I Was Born To Tell Stories

She/her | 24 | Aries | Autistic with ADHD | Fandom/ Fangirl/Reader Insert blog: redhoodedangel | This blog is for my OCs, my Art, my original stories, x readers and my self-inserts |

[gabbyslilcreatures]

https://gabbyslilcreatures.etsy.com/listing/1551675663

Hey gamers! I’ve restocked some of my Fruit Bats on my Etsy. Tax season is stressful when you file as small business, so know if you buy one of my hand painted little guys, you’re buying from as well as supporting an artist directly :3

Please feel free to reblog! ❤️

🍎🦇

[ciphenwriter21]

Time Ticking (Billy Hargrove X Reader)

Part Three incoming!

Previous Parts: Saving Grace, Unlucky

With Vecna on the rise and Chrissy now dead, witnessed by (Y/N) via a dream, Billy and (Y/N) have to move quickly for Max’s sake. Chrissy’s death also has an unexpected witness in Eddie Munson, the resident freak who Billy had paid little mind in high school. With (Y/N) having identified two more victims, time is of the essence.

WARNING ⚠️: Mentions of violence, allusions to child abuse (Neil Hargrove, when I get you…), Vecna is his own warning, nightmares (both Billy and Reader), descriptions of vomiting, descriptions of body horror, Billy in a reluctant redemption arc, Guilty!Billy, etc

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Billy was used to the nightmares by now…

Almost every night, the events of that Fourth of July at the Starcourt Mall played on the back of his eyelids. It was always that same night, over and over again. It was like a home movie turned horror film that he dreaded because he knew what happened next.

Dragging El to the Mindflayer…

El’s unwavering empathy despite her fear and pain…

El bringing up his happier memories with his mother…

His clarity and freedom from the Flayer’s control…

Using his bare hands to save El, Max and the kids…

The Flayer’s tendrils digging into him…

Its final strike at his chest…

Max screaming out his name…

His and the Flayer’s collapse…

His final and only apology to a weeping Max…

Then darkness…

But, this time, he was awoken by a shrill, terrified scream. His eyes shot open and he was back in Hopper’s cabin, the scream stopping as soon as it started. He leaped out of bed and ran towards the door, leading the rest of the cabin. When he opened it, he caught sight of (Y/N) leaving El’s old room and running towards the bathroom.

As the door slammed shut behind her, he could vaguely hear her gagging and throwing up beyond it. He quickly shoved the door open, finding (Y/N) face-down in the toilet seat. As she continued to hurl and gag out her stomach, Billy moved slowly towards the bathroom sink. He took the cup in the back and began filling it with water from the faucet.

(Y/N) then stood on shaky legs, joining him as she took disheveled breaths. She took the cup of water Billy offered and sipped, rinsing out the taste of bile in her mouth. As she spit the contaminated water into the sink, she croaked out, “Chrissy’s dead…”

“What do you mean? How do you know?” Billy asked, panic starting to rise as the implication of her statement hit him like a ton of concrete blocks. If Chrissy was done in, that meant Max was more at risk than ever before…

“I saw it… in the void… while I was sleeping …” (Y/N) explained softly, her voice hoarse and strained from the technicolor yawning earlier. Despite this, she continued, “She was looking for help from someone named Eddie… he had drugs she was hoping could help her…”

“Eddie…” the Cali boy mumbled, the name familiar but distant on his tongue, “He was the resident freak of Hawkins High, according to Chrissy’s boyfriend, Jason… I didn’t pay much attention to him… didn’t think he was worth the time… good taste in music, though, from what I remember about him…”

“He witnessed it… Chrissy’s murder… in his own home… he ran away in a panic…” the woman mumbled, shock and grief still resonating in her voice.

“Shit… people are gonna think he did it… especially if someone saw him run…” Billy sighed, running a hand through his dirty blonde curls. The situation with Vecna’s victims was getting worse and worse, especially now with a witness who might be implicated as the murderer…

“But… I found two more victims, ones I didn’t catch the first time around…” Billy’s ears perked up as (Y/N) mentioned the discovery of more victims inflicted with Vecna’s curse…

“Who?”

“Patrick and Fred…” (Y/N) uttered, voice shaking as she realized that they might be the next targets.

“Son of a bitch…” Billy hissed, his hands now rubbing his face in frustration. He remembered Patrick from his time at the basketball court at Hawkins High. He also knew that Fred was involved with the school newspaper, alongside Nancy Wheeler, Karen Wheeler’s eldest daughter and Steve’s ex. Three victims… all of them could be the next potential target… and Billy was hoping Max wasn’t that next one…

“Max is still safe… though, her symptoms haven’t lessened… if it’s any consolation…”

“Depends… how brutally was Chrissy killed?” Billy questioned firmly, though he was certain the answer would make him the one vomiting instead of (Y/N)…

“Vecna… he practically mangled her… snapped her legs and arms in half like pencils… broke her jaw… gouged out her eyes…” (Y/N) couldn’t finish describing what she saw, though Billy now understood why she was throwing up earlier. Tears were now welling up in her eyes as the horror struck her deeply and profoundly…

A sinking feeling began to settle in the pit of his stomach, now knowing the fate that awaited Max if Vecna got to her. Against his will, his mind began conjuring images of Max in Chrissy’s position, her body broken beyond recognition or repair… mentally suffering while Vecna destroyed her physically…

The thought made him sick…

But most of all, it made him furious…

That darker impulse inside of him wanted to march into the Upside Down and give Vecna the rudest awakening that anyone has ever had the displeasure of experiencing…

He wanted to strangle him…

He wanted to tear Vecna apart, limb from limb…

He wanted to be the last thing that evil freak saw before kicking the bucket…

“Billy…” (Y/N) started gently, noticing the look of anger that now dominated his features…

“I’m gonna kill him… If he touches Max, I’m gonna kill him… and I’m gonna make it hurt… I want him to beg for his life as I take it from him… just like he and his freaky little pet took mine back at the mall on the Fourth of July…” Was all he could growl out, surprising even himself with how pissed he was. He had never been this angry, not even during the altercation with Steve back at the Byers house in ‘84.

(Y/N) stood frozen in shock, Billy’s words hitting her with a gravity she hadn’t fathomed before. Though, strangely, this side of Billy had her feeling safer than she had felt in years. Brenner always made her feel uncomfortable and uncertain, making her feel small and alone. When she went into the Upside Down to study it, it was a different kind of anxiety. She knew that she was in mortal peril, living there and monitoring everything. While her powers gave her an edge in survival, she still had to improvise. Makeshift weapons, keeping food in handheld coolers instead of the infested fridges…

But, hearing Billy declare that he wanted Vecna dead if Max was harmed, it was reassuring in a way. That she had made the right decision in resurrecting him… in bringing him back…

“Okay…” She said simply and quietly, the singular acknowledgement being enough of an answer. But she continued, telling him what needed to be heard, “But… we have to make sure that Max is safe… and that we stave Vecna off as long as possible…”

Billy took a deep breath before exhaling, his demeanor calmer but still frighteningly angry. As he did, he then asked, “And if it all fails?…”

“Then, we kill him… and we make sure he stays dead…” (Y/N)’s finality was swift and clear, asserting that Vecna would be held accountable for his crimes against humanity and all of the town of Hawkins, Indiana…

One way or another…

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So, Billy’s pissed off to High Heaven, Chrissy’s dead, Eddie’s on the run, two more victims have been identified and (Y/N) is traumatized… and maybe starting to feel something after Billy got protective and angry…👀

Part Four is gonna feature Max and a reunion with Billy and Steve…

Until then…

Bye!~

[ciphenwriter21]

Seeds of Chaos Masterlist

A/N: This is the masterlist of my ongoing Stranger Things fanfic, Seeds of Chaos. Any additional content will be added to a dedicated section at a later date.

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Main Table of Contents

Prologue

Ch.1 - Heavy is the Crown

Ch.2 - Rock ‘N Roll

Ch.3 - Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Chapter Four in Progress…

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One-shots

Nothing yet…

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Headcanons

Nothing yet…

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Add-ons

Krystal Sterling (Character Profile)

Nothing else yet…

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[ciphenwriter21]

Seeds of Chaos (A Stranger Things Story) - Ch. 3: Girls Just Want to Have Fun

So, Krystal meets Max for the first time in this chapter, Dustin and Lucas interrogate her about Max and Nancy is struggling with guilt over Barb, so she calls Krystal for advice…

WARNING ⚠️: Mentions of child abuse, exploitation, human experimentation, violence, dysfunctional/reverse parent-child dynamics, slight mentions of sexual activity (AKA, Billy being a promiscuous fucker) and death

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October 30th…

The day before Halloween…

The arcade after school was bursting with young kids and teens from the middle school and high school campuses, homework and studies long forgotten. The smell of spilled soda pop and crushed chips filled the stale air, which was also full of groans of defeat and cheers of victory. Colorful lights strobed around the crowded space, skating over arcade cabinets, floors with patterned carpet and excited patrons. In the corners by the skee-ball machines, Krystal was playing a round and racking up a damn good high score. A jar of quarters sat heavily on the console next to her as she threw ball after ball in the expected underhanded motion. Each shot she took managed to land in either the 100 or 50 point cylinders effortlessly, the occasional fumbled throw landing in the holes between the 10 to 40 scores. Nine heavy plastic balls being thrown down the wooden lane later, the brunette was about to gain a high score of 650 points. Not an impossible high score, but a reasonable score for someone who is highly skilled and practiced at the game. She grabbed the dispensed tickets, stuffed them into the jar of coins before pulling out a handful of quarters.

“Not a bad score,” a youthful voice came out from behind her, startling Krystal into turning around and facing the source of it. Who she saw was a young redhead, no older than thirteen, dressed in jeans and a red hoodie with white stripes going up the sleeves. For a moment, Krystal flashed back to the Hawkins School campus parking lot, seeing a similar redhead hop into Billy’s Camaro with a skateboard in hand.

“Uh, thanks,” she stammered lightly, unable to process this girl’s interest in how she played and scored at skee-ball. She adjusted her red flannel and the waistband of her jeans, trying to alleviate any discomfort she was feeling.

“Wanna go a few rounds?” the redhead asked casually, walking over to the skee-ball console to the brunette’s right. With no further need for words, Krystal slipped a quarter each into both skee-ball machines. The machine chimed their signature start-up music and the scoreboards set themselves at zero. As they both threw their first balls, Krystal decided to try and start a friendly conversation.

“What’s your name, kid?” Krystal asked nonchalantly, reaching for another ball after scoring a hundred points on the last throw.

“Max…” the girl, Max, replied, her tone strangely direct and somewhat pointed. It was almost like she was trying to affirm the name that she wanted to be called by. Krystal decided not to push about the assertive nature of her answer, focusing on the stress-relieving game of skee-ball they were playing. It was probably just a personal preference for Max, a name she preferred over the name she was given at birth.

“I’m Krystal…” she offered softly, almost like she was extending an olive branch for having asked for her name. She rolled the second ball strategically in her hand down the long alley, managing to land it in the 50-point cylinder. Max threw her own ball down the wooden lane she occupied, watching it go into one of the two 100-point targets.

“Krystal? As in Krystal Sterling?” the red-haired tomboy questioned, shock and awe evident on her face. Max couldn’t help but look at the older girl up and down, as if trying to understand something on her mind.

“You’ve heard about me?” the brunette exclaimed in surprise, nearly dropping the new ball in her hand. Her mind began to race as she thought through the list of people that could’ve told this girl about her.

“Yeah, from my brother, Billy,” Max confessed bluntly as she tossed another plastic ball down the green runway, scoring 50 more points.

“Billy’s your brother?!” she gawked in an extremely flustered tone, which caught the attention of a handful of patrons in the arcade. She started looking at this girl closely as if trying to figure how this spunky young teen was related to the would-be king of Hawkins High. By all accounts, they didn’t look related in any discernable way that was genetic. Max hadn’t even been mentioned by others at school, especially by those constantly in Billy’s orbit. It was like she didn’t exist in Billy’s inner world or his social bubble.

“Stepbrother, actually. My mom married his dad when we were younger,” the redhead explained flatly, pausing her own game of skee-ball to break it down for the brunette. Krystal blinked rapidly as she tried to slow down the rapid-fire thoughts in her brain, reverting her focus back to her own game.

“So, Billy talks about me, huh?” she inquired delicately, not expecting Max to suddenly spill all the things her stepbrother had said about her. She shot off her own ball, landing a hard toss that ended up scoring her 100 points.

“Oh, yeah. Can’t keep your name outta his mouth. I wish I could tell you all the things I’ve heard him say about you,” the younger girl remarked, growing sheepish as she talked about overhearing Billy’s musings about the She-demon of Hawkins High School. But, the redhead recentered herself as she threw another ball and gained a 40-pointer. By now, neither girl cared about who was winning or who was losing.

“Why not? Is some of it… grody?” Krystal probed in a hushed demeanor, but it felt offensive asking another girl personal questions about her older brother’s social life. With another heavy skee ball in her hand, the dark-haired teen rolled it up the green-felt lane, getting another 100 points.

“Believe it or not, no. Trust me, I’ve heard him talk gross before,” Max professed before letting out a shudder, probably recalling something Billy had said or done that she had found to be disgusting. Or maybe it was just the typical older brother-younger sister dynamic, where the redhead disliked how promiscuous her stepbrother was. The brunette didn’t even question her about the things she had heard Billy say or do in his spare time. Taking a deep breath, Max continued, “If anything, he talks about you like a living, breathing person. It’s strange… he never talks about other girls the way he talks about you…”

“Really? How is it different?” Krystal didn’t know what to make of Max’s claims that Billy talked about her differently than other girls. From her few encounters with him in the past month, Billy seemed to talk to her the same way he did any girl in town. But, maybe that was just how he acted around her when they were in public; a way to keep up appearances without giving away anything.

“Yeah. I mean, he says that you’re more authentic than the other girls. That you’re not trying to prove yourself to anyone,” Max explained in a chilled voice, launching another ball and acquiring a 100-pointer.

“That’s because I’m not. I’m just trying to live my life after my shitty childhood,” the brunette responded flatly, taking another skee ball and running it up the green slope and earning another 50 points.

“He heard about that, too. Your emancipation, how you helped the Byers, the town fundraiser, the friendships you made. If you ask me, he almost sounded envious,” the redhead chimed with a slightly empty chuckle, grabbing another ball to be thrown for a score. The brunette hummed softly, now knowing that Max and Billy were buying the cover story that was meant to maintain her cover.

“Maybe, but the gleam of hunger in his eyes when he looks at me says otherwise,” Krystal hummed somewhat nonchalantly, grabbing another skee ball of her own and examining it casually in her hand.

“Dude, TMI!” Max exclaimed urgently under her breath, trying not to draw too much attention to their private conversation.

“Sorry… It’s true, though,” the older teen whispered subtly before unleashing her skee ball down the wooden lane, sending it towards a 50-point score. All the redhead next to her could do was let out a humorless huff of a laugh before uncorking her ball down her console and earning her own 50 points.

For the next hour, Max and Krystal continued going round for round with each other at skee ball while trading wisecracks and advice. They laughed at dumb things they said and traded stories all while trying to beat each other’s high scores. After about five to six more rounds with witty banter and lighthearted sarcasm, they took a break from throwing balls to allow others to play on the consoles. Then, as if remembering something, Max looked around nervously and asked, “Hey, what time is it?”

