#so he’d be like ‘Harrington how could you go PUNK on me????’ but also he’d be so proud bc Steve is finding what he enjoys and embracing it | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

piratefishmama · 11 months

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Fake it 'till you make it | Prompt

When Steve Harrington came out to his parents, he expected a few things to happen. Jumping back a little, he hadn’t even meant to come out. His parents meant well, they did. He couldn’t deny that they meant well.

They knew he was lonely when they were gone, they knew he was the type of person who kind of… needed someone around. He wasn’t a lone wolf, he wasn’t someone who could just go it alone, while they were away for months, and while Robin was lovely, Robin was also a lesbian.

So Robin was out of the question.

So it fell to the women they knew. Through their connections. And unfortunately those women tended to be, for lack of a better phrase, ‘Daddies money is how I intend to live for the rest of my life’, and completely comfortable in switching out who Daddy was.

Steve… didn’t have a daddy kink, thanks.

Okay maybe he did a little but not in the call him daddy kind of way. More the other way around.

After the fifth attempt to throw some business partners daughter at him, a woman who’d actually kind of impressively deep throated a hot dog at the office barbeque while looking directly at him before he’d even gotten her name. Impressive, kind of terrifying.

An image of his life consisting of an unhappy marriage where his wife used sex as some kind of transaction rather than the big family full of love that he wanted flashed before his eyes.

He'd had enough. So when the sixth one came up, Vivian, he hadn’t even been able to wait for them to explain who she was, which business associate she was related too, it just. Came out.

Or rather he came out. Spectacularly.

“I’M GAY!” Okay less spectacular initially, more manic desperation. He expected a few things to happen after he realised what he’d blurted out.

He expected anger, he expected disappointment, he half expected disownment, not fully expected, his mother would probably be on his side. He expected violence, judgement, demands of him to tell them it wasn’t true, or demands that he hide it, keep pretending for appearances sake. He’d heard the coming out horror stories.

He did not expect—

“Oh oh! What about Jonathan!! From Tennis club, honey you remember Jonathan right? Peter’s son?” His mother turning to look at his father, who’d turned a little pale. That was it, his father would be the one to blow up, his mother was in his corner that was sort of expected but his fa—

“Lynda he is not dating someone with the same name as me, that—no. No, I don’t think I’d recover if those thin walls at the chalet struck again.” Goddammit. “What about Timothy, Dorothy’s nephew? Didn’t she say she’d caught him with some punk boy on that family holiday to London?”

“Yes but she was trying to get points around the water cooler for being hip and homophobic, did you not hear what she called the poor boy? I’m not associating with Dorothy, good heavens.”

“I hadn’t heard, why have I not heard? Lynda we’re trying to create an inclusive work environment, I can’t have homophobic people working in HR!” And John was up, newspaper down, and off to his study to deal with Dorothy muttering about how he was sure the monthly office newsletter, which included the updated company values, would have weeded the bigots out by now.

“…Did my coming out just get someone fired?” Steve finally broke his shocked silence, his mothers attention turning back to him, her eyes wide, mouth puckered in a little, silent, oh.

“……Maybe.” His shoulders slumped, expression dropping to deadpan, she moved quick to reassure him “Don’t worry about it, Steven, she really wasn’t well liked.” It didn’t make him feel better… okay maybe it did, one less homophobe in the workplace. “Oooh, what about—”

It didn’t stop the matchmaking. The potential suitor pool just got bigger. Especially when he quietly, defeatedly corrected himself, revealing it was bisexual, not just gay, accepting his fate.

So it was no longer Vivian, Jessica, Bethany, Barbara, Carol, etc.

It was Vivian, Thomas, Jessica, Peter, Bethany, Robert blah blah blah

“Okay but you know some people would kill for that kind of support right?” Robin spoke the truth while rewinding the latest batch of returns. And maybe he was whining, maybe he was being overdramatic, his parents were supportive and were trying to make sure he’d be happy while they were gone on their long business trips.

Honestly they could have probably just let him get a dog. It’d have been easier. Less expensive than any of the people they were suggesting.

“I know… it’s just… they could at least try and find out what my type is. Instead it’s like they’re trying to throw a whole Indy gay bar at me in hopes that one person just kinda sticks. And now I’ve got a whole week with them coming up in some remote chalet, what if they bring someone, Robs? What if they bring someone and try an set us up an—”

“Can your parents just… adopt me?” She wasn’t listening “I’d kill to have the dating thing simplified for me, I can’t even talk to girls, you’ve got your mother doing all the work for you. I’d appreciate them, tell them I’d appreciate them.”

The door chimed, neither of them looked up, too engrossed in what they were doing. If a customer needed their help, they’d make it known.

They’d just adjust language used to not out themselves to strangers.

“You tell them! Pretty sure they’d find you someone.” Apparently his parents would be thrilled to help. He wanted to be happy about that, he really did, it was just exhausting having to fend off people who were interested in him but only for the last name, the business connection, the money. He wanted someone who wanted him for him, and none of those ‘potential suitors’ fit that bill. “Robbie I’m serious here, what if— what if they try when I can’t escape. I can’t spend a whole week in the woods with some stranger they’ve thrown at me, I think I might actually perish.”

“Then take a date.” Both young adults turned to look at the culprit behind the door chime.

“Henderson!” Steve’s favourite of the brat pack. Having met him while ferrying the kids home when Jonathan couldn’t pick Will up from Mike’s on a night when Steve had been hanging out with his at the time girlfriend Nancy. The kid was hilarious, a little bit of a know it all, but when you actually know it all, you’ve kind of earned the right to be obnoxious about it. “What did you hear?”

“That someone’s setting you up with people? Which is that a bad thing?” He directed the second question to Robin who shrugged and rolled her eyes.

“Not in my book lil man, not in my book.”

“Okay It’s not the attempt that’s the problem, it’s the quantity of attempts, and the quality of people they’re throwing at me! Quantity and quality are the issues here, people, it’s not that they’re doing it,”

“It’s that they’re doing it badly.” Dustin finished, Steve pointing at him with clicked finger guns.

“Exactly… and I don’t want my parents at my future wedding claiming they were responsible for getting us together cause that’d be weird! And pathetic. I want a fun first date story, a meet cute, or a ridiculous ‘yeah we were trapped in an elevator for like, three hours and bonded’ kind of story, I want an ‘I met them on a train’ or ‘they hit on me at the bar, and it just worked’ not an ‘my parents set us up in a remote cabin in the woods’, do you get me?”

“I can see your dilemma, but remote cabins in the woods can be really roman—"

“Nobody wants to hear about you and Suzie again! We get it, she’s your soulmate and future nerd wife you lucky little shithead.” Long distance and tricky as it may be, they were kind of perfect for each other. “Now what were you saying about taking a date?”

“Exactly that, take a date with you. Tell them you’re bringing someone and just… bring someone.” Dustin let his eyes flick to robin purposefully, quirking his head a little to subtly nod at her “you could take Robin” as if to say now’s your chance, dickhead, take it.

“Somehow I doubt Robin would be able to convince them that we were dating.”

“Cause we’re not.”

“And will not be.”

“At all.”

“Eh—"

“—ver”

“You guys make no sense.”

“We make perfect sense, my strange little child friend. You just don’t have all the information to make it make sense.” Robin wiggled her fingers at him as if it was some kind of mystery, it was to Dustin but that wasn’t important. “He does have a point though, you could take a date, there’s plenty of people in Hawkins who’d kill for a rich person get away, just gotta let them know that it’s a pretend date situation. Or… actually find a date. If you can.”

The "you suck" board flashed into his mind momentarily. He couldn’t. Not within the time frame he had. He was so far off his game his parents were matchmaking for him.

Dustin’s voice broke through his thoughts once more, offering salvation. “I know someone you could hire for that…” hallelujah, Dustin Henderson everybody.

Part 2

#PirateWrites #Steddie #No Upside Down AU #FakeItTillYouMakeItFiclet

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cherrydreamer · 4 years

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If There Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked then I Must Be the Goddamn Devil

A lil bit of Harringrove. Minimal warnings- some swearing, very brief implication of Neil Hargrove’s abuse and Steve’s reaction to his own dad. Please let me know if I forget to tag/mention anything.

Also at: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26155576

Billy Hargrove fell in lust with Steve Harrington from the very first moment he saw him. That incredible hair? Those big brown Bambi eyes? That ass in those jeans? Yeah, Billy always thinks with his dick, and his dick was having a total epiphany.

But then Billy got his brain involved. Remembered it was not such a bright idea to be so openly gaga over another boy. Not in this hick town. Not with Neil breathing down his neck every damn day.

So between them, his dick and his brain made a deal. Made some rules.

He could stare if he combined it with a sneer. He could touch if he combined it with a shove. He could let as many ‘pretty, princess, sweetheart’s drip from his tongue as he wanted, as long as his tone stayed harsh and his eyes never gave away the truth.

And as much of a punk ass rebel as he was, Billy knew how to follow the kind of rules that kept him alive.

He was doing pretty well at toeing his own lines until Steve had to be involved with Max and whatever goddamn crazy business she’d gotten herself all wrapped up in.

Had to be a part of the reason that Neil got all riled up. Had to be there when he went to get Max. Had to lie. Had to be the one standing in the way when Billy lost all control.

Had to suffer because Billy is a total pathetic fucking psycho who’s just going to become an abusive asshole like his dear old dad.

After Billy wakes up, after he shakes away the grogginess and the aches in his body and the thumping in his head, after he stumbles his way home, after he takes his second round of punishment from Neil. After all of that Billy makes some new rules.

Well one new rule

Stay the fuck away from Steve Harrington.

And it works pretty well for the most part.

When he hears that Steve is bringing the curly haired nerd to the Snowball Dance, he drops Max as far from the door as he dares and speeds on out of there without a backwards glance.

When he hears Max tell Susan that Steve’s giving her a ride to the arcade, Billy hides in his room and wills himself not to open the curtains

When he hears that Steve’s working in an ice cream parlour dressed as a sailor he damn near pulls his dick off thinking about it but he doesn’t go near.

And it was working. Out of sight, out of mind. Or the first part at least.

Billy had reckoned without interdimensional monster possession though.

Because it turns out that one sure-fire way of attracting Steve Harrington’s attention is to sacrifice yourself for a psychic kid, fight off a hideous mass of tentacles and goo, and nearly bleed out and die on a grimy mall floor.

And it turns out that it’s pretty hard to stay away from a guy when you’re incapacitated in a hospital bed and he’s pretty insistent on taking care of you. It’s almost impossible to stay away from that guy when he says things like:

‘This town’s got some really weird shit Hargrove, and no one should deal with it alone.’

And ‘I’d say we’re pretty even now anyway, you broke a plate on me, I crashed a car into you.’

And ‘It’s OK Billy, you’re OK now, shhh now, it’s over, you’re safe, I promise you’re safe.’

And that’s how Billy got to know Steve.

Got to know that he’d stay by your side and watch yours and hours of late night teleshopping because you just can’t sleep.

Got to know that he’d hold out his hand for you to grab when it was the mean nurse doing the blood tests.

Got to know that he had a spare room and the world’s biggest heart and an unerring sense for when someone might need both of those things.

So Billy moved in and learnt a few more things about Steve Harrington.

Learnt that Steve not only owned multiple ABBA records but could and would sing and dance his way through them all.

Learnt that Steve could manage to completely mess up making a PB&J in the morning and then throw together some complicated pasta dish in the evening without even once glancing at a cookbook.

Learnt that the best thing to do after Steve got off the phone to his Dad was for Billy to put on the first ABBA record he found, crank it up as loud as he could and put on enough of a show that Steve’s trembling turned to laughter.

Learnt that the pleading and crying he heard coming from Steve’s room some nights could be stopped entirely by slipping in beside Steve and holding him until he woke up. And that it was generally easier and more efficient to just start the night out in Steve’s bed, with Steve in his arms, just as a precaution.

And then Billy learnt a few more things.

Learnt how Steve’s deep brown eyes would widen when Billy gently placed a hand against his cheek. Learnt how soft Steve’s hair felt when Billy cupped his hand against the back of Steve’s head to draw him in closer. Learnt how right Steve’s lips felt against his. Learnt how good it felt when Steve kissed him back. Learnt how it felt to be in love.

#harringrove #steve harrington #billy hargrove #fanfic #there's abba!#and pining!#tw: implied child abuse #i mucked this up when posting first time so here's hoping the formatting works

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fieldsofplay · 3 years

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Favorite Albums of 2020

25. Dehd – Flower of Devotion

Rather than look back on the shit year that was 2020, lets keep our eye on the hope of the horizon. Speaking of which, Dehd herald much of what’s to come on this here list. While as previously mentioned a shit year for most everything besides presidential politics, 2020 proved to be a great year for good old fashioned guitar music. Could I be accused of curling up with my version of musical comfort food? Perhaps. But starting off with Dehd, we have a type of band that used to be everywhere and now seems to be almost nowhere. Jangly lo-fi guitars, perky drums, and straightforward unadorned singing. About five years ago you couldn’t throw a rock in Brooklyn without hitting a band like this, but now that that fad is long gone. I’m glad that Chicago’s Dehd are still carrying the torch.

24. Perfume Genius – Set My Heart on Fire Immediately

I’ve always liked Perfume Genius, but for whatever reason Set My Heart on Fire Immediately is the album that took him out of the realm of casual background musical encounter to something I sought out. Chamber pop has never really been my thing (except for those couple summers where Grizzly Bear was totally my jam), but here the torch songs catch fire by the compressed force of Michael Hadreas’ longing. This record also pulls off the impressive feat of each song gradually morphing just a bit from what proceeds it, so that the whole record sounds similar and yet each song carves out its own little generic niche, the whole thing united by the quivering power of that pleading voice.

23. 2nd Grade – Hit to Hit

If you ever found yourself wondering what Guided by Voices would sound like if they wanted to be Big Star instead of punk rock Kinks, we now have the answer, and it’s Phily’s 2nd Grade. In the noble tradition of Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes, Hit to Hit’s 24 tracks breeze by in a mere 41 minutes and 8 seconds. An earworm sunny melody, a quick guitar hook, a second verse (maybe), and poof, each song is gone before you could ever miss it. You would think variation would be difficult working within such tight musical corners, but while each song clearly shares common DNA, there is actually a lot of variance here, from weepy country ditties (“Bye Bye Texas”) to overdriven stompers (“Baby’s First Word”) though they all tend to orbit the same (big) star.

22. Tame Impala – The Slow Rush

I’ll be the first to admit that The Slow Rush isn’t my favorite Tame Impala record, not by a long shot. Having said that, this album still feels like it got short shrift this year (not that anyone can really complain about that in these here times). If we never knew that Lonerism or Innerspeaker or Currents existed, I wonder how much people would be head over heels for this album. “One More Year” “Is It True” and “Posthumous Forgiveness” are all top notch Impala jams. Seems like this album is the soundtrack for the chilled out summer hangs that we never got to have, and thus it’s fitting that it seems condemned for the ash-heap of history rather than the late-night come downs we never got up to.

21. Against All Logic – 2017 – 2019

Ah, speaking of complicated musical relationships, I can never seem to chart a clear course with Nicolas Jaar. The music he puts out under his own name never seems to do much for me, but I dug his collaboration with Dave Harrington as Darkside, and I really love most everything he’s put out as Against All Logic. While admittedly not a great year for house music—normally a liberating genre of communal interconnectivity, now a cruel reminder that we all live in Footloose—a banger remains a banger, and 2017-2019 is full to the brim with them. While I honestly can’t remember the last time I went dancing, I’ll still crank up “Fantasy” and bop around my living room, literally dancing by myself (lets be honest, something I would have done pandemic or no).

