Chapter Text
For the past year, ever since Steve had dragged her to Jonathan’s to confront Nancy and they had battled the Demogorgon, Y/N had suffered from awful nightmares. They were always some variation of the same thing. It always involved the Demogorgon and always someone she loved getting hurt or even killed. Steve, Nancy and Jonathan had all told her that they didn’t experience the same thing and she wondered why it just affected her. Even the kids seemed perfectly fine considering what had happened. The only person who seemed to suffer the same way as her was Will, which was to be expected considering everything he had gone through while being stuck in the upside down.
Y/N’s parents both worked for Hawkins Lab and had assured her multiple times that the old people had gone and that nothing like the events of the previous winter would ever happen again. However, it did nothing to reassure her. Her parents worked nights at the lab most of the time and were hardly ever home when she was. Most of the time all she got was a brief phone call to check up and make sure everything was alright. When she was home alone the nightmares seemed to get worse. She would wake up in cold sweats, breathing hard and sometimes crying.
This night was one of those. Trembling, Y/N swung her legs out of bed and placed her head in her hands as she tried to slow her breathing down. They always felt so real, like it was actually happening. She shakily got dressed and left the house after locking the door. Sometimes the only thing that would ground her was going out for a short walk. Nights in Hawkins were always peaceful and it helped her to clear her head. The cold air helped her calm down but it also managed to penetrate straight through her thin hoodie. She wrapped her arms around her as her converse crunched on the loose gravel that covered the road in some places. A soft breeze swirled the autumn leaves around her feet and into the air as she walked down the road. The cold weather truly had arrived and with it came the memories of the previous year.
As the temperature dropped further, she hid her hands in her hoodie and jumped as the sound of a car engine roared through the silence. She moved to the side of the road for the car to pass but, to her surprise, it pulled up beside her. She recognised the blue Camaro straight away.
“Y/N, right?” Billy Hargrove said with his usual grin plastered across its face, although right now it didn’t seem to quite reach his eyes.
She nodded her head and bit down on her lip. Billy’s grin grew but there was still something underlying it that she couldn’t quit put her finger on.
“What you doing out this late in the cold, princess?” The nickname seemed to just roll of his tongue.
Y/N and Billy knew of each other but had never actually spoken before. That was mainly down to the fact that he was total ass to Steve and always had a gaggle of girls surrounding him, giggling and twirling their hair.
Y/N shrugged. “Couldn’t sleep.” She noticed a bruise beginning to form under Billy’s cheekbone, it was faint at the moment but she knew when it came out properly it wouldn’t be pretty to look at.
“Want to come for a drive? I’d rather not leave you out in the cold.” He reached across and opened the door. “You shouldn’t be out here alone, it’s dangerous.”
Realising that he was probably right and that there was little chance of him actually turning out to be an axe murderer, she climbed into the Camaro. The warmth from the inside of the car immediately engulfed her and she sank further into the seat as Billy set off.
“Anywhere particular you wanted to go, princess?” Billy asked, glancing at the girl in his passenger seat.
“Not really.” She looked out of the window as he turned on the radio and Rebel Yell by Billy Idol flooded the car. “What happened to your cheek?”
Billy glanced across at her again but her gaze was still fixed out of the window. “It’s nothing.”
“Is it the reason you’re out this late?” Y/N asked, finally turning to look over at the blond.
“We’ve all got our demons, princess.” Was his response and she didn’t press him further. He knew most people would have; his friends often to demanded who he had beat in a fight and girls usually wanted to hear some heroic story about why he had been fighting. However, the truth was much darker than he ever told anyone. He was suddenly very glad it was Y/N he had found wandering by the road and not anyone else from the hell of a school.
They drove around aimlessly for a few hours, talking every so often and then letting the music fill the silence the rest of the time. It wasn’t awkward at any point, like Y/N had been expecting, there seemed to be a silent understanding between them that whatever this was, was just to be confined to his car in the late nights they both needed an escape.
As Billy drove up to her house he glanced at the empty driveway. “Where’re your parents?”
“At work. They work nights most nights so it’s just me.” Y/N explained as she opened the door. “Thanks for the ride.” She smiled softly.
“Anytime, princess.” He returned the smile as she closed the car door and walked up to her front door. Billy stayed to make sure she got inside before throwing the car into reverse and driving off.
