Chapter Text
The pool party had been Chrissy’s idea. Well. That was overstating it a bit. More like, one day while Billy and Chrissy were smoking in Billy’s room, summer heat making it too hot to go outside and do anything, Chrissy said something like ‘wouldn’t it be fun if we had some people at the pool before you had to turn in your key?’
And the rest kind of just happened. Billy didn’t really care who came, hadn’t really spent much time with people after the summer of ‘85, but he adored Chrissy and knew she wouldn’t do anything too crazy. He told Max about it, said she could invite her nerd friends, and that’s how he ended up here.
A few people ended up being quite a lot, if only because Max had more friends than Billy gave her credit for. And with her friends came Steve Harrington, who brought along his best friend Robin Buckley. Chrissy made sure her hair looked extra cute, applying her blue eyeshadow and lip gloss despite Billy pointing out that it would just melt in the summer heat. He also knew that Robin wouldn’t care if Chrissy was wearing a paper bag over her head, but hell. Who was he to judge them for their stupid behavior?
And out of nowhere comes a van blasting Iron Maiden, and that’s how BIlly found out that Chrissy also invited the hellfire club, and therefore, Eddie Munson.
Now Billy understood what this whole thing was. It was a trap.
Which is how Billy ended up here, Chrissy sitting beside him talking to Robin while Steve and Eddie threw Dustin into the pool. He glowered at them, at all of it, angry that he had let himself be tricked.
“I can’t believe you did this to me.” Billy said out loud, and Chrissy looked over, rolling her eyes.
“Oh come on Billy, every time you get high all you can talk about is how cool he is, how pretty his eyes are, that you think he’s so brave for being who he wants to be despite the fact that you literally bullied him last year.”
“I’ve changed. And I barely bullied him.”
Robin snorted into her rum and coke, and Chrissy giggled, a hand on her knee. BIlly smirked at just how red Robins face got at the contact.
“Looks like I'm not the only person you were trying to set up.” Billy commented, and Chrissy snatched her hand away.
“No, no. You lovebirds carry on. I’ll find something else to occupy myself with.” Billy said as he stood up, looking for something else to do.
~
He wandered around for a few minutes, looking for some of the other guys. Steve and Tommy sat nearby, which felt weird, because Billy had felt sure that Steve and Tommy didn’t speak anymore. But there was some other guy, Billy thinks his name is Gareth? Him and Tommy were leaning on each other, laughing and sharing a beer between them. Billy had to smile, because it was nice that they all felt comfortable here. Billy hadn’t thought he would get to be in a place where he could say that, but then he met Chrissy and got closer to Max and farther away from Neil. Now he could breathe without the crush of it all. He didn’t even shove Lucas and Max, who were kissing near the edge of the pool, into the water.
It was a great day. But there was something missing. Some voice in the clamor that was absent, a hole where it would usually be.
Eddie. Billy looked around, because he had hoped the two of them could talk? Had hoped that maybe Eddie had brought some weed and they could get high together like they did every now and again. He found Dustin splashing in the pool with some of the other kids. He recognized El, and kneeled down to talk to them. El smiled at him, a small private thing, and he reached out and ruffled her hair gently. Mike glared at him and Billy made sure not to laugh. Another kid, Will, Billy thinks his name is, isn’t so kind, snorting under his breath. Mike turned to him and then they went tumbling under the water. If Billy was on duty, he would have shouted at them for horseplay. As it was, Billy was off for the season.
“Have you seen Eddie?”
Dustin squinted up at him, but El just shrugged and pointed away from the pool.
“He went that way. Said he wasn’t feeling great.”
When he followed the direction she was pointing it led straight to the locker room. Billy frowned at the part about him not feeling good, but stood up with a groan and nodded.
“Thanks El.” He said earnestly as he walked away.
Billy walked into the locker room and found Eddie laying on the bench with his arm slung over his eyes. His shirt had ridden up, a sliver of pale skin marked with what looked to be the start of a spider web tattoo peeking out from the side of his hip. Billy wondered briefly how far up the tattoo went. If it spanned his entire back, if there was a spider in it, if there was a bug caught in the web. Would it be weird, too revealing, to ask to see the whole thing? Would it give him up, to ask Eddie to take off his shirt so that Billy could see the whole design? Would Billy care, at this point, if it did?
It took a minute for Billy’s eyes to fully adjust. The only light was coming in through the frosted windows high up in the room, dim at best. Eddie had sat up, still clutching his head, and looked at Billy with wide eyes.
“What the fuck?” He said, groaning at the sound of his own voice. Billy slowly approached him, sitting on the bench next to him.
