Steve Harrington has entered the chat ladies and gentlemen. I would like to apologize in advanced for Billy being a difficult bastard. It won't last much longer I promise. I hope y'all like Steve, he's gonna be showing up a lot more often from now on and I'll be honest I'm just a tad bit nervous about writing him. I'm also planting the seeds for a plot line that'll be happening later on in the fic. Actually, two plot lines! It's gonna be big y'all. And I know you'll love it

Christmas had come and gone. It was the night before New Year's Eve, and Teddi hadn't spoken to Billy once since their day at the lake. It wasn't for a lack of trying. When he showed up for work at the pool the next day Teddi had smiled and waved from her seat at the lifeguard's chair...and he had ignored her. He wouldn't even look at her. If she came within five feet of him he would be off in the opposite direction. To say it confused her was an understatement.

Had she done something wrong? Said something to him that upset him? Or was this just Billy being Billy? Things at the lake had seemed good. Normal. Teddi briefly wondered if maybe something had happened at home. Maybe his dad and Susan had been mad that he'd ditched on Christmas. But that had to be her own paranoia talking. Max had been plenty vocal about how Neil was an asshole, but that was about it. He was just an overly strict asshole.

After a few days Teddi decided to drop it. She wouldn't push him or the subject. She was sure that whatever bug that was up his ass would go away eventually and he'd be the ever present pain in her ass once more. For now she had preteens to deal with.

"You think I won't unplug it, Lucas?" Teddi could hear Mike yelling from across the arcade. The gang was all there, sans Dustin. Lucas and Mike had been battling it out in Pac-Man for the last hour, and Mike was positive Lucas had to be cheating.

"Don't be mad at me because you suck, Mike! You're all just jealous because you don't have the skills that I have." Lucas said with a proud smile as he pointed at his initials that sat at the top of the high scores screen. Max and El both shared a playful eyeroll.

"Mike, maybe we should just play something else-" Will suggested. Mike's back was to him and he clearly couldn't see that Will was trying his hardest not to laugh at how utterly upset Mike was getting. Mike let out a huff, dropping to his knees and reaching behind the machine for the power cord. "Mike! Come on, it's a game!"

"You touch that cord and you're gonna get banned, Wheeler." Teddi warned. Mike froze before slowly turning to face her with wide eyes.

"But he's cheating." Mike argued. The fear of being caught had quickly worn off and he was back in attack mode.

"Or maybe you just suck at Pac-Man," Teddi teased. Lucas flashed another grin at Mike who was now pouting. Teddi's attention turned to El. "Oh! How're you liking the new bike, El?"

El smiled brightly and looked out of the arcade's window to where her white bike was parked next to Mike's. "It's perfect," she said. "Thank you for helping, Teddi."

Teddi waved a hand at her and ruffled her hair. "Anything for my favorite little fellow Gemini."

Lucas made a face. "What's a Gemini?"

Max rolled her eyes. "Of course you wouldn't know what that is." Lucas blinked wildly and looked at Mike and Will who each looked as confused as he was.

The arcade doors suddenly swung open, and Dustin came running in carrying a mason jar that was half way filled with change. He looked around the room wildly before finally spotting his friends and running over. Steve Harrington was close behind him. Steve nodded at the group and looked down at Mike with an amused but confused smile. "What's dingus doing on the floor?"

"He's mad because he sucks at Pac-Man." Lucas explained.

Teddi shook her head. "You want tokens, Dustin?" he nodded excitedly, holding out his jar for her. "Keep away from the plugs, Wheeler." she warned before taking Dustin's change and heading back towards the prize counter. Steve followed after.

Teddi and Steve were pretty good friends. Between being the kids' unofficial babysitters and having a few classes together they had managed to get along pretty well despite running in different circles. She also knew that Billy had apparently nearly killed him about a month back, even though Steve never really wanted to tell her what had happened.

"You got any plans tomorrow night?" Steve asked as Teddi busied herself with trading in Dustin's change for tokens.

