#harson

“You’re not putting anything in my ass,” is the first thing Billy says when Eddie takes the lube he bought a few days ago out of his nightstand.

Eddie pauses and blinks at him.

He hasn’t even said anything yet.

Sure, he’s been thinking about it. He’s been thinking about it a lot. But it’s not like he’s going to force Billy to do anything he doesn’t want to, and he might not have thought about Billy fucking him quite as much, but he’s far from opposed to the idea.

Billy was going through a box of his things when Susan got home. Max had dug them out from under her bed, sitting beside him and pulling her sleeves over her hands as she picked at her nails. There wasn’t much left. Neil had pocketed a lot of the money from selling furniture before he up and left, leaving them to sell a lot of what was left over to help pay for a new home and food on the table until Susan could earn enough to support them both.

But his denim jacket was still packed at the bottom of the box, along with his favourite Metallic album and his copy of Catcher In The Rye that he stole from his school back in California. His favourite cologne and hair gel was in there too, half empty.

“I read it. After you died. It’s good.” Max nodded to his book.

“I mostly stole it to piss my teacher off. She was a bitch. But I ended up liking it.” He admitted with a shrug, flipping through the pages like a disinterested father was a newspaper.

“Mum never got it. Why I never really visited your grave.” Max thumbed along the tear in her jeans. “But who wants flowers when you’re dead?”

Billy huffed a small laugh.

“Nobody.” He smirked. “I certainly didn’t.”

“I didn’t think you would.” Max shrugged, smiling softly. They both looked up when they heard the front door. Billy stood up straighter, snapping to attention before forcing himself to let go of the air in his lungs. He had no reason to be afraid of Susan. Apprehensive, sure, but not afraid.

“Maxine? Max, I’m sorry I’m late.” Susan moved on swift feet towards her bedroom door and spared only a moment to knock before she opened it. Billy got up from the floor, taking in a deep breath as Max followed his lead.

He didn’t know what he expected. She hadn’t changed much, not really. Her makeup is a little more rushed, hair done a little looser, dark circles just a touch more prominent, but she looks like the Susan he remembered. Fiery hair like Max’s and well dressed.

“...Billy.” Susan breathed, looking upon him with wide blue eyes. She’s frozen, staring upon the young man she assumed dead, and the moment it settles in that he’s there, he’s real, she covered her mouth with her hand and crumbled into herself, sobbing softly and gripping the doorknob to keep herself with falling to her knees in front of her daughter.

“Mom,” Max stepped forward to comfort her mouth but Billy stopped her with a firm hand on her shoulder. She whipped her head around to look at him, but he was looking at Susan.

“Hey Susan.” He greeted softly, coming close to lay a hesitant hand on her shoulder. She sobbed and turned her head away from him, hand to her chest.

“We buried you.” She took in a deep breath, shuddering it out as she turned to look at him. Her hand was shaking as she reached up to touch his cheek, along the three claw marks along his cheek, down to brush the jagged scar on his lip. She pursed her lips, desperate to stop herself for crying harder. “You got hurt again.”

“Yeah.” Billy breathed, offering a tight smile. “I’m okay. Promise.”

“No, you aren’t.” Susan shook her head, mascara diluting down her cheeks. “I let you get hurt again.”

“No. No, this one ain’t on you.” Billy took her hand off his face and placed it back at her side. “Susan, I need you to listen to me. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes.” Susan sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Yes, I can listen, anything you need to say, Billy. You have my full attention, I promise.”

“I need a place to stay, until I can afford my own.” Billy flexed his jaw. He didn’t want to ask her for anything. Didn’t want to admit he needed her assistance, or anyone’s, but he was back in reality now. And real life kept going without you whether or not you liked it. “Can I stay with you and Max until I’m on my feet? The moment I have a job, I am happy to help chip in wherever I can to earn my keep.”

“Oh, Billy.” Despite her tear-stained face, she smiled. “You don’t gotta earn anything. I know you don’t think of me as your mother, but I should have at least tried to be there for you like I was.”

“Don’t-”

“Neil, he’s long gone, but you’re still welcome here, Billy. You will always be Max’s brother in my eyes, and it’s the least I can do after everything I turned a blind eye to in my marriage-”

“Don’t.” Billy bit out. “Apologise. I don’t want it.”

“Billy-”

“You’re right. You aren’t my mom. And you weren’t really a good replacement either. But if you’re gonna stand here and tell me this is also my home just because you’re pitying me, or yourself...Cut the crap.”

