Okay, so Mom Steve is definitely a thing - but like, can we consider Billy for a min? Specifically: Dad (or Uncle) Billy and his girl gang? (language ahead, sry)
After graduation, Billy did a stint in California, but came back after Neil died of a heart attack because Max and Susan were family, damnit. Max and Lucas are closer than ever, and with that comes the Queen of Hawkins herself, Erica Sinclair.
Erica was very skeptical of the “shithead” her brother and his loser friends always talked about - but she grows oddly fond of Billy Hargrove after he is stuck babysitting her one night when the Sinclair’s are out and Lucas brings her over while he visits Max. She gives him shit about his hair, “Why is it so fluffy? You look like a girl.” And somehow this tiny little girl with sass and attitude becomes his new favorite person in Hawkins. He doesn’t mind it so much when she gets drug along. They form a little chaperone squad for their siblings.
Max sees how Billy is with Erica, and she wants that with him too. Billy and Max start slowly, but soon car rides are filled with a mixture of Metallica and whatever Max is into that week. It’s shitty music, he knows - but it makes Max smile - and he’s trying.
Max and Jane grow closer, and suddenly - Billy finds himself spending lots of his free time with 3 of the most badass little girls in Indiana. He teaches them how to do eyeliner, “it’s rock n’ roll” - educates them in hair care, “volume and curls” - and maybe sees a few of his smaller band t-shirts start to disappear, which is fine - he outgrew them anyways. After a few visits, Jane had allowed Billy to put eyeliner on her like Kali did, and as she looked back at Billy after regarding his work in the mirror, she simply said, “Bitchin’.” To which he replied, “Yeah kid. Bitchin’.”
That’s how Billy Hargrove finds himself feeling like fucking Steve Harrington with his stupid little gaggle of ducklings. The only consolation he has is that his ducklings have enough sass and fire to burn up a town, or at least, burn the egos of the middle school boy population of Hawkins. Especially the boys in Harrington’s little gaggle. That, and he still thinks his ass is better than Harrington’s. Not that he had been looking…
We have a lot of rules in our party, but the most important is, “Friends don’t lie.” Never ever. No matter what.
Steve’s insta feed is just a bunch of random videos of him doing stupid shit. Yelling things like “hardcore parkour!” before he falls off the sidewalk and his phone goes flying. There are pictures of Jonathan and Nancy, mostly just looking shocked or blushing when Steve gets FAR TOO CLOSE with his phone on portrait mode. But the pictures are stunning. They always are, even when Jonathan has a mouthful of pizza and Will is giving him bunny ears. Dustin occasionally steals his phone and posts ridiculous selfies while Steve is in the background laughing hysterically.
Billy posts A LOT of pictures of himself in the mirror. Gym selfies, in the mirror. Post basketball game victory selfies. Pre-party mirror selfies. He looks good all the time, even when he’s sweaty and flushed from a hard game. There’s an occasional picture of a beer, with a caption that usually means nothing profound except he doesn’t care if he gets caught drinking underage. Then one day, he takes a picture in the gym and Steve photobombs hard. He’s making a dumb face and it’s thoroughly unattractive, but Billy posts it anyway. Slowly, these pictures become more and more frequent. Billy looking perfect with Steve being an idiot in the distance. On occasion, Billy will even be smiling at the stupidity he’s witnessing on the camera.
Billy’s feed slowly changes. Max shows up in the background now and again, crossing her eyes or sticking a finger up her nose. Billy even takes a picture of just Max, when he catches her with a particularly girly hairdo after Susan saw some youtube tutorial. Max is scowling and flipping him the bird, but there’s a smile in her eyes. Billy’s profile picture changes about a year after El closed the gate. Instead of a pouty, pretty picture of his perfectly posed muscles and hard jaw, Billy posts a picture of him and Steve in the front seat of the Camaro. Billy’s tongue is out, long and goofy from a toothy smile. Steve is tucking his head back into his neck, giving himself at least forty chins. And Max is in the backseat between them, her thumb on her nose as she pulls it up in a truly terrible pig face.
It gets more likes than any of his other pictures. In a single night.
My persuasion can build a nation
Endless power
With our love we can devour
— Beyoncé Giselle Knowles
the surprise on max’s face when billy grabs her wrist vs. the lack of surprise on billy’s face when his dad throws him against the wall.
Please welcome all the way from sunny California. The latest passenger to join us on our curiosity voyage, Maxine.