Chapter: Halloween Part 2

A/N: October 31st, 2023. In honour of Halloween, I wanted to publish a chapter that I've been working on for a long time and as you can tell from the title, is related to this very holiday. I will be publishing more chapters before this one to fill in the blanks up to this one. I hope that you can still enjoy it.

"I'll pick you up around midnight," Zack says, pulling up in front of the house. Loud music is blaring all the way to the street. Teenagers line the outside of the house doing various things including smoking and hooking up with one another. There was no alcohol to be seen, but neither passenger was that stupid.

While most of the time, Zack Denbrough would be calling the police and having any of these illegal activities shut down, he knew that Mia needed to be more social and make some friends. He can remember when he went to parties and did various things that he was not proud of either. Both he and Sharon knew that their niece needed the chance to be normal and not always hide in her room. The threat of Joel Rogers was always looming, but he had not been seen and the last sighting of him was in September in the Florida Keys. Why he was there, no one knew nor cared. It was safe enough for her to be a teenager. Break some rules and have fun.

"Thanks, Uncle Zack," she says. Her hand hesitates on the handle.

...

"Don't you think I'm a little old for these parties?" Steve asks as he and Robin enter through the back door. The house was boiling hot and smelled of sweat, alcohol, and various other substances. The music is blaring so loudly that they can barely hear anything unless they practically yell.

"Hey, you promised you wouldn't be such a downer," Robin says, handing him a cup of punch.

"I'm not being a downer, I'm just saying, do we really need to be here? Even you said you were too cool for this shit."

Neither of them really cared for this kind of scene and didn't bother in terms of costumes. Steve is literally in jeans and wore his dad's leather jacket and said he was the guy from Knight Rider. Robin didn't do much better, she wore dark and baggy clothing and said she was Allison from The Breakfast Club.

Several girls walk by with revealing costumes and both friends ogle at them. Robin smirks.

"You were saying," Robin smirks. "You and I have a better chance of hooking up tonight due to the alcohol and therefore the clouding of rational thought."

Steve rolls his eyes, knowing that was a jab at him, but also herself. He hates that his friend is okay with putting herself down like that. She deserved to find someone and be happy.

"CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG" is being chanted across the room as the future frat boys are doing handstands to drink from the nearby keg. Like life having cruel irony, the one doing the handstand is Billy Hargrove. The asshole of Hawkins high... a title he once held, but had long since made himself a better person. Holding Billy up to support his handstand over the metal bucket is his former friend, Tommy Hagan. Always the follower and decided that Billy was his best friend, all in an effort to remain popular.

Robin nudges Steve and he follows her gaze to Tammy Thompson, dressed like Dolly Parton, big hair and all, in the corner, laughing at some other person's joke.

"Again total dud and let's hope to God there's no karaoke," Steve says. "If you're planning to hook up, set your standards a little higher."

"Roger that Dingus," she says saluting him before beginning to wander away to find someone else to talk to.

"Just don't get so drunk that you hook up in the bathroom," he says before leaving his friend to find some fresh air. "Believe me, it's not worth it."

He passes by Johnathan and Nancy, standing against the wall by an antique piano. It's a mystery as to why they were even there. Johnathan hated any kind of social gatherings and while Nancy was more outgoing than her boyfriend, Steve knew that she'd only ever done parties like this to fit in. be seen as popular, and because she was with him at the time. He nods to acknowledge them but then heads out to the back deck where some idiot thought it would be a good idea to make a bonfire with a trashcan and his shirt.

He sits in a lawn chair in the cold and sips his drink, trying to remain anonymous. How the tables had turned since he'd left high school.

...

"Don't do anything stupid," Zack says through the window, before putting the station wagon in gear and driving off into the night. "And have fun."

"Thanks..." Mia says to herself as she walks towards the house. Completely useless advice.

Several people stare at her as she comes to the door. Ignoring them, she enters.

