Author's Notes:

Quick note: This story takes place after season 4. Cannon is mostly the same, but Neil never left.

Tags/Warnings: Vampires, blood, gore, horror themes, m/m, f/f, and m/f.

Disclaimer: I do not own Stranger Things or the characters therein, this is a work of transformative fiction and will not be used for commercial purposes.

What Lurks in the Mist

by Sirenfox

Chapter 1: Pretty Boy Prey

A low, crawling white mist sat heavy on the forest floor, curling languidly between the greyed out husks of trees and obscuring the bright patchwork of fall leaves that would otherwise sit as a proud orange carpet on the cold hard dirt.

The gentle blue glow of a pregnant moon leaked down from between the spindly branches and sparse leaves, illuminating a small overgrown footpath winding its way through the trees. The lacy white skirt of fog teased along its edges but never overstepped its bounds.

The trees part, opening like the red velvet curtain before the start of a play, onto the picturesque scene of a still peaceful lake, its mirror-like surface reflecting the inky dark of the night sky and the luminous orb hanging from it like a forgotten Christmas ornament.

And sitting on the very edge of the lake, looming over the valley, trees, and the moon in the sky, was a shadowy structure. The black silhouette was carved out of the otherwise alluringly dark sky and blotted out any of the stars unlucky enough to drift within its grasp.

The strange mist leaked from the foundation of the structure itself, filling the valley with it's cold otherworldly essence. The structure itself was a strange, twisted replica of what might pass for a castle. But there was something…strange…about it…something about it that didn't sit right in the world.

Something about it that was all wrong. It didn't belong there.

"Remind me again ,why I'm doing this." Steve drolled, staring out of his windshield at the large, familiar house waiting in the night like a demodog ready to swallow him whole. It might even succeed where the monsters had failed.

Okay, so that might be a bit overdramatic, even for him, but Steve thought it was a valid comparison. He really didn't want to be here, would rather be literally anywhere else than sitting in his car, outside the Hagan household, of all places.

In the seat beside him Robin shifted restlessly, checking her light makeup in the mirror, as if it might have changed in the last five minutes since she checked. This was one of the only times Steve had ever seen her so dolled up, she must be really excited. The young woman rolled her eyes and huffed at him, "It's a party Steve. You like parties, remember?"

"That was 'old Steve'. I'm new Steve now." He whined, not at all happy that she was dragging him away from his usual casual night in, watching movies he didn't enjoy (Keith was relentless in his insistence that Steve needed to know what he was 'selling'), binging on popcorn until he passed out, then waking up at ungodly hours from night-terrors, to a creepy silent house bathed in a cold fog.

"Well, I need old Steve right now." Robin snarked back, "New Steve can take a break for one night." Robin informed him, not about to let him off the hook.

If only it was that easy.

She must have seen the dubious look in his eye because she exclaimed, "Oh, come on, Steve! Please, I need you to do this one thing for me. Just this one thing. Then I'll never ask you to do anything ever again."

Steve sighed in irritation, "You don't even like parties!" He grumbled.

"Not technically true." Robin countered, trapping her fingers against the side of her leg absently. "I've never actually been to a party before." Steve leveled her with his best unimpressed look, "What?! I cannot in all honesty say I don't like parties if I've never been to a party before. Think of this as an experiment, I'm just testing the waters, seeing if it's as 'fun' as everyone else seems to think it is." She glanced over at him, in full ramble-mode by this point and not able to stop herself, "Okay, so I've never been to a party, it's not that big of a deal, and I didn't really care before."

"And you care now." Steve deadpanned.

"Of course I care now! I've never been invited to a party before. Why would I care?" She asked, as if trying to make herself believe it.

Steve sighed, reaching up to rub at the spot between his eyes, his exhaustion leaking past the walls he had built up around it to keep people from worrying. "But you've been invited to this one." He tried not to let the guilt eat at him, they hadn't been friends when they were still in school. She didn't blame him for not inviting her to parties, he knew that. But it still left a hollow feeling in his stomach that wouldn't go away.

