Avoiding Billy very quickly progressed to borderline stalking him. Steve tried to be as near Billy at all times, parking near Billy's usual spot, loitering around the smoking area, taking forever in the locker room. Anything he could do that would assure that he would see Billy. It wasn't full on stalker mode, Steve knew where to draw the line of being creepy, but it must've been obvious to Billy. Steve reminded himself of a thirteen-year-old girl with a crush on the head footballer, following him around and hoping to be seen. Despite constantly being followed, Billy hadn't uttered a single word to Steve, just as it had been before, completely ignoring the other's existence which did frustrate the brunette slightly.

"Steve? Are you even listening to me?" Nancy asked, looking slightly frustrated. Steve glanced down at her, no clue of what she had just said.

"Uh sorry, I zoned out…" he trailed off. His eyes could no longer spot the blonde mass of curls down the hallway, so he was forced to give his attention to Nancy.

"I was saying that there's a party tonight, I really want you to come!" Steve scoffed at the words.

"Why are you inviting me to a party?" he asked, not having the slightest intention of going.

"I'm not gonna lie Steve, I barely see you anymore and I'm worried. You never go out." She admitted, eyes wide. Steve hated hearing that Nancy was worrying over him, the breakup still seemed like it was yesterday, and he definitely wasn't over her yet, after all she was his first love. He needed space from her, room to breathe and heal, that couldn't be done by going to parties with her and listening to her worries.

"I'm fine Nancy, I don't need to go to some stupid party. I go out all the time."

"Yeah, to babysit Dustin. Look, you need to hang out with people your age! Please come Steve." She was basically begging at this point causing Steve to cave in and say yes. He liked to think he had his own free will, that he could tell Nancy no but apparently that was the complete opposite of the truth. Apparently if she said jump he asked how high. When he had reluctantly agreed to go Nancy's, eyes had lit up excitedly and he realised how much he missed that look, or maybe he missed the look on her face she'd get when we found him waiting outside of class, or the smile when he bought her flowers. To be quite honest, the list was endless and there were few expressions of Nancy's that Steve didn't find enchanting. His eyes were glued to her as she headed towards class, a small happy hop in her step. He swore that each time he watched her leave his heart broke into one smaller piece. He ran a hand through his hair and let out a distressed sigh, when the bell rang he headed towards the locker room, Nancy still consuming his brain. It wasn't until he was changed and stood in the basketball court that he remembered all these thoughts of Nancy were completely clouding his fascination with Billy. He couldn't quite figure out which one made him saner. Probably neither.

Practise went by in a flash, as per usual Steve was knocked around, but his chat with his coach lit a fire under his ass and he played with every ounce of energy he had. Before Steve knew it, he was pulling up outside his empty house with the school day far behind him. After shovelling whatever food, he could find in the fridge down his throat he headed up to his room and threw himself onto the bed. Ideally, he should be doing his homework, or downstairs watching the television, or listening to his records but he was exhausted. Not only did his bones ache from a week of hard basketball practice but his mind was also exhausted, thinking of Billy, and then Nancy, and then Billy again was utterly draining. He must've laid there for hours, just thinking everything through in his mind, hoping to make sense of why he was so skittish recently. He could blame it on not quite being over Nancy yet but then that wouldn't explain why he was so interested in Billy. Also, why is he so interested in some guy that kicked his ass? Surely that's just asking to be beaten again. Billy let out a frustrated sigh and sat up in his bed, eyes flickering over to the clock. 8 o'clock, the party started in an hour. To say he didn't want to go was a complete understatement, every fibre of his being just wanted to sink into his couch and watch whatever nonsense was on TV like Dallas or The A Team but a small part of him didn't want to break his promise to Nancy.