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Their late-night drives occurred frequently over following next month. Y/N would wake from a nightmare and go for a walk to clear her head. Most times Billy would pull up next to her at some point throughout the night with fresh bruises and they would go for a drive. It was always like the first night; they would talk and listen to music. Neither of them ever explained what made them need to get out for a while and neither of them pushed the other for answers. They didn’t speak any other time. The most they would do was throw quick glances at each other in school, a way of checking up on each other when they couldn’t get away to talk. Their conversation and friendship were limited to the inside of Billy’s car. Neither of them really minded. They found an escape in each other.
However, one night the normality of their meetings was broken. Y/N was, for once, sleeping peacefully, when there was a knock on her window. Sleepily she had sat up and would have gone back to sleep blaming it on her imagination if it hadn’t sounded again. She walked over to the window, opened the curtains and locked eyes with those familiar blue irises. She opened the window as she took in his face. There were bruises all over his face but unlike usually, his nose was also bleeding, his lip and eyebrow were split and there were bruises visible under his ripped shirt.
“Billy?” She questioned as he started to climb through the window and nearly fell, causing her to grab onto his biceps to steady him.
“Hey, princess.” He muttered as he winced in pain.
“What happened?”
“My dad didn’t like the way I was talking to my step-mom, or the way I yelled at him about it.” He told her as she helped him sit on the bed. “I didn’t know where else to go.” He whispered as he locked his eyes onto his hands.
“It’s okay. I’m going to get the first aid kit.” Y/N motioned for him to stay put. She went into the bathroom and grabbed the first aid kit with shaking hands.
She walked back into the room, sat next to him and started pulling things out of the kit. Billy turned to look at her and noticed her shaking fingers as she tried to pour some alcohol onto some cotton wool. He placed his hands over hers and she stopped shaking and looked at him. He nodded reassuringly and she began to clean the cuts on his face. She then pulled out the tea tree oil and gently rubbed a small amount into the bruises on his face. She hoped it would ease the swelling and bring out the bruises faster so they could heal quicker.
“Could you…?” She trailed off as she gestured to his tattered shirt; unable to meet his gaze.
He just nodded and pulled it off. He winced as he did so, trying to recall the last time it had been this bad. Her hands started shaking again as she rubbed the ointment into the bruises on his chest and then on his back. She packed the kit away and just put it on the floor next to her bed. “Do you…” She took a breath to steady herself. “Do you want to sleep here tonight?”
“If you don’t mind.” His voice was still horse and shaky.
“Of course not.” She murmured as she climbed into bed. He kicked off his shoes and climbed in next to her as she switched off the light.
“Thank you.” He whispered as they started to drift off.
“Anytime.”
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Him coming over in the middle of the night after a fight with his dad started to become regular occurrence. Not once did he look as bad as the first time and each time she was glad of it. She hated to see him hurt. Her parents had begun to work more nights at the lab lately so she was always glad for Billy’s company in the otherwise empty house. It seemed with Billy by her side, the nightmares didn’t have the courage to attack. Billy had found a place where he actually felt safe and was reluctant to give it up anytime soon. They still didn’t talk at school but glances had evolved into smiles when they saw one another. Other people were beginning to catch onto them but no one ever saw them together. It had led to rumours and whispering in the halls whenever they passed one another. Neither of them particularly cared.
“You know my house has a door? You don’t always have to use the window. Especially when my parents aren’t home.” Y/N smiled as Billy climbed into her room from the darkness outside.
“Where’s the fun in that, princess?” He chuckled. There were small bruises in the shape of finger prints on each of his biceps. He sat on the bed as she grabbed a small bottle of tea tree oil that she now kept in her bedside table. No matter how many times he told her it didn’t matter, she wouldn’t listen so he had just started giving up and letting her put the ointment on the bruises.
“You staying?” She asked as she rubbed the ointment into each bruise on his arms.
“If that’s alright?”
“Always.” She smiled.
As she put the bottle away, he pulled off his shirt, kicked off his shoes and trousers and got into the bed. After the first few times he had just started sleeping in his boxer shorts. It was much comfier and she had assured him that she really didn’t mind. She climbed in next to him and laid her head on his chest. One of her legs was thrown over his hips and her hand rested on his necklace right above his heart. One of his arms was wrapped firmly around her and the other played lazily with her hair. They had gotten used to sleeping in a tangle of limbs pretty quickly and now neither of them would have it any other way.
Y/N very quickly dropped off to sleep, exhaustion from the nightmares that had plagued her the previous night finally taking over. Billy looked at her sleeping peacefully on his chest. He had tried so hard not to fall for her. Had tried so hard to convince himself they were just friends. But as he looked at her slowly moving with the rise and fall of his chest he realised it; he was well and truly in deep. He loved her.