˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

Context

The Saint Valentine's Day event for Billy Hargrove takes place in February 1985, a few months before the events of Season 3 and his possession by the Mind Flayer . At this time, Billy, aged 18 , works as a lifeguard at the Hawkins community pool after graduating high school .

This is Billy's first Valentine's Day away from California, away from the beach, away from what he once considered his life. Living in Hawkins since the fall of 1984 with his father Neil, his stepmother Susan, and his stepsister Max, he lives in constant tension between his desire for freedom and his father's violent control . This period is marked by an attempted relationship with Karen Wheeler, Mike and Nancy's mother, who will agree to a date with him but cancel at the last minute .

˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

Biography

Billy Hargrove was born in 1967 in California . He is the son of Neil Hargrove, a controlling and violent man, and an unnamed mother . As a child, Billy was a joyful boy who loved surfing; his mother supported him and watched him surf from the beach . However, his father's violence led his mother to leave the family when Billy was about ten years old . This separation deeply affected him, leaving him with a sense of abandonment he never overcame .

After his mother's departure, Neil Hargrove married Susan Mayfield, Max's mother, imposing a "new sister" on Billy that he didn't ask for . Neil's physical and psychological abuse continued, transforming Billy into an angry, violent teenager . In 1984, the family moved from California to Hawkins, Indiana — a move Billy always blamed on Max .

Upon arriving in Hawkins, Billy quickly established himself as the new "king" of the high school, supplanting Steve Harrington . Popular with girls, arrogant, and impulsive, he terrorizes his stepsister Max and her friends . He maintains a violent rivalry with Steve, whom he savagely beats during a confrontation at the Byers house . Despite his appearance as a heartless brute, Billy hides deep vulnerability, notably visible when he is humiliated by his father, even crying afterward .

In the summer of 1985, Billy works as a lifeguard and flirts with Karen Wheeler . But on June 29, he is in a car accident in front of Brimborn Steel Works and becomes the Mind Flayer's first host . Possessed, he participates in the abductions feeding the creation of the spider-monster . During the final battle at Starcourt Mall, Eleven accesses his memories and reminds him who he was before his father's abuse . Freed from the Mind Flayer's control, Billy sacrifices himself to protect Max and her friends, dying impaled by the creature after saying "I'm sorry" to Max .

˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