#something something about both you and dustin crying at a school dance.........................................................

[hawkinsindiana]

*clears throat* heya here's 3.8k worth of some uber upsetting angst featuring unrequited love on the night of your junior prom and you convincing yourself you definitely don't love your best friend steve, written by @stevebabey and myself TWO YEARS AGO >:) enjoy and get your tissues

canon to almost paradise, pre s2

—

when steve called you this morning, he sounded like a hurricane. 

a million thoughts were whirling through his mind; almost all of his sentences came out like a frazzled mess, reflecting the torrential downpour outside. but somehow, throughout all the chaos over the phone, he recruited you to help him get ready for tonight.

junior prom. ugh — you roll your eyes just thinking about it. ever since the date was announced, you’ve been dreading it. if steve hadn’t been so worried about getting everything perfect, you’d probably have forgotten about it by now. 

well, that’s a lie. you were never going to totally forget about your prom, especially with dozens upon dozens of posters plastered throughout the school. for months now, you’ve been hearing the gossip of who asked who, or who said no. you choose to believe your lack of an invitation is due to steve’s company — not some other answer that’ll make you cripple in self-hatred. 

the harrington’s front door is already unlocked, just as steve said it would be. you call out his name as you enter, careful not to snag your skirt on the umbrella before closing the door behind you. there’s a thump upstairs, followed closely by the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching from down the hall. 

“thank god, i feel so much better now that you’re— woah.”

steve stops dead in his tracks at the top of the stairs. as he does, your eyes snap up to land on his, which continue to widen the longer he stares.

your dress fits you perfectly. the sleeves are draped off your shoulders, exposing the skin of your décolletage. all of your features are enhanced by the color of chiffon that cascades to your ankles, accentuated by a pair of small heels. you look like something out of a movie.

“what?” you ask as you slip out of your shoes, now hyper-aware of what you’re wearing. steve’s never looked at you like that — nothing even close to that. the butterflies in your stomach flare; it feels like you’re filled with them, as if they’re coming up your throat and will spill out of your mouth any second. 

your fingers fly to your hair, gently pinned into an up-do, “is it… it’s too much, yeah?”

“no, just—”

steve blinks a couple times and descends further down the steps when he hears the insecurity in your voice. he clears his throat and grins lightly, “you, uh, you clean up pretty good, henderson.”

it’s embarrassing how wide your smile grows with his words. there’s a part of you that screams to get it together, but his praise feels so unbelievably good you can’t even hear it. you’re not in love with him.

you grab your shoes, “are you insinuating that i don’t try to look nice on a daily basis?”

steve panics as you walk forward to join him on the stairs, your brow furrowed teasingly, “what? no! i’m just— y’know this is the… i’m trying to tell you that you look good, okay? you look good.”

a laugh spills out of you at his nerves and your smile widens once again. you exhale, darting your gaze to the floor as you answer genuinely, “thank you.”

when you bring your eyes back up to land on steve’s boyish relief, you feel the itch to move even closer to him; it doesn’t subside as you resist the urge. if anything, it grows stronger. you don’t want to be too far from him ever again. maybe, if you’re lucky, he feels the same way.

it’s now that you realize what he’s wearing — a pair of his gym shorts and a white tank. his hair is soaked, like he just got out of the shower. he should be at least halfway done by now.

“i was gonna ask how it’s going, but…” you trail off as you gesture to his current state, your tone light, “i’m guessing not well.”

steve speaks gravely, “i’ve washed my hair three times.”

“steve!”

“i can’t get it right!” he pouts and stomps once, which makes you chuckle. god, it’s stupid how easy it is for him to get a laugh out of you. you’re absolutely hopeless. you follow closely behind him as he leads you to the second floor.

steve’s room is far tidier than it usually is, except for the en suite. the counter is covered in a slew of hair care products and appliances, ranging from mousse to gel and everything in between. before you can get a really good look, steve grabs a can of something near the sink and tosses it into a drawer. you scoff lightly, eyes moving quickly between his hand and the bashful expression creeping across his face, “what was that?”

his eyes narrow as he deflects, “none of your beeswax, henderson, alright?”

he moves his hands through the air in an exasperated motion, “just gimme a couple minutes to try this one more time and if that doesn’t work… you’re helping me shave it all off.”

“wow, you’re dramatic when you’re nervous, harrington,” you say with a teasing lilt to your voice and toss your bag onto the floor. if he was five years old, you think he’d poke his tongue out at you. with another glare sent your way, steve enters the bathroom and leaves the door slightly ajar, presumably for any errant hairspray fumes. 

the pair of you spend the next half hour conversing occasionally through the door, with the rest being spent reading as you wait patiently. it’s an effort to distract yourself from him, but it’s in vain. you smile every time you hear him curse under his breath. sometimes you find your eyes drifting from the page to land on his shadow moving across the floor. the comforter on his bed smells so much like steve it’s unbearable; you wonder what it’s like to sleep beside him, to kiss him awake or run a hand through his hair as he rests. you exhale — it’s pathetic how much your chest aches for him.

“alright, shit— how do i look?”

steve’s voice cracks through your thoughts, forcing your gaze up from the carpet. the way your jaw drops can’t be helped; you nearly shatter a tooth when you snap it back into place as quickly as it fell. this reaction isn’t enough for steve, however. your silence makes him nervous enough to ask again, “well?”

his skin looks incredibly tan against the navy blue of his tuxedo, which of course, is expertly tailored. the extra time he spent on his hair was worth it — he’s quaffed it perfectly. you decide the right words to describe steve’s beauty don’t exist. he’s like something described in the pages of one of your books.

you inhale and nod rapidly, “wow! uh, yeah, really good.”

“the hair? it’s—”

“good! definitely. i think you’ve tamed it,” a laugh titters past your lips as your breath gets caught in your throat. it really is quite unfair how effortlessly he can affect you this way. steve thinks nothing of it, turning around briefly to catch another glimpse of himself in the mirror, fixing a few strands that fell out of place. he sighs, allowing your reassurance to wash over him. you wouldn’t lie.

“sorry for being so pissy before,” steve mutters as he spins to face you again, “there’s a lot of pressure, y’know? i just want it to be good.”

you smile easily, waving off his concern with your hand, “don’t worry about it, steve. it’s fine.”

he nods and sighs once more before returning your smile. he’s so genuine that you think your heart’s gonna get tugged out of your chest one day. you’re not in love with him.

“okay. i think… i have ever— wait. shit,” steve stops his thought abruptly and moves to the stereo on top of his dresser. as he begins rifling through the cassettes, he glances back at you, “i need a song.”

“a song?”

“a slow dance song,” steve clarifies, “got any ideas?”

you swallow down the envy that stains your tongue at the idea, but it’s awfully difficult. the intimate sway that will be with nancy. but you want to be helpful; you want to help him. you bite down on your lip as you think, mentally flipping through your mom’s records. your neck burns at the thought of one in particular — it’s reminded you of the boy in front of you far too many times. 

“that one by 10cc, ‘i’m not in love’, maybe?” you offer shyly and begin to bury your face into your book out of embarrassment. could you be more obvious? 

“holy shit, i totally forgot about that song. you’re a genius,” steve says as he searches for the tape, jumping at the choice you offer, “i’d barely survive a day without you, i swear.”

you hum a sound of appreciation and feel blood pool in your cheeks out of embarrassment. before you get a chance to focus back on the book in your grasp, the song is drifting through the air of his room, and his hand is outstretched towards you. 

the look on your face is pure surprise. you glance between his inviting palm and his face as he looks to you expectantly. steve’s brow furrows at your lack of movement, confusion washing over him, “what, you’re not even gonna help me practice?”

you begin to shake your head as he smirks playfully, “steve, i don’t know if—”

“you scared of me or somethin’?”

you have half the mind to reply no, when the answer is most definitely a yes. steve harrington is standing in front of you in his best suit, just about as handsome as you think he’s ever been, begging you to help him practice slow dancing for his girlfriend. now you kind of feel like you have to throw up. 

he wiggles his fingers invitingly, but impatiently like time is gonna run out. he whines, “c’monnnnn—”

“okay, okay!”

you can’t help but laugh as you hesitantly grab your bookmark, placing it into the page before getting up to slip on your heels. steve takes your hand without another second to waste, which only skyrockets your heart rate. his palm is softer than you expected, with the hint of a rough callus on the tips of his fingers from all that time playing sports. he tugs you closer just a bit too suddenly, forcing your shoes to step onto his; steve smiles sheepishly with a slight chuckle, “whoops, sorry.”

when you recover and bring your head up, he’s barely a foot away — your cheeks immediately flush the hottest they’ve ever been. you swallow harshly as you try to speak but there’s quite literally nothing on your mind other than how close his lips are to yours. one quick movement and you could kiss him. 

“so… um,” he pauses as he thinks, “how do you, uh, do this exactly?”

you summon the hint of a laugh, lacing your tone with sarcasm as you answer, “do i look like i know?”

you want to stare at him, take in every detail you can — how warm his skin is, how wide his pupils are. you’re afraid you’ll get caught if you do it for too long. you’re not in love with him. 

steve shrugs, suddenly a bit embarrassed as well, “i don’t know. i don’t… i don’t really know how to do this either.”

then you stop breathing — he places his hands on your waist, fingers dancing lightly on top of your ribs. he’s made from electricity, sending little shockwaves into your body. steve gestures with his head, a small smile curling his lips, “i’m pretty sure you’re supposed to put your arms ‘round my neck, henderson.”

“oh! right—” you swallow harshly and force yourself to take another step closer. your chest is tight as you do as he says, your palms settling onto his shoulders before your elbows loop around his neck. you’re confident he can feel the tremble in your fingers. 

as the pair of you begin to sway gently to the music, it feels like your eyes fuse to steve’s. you swear you fall into some sort of trance, the dreamy synths of the music only making it harder for you to resist. it’s hard to breathe.

“jesus, you’re tense,” steve jokes, “c’mon, loosen up already.”

he tightens his grip on you for a split second, but it’s enough to light your body up like a current. you accidentally step forward onto his toes in shock. 

“sorry!” you squeak out, your eyes scrunched in embarrassment and you bow your head to hide your expression. you think that if you’re face to face with steve, he’ll be able to feel the heat of the sun coming from your cheeks. worse, he’ll probably ask why. you continue on, gaze watching your feet carefully.

“i— this is my first time doing this,” you say to try and explain, hoping the conversation will drag steve’s attention from your unusual reactions to his touch. the warmth of his hands on your waist is selfishly committing itself to your memory.

“mine too.”

steve’s sheepish admittance surprises you enough to lift your head, your brows drawn in close. you must look perturbed enough because steve laughs, tilting his head back a fraction and your eyes automatically track down his throat, dancing across each mole and freckle. fuck.

“don’t look so surprised,” he says, with eyes light and a casual smile, “i don’t know what you’ve heard, but—”

“oh yeah, because those rumors are definitely about you dancing with girls,” you cut him off with a chuckle and steve goes slightly pink. it comes through in his dancing, stumbling a bit over his feet and your hands slip to properly grasp his shoulders, steadying him. steve goes wide-eyed for a moment, long enough to send a bolt of panic through you, but he takes the chance to grab one of your hands and delicately spin you. there’s a swoop in your stomach with how gentle he is with it, carefully making sure you don’t get dizzy. you’re not in love with him.

“no, this, uh, would be the first… proper dance i’ve had. i’ve done?” he scrunches his nose as he questions his sentence. you cling to his every word, your arms settling back around his shoulders, back into that same trance from before. he hasn’t even danced with nancy yet, you realize longingly, but he’s danced with you. with a surge of love, you understand it’s because he trusts you enough to see him stumble and fail. that trust is enough to quell your envy, smiling up at him sincerely.

“well, nancy is very lucky.”

he doesn’t look as though he entirely believes you, his eyes unsure, “you think?”

“you’re gonna sweep her off her feet, steve.”

steve’s smile grows a bit at your affirmation, feeling the rush of confidence your words give him. it’s reflected in how he shifts one palm to your arm before letting it glide down your skin, settling at your wrist. the amount of goosebumps he leaves in his wake are mortifying, but he doesn’t think anything of it as he takes your hand in his. 

the mood in the room grows increasingly intimate as you both grip each other a little tighter while continuing through the bridge of the song. then your thoughts turn selfish once again; there’s nothing more you wish to do than rest your forehead against his and let the music and gentle touches communicate to him how you feel. maybe he could figure it out for himself. maybe you wouldn’t have to tell him. maybe it’d all be okay if you didn’t have to say the words out loud. 

are you a bad person if you try to enjoy this like he’s your own? you decide you don’t care.

“think i’m gonna tell her tonight.”

and just like that, the daydream dissipates, the haze wiped from your consciousness with his words. you’re reminded why you’re really here, what you really mean to him at this moment. you’re just the practice. the crack in your heart gets a little deeper, a little wider.

it takes every shred of willpower you have to push away the burning behind your eyes. he’s gonna tell her he loves her tonight, and you’ll be forced to watch. his eyes are hopeful, truly hopeful, for maybe the first time in his life. you wish it was meant for you. 

you sigh silently, compelling a smile to spread over your face. as much as you want to, you can’t look away from him. your voice is quiet, gentle, packed with everything on your mind. combined with the look in your eyes, it’s baffling he doesn’t figure it out.

“i think… that sounds like a great idea.”

it’s steve’s turn to sigh. once again, your words are the support he needed to hear. 

the next song starts to echo through the room and steve’s hands slip from you as quickly as they had settled on your waist. you don’t think it’s dramatic to say he took a chunk of you with him.

“thanks, henderson,” he says with a wink, words pouring over with his appreciation as you drop your arms back to your sides. then you’re grasping your own biceps, fingers holding tightly onto yourself for support as he moves to the stereo to shut it off. 

“now we just gotta find your dance partner. don’t worry, i’m still looking at options,” steve adds as he smooths over the fabric of his suit jacket, “only the best for you.”

right — steve’s promise to find you someone, which has been hilariously unsuccessful so far. he swears there’s no one in hawkins good enough for you; you can think of one person who might be. but you force yourself to smile at his words, although you frankly don’t have the mind to take them in. it’s incredibly endearing how much he cares and yet you still can’t accept it as enough. you feel guilty for wanting more from him, especially considering his heart belongs to another. you're not in love with him.

— 

jonathan didn’t want to come to this. it was his mom’s idea; joyce assured her son while rolling him for lint that it’d be a good experience. 

“you’ll regret not going in a few years, promise”, she had said to him. but in traditional jonathan byers fashion, he arrived at least an hour late. he’s not a junior, but that doesn’t really matter in a town as small as hawkins — he managed to slip in through one of the exit doors down the hall that the chaperones aren’t watching. the gymnasium floor is coated in glitter and confetti; blue, purple, and white against the wood. it’s a miracle no one’s slipping on it. 

a majority of his peers are out on the dance floor, slowly swaying to the ballad that bounces through the room. there are a few stragglers; a group of girlfriends who came together, a few couples more interested in swapping spit than dancing, and then… you. 

there’s confetti in your hair, a light dusting of glitter against your up-do. your shoes are placed haphazardly onto the table next to your slouched posture, like you had taken them off in a hurry. your fingers are tightly wound in the fabric of your dress as you stare at something, no, someone. it’s the most dejected look jonathan thinks he’s ever seen — nancy and steve are amongst the crowd slow dancing. 

it hits him like a truck. he’s had his suspicions over the last few months, but nothing as clear as this. if you weren’t his friend, he’d probably laugh. but he knows that you think it’s just as ridiculous as he does. maybe it was a good idea that he came here after all.

when jonathan sits down beside you, it takes you a couple of seconds to recognize his presence, too wrapped up in the feeling of steve’s hands on your body now committed to your memory. you were imagining it was you out there with him. when you finally acknowledge jonathan, you try to flash him a smile, but there isn’t much of a change in your expression. the distress is embedded too deep. 

jonathan doesn’t speak. he doesn’t have to. after a few seconds of sitting in silence, the lyrics from the song you had offered steve flowing through the air, you grow puzzled. jonathan’s gotten up, offering his hand to you. normally, you’d flash him a look like ‘you can’t be serious’, something with a curled lip and raised brow. but right now, with how beat down you feel, you don’t have the energy to turn him down. 

jonathan’s hands aren’t as soft as steve’s, but they’re gentle as he leads you to the outskirts of the dance floor. he purposefully chooses a corner far from them. subconsciously, your eyes still search for steve in the crowd, peering over his shoulder as jonathan guides your arms to his neck.

“hey,” jonathan says softly, but with just enough conviction to peel your focus over to him. your irises are still sad, still heavy with the weight of the secret you carry, the secret he understands more than anything. he shakes his head, finally placing his hands on you — don’t worry about them right now.

you close your eyes, tugging yourself a little bit closer, and then closer again until you can rest your chin on his shoulder. you try to forget about them, you really really do. you’re able to only spend a few moments focused on jonathan before your eyes open once more in search of him. 

you spot him — you hate that your chest swells. then it’s burning. you’ve never been a particularly good mouth reader, but you’d recognize those three words anywhere; you don’t know how many times you’ve imagined steve muttering them to you. 

you’ve stopped breathing, eyes intently focused on him to gauge nancy’s reaction. you can’t see her face, but by the way steve’s just lights up, you know what the answer was. 

“hey—”

jonathan stumbles a bit when you abruptly shove yourself away. he catches the expression pinched onto your face — pure, gut-wrenching despair as you can fully turn and begin moving to the door. he manages to grasp your wrist before you can get too far, but you try to pull away instantly. broken tone coming from your lips as you hiccup, “just lemme go, jonathan.”

your face is already overflowing with emotion, large tears beginning to track black mascara down over your cheeks. jonathan feels a kick in his chest; he’s never seen you cry before.

“no, just…” he pauses, tightening his grip on you like you’re going to float away if he lets go, “just let me take you home at least.”

you think on it for a moment. the right thing to do would be to tell steve that you’re leaving. but the thought of him makes your body go numb. you’re definitely in love with him.

all you can muster is a nod.

—

[hazardworld]

Hey Tumblr friends! One of my Ao3 fics “Dustin’s a Damn Good Ally,” got somewhat popular. However, every time I read it, I can’t help but note all the grammatical/spelling errors, the simplicity of text, and sheer lack of description.

I don’t want to completely change and destroy it though, because even with all its faults, it did make people happy.

Therefore, I’ve decided to preserve it before I edit it. On here, I’ll be posting the ORIGINAL chapter-by-chapter, with a link to the EDITED one on Ao3 (when it goes up).

———

Chapter 1— Confessions by the Dumpsters

Ao3 Link

Originally Posted 1.1.23/Edited 9.1.23

Summary: Dustin's dad sucks, and Will is heartbroken

(Queer author saying queer is used both positive and negative here)

———

On Dustin’s first day of 6th grade, he was called 'toothless.' That was a generic, appearance-based insult, something similar to insults he’d gotten in the past. It didn’t hurt him, he knew it was just a name.

The same people who called him toothless called Will 'a queer.'

Dustin knew what that meant.

When he was 7, his dad had called him 'a queer' and other words he wouldn’t repeat, and he and his mother had quickly left their small Minnesotan town for Hawkins, Indiana.

Dustin knew the effect that word had on people.

So, he kept defending Will. It didn’t matter if will was actually gay or not, the word still hurt, and he made sure the other two in their squadron of 4 knew how bad of an insult it truly was. Mike didn’t really get it.

That school year, he kept Will under close watch, making sure to always have a snack and some tissues on hand, keeping an eye on his emotions and the people around him.

That’s when Dustin noticed something interesting: Will’s body language always showed shyness around Mike, and Dustin would’ve been damned if he didn’t catch the small smiles and pinked cheeks Will got when talking to the other boy.

So maybe Will was queer, after all.

Not that that was a bad thing!

Obviously!

Duh.

But obviously, that insult had merit to it. Merit confirmed the night of the Snow Ball, when Dustin watched as his good friend forlornly watched Mike slow dance with their new friend El, and decided to make his way over, linking his arms with the other 8th grader.

"Dustin? What—"

"Shhhh…" Dustin put a silent finger to his lips, "Wanna head outside and talk for a bit? It’s not like any of us are getting the dates we want," Will’s brow furrowed, obviously confused at Dustin’s specific wording, but he nodded, and Dustin led the way to the back parking lot, where he knew no one would be there to listen.

"So…" Will said after the door closed, "What’s up? Here to complain about…girls?" Dustin smiled warmly, sitting on the concrete steps below, patting down a space next to him. Will sat.

"Will, I want to ask you something, and I need an honest answer, ok? No judgement." Will’s eyes went wide with panic, as if he knew the question Dustin was about to ask. He probably did, if Dustin was gonna be honest.

"I’m—I’m gay," He whispered the term hurriedly, tears starting to form on his cheeks, "if that’s what you’re asking." Dustin grinned.

"I was gonna ask if you like Mike, but sure, yeah, that works too." Suddenly, Will just started sobbing, and Dustin pressed him into a deep hug, not realizing that he was starting to cry softly, too.

"Fuck, Dustin, I like him and he only likes her and it hurts!" Dustin used his hand to rub Will’s back in circles, something Ma did for him whenever he needed a good cry.

"Well, Will, Mike’s kinda a douche, ok? He’s a well-meaning douche, but a douche.” He felt Will nod beside him, and he kept rubbing his back. Suddenly, Will drew away from Dustin, putting his hands on the older preteen’s shoulders.

“So you don’t hate me for being…’a queer’?” Will whispered the term, and off of instinct, Dustin grimaced. This instantly sent the wrong message, as Will backed away quickly, panic streaking across both boys’ faces.

