"Unbelievable" Krystal scoffed, as she crossed her arms in annoyance.

"You cheated" Billy exclaimed, glaring at the man opposite him.

"Sorry kids, I can't help it if your both terrible at poker" Murray shrugged, with a grin, after winning the latest game.

"Well, you do have more years of life experience…a lot more years" Billy teased, taking a sip from his drink.

"And here comes the 'old man' jokes" Murray rolled his eyes, as Billy and Krystal shared an amused look.

"You know we would never disrespect you in that way…Mr Bunion" Krystal giggled, nudging Billy with her elbow.

"Bauman! B.A.U.M.A.N!" Murray insisted as Krystal fell into another fit of laughter.

"You make it too easy, pal" Billy smirked, patting Murray on the shoulder.

"God, I hate children" Murray murmured, pushing himself to his feet to grab another drink.

"Stop inviting us over then!" Krystal called after him, going to reshuffle the cards.

"Hmm, but then where would we get to make out?" Billy grinned, as he leant over and pressed a kiss to her lips, his hand trailing behind her neck.

"…Jesus, I leave you two for a second and you already have your tongues down each other's throats? Ah, to be young and horny again" Murray exclaimed, coming to sit opposite the teenagers.

"Ew, please never say the word horny again. Sounds really wrong coming from you" Krystal said, pulling away from Billy for a moment before he captured her lips again.

"I used to be to quite the catch back in the day, I'll have you know" Murray insisted, as Billy practically snorted.

"Yeah, we've seen one of your exes, remember? E.T go home girl" Billy teased, remembering the woman who had alien stickers plastered all over her car.

"Uh, that was just a fling" Murray retorted.

"Is that supposed to make it any better?" Krystal grinned, as the loud sensors from Murray's driveway went off, making them all jump.

"Are you ever going to deactivate those things?" Billy grumbled, rubbing at his head.

"Are you ever going to cut your hair? No, I don't think so" Murray retorted, as Krystal's mouth dropped open.

"Oh man, he got you good" Krystal laughed, as Murray went over to the monitor to see what had tripped the alarms.

"The pizza's arrived…" Murray trailed off, seeing Billy whispering in Krystal's ear, as a blush rose on her cheeks.

With a roll of his eyes, Murray wandered over to his front door, grabbing a robe to sling over his shoulders. The two teenagers could barely keep their hands off each other, but at least he knew it wouldn't get too far under his roof. Murray greeted the delivery boy with a wad of cash in his hand, taking the pizza's and slamming the door in the boy's face before he could even open his mouth. The nearby pizza place had been shocked when they started receiving frequent orders from his house, as Murray had always been…private to say the least. He opened the box, breathing in the greasy smell as he walked back into his living room, frowning when he saw the teenagers grabbing their jackets.

"What's going on?" Murray frowned, as Krystal and Billy stood up.

"It's almost four. We need to leave now to pick Max up from her club in time" Krystal explained, as Billy slapped her ass as he walked past.

"See ya' next time" Billy exclaimed, patting him on the shoulder before he left the room.

"But…you guys just got here…" Murray trailed off, dropping the pizza on the table.

"Uh, I think we're got next Saturday free? Billy could sneak out and then I could-" Krystal began, but Murray cut her off with a shake of his head.

"It's fine. No need for you kids to get in trouble" Murray stated, waving her off.

"Maybe you could go down to that diner sometime this week? I think that waitress liked you last time we went there" Krystal suggested.

"You know I don't feel comfortable-" Murray started, but Krystal cut him off this time.

"Okay, forget I said anything" Krystal exclaimed, holding her hands up.

"…Oh, take the pizza!" Murray insisted, grabbing the pizza for the table, and shoving it towards her.

"What about you?" Krystal frowned, taking the box, nonetheless.

"Are you gonna' get a dinner tonight otherwise?" Murray pointed out, as Krystal looked down at her shoes.

"Alright, now get out of here. I'm a busy man. Lots of work to do" Murray went on, ushering her towards the front door.

"Thanks, Murray. I'll call on Saturday" Krystal said, giving him a small smile, as she opened the door with her other hand.

Murray watched her rush over the driveway into Billy's car, who pressed down on his horn when he saw her, his usual grin plastered across his face. Slowly, Murray closed the large metal door with a sigh. He leaned against the cold surface as the deafening silence engulfed him once again.

