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a-jynx · 5 years ago

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Stuck On A Heart String | Ch. 7: We’ve Got This.

“So won’t you stay a moment? “Why would I stay with you…?” “Because… I’ll pull your heart strings.”

TagList: @trashmouth-hargrove, @greyspilot, @your-pretty-bambi, @hargrove-billy, @harringrovetrashh, @baconspice, @harrington-s, @ifuwannabemydingus, @stranger-h, @marythemudblood, @big–yikes, @myboyfriendsteve, @supermegapauselouca, @awickedplacethisis, @hargrovesharrington, @i-find-the-beauty-in-chaos, @hrngtons, @gaylemonshark, @steve-loves-billys-ass, @harringhoe, @bakausagiwithwings, @harrington-ofhawkins, @billy-baby, @flippyspoon, @razbey, @may-the-moon-love-me-back, @toast-ranger-to-a-stranger, @mythicalbeyotch, @theoncomingstormvictory, @spaceighties, @readingalways, @imreddietogo, @dracula-incarnate, @naolf, @misskittygrimm, @negativenuggetz, @tokeidai, @harrington-s, @thevipsupersecretsupperclub, @memes-saved-me, @remember2breathe, @leslyyyi, @garlicglue, @billyhargrovetrash, @harringrovewhorexx, @sylveomey, @into-the-storm, @theladynymph, @lemonlovely, @lemonypink, @carryonmy-hargrove, @heathertheghost, @steve-bambi, @trashycatarcade, @this-persuasion, @1rainbow2panda3, @amidstardust, @alittlelostwanderer, @steve-dingus, @introvertia, @strangerfictions, @garik-darran, @hargrovesprincess, @hargrovesharrington, @emobiscuit, @yikesharringrove, @paigey-mcfreedomly, @i-find-the-beauty-in-chaos, @hairringrovesworld, @hmg621, @loverminnaar, @panikyu, @splicedthoughts, @gideongrace,

{You can be added or taken off! 💕} ** A quick note, the taglist is not working right now, so some of you or maybe none of you are getting updates on this series. I deeply apologize if you believe this was discontinued. I hope you all still enjoy and read it whenever it pops up though. Thank you for enjoying and have an amazing day!

_________

It’d been days since the… Incident happened. Billy kept to himself, not looking at Steve for too long, taking drink orders with little interest, barely noticing the death glares from the band while they packed up and Carol’s constant nagging about how she didn’t get the drummer boy into bed. But he could care less.

“Billy, what the hell is going on with you? You’re not racking in your usual tips, your hair is falling out of your scrunchie and it looks horrible, your station is a fucking mess-”

“Caroline, for once, can you shut up and leave me alone?” He snapped, turning his head towards her as she blinked, rolling her eyes and moving away with a scoff. Billy slumped against the counter, the shot glass he had been scrubbing on for the past ten minutes began to almost glow from how hard the rag pressed into the glass. He barely glanced up as a body appeared in front of him, slapping down a few bills as Billy glanced up through his lashes, the bile wanting to build up and push its way out.

“What do you want, drummer boy?” He snarled, slapping the rag over his shoulder and the glass onto the rack, a chill running through as the other glasses shook.

“That’s no way to speak to a customer, blonde… Why don’t you try again?” Tommy smirked, making Billy growl. He leaned his forearm against the bar, jutting out his index finger and baring his teeth like some dog.

“I don’t think you need a drink after all you and the band are about to head on the road, wouldn’t want anything to happen, now, would we?” He huffed, drumming his fingers against the dark oak, a fight itching at his fingertips.

“You don’t need to worry about my decisions, blonde. Besides, you already fucked up with Stevie-” Billy reached across, grabbing Tommy’s shirts collar, he dragged him over the edge of the counter, a lip snarled and eyes filled with rage.

“You think you’re such a big fucking man, don’t ya? Beating up on him, acting all strong when you’ve got liquor running through your veins? You’re a fucking bitch!” Billy spat, his body quickly shoved back and Tommy’s chest slammed into the counter while his back met the stocks of the more expensive whiskeys.

