Chapter Text
Chapter Two
"You know, it's depressing having to sit here and look at a guy with better hair than most girls."
Billy snorted and rolled his eyes, defacing a library book with a dark blue highlighter.
"No really, couldn't you sit at the back or something?" Melody scowled, it was study hall and Billy Hargrove had taken up residence opposite her.
Their study hall for Seniors had the desks arranged in groups rather the usual rows. It wasn't all that like Hargrove to be sitting with her, never mind attending study hall. The dirty blond was normally smoking behind the bleachers with Tommy H during study hall. During most of his classes to be honest. The fact that it was the last week of school and they only had exams and revision to worry about made her wonder why he was here at all. The only thing Billy didn't flunk was shop, and he didn't seem to give a shit about anything else.
"Christ Henderson, you're always so fucking hostile," he took a cigarette from behind his ear, chewing on the end seeing as he couldn't light it up. "You should see a shrink, that bitchiness can't be healthy."
"Seriously, do you condition before you shampoo? You have some split ends though," she tilted her head, "Why are you here anyways. It's study hall, haven't you got someone to bang in the locker room or something?"
"You offering?" he grinned, "I could do with the exercise."
"No, it's a legitimate question. It isn't like you to sit here harassing me, knowing full well it doesn't get you anywhere, when you could have Heather Holloway before three o'clock?" she put her final history essay away before standing up just as the lunch bell rang.
"Heather's a real cold fish," he followed her out of the hall, lighting the cigarette once the doors swung shut behind them. "You'd think all that time in the library would have built up some repressed kink. She's not a lot of work but at the same time she is a lot of work, you know."
"No, I really don't Billy. Poor Heather, maybe all your aftershave knocked her out? Did something to her mojo. Did you drown in the stuff this morning, I swear I'm getting high standing next to you?" she wrinkled her nose at the blonde who let out a hyena like laugh.
"No that's just my animal magnetism, pheromones you know?" he leaned in close, breathing smoke in her ear. "It's just your body reacting babe."
"Oh wow," wriggling away from him she shook her head, "Your bullshit is astounding, you've been smoking too much dope again Billy."
"Plenty of girl's like my bullshit Henderson, plenty of moms too" he smirked smugly, "You're the weird one who only gets off with Brian."
Billy's mouth twisted over her boyfriends name with a sneer. Rolling her eyes she marched on attempting to ignore him, one more week and she'd be free of high school, and Billy fucking Hargrove.
"You have a serious Oedipus complex," the brunette quickened her step, trying to outrun him without actually running. "Have you been taking acid again, I thought we agreed Tommy's acid was definitely some sort of bleach concoction?"
"You promised not to bring up that acid trip ever again," he flicks his stub down and points a finger at her. "What kind of a name is Brian anyway?"
"There is nothing wrong with his name, you're just jealous he's off in college and you're stuck here. It's a little worrying how much you fixate on my boyfriend Billy."
"Hell, if I fixate on him will you be there too?" he wiggled his eyebrows.
"You're disgusting and as interesting as this has been could you please fuck off now?" she crossed the quad, heading for lunch.
"Nah, I haven't got anywhere to be. Did you bring lunch?" he replied conversationally as he walked annoyingly close. The Brunette scowled again when he brushed up against her arm.
"Billy, there's this thing called personal space," she shoved him, "mine ends a metre over there."
"Poor Brian, does he know?" Billy snickered. "You could totally sit on my face while he suck-"
She swings her school bag at his head but he only laughs uproariously when her textbooks clock him round his ear.
Standing outside Billy Hargroves' house on a balmy Saturday morning was not Melody's idea of a good time, but she idly sat on the front porch awaiting his highness anyways. If the shoddiness could really be called a porch, still, she perched on the worn wood, cigarette in hand.
"Miss me already Henderson?" the front door swung open with enough force the girl was surprised it was still on its hinges, Billy bounced down the steps past her towards the car.
"By the minute," she rolled her eyes and stood up, following the cloud of aftershave he wafted behind him.
"Max, hurry the fuck up!" the dirty blond shouted while he opened the drivers door.
Melody slipped into the passengers seat as he continued to shout for the errant redhead.
"Geez, stop your wailing already, she probably didn't even get near the bathroom with you around."
Huffily, he threw himself into the seat, drumming restlessly against the steering wheel, "The little bitch is always late, all she literally does is brush her hair."
Ignoring him, and his incessant fidgeting, she rolled the window down, anything for a reprieve from the Hawkins summer heat. Billy swipes her cigarette, seeing as she had switched hands to crank the window.
She turns to glare at him and he just shrugs, "It's not like you're even gonna smoke it."
"Maybe I was-" he raised an eyebrow as she seethes, but an argument is cut short by Max.
Billy gestured for Melody to let her in, sighing she got out to let the younger girl in the back. Max just stared at her wordlessly, as if a girl in Billy's car was something new Melody thought to herself. Although it was the first time the older girl had cadged a lift with his stepsister there, usually it was a lift home from the pool she needed. The ginger girl was always missing in the evening, much to Billy's endless exasperation, and her whereabouts seemed to be his responsibility. If his rages in the car were anything to go by.
