A/N: We're gonna see good ol' Brian Jean in this chapter! Here's a bit of fun fluff because the next chapter is gonna be rough :)

xxx

Working at the Hawkins public pool really wasn't that bad of a job. It was at this awkward point in time between Christmas break and the weather finally becoming warm, so there really weren't too many people around aside from the occasional swim class. Teddi had been able to take on her own class finally. Every Saturday morning she taught a group of five year olds the basics, albeit not with the same instant success as Billy.

Her class had ended about half an hour before. A few of the kids were still splashing around in the shallow end while they waited for their parents to pick them up, and Teddi was perched up in the lifeguard's chair waiting for her shift to come to an end. Then she could swing by her house and change, rent some movies from the video store and head over to Billy's to help him with Max's sleepover. All in all a pretty laid back day.

She noticed Brian Jean walking in. She ignored him. He was just there to pick up his brother, and he'd be out of her hair once again. Teddi didn't feel any real resentment towards Brian. She hadn't even wanted to go on that date in the first place. If anything she was more annoyed with Cheryl for ditching Billy to screw around with Brian. She didn't really like Brian though. It was easy to see now that his whole nice guy act was just that: an act.

Teddi supposed Billy was a bit guilty of the same thing. He'd put on the charm whenever a cute girl was around. But the way Brian did it was a bit more...sinister somehow. Billy wasn't really as unassuming as Brian was. Or maybe she was just mad that she hadn't been able to see through it herself. She didn't know. Billy was more upset than she had been about the whole thing. Once they got back to school Billy was nearly constantly trying to pick at Brian to get on his last nerve.

"I'm supposed to let him fuck with you and get away with it?" he had asked. "It'll be fine, Ted. He's a soccer player. I'm not afraid of him." but it was more than that. Teddi didn't want to Billy to solve all his (or her) problems with his fists. If he'd gotten in trouble for fighting it would've been a lot more than just being sent to detention where he could sneak out and no one would be any the wiser. He'd get suspended. And that would mean Neil finding out. And Teddi was not gonna be responsible for Billy having to deal with Neil over something so pointless.

Eventually he let it go after she had to actually forbid him from doing anything. Of course not after he keyed Brian's car while they were in the parking lot after school waiting for Max. While Teddi definitely didn't approve of it, she had to admit it had been pretty funny.

Unfortunately Brian still seemed pretty interested in her regardless of her attempts to ignore him. He was honestly starting to make her feel a little uneasy. He was just sitting there on the bleachers looking at her. God, just take your brother and go, freak, she thought. Teddi turned slightly in her seat in an attempt to get rid of the creepy feeling she had. She could maybe call Freddy over and tell him what had happened. He'd definitely kick Brian out. But that seemed so silly. She would just ignore him.

She let out a loud sigh of relief when she saw Katie headed her way. "Happy to see me?" she asked Teddi with a laugh.

Teddi climbed down from her chair. "You have no idea. I gotta get outta here. I'll see ya later, Katie!" she threw a wave over her shoulder and nearly bolted for the locker room. She made quick work of changing. She could grab a quick shower at home. Whatever it took to make sure she could get out before Brian could corner her again.

Unfortunately that plan didn't work out. "Uh, hey Teddi…" Teddi rolled her eyes, but didn't stop as she walked past Brian. He followed after her. "C'mon, Teddi. Can I just talk to you for a second?" he asked.

"Fuck off, Brian."

"I'm sorry about the party, okay? I was a dick. Can't you give me another chance? Maybe we can get together for Valentine's Day or something." he offered.

Teddi stopped and turned towards Brian before she let out a heavy sigh. "Look, I know this might be hard for your tiny brain to process, but I'm not interested. I was never interested. I was just being nice. And you rewarded me by screwing my friend's date and abandoning me. So, no. I don't want to do anything for Valentine's Day. I don't want anything to do with you at all. So leave. Me. Alone."

