Wait! Whats on fire ?!

You stir in your seat for the fourth time, trying to get into a more comfortable position. Your belly is heavy and low since the baby dropped. So now your positions are limited—it’s either the left side, or the right side. 

Zuko glances over his shoulder at you, for the tenth time, physically bothered and uptight by the fact that you’re not comfortable. He wants nothing to do with the throne he currently sits on. You give him a tired, reassuring smile and shift your hips a little. Zuko sighs quietly, nostrils flaring as he looks directly into the Chamberlain's eyes. 

“Chamberlain.” Zuko interrupts the older man, a displeased look on his face. “Do you have anything urgent to address?” 

“Oh—well, no, Fire Lord Zuko.” He bows quickly.

“Dismissed.” Zuko affirms, being the first to stand and leave. 

He comes straight to you, helping you up out of your own overly padded ‘throne’, one hand under your elbow and the other on your hip. 

“Up we go.” Zuko waits for you to find your balance, supporting you, his hand shifting from your hip to your belly. “He’s low.” 

“How do you know he’s low? What if she’s low?” You reply, out of breath, feeling the pressure bud between your legs the longer you stand. You were hoping you wouldn’t have to waddle out of here in front of so many people. Zuko smiles, but it fades when he sees your face sour with discomfort. 

“Where does it hurt?” He asks, guiding you out of the throne room. “Take your time.” 

“My back.” You wince. Actually, your entire body aches. But you do your best not to show it. 

“A warm bath, shall we?” Zuko suggests and you nod. 

He mutters something like, ‘careful’, as he shifts and supports you down the stairs and into your living quarters. 

“The avatar arrives in less than an hour.” Zuko regretfully informs you as he draws you a full bath. “We have a meeting.” 

“Zuko…” You moan and lower yourself at a painfully slow rate onto the wooden chair in the bath room. You exhale slowly through pursed lips, a hand cradling underneath your bump. “I…I don’t think—I’m sorry, I can’t.” 

Zuko abandons the filling tub and comes over to help slip your robe off you, a remorseful expression tightening his face. The moment your belly is exposed, his hands find it, caressing and feeling, his lips pressing into the crown of your head. He pulls back and lowers himself level to you, gently hooking his arms under yours. 

“I know.” He mutters in a defeated way. He’s painfully aware that it’s unreasonable to expect you to accompany him everywhere he goes. Not when you’re so close to having the baby. “Come. It’s ready, darling.” 

Zuko carefully tugs you up and you allow his strength to do all the work. You follow his movement, throwing your leg over the tub to get inside. He quickly turns off the pipe. The water is so warm and you can’t help the noise that bubbles up your throat when he lowers the rest of your body in. Immediately all that weight, the pressure, the aches, they’re all relieved from the water. 

“Yeah? It’s that good?” Zuko chuckles softly, his eyes flicking down to your swollen breasts floating at the water's surface. 

His jaw clenches and his eyes trail further down. Just underneath them lays your belly, as big and as round as ever. He's done this to you. Zuko feels pride bloom in his chest. If you’d allow it, he’d keep you pregnant and full with his heir each year that passes. 

Perhaps he will. 

“A little hotter, please.” You growl the last word, spreading your legs wide enough for the pressure to release from your pelvis. Oh, that position does something to Zuko. His cheeks tinge pink and he has a hard time looking away as you spread. 

“Mhh—” He clears his throat and sits up straight, tugging his sleeves up his forearms. His hands dip into the bath, swirling in circular motions as the water heats up around you. You moan a sigh of relief. “It’s not good for you to have it any hotter than this, love.” 

“It’s good. This is good.” You whisper as you lean back, resting your head against the pillow on the side of the basin. Your protruding belly button breaks the water's surface, along with your dark, puckered nipples. 

Baths are becoming more frequent. They’re the only thing, aside from Zuko’s hands themselves, that are able to relieve some of these aches and pains. 

Zuko reaches for the cloth and begins at your shoulders, wiping you down with the warm water. He wipes the back of your neck, dipping the cloth back into the water when it’s gotten too cold. 

“Think he’s coming soon, Zuko.” You mumble mindlessly, focus on that little bit of pressure that never fades. The kind that makes you want to settle into a squat and stay there.  

“Yeah? He is?” Zuko responds with a similar tone, but then his expression shifts to something less calm. His eyes check you over, narrowing as they graze over your belly that hangs heavily between your legs. “Darling,” His tone hardens, “…how soon?”

“Don’t know.” You mutter, eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of him dragging the cloth across your chest. “Feels like—her—head is right there.”

Zuko’s jaw tightens. How can he leave you now that you’ve said that? 

“I’ll reschedule the meeting.” 

“No, no.” It takes too much energy to say that, but you think he’s just being silly at this point. “It’s the avatar, Zuko.” 

Zuko only laughs. The times that Aang has requested his presence or ‘help’ just for it to be a side quest or some air temple adventure—this is likely no different. 

“He’ll survive without me.” Zuko says, shifting behind you now, dragging the cloth down your arms. He feels the water, and reheats it slightly, keeping it at the temperature you like best. 

“Go, Zu. I’m going to be fine. I’ll probably be back in here when you’re finished.” 

“And who will help you with that?” Zuko asks in all seriousness, as if attendees didn’t garnish this palace like jewels on a crown. 

“Anyone.” You mumble, getting comfortable enough to doze off now. 

“I don’t want just ‘anyone’ to undress you and put you in this bath, darling.” Zuko speaks under his breath, his tone sharp and controlled. His voice lowers to a hushed whisper, and his soft lips press into the shell of your ear. “That sight…is only for me to see.” 

Your body breaks out into a shiver. You didn’t consider it like that. 

“Yes, Fire Lord Zuko.” You smile dopily, letting your eyes close all the way. “I expect you will be delivering the baby then.” 

There’s a pause, and silence. Zuko tenses behind you, the cloth stopping just on the back of your elbow. Then he answers sternly. “If I must, yes.” 

You keep your eyes closed, but give him a smile anyways. “Understood, Fire Lord.” 

“You make it sound like a joke.” He exhales harshly, dipping the cloth underwater now, wiping it gently between your breasts. “It isn’t.” 

“Mm—I know, but you act as if I’ll vanish if you leave me for an hour.” You say with as little effort you can, you’re tired. 

You feel his warm hands make their way over your tight nipples, and you moan softly. 

“And if you do?” Zuko asks through a clenched jaw. 

“You won’t lose me in an hour, Zuko.” You try to force as much finality into your voice, but your exhaustion settles deep in your bones. If you have to come out of this bath now, you’ll surely burst into tears. 

“Logically…but—” Zuko doesn’t finish his sentence. His hand drags further down, and your belly hardens against the cloth. He looks up at you expectantly, just to witness your face tighten with discomfort. “You’re in pain all the time now.” 

“It comes,” Your voice strains, and you breathe slowly through your mouth, feeling your body finally relax. “And goes.” 

“That doesn’t make me any less…any less—”

“Any less, what?” You peek at him, and see his expression bounce between restraint and panic. 

“Any less worried.” Zuko says, irritated with his own  inability to find the words to explain his feelings. “It kills me…that I cannot make this better.”

“My Zuko…” You begin, turning your head to look at him properly. He looks tense. Like he has the world and more resting on top of him. “I don’t need you to make it better, I just need you here.”

“I am here.” He says. But being here didn’t feel like enough. 

“Exactly.” You let your eyes slip shut, and as the word hangs in the air, he moves down to your thighs with the cloth. “Go meet with the avatar, Zuko.”

“I don’t want to leave you.” 

“And I don’t want to leave this bath.” 

Zuko almost chuckles, though it sounds more like a scoff.  He wrings out the cloth and hangs it on the edge of the basin. “I will go to the meeting.”

“Mm.” You hum lightly, already half drifting off somewhere else.

“But I’ll be back immediately after.” He states earnestly, his mouth partially open like he’s not quite finished talking. “And if anything changes…anything, y/n. Send for me.” 

“I’m in a bath, Zuko.” Your lips curl in your last attempt to reassure him. 

“I don’t care.” He insists, showing you exactly how serious he is. 

“Right. I will summon the Fire Lord from his meeting with the Avatar if my water gets too cold.” Now your smile is beaming, and you peek up at him again. 

He is, too, smiling softly, that sweet smile. “Good. And don’t stay here too long. Actually, it’s better if I stay until you're ready—”

“No, go. I can get out of the bath on my own, Zu. Okay?” 

Zuko leans in and presses his forehead against your temple. After a few long moments, he reluctantly pulls away. “Okay. I’ll be right back.”

Eventually, Zuko leaves after returning many times. Each time he’d get a little farther, he’d turn back. Say his goodbyes again, give you another kiss on the head. Rub your belly and tell his unborn wa that he’ll be back soon. 

By the time he walked through the doors of the throne room, Aang and Katara were already seated and waiting for his arrival. As Zuko walks in, all of the attendees and servants stand and bow. He walks past them, shoulders square and head straight, ready to end the meeting before it even starts. As Zuko approaches the long, narrow table, Aang rises to his feet and turns to Katara. Zuko immediately recognizes the movement, the way he hunches forward to provide his body as leverage, the positioning of his arms—the patience. 

So when he sees Katara clutching onto Aang for support with one hand, and the other under the swell of her stomach, Zuko intervenes. 

“Avatar Aang.” Zuko greets his long-time friend with a firm squeeze of his shoulder. 

“Fire Lord Zuko.” Aang addresses him properly as he helps Katara out of her seat. “Please, sit.” Zuko insists, resting his hand on Aang’s wrist to stop him. Katara sits back down with a warm smile, her small bump nestled high under her ribcage. Zuko notes that she doesn’t seem any further than six months. 

“Katara. You look well.” Zuko says respectfully. Has that much time really passed since he last saw them? 

Katara smiles, but the exhaustion is evident in the slight discoloration under her eyes. “Thank you, Zuko.” 

“Zuko.” Aang’s tone turns grave, and Zuko picks up on it right away. This isn’t going to be one of his fun adventures or side quests, he can sense that much in the pit of his already uneasy stomach. 

Zuko finally takes his seat, his eyes glancing over Katara’s bump, and then to the doors before landing back on Aang. He’s distracted. And it’s clear as day. 

“This must be very important for the both of you to make the journey here. Please, let’s begin.” 

But before the first document is presented, Zuko is already elsewhere mentally. His mind runs on you, how you’re probably—finally—struggling to step out of that bath on your own.

What if you slip? 

Or how you’re probably clutching your back as you shuffle into bed with your hair wet. 

What if you get sick? 

All of his intrusive thoughts drive him further away from where he is. It’s Aang’s voice, which seems to fade in and out as he outlines each concern, that forces Zuko out of his thoughts. 

Hours pass like days, and Zuko is more tormented than ever. Every point piles on top of him, like one boulder after the next—the weight of the world weighing heavier on his shoulders. 

And the cherry on top is you. 

—

You’re still in the bath, but the water's gone cold. And despite your promise, you refuse to call the Fire Lord to come reheat it. You know this meeting is of great importance, and your duty as Fire Lady in this moment is to ensure it goes uninterrupted. 

But you didn’t expect it to last for hours.

Another wave of fire floods your lower back and you grit your teeth and breathe through it. Your fingers clutch onto the edge of the tub as your knees settle into the floor of the basin. The pressure worsens each time your back flares up. 

The pains huddle closer together, less space and breaks between them. You get to the point where you start rocking side to side, contorting your body as best you can into whatever position that provides a bit of relief. 

But relief never comes. 

You glance over at the window—the sun is setting and the sky is a beautiful blood orange. Interrupting a diplomatic meeting to complain about back pain won’t be your proudest moment. But now that you’re trying to get out of the tub and can’t, it’s something you’re going to have to do. 

Because this might not be just back pain. 

“Guard!” You whimper out, voice shaky but strong. Metal footsteps hastily clink towards you and stop just outside of the door. 

“Fire Lady—”

“Get my husband! Oh—get Zuko, now!” 

“Yes, Fire Lady.”

—

Aang finally introduces the final point—the resistance of some of the fire nation colonies, and how that’s been a significant threat lately to the balance of things. Zuko just nods and glances over at the door once again. 

“…if we don’t approach this correctly, it could turn into a war that neither of us want…you do understand that?” Aang follows Zuko’s gaze to the door, “Zuko?” 

“Yes. I understand and I agree. We will need to approach it strategically.” Zuko begins, growing more tense as that feeling inside him starts ringing like a siren. “I apologize. My mind is in two places at once, today.” 

“If I have to be honest, Zuko. You look like you want to bolt out of your chair.” Katara jests carefully. 

Zuko looks away from the door, right at Aang and Katara. He didn’t think it was that obvious. He never wanted to come off as uninterested. He swallows quickly, huffing a sigh. 

“My wife is due any day.” Zuko admits, fixing his slightly curved posture. “She was very…uncomfortable when I left her.” 

Katara’s expression softens, and Aang goes rigid. 

“We understand.” Katara says as she looks over at Aang. 

Suddenly, the doors burst open, and a young, breathless attendee stumbles in and onto the carpeted floor. He scrambles to his feet and bows as low as he can. 

“Fire Lord Zuko, I—I apologize.” The attendee heaves in a grating breath, and Zuko’s body primes to act, to do, to run. “Th-the Fire Lady—,” He gasps loudly and Zuko immediately stands, his chair screeching behind him, his hands gripping the corners of the table. 

“Speak!” Zuko commands.

“The Fire Lady requests your presence at once!” 

Zuko is already moving around the table, his voice thick with worry, “What happened?” 

“The Fire Lady said only to fetch you, Lord Zuko.” 

“My apologies.” Zuko huffs as he hastily passes Aang and Katara. 

“Go. We’ll stay here.” Aang projects his voice. Katara’s hand instinctively hovers over her spirit water pouch, like she wants to follow and help. 

— —

When Zuko bursts through the door to your living quarters he doesn’t see you in the bed with damp hair like he imagined. His heart slams into his ribcage, and he immediately rushes into the bath room. 

There he finds you perched on the edge of the tub, curved back heaving from heavy, uneven breaths, belly hanging tight underneath. It looks bad, worse than usual, actually. Your face is hidden in your crossed arms, and your hips wade side to side half submerged in the water. 

Zuko shouts your name, closing the distance between you in a few strides, adrenaline high. You raise your head from your arms, revealing a face screwed with pain, and Zuko sinks to a crouch in front of you. His fingers comb away your sweaty hair from your face. 

“You’re back in the bath, my love.” Zuko says it like a question as his eyes search yours, slightly confused and mostly concerned. His hand leaves your face, shaking slightly as it dips into the water. His pupils blow when the horrifying realization hits him the second the water registers as cold—

“This is the same bath I left you in.” Zuko’s voice shakes with restraint. 

He quickly strips himself of his robes and enters the tub behind you, water sloshing out the sides and onto the floor. Anger bubbles inside him, anger directed towards himself. 

“You’ve been in here for hours.” He growls. 

“Zuko…” You sob weakly as heat floods your pelvis in the most excruciating way, and the pressure makes your legs spread further.

“Okay, breathe. Breathe.” Zuko coos as he heats the water with his body as fast as he can without hurting you. “Talk to me darling, is it your back?” 

You nod your head desperately, and a deep, lengthy groan erupts from your throat. The sound of it makes Zuko grit his teeth. His hands move quickly to your back, pressing firmly against it, his thumbs massaging deep into the tissue. 

“You should have sent for me sooner.” He grinds out a tight jaw, careful and deliberate with his every movement. “How long has it been like this?” 

You shake your head, unable to speak during. Zuko waits patiently, massaging your back as he continues to heat the water. His eyes scan you like he’s trying to figure out what is about to happen next. These didn’t seem like the usual back pains you’ve been getting lately.   

“F-Few hours…haah, my back—oh, there’s pressure,” you cry softly the second it’s over, and Zuko embraces you from behind, pulling you gently into his chest. You allow your head to fall back onto his shoulder as you reestablish your breath. “I—I can’t get out…” 

The thought of you here, trapped and cold, makes his stomach twist. His hands instinctively slide over your belly, yearning to connect, fingers pressing softly as he checks the position of the baby. Much lower. 

“I’m here. Does the pain come and go?” 

Your eyes slam shut, and your breath catches in your throat. The pain is back, and the pressure is at an all time high. You begin groaning again, even louder this time. Zuko supports you in the water, his body hot against your back. But not even that helps you. Zuko’s fingers splay across your stomach as it pulls closer to you—tightening up. 

“Oh.” Zuko breathes, looking down into the warped water to see your stomach seized in a way he’s never seen before. “These are contractions.” 

And it hasn’t been long between this one and the last one.

How close are you exactly? 

“Wha—aah!” You’re cut off by the pressure morphing into something else entirely. You grab his forearm, using everything in you to hoist yourself up. “Zuko…I need the toilet!”

Zuko’s heart leaps into his throat and he tries to swallow it down. He’s only able to say your name before he finds himself holding you up, bringing you both to a standing position. 

Once the cold air hits your thighs, gravity comes into play and the pain concentrates in your pelvis now. The tightening crests, leaving you shaking as you slump back into Zuko entirely. 

“I’ve got you.” He says through a ragged breath, securing you properly in his hold. “Breathe darling, I have you.” 

Your body jolts against him and there’s a popping sensation inside your pelvis. Once cold thighs flood with warmth, and then there’s the distinct sound of water hitting water. Zuko looks down in awe, and so do you. 

“My water…My water broke.” You whisper shakily, that feeling intensifying by the second. 

“Yes.” Zuko breathes hard, his hand quickly slipping between your thighs. The world stops spinning when his fingertips catch something soft, yet firm. Instinct drives his hand, tugging your leg to the side as he maneuvers and looks, really looks. And what he sees makes his eyes bulge, confirming what he thought he felt.

A tuft of dark hair, just barely emerging. 

“Y/n. Thats—” He whispers breathlessly, staring wonderstruck, “That’s our baby, darling.” 

“Ohh—Zuko! Zuko! It hurts!” A scream erupts from you, and you give in to this feeling of push. 

Zuko acts quickly, lowering you back into the bath. You find yourself settling into a deep squat. Meanwhile, Zuko doesn’t have time to think, to call for the palace physician or even Katara—he only has time to act. He kneels behind you, hands instinctively moving into position between your legs. 

With a growl, your body bears down and you topple forward, gripping on to the edge of the basin. Zuko steadies you with one hand, keeping the other ready under the water. He watches as your body shakes and strains with effort, your finger tips white around the basin. 

“That’s it.” His voice is rough but raw with emotion, his baby’s head emerging a little further. Zuko feels as you stretch, his mouth agape at the sheer power you’re exhibiting. “Our baby’s coming, y/n. You’re so strong.” 

The contraction fades, leaving you utterly wrecked and your breath hitching repeatedly. Mere seconds pass before the next wave crashes over you, sucking you back into the blinding pain.

“I can’t do this.” You barely whimper before your body pushes again. You make a noise you didn’t know you were capable of making, something primal and sacred. 

“But you are.” Zuko murmurs, overcome with emotion. He feels the baby’s head transcend further, and your thighs begin to shake tremendously. “Darling, you’re doing it.” 

“It burns!” You yelp, trying to shift away from the blossoming fire. 

“I…I know.” Zuko grimaces, his instinct screaming protect. But this isn’t something he can protect you from. “Pant for me, baby. Small pushes.” 

You shake your head as you pant loudly and quickly, tears streaming down your red cheeks. 

“That’s good, I feel them.” Zuko’s voice cracks, eyes swelling. “They’re coming.”

With a guttural grunt you feel a sudden release, and Zuko gasps loudly behind you. “The head…the head is out, y/n.” 

Shock sputters from you in short gasps, and you reach into the water to feel the baby’s head. It’s the softest thing you’ve ever felt in your entire life— soft fuzzy hair, stuck to their skull. You burst into tears, snotty, sobbing sounds ripping from your chest. 

Zuko leans in to sprinkle haphazard kisses on your temple and cheek, and then he quickly settles back and readjusts how he supports the baby’s head. 

“One more push, darling. Please.” Zuko pants, and immediately you’re shaking your head. You want this baby out more than anything, but the thought of continuing is absolutely terrifying. 

It’s too much. 

“It’s almost over. And then we’ll have our baby, okay? Breathe.” Zuko quickly and carefully slides his finger around the baby’s neck, automatically checking for the cord. Relief flashes across his face when he finds nothing there—everything is going the way it should.

A low groan rumbles from you, and Zuko is already bracing himself, readying himself to catch. His stomach lurches when your groan ramps up to a bloodcurdling scream, and your body curves from strain. 

“That’s…that’s perfect…” Zuko mutters when he feels the head turn and drop further into his hands, and he begins guiding the shoulders free. “Push, push.” Zuko encourages you, and you do, helpless against the force of it.  

You push with everything you have left. 

In the next second, you feel a rush that's impossible to comprehend and the baby slips right into Zuko’s hands. You gasp hard for air and your body trembles violently from depletion. 

“Oh.” Zuko sucks in a broken, sharp breath, mesmerized by how tiny and delicate they feel in his hands. 

Zuko moves fast, purely off instinct, one hand firmly supporting and guiding the baby forward, through your shaking thighs, bringing them up against your chest. His other arm curls tightly around your middle, carefully pulling your exhausted body back against him before you can slump too far forward.

“Oh, Zuko.” The words break apart when you look down to see your baby’s scrunched, slightly blue face. Still. Not breathing. Horror blooms inside you and you panic. “Zuko?…Zuko!” 

“I know, come on.” Zuko whispers roughly, his hand rubbing the baby’s back vigorously. “Let us hear you, come on.” 

After a second that feels like an eternity, a wail pierces the air. Tiny, but strong. So strong. And loud. 

You sob as your body sags in relief and exhaustion, and Zuko lets out a breathy laugh before his own tears burst free like a dam. 

The baby slowly flushes to a healthy pink, and their bottom lip trembles. Zuko continues to rub her back, soaking in each moment like a sponge. And that’s when he notices.  

“There it is. She’s okay. She’s perfect. Strong like her mother.” Zuko huffs, turning his attention down at you against his chest. 

“She?” You barely whisper, smiling weakly. “She’s okay. She’s okay.” Each word comes out a little softer, a little more slurred. 

He analyzes every line in your expression, every bead of sweat budding from your forehead. You look exhausted. You had just given everything to bring his child into the world, and it was his honor to witness it. 

“You just…you did it, y/n.” Zuko watches as your eyes unfocus, and his chest tightens. “Hey. Stay with me.” 

Zuko’s distant voice echoes in your head, and you concentrate to look at him. The pain is constant, an aching throb that stings hotter than venom. 

“Tired…hurts.” You manage to mutter, glancing down at your baby squirming on your chest. 

“I know, baby.” Zuko whispers, desperately comforting himself with the reminder that the best healer in the water tribe is sitting in his palace now. “You’re okay—Guard!” Zuko shouts the last word, looking over at the door of the bath room. 

Hurried footsteps approach and stop just outside of the door. “Fire lord Zuko.” 

“Get the physician! Bring Katara!” Zuko gives the order and returns his attention to you. 

“At once, Fire Lord.” 

Zuko sees your eyes flutter, and jostles you to keep you awake. “Stay awake, darling.”  

You move against his chest, heavy eyes flicking down at the baby cooing against your chest. “Zuko. You…did it. Like you said.” 

Relief pulses through Zuko when it registers, you’re speaking of what he said earlier. That he’d deliver the baby if he needed to. He smiles down at you, adjusting the hold he has around his entire world. “Yes, my Fire Lady. As promised.”

A slow tightening breaks your concentration, and you find yourself seizing up against him. A soft groan rumbles from you, and your eyes squeeze shut. 

A contraction?

“What is it?” Zuko asks, panicked. 

“The afterbirth.”

Katara appears breathless in the doorway, one hand braced against the frame and the other resting beneath the swell of her stomach. Aang lingers quietly behind her, relief relaxing his face.

“You’re okay, you did so well,” Katara reassures gently, already moving closer. Her eyes flick briefly to the baby and soften. “She’s beautiful. Just a little more, okay? Then you’re all done.”

The physician follows quickly behind, bowing once before moving to assist. Everything overlaps into one big blur around you.

Katara’s calm voice. Zuko’s hand never leaving you. The tiny warmth of your daughter, squirming against your chest. The physician’s quiet reassurance that she is healthy—her congratulations. But everything feels distant.

Distant but safe.

You focus on Zuko’s touch, and the babe that he’s now fully supporting against your bare chest as your arms fall limp either side of you.

“It was a good thing you were here,” Aang says quietly from the doorway.

Zuko barely hears him, because his attention never leaves you. Nor the tiny babygirl tucked safely against you.

“Yes,” Zuko says softly, brushing sweaty strands from your forehead.

“I’m always here.”

You prop yourself a little higher on his chest, your stomach sliding against his, and let your hand wander. From the warm flat of his sternum, up over his collarbone, across the slope of his shoulder, until your fingertips find the curve of bone and ink. Billy makes a low, contented sound in the back of his throat, eyes half-closed, cigarette burning between the fingers of his other hand.

“Careful,” he drawls, a throaty rasp gliding like a hand down your spine. “Keep petting me like that, and I’m gonna start purring.”

“You already do,” you hum, your chin propping on his chest. “You just disguise it as a cough.”

He snorts, smoke curling from the corner of his mouth, lazy and crooked. Your finger traces the shape of it, and Billy leans into your touch, eyes hooded as he watches you. 

Then you do what you meant to do in the first place: let your fingertips trace the curve of the skull.

The ink is a little blurred at the edges now, softened by time, sun and pool chlorine. The skull’s jaws are half-open, flames licking up the back of his arm toward his shoulder, the whole thing wrapped in old-school black and shadow.

You trace your finger along the hollow of the bone, over the cracks, the flames. Your touch is slow, absent-minded. But it’s not really. You’re paying attention to everything—how Billy’s breath catches when you hit the tender spot near his collarbone, how his arm flexes just enough to make the image ripple.

“What,” he asks lazily, “never seen a tattoo before?”

“Seen plenty,” you reply. “Just never had a moment to ask what the hell you were thinking.”

He lifts his head a little, squinting at you. “That supposed to be an insult, sweetheart?” 

“Maybe a little bit.” You’ve never been the sheepish type, but your words almost come out like that now. “It’s very… ‘I’m fifteen and pissed at my dad.’”

He scoffs, his eyes rolling, head angling back slightly to bare the curve of his throat. You spot traces of your mouth and teeth marks across his skin, evidence of your greed laid bare like a roadmap, with a pang of feminine satisfaction. 

“I was sixteen, thank you,” he informs you with a chuckle that glides all the way down your body. “And I am pissed at my old man.”

“Shocking,” you say dryly, because the last thing you want right now is to bring Neil into this. “I never would’ve guessed from your sunny personality.”

Billy reaches over and pinches your hip, just hard enough to make you yelp and slap his chest. Billy’s mouth curls into a satisfied little smirk, dragging his fingers across the bare skin and edge of his worn t-shirt, pooling obscenely around your hips and his hand.

“Watch it, sweetheart,” he murmurs, cigarette slotting at the edge of his lips, and you examine how the swell of that mouth curls around the filter, slow and suggestive. “You’re talking to a guy with a skull on his arm. I’m dangerous.”

“Oh yeah.” A soft laugh escapes you, and you feel his grip on you tighten, drinking in the sound. “Terrifying. Real Grim Reaper shit. I’m shaking.”

He grins, smug and too damn attractive, head dropping back onto the pillow as lazy billows of smoke curl past his swollen lips. You go back to tracing the ink, more deliberate now, letting your nail just barely graze the skin.

