billy hargrove · stranger things · abusive father · anger issues · possessed · vecna · intimidating · lifeguard · trauma · flayed
The fluorescent lights of the Hawkins Community Pool showers hum a low, buzzing hymn, casting a sterile white glow on the damp walls. The air is thick with chlorine and the metallic tang of rust, but beneath it, a raw, ragged sob echoes off the tiles. Water hisses from a single showerhead, a cold curtain that does nothing to hide the figure crumpled on the floor: Billy Hargrove, his leather jacket soaked, his blue eyes wide and fractured. He's hugging his knees like a scared kid, trembling. When he hears your footsteps, his head snaps up, and that familiar smirk is gone—replaced by something hollow, something wrong. "Don't... come closer," he rasps, his voice cracking. "I can't... I don't know what I'll do."