summary: billy needs someone to help him but he doesn’t want the help.
Dating Billy Hargrove was never an easy task. You loved him, but he had been through more than most people had in their entire lifetime and it, in turn, caused a lot of mental damage. He tended to take this out on other people, which repelled anyone from trying to help him. So by the time you got to him, there were a lot of pieces for you to try to put back together.
The two of you had made the plan to meet up at his house at 12:30 am, giving his dad enough time to fall into a deep sleep before you came over. Billy didn’t want you to have to witness something that you should never have to. You, however, were unaware that there was anything he was protecting you from. You never thought twice about showing up at his house late at night. You were never afraid of what you might see there because you simply didn’t know.
So on this particular day, you followed the normal routine. You left your house five after 12 and parked 4 houses away from his. As you were walking from your car to his house though, you noticed that the window was closed and the curtains were drawn shut. Your feet stalled, unsure of what to do. Billy had always kept his window open a crack and had the curtains open when you came over. What was different this time?
You continued to his window nonetheless and tapped softly on it to not wake anyone but Billy. You heard movement from the room and exhaled a sigh of relief, previously worried that he had been upset with you.
Your worry quickly returned as you didn’t see him approach the window, instead, the dull light coming from the room switched off. You stood there in shock for a second, gathering your thoughts and pulling your cardigan closer to you, suddenly feeling a chill run down your spine. You couldn’t tell if it was from the cold shoulder your boyfriend had given you or from the chilly January weather.
You stood still at the window, watching your breath leave your mouth in the below-freezing cold, contemplating what to do. Then, the idea came to you.
You snuck around the perimeter of the house until you reached the window you knew belonged to your boyfriends younger sister. You tapped on her window just as you did on her brothers.
The redhead peeked through her curtains warily, but calmed down and opened them fully when she saw it was you. She slid open her window and spoke.
“Y/N? what are you doing here?” she said through a yawn.
It had just occurred to you that you didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t know that you were there to see Billy because then she would wonder why. You couldn’t risk her telling people about you and Billy’s relationship. While you didn’t think she would tell everyone, you knew she would tell Dustin, and Dustin would tell Steve, and once it reached Steve, everyone would know.
You settled on, “can I come in?”
She wordlessly held out her hand to help you climb into her window. “So what are you doing here?” she repeated, more awake and patience wearing thin.
You sighed. The only choice was to tell her.
“I’m- uh- I’m here to see Billy.”
Her face was a jumble of emotion. Confusion then disgust, anger and then settling on annoyance. “I knew there had to be something going on,” she said finally, rolling her eyes.
Now it was your turn to be confused. “Uh- wha- what do you mean you knew? How would you know?”
“Oh come on, Y/N, you know the walls are thin. I can hear your voice coming from his room.”
You froze. If max could hear then… could his dad?
“Oh… so uh… do you think… your parents…?”
“Calm down, I can only hear because our rooms are right next to each other. If Billy’s dad knew you snuck in every week, you would know.”
You exhaled quickly. Good, that was good, you thought and then remembered why you came in the first place and the series of events that led you here.
“Is Billy ok?” you asked.
“Max? Is Billy ok? What happened?” You started to worry.
“He and his dad got into a fight. I don’t know if he wants to be around anyone.”
“Oh…” was all you could say. You contemplated your options but ultimately decided that if Billy was hurting then you could make him better.
You left Max's room and walked the short distance to Billy’s. You didn’t bother knocking and just walked right in.
Billy was ready to start yelling at Max for barging in but softened when he realized it was you. Before he realized it, it was you.
He swiftly got up off his bed and charged over to you, closing the door violently behind you. “What the fuck are you doing here? Go home,” he said quietly through gritted teeth.
Billy’s eyes widened at your response. “What do you mean ‘no’?” he growled.
“I mean no. I’m not going home. What’s wrong? I want to help you.”
Billy wasn’t used to such stubbornness. He faltered for just a second, now knowing what to do.
“Billy, just tell me what’s wrong. I’m here to help you. Is it your dad?”
The man in front of you noticeably shrunk at the words. “What do you know?” he said in a quieter, gentler voice, almost sounding defeated
“I don’t know anything. Max mentioned you got in a fight with your dad, that’s all,” you said, suddenly scared by the switch of tone. You felt as if you said something you shouldn’t have.
It was as if you could see the anger rising in his throat again. “I’m gonna kill her,” was all he said before trying to push past you. You held firm.
“Billy. Stop. What happened? Just talk to me,” you pushed further. It was then, looking at him from so close, that you could see the blooming red mark on his left cheek. “Bills…” you said, hand reaching up to graze over it.
He stared into your eyes, unsure of what to do or say. Wordlessly, you grabbed his wrists and led him over to his bed. You lay down and pulled him on top of you, pressing his head to your chest as you cuddled him. You ran your fingers through his hair as you heard a sniffle. Another. And a couple more. He was crying.
You don’t know how long the both of you stayed there in that position, not a word passing between you two. After a while, you felt his breathing even out and heard a soft snore coming from billy. You soon followed him into slumber, feeling the security of knowing that your boyfriend feels comfortable enough around you to sleep.
When you woke up, Billy was no longer in your arms. You looked over at his clock and read the time: 5:47.
What on earth is he doing up so early? you thought to yourself.
As if he heard your inner voice, Billy strolled into the room holding two plates full of eggs and toast.
“Hey,” was all he said in a soft voice as he moved to sit next to you on the bed.
“What’s all of this Billy?” you asked quietly.
He was silent for a second, not knowing how to respond. He decided to go with the truth of his unexpected chivalry.
“no one’s ever done that before.”
There were no other words that needed to be said. You enveloped him in a tight hug, both of you never wanting to let go.
