Note I: yes, this story is a romance, but i also wanted to incorporate the humor of Stranger Things that i love into this fic. the story starts off not so serious and will transition to really explain why Billy is the way that he is, not just because of his father.

Note II: I do not own any Stranger Things characters or the storyline. I am just a fan who enjoys the show and the characters enough to write a lengthy fic about it. I hope you enjoy!

o-o-o

The Buckley residence in 1985 was a humble one. Nothing too snazzy or loud but it blended right in with all of the other typical houses in Hawkins, Indiana.

The house was painted light gray, two stories tall and had three bedrooms.

Three bedrooms. One for the married couple known as Peggy and Arthur, the second was for their two daughters: Robin and Wren Buckley.

Robin was eldest, born only a few minutes before Wren.

The third bedroom was the guest bedroom and the two daughters had bickered and begged for years to have their own rooms but their parents never caved in.

So now they were seventeen and sharing a room together even though they had a perfect room to spare.

No privacy, no boyfriends or girlfriends, and definitely no quiet.

"Robin, holy shit. How long do you have to practice?" Wren groaned as she stepped out of their bathroom, her feet dragging on the carpeted floor of their bedroom.

Robin was blasting the Hawkins' High fight song,.. incessantly.

Robin did not stop and Wren seriously couldn't tell by this point if her sister was doing this on purpose or because she actually needed to practice.

The noise from the trumpet stopped for a few seconds and Robin's carefree laugh filled Wren's ears.

It was too carefree.

It pissed Wren off.. in that overly sensitive, sister sort of way.

"Don't act like I haven't had to listen to you blast Wang Chung on the radio for hours on end. If I have to listen to "Dance Hall Days" one more time, I might explode." Robin remarked, relaxing some in the desk chair that she was sitting in.

Wren stopped herself from rolling her eyes as she reached for her bright red lifeguard bathing suit that she had bought a few days ago, just hours after she found out at her interview that she had been hired for the job.

She wasn't huge on public pools.. she actually found them disgusting but being CPR certified since she was thirteen proved to work out in her favor, especially if it meant that she could earn $3.35 an hour for it.

"Hey, don't bash Wang Chung. You like them, too." Wren mumbled, stuffing the bathing suit in her backpack and zipping it up.

She already felt overwhelmed thinking about her job.

The pool had been opened for a couple of weeks now so things were in full swing at the pool and she wasn't really sure what to expect from it.

She already went through the how-tos and what-nots with her new boss, but she had never worked before. She also knew that all of her co-workers were probably going to be around her age too and that terrified her.

It wasn't that Wren had no friends but she wasn't popular.

Even though she lived in a small town like Hawkins, there were a lot of people who only knew about her because of her and her sister being twins. They weren't even identical so some people probably didn't even know that they shared that characteristic.

Wren spent her whole life kinda doing her own thing even if it meant being different from Robin.

Wren was on the track team while Robin played soccer. She was in choir while Robin was in band practically her whole life.

They were both fluent in Spanish but Robin was honestly a genius and knew how to speak French and Italian, too.

Wren felt like she couldn't keep up with Robin and that feeling has followed her for her entire life.

They were both smart and super sarcastic about literally anything but they were a pair.

Robin and Wren. Wren and Robin. Sisters. Twins (but they AREN'T identical!).

"What even compelled you to take this job, anyways? You hate public pools, and Starcourt mall is opening soon. There's gonna be a ton of places accepting applications." Robin retorted while she spun around in the wooden chair, stopping after a few go arounds.

Wren bit the inside of her cheek as she pulled the straps of her backpack over her shoulder.

Wren has heard all about the Starcourt mall.. everyone has. It's all that Hawkins has been buzzing about since the year started.

The building construction has been done since early March and now it was the middle of May. Tons of clothing shops and food places will be opening and a lot of kids at the high school are talking about summer jobs.

There's definitely upsides to working there: employee discounts, plenty of hot dates to snag and best of all.. air conditioning. What a dream.

Truthfully, the main reason why Wren was so adamant on this lifeguard job was for the fact that she wouldn't have to work with her sister.

She didn't have any grudges against her sister. Robin was basically her best friend.. but Wren wanted to be- needed to be-, her own person.