"I got invited to this one!" She echoed excitedly, sounding far more enthusiastic than Steve had. "And it's an adult party," She added, wiggling her eyebrows at him, like it was some super secret information that he didn't already know, "It's bound to be better than a highschool party."

Steve really didn't see how that could be possible. It sounded like it was the same type of party, thrown by literally the same people, it just had a slightly older audience. And knowing Hawkins there was likely to be a large group of teens 'crashing' the party anyway.

"Okay, that's great Rob, but who, exactly, invited you?" He didn't want to spoil her fun, but Steve knew these people personally in a way that Robin didn't, and he wouldn't put it past one of them to invite one of the 'nerds' just to humiliate them in some way. People could be cruel, and they hadn't been 'adults' for all that long.

He wouldn't let that happen, of course, but it was very much a worry that he had and one that would plague him all night, he knew.

"Lacy Balwick!" She admitted, sending him a look that was so full of hope that it hurt Steve's heart. He really didn't want to rain on her parade, but he just had a bad feeling.

He took a moment to mentally scroll through everyone he knew from school. "The tiny little brunette with the braces, right?" If he was remembering correctly, she had been a member of the cheer team.

"yes!" Robin beamed, "She's super sweet, and she invited me personally. Said 'I hope to see you there."

"Doesn't she have a boyfriend?" He asked, vaguely remembering the two being attached at the hip all through his senior year.

"I think they got into a fight and broke up. Something to do with college, but that doesn't matter. Come on, this is my one chance Steve. Please." He made the mistake of glancing over at her and was instantly caught in her expert execution of the Puppy dog eyes.

"Not fair." He groaned, "That's cheating." Even as he complained, he was reaching for the handle. He pushed the door open and slipped out into the early night air. It was October already, he wasn't sure how it had happened so fast, but he was already waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Fall was a pretty bad time for him, if his history was any indication. And from experience he could say things in the upside down didn't like to stay there for long. It was only a matter of time before something horrible happened. He wanted to be ready for it this time. And he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, no matter how hard he tried.

"All's fair and love and War, Steve." Robin sang back at him as she slipped out of the car and onto the wet grass. A icy fog drifted around their feet courtesy of the line of trees lurking several yards away, rolling in from the lake, most likely. It gave Steve an uneasy feeling, a heavy sense of deja vu settling over him and prickling at the back of his neck..

Lake fog wasn't an unusual occurrence in Hawkins, but he had noticed it lingering longer over the last few weeks. He couldn't remember the last time it had actually burned off during the day. And it brought with it a chill that seemed to settle somewhere deeper than his bones.

He shook the feeling off and turned towards the house. It was already quite late by the time they had parked the car and the party was already well underway. Light and music poured out of the building and into the autumn night air, spilling over the front yard and urging visitors inside.

Steve was slapped in the face by nostalgia from two different directions the moment he crossed the threshold.

First was by the fact that he hadn't been inside this house in a couple years now; not since his friendship with Tommy had dissolved. He had spent a great deal of his childhood playing in these halls. It was hard to forget.

Second was because he hadn't been to a party in almost a year, maybe even two...not since his break up with Nancy...had it really been two years?

It was all exactly as he remembered it; same scene, different setting. He found, standing there watching everyone, that it really didn't appeal to him in the same way it had before.

He was a different person now, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy himself while he was here. He was still Steve Harrington, and if there was one thing he knew how to do, it was party. Even if it didn't really have the same pull as it used to. A party was still a party. And he was just as desperate now to lose himself in its familiar embrace as he was last time he was here.

Strange how his situation was still much the same, just with extra trauma piled on top. He didn't really like to think of it, no matter how ironic.

And this time he didn't have to worry about getting his heart ripped out of his chest by the woman he loved.

Win-win.