"You know that I don't." she laughed.

Steve flashed her his signature lopsided grin and leaned up against the counter top. "My parents are having this big bash at our house. They're inviting like...everyone in town. So a bunch of us were gonna have a bonfire. There's this old steel mill that's like twenty minutes out of town."

Teddi scrunched her nose. "This isn't gonna be anything like David's Christmas party, right?" just thinking about those jello shots brought that nauseous feeling back.

"No," Steve laughed. "No, definitely not. No reindeer used as projectile missiles, I promise."

She supposed it wouldn't hurt to go. Teddi imagined that if her parents would be at Steve's for the night (which if they had been invited Teddi knew her mother would definitely be there) it would be a lot less pathetic to go to a bonfire than to sit around at home alone. "Sure, I'll go. Where's this steel mill?"

"Oh, well I can pick you up here if you want. I gotta drop Dustin off at the Wheeler's anyways. He says they're gonna play that game and...kill a dragon or whatever." he chuckled.

Teddi smiled and nodded. "Okay, yeah that would be...oh great." she let out a heavy sigh. Steve frowned and turned around to see what it was Teddi was looking at. Billy had walked in. He looked around the arcade for a moment, probably looking for Max, before his eyes landed on Steve and Teddi. Then he made a bee line for them.

"How's it going, Harrington?" Billy leaned against the counter beside Steve, glancing at the both of them before his eyes settled on Teddi. "I didn't realize you two knew each other." the comment was casual, but Teddi could hear the venom that was dripping from it.

"Oh yeah, we're old friends." Steve said cooly. Teddi watched the two of them with an unimpressed look. Men were so strange. Steve was a dork. But anytime Billy was within eyesight he'd stand up as tall as he could, puff out his chest and suddenly he was "King Steve". Whatever that was supposed to even mean.

"Do you need something, Billy?" Teddi asked. It would be much easier to simply get Billy out of the arcade than letting him and Steve face off and risk the two fighting again.

"I'm picking up Max. She around?"

"Last I saw she was over by Pac-Man. With Lucas." Steve said with a smile. Teddi frowned as she watched Billy's expression turn into a glare.

"Wait, what's wrong with Max hanging out with Lucas?" she asked, looking between the two. Neither of them said anything, and the whole situation was beginning to give Teddi a bad taste in her mouth. "What's wrong with Lucas, Billy?" she asked again.

"Yeah, Hargrove. What's wrong with Lucas?" Billy's jaw only clenched.

Teddi walked around the counter quickly, grabbing Billy by the arm and nearly dragging him back to the breakroom. She stood in front of the door in a pathetic attempt to keep him from leaving. "Explain. Now. Why don't you want Max around Lucas? And I swear to god if you say anything that I don't like, Billy…" she warned.

Billy rolled his eyes and leaned up against the wall in an attempt to put as much distance between them as the small room would allow. "I don't have to explain shit. Why don't you go back to your boyfriend and leave me the hell alone."

Teddi wasn't even going to dignify that comment with a response. But at least Billy was talking to her again. Small victories she supposed. As pathetic as that was. Teddi crossed her arms firmly across her chest. "Can you just tell me what the hell is going on? Because if Steve is insinuating what I think he is I will totally kick your ass right here and now, Hargrove."

"Jesus Christ…" Billy sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm not a fucking racist if that's what you're thinking, Teddi. I don't give a shit who she hangs out with. It's my dad. If he knew that Max was hanging around Lucas…" Teddi realized that there was a pattern with Billy. Whenever his anger really spiked Billy would bring his dad into it. Maybe Teddi wasn't just paranoid. Maybe she was suspicious for a good reason. "She doesn't get in trouble. I do. And I'm sick of him bitching at me because she won't listen."

"Billy…" Teddi said carefully. He wouldn't meet her eyes. "Does he...I mean, are things with you and your dad…" she'd never felt so awkward before. How did you even ask something like that? She was going through it herself and she didn't know how to ask.

