The Fortunate Son AU
Chapter 1: Pulled from Hell
Rest of the series here
**I do not own any characters or part of the franchise from stranger things**
Pairing: eventual Steve/Billy/Eddie
Genre: angst but a happy ending. I promise. Trust me.
Summary: Billy never expected to make it back. Thankfully he was unintentionally found by people more than willing to take him back.
Tw: cussing, mentions of death, Billy’s just a lil bit traumatized
The Upside Down is cold. That was the hardest adjustment he had to make. Billy had been in the Upside Down for god knows how long now. Days? Months? Years?
You didn’t have time to even try to keep track of how long it’s been when you were there.
He’d done everything. Every fucking thing possible to try and escape. But it wouldn’t let him.
He wouldn’t let him.
Billy doesn’t remember when he’d first seen Him. All he knows is that He was hideous. Hideous and terrifying.
Being stuck in the Upside Down sucked ass of course but it had given him time to think. Think about the Mind Flayer, his ‘sacrifice’, what’d he’d do when he got back.
The look on his little sister’s face when he died.
The mullet wearing teen had nearly lost all hope of ever getting back home at all.
Until he heard Him talk. He was talking to his little sister. To Max. He sprinted to the house the dammed house and by the time he got there he saw his little sister jumping out into Hawkins—regular Hawkins.
That had been what was keeping Billy going.
His little sister had escaped. He could too.
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Billy sighed as he began to shuffle out from under the bed. Well—the guest bed at the Wheeler’s house. The Wheeler’s house was the closest one he found (as well as the safest), and he slept under the bed to reduce being found or taken or anything else that was on the bottom of his to-do list.
‘Jesus Christ the hell am I doing?’
While this wasn’t the first time he thought this, it was certainly the first time it set so heavy on his chest.
‘What’s the point? What’s the damn point?’
His thoughts plagued his own mind.
‘No no no. Don’t think that. You will see Max again. She needs you.’
He began to continue pulling himself on the wooden floorboards until he heard loud noises downstairs.
“Shit.” He cussed quietly to himself.
Billy grabbed his rusty trusty old crowbar that would give any damn thing tetanus if it came into a 10 foot radius of it.
He scrambled out from under the bed. He learned the hard way that it was better to be ready to fight instead of them finding you. They’ll always find you.
You learn things like that when you’re here. Things like walking from toe to heel. Things like barricading yourself when you sleep to give you time if they find you. When they find you.
He opened the door quietly; he heard voices. Billy felt like crying right there. People actual people! The paranoid part of his brain kicked in then.
‘If it’s too good to be true it probably is.’
That’s when he heard a voice he never thought he’d hear again. Steve Harrington. Steve fucking Harrington.
He was shouting to one of his freshman kids.
“Dustin! Dustin! Can you hear me Dustin? Dustin!” The brunette was shouting.
Billy carefully rounded the stair railing, his crowbar ready to swing. He approached silently.
Four people: two he didn’t recognize, Nancy Wheeler, and Steve Harrington. He nearly dropped his crowbar. They were there. And there was hope.
His hopefulness was brought down by the guy he didn’t recognize spotting him and screaming.
The four of them immediately clumped together. Harrington was in front, protecting the others like a goose protects her goslings. He needed to act fast.
“Stay away! Stay back or I’ll hit you all the way back to that damn portal!” Steve yelled.
Billy lowered his crowbar and cleared his throat; it had been so long since he talked.
“Well well well Harrington a little late to the party wouldn’t ya say?” Billy croaked.
Steve didn’t try to hide his surprise.
“Billy…?” He asked.
Billy slowly stepped into the light; Steve’s posse huddled back in response.
“In the damn flesh.” He chuckled bitterly.
Nancy began stepping towards him only to be pushed back by Steve.
“Tell me something only the real Billy would know.” Steve demanded.
Billy sighed. Harrington was always the skeptic wasn’t he? He fumbled the beginning of his sentence.
“…once I caught you in the gym shower signing along to Madonna’s ‘Material Girl’—“ He started.
“Ok that’s proof enough!” Harrington yelped.
Nancy began coming closer.
“How are you alive?” She whispered.
“Beats me, doll.” Billy responded.
“Holy shit. You’re Billy Hargrove! The notorious high school bully!” The other one he didn’t recognize pointed out.
He had long wavy brown hair and the biggest brown eyes he’d ever seen before. He was also wearing a shirt for that weirdo DnD club he’d seen before he—died—before he went missing.
“Yeah and you’re that fucking weirdo who plays pretend with figurines.” Billy retorted.
“The name’s Eddie Munson. Asshole.” Eddie mumbled the last part.
Billy rolled his eyes until they caught on the fourth member. He squinted at the other girl. Her blonde hair and freckles looked familiar.
“Are you Rose…?”
“Robin Buckley.” She spoke in a clipped tone.
Understandable, he was assumed dead for however long it’s been, he also tried to run her over with his car.
“Ok enough chit chat! We need to communicate with Dustin!” Harrington said.
“Guys wait. When Will was in the Upside Down he used the lights to communicate.” Nancy pointed out.
They all turned and looked at the kitchen light fixture.
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Nancy’s high IQ led them to Munson’s trailer.
“So how the hell are we supposed to get there?” Billy asked.
“Wait there’s something there.” Eddie pointed out.
That’s when a wooden handle of some sort broke through the portal. The five of them hesitantly moved forward to see Harrington’s kids staring back on top of a questionably stained mattress. Both groups waved to each other.
Dustin took a rope made out of what appeared to be pillowcases and sheets and threw it up into the portal. It dropped down on their side.
“And if my calculations are correct…” Dustin said as he let go and the make shift rope stayed in place.
The group of freshman walked off of the old mattress.
“The stains are…I don’t know what the stains are from.” Eddie admitted awkwardly.
Everyone stepped back for Eddie to go first. They watched as he shimmied up and then fell when the gravity from Hawkins kicked in.
Robin was next, then Nancy. He looked at Steve. Billy signaled him to go first.
“Oh hey woah woah woah you’ve been stuck here long enough, you should go first.” Harrington explained.
“Quit being a pussy and just go, Harrington.” Billy sighed.
Steve stared at him for a long moment before deciding against arguing and he climbed up.
This was it. After so long, he was coming back. So many thoughts swirled through the blond’s head. As he pulled himself up
“Wait wait wait we’ve got someone else coming in.” He heard Steve’s voice.
“What? Only four of you went in.” Lucas questioned.
Gravity yanked Billy down onto the mattress he let out a grunt. He squinted, adjusting to the rediscovered brightness of the world. He tried sitting up but was immediately pushed back down by a heavy force.
“Billy!” Max practically screamed as she through her arms around him.
Billy gripped her back without hesitation. Tears weld in his eyes, but he’d never admit it. Max was crying. Billy buried his dirty face into her red hair.
The room was silent.
“Hey I don’t wanna ruin the moment but we should get the hell outta here before hell’s creations crawl out of the portal we just opened.” Robin spoke up.
Billy sat up, still holding Max with one arm. He gulped before speaking.
“Yeah I second that.”
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