Beside him he could practically feel Robin vibrating, her nerves finally catching up to her and accentuating her excitement. He swung an arm around her shoulder, out of protectiveness or reassurance he wasn't quite sure, and guided her deeper into the house. "The fun stuff happens inside, not in the entryway." He told her, amused.

The fact that she didn't even try to protest, or call him a dingus was just further proof about how uncomfortable she was. He needed to distract her, "You see your girl anywhere?" He asked, keeping his voice low so as not to be overheard...see he could be sneaky when he needed to, a real ninja.

Robin practically drooped under his arm after scanning the room intently. It was already quite packed, furniture pushed aside to make room for whatever game they were trying to play in the dim light of the lamps that had been turned on in the corner of the room. Someone could have flipped on the overhead light, but apparently it messed with the 'ambiance'. (according to Carol, so the lights stayed dim)

"Hey, no problem." Steve soothed, pulling her into another room, "She's bound to be around here somewhere. We can grab a couple beers, then keep looking. Sound like a plan?" He pulled away long enough to catch the young woman's eye. There were drinks everywhere so that really wasn't a problem, and it would help loosen her up a bit. Give her a bit of liquid bravery, she could really use it, if her increasing pallor was any indication.

Robin quirked her lips up into her usual light smirk. It didn't last long, quickly fading into a nervous frown. "Yeah, But what do I say to her when I do find her?" She asked, working herself back into a state of distress.

"I don't know, maybe start with a 'hello'" Steve teased. Robin yanked herself out from under his arm with an annoyed huff, slapping his shoulder in offense.

"Real funny, Casanova. Like I'd take romantic advice from you anyway, Mr. dryspell. When was the last time you had a date, again?" The younger teen snarked as they wound their way through the house towards the kitchen.

Loud music filtered through the crowded halls, easily finding its way into all the little corners of the house, it was loud enough that it was shaking the walls in some places.

Steve groaned, throwing his head back and closing his eyes in annoyance.

Neither of them noticed the figure lurking nearby, staring fixedly on the long expanse of fair skin left exposed and on display. "Oh, please don't start that again, I told you, it's not my fault." Steve exclaimed, for what felt like the hundredth time. Did they really have to hash this out again.?

A prickle of unease raised the hairs on the back of his neck and he jerked upright, eyes snapping open and alert. He had the strangest feeling he was being watched.

He nervously glanced around the room, but everything was painfully normal. And Robin didn't seem to have noticed anything strange, so it was probably all in his head. Like usual. "uh-huh." She sang back at him, amused smirk curling her lips, "You can blame the scoops ahoy outfit all you like, it doesn't explain your continued poor performance since we haven't worked there in over a year."

Steve narrowed his eyes at her, completely forgetting about the creepy feeling. "You are really bad for my self esteem. I ever tell you that?"

"All the time," She grinned, her smile as playfully mischievous as the Cheshire cat, splitting her face from ear to ear.

It was good to see her smile. She didn't do that nearly enough now.

"I haven't even been trying, really." Steve continued, unable to let the topic drop with his pride still stinging from the familiar attack. And he hadn't, it just didn't feel right. He'd tried to pretend to be normal before, and look what it had gotten him. But that didn't mean he didn't still have game…because he did. "I could get a date right now, if I wanted to." He informed her, scanning the people nearby for possible marks, should she demand it of him.

"Uh-huh. Sure."

Steve huffed, sending her a narrow look, before turning towards the wall of drinks that had been provided.

Again Steve felt eyes on him. Sharp with intent. He felt a shiver crawl down his spine and raise the hairs on the back of his neck. But in a room full of people, it was probably nothing. His paranoia was just messing with him.

He tried to ignore it, focusing on the beer cans, bottles, and bowls of dubious liquids sprawled over any available surface in the room. You were as likely to pick up something someone else had been drinking and forgotten, as you were to find something untouched.

It seemed Hagan was going all out tonight, for whatever reason. But Steve certainly wasn't going to complain.

He spent a few moments scanning drinks to find something that wasn't already opened, and returned to Robin with his prizes. Two unopened bottles.