“Billy, don’t be an ass.” Max scowled. Billy rolled his eyes.

“I think I’m being a lot nicer than I could be.” Billy turned back to Susan who was blinking wide, hurt eyes at him. “You were protecting yourself. I don’t even blame you for it. He was fucking awful to me, and if he saw fit, he would have done the same to you. I know, because he did it to my mom plenty. I was just an easy target to him, and willing to take a hit for her. I was already broken in, Susan. So I don’t want your apology. I don’t want you to grovel, to try and make yourself feel better, just because he was a shit dad.”

“I could have done more though.” Susan whispered. “I could have, Billy. But I was scared, and you always played it off so easy. Like it barely mattered.”

“I was used to it.” Billy shrugged. “But I was scared too. That he’d move on to someone else if I didn’t take it.”

“You never should have to feel that way...”

“But I did. And I know it was better than taking the chances that he would.”

“You still have a place here, if you want it. We can make room for you, set up your own space...” Susan gestured to the living room outside Max’s room. She sighed and hung her head. “I’ll be honest, I can’t afford another mouth for long. But I will take care of you at whatever cost, Billy, properly this time.”

“I’m not asking you to take care of me, Susan.” Billy took her shoulders in a gentle grip to make her look at him. “I’m an adult now, and I’ve been through a lifetime of bullshit already. A normal job will be a fuckin’ relief to have, and I will pay my dues so when I leave, nobody owes anybody a damn thing.”

Susan looked him in the eyes, rainwater blue against the rocky ocean and her brows furrowed softly.

“Where have you been this past year, Billy?” Billy cracked a sardonic grin.

“Hell and back.”

------

Dinner is a quiet affair. He doesn’t know why he thought it would be different. It’s microwave dinners and a crowded couch, television on. It reminds Billy of when he was younger, the time between Mom leaving and Susan arriving. Except back then he had sat on the floor, picking at his food slowly because his mouth hurt from Neil’s latest ‘lesson’. Overtime he had learnt to eat quicker in fear of Neil snapping at him for being too slow and sending him off to bed without.

Now he was eighteen - though was he really still? His birthday had passed while he was away, he was actually nineteen, huh? - and sitting on the couch, squished next to Max and avoiding her knobbly elbow as Susan sipped a glass of cheap wine with her dinner. The Price Is Right was running on the TV and Billy wasn’t interested in the slightest, but it was better than answering anymore questions.

There was only so much you could say before you start sounding insane, so he kept it vague. He got heavily wounded in the mall fire, barely made it out and got lost. Susan had asked how he got lost, why he didn’t find a road, but he just shrugged and blamed it on his wounds, that he was delirious for most of his wandering. He only got back to Hawkins because he found a bus across the border. It satisfied her for now, even if she didn’t look like she believed him entirely.

She probably would have believed “I didn’t want to come back” more than his near death accident turned adventure in the woods extending a whole year.

Susan was a lightweight at best and excused herself to bed early into the night, saying she had work early the next day.

“She works two jobs.” Max explained to Billy in a whisper. “I feel bad sometimes, that I can’t help her more.”

“Just be a good kid. Focus on your education. Less Mad Max times and more studying.” He reassured her, pulling on her ponytail as he stood and trashing their plates. Max made a noise of disgust, rubbing her head as he grinned. He washed off their cutlery and Susan’s wine glass, barely taking a minute.

“You’re still an asshole, huh?” Max huffed, pulling her hair out of its tie.

“Always, bitch.” Billy dried his hands off with a tee towel and smirked at her. “You’ll get used to it again.”

“Should have left you there.” She scoffed, scratching along her scalp to ease the tension. “I’m heading to bed soon. I know it’s not the most comfortable, but the couch is all yours. I can ask around tomorrow if anyone has a mattress that they wanna toss.”

“I think I can survive a few nights on the couch, kid.” Billy waved it off, sitting down and laying back on it. He was a little too big for it, but if he threw his legs over the end, it was comfortable enough. “You got a spare pillow?”

“You can have one of mine.” Max grabbed it from her bedroom and tossed it to him. He caught it and slotted it behind his head. “Do you need a blanket?”

“Not that cold, this should do.” He made a grab some the shawl over the back of the couch and laid it over his middle. The clothes Eddie had lent him were pretty warm, but his arms were bare so…

“Okay, if you’re sure.” Max stood there a moment, shifting from foot to foot. “Goodnight, Billy.”

