Just A Quick, Sincere Thank You To Everyone In The Harringrove Fandom And All The Hilarious, Soft, Hot,

He doesn’t know why, but he’s laying down.

It’s the first thing he realizes. A stupid thing to notice, but just one minute ago, he was standing behind the counter at Family Video, and now he’s laying down.

His eyes are heavy, and it feels like it takes a huge amount of effort just to open them.

He’s in a fucking hospital.

He knows from the stupid white color of the stupid drop ceiling tiles. From the stupid annoying beeping of the stupid heart monitor. From the stupid scratchy gown he’s wearing instead of his sweater.

He heard a muttered curse next to him, and slowly lolled his head over to look.

Hopper was sitting next to his bed, his hat balanced on his knee, looking grumpily at the crossword printed on the back of The Hawkins Post. Steve wanted to laugh at the image, the chief of police swearing as he scribbled out something.

“How the fuck am I supposed to know that? Nobody knows what the fuck that is.”

“Blame Nancy,” Steve croaked. His head throbbed and he closed his eyes again. “She convinced them to add that. Said sales would go up.”

There was a rustling of paper.

“Smart girl,” Hopper said. He paused for a moment, and Steve felt like he needed someone to come and crowbar his eyes open or they would stay closed forever.

“You collapsed. Scared the shit out of your girlfriend, and everyone else at the video store.”

“Not my girlfriend,” Steve mumbled.

So that makes sense, why he was at work one second, and in a lousy bed at Hawkins General the next.

“You didn’t hit your head. Hargrove caught you before you went all the way down.”

Jesus, Billy’s reflexes really are something else. Steve’s gonna need to thank him for that. The last fucking thing he needs is another concussion. Maybe, to show his gratitude, he’ll suck Billy’s-

“I’m here because we need to talk about what the doctors found in your system.”

Steve’s mind went blank, and his eyes flew open.

Hopper was looking at him, his face an unfamiliar mix of sad, and angry, and fucking, disappointed.

Steve felt like he could vomit.

“They ran your blood. Routine E.R. shit, I’m told. But they found some, some substances that shouldn’t be there.”

Steve swallowed down the lump in his throat.

He knew the guilt was written all over his face.

“How long?”

“Since the summer.” He couldn’t look at Hop in the face. Not while he admitted this shit.

He was fucking stupid to think he wouldn’t be caught.

It’s a miracle Robin hasn’t walked in on him doing bumps in the bathroom at work, or Billy hasn’t found his stash tucked between the mattress and the box spring.

Hopper sighed.

“I know we all went through a lot last summer. With your friend getting trapped in the Upside Down, and you getting captured-”

“Tortured. I got tortured.”

Hopper sighed again.

“Getting coked up isn’t going to help anything.”

“What is this? Fucking Family Ties?”

He felt Hopper’s glare more than he actually saw it.

“It’s stupid-”

“You just don’t get it! Okay?” He really didn’t mean to yell, his head just fucking hurts and he’s so fucking stupid.

“Oh yeah,” Hopper snarked. “I fucking forgot. You’re the only person in the goddamn world that’s ever dealt with fucking drug addiction. So sorry.”

“I’m not addicted!” Lie.

“I don’t fucking believe you.”

Steve glared at Hopper.

“So, what? You’re here to arrest me?”

“No. I’m here to talk some fucking sense into you.” He shifted in his chair, the newspaper slid off his lap and fell on the floor. “You’re around those kids all the time. You fucking drive them around. You have been endangering their lives for months. And why? Because you can’t handle the trauma? We all have trauma. You think your friend Hargrove is totally fine after being stuck in that place? After realizing some fucked up doppelgänger was killing people? You think your girlfriend is totally fine after being tortured by the Russians too?”

“I don’t do it when I have to drive the kids, Hop I swear.” That, was the truth. “Okay, the other stuff, I get your point, but I need you to know, I wouldn’t hurt the kids like that, I-” the heart monitor was speeding up, getting louder in Steve’s panic. “You have to believe me, I’ve never driven them high.”

“Okay, okay. I believe you.” Hopper sighed again. “Just, why?”

Steve gulped.

