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meet-me-backstage · 9 months

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𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐎𝐧𝐞 ⎈ 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐲

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 🦇 Eddie Munson x Fem!reader

𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 🦇 You get dragged into the unfathomable events at Starcourt Mall by your hopeless crush on Billy Hargrove and new-found middle-schooler friends. You struggle to cope with the trauma, which gradually costs you your popular cheerleader reputation when you return to high school for senior year. Though this loss first appears to be the end of the world, you learn that there's worse things than levelling down in popularity.

Though even in darkness, there is always a light - for you this is Eddie Munson, who you gain an unlikely friendship in and fall for him in the process.

𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒃𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒑𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒔, 𝒔𝒎𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈!

𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 🦇 smoking, mention of and consumption of drugs, horror themes, violence (in the upside down and probs Steve losing another fight (•̀ᴗ•́)و jk jk he's king), mention of and consumption of alcohol, nightmares, mention of and a near death experience, death, bad language, blood, bullying, mention of vomit and vomiting, some domestic (mainly verbal and emotional) abuse(‼️), mention of suicidal thoughts, mention of suicide, mention of self-harm, allusion to eating disorder and smUUT so you have to be 18+ to read this series❗️

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 🦇 4.1K words

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 🦇 bad language, mention of and consumption of alcohol.

𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 - 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠!

𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲, 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝! <𝟑

⇜ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞

🦇 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟒 🦇

It had been like most days recently, your mom was giving Rebecca a tough time. The last few years of high school hadn't gone to plan for her in the course of your parent's marriage being completely destroyed, which then led to their divorce and your dad to move into a trailer on the ‘shitty’ side of town - it all went downhill in her senior year, your sophomore year.

You didn't need to eavesdrop as you walk past your sister's room to hear that mom was lecturing her about how she needs to work ten times harder this year, just as she'd done every morning since term started.

You could picture it, Rebecca sitting on her bed in her extremely pink room filled with Hawkins High paraphernalia, mom standing over her with daggers in her eyes.

When you ran down the stairs, skipping a few on the way - mom had finished with Rebecca, she must've heard your feet stomping heavily, "No running!" She shouted and you immediately slow yourself and mutter, "Yeah, yeah." It's quiet downstairs, you can imagine dad reading the newspaper at the dining table - you can practically hear him now, ranting about the shortage of pumpkins due to them all rotting at the local pumpkin patch.

Rebecca zooms past you, picking up her lunch in the process before standing by the front door, "We're going to be late, little miss - quick," she cared way more about everything, almost too much and especially today because there is cheerleading practice to go to, you both are already wearing your cheer clothes.

"I'm coming!" You grab your pink lunchbox and skip towards Rebecca.

Not many words were spoken on the drive to school, mainly small talk that Rebecca wasn't entirely cooperating with. You stare out of the window, watching everything fly by until you suddenly thought of a way to at least annoy her into speaking, manipulative, you know.

You always have it with you, a cassette of your favorite album by Black Sabbath... it was one way of keeping Mason with you, in Hawkins.

He introduced you to their music... he'd put this tape in his stereo, you’d bang your heads to it and dance. It was so different to anything else you’d heard before.

He had a wide range of musical knowledge because it was his passion, you admired him for leaving Hawkins early to do what he loved regardless of the consequences... now, mom never mentions his name, it’s basically forbidden, she blames him for the way you turned out because he'd encourage you to be different, to be yourself.

He sends letters every month that mom throws away, but you sneak out of the house through your bedroom window to retrieve the letter from the trash and read them laying on your stomach in bed. He was currently in New York, playing drums for a band called 'Shotguns ‘n’ Studded Leather' with a part-time job at a record store.

Usually thinking of him would make you smile, but you knew that he'd be sad if he saw you abiding to mom's rules and had followed in the footsteps of your sister by joining the cheer team.

Your hands fumble through your pink shoulder bag, trying to find it, you bite your lips together until you find it at the bottom... a smirk pulls at your lips and you look at Rebecca with a cheeky glint in your eyes - she knew you too well because she briefly turns her head, breaking her concentration on the road.

"What are you doing?" She asks, her voice unimpressed. Her eyes travel to your lap, seeing the cassette - she knew what it was because you used to blare it from your bedroom until mom would angrily walk in and turn your boom box off, she confiscated the cassette until you sneakily got it back, "No - no," she blurts but before she can block the cassette slot you’d already slipped it in and started wailing your arms about to the intro, "little miss - not now!"

"What is this that stands before me? Figure in black which points at me. Turn 'round quick and start to run. Find out I'm the chosen one!"

Rebecca lets out a long sigh as you sing to the song, "Can you please turn that creepy shit off!" Her voice is angry and weak as she turns the car left into the parking lot of Hawkins High.

Your mouth forms into an 'o' shape, "First of all, the word you're looking for is masterpiece - not... shit - and two, I can tell you're holding in something, spit it out, Becky," you ramble as she parks the car, she bites her lips together in deep concentration.

With the car now still, Rebecca sighs and falls flush into her seat, she looks ahead of her at the book-wielding students walking into school. A minute passed, you keep staring at her, she was probably hoping that you’d give up waiting for an answer but soon she looks defeated, "Fine. I - got a letter from Alex yesterday inviting me to Connecticut to see him and his uni friends next month."

"So - isn't that good?" You blink.

She groans, "I can't go - I have to practice for a pep rally and I have to study to make sure I get a place at university with Al," you can see her heart breaking more as she utters each word.

"Not even for a few days?" You ask, crossing your fingers, hoping any idea would help.

"I can't - there is no way, as much as I want to and believe me when I say that I was staring at the letter all night trying to think of a way to go," she dramatically points at the dark bags under her sunken, watering eyes.

She reaches into her jacket pocket, retrieving the letter - she holds it out, her grip on the paper tight, "I don't think - that this is going to work and once he realises I can't just visit him for a measly few days out of the year, I'm going to receive another letter - a breakup letter," by the end of her unleashing of thoughts, her voice is breathless and weak... probably also worrying about what mom would think if that did happen.

You were taken aback by her outburst, silent as you drowned in that familiar feeling of guilt, "I'm - I'm sor-."

A loud engine spoke over you, a Chevrolet Camero Z/28, immediately you are distracted by it, looking out of the window as it enters the parking lot... you’d never seen a car of that make before - just another thing Mason had taught you that mom resented. Rebecca looks out of your window, your heads close, watching as a girl with red hair jumped out of the car and skateboarded towards the middle school, ignoring the driver.

You could only see the back of his head, until he turns around - you feel like gasping for air when you first see his face, the curl of hair falling over his forehead.

He didn't notice you and Rebecca gawking from inside the car, but he did notice other girls such as Heather, Vicki, Tina and Carol blatantly staring at him - he walks past and you can’t take your eyes away from his back profile as he makes his way towards the high school... your eyes widen and you turn to Rebecca, she was still looking at him.

You nudge her, "Hey - spare some hot guys for the rest of us, jeez."

The first time your eyes met - you and this boy's, was twenty minutes and twenty-two seconds later. You stood at your locker which was filled with stickers, a photo of you and the rest of the cheerleaders, you and Mason, a photo of Ozzy Osbourne and lastly, a photo of Benjamin Orr, who had been your fantasy ever since you’d seen him on the television, playing live with The Cars on Midnight Special in 1979.

This boy was walking along the corridor with a piece of paper in his hand, clearly looking for his assigned locker. You fiddle with a few books and stop in your tracks to look at him as he searches, you blush at your eyes wandering downwards, but you can’t help it, his ass looks good, especially in that outfit - the double denim. It did something to you.

You are so caught up, figuring out this new... feeling that you could only describe as similar to the first time you saw Benjamin Orr on your television screen. It was like seeing a celebrity in real life, realising that they are actually real people - this boy has that look, that effect. You look at him… he’s looking at - me? He began walking towards you. Am I dreaming? He’s smirking and has an arrogant look about him as he comes closer.

You are shocked, he is stood directly in front of you. You are being extremely obvious about your instant crush on him and are internally hitting yourself for it - Be cool be cool be cool be cool. His blue eyes search yours, his mouth twitches upwards - he leans closer and it makes you blush and look away, other students are gawking, "Hi - sweetheart?"