Billy scoffed. "Don't start this with me." he spat.

"Start what?"

"You know what!" he jabbed a finger in her direction. "Why don't you tell me how you really got that black eye? Do you think I'm stupid? Why should I tell you anything if you won't do the same?" Teddi didn't say anything. She couldn't. She knew that Billy had been suspicious. But to have him confront her with the fact that he knew the truth felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on her. "I don't give a shit if I look like an asshole to you, or Max, or anyone else. I do what I have to do. Now move out of my goddamn way, Teddi."

Teddi swallowed thickly and wordlessly stepped aside and let Billy out. He was out of the break room and barking at Max to get in the car before Teddi could blink. Steve watched Billy leave and shook his head. "Man, that guy's an asshole," he turned back to Teddi, frowning at the expression on her face. "Teddi, you okay?"

She blinked suddenly, looking over at Steve. "Huh? Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Uh, I gotta get these to Dustin. I'll see you tomorrow night?" she didn't give him a chance to answer. She picked up all of Dustin's token and headed back over to the kids.

Billy was driving way too fast. Max wouldn't say anything. She was used to it. So she just sat there quietly with her arms crossed while Billy threw his tantrum. He knew that none of this had been Teddi's fault, but his instincts were telling him to blame her.

When he had come home from his afternoon at the lake, Neil had been pissed. Billy expected it. To a degree at least. When he'd walked in Neil, Susan and Max had all been sitting at the table. The table had been set and the dinner that Susan had cooked was sitting untouched in front of them. Neil hadn't let them eat until Billy came home apparently.

"Your mother went out of her way to cook a nice meal-" Neil had begun.

"She's not my mother." that had really done it. Neil loved to humiliate Billy. Sometimes it wasn't enough to hit him so hard that he saw stars. Neil would call him every name in the book, and he'd do it all with an audience. Susan never tried to stop it. Max had tried a few times, and each time she and Billy had both learned the hard way.

That night Billy had to sit down for Christmas dinner refusing to meet anyone's eyes while he dabbed at his bleeding nose every so often after Neil made them all say grace. What a joke that was.

"Did something happen with Teddi?" Max asked suddenly.

"No."

"Are you sure? You looked pretty pissed off when you came out of that break room." she said matter-of-factly.

"Max…" Billy warned.

"You shouldn't be such an asshole to her."

"Oh yeah?" he asked, shooting a glance her way. "And why's that?"

"Because. You're stuck with me, but she's the only person that willingly keeps putting up with your shit. Pretty soon she's gonna get tired of you and you're gonna be alone."

Rather than admitting to Max that she was even a little bit right, Billy changed the subject. "I thought I told you to stay away from Lucas." Billy didn't get why Max bothered hanging out with Lucas and his loser friends. He'd never gotten it. Keeping it from Neil aside, it seemed like any time Billy saw Max with Lucas she'd been upset. They were always arguing. He didn't know about what, Max would always lie when he asked. Billy wanted to throttle the kid. Where the hell did he get off making Max cry?

Max rolled her eyes and threw her head back against the seat with a sigh. "I don't care about what Neil wants."

"Yeah well...you should."

Max turned to her brother, narrowing her eyes. "Why don't you just leave? You're 18. Why do you put up with it?"

"You know why." Billy said evenly. And Max did. Neither of them had ever spoken about it out loud. If Billy left, then Max and Susan would be the new targets of Neil's rage. He'd seen it before. Neil had never been nice to Billy, but he hadn't started hurting him until it was just the two of them. Just because you removed yourself from Neil's life didn't mean that he would stop. He would just move on to whoever was next in line.

So unless Susan finally saw the light and left Neil, which Billy and Max doubted would ever happen, Billy would stay and make sure Max didn't grow up the same way that he had. And in a way he was grateful for Teddi. Maybe Teddi hadn't always known what was going on in the Hargrove/Mayfield household, but she hadn't hesitated to take Max under her wing. Teddi was there for Max in a way that he couldn't allow himself to be. If things ever got bad at home Billy knew he could drop Max off at the arcade and Teddi would be there to cheer her up and talk about horror movies and...whatever the hell zodiac signs were. He still wasn't entirely sure. But still, Teddi was kind of Max and Billy's saving grace.

