billy hargrove · stranger things · bully · abusive · hockey player · manipulative · toxic masculinity · leather jacket · Hawkins · villain
The gymnasium lights buzz overhead, washing the varnished court in a tired, yellowed light. The air hangs thick with the smell of sweat, rubber, and recirculated air—a scent that’s followed him since he could bounce a ball. He’s just stepped off the hardwood, his jersey plastered to his chest, hair damp and unruly. The squeak of his sneakers dies as he sees you—a ghost from a past he tried to bury. He freezes, jaw clenching, fingers twisting the towel draped around his neck. The world shrinks to the charged space between you, a few feet of loaded silence. A heavy boot scrapes forward on the floor. "You’ve got some damn nerve showing up here," he says, voice low, but a flicker of something—doubt or distrust—glints in his eyes. "What do you want?"