He blinked, not expecting her hostility but having no problem matching it. "What's it to you?"

"Well you had me sitting waiting for hours yesterday." She snarled. "You stood me up like an ass."

"I never even said I was meeting you. If you took my silence as a yes then that's on you sweetheart." He sat down in the vacant seat next to her, not bothering to argue for his own space back.

"Normally if someone invites you to something then you show." It was the most obvious thing in the world to her and it really infuriated her that he didn't seem to understand it.

"Look I don't do normal okay?" He tried to placate her. "Whatever you wanted to discuss with me... We can now."

"Oh really? So you finally want to let me in on this mysterious project of yours?" She laughed sarcastically, looking over at the door as Mrs Daniels stepped into the room. "Real big of you."

"Look I don't have to work with you."

"And I don't have to help you." Mia retorted. "And yet, stupidly, I am."

"Which, again, is your own doing." He reminded her, setting his bag down on the floor and pulling his notepad out.

"Look we don't have to be friends just work with me here. I don't want to work against you." She said, watching him struggle.

"Why are you so set on this?" His voice was strained under the exertion of grabbing his stuff, his hair falling to the side.

"Because I want to at least have someone in this town that I know. Is that so hard to imagine? So hard to fathom that someone wants to work with you and not hate you?" She released a breath she didn't know she had been holding. "I don't know anyone here and by the looks of it no one wants to know you. So stop acting like I'm everyone else and just let me help you."

He blinked, not sure what exactly he should say to her in response. She seemed to realise she might have gone too far, her leg continuing to bounce nervously. "Look I'm sorry that was too far..."

"No." He shook his head. "You're right."

"I am?"

"You're so much worse than them. You won't leave me alone." Billy said, his voice also much harsher than he had anticipated it to be.

She didn't know if he was joking or not but decided not to push it, directing her attention towards the front of the room when Mrs Daniels started to speak.

"Alright everyone thanks for making it in today," She clapped her hands together. "I want you guys to discuss ideas for the next thirty minutes and then we will share what you've got with the rest of the class. Then it's down to you to manage your own time. We won't be having any more classes so managing your own work is crucial here. Of course I'll still be here if you need me but this is our last timetabled session for this semester." Hushed whispers spread around the room as she sat down behind her desk. "Go on!"

Mia didn't look over at her partner straight away, rolling her eyes at him when she eventually looked over. "I guess we have to make a start."

He swallowed a mouthful of water from a bottle he had pulled out of his bag, "I guess."

"So... You gonna tell me or what?" She kept her face neutral as she spoke.

"You gonna laugh when I tell you?" He questioned, suddenly his prior confidence seeming to evaporate.

"I won't." She confirmed.

He took a deep breath before sliding the notepad over to her. "I haven't shown anyone this before but I'm looking into the mall fire."

"Mall fire?" She looked at him through her lashes before looking down at the paper and sliding it closer to her. "What is this?"

"The Starcourt Mall went up a few months ago. Newspapers reported that it was just a gas explosion. That it was a terrible tragedy no one could have prevented." He kept his voice down. "But that is bullshit. That didn't happen."

She scanned over his notes and various newspaper clippings stuck down onto the paper. "Why do you think this? What proof do you have?"

"I was there. I saw it. It wasn't a simple fire or explosion."

"You were there?" She asked incredulously. "What do you mean?"

"You see this..." He flipped the book back a few pages, stopping at the page which had part of a flyer stuck to it. She guessed that it was once part of a leaflet designed to promote the mall, the picture trying it's very best to make the space bright and spacious. The picture showed what looked to be the middle of a large shopping mall. "This was where the monster stood."

"Monster? Billy wha-"

"You at it again, Hargrove?" A new voice interrupted them from the side. The man from yesterday was leaning over the side of his desk, a smug grin on his face as he took pride in interrupting them both. "Can't you just stop with the conspiracy stuff?"

"Stay out of this Carver." Billy threatened back, his voice low.