Before he knew it, he was spraying hairspray through his locks, keeping the hair glued up in place just as he liked it. After putting on a leather jacket he looked into the mirror, scrutinising his outfit, wondering if it looked like he was trying too hard. Under the jacket he was only wearing a white t-shirt and jeans, but he couldn't help but feel like Nancy would see that he dressed up. He rolled his eyes at his reflection, growing tired of his own thoughts and headed for the front door. It had already hit Nine, but he was never the type to turn up at the start of a party, it would be dead anyway. He gazed at his car longingly as he walked past the drive and onto the street, he'd be at the party in like five minutes if he drove but instead he was forced to walk half an hour to the house. If he was going to the party he was most definitely going to leave it drunk, he didn't have Nancy to look after anymore.

When he arrived at the party he could hear the music coming through the windows, a few people were scattered across the front lawn, all calling a hello to Steve as he approached the threshold. Inside was just as hellish as he was expecting it to be, rooms full to drunk teenagers either trying to fuck whatever was in sight or drink themselves into a coma. He used to love parties like these, he used to be the Keg king after all but now? He couldn't stand to be there for one more moment. He didn't know what changed him, it was probably Nancy, she changed him in more ways than he was comfortable with. After scouting all the rooms, he determined that Nancy hadn't arrived yet which relaxed him ever so slightly. He headed towards the kitchen where he found the counter covered in punch bowls and beer cans. He reached for a can of beer, not sure he'd be able to stomach the punch, fearing it would remind him of how Nancy had shattered his heart in that bathroom.

He sipped at his drink, until his drink turned into his second, and then his third and then during his fourth Nancy's face suddenly appeared before him.

"You actually came!" She exclaimed excitedly. Steve peered up to see Jonathon in tow, still sticking out like a sore thumb at these kinds of parties. Steve forced a smile to his lips before replying.

"Well I said I would, didn't I?" He couldn't sense how slurred his words had come out, the four beers were definitely starting to get to him. Nancy looked like she was about to lecture him about how tipsy he was; but a loud bang of a door came followed by some cheering. The three turned their gaze to see who had just entered, of course it was Billy, whiskey bottle and cigarette in hand who had just turned up, probably already half smashed. The weirdest wave of excitement went through Steve upon Billy's arrival, like he could finally start having some fun. The commotion soon became old news and Nancy began to engage in some conversation with Steve that he barely listened to, he just stared at her, nodded when needed, agreed when needed and laughed when he needed to. Thankfully Jonathan dragged her away, muttering something about grabbing a drink which Steve was really glad about. He was finishing off his drink when he felt someone come stand next to him.

"I hear stories about you being the keg king, yet I still haven't seen you back it up." Billy said with a smug smile. Steve's mind went back to that Halloween party where Billy had basically said the same thing. Back then he was with Nancy though and couldn't act the way he did before but now, he had no chains to bind him and he was desperate to get absolutely wasted.

"Find me a keg and I'll show you." Billy flashed him a smile whilst sliding his tongue across his teeth. Clearly proud of himself for pulling Steve down to his level. The older boy followed Billy through the masses of people through to the back yard which was also overly crowded. People began to cheer as the two stepped out onto the patio, forming a small circle around two kegs. Steve heard people calling things at him like 'go on Steve' as he approached one of the kegs.

"Think you can beat me Harrington?" Steve scoffed at the remark.

"I know I can." Billy flashed another one of his smiles, this one looked a tiny bit more psychotic than the last, but Steve chose to ignore it, already knowing that the blonde was super competitive. The two got ready to do a keg stand, a couple of guys they knew from basketball practise stood around them to keep their legs up as they drank. Steve balanced on his hands, forgetting how hard it was to balance like that atop a keg but it wasn't long till he felt his legs being supported. He heard the words go and he began to drink. He closed his eyes as he drank and drank like he had never drank before, desperately trying to ignore all the blood rushing to his head. With each gulp he was rapidly running out of air and finding himself in immense discomfort, but still he pushed himself. For some reason his immense concentration blocked out all sound, leaving him just to his thoughts of how long he was going to last, apparently it wasn't long. His eyes snapped open as he gasped for air desperately, moving his legs to signal for the guys to let him down. The circle around him began to cheer relentlessly which turned his gaze to Billy who was already standing there, expression half amazed. Steve had beat him.