To say that the scene on the other side of the door was overwhelming was an understatement. The whole place stunk to high hell and the screams of others along with the music made Mia seriously rethink staying for an extended period of time. passes by many people in various costumes. There were multiple people dressed as Marty McFly from Back to the Future, as well as a few Doc Browns. There was a group of boys in the corner dressed as The Goonies and a trio of girls looking like Charlie's Angels. A few people are wearing Freddy Kruger and Jason Vorhees costumes, along with John Rambo, Max from Mad Max, zombies, vampires, Teen Wolf, a Ronald Reagan, a few girls in Madonna-inspired outfits, Jems and some Care bears, which were people just wearing brightly coloured shirts and sticking poorly drawn symbols on them. A few look in her direction, but are either too drunk to register who she is or just don't care either way.

Meanwhile, Mia was dressed in a simple black outfit that looked to be one piece but was actually two. It was her version of Audrey Hepburn's pantsuit from Sabrina. She completed the look with black shoes, earrings, and her hair in an updo. It wasn't much, but it was a way to stay comfortable. Also, it was something that brought her and her mother closer together. The two Rogers women were big fans of Audrey Hepburn, My Fairy Lady being their personal choice for favourite film.

Still wondering why she'd decided to come if this just wasn't her scene, Mia finds the dining room, which is littered with cups, glasses and every kind of alcohol imaginable. A large punch bowl was set up and various snacks were set up as well. Under the table were two more kegs being used as table legs until they were needed. Several funnels and cases of beer are stashed in corners too.

"COME ON BILLY! YOU NEED TO BEAT THE RECORD!" someone shouts.

The shy girl gets herself some punch and attempts to blend in. While she should be thrilled to be at an actual house party for the first time, the noise, the smells, the alcohol, and the overall insanity of people's behaviour are making her less than. Despite her circumstances, she had to try to be social and a "normal" teenager once and a while.

He's not here. He's not here... she keeps repeating in her head. Be normal. Be normal.

Inhaling sharply, despite the smell, she scans the crowd for anyone she might recognize and could "socialize" with. A door leading to the kitchen swings open as someone exits and she notices a few girls from her English class standing in the kitchen. She approaches them near the kitchen counter and they acknowledge her and even smile.

"How's it going?" one girl asks.

"Not too bad," Mia replies. The swinging door in the kitchen allows for the music to be muffled.

"Who are you supposed to be?" another asks.

"Audrey Hepburn, from Sabrina," she says.

The girls are dressed in jazzercise outfits, tiger print tights and neon leg warmers galore.

"Cool," a third replies.

"My mom loves her movies. A fashion icon for sure," the first one chimes in.

"But god the hairstyles in those movies. The beehive in Breakfast at Tiffany's... how did anyone wear such a gaudy-looking hairstyle?"

"I know right?" the second laughs as well.

Mia raises an eyebrow skeptically as this girl currently has a permanent so bleached that it looks almost white and the curls are so thick that they look like birds could nest in them. Another had a very poor dye job streaked with multiple colours.

Fashion is subjective, I guess, Mia ponders to herself.

She stands with the girls for what feels like an hour at least, not really saying much but just being there. It felt nice to be almost included, saying a few words here and there and chiming in on whatever strange thing they wanted to agree about. Eventually, the girls all start heading out to smoke.

"I'll pass," Mia says. "I'm going to refill my drink."

A complete lie as she'd barely drunk any punch at all. It was way too strong and obviously, people thought it was cool to sneakily spike it with various different kinds of alcohol, which caused it to look gray and taste awful. But anything to do something else at this point. The girls clearly just tolerated her presence at best and anything they said was just lame gossip. She heads through the swinging door, back into the intense music and noise, ditching her cup in the process. She mixes cranberry vodka for herself... something she knew how to make thanks to the number of times she'd seen her dad do this. Even when he tried to hide the fact that he was mixing drinks.

The memory causes her to groan in despair and just tries to garnish the drink quickly so she can drown the memory in booze.

It is at that point, that someone decides to approach her this time, spurred on by others, thinking this was a conquest.

"Hey, pretty girl..."

Mia turns towards the voice and she barely has any time to react before Billy Hargrove drunkenly "slides" right up and puts his arm around her. His breath smells absolutely awful to the point that it takes all her strength not to throw up. His sweaty body and greasy hair do not help in the scent department either.