When Teddi said that Brian was dumb, she meant it. He was clearly incapable of reading very obvious signs. As Teddi turned once again to leave, Brian grabbed her by the arm. "I'm not done talking to you!" He pleaded.

Teddi wasn't a violent person. She really wasn't. She'd told Billy time and time again that violence wasn't the answer. If anything this was her father's fault. Brian grabbing her arm with the amount of force that he had sent a jolt of fear through her. It triggered her fight or flight senses immediately. But Brian wasn't her father. She could fight back. So Teddi whirled around and sent her fist flying upwards towards Brian's nose with as much force as she could manage. There was a sickeningly satisfying crack.

Brian let out a yowl and his hands flew up to his nose. "You bitch! You broke my nose!"

Teddi couldn't help but let out a laugh. She pressed her lips together and covered her mouth to keep herself quiet. "I told you to leave me alone." she said with a shrug and a smile. She didn't care that everyone at the pool had seen. He deserved it. A few of the moms were watching in shock as Brian dabbed at his bloody nose, groaning and moaning to himself. Katie was stifling her laughter up on her chair and Freddy was at a loss of what to do. Teddi took that as her sign to leave.

She held her composure until she was safely in her van. "Jesus Christ." she muttered, shaking her fist rapidly to try and get ring of the stinging feeling in her knuckles. The skin was red and irritated and she was sure that it would probably bruise. As bad as she may have felt for hitting Brian, she couldn't lie and say it hadn't felt a little nice. It would definitely get him off of her back from now on.

She just had to hope that she wouldn't lose her job over it.

xxx

"Max, do you have to listen to that shit so loud?" Billy asked, shoving her bedroom door open. Neil and Susan had left about an hour before. Now Max and El were jumping on her bed, hair brushes in hand as they sang along to Total Eclipse of the Heart. He wanted to blow his brains out.

The pair stopped jumping almost simultaneously and looked at him. "What's wrong with Bonnie Tyler?" Max asked.

El grinned. "Probably reminds him of Teddi." she teased, her and Max falling into a fit of laughter.

Billy let out a groan. "Just turn it off. Or I'll turn it off." he warned, turning and stomping back down the hall towards the living room. The stereo shut off and the sounds of the two giggling girls quickly following after him filled the house.

"When's she coming over anyways?" Max asked. "Did she get the movies? Did she say what she got? Is this like a date or something? We can go hang out in my room if it is."

Billy ran a frustrated hand over his face. He didn't think there was anything in the world more annoying than teenage girls. "I don't know, Max. She just said that she'd be here after work. And it's not a date. Can you two shut up with that already?" the two looked at each other and giggled almost as if they had shared some joke telepathically.

It was starting to get dark out. Teddi probably should've been there a few hours ago. He figured that it probably had something to do with what happened at the pool. Freddy had called him a little earlier to tell him. "Dude, you will not believe what happened. Teddi totally decked Brian Jean!"

Billy had only felt proud for someone that wasn't himself twice in his life. The first was Max. He worked hard to make sure Max had a thick she wouldn't take shit from anyone. And sometimes he thought it could be a little too thick. But that night at the Byers' after he'd woken up back at home with bits and pieces of the night's events coming back to him he could help but feel a little proud of the way she had stood up to him to protect her friends. He could have gone without her threatening to turn his dick into mush, but he was still proud.

He was definitely proud of Teddi. She was always so passive when it came to...well, anyone that wasn't him. Always avoiding confrontation. And he understood it. It was an easier route to take at home. But when Freddy called him to say that Teddi had broken Brian's nose he felt a huge wave of pride.

The doorbell rang, and Max jumped up to answer the door. Teddi was finally here. She had bags from Melvald's and Hawkins Family Video hanging on her arm and she was balancing three pizza boxes in her hands. "Hey, Maxamillion! The party's here!" Billy got up to help her with the pizzas as she handed the bags to Max. "There's our movies and some candy. Mrs. Byers told me to tell you guys she said hi."

