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Video Killed the Radio Star
Billy has had a few, by the end of the night, not so many that he is drunk but enough to find the atmosphere of the after party almost pleasant. He is being friendly, sociable even, even when someone asks about the video he manages to keep from yelling. Billy gets a lot of shit for punching some asshole who was creeping on a guy at one of their shows last year, people never tire of bringing it up.
Billy barely even remembers doing it, had been more than drunk, it had been a bad week for him altogether, after his very public break up. The break up while amicable had been torn into by the paparazzi, the one good thing to come out of that video was they had something else to focus on. Billy does not even know who the man in the video is, and people always ask, the video had been too blurry for anyone to actually identify him. All things considered it is a good thing, even though Billy is still curious, the tabloid speculated about their nonexistent relationship even without a name, it would have been so much worse if they had been able to identify the man.
His good mood is starting to strain though after the fourth new celebrity on the scene asks about the video. So he grabs his cigarettes and a bottle and heads for a balcony, needing a few minutes so he does not make a scene. Last time one of his band mates made a fuss at one of these fancy award parties they nearly got banned.
The balcony is low lit with fauna lining the walls, low benches hiding in the shadows on either side. The noise from the party cuts off as the door falls closed behind him, just the sound of wind and the soft fall of rain. He is not the only one out here but Billy chooses to ignore the man seated on a bench, taking up residence on the opposite one and lighting a cigarette.
Billy sighs as the man across the way, mostly hidden in shadows stands and approaches, he has been trying to subtly sneak glances at Billy since he got out here and failing. The man is pretty when he steps into the light, and Billy recognizes him from earlier, the man had been one of the performers between awards. It was a good song, not the kind of music Billy really likes but the song was good, he guess that is how a lot of people feel about it given how popular it has become since it started showing up in short videos on the internet.
The man licks his lips nervously, Billy’s eyes tracking the movement, before he speaks. “You’re Billy Hargrove, right?”
“Don’t know who else I would be if I wasn’t me.” Billy says taking a drag and blowing out smoke rings, the man makes a face, cute and scrunched as the smoke blows at him, shifting to the left. Billy is trying to remember his name, Seth, no, Sean, definitely not, Steve! Yeah that is what the announcer had said his name was.
"Cool, cool, so um you know that video-" Steve cuts off as Billy lets out an angry groan, the guy is cute but if he thinks that is enough to get Billy to tell him something new, as if Billy knows more than anyone else, he has another thing coming.
"Look pretty boy" Billy does not miss the flush that covers spotted cheeks, and while it is a tempting distraction he keeps going. "I don't know more about that night than anyone else and" Billy stands dropping the butt of his cigarette to the ground and grinding it under the toe of his booth fisting a hand in Steve's shirt and pulling him close. "I don't like answering fucking questions about it." The last of the smoke billows out of his mouth like an angry dragon and right into Steve's face.
"I don't have questions, I wanted to say thank you." The man says through a cough and it brings Billy up short and he just stands there squinting at him fist loosening just a touch and Steve takes the opportunity to keep talking, more like rambling.
"That was my shitty ex and I'd had too much to drink, I didn't think I'd run into him, he hates your music and then, well I did and it didn't go well obviously." Billy’s hand loosens further, fingers untangling from Steve's bright linen floral shirt a contrast to all the dark in Billy's own outfit.
"You're the pretty boy from that night?" Billy asks, licking over his mouth hostility gone and curiosity peaked, none of the shitty videos taken that night did him justice, at all. There had been really nothing to go on, but Billy's shitty memory of that night had given him thoughts, had filled in some of the blanks, but still nothing as pretty as Steve Harrington had crept into his mind.
"Names Steve but yeah that was me." Pink spreads out across Steve's cheeks as he rubs at the back of his neck a little smile tugging at his mouth.
"Yeah I remember, heard you get announced earlier, before your set. You put on a pretty good show pretty boy." Billy drops his hand down to Steve’s and steps back toward the bench pulling Steve along.
"It's about you actually, the song I preformed, it's about that night." Steve has got the prettiest blush Billy can ever remember seeing as he takes a seat on the bench next to Billy, body turned toward him as Billy lights up another cigarette.
"No one’s ever written a song about me before." Billy says feeling oddly charmed his cheeks heating. "Well technical poison berry is about me according to Tommy but it's shit so it doesn't count." Billy blows a puff of smoke holding the cigarette out to Steve offering it to him. Steve shakes his head and pulls out a little vape pen, the smoke that comes out of it has a very distinct scent and Billy snatches it up when offered grinding his cigarette out against the bench.
"I like that song." Steve says smiling.
"Don't let Tommy hear you say that or he'll try and suck your dick." Billy says breathing out smoke again, billowing forth as he leans closer to Steve directing it at him. This time he does not scrunch his face, he leans in closer and just breathes in heavily before grabbing the little pen back.
"Maybe I'd be into that." Steve says with a laugh that causes him to cough a little and Billy does not like the idea at all.
"Nah you don't want him, he's a mess. You can do better than that." Not totally a lie, Tommy is a disaster, who is always on again off again with his high school sweetheart but that is not the point. The point is Billy wants to get his mouth on Steve.
"You offering than?" Steve asks with a coy smile, and Billy could not help the grin sliding across his face even if he tried, because yeah he is and Steve definitely sounds interested.
"You think about me sucking your cock often since that night?" Billy grins leaning in and sealing their lips together as Steve breathes out, taking the smoke into his own lunges.
"I think about a lot of things." Steve confides with a wide smile as Billy pulls back, smoke fogging the air between them.
"Guess we should make a list." Billy says around smoke as Steve pockets his vape and pulls out his phone. Billy recognizes one of their old band stickers, scuffed up and faded attached to the case.
"Already have one." Steve goes pink, going a touch nervous as he holds up his phone. "Do you want to see?"
"Yeah, show me." Billy is expecting a much shorter list then he is presented with. Billy should probably be concerned, but he cannot find a thing on Steve's long list that he wants to object to. A good portion of it is sexual, but the majority is not and Billy finds that going to the farmers market on a Saturday morning is kind of appealing. No one ever wants to do something as mundane as go to the farmers market with him, or walk on the pier at sunset, not since he got famous, not till now.
"Well we definitely can't do all of these tonight, but we can put a big dent in this list. What do you say pretty boy, want to get out of here?" Billy takes the eager kiss he gets is a yes.
-End