“Shit, Will, oh my god, I didn’t mean that like that!” Will’s face still reeked of fear, but now with the added dose of confusion, “I could never hate you for being queer dude, that’s a dick move!” Dustin watched Will sigh in relief, the confusion still there.

“So then…why’d you make that face?” Dustin sighed, looking down.

“I dunno. Just the way you said that…didn’t hit right for me. Felt like you were hurting yourself. It’s stupid, sorry,” Will grinned, pulling Dustin in for another brief hug.

“Don’t be. It’s cool. Thanks for…being cool with all this.” Dustin grinned, “I haven’t exactly come out to anyone yet, but I think my mom and brother know.” Dustin nodded. He wouldn’t say how or why, but he knew they did, and that they were safe. Really, that’s all that mattered.

“So…enough talking about my shitty love life, how’s yours?” Will grinned, and Dustin rolled his eyes.

“Dude, Steve taught me all his popular jock boy tricks and none of them are working!” Will laughed, “I thought I’d be a chick magnet tonight, but here I am with you talking about unrequited love.” He groaned lightly, pinching his hand to the bridge of his nose, and Will patted him on the back.

"Shitty love lives together, eh?"

They chatted back there until Lucas grabbed them 20 minutes later, saying Steve was there to pick them all up.

Later, Dustin realized he became Will’s crush confidante: he was the only person who explicitly knew, so Will would come to him or walkie him asking for advice, or to rant, or to even just ponder.

It was nice to have that relationship: partner work was almost always Dustin-Lucas and Will-Mike, so it was great getting closer to another member of the party he didn't spend as much time with. Will was kind and thoughtful, and also a real snark when he got into it.

Truly, Dustin thought it was all pretty bitchin'.

———

It is my firm belief Dustin is the first one to clock Will at the Snow Ball, and everyone's better for it.

Also, the kid has absolutely no social cues. This will be a reoccurring theme.

Chapter 2/6

[dual1pa]

under vecna's spell

steve harrington x reader (using she/her pronouns)

warnings: y/n is under vecna's spell, steve protective and scared, swearing, kissing, crying, speaking about acts of violence towards other characters, y/n has trauma but nothing specific mentioned.

have a request? send it my way :)

the sky was black with red lightning shooting through the sky. she was scared, confused, and alone. she cried out for help, hoping that someone would hear her.

she remembers sitting with steve, dustin, lucas and max. she was sitting behind her boyfriend, steve. she rested her back on his chest as his chin rested on her head. he whispered something in her ear, but didn't quite catch it. that's when she ended up in the hell hole that was the upside-down.

she ran—for what felt like ages—until she heard her name being called and it wasn't a voice she recognized. she didn't trust it at all. she ran into the first house she came across. he tried her best to hide, but it seemed like the voice was getting closer and closer. she ditched her hiding spot behind a shitty couch and ran behind the house. tears flowed down her face as she wanted to find her way back to the real world immediately. she stopped for a moment to catch her breath. breathing in slowly and exhaling slowly. She turned around to be choked by a creature, Vecna. He grabbed her neck and shoved her up against the back of the house. It was like he was staring into her soul like he could see all of the painful memories she's witnessed in her life.

"please don't hurt me," she begged.

"you've been through some awful things," he told her, "you belong with me. I can help you in here."

*

Little did she know, outside the upside-down, where her body sits, Steve is trying to shake her awake. Unfortunately for both of them, that didn't work. Steve had tears in his eyes, after hearing what Max went through in that godforsaken place, he didn't even want to think about what the person he loved was going through.

"Please, please baby come back to me," he yelled, but she couldn't hear him.

"Steve!!! What's her favorite song?"

"What?" he shouted.

"Her favorite song, asshole, her favorite song!!!" Dustin screamed. The other kids were just as panicked as him.

He ran over and ran his hands through the various amounts of tapes and found the one. Madonna's first album. While quickly walking back to her, fast-forwarding to "Holiday." He put the headphones over her ears and pressed play, hoping it would bring her back to him. He leaned her body back down onto his chest as he pulled her back to reality and out of her trance.

*

She heard the faint playing of music in the distance. A beam of light shined through the field. She could see him. She could see Steve. She could see her laying against Steve, just like she was doing before she was hypnotized. She also heard his voice.

"Think of something that makes you happy, baby. I'm here and I'm not going anywhere, just, please. come back to me," he begged.

Vecna looked back at her, "If you escape, I will only come back and each time it will get worse. All of your friends will die and I will start with the boy you love."

She closed her eyes and thought of her happiest moments in life. Getting an A on a test she studied her ass off for, dancing at a school function with all her friends, meeting Steve for the first time, their first kiss, them going on a roller coaster together and steve being her prom date she could see it all and it made her smile.

She found her way out of Vecna's grip and waisted no second to run. She ran towards the light as fast as she could without looking back. She ran like hell. Vecna began throwing things at her. Giant rocks dropped inches away from her, causing her to fall from the ground. That didn't stop her, she kept her ears on the music and her eyes on her friends, encouraging her along the way.

She gasped, waking up in Steve's arms, she wasn't levitating like Max was. She grasped onto her boyfriend like she was falling. Her breaths were heavy as she screamed at the thought of her just being in the upside-down with that monster. she latched onto her, saying sweet nothings in her ear.

"Thank God, oh, thank God," Dustin caught his breath.

She looked up at Steve and kissed him passionately.

"I never want to lose you, babe," Steve cried, helping you up so he could give you a proper hug. She wrapped her arms tightly behind his neck.

"He told me he would hurt all my friends, starting with you," she cried.

He shushed her, telling her over and over that everything would be okay.

*

He took her home where he stayed with her the night. He watched her carefully as she slugged off her clothes and into comfortable pajamas. he was smart to keep extra clothes in one of her drawers since he spends the night often. He gave her a supporting smile, only to get a small one in return. She put on her favorite set of pajamas and had the headphones around her neck with Madonna's voice playing softly. Steve got in bed before she did as he was waiting patiently for her to join him. He laid down as he watched her crawl in bed with her head on his chest. She felt at peace as she heard his heartbeat. Her fingers draw tiny shapes on his stomach.

"He told me he was going to come after you," she said.

"Vecna?"

"Yeah," she closed her eyes, praying not to cry again.

He held her close, as he was afraid himself. He didn't know what was going to happen in the upcoming days.

He kissed the top of her head, "Hey. Don't let him get to you. I'm not going to let anything happen to you, or me. We have a group of friends that we trust and we will do our best to keep each other safe and not under vecna's spell. We're also hoping that Eleven will somehow get her powers back and can help defeat this asshole once and for all, so we can get back to normal."

She looked up at him, "'Holiday' helped me think of all my favorite memories. You were most of them. I thought about the time we went to Hawkins amusement park, our first kiss, dancing with you at prom."

He smiled and kissed her lips, "I love you. We will make it through this."

"I love you, too and I hope so, Stevie."

"When we do, I want to go away. Just you and me. We can travel the country. Even the world. Maybe, if we find a place we both really love. We move there. Start off fresh. Forget about Vecna, the demobats, the demodogs, and even the fucking demogorgon."

"I love that idea, honey," she smiled and kissed him once again before trying. her best to fall asleep.

[emilyskinners]

so take your time while you're mine and smoke slow

steve harrington x reader (no specific gender use of pronouns), and platonic!eddie munson x reader

requested: nope, not at all

warnings: spoilers for stranger things 4 (both volumes), smoking (does it even need a warning, smoke is literally in the goddamn title), st*ncy (it deserves its own warning), also if you can't tell already, I am apart of the nancy protection squad and i will defend her in anyway possible so if you hate her: please leave, a helluva lot of mutual pining that's confused for unrequited love, eddie playing matchmaker, a huge bowl of angst with an eventual and fluffy happy ending

a/n: after reading like a bajillion fics of steve, I wanted to make one for myself out of boredom, and I tend to make people cry. and in honor of joshua bassett's new song, "smoke slow" that's officially out, I decided to do a fic of said song because the snippet that has been out since may has been stuck in my head on a loop so I wanted to do something with it. but go check out the song please, I am begging you. it is so good. also, the pronouns in the original song are gonna be switched in the story, but the original lyrics are there. so in the story it's from she to he (he as in steve) and he to she (she as in nancy) as the fic goes on so you'll understand. I don't think I need to explain myself further anyways so...

*not my gif btw*

she asks for a light

as our secrets spill on the window sill

we're buyin' more time

while we kill ourselves as we both inhale

you didn't exactly hate steve harrington, you could tolerate him to a certain extent. the boy wasn't entirely unbearable and was sometimes entertainment at points. you were dragged into the whole upside down stuff since 1983. and you weren't usually around steve very often when the world goes to shit to care about him.

the only time you formed some type of connection with him was at tina's halloween party you saw him while walking home, sulking on the sidewalk. and as someone who wasn't entirely heartless, especially after seeing the look in his eye that just made him look like he's on the verge of sobbing. you didn't need that tonight, cause you just wanted to have fun and act normal for once. sitting down beside him as the two of you talked it out, about how nancy wheeler called him bullshit and that their entire relationship is bullshit and then he just left.

"so you just left her at the party... drunk?" you looked shocked, still trying to process it, "dude, what she said wasn't cool but come on!"

he didn't say anything else on the matter, just wanted to forget everything, "do you have a light?" you nodded and went into your pocket, bringing out cigarettes and a lighter. the two of you just sat there, getting high off your asses and watch as the night went on. both of you had opened up about your own personal lives and finding some kind of understanding.

after that, it was now four in the morning and you took him home. after what had happened at the party, he needed to rest before being hit in the face with reality before school. then heading home and heading to bed yourself, then just wondering maybe there is a good side to steve harrington that you just haven't seen yet, and even some part of you wished to see more of a vulnerable side to steve.

makin' believe there's a future

is it naive to think we could work?

the night el had closed the gate back in eighty four, you and steve didn't talk at all after that just between the both of you, after that for at least a year. the only somewhat time you saw one another was at the snowball when he dropped of dustin. he saw you, who was currently chaperoning the dance with nancy and jonathan, but you were currently smoking a cigarette. you had noticed him staring at you and all you did was wave before he drove off.

during the summer, you didn't exactly had a proper conversation with him. he was with robin, dustin and erica at the mall where there was a secret russian base underneath. meanwhile, you were with mike, el, will, max, lucas, jonathan and nancy, trying to find out how to stop billy and the mind flayer.

he hadn't noticed the tiny little glances you gave him once you saw him again. you honestly had no idea why you couldn't stop staring at him, there was just something that just made you infatuated that you were not self aware of your current actions. even in jonathan's car as he drove you, steve, robin, nancy, will and lucas away from the mind flayer and as they all had overheard dustin and his girlfriend, suzie singing "neverending story" over the walkie talkie, your eyes were on him, at least 90% of the time. there were times that you couldn't while the rest of you were in peril that very same night.

then after the events of starcourt, you were imagining these dreams of your future. like, wanting to be successful and rich, wanting to be loved, maybe have a couple of kids or two. but in those dreams about that potential future, steve was there. what part did he play in it, who knows honestly? being your boyfriend, or a friend, or something, he was there but for what purpose? you two weren't that close, yet again, not even aware of the fact of how much you stared at him.

but honestly, he couldn't even be the only there (with 'there' being the future, your future). you both are apart of the same friend group, even though said friend group consists of mainly middle schoolers. you obviously didn't mind hanging around them of course, more fun to be around then most people your age.

the second it's out, then i lose her

we're already here, so one more won't hurt

it won't hurt

it's now the spring of 1986, and this was the year where you and steve had to be in close proximity of one another. and ever since spring break started, you saw more of that same steve from that halloween night, vulnerable and kind and sweet and caring. that even something in the air had developed some type of non-platonic feeling. but with this itching feeling that steve is still in love with nancy, you refused to say anything. in order to cope and try to forget for a few minutes via smoking as your mind had went away, it wouldn't hurt, would it?

but obviously that didn't last, because you were forcibly pulled back to reality. you guys did anything to stop vecna and clear eddie's name. eddie has been your friend since the start of your senior year, he taught you how to play guitar. it felt nice to be around a guy without it being awkward. you and eddie were strictly platonic, like what steve and robin are. so, of course you would do anything to make sure he's able to walk in broad daylight without people calling him a murderer and with the cops on his trail. you and dustin were the ones that were the most passionate on clearing eddie's name.

then, in the last couple of days, max got cursed by vecna and almost died, but another victim was added which was lucas' basketball teammate was the next one. and then here you currently are, in the upside down with steve, nancy, robin and eddie, after a bunch of vines had dragged you down the lake and into the upside down because you refused steve to put himself in danger (again). where steve, by no hesitation had jumped in after you first before the others.

you could not handle the steve and nancy flirting going on, so you needed some type of excuse to be away from that. and that you'd rather have someone shoot you in the head with a nail gun, repeatedly than having to watch the two of them give each other heart eyes the entire time. and even eddie looked like he was over it and he's new to the group. the sight of steve looking at her made you wanna vomit, but the munson had noticed your reaction to the other two and knew what to do.

the five of you were walking over to the wheeler residence so nancy can grab the guns she has in her bedroom. eddie walked right next to you and immediately started the conversation with, "you know, i'm not particularly an expert when it comes to romance cause i have never been in a relationship. but, i've seen the way you act around harrington."

you risen your eyebrow at the munson in confusion, "i have no idea what you're talking about..."

"come on, y/n!" he pats your shoulder, "whenever he says one word, your eyes are immediately on him and solely focus on whatever he says."

"that's because he's talking..." you looked even more confused at what eddie is trying to tell you. the munson rolled his eyes, "you practically looked in awe of him. whenever i talk, you don't look at me like that." he then snaps his fingers and points our, "oh, and another thing, the look of disgust on your face whenever him and nancy flirted."

"and that's also because one: she has a boyfriend, and honestly she honestly did not look comfortable at his advances and I do not blame her. and two--" you held up two fingers as you proceeded, "we're practically in hell. so maybe flirting while we have a high possibility of dying isn't exactly the best time."

"fair points." eddie agreed, "then, let's talk about how harrington feels about you."

"and what about it?"

"personally, i would have never jumped in, not under any normal circumstances. outside of d&d, i am no hero. i see danger and i just turn heel and run. or at least that's what i've learned about myself this week. give yourself a break, y/n. see? the only reason i came in here was 'cause harrington and the two ladies over there chit chatting came in straight after you. now, i was too ashamed to be the one who stayed behind." he explained, "i just played follow the leader."

you had a fake smile on your face, "so what is your point? you're wondering why other people care about me?"

"if you let me get to the point--" eddie says, "but harrington right there, he didn't waste a second. not one second. he just dove right in. now, i don't know what you guys had before i came in, but if I were you, i'd confess my love while i still can. cause that was as unambiguous a sign of true love as these cynical eyes have ever seen."

"that is..." you had paused for a second, taking in a deep sigh, "the most cheeziest shit i have ever heard. and it's pretty damn stupid. steve is selfless and such, he would've dove in after anyone... like nancy."

"maybe..." the munson shrugs at you, "but it's just the worry and the concern on his face while you were dragged down the lake. honestly the look on his face didn't look like he'd have that reaction for anyone. not even nancy wheeler."

"so you're basically just finding this--" you proceeded to had put in quotes, "'love story' between steve and i, your entertainment?"

"yeah..." eddie had let out a chuckle, "watching you silently pin over him with those sad lost puppy dog eyes was tugging the heartstrings."

"glad you find my pain entertaining." you sarcastically responded, "but even if i had these 'feelings' for steve. what makes you one hundred percent sure he feels the same?"

"it's in the eyes." he points out, "sometimes the voice, but mainly the eyes. look, if you don't want him, you can let wheeler have a second shot with him." and that made you gag a little and eddie couldn't help but laugh, "i knew it, you are jealous of her."

"no, i'm not."

"i'll let you be in denial."

"i just don't wanna ruin everything." you had blurted out, and then further explained, "i confess how i feel, then he doesn't feel the same and our friendship is ruined. i would rather have him as a friend than not have him at all."

but all that we are is all that we'll ever be

'cause he's the one waitin' at home

finding out the upside down has been stuck in the day will went missing for over two years, the five of you had went over to eddie's trailer. since dustin had explained that there must be a gate at every murder sight. him, lucas, max and erica had found a way to get you and the others back to your world safely. and then a pit of rage and jealousy had pondered when you made it through and looked up to see only steve and nancy left. and with nancy now being possessed by vecna which left everyone in a fit of panic.

but suddenly, she was out of the trance and you saw steve cradling her face. and that made you wanna grab eddie's guitar and shove it down your throat. both of them made it back through as they all snuck over to max's trailer as nancy explained to what vecna saw her see. after that, and a lot of convincing to go back into the upside down but with protection and weapons. as well as max using herself as bait to make vecna's physical body defenseless so he can be killed with breaking a sweat. and then they had stolen an rv from one of the trailer park residents with steve driving and nancy in the passenger seat.

you couldn't help but roll your eyes but also stare at them with your head lying down on the small table with robin and eddie on both of your sides. god, why would you be jealous of nancy? she has boyfriend for crying out loud and you know how much she loves jonathan. you honestly didn't know if they were still going strong, but that wasn't any of your business. after hearing steve talk about wanting six kids and seeing the two looking at each other that made you want to die. but also another part of you thinks, god, poor nancy, hasn't she had been through enough? for a split second, you could tell that she didn't look exactly comfortable, especially that you can tell by that fake smile on her face cause that smile did not seem anywhere near genuine. personally, who could be comfortable in that situation? if steve is really hinting at her being in that dream (especially the way he was looking at her), then you felt more bad for nancy constantly being flirted by her ex boyfriend while he knows she's in a relationship and saying all of this to her, specifically out of anyone.

your mind just wondered off, after that. still really having the urge to open the door to the rv and jumping out while you still can, and hopefully get run over by a nearby car, but that's definitely not gonna happen.

it's just all that you and steve is, is probably what you were ever gonna be. best friends and completely platonic. even though what you felt for him, was not platonic at all, and everyone else knew it but steve and sometimes even yourself.

she holds my guitar as i pluck out a melody

there's only so far we can go

and then after dropping off max, lucas and erica at the creel house, you and the others were in the upside down. you went with steve, nancy and robin to go to the upside down version of the creel house to take out vecna, while dustin and eddie were being the distraction against the demobats.

and the walk, felt like it had been forever, your feet were hurting, robin ran off with nancy chasing after her. and now it was just you and steve alone. and god, did that terrify the fuck out of you. for a split second the thought of you being alone with steve with all of these confused feelings going on scared you more than vecna himself. but, you try and stay calm and started talking about robin being a super clutz and how it took her longer to walk then most babies. that had made steve brought up how when he was a baby, he used to crawl backwards.

"what? how, exactly?" you had looked entirely confused, but couldn't help but laugh. he laughed along with you, as he explained, "come on, it makes sense. you push to move, right?"

"no, no, it doesn't make sense whatsoever."

"well, it did to my tiny little harrington brain. that is, until i reversed my baby butt down a flight of stairs and thumped my head really good."

"that explains a lot." you snorted.

"yeah." he chuckles, "i think it kinda does. i think, like, right out of the gate, like, i'm super confident. but i'm also, like, an idiot. which is just... i mean, it's a brutal combination. but, i mean, the good news is, i get a big enough thump on my head, i can change, you know? i can learn. i can crawl forward." he had finished explaining, "honestly, thanks to nancy for giving my head the biggest thump of it's life two years ago, it's changed my life. i really needed it, and now i'm crawling forward. slowly."

you then had brought up to remind him, "also jonathan too, since he did beat the ever living shit out of you. it was satisfying to watch."

"that too." he then went on further, "for so long i was dwindling in the past over a girl who couldn't love me back. which is not her fault, people just can't control how they feel. i thought these things i've been feeling this past week have been about old flames that should've never died out. but honestly, realizing these past twenty four hours, there's a new flame in my life that i just never realized til now."

you had looked a tad bit confused, both of you stopping while you looked directly at him, "what are you saying exactly?"

"you heard the talk i had with nancy, right?" you shrugged and nodded, "all of it is true. every last word. for so long, i saw nancy in that dream with me, but i just don't see it anymore."

"you don't?"

"no, actually and surprisingly, i don't." he replied, "there was just this one important part that i had left out." you noticed him giving you this look as he said those two words that had rocked your world and that it changed your guys' friendship so much from that point on, "you're there."

oh.

you didn't know what to say. how can you respond to something like that? like you felt this relief on your shoulders that he wasn't talking about wanting a family with nancy straight to your face. he saw you. it was still something difficult to process it all. this was as hard as trying to teach steve how to play the guitar a few weeks ago cause he noticed it in your room and asked for you to teach him for fun. but instead of him plucking the strings of your guitar, it is the strings of your heart. with said heart on the verge of beating out of your chest and exploding everywhere.

literally, what can you say to that? like having a life long commitment with someone who imagines and wants six kids with you? you'd die on the spot.

but, just in time before you had the chance to pass out or something, robin and nancy had found you both. interrupted this moment you and steve have, and it just felt like another relief lifted from your shoulders. you were put on a pedestal and expected to have a response of some kind, at least one word. but said words were just too hard to form.

i'm next to you but i'll never be close

so take your time while you're mine and smoke slow

two days after everything that happened. eddie is dead, max is in a coma and you were still processing everything that had happened. like holy fucking shit, what just happened? and now, it's been two days, you're helping nancy clear out some of her old things to donate it to people that are in need of stuff ever since vecna's gates had opened. then, you all suddenly heard honking from a small distance with a pizza van showing up out of no where. and conveniently said pizza can had mike, will, jonathan, el, and some other guy coming out of it. you immediately had embraced el and will with dustin, "i've missed you kiddos so much! how are you, are you okay?"

you also had noticed el's hair is gone, and you just couldn't say anything cause you were in shock. all you did was just give her a meaningful kiss on the forehead. you then had walked over to mike and gave him a quick hug, "god, you leave for one week and everything goes to hell."