"Tell you what," He said, as he held out one of the beers for her, studiously ignoring the feeling of being watched (it was a party, this was completely normal...right?) "I'll leave the party tonight with a date, if you at least talk to your - person."

Robin snatched the bottle from his hand with a sharp, annoyed movement, "I was going to do that anyway, dingus." She sulked, turning to rummage around for some kind of bottle opener. There was bound to be one around here somewhere.

"Uh-huh, sure." Steve snarked back, popping the cap off his own beer with a practiced ease, on the corner of the table. Robin sent him a dirty look, which he ignored.

A couple minutes later Robin admitted defeat and handed her bottle over to him to open as well. Steve smirked but didn't say anything.

Loud music and even louder chatter beckoned them back towards the epicenter of the party. If Lacy, who was a popular girl, and was well known for being an attention whore was anywhere, it would be there.

Time moved a bit sideways after that, things quickly began to blur together. They had had no luck finding Robin's lady-love, and Steve had gotten side tracked more than once during their quest. Anytime he spotted Tommy or Carol in the crowd he would take a sharp turn and head in a completely different direction.

He had no interest in a confrontation with his former friends at this point in time. If he knew Tommy, and he did, it would devolve into a fistfight and everyone knew how Steve fared in when things turned violent.

Give him a monster any day, people were much harder to deal with.

His deviations cost him, though, because at some point Robin lost her patience and ditched him all together.

Which - fair.

Robin was more likely to have better luck finding her girl on her own, anyway, than she would dragging around Steve's dead weight.

With Robin gone the feeling of eyes followed him wherever he went, and he could not seem to shake the unease that had settled deep in his bones shortly after she had disappeared.

It was a familiar feeling, one that was usually accompanied by a cold clammy sweat, shaky hands, and usually followed in the wake of a nightmare full of blood and pain. And with the frequency of Steve's night terrors, the feeling of creeping dread was probably just a lingering result of that, and not a foreshadowing of something awful waiting in the wings.

What he really needed was a drink.

And another.

And ... He really just wanted one night of peace.

Was that really too much to ask for?

With Robin gone, Steve felt like he was untethered, the monsters lurking in the shadows stared back at him with gleaming fangs and sharp blue eyes, set in a familiar face.

Steve's blood froze in his veins, heart stuttering for a split second. He blinked. And they were gone.

Steve squeezed his eyes shut and slumped against a nearby wall, thoughts a swirl of drunken confusion. He glanced down at the plastic cup in his hand, the amber liquid gleamed in the dim light of the shaded lamp standing beside him. This cup was still mostly full, but was this the first or third cup he had collected over the course of the night?

He couldn't remember.

He could only recall drinking the first bottle, and the half full one Robin had thrust into his hand before her disappearing act.

It really didn't matter either. The ghosts usually stayed by his pool, he must be pretty hammered for them to be following him about town.

He took another swallow of his drink, thinking: If he was starting to see dead people walking around he should probably stop.

At least...that was what Nancy would say...Robin too, actually.

But this was a party, and if Steve was going to be hallucinating dead people, then he really wasn't drunk enough to be dealing with...all that.

He chugged the rest of that drink, crushing the empty cup in his hand and dropping it in the overflowing trash can, before heading straight for the crush of bodies swaying drunkenly together. He had a vague thought that he still needed to find someone to take on a date before the party ended...even if it was just to shut Robin up and prove her wrong.

He hardly even noticed all the furniture that had been shoved out of the way to make room, people squished together for a place to sit with the intention of watching the dancers, or just making out with whoever they were with.

Dancing, it turned out, was a great idea. Getting lost in the crowd was just what he needed and having so many women press themselves against him as they vied for his attention really helped with his bruised self esteem.

It wasn't enough to completely stop his mind from wandering into dangerous locations, but it was a nice distraction, at least.

His mind was blissfully blank, not really paying too much attention to the girl currently plastered to his front. Her soft breasts were pressed flat against his chest, hot breath in his ear as she attempted to hold a conversation in the middle of the dance floor.

