A/N: Wow, I haven't been on Fanfiction since my last update and got the best surprise ever. Nearly 100 followers! That's so incredible! Thank you so much everyone who has supported this story. It started off as my first story in years and one of my favorite things to do is write it. The response means so much, so thank you again! I hope you all enjoy this chapter :)

~Billy~

If I thought playing some basketball to let off steam was a good idea, I was completely wrong. Standing right opposite me, chatting away without a care in the world, was the former King himself.

Steve Harrington.

My eyes narrowed at him as he dribbled the ball strategically. I chewed on the inside of my bottom lip and took my shirt off, flinging it across the room. This was going to be my team now. Harrington had his chance but instead he got pussy-whipped. All this time I had been watching eagle-eyed, ready to strike. Now was the moment I had been waiting for.

I darted over to Harrington, leaning with a flat back as I readied myself for the attack. Locking my eyes onto his, I sent out a singular, clear message.

Watch out, pretty boy.

He bore his eyes into mine. Determination mixed with bewilderment. Like this was more than a game of basketball between two high-schoolers, as if it mattered. Harrington knew this was more than just a game. He ran, stopping abruptly when my glare followed him. Staggering for a second, he regained his composure and widened his stance.

Was he trying to make himself seem bigger than me? A threat?

"No girl is friends with Steve Harrington that long without wanting a little something on the side"

Tommy's words echoed in my head, taunting me. I knew what pretty boys like him were like. The news around the school had spread like a Californian wildfire. Harrington and Nancy had split up, apparently. Guys like Harrington were quick to move on. A popular guy like him would be on a prowl in no time.

"One night with Steve…"

Harrington came charging at me.

Not this time, pretty boy.

I shoved my arm against his torso, blocking him from going any further. He wasn't going to win this game. I knew what he was trying to do here. If Harrington thought he could prove himself to me as this tough guy, he was on the wrong pathway. He wasn't going to win this.

"Harrington, right?" I asked. Keep your feet firm. "I heard you used to run this school" The bastard was determined to shove past me. Do not let him. Tensing every muscle, the veins in my thighs grew hot. Fiery hot. "King Steve they used to call you, huh?" I plastered a smirk on my face as I felt him struggle against me. How very unlike a King. Come on, Harrington. Prove yourself to me. "Then you turned bitch"

"Hey, maybe you should just shut up and play the game"

Think you can tell me what to do, Harrington?

Go fuck yourself.

With a steely grip, I pushed down on Harrington's shoulder and took my rightful place in this game. The winner. The sound of Harrington hitting the ground sent a bolt of energy through me as I sprinted across the hall.

Aim and fire.

I sent the ball into the air, feeling the breeze under my leg as I sent it through. One point to me. Nil to Harrington. Just how it should be. How it was going to be from here onwards.

The room burst out in applause and whoops, cheering at my triumphant goal. Meanwhile, Harrington looked on in defeat. But not too defeated, like he still had a chance at redeeming himself. Not on my watch. Tommy ran over, throwing an arm around my shoulders. Soon enough, the whole room was invaded by the hum of whispers as Harrington's girlfriend entered the room. Tommy moved his hand to cover his grin. I swear, he thrived on any sort of drama.

"Looks like there's trouble in paradise" he laughed in a whisper.

"Well, there are plenty of bitches out there for him" I grumbled.

"You just gotta make sure you get in there first, Hargrove, or…" Tommy finished the sentence with a wink, alluding to our previous conversation this morning.

I threw Tommy a glare. That wasn't going to happen. Who did this fucker think he was telling me that I couldn't get a girl?

Despite all this bravado, I felt a nauseous churn in my stomach. Sierra wasn't just any girl. What if Tommy was right? No, this was all talk. Harrington wouldn't have the balls. He had already relinquished his throne, his reputation. I didn't lose to anyone, let alone someone who trailed on a leash behind his girl just because she was pissed with him. All it would take was a little chat with her and Nightingale would be my girl. Then again, she seemed stubborn. I wanted her to hear me out. For her to look past yesterday so we could move forward. I wanted her badly, more than any other girl I had seen before. She had to know how much I wanted her.

"Let's just play the game" I snapped and started up again.

After scoring another five points, Tommy, Ray and I went out to the bleachers to grab a smoke. It was lunch after this and I had an appetite. I leaned against the benches, feeling the sweat droplets glide down my back and onto the cracked paint. The cool November air was exactly what I needed after being in that sauna of a gymnasium.

