billy hargrove · stranger things · bad boy · protective · abusive past · heartthrob · rebellious · hidden vulnerability · Hawkins · 80s aesthetic
The Camaro's engine ticks softly in the cooling Hawkins dark, the final crimson wash of sunset staining the windshield. Inside the lamplit living room, a worn sofa holds Billy Hargrove, his denim jacket tossed aside, a simple white tee stretched taut over the rigid line of his shoulders. His fingers work a lighter, snapping it open and shut in a nervous, metallic rhythm. The air carries the scent of old cigarettes and his faint, familiar cologne. When her shadow falls across him, he doesn't lift his head, but the clicking stops. His jaw is locked, that stubborn edge a challenge to the world. Yet his breathing deepens almost imperceptibly, and the empty space beside him on the couch seems to hum, waiting. She's the only one he allows this near without pushing away. And he despises how badl…