#wolf!billy hargrove

[raven-cl]

Strawberry themed boyfriends

[harringroveera]

AU where Joyce (& Jim) adopt Billy

[perseephoneee]

⭑ FIC RECS ⭑

↳ masterlist  ↳ ship exchange ↳ taglist ↳ 1k celebration

last updated: 04/15/2024

↳ as a writer, i'm always consuming things about my favs, and i thought it was time to share some of my favorites. every story here has likely been reread by moi a million times. also-- my psyche can be easily viewed by how many stories are under one individuals *cries*

SUPERNATURAL

every headcanon from @via-l0ve

her boys @octoberclidan. (tfw)

dances with team free will @octoberclidan

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ DEAN WINCHESTER

cruel summer (18+) @waynes-multiverse

ladies with experience (18+) @hintsofhoney

dean reads you wrong @zepskies

she's my siren (18+) @fatecantstopme

smoke eater (series) @zepskies

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ SAM WINCHESTER

a taste of summer @impala-dreamer

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ CASTIEL

dreaming (18+) @impala-dreamer

beautiful to me @impala-dreamer

angel alpha (18+) @crashdevlin

i'll watch over you @octoberclidan

if you will have me, i'm yours (18+) @gilverrwrites

neckties @supernaturalfreewill

love, by any other name @zepskies

peculiar @supernaturalfreewill

because of books @supernaturalfreewill

last night on earth (18+) @hollybell51

don't bet on it (18+) @hollybell51

his charge (18+) @impala-dreamer

sharing is caring (III) @zepskies

TEEN WOLF

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ ISAAC LAHEY

sick reader @smellslikemultifandomimagines

aftercare @smellslikemultifandomimagines

hidden with isaac @scoopsahoy

mutual losing (18+) @smellslikemultifandomimagines

facesitting (18+) @smellslikemultifandomimagines

cruel summer @hotdogwillex

come back to me @hotdogwillex

cold feet, warm bodies (18+) @scoopsahoy

i'm gonna kiss you now @sourwulf

drunken confessions @teenwolffan-with-nolife

dream @rogershoe

fratboy!isaac (18+) (all time fav) @mermaidenisaacs

teaches you to kiss (18+) @mermaidenisaacs

prove me wrong (18+) @twjournals

VAMPIRE DIARIES

dating the mikaelsons @wholoveseggs

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ ELIJAH MIKAELSON

hold (18+) @wholoveseggs

extra-extraordinary (18+) @wholoveseggs

blood bath (18+) @wholoveseggs

warmth (18+) @wholoveseggs

the result of naps @fitzs-trained-monkey

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ KLAUS MIKAELSON

she knew better (18+) @klausysworld

distracted @theeoriginals

you bring me home @theeoriginals

sharp (18+) @theeoriginals

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ KOL MIKAELSON

christmas khaos @wholoveseggs

goodnight kisses @kmikaelsonimagines

frustrations (18+) @madhatterbri

thigh socks (18+) @geminioriginalsimagines

proposal @kmikaelsonimagines

Christmas in dixie @fitzs-trained-monkey

bruised and battered @fitzs-trained-monkey

shots @so-long-soldier-writes

little favors @fitzs-trained-monkey

of ice skates and sugar cookies @fitzs-trained-monkey

ten minute blood stain removal @fitzs-trained-monkey

like a box of chocolates @fitzs-trained-monkey

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ KAI PARKER

for my valentine (18+) @babeydollx

lace (18+) @geminioriginalsimagines

game on (18+) @socio-kai-path1972

kisses @socio-kai-path1972

why? @socio-kai-path1972

affinity romance (18+) @socio-kai-path1972

is it hot in here? (18+) @oneirataxiahiraeth

party crasher (18+) @oneirataxiahiraeth

sex tea (18+) @oneirataxiahiraeth

say it again (18+) @oneirataxiahiraeth

the red means (18+) @oneirataxiahiraeth

the price of hatred (18+) @oneirataxiahiraeth

spoiled (18+) @oneirataxiahiraeth

birthday girl (18+) @oneirataxiahiraeth

STAR TREK

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ JIM KIRK/BONES

a well documented debacle @mybullshitsensesaretingling

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ PAVEL CHEKOV

sweatpants @youre-on-a-starship

MARVEL

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ LOKI

reformed villain squad @give-me-a-moose

overtime (18+) @cleo-fox

loki's happy ending @gingerwritess

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ BUCKY BARNES

graveyard @wkemeup

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ STEVEN GRANT/MARC SPECTOR

red flags (18+) @astroboots

HUNGER GAMES

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ FINNICK O'DAIR

oral headcanon (18+) @lucilleslore

darling and the virgin (18+) @wife-of-all-dilfs

TED LASSO

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ JAMIE TARTT

chilly cheeks @veryberryjelly

about you @buckychristwrites

saved you a seat @benedictscanvas

