m e l i

He speaks into your ear like he's trying to seduce you, but his words are mocking, making fun. It makes you pout, only further making you look like a little girl, only making him squeeze you closer with a smirk on his beautiful face.

"See, you even look like you're five right now," Billy pinches your cheek closest to him, "my little baby."

You like how he calls you baby. But you don't like why he's doing it.

Maybe you didn't like the dark, it was hard for you to sleep at night when it was pitch black. And at your age, it maybe seemed a bit much. Like something you should have grown out of long ago.

But with the oddities that had been happening in Hawkins over the past year, the darkness had become something that scared you; things that shouldn't exist or rumours of the happenings around town are what hid in the corners of your room, darkness that couldn't be tamed.

The thing that had attacked Billy was something that haunted your mind the most. You wondered how come it had to affect you so badly.

And yet Billy could sleep perfectly fine in the dark. In fact, he preferred to sleep with it dark, pitch black. Most people older than the age of ten did.

So all it did was make you feel embarrassed as you forcefully pulled yourself away from his tight grasp; perhaps he realized you were a bit upset and that's why he let you go, or the more likely reason was that he hadn't actually expected you to pull away from him.

"Come on doll," he sighed, watching you walk to the light in your room and hesitating. Your nightlight was on already, so you had nothing to fear, logically you knew that even in the dark. But the illogical parts of your brain demanded to be heard.

You didn't give him a response as you shut the light off and quickly walked back to your bed, the nightlight illuminating your path as you jumped back into the bed.

Back turned to him, you refuse to acknowledge him. But you feel embarrassed, and slightly bad.

This was supposed to be enjoyable. You were lucky enough that your parents liked Billy, that your parents trusted you in your room, and trusted you to have sleepovers with him. They were privy to the knowledge that at the very least his father and him had a bad relationship, and were fine with him being here.

And granted, it had been enjoyable till this point.

He had come over and spent most of the time in your room with you, talking and messing around (mainly on his part; he just loved to get under your sin sometimes- always says that you have the cutest angry face,) at one point you even sat in the living room and watched a movie while your parents went to their room to give you two the space. Dinner had been fun as Billy got along really well with your father, who loved Billy's Camaro.

It had been good. Fun. You loved him, you loved him being here.

But now you felt bad, embarrassed.

You reached your hand over to flip the tiny nightlight beside your bed off. You'd swallow your fear because Billy was the guest and you wanted him to be comfortable (and you were embarrassed enough as it was; you felt like a little child). You could hack it for the night you supposed.

But the moment your fingers touched the switch, they were pulled away as Billy's hands grabbed your arm and dragged it back down, in the process dragging you away from the edge of the bed that you'd situated yourself on, pulling your frame into himself. He wouldn't let you move an inch.

"Leave it."

Your eyebrows furrowed and you tried to twist your body in order to look at him, but his arms were like vices and he only squeezed tighter, making it impossible to turn much less wiggle too much.

It takes you a few moments to realize he's referring to the nightlight you had on. He's telling you to just leave it on. And you can't figure out why. You were so sure he would insist it be turned off, thus why you didn't argue back much, but instead he was stopping you.

For Billy, it's a matter of understanding- and not having you be cross with him all night, inching yourself away from him when all he wants is to be pressed against you. He would rather it be pitch black, but he would have to be blind to not realize that the darkness in Hawkins had become one of the things you feared most. The metaphorical darkness that was a world, an upside down one, one that was bleeding into the right one. The upright one.

For Billy, darkness was familiar. He had been shrouded in the dark in most aspects of life and he had found it easy to navigate; you were (as silly as it sounded; trust him, he knows-) a brightness in that darkness. He didn't need to feel scared of the darkness at any point if you were there.

And darkness hid the things he didn't want (nor need- in his opinion) to see.

"Are you... Sure?"

"If I wasn't fuckin' sure I wouldn't have said it, would I?"

It was a rhetorical question.

Billy finally let you turn your body towards him, loosening his arms on you just a bit in order to allow you to turn your body. His intention- aside from enjoying the ability to feel the front of your body pressed against his own and see your face up close- was to bury his face into your chest, and it actually wasn't a sexual thing in that moment.

He shimmies his body down a bit; it's a funny feeling and a funny sight. The word 'shimmy' doesn't sound like a word you would use in relation to Billy Hargrove, but it's what he's doing. It tickles a bit as his body rubs against your own. If you weren't tired, you might've felt different about it. But at this point, you only smiled softly.

When he positions himself properly to press his head against your chest, he lets out a moan; god he loves the feeling of your chest, your body, skin, everything. The heat you radiate against him makes him melt (and Billy Hargrove never melts.) He's lucky he enjoys heat, because the way he's pressed against you under the blanket is radiating heat, your body temperatures mixing.

He knows in a few hours you are going to be trying to push him away. But he's not letting it happen.

With his face pressed into your chest, it's dark, almost like there isn't a nightlight on. He's fine with that. He's perfectly fine with that.

"Might have to take this pillow home with me."

He is referring to you, and it makes you squeeze his shoulders.

You let him stay there, because you know he's using your chest to block out the light in your room. And you feel the way he's loosened his muscles pressed against you, comfortable. Safe even. And that's all you want for him. You don't need to be so scared with him there pressed into you. 

You had known Cole for around 11 years, his father and your mother were friends from decades before, so hence you were near-enough brought up together. You both bonded right away, both hating dance as much as the other.

Cole made you laugh and sometimes cry, but you knew you could always count on him. The day he left was hard on you, his mother had passed away not even 24 hours ago and he had already left home. Sure, he returned just before the clock struck 11 pm, but he was different after that day.