Steve didn't understand Billy at all. A couple weeks back the guy had just been an asshole in basketball and then he almost killed him with his bare hands, then after that ignored him, and then they into more verbal fights but now here they were, slumped against a wall drunkenly laughing.

"I don't even know how I lasted that long, I thought I was gonna drown." Steve laughed, most definitely drunk at this point. Billy laughed along with him as he took a cigarette from his packet before offering Steve one.

"I don't smoke." He pointed out with an over exaggerated shake of the head, earning yet another smile.

"Well there's always an opportunity to start." Said Billy with a raised brow. Steve contemplated for a second before remembering that he was drunk and any thoughts he just had were probably bullshit so he took a cigarette. Billy rose his hand slowly, and lit his lighter. He didn't move his hand far and with the cigarette perched on his lips, Steve leant towards Billy, towards the flame. He could smell Billy's cologne mixed with the rough smell of whiskey as he lit the end. He sucked on the filter, eyes locked on Billy whose expression he couldn't read before feeling the smoke rush down his throat and into his lungs. It felt horrible and sent him into a coughing fit, but the sounds of his coughs were drowned out by Billy's laughter, and soon Steve's too. He attempted to finish the cigarette, but he just couldn't stop coughing so soon enough he just called it quits. The two of them grabbed some more drinks from inside before heading down the back yard. They'd gotten about half way down when Billy stopped and flopped to the ground. They were far away enough from the party that they could hear each other talk and have space, but close enough that everyone could still see them. Steve laid on the ground next to Billy and stared up at the sky.

"You know I still haven't forgiven you right?" Steve muttered.

"For what?" Billy asked, voice husky from all the booze and smoke.

"For beating the shit out of me."

"Oh well, you deserved that one." Billy chuckled to himself. "You were being a dick."

"Explains why you're always bruised up then." Steve joked but Billy said nothing, eyes glued to the stars. They were both quiet for a moment, the older boy slightly scared to speak in case he set something off in Billy. Despite what a complete ass he knew the boy was, surprisingly he was having a good time with Billy. The younger opened his mouth to speak eventually.

"Harrington, does your-" The shrill voice of a girl calling out Steve's name interrupted him and the two sat up.

"Steve, there you are I've been looking- oh. You're with Billy." Nancy said, uncertainty clear in her voice.

"Yeah, I mean, we're just chilling out."

"Why does it matter to you princess?" Billy asked as he sipped out of his beer can, Steve sniggered.

"I was just wondering if Steve was okay, actually." She snapped, eyes like daggers.

"Well honey, fuck off back inside and leave us alone." He replied, eyes equally venomous.

"Wha- Excuse me? Steve, you're not gonna let him talk to me like this are you?" Nancy genuinely looked offended, eyes begging Steve to stand up for her. His sober self would've done so in a heartbeat but drunk him? He found it funny.

"Go ask Jonathan to stand up for you, you're not my girlfriend anymore." Barked Steve, causing Billy to let out a sinister laugh. Nancy had never looked so insulted in her life, sourness was etched in stone on her face, but Steve couldn't help but snigger as she stormed off. He looked back over at Billy who had the biggest grin on his face. He couldn't help but admit that talking to Nancy like that was beyond satisfying, ever since she broke it off with him he'd been nothing but kind and polite; his feelings still controlling his actions, but this helped him let off some steam. He was never one to hold leverage over another person, but she had no right to be mad at him for long, after all, she had said much worse last time she was drunk. He flopped back onto the grass, eyes glued to the stars that shone above.

"Is it weird that I like chilling with you?" Steve asked. He couldn't see but Billy raised a brow.

