A/N: Please read and review!

~X~

Chapter 2:

Queen Nancy & King Steve

The next day, Barbara was once again on her great mission to get her two best friends to stop fighting with each other. "You need to talk to her"

"No I don't" Mary said as she placed her books inside her locker, she was super nervous about the chemistry test at first period, even with her studying all night alone. It had been much easier when the trio would study together. She missed Nancy's flashcards.

"Just because Tommy and Carol are idiots doesn't mean you can take it out on Nance" Barb stated, quite irritated at Mary. She knew that Nancy usually was the most stubborn of the three, but Mary was getting ridiculous. At the same time, Barbara knew more than anything the insults and teasing that Mary had to endure from the popular clique at their school. It was just something about her that made them target her.

"So now I am not allowed to be frustrated that we need to follow her around like some minions to get her time of day?" Mary hissed and shut her locker before turning to Barbara. "What's next, should I start calling her queen Nancy? Riding off with king Steve into the sunset?"

Barbara groaned at her friend's dramatics, Nancy had been harder to contact after her new relationship with Steve took shape, but she wasn't impossible to get a hold of. Suddenly a loud shouting came down the hall, making some of the students turn more to see what was going on. It all went so fast, but of course it would be Mary that got a basketball flung right in her face.

"Mary!" Barbara shouted as her best friend clutched her face in pain. Mary hunched over, groaning as the pain radiated from her nose.

"Dammit!" Mary shouted as the whole corridor started to laugh and point at her. It had been a direct hit from the basketball team, all of the boys were patting Tommy's back at his aim.

"Are you okay?!" Barbara asked in a panic, patting her back gently to help Mary drown out the laughter, her friend's bad luck never seemed to end.

"Yeah, yeah… just a nosebleed" Mary sighed as she finally let her hands fall from her face. And much to Barbara's shock she seemed completely fine, minus the minor nosebleed.

"Be careful, it might be broken" She said as Mary gently poked her face, before wiping her hand across to get rid of the blood. Not caring that it would stain her sleeve.

"Nah, it's not even swollen" Mary shrugged and took Barbara's hand to gently press onto her face. The redhead was confused as she indeed felt no swelling nor saw any bruising. "That was a hard hit though" she mumbled, more to herself than Mary, as she had been sure to hear a cracking sound when the collision happened.

"Good morning guys" Nancy's voice made both of them snap out of their worry for Mary's face.

"Good morning Nance" Barbara said with a smile as she let her eyes switch between her two friends.

A small, "Hi" Was all that Mary could muster.

"Are you okay?" Nancy asked as people that walked passed giggled and pointed at them. Nancy had just arrived at school, and hadn't seen the basketball incident.

"Tommy threw a basketball in my face" Mary mumbled, feeling insecure around her friend as she saw the gaggle of jocks and cheerleaders still laughing at high-fiving down the hall."I need to go to the nurse's office"

Nancy and Barbara were left standing by Mary's locker, Barbara felt bad for Mary. That girl sure couldn't catch a break.

~X~

After running away in the general direction to the nurses office, which wasn't even open, Mary opted to go outside and take a breather. Her nose had stopped bleeding, but her head was hurting. It had been a long time since she had used her powers. Once she felt better, she mustered up the courage to go back inside, her father didn't raise a coward.

Right inside the entrance to the school stood Jonathan Byers, who was posting a missings person poster on the corkboard. Mary smiled and walked up to him. "Hello stranger"

"Mary, hi" The boy was shy and antisocial around school, but because of their partnership they actually had some sort of a situationship. Mary was also a babysitter on some weekdays for one of Will's friends and had driven home his brother on several occasions before from the Wheelers residence.

"Give me the stack, I will put them around town after school" Mary said and gestured to Jonathan to give her his remaining stack that he was going to put up before going to Lonnie.

"Thanks" Jonathan said and gave her the rest of the flyers.

"How are you holding up?" Mary asked.

