#benny x darlene

[basilone]

Things you said... 'when we woke' for Benny? Juno xx

Juno, Juno, Juno, you know there's only one way this is gonna go. And I know you won't mind that at all. 😏 Rating this E to be on the very safe side, though we're not going too deeply into the smut. Also adding a warning to people who are not here for references to a throuple situation or for references to an established f/f relationship. If you've been following me a long time, you'll recognize Darlene. I've had a bit of a thing on my hands lately as I came to realize that Benny would not only fit with her, but would likely be a much better match for her than her previous pairing. Consider this me taking that idea for a spin!

Things you said... when we woke

She is used to waking up alone. To stretching out amid pillows and rumpled sheets and finding the spot beside her already void of warmth. Lottie rarely lingers in the morning – rolls out of bed and gets ready faster than any girl – and leaves it up to her to start the day on her own.

Darlene knows something is different when she wakes to a hand in her hair. Wakes to the lingering scent of smoke and an exhale that is too deep-voiced to be Lottie’s. Wakes to warmth beside her, early morning sunlight coating bare skin in soft gold, and to someone who’s succeeding at detangling even her most stubborn curls.

“Hey there.”

“Hey yourself,” she grins, stretching out beside Benny DeMarco and kicking the last of the sheets down to her feet. “Mornin’ smoke?”

He exhales. “Passes the time.” His smile comes easy. Soft. “Can’t complain about the view, either.”

Darlene shakes her head as heat slowly suffuses her body. “Stop sayin’ things like that, Ben,” she complains, wrinkling her nose and pushing herself upright. “You’re gonna make me blush again.” She’d blushed something fierce last night, especially when Lottie had added her own praise to his words. “But”– she says now, drinking the sight of him in fully –“you’re damn right about the view being nothin’ to sneeze at.”

That, at least, earns her a laugh and a shake of his head as well. He doesn’t blush – not even after Lottie had tried her best to make him – but does avert his gaze as he moves to put his cigarette out. Darlene rakes a hand through her hair as she watches him, all broad shoulders and thighs that should simply…

“Hey now,” he chuckles as she moves to straddle him, “good morning to you too.”

“Do ya mind?”

He grins up at her. “Do I look like I do?”

“I dunno,” she shrugs, biting her lip a little at the heat that flares to life in his gaze. “Don’t wanna assume… I mean,” she says, gesturing at the rest of the room, “with Lot already out the door an’ all…”

“Surprised me with that,” he grunts, squeezing her thigh. “Ace rushed off like all the devils from hell were chasing her this morning. Tiptoed a little not to wake you, but…”

She tries not to let it sting. “She does that.” Usually not when there’s a fella in our bed, though. “I’m a lil slower in the mornin’. Lot’s always first to leave. Ya get used to it.” She half-shrugs at that. “If you… If you wanna leave, too, that’s all right?”

“You’re gonna have to kick me out of this bed if you want me to go.”

“Oh do I?”

“Yeah, sweetheart,” he laughs, “I’m not even sure I can walk in a straight line right now.” His eyes are bright with mirth as his hand comes to rest on her lower back. “Not sure I want to, either. Goddamn, you two damn near killed me.”

“Ya kept pace with us,” she retorts archly, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. “Ain’t another fella out there who can say that. You’re good people, Benny DeMarco. Even if ya got that mouth on ya”– she grins before kissing him on it, all closed lip and heat –“and absolutely no shame at all, sittin’ up in a bed that ain’t yours like this,” she teases, letting her fingertips skim across his belly, “naked as anythin’, all fucked out”– except he’s not, if his sharp intake of breath is anything to go by, and that just makes her smile –“or… wantin’ more?”

“You’re one to talk,” he says, shamelessly eyeing her, “climbing on top of me like that”– and his hands are roaming, wandering, pulling her closer –“Jesus, look at you,” he sighs, voice going softer than she good and well thinks she deserves to hear, “I’m never gonna want to resist this.”

“Ben–”

His kiss is languid. Gentle, even, with him brushing stray curls out of her face before his hand comes to skim the underside of her breast. “More of this,” he affirms, “if you want…”

She nods, wordless, as he kisses her again. Wraps her arms around his neck, just like she’d dared last night when they’d been out for drinks and he’d been flirting back a little too pointedly to ignore. And it’d been a little hassle then, getting him to realize that Lottie was in on this – had been smirking at them half the evening, knowing how the night gonna go – but he’d not missed a single beat since. She smiles at the memory. Presses closer to him still, kissing his cheek and jaw and neck and–

“Darlene,” he murmurs, voice almost cracking, “stay fucking still, you’re…”

“Feeling very wanted right now,” she grins, feeling his full-body response to her pressing against him like that. Heat pools between her own legs at the realization, answered by a sudden flash of warmth in her lower belly. “God, Ben, just one more time, you an’ me, all right?”

He smiles up at her. “Like I’d say no?”

“I dunno…”

“Never. Never ever gonna say no to you.”

He makes it sound like prayer. Like some sort of talisman he keeps, with her arms around his neck acting like its chain. Her belly swoops as though she’s airborne – and maybe that’s how he feels, flying that bomber, like that giddy feeling that’s taking root inside of her now. There’s a vow in it she doesn’t want to listen to for too long. If heard like that, she might believe more than she should.

She nuzzles his cheek. Kisses him again, long and slow and wanting. “Want me to stay like this?” she checks, to his insistent nods that make her laugh out loud. “Can ya reach the draw–”

“I’m just here to grab my”– interrupts another voice to her right, so suddenly that Darlene almost squeaks out offense –“well, fuck me.”

Benny is the first to recover, and does so rather admirably. “Grab what?” he asks, peering at the doorway. “Didn’t think you were coming back this morning.”

