Thank you for all the reviews, alerts and favs, it makes me super happy.

Also a reviewer asked if it would be a 3-way pairing or a love triangle and I haven't 110 percent decided yet but leaning way more towards a three-way pairing. F/M/M

Hope you enjoy chapter two! Thank you again for taking the time to alert, fav and review.

Disclaimer: Stranger things isn't mine.

Chapter Two: Dungeons, Dragons and a Princess

Eddie pulled up to the family video store, Sarah bouncing in the passenger's seat bubbling with so much excitement. He raised an eyebrow at the girl wondering why she was so excited all of a sudden. She could barely wait for the van to park before she was throwing open the door. Eddie followed after her, reaching out to open the front door for her however she burst through before his hand could even touch the door handle. Sarah saw him instantly. He was standing at the shelves putting away some video tapes. He looked up at the commotion and it took him a minute to realise who had walked in. "Steve!" She squealed running at the boy full bore, jumping into his awaiting arms.

"Sarah! Where have you been?" He gripped onto her, lifting her up into the air and spinning her around.

Eddie stood at the door, leaning up against it with his arms folded. Ah, Harrington, that's why she had been so excited. He couldn't help the jealous feeling that sat in the pit of his stomach while he held her so tight. He knew they had been best friends, he used to see them walk down the hallways together engrossed in conversation between classes even though she was a year below him. He had never seen her laugh besides when she had been with Steve. But then last year there were whispers that the two were more than just friends.

"Oh my God! Sarah!?" Robin yelled; she had come out to see what all the commotion was.

"Robin!" Sarah couldn't hold it back anymore and she began crying. The tears falling down her cheeks. "I missed you guys."

Steve put her down and Robin came up behind her, hugging her, making a Sarah sandwich. "Are you okay? You've lost so much weight! Where have you been? Do you need a sandwich? Did he hurt you?"

Eddie was about to feel offended at Robin's last statement until he realised they hadn't even noticed his existence in the store. Then his mind drifted to her wrists, the swollen red circles around both, which she kept trying to hide from him. Who was this 'he' they were talking about? Steve took a hold of Sarah's shoulders, moving her out from him to look her over. "It's been five months since we've even heard from you, you look a mess."

Sarah blinked. "Thank you, King Steve."

Robin muffled a laugh at the use of Steve's old nickname, back when he wasn't the nicest of people. "That's the last thing you tell a girl after not seeing them for so long. God Steve this is why you're single."

"I'll have you ladies know." Both girls groaned over the top of any other words Steve was going to say causing him to frown. "Oh good, I needed the droning sisters back in my life."

"You missed her so much, don't even." Robin retorted.

Steve looked at Sarah, a lose sigh slipping from his lips. He moved forward, pulled her into him and gave her a kiss on the forehead, this was when he noticed Eddie leaning against the door with his arms crossed. "Is Munson with you?"

Sarah turned to look at him. "Yeah he gave me a lift."

Robin grasped the top of Sarah's arm, hugging it tightly, leaning up to whisper in her ear. "So, the rumour I heard that some 'chick' stood up to Jason today in the cafeteria over Eddie Munson, was you? He totally looks your type."

Sarah blushed. "Shut up." She hissed wigging a now laughing Robin off her arm.

Eddie raised an eyebrow and with pursed lips he made a hm sound. "Sweetheart if you're all good I can go?"

"Um." She suddenly felt a sort of dread come over her at the thought of him leaving and she was confused at these feelings. "Can you take me one more place?"

"I can take you." Steve spoke up.

Sarah shook her head. "You're at work, you can't just leave. I'll stop by yours tomorrow?" She offered.

Steve looked at her for a moment before glancing over the top of her head to stare down Eddie. Eddie returning the look, sizing each other up. "Alright, tomorrow." Steve said after a moment, pulling her in for another hug, Robin throwing herself on her too.

