Categories
BanterGenre: Sci-Fi/Futuristic/CyberpunkGenre: Slice of Life/FluffGenre: Supernatural/Occult/ParanormalRated - Wholesome/All-AgesWriting - MSL
Tags
Banter RepostStranger ThingsStranger Things 4.5Billy HargroveSteve Harrington
Co-authors
Fabulous Killjoy
| HAWKINS FAMILY VIDEO ARCHIVE // BEST VIEWED ON PC | TAPE 02 | ||||
| NOW PLAYING
Kids These Days STRANGER THINGS 4.5 // 1986 |
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| ← PREVIOUS CHAPTER » HEAVEN CAN WAIT | |||||
Steve and Billy are getting to know each other, one joke, one challenge, and one pushed boundary at a time. Humor becomes their language, mischief their handshake, and with every daring tease, they learn a little more about who the other really is beneath the bravado.
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| “Cool, Dustin.... really. First you say totally harmless, and then it sounds like we might die. I think we're all at a point where observations should no longer be relativized. What's wrong with you, Henderson? Hello?”
It was interesting how normal the situation in Hawkins had become for everyone involved. And even though irony might have been the best way to deal with it, Steve sometimes felt it was a bit off to dismiss bloody traces in the woods, strange voices at the boys' windows, and similar things as if they were just fragments from some horror movie. “Yup, sure... totally normal. Happens to me all the time.... not disturbing at all.” 
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| “Kids these days, amirite?” | |||||
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| “You know.. we both are actually also still kids... but.. of course .. more mature kids and stuff!” | |||||
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| “Pretty sure if we can grow beards, we're not kids anymore. And we're old enough to buy a freakin' house.” | |||||
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| “I don't need a beard... everything grows and thrives on my chest... Pff...If you look closely, you can see the shape of Texas in my chest hair... and I already have a house, which sucks... you're tied to one place, and places annoy me.” | |||||
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| “Y'know, you go and talk about your chest hair like you want me to check it's true what you're saying. I'd think twice about that if I were you.” | |||||
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| “What...? Did I do that? Did it sound like that?”
Five minutes later. “Fuck you, Hargrove... I can talk about my chest hair as much as I want, and I'm proud of my Texas... we were in the shower together, freak... do you think I have anything to be ashamed of or explain?” |
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| “Jesus Christ, are you still going on about that? I was just shitting you, man. Calm down. You're right, you can talk about your chest hair all you want, in fact I'm all here for it. Go on. It's not like I've been in that shower myself or anything.”
Yes, he was grinning like an idiot. It was too fun to rile him up. |
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| “What do you mean, ‘still’? I only had that one rather strange conversation with you back then... I don't consider anything else to be a conversation.”
He narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth quietly. “I'm done... there's nothing more to say about it.” He squared his shoulders and lit a cigarette. “Could you turn off that Billy grin...? Is that possible? Or should we talk about your car...?” |
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| “That's fine. Whatever you say, big guy.”
Billy's grin only loosened a little bit. Usually, he would have glared at him for mentioning his car, but he let it slide. “You mean how you totalled the damn thing? Can't believe I'm saying it, but it's whatever, really. Just a car. Also, come on. Let me keep a grin. I've had no reason smile for like a year, and you're great at making me.” |
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| “You're not smiling because I'm making you smile... you're smiling because you're making fun of me, assbutt! Don't think I don't notice. But fine... smile, because you're right, you haven't been smiling much lately... and if I say ‘smile’ again... then hit me.”
Two seconds and a deep growl later. “Forget about hitting me...” 
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| “Oh for f— Steve, I'm not going to hit you! You're the one who's making fun of himself at this point, and I'm just laughing along. But alright, listen, here's the deal: I'm gonna try really, really hard to stop making fun of you, and you're gonna take it a bit easy there, hm? I'm not gonna hit you.”
Billy glanced at the cigarette Steve had lit himself a minute ago and raised an eyebrow. “Since when do you smoke, anyway? Do you have withdrawal symptoms, or why are you so irritated?” |
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| “I don't make jokes about myself... that would be totally stupid. I don't find myself funny... I'm... grown up and all that.”
He protested grumpily and glanced at the cigarette he hadn't even taken a drag from yet, but whose ash was hanging down rather sadly. “I smoke sometimes... but most of the time I forget about it, and when things go wrong, I sometimes burn myself on it.” he muttered to himself. “And I'm not irritated. I'm actually really relaxed... smooth, like my hairspray... everything is where it should be, even my brain.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and raised his eyebrows as the cigarette fell from his hand and came to an abrupt end on the ground. “I know you won't hit me.” When a couple of ladies walked past them, he grinned and waved at them, but they just rolled their eyes, and one of them even gave him the middle finger. “Oh damn... Chelsey... I completely forgot about her. I stood her up for Nancy... that was really stupid of me.” |
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| “If you stop trying to convince yourself and other's that you're a grown-up, maybe you're even gonna believe it one day.”