“Billy! What the hell-” Carol’s voice got cut out as Billy’s eyes trained on the second body beside Tommy - Steve. His hair hidden underneath a tattered baseball cap, a loose t-shirt hanging around his body peaked over the bar. Steve’s hand settled on Tommy’s shoulder, his other on his bicep, each touch made Billy’s heart plummet and anger boil. The soft-touch, dazed look in those doe eyes staring at the one who made those soft touches shutter, and those love-filled doe eyes squeeze shut and swell shut. He gritted his teeth, his jaw instantly clenching as he leaned into Carol, his hand swinging around her shoulder causing her to growl and shout.

“Are you fucking kidding me, Harrington?! How about you stand up for yourself and fucking tell him off! You pushed me away, why can’t you do that to him?!” Billy shouted, fighting against Carol’s grip, her eyes wild and brows furrowed while glancing between her co-worker and the band members. Steve’s eyes were wide, a hint of fear adding to them as Billy leaned into Carol’s body, his hand gripping around her bicep as Tommy wrapped an arm around Steve’s shoulders, tugging him away as his eyes burrowed into Billy’s.

“Have you lost your damn mind?!” Carol smacked him away, grabbing his chin and digging her fingers into his cheek and staring at him with furrowed brows. Her eyes filled with concern and fear. Billy furrowed his brows, feeling the anger simmer inside his veins while he watched their backs retreat away; Tommy practically dragging Steve away. Steve glanced over his shoulder once, their eyes meeting once before Steve snapped his head around and disappeared into the back room.

“Billy, what the hell is going on with you?” Carol sighed, slowly dropping her hand and crossing her arms over her chest with deeply furrowed brows. He shared a look with her, feeling the dread build in his chest with a huff. Billy slumped against the counter, rolling his eyes with the shake of his head.

“I just fucked up… So bad.” His voice shook as her shoulders dropped, taking a step forward with a frown. Reaching up, she caressed his stubbled cheek, making him look at her with furrowed brows.

“You… Yeah, I can’t sugar coast shit for you, Billiam. You fucked up.” Carol sighed, patting his cheek and dropping her hand, leaning back and staring at him. “Give him time, Billy, seriously… I… There’s nothing much you can do, so, you take a shot with it and breathe.” She sighed, rubbing at the back of her neck with a huff. He groaned, using his free hand to rub it down his face, his eyes finding the stage and seeing it now empty… Abandoned.

“What… What if I fucked up too bad?” He murmured, moving to stand next to her, leaning against the counter and plopping his chin into his palm. Carol turned, leaning against it, pressing their shoulders together, their eyes trained on the stage as she huffed.

“You’ll learn, Bill, seriously. This is already fucking with you and your work, so, clap back and perk up, or I’ll take your tips.” Carol shouldered him, flashing him a grin before walking away to finish her cleaning for the night. Billy merely huffed, glancing at her before turning back towards the stage, flinching at the body that appeared in front of him.

“Billy, right?” Trevor asked, leaning against the counter, his fingers drumming against the wood as Billy sat up, shrugging gently. “Yeah, I mean, depends are you going to chew out my ass?” He scoffed while Trevor frowned. He turned his hand over, slapping his hand down and sliding it across him.

“I won’t chew out your ass, but… You did fuck up, but Steve is a little lost right now.” Trevor shrugged, frowning as Billy grabbed the piece of paper, flipping it over and his heart dropped into his stomach. The small note held a number in thick, red numbers sketched across the thin paper. Billy’s brows furrowed, his lips pressed tight and he felt his ribs squeeze at his heart and his stomach seemed to gain that rhythmic heartbeat.

“You’re Valentine, right?” Billy murmured, as Trevor waved for a drink, and the rough bottom scratching across the wood and it raked against his ears, a shiver running down his spine.

“Yeah, the bassist.” He nodded, nursing the beer while stealing a glance towards the back door. Most likely where the others’ were packing up and getting ready to head San Fransico.

“Y’ know… He’s just scared.”