Your head shoots back round to look at him again, the nickname rolling off of his tongue. I should stop staring at his mouth. He brings his hand up and waves it in front of your face, he chuckles and you giggle like the school girl you are, "Hi - er, yes?" I said be cool, not - whatever this is?!

"So you do talk," you find it difficult to look at his face because he is just too perfect, you start to think stupid things like... what it would be like to just be the necklace clung to his chest? When he realises that you probably won’t respond because you are too busy ogling him he chuckles again, swiping his tongue across his teeth, "Could you, by any chance, point out my locker?"

He knows you are going to say yes, he is already holding up the paper. 212 - is he serious? You think as you peek at the paper, getting closer in proximity to him and quickly noticing the perfume he is wearing, a musky smell - a smell you suddenly want to be in the presence of all the time. Strong, warm, sweet. You even stay in a thinking pose longer than you have to because you already knew where his locker is, "Oh - it's - it's literally right there," You stutter, stumble and then point.

He follows the direction of your pointed finger and pops his tongue against his lips, "Ah - thank you, doll," his eyes look at you for just a second longer than they should have - you feel weak under his stare, especially since he is clearly a senior, slightly older, taller, quite muscly for a seventeen year old.

He begins walking in the direction of his blue locker, leaving you - I wish I'd told him my name, or he'd told me his.

⎈ 🦇 ⎈

Lucky for Rebecca, this boy is in most of her classes - if he did show up. She hasn’t shown any interest in him as she's gotten to know his vibe a little better, all you do is ask about him ever since your first and only encounter.

His name is Billy, Billy Hargrove - his favorite 'lesson' is lunch, he plays basketball and is very keen to show off his skills, wanting to become captain of the team over Steve Harrington, who'd filled in after Alex graduated. They are the facts you’d gathered from Rebecca - the more lessons she had with him, the more she'd tell you that he is a 'real pervy son of a bitch', but you didn’t listen and resort to the option of 'she's just overreacting and I'm sure he's sweet' - it definitely doesn’t stop you from observing him shyly from your locker because you never saw him anywhere else.

That is until you see him during a practice for the pep rally that Rebecca had been talking about nonstop - he is in the sports hall playing basketball with the rest of the team, but a majority of the time it is him and Steve that has the ball, as if it were just a one on one game against each other. It’s like two lions fighting for the place of leader of the pack and Steve is struggling to keep up with Billy.

You find it extremely difficult to dance with Billy in the same room, he is shirtless and looks so good - and the passion, how much he clearly wants to be captain, he loves basketball just as much as you do. You continue to stare, your mouth agape... you were desperate to talk to him, but he hadn't even looked at you once since his first day at Hawkins High.

Rebecca's voice is muffled until she starts tapping your shoulder, "little miss, will you focus?"

Her voice seems to grab Billy's attention immediately - he looks straight at her, allowing Steve to swoop in and get the ball, dribbling it away.

Coach Morrison,who watches over both the Basketball team and the cheerleaders, notices that Rebecca is whispering to you, even though she was just shaking you out of your 'Billy Hargrove spell’, "Rebecca - little miss - is whatever you're whispering about more important than the rally coming up?"

The coach's voice now grabs Billy's attention and he is looking Rebecca's way again... then at you - he smirks, the first bit of attention you’d received since you crossed paths and it sends your stomach soaring with butterflies. It took a lot for you to look away from him, to look at the coach, your mouth is open and unable to speak.

Rebecca takes matters into her own hands and saves us, "No - nothing could be more important than the rally, coach."

He nods, "That's what I thought. Back to it, girls!"

You roll your eyes and Chrissy, who is stood on the other side of you, giggles - she'd never changed in all the time you knew her and it made you smile, obliged to focus on the cheer routine, though you do still manage to steal a few glances of Billy in the process.

⎈ 🦇 ⎈

Tonight is the first high school party you ever attended and it’s on Halloween - you’d been begging for Rebecca to let you go with her after you received an invite and finally, after days of nagging, Rebecca caved, agreeing to let you tag along.

You dress up as a cat, wearing a headband with pointed ears, mostly black with some showstopper black and white striped tights - you were already shaking with nerves at the thought of your mom's reaction.

You left at about 9:30pm after your mom begrudgingly called out for you to be back home by midnight and insisted on you being with Rebecca at all times.

There are Halloween decorations everywhere, fake spiderwebs on the hedges leading to Tina's front door. Music is blasting, sounding muffled from outside. Sudden nerves, but also adrenaline ran through you - Rebecca knocks on the door before fiddling with her skeleton costume, "Stay by my side, if things get too much then tell me - I'll walk you home."

"Okay," you hum, pulling at the seams of the black jacket you’re wearing.

Tina opens the door, dressed as a vampire - fangs showing when she smiles at the sight of Rebecca at her door, she wore a long cape with fishnet tights peeking through a slit in the cape. A slurred giggle escapes her lips when she looks at you, "Aren't you guys gonna say trick or treat?"

You glance at Rebecca before nervously giggling, "Trick or treat!" You both say in unison.

"If I'd have known you were actually coming, little miss - I would've stocked up on candy. I'm afraid the only treats in here are in the form of liquid," She explains, smirking at you, "Come in, if you're bold enough," she ushers you and Rebecca in, everyone you walk past looks at you, including Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler - who are dressed as Joel and Lana from Risky Business, a film you’d watched with Rebecca to feed her Tom Cruise obsession, "There's drink here there and everywhere really but the real stuff is on the counter, keg is out back - have yourself a ghoul, guys!"

The place is cramped with seniors - no one a junior like you, a lot of faces you recognise are either from cheerleading, or because of Rebecca as she knew them from class. Theoretically, as a repeat senior, she is the eldest at the party and is still trying desperately to fit in.

Billy made it - you’d already made that assumption, it was the main reason why you wanted to come, the possibility of him being here. You pour yourself a concoction of drink that is in what looks like a big fish bowl, Rebecca's head peeks over your shoulder before she pours herself a larger cup. The drink has fog looming over it and the smell is intoxicating in itself - you quickly needed fresh air, and that is where you spot him.

He is outside, upside down, drinking from the keg stand.

Rebecca follows you outside, she crosses her arms, refusing to look at him - you couldn't keep my eyes off of him, even when he spat the drink out and up into the air like a whale, stumbling over his feet as he walks towards the back door that you’d just used to come out here.

He looks at you first, then at Rebecca, who is still refusing to give him attention - you figure that they'd interacted before, and not positively - not on your sister's part anyway. A smirk fixes itself on his lips when he realises that she isn’t falling under the spell of his hypnotising eyes.

You blush, giving him the most timid smile as he turns his attention back to you, still smirking. Even as he is being wrapped with toilet paper as he walks inside you felt my heart pound, flutters everywhere.

"Stay right here, little miss - 'm gonna get another drink, okay?" Rebecca smiles sweetly, uncrossing her arms when Billy is out of sight.

"Sure thing," You shrug and stay put, sitting yourself down on a spare seat. You wonder why Rebecca hates Billy so much, then shrug again - it probably doesn't mean anything.

The drink sinks into your brain as you sit watching teens dancing, laughing, playing beer pong. For minutes, longer than it should've taken for Rebecca to come back, you stayed exactly where she told you to... you didn't want to ruin her fun so you just continued to sip on your drink until it is finished.

Billy strides out of the house like a shot, determination on his face and he was walking towards you with that same damn smile that he'd given you at the lockers. Rebecca's name flew out of your mind and you are back to mush as he holds his hand out for you to take. You look up at him shyly, but take his hand anyway, both yours and his hands are clammy with sweat or alcohol, sticking together, "T-to what - do I owe this - pleasure?"

"You know, you and your sister have got the same goddamn tongue underneath the princess exterior," he drawls as he pulls you onto your feet. The drink you had reduced the amount of sarcasm and wit you usually did have when sober, especially since you hadn't had alcohol before. All you can do is laugh, gently shoving his shoulder with your spare hand - he smiles smugly, "It's cute, I admit."

A few shaky breaths came out instead of words. Does he always have to smile like that?

"How about you try the keg, princess?" The nickname alone mixed with the drink, you still couldn't speak. You look at the free keg behind him, "You could join keg royalty - be my queen."

His queen? How can I say no to that?

