Knee Socks | Billy Hargrove AU

15

I stared at the piece of paper that had Steve Harrington's number poorly written in Billy's handwriting. How would I ever be able to convince him into giving me money? He barely associated with me in high school other than one single night, during which I later found out he was calling me a loser.

The only way to make the process go faster was to call Steve straightaway. I need time to gain his trust and somehow persuade him into liking me enough to give me what I want. I mean, give Billy what he wants.

I don't wait another moment to pick up the phone and start dialing. My hands shake and my stomach feels sick.

"Hello?" A voice picks up and I immediately get the urge to hang up. I remember the money Billy offered and threatened to take away and how my father would once again barely make rent another month.

"Hello. I'm looking to talk to Steve Harrington, please?" I manage to say, sounding like a child who's learning how to speak.

"This is him. Who is this?" His voice sounds...kind, sweet even. The complete opposite of Billy's to be exact. It felt like a breath of fresh air.

"It's Lacey Myers, do you remember me from high school?" I chew on my lip and anxiously wait for his response which takes longer than usual to arrive.

"Lacey Myers...Oh, yes, I do remember you! You let me stay over at your house that one time. I still owe you for that, by the way. What's up? How have you been?" By his tone of voice, I can tell he's smiling, which makes me want to smile.

I snap out of whatever Steve Harrington trance I'm in and process his words. If he's set on owing me something, maybe this will be easier than I thought. But there's no way it will be that easy, so I decide against being truthful and continue with Billy's plan.

"I'm doing good. I don't even know why I called, honestly. I've just been thinking about high school a lot and was wondering what you were up to now." Dirty little liar.

"I appreciate you calling, Lacey. I don't think we left on very good terms and maybe this is a sign that we should try things out again on a clean slate." He plays the part of an innocent nice guy much too well, it feels too easy. What's the catch? I wonder. If Billy was telling the truth about Steve stealing money from him, he must not be as nice as he sounds now.

"I'd like that." Another lie, but I can't deny the school-girl-crush-type of feelings that erupt in my stomach. Steve Harrington used to be the most popular guy in school and here I am, deceiving him, getting him to want to talk to me.

--

Steve and I spent all night catching up on the past two years. Apparently, Steve coaches the intramural boy's basketball team at Hawkins Middle and also works at an ice cream shop for extra money. Nothing about Billy was mentioned and I didn't dare to bring it up as it would raise too many suspicions.

He told me he's always wanted to see California and hinted at coming here this summer. He also said he'd call me again tonight after I got out of work. I couldn't believe how easy it was to charm him.

As another dreadful Monday morning approaches, I feel less grim knowing that I have something to look forward to. Even if that something was an old high school acquaintance that wasn't entirely nice to me. I wondered if he was still as cute as he was back then, but considering it was only two years ago, I settled on the fact that he was definitely still cute.

I thought about Steve my entire shift, up until an unexpected and unwelcome surprise showed up at the shop. Music blaring, blue jeans flaring, who could've guessed that Billy showed up once again.

"Hi darling," Billy says as he walks up to the counter where I stood behind. He looks jaw-dropping, as usual, which makes me even more annoyed. 

"Why are you here, Billy? You really have nothing better to do than come to my work and bug me?" I respond, not in the mood to deal with any requests or questions from him. 

"I'd like to take you out after you get out of work." 

I have to pretend his words don't put me into shock, so I fumble with envelopes at the counter and act like I'm doing busywork. 

"What? Why?" I wonder, completely taken aback by the request.

"Why wouldn't I?" He smiles but it's not a cute, innocent smile by any means. There's deviance behind it, which is confirmed when he follows his words with, "And I want to know how your Steve progress is coming along." 

I roll my eyes, "I've only talked to him once and it was good. Matter of fact, I have another phone date with him after my shift so I won't be able to go out with you." 

"Sounds like things are going good then. I still want to take you out," he says.

"And ruin my 'Steve progress' as you called it? Aren't you supposed to be encouraging me to go on this phone date with him?" I question. 

"Since everything's under my terms, I say that today can be your day off. Wear something nice, preferably with those knee socks you always wear. I'll pick you up at 8." 

Before I can get another word out, he's turning on his heel and leaving. I huff in annoyance. The last place I wanted to be was in Billy's presence, but I knew that I'd be going home and cancelling on Steve. Billy was infuriating but the attraction that pulls me towards him is undeniable. This fact bothered me more than anything, making me spend the rest of my work day in a horrible mood. 

Stupid fucking Billy Hargrove. 

~~~

Author's Note:

Ya'll are going crazy over this story now that ST4 is out!!! Thank you so much to everyone who's read and voted for this story. I don't know why you like it considering I started writing it when I was 16 but thank you anyways! 

I'm sorry this is a short chapter, I lose motivation to write a lot and am struggling with that right now so I will try my best to update soon.

Also I'm going through a crisis where I'm more obsessed with Steve than Billy...Joe Keery has me in a chokehold and the tiktok edits aren't helping!! Brb gotta go watch Billy edits to refresh my obsession. Thanks again xoxo - J