°🌟2🌟°

🌟CHAPTER 2🌟~°THE WEIRDO ON MAPLE STREET°~

*🌟Third Person's POV🌟*

"Is there a number we can call for your parents?" Mike asked the girl, who was now sitting silently on his basement couch, dwarfed by the oversized clothes. Hailey watched from the stairs, her mind racing, a cold dread that had nothing to do with the storm outside settling in her bones. Will was still out there, and now this. A lost girl in a hospital gown, appearing out of nowhere. The coincidence felt less like luck and more like a puzzle piece from a terrifying new game she didn't understand.

The boys, however, had no such filter, their own fear and confusion making them loud and frantic. "Where's your hair? Do you have cancer?"

"Did you run away?"

"Are you in some kind of trouble?"

They bombarded her with questions, their voices overlapping. The girl just shrank back, her eyes wide and darting around the unfamiliar room. "Guys, one at a time!" Hailey interjected; her voice sharp with authority as she descended the stairs. She positioned herself slightly between the boys and the girl, a subtle shield. "Can't you see she's scared?" She pointed out how the girl was visibly shaking, her knuckles white where she gripped the couch.

The boys fell silent for a moment, but their nervous energy was a live wire in the room. Lucas squinted, leaning closer. "Is that blood?" he asked, reaching a hand out toward a dark spot on her gown.

Mike slapped his friend's hand away. "Stop it! You're freaking her out!"

"She's freaking me out!" Lucas shot back, his voice cracking with fear.

"I bet she's deaf," Dustin declared confidently. Before anyone could stop him, he clapped his hands loudly right in front of her face. The girl flinched violently, jumping back in fright, a small, choked sound escaping her lips.

"Dustin! That's enough!" Hailey's tone was like a whip crack, leaving no room for argument. She shot her brother a look that promised a later discussion. She turned her focus back to the girl, her expression softening. "She's scared and she's cold. Mike, do you have a pair of clothes she could borrow? Something warm."

As Mike went to rummage in a hamper, a clap of thunder shook the house. The girl squeezed her eyes shut, her whole body tensing with a primal, all-consuming fear. "Hey," Hailey said softly, kneeling in front of her, blocking the view of the panicked boys. She kept her voice low and steady, a calm in their storm. "It's okay. It's just thunder. It can't hurt you in here. You're safe."

Mike returned with a pair of sweatpants and a dry shirt. "Here," he said, holding them out awkwardly. "These are clean, okay?"

The girl stood up and immediately began pulling at the oversized shirt she was wearing, ready to change right there. The boys erupted in a chorus of panicked, pre-teen horror.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

"OH, my God!"

Hailey moved swiftly, gently but firmly stopping the girl's hands. She rolled her eyes at the boys' dramatic reaction. "Sweetie," she said patiently, her voice a gentle guide. She pointed across the room. "See there? That's the bathroom. You need privacy to change." She guided the girl toward the small bathroom, Mike hovering nearby.

Hailey started to pull the door closed but the girl's hand shot out, stopping it. Her eyes were wide with a sudden, fresh panic. "Don't want me to close it?" Hailey asked, understanding dawning. This was about being trapped. "No," the girl whispered, her voice hoarse and unused, like a rusty hinge.

Mike's eyes went wide. "Oh, so you can speak."

"How about we just close it about this much?" Hailey suggested, a compromise, leaving the door open a definitive crack. A sliver of light, a promise of an exit. "Yes," the girl agreed softly, the single word laden with relief.

Once she was inside, the group huddled together in a frantic whisper, Hailey leaning against the stair rail, listening to their theories with a growing sense of unease. "This is mental," Dustin breathed, still trying to process the night's events. "At least she can talk," Mike said, trying to find a silver lining. "She said 'no' and 'yes.' Your three-year-old sister says more than that," Lucas pointed out, his arms crossed tightly over his chest as if to hold himself together.

Hailey stayed quiet, her mind working overtime to piece together the strange puzzle. The shaved head, the gown, the fear of enclosed spaces... it painted a grim picture. "She tried to get naked," Dustin said, still in a state of shock, as if it were the strangest thing that had happened all night.

"There's something seriously wrong with her," Lucas insisted. "Like, wrong in the head."

"She just went like—"Dustin mimed ripping his shirt off, accidentally slamming his hat to the floor in the process.

"Boys," Hailey cut in, her voice tired but firm, putting an end to the miming. She looked at Mike. He was the party leader. This was his call. "Mike, what do you think we should do?"

Lucas didn't give him a chance to answer. "I bet she escaped from Pennhurst."

"From where?" Mike asked.