“Yeah,” says Lottie, judgment coloring every inch of her now that Darlene looks at her, “that much is clear.” Her girlfriend, blonde hair raked back into a haphazard ponytail, leans against the doorframe. Eyes them almost the same way she did last night, though right now her face is marred by a slight frown that deepens the longer she stands there. “Jesus,” she whistles sharply, in a way that makes Benny lean against the headboard and close his eyes a moment, “you’re still going at it?”

Darlene frowns back. “Just enjoying my mornin’,” she retorts archly, making sure her tone stings. You could’ve enjoyed the same if you really wanted to. God knows you do it all the time when I’m gone. “Did ya leave somethin’ here?”

“Yeah.” Lottie’s voice is sharp in turn. Her words almost a snap as she reaches out to grab her flight jacket off the chair by the door. She doesn’t linger. “Looks like I left my senses.”

The door slams shut behind her. Too loud. Too quick.

“Hey,” murmurs Benny, fingers brushing her cheek now that Darlene’s gone and flinched at the sound, “everything all right?”

It’s hard to look at him. Hard to see the concern in his eyes – really, are you okay? – that now translates into how gentle he makes his touch. Darlene bites her lip. Takes a breath that’s a little too noisy as she feels her eyes begin to sting. Good going, Lot, you’re fucking me up here.

“She’s just spittin’ mad,” she breathes as she wraps her own fingers around that stubborn curly strand of hair on his forehead, “that I didn’t kick ya out yet.” She braves a smile. Meets his eyes. “Ain’t your problem, all right? Between me and her.”

It’s hard not to like him even better than she already does when he gives her a tiny nod. “All right.” Just like that. No pushing. No getting involved. Just his acceptance, and the only question she’d expect him to ask. “Do you want me to go, now?”

Darlene raises an eyebrow. “Do ya think you’re in a position to leave, Ben?” She laughs as he actually glances down at his lap, then back up at her. Catches how his eyes darken with the motion. How his arm tightens around her waist. “That’s what I thought.” She can’t help but sound a little bit smug at that. “Weren’t we in the middle of somethin’ here?”

“You were starting something,” he corrects idly, pulling her even closer. His own laugh is almost breathless. “Again.”

“Oh was I? What was I star– ohhhh.” She sighs as his free hand moves down between her legs and his fingers find that sweet, sweet spot that almost makes her eyes roll back in pleasure. “I remember now,” she breathes, shifting in his lap a moment until he’s hard and wanting beneath her in a way that’s got him muffling a curse against her skin, “I was starting somethin’ that ends with you inside of me, wasn’t I?”

“Oh were you,” he smiles back, eyes warm and bright as his fingers already slip inside her and leave her gasping. “Like this? Or…”

“Goddamnit, Benny,” she admonishes, to his answering chuckles, “you know I want your cock.” She’s brazen about that the way she’s been with him since last night – he ain’t a shy fella, after all – and he’s smiling up at her about it all the same. Smiling up at her with an almost impish delight as his fingers curve up inside her like they did when his mouth was on her. “Come on,” she almost wheedles, unable to keep a slight whine out of her voice, “lemme take it nice and slow, Ben…”

“Nice and slow for the morning, huh?”

Darlene nods, smiling, as his next exhale ghosts over her lips before he kisses her. Nice and slow, so I can remember being with someone who wanted me first.

She doesn’t say that part out loud.

#masters of the air #bernard demarco #oc: darlene #oc: lottie #benny x darlene #lottie x darlene x benny #mota oc #basilonefic

[samtrapani]

1, 3, 9, 11, 13, 15 + Valerie and for Benny too!!!

OTP Ask Game

valerie & rusty

1.  What was their first impression of each other?

valerie thought rusty was an idiot (but charming-- something in that smile lmao) & rusty thought her tongue was so sharp it could’ve stabbed him right through the gut and he wouldn’t have minded for a minute

3.  Describe their relationship dynamic.

it’s difficult to put into words. like. they love each other but their personalities are both so volatile on different levels. rusty’s the cynical bastard who makes off-color jokes and ruins everything he touches. valerie’s the hot-headed menace who speaks her mind when and where she likes, everyone else be damned. when they have good times, they’re really really good and when they have bad times, it’s just horrible. they still act like they’re married though, which throws everyone else for a loop, but tbh i think they’re both codependent on each other in a way, so they can’t let go. they’re working on it though. 

9.  What made them realize they were in love?

mmm when rusty made one of his signature off-color jokes & valerie laughed so hard she thought she would cry. and rusty watching her and realizing that he’d probably loved her from the first moment he saw her, disgustingly cliche as that is

11. Do they get married? Who proposes and how?

they did get married! valerie brought it up & was quite um. simple about it. literally told rusty third time’s the charm, right? and he figured it could work, so he said yes. that + also there was the little. accident. that was their charming little girl, darlene :3 

13.  Who dies first? How does the other one react?

rusty. i mean, look at the man’s lifestyle habits. there’s no way he’s reaching past 60, even though i’m a nice person and my city now. valerie’s pretty cut up about it. i mean like, rusty wasn’t exactly a great husband but he was her best friend and well. you spend that long & have such a complicated relationship w someone, it hurts when they’re gone. she gets a bit quieter for a while after his death-- processing grief and all that. i like to think she keeps a bottle of his favorite somewhere in the house. for special occasions and especially when she misses him, which is. more than she’d like to admit

15.  Describe your favorite moment of that ship!

that absolute game of cat-and-mouse they play where rusty’s partner drops him off at valerie’s house instead of his apartment and she lets him try and find where she’s hidden the keys out front this time :3 they always end up sleeping tgt like a pair of clowns but honestly neither of them mind fdhsjkfadsk it’s all just. weird weird foreplay to them

benny & sam

1 + 15 answered here!