"Get lost," she says, shifting over to the opposite end of the table, out of arm's reach. She hastily grabs a paper plate and begins to fill it with some pretzels as an excuse to get away from him as quickly as possible.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, baby..." he says. He attempts to be smooth, but due to the quarter amount of the keg he'd consumed, he stumbles right into her, causing her food to drop to the floor and she nearly spills her drink. "What's with all the... the... the... Tommy?"

"Yeah Billy," the other guy dressed like a 50s greaser says, coming over to the table.

"What word am I looking for?"

"For what?"

"For how this lady is treating me right now?"

"Hostility?"

"Yeah, that. What's with all the hostility baby doll?"

"If only you were sober enough to see the reasons why. How about you try these words on too for how I'm treating you? With disgust, revulsion, hatred, and rage." she retorts and tries to walk away. However, the group of boys still go after her. She tries to make it to the kitchen, but Billy stands in the doorway, blocking the exit.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey..." Billy says. "Why the hostility? You should be flattered that you've caught my eye. Even you are more attractive after a few drinks."

"Well... that's a nice boost to the ego. READ MY LIPS... GET BENT Billy Hargrove, I'm not interested. Now get out of my way!"

"Come on baby doll..."

"Don't call me that!" she snaps. "You are not smooth and you're also wasted off your ass."

"So?"

"You should consider yourself lucky that Billy likes you so much," Tommy adds, his eyes also swimming in the booze and just there to support his friend/leader.

"Yeah, because it's considered a privilege to be harassed by a creep who can't walk a straight line."

Billy swallows and a flash of anger enters his eyes. "How about you just let me be your guy?"

"Hey, how about leaving the lady alone?" Steve says, stepping in, having watched a lot of exchange. It was clear she was trapped as most of Billy's posse were taller than her and leaning dangerously. He'd come in to get out of the biting cold air and find Robin. It'd been more than half an hour since she'd said something sarcastic or called him a name, which meant she'd either been abducted by aliens or she was trashed and could barely stand.

"Oh, big man Harrington coming to the rescue," Tommy says.

The others in the group laugh.

"What's the matter, Harrington?" Billy says. "Want me to kick your ass a second time?"

"No, I don't feel like stooping to the level of fighting pieces of shit like you anymore," he retorts. "Because you're clearly that much of an asshole to harass women even after she's told you she's not interested."

"So high and altruistic," Tommy shouts mockingly. "You think you've changed so much, but you're still the loser I knew you as."

"Takes one to know one," Steve fires back.

"You used to be fun, but then Wheeler got ahold of you and she sucked all the fun out of you."

"It's called maturity Tommy," Steve says. "Something you will never understand if you hang around guys like Hargrove. Now do yourselves all a favour and leave her alone."

Before any of the drunk jerks can respond, he walks away and Mia follows, pleased by the distraction. Both go in separate directions and the delayed processing time of all those intoxicated members leaves them standing there like idiots unsure of which one to follow.

Once they've both reached safe vantage points, Steve briefly turns to ensure that the boys have held to his word. Mia and Steve's eyes meet for a moment. She stands next to a folding table containing more beers and mixed drinks in the living room.

Mia mouths the words "thank you" to Steve before mixing into the crowd once more. He nods, glad he was able to help her a little bit.

He stands by the front door and searches for his priority.

"Hey Steve," Robin stumbles over the last basement stair on her way up. He rushes to help her stand up, which turns out to be a challenge. Steve wrinkles his nose. She already smelled like a liquor store.

"God Robin, how are you drunk already?"

"Three words... Jell-o shots!" she shouts very loudly, holding up a tiny glass that is still half full. The problem with Robin is when she gets drunk, she gets louder than she usually is. "Pure vodka mixed in with Jell-O. They're doing rows of them in the laundry room off the ironing board, want to come?"

She pauses for a moment as if having a moment of random clarity through the haze of alcohol.

"I really hope I didn't drink detergent. If I start... burping bubbles, call an ambulance."

"Sure," Steve mutters. He's glad at least Robin is enjoying herself.

