Stranger Things - Imagines

Billy Hargrove X Wheeler!Reader - Guy Like Me (Part 3)

A/N - This chapter is the third part of others in this book. It's been inspired by the song Anti-hero by Taylor Swift. I hope you all enjoy it.

You'd made an effort lately to avoid being in the school hallways when they were super busy. Call it what you want; anxiety or nerves or maybe even just sheer lack of willingness to be surrounded by the people spreading rumours about you, but you just couldn't bring yourself to do it. The whispers tended to follow you, seeping through whatever thoughts you'd been having and painting your brain into a place that was getting a little too tedious to be. So, you avoided it as best as you could. 

Unfortunately, that often left you wandering to classes on your own. And on this occasion, it made you an easier target than usual. 

You'd not even noticed that Billy had been close until he'd shoved you up against the lockers lining the wall, your back making sharp contact with one of the locks, making you yelp out in pain. 

"What is wrong with you?" you bit out as his hands wrapped into fists in your shirt, holding you in place. "Get off of me," you pressed on, your hands scrambling against his skin in an attempt to free yourself. 

"You need to stop talking to people about me," he growled, face so close to yours that you could smell the cigarettes on his breath as it fanned across your skin. "Keep your mouth shut."

You swallowed down the lump forming in your throat. In all honesty, telling people the truth had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that he had his hands on you like this, you couldn't help but wonder if it had been a mistake. You only had a year of school left and if you could suffer through the rumours and mutterings in the hallways, you would be free of this place; free of Billy. But now, it seemed you'd dug yourself into a hole and Billy could be reactive at the best of times, let alone when he's been provoked. 

"I won't say anything," you started softly, your hands finally stilling over his forearms, holding them tightly, hoping that if you just satiated the anger, he would let you go. "I won't tell anyone anything-"

"Hey," a voice called out, drawing Billy's attention away from you for just a second. "Get off her, man," it pressed on as Eddie Munson finally stepped into view. Hell, you weren't exactly friends, but you'd known Eddie since you were both in elementary school, and right now, you'd never been so happy for his existence. 

"She's fine," Billy uttered, his eyes returning to you for a second. "Aren't you, Sweetheart?"

You hesitated for a second, your frightened eyes darting over to Eddie for a second. "I need to get to class," you breathed out, your voice all awkward as you tried to calm your racing heart. 

"You heard her," Eddie pressed on, moving a little closer to the two of you. "She needs to get to class," he added. "You probably need to let go of her for her to do that." He was so close now that you could see him properly, your eyes pleading with him to stick around. 

"This isn't any of your business, Freak," Billy muttered, his tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip. "Why don't you run along-"

"Y/N and I go way back," Eddie interjected. "Just gotta make sure she's not cutting class and getting herself in trouble," he added, his lips tilting up into a little half-smile. "Come on, Wheeler, let's go," he pressed on, watching as Billy's grip on your shirt loosened slightly. 

It was becoming more and more clear that Eddie wasn't going anywhere without making sure you were going with him, and right now, Billy wasn't exactly looking for a fight with one of the most notoriously weird guys in Hawkins. It was easy enough picking fights with people he knew he could win against, but Eddie was a wild card. God knows what sort of moves he could pull out if he was pushed to defend himself.