"The nuthouse in Kerley County," Lucas stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "You got a lot of family there?" Dustin joked, a weak attempt to lighten the mood.

"Bite me," Lucas snapped.

"Seriously, though, think about it," Lucas pressed on, his fear making him cruel. "That would explain her shaved head and why she's so crazy."

"Why she went like—"Dustin started again.

"Dustin," Hailey warned, silencing him with a look. She decided to let them talk themselves out, to see where Mike's leadership would take them.

"She's an escapee, is the point. She's like a psycho," Lucas concluded.

"Like Michael Myers," Dustin added, his eyes wide.

Mike was growing visibly annoyed with his friends' hysteria. "Exactly! We should've never brought her here."

"So, you're saying we should've left her in the dark, in a storm, with no food or shelter?" Hailey questioned; her disbelief clear. The very idea was antithetical to everything she felt. You didn't leave someone who was scared and alone. "Yes!" Lucas snapped, his fear turning to anger. "We went out to find Will, Hailey, not another problem!"

"I think we should tell Mike's mom," Dustin suggested, looking to his sister for backup. It was the sensible, adult thing to do. "I second that!" Lucas agreed immediately, desperate for an authority figure to take this burden from them.

"Who's crazy now?" Mike asked, looking between the two of them. "How is that crazy?" Lucas asked, genuinely confused. "Cause we weren't supposed to be out tonight, remember?" Mike said, the strategist thinking three moves ahead.

"So?"

"Lucas," Hailey interjected, her voice calm but firm, backing Mike's play. She saw his logic. "What do you think is gonna happen if all our moms find out we were out tonight?" The reality of their grounded futures dawned on their faces.

"Oh, man."

"Our houses become Alcatraz," Dustin muttered, the horror real. "Exactly," Mike said. "We'll never find Will." Dustin, almost unconsciously, began the shirt-miming again, a nervous tic.

"Dustin, I said stop that," Hailey scolded, her patience wearing thin.

"All right, here's the plan," Mike announced, taking charge. "She sleeps here tonight."

"You're letting a girl—"Dustin started, but Mike cut him off. "Just listen! In the morning, she sneaks out, goes to the front door, and rings the doorbell. My mom will answer and know exactly what to do. She'll send her back to Pennhurst or wherever she came from. We'll be totally in the clear. And tomorrow night, we go back out, and this time we find Will." He finished and looked directly at Hailey, seeking her approval. "What do you think, Hailey?"

She studied his determined face, the weight of leadership already changing him. It was a risky plan, but it was the only one that kept their search for Will alive. Her priority, above all else, was getting Will back. This strange girl was a detour, but the mission remained. "Are you sure about this, Mikey? It's a big responsibility," she asked, her voice low, giving him one last chance to back out. Mike nodded, his jaw set. "I'm sure." "Okay," she relented, placing her trust in him. "I'll come by tomorrow after school to make sure everything went as planned." Her tone was stern, making it clear this was non-negotiable. Mike nodded in agreement.

"Come on, Dustin," Hailey said, grabbing her keys. The guilt over leaving was a new stone in her stomach, added to the pile of worry for Will. "We have to get home before Mom notices we're gone and starts freaking out." They left the Wheeler basement, the weight of their secret, the strange girl's fate, and Will's unknown whereabouts settling heavily on Hailey's shoulders as she entrusted it all to a twelve-year-old boy, hoping against hope she hadn't just made a terrible mistake.

*~*🌟*~*

The next day, Hailey arrived at school looking like the walking dead. After the chaos of the previous night, she'd gotten home only to realize she'd completely forgotten about a chemistry test. She'd crammed all night, fuelled by cheap coffee and a desperate need for normalcy, but the equations swam in her head alongside images of a shaved-headed girl and a missing boy.

She was immediately pulled into a last-minute study session with Nancy and Barb by the lockers, the fluorescent lights feeling especially harsh on her sleep-deprived eyes.

"When alpha particles go through gold foil, they become..." Barb read from a notecard.

"Unoccupied space," Hailey and Nancy answered in tired unison, their voices flat.

"A molecule that can..."Barb continued, but was cut off as Steve Harrington appeared, a whirlwind of confidence, and plucked the cards from her hands.

"Hey!" Nancy protested, a familiar exasperation in her tone.

"I don't know, I think you've studied enough, Nance," Steve said, flashing a charming, lopsided smile that usually made girls melt. It just made Hailey's headache pulse behind her eyes.

"Steve..."Nancy sighed, sounding thoroughly annoyed. "I'm telling you; you know you got this. Don't worry," he insisted, his voice dripping with a casual certainty she envied.