3.  Describe their relationship dynamic.

benny is a Menace who gets v v protective of sam around salieri + older members of the gang but absolutely loves to try and drag sam into as much shenanigans as possible while sam just. is v v tired of benny’s shit but he loves him too much to say so fhdsjakfdsfdsk 

9.  What made them realize they were in love?

it was kind of always there honestly... but they probably realize it in little pieces when they’re adults :) the back-of-hand touches and fleeting kisses in cars and bars and hotel rooms :) all that jazz :)

11.  Do they get married? Who proposes and how?

they don’t get married, surprisingly! but it’s just a matter of profession + choice. they know they love each other more than marriage can attest to. 

13.   Who dies first? How does the other one react?

in the au we pretend is canon? benny, surprisingly! in golden canon? benny, natural causes. or probably all that goddamn smoking x i’m not gonna elaborate more bc i love them too much to think of either of them well... yknow. not in golden canon :) but in the au canon? benny has to die bc ennio wants the morellos obliterated. sam probably does his best to let benny slip loose, but benny would stand and fight anyways. he loves sam but no one fucks with his family. and that’s what sends him to his death--- probably at tommy or ace’s hand

#thank you for sending this uwu #ace belongs to @/tommyangelos #hghghgh the lore the lore #queennymeria #answered #valerie x rusty #benny x sam

[joaquinwhorres]

Good Friends (Steve Harrington x Reader)

Alternatively titled, Good Deeds - Part 3

< Read Part 2 | Read Part 4 >

Summary: You return to school after winter break to find Billy Hargrove looking for you and your friends constantly pestering you about just what kind of relationship you have with Steve Harrington, anyway.

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Reader

Word Count: 3,151

Author’s Note: I thought that it would only take three parts to tell this story, but this part was getting so long that I ended it. I'm thinking that it'll be four parts and the fourth part will have the ultimate conclusion + a small epilogue-y scene.

Warnings: Language. Some small incidents of sexual harassment, but nothing explicit.

"Y/N!"  You closed your locker door to look at Tiffany. "You'll never guess who was asking about you in the parking lot."

Your stomach did a small flip. You hated it when it did that. Ever since The Party (as you now called it in your head), every time someone even mentioned Steve–hell, if there was even a possibility that they could be mentioning Steve, your body reacted in weird ways. Sometimes it was a stomach flip. Sometimes your heart beat faster. Sometimes your breath caught in your throat. Sometimes you felt the overwhelming urge to giggle or squeal.

Geeze, you hated yourself.

"Who?" Becky asked, closing her locker, and eagerly joining your conversation. The three of you turned from your lockers, heading towards your first class of the day.

"Billy. Hargrove," Tiffany announced, grinning at you, and nudging your shoulder with hers. Your stomach dropped. Partially out of disappointment and partially out of dread. You would have thought the week and a half would be enough time for him to get over the fact that you'd kicked him in the balls and run out of the party with Steve Harrington. Billy seemed like the type who cast a wide net and if a fish happened to wriggle free than so be it, there were plenty left.

"Why?" you asked, furrowing your brow in confusion for good measure.

"Oh come on, Y/N, I saw you two at the party," Tiffany poked.

"What are you talking about?" And now you really were confused.

"He had his arms around you, and you were standing real close, and he was kissing down your neck," Tiffany described, putting on her most sultry voice. You couldn't keep the disgust from showing on your face, and she laughed at you, misinterpreting the look. "Hey, I'm just describing what I saw. You  were the one getting down and dirty with Billy Hargrove."

"Funny, I didn't think Billy was your type," Becky said, thoughtfully.

"He's not!" You blurted out. "Whatever you saw at the party was not what it looked like."

"Suuuure," Tiffany shared a look with Becky, and you could feel yourself growing frustrated and flustered.

"It wasn't! And how would you know what happened, you were too busy sucking face with Jeff," you snapped.

Tiffany didn't even have the decency to turn red. Instead she just laughed it off. "Then were'd you go? Both of you disappeared right afterwards?"

And that explained why Tiffany hadn't even bothered to call to make sure she'd gotten home ok.

"Steve Harrington took me home," you shrugged, defensively.

Becky raised her eyebrows at this. While she was on considerably better terms with Steve than Amy, she still had her opinions on him. "Steve Harrington took you home?"

"He dropped me off on his way home." It was an exaggeration, but the last thing you needed was them thinking there was some sort of love triangle between you, Steve, and Billy. Or to just assume you had any sort of relationship to Steve. Because you didn't. He didn't like you like that. He was just a good friend. And you were just his good friend. And even that was a stretch.

Becky opened her mouth to say something, but both of you caught Tiffany's look and her smug smile as you approached the door to your English class.

Outside of it stood Billy Hargrove.

Well, fuck.

"Tiffany, Becky, " he greeted, giving each of your friends a nod from where he leaned up against the wall. "Y/N." His eyes stopped on you, and it was hard to breathe. Your whole body seemed to tense up under his gaze, it was as if needles were pricking at your hands from the anxiety. All you wanted to do was run into the classroom and away from him.

"Hi, Billy," Tiffany greeted in a sing-song voice before entering the classroom with Becky. She paused for a second in the doorway. "Don't make her too late for class." She smiled and then waved goodbye.

Billy pushed himself off of the wall, walking closer to you, right into your personal space. Your books lightly rested against his chest. He was too close, but you weren't about to step back. "You ran off so quick the other night," he started, a small smirk growing on his lips. "I didn't get the chance to say goodnight."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Your voice was anything but sorry.

"What do you say we give it another try," Billy asked, moving even closer so you could feel his breath on your face. Your stomach squirmed, and you looked over his shoulder into the classroom wanting desperately to be in the safety of your assigned seat. "Tonight? I can give you a ride home from school?"

"I–" you opened your mouth to reject him when another voice cut across you.

"Billy, where are you supposed to be?"

Billy turned around to face your English teacher who stood in the doorway with his arms crossed.

"Sorry, Mr. Bailey," Billy apologized, throwing on a charming smile for your teacher. "I was just asking Y/N for directions to Ms. Wood's class. I keep getting lost, you know," Billy's smile slipped into a smirk. "Since I'm new."