operation: tartt's heart @theowritesstuff

DOCTOR WHO

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ TENTH DOCTOR

family christmas @writerlyhabits

gestures and evasion @doctenwho

before you go @doctorslove

falling in love again @doctorslove

CRIMINAL MINDS

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ SPENCER REID

virgin!spence (18+) @fortheloveofwonderland

i'd bottle the feelings you gave me @spencersfunkysocks

all the women he's loved before @fortheloveofwonderland

a helping hand (18+) @sinfulspencer

second date @samuel-de-champagne-problems

preciously pure (18+) @foxy-eva

STRANGER THINGS

꒰ ࿁ ˙ ˖ ໑ BILLY HARGROVE

two ships passing in the night @hairringtonsteve

[localnerdforsteveharrington]

Kinktober 2022 Masterlist.

Day 1: Praise Kink with Regulus Black

Day 2: Thigh Riding with Steve Harrington

Day 4: Spanking with Kit Walker

Day 7: Breeding with Billy Hargrove

Day 8: Choking with Spencer Reid

Day 9: Face Riding with Sirius Black

Day 11: Degradation with Peter Ballard

Day 12: Eating Out with Kit Walker

Day 16: Size Kink with Remus Lupin

A/n: these are my kinktober blurbs from 2022 but I thought I’d make a little Masterlist to help everyone find them. Some have gone missing unfortunately so there are days skipped in here.

[fizzigigsimmer]

That spring, Steve’s mom finally gets tired of getting cheated on and files for divorce. His dad is a dick about it and hires a bunch of lawyers to ensure that she basically leaves with nothing. Worse, he fights her for custody of Steve and taunts her with the fact she’ll never see him again - because why would any teenager want to give up everything, just to rough it out with their train-wreck of a mother? But jokes on him cause the judge basically leaves it up to Steve, and Steve would rather stomp on his own balls than get stuck with that asshole. Even if it means having to leave the big house and his car and starting over in a new place where nobody knows him.

Steve never met his mother’s side of the family in California. All he really knows is that the family disapproved of her marriage. There’s a story about his aunt coming to visit once on his birthday when he was like five, but she got in a fight with mom and she’s never been back. So Steve doesn’t even think about them when he tries to imagine what he and his mom are going to do on their own. He imagines her selling her car and the other gifts dad put in her name over the years to rent a decent apartment somewhere, maybe in Indianapolis or Chicago.

He’s really shocked one night when she announces that she’s been in touch with her family, and she she asks him about how he feels about moving to California to some sleepy little town called Moonwood. She tries to enthuse him about it by going on about how beautiful it is there, right at the edge of the national forest, but Steve’s more concerned with the fact that they’ll be living with people who hate them - and in the sticks too! Its two hours to the nearest mall! How’s he gonna find a job in this place? And what about school?

But Steve looks around at the hotel they’ve been staying in and the paper thin smile she fixes on her face to try and hide her broken heart from him and how fucked everything is, and he just wants her to be okay.

They move to California, and the one bright side is the relatives turn out to be not all that hateful. There’s awkward tension and a shit load of history there for sure, but from the minute they pull up to his grandparents house the door is thrown open and they’re welcomed with open arms. His grandpa seems a little stiff at first, but Steve gets the impression its because he doesn’t know what to do with himself as Steve’s mom and his grandma hug each other and cry. The weirdest part is when they start speaking in a language Steve’s never heard his mother use before.

Later his aunt tells him it’s lythan, but she just laughs when Steve asks if that means they’re from Lithuania. Apparently lythan is a very old language that started in romania and is only spoken today in two places. Here, and some village in romania that an ancestor immigrated from.

None of this is making sense to him but he’s just happy his mother seems happier and that he has help taking care of her, since she’s still pretty broken up about the divorce. She’s always been a passionate woman his mom. The kind of person who believes in soulmates and love at first sight. She’s always told him that when he meets the one for him he’ll know it in an instant and that he should hang on to that person with his whole heart. Which sounded great and all when he was a kid, but honestly just makes him sad now when he looks at how things turned out with her and his dad.