“Goodnight, Mad Max.” Billy spared her a small smile and she returned it, still looking a little apprehensive before she turned to her room and closed the door behind her.

Billy got it. She was probably worried he’d disappear again. That his return never happened. He sighed and rolled over, bundling the shawl in his arms and pressed it against the dip of his sternum.

Sleeping on his side had once been a tactic, being ready for Neil to burst through his door, but it had turned into a way to protect himself from monsters of the literal definition. Filling the gap left in his chest from his possessor made it easier to breathe somehow, a comfort he couldn’t explain even to himself.

He turned the light off, the room cloaked in darkness as he laid in it. His pulse spiked. This was familiar. He could never sleep with the light on before and even now he refused to. He wasn’t scared of the dark like a child.

As he closed his eyes, he took a deep breath and hummed softly, curling up tighter to keep away the phantom shivers.

“Freezing…Can’t move at all…”

He drifted off to his own low murmur, a sense of safety wrapped in every low vibration in his throat.

———

Steel. Black. Her. Cold. Hell. Humming.

“It’ll all be over soon.” His hands are strong but clammy around her arms as she struggles.

Steel. Black. Her. Cold. Hell. Humming.

“And then we…are going to end everyone.” She looks so young, so close and scared, and he had grabbed her arm without ever being able to beg her ‘help me. Help me. Help me.’

Steel. Black. Her. Cold. Hell. Humming.

“She was pretty.” She’s sea salt and blue skies, so vivid in his memories, and he agrees wordlessly. She is. And he desperately wants her more than ever.

Steel. Black. Her. Cold. Hell. Humming.

“Hello? Hello?!” He’s back again, where it’s dark and barren, and he remembers his own body growing cold as the pain seeped away into nothing. “I don’t understand…Where are you, you bastard?!” He’s trapped, he’s sure of it. He’s trapped with the shadow and he’s still just as angry as when he died.

Steel. Black. Her. Cold. Hell. Humming.

“I don’t understand…I don’t understand, I don’t deserve this.” It’s become apparent now. He’s in hell. He’s being punished by the devils beasts for every mistake he ever made. “I didn’t mean any of it…Mom, Max, someone, please.”

No one hears his plea. When had they ever?

Steel. Black. Her. Cold. Hell. Humming.

“I don't know how to live trough this hell…” His lips trembled. Burned with the heat of torn flesh and the blood trickling down it. “Woken up, I'm still locked in this shell…” His breath hitched at the guttural growl that echoed above the floorboards, swallowing his own blood to keep praying.

“Frozen soul, frozen down to the core…” He whispered, heart pounding as dust shook down onto his face, a mockery of the freckles that had long ago faded without the sunshine. “Break the ice…” The creaking faded and he curled onto his side beneath the living room that was once familiar to him. He sobbed. “I can't take anymore.”

------

Billy had long ago learnt how to keep quiet after a nightmare. Maybe it’s the hyper-vigilance, but he always wakes before the scream leaves his throat, swallowing it down, down, down until it’s buried and locked up so tight it is forced to stay put. It never really disappears, after all.

It just lays there in the dark for a while, skin slick with sweat and shivering so hard his teeth chatter. He knows it’s not real. It’s halfway through spring, it shouldn’t feel like his bare flesh has been laying in snow for hours.

He let out a shuddering sigh, taking in a deep breath through his nose and wiping his eyes with the collar of his shirt. He forced himself to sit up, to pull himself from that headspace. He hates being aware, too aware, it makes him feel like an idiot when he acts like this.

He ran a hand roughly through his hair and stood, wrapping the shawl around his shoulders. He needed air. At the old house, he would have stuck his head out of his window and let it cool the sweat along his temples. The window above the couch doesn’t open though, clearly for display. So he shuffles to the front door and opens it as quietly as he possibly again, an ingrained habit.

The air outside isn’t cold, but it isn’t warm either. It’s fresh, and that’s all Billy can ask for right now. He sat on the steps with a soft creak, pushing the hair from his face. Even after a year without, he was craving a cigarette. He would kill for a pack of Reds right now. He didn’t even care what brand, he just needed his tongue tingle and his lungs to actually open up enough to breathe.

Cigarettes had made it easier to breath when his chest got tight, even if every stick only killed him a little more.

Billy jumped when he heard a creak in the distance, mind jumping to possibility of those creatures finding a way back to him, but he quickly shook away the thought when he caught a glimpse of a figure across the dirt road between their trailers.