Hailey rubbed her tired eyes, wishing the floor would swallow her. Steve's gaze flickered over to her, and for a split second, his smile wavered. He took in the dark circles under her eyes, the paleness of her skin. A flicker of something that looked like concern passed over his face before he quickly buried it, his expression smoothing back into its usual cocky veneer. He couldn't let anyone, especially Tommy, see him worrying about Henderson's weird sister.

"Now, on to more important matters," he announced, shifting the mood with practiced ease. "My dad's left town for a conference, and my mom's gone with him—'cause, you know, she doesn't trust him."

"Good call," Tommy H. chimed in, laughing as if it were the funniest thing he'd ever heard.

"So, are you in?" Steve asked Nancy, leaning against the locker next to hers.

"In for what?" she replied, genuinely confused.

"No parents? Big house?" Carol prompted, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

"A party?" Nancy questioned, finally catching on.

"Ding! Ding! Ding!" The three popular kids laughed in unison, a sound that felt alien and grating to Hailey's raw nerves.

"It's Tuesday," Nancy stated flatly, a sliver of her practicality breaking through.

"It's Tuesday! Oh, my God," Tommy mocked, imitating her tone with a cruel smirk.

Hailey felt like she could lay down on the scuffed linoleum floor and fall asleep right there. She just wanted the test to be over. "Come on," Steve coaxed, his voice dropping into a softer, more persuasive register aimed solely at Nancy. "It'll be low-key. It'll just be us. What do you say? Are you in or are you out?"

"Um..."Nancy hesitated, clearly torn.

"Oh, god. Look," Carol cut her off, nodding toward something behind them. They all turned to see Jonathan Byers taping a 'MISSING' poster of Will to a bulletin board, his movements slow and heavy with grief.

"OH, god. That's depressing," Steve muttered, the words slipping out before he could filter them. He meant it was a buzzkill, a mood killer for his party plans.

The comment sent a jolt of white-hot anger through Hailey's exhaustion, burning away the fog of tiredness. How could he be so callous? "Should we say something?" Nancy asked, her voice unsure, looking to Steve for guidance.

"I don't think he speaks," Carol said dismissively, wrinkling her nose.

"How much you wanna bet he killed him?" Tommy added with a cruel, thoughtless smirk.

That was it. Hailey snapped. She straightened up, her exhaustion replaced by a cold, clear fury. "He talks just fine," she said, her voice like ice, cutting through their laughter and silencing them. She looked directly at Tommy, then Carol, her gaze finally landing on Steve, challenging him. "And he's not a psycho. He's, my friend. So, if you'll excuse me, I have to make sure my friend is okay." She didn't wait for a reply, turning on her heel and walking away, her spine rigid. Steve watched her go, a strange, unreadable mix of annoyance and something that looked suspiciously like admiration flickering in his eyes before he schooled his features into indifference.

"Hey," Hailey said softly as she approached Jonathan, her anger evaporating into genuine concern.

"Oh, hey," he replied, his voice quiet and strained, not looking up from the poster.

"You okay?" she asked, though the question felt useless.

"I'm hanging on. Need to be strong for my mom, too," he admitted, finally meeting her eyes. The pain in them was a physical ache.

"I get it," Hailey said, her voice gentle. She glanced back at Steve's group, who were still staring.

"I'm sure everyone here is thinking about you." She knew it was a lie, but it felt like the right thing to say. "Yeah," he mumbled, not sounding convinced in the slightest.

"You'll let me know if there's any news on Will?" she asked, needing to hold onto any thread of hope.

"You'll be the first to know," he reassured her with a weak smile. Impulsively, driven by a need to offer some small comfort, Hailey pulled him into a brief, tight hug. It was a gesture of pure, platonic solidarity. From across the hall, Steve's relaxed posture stiffened. His smile faltered, a deep frown creasing his brow as he watched her embrace Jonathan, a confusing knot of something that felt an awful lot like jealousy tightening in his chest.

"Will's a smart kid. He'll be fine," Hailey said, pulling away just as the bell rang, saving them from the heavy moment. Students began swarming toward their classes.

"I have a chemistry test. I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, sure," Jonathan said with a weak smile. Hailey gave his arm a final, reassuring squeeze before running off to class, desperate to get the test over with and check on Mike.

After school, Hailey picked up Dustin and Lucas, noticing immediately that Mike wasn't with them. A cold knot of suspicion formed in her stomach.

"Where's Mike?" she asked, trying to keep her voice casual.

"He never showed up for school today," Lucas said, his tone laced with annoyance and underlying worry. Hailey's grip tightened on the steering wheel. She prayed the boy knew what he was doing.