"Uh oh" Tommy suddenly cooed and sniggered. "Sayonara, Nancy. Make way for your replacement"

Letting out a billow of smoke, my eyes lazily followed it as it twirled before dissipating. Only then did I see Nancy in the distance. With a fierce expression, she stormed past the group of cheerleaders who were practicing. I would have ignored this if it wasn't for the fact Sierra was there. However, she wasn't in her cheerleader uniform. She was wearing her white turtleneck, black skirt and oversized leather jacket. Christ, I could have just ran over, taken her hand and pinned her against the wall to kiss her there and then. She looked so fucking good. Upon seeing Nancy, Sierra immediately jumped up and joined her, much to the confusion of the cheerleaders. Why was she not practicing with them? She was just sat on the bleachers opposite, watching them with a faraway look in those emerald eyes.

"Ooh, cat fight!" Ray cheered and the two guys started cackling.

I remained quiet, watching the silent interaction between Nancy and Sierra. Sierra had calmed Nancy down and they were talking. They were doing anything but fighting yet Tommy and Ray seemed intent on getting off on seeing them potentially argue.

"They're not arguing, dickheads. Cool your boners" I took another drag on my cigarette, feeling the fiery hot tip as it neared my fingers.

"Shit, Hargrove, let a man dream!" Tommy laughed as I passed him the last of my cigarette.

"Tommy, you remember that party where Huxley and Nightingale broke up?" Ray rhetorically asked, biting his bottom lip. "Shit man, I would not mind Sierra yelling at me like that. Feisty motherfucker" He let out a low chuckle and slipped a piece of gum into his mouth, leaning back against the bleachers as he moved his eyes lustily. I could tell he was examining Sierra.

"Who is this Huxley guy?" I asked.

"Oh man, just some guy Sierra dated. She went fucking crazy at a party at him. Guy was just saying how her dad had got this internship prepared for him and she went full ham. Threw a drink at him, called him a piece of shit and stormed out" Ray let out a strained sigh, putting his hands behind his head. "It was fucking hot, man"

"I can imagine," I murmured subconsciously.

"Oh, it was, dude" he paused and lightly punched my arm. "What you say, Hargrove, my turn after you?"

I grabbed his fist as he retreated, giving it a threatening squeeze.

"I would like to see you try" I growled and released his bicep from my grip. The guy looked stunned. Conceding to my glare, Ray nodded his head.

"Hey, at least you got the whole cheerleading squad, Hargrove" Tommy intervened, clearly feeling the tension. One glance over my shoulder confirmed what he said. The entirety of the squad were giggling away, biting down on their lips and trying to hide the fact they were watching me. "Leave some for us though"

It was no secret that Tommy and Carol were in a relationship, but every now and then they grew bored of one another and sought adventure elsewhere. Usually I would have laughed at this and gifted the girls with a wink or smirk. However, as I watched Sierra walk away with Nancy, my mood soured.

"I'm hitting up the showers" I grunted.

Wordlessly, the two of them followed me. They knew who their leader was now. No one would touch Sierra if she didn't want them to. I would make sure of that. Ray was under my surveillance now and as we went into the showers, I glowered at him. Harrington soon joined us and awkwardly stood away from Tommy, Ray and I. After a moment of consideration, I chose to give him some mercy today. However, like Ray, I was going to be watching him.

One false move, that was all it would take.

One foot out of line and the motherfuckers were going to find themselves in deep shit.

~Sierra~

I sighed forlornly as I observed the cheerleaders practice, ensuring I was keeping up this pretense of seeming interested in their boring routine. Hidden in my lap was a book on demonic possession. The school librarian had presented me with a rather incredulous look when I approached her this morning. She made it very clear that she thought I was a nutcase. Currently, I was reading accounts of psychiatrists seeing patients who were convinced that a demon was using them as a host to carry out malicious deeds. Every now and then, I peered up to watch the girls. After more than a second, I forced myself to look down. Not only did I feel with utmost importance that I had to read this book, but if Bryony smiled at me one more time I was going to grab her sleek ponytail and ask her what the fuck she was playing at. I knew Billy was watching me. Hell, I could feel those steel blue eyes on me a mile away. Instead of capitulating to the temptation of his stare, I stayed focused on the book. One psychiatrist was discussing how one patient subverted his suspicions when they started speaking in multiple languages, saying things that were unfamiliar to them outside of the trance, such as facts about the psychiatrist that they would have never had known.

