BAD BOY GONE GOOD - A STRANGER THINGS BILLY+FEMALE OC MIXED FANFIC

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thank you to all those who faved, read, reviewed, and supported me to continue. Without you this fic wouldn't still be going. I appreciate it. :D

I do not own Stranger Things, Billy, or any original character from the show. This fic is purely for entertainment and is making no money and is completely free. The Duffer Brothers own everything and a big thank you to them for inspiring this. :D

Enjoy.

-BAD BOY GONE GOOD-

Chapter 6 - SWEETEST TONGUE HOLDS SHARPEST TOOTH - TUCKER'S CONFESSION

Summary:

Tucker works up the courage to come to Mandy's window at night and confess his feelings to her asking if she feels the same. Mandy tries to be gentle but he makes it so hard to let him down easy and he gets very hurt and upset.

Hurtful words are exchanged and new revelations about Billy and how he thinks of her behind her back are brought to light and to Mandy's attention, further souring her and Tucker's communication and attempt to reconcile.

Why cant they just go back to being good friends? Mandy laments.

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After she and Nikki had their ice cream and sitcom bonanza it was time for her friend to go home. They both would need sleep in order to survive another day of high school tomorrow. Nikki seemed to be doing just fine with that. It was more Mandy that needed to recooperate and recharge.

When her parents came home she had dinner with them and her little brother not mentioning she had spoiled it with Cherries Jubilee earlier. They would find the almost empty container eventually but that could be a discussion for later.

After telling them about her first day at school, taking care to avoid any details about all the stressful things that happened and tiptoeing around it, she kissed them goodnight. Walking over to Calvin she played with him pretending to be chomping down on his soft tiny shoulder and neck with her teeth like a shark gently giving kisses and growling making him giggle.

She was exhausted while trying to put up a happy front to her family so they wouldn't worry. Slogging her way up the stairs to her bedroom she was almost too tired to shower and change but she managed just barely.

Throwing on a comfortable white cotton sleeveless night gown that had floral print and came down to her knees, she crawled in bed and turned on her night light. Reaching for her personal copy of Romeo and Juliet, which actually was one of her favorite romance stories of all time even better than her other novels considering, she had read this play at least eighteen times over in her lifetime. She settled on her page she left off at removing the unicorn bookmark gently. Act two scene two.

JULIET:

"How camest thou hither, tell me, and wherefore?

The orchard walls are high and hard to climb,

And the place death, considering who thou art,

If any of my kinsmen find thee here."

ROMEO:

"With love's light wings did I o'erperch these walls,

For stony limits cannot hold love out,

And what love can do, that dares love attempt.

Therefore thy kinsmen are no stop to me."

Mandy smiled at Romeo's determination and bravery to see his fair lady despite all odds, even climbing up on the balcony just to be able to kiss her and pour his feelings out for her. Young pure love was so beautiful and it made her pine wishing she could find her own Romeo that would love her even half as much as Shakespear's loved his Juliet.

Looking around her cozy safe haven she felt better and more relaxed here where no eyes could stare and no one could follow or bother her. Her room was her magical fortress. Her own private castle. She was safe in her tower and instead of a wicked witch or an evil stepmother, she was the only one who locked herself in here.

She would be flattered if a lover would come calling for her but she knew it would never be sweet or with pure intentions. Being in love when so young and only in high school just wasn't plausible or realistic. Even though her parents got lucky to meet in high school and had been sweethearts their entire lives, they were the rare exception to that rule.

Kicking her feet around under the covers to get more comfortable as she read the famous starcrossed duo's exchange, some of her stuffed animals went flying. Despite her enjoyment of their timeless romance, she found herself thinking about the days events and caught her mind drifting elsewhere. She thought of blue eyes and golden curls. She thought of Nikki inviting her to Steve's and her finally saying yes and accepting.

She somewhat smiled to herself at realizing she was actually excited to be going to the pool party. She could not really understand why. With everything that happened today she should be afraid but she actually felt like she was becoming more and more brave. Growing up just a little bit and finally peeking out of her shell.