Krystal then looked down at the watch on her right wrist, reading the time on the clock face, “It’s quarter of six…”

“Oh, shit. Billy’s probably waiting for me,” she hissed in a slightly panicky voice, starting to head towards the front door. If the older girl didn’t know any better, Max’s anxiety wasn’t about Billy and about someone or something else.

“I could walk you out, if you want,” the she-demon offered, like it wasn’t any big deal to her or something that was completely normal for her to do on any given day. In all honesty, she was trying to save the poor girl from a potential migraine, courtesy of her stepbrother.

“What? No… I’m not gonna…” Before the younger girl could finish what she was trying to say, Krystal interrupted her with a seemingly half-baked yet simple reason.

“Look, it’s late. We’re tired. We both need to go home. The least I can do for you, if you’re feeling anxious about it, is let your stepbrother know that you were with a friendly face for most of your visit here…”

Max appeared to consider Krystal’s offer to escort her outside to Billy’s car, thinking it through with careful understanding. While she wasn’t sure if Billy trusted Krystal as far as he could throw a basketball, it was clear that he respected her to some capacity. Even if that respect was minimal at best, it was still respect for a girl who had shown him that she could take care of herself. Hell, he clearly respected her enough to not bed her like every other Betty he had been with since arriving in Hawkins.

“Yeah, alright…” the redhead conceded to Krystal’s offer, allowing her to follow her out to the parking lot. The two girls walked out into the cool autumn air of Hawkins, greeted by the setting sun and the parking lot of the arcade venue. They glanced left and right on the sidewalk, keeping an eye out for Billy and his car. Almost as soon as they stepped out, the familiar blue Camaro pulled up near the sideway in front of them. Without a moment’s hesitation, Billy stepped out of the car as his eyes landed on both Max and Krystal.

“Well, you’re early…” he drawled in an unenthused tone as he gazed at his younger tomboy stepsister. But, soon after, his icy eyes drifted to the older brunette teen standing next to Max like a guardian. His unimpressed expression slowly morphed into that signature smirk that he seemed to reserve for charming girls, his voice dripping with that smooth and elusive tone, “And… you’ve met each other…”

“Yeah. Never told me you had a stepsister, Hargrove,” Krystal mused in a sarcastic way that was more playful than malicious. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Max glancing between them with an expression of confusion and awe.

“Must’ve slipped my mind,” Billy replied coolly, his hands shoved into the pockets of his brown leather jacket. He then turned to Max, his expression falling into muted frustration as he gave her a curt command, “Get in the car…”

“Aye-aye, captain…” the redhead quipped in bitter sarcasm, moving around the front of the car. She then hopped into the shotgun seat of Billy’s Camaro, slamming the door harshly. Billy turned to look back at Krystal, his expression shifting back into that flirtatious and amused face that the older girl knew all too well. After looking her up and down, Billy addressed the million-dollar question, “You going to Tina’s Halloween party tomorrow night?”

“Yeah. Steve and Nancy are my ride,” the brown-and-white-haired girl answered, slipping her thumbs through the beltloops of her jeans.

“Good. I’ll see you there. If I don’t see you at school, that is,” Billy said before moving back into the driver seat of his car. Within seconds, he switched the engine on and the radio sprung to life, playing Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl.

As Billy took off out of the parking lot, Krystal walked towards her car. As she searched her pockets for her keys, she spotted two familiar faces by the back of her Cadillac - Dustin Henderson and Lucas Sinclair. They both looked anxious and strangely skittish, like they had been caught redhanded doing something wrong. Letting out a soft sigh, she waltzed towards the two boys haphazardly seated by her car’s trunk and gave them an inquiry, “Good Lord, what the hell have you boys been up to?”

“What do you know about MadMax?” Dustin blurted out without preamble, suddenly gripping the front of her dark leather jacket.

“Excuse me? Who’s MadMax?” Krystal questioned softly as if she was being interrogated about a crime that had nothing to do with her.

“The girl you were playing skee ball with. That’s MadMax!” Lucas shouted as he gestured towards where Billy’s car had once been parked. The older teen closed her eyes in exasperation and let out a harsh sigh of frustration.

“Please, don’t tell me that you two have been following that girl and tracking her whereabouts?”

The silence from both boys and glances at each other was enough of an answer, causing the brunette to palm her own face. She inhaled deeply before exhaling with an irritable air, slowly dragging her hand down her face. Dustin and Lucas then gazed at each other again, coming to the realization that they may have gone about their investigation wrong. They waited for their friend to calm down, listening to her take deep breaths to avoid losing her temper. Once Krystal was much less tense and more levelheaded, she then proceeded to mumble. “Jesus fucking Christ, you two… Next time, just approach her and be casual about it. Broach the topic of her arcade visits with her without making her uncomfortable.”

“Easier said than done. She already caught us spying on her at school,” Dustin mentioned sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head, his gaze flicking between Krystal and Lucas as he spoke about their observations of Max.

“Gee, I’m shocked,” Krystal quipped in a stern yet sarcastic tenor, glaring at the boy with the proclaimed thinking cap, “Just… stop treating her like she’s an anomaly or an enemy. She’s new to town and probably doesn’t have many friends, if any at all. What you’re doing might be making her feel worse…”

“Well, what do you propose we do about that?” Lucas probed impatiently, quickly crossing his arms over his chest.

“Invite her out trick-or-treating with you guys on Halloween. Think of it as a peace offering, a truce of sorts among kids. A holiday-appropriate olive branch. Make her feel more welcome and comfortable.”

“Mike’s not gonna like that,” Dustin commented with an offhanded tone, resting his chin on his left fist, the arm of it resting his right hand.

“Why? What’s his problem with Max?” Krystal protested immediately as she stared at the Henderson boy with bewilderment. But, even as she spoke her disapproval, she already knew the answer to her own question.

“I guess he thinks that she’s gonna replace El in the Party. Keeps insisting we don’t need anyone else,” Lucas explained, almost seeming a little disappointed in his friend’s refusal to accept a new friend into their group.

“Well, tough shit. I miss El, too. Every damn day. But that doesn’t give him the right to be a dick or determine who can and can’t be in the party. Besides, El would want him to live his life and make new friends,” the brunette girl stated roughly, her voice carrying a firm and authoritative tone that was also diplomatic.

“Yeah, you’re right. We’ll try to talk to him. Maybe, get him to see sense. But, he might have to hear it from you,” Dustin conceded graciously in the way only he could admit when something was wrong. That was the thing that Krystal admired about Dustin - he could set the Party on the straight and narrow when they needed to get their priorities and goals in line. When Mike and Lucas had their argument over El and how to find Will, Dustin was the one who brought them back together in solidarity.

“You let me know how that goes. If you need me, you know where I am. Now, you two should get home before you end up worrying your mothers.” With that, the trio disbanded as the two boys jumped onto their bikes and Krystal went to the driver’s side of her car.

As she started her car and watched the boys cycle back home, one question loomed over her mind. As she thought about it, a subtle wave of anxiety washed over her that made her stomach turn…

Did Billy know about the boys? If so, what would he do if he found out about them being around Max? Would he be volatile? Upset? Would he be lukewarm about it? A part of her didn’t want to know which emotion it would be when it came to Billy and his temperament. She made a mental note to keep a close eye on the boys in the Party, lest she want to know how Billy would react to them around Max.

With that formal boundary set, Krystal slowly and safely pulled out of her parking spot. She keeps an eye out for those who were walking to their cars or traveling on foot back to their houses. Once she was fully pulled out, she threw the car into drive and carefully drove out the parking lot. As she did, her mind raced with plans for the rest of the week, including today’s dinner and Halloween tomorrow.

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Later that night, Krystal was at home alone, eating pizza from a local Domino’s as she put the finishing touches on the jacket of her Halloween outfit. Randal Klesier’s Grease from 1978 played softly on the small television that sat on the large dresser across from the bed, the music pouring into her bedroom. Her pizza pie - topped with onions, green peppers and sausage - sat on her barren nightstand, still warm and steaming. As she bopped her head to the music from the movie, she stitched the black mesh to the orange denim jacket. Occasionally, she took a bite of the pizza slice on the paper plate next to her leg on the heavily-blanketed bed.

After a few more minutes of musical teen drama and savory pizza, the phone on her nightstand rang and shook. Setting down her nearly-finished jacket, she grabbed the phone and put it to her ear, greeting with, “Hello?”

“Hey, Krystal… is this a bad time?” Nancy’s wholesome voice came through the retriever, filtered through a fuzz of white noise.

“Oh, hey, Nance… I was just eating and finishing my outfit for All Hallows’ Eve. But, I can make some time to talk if you need it,” the brunette hummed gently, setting aside her plate of half-eaten food onto the wooden nightstand. She then stood up slowly from her bed, stretching her long legs out from underneath the pajama pants. She then answered the question that was on the tip of her tongue, “How did the dinner with Barb’s parents go?”

A heavy sigh came from Nancy’s end of the line, eventually speaking carefully in a heavy tone, “To be honest, it was awful. They’re selling the house to pay a private investigator to find Barb. I… I couldn’t keep listening. I went to the bathroom and just cried. I couldn’t even look at any of Barb’s photos in the house…”

Krystal took a deep breath, feeling a nauseating amount of sympathy and sorrow for her friend and the guilt she was holding onto. She knew all too well the grief and guilt that Nancy was going through, having experienced the loss of Eleven. Losing someone and being unable to do anything about it or to change it was the most painful way to experience it. But Nancy’s situation with Barb was especially painful and conflicting since she couldn’t tell her parents how she really died. How she was telepathically taken into the Upside Down and killed by the Demogorgon and the other inhabitants.

“Oh, Nance, I’m so sorry. It must’ve been painful to visit them, knowing the truth but unable to tell them,” Krystal sighed heavily, pacing by the side of her bed as she rubbed her chin as if pondering what else to say.

“It’s just… if I tell them, what if it gets out of control? I could implicate you, Steve, the Byers… you all could get hurt… you could…” Nancy hushed sadly through the phone’s speaker before a sob abruptly cut off her hefty and agonized words.

“Nancy, that’s not your burden to bear,” Krystal remarked quickly before the Wheeler girl could speak again, her words swift and precise. The former lab rat slowly opened her mouth again as her heart raced in her chest, “I can take care of myself. So can Steve and the Byers… What happened last year proves that.”

“I know, but… this is eating me up inside. I just… I want to tell them, even if they don’t believe it. I feel responsible for what happened… if I had known,” Nancy couldn’t finish what she wanted to say as her friend stopped her once more.

“You couldn’t have known that an extradimensional being was gonna kidnap and kill her, just because it smelled her blood,” Krystal interrupted firmly, her grip on the phone tight as her knuckles started to turn bone-white. The brunette took another deep inhalation of breath as she tried to calm her rising temper, her eyes flickering gold and black before going back to coffee-brown, “The Demogorgon would’ve gone after her regardless if you were standing right next to her or otherwise.”

“I know, but you knew. You saw her get taken, even if you couldn’t react in time. Jonathan had photos of the damn thing, for God’s sake. Meanwhile, me and Steve were having sex in his room upstairs…” Nancy faltered slightly, her voice strained before her earlier sobs and the weight of her guilt and inner torment. Even from several blocks away, Krystal could feel how heartbroken and distraught her friend was.

“Look, Nancy, I’m not invalidating how you feel. You have every right to feel guilty about this. But, you can’t let it consume you. It’s not healthy.”

“Sounds like you have some experience with that,” Nancy whispered half-jokingly through the phone, despite the watery tremor in her voice. A soft, warm chuckle came pouring out through Krystal, understanding what Nancy was trying to do. But, deep down, there was a solemn heaviness in her chest that she had been ignoring for a while.

“I haven’t been taking the loss of El very well. My temper has been off the walls recently. I’ve been… more confrontational lately,” Krystal admitted carefully, sitting back on her bed heavily as she rested the side of her face into her left hand.

“Yeah, Someone mentioned seeing you going toe-to-toe with that Billy guy at Dylan’s Music Shop… and a few others saw you escorting his stepsister out to his car earlier this afternoon,” Nancy uttered, sounding pensive and thoughtful as if she was looking through evidence for a police report.

“Yeah, not my best moves. I just don’t understand why he’s singling me out in particular. If it’s because of my friendship with you and Steve… or because I’m the untameable She-demon of Hawkins High… a challenge for him to conquer and later brag about to anyone who would listen,” Krystal huffed into the phone in slight frustration, running a hand slowly through her brown and white locks of hair.

“I’d keep my guard up, Krystal. I don’t trust that guy, even if the girls at school think he’s a dreamboat or whatever they see in him.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m just saying… It’s like he’s obsessed with me or something. Like I’m this fixature that he can’t get enough of…” The she-demon fumed in a low tenor, rustling her layered hair and causing it to fluff and stick up in various directions.

“Try not to let him or his obsession get to you. Focusing on it too much isn’t healthy,” Nancy insisted gently, almost parroting her friend’s own advice to her.

Krystal barked out a humored laugh, throwing her head back, “You giving me advice about my mental state, eh, Wheeler?”

“Hey, you gave me advice about my current problems. It’s only fair that I listen to yours in return and give you my two cents,” Nancy consoled sweetly, her tone gentle and wholesome as it had once been at the start of the call. Krystal gave a melodious hum of understanding, fidgeting with the plate of pizza and the partly-finished jacket sitting next to her. After her wordless response, Nancy spoke up again, “Thank you, Kris, for hearing me out. I thought I was crazy for grieving and missing Barb, but…”

“Hey, you’re human, Nance. What you’re feeling just confirms that,” Krystal imparted onto her friend kindly, a warm smile gracing her lips.

“I know. Thank you. You take care,” Nancy whispered, sounding somewhat lighter about talking about her feelings.