Was this what was happening with Will? After I had asked Jonathan to tell me what was going on, he simply got up and moved away. I had followed him into the living room and questioned him again. He said we would speak in the morning about it, that he was exhausted. So, believing him, I agreed. However, I must have been out for the count because I missed Jonathan calling his mom at around five in the morning and woke up shortly afterwards to Joyce being a nervous wreck as she discovered the glass on Jonathan's bedroom floor. Jonathan was desperately trying to console his mom when I decided to knock on the door and tell Jonathan I would be calling later. I didn't even wait around for an answer. He had no choice in the phone call. If he ignored it, I was going to drive around to the house and wait at the door until he acknowledged I was there.

I was going to get answers whether he liked it or not.

So, I slipped out of the door without another word and walked the three miles back to my house. My dad was strewn on the floor, the signature cigarette and empty glass of whisky next to him. His only friends watching over like they were his guardian angels. Only this time round, the cigarette wasn't lit and the two ice cubes had melted. Should I walk past or did he need me? I could have just gone straight back to bed. He had a pile of vomit next to him. Sighing, I put on some rubber gloves and cleaned up the vomit, wiping his mouth. I peered up at the clock. 6:30am. He needed to be at a meeting for 8am that day. He'd told me to write it on the calendar. A meeting with the mayor. Important day for him. I had two choices. Wake him up now and go to the bathroom afterwards to evade any potential conflict, or go get a shower now, get ready for school and then wake him up. Either way, I could avoid him. Ultimately, I chose to do it straight away. If I even found myself getting lost in thought for a second it could have meant he would need to rush. He always liked getting to meetings early. Flirt with Samantha the secretary, grab a coffee. So, I put on the coffee machine and made two coffees. One black with no sugar for him. The other with a dash of milk and one sugar for me.

"Dad?" I softly said and shook his shoulder until he grumbled. "Dad, you need to get up"

He wafted a hand at me in response. As usual, I stood back and waited for a sign that he was stirring. He started to get up and staggered over to the coffee. If I left now, he would sneak a shot of something in there, so I stayed where I was.

"Got nothing better to do?" he slurred and kept his back to me as he slurped on the coffee.

"I'm getting a shower soon" I replied and he came over, handing me my coffee. I didn't look at him, keeping my eyesight lowered to the bridge of his nose. He would have seen direct eye contact as an insult, like I was judging him for his actions. I gently took the coffee from his hands.

"What's on the agenda today?" It wasn't a jolly question any other father would ask their kid about how their day was going to pan out. He was asking about what his day was going to look like.

"You have a meeting with the mayor at 8am, but I was going to get you there at 7:30 so you can get another coffee from the shop opposite. Then, you have a conference call straight afterwards at 10am until 11:30am. Lunch with the golf guys and then your last meeting is from 3 until 5" I recited everything from my memory. After all, someone had to be responsible around here.

"Shit, kid, I should appoint you to be my secretary" he chuckled. "What'd you say? $10 an hour?"

I laughed along with him, but inside I was screaming.

I'm meant to be your daughter.

"Then again," he prodded at his temple, letting out a groan and poured the rest of the coffee down his throat. He belched and cleared his throat. "Haven't you forgotten something?"

My mind anxiously traced every memory for a hint. It wasn't like me to forget something, but on this occasion, the memory had been erased. He would often brief me about his plans when he came home for dinner. When was the last time he'd spoken about today's plans? Was it Tuesday? Yes, the pasta puttanesca. I had plated it up, put it in front of him and waited. Zack's little fingers were hovering over his fork, also waiting for his Dad's approval of the meal first.

"I'm too hungover for that healthy stuff. I'll have something else"

He had said it like he was actually going to get up and make it. However, I knew better than that. I had asked what he wanted and he said he didn't mind. If it took too long, he would shout at me. The hangovers made him have an insatiable appetite and even worse temper. So, I grabbed a Swanson's TV dinner - classic fried chicken, to be precise - and heated it up. He had been watching me the entire time and only voiced an objection when it had finished.

"I work all day to make sure you live in a nice house and drive that fancy car to school, and this is all I get?" With a groan, he took it and said it would have to do. Before he walked away, it was then he gave me the list.

I swallowed, frozen. Muscles tensed, ready for impact.