20. Fiona Apple – Fetch the Bolt Cutters

Fetch the Bolt Cutters has had a lot of great things said about it this year, so I don’t really have to add that much. What I will say is this is perhaps the most interesting percussion I’ve ever heard on a record. There is percussion all over the place, but almost none of it in the form of full-kit drumming. Fiona always used the left hand on the piano as the rhythmic center of her songs, but here there is drilling, tapping, rapping, patting. The phrase DIY gets tossed around all the time (and almost never applied to big money, big label Fiona) but to me the most impressive thing about this record is how it always sounds like she is sitting at a rickety upright piano in the corner of a living room, while everyone congregating around keeps the beat by tapping on pots and pans, the walls, whatever is at hand. I’ve truly never heard anything like it.

19. Advertisement – American Advertisement

Godbless Seattle’s Advertisement. So long as there is cheap beer, old shitty cars driving with the windows down, and the U-SofA, there’ll be bands like Advertisement. Straight out of the vein of Cheap Trick and the more recent White Reaper, Advertisement play power pop with the emphasis on the power. Sometimes this type of music gets called sleazy, but honestly I don’t get it. I think its probably because you can imagine it playing while Wooderson drives around Austin looking for redheads. While we rightfully cancelled the song of summer this year, “Upstream Boogie” would have gotten my vote, perfect for backyard bbqs and cannonballing into creeks.

18. Nation of Language – Introduction, Presence

I didn’t set it up this way, but if Advertisement has a diametric opposite, its probably Nation of Language. Where Advertisement is all frayed edges and foam, Nation of Language is as buttoned up as those terrible sports jackets people wore in the early ‘90s. While its not as good as my beloved Black Marble, those bands share enough DNA to make me a big fan of this synth pop gem. It’s not as dark as the cold-wave Black Marble, but it does share that bands fondness for stark baselines and crisp arpeggios. If you’ve ever envisioned your life as a scene from a John Hughes movie, Nation of Language could easily be playing in the background.

17. The Soft Pink Truth – Shall we Go on Sinning so that Grace May Increase?

Indulge me in a moment of naval gazing. Every year as I put these things together I reach a point where I’m lack “damn, this album is this low on the list?” And the point at which that thought enters my head is usually indicative of how good a year for music it was. Now 2020 wasn’t a good year for anything, and I probably spent the least time of any year listening to music, new, old, whatever. For the most part I just listened to the Grateful Dead and ambient albums. However, for my idiosyncratic tastes, 2020 was actually a pretty fucking incredible year for new music, as evinced by the fact that this album is all the way down at 17.

Earlier on in 2020 as I was bombarding my poor local music text thread with yet more of my inane musings, I think I declared this a top 3 album of the year. And I wasn’t lying! “Pretty” is often a dirty word in aesthetic appreciation, but this is certainly the “prettiest” album of the year in the best sense of the word. From the Drew Daniel half of Matmos comes Shall we Go on Sinning so that Grace May Increase? A record that is somehow simultaneously deep house and feather light, so much so that it needs its own dumb internet music writing moniker—shallow house? wide house? vacation house? (actually kinda like that last one). With vocals from Jana Hunter, Angel Deradoorian, and Colin Self (with whom I wasn’t previously familiar) this thing will simultaneously make you want to tap your foot and drift off into the clouds. This is album is like the prayer Madonna sang about all those years ago.

16. Kurt Vile – Speed, Sound, Lonely KV

It’s not at all surprising that if Kurt Vile decided he wanted to go country western he’d be really fucking good at it. First of all, he’s an exceptional acoustic guitar picker. Secondly, his voice, while always befitting his hazed out urban rockers, has just enough twang to it that in retrospect it always sounded a little bit country. This record also gives me room to offer up an homage to the late great John Prine, for whom the EP is essentially a tribute. Vile covers two Prine songs, dueting with the man himself on “How Lucky.” Saying goodbye is never easy, but on Speed, Sound, Lonely (both the album, and the song more or less by that name) Vile manages a fitting tribute to a lost legend.

15. Lomelda – Hannah

The reviews of Hannah really did Lomelda a disservice. Sure, they were glowing, but they made it sound like this was some weepy milquetoast singer songwriter affair, when it’s actually a knotty album full off elliptical piano and fuzzed out electric guitar. Its 14 tracks hurtle by, largely due to the fact that almost all of them are under 3 and a ½ minutes. Things really get going with the second track, “Hannah Sun” with is squiggly synth effects and driving acoustic strums carrying on Hannah Read’s musings. It’s an album of relentless forward musical movement even if the vibe feels like it’s always looking back over its shoulder. Basically this album is what emo would sound like if it wasn’t made by the worst people in the universe.

14. Shabaka and the Ancestors – We are Sent here by History

Jazz! Another great year for jazz (Asher Gamedze’s Dialectic Soul and Keefe Jackson, Jim Baker, & Julian Kirshner’s So Glossy and So Thin are with a strong group that just missed the cut). In the midst of an excellent jazz renaissance (you gotta use super annoying words like “renaissance” when talking about jazz) Shebaka Hutchins remains my absolute fave of the bunch, and We are Sent here by History is probably my favorite thing he has put out so far.

13. Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud

While I really liked Waxahatchee’s low-fi emoish debut—American Weekend—I’ll readily admit I wasn’t much about the popier albums that followed, frequently jesting, honestly, that Allison was my preferred musical Crutchfield sister. All that changed for me with Saint Cloud. I’ve certainly drifted far off into country and Americana as I’ve aged, and it appears the same came be said for Katie Crutchfield. These songs have a giddyup to them but they never break out into a gallop, allowing the strength of the melodies to carry them along across the plains, with just the right hint of twilight. Saint Cloud is the sound of Patsy Cline if she played to roadside inns rather than the Grand Ol’ Opry.

12. Neil Young – Homegrown

This was the hardest album to place on the list this year. For starters, should it even count? Clearly I say yes. While some of these songs have been available for over 30 years, as an album, Homegrown was a “new” release here in 2020, even though it was originally slated to come out in ’75 between On the Beach (my personal fave Neil record) and Zuma. As a pure piece of music, is it better than most, if not all, of the records that follow? Of course yes. But what does a new Neil Young record mean in 2020? As a thought experiment its fascinating. Do we value this album within the musical context of 2020 or 1975? Fortunately, it’s an even more enjoyable listen than it is a thought experiment. From the first strums of “Separate Ways” you’re like “oh shit, this is the vintage stuff.” Gentle amber acoustic numbers (“Try”) share space with electric stompers (“Vacancy”). The best thing you can say about Homegrown is that if Neil had originally decided to release this instead of Tonight’s The Night, it would have fit right in amongst his unimpeachable run from Everybody Knows This is Nowhere up through Zuma. A classic is still a classic, no matter what year it finally sees the light of day.

11. Destroyer – Have we Met

Ah Dan Bejar, boy was I wrong about you. I kinda got into Destroyer’s Rubies, I loved his contributions to Swan Lake and The New Pornographers, but yet when Chinatown started really making waves, I just couldn’t do it. It was soft rock! I hate soft rock! I hate everything about it! This preconceived notion wasn’t helped by the fact that I saw him open for the War on Drugs in Pontiac once and he was so drunk he could barely stand up and had to read his own lyrics from a sheet. And yet, for some reason I never really gave up on it. I can’t tell you why exactly, but two summers ago Chinatown just slowly became my go-to for early morning / late afternoon strolls. I found comfort in giving myself over to its pillowy soft embrace / cheating on my own aesthetic judgments. Now that I’m card-carrying Bejarhead, I greeted Have we Met with open arms, and I was not disappointed. The synths glimmer, the guitars add just enough punch, and his lyrics remain sharp as ever. Its fitting that this was the last concert I saw before the iron curtain fell. The one thing I had always turned my back on ended up being the last memory of dionysian group enthrallment I had to carry with me out into the desert of social isolation. Come back soon Destroyer, come back soon, everyone.

10. Deeper – Auto-Pain

Ladies and gentlemen, get ready, because post punk is back! I always say my favorite genre is ‘sad songs you can dance to’ but post punk is a close second. When I was in college post punk underwent a bit of a renaissance in the form of Interpol (back when they were still good), Bloc Party (ditto), Franz Ferdinand, and a whole slew of British one hit wonders (Maximo Park, Futureheads, Art Brut, the Bravery). Fortunately, as is always the case, what’s old is new again, and stark melodic bass lines, angular guitars, and moody introspective speak-singing are back in full force. Of the three post punk bands gracing this here top ten (Deeper, Fontaines DC, and Crack Cloud) each has its own little slice of the generic pie. Fontaines have the deep gloom of Interpol/Joy Division, Crack Cloud ripple with the staccato energy of Gang of Four, and Deeper have the wiry dancieness of, well, Wire. So long as leather jackets and black and white photography remain cool, there’ll always be bands like this, and thank god for that. In a true sign o’ the times, I learned about this band from some random girl’s Tik Tok in my for-you feed. She repped five bands, two of which are in my top three, so I was like, sure I’ll give this band Deeper a go. God bless the internet. Finally, Deeper get bonus points for naming a song “This Heat,” who I’ve been spending a lot of time revisiting this year, and whose spikey guitars are all over this record.

9. The Flaming Lips – American Head

There are few things as satisfying in art as being genuinely surprised by a beloved artist you had given up as culturally dead. Since putting out their last masterpiece (2009’s Embryonic) the Lips have put out a string of good, if inconsequential, albums that befitting the ethos of the band could best be described as half baked (The Terror, Oczy Moldy, and a series of collaborative experiments). Basically, they had reached that dreaded nadir where I was no longer interested in listening to their new output (cough The National, cough cough Arcade Fire). So what made me give American Head a chance? That reader, is the point of art criticism! I can’t remember how the blurb on pitchfork read exactly, but I knew it referenced Tom Petty and a return to a preoccupation with more Earthly concerns—namely ‘70s heartland rock. Well, this sounded intriguing, and boy was I not disappointed. Sure, the Flaming Lips have already reached their sell-by date twice over (first in 1992, immediately followed by their MTV reinvention on 1993’s Transmissions from the Satellite Heart; and then again in the late ‘90s with the departure of guitarist Ronald Jones, followed by their creative pinnacle, ‘99’s symphonic masterpiece The Soft Bulletin), so it shouldn’t be all that surprising that this band could rise from the dead a third time. Only, for the most part, they didn’t. I guess I’m not surprised that American Head failed to reach a broader audience. Most people probably aren’t even aware that they are still a going concern, and after the failures of the last decade it makes sense that most weren’t interested in more tunes from the Oklahoma freaknicks. But for those willing to give the band another chance, American Head easily delivers their best album since Embryonic, if not all the way back to Yoshimi. Mixing ‘70s Americana with the star gazing of Soft Bulletin’s “Sleeping on the Roof,” the Lips deliver their best album in decades by foregoing the parlor tricks and returning to what they do best, taking trips to distant galaxies while keeping their feet firmly planted in the soil and songcraft of Oklahoma.

8. Cut Worms – Nobody Lives Here Anymore

This one is pretty easy. Do you like George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass? If yes, listen to Nobody Lives Here Anymore and revel in this double album’s upbeat acoustic rock mediations. If no, well there’s plenty of other good stuff out there. Not quite as metaphysical or orchestral as All Things Must Pass, Nobody Lives Here Anymore still manages to hit that rockabiliy-pop sweet spot that Harrison used to mine. I’m not quite sure what the definition of “troubadour” is, but it feels safe to call Cut Worms a troubadour, which is certainly better than his terrible stage name.

7. Cigarettes for Breakfast – Aphantasia

Similar to Cut Worms, Cigarettes for Breakfast also involves a simple influence equation. Do you pray at the altar of Loveless? If so, Aphantasia is just the record for you. Sure, it’s a bit of My Bloody Valentine paint by numbers (“Breathe” even features the same squally guitar noise [it’s really hard to try and describe My Bloody Valentine effects ha] as “Soft as Snow (But Warm Inside)”) but when you’re as into shoegaze as I am, that’s never really a bad thing. Plus, I’m being a bit unfair. Everyone with textured tremolo heavy wall-of-sound guitars and cooed vocals is going to inevitably be compared to MBV, and Cigarettes for Breakfast do enough to chart their own course. Perhaps most interesting is the musical journey this record charts. Its loudest moment is its opening, where pummeling guitars more reminiscent of Sonic Youth with a touch of Dinosaur Jr. rip across hardcore style drumming. From there each song becomes a little more ambient, until closer “If Someone Could Help Me, Please” more or less floats away on its shimmering sheets of beautiful noise clouds. In this sense, it bears a resemblance in structure, if not in sound, to Deerhunter’s Cryptograms, another album I spent a lot of time revisiting this year. A shutout here is owed to the fine folks at Radio K, who had me diving for my shazam as this thing ripped across their airwaves. So long as there is college radio, there’ll be a new crop of kids discovering via Kevin Shields that the electric guitar contains endless sonic possibilities.

6. Fontaines D.C. – A Hero’s Death

The second entry in our top-ten post punk trio is A Hero’s Death by Fontaines D.C. I’ll admit, on first blush it’s kind of a dumb band name (I just assumed they were some hardcore band from Washington DC chasing those Dischord Records glory days), but when you learn that the “DC” stands for Dublin City, it all clicks, as this band is sorta inescapably Irish in the way that James Joyce is. Now this fact at first was also off-putting—if I went the rest of my life without ever hearing the Dropkick Murphy’s again I’d be quite content—but eventually it becomes integral to their sound, and not just because of the brogue in Garin Chatten’s vocals. “Love is the Main Thing” is an incredible song in many ways, most notably because of the hypnotic quality of the drumming with its counterpoint between riding cymbal and staccato toms, but perhaps in the main (*wink*) for the way it manages to connote the weariness of a grey urban environment without ever being explicitly about it. Just as Turn on the Bright Lights managed to perfectly capture New York in 2001, A Hero’s Death to me is the aural equivalent of a dense urban center like Dublin, especially after nightfall.

5. Imaginary Softwoods – Annual Flowers in Color

It should come as no surprise that I listened to A LOT of ambient this year, and to me there was no better electronic record to chill the fuck out to during this insane year than Annual Flowers in Color. I absolutely loved Emeralds’ Does it Look Like I’m Here? and was devastated they never followed that gem (*wink*) up. In the immediate aftermath of the demise of Emeralds Mark McGuire’s solo albums got a lot of attention, but apparently the person I really loved in Emeralds was Imaginary Softwoods’ John Elliot. Annual Flowers in Color is like if Dead City’s, Red Seas, Lost Ghosts were waiting in the departure’s lounge of Eno’s airport. At the heart of the album lies the 10 plus minutes of “Another First/Sea Machine.” I could listen to this song forever, and on some particularly WTF 2020 lakewalks I more or less have. Chunky synths, arpeggios that drift off to infinity, ‘80s soundtrack nostalgia. I could live in these Softwoods for the rest of my sonic days.

4. Pottery – Welcome to Bobby’s Motel

In another moment of nostalgia for my college years, Pottery are a welcome return to weird ass experimental Canadian bands. They don’t sound anything like the Unicorns, but in spirit Pottery kind of remind me of them. I’ve spilled a lot of digital ink here and elsewhere bemoaning the fact that Pitchfork (or perhaps, me) isn’t cool anymore, and to me no band embodies this more than Pottery. They take a bunch of fun disparate elements—Talking Heads dance art rock, periodic weird pitch shifted vocal effects, hazy deep purple style guitars, and Queen style machismo disco—throw them into a witch’s cauldron, and come up with something off the wall that sounds like nothing else but is also instantly familiar. This is the type of thing Pitchfork would have been all over in 2007, but instead now they’re too busy chasing conde nast clout clicks. Oh well, nothing gold can last. But enough negativity, this here is a celebration of the joy of new music, and no new band embodies that unbridled joy like Pottery. Along with Fontaines DC, this is the band I wish I most could have bopped around to with a bunch of sweaty strangers in the 7th St. Entry or Turf Club. You can just imagine the call and response vocals and funky grooves getting the people moving. Oh well, hopefully we’ll soon all be rocking the vaccine, they can breeze through town, and I’ll be the first person on the dance floor embarrassingly pumping my fist a half beat behind the rhythm.