"Go on," Mr. Bailey nodded in the direction of Ms. Wood's class.

"Yes, sir," Billy said, stepping away from you and walking down the hall to class. He turned over his shoulder and threw you a wink.

"Y/N," Mr. Bailey motioned into his class, and you flushed, quickly scurrying into class and to your seat.

It was a miracle that you managed to avoid Billy for the rest of the day.

You were not so lucky in dodging your friends' comments about his pursuit of you or on the fact that Steve Harrington had driven you home from the party. Speculation on love triangles were growing fast. Even after you'd spent your lunch period telling Becky and Tiffany what had really happened at the party, they still didn't believe you that nothing was going on between you and two of Hawkins' hottest bachelors. Neither of them felt as if you had told them the complete truth, and they were sort of right. You glossed over Billy's aggression maybe more than you should have, decided it wasn't important for them to know that you had punched Steve, and you would die before you let them know that you'd been alone with Steve Harrington in your house. You loved your friends, but you did not trust them with this sort of sensitive information.

It was the end of the day, and you were in the middle of explaining once again why you'd asked Steve an not Tiffany to drive you home when Darlene joined your group at your lockers.

"Oh, we're talking about Y/N and Steve?" Darlene asked, leaning on the locker next to Tiffany's.

"So there is something going on between you two," Becky jumped at this.

"No," you said, exasperatedly.

Darlene gave you a skeptical look, and you looked back with pleading eyes. Tiffany, as she did, caught wind of this immediately.

"Whatdoyouknow?" she demanded, the sentence coming out as one word.

"Nothing," Darlene said, innocently and your shoulders dropped in relief as you internally thanked her. "We just ran into him over Christmas break, and he obviously has a thing for her."

And just like that, you hated Darlene.

"You ran into Steve over break?" Tiffany turned to you, accusingly. "Convenient detail to leave out."

"It was nothing. He was at the New Benny's at the same time as us," you shook your head. But even as you did that, your heart beat quickened, and not in the same way it did whenever you saw Billy. Your mind drifted back to moment you'd run into each other, making good on his prediction that you'd see each other around over break.

You and Darlene had just finished spending the last of your Christmas money and had decided to go out for lunch before heading home. At the end of your meal, you'd gone for one last bathroom trip, and Darlene had headed out to wait in the car for you. It was on your way out the door that you'd run into him.

"Y/N!" A voice called out, and you whipped your head around, looking over to Steve who was sitting across from a middle school aged boy with wildly curly hair. Steve had raised himself off of the booth's seat to wave at you, and the boy across the table from him was looking between the two of you with his eyebrows raised. You felt a smile tug at your lips as you took a step closer to his table.

"Hey," you greeted, and you couldn't help it. Your eyes were drawn straight to the yellow-ish brown mark on Steve's face. An odd mixture of guilt and butterflies crept up on you at the sight of his face.

"How are you?" Steve asked. He was smiling, and fuck he was good looking. Even with the ugly bruise, he just seemed to exude this effortless charm and handsomeness.

"Good," you nodded, taking a breath and hoping it would help you settle down into some semblance of your usual calm, pulled together self. "Having a good break?"

"Yeah, it's alright," Steve shrugged.  You turned slightly to the kid, shooting Steve a questioning look. And then it caught up with you. Babysitting. You had caught Steve in the act of babysitting. He wasn't just bullshitting you. "This is Dustin," he introduced, and you extended your hand to the younger boy.

"Y/N," you introduced yourself, shaking his hand.

"Y/N?" Dustin repeated, shooting a glance at Steve with a sly grin, as he let your hand go. There was a tense pause between the three of you as you looked at the grinning Dustin and Steve whose had the same "So help me God" look that your mother got sometimes when she was frustrated with you. Dustin knew something. And you weren't supposed to know that. Which meant it could only be one thing…

"He knows I punched you in the face?" you guessed, looking over at Steve. His face fell from warning to slight horror.

"YOU WHAT?" Dustin shouted, jumping up and earning looks from all of the nearby customers. "Sorry!" he called out, holding up pacifying hands before lowering his voice slightly. "You were the one who punched Steve in the face?"

"I, uh," you muttered, trying to backpedal your way out of having Steve be made fun of by a middle schooler.

"I can't believe it was you!" Dustin looked like he'd been given a second Christmas.

"Shut up, you little shithead," Steve hissed, throwing a sugar packet at him. Dustin didn't even flinch when it hit him in the arm.

"Oh my GOD, that's great!" Dustin laughed, leaning his head down on the table and pounding the table with a hand as he laughed.

"I'm so sorry," you apologized to Steve, and he shook his head. "I'll head out before I make things worse."

"Don't worry about him, I have loads of stuff on him that'll make him shut right up." Dustin was laughing too hard to hear the threat.

You shook your head. "It's fine. I have to go anyway, Darlene's my ride and she's waiting outside," you pointed out the door.

"I can give you a ride home if you want to stay for a bit," Steve offered. You blinked. Dustin stopped laughing and picked his head up off of the table.

"I–"

"Y/N?" Darlene approached, and that was the end of that. You couldn't make up an excuse to stay anymore. "Steve." Darlene identified, coming up to the table. "Hey."

"Darlene," Steve nodded in greeting. You couldn't help but notice Dustin look at Darlene appreciatively. Hopefully, you hid your smile.

"Sorry, I'm ready to go," you said, and she nodded, still looking between the two of you before turning to leave and shooting you a look.

"I'll see you at school," you said to Steve before turning to the other boy. "It was nice to meet you Dustin."

They both waved you goodbye as you exited.

Darlene was waiting for you at the door. "So,"  she started, and you knew were this was going even as you groaned and climbed into her car. "You have a thing for Steve Harrington."

"You should have seen the way he looked at her," Darlene remarked.

"He looked at me in the way good friends look at each other."

"Oh, so you're good friends with Steve now?" Becky asked, raising her eyebrows.