Melody had only known him since he'd started Hawkins High last September, and they were casual friends at best but it never felt odd just showing up. Strangely enough, he'd never complained, even on that first Saturday at the pool when her mom didn't pick her up. Which wasn't unusual. Melody had made herself comfortable leaning against the camaro, and when he finally came out from locking up he hadn't said a word. Just drove them up to Old Cherry Road.
The camaro growled to a start and they swung out into the street, although Melody did admit the music wasn't blaring quite as aggressively as usual. They sped down Old Cherry, its slightly dilapidated, modest houses giving way to the open road which ran into Hawkins town proper.
"So Henny, what do I get for being your taxi today? Where's Wonder boy?" Billy steered with his knees as he lit up yet another smoke. Melody couldn't help but eye him a little appreciatively, as dangerous as her mother would find it. Although, the woman hadn't asked how she was getting to the pool today before rushing out for her shift at the nursing home. Melody wasn't sure if she really would give a shit that her daughter was getting in the car with a certifiable speed demon.
"Why, isn't the warm fuzzy feeling you get when you do something nice not enough for you Billy? Brian is back up in college, but I'll let him know you're still pining for him next time he calls," a quiet snort came from the back as she dived in her backpack for a bottle of water. The hot weather had just started and Melody wasn't sure if the next few months of it was really anything to look forward to. Already her hair was curling in it's high ponytail.
"Hell, we can leave Brian out of it this time Henny, just you, me and some warm, fuzzy feelings," a tanned hand planted itself on her thigh, heat searing her bare leg. Melody cursed wearing shorts. Billy used any closeness to his advantage, half concentrating on the road he smirked at her out of the corner of his eye. Dared her as he slid it further up her leg, brushing up almost under the edge of her Hawkins community pool shorts. The soft fabric not much protection.
Melody wasn't really aware that she'd stopped breathing, his blue gaze was unwavering, but she was aware of the blush that was starting to rise from her chest. Suddenly angry that he could make her so flustered the brunette tried to steady herself. Billy just smirked all the more, and Melody felt her anger rising knowing that he took more enjoyment from the knowledge that he was riling her up than he actually got from feeling her up.
The thought made her a little vicious, made her claws come out and so she hissed a "Get off, you leech," before reaching over and twisting his nipple through the thin tank he wore. Not that it was hard to reach, Billy liked to keep his pecs on show with simple shirts and the camaro was so cramped she couldn't sit much closer to him if she tried.
"How'd you like it when someone invades your personal space?"
Max howled in the back, with mirth or fear Melody wasn't sure, as he dropped his cigarette in the footwell cursing at the pain, swerving over the white line almost into oncoming traffic.
"Christ Henderson," he rubbed his abused chest, "why you always gotta be so fucking pyscho."
"Why do you always have to be a pervert?" she shot back as Max continued laughing in the back.
"Shut up shit bird," roaring Billy aimed an arm back behind the seats at his stepsister but Melody shoved at him from her seat.
"Stop trying to hit her."
"Henderson?" the younger girl still snickered while dodging Billy, "Oh my god, are you Dustin's sister?"
"Yeah the little dweebs my brother, don't tell me you play with those dorks," she replies a few minutes later with an eyeroll when things in the car calm down a little. Seeing his usual dark moodiness start to settle she lights Billy another cigarette, reaching it out like some sort of warped olive branch.
Billy accepts it warily, "she's like fourteen Melody, she better not be playing with the little jerk offs," he glares into the rearview mirror at his stepsister.
"I meant down at the arcade you neanderthal, just because you were likely like a cat in heat at fourteen," she can't help sniping at him.
Melody tries not to think to hard about how much she likes sniping at him, maybe it's because she gets a reaction to her slightly immature antics. Brian simply laughs and shakes his head.
"Like you weren't opening-" Billy opens his mouth, cutting dead any warm musings she has on him, before Max cuts him off in a panic, "Please don't start the mindless flirting again, yes the arcade Melody."
The red head sighs a little long sufferingly.
"Well I'm dropping you at the mall today, I don't got the time to be driving you all over Hawkins," her step brother shot out as he over took an ambling truck on a blind corner.
"Stop bitching Billy," Melody sighed, as they pulled into the mall car park, "it's not like you drive at any speed limit anyway. Where'd you go to get your licence, Nebraska? That the only place that would issue one to a lunatic?"
"Hey, at least I have one, maybe I should leave your ass here as well," scowling he pulled her seat latch, throwing her into the dashboard spluttering, "Get out shit bird, be at the pool after my shift."
"Whatever," the redhead sighed throwing her skateboard down, "Bye Melody."
"Bye hun," the older girl waved cheerfully.
"Oh hell no," Billy reversed the car, narrowly missing a couple of middle schoolers. "stop that, it's not happening."
"What are you on about you weirdo?" Melody smacked his shoulder when he grabbed her waving hand out of the air.
"Stop trying to be friends with my stepsister, she's pyscho enough without you rubbing off on her."
A/N: So this is really a series of interactions between Billy and Melody. I freely admit there is no plot. I just enjoy writing their bullshit. Also the high school scene kind of came to me so I added it, they were graduated but imagine it's the last couple of weeks of exams and study hall… really early season 3.