"Billy, stop!" Krystal giggled, as Billy peppered soft kisses over her neck.

"Make me" Billy grinned, kissing up her jaw, a challenging tone in his voice.

With a smirk, Krystal grabbed his hair roughly, pulling him up to almost brush her lips against her own. However, she then shoved him back with a hand to his chest, as Billy almost fell out of his seat.

"Tease" Billy accused.

"You love it…" Krystal stated, quirking a mischievous eyebrow, as Billy bit his lip.

Their friends with benefits situation had been ongoing for almost four months, and neither was losing interest. Hell, Billy would never admit it to anyone else, but he enjoyed when Krystal dominated him, as she was the only girl to ever try. A secret which he would make sure would stay between them.

"Here come the lovebirds" Krystal grimaced, watching Max and Lucas walk down the school steps, hand in hand.

Billy shared her expression as they watched Lucas press a quick kiss to Max's cheek, before rushing off to his mother's car. The couple were in one of their short-lived 'on' stages, before Krystal expected Lucas would say something stupid over the coming days and Max would dump him…again. Her little sister was definitely not taking any shit in their relationship, much to Krystal's amusement.

The two teenagers exited Billy's car almost simultaneously, which had been hidden under trees as the sun went down, far from any nosy school kids. Neither of them were stupid enough to act like anything more than friends in public, but it was hard. At home, they barely interacted, due to Neil's harsh rules. At least at Murray's they could finally be themselves. And around Max, much to her own displeasure.

"Hey shitbird, we ain't got all day!" Billy called over, as Max skated over to them, with a roll of her eyes.

Billy's attention was quickly diverted to a large crowd gathering at the steps of the school, as he spotted a familiar face. Billy felt his blood boil as he watched an older boy push Will Byers down the stairs, falling onto his hands and knees as the boy laughed harder. Billy recognised the boy as Chris Stag, one of the older middle schoolers, who already looked like he belonged in high school. Krystal's eyes followed Billy's, as Will tried to pick up his books that had gone flying when he fell. Max came to a sharp halt when she too spotted what the teenagers were looking at, looking ready to march over and give the older boy a piece of her mind.

"I'll handle this" Krystal announced, holding out a hand to stop Billy, who had taken an angry step forward.

Some of the middle schoolers had already disbanded as Krystal approached, clearly feeling uncomfortable. Krystal watched as Will bit his lip to stop the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes, keeping his grazed hands close to his chest. Chris continued to laugh as Krystal made her way over to him, eventually stopping only a metre in front of him. The smile slowly faded from the boy's face as Krystal's eyes burnt into his own.

"What? Is it not funny anymore?" Krystal questioned, taking another step forward as the boy shied away from her.

The boy frowned as Krystal leaned forward and began to whisper something in the boy's ear, as Billy and Max walked over to the scene. Billy knelt to pull Will up, who gave him a grateful smile.

"Holy shit, Chris pissed himself!" An amused voice cried from the crowd, as Krystal pulled away.

Billy's eyes widened as he saw it was true, the wet patch that was growing on the younger boy's trousers clear for everyone to see. He couldn't help but wonder what Krystal had said to the boy that would have scared him so much. Before he could think too much into the matter, he spotted an angry balding man rushing over to Krystal and quickly put two and two together.

"Chris? What the hell's going on here?" The man complained, looking in between Chris and Krystal.

The boy made no move to reply, still staring back at Krystal, as the man, which she suspected was his father, shook the boy's shoulder.

"I gave him a little bit of friendly advice" Krystal shrugged, as the man's eyes snapped up to hers.

"Who the fuck do you think you are?" The bald man exclaimed.

"Well someone has to teach the kid about respect, clearly you're not" Krystal accused, as the man balled his hands into fists.

"Krys!" Billy hissed, not understanding why Krystal seemed to be trying to get into a fight.

Before anyone could react, the man had swung his fist towards Krystal, who had a cold look in her eyes. Billy's jaw dropped open as Krystal's arm shot out of nowhere, gripping the man's fist roughly. The man seemed to strain against her for a moment, trying to wrench his hand free from her grip, but she wouldn't let him go.

"Let go of me!" The man yelled, fear flashing across his features.

"…Okay" Krystal replied, suddenly letting go of his hand, as the man fell backwards, falling to the ground.

