Behind Closed Doors

October 30th, 1984

Steve was worried. Not about the fact that it was close to the anniversary of Will's disappearance, or that Nancy had broken up with him a few days ago, or even that his dad was talking about forcing him to get a job next summer.

It was about his interest in the new kid, Billy Hargrove.

Steve could admit, in a very heterosexual way, that Hargrove was an attractive guy. It was no wonder that the girls were falling all over him from the moment he pulled into the parking lot in his Camaro. As the day progressed, it was obvious that Hargrove had an air of self confidence while also working hard in his classes.

Then during basketball practice... Steve was a bit conflicted. He acted like an absolute asshole and constantly knocked Steve to the ground. Then in the showers, the guy had a freaking toned body. And yet he still acted like an asshole saying "There's plenty of bitches in the sea."

So what was the big problem here?

Everyone, including his dad, would kill him if they knew he had a crush on Hargrove.

There was no way in hell he'd act on it. He always knew he'd been a little different, though he never dared to give it a label. Giving it a label, putting himself into that category, meant it was real. He had already risked being noticed when he glanced at Hargrove multiple times during class. Definitely not the way to seem discreet about a crush... but Hargrove didn't notice, right?

Billy actually did. He found it cute that Harrington was looking at him, and he knew that look all too well. That was the look of longing all of the girls had been giving him since he showed up, only it was mixed with denial. That was adorable, Harrington in the closet trying to be straight. Billy had actually picked out out a few closeted men and women in the town, and since it was a small town, he couldn't blame them for being closeted.

That was one of the things he missed about California: the queer community was very active and accepting. There he could go to a gay bar with a fake I.D. and get laid no muss no fuss, at least when he felt like getting dick. Here, there were probably only five queer people total (even a violet marriage), and that wasn't including the Middle School kids Max was classmates with. That Byers kid was definitely gay, but he got bullied for it. At least the kid was smart enough to not say anything.

Harrington wasn't too bad on the eyes either. He could see why girls liked him. And his body when it was dripping with water? Billy found himself barely able to resist just pinning the guy to the wall and kissing him senseless. However, he had to be careful. His gaydar wasn't 100% accurate and he'd made bad calls before in his early days of exploration.

Thankfully, there was a Halloween party tomorrow, which meant he could test the waters.