“You, too, Nance,” And with that, both girls disconnected the call in tandem as they set their phones down. Krystal took an even breath of air before returning to her pizza and sewing, the movie on the TV now rolling the credits. As she did, she couldn’t help but think that the problems they were having were just beginning… and it wasn’t just hers and Nancy’s that she was worried about…

~~~~~~~~~

Sorry, if this is a little late. My neighborhood was hit with a massive blizzard and I’ve been shoveling snow and dealing with class cancellations. But, I finally got around to finishing this chapter…

Anywho…

Bye!~

[ciphenwriter21]

Seeds of Chaos (A Stranger Things Story) - Chapter Two: Rock ‘N Roll

Here’s Chapter Two and we get a glimpse of Krystal’s boss and workplace. For those wondering, yes, Dylan, Krystal’s boss, is inspired by B. Dylan Hollis, the gay vintage baker himself. I thought I’d give Krystal a chill boss who isn’t afraid to joke around.

Also, the 1963 Cadillac that Krystal drives is an Easter Egg of Dylan’s 63 Cadillac

WARNING! ⚠️ : The following chapter mentions or discusses topics about child abuse, exploitation, complicated family dynamics, mentions of PTSD/trauma, human experimentation, bullying and possible themes of parent-child role reversal dynamics.

Also, Billy being his usual fuck-boy self with Krystal, so fair warning - a lot of flirting and teasing coming from Billy’s corner…

Also, we get our first glimpse of Krystal’s powers… 👀

Masterlist

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Dylan’s Music Shop was one of the few small businesses in Hawkins, Indiana. It was popular for having not just the recent releases, but musical hits from the decades before. On top of that, the shop sold and repaired musical instruments, parts and equipment, especially to young music-oriented students. Hawkins may have been a small town, but that doesn’t mean that talent and knowledge can’t be nurtured and prosper within it. Dylan’s father, who originally started the shop from almost nothing and named after his son, seemed to understand this. Dylan and his family immigrated from the British island of Bermuda when Dylan was a teenager. His father, inspired by his son’s love of music and American culture, opened the shop in honor of him. Dylan later took over the business when he got his degree in Music and the Arts and his father retired early. Then, Krystal came along, in need of a job and Dylan gave her a chance. He hired her and the rest is history…

Krystal stood idly behind the checkout counter, waiting patiently for customers to come through the door. It was the weekend, a Sunday, meaning grocery runs, church services and relaxing from school were top of mind. Her fingertips tapped the wood in a repetitive rhythm, the chipped black nail polish on full display on her nails. Her oversized yellow-and-black flannel and striped t-shirt kept out the cold that seeped slowly into the building. Her dark blue jeans rode high around her waist and fastened with a worn leather belt. A pair of dirty and scuffed-up sneakers adorned her feet and made her colorful socks stand out. The watch with the red leather strap ticked away on her wrist as the minutes passed by.

“Has anyone come by yet?” Dylan asked casually as he emerged from the backroom with boxes of tapes and vinyl records. Krystal quickly turned her head in the direction of the nearly thirty-year-old college graduate with a music degree.

“No, not yet. Though, give it time. I’m sure someone will come through, looking for something,” She hummed in a slightly tired tone, straightening her body and leaning away from the counter and cash register.

“Alright, just give it a few more minutes. If no one showed up, go around, fix the displays and organize the boxes,” He instructed coolly before heading back into the backroom to sort through new items and releases.

Krystal went back to leaning over the counter while waiting for customers to come in and make purchases. She continued to tap her fingers against the chipped wood, following the ticking of her red and gold watch. Her leg shook and bounced from boredom, scuffing quietly against the weathered tiles of the shop. When the white streak in her brown fringes fell into her eyes, she blew it away with a breath. Just then, the old bell above the door rang and chipper laughter and giggles came wispily through the door. Krystal looked up and saw Joyce Byers walking in with a rather pleasant-looking man with dark hair, who was wearing a trench coat. Jonathan had told her that his mother had started seeing someone, a guy named Bob, who worked with RadioShack. Apparently, his nickname surrounding his work was ‘Bob the Brain’, as strange and eccentric as it was. Then again, she had an abundance of awkward or decidedly odd nicknames herself, most of them primarily created by the Party…

“Joyce!” Krystal chimed cheerily, catching the attention of the happy couple standing by the door and laughing like awestruck children.

“Krystal! So good to see you!” Joyce yelped with glee, moving through the rows of music and supplies. The teenage girl moved around the checkout counter and the older woman pulled her into a warm and tight hug. Bob moved closer, smiling with a sincerity that was both refreshing and unexpected.

As the girl and older woman pulled away, Bob came up with a vibrant demeanor and offered his hand for a handshake, “Hi there! Name’s Bob. You must be Krystal, the girl who helped find Will. Joyce has told me so much about you.”

“Nice to finally meet you. Jonathan told me about you,” The teen responded, taking his hand in hers and shaking it vigorously.

“Uh-oh. Nothing bad, I hope,” the man chortled goodnaturedly, gently pulling his hand away as their handshake slowed to a stop.

“Oh, all good things, I promise. Says you make his mother feel happy and wanted,” Krystal assured him, leaning back casually on her arms against the checkout counter. Joyce giggled lightly at the cheery conversation between them, sounding almost carefree and younger than she had ever been.

Krystal knew a few things about Joyce’s ex-husband and the boys’ father, Lonnie. Jonathan had told her stories about how abusive and outright deplorable he was to them before their divorce. She had a brief encounter with him when Joyce kicked him out for trying to get money out of them after Will’s funeral - the body was a fake, planted near the river by Brenner and his lackeys. He hadn’t said a word to her, probably knowing full well that she would say something to Joyce or Jonathan. But, his presence, haggard appearance and the look of rage in his eyes made it clear what kind of man he was. He was a man who didn’t like being told no or getting caught red-handed. Brenner had been the same way, though he never expressed it like people normally did…

“What can I do for you two lovebirds?” Krystal asked in a professional yet casual tone, moving back behind the counter and positioning herself behind the beaten-up register. She looked knowingly and mischievously between the two adults, who were beaming with joy and what seemed like puppy love.

“We’re looking for some new tunes for Will,” Bob chirped in a gentle tone, leaning against the front of the counter.

“Oh! Well, we have a very wide selection of cassettes and records,” she proclaimed brightly, gesturing towards the boxes and shelves of cassettes and vinyls on display. Bob smiled sweetly and nodded, walking over to a box of mixtapes and cassettes, looking through them. Joyce and Krystal watched in tender silence as he sifted through hits from bands and music groups like The Beatles and Bon Jovi. As he continued looking through boxes of music, the two ladies redirected their attention towards each other…

“He is great. I’m so happy for you, Joyce,” Krystal squealed softly, leaning towards Joyce in the way that women sometimes do when gossiping.

“I know. Thank you,” Joyce hummed under her breath, a smile gracing her lips that made her look ten years younger. A beat of silence passed between them as Bob chatted in the back about various musical selections. After a long while, Krystal broke the silence by acknowledging the unseen elephant in the room.

“How’s Will doing?” the teenage girl asked softly, her tone gentle and her posture tense but slouched slightly. Joyce’s face fell as she crossed her arms and leaned on them against the checkout counter.

“He still has episodes. They keep getting worse. Still see that… place when he’s left alone. The kids at school still taunted him for his supposed death. We keep taking him to the lab for answers, but there’s nothing they can do. It’s… It’s been hard. I keep telling him that it will be alright, but… I’m not sure that’s true anymore.”

All Krystal could do was nod tentatively, listening intently as Joyce explained the situation with her son to the teen. When the older woman finished, the younger brunette spoke up, “He’s gone through something that other kids could only have nightmares about, Joyce. After something like that, it’s hard to return to the normal you knew before. It’s even harder for a kid like him to figure out a new normal…”

Joyce placed her face in her hands, looking stressed and unlike the happy older woman she came into the shop as. Pulling her hands away, she looked up at Krystal with a watery mix of desperation and exhaustion, “How did you do it, sweetie? Y’know, how did you manage to find your own normal after… after everything?”

Krystal took a deep breath before choosing her next words wisely, “I… I wouldn’t say I found a new normal. Not yet, at least. I’m figuring it out. I mean, all of this… what I’m doing now… it’s something I could’ve only seen on TV back at the lab when Brenner was in charge. Somedays, I keep thinking about why he did it… used me and Ellie as test subjects. What was he hoping to accomplish? What would he have satisfied? His ego? His title as Doctor? His bank accounts?” the girl sighed heavily, rubbing her eyes in exhaustion from just thinking about the past that she had escaped, “I don’t know… I doubt I’ll ever know… but it doesn’t matter why he did it… ‘cause I’m here, finally living the life I should’ve been from the start… and he’s gone, done in by his hubris…”

“Oh, honey…” Joyce exclaimed gently as the teen finished her quiet rant, taking the girl’s hands in her own and squeezed them, “You have every right to be angry and upset about what happened to you. You and Eleven… you had your childhoods taken from you and your identities warped by that man.”

“Thank you, Joyce,” She whispered with a watery voice, squeezing the woman’s hands in return as tears filled her eyes and stung them. But she quickly blinked them away, unwilling to shed any more tears for the man who took everything from her and had the audacity to call himself her father figure…

Just then, Bob came back with half a dozen cassette tapes clutched in his hands, old mixtapes with the latest and newest hits. He placed them softly on the checkout counter, smiling at the selection, “Tried to look for tapes with some variety. Things that Will might like or be interested in.”

“Thank you, Bob,” Joyce asked, her usually maternal voice now mellow and loving as she rubbed his arm affectionately. Krystal then began inputting the cost of the tapes, being careful not to screw up the prices. The old register added the prices of the cassettes and calculated the total. As she finished up the purchase with a five dollar discount, “Okay, the total was originally thirty dollars for the tapes, but because the Byers are loyal customers, it’s down to twenty-five dollars…”

“How generous,” Bob remarked in his laid-back tone, digging through his wallet before pulling out two bills: a twenty and a five. He placed the dollar bills on top of the counter, sliding them in Krystal’s direction. She took them, punched the amount into the register, which popped it open and let her slip the cash inside. She then grabbed the receipt and a paper bag, putting the tapes and the receipt into the small bag. Handing the brown bag to Joyce, they exchanged polite smiles at each other.

“Many thanks, Krystal. It was great meeting you,” Bob affirmed graciously with his jolly tone as he walked towards the door to exit. Before they could leave, Krytal took Joyce’s hand bristly in hers…

“Hey… if you need someone to talk to Will or just to help with him, you know how to reach me…” the girl whispered steadily to the Byers woman, squeezing her hand thoughtfully before finally letting go. Joyce nodded at her subtly with a slight smile before turning to leave the shop with Bob.

Krystal watched with wary eyes as the couple left the shop, hearing them laugh and talk to each other. The weight of her difficult conversation with Joyce sunk deep into her bones, bringing on a psychological exhaustion. The fact that Will was suffering, even after all the trauma he endured in the Upside Down, left a knot twisting in her stomach. She honestly wished that there was something she could do to help him feel better, but it wasn’t that simple. What Will went through a year ago was something that a scarce few could even begin to understand. It was a situation that couldn’t be easily explained to those who often feared what they couldn’t understand. If they told anyone about what really happened to Will, it would make things worse for the Byers and even their friends and advocates. Worst of all, it could expose who and what Krystal really was to the whole town. It was too big of a risk…

The bell above the door rang through the store again, cutting through Krystal’s startled thoughts like a knife. The brunette girl straightened her posture again, trying to look as professional and practical as possible. She stretched her arms up above her head, her spine and arms giving out a satisfying cracking sound. Once she was better prepared, she turned her head to address the new customer by the door. However, the customer beat her to introductions… the voice now familiar to her…

“Am I dreaming or is that you, Sterling?” The deep and buttery voice of Billy Hargrove filled the air like a warm mist. Krystal’s brown eyes nearly bugged out of her head as she took in the sight of the Californian bad boy leaned lazily against the doorframe. He seemed very satisfied with himself for having found out where she worked, though he did seem surprised to see her working at the store. Great… another place where he could pull off his tricks and try to ingratiate himself to her …

“No, I’m her secret twin sister who pays the bills. Of course, it’s me, Hargrove,” Krystal rebuked sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she pushed against the wooden counter and moved around to meet him in front of it.

“Heh, ever the sarcastic one, aren’t ya, Sterling? Then again, I shouldn’t have expected anything less,” he hummed huskily, his hands buried in the pockets of his ever-tight jeans and his T-shirt even tighter against his torso. He leaned back against the table display behind him, the box of tapes on top sliding against the foldable furniture. He was only a few feet away from her, just enough that they could stretch their legs out without hitting a nearby display.

“Is there something I can help you with?” she inquired smoothly as she tried to slip back into her more professional demeanor.

“Don’t do that…” he responded casually, no doubt catching onto her cold change in tune and her body language.

“Don’t what? Act professional? Offer to help you pick out a new mixtape or vinyl? I’m at work, Billy… What did you expect?” Krystal questioned in an indifferent voice, slowly crossing her arms over her chest and leaning against the worn-out checkout counter. Her brown eyes were sharp and hard, unimpressed by his dismissive attitude, his casual interruption of her shift and the invasion of her privacy.

“C’mon, the place is empty. Nobody’s around. Surely, you make a few minutes for a friend,” Billy commented lowly with a gleam in his icy eyes, his signature smirk etched across his handsome features. He then moved slowly away from the display table and swayed towards her, towering over her by a head. It was obvious that he was trying to size her up, something that Krystal herself was used to, being surrounded by men with lab coats and medical equipment back at Hawkins Lab.

“A friend? You’ve only known me for over two weeks now, have had two or three encounters with me… and now you’re throwing that term around casually like it’s water?” she whispered as she tilted her head in a perplexed yet mildly amused expression.

All Billy could do was chuckle in that cutting way he often does when faced with someone to tease, the low sound vibrating in his chest as his eyes examined her like an X-ray machine. The blonde Californian boy spoke up again, “What’s wrong with callin’ you a ‘friend’? You gotta admit… I’ve had an effect on you, right?”

A barking scoff escaped her lips, conveying how incredulous and insulted she was by his arrogant words. Uncrossing her arms and sitting up straight, she began to speak, “If by effect, you mean ‘having absolutely no fucking idea what to make of you and your antics’, then sure, you’ve left a mark.”

“My antics? Meaning what, exactly?” He coaxed in a low tone, tilting his head with a mock expression of confusion. Was he joking or was he being serious about not knowing his position and newfound status in this small town?

“Well, let’s see… the rivalry with Steve, for one… the girls you parade around with… the fact you play your car radio’s music at nearly full volume. Let’s also not forget when you called me ‘sweetheart’ in chemistry and almost all the girls in class nearly murdered me for it,” She answered, trying to match the lazy and condescending posture that Billy was oozing while crossing one leg over the other. If he wanted to be the smug bad boy from school, then she could match his energy gladly.

Billy seemed to notice the shift in her demeanor, his smirk widening as he eyed her up and down, “Damn! If I had realized just how much trouble a pet name would get you, I would’ve said it to you privately…”

Krystal was stunned by his outright flirtatious comment about what happened to her in chemistry class during his first day. The fact that he seemingly wasn’t taking her seriously is what got to her. What was up with this guy? Was he teasing her because of her friendship with Steve? The fact that someone like her, Hawkins High’s She-demon, was friendly with the King of Hawkins High? Is that what this was about? Some kind of game? Was he trying to get to Steve through her? She let out another scoff, softer this time but once again incredulous, “You think I’m joking, don’t you?”

“Never said you were,” the blonde responded quickly, though not defensively and still in that ever-laidback and seductive tone that was his signature.

“Really? Then why do I get the feeling that I’m being played for a fool?” She interrogated, standing up straight and uncrossing her arms. She then proceeded to try and size him up, the same way he did to her just moments before. As if startled by her sudden movement, Billy took a step back yet his face went from shocked to slightly amused. Okay, so the she-demon can take him on without issue… definitely more than a good thing…

Billy stepped closer to her, the two teens now standing chest-to-chest and breathing heavily. He glanced down at her, his blue eyes dark and scanning her face, his voice low and dangerous, “I don’t think you’re a fool. Far from a fool, actually. Like I said a few days ago in the school parking lot, you’re the type to not let anyone tell you what to do. It means you don’t like being tamed…”

“So what? You think it’s your job to tame me? Do the one thing that the other boys, including Harrington, can’t?” she challenged in a low and interrogative voice, her chin tilted up towards the Californian demigod and brown eyes staring into the ice of his.

Billy’s expression flickered for a brief moment, a look of genuine shock and wonder at her words and questions. But it turned into an expression that could only be described as wickedly seductive and challenging her self-protective disposition. He spoke again, his voice having a low timbre, “No, that’s not my thing. Though, I do wonder why someone like you feels the need to be on your guard all the time.”

“Heh, you haven’t earned the right to hear my life story, Hargrove. Maybe, someday when you prove that you don’t have to pry to get what you want from people,” she hummed in an unyielding tone, a subtle smirk on her lips and a challenge glittering in her eyes.

“Guess I’m gonna work hard for the privilege to hear it. Especially if it’s coming from you,” Billy purred with a wolfish smirk, accepting the challenge that she had thrown to him like a hearty bone to a hungry dog. After a few more moments of intense staring, he then leaned forward and whispered huskily into her ear, “See you tomorrow, Sterling…”

The Californian bad boy pulled away and turned to leave the shop, his usual swagger ever present. As he walked out the door, he slipped past the approaching chief of the Hawkins Police Department, Jim Hopper. His tan police uniform stretched tightly around his somewhat portly body, hidden by the brown leather jacket he wore. His large, tall and imposing form could’ve startled the bravest of soldiers and the strongest of soldiers. His thinning dark hair and mustache were easy to spot, making him distinctive in a crowd. As he waltzed into the music shop, smelling of police station coffee and cigarette smoke, he spotted Krystal and smiled tentatively, “Ahh, Krystal, so good to see ya!”

“Chief… Haven’t seen you in a while. Work’s been busy?” Krystal asked him brightly, her tense mood from before lifting as Hopper acknowledged her.

“Oh, yeah. I get complaints from townsfolk complaining about the volume of their neighbors’ TV being too loud. One time, an elderly lady’s cat got stuck in a tree outside of her house after she left the bedroom window open. A crackpot journalist, Murray Bauman, keeps trying to have me investigate you and… and Eleven, convinced that El was a Russian super weapon and you were unwitting cover for her,” Hopper answered with a tone of gentle frustration, tiredly trudging over to the checkout counter where Krystal was still leaning against after her conversation with Billy.

“You’re kidding. Does he know who I am? Does he know where I live?” she asked as she looked up at him, concern becoming evident in her voice.

“No, I don’t think so. I’ve told him if he tries to interview you or goes near your house, I’ll arrest him. It seemed to get through to him, but I’m not holding my breath.”

“Don’t worry. If he comes near me, you’re the first one I’m calling,” she replied coolly as she glanced down at her crossed feet and the blue and red patchwork converse that she had on. Just when she thought she had gotten some peace and quiet, there was something else to look over her shoulder for.

“I’m on speed dial. Feel free,” he joked, shoving his calloused hands into the pockets of his jacket. After a moment of awkward silence, he spoke again in a softer tone, “You still thinking about El?”

Krystal took a deep breath and then exhaled shakily before opening up, “I can’t help it… With the holidays coming up and all the things going on, I wonder about what could’ve been. El would be in school, getting excited about Halloween and the festivities around it. We’d be living in my house, telling each other anything and everything. About school, about life, about what we like and dislike… It’s just… hard not to think about it…”

All Hopper could do in that moment was nod subtly, his support silent but solid and all-encompassing. His next question made her blood boil, “And what about ‘Papa’?”

“Don’t get me started,” she hissed, which was really more like a growl, not even looking at Hopper as she stared ahead at the shelves of vinyl records. As she spoke, her brown eyes turned golden as her sclera darkened, wisping shadows starting to come off her shoulders like smoke. She flexed her fingers, curling and stretching them like a cat using its paws to make biscuits on fleece blankets. As her anger grew, she looked more and more like the she-demon that those at school had labelled her as. The only thing that was missing was a pair of dark and curved horns, protruding from the sides of her head.

“Hey, hey, breathe…” Hopper whispered in that fatherly voice she knew as he placed a comforting hand on her tense shoulder. Krystal listened to his advice, taking in a deep breath and letting it out before rinsing and repeating the process. After about three breaths, the black smoke around her fainted slowly and her eyes returned to their original brown. When he asked her if she was calmed down, she nodded her head curtly and popped the stiffness out of her neck. A trickle of blood came streaming from the right nostril of her nose, which she quickly wiped away with the back of her hand.

“I’m sorry,” She mumbled, letting out another deep exhale as she crossed her arms over her chest once again. Tilting her head back, she added with an exhaustion that was mental rather than physical, “My temper… it’s never been this bad. When El was around, it was much more controlled. But with her gone, it’s gone out of control…”

“Yeah, I heard. What do they call you over at the high school? The She-demon?” he questioned like a slight chuckle, folding his arms over his own chest.

“Yeah, you heard that rumor, huh?” Krystal laughed humorlessly, looking at him with curiosity gleaming in her eyes.

“Oh, yeah. I also heard that Hargrove fella, who was here earlier, has taken some kind of interest in you. Though, what kind of interest he has for you is beyond anyone’s understanding,” Hopper crowed with an incredulous and bemused tone, throwing his head back in a laugh that was more like a bark.

“Yeah, I don’t know why he’s so fixated on me. I don’t know if it’s because I’m friends with Steve or because he wants the prestige and bragging rights of having tamed the infamous She-demon of Hawkins High. But, I’m not gonna give him the satisfaction of that privilege. He’s gonna have to earn it,” she hummed with a satisfied smirk that she was gonna make Billy work for her trust to see if he could earn it honestly.

“Good for you. Boys like Hargrove are heartbreakers and don’t do commitment for anyone. I’d hate to see you get your heart broken by a boy like that after everything you’ve been through last year,” he explained lowly in an extremely serious tone, as if he had seen these high school dynamics and situations played out before.

“Heh, yeah, I know. I’m not about to get hung up on a boy who only sees me as a conquest to brag about or a cheap thrill to satisfy his needs. I’m not the kind of girl to go quietly about that kind of thing,” she responded, sitting up straight and walking over to a display table and started looking through boxes of cassette tapes. She had managed to pull out two scuffed tapes from the cardboard box, one with Duran Duran emblazoned in black marker and the other with The Smiths written on it.

