Chapter Text
Your major crush on your best friend was something you didn’t exactly hide, it was just that you never thought he would actually reciprocate those feelings. Even people at school knew it too. There was a time when Billy Hargrove was your partner for a biology project, and no matter how many instances he tried to make a move, you didn’t budge. Billy realized it then, that his flirtations were going nowhere, that you probably had your eye on someone else. It only took a moment before he figured out it was everyone’s favourite drug dealer: Eddie Munson.
“So it’s him, huh?” Billy thought out loud during the third work session you planned.
“What are you talking about?”
“No matter how many times I try to flirt with you, you just keep focusing on our work. What a good girl.” You stared at him, puzzled, trying to understand where he was leading this conversation to.
“I see how you look at him during class, or racing to his van everyday after school. Hell, you even have a cute little polaroid of the two of you in your notebook. Didn’t know that Eddie was your type.”
In shock, all you could say is: “He’s my neighbour and best friend, that’s all. Also, he gives me rides to and from school because I can’t drive, it’s whatever.” There had to be a way for you to make him drop the topic, but that was impossible.
Billy laughed, he wanted to have some fun. “You know, I’m not so sure he’s into girls like you. I heard he has a thing for girls with big pom poms,” he winked when he saw you blush at the innuendo.
Billy probably wasn’t wrong, you saw the way Eddie stared in awe of Chrissy Cunningham during the middle school talent show. Or the way he would always joke that you should dress as a cheerleader for Halloween. Every. Single. Year. There were other instances where Eddie was into the heavy metal fan girls he would meet at The Hideout, or even check out the band geeks on their way home from the music room. Could you even pinpoint this man’s type?
Still, you didn’t have a chance with Eddie, right? Friends to lovers relationships were just something you’ve encountered in your mom’s dirty romance novels – which you weren’t supposed to read. So why would it ever happen in real life?
Billy's forced cough brought you out of your thoughts, and there was an eerie smile on his lips before he continued to speak. He knew something you didn’t. Billy has seen the way Eddie looks at you with glossy eyes. Or even the way he would scare off the boys who would talk about you in the locker rooms after gym class. It was astonishing how you both didn’t realize you had feelings for each other – love is blind, as they say. Billy just wanted to have something interesting happen in Hawkins for once, and you were gonna be his ticket to the most interesting show of the year.
“You know the way to a man’s heart is to show him what he can’t have, right? Nothing’s more tempting than wanting a taste of a forbidden fruit. So what do you say?”
“Whatever you say next, I hope you know that I’ll probably say no.”
“You wound me, sweetheart. But, I respect that your eyes are for another man. So why not have a little fun along the way? Let’s make you his forbidden fruit.”
That was when your unlikely friendship with Billy Hargrove began. He would give you relationship advice, you would give him discounted drug paraphernalia from Eddie (and a bit of tutoring before tests). All was well.
Once the project was done, you learned that Billy had gotten himself a job at the pool as a lifeguard. It was a given that the California Boy wanted the feeling of being near the water again. Plus, he was able to be shirtless in front of all the girls (and moms) of Hawkins. The job was truly a win-win situation. And so, a plan was made.
Ultimately, the goal was simple: make Eddie a little jealous, with the help of Billy. In your mind, it was a seemingly impossible mission from start to finish. But maybe making Eddie a bit jealous would allow him to realize that you are a girl worth taking a chance on.
But the first step was probably the hardest one to accomplish.
Step One: Bring Munson to the Mall