"Not really sure. I wanted to try something new." Wren finally stated after a few seconds of silence, pulling on a pair of flip-flops.

"Ah.. Sure. Well, have fun saving the lives of drowning children. You're gonna be a hero to Hawkins someday." Robin joked as Wren made her way out of their room.

Wren couldn't stop herself from letting out a little laugh as she made her way down the stairs but the laugh faded into a look of exasperation as the trumpet blasting skillfully through the thin walls of their house almost immediately began again.

She may be terrified of this new job and people in general, but at least she could get away from fight song hell for a couple of shifts this summer.

o-o-o-o-o

Wren heaved out a deep breath as she took out the key to her parents' red 1980 Volkswagon Gol, her blue eyes wandering ahead of her to stare at the large sign that read "HAWKINS COMMUNITY POOL".

"C'mon Wren. It's no biggie, you'll be fine." The girl muttered to herself, grabbing her bag and stepping out of the car.

She locked it and stuffed the keys in the back zipper of her bag. She began walking toward the entrance, pushing away her pesky blonde bangs that fell in front of her eyes.

It was Saturday, almost eleven. The pool opened at twelve p.m. and closed at seven so she would be here all day. There were already a few cars in the parking lot but she hadn't gotten a good look at them or anything.

She was too nervous to care.

She walked into the entrance, glancing around at first and not seeing anybody for several seconds. After a few moments, she heard a few muffled voices coming from where the pool actually was so she walked a bit further.

"Hey, Wren!" A female voice called out and a look of confusion spread across Wren's features for a split second before she realized that Heather Holloway was calling for her.

Heather was a popular but nice girl that was in Wren's grade. They never actually talked but Heather was polite enough to everybody and wasn't mean to people just for the hell of it like some people could be.

"You're here earlier than I thought you would be. Not everyone is here yet, but I can show you around! Eric asked me to show you the ropes but don't worry, it's super easy." Heather smiled and began to walk around and talk to Wren about all of the protocols and rules.

Wren noticed that Heather hadn't changed yet and was in a striped tank top and high waisted shorts. she made Wren feel like a shapeless mop in comparison to her old choir tee and a pair of track shorts that she was wearing.

"Oh and this goes without saying but make sure that no one ever brings any kind of food into the pool. Seriously, you'd be surprised how many people drop chili cheese dogs or chips in there. Trust me girl, you really don't wanna be the one to clean that up." She finished after about fifteen minutes of rule explaining and tips.

Wren's expression was a dead giveaway to how she felt about the image of having to clean it up. Heather's snicker turned into a laugh and she playfully nudged Wren.

"I'm not even kidding. But don't worry, you've got this. I can tell you're nervous. Working here is a breeze." Heather smiled.

The sun was really starting to get hot and Wren couldn't tell if the sudden rush of warmth was from the sun or from her nerves.

"Sheesh, it's that obvious?" Wren grinned sheepishly and Heather nodded before she motioned Wren to follow her again, this time leading her into the locker room that has the girl's symbol over it.

"You've probably been here before so you know that this is where we change but you can change in here. We have to get here at eleven though we don't have to change until eleven thirty." Heather stated before she went over to a locker.

"This is your locker. You can just cram your stuff in here when you're ready to start your shift. Here's the combo for it." Heather handed Wren a slip of paper before she turned and walked over to a locker a few away from hers.

Wren hadn't noticed until after she opened her locker that her new coworker was undressing.

Shit... Oh my God..

Wren's inner dialogue began to frantically panic. Her eyes widened a bit and she hastily unzipped her bag, pulling out her bathing suit.

"Oh wow um-..uh, Heather.. is there anywhere else to change-..?" Wren trailed, awkwardly refusing to look over at the girl. Her eyes lingered stubbornly on the lockers in front of her.

"Showers are in the back. Just take a left." Heather interrupted, already pulling up the red bathing suit onto her body and no longer naked. She didn't even seem to notice Wren's flushed cheeks, and if she did.. she didn't care.

Jesus fucking Christ..

Wren quickly shuffled to the showers, pulling the curtain shut once she stepped inside and she began to change. She calmed down pretty quick but was still baffled by the uncomfortable situation.

