#billy and max

[demo-stapelia]

forever mourning the potential of a billy and max sibling dynamic where they love each other but don't like each other.

[billyhargrove-pce235]

I haven't had a chance to skim much of this book yet, but this part really got to me. This is the scene where Billy appears to Max during the graveyard letter.

Despite how scared Max was, she felt love toward her stepbrother, and she saw it as a gift to see him again.

The Cali siblings! If only they had a better circumstance, I'm sure they would have been like a real brother and sister.

[lovebillyhargrove]

"I'm talented."

Billy :

"That so ..? Alright, hop in my seat. You know the way to the quarry."

Max :

"What the .. You haven't let me drive your car even once although I've been asking for years!"

Billy and eleven siblings au where max gets just a tiny bit jealous

[demo-stapelia]

max and billy blaming each other for the move to hawkins becomes an even more non-sensical plot line when, according to max, the reason was that neil meant to separate them from max's bio dad. like billy is not a factor in that at all.

[megalodontooth]

chapter 1

They raced forward, picking up speed along the unfamiliar road.

“Where are we going?” Max yells brokenly towards the driver, her eyes wide and staring ahead, hands clenched tightly.

When there was no response, she glanced quickly at him. Billy was staring at the road, his brow furrowed, maintaining the same tense posture.

“Where are we going!??” Her voice rose, overwhelmed by the situation. Eyes darted back and forth between the road and him. She couldn't relax her hands. They were driving to an unknown destination, Billy was silent, and apparently the tension in the Camaro had reached its peak. At first, she'd only been scared, but now anger flared in her chest.

“Billy?!” Scream. This time, she turned her body completely toward him. She placed her right hand on the dashboard and held tightly to the seat with left.

“I don't fucking know!” Shouted back. He quickly glared at her, but from the wideness of his eyes, Max realized he was also confused. She stared at his profile for a few seconds.

Tears began to blur her vision. She took a shaky breath before trying again, gathering her courage.

“Then...what the hell...?” It came out hoarsely on the exhale. This time she didn't turn to face him. Anxiety washed over her again as her thoughts began to race about home. Her lips trembled slightly.

“I want to go to Mom!” Max said desperately, her voice rising again. She felt so uneasy about all of this.

Me too! Billy almost blurted out, but he held back, only quickly wetting his lips.

“Sit up straight already, we’ll get to the nearest town and figure it out there.” It was rude, but he slowed down.

Max frowned, we'll figure it out, what he was even talking about..

“Why not just turn back?” She spoke more quietly, no longer trying to shout.

Billy rolled his eyes, exhaling loudly. "You know perfectly well I can't." Without giving her a chance to answer, he added, "And no more questions." Then he flipped the tape over and turned up the volume a bit.

Max glared at him. What a jerk he was. It was annoying, but she didn't want to argue. Slowly, she leaned back, placing her hand on her hip and turning toward the window.

What was he planning?... Was spinning around in her head. They continued driving in this strange atmosphere toward the other state line, each one thinking about their own things.

After a while, the moisture left her eyes. She tried to breathe deeply and, at least a little, managed to relieve her anxiety. Her body no longer felt as tense as before.

❖ ❖ ❖

Billy stared ahead, a multitude of thoughts occupied his mind. He tried to distract himself with the music and the passing landscapes, but he glanced in the rearview mirror several times.

What if... But it was empty there.

His fingers fumbling with the steering wheel, he glanced at Max, who was still looking out the window. He held his gaze briefly before returning to the road. At that moment, Billy truly began to doubt his decision.

(P.s.: Well, now I think Arizona wasn't the best choice as an escape route. Because it's close to the Las Vegas border, the checkpoints are stricter. And the Grand Canyon is nearby. So I thought maybe they'd drive through Utah to get around everything¯\_(ツ)_/¯

yupyup, I have unnecessary worries lool)

[lovebillyhargrove]

Max : Nooo .. Billyyyyy ..!!

Steve (panicking) : Stop shaking him, Max! I can't find the pulse, goddamn it!

Steve : Oh .. okay, found it!

Billy (opens and rolls his eyes) : You two are such morons.

[lovebillyhargrove]

***

A year after Billy's death, upside down nasties start running around Hawkins again, and Max ends up at the old junkyard. Feels like a déjà vu.

It's close to midnight, the summer air weighs like a heavy wet blanket even at night, the dark surrounding woods stand tall like knights in medieval armor, the rich yellow moon hangs close to the forsaken earth, and Max can hear noises, rustling, whispering

.. calling?

That's when she sees it.

Old rusty bones, worn tires deflated, front lights shattered. A predatory but powerless grin, like that of a dead shark. The skeleton of a car. It stands quietly, away from the other ghosts, closer to the trees, its faded paint glinting faintly in the moonlight.

A chill runs down Max's spine. She forgets about the horrifying creatures for a second. For a minute or two.

Max comes closer, reaches out, touches the slightly cool twisted metal. She can at least .. at least take the licence plate home, as a memory, as something to hold on to.

When she bends down and her slightly trembling hand touches the plate, there's a heavy sigh, oozing creepily from the depth of the forest.

***

I love that car. A heap of metal? Bullshit. I once wrote a fic about the camaro coming alive, might do it again.

[megalodontooth]

au on the topic of what if

(inspired by this post)

The Hargrove-Maylfield move to Hawkins. Neil deliberately put Max in the Camaro to reduce the chances and temptations for Billy to turn back.

And so they followed his pickup truck across state lines. As they drove out of California, Billy glanced at his rearview mirror several times, frowning involuntarily. A risky idea occurred to him...

An AC/DC song was playing on the radio, and he began unconsciously tapping his finger to the beat.

The desire that had spontaneously arisen gradually took over his thoughts. As they drove further and further away, he kept his gaze focused straight on the road, his eyes wandering over the car in front of him. He gripped the steering wheel tighter and gritted his teeth.

Max sat in the front seat, arms stubbornly crossed, her head turning now to the right, at the passing landscapes, now forward, at the road. Noticing a change, she cast an irritated glance at him.

Billy's posture was wary, even somewhat uneasy, he fidgeted slightly in his seat. She studied his profile for a couple more minutes, but didn't dare ask what was wrong.

They pulled onto the highway and merged with the traffic. Later, a van with a trailer pulled up in the adjacent lane and pulled alongside Neil's car. Billy followed it and suddenly spotted a right turn in the distance, likely leading to the next town. Finally, a plan had formed.

Max turned back to him. Seeing him stare intently at the road, then at the cars behind him, doubt began to creep into her. They weren't far from the turnoff.

"Billy?" she asked, confused, as he slowed down slightly.

"Hold on tight," his voice sounded choked.

The only warning came when they suddenly made a sharp right turn, just as the van was about to change lanes. Panicked, she gripped the dashboard with one hand and the door handle with the other, looking around. The road sign flashed: Arizona 12km.

and what happens next you will find out in the next episode (or not) hehe