3. Pure X – Pure X

To paraphrase Same Elliott in the Big Lebowski, sometimes there’s a band, and well, sometimes there’s a band. For me this year, that band was Pure X. I absolutely loved their debut Pleasure way back in 2011, when lo-fi reverb heavy slow guitar music (ie, Galaxie 500) was all the rage. Their follow up Crawling up the Stairs was so bad I didn’t even bother listening to Angel, though perhaps that also owed a decent amount to just how terrible the art on that record is. (I’ve since remedied this mistake; turns out that record rules). Being that as it may, I can’t particularly tell you what drew me in to this year’s self-titled album, a full nine years after Pleasure first graced the stage. In one sense it’s probably because Pleasure is one those albums that just never went out of my rotation. Whenever the fahrenheit tips past 90 and the walk to the bodega is a few blocks longer than you’d like, that record always hits the spot. Maybe I just knew this was the record I needed this year. Either way, from the first bars of “Middle America” I was hooked. The guitars crash over you, but never in a threatening way. Rather, they envelop you like a weighted blanket, comforting you in their sonic embrace. Nowhere is this more true than on “Fantasy,” easily my favorite song of 2020 (especially since this was a year entirely devoid of dance floor bangers). If this album came out in 1999 rather than 2020 I would have hit the repeat button on my discman and listened to this song forever.

2. Crack Cloud – Pain Olympics

Pain Olympics is the answer to the question that no one asked: what if Arcade Fire’s (back when they were good) communal uplift was paired with Gang of Four’s stark anthem’s of industrialism’s collapse? While on first blush this might sound like your standard album of punkish fist pumping angst, from when the female vocals (sorry there are too many people in this band for me to be able to figure out whose who) come in on opener “Post Truth (Birth of a Nation)” Pain Olympics reveals itself to be a very strange animal (likely a unicorn of some sort), especially as little orchestral swirls creep into the mix, giving it an almost Judy Garland (in hell) quality. This subtle genre pastiche is given its best effect on stunner “The Next Fix.” That song starts out as an elastic spoken-word call and response addiction rumination, at the minute mark it starts to segue into a vocoded chill raver, then some horns crop up out of nowhere, then a spoken word passage, then at the two minute mark a chorus of voices come in, doing their best Broken Social Scene in the truest sense of the phrase. This is perhaps one of the strangest records I’ve ever heard, but what is strangest of all is just how beautiful it is. Crack Cloud are not for everyone, but if you really give it a chance, the returns are limitless.

1. SAULT – Untitled (Rise) / Untitled (Black Is)

You cannot tell the story of 2020 without SAULT, which is why this pair of records is here at the top, even if under the influence of sodium pentothal (lets be honest, veritaserum) I might lean more towards Pain Olympics. In June, the “anonymous” London project put out Untitled (Black Is), and then quickly followed that gem up with September’s Untitled (Rise). Perhaps more amazing still is that these two albums, released so close together, have unique personalities. Black Is is more pop/R&B whereas Rise has a dancy, electr(on)ic feel. I lean more towards the latter, but honestly, both albums are so overstuffed with amazing moments that it’s borderline unbelievable that one outfit could put out so much amazing music in such a short span. While these records would chart high even if sung in Hopelandic, there’s no escaping the social import of the lyrics. One need look no further than Black Is’s “Don’t Shoot Guns Down” for the 2020 dance party at the end of the world. As if that weren’t more than enough, it finds its analogue on Rise’s “Street Fighter,” and that’s SAULT in a nutshell: two albums in constant communication with one another, and more importantly, with the state of the world. Guns down. Don’t Shoot. Let’s dance.

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slothgiirl · 4 years

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shadowplay part 15

Sam waves off the real estate agent while you look around.

“So he went down on you,” she repeats for the thousandth time.

It's the 7th place you've looked at this week and you've got to hand it to the agent, he knew exactly what you were looking for. Small cozy place with lots of natural light, at least two bedrooms and a patio or yard because you fancied that you would grow your own herbs at some point after you learned how to cook.

It could happen.

You were going to stop living off takeout.

Eventually.

“Yes and we’re dating. Like I’ve told you for the hundredth time. God I look awful in those photos,” you wave off. You should've worn makeup to the airport. “Do you think redoing the bathroom and kitchen is too much work?”

You hated the kitchen and bathroom.

“We can diy,” Sam grins. “that's what youtube is for and yes you look like utter shit. But who cares when you're getting that good dick.”

“Can you keep it down,” you utter, glancing at the real estate agent. This house was in a good location, close to Regents park. It was a steal well, because the inside needed some updates if you didn't want to live in the tackiest home ever.

Houses were an investment.

“Well at least one of us is getting laid.”

“You just had a one night stand,” you remind her. “It was the first thing you told me. Alex heard.”

“How was I supposed to know he was going to be there this morning!”

“Not to mention you never gave me my spare key back.”

“What are friends for,” Sam winks. “Okay yeah we'd need to trash the inside but the foundation and pipes look good.”

“He asked me to move in with him.”

“What! Really? I never expected you to move that fast.”

You shrug. It wasn't like...with Alex things were...well not easy but you weren't second guessing every single thing. He was starting to write and that meant you'd usually get home with food and Alex would be engrossed in his own scribbles with a keyboard or guitar even while eating. It had bothered you at first.

But you'd talked.

And you just had never felt as comfortable with anyone.

You needed downtime from Sam.

But you didn't mind Alex playing guitar while you went to bed because it was Alex. And you wanted to enjoy every single second he was there because music meant he would sooner or later be touring.

“Well I said no,” you tell Sam. “I mean..I think I would've said yes if I wasn't in the market for a house. It just doesn't feel like I'm rushing things...he's already said I love you. I don't know how to explain it but it doesn't feel like I'm making space for someone in my life it just feels like sharing. If that makes any sense?”

“Ah you're in love,” she sniggers, “stop rubbing my face in it.”

“This color is awful too,” you motion to the puke pink-brown on the wall.

“I've definitely vom’d that up after too many shots.”

“Sam!”

“You should get this house. I will move in exchange for helping you redo the paint and other stuff. Also you love regents park!”

“I do.”

“It's meant to be.”

“You think?”

Sam nods, “your horscope was also very positive this morning.”

“Sam!”

Her eyes widen, “I didn't interrupt anything this morning did I!”

You roll your eyes. “No. We'd-,” you cut yourself off, refusing to tell Sam everything. Give her an inch and she'd take the whole damn mile. “No. I saw this diy on how to make a faux marble countertop?”

“Now you're thinking,” she grins widely. “I still can't believe Mrs. Harrington’s going to wear a whole ass clam on her head! Poshos I swear!”

“Lady Gaga could pull it off,” you add. “Remember that lobster hat?”

“Yes!” Sam laughs. “I saw the pile of instruments you've amassed. When can I expect free concert tickets” She wiggles her eyebrows.

You laugh. Sam wouldn't turn down free tickets, but she, like you, hadn't really known about the Arctic Monkeys before Alex came into your life. “He's writing. Not sure how close to recording that is,” you shrug. You were pretty sure he had stayed up all night composing a song last night. “It's nice. I'm actually managing to get through my reading list.”

“You two both need to do some more Rolling Stones-esque partying. Not sit it. I'd go crazy with that little attention. I'm like a plant but with attention instead of water.”

“My liver is still recovering from the states,” you answer. You'd smoked weed and done shots like it was happy hour twenty four seven. And while it was fun, you couldn't work and party that hard. You liked sleeping too much.

“Well it better recover quick,” Sam opens the door to the yard, a small patch of land covered in weeds and dead grass. “We are going out this weekend. My roommates on and off again boyfriend’s birthday is this weekend. and it's the big 3 O. And there's going to be all the fun drugs. I refuse to turn 30 without snorting coke once.”

You look at her, bewildered, “you did do coke. I remember being there and telling you I wasn't going to look after you.”

“But you did.”

“Where would you be without me?” You smile, trying to picture basil and whatever other herbs people are growing in the little yard.

“Well I'd have ended up flashing the school. Thank god you had some safety pins on you.”

“Ah yes,” you grin. Her punk phase, the reason Sma had gone to trade school for fashion with you. Unlike your suiting skills, hers had fallen more into fabrics and dress making. She always knew just the fabric to use to get the desired cut. “I told you that seam wouldn't hold.”

“I'd probably be working in a bar. Or,” she frowns, “still living with my parents. Gross.”

“I'll put an offer in then.”

“How soon can I move in,” she winks.

“Do you really want to,” you offer. It would be nice to live together. You might hate that she never washed the dishes, but she did cook. And also you remember that she never bought groceries. Or remembered to tell you she had someone over. And Sam had the worst habit of staying up until three in the morning for no reason which wasn't a deal breaker but was way past when you went to bed.

You hadn't shared a flat since she'd moved out to live with some guy that she then broke up with and kept the room he'd been renting.

“No. I can live not having to see you and Alex be disgusting in front of me.”

You smile fondly. “He really is shameless. We made out outside of that pizza place next to Liberty yesterday. Ate out for once. And only because I thought the pizza would be cold by the time they got to my flat.”

“It is a bit far from there,” Sam nods. “But if you end up getting this house it won't be.”

“I am making an offer. Are you sure you're not the real estate agent.”

“Maybe I need a career change.” Sam notes.

“Well let me go make an offer then.”

“We should get bubble tea after.”

“Totally.”

#Alex Turner #alex turner fanfic #alex turner imagine #alex turner x reader #shadowplay #two chapters left #and ive already written the next part

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royalskarsgard · 5 years

Text

Once in a Lifetime

Billy Hargrove X Reader

Summary: Is it harder to love the man who broke your heart or to forgive him?

A/N: This is sooooooo overdue, and I’m so sorry. Family issues got in the way. And a whole lot of writer's block. But I hope you can forgive me, it’s super long to account for how long I went missing! Thanks to the loml for helping me through this @hotstuffhargrove

Sequel to ‘Love You, Goodbye.’

Warnings: one swear word

Word count: 2.4k

“Fucking Harrington! Get your dirty clothes out of the bathroom,” you groaned. He always did this after work, he always left his dirty uniforms on the bathroom floor. He claimed he was too exhausted after work to bring them to the correct place. Yet, a sudden burst of energy always appeared when his “study buddy” called to meet him at the library.

“I’ll get them later! I’m actually. Headed out to meet Lisa at the library. I’ll catch you tomorrow!” He rushed out. You rolled your eyes, wondering why Steve thought his lies were believable. He’s clearly in love.

Love was cruel and not worth anything in the end. It’s just a consumeristic ploy that gets you to buy movie tickets and to sell chocolate on Valentine’s Day. It wasn’t real. It was all lust, love at first sight? Fake, what they're really thinking is, ‘my god, that person really is fuckable.’

Sighing, you went into your powder pink bathroom. Feet slipping on the water Steve had left after his shower. When all his clothes were in the correct hampers, you quickly passed the kitchen, deciding to skip dinner. You weren’t that hungry, working at a diner was hard, but the free food was a good perk. Especially for a broke college student.

Your room was dark, the door screamed against its hinges as you shut it. As much as you loved Steve, you were glad he was always gone. In part because it’s what you preferred and you didn’t want to infect in with your sadness. Was it really that pathetic that you were currently reaching for a half-empty bottle of cologne to spay onto your sheets? That in two minutes, you would light three cigarettes and hold them near your pillow? Maybe, but it was the only thing keeping you afloat. Especially now.

With the cigarettes burning in your hand, you picked up your favorite picture of him. It was a rare one, he was actually smiling. It wasn’t one of those signature smirks he always gave. It was real. The real billy. No one really gave the real Billy a chance. They wrote him off as a punk as soon as they saw him. People are quick to judge when they don’t know the whole story. Just like love, the truth was more painful than what they told us growing up.

“Why can’t I move on?” You whispered to yourself. You took a drag of the cigarette that sat lit between your fingertips. A coughing attack took over, and you groaned reaching for some water. You couldn’t understand his appeal for them, never had, and never will. After all three were burnt, you laid down in your bed that was now plastered in his scent. It wasn’t perfect. Your sheets weren’t mixed with his shampoo, his hairspray or the way his skin smelled after a basketball game. But it was close enough to lull you to sleep for a few hours.

“Hey! Wake up, we gotta go. It’s an emergency. Pack a bag we’re going to the airport,” Steve shook your shoulders ripping you away from a peaceful sleep. Your heart climbed into your throat and made you sick to your stomach. When you finally gained full consciousness, you watched as Steve ran around the room putting things he thinks you like in a bag.

He motioned for you to hurry and rushed to his own room to do the same. Grabbing more essentials and getting dressed, you found Steve waiting in the living room for you. He had a toothbrush in his mouth, the paste dribbling down his chin. His shoulder held the phone close to his ear, confirming two flights to LAX. It was two am, and it was officially proven that Steve Harrington was crazy.

Three days earlier

Billy’s eyes widened as he saw a brown-eyed boy with a bowl cut standing in front of him. A chill ran up his spine, he knew this kid. The boy smiled before he took a small step back.

“Will Byers, Jonathan's brother, I was a friend of Max’s?” Billy nodded, finally putting the pieces together. They weren’t friends by any means, but he’d seen him around. He never tried to date Max, so there was no point in getting to know him.

“How are you alive? We all saw you die, you sacrificed yourself to the mind flayer. How did you survive? Did El bring you back to life?” Rather than frightened, the boy looked confused. He looked as if Billy being brought back to life was an acceptable answer. There was no fear, only confusion, and genuine concern. And for some reason deep down, Billy didn’t feel afraid to tell him the truth, so that’s what he did.

“Everything was dark, it was Hawkins but with the life taken out of it. It was so cold. No matter what I did, I could never get warm. Sometimes I was in a dark room with water, and I saw that girl you know there too. I tried to get to her, but she left before I could reach her,” with every word he said Billy got more and more withdrawn. A cold breeze running through his body. Will shivered the more he talked

“We call it The Upside Down, I’ve been there too. When they thought I was missing, that’s where I was. The thing that you saw down there, and what died in the mall was a mind flayer,” the young boy sighed knowing this was information overload. But he also knew that Billy deserved answers.

“It possessed me too, except I wasn’t stuck in the upside-down. I’m not sure how that happened. A couple of years ago, the U.S. government used Hawkins as one giant experiment, trying to find out that the supernatural existed, to use it as a weapon. Things turned sour, and it left a big mess for my friends, it’s how we found El. She’s the girl you saw down there.”

On any regular basis, billy would’ve told the young child to go fuck off and give some insult about how he was crazy. But Billy heard the stories about Will Byers, the boy who came back to life. He’d once found an old missing poster with him on it. So for now, he didn’t find it that crazy, especially paired with Billy’s own experiences

“I saw her touching me.. not me per se but, whatever looked like me. I was sitting on my bed in my room, and she was real and apparently so was I. I tried to yell, to run to get there but nothing was enough. Now it just feels like it’s watching me, following me.”

“We’re connected to it now, to the mind flayer. Even in death, I can still feel it. Maybe it will never leave, maybe it will go away. It’s terrifying, but I don’t want it to control my life. Do you?” A simple question, yet it caught him off guard. He had moved on, things were going fine he had a job, a home, and a small group of friends. But if he asked himself if he was truly happy, he probably would’ve said no. He was scared shitless.

“Can I ask you for a favor?” Billy whispered. The boy nodded, knowing that despite everything, the two young men would do anything for each other.