He stands closer, lifting you up, his head is level with your hip. The side of his face is pressed against your bare skin because your jacket and t-shirt had ridden up above your stomach, "You're a natural," he squeezes, arms wrapped completely around you, "hold onto - the keg, doll," his voice is slightly strained, his muscles flexing impressively, "I've got you."

You hear him laughing while you drank from the keg. Other teens, a mix of ghouls, ghosts, vampires, Michael Myers', cats, clowns and Ace Frehley from Kiss start to gather around you and Billy, lifting their glasses and spilling alcohol everywhere. They all cheer you on, chanting 'Chug! Chug! Chug!' It made you feel good that not only are you impressing Billy, you were impressing everyone.

"Put her down you asshole - she's never been to a party like this before!" You hear Rebecca shout, she must've heard the 'chug!' commotion from inside.

"And she's still more fun than you, Becky," Billy responds, winking at her before carefully putting you down - you continue to hold onto him even though both your feet are on the ground, you didn’t want to let go. He holds onto your hand tightly and lifts it up into the air in victory, "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you - the keg queen!"

A wide grin finds its way onto your face as you look at everyone, then up at Billy, who is grinning down at you.

Everyone cheers again, but not your sister.

Rebecca grabs your hand, "It's time to go home," she mumbles and pulls you out of Billy's grasp, his eyes are on Rebecca as you stumble away, out of the side exit of Tina's home.

You rant at Rebecca all the way home while she gives you the silent treatment, "I'm just fitting in, Becky - isn't that what you wanted and now? Now that I'm in the cheer team, I'm friends - with your friends, I like a b-boy - that's in the basketball team - so much and - I'm his keg queen!" You laugh before quickly getting angry again, "You don't like it! And I'm happy - it's what you wanted before and now this is what I want too - I like being popular and - I want it to be - like this for me until I leave a - first time senior!"

Your words are evidently annoying Rebecca, I knew it - your drunk state assumed it was jealousy about everything going well for you and she couldn't be happy because she wasn't having the best end to her high school experience. She just stares ahead, "Just - pull yourself together. Mom cannot see you acting like this, she'll kill me and then she'll kill you."

You know that she is right about that - so you decide to be silent for the rest of the night.

⇝ 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑻𝒘𝒐 ⎈ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐲

𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠! 𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆!!!!! 𝐈𝐭'𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲 <𝟑

𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 ‘𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲’ 𝐨𝐫 ’𝐄𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐧’ 𝐭𝐚𝐠-𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰!

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒 ↯

𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝑻𝒐 𝑬𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚

𝑬𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒆 𝑴𝒖��𝒔𝒐𝒏

@introvertedmouse @munsonology @fastnights @kathieycarrerarosshley @marjoriea13 @goldengunspinkrosses-blog @lolalanaie @neteyamsluvts

⎈

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deardiary17 · 5 months

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credit: missbilliepiper

#call an ambulance #I'm burning #I love it how billie goes missing for months from social media #and then she comes back and we all faint at the sight of her #queen #billie piper

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uu-tella · 5 months

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From Vol. 8 Extra

(If anyone has it with better quality and/or in English I would appreciate it)

#I had to take a picture from my physical volume lmao #it's just... one of my favorite extras cause he's protecting Bunny!!!#HE'S GOOD WITH KIDS!#uu tella #undead unluck #uu spoilers #uu billy #uu feng #uu bunny #uma burn #uu kururu #uu enjin #100th loop #background shot #volume 8

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freak-accident419 · 4 months

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Good Looking Boy

Billy (Burn 2019) x GN!Reader

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Summary: On a chilly December night, you and Billy catch up. Then, you make an important decision.

Word Count: 3.1k

Content: gender neutral reader, fluff, cursing, alcohol, mention of holidays (gift giving), slight suggestive comment

(A/n: thank you to everyone for all your support for this short multiple-part fic! It means so much to me! I hope I did its finale justice :) also credit to the person who suggested a bar scene !)

You watched him take a short sip of his beer as you fidgeted with your bottle.

You two agreed that you would catch up at this bar at the corner of the street when you were done with your shift. It has only been a few weeks since you’ve last seen him, but it felt like forever to you, hence the slight awkwardness in the atmosphere.

“So… did you pay off your debt…?” You ask hesitantly, continuing to fidget with the beer bottle in front of you. You finally looked at him, observing his brown eyes softening at the sight of you. The right side of his face was still scarred by the second-degree burn that hot coffee gave him. But you’ve only ever seen him like this, and so, to you, he still looked as handsome as he was since you last saw him.

“Yeah, I… I paid them off,” he answered bluntly.

“And the thing with the bikers? Are you… on good terms with them now?”

In response, he let out a scoff and a quiet chuckle, shaking his head.

“Ugh, dude, what did you do?” You say with exasperation, though amused by his lighthearted manner.

“They wanted the money, but, um… They all sort of… still hate me, so… those assholes gave me a warning: if they see my face again, they’ll kill me, so…” He trails off, taking a fairly tame swig of alcohol before he continues. You noticed that he seemed calmer since you’ve last seen him. As if he worked on himself, his temper, and spontaneous vulgarity. You admired that. “I’m gonna have to go. Unwillingly leave town, you know.”

“Damn,” you mutter, briefly sipping your drink. “That was your initial plan anyways though, right? To, like, just leave this place?”

He let out a soft sigh, which slightly puzzled you. Why did he seem so disappointed?

“Before I was on my way to meet up with them, I just… I got the idea that maybe I just shouldn’t leave. I thought that, um… leaving someplace that’s, uh… desirable… would be a very idiotic thing for me to do,” he explains, only baffling you even more.

“Okay? But you said it yourself, after you paid them off, you wanted to leave town and start anew, have a fresh start. What makes Upstate New York so… great, I guess, that you don’t want to leave?” You inquire with a lighthearted chuckle.

He fidgets with his beer bottle anxiously before looking back at you to answer. “You…”

You were stunned. You opened your mouth slightly to respond, but no words came out. You didn’t know him too well—but after an hour of being stuck together, you knew him enough, at the very least. But why did you have such an impact on him? You guessed that you had an indubitable liking for him too—similar to a childlike crush, though fueled solely by shared trauma. But you never really thought of it that much until now.

“Billy, I…” you stuttered out. “I… I mean… You had a whole plan, I… I just don’t understand. I like you, Billy, but… why should I be the reason you would want to stay here? You don’t really know me…”

“Well…” He wanted to argue that you two already learned a lot about each other from the time you’ve spent together, but even he realized it would be faulty reasoning. “Fuck, I want to get to know you better, then,” he urged gently.

He looked down at your hands, which were on the table near your drink. He reached his hands towards yours hesitantly, giving you a look by the raise of his eyebrows that asked for your permission. You nodded, watching him finally grab your hands, observing your one wrist, in which the bruise from the zip tie was completely gone. He tenderly rubbed his thumb over your wrists and palms. You felt the warm metal of his ring run against your skin as he would move his index finger. The slightly red dent on his wrist that you last saw on the day you escaped had also disappeared entirely. So it seemed like the only thing that followed him—the only thing that haunted him ever since the gas station, was his burn scar.

“I just…” he began, continuing to look down at your hands as he caressed them. It was something he did a lot, you noticed. You think it calmed him down. “I don’t know why I’m so… pulled to you. It’s fucking stupid, I know, and I’ve probably sounded like a dumbass this entire time, but… I mean it when I say I want to get to know you.”

You stared down at your hands in his, unsure of how you felt. “Well… The bikers, they said that they were gonna kill you if they see your face again. That’s, like… implying they want you out of town. You have to go, Billy. You can’t, shit, risk your life for me.”

“That’s why I want you to run away with me,” he urged softly.

“Billy—”

“I want you to come with me,” he pleads. In his mind, Billy thought it was quite ironic how he wanted you to go with him so badly; he rejected Melinda almost immediately when she asked to go with him. But this was different. You weren’t Melinda. You were you. And he desperately wanted to leave with you. But there seemed to be no way for that to happen.

“Billy, we already talked about this. I… I can’t just leave everything I have here behind,” you reason. “Plus, it’s been weeks ever since I last saw you. You had all this time to come see me, where have you been?”