Max and El both made quick work of dumping the bag of candy onto the floor in front of the tv as Billy and Teddi went into the kitchen. "So," Billy began with a smirk. "How was work?"

Teddi froze for a brief moment. "...It was fine." she said with a shrug.

Billy set the pizzas on the counter, leaning against it and grinning over at her. "Really? Nothing interesting happened?"

Teddi's eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms. "...What do you know?"

"Everything. Freddy called me about twenty minutes ago," Teddi groaned. "Is that why you wanted me to stay away from Brian? You wanted to handle it yourself?" he asked in a teasing tone.

"No," Teddi sighed. Billy watched as she fidgeted nervously in front of him. "I was just gonna ignore him, but then he grabbed me and...I don't know. I think I might be wound a little tighter than I've realized."

Billy held his hands up. "Wait, wait. He grabbed you? What do you mean he grabbed you?" the next time Billy saw Brian he'd have a hell of a lot more than a broken nose.

"I thought Freddy told you everything?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Apparently not. Why the hell would he grab you?"

Teddi let out another loud sigh and hopped up onto the counter. Her legs swung back and forth slowly as she picked at the hole in the knee of her jeans. "It's not as bad as it sounds. He kept trying to ask me out so he could make up for the party. Something about Valentine's Day," Billy let out a snort and rolled his eyes. "But I told him I didn't want to and he wasn't taking fuck off for an answer…" she covered her face with her hands and let out a loud groan. "I just wish I hadn't decked him in front of everyone."

Billy scoffed. "I wish you had done a lot more than that. Too bad I wasn't there to see it, though. I bet it was pretty hot." he smirked.

Teddi bit down on her lip to keep herself from smiling. "You're a bad influence, Hargrove."

"You know it, Baby." he grinned.

Teddi's cheeks flushed a little before she hopped down from the counter and walked over to the pizzas. "I'm starving. I got a cheese for the girls and I got us two pepperonis since you put away food like a bottomless pit." she teased.

Billy held up an arm, flexing and patting his bicep. He relished the way Teddi's blush grew deeper. "Gotta feed the machine."

She laughed. "The machine? Do you ever hear yourself? Oh, who am I kidding? I bet you love to hear yourself talk." she giggled, sticking her tongue out at him and grabbing a slice of pizza.

His response was cut off by Max poking her head into the kitchen. "Can you guys stop flirting for two seconds so we can watch the movies? This is so boring."

"Max…" Billy began.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Shut up, Max." she said in a mocking tone before disappearing into the living room. Teddi only smiled at Billy before she piled two more slices of pizza onto her plate and followed Max.

"Alright, so since El isn't a big horror fan I picked up Midnight Madness and Splash," Teddi announced. "And don't even think about complaining, Hargrove. It's three against one. Ladies night means we watch Splash."

Billy groaned loudly and dramatically as he flopped down onto the couch. He'd rather tear his own eyes out than watch some chick flick. He'd sat through a few on dates, but it was a small price to pay to get to feel up whatever girl he'd taken out that week in the theater. And that definitely wasn't gonna be happening with Teddi. Especially with the gruesome twosome around.

If he was honest El was probably his favorite out of Max's friends. He still didn't trust Lucas completely and Mike and Dustin annoyed the shit out of him. The Byers kid was okay. But there was something about him that gave Billy the creeps. El was quiet for the most part. She didn't talk back like Mike always was (even though he was constantly trying to weasel rides all around town from him) and she wasn't always babbling incessantly about all that weird nerd shit they all liked.

Still, Billy would've preferred it if the two of them weren't there so he could try to put the moves on Teddi. Yeah, like that would work anyways, he thought bitterly. If all his flirting so far hadn't worked, he definitely doubted that whole yawn and stretch trick would work on her like it did the other girls. So instead he crossed his arms firmly across his chest and pouted. He only moved to light up a smoke halfway through Midnight Madness.