Removing herself out of the hug, she threw the best smile she could muster their way before walking over to Eddie, her fingers reaching out to grab a hold of his jacket as she passed, pulling him to move with her, giving one last wave back at her best friends before leaving the video store, practically dragging Eddie towards his vehicle and out of the others view. Releasing her hold on him, she came to a stop beside the van, eyes dropping down to the sleeve of her shirt, pulling it over her fingers in an obsessive manner. Chewing her bottom lip aggressively trying to think of the right words to say so she wouldn't come off as weird or overstep her boundaries. Eddie placed his hand under her chin, gently tilting her head up to force her to look into his eyes. "Sweetheart, that's too hard." He gently used his thumb to wipe the corner of her lip, it was then that she felt the sting and realised she had opened up her busted lip, the metallic taste of blood in her mouth.

"I'm sorry." She all but breathed. Her eyes locking with his and for a moment she had completely forgotten herself. All her problems.

His eyes flickered down to her lips, they were swollen from her previous assault, his tongue darting between his lips to wet them. He was losing all control around this girl. "Stop apologising." He finally spoke dropping his hand from her chin. He needed to stop touching her before he did something stupid and made a fool of himself. "Where do you need to go?"

Sarah sighed, perhaps she was putting too much on this boy. Maybe she should ask him just to drop her off at Dustin's and let him get on with his life. Her father had always told her she was a burden to those around her. Never gave, only took. He always had her convinced she was the problem, people loved her father, he was charming and made them laugh; people always telling her how lucky she was he was her father. "Can you take me back to yours?" Eddie blinked; he hadn't been expecting that. Sarah immediately felt like she had made the wrong decision. "Sorry, that was really stupid. Look my aunts isn't far I can just walk. I'm."

"Hey hey." Eddie took a gentle hold on her shoulders stopping any words that were going to come out of her mouth. "Let's go, okay?"

Blinking back the tears that so desperately wanted to fall she let her head fall, giving a nod. Eddie opened the passenger door and helped her back into the van before getting in himself and driving them back to his place.

As they pulled into the trailer park Eddie turned to face Sarah who returned his gaze. He knew she had been overwhelmed today and wanted to do his best to make sure she was comfortable. "My uncle will be home for a little before work, if you don't mind meeting him?"

"Will he mind that I'm here?"

"No."

Sarah seemed to mull this over in her mind, fingers fidgeting with her sleeves once again. Eddie didn't push her, simply waited for her to come to a decision on her own. "Okay. I'm ready."

Eddie led her inside, his uncle Wayne looking up from his paper to greet his nephew noticing Sarah nervously standing behind him. "Hey, this is my friend Sarah. She's just going to be hanging out here for a bit."

Wayne got up from the chair and reached his hand out for a handshake. "Hello Sarah."

Sarah took a small step forward coming out from behind Eddie, taking his hand gently. "It's nice to meet you, Sir."

"You're Thomas's daughter, right?"

She flinched at his name, looking down at the ground to hide the fear that went through her whole body, she had hoped neither had picked up on it but both men caught it. "That... that's right." She cleared her throat and let go of his hand. "I'm sorry for intruding."

"You're welcome whenever, Sarah." He went back over to his chair, picking back up the paper. "Maybe you'll be some good influence on this one."

Sarah giggled; Eddie groaned wrapping his arm around her shoulders to pull her into follow him; taking her into his room, shutting the door behind them. Sarah dropped onto his bed with a deep sigh, today had been mentally draining. She turned slightly to look at Eddie as he sat on the bed beside her. "How you are doing, princess?"

"I don't know." She replied feeling like she was melting onto the bed. "It's been... a lot... do you think I'll get in trouble for punching Jason?"

Eddie chuckled. "He won't go telling a teacher you punched his lights out, don't worry."

"I shouldn't have... done it."

"If you hadn't I was going too. He put his hands on you first."

"... I just... I don't want violence to be my answer to things... I don't want to be... like my dad... there was never anything with him... but violence... well… at least when it came to me…" Her eyelids were heavy, almost impossible to keep open. Reaching her hand out to gently take hold of one of Eddie's fingers she sleepily grumbled. "I'm sorry if I'm too much..."