He pursed his lips. “After the bikers gave me a few ‘friendly’ warning shots, I sort of left immediately. I just kept going west. Stayed in a couple motels. But it just… felt wrong, you know? I felt empty and… fuck, out of place… So, I guess I just… came back here to see you one more time…” he confessed, making your heart beat faster and face warmer. Nobody has ever done this grand of a gesture for you. You almost felt bad. You had made a deep connection with him back at the gas station, and suddenly you were worth a lot to him. “Shit, I… I honestly couldn’t stop thinking about you. I wanted to, because I knew it would be… really fucking bad if I tried to come back, but… You were always on my mind. Every second, I… thought about your laughter, and your voice, and I didn’t want to forget it. And-and most of all, you saved my life.” You frowned, because you considered it as a team effort, rather. “Something finally good in my life, for the first fucking time, happened to me and I can’t just—just stand by and let it just leave while I could do something about it.”

You were surprised, to say the least. You never knew you could be this important to someone, let alone someone you’ve only been around with for less than a day. “Billy, I—” You stammered with fluster. “I have to admit, I thought about you multiple times ever since. I sort of always wished I’d run into you whenever I went to a gas station. I think I even dreamed about you multiple times… To be honest, I always thought what would’ve happened if I said yes before and left with you.” He felt your thumb trace delicately along the back of his hand. “Never thought I’d ever think of a gas station robber as handsome and charming.” He chuckled softly in response, his lips forming into a cute, flattered smile.

“I love that you’re here, really. I love that you came back to see me,” You told him. “But… like I said, I can’t come with you.” You would love to, however, you knew it. But you couldn’t just leave everything you had here behind… Could you?

He sighed softly. “Okay, I understand,” he says. “But shit, just… Let me get to know you better before I have to leave for sure. Please. How about I just take you for a drive, then? Just around the block?”

Billy was heavily insistent. After all, he always goes for what he wants.

“The both of us have been drinking, Billy,” you say with guilt. You hated constantly rejecting him. You did want to get to know him better, you did want to spend time with him, but the circumstances and motives were utterly complicated.

You chuckled a bit, however, sort of amused by how much he wanted to be around you. “I don’t know, you can’t just, like… enjoy the moment right now?” You ask as you two look back down at your hands, which were being gently rubbed against each other, Billy’s thumb caressing the back of your hand.

“I don’t know if that’s gonna be enough for me, Y/n,” he claimed dejectedly.

“Why don’t we just take a walk, then? To, like, the nearest park or something,” you offer, feeling his warm fingertips glide softly over your nails. “We could… We could do that.”

After thinking about it for a second, he nodded compliantly.

***

It was supposed to be dark outside, however the street lamps nearby and string lights across buildings liberally illuminated the area. It has been probably half an hour since you two sat down on a park bench, just speaking to each other with occasional banter. That was probably the strongest thing you had with him: communication. Just talking about random things that led to discovering more things about one another. You’d done that while you were tied up together after all. It was how you mainly connected in that moment.

That was another thing, however. You weren’t forced in proximity anymore, but you two still wanted more of each other. Even if you didn’t show it. Your rejection did quite a number on Billy’s belief that his feelings were reciprocated, but as you two proceeded to laugh and talk together, it was reinforced.

“Okay… Quentin Tarantino.” You raise an eyebrow, grinning as you watched your warm breath escape your lips in a hazy, white mist.

“Damn. That one foot fetish guy?” he laughed.

“Yeah, the—the foot fetish guy,” you chuckle softly.

“Okay, easy, Pulp Fiction,” he answered. Met with your silence, he looked at you and you shook your head, smiling. “No?”

“No, I wouldn’t make it that obvious—”

“Kill Bill.”

“N—”

“Volume one or two?” You grin as he continued to guess wrong in your game. “Seriously, none of those?”

“From Dusk Til Dawn?” He nearly pouted, it was adorable. “I give up.”

“Jackie Brown. C’mon, man,” you snicker.

He playfully rolled his eyes, scoffing, making you giggle.

This was something you two did back at Paradise Pumps as well, while tied up and exhausted. You made a little game where you basically had to think of a movie and the other had to guess it by only knowing the name of its director.

He smiles softly as he looks at you, but then it gradually dropped, as the recurring thought that he would never see you again invaded his mind once more.

“You good?” You ask reluctantly, seeing his facial expression change.

“Yeah, I just…”

“You don’t want to leave me?” You finish his sentence with a sigh, seeing him nod in response. “It’s not so bad, Billy. You could leave, settle down, start a new life and leave behind all that crime and… biker gang beef,” you offer a small laugh before you continue.

“You could find somebody who is worthier than me. Someone who you didn’t bond with through shared trauma and forced proximity. Someone who would leave everything behind just for you, unlike me.” You wish you could, honestly. What was really stopping you? Fear? Guilt?

Billy scoffs as he listened to your statements, deeming them as bullshit. “Y/n, respectfully, shut the fuck up.” Your eyebrows raise in bewilderment. “I don’t want someone else, okay? I want you... Just you.”

Your heart nearly stopped and you looked at him with sole adoration for him.

And you had no idea what came over you in this moment, because once you heard him say this, you immediately pressed your lips to his, while hesitantly bringing your hands up to his face to gently hold it.

You heard his breath hitch as he soon melts into the kiss, moving his lips with yours and holding onto your wrists. His lips were soft and warm, and he was being nothing but gentle with you. You felt the the tender skin of his burn against your fingertips, your delicate and careful touch soothing him.

You weren’t sure what kind of confidence boost let you do something so impulsive as kissing someone. But the entire night, Billy had been relentlessly winning over your heart, expressing his immense admiration for you. You fell for him. And you had to do something about that.

“Fuck, you know, that…” he began hoarsely once your lips have separated, yet your faces were still very close to each other, switching back and forth from looking deeply into one’s eyes to their lips. “That was fucking evil. That just made it even harder for me to leave you,” he stressed as you two let out small, quiet chuckles.

He convinced you enough, you thought. What did you really have to lose…?

Or, rather, what would you gain?

“You don’t have to,” your voice was slightly raspy as you spoke with a smirk.

And what you would say next had marked your decision. “I’m coming with you, cowboy.”

He parted his lips in shock, so before he could say anything, you just kissed him again, deeply and affectionately, as you couldn’t help but smile in the kiss. You felt him pull you closer by the waist in a fairly strong grip, as if you were to disappear if he let you go. It was a sweet and affectionate kiss, the two of you expressing your admiration and fondness for each other. It was supposed to be cold, hell, it was December in New York. But you couldn’t help but feel pure warmth each second your kiss remained.

*** Two Weeks Later ***

“Open it,” you giggle softly.

“Seriously, when did you get the time to wrap a whole ass gift when we’ve been, like, on the road together this whole time?” Billy says with a smile as he examines the thin, neatly wrapped box in his hands.

“I found a service. While you were preoccupied. Now shut up. Happy Holidays. Open the damn thing.”

It’s been about two weeks since you agreed with leaving with him. After resigning from your job, you basically packed your bags and savings and he picked you up. You two didn’t face any problems so far as you traveled east. You only had an increased admiration for each other, as well as mutual understandings.

Now, you were in an empty parking lot, keeping warm inside the car during the evening. You surprised him with a wrapped gift for the holidays.

You watched him rip off the wrapping paper, making you involuntarily laugh as you saw his expression of disbelief, represented by his playful scoff and the rolling of his eyes.

‘Never Get Angry Again: The Foolproof Way to Stay Calm and in Control in Any Conversation or Situation’ by David J. Lieberman, PhD

He raised his eyebrows as he read over the cover of the anger management book and presented it to you. “Seriously?”

You snicker impishly as you see an amused smile creep at the corner of his lips. “Told you I would, didn’t I?”

“You are terrible,” Billy joked endearingly with a low chuckle.

“I know,” you retort cunningly, reaching over the center console of the car to give him a soft peck on the lips.

“But you have to admit, Y/n, I have been working on myself ever since,” he points out, making you scoff.

“Yeah, but you totally lashed out on that one guy when we were at that convenience store in Pittsburgh,” you insist.

“Okay, well, in my defense, I really didn’t like the way he was looking at you,” he shrugged with a knowing grin.

“Damn, should I have gotten you a book on jealousy as well?” you sneer.

