𝙿𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎, 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢, 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚎𝚎

𝙼𝚢 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍'𝚜 𝚊 𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗' 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕.

𝙸 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚛𝚊𝚣𝚘𝚛𝚜 𝚊-𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗' 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗' 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚒𝚙𝚙𝚒𝚗'

𝙼𝚢 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚊𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚊𝚜 𝚠𝚎𝚕𝚕.

𝚃𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚎

𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚌𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚗𝚎𝚠

𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚖𝚊𝚗* 𝚒𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗'

𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚋𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞.

𝙶𝚘 𝚘𝚗, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚖* 𝚝𝚒𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚎.

𝙶𝚘 𝚘𝚗, 𝚋𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚖* 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚑𝚎* 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞

𝙽𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐.

𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝙸'𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚎

𝚆𝚑𝚘'𝚕𝚕 𝚠𝚊𝚕𝚔 𝚊𝚌𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞.

𝙸'𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚎

𝚆𝚑𝚘'𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚛𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚛𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞.

𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚏𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚞𝚗.

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖

𝚆𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚗𝚎

𝙸'𝚖 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚎.

Billy furrowed his brows at her suspiciously but shot her a smirk. "That's not what I meant..."

He knew she knew he wasn't merely trying to sleep with her. He wasn't. But it was the fact she even suggested he just wanted her for some ass was enough to provoke a defense out of him.

"Well, you wouldn't have used the favor I owe you as your gateway to invite me if you just wanted some innocent fun," she kept a playful drawl in her voice but she was being serious when she explained herself. "You would've asked me on a date like a normal person if that were the case," she exposed Billy to the unspoken truth.

However, she didn't have it entirely right. Billy just couldn't tell her the other half of his story because it would have ruined his own reputation...

"I have my reasons," Billy's eyes grew dark under the dim lighting of Heather's foyer. "But it's not what you think, darling," he winked, shrugging off his coat and extending his hand to her with a charming smirk strung out across his lips.

"Oh?" she remarked loudly over the bustle inside, following Billy's lead and handing him her coat.

"I don't think you'd believe me even if I tried," he called back, turning and looking aimlessly for somewhere to set their coats inside the open closet by the door.

"I might surprise you," she swung her arms behind her back and approached Billy so she wouldn't have to keep screaming over the music. "Never know..." she threw her back against the wall and watched as Billy gently tossed their things into the mess in the closet.

"Or maybe I can try and show you that I'm not actually trying to get you into bed by starting with some drinks?" Billy's eyes quickly moved from her glowing green eyes to the lumpy pockets of her pants.

Lennon looked at him curiously before following his line of sight and seeing how cartoonish she looked to have her pockets full of drugs.

"Shit..." she cursed, standing up straight and covering her pockets with her hands. "I have to find Steve..." she looked over her shoulder and only then did she have time to take in her surroundings.

There were about forty people in Heather's living room which was right off to the left side of the entrance. Speakers littered nearly every corner and more people stood in the hallway Billy and Lennon stood in.

She didn't recognize anyone apart from some familiar faces on the basketball team. Steve had a face no one could forget. Lennon would've seen him if he were nearby.

The high ceilings were white and richly decorated in crown molding when Lennon moved to look up the stairwell they stood near. She managed to catch the hidden chandelier sparkling from the darkness above before directing her attention towards the kitchen that shot past the stairwell.

The only regular light in the entire house came from the lamps in the living room and hallway lights that let people find their way to bathrooms and bedrooms on the upper level of the house. Otherwise, the expanse was dimly illuminated by strobe lights, multi-colored party lights, and strung-up fairy lights which bowed around each wall carving that separated the rooms.

There were huge Christmas wreaths on the walls with a few Christmas trees scattered around the mansion. The garland on the wooden pieces of furniture were decorated with family photos and a bowl full of car keys. Lennon quickly looked back to Billy with concern and motioned towards the bowl.

"Optional. I'm sure," Billy insisted, smiling at her innocence.

"Um..." Lennon trailed off curiously. "I think it's safe to assume you aren't going to slip something into my drink then..."

Billy's eyes widened.

"Okay," Billy grew uncomfortable. "Do people often want to fuck with you because you act like you've been roofied before..."

"Can never be too safe. I'll happily accept that drink offer. Thank you. I just... I need to find Steve... So I'll just find you later, alright?" she asked politely, secretly feeling a sense of victory in being separated from him.

Lennon quickly glanced over her shoulder again in an attempt to find someone she knew, but instead, people were staring; people she didn't even know. Girls that clung to their friend groups in the hall, couples talking up the staircase, and even a few wallflowers who were sat on the windowed bench in the front room whilst people danced around. She and Billy had an audience an she didn't even know why.