Arriving at the Wheeler house, everything was too quiet. Hailey knocked on the door, and Mike opened it immediately, his face a mask of guilt and anxiety. "I'm sorry," he blurted out before she could say a word. Hailey looked at him, her expression a mix of deep disappointment and even deeper concern. She took a steadying breath. "Let's hear you out first. Then I'll decide if I'll forgive you." She followed him up to his room, the other boys on her heels, a sense of dread building with every step.

The scene that greeted them was exactly what she'd feared. The girl, Eleven, was sitting quietly on his bed, wearing a dress that clearly belonged to Nancy. "Are you out of your mind?" Lucas demanded, his voice rising in panic. "Just listen to me!" Mike begged, desperation edging his words.

"You are out of your mind!" Lucas shot back, refusing to let him explain.

Hailey moved past the arguing boys, her focus shifting to the girl. She looked small and lost in Nancy's clothes. Hailey took a seat next to her on the bed, offering a small, reassuring smile, a silent promise that she wasn't a threat. "She knows about Will!" Mike said, his voice deadly serious.

"What do you mean, she knows about Will?" Dustin asked, utterly bewildered.

"She pointed at him. At his picture. She knew he was missing. I could tell," Mike insisted, holding up a photo of the four boys together.

"You could tell?" Lucas asked, his disbelief palpable.

"Lucas, let Mike finish talking," Hailey interjected, her voice stern and leaving no room for argument. They needed facts, not fear.

"Thank you, Hai. Just think about it," Mike pleaded, turning to his friends. "Do you really think it was a coincidence that we found her in Mirkwood, the exact same place where Will disappeared?"

"That is weird," Dustin conceded, looking at Lucas for agreement. "And she said bad people are after her," Mike continued, his eyes wide. "I think maybe these bad people are the same ones that took Will. I think she knows what happened to him."

A cold dread, colder than anything she'd felt before, settled in Hailey's stomach. This was no longer a strange detour; it was a collision course with whatever had taken Will. "Then why doesn't she just tell us?" Lucas asked, his frustration and fear boiling over. He took an aggressive step toward Eleven.

"Do you know where he is? Do you know where Will is?" he yelled. "Stop it! You're scaring her!" Mike yelled back, stepping between his friend and the girl. "She should be scared! If you know where he is, tell us!"

"Okay, guys!" Hailey's voice cut through the shouting, calm but authoritative. She kept a comforting hand on Eleven's shoulder, feeling the girl tremble. "This seems like a lot more serious than I thought. But getting mad at each other and yelling isn't going to do anything. Now, let's all calm down and think of a solution." She was the adult in the room, and she had to act like it, even if she was terrified.

A tense silence filled the room for a few minutes. Lucas was the first to break it, his voice tight with panic. "This is nuts. We have to take her to your mom."

"No!" Mike insisted, his voice firm.

"Eleven said telling any adult would put us in danger."

"What kind of danger?" Dustin asked at the same time Lucas demanded, "Her name is Eleven?"

"El, for short."

"Michael," Hailey said, her voice low and deadly serious. She stood up, facing him. "What kind of danger are we talking about?"

"Danger. Danger," Mike said, his own fear making him dramatic. He put his fingers against Dustin's head in a gun gesture, then moved them to point at Lucas. The Sinclair boy slapped his hand away in anger and fear.

Hailey held her head in her hands. The weight of the decision was crushing. Getting adults involved could get them in trouble, but not getting help could get them killed. She was responsible for them. "No, no, no! We're going back to plan A! We're telling your mom!" Lucas said in a panic. He turned and yanked the bedroom door open, determined to end this.

Suddenly, and with immense, unnatural force, the door slammed shut again—though no one was near it. The sound was like a gunshot in the small room. Hailey's head snapped up. Eleven was no longer sitting passively on the bed; she was standing, her small body rigid, her face a mask of intense concentration and fear. Lucas tried the doorknob again, pulling it open, but it was violently ripped from his grasp and slammed shut once more, the lock clicking firmly into place with a finality that echoed in the silence.

Everyone turned to stare at El. Hailey instinctively moved to stand with the boys, her protective instincts on high alert, pushing them slightly behind her. They all watched, utterly horrified and speechless, as a single, vivid trickle of blood began to drip from Eleven's nose.

"No!" Eleven stated, her voice hoarse but filled with a power that was utterly terrifying. The word wasn't just a refusal; it was a warning. And it hung in the air, shattering everything they thought they knew about the world.

*~*🌟*~*

Nancy was quick to call out for Hailey the moment she noticed the girl coming out of Mike's room, trailing after the boys who all looked pale and shell-shocked. Nancy never understood the Henderson girl; she was always playing den mother to a bunch of middle schoolers. Her only actual friend in their grade was Barb, and even that felt like a friendship of convenience most days.