“Hey, watch it,” he warned playfully.

“You know what, yeah, you’re right. I digress,” you concur nonchalantly. “If it weren’t for him getting an intense reaction out of you, then you wouldn’t have taken me straight to the bathroom and—”

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” he chuckled softly as you laughed at your own delivery. “Just…” He reached in the back, grabbing a brown box that was sealed with clear tape. “Open your gift. Sorry I didn’t have the time to wrap it, like, I still have no idea how you had the time to do it behind my back, but yeah.”

He handed you his keys so you could rip the tape, then you opened the box, being met with styrofoam packaging. You removed the top layer, and then let out a small gasp as you saw the object, taking it in your hands.

It was a small Albany, New York snow globe. You were beaming as you shook it, watching the “snow” fall down on the capitol building.

“I thought you’d be homesick, so I snatched it right before we left,” he explained, smiling as he sees your reaction.

“Oh my god, Billy, it’s perfect,” you say in awe, then reach over the center console again to hug him tightly, feeling his arms wrap around you. “Thank you so much,” you say, kissing him deeply on his lips.

“‘F course, Y/n,” he mumbled sweetly, affectionately returning your kisses.

“You’re perfect,” you nearly whispered as you set the snow globe back in the box so your hands were free to hold his face. He always loved when you would do that. It brought a sort of comfort to him, making him feel safe and secure. He leaned into your touch as you kissed the right side of his face—his forehead and cheek—which were the areas that had been mildly burnt.

“Even when I robbed a gas station?” He asked under his breath, raising an eyebrow.

“Seriously?”

He always had a problem with being defined and associated with criminality, so you found it quite ironic for him to point it out.

“I’m fucking with you.”

You shove him playfully, which only resulted in him bringing you into an intense, deep kiss. “You are so perfect too, you know that?” He mutters softly. “I’m so fucking glad you came with me.” He artfully grabbed your hand and looked at you intimately as he pressed a gentle kiss to your wrist—the one that was zip tied to his. The one where the bruise on it had now been fully healed and gone.

“Me too,” you murmur ardently.

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sarahreadstoomanycomics · 1 year

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#feeling a bit spicy today #here are some terrible awful comics #i pretty much know what others will pick but that is not my pick here #like when i say i cannot say the things billy does in distant fires sheesh burn it from my memory #last 3 are lesser know why i said some of why they suck #i think all the other choices are known enough #gah there's still so many more like everyone has superman's baby the comic #but trying to pick popular options along with a few i really hate

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jtownraindancer · 4 months

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Ace's TURИ for Burn Rewatch: False Flag

#a lot of good expressions this episode but this shot made me nostalgic for the way he was framed in a lot of early-mid-00s shows #burn gorman #major hewlett #edmund hewlett #edmund my dearest 🔭#my beloved starboy 🌌#turn #turn washington's spies #amc turn #my gifs #seriously this reminds me so much of that one scene from 'in divine proportion' where billy's eyes literally #sparkled in the sunshine #shut up ace

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strawb3rrystar · 5 months

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(Also, might write about other characters from Future Man and Huger Games)

#☆strawb3rrystar rambles #characters most likely to be written about:#josh futturman #peeta mellark #clapton davis #sean anderson #mike schmidt #and billy from burn

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meet-me-backstage · 4 months

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⎈

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 ⎈ 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬

𝐏𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 🦇 Eddie Munson x Fem!Reader

𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 🦇 You get dragged into the unfathomable events at Starcourt Mall by your hopeless crush on Billy Hargrove and new-found middle-schooler friends. You struggle to cope with the trauma, which gradually costs you your popular cheerleader reputation when you return to high school for senior year. Though this loss first appears to be the end of the world, you learn that there's worse things than levelling down in popularity.

Though even in darkness, there is always a light - for you this is Eddie Munson, who you gain an unlikely friendship in and fall for him in the process.

𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 🦇 smoking, mention of and consumption of drugs, horror themes, violence (in the upside down and probs Steve losing another fight (•̀ᴗ•́)و jk jk he's king), nightmares, mention of and consumption of alcohol, mention of and a near death experience, death, bad language, blood, bullying, mention of vomit and vomiting, some domestic (mainly verbal and emotional) abuse(‼️), mention of suicidal thoughts, mention of suicide, mention of self-harm, allusion to eating disorder and smUUT so you have to be 18+ to read this series❗️

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 🦇 4.9K words.

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 🦇 bad language and that’s about it I think guys!

𝐃𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 - 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐫𝐞𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐠!

⇜ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐢𝐱 ⎈ 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝

You hadn't received your monthly note from 'Ozzy the Tiger' in June, which you figured would be a shining ray of light in your grounded era. You became more disheartened as each day passed, it becoming more and more evident that you weren’t going to receive another note ever again.

It made you question yourself. Had I done something wrong? Had I been forgotten by Ozzy the tiger? You never thought it'd hurt so bad to stop receiving those damn notes. You realised just how much those little notes meant to you in a time where you felt most unlike yourself. Being weak and alone had become all that you knew, like you’d either been lost or hurt by everybody you knew, leaving you with nobody to turn to… not even Ozzy the tiger.

Even at school, you noticed that everybody had somebody - Chrissy now had Jason. The entire cheer team, apart from you, had somebody from the basketball team. You sat at the end of the lunch table with them all still, though you may as well have been sat alone because nobody spoke to you, not even Chrissy.

You didn't feel welcome anywhere... forgotten. Until the day before summer break... you received a note...

🦇 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲, 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟓 🦇

You read it over and over, in fact, you’re pretty sure that the note has been in between your fingertips since you’d first received it. Billy... it has to be Billy.

Though you had been sure for a small while, you physically couldn't confront him about the notes because you’re still grounded... you’d been wanting to ask for weeks now if they were from him and why… if they were from him of course. The only good thing about being grounded was that you’d had a lot of time to think, but once you came to a conclusion - finally - you wanted nothing other than to get everything off of your chest.

You’d been in your room for so long that you thought you’d never leave, sure that your mom and sister were entirely happy to let you rot in your room all day ever since summer break started.

Today is the first time in a month that you’ve been out of your home because your mom and Rebecca had decided together that your behaviour had been 'good' enough… They'd allowed you to go to Starcourt on your own for a work shift at The Gap.

“Can I not just stay and help for another hour?” You plead after Dana had insisted that you leave early.

"Definitely not, you’ve worked hard enough today, especially as Chrissy didn’t bother to show - but it's been so great to have you here again. It's been chaos without you with all the kids being on summer break - don't be a stranger!" Dana waves with a sweet smile. You are surprised at the fact that she even remembers you, you’re surprised a lot of people remember you - some other kids from school even had said 'hello' to you in the midst of their shopping sprees.

You wave back, grinning as you leave the store, "I'll be back, promise!"

As you approach the centre of the mall you notice a familiar head of red hair, it is Chrissy... and Jason - they are walking hand in hand to the escalator, you immediately guess that they're going on a cinema date... you don’t want to interrupt but you have to speak to her about the last note you’d received as a matter of urgency.

You look back and forth between the exit of the mall and Chrissy... I have an hour before I’m expected to be home - that’s plenty of time… "Fuck it," you mutter to yourself before you start running up the escalator. By the time you reach the top, Chrissy and Jason are stood in the queue for the cinema, "Chrissy!"

She turns, her eyes darting around until she sees you running towards her, she grins widely, though her eyes clearly express confusion, "Oh - hi!?" She opens her arms for you to hug her, "Where have you been? I've been so worried - I tried to call but your mom told me you had a flu and not to bother visiting!" She pouts, still holding onto your arms.

You laugh awkwardly at the lie your mom had told her... the only way I could've been ill this last month was from the lack of food I’d had, "I've er - been okay - all better now, especially now I've found you."

"Are you sure?" She looks closely into your eyes and blushes, looking away, "I mean, you look tired - are you sleeping?"

No, because this goddamn note has been keeping me up and I've not used any energy up for me to sleep off because I‘ve practically been Rapunzel locked up in a tower with her mom and I couldn't call you about it because mom or Rebecca would probably listen in... and I'd be damned if they found out about the notes, "I - er-."

"Make it quick - we're gonna be late," Jason steps forward and gestures towards the shrinking queue that is disappearing through the entrance to the cinema.