“The Russians, they drugged us. They said it would make us tell them the truth. And I don’t know what it was, but fuck. It felt good. I couldn’t feel the pain, and I wasn’t scared, and I just. I didn’t know how to stop being scared.”

It was embarrassing.

Admitting that he’s been scared shitless ever since that first demogorgon dropped through the Byers’ ceiling.

Admitting he’s been doing lines of coke to keep himself from spiraling into inconsolable panic.

“I did some at a party, and it was the closest I felt to that feeling.”

Not technically true. He and Billy did some together last August, and it was like the fearlessness washed over Steve in warm waves.

But he can’t throw Billy under the bus like that.

And if Billy ever found out, that one night of drug experimentation between lovers turned into a full-on addiction, he’d never forgive himself.

There was a pause.

“Have you been snorting or shooting?”

“Snorting.”

“Okay,” Hopper stood up, stretching his arms above his head and placing his hat back on. “I’m going to tell your friends what’s going on. Not the kids, just Hargrove and Buckley. Joyce, too. Then, when you get out of here, you and I are going to clean out any stashes you’ve got. And we’re all going to be watching you like a fucking hawk.”

“Wait,” Steve croaked, his heart rate jumping up again, the beeping speeding up. “Don’t tell Billy.” Hopper shot Steve a look that said really? “Let me tell him. He needs to hear it from me.”

Hopper paused, on hand on the doorknob.

“Did he get you hooked? Is he on it too?”

“No! Nothing like that. Please? He’ll be upset unless I tell him.”

Hopper gave him a look that was a little too searching to be comfortable.

“Okay. Okay, kid. I’ll send him in. But he’ll know what’s going on one way or another. Don’t make me tell him that you’ve lied. Don’t think he’d appreciate it.”

He left the room without another word, leaving Steve to stew in his shame.

He’s such an idiot.

Why did he ever think he could get away with this and not one person would notice?

Even if they didn’t know he was regularly doing cocaine, Billy and Robin already knew something was up. They kept asking him if he was okay, coming over for impromptu sleepover parties. It was nice, he loves them both, but it was only a matter of time before the penny dropped.

It’s just embarrassing. That a routine blood test exposed the amount of uppers in his system. Exposed how little he’s dealing.

He rolled over, waiting for Billy to come into the room and blame himself for Steve’s stupidity. He didn’t want that.

Billy didn’t have a drug problem. He thought it’d be fun for them to get a little high and do stuff together. And it was! It was so fun, and they’d talked about doing it again.

Steve can kiss that idea goodbye.

He wouldn’t be surprised if Billy started following him into the bathroom to make sure he wasn’t doing anything he shouldn’t be.

It’s sweet, that his boyfriend cares so much about him that he would, hypothetically at least, do that.

But Billy’s got enough on his plate, and if Steve knows anything about him, it’s that he blames himself for shit just as much as Steve does.

He focused on the steady beeping of the heart monitor. Still elevated, his nerves for the coming conversation getting the best of him.

His head was pounding in a way that said it was time for his next fix.

He squeezed his eyes closed, willing away the need thrumming under his skin.

“So, you finally gonna tell me why you’ve been actin’ all squirrelly lately?”

I genuinely do not care that Billy tried to run over children

I’m free anytime, miss

•\\\\\\\•

He can’t bring himself to say it

But he’s in love with him

hello august you piece of shit

My serotonin for the day

😌

As the world falls down:

Chapter 6

Also on ao3

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"You...You what?" Steve's voice is shaky like he can hardly believe the words coming from Billy's mouth. It all happened so quickly: first Steve returns home from his night out with Dustin, then Billy shows up at his doorstep with cold distant eyes, and now here they are. Sitting in Steve's bedroom, nothing but the chirping of the crickets and the uncomfortable tension fills the silence.

"I can't be with someone I don't love," Billy repeats himself. He keeps his back towards Steve, that way it removes any type of eye contact, but Steve wants to see him. He wants to see his eyes. That way he'll know that the words coming out of his mouth aren't true.

"W-Why are you saying this? Of course, y--is this about what happened this morning? Ugh, Christ Billy!"

"It's got nothing to do with this morning. I'm not lying. This thing that's been going on between us, it was purely sexual. When I asked you out to the motel I realized we were getting to...personal. So I never showed up." Silence refills the air, "You said you wanted an explanation."