With a thick leather jacket and shaggy black hair, it was easy to guess who it was. Billy scowled, not wanting to be interrupted from his shitty mood, but Eddie didn’t seem to be out here to bug him. No, Eddie looked frazzled enough himself, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and placing one between his lips. He looked like he was trying and failing to get his lighter to work, throwing it with a hissed, “Fucking Christ!”

He did the same to his unlit cigarette, stomping it under his sneaker and kicking up dirt before seemingly losing all the previous anger in one fell swoop, shoulders drooping. He plopped back onto his ass, elbows on his knees as he hung his head.

“Well, that was kind of pathetic.” Billy doesn’t know what urges him to even walk over, to say it, but it feels like normalcy to antagonize someone. At his core, he had always liked annoying people just a little. It was amusing to see people get worked up. But threatening, hurting them like he used to? It had lost it’s thrill after graduation. Back in high school, he usually felt like shit afterwards, but it felt satisfying to win a fight, so he kept starting them.

Eddie whipped his head up, brows furrowed before he scowled.

“Yeah, well you look like a fuckin’ grandma.” Billy blinked at the insult, realising he was still wearing the shawl.

“I don’t exactly have a collection of shit to chose from right now.” He drawled. Eddie rolled his eyes and rested his head back on his arms.

“Just let me be pathetic alone, man.” Billy crossed his arms and watched the man for a long moment. Eddie wasn’t sparing him a lick of attention. His self pitying silhouette pissed Billy off. He huffed and looked down at the ground. He noticed the crushed cigarette buried in the dirt and gritted his teeth.

“You got a cig I can bum?” He asked, playing his reluctant request off with a neutral tone.

“What?” Eddie finally looked back up at him, face pinched in disgust. “Dude, you have awful people skills. And that’s coming from me.”

“I’ve been stuck in that nightmare hell hole for the past year, sorry if I forget my manners, fuck-knuckle.” Billy wiggled his tongue along his lower lip, a small bubble of irritation in his gut. Catching the scar thrice, he gave a falsely humored chuckle. “You got one, or no?”

Eddie stared at him a long moment, obviously unimpressed before rolling his eyes and fishing out his pack. Marlboro Blues. He propped one up for him to take and Billy allowed it to rest in the right corner of his mouth, kicking up the dirt a little before crouching and snatching Eddie’s abandoned lighter. He flicked it a few times and scoffed.

“Your lighters shit.”

“I lost mine on the boat, man, and my pack got soaked when I jumped in after those idiots. The first thing I wanted when I got back was a fucking cigarette and I was only carrying loose change.” Eddie reached out and took it from his fingers. “Come closer, you prick.” Eddie looked tired more than angry, and Billy chanced leaning in even if he got smacked.

Eddie flicked it a few times, hands steadier than previously. He cupped his hand around the end to negate the cool breeze. After a tense moment, it finally lit up and Billy breathed in gratefully, closing his eyes and letting the smoke escape his nose. God, he missed this. There was comfort in the old habit.

“See? Does the job just fine.” Eddie pulled his own cigarette out for the second time this night and lit it without an outburst. Billy chuckled around his stick, pulling it from his lips to blow out a thick cloud of smoke.

“You ain’t half bad, Eds.” He decided. Maybe it was just the rush of nicotine taking the edge off his crabby mood, but if this guy is willing to spare him a smoke, he’s decent enough to sit with. Which Billy does, leaning up against the wall besides the man.

“Eds?” Eddie quirked a brow. “I didn’t know we were that familiar, Bills.”

“God, nicknames only work when I give ‘em, Bon Jovi.” Billy cringed.

“Okay, whatever you say, William.”

“I’ll put this out on you, asshole.” He threatened with the hot tip of his cigarette. Eddie put his hands up in surrender, taking another drag. They delved into a comfortable silence, Billy’s shivers having subsided completely. It actually felt a bit warm now. It was nice.

“So, you were the King after Harrington, right?” Eddie asked, staring up and out into the night sky, looking a little confused. Like he wanted clarification instead of just making conversation.

“Yeah, you could say so.”

“You didn’t really bother us freaks during that time, so I wasn’t sure. I mean, even Harrington gave us a few choice words back in the day, you know?” Eddie frowned. “He’s a pretty good dude now though. Can’t deny that.”

“Yeah. He’s always been pretty soft.” Billy scoffed.

“Hey, he took care of your sister, man. Show a little respect. He’s a badass; Like Ozzy.” Eddie tutted and Billy felt a sprinkle of heat in his ears. He didn’t want to be reminded that he had been a shit brother, so much so that she had to find another figure to take his place and that it had been Harrington of all people.