“Why a skull, though?” you ask curiously. “Were you trying to impress the world or just yourself?”

“Hey,” he protests, shooting you a mock-offended look. “I impressed you.”

You make a noncommittal noise. “Debatable.”

His gaze drags over your face—eyes, nose, mouth—in a way that makes you hyper-aware of all of you pressed against all of him. The little sliver of air between your lips and his throat feels charged. “Liked the way it looked,” he says. “That’s all.”

You arch a brow.

“That’s a lie,” you say immediately.

He tenses, just a fraction.

“Excuse you,” he protests with a roll of his eyes. “I can be shallow.”

“I know you can be shallow.” Your thumb traces the flames, creating a mental map of the shape. “You’re also weirdly sentimental for a guy who pretends he doesn’t have feelings. So. Try again.”

Billy flicks ash into the tray on the nightstand, jaw working. He makes an offended sound that’s mostly for show, then sighs, dragging a hand down his face. The movement makes his abs tighten under your ribs; you feel them shift, hard and warm beneath you, and your fingers tighten a little where they rest on his arm.

“Drop it, mechanic,” he warns.

You keep your hand where it is, stroking slowly over the ink.

“Or what?” you ask softly. “You’ll brood at me?”

His eyes cut to you, examining you for a beat. He’s known you long enough by now to know you’re not going to drop it. He takes another drag, the soft crinkle of his cigarette filling the quietness between you. 

Billy traces mindless patterns across your naked skin, and you try not to arch into it like a feline. “You’re real mouthy for someone currently using me as a mattress.”

“And you’re real evasive for someone who never shuts up,” you shoot back.

You hold his gaze.

It’s easy, now, this kind of pushing. In the early days, it would’ve ended in a shouting match, the two of you bouncing off each other’s sore spots until something cracked. Now it’s… familiar. A game with rules you’ve both quietly agreed on, safe and barbed, but only used to work each other up, rather than hurt.

He stares at you for a long moment. Then sighs, long and put-upon, like you’ve asked him to move mountains instead of talk about himself.

“Jesus,” he mutters. “Show a girl one tattoo…”

You smile, just a little, and wait. Billy drags one hand over his face, rubbing at his eyes, cigarette balanced carefully out of the way. When he speaks again, his voice has dropped half an octave, losing some of the lazy shine.

“Fine,” he begins reluctantly. “I was pissed off.”

“Obviously,” you deadpan, eyebrows rising slightly. “Skull, fire, I got that part.”

He ignores you. “It was the first summer in Cali after—” he waves the cigarette in a vague arc. “After Neil declared he wants to remarry.”

Your fingers still on his arm. He doesn’t look at you, peering over your head into the darkness beyond. This is still hard for him, an openness that can come with sharpness and acid if not threaded on gently.

“Mom was gone,” he continues, quieter now, and there’s still a crack to his voice whenever he mentions the woman who left him behind. “Neil was… Neil. I just figured out I was apparently indestructible enough to smoke, drink and drive like an asshole without dying yet. So my genius teenage brain goes: you know what would really drive the point home? Branding.”

There’s something bitter and fond tangled together in the way he speaks about it. You picture him at sixteen, smaller, angrier, sitting in a buzzing tattoo parlour and daring the needle to hurt more than his father’s fists. 

“Real nuance, y’know?” He snorts, tightening his grip on you a little bit, like he’s reminding himself he’s here now. “I’d just learned the word ‘mortality’ in English class and decided I was above it.”

You start moving your fingers again, gentler now, more purposeful. Following the line of flame. The pad of your thumb drags a slow line along the curve where ink fades into his freckled skin. Billy’s breath catches, barely audible.

“So you picked a skull,” you muse thoughtfully. “Like a walking warning label.”

“Something like that,” he agrees with a quiet, satisfied hum. Like he never doubted you would understand the choice, understand him. “Part of it was… I don’t know. Control, I guess. So I thought, fuck it. If I’m gonna have death and abandonment hanging over my shoulder, I might as well slap it on my arm and look it in the eye.”

For a second, you just lie there, breathing with him. In and out. The idea of him sitting in that chair, alone, trying to stare down something that big with nothing but ink and stubbornness, makes your chest ache. 

“You ever think about not tempting fate quite so aggressively?” you ask, but it comes out softer than you intended.

He finally looks at you again. The half-burned cigarette drops into the ashtray, his hand cupping your face, rough fingers and faint aroma of smoke still clinging to his hot skin. 

“Always,” he answers simply, thumb sweeping over the curve of your bottom lip. “Still do. Just… this helped.”

“How?” 

He rolls his shoulder under your hand, making the skull shift. “A reminder. That it’s there. That I’m not special. That it can bite me whenever it wants. Kept me from doing even dumber shit than I already was.”

You’re sure your expression portrays precisely how ironic you find those words. “Hard to imagine.” 

Billy snorts. He gives you a look that promises future retaliation, his thumb pressing just a fraction harder into that notch above your hip, making your toes curl.

“What, like I’m gonna tell you everything?” he poses, shaking his head. “You’d never let me live it down.”

“I already don’t let you live anything down,” you say sweetly, a biting edge to your smile. “Your crimes are being archived as we speak.”

You smooth your palm over the ink again, grazing the line where the flames curl around toward his tricep.

“Y’know,” you say after a brief lull, cigarette back between his fingers, while your tone stays deliberately casual, “for what it’s worth… I don’t think it makes you look cool.”

A laugh barks out of him, and your entire body vibrates with the sound of his amusement. You don’t chide him for disturbing you, because this is special, this is fragile. Genuine amusement still feels like a rare gift when it comes from him, like he’s learning to permit himself genuine happiness without a shadow of violence hanging over him. 

“Oh, thanks,” he drawls, still grinning. “Really boosting a guy’s self-esteem tonight.”

“It makes you look like a try-hard,” you continue, tone entirely deadpan, and Billy groans. “Like a kid who circled the biker tattoos in a magazine and went, ‘That one, because I’m a badass.’”

He opens his mouth, ready to protest. But before he can say anything, you lean down and kiss the skull before he can argue, lips warm on the ink, your nose brushing the sensitive inner line of his arm. You feel him shudder under you, just once, like you’ve hit some hidden switch.

“It’s also hot,” you add against his skin, stroking a greedy hand up the ridges of his muscles. “In a tragic, overdramatic way.”

Billy’s fingers flex on your hip, digging in with calculated slowness. When you look up, his eyes have gone heavy-lidded, pupils blown a little wider. You feel the way his stomach tightens under your ribs, rippling with want, the way his hand on your hip goes from resting to gripping you.

“You’re a menace,” he says, voice rougher now, hungry.

You hum, arching lazily into his body and grip. “You like it.”

He shifts, rolling onto his side to face you properly, forcing you onto your back as he stubs out his cigarette, teeth bared. One of his legs slides between yours, pinning you in place. He brackets your head with his arms, the skull right there by your cheek now, flames licking up toward your ear.

“You’re the only person alive,” he says slowly, close enough to speak against your parted lips, “who could call my tattoo try-hard and still get me this hard.”

“One of my many talents,” you say, trying not to laugh.

His head lowers further, breath teasing your lips.

“Seriously, though,” he murmurs. “You really think it’s stupid?”

You look at him. At the earnest flicker under all the bravado, the tiny crack in his usual armour he doesn’t permit anyone except you or Max see. Sixteen and burning still lives deep in his eyes, like a haunting hand reaching back in time to drag him under.

You slide your palm back to his arm, fingers curling around the ink, the muscle beneath.

“I think,” you begin, serious now, “it’s very you. Skeleton, fire, drama, ‘fuck the world, I’m not scared.’ Except you are scared, and instead of admitting it, you carved it into your skin and pretended you weren’t.”

He huffs a breath that might be a laugh, might be a sigh, or a strangled mix between the two.

“And I think,” you go on, “that if it helped you stick around long enough to wind up here, annoying me, then I’m… glad you got it.”

Billy studies you for a long while, eyes roaming over your face.

Then he kisses you.

It’s not greedy, not at first. His mouth moves over yours in a slow, careful press, like he’s tasting the words you just said. His chest is warm and heavy against your breasts; you can feel the exact moment his breathing hitches and kicks up, syncing with your own. One of his hands leaves the mattress, slides under your shirt from the side, palm hot as it skims the curve of your waist. His fingers leave a fire trail as he drags his hand up your ribs, thumb grazing the sensitive space just beneath.

Your stomach flutters so hard it almost hurts. When Billy finally pulls back, his forehead rests against yours. His nose bumps the side of yours with a soft, stupid intimacy that makes your heart ache again. His arm tightens around you. The skull presses briefly against your temple as he shifts, flames warming your skin, ribs brushing ribs.

“Y’know,” he says quietly, “I used to think it was gonna be the only thing left. If I went out in a wreck, or the ocean decided it was sick of my shit. Skull on a slab, like a punchline.”

You swallow, your thumb stroking down the back of his neck.

“But then?” he huffs. “Somehow, it’s… you.”

Your throat feels thick.

“Me what?” you breathe out.

He shrugs, one shoulder lifting, muscles shifting under your palm.

“You’re the thing that keeps showing up,” he explains with a sort of caution that hints at how often he’s thought about this. “In the hospital. In my car. In my stupid dreams. Skull’s just… decoration at this point.”

“You comparing me to a tattoo?” you ask, trying for lightness and not quite making it.

“Nah,” he says. “Tattoo is permanent.”

You elbow him in the ribs. Billy oofs, grinning a wicked little smile, eyes twinkling.

“I’m serious,” he goes on, wetting his bottom lip. “I got this thing ‘cause I thought it made me look like I didn’t give a shit if I died. Now I’ve got you tracing it every time we’re in bed, and it just makes me think about not wanting to go anywhere.”

Your fingers tighten in his hair, tangling in those messy curls.

“Wow,” you breathe out finally. “That was almost… sweet. Did the ink leak into your bloodstream?”

He groans and buries his face in your neck to hide his expression with an annoyed, quiet laugh. His lips find the spot just under your jaw without looking, teeth and tongue, and he laughs when you gasp at the sensation, the sound breathy and embarrassingly immediate. Followed by his smug, “Shut up.”

You laugh, hand sliding through his hair, the other still wrapped around his arm. Your thumb strokes over the skull one more time, gentler this time.

“Kind of like that it’s on your left,” you say idly.

Billy pulls back enough to look at you again.

“Why?” he wonders.

“Closer to your heart,” you say slowly, deliberately corny.

He groans loudly. “Fuck, you’re impossible.”

“You’re the one who fell for me,” you shoot back, wiggling against him, smugly noting the way his muscles coil at the sensation of you pressed against him. 

“‘Fell’ is a strong word,” he retorts, still grinning against your jaw. “Tripped, maybe. Got shoved, definitely.”

Your brows jump up. “By who?” 

Billy leans in until his lips brush your ear, teasing and brazen in a way that boils your blood.

“By a mouthy mechanic who won’t stop touching my tattoo and asking me how I feel,” he murmurs hotly.

A shiver crawls down your spine.

“That’s tragic,” you reply, breathless. “Really. My condolences.”

Billy chuckles, low and husky, and kisses you again, deeper this time, greedier if it were possible. His arm shifts, skull sliding against your cheek as he adjusts his weight, bracing himself so he doesn’t crush you. You angle into him, ravenous for the press of him everywhere—his thigh between yours, his chest, his ridiculous warm mouth, devouring yours.

Your hand slides back down to his arm, seeking the ink. Your thumb finds the curve of the skull almost blindly and stays there, like you’re grounding both of you through that old, stupid, meaningful mark.

It’s still a skull. Still fire. Still teenage stupidity needled into his skin.

But with his heart thudding hard against your ribs and his breath breaking against your mouth, with your fingers curled around that ink as if you can hold the boy who got it and the man he’s become in the same palm, it feels like more than that.

As she replayed their conversations, his emotions made sense - they all connected. The one that stuck out to her was his anger in the cafeteria. She didn’t see how he could go from hurt and his version of gentleness on Monday, to intense anger on Wednesday, to soft smiles and easy banter tonight. It didn’t make sense. But the more she thought about it, the more it clicked.

Billy hadn’t been angry at her in the lunch room - he had been angry that she had shut him out. She could understand that. He had done the same thing to her, throwing her words back at her, putting on a persona just to spite her. It made her angry. It fucked with her head. And by ignoring him and avoiding him, especially after he had been vulnerable, she had made him feel the same way.

But that wasn’t what was interesting. No matter how angry he was or how upset he was, as soon as he saw that she was upset, genuinely upset by something he didn’t even know the source of, he put his own emotions aside, and he made her feel better.

She never would have thought him capable of that. All of the talk about Billy around Hawkins portrayed him in two ways: depending on who you asked he was made out to be either hotheaded, angry, and selfish, or charming, allusive, and arrogant. But she didn’t see any of that. It was like she saw a completely different side to Billy than everyone else. And honestly, it confused her. She didn’t know what side of Billy she would see when she talked to him, didn’t know how he would react. It made her question what was real, which she hated.

But Billy had been honest with her, to an extent. He made it clear he liked her in more than just a sexual sense, and he’s made it very clear he thinks he’s better for her than Eddie. He had tried to make her jealous, and he made it seem that he moved on with girl after girl. At the very least, he had sex with them, whether that meant anything to him or not. And if she was honest with herself, she didn’t like that. If he did care about her, how could he move on so easily?

Billy made her happy when he tried. Hell, sometimes he made her happy without trying. He matched her witty challenges and kept pace with her. It was easy with him. But all the same, it made her uncomfortable how he just gave himself away, like he didn’t value himself. He was attractive. She knew it, he knew it, Hawkins knew it. But she wanted him to see himself as valuable, full of meaning that someone would treasure, rather than to give piece after piece of himself away to girls who only saw his flashy smile and smooth demeanor.

Eddie would never do that. He was sweet and purposeful. She had never seen him wonder even before they started dating. But she also knew that Billy had never looked at her with resentment like Eddie had. She had picked up that Billy’s home life wasn’t great either. Even though he wasn’t open to talking about it, he never lashed out at her like that. He never made her emotions feel worthless or disregarded. In one ten minute conversation, Eddie made her feel small, devalued. Even when Billy was flaunting girls in her face, she knew he was playing a game, his intentions clear. He had wanted her to feel jealous, to regret her words, but he never wanted to diminish her. Which was worse?

So here she was. A Friday night at the skate rink with her group of friends, her boyfriend who had crushed her spirit, and the man who she couldn’t get out of her head, the one who had built her back up. Her emotions were fried, her mind all over the place. She had no answers, more confused than ever.

Steve comes up to her then, skating behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders. “There  you are!” She jumps at the contact, lost in thought. He drops his arms and skates in front of her, turning to face her as he skates backward. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

“Sorry. The clerk took a minute getting me another pair of skates.” She attempts a smile, trying to get herself out of her head. She has to pick up her pace to keep up with Steve.

He furrows his eyebrows. “Did Billy give you shit or something? Your mood is totally foul again.” He slows down a hair as he does a half circle to end up skating next to her.

“No, he was actually pleasant for once.” She chuckles, smiling at the memory. But when her eyes shift forward, locking onto Eddie and Robin, she frowns again. “Billy isn’t my problem. Eddie is.”

“Eddie? Holy shit.” Steve doesn’t hide the shock on his face. “I thought you all had moved past your problems.”

She scoffs. “So did I. Now there’s a new one. A big one.” She doesn’t hide the frustration in her tone.

“He looked mad when you all walked in. What happened?” He looks at her with concern in his eyes. Steve really was a good friend - her best friend.

“I don’t want to get into it too much, but our parents got brought up and he just lashed out at me. Saying how I needed to be grateful for what I have and how I don’t understand anything about having a hard life.” She throws her arms up. “I know I don’t have a terrible life, and I’m not trying to act like I do, but my parents can be shitty sometimes. Am I not allowed to rant about that or talk about my concerns?”

“Of course! That’s natural for any teen to do. We all know how distant my parents are. I don’t exactly have it bad, but it sucks, you know?” He offers her a smile of reassurance.

She smiles up at him, nodding. “Yeah. He just makes me feel like shit for complaining because of what happened to his parents. Every time I bring them up he gets angry, but tonight was bad, Steve. Like really bad.” She looks down at her skates. “He looked at me with resentment. Like I was wrong for being concerned for my parents.”

She feels Steve’s hand on her shoulder again. “Hey, you’re not wrong.” She looks up at him when he squeezes her shoulder. “He shouldn’t make you feel that way, and I’m sorry he did. You’re allowed to talk about your parents or any other concern you have.” He smiles softly again. “Maybe you need to sit down with him and tell him how it made you feel. I’m sure you all can work through it. If he cares about you, then he needs to be receptive to that. And if he’s not, then maybe you don’t need to be with him.” He shrugs a shoulder trying to keep the mood light even though he dropped a heavy truth bomb.

Her eyes widen slightly. The last thing she needed to hear when her mind was already so scrambled was that her and Eddie might not be compatible after all. If she was truly honest with herself, that thought had slipped through her mind more in the past month than it had their entire relationship. It was a nasty thought - one that scared her more than she wanted to admit.

“Maybe.” She looks after Eddie again, seeing he’s still smiling with Robin. “He just looks so fucking happy after he made me feel like I was worthless. I don’t get it.”

Steve blows out air, shaking his head. “What can I say? Men can be stupid sometimes.” He looks at her with the most genuine, serious look, which causes them to erupt in laughter. She leans toward him, grabbing his arm as they laugh.

In their bout of laughter she catches a flash of blonde hair whip past them, causing her eyes to shift in front of her. She watches Billy look between her and Steve, a quick flash of jealousy directed at Steve, as he passes them with his date. He tilts his head ever so subtly to her before turning forward again.

Steve and her recover from their spell of laughter, straightening as they keep skating. Steve blows out air as he catches his breath. “That wasn’t a very nice look from Hargrove. I thought you said he was being pleasant tonight.”

She catches her breath as well, nodding once, before putting her hands on her hips. “Oh that look wasn’t directed to me.”

Steve rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I caught that.” He frowns, shaking his head slightly. “I don’t know what his problem is with me. He’s been giving me shit ever since he got to Hawkins.”

She chuckles. “C’mon Steve. You practically owned Hawkins before Billy. He thinks he’s hot shit and wanted your spot. That’s it.” She shrugs, thinking it a simple answer.

He looks at her, unconvinced. “I don’t think it’s that simple. He’s ‘dethroned’ me.” He lowers his voice, muttering under his breath. “Whatever the fuck that means.” Shifting his gaze to Billy, he continues. “No, I think he has it out for me for some reason.”

She scoffs. “Why would he have something against you? That doesn’t make sense. It has to be some sort of alpha male bullshit.” She smiles as she speaks, not taking Steve too seriously.

The look Steve gives her wipes the smile off her face. “Do you remember when I didn’t come to school for a week last month?”

She nods. “Yeah, you said you were sick.”

He half rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I lied.” He pauses, almost like he was trying to gather his thoughts. “I didn’t come to school because I didn’t want anyone to see my face.”

She shakes her head, confused. “Steve, that doesn’t make any sense. What does that have to do with Billy?”

“He’s the reason my face was fucked up.” He looks at her, but when it’s clear she still isn’t following along, he continues. “Jesus, he beat the shit out of me! He came to the Byers’ house looking for Max, and when she didn’t want to go back with him, he got violent. I tried to stop him, but I got my ass kicked.” He pauses, grumbling. “As Dustin says.”

Her eyes widen. She knew Billy got involved in fights, but she didn’t know about his fight with Steve. She tore her eyes from Steve’s, processing. As she let her mind wonder, she began to put the pieces together.

“The first night we talked he was looking for Max. He showed up on Gareth’s doorstep during one of Eddie’s campaigns, and I sent him to the Byers’ house. I didn’t know-“ She meets Steve’s eyes again, her own wild, while his were open, letting her think on her own. “When I saw him at school the following Monday his knuckles and his cheek were bruised, but he didn’t say what they were from. But it was you?”

Steve nods. “Yeah.” Pausing, he looks between Billy and her. “So when he gave you shit in the parking lot that one day, I got concerned cause I didn’t want you to be dragged into his shit.” He sighs, pulling her closer to the wall so they could stop without disrupting the flow of the rink. “I don’t know what he’s capable of, but I know how violent he was that night. He was laughing every time I punched him.” His eyes widen in his typical Steve way. “Normal people don’t do that!”

She can’t help but laugh. “Well I never said anything about Billy was normal.” She pauses, thinking back on her interactions with him. “He’s never done anything to make me feel scared or unsafe.” She shrugs. “Even when he was a dick, I never felt like he was trying to hurt me.” She gazes past Steve to look at Billy, finding he was already looking her way. “I don’t know why, but he would never hurt me. I know it.” Tearing her eyes from Billy’s, she looks at Steve again, giving him her best reassuring look.

Steve holds her gaze, not appearing too happy, but conceding nonetheless. “Okay, okay.” He shrugs. “Maybe he just likes fighting attractive dudes.”

She laughs, pushing his shoulder. “Maybe.”

He laughs with her before getting more serious again. “Look, I don’t know what you two are doing, but promise me that you’ll be smart around him, that you’ll be safe.” He looks for Eddie, finding him still with Robin before turning back to her. “Whatever you decide, I just want you to be happy. I want you to make the right choice for you, Bunny.”

She inhales a quick breath, not expecting Steve to get so sentimental on her. She knew he was the only one who knew about her interactions with Billy, but it seemed like he had picked up on more than what she told him. It didn’t really surprise her. Steve was her best friend for a reason.

She lets her eyes drift from Steve, to Eddie, to Billy, lingering on him. Once more, Billy turned to look at her, offering her the smallest smile, the corner of his lips curving up so slightly anyone else would have missed it. Just then his words from earlier in the week when he confronted her in the locker room echoed in her mind.

“You went with the safe option.”

Billy’s words and Steve’s advice paired with her own racing emotions and thoughts struck her at once. She was so focused on stability, on aligning like she had always done, but what about what she wanted for once? Yes, Billy was a risk, a huge risk, but she got the feeling that he was risking his own personal code for her. He had done it over and over.

Every interaction, every glimpse of his eyes directly into her soul, every call out of what she hid from him was a risk of his own personal pillars. He knew she hid, knew she was scared, but he kept pushing the cracks in her mask to expose her. He saw her in the locker room. He looked at her with recognition and an acceptance of the parts of herself she didn’t even want to accept. No one else had seen her so deeply. No one else had fought for her, all of her, like he did. And as it all clicked - his outbursts, his confident facade, his hidden emotions that only she saw, that only he allowed her to see - she realized that she saw him too.

They had an unspoken understanding that no one else in Hawkins could come close to. They both hid, but they didn’t need to hide around each other. They were both scared - scared of letting people in to see who they really were - but they didn’t need to be scared around each other. They gravitated to each other because they were the only other person who could possibly understand the complexities of hiding and simultaneously being in the eyes of so many. Being scared but putting on a brave face to create the lives they deserved. He had sacrificed the crumbling of his own pillars to get her to open up to him, to build her up, to build her new pillars. Through it all, she realized he wasn’t a risk. Billy was safe.

She gasps, looking at Steve abruptly.

“I need you to do me a favor.”

He shakes his head, taken aback. “Yeah, sure. What is it?”

“I need to talk to Billy. If I pull him away from his date, could you distract her so she doesn’t miss him?” She looks over Steve’s shoulder, finding Billy’s date wasn’t paying attention to them like Billy was. She shifts back to Steve. “Oh, and if anyone asks where I am, don’t say I’m with Billy!”

Steve narrows his eyes for a fraction of a second before he nods. “Yeah, I can do that. Wait-“ He turns around before turning back to her. “Vicki Carmichael? Really?” He sighs dramatically. “She’s almost as conceited as Carol, and that’s really saying something.”

She grabs his hands in hers, holding them together. “Please, Stevie. You know I don’t ask much from you.” She gives him her best pleading expression.

He rolls his eyes. “I hope you know how much I love you. I wouldn’t distract Vicki Carmichael for anyone.” He gives her a dramatic look, hands on his hips and all.

“Mhmm. Sure Stevie.” She smirks at him.

“I’m serious!”

She laughs, skating to his side to make looking for Billy easier. Much to her luck, they were skating toward her and Steve. When she locks eyes with him, she tilts her head to the entrance quickly and raises her eyebrow. He nods once before turning to his date, Vicki. When she sees him skate away, leaving her alone, she looks at Steve quickly.

“There’s your cue!” She goes to skate off, but he grabs her arm, stopping her.

“Be careful, alright?” She looks up to his serious gaze, nodding. He nods in return. Before she leaves, she smiles at him.

“Thank you, Steve!” As she skates away, she hears his voice call out.

“You owe me!” She looks over her shoulder with a smile to see Steve approach Vicki, already turning on his charm. Vicki comes to a stop, smiling up at him. That was easier that I thought.

She makes quick work of leaving the rink, taking her skates off, and putting her sneakers back on. Giving the rink one last look to make sure none of her friends are looking after her, she quickly jogs to the entrance. The cool, December air hits her face as she looks on either side of the building for Billy. Thinking he must be on the more secluded side, she jogs over, finding him standing under the shadows.

Just like on Monday, he was biting his nails with wide eyes, but he was pacing and holding a lit cigarette. One hand held the cigarette, bringing it to his lips every so often, the other at his lips. His head snapped up when he heard the gravel shift under her feet. Dropping the mostly unsmoked cigarette to the ground, he walks toward her as she walks to him.

“What is it?”

“What are you really doing here, Billy? Do I just have really bad luck and you just happen to show up where I am, or is it something else?” When she finishes speaking, they stand face to face, both breathing heavily, their breath visible in the cold air.

He furrows his eyebrows, but he smiles. “I overheard you all talking about coming here when I passed your table in lunch. I figured you couldn’t ignore me on skates.”

She sucks in her breath. “You came to see me?”

He nods, putting his hands in his pockets. “Yeah.”

She shakes her head. “But why did you bring a date?”

He chuckles. “It’d be a little weird to show up by myself, wouldn’t it?” His gaze is relaxed, his eyes easy.

“I guess you’re right.” She looks down at her feet, trying to sort out her mind. He really did mean what he said on Monday. He wanted to show her attention, going out of his way and even bringing a date he wasn’t interested in just to see her. Meanwhile, Eddie had barely spoken to her. Her heart flutters at the realization. Billy’s voice interrupts her thoughts.

“Do you want me to leave?”

“No!” She jerks her eyes back to his, seeing a trace of shock. She sighs, shaking her head in an attempt to clear her mind. “I’m just trying to process my thoughts.” She lets out a half chuckle. “I’m more confused than ever.”

He takes his hand out of his pocket, grabbing hers to pull her toward a nearby bench. Sitting so close his knee brushes hers, he faces her.

“What’s going on?” He looks at her so intently - so clearly that she knows he’s trying to understand what she’s thinking. She flicks her eyes between his for a few beats before blurting out-

“You’re intense.”

He laughs at that, dropping his head, before looking at her again in amusement. “Hmm. Not used to that with Munson?”

“Not usually.” She pauses, voice becoming quieter. “Tonight was different though. He got angry in a way I’ve never seen before. It didn’t suit him. It was almost like he resented me.” The words came out before she could really stop them. She didn’t intend on telling him any of that, but she found the words just spilled out around him.