"Uhm, I mean..." Billy shrugged. "If you want-"

"I'll be quick," she nodded. "Thanks," she smiled apologetically and turned on her heels. She took a few overzealous steps towards the hall before locking eyes with her classmates as they looked at her like she were a specimen in need of examination. The feeling of so many eyes on her made her skin crawl and made her revert back towards the door. Even though Billy wasn't exactly comforting, he was company. He was someone she knew, someone who didn't want to openly hurt her. So, she went back after realizing how she left him.

She turned back to Billy and swiftly stood across from him again.

"And Billy?" she questioned, pulling him from his attention on those in the living room. His eyes were quick to find hers and grew bigger the closer she got to him. She rode up to him with a small, forced smile, grabbing him gently by the shoulders, and brought her lips up to the side of his face.

Her smile widened mischievously before she whispered, "I'm still willing to give them a run for their money tonight... A deals a deal, Hargrove," she turned her head and placed a soft kiss on his cheek before pulling away and winking as she made her exit.

People were now staring at her with a newfound look of either jealousy or admiration. It was funny in the sense that the boys all wanted to be Billy and all the girls wanted to be Lennon. She never would've thought the two of them would ever be seen like that. She never thought she'd ever be seen as someone worthy of that kind of attention; both negatively and positively.

But what she hated more than any of that, was how good it felt.

The attention, that kind of attention, it felt good... addicting, even... and that wasn't what she needed. It wasn't what she wanted... at least, that's what she thought. But the way everyone was looking at her made her feel important and attractive. Before, it unnerved her how people looked at her with disgust, or expectation of more, or even with a tinge of uncertainty. But now, they were looking at her like they wanted to be her.

She took a deep breath and tried to ignore the stares as she made her way into the kitchen. Piles of alcohol littered the countertops but there was no Steve anywhere in sight.

The kitchen was fully decked out in Christmas decorations. Garland outlined the cabinets and countertops, cookies were laid out for people to snack on, and ornaments were hung from the light fixtures and above the stove. Lennon had to give Heather props, she decorated such a big house well.

There, she managed to find Nancy and Jonathan standing by the sliding glass door, holding solo cups and smiling as they joked and snickered about something Lennon didn't stay to learn.

She waved at them from afar and nudged her way through the crowd between the kitchen and lounge.

"Hi!" she smiled, touching her pockets uncomfortably as she made herself known to the people she made friends with.

"Hi Lenny," Nancy smiled.

"Hi," Jonathan ducked away as she approached them, only feeling comfortable around Nancy and Nancy alone.

"Do uh... Have either of you seen Steve around?" she asked without realizing that it might have seemed insensitive considering Steve was Nancy's ex and Jonathan looked to be a little more than a friend. "But uh... My brother has me doing his dirty work. I-I don't expect you to know. It's fine if-"

"It's fine," Nancy wiggled her head and scoffed. She knew where Lennon was going with her nervous rambling and after getting to know her, it didn't seem like she had ill intent. "Last I saw, he with some guy with long hair and one of the girls from band. I don't know where they went."

"Okay," Lennon nodded appreciatively. "Thank you!" she called out, hurrying through the crowd towards the dining room. "I'll catch up later!"

Now she knew he was there; somewhere.

She searched the room and only recognized a few members from the track team mingling and making out along the walls. She then moved into the living room where most of the commotion seemed to originate from but still failed to find the one person she needed in order to get rid of the weed and shrooms she had in her pockets.

It was one thing to smoke in private, even before she had a reputation to uphold, but it was an entirely different thing to be caught dealing. Before she even made the decision to become this new person, she never gloated or showed off. She didn't like people watching her or seeing her high. She only ever smoked to take the edge off.

After the accident, it felt like the only thing capable of keeping her alive sometimes; it kept the anxiety and agonizing fear from consuming her. So, it made her extremely uncomfortable and on edge to have huge pocketfuls of bud and shrooms in a mansion full of peers. She wanted to get rid of it more than she wanted to get rid of Billy.

She moved around and smiled half-heartedly at people who tried sparking up a conversation before she decided to move on to the second floor. More people started to show up and every space on the ground floor felt flooded with drunks and overly horny teenagers copping feels of anyone they could get their greedy hands on.

The upstairs level had several mid-century paintings along the walls and overtly expensive artifacts from other countries which made Lennon question what kind of family Heather came from. It was curious and the crystal fixtures that illuminated the light above proved to her that there had to be some history Lennon didn't know about the Holloways.

The music was less intense upstairs but that meant the talking was overpowered. The congestion in the halls was overwhelming and the preexisting paranoia of being caught with weed and trippy mushrooms on her was making her anxious.