“I know he’s scared, but… But he’s closed off. He’s afraid of-”

“You don’t know what he’s scared of, Billy. And y’ know deep down you can’t make anything up in your head.” Trevor shrugged, sipping at the beer again as Billy frowned, licking his lips before turning the paper over and over in his hand, his mind arguing whether or not to tear the stupid piece of paper in half.

“I don’t make shit up for him, I’m defending myself-”

“No, you’re projecting… But, so is, Steve. You’re both projecting because neither of you is ready for something with commitment.” Trevor finished his beer, sitting it down and turning it sideways, using his middle finger to turn it gently against the counter, making Billy cringe at the grinding of the roughed up bottle against the dark oak.

“Fuck commitment, I don’t… That’s not the idea,”

“Bullshit, Hargrove.” Trevor spat, making Bily blinked with a frown. He reached forward, snatching the bottle from him, slamming the bottom down as Billy deepened his frown as Trevor leaned forward. “Steve’s in denial because he’s scared, and you? You’re such a closed book, he’s having a damn hard time trying to open you.” He growled, standing from the stool and tapping his finger against the paper, arching a brow. “While we’re gone, text him, DM him, or send him a dick pic, I could literally care less. Just give him something to hold onto, alright?” He frowned before walking away, stuffing his hands into his jeans’ pockets as Billy huffed.

Furrowing his brow again, he slipped the beer bottle into the trash, his finger dragging across the paper as he stole a look back at the alleyway exit. The band was gone, the stage abandoned, and the bar seemed almost lifeless with The Stranger’s Mind. And Billy felt almost lifeless without Steve…

________

“Thank you for having us, Mrs. Taylor-”

“Oh, please, Austin, you’re being too formal. Just call me Amber.” She waved, smiling as they walked down the long hallway, a portrait of each musician they’d worked with all staring at them, eery smiles as well.

“Uh, right, Amber… So, can I ask why you waited two days before contacting Steve?” He asked when they rounded a corner, Amber pushing into an office. Steve and Austin led Trevor and Tommy as they sat down, settling into the square black chairs as Amber settled into the seat behind the desk, her fingers tangled together as she smiled eyeing each band member.

“I waited because I wanted to see how well you did last night, and I noticed you were missing a few members.” She glanced between Tommy and Steve, making the drummer huff and lean forward.

“Does it matter where we were?” He lightly growled, making Amber frown slightly as Trevor grew wide-eyed, moving to push him back into his seat.

“He - He, uh, didn’t mean anything by that, Amber.”

“It’s alright, Trevor, really. Surprisingly, this isn’t the first time a band member - usually the drummer or the lead vocals - gets a little heated when asked something simple. But, back to Tommy’s question, yes. It does matter. Because it could show that you really have no want to be there, up on stage with your fellow members.”

“We’re committed,” Steve speaks up, dragging a hand through his hair, glancing up at Amber with a small, thin line. She blinked, her lips twitch up into a smile, reaching into the desk, she pulls out a nilla folder, gently placing it onto the desk and tapping her acrylic pink nails against the black gloss top.

“I know you all are. However, as you know, with my company I take pride in the bands I assist with their flight into the world. So, I like to usually know what the band members’ intentions are with the band, and if it is their top priority.” She shrugged, her eyes glancing between each of the boys with a smile.

“What are you offering us, Amber? We know what Songbird Records is wanting, but what are you willing to give?” Austin asked, making Amber look to him, she slid the folder towards him, waving for him to take it.

“As you can tell, or you’ve seen, Songbird Records only wishes to help musicians get their names out into the world!” She waved, grinning as the boys each took a few papers from inside, glancing over the lines and murmuring to each other with a huff. “So, any more questions? Or do we have a deal?” She grinned, clapping her hands together as they all passed down their papers before they all glanced at each other. Steve and Tommy moved closer to Trevor and Austin, them huddling close together.

“How do we feel about this?” Trevor murmured, as Tommy leaned into Steve, making him frown as he shouldered him off.