“Oh, I know. If anything, I’m just as worried about you doing something to that boy as I am with that boy hurting you,” Hopper cautioned as he watched her examine the contents of the boxes on display, making it clear that he was concerned with how a situation like hers with Billy could turn ugly very quickly.

“I haven’t used my powers in public once, Hopper. Only at home when I’m alone,” she remarked, leaning against the display table and putting her free hand on her hip.

“I know, but keep it up. If any of Brenner’s men are still out there, they could come back for you,” he reminded her, his voice grave and his posture stiff and intimidating. If looks could kill, Krystal would’ve been a fresh dead body in the middle of Dylan’s shop.

“I will… for El… for what should’ve been our lives to begin with…” Krystal affirmed with an air of confidence and determination, the light in her coffee-colored eyes burning like embers of an ignited fire.

Hopper nodded subtly, giving her a slight smile before turning around and waltzing out the door. She watched from the glass door and windows as he hopped into his cruiser and pulled out of the parking lot outside. She sighed silently out through her nose, realizing that teenage life was more complicated than she had initially thought. The clouds hanging above grew darker and thunder roared overhead, matching her complex train of thought. Gotta love Hawkins, Indiana in the fall and winter months.

“Hey, Krystal! I need a little help with some of these boxes!” Dylan exclaimed roughly from the backroom, his voice strained from the effort of lifting heavy packages. Krystal turned away from the front door, racing to the back to aid her boss with the deliveries of new releases. Her thoughts and feelings were now more focused on her job and less on the daily drama and angst of her teenage life. For once, since the beginning of the month, she felt lighter, despite lifting boxes of vinyls and cassettes.

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[ciphenwriter21]

Seeds of Chaos Masterlist

A/N: This is the masterlist of my ongoing Stranger Things fanfic, Seeds of Chaos. Any additional content will be added to a dedicated section at a later date.

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Main Table of Contents

Prologue

Ch.1 - Heavy is the Crown

Ch.2 - Rock ‘N Roll

Ch.3 - Girls Just Want to Have Fun

Chapter Four in Progress…

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One-shots

Nothing yet…

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Headcanons

Nothing yet…

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Add-ons

Krystal Sterling (Character Profile)

Nothing else yet…

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[ciphenwriter21]

Seed of Chaos (A Stranger Things Story) - Chapter One: Heavy is the Crown

First chapter and we are hitting the ground running. Chapter Two is now being worked on and won’t be far behind!

WARNING! ⚠️ The following chapter mentions or discusses topics about child abuse, exploitation, human experimentation, bullying and possible themes of parent-child role reversal dynamics.

Series Masterlist

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The first two weeks since Billy joined the student body of Hawkins High School has been a rollercoaster of a time, to say the least. Almost everyone in the school wanted a piece of him, most of them being the girls who were easily charmed by his voice and appearance. The guys all want to be him or be like him, though they would probably never be able to because no one can be a blatant copy of someone else. Meanwhile, Steve Harrington was learning that his new demeanor was costing him his tenure as the King of Hawkins High. Not that Steve seemed bothered by it from what Krystal could tell; he was more upset about his ex-friends, Tom and Carol, giving him grief about it. Other than that, he was more focused on being a good boyfriend to Nancy and a nicer guy in general. Not to mention, it was his senior year, meaning he had to think about colleges or careers.

Krystal had met Steve when he was still in his ‘high school bad boy’ phase last year. By that point, she had only just been introduced to Nancy by Jonathan when they went looking for Barb. She and the eldest Wheeler child had bonded over their shared affinity for firearms and other existential topics. When they came back from the Upside Down, their search yielded more questions and anxieties than hopes and answers. They had to go to sleep, fear running rampant and their whole world rattled by the experience.

When they woke up the next morning, they found that Steve, in a fit of anger and jealousy with instigation from Tom and Carol, wrote ‘Nancy ‘The Slut’ Wheeler’ on the movie theater sign in red paint. When confronted, Steve revealed that he saw Jonathan and Nancy in bed together, despite the two not having sex. They were simply trying to feel safe after their horrifying exploration by relying on each other’s company. Krystal had also been in the room, having slept on the floor on a pile of pillows, stuffed animals and blankets. Nancy had originally insisted that the brunette take the bed with Jonathan, while Nancy herself slept on the floor. But Krystal declined, insisting she would be okay on the floor.

Apparently, Steve didn’t see Krystal in the room that night because he was surprised when the mysterious girl reprimanded him for his callousness. Steve hadn’t known what to make of Krystal initially, given her sudden appearance in town and her quick friendships with Nancy and Jonathan. However, that didn’t stop Steve from getting his jabs in at Jonathan, resulting in the older Byers boy trading fists with the King of Hawkins High. It ended with both teenage boys beaten and battered, the fight having stopped as soon as it started.

Steve then seemed to have a eureka moment after that fight with the trio because he eventually apologized to Nancy. He even helped them fight the Demogorgon at the Byers’ residence and cleaned off the vandalism to the theater’s sign. He and Jonathan were more or less on better terms, though they barely spoke to each other after the fight and Will’s eventual return. Steve did make an effort to be more respectful of Jonathan, but the Byers child wasn’t a very talkative guy to begin with. Though, the only time they would talk to each other is when Krystal was speaking to them in a group setting with Nancy.

Today’s lunch period was a perfect example of that dynamic at play. Both Krystal and Jonathan just finished getting their lunches and were looking for a table to sit at. The cafeteria was packed to an almost suffocating degree, laughter and overlapping conversations assaulting their ears from all angles. It didn’t take long for the duo to be flagged down by Steve himself, “Sterling! Byers! C’mon over! Nance is looking for ya!”

Giving each other a pensive glance, they moved over to the table where Steve and Nancy were seated. Placing their trays and lunches on the table, they took their seats on the benches across from the couple. As they dug into their meals, Nancy was the first to speak, her voice soft and gentle like always, “How’ve you been, Krystal?”

“I’m doing good, thanks. Got an A on that algebra test I was dreading. I nearly got a manicured nail to the eye because some girl’s boyfriend started flirting with me while I was going through my locker. And then there was-” Before she could continue any further, Nancy stopped her midway.

“No, I mean… after, you know…” the girl explained gently, trying to clarify what she was trying to ask Krystal about.

“Oh, well… I’ve been better… With Halloween coming up, I… keep thinking about how it would’ve been El’s first Halloween… she’d probably want to go trick-or-treating, maybe watch a few scary movies…” Krystal hummed sullenly, thinking about all the things El would’ve wanted to do for the upcoming holiday.

“I’m sorry, Kris. I may not know much about what you and your sister were like together, but you seem like a good big sister,” Steve stammered ever so slightly, trying his best to be considerate and supportive in his new ‘good guy’ image.

“Thanks, Steve,” she mumbled softly, but she meant her words. Steve had become a much better guy after his confrontation and fight with Nancy and Jonathan, being more sensitive and respectful than he was before. As heavy silence fell over their lunch table, Krystal decided to break it by talking to Steve again, “How have you been, by the way?”

Harrington let out a scoffing huff before giving her his answer, “Could be better. That new guy, Hargrove, is kicking my ass on the basketball court. He’s got Tom and Carol wrapped around his fingers-”

“Wait, Hargrove? Billy Hargrove?” Krystal gawked in surprise, interrupting Steve as she tried to process the new swarm of high school gossip.

“You’ve met him?” Jonathan suddenly piped up as he picked at his sandwich, his voice shocked and somewhat incredulous.

“He’s in my chemistry class. His first day in class, he asked me for a pencil and called me ‘sweetheart’. His flirting almost made me into a murder victim of the other girls in the class,” she explained in an exasperated tone, feeling a subtle migraine begin to form just thinking about the incident in Mr. Lennox’s chemistry class.

“Damn. That’s bullshit! You weren’t the one flirting,” Nancy said, her voice laced with concern and frustration for her friend. Krystal nodded solemnly, still feeling a little tense upon remembering the stalemate from chemistry class a few weeks ago. Being looked at and seen by other jealous teenage girls as an obstacle to be quashed over some hot guy was honestly disturbing and surreal to her.

The brunette spoke again slowly, still upset and shaken over the incident over Billy in chemistry, “Yeah, but you know how jealous and possessive girls are, especially those with entitlement issues and money. They think once they have their eyes on someone or something, it’s theirs no matter what. Anyone who gets too close to what they want, they won’t hesitate to claw out their eyes.”

Since she was very young, Krystal was taught to be observant, especially by Dr. Brenner early on. He told her that people would try to hurt her and that she needed to find the signs before she got hurt. That way, she could strike them first and swiftly, eliminating the threat before they got to her first. When El came along, a part of Krystal questioned that philosophy, especially seeing how Brenner and his team treated El simply for expressing a sliver of agency. Since their escape, the brunette can’t help but notice things about people and places, especially the most meaningless little details. She had learned to keep certain things to herself, partly to protect herself and another part to use the information at a later point.

“Yeah, I know. Believe me,” Nancy murmured softly, running her hands over her arms and rubbing her light pink sweater against her skin. Another awkward beat of silence fell over them as they thought about their generation’s pension for cruelty and jealousy. It was an uncomfortable truth for the group to confront, especially for Steve who had seen the damage caused by his own mean streak.

Hoping to break the silence, Krystal cleared her throat harshly and chose to change the subject of conversation, “So, Steve, when is the next basketball practice session? I was thinking about swinging by to watch and do some homework…”

Stunned by her question, Steve paused to remember the time and day of basketball practice, “Oh, yeah… It’s, um…”

“After school. Next Thursday at 3pm going to 7pm…” another voice cut in from above to answer the question for Steve. The group of four looked up at whoever had disrupted their conversation, their looks ranging between annoyed and surprised. Standing over the table with a pretty blonde around his arm stood Billy Hargrove, looking all too content and smug in jeans, a button-down and a leather jacket. Tom and Carol were trailing behind him like a set of lost puppies, seeking scraps of attention and approval from a dismissive owner. Krystal recognized the giggling blonde in jeans and a light blue blouse next to him as another cheerleader whose name eluded her in that moment.

“What do you want, Hargrove?” Steve asked in a slightly annoyed tone, scooting closer to a tense Nancy like a wolf protecting its mate. Krystal could smell the tension like it was a toxic spill of cologne and chemicals, noxious and almost disorienting. Jonathan Byers looked like he wanted to disappear into the cracks in the walls, curling and shrinking into his dark oversized jacket.

“Just wanted to see the new kind of company you’ve been keeping, Harrington,” Billy teased with a cutting grin, the backhanded comment very obvious. He removed his arm from the blonde cheerleader he was parading around to lean against the table by his hands, making the group uncomfortable. Before long, the Cali boy’s icy blue gaze landed on Krystal in her leather jacket and ripped jeans, who was pushing food around on her plate with her plastic fork. Without a second thought, he immediately slipped into flirtatious bad boy mode, “Though, I think I’ve met this one before…”

Krystal grew still in her seat, shock and anxiety elevating her blood pressure due to the blatant attention from Billy. Slowly, she looked up at him, catching sight of his wolfish smile and the gleam of carnal hunger in his eyes. Behind him, the pretty blonde cheerleader grew jealous and angry at Billy’s flirting before turning around and walking away with a scoff. After what felt like an eternity of Billy and Krystal staring at each other, Steve’s voice broke through the tension with impromptu introductions, “Hargrove… Sterling. Krystal Sterling…”

“Krystal…” Billy purred with a husky tone that was all too deliberate. Her name rumbled deep in the depths of his firm chest before rolling off the tip of his tongue like honey. The brunette blinked in surprise, her heart beating against her ribcage like a prisoner trying to break down jail bars of bone. Damn it, that fluttering feeling in her chest and stomach again. It came up when Billy first arrived and made his mark on the school two weeks ago.

As the tension became thick and unbearable, Krystal dropped her fork and offered up her hand for a formal handshake, “Welcome to Hawkins…”

Billy’s eyes flickered between Krystal’s extended hand and face, that seductive smirk of his growing ever so slightly. After a moment, he took her hand in his and shook with a firmness that was both powerful and startlingly gentle. It was almost a near complete contradiction of the rugged and suave ladies’ man with the nice car and athletic talents. When his hand stopped shaking hers, he didn’t let go and continued holding her hand. His eyes remained locked with hers as he held her hand for a moment too long. He pulled his hand away after a while, but he made sure his touch lingered. His fingers dragged along the palm of her hand and the tips of her fingers, the touch burning her skin faintly. With his gaze still lingering on her, Billy turned and stalked away from the table, his entourage of Tom and Carol behind him.

“What in the hell was that?” Jonathan mumbled with a strained tone, his shoulders relaxing as they walked away.

“Looks like Hargrove is interested in the silver-tongued she-demon of Hawkins High,” Steve hummed in an observant tone, using the student body’s official title that Krystal had gained during her first month at school. The brown-eyed lab escapee stared blankly at the former bad boy with an unamused look, not buying Steve’s explanation for Billy’s blatant display of seduction towards her.

“Have you seen some of the lady friends he likes to show off? I’m not his type, Harrington. Doubtful I’ll ever be,” she hissed, trying to be factual and blunt. But her statement only left her sounding disappointed, as if this new encounter with Billy had exposed something ugly that she wished had stayed hidden.

“Yeah, I know, he’s a player who likes to hit it and quit it. Trust me, I was the same way before Nancy came along. I’m just saying… you’ve caught his eye, which is why you need to be careful,” Steve warned gently, his tone still as casual as ever but with a seriousness that is meant to be protective.

“Don’t worry, I will. I’m done letting people control and manipulate me,” Krystal hissed, stabbing her salad with the cheap plastic fork before popping the lettuce and carrot shavings into her mouth. Steve could only nod solemnly at her words, looking at Nancy and Jonathan with an awkward and distant look.

“Krystal, are you going to Tina’s Halloween party?” Nancy asked kindly, folding her arms onto the table.

“Yeah, I’m working on my costume… Well, outfit, actually. I didn’t want to go overboard,” Krystal rejoiced calmly, her somewhat sour mood lifted by the Wheeler daughter’s curious question. As she looked to her left to ask Jonathan the same question, she was met with an empty seat and a missing tray. As she and Steve looked questioningly to Nancy for answers about the Byers teen, the pink-clad girl sighed softly.

“I’ve been trying to get him to be more social. He’s… been kinda resistant,” Nancy muttered in a disappointed voice as she held herself and rubbed her arms uncomfortably. It was clear that she was upset that Jonathan was ignoring her attempts to help him with the social isolation that had become his only safe space.

“I wouldn’t force it, Nance. Jonathan is used to being alone with his hobbies and his family,” Krystal remarked delicately, letting her down easy while twisting the cap off her small bottle of orange juice. Steve gently placed his hand on hers as she nodded sadly, leaning her head against his shoulder.

Krystal could only smile slightly at the young couple, envious of their shared joy and affection. Years of seeing romantic connections in books and whatever limited television the lab allowed her to see, she knew that love and romance were things that she wanted and hoped for in her life. Though, she told herself that it wasn’t something she needed or even could get, trying to be realistic while under the watchful eye of Brenner and the lab’s employees. However, now she just wanted to keep herself safe, both from whoever remained at the lab from Brenner’s tenure there and the bullies at Hawkins High.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The final bell of the day rang through the school like an alarm, students starting to pour out into the hallways and out of the exits. Krystal moved stiffly through the condensed crowds of students, her backpack slung haphazardly over her left shoulder. She pushed carefully past fellow students towards the exit leading to the parking lot, receiving dirty looks and movements from them. As she pushed the front door open, she was struck with the crisp autumn air and the fresh scent of clean rain. She walked towards her car with swift steps, pulling her keys out of the narrow pocket of her leather jacket. Glancing up from her fumbling fingers clutching the keys, she saw Billy leaning against the trunk of her Cadillac, smoking a cigarette. What was he doing next to her car, leaning against it like it was his?

She moved over to her vehicle, slowly coming up next to Billy, who smirked sensually as she approached, “Can I help you, Hargrove?”

Billy’s smirk only widened as she addressed him directly, speaking to her in that charming and buttery voice, “Figured I’d take a chance to talk privately with the She-demon of Hawkins High.”

Krystal let out a long, knowing sigh, concluding that Tom or Carol must have told him her socially-decreed title among the student body. She looked at him as he continued smoking, her tone even and casual, “Yeah, that's me. I’m guessing you heard about all the boys I cussed out or flipped the bird to?”

Billy let out a dry, deep laugh as he took a long drag from his cigarette, smoke coming from his nose and mouth, “Yeah. Actually got a kick out of some of those stories. Is it true you punched a guy because he tried to grab your ass?”

“Yeah, I’m surprised no one said or did anything about it,” Krystal answered coolly as she remembered the bitter incident from a few weeks ago with a mix of slight shame and anger, giving a half-hearted and humorless laugh. She always had more control over her temper before breaking out of Hawkins lab and coming into town. Even then, her temper was much cooler and quieter than it was today. But, the hunt for the Demogorgon and losing El had somewhat shaken that control she had curated from her training.

“Heh, you’re a real firecracker, aren’t you?” Billy chuckled in that seductive purr, huffing out cigarette smoke as he dragged his tongue along his bottom lip.

“Better a no-nonsense firecracker than a passive little doe,” she affirmed lowly in a serious tone, twisting and turning her keys between her nimble fingers. Years of being a test subject that was trained to kill had turned her spine to steel and gave her a resolve that was as sharp as a knife.

Billy gave her a subtle chuckle as his icy eyes roamed over her face and even occasionally, her body. Whether it was out of jest or out of interest for her, Krystal couldn’t be too sure of what he was trying to convey. After a beat of silence, Billy opened his mouth again, “Y’know, I wasn’t expecting someone like you in a town like this.”

Krystal cocked her head like a curious puppy processing spoken words. Her brown hair with its front streak of white bounced slightly as his words caught her off guard. Hearing those words felt strange, the prospect of her being an anomaly in Hawkins to this Californian boy knocking her off-balance. She knew that he probably meant it as a compliment or an observation, but it was still an odd thing to someone you’ve only seen in class for two weeks. When she spoke up, she almost sounded breathless, “That supposed to be a compliment, Hargrove?”

“I’m just saying that you don’t let anyone tell you what to do. It shows character,” He mused in that infuriatingly low voice, tossing his dying cigarette to the ground before walking away and swaggering over to his Camaro.

Krystal watched him stroll away as she shuffled over to the Cadillac’s driver-side door, popping it open. She continued to watch Billy as he leaned back in the driver seat of his car, looking relaxed with his sunglasses over his eyes. As this was happening, a young redhead girl on a skateboard, no older than thirteen, glided over to the sleek blue Camaro. The 17-year-old girl observed with careful eyes as the younger girl hopped off her skateboard and into the front seat next to Billy. A few minutes later, the Camaro started up and pulled out of the parking lot a little too quick for comfort.

Turning her gaze back to her car, she slipped into the driver’s seat and put the key into the ignition. The engine roared to life as she turned the key, the radio starting to play Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody at a reasonable volume. She began to slowly back out of her parking spot, keeping an eye out for students and staff that were walking by. She kept the maneuver safe and steady until she was fully backed out, allowing her to drive out of the parking lot.

The drive back home from school was nothing but a blur, the radio station she had on now playing Billy Idol’s White Wedding. It was a route that had been embedded into her muscle memory, her arms steering the wheel through winding roads and around street corners. Upon seeing the familiar canopy of trees and telephone poles, her house came into view along the right side of Percival Street. It was an abandoned, dead-end road within Hawkins that people rarely went, except to meet with a drug dealer or the occasional fleeting hook up. It wasn’t anything fancy, a small house with all the necessities and suitable for a single person to live in. The outside was brick with white-planed windows, gabled roofs and a bright red door as the front door. The concrete driveway was curved in front of the house, the cream-colored car bright against the dying green grass. As Krystal stepped out of her car and onto the front lawn, she let out a sigh of relief as the tensions of the day escaped her.

“Home sweet home…” she mumbled to herself, exhaustion and frustration starting to slowly set into her body. Pulling out her house key, she slipped it into the keyhole and turned it before turning the knob. She pushed the door open and walked into the house, stopping a few inches in order to close the door behind her. She was greeted by the sight of the kitchen, living room and dining room, all condensed into the small space that was her home. Past the small table and pair of wooden chairs, a long hallway stretched out towards the back of the house. The hallway led to her bedroom and the bathroom, along with a small closet for cleaning supplies or clean bedsheets.

Throwing her backpack onto the nearby reclining armchair, Krystal plopped down on the leather couch. Running her hands over her face, she sighed softly in frustration and wariness. The past two weeks since Billy’s arrival had been strange and nerve-wracking, unsure what to make of him and his quick rise as the up-and-coming King of Hawkins High. It was so strange how people seemed to gravitate towards him, either because of his looks or his demeanor. What was even stranger is that Billy seemed fixated on her for whatever reason, seemingly for either personal gain or just genuine interest. Krystal couldn’t really tell, her vision clouded by his charming looks and deep voice.

However, even she knew she shouldn’t let those things about Billy cloud her judgment. Her training back at Hawkins Lab taught her how to see through pretty facades and equally impressive reputations. Even now, she was mentally telling herself to keep Billy at arm’s length, not letting him get close enough to hurt her. But even as she continued that mantra, a part of her couldn’t help but think about Billy and if what he portrays himself to be to others was really him. Or was it a protective and hostile veneer to keep people at a distance? A highly-hedonistic and performative mask to hide the real person that was underneath?

She couldn’t truly know for sure and she wasn’t sure she ever would. Billy was right about one thing - she was an enigma, a puzzle, an anomaly. But, so was he and Krystal, despite her best efforts to push him out of her mind, felt this need to learn more about him. She knew that it would be difficult and potentially dangerous, but she has faced far worse over her ten years as a lab rat. She could handle a guy in high school, who seemed intent on getting into her good graces and maybe more. No doubt, Steve was going to be warning her against getting too close to Billy. But Steve wasn’t her mother nor her father; she could do what she wants and she can make her choices. If she could handle Brenner for most of her childhood, she could handle someone like Billy Hargrove.

Standing up, Krystal went down the hallway of the house towards the bathroom, a day’s labor laced in sweat and grime. As she got ready to take a shower, a stream of questions came to mind: Just what kind of trouble was Billy gonna cause her and her friends? How much of that trouble was she going to endure because of him and his choices? How was she going to handle it when that trouble found her?

Only time will tell…