The first week after they get there, Steve cant sleep and catches his mother, his grandmother and his aunt talking in the kitchen late one night. He overhears her say that she knew it was a risk being with his dad, but that she’d have regretted it more if she didn’t follow her heart. Even if she wasn’t the one for Steve’s dad the way he was for her, she’d always be grateful because she has Steve. But she doesn’t want him to grow up feeling like he has to change who he is and like he always has to be the one giving to someone else just to be loved.

For the first time since the divorce Steve is almost mad at her - wants to shout it’s too late mom! - but the feeling passes as quickly as it comes. He’s just sad, for them both. But he hopes things will be okay here and that this can be a new start. It could be worse right? At least he gets a room to himself. Yeah it’s kinda weird that his aunt still lives at home and nobody seems to have a problem with that, or is talking about what his moms plans are like they expect that she’ll just be there forever now. But he figures they’re all just focused on making up for lost time right now.

And his grandma says that people in Moonwood stay close to home anway, and that most of them spend their whole lives there without leaving. It shocks him to learn that she’s never been further outside of town than to the edge of the national forest.

His second worry, about finding a job, gets resolved by his his grandfather - who runs a soda shop on the beach. There’s not much traffic durring the off season, but in summertime the redwoods draw a fair number of tourists. Steve’s kept very busy scooping up ice cream and making root beer floats while he flirts with the gap year girls who come through in groups, to backpack through the forest. He’s just turned eighteen and he’s never had much of a problem picking up girls so he has a few flings. He gets invited to parties on the beach and ends up doing a lot of hiking that summer in his downtime. But then fall rolls around and with fewer and fewer groups of tourists passing through Steve finds himself at loose ends.

School starts up again and he realizes that maybe it was a mistake not to put more of an effort into meeting local kids and making a few connections beforehand. Schiller High is over in the next district, and Moonwood is so far out the kids have to be bussed in. Steve’s a little nervous about starting a new school in his senior year but he tells himself it’s just one year. One year and then he has no idea what to do with himself after that, but at least he won’t be forced to attend school anymore. Still, he begs his mom to let him take their car to school the first day so that he doesn’t have to be the oldest kid on the bus. He’s pretty sure that’s a social constant even out here in the middle of nowhere.

Schiller seems pretty normal at first. It’s about the same size as his school back in Hawkins was. The school receptionist calls in some guy named Tim to show him around his first day and make sure he gets to all his classes. Tim’s alright, but Steve can see the neon nerd sign blinking above his head and plays it cool. He’s not an asshole or anything, he just doesn’t want to close any doors before getting the lay of the land. Steve just wants an easy year and he’s not gonna get that if he’s hanging out with a bully magnet - sorry Tim. Plus, Steve’s not exactly thrilled about the way Tim talks about ‘moonies’ - which is apparently what other people call people from Moonwood, instead of hicks or whatever. Steve doesn’t bother telling Tim that he’s technically a moonie now too.

His aspirations to plant himself firmly in the middle of the student social hierarchy and go unnoticed for the next ten months involve finding a group - or a pack as his grandfather weirdly put it when he assured Steve he’d find his in no time and start to feel more at home once school started. He asks Tim about the school’s athletic teams because being on a team with a bunch of other guys will basically do the work for him. There’s a swim team that Steve is definitely going to try out for. He’s not sure about basketball. He only got started back in Hawkins because his dad thought it was manlier than ‘playing’ in the pool. But he likes it okay, and Tim says the Schiller team has actually won a few regional titles.

Even though it’s his last year Steve figures it can’t hurt his college applications to be on a winning team for once. He probably won’t to start or anything but he thinks he has a good shot of seeing some playing time.

“I would stick with swimming if I were you. There’s no way you’re getting on the team.” Tim laughs. “The head coach is a moonie and he only ever picks guys from Moonwood.”

That doesn’t seem very legal, but that’s not Steve’s problem. He figures Tim is probably exaggerating anyway, just salty that the coach is giving a little extra focus to the guys from the less privileged side of the tracks.

Until Steve actually sees Billy and some of the other guys from the team.

It’s just before lunch when Steve and Tim have stopped by Steve’s locker. A blond kid in a red and white letterman jacket appears at the mouth of the hall, flanked by two other guys. It’s like something out of a movie the way the hallway clears for them and the other students gaze at them with awe filled expressions as if they’re watching a parade of olympians pass through.

“That’s Billy Hargrove. He’s captain of the basketball team.” Tim answers the unspoken question in Steve’s glance. “Don’t get on his bad side. He’s pretty much the top dog around here.”