That hadn't been such a bad movie. He'd gotten a few laughs. He'd also caught Teddi watching him a few times whenever she knew a funny scene was coming up to see if he'd laugh or not. She almost looked proud each time he did. Like she had his approval.

Splash however...was a nightmare. God did he hate it. But he wasn't surprised Teddi had picked it out. Some idiot finds a mermaid and falls in love with her. It had Weird Girl written all over it. They were about halfway through the movie when he finally complained. "This movie sucks," he spat, a cigarette between his teeth. He lit it and tossed his lighter onto the coffee table. "You can't even see anything! What's the point of having her topless the whole damn movie if they're gonna just cover her up?"

Teddi scoffed and gave his arm a soft shove. "Of course she's not naked! There's impressionable eyes in the room." she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Billy grumbled loudly.

Max turned to face the two of them with a smirk. "Yeah, Billy. Save your nudie movies for when it's just the two of you." she and El fell into a fit of giggles. Billy glared at the back of Max's head. He grabbed a handful of the popcorn Teddi had made in between the two movies at threw it at the back of his step sister's head. She only laughed.

He glanced over at Teddi. She was trying not to laugh herself. But her cheeks were flushed. She patted Billy on the shoulder. "It's almost over," she promised. There had only been about a half hour left. To Billy it had felt like ages. Max cracking jokes about how John Candy's character was gonna be Billy in about twenty years definitely didn't help either. When it was finally over Teddi stretched and fell back into the couch. Her head lolled over to look at Billy. The corner of his lips turned upwards. She smiled back at him.

"...I should get home," she sighed. "I told my mom I was working an extra shift at the arcade. I don't want her getting suspicious."

Max and El whirled around. "What? You just got here!" Max complained.

"Max has board games!" El argued.

Teddi let out a whine like groan and scrunched up her nose. "Believe me girls, if I could sleep over I would. Maybe next time, okay? I'll bring more chick flicks." she grinned over at Billy. He rolled his eyes.

"How 'bout you guys clean all this shit up, huh? And tell Teddi thank you for the movies." God, he thought with a hint of disgust, I sound like Neil. Max and El both said their thank yous, hugging Teddi before running off into the kitchen with the remnants of popcorn and pizza.

Teddi returned both tapes to their cases and smiled over at Billy. "You gonna be able to handle them on your own?"

"Maybe...maybe I'll sneak some nighttime cough syrup into their Cokes," Teddi shot him a look and he waved a hand at her. "I'm kidding...thanks for this. Coming over and all." he shifted nervously, his hands in his pockets.

Teddi shrugged. "It's no problem. They're fun kids. Plus I'd be lying if I didn't say that I really enjoyed forcing you to watch Splash," she laughed. Billy let out a short laugh. "I'll see ya...probably tomorrow." she said, her laugh a bit more awkward this time. Billy nodded and followed her to the front door. He opened it for her and gave an awkward wave.

"Later, Larsson."

"Later, Hargrove." she grinned, turning and making her way to the curb where her van was parked. Billy shut the door after her van disappeared down the street. El and Max were watching him from the hallway.

"Oh, Teddi I love you!" Max said in a deeper voice that Billy assumed was supposed to sound like him. She grabbed El by the shoulders. El laughed and matched Max's movements.

"Kiss me Teddi!" she repeated in the same ridiculous tone before they fell into another fit of giggles.

Billy rolled his eyes and glares at the two girls. "Isn't it time you little assholes go to bed?"

Max raised an eyebrow. "It's ten o'clock, grandpa. Shouldn't you be in bed?" She asked, taking El by the hand and pulling her down the hall to her room. He could still hear their laughter and he let out a groan, falling down onto the couch. He flipped on the TV and mindlessly flipped through the channels. He hated sleepovers.