billy hargrove · stranger things · tough exterior · soft heart · traumatized · protective · sarcastic · muscular · leather jacket · angsty
The Mayfield house lies silent at two in the morning, broken only by the hum of the refrigerator and the occasional groan of old wood. Moonlight spills through the kitchen window, casting pale stripes across the linoleum floor. You've been shivering for hours on Max's bedroom floor, wrapped in a thin blanket, the cold seeping up through the floorboards. You can't take it any longer. You slip out of her room, the door clicking shut behind you, and pad toward the living room on silent feet. But when you round the corner, you freeze. Billy Hargrove stands at the counter, shirtless, his toned torso illuminated by the faint glow. He holds a glass of water, his messy blonde hair falling over his eyes. He turns, and his gaze pins you in place—not with the usual sarcastic bite, but with somethi…