“He ain’t even close to Osbourne.” He muttered, burning through a third of his cigarette with one deep breath. He blew it out, heavy and fast. “So, your friend died. Is that how you got wrapped up in this shit?”

“She wasn’t my friend...I mean, we could have been, maybe, but we barely knew each other when she...died.” Eddie’s eyes were fixated on the dirt between his feet, thumb tapping the bud of his stick rhythmically.

“That fucking sucks.” Because it was. What else could Billy say?

“Yeah. It does.” Eddie finished off his smoke and crushed it under his heel. “She didn’t deserve that. I just wish I had been able to do something instead of just...standing there.”

“No point in wishing.” Billy flicked his bud, watching it become nothing in the distance. “It’s done. She’s dead. And you’re still here.” He turned his head to Eddie and froze when he noticed tears in his eyes. Shit, he wasn’t made for this kind of stuff, comforting people. He could barely handle his own fucking tears.

Hesitantly, he reached out a hand and awkwardly patted Eddie’s back. Like a trigger, the waterfall came flowing out, Eddie burying his face in his arms and curling into himself with an ugly sob. Billy held back a wince and kept rubbing his back. He had no words of wisdom for him. She died, and that was it. He had died and well...he had come crawling back from hell with enough scars to make a novel out of. He doubted a miracle like that happened more than once, even if he had been the least deserving of that ‘blessing’.

“Shit, I’m sorry, man.” Eddie sniffed loudly and Billy tried not to gag at the sound of snot. “I’ve just been trying to process everything that happened and its - god, it’s a lot.”

“You believed monsters were fairy tales until a week or so ago. I’m not surprised you’re a fucking wreck.” Billy took his hand back and sucked on his teeth loudly. “At least you’re alive.”

“Well, I’m pretty sure the moment the police tells the world I’m back, this town will be gunning for me again.” Eddie laughed bitterly. “I may be innocent, but I’m still a freak who used occult magic to kill Patrick.”

“People really believe you’re a devil worshiper?” Billy scoffed in disbelief, almost laughing. This guy, sure he had the look, but he even softer than Steve Harrington, that he was sure of.

“Yeah, it was a whole thing. Police only let me go because Hopper is back and blamed it on Russians.” Eddie snorted. “Jason and his friends won’t believe that statement, but it might get everyone else off my back. People will be glad to blame it on evil foreigners rather than devil magic.” He wiped his wet eyes with his thumb and then the back of his hand, sniffling one more time.

“I wonder how they’ll explain my return. They gave me a funeral, probably identified my body...” Billy shrugged. “Not like I can’t just up and leave if I really wanted to. This town is a shit hole anyway.”

“Then why are you still here?” Eddie lolled his head his way, looking at him with big, imploring dark eyes.

“...I have some shit to take care of first. Before I can leave.”

“Fixing all your past regrets, huh?” Eddie seemed amused by this. “Second chance to make things right. Like a tormented soul that needs to pass onto the other side.”

“Hit the nail on the head, Eds.” Billy mused, splaying his legs out lazily.

“Well, when you have made things right...” Eddie licked his lips and tongued his upper lip for just a moment before turning his head forward to the dirt road. “...And you take that road outta here,” He pointed out to it and dragged it off into the direction of the gate out of view. “Where will you go, Emeric?”

“Fuck off.” Billy huffed a laugh, tonguing his cheek as he thought. “...California. Back home.”

“California, huh? Bet it’s awesome there. Big city, lots of beaches, sunshine - and I bet the chicks are hot too.” Eddie grinned. Billy chuckled.

“Oh yeah. The hottest...” He was itching another cigarette. He’d have to see about getting work real soon because he didn’t want to keep bumming off others.

They delved into a soft quiet again, Eddie’s eyes up towards the sky as Billy stared at his new home across the road. Looking into the pitch black window, he felt uneasy. He knew he’d have to return to bed soon, that he had to sleep to function enough to deal with everyone’s shock when he went out to town. Didn’t mean he wanted to.

“What was it like?” Billy was startled from his thoughts by Eddie’s voice, turning to look at him. He was still staring at the stars.

“What was what like?”

“The Upside Down.”

“That’s such a dumb name for it.” Billy rolled his eyes. “It’s Hell. Simple as that. I died and I went to hell.”

“Come on, man, don’t you think hell would have more fire?” Eddie made a vague gesture with both hands of flames.