"You…you crazy bitch!" The man cried, pushing himself into a sitting position.

Krystal's jaw tensed as she took a step forward, only to be stopped by Billy, who's hand shot out to grab her. She whipped her head around to glare at him angrily, as Billy flinched, almost expecting her to hit him. However, her expression quickly softened, as she blinked a few times, as if coming out of a trance.

"We should go" Krystal murmured, backing away and shoving her way out of the crowd that had gathered.

Billy and Max shared a concerned look as they watched her go, having never seen Krystal react in that way before. What had she said to the kid, Billy still wondered.

It was a few days later, and Billy was growing more and more irritated by the way that Krystal had been avoiding him. His mood had grown worse when his father had stated he wanted them to have a big family dinner that night, and that Billy, Krystal and Max would be expected to cook for them. It was Valentine's Day, after all, Neil had said. The holiday had never meant much to Billy before, except that it was an easy day to get laid. But there was only one thing on his mind that year, as he turned his attention to Krystal, who was grabbing a few plates from the top cupboard. With a smirk, Billy approached her, leaning over and grabbing the plates that she hadn't been able to reach. Billy raised his other hand out, placing it against the nearby kitchen counter, effectively pinning Krystal in between his body and arm.

"What's going on, Krys?" Billy questioned, in a hushed voice.

"What do you mean?" Krystal replied, innocently.

"You've barely said two words to me all week, I mean what the fuck? Did…did I do something wrong?" Billy asked, hating how weak the words sounded.

"I'm just tired, that's all" Krystal shook her head.

"Well…maybe you can come visit me tonight then. I'll make sure you have sweet dreams" Billy smirked, as Krystal's lips twitched into a smile.

"I doubt I'd sleep at all if I did that" Krystal pointed out, as she bit her lip.

A loud cough came from the doorway, as the pair whipped their heads around to see Max standing there with her hands on her hips. Max was becoming increasingly worried about how often Krystal and Billy seemed to forget to hide whatever it was going on between them. If Neil found out…well, Max didn't even want to think about that.

Soon the table was set, and a rare comfortable silence had washed over the house, as everyone tucked into their food. Billy even began to think for once he might just be able to have a normal family dinner. However, after a few minutes, Neil had singlehandedly managed to ruin everything.

"So, Billy…we don't usually see you on Valentine's Day. Are the whores at your school already bored with you?" Neil inquired, as Susan paled at the word.

"Neil, please. Not at the dinner table" Susan mumbled, meekly.

"It's a fair question, honey…I asked you a question, Billy. No Hawkins girl piqued your interest?" Neil went on, his eyes snapping up to Billy's.

"No, sir" Billy replied, looking back down to his dinner plate.

"Really? Now, that's interesting. That really is. Who exactly is this for then? I found it in your pocket?" Neil inquired, pulling out a box from his pocket, and opening it up.

Krystal frowned as she saw it was a pretty heart-shaped necklace inside and felt Billy's eyes dart over to her for half a second. Wait…had the necklace been for her?

"It's nothing" Billy mumbled.

"It's a pretty expensive necklace for nothing, Billy. Who's it for?" Neil insisted as Billy's jaw tensed.

"Just…just some girl at school. Seriously, it's nothing, dad" Billy retorted.

"Krystal. Do you know who this is for?" Neil asked as the younger girl felt her heart stop for a moment.

"Billy and I don't exactly gossip about girl's, Neil. We're not supposed to talk at all, remember?" Krystal muttered as Neil let out a harsh laugh.

"I think you two may be forgetting a very important fact right now. You live under my roof. I will not tolerate lies or insolence-" Neil began, but Krystal cut him off quickly.

"Violence is much more your style, right Neil?" Krystal exclaimed as Neil's eyes widened at her words.

"Don't use that tone of voice with me" Neil warned her.

"Or what? Are you gonna hit me again?" Krystal stated, glaring at him.

Neil gritted his teeth, his hands holding onto the table with a vice-like grip. He looked like he was a few seconds away from snapping.

"Get out. All of you. Now!" Neil growled, banging his fist on the table.

"With pleasure" Krystal spat out, as she shoved her chair back and grabbed her jacket from near the front door.

Billy was on his feet a second later, ushering Max to follow them, knowing better than to tempt his father's fury. Susan stayed silent as she watched them rush out of the room, as Krystal slammed the front door shut with a bang, making her flinch.