Steve doesn’t need Tim to tell him Billy runs things around here. The guy is built like the terminator. Like someone who has ascended above mere mortals and wouldn’t be out of place among the gods. He’s built like a man, Steve finally settles on with an prickle of embarrassment hot in his chest. Steve’s a guy and he doesn’t go out of his way to look at other guys a lot, but he appreciates the things about them that are enviable.

Only envy is the furthest thing from Steve’s mind when he first sees Billy. It’s like time slows for Steve. His mouth gets dry, and he thinks to himself that Billy Hargrove is beautiful, and he wonders what that’s like. Steve knows he’s good looking. This isn’t some self depreciation bullshit, it’s just inexplicably different somehow the way he looks at Billy and thinks he finally understands what real beauty is. The way he instantly wants to get closer to him, reach out and touch. Billy has none of the unfinished awkwardness of a teenager. He’s a poster child for physical perfection that Steve is convinced walked off of a poster taped up on somebody’s wall, and has no business walking down the halls of an American high school. Seriously. How is this guy real?

He spares a quick glance for the other two guys with Billy - Dave & Chet - just long enough to confirm that he’s fucked. If these are the kinds of guys they’ve got on the team, Steve has no chance of seeing anything but a bench all year.

Billy and the other two stop at a locker not far from Steve’s on the other side of the hall, but not before Billy’s gaze does a casual sweep around the hall - very much a king surveying his kingdom. Steve fully expects that gaze to pass right over him just as unimpressed as it does everyone else, but to his surprise Billy’s gaze locks with his and sticks.

A little tingle dances up Steve’s spine and he sucks in a breath. He can’t tell what color Billy’s eyes are from this distance - at first he thinks they are something light, like a blue or grey, but then the corner of Billy’s mouth tilts up in a smirk and the light hits them a certain way and they look almost gold as he runs his tongue over some very white fangy teeth. Jesus the guy has some chompers on him.

Steve’s not afraid of a fight but it’s profoundly unsettling to have some dude literally licking his chops at him like he can’t wait to take a bite of the fresh meat. He’s pretty sure he just landed himself on Billy Hargrove’s shit list and he has no idea why. Fuck his life.

But he figures there’s nothing he can do about it but ignore it and hope that Billy decides he’s not worth the trouble. Steve turns to shut his locker, sending the message with his back that he doesn’t care about the dude giving him the crazy eyes and that Billy doesn’t intimidate him. His sweaty palms tell a different story, but that’s for Steve and only Steve to know.

As he leaves, he can feel Billy’s eyes burning into his back like lasers.

So much for going unnoticed for the year.

Now with Part 2

[cicadasketch]

Seen @thediktatortot ‘s post about werecat Billy and the possibilities were just too good I HAD to

Anyways,

Max thinks hunting small animals is cruel (and gross)— Billy thinks she’s an idiot (he definitely left it at Steve’s doorstep)

Whatever steve did, he definitely regrets it

[kennahjune]

Been having this idea so bare with me while I attempt to explain:

(Note: this isn’t exactly my “usual” content)

No Upside Down AU where like 37% of the human population are some kind of “mythologic” as they call them.

Hawkins is kind of infested with them, despite being— well— Hawkins.

The majority of the Party are mythologics.

Now, Billy and Max move to Hawkins from Cali as per usual in 1984. And they’ve heard of Hawkins. Of how it’s mostly mythologics despite the small human population not being very accepting of them.

So they move to Hawkins and all is well until they start hearing rumors.

Rumors about a werewolf pack that isn’t a werewolf pack. Apparently there’s a werewolf in Hawkins collecting misfits and others and simply— accepting them into his pack.

Billy doesn’t buy it for shit. Werewolves tend to be hella territorial and unwelcoming.

Or that’s what he’s been told by his dad. He’s never actually met a werewolf, being a vampire. Vamps and Wolves don’t really get along.

And so Billy and Max start school and it’s fine. Billy likes fucking with this one guy, Steve. It’s really easy to rile him up and funny to watch him try and rein himself in.

Max is in the middle school, always talking about this one vampire kid and how he’s an asshole but his friends are sweet enough. Billy doesn’t listen too much.

Until he collides into Steve in the high school parking lot. Steve’s in a rush, barely getting an apology out before running (inhumanly fast— Billy notes) down the road where the middle school is.

Billy, thinking “well what the fuck”, follows after him. They arrive at the middle school and there’s a fight going on in the parking lot.