You roll your eyes before taking a deep breath, “Alright - I've been - kept up by a note I got from Ozzy, I've lost hours of sleep over it because it was asking me for forgiv-," you hadn't realised you’d been rambling until you notice Chrissy looking extremely overwhelmed by your sudden and loud voice, while Jason just looks frustrated.

"Oh my - are you dumb or what - isn’t it obvious it's Billy!" He bursts, louder and more abruptly than even he expected because as soon as he said it he did a 360 with his entire body, checking to see if anyone was looking. You are too caught up and shocked by his outburst to be embarrassed, Chrissy mirrors your actions by staring at Jason with wide eyes.

"How - would you know that?" You mumble, trying to keep your emotions at bay.

Jason's eyes wander, seemingly unable to look you in the eye, "He told me," he scratches the back of his neck and you tilt your head, "Look - he felt bad for what happened at that party and he wanted to make up for it somehow," he speaks defensively, like you’re stupid for being surprised by his confession.

"And - where would Billy be right now?" Your voice raises in pitch. You blink at Jason afterwards and gulp.

Jason shrugs, still not being able to make eye contact with you. Your heart beat keeps creeping faster, this power that you now have over Jason makes adrenaline flood through you, so you take a step closer to him and move your head so that he's forced to look at you, "At the - swimming pool."

"The community one?"

He looks you dead in the eye now, "Yes - the Hawkins community pool, he's a lifeguard there... the pool closes at six so you'll miss him if you don't run along now," he states in a threatening way, reclaiming his power, and like he'd chuck you over the balcony if you didn't leave him and Chrissy alone.

You glare, not saying another word before looking at Chrissy, "Enjoy your date," you smile sweetly and spin yourself around. As you run you hear Chrissy call a 'good luck!' but you don’t turn back. You barge past people on the escalator and ignore them grumble about ‘the youth of today’ being so ‘ignorant’.

You peek into Scoops Ahoy on your way out of the mall, Chrissy and you had stopped going when Jason swooped in and stole her. You stop running to double-check it is actually Steve ‘the hair’ Harrington working there now, but you’re quick to continue sprinting after checking your watch.

5:52pm. Thats wicked! What am I even going to do when I get there? What will I say? Fuck you, Billy! No. Thanks for the notes? I hate you but a part of me still really really really likes you so much and thinks you're a decent guy. No. Is this a bad idea? Yes.

But even when you’re stood, gripping onto the handle of your bike which is between your legs, in front the entrance of the community pool you still hadn’t found your words. You realise that you can’t leave because you’re now completely drenched from the rain and you’d be grounded for another month just for making the carpet dirty at home...

Mom would probably double kill me because of the state my clothes are in right now.

You don’t want to face them, you also don’t want to face Billy now but at least you have the excuse that Heather works as a lifeguard here too, and Billy knows that you are in the cheerleading team together - friends, more or less.

It’s raining heavily and people are frantically running past you to leave the pool. There are others stood by the building for shelter.

You reluctantly start your search after leaving your bike beside another disregarded bike under shelter, looking to see if Billy is sat on the lifeguard chair or helping by guiding people to shelter... but he wasn't. He is nowhere to be seen outside and neither is Heather. Maybe they're inside. You run inside the building, simultaneously wiping the rain from your eyes, but your sleeves are so wet that not even that helps you. You shake your head and try to ignore the cold shivers running through your body because you needed desperately to see this note - situation through… and you’re so close to solving it that you can’t leave now.

There are two workers behind the main desk who look to be a little older than you. You recognise them from Hawkins High but you’ve never spoken to them before - and they definitely recognise you, "Keg queen - sucker punch!"

"I do have a name," you lean on the desk that is separating you from them.

The girl has her hair in a ponytail and keeps on glancing at the guy sitting down, "Sorry - it’s just - what everyone calls you," she apologises half-heartedly, "Oh - I'm Katie - this is Adam, by the way - we've seen you at the parties," she tells you excitedly and Adam looks up, which she notices and stops talking, "How's it going?" She asks eagerly after clearing her throat.

"Just fine, I'm actually er - looking for Heather, or Billy," You state awkwardly and Katie seems to look more interested, leaning onto the counter.

Adam lowers the magazine in his hands, "I already had this conversation with two girls about Heather. Neither of ‘em showed up for work today, bailed out on me so I had to call Katie to fill in."

Your mouth is hung open, you’re entirely puzzled - Katie interrupts before you can ask for Billy's address, "Is there a secret party that we don't know about?"

"Couldn't give top secret information out, could I?" You lie, smiling smugly before straitening your back suddenly, "See you around guys, I've gotta go - hopefully you get an invite," you wink, pointing at them as you walk backwards. Katie pout her lips but is quickly distracted by Adam, who shows her something in the magazine - you take that as an opportunity to look around because they aren’t exactly aware of their surroundings, especially as people are screaming and running just metres away.

Billy could be around here somewhere - maybe he did something stupid like get himself locked in storage.

It gets much quieter the deeper you delve into the building. You check the changing rooms first and find... no one, but you still call out his and Heather's name quietly as you wander until you hear faint mumbles coming from ahead.

"Heather - Billy," You call again in a hushed voice, your eyes squint to try and see through the mirror in the door where the noises seemed to be coming from. It led into the showers and as you walk closer you still can’t hear what these voices are saying because the showers are on, "Heather - Billy!" You say a louder now before sucking in a breath and opening the door, closing your eyes, "Heather or Billy, if you're in here please don't be doing anything weir- oh," you hesitantly open your eyes, instead of seeing Billy or Heather, you see two girls, "Sorry for um - barging in - are you two - okay?"

You notice that one of them, the girl sat on the floor in a puddle of water, has blood trickling from her left nostril and is shaking, maybe startled by your sudden entrance - she nods, pursing her lips... the other girl looks shocked, like you weren’t meant to be here.

"Are you sure?" You start to walk closer only for the brunette to start crawling away, she has an eye mask wrapped around her wrist and she uses her other hand to wipe the blood away messily, “Hey, it’s okay. I won’t hurt you - I've got tissue to clear that up bette-."

"She's fine," the redhead states, her voice is hurried and she rolls her eyes as if you’re being an inconvenience, "We're kinda busy figuring - stuff out - so if you could leave that'd be great."

Her tone is sassy but her voice gets quieter as you notice a picture of Heather in her lifeguard uniform on the floor, taken from it's spot on the noticeboard opposite the main desk. You crouch down, pick it up and squint your eyes. Why would they need this picture? Kinda weird. "Do you know Heather or is this some kind of weird - capturing lifeguards ritual?" You ask playfully, to which the two girls share more awkward glances.

"We're just - looking for her becaaauuuse - we found her bag!?” The redhead admits, sounding unsure - you realise that they must have been the girls Adam mentioned that had been asking about Heather. “We want to return it to her.”

"By sitting - here with her picture and an eye mask with all the showers on?" You tilt your head and furrow your brows, "That's one way of 'looking' - I guess, but why don't you go to her house? It's not far from here, I'm her neighbour actually."

They keep exchanging looks, like they know something that you don’t. It frustrates you so you roll your eyes and stand up before turning to leave them to their strange search party.

Middle schoolers. You huff before halting your steps. Wait, the redhead… I recognise her, she stepped out of Billy's car the first time I ever saw him. Did she know that Billy was likely to be with Heather? It would be pretty obvious since they both happened to bail out today.

You open the door again and hold it as you look over your shoulder, "Chances are that Heather is with Billy - he bailed from work today too, but you probably know that already."

"You know Billy?" The redhead asks suddenly, her voice stopping you from completely leaving.

You scrunch your nose, "Yeah - er, I know Billy from school - we go back - a little," You say unsurely and the girls continue to stare. You huff out a laugh, "Anyway, 'm gonna - go and leave you to-," you tilt your head, "whatever you're doing in here."

"Wait - where are you going?" She asks while the other girl picks herself up off the floor and stands by the mouthy redhead.

You sigh as you’re stopped from leaving the shower room again, "Not that it's any of your business, but I've got some stuff to clear up with Billy - and I'm pretty sure he's with Heather - so my best shot is her house, I think,” you smile before opening the door again, thinking it'd be the last time.