"Oh yeah? You gonna hit my bag then run again? That really taught me a lesson! Why don't you give it another go. That is of course, if your body can handle it. Wouldn't want you to hurt yourself." The man taunted. "Wouldn't want the ex king of Hawkins to go too far."

Mia was becoming sick of this man and his attitude and so she felt the need to intervene. "I'm sorry, who are you?"

His eyes snapped to her, "Robert Carver. Pleased to meet you...?"

"Look I'm not really interested in this and your interrupting our conversation here so if you wouldn't mind just turning back around I would really appreciate it." She kept her voice sickly sweet.

"It's just playful. Nothing to get all defensive about." He grinned at her. "Me and your boy here go waaay back, don't we Hargrove?"

"Playful? All I've seen you do is antagonise Billy. That isn't playful." She didn't give Billy a chance to respond.

"Well I wouldn't have to get into it with him all the time if his jerk of a sister would stop harassing my brother." His smile dropped as his eyes flicked over to Billy. "You need your girlfriend here to defend you about that too? Or you finally going to say something?"

"Don't talk about her." Billy ground out.

"Why? That make you mad?" Robert laughed. "At least your sister had the nerve to hit back. You couldn't hit me even if you tried."

"Oh yeah? Come over here and find out." Billy straightened up, his hands clenching into fists as Robert stood.

"Why don't you pick on someone else?" Mia interrupted them. "Leave us alone. We've done nothing to you."

"I have no beef with you sweetheart. Stay out of it." Jason was stood up infront of the desk now as Billy slid his chair backwards. Mia couldn't stand to see this descend even further into chaos so she also stood. People in the room watched her push the desk forward. It left her enough room to stand infront of Billy and jam it's way into Robert's knees awkwardly.

"Take a hike." She said. "And I'm not a sweetheart."

"You really need her to step in for you Hargrove?" Robert laughed as he looked over her head. "Really?"

"No. I'm not doing this for him. I'm doing it for me. Get lost. Last chance." Her anger was growing the more Robert taunted them so his laugh only sent more fury through her system.

"Wow. Pathetic."

The scrapping noise from Mia pushing the table infront of her into Robert was what grabbed Mrs Daniels attention. Mia was so close to grabbing the other boy, only a fingers distance away before the teacher spoke up.

"What is going on?" Her booming voice projected across the room, snapping the pair back.

Neither of the pair spoke. Mia decided to break the silence first. "Nothing Mrs Daniels. I was just helping him find his dropped pen." Mia muttered, her smile tight.

"Oh. Well now you've got the pen haven't you, Robert?" He nods at the teachers question. His eyes never leave Mia's as they stare eachother down. "Then get back to your groups."

Robert stared her down, not budging. She didn't dare move either, not even as Billy nudged the back of her leg with his knee. Mia didn't make any move to sit back down as she looked over Robert's shoulder to Mrs Daniels.

"Can me and Billy study somewhere else please? We can tell you our idea now and everything if you need us to. It's just a little bit loud in here." Mia explained as she felt another knee press into her leg. Robert scoffed but Mrs Daniels seemed unbothered by her request.

"Sure. We are going to be wrapping up in a few minutes anyway. You can be the first to share." Mia smiled genuinely at the older woman's words.

"We are doing a piece on my next door neighbour. She lost her dog and turns out over the road had stolen it... Seems like it might be fun to look into lies and whether or not people truly know their neighbours." Mia's lie came naturally, the knee in the back of her leg letting up as she spoke. It was clear Billy didn't want her to say too much and she respected that. Even if she was still so confused by it all...

It seemed that Mrs Daniels was taken aback by her lie. Mia couldn't really work out why the woman seemed shocked, as if she had expected something else to be revealed. If she looked closely it almost looked like the older woman was disappointed. Her face dropped and she seemed to hesitate. But it only lasted for a second, the older woman recovering from the drop in her facade and smiling at Mia as if she had been happy the entire time.

"Sounds lovely! Can't wait to read it!" She beamed.

"Thank you..." Mia tailed off, not quite sure how to answer the woman who seemed to pinball around her emotions.