Eddie looked down at her, but her eyes were closed, soft snoring, grip still tight on his index finger. She had been so exhausted with everything that had happened over the last two days she finally passed out. While reaching out for him her sleeve had caught on the bed pulling the fabric away revealing her damaged skin that she always tried to hide from him. It made him mad, the area around the wound was a mix of old bruises and new, old scar tissue along the edges. He needed to get some fresh air. As gentle as possible he removed his finger from her grasp and exited his room, silently shutting the door to let her get the rest she needed. Walking out to the front and placing a cigarette into his mouth.

"There was talk that he didn't treat that girl right." Wayne spoke, closing the front door behind him. "One of the boys saw him smacking her around one night. No one believed him of course, everyone liked Thomas, said what a good man he was, how hard it was for him after he lost his wife. The girl was a perfect daughter, polite, smart, genuinely well rounded, never had a bad thing to say about her father. They thought there was no way she was getting abused." He gave Eddie's shoulder a gentle pat before walking past him and towards the car. "For a name to give someone such fear… look after yourself as well, Eddie."

Wayne didn't wait for a response of any sort, getting into the car to head off to work. Eddie watched the smoke dance off his lit cigarette in silence, the 'he' Robin had been talking about was her father, did they know he abused her? Why didn't they do more to protect her? Did her Aunt know? Dustin was a smart kid, did he? He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting out the front or how many cigarettes he had gone through. His legs starring to go numb let him know it has probably been too long. Getting up he went back inside, throwing himself onto the lounge, kicking his legs over the armrest and rubbing his face with a groan. She had come into his life so easily and wrapped him around her finger, he would go to hell for this girl. Putting his forearm over his eyes he took a deep breath, then sighed. He was just the local drug dealer freak, he didn't expect the ex-queen of Hawkins high herself to fall into his life and throw him into disarray, he had only ever expected to watch her from afar. Where his little crush couldn't develop past anything more and just stay a silly little crush.

Eddie hadn't gotten much sleep that night, his thoughts about a lot of things all at once, he had been up and making breakfast when Sarah woke up apologising for falling asleep. "You need to stop apologising all the time, sweetheart."

"Sorry." Sarah said sheepishly. "It's an um, very built-in habit."

Eddie felt like a bit of an ass, if her father was as horrible as he now thought he was, of course her trauma response would be to apologise for everything before she got in trouble. "Hungry?"

"You're being far too kind to me." Sarah smiled accepting the plate of scrambled eggs he held out for her. "Thank you, Eddie."

"It's not even half of what you deserve." Eddie muttered under his breath.

The two ate breakfast together engaging in small talk, he had learnt her favourite colour was pink, but not just any pink, the pink the sky turns during a sunset sometimes. He had learnt that her favourite way to pass time was reading and her favourite genre was fiction, more specifically, fantasy and that she had been dying to get her hands on Howl's moving castle but hadn't been able too yet. It had been nice having someone around all the time, it was normally just Eddie as his uncle worked six days a week and when he was home he would sleep, sometimes pulling double shifts and not coming home at all. Sarah went for a shower and came back in to Eddies room, he noted again she wore clothes that covered all of her, even though it was a warm day, but he said nothing.

Sarah sat on Eddie's bed with a book on her lap, notebook to her left, pen sticking out of her hair. She had a lot of work to catch up on, but she knew how to study. Studying was a sure way to get her father to leave her alone, it was also an excuse to go over to Nancy's. She'd tell him of an assignment or some extra work the two had picked up and he'd let her go. He loved bragging that she was top of her class to anyone who would listen. Sometimes he'd get such a high being told how good of a dad he was to have a daughter like her that he'd buy her a nice meal or a shirt she had been looking at. It almost became an obsession for Sarah to stay on top of her schoolwork, not going to parties with Steve or declining shopping trips with Nancy to ensure she would get top marks. She had also realised that he hit her a lot less after receiving a perfect report card or results from exams.