He can't help but try to find Mia again.

She's leaning against a door frame of the living room with her cranberry vodka, just trying to remain anonymous, but Billy Hargrove would not let that happen. However, it wouldn't take Steve long to realize that she's far from a helpless girl being harassed.

The second she feels the pervert grab her butt, Mia turns around and punches him square in the jaw, causing him to stumble and crash into the folding table of drinks. Various types of alcohol go flying and, in some cases, shatter to the floor, various coloured liquids leak and soak anything surrounding the table and plastic cups get crushed under Billy's form. Beer cans are also dented or opened from the impact or under his weight and spray everywhere. All of it creates one hell of a mess and soaking the guy completely, but she just glares at him angrily, her hands clenched into fists. The boys who were following Billy around immediately step back, realizing that they messed with the wrong girl.

"Touch me again you lose the hand Billy Hargrove!" she screams angrily.

Her voice carries throughout the whole house because the room has gone dead silent, even the music has stopped as everyone stares at the scene in front of them. All are completely surprised that the person they referred to as the "new girl" or the "weird girl" had one hell of a right hook and she just punched one of the toughest guys in the school.

Mia's face goes completely red, swallows her anger and goes upstairs, shoving past people as she goes.

"Whoa... new kid has some fight," Robin slurred.

The music is eventually turned back on and everyone goes back to their own worlds, except Billy who storms out the back door. Still concerned, Steve spots Nancy and Johnathan on the outskirts of the party. They were uncomfortable, definitely getting ready to leave. He struggles to guide Robin over to them.

"That was... interesting," Nancy says.

"Completely deserved it though," Johnathan says.

"I have to take a leak, can you guys keep an eye on Robin for a few minutes?" he lies. "She's already leaning dangerously. Then we can get out of here. I've barely had anything so I can give you a ride home."

Nancy and Johnathan looked at one another and silently agreed that after Billy harassed the new kid, the mood had definitely been killed. Plus, parties were just not their scene at all.

"I don't need you to babysit me!" Robin fires back. She then stumbles right into Nancy, pouring the remaining half of her Jell-O shot down her back.

"Whoa, sorry Wheeler. I didn't mean..."

"Just... just..." Nancy says, helping to steady Robin. It's hard to believe that a year ago she'd made a fool of herself like this at another party. "Just try not to walk too much okay."

"I'll be right back," Steve says.

Ascending the stairs to the second floor, Steve begins to go through the upstairs halls, looking for Mia. The bathroom was locked and someone was obviously in there vomiting due to the dry heaving sounds on the other side, but he doubted it was her; that girl clobbered him completely sober. He checked one of the bedrooms where a couple of stoners were next to the window getting high but were trying and failing to get the weed smoke and smell out. Another bedroom held several people passed out and with marker drawings on their faces, clearly victims of slightly more sober individuals, but still no Mia.

In the final bedroom, Steve notices that the window is open, letting in a biting cold. He entered on suspicion and process of elimination. Walking past a zombie and a chick dressed like a ladybug hooking up on the bed, Steve goes to the window leading out onto the roof. It was the only other place that she could be.

Sticking his head out through the ugly floral curtains, he finds Mia sitting on the far end of the roof, curled up into a ball, her arms and chin resting on her knees. The only place where she'd get any privacy.

"Hey," he says.

Mia avoids his gaze for a few moments before gathering herself and wiping some tears from her eyes.

"Hey."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I guess," she shrugs. She turns away to hide her blush.

"I wasn't sure if you'd taken off or not."

"I want to, but my uncle's not picking me up until midnight. So, I'm kind of stuck here."

Steve climbs through the window and slowly makes his way over to sit next to her.

Mia's heart flutters and her stomach turns in excitement with him being so close. She can't deny that she's attracted to him. Her cheeks are also flushed red, but that is fortunately concealed by the smudged makeup on her face. She looks into his eyes before glancing back down.

"Pretty cold to be out here," he shudders, pulling his jacket closer to keep the warmth in.

"Cold doesn't bother me too much, plus was a 1000 degrees in there anyway."