"Oh, you know-" Jonathan started, when suddenly Nancy stepped up towards them. It didn't take a genius to see that Jonathan was completely smitten with Nancy. Mary almost wanted to roll her eyes, but decided not to.

"Hi" Nancy said, breathy and low, like she was unsure if it was a good time to talk to Jonathan.

"Oh hi" Jonathan said, almost becoming a puddle at the spot.

"I just wanted to say, you know… um " Nancy said, looking between the two teenagers. "I'm sorry, about everything"

Jonathan glanced at Mary and then at the small group that Nancy had left hanging some few feet away. Mary rolled her eyes as Tommy made a gesture as to being hit in the face with something. "Everyone's thinking about you" Nancy stated, trying to salvage the situation and to comfort Jonathan. "I'm sure he's fine, he's a smart kid"

The bell rang, and Nancy placed her hand on Mary's bicep to gently drag her away from Jonathan. "We need to go, chemistry test"

"Good luck" Jonathan said, he too had the test. But was going to skip school for more important matters.

"Thanks" Nancy said, trying once again to pull gently at Mary's sleeve.

"Call if you need more help Jonathan" Mary mumbled and patted his arm before turning to walk away with Nancy.

"Will do" He said, and walked out of the school. The rest of Nancy's little gang had already left for class when the two girls headed towards their chemistry test.

"Can we talk later?" Nancy asked as they walked inside the classroom. "Alone?"

Mary stopped and looked into her childhood friend's eyes, Nancy was anxious, she could tell. She felt bad about holding a grudge, and smiled gently with a "Sure" before sitting down in the front row as usual.

~X~

"Ain't nothin' gonna to break my stride" Mary gently sang along, her walkman strapped to a belt loop on her jeans. She was standing by her car at the high school parking lot."Nobody gonna slow me down, oh no"

She had aced the test as expected, science was her favorite subject after all. All of her pent up insecurities melted away as she had read the first few questions, and the answers came quickly to her as she remembered everything from her rigorous studying. She would have to brag about this to Dustin later when she would pick him up as usual on tuesdays. Mrs Henderson worked late at the hospital as a nurse, and sometimes would pick up a night shift or two for the extra cash. Those nights Mary slept over at theirs, to cook dinner for Dustin and to make sure he got to school the next day. And when she wouldn't babysit at the Hendersons she would work at the local bookstore.

Nancy came up the hill from the school, Steve and the rest trailing behind her. Mary was not prepared for this, but tried to look a bit taller and took off her headphones as they all closed in on her."S-so, what d-did you want to talk about?"

"I want to know what I have done wrong" Nancy stated, not realizing that her tone and the way she spoke made her poor friend feel very very small. She had always managed to do this, even when they were young. But back then Barbara was ready to step inbetween to make Nancy tone it down and to make Mary feel safe and strong enough to stand up for herself. Mary, tiny and clumsy Mary, wasn't strong.

"Y-you are being a bit of a b-bad friend" Mary said and nodded slowly, her eyes planted on the ground.

"What?"

"Nance, when was the last time you came to us to hang out? O-or talk about anything else than Steve Harrington" Mary said, fully knowing that she sounded more like a whining child than an angry young woman.

"I do not only talk about him!" Nancy hissed, blushing as Steve, Tommy and Carol giggled and whispered a few feet away from them. They sat on the hood of Steve's car which had parked next to Mary. Barbara had already gone home for the day.

Nancy sighed. "Look, I'm sorry that I might like Steve and want to be with him and that his friends are a little mean to you"

"A little mean-"

"Let me finish" Nancy said, her eyes boring into Marcy before easing up a bit and got a look of pity. She then added. "Come to Steve's house tonight, there is a party and even Barb is coming"

Mary couldn't really hold it in anymore,"You know I babysit on Tuesdays Nance" she said, her voice thick with emotions. Nancy knew, she had always known because before Steve 'the hair' Harrington had crashed between them the two girls had been joined at the hip. Despite their differences. But it had become more and more obvious the weeks that had passed, that without the glue that was Barbara Holland, the two of them simply couldn't work together. Like water and oil.

