billy hargrove imagines

friends

summary: the one where you're just friends.

word count: 1,025

══════════════════

you were friends with probably the meanest person in all of hawkins, indiana. billy hargrove got into fights with 13-year-old boys, beat the living hell out of anyone who even slightly annoyed him, and drowned in alcohol. he had bloodied knuckles, bruises, and cigarette-tainted breath almost every night of the week.

you weren't much better, though. you were known to be aggressive when pushed past your breaking point. it wasn't hard to do that. you'd broken your nose more times than you could count on both hands. your whole life you'd been bred to be nothing short of pissed off. you'd had your heart broken by nearly every person you'd trusted. your dad up and left without a word, and your mom blamed you for it. your friends all faded away, making you wonder if they ever really cared. every relationship you ever had ended badly one way or another. even billy, your best friend in the whole world, broke your heart.

you loved billy. more than you were capable of admitting. whenever he smiled even vaguely in your direction, you could feel the beat of butterfly wings in your chest. your favorite place in the world was in his arms, holding you until the pain slowly washed away and you fell asleep. he was never there in the morning. you wondered if he stayed at all once you fell asleep. you could think of nothing better than to kiss his lips. they probably tasted of nicotine and beer.

but billy hargrove was the meanest person in all of hawkins, indiana. he was a flirt, a womanizer. he found a new person to sleep with almost every night. he couldn't stand his own bed in his own house, so he'd bum off pretty girls. and to repay them, he'd give them a good time.

and that damn near broke you. you wished he'd look at you like he looked at them. you knew he didn't love them, or even care about them. billy hargrove never cared. except when it came to you.

you sat on the hood of billy's car as you fished a marlboro out of your pocket. he was leaned against the car beside you, busy fiddling with his lighter. you snatched it out of his hands, making him look up at you, his expression half-annoyed. you wordlessly lit your cigarette, letting the smoke fill your lungs and calm you.

"thanks," you said, throwing the lighter in his direction. he caught it right before it hit the ground.

"hey," he said suddenly. you looked up at him in interest, taking a longer drag off your marlboro. "that oscar pearce kid has been talking up a storm about you."

you blinked. "who?" smoke trailed from your lips.

"oscar pearce. he's on the basketball team. are you always this much of an airhead?"

you softly punched his shoulder with a glare. "says the guy who's failing all his classes."

he grunted, taking the cigarette out from between your lips. you watched intently as he took a drag. you couldn't help but feel flustered at the action. it felt like an inadvertent kiss. damn you and your dumb emotions, playing up every little thing he did. he probably thought nothing of it. it probably didn't even cross his mind that his lips were touching something your lips had been touching just seconds ago. he definitely wouldn't have some stupid emotional reaction to it like you. your eyes darted away from his, heart nearly pounding out of your rib cage.

"whatever. point is, i think he's planning on asking you out," billy muttered around the cigarette.

you hadn't really been paying attention to him. instead, your mind had started playing out little movies in your head. movies about you and billy. movies where you were perfect, and he was perfect, and nothing mattered. movies where his heart pounded as hard as yours when you were close together. movies where you could fall in love peacefully and fully.

"who?" was your half-hearted response.

billy snapped his fingers in front of your face, the annoyance flaring his features up again. "you really gonna just zone out when i'm talking?" he huffed. "oscar pearce. i've said his name like a million times now—"

"there's no way that's true," you interrupted.

he groaned in frustration. "it doesn't matter! jesus, just listen, will you?" the exasperation was clear on his face. "i'm betting the kid wants to ask you out. you know, on a date."

you refrained from rolling your eyes. "why would i care?"

he snorted. "why wouldn't you?"

your tongue swept over your lips, wetting them carefully. you decided to take a leap of faith. "he's not my type," you said boldly.

a chuckle reverberated deep from within billy's chest. he still hadn't returned your cigarette. you weren't sure you could even take it back from him, anyway.

he cocked a brow. that made you break into a sweat. "oh, yeah? what is your type?"

you didn't break away from his daunting gaze this time. you ran straight into the lion's den. "guys like you."

that made all the mischief die from his eyes. you could see the exact moment the light was snuffed out from him. your leap of faith had left you crushed and bloody at the bottom of a building. you gulped.

"y/n, i—"

"i know. i know," you interrupted him again. you blinked your eyes fiercely. you were not going to cry in front of him. you'd drown yourself if a single tear slipped. "i know. don't say anything, because i already know, hargrove. i get it. you're you and i'm me, and we're friends. we're friends."

he swallowed roughly. his lips parted and closed, but no words left them. he was desperately attempting to find some way to fix this horrible mistake you'd made. the lion's den proved to be more fatal than you'd anticipated.

"y/n," he tried again.

"i know."

you jumped off the hood of his car and took quick steps away from him.

everyone you'd ever known had broken your heart. billy hargrove was just the latest on a very long list.