"Nancy, what can I help you with?" Hailey asked, genuinely surprised the other girl was seeking her out. Her mind was still reeling from the slammed door and the bloody nose, the image of Eleven's intense stare burned onto the back of her eyelids.

"Listen, do you maybe want to come with Barb and me to..." Nancy began, shifting her weight nervously.

"To Steve's party?" Hailey finished, cutting her off. The very idea felt absurd, a relic from a simpler time that was only yesterday but felt like a year ago.

"Please!" Nancy pleaded, her voice dropping to a desperate whisper. "Barb said she won't go unless you come. She doesn't wanna be the fifth wheel. I need a buffer."

Hailey thought about it. The terror in Mike's room was a vacuum, sucking all the air out of her world. A party, as stupid and trivial as it was, represented oxygen. A distraction from the surreal, mind-bending craziness was dangerously appealing. A few hours of loud music where she didn't have to think about psychic girls or missing boys sounded like a lifeline. "Fine," she relented with a heavy sigh, the guilt for even considering fun while Will was missing already curdling in her stomach.

"But I'm doing it for Barb." Not for you, and definitely not for him, she added silently.

"We'll be leaving in an hour," Nancy said, looking immensely relieved before turning to join her family at the dining table, seamlessly slipping back into her role of perfect daughter.

Around the table, the atmosphere was thick with a tension only Hailey and the boys could feel. Everyone was quiet. Hailey noticed the boys weren't eating; they were just pushing their food around their plates like archaeologists examining artifacts. She guessed Eleven's shocking, impossible display of power had scared them to the bone; even she was still shaking internally, her fork trembling slightly in her hand before she willed it to stop, masking her fear with a practiced, neutral expression.

Mrs. Wheeler noticed their collective lack of appetite. "Something wrong with the meatloaf?" she asked, her eyes scanning their faces, her motherly radar pinging.

"Oh, no," Dustin said quickly, forcing a smile that looked more like a grimace. "I had two bologna sandwiches for lunch. I don't know why." It was a weak excuse, but it was all he had. "Me too," Lucas chimed in, his smile equally strained and unnatural.

"It's delicious, Mommy," Nancy said in a sweet, placating voice Hailey knew all too well—the same tone she used to get out of trouble or get her way.

"Thank you, sweetie." Karen Wheeler smiled before turning her attention back to her daughter, who was expertly manoeuvring the conversation like a seasoned captain.

"So, there's this special assembly thing tonight for Will at the school field," Nancy said, her tone casual, as if she were mentioning a study group. "Barb's driving."

"Why am I just hearing about this?" Mrs. Wheeler asked, her motherly suspicion immediately rising. Nancy stared back, wide-eyed and dripping with manufactured innocence.

"I thought you knew! And anyway, Hailey's going as well." She deftly used Hailey's presence as a stamp of approval, a shield against suspicion, knowing her mom viewed the older Henderson girl as a responsible, stabilizing influence. The boys shot Hailey questioning, almost betrayed looks, but she just gave a slight, helpless shrug. What choice do I have? her eyes pleaded back.

"I told you, I don't want you out after dark until Will is found," Mrs. Wheeler reminded her, her voice firm.

"I know, I know," Nancy said, laying it on thick. "But it'd be super weird if I'm not there. I mean, everyone's going." Hailey watched the performance, a knot of discomfort forming in her stomach at how casually Nancy was using Will's tragic disappearance as a free pass to a party.

"Just... be back by 10:00 p.m.," Mrs. Wheeler finally relented, defeated by her daughter's social logic. "Why don't you take the boys, too?" she suggested, turning to the three petrified children.

"No!" the three boys said in panicked unison, shaking their heads so vigorously Hailey thought they might get whiplash. The last thing they wanted was to be away from the house where their dangerous new secret was hiding. "Don't you think you should be there? For Will?" their mom pressed, confused by their vehement refusal.

At that exact moment, Eleven chose to walk down the stairs, a small, silent ghost in Nancy's pretty dress. Mike choked on his milk, spraying it across the table in a panic. Mrs. Wheeler turned to see what had startled him, but Dustin, thinking fast, slammed his hands on the table twice, creating a loud, jarring distraction. "Sorry! Spasm!" he apologized frantically; his eyes wide with genuine alarm.

The noise made little Holly Wheeler start to cry. "Oh, it's okay, Holly. It's just a loud noise," Mrs. Wheeler soothed, her attention successfully and completely diverted to her youngest. Hailey let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, her heart hammering against her ribs. Her life had officially gone from totally boring to a series of heart-stopping, chaotic near-misses in a matter of days. And now, she had to go to a party and pretend everything was normal.