"same thing happened on our end too."

"well i'm glad you're okay." and then you walked in between jonathan and nancy's little reunion, "so glad so see you two back together. a major relief for me, actually." and then you gave jonathan a big hug, "you've grown out your hair, byers. i'm so close to grabbing some scissors and getting your old hair back."

"i'll think about it." he says, he let's go and the other dude who you didn't know walked over as jonathan introduced him, "this is my friend, argyle. he was honestly a big help on our end."

"sup." argyle says. you just nodded and shook his hand, "pleasure to meet you."

after the reunions and such, you, steve, robin and dustin went to the school and volunteered to help out the people that are in need. you were helping steve fold clothes as the both of you had noticed robin talking and smiling with her crush, vickie. and then you had broken this two day silence with steve after what he said, "about that night--"

"no, no, it's fine." he cuts you off, "i shouldn't have dropped that on you while we were on the possibility of not making it. it's not fair to you, and i was crossing a million boundaries. and i--" you stopped steve from rambling further by kissing him to shut up. you pulled away with a smile on your face, "i understand, really. because, i had imagined my own future for you apart of it for a while. in like, any possible way, you were there. maybe not the six kids in an rv, traveling across the country type suburban dream. but just, a nice one where we don't have to worry about demogorgan's, and the mind flayer, and vecna, and just the upside down in general." you stopped yourself for a second to catch your breath before proceeding, "i just personally didn't wanna say anything because i didn't wanna ruin this friendship we had built if you didn't feel the same. but hey, you do, and that's great! but, maybe we just take our time slow. cause i'm definitely not ready for six kids."

"i can see that." he smiled, "we don't have to have six kids if you're not comfortable with it. that's totally fine."

you returned a smile at him and gave him a kiss on the cheek and went back to folding clothes, "thank you." then you had also adding, "i'm glad i was there whole you were sulking on halloween night two years ago."

"i'm glad too."

a/n: hope you guys enjoyed! honestly, I wouldn't mind getting some stranger things requests for steve and other characters like nancy, jonathan, robin, max, lucas (I may need to make a new post on who you guys can requests from which fandoms again and a new masterlist but not at the moment)

[memes-saved-me]

Billy Hargrove and implied Queerness

First off this is focusing on his scenes without Steve because we've all seen those and....they're pretty homoerotic to say the least so I will be bringing your attention to the other factors which lead people to believe Billy is gay or interested in men and not so much women. This isn't very indepth but more surface level observations I've made and seen others make.

(TW: Homophobia and slurs discussed)

Season 2

The first scene we get of Billy he is instantly sexualised by those around him. Tina and Vicki taking interest in him based on his looks while Carol watches on rather unamused. This sets a trend for his character and his relationship with his looks and body, but more importantly how he uses it to his own advantage. Of course this was done to play into the 80s bad boy who all the high school girls fall for but what I'll explain later makes it much more interesting.

The next we see of Billy is with Max on their way home. During this scene he insults the looks of the high school girls, referring to them as cows. We then get a very interesting line "Yeah, we're stuck here and who's fault is that?" Which Max replies to with "Yours."

A response that instantly angers Billy to the point he demands she take responsibility for moving to Hawkins. A topic that has clearly been discussed before because Max's reaction implies this has happened before if not multiple times.

In Runaway Max, which isn't confirmed canon and contradicts a lot of stuff but, we are told that the reason they moved was because Billy was completely off the rails to the point he broke her friends arm. Now. Does that make sense in blaming who's fault the move was? If this is the case it is obviously Billy's fault so why does he keep saying it was her who caused this? She clearly liked being in California so why would she do something to make them move. Unless it was unintentional...

This heavily implies that there is an unspoken incident which involves them both. An incident which triggers such anger and recklessness in Billy to the point he almost runs over Mike, Lucas and Dustin because Max wouldn't say it was her fault. Many have then filled in this gap with Max accidentally telling either Neil or Susan about Billy and another boy, which would make sense with the information or lack of information we are given in canon about the reason they moved.

While at Tina's Halloween party we do not see Billy interact with a single girl. He is seen with Tommy and another boy who then approach Steve with him. It would make sense for girls to be drooling over him in this moment, trying to dance with him or following him inside but no. He makes a beeline for Steve and we do not see him for the rest of the party.

Now, I don't know about you but have you ever seen a teenage boy look less interested in his date? Not only is he not interacting with verbally but also physically. He then gets angry when she calls Max his sister and they drive off without a word. It's implied he is taking her home as he they were waiting for Max, meaning he was probably going to hook up with her but if he was wouldn't he act just a little nicer towards her?

I mentioned before that he is the archetype for 80s bad boy and the girls sure are falling, he just isn't catching them. This is the only time we see him interact with a women his age in a romantic way. If you could call this romantic at all.

When in trouble for letting Max run off while watching her, his response is that he doesn't have the time to go looking for her because he has a date, a date we never see or get the name of, this prompts his father to say the line "So that's why you've been staring at yourself in the mirror like some faggot..."

A line that then prompts Billy to snap and argue back after clearly wanting to get out of this situation as fast and smoothly as possible. Where else have we seen anger brought on by a topic? That's right in the car with Max. There is a trend of Billy reacting with anger to conversations or comments he finds personal or as some sort of attack. This is also when Neil becomes fully angry with Billy as seen in his rather shocked reaction at his response to that line.

This also continues the trend of Billy caring about his looks and using them as a shield of sorts, a shield that doesn't work against his father but everyone else he encounters.

Something to keep in mind, Billy is the only character to be called a homophobic slur by a parental figure other than Will. The character he mirrors in multiple ways including having the same full name William, as well as Will being heavily implied as gay or queer. Both of their father's use homophobic language against them, unlike any of the other characters in the show.

The next we see of him after the incident with Neil is also when we see him interacting with another women in a romantic sense. Karen. This is where his use of his looks and body fully come into play. He uses these assets to get information and affection out of Karen to make his father happy and avoid further punishment.

Now this is my own interpretation but Billy is used to using his body for positive attention and doesn't get that any other way. At no point in the series is he treated like a person other than in S3 by Max and Max only. Everyone else views him in an objectified manner or as a bad guy to avoid.

There is a clear resemblance between Karen and Billy's mother which I'll further discuss in the season 3 section but this leads me to believe he is subconsciously or even consciously wanting positive attention from a motherly figure, he just doesn't know any other way to achieve that.

However, it is very clear that flirting with Karen was an act as seen by the quite jarring juxtaposition of these two frames. The mask fully gone once by himself again. Meaning the only time we see him flirt with a women it isn't genuine at all.

Season 3

Now, continuing off the last point, there is countless girls practically drooling over Billy at the pool but he only accepts this attention from Karen. This exemplifies my theory that he doesn't know how to gain positive affection other than through flirting and well sex, but he only wants this attention from an older women who resembles his mother. Except, again he doesn't know any other way of gaining it. He hasn't had a strong positive female influence in his life since he was 10 years old and by the looks of it every motherly figure has treated him as eye candy and not a teenager crying for help.

He has Heather who is very much his age and flirts with him. Yet, he acts as if she isn't even there and goes straight over to Karen to flirt. The way he acts with Karen should be the way he would act with girls his age, flirting and making advances but we do not see a single example of this.

This part I find extremely interesting because it perfectly mirrors his interaction with Karen in season 2, except instead of dropping the mask he puts it on. The way he looks to his right as if she is sitting there as he practices what he is going to say to her is a clear example of his act coming into play as he prepares to meet up with her. His expression very similar to when he leaves the Wheeler home but it shifts to practice the way he is planning on talking to Karen. A complete reversal from their scene in season 2.

A rather reaching piece of symbolism could be that this also mirrors the way Neil cuts off Billy's date in season 2 as the Mindflayer is a literal representation of him being controlled by his father.

I also find it very interesting that he chooses to flirt with Karen very publicly and this might be reading a little too into it but it comes off as trying to uphold some sort of image. Another example of this is Max saying she hears Billy with girls in his room, something that sure is something he would do but when you put this with everything in this post it also comes off as him trying to prove something.

Another thing I find interesting is the way he acts around Karen, all smiles and friendly is very similar to that of the way he acts at dinner with Heather's parents. An act put on by the Mindflayer, just as he does when flirting with Karen. A mask used for underlying means and not what it shows on the surface.

Conclusion

This is all just my observation and he is not canonically gay or queer but the way he acts around women compared to Steve is a very interesting aspect to his character. If they truly intended for him to be this bad boy ladies man then they failed at presenting that.

One final thing, which I have posted about before is the fact Billy does not use homophobic language towards anyone. Even Steve does in season 1 so it would make sense for a teenage boy trying to upstage another teenage boy to use slurs and such to belittle and bully him. Except he doesn't.

I could write a full dissertation on Billy's implied queerness but a unorganised Tumblr post will have to do. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[dreamifics]

Steve Harrington x Reader

Casuality

Just some fluff, angst and smut

Warning: mentions of alcohol, mentions of sexual activity, a little cursing

How did me and Y/N ended making out in my pool? Bad decisions and booze, that's the answer. I wanted it to stop, but it was good.. Too damn good. I can taste in her mouth the bitterness of the alcohol we drank a while ago. The mix of beer and vodka was still lingering in her mouth.

My hands run in her legs, as her hands tug my hair. There were fire igniting inside us, it was burning with lust and adrenaline. A low moan escapes her mouth, this added fuel to the fire inside us. We both knew that we'd regret this in the morning, but we didn't stop.

Y/N Henderson..

I'm close to her brother, but not to her. We fought monster beside each other, she was close to Robin, Nancy and Jonathan. But not to me, that's why I'm surprised when she arrived in my doorsteps, alcohol in her hands.

"Hey, Steviee!Wanna run around town and get smashed?"

She caught me off guard but I agreed, I was always intrigued by her. I never noticed her in high school but she seems to know everything about me.

"Oh, come on!Steve!I'm not stupid!I know you use that shitty shampoo and conditioner!"

"It's not shitty!It's the real deal!"

"Whatever, let's go back to your house and take a dip in your fancy pool!"

My mind snapped back as we moved to my bed, Y/N's heavy breaths and low moans was all I could hear from her. We drop in my bed, we knew were going to spend all night here. The sheets wrapped around our naked bodies, legs entangled with each others. Moans filling the room, sweats dripping from our hot naked body. We were drunk and stupid. Sobriety and rational thinking was out the window. This night was filled with bad decisions and bad decisions only.

Days have passed since that night, we decided to continue the relationship but we're keeping it casual. We're now sitting in my car, music blasting on the stereo on a low volume. She was looking blankly on the window as I drive her to campus.

"What are you thinking about?" I questioned, snapping her out of her trance. She smiled at me as she relaxed into the passenger seat.

"Whatever your thinking about.."

"Dustin moaning really weird last night?" I joked causing her to glare at me.

"No, but now that's what I'm thinking.." I chuckled at her response as I paid attention to the road.

"Hey, do you want to have a sleep over tonight?"

"Sleepover?What are you ten?Do you also want to braid each other's hair and have a pillow fight?" Her witty remarks always get me laughing, that's one thing I like about you Y/N..

"Come on, we're not gonna be sleeping anyway.." I pleaded.

"Ooh, Stevie gonnna give me the lovey dovey!" She said in a baby voice. Gotta admit, that was weird as hell.

"Oh dear god.." I mumbled under my breath.

"What's that Harrington?" Her glares could literally kill someone, I just gave her an innocent smile, she just rolled her eyes.

"Nothing.."

"I'll see you tonight, then.."

A comfortable silence filled the ambiance of the car, if I know Y/N and I think I do, she'll try to rummage her brain for something to talk to--.

"What was Dustin moaning about?" There it is..

"Oh dear god.." I just shake my head in amusement.

The first time I had ever seen you cry was the day we got home from campus, snots and tears were everywhere. I never saw you cry, even when we almost died twice while trying to save the world. Not a one single tear, but now your here infront of me. Tears in your eyes, as you sobbed into my chest. I don't know what to do, should I comfort you?

"What happend?" I finally asked the lingering thought in my head.

"I saw Dad with his brand new family.."

Y/N's father..

I never really met him but to what I gather from Y/N and Dustin is that he's a coward. He left his family to be with another woman.. Putting the three of you to emotional trauma and abuse.

"I'm sorry.." That's all I could say..

"After all what he did to Mom and Dustin, he have the audacity to be happy while Mom cover up the pain with cats.."

"I hate my dad, I swear if he ever comes back, I'll feed him to the demogorgons.. Why does this always happen to me? Can everything be just fine again?"

I hate seeing her like this.. What should I say? I can't really relate to her, my parents still stood by me.

"I'd do whatever I could do, if you want to get wasted, I'll do it with you, If you want to burn your dad's house, I'll be down with that. Just don't cry, I can't stand seeing you like this."

A small laugh erupted from her, moving beside me, she lay her head into my shoulders.

"Thanks for the reassurance Harrington.."

"That's what I'm here for.."

"Come on Steve, let's make out in your pool.." Y/N stands up, and gave me her hand, I gladly accepted it.

"Why do you have to ruin the mood?"

"How's that ruining the mood?If anything, I'm building the mood." She said in a sultry and teasing voice. I rolled my eyes, does she think I'll get turned on by that. She was crying just a moment ago, she was releasing snots.

"I think you have daddy issues, love.." It was her turn to roll her eyes.

"We all have daddy issues.." I grab her cheeks and peck her lips.

"We both have daddy issues, then." She just gave me the most precious smile that ever existed.. Oh, God. How I love you.

The first fight we had was also our last, it was your birthday. We were hanging out in your room, laying in her bed as the television played Star Wars. The pale moon was dancing all throughout the room, I knew there was something bothering me, we've been doing this for months, keeping everything casual. I'm growing tired of the constant thought that someone will take her away from me.. Don't get me wrong, I love Y/N, I'm not sure how she feel about me though. Y/N's like a close book, hard to read. So many things that I wish I knew, but there's so many walls that I can't break through. ( Where the swifties at? )

"Are you okay?" Y/N soft voice pulled me out of my head.

Am I really okay?No, why? I want us to be in a committed relationship, where someone can't take you away from me. That's how much I love you..

"Nothing, just thinking about us.." A small smile tugged in her lips as she scoot closer.

"What about us?" She asked, her brows wiggling.

"Being casual and all.." The smile she had falter, she moved away from me, running her hands through her hair.

"You know I'm not ready yet.."

"You always say that."

"Steve!I can't have this exact same conversation with you over and over again!" And here we are, fighting.. The anger inside me flicked open, I know it won't do good but I still went ahead and got mad.

"Why can't you say it once?!" Our shouts echoed through the whole house, her Mom is probably worried about her.

"What can't I say?!" She asked confused and angry at the samw time.

"That you love me!" The whole room suddenly got quiet, the look in Y/N's face was hard to read. Are you shocked? Scared? Angry? What? Do you love me like I love you? Please, say the words that I want--no, what I need to hear.

"Steve, we both know that we agreed to keep things casual.." She finally spoke, but not the words that came out was not what I needed.

"Casual?We've been together for almost a year now, how much more casual do you want it to get?"

"I--Steve, I can't do this now.." She backs away from me, opening her door wide open for me to leave.

"Why?" That's all that exited my mouth..

"Because I need space!" She snaps, a involuntary scoff left my lips.

"Space from what?!We barely have a relationship!"

"Just get away!I can't believe your pressuring me!" She shouts, but I stayed to say the words I'll regret..

"Let's just end whatever the fuck this is!"

"Fine!" She screamed as she walks up to me and pushed me out of her room.. Reaching the end of her door, she pushed me. I stumbled but managed to bounce back, before I can even say another word she slammed the door. And there's that..

"Steve?" Dustin came out of his room, a worried expression painted in his face.

"Are you and Y/N okay?"

"Yeah, it's just a--" I stopped at the middle of the sentence, my mouth refused to let the words escape.

"A what?" He questioned.

A break up..

"Nothing, it's nothing.." I lied..

I didn't know why I couldn't say the words. I clearly never wanted this to happen, I didn't know what happend. And I can't take it back, what's done is done..

Life with Y/N was hard, but life without her is much harder. Was I in the wrong? I shouldn't have pressure her, all I wanted is to go up at her house. But Dustin told me, she was really busy with a lot of schoolworks. Where did it get so complicated?

I was walking home when I saw Y/N, just standing in my porch front step. She seems fidgety and nervous, those sweet eyes seem to notice me. Y/N was wearing one of my Van Halen shirts, with a short and just some sneakers. You always looked beautiful in my shirts..

"Steve.." I love how she says my name, but I love it more if she screams my name. Flashes of her naked body grinding on me suddenly appeared on my head. This was not the time but I couldn't help it. I miss her..

"Hey.." I greet..

"I just wanted to--"

"I should be the one apologizing, I shouldn't pressure you like that.." I cut her off, I'm right. There's no need to apologize, I was in the wrong. I pressured her when I agreed to keep it casual.

"Still, I'm sorry too.." Y/N was always nice, never letting her pride get in the way of her life.. An eerie silence once filled our conversation, I never wanted this but maybe..

"Maybe it's best if I give you the space you nee--"

"I love you.." She cuts me off..

"Huh?" My mind went blank, my eyes blink rapidly as I try to sink in the three words you just dropped.

"I don't need space, I love you Steve Harrington.." She confessed cheekily, a small smile appeared on our face.

"I love you too.." She just smiles at me, but she was waiting for something. What is it? A ring, maybe? But this is not a proposal..

"What are you waiting for?Kiss me."

Ohh, right.. The way I moved was slow, I think she grew impatient because you pulled me and our lips collided into one. The way your lips was covered in the strawberry chapstick I gave you, this was my favorite thing in the world. I slid my tongue, it danced with yours. I pushed you in my door, opening it in the process.

When it burst open, we celebrated by going into my bed. Pushing Y/N into the bed was pretty arousing. We didn't need words or foreplay, we're pretty straightforward. Our lips once connected again, heavy breaths and low moans was all I could hear.

We slowly undressed each other, our lips was still intact, rushing into things was never really your motto. I felt your skin made contact with mine, I felt the heat from your body. My hands were making their way to her tender breasts, I slowly massaged it until the nipples turned like tiny stones. A loud moan came out from her mouth, I couldn't resist and licked them, biting them playfully. Another moan came out from her sweet lips, I stopped as I took out my hard and mounting manhood, I rest it unto her thighs. Y/N sits up, looking at me with questions in those eyes.

"What happend?You got tired?" Y/N whisper in her sultry voice.

"Taunting me?Really?"

Before she can even respond I got on top of bed and smirked, your naked body was softly laying in my bed. This made me harder, you're so perfect in every way. My hands are already in your legs, spreading it wide and open. I can see you closing your eyes at my touch, I drove my two fingers inside her. She moans with the contact it made, eyes rolled in the back of her head. I ravish her breast with my mouth as my fingers interact inside her.

"Fuck, Steve!"

I was hitting the right places, she was twisting left and right, her hands were gripping my sheets, I pulled my fingers out and replaced it with my organ. A loud piercing moan escapes her lips as I pump into her, every thrust was in sync with her breathing. I slowly grunt as I pump harder and deeper into her, I yank her legs back, as my other hand gripped her ass. I dug myself further into her, setting off another shattering moan.

"Steve, faster."

I increasing the speed, she wrapped her arms around my back, her nails digging into my skin. Pain and Pleasure was a great mixture for me. I hit every possible spot inside her, the nails dug deeper as I thrust harder and much more deeper. The speed increased once again, as I feel both of our climax building up inside, it can explode any second now. Every thrust I make, every moan she screams, and every sweat that drips was a cherry on top.

"Fuck, I'm coming!"

With that we both exploded into each other, I felt a warm liquid flows between her legs and mine. A small smile appeared on her lips as we were both out of breath, her hair was all disheveled.

"Well, that was fun.." She whisper, her voice hoarsed from all the moaning she did.

"I can see.." I joked causing her cheeks to blush..

"Shut up!"

I pulled out, she shivered at that action. I laid next to her, she looks at me with love and compassion. She pecked a kiss in my lips, cuddling besides me as the moon peaked through my windows. Y/N deserves every love and adoration in the world, I'm going to marry you someday..

This is my first smut ever, I hope it was..nice? If there's anything wrong I did in the smut, you can tell me, I'll do anything to improve it! I also accept request, any characters! Marvels, DC, B99, FRIENDS, Criminal Minds, TBBT, Community, basically anything! I accept anything! You can leave a comment or give me an ask!

Taglist

@sydneekomspacekru

[callsign-joyride]

Your Love | Steve Harrington

Plot: It's the fourth of July, shortly after The Battle of Starcourt, and your boyfriend shows up at your house at the edge of town. All he wants is comfort.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x reader

Warnings: None

Word Count: 980

A/N: My first x reader fanfic! I tried, but this will take some getting used to because I'm not used to writing in second person.

Your parents left Hawkins to spend the week leading up to their anniversary in New York, and that week just so happened to be the week of July 4th. It was surprising that they left you at the house alone, because you lived at the edge of town and everything was a twenty minute or longer commute. Of course you had been to the Starcourt Mall a few times to hang out with Steve and the kids, but it wasn’t a daily thing.

You hadn’t heard from Steve in days, and it was worrying. One of the few things that prevented you from worrying for too long was reading. With the radio in the family room playing at a soft level, you laid on the couch and opened your copy of Fahrenheit 451 to resume your reading. You could faintly hear fireworks going off, but it was most likely your neighbors because you weren’t very close to the fairgrounds.