"You should have seen your face" he laughed and took my cup, still full, from me and took a swig. "God, you make me laugh, kid. We have a networking event here tonight, 7pm sharp. All the guys from the office here and Chicago are coming in. So after you get Zack, get him ready and yourself dolled up and then help the caterers, would ya? That's a good girl"

He ruffled my hair and stumbled his way up the stairs. Inwardly, I sighed and tried to mentally prepare myself for the day. I waited to hear his bedroom door close. He would get ready, fall asleep and then have me wake him up. I got a shower, dressed and did as expected, woke him up. I dropped him off around the corner from the mayor's office and headed to school. He wouldn't be caught dead in my car. Then, it was straight to the library and then to my locker where Billy tried to speak with me. I wasn't in the mood to chat, especially when he had Triple Trouble in tow. After that, it was English. Billy didn't show up, which I was silently happy about. It saved me from any awkwardness. The rest of the day flew by, and now I found myself sitting here with a book on demonic possession. I never once thought that this was how I would spend the start of my lunch break - ever.

So, desperately ignoring Bryony and her attempts to seduce Billy, I scoured the words on the aging page, looking out for anything that could resonate with what I had witnessed last night.

'Revelations or pieces of knowledge that the victim cannot know.'

"I know what you hide under that dress, what you stare at every day in the mirror"

'Superhuman strength.'

The sound of the lightbulb exploding resounded in my mind.

I wasn't religious in the slightest. No, everything that happened from my own personal suffering to what was inflicted on the world had convinced me that there was no benevolent being out there. However, it was clear there was evil in this world. I never believed that it could go beyond the greed and malice of humans. Until now. No matter how I persisted to tell myself I was crazy for falling for any of this, I still couldn't help but ask myself what could save Will. According to this book, Saul, the first monarch of Israel, was successfully exorcized when a lyre was played for him. Could music get Will out of this mess?

Before I could ponder the question any further, I saw Nancy storm past me as if in a trance. Shoving the book into my tote bag, I chased after her.

"Nance, wait up!" Luckily for me, she didn't want to avoid me today and she waited for me. Her brow was furrowed, a sign that she had finally talked with Steve. "You've seen Steve today?" She nodded. "Can you remember anything?"

"Nope, but apparently everything is bullshit" she sighed and covered her eyes with a frustrated groan.

"Yeah, you may have mentioned that a few times" Try about 10 times. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Nancy nodded and gestured for us to keep walking towards the parking lot. We set ourselves at a slow pace. Nancy was hugging her coat tightly to her, her expression indicating that she had the stress of the world on her shoulders. I waited patiently for her to speak. After all, I had no idea what she could recall other than everything being 'bullshit'. Upon hearing her stomach gurgle, I opened a bag of Lays chips and offered her one. Gently, she fingered at the contents before deciding to pick the largest one there was. Looks like the red punch made her have an appetite.

"I think Steve and I have broken up" Nancy said quietly. Truthfully, I wished that I could have been surprised, but after the way she had been snapping at him yesterday, I had already foreseen it. "He asked me if I loved him and honestly, Sierra, I couldn't answer him"

"If you can't answer that, Nance, then it's for the best. He'll be upset for a while, but if the feelings aren't there, then they're just not there" It was a brutal way to say things, I knew that. However, with stuff like this, I wasn't one for tip-toeing. "However, and I'm just gonna be blunt, I do think you owe him an apology"

"Huh?" she gasped and stood back with her arms crossed, affronted.

"With all due respect, Nancy, you spoke to the both of us like shit yesterday" I stated and watched on as she scoffed in disbelief.

"I had stuff on my mind"

"Okay, granted. We all do shitty things when we're feeling overwhelmed or if we're in a bad mood. However, you still need to take accountability for it. I'll start. I'm sorry I tried to snatch the drink from you and got sharp. Your turn" This time, I crossed my arms and bore my eyes into her.

Shuffling around for a moment, Nancy finally relented.

"I'm sorry I spoke to you guys like shit"

"Thanks for the apology. You still need to say that to Steve though"

"Yeah, I will" she sighed and shook her head, instigating us to move forwards. However, there was still one thing on my mind.