"you call that an explanation? First, you tell me you never loved me, then you say our entire relationship was just for sex?! Billy, I know you. What we have is more than just sex."

"Maybe to you."

"So you're telling me all that time we've spent together over the last six months meant nothing to you?"

Billy doesn't answer, instead, he keeps his back hunched and edges closer toward the foot of the bed. Steve wants to reach out and grab him, pull him into a soothing embrace and whisper into his ear, and say everything is okay. But his icy cold temperature radiates off his ghostly pale skin. It pains Steve so much to see Billy in this manner, acting so distant, saying such...lies.

Steve pulls himself closer to the edge, he's able to face Billy's profile but the blonde's eyes are still shut. "Billy, look at me. Look me in the eyes and tell me that what we had meant nothing to you."

Billy's eyes finally turn to Steve's and the brunette has to stop his body from recoiling. His baby blue eyes have transformed into a dull grey, the pupils are beyond dilated, and behind the hollow void filling his eyes they are a great level of raw pain. All Steve can do is sit there and let his heart shatter, something about seeing Billy in this state makes that festering sense of worthlessness linger in his brain.

"It meant nothing," Billy repeats in the same monotone voice. "Maybe it did for you, but for me, it was just a sexual thing. I know it was purely sexual for you in the beginning, and maybe in your mind it became something more but it was just a fantasy."

Billy removes himself from the bed, picking up the denim jacket he tossed aside, he fixes the ends of his mullet before heading for the door. "I don't think we should see each other anymore...take care of yourself, Harrington."

Steve is frozen to the bed. He does not want this to be real, this is just some sick dream, and he needs to wake up. He needs to move. He needs to stop Billy from leaving.

"This isn't you!" He springs up from the bed. Billy stops in his tracks, balling his hands into a tight fist which causes his knuckles to grow whiter than the Hawkins snow. "If Neil knows something and he's making you do this then you don't have to listen to him, you don't have to do anything that bastard tells you. If he's found out about us then just tell me. We can figure something out, I'll get you out of--"

"Stop trying to be some white knight, Steve!" Billy snaps. It's the first time Billy has shown emotion in his voice, it makes Steve flinch in fear, "Neil doesn't know shit! Stop trying to find some excuse, it's over alright, now let me go!"

The thing is...Steve would gladly let him leave. If he believed a single thing Billy was saying, he would not try to hold Billy back. But Steve can see right through the bullshit Billy is trying to play off, and he's is not going to let the best six months of his life go up in flames just like that.

"I may be a lot of things, Billy, but I'm not stupid. I know you're lying. Just gimme one honest reason why you want to break up. One good reason and I'll let you walk right out that door and we never have to see each other again."

"Steve. Please let me go." Billy pleads through gritted teeth. But Steve ignores his plea and stands in front of him, blocking Billy's path to the door.

"Just tell me why you don't want to be with me?! If it really was just sex for then I deserve a rea--" before Steve even has a chance to react, Billy grabs him by the shoulders, his hands clawing into his shoulder blades, and thrusts the helpless pretty boy against the wall. Terror bleeds into Steve's system as his boyfriend inches closer to his face, his breathing is heavy like a savage animal.

"You want a reason? Fine." Billy spits, "You know, Steve, I've had a lot of regrets in my life but shoving my dick into you has got to be on the top of my fucking list."

Steve wants to speak but his words tangle in his throat.

"You did one nice thing for me, sure, I felt I owed you a favor, but you just kept coming back and clinging to me like a rash. I should have pushed you away while I still had the chance but then I saw the desperation in your eyes so I decided to stick around. Sure it was fun at first but then it just became pathetic."

"Y-You don't mean--"

"Oh, I mean every fucking word, Harrington. I have never met a person so pathetic as you. You have this burning need to be loved and feel wanted by your lovers, because if you don't then what's the point of you? Well, guess what, Steve? You're right. You are worthless. You are so scared that people will see how meaningless and needy you are that you break up with them before they have a chance to hurt you. Well, Nancy sure saw it and so did I. You were nothing more than a pity fuck to me, Harrington, and that is all you will ever be. You and me...we're done."

