For Harringrove Harvest day 3: ”Claudia Henderson’s hand-knit sweater”
(Read on AO3)
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“I’ll miss you.”
The voice is low, and coming from outside the partly-open kitchen window that is facing the back of the house. Claudia Henderson pauses on her way to the sink with a pile of plates in her hand and listens, because it’s not the voice of any of the kids – they were all accounted for in the living room, ten seconds ago – but whoever’s speaking sounds … sad. And tonight is supposed to be a pre-Christmas celebration; a night of family and friendship and cheerfulness. She doesn’t want anyone to be sad in her house, especially today. That’s why she insisted on cooking for everyone.
“I know,” another voice says, and this one she recognizes as Steve’s. Which means the last speaker must have been his friend, Billy Hargrove. Max’s brother, the same boy that the kids had such a hard time accepting in the beginning, for whatever reason. Claudia can’t imagine why. He seems like a sweetheart to her.
Steve continues, “I wish I didn’t have to go. But mom got it into her head that we’d spend Christmas together as a family, and –“
“No, no, I know,” the voice of Billy Hargrove comes through. “I’m happy for you. Getting to spend time with your parents, in Europe? Sounds awesome.”
“Won’t be so awesome without you. I wish I could take you with me.”
“I know. But it’s only two weeks.”
There’s silence for a while, and Claudia carefully sets the plates down on the formica countertop and takes a step closer to the window under the guise of reaching for the dish soap.
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It’s past midnight. Perfect time for nightmares.
Music: Out of the Darkness -Matthew And The Atlas
Inspiration:
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winter storms | lighthouses of southern maine
Steve Harrington Appreciation Week Day 2: Incorrect Quote
Season 4 Steve Harrington + Incorrect Quotes
Steve: No, I totally love that Billy is working! I get to stay home with the kids and plot the death of Dora the Explorer!
Steve, under his breath: Fill her backpack with bricks and throw her into the Candy Cane river
Old Joe’s story
He put a sticker of heart-shaped glasses on Dacre
post-starcourt billy in the hospital with amnesia, asking for his mom
Chapter 6
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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.
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