Work Text:
2nd Person Readers POV:
You're currently at the Byers residence with Max, Lucas, Steve, Mike, and your little brother Dustin. This would normally be an average everyday afternoon, if your brother hadn't recently introduced you to the world of the Upside Down and his little 'pet' Dart who apparently ate your poor family cat.
Now you sit slumped on the couch as Max leans her head against your shoulder while Lucas lies defeated on her other side.
Max and you have bonded the most out of your little crew of misfits, considering you're dating her stepbrother and now with this whole demo-dog business, you've had the opportunity to get fairly close. You know Max has looked up to you ever since you managed to cool Billy's hot temper after you got together. In turn making him much more tolerable to be around- plus you know deep down she cares for her brother and appreciates you getting him away from their father Neil- if only for a little while.
The three of you are watching Dustin with varying degrees of confusion and mild horror as he moves everything out of the Byers freezer and starts trying to stuff one of the monsters from the woods inside. Dustin turns to Steve asking for his help and much to everyone's chagrin, Steve argues for a moment before quickly giving in and helping him out as Mike begins to loudly express his discomfort.
You decide you should probably save Mike from this losing battle and speak up yourself, "Dustin this is an awful idea."
He doesn't pause what he's doing as he responds with a distracted, "it's already dead Y/N and it's for science."
"That means nothing! We don't know anything about these creatures! It could come back to life for all we know or maybe it's radioactive or something!"
Dustin scoffs, looking up at you for a brief moment.
"You're being ridiculous."
"She's really not." Pipes up Max as she lifts her head from your shoulder.
You smile, lightly pushing against her in appreciation.
"Thanks Max, see someone listens to me Dustin."
Steve perks up looking vaguely upset.
"Hey, I usually listen to you, but you can't tell me you'd rather listen to Dustin whine forever."
You deflate.
"Yeah, I guess that's fair."
Deciding this isn't worth arguing over, you chose to let Dustin do his thing and watch as he and Steve give the monster one final shove before slamming the freezer door shut. Steve wipes his hands off on a rag he grabbed from the Byers sink.
"That was disgusting, I'm never touching one of those things again."
"You might not have a choice."
Mikes mutters as he paces the floor, clearly worried for his newfound friend El.
You stand up to comfort him only to stop short when you hear blaring music and a car speeding closer to the house. Max slowly rises to join you.
"I know that music... that's Billy."
Your breath catches and you immediately feel your hands start to shake.
"Oh god, oh god, oh god. This place is a mess and there's a dead monster in the freezer; Billy cannot be here right now."
Max swiftly grabs your hand and pulls you down to the couch, joining Lucas and Mike who are both now peering out the window.
You watch with wide eyes as Billys Camero rapidly pulls up to the Byers house, coming to an abrupt stop. The loss of music leaves you with only your pounding heart to grasp onto. Max's hand stays in yours and you're incredibly grateful for the grounding sensation.
Your only goal at this moment is to keep Billy far away from the house. You never want harm to come to him, and you know you wouldn't be able to prevent that if he gets involved in this Upside Down business. He's probably here to bring Max home, but that's simply NOT a viable option right now.
Your head snaps up towards Steve.
"Steve, you need to get him to leave!"
The poor man gapes at you.
"Excuse me what?! That man hates me Y/N!"
"No, he doesn't, he's just a little prickly sometimes."
Steve rolls his eyes at you but already begins to head towards the door.
"You're just blinded by love."
Your only response is to shrug and wave him away, telling him without words to get to it.
Dustin joins you and the others who are all staring out the window, desperate to see what happens next. You can just barely hear what's happening through the flimsy walls and thin glass.
"Am I dreaming or is that you Harrington?"
Billy's voice comes through muffled, yet you can still tell he's not entirely happy right now.
Steve stuffs his hands in his pockets trying to come off as nonchalant.
"Yeah, it's me. Don't cream your pants."
"What're you doing here amigo?"
Billy takes a step towards Steve.
"I could ask you the same thing...amigo."
You wince, knowing Steve is only going to piss Billy off with his choice of words. You can visibly see Billy take a deep breath trying to reign himself in.
"Look Harrington, I'm looking for my sister and my girlfriend, alright? I know they're here so I'm just gonna go get them and then I'll be out of your fancy pants hair."
Billy starts walking towards the house with determined steps while Steve panics. You can see Steve hesitate for a moment before stepping in front of Billy and shoving him away.
You gasp, squeezing Max's hand and whispering to her, "what the hell is he doing?"
Max mumbles something back, but you're too busy watching in horror as Steve then starts to swing at Billy.
You're up and out the door before the kids can even think to stop you.
"Billy?! Are you okay?"