*~*🌟*~*

Hailey sat in the back of Barb's car as they drove toward Steve's neighbourhood, the silence thick with unspoken tension. "Barbara, pull over," Nancy ordered suddenly.

"What?" Barb asked, confused, but she complied, steering the car to the curb in a quiet, tree-lined street. "What are we doing here? His house is three blocks away," Barb said, her brow furrowed in confusion. Hailey just chuckled softly from the backseat; she knew exactly what was happening. The whole performance was already exhausting.

"We can't park in the driveway," Nancy stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Are you serious?"

"She doesn't want the neighbours to see her car here," Hailey translated for a bewildered Barb, her voice dry. "Proof that she was near or at Steve's house at all. Can't tarnish the Wheeler reputation."

"This is so stupid. I'm just gonna drop you guys off!" Barb declared, her frustration evident, her hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

Hailey leaned forward from the backseat, her face appearing between the two front seats. "Oh, hell no. The only reason I'm here is because of you," she said, pointing a finger at Barb. "You're my ride and my excuse. We're in this together now."

"Calm down, Barb. Come on. You promised you'd go. You're coming. We're gonna have a great time," Nancy insisted, trying to sound reassuring but coming off as dismissive.

"He just wants to get in your pants," Barb stated bluntly, voicing the elephant in the car. Hailey nodded in silent, vehement agreement from the back.

"No, he doesn't," Nancy denied, her cheeks flushing a telling pink.

"Nancy, he invites you to his house where there are no parental figures at all," Hailey said, her voice laced with sarcasm. "I never thought you of all people would be this stupidly naive."

"Tommy H. and Carol are gonna be there," Nancy argued weakly, clutching at straws. Hailey shook her head, her patience wearing thin.

"That doesn't mean anything. Those two have been fucking each other since seventh grade. They're his audience, not his chaperones."

"It'll probably just be like a big orgy," Barb added, her voice grim.

"Gross."

"We're serious!"

Nancy started changing her clothes right there in the passenger seat, a new level of audacity. "All right, well... you guys can be, like, my guardians. Okay? Make sure I don't get drunk and do anything stupid." Hailey rolled her eyes so hard she saw her own brain. She hadn't signed up to be Nancy Wheeler's chastity belt babysitter.

Barb looked Nancy up and down, her eyes narrowing. "Is that a new bra?" she asked suspiciously, pointing at the lacy garment now visible under Nancy's shirt.

"No!" Nancy denied, too quickly, pulling her shirt closed. Hailey could only chuckle to herself in the darkness of the backseat. The lie was as transparent as the vodka Steve was doubtless pouring into punch bowls.

The girls finally arrived at Steve's house after walking three blocks in the cool night air. Hailey found the whole charade weird and pathetic. Every instinct screamed at her to turn around and go home, to check on the boys and their terrifying secret, but she stayed for Barb. She owed her friend that much. "Barb, chill," Nancy said, ringing the doorbell with a confidence Hailey envied. "I'm chill," Barb replied, her arms crossed and her tense posture suggesting the exact opposite.

The door swung open to reveal Steve Harrington standing in all his glory, backlit by the party inside. His eyes scanned the trio, a welcoming grin on his face that faltered for a microsecond when they landed on Hailey. A flicker of genuine surprise, then confusion, passed over his features before his smile clicked back into its dazzling, practiced place. "Hello, ladies!" he greeted them, his voice booming over the music.

Barb and Hailey sat away from the couples on a plush outdoor sofa, feeling like anthropologists observing a strange and vulgar ritual. "This is so uncomfortable," Hailey groaned, picking at the label on her beer bottle. Barb nodded in silent, miserable agreement, her bandaged hand resting in her lap.

A sudden scream from Carol almost gave Hailey a heart attack and threatened to deafen her. Tommy was trying to throw her into the pool. "One! Two! Three!" he chanted.

"Stop it, Tommy, no! Don't!" Carol yelled, though she was laughing. Tommy put her back on her feet, laughing. "You're such an asshole, Tommy!" she said, pushing him away playfully.

Steve, seeking to top the spectacle and keep Nancy's attention, took a can of beer, stabbed a hole in the bottom with a knife, and started chugging it down. Hailey felt her eyes might get permanently stuck at the back of her head from how hard she was rolling them. He is such a cliché.

"Is that supposed to impress me?" Nancy asked, though the fascinated look on her face said it absolutely did.

"You're not?" Steve retorted, lighting a cigarette that had been tucked behind his ear with a cool flick of his wrist. "You are a cliché. What with your... your grades and your band practice."