She didn't want to be there. She owed it to Billy but she wasn't supposed to be going without her brother, delivering his drugs, and doing her own search party for his friend out of hundreds of people under one roof. It was hectic and she didn't like it.

She saw Tina and a group of cheerleaders talking by the closed balcony at the other end of the hall and sighed when she couldn't find anybody else to bother. She mentally prepared herself for the glaring and rude comments, but she just wanted the night to end. She needed to find Steve, provide that favor to Billy, and from there, the rest would hopefully be history. Just... one step at a time.

"Tina!" Lennon called out politely, shooting her a sympathetic smile as she approached despite her unwillingness to accept it.

The girl with extreme bouncy hair looked up from the girls that surrounded her and the smile on her romantic face fell instantly.

"Tina. Hi," Lennon spoke softly. "I uh... I wanted to tell you how great you did during the game last night but you took off..." she began sympathetically, hoping the girl didn't hate her for going on a date with Billy.

Tina didn't say anything and only crossed her arms over her chest to avoid confrontation. She didn't appreciate the false hope Lennon gave to her. She said she wasn't after Billy and the next thing she knew, Lennon was swapping spit with him in front of the entire team. Once she found out Lennon and Billy had come to Heather's party together, she was even more furious.

But Tina didn't want to hate her. It was just rotten of her and if Tina was capable of forgiveness, she wasn't going to give it to her easily. So, she stayed quiet.

"Uhm... Have uh... Have any of you seen Steve?" she finally asked, noticing Tina's deathly glare and deciding to give up on making it right with her for the time being.

"As if Billy wasn't enough for you, you're chasing after Harrington too?" Tina spat back bitterly, unable to restrain herself now. "Leave some for the rest of us."

She was beyond aggravated. She found it ridiculous how this new girl thought she could just waltz on in and steal every hot guy out of Hawkins High because she was pretty, and smart, and athletic, and acted like she gave a shit, but no. She clearly didn't care about others or else she would've either stated her true feelings for Billy or never gotten with him at all.

"That's not what I mean," Lennon furrowed her brows and shook her head slowly. "My brother got sick and needs me to find him, Tina... I never meant to make you hate me-"

"It's a bit late for that, don't you think?" she narrowed her eyes and tightened her grip on her cup.

"Tina..."

"Lennon," one of the other girls called out. "He's in the last room on the left..."

It was Kaitlyn who obliged. She had a chunky cast on her leg and a metal contraption around her arm that limited the movement of her elbow. She looked happy but the mechanics she was stuck in for the next few months made her look more battered than ever.

"He asked me on a date... What was I supposed to do?" she asked Tina timorously.

"Lennon, just drop it," Rebecca warned the new girl sympathetically.

"I meant it when I said I wasn't interested," Lennon continued to push. "If you'd hear me out and let me explain-"

"Explain how you shoved your tongue down his throat after making me think I had a chance?" Tina was quick to spit back. "Then proceed to act all cute and innocent when you take Kaitlyn's position and Billy and apparently, now Steve Harrington," she pursed her lips and quirked her eyebrow upward.

"I didn't even want Kaitlyn's position," Lennon instructed. "And Steve's like a brother to me. If you want to hate me, I'm not going to stop you; but I won't let you hate me for reasons that aren't true, Tina. I do actually care about you," Lennon furrowed her brows and sighed.

"Yeah," Tina scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Sure."

Lennon exhaled a breath of air she had been holding in for a while. Her unwavering stare didn't shift when she took a step back from Tina and the other cheerleaders. It made a difference in how Tina viewed her, but the girl didn't let it show.

She couldn't continue to pester and bicker with the girl with eyes that soft and apologetic. It wasn't forced or manipulative either. Her gentle green gaze was authentic and if anything, reassuring. Tina was mad. But she didn't need to make Lennon feel even worse about it either...

As long as she felt bad and knew what she did was wrong, Tina would eventually give her a chance... just not when the rage was still new and healing. She didn't want to risk reopening that wound if Lennon was being a menace.

"It's the truth..." Lennon promised. "It might not mean much to you if you don't believe me but it means something to me," Lennon explained solemnly as she took another step backward. "I never meant to hurt you-"

Lennon gasped and felt her muscles contract when she bumped into someone on her way down the hall. Her hands instinctually bawled around her waist as she whipped around and gave herself vertigo.

She started to sway in the middle of the hall, trying to find her footing as she reeled back with an unsteady heart and cautiously dizzy head.

"Whoa..." a masculine voice called out shakily, immediately noticing her rapid eye movement and fumbling feet. "Easy there, Clever One."

A pair of hands had clung to her upper arms as they caught her from faltering in her step. They were strong and familiar and the color of brown and black smearing right before her eyes let her know exactly who it was.

"You okay?"

Of course it was Eddie...