“I mean, what do we have to lose? The band needs this - we - need this.” Steve shrugged, glancing at Austin, who broke into a large smile, looking at Steve, then to Trevor and Tommy. Each sat back, a small grin on their lips as they looked back to Amber, who was wiggling a ballpoint pen with a bit lip.

“So, where do we sign?”

_________

Shoulders collided, hands slapped together, and arms looped around each other when smiling and shouting in celebrating as they all stumbled back into the parking lot, leaning into the van with dopey smiles.

“Holy shit,” Austin breathed, turning towards Steve with another dopey smile. “Dude, we’re going to get produced… We just signed with Songbird Records!” He dove into Steve, wrapping his arms around Steve’s shoulders, making him audibly laugh as he hugged back. They stumbled some before looking to Trevor and Tommy, both of them were shouldering each other, and singing loudly, as well as off-key. They detangled themselves from each other, looking at one another with bright smiles.

“We are so celebrating tonight!” Trevor cheered, moving towards them, patting Steve’s shoulder as he winced, quickly hiding it with a smile.

“Hell yeah, we’ve worked hard! We deserve tonight!” Tommy laughed, rounding the group and climbing into the van, a large grin breaking across his face and stilling there. Steve laughed a breathless giggle, only to blink at the buzz that came from his back pocket. Tugging out his phone, he blinked at the screen.

(562) 457-2986

Hope everything went well… The world’s gonna shit itself when you play.

He swallowed thickly, his breath caught in his chest as his thumb hovered over the screen - his mind twitching between deleting or answering. “Steve! Come on, we’re all starving and you’re holding us up!” Trevor shouted from the window, making him flinch and shut off his phone, slipping it back into his pocket. Climbing into the back, he slipped into the sofa-like seat with a sheepish grin. Tommy and Austin sat up front, thankfully, Austin in the driver seat while Trevor sat across from Steve, eyeing him as Steve pulled out his phone again, staring at it with furrowed brows.

“Something happen to the party?” Trevor asked, arching a brow as Steve’s head shot up. He cleared his throat, shaking his head and clicking off his phone with a small frown.

“Uh, no… No, nothing happened, but I need to text them about this.” Steve scoffed, flipping the electronic and slipping back into his pocket as Austin pulled into a small cafe off the boardwalk. Climbing out, Steve turned towards the boardwalk, settling onto one of the benches while the others raced in. Pulling out his phone again, unlocking and staring at the text with a frown.

“Who are you…” Steve mumbled, flinching when a body suddenly settled next to him, making him shift his phone and turn to see Trevor.

“Alright, what the hell is going on with you and -” he stopped, glancing towards Steve’s phone and his lips tugged into a smile. “Whose that?”

Steve blinked, frowning as he shrugged, moving the phone to where they both could see the simple text. “I - I don’t know. They texted me after our signing with Amber.”

“Some girl? Wait, is this that Wheeler girl?” Trevor elbowed, grinning as Steve scoffed, thumbing at the edge of his phones’ case.

“Hell no, that’s a Cali area code.” He deadpanned, rolling his eyes as Trevor shouldered him, sitting closer as they stared at the screen. Trevor shrugged, standing from the bench with a pat on Steve’s shoulder, making him frown.

“Text it, see if it’s a crazed fan wanting a hook-up.” He winked, moving back towards the cafe where the others’ resided. Steve rolled his eyes, switching his attention back towards his phone and swallowing thickly at the text. His thumbs hovered over the keyboard, his bottom lip trapped between his teeth as he finished it out, huffing gently as his thumb pressed send. Swallowing, he locked his phone, not daring to double-check as he stood up, glancing towards the beach down below, listening to the waves crack and crash against the sand beneath him.

Sighing to himself, Steve clapped his hands together before reaching up and swiping at his mess of hair, stepping backward and towards the neon-lit cafe. A ghost of a smile dancing on his lips as salty air drifted around him, brushing past him and making skin bubble with goosebumps. Finally entering the cafe, he sat with the others, grinning as they greeted him and waved for a waiter to gather his order. It all felt… Right. Their days were working well and they were just beginning the hard journey that was ahead of them.