Wren wasn't super weird about seeing people naked.

...well, she was.. with strangers obviously. She barely even knew Heather so the whole situation was just uncomfortable for her and weird? Was that a thing that lifeguards did around here? yikes.

"Hey, when you're done meet me out front!" Heather called and Wren said "gotcha" in reply. After a few minutes Wren was changed and ready to go.

She walked over to her bag again, taking out a random scrunchie so that she could pull her hair up and also a pair of sunglasses just in case she would need them and she also swiped on a little bit of deodorant for good measure.

She shoved her bag into her locker and eyed the locker combo for several seconds so that she could remember the numbers for later. She put the slip of paper into the locker and closed it.

Wren took in a few deep breaths, letting herself relax and clear her head before she walked out of the locker room.

Immediately she could hear the chatter of a few people around her and she looked over at the clock and saw that it was eleven thirty-five. Already almost time to start..

"Wren!" Heather called and Wren looked over in the direction of the lifeguard's chair. She began tying her hair up as she walked over to Heather who was leaning her shoulder against the tall white chair.

"We're gonna watch the kiddie pool for the first hour and we can change when-... Billy, you're so late! Eric is going to chew us out again if he finds out!" Heather practically whined.

Wren could've sworn that she felt her heart drop down to the deep end of the pool, turning a bit so that she could look in the same direction that Heather was looking.

Surely not..

"Holloway, chill the fuck out. Eric won't find out shit.." The boy huffed out gruffly. That voice was vaguely familiar but way too recognizable for anyone who had the unlucky fate of getting to attend Hawkins High.

Billy Hargrove.

Wren was shocked that Heather didn't get offended by his harsh reply but it dawned on her that she was probably used to him acting that way. Would Wren have to get used to it, too?

Was the feeling washing over her a feeling of existential dread or pure terror knowing that she was going to have to work with Billy Hargrove of all people?

"Who's the new chick?" Wren felt Billy eye her after asking that and he made a point to move his sunglasses down ever so slightly so that his eyes became visible to the two girls in front of him. He had a lit cigarette between his teeth but didn't seem to struggle making conversation as he steadily puffed from the stick.

She suddenly felt much more insecure of the swimsuit she was wearing even if it was just a one piece. She was tempted to fold her arms across her chest to cover up any cleavage even though in this bathing suit it was practically nonexistent.

She looked at him, noticing that his eyes weren't necessarily conveying any emotion. She felt.. weird under his gaze. He seemed very attentive on whatever his newly exposed eyes seemed to be focused on.

Ugh, where to start? Billy... he moved here in '84, and the whole town was aware of it. They whispered not so quietly about the Hargrove-Mayfield family moving here for weeks. The high school basically went into code red whenever people realized that there was a new senior at the school and a hot one at that.

The boy was insanely attractive and undoubtedly out of fucking control. She wasn't sure what else to pin onto him because she had never spoken to him personally before.

He had dirty blonde hair that was cut into a curly mullet, striking blue eyes that were just downright broody and a chest that sported some impressive abs. The rest of his body was enough to make any mediocre athlete from this small town jealous and to get most women to swoon.

He was immodest about it, she saw him in gym or on the track without a shirt on all of the time. He was a party animal and apparently the "Keg King". The nickname was just as bogus of his ego when he's in that stupid blue Camaro that he revs around in all of the time, a knowing girl usually accompanying him.

He could be such a dumbass. What? She might be biased but she isn't wrong, either. For example, him and his dingus friends were riding around late one night during the fall knocking over mailboxes in her neighborhood with baseball bats or whatever they were using to vandalize them.

Her dad talked about how he would've flipped out if they messed theirs up for weeks and he still sometimes mentions it. The story gets old and both Wren and Robin knew that their father would never have the nerve to approach anyone about anything seriously confrontational, even a teenager.. especially not if he knew what this particular teenager looked like.

"This is Wren Buckley, she started today." Heather introduced, but Billy's gaze didn't falter and he raised an inclining brow as if he were encouraging her to continue. Smoke slowly bellowed from between his lips as he exhaled.

