Emma || Steve Harrington/Billy Hargrove

Epilogue (B.H.)

a/n: it's over! this is it! I hope you all enjoyed it. i had so much fun writing this whole story. if you like this and you want to see more of my work, check out my Dacre Montgomery fanfic on my page, it's called Unexpected  and it's ongoing :)

*Emma's POV*

My fist pounded against the white wooden door with anticipation of what was about to happen. Billy smiled and pecked my lips before I pulled away anxiously and held up my white envelope. "Did you get yours?" I asked excitedly. He smiled wide as he pulled his out of his back pocket.

"You ready?" he questioned as he stepped outside with me and closed the door behind him. I nodded eagerly. The two of us slowly tore into the envelope and pulled out the paper inside. "At the same time," he whispered. I nodded and he counted down from three before we unfolded the papers in our hands.

"Oh my god," I said, "I got in! I got in!"

"Me too!" he exclaimed. I smiled wide and opened my arms wide for him to go and hug me. He took the hint and wrapped his arms tightly around my torso, "This is insane!"

"This means we're both committing, right?" I asked.

"Of course," he smiled, "I can't believe it!" I smiled as I looked down and kept reading the letter, which just contained a little more information about the school and the next steps I'd need to take. I looked up at Billy and he was doing the same, the smile not leaving his face.

"This is literally both of our dreams come true right now," I beamed.

"I know," he said, "I honestly couldn't have done it without you though." I rolled my eyes and laughed knowing very well that he'd gotten in on his own merit and athletic abilities. "I'm serious," he chuckled, "I can almost guarantee that if you hadn't come and made me realize how much of a shitty person I was turning into, I'd kept being that way and I wouldn't have even tried to get into this school, which we both know is my dream school, so thank you." I smiled up at him and got on my tippy toes to press our lips together.

"I love you," I whispered as I pulled away.

"Me too," he replied, "So much."

"I have to go tell my parents the good news, but I'll call you tomorrow?" he nodded in response and kissed my forehead before I turned and got in my mom's car to drive back home. I smiled to myself as I got out when I reached my house. I knew my parents would be beyond proud of me when I told them.

"Hey honey, where'd you go?" My mom asked as I entered the living room.

"I was a Billy's," I answered, "something came in the mail." I pulled the envelope out from my pocket and held it up so they could both see. They both perked up instantly.

"Is that UCLA?" my dad asked. I smiled and nodded. "What did they say?"

"I'm in, Billy and I are both in!" I exclaimed. They both jumped out of their seats and cheered. They made their way over to where I was standing and pulled me into a tight group hug.

"Oh sweetie, we're so proud of you," my mom gushed, "I know we pressured you a lot throughout this whole process, and we know you were really stressed but I'm glad all your hard work has paid off."

I didn't know what the future had in store for me or anyone else I'd met that year. I didn't know if Billy and I were going to work out or be together forever, but I did know that that was the happiest I'd ever been and that I was excited to get to carry on with my life and see how things would turn out. Living in Hawkins and getting to know everyone and be a part of such an amazing group of people truly changed my life and I couldn't feel more thankful towards the small town and the people I'd met.