~~~~~~~

Hope you enjoyed!

Bye!~

[ciphenwriter21]

Seed of Chaos (A Stranger Things Story) - Prologue: The Aftermath

So, here’s the prologue to my story, Seeds of Chaos. It’s mostly a recap of Season One and Krystal’s role during that season. I wanted to start at Season Two since that’s what Billy comes in. Anyways, enjoy!

WARNING! ⚠️ The following chapter mentions or discusses topics about child abuse, exploitation, human experimentation and possible themes of parent-child role reversal dynamics.

Series Masterlist

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Thirteen…

The Unlucky One…

Krystal Sterling…

The Shadow…

A lab rat by anything but choice…

Or, as Dustin Henderson once called her, The Sharpshooting Warlock…

But, she and she alone, was known by her younger sister, Eleven as ‘Sister’...

After going into the town of Hawkins with Eleven and helping a group of young boys and the Byers family find their friend, son and brother, Will, everything was slowly returning to a sense of normalcy. Well, almost; in order to stop others from being taken to the Upside Down, Eleven had to sacrifice herself to stop its resident monster, the Demogorgon. Before she did, she told Krystal to keep their new friends safe and take care of them. During El’s absence, Krystal grew close to the Hawkins teens, Steve Harrington, Nancy Wheeler and Jonathan Byers. They taught the girl about pop culture and general knowledge she may need when enrolling in school for the next year.

However, another problem arose… Krystal didn’t have a place to stay. Joyce had offered her a place to stay in her house, not wanting to leave the young girl to fend for herself. But, Will, Joyce’s son, had a better idea; a town fundraiser to raise money for Krystal to buy a home and live on her own. It was perfect since the holidays were coming up and what better way to spread good cheer than helping an orphaned 16-year-old girl find a home? Plus, it was Will’s way of thanking Krystal for helping him escape the Upside Down…

Once the New Year rolled around, the fundraiser had reached well past its intended goal, leaving Krystal with enough money to buy a small home near the high school. Whatever was left over was saved to buy a used car and pay off the first month of expenses as Krystal searched for a job. She eventually found a part-time job at the local music store, selling tapes, records, musical instruments and equipment. As she saved money and paid bills, everyone that she had befriended helped out when they could.

Nancy and Jonathan donated whatever old clothes and other items they didn’t use or touch anymore. Joyce helped with groceries and even wrote down some recipes for her to follow when she needed to eat. Steve, who was trying to turn over a new leaf, made a point to check on her and help her out whenever he could. The Party - consisting of Mike, Lucas, Dustin and Will - occasionally called or visited her to check in, bitching about how cruel and stupid the bullies at school are and geeking out about their latest session of Dungeons and Dragons. She became their surrogate big sister and their staunchest ally and defender, especially if anyone hurt or insulted them and their interests in any way.