The doorbell ringing was what interrupted you from your reading. The clock on the stove read 1:36, and you were surprised that you had been reading for over three hours and you didn’t start to fall asleep. When you opened the door, you were surprised to see Steve standing there. He was bloodied and bruised, and he was clearly upset about something, so you grabbed his hand and pulled him inside.

“What happened?” You asked. Steve looked at you and he started to cry. Without thinking twice, you pulled him in for a hug and guided him to your room. He winced as you applied rubbing alcohol to his wounds. The process took about ten minutes, and after you were done throwing cotton balls and bandage wrappers away, you sat next to Steve on your bed.

The room was quiet as you looked at your closed curtains. In a swift motion, Steve wrapped his arms around you and you were both lying down. You were still trying to figure out what happened, but he wasn’t saying much.

“I just want to be here with you. Just like this.”

“Why are you still in your Scoops uniform?”

“Listen, it’s been a rough few days. When was the last time you went to the mall?”

“Last week. Why? Did something happen?”

“Uh, well, you know the whole thing with Will and the Mind Flayer stuff?”

You nodded your head. You knew about all of those things while they were happening because you were close friends with Jonathan. The things that happened the week after Will went missing were pretty unbelievable, but you didn’t really have a choice but to believe them. You were at the middle school when the kids decided to try using sensory deprivation on Eleven to find Will. You were with Steve and the kids when you saw the Demodogs. As Steve told you about what happened at the mall, you were terrified. After Eleven closed the gate months prior, it seemed like everything would go back to normal. Nothing was as it seemed in Hawkins anymore.

Steve cried into your shoulder, and you eventually fell asleep like that. You woke up to the sunlight coming through your window, and it was a battle to get Steve to get up and change out of his uniform with the change of clothes that he always had at your house. Something told you that no one was going anywhere, so you and Steve spent the day inside, watching some of the movies that you had on VHS.

You were making dinner and dancing when the phone rang. When you answered it, Dustin was on the other end asking for Steve. They talked for almost half an hour about the events of the night before, and the phone call ended by the time you were done making dinner. When you saw Steve smile for the first time in who knows how long, your heart melted. And it was over Salisbury steaks and mashed potatoes - one of your favorite dishes to make.

He didn’t want to leave your house. The weather was nice, but without the mall, it felt like there was nothing to do. Not to mention the fact that nearly everyone in the friend group was taking their time to recover from what had happened at the mall. Your parents came home from vacation in the middle of July. Live Aid had already happened at that point, and the best part was watching the concert with Steve.

After your parents found out that Steve had been at your house for nearly two weeks, they wanted him to leave. They were mostly concerned that his parents went a while without knowing his whereabouts. Hearing your parents say that made you question if they even knew who his parents were. You walked to the car with Steve and stood in front of him as he leaned against the driver’s side door.

“I don’t want you to leave,” you said.

“It’s okay. I’ll sneak in like I always do.”

You chuckled.

“You won’t be able to sneak in if you get caught. Like that one time you almost did over spring break.”

“Okay, in my defense, you never told me when your parents were coming home.”

The two of you continued the light-hearted banter until your mom opened the screen door and yelled for you to be back inside.

“Hey, thanks. For everything. I’m glad you’re here,” Steve said as he held your hand. You could’ve cried on the spot.

“Yeah, it’s no problem. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

The two of you shared a quick kiss and you started to head back inside as Steve started his car. It didn’t surprise you, but it did surprise some people, that even after all of the craziness that had happened in the town, you and Steve were madly in love with each other.

[namjoonswifey99]

What The Heart Wants Pt.6

Billy Hargrove X Reader

Warnings : Cursing , Bullying , Harassment , Billy being Billy 

Author Note: Hope You Enjoy This Chapter and I apologize this was supposed to be out but ive going though a rough patch with my family so i hope you understand.

Billy walked over to Y/N and Max; he couldn't help but overhear Susan talking to the police.

“ Sir please i just want my little girl I don't do anything else but her.” Susan says trying to calm her breathing from crying so much

“ Ma'am, your daughter stated she wants to go with her step brother and his girlfriend. We are gonna have to take you downtown for questioning. This isn't the first time Mrs.Hargrove.”  Officer Powell asked why detaining her.

Susan started to protest but saw that was Max was looking at her and stopped and held her head down and started walking with the officer.

“ I'm so sorry you guys had to see that, that wasn't what I was going for, I just wanted to get our stuff so we can move in.” Billy says looking sad he never wanted Max or Y/N to see that side again. Billy then looks towards Will who was just wide eyed.

“ Hey Will right i'm sorry you had to see that I truly didn't mean for you to see that.” Billy says with an apologetic look. Will looks up at Billy, surprised by the story Jonathan and Max told him.  He doesn't seem so bad hopefully they can be friends

“

“ It's okay Billy i understand”. Will says, accepting his apology. 

Y/N then runs up and pulls Billy into a hug and just embraces him Y/N was so proud of Billy he finally stood up against his father. “ im super proud of you baby” Y/N says kissing Billy’s cheek 

Hopper looked at the two teenagers and smiled. It was rare for guys like Billy. He's honestly happy that he has this chance to make his life right with the right people by his side. 

“ Come one let’s get some more stuff out the house and go to Y/N place” Billy says while getting his key from Y/N . “ Yessss so i can more stuff then i intended” Max says while shouting in excitement to bring more of her things. “ Well as long as it fits in the car we'll just get a truck to move it”. Billy says while correcting Max he doesn't want his car to be too crowded. “ You guys don’t need a bed or dressers. My parents got you guys covered with bedding just more clothes and stuff you can fit”. Y/N says while fixing the trunk to make room.

----- 1 Hour Later----

After an hour later they arrived at Y/N house. Her and Billy explained what happened at his fathers house . Y/N and Billy starts to explain what had happened down at his fathers house and how he was gonna move forward to have sole custody of Max and to be filed down as independent. 

“ That’s a very good plan Billy and you know you and Max can still for however long you like it’s no problem to us you were already family from the beginning” Y/N mother Angelina says while putting the cookies in the oven. 

“ I agree with my wife you can stay however long you like” Y/N father Tremaine says while putting the sodas in the freezer. 

“ we definitely appreciate the love and roof you're giving me and max I won’t let you down” Billy says while looking at them. 

“ You don’t have to prove anything baby, we love you just the way you are flaws and all “ Y/ N says as she looks at Billy with full love in the eyes.

“ BABY” Both of Y/N parents shouted at the same time. 

“ Ummmmm yea as of today me and Billy are together “Y/N says while looking down shyly. To shy look at her parents reaction. 

“ Ha I knew it Tre you owe me 40$ bucks” Angelina says happily she knew they was gonna get together 

“ Man you guys couldn’t wait till next week I could’ve had extra money” Tre says pulling out the 40 dollars to hand to his wife. 

“ You are not mad about us” Billy says confused because growing with a dad like his a relationship between him and Y/N would be frowned upon. 

“ never we don’t care as long as you live and respect our daughter that’s all that matters” Tremaine says to Billy while tenderly holding Angelina to him. 

Y/N was about to say something when the doorbell rang, she gets up to ask who it was when a familiar voice called out. 

“ Y/ N your favorite person in the whole wide world is here “ 

“ No I’m Y/N favorite you can ask her herself” 

“ No Y/N loves me more she makes me more food than any of you” 

“ Well Y/N be at my house almost every other day with my sister so I get to see her more than any of you” 

Y/N knew right there it was the rest of her miniature best friends. 

“ Well all you are wrong Y/N loves me more and I’m living with her” Max says with a smug look on her face as Y/N opens the door. 

On her porch stands Lucas , Dustin , Eleven, and Mike with Steve standing behind them. 

After Max’s statement chaos was issued.

“ What no way, no fair” Dustin whines in disbelief. 

“ Yea what Dustin said , How come max stays” Lucas says while looking offended. 

“ Well it’s easier for you doofus . She like me more” Max says sticking her tongue out at the boys. 

“ That means we can have all the sleepovers and waffles we want” Eleven says with a bright smile on her face. 

“ Okay now listen I love you all the same your all my favorites I can’t just choose one”. Y/N says trying to mediate the situation. 

“ What about me guys? I can be as cool as Y/N” Steve said with a cocky grin. 

The group just all stared at him. 

“ No offense Steve buddy but Y/N waaaaaaayyy more cooler than you by a landslide”. Mike says. 

Before Steve can retort, Billy comes to the door to see what’s taking so long and notices Steve and gives him an annoyed look. There’s one thing Billy is a lot of but he doesn’t put his hand on women. He may be an asshole and a bully but he’s no woman beater. 

Y/N felt the tension before Steve face gave it away.  Before a fight can escalate she steps in. 

“ Okay so I got 4 movies picked out then we can go to the bonus room and play some board games and before you even ask Dustin and Lucas yes I did make you guys favorite dessert”. Y/N says while ushering the kids inside the house. 

Before Steve can ask why Billy was there Y/N comes back out. 

“ Thanks for dropping the kids off for Hopper I’ll call him when it’s time to come get them, '' Y/N says with a kind smile. 

“ Uhh yeah no problem anytime” Steve says, stuttering, he wanted to apologize for his actions earlier but with Billy right there he’ll never get the chance. 

Y/N turns to leave when she notices Billy still staring down at Steve so she grabs him by the back of his shirt and pulls him in the house. 

The kids were all in the living room trying to decide which movie they’re gonna watch. 

“ Baby look at me” Y/N says, grabbing Billy’s face so he’s looking directly at her. 

“ baby you’ve changed for the better don’t let what today put you down you know I’m right here by your side every step of the way” Y/N says while looking him in the eye so he can see she really meant what she’s saying. 

“ I know baby it’s just I want them to know I’ve changed. I got my second chance at life and to do what is right and I couldn’t have done it with you my sweet angel by my side” Billy says lovingly to Y/N. 

The chemistry between Y/N and Billy is unmatched for the simple fact when it was him against the world Y/N was by his side and he will never take that for granted him and Y/N connection is way deeper than anybody can imagine. 

Y/N just continued to look at him with so much adoration in her eyes. 

“ Okay love birds we chose the movie we’re waiting on you guys now”. Max says with an eye roll. 

Y/N and Billy walked into the living room but not before Y/N leaned down and whispered in Max’s ear. 

“ don’t worry max I have a grand plan for Lucas”. Y/N says walking away with a small grin on her face. Leaving a blushing max in her wake. 

— 2 Hours Later —-

After the movie ended Y/N looked over at the clock and noticed it was 7:40. It looks like they only have time for one game before she has to call Hopper. 

“ So I have guys listen up, it's a little late so we have time for one more movie or game whatever you guys decide”. Y/N says while pulling out the games from the chest. 

After about 5 minutes they decided on watching another movie before they left. 

“ So Max I heard there’s this boy whose been crushing on you for a while” Y/N says teasingly. Y/N signaled for Max to play along if one thing Y/N knows about men is that they’re extremely possessive no matter what age. 

“ Yea and I like him back hopefully he asks me to the dance” Max says with a blush on her face. 

Y/N notices from the corner of her eye that Lucas is not taking what they said well which means her plan is going accordingly. 

“ if you need my help with getting him to ask you I’ll definitely do it” Y/N says eagerly. 

Before Max can let out her response Lucas stands up and takes her and says. 

“ Would you do me the honor of my date for the winter formal?” Lucas says while looking so nervous. 

 Max pretends to think about it which makes him start sweating. More than he already was. 

“ Yes doofus of course I’ll go with you” Max says with a smile. 

Y/N was happy for Max she got what she wanted but Billy on the other hand was not so ecstatic. Y/N looked over and saw Billy with a scowl on his face. 

“ what’s wrong”.Y/N asked. 

“ Don’t you think it’s to soon for them” Billy says with a pout on his face. 

“ Awwww his the big brother feeling protective” Y/N responds teasingly. 

Billy kisses his teeth at her statement. 

“ No” was Billys only response. 

“ awww baby it’s okay it just a school dance they’ll be fine” Y/N says while kissing his cheek. 

“……. Fine but I don’t like it”. Billy says to Y/N. 

Y/N laughs wholeheartedly. He was just so precious and cute when he’s worried. 

The kids looked over at them when they heard Y/N they looked at her like she was crazy but left it alone.She was alway like that with Billy.

“ Okay kids get your stuff ready I’m going to call Hopper”. Y/N says while getting up and grabbing the house phone. 

After a while Hopper picks up. 

“ Hey Hopper the kids are ready” 

“ Umm about that I’m stuck at work and I already called their parents to see if it was okay for them to stay” 

“ What did they say”

“ Well they wasn’t to keen on Billy living there but since they trust you they allowed them to stay” 

“Okay that’s great I do have extra clothes for them especially when they stayed here during the you-know-what.” 

“ That’s great do you also think you can drop them off at school or call somebody to help” 

“ No it’s okay I’ll ask my mom in the Morning to take the kids she’ll be happy to” 

“ Okay that’s great Y/N I’ll pick up Eleven after school so will the parents except Dustin he’s going with Steve” 

“ Geats I’ll let the kids and my parents know have a good night Hopper” 

“ You Y/N Bye”

“Bye” 

 Y/N hangs up and goes back to the living room to tell the kids. 

“ Okay guys put your stuff away your spending the night here and Billy and my mom will drop you off in the morning” Y/N says while getting the extra blankets and pillows out. 

“ Yesssss Y/ N you're officially the best ever”  Max says with excitement that her friends get to stay.  

“ Well I try my best but you should really thank Hopper. He's staying overtime at work,  so Max and Eleven are rooming in Max’s room , Boys you’ll be bunking with Billy”.  Y/N  says while taking them upstairs. 

“ Actually you guys can get my room. I'll bunk with Y/N just don’t touch any of my things”. Billy says while staring them down. 

“ Billy now my parents love you and all but they will literally kill us if they find us in bed together”. Y/N says wagging her finger in a no motion. 

“ We can leave the door open, I just want to spend time with you and cuddle” Billy says while wrapping his arms around her waist to bring her closer to him.

“ It stays wide open Billy im not playing with you” Y/N says while mugging him because she was not gonna die over this man even though she do love him her parents were a different story.

“ I understand baby i promise” Billy says while sealing their lips together in a nice passion lip lock.

[jerseygirllll]

bittersweet cherries I e.m CHAPTER 4

previous chapter

couple: eddie munson x aurora henderson (oc)

word count: 930

summary: dustin and aurora go to eddies with a small plan on how to talk to him. aurora remembers some memories she shared with eddie

a/n: this was going to be a longer chapter but I think instead the next one might be really long :) sorry lol I hope yall enjoyed this one!

________

The drive to the trailer park wasn’t long, but it started to rain in that short time. The windshield wipers were working hard to keep your field of vision clear enough to drive without concern. Dustin was content in the passenger seat, letting you freak out over the weather. 

The two of you had come up with a plan. Was it an amazing one? Not at all. But it was better to have something than show up on Eddie's doorstep with nothing. The plan was for Dustin to knock on Eddie’s door, get himself invited in, chat for a bit and ask if Eddie could get him something from his room. At that point, he would signal for you to come inside, and, hopefully, when Eddie returns from his room, you would be sitting in the living room alone. 

“I’m scared, Dustin.”

“I know. It’s okay to be scared, but I don’t think anything bad will happen.” He tried to comfort you. “He misses you like crazy. The man chain smokes for hours after he sees a cherry coke can and wants to cry because he misses you. The man is still infatuated with you. Rory, you have nothing to worry about.”

You pulled the car in front of his trailer. Mud covered the car's wheels as the rain continued to beat down. “Okay, I’m going in!” He signed off and ran quickly to the door. The small metal covering barely protected him from the rain. 

“Eddie! Eddie, it’s me! Dustin!” He pounded on the screen door. “Eddie!”

“Jesus, calm down, Henderson.” You heard him scream back at your brother. You saw him open the door a crack and let Dustin in. The car was hidden enough on the side of the trailer that he didn't see you. Probably assuming the kid rode here on his bike. From what you can tell, it looked like he just woke up from sleeping due to his clothing choices. But that was all you could see before the door shut. 

________

Sitting in the car waiting for Dustin to pop his head into the bay window was nerve-wracking. All of a sudden, every emotion hit you like a bus. You tried hard to hold the tears back, not wanting to cry even more. Along with the emotions, memories came back to you as well. 

All the time, you and Eddie had gotten caught in the rain while smoking in the woods during school. You guys ended up skipping the rest of the day a few times or would show up back to class, both completely soaked. Or the times you guys ‘borrowed’ tapes from Family Video, annoying Keith because he knew it would take weeks for you guys to return them. Later, you’d trade him some weed for tapes when he refused to let you borrow them. Eddie didn’t want to waste his stash, but he had promised you that you guys could watch Mommie Dearest.

Eddie convinced you one time to dance in the rain when you guys were younger. That was the moment you thought you fell in love with him. His frizzy curls flattened and his bangs stuck to his forehead as he swayed with you in the rain. Your curls turned straight in the rain, and you can still remember his hand gently running through your hair and leaning in to kiss you.

Trying to push back all the emotions you were feeling, you turned your focus back on the bay window. The back of Dustin's head was visible from sitting on the couch underneath the window, but you needed to see his face to go in. A few minutes passed, and then you saw him. Dustin's head was turned to face you and gave you a silly look. 

You exited the car and ran up the door, trying to beat out the rain. Dustin opened the door, gave you a quick thumbs up, and headed to the car. Walking over the couch, you observed the rest of the trailer. Not much had changed. Wayne had gotten a few more mugs and maybe a hat or two in his collection. Pictures of Eddie as a little kid were still taped to the fridge, much to his dislike. A small vase full of flowers sat on the table. They looked a few days old and were just starting to wilt. 

Out of the whole house, you could see the flowers were the only thing out of place. Wayne and Eddie tried to limit the number of things you needed to take care of in the trailer since they weren’t there or asleep most of the time. 

“Henderson, did you want both the tapes? I have Sabbaths Sabotage and also Vol. 4. Personally, I reco-” He froze. 

He wasn't even fully in the living room. Standing before the threshold between the kitchen and the room. He looked pale and tired. His hair was messy from sleep, and his eyes were heavy with bags under them. His shirt was faded, but you could roughly make out the words ‘heaven’ and ‘hell’ on the front of it. His boxers peeked out from his sweatpants. Even though he was standing far away from you, the smell of cigarettes and the cologne he used were strong. The smell brought you back and made you feel at ease. 

“Hi.” Your voice was quiet and small. Exactly how you felt. “Uh, Dustin, let me in. I hope that was okay?”

[the-singlest-pringle]

A Sweet Song

Prompt 5 of Surprise from this list: "You got this for me?"

It was not common knowledge that Billy played the violin.

Read it here on AO3.

It was not common knowledge that Billy played the violin. “Not common knowledge” meaning there were only four people that knew: Max, Neil, Old Lady Garcia, and his music teacher from California, Ms. Petrov. Neil was never meant to find out, but after word of Billy’s first (and last) performance got out, Neil smashed his violin, along with his left hand. It wasn’t long after that when Neil caught Billy with a boy. Neil lost his shit, nearly beating Billy to death, then he packed up the whole family in less than a week and moved them to the boondocks.

It was now April, meaning it was nearly his birthday and also that it would be six months since he last touched a violin. The first few months without his violin were the hardest. Billy swore that he was going through withdrawal. His hands yearned for the violin, fingers itching to play. He longed to wrap his fingers around the neck, to slide his bow across the strings, and carefully finger out some Paganini. Billy would drive to the quarry and listen to his stash of classical music. One time he actually broke down because of it. His heart ached for his violin as he cried out in mourning.

Now that it’s been six months, he’s had time to adjust. He still gets that itch when his emotions are high, but Harrington helps quell his hunger. In fact, dating Harrington had been the best thing to happen to Billy in a long time. He was kind, caring, and provided the support that Billy desperately needed yet woefully lacked. He took care of Billy when he was hospitalized because of Neil (again) and was there for him when Neil lost custody and Hopper took him in. Billy was convinced that he loved Harrington, which is why he decided to add Harrington to the list of people that knew his secret.

It was a normal night, the Party gathering at the Wheeler’s for another Dungeons and Dragons campaign, when Billy said (out of nowhere), “You know, I used to play the violin.”

He and Steve had gone upstairs to grab more snacks, so they were alone in the kitchen. Steve was already attempting to balance two boxes of cookies and three bags of chips in his arms when he heard Billy. He started to clumsily juggle and drop the snacks while stuttering out a surprised “What? Are you serious?”

Billy chuckled at Steve’s shock. “Yeah, I am. I even performed at Royce Hall back in Cali once.”

“Bee, that’s amazing!” Steve exclaims as he crouches down to collect the snacks. “How come I’m just finding out about this now?”

“Well, only five people know about it, including you. And I felt that since we’ve been together long enough, you deserve to know everything about me, which means knowing that I play the violin,” Billy explains before quickly correcting himself with a, “Well, used to play.”

“You don’t anymore?” Steve asked.

“Nah. My old man made me stop when he found out.” Billy flexes the fingers of his left hand as he says this. “I played for nearly ten years in secret. I would tell my dad I had clubs after school, but instead, I would go to the music room and play.” He clenches his hand as he continues. “When Neil found out, he took a hammer to my violin, then to my hand to make sure I would stop.”

Steve sighed at the mention of Neil, making his way across the kitchen to take Billy’s hands in his. “Your dad is a dick and I hate everything he put you through.” He pushes a lock of hair out of Billy’s face and tilts up his chin so that they’re making eye contact. “I am so glad that you’re out of that situation and that you don’t ever have to deal with Neil again. I love you so much, okay?” Steve plants a kiss on Billy’s forehead for emphasis before Billy pulls Steve closer and practically smashes their lips together.