It wasn't... because the door suddenly slams shut on it's own with brute force, so fast that you almost fall backwards. You manage to balance yourself on your left heel and quickly grab onto the door handle again but you quickly realise that after a few pushes that you’re not going to get it to open. It must've been shut by someone on the other side... probably Adam or Katie locking up for the day. “Shit! Adam - Katie, can you unlock the door please!" You call out but receive no answer, so you bang on the door repeatedly until your fist starts to ache. You sigh, resting your forehead against the door, “Great,” you mumble under your breath and shake your head against the door, refusing to believe that you’re going to spend the night in a damp shower with these strangers, “Adam - Katie! It’s the sucker-punching - keg queen! If you let me out I’ll invite you to the secret party!”

“Will you shut up?!” The mouthy redhead interrupts your desperate rambling.

“No offence, you seem like-,” you clear your throat, “lovely girls, but I really don’t have time for a slumber party with either of you in this very cold and wet room. I need to - get outta here - before Adam - and - Katie - leave,” you keep fiddling with the door handle and start to kick the door between words, but you continue to have no luck in anyone hearing you from the other side.

“No,” the quiet girl finally speaks, making you slowly turn to face them with wide eyes.

You nervously point at the door with your thumb over your shoulder as you maintain nervous eye contact with them, "Um - with all due respect, I don't have to listen to either of you soooo," the once quiet girl is looking at you blankly, but sternly, while the other is clearly worried about the scene you’d just caused, "We're just gonna f-forget whatever this is," You, now extremely unnerved and even more desperate to get out of this room, grab the door handle for what felt like the hundredth time.

You throw your side at the door, using the entirety of your body weight against it and this time, to your amazement… the door clicks.

You silently chuckle at the small triumph, but your relief is short-lived when you reach for the handle, but are stopped by the sound of the brunette’s voice getting closer.

"No.” She sure is intimidating for a girl younger than me, "We can't - forget." You instinctively back yourself up against the door while the redhead holds onto the quiet, scary girl's arm and steps in front of her.

"Look - what we're doing is serious, this is not equal to - one of Billy's girl... conquests," the redhead boldly states.

Pfft - 'conquests'.

You roll your eyes while sudden determination courses through you - all the uneasiness and confusion you felt suddenly leaving your body.

Those notes meant something, I'm not sure what, but confronting him about it today would be my best chance at finding out before - he potentially leaves for college, or worse… he falls for someone who isn’t me. Those notes he'd been slipping in my locker prove that I am not Billy Hargrove's conquest - he really cares about me.

You decide in that moment to stand your ground, "No, you look - believe it or not, I am not a - 'conquest', he cares about me and I care about him a lot… and Heather is my friend - so I am either leaving here on my own to go find them, or I am staying here - but you have to explain to me what your - deal is and then we can go together," you speak desperately and stomp your foot on the floor. You cross your arms and your eyes are wide, staring intensely between both girls.

It became a staring contest between the three of you, the girls seem to realise that you are refusing to back down, which causes you to smirk and turn on your heel to leave… again, but for good this time.

"Wait, what's your name?" The quiet brunette asks, her voice even more gentle than before.

You don’t even look back now that the door is half open, but you hesitantly sigh out your name anyway.

"If you go alone you'll be in big danger," she confesses, hushed but still bold nonetheless.

At 'danger' being mentioned you swiftly turn your upper half to face them because it had been the last word you’d expect to hear in relation to this situation, "Danger - what kind of danger?" You nervously chuckle.

The redhead looks at her friend in complete disbelief.

You blink between both girls and a small, nervous smile tugs at your lips… it’s all lies to discourage me from searching.

"Death," the word rolls off of her tongue with no hesitation.

She's a wicked liar. You laugh, "You - you guys a-re good!"

They stare, puzzled by your laughter, "You will die if you go alone - you need us-," the redhead looks at her friend with wide eyes and quickly places her hand over her mouth.

They are being... serious?

Your eyes are wide and you shut the door carefully yourself, choosing to stay with them, "I - I don’t understand. You’re - not joking?" You whisper and you can see that the two of them are debating via eye contact before they turn themselves from you and start whispering. The redhead is the most reluctant to tell you anything, while the other girl argues that they’re in too deep with you to let you go - only making you more curious.

‘She could help us.’

‘How?’

‘Heather can trust her more than us.’

‘But-.”

‘They’re friends - and friends don’t lie.’

‘Okay, but we have one bike… that’s not gonna hold three people.’

“That’s not a problem, I have my own ride outside!” You chirp into their not so secret discussion, smugly smiling when the redhead shoots you a glare over her shoulder.

They come to a mutual decision minutes later, "You can come with us - but you have to trust us when we tell you that this could get really dangerous," the redhead speaks now, she looks at you with such sincerity that you instantly trust her.

"I'm coming with you."

She raises her brows and looks at her friend again, probably thinking that you’re being stubborn as hell - they both sigh and nod, but the redhead still looks very reluctant to be letting you in on their search party.

The quiet one reaches her hand out to shake yours, "I'm Jane," she speaks as you take her hand and she nods towards her friend, "This is Max," Max forces a smile.

You can tell that they are nervous, especially about your presence, they act like you’re an extra heavy bag that they have to carry all the way to Heather's home in the rain - which doesn’t exactly make you feel welcome… especially with the addition of Max’s constant glaring at you while you rode on your bikes alongside each other.

Once you reach Heather's home you try desperately not to look at your home to the right of it. To avoid being seen you quickly run to the door and knock. You hear the girls shout 'wait!' as they run after you, squeezing either side of you to stand in front and knock again, "I already knocked - maybe they're not in."

"Shut up - we're going in one way or another!" Max whisper shouts. Jane stands in a power stance, spreading her legs slightly which Max notices and realisation spreads across her features, "Please don't scream, yell - or ask any questions, okay?" She nods, staring into your eyes again.

I’ve never met kids as intense as these two.

"Of course, why would I..." Somehow the door unlatches itself as Jane bows and tilts her head, staring intensely, like a missile setting it’s target. How did she do that?! Your eyes widen at the realisation.... What have I got myself into? "S-cream," you mutter with a shaky breath before biting your lips together and staring into the hallway that you’d seen many times on occasions where the Holloway's would invite your family over for dinner.

The warmth of the home had once felt inviting to you, but not in this moment, you freak out as you sense the reality in a situation that feels entirely otherworldly. You try to stay calm, but your eyes are glued to Jane, wearily watching her every move. She notices this and looks at you oddly, like you’re weird for thinking that this situation is batshit crazy.

You open your mouth to whisper, "How did you do that? Do you have - powers?" As the words leave your lips you realise just how crazy you sound... how could someone have super powers? This shit only happens on the tv, how could it be happening now? “I don’t understand - were you born with them? Are you real? Is this really happening? Am I even real? Do you have two hearts? Are you an alien-.”

Max rolls her eyes at all of your questions, “I told you it would be a bad idea to bring her with us,” she whispers to Jane.

Jane ignores Max and takes a step towards you, which makes you move to step back, but before you can move away from her she grabs both your arms. Your nerves make your arms shake in her hands and you stare down at her with widened eyes, trembling lips and goosebumps all over your body. Jane’s large brown eyes softly gaze into yours and her grip on your arms tighten, “I’ll tell you everything once we know that Heather and Billy are safe - promise?” Her small, sweet voice raises in pitch as she lets go of one of your arms and lifts her pinky finger.

Your gaze softens too, “P-promise.” You connect your pinky finger with Jane’s, her mouth twitches upward into a shy, warm smile. Though your heart is still racing from the craziness of this situation and your lips continue to tremble with questions you so want to ask her, you are temporarily satisfied with her comforting words.

The three of you proceed to walk further into Heather’s home.

You come face to face with a picture of the Holloway family and you hold your shaking hand up to it, "Please be ok-."

A loud laugh echoes throughout the house, making you jump and quickly turn your head in the direction of the sound. You smell cookies, the familiarity of the delicious smell gets more intense as you creep closer and peek your head into the room enough not to be detected… you see Billy sat with Mr and Mrs Holloway, it looks like they'd just eaten dinner, and are drinking wine while music blares from the record player.

Max and Jane are the first to show themselves while you try to fix your extremely damp hair, stained clothes and smudged make up - you wipe under your eyes frantically.