“Can you call someone for me?”

~~~

Present:

The car moved shook with the bumps along the pavement. The smell of sea salt was becoming stronger, the closer you got to the beach. It was beautiful, that’s what Steve said at least. Your mind was racing, your heart stopped, and your chest slowly moving. You didn’t know how to feel. When you touched down in Los Angeles, you figured something was off, but when Steve started driving towards Palos Verdes, you knew something major must be wrong. You had begged and pleaded to know if El and the rest of the Byers family were okay. It terrified you to no end when Steve remained silent. It took you screaming your lungs out for Steve to finally pull over to a local diner.

Now you sat in the passenger seat tears streaming down your cheeks. You didn’t know what to say, you couldn’t breathe, you couldn’t even blink. Billy was alive. Steve told you everything on the side of the highway, at first you thought you heard him wrong because of all the cars driving past. But Steve stood there barely looking you in the eyes like he felt guilty for giving you the information. He hasn’t said much either since you stepped in the car. Explaining it all either drained him or he was afraid to say anything more.

“Billy Hargrove died in the Starcourt Mall from a freak gas leak. If that’s not true, that means the truth is more painful than what actually happened” Steve sighed, he had no idea how to comfort you. He couldn’t tell you everything was okay or it would be fine because it wasn’t.

Billy was alive, you knew that in your heart. You prayed for so many nights it was all a joke and Billy was pissing his pants from how funny it was. That he would pick you up from work and drive you home. That the man you all thought had died just looked a lot like Billy, and you didn’t know who he really was.

Yet somehow the truth was much worse than that. Billy knew your heart was shattered, he knew that you were in pain, and he was the only one who could save you. Instead of coming back and risking questions, he walked away. He walked away from you, Max, and everyone else. He watched you and decided you weren’t enough of a reason to come back. He lived it up in California while you got to hold max when she cried herself to sleep every night. Maybe everyone was right, he wasn’t redeemable he was just an asshole.

“Do you want to see him?” Steve asked you, the beach was only a few minutes away, and your anxiety grew with each mile closer.

“How am I supposed to look at him after everything. I thought he died in my arms and it turns out he was alive the whole time? Why didn’t he come to me?” A small part of you knew why he did what he did, he was scared and alone.

“You’re the only person who’s looked at him with pure kindness, he was confused and had nowhere to go. Can you blame him for running away?” He reached over and grabbed your hand. A small gesture that brought you great comfort.

“How many people know?”

“Only you, me and Will. Billy wanted to make sure you knew before the others. I’m not sure if he ever plans on telling the others.” He pulled into the beaches parking lot. The glow of the setting sun burned your eyes. He was down there, in the flesh for the first time in over a year.

You figured out later that the last time you saw the unflayed Billy was the night of the accident. He had just dropped you off, and he said he would see you tomorrow, that he loved you and to be safe. He kissed you and smiled before getting into his car and driving away. After that, Billy started pushing you away, using you only for sex. Until that stopped too and he barely spoke to you. Then he died. You’d felt guilty for so long for not seeing the signs.

“What if I can’t forgive him?” the whispered confession left your lips in shame. Was it fair to have spent a year grieving for this man only to push him away when you finally got him back?

“Then you move on, but you won’t know until you see him. So go, he’s waiting.” that was his gentle way of kicking you out of his car.

You stepped onto the hot pavement. The heat immediately suffocating you, this wasn’t Hawkins anymore. You saw Will standing close the steps, silently greeting you. He gave you a warm smile like he was telling you everything was going to be okay. Will nodded towards the water before going to sit in Steve’s car.

Taking a deep breath of the salty air, you made your way down to the water. The hot sand sinking underneath your feet. Billy was here, this was the moment. Was he still the same? Would you still love him? Had he moved on? Was he just as broken as you? Your mind flooded with all these questions as you kept walking. Billy wasn’t there yet, giving you a small second of relief to catch your breath.

A small tap on your shoulder broke you from your thoughts, it was hesitant, and he was obviously just as nervous as you were. There he was. When you turned around, the man you loved more than anything was again standing in front of you. He had been kissed by the sun, and his hair was wilder than ever before. His green eyes were bright against his now tanned skin.

A surge of anger ran through you as you shoved him away, again and again, and again. He took all of it. He grabbed your wrists when you started beating his chest. Bruises would appear later, but Billy knew full well he deserved all of it and more.

“I’m so sorry,” he begged. His heart was beating so fast against his chest; he was afraid it would kill him before he could get the words out. You looked so perfect, he never doubted you would, but after a year you weren’t just in his dreams anymore. Your face was perfectly clear, the nightmares about forgetting your face vanished.

He caught you before you fell to your knees into the sand and lowered his own body to you. He ran his fingers through your hair and held you close to his chest. Repeating that he was sorry and that he loved you so much. He begged you to forgive him.

As he held you, your lungs filled with the smell of cigarettes, his cologne, and the smell of dried sea salt against his skin. He was back, he was warm, life was coursing through his veins. Every image of his cold body being whisked into a black back was replaced. You loved him, he was your one and only. The only man you could ever think of loving. Forgiveness was already given, and explanations could wait until later. You had all the time in the world, nothing would separate the two of you again. He would always be there for you, he was your forever and always, and you were his.

Tagged: @hotstuffhargrove @asheseiler

#Billy Hargrove #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove imagine #billy #Billy St #🐙#stranger things #starnger things #2.4k #B.H.#dacre montgomery #DKMH #Hargrove

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stoven-harrington · 5 years

Text

Where did the time go (during the summer I spent with you)?

Steve Harrington X OC

Hey this is my first story I'm writing about my favourite boi Steve Harrington. I hope you guys enjoy it😍😍

Also shout out to the story Time Flies By by @harringtown for inspiring me to write this fic. She's really amazing so please check out her other fics

This happens a year after season 3, so Steve is now 20.

Steve Harrington AU in which Steve is dragged into 2019. With him here in the new modern world, going back to 1986 just might be possible. Time travel, new friends, old friends, with so much at hand, love shouldn’t be on the table. But life doesn’t always go as planned.

Chapter 1: A Normal day with a side of concussion please

I came to visit my aunt’s place in Hawkins to house-sit for her over the summer break. Of course, this wasn’t my ideal summer plans (those included going to beaches and seeing my friends) but I knew that Auntie Maria needed someone to watch over the adorable pitbull Nico. I haven’t seen his dopey face in forever and I miss that fur ball. Walking up to the door, I barely had the chance to knock on the door before it busted open and Auntie Maria’s hand reached out and dragged me inside, pulling me into a hug.

“Oh thank god you’re here!” Her hair was a mess, eyes crinkling in happiness, her clothes slightly sloppy as she smiled at me. “God, it’s been forever since I last saw you! And I know who also missed you.” I hear the dog tags before I see the grey fur. Nico comes rushing and jumps on me, making me fall to the floor in a mountain of his kisses. A giggle pours out of me as I try to get up without Nico trying to jump on me again.

“Hey Auntie Maria, hi Nico. How’s my good boy? Did you miss me? Did ya? Did ya? I missed you!” His tail kept wagging a mile a minute as I pet his belly. Auntie Maria laughed at the both of us while pulling out her Polaroid, snapping a picture before I could protest.

“Awww just look at you two. So cute. Ahhh I wish I didn’t have to go so I can spend time with you both but you know? Work is work. Hey where’s your friend? I thought you guys would come together?” I finally stand up and look back at her.

“Nah, Saint said they’ll be here in a week or two. They got stuck with a project but they said they’ll head over after its done.” She nods absently while petting Nico.

“Alright, well at least you won’t be alone with Nico the whole summer. Oh, and if you need help or anything Joy said she’d be happy to lend a hand on anything okay?” I smiled hearing Joy’s name. That lovely little Filipino lady was one of best highlights of this place, besides my aunt and dog of course.

“Oh I like Joy, she makes the absolute BEST food. Her sinigang* is to DIE for and UGHHH I just love her.” She laughs as she grabs her phone.

“Yea she’s the best neighbor I could ever ask. Make sure to say hi to her when you see her and hey, maybe you could even help her out with gardening and stuff. Her son isn’t coming over this summer because of his job so it’s just her and Marcus.”

______________________________________________________________

Auntie Maria didn’t really have a lot of time to talk but she did mention that she stocked the house with food for a month or two and that I could use anything in the house as long as I didn’t use her weed (this is one of the reasons why I love Auntie Maria). She also said I could get a job if I wanted to earn a buck, but I figured I’d be busy exploring the rest of the town I haven’t seen and whatnot so whatever. Besides, I earned a lot from my job at home so I was well off for the summer. She parted ways after hugging me and Nico and drove like the speed demon she is as I waved her off. Nico whined a bit until I took him for a walk and briefly said hello to Joy and her husband. There wasn’t really a lot to do after putting my stuff away and before I realized it, it was night. Saint texted me about their project and I filled them in on my short day while making myself some fried rice.

Benefits to house sitting for Auntie Maria: I have 3 choices of bedrooms. She never told me why she had a lot of bedrooms other than giving the regular ol’ excuse of “guest rooms”. I always felt like she was lying about it since I would find items in the rooms that I knew didn’t belong to her, but it was her business and I wasn't gonna pry. Picking at random with a metal bat in hand (Auntie Maria still kept my softball equipment from high school since mom was gonna throw it out), I walked into the bedroom furthest from the stairs on the second floor and laughed at Nico hopping on the bed before me.

“Hey you punk, I was gonna sit in it first!” He barked in response and quickly got comfortable as I placed the bat next to my side of the bed and got under the sheets. It wasn’t long until he scooted himself by my feet and soon after, my eyelids started to droop. Sleepiness was creeping on me as I whispered, “Night Nico.”

________________________________________________________________

It was supposed to be a typical night for Steve: he was expecting to walk around the forest lake in peace while he gathered his thoughts on what college to choose. He did this every so often away from his children rugrat-group of friends, especially his favorite, since he wanted them to care for themselves and not him. At that point of the night, he’d get get closer to the lake and try to skip rocks, watching his rocks just sink into the water. After that, he would head back to his car and go home, sneak into his room and knock out.

But this wasn’t supposed to happen: getting snatched by some slimy creature and squirming out of it but not before the creature cut him with its claws(?). Steve barely had time to think as he fled to his car, not realizing the big gash on his leg was starting to bleed. Could he make it to the car? Why couldn’t he just have a normal night? Was it really that hard to ask for?

“Shit! Just one time!” He exclaimed

He was trying to grab the walkie and bat he left in the car to warn his friends but as his fingers brushed the car door, the claws came back once more and grabbed his ankle. Steve struggled to get the creature to let go by kicking, however, the creature learned its lesson and grabbed both of his legs as they went through a slimy portal of a tree. This had to be the end for him, what else was there to live for? He hadn’t even found a girl he liked aside from Robin since she just don’t swing that way. Man, this blows

Expecting to see the upside down and the creature’s mouth above his face, he was pleasantly surprised to see neither of those things and instead was just lying on the ground of the forest again. Fuck that, if he had a chance to get away, he was taking it. Without a second to spare, he jumped up and looked down at himself. The stupid creature ripped his jeans and he finally noticed the bleeding.

“Dammit, and these were my favorite pair and I’m bleeding all over…” Just then, the growl of a creature nearby jumped him back to his senses. He recognized the sound was unnatural and tried to strain his ears to hear what direction the creature was hiding in. The growl came closer and a rustle of leaves tipped him that the creature was on his right and he sped towards his left, hauling ass without second guessing himself. He couldn’t hear the creature anymore because of his own heartbeat pounding in his ears but he noticed houses starting to take form in his field of view and ran towards the closest. Someone just had to be up right? There's always one person who can’t sleep right? God, he prayed for an insomniac, someone to let him in.

That was short-lived however because while he was so focused on getting to the door, he didn’t notice the stupid rock in his way and tripped, hitting his head on yet another stupidly placed rock and knocking out in the progress. He didn’t even see the light turning on in the house in front of him or hear the creature creeping closer. Talk about having a shitty night.

*Sinigang*= a Filipino soup that can be with either pork or chicken, spinach, tamarind, ginger and others. The soup is really good if you have the chance to try it, do it. Doesn't hurt to try something at least once right?

This story is on archive of our own and has more chapters there but I will post the rest of the chapters

Part II

#stranger things #steve harrington #steve harrington x oc #demogorgon #pitbull #i love dogs #steve the hair harrington #stranger things kids #jane hopper #dustin henderson #robin buckley #mike wheeler #will byers

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officialthiamlibrary · 5 years

Text

Meet The Mods - iftheskyisthelimit

We’ve had a few requests to do something similar to our “Behind The Screens” features in order to introduce ourselves, and we felt that after around a year of running this blog, and having another few people come on board along the way that now would probably be a good time to do it!

The idea is that we’ll each take a turn at filling out and posting one of these so that you guys can to know us all a little better including our own personal tastes/preferences and get a little bit more of an idea of how we all work and what we each bring to the team etc…

About You

Username/Name:

iftheskyisthelimit / Lisa

AO3/Tumblr:

https://archiveofourown.org/users/iftheskyisthelimit / http://iftheskyisthelimit.tumblr.com/

How did you find your way to the Thiam fandom? What about them drew you in?

I’d lurked in the Teen Wolf fandom for a while on Tumblr, and became really interested in Theo’s character and his story since he’d shown up in Season 5 (okay at first it was his looks that got me interested… let’s be honest), which evolved into being interested in his backstory when we found out a bit more about him. It wasn’t until his return in Season 6 that I enjoyed watching their characters together and their interactions and started looking around more on Tumblr for their characters that I discovered it wasn’t just me... then I randomly came across the Thiam ship through seeing some fics on Tumblr and found the Official Thiam Library as result of that...

Using a sentence, where the word count is either equal to or less than the number of letters in your two favorite Teen Wolf episode names, tell us about yourself. (ex, Motel California + Werewolves of London = 33 ; Raving + Galvanize =15)

Memory Found + Apotheosis = 21 - I’m slightly quirky but serious, love music, reading and travelling... kinda funny and always overly organised. Can’t ever cut something short...

What’s one thing about you or your life that we’d be surprised to know about?

Do you want serious, interesting or fun facts? I’ll do both as they might surprise people. Serious/boring: I have at least 3 chronic illnesses which tend to floor me, hence my long absences between writing & updating what I’m working on. Interesting: I can speak/read/understand around 5 languages and I’m a bit of a different cultures & sociology nerd.

One other thing I guess is when I get interested in a topic I get interested and have to know aallllll the ins and outs of it and thoroughly research it, so I’m probably full of boring random facts about a bunch of things that come in handy on general knowledge quizzes, but which no-one has any interest in knowing...

Other Shows/Movies You Follow:

Does too many to mention count as an answer? No? Okay… In no particular order *deep breath*

Shows: The Handmaids Tale, Animal Kingdom, The 100, Vikings, Stranger Things, All American, Riverdale, Scream, Supernatural, Parks and Rec, Vampire Diaries, Big Bang Theory, Modern Family, Twelve Monkeys, Shadow Hunters, Game Of Thrones, Reign, American Horror Story, Buffy… There are literally a ton more but I really can’t think on them at the moment….

Movies: I can’t really say that I follow movies per-se… if I had to choose I’d say Marvel movies though if that counts as an answer? Umm… genre wise I like a wide range but mainly gravitate towards comedy, action and thriller movies. Or something with a good twist in the story where it either throws what you thought you were watching on its head, or you get an “aaahhhhh that’s was happening” moment. To watch a horror, it has to have that something that makes me want to watch it or get invested in it… whether it’s a character I really relate to or can get invested in, or a really good story. My favourite horror is probably Haunting In Connecticut, and I saw Midsommar recently and thought it was really amazingly done!