His eyes soften as his hand finds its way onto her thigh, squeezing gently. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Her eyes shift down to his hand before flicking back up to his eyes. Her own eyes widen slightly, realizing he had just unmasked another of her emotions without even trying. Everything was so easy with Billy - emotions, vulnerability, the way her body reacted to his, she felt she could just be with him, just like she realized in the rink. She didn’t have to hide around him.

Shaking her head, she places her hand on top of his. “No, I didn’t come out here to talk about Eddie.” He looks at her in confusion, but she speaks again before he can. “I want to understand you, Billy.”

He tilts his head. “What do you want to know, doll?”

She looks down at their hands again, tracing small patterns on the top of his hand with her index finger. “I don’t know what to do with you, Billy. You’re hot and cold. You’re sweet and cruel. You’re here and there. I can’t ever read you.” Her eyes meet his.

He chuckles, pulling his eyes from hers. “I have a lot going on in my head. All the time.” His voice gets quieter. “More than most people realize.”

She watches him intently. She knew there was a hidden meaning behind his statement, but she didn’t want to pry past what he was willing to talk about. She recognized her own secrets in the phrase and knew it was something he could only reveal when he was ready. She could at least ask him about something he could answer. Her voice lowers in volume as well.

“Can you tell me what your intentions are with me?”

His eyes quickly shift back to hers, searching her for any sarcasm, any remnant of the cat and mouse game they’ve been playing. When his eyes see her sincerity, his lips part.

“I want to be the one to make you smile.”

Her heart skips a beat. Such a simple answer, but she could see the intensity behind his meaning. Her eyes search his.

“Why?”

His eyes never leave hers as a soft smile spreads his lips. “Because you see me.” Her breath hitches. I was right. His tongue darts out to lick his lips. “You see past all the bullshit, you see past the persona. You see me for who I am at my core. You make me feel good, for once.”

Her brows draw in again. “But Billy you are good.”

He chuckles weakly, breaking their eye contact as he tilts his head down again. “No, Bunny. I’m not.”

She thinks back to Steve’s comment from earlier - I don’t know what he’s capable of, but I know how violent he was that night. There may be more to him than she knew, more than she maybe wanted to know. But she knew one thing to be true.

“I don’t know everything there is to know about you, but I do know how you make me feel.” His eyes meet hers once more. She can see the vulnerability in them, the pain he was holding onto. “I feel safe around you, Billy. Warm. Protected.” She smiles, showing him her reassurance. “You make me feel that way.” She chuckles, tilting her head a bit. “You might get a little angry sometimes.” She brings her other hand to squeeze his jaw, pushing his lips together as he had done to her earlier that week. “You definitely have a mean mouth on you.” She releases his jaw with a little shake, causing him to smile. “But you’re good, Billy Hargrove. You’re good to me.”

He holds her gaze for a moment, squeezing her thigh again. “Thank you, Bunny.”

She nods, a smile still on her face. “Can I ask you another question?”

He nods. “Always.”

She bites her lip as she ponders her phrasing, letting it snap back once she has it. “If you feel this way about me, why did you mess around with so many other girls?”

He shrugs, looking away again. “It was just a dumb ruse to try and get you jealous enough for you to admit how you really felt about me.” He chuckles. “It kind of worked.”

She sighs gently, a stream of her breath blowing in front of her. “But there were so many girls, Billy. You let them put their hands all over you, you kissed them, you slept with them.”

“It was a few kisses in public, that’s it. I wanted you to be jealous.” She sees him roll his eyes. “Not very good of me, I know. But kissing doesn’t mean anything.”

She shakes her head. “But it was more than kissing. They all said that you slept together.” She continues to watch him, but he keeps looking at their hands, busying himself by rubbing circles on her thigh.

“Because I told them to.”

She jerks back slightly. “What?”

“I told them to say they slept with me. They could all use the popularity from the rumor, and I could make you jealous. It was a win-win.” He shrugs again. “But I didn’t sleep with any of them. I didn’t touch them.”

“But you said-“ She pauses, trying to process what he was telling her. “You made all those comments.”

“I lied.”

“Why? They all practically threw themselves at you. You could’ve had anyone you wanted, so why didn’t you?” She tilts her head, trying to meet his eyes, but he keeps his head down.

“Because they weren’t you.”

Her heart flutters as she inhales sharply. No wonder seeing her with Eddie in his van had upset him so much. She had thought she was just doing what he had been doing with all of those girls when in reality he had just been putting on a front. All of that time had been about her. The realization had taken her breath away.

She shakes her head, once again trying to understand this new information. “I don’t- I don’t understand.”

He sits up then. “I like you! Goddamnit, I like you, Bunny.” His eyes finally meet hers with a desperation that captures her gaze. “And I don’t admit when I like someone. I don’t chase after someone. I don’t fucking let people see me how you do. But everything about you makes me want to go against my own rules.” His eyes switch between hers at a fast rate, almost matching his quick words. “You match me. You challenge me. You’re not intimidated by me. You see through it all. You make me want to let you in, and it scares the shit out of me because I don’t do that. I’ve never wanted to do that, but I’d do anything for you to see me, even if you hate me, just as long as you keep seeing me.” He swallows, taking a breath. His voice gets so quiet she almost doesn’t hear him. “I trust you.”

She sits in a trance - her hand still over his hand on her thigh, their legs touching, her eyes completely captured by his. Her lips part, her breath coming out in small puffs of steam between them. She was right. He had felt just as seen by her as she had by him, but his confession of trust went beyond anything she imagined. An overwhelming wave of sadness courses through her then, settling in her chest as her heart sinks and sinks. He must see it in her eyes.

“Why do you look so sad?” His voice is still quiet. His cheeks flushed from either his confession or the cold. He looked so soft, so vulnerable, and she knew she was the only one to see him this way.

“Why do we only ever talk like this when I’m fighting with Eddie?” Her voice comes out in a whisper as she finds herself unable to look away from his gaze. She feels her eyes well up with tears, a single tear falling down her cheek before she can stop it.

He tilts his head ever so slightly, his eyes tracing the tear falling down her cheek. “I don’t know.”

“I don’t want you to be just someone I fall back on when I’m mad at him.” She sniffles, trying to fight back the other tears - not wanting to ruin his confession by crying. His hand cups her cheek, wiping away the tear with a gentle swipe of his thumb. She swears his eyes hold the same sadness as hers.

“Then don’t let me be.”

She closes her eyes, letting the other tears fall. He immediately moves his hand behind her neck and pulls her against his chest. Her arms slide under his jacket to wrap around his waist. He completely envelopes her in a warm, secure hug. She feels his warmth seep through her clothes, warming up her body. She started shaking before she realized it, not aware of how cold she had gotten through their talk. His hand rubs along her back to calm her, the other swirling light circles on the back of her neck and into her hair.

“I’m sorry, Billy.”

He shushes her. “You don’t have anything to be sorry for.” His body vibrates with a low chuckle. “I’m the one who had to fall for a girl in a relationship.”

Her fingers mindlessly trace the outline of his side under his jacket. “Everything is so complicated. I don’t want to hurt Eddie, but I don’t want to fight how I feel about you anymore. It’s too hard.”

Just like he had in the movie theater, he rests his head against hers with a hum. “Is that you admitting you like me too?”

She giggles, a soft sound. “Yeah, Billy. I like you too.” Even though she can’t see it, she can feel his smile. She shifts closer to him, getting lost in his warmth. “I don’t know where to go from here. Eddie and I aren’t in a good place, but I can’t just leave when things are so tense.”

“I mean, you could, but you’re a good girl.”

She scoffs. “Billy…”

Their bodies shake from his laugh. “Sorry.” He nuzzles his head against hers. “You just need to do what you feel is right, whatever that is.” He squeezes her against him, his voice hitting that same quiet volume from earlier. “Just don’t shut me out again.”

“I won’t.”

They fall into a comfortable silence as they cling to each other, holding onto their newfound confessions just as much as they hold onto each other. After a few minutes, reluctantly, she pulls back.

“As much as I don’t want to, we should probably go back inside. We’ve been out here for a while.” She looks up at him to see he’s still smiling.

“You’re probably right. You look cold.” He cups her cheek, rubbing his thumb across her skin. Without meaning to she leans into his touch, a soft smile spreading her lips. “We shouldn’t go in at the same time. Wouldn’t want Munson and your friends to see us walk in together, right?” He raises an eyebrow, the familiar challenge present in the motion.

“I think I’d like to keep you as my little secret for now.” She winks, which makes him laugh.

“I’d love to be your secret, Bunny.” She fights the urge to get lost in his bright blue eyes - eyes that reflect a happiness she’s not sure she’s seen before.

She blinks, suddenly remembering. “Oh, I had Steve distract your date so we could have some privacy. They might still be together. I’m not sure.” She shrugs.

He tilts his head as he stands, holding his hand out for her. She accepts, letting him pull her off the bench. “I’m sure he’s having fun with that. She’ll go for anyone that looks in her direction.”

“You chose her as your date. You only have yourself to blame.”

He shrugs a shoulder, unbothered. “Whatever it takes to see you.” She smiles up at him, smug. “I’ll let you go first.” She nods, going to walk away, but his hand pulls her back against him. “One more thing.” He pulls her in for another hug.

One hand slides around her waist, while the other coils through her hair, holding her close. His fingers had pulled out some loose hair with how much he had played with her hair in the past few minutes, messing up the bottom of her ponytail. He buries his head in her neck, wrapping her completely with his presence. She melts into his touch, trying to memorize the feel of his back beneath her fingers, the muscles in his chest against her cheek. She inhaled his scent - cigarettes, cologne, and a natural pine scent that made her dizzy in the best way.

“I’ll see you soon, yeah?” She nods against him, and he hums in response. Shifting slightly, she feels his lips press against the top of her head in a sweet, gentle kiss. “Don’t want to let you go, but I know I’ve got to.” She hums in agreement, too lost in his scent and his warmth to think of a response. “You’re cold. I’d give you my jacket, but that would be too obvious.”

She tugs at his jacket, on the inside, against his back. “Would love your jacket one day, B.”

“You can have it, Bunny.” He kisses her head again before bringing his hands to cup her cheeks, pulling away slightly. He leans in, so she closes her eyes, thinking he’s going to kiss her. But her eyes pop open when his lips peck her nose quickly, softly. “Now go before I steal you away.”

He drops his hands, knowing if he didn’t she would let him steal her. And she would. Biting the inside of her cheek to bring her back to reality, she keeps his gaze as she backs away, smiling softly. She didn’t break eye contact until the wall of the building forced their eyes apart. She let out a breath, content as she walked to the entrance.

Making her way back in the rink, she looked around for her friends, finding them sitting at the same booth as earlier with a pizza on the table. Everyone was there, except Steve, who was sitting with Vicki where Billy had sat with her earlier. As soon as Steve saw her, he leaned into Vicki, likely to give her some excuse about how he had to leave. He was up and out of that booth before she could flash him a grin.

Nancy waves her over. “Bunny! There you are! You missed the pizza.” Steve makes it to the booth before her. Nancy turns to him. “You did too.”

She jogs over, sliding next to Nancy, still avoiding Eddie. “Sorry!”

Eddie watches her. “Where did you go?”

“I started feeling sick, so I went outside. I think I got too hot, but once I cooled down, I felt better.” He nods, moving on.

Her eyes dart to the door to see Billy walk back in just as Robin speaks. “Well there’s only two pieces left. You better hurry or Stevie boy’s going to take them both.” She turns to Steve, looking past Eddie who sits between them, with a smile.

“I will too.” Steve eyes the pizza, licking his lips.

“No way!” She grabs a slice, taking a bite before Steve can make a move. As soon as she grabs her slice, he grabs the last one, taking a bite just as quickly.

Nancy looks at Bunny. “So we know where you disappeared to.” She turns to Steve. “Did you enjoy your impromptu date instead of spending time with your friends?” She narrows her eyes lightheartedly.

Steve looks at Bunny before shifting to Nancy with a laugh. “What can I say? I saw a pretty girl all alone. I couldn’t let that stand could I?” Most of the table laughs at his comment. She was so thankful Steve was fast on his feet, able to cover for her with no hesitation.

“You really know how to pick them.” Robin dramatically widens her eyes, looking after Vicki. “Oh, I see her actual date has returned. Sorry, Stevie.” She feigns sympathy toward him.

Steve shrugs his shoulders. “I guess Billy wins again.” Little did he know.

Wiping her fingers from the pizza grease, Bunny throws her napkin on the pizza tray, signaling she was finished. Steve releases a content sigh, finishing his slice soon after her.

“That seems like a good place to call it, wouldn’t you agree?” Jonathan leans forward, his arm still around Nancy, as he looks at everyone else to gauge how they feel. Eddie and Robin nod at the same time.

“All that skating wore me out!” Robin stretches. “But it was fun! Good idea guys!” She smiles at Nancy and Jonathan who seem happy the night had gone well.

“Shall we take the skates back?” Eddie asks.

Everyone nods, shifting out of the booth. All of them had removed their skates already, so they picked them up off the floor. Nancy and Jonathan were the first to head to the counter. Robin took hers and offered to take Steve’s. Eddie looks after Bunny.

“I can take your skates for you.”

She smiles quickly. “Thanks, Eddie.”

He takes her skates, walking off with Robin. Steve turns to her as soon as they are out of earshot.

“What the hell took you so long? Do you know how hard it is to hold a conversation with someone who only wants to talk about herself?” His voice is quiet, but full of his dramatic flair.

“I’ll tell you later.” She smiles up at him, noticing Billy and Vicki walking toward them. They must have returned their skates already because she no longer saw them. “Thank you though. Seriously.” She gives him her best appreciative look.

As Billy passes them, leaving with his date, he makes it a point to show her he’s not touching Vicki, keeping space between his guiding hand and Vicki’s back. Her eyes shift from his to his hand and back to his eyes, lips parting in realization. He winks once she realizes before walking out the door. She lets out the tiniest chuckle under her breath.

“Well, you look happier.” Steve’s voice makes her turn her attention to him again, smiling wider.

“I am.” Their other four friends turn from the counter to join them again. She catches Eddie’s eyes as he walks toward her, lowering her voice. “At least until I have to drive home with Eddie.”

Steve turns to face the group as well, muttering under his breath. “Call me if you need me.” She nods ever so slightly.

“You ready to head back to yours?” Eddie asks her once he reaches her.

She nods. “Yeah, I’m feeling pretty tired too.”

He chuckles slightly. “Same, actually.”

They all say their goodbyes, reiterating how much they enjoyed the night and how they were looking forward to the party next week. Leaving the rink, she steps back out into the cold night air. She didn’t see Billy’s Camaro anymore, so she knew he had already left. She gave one last wave to Nancy and Jonathan before stepping into Eddie’s van.

As soon as he closed his door, tension from their earlier fight filled the space. They hadn’t spoken to each other at all at the rink. In fact, they had went out of their way to avoid each other, keeping as much distance between them as they could. She stared out the passenger window as he drove her back to her house, watching as buildings passed which eventually turned into trees.

The drive home turned out to be just like the rink - filled with silence - except they couldn’t avoid each other in his van. As Eddie pulled into her driveway, she unbuckles the seatbelt, preparing to get out. He clears his throat, which stops her. He looks at her timidly.

“Do you want me to come up with you? We could smoke a joint and talk about what happened earlier?” So he knows he went too far? The thought brought her a shred of comfort, but it wasn’t enough to replace the hurt that he had already caused. She couldn’t really get passed the fact Eddie had reacted that way, looked at her that way, in the first place.

“No.” She shakes her head, a soft smile spreading her lips. “I think I’d just like to be alone tonight.” She meets his eyes, seeing a trace of sadness from her comment. He looked hurt almost.

“Are you sure?”

She nods. No. “Yeah.”

She didn’t really want to be alone, especially at her house, but she didn’t want to be around Eddie either. He pulls his eyes from hers, nodding with a slump of his shoulders as he looks down at his lap.

“Okay. You can always call me if you change your mind.”

She turns her head to look at him. She didn’t want to feel bad for him. After all, it was his actions that caused this riff between them, but she didn’t like seeing him sad. It just wasn’t him. When he doesn’t meet her eyes again, she opens the van door, stepping out. Turning around, she offers him a smile.

“Thank you for driving me home, Eddie.”

He looks at her, nodding with a weak smile. “Anytime.”

She holds his gaze for a moment longer before closing the door and walking away. She knew she should have said “I love you,” but she just couldn’t bring herself to say it. She kept seeing that look he gave her on the way to the rink in her mind. Deep down, if she was really honest with herself, it didn’t feel right to say after her confession to Billy…

Stepping inside her house, she noticed her father still wasn’t home. He had left before she did and still wasn’t back. They were at the rink for a few hours too. She let her mind drift to Eddie’s earlier comments. Maybe I am overreacting. Maybe there is something wrong with the heat pump. But as soon as she thought that, she shook her head. No. He didn’t know anything about heat pumps. Why wouldn’t he have just called someone if that was the case? The same sinking feeling from earlier settled in her stomach as she climbed the stairs to get to her room.

Closing her door, she moves to her window, looking out to see Eddie had driven off. She walks to her bed, collapsing on it with a sigh. What a night. She swore she felt every emotion available to a human in the span of a few hours, and she was exhausted. Her eyes catch sight of her phone, and she felt her heart rate speed up.

Yes, she had been happy with Billy. He had made her happy, had made her forget about Eddie and her parents. But being back in her room, all she could think about was the phone call and what she heard and knew to be true. It made her sick.

Sitting up with a start, she opens the drawer of her bedside table, picking up a small slip of paper - Billy’s number. He had written it for her when he had dropped her off at her house one day, telling her he wanted her to have his number in case she might need it. She thinks it was the third time he had driven her home, back when they had first started getting to know each other and he had given her a glimpse into what he was like away from his persona.

She holds onto the paper, running her thumb across his writing. She debates what it would mean if she called him in her mind, running through the pros and cons. Of course she wanted to see him, but she didn’t want to make it a habit to go to him when she was upset with Eddie. Sighing, she picks up her phone, dialing a number. She puts the slip of paper back in her drawer before shutting it. Her leg shakes as she waits for the other line to pick up.

“Hello?” Steve’s voice comes through the line.

“Could I spend the night at yours?” She pauses, her voice lowering. “I really don’t want to be at mine tonight.”

“Of course. Be there in 15?” He doesn’t hesitate. She hears him ruffling around on the other end, no doubt getting up to leave.

“Thanks, Steve.” She smiles.

“See you soon.”

She hangs up the phone, sighing in relief. She quickly packs a small bag as she waits for him to get there, putting pajamas, a change of clothes, her brush, her toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, and moisturizer in the bag. If she needed anything else, Steve should have it. Making her way downstairs, she checks the clock on the wall, seeing ten minutes had passed. She quickly makes her way to the kitchen where she writes a note for her mom, telling her she came back home but decided to spend the night with Nancy. She didn’t want her to worry when she couldn’t find her in the morning.

Leaving the note in plain sight, she hears a car pull up. She quickly leaves the house, stepping outside in the same clothes she had on from earlier. Getting in Steve’s car, she saw he hadn’t changed either. He offers her a smile, which she mirrors, before he backs out of her driveway without a word. As they drive to Steve’s house, a comfortable silence falls between them. They don’t speak until they’ve made their way to his room even though neither of his parents are home.

She plops down on his bed, letting her bag fall to the floor. “Must be nice to have the house to yourself.”

Steve shrugs, leaning against his wall as he watches her. “Sometimes.” She nods, not saying anything. When she starts messing with her fingers, he speaks again, his tone gentle. “Is the reason you didn’t want to be at your house because of your parents or Eddie?”

She shrugs one shoulder, bending her index finger with her other fingers. “Maybe both?” Her eyes shift away from her fingers, but still don’t meet Steve’s. “More so my parents.”

Steve nods, which she doesn’t see. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She looks up at him then, eyes soft, worried. He tilts his head at her look, smiling in reassurance. Sighing, she tells him what had happened before Eddie picked her up - the phone call, what she heard, her suspicions, her concerns about her mom. She also tells him some more specifics about what Eddie said, wanting him to have the full picture.

“And he seemed sad when I told him I wanted to be alone, but he’s the one who made me want to be alone! Why would I want to spend time with someone who could say those things to me and then ignore me the rest of the night?” Her hands fall in her lap when she finishes speaking, her frustrations showing through her hand gestures.

Steve nods once she finishes, pushing himself off the wall to come sit on his bed with her. “No, that’s valid. He was an asshole.” He shrugs like it was simple. “From Eddie’s point of view, it might come across like your concerns aren’t that big of a deal, and he doesn’t understand why it affects you so much when you still have both of your parents in your life. He probably views it as an improvement from his own life.” She nods as she listens to him, his words making sense.

“But,” Steve’s eyes flick to hers. “From your perspective, something I get too as an only child, your parents are all you have. When they’ve been together your whole life and you’ve had this happy family, when that’s threatened, and by your own dad, you have every right to be upset. You have every right to worry, especially when you know what’s going on before your mom does. That’s a heavy weight to bear.”

“But he’s an only child too.” She furrows her eyebrows, clearly trying to understand better. “You would think he would see it in the same way. But maybe where his parents have been out of his life for so long, it’s different.”

Steve nods. “I would say so. I see it like you because I’m in a similar boat.” He scoffs. “Only my mom has started going with my dad on his business trips since she doesn’t trust him to be alone.” He motions around his room with his arms, an annoyed grimace on his face. “And that’s why I’m increasingly stuck here, alone.” His arms drop. “My dad is too concerned about chasing every young intern he sees, and my mom is too paranoid to leave his side for them to actually care about spending time with their son.”

“I’m sorry, Stevie.” She offers him a warm smile, which he returns.

“Our parents suck, but at least we have each other.” He pulls her in for a side hug, squeezing her shoulder with his hand.

“And your empty house that lets us spend the night together.” She chuckles.

“True that!” He stands then. “You can spend as much time here as you want while you work through everything.” He starts to head to his bedroom door, but turns back to her when he’s halfway there. “And if you want to keep talking through it, we can, but I’m going to go make us some popcorn. That one slice of pizza didn’t cut it.”

She laughs before standing as well. “I feel better now, so I’d rather not talk about my parents or Eddie.” Steve nods, turning to go make their popcorn.

She busies herself by getting ready for the night. Borrowing some of Steve’s face wash, she takes off her makeup. She makes quick work of brushing her teeth, moisturizing her face, taking her ponytail down, and brushing her hair out. She had just changed into her pajamas, a matching long sleeved pants set when she runs into Steve in the hallway. He was holding a large bowl of popcorn, several smaller bags of junk food, and two coca-colas. She laughs before grabbing some things to help him carry them into his bedroom.

Once they’re back in his bedroom, they settle on a movie and began digging into all the snacks he brought. After a period of quiet eating while the movie played in the background, Steve suddenly speaks.

“What about Billy?”

She turns to him, confused. “What?”

“You said you didn’t want to talk about your parents or Eddie, but what about Billy?” He picks up some popcorn, turning his head to hers. “I think you owe it to me to tell me if my sacrifice was worth it.” He stuffs his mouth with the popcorn he picked up as he waits for her response.

She laughs at his action, tilting her head in resign. “I guess I did say we would talk about it later.”

“Mhmm.” Steve makes the sound with his mouth closed, still chewing his popcorn.

She pauses, trying to decide how much she wanted to tell him. She told Billy she wanted to keep him a secret, and she did. If she told Steve what they confessed to each other, he wouldn’t be her secret.

“We just settled the animosity between us.” She shrugs simply. It wasn’t a lie. They had definitely done that.

Steve looks at her, unconvinced. “Really? That’s it?” She widens her eyes with a shake of her head. “You’ve got to give me more than that.”

She rolls her eyes, playfully. “Well, it turns out that he had kinda sorta been using those girls to make me jealous.” She risks a glance at Steve, finding he was listening to her intently. She elaborates. “All of those rumors turned out to be rumors. He hadn’t actually done anything with any of them.”

He furrows his brows. “And you believe that?”

She nods without hesitation. “I do.”

Steve looks up at his ceiling, his mouth open as he processes what she had said. “Why the hell would he do that?”

“Is it so hard to believe that he wanted to make me jealous?”

“No, but making up rumors? He’s not someone who seems like he keeps it in his pants very much.” Steve chuckles, looking at her once more.

She feels the back of her neck get hot as she starts to get defensive over Billy. “Well he did, Steve. And I believe him.” Her voice is sharp, making his eyes widen.

“Okay.” He puts a hand up as if surrendering. “I believe you.”

She sighs, her defensiveness easing off. “I’m sorry. I just think he shows me a different side of himself than he shows everyone else. I still don’t really know why.” She shrugs one shoulder with a light laugh. “But I know enough about him to know when he’s being honest. And he was tonight.” She can’t help the smile that spreads her lips. “He told me he trusts me, Steve.” She looks at him, the trace of her smile still on her lips, but her eyes hold a severity that conveys the weight of her words. “The way he said it, how quiet he was, I get the feeling that he doesn’t feel that way about a lot of people.”

Steve jerks his head back. “Holy shit.” He closes his eyes, moving his head to the side. “I had no idea you two had gotten so close.” His eyes open again, realization shining across them. “I get what you mean now when you said you knew he wouldn’t hurt you earlier. You all have this, I’ll say it,” He pauses, holding out a hand for emphasis with wide eyes. “Weird, bond. I don’t understand it, but I do know this.” He looks at her with more earnest intention, dropping his earlier playfulness. “The difference in your mannerisms, your body, your whole being, before and after you talked to Billy was night and day. Whatever he said, he made you happy, Bunny.” He tilts his head back and forth. “I may not like the guy, but as long as he makes you smile like he did tonight, I’ll tolerate him.”

She rolls her eyes, lightheartedly. “Thanks for your permission, Steve.”

He nods once, pleased with himself. “You’re so welcome.”

They turn their attention back to the movie, munching on more popcorn and sweet treats. As the movie plays, she thinks back to Billy’s confession. I trust you. She knew that phrase meant more to him than the average person. She didn’t know why - not yet - but she did know that to be a fact. The same warmth that she had come to associate with Billy filled her chest, squeezing her heart in the most satisfying way.

He trusted her. She might be the only girl in Hawkins who could say that. And she smiled at the thought. Big and uncontained. Steve’s words flashed through her mind then as her cheeks hurt from the persistence of her smile, and she realized they matched Billy’s.

I want to be the one to make you smile.

As she sat in Steve Harrington’s bed, watching a movie and trying to get her mind off of her parents and Eddie, she realized that Billy was already keeping his word.

She was smiling, and she was smiling because of him.

That was why she wasn’t nervous or filled with dread at the prospect of seeing Billy again. Sure, she didn’t like seeing him with girl after girl, but she had always known he never cared about them. They were just a pawn in his game. But Eddie? Billy had to watch her with Eddie knowing she cared about him, knowing she loved him. And she knew that was way worse for Billy.

As soon as Eddie pulled into the lot he had jogged off to his friends - he had told her he had to tell them his newest campaign idea - but she didn’t mind. She walked into the high school with her head held high, not feeling like she needed to rely on Eddie to avoid Billy anymore. She knew Billy had likely had a much worse weekend than she did. Just how bad it was, she would soon find out.

She passed his Camaro on the way into the school. She found it curious because he was usually the last one there and the first to leave, but today, he had beat her to the school. He was also nowhere to be seen, not near his car or the lot. She didn’t think about it too hard as she pushed open the front door and made the short walk to her locker.

Leaning against her locker with his fingers to his lips stood Billy Hargrove. He was staring down at the floor as he chewed on his nails. One arm wrapped around his waist while the other was at his lips. One leg was crossed in front of the other, and he was shaking it so hard she could hear the lockers rattling behind him. His hair wasn’t as shiny as it usually was, and even from where she stood she could see the dark circles under his eyes. He looked rough. But most importantly? He was alone. No girl in sight.