He coughed a little when the smoke got near his face. Since he was too comatose to smoke for the better part of a year, he couldn't really take the smell much anymore. He couldn't wait starting again one day; But today was not that day. So he was glad that Steve dropped the thing at last. “Cigarette burns hurt like hell, man. Sorry about that. Sounds like you're not really into it if you forget about it and burn yourself.” Billy had a distinct feeling that Steve was at least a little bit nervous. Whether it was because of him or not, he wasn't sure yet; But at least, he knew he wouldn't hit him. Somehow, it gave him a sense of ease. But the second the girls walked past them, it vanished. Billy turned away from them completely, avoiding their gazes on him as best as possible. He still saw one of them flipping her finger at Steve, however, before glaring at them with contempt in his eyes. “Chelsey is a bitch, she deserved that. Good riddance. You liked Nancy more than her for a reason. Nothing wrong with that.” Something was boiling up inside of him. Well, maybe it was just a simmer, but it was strong enough to prompt a reaction out of him. “HEY!” he yelled after the women. His voice was still quite croaky, but he didn't care, hoped that the volume was enough to make up for it. “Is there a fucking problem, ladies?!” |
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| He was extremely nervous. Steve was generally a person who always had to be on the move, who had difficulty following what others said for long if it wasn't solution-oriented, short, and precise. He had played a role for years... masked himself, trained himself to have a self-confidence that wasn't really his. He had been an asshole... maybe not as bad as Billy, but Steve had also done a lot in high school and gained a reputation that was honorable for a former teenager on the one hand, but on the other hand could only be earned by bullying, by knowing how to put yourself in the spotlight, and by pretending to be arrogant and vain enough to love yourself. Money also played a role for Harrington... who wasn't keen on the school favorite who also drove a new, hot, damn expensive sports BMW and lived in a house with a pool?
But yes... Billy also made him extremely nervous. On the one hand, he really wanted to get to know the real Billy and befriend him. On the other hand, he occasionally worried that Hargrove would turn into an asshole again if he said the wrong thing. And then there was the concern that he could still be manipulated by Vecna. But what was worst for Steve was his concern for Billy Hargrove in general. He was concerned about his well-being... he wanted to help him, and what he was probably most afraid of was that he might actually become too emotionally attached to him. BAM... a potpourri of reasons why he behaved so uncertainly in the blonde's presence. “How do you know I liked Nancy more... so...” Confused, he stared at him. Had Billy noticed how much he had loved Nancy? Had he actually noticed that amid all the hatred, stress, and fighting? “Well... I loved Nancy... somehow, so... pretty much, whatever, you said you don't care, I understand... I don't care anymore either.” When Billy called after the women, Steve raised an eyebrow. They recognized the blond golden boy and giggled quietly as they waved charmingly at him. Almost simultaneously, they called out, “Hello, Billy.” Obviously... Hargrove was still in the running and desirable, even if he looked a little wrecked. “Hey, let it go, man. You're right, she's not worth it. Unless you... want to date her?” To appease him, he put a hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes with a smile. A genuine smile, not tinged with nervousness this time. “Let's try to find girls we don't have to be shitty to and who aren't shitty to us? A cool night without stress and all that, just being a man again? I can be your wingman... I already was with Dustin. And no, don't ask... Dustin didn't get the lady. I'm a bad wingman...” |
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| Billy scoffed. “You said it yourself; You stood up Chelsey for her. Why would you do that if you didn't like Nancy more than her?”
Steve already answered that rhetoric question by opening up about having loved her back then. “There you have it. And it's not that I don't care, it's just... I only said that in the hospital because... I had other shit on my mind and I couldn't really take in all that you said. And look, you still talk about it. About her, I mean. It's fine if you still care. She's wrapped up in the whole monster shit herself, so... You had to protect her too, right? You don't just forget about that kinda shit.” When the girls greeted him back with their smiley faces and little waves, honestly, Billy was completely floored. He narrowed his eyes and pulled back his head, staring at them with utter confusion. He had not expected that reaction at all, in spite of his former reputation. In fact, he would've thought that the ladies had forgotten about him since his coma and that his changed looks would invoke something like disgust or pity. But to still have them swoon over him like nothing had ever happened... Not that he wanted them to duck away and be scared when he shouted at them. All he wanted was to warn them, make them show some respect to his... friend? Is that was Steve Harrington was to him at this point? A friend? He didn't react to them apart from a half-embarrassed grin that didn't even last a second. What lasted much longer was the relief that spread across his chest when they were finally gone. “I sure as hell do not wanna date her,” he grumbled, releasing a sigh when Steve put his hand on his shoulder. Not because he was annoyed, but rather, the touch made him feel more grounded. Billy finally looked back at him and grinned. “I don't need a wingman. Henderson doesn't, either. But a night out sounds good to me.” |
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| “Everything’s cool, man... I’m over her... I talk about her a lot, but I don’t have those feelings for her anymore. Thank God... for a while, it was so strong that I thought I was losing my mind. And yes... you’re right, I want to protect her... just like everyone else.”
His shoulders slumped a little. He wasn’t lying.. he had actually gotten over his love for Nancy... it had taken long enough. But it hadn’t been easy... especially with all these crazy monsters and the loss of people he cared about. A slight smile stole across his lips as Hargrove’s confusion was almost visible. Steve saw what Billy saw... a damn emaciated guy who was somehow still alive, but the blond guy’s eyes were impressive... they hadn’t changed, not even with the fine red veins that had burst in them. Even though these girls were damn superficial, he was somehow glad they were paying Billy attention, which was definitely a positive thing. “A night of a hell of a lot of unhealthy shit, yep!” He confirmed with a grin. “I mean... for me... not for you. I think you should still slow down a little.” And with that, they actually headed into the nightlife... but it was a little... well, more subdued than it used to be. A little pool here, a little darts there... Steve’s tantrums at various video games on those damn machines, and ultimately, time spent together the way friends do. |
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| END OF TAPE
NEXT CHAPTER: SCREENWRITERS → Flirting is easy. It’s light, playful, almost safe. But what happens when the spark between them stops being a game? When the tension isn’t just teasing glances and careless smiles, but something deeper neither of them planned for? Because chemistry like that doesn’t stay harmless for long... 
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