Billy smiles into the kiss, whispering out, “I love you, too,” before they’re interrupted by a familiar shrill voice that causes them to pull apart.

“Ugh! You guys are so gross !” Max says from the kitchen entryway. She was the only member of The Party that knew about Steve and Billy. Max made it a thing to point out how gross their PDA was, which she named DAFM (Displays of Affection in Front of Max).

“Yeah, shitbird? Well, you stink,” Billy quips.

“I do not, booger face!” Max retaliates.

“Carrot top!”

“Stupidhead!”

“Half-pint!”

“Shortstop!”

Billy gasps dramatically and feigns offense. “I am not short!”

Max rolls her eyes at that. “Tell that to every guy we know!”

“I’m literally taller than Jonathan,” Billy defends.

“That doesn’t count!”

Steve just sits back and laughs at the two siblings quarreling before intervening when the volume reaches near screaming level. “Alright, alright. Break it up, you two. You’re both shorter than me and that’s all that matters. Now can we head back downstairs?”

“Ugh. Fine, ” Billy and Max say in unison. Max makes her way downstairs as Billy and Steve gather the snacks.

Billy steals a kiss from Steve before they head down the stairs, Billy announcing his presence with a “‘Sup, fuckers? What’d we miss?”, earning him a smack to the arm from Steve. They settle into the couch, a comfortable distance apart, as the rest of The Party continues playing DND.

-

The next time Billy playing the violin is mentioned is during Billy’s birthday party. It’s a pretty lively event considering Billy had next to no one just months ago. But now he has a family and friends, all of which have gathered to celebrate him. Just thinking about it makes him smile.

Billy is about halfway through opening gifts when he comes across a rather large box. It’s covered in sheet music wrapping paper with a bow on top. Curiously, he shakes the box, causing Harrington to say “Careful! It’s fragile,” revealing that it’s from him.

Knowing the size of the box, the wrapping paper, and the person who gave the gift, it doesn’t take long for Billy to piece together what it is.

“No… no way,” Billy says while frantically tearing the wrapping paper off the box. That earns him a chorus of people asking what it is and a smile from Harrington. “I swear to god, Harrington, if this is a joke…”

Billy slides the case out of the box, unzipping it then opening it slowly. He stares for a few seconds, not fully comprehending what he’s seeing. Staring back at him is a brand new violin. The rest of The Party is eager to see the contents of the case, but all Billy can focus on is the instrument in front of him.

“You got this for me?” Billy asks, still not believing what he’s seeing. Steve nods in assent.

Before Steve can register what’s happening, he’s pulled into a bone-crushing hug from Billy to everyone’s surprise. The Party’s confusion only multiplies when they see that a violin is what caused Billy to hug Harrington. When Billy pulls away, he looks like he’s so happy that he might cry. Steve is sure that he almost does.

“Thank you so much, Steve. I- I don’t even know what to say.” Billy is stumbling over his words, so overcome with emotions. Back in October, he was so sure that he would never touch a violin again, but now that he’s free from Neil, he can do whatever he wants. And what he wants right now more than anything is to play.

Billy slowly takes the violin out of the case. He puts the shoulder rest on the instrument and rosins the bow a bit. Billy looks up nervously at Steve, silently asking for assurance. Steve smiles at him and gestures to the center of the rug as if to say “go ahead”. Billy can feel all eyes on him when he stands up. He doesn’t even know if his fingers healed properly, but he doesn’t really care. He just wants to play. So he gets up into position, takes a breath, closes his eyes, and starts playing.

The whole Party is in awe as they watch. It’s clear that Billy puts every emotion into how he plays. His fingers dance gracefully across the neck of the violin while his right arm moves the bow fluidly across the strings. His tone is practically perfect. An untrained ear wouldn’t be able to tell that he hadn’t played in over six months.

When Billy finishes, the whole room is silent before Joyce starts clapping. Then everyone joins in, Max leading a standing ovation. Billy blushes, embarrassed by the attention, but smiles at the praise, happy people enjoy him playing just as much as he does. When everyone finishes clapping, Billy is bombarded with questions and praises.

“Oh my god, that was amazing!”

“Since when did you start playing the violin?”

“What song was that?”

“How come you never told anyone?”

“I can’t believe that Billy Hargrove just played violin in my living room!”

Billy laughs out several “thank you”s as he puts the violin away in its case. “I started playing when I was seven,” Billy starts to explain. “The piece I just played is called ‘Violin Concerto No. 3 in B minor, Op. 61’ by Camille Saint-Saëns, and I never told anyone because of Neil.” The Party didn’t know the details of his situation with Neil, but gossip spreads quickly in a small town, so they knew Neil lost custody for some reason.

“Sweetheart, you played beautifully,” Joyce praised.

“You really did,” Lucas agrees, which surprises Billy.

“Could you play something else?” Dustin asks, exciting a chorus of agreements.

Billy doesn’t know if anyone besides Ms. Petrov has asked him to play. He’s still getting over the shock of it all. But he agrees. So he takes out his violin again. His violin. And he plays for The Party. He plays all night long, playing Bach to Beethoven, and even some rock songs. He plays until his out-of-practice fingers cramp. He plays because he’s happy. Billy feels fulfilled as ever with his friends and family around him, with Steve by his side, and with a violin in his hand.

[darth-el]

Shout With The Devil

Pairings: Steve x Buckley!Reader Warnings: Smoking, underage drinking, mentions of groupie like behaviour but only if you squint.  A/N: I am back, kind of. Life has been really crazy these past few months and it’s been majorly up and down, but I have found new inspirations (in the guise of 1980′s and dead rock stars...oops) so I figured I could use that my advantage when writing. It’s also worth mentioning here that the reader’s age is 20 so they’re not that much older than Steve. The interview I’m referencing, if anyone is interested, can also be found here.

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You were dancing trying to keep warm on the doorstep of your cousin Robin's house with your suitcases by your side as the blistering cold whipped against your face. It was a rare occurrence for you to even step foot in Hawkins as you left it behind a long time ago but after hearing the news of what happened to the mall and everything else that made its way into the news regarding Hawkins, you finally plucked up to the courage to come back and used Christmas as the excuse to do so. “Come on Robin.” You whined to yourself as you rang the doorbell again before retreating into your coat to keep warm, after what felt like an eternity Robin opened the door with a shocked look on her face due to the fact she wasn't expecting you to be on her doorstep.

“What are you doing here Y/N?!” She screeched excitedly jumping on you to give you a tight hug and pulling you inside sans bags.

“I thought it was time I'd visit my baby cousin.” You shrugged smiling as she started babbling over how long it had been since she last saw you while bombarding you with questions about LA that you couldn't answer because she wouldn't stop talking.  

“Oh suitcases!” She said excitedly pushing you into the living room and running out to grab your bags. The living room was exactly how you remembered it, there were photos of Robin above the fireplace throughout her children as well as doilies and ornaments everywhere, it was a far cry from your roach infested apartment. It took you a minute before you noticed several sets of eyes on you and they all looked like you had crashed through the ceiling in a UFO, you leaned against the door frame unsure what to do with yourself as you became more uncomfortable; the longer the silence lasted the more you were convinced you had grown several heads. Robin came bouncing into the living room and pushed you onto the couch next the oldest guy that you vaguely recognised, possibly from school. “This is my cousin Y/N!” Robin introduced you with a big smile on her face. “This is Steve, Dustin, Lucas and Max.” They all awkwardly smiled and waved as Robin introduced them to you.

“Robin's never mentioned you.” Steve said awkwardly trying to make conversation.

“I don't know why she would,” You said matter of factly and she shot a look at you like she was offended by that statement. “I did essentially run away from Hawkins when I was fifteen Robin, we haven't seen each other in five years.” She looked at you almost like she was pouting before eventually agreeing that you had a point.

“Seriously?” Dustin asked eagerly sitting up with a huge grin on his face as he never met anyone who had run away from home and didn't get grounded for it.

“Where did you run away to?” Steve asked and instantly you could see he was trying to play it cool with you, something Robin also noticed.

“First New York,” You said biting your lip. “Then settled in Los Angeles as I needed warmth.” You laughed looking at the sets of eyes on you.

“How did you afford it?” Lucas said sounding skeptical as he tried to figure out how he could do it if he were to leave that day.

“A lot of hitchhiking.” You smiled at Lucas who was looking at you with furrowed brows not fully believing your story.

“Steve?” Robin said looking at him looking at you as you answered the children's, mainly Dustin's and Lucas', questions.

“Mm?” He hummed pulling his attention away from you to glare at Robin.

“Can you help me with Y/N's suitcases?” She asked slowly and instantly Steve knew she was up to something.

“Can't Dustin?” He asked wanting to avoid whatever she had planned which got a protest from Dustin.

“Well I want you to help.” Robin said in a sharp tone.

“Ha!” Dustin said loudly as Steve groaned pushing himself off the couch to help Robin as you continued to answer the barrage of questions.

Steve and Robin took longer than they should have with the bags and it was made clear why when you heard them coming down the stairs arguing quietly over something; the second Steve sat down next to you Robin had pulled you up off the couch and into the kitchen as she sorted out snacks for everyone. “Steve likes you.” Robin said as she rummaged through the cupboards for food.

“I know.” You said nonchalantly and sitting down at the table while fiddling with your lighter that you pulled out of your pocket.

“You should go for it,” She encouraged you as she dumped a whatever she could grab out of the cupboards onto the table. “If you've got to smoke, do it outside.” She warned like you were a child who was misbehaving.

“Rob,” You looked at her with shock on your face. “He's not my type and he's too young for me.” You sighed pulling a cigarette out of a silver case and placing it between your lips.

“I forgot your type was douchebag rockstars.” She said sarcastically as you got up so you could smoke your cigarette, or what was now going to be cigarettes in peace.

You were half way through smoking your second cigarette when the back door opened and Steve made an appearance, who made it very obvious that he had misjudged the temperature as he started shivering. You pulled out an engraved hip flask from your pocket and handed it to him making him look at you puzzled. “Trust me it'll help.” Your tone was very blasé as he took it from you and swigged the contents, immediately choking as what turned out to be whiskey burned the back of his throat.

“Are you trying to kill me?” He laughed handing the flask back and pulling his own cigarette from his pocket.

“Tell me you're not warm.” You smirked at him while having a swig yourself before shoving it back into your pocket.

“You have a point,” He chuckled lighting up his cigarette and staring out at the Buckley's backyard, the winter sun making it seem more inviting than it actually was. “What made you run off to New York?” Steve asked leaning over the porch, you subconsciously mirroring him.

“I wanted to marry Johnny Thunders.” You laughed admiring his features as he smoked his cigarette.

“Did you?” He asked jokingly raising an eyebrow at you.

“No comment.” You smirked at him, taking a drag on your own cigarette and as you exhaled you created O's with the smoke.

“Okay then,” Steve smiled with a knowing look on his face. “Why LA?” He continued his interrogation.

“I just needed something new and heard about a few bands in LA so I decided to make my way there and check them out,” You sighed picking at the skin around your nails. “It was either there or the UK, so naturally I chose LA.” You laughed looking at Steve who was looking like he was hanging on your every word.

“What bands?” Steve asked trying to figure out if he should feel threatened or not by you.

“Mainly Motley Crue.” With this Steve let out a huge laugh as the stories he heard on MTV were very far removed from anything that Hawkins had experienced.

“I can see you going for the devil worshippers.” He teased looking you up and down in your leather clad outfit.

“What makes you say that?” You nudged him lightly having another drag on your cigarette, realising it was probably going to be your last one.

“You look like you'd like the devil shouting song.” You burst out laughing at Steve's description of the song as you flicked your cigarette away and lit up another one.

“Shout At The Devil.” You tried to stop yourself from laughing but every time you did it just made you laugh even more.

“That's the one.” Steve said proudly clapping his hands together with a big smile on his face.

“They're shouting at the devil,” You teased gasping for air as you were still laughing. “Not with the devil and the cover has a pentagram which is used for protection against him.” You smiled up at him as he flicked his own cigarette away and lit up another without thinking.

“Did you end up marrying any of them?” He winked at you as you shook your head at him rolling your eyes so hard that you were sure you saw your brain. “I'll take that as no comment.” He said leaning into you slightly.

“Why are you so interested in what bands I 'married'?” You asked pulling out your whiskey and taking a swig of it to keep yourself warm before offering some to Steve who declined as he was taken aback by your forwardness.

“Do you want the truth or the lie?” Steve asked raising an eyebrow trying desperately to play it cool again, but you both knew that ship had sailed a long time ago.

“Lie.” You shrugged flicking the ash off your cigarette and watching it float down to the ground.

“It's definitely not because I want to ask you out or anything.” Steve said trying not to fall over his words and embarrass himself as that was becoming the trend with him as of late.

“Do you want the truth or the lie?” You said matching his tone from when he asked you the same question.

“Lie.” He said confidently and suddenly having a panic that this was how you were going to reject him. You could see he was becoming flustered as you left him hanging while you took a drag of your cigarette, making you feel somewhat cruel but at the same time you enjoyed the power you had in that moment.

“If you were to ask me,” You said slowly taking another drag on your cigarette and letting the smoke escape through your nose as you exhaled. “I definitely wouldn't say yes.” You whispered flicking your cigarette away and sauntered over to the backdoor. Steve just looked at you bewildered that he actually somehow managed to get a date and it was with you who seemed so effortlessly cool unlike him.

“Uhh.” He said trying to figure out what to say next as he watched you open the backdoor and you laughed as you could see his brain going into overdrive.

“Pick me up Friday at eight and remind me what this town has to offer.”  You winked at him as you leaned on the open door before going back inside, leaving Steve in the cold who was still trying to figure out what had happened and how he managed to pull that off. Eventually he decided not to question it and thanked the gods as he decided they were obviously being kind to him that day and joined you all in the living room as Robin put on Indiana Jones.

[untilweyeetagain]

and i’ll be okay admiring from afar (max mayfield x fem! reader)

Pairing: Max Mayfield/Fem! Harrington! Reader

Word Count: 3337

Warnings: One swear at the end, period-typical homophobia

Notes: This is so self-indulgent lmao,, I hope some of yall like it but even if you don't it doesn't matter bc I really just wrote this for me haha. title is from she by dodie

“Hey, Max, pass me the popcorn,” you whispered, aware that other people in the cinema were still trying to watch whatever movie was playing. You didn’t particularly care what the film was - you had let Max choose it because you knew that you’d spend your time staring at something other than the big screen.

The redhead grabbed the popcorn from where it rested on her lap and wordlessly passed it to you, smiling at you when you whispered your thanks before returning her attention to the movie. 

You had spent the last hour of the movie stealing surreptitious glances at the girl next to you, hoping that she was absorbed enough in the action that she didn’t notice. She was beautiful, but you already knew that. The dim lighting in the movie theatre seemed to reveal another type of beauty in her though - the way the lights from the screen danced across her features was mesmerising, and the way her eyes lit up in wonder at the screen in front of you caused your heart to skip a beat more than once.

Having lost yourself in your thoughts once more, you didn’t realise that the film had ended until you heard Max shifting next to you, grabbing her bag from where it lay at her feet. You quickly jumped into doing the same, not wanting her to know that your mind was elsewhere.

“So, how’d you like the film?” She asked as you made your way out of the cinema. You scolded yourself in your head - you should have at least paid attention to some part of the movie because she always asked the same question whenever you two went to the cinema together. 

“Um, it was great! You know I prefer comedies to action films, but it was still entertaining. What was your favourite part?” You deflected, knowing that asking that question would send her into a (very cute) ramble about all the best parts of the movie.

As predicted, she immediately launched into a speech about her favourite moments and characters in the film, gesturing wildly in her hands to explain her thoughts about a particular scene. You could honestly listen to her for hours, just to hear her sound so enthusiastic about a topic. 

You both made your way through the newly-constructed mall and out towards where your brother was going to pick you up, Max still talking about the movie and you still listening intently, hanging on to every word she said. 

Sometimes it worried you, how deeply your feelings towards Max ran, but at other times, such as now, you were just content to be in her presence, ignoring the way your heart stuttered whenever she glanced up at your face. 

When you reached the doors of the mall, you and Max made your way towards Steve’s car, finding both he and his friend/coworker Robin occupying the front seats. You pulled open the trunk of the car, grabbing Max’s skateboard and passing it to her before throwing your bag in and slamming it shut. 

Turning around, you opened your mouth to say goodbye before pale arms wrapped themselves around your torso and a mess of curly red hair was pushed into your face. You blushed heavily as you returned the tight hug, willing the redness in your cheeks to retreat before Max pulled away. 

Eventually, Max broke the hug, but before you could see her face, she spun around and skated off, shouting a goodbye into the air as she gained speed. You called out a quick goodbye too, but it was likely she didn’t hear it, as she was already quite far away.

Deciding to not question why she just ran off like that right now, you clambered into the backseat of your brother’s crappy car and he started the engine, and as he pulled out of the parking lot, Robin turned to you and asked how the movie was. You mumbled something about how it was very intense, repeating some of the things Max had said earlier, hoping that Robin would be satisfied with that answer.

After a few minutes with no reply from Robin (or any input from Steve), you sighed and rested your head on the window, wistfully watching the houses as you passed them as your thoughts turned towards Max again. You knew how you felt about her - you’d known for quite a while, and though it was hard, at first, to feel okay with having a crush on your very female best friend, you were now comfortable enough in your sexuality to admit it to yourself, even if not to others. 

The only people who knew you liked girls were, coincidentally, the other two occupants of the car, and while they both knew you liked someone, neither of them knew who (but you had a sneaking suspicion that Robin was beginning to work it out, being the observant person she was). 

It had been a great relief to be able to come out to someone you knew would be okay with it, and Robin had been the first of the pair to know, for obvious reasons. She was like the older sister you had never had, and she had comforted you when you had cried to her, still trying to figure out your sexuality - she had reassured you that she didn’t hate you and that Steve wouldn’t either. She had been there when you told Steve too, and, true to her word, Steve took it very well, and had even joked about you two being able to talk about girls together now.

“It’s Max, isn’t it?” Robin whispered, pulling you out of your reverie. Her statement shocked your thoughts into disarray, but at the same time, it wasn’t surprising that your latest parting with Max had solved the puzzle for her. 

You nodded, unable to find your voice as tears began to gather in your eyes. Your throat felt full, clogged with words you couldn't say, and your eyes started to burn with unshed tears that you refused to let go. You’d known for so long about your feelings for Max, but hearing them spoken aloud was difficult. 

Robin reached around behind her to pat your knee in a comforting gesture, and Steve met your eyes in the mirror, a soft look on his face. Just having the pair of them be so nice about it is enough for the tears to start rolling down your face, all the pent-up worry you had about telling anyone that you were crushing on your best friend evaporating as your brother and the girl who is basically your sister are both so understanding and kind about it.

After sharing a glance with Robin, Steve turns his gaze back to the road as he breaks the silencing, stating: “You should tell her - even if she doesn’t feel the same way, it’s pretty damn clear that she cares about you enough to not ostracize you because of it.”

You snort despite yourself at the words he uses - he’s clearly been hanging out with Dustin and Robin way too much if he knows what ‘to ostracize’ means. You can tell that it was intentional, that he knew the response it would garner, and you are thankful to him for easing the tension you felt. 

“It’s not that easy though, Steve. I know that she’s my best friend, but what if she decides that she doesn’t want to be my friend anymore when she finds out I like girls, let alone if she found out I liked her. I couldn’t risk our friendship by telling her. She means too much to me.”

Sighing, you turned to face the window again, trying to signal to the other two that the conversation was over. You couldn’t bear the thought of losing Max’s friendship, especially over something you could quite easily keep from her, although hiding it was becoming increasingly harder as the days passed and your feelings became stronger.

Luckily for you, neither Robin nor Steve pushed you any further, and the three of you spent the remainder of the drive to Robin’s house in silence. Once Robin was safely inside, Steve drove back to your home, which you already knew would be empty. Your parents were never home, always out on business trips or vacations, leaving the house to just you and Steve. This had made it ideal for sleepovers with the Party when you were younger, but now that you were in high school, it was more lonely than anything else.

When you got home, you went upstairs and lay on your bed, grabbing your Rubik’s cube from your bedside table and fiddling with it as your mind drifted elsewhere. It was silent except for the clicking of the cube as you played with it until a tapping on your window interrupted the peace. 

Feeling slightly confused, you got up and walked towards the window, opening the blinds to see what was making that noise. Below stood Max, a couple of pebbles in hand, just getting ready to throw another one when she noticed that you had seen her. You raced down the stairs to let her into the house, wondering what she was doing here.

“You could’ve just rung the doorbell like everyone else does. My parents are never home and Steve doesn’t care about who comes over.” She stepped around you to come in as you spoke, and once she’d propped her skateboard against the wall, she turned around to face you.

This close, you could see the tiny freckles that covered the bridge of her nose and her cheeks, and you also thought you could see a pinkness beginning to tinge her cheeks, but that must’ve been your imagination. Before you could ask her why she was here, she began to speak.

“I- when I got home earlier, my dad, he asked where I’d been, and I said out with you, and then he said that while I was out, he’d been through my things in my room and found my old diary, and- and- and he saw what I’d written in there, and then he- he said some really, really mean stuff, Y/N, and t-then he… he kicked me out because of what I’d written in there,” she was sobbing as she spoke, choking on her words as she tried to get them out, and you immediately wrapped her in her arms, trying to tell her that it was going to be okay, even though you had no way of guaranteeing that. 