Steve stares, hurt and stunned by those cruel words. At first, he nearly falls for it, he thinks Billy's words are truly genuine, but then he catches a glimpse into the glassy reflections of Billy's eyes, and he knows that this is hurting Billy just as much as it's hurting Steve.

"Billy, I don't know what's going on with you...but I'm going to find out." Billy's harsh expression drops, but it didn't work. "You hear me. I'm giving up on us."

"Shut up."

"We're going to work this out, together, whatever shit you've gotten yourself in, I'll get you out of it."

"Shut up, Steve."

"Because no matter what, Billy Hargrove, I lo--"

"I SAID SHUT UP!!!" Without warning, Billy shoves Steve's back against the wall. And he doesn't hold back. Steve lets out a pained wail before collapsing to the ground, flakes from the cracked wall fall onto his clothes. Billy steps away with a horrified expression, there's now a large crack in the wall from where he attacked. Steve topples to the ground reeling from his agony.

Billy takes a step forward but stops himself. He heads for the door, glancing at Steve one last time, "Stay away from me, Steve." He whispers before shutting the door behind him.

*****

Saying the ride back home was a struggle would be a complete understatement. It's bad enough that the cracked windshield already blocks his line of sight, but the flooding of salty tears streaming from his eyes did him no favors.

Billy's body is still shaking. He can't believe what he has done, those words, he meant none of them, not a goddamn one! But it was the last thing he could come up with to convince Steve to stay away from him. The whole time Billy wanted to throw himself into his boyfriend's arms and beg for his help but he knew if he did the shadow would attack. It was all for nothing though, as Steve still saw through his lies.

That doesn't excuse what he did, attacking Steve like that, Billy had forgotten how strong the shadow's infection made him. But now Steve might be seriously injured, he might have damaged his spine. Billy had always made a promise to never do anything to harm Steve and yet here he is breaking said promise, he left Steve alone in his house in a pool of broken walls and pain.

He eventually reaches his small house on Cherry lane, he ignores Max and Susan as he passes them by and thankfully Neil is still out on his night shift. Billy's eyes still sting from the crying and his cheeks are rosy from the salty streaks that fell onto them. He crawls into his bed and rests his exhausted body in the fetal position, he prays that the next time he wakes up this will all be one long nightmare and when he gets up the next morning everything will be back to normal.

His hope doesn't last long, as the room begins to fill with a familiar barren coldness. The shadow emerges from thin air sporting its "Billy" façade.

"Well," it begins in an echoey tone, "I must say, William, that was quite a show. And here I thought you didn't have it in you, for a second, I thought I would have to intervene and take care of it myself."

"Let's just cut the crap," he mumbles wiping the snot away with his sleeve, "I got Steve to stay away from you, now you said you would leave him alone, you better stick to your end of the bargain."

"William, you misjudge me. As long as Steven and your sister stay away from my creation, no harm will come of them. I am a man of my word, I just hope you are a man of yours."

Billy sighs, he wipes away what is left of his tears, and stands up from his bed, he turns to face the shadow and it's like looking into a nightmarish mirror, "I will help build your creation."

The shadow smirks. It has complete control of Billy Hargrove. From now on, he listens to the sound of its voice, he does everything it asks of him, Billy is now a slave to the creature. He has no control.

Tagging: @flashwaves @every-dayiwakeup @femmebilly @intothedysphoria @officialbillyhoehargrove @prettyboybillyhargrove @bigdumbbambieyes @billysblueeyes @emeraldwitches @suometar @jad3w1ngs @usaqaix @justan-0-t-h-3-r @talesfrom-theupsidedown @hargrove-mayfields @onebrainsel @grey-sides @disdaidal @nogitsunbae @deedoop @ouizzyharringrove @memes-saved-me @martianclown @cherry-sorry

This fanart is the first of 3 or 4 that all belong to a little 4-Part Fanfic that I started to write a while ago! If you want to read the first part you can do that HERE! (Aaaand also a little reminder that the Pre-Order for VOL1 of my Comic is only up for a few more days now! So if you are interested, you can get the comic and other stuff HERE ! AND I also started a second Comic on Patreon, which is a S2 AU after the fight at the Byers soooo if you are interested in that one, you can click HERE!) Ok I am done with advertising now- I really hope you guys enjoy the fanart! ❤