Stranger Things - Imagines

Billy Hargrove X Reader - Mean

A/N - Welcome to chapter 100! I can't believe we've gotten this far in such a short amount of time! This chapter was inspired by the song Mean! by Madeline The Person. I hope you all enjoy it.

T/W - This chapter has scenes of verbal abuse and cruelty towards the reader. If this is likely to affect you negatively, please skip this one. 

You had hoped that maybe if you kept putting it off, you could get away with keeping Billy away from your parents. I mean, your mom was fine. She'd always been too distant to ever really cause any problems. But your Dad was a completely different story. He loved the sound of his own voice and he loved it, even more, when he was tearing you down. Little snide comments to make you feel like shit. At this point, it came so effortless to him that you couldn't remember the last time you had a conversation that didn't end with you feeling crappy. 

But then Billy confronted you about it. In all fairness, he didn't know how you felt about your family. You always tried to keep your opinions to yourself, refusing to ever be as mean about your dad as he was about you. Billy had been convinced that you didn't want him to meet your parents because you were embarrassed by him, and even the thought had broken your heart. There had never been a single part of you that had ever felt like Billy was the problem. So you'd confessed that your dad could be a bit of an asshole at times, downplaying the truth as much as possible, and Billy had practically begged you to let him meet your parents. 

You'd had to give in, really. I mean, you'd met his dad and Susan tons of times, claiming that his place was just more comfortable than yours, and they'd made you feel welcome. Hell, you and Max had practically become besties, sometimes going out on your own without Billy. Part of you felt guilty that you'd never actually let him meet your family too, even if it was, in part, to protect him from them. 

The evening that Billy had come over, you'd made sure to meet him at the door, offering him one of the most forced smiles he had ever seen. 

"What's wrong?" he murmured, brow furrowed as he watched you carefully. 

"Nothing-"

"Baby," he warned quietly. "What's wrong?"

You let out a soft sigh. "I just don't want him to upset you," you uttered, biting down on your bottom lip lightly. "My dad can be a bit of a dick, okay. And he likes to push buttons and he's incredible at it. I just don't want him to ruin everything-"

"He isn't going to ruin anything, Baby," he told you, wrapping his arm around your shoulders to draw you closer and pressing a kiss to the side of your head. "You really think I'd let anyone change how I feel about you?"

Another soft sigh slipped out of you, but before you could say anything else, the living room door opened and your dad came waltzing out into the hallway with a smirk on his lips. "This must be your boyfriend," he started, looking far too proud of himself when he came towards the two of you. "Someone should give you a medal for putting up with her, kid," he added, and you felt Billy tense against you. 

From day one, he'd been fiercely protective of you and hearing your dad make such a stupid throwaway comment left him a little out of place. "Think it's more the other way around, sir," he hummed. "Y/N puts up with way more from me than I do from her," he pressed on, forcing an awkward smile. "She's practically the only reason I ever get a passing grade."

Your dad let out a bark of laughter. "If you're taking schooling advice from her, you must be thick as shit," he snorted, clapping Billy roughly on the shoulder. "Your mother is just plating up. Go help her," he added to you, his eyes darting in your direction for just a second. 

You nodded, slipping out from under Billy's arm and heading for the kitchen. It wasn't until you were inside that you realised that he'd followed, trailing behind you, his hand resting on your hip for just a second as you forced a smile onto your lips.