“So,” Austin began, washing down his bite before grinning. “When are we going to come up with new songs?”

“Woah, Woah, that’s Steve’s forte, not ours Aust.” Trevor snorted, sucking down his cherry milkshake as he wiped his mouth, shrugging at the others. “But, agreeing with Graham here, we need something new! We need to get our own lyrics out to the world, not covers.”

“Kind of hard to do with everything going on,” Tommy added, glancing around the table as the other frowned, looking to him.

“What’re you talking about, Hagan?” Trevor slightly groaned, his forehead slammed into the back of his hand with a huff. Tommy ate at his food, shrugging with pursed lips.

“I’m just saying; the bar drama, Steve’s episode, needing to now impress more than a few bar-goers. I mean, everything is leading up to this now, and we can’t fuck up.” He shrugged, sucking on his index to get the excess ketchup off. Steve deepened his frown, stealing a few fried from Austin’s plate.

“So, what we’re just going to throw this all onto Steve? That’s fucking rich,” Trevor scoffed. Steve rolled his eyes, sitting up straighter as he drummed his fingers against the plastic-covered top. Snatching another fry, he chewed for a second, thinking as he huffed.

“I can start on something tonight, but we’re going to need to get some recordings done.”

“Steve, come on, we’re not gonna make you do that alone. That’s stressful by itself.” Trevor tipped his drink, making Steve frown as he shrugged.

“Seriously, I can do it, T. Not like I’ve got anything better to do, honestly.” He shrugged again, as his phone vibrated. He blanked for a moment - a second - before standing from the booth. “I’ll be back, you guys finish up so we can get back to the hotel in San Fransico.” Steve waved, walking towards the bathroom.

Stepping in, his hands began to shake as he glanced around, checking each stall before running into the first. Locking it and settling on the open seat, mindful of what and where he was sitting, he pulled out his phone, the unknown number glowering at him from his notifications.

Unlocking it, he stared at the screen, his heart in his throat as a breathless laugh caught in his throat.

So, am I allowed to ask who sent this backhanded compliment, or no?

(562) 457-2986

Where’s the fun in knowing, smartass. Maybe you should be more careful with who gets your number?

Steve blinked. Was… Was this person seriously giving him shit on who got his number and not?

You’re the one to talk, dickhead! You texted me, not the other way around.

(562) 457-2986

Yeah. Well. You’re the celebrity here, not me.

He felt his world shatter; how do they know who he is? Of course, they know! Obviously, they know who he was, but how? His thumbs hovered over the keyboard, his knee bouncing as he felt a wave of panic. Had he been in there too long? Would they figure out that he’s hiding something? What if Tommy-

Valen-T

Hey. Where are you? We’re about to leave!

Steve frowned at the text, sighing as he swiped it up into his notifications, staring at the last text. Minutes passed by, each ticking by and disappearing into the darkening sky, as he inhaled before deciding to reply back.

I’m not a celebrity, strange texter. I’m just a boy trying to play music, that could now go worldwide. But believe what you want, because that’s what I plan on doing so I think you should too.

He hit send, licking at his lip, frowning as it turned bright blue with that little word, delivered, under it. Huffing out a breath, he stood from the toilet and slipped his phone into his pocket before exiting, stepping out and stopping in front of the mirror. He stared at his reflection, tilting his head slightly, he smiled. His eyes bright, a few leftover bruising slowly fading, a scar covered his lip. Reaching up, he fluffed his hair up, and turned side to side, grinning at himself.

“This is it, Steven… This is your big break, and you cannot fuck it up.” He sighed, clapping his hands together with a large grin. “We’ve got this.”

_________

It’s hereeeee~

I’m so sorry about this chapter being so late, this week has been so horrible, so I hope you guys enjoy it! It’s not the best but it’s helping the story along! <3

#harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #billy x steve #billy x steve fanfiction #billy fic #steve fic #modern au #stranger things modern au #stranger things #harringrove fic #harringrove fanfic #musician au #ch 7 #im so sorry this took forever #tags are probably not working #ughhh #but enjoy!

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