"She didn't mean to-" Susan began, as Neil cut her off.

"Clean this mess up" Neil exclaimed, with a glare, as Susan nodded meekly.

Krystal sighed as she placed a blanket over Max's shoulders, a few hours later, after the younger girl had finally drifted off to sleep. Max had insisted that they could probably crash at one of her friend's houses for the night, but Billy wouldn't hear of it. He was already embarrassed enough at all the times he had to palm Max off, and angrily drew the line at asking any of Max's friends for help. That was how they found themselves sleeping in Billy's car at midnight on a cold February night.

"Was that necklace really for me?" Krystal inquired, after a few minutes of silence.

"It was a stupid idea…" Billy trailed off, as Krystal shook her head.

"No. It really wasn't" Krystal smiled, as she leaned forward to press a soft kiss against his lips.

"I thought I might be able to use it to guilt-trip you into telling me what's been up with you recently" Billy explained, as Krystal pulled away.

"I…I don't know" Krystal mumbled, drawing her knees up to her chest.

"I'm not really used to being the mellow one here, Krystal" Billy joked, his tone still serious.

"Billy Hargrove mellow? That'll be the day" Krystal scoffed, with a fond shake of her head.

"Look, you can talk to me or whatever, okay? I know things are complicated between us but…we're all we've got, right?" Billy stuttered, feeling awkward.

"Are you being nice again? Do you need an ice pack?" Krystal teased, as Billy rolled his eyes.

Ironically, Krystal began to shiver a moment later, the heating in the car was not enough to stop the chill in the air. Stripping off his jacket, Billy reached out to hand it to Krystal, who gratefully took the warm clothing.

"…You know, there are other ways to keep warm…" Billy trailed off, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Max is in the backseat" Krystal pointed out.

"She could sleep through an earthquake" Billy shrugged, as he leaned forward, stopping only inches away from her lips.

"I'm not having my first time in a car with my little sister in the backseat, Hargrove" Krystal retorted, as Billy pouted, dropping his head to lie against her shoulder.

"…I never said I wouldn't make out for a bit though" Krystal smirked, as Billy's head snapped up, sharing her expression.

It had been a slow night patrolling the streets of Hawkins for Hopper. The only case he had dealt with was a couple who had gotten a little too drunk and had couldn't remember their way home. He was just thinking about heading back to his cabin when he spotted a car on the side of the road. Hopper slowed down as he realised he recognised the Camaro from somewhere but couldn't quite put his finger on it. As he drove by he spotted a young couple in the front seat and didn't have to guess to know what they were up to. It was a public road, and almost two in the morning. They could get laid in their own home, Jim thought to himself as he parked in front of the Camaro. He pulled his jacket closer to his body, grabbing his flashlight and made his way over to the car. The driver's window was already down as he approached, as he shined the light into the car.

"Problem, Officer?" A familiar voice inquired, as Hopper pulled the light away.

"Hargrove? What are you doing…" Hopper's voice trailed off, as he saw Max asleep in the backseat.

"You kids alright?" Hopper asked, already checking them over with his eyes for any obvious wounds.

"We're fine" Billy retorted.

"Right, and that's why your sleeping in your car at 2 AM?" Hopper scoffed.

"Well Chief, we weren't exactly sleeping" Billy smirked, as Hopper grimaced in disgust.

"We can drive on if it's going to be a problem" Krystal interjected, as a blush rose over her cheeks.

"…Your gonna' catch your death sleeping out here tonight. You can come back with me tonight-" Hopper began, but quickly cut him off.

"No thanks," Billy muttered.

"You'd really prefer to freeze your ass off out here?" Hopper questioned.

"If we needed your help, we'd ask for it" Billy insisted, ready to wind his window up.

"Billy…think about Max" Krystal exclaimed, looking to the ginger girl in the back seat.

"…Alright, Max can stay with you tonight" Billy mumbled, averting his eyes from Hopper's gaze.

"Sounds good to me" Hopper smirked.

Billy tapped against his knee nervously, as he sat rigidly on Jim Hopper's couch, looking like he was a few seconds from bolting out of the door. Krystal didn't look like she was faring much better, as she kept glancing at the door. It had taken a long time but eventually, Hopper had managed to convince the pair to come inside, after Max had gone to sleep in El's room, who was ecstatic to see her friend.