Steve could barely hear what she was saying, despite her practically yelling it directly in his ear. "wanna go-' something something something...

But that something something was enough to at least snag his attention, and he found himself staining to hear her better. Was she asking him out on a date? Hell Yeah.

That certainly made his job easier. He grinned at her with all the Sauvé charm of King Steve he had left, "Are you asking me out on a date?" He teased flirtatiously.

she blinked at him, as if confused by his question, "What?!" she yelled back, dumbfounded at having been successful in gaining his undivided attention no doubt.

"I'm kind of busy tomorrow." Steve continued, "But how does Sunday sound?" He asked.

Her smile was a bit lopsided when she shook her head, as if mildly amused with something he had said, which wasn't exactly a new thing for him.

"Sure, Steve." She agreed, draping herself over him as she reached up to play with the hair at the nape of his neck and shove her tongue down his throat.

He startled, flinching a little at the sudden assault, before his brain caught up to the situation and he relized she wasn't hurting him.

Quite the opposite in fact. He forced himself to relax, his hands settling on her hips to drag her closer if possible.

He was just getting into it when something over her shoulder caught his eye, and he pulled away from the kiss. His eyes locked on the dark, familiar figure from before. He was dancing on the other side of the room, swaying seductively with a petite blond chick that was pressed close, head tossed back in bliss as the young man lavished her neck with lustful kisses of his own.

Bright blue eyes looked up and locked with Steve's. He felt like a deer frozen in the headlights of a car. Clearly caught staring, Steve's body couldn't decide whether to flush with mortification, or blanch in horror as the other boy -who should be dead- flashed him a sharp, white, grin.

"Steve. Steve!" The shrill voice of the girl he was dancing with dragged him back down, she was staring up at him with obvious displeasure. "Who are you staring at?" she demanded, craning around to scan the crowd.

"No one." Steve told her, glancing up as well. The girl was still there, only now she was draped limp against the chest of another young man. And the focus of Steve's distraction was once more nowhere in sight. Like a ghost, disappearing as if he had never been there in the first place.

The girl Steve was with...he felt like she probably had a name at one point... grabbed his hand and dragged him away from the crowd. "You must be more drunk than I thought." She muttered to herself, loud enough for him to hear, so she couldn't be too upset at him for eavesdropping. His dad always got mad at him for listening to conversations he wasn't a part of. But it wasn't his fault this time.

She shoved him against a wall, and he jerked again, eyes wide and alarm racing through him briefly as she steadied him with a hand on his chest. "Stay." She ordered, then turned around and began digging through a drawer in looking for something.

He really needed to stop drinking if a cute girl manhandling him a little was enough to send him spiraling into a panic. She wasn't going to hurt him.

He leaned his head back against the wall and stared above him blankly. Something was really wrong with him.

He didn't know how long he stood there, but the girl must have found whatever she was looking for because the next thing he knew she was in front of him again, tugging the cap off a black sharpie marker and dragging his arm closer to her.

Movement behind her once more caught his attention and he forgot all about her.

There he was again. A boy Steve knew for a certainty was dead was standing across the room, eyes half lidded, and an insolent smile on his lips which parted to let a wicked tongue tease over them.

One lip pulled back into a smirk, dragging Steve's eyes back up to lock with sharp blue for a third time tonight.

Mischief danced across those handsome features before the figure turned, and walked away. No disappearing act this time.

"I have to go." Steve muttered distractedly as he disentangled himself from the girl's clingy hands and side stepped around her, intent to follow after a boy Steve was sure was not real.

Her insistent "Call me!" fell on deaf ears as Steve wound his way past drunk college students and a few random teens, craning his neck to catch another glimpse of the young man in the hopes that he wouldn't lose him in the crowd.

This was crazy. What was he doing? The other man wasn't real. He knew he wasn't. He couldn't be.

Yet...