Other Fandoms You Follow:

I don’t really follow a lot of fandoms if I’m honest. I would probably say after Teen Wolf I follow the Marvel, The 100 and Supernatural fandoms more. Mainly the Captain America/Steve/Bucky fandoms. I love a good discussion about Animal Kingdom too!

Other Favourite Characters from shows/movies?

Uuuuhhhh…. Okay you asked for it, I was going to explain my reasons for why I love each but I’d be here all day and this part alone would end up turning into an essay.

Steve Harrington (Stranger Things), April Ludgate (Parks and Rec) , Sam Winchester (Supernatural), Craig Middlebrooks (Parks and Rec), Mickey Milkovich (Shameless US), Bucky Barnes (Marvel), James Cole (Twelve Monkeys), Jack Kline (Supernatural), Michael Langon (American Horror Story), Catherine de Medici (Reign), Constance Langdon (American Horror Story), Dean Winchester (Supernatural), Alec Lightwood (Shadow Hunters), Anya Jenkins (Buffy), Raphael Santiago (Shadow Hunters), Stephane Narcisse (Reign), Kai Parker (Vampire Diaries), John Murphy (The 100)

What do you like to create (writing/art/videos)?

I’d really love to be creative enough to make art or videos, but I’m really not! I’m far more comfortable with writing… I find it a lot easier to plan a story, or just to start writing and let the words flow that way and see where it goes. It’s a good way for me to express myself and to work through feelings or to just switch off for a while and create words on a page.

Do you only create for Teen Wolf/Thiam?

I have written for Supernatural in the past and I’m planning to write a Raphael fic for Shadow Hunters at some point and maybe a John Murphy one because I’ve not found many for him that cater to my angsty tastes when there’s so much that can be explored... But at the moment yes it’s only for Teen Wolf. I’ve also posted one Sceo fic which I would like to continue as well!

Which genres do you prefer reading and creating for?

Angst, angst, angst… did I mention angst?? It just feels right to me to write angstier fics, the words and ideas just seem to flow really well, which is a surprise as I’m not really an angsty person in life. It’s just what I’ve always gravitated towards writing and I find a lot better to express myself in that way. I have a humour/angst WIP which I decided to attempt a while ago and I did quite enjoy writing something a little different from what I normally do and people seemed to enjoy it.

If your creative process was a person, what type would they be? What would they do? Wear? Listen to? How do they handle conflict?

Quite probably the most disorganised messiest person alive… No not really… just sorta… kinda… maybe… In all seriousness, they’d be half organised and half “ lets see where this road takes us”. They would probably wear all black all day every day, and be a half emo kid who listens to punk pop and emo music from their teens with a healthy mix of dance and sad songs. Handling conflict? We don’t do that here… we bottle up our feelings and hide them away until they come out in the wrong ways. No really… I think they’d express themselves pretty clearly with 1000 words instead of 100.

Official Thiam Library

How did you find the Official Thiam Library?

I found the Official Thiam Library through searching the Theo Raeken tags on Tumblr and seen the page name pop up a few times, I had a look at the page not long after and followed pretty quickly, I needed my Theo/Thiam fix and this page covered it very well!

First impressions?

“Woah, they’re on the ball!” and then when I saw a few of the events the page done I was really impressed at how often they posted recommendations and how they could organise it all.

How did you come to be involved on the mod team?

I filled in the form for Beta Readers and Helpers for the Thiam Big Bang, I’d have loved to have participated but I didn’t know if I’d have been able to commit to having such a large work completed on a deadline, so I thought I’d offer to help in another way, having helped to run the Supernatural SummerGen for a few years. Tiffany got back to me pretty quickly about it and I came on board at that point.

What do you feel that you bring to the team?

Uuuhhh… I hate these types of questions haha! I really feel like I mostly bring my organisational skills, along with the way that like to try and help out where I can in the background with writing/explaining things or getting back to people with asks/emails etc... With the Big Bang I brought my experience of things I’d learned from the Supernatural events I’d worked on too which I think/hope was of use?

How do you help out?

Mainly what I’ve answered above applies to this question too I think?

What would you like to see for the Official Thiam Library over the next year?

I’d really love to see the page continue… continue on as is, doing a few more fandom events, grow as a page and fandom... also to help keeping the fandom going which is important right now I think… we’ve managed it so far though! We were just speaking about how thrilled we are that the fandom is still going strong. I also think it’s important to give older and newer fandom creators the recognition & cheer that they deserve too, which can be done through reblogging/recommendations and different events too.

Cute BTS Questions

Let’s imagine you’ve landed in a Zombie apocalypse, Walking Dead/Zombieland style. You’re among seven survivors–yourself and six characters from Teen Wolf. Which five would be your first choice for survival, entertainment, etc? And who would be the sixth character, the one you’d willingly push in front of a rage-filled zombie mob given the first chance?

I can’t help but feel that my choice for the last part will be unpopular but here goes:

Theo and Chris for survival… they seem like they’d both be good to have around in this sort of situation, Stiles for entertainment because he had his funny moments and would keep everyone going I think. Melissa because we all need a mother figure who knows when to be tough but can also provide you with the loving support you need. Scott because… well… he’s a the alpha and we’d need someone to lead our small group and take charge when needed.

Who would I willingly throw to the zombie mob given the first chance? Allison and Kira are both a tie here. Can’t I throw them both?? I never really liked Allison as a character… I don’t even really know why I just never gelled with her as a character I would like or could even get behind. Kira… ugh… just ugh… I feel like she was quite a forced character, they tried too hard to make her this cooky/funny character who could also kick ass and it just came off wrong to me… I never really warmed to her as she just felt forced.

If you could read only 5 fanfictions for an entire year, which would you choose? Thiam or another fandom, if not Thiam, which fandom?

In no order at all because I never tire of reading any of them:

1 - Airplanes by Captainmintyfresh - Teen Wolf - Thiam fanfiction

2 - Despite The Threatening Sky And Shuddering Earth (They Remained) by praximeter (Zimario) - Captain America - Steve/Bucky fanfiction

3 - The Call by DemonzDust - Teen Wolf - Sceo fanfiction

4 - The Crow On The Cradle by Refur - Supernatural fanfiction

5 - Gotta Have Faith by arxiver - Captain America - Steve/Bucky fanfiction

You are our sensei and us your pupils, can you impart any life/writing wisdom?

Life wisdom: Don’t sweat the small stuff... seriously… it wastes so much time and energy that you could be using for other things. If you can’t control it or you don’t feel it’ll be bothering you this time next year, then don’t let it bog you down. People will come and go, that’s a part of life, take the lessons that they taught you from their time in your life (whether positively or negatively) and use them wisely.

Writing wisdom: Don’t force yourself. If you’re having an hour, a day, or a week where the words or ideas won’t come then don’t force it to happen, you’ll only feel worse. Step back, put on some music which suits the tone of whatever you’re writing and try to get in the mood of your story that way, it’s amazing the words that can come or the complete change in direction you can go from doing that.

Finally, what’s next for you?

Hopefully getting back into the swing of things with the Official Thiam Library and writing more again, getting ready for the Reverse Big Bang, and planning a few things in my personal life, like a few trips, my wedding and a house move (yes… I’m becoming a boring adult and it’s a scary new world!)

#officialthiamlibrary #meet the mods #behind the screens #bts #mod: lisa

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triptuckers · 5 years

Text

Ship request: may i request a ship for stranger things ? 🍒 i’m a bisexual female, gender doesn’t matter !! 🥀 | i’m socially awkward, caring, sweet, goofy, cynical, hot-headed, over-dramatic, relatable, dark, needy, pessimistic, sarcastic, indecisive, brutally honest, non-judgemental, clumsy, lazy, obnoxious, moody... | i’m 5’4, chubby, i have dyed black shoulder length hair, i have brown eyes, i sometimes wear glasses... [ part 1/2 ] [ PART 2 ] i like going to arcades, shopping, daydreaming, car rides, skating, i like all music besides country and i prefer pop-punk. i like to write. i am kinda into photography. i don’t like cruel people, i’m terrified of spiders and losing time. i would say my outfit style is all over the place... i struggle with my mental health and my family is very dysfunctional... i plan on being a paramedic in my future, but hope to reach a career as a psych nurse one day... thank you !! 🍒

I ship you with: Steve Harrington!!

Steve absolutely adores you. He loves to cuddle with you and you always steal his sweaters. You manage to hit your toes at least three times a day. Steve usually laughs at it for a few seconds before helping you. At school, you and Steve have a few classes you share. In between the ones that you don’t share, he always walks you to your class, even if he would be late because of it. After school, you would hang out at the arcade. Steve always tries to beat you, but he never has (and the two of you know he never will). Saturdays are spent at the arcade again, as Steve tries yet again to beat your high school. On the way home, you teach him how to skate. He’s not a professional skater, but he’s not the worst either. Sundays are usually spent at your place. It’s just cuddling, really. Steve loves it when you lay on his chest so he can play with your hair. He also loves to steal your glasses if you’re wearing them. On Sundays, he would often ask you if he could see your photos. You’re a bit nervous to show him, since most of your photos are of him. But once you do show Steve your photos, he loves them. And if you’re having a bad day, Steve would just listen to your complaints and ranting. If you’re going on for too long, he’d pull you in his arms until you feel okay again.

A/N: I hope you like it!! My ship and one word requests are currently open. It ends October 23rd so make sure to send me an ask if you want a ship or a one word request. Check my post about it for more information.

#carliehansonwya #jo's ships #ship requests #steve harrington #steve rogers x reader

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mystrangerfics · 6 years

Text

Damaged Goods Ch. 2

A/N: This is my first Reader story I’ve really ever written and my first Billy fic. Hope it’s not horrible.

Pairing: Billy Hargrove x Reader

Description: This was a request by @satansparklesworld. “ Can you make a fic about Billy falling for a punk chick who is almost like him (family life and how they deal with the pain) and they learn to trust and be vulnerable with each other. Can she be on thicc side too? ” – This will be a few chapters long as it went with an idea I was working on at the time.

Chapter One

Work Count: 4684

Complete Story Warnings: Abuse, Language, Smut & Violence. 18+

You arrived to school Monday and the only parking space left was next to Billy's Camaro. You parked and got off your bike, pulling your helmet off and bumping into a little redhead.

“You're a little short for high school aren't you?” You asked and placed your helmet on your bike.

“That's because I'm in middle school,” she sneered back and you smirked at her. “Mind your own business.”

“You've got spunk, kid. What's your name?” You asked as you leaned on your bike and crossed your arms.

“Max Mayfield,” she mumbled. “You're new.”

“No, you're just new since I was here last,” you said. “(Y/N),” you said before holding out your hand and she took it.

“I have to get going,” she said before motioning towards the middle school and you nodded. “Bye.”

“Later,” you called before you headed inside.

“I hear you're Keg Queen,” Steve said from beside you as you dug through your locker. “How did you never beat my record?”

“I enjoyed saying I was screwing the Keg King,” you said with a smirk. Steve blushed and looked down with a little smile. “Jesus, Harrington,” you laughed. “I forget how soft you've gotten.”

“Well, it's better this way,” he said with a little smile. You closed your locker and you both headed towards your classes. “I hear Billy Hargrove is interested in you. Even after you punched him in the face.”

“Wow, he's resilient,” you said and seemed to have a thinking face. “Any rumors of how he is in bed?” Steve made a face and you laughed. “God, Steve. I mean, I'm just kidding.”

“Billy Hargrove is not the guy for you. He's an asshole and angry. He fucking almost killed me!” Steve argued.

“Then he might be perfect,” you said with a smirk. “Angry sex is the best sex.”

Steve managed not to react to your last comment, knowing you were baiting a reaction. “He's not a relationship type,” Steve tried.

“Who said anything about a relationship?” You smirked.

“I forgot you're not big on those either,” Steve said, raising his eyebrows. “Doesn't mean you can't turn a new leaf.”

“I'm going to throw up if you keep talking so I'm going to class,” you said with a laugh.

Steve smirked. “Fine but be good.”

“Never,” you grinned.

__ __

Billy was walking up to his Camaro when he saw you sitting on your bike. You had a leg on either side and sat, tugging on your jacket. Billy watched the sleeve slide up and saw a dark bruise on your wrist. He figured it was from Saturday, you had gotten pretty drunk.

“It's a nice bike,” Billy said to you, smirking over the top of his car.

“Nice car,” you said back as you began buckling your helmet. You met his gaze for a moment before looking back down to your bike.

“A Kawasaki KZ1000?” He asked as he came around towards you. He crossed his arms and leaned back against his car, a cigarette hanging from his lip.

“I'm impressed,” you said with a little smirk on your lips. “Ever ridden one before?”

“My friend back in California used to own a different make. Took that one out once,” Billy said, shrugging it off. He was doing his best to play it cool. He honestly couldn't believe he had made it this far into a conversation with you. He watched your black boots backup your bike and you smirked at him before taking the cigarette from his lips. You placed it between yours and Billy watched your slightly parted lips hold it.

“See you around, Hargrove,” you said through the smoke and cranked the bike before taking off out of the parking lot.

__ __

You were walking out of the cemetery when you saw Nancy Wheeler standing before a grave. You slowly walked up behind her and looked at the headstone. You realized your hunch was correct when you saw the name ‘Barbara Holland.’

“I heard they buried her when I was gone,” you mumbled and Nancy jumped. “Well, there was a funeral.” You walked up and stood beside Nancy. “Barb was the shit.” You had made friends with Barb when she helped tutor you through a class. It was an odd friendship but you didn't let anyone give her shit and she ended up being a close friend. That's how you had gotten to know Nancy and had actually introduced her formally to Steve.

You felt a level of guilt when it came to Barb. You hadn't gone to the party that night because you didn't want to be the odd man out. You had also wanted to let Steve feel free to show Nancy a good time. If you had known Barb was going to be there you would have gone to keep her company. You wondered if that may have saved her.

“She liked you,” Nancy hummed and looked back to the stone. The silence between you both continued for a few moments. “Listen, (Y/N) about Steve…” You stopped her by holding up your hand.

“Nancy, if you didn't want Steve you shouldn't have dragged him into it. End of story.” You said, showing her your point. “I don't hate you Nancy because I know shit happens but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to be mad at you. Just let me get over it.”

Nancy swayed a little in her spot before nodding. “I know you always loved Steve. I'm sorry I hurt him.”

“I don’t love anyone Nancy,” you mumbled. She looked to you and you glanced at her before you backed up and turned, heading for your bike.

Nancy glanced down the row of stones and frowned. She knew in there somewhere was your father's. She had known you most of your life, you used to be such a happy person, friends with everyone and anyone. Once your father had passed you slowly became another person. Nancy had noticed a drastic change after your mother remarried, she figured you didn't like the idea of your father being replaced.

Jonathan slowly walked up behind Nancy and sighed a little before wrapping an arm around her. “You okay?”

Nancy nodded and gave a small smile. “Yeah,” she said and looked back to Barb’s grave.

__ __

Billy had noticed you didn't turn up at school for the rest of the week. Friday he saw your bike parked outside the restaurant that was still labeled Benny's Burgers, even after the previous owner had killed himself. Billy whipped his car into a parking spot and got out, going in.

Billy scanned the row of booths before he saw a black leather jacket and a pair of boots. Your face was hidden behind a menu as you laid across the seat.

He glanced at himself before he walked over to you and leaned an arm on the back of the seat across from you. “This seat taken?” He purred with a smirk on his face.

You dropped the menu down and looked at him over it, your mischievous eyes intrigued Billy. The menu dropped a little lower and he saw a smirk on your lips, the bottom one had been split sometime recent, he noted.

“Are you paying?” You asked, crooking an eyebrow at him.

“I wouldn't mind buying a girl a meal. I mean, normally that would mean we were on a date though,” Billy said before sliding into his seat across the table from you.

Your smirk dropped and you snorted at him with an unamused face. “I don’t do dates, Hargrove.”

“Two friends having dinner then?” Billy tried, taken aback by your sudden change in attitude.

“I wouldn't call you a friend but if you're paying, sure. I can be your friend till it's over,” you mumbled before looking back to your menu.

Billy was happy you weren't staring at him so you couldn't see the smile that crossed his face. He leaned back and played it cool, throwing his arm over the back of the booth seat. He nodded to the waitress who passed him a menu, a flirtatious smile on her face.

