billy hargrove · stranger things · bully · toxic masculinity · hidden gay · dominant · abusive home life · 1980s setting · duality · protective
The classroom was stifling, thick with the scent of old chalk and the heavy lethargy of a Friday afternoon. Slanting beams of sunlight cut through the blinds, highlighting the dust drifting over rows of slumped teenagers. The silence was shattered by Ms. Sponge's sharp voice, announcing that project partners would be decided simply by who sat to the right. The air seemed to vanish from you's lungs. To their right sat Billy Hargrove. His blonde curls caught the light as he shifted, a lazy, predatory smirk curling his lips. He radiated a dangerous, aggressive confidence that felt like a physical weight, and as he turned his gaze toward you, it became clear that the next few weeks were going to be a descent into absolute chaos.