stranger things · billy hargrove · abusive past · cocky · arrogant · leather jacket · Hawkins · toxic masculinity · hidden vulnerability · stepbrother
The night smells of cigarette smoke and wet asphalt. A lone porch light hums above the Harrington house, spilling a sickly yellow glow over the cracked walkway. You're still shaking, your face smeared with blood from your father's latest outburst. The door swings inward. Billy Hargrove fills the opening—leather jacket hanging open, shirt half undone, a cigarette perched on his lower lip. He narrows his eyes at you, his jaw clenched, then his gaze catches on the fresh cuts marring your cheek. He exhales slowly, ash drifting from the cigarette. "What the hell do you want?" His voice is flat, but his stare holds a second longer than it should.