“Can I get you something to drink, Billy?” She asked with a gushing smile and it took all you had in you not to just laugh. Billy ordered a coke and the girl wrote it down before looking at him again. “I'll be right back with that,” she said with a purr before walking off.

“I think you just made her whole life,” you said with a laugh. “How sad for her.” You looked over your menu again.

Billy couldn't even respond before a coke was placed in front of him. He smiled at the waitress and thanked her in his charismatic way. She twirled a piece of hair around her finger and leaned onto the table a little. “Anytime.”

“Hey, airhead?” Both Billy and the waitress looked to you. “When you're done servicing him could you maybe get me a shake? Chocolate.” You smiled at her but it was the mischievous smirk that normally played on your features.

The girl rolled her eyes before walking off out back, stomping a little. “Well, that wasn't very friendly,” Billy said as he drummed his fingers on the table. He was half hoping jealousy had made you act out but he’d seen you in action enough to know you didn’t take kindly to being ignored.

“I can help you sleep with any girl in this town,” you said, glancing up to him. “But not until I get a milkshake.”

Billy laughed and leaned back against the wall, resting an arm on the table and leaving the other thrown over the back of the booth. “You want to be my wingman?” Billy asked, amused.

“I did it for Steve long enough,” you said with a little laugh. Before you finally set down your menu, having made up your mind. “But no. I don't want to be your wingman.”

“I thought you and Steve slept together?” Billy leaned his head back and squinted his eyes a little. He was wondering what your response was going to be.

“We did,” you said bluntly. “I helped him hook up and when he couldn't...we hooked up.” You shrugged like it wasn't a big deal and Billy had to close his mouth that was slightly hanging open.

“So you were together?” Billy asked and motioned with his hand like he wanted you to continue.

“No. We were friends that had sex,” you said plainly. Billy leaned onto the table with his elbows before a milkshake was loudly placed in front of you. “Thank you,” you said to the waitress.

She took your orders, snapping at you and smiling at Billy. You waited for her to walk off before eyeing your shake and then sipping it.

“You were okay with that?” Billy asked once the girl walked off.

“I wanted it that way. Told you, Hargrove. I don't date,” you mumbled.

“Why not?” Billy asked, leaning back onto his seat.

“I'd rather just have fun,” was all you offered before you leaned back yourself. You brought your legs up onto the seat and crossed them.

“So if you were my wingman, does that mean we would get to sleep together?” Billy wiggled his eyebrows with a smirk.

You smirked before laughing. “Hell, no.” Your response left Billy a little shocked.

“You slept with Steve!” He argued and you raised your eyebrows at how loud his voice was in the restaurant. You glanced to one of the other tables that looked at you in disgust. You smiled and waved your fingers at them until they looked away.

“I liked Steve,” you said finally before sipping your shake and glancing up at Billy. “I don’t like you,” you added with a shrug. “You’re totally too into yourself. You think you’re the hottest thing alive and the sun only shines to put a spotlight on you. Least Steve was a mostly decent human being. Well, he made sure I got off at least.” Billy nearly snorted his coke out across the table at your last comment. He brought an arm up to wipe under his nose.

Billy was a little irritated with your response and had to contain it. He just wanted to glare at you and list off all the reasons you were wrong but he didn’t. He sighed through his nose a little.

“Besides, you don't need help getting any. I've seen the way the girls fall all over you,” you said with a laugh. “It's really quite sad to watch, for them.”

You both sat and ate as he chatted up the waitress in front of you. He had magnetism, you couldn’t deny it and the girl was into him. She brought the check at the end of the meal and paused for a second with a shy smile at Billy.

“So, how about you give me your number and I’ll call you?” Billy purred and you smirked at him. He could easily to get dates, you knew he didn’t even need your help. The girl fumbled around with her pen and notepad before scribbling on it and handing it to Billy. “Thanks, doll,” he said before winking at her. She gushed and walked back into the kitchen.

“I need to go wash the stench of desperation from my clothes. I’ll be right back,” you said before heading into the bathroom. You heard Billy get up to pay for the bill.

Billy stood by the door with his hands on his hips, staring at the bathroom door. He heard the door open when he glanced down to his watch and saw you come out.

“You didn’t have to wait,” was all you said before going out the front door. He quickly followed out behind you and watched you get onto your bike.

“You coming to Tommy’s tomorrow? Smaller party, just a group of us hanging out?” He asked you, trying to get your attention before you left. You glanced to him as you buckled your helmet.

“Yeah, Tommy invited me,” you said before you turned over your bike, the loud noise being all you both could hear for a moment.

“Cool. I can give you a ride,” Billy said and motioned to his car. “It’s got heat,” he said with a little smile, hinting towards the cold ride on the bike.

You seemed to squint your eyes at him for a moment. You sighed like you were irritated and your shoulders came up into a shrug. “Fine.” Billy noted the slightly irritated tone. “Only because it’s forecasted to snow and I don’t want to fuck up my bike,” you mumbled before you revved it.

Billy contained the smirk that came onto his lips. “I’ll be at your house at eight.” Billy was so excited to hear you speak it took him a second to realize what you had actually said.

“Wait? How do you know where I live? I can just pick you up,” he motioned to your bike, not wanting you to walk or ride the bike over. He was more concerned with you knowing where he actually lived. He was hoping he’d caught you and you’d admit to asking about him, being interested.

“We live on the same street, dumbass.” You said before laughing and shaking your head. “You’re not very observant.”

“Well, which house is yours? I'll pick you up,” Billy said with a shrug. Billy honestly wanted to kick his own ass for being so unaware. He was trying to place your motorcycle on his street.

“I'll meet you at Elm and Cherry at eight,” was all you said before you backed up your bike.

“That's not very friendly!” Billy shouted with a smirk.

“I told you, we’re not friends!” You smirked before closing the visor on your helmet and driving off.

__ __

Billy checked his watch for the fifth time, it was 8:30 and he sighed, his dad and Susan weren't home yet. He had half expected you to show up at the house, demanding an explanation but you hadn't.

Billy sighed loudly and looked out the window again, he hadn't seen you walk by nor did he see Neil pulling in. He had taken forever to get ready and changed his shirt a handful of times. This was supposed to be his night to charm you not piss you off.

Any hope Billy had had for you to still be waiting for him was gone by the time 9:30 rolled around and Neil finally pulled in the driveway. Billy walked out the front door and down the front drive, keeping his head low. He was hoping not to draw Neil’s attention or have his father catch onto the fact he’d already gotten drunk inside while waiting.

“Billy! Where do you think you're going?” Neil asked with his booming voice.

Billy turned but kept his head ducked a little. “Just out with some friends, dad.” Billy could feel his father looking over him in entirety and swallowed when he came closer.

“Dressed like that?” Neil asked and his condescending tone made Billy glance over himself. “I mean first the earring, then this prissy boy hair, and now these clothes. How do you think you make me look?”

Billy opened his mouth a little and then closed it. He felt his face warm and ignored the welling feeling in his eyes. He couldn’t describe it but his father always had a way of making him feel so small and worthless. No one else could make him feel this way about himself and if they did, he would deck them for even trying.

“Just get out of my sight,” Neil hissed before he walked back up onto the porch where Susan had been watching with a frown. They both went inside and Billy glared at the closed door.

He quickly jogged over to his car and got in before he slammed his foot down on the gas and took off towards Tommy’s. He didn’t know what it was about him that bothered his father so much but it seemed like it was all he did lately. Neil had never been very patient with him when he was growing up but now that he was remarried, it was like it was even worse.

Billy pulled up at Tommy’s and looked to his left, seeing your bike parked beside him. He chewed his lip a little as he got out of the car and wondered how mad you were going to be with him. He hoped showing up late to the party would show you it wasn’t personal, that he’d just been late in general.

The music in Tommy’s house wasn’t as loud as it would normally be at a crowded party. There was probably only about twenty people tonight but somehow it still felt crowded to Billy. He slowly made his way over to Tommy in the kitchen.

“You made it!” Tommy cheered before he let a hand pat Billy on the back. “I thought you weren’t going to show up. Hey, are you drunk?” Tommy laughed when he asked the last question.

“I had some stuff I had to take care of.” Billy’s eyes scanned the kitchen but he didn’t see you. “(Y/N) here tonight?” He asked and Tommy seemed to have a knowing, smug face.

“I believe she’s in the basement with Reed,” Tommy said before sipping his drink and breaking eye contact with Billy. He cleared his throat a little and turned his attention to Carol who was beside him for a moment. “She was pretty drunk, man. She’s just trying to have a good time.”

Billy ignored the urge inside him to just smash something. Tommy’s basement was famous for the couch his parents had put down there a few years back. It wasn’t anything special but if people went to the basement, it was usually only for one thing. “How long ago did they go down there?”

Tommy kind of shrugged and glanced to Carol. “Probably about twenty minutes ago,” Carol answered.

Billy stomped off towards the basement and Carol and Tommy shared a gaze with one another.

__ __

“Reed,” you giggled as he kissed over your neck. “I told you I wasn’t going to sleep with you." You tried pulling your arms from where he was playfully holding them over your head but his grip held strong. “Okay, let go,” you said, your tone being playful He continued to hold you and pressed his mouth against your neck. You rolled your eyes, Reed was so delayed when he was drunk. You knew he wasn't trying to be forceful, he just couldn't pay attention when drunk. “Let go!” You shouted, trying to get him to hear you.

In a blink of an eye you were half dragged off the couch by Reed’s grip and shook your head. It took you a moment to realize what was going on. You were pretty drunk for it only being 10:00. You glanced up and saw Billy pressing Reed against the wall angrily before punching him.

“Billy!” You hollered before getting up and swaying a little. The pace of everything had changed so much from laying on the couch with sloppy kisses to all this sudden commotion and violence. “Billy, don’t!” You hollered and grabbed his arm to try and pull him back. At this point he was in a full fight with Reed who was fighting back against him.

“Tommy!” You hollered up the stairs, hoping for some backup. You went back to trying to break them up. “Billy, he didn’t do anything!” You didn’t know what was going through Billy’s mind but he was furious with Reed and it was apparent. Billy pushed you back in time for one of Reed’s sloppy punches to miss the side of your head.

“Both of you stop!” You got between the two of them at the wrong time and Billy’s fist collided with the side of your face, knocking you down.

To Billy it was like time stopped suddenly. One minute all he could feel was rage mixed with utter jealousy. He hadn’t meant to start the fight but when he heard you telling Reed to let you go and he didn’t listen, he had snapped. He’d only meant to pull him off but Reed’s smug face had pushed him over the edge. Like Reed thought he was better than Billy for getting a chance with you. All the fighting and quick motions went into slow motion when his fist connected with your face and you fell back, landing on your side against the floor. He heard you whimper and grab your face, he swayed in his spot a little, looking almost blankly to you. His fist still balled up, he looked down to it, seeing the hand that had just hurt you.

Reed seemed torn for a moment before he decided to take off up the stairs. He didn’t want Billy to become angry again and start back with his hard punches. Billy stayed standing above you as you held your face and squirmed a little. He heard you sniffle a little and then saw droplets of blood landing on the floor of the basement.

“I-I’m…,” Billy trailed off, still too distant in his mind to tell you he was sorry. He kneeled slowly beside you and reached out like he was going to rest a hand on your shoulder but he didn’t. He put his hands in his lap and just sadly looked to you.

You slowly sat yourself up after a moment. You looked to him with your slightly watering eyes and Billy had to force himself to not look away. He wanted to when he saw the gash on your cheek and your bleeding nose, the guilt eating him. He couldn’t let himself though, knowing he had done this made him only want to punish himself with the guilt.

“You punch really good,” was all you rasped out after a few moments before you let out a little laugh. You held the sleeve of your black sweater to your nose, getting the blood.

Billy made a sound and you couldn’t place it. It was like he had tried to laugh but nearly let out a sob. You frowned a bit at him and scrunched up your face. “You alright, Hargrove?”

“I just..,” Billy motioned to your face in bewilderment, not understanding how you were acting like nothing happened. “I hurt you,” he said finally.

“I got my face in the middle of two Alpha males duking it out,” you said. “That’s on me,” you said before resting a hand on his shoulder. You gently shook it and gave him a little smile, trying to get him to give you one. You had honestly never seen Billy with anything but a smirk on his face or some arrogant gaze. You were realizing you didn’t like when he looked sad or upset, this made you feel sad yourself.

“I don’t blame you, Billy,” you said quietly when he hadn’t spoken in a few moments and wouldn’t make eye contact with you. This brought his blue eyes to look into yours and you leaned over, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “You owed me one anyway!” You tried to joke, never liking a serious conversation.

He smiled sadly at you before wiping the blood from your cheek, when you didn’t flinch he felt a little better. You smiled at him to show that you were okay and wrapped your arms around his broad shoulders, hugging him a little. You felt him hesitate for a moment and then hug you back.

“Just so you know, I don’t hug people,” you mumbled against his shoulder. You honestly couldn’t remember the last time someone had hugged you and neither could Billy.

He gently rubbed a hand up and down your back before pulling away. “I really am sorry.” Billy said, still looking upset.

“I know you are. Don’t worry about it,” you said and shoved his shoulder lightly. “I’m sorry that I got in the way,” you added. You slowly slid off your knees to sit yourself beside him and leaned into him a little, seeing him still looking upset with himself. He stared down to his hands that laid on his lap with the palms up. You gently reached over and gripped one. “Billy?” He glanced to you, slightly turning his head. “We’re okay.”

You sat with him for a little longer and let your head rest on his shoulder. You were a little drunk and it felt good to lean on him. Billy looked to the top of your head as you rested on his shoulder. This definitely was not how he had planned this night but as you held his hand and leaned against him, even if it was only because you were drunk, he couldn’t help but let himself feel like it turned out for the best.

“Come on,” you said after a moment and got up. “Let’s get some ice for your knuckles and my face,” you smiled down at him and held out your hand. He looked to your face before glancing to your hand and taking it. You helped him stand up and he bumped into you a little. Your smile shrunk a little bit as you looked into his eyes and his face was so close you could smell his cigarette from earlier.

Billy looked down into your eyes and was mesmerized. He let his tongue trace the inside of his bottom lip as they were slightly parted. He wanted to kiss you, just to lean down and connect his mouth to yours but he couldn’t. He didn’t want to ruin the first close time you’d both had together.

“So are we friends now?” Billy asked after a moment. He saw you blink and look to him kind of confused for a moment.

“Yes, Billy. We’re friends now,” you said after a moment. When a smile covered his face you found one on yours.

#billy hargrove x reader #Billy Hargrove #billy hargrove imagine #punk reader #steve harrington x reader #stranger things fic #my stranger fics #stranger things #mystrangerfics #dacre montgomery #dacre montgomer imagine #Nancy Wheeler #jonathan byers #hawkins

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feralsteddie · 1 year

Text

I posted 2,434 times in 2022

That's 2,434 more posts than 2021!

122 posts created (5%)

2,312 posts reblogged (95%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@babyboymunson

@corrodedcoughin

@liightsnow

@grandwretch

@everchanginginks

I tagged 263 of my posts in 2022

#steve harrington - 66 posts

#pyreposting - 40 posts

#steddie - 37 posts

#eddie munson - 29 posts

#robin buckley - 12 posts

#stranger things - 11 posts

#strangerthingsedit - 8 posts

#jonathan byers - 7 posts

#vickie stranger things - 5 posts

#buckingham - 5 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#so he’d be like ‘harrington how could you go punk on me????’ but also he’d be so proud bc steve is finding what he enjoys and embracing it

My Top Posts in 2022:

Honestly I think that Steve just loves so hard and deserves someone to match that energy. He deserves someone to be obsessed with him.

1,364 notes - Posted September 13, 2022

where that one post about Steve accidentally inventing pastel punk because he wanted to be edgier for a Corroded Coffin gig, but wasn’t willing to part with his soft colors

1,397 notes - Posted October 15, 2022