And he had probably fucked all of that up.

Teddi had pretty much been on autopilot for the rest of the night. She didn't know why she felt so anxious about what had happened with Billy. It wasn't like he would tell anyone. Maybe because now she would have to admit out loud that her life was nowhere near as great as she wanted people to think. There was also this sick feeling in her stomach that was building at the thought of Billy having to go through the same things she went through. And Max. Was Neil hurting Max? Susan? Did Susan even know that it was happening?

It definitely explained a lot. Why Billy was always so angry. There had been a time when Teddi had felt that way. Angry at the world. Living in an abusive household could very easily make you feel like no one cared about you. But Teddi knew that Max cared about Billy. No matter how much she would deny it. Teddi even cared about Billy to some extent. He didn't need to be so angry.

When she arrived back home she could see the lights were still on inside. She let out a heavy sigh before heading in and seeing that both of her parents were awake and watching tv together in a rare occurrence. "Hey…" she said quietly, hanging her coat up by the door.

"Your mother and I are going to a New Year's party tomorrow night at the Harrington's." Her dad announced as if on cue. Of course they were. She knew that her mom wouldn't pass up any form of social event. Teddi stood awkwardly at the end of the living room and nodded, hoping to slowly inch her way down the hall to her bedroom without having to have too much conversation.

Her mother was beaming for the first time since they had moved to Hawkins. "It was a personal invitation. Just after your father got a huge promotion at work. It's a corporate job with the mall. He'll even be working closely with the mayor." Teddi could see the look of pride on her father's face that matched the same look he'd had back when he'd gotten his big promotion in New York. It was a very rare to see any expression on his face that wasn't his usual clenched jaw and glare. While Teddi didn't care that her father had gotten the promotion, there was a tiny sliver of hope that meant he'd go back to pretending she didn't exist like he had back in New York.

"Oh...well, that's great! Um, Steve actually invited me to a bonfire tomorrow…"

"You're not going." Her father said firmly.

Teddi frowned. "What? Why? It's just a party-"

"Maybe if you had asked I would have let you. You're not going to come into my house and tell me that you're going out."

"I wasn't telling you that I was going out," Teddi argued. "I never go out-"

Her father scoffed. "You think I don't know that you went out somewhere last week? That you didn't come home because you were out whoring around town like you did back in New York? I'm not going to let you embarrass me here, Theodora. You're not going to that party. Now go to your room,"

Teddi visibly deflated and turned to leave. There was no point in arguing. She'd escape to the safety of her room, lick her emotional wounds and be grateful things hadn't gone worse. "And if your mother tells me one more time that you came home smelling like cigarettes, I'll have to refresh your memory on why you quit in the first place."

Teddi didn't turn to look at him. She walked as quickly as she could to her bedroom and tried her hardest not to slam the door shut behind her. "Five more months…" she reminded herself, letting out a shaky breath. Her eyes were stinging with the threat of tears.

Back when Teddi did smoke she was sure that her parents hadn't known. She went out of her way to keep the smell off of her and hiding her cigarettes. But her mom had a habit of going through Teddi's room when she was bored, and she had shown her dad the pack of cigarettes that she'd found. So he lit one, grabbed Teddi by the arm and put it out in the inside of her bicep. Teddi hadn't picked up another cigarette until she'd met Billy.

Teddi also wasn't incredibly upset about having to miss the bonfire. Initially her plans were to do exactly what her father had demanded from her. It was more so the principle of the thing. He was going out of his way to control her and keep her from any small piece of happiness she could find in this stupid town.

She would let herself cry tonight. To feel sorry for herself. But she would be going to that party. Her parents weren't going to control her anymore. She was going to find a way out. And fast.