"Maybe just a bit." He replied, a slight trace of humour present in his voice.

"Well I don't care. I do, you're a pretty chill guy when you're not being an ass."

"I guess I could say the same to you." Steve sat up again at the words, surprisingly Billy with his very sudden movements and held out his hand.

"Friends?" Billy sat up also and shook Steve's hand, with the smallest smile present.

"Friends."

The weekend had been one continuously hideous hangover that Steve feared would never pass. But by Monday surely enough, the hangover had passed, and he felt just peachy. His morning went by just fine, the usual half listening in class and small talk with his class mates went by in a breeze. It wasn't until lunch that Nancy decided to bring unnecessary stress into his life. He was placing his books into his locker when she stomped over to him.

"What the hell was that the other night?" She demanded, arms crossed and a face full of fury.

"I was drunk Nancy." He stated, to be completely honest, he didn't remember their interaction much. All he remembered was being mean and laughing with Billy as she stomped off back to the house.

"That's hardly an excuse. You were sat with him and just being so horrid!" The hurt was apparent in her eyes which sent a horrible pang of guilt through him, making him want to beg on his knees for forgiveness but he refused to give in. He knew that if he was to get over Nancy anytime soon then he needed to stop letting her walk all over him.

"Look Nancy, we just broke up. I don't need you babying me all the time, just let me breathe okay?" She didn't say anything in reply. "You have no ground to talk anyway, last party I went to you got absolutely trashed and told me our whole relationship is bullshit. I think you need to realise that it's not all the things around you that are bullshit. You're the only bullshit in Hawkins." He might as well have killed her new kitten with the face she was pulling, tears brimming at her eyes. He had no idea where the outburst had come from, but to get it off his chest made him feel so good. She turned on her heels and practically ran down the hallway, probably off to find Jonathan. He ran his fingers through his hair and let out a stressed moan, annoyance filling his whole being. What gave her the right to tell him off for stuff? But on the other hand, what gave him the right to be a dick. He rolled his eyes at himself before storming off towards the canteen, hoping that some food might chill him out. After he grabbed some food his eyes scanned the tables, looking for a spot that wasn't next to someone who could irritate him beyond belief. It was a minute or so before he noted Billy sat alone digging into a sandwich. He took a breath and headed over to the table. The two hadn't interacted since the party, Steve couldn't even remember how they had parted ways, but he hoped the friendship agreement still stood. He forced a smile to his face as he approached the table, Billy staring up at him like he'd been interrupted.

"Is it chill if I sit with you? Everyone at this school is getting on my last nerve." Billy didn't say anything, merely making a gesture for Steve to sit down, so he did. He nibbled away at his food awkwardly, neither saying anything at all until Billy broke the silence.

"Did the princess give you grief?" he asked curiously.

"Wha- How'd you-? Yeah. It didn't end very well."

"You tell her to fuck off yet?"

"I mean, kinda." Steve rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. Billy only nodded in approval as a response and the two fell back into a silence. Sober Steve had no idea what to say to Billy, the fear of setting him off still present. When the two were done eating Billy pulled on his denim jacket and took out his pack of cigarettes, he slotted one behind his ear before offering the pack to Steve. He had half a mind to reject the offer, but he took one anyway. The offering of a cigarette seemed to be Billy's peace offering and Steve wanted them to be okay. The two headed outside and sat on a bench out looking onto the field. Steve coughed and choked on the smoke again just as he did the other night, once again causing Billy to laugh. Smiling really did suit the blonde boy. They spoke about basketball for a while, Billy offering genuine tips to the older boy. It turns out Billy was really into sport, working out every day, running every morning and he used to play for his school team back in California. They spent the entirety of lunch out there, just talking about absolutely nothing until the shrill ring of the bell interrupted them. They stood and began to head inside, just before they parted ways Steve turned to say.

"Uh, do you wanna help me babysit tonight?"