He says “fight” but it’s really a bunch of kids ganging up on one scrawny pale kid and holding back his friends. Steve is rushing in immediately, yelling at the assholes to leave them alone and to scram.

That’s when Billy realizes one of the kids being held back was Max, with a minor busted lip.

He’s immediately at her side, trying to seem angry but not being able to hide the actual concern in his tone.

Billy turns to leave but watches Max run up to the other kids to check on them. That’s when Steve turns to Billy and seems to recognize his presence.

Steve’s pulling the 4 boys behind him immediately, his eyes flashing a bright yellow and he growls and—

Oh.

Steve’s that odd werewolf collecting strays.

.

And idk Billy and Steve go through this whole thing where Billy refuses to be accepted into the pack even tho he basically already is cause no one else in the pack really has a problem with him.

But Max is in the pack (the Party, they call themselves), so Billy sees them all constantly against his will.

And there’s the bit where vampire Eddie also joins the pack eventually, after the kids kind of adopt him in Hellfire and Steve is weak for those kids.

And obviously Billy ends up joining the pack at some point but I haven’t thought that far ahead lmao.

Idk if I want it to be platonic harringrove or romantic harringrove but I’m lowkey leaning towards harringroveson to be honest.

But if you have opinions I’d love to know them!!

I kinda wanna write more for Billy, idk lol I’ve just been in a middle lately

[ghostlynimbus]

Probably going to change my mind about these again in the future

But as of rn a few shifts I have decided so far for my shifter au:

Steve Harrington - Anatolian Shepherd

I debated a few options for Steve (lion, deer, etc) and definitely went back and forth more than a few times on this decision. But I think this feels right for the story I want to tell.

Anatolian Shepherds are livestock guardian dogs, they may not be as individually formidable as some large wild predators, but they protect their flock and they are far from weak.

Billy Hargrove - Jaguar

Max Mayfield - Bobcat

I'm definitely not sure about this. I also like the idea of a fox for her.

Eddie Munson - Manned Wolf

Did you know Manned Wolf pee smells like weed? Zoos have been raided by police bc of this.

Chrissy Cunningham - Deer

Dustin - African Painted Dog

Jim Hopper - Grizzly Bear

Benny Hammond - Bison

Bob Newby - Pig

Tommy Hagan - Timber Wolf

[black-wolf066]

😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆🍆

Omg!! Thank you!! It was so good!!

Seriously! You need to write Billy more because you got his character spot on!!

You're so welcome!!! I hope it helped!!

🥹 Thank you!!! ❤️❤️ That genuinely means a lot because I still feel like I'm learning his voice as I go, and I want to do him justice.

[thatgirlwithasquid]

more wolfblood au art :D

im having a blast with these drawings

[raven-cl]

Wips of these baby boys

[harringroveera]

Don’t ask if you know what those teenagers are up to Jim

[astriddestelle]

I think it’s so funny how deluded we are as fans as a whole.

Like it’s kind of crazy cause I’ll randomly have the urge to rewatch or reread something and get annoyed or be shocked the character isn’t acting the way I’ve gotten used to reading in fanfic or seeing in fanart and being like rightttt that’s a fanon interpretation forgot he’s an asshole in canon. Whoops.

Looking at you Draco Malfoy, cough and Billy Hargrove. And Derek Hale, can’t forget my siblings Azula and Zuko. Or the girlies Heather and Courtney.

Insane, like what do you mean canon Chloe is an evil little brat with no excuses. She’s not a boss bitch in with mommy issues??

Oh Bakugo Katsuki is just a jerk cause he’s a jerk, and took out his issues on other people. No sad backstory besides his own insecurities.

Bruce Wayne/Batman is not the loving dad we all like to headcanon him as in the comics, I am shocked. (Seriously though he’s kind of a jerk)

How big of an asshole varies from character to character but like yeah.

Insane. We all saw canon and was like mmm yeah anyways. 🤣 imma do me.

My favorite characters are the fanon versions I like to pretend canon doesn’t exist

[intoxicatingintimacyy]

hi there follow creatives!! I’ve been going back and rereading some of my old plots and pairings and characters and have honestly just fallen in love with those muses allll over again (i know, im in trouble! lol). anyways, now, obviously, i’m on the hunt!

in tulsa and im 26, located in the PST region aka the west coast lol. i’ve been writing for over ten years and my main source of income is from entertainment news writing. i write via discord and in third person literate - adv. lit, but I honestly just try to match my partners in length haha. i also adore tupper, so if you use that i’ll love you forever, but if not it’s no dealbreaker either :)

okay, now that i’ve rambled, here’s what im looking for: someone 18+ to play against my newly revamped characters. some are ocs and some are canons (maybe slight canon-divergent), but most are fandom based. To preface: any characters who are typically underaged WILL be aged up to at least 18. To make it easier, i’ll just list the fandom and who im looking for my partner to play! The characters that are bolded are who im really interested in writing against rn!