You let out a frustrated sigh as you pushed the doors to the school open, heading up to the parking lot. "Can we talk about Tiffany and Jeff yet?" you asked.

"Yeah, how come Becky and I had to find our own rides home from the party?" Darlene asked, tilting your head, and you breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry, girls, I don't kiss and tell," Tiffany flipped her hair, and the rest of you groaned at this blatant lie. "But speaking of rides, I'm going over Jeff's after school, so I can't take you home. Sorry!" Tiffany said, stopping at her car.

Becky had a few choice words to say over this, to which Tiffany flipped her off and climbed in her car. You all backed away from it to let her pull out.

"I'm tutoring at the middle school anyway," Darlene shrugged as she waved Tiffany goodbye "I'll see you tomorrow." She took off across the parking lot, heading to Hawkins Middle.

"I can see if Ally can take us home if you want," Becky offered.

"I think I'll just walk," you answered, and Becky nodded before heading off towards Ally's car.

"I guess that means you're free," a voice spoke from the side, and your head whipped around to face the person talking. Somehow you'd missed seeing Billy Hargrove leaning up against his car, right behind Tiffany's. Of. Course. He tossed his cigarette on the ground before walking over closer to you.

"So, you coming over?" he asked, his smoldering smirk back. You shook your head.

"I'm just going to walk home," you protested.

"Come on," Billy took a step closer, leaning down to whisper in your ear. "My parents aren't home, and I like a girl who's got…fire in her."

"No. Thank you," you moved to push past him, and he grabbed your wrist.

"Hey, let her go," a voice called out, and your heart stopped before picking up at full speed. You turned your head to see Steve Harrington striding across the parking lot–almost running–towards the two of you. A smile crept up on Billy's lips as his hand released your wrist and instead he moved towards Steve.

This could not be happening.

"Shoulda known you'd come running Harrington. Here to steal her away again?" Billy asked, getting as close to Steve as he had been to you.

This could not be happening.

"Look, why don't you just leave her alone. She's not into you. Find someone else," Steve shook his head.

"And what are you going to do if I don't?" Billy asked, poking Steve in the chest as he said it. Steve brushed off his hand and glared up at Billy. The question sent a shiver down your spine.

A crowd began to gather around the two boys, just waiting for what would happen next.

"I swear to God, you lay a hand on her again, and you're dead." The threat came out as a dangerous whisper that made your heart speed up. You weren't sure if it was in the good way or the bad way.

This could not be happening.

Billy came even closer to Steve. "Is this that King Steve again? Or are you just putting on a little show so she doesn't know you've gone bitch?" Steve clenched his fists, and Billy let out a dark chuckle. "But look, if she really means that much to you, you can have the bitch. Once I'm done."

And that was when Steve punched him.

You gasped, as you watched Billy take a step back before letting out a snort of laughter and then lunging at Steve. Steve was too quick and ducked, skirting around Billy before swinging another punch at him. This one missed and allowed Billy the room to sink one into Steve's side. You winced. The crowd began to cheer, taking sides between Billy and Steve. This caught the attention of more students who quickly made their way over to witness the fight that everyone had been waiting for.  Hell, you had even been waiting for this fight. Everyone knew it was just a matter of time. But what you hadn't expected was for Billy to be quite this vicious. He kicked Steve, sending him stumbling back towards you, and in a moment of thoughtfulness, you reached forward to help steady him. In the next second, he flung himself back up and towards Billy, his shoulder pushing you out of the way and sending you flying onto the ground.

It was as if the earth stopped rotating.

Everyone in the parking lot seemed to turn and watch you as you fell. You could see them, almost as if it were in slow motion. Steve and Billy both seemed to stop their wrestling with each other and turned to look at you. Billy looked surprised. Steve looked horrified. And then you hit the ground hard.

Steve pushed away from Billy and was next to you in a second. "Shit, Y/N. Are you ok? I'm so sorry," he sputtered. You slowly sat up, Steve moving back to give you some more room. You watched as Billy exited the circle of people, pushing past them with his shoulder to get to his car.

"I just…want to go home," you mumbled, trying to push down all feelings of annoyance and embarrassment. You heard the roar of the Camaro as Billy tore out of the parking lot. Asshole.

"Can I drive you?" Steve asked, and you turned to look at him. His hair was a bit disheveled from the fight and his brow was furrowed in concern. He looked like he wanted to do something but didn't know what to do. As upset as you were…it was kind of cute.

"Yeah, ok," you agreed. Steve stood up, offering you a hand, and you took it, allowing him to pull you up, one handed.

The crowd parted to allow the two of you two Steve's car, and you could feel their eyes boring into your backs. You looked at Steve from the corner of your eye. He still had the same look on his face, and even though you had been the one who was thrown down to the ground, you felt bad for the boy.

"Well," you said, as you reached his car. "At least we're even now."

< Read Part 2 | Read Part 4 >

Tags: @oomylifeiseternalsufferingoo @katethemandrake@coolyoungbouquetdestinylove @stay-wokke @morgandakotaq @breathhe @stressedoutkylo

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington imagine #stranger things imagine #steve harrington #streve harrington fic #stranger things #stranger things 2 #stranger things fic #steve harrington fanfiction #good deeds fic #steve x reader

[deadcactuswalking]

REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 26/12/2020 (LadBaby, Boris Johnson, Ed Sheeran)

It’s Boxing Day in the UK as I write this and I’m pretty tired but we still have to review those charts regardless, especially this chart as this is the Christmas chart – at least it’s being paraded around as such – and hence we have a Christmas #1. For the third year in a row, family vlogger, pseudo-comedian and amateur musician, not to be confused with DaBaby, Mark Ian Hoyle – more commonly known as “LadBaby”, has bagged the #1 for the holiday season. Every time I’ve covered the Christmas #1 it has been this guy and, yeah, I’m tired of it. At least this year he felt some stiff competition, and hey, the songs’ proceeds do go to charity. Oh, yeah, and this guy is the third act to have three Christmas #1s in a row, putting this nobody from Nottingham with a barebones Wikipedia page and a couple million YouTube subscribers on the level of the Beatles and Spice Girls. God, the UK Singles Chart never fails to amaze me. Anyway, that’s arguably not even the biggest story here so let’s start REVIEWING THE CHARTS.