“Are you okay man?” Billy asked, careful to keep his voice soft. Eddie still flinched. Billy reached up and felt the other guy's forehead. He was warm and a little clammy. Paired with his reaction to just the softest sounds, Billy wagered he was overheating, and no wonder, with the other boy wearing long dark jeans and his vest over a long sleeved shirt.
“Eddie, you need to cool off, you’re overheating.”
“I’m fine.”
“Eddie, man, look. Just, cool off. Have a shower, it’ll help. I’ll be right here.”
“Undress in front of you? Absolutely fucking not. Do I look stupid? Why do you think I avoided gym class?”
That one stung, because what did Eddie think Billy was going to do? What would Billy do that was so bad that Eddie would rather keep being in pain than take off his clothes. He thought they were friends. He thought maybe they could be something more, if he could stop hiding how he felt.
“You need to cool off.”
“I’ll be fine. Why do you even care? I’m only here because of the kids, you didn’t even invite me.”
Billy huffed, not in the mood to deal with Eddie being this dramatic when he was halfway to heat stroke.
“Eddie, get up. I didn’t invite anyone, Chrissy set this thing up. You need to cool down.”
Billy didn’t wait for Eddie to reply. The other boy was sweating now, but he was also shivering, and gave almost no resistance when Billy pulled off his vest and laid it on the bench with care. The rest of his clothes he pulled off with far less attention, pulling Eddie towards the showers and turning the water on so that it was just warm enough to not sting.
He got to see the spider tattoo. It spanned much of the bottom half of Eddie’s back. Eddie curled in on himself and faced away from Billy.
“Please just leave me here.”
“I can’t let you pass out.”
“I’m fine. This happens all the time.”
That didn’t make Billy feel any better. “Are you sick, maybe you’re sick or something?”
“Christ Billy.” Eddie turned around and faced him, his hair wet and sticking to his face. “I don’t know what the fuck is wrong and I can’t afford to go to the doctor. So, unless I end up in the hospital, I’ll be fine.”
Billy swallowed. Eddie was skinny, his ribs exposed just a little, shadows on his torso. He had a little muscle, in a wiry way, but there was probably little fat on his bones. His hip bones were prominent, and his collarbones a sharp point on his chest.
“Stop fucking staring at me. I know how I look.”
“What?”
“I’m too fucking skinny, it’s gross, I know. Leave me alone.”
Billy hadn’t been thinking that at all. He had thinking that Eddie looked sharp, like a blade that Billy would cut himself on. That Eddie was all edge on the outside, and it was how Billy felt inside. All sharp and hard, not a soft place to be found. Maybe Eddie was his opposite. Maybe beneath the exterior he would be soft and comfortable where Billy had hard edges.
“You aren’t gross.” Billy said quietly, but wasn’t sure if Eddie heard it over the rush of water around him. He had turned back around, placing his head against the tile wall. Billy had the almost uncontrollable desire to place his hand on the space between his shoulder blades, the blades themselves looking like they could sprout wings.
“Can you get my clothes?” Eddie said, just loud enough to be heard.
“Are you going to be okay?” Billy asked, tentatively placing a hand on Eddie’s shoulder. Eddie shrugged and nodded, and Billy awkwardly patted his shoulder once and walked back into the main locker room where they had been.
Eddie’s clothes were gone. The entire pile was missing. For a moment he thought maybe he was just looking in the wrong place, but after looking around, and even rummaging in a few lockers, he realized that they were just genuinely missing. Billy rubbed his hands on his face roughly and got some of his extra clothing from his locker, taking them back to Eddie.
Eddie was standing in the middle of the shower, water off with a towel wrapped around him. BIlly handed him the pile of clothes sheepishly.
“One of the dudes must have taken your clothes. I’m sorry.”
Eddie looked up slowly, his expression some mix of hurt and anger.
“One of the dudes huh? Not you, being a dick? Not you, trying to mock me by giving me clothes you know damn well wont fit?”
“It has a drawstring…” Billy said, but he realized that it looked bad. He held the pile up a little higher and Eddie snatched them from his hand, letting the towel drop and quickly dressing. Billy pointedly looked at the wall behind him. Eddie turned as if he wanted to say something to Billy, but then he just closed his mouth and shook his head, walking away from him. The door to the locker room opened and slammed closed, leaving Billy standing in the dark wondering what the hell had just happened.
~
He only stood there for a few minutes before he too burst out of the locker room, going straight for the party. Some of the younger teens had gone home, to do chores or whatever else, but at least half of the people were still there. Steve was missing, but Max and El were still playing in the pool. Robin was laying on a beach towel with Chrissy’s little beach hat laying over her face. Gareth and Tommy sat near the deep end, feet in the water, laughing to each other.
bingo
Billy marched over to Tommy and Gareth and quickly shoved them both in the water, not giving them the chance to so much as take a breath. He was a lifeguard. He could keep them from drowning if he needed to.