"I'm so not in band," Nancy protested, her eyes locked on Steve, completely forgetting the two friends she'd dragged along. She was already in his orbit.

"Okay, party girl," Steve said, a challenge in his voice. "Why don't you just, uh, show us how it's done then." He handed her a beer and the knife.

"Okay," Nancy said, standing up without hesitation. Barb shook her head in disbelief from the side-lines. Hailey wondered what she was even doing there; she and Barb were now set dressing, utterly ignored.

"You gotta make a little hole right in..." Steve started to instruct. "I got it," Nancy cut him off. She stabbed the can and immediately started to drink.

"Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!" the group chanted. When she finished, she threw the can to the ground in a gesture of victory that felt borrowed from a movie.

"Hey, Henderson. You're up!" Steve said, his eyes scanning the crowd and landing on Hailey with a challenging glint. It felt less like an invitation and more like a test. Hailey looked up, meeting his gaze directly. A competitive spark, one she'd buried since her own brief, misguided stint with popularity, flared to life. She'd always liked a good challenge, especially from someone who thought they had her figured out. She stood up, walked to the cooler with a deliberate calm, and grabbed two beers.

"Oh..."she murmured, a slow smirk spreading on her face as she prepared to do something she hadn't done in a long time.

She made a hole in the first can, tilted her head back, and started chugging. Holding the first can in place with her teeth, she used her free hand to stab a hole in the second can. As the first can emptied, she tossed it to the ground and immediately brought the second one to her lips without missing a beat. A stunned silence had fallen over the group, the only sound the glugging of the beer. When the second can hit the ground with a clatter, Tommy finally broke it. "Henderson! Who knew you still had it in you!" Steve couldn't help but look genuinely impressed, his eyebrows raised. For a second, his gaze wasn't mocking or challenging—it was just surprised and... appreciative.

Nancy, perhaps feeling the spotlight shift, turned to Barb, a desperate need to regain control of the social situation. "Barb, you wanna try?" she asked, her voice overly bright.

"What? No. No, I don't want to. Thanks," Barb said firmly, shrinking back.

"Nancy, if she doesn't want to, then leave it," Hailey said, coming to her friend's defence, her voice sharp. But Nancy acted like she didn't hear her. She went over to Barb with a can in hand.

"Come on."

"Yeah," Steve echoed unhelpfully, now just watching the drama unfold.

"Come on. Yeah," Nancy pressed, holding out the beer and knife, completely disregarding her friend's palpable discomfort.

"Nance..."Hailey's voice held a clear warning. She was finally understanding the deep-seated irritation she'd always felt toward Nancy Wheeler. It was this—this privileged blindness.

"Just...just give it a shot," Nancy kept pestering, pushing the items into Barb's space.

"Okay," Barb finally relented, her shoulders slumping in defeat. She took the items. "So, you just..." she said, fumbling nervously with the knife. It slipped, slicing deeply into her palm. Blood welled up immediately.

"Gnarly," Tommy said with a laugh, turning away.

"Are you okay?" Nancy asked, her voice laced with a feigned concern that made Hailey see red. Of course, the girl wasn't okay; she was bleeding all over Steve Harrington's patio.

"Steve, where's your bathroom?" Hailey asked, her voice cold and sharp as she stood up, already moving toward Barb.

"Oh, it's... it's, uh, down, past the kitchen to the left," he told her, the look in her eyes making him shrink back slightly, his bravado vanishing.

"Okay, thanks," Barb mumbled, clutching her hand as she hurried into the house, Hailey right behind her.

Hailey turned on Nancy before she followed, her eyes blazing. "I hope you're happy."

Nancy looked at her, genuinely confused. "What?"

"Everything just has to be about you, doesn't it, princess?" Hailey sneered sarcastically. She didn't wait for a reply, storming into the house after Barb.

She found Barb in the lavish bathroom, trying to rinse the deep cut under the tap, her hands shaking. "Here, let me help you," Hailey said softly, her anger melting into concern. She took Barb's hand to assess the damage. The cut was deep. She applied pressure with a clean washcloth.

"Thank you, Hai," Barb said, her voice shaky with pain and embarrassment.

"What are friends for?" Hailey replied with a small, reassuring smile. "I'm curious, though," she ventured gently after a moment. "Why would you do things you actually don't want to do?"

Barb didn't have an answer for a long moment. "Because Nancy asked me to," she finally whispered, the admission heart-breaking. Hailey carefully wrapped Barb's hand with a wad of toilet paper, having failed to find a first aid kit.