"Am I dropping you off at Harrington's today?" Eddie spoke up, breaking her concentration.

"You don't have to, I can walk." She looked down at his empty notebook and gave him a flat look. "You know you'd do better if you actually wrote things down."

Eddie smirked. "I know I don't have too; I'm offering. I'm not doing anything today so I'm happy to."

"You've done so much for me already, Eddie. You let me crash here again last night and you've been nothing but kind to me. I can't keep bothering you with ... well me."

"Of course you can, in fact I insist you continue to do so. So, Harrington's?"

Sarah smiled, leaning forward she gently took his wrist into her hand, turning it to look at his watch. "It's only nine-thirty. He's probably still sleeping. Maybe we could go in like, half an hour?"

"Sounds good to me, sweetheart, I do however have to go out for a minute."

Sarah's grip on her book tightening just that little bit, the anxiety of him leaving her gripped at her and before she could even stop the words falling out of her mouth she asked. "Can I come with you?"

"You... want to come to a drug deal with me?" He asked slowly, brows furrowed. "You?"

"I don't care what you're doing." Was her simple reply, her shoulders shrugging. "I mean... if you're sick of me being around just let me know." Her face became full of concern, she smacked her forehead with an opened palm. "Shit I didn't even think that perhaps you wouldn't want me there. That was rude I'm-"

"Don't apologise." Eddie cut her off. "I'm more than happy with your company, Sarah, you don't need to worry about that. I just didn't think a, you know, drug deal, would be up your alley."

Sarah laughed, it was a sound he had come to love hearing, it echoed like sparkles to his ears. Standing up he held his hand out for her, she grinned, taking a hold of it as he pulled her to her feet and off the bed. She had asked him about his dealings while he drove, how'd he get into it, how long he'd be doing it, was he worried he'd get into trouble. The deal had no issues and afterwards he drove her to Steve's. He had promised her that it was no problem if she wanted to come back to his after and wrote the trailer's phone number on a piece of paper for her if she needed him. He waited until he saw Steve open the door and Sarah throw herself into him in a hug before driving off.

"Munson dropped you off again?" Steve mused watching the van disappear down the street. Sarah nodded, her head against his chest, arms around his waist. "Since when are you two such good friends?"

"Since he picked me up hitch hiking back to Hawkins."

Steve removed her from the hug, picking up her hand in his, entangling their fingers and leading her inside. His mother gave Sarah pleasantries, but Steve dragged her right by not allowing her to stop to chat and into his room, shutting the door behind him. "I have been worried sick about you."

"I'm sorry."

"You and I... we've both had daddy issues." Sarah gave him a look at that but he ignored it. "Mines always been a grade-a asshole but... Sarah, the way your dad came for you after the mall incident, the way he shook you... it made me question everything. I knew he was a dick, but did I miss something bigger?"

"Steve..."

"He took you away from me for five months, Sarah, five months I had no idea if you were alright. Then you come back half the size you were with a busted lip looking worse for wear. Then! Then you tell me Munson picked you up hitch hiking back to Hawkins like it's nothing. I should have done more, I should have fought him for you."

"Steve, he is my dad. You couldn't stop him from taking me."

"We've survived demodogs, a raging mind-controlled teen, Russians and a god dam spider demon thing. I could have fought your dad." Sarah cracked a smile at this, trying her hardest to hide it. "I'm being serious!"

Sarah laughed crashing into his chest, wrapping her arms back around him. "I know, I know. I'm sorry." Sighing she pressed her cheek against his chest, the gentle rhythmic thumping of his heart in her ear, the pale stripped wallpaper looking a little worse for wear. "He threatened me that if I ever told anyone or if anyone even thought he was hitting me, he would take me away and I'd never see you again... while we were in Hawkins he didn't even hit me that much anyway..."

Steve's grip around her tightened, chin resting on top of her head. "... and when you weren't in Hawkins?"