- Marvel: Loki Laufeyson

- Teen Wolf: Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski, Isaac Lahey, Male OC

- Ouran High School Host Club: Kyoya Ootori or Hikaru Hitachiin (i also have a mid-sized group idea for this if anyone is interested 👀)

- Harry Potter: Draco Malfoy or Cedric Diggory

- American Horror Story: Tate Langdon

- Stranger Things: Billy Hargrove

- Criminal Minds: Spencer Reid

We can discuss details in dms such as who id be playing as well as triggers and such. So, please like this or add me on discord: toxicdeliquency

[fizzigigsimmer]

Moonwood Part 4

|Part 1|

Just in case Steve somehow missed the fact that Schiller takes its basketball team very seriously, there’s a big plaque above the gymnasium door the proudly proclaims he’s in the home of the Schiller High Timberwolves, state champions!

The memo about the coach only drafting moonie guys doesn’t seem to have gotten around because Friday afternoon tryouts come and it looks like every guy in school who can tie his own shoes has had the same idea as Steve and has come out to try and earn their spot on the bench - even some guys who look like they can’t tie their shoes. He does see a good handful of moonwood guys though - including two of the guys who tried to jump him. 

The number of guys he’s got to compete against doesn’t make Steve too nervous, but the amount of people who seem to have shown up just to watch makes him a little jittery as he leaves the locker room and heads into the gym. He saw at least a dozen kids sitting up in the bleachers on his way in and there’s bound to be more by now. The bleachers were never empty at a game back in Hawkins, but everyone knew that had more to do with the limited number of thrills to find in their small town on a friday night than school spirit. It’s different when he knows people are watching because they expect the team to be good. Better than good - state champions!

Steve warms up and joins a couple of the guys who are shooting hoops at one end of the court, showing off while they covertly scope out the competition. It helps actually. Once he’s got a ball in his hands and has made a couple of shots it’s easier to relax and have fun. He makes most of the shots he takes, unlike some. This kid Hank is clearly the best though. Guy is easily six feet tall and sinks shots from half court like it’s easy, but Steve’s far from the worst. He can totally do this.

It’s fifteen after when a shrill whistle finally interrupts the sound of balls thudding against the hardwood. Steve tosses Hank the ball and turns towards the sound, and his heart skips a beat when Billy strides onto the court, flanked by Dave and Chet. Billy stops at about half court and blows the whistle between his lips again as if he doesn’t already command the attention of everyone in the gym, and Chet sets a box full of red and blue numbered jerseys on the ground at his feet.

“Alright listen up closely guys cause I won’t repeat myself. If you don’t already know I’m Chet, co-captain, and this here is Billy,” Chet gestures to Billy with a sardonic twist to his lips. Cause everybody there knows who Billy Hargrove is. “He’s team captain. There are only a few spots open on the team and a lot of you so come over and take a jersey.”

There’s an immediate scramble for the box. Steve doesn’t get what the rush is, but there’s something about the energy in the room that has him pushing forward without thinking and elbowing his way into the crush to make sure he can snag a jersey. It turns out to be a good thing, because the box empties and there are six guys left empty handed looking like they might cry.

 “Red team you’re home court, blue team you’re the visitors side. Hopefully we don’t have to tell you which team you’re on.” Chet instructs, and there’s some nervous laughter. Steve pulls his jersey over his head - he’s B3.  He’s excited to see that Hank is also on the blue team. They’re giving each other high five’s and clapping each other on the back as one of the guys who got left out, clears their throat and asks what the rest of them should do.

Steve’s mouth falls open in shock when Billy scoffs and sneers, “I don’t know, jerk off? I don’t care what you do. Scram.”

Billy being an ass isn’t the shocking bit, it’s the way the extra guys actually start to leave and nobody stops them.

“Wait a minute. They don’t even get to try out?!” pops out of Steve’s mouth before he can stop himself, and it’s like darts to the chest when blue eyes snap to him and Billy stares at him like he’s trying to peel back his skin.

