Stranger Things - Imagines

Billy Hargrove X Reader - L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.

A/N - This chapter was inspired by the song L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N. by Noah and the Whale. This is set a few years after all of the Stranger Things stuff when Reader and Billy are in their early 20s and have been working together at a bar for a few months. I hope you all enjoy it.

Locking the door was always your favourite part of any shift at The Avenue. Once the last barflies had been ushered out onto the street and the bright neon open sign was switched off, a sense of peace would linger for just a second. And then, as if like clockwork, Billy would pour you a drink and the two of you would let the calm settle in before you finished closing up and prepping for the next day.

"Can't believe you're ditching me tomorrow, Looney Tunes," he hummed, the nickname he'd given you after he'd heard you say that's all folk's one time slipping out on instinct as he slid the glass across the bar to you, watching you slump onto one of the stools that lined the other side. 

"I'm not ditching you, Idiot," you corrected, rolling your eyes at how dramatic he was being. You and Billy hadn't been on a shift without one another since he'd first started working with you 6 months ago, and to say he'd become your work bestie was a bit of an understatement. The two of you gossiped like a pair of old washerwomen, and at this point, you were pretty sure he knew more about your roommate's failed attempts at dating than even your best friends did. "Luke asked me to swap one shift so that he could go to his cousin's wedding. I'll be back again on Friday," you pressed on, watching as a little half-smile pulled at the corners of his lips.

"It's going to feel like a lifetime," he confessed, placing a hand over his heart as though he was mortally wounded. 

A soft chuckle slipped out of you as you lifted your drink to your lips. "Only because I do all the work," you teased. 

"Hey," he chastised lightly, watching intently as you sipped at the drink he'd made you. "You wouldn't be able to do all that work if it wasn't for me making you coffee, Looney Tunes," he teased back, now grinning at you. "You think Jackson's going to make you a perfect Cappuccino at 5 pm?" he added, watching your face wrinkle in annoyance.

"Shit, I forgot it would be Jackson," you murmured, knocking back the last of your drink and pushing the glass back towards him. "That'll be torture," you added, watching Billy's brow furrow slightly. 

He leant forward, elbow propped on the bar as he watched you. "What's wrong with Jackson?"

You shrugged slightly, trying to play it off. "Nothing's wrong with him-"

"Come on, Looney Tunes, you can tell me. I won't tell anyone."

You sighed softly, leaning to copy his pose, your faces a little too close for comfort. "Honestly?"

"Honestly," he repeated, eyes darting between yours for a second before settling in place. 

"Before you started working here, we used to work together all the time, and he just wouldn't leave me alone, you know?" you murmured, your tongue darting out to wet your bottom lip. "Kept trying to flirt with me, even though I was making it pretty clear I wasn't interested. And he got all huffy when he asked me out and I turned him down." 

Billy's brow furrowed in concern. "And he's still doing it?"

You shrugged. "I haven't worked with him in months," you hummed. "I asked Carly to move the rota around so I'd only have to work with you-"

"You did?" he uttered, drawing a soft bubble of laughter out of you at his surprise. You nodded. "So did I," he finally murmured, letting out his own shocked chuckle.

Your eyes widened slightly. "No shit," you cried out.

"Yeah, Luke wasn't great at showing me the ropes, so she took me off of his shifts anyway, and then Jackson always kinda seemed like he hated me-"

"Of course he hated you," you interrupted, rolling your eyes. "The guy uses this place like it's a dating agency and you're hot, so he was probably annoyed that you were getting more attention than he was."

Billy hesitated for a moment, his tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip. "You think I'm hot?"

You sat up a little quickly, grinning. "Well yeah, I've got eyes, Idiot."

"Huh," he hummed, watching as you slipped out of your seat to start stacking the chairs. Billy followed, working alongside you quietly for a moment. "You know that I think you're hot too, right, Looney Tunes?"

You rolled your eyes at his comment, continuing with your chair stacking. 

"I'm serious," he pressed on, stopping for a moment, waiting for you to look in his direction. When you did, he raised an eyebrow at you, as if asking you to disagree with him. "Come on, Looney, you're hot as Hell," he told you. "And as if that's not enough, you've got the biggest heart I've ever known," he added, his voice a little softer than it had been. 

"Okay, Idiot," you hummed. "I get it."

Billy held up his hands in surrender. "Just thought, since we were being honest-"

"I know," you interjected, offering him a soft smile. "I'm just a little worried that if you keep being honest, I'm going to do something stupid and we'll both regret it in the long run, you know? I like working with you, I don't want to ruin that by catching feelings."

He nodded for a moment. "Yeah, I get it," he hummed, his tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip. "But just so you know, the second one of us hands in our notice, I'm asking you out."

A soft bubble of laughter slipped out of you. "I'd expect nothing less," you told him.

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