Nearly a year after Will’s disappearance and return, along with Eleven’s sacrifice, Krystal started school at Hawkins High School. Nancy, Steve and Jonathan were helpful in tutoring and teaching her subjects she would need to know before starting her senior year. There were some topics she knew or understood, but her education wasn’t ironclad, given her restricted upbringing in the lab.

Her new life in Hawkins during the past year wasn’t perfect, but it was better than what it was before. She was already starting her second month of her life in high school, had a stable support group around her and a decent job and a house to call her home. She was exploring herself, slowly developing a sense of self and figuring out her interests outside of being a daughter to a man who only saw her and El as test subjects. Little did she know that someone new was about to come into her life and rock it to its very foundation…

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The alarm clock on Krystal’s nightstand on the right-hand side of the bed blazed to life with an ear-grating beep, going on repeat. The brunette tossed and turned violently and groggily in her queen-sized bed before her hand found the digital clock. With the push of a single button, the alarm’s buzzing stopped and she sat up, rubbing sleep and exhaustion from her brown eyes. Her feet then touched the cool wooden floor as she got up from the mattress and walked over to her dresser. She then looked back at the nightstand to the time on the clock, lit up in bright red light - 6:00 am…

With tired fingers, she pulled various pieces of clothes out of the dresser drawers, including a baggy green-and-black flannel, dark grey Queen t-shirt and ripped jeans. With sleepy steps and a big yawn, she trudged towards the bathroom and started running the shower. After the warm 15-minute shower and blow-drying her hair, the rest of her routine before school went into a mindless blur.

Get dressed in her chosen outfit…

Make and eat breakfast…

Brush her hair and teeth…

Grab her backpack and books…

Grab her keys…

By the time she was done, she left out the front door of her little house and walked over to her car. It was a cream-colored Mustang, a Cadillac built in 1963 and has been kept in near pristine condition ever since. When she was still in the lab, her and Eleven’s father had forced her to get a license as preparation for her eventual ‘duties’. She was fifteen when she was given driving lessons, which were always by one of Father’s scientists or lab techs. She had just turned sixteen when she got her license, monitored by the Hawkins lab to keep her from potentially escaping. She had only had her license for about four months before she and El made their escape and met the boys in the Party.

As she pulled into the school parking lot, she immediately noticed how packed it already was, only a few parking spaces left. She pulls into the nearest spot, along the edge of the parking lot and near the freshly-mowed grass on the grounds. Turning the key in the ignition, the engine switched off with a click and the inside of the car went dark. With a deep breath, she grabbed her bag and books before opening the driver-side door carefully to avoid hitting the car to her left. As she closed the car door behind her, she noticed a few people were staring at her, either with quiet contempt or careful curiosity.

During her first month at Hawkins High and even after, she already had a few friends from when looking for Will, including Nancy, Jonathan and Steve, along with a few enemies. A few popular girls who had gotten upset or jealous when their boyfriends or crushes turned their heads to look at her with thunderstruck awe or lip-licking hunger. A number of jocks and players who had catcalled her and had been vulgar to her in the hallways, only to be cussed out by her own mouth. Miraculously, she was never called into the principal’s office for her use of foul language and behavior against fellow students. Whether it was because she was the new kid or the students she had bad encounters with were now scared or avoidant of her, she didn’t know. Needless to say, she had quickly gained a reputation as the mysterious homeschooled girl-turned-transfer-student with a silver tongue. Because of it, people at school took to calling her the ‘She-demon of Hawkins High’.

As she took her first steps towards the school, another car pulled into the parking spot across the way. It was a dark blue Chevy Camaro with black racing stripes and California license plates, looking almost brand-new and perfectly clean. Rock You Like A Hurricane by Scorpions played on the car at incredible volume where everyone could hear it. For a fraction of a moment, Krystal faltered in her path and slowly stopped while eyeing the sleek car with intrigue. After a few seconds, the driver opened the door and swung a muscular leg out, revealing scuffed dark leather boots and boot-cut light-washed jeans.

As they stepped out into the early morning light, it revealed that the driver was a guy, brooding and swaggering with an air of mystery and allure. He was handsome with dirty blonde hair in a curly mullet, tanned skin, blue eyes like ice and the tall, broad build of someone athletic and powerful. He was clad tightly in light-washed denim with a white tank top and a circular silver pendant hanging around his neck. His appearance drew the attention of several girls, who ogled him like he was a juicy T-bone steak from the butcher shop. As she continued her trek towards the school’s main entrance, she overheard a conversation about the new guy between a group of girls:

“Who is that?” she heard one of the girls ask, her voice a tone of flirtatious awe and hormone-induced wonder.

“I have no idea, but would you check out that ass? Just look at it go…” another girl commented giddily, her eyes wandering hungrily to his toned backside.

Krystal rolled her eyes and shuddered at their gleeful banter, disgusted by the blatant objectification of a new student. While the new guy didn’t seem to care or be bothered by their comments, it still made Krystal sick to her stomach. She had been treated the same way when she first arrived at Hawkins High, being leered at by boys who wanted nothing more than to take a bite out of her. The popular girls tried a subtler approach, hoping to make her into a guinea pig for their exclusive cliches with flattery and lunches together. However, Krystal stood her ground and refused their advances and offers for conditional friendship or wild nights, choosing the friends she already had before attending school. Nancy, Steve and Jonathan had proved themselves trustworthy during the quest to find Will and after she lost El. She had also tried to help them in return, especially Nancy with her guilt after her best friend, Barb, was taken and killed in the Upside Down.

Pushing her heated thoughts aside, she moved swiftly towards the front doors, pushing the right door open to get inside. Within a few seconds, she was hit with the bland and lifeless sight of locker-lined hallways and grey-tile flooring. Without missing a single beat, she sped towards her own locker, a few students, both girls and guys, glancing her way as she breezed past. As she approached her locker with careful steps, she put the combination into the lock before flicking her wrist to push the handle up and the door open. As the metal locker door swung open, Krystal was met with the books, papers and knick-knacks she had stuffed inside previously. Flipping through textbooks and notebooks, her attention was drawn to the sound of teenage excitement profusing off the walls.

Looking down the hallway, she saw him again, the mystery boy with the California Camaro. The girls were practically drooling all over him, looking like they wanted to grasp him like he was a tree to be climbed. The boys, especially the sports junkies, were watching him like he was a paragon of manhood, a God-given gift to school boys aspiring to be men. The blonde demigod walked down the hallway like he owned the place, unapologetically carefree with a rebellious edge. She could see him flirting and winking at every girl he passed by, making Krystal realize that he was a charmer… a ladies’ man.

As he approached Krystal by her locker, he gave her a subtle yet charming smirk and wink as he strutted by. Once he was out of sight, she turned back to grabbing the class materials she needed and organizing what she didn’t. While this was happening, Krystal’s heart was racing against her chest while her cheeks began to heat up and turn a faint shade of red. Dear God, don’t tell her she was feeling something for the newest lady killer of Hawkins High. She wouldn’t be able to handle it if she was…

Just then, Jonathan Byers came up quietly behind her, having arrived before the new guy and having lingered in the halls for a while. They watched with subtle curiosity as the promiscuous new boy continued his walk down the main hallway. Jonathan then spoke up, “Who the hell was that?”

“New guy… from California…” Krystal answered simply, her gaze still lingering down the tiled hallway. She then turned back to her locker and rotated out the books and papers she needed for her upcoming classes. She then added with a more quiet tone, “Haven’t got a name for the face, yet…”

“The girls around here don’t seem to mind that,” Jonathan said softly in an unamused tone and Krystal could hear the sarcastic eye roll in his words, “Same thing with the jocks and playboys, too…”

“Steve’s gonna get into an absolute pissing match with him. If it even goes that far…” she hummed with a giggle, thinking about how Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington, the King of Hawkins High, would react to a new student coming for his crown.

“Well, I’d like to see Mr. California try to fight Harrington,” The eldest Byers son proclaimed with a soft, humorless chuckle. A beat of silence passed between them as they continued to think of the arrival of the new kid and the events that followed. After a few more moments, Jonathan spoke again, “How are you holding up, Krystal?”

“I’m fine. Not a hundred percent since losing Eleven, but I’m better than I was before,” She asserted delicately, closing the metallic door to her locker. She then turned around to face Jonathan for the first time since he came up to her, “How’s Will?”

The eldest Byers boy sighed in a hushed way, as if he didn’t want to talk about Will’s personal issues. Krystal could understand that; she was an older sibling herself and talking about a younger sibling’s personal problems felt like a moral and ethical violation. Jonathan finally found the courage to speak, “Will, he, well… he’s still a little shaken up. Still has nightmares about the Upside Down. Still withdrawn and dealing with kids calling him names and mocking him for coming back from the dead. It’s been worse since the one year anniversary of his disappearance is coming up soon.”

“Well, if you need someone to talk to him for ya, let me know. I’m sure I can give him a pep talk and help him regain some of his confidence,” she offered gently while casually throwing her backpack over her shoulder.

“Thanks, Krystal. I appreciate it. I’m sure Will and mom will appreciate it, too,” Jonathan chimed shyly, putting his hands in the pockets of his jacket. With a nod, he then turned around and walked off down the grey-tinted hallway to head off to his first class of the day. Krystal grabbed her belongings and trudged off to her first class, the keychains of her backpack giving a metallic jingle behind her. Her first class was chemistry, a subject that she was somewhat lukewarm about, having neither a love or hatred for the topic. She would’ve preferred a subject like biology or physics, something that she had some basic understanding of. Not that she didn’t know anything about chemistry; Nancy and Jonathan were able to get her up to speed, but even they only knew so much.

After some time traversing the halls, Krystal found her chemistry class and opened the door before walking inside. Within the lab classroom, a few students had already arrived, chatting with friends or going over the homework and notes from the previous lesson. The brunette took her seat, the fourth table away from the front of the room and the teacher’s personal desk. Little by little, more students came in, talking with their friends and partners or going to sit at their assigned seat. The stream of classmates was slow and steady, many of them taking their sweet time showing up for class. Teenage gossip and unfiltered drama seemed to be more important than school assignments and keeping up one’s grades.

Krystal wasn’t a perfect student by any means, but she tried to make an effort and worked hard in her classes. She might not be a straight A student, but her current grades could get her into a decent college or even a better job. While she didn’t know what she wanted to do after high school just yet, she was certain that she wanted to explore her options. Even if it meant she had to take a gap year after graduation to figure it out, she knew her life was hers to forge on her own terms. No one else could shape, change or mold it, according to their agenda and their expectations of her.

The ringing of the school bell cuts through the silence and Krystal’s somber thoughts about her future. More students assigned to the class filed in, bringing with them more chatter and the rustling of books and schoolbags. As they did, she pulled out her binder for chemistry and a pre-sharpened pencil, waiting for the teacher to come in and take attendance. As if on cue, the teacher walked in with his leather briefcase and brown trench coat, causing the class to scramble to get into their seats. A split second later, the teacher, Mr. Lennox's voice came out in a huff, “Alright, kids, settle down. Take your seats, please… Now, before we start today’s lecture, there’s a new student who will be joining you in your classes… Please give Mr. Billy Hargrove a warm welcome…”

Without further instruction, the sound of footfall came through the open classroom doorway. Before long, the culprit behind the footsteps appeared in the classroom, revealing it to be the Californian bad boy from earlier. A charming yet cutting half-smirk was etched onto his lips, amplifying the attractive high school playboy image. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his tight jeans, making him seem relaxed and overly casual for a new student. He then came to sit at the desk in front of Krystal’s, sitting next to a dark-haired girl who the brunette recognized as a member of the Hawkins cheer squad. Before long, he was flirting with her and making her laugh and giggle like any love-drunk teenager seeing their crush. Krystal ignored it all to the best of her ability, choosing instead to focus on Mr. Lennox’s droning lecture on the periodic table and chemical reactions.

However, it didn’t take very long for the new guy, Billy, to put his attention on her, turning around to face her. When he spoke for the first time, it was like butter on freshly-toasted bread, “Hey there…”

Krystal quickly looked up from her hastily-written notes, looking like a startled deer trapped in car headlights. She then let out a casual and informal response that was ultimately a question about his intentions of speaking to her, “Can I help you?”

“Got a spare pencil?” He asked huskily, half trying to charm her and half trying to be loose and aloof. Krystal noticed his change in demeanor while recognizing that he had displayed similar behavior when he entered the school for the first time that morning.

“Uh, yeah. One second…” She gave him a non-chalant yet receptive response to his request for a pencil. She leaned down in her chair towards her backpack at her side, rummaging through her backpack before finding another sharpened pencil that was floating around within the bag. Without another word, she passed the writing utensil to Billy, who took it all too slowly while giving her a hungry yet analyzing look. It was strange how he gazed at her, like he was trying to understand she wasn’t fawning over him like the rest of the female population of Hawkins High.

“Thanks, sweetheart…” He chirped in a low tone before turning his back to her, focusing on Mr. Lennox’s scribbles on the board. The pet name caused her heart to stop for a brief second and for her stomach to suddenly flip over itself. She wasn’t the only one who heard the particularly flirtatious nickname from the Californian demigod. A handful of the girls in the classroom were now looking at her with murder in their eyes, especially the girls higher up on the social totem pole.

To combat the stares, Krystal gave an appropriately defensive shrug, trying to say, without words, that their vitriol wasn’t justified when all she did was give the guy a pencil. Billy chose to talk to her and then flirt with her by calling her ‘sweetheart’, not her asking him to do so. Thankfully, the angry girls turned around and continued with their own notes, but the tension was still thick in the air. Billy and his female table mate seemed oblivious to it, laughing and trading pick-up lines as they compared notes.

Krystal returned to her own writings of chemistry topics and formulas, but her focus wasn’t as strong as before. Somehow, Billy’s arrival and first impressions have shaken her from her usual state of mind and derailed her train of thoughts. Her heart was racing in her chest again and her cheeks were warm and flushed, like they were back in the hallway when she encountered Billy the first time,

This had never happened to her before… though, then again, she never had the normal life experiences of a teenage girl. Everything in her life before coming to town was always extensive testing, experiments and rigorous training. She had never known what it was like to feel that fluttering sensation in her belly whenever a boy talked to her. She never knew that teens like her were more focused on school, parties and having fun before hitting their adult years.

Her and El’s father had kept them from seeing the outside world, confining them to the lab and the various rooms within it. The sisters never knew the kind of human beings they were supposed to be and grew up to become. When they got out, Brenner did everything he could to try and pull them back in, making promises Krystal knew he wouldn’t keep. Unfortunately, though thankfully, the Demogorgon ate him alive before he could drag them back in the darkness that they realized they hated.

Now, Krystal was living a life she could’ve only dreamed about back at the lab, a life she would’ve wanted El to have. She had friends she could count on, was pursuing education, had a job, was free and having fun. The only thing that was missing was El and the sisterly bond they could’ve forged without Brenner looming nearby. But, life wasn’t always fair when dealing out cards… and Krystal had to make do with the hand she was given…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hope y’all enjoy! Chapter One will be out soon!