Her smile disappeared as she stopped dead in her tracks. No amount of smugness or confidence could have prepared her for this sight. Never in her wildest dreams did she think Billy Hargrove would be this upset over her, someone he knew he couldn’t have. He was someone who could get any girl he wanted, but he chose her for some reason and this was the result. Her chest ached.

He must have heard the scuffle of her shoes against the floor as she came to a sudden stop because his head jerks in her direction. His mouth was parted as he dropped his fingers, and his eyes were so big, so sad. Her brows draw in and her mouth parts at the sight, shaking her head so slowly in disbelief. This can’t be real.

He pushes off the locker as soon as they make eye contact and walks to her. She doesn't move. He makes it to her side in three strides, grabbing her arm without a word and walking away. She didn’t dare utter a word as she allowed him to take her where he wanted. She found herself in the boys’ locker room again, the same spot she had dragged him a few days ago. Two other boys were in the room, smiling and talking as they changed. Billy’s voice interrupts them - a loud and jarring sound that even made her jump.

“Get the fuck out.” The boys turn to look at him in shock and confusion. When they didn’t move, Billy nearly yells. “Now!” They scramble to get their bags, clothes half on, as they leave the locker room in a hurry.

She watched as he paced the room, not looking at her. His breathing was heavy, loud. She stood, frozen, as she waited for his next move. He ran a hand through his dishevled hair, huffing out a breath as he turned to her, eyes blazing.

“What the fuck was that?”

Her eyes widened. It was clear he’d been thinking about her and Eddie all weekend. She figured he would have, but not to this extent. He wasn’t just jealous. He was angry, hurt. The emotions in his eyes overwhelm her. Like her, he guarded his emotions and kept them close to his chest, but they were on full display right now, bursting from his eyes in an intensity she hadn’t seen before. She had to take a beat before she could respond to process his reaction. When she did speak, she spoke fast.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He practically groans as he rolls his eyes. “Fucking Munson in front of me.” His body faces hers, and just like at the diner, every muscle was tense.

Against her better judgement she throws his own words back at him, just as he had been doing to her.

“Don’t flatter yourself, doll. You just happened to see it.” She crosses her arms, trying to resume her earlier smugness. Billy wasn’t hers. She shouldn’t care about his emotions, especially since he said he didn’t want to be friends with her.

His eyes narrow, recognizing the intent behind her words, her choice of phrasing. He takes a step toward her, his jaw rolling as he grinds his teeth together.

“Do you get off on pissing me off?”

She stood her ground. She had spent two weeks letting him torment her. She wasn’t going to back down now. In truth, she wasn’t trying to piss him off. If he wanted to play games, then two could tango. Still, her mouth moves faster than her mind, speaking before she could stop herself.

“Do you get off on being jealous of Eddie?”

His fists clench. “I’m not fucking jealous of him.” She could see he was speaking through clenched teeth, his jaw so tight she could see the veins in his temples.

“Your actions say otherwise.” She tilts her head to emphasize she was paying attention to his mannerisms.

She had never expected Billy to be this affected. Part of her felt bad, but the other part of her fought to shut those emotions down. She wasn’t doing anything wrong. She was in a happy relationship, mostly. It didn’t matter if Billy didn’t like it. He wasn’t part of it. He would have to get over it. But even though she knew all of that to be true, she couldn’t deny the strings tugging at her heart, forcing her to feel sympathy, pain, guilt for him - guilt she shouldn’t have, guilt that didn’t make sense.

“Quit playing games with me.” Billy was staring daggers at this point.

“My relationship is not a game, Billy. I can’t help it that you’re not in it.” She shrugs like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

Billy opens his mouth before snapping it shut and turning around. She watches as he paced the room again. He shot her a quick look over his shoulder before looking away. “Why are you acting like this?”

She furrows her brows, taken aback. “Like what?”

He stops dead again, right in front of her, throwing his arms up. “Like you don’t fucking care! Like this doesn’t matter.”

She shakes her head, still confused. “Have you forgotten how you’ve been treating me for the past two weeks?” Billy looks away, clenching his jaw again. “So you’re allowed to parade around with anyone and everyone.” She moves to get in his line of sight again, voice coming out angry now. His eyes hold hers, listening, watching. “You’re allowed to fuck someone under the bleachers at school, while I’m near you. To- to sleep with god knows how many girls all to try and make me jealous. But I’m not allowed to sleep with my boyfriend?” She puts her hand against her chest, patting it twice. “My boyfriend.” She pauses, letting her words sink in before releasing a humorless laugh. “You don’t get to do that.”

“I never fucking did anything in front of you.” His voice sounds pained, but it’s still loud and full of emotion.

She scoffs. “Oh, so all the making out and the handsy shit doesn’t count, right?”

“It’s different.” He closes his eyes, squeezing his eyelids as he tilts his head, as if his next words are painful. “I had to watch you fuck him. In front of me. His hand was in your hair. His mouth on your neck.” He re-opens his eyes then, meeting hers with a pained intensity that takes her breath away. “You fucking smiled at me. Like you wanted me to see. Like you wanted to fucking hurt me.”

She shakes her head. “No, no. You just walked up on us. I didn’t- I didn’t mean for you to see that.” She looks down at the ground - partly to help her get her thoughts together, partly to get some space from his eyes. “I was just so frustrated from seeing you with a different girl everyday and having you throw my words back in my face every time we talked. And then at the diner you got in my head again, and I just needed it to stop.” She stops, taking a breath. Her eyes looking up into his again. “I needed it to stop. And it did, and I finally felt good again. I just wanted to forget it all, so I did, and-“

“And now you’re giving me a piece of my own medicine.” Billy interrupts her rush of words.

“No! Billy-“ She sighs. “Eddie’s my boyfriend.” She’s the one to throw her arms up now. “I didn’t try to do anything malicious toward you. You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.” She pauses. “That’s all.”

He nods, repeating her. “That’s all.” He starts pacing again. “That’s it, huh?” He looks at her as he paces. With each step, she can see how tense his muscles still are. “You just forget about that night, forget about what you said, and move on?” His voice gets quieter, like he doesn’t want her to hear him. “Forget me.”

“What do you want me to do? I have a boyfriend. I- I love him!” She tries to hold back her frustration, but she can hear it seep through her tone.

He stops pacing, keeping her eye contact as he speaks. “You might be telling the truth, but you’re fucking lying to yourself if you don’t feel anything for me.” He takes another step toward her. “I could see it on your face every time I had another girl with me. I could see it in the diner when I told you to make a choice.” Another step, his jaw tight. “You went with the safe option, with what you knew, rather than taking a risk on someone who wants to give you attention, who wants to take you out and do all the nice things he doesn’t want to do for anyone else.” Another step brings him directly in front of her, his breath fanning across her face.

As it always did, his proximity makes her head spin. She inhales his scent, her eyes closing briefly before his hand finds her jaw. His grip isn’t rough, isn’t tight, but it’s enough to push her lips together, enough to make her meet his gaze. “And I could feel you melt into me when I kissed you. Your body fit against mine like it was made for me.” His fingers dance on her waist, and her breath skips. “You wouldn’t have kissed me like you did if you didn’t feel what I feel.”

“But we can’t - I can’t.” Her voice is quiet, timid almost.

“What are you scared of? You said it was easy between us.” His eyes search hers desperately, his hand still on her jaw.

“It is. It was!” She closes her eyes, needing distance from his gaze. Sucking in a breath, she can feel her body shake. His closeness, his touch, almost too much.

“Was?” His grip on her waist tightens, causing her to gasp and open her eyes again. “Why are you lying?”

“I- I’m not lying!” Against her will, she feels her eyes well up with tears. This was all too much.

“If it wasn’t still easy between us your body wouldn’t be reacting this way.” His hand on her jaw shifts to her cheek, his other hand leaving her waist to cup her other cheek. “I can see it in your fucking eyes, Bunny. Stop fighting it.”

He was so close. His eyes seared into hers, seeing her, even the parts she didn’t want him to see. She had never felt so vulnerable, so exposed to someone before. He saw everything - emotions she didn’t even know she had, emotions she had repressed, had wanted to forget. Emotions she couldn’t have, not just because of Eddie, but because they threatened the stability she had worked so hard to build, that she clung to. His voice pierced her heart causing it to ache. Every nerve in her body was hot. She fought to keep from giving in, her muscles straining as she prevented her body from getting what it wanted.

“We can’t.” Her hands find his wrists, pulling them from her face. She backs away from him, shaking her head. “This isn’t right.”

He let his arms fall to his sides as his face hardens - all softness fading from his features. “Right. You’ve said that before.”

She continues to back away from him, toward the door, needing to be anywhere but here. “Look, I’m sorry you saw what you did, but you need to understand that I’m with Eddie. That’s not going to change.” Her hand finds the door handle. “Nothing is going to happen between us.”

Her voice was fast, breathless. Her heart raced. Her mind was spiraling, clinging to the feel of Billy’s hands on her face. She needed to get away - away from him, from these feelings, from his eyes. She couldn’t look at him anymore. She could feel he was breaking her, seeing through her mask again, and she couldn’t let it happen. As she opened the door and moved to leave, his voice breaks through the barriers she was putting up.

“I hope you’re making the right choice.”

Two days later she sat with Eddie, Steve, Robin, Nancy, and Jonathan at lunch. Every once in a while Eddie and Bunny would sit with their friends instead of the Hellfire table to catch up. They would usually end up making plans after their catch up, and today was no exception.

“What are you guys doing this Friday?” Nancy asks, looking around the table at everyone.

Steve was the first to speak. “Hanging around my house. My parents are going out of town again.” He shrugs lightly. She had noticed this happened a lot. For someone of his reputation and wealth, his parents were so absent.

“I was probably going to bother Steve to watch a movie with me, but no real plans.” Robin spoke next, leaning in as she set her drink down.

Nancy smiles, turning to Jonathan before looking at everyone else. “Good! Jonathan and I were thinking about having a night at the roller rink to try and take a break from how crazy this year has been. We were hoping you all would be able to join us.” She pauses, and Jonathan nods. “Bunny, Eddie, what about you two?”

She looks at Eddie, knowing he had a campaign. He turns to her, eyes widening slightly as his lips parted. “Oh, I- I can move my campaign again. I’m sure the boys wouldn’t mind to do it tomorrow night or Saturday.” She smiles at that.

“So we should be able to come along Friday!”

Nancy smiles before turning to Steve. “Steve, Robin?”

They both confirm they could make it as well. Nancy smiles wider, looking at Jonathan, who smiles in return, before sharing the plans the two of them had made. She mentions the time they were going to meet and how long they thought they might stay.

Bunny listens until a tray slams against a table somewhere behind Nancy and Jonathan, causing her to jump. Her eyes follow the sound to see Billy pulling a chair back to sit at a table. She immediately notices how angry he looks. Nancy kept talking, but she wasn’t able to listen anymore.

She had done her best to ignore Billy after their talk on Monday. She had immediately gone back to her locker and got all the books she would need for the week, carrying them in her backpack - all to avoid going near her locker again. She would rather deal with a bit of back pain than see the look Billy gave her in the locker room again.

Aside from avoiding her locker, she waited long after the final bell to meet Eddie in the parking lot, stopping by the bathroom, talking to her teacher at the end of the day, anything she could do to make sure Billy left before her. Even at lunch she had switched her seats at the Hellfire table to sit on the opposite side. The boys didn’t love the sudden change, especially Gareth since she took his seat, but Eddie had talked them down. It meant she could keep her back to Billy and avoid his gaze.

Even still, she could feel his hot gaze. Just like in the locker room she had to fight her body to keep it in line, to avoid turning her head or meeting his eyes when he was in her line of sight. Every muscle, every nerve hurt, and after two days, her body actually felt tired. But she had avoided Billy entirely. She had completely shut him out. Until now.

His eyes hold hers as he pulls his seat in. He didn’t look as rough as he had on Monday, but he still had dark circles under his eyes. Even from where she sat, she could see the intensity of his anger - whether it was from her closeness to Eddie or from her purposeful avoidance of him, she didn’t know. She watches as his eyes shift to her right to settle on Eddie, his jaw tightening in the process. When his eyes move back to hers he tilts his head.

Her mouth parts at the intentional movement. He had never paid attention to Eddie, never seemed to care about his presence. From that first conversation near her locker where all three of them interacted, he had barely looked at Eddie. But now? His gaze bore daggers into him. She swallowed thickly.

“Wait, wait, wait, what about the party next Friday? Are you all going?” Steve’s voice brought her back to earth, helping her tear her eyes from Billy’s. Steve looked at everyone expectantly.

“A party, Steve? Really?” Robin rolls her eyes.

“It’s the end of the year party that Tina always throws.” He shrugs. “It could be a good way for us all to end the year together.” His bright smile cuts across his face. “You know, let loose and put 1984 behind us!”

Robin laughs, but she shakes her head. “It sounds fun, but I don’t do parties.”

Eddie nods. “Same.”

Steve and Bunny look at Eddie before Steve speaks up. “C’mon guys.” He looks at Nancy and Jonathan. “If we all go, we could have a good time. What do you say?”

Nancy looks to Jonathan who shrugs one shoulder. “I think it could be fun.”

Jonathan nods in agreement. “We don’t all get to spend much time together. Might as well make the most of it.”

Nancy smiles. “We’re in!”

Steve nods once, smiling too, before turning to his other three friends. “Bunny, I know you’re down.” She nods, letting out a laugh. She had been Steve’s plus one more times than she could count for any type of Hawkins party. “Robin, Eddie? You have to. You just do!”

Robin sighs, throwing her head back in a dramatic fashion. “If I go you better not leave my side, Harrington.”

He puts his hands out. “I’ll do whatever you say, I promise.”

She eyes him, narrowing her eyes before slumping her shoulders. “Fine. I’ll go.”

Steve nearly punches the air. “Yes!” His attention turns to Eddie again, where everyone is now looking at him expectantly. “It’s all up to you now, Munson.”

Eddie looks from Steve to Bunny before looking at everyone else. He opens his mouth, almost like he wants to protest, but when his eyes meet hers, he closes his mouth, his features softening. Nodding, he agrees. “Alright, alright. I’ll go too.”

The entire table cheers, and she puts her hand on his thigh as she leans in, nudging his shoulder with her own. She looks up at him sweetly.

“You promise you’ll go?”

He puts his arm around her waist, squeezing her gently.

“I promise.”

“Hell yeah! The whole gang together for two weekends in a row!” Steve’s voice powers over the cheers as the table calms down. Like before, they start solidfying their plans for the next two Fridays.

Before she could think about her actions, she lets her eyes fall back on Billy. The same intensity stared back at her, taking her aback. He hadn’t touched his lunch. He was sitting in the same stance, staring in her direction without breaking his gaze, even to talk to Tommy. She forced herself to pull her eyes from him, focusing on Eddie and her friends again.

But she could feel the weight of his eyes, his anger. No matter how much she tried to ignore him, her skin burned. It was going to be a long two weeks before the semester ended.

She had managed to avoid Billy for the rest of the week, resuming her earlier tactics to help. When she came home from school Friday, neither of her parents were home. She took the opportunity to pour herself a glass of wine. The week had taken a toll on her, and she just wanted to unwind before a night out with her friends.

She had just poured her second glass when she heard her mom pull in the driveway. Hurrying upstairs before her mom walked through the door, she busied herself by slowly getting ready, putting on a tape and sipping on her second glass. As she picked out her clothes, dancing around her room, she felt the wine ease her muscles of their ache, her nerves finally relaxing. It was going to be a good night.

She decided to hop in the shower, relaxing even more under the hot water. As the time passed, she became more and more excited for her night out. She couldn’t remember the last time all six of them had hung out. Given how the past month had gone, she really needed it.

Stepping out of the shower, she did her usual routine of skincare and rubbed lotion over her skin - a warm vanilla scent. She put her clothes on before doing her hair and makeup. Since they were skating, she decided against a skirt, settling on a pair of tapered jeans, a black knit cropped t-shirt, and a denim jacket on top. She put on a pair of sneakers to make sure she had socks for the skates.

She made quick work of her makeup, keeping it simple, and had just started brushing her hair when the phone rang. Not knowing if her parents would get it, she left her bathroom and walked to the phone on her nightstand. Sitting on her bed, she picked up the phone. She didn’t have time to say hello as another voice spoke before her - her dad’s.

“Veronica, I told you only to call this number if it was an emergency.” She paused, holding her breath so she wouldn’t make a sound. She didn’t know who Veronica was, but it was clear she had picked up the phone after her dad and was now overhearing his conversation, one that she wasn’t meant to hear. A woman’s voice cut in, Veronica’s apparently.

“But it is an emergency. I think the heat pump is going out at the office, and there’s no one here to give me a second opinion.” The woman pauses. Okay, so this is one of his co-workers. “I think you need to come in.” Her eyes widen as she picks up on the woman’s suggestive tone. She wasn’t dumb. She knew what that tone meant.

Not wanting to hear anymore, she presses her finger over the switchhook to hang up the phone before placing the phone back on the stand as gently as she could, not wanting her dad to know she overheard anything. She fought off a wave of nausea. Her dad had been increasingly more absent lately, but she didn’t think he would resort to an affair. Her eyes widened at the thought.

It went completely against the reputation he had built and had made her mother and her align with. They were the perfect family. No scandals, no drama, absolutely nothing astray. If ever there was something out of line with his vision, he made sure it was corrected. Every aspect of her life aligned with his vision, even her friends.

But for him to risk his own image over an affair? It didn’t make sense. She was confused. She felt hurt. Yes, because of the potential of his affair - her parents had always been together and were the only family she had in Hawkins - but also because it threatened her stability. It meant imminent change. It was out of her control. All of the pillars that made up how she viewed her life felt like they were cracking.

Her dad’s voice calls from the bottom of the stairs, directed to her mom. “Honey, I have to go to the office. It’s an emergency. I’ll be back when I can!” She sat in silence as she heard the front door close and his car drive off. He didn’t even give her mom time to respond.

She sat in silence as she tried to process what just happened. She couldn’t prove it and it could have meant anything, but she had a sinking feeling in her chest. Deep down she knew what his absences and that phone call meant. Her dad was having an affair. Worst of all, she knew and her mom didn’t. As she stood to finish getting ready, she grappled with what that meant, grappled with what this change might bring.

After putting her hair in a ponytail, she decided to wait for Eddie upstairs, not thinking it wise to sit with her mom. She didn’t have to wait long until her mom called out for her, “Sweetie, Eddie is here!”

Giving herself one last look, mainly to practice her smile, she left her room. Stopping at the bottom of the stairs she smiled at her mom, attempting to show her that everything was normal. “I’ll see you soon, mom!” Her mother hugged her, telling her to be careful and to have fun, before she walked out of the house.

She walked to Eddie’s van in silence, sat down in silence, buckled her seatbelt in silence. Eddie turned his head to her once she finished, facing forward, still in silence. “Are you okay, Bunny?”

“I’m fine!” She didn’t turn her head to his, fearing she would crack if she did. She didn’t know if she should say anything, especially to him.

“Bunny, hey.” She felt Eddie’s hand on her shoulder. “You know you can talk to me, right?” She nods her head, silent. He pauses for a moment, deciding to force her to look at him. Moving his hand from her shoulder to her chin, he turns her face to his. “Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

Meeting his eyes, seeing his usual look of love and acceptance, she bites her lip. “I don’t know if I can.”

He drops his hand to his lap, drawing his brows in. “What do you mean?”

She winces. “I think I overheard something I shouldn’t have.”

“Like what?” He still wore a look of confusion.

“My dad, he-“ She stops, turning away from him. She couldn’t get out of this now. “A woman from his work called, and I think they’re having an affair.”

Eddie’s face completely changes. All traces of openness gone. In its place is a hardened, cold expression. He sighs, putting his van in reverse to drive off. “I’m sure you’re just reading into things too much.”

“No!” She turns to him, exasperated. “You don’t know what I heard.”

He looks at her, annoyance flashing across his eyes. “Then why don’t you tell me?” She could tell by his tone that he didn’t really want to hear - he was just saying what she expected him to say.

She opens her mouth before closing it. Talking about her personal life with Eddie was difficult. She didn’t like to open up to people, but she had with Eddie. Still, there were certain things that she didn’t tell him, couldn’t tell him, about her parents. And she knew there were things he didn’t tell her. It wasn’t healthy that they kept things from each other, she knew that, but they always focused on the good. Eddie wanted to focus on the good, to not take things too seriously, and they did. But when something major happened like this, the cracks in their relationship were brought to the surface, cracks that turned out to be pretty major cracks that they both repressed.

When she first suspected her father of acting weird and spending more time away from them, Eddie blew her off. He was always receptive and open to her concerns, but he didn’t like to talk about her parents, or the future, for that matter. He had gotten mad and accused her of overreacting. He was nice to her parents when they talked, but anytime she tried to complain or speculate, Eddie got upset. It had become so much of a pattern that she stopped talking to him about them, had mostly stopped showing him an emotion other than happiness. She knew better. She knew not to bring it up, but the phone call had rattled her and she let it slip.

“Nevermind.” She turns from him again. “It’s nothing.”

“No, you want to tell me, so go ahead.” He focuses on driving, not looking at her. She mirrors his stance, looking out at the road instead of him.

“The phone rang, and when I picked it up they were already talking. He told her she was only supposed to call our home if it was an emergency, and she said it was, something about the heat pump messing up. Then she said he should come in and give her a second opinion.” She pauses. “Then he left.”

“Is that it?” She could tell by his tone that he was annoyed.

“Yes, but you didn’t hear her tone. She was hinting at sex. I think that’s the real reason she was calling.” She risked a look at him to see him roll his eyes.

“Some woman is going to call your dad at his house when she knows his wife and daughter are home to hint that he needs to go back to the office and have sex with her?” He looks at her, visible annoyance mixed with that same coldness on his features now. His tone began to come out angry, dismissive. “Do you not hear how ridiculous that sounds?”

“I know what I heard, Eddie! I’m not making this up.” She crosses her arms. She knew she shouldn’t have said anything.

“I believe you. But you also read into that shit too much. It sounds to me like the heat pump messed up and some woman didn’t know what to do. You’re overreacting again.” He waves his hand through the air, dismissing her.

“Why do you always do this?” She glares at him.

“Do what?” He turns to her briefly, glaring as well.

“You never want me to talk about my parents. You always say I’m overreacting and act like I’m making it all up.” Her tone comes out angry - her frustrations from the week manifesting as Eddie pushed on a sensitive area.

“Because you act like your home life is so fucking bad. You don’t know shit about what it’s actually like.” His tone matches hers, angry, mean. Eddie was usually never like this. Normally she would have been shocked, but she looked past it, her pent up frustration releasing into full on anger.

“Your uncle loves you, Eddie. He does everything he can to take care of you.”

“Yeah, my uncle. My fucking uncle, Bunny.” He laughs quickly, devoid of humor. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed in your little la-la land, but my parents are gone. Out of the picture.”

“Eddie, I know-“

“And you have both of yours.” He interrupts her, continuing his rant. “So what if your dad is having an affair? If that’s the worst you have to worry about, then you have it made.”

It definitely wasn’t, but he didn’t know that. And with how he always acted when she talked about her parents, there was a reason she never told him. There was no way she would tell him. In truth, she hadn’t told anyone about what her parents were like behind closed doors. Her dad was overbearing and held her to impossibly high standards - standards that she knew she must meet to uphold their perfect image. And her mom? She just let it happen, justified it even.

But she managed it, dealt with it. She knew what to expect, and she had gotten used to it. She created her routines and upheld her image to align with her father. Things were stable, which they all preferred. But a possible affair? She never could have prepared herself for that. It threatened everything. It threatened her stability, and she was nothing without it.

She scoffs. “My mom doesn’t know, Eddie. I fucking do! I can’t tell her, so what am I supposed to do? Sit there with the knowledge that my dad is cheating on her?”

“You don’t know that!” He turns to her, practically yelling. She jerks back. Eddie certainly never yelled. He throws a hand up. “So your parents get a divorce. Cry me a fucking river. You would still have both of them in your life!”

“I can’t help it that your parents are gone, Eddie, but you’re being mean about it.” She’s still angry, but her voice is much weaker. This is the meanest he had ever been. She was upset enough as it was, with Billy and her parents, the last thing she needed was Eddie to act this way, especially to yell at her.

“They’re not just gone!” He runs a quick hand through his hair, his anger making his hand shake. “My mom died, and I was old enough to remember it. To- to see it happen. And my dad’s in jail. He never gave a fuck about me, but it got even worse after she died. Wayne took me in because I didn’t have anyone else, and now I’m just his fucking burden.”

Her eyes soften. “Eddie, you’re not a burden. Wayne loves-“

“I don’t need a pity party. I’m not asking for your sympathy.” The look he gives her snaps her mouth shut - a look of anger. Not just anger. Resentment. He pulls into a parking spot at the skate rink, slamming the van in park. “I know the hand I’ve been dealt in life. But you don’t. And I’m sorry, but I can’t sit here and listen to you talk about how bad you have it, how hard it is to be you.” His tone has shifted into a mocking whine.

He turns to her with that same look, trapping her breath in her throat. “Who gives a fuck if your dad has an affair? Your parents will figure it out. It’s not any of your business anyway.” He takes the keys out of the ignition and puts his hand on the door handle, turning to her a final time. “Be thankful you have your parents. Let your mom figure it out, if anything is even happening, and just be there for her. I’d give anything to have my mom back.”

He opens his door, getting out and slamming it shut. She sits there, stunned. Out of all of their fights in the past, Eddie had never spoken to her like that, never looked at her like that. She knew his home life was a sensitive subject, but she never thought he would turn on her for own familial concerns. She pinches her nose to make her tears go away before she gets out of the van.

He hadn’t waited on her. She watched as he disappeared into the skate rink, hurrying after him. Inside, she saw Robin and Steve sitting at a large booth with their skates. Nancy and Jonathan must not have gotten there yet. Steve waved at them, but his smile fades as Eddie keeps walking toward the counter, likely to get their skates. He walks away from them so fast his hair whips behind him.

She walks over to Steve and Robin, sliding into the booth next to Steve with a soft smile. He looks down at her, concern etching his features.

“Is everything alright?” He held her gaze for a moment before looking after Eddie. Robin follows his line of sight.

She nods. “Yeah. We just had a bit of an argument. He’ll cool down soon enough.” It was more than an argument, and she didn’t know if he would cool down or not. She didn’t want to talk about it, and to be honest she didn’t really want to be around Eddie after that.

Steve meets her eyes again. “We can leave if you want. I’m sure Nance and Jonathan would understand.”

“No!” She nearly yelps out the word, which makes his eyes widen. “I just don’t want to go back home right now.”

Steve nods, eyes a bit wide. “Okay.”

She sighs. “I’ve really been looking forward to tonight and seeing everyone. I just really don’t want to ruin it, especially over a dumb fight.” She looks over at Robin to see she’s looking at her. She puts her hand on Steve’s thigh to lean closer to him so Robin can’t hear her next words. “And I really don’t want to go back home right now.” She leans back to see Steve’s realization just as Eddie makes it back to their booth, his eyes narrowed as he sees her hand on Steve’s thigh.

“I got our skates.” He sets them on the floor next to the table as he slides next to Robin. His tone wasn’t as angry, but it wasn’t back to it’s chipper usual yet.