"Barb and I were going to meet up you know" I said quietly. Nancy stopped again and looked at me. This time, there was no stress etching her face. Only a stillness that I hadn't seen for a while. "At Steve's party, we said we were going to meet up on the Friday. We wanted to read the same books" I paused, feeling a lump in my throat. "I just thought you should know that"

I continued walking, hearing no footsteps following me. On one hand, I wanted Nancy to have some sort of closure that Barb had actually enjoyed a part of that night as opposed to sitting miserably by the pool for the entire party. On the other hand, a selfish part of me wanted her to know that I wasn't the careless monster she had painted me out to be last night. I could move on now. If Nancy had any questions, she was free to ask them. She knew that I wouldn't object.

"Thanks for telling me" Nancy caught up with me and we proceeded to walk to an unknown destination in silence. "I'm sorry, I said some real dumb shit last night"

"It's fine, Nance. You've apologized now. Let's move on" I said, concentrating on the horizon of cars.

"How did things go with Billy? I remember him putting an arm around you" I had very much wished that this part of the night had gotten lost in her drunken haze. Just my luck.

"Well, one moment we're kissing in Tina's bathroom and the next Bryony barges in and declares that she's waiting for a second date" I went to light myself a cigarette now we were officially off school grounds.

"Oh God, screw Bryony. You're so much prettier. Ugh, screw both of them. What an asshole" Nancy muttered, eyeing up my cigarette. Damn, she really was stressed.

"Don't even think about it. It's a bad habit, Nance" I raised an eyebrow at her and she gave me a slight smile as I took another drag. "Anyway, he's not an asshole. Okay, well, yes for that he is. Even still, we didn't even say we were going on a date whereas those two clearly did"

"Do you think they…" She was clearly insinuating sex. I shrugged my shoulders in response and blew out a cloud of smoke, feeling the bitter nicotine linger on my tongue. "Looks like we've both had a spell of bad luck"

"He's just a boy, Nance. There's around 100 more in Hawkins that I have no incentive to talk to"

She laughed at me and passed me the half packet of Lays back. Somehow, she'd managed to wrangle it out of my hands without me noticing. I wasn't bothered. She was the hungover one, not me. Looking back up, Nancy started to stare across the rows of cars. Curious to see what had captured her attention, I followed the line of her sight to find Jonathan hovering nearby. I couldn't exactly interrogate him right here and now. Nancy was here. She would think I had gone completely nuts if she knew what I had seen last night. I couldn't breathe a word to anyone about this. Excusing herself, Nancy ran over to Jonathan and within seconds, they were driving out of the school gates. No goodbye, no indication that they were going. Sarcastically, I uttered a goodbye and waved before stubbing out my cigarette. I was about to make my way to my final class of the day when suddenly, I stopped in my steps.

Instead, I found myself striding towards my car. Science class could wait for another day. It wasn't like we didn't have over 20 more classes left until graduation. No, I had to address something far more important.

Standing in front of my mirror, I carried out my usual ritual. The bruises were fading again. However, I knew they would be replaced by the end of this week. Depending on how tonight went, they could be back before then. Snapping myself out of this trance, I started getting changed into my dress for the night. It was a black cocktail dress with an open back, a ribbon tying into a bow around the front. Pairing it with a pair of stilettos and a deep red lipstick, I should have been thinking how I looked pretty nice. Instead, my fatigued reverie was plagued by the conversation I had with a priest that afternoon. We had discussed how demonic possession took place. The priest, who remained anonymous behind a veiled room, told me that demons prey on the weak and vulnerable. However, within five minutes, I felt a cold sweat start to come over me and I made a hasty exit to pick Zack up from school. Everything else went by quickly - getting him ready in a cute blue shirt with black braces and shorts. Zack loved it and proceeded to parade around as I took photos of him. Dad arrived home shortly afterwards and without a word started getting ready. When he was sober, he was always in such a rush. He still had time to spin Zack around on his shoulder, doing their 'helicopter' as they called it, so I forgave him.

It was 7pm, but there was a steady stream of people coming in. I was meant to have been ready earlier than this, but the caterers were late and then I also snuck in a quick nap. I would deal with the consequences later. Although he hadn't verbalized anything, I knew lateness irritated him. However, I was in dire need of sleep if I had to socialize with people who I really couldn't care less about. I had also tried calling Jonathan with no success. I couldn't exactly make up an excuse on the spot so I could go to his house. Then I seriously would be in deep shit. With a deep inhale, I sprayed some Chanel No. 5 on myself, practiced my best smile and left my bedroom, ready to face a night of boredom.