“They either didn’t want it bad enough or weren’t strong enough to fight for it. So no they don’t get to try out. But you’re welcome to give up your shot if you want to.”

Steve can feel six pairs of hopeful eyes shift towards him. He grits his teeth and guilty does not meet any of their gazes. His gaze snaps back to Billy when the other teen speaks again, full of smug delight. Steve wants to be there, too much to give it up to someone else and Billy seems to relish that. His gaze is too intense and too probing.

“Any more questions Princess, or can we get on with the next test?”

Yeah Steve’s got questions. And he’s gonna ask them too cause fuck Billy Hargrove.

“What do you mean test? And where’s the coach? I’m not here to get my chain yanked Hargrove.”

Hank gives Steve a look, obviously shocked that he has the nerve to go up against Billy but kind of low key impressed too. Steve doesn’t get it. Yeah Billy’s built and he’s top of the food chain, but Hank’s not small. Six foot, wide shouldered, and muscled, Steve doesn’t even need to ask if he’s from moonwood. He just has that look. Steve’s starting to get used to it and the more he does the weirder it is to him that everyone acts like they’re scared to cross Hargrove. 

Sweaty palms and weird heart palpitations aside, Steve is not afraid of Billy Hargrove. But the dark glower Billy fixes on him at being challenged warns him that maybe he should be.

“Aww, don’t say that. You’re gonna break Billy’s heart Harrington.” Dave teases, and a couple of the other guys snicker. Those watching in the bleachers follow their cue and the gymnasium buzzes with amused sounds.

“Shut up Dave.” Billy grumbles without venom. He saves all of it for Steve as he snaps out, “Lap-ups, now! All of you pipsqueaks. Anyone who stops before I blow the whistle can hand over their jersey and take their sorry ass off my court.”

There’s some groaning but the guys immediately start shuffling towards the boundary lines to start their laps around the court. Steve hesitates for a fraction of a moment, caught in Billy’s gaze. Billy stares back at him unblinking, daring, and Steve thinks for a fraction of a second that his eyes don’t look human anymore. It’s like staring into the gaze of a predator. It sends a shiver down his spine.

He’s snapped out of the moment by Hank’s hand landing on his shoulder, the taller boy leaning close as he urges Steve to come on, explaining, “the team captains always run the first half of try-outs. It’s tradition.”

Steve frowns. It seems odd to him, especially for a winning team, for the coach to be absent for half of the try-out but what does he know? The Hawkins Tigers never won a regional title, let alone a state championship. 

The red and blue teams run laps around the court. Dave passes each of them a ball to dribble under the visitors basket and Chet catches their rebounds at the home basket. He passes them to Billy, who passes them back to Dave in between his shouts for them to pick up the pace or stop dribbling like grandmothers. 

Steve and Hank fall into stride next to each other, until one or the other has to pull ahead to catch a ball or take a shot. But they always fall back into step after, and Hank makes conversation with him. It makes it easier to ignore the burning in his legs, and the eyes he can feel digging into his back, so that Steve can just focus on showing off his control of the ball and making his layups. 

He’s a cool guy Hank. Laid back and confident with none of the usual highschool awkwardness. He kinda reminds Steve of his grandpa, which makes more sense when Hank admits he’s lived in Moonwood his entire life and has never been anywhere else.

“Really? Like not even on vacation?”

Hank shrugs his big shoulders and grins.

“What for? Got a beach if I want to swim and a whole national park on my doorstep. Plus it’s hard, you know, for folks like us planning around the cycle.”

Steve has no idea what he’s talking about or what he means by ‘folks like us’, and he doesn’t get the chance to ask because a ball comes flying towards Hank fast and hard. The other boy just barely manages to catch it, but the loud way it THUDs against his chest makes Steve wince in sympathy. Hank stumbles and his head snaps up, and Steve swears an honest to god growl rumbles out of his throat as his eyes lock with Billy.

“Stay alert ladies!” Billy mocks before he brings the whistle to his mouth and blows it sharply for everyone’s attention. “Alright game of knock-out, red against blue. Follow me!”

Billy sets off toward center court without looking to see if anyone will follow - knowing they will.

Hank mutters something under his breath that Steve doesn’t quite catch but it sounds like ‘alpha, dick-head’.

They don’t get much chance to talk after that. Billy announces that only the winning team will make the cut and continue on with the tryout.

“That’s not fair Hargrove, they’ve got Hank!” one of the guys on the red team complains. It’s this big lunkhead named Brian, one of the guys who tried to shove Steve into a locker. His pal Virgil nudges him in the side and shout whispers for everyone to hear.