"True," Steve replies.

"Plus, the whole Wisconsin thing," she smirks.

"Yeah, that too."

There's an extended pause between them. The music is muffled by the night air and the late hour means no trick-or-treaters; plus, the temperature has driven everyone else inside, leaving a lack of voices to be heard. This allows for there to be some form of quiet and peace.

"So, who are you supposed to be?" she asks.

"Hm?"

"Your costume," she prompts.

"Oh, I'm the guy from Knight Rider," Steve says. He knows how lame it is, but he didn't have a lot of time to actually pick anything out.

"David Hasselhoff, I'm familiar," she smirks.

"And what about you?"

"I'm Sabrina from the movie Sabrina."

Steve gives her a bit of a blank look. She chuckles.

"The Audrey Hepburn movie."

"Oh... okay, it's a nice outfit," he compliments her.

Mia pulls a stray hair from her bun out of her face.

"Thanks, my mom and I love any of her movies. My Fair Lady is one of the best. I would have worn her ascot dress, but I don't think the hat would have fit through the door."

"Cool..."

The two fall into silence once more, but it doesn't last long.

The roar of an engine shatters the tranquillity of the night. The two on the roof observe a blue Camero come peeling down the road, likely from its parking spot somewhere up the street and then turning left at such a sharp angle that two tires on the right side nearly leave the ground. The engine and vehicle go careening out of the neighbourhood at a dangerous rate of speed, carrying Billy Hargrove and his wounded pride. No one cared that he was extremely drunk and driving recklessly. Very few people liked Billy anymore, his reputation as a womanizer and a asshole had become clearer to many people ever since he wore out his welcome last fall, most of them always trying to avoid being mowed down by him in his car. And tonight, after he assaulted Mia and she rightfully put him in his place, it likely solidified his reputation to everyone.

Mia flips the bird in the direction of the car that just vanished down the street.

"Jack ass," she snarls.

All he can do is nod in agreement.

"No one's mad at you by the way," Steve says, trying to break the awkward silence this time. "The asshole had it coming, hell I would've done the same thing."

"Thanks. I know that... I just wish I hadn't done it in front of everyone."

"Why? They'll probably think you're badass."

"Thanks for being generous Steve, but they still see me as the freaky new kid who barely says anything and now they'll see me as violent. Not exactly how I envisioned my first house party ending"

"First? So, wait, you've never been to a party before?"

"In that small town in Wisconsin, keg parties are hard to come by and it's not like I could go to them anyways."

"How come?"

Mia swallows and her mind races to come up with some excuse that makes sense. One that sounded like a normal reason for skipping parties. What she'd said wasn't a complete lie... This was her first party, but in all honesty, small-town parties are extremely common and very intense. This was due to there being not a lot to do in the area and with all the added space of farms, you could have a hell of a bash. But like everything else in her life, she couldn't be part of it because of him. He was just her ghost who always seemed to haunt her life.

"My family's farm was too far out of town to really get there. And we only had one truck that my grandpa needed for work so he didn't want to risk it breaking down or being damaged in some way."

"Oh... okay. Well, I'm sorry your first party sucked," he says, trying to be sympathetic.

"Thanks, although punching out the toughest guy in school felt good," she admits with a tiny smile.

"Self-proclaimed. The guy's just an asshole," Steve says. "He also thinks it's okay to ruin his little sister's life."

"Another reason to hate him. He's going to end up in jail or getting himself killed if he keeps acting like that. I'm sure reality will set in eventually."

"No soon enough," Steve admits. Reality had set in for him last spring when he barely graduated from high school, had no college prospects, still lived with his parents, and worked a minimum wage dressed as a sailor. And his big man persona and popularity no longer mattered... plus the whole facing off with Russians and otherworldly giant smoke monsters with demon dog minions with no faces will shatter your reality too.

Mia pulls out a bag of chocolate peanut clusters from her purse. She'd brought them along in case she needed a bit of a pick-me-up at night.

She grabs a handful and holds the bag out.

"Want one?" she offers.

"Sure, what are they?" Steve asks.