Steve couldn't seem to help himself. His feet moved without his permission...and his thoughts were as foggy as the streets outside. The phantom led him through the house and out the back, glass doors slid aside under Steve's hand. He stepped over the threshold and into the Hagan's backyard. The full moon hung heavy in the sky, sitting precariously atop a thin line of gossamer clouds.

The mist was thick, fully obscuring the ground beneath his feet as he stepped further into the night air sending an eerie chill over him. The trees gracing the property line stood, silent watchers, as Steve glanced around for the apparition he had been following.

"Miss me, Pretty boy?" the low croon came from somewhere off to his left, where the light of the moon didn't quite reach. Steve jolted around, eyes darting around the thick shadows that kept the other man well hidden, only a hint of blond hair and a gleam of white teeth told Steve where to look.

"You're supposed to be dead." That was insensitive. Steve really shouldn't have said that.

"Yet, here I am." Billy Hargrove said, stepping forward and letting the moon bathe him in its light; his smile was taunting, and pulled Steve another step further towards him. Steve was unaware he was moving until he stopped.

"I'm hallucinating again." Steve stated, as if telling Billy that would make the apparition go away.

A strange smile curled Billy's lips to one side, tongue venturing out for another lascivious pass. "Are you really?" He stepped forward again, stalking around Steve like a cat circling a mouse. "Dream about me often, Harrington?" He growled in Steve's ear. He was close now. Really close, leaning in until they were a whisper away from touching.

Steve could feel Billy's breath fanning his neck and caressing his ear. Icy, just like the fog. Tension hummed between them like the taught string of a guitar waiting with anticipation to be plucked. Steve knew Billy ran hot, knew it from personal experience. Billy had always taken great pleasure in crowding against him, trying to make him uncomfortable so this wasn't an unfamiliar experience. Yet, that heat was missing. Billy had always seemed to radiate it, as if his anger alone fueled an inner fire and it was just too strong to be trapped inside his skin.

He was like a falling star, burning everything in his path.

And that usually meant Steve.

Death had been the only thing that had been able to snuff out Billy's flame. And it had come for him far too soon. "You aren't real." Steve whispered against the other boy's skin, unable to stop the thread of hurt that wound around those words, leaving them raw and hanging in the air between them.

Billy may have been a bully, but he hadn't deserved what had happened to him. It was one of Steve's biggest regrets, that he hadn't been able to do anything to help. If it had been anyone else that night, would Steve have just stood there and watched that happen? It was a question that haunted him in the late hours of the night when there was no one else around to keep him sane.

Cold hands wrapped around his wrists, and a solid body slammed him against the side of the building they were standing in front of, Steve's head bounced off the siding with the sudden movement, leaving him seeing stars as Billy's body kept him firmly in place. One of Billy's hand's sank into Steve's hair, cradling the spot he had just injured, as if protecting him from further harm, the other settled heavy, just above Steve's hipbone.

The hand in Steve's hair tightened as Billy pressed himself cheek to cheek with Steve, "I'm not real, sweetheart? I wouldn't be too sure about that." The hand in his hair tugged insistently and Steve's head was forced to one side, baring his neck to the younger man, "I'm very real."

Steve shivered as a cold wet tongue laved from his ear, down the side of his neck. The kiss of red lips grazing against Steve's oversensitive skin as he moved, caused Steve's breath to hitch. Steve stood there, staring in stunned disbelief over the younger man's head at the moon suspended above them.

Billy lapped at Steve's pulse point for an endless moment where time lost all meaning and Steve's world turned upside down.

Then the moment was shattered by the feel of sharp pain piercing his neck. 'Did Billy Hargrove just Bite me?' Steve thought for one delirious moment, before the world swirled into a fog and was lost to darkness.

Steve fell limp in Billy's arms.

It has been years since I wrote a good vampire fic, which is really strange for me since I have always been obsessed. But I'm back. This will definitely be a little sexier than my RotG fanfics, but it will not get into true spice territory as I do not write smut.