"Not a big fan of cops, huh?" Hopper suggested, coming to sit opposite them.

"Cops lead to trouble" Billy stated, stopping his tapping.

"If Neil finds out we're here…" Krystal trailed off, fidgeting with her hands.

Billy looked over to her with confusion, hearing the scared tone in her voice. She had seemed so confident earlier when standing up to Neil, but now the fear was back. Billy was still left wondering where all Krystal's angry outbursts were coming from, but he knew it wasn't the time to bring it up.

"He won't. Not from me" Hopper promised, as Billy let out a harsh scoff.

"Because you're so good at keeping your word?" Billy retorted, as Hopper's jaw tensed.

"My hands were tied with your case. Your father has some important friends…in and out of the police department" Hopper explained.

"Which is exactly why we shouldn't be here" Krystal insisted, but Hopper shook his head.

"Where else are you going to go?" Hopper questioned.

"Well, Steve would-" Krystal started, but Billy quickly cut her off.

"Actually, maybe staying here wouldn't be so bad" Billy muttered, hating the idea of having to ask Steve for help.

"Just because the other cops at the station have dropped your case, it doesn't mean that I have" Hopper announced, as both the teenagers turned to him.

"What do you mean?" Krystal asked.

"I know what Neil does to you both. You trusted me to help you and…I let you down. I don't like that doing that, not to anyone. Especially a couple of kids-" Hopper began but was cut off by Billy.

"I'm seventeen, you asshole" Billy exclaimed, as Hopper's lips twitched into a smile.

"Just stay here for the night…please" Hopper replied, as Billy mulled over it.

"…Do you have any food?" Krystal inquired, as Hopper's smile grew.

"I think I can rustle something up" Hopper nodded, as he walked towards the kitchen.

"I'm gonna' go freshen up. Play nice" Krystal told Billy, as she pushed herself to her feet, leaving Billy looking uncomfortable on the couch.

As Krystal was walking towards the bathroom, a door slowly creaked open, revealing what looked like a photograph on the floor. She cautiously made her way towards the photo and crouched down to pick it up. Her other hand flew to her mouth as she let out a cry of horror, almost dropping the picture. It was the father of Chris Stag, the man who she had fought with outside the school only a week prior. A crime scene photo. The bald man's jaw had been practically ripped off, blood covering his chest, and face, as it pooled underneath him. His eyes were still wide open with fear. Krystal felt bile clawing it's way up her throat, as a shadow creeped over her.

"Hey, you shouldn't be looking at that stuff" Hopper scolded her, taking the picture from her hand.

"What…what happened to him?" Krystal questioned, shakily.

"He was found by his car a couple of days ago…hey, there's no reason to think this is Upside Down related, alright? There's still plenty of creeps in the world who'd want to do this" Hopper explained, thinking that was why Krystal looked so freaked out.

"…Right" Krystal nodded tensely, before rushing towards the bathroom and shutting the door.

She leaned against the wooden door for a moment, trying to get her breathing under control. What were the chances of someone she had a fight with turning up dead so soon after? Shaking her head, she walked over to the basin, bending down to splash some cold water in her face. As she brushed a hand through her hair, she stared back at her reflection in the mirror, thinking about how tired she looked. Her forehead wrinkled as she felt something in her eye, rubbing at then with her palm, thinking it would be an eyelash there. Krystal frown deepened when she pulled away to see a dark sticky substance now coating her palm. Her eyes snapped back to her reflection, almost jumping out of her skin when she saw how her eyes had darkened, leaning closer to see there were black veins now coating her eyes. Suddenly, the mirror in front of her cracked down the middle, causing Krystal to jump back in shock. Shakily, Krystal looked back up at the shattered mirror to find her eyes now looked completely normal. What the hell was happening?

Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Uh oh, something really bad is happening to Krystal, will Billy be able to stop it? Are you guys happy to read some more chapters about what happens in between Season 2 and 3, or do you want me to just fast forward to that start of Season 3? Please leave a review:)

LoveFiction2020: Thank you! Glad you liked it.

Medi2020: Aww, I'm glad I've managed to get you obsessed, haha. Billy's definitely going to have a tough time coming soon, I'll have to warn you. I hoped you liked this chapter!

Apoka: I think you've got the right idea, haha. I hope you enjoyed the update:)

Napola: Thank you for reviewing, glad you liked it:)