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
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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…
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