Summary: Billy starts dating you to get under someoneâs skin (maybe Steve, maybe Max), but youâre too kindâand he starts catching real feelings. When you pull away, thinking he never actually cared, he finally snaps.
PART 1
Hawkins High wasnât big enough for Billy Hargroveâs ego.
Everyone knew it.
Billy strutted through the hallways like the school belonged to him, hair perfect, shirt half-unbuttoned like he didnât own a button that could reach the top. Girls whispered about him the moment he stepped into view; guys whispered too, usually about whether they could take him in a fight. (They couldnât.)
You were⊠not part of that.
You werenât unpopular, but you didnât orbit the same sun as Billy Hargrove. Your friends were normal, low-drama types. You had a job after school. You kept your grades decent. You didnât look when Billy walked by.
And that is what started all of it.
It begins with a dare.
Billy was leaning against his locker, spinning his car keys around his finger while his friends talked shit about Steve Harrington. Who had just walked by with you beside him. You were laughing at something Steve said, not flirty but comfortable. Familiar.
âYou know her?â one of Billyâs buddies asked.
Billy followed you with his eyes. He didnât say anything at first, because he hadnât actually noticed you until last week. You were quiet, sure, but not in a fade-into-the-wall way. You listened. You paid attention. You were warm.
Too warm.
And Steve Harrington clearly enjoyed being around you.
Billy clicked his tongue. âYeah. Sheâs friends with the little freaks Harrington babysits.â
âHeard sheâs into guys who treat her right,â the guy teased. âSo that rules you out.â
Billy grinned, sharp and practiced. âYou think so?â
âOh please, Hargrove,â another said. âYou couldnât get a girl like that if you tried.â
Billyâs jaw ticked.
He didnât care about you, not personally, not then. But being told he couldnât have something?
That was gasoline to a flame.
âWatch me,â he said.
Not one of them expected him to actually try.
You were at your locker, shoving textbooks inside when a shadow leaned over your shoulder.
âHey, sweetheart.â
You jumped, smacking your head on the metal above you. âOwâ what? Oh. Billy.â
He smirked like heâd trained for it. âDidnât mean to scare you.â
âYes you did,â you muttered, rubbing your head.
Billy blinked. Not many girls talked to him like that.
He leaned against the lockers, casual but calculated. âHarrington said youâre looking for a chem partner.â
You frowned. âI never saidââ
âGood,â he interrupted. âWeâll start tomorrow.â
âI didnât agree to that.â
âYou did now.â
You stared at him. He stared right back like this was the most normal interaction in the world.
âWhy me?â you finally asked.
Billy shrugged. âYouâre smart. And Iâm charming. Thought weâd make a good team.â
He left before you could argue, leaving you confused and slightly annoyed.
He didnât expect the next thing:
You didnât chase him. You didnât blush.
You didnât look back at him once he walked away.
That was new.
And infuriating.
He started showing up places you were.
At the store where you worked.
In the parking lot after school.
In the hallway during your free period.
It was subtle at first. If you were paying attention, heâd lean against something, looking bored until you passed by. If you said hi to someone else, heâd stare too long.
But you werenât giving him anything.
You were polite, sure.
Nice.
But neutral.
And Billy didnât know what to do with neutral.
One day he followed you out to the student lot.
âYou avoiding me?â he asked.
âNo,â you said honestly. âI just donât really know you.â
Billy opened his mouth, ready to throw out the usual flirty line, but something stopped him. The way you looked at him. Clear-eyed, steady, not impressed or scaredâtook the words right out of his mouth.
âHuh,â he said, like heâd just discovered something unexpected. âGuess weâll fix that.â
The next week, he actually works with you in chem. Not just showing up ... actually doing work. He doesnât talk much; he watches.
He watches how you treat people.
How you help a kid who dropped their papers.
How you smile at the teacher when you hand in homework.
You are the opposite of everything in Billyâs house.
And he hates that he notices.
One day after class, you slide the finished lab report across the desk.
âHere. You should look it over before we turn it in.â
Billy blinks. âYouâre letting me see it?â
âWhy wouldnât I?â
Nobody trusts him like that. Ever.
He folds the paper slower than he needs to. âThanks.â
You smile, small but real.
And just like that, Billy feels something he refuses to acknowledge tightening in his chest.
Someone sees you getting into his Camaro after school (you needed a ride homeâhe insisted, smirking, âdonât worry, I wonât bite unless you askâ).
People whisper.
Girls who wanted Billy glare at you.
Steve looks confused and a little worried.
You shrug it off, because you still think this is just⊠Billy being Billy.
Billy, meanwhile, can tell you donât see what heâs doing.
And that bothers him more than it should.
His friends check in.
âYo, Hargrove,â one of them calls. âSo whatâs the deal with that girl? You in yet?â
Billy smirks automaticallyâbut it drops fast.
âNo. Not yet.â
âYou losing your touch?â
âThought this was for fun.â
âOr was Harrington right about you going soft?â
Billyâs stomach twists. Not from the teasingâhe can handle that. But because for the first time, heâs not sure this is âfor funâ anymore.
He shoves the guy lightly. âRelax. Sheâll fall for it.â
He says it loud enough for them to hear.
But quietly enough that he almost convinces himself too.
The next afternoon, you show up at school with a bruise on your shoulder from bumping into your shelf at home.
Billy sees it instantly.
âWhat happened?â he asks, voice too sharp.
âOhânothing. I just hit something.â
He steps closer. Too close. âWho?â
You blink at him. âI said it was nothing.â
Billy realizes what he looks likeâangry, concerned, protectiveâand steps back fast. He clears his throat.
âRight. Whatever. Just⊠watch where youâre going.â
You walk away, confused.
Billy watches you leave with something heavy in his chest that feels nothing like a game.
And for the first time, he thinks:
Shit.
Iâm in trouble.