She took a moment to try and catch her breath as she continued to cry, and then she began to speak again. “I had nowhere else to go, Y/N, I- I’ve got no money or clothes or anything, I just grabbed my skateboard to get out of there before he physically threw- threw me out. Please, can I stay here for tonight? I just need to let him calm down, and-” You cut her off before she could finish her sentence, pulling back from the tight hug you had wrapped her in so that you could look her in the eye as you spoke.

“Max, you can stay here for as long as you need, okay? Don’t worry, it’ll all be okay. You can borrow some of my clothes, we’re basically the same size, and you can take one of the guest rooms,” you said, trying to reassure her that it was going to be fine. 

As you were talking, you heard your brother come down the stairs to see what had happened, evidently having heard the door open and then the sounds of conversation. You briefly explained what had happened as you held Max close to you again, the redhead in question trying to calm her breathing. At your request, Steve disappeared upstairs once more, off to make sure the room Max would stay in was ready. 

“Hey, Maxie, let’s go upstairs, shall we? We can go to my room while Steve sorts out yours, and if you’re okay with it, we can talk some about what you wrote that made your dad do what he did, alright?” You coaxed her up and into your bedroom, sitting down on your bed with her. Her arms were still wrapped around you tightly as if you were her lifeline, and she hadn’t said a word since you’d started talking.

You heard her sigh as she loosened her grip on your torso, flopping bonelessly back against your pillows and reaching for your hand, wanting to maintain some sort of physical connection while she tried to explain what had caused this situation.

“First, before I tell you anything, I need you to swear to me, truthfully, that you won’t stop being my friend when I tell you this. I need you to promise me that things will stay the same between us, no matter how you feel about what I’m about to say.”

“I.. I promise, Max, but I don’t understand why this is really necessary - nothing could make me hate you or stop being your friend! You’re my best friend, Max, and nothing will change that.” It worried you slightly, how serious Max had become about this, but then again, you reasoned, she did get kicked out for this. 

“Okay. So, uh, I don’t really know how to say this… um, okay. I’ll just spit it out. Here we go. Y/N, I like girls. Not.. not boys.” Never in a million years could you have guessed that she would say that. But she had said it, and it was causing your brain to short-circuit. Max took your silence as you hated her for it though and immediately began rambling, tears forming in her eyes and falling down her cheeks.

“I- I’m sorry, I know it’s not okay or anything but I can’t help it, and-” you cut her off, tightening the grip you had on her hand as she tried to pull away. 

“Hey, hey, stop crying, alright? I was just… shocked, which is why I didn’t say anything. But I don’t hate you and I’m not gonna stop being your friend, okay? So please, please don’t worry about that. It would be quite hypocritical of me to not support you liking girls, after all.” 

You maintained eye contact with her until your own confession, when you tore your gaze down to your lap, blushing heavily. She picked up on what you had meant quite quickly, and when you glanced up at you, she was grinning widely.

“You- you mean…?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I, um, I like girls too.” 

It was a relief and a half to finally get that off your chest to someone whom you didn’t view as a sibling. There was silence between the two of you for a while, both of you trying to process what the other had just revealed. 

All you could think about was that Max likes girls, Max likes girls, she actually likes girls! and although you knew better than to get your hopes up, you did secretly wish that because she liked girls, she’d like you, but you knew it didn’t work like that.

Still, a whisper of hope remained in your heart as you spent the rest of the evening trying to distract Max from her worries with more light-hearted conversation. Steve ordered pizza when it was time for dinner, and the three of you watched some dumb game shows while eating it, laughing over the ridiculous answers some of the contestants gave.

By the time you felt tired enough to sleep, Max was already half-way dead to the world, so you supported her weight back up the stairs and then grabbed her some pyjamas to sleep in. After you were both changed, Max dragged you into her room for cuddles, still needing comfort and reassurance from you.

It didn’t take long for Max to fall asleep, but sleep seemed to be evading you - your heart was hammering too hard from your proximity to your crush for you to feel even a semblance of tiredness. 

Eventually, you began extricating yourself from Max’s grip (the girl was surprisingly strong, even in her sleep) so you could get back to your own room. When you were free of the sleeping redhead’s hold, you looked back down at her, taking in the peaceful look on her face.

She was beautiful all the time, but now, she was… breathtaking. The thin light of the moon, unobscured by unclosed curtains, danced across her features, making her seem to glow. She was an angel, then, with an aura of serenity and a halo of hair surrounding her head.

Seeing her like that, all of your control flew out of the window and you acted on impulse, leaning down from your perch beside her to lay a small, feather-light kiss upon her forehead. It lasted only a second, but that second was enough for you to feel how soft her skin was under your lips, and you wished you could kiss her all the time just to feel it again.

Your heart was racing as you forced yourself to move away from her, making your way towards the door, but you stopped dead in your tracks when you heard Max’s soft, sleepy voice from across the room.

“Did you just… kiss me?” She asked. Fuck. Clearly, she hadn’t been as asleep as you had thought. You had no idea how to respond, your mind drawing up blank as you tried to think of something, anything to say.

“... Yes,” you whispered hesitantly, still not turning to look at her even as you heard her shuffling around to be able to see you better. You knew what was about to happen - she would tell you that she didn’t like that, and would either stop being your friend, or your friendship would just be really weird from here on out.

“Come here,” she said, holding out her hand to you, and you never could say no to her, could you? You slowly made your way back to her bed, taking the extended hand and going to sit down on the bed before you found yourself being tugged to lay back down next to Max, who nuzzled her head into the crook of your neck as soon as you were close enough. 

“Why?” she asked, the word coming out slightly slurred due to her sleepy state. It was the question you had known was coming but had hoped wouldn’t be voiced.

“Because I,” you started, getting choked up on the words you had suppressed for so long. “I like you, Max. As more than a friend.” There. You said it. There was no taking it back now, but you had some reassurance in the fact that she may not remember it come morning.

You had expected Max to say something after that, so you were fairly surprised when she lifted her head and pressed a chaste kiss to your lips. It wasn’t like how first kisses were always described in fiction - there were no fireworks or anything extreme like that, just a warm feeling of affection flowing between the two of you.

“I like you too,” Max murmured, pulling away from your lips and snuggling back into you. She fell asleep quickly, leaving you with your thoughts, the memory of her kiss playing on repeat in your head. Feeling tired yourself, though, you pushed your analysis of today’s events from your head to be dealt with tomorrow and cuddled into Max, finally falling asleep in the warmth and safety of her arms.

Much later in the evening, a tired Steve Harrington is making his way towards his bedroom when he sees the guest room door ajar and, feeling curious, peeks inside to see his sister and her friend tangled together in their sleep. He smiles softly, closing the door behind him as he moves away, thinking about where he’ll get the twenty bucks he now owes Robin.

[imyoursandthatsitwhatever]

only wanna dance with you

It all started with Patrick Swayze.

Steve, Robin, and Billy navigate the summer together: A story in three parts.

for @awickedplacethisis, who inspires me

part i

love isn’t always magic sometimes it’s just melting where it’s black and blue where it hurts the most -andrea gibson

The thing is, the first time Robin comes over that first summer, Steve doesn’t really know how to act. Like, he knows they almost died together, and he knows she genuinely gives a shit about him, but they don’t actually know each other that well yet. Somehow, learning Robin’s deepest, darkest secret feels like he’s barely even scratched the surface.

So, as usual, he tones it down. When he wants to reach out, get close, he stays a respectful distance. He isn’t clingy, okay. Not anymore. He’s trying to be better. Normal. Robin’s the first friend he’s had over to his house who’s older than fourteen and he doesn’t want to fuck this up by being weird.

He sits a respectful distance away from her on the couch. He puts a pillow between them when they lie on his bed getting high. He doesn’t even hug her goodbye when she leaves. He doesn’t do any of those things because he doesn’t even know if Robin likes being touched. And he’s trying to be better. More considerate. It’s a little harder than he thought it’d be, ‘cause he’s an affectionate person, but he thinks it’s for a good cause.

It’s just started to rain when he hears the knock on the door. He stumbles out of bed, glancing at the red letters blinking on the clock. 12:53. Oh Jesus, something’s wrong.

Robin’s on the other side of the door. Her eyes are wet and red-rimmed and she’s hugging herself around the middle, hunched over like she has a really bad stomach ache. She’s reaching for him before he even knows what’s happening, arms wrapping around his neck, body sagging, and she’s holding him like he’s the answer to every problem she’s ever had.

“Hey,” he whispers, gently weaving his fingers through her hair. It’s soft and smells like strawberries. “I’ve got you.”

And God, he’s wanted this for so long. Not only to be touched, but to be needed. And yeah, he and Robin are just friends, and he’s glad they stayed that way. Because it means things are never going to get complicated. He needs that in his life—Something easy. Something that makes sense without having to stare at it for two hours like a math problem. Robin makes sense to him. He trusts her. And maybe, since she’s here, that means she trusts him too.

He tucks his hands under Robin’s thighs and lifts her up, her legs wrapping around him immediately as he walks her over to the couch. Carrying her is easy, and suddenly he remembers when he used to do this with girls at parties to try to make himself look cool, and laughs at himself. He used to care so fucking much about what everyone thought. Now, he only cares about who the hell made the coolest girl he knows so fucking sad.

When he sits on the couch, she curls up into his lap, her head tucked right under his chin. He can feel her breath tickling his collarbone as he pulls his arms tighter around her.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” he asks, his words muffled by her ponytail.

“Fuck no,” she murmurs, her voice trembling. He feels something wet hit his chest and he realizes this is the first time he’s ever seen Robin really cry. It’s unsettling and horrible and he just wants to make it better.

“Okay,” he answers simply, reaching for the TV remote. He finds The Golden Girls and leaves it on, because he remembers that Robin hasn’t stopped talking about this show since it premiered. Betty White is a fucking icon, dingus. You’ll get it when you watch it.

He feels a small laugh vibrate against his chest and he smiles. Maybe he’s doing something right. He takes a chance and starts rubbing little circles into the back of her neck—she sighs contentedly, nuzzling up against him like a cat.

It’s then that Steve realizes that maybe Robin was waiting on him, too. Maybe she was trying to feel him out, see what his boundaries were. And then got to a point where she didn’t care enough to pretend anymore.

She’s always been braver than he ever was, anyway. And that might be why this means so much now—That when she couldn’t be brave anymore, when she had to break down, she came to him. She came to Steve.

He hears a soft intake of breath followed by a quiet snore and laughs a little. After he mutes the TV he carefully undoes her shoe laces, slipping her Converse off and setting them down on the coffee table. His mom would kill him if she knew but as usual, she isn’t around to make a fuss. He reaches behind him for the down blanket resting on the back of the couch and covers them both, shifting backwards a little so he can lie down properly.

Robin is warm against him as Steve closes his eyes to sleep, and it isn’t weird, it just feels nice. It feels nice to hold someone. Even if that someone is currently drooling on his shirt a little bit.

He’ll give her shit about it tomorrow.

Maybe.

>>Read the rest on AO3<<

part ii

every time you smoke a cigarette i want to rip it from your mouth i don’t know how to say this except that it breaks my heart to think that anything could take you from me  even a moment before it has to

-fortesa latifi

After that night, things are easy between them—effortless, really. Steve could lay his head down in Robin’s lap and she would know that he wants her to play with his hair. She tugs at it, scratches her fingernails against his scalp, even braids it sometimes, and he’s never felt more at home in his own body. It’s his favorite summer to date.

Robin graduates top of her class the next year. Steve sits in the audience and might have cried a little bit when he heard her speech, but no one can prove that. Billy wasn’t there. Steve had heard from Max that he’d started a job at a local mechanic, after getting his diploma by taking the few classes he’d needed from the school in the next town over. Billy stops by Family Video every once in a while to rent a movie, and they’d gone out to the quarry to smoke together one night, but other than that, Steve doesn’t see much of him.

August comes too fucking fast and Robin heads off to Indiana State on a full ride. Steve helps her pack her shit up, even drives with her down there to help her move in. When he drives away, leaving her waving at him on the sidewalk, his heart crawls up to his throat and stays there the whole drive home.

A year passes before it feels like he can even blink. The kids are halfway through high school and they’re busy with projects and girlfriends and other teenage bullshit, so he sees a lot less of them. Dustin and Suzie break up in April, so for a while, Steve keeps himself busy helping Dustin nurse his broken heart, mostly with the help of gummy worms and lots of pudding. Then Dustin meets a cute girl in Chemistry class, of all places, and Steve is left alone again.

When Robin comes back for summer vacation, she drags Steve to the premiere of Dirty Dancing, and when they get home, Robin demands that he lift her up like Swayze. He tries, he really does, but he’s not exactly ready when she jumps and they both end up a mess of limbs on the floor, carrying a couple bruises into the next week as battle scars. She laughs and swats at him, and he thinks he might be bleeding somewhere, but it’s okay. It’s fun. It’s easy, with Robin.

He slips up later that night, when they’re getting high out by the pool. They’ve got two chairs pulled together, their legs tangled together, when he breathes the tangy smoke into the air and whispers, “I think… I have a thing for Billy.”

Billy could lift Robin like Swayze. Hell, Billy could lift Steve like that. Could lower him down, real slow, faces close enough to touch—Jesus. His mouth is watering and his dick is kicking in his jeans just from the thought.

“I think you do, too,” Robin replies, giggling, as she takes the blunt from between Steve’s fingertips and sucks on it.

He sits up in surprise, nearly knocking them both over. “Were you ever going to tell me?” Steve asks incredulously. He’s a little high, so he’s seeing two Robins right now, and he doesn’t know which one to glare at.

“Oh my God, Steve. I didn’t know I had to inform you who you have a crush on.” Robin sighs dramatically and passes the blunt back to him. “You’re like a little baby deer. So helpless.”

Steve groans and collapses back against the pool chair.

“How did you know I like him?” Steve asks, finishing off the blunt and flicking the roach somewhere near the pool’s edge.

“Well, first of all, you visited him in the hospital, like, every day,” she begins matter-of-factly.

Steve’s mouth tastes like cotton when he answers, “I was driving Max there, Robin. I was being a good Samaritan.”

“Oh, and were you being a good Samaritan when you spent nights there? Nights, as in plural, as in more than once?”

She has a point. Who is he kidding? Robin always has a point.

“He was alone, you know? And he saved us. And I wanted…” I wanted him to know I was there for him. That I could keep being there. If he wanted.

“Steve.” Her voice is gentle, soft in that way that wraps around him and makes him feel like nothing could ever hurt him again. She’s holding his hand. Her black nail polish is chipped, it’s always fucking chipping, he wonders why she even bothers with it. But then he remembers that Robin doesn’t expect things to be perfect, or even want them to be. She likes things just how they are. She likes Steve just how he is.

He finally looks up at her, and she’s grinning at him. “Steve, I’m going to tell you a story, okay? All you have to do is listen.” Her voice is a little wobbly from the weed, but even while high, Robin’s a good storyteller. He lies back against the chair and folds his arms over his chest, waiting patiently.

“Do you remember that day last summer, when you had that really bad cold and you couldn’t make it into work?” Robin asks. Steve looks up at the stars, trying to map out some of the constellations Dustin had showed him, as he nods.

“Well, Billy stopped in that day. Thursday afternoon. Like he always does.” Steve wonders why she’s putting such heavy emphasis on the word. He knows Billy always stops by Thursday afternoons. It’s why Thursdays are his favorite day to work. Billy gets off work early from the garage on Thursdays, Steve doesn’t really know why, but he comes in with his coveralls tied around his waist and smelling like grease and it’s always the best part of Steve’s day, by a long shot.

“He came up to the counter, glanced around, and asked if I was working alone today. I said you had abandoned me in favor of being ill. And do you know what he did?”

“No. What?” Steve asks breathlessly. What could Billy have done that day in Family Video that warranted an entire fucking story about it?

“He walked out of the store, Steve. He didn’t even rent a movie. Just walked out. Do you know what that tells me, dingus?”

God, he’s so high right now. Her voice sounds far away and his heart is beating like a fucking drum in his ears. “No, I don’t,” he answers honestly, ‘cause he just really needs her to give him the answer. He can’t guess when it comes to Billy. With Billy, it has to be a sure bet.

“Billy doesn’t come to Family Video every Thursday to rent movies, Steve,” Robin says softly, tapping her thumb against his hand, “He comes to see you.”

Steve lets her words hang in the air for a second, imagines them attaching themselves to the stars up above and spelling it out for him.

He comes to see you.

He’s out of his chair before he even knows what he’s doing, swaying a little. Robin scrambles up to tug him back down before he falls face-first into the pool.

“Oh my God,” Steve says as he collapses back onto the chair, putting his face in his hands, “How could you let me be such a goddamn idiot? Is it fun, watching me being oblivious?”

“I mean, I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t a little fun,” Robin jokes, nudging her shoulder against his. “I knew you needed time to figure it out. You can’t rush these things.”

“Yeah, but Billy probably feels like shit because he’s been dropping hints since like, day fucking one and I didn’t notice, Robin.”

It’s like sand has been scrubbed from his eyes and he can finally see. He’d stayed in the hospital that first night because Billy had asked him to. Billy had grabbed his hand as he stood up, looking at him frantically, still hooked up to that goddamn breathing machine because his lungs were too fucking weak. Steve had just thought he’d wanted someone to keep him company. His big, dumb, ugly brain hadn’t thought for even a second Billy wanted him, specifically.

And then, the way Billy had looked at him when he finally got that awful tube out of his throat. How he’d smiled and asked hoarsely, “Am I dreamin’, or is that you, Harrington?” Like he’d been waiting to say it. Like he’d spent weeks picking out the perfect fucking line.

It all comes back to him in startling clarity, now. How he’d wake up in the morning, in that really terrible plastic chair, to Billy staring at him. How Billy would suddenly turn his head and pretend to look out the window. How the nurse greeted Steve that morning he brought bagels—“Oh, you must be Steve,”—like Billy had been talking about him. How Billy had asked Steve, not Max, to check his chest when he thought he’d ripped open a stitch.

And the Thursday afternoons. Steve was so dense he didn’t even realize Billy was coming to rent a video every Thursday afternoon because he wanted to see him. And, now that he’s thinking about it, Billy probably gets off at 2:00 every Thursday at the garage because Steve gets off at 3:00 on Thursdays. And that’s probably something that Billy fucking knows, ‘cause Steve is pretty sure that he works later nights at the garage the rest of the week. Thursday’s probably the only day he can free up to swing by.

“Robin, I have to go see Billy. Like, now,” Steve says, getting to his feet, “But first, I have to get… uh, un-high. How do I get un-high?”

He feels a warm hand on his back, leading him towards the house. “You need water, snacks, and a cold shower,” Robin replies confidently, “Let’s go, dingus.”

The shower is a brilliant idea, really, because Robin turns the dial just cold enough to shock him back into reality, but not enough to make him hypothermic. (However, it’s a close thing.)

He eats the haphazard sandwich she shoves in his face and chugs a glass of water while she towel dries his hair for him.

“How long have we been married?” Steve asks in amusement as she grabs the blow dryer.

“17 years. And you forgot our last anniversary. Dick.” She shoves his head down and starts violently blow-drying, ignoring his protests as he tries to choke down the last piece of sandwich in his mouth.

She leaves him to style his hair and skips off to his bedroom, muttering something about picking out an outfit for him. She returns with a pair of dark wash jeans and an emerald green sweater.

“I haven’t worn those jeans in years, I don’t even know if they still fit—”

“Okay, Steve, newsflash: Billy is very into your ass. I’ve seen him look at it. He is not a shy guy. These jeans are going to be tight on your ass and Billy’s mind will be properly blown. And before you ask about the sweater, the color green just so happens to go very well with the color brown, and from the many times I’ve watched Billy gaze longingly into them, I can safely assume he is also a fan of your big, dumb, Bambi eyes. Any further questions?”

Steve shakes his head, eyes wide, and slips the jeans over his boxers. They fit like a glove. Especially over his ass.

“Are you a genie?” he asks, staring at Robin suspiciously as he tugs the sweater over his head. It’s really fucking soft. He hopes Billy will want to put his hands on him when he sees it.

“Not a genie. Just call me your fairy godmother,” Robin sing-songs as she throws his car keys at him, watching him almost spectacularly fail to catch them, “I have a feeling you’re not gonna be back, so you can drop me off at my place on the way there.”

“What do you mean I’m not gonna be back?” Steve asks, horrified, before the joke clicks. “Oh,” he says softly as she digs through the bathroom cabinets, finding a bottle of cologne and spritzing him a couple times.

“You have his new address, right?” Robin asks as they head outside towards his car.

“Yeah, I remember where it is. I dropped him off there once.” After we smoked together out at the quarry all night. I thought about kissing him before he climbed out of the car, but I didn’t because he was too fucking beautiful and I was too fucking scared.

Robin gives him a thumbs up from her living room window after he makes sure she gets inside, and then the lights are switched off in the house and he’s alone again, pulling away from the curb and racing down the street towards Billy’s apartment.

He feels an eerie sense of calm as the turn draws closer, even though he knows he should be shaking out of his skin right about now. Somewhere between nights at the hospital and Thursday afternoons, Billy had become important. And when someone’s important to you, you’re supposed to tell them. Friends don’t lie.

The street sign comes into view and he turns the wheel easily. His hands aren’t shaking. He isn’t nervous. He actually feels better than he has in a long time, because he’s pretty sure Billy has been waiting for Steve to show up at his door.

The night is quiet save for the occasional chirp of a cricket as he climbs out of the car, looking up at the apartment complex. Billy’s on the ground floor, in the back of the building, and his feet are taking him there and before he really even registers what he’s doing, he’s knocking on the door.