While adrift in her thoughts, there was a light tapping sound at her window. She put down her big leatherbound book replacing the marker in her spot and turned to look at the direction of the sound. Realizing someone was at her window outside and on the roof she stared wide eyed for a moment.

No. No, please no. This cannot be happening. No. Don't answer it. Maybe it will stop and he will go away!

She silently begged in her head for this to be true. Begged for him to give up and leave. She did NOT want Hargrove coming to her window. That was too bold of him and way out of line! She would just ignore it and turn out her night light pretending to be asleep so he would leave.

Quickly turning off her night light to be in total darkness she waited under the covers almost breathlessly not wanting to make a single sound.

When the sound kept up its pace undeterred and not letting up she sighed angrily and cursed herself for not being faster with the light. With each tapping noise it seemed to grow more and more urgent and a bit louder. She feared the sound waking up her parents who were asleep just next door in the next room over.

Jumping up quickly but quietly she made her way to her window being careful not to make too much noise and pulled aside the curtains then lifting the blinds. Flinging open the window as softly as she could her annoyed expression softened once she saw who was crouching there and her eyes were wide in disbelief.

It was Tucker. She breathed a sigh of relief but this was almost no better than had it have been Billy perched on her roof. He looked into her eyes frowning and he looked an absolute mess to the point of being even frightened to approach her.

"What are you doing here?"

She crossed her arms trying to be irritated but kept her voice down at the same time. His sadness and apprehension was replaced with a boyish grin. He looked so lost and so soft at her that she couldn't stay mad at him. She lowered her arms and moved aside to let him climb in from the roof allowing him access beyond the window into her bedroom.

Mandy glanced at her alarm clock and sighed rolling her eyes.

"Sure... make yourself at home. Because it's totally not two in the morning right now."

She said dryly while waving her hands around as if showcasing her entire room to emphasize it. As he climbed through the window and carefully over the attached couch and it's wooden frame connected underneath it he was taking care not to get his dirty shoes on the cushions and her stuffed animals.

It felt like they were little kids all over again. He hadn't done this in a long time but he used to always scale the lattice to get to her roof and tap on her window to be let in. They had spent hours just talking in her room about anything and everything just being close. But this felt different. It felt more intimate than ever before.

"You know they have this nifty little invention. It's called a telephone? You pick it up and turn this little wheel for numbers and reach out to someone long distance to talk?" Her sarcasm was dripping at him and he gave a soft laugh trying to dance around it with amusement and humor.

A long time ago it would have been done with the intent of a close friendship but his look for her had changed. It was more grown up and with a deep need in his eyes as he watched her sit on her bed while removing his shoes so as not to mess up her carpet in her room. She had forgotten how close they had been as kids before high school and how close they had gotten this past summer despite her ditching on him most of the time.

"Nikki called me. Said you wanted to talk. At first I wasn't going to come over like this but she said I should stop being a jerk and come see you. So... here I am."

He explained putting his shoes down by the couch and then walked over to sit on the trunk at the foot of her bed. She moved over to him and sat beside him there letting a long exasperated sigh out.

"Of course she did. Well, yeah. We do need to talk. About your outburst earlier in the library?What was that all about, anyway? I mean I think I know. But I don't want to say it in case I'm wrong." She bit her lower lip and the way he was looking at her was making her shift on the trunk uncomfortably.

"Mandy, I..." he started rather loudly and she shushed him with her fingers to keep his voice down motioning to the bedroom next door warning him not to wake her parents up.

He nodded and tried again.

"Mandy, I'm sorry for being a jerk. I'm sorry for snapping at you and our friends, okay? I don't know what came over me. I mean... I wanted to see you all summer long. I waited for it and we barely hung out. Then, your first day back at school you're too busy with school work, studying, and avoiding all people including me. All work and no play. You resort to hiding and holing up in the library during lunch when you could have been sitting with me, with all of us. But you don't and instead you stay in the library for your entire lunch break busy with books and too buried in them to notice that I would like to hang with you. Maybe even take you out. On a... date. Or something."

She gave a small laugh and shook her head. He was now staring at the floor and seemed to stiffen up as if he felt rejection coming on. Her laugh had really seemed to hurt him.