His voice had been so low she could feel the emotion that trembled off every word. She wondered for a long moment what she should say in reply. They, for the most part, told each other everything. "It wasn't good. But I'm not ready to talk about it."

Steve nodded, not liking it but respecting her answer. Everyone over the years questioned his friendship with the 'nerd'. She was a cheerleader however she never acted like it. She kept to herself, most of her weekends were spent at home studying and when she did go with Steve to a party she'd either stay beside him the whole time or was sitting in the corner with a book. They were polar opposites, he was a stereotypical popular guy, outgoing and sure of himself whereas Sarah was withdrawn and much preferred being alone. The other cheerleaders would gossip about her behind her back, but she never seemed to care, she was their best acrobatic and they all knew it. He had joined in on picking on her a few times at first until one time he had been struggling on an English assignment in the library for most the afternoon. She had come up to him and started reading what he had done without a word. Once finished she handed it back to him, told him exactly where he had gone wrong and what to change to get better marks before getting up and leaving. He had received an A+ for that, his first ever A+. After that he had started coming to her defence and taking the time to actually get to know her.

He had taken her out to eat for lunch, ignoring her protests of him paying for her, picking up Dustin along the way. Sarah had always been grateful to Steve for being such a positive male role model for Dustin. She laughed listening to the boys bicker at each other throughout lunch, she was glad that Dustin was doing okay in the months she had been gone, she always worried that he would be bullied in high school, he was too gentle of a soul. Once lunch was done Dustin said his goodbyes to go ride bikes with Mike and Lucas while Sarah was saying goodbye to Steve.

"You sure I can't give you a lift?" Steve offered, releasing her from a hug.

Sarah shook her head, it was still only early into the afternoon, the sun would be up for a little longer. "Nancy's isn't far from here, I'll be okay. I haven't had this kind of freedom in a while."

Steve didn't argue with that, he said his final goodbye before getting in the car and driving off. Sarah stood and waved until the car was out of sight before turning on her heels and walking towards the Wheeler's house. She had missed Nancy, the girl had been her lifeline for years, inviting her to spend the night regularly so she could get out of her house. The two growing closer after what had happened to Barb, although Sarah knew Nancy never stopped blaming herself for what happened.

Sarah felt the breeze on her face and closed her eyes to take a deep breath, it had all been such a rush since her father had kicked her out that she hadn't enjoyed being outside. An arm flung around her shoulder, pulling her against someone and her eyes flew open in surprise.

"Sarah." Jason sighed.

Sarah looked at Jason with an unreadable expression on her face however inside she was panicking. She saw from her peripheral vision some of the other basketball team members and a few of the cheerleaders surrounding her, even if she bolted right now hands could grab her from every angle. He had forced her to stop walking by the grip on her shoulder.

"You made a fool of me yesterday, Sarah, look, my nose still hurts."

"I… I'm sorry… I… I didn't mean too…" Sarah mumbled.

"Oh, so you aren't so feisty when your freaks aren't around to back you up, huh?"

"Jason, its Sarah, she's cheered with us for years now, can't you just leave her alone?" Chrissy spoke up from the side, she had always been at least nice to Sarah.

"I'll leave her alone, after she's been reminded of her manners. Like you said, she's been cheering with us for years now." Jason led Sarah to the car forcing her in the back seat. "Stay here, Chrissy, you're too sweet and forgiving. I love you."

Chrissy looked in the backseat to Sarah, she was staring down at her hands in her lap, picking her fingernails, eyes wide. They both knew what happens to teammates when Jason decided they needed to be taught a lesson, they had both seen it happen to others before. "love you…" Chrissy replied.

Jason got into the drivers' seat as the rest of the group got into other cars to follow. Chrissy stood watching as they drove off down the street, once out of sight she felt panic. Sarah had always been genuinely nice to Chrissy, always telling her that she did really well at cheer practice or complimenting her just when she needed to hear someone say something nice, it was like she always just knew when she was having a down day. Chrissy couldn't let her go through one of Jason's 'lessons', she turned and took off running down the street.