stopped.

He’s been staring up at the stars and just, talking like he does, just saying anything that came to his mind. Billy didn’t ask him out here for them both to just sit around and mope, so he told him about how he’d got another letter from another school, and about when his dad called this morning and told him he needed to get a job or he’d be kicked out before summer, and he went on and about how he was glad not to be driving the kids around now that Dustin was away at camp.

But then he’d been halfway through a rant about going nowhere in life, and Billy’s breath hitched for just a second, and suddenly it was silent. Steve looked over to check on him, sometimes Billy could get too far in his head and needed a lot more help than just a quick chat under the stars and some company could help. He was just sitting stock still.

“Bills? You.. okay?”

He doesn’t look it.

The hand that was on his necklace has been pulled away from his neck, and the pendant and two ends of a chain came with it. They looked at eachother, and within the next second there were big, ugly tears in Billy’s eyes.

It had been his mother’s, the necklace. At times like this, when Billy was panicking and hurt and overwhelmed, it helped to have a piece of her there, even if the memories were painful, and now he’d broken it.

“Oh Blue.. we can fix it.” Another thing Steve knows about Billy was that, if he was crying in front of him, this was bad. Every now and again he’d show up with his eyes all puffy and the end of his turned up nose flushed red, but he’d never actually shed a tear like this in front of Steve.

Billy shakes his head fast and closes his fist around the pieces of the necklace. A sob rattles out of Billy’s throat, sounding pained, more raw than he’d see him even after the worst of beatings. Steve moved closer to him on the car's hood and put his hand on Billy’s back.

He makes more promises he can’t be sure of, “The clasps still on it, so we can fix it. It’ll be easy.”

Billy calls Steve on it. That insatiable need of his to help. Even though his voice shakes and he barely forces it out between the sound of a broken heart, Billy’s words sting.

“That all you think of me, Harrington? Some broken thing for you to fix up?”

~~~~