There’s a muffled curse inside as something falls to the ground, and then the door is being wrenched open and Billy is standing there, eyes wild and body coiled up tight. His expression immediately softens when he sees Steve, and the frying pan that was clenched in his hand falls to the floor for what appears to be the second time, judging from the sound. Steve stares at it for a second before clearing his throat.

“Hey,” he says, mustering up a smile because Billy is still kind of staring at him like he’s trying to figure out if Steve is real. He’s got a dish towel thrown over his shoulder, his white tank top stained with some sort of orange sauce, and Steve belatedly realizes he’s interrupted Billy making dinner.

“Hey,” Billy answers back, looking at Steve warily. His hand is still outstretched where it had been holding the pan, and he clenches it back into a fist. “What are you—”

“I’ve recently been informed that I’m an idiot. I mean, I knew that before, but I’ve reached like, a pretty incredible level of stupid at this point,” Steve starts, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously.

Billy’s eyebrows fly up in surprise. “You’re not—”

“No, I really am. I’m really stupid, Billy. It took me getting high tonight to figure it out, because I was too scared to admit it before. And I’m sorry for all the time I’ve wasted.”

Steve lets out a shuddering breath; he watches Billy’s brow furrowing in confusion and he imagines reaching out to smooth it with his thumb.

“I think you’ve been trying to tell me something, and I wasn’t getting it,” Steve starts softly, stepping closer to the doorway. Billy looks a little taken aback, but he doesn’t move. “See, I always looked forward to my Thursday afternoon shifts ‘cause I knew you’d be stopping by. It never occurred to me that you might have a different reason for coming to the store other than, you know, renting movies. I thought you just really liked Rocky, I guess?” Steve laughs quietly, glancing down at the ground. He and Billy are inches apart and he swears he can hear Billy’s heartbeat.

“I was thinking tonight, after I dropped Robin on the floor, that you could totally lift me up like Patrick Swayze does and I just, really like that about you.” Steve sighs, tearing his gaze from the floor to glance at Billy, his blue eyes sparkling with amusement as he nods for Steve to go on, “I really like a lot of things about you. And I need you to know that I thought about kissing you that night after the quarry, and I thought about kissing you before that too, and you’re honestly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever fucking seen and I didn’t know how someone like you would ever want to be with me, and I know I’ve been stupid, but I—”

He feels his sweater being tugged forward, and then Billy’s lips are moving softly against his, and Steve breathes a sigh of relief into Billy’s mouth as he winds his arms around Billy’s neck.

Billy feels so fucking good, from the hard planes of his abs pressing against Steve’s torso to the needy way he licks into Steve’s mouth as he walks them backwards. Steve feels his back hit soft cushions and Billy lifts his arms above his head, holding him by the wrists, as he sucks on Steve’s bottom lip. He feels Billy move against him, the fabric of his sweatpants doing nothing to hide how hard he is, his cock brushing against Steve’s thigh and sending a burst of heat straight down to his groin. Billy slots his knee between Steve’s legs, pushing up against him, and Steve groans into his mouth and frees his hands from Billy’s grip, tugging at Billy’s curls to pull him closer.

“You’re not,” Billy breathes between kisses, “Stupid,” his tongue licking sweetly across Steve’s cupid’s bow, “You just can’t take a hint.”

Steve laughs and Billy swallows it down, smiling against Steve’s lips as he slips his hand under the sweater to run his fingers over Steve’s chest.

“This sweater is real fuckin’ nice, pretty boy,” he murmurs, running his free hand down the soft fabric, “But I have to say, your jeans are really doing it for me.” His hand dips lower to palm at Steve’s ass through the denim and Steve keens, ‘cause Billy’s built like a brick shithouse and has the fucking hands to match.

He swears he can hear Robin laughing all the way across town.

“Fuck, Billy,” Steve groans as Billy scrapes his teeth along the side of his neck, wriggling underneath him as Billy sucks a mark into the sensitive skin there.

“What’d you say before, about me bein’ like Swayze?” Billy murmurs, nuzzling his way up Steve’s neck and placing a chaste kiss against the shell of his ear.

“We watched Dirty Dancing, and Robin wanted to do the move, you know, where he lifts her up? And I couldn’t catch her when she jumped, I fuckin’ dropped her on the floor and went right down with her,” Steve giggles, fisting his hands into the worn fabric of Billy’s tank top, “But I was thinking that you could lift me up like that, no problem.”

Billy stares at him for a second, a mischievous smile playing on his lips before he’s suddenly hopping off of the couch.

“All right, pretty boy, let’s do it.” Steve takes a moment to admire the rippling muscle of Billy’s arms as he pulls him up from the sofa, all the work Billy’s put in since he’d almost fucking died right in front of Steve’s eyes two years ago, before Billy’s pushing him to the other side of the living room. Steve watches in amusement as Billy stretches and cracks his neck back and forth, before crouching down and holding his arms out.

Steve takes a moment to carefully push the furniture back towards the wall, and hesitantly slips off his shoes.

“I can lift you, no problem, but you’re gonna need to use your core to actually hold yourself up like she does,” Billy instructs, as if he’s teaching a fucking yoga class. Steve laughs and rolls up the sleeves of his sweater, bouncing lightly on his feet.

“Yeah, yeah. Make sure you plant your fucking feet,” Steve replies haughtily before he takes off running, leaping into the air and—

And Billy catches him, like it’s nothing. His legs are kicked out behind him, his back curved up towards the ceiling, and his arms are out like he’s fucking flying. Billy gives him a twirl for good measure, before gently lowering Steve down, achingly slow, their bodies sliding together deliciously until they’re face to face. Steve wraps his arms around Billy’s neck and they spend the next few minutes kissing soft and slow, Billy still holding him up off the ground like he’s weightless.

Steve giggles as Billy starts walking him backwards towards what he assumes is Billy’s bedroom door, scooting up to wrap his legs snugly around Billy’s waist as he carries him across the kitchen.

“You takin’ me to your bedroom, Johnny?” Steve asks on a breathy sigh as Billy forcefully kicks the door open.

“Would you rather me fuck you in the corner, Baby? Cause you know, nobody—”

“Oh my God, just shut up and kiss me.”

part iii

you do not have to be good. you do not have to walk on your knees for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting. you only have to let the soft animal of your body love what it loves.

-mary oliver

Steve insists Billy meet Robin the next week, because she has to go back to school soon, and he has to politely remind Steve that he has already met Buckley, many times, at your dumb fucking video store, Steve.

It’s not the same, Billy, we weren’t dating then, Steve argues, so Billy rolls his eyes fondly, kisses Steve and whispers, You know I’ll do whatever you want, baby.

So that’s how they end up at Steve’s place, sprawled out on the couch watching The Breakfast Club, because it’s the only movie they all seem to agree on.

Billy had been given a previous heads-up that Robin and Steve were usually kinda touchy with each other, and Steve had told him like he’d be threatened somehow. It was real fuckin’ cute, is what it was.

He likes Buckley, probably more than he’s ever liked a girl in his damn life. She’s smart as a whip and she’s got a hell of a lot of fire in her, which Billy can appreciate. But most of all, he knows she played a part in getting Steve to his front door that night. And that she picked out those jeans. God, those fucking jeans. So, she’s more than okay in his book. If she wants to cuddle up to Steve a little bit, she’s earned it as far as he’s concerned.

Plus, he clocked it a long time ago that she likes girls. That helps, too.

Robin and Steve are so damn natural with each other, the way they sprawl out on the couch together, legs all tangled up. Billy tries to think of a friend who he felt that comfortable with, and comes up empty. Heather, maybe. It was always real easy to work with her at the pool—when no one was looking, she’d make crazy faces at him up on the lifeguard stand to try to make him laugh. His heart starts to ache a little bit, wondering if he could have had a real friend in her. Wondering what her life would have been if it hadn’t been cut short.

Steve seems to notice his stormy expression and leans over to brush a kiss against his ear. “You okay?” he asks, his arm tightening around Billy’s waist. Billy smiles back at him and leans in to kiss him real soft and slow. Robin makes a gagging sound from nearby.

“I’m all right. Just got a little in my mind is all,” Billy murmurs, resting his forehead gently against Steve’s. Steve nods like he understands, a fond smile tugging at his lips.

“So, Hargrove,” Robin begins, reaching over to poke at Billy’s leg with a socked foot. “I hear you can give Swayze a run for his money.”

Billy throws his head back and laughs, grabbing her foot and giving it a vicious tickle before she manages to pull it away, screeching.

“You bet your ass, Buckley. You want me to prove it? Heard good ol’ Stevie dropped you on your ass when he tried.”

“That he did,” agrees Robin sagely, Steve sputtering in indignation as she hops from the couch. “Let’s get to it, then.”

“All right, girlie, let’s see what you got,” Billy replies smoothly, getting up to push the coffee table towards the fireplace. He watches Steve settle in comfortably against the couch cushions, ready for the show to begin. Billy rolls his sleeves up and stretches his neck and arms out real quick, while Robin takes some practice jumps across the room.

He looks over at her, her eyes sparkling with mischief, and sees this for what it is: An offering. We can be friends, Hargrove. Just don’t drop me on my ass.

Billy gestures at Robin with his hand, his body poised and ready—and without hesitation, she takes off towards him from the other end of the living room. He has only seconds to marvel at her confidence in him before she’s flying through the fucking air, soaring right above his head, and he has to step back a few paces because she’s gone too fucking far, but by some God-given miracle he still catches her, hoisting her up above his head and whooping in relief.

She’s laughing as he twirls her around, which quickly devolves into screeching when he drops her and swiftly catches her in his arms.

“Oh my God,” she exclaims, draping a hand over her eyes dramatically as she hangs loosely in his hold, “I’m swooning, Hargrove. Now put me down.”

Billy does as he’s told, depositing her carefully onto the ground, before she’s running full tilt past Steve and up the stairs.

“Steve, I’m borrowing your mom’s video camera. Hargrove, you better get ready to do that again!” she screams from the top of the stairs before she disappears down the hall.

Steve laughs and pulls Billy down onto the couch with him, pressing him gently into the cushions. “That was pretty sexy,” Steve breathes, nuzzling against Billy’s cheek.

“Only wanna dance with you, baby,” Billy replies, feeling like his heart’s about to burst through his ribcage as Steve’s brown eyes go all soft.

“Jesus Christ, I leave you two for ten seconds and you’re already horizontal,” comes Robin’s voice from behind the couch. Steve clambers off of Billy, and Billy wants to kiss every inch of the blush spreading across his face and down to his chest.

“You’re on film duty,” Robin announces, handing Steve the video camera once she gets it all queued up. He starts rolling and Billy shoots some finger guns his way while Robin makes a big show of stretching.

Steve shoots him a tender smile from behind the camera, and Billy feels a light blush burning its way across his cheeks—and worst of all, it’s been caught on film.

But as he glances over at Robin, who’s grinning at him widely as she rocks back and forth on her feet, ready to run at him again, he thinks he might want to watch this back again someday.

Because somehow, without even asking for it, without even daring to hope, he finally has everything he’s ever wanted. Steve Harrington, looking at him like he’s something worth having, worth keeping. And Robin Buckley, the first real friend he’s ever had.

And if it took Patrick Swayze to get him here, well—he might just owe the guy a big fucking thank you.

[mother-shipper]

Save Me (I Can’t Face This Life Alone)

Harringrove for Australia piece for @buildyourwalls. I definitely went over 2k and I can’t tell you how many times I completely overhauled this but it’s here! 

Steve had never expected an apology from Billy Hargrove of all people. He expected to end up getting along with the guy even less. Billy was okay when he wanted to be, when he wasn't fixated on usurping a throne Steve no longer wanted anyway. They had things in common. Billy was good at conversation and while he still busted Steve's balls, it didn't have the same bite to it as before. 

Surprisingly enough, it had seemed for a moment that Steve Harrington and Billy Hargrove might actually be… friends. But then it happened.

Prom.

Steve and Billy had both decided to go stag. Steve didn’t have anyone he liked enough to ask. Billy said there were too many options to limit himself to one bitch for the whole night. And if neither of them had a date, they may as well pregame at Steve’s before heading over to the school gym. Steve had readily agreed and Billy showed up in his powder blue tux with a little something tucked in the inner pocket. 

“To get me through Cyndi Lauper,” he told Steve, rolling his eyes.

Looking back, Steve wasn’t sure how he missed it. They rolled up together in Billy’s Camaro. Every dance request Billy got was shut down in favor of sitting at the table people-watching with Steve. Then Billy had flashed the bag tucked in the inner pocket of his jacket and nodded to the back door. Steve had followed without a thought. They were friends. They were just going out back for a smoke like he and Tommy used to do all the time. 

They passed the joint back and forth, talking about the night, the people, the music. He hadn’t noticed Billy shifting closer, hadn’t picked up on the look in his eyes. One second Steve was laughing about Tammy Thompson’s choice of cowgirl boots and the next, Billy’s mouth was on his. 

He remembered how warm and soft Billy’s lips were. There was a spark of heat low in his gut and his mind went blank before everything seemed to explode. Billy was kissing him. Billy was kissing him! And he was enjoying it. It was a lot  to process and before he could orient himself, Billy was pulling away. The look in his eyes was pure panic. The easy, relaxed confidence was replaced with wide eyes and rigid posture. He looked ready to bolt. 

"Billy…," Steve tried. "Hey-" 

A hard shove to the chest put Steve's back against the wall, the brick biting into his skin through his shirt. He grabbed onto Billy's wrists and winced but Billy took a quick step back. Recoiled from Steve as if he'd been burned.

"Just… Just stay away from me," Billy snapped. He spun on his heel and was gone, heading for the parking lot at a clip and leaving Steve leaning against the wall, dumbfounded. Before long, he heard the roar of the Camaro. There were squealing tires, a flash of headlights and then Billy was gone. Steve was left leaning against the brick wall, staring after him and wondering what the actual fuck had just happened. 

He tried to get Billy's attention at school, tried to talk to him and sort this whole thing out but Billy never gave him the chance. He thought of calling before realizing he didn't have Billy's number. He didn't even know where he lived. Billy always came to him. …Maybe they weren't as good of friends as Steve thought. But Billy didn't give Steve the chance to make that right either.

He never got to talk to Billy before summer came. 

Scoops Ahoy was not the job Steve had hoped for. It wasn't hard work but it was draining in its own ways, not the least of which was the toll it took on his self esteem. Most nights, Steve would only have enough left in him to shower, maybe eat something, then crash face first into his mattress. He hasn't been able to even talk to the kids, let alone attempt to make time to visit Billy at the public pool. Even if he did, he didn't think it would help. Not at this point.

He was out of the loop, oblivious to the goings on that had been noticed by the kids. Then he was knee deep in an entirely different loop with Russians and secret codes. It wasn't until this Venn diagram of disaster met in the middle that Steve realized just what had happened to Billy.

  How he was still alive, no one could say. Steve believed it was sheer stubbornness. If anyone could live out of spite, it was Billy Hargrove. Knowing what he did now about Billy’s daily life, he could safely say he would have given up long ago. Billy was strong. Stronger than he thought even Billy realized. But this? Being a part of the darkness that lurked beneath Hawkins was too much for any one person to carry alone. He would know. 

Steve needed to be there for Billy. He needed to make up for not being there sooner and to see him awake and breathing. Because all he could see when he laid his head down at night was vacant, blue eyes, black blood soaking white cotton, soaking his hands. So much blood. Another nightmare added to the silver screen of his mind.

Steve knew you were supposed to bring something when you visit someone in the hospital. Flowers didn’t seem like Billy’s style. Neither did any of the stuffed animals lining the shelves of the gift shop. He searched through cards but they all seemed so formal. It didn’t feel like he was giving Billy something sincere. He put back a card, his nose wrinkling at the picture of a cat dangling from a tree branch that just said “Hang in There”. None of this seemed like anything Billy would like but he couldn’t show up empty handed. He wouldn’t. 

Steve was giving serious consideration to leaving and coming back when he had something good to offer when he saw it. 

It was tiny, maybe only about the size of a golf ball, sitting in its little terracotta pot. The green, waxy exterior was barely visible through the army of white needles jutting from it. The spines poked out in all directions leaving nowhere to touch it without getting bloodied in return. In contrast to the sharp barrier, at the very top there sat a tiny, pink blossom. Steve knew this was perfect.

Scooping the pot gently into his hands, Steve went up to the counter and happily paid for the angriest little plant he’d ever seen in his life. He was going to see Billy and they were going to talk. About everything. About that night at prom. How sorry Steve was. How much he wished he had been there for Billy when he needed someone, anyone, to recognize that he wasn't in control. That he wasn't himself. 

Steve went to the nurse's station, cradling the tiny cactus in his palms. A kind if tired looking woman glanced up at Steve from a clipboard, her brown hair tied up in a bun and lips painted red.

"Can I help you?"

"Hi. I'm looking for Billy Hargrove's room?"

The nurse nodded, sifting through paperwork before pulling out what must be Billy's chart. She flipped a page, looking at something that made her brow furrow. 

"I'm sorry. I didn't catch your name," the nurse said, voice suddenly cold as she looked Steve over. 

"Oh," Steve said, caught off guard by the rapid shift in tone. "It's Steve? Steve Harrington?"

Her lips pursed and she slid the file back onto the shelf, eyes on Steve's. "I'm sorry. He's not accepting visitors right now."

Steve's chest ached as he realized what was happening. There was a list. And Steve was on it. He wasn't going to get to see Billy. He felt like he'd been punched in the gut and he wanted to break down and cry right there. Instead, he swallowed, took a deep breath.

"I understand," he said softly. He stared down at the cactus, at it's tiny, pink flower. "If it's not too much trouble, could you just give him this?" Steve set the pot onto the counter. "I still want him to have it. And… if you could... tell him I'm sorry." 

When Steve looked up again, the nurse was watching him curiously. She still seemed wary of him but there was less hostility. Instead, she seemed like she just couldn't figure him out. Steve offered her a smile he didn't really feel and nodded once before turning to leave. Billy didn't want to see him and Steve couldn't blame him.

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

“You have to fix this.”

Steve looked down at Max, eyebrow raised in confusion. He’d opened the door, expecting to find Dustin standing there, trying to get Steve to leave his house again. He didn’t have nearly as many hours at the video store as he did at Scoops so Steve found himself with a lot more downtime these days. To say he hadn’t been using it wisely was an understatement.

“Nice to see you too, Max,” he grumbled, stepping aside for her to come in. She stepped inside and her nose wrinkled instantly at the sight of the place. There were empty pizza boxes and takeout containers scattered everywhere. Steve was still in his pajamas, third day in a row and he hadn’t thought to change them. Not like he was expecting company. 

“Boys,” she sighed before turning to Steve. “You have to talk to Billy.”

Steve snorted, walking past Max and into the kitchen. “Wow. Great idea. If only I’d thought of it sooner. Problem solved.” 

“Don’t be stupid, Steve,” Max huffed, stuffing her hands into her jacket pockets. It was something so distinctly Billy it made Steve ache. “You know you want to see him. And he wants to see you.”

“Right.” Steve pulled open the fridge, digging inside for an excuse not to look at her. “That’s why he put me on the ‘keep out’ list at the hospital. I tried, Max. I’ve been trying since school but he wants nothing to do with me.”

“He does so!” Max shouted. “He’s just being dumb! And so are you!”

“Max-”

“No! Don’t give me that ‘you don’t understand’ crap. He’s miserable, Steve.” Max gestured around the messy house. “You’re miserable. And there’s no reason for any of it.”

Steve paused, straightening and looking over his shoulder at her. Max looked near tears, her hands balled into fists at her sides. She was angry and worried and...scared. She was scared. Steve took a deep breath and sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. 

“All I can do is try, Max,” he told her softly. “I can’t promise anything but I can give it one more try.”

Max broke. Her face crumpled and she threw herself at Steve, arms wrapped around his middle. She buried her face in Steve’s chest and sniffled. He hugged her back, wrapping her up tight against him and resting his chin on her head.

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

The house wasn’t a big one. The little one-level, ranch-style place was tucked back near the lake not far from Hop’s old trailer. If it weren’t for the Camaro on blocks out front, Steve would have wondered if he had the right place. Steve felt like he couldn’t breathe. Billy was in there. This was the closest Steve had been to him since that night outside the gym. It made his heart hurt and longing filled his chest. Steve gripped the handle of the sixpack in his hand. This was stupid. He was just going to get his heart broken once and for all. But he promised Max he would try. 

Taking a deep breath, Steve knocked  on the door and waited. He could hear movement inside, heavy steps coming toward the door. The knob turned and Steve felt a sudden panic grip him. The door flew open and Billy stood there, hand on his hip. 

“I told you, old man. I’m not going so you can just…” Billy froze. His blue eyes went wide and he stared at Steve in horror.

Steve glanced over Billy. The scars. God, the scars. There were huge starbursts all over Billy’s torso from where the mind flayer had hooked into him. Smaller spots littered his arms, one sitting just below his eye. The worst was right in the center of his chest. It was an angry, red, gnarled looking thing. Suddenly all Steve could see was blood. It was dark. There was a monstrous scream ripping through the air. White cotton soaked in black. Empty eyes. Heart pounding. Dead. Right in front of him. Gone. 

“Harrington!”

Steve dropped the sixpack, snapping back to the present only to realize his whole body was trembling. His face was wet and he met Billy’s eyes. They were bright and sharp, concerned. They were alive.

“You’re here.” Steve choked on a sob. He couldn’t stop himself from moving in closer. He looped his arms carefully around Billy’s waist and buried his face in his shoulder. “I,” he gasped, “I thought- you-” Any coherent words dissolved into desperate bawling. 