Billy can't see me like this.

"Max!" You hear Billy's voice - it makes your heart swell with excitement because you’d not heard it in months.

"We didn't mean to uh... barge in... we tried to knock - but maybe you didn't hear over the storm," Max speaks and Jane looks at you before her attention is snapped back to the table.

"I'm sorry - who is this dripping all over my living room right now?" Mr Holloway speaks with authority and you hear Billy apologise. A chair squeaks as he introduces Max as his sister - I figured.

"What on earth are you doing here? Is something wrong?" You hear Billy ask, his voice getting closer, he must've been the one to get up from his chair.

"We just wanted to make sure everything was okay."

"Okay? Why wouldn't it be okay?" He sounds genuinely concerned, but is smooth and something, like he is trying to calm the situation with it.

He has changed, he’s no longer... mean, maybe I had slapped some sense into him.

You reach into your pocket to squeeze the damp 'forgive me' note he'd slipped into your locker and suddenly you feel the courage to show yourself. You jog in as if you had been running after Max and Jane, "There you are!" You say, pretending to be out of breath and everyone looks at you, Mrs Holloway grins, saying 'It's so lovely to see you!’

Billy just stares. It isn’t a cold stare, he even starts to smile at the sight of you before him. He utters your name and he seems to... Is he blushing? He looks down and grins, "You know, I was hoping to see you... after everything - you look beautiful, by the way," he looks up at you with fond eyes, like he'd completely forgotten that you’d slapped him and that you both had been avoiding each other for months.

"S-so do you," you manage to stammer out, giggling shyly afterwards. He does he always look so good? You wonder as you notice his outfit. He is dressed up nice in a blue shirt and jeans, you can’t help but imagine what he looks like underneath them for a brief second and blush at your realisation that you’d both been admiring each other for what felt like ages.

"Where is she?" Jane suddenly interjects, which breaks yours and Billy's eye contact.

He looks slightly annoyed that your moment with him had been interrupted but unlike the old Billy, who would've argued, he withheld his frustration, "I'm sorry - where is who?"

"Well, they're a little burnt... I'm sorry," a voice you immediately recognise as Heather's fills the room, she walks in with a tray of cookies and looks at you, Max and Jane, she falters in her step a little.

"Heather - this is my sister, Maxine," he gestures with his hands a lot and looks at you again, smiling almost... adoringly, "you obviously know er... my little miss keg queen over here," he continues to look at you and you have to look away because you’re afraid of turning into a puddle of mush in the middle of the Holloway living area. Instead you look at Heather, who smiles at you warmly, to your surprise as you had always been well aware of her indifference towards you even though everyone assumed that you were friends just because you’re in the cheer team together, "And, I'm sorry, I did not quite catch your name."

"El," El? I thought it was Jane? Another question added to my long list. Thunder rumbles outside and you look at Billy, searching for comfort but he is staring at Jane, his eyes slightly glossy.

"El - now what is it you were saying, El? You were looking for somebody?" He asks, having no clue as to what Jane is talking about. You stand closer to Max and Jane because there is - something about this thunder storm that is unsettling you, which you find odd as the sound and sight of thunder and lightning usually calms you down.

Jane murmurs, confused, which especially catches the attention of Heather, who is still holding tightly onto the tray of cookies. Max steps in, "Your co-workers - we saw them at the pool - they said you guys didn't come in today and...," she looks at you, her mouth still open, unable to come up with an excuse for you.

"Oh," your heart beats out of your chest, "I - was at the pool because I wanted - I wanted to talk to you, to clear things up between us," you manage to look at Billy without losing all control of your limbs, "and I overheard Max and - El’s conversation with your co-workers," you ramble, sounding confused when you mention 'El's' name and you feel your face getting hotter, "We all were just - really worried and decided to come here," you nod.

"My keg queen, always looking out for me - I'm fine, sweetheart," he grins widely at you, his voice smooth like velvet. He gestures towards Heather, looking between all three of you, "Heather however - she wasn't feeling so hot today so we thought we'd take the day off to nurse her back to health-," That's so kind of him, "But you're feeling just fine right now, aren't you Heather?"

"I'm feeling so much better," Heather grins, the Holloways look up at their daughter lovingly.

Billy smiles genuinely, he's stood differently too, in a less intimidating way - his whole demeanour had changed so much since you last saw him, almost too much... you find it quite strange. Jane and Max glare, but you choose to smile back at him... still blushing at his sweet treatment towards you.

"Would you girls want a cookie? Little miss?" Heather pipes up again, smiling warmly as she holds the tray towards you. You always wanted to be accepted by her, but of course, being your neighbour meant that she’d seen you playing basketball with your brother, Mason, ding dong ditching houses in the neighbourhood (the Holloways had been victim to that game), flipping the bird at the paper boy whenever he’d hit you with the morning paper… not so typical cheerleader behaviour in her eyes.

What’s the harm in one cookie anyway?

You reach out to grab a cookie, but Max is quick to shove her arm in front of you to stop you from doing so. You open your mouth to protest, but the look she gives me is so fearful... and even though you thought that they'd played a playful joke about the possibility of 'death' at first, you think about the possibility of the cookies being poisoned, so you decide against it and let your hand fall back to your side, "I think we'd better go," Max states.

You hesitate because a part of you wants to stay because there is still so much that you want to say to Billy, but you feel both of your hands being taken and pulled by Jane and Max in the direction of the front door.

"I'll escort you to the door," Billy speaks, already following behind you. You feel goosebumps beginning to form at his close proximity and once you’re stood beside the front door you turn yourself around to say goodbye. Instead you gasp because you hadn’t realised just how close his face is to yours. "Hopefully we can - catch up alone sometime soon, yeah?" He smiles warmly, his eyes glassy, making them twinkle under the moonlight.

You smile again, your body shivers from the cold, but is also really warm at his presence, right now you want nothing more than to gravitate towards him, "Sure - that'd be p-perfect," you continue to look into his eyes, you find it nearing impossible to look away, but Max and Jane tug at my hands again... the pull startles you, it’s almost as if they’d just shaken you out of a trance.

"Thanks for the... notes-.”

Billy furrows his brows and tilts his head before opening his mouth to respond but they tug at your hand again, “C’mon, let’s go,” Max states, cutting your final chance to speak to Billy tonight short.

You start to walk away, hearing the door shut behind you. You stand in the rain watching Jane walk ahead and Max grabbing her bike... they’re so quiet, it feels like they're trying to leave you without another word.

"Where are you going?" You call after them, then you turn to look at Heather's house one last time, seeing Billy still looking out of the window to the side of the front door. He suddenly smiles again, noticing you looking and you quickly wave, give him a strained, squinted smile because raindrops are violently falling into your eyes... at least he can’t see me blushing again. "Jane, Max - wait up!" You call, picking up your bike and catching up with them, they now have the hoods of their red and yellow raincoats pulled over their heads.

Max abruptly turns to face you, her eyes squinted, "Isn't your house like - right there? You're gonna get a cold for no reason."

"Right - sorry er - I guess I’ll - see you around,” you start to turn yourself around, already noticing that the lights are on in your home, your heart sank at the sight of it and so does the thought of returning to it. You think of going back to the trailer park with your dad, but you’d have to cycle all the way across town… you just hope that everything would fizzle out by morning and you could return home then.

"Stay with us?" Jane suddenly suggests with a worried tone in her voice, she doesn’t look settled even though everything is supposedly fine... Billy and Heather are okay, "Besides - I think you have some questions for me?"

You could not have turned back around to face them quicker, your face lights up with so much intrigue, “I have so many questions!”

Mom and Rebecca definitely wouldn't be able to find me if I cooped up for the night in a random power-holding middle schooler's home.

You hop onto your bike and enthusiastically cycle towards the two girls, almost slipping due to the slipperiness of rain on concrete, causing Max to playfully roll her eyes and smile to herself.

“So are you?!” You breathily ask, struggling to speak with the rain and wind blowing against your face.

“What?!” Jane answers with a strained laugh.

“An alien with two hearts?!” You ask, humour evident in your voice.

The three of you all giggle while cycling in unison before Jane shakes her head, “Just a - girl!”

⇝ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ⎈ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒 ↯

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐨 𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲

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