Honestly, I’m genuinely obsessed with the Claudia Henderson x Steve Harrington friendship. Like she loves her son so much right? And Steve loves Dustin too and just the idea of her seeing how much those two boys care for each other and her adopting Steve into the family. They trade recipes, they tease Dustin, they plan game and movie nights together. Like she’s definitely in on the Mom Steve joke, and is constantly teasing about Dusty asking his other mother when he wants to go out and she’s not able to drive him.

2,036 notes - Posted August 12, 2022

Steve: I wish I could’ve settled down with a nice Christian Girl

Steve: But no, I want the metalhead dnd freak with ritualistic murder allegations

2,668 notes - Posted July 11, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Eddie Munson put a broken bottle to Steve Harrington’s throat and Steve was immediately so down bad he babygirlified himself

3,179 notes - Posted July 19, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review

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thisishawkins · 6 years

Text

Here We Go

Here’s the second part to “Dammit”! I plan on making this a series, so feedback would be much appreciated! I tried uploading this once, and it didn’t seem like it was showing up, so here it goes, again! ~ K

Billy Hargrove x Reader

Trigger warnings: none (if there is any thing that is, please let me know!)

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

“Heyo, Jonathan.” You greeted as you walked up to the lanky boy with reclusive-tendencies.

He smiled as he pulled his Physics textbook out of his locker. “Morning, Y/N.”

The both of you had been friends since you were in elementary school. His mom, Joyce, and your mom had been close friends since they were about your age.

The two of you began to catch up, as you hadn't spoken in a couple of days. The warning bell rang as you were talking, alerting the both of you that class would start in five minutes.

“So, I guess I'll see you in the red room during fifth period?” You asked him. The both of you had your free period during that time, which normally meant you would either develop photos with Jonathan, or sit outside in your car or the library.

“Yeah, I started a new project. I think that you'll like it.” He stated, a mischievous glint in his eye. You narrowed your eyes and smirked.

“Okay, Mr. Sneaky. I'll see you then.”

You walked past him to make your way to your literature class.

You and Jonathan had almost always had a hint of playfulness towards each other, but that was because you both were so comfortable. It just proved how strong of a friendship that you had with one another.

You had other friends, like Julia Donovan, another girl who frequented the red room, Nancy Wheeler, and a smattering of others, but your friendship with Jonathan Byers was the most resilient.

Not that you had problems with the others, but Julia could be a little rude to Jonathan. And Nancy Wheeler seemed to have her head so far up Steve Harrington's ass that she had seemingly forgotten about her friends.

Steve had always been nice to you, even when he was an utter asshole. Luckily, since he started dating Nancy, he had gotten better and better.

But more often than not, you went solo. And sure, you'd had a couple of boyfriends, but you were so used to being content with it just being you, a handful of friends, and your mother that you couldn't stand it.

They had been clingy. Jacob Donahue had trouble with understanding that you wanted to get out of Hawkins some day. And Derrick Jacobs couldn't get it through his thick skull that you were your own person, not some piece of property, or just a piece of ass.

Being on your own was nice a majority of the time, but other times it kind of ate at you. Like there was something that you were missing out on.

After Jonathan’s younger brother Will, along with Nancy's friend Barb, disappeared last year, and somehow it had to do with something that Nancy and Jonathan couldn't talk about due to it being involved with “the government”, that feeling of missing out accompanied a feeling of uneasiness that settled into the pit of your stomach.

Something was off about Hawkins, and you knew it.

Billy took the desk closest to the door once he arrived to his calculus class. He slid into the faux-wood chair with metal-legs, and dropped his bag beside him.

He spotted Mr. Winston at the opposite corner of the room, slowly rifling through his briefcase. The man moved and spoke like Frankenstein.

Billy huffed, and perched his head onto his hand. He’d much rather be driving around in the Camaro, maybe going to grab something at the local diner he hadn’t been to, yet. Maybe even with you by his side.

His thoughts and eyes wondered, and he noticed that the girl sitting in the desk next to him was looking at him with a glaze over her eyes, practically under a spell.

He flashed her a smile and winked, and she all but sighed in a way that could’ve lead to her fainting.

God, these girls are too easy to win over, he thought. At least he knew that they weren’t getting bored of him already.

Later, when Mr. Winston finally began his monotone lecture of the morning, and Billy surprising jotted down some notes, the gears in his mind began to turn.

Although Billy had another nightmare the night before, he still felt more, well, he couldn't put an exact word to it.

Yeah, his home-life was insufferable and his father was a complete dickwad, plus the annoying morons and airheads at school didn't really help, even if they were beginning to worship him. But somehow, briefly meeting you had made him a little more positive. Maybe this town held something, or someone, of significance to Billy. Maybe Billy could make it out of this hellhole alive, and not end up like his father.

There were a lot of maybes in Billy’s life, and he wanted answers.

You had been sitting in your car with your windows down, jamming to Black Sabbath and eating your salad when you noticed that Billy Hargrove was walking toward you.

He gave you a small wave, a smirk already settling onto his lips.

You reached over to turn down your stereo as Heaven and Hell started playing.

He approached your car, and when he did, he leaned against it, placing a hand above your driver's side window and looked down at you.

“Enjoying your lunch, Y/N?” He asked, squinting from the bright sunlight.

“Well I was, until some guy with a curly mullet interrupted me from my afternoon Sabbath session.” You teased, a smirk resting on your face.

“Can I join you?” He inquired, shaking the red apple in his hand for emphasis.

Some of his blonde curls were laying on his forehead, nearly meeting his eyes, while the rest lay on his taut shoulders. He was wearing a white button-down, with half of the buttons done up, despite the chilliness of the late September air, and fitted jeans with his bulky boots. A darkened silver chain with an emblem hung loosely on him, which the lighter metal of his dangling earring contrasted. He was a sight.

You nodded, and his smile grew as he headed around the front of the Gremlin to open the passenger side door.

He slid himself next to you inside the cabin of the car, his long frame fitting into it somehow.

“So, how're you liking Hawkins, all things considering?”, you asked him, meeting his eyes before taking a drink from your bottle of water.

“Indiana doesn't really compare to California. God, I miss it.”, He answered, his smile slightly shrinking, “But, it seems like I'm about to bump Harrington off of the top of the food-chain, so that’s a plus.” He took a bite of his apple and slung his right arm to hang out the window.

You rolled your eyes. You knew that Billy had this big-headed air to him, and you’d heard some things from a few of classmates. You also knew that his need to be overly-masculine and harsh with others were ways to release some of his anger and the pain that he endured at home. You had taken note of his raw-red cheek last night, and had witnessed the interactions between Billy and his father.

“Oh please, these people flock to anything with a nice ass and a bad attitude.” You commented, before you resumed eating your lunch.

“Did you just say that I have a nice ass?” He began, a smile still perched on his face and a glint of something fiery flickered in his eyes.

You smirked on, holding his gaze for a moment.

“Billy, you know that most of those people in there, like Tommy H, are only going to peak here. Plus, I can't tell who wants to screw you more, Tommy or Carol.

Billy nearly choked on a bite of his apple, and you burst into laughter.

As you both talked and joked on, Billy's hopes lifted, but worry began to set it. You and your mother were coming over for dinner tonight to see his family. He knew that his dad would never lay a hand on him in front of other people, besides Susan. But, he couldn't help dreading you meeting his father and seeing a small glimpse of his life at home, or the facade that Susan and Neil strenuously put on in front of others.

“You're saying that Blitzkrieg Bop is better than The Passenger?” He asked you, amused by how this lunch, and conversation, was going. He took another puff of his cigarette, feeling the familiar burn.

You allowed him to smoke in the car, as long as he held it out the window and blew the smoke toward it.

“Hell yes, Iggy has definitely lost his touch. When is comes to punk, The Ramones is where it's at. Have you heard that song? It's defines the word rad.” You explained before flipping down your visor mirror and reapplying some lip balm.

“Oh come on, The Passenger is fucking great. The Ramones are cool, but Iggy is just fantastic.” He told you, irritation slightly peeking through, but his smile never faltered.

“Hargrove, you can't believe that you’re telling me that -” You began, but you were interrupted by the faint sound of the bell ringing.

“I guess that's our cue.” Billy told you, his gaze meeting your own. He tossed his cigarette bud out of the window, and blew the last of the smoke out. He didn't want to leave his spot from sitting in your car with you for the rest of the day, even if it was small and in the school parking lot.

“Unfortunately.” You answered, giving him a soft smile. Turning around, you grasped at your backpack and pulled it into your lap as Billy got up and shut the car door. He walked back around to your side and opened your door.

“What a gentleman, Mr. Hargrove.” You joked, a hand placed over you heart. You got to your feet and slung your bag on to your shoulder. He tried to contain his smile, but failed.

“You know, I never would’ve pegged you for a guy that’s into punk rock.” You commented with a sly smile. He met your eyes and returned it.

“There’s a lot of things that you don’t know about me, darlin’.”

The way he said it made a fire light inside of you, and your cheeks slightly burned as if you were near one. You bit your lip and looked down, hoping he didn’t notice.

The both of you walked in comfortable silence as you approached the side door of the school.

“See you at dinner, princess.” Billy told you as the two of you entered the school and the scent of chalk dust and sneakers wafted into your nostrils.

“I'll be the one in the Zeppelin tee.” You told him. He chuckled and winked in response.

As you parted ways, the both of you thought the same thing.

You're something else.

“Jonathan, these are amazing!” You said as he revealed the series of photos he had taken that weekend, hanging them up onto the line above the both of you to dry.

He beamed. You hoped that he would pursue photography when the pair of you graduated, knowing he would be truly happy if he did instead of settling with something more dull and possibly more “reliable”.

“Thanks.” He paused, sincerity in his hazel eyes as he blushed slightly, “Yeah, I never thought that I'd get any inspiration from Hawkins, but a lot of the buildings downtown just have this thing about them, you know? I guess it's just the memories that belong to them.” He explained, his eyes glazing over in thought as they moved from you up to the photos, again.

One was outside the strip of stores downtown, one of which Joyce worked at. The sun was setting, as many of the street lights and neon signs were on in the photo. In a way, it looked quite beautiful.

As you continued to look at his collection of photos, you had spurts of memories run through you as your eyes switched from photo to photo.

One of you and Jonathan getting ice cream at one of the parlor's downtown, the pair of you having to be at least seven or eight years old. Your mom found the both of you and had wiped her thumb across both of your faces, for smears of chocolate ice cream had decorated your mouths and chins like an abstract art piece.

Another of when Will had crashed his bike in the middle of Maple Avenue a few years back, and you had ran up to him to help with his small injuries. Will was one of the sweetest boys that you had ever known.

When you had helped him up from the ground, he practically insisted that he was alright, though his arm was bleeding and he had a scrap underneath his small chin. “It's fine, really, Y/N. I don't want to get blood on you.”

At that you had chuckled, and continued to help him down the road towards his mom's store to get bandages.

Then, there was one photo in particular that you had to take a closer look at. Unclasping it from the line, you held it up and closer to the fluorescent red light, while Jonathan peered at you questioningly.

It featured Will and his friends, the Party, they called themselves. All four boys were riding their bikes away from the camera, supposedly on one of the roads leading toward the country roads near the Byers’ house. Above the Party were some dark clouds, but as you took a second glance, something was way off about the sky.

In the photo, above the small figure that you identified as Will, the clouds looked twisted and contorted into some kind of creature, something between an octopus and faceless alien, it’s multiple arms sprouting out across the sky and looking down on the four boys.

“What in the hell is that?” You asked Jonathan, snapping your head over to him as you still held the picture up. “You’re seeing this, right?”

He nodded, his mouth agape, no real words forming. “No, not again.” He finally sputtered out.

“Jonathan, what the do you mean ‘not again’?”

Your jaw clenched, that feeling of uneasiness returning to the pit of your stomach. It had to do with what both of your friends couldn’t tell you, about their loved ones disappearing last year.

“Jonathan Reed Byers, if you don’t tell me what the fu-”

“It’s a long story. And you cannot tell a soul. Unless you’re prepared to skip sixth period, then it’ll have to wait.” Jonathan had a frown plastered on his face, clear stress already evident in his eyes.

“I’m all ears, Jonny boy.”

Still reeling from everything Jonathan had told you, about the utter horrifying insanity that was the Upside Down, a world that somehow latched itself onto your own, the Demogorgon, an alien creature that inhabited it, and how that it was where Will and Barb had disappeared to last year. As you had concluded, Barb didn’t make it and the government covered it up, just as they still were. Jonathan also mentioned that the girl that the FBI had been looking for last year was a part of it, too. Apparently her name was Eleven, and she was a cruel government experiment, and had special powers that could connect with the Upside Down. If not for her, Will would have not made it.

You couldn’t concentrate in the rest of your afternoon classes, still dazed from whatever you had just been absorbed into. As you sat there, impatiently waiting for the school day to end, you thought about Jonathan’s picture, it being etched into your brain.

It’s not over. It’s coming back for Will. For us all.

You thought as the shrill ring of the bell signaled that you were finally relieved from an education for the day. You bolted to your locker.

“You ready to head over?” Your mom asked you as she popped her head around the door frame to your room.

Nodding, you set your hairbrush down onto your dresser. You had been quieter than normal, and your mom had assumed that you were just nervous about dinner. If only she knew.

Your mom grabbed the casserole that she had made, while you grabbed the container of cookies. The both of you walked down to the Hargrove house, the air already changing from comforting, light, and warm to one of foreboding and chilliness. You shivered at the sight, worried for Billy.

“Here we go.” You mumbled as your mom rang the doorbell, then elbowing you in the arm.

You heard shuffling footsteps, and a hum of a television. The door opened and the pair of you were welcomed by a woman, slim and pinkened by a still-present Californian tan, a puff of red curls neatly atop her head, and a set of doe-brown eyes that had greeted you before her words.

“Welcome, you two! Please, come in.” Her voice was soft, matching her eyes. You wondered then if Mr. Hargrove treated her and her daughter anything like he treated his son. Susan and your mom began chatting as they headed towards the kitchen.

“Oh, I’ll take that dish, Y/N. Why don’t you go make yourself comfortable? I’m sure Maxine or Billy will be out here shortly.” Susan told you. Your mom gave you an assuring glance.

You turned, but stopped, noticing that Billy was walking out of the hallway toward the front of the house. When he met your gaze, he flashed you a smile that made you melt a little. You would never admit that to anyone but yourself. You weren’t one to drool over a guy.

Little did you know, when you returned an equally charming and genuine smile to Billy, he couldn’t help but melt just a bit, too.

However, much to Billy’s annoyance, Max came walking down the hallway, interrupting the pair of you. You shifted your gaze onto the younger girl, a scowl shown on her tanned, freckled face, clearly indicating that she wasn’t thrilled about attending this dinner, either.

“Hey, you must be Maxine. I’m-”

“It’s Max.” She corrected, Billy’s irritated expression deepening. You, however, weren’t fazed.

“Oh, okay. Max, I’m Y/N.”, You smiled before saying, “I know that you would probably rather be riding your skateboard and not meeting another lame person, but let’s try to act like we are enjoying it, just for our moms’ sake, yeah?”

Her mouth quirked up a smidgen at that, nodding. “Nice to meet you, Y/N.”

She walked off to the living room, leaving you and Billy alone.

“So, do you want the whole tour?” Billy joked, shuffling his feet.

You look over at your mom and Susan, both of them happily bantering back and forth and setting the table. Max was watching the television, lazily situated on the sofa.

“Lead the way.”

Billy was unorganized, to say the least. But, he was neat, too.

After showing you the bedrooms, bathrooms (one of which was all pink, and the shower-head was too low for him), the spot where he worked out, Neil’s office (which you didn’t go into, and he wasn’t allowed, Billy noted), the both of you found your way back to his room.

He was pretty much settled in, a few things still in their boxes.

His vinyls, cologne, and hair-products (which you couldn't help but tease him about, because he used the Farrah Fawcett spray, and you knew for a fact that Steve Harrington did, too) were organized and together, but everything else was not. His bed was made haphazardly, some of his clothes were off the hangers. He had a couple of beer cans that hadn’t made it into the small trash can.