[ciphenwriter21]

Character File: Krystal Sterling

Name: Krystal Emily Sterling

Nicknames: Kris, Sterling Silver

Alias: The Shadow, The She-demon of Hawkins High, The Sharpshooting Warlock

Subject #: 013

Age: 17 (S2), 18 (S3)… tbc…

Birthday: June 19th

Sex: Female

Current Residence: 87 Percival Street

Synopsis: When she was 5 years old, Krystal was given up by her parents to Dr. Brenner. The reason? Krystal had developed supernatural abilities that the parents and their families had considered ‘demonic’ and ‘cursed’. Brenner then branded her as Thirteen, experimenting on her and training her to use her abilities and other attributes to kill, spy and destroy. As she grew older and allowed a restricted education, she longed for a life outside the lab, despite Brenner’s false promises of future release.

At fifteen, she met the other young experiments, including a young girl named Eleven. Krystal grew attached to Eleven like an older sister to a younger sister. Krystal even took to calling Eleven ‘Ellie’, a semblance of a name for her. After an incident involving the deaths of the other experiments and an injured Eleven and Krystal, Brenner continued experimenting on and training them.

In the year 1983, when Krystal was sixteen, one of Eleven’s experiments went horribly wrong. A monster was unleashed and began to wreak havoc on the world outside of Hawkins Lab. However, it was this distraction that allowed Eleven and Krystal to escape. After a while of hiding and wandering, the sisters come upon three boys who were looking for their missing friend… who disappeared around the time the monster appeared…

While Eleven and the boys looked for their missing friend, Will, Krystal ventured off by herself at night. She happened upon a party in someone’s backyard, watching everything that happened. When a girl was left alone by the pool, Krystal witnessed her being taken by the monster. She then ran into a boy named Jonathan Byers, who was photographing the event. His photos led to the missing girl’s best friend, Nancy coming to them to help her find Barb.

While their search in the Upside Down was unsuccessful, Krystal got her first taste of teenage cruelty when Nancy’s boyfriend, Steve Harrington, vandalized a movie theater, writing ‘Nancy ‘the Slut’ Wheeler’ in red paint, all because he saw Jonathan sleeping at her house. Krystal reprimanded him for his lack of respect before Steve and Jonathan inevitably got into a fist fight. Some time later, Steve found them at the Byers House where they were attacked by the aforementioned monster. Thankfully, they were able to fight it off.

Some time later, Krystal and Eleven were found at Hawkins Middle School by Dr. Brenner and his associates after Eleven located Will with her powers. When they found the girls, the monster, the Demogorgon, arrived and ate Brenner alive, allowing the kids to run. However, Krystal was slashed deeply on her left shoulder by the creature’s claws.

But the Demogorgon was persistent, chasing them through the school hallways before they ducked into a classroom. Just when the monster came to attack them again, Eleven, despite being weakened from using her powers on Brenner’s people, stepped up to face it. In her last moments, Eleven bid goodbye to Mike and told Krystal to take care of their new friends. With one final use of her powers, Eleven and the Demogorgon were gone.

Will was found by his mother, Joyce, and Hawkins Police Chief, Jim Hopper and recovered from his injuries. As a thank you for helping him, Will suggested a town fundraiser for the holidays to help Krystal find a home and live in Hawkins. After New Years, Krystal was able to buy a small house, a used car and pay bills while finding a job. Eventually, she got a job at a local music store and started attending Hawkins High the following year.

Powers: Shadow Manipulation, heightened senses, superhuman strength, night vision, Light Manipulation, Healing (Through Power Transferability)… TBD…

Capabilities: Weapons Training, Training in Hand-to-Hand Combat, Martial Arts, Offensive/Defensive Training, Military Intelligence, Firearms Training, Misdirection Tactics… (training is limited due to abrupt disruption and ending of operations…)

~~~~~~~

[ciphenwriter21]

To anyone looking for more Billy Hargrove or Stranger Things content from me, I recently created an OC and decided to write a fanfic with them. I recently started rewatching the series and the fic called Seed of Chaos. Mind you, it might not completely adhere to the show, but honestly, who cares? It’s what fanfiction is…

I plan on putting out some information about my OC in the upcoming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled if you’re interested…

I will still be writing X Readers, especially my Saving Grace series for Billy. But, I’ll also be focusing on this new story of mine…

Until then, bye!~

(Edit: Some of my original character’s attributes may have inspired some of my X Reader fanfics. Keep that in mind if you see anything familiar…)

[reznorsgrrrl]

Something that has always disappointed me as a Billy Hargrove lover is that he was never really a fully fleshed out character. He never really had his own personal wants or goals like how the other characters do in Stranger Things. He was always more of a plot device who just existed on screen when the show needed him to push the story along. I wish he was given more substance than this tragic abused turned abuser who is also insanely hot and a literal and metaphorical vessel for other people’s agenda.

[ciphenwriter21]

This! ^

Billy could’ve had such potential, but it was squandered after Season 3. I would’ve loved to have seen him become a part of the team, especially in Season 4. It would’ve been cool to see him bond with characters like Eddie, banter and shit-talk with Steve and Robin, and even try to help Max and be a better step-brother. To grow as a character rather than being an accessory to the plot.

Thank God we have fanfics and talented writers willing to write stories that are sometimes better than the original material.

[ciphenwriter21]

Unlucky (Billy Hargrove X Reader)

Sequel to Saving Grace

Synopsis: After finding Billy, now resurrected by her hand, and explaining the threat on Max’s life, Reader walks Billy through a potential plan and what to do to prevent Vecna’s plan from coming to fruition…

Tags: @criminalyetminimal @degeneratedweeb

Warnings: Vecna is his own warning, Death, Underage Drinking (Reader hates beer), Resurrection, Trauma (especially Reader’s), Mentions of mental health/illness, Neil Hargrove Mention (I hate him sm), Mentions of The Mind Flayer, Mentions of the Upside Down, Guilty!Billy, Billy having a hard time accepting his redemption arc, etc…

~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~

Despite the chaos of the night, Billy and (Y/N) were able to come to a truce and sit down amicably. At least, as amicably as Billy could be after hearing that his young stepsister was marked for death. After getting dressed in a button-down and jeans, he came back into the living room.

“So, you’re saying this guy is called Vecna and is coming after Max for some grand scheme?” Billy asked, trying to wrap his head around the information that he was getting about what was yet to happen…

“Yep, plus a few others… and he has to be stopped before it’s fulfilled,” she answered from the kitchen as she popped the caps of two beers. She then turned to the dining table where Billy was sitting, placing one of the bottles in front of him. Billy takes it before downing a third of it without issue, while (Y/N) takes one sip and was immediately disgusted…

“What? Don’t like beer?” Billy quipped with a slight grin, setting his bottle down on the table.

“Pardon me, but living in the Upside Down means no time for inebriation. I lived off water and energy drinks…” she hissed, remembering how hard it was to survive in a world where danger lurks around every corner like a predator, waiting to strike its prey true.

“How do you do it?” Billy asked, now curious about how someone could survive in a place like the Upside Down for so long…

(Y/N) looks up at him, her eyes pained and grave as she remembered all the danger she encountered and how closer she was to death while eluding it. She spoke, her voice shaky but serious, “You fight to survive for so long, it becomes second nature…”

Billy couldn’t really think of anything to say to that. His whole life, he had walked on eggshells around his father, trying to avoid his anger and wrath. Still, all that trying would result in him being smacked around. He couldn’t even be his own person around his dad without the bastard having something to say about it. He could never do anything right in his father’s eyes… and that was the only certainty.

“Okay… so, about Vecna?” Billy moved the conversation back to its original topic. He didn’t want to get too deep into the nitty-gritty emotional drama.

“Right… from what I could gather, the victims show a distinct set of symptoms - frequent headaches, nosebleeds and irritability. Other side effects include dissociation, paranoia and even hallucinations. Hallucinations of what, I don’t know…” (Y/N) explained methodically, listening out the signs of Vecna’s influence.

Billy grabbed a nearby notepad and pen, scribbling down the symptoms and categorizing them under a label: Vecna’s Curse. Once he was done, he looked over the list to check for anything missing, “Alright… who are the victims? Is it just Max or are there more?”

“There’s two at Hawkins High that I’ve counted so far, but there might be more that I missed. Max is one of them, the other is a senior named Chrissy.”

“Chrissy… she was a junior on the cheer team when I was there,” Billy mumbled as he wrote down the names, recalling his time on the basketball team.

“Yeah, well, she’s a senior now and still on the cheer squad…”

“I figured. But my question is: How does this curse or whatever it is work? How Vecna goes after his victims?” Billy questioned, trying to figure out how this curse worked and why specific people were being affected.

“Vecna… he gets inside people’s heads… using their greatest fears, burdens or regrets against them, trapping them in their own minds… long enough to break them…” (Y/N) relaid, her tone somber and deadly grim with eyes that seemed distant and stormy.

“Figuratively… or literally?” Billy probed carefully, knowing he wasn’t gonna like the answer either way.

“Like if Darth Vader went from Force-choking to turning people into human pretzels…” the young woman paraphrased, trying to give a frame of reference without getting too graphic.

“Shit…” Was all Billy could utter as he ran his hands over his face. As he collected himself, he began turning to possible solutions, “Are there any remedies or ways to prevent it from getting worse?”

“A few. The first one is standard and only effective for the headaches: painkillers. The step above that is hard recreational drugs - basically, if it gives you a high, he can’t get in your mind.” She said, breaking down the methods to stave off Vecna’s curse, “The better alternative, for me and for Max, by the looks of it, is good ol’ music therapy…”

“Music? How is that helpful?” Billy challenged, not buying whatever (Y/N) was trying to tell him.

“As I’m sure you’re aware, Billy, music is a universal language, like any art form. It’s probably one of the best sources of comfort and joy for many. Because Vecna preys on people’s vulnerabilities, music can keep those who are afflicted with the curse grounded in their surroundings,” she explained to the best of her ability before adding onto her statement, “There’s one caveat, though - it has to be a song of personal significance and comfort…”

Billy nodded, seeming to understand why music was the best choice for preventing Vecna from doing his worst. But then, a thought occurred to him, “What song does Max use to fight off the curse?”

(Y/N) didn’t speak, instead pulling out her Walkman and slipping a tape inside. Setting it on the table, she pressed the ‘Play’ button and let the tape roll. Before long, ‘Running Up That Hill’ by Kate Bush filled the room, the song bittersweet its mournful lyrics and upbeat tempo. One line in the song struck Billy rather profoundly:

If I only could make a deal with God

I’d get Him to swap our places

(Y/N) hit pause on the song, seeing how it was starting to affect Billy. She could see the tears beginning to stream down his cheeks silently. Billy, meanwhile, realized why this song was Max’s only saving grace…

Max had Survivor’s Guilt… she believed that she should’ve died instead of him… that had the roles been reversed, Billy would’ve survived…

In a fit of shame, anger and regret, Billy threw his half-drunken beer across the room. It shattered as it hit the living room wall, sending glass and alcohol everywhere. (Y/N) didn’t even flinch - she was used to loud and abrupt noises due to living in the Upside Down. His body shook as sobs wracked through his body, the weight of the situation and his own buried guilt crashing down on him…

Max was marked for Death by a bastard named Vecna…

Her only sense of safety was a song that reminded her of her guilt over his death… that alleviated it…

His death and her grief from it was the loaded gun that Vecna had pointed at Max’s head…

Billy’s heart and mind raced a mile a minute as terror and regret set in. His eyes were now puffy and red, tears falling more freely now. After a few moments, he found his voice, but it was strained and wobbly, “This is my fault, it’s my fault…”

“Billy…” (Y/N) started, her voice firm as she stood up from the table.

“I was such a shitty brother to him… she was just a kid… and I took out my problems on her… I almost killed her when she was trying to help me with the monster in me… now, she’s walking around with a curse because I stopped a damn monster from killing her and her friends… because I got fucking possessed!” Billy shouted mournfully, his eyes watery and his voice shaky and sorrowful.

“Billy!” (Y/N) snapped, her tone cracking through his scrambled thoughts of regret like a whip. When Billy finally acknowledged her exclamation, she opened her mouth again:

“None of this is your fault, Billy! You didn’t ask to be possessed by the Mind Flayer… You didn’t ask to be thrown into a whole world of supernatural creatures and danger… You were just a kid with a troubled life and no healthy outlet to cope with it. Yes, you did some shitty things… yes, you were a massive jerk to those kids… but you stepped up when it mattered most. You stared down the Mind Flayer and fought it with your own bare hands. You saved the lives of multiple people, including your stepsister’s. You died a hero… and I brought you back… because I knew you had more potential… that there was more to you than who you portrayed yourself as to everyone else… that you could do great things, if you just… tried…”

Billy’s breathing was heavy but starting to even out, cheeks still stained with tears and eyes puffed up. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing - (Y/N) had revived him because she knew he was more than the bad boy and ladies’ man image he had cultivated. She had seen what he kept hidden - the version of himself he kept hidden and guarded from his father, his peers and even Max. He spoke, but his words were hollow, “I don’t think I deserve this second chance, (Y/N)…”

At his words, she moved closer and took his face in her hands. Gently, she pressed her lips on his forehead, kissing his skin, “You deserved better than the bullshit your father gave you…”

~~~~~~~

So, Billy knows about Vecna and the threat looming over Max… and looks like he and Reader are getting close 👀…

Hmmm…

(Also, there’s a mature content thing on this post… 🤷🏻‍♀️)

Bye!~

[ciphenwriter21]

Saving Grace (Billy Hargrove X Reader)

Synopsis: Billy died… killed by the Mind Flayer… he did die… he was dead… until he wasn’t. Now, he’s hiding, trying to figure out who or what brought him back from the dead. With Chief Hopper’s abandoned cabin as his only refuge, he waits for a sign… until a woman busts down the door…

Side note: Based on a post I made a few days ago about Billy having a Jason Todd/Dean Winchester-style revival with a Reader, who is a Hawkins Lab-generated Castiel.