Rundown

As I said before, this is the “Christmas week” so throughout the UK Top 75 there are a lot of holiday songs re-peaking or reaching new peaks, before dropping off entirely the next week. Let’s start as we always do by listing the drop-outs from the chart, of which there are quite a few notable ones. Most of our top 40 debuts from last week are gone, like Taylor Swift’s “champagne problems” and “no body, no crime” featuring HAIM, as well as “Show Out” by Kid Cudi, the late Pop Smoke and Skepta. We can also say goodbye to “Sunflower (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)” by Post Malone and Swae Lee, finally after 54 weeks and a surprise return earlier this month, in addition to other top 10 hits like “you broke me first” by Tate McRae, “See Nobody” by Wes Nelson and Hardy Caprio and “What You Know Bout Love” also by Pop Smoke, as well as some more minor hits like “Wonder” by Shawn Mendes, “Lonely” by Justin Bieber and benny blanco, “Train Wreck” by James Arthur, “Golden” by Harry Styles and “Plugged in Freestyle” by A92 and Fumez the Engineer, but I can see almost all of these rebounding hard next week so I don’t think there’s much to worry about here. For fallers, since Christmas has really consumed everything about this chart this week, we have some big ones that’ll find themselves back in the top 10 or at least top 20 next week like “positions” by Ariana Grande at #19 (the first non-Christmas non-debut song to appear on the chart, by the way), “Sweet Melody” by Little Mix at #20, “Whoopty” by CJ at #22, “34+35” by Ariana Grande at #28, “WITHOUT YOU” by The Kid LAROI at #31, “Prisoner” by Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa at #35 alongside “Midnight Sky” also by Miley at #36, “willow” by Taylor Swift off the debut to #37, “Get Out My Head” by Shane Codd at #38 and “Paradise” by MEDUZA and Dermot Kennedy. We also have “Therefore I Am” by Billie Eilish at #43, “Really Love” by KSI featuring Craig David and Digital Farm Animals at #45, even “HOLIDAY” by Lil Nas X at #49, “Mood” by 24kGoldn featuring iann dior at #54, “Loading” by Central Cee at #59, “Head & Heart” by Joel Corry and MNEK at #60, “Monster” by Shawn Mendes and Justin Bieber at #64, “Blinding Lights” by the Weeknd at #66, “Dynamite” by BTS at #67, “Lemonade” by Internet Money and Gunna featuring Don Toliver and NAV at #72, “Levitating” by Dua Lipa with the biggest fall down to #73 and finally “No Time for Tears” by Nathan Dawe and Little Mix at #74. To put the dominance of holiday music on the charts in perspective, if we take the songs that are not either explicitly Christmas-related or a clear Christmas #1 campaign (i.e. LadBaby), the song at #38 would be at #10 and our #1 would be “positions” by Ariana Grande at #19. “Whoopty” by CJ, that entered the top 10 last week and dropped to #22 this week, would be at #3. There are 11 songs in the top 40 that never made an effort to take advantage of the holiday season. When we get into some of our debuts, it’ll be even clearer how big Christmas is in British pop music. Anyway, let’s skim through our gains and returning entries, most of which are Christmas or Christmas-related. For returning entries, we have the comically awful “Lonely this Christmas” by Mud at #71, last year’s scam attempt at a Christmas #1, “River” by Ellie Goulding at #69, “The Christmas Song (A Merry Christmas to You)” by Nat King Cole at #63 (which I’d appreciate more in the top 20 like it is in the US every year – this is a classic), “2000 Miles” by the Pretenders at #62 (again, incredible song that deserves a higher holiday peak each year), “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” by Darlene Love at #58, “Santa’s Coming for Us” by Sia at #55, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” by Sam Smith at #53 and for whatever reason, “Holy” by Justin Bieber featuring Chance the Rapper at #41. In terms of notable gains – and I stress notable, since a lot of higher-up Christmas songs had small gains but still good performance - we have “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by the Jackson 5 at #57, “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” by Frank Sinatra at #56, “White Christmas” by Bing Crosby at #52, “Baby it’s Cold Outside” by Brett Eldredge and Meghan Trainor at #51, “Forever Young” by Becky Hill at #50 (both off of the debut), “Baby it’s Cold Outside” AGAIN by Michael Bublé and Idina Menzel at #47, “Love is a Compass” by Griff at #46, “Feliz Navidad” by Jose Feliciano at #44, “Cozy Little Christmas” by Katy Perry at #42, “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” AGAIN by Dean Martin at #39, “Sleigh Ride” by the Ronettes at #34, “Christmas Lights” by Coldplay at #33, “Santa Baby” by Kylie Minogue at #32, “Mistletoe” by Justin Bieber at #29, “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms at #27, “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney at #26, “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Michael Bublé at #25, “All You’re Dreaming Of” by Liam Gallagher at #24 (thanks to a Christmas #1 campaign that crashed and failed), “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” by Andy Williams at #23, “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono with the Plastic Ono Band featuring the Harlem Community Choir at #21, “One More Sleep” by Leona Lewis at #18, “Merry Xmas Everybody” by Slade at #17, “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson at #15, and finally, “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Justin Bieber illegitimately notching a spot in the top 10 at #8. Finally, we can get onto the new arrivals, although something about this next one tells me that we won’t be in line for anything all that good.