"You sound like Nikki. Just... in a different way." He looked like a lost puppy at her and she felt his emotion between the few inches of space where they sat. It was too intense for her liking.

"I like you, Mandy." He blurted it out. Unsure of what to say back to him after saying something like that. But she had a feeling deep down. She had known. She had somehow always known.

She stared at him wide eyed and stunned as she took in his steady gaze of her face and expressions trying to guage what she might be thinking. He scooted closer to her and she barely noticed it. He placed his pinky finger over the tip of hers and she felt him lightly touch her just as shy as she was.

This however, while nothing like Billy eyeing her and sizing her up or moving in like a predator, was her childhood best guy friend and felt just as strange. The pieces to this puzzle didn't fit either. Then again, just who could fit in with an oddball like her?

"You could... say something back. Yes? No? Lean in to let me know if I could... kiss you? Or shut me down and tell me to leave? Anything but leaving me hanging like this. It's killing me." He now looked like a kicked puppy.

The hurt look on his face at her refusal to speak and only to stare at him with those big soulful green eyes of hers had to be making a tangled mess inside of him right now but she couldn't find the words. She had to let him down in a way that wouldn't break his heart or make her lose his friendship. Five years was a long time to know someone. Even if it was a boy.

"Tucker... you're an amazing guy. I really like you a lot. Even to the point of loving you." His eyes lit up for a moment and he leaned in closer but she backed away slightly. He balled his hands into nervous fists. She could see the absolute dejection in his eyes and it tore her to pieces.

"But... I love you more like how I love my little brother, Calvin. It's a deep love. But it's family love. Not romantic love."

He shrank back. The blow had been struck. And she had been the one to accidentally and unintentionally deliver it. She watched him waiting to see how he would respond. Silence. The calm before the storm. And then...

"So... you won't even give me a chance? Not even to see if something more could develop over time? I know you so well, Mandy. How do you know we wouldn't be good for each other?"

While he made excellent points, she had to stand firm and hold her ground. In the back of her mind she felt a small voice telling her there was someone else she was waiting for. Her white knight. Who was it? Because she knew it wasn't Tucker. It certainly wasn't Billy. Billy was a black knight. Dark and twisted and cold. She was almost certain that one day she would find the one she was meant for but it wouldnt be in Hawkins, Indiana.

She grabbed one of her stuffed animals, a bunny, and squeezed it tight drawing her knees up to her chest. He watched her. Carefully. Calculating his chances.

"Tucker, you're very sweet. You have an amazing heart and I cherish it. I don't want to break it. And I don't want to lose our friendship. I just want us to keep being friends. I never want to lose what love we do have between us just as it is."

He gave out an exasperated sigh and stood up to pace slightly in her room. He bit his nails on his thumb and walked back and forth letting all of this hit him like a pound of rocks and all he looked ready to do was sink to the floor. All she could do was watch and wait.

"Okay. Well... I need to go home. I need some time to let this sink in and gestate a little bit. But... I appreciate you're honesty, at least. I'm just sorry I couldn't be more like Billy Hargrove for you."

That last one stung. It stabbed her deep. How did he know about Billy and him chasing after her? Who had he been talking to? He had never seen them eye each other in class, or be backed into her locker by him. So where was this coming from?

"What? Billy?" She had to know and grilled him further. Could Nikki have said something? No, she wouldn't do that. Tina? Tina never gave her the time of day because she was with the in crowd, the popular crowd, and they didnt rotate in the same circles let alone the same universe. Nancy? She knew Nancy enough to trust her not to start rumors like most mean spirited high school girls did.

"What are you talking about, Tucker?"

He looked at her still slightly upset and she thought she saw his eyes mist up just a bit. It was painful for her to see one of her best friends cry over her. She wasn't worth the tears, really she wasn't. She was NOTHING special.

"Don't act like you don't know."

He spat, grabbing for his shoes and heading over to her window, his back taut and straight with anger. She looked absolutely clueless at him and it partly infuriated and also confused him when he looked back at her to see she was totally in the dark about it.