"Right," Nancy said, blinking a few times when she remembered.

"Have fun" Mary said and put her headphones back in, then quickly got into her car. Nancy made note of how hard she had slammed the door shut, and stayed put as she watched Mary drive away.

"Jesus, crybaby much?" Carol huffed as Nancy had turned around to the crew.

"Hey, don't say that about my friend" Nancy had said, grumpy but with no real. She didn't really understand her head and heart right then and there. This is what she wanted right? She wanted Steve and the life that came with it. For once, she wasn't a nerd or an outsider. She wasn't a nobody, her voice mattered. People took notice of her. But why did she not use that voice to make her friend come and join her in the winners circle. Why did she feel guilty over something that wasn't really her problem, but still affected her childhood best friend. Was she a bad friend for enjoying her life for once. Steve Harrington liked her, who had the right to take that away from her.

"Aww cute that you stick up for the virgin" Carol cackled, Tommy shiming in with, "Is it because you are not going to be one for much longer?"

Steve, who was getting more and more tired of his friend each passing day finally felt a small snap inside of him. "Guys, stop it"

Steve had been friends with Tommy and Carol since diapers, it had been Steve and Tommy against the world since they learnt in grade school how big the world was. They were going to conquer the nbl, right? So why was his best friends voice suddenly as pleasant to listen to as nails on chalkboard. And since when did they enjoy the pain of others this much? Steve had never even talked to Mary nor Barbara, but they had never done anything to deserve something like a basketball to the face. Something had started to gnaw inside of him.

"Whatever" Carol rolled her eyes and she and Tommy walked away to Tommy's car. Leaving the lovebirds to themselves.

~X~

Much later that night

Mary had the great joy of picking up Dustin and his friends at the Wheelers that evening. The boys had eaten dinner there, Karen had told her over the phone, rendering the tuna casserole that Mary had made useless. She had put it in the fridge for the Hendersons to eat the next day, hopefully Mrs Henderson would enjoy a lot of leftovers. "Hi guys! Put your bikes in the trunk and let's go"

"Hi Mary!" Lucas and Dustin said in unison as they packed the car and got into the back. The boy didn't see Mary that much, but loved whenever she was the babysitter. She had even joined in on a couple of campaigns, as a druid healer.

"You guys had a fun time at Mike's?" She asked when the car started rolling. The boys were fast to start talking about their adventures and plans to find Will. This, of course, made Mary very worried.

"Guys!" She broke their super fast story about some crazy girl. "I understand that Will is your top priority right now, but don't forget that you are just kids. Let the adults handle this" Mary pleaded with them, trying to make eye contact in the mirror while driving.

"But what if they can't find him?" Lucas urged.

"Oh don't even think that guys" Mary said, a pang of panicked sadness hitting her.

"No, I mean… what if he has gone somewhere no one can go" Dustin explained, trying to get his babysitter to understand. But Lucas was fast to hit Dustin, hard. Shaking his head to stop him from doing something stupid.

"What do you mean?" Mary asked.

"Nothing… nothing" Dustin said, while giving Lucas the stink eye as he rubbed his arm.

"Okay" Mary huffed, she couldn't believe those boys sometimes. "This is you Lucas" She said and parked the car outside of the Sinclair house.

"Bye Mary" Lucas said as he opened the passenger door of her baby blue 65' impala. It was Red's little baby, Mary wasn't sure which one he would save in a house fire. Her or the car.

"Say hi to your parents from me" Mary shouted from the car as she watched the boy walk all the way from the garage where he'd parked the bike to the front door.

"Should we go?" Dustin asked, feeling creepy staying outside the Sinclair's.

"Let's just make sure he makes it inside, '' Mary said gently, taking Dustin's hand and smiling at him. The boy somehow understood, but didn't say anything. He silently was grateful to have Mary as his babysitter, to look after him when his mother wasn't there for him.

"Now we go" She said and started driving away as Luas closed the front door to his house.