“Thanks, Eddie.” She removes her hand from Steve’s thigh once she notices his line of sight. Clearing her throat, she asks, “Do we know when Nancy and Jonathan are going to get here?”

Robin shakes her head. “We thought they would have been here by now.”

She hums. “Maybe they’ll get here soon.”

The table falls silent for a minute until Robin and Steve break the silence with their own conversation. She steals a look at Eddie to find he was already looking at her. His brows are drawn in still and his jaw flexes every so often, but his eyes no longer hold that look of resentment. She lets her eyes shift past him to the door in time to see Nancy and Jonathan walk through. She smiles and gives them a wave.

“Bunny, hey!” Nancy grabs Jonathan’s arm and walks over to their booth. Everyone says their hellos. “Does everyone already have their skates?” When they all nod, her and Jonathan go to the counter to retrieve their own skates, leaving the rest of them to put theirs on. She grabs the skates Eddie got her, but she struggled to slip them over her feet. Once Eddie and Robin left the booth and she noticed Steve was waiting on her, his skates already on, she sighs, bringing the skates closer to her face to check the size.

She rolls her eyes. “He didn’t even get the right size.” She looks over at Steve in annoyance, but he was trying to hold in a laugh. “Steve…”

“I’m sorry. That’s not funny.” He straightens his expression. “Do you want me to go get you the right size?”

She shakes her head. “No. I can go get them.” She moves to get out of the booth just as the door to the rink opens. “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” Steve leans over her shoulder to see what made her say that. “As if this night could get any worse.”

In walks Billy Hargrove with yet another girl. His hand is on the small of her back, leading her in. They’re both smiling, but when his eyes land on hers, his smile turns into a smirk. She watches as he leads the girl to a booth of their own. She sinks back into the booth with a groan.

“Do you want me to tell him to leave?”

Her head rests against the booth as she turns it to meet Steve’s eyes. “Be serious, Steve. You aren’t going to get him to leave.”

He shrugs, slouching with her. “Well, my offer from earlier still stands - we can leave.”

She closes her eyes as she shakes her head. “No. He can’t make things worse than they are.”

“You don’t have to talk about it now, but you know you can always talk to me, right?” She keeps her eyes closed, not looking at him, as she nods. “Alright. Want me to get your skates for you now at least?”

“No, I’ll get them. Might as well get this over with.” She lets out a breath as she sits up, grabbing the skates and moving out of the booth. “Go skate. I’ll be there soon.” Steve nods, getting out of the booth behind her and skating in the opposite direction.

She makes her way to the counter, passing Billy and his new date on the way. She keeps her eyes forward, wanting to get her skates in peace. Of course, as she suspected, that doesn’t happen. Leaning against the counter to wait for the clerk, she feels Billy slide next to her. Before he can say anything, she turns to him abruptly, catching him with an open mouth, interrupting whatever he was going to say.

“Can you just not do whatever you want to do?” His mouth closes as an eyebrow raises. She holds his gaze as she attempts to get him to see how serious she is. She didn’t care about his earlier anger from a few days ago, whatever excuse he had for acting like he had at lunch. She couldn’t handle anymore resentment, not after Eddie. “I’m not in the mood tonight.”

He smirks, tilting his head. “What’s wrong, did you and Munson have a little fight?” She glares at him, her lips pressed together in annoyance. He jerks back slightly, eyebrows raised. “Oh shit, you actually did.” He leans in a bit, arrogance gone. “Are you okay?”

She rolls her eyes. “Like you care, Billy.” She looks around quickly before looking to him again, shifting her body in frustration. “Can you just leave me alone?”

“I know I’ve been a dick, but you have to know that I do care, Bunny.” His tone is sincere, causing her to pause. She sighs again. She had done that a lot tonight. She didn’t know why he was here, but maybe he wasn’t trying to be a menace after all.

“It’s nothing. It was just a stupid fight.” She shrugs, trying to move past it.

“Doesn’t seem like nothing. You seem upset.” He leans against the counter, settling in.

“Look, I don’t want to talk about it, okay?” She bites out the words, her tone sharp. Her eyes meet his with a plea. “Can’t you just be respectful for once?” He holds her eyes before they sweep over her, narrowing slightly - not in a cruel way, but almost like he was trying to figure her out.

Before he can say anything else the clerk comes over. She asks to exchange her skates for her size while Billy asks for his and his date’s. As the clerk leaves to get their skates, she turns to him again.

“I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just been a rough night.” She chuckles quietly, trying to speak to herself. “More like a rough week.”

“A rough week, huh?” She meets his eyes, one of his eyebrows raised, but she sees amusement more than anything.

“You should know something about that.”

He hums, nodding his head twice. “I would say it’s been a harder week for me.” She’s the one to raise her eyebrows now. “And I think you know exactly why.”

She tilts her head. “Hmm. Maybe I don’t. Care to enlighten me?” She gives him her best innocent look which makes him laugh - the first genuine laugh she’s heard from him in weeks. God, I’ve missed that. She didn’t even bother shutting the thought down.

He smiles, eyes flitting up to the ceiling before meeting hers again. “Well a certain someone has been ignoring me all week and denying me her presence.” He leans against the counter, his elbows holding him up as his back presses against it. “I can’t help but think it was intentional.”

“It was.”

He tilts his head to look at her, head turned due to his stance. “Why is that, doll?”

She shrugs meekly. “I guess I got scared again.”

“You do that a lot, you know?”

She draws her eyebrows in. “What?”

He lifts one hand in the air. “Hide. Run away from what scares you. Shut down your emotions.” His gaze almost holds her in a trance. Somehow he could always see through the mask, especially when she wasn’t aware she had put another one in place. He could read her better than she could - knew the emotions she was feeling before she did. And he was right. She had been denying her feelings and running from their conversation on Monday all week.

She opens her mouth, but the clerk loudly sets the three pairs of skates on the counter, pulling them out of their conversation. She thanks the clerk, taking the skates and sitting on a bench nearby to put them on as Billy pays for his skates. She was bent over her legs, tying the skates when she felt him sit next to her. Rather than respond to his previous comment, she decided to change the subject.

“I thought you were done with the dates.” She doesn’t look up from her skates, tying the strings in bows and tucking in the excess.

He takes his boots off to put his skates on as well, bending down to her level. She can see him turn his head to look at her out of her peripheral. “Since you won’t give me the time of day I need to do something to entertain myself.”

She rolls her eyes, though she’s smiling. “Is that right?”

“Mhmm. But don’t worry doll. It’s nothing serious.” He winks.

She finishes situating her strings, sitting back up. Billy focuses on tying his. She watches as the tendons in his hands flex with his movement, his hair falling against his cheeks. It was silly, but in his position he looked softer, sweet. Perhaps she was feeling less anxious by his presence since their conversation earlier that week so she could notice the small details about him like this, or maybe his actions have changed to show her more of what he actually wanted, his true intentions, and she was slowly, slowly opening herself up to him. Whatever it was, she found herself enjoying their closeness. It reminded her of their drives together. She smiles.

“That’s good to know.”

He sits up, having finished with his strings as well, and he looks at her with such a tender, almost pained expression that squeezes her heart. It’s gone as soon as she notices it, replaced with his usual confident demeanor. She wasn’t the only one good at wearing masks. He smirks, lips curling up.

“You can do with that information what you want, doll.” He leans in, voice dripping with an easy, attractive arrogance. “But when you’re ready for a real man, you know where to find me.” She fights a smile as she pushes him back toward his side of the bench.

“Things were going so well, Hargrove. Don’t fuck it up.”

He puts his hand over his heart. “Ugh. I really don’t love when you call me by my last name, doll.” He brings his hand to her jaw, quickly swiping his thumb across her bottom lip before she could stop him. “It just doesn’t sound right coming from those pretty lips.” He lets her lip snap back in place before putting his hand back in his lap.

She rolls her eyes again, playfully. “You really don’t know when to stop, do you, Billy?” She draws out his name for added emphasis.

“Not when it comes to you.” He holds her gaze for a moment, letting her recognize his sincerity. He shrugs then, easily. “Besides, don’t act like you don’t love it, Bunny.” He matches the drawl of her nickname.

“Whatever you say.” She stands then. “I should get back to my friends before they miss me.”

He grabs his boots and his date’s skates and stands as well. Nodding, he doesn’t break their eye contact.

“Enjoy your date.” His voice is smooth, honest. There’s nothing mocking or cruel in his tone at all. Her heart skips a beat.

“Enjoy yours.” She swallows, something in the easiness of this conversation making her nervous. This Billy felt like the Billy who took her to the movies, the soft, honest Billy that made her head spin.

“I probably won’t.” He shrugs like it’s the most obvious answer in the world, shifting his eyes away for a beat before moving back to hers with that same honesty from before. “Look, I don’t know what happend, but just know if you want an escape from it all, I’m yours.” He smiles then, simple and soft.

She smiles in return, feeling the warmth of his presence seep into her chest. She hadn’t felt this warmth since the movies, since their kiss outside her house. Moving to step away, she speaks softly.

“Thanks, Billy.”

She holds his gaze for a moment longer before skating away, making her way to the rink to rejoin her friends. Stepping onto the rink, she looks over her shoulder where she sees Billy with his date, handing her skates to her. He must feel her gaze because his eyes shift up to meet hers. As his date starts to put her skates on, Billy’s lips curl up into that same soft smile.

Though her mind was grappling with the events of the night - her dad’s call, his possible affair, her fight with Eddie, his look of resentment - one thing became perfectly clear.

Her relationship with Billy had turned over a new leaf.

The couple walked arm in arm into Hawkins High Monday morning - Eddie’s arm around her shoulders with hers around his waist as she held onto his hand around her shoulder with her other hand. He walked her to her locker, still laughing about a silly joke he made in his van. As she giggled at his joke while she opened her locker, Jeff came over to Eddie.

“Please tell me you have plans for a campaign tonight!” She could sense his desperation without having to look too close. Her eyes flitted to Eddie’s, eagerly awaiting his answer. Would it be a mere weekend of bliss, or was he going to keep his word?

His eyes traveled from Jeff’s to hers before going back to Jeff’s. “I’m sorry man, but it’s Monday night. Tonight’s a night for my girl.” He smiled down at her, and she practically beamed at him, thrilled to feel like his priority again.

“But-“ Jeff interjected, complaining about yet another cliffhanger Eddie left them on in the campaign. Eddie pulled Jeff away from her as they continued their conversation, allowing her peace of mind as she got her books out of her locker. Hushed mutttering and whispers made her turn her attention down the hall, gasping at the sight.

Billy walked down the hall with a girl wrapped around him. His arm hung loosely on her shoulders, but her arms were draped around his waist. She was smiling up at him, hanging on his every word, practically petting his torso. Even though he was indoors, he had a pair of sunglasses on, hiding his eyes, though his large grin more than made up for it. Practically all of Hawkins High was watching the pair as they walked to his locker.

He stopped, leaning against the locker lazily. He must have made a joke because she brushed her hand across his quite bare chest with a loud giggle. His hand found her waist in response, grinning. Taking his sunglasses off as he leans down to the girl’s height, his eyes meet Bunny’s - a pointed and intentional gaze. His lips brush the girl’s cheek as he said his goodbye, his eyes never leaving hers as he stared across the hall at where she stood at her locker.

Her heart sank into her chest at the sight. When Billy straightened, the girl scurried off - Bunny didn’t even know her name, some underclassmen that wasn’t in their grade - finding her friends and giggling immediately. Those nearby continued to watch Billy for a second longer before going about their business. She didn’t move as Billy’s gaze kept her frozen in place, same intentional look holding her eye contact.

“Maybe I saw someone else who just wanted to forget, even if it was just for a night.”

His words came barreling through her mind, shutting down her near bliss from Eddie’s earlier response. Billy’s flash of hurt from Friday night shoots across her vision, and all of the emotions from their conversation came rushing back. She had reconciled with Eddie, but Billy kept his word as well, finding another girl to entertain him. Even though she had forgotten the harsh words they shot at each other, she hadn’t expected him to move in this way so soon.

Not only that, but he made a show of it, doing it intentionally to show her he could. Just like he said. She felt jealous, but she didn’t know why. It’s not like I’m with Billy. I’m with Eddie. She internally groans. This is stupid. He was just doing this to get a rise out of her, and she was letting him win.

She watches as his lips slowly curl into a smirk. He was diabolical - almost like he could read her thoughts, could see the effect his actions had on her. She could see it in his eyes. He knew he had gotten in her head. Placing his sunglasses on his shirt collar, he pushes off his locker and walks toward her. She tightens her jaw in anticipation of whatever snarky remark he was likely going to make. But instead of walking up to her, he passes her, eyeing her up and down with a smirk before walking off.

Her eyes follow him, still in disbelief, as Eddie comes back up to her. “What’s wrong, Bunny?”

She blinks a few times before staring up at him. “Oh, nothing. I’m just a little tired.”

He smirks, raising an eyebrow. “Did I wear you out this weekend?”

She chuckles. “You actually did.”

He takes her hand as he walks her to her class. She was grateful for his presence, the normalcy he offered her. Deep down she knew Billy was going to give her hell. Just how much, she would have to see.

She didn’t have to wait long because the same girl that was all over him earlier sat with him at lunch, close enough she might as well have been sitting on his lap. She tried to ignore them, but the girl’s high pitched laugh pierced her ears, damn near making her wince every time she heard it. It didn’t help that she could feel Billy’s gaze on her, her skin searing from the contact.

At the same time, Eddie’s hand was on her thigh, inching closer and closer to her center as he talked with his friends. Her mind was scrambled - Eddie’s touch and Billy’s gaze were almost too much to bear. Eddie’s eyes flick to hers where she catches the dark note of his brown eyes before he shoots her a wink. She pushes her chair away from the table, needing a break from it all.

At Eddie’s look of confusion, she quickly mutters, “I’ll be right back.” She doesn’t wait for his response as she walks away, walking with purpose to the bathroom.

She finds the girls’ bathroom is empty, much to her relief. She steps to the sink, running her hands under cold water before placing a hand on the back of her neck. Releasing a deep breath as she lets the water run, she misses the sound of the door opening and locking behind her.

“You’re not getting scared away so soon, are you?”

She yelps at the sound of Billy’s voice, nearly jumping out of her skin. Looking at his reflection in the mirror, she sees the same calculated smirk from this morning. Everything about him screams an easy confidence that makes her skin crawl. He really was enjoying the game he was playing.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She breaks away from his reflection and washes her hands.

She hears him hum, taking a step toward her. “That water must help release all the tension you’re holding in your neck.” She can feel his proximity behind her, but she refuses to look at him. “You know, from all the wincing you were doing.”

“What can I say? Certain shrill sounds make me cringe.” She turns off the water, finally looking at him through the mirror, a bored expression on her face.

He shrugs. “She may have an annoying laugh, but at least she doesn’t deny the chemistry between us.” He looks at her pointedly.

She notices that he has gum in his mouth then. He chews it lazily, but with enough force to make his jaw flex every now and then. She had noticed that he always had to have something in his mouth, whether it was a cigarette, gum, or a toothpick, and here he was reminding her of her observation. She hated that she knew things like that about him, that she cared enough to notice.

She rolls her eyes, frustrated both at his comment and herself, before moving to dry her hands. “Seems a little one sided to me.”

“Is it?” He crosses his arms as he releases a chuckle.

She turns to him, her annoyance showing. “She’s the one hanging off of you and putting in all the effort. You’re not even looking at her. I bet you’re not even listening to her!” He listens with one eyebrow raised, a cocky grin spreading his lips at her reaction. She gets even angrier at the sight. “You’re only doing this to piss me off. You don’t even care about the girl!”

He nods once, swiping his tongue across his bottom lip before grinning again. “You know what I think, doll?”

“What, Billy?” She’s the one to cross her arms now.

“I think you’re jealous.”

She scoffs. “And I think you’re delusional.”

He laughs, chewing his gum obnoxiously, his mouth opening in an arrogant show. “You really are.” He tilts his head to study her. “You looked like a deer in headlights this morning, and all I did was kiss her cheek. You can’t even handle the sound of me making her laugh - can’t even look at me. You’re so jealous it’s actually pathetic.”

He looks pleased with the revelation. She, on the other hand, did not. Narrowing her eyes, she grinds her teeth together, flexing her jaw in the process. He was right, but she would never admit that to him. Instead, she glared daggers at him and practically spit venom.

“At least I’m not using someone to try and get back at the person who rejected me.”

He scoffs. “Don’t flatter yourself, doll.”

She rolls her eyes. “Oh, like you enjoy her company so much.”

“She got my dick wet.” Her eyes widen ever so slightly, betraying her. He notices, smirking as his brows lower menacingly. “Seems like she did what I needed her to do just fine.”

She crosses her arms again, uncomfortable with his revelation. For someone who had seemed so interested in her, he moved on fast. Her chest hurt as the realization set in. She knew it was dumb, but she couldn’t stop the emotion nonetheless.

“Congratulations.” She shifts uncomfortably, her shirt pulled down her shoulder a bit in the process. “Looks like you had a productive weekend.”

Billy’s eyes follow the movement of her shirt, falling on her exposed skin. She doesn’t miss his eyes darken when they land on the hickey Eddie had left on the bottom of her neck. His jaw flexes once.

“Looks like you did too.” He steps toward her, bringing his hand to her neck as he pushes her collar down further with two purposeful fingers. His voice sounds detached, bothered, but he fixes it in a heartbeat as his annoying grin finds his lips again. “Did my kiss bother you so much that you had to fuck Eddie in an attempt to forget me?” He leans in. “Clearly that didn’t work given how you’re acting.”

“Fuck you, Billy.” She shoves his hand away from her, glaring up at him.

He sucks his teeth. “Ooo, sensitive subject, I see.”

She rolls her eyes. Deciding she’s had enough, she starts walking away, turning back with a start when she reaches the door. “I know! Why don’t you keep chasing other women and stay the fuck out of my relationship?”

He chuckles with no amusement. “I don’t chase after women, and you’re no different.” He steps toward her again, voice low to match her spiteful tone. “I knew I was fucking up when I tried to pursue something other than a quick fuck. You just proved me right.”

“I’m not even single! Did you not think it was wrong to pursue someone in a relationship?” Her eyes blaze at the insult, but his match her intensity, yet again.

“Not when that relationship is a joke! There was no fucking competition, so no I didn’t give a shit.”

“You’re an asshole, Billy. I knew you were putting on an act. There’s no way you could ever be that nice to someone. All you’re doing now is proving me right.”

He shrugs a shoulder like he’s bored. “I’m glad we’re on the same page again, doll.”

She rolls her eyes, unlocking the door. “Whatever. Just leave me out of your games.” She doesn’t give him time to respond this time as she flings open the door and storms off.

Two days later, Billy had his third girl of the week wrapped around his fingers. Of course he wouldn’t listen. He had kept within eyesight whenever he could. From walking around the high school together, to making a show at lunch, he had developed a pattern to get under her skin. Unfortunately for her, it was working.

When she was with Eddie she was able to focus on him, but at school, Billy drove her crazy. No matter how much Eddie prioritized her, he couldn’t improve her mood when Billy was around. She hid her anger, not wanting to drag Eddie into it. Still, she was grateful for Eddie’s company. Without him, she was sure she would lose it. And today might be that day.

Eddie’s uncle had asked for his help on a project, so he had to skip school today. He apologized profusely to her, but she was quick to dismiss his apologies. She knew spending time with his uncle was important, and they didn’t have their own plans for the day. She had told him there was nothing to apologize for and to enjoy the day with Wayne.

So here she was by herself. And there Billy was with girl #3 at his locker. She had done her best to ignore him, but like always, she could feel his eyes on her. As she walked to her locker, Billy leaned down and began kissing the girl. Her hands fell on his chest as his slid down her back toward her ass. Bunny quickly walked past them and opened her locker.

She took a deep breath to calm herself as she got her books. Grabbing what she needed she shut her locker and turned to walk to her class, except Billy blocked her way. He had that same annoying smirk on his face - girl #3 nowhere to be found.

“Try not to think about our kiss too much when you’re fucking Munson tonight, alright, doll?” His snarky tone immediately makes her blood boil.

“I told you to fuck off, Hargrove.” She shoves past him, wanting to get away from him as soon as she could. Walking down the hall she could hear him call after her.

“So we’re on a last name basis now?”

She just rolls her eyes as she keeps walking, not giving him the satisfaction of another response.

But as she went through her day, she couldn’t get his comment out of her head. She hated how much of an effect Billy did have on her. Even though she didn’t want to, she couldn’t stop her mind from replaying his comments over and over, letting them seep under her skin and keep her mood perpetually irritated. Even during class, she found her thoughts drfiting back to her annoyance toward him.

That’s why at lunch she was still irritated, poking at her food with her fork with enough force to make Nancy take notice.

“Are you okay?” Bunny looked up to meet Nancy’s eyes, concern drawing her brows in. Their other friends focused on them as well - Jonathan who was next to Nancy, Robin who was across from him, and Steve who was sitting at the head of the table between her and Nancy.

She nods, letting out a deep breath. “Yeah. I guess I’m just missing Eddie more than I realized.” It’s not the entire truth, but not a lie either.

“It does seem like you two are back in each other’s good graces.” Jonathan noted as he took another bite of his food.

“Damn, could everybody notice it but him?” She chuckled to show she wasn’t annoyed by his comment.

Robin shrugs casually. “I mean I love the guy, but he can be an idiot.”

She laughs then, truly. “Yeah, he definitely can.”

She had missed her time with her friends. She hadn’t been avoiding them, but with how rocky her relationship with Eddie was and then this whole situation with Billy, she had had too much going on to direct her attention elsewhere. Sometimes the six of them, including Eddie, would hangout, but with everyone’s busy schedules, it could be hard to plan things. It didn’t help that they weren’t all in the same grade. Eddie, Steve, and Bunny were seniors, but Nancy, Jonathan, and Robin were juniors.

She usually sat with Eddie at lunch, but since he wasn’t here, she used the opportunity to catch up with her friends. They had talked about their families, their classes, recent happenings, and were just talking about college plans when Robin interrupts the conversation.

“Has anyone ever found themselves envious of how confident Billy Hargrove is?”

Steve groans, slumping in his seat. “Oh, god, Robin. Don’t start.”

Robin looks at him briefly before looking back at Billy again. “No, I’m serious. To be so sure of yourself that you don’t care what anyone thinks of you, to be so confident you can do whatever you want. I mean, it must be nice.”

She follows Robin’s line of sight, finding Billy and girl #3 sitting so close she was nearly straddling him. His hand was tangled in her hair as they made out at the table, not paying attention to the other people sitting with them. She couldn’t see the girl’s hands, but she could imagine where they were under the table. The whole sight made her angrily poke her food again.

Steve must have seen the pair too since he scoffs. “No, I would say it’s annoying. I mean everyone’s trying to eat lunch.”

“Exactly! No one wants to see that shit.” She agrees with Steve, but her voice comes out much angrier than his. She gains some looks from the four of them.

Steve is the first to speak up. “You alright there, Bunny?”

She tears her eyes away from Billy to look at Steve. “Y-yeah! I just think it’s disrespectful. I mean how hard is it to have some respect for yourself?” She shrugs, trying to act more casual. Steve just nods, clearly not as convinced as everyone else. He’s always been able to see through her shit first.

Nancy leans in. “Well he’s not helping the rumors that are going around about him.”

Bunny’s curiosity piques. “What rumors?”

“Apparently he’s been seen with a different girl every day this week.” Well, that was true. She’s seen that. “He spends all day at school with one girl and takes her home, but the next morning he’s with a completely different girl.” That was also true. She had seen each girl get into Billy’s Camaro when she walked out of school with Eddie. She had thought it was strange because usually Billy was one of the first to leave the lot, but it was like he was waiting longer to leave just so he could be sure she would see him.

Robin chimes in when Nancy pauses. “Even worse, each girl has said she’s slept with him. One of them even said they skipped class to do it under the bleachers.” Now she didn’t know that. Her stomach turned.

Steve waves his hand in dismissal. “But Billy’s always been at the center of these rumors ever since he came here. None of this is new.”

Robin sighs with a roll of her eyes. “Yes, but, don’t you remember that the rumors lulled for a while? He had a spell where he wasn’t really associated with a girl.” She looks around at everyone to emphasize her point, clearly trying to see if anyone is following her thoughts.

Steve rolls his eyes in return. “Oh, great. So he kept it in his pants for a while. Big deal!”

Robin scoffs. “No, you goof! He must have been into someone.” She opens her hands as she lands her point.

Nancy points at Robin, eyes animated. “And then she did something to piss him off.”

Robin straightens, matching her energy. “And now he’s back to cycling through girls.”

Nancy’s voice gets louder. “Probably as revenge!”

Robin matches her again. “Yes!”

Steve claps twice. “Great investigative work girls.” He looks around the table at everyone before continuing. “But surely there is another topic of conversation that we can talk about other than Billy fucking Hargrove.”

Jonathan opens his mouth, likely to agree, but Bunny beats him to it. “I agree with Steve. It’s enough that we have to sit here and watch him stick his tongue down that poor girl’s throat. We don’t have to talk about him too.”

Robin shrugs. “Listen, all I’m saying is I admire his ‘I don’t give a fuck attitude.’ We could all probably have easier lives if we emulated it.”

“There is nothing about him that I would want to emulate.” Steve shakes his head in disgust, causing everyone to laugh.

Once they’ve calmed down, she seizes the opportunity to change the subject. “Jonathan, how’s Will?”

As he answers her, she lets her eyes slip past him to Billy’s table. He no longer had his lips attached to girl #3. Instead he had shifted in his seat to face Bunny. The girl was talking so he nodded his head every so often, but it was clear his focus was on Bunny’s table. Whether he could hear their conversation or not, she didn’t know, but she was sure he knew they were talking about him - the same shit eating grin he had worn all week was back.

She narrowed her eyes at him before shifting her gaze back to Jonathan’s. As she tried to ignore Billy and focus on her own table, she couldn’t help but analyze Nancy and Robin’s speculation. Little did they know they were right on the money, and the girl who had pissed Billy off was her. Just thinking about it got her angry all over again. If it wasn’t for him trying to kiss her, none of this would have happened. They wouldn’t be arguing, and he wouldn’t be parading around Hawkins High with a new girl under his arm every day.

And just like that, her foul mood returned.

At the end of the day, she waits by her locker for Steve. Since Eddie wasn’t there she had asked Steve to take her home. Before Billy, that was her norm. It was part of the reason why she had gotten closer with Steve out of their friend group. Once he had gotten over himself a bit after Nancy, he turned out to be a great guy. He was a great listener and her favorite person to go to for advice. Her other friends were great, but it was something about the fact that her and Steve shared being an only child. They ended up having a lot in common.

She could’ve gotten her license two years ago, but Steve seemed to enjoy driving her around in his Beamer. When she started dating Eddie, he drove her around as well, so she found she didn’t need a license. Her parents didn’t seem to mind, especially since she usually had a ride and didn’t have to bother them. She told herself once she graduated high school she would learn to drive, but for now, she would enjoy just being a passenger.

She was lost in her thoughts, so she didn’t hear Steve approach her until he called out. “You ready to head out, Bunny?”

She meets his eyes with a smile. “Ready when you are, Stevie!” She pushes off her locker to match his pace.

He rolls his eyes. “Are you ever going to stop calling me that stupid nickname?”

She beams up at him, shaking her head. “Nope!”