"Just chocolate-covered peanut clusters. They're my grandpa's favourite and by default mine."

Steve takes one and pops it into his mouth.

"Thanks."

"No problem. They're not really candy, but they have some sugar."

Munching on them in silence, Mia is pondering something in her mind. She decides to try, see if he'd be impressed.

She tosses a cluster in the air and catches it in her mouth with ease.

He's surprised. "Nice," he says.

Mia does it again.

"Wow, impressive," he chuckles.

The third time's a charm.

"That has to be lucky."

"Want to see something?" she asks.

"Sure."

She tosses the cluster up in the air, shuts her eyes and gets it.

"Holy crap, you have a serious talent."

"Here," she holds the bag out. "Take one."

He obliges her request.

"Okay, blindfolded and toss it to me,"

"No way you're going to get it," he says.

"Do you doubt me, Steven Harrington?" she smirks, peeking through her hands.

"Just Steve is fine,"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Just Mia. By the way, my real name is Amelia."

"Amelia, that's such a cool name."

"Thanks. Now toss it Just Steve."

He does so. Mia catches it in her mouth. Her arms go up in victory and she can't help but laugh. Steve cheers as well but has to steady himself in order to not fall off the roof.

"Holy..."

"I told you," she laughs. It felt nice to laugh with him.

"You're something else, Amelia," he says.

"How about we leave it at Mia?" she suggests. "For some reason, it's weird having other people use my full name."

"Sure, but Amelia is a really pretty name," he compliments her.

She tucks another loose hair behind her ear and blushes.

"Thanks."

After another pause, he remembered what he was going to ask.

"Do you want a ride home?"

"Really?"

"Yeah, like one of my friends is really drunk so we need to get her home, and the others just want to get out of here. I want to know if you want that too instead of waiting for your uncle, which would mean another couple of hours in this hell hole at least."

Mia thinks it over.

But before she can answer.

"DINGUS!" a loud voice calls from within the house.

Steve cringes in embarrassment. How the hell did she even find him?

"Damn it, Robin" he hisses angrily.

"That you?" Mia smirks.

"Unfortunately," he mutters.

The two climb back through the window. The ladybug and zombie have since moved to the closet, leaving the trashed room empty, a small blessing for Steve.

"There you are Dingus," she slurs sticking her head into the room. "Nancy and Johnathan want to know what's taking so long to take your leak."

Again, Steve is beet red in embarrassment. Mia looks at him sympathetically, but still can't help but laugh.

"How did you even get up here?" he asks. "You can barely walk a straight line, let alone climb a staircase."

"Magic!" she smiles drunkenly.

"Look, if you want to get out of here, I can give you a ride back to your place. Don't you live in the same cul-de-sac as Nancy?"

Mia smiles. "Yes, and that would be great. I'd rather go home than possibly face any more jackasses. As long as I can help our drunk friend over here actually make it down the stairs this time."

"I'm not drunk," Robin protests.

"Sure you aren't," Mia says. "I'm Mia by the way."

"I know, we have English class together. Speaking of which, why the hell does King Lear have such a crappy ending?"

Both Steve and Mia roll their eyes before beginning to help a stumbling Robin down the staircase together. Both have her put one arm around their shoulders to support her. It takes a few minutes and there are several close calls where Robin nearly falls out of their grasp and would've gone face-first down the stairs. Nancy and Johnathan meet them at the bottom, all ready to leave the madness behind.

The group shuffles through the crowd of drunk teenagers, just wanting to go.

"Leaving so soon?" an obnoxious voice calls out.

The group turns. People whom Steve regrettably used to hang out with.

"For God's sake leave me alone," Mia snaps.

"Not you freak," Tommy says, stepping past her.

He turns to Steve. "I have something to say to you loser."

"Get lost Tommy," is the response as they try to steady Robin on her feet.

"You used to be such a fun guy until you let Nancy Wheeler get a hold of you,"

Johnathan bites his lip, just wanting to keep walking. Nancy as well, knew where this was likely leading.

Steve just tried to ignore it too, grinding his teeth.

Tommy steps in front of them, a few other lackeys standing with him to block their exit and force the group to stop.