You're quick to fly by Steve, who had also been punched in retaliation once or twice. You grasp Billy's face and carefully tilt it around, trying to see how bad the damage is. Thankfully, there doesn't seem to be much besides a cut on his lip. In your panic you fail to see Billy's face softening as he wraps his hands around your wrists and carefully pulls them away.
"Hey, I'm fine, babe. Harrington has a shitty swing anyways."
You ignore Steve's outrage to continue addressing your boyfriend.
"You're sure?"
"Positive, but what the hell are you doing here anyways? And where's Max? I really need to get her home."
You can see the desperation in his eyes and immediately know why he needs to get Max home.
'Neil', you bitterly think.
You bite your lip, contemplating for a moment.
"Okay... okay come on I'll show you to Max."
You pass by Steve without a second thought, still annoyed that his brilliant solution was to sucker punch your boyfriend.
Opening the door, you see that the kids are nowhere to be found, you chuckle knowing they're probably hiding just in case.
You put your hands on your hips, yelling out, "come out guys, its fine."
Max appears first- with Lucas, Mike, and Dustin following soon after. Lucas looks nervously between you and Billy.
"Is he cool?"
Billy scoffs.
"I'm the coolest, Sinclair."
"Let's not go too far now. Anyways, Max, you need to go home now, okay?"
You stare her dead in the eye while saying this, making sure she can see just how serious you are. She clearly must pick up on your hidden meaning since she's quick to nod and start heading towards you.
Being so focused on the current conversation you fail to notice Steve rapidly coming up from behind until he slams right into Billy sending him sprawling to the ground.
You startle, jumping backwards before spinning to face Steve with fury in your eyes.
"What the hell Steve!?"
He grunts, not taking his eyes off Billy who has turned to glare at Steve in return.
"He punched me Y/N!"
"You started it though! I told you to get him to leave, not to beat him up!"
Your hand slams against your mouth when you catch what you've admitted... in front of Billy. His eyes go from a fierce glare at Steve to a hurt look towards you, he stands to be face to face with you.
"Wait, what?"
"No Billy it's not how it sounds I swear it!"
"Well, explain it to me then, why did you send Ste-"
Billy is abruptly cut off by Steve's fist slamming into his face, causing his head to snap to the side.
You yelp, back peddling to push the kids away from the impending fight.
You turn to face them.
"All of you stay here, got it?"
When they don't respond you repeat, "GOT IT?" They nod dumbly, which is good enough for now.
What happens next is not one of your brightest ideas, though you seem to not have many of those tonight. Knowing Steve and Billy won't stop until one of them gets knocked out or someone stops them, you decide stopping them will make things go much faster. Your timing isn't ideal considering Steve's mid shove when you step between them causing you to get caught in the crossfire.
You're tumbling backwards before you can even blink, crashing into something hard not even a second later.
Everything feels hazy, you distantly hear people yelling, but nothing quite reaches your ears. You feel something tacky, almost gooey, dripping down your face and arms. Reaching up to touch it, your fingers come away with a reddish black hue.
'What the hell?'
Shaking you from your daze is Dustin and Max, who have both leaned down to be next to you.
"Y/N? Y/N! Are you okay?"
Dustin's voice comes out desperate and sharp.
You take a shaky breath... but you feel... fine? A little dizzy from your crash landing, though otherwise in good shape, so what's the deal with all the blood? You vocalize your thoughts, and Max gives you a sheepish look in return.
"So, uh... don't freak out but you're sort of covered in monster blood... and Billy's in shock I think."
You freeze, slowly looking down to take a better look at where you're sitting. Seeing monster blood and bits covering your entire upper body and parts of your legs causes an ear-piercing scream to leave your mouth. You scramble, trying to get the disgusting substance off of you, though knowing deep down your efforts are in vain.
Your scream and abrupt movements must have snapped Billy out of his stupor since he's up and pushing Max and Dustin away to grab onto you, doing his best to ignore the blood.
"Hey, hey you're okay! You're okay, nothing's wrong!"
You're not sure if he's trying to convince you or himself of this fact, though it manages to calm you down all the same. Once slightly calmer you lean against him, feeling the weight of the day finally taking its toll on you.
"I want to go home and take a shower for like 15 years."
Billy awkwardly chuckles.
"Yeah, yeah I can make that happen... but you're telling me everything afterwards, you too Max."
You and Max both readily agree, not seeing the point in lying anymore.
Billy and Max each take one of your arms and carefully haul you up. You call out for Dustin to follow, all getting ready to head out only for Steve to step in front of you, blocking the door.
He looks apologetic, opening his mouth to speak, but you hold up your hand stopping him short.
"Look I don't care if you're sorry or about to start a fight again. I don't care, it's not happening right now, you can do this another time."
With that, you're gone. By your side are your loved ones holding you up- yet the dread still lingers knowing you have a lot of explaining to do, 'that can wait though, right now a warm shower is calling my name...'