He pushes open the front door, holding it for her as she passes through. They walk as she listens to Steve complain about his English class. As they near his car, they also happen to pass by Billy who is leaning against his Camaro, cigarette in his mouth as usual. Billy’s eyes meet hers before shifting to Steve. She watches as his eyes flit up and down Steve with a look of contempt before his eyes jump back to her. He raises an eyebrow for a moment before rolling his eyes.

A high pitched call of his name directs his attention elsewhere, to girl #3. She runs up to him, giving him a kiss. Bunny can’t seem to tear her eyes away as Billy opens his passenger door and guides the girl in his car, letting his hand slip over her ass in the process. His eyes jump back to Bunny’s, giving her a smirk when he realizes she’s still watching him.

Steve notices he’s lost her attention, turning his head to see what she’s focused on. “What are you-“

As soon as Billy makes eye contact with Steve, he calls out, “Harrington.” He nods once, which Steve reluctantly returns. Closing his Camaro door, he continues, “Make sure you drive Munson’s girl home safe. We all know how much she doesn’t like anything too exciting.” He starts walking around to the driver side, crossing the back of his car. “Wouldn’t want to scare her off, now, would you?” He belts out a laugh.

She flips Billy off, grabbing Steve’s arm to pull him away before they could say anything else. They walk the rest of the way to Steve’s car in silence. Once they’re inside, he turns to her.

“You want to tell me what the hell that was about?”

She shakes her head in frustration. “He’s just an asshole.”

Steve furrows his brows, unconvinced. “Bunny…you’ve been acting strange all day, especially around Billy. What’s going on?”

Before she can answer, Billy violently drives out of the lot, engine roaring and music blaring. She winces, crouching down in Steve’s passenger seat without meaning to.

“Like that!” He motions to her body language. “What the hell did he do?”

“Steve…”

“No, I’m serious, Bunny. What did he do?” It was clear he wasn’t going to back down. He was staring at her with such a worried intensity that she sighed.

“I’ll tell you, but can you just start driving?”

“Yeah, yeah, fine.” He quickly starts the car and backs out of the space.

She looks at him intently as he starts driving off. “You have to promise me you won’t tell Eddie.”

He looks at her quickly before looking at the road again, mouth agape. “What? You haven’t even told him?”

“I haven’t told anyone, Steve. You can’t say anything.”

He pauses, contemplating, before letting out a huff of air. “Alright, fine. I won’t say anything.”

She settles back in her seat, relieved. “Remember when Eddie was spending more time with Hellfire than me?” Steve nods. “Well he cancelled a lot of our plans or flaked at the last minute.” She pauses to tell Steve how she met Billy and how he offered her a ride home that first time as repayment for her help. “After that, he just kept giving me a ride home. We got to know each other, and he was chill.”

Steve gives her a side eye, his look of disbelief apparent. She rolls her eyes. “I know. Stupid.”

He flexes his hands on the steering wheel, shoulders rising a bit in defense. “I didn’t say that.”

She sighs again. “Well when Eddie had cancelled on me on a day when I was particularly frustrated, Billy took note and offered to take me out to get my mind off of it.” She winces. “And I agreed.”

Steve’s head sharply turns to hers. “You went on a date with Billy Hargrove?”

“It wasn’t really a date. We went to see a movie. And it was nice!” She quickly recaps the evening, leaving out how close they sat in the theater. “But when we got back to my house he tried to make a move on me. I had told him I was with Eddie, which he already knew, and he didn’t take it well.” She throws her hands up. “And now he’s been using every girl at Hawkins to try and get back at me somehow. I don’t know what he hopes to accomplish, but he’s been a dick and directing it all toward me.” She had left out the most important part - that they had kissed and she had insulted his character as a result.

Steve pauses, pondering the information. “So you rejected him, and now he’s acting like a pussy?”

She laughs, unable to stop herself. “Well when you put it like that it sounds ridiculous.”

He chuckles in response, shrugging. “Billy’s an asshole. He’s not used to rejection, so of course the one girl who rejects him, he’s going to act like a dick about it.” He shoots her a look of sympathy. “It just sucks it has to be you.”

She nods. “I know.”

“I wouldn’t take it personally. He doesn’t know how to handle rejection, so he’s making up for it in the only way he knows how - to be a dick to every girl he can.” He chuckles again, tapping the steering wheel. “Once he gets it out of his system he should leave you alone. Sounds like you dodged a bullet.”

She nods, but something in her gut doesn’t allow her to agree with him. She knows Billy is doing more than just “acting like a dick” - he’s throwing her words back at her. He’s acting this way because she accused him of being this type of person. And there’s not a single part of her that feels like she dodged a bullet. She had enjoyed her time with Billy. If she was honest with herself, she enjoyed the kiss. Every fiber of her being burned with jealousy seeing him with another girl, even more so because she knew her words drove him to them. None of this was simple, and she knew she couldn’t tell any of it to Steve.

Steve’s voice broke her thought process. “But why haven’t you told Eddie? I’m sure he would understand.”

She shakes her head. “We just fixed things between us, and I don’t want to fuck it up because I was stupid enough to trust Billy.” She shrugs. “I also don’t want him to feel some type of way about the time I spent with Billy even though it didn’t mean anything.” And that felt like the worst lie of all.

Steve nods. “I get that. But I also know that relationships don’t handle secrets very well.” He looks at her for emphasis. “Trust me.”

She smiles, softly. “Maybe I’ll tell him one day, when things calm down.” Steve nods in response, letting the conversation lull.

They shift into other topics for the rest of the drive home. She feels better that someone else knows at least the partial truth about what happened between her and Billy, but she still didn’t feel relieved. She couldn’t tell Steve everything, didn’t want to. And she knew she wouldn’t tell Eddie - she had no plans to do that - so nothing felt resolved. Billy would continue to make her life hell, and she would have to take it. A deep pit of dread settled into her stomach at the realization.

Billy cycles through girls at a quick rate, maintaining a new girl a day. A week later, she had lost count. She had watched him walk around school with them, saw them making out near his locker, heard the rumors about him that kept getting more and more amped up.

She feels his gaze on her every time he’s with another girl, like he wants her to see, to keep seeing. After she made eye contact with him when a girl’s tongue was down his throat, she stopped looking. She had grabbed her books and slammed her locker door, walking away as soon as she could.

It’s a few more days of this before she has enough. She had made the decision before she even set foot in Hawkins High and before she saw girl # whatever. She had spent the previous evening alone, with Eddie having band practice, and couldn’t stop her mind from spiraling. She realized she had to do something, try something to get Billy to stop.

Eddie had walked her into school, filling her in on the band’s attempt at a new cover. His joy was contagious, but her mind was set this morning. She smiled as she listened, but her chest felt the weight of her decision. As much as she tried, Eddie’s joy didn’t transfer over.

“We’re still good for our date tomorrow night, right?” He smiles when they reach her locker, fingers tracing circles on the small of her back.

She nods as she opens her locker. “Yes, Eds.” Putting her stuff in her locker, she continues, “I really appreciate you rescheduling your campaign so we can have a Friday night to ourselves.” She looks at Eddie and lets her gaze shift past him to see Billy’s made it to his locker, with girl # whatever.

Eddie shrugs. “It’s the least I could do for my girl. As long as the guys get their campaign, they don’t care when it is.” He chuckles.

She smiles absentmindedly, watching as the girl leaves Billy’s side. Here we go. “Speaking of, you should probably go remind them, right?” She brings her eyes back to Eddie, shutting her locker. Billy starts to walk past them, shooting her a cocky look in the process.

“You’re right. They probably remember, but it’s best to make sure.” He kisses her cheek, backing away. “We wouldn’t want anything to get in the way of our date! I’ll see you at lunch!”

She smiles, waving after him, before dropping it and turning in the direction of Billy. She does a small little run to catch up to him. Once she nears his side, she puts her hand around his arm to grab his attention.

“We need to talk.” His head jerks down to see her, a bit of surprise on his features. It doesn’t take long for him to replace the surprise with a smirk.

“No ‘fuck off Hargrove’ today?”

She rolls her eyes. “Don’t be annoying. I need to talk to you.”

He stops dead in the hallway, causing her to stop with him. “Then talk.”

She sighs. “Alone, Billy.”

He chuckles, looking away before turning his head to hers again. “Take me away then, doll.”

She’s the one to look around now, seeing the hallway is as crowded as ever. She shifts before grabbing his arm again to drag him in the direction of more privacy. He follows along with a smirk on his face, letting her drag him where she pleases. She quickly moves through the hallway, deciding to settle on the boys locker room in the hopes that it would be empty in the morning.

She pulls him into the locker room, checking around to find that it is empty. The moment she has Billy alone, she feels the nerves course through her body. He faces her, raising an eyebrow.

“You have me alone, so what is it you want to tell me, doll?” He looks at her expectantly.

She opens her mouth before closing it, trying to find the right words. Her throat feels tight. What is wrong with me? She paces the room before turning to him abruptly.

“You’ve proven your point, okay?” She crosses her arms as she looks at him, but he just smiles, as cocky as ever.

“What point?”

“That you can get any girl you want. I get it. You can stop rubbing my face in it.” Her voice doesn’t sound as strong as she hoped it would.

He crosses his arms loosely, shaking his head, but still smiling. “I don’t know why you’re upset doll. You’re with Eddie, right?” He tilts his head, challenging her. Now he was using her words against her.

She shakes her head as if to clear her mind. “Y-yes. Yes. I am.”

He nods, humming. “I’m simply just showing you what you think of me.” He was so infuriating, so casual about this whole thing. This whole time he had been putting on an act to throw her words in her face. She didn’t even want to admire his dedication - she just wanted him to stop.

“Well you can stop now. You can go back to normal.”

He chuckles. “This is my normal, according to you.”

She groans, dropping her arms, frustrated. “I didn’t mean it, okay? I was just scared.”

He tilts his head, his interest piqued. “Scared of what?”

She pauses, realizing what she said. Her eyes widen as her mouth drops open. She didn’t even know she was going to say it, didn’t know that’s how she’s been feeling ever since that night. She turns away from him, running a hand through her hair. She builds up her courage before turning around to face him again. No turning back now.

“Scared that I liked how you made me feel. Scared of how easy it was and how fast it happened.”

He narrows his eyes, breaking his confident demeanor for the first time since coming into the locker room. His eyes follow her every movement. “Isn’t that the way it should be?”

She groans again. “Yes, but I’m not dating you. I’m dating-“

“Eddie. Yeah, I know.” He rolls his eyes.

“Look, I appreciate what you did that night. I had a really good time.” She smiles, but then it fades as sadness replaces the smile. “But we shouldn’t have kissed, and I shouldn’t have said what I did. I’m sorry, alright?”

“Apology accepted. But I’m not sorry for kissing you. I’d do it again.” He takes a step toward her, his fingers flicking up ever so slightly, as if reaching for her. She looks at him, traces his movement, conflicting emotions flashing across her face. Even through his torment, she still felt safe around him. Just talking to him without any spiteful comments made her realize how much she had missed him. But he wasn’t hers. She wasn’t his.

She shakes her head. “No, no. We can’t.”

He tsks again. “Too bad. We could’ve had something real special, Bunny.” He drawls out her nickname, voice dripping with arrogance.

She fights to keep her eyes from widening at the intentional use of her nickname, deciding to offer a peaceful resolution instead. “We can still be friends.”

He sucks his teeth. “That won’t work either. I don’t really do friends.”

She tilts her head. “Really?”

He shrugs. “You either want me or you don’t. You made your choice.”

She rolls her eyes. “You’re so goddamn stubborn, Billy.”

He nods in agreement before shifting his stance, detaching. “Is that all?”

She furrows her brows, confused by his sudden change of moods. “I guess so.”

“Real productive chat, doll. I’ve got someone expecting me. Don’t want to keep her waiting.” He turns to walk out. Her mouth drops open a hair, stunned.

“I guess I can’t stop you.”

He looks over his shoulder at her. “I could try to promise you I won’t rub your face in it, but I’d just break that promise. She makes a real show out of showing how much she wants me.” He pauses, doing another once over. “At least someone has the balls to go after what she wants.” He leaves her standing in shock.

She had tried to reconcile in an attempt to move past the tension between them, and just when she thought it was working, when it looked like they were on the same page, he resumed his hostility. They were right back to square one - only this time he knew that she was denying her feelings.

Eddie had spent all of Friday glued to her hip, only leaving her for 30 minutes tops to get ready for their date. When he came back his hair was wet and he had on a fresh pair of clothes - still in his black jeans, but he had black boots, a black button up, and a green bomber jacket on as well. She had been grateful for his clingy presence all day. The more she was with Eddie, the less Billy bothered her.

She heard his footsteps coming up the stairs before she saw him. She was still finishing up her makeup when he walked through her door.

“Hey, Bunny!” She shifts her eyes to his for a moment before looking at herself in the mirror again. “Oh, doing the lips, are we?” He comes behind her chair to watch as she finishes applying a lip liner. Setting the liner down, she smiles finally.

“Hi, Eddie bear.” He beams at her through the reflection of her mirror. “Someone looks really nice.”

He puts his hands on her shoulders before wrapping her chest in a hug, leaning down. “And someone else looks even nicer.” He gives her a quick kiss on the cheek.

She giggles, squeezing his arms around her. “I’m almost done and then we can leave, okay?”

He hums, content to watch her. “Take your time. I have you all to myself for the rest of the evening.” He gives her one last squeeze before releasing her to sit on the end of her bed.

She swipes on her lipstick before giving herself one last look over. Standing, she smooths out the sweater she’s tucked into her skirt. She grabs a belt from her closet to settle over her skirt and finish the look. Satisfied, she turns to Eddie. “What do you think?”

Standing, he walks over to her. He puts his hands on her waist but leans slightly back to take her in. His bottom lip finds its way between his teeth before snapping back in place. “Oh, my Bunny girl. You look divine.” He leans in to kiss her neck causing her to giggle. “We don’t have to go on our date. We could just stay here and find another way to entertain ourselves.” His hands pull her skirt up, slipping under to cup her ass. “I can definitely think of one way.”

She moans as he bites her shoulder, giving it a lick to soothe it. “Eddie…” She wraps her fingers in his hair, giving it a soft tug which elicits his own moan. “I didn’t get all dressed up just for you to take my clothes back off.”

He squeezes her ass and pulls her closer, head still buried in her neck. “Mmm, after the date then?”

She smiles as she runs her other hand down his chest, finding his hardened bulge in his pants. He nearly whimpers at the contact. “Definitely after the date.”

Eddie straightens, grabbing her hand. “Well, let’s go! What are you waiting for?”

She lets her head fall back with laughter as he drags her out of her room. They both say goodbye to her parents as they leave her house. It doesn’t take Eddie long to drive them to the local diner on Main. He walks the two of them in and gets them a table.

“Order whatever you want, Bunny. Dinner’s on me!” He smiles at her over his menu, which she returns.

“Thanks, Eds.”

They both decide on a burger and fries. It’s not long after they order that Billy Hargrove walks in with his own date, yet another girl who clings to him. Bunny has her back to the door of the diner, so she doesn’t see Billy until he slides in the booth behind her and Eddie, conveniently sitting on the side of the booth that faces her. When she sees his satisfied smirk, her heart drops. No.

Tonight was meant to be for her and Eddie. Billy wasn’t supposed to be here. She was sure no one even knew of her date with Eddie - they hadn’t really talked about it with anyone. Billy couldn’t have known. This was just sheer luck for him and terrible luck for her.

She narrowed her eyes at Billy, glaring fire in his direction. Straightening, she decided not to let him ruin her evening. Her and Eddie came here for a date, and a date they were going to have. Her eyes leave Billy’s to focus on Eddie.

“Did you all have a good campaign last night?” She tilts her head as she waits for his response.

As Billy’s date droned on about her friends and Eddie gave her more details about his campaign and the crazy plans he had for the next one, her and Billy had a stare off - more like he stared at her while she tried to avoid his gaze, occasionally meeting his eyes to stare more fire back at him. His smirk made her blood boil. Even through their dinner, she felt the weight of Billy’s eyes on her.

Once they had finished their meals, Eddie asked if she wanted to share an ice cream. “We could have something cold before we warm up after.” He winks, which makes her giggle.

“That would be great, Eds.”

“I’ll be right back.” He slides out of the booth, heading to the counter.

As soon as he walks away from the booth, she switches sides so she wouldn’t have to see Billy anymore. Conveniently, his date excuses herself to the bathroom, allowing Billy to switch sides as well, now back to back with her.

“I see he’s finally showing you attention. Enjoying your date, doll?”

She rolls her eyes. “I don’t think my date concerns you. Don’t you have your own date to worry about?”

He chuckles. “Oh, I’m not worried. She’ll end up begging me to bend her over by the end of the night.”

She scoffs, keeping her eyes on Eddie. “Awfully sure of yourself aren’t you?” She can practically feel his smirk even though she can’t see it.

“I’m just upholding my image. Cocky, arrogant, too sure of myself, too sure I’ll get the girl. Sound familiar?”

“Very funny.” Eddie waits in line for the ice cream. He turns to look back at her, mouthing “sorry” and pointing at the line before making a large motion with his hands. She smiles, giving him a thumbs up in reassurance.

“And I can’t forget that I need to have an easy girl to make sure I can fuck around with. That seemed to be an important point.”

“Seems like you’ve had your pick lately.” She doesn’t even try to hide the contempt in her voice.

He chuckles at her comment, lowly. “Just keeping up the appearances you want to me to, doll.”

“Jesus fucking Christ. I never said that!” She turns quickly in her seat, looking at him with sharp, dark eyes. “I don’t care what you do with your date. Stay, leave, mock me, whatever. But stay out of mine.” He had turned his head to meet her gaze, face mainly blank, though amusement glints in his eyes, but when she finishes, he smirks, leaning in.

“I’m not the one who’s shooting daggers across the booth every time we make eye contact.” He leans back a bit, looking over her shoulder for Eddie, who must still be busy since Billy leans back in - so close she can feel his warm breath against her face.

“It’s a shame Munson is so dumb. Anyone else would notice your total lack of interest, your half-assed responses, your attention directed elsewhere.” His lips curl up cruely. “To me.” He gets even closer, to her ear now. “Now would be the perfect time to break the news to dear Eddie. Tell him how you really feel.” He shifts his head ever so slightly, lips tickling her ear. “Tell him who you really want.” He leans back, same infuriating, cruel smirk on his lips. “Make your choice, Bunny. Show me what you really want.”

She continues to stare daggers - not wanting to give him the satisfaction of a reaction - turning back to face Eddie just as he turns around with the ice cream. He smiles as he walks over, which she tries to match with her own weak smile. He sits in the booth, sliding the ice cream between them.

“I’m sorry that took so long. I hope you’re still hungry!” He picks up a spoon and immediately takes a bite.

“Of course, Eds.” She picks up a spoon as well.

He tilts his head. “Wait, did you switch sides?”

She hears Billy chuckle, but she ignores him. “I just wanted to keep looking at you.” She smiles before taking a bite of ice cream.

“Liar.” Billy’s voice is clear, but quiet enough so only she heard him.

Eddie chuckles. “You always surprise me.” She laughs, forcing it a bit. Billy had definitely gotten under her skin.

“If only he knew, right, Bunny?” She kicks the booth with her heel, tired of Billy’s interjections.

Eddie looks up abruptly. “You okay?”

She nods. “Yeah, just a leg twitch.”

Eddie smiles, grabbing her hand across the table. “I’m glad we got to spend time together tonight. It’s always nice to be able to make time for each other.”

“For now.” She continues to ignore Billy, smiling at Eddie instead.

“I agree Eds. Tonight has been great.”

He squeezes her hand. “Listen I know I’ve been really absorbed with the boys and with the campaign lately, and I didn’t make as much time for you, but I want you to know how much I love you and cherish you. You really mean a lot to me, and even when I’m an idiot, you put up with me. I don’t know what I did to deserve you, but I’m so glad you keep choosing me, Bunny.” She smiles, Eddie’s words making her heart race.

“Make your decision, Bunny.” Billy’s voice makes her hesitate, biting her lip. No. Eddie made her happy. There was no reason to doubt that. She makes sure her voice comes out loud and clear.

“I love you too, Eddie. It’s always been you.”

He smiles, bringing her hand to his mouth to kiss her knuckles. She smiles back, giggling at the feel of his cool lips.

Billy chuckles, deep and low. His date slides back into the booth, preventing him from saying anything, much to Bunny’s relief.

With their ice cream nearly gone, she leans into the table, toward Eddie. “What do you say we get out of here and resume what we started earlier?” Her voice is low, but just as Billy had done, she makes sure he can hear her.

Eddie smirks. “Good thing I already paid for everything when I got the ice cream, huh?”

She giggles again, grabbing his hand over the table as she scoots out of the booth and pulls him with her. As she wraps her arms around his waist, walking toward the door, she feels Billy’s eyes on her again.

Turning, she sees that he is the one staring daggers at her now, his jaw so tight as he flexes it she can practically see his teeth grinding together. Oh how the tables turn. Now she flashes him a cruel smirk before whipping her head around just as Eddie opens the door for them.

As soon as they’re back in his van, she turns to him. “I don’t want to wait until we’re back at mine, Eds.” The whole encounter with Billy left her on a high. She finally felt like she had put Billy in his place, had given him a taste of his own medicine. Choosing Eddie was the right thing, she knew that, but to do it in front of Billy felt so liberating.

Eddie’s eyes widen, looking around before shifting his eyes to hers. “You want to do it here?”

She smiles warmly. “We’re not near a street light, so it’s pretty dark here.” She looks around the lot too. “And I don’t see many people.” Her eyes meet Eddie’s again. “We can be quick.”

He shakes his head with a laugh. “I’ve always wanted to try public sex.” His eyes reflect the same mischieviousness as his tone, which makes her smirk.

“Then let’s try it.”

She pushes off of the passenger seat, moving quickly yet gently to straddle him in the driver’s seat. As soon as his hands grip her hips she kisses him. Her hands slide down his chest, unbuttoning a few of the buttons before slipping her hands under. She bites his bottom lip, eliciting a moan from him. She loved his moans. He was never afraid to let her know what he liked.

As her tongue moves against his, she grinds against his length, moaning herself. His hands find their way under her skirt again, squeezing her ass as she moves her hips against him. Pulling away from his lips she kisses down his neck.

“Fuck, Bunny.” One hand moves from under her skirt to grip her hair. “You’re driving me crazy.”

She hums, licking a stripe up his neck. Kissing his jaw once, she kisses his lips again, muttering against them. “Want you inside me, Eds. Now.”

He pushes her head to his, connecting their lips once more in a searing kiss. She lifts off of him slightly to unbutton his jeans, making quick work of freeing him from his pants. She moans against his lips at the feel of his length in her hand. He shifts his other hand down to her panties, pulling them aside. She doesn’t waste a second, closing the distance between them as she swipes his cock through her folds.

Eddie moans. “You’re always so fucking wet for me, Bunny.” His grip on her hair tightens, her whining in response.

She aligns his length with her entrance, gasping when she takes in the tip of his cock. As she sinks lower, his hand that’s gripping her hair pulls her head back. He leans forward to kiss her neck, causing his cock to push deeper inside her. She moans at the contact, slamming her hand against his window.

“You’re s-so big, Eddie.”

She can feel his smile against her neck. “You can take it, Bunny.” He puts his hand back on her hip, guiding her the rest of the way down his cock.

She whines at how full she feels, letting her hand slip from the window. In this position Eddie was already hitting her g-spot. She knew she wouldn’t last long. As she started moving her hips, taking in his cock again and again, she turns her head to the window where her hand had just been. A small streak in the window let her see past the steam they had created.

Eddie kissed the side of her neck, biting and sucking on the spot that he knew she loved - behind the ear - as she made eye contact with Billy. In her haste to get back to Eddie’s van she had missed how close Billy’s Camaro was, just a couple spots away. He had just closed the passenger door with his date inside, turning to walk away when they made eye contact. She watched as the realization of what he was seeing struck his face, freezing him in place.

His mouth parted before he snapped it shut, his brows lowered over darkened eyes, his hands clenched into fists. She could see the jealousy radiate off of him, every muscle tight. She hadn’t planned this. It was a perfect accident for him to see them, but oh, how her luck had changed. Seeing his reaction, she knew she was in control now. He had been jealous of Eddie the entire time, but he was trying to deflect that jealousy onto her. For the first time since that night she got to see his real emotions. And he got to see who had full access to her as Eddie’s cock was buried deep in her heat.

She couldn’t help the smile that grew on her face as she watched Billy unravel. Eddie moaned against her neck as she clenched around him.

“Oh, fuck. You’re so tight, Bunny.” He squeezed her hip, encouraging her to pick up her pace. Her hand tugged his hair as she bounced faster, a loud moan escaping her lips.

Billy must have heard it because he unclenched his fist and immediately curled his fingers inward again. She watched as he narrowed his eyes before abruptly turning and walking off. His Camaro roared to life a second later, pulling out of the lot in a hurry.

The feeling of Eddie’s cock and her own satisfaction formed a knot in her lower stomach, eliciting a series of whines from her. Eddie took notice, removing his hand from her hip to bring his thumb to her clit. As he rubbed circles, she moved her hips against him with more urgency.

“Just like that, Eds. ‘M so close.”

Eddie moaned in response, pulling her hair to kiss her neck. The arch of her back allowed him even deeper access. She moaned with each thrust, digging her nails into his shoulders. She felt the band in her stomach snap, sending her over the edge with a shout of his name.

Her vision turned black at the edges as her orgasm took over her body. Eddie’s thumb on her clit coupled with his thrusts made her shudder against him. His grip on her hair tightened as he finished inside of her. She could feel the vibrations of his moans against her neck, his hair tickling her cheek.

When his hand fell out of her hair, she slumped against him, both of them breathing heavily as they came down from their highs. He removed his hand from her clit, resting it on her exposed thigh instead. Her hands rested against his chest, moving up and down absentmindedly. Her fingers brushed against his jacket. They hadn’t even bothered to take it off. He must be sweltering. She giggled, bringing them back down to earth.

Eddie released a deep breath. “Fuck that was incredible.” He squeezed her thigh, shifting to gaze up at her. She leaned back, seeing his huge grin and smiling in return.

Even though she thought Billy would ruin her evening, it turned out to be quite the opposite. Her comments inside the diner and the scene he had witnessed between her and Eddie had likely ruined Billy’s evening. For once, she was the one smiling in triumph at the other’s torment. They had turned a new page - one in which she had the upper hand.

“Yeah, Eds. It really was.”

The thing about Eddie was that when they were together, it was so good. He was never distracted when it was just the two of them. He showered her with attention, making her laugh until her stomach hurt or making her so giddy she could feel it in her chest. That was, she thought, what hurt the most - the fact that he could make her feel so high and turn around and make her feel so low. That and the promises that he just kept breaking.

Part of her knew he didn’t do it intentionally to hurt her. She admired his passion for the things he loved. It was one of the things she loved most about him, but she couldn’t help but question if he loved her as much as Hellfire. And that was the problem. Doubt was seeping into their relationship. Only she was the one who was experiencing it.

In those two weeks, along with his increased attention toward her, Billy had somehow made a habit of showing up at the right time to save the day when Eddie couldn’t take her home. She wasn’t sure how he figured it out, but every time he slyly slid over after Eddie walked off to offer her a ride.

She accepted every time, finding him to be quite pleasant. They got to know each other more on those drives, surface level stuff at first. Silly things like their favorite color or their least favorite food, to long conversations on their music tastes or their goals in life. They laughed, they matched each other’s energy, and they balanced each other’s wit.