NEW ARRIVALS

#70 – “I’ll be Home” – Meghan Trainor

Produced by Meghan Trainor

...for Christmas. She’ll be home for Christmas. I guess she just can’t finish sentences, even though her cover art has the full title. Anyway, this is a 2014 original Christmas song that went nowhere except Sweden. It’s not anything like the Bing Crosby and wasn’t nearly as successful, mostly because it’s a jingly, inoffensive ballad tacked onto a silly Christmas EP that also features Fifth Harmony and Fiona Apple of all people – who probably should have charted her track instead – as well as the deluxe edition of that debut record Title that nobody liked. At least in this, she’s not going for a faux-retro style, or at least one that I can find the inspiration for, and is just singing over this oddly jaunty piano melody – which sounds pretty albeit bland – as well as some swells of strings and acoustic guitar that do work sonically. The content implies that Meghan Trainor is in contact with Santa Claus personally, and that he gave her the advice to be home with her lover this Christmas and... that’s why this charted, isn’t it? Well, it’s not her fault – it’s not a “stuck with u” moment, but it is dodgy that she decided to put this on her own Christmas record that was released in October of this year, which can’t seem unintentional. I’d be lying to say this isn’t a pretty little tune from Trainor and her voice does fit this instrumental, but a jazzy rendition from someone with a deeper, smoother voice, would work wonders with the content. Oh, and that Christmas record features guest appearances from both Earth, Wind & Fire and Seth MacFarlane, as well as her dad, because, you know, sure, 2020.

#65 – “Gnat” – Eminem

Produced by d.a. got that dope

I can’t tell if I’m underestimating Christmas or overestimating Eminem when I say I expected an album bomb – or whatever that equivalent would be in the UK and our land of silly chart rules – from the deluxe edition of his pretty damn terrible album, Music to be Murdered By. This 3/10 trainwreck consists of two hours I’ll never get back of either great beats wasted by Eminem’s corny, stiff flows and painfully unlikeable delivery or obnoxious, unlistenable beats that are dated enough for Eminem to start going on his Relapse “killing women in funny accents” shtick, which was awful then and even worse now when he tries to replicate it. Marshall, you’re 48, and I know that you’re just “messing around” but if you’re going to treat the album as a cinematic masterpiece within the album and its thematic Alfred Hitchcock interludes, you have to understand that the audience will see it as that way as well, so you having fun and being painfully unfunny in the process over cutting-room-floor trap instrumentals cannot slide. At least Kamikaze had some genuine anger and dare I say some actual balls in how it tackled controversy and dissed everyone he could think of off the top of his head. The last record was angry and bitter, this one’s just tired and lazy, and that’s before we get into some of the ugliest bars, instrumentals and cadences Slim Shady’s ever put on record, which is especially present on “Gnat”, a lightweight trap banger with some acoustic guitars not dissimilar to those that would appear on a Lil Baby mixtape, complete with questionable bass mixing and really bad hooks. On the verses, he sends a death threat to Mike Pence, but on the chorus, his bars are “like COVID” because “you get them right off the bat”. I don’t know about you, but in 2020, I don’t want to hear Eminem harmonising with producer tags, making topical and insensitive pandemic references, or spitting sex bars with coughing ad-libs. Before the beat switch, his flows are some of the sloppiest and drawn-out he’s ever used, and yes, I’ll admit, that second beat is a lot better and Em kills it over that instrumental – but only for a brief moment before we have a third beat, which Eminem is pretty great over, especially with that sax and sweet piano keys overlaid with hard 808s and Eminem’s rapid-pace, quick fire flow... and then he raps the chorus again and I want the song to end as quickly as it started – thankfully, it does end rather abruptly. Just wasted potential all throughout – if that beat switch and flow was a guest verse on damn near anyone else’s record (Em has made tracks with Don Toliver of all people, and he could work), this could be great. For now, Em, you know Kris Kristofferson? I think you should Piss Pissofferson. Forever. Look that up, by the way, that’s a lyric on the record because of course it is.

#61 – “In the Bleak Midwinter” – Jamie Cullum

Produced by ???

I had only briefly heard the name “Jamie Cullum” before this, but he is an English jazz-pop singer and pianist who’s basically useless and uninteresting but, hey, at least he has a radio show on BBC Radio 2. Sure, I mean that might have been the reason that Amazon Music picked him up for an exclusive project for which this is the biggest single. It’s not on Spotify, it’s not even on Genius, and it’s barely on YouTube but since it is, I should tell you that this is his first charting single since 2009 and it’s a remarkably uninteresting rendition of a Christmas carol done a lot better by Jacob Collier – and that one’s on Spotify – so yeah, your sleepy piano arrangement and tone that makes you sound like Robbie Williams half the time and Beck the other, doesn’t interest me. Goodbye.

#30 – “Afterglow” – Ed Sheeran

Produced by PARISI, Fred Again and Ed Sheeran

If we inexplicably remove everything Christmas-related on the chart, Eminem’s “Gnat” would have debuted at #20, and this new track from Ed Sheeran, already stunted from being released on an unconventional day, would have hit #5. Regardless of chart position, Ed Sheeran’s back with his first solo single since Divide. Yes, I’m purposefully ignoring that collaborative project he put out in 2019 because as far as I know, it doesn’t exist. At the end of the year, when things are looking as if he could start touring again, Sheeran predictably releases his lead-off single. This song in particular is a heartfelt ballad from Ed to his wife, who he wishes to be there forever and even if they aren’t together at any moment, whether he’s touring or they separate for whatever reason, he’ll “hold on to the afterglow”. I won’t lie, it’s a really sweet and convincingly sold love song from Ed, even if it’s not anything new, it does feel like a different approach since he’s a newly-wed man now. Although I’m not a fan of this somewhat muddy mixing that somehow messes up just a guy and his acoustic guitar, making what should be a really pretty, ethereal and mellow track sound almost ugly, which doesn’t flatter Ed and his limited delivery at all, especially when he starts getting multi-tracked in the second verse and whooshing sound effects of strings pop up in the mix, and, yeah, it just sounds cheap and gross at this point, which is really a waste of incredible content and a great performance from Ed, who sells everything as well as he can. I understand how this is supposed to be down to Earth, so a perfect mix wouldn’t make sense, but if you’re going to make him harmonise with his own background vocals and even show signs of belting, give him some more grandiosity and go full out instead of restraining him so that it just sounds jarring. With a different mix this could be one of Ed’s best tracks since the melodies are on point, the song feels really heart-warming and sincere, especially coming from Ed to his wife, but we won’t get a remaster anytime soon, I imagine, so for now this is just pretty damn good. I love the cover art as well, painted by Ed himself, and released alongside the single as a bit of a Christmas gift to fans, as well as the start of what I’m pretty sure will be a promo cycle. If this is a good peek into what that album will sound like, it’s safe to say I’m more than excited than ever to hear from Ed Sheeran.