"Oh shit, you don't know? Mandy... the guy is trash. Okay? He's been talking about you all over school. To the guys. Tommy, Jeff, almost all the guys on the Hawkins Basketball team. In the showers and the locker room. I even caught wind of it during P.E. and basketball practice. Even Steve Harrington knows he is aiming to get to you. He said he has plans to ruin you. Whatever that fuckin' means. Talked a big talk like he had plans to take you out and go all the way. The guy is just out to use you and toss you aside. Don't you understand?"

This hardly came as a surprise, she knew Billy was a jerk and a pervert, but coming from her best friend in such a callous, vicious, and vindictive way... it really hurt her. She began to tear up as well more from the pain of his lashing out than any half baked plan that Billy could come up with to tarnish her.

"My love and sex life is none of your business, Tucker. It's also none of your business if some high school boy high on hormones says dirty things about me. I can handle myself. Besides, I had no intention of going ANYWHERE with Billy. I know to stay away from him. Do you think I would dishonor myself and my family, my parents, and my reputation that way? This is a small town and people talk, but that doesn't mean all of the rumours have to be true. And even if I DID like him..."

She trailed off and that sentence upset him even more. He looked at her like she had committed the ultimate act of betrayal to their long time friendship with that statement. She put her hands up defensively still trying to diffuse his hurt.

"I'm just saying hypothetically. Even if I DID. What gives you the right to tell me who I can and cannot be around? You are not my boyfriend, you are one of my BEST friends, and you have no say in who I take an interest in." He tried to speak but she ran over him.

"While I do love and care for you, I can never look at you in that same way." She finished off now staring at the floor not wanting him to see her tears over having to be so direct and hurtful back at him.

"Oh, so that's it, huh? That's just how it is bottom line? You can't look at someone like me, someone you have known for YEARS even as kids growing up together, like that? But you can look at Billy that way, who breezes into town barely a day ago and who doesn't even know you like I do, talks disgusting talk about you, and on top of that you don't even know him either? He's a scumbag and I AM trying to protect you!"

"No... you're trying to use our mutual disgust and avoidance of him to make me feel I need you in my life as a boyfriend to protect me from him. So you can have me be what you want me to be. I'm not the one for you, Tucker. You will find her one day. Please stop trying to make me fill those shoes, I cannot."

Her chest was caving in from the intense anguish at having to be so biting and cruel to him. Why did they have to fight like this? This wasn't like them at all. He turned his back on her and crept up to the window to leave.

"Forget it. I'll leave you to your books and your fairytale imagination worlds. Call me when you know how to live a REAL life with REAL people and how to accept REAL love from someone."

With that he huffed and took one last longing look at her instantly regretting his biting insults before leaving out the way he came. Climbing out her window quickly he hurried to scale down the lattice and get back into the yard. He looked up at her and shook his head wiping his eyes before jogging off into the night.

Asshole. Why, Tucker? Just... why? Why do you want to ruin our friendship? I thought I could trust you. She thought bitterly as she wept letting her tears fall in full force now that he was no longer present.

When he was gone she cried hard into her stuffed rabbit but muffled her cries into her pillow instead so her parents wouldn't hear her pain and come knocking to check on her. She wouldn't be able to talk or explain it to them right now.

The tower had been breached. And the hopeful knight who scaled the wall with the attempt to save the princess and break the curse had failed abandoning her and leaving her alone to her fate.

Another one down. Who's next to try to be the brave white knight that could save her? Maybe no ordinary white knight could. Maybe only the darkest of knights would be able to handle all the pain and loneliness inside of her. All the fear and trauma and dark secrets of her past. Because someone like that would feel it too and understand her completely.

She climbed back into bed after shutting and locking her window. She was sobbing uncontrollably and as her tears fell, she thought of Tucker, but it was Billy's face she saw in the armor, looking up at her tower and attempting to climb up to her.

Looking back at her Shakespear leatherbound book sitting on her night stand she grumbled in pain and rolled over hugging her pillow no longer in the mood to read it or enjoy it. Love was pain. Love was bullshit. Love wasn't in the stars for her.

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