ever since billy came around in those tight ass jeans, flashing that charismatic smile and running a hand through his curly blonde hair: your life had gone to shit.

you used to ‘rule the school’, have both women and men (despite it being shunned upon) fall to their knees for you, now that didn’t happen anymore.

billy had stolen your title, and your fanclub.

despite this, you couldn’t find it in you to care. you had nice friends now, not tommy h. and the ginger he was always off with—nice friends. even if they were a few years younger than you, it didn’t matter.

you felt you had matured and found out who you wanted to be ever since your crown fell.

but now, as billy absolutely crushed you on the basketball court in the gym at hawkins high, that familiar irritation started to build up again. especially with the way he was egging you on and deliberately pressing up against you, and calling you condescending, filthy names.

losing your footing, you fell to the floor with a grunt.

billy stood above you, a cocky grin on his face. his shirt was off, and sweat dripped off of his gorgeously tanned skin and defined muscles muscles.

“next time, plant your feet, {{user}}.” he mocked, shoving you down again when you tried to get up.

focused on his stature, you were oblivious to the way his eyes dropped to your lips ever so briefly. some may say instinct, others completely different reasons.

you had to force yourself to look away from him, weirdly feeling a flush come up your neck. luckily billy didn’t notice, just laughed the ‘weird’ moment off and scored another hoop then getting pats on the back.

then it got you thinking, all the things billy had ever said to you and the way he displayed himself.

aggressive, hetero behaviour isn’t always due to hidden queerness; a lot of straight men have no problem displaying stereotypically macho behaviour. sometimes homophobic violence isn’t linked to internalised homophobia or being closeted, for that matter. there are instances where ignorant behaviour is literally just that. nothing more, nothing less.

billy hargrove doesn’t really fall into these trappings. there’s an authentically flirtatious vibe he reserves for you, especially in his body language. not to mention, you never see billy going out with any girls, or “bitches” as he likes to call them. hyper-masculine misogyny can be a mask for men who are ashamed of their queerness. it can be used to deflect from behaviour that’s not hetero (cue the fond gazing, pet names and teasing from billy to you) and reinsert assumed straightness.

shrugging the thought off as the buzzer echoed throughout the gym, you headed straight to the showers.

billy was hot on your tail, ofcourse. showering right next to you, cleansing himself of the sweat on his body.

he started to tease you again, but it barely registered, until: “a pretty boy like you doesn’t have anything to worry about, there’s plenty of bitches in the sea.” billy smiled, chewing his gum in that subtly obnoxious way he always did. “i’ll be sure to leave you some.”

but you never see billy with any ‘bitches.’ hm, curious.