“No. Hell is cold. That I assure you.” Billy glared at the open space before them.

“How did you even survive that long down there? I barely survived a few short trips.” Eddie blew out a heavy breath.

“I’ll tell you for another cigarette.” Billy smirked and Eddie met his eyes. There was glint of mischief in those ocean eyes and Eddie gave into them with a small grin, passing him another smoke.

“You’ll bleed me dry, man.”

“You want answers, you pay for them. I don’t do anything for free, handsome.” Billy plucked the lighter from his fingers with a salacious wink and Eddie barked a short, surprised laugh.

“Is that how you wrapped every lady in Hawkins around your fingers? You’re worse than Harrington back in freshman year, I swear.” Eddie shook his head in disbelief, knocking it lightly against the trailer.

“Oh no, I’m better. I actually satisfied them.” Billy grinned. Eddie slapped his knee with a laugh, covering his mouth when he realised he could wake the neighbours.

“Oh Christ, don’t tell him that.”

“I will. I will, and I’ll kick his ass this time ‘round.” Billy lit his cigarette with a smokey laugh, a soft wheeze hidden beneath the smoothness of it.

“Okay, I want to know, but I’m going to let it go because you still haven’t answered my original question. How’d you do it, Hargrove?”

“Fuck, man, just call me Billy. Hargrove is a dead man’s name and I’m shedding it like a snake.” He took a deep breath and blew it out of his nose like a dragon. Eddie gave a goofy little grin, nodding.

“Nice. I get it, man. That’s metal as hell.”

“Fuck yeah it is.” Billy grinned. He felt weirdly not-shit right now, so he could play friends with this guy. Billy’s never been good at keeping actual friends around anyway.

“So...?”

“You’re a persistent fucker.” Billy groaned.

“I paid. Now fess up.” Eddie beckoned Billy to start talking with his hand. Billy rolled his eyes.

“I survived by sheer dumb luck.” Billy hummed.

“Really?”

“No, dumbass.” He drawled. “When I woke up, I thought I was dead. It wasn’t until I realised I could still feel pain that I actually got to work on not dying again, or at least suffering for eternity.” He shrugged and took another inhale. “I fucking ran and hid from every monster I stumbled upon until I found myself some weapons in the houses, the stores. It was a ghost town, most the food had spoiled outside of canned goods. But I wasn’t hungry often down there. I don’t know, it was like time didn’t move there, so neither did my hunger. I only ate when I remembered. After a while, I realised music helped.”

“Yeah, Nancy said everything had been frozen in time.” He said, thinking. “Music. That’s how we saved everyone from Vecna - music breaks the seal in your mind or something?” Eddie tried to remember the exact words Robin had used. “Wait, how did you realise?”

“Well, you get pretty bored when there’s nobody around. Started singing to myself to get through the dull parts. No offense but this towns library is shit and half of it was trashed. TV didn’t work, no electricity. No record spinning.”

“So you sang.” Eddie concluded.

“So I sang.” Billy shrugged. “I got attacked at my house. Slotted myself under some broken floorboards in an attempt to hide and well...I thought I was gonna die again. I was exhausted, bleeding... So I sang. And it was like I had become invisible.”

“So you just kept singing?”

“Yep. Whenever I couldn’t just kill them off myself, I would sing and hope for the best.”

“Holy shit, man.” Eddie’s lips formed an astonished ‘o’. “What song?”

“Why does that matter?”

“You sang your favourite song, right? What was it?”

“None of your business.” Billy finished off his cigarette and tossed it, beginning to stand. “Don’t stay out too late, Eds. Might catch a chill.”

“It’s spring.”

“Don’t catch the pollen then.” Billy grinned sardonically. “Thanks for the smoke.”

“Did you ever get lonely?” Billy paused in his steps at the question. “It just...sounded lonely. That’s all. It was pretty lonely when I was on the run.”

“...I’ve never needed anyone a day in my life.” Billy looked over his shoulder at Eddie and smirked, winking. “Don’t let the bed bugs bite, handsome.”

“Yeah...You too.” Billy didn’t look back, but he could feel Eddie’s eyes following him back to his trailer.

As he laid down the couch, blanket pulled over half his body, he hummed softly. The same tune, same melody. It didn’t help him sleep, but it soothed his pounding heart.

He hadn’t been lonely. He hadn’t deserved to feel that way. After all, he had been sent to hell but God himself, and it was only through the universes sick intervention that he was back here again.