Though, he had posters up, a big mirror leaning against one of the walls and a couple of framed pictures. The posters were of a model, Lori Singer from Footloose (which you thought was cute), and one of the newest model of the Camaro.

“So, what do you think?” He asked, amused. He had been admiring the way you were studying things. His jitters replaced his smooth, composed style. He had noticed your sweet smile looking over his possessions, and the room he was forced to move into.

You picked up one of the photos, it was small, but in a frame. It was tucked close to his bed on his bedside table, almost seeming like he was trying to hide it.

It was of a woman, her blonde locks tied up into a loose ponytail, and her wide smile and flashy blue eyes stared at you. She was beautiful.

“Is this your-”

“Y-yeah. It’s a … that’s my mom.” He sputtered, looking down at his hands, which were now together and twisting his rings. You saw this, and quickly put the framed portrait back where it was.

“I didn’t mean to upset you or anything.” You told him, gulping back the worry and empathy that overtook you. He shook his head in response, assuring you that you didn’t do anything wrong, but he still didn’t look up to meet your eyes.

You sat down next to him on his bed. Not really knowing what to say, you just leaned in and said, “You know, I don’t know what you've been through, but now that you’re kind of stuck here in this shitty town, you do have someone that you can suffer with.”

He looked up then, his blue orbs now watery.

“It’s me, you goof.” You smiled as you bumped his should with your own.

His frown dissolved into a small smile. Although he was vulnerable, something that he definitely wasn't used to and didn’t enjoy in the slightest, you somehow made him forget that.

The moment evaporated when a thud of a door shutting alerted the pair of you of another presence in the Hargrove household. Both of your smiles shifted into looks of uncomfortableness, but Billy’s was more cross, a look of trepidation in his eyes that he would never let anyone else see.

Neil was home.

#billy hargrove imagine #billy hargrove x reader #billy hargrove #stranger things #stranger things 2 #me #enjoy punks!

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kyloren · 6 years

Text

Mileven post-S2 fanfiction recommendation list: PART II

This is a follow-up part II to the first Mileven recommendation list I made. I actually haven’t finished going through the entire Mileven tag on ao3, but as soon as I power through another good chunk of it, I’ll probably do another part of the rec list. If your fanfic isn’t featured, apologies. Message me and we’ll amend that grievance in the next rec list instalment.

* marks the ongoing stories.

canon:

even outdoor rpgs in the sun have rules!* by christah88: ““It’s summer!” Dustin called over his shoulder, converting a deep lunge to a leapfrog. “The sun is shining, it’s hot but not too hot, we’re with all our friends, we don’t have to go to school, we’re young and we’re free!” He stood up and threw out his arms. “Why aren’t you guys running around screaming?!” They looked at each other. “He actually — you know, I think he actually has a point,” Will said, a bit shellshocked.” [This is the funniest fic I have ever read. Ever. Read it.]

devil’s in the backseat by ceruleanstorm: “Mike Wheeler is not a bad boy, but when he comes to school in a leather jacket, it’s the only thing anyone can talk about. Eleven knows something is up — if only he would stop avoiding her long enough for her to ask. Max, Dustin, and Lucas may have a gambling problem, and Will’s caught in the middle of it all, stuck keeping everyone’s secrets.”

promises to keep* by AriaCessair: “Unconsciously, the promises make their way into their lives. In the end, it is what keeps them together.”

watching through windows, you’re wondering if i’m okay by elsaclack: “The aftermath of the group’s collective brush with the Mind Flayer and his army.”

and i feel life for the very first time by quinnking: ““I wanted her to have something special,” he says, his voice rumbling. “To welcome ‘85 in with… people.” “With people,” Joyce repeats with a chuckle. “You mean with people who love her?””

paladin vs witch by Someone_else_before: “El loves Mike. Mike loves El. Kali has… concerns. On a visit to Hawkins, El’s big sister starts feeling protective and comes up with a few simple tests to make sure Mike is as good a guy as everyone says he is. The tests aren’t exactly ethical, but since when has that ever stopped Kali before?”

let your heart be light by evenhisfacewasanalias: “Takes place after the Snow Ball, with Mike introducing El to a few holiday traditions.”

smart things by Strange_Archivist: “Nancy reflects on love, the importance of female friends, and staying true to oneself.”

babysitters club by SmoothFluffle: “Mike and El (and Holly) as babysitters.”

but we could be safer for just one day* by dragonyfox: “See, the thing is, they figured they were done. Done with monsters, done with baseball bats embedded with nails, done with lighting things that are trying to kill them on fire, done with worrying about their people. Things go back to normal.”

like a distant star* by Someone_else_before: “Now that Mike knows El is alive, he’s not going to let even the scariest police chief in the world get in the way of seeing her again.”

i am small, and needy by kittenCorrosion: “As El adjusts to life in Hawkins, she dreads the impending trial known as “school”. Mike knows just what to do, as usual, and comforts her.”

stringe il cuore della stella morente by shipwrecks: “Months go by. Years go by. Everybody else remembers her only as a hero, there when they needed her. He shakes the core of a dying star.”

i’m not gonna teach your boyfriend how to dance with you by topangamatthews: “Mike Wheeler is not El’s boyfriend. So why is he so jealous of the boy who’s trying to be? (In which Mike Wheeler is an idiot and waits too long.)”

+ its sequel: and suddenly you’re mine* by topangamatthews: “There is nothing stranger than dating in high school. (A collection of one-shots of Mike and Eleven through their high school years, hand in hand.)”

july, july* by IrisVioletta: “Eleven adjusts to her new life, in her new family (now a life-spanning collection of oneshots.)”

senior year by serendipitous_rambles: “Senior Year is almost at an end which means College is right around the corner. El is still unsure and confused about what she wants to do when she graduates and it feels like everyone else is moving on with their lives. But when Mike gets some news, it could mean heartbreak.”

fake it ‘til you make it by TheMikeWheelers (jasongracefully): “Mike and El figured they would just mess with their friends a bit, they could get back at them for all the years of teasing. But fake dating never works out so easily.”

l-o-v-e in hawkins by JoMo3: “A 5-part Mileven/Jancy Valentine fic.”

alternative universe:

speechless* by BimeyMooMimey: “A new girl comes to Hawkins, and the entire town takes notice. Little does Mike Wheeler know that she’s about to turn his life upside-down...without even saying a word.”

survive the tide* by richiewheeler (jormaperalta): “After being rescued from a foster home run by a horrible man, “Eleven” is adopted by Chief Jim Hopper and tries to make Hawkins her home. But the schoolchildren are mean and she’s having a tough time fitting in, plus she needs a job for the summer. Then, she gets an opportunity to babysit Holly Wheeler, and finds her life entwined in AV Club President Mike Wheeler’s life as he navigates his last summer before he graduates from Hawkins High. As they start a summer romance, Eleven’s past starts to catch up with her as Mike’s future slams into his present. Can they survive the summer? Can their relationship?” No Supernatural AU.

everybody talks* by hannahberrie: “What was he supposed to say? ‘Hey, so, I saw you looking kinda lonely over here, and I thought I’d come sit by you, for no apparent reason. Yeah, I know, it’s weird. Yeah, I’m kinda a total wasteoid.’” an 80’s High School AU featuring punk!Eleven and nerd!Mike.

don’t stop believin’ by hoars: “In a world inspired by Dungeons and Dragons, the party comes to terms with their classes.” Magical Realism AU.

wrong house by richiewheeler (jormaperalta): “The Party has a plan to egg Troy’s house on Halloween, but they accidentally get Chief Hopper’s instead.” No Supernatural AU.

years that have gone, and years that will come by rileyhart: “Mike Wheeler has been able to feel his soulmate for as long as he can remember, and he’s been attempting to find her ever since. And he’s finally about to find her, after all those years of searching.” Soulmate AU where you are born with ability to feel the other’s emotions and pain.

miles from nowhere* by kittenCorrosion: “Mike Wheeler and his friends really just want their band to catch a break so they can hit it big. But the week long road trip to a battle of the bands in the middle of nowhere gets complicated when his sister’s rival band shows up, one of his band mates gets tangled in a dark force, and the girl he starts falling for along the way turns out to have a dangerous secret.” Band AU.

unpack your heart by mysterytwin: “They say home is where your heart is, and sometimes it takes a while to find exactly where that is.” Soulmate AU.

+ its prequel: beneath the stars came falling on our heads by mysterytwin: “Mike tries to figure out the beginning, the middle, and the end of his story with Eleven. Mike tries to figure out the beginning, the middle, and the end of his story with Eleven.” Soulmate AU.

ineffable* by princesspret: “An alternative universe where Mike Wheeler meets Eleven, “Jane Hopper,” in 1989. Unfortunately, he’s a little irritable, irrational, and rebellious but she loves him all the same.” bad-boy!Mike AU no-one asked for, but secretly kinda wished for.

the place i call home* by notreserenade: “If one was to ask Mike Wheeler’s parents whether their son had a girlfriend, they’d scoff. Awkward, lanky Mike speaking to a girl? That’s ridiculous. But little did they know, though, that their son was very much in love with a girl. A girl of very few words. A girl with very curly hair. A girl… whose heart was as fragile as the raw emotion one gets during a sunset. A girl that — to Mike, was like no-one he had ever met.” No Supernatural AU.

crossover:

lionhearted (we’ll make this right)* by bottlefullofarsenic: “Normalcy should be easy to obtain. After all, they closed the gate, they defeated the monster, right? Life should go back to normal. If only it was that simple.” Stranger Things x It (2017) Crossover.

curiosity door* by bananannabeth: “The Ghost Riders’ dimension isn’t the only one with portals into Beacon Hills.” Stranger Things x Teen Wolf Crossover.

kingdom come deliverance by TheFlirtMeister: ““You musn’t—” Mike kneels down in front of her, Endleofan cheeping in his ear, nibbling on the lobe. “You can’t touch other people’s dæmons.” “Dæmons?” The girl repeats. “Oh brother.” Lucas says. “You don’t know what a dæmon is?”” Stranger Things x Dæmon Fusion.

the upside down games* by peraltiagoisland: “Mike Wheeler lives in the Victor’s Village, thanks to his sister Nancy who won the games when she was 14 years old, allowing the Wheelers to live in the lap of luxury — or as luxurious as living in District 12 can get. Sadly, having a sister as a victor doesn’t protect Mike from the reaping. It also doesn’t protect him from getting picked to represent District 12 in the 83rd Hunger Games. Oh, and the thing about the arena that year? It becomes another dimension at night. It becomes the Upside Down.” Stranger Things x Hunger Games Fusion.

+ bonus: wherein Steve Harrington is a good Team Mom™:

that’s what friends are for by jibberjabber599: “It’s this action that seems to make his presence a welcome one when Dustin drags him around, even though he’d like to remind the little rugrats that he’s the one who got them out of that hole and saved their lives. Steve doesn’t really have a reference point when it comes to being a big brother—he’s an only child, never really willingly hung out with anyone younger than him—but he’s pretty sure it must feel a little something like this.”

crazy or impressive* by WitchWithWifi: “Steve all but adopts five middle schoolers, their weird telekinetic friend, and all the crazy shit they come with.”

the ache for home lives in all of us (a safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned) by Dontfloatthe100: “The six times Steve Harrington was a mom to the kids, and the one time he didn’t have to be.”

steve harrington’s guide to parenting* by untuneduke: “The adventures of Steve and his 6 adopted children (and the rest of their family).”

this is home* by PatchworkMedley: “The Party realise that maybe Steve is worth more than just driving a car and welding a nail driven bat. And Steve realises that when five pairs of eyes are giving you that puppy look, you don’t stand a chance. Now if only he had those looks when dealing with Hopper…”

guys, you know I’m gonna be pumping out these mileven fic recs until I feel like I’ve read every single fic in the ao3 tag, right? oh, god, what I have committed myself to? stay tuned for the next instalment.

UPDATE: part III is out.

#mileven #mileven fanfiction #mileven fanfiction recommendation list #mileven fanfiction recommendation #character: mike wheeler #character: eleven #pairing: mike x eleven #tv: stranger things #fanfiction recommendations #in this tag resides fanfiction #♔: victrix #*

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shadeandadidas · 6 years

Note

Hi! Can I say how spot on your writing of the characters in stranger things is, cos it's perfect! Anyway, I had a prompt for the drabbles; a story with Nancy, Steve and Jonathan, doesn't have to be romantic, either that or just friendship both'd be great! And also, I think I'm not the only one that's desperately waiting for you to continue the steve/billy story! xx

Hi there! Thank you so much, that’s so nice to hear! I just kind of jumped in to Stranger Things and I hopes I got the characters sounding decent-like.

(And, trust me, I have ideas for Steve and Billy :P) Until then- enjoy!

--------

Steve Harrington has had a rough week, alright?

He’s been broken up with, kicked, punched, knocked out, low-key kidnapped and thrown in a car by a bunch of preteens, and chased by flesh-eating dogs. Demodogs, whatever.

So Steve Fucking Harrington thinks he deserves at least a solid week of sleep.

But apparently the universe does not agree, because on Saturday morning, two days after the Mind Slayer thing was finally controlled and demolished by the punk-goth thirteen year old Wheeler Junior has a kid-boner for, his ass is woken up by one person he thought he’d never see in his room again.

But there she is, in a form fitting pink sweater.

“Nancy?” he groggily asks, wondering if he should maybe cover his naked chest and smooth down his atrocious bedhead.

Nancy gives him a smile and what the fuck is going on right now, “Why are you still in bed?”

He squints at his alarm clock, “It’s 8am?”

She blinked, clearly surprised, “Really? Huh.”

“Is he up, Nance?”

Jonathan Byers pokes his head into the door frame and gives Steve an awkward wave. This time Steve definitely does adjust the sheet, “What the hell is going on? Is the world ending again? Are we still on aliens or has it moved to like- clowns or something?”

Nancy rolls her eyes, “We’re getting pancakes.”

“How delightful,” he throws himself back onto his pillow and shuts his eyes, because he does not want to imagine them licking syrup off of each other’s lips or feeding each other bits of pancakes or other cute shit like that. He’s still a wounded man, after all. “Have fun, you two.”

Nancy doesn’t have that. “You’re coming.”

“Why do you want me there?”

Nancy is silent for a moment, before she sits on the corner of his bed and picks at the sheets resting there. Steve waits patiently, because he knows Nancy. Knows that she’s not one to speak without weighing out every word (unless she’s drunk, as it turns out). She finally rolled her head to the side and met Steve’s eyes, “I just- you’re still one of my best friends, you know? One of the best guys I know. And I didn’t handle us the way I should have, no shut up” she says when Steve makes a dismissive face, “I want us to still be okay. All of us. You’re apart of the family.”

Steve cracks an eye back open, wondering if he has it in him to argue. He has so many emotions threatening to burst from him. He wants to shake Nancy and tell her don’t you see? Don’t you see how bad it hurts? But then he also wonders what the alternative would be. Never seeing them again? Forgetting about the past week and last year? Going on with his life, ignoring them in the halls, content to fade back into feigned ignorance?

He glances at Jonathan who looks almost as uncomfortable as he does. But then Byers shrugs and nods once in agreement.

Steve sighs and that’s that.

Forty minutes later (“Jesus Christ, Steve, it takes you longer to do your hair then me.” “Zip it, Nance, perfection takes effort.”) and they are sitting in a shitty diner at the edge of Hawkins and Jonathan is watching in grotesque fascination Steve take down two stacks of pancakes. Nancy, who is by far used to Steve’s appetite, orders oatmeal for her and an order of waffles to go.

Steve blinks at her. She shrugs, “Mike is going to see El later.”

“Oh.”

They all make small talk for a long while. Steve asks what Jonathan has been up to in the last year, college plans, new movies to go see. It’s all pretty softball stuff- the three of them attempting to reorient themselves in this new reality of shifted relationships. Nancy is valiant in her effort to force the two to speak to each other almost as much as her. It’s not until Jonathan asks Steve what his plans are, that there is truly progress though.

Steve shrugs, “I’ll probably stick around here, you know? Work for my dad.”

Nancy makes a face, but Jonathan ignore it. “Insurance? Why do that when you could be like-- Hopper’s deputy.”

Steve lowers the forkful of pancake from his mouth, “What?”

The other boy shrugs, “I mean, it wouldn’t hurt to ask, right? And training is only a month or two… pass a test, start working out. You could like- take over for him when the time comes. And you’d be plugged in to all of the weird shit that goes around in Hawkins, right?”

Steve’s mouth tips open because, fuck yeah, he could do that. He never even thought about being a cop. He’s learned from the kids that he has some kick-ass protective tendencies and he’s like 98% sure that the other Hawkins police crew are about as useless as Nancy’s father, so-

So.

“Huh,” Steve says, and takes another bite of pancakes. “That’s not a half-bad idea, Byers.”

#st #strager things #stranger things fic #stancy #jancy #the three reluctant muskateers #steve harrington #st drabble #Anonymous

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