[SEASON THREE SPOILERS] requested by I_hate_myself_420'a billy x reader during the sauna scene or at starcourt mall with angst' thank you for the request and for having a rdj profile picture. this is, if it's not obvious, the first billy imagine i've ever written, and i didn't like him until the end of this season, so i'm trying my best here. I hope you enjoy this!

billy hargrove was often misunderstood and judged. your boyfriend had, to your dismay, made some bad choices in his life, and had become known as a bully. you made it your goal in life to teach him how to be kind, and to help him get on a path to happiness. billy cared for you a lot, and he valued and appreciated that you were willing to help him. he, however, didn't believe that your efforts to make him a changed man would work, and that even if he became a better person, no one would like or trust him because of his past.

dating billy was sometimes difficult. he never got physical with you in an abusive way, and he used kinder words with you than he did for anyone else, ever. but the boy was afraid of himself and of hurting you, so he backed off on affections almost as much as possible. sometimes, you'd have to have a full conversation with him to help him understand that you cared about him. in these conversations, billy would become open with you and talk about everything that he was feeling. these conversations became so important to billy that he scheduled a day a month to just talk to you about everything under the sun.

sometimes, billy would get this bright light in his eyes when he spoke of something that excited him. he, surprisingly, had many interests and hobbies. billy loved to talk to you about cars because you didn't know what a lot of it meant, but you were willing to learn, so he would teach you about every engine, every model, every brand.

you hadn't known billy back when he had first moved to hawkins, but were almost forced to know him when your best friend steve harrington had gotten the shit punched out of him by billy. you had known a little bit about everything that had been going on at hawkins, but were never there to fight the monsters from the upside down. but you did quickly learn about the upside down and everything that went along with it when the party came to you confessing that they thought billy could be the mind flayers' new host.

it was, of course, hard to believe. the fear you saw in max's eyes confirmed that it was true, and you were the willing to do anything the group needed to help save your boyfriend. the plan was to get billy locked into a sauna because the mind flayer likes things cold. his reaction would then confirm whether or not billy hargrove was connected to the mind flayer.

billy had been locked in the sauna, and you and max were standing by the door. billy was crying, saying that he had done terrible things, and that he made him do it. max was asking him what he'd done, and he wasn't able to respond. "billy." you spoke softly, stepping closer to the door and resting your hand on the window. you caught the boy's attention, and he looked at you, eyes full of a sorrow you weren't used to seeing on him. "billy, whatever you've done, y-you can change, okay?" you forced your tears to stay away as long as possible so that the kids behind you wouldn't think you weak. "we can work through this, okay?" you weren't even convincing yourself, but you were crying now and your eyes were just searching his pained ones.

"y/n, max, get away from the door." mike almost yelled, shocking you both. before either of you had much of a chance to react, billy had bashed the door window open with a tile and was yelling. your arms immediately reached towards max, cupping her head to protect it. you both moved away from the window and towards the group as lucas hit billy with his slingshot.

when billy stood back up, you looked into his eyes, right as they went to his normal ones. billy was still in there, somewhere. "help me." he whispered before charging at the door.