A/N - This chapter was inspired by the song Work Song by Hozier. This is set during Season 3, just after Billy is first attacked by the Mindflayer, but it doesn't actually get him in this version, so he's not all mind controlled. Reader is Hopper's daughter. I hope you all enjoy it.
When you had found Billy at the side of the road, stumbling around looking lost, you had been a little concerned. Sure, you knew him from school, but that didn't really mean anything. You knew the egotistical, cruel, loud Billy that walked the halls of Hawkins High. You had never met this version of Billy. He looked scared, practically shaking when you pulled over in the rain, opened your door slowly and stood up to look at him over the top of the car.
"Hey," you started softly, watching as his wide, terrified eyes had landed on you, his body tensing when he realised he wasn't alone. "Do you need a ride?" you pressed on, trying to keep your voice as calm and soothing as possible.
"I don't know how I got here," Billy uttered, his eyes never leaving your face. It was almost as if, from the moment that he had seen you, he had known that you weren't a threat. He wasn't watching for some attack that you could launch. He wasn't wary of your company. He knew you weren't going to hurt him. He knew you were going to help him. "I don't know what happened to me," he added, his jaw quivering slightly as he bit back tears.
"Why don't you get in the car and I'll drive you home-"
"No," he interrupted. "I don't want to go home."
You hesitated for a moment, your tongue darting out to wet your lips as you considered your next suggestion. "Well, I can drive you back to my place. Just until the rain lets up."
He nodded, slowly approaching your car as you sat back down, reaching over to unlock the door for him. Part of you wondered whether this was a bad idea. You'd never even spoken to Billy before this. Hell, he'd never even acknowledged your existence before now. You didn't have any responsibility for him. But even the idea of leaving him alone out here in the middle of the night left you uneasy. You were like your dad in that way. You couldn't just abandon someone if they needed help.
*Time Skip*
Billy had passed out on your couch pretty quickly after you got him into the living room. He'd made some strange comments on the drive back, too, and it hadn't taken you long to come to the realisation that he'd had a run-in with something from the Upside Down, even if you didn't really understand what it was yet.
When he'd woken up, you'd been in the little kitchen in your house, standing at the stove and clearly pretty concentrated on whatever it was you were making. For a moment, he considered just quietly getting up and leaving whilst your back was turned. It would be the easiest option. He wouldn't have to try and make sense of what had happened last night. He wouldn't have to explain it to you. He could just go on in blissful ignorance. But then, before he could make a decision, you had glanced over your shoulder at him and offered up the sweetest smile he had ever seen, and he was suddenly very grateful that he hadn't made a dash for the door.
"You're awake," you hummed, hearing him groan as he sat up, rubbing at his eyes. "How'd you sleep?"
He shrugged slightly, forcing himself up to his feet as you continued pottering around the kitchen. "I've slept better," he told you, moving a little closer to look at what you were doing. On the counter was a small selection of breakfast foods. Bacon and sausages and eggs. And just as he reached you, the toaster popped, causing you both to jump.
"I thought you'd probably be hungry," you told him, your voice as soft as silk as you glanced up at him. "Long nights tend to leave people pretty hungry," you pressed on, holding out a plate in his direction and nodding for him to help himself to the food.
"Thank you," he mumbled, plating up his own food and then hovering next to you for a moment.
A soft chuckle fell from your lips when you glanced up from your own plate to find him standing there aimlessly. "You can sit down," you chuckled, gesturing towards the dinner table. "I'll be over in a second," you added, watching him nod and make a beeline for one of the seats.
When you finally joined him at the table, Billy was still pushing his food around his plate, his eyes focused on the porcelain beneath the metal prongs.
"Are you not hungry?" you hummed, head tilted to the side as you watched him.
His head shot up to look at you, brow furrowed slightly. "No, I-" he paused letting out a soft sigh. "I mean, yeah, I am, I just-" he hesitated. "Thank you for looking after me," he finally murmured. "I know I've not always been the nicest."
You shrugged slightly. "Doesn't matter," you told him, your expression so understanding that Billy almost couldn't stand it. He'd been an asshole to almost everyone at school, your friends included, so why on earth were you being so goddamn nice to him? "Everyone makes mistakes," you added. "Doesn't mean they don't deserve help when they need it."
"God, you're so sweet," he breathed out, looking a little frustrated by the discovery.
A soft chuckle slipped out of you. "I have my moments," you hummed. "I can be real mean when I need to be," you added, drawing a snort of laughter out of him.
"I don't believe that for one second."
*Time Skip*
You weren't sure exactly how it had happened, but you and Billy had started hanging out after that first night. You would show up at the pool some days, pretending that you were only interested in going for a swim, but the second he saw you, he would make sure to go on break, lingering around your lounger until one of the other lifeguards came over and forced him back to work.
On other days, he would call the house, making sure no one else was around before driving over to spend time with you. It was easy enough to deny that there was anything going on between you when Max and El would interrogate you about your new friendship. But deep down, you already knew that there was more to it than that. Billy was pretty damn sweet on you, there was no hiding that. He was practically talking about you non-stop at home and whenever he was missing it was pretty obvious that he was with you. And you were pretty smitten too. He wasn't the arrogant pretty boy you had met in the halls. He was caring and gentle and sometimes a little too protective for his own good.
So, when he'd finally kissed you it hadn't exactly been a surprise. Or at least, not an unwelcome one, even if you hadn't actually been expecting it. And when you'd kissed him back, he could've sworn that he'd seen heaven. You wanted him. This sweet, loyal girl without a mean bone in her body wanted to be with him. And he couldn't have asked for anything more.
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