Her favorite drives involved sitting in her driveway long after he had pulled in because they didn’t want the conversation to end. She found she learned the most about him during those drives. He had told her about California and his love of the ocean, his desire to go back. He spoke about how he preferred to be outside and away from the noise of others, how he felt more secure when he was swimming or running through the trees. She learned that Max was his step sister and that her mother had married his father. She had also picked up on the fact that he didn’t talk about his mother and how his demeanor changed when his father was mentioned. She knew not to pry.

She discovered that he listened well too. From letting her ramble about her silly frustrations over her science class, to lending a sympathetic ear when she discussed her worries about her increasingly absent father, he listened to it all. He had agreed with her notion about wanting to leave Hawkins, to find out who she was away from everyone else. There was no judgement, no sarcasm, just honest conversations. The more they learned about each other, the more they found out how similar they were.

It all contributed to the fact that she actually found herself growing fond of her drives with Billy. Talking with him was easy, and during the time spent in his Camaro, nothing else mattered.

Needless to say, it came as no surprise when Eddie bailed on her yet again. It had become a pattern for her to expect it.

“But I thought you said you didn’t have a Hellfire campaign after school today?”

“We don’t. But we scheduled one for tomorrow night, so we had to move band practice to today. And not all of the guys have a guardian like me who is chill about when I come and go from home.” Eddie shrugs. “There’s nothing else we could do babe.”

She sighs. There was something he could do, but it was clear where his priorities were. “Well, have fun I guess.”

He must be able to see the disappointment in her eyes because his eyes soften. “I’m sorry, Bunny. Are you sure you’re okay with it?”

She tries to smile, gently nodding her head. “Yeah, Eds. Just be safe.”

He smiles, nodding as well. “We always are.” He gives her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you later, okay?” She nods before he walks away.

It’s not long before Billy appears next to her, catching her on yet another day when Eddie bails on her. “Need a ride again, doll?” His voice maintains his usual confident, smooth tone.

Shutting her locker, she hugs her books tight to her chest. When she looks up at him, sadness is heavy in her eyes. Billy’s eyes soften, slightly, not used to seeing the emotion. She nods. “As long as it’s no bother.”

He scoffs. “Getting to drive my pretty girl longer? That’s never a bother.” She smiles softly at his grin. “I’ll see you after school.” She nods again. As he walks away, he turns back to her. “I was talking about my car, by the way. Just want to make that clear.” She can’t help but laugh, her earlier sadness disipating a bit.

When the final bell rings, she makes it a point to be one of the first people out of her last class to leave the school as soon as she can. She had spent the rest of the day more upset with Eddie than she had been, all of the disappointment and frustraton from the past few weeks bubbling over into a sadness she didn’t really want to deal with. The sooner she could leave the school, the sooner she could make sure she would be able to avoid Eddie. It also helped that she knew she would be meeting Billy, the only person who’s been able to take her mind off of things lately.

As she pushes open the front door to the school, she sees Billy in his usual perch against his car, cigarette in his mouth. He was leaning against the car, legs crossed at his ankles, arms crossed with his right hand reaching for his cigarette, head slowly falling back as he looks up at the sky to exhale the smoke. Everything about his stance was so relaxed and unbothered, the exact opposite of how she’s felt all day. It was exactly the energy she needed.

As she gets closer to his car, her footsteps reaching his ears, he tilts his head back down, a lazy smile stretching his lips. “About time you got here.”

She rolls her eyes. “Not everyone leaves before the final bell.” She moves to the passenger side.

He pushes off the car, opening the door. “Yeah, yeah. You’re a good student and all that.” He looks at her as she opens the passenger door. “Ready?”

She nods, moving to get in. “More than you know.”

He wastes no time in starting the car and leaving the Hawkins High lot. Like usual, rock music plays through the speakers as they drive toward her house, except he has the stereo turned lower than its usual volume. When he reaches for a cigarette she asks for one too, causing him to pause with the unlit cigarette dangling from his lips.

“You must have had a rough day, huh?” He glances at her for a moment before reaching into the carton to give her a cigarette as well. He pulls out his lighter, holding it in between them so she can light hers before he lights his.

She leans her head back against the headrest, exhaling the smoke, enjoying the sharp squeeze of her lungs from the nicotine. “Can you tell?”

She can feel his gaze on her, but she keeps her eyes closed. His voice gently hits her ears, somehow maintaining his carefree edge, yet more sympathetic all the same. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

Eyes still closed, she shakes her head. “Not really. It’s the same old shit I usually deal with.”

“Does it have to do with Eddie?” She turns her head to his quickly, eyelids finally shooting open. Of all the topics they’ve discussed, they’ve never once talked about Eddie. When she still hasn’t said anything, Billy speaks up again. “I may not be the smartest guy in Hawkins, but I’m certainly not dumb enough to miss how much he cancels on you and how upset you get every time.” He looks back at the road for a beat before locking eyes with her again. “You try to hide it, but anyone who really pays attention to you can see it clear as day.”

She blinks a few times, trying to process what he said. It wasn’t that she’s been trying to mask her feelings. Not entirely. She just wasn’t trying to make them super obvious. Emotions in front of other people wasn’t really her thing. But Billy saw through that.

She offers him a quick smile, clearly trying to move past the conversation. “You don’t have to talk about it with me. I’ll be okay when I get away from the school.”

“And him?” He raises an eyebrow.

“It’s not-“ She pauses, sighing in defeat. “It’s not that I want to avoid him. I just didn’t want to deal with his cheery attitude when I’m not in the mood. Because of him.”

Billy opens his mouth to reply, but before he can, she turns to him, facing him in the seat with a pained look on her face, huffing before she speaks. “Listen you really don’t have to talk about this with me just because I’m upset or because you think you have to, for driving me home, or whatever. We can change the subject. It’s really okay-“

“Hey, doll.” Billy’s voice interupts her. She realizes that she was rambling without even making eye contact with him. But when his voice brings her to her senses, she finally meets his gaze, finding his alert and focused blue eyes. “I brought it up. I want to talk about it, so,” He pauses, lifting up his arm with his palm facing up, “talk.”

She holds the silence between them for a moment, slumping back in her seat to think of where to begin. She opens her mouth, closes it, and opens it again. “It wasn’t always like this.” She looks down at her hands, seeing the cigarette with a long ash due to her neglect. She ashes it before bringing it to her lips again. “But the past few weeks, maybe a month, it just feels like he doesn’t want to make me a priority anymore.”

He hums. “No dates? No gestures?” He looks over at her. “Cancelling plans?”

She nods. “All of it.” She shrugs one shoulder. “We’ve never really done gestures. He doesn’t have much money, and I don’t want him to waste what he makes on me. Our dates can be simple too. Watching a movie at home, cuddling.” She gazes out the window as she finishes her cigarette, Billy’s long gone. “Sure those things have lessened, but that’s not what bothers me. It’s the way he’s constantly cancelling on me.”

“So I’ve noticed.”

Her eyes dart away from the window to meet his again. There’s a lightheartedness in his gaze that brings a soft smile to her lips. “I didn’t really mind it at first, but now I can’t help but think he just doesn’t feel as strongly for me as I do for him.”

Billy scoffs. “Then he’s an idiot.” He holds her gaze, jaw tight, to emphasize his point.

She sighs again. “He just really loves the things he’s passionate about.”

“But if he loves you then he would make equal time for you.”

Her mouth opens, brows furrowed as she considers Billy’s point. To be honest, she knew he was right. She had thought it herself. But to hear someone else validate her thoughts was a new kind of enlightening.

“I think that’s why I’m so upset.” She laughs a dry laugh, no humor present. “He’s made Hellfire and his band more important than our time together, and I feel neglected. Like I’m an afterthought.” She scoffs. “And I sound so fucking whiny when I say that.” Her arms cross over her chest.

Billy steals a glance at her, shifting in his seat. He brings his left hand to the wheel, holding it at the top, so he can use his right hand as he talks. “Listen, bottom line, does he not know how to treat a pretty girl well?” He smirks, trying to lighten the mood.

She smiles softly again. “He did, when we started dating, but lately things have been…” She trails off.

“Boring?”

“Stale.”

They say it at nearly the same time, turning to look at each other. She is a bit shocked at his guess being so close to hers, but Billy shoots her a cocky grin, looking pleased with himself.

He lets her process the answers for a moment longer before getting more serious again. “Then why are you still with him?”

She shrugs like it’s obvious. “Because I know he can be better. It’s probably just a phase he’s going through.”

His scoff is loud and jarring. “Yet you’re making yourself unhappy by holding onto false promises.” She looks at him then, going quiet. He continues. “Listen, it doesn’t have to be tonight, but let me take you out, show you a good time and get your mind off of everything.”

She rolls her eyes playfully. “I thought you said you don’t do nice things.”

“I don’t. Consider it an extension of my kindness.” He gives her his best sweet smile, which she laughs at.

“Fine. Eddie has another campaign Friday, so Friday night?” He pulls into her driveway at this point, so she gets her things together, preparing to leave.

“I’ll pick you up Friday night. Be ready at 7 and wear something nice, doll.”

She nods. “Thank you, Billy. For the ride. I’ll see you Friday.” She gets out of his car, moving to shut the passenger door, when his voice stops her.

“Remember, 7 sharp!” She smiles, nodding, before she closes the door. As she walks to her front door, watching him drive away, she notices she feels a bit lighter than she did. The heavy pain she felt in her chest when she left Hawkins High now sits at a dull ache.

Friday comes before she knows it. Nervous energy had settled in her chest the minute she had stepped into the high school. It didn’t help when she passed Billy in the hallway and he pointed at the imaginary watch on his wrist with a wink. In response, she had narrowed her eyes at him with a quick shake of her head.

At lunch she felt his eyes on her again when she was sitting with Eddie at the Hellfire table. Everyone was deep into their discussion of the night’s campaign. Eddie deflected their numerous questions with a cocky easiness before getting them to think about the way they ended the previous campaign. This resulted in a slew of questions, analyzing each other’s moves and characters.

In their focus on each other and not her, she stole her own look at Billy. He was gazing at her with narrowed eyes and his lips pressed together. He was at his own table with its own intense conversation happening. Like her, Billy wasn’t involved in it. His attention was directed to her.

When their eyes met, he closed his and let his head fall back before jerking it forward again, as if he was miming falling asleep. Opening his eyes again, he mouthed “boring” before shooting her a smirk across the room. She tried to hold back her smile, but she couldn’t keep the corners of her lips from rising.

“What are you smiling at Bunny?” The sound of Eddie’s voice jerked her attention back to the Hellfire table, where he was looking at her expectantly.

“Nothing!” She thought her voice sounded too high pitched, so she forced a laugh and shook her head. “I mean, I just enjoy listening to the convoluted ways everyone tries to figure out your plans.” She smiles at Eddie. “But they never do.”

He smiles back, his signature toothy grin. “Because I’m too much of a genius for them.”

“That you are, Eds.” She focuses on eating her lunch again until the table returns to its conversation. When she’s sure they aren’t paying attention to her again she risks another glance at Billy to see a shit eating smirk still plastered on his face.

She went about the rest of the day like normal, chatting to her friends, attending her classes, letting Eddie drive her home. His campaign wasn’t scheduled until later that night, so he had time to take her home. He had dropped her off thinking that he would see her again later on, but she obviously had other plans. She let about two and a half hours pass before she called him.

“Hey Bunny!” His energetic voice came through the line. “Do you want me to come pick you up early? We can make the most of it.” She could hear his suggestive tone even through the phone, making her wince.

She let out her best weak laugh. “I really wish I could, Eds.”

“Aww, what’s wrong, Bunny?”

“I’m not feeling the best, Eds. I think it must have been something I ate for dinner. I’m feeling really nauseous.” She makes sure to talk slower and softer than usual to make it more believable.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Bunny. I hate that you’re not feeling good. Do you want me to bring you anything?” His voice is laced with sympathy. Her plan is working.

“No, Eds. I’ll be okay with some rest. But that’s why I’m calling. I don’t think I’ll be able to go to your campaign tonight.” She waits, nerves making her limbs shake.

“Of course I want you there, but you need to rest. I’ll catch you up when I see you again. Maybe tomorrow?”

“As long as I’m not still sick tomorrow, I would love that Eds.”

“Good. I’ll call you tomorrow Bunny. Rest up!”

They say their goodbyes before she hangs up the phone. As soon as she does she lets out a sigh of relief. She felt bad for lying, but it wasn’t like she was doing anything bad. Besides, he wouldn’t miss her at the campaign. When she goes on Friday nights, he never pays attention to her anyway. It would be fine.

She stands then, moving to freshen up and get dressed for the evening. After a quick rinse in the shower, some skincare, and a brush of her teeth, she stands in her closet. She settles on a knee length, flowy dress, with thin straps tied in a bow on the shoulders and a cardigan to keep her warm. She had just finished her hair and makeup, swiping the last stroke of lipstick, when she heard his Camaro. 7 sharp. Just like he said.

Slipping on her shoes, she hustles downstairs, gives herself one last look in the mirror next to the front door, and says goodbye to her mother who was sitting in the living room. Billy had come to a stop in her driveway when she opens the door, coming outside to meet him. He had left the car on, but stepped outside to greet her. She drew in a breath at the sight of him.

Light blue jeans practically looked like they were glued to his thighs, accentuating his muscular legs. His shirt was unbuttoned with what looked like only two buttons at the bottom keeping it together, the deep blue of the shirt making his blue eyes look even brighter. On top of the shirt was a black leather jacket that sat on his shoulders in a way that made his arms look bigger, hiding nothing. He had obviously freshened up as well because his already curly hair looked even curlier and fuller, two perfect curls falling above his eyebrows. He looked so nice she thought her head was actually dizzy.

A whistle breaks her out of her thoughts - his whistle. “Look at you.” When they meet in front of his car, he takes her hand. “All this potential wasted on Munson.” Once he finishes speaking, he spins her around, causing her to giggle. He walks her over to the passenger side, still holding her hand, and pauses before the door. “But not me, doll. I’ll savor every moment tonight.” He kisses her hand before opening the door for her.

She maintains his eye contact as she gets in his car. He shuts her door once she’s comfortably inside before hurrying over to get in the driver’s side. Once he begins backing out, she says, “Don’t get ahead of yourself. This is just your extension of kindness, remember?”

“Of course!” He shoots her a smirk as he lights up a cigarette. “You should know though that I don’t extend this kindness to just anyone.”

She can’t help but laugh. “And I don’t go out with every guy who suddenly shows interest in me.” She raises an eyebrow at him.

“Well, I’d hope not. You have a boyfriend, right?” He meets her challenge every time - it’s why she enjoys talking to him.

“Exactly.” She nods.

“Noted.” He pauses for a minute as he drives, letting the crackle of the cigarette paper fill the silence. “Why did you say yes then?”

She turns to look at him, seeing he’s already looking at her. She fiddles with her dress. “You came on strong, so I thought you were just like everyone said. Cocky, arrogant, too sure of himself, too sure he would get the girl.” She steals a glance to see he’s listening intently, jaw flexing a bit. “But you’ve been kind to me. You didn’t have to keep driving me home after that first day, but you have been. Rather than listen to everyone else, I thought I would make my own judgement of you.”

“Oh, so I piqued your interest.”

“If you want to say that.” She laughs. If she was honest, she had already made her own judgement of Billy - a positive one at that. Tonight was more of a selfish indulgement for her, a way to get her mind off of things, like he said, and Billy was the best person for that. “Plus I thought I was owed a night out after how intensely strong you came on to me.” She smirks, which causes him to laugh.

He shrugs a shoulder. “Seems like I won in the end though.”

She rolls her eyes playfully. “Keep telling yourself that, bud.”

He hadn’t told her where or what their date was, so she was curious to see what he had in mind. He didn’t drive for much longer before he pulled up to the theater. She eyes him.

“A movie, huh?”

He chuckles. “Is that alright with you?”

She narrows her eyes. “Depends on what it is.”

He turns the car off, raising an eyebrow as he looks at her. “Well, do you want to go and see?”

She shrugs, trying to hold back her smile. “I suppose we can.”

Rolling his eyes with a smirk, he gets out of the car and moves to open the passenger door to help her out. He puts his hand on the small of her back as he leads them into the theater. Looking at their options, he points to one - The Woman in Red.

“What about that one?”

Stealing a quick glance at him, she chuckles. “I never would have pinned you as the romantic type, Billy Hargrove.”

“What can I say?” He looks down at her with a lazy, confident grin. “I’m full of surprises.”

She giggles in response, letting him guide her to the counter as he purchases their tickets. He also buys them a large popcorn after asking her if she’s alright sharing it.

He smiles when she clearly contemplates it, adding. “I won’t bite.” Then he leans down next to her ear to whisper, “Unless you want me to.”

Her mouth gapes as she smacks his chest, causing laughter to erupt from his lips. “You can bite our popcorn, but that’s it.” She crosses her arms, giving him her best stern look.

“Our popcorn?” He raises an eyebrow. “So you’ll share it with me?”

She shrugs. “It would make sense to. Less for us to carry.”

He hums, nodding along as if he doesn’t buy her reasoning. “One popcorn it is then, doll.”

Once he bought their popcorn, they made their way into the theater, finding their seats toward the back. The theater wasn’t full, but it had quite a few people spread throughout. They chose to sit a few seats away from the aisle, as distanced from the other people as they could.

During the movie, they share the popcorn. At first, they manage to reach for the bucket at separate times, enjoying the popcorn without touching the other person. Once they are about a third into the movie, she notices that Billy’s leg is close to hers, the outside of his thigh barely avoiding her own. Heat radiates off of his body. Her body tenses as her mind begins to race. It’s just a movie. We’re not doing anything wrong. Besides, it was just his leg close to hers. It didn’t mean anything.

She tries to redirect her attention to the movie, attempting to ignore Billy’s proximity. With her attention focused on the screen, she reaches for the popcorn again, feeling Billy’s hand reach for the bucket at the same time. They glance at each other, her a bit jumpy from the contact after having just calmed herself down. The smirk that spreads his lips in the dark theater doesn’t help her nerves. Why did he have to be so attractive?

She breaks their eye contact and pulls her hand from the bucket, popcornless, as she directs her focus to the screen again. Of course, every time she reaches for the bucket after that she finds Billy’s hand, but with each brush of their fingertips she feels herself relaxing into his touch.

He must take note of this because he lifts his arm up before gently wrapping it around her shoulders. Her head turns to his, finding an eyebrow raised, almost as if he was asking permission. She feels her heart rate pick up. He wasn’t doing anything disrespectful. She meets his eyes with a smile before deciding to take the popcorn bucket they had nearly finished and set it on the floor. Leaning back, she shifts to lean into his touch.

After a moment, she feels his head rest against hers. Being this close to him she could feel the heat from his body. It was…nice. She felt comfortable, safe even, nestled against him. All of her earlier nerves disipated. She no longer had to convince herself that she wasn’t doing anything wrong. She let herself enjoy the movie and Billy’s presence next to her.

She didn’t even think about what it might mean when she placed her hand on his thigh. She barely registered the way his thigh flexed once before relaxing into her touch. They stayed like that for the rest of the movie - his arm around her, heads pressed together, her hand on his thigh - completely relaxed, melting under each other’s warm touch.

When the movie ends, he walks her back to the car, hand still on the small of her back. They walked in a comfortable silence. Only when they were in his car with him driving her home did they start discussing their thoughts on the movie - each one having very different takes and finding themselves in an intense discussion. Neither one mentioned the position they found themselves in during the movie.

Pulling to a stop in her driveway, their conversation lulls. She pulls the fabric of her dress as the silence sits heavily between them. Once more, she feels his eyes on her.

“What are you thinking, Bunny?”

She doesn’t miss his use of her nickname - only the second time he had used it. Her heart jumps out of rhythm at the sound of it falling from his lips. She swallows, offering a small smile. “I’m thinking about how I almost don’t want this night to end.”

A smooth chuckle leaves his lips. “It doesn’t have to if you don’t want it to.”

She finally forces her eyes to meet his, purposefully making herself ignore the way his usual bright blues are darker in hue. “But it’s getting late. You probably need to get back home.”

He hums. “Probably.” He holds her gaze. “Your call, doll.”

She swallows again, feeling the tension between them. “It’s probably best if I go.”

He lets her sit in her decision, allowing the tension to grow, to make sure she won’t change her mind. When she still hasn’t said anything, he nods once. “If that’s what you really want.”

Just as he had done all night, he gets out of the car to open her door for her, extending his hand to hers to help her out. He shuts the door behind her as she faces him, her back to her house.

“Thank you for tonight, Billy.” She giggles, small, soft. “I had a really good time actually.”

He releases a small chuckle too. “Don’t act so surprised, doll.”

She smiles up at him, letting a beat pass before saying, “Good night, Billy.”

As she turns to walk toward her house, she feels his hand grip her wrist, turning her back to him. Her hands fall on his chest as she braces herself from the sudden turn, fingertips grazing against his bare chest. His eyes meet hers with an intensity she hadn’t seen before, his voice almost quiet.

“Is it?”

“What?” She meets his eyes, slight confusion in her own.

“Is this what you really want?” His eyes flick across hers as he searches for her answer.

“Billy…” Her lips part slightly.

“Tell me you don’t feel this between us.” His hands are on her waist. “Tell me to stop.” He leans in, breath hot against her face. “Walk away.” His eyes are closed as he waits.

She becomes aware of her hands on his chest, his smooth skin beneath her own. The same warmth she felt in the theater feels even warmer. Her eyes jump from her hands to his closed eyes to his lips. His proximity makes her head spin. Her heart races almost as fast as her mind, but one thought barrels over the rest…

“I can’t.”

In an instant, his lips are on hers - greedy, warm lips pressed against her own. Her eyes widen for a second before closing. She melts into his touch. His hands squeezing her waist as he pulls her closer, impossibly close. His body that directs her against his car, the cold metal pressed against her back contrasting with the warmth of his body seeping into her front. The opposing temperatures only add to the electricity of his kiss.

Her hands slide up his chest and around his neck to tangle in his soft curls. His tongue swipes her bottom lip, begging for more intensity. She parts her lips, feeling his tongue press against hers, his mustache gently brushing against her skin. His kiss feels like everything she associates with him - warmth, confidence, electricity. His lips move against hers with a practiced precision, tongue dominating hers with perfect rhythm. Her only focus is on his lips greedily moving against hers, his warmth pressed so tight against her body, and his hands…

His hands that slide down her waist to grip her ass, squeezing with a force that makes her gasp against his mouth. His hands that grab at the fabric of her dress, pulling it up her body. His hands that brush against her thighs so slowly she’s moaning into his mouth. His hands that find their way back to her hips, gripping her tightly as the bottom of her dress rests around her waist, exposing her needy core to the cool air.

She pushes him back, dress falling back down her legs, as she breaks the kiss with a gasp. “Wait-“

He laughs, though it’s not one filled with amusement. “I don’t think you mean that.”

She shakes her head. “No, this isn’t right.”

“It’s not right for who? Eddie? Who never pays attention to you? Who makes you feel like a fucking afterthought?” He scoffs. “Fuck that. Don’t prevent your own happiness just because you don’t want to hurt him.” He steps closer to her again, pushing her back against the car once more. “I gave you the attention you want, and I can do it better than him.”

The voice that reaches her ears sounds wrong. It sounds cruel - a far cry from the sweet man who drives her home, from the man who made her feel so safe and warm at the theater. Dread shoots down her spine. Have his actions been a lie? A ruse to get close to me to get what he wants? Her blood runs cold, her voice becoming venomous.

“You don’t mean that. I know your reputation. You just want to get in my bed.” She shoves past him to step away from him. “That’s what this whole thing has been. This- this act!” She motions up and down his body with her hand. “You just wanted to get close to me to get me to trust you so you could sleep with me! I’m just another notch you want to add to your belt.” She crosses her arms, protecting herself.

He scowls at her then. “Is that what you think this is?”

She nods. “I know it is.”

“If I wanted a quick fuck, I could’ve gone to any other slut in this godforsaken town.”

“Then what are you doing here?” She tries to keep her voice tough, but she softens it a bit, not knowing where he’s shifting the conversation to.

“Maybe I saw someone else who just wanted to forget, even if it was just for a night.” He pauses, allowing her to search his eyes, seeing hurt and truth flash back at her. He quickly shuts that down, hardening again as he backs away from her, voice picking up the cruel tone from earlier. “But maybe you’re right. Maybe I should go look for another fuck since that clearly isn’t going to be you.” 

“Billy-”

“Save it, doll. If you want to be miserable with some loser, I can’t stop you.” He goes to walk past her.

“Billy, I didn’t mean it like that.” She tries to grab his arm, but he shoves her off.

“No, it’s okay. You’ve shown me what you really think of me. I’ll leave you alone and find another girl to fuck around with.” He sneers down the length of her body. “Enjoy your evening.” He gets in his car and drives off, tires squealing. She watches after him as he drives further and further away, leaving her mind scrambled.

She was in the bathroom washing her face when she thought she heard a noise at her window. Confused, she finished rinsing her face with water before grabbing a towel. She had changed out of her earlier clothes once she came back to her room, attempting to rid the feel of Billy’s hands with a quick shower. She had thrown the dress next to her dresser before going into her bathroom. Giving herself one last look in the mirror to make sure her makeup was gone, she dried her face with the towel she picked up as she walked back into her bedroom.

Her eyes widened when she saw Eddie sitting on the tree limb closest to her bedroom window. That had been their routine for the longest time - any time he wanted to come over when her parents were asleep, he would climb up the tree next to her bedroom, knock on her window, and wait for her to open it. Tonight, he perched in the same spot, big brown eyes filled with love as he waited for her.

Looking from Eddie to her dress that was still on the floor, she threw her towel over it to cover it before hurrying over to the window. Opening it, she asked him, “What are you doing here?”

“I made sure the campaign ended a bit early tonight so I could come over and surprise you.” He flashed her a toothy grin.

Guilt immediately coursed through her. She had almost forgotten about her lie to Eddie in the chaos that this night turned out to be. She smiled softly. “You didn’t have to do that, Eds.”

“I wanted to.” He laughs lightly, looking at her and then behind her to her room. “Are you going to let me in?”

She moves to the side of the window with a start. “Oh, sorry. Come in.”

She waits as Eddie manuevers into the window, months of practice showing with the ease in which he moves from the tree to the window and into her bedroom. When his feet hit the floor, he turns to her, grabbing her shoulders to pull her into a hug. His arms slide around her waist as he rests his head against hers.

She breathes in his scent - the hint of tobacco, cheap cologne, and the trace of his sweat, no doubt from getting worked up at his campaign - as she presses her cheek against his chest and wraps her arms around him. Eddie felt safe to her, a source of security, unwavering acceptance. Nothing about him was mean, no cruel tone ever coming out of his mouth, no look of venom. Eddie was pure joy and love, and this Eddie, her Eddie, was so attentive and present with her. Maybe if he had spent more time with me like this, I wouldn’t have been tempted by Billy…

“What are you really doing here, Eds?” The words came out faster than she meant. She just wanted to shut out any thought of Billy before her mind spiraled.

He pulls back from the hug ever so slightly to look down at her, smiling sweetly. “I didn’t want you to spend the night alone not feeling well.” Hugging her to him again, he continues, “I didn’t see the point in waiting until tomorrow when I could come over tonight and spend more time with you.”

She felt her eyes well up with tears. He was thinking about her, even after all of his cancelled plans and lack of attention. She had lied to him to go on a date with Billy Hargrove. She let Billy get in her head to the point where she wanted his attention, even letting him kiss her - all behind Eddie’s back while he had been thinking of her. She felt selfish and stupid risking a man who took care of her for someone she had only known for a few weeks.