#5 – “Boris Johnson is a Fricking Jerk” – Kool & the Gang

Produced by ???

Okay, so the song’s calling Boris Johnson something stronger than a “fricking jerk”, and the song is decidedly not by soul legends Kool & the Gang, although I’d love for that to happen sometime. This is a family show, of course, so we have to take some liberties. This track originates from a comedian from Basildon, Essex of all places, and whilst we don’t know his name, the songwriting credit on Spotify is given to contemporary British poet Wayne Clements so maybe he’s behind this, who knows? Whether he is or not, I can tell you the history behind this comedian’s music, as he has been making crude short singles about controversial topics in British society and politics for a while, including some about Nick Clegg that charted, although never higher than #63. He retired in 2016 but after writing an autobiography, the guy’s back and he released a compilation of punk rock tracks, all of which are small and profane, with a “band” of puppets that I also can’t name. State-controlled Russian television networks – because, sure, again, it’s 2020 – say that he will start touring in 2021, mostly because he’s finally reached that mainstream audience with this family-friendly tune about Boris Johnson. Here’s how Vick Hope and Katie Thistleton introduced it live on air during the mid-week chart reveal.

Now at #19, we've got a track about Boris Johnson that has so many bad words in it, we can't play it on daytime Radio 1.

Ah, you cowards. Wait... Anyway, I’m pretty happy that the British public can stick it to Boris and the heartless Tories that follow him and currently rule the country, even if it is all a bloody stupid joke from an anonymous punk rocker. We can dig into Boris for his failures on Brexit, mishandling of the pandemic, disgraceful reality-star-esque personal life, that he wasn’t even born in the UK yet is basically a nationalist, his history of Islamophobic commentary, his crap excuses for journalism back in the 2000s or even his clown-nose, blonde bowl-cut “hair style” he adopts whilst addressing us on live television feeding us lies and misleading statements that turn into retcons the next time he has to address the nation, whether it be on Brexit or COVID-19 tiers and regulations, both of which are a confusing mess to both sides of Europe that exist to drift us away from where we should be going as a nation, and further into the realm of political party tribalism that we know absolutely does not work in the States and that we mock the Yanks for. We’re more than the sick man of Europe, we are the America of Europe. I guess you could say Ireland is our Canada, but we don’t even have a Mexico to make us look better, we just have other western, central and northern European countries that may be flawed but are far ahead of whatever the hell this shell of a union is in 2020, less than 80 years after the creation of our National Health Service. People will look to pundits and newsreaders like Piers Morgan, entertainers like Phillip Schofield, war veterans and charity-givers like Captain Tom Moore, and even politicians like Boris Johnson, as the “heroes” of Britain’s 2020 but it’s increasingly clear that absolutely no-one is a hero, and it’s the people’s right to be upset. Hence, nearly exactly a year after Boris Johnson cheated his way into power by smear campaigns and elitism, we have this song debuting at #5. Unfortunately, the song doesn’t go into any of that. It just repeats the title in an anthemic – and considerably agreeable – refrain that is an undeniable punk hook. The riffs and guitar work here isn’t of any interest, but the guy’s delivery is powerful and furious, so I’ll give the song credit: it’s not just correct but it’s really good, especially for a one minute runtime. He also released some satirical MIDI-level synth-pop remix with gross Christmas sleigh bells and hi-hat skitters, because, say it with me, it’s 2020. I wouldn’t recommend the album though, it overstays its welcome by the time you get to “Jesus Died of a Stranglewank”.

#1 – “Don’t Stop Me Eatin’” – LadBaby

Produced by who cares?

I can’t get mad at this lazy “parody” of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” about sausage rolls, or even its Ronan Keating remix, which is LadBaby doing a favour to Ronan Keating, if anything. Sure, my blood boils with the idea that this incompetent Internet personality from the East Midlands – which I think I’m sadly also able to describe myself as – got the #1 over Mariah Carey, or even that Boris Johnson diss track, but it’s going to the Trussell Trust and it’s ultimately an inoffensive, vaguely happy track that even gets the vegans involved. I, for one, prefer “Boris Johnson is a Sausage Roll”, a version of our #5 you can – and should – play on the radio even after Christmas. I don’t have anything more to say about this guy so piss off, LadBaby, you can’t even get the album cover right to the song you’re parodying, thrice in a row.

Conclusion

Best of the Week is definitely going to the Somethings for “Boris Johnson is a Something Something”, with an Honourable Mention to Ed Sheeran’s “Afterglow”. I can’t bring myself to give a charity single Worst of the Week so I’ll spare LadBaby the honour and grant it to Jamie Cullum for his greedy Amazon exclusive trite, with a Dishonourable Mention for “Gnat” by Eminem, for just being wasted potential all across the board. Next week, everything Christmas-related will be gone and we’ll get a bunch of returns and hopefully some new, interesting returning entries. We might even get the impact of Playboi Carti’s long-anticipated album – and I hope so because it’s fantastic – but that’s wishful thinking. Anyways, I hope everyone had a happy holiday season. Here’s our top 10:

Thank you for reading. You can follow me @cactusinthebank for more rambling about pop music and occasionally politics, and I’ll see you next year.