"One of the new hires..." Heather trails, not sure what else to add and hoping that Billy would have some sort of comment to add in but he didn't. The expression remained.

"She goes to Hawkins with us..?" Heather pushed, this time her tone a bit more impatient and questioning, now suspicious if he was messing with her or if he was genuinely confused. Wren on the other hand could've cared less but her comfort level seemed to stoop down lower and lower each passing second that she was under his gaze from the decent distance between them.

"Never heard of her. Must be a nobody." Billy remarked finally after several seconds of silence, a boyish grin on his face as he looked at the two girls. They both didn't seem very humored; Heather had a mixed look as if she couldn't decide if she were confused or bothered by the fact that the conversation wasn't going anywhere, while Wren was not enthused.

"Man, I'm just kidding. I've seen you around before." He added and Heather let out a relieved laugh before she pushed him a little on the shoulder.

"You're so dumb. I thought you were being serious for a second there, Billy." Heather responded lightheartedly.

He didn't seem to mind the contact of the smaller girl pushing him, sending Heather a playful wink shortly after her hand lost contact with his skin.

"See ya Heather..." Billy replied smoothly and Wren didn't notice what she was doing but she was practically glaring at him. He caught the bitter vibe and took a few seconds to look at her. Wren almost took his stare as a challenge.

It didn't take an idiot to notice the aggressive vibe she was giving off.. well, Heather didn't notice. Billy did.. and he didn't like it. He wasn't one to care about whether people liked him or not but she was acting like she was on some sort of pedestal or something. He hated that shit.

Some unreadable, smug look was resting on his features and he didn't do anything for a few long seconds before he lazily drew out, "..Buckley." He carelessly huffed out a steady string of cigarette smoke, the chemicals wafting throughout the open air and being sure to ever so slightly burn Wren's nostrils with the stench.

Billy sent a casual nod in Wren's direction before he turned around and headed toward the men's locker room. Her eyes focused briefly on the "No Smoking" sign that was hammered into the brick surface of the building as he did so.

"Hey you're watching over the pool first!" Heather shouted as he coolly walked off to which he lifted his hand with his pointer finger out, motioning as if to say "I heard you".

"Great. I didn't know he worked here.." Wren muttered as her and Heather walked over near the kiddie pool. She mindlessly kicked at a few rocks on the pavement as they made their way over, feeling as if the weight on her shoulders was much heavier now knowing what she knew compared to how clueless and doe-eyed she was this morning.

"Billy? Oh. Yeah. He's pretty cool, right?" Heather casually responded and Wren fought back the urge to roll her eyes.

"Hargrove is kind of a dick." Wren quickly stated and Heather giggled.

"Yeah, he can be. But he's really not that bad when he's not around all the other people from school. You also learn that he's not seriously mean, that's just how he is with people.." Heather trailed as the two got to the pool the change of tone in her voice giving her away.

Wren could tell that Heather wanted her to ask about whatever it was that happened between Heather and Billy. What the heck, sure. She'll bite.

"He like.." She hesitated with her wording. "Has he flirted with you?" Wren inclined, not sure if she was prepared for an answer.

Oh yeah, she heard the rumors. Everyone talked about who everyone was with here. It wasn't that Wren cared but it's impossible not to hear what everyone else is talking about at Hawkins High.

Heather shrugged, pulling her dark brown hair into a neat ponytail.

"For sure. But like it's not a big deal or anything because it's just Billy. He asked me out when we first started working together but my dad would literally kill me if he heard that Billy Hargrove asked me out." She laughed and Wren nervously chuckled as Heather continued. "Plus I'm not really into him like that anyways. Billy only wants one thing from girls, yanno?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. well, I don't know personally. But I can put the pieces together." Wren explained. Thankfully their conversation was short lived whenever people began to walk in and Wren no longer had the time to worry about whether or not Billy Hargrove would try to speak to her again.

It was weird to her, she couldn't imagine Billy being a nice guy or even a decent one at that but Heather didn't seem to mind him. It made it easier for Wren to look forward to her job this summer. Maybe he wouldn't completely ruin it like she thought he would.

That day after her first shift had ended, she realized that she wouldn't forget to wear sunscreen when she was on lifeguard duty ever again.