#harringrove

Chapter 3

And dacre was in a black billowy shirt and white linen pants and Joe was in a white tank top and black pants (and the fandom was freaking out about the matchiness lol) and they were dancing and wiggling together in the back of the convertible

And then after they were doing interviews and I don’t remember what the question was but they were both like giggle and dacre was whispering to Joe “oh I was a bad influence, bad boy” or something it was crazy and we were all freaking out about that too like “what the hell is he talking about what does this mean???”

--

The green underfoot tells him things. He listens, tentatively at first, staggering among the death markers until the earth opens to an uneven, gray slice of road. An impasse. 

What lies on the other side is coiled starlight; filtering from unseeing windows, blinking at the point of long, needle-like planks of wood. The road leads toward something he knows, something that pulls at him through the hole in his chest. 

He can hear the subtle buzz of electricity through the wire that connects the posts, so he follows blindly, shuddering against the balmy wind that rustles the fabric of his death suit. His legs carry him over the mangled face of another quiet road. Past a farm house, with no farm animals in sight. Through gravel.

He hugs his arms, and walks. 

And walks. 

It isn’t until the warm yellow of the village swings into view, breaking like newborn sunlight through the trees, that he wonders about cars. And people. His feet stop, kicking dirt and river stone like rattlesnake song across unkempt country pavement. There’s no moon above, no stars. 

He wonders why, he starts to ask why, and then something wet lands on his mouth. It tastes like salt and cemetery runoff.

He doesn’t react. He doesn’t blink. More wet, softly, and then steadily, and then he’s watching blood and earthen rust pool into the rock around his bare, raw, dirty feet. No moon, but there is rain.

He keeps going. 

--

There’s A Rumor Going ‘Round (About Me & You)

Chrissy’s made some bad decisions and big mistakes in the past, but this… this takes the (forbidden) cake.

A teen pregnancy AU featuring found family, misunderstandings, and shenanigans. Set in a timeline where some of the stuff from the show still happened, but the monsters and magic are replaced with more mundane alternatives.

Chapter 4 is up on AO3 now!

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Steve has no idea why he thinks about that blond so much. Loud-mouthed, disrespectful, never pleasant.

Steve keeps showing up at the community pool, even though he has a pool at home. Dustin even asks him one day, "Why are you always here? I mean... doesn't your own pool work anymore?"

Steve doesn't answer. He lets his sunglasses hide his eyes, completely transfixed by Hargrove, shirtless, his skin gleaming under the sun as he argues with a bunch of bratty kids.

Even at a party, distracted while talking and laughing with Robin, Steve's attention is always stolen the moment Billy makes his presence known. He tries. He really tries to pay attention to the conversation, to the way Robin dances awkwardly or how she's terrible at flirting. But it's impossible. Impossible for his eyes not to drift toward the way Billy holds a cigarette like he doesn't have a care in the world, how effortless and razor-sharp his smile becomes whenever he spots a pretty girl he's interested in, how Billy easily broke his record by becoming the new Keg King, and how he never misses a chance to brag about it.

Steve dreams about Billy.

He doesn't want to. He hates Hargrove's guts. But there he is. That razor-sharp smile. That infuriating confidence. That low, arrogant voice saying, "What's up, pretty boy?" as he closes in on Steve, trapping him against the locker room bathroom wall. Steve feels his skin prickle. At the same time he wants to shove Billy away and fucking punch him in the face, he also wants to see just how far this teasing will go. Billy lets out a quiet laugh, his warm breath brushing against Steve's face.

"Cat got your tongue?"

Steve wakes up.

He's drenched in sweat, doesn't know where he is, feels drunk. Shame crashes over him the moment he realizes what that dream did to him.

He's hard.

And he can't deny it anymore.