"Just because she asks, doesn't mean you have to do it," she said firmly, finishing the makeshift bandage. "Your no is just as important as her yes." She gave Barb's good shoulder a squeeze. "You can go out; I just need to use the bathroom." Barb nodded, looking a little less lost, and left.

After a few minutes, Hailey emerged from the bathroom to find a soaking wet Nancy on her way upstairs and a very unhappy Barb waiting in the hall. Nancy was giggling, her hair dripping onto the expensive runner. "Barb, I'm fine," Nancy said, her words slightly slurred. "This isn't you," Barb told her friend, her gaze steady and deeply disappointed. "I'm fine. Just... go ahead and go home, okay?" Nancy said, avoiding eye contact before disappearing into a bedroom upstairs, closing the door behind her. "Are we gonna wait for her?" Hailey asked, staring after the closed door, her opinion of Nancy Wheeler solidifying into something hard and cold.

"Yeah, we should," Barb said sadly, her loyalty warring with her hurt. "In that case, I'm gonna use their pool," Hailey declared, a mischievous smirk on her face. If she was stuck here, she might as well get something out of it. At least she managed to get a small, tired laugh out of Barb.

Hailey peeled off her jeans and shirt, ready to jump in the pool in her underwear. The night air was cool on her skin.

"You're swimming in your underwear?" Barb asked, her eyes wide with a mix of shock and admiration.

"Yes. They're too busy to notice anyway," Hailey said, nodding toward the house where the sounds of the party had faded into murmured conversations and slow music. She needed to wash the feeling of the party off her skin. She dove under the water, letting the cool, heavy silence envelop her. Her thoughts, inevitably, drifted to Steve Harrington. The impressed look on his face. The way his eyes had found hers in the crowd. There wasn't much to like about the guy, but she had to admit there were a few things she... admired. The thought scared her, a dangerous flicker in the safe darkness she'd built for herself. When she surfaced for air, gasping, she noticed Barb was no longer sitting at the edge. She figured the girl had finally decided to go wait in the car, away from all the noise and the heartache. The pool lights cast an eerie glow on the empty patio, and a sudden, inexplicable chill ran down Hailey's spine that had nothing to do with the water.

*~*🌟*~*

Hailey must have dozed off, lulled by the quiet hum of the filter and the weight of the exhausting day. Her head rested on the pool's edge, her body floating weightlessly in the water. Inside, the party had died down, the silence feeling almost as heavy as the water surrounding her.

Steve came downstairs after Nancy fell asleep, heading to the kitchen for a glass of water. He glanced outside through the sliding glass doors and did a double-take, his breath catching in his throat. There was Hailey, asleep in the water, her features soft and peaceful in the eerie blue glow of the pool lights. A jolt of pure panic shot through him.

He grabbed a large, fluffy towel from a linen closet and rushed out, his bare feet slapping against the cool patio stones. "Hailey. Hey. Come on, wake up." His voice was low, laced with a concern that surprised even him as he knelt and gently shook her shoulder. "You're gonna end up sick—or worse, drowned."

Hailey jolted awake, disoriented, the real world crashing back in a wave of confusion and sudden chill. "Shit!" She quickly hoisted herself out of the pool, water streaming from her body. It was only then she noticed Steve staring, his eyes wide. His gaze travelled up and down her half-naked form, taking in the sight of her damp skin and clinging underwear before he seemed to realize what he was doing and snapped his gaze back to her face, a faint but unmistakable blush creeping up his neck. He thrust the towel toward her, looking anywhere but at her.

Hailey swiftly grabbed it and wrapped it around herself like a shield, the soft cotton a barrier against his lingering look. "It's not safe to sleep in the pool," he said, his voice a little gruff, not bothering to hide the genuine worry that had prompted his rush outside.

"Thanks for the concern," Hailey replied, her tone carefully neutral as she began to dry off. She turned her back to him slightly, a gesture of privacy, and pulled her jeans and shirt back on over her damp underwear, the fabric sticking unpleasantly to her skin.

She slung the damp towel over her shoulder and finally met his eyes. The air between them was thick with unspoken things. "It might be for the best if you don't mention this to your girlfriend," she said, her voice cool and direct, a stark contrast to the vulnerability of moments before. "She doesn't like her things looking other places." She let the implication hang there, watching his reaction. "And the only reason you were able to get what you wanted tonight was because Nancy is rebelling against her parents. It won't last."

Without waiting for a reply, a reply he was too stunned to form, she turned and started walking toward the gate, her footsteps quiet on the pavement. The cool night air was a sharp, bracing contrast to her heated skin and the confusing warmth of his unexpected attention. She left him standing there by the pool, alone with the echo of her words and the unsettling feeling that she saw right through him.

*~🌟~*