"I'm talking to you, Harrington! You used to be so great and we had such a great time together. But then you fell for this slut. Who I'm guessing had been playing you the entire time you were together. Instead, bedding Weirdo Byers and maybe sleeping with a couple of other guys too. How does it make you feel to know she was cheating on you? Maybe she whored herself out to the football team too?"

Nancy sighs; it always came back to this; she was used to the rumour by now and it had gone stale a long time ago, but then he said something that crossed every line.

"Just like your mom. Making yourself available to any man, even while married. Like mother like daughter, you're a whole family of sluts..."

It stung, but Nancy just wanted to get out. But for the two men in her life who cared about her... That was it. Steve doesn't hesitate to collar Tommy and slam him against the wall. Johnathan, not far behind, ready to strangle the asshole who made his life a living hell and insulted his girlfriend and her family.

"Steve no!" Robin says, slurring a bit. Mia is still supporting her, a little unsure of the scene unfolding around them and lost due to lack of context. Also if she went to help, there's a strong chance that Robin would end up on the floor. Both stand there helplessly in the middle of it all.

"Steve! Johnathan!" Nancy says. She's used to the rumour by now, neither of them needs to defend her.

"Take that back!" Steve snarls.

"Or what? She slept with this Byers loser and you're still defending her honour?"

"You want a mouth full of broken teeth?" Johnathan barks.

"Guys no!" Nancy says. She tries to intervene and get between them.

"I said take it back!" he snaps.

"Make me," Tommy smirks.

A larger member of the group comes out of nowhere and pulls Johnathan off first, putting him in a headlock, and cutting off his air supply. He struggles to get away.

"Still not that tough Byers," the brute smirks.

"LET HIM GO!" Nancy screams, trying to save her boyfriend. She tries to kick him in the crotch.

Another partygoer grabs her wrist and yanks her from the scene. She begins to try and punch him but he traps her in a tight embrace, pinning her arms and leaving her helpless.

Several of the other drunken lackeys grab Steve and pull him off of Tommy. However, the asshole wasn't done. The lackeys restrain the former king of Hawkins High and are prepared for the next phase of the plan. One punches him in the face to stun him long enough to dish out their version of justice.

Robin tries to help, but she's so inebriated all it takes is for one guy to grab the back of her jacket and keep her from going anywhere.

"I've been waiting a long time for this Harrington," Tommy sneers.

However, before the bully can land a blow to the stomach, Mia comes from out of nowhere. She grabs his wrist and maneuvers in such a way as to have his arm pinned behind his back.

"Care to rephrase that?" she says

"How are you so freakishly strong?" Tommy blurts out loudly.

"Farm life," she says simply. "Now take it back."

"No way!"

"Take it back or I'll throw you into the same table I threw Billy into... or I can do something worse that causes you to be in a cast for six weeks, take your pick."

Tommy winces in pain.

"Is your ego that big that it won't allow you to know when you're beaten?" she asks.

Another guy tries to step forward and help Tommy, but Mia is prepared. Still with the loser in her hold, she steps back with him and stomps on his foot. She then expertly kicks him on the soft part of the knee causing him to go down and anyone else to immediately retreat.

She tightens her grip again.

"All right, all right I'll take it back," he finally squeals.

She lets go of his arm and Tommy leans against the wall in pain.

"Anyone else want to take me up on the offer?" she asks.

All the boys back off. After seeing both Tommy, Billy and another guy be messed up by this chick, they weren't sure if they wanted to try their luck. She was obviously someone who wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty if needed.

She glares at the ones still holding onto Steve. They promptly release him.

She turns to the ones that have Jonathan and Nancy in their grasp.

"I suggest you follow."

They release the others before backing off.

Jonathan gasps and holds his neck. Nancy rushes to his side to check on him and talk him through deep breathing. Steve goes over to help steady Robin after she'd also been let go.

Mia smirked, knowing that this would happen. Once she took out Billy, Tommy tried to be the big leader, but he wasn't any such thing. He was a follower, and so were the rest of the lackeys. Cut off the head of the snake and the rest just falls apart.