Billy’s arms curled around his shoulders, hesitant and uncertain but there nonetheless. Steve wasn’t sure how long it took but he eventually ran out of steam. He cried himself out and Billy just held him. He didn’t say a word. He didn’t push Steve away. He sniffed against Billy, not willing to let go yet.

“I thought…” he hiccuped. “I never got to tell you. I thought you were gone and you’d never have known.”

“Known what?” Billy finally asked. Steve pulled back just enough to look at Billy. He wiped at his eyes and nose furiously. 

“You ran away,” Steve said. “At prom. You kissed me and I didn’t expect it.”

Billy’s face was hard, closed off the way it had been every time Steve tried to talk to him since. He opened his mouth to say something but Steve cut him off, shaking his head.

“You didn’t give me a chance to realize what was going on.”

Billy snorted. “It isn’t that hard to figure out. You didn’t kiss me back. That’s all I needed to know.”

“We were fucking high, Billy,” Steve snapped. “It took me some time to process, okay? And if you let me get more than two words out-”

“I get it, Steve! You’re not interest-”

Steve cut Billy off, kissing him hard. He poured everything he had into it. All the hurt and fear and longing. He gave Billy everything there was to give and then some. Breathless, he pulled away, pressing his forehead against Billy’s.

“I’m not what now,” he challenged, catching his breath.

Billy tangled a hand in Steve’s hair. “I need to know you mean it,” he growled. “I need to know it’s not just because of…”

Steve shook his head. “I’ve been trying to tell you for almost a year now, idiot. You just wouldn’t let me.”

Billy held Steve tighter, making his heart flutter in his chest. They just stood there for a moment, wrapped up in each other, making up for lost time. Steve soaked in Billy’s warmth and presence. He was here. He was broken and scarred, but he was here. That’s all Steve needed. 

It was Billy who finally broke the silence, smiling softly. “Any particular reason you bought me a fucking cactus?”

[mxtantrights]

˚ · · . · ✵ ✷PART TWENTY-FIVE

warnings: guns, Steve Harrington has music taste in this

HAWKINS,INDIANA

NOVEMBER 5, 1984

While the kids were fighting, and Mickey was ignoring me, me and Steve heard something in the far distance. Even had the weird moment where we looked at each other as soon as we heard it. We both took small steps from where the sound came form.

"You think that's it?" I ask him

He nods his head. "Guys!"

The kids stop their bickering and come over to us. The boys specifically.

Max is on the offense. I let the boys go ahead and jog over to her.

"Come on, neither of us have flashlights. We're safer with the idiots." I hold out my hand for her to take.

She takes it and jogs with me and we catch up with the boys. They keep on walking and walking until we get to  a hill. We can all see the foggy Hawkins area, but no Dart. Lucas uses his binoculars to get a better look.

"It's the lab." He tells all of us. "They were going back home."

But none of us were, it seemed like.

-

"Steve?" Both Nancy and Jonathan ask at the same time.

Steve looks at them both, "Nancy?"

Dustin and I both call out Jonathan.

Holy shit where has this guy been? Some crazy stuff has been going down and he hasn't been here? Even the stuff with his brother? Where was he this whole time?

They all start having a conversation but something in my mind is telling me to look around. Ir'a like one of those gut feelings. And so I do.

I look into the darkness and see that same lab Lucas was talking about.

What if I was born there? In that creepy lab where all these creepy monsters come from? And where El came from? I don't like lumping her together with those disgusting things but that is where she's from.

If that's where I'm from then-

That doesn't make any sense.

We lived in Odessa, Texas. We had a house and we knew people there. I can't be imaging that because my brothers know that too. It was real the life that I had back home was real. The scars I have on my knees from playing on the playground. My first kiss at the middle school dance.

I can remember it.

So why does this place make me ache?

"Jessie why are you staring?" I can feel Max shake my arm a bit to knock me out of it.

I shake my head and try to pry my eyes away from the lab. But it's too late and Mickey's in front of me- even though he was ignoring me. I can't lie to him anymore. I can't. He's part of the only family I trust and I'm not gonna push him away because I'm trying to protect him.

"All of this is crazy but- I'm connected to it somehow. I know it sounds crazy but you have to believe me." I say.

"The whole truth. Or everything you know. Now." My brother grabs my hand and squeezes it.

I feel a shiver go down my back as I look back at the lab. "There's this old photo of Dayton and our parents before I was born. They were here for some reason in Hawkins. And he said it was a year before I was born. I-I think I came from that lab."

"So you're like eleven?" Lucas asks, making me look at him. Looking at that place wasn't going to give me answers I so desperately needed. "So what were you doing in Texas?"  

I shrug my shoulders, putting my hand in my jacket pocket. "I don't know why we went back home. But I know that every birthday I've ever had is wiped from my memory. Every single year."

"What that's crazy! Why?" Max now asks.

"Because my mother," I sneak a glance at my brother to see his face change. I knew it. I'm breaking his heart. I'm screwing up his world. My heart feels like it's gonna jump out of my chest. "She's a part of this. Every birthday I've had, that I've forgotten, has been spent with her. She's the one who's doing this to me."

"But-" Lucas starts but he gets interrupted.

Steve cuts through. "Hey let her take a breath, alright?"

"Guys the powers back on."

-

We managed to get back to the Byers house. Managed being the operative word.

I stare out of the window. It's all I can do. I can't look at my brother. I can't look at Will. I can't look at anybody.

I'm the problem here. It's me.

Me being born started all of this. I mean my mother is to blame here to but if she didn't have me who knows what would've happened? Maybe my family would've been normal. Dayton would be a normal college student. My brother would be a regular kid.

They probably wouldn't have moved to Hawkins.

They would have all be normal.

And I wouldn't have this hatred for my mother.

Beyond that!

Everything is so screwed up.

Will is fighting for life again. There's more monsters just running around. El is no where to be found. I've broken my brother's life into pieces.

"Hey don't beat yourself up."

I don't have to look to know that it's Steve.

But I do.

His eyes look a bit puffy, nose red. He had been crying. Wasn't going to bring that up though. We've already been through enough to know not to poke around. Yet here he was trying to help me?

I run my hands over my face. "Everything is just really fucked up."

"That's an understatement." His snark catches me off guard, I almost have to laugh. "But we got through it last year."

I turn around and look at the scene in front of me. Mike, Max, Dustin, Mickey and Lucas at the table. Will on the couch unconscious. His brother and Nancy standing over him. I think Ms.Byers and Hopper are someplace else.

"Did we though? It doesn't feel like it." I wrap my arms around my body. "You don't have to play the check up game anymore Harrington."

"I'm not Jessie."

When I look at him he's already looking at me. I don't keep eye contact with him for a long time, I'm start to think about the things I was saying about him in my mind. Before he saved me and the kids tonight I really thought he was an asshole.

An asshole with layers maybe.

But nonetheless an asshole.

And now I don't know what to think.

I swallow the lump in my throat that I didn't know was there. "Okay Steve."

-

"None of this is real it's a kid's game." Hopper groans.

"Last year it helped us." I comment and Dustin thanks me.

I've never seen him like this. The first time I met him he wasn't happy go lucky but at least he could fake it. I guess now that the shit has hit the fan there is no more game of charades.

But also why wasn't he saying anything about El? The time for hiding her is over. We need all the help we can get and she's the only one I know that can take down a super monster like the Mind Flayer.

Hopper skips through the part of Dustin's analogy and starts talking about how to defeat the thing. Of course it is a kids game after all and the solution doesn't help us much.

Until Mike comes up with an idea of his own. Make Will unable to recognize his surroundings so that they can ask what the weakness of the Mind Flayer is. It's a brilliant plan. Something out of a science fiction movie really.

And then we're headed to work.

Everyone is in groups of sorts woking on something to help. Me and Mickey are gathering all the paper we can find and passing it around for everyone. He hasn't said a word to me since I partially explained what was going on with me.

He wasn't ignoring me, but he also wasn't all up in my face.

Absent minded-ly I start humming a song. It's stupid. I do it sometimes when I'm trying not to focus too much on something. Or when I'm doing my hair.

I don't notice Steve walk into the room where we are.

"Are you singing Donna Summer right now?" He asks.

I stop. "You were able to identify it quickly."

"Ju- keep going."

Just as I start up again I can hear someone else humming along with me. I know it's not Mickey or Steve. One because Mickey isn't too much into Donna and Steve just walked out the door. I lift my head up to look at the living room.

It was Max.

-

We all looked at the notepad to see what Will spelled out.

"Close Gate."

The phone rings.

We all run over but Dustin is the one to pick up the receiver and hang it up. My hearts still beating out of my chest though and it throws me for a loop when the phone rings again. Nancy doesn't waste any time as she throws the whole box down and it clatters to the floor.

"Do you think he heard that?" Max's voice asks all of us.

"It's just a phone. It could be anywhere. Right?" Steve answers but I don't think he's right.

I shake my head "Everyone knows the sound of their home phone."

Everything starts up again so fast. The kids all run to the window to see if any of the demo-dogs are coming our way. I take out my taser from my pocket and try to turn it on but it's out of juice. I put it down on the table and run over to the kids.

Just as I'm about to tell them to get away from the window, Hopper beats me to it.

They all back away and suddenly everyone is inside.

Hopper turns to Jonathan. "Do you know how to use this?"

"What?"

Jonathan definitely does not know how to use it.

"I got it." I reply quickly.

He tosses it to me and I turn the safety off, cock it too. I keep my eye on the door, making it my target with the shotgun. It wasn't my first time holding one of these. Dayton really did raise me.

There's screeching outside. And as quickly as it starts it ends because one of those demo-dogs is flying through the window. I move back making sure Mickey is behind me at all times.

Hopper nudges the thing to make sure it's dead.

Theres a sound from the door. I turn to it with my gun still raised. I see the lock literally un-lock itself. A couple of seconds later the chain is sliding itself too.

Miracles can happen right? If I were to wish it were El, the universe would grant me that wish right? Right?

"Wait." I alert them but I'm already putting my gun down.

The door creaks open slowly and I can see her. She's got a different look now. Still the same girl that saved us all that night. The blood running down her nose shows it.

[idumpyourgrass]

Always Waiting- Chapter 9.5

Always Waiting- Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

(I do not own gif!)

Always Waiting Masterlist

Summary: Y/n and Dustin talk about what happened between her and Steve. The end of the year comes and Y/n and Steve ~kind of~ get on better terms after Dustin talks some sense into them. Y/n and Robin get a job at Scoops Ahoy for the summer.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

A/n: This chapter is really just like a filler one just to catch you guys up on everything. I’m so excited for the upcoming chapters! I hope you all like this chapter. The next chapter will be out shortly! As always lmk if you want to be added to the taglist!

Warnings: Language, hints of depression? typos

Word Count: 2.5k

“What the hell happened to you and Steve?” Dustin comes bursting into your room, giving you no time to pull yourself together. You turn your head that was stuffed into your pillow to look at Dustin. His eyes go wide when he sees your puffy red eyes. You wipe your nose with the back of your hand and sit up. “How was the dance?” Your voice cracks.

Dustin comes and sits down next to you. “It was great until we got in the car with Steve. You should have seen him. His eyes were all bloodshot and he is just really bad at forcing a smile, I could see right through him!” Dustin wildly gestures with his hands. You plop your head black down on your pillow, groaning.

“Dustin, I did something really stupid, and- and I know I shouldn’t have but I just can’t keep going around in circles with him! I can’t just be his second choice!” Tears once again, start to pool in your eyes, threaten to fall.

Dustin furrows his eyebrows, “Second choice? What are you talking about?” You start picking at your nail polish, hesitating to tell him what this was all about. You know Dustin and Steve have formed a special bond and you didn't want to ruin that by dragging Dustin into your and Steve's problems, but then again, maybe Dustin could help.

“I…I like Steve, a whole lot-“

“Yeah, I know, I read your diary,” You snap your head towards Dustin, “You read my- you know what? That’s not important right now. You know Steve and I used to be best friends and then he became the stupid “King” or whatever and just tossed me aside,” You adverted eye contact with Dustin, looking at the ground.

 “And then he and Nancy broke up and all of the sudden, he wanted to be friends again and take me on dates, but the second Nancy came running back to him, he dropped me, leaving me in the dust, back to pretending like I’m not even a person, and then he started acting all buddy, buddy again with me, and here I was thinking maybe he changed and maybe he actually did want to be my friend, but then as it turns out he and Nancy broke up again,” you start pacing around your room, getting less sad and getting more angry.

"He just needs me to boost his confidence. He doesn't actually want to be friends with me, he just needs me there to make him feel better about himself! And you know what I told him? I told him we should stay out of each other's lives! Why would I say that?! To the boy I am in love w-“ Whoops. You clap a hand over your mouth.

“You’re in love with Steve?!” Dustin looks at you wide-eyed, his jaw nearly dropping to the floor.

“Huh? No,” Dustin crosses his arms raising an eyebrow at you, “No, I did not say that! You misheard me.”

“I have great hearing, I heard what you said,” Dustin says.

“FUCK!” You pick up a pillow and throw it against the wall.

What the hell is wrong with you? You're in love with this boy and you just told him that you should stay out of each other's lives? Damn it Y/n. You reach over to your nightstand, grabbing the phone.

“Are you going to call Steve?!” Dustin runs over and plops down next to you. You start dialing the number.

“What? No don’t be stupid, I’m calling Robin, get out.” You shove him towards the door. He sighs, closing your door shut.

The phone rings and rings, no answer. “Hi Robin, it’s Y/n. Listen I need you to call me back as soon as you can. This is urgent. I did something I shouldn’t have and now I don’t know how to fix it, in fact, I don’t even think I can fix it! So please call me back!” You slam the phone down, huffing and laying back down on your bed.

As soon as you lay your head on the pillow, your phone rings. You shoot up and grab the phone.

“Robin!”

“Y/n what the hell happened?” Robin asks. You explain the whole situation to her, scared of what she might say.

"Well, I'm not an expert on this or anything but I think maybe if you just wait a couple of days, let the whole situation cool down, then you can try to call him or go to his house or something and try to talk to him. But, yikes Y/n, you really dug your own grave here," you slap your palm on your forehead, groaning.

~Three days after the snowball~

After school on Tuesday, you walk through the parking lot trying to find your car. You see Steve sitting in his car. You make eye contact, he quickly looks away, pretending he didn't see you. Ok, it's now or never, you think as you make your way to his car. When he sees you coming towards him he rolls his eyes and locks the car doors.

You pull on the door handle. “Let me in Harrington, I just want to talk,” he rolls down his window a crack so he can say something to you.

“What more could you want to say to me Y/n?”

“I just, I don’t know what I was thinking and-“

“Save it, Henderson, you said we should stay out of each other’s lives right?” Steve rolls up his window and pulls out of the parking lot. You try to blink away the tears but that doesn’t stop them from falling.

*    *     *

Months had passed. You and Steve avoided each other like the black plague as the second half of the school year came around. At first, you guys would pass each other in the hallways but then both of you started taking different routes so you didn't have to pass each other. Having no classes together, Steve had just disappeared from your life completely.

It was rare that you came out of your room besides going to school. When you would get home from school, you would just go to your room and lay still in your bed, not having any motivation or energy to do anything else. You would come out of your room to eat with Dustin and your mom but that was mainly the only time they would see you.

Sometimes Dustin would bring the party over and they would all come into your room and you all would chat for a while. They would try to get you to come out and play games with them, but you would always politely decline.

Robin would come over after school a couple of times a week just to make sure you were doing ok. You opted out of doing any theatre-related things, giving you more time to mope around. Robin would keep you updated on all the latest gossip and tell you how much everyone in the drama department misses you.

You, Eleven, and Max would all have a sleepover once a month, which you very much appreciated. It was the one night out of the whole month Steve would completely leave your mind as you giggled with the girls, doing facemasks, painting each others’ nails, and watching movies.

Dustin and Steve still hung out, having movie nights every Friday, though it was always at Steve's house. Dustin told you he could stop hanging out with Steve if it bothered you. Of course, you told him you didn't want that. You occasionally asked Dustin how Steve was doing, most of the time he said Steve was doing just about as well as you were doing.

Dustin would oftentimes scold Steve anytime they hung out. Dustin told Steve all about how you would just stay in your room, never coming out. Steve couldn't help but feel awful, but this whole staying out of each other’s lives was your idea, he was just following through with it. Although you guys never saw each other and were now strangers, he never stopped thinking about you. Your name was always on his mind. He just wishes that day in the parking lot, he would have talked to you and not drove away like an asshole. 

~May 3rd, 1985~

Tonight was Friday, meaning Dustin would be at Steve’s watching a movie and your mom would be off somewhere with her friends. When no one was home, you ventured out a little. Tonight, you decided you would watch Footloose. You go into the kitchen, pop some popcorn, get yourself a Pepsi, and make your way back into the living room. You sprawl yourself across the couch and start playing the movie. You pick up your glass of Pepsi about to take a sip of it when you hear the door start to unlock. The door opens and Dustin walks in, he looks up and jumps, startled to see you. “You’re out of your room.” Dustin has a shocked look on his face, but you can’t see it because you are too busy looking at who’s standing behind him. Your heart starts beating faster as you scan the face of none other than Steve Harrington. He looks just about as surprised to see you as you are to see him. You feel your stomach in your throat when you two make eye contact. The glass of Pepsi falls out of your hand and onto the couch.

Dustin quickly rushes into the kitchen to get towels while you just sit there, stunned. Dustin comes running back, patting the towels on the couch. "I'm going back to my room," You shoot up off the couch.

“Dustin, why don’t we just go back to my house?” Steve makes his way towards the door.

“No! Y/n you aren’t going to go back in your room just to cry into your pillow and Steve, we are not going back to your house just because you two can’t even be in the same room as each other! We are all going to sit down together and have a movie night.” Dustin paces around the room throwing his arms wildly about. “You two don’t have to sit next to each other but goddamn it I’m sick of this! I get it if you two don’t want to be friends anymore, ok? I get it, but you don’t have to avoid each other like this.” Dustin looks from you to Steve, “So let’s all act like adults here and watch a god damn movie.”

You open your mouth to protest but Dustin holds up to hand to stop you. “Sit.” You groan and throw yourself on the couch. Steve slowly makes his way to the couch and sits on the opposite side of you, Dustin sitting between you two.

You try your hardest to watch the movie, but you can’t focus. There is so much tension in the air, You haven’t seen Steve in over 5 months and now you’re sitting watching a movie with him? About halfway through the movie, you decide you can't take it anymore. You stand up and go to your bedroom, closing the door. 

“I can’t stand to see her like this, Dustin!” Steve tells Dustin.

"Well, believe it or not, she looks a whole lot better than she did a couple of months ago," Dustin reaches for the remote and turns the tv off.

Steve gets up off the couch and makes his way towards your room.

There’s a soft knock at your door. “Go away Dustin I don’t want to talk right now!” You yell, pulling the covers up over your head. “Uh, actually it’s not Dustin. It’s Steve.” Oh fuck. You hesitantly get out of bed and make your way over to the door, debating even opening the door. At the first sight of Steve, you let out a sob, clasping a hand over your mouth.

“Y/n…” Steve pulls you in, close to him as you sob uncontrollably.  You didn’t know how you were going to react when you saw Steve for the first time but this sure wasn’t it. Steve holds you until you start to calm down. “Let’s talk, yeah?” Steve says, leading you to sit down on your bed.

You sit in silence for a while, neither one of you sure how to start the conversation. Steve sighs then begins, "I think, we have both said things we didn't mean and I'm sorry I was such an asshole, but I don't think we can ever go back to just being friends," you start picking at your nail polish as Steve continues. "I do think, however, if we start over, we can stay as acquaintances." Ok Acquaintances, that's better than nothing. You look up at Steve and nod.  He gives you a small smile, pats your leg and then leaves your room. That’s it? That’s all he wanted? To tell you guys can stop avoiding each other and become “acquaintances?”

*    *     *

You finally felt your feelings towards Steve slowly start chipping away. It only took 6 months, but hey! It was progress. In the last couple of weeks of school, you started taking your normal route again and so did Steve. When you passed each other you gave each other a small smile or a little head nod. Sometimes you would throw him some finger guns which afterward you always immediately regretted doing.

You started coming out of your room more. Your mom was always so happy when she asked what you were doing for the night or the weekend and you said you were going to go over to Robin's or out to dinner with the party.

School ended and summer was here! You and Robin decided to get summer jobs together. The Starcourt mall just opened so there were plenty of jobs available. You both decided working at a cute ice cream shop would be fun. You both got hired at Scoops Ahoy and you were super excited until you saw the uniforms. Yikes.

It was the first day of summer and also the first day of your new job. Robin was already at the shop when you got there. “Hey Robin,” you say as you enter through the back. Robin’s eyes go wide and she starts pushing you back out the door.

"Robin, what the hell, let me in!" You push her back, forcing your way in. Oh, that's why she didn't want you to come in. Through the front window, you see Steve Harrington scooping ice cream.

“Jesus Christ,” you throw your bag down on the table.

“I didn’t know he was working here I swear!” Robin tells you. Steve checks out two costumers in line and turns around, to find out who Robin’s talking to. He nearly drops his ice cream scoop when he sees you. You let out a laugh when you see him in his uniform.

“Oh, Y/n, I didn’t know you were working here too,” He reaches up and rips off his sailor hat, his cheeks bright red.

“Well, here I am,” you gesture to yourself.

“Uhhh, if you both want to come up to the front, I can show you how everything works,” Steve says to you and Robin, scratching his neck.

Well, this is going to be one hell of a summer.

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