She tried to hold back her tears, but she couldn’t control her body from shaking. Eddie squeezed her tighter before putting his hands on either side of her face to tilt her head up. His eyes softened.

“Hey, Bunny. What’s wrong?” His thumb stroked her cheek while he waited for her response.

She sniffled before letting out a quick sob. “I didn’t expect to see you.” I feel guilty. “But I’m glad you’re here.” And that you didn’t show up earlier. “I missed you.” I’m sorry. She couldn’t stop her tears from falling as she said what she meant and thought what she couldn’t say. He may have been more distant, but Eddie was still so good to her just for her to nearly throw it all away.

He kisses her tears away, one on each side of her cheek, before wiping away the remaining with his thumbs. “You don’t need to cry, Bunny. I’m here.”

“I know.” Her hands hold onto his vest tighter as she tries to control her sobs. “I’ve just really missed our time together like this. I’ve missed you, Eds.”

His brows knit together in confusion. “I don’t understand. I haven’t gone anywhere. I’m right here.”

“But you’ve been distant, Eds.” She brings one of her hands to rest on his chest. “You’re here now. But lately you haven’t been.”

He pauses, letting her comment settle for a minute. His eyes study hers, concern lacing his own, before moving her to sit on the edge of her bed.

“I- I don’t mean to be.” He sits close to her, their legs brushing. He grabs her hand, giving her his full attention. “What changed?”

She shrugs a shoulder. “I don’t know. It feels like I haven’t been your priority.”

He squeezes her hand. “What! No way, Bunny. You’re always my priority!” She can see the sincerity in his eyes, making her smile. It’s clear he hasn’t been treating her like this on purpose.

“What about the times you’ve cancelled our plans or stayed over too long for Hellfire or Corroded Coffin?” Her tone is gentle, not trying to be accusatory. Eddie is receptive to her concerns, always, and tonight is proving to be no exception.

He sighs, looking down at his legs. “Has it really been that often?”

“It’s felt like it lately, Eds.”

“I didn’t know…” He quickly looks up at her again. “It hasn’t been intentional, I swear! I don’t want to make you feel that way, Bunny, ever.”

She’s the one to squeeze his hand now. “I know you don’t. You love a lot of things, me included, and you want to put your energy into all of those things. I just can’t help but feel a little neglected sometimes.”

He pulls her in for a hug, tight and all encompassing. “I’m so sorry, Bunny.” He nuzzles his head into her neck, his voice muffled as he speaks. “I promise I won’t make you feel like that again. I’ll spend so much time with you, you’ll be sick of me.”

She giggles, giving his shoulder a kiss over his clothes. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

She felt her guilt melt away with his words and his touch. It seemed that they would be able to turn a new leaf now. He would spend more time with her like he used to, and she wouldn’t have any reason to keep seeing Billy. No more drives home. No banter in the hallways. Definitely no more movies. There really wasn’t any reason why she needed to think about Billy at all. It was just her and Eddie. How it should be.

Eddie leaned back, smiling a wide grin. “You better.” She giggled again. His hand slips around her waist, gently pushing up her shirt to rub circles across her side with his thumb. She hums at the feeling, closing her eyes. “Are you feeling better?”

She nods, a soft smile on her lips. She feels Eddie shift closer to her, causing her to open her eyes. His gaze falls on her lips before drifting back up. “Do you want me to show you how much I do prioritize you?”

Her bottom lip finds its way between her teeth as she sees the need reflected in his dark brown eyes. Her hand slides up his thigh as she nods. “I think I really need to see it.”

He wastes no time crashing his lips to hers. One hand stays on her waist while the other winds its way through her hair, holding her close. He gently tugs her hair, causing her to gasp, which he quickly seizes the opportunity to deepen the kiss.

His tongue overpowers hers as he kisses her, leaving her breathless. His kiss was desperate, hungry. Everywhere he touched felt like fire on her body. She hadn’t seen this intensity in Eddie in months. He was like a man depraved.

His lips left hers but reattached on her jaw, leaving a trail of wet kisses down her neck. Where her neck met her shoulder he sucked hard, sure to leave a mark. She moaned his name, her hand flying to his hair with a tight grip.

She felt his hands slip under her shirt, sliding up as he lifted it over her head. He quickly moved to attach himself to her nipple, her head falling back as a chain of moans left her lips. Eddie moaned too as he flicked his tongue over her hardened bud.

When his other hand started pinching her second nipple, she raised her head to watch him. With her mouth agape, she looked down to see he was already looking up at her. He pulled his mouth off her nipple with a pop.

“So beautiful. Wanna make you feel this good all the time.” He maintained eye contact as he dragged his tongue over her nipple again with a slow pressure that had her whining.

“Oh, Eddie. Need more.” She took in a quick breath. “I need more.”

He kissed back up her chest and neck to her mouth as he stood off the bed. Her hands found the collar of his leather jacket as she kept him close before sliding under to push it off his arms. He took it off the rest of the way before breaking the kiss to remove his shirt as well. Tossing it to the floor he knelt before her, pulling her by the hips to bring her closer to the edge of the bed.

On his knees before her, he looked like a vision - just his chain necklace dangling down his bare chest and his black, skin-tight jeans on. His hair hung at his shoulders, falling forward as he brought his lips to the side of her knee. As he kissed up her thighs, he kept that same intense eye contact, making her heart flutter. She knew how lucky she was to have this man between her thighs. He was so attractive, but even more than that, he was so good to her, so sweet. She wanted to love him just as much as he loved her, to make it up to him, to show him she was his just as he was hers.

Grazing her inner thigh with his teeth, he reached for the top of her shorts. Lifting her hips to give him easier access, he pulled them off, smirking at the sight.

“No underwear, Bunny?” He drops her shorts next to his discarded shirt, leaving her completely bare before him. “Did you want to be naughty for me tonight?”

His voice sounds like silk against her ears - so smooth and dripping with desire. She was practically panting at her own desire for him.

“Only for you, Eddie.”

He groans in response, a low guttural groan from his throat. Wasting no time, he reached under her thighs to pull her center to his face. Flattening his tongue he slowly licked from her entrance to her clit, keeping his eyes on hers.

“So wet for me.” Repeating the motion with a hum, he pulled away slightly. “So fucking sweet, Bunny. Wanna taste you forever.”

He wrapped his lips around her clit, sucking gently, before resuming the earlier path of his tongue. As he quickened his pace, he slid one finger into her heat, eliciting a long moan from her. She felt the vibrations of his own moan against her center, causing her legs to shake.

When he inserted another finger, she felt herself stretch so deliciously. The cool metal of his rings against her hot core was almost enough to send her over the edge. His fingers pressed against the spot that made her toes curl, his mouth alternating on her clit between quick licks and a sucking motion.

“Eddie,” her hands pushed through his curly hair, holding on tight. “I’m there…” She was whining pathetically at this point, nearly overstimulated from his relentless onslaught.

He only hummed in response, not daring to pull away from her. With a few more strokes of his fingers, she felt herself unraveling, thighs closing around his face as she came, moaning his name.

Eddie’s eyes never left hers as he helped her ride out her orgasm. Once her legs released, he pulled his fingers out of her core, giving her clit one last kiss. Rising to his feet, he brought his fingers to his lips, sucking off her juices with the same lethal eye contact he’s maintained the whole encounter.

Feeling herself nearly drool at the sight, she stands with him, grabbing the chain with his guitar pick on it to bring his lips to hers. He pulls his fingers out of his mouth just in time for her lips to meet his, putting his hand on her cheek. She could feel how wet his fingers were at the contact, but she didn’t care. It only turned her on more as he spread her arousal and his saliva on her cheek.

She slid her hand down his bare chest as their tongues moved together. Finding her way to his hardened bulge, she moaned into his mouth.

“I need you inside of me, Eddie.”

Moaning at her words and the feel of her hand, he quickly undoes his belt, unbuttons his jeans, and starts shoving them to his ankles, her helping him the whole time. Their kisses are wet and messy at this point, both too caught up in their desire for each other to care. Kicking everything to the side, his hands are on her again, feeling everywhere he can.

She turns them around, pushing Eddie to sit on the edge of her bed now before she straddles him. She reaches between them to stroke his hard length a few times. He watches her movements, brows furrowed as he groans again and again.

“Bunny…” He bites his lip as he makes eye contact with her. “I’m not going to last much longer if you keep going.”

She kisses him quickly, harshly, before kissing his jaw, grazing her teeth against it. She lines him up with her entrance, sinking down slowly. Eddie hisses at the contact, fingers squeezing her hips so tightly she’s sure she’ll have marks in the morning.

As she takes him in inch by inch, she kisses his neck, releasing tiny whimpers at the feeling of him stretching her. No matter how many times they had sex, she always had to work up to his size. When she had taken all of him in, she licked up his neck to his ear, leaning in.

“You make me feel so good, Eddie.”

His hands tightened even more on her hips as he moaned. Then, bracing herself on his shoulders, she started moving, sliding up and down his length. She could hear how wet she was each time she took him in. One of his hands slid up her back to grab the back of her neck to keep her head still.

“Do you feel like my priority now?”

Looking into his eyes she could see the love, his desperation for her to see how he felt. His pupils were blown out from desire, but behind it all was overwhelming love. Quickening her pace at the feeling of it all, she nodded quickly.

“Yes, Eddie!”

His other hand slid lower on her ass, helping her up and down his cock, quicker, harder, their skin slapping together. Her nails dig into his shoulders as she moans.

“Oh- Only you can make me feel this good, Eddie. Only you.”

He releases another groan as his hips start snapping up into hers, pushing his cock even deeper inside her, hitting her g-spot with every thrust. She cries out at the sensation, feeling the warmth of her arousal seep into her stomach as her orgasm nears. Eddie groans.

“Are you close for me, Bunny? Can feel you squeezing me. Want to get you there again.” He bites her shoulder, causing another lewd moan to escape her lips.

“Yes! So- so close.” She’s holding on for dear life as he drives himself into her. His grip on her neck, the sound of his breathy moans, their arousal coming together again and again is enough to snap the band in her stomach. She cries out as she clenches around him, nails slipping from his shoulder down his chest, leaving a trail in their wake.

He groans at the contact, his hips snapping twice more before he cums inside her. They collapse against each other, his head pressed against her chest as hers rests on top of his. They stay there until they catch their breaths, Eddie leaning back first.

“Holy fuck. Maybe I need to make it a habit to show you how much of a priority you are to me.” His hair sticks to his forehead from sweat and his mouth sits open as he breathes, but he’s grinning, lazy and happy.

She giggles in response. “You definitely need to make it a habit.” She pushes his hair out of his face as she leans in to kiss him. It’s softer this time, gentle and slow. Pulling back, she rests her forehead against his. “I love you, Eds.”

She can feel him smile even though their eyes are closed. “I love you too, Bunny. So much.”

They spend the next few minutes cleaning each other up and tidying up her room. She puts his Hellfire shirt on to sleep in, and he puts his boxers back on. Flicking off her light, they slide into her bed. Eddie pulls her to him, spooning her from behind. Her body fits against his perfectly.

“I promise I won’t make you feel like that again.” He repeats his earlier statement, squeezing her tight. “You’re my world, and I’ll make sure you know that. Every day.” He kisses her shoulder. “I love you, Bunny.”

She smiles sleepily, muttering, “I love you too.”

As they drift off to sleep - a happy, calm lull - she replays Eddie’s words, embracing the warmth in her chest. Her body pressed against his with his arm wrapped around her waist, everything felt as it should be. Nothing about her night went as she thought it would, but right now with Eddie in her bed, there’s no other way she would have wanted the night to end.

With Eddie consuming all of her thoughts, Billy Hargrove was swiftly shut out.

She meets his brown eyes, full of warmth and security, opened wide as he awaits her response. She offers him a soft smile, nodding. “I know.” He had offered her a seat downstairs, but if she was honest, she wasn’t really in the mood for another campaign. She had only come because Eddie promised they wouldn’t be long. He planned to take her back to his trailer and spend the rest of the evening with her. She wanted to believe him, but he hasn’t been the best at keeping his promises lately. Nonetheless, here she was.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come downstairs with us?” A subtle smile widened his lips, displaying his irresistable, boyish charm.

She couldn’t help but smile back. “I’m okay, Eds. I’m just going to watch a movie up here while I wait for you.”

His soft smile grows into a toothly grin. “We won’t be long, Bunny.”

She rolls her eyes playfully. “If you say so.” She shoos him with her hands. “Go! Have fun!” She watches as he quickly turns to run down the stairs, his laugh echoing back through the doorway.

She makes quick work of settling on the couch with a snack and finding a movie she can pass the time with. The noise from downstairs blurs in the background as she focuses on the movie, laughing periodically. An abrupt doorbell ring makes her jump, nearly spilling her snack on her lap. “Shit.” She looks at the door, furrowing her eyebrows before standing. Walking over to the door to the basement, she opens it, leaning in the entrance to yell over Eddie’s narrating voice, “Eddie, there’s someone at the door!”

His voice stops, allowing her to hear a few groans from the other members. His voice travels back up the staircase, “Can you get it babe? We’re in the middle of an important plot point!”

She sighs, shutting the door behind her. This wasn’t even her house. She was probably going to have to bother them again. As long as the campaign can continue, right? She shakes her head, more to herself than anything, letting the frustration from the past few weeks start to show, as she walks to the front door. Who she finds when she opens it is not at all who she was expecting.

Bright blue eyes shift up slowly, framed by the prettiest lashes. Curly blonde hair softly bounces at the movement of his head. His plump, pink lips shift from a pleasant smile to a more defined smirk once he sees her. A smooth, defined chest peeks through his opened shirt, leather jacket hugging his upper body in all the right ways.

Billy Hargrove.

“Hey, I’m looking for my sister, Max. Is there a chance you might have seen her tonight?” His voice is smooth, velvety smooth. He looked relaxed when she opened the door, but now he sits into his hip, relaxing his stance even more, smirk practically plastered on his face.

It’s not the first time she’s seen Billy. Ever since his arrival in Hawkins a few months ago, he’s been the talk of the town. But it is her first time talking to him. She can tell he’s charming, probably used to getting what he wants. It hangs in the air around him.

She frowns, shaking her head. “No. I’ve been in the house all night, so I haven’t seen anyone. I’m sorry.” A brief glint of emotion flashes across his eyes before returning to their charming gaze. Too fast for her to catch. Frustration? She pauses, trying to be helpful. “What does she look like?”

He uses his hands to emphasize Max’s features, taking them out of his jacket pockets where they had been resting. “Short.” His hand mirrors her height. “Red haired.” He grabs the edge of his hair and lets it fall back against his neck in the same curl. “Carries a skateboard.” One perfectly groomed eyebrow raises.

She smiles, her teeth showing, as she nods quickly. “I’ve seen her around the middle school with a few of my friends’ siblings. You might want to check those houses.”

A smile that mirrors her own appears on his face as he straightens. “Awesome. Do you know their names?”

“The Wheelers and the Byers are where I would start. I can give you their addresses too.” 

He smiles, letting out a relieved laugh - a laugh that maintains his smooth pitch. An easy, light laugh. “Oh, that would be just swell.”

Stepping out of the doorway, she motions for him to come in. They walk in silence to the kitchen. It takes her a minute to find a notepad and a pen - with this not being her house - before she leans against the counter to begin writing.

As she writes the addresses down, not paying attention to the man who had interrupted her movie, he studies her, features soft and relaxed as she writes. He tilts his head, narrowing his eyes. “You look familiar. Have I seen you around?”

Her eyes flit up to meet his before shifting back to the note she’s writing. Of course he wouldn’t recognize her. She’s not one of the girls who have practically thrown herself at Billy since his dramatic appearance in Hawkins. It’s not that she goes unnoticed, she just chooses her peace over overwhelming popularity. Put simply, she hasn’t been on his radar.

She smiles curtly. “I go to Hawkins High.”

He nods, smile widening into a grin. “So I have seen you around before. Maybe we’ve passed in the hallway a few times?”

It’s clear he’s amping up his charm, no doubt in an attempt to make her putty in his hand. She resists the urge to roll her eyes. “Our lockers are near each other.”

He narrows his eyes, breaking out his patented cocky smirk. “I think I would remember seeing your pretty face if our lockers were close.”

Able to hold in her scoff to release a more neutral sound, she hums. “They’re on opposite sides of the hall. You probably haven’t paid much attention.” She straightens, holding out the note with two addresses written on it. “Here are the addresses. I would start with the Wheelers and then go to the Byers if you still can’t find her.”

He takes it, glancing at it quickly before looking back up at her, blue eyes shining through his lashes. “You’ve been a big help to me …” He chuckles. “Sorry, but I didn’t catch your name.”

She tells him, offering a small smile. “I hope you find her.”

“I’m sure I will.” He pauses, smirking. “You know, it’s a Friday night, and I can’t help but notice you’re inside your house all alone.” He tsks. “It’s a shame really.”

Here is is. Just like she thought. She laughs off his comment, seeing right through his plan. “Oh, this isn’t my house, and I’m not alone.”

Clearly not believing her, he raises an eyebrow. “I don’t see your company.”

She motions behind her, toward the basement door. “They’re in the basement. I just kind of hang out while they have their game night.” A loud groan, followed by intense arguing comes from the basement. She couldn’t have planned the timing better if she tried. “See?” She raises an eyebrow, the hint of a challenge in her movement.

He sucks his teeth, tilting his head slightly in resign. “Just when I thought you were trying to get rid of me.” He smirks, waiting for her move.

She simply smirks back. “You should go look for your sister though, right?”

Billy nods, slowly. “Definitely.”

They hold each other’s gaze for another moment, seeing who’s going to break first. A low chuckle escapes his lips as he lowers his head, breaking their eye contact. Match won. Lifting his head, he makes eye contact with her again before starting to walk past her to the door. She follows him, smiling in satisfaction.

He stops, looking over his shoulder, smug smile still on his face. “Though there’s room for one more if you want to join me.”

She can’t help the laugh that escapes her. He’s a persistent one, she’ll give him that. “Tempting, but I’m pretty comfortable right here.”

Billy just shrugs. “Your loss, doll.” He steps out the door, turning to offer her one more cocky smirk. “Enchanting to meet you. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

She can’t help the smile that grows. “Night, Billy. Good luck finding your sister.”

She watches him walk back to his car, leaning against the doorframe. Before he gets in, an arm resting against the top of the car, he shoots her a wink. She holds his eye contact, allowing him to break it again as he finally gets in and revs up the engine. As he drives away like a man gone mad, she waits until she can’t see his tail lights any more to step back inside and shut the door.

As she makes her way back to the couch to resume her movie, she can’t help but replay her interaction with Billy. Has he really been that oblivious to her existence? She might have been dating Eddie Munson who had the opposite of a good reputation, but she was also friends with Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler. She was decently known at Hawkins. Was he just self-absorbed?

Thinking back on how forward he was given that they had just met, she realized he only entertained the people right in front of him. Given that he always had someone in his orbit, he had no need to branch out, especially to the off limits girls. She chuckled then. He doesn’t know I’m not single. No wonder he came on so strong.

She couldn’t blame him for shooting his shot. Not really. Billy wasn’t exactly unattractive. His cocky grin flashed through her mind. Bright blues, straight teeth, plump lips, perfectly styled hair on full display. No, he was really attractive actually. She couldn’t help the smug feeling arising in her chest at the fact that Billy Hargrove flirted with her. It might not mean much, but at least she knew Eddie wasn’t the only one to find her attractive.

Beyond the smugness, she felt another unrecognizable feeling in her chest. She didn’t know what it was, but she did know that somehow this wasn’t going to be the last time she interacted with Billy.

The weekend was over before she knew it. The rest of her Friday night was uneventful with Eddie taking too long with the campaign, not giving them time to spend together. She spent the rest of the weekend locked in her room, trying to get over her disappointment.

When Monday rolls around, all of her sulking toward Eddie had made her forget all about her interaction with Billy. Needless to say, when she closes her locker and sees Billy’s smiling face next to her, she’s surprised, gasping.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you there, doll.” He’s chewing gum, his smile toothy through his chews. Each chew rolls his jaw in the smallest, subtlest circle, acentuating his jawline nicely.

“I see you found my locker.” She readjusts her books since they got rattled from her sudden gasp, turning her body toward his once she finished.

He smirks, leaning one shoulder against the lockers to face her as well. “You were right. Turns out our lockers are close to each other.”

She rolls her eyes. “Did you find your sister?”

He nods, the movement smooth. “Yeah, I did. Just like you said, she was at the Byers house.”

She smiles, genuinely, glad to hear it worked out. In the brief silence, she can’t help but notice his face looks a bit bruised too, his bottom lip puffy and a light bruise on his cheek. She winces a bit at the sight, her smile turning into a frown. “Seems like you found trouble too.”

“Nah, baby. Trouble finds me.” He smiles his cocky grin.

Her brows remained furrowed, not buying it. “Are you sure everything’s okay?” She wasn’t exactly sure why she cared, barely knowing anything about him, but the sight of his face bruised up made her uncomfortable.

He shrugs it off. “Nothing I can’t handle.” His eyes move down and back up her body, his smirk returning. “Don’t you worry your pretty little heart over me, now.” She smiles softly. Tilting her head, she just watches him, intrigued.

Something clearly happened, yet he’s keeping it to himself, putting up his cocky front to cover it. Even more, he’s back to flirting with her. She never quite knew what to expect with Billy. It was entertaining to say the least.

He takes notice of her stare, leaning one arm against the locker, getting even closer to her. “What do you say I take you out tonight as a thank you for helping me find Max?”

Despite herself she smiles, chuckling. “Oh, I-“

Just then Eddie comes up to her, kissing her on the cheek. “Hey babe!”

She looks awkwardly at Billy, not expecting the interjection - she had ignored Eddie all weekend after all. Before turning to Eddie, she notices Billy’s eyes go dark. “Hey Eds!”

Eddie looks quizzically at Billy, then back at her. “What are you doing talking to Billy? Is he bothering you?” He gives Billy his best scowl, but all Billy does is roll his eyes.

She chuckles, trying to ease the tension. “He was the one who was at the door the other night. He was looking for his sister.” She looks at Billy then, trying to give him subtle eyes to go along with what she’s saying. He just stares, looking bored. She ignores his reaction and turns back to Eddie, smiling. “He was just thanking me for helping him.”

Eddie nods, smiling again, ready to move on to his reason for approaching her. “Cool! Listen, I hate to do this cause I know I promised you a short night the other night that ended up not being short, and tonight is usually a night to ourselves.” He grabs her hands in his. “But we left the campaign on a big cliffhanger, and the boys really want to find out what happens next.” He pauses, grimacing. “Tonight. Is that alright?” He gives you his best puppy eyes, hoping to convince you.

Of course. Another night, another plan disrupted. She fights not to slump her shoulders or give off another sign of her disappointment, not wanting to express her frustration in front of Billy. So she smiles and nods instead. “That’s fine, Eds. I know how important the campaign is to you.”

He beams, doing a little jump. “You’re the best, Bunny!” He kisses her cheek, letting her hands go. “Oh! Before I forget, I can’t take you home today either. I told the boys I’d take them straight to the campaign. But you understand! I’ll talk to you soon!” He bounds off, no doubt excited about the campaign, leaving her a bit stunned.

“Looks like you’re free tonight after all.” Billy’s voice cuts back in, shaking her out of her thoughts.

She turns her attention back to him, offering a small smile. “I appreciate the offer, but it’s best I just stay home.”

Billy tsks. “You’ve shot me down twice now. Seems like you are a good girl.” She fights not to let her eyes widen at his comment, though she notices the way her stomach feels like it does a flip. He’ll smile, more soft now. “At least let me drive you home as a thank you.”

She smiles, nodding in agreement, glad for a change of subject. “For someone of your reputation, you’re being awfully nice to me, Billy.”

“I’m just paying back a favor. Don’t expect it to last too long, doll.” He’ll wink before walking off, leaving her heart racing.

At the end of the school day she found herself in Billy Hargrove’s car as he drove her to her house. To say this day had been completely different than she had expected would be an understatement.

After ignoring Eddie, she thought he would try and ease back into her good graces with flattery and cuddles. It’s what he usually did, but he did quite the opposite. Has he become so wrapped up with everything but her that he’s starting to neglect her even more?

He barely spoke to her for the rest of the day, not even waiting to see her off once school ended. Instead of spending the night together, he was once again making time for Hellfire and leaving her alone. She had tried to be understanding at first, but now after her second disappointment in three days, she was starting to get fed up.

What was even more bizarre than that? The fact that Billy came to the rescue. Now she was in his Camaro, rock music playing on a tape he had put in the stereo.

He had waited outside his car for her once school ended, smoking a cigarette and looking as relaxed as ever. Once he saw her exit the front door he smirked his trademark smirk she had come to recognize. She hadn’t needed to search for his car. He always parked front and center. She received a few stares getting into his car, but he got in and drove off like normal, completely unbothered by the attention. She didn’t even know if Eddie had made it outside before they drove away from the high school.

“Bunny, huh?” Billy’s voice projects over the music, interrupting her thoughts. He turns his head for a moment to glance at her, an eyebrow raised.

She turns her head to meet his and smiles. “It’s my nickname for the people who know me well.”

“Do you like bunnies?”

She laughs at that. “You could say that.” She looks at her backpack, her cute stuffed bunny charm hanging off one of the zippers. “My room used to be decorated with bunnies everywhere you looked. My friends in middle school started calling me Bunny, and I guess it just stuck.”

He nods as he listens to her, glancing at her every now and then before turning his attention back to the road. “And do you like the nickname?”

“I do.” She smiles. “I think it’s sweet.”

He pulls out a cigarette from the carton, offering one to her. She shakes her head to decline it, which causes him to chuckle in response. “You wouldn’t happen to have that nickname because you’re an innocent thing now, would you?”

She’s smiling when she turns her head, feigning shock. “Innocent? I’d hardly call myself innocent.”

He sucks his teeth, tilting his head as he lights his cigarette. “I don’t know, doll. You’ve declined my advances twice, and now you don’t want to smoke. That seems pretty innocent to me.”

She scoffs, rolling her eyes playfully. “For your information, Hargrove, I have a boyfriend. And as for your cigarette, I’m just not in the mood for one.”

Pursing his lips, he nods slowly. “Well, if you ever change your mind, I’ll be here.” He pulls his cigarette from his lips, turning to her, cocky smirk returning. “On both accounts.”

Her stomach does another little flip against her will. She opens her mouth to say something, but closes it almost as soon as she opens it.

Billy takes note, smirk on full display. He chuckles as he faces the road again. He pulls onto her street, slowing down. “Which house is yours?”

She points to it, waiting for him to come to a stop in her driveway. As she gets her bag from the backseat, she smiles at him. “Thank you for the drive home, Billy. You didn’t have to, but I appreciate it.”

He smiles back, shrugging. “I don’t mind. Seems like you were left in a bind, and it’s the least I could do after you helped me the other night.”

She offers him a nod, opening the door and shutting it behind her as she gets out. He rolls the window down, causing her to turn back in his direction. He’s leaning over the center console, voice clear as he calls after her.

“How long does someone have to know you before they can use your nickname?”

She can’t help but laugh. That was unexpected. “If you want to call me my nickname, you can.”

“Good.” He holds eye contact with her for a moment before his smirk curls his plump lips, eyes shining. “I’ll see you around, Bunny.”