#Basically reading a fic and spiraled a little of 'What if Billy survived but got hella social anxiety and stalked everyone for some reason'

[chickensoupleg]

Get ready for me mumbling random plot-ish stuff for no reason. Most of it doesn't make sense.

Okay, so.

Imagine in a version where Billy still moved to Hawkins, everything happened generally, but in the fight Steve somehow won. Or, at the very least, there was no plate involved, Max still horse'd her brother and nearly castrated him.

Except turns out cocking a man full of very much and likely not medically measured Anti-Spy MindFlayer sedatives does things to a man, and it generally just messes a man UP. Man just straight up has mental hallucinations in his Conk Out Time Out.

Regardless, he somehow escapes the Byers home, and just.... straight up disappears? Just went into the woods and nobody has ANY idea where he went. So, essentially, good as dead. The Mayfield-Hargrove house becomes quite tense, Neil still keeping a front but still visibly wired that even Max can notice and tiptoes around before he explodes.

Then Season 3 happens, Neil gets dragged into the Steelworks, possessed, and then later stabbed by the monster. Granted, unlike Billy there's no reasonable way he would protect El in the same manner.

Yeah, sure he doesn't hit Max, but if running under the logic that Billy's been keeping him off of targeting her, then he could have at any point. Especially since here the Flayer is controlling him and Neil might not have any positive protective instincts instilled in him that would give him a reason to fight back.

Well, turns out Billy isn't dead, and turns out he followed everyone to the mall somehow. Or, he's been there this entire time eating hotdogs on a stick while the entire plot went down. I don't know, this isn't fleshed out that deeply, Billy's just there, and he's watching this go down.

And, oh joy, turns out he gets his One Positive Memory kickstart a season earlier. You know, the part where he gets hallucinations. And, apparently, has just been.... Wandering around Hawkins and nobody noticed???? Billy, general heartthrob, has just been around, and somehow his existence was never mentioned to Neil, small town that it is. Turns out Billy can straight up turn off his presence if he really tried, hide in plain sight. Max's warning to stay away from her friends was a promise he adhered to the max. (Hah, get it?)

And, well, said protective instinct told him to barehand beat this massive black mess of melted humans Mind Flayer back, and somehow.... does???

(Mostly because in another room Joyce shuts the gate and severs the connection just a little faster)

And, like. Max is obviously stunned, because here is her step-brother, very much alive and very much injured from wrestling a massive creature that clearly is not meant for this world. Yay, sibling reunion. Neil dies at their feet, and Billy actually feels a little sad at that (He gets no apology, Neil straight up died the moment the Mind Flayer did and Billy was a little preoccupied with Max) but there wasn't much he could do about that.

Well, Billy was still VERY adamant on trying to keep away from Max and her friends as promised, but now that... He's been informally inducted into the Upside Down's general tomfoolery, Max convinces him to stay, especially since obviously they're down a family member.

That was apparently enough for him, and they return home together. Since Billy was work age and had apparently been through a self-reflection redemption arc on his own time, he hopped into helping in the finances of the family, even if they had to downgrade due to Billy having to get through high school again (Being effectively missing for months on end kind of does that to you seriously was this man living in the woods??) and therefore only having a half-time job which meant not as much money that could reasonably split a house on payment.

Something like that.

His promise to stay out of Max's way still remains strong, but his protective instincts thanks to knowing what is possibly out there (Gee thanks funky human flesh Flayer) keeps him in her radar. And, by proxy, all of Max's friends.

So, uh. Essentially Billy becomes like.... a very, very persistent stalker/bodyguard. Somehow, his new constant presence soon becomes the same feeling as if he was always there, like how people don't register their own noses anymore. His uncanny ability to blend into plain sight doesn't help either. Max's best explanation is living with Neil SUCKS BALLS. Will agrees.

That doesn't mean they completely forget he's there though. Sometimes, when bullies come around, the kids can sort of sense him, and know that ultimately they're safe because no kid is able to beat Billy Hargrove in intimidation checks.

So, cut to after they defeat Vecna. Except, well, they actually defeat him and there are less consequences to the town. The earthquake still happens, but less so, Max still gets mildly crinkled like a tissue but has a much better chance in healing, and Eddie doesn't die because Steve is a stubborn bitch and refuses to give up on him. Still very much chomped to hell and back though, and it's generally a long process to get him healed.

Yay medicine.

Turns out Billy followed them in. Nobody in the group is sure how, or when he showed up because clearly he was not there for ANY of the team meetings, but Billy just.... wandered in with them. Does he know what's going on? No, not at all. But he does know how to fight and cause a scene, and that's enough for them.

By the end, everyone's finally getting their rest, and Billy is allowed to slowly get better and have a life(Even if he is very much willingly not participating in anything the others are getting themselves into he's happy as is)

(Although Joyce does drag his ass into Family Dinners there's really no escaping Mama Joyce honey.)

#stranger things #stranger things 4 #billy hargrove #steve harrington #max mayfield #joyce byers #granted this is mostly just me rambling on billy the others are just mentioned here #I am hella rambling nonsense here #Basically reading a fic and spiraled a little of 'What if Billy survived but got hella social anxiety and stalked everyone for some reason' #mostly as a protective factor but done in the weirdest possible way #look when one learns behaviours that keep them safe they will emulate it until proven otherwise #and being sedated and disappearing for an unknown amount of time before rejoining society as a recluse is NOT proof to stop #I generally just imagine Billy found a fat hoodie somewhere and that's what he's in most of the time now #he also became a lot more quieter in general #still a massive flirt and sarcastic as hell when approached but otherwise doesn't start anything #he's always lurking in the shadows or simply not there at all #sometimes! sometimes he's literally in the same room as them but nobody really acknowledges him (he's okay with this) #(he is keeping his promise TIGHT and not bothering them) #hell he might have just become an extra chaffeur occasionally #max would 100% take advantage of it once he returned #where was his camaro this entire time? who knows not I #okay i'll shut up now