“Yeah but they also have the pipsqueak. Harrington will be an easy out.” 

“Not as easy as your mother Sanchez. I’d watch how I was running my mouth if I were you.” Billy drawls in reply. Not even a snap or a bark, but still there’s something in it, like a growl, that makes the hair on Steve’s arms raise and his throat feel tight like there’s a hand squeezing the back of his neck. And he can tell it’s not just him by the way Virgil and Brian immediately clam up and avert their eyes. 

The game starts, one player from each team taking a shot from the key line at the same time until one of them makes a basket. It’s up to the next player on their team to try and out hoop the opposing player and knock him out. The last team standing wins.

Steve tries to just have fun with it, but pretty soon it’s a whirlwhind. Steve’s ears are full of the sound of pounding feet and his frantic heartbeat. A strange electric rush fills his blood as the competition heats up, the stands alive with cheers and heckling as the game becomes a chaotic scramble to try and stay one step ahead of the guy in front of him. It’s dizzying. Steve can barely focus and Billy doesn’t help.

If it’s not - “What was that? Come on Harrington! My little sister could have made that shot with her eyes closed.”

Then it’s - “You’re damn lucky Reeves has got his head up his ass today Pretty Boy. You’d be out if you were shooting against anyone else!”

Fuck you, man. Steve thinks more than once. Nearly says a couple of times. Has to bite his tongue to keep the words in when they are three blue and two red and his first shot falls off the rim and he’s a hair too slow on the rebound.

“You’re out!” Billy snaps before the red player’s ball has even made it completely through the net. “You deserved that Harrington. You call that a hustle?”

Steve calls this cruel and unusual punishment actually. He has sweated through his shirt, his face is flushed, and his chest is itchy with heat. He’s got the strangest urge to march up to Hargrove and sink his teeth into him.

He can just imagine his mom’s humiliation if she gets called to the school because ‘Stevie bit another boy’ like this is the second grade all over again. And then he remembers that he’s eighteen and technically an adult and he could get sued or worse, and keeps his teeth to himself.

Even without him the blue team wins, largely thanks to Hank. While the rest of his teammates celebrate, Steve can’t help but feel a little glum. The hour is ending, the coach never showed and he knows there’s no way in hell he’s making the cut. Not after the way Billy rode his ass the entire time. He’s kinda bummed about it because despite everything he had fun. It was challenging, but in a good way. Like it made him wake up or something. There’s something about this place that makes Steve feel more alive.

After the red players have filed off the court in defeat, Billy, Dave, and Chet have the blue team line up and congratulate them on their win.

“Really good job guys. We saw some great stuff out there today.” Chet praises and the tension in the room releases. Steve can feel the way the other guys start to relax, chests puffing out with pride and trading tired grins.

“The good news is, all of you are moving on.” Dave leads and Steve jolts. He can’t believe he heard that right. Does this mean he’s on the team?

“The bad news is that means you’re going to have to spend a week smelling each other's farts.” Billy adds dryly and some of the guys chuckle.

Steve frowns in confusion. He doesn’t understand. The try-out isn’t over? And what does he mean they’ll have to spend a week smelling each other’s farts? 

As if he can hear Steve’s brain racing Hank leans down and whispers, “The basketball team goes on a retreat at the beginning of the year. It’s like boot camp. Coach will finalize the roster after the retreat.”

“They let the basketball team take a whole week off school to go camping?” Steve asks a little weirded out. It just seems unusual to him, but this wouldn’t be the first example of special treatment he’s witnessed the basketball team getting.

Hank nods.

“The volleyball and soccer teams too. Though the soccer teams go in spring. Don’t worry. Most of the teachers will give you your assignments in advance so you don’t fall behind.”

Steve supposes that makes sense since it was early in the semester. And he supposes when the athletic teams are actually good, the school sees it as an investment in the students' futures. He’s willing to bet there is a lot of scholarship money to go around for state champions.

“Basketball camp is mandatory for the entire team, not just the rookies.” Chet explains to the group. “Dave is passing around a permission slip. Your parents need to sign it for you to get on the bus.”

“The bus leaves at seven A.M. sharp Sunday morning. If you’re not on it, tough titties.” Billy finishes. 

Sunday morning…right after the bonfire.

|PART 5|

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[cicadasketch]

I had wanted to add one more sketch and then color these before posting but at this point I just don’t think I’m going to sooo

Werewolf(?) Billy anyone?