When they finally surfaced, Gareth spitting like an angry cat and Tommy laughing a bit, his usually spiky hair a little deflated, Billy crossed his arms and looked down at them.
“Which one of you fucks took Eddie’s clothes?” He asked, and they looked at each other.
“Did it not go well for you?” Gareth asked. Just as Tommy said, “Did he turn you down or something? That can’t be it.”
Billy groaned, “Where are they?”
“Under my towel. Shit, is he pissed off?” Gareth asked, paddling over to the ladder and climbing out.
“He was sick and you stole his clothes, you asshole.” Billy replied as he walked over and snatched the towel off of the pile, tossing it into the water. Gareth shouted, but Billy just looked back at him, and whatever look was on his face, it shut him up.
“Is he okay?” Tommy asked, pulling himself out of the pool.
“I don’t fucking know Tommy. He left because he thought I was in on you stupid little prank.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Oh. Idiot.”
Billy looked around, but didn’t see Eddie, and he still didn’t see Chrissy. He sighed and walked back into the locker room to get one of the spare bags, so that he could maybe take Eddie’s clothes back to him. But when he got in there all he could think about was how hurt Eddie had looked when he thought that Billy had done it on purpose, and he sat down on the bench, folding up Eddie’s clothes neatly and sitting beside them. After a while he picked up Eddie’s vest, smoothing his fingers over the rough stitching on the back patch. His necklace and rings were in a pocket on the inside, sharp and a little heavy in Billy’s hands.
He should go after him, maybe. Should try to explain that it was just a dumb joke, a ploy to get them alone. Tommy Hagans dumb ass version of 7 minutes in heaven. He sat there for a long time, even when he heard Robin knocking on the door asking him where Chrissy went, even when Steve swung by and asked him if he was alright. He was fine, he told them, and fuck off for good measure. He had almost convinced himself to go to Eddie’s house, to apologize and at least give him his things back, when the door burst open.
Eddie walked over and sat beside him, close enough that their legs touched, close enough that Billy could smell the deodorant he must have just put on. His face still looked a little pinched, but he wasn’t pale or shaking anymore.
“Are you okay?” Billy asked, looking at him. Eddie shrugged.
“I still have the edge of a migraine. It’ll hit later. Wanted to talk to you before I left.”
“Yeah?”
“Well. Chrissy stopped me from leaving. And told me that no one hurts her best friend, and how dare I think that you would be nice to me as a joke.”
Billy chuckled at Eddie’s fairly spot-on impression of Chrissy. He could see her, all puffed up and angry like a kitten that had gotten wet.
“So. What about it?”
“Hargrove. Do you like me?”
“Yeah. We’re friends.” Billy replied, looking at the floor, at his hands, at anything but Eddie sitting beside him. But Eddie nudged him with his leg and leaned a little closer.
“You know that’s not what I mean.”
“Eddie…”
“Billy.”
“Don’t make me say it you fuck.”
“But I want to hear you say it.”
“Yes, I like you. Alright? I have for a while I just didn’t know what the fuck to do about it.”
Eddie didn’t say anything, and Billy was terrified to look up and see his expression. But eventually the silence got to be too much and he did look up at Eddie.
“There you are.” Eddie whispered, and then he pressed his forehead to Billy’s, hair damp on his skin. “I didn’t think I was right. I thought it was wishful thinking, or me imagining shit when I was high.”
Billy shook his head no and Eddie laughed softly, pushing his fingers into the hair on the nape of Billy’s neck. His hands were freezing despite the summer heat. It felt good on Billy’s skin.
“What now?” Billy whispered.
Eddie pulled his head away from Billy’s. Billy kept his eyes closed, still afraid to face a world that knew he was into guys more than he was into girls.
Eddie started with his forehead, pressing a soft kiss to the crease of Billy’s brow. Next was Billy’s eyelids, then each of his cheek bones. His jaw, the tip of his nose, until Billy was laughing softly. When Eddie finally kissed Billy for real, their lips pressed together, closed mouthed and sweet, Billy let out a breath and leaned into it. Eddie pulled away quickly, covering his grinning mouth with his hair.
“Now we get to be as disgusting as Tommy and Gareth out there.”
Billy couldn’t stop his laugh from bubbling up out of him. “They are pretty gross.”
“I don’t get it.”
“Yeah well…”
Eddie and Billy looked at each other and laughed again.
Outside, Tommy and Gareth nodded to each other and then bumped fists before sharing a kiss.