And right now looking at Cole, standing in the sunlight, the other side of the Bounty visible through his skin; you saw the same expression from all those years ago. It hurt you to know he felt this way, and it wasn't by any means his fault either; he was just...too late.

But Master Wu had hope, he wouldn't give up until they could find a way to reverse the effects; you just hoped it would be sooner rather than later.

A few months have passed since the incident, and Cole's near enough back to normal...well personality-wise, he's still as ghostly as ever. But he's grown to be more comfortable with his new abilities, he actually embraces them.

The first time he went invisible, you screamed. You thought he had faded away, never to be seen again. But seconds later, he blipped back with a panicked expression, "Yo, (Y/N), chill! I'm still here, don't worry."

You wanted to punch his arm so badly, but you knew there was no point, "Don't scare me like that, I thought I lost you for a minute." you sighed, feeling your breathing returning to normal. Cole laughed, throwing his arm around you, "Please, you can't get rid of me that easily. I'm stuck to you like glue."

It wasn't the only time he used his powers to prank you or the others, a real trickster. You figured as long as he was happy, you were happy, even if it was driving you to the brink of insanity; just a little bit.

It wasn't that you didn't enjoy his pranks, heavens no, you just wished they weren't always on you. But you can't complain too much, seeing how much he's changed since he first got back onto the Bounty was heartwarming. 

"Knock Knock." A voice sounded out from behind your bedroom door, while you were staying with the Ninja you shared Nya's room. She was, of course, bursting with excitement at the proposal and welcomed you with wide arms. The door remained closed but a figure came through the wood seconds later, Cole's figure floated further into the room, an apologetic frown on his face.

"Sorry to just intrude like that, I have to say 'knock, knock' cause you know, I can't knock on a door anymore." he frowned when the realisation hit him. You stood from your relaxed position on your bed, walking over to him with a small smile, "Hey, this wasn't your fault, you know that right?"

He shook his head, looking away from you again, "I can't help but feel like it is, if I was just a little faster-"

"Cole," you interrupted him, he turned to look at you. Even though you could see right through him, he was still the most beautiful person you'd ever seen. You so desperately wanted to reach your hand out and touch his cheek, but you restrained yourself from doing so, "Just-" you paused.

"Just give it time, yeah? Maybe this...form will be useful in the future." you tried to smile, tried to put on a positive front. But Cole could read you like a book, "I know you're just saying that to make me feel better, but- but what if we can't fix this? What if I'm stuck like this forever? I'll never be able to fight, never be able to play video games-" he gasped aloud, hands braced against his face, "Never be able to eat cake again!"

"Cole, you're being dramatic. Master Wu is doing everything he can, and you know the team and I won't quit either!" 

"I know, and for the record, I appreciate it." He stopped again, staring into your eyes. His left hand moved from his side, hoovering close to your own. At first, all you felt was cold air. It was a strange feeling, you could physically see his hand against your own, but you couldn't feel it. You looked up to see Cole glaring at his hand, but if you knew Cole, which you did, you knew he wouldn't give up; especially if eating cake was on the line.

He closed his eyes, his brows furrowed in concentration as he tried so desperately to feel your hand against his own. And that's when it happened, a tingling sensation in the tips of his fingers. It was faint at first but gradually got stronger and stronger with every thought he had. Thoughts of holding you, trying to remember the feeling of your skin, the heat your palm provided.

And soon his hand felt warm, it felt warm and solid. He blinked his eyes open, looking at you first, seeing a huge smile beaming across your face. Gently, his eyes moved to your hands, seeing his ghostly green fingers wrap around yours.

He did it. He was holding you, and boy, did he wish he would never have to let go.

"Cole, you're doing it." you sounded so impressed with him, a straight shot to his ego. He puffed his chest out, knowing now there was a chance he could make a small dream of his work. You continued to stare at your interlocked hand, embracing the grip he had, the coldness he emitted.

Cole coughed, gaining your attention. It was weird, you had never seen him look so smug and yet so nervous at the same time "How long have we known each other for?" he all but whispered. You shrugged your shoulders, trying to downplay your answer, "I don't know, 11 years or something?"

"Hm," he hummed, nodding his head lightly. He flicked his gaze back to you, it was almost hypnotising, "I-I want to do something, but I don't know if I'll be rewarded or face consequences." he muttered out.

You were lost in his eyes, even though faded, they still shone as bright as ever, "Well, do the rewards outweigh the consequences?" you asked. He stood silent for a minute, giving you time to process how much closer you grew to him. You could faintly feel his ice-cold breath fanning across your face.

"The rewards heavily outweigh the consequences, but do I take the risk? What if the consequences outweigh the rewards? What if I thought wrong and-" you hoovered your finger above his lips, politely telling him to hush.

"Is it worth the risk?" you simply questioned, and Cole had made his mind up then. You were worth everything, if staying like this would keep you here with him, he'd remain a ghost for the rest of his life.

He nodded his head again, "Definitely." he affirmed. You gave him a sultry grin, "Then go for it," and that he did. He closed his eyes real hard and thought of your lips. He released the trap door and allowed all the thoughts of you to flood his mind. All the questions he'd ever have were out in his mind and powering his lips.

You couldn't believe what was happening, what was more crazy? The fact that Cole was kissing you or the fact that you could feel it? Whatever it was, you returned the sentiment and then some. Pulling away with a toothy grin you couldn't restrain yourself any longer. You hoovered your open palm along his cheeks, the cold feeling biting at your fingertips.

Cole released a sigh of contentment, "I know it's not a real kiss, but-"

"It's real enough for me," you beamed, causing the Earth Ninja to blush. You stayed like that for a few more minutes, just grasping at each other until a voice called for you, presumably Nya. When you separated, you left Cole with a kiss on the cheek and a promise to continue whatever it was you were doing later.