"Good, let's get out of here."

The rest of the house, who watched the scene immediately part down the middle to let all of them pass. The icing on top was that it further humiliated the boys that they were beaten by a girl.

Once out of the house and in the quiet night, the group heads towards Steve's car, in complete silence. None of them have anything to say at this point, completely stunned.

Once in the car, the one whose better judgement was inhibited by alcohol speaks up.

"That... was... awesome," Robin says. Even when drunk, she had some awareness of what had happened. "You are officially the school's badass bitch."

"I don't know about that," Mia says. And she didn't. Her mother and grandparents told her never to resort to violence... for obvious reasons, but all she'd done was put her self-defence training to good use. She protected people who didn't deserve mistreatment... that had to count for something.

"I do, you put those assholes in their place and owned it. Honestly, you have made this party ten times better. Honestly, I thought it was just going to be boring... but you've made it amazing. Here's to Mia Rogers... the badass bitch!"

The others just remain silent, but silently smile and agree with Robin's declaration.

...

Billy downs another can of beer as he careens through town at an extremely high rate of speed. Loud heavy metal music blares over the radio. He ignores the tears burning in his eyes. It's not enough that he was humiliated by a girl who was shorter than him. He crushes the beer can, tosses it on the floor of the car, and tries to get another.

"Stupid bitch..." he hisses, grinding his teeth. "Ungrateful slut..."

He continues with his tirade of obscenities under his breath as he struggles to open his next beer. His favourite jacket was now soaked and stunk so badly. He's passed through the main part of town and is now heading towards the outskirts, where fewer people existed and he was less likely to be pulled over for drunk driving or speeding.

His mind begins to wander, replaying the moment over and over, how the chick just sucker-punched him.

He adjusts his rear-view mirror to try and examine his face to see if there is a bruise.

Suddenly, his windshield shatters, taking him by complete surprise and causing him to lose control. He scrambles to get control as his car careens through the dirt and gravel, doing a complete 360-degree spin as Billy slams on the break and tries to stop. His car goes sideways into the bushes and it stops abruptly, shattering his side windows and causing Billy to smash his head as well.

Dazed for a few moments, he glances up at his destroyed windshield.

"Oh no!" he groans.

He begins to strike the dashboard to get it working again.

"No! Piece of shit..."

He continues to hit it. The radio does come back on but with lots of static and completely distorted.

"Shit." he hits the car again. "Damn it!"

He opens the door and practically falls out. He lands on his hands and knees, fighting to keep the alcohol in his system.

He grunts in pain while standing up to further assess the damage and his surroundings.

It doesn't register for him, but he's now in the bushes outside of Brimborn Steel Works.

"Ah, shit," he slurs, limping around to the other side of his car to see what he'd hit.

His side door is completely dented in. He frantically tries to open it before striking it in anger.

"Damn it!" he screams.

"Piece of shit!" he adds, kicking the back end.

He storms around to the driver's side and slams the door. He then goes to his windshield.

It was completely shattered. His thought goes to that little twerp who threw a rock through his back window a month ago. He grinds his teeth thinking that he'd come back for round 2. If that was the case, he'd wring the kid's neck and break all his bones.

However, he notices something amongst the shattered glass. He reaches out. Some kind of slime...

"What the hell..." he says aloud.

Suddenly, something shrieks behind him, snapping him back to where he was and what might be out there.

"WHOSE THERE?!" he calls out into the darkness.

Nothing responds.

He takes a few steps closer.

"Hey! I said, who's there?!"

Something then wraps around his ankle and pulls him off his feet. Whatever the hell had a hold of him began dragging him through the dirt and gravel toward the ironworks building. At one point, it whacks him against the wall, before continuing.

Billy is screaming and desperately trying to grab something to stop it. His head is exploding in pain and his body burns from being dragged. He can't see what has him but it can't be good.

At one point, he manages to grab the door leading down into the building. He clung to it desperately in order to not be dragged any further or down the stairs.

This only lasts a few seconds as Billy screams before vanishing into the darkness.

A/N: Please follow and review.