Here’s Part Two: Unlucky

Warnings: Death, Resurrection, Flashbacks, Mentions of child abuse (aka Neil Hargrove), Breaking and Entering, Human Experimentation, Mind Flayer is its own Warning, horror themes, Upside Down… etc…

~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~

He remembers the splintering of wood as he broke out of his coffin…

He remembers the dirt pouring through the opening as he dug his way out of the ground…

He remembers the relief at feeling the air fill his straining and desperate lungs, the sweat and dirt on his skin…

He remembers seeing his grave for the first time, newly installed above the mound of soil…

The stone read:

William Hargrove

Mar 29 1967

Jul 4 1985

Gone but Not Forgotten

He had died… He died, protecting Max, El and the others from the Mind Flayer. He had given his own life to end it, to send it back to whatever hellhole it came from. He was dead, given a funeral, or whatever sorry excuse of a funeral his father had planned, had a headstone made and buried. But now… he was alive… back from the dead…

And he was alone…

Though, there was flowers and letters on his grave, suggesting a visitor or visitors. However, one letter stood up - one with his name on the envelope in Max’s handwriting. He could’ve picked it out of a stack in a mail room…

It was the only letter he grabbed before he left the cemetery, a plan taking shape…

He needed shelter… and he knew where to go…

Hopper’s cabin…

~~~A few months later~~~

Billy couldn’t sleep…

The memory of his resurrection…

How he had died…

Max’s letter, which he finally read, brought to tears by her unnecessary apologies, her undeniable grief and her proclamation of herself as a ‘shitty sister’…

It weighed heavy on him, leaving a hollow feeling in his stomach. The scars from the Mind Flayer’s attacks marred his body like brands, marking him as both a defiant vessel and an unlikely savior. He couldn’t help but feel like he didn’t deserve to be brought back. Plenty of others were wrongfully claimed by the Mind Flayer and died for its twisted cause… so why him?

What made him an exception?

How did this happen to him?

Who would see him as worth saving?

A faint thump from outside the cabin sent a shot of adrenaline through him. He sat up, clad in sweatpants due to the cold air outside, grabbing the knife he kept on the nightstand. Getting up, he pushed the bedroom door open to see what could’ve been the source of the thud. As he moved around, he could see in the moonlight, that the lock on the front door was jiggling…

Someone was trying to break in…

At the same time, the lights flickered…

‘That’s not supposed to happen. They turned off the power to this place when Hopper was reported dead. I’ve been relying on candles and battery-powered lanterns,’ Billy thought, eyeing the lights with suspicion…

A sinking feeling began to settle in his gut, recognition dawning. The last time the lights behaved like this, he was possessed by the Mind Flayer. Whoever or whatever was trying to break in, it had to be from the Upside Down. This time, he wasn’t going to hold back…

The door swung open…

Billy lunged quickly, knife in hand…

A hand catches his wrist… a human hand…

His eyes met the intruder’s, (e/c) clashing with ice blue. They stared at each other for what felt like an eternity before the intruder pushed him back by his arm. The lights blazed again, this time blowing and sending sparks flying. Billy used his free hand to protect himself from the ignited sparks. The knife fumbled out of his occupied hand, hitting the wooden floor with a clatter. The would-be burglar stood up taller, shorter than Billy with a build that left no doubt that they were human…

This intruder was a woman, young and clad in stained jeans, a beaten-up hoodie and a scarf over her face. A hefty backpack was slung over her shoulders and a Walkman was clicked to the belt of her pants. Who was she?

Without prompting, the uninvited guest pulled her mask and hood down, unveiling her face and wild hair. To borrow a saying from El, she was pretty… really pretty. But in a way that was almost post-apocalyptic and survivalist. Like this woman had spent most of her life, fighting against zombie hordes or genetic-engineered monsters…

“Well, ain’t that a warm welcome?” She quipped, equal parts sarcastic and confused. Like she was expecting him to react differently to her unceremonious arrival, “You always greet guests with a knife, Billy Hargrove?”

“Who the fuck are you? How do you know my name?” He growled, lack of sleep and panic making him barely tolerable…

“(Y/N). (Y/N) (L/N). I’m the crazy bitch who brought you back to the land of the living…” she answered coolly, as if her response was completely sensible. She then moved over to the kitchen and with a huff of air from her lips, lit the candle on the island’s counter.

What the hell? She has powers, too? That explains the sparking lights…

“You… you’re the one who resurrected me?” He whispered, not quite believing what she was saying…

“I believe that’s what I said. Why? Is there water in your ears?”

Billy scoffed humorlessly at her wit and sass, still in disbelief. There was no way this girl was his savior, the one who brought him back from death. It had to be a joke… he must’ve just caught a second wind at the worst possible time…

“You don’t believe me,” she said abruptly, continuing to light candles with her breath and the tips of her fingers.

“I never said that,” he declared quickly, challenging her statement.

“You didn’t have to… the look on your handsome face and your body language says it all for you.”

“Why are you here? Where the hell did you come from? How did you find me? No one knows I’m back and that I’m hiding here!” Billy exclaimed angrily, his frustration mounting steadily.

Stunned silence followed his outburst, (Y/N) looking like she had been slapped. As swiftly as it happened, her face shifted back to its more neutral expression. She walked out of the kitchen and up to Billy, who was standing in the living and dining room. Without missing a beat, she pulled up the right sleeve of her sweatshirt to reveal her inner forearm. Printed on the skin, like El before her, was a number…

013

Thirteen… El was Eleven…

“You’re from the lab…” the words left his lips before he could catch them. He almost regretted it before she spoke up again…

“Was. I’ve been living in the Upside Down for the past three or four years. I was given the task of monitoring whoever or whatever was in it by those in charge. But, the lab stopped making contact with me when that Byers kid was found,” she explained solemnly, probably recalling a number of traumatic memories that seemed distant or numb to her…

“You met Will?” He asked, wondering if maybe she knew about those who were taken to the Upside Down.

“No, never met the kid, nor the Barbara girl. I only found out when I resurfaced for a supply run… And before you ask, it was the lab’s money I used…” she said, her answer depressing but informative…

“Why are you here? And why me?” He asked again, his voice firmer but quieter.

She looked him in the eye with a look that said everything she had to say - the Mind Flayer wasn’t the only threat from the Upside Down…

“Because someone or something from that hellhole is coming… and your stepsister is one of its targets…”

“Who?” Billy’s voice shook with a mix of fear and rage…

With a shaky breath, (Y/N) spoke again, “I knew him as Henry or One… but you might want to call him Vecna…”

~~~~~~~

[ciphenwriter21]

Okay, hear me out…

Imagine if you will, Billy, getting the Jason Todd/Dean Winchester treatment, after being killed by the Mind Flayer…

I’m talking digging himself out of his own grave and coffin…

He then hides out in Hopper’s cabin until he finds out what happened to him…

He then realizes that someone in the Upside Down brought him back from Death…

Someone powerful…

Enter Reader…

An escapee of Hawkins Lab…

The secret side project…

Reader went into the Upside Down to keep Vecna/Henry at bay… learning how to survive in the hostile underworld at a young age, only emerging from it for supplies… all while somehow remained untouched and uncorrupted by it…

But, most importantly, she has similar abilities to Castiel, and can revive those who were killed by an inhabitant of the Upside Down and still have an intact body on Earth… a rare occurrence, mind you…

Reader emerges from the Upside Down to aid Billy…

Telling him that the Mind Flayer was just the beginning of a larger plan…

And that Max is in danger…

[ciphenwriter21]

Packing Heat (Billy Hargrove X Reader)

Synopsis: The party gets Billy locked into the sauna, hoping to exorcise the Mind Flayer out of him. Unfortunately, Billy is becoming more and more erratic. Thankfully, Max already called in the big guns - you, El’s big sister and Billy’s girlfriend.

Side Note: I made Reader a little Percy de Rolo!coded, just to add some more DND flavor. For those who don’t know, Percy de Rolo is a character from a show called The Legend of Vox Machina, based on the Critical Role DND Campaign of the same name. Basically, Reader is good with guns, has mechanical know-how, is a traumatized older sibling and her powers are that of a certain revenge demon…

A few things to keep in mind:

(Y/N) - Your name

(N/N) - Nickname

Warnings: Flayed!Billy, Angst, OOC Billy (though he’s flayed and traumatized so maybe not), mentions of Reader carrying a gun, Percy de Rolo!Coded Reader, Tears (from both Billy and Reader, some from Max), slight horror themes, slight mention of Neil Hargrove, etc…

Special Thanks to @hauntedbybrowneyes

~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~

As soon as you heard ‘Billy’ and ‘Mind Flayer’ in the same sentence from Max’s mouth over the phone, you knew something bad had happened…

You immediately gather whatever supplies you could and took off towards the pool where Billy worked. Inside the main building, you found the kids forming a semicircle around the sauna door. You could see a face peering through the foggy window on the door and loud pounding. You knew within a second that it was Billy, angry at the party for locking him in. However, as soon as you walked in, he stopped… like your presence had startled him…

The kids that turned to look at you, both Max and El relieved to see you. The boys, meanwhile, were shocked and confused…

“What is she doing here?” Mike asked with a perplexed expression, turning to Max and El for an answer.

“I called and asked her to come help. Billy won’t listen to any of us, so I figured I get the one person he would listen to,” Max explained gently, her tone serious and matter-of-fact.

“You called El’s sister?” Lucas exclaimed, questioning if pulling you into the situation was a wise move.

“You’ve seen (Y/N) use her powers! And how Billy seems to care about her! Better her than anyone else!” El argued, trying to defend Max and you to an extent.

“Are you little shits done bickering or am I gonna have to break up the dog pile?” You yelled, annoyance and frustration bubbling up in you. Your eyes flashed briefly with black sclera and gold irises, a non-verbal and thinly-veiled threat. The kids all shut their mouths after that, minus Will, who took the chance to explain more about what was going on with your boyfriend.

“Billy’s been flayed, like I was. We’re using the heat of the sauna to try and get it out of him. But he’s going crazy…”

“I figured that, Byers. Now, where do I fit into this plan?” You quipped, still irritated from the earlier argument upon your arrival.

“Try and talk to him… or get him to talk to you. Calm him down. But be careful… The Mind Flayer might trick you and will use Billy to do it…”

“Got it…”

You pushed past the kids and moved slowly towards the sauna door, your footsteps careful and controlled. The gun in the inner pocket of your vest felt heavy as you stalked closer. Your face now level with the window, you glanced inside the sauna. Inside, Billy sat shaking and crying in a fetal position, drenched and wearing his jeans and signature medallion around his neck. He looked so afraid, so alone, so distraught…

“Babe?… Billy?” You said carefully and clearly, trying to keep calm despite the potential danger…

Billy, still shaking and upset, looked up to see your face in the window. Even with the fog clouding the window, he still registered the sound of your voice. It’s a sound that eased him to sleep on those nights when his piece of shit father was particularly abusive. But now, given the state he was in, all he could feel was fear and shame…

Not because of how he looked or felt… He had been vulnerable with you many times before…

It was because he was afraid of hurting you… of hurting Max… of hurting your sister… of hurting the kids…

Whatever this thing inside him was, it wanted to cause irreversible suffering… and he hated it…

“(N/N)? Oh God… (N/N)! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” Billy wailed in agony, the weight of his situation and actions, along with the sauna’s rising temperature, wracking through him. That’s when the waterworks began for you, Max and El not too far behind…

While blinking away the tears in your eyes, you opened your mouth again to speak, your voice quivering, “B-Billy, I-I’m not mad. If anything, I’m… I’m worried about you.”

“Please, please, don’t hate me… He made me do it…” Billy sobbed, holding and squeezing his hands together anxiously. You could hear Max beginning to sniffle at the sound of his frightened voice. You couldn’t blame her; as much as she and Billy didn’t get along, they were still family.

At his words, you realized you might have an opening to get him to tell you what happened to him. You then prompt him, “Who… who made you do it?”

“I don’t know. It’s like a shadow…” He whispered, his voice cracking as he recalled what he saw.

A light bulb went off in your mind as you rummaged through your pockets. You then pulled out a folded piece of paper, unfolding it to reveal a copy of Will’s drawing of the Mindflayer from nearly a year ago. You then held up the drawing to the window to show Billy, “Did the shadow look like this?”

It only took Billy a minute to confirm the appearance of the Mindflayer, “Yeah… Wha-How?”

“What’s happening to you, Billy… it happened to Will Byers. This creature… it’s called the Mind Flayer… it’s trying to make you do horrible things. The only way to get it out is through exposure to heat…” You explained, trying to calm him down, despite how terrifying the current situation was.

“S-so… so, the kids… they’re just trying to help?” He stammered, his voice barely audible through the door.

“Yes, yes! They’re trying to help you… Hell, it was Max who called me to try and help. When she called and told me what was going on with you, I… I knew I couldn’t let you suffer like this…” You said softly, pressing your hand against the window glass.

When Billy didn’t speak again, you grew worried. You began to wonder if there was something he made to tell you or if the Flayer had taken over. So, you decided to speak again, wanting to see if there was anything else he had to say, “Billy, did… did the Flayer show or tell you anything?”

This time, Billy spoke up, his voice still low and terrified, “Yeah, kind of… it told me… that you had… powers or something… you and El…”

You winced, eyes squeezing shut as your secret came spilling out of his mouth. You had kept your secret about your powers from Billy to protect him from harm. You were afraid that anyone from back at the lab would try to take you and El back, hurting the people you loved in the process. You didn’t want to put Billy through that, along with Max by proxy. Clearly, harm still found its way to him and had told him your secret itself…

“Billy, I’m sorry… I… I thought I was protecting you… that if my secret came out, you would get hurt… the people who kept me and El in that lab, they would stop at nothing to keep us locked away… I didn’t… I didn’t want to put you in danger… Well, look at how well that worked out…” you whispered sorrowfully, that last sentence self-deprecating…

Billy picked up on the self-deprecation rather quickly. His voice, though still trembling, became more recognizable as the voice of the young man you fell in love with, “This isn’t your fault, (N/N)… I just… I wish you had told me everything…”

“I know, I know. I’m so sorry… After this, no more secrets, okay?” You cried, tears now streaming down your cheeks as you stopped fighting to contain your fear and anguish…

Billy fell silent again, the room getting unnervingly quiet. After a few seconds, the lights in the room began to flicker and glitch. Everyone knew that meant that something otherworldly was happening. And with how Billy stopped responding, one could only guess what was coming…

After another beat of chilling silence, a loud scream of pain shrieked out from within the sauna. Everyone in the room began to panic and leap into action as realization dawned…

Billy…

Pulling your pistol from the inside of your vest, you swiftly unlocked the sauna door. Your eyes shifted into their black-and-gold pallor as adrenaline mounted and you flung the door open, nearly ripping it off the hinges. When you stepped inside, you caught a glimpse of the shadowy Mind Flayer fleeing through the storm drain in the tiled floor. But then, your eyes fell on the exhausted form of your boyfriend, barely able to keep his eyes open…

“Shit, that thing’s gonna find a new host… Billy!” You said, moving over to him and kneeling down next to him. You take his face in your hands, thumbs running along his tear-stained cheeks. Your touch seemed to wake him up as his eyes shot open and his hands find their way into your hair. Burying his face in your chest, he began to sob with relief, finally able to hold you after such an awful ordeal.

“Max, please get my water bottle. It’s in my backpack. Can one of you boys get some towels?” You asked the kids who were watching from the door. Max nodded, going to grab your water bottle while Will grabbed some towels from a nearby shelf. You turned your attention back to Billy, who was still sobbing against you as he practically held you like you would disappear if he let you go.

Will and Max returned with the water and towels, which you quickly used to help Billy calm down. You gave him the bottled water to drink while you prepared the towels. Whatever Billy didn’t finish drinking, he poured over his head to cool off. You then wrapped a towel around his shoulder and another over his head, helping him wipe away sweat and excessive water.

“God, (N/N)… I’m so damn sorry…” Billy mumbled, his voice soft and raspy from all the sobbing from earlier.

“Shhh… it’s okay, babe… let’s just focus on calming you down…” you whispered lightly, holding him in your arms as he clutches onto you tightly…

You knew that there was still work to be done, especially now that the Mind Flayer got away. But, your priority was making sure that Billy was safe…

The kids could wait…

~~~~~~~

[ezzdeenmother]

Desperate Plea: A Call For Relife‼️ 🥀

Hello, It's Momen Al Madhoun, writing from the most miserable area in the whole world, I am deeply thankful to all of you. Your support means the world to my family

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[thetrashywritingwitch]

Read this thread if you post on ao3, wattpad, quotev, etc. If you have gotten any messages or emails from a company called WebNovel claiming they will pay you for fanfic, know it is a SCAM!!! Do NOT sign up for it, do not post work there, so not sign any contracts, it's all bullshit.