Chapter Text
“Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh? I’ve been waiting to meet this King Steve everybody's been telling me so much about!”
“Get out.”
Steve couldn’t possibly forget about it. Getting beat up by Billy Hargrove, to the point where he passed out. It’s not that he feels ashamed of it but more that he can’t seem to figure out why Max would try to defend Billy after seeing the shape he got Steve into. And yeah, maybe Steve also felt a bit embarrassed for his performance, if you could call it that. After all, there was a kind of rivalry between Billy and Steve, with Billy trying to become the new King Steve. Losing the fight felt like he was also giving his rank in the high school hierarchy away to Billy. It had become less and less important to Steve with the whole monster hunting adventure happening in the background, but Steve felt a bit repellent at the thought of someone like Billy taking his place. So yes, Max defending Billy felt a bit like betrayal.
“He’s not all bad, that’s all I’m saying…”
“Did you see what he did to Steve?”
“He almost killed Lucas!”
“I’ve never seen him be nice to anyone!”
The kids kept fighting about whether or not Billy was as bad as they thought or not. Steve looked over at Max, who seemed kind of desperate, trying to defend Billy alone. Steve felt bad for her, but he couldn’t help but agree with most of what the boys were telling her.
“You guys don’t understand… It’s not his fault that he’s so angry and bitter,” Max quietly says.
“She’s right.”
Everyone turned to look at Eleven, who hadn’t joined the conversation earlier. Max smiled at her knowingly and continued talking.
“Billy is an asshole, I know that. But he’s changed a lot since what happened when…”
“When he beat my face in?” Steve asked. Max grimaced a bit but continued.
“Yeah, then. He still keeps up the whole act of being a dick towards everyone, but he’s almost nice to me. If you got to know him better, you’d agree.”
Steve sighed. Since getting to know the kids when the whole mess of the Upside Down and demogorgons began, Steve has tried to be more openminded towards people. He’s tried to be forgiving, which he got to practice when the thing between Nancy and Jonathan began. He’s tried to overall be a better person, a role model for the kids. Teach them how to be the bigger person. However, the truth is that most of the time it’s Steve who keeps learning from the kids.
“Well… I supposed he’d be a potential monster bait if we ever need one again,” Steve muttered, offering a little smile to Max.
Max looked at Steve and smiled back at him. The younger boys looked at each other and muttered something that sounded like an agreement. Steve felt kind of proud of himself at that, but also hoped he wouldn’t have to regret this later on. As he watched the kids start planning a new Dungeons & Dragons campaign, he amused himself with the thought of Billy trying to run from a demodog.