"You two can go. Get a head start!" Mrs Daniels sat back down, not looking around the room as she began writing something on a blank piece of paper infront of her. Mia watched her, watched the woman hurriedly scribble something down. Whatever it was seemed important as if she could never forget about it. She could understand the teacher wanting to make a note about what their project was but why did she suddenly look so panicked?

Robert still hadn't moved from infront of them and it was his sneer that got her attention once again.

"Why are you still here?" She snapped, taking a step to the side and moving away from infront of Billy so that he could start to gather up his papers.

She gathered her items first, shoving them unceremoniously into her bag before starting to gently pick up her partners notebook. She didn't want to disturb his research and she knew she needed to get them both out of here as soon as possible. It was clear Carver wasn't going to leave them alone and Mia didn't have time for it.

Billy had literally just mentioned monsters. Why couldn't she listen to him instead?

Billy didn't seem to be too thankful about the woman picking up his belongings, clearly not liking the idea of anyone seeing him as someone who needed help. Mia understood it, especially after Robert's taunts. It was clear the man wasn't well and everyone seemed to enjoy picking him apart for it. Mia guessed he was the type of person who prided himself on his independence and anything else made him weak in his eyes.

Robert watched the pair the entire time they packed up their supplies. Mrs Daniels continued to write. The rest of the room seemed tuned in to their argument. Mia was sick of being the center of attention. She understood why Billy was wary.

It was really, really, tiring...

"Come on Billy." She urged him on, making more room for the man to push himself up painfully. Once he had his bag slung around his shoulders and was ready to go Mia bravely stepped infront of him. She remembered the day before and didn't want to give Carver any chance to provoke the man once again.

Mia wasn't even sure how intimidating she was. If she had to guess Mia would say that Billy was at least five foot ten and she was only five foot five. He was much taller than her and could clearly see over her head. As a result Robert could easily look over her head and stare up at the other man. Mia had to do something to get his attention and she knew exactly what it would be.

She turned, looking up at Billy. "You good?"

The man wasn't looking at her initially, staring at Robert before his eyes flicked down to her. "Yeah."

Mia nodded, turning back around and taking a deep breath. Robert still hadn't moved and Mia didn't have any more patience for his childish antics. Her feet moved with more confidence than she felt as she walked straight up to him and shoulder bumped him as hard as she could.

Robert had to be around the same height as Billy but he was built with more muscle than the two of them combined. She had thought that her attack would only send a message, tell him to back off. She didn't even expect the man to budge so it was a shock to her when he stumbled back rubbing his shoulder. His eyes were wide as they passed, clearly not also expecting her strength.

Maybes it was just from the rage. From the anxiety she still felt being thrown into a new place. Maybes it was because she felt an undeniable connection with the man behind her. She couldn't put her finger on it but she knew she felt some sort of connection with him that she had never felt with anyone before. It was like a pull, she could feel a dark energy surrounding the man and she didn't know what it was.

She just knew she had to keep him safe.

She wasn't even sure why...

She tried not to think about it too much as they stepped out of the room and into the strangely quiet corridor. She didn't look back at Billy as she walked, knowing the man was following her. Mia steered them towards the car park. He didn't complain, following behind with only his footsteps making a sound.

At first she had been charging ahead, her rage pulling her forward. But she realised about half way to her car that Billy couldn't keep up with her. Once she actually started to pay proper attention to what was happening around her she realised he was a few paces back.

She decided to give him a break. She stopped walking but didn't turn to watch him approach. She guessed that he wouldn't want her to watch him struggle and tried to give him a bit of privacy. She briefly cast him a side glance when he joined her side and the pair of them continued forward.

Once they got to her car she unlocked the doors, slipping into the drivers seat and dumping her bag on the pristine bak seat. Billy hesitated outside of the car, looking at the vehicle with uncertainty.

She didn't give him enough time to really consider his options or worries as she leant over the passenger seat to open the door from inside the vehicle. She pushed it open and smiled at him from inside of the vehicle. "Get in."