Steve kept glancing at Dusting in his rearview mirror, examining the kid intently and trying to work out what was actually going on. Violet was sat next to Steve and he found that she had shifted closer to him, almost as though she was on edge. A part of Steve didn't believe what he had heard from Dustin. He knew that kids tended to exaggerate things so why should Dustin be any different. Violet, on the other hand, looked concerned.

"If this is one of those creatures-"

"-Demodog," Dustin corrected her. Steve scoffed. The kid had come up with a name for what it was supposed to be.

"Demodog," Violet said. "Why did you have it when it was little? I mean, you must've known that it wasn't exactly a normal pet."

"Wait," Steve said, tapping his steering wheel. "Are we talking about the same creature that you saw that time in the forest?" He glanced over to Violet as he kept on driving towards Dustin's house. Violet looked to him and shrugged her shoulders at him, biting down on her bottom lip and almost distracting Steve with her chewing on it, a move that he usually found attractive because she did it when she was concentrating.

"I don't know unless I see it," Violet told him. "I mean, it could be, I guess."

"It's the same as whatever you guys fought at Will's house…you know…when he was in the Upside Down."

"That place has a name too?" Steve checked.

"Can you keep up, Steve?" Dustin asked and Violet stifled a laugh. Steve shot her a glare and she mouthed a 'sorry' to him, but she had found it quite entertaining. The kid seemed sweet enough and, if he did have one of those creatures, even if it was a baby, then Violet knew he might be in trouble. The sun had now set over Hawkins and it seemed almost eerie. "Are you going to give these chocolates to Nancy?" Dustin wondered and Steve scoffed, but Violet just shrugged.

"I can buy another box if you're hungry," she said and he opened the lid, grabbing a caramel cream.

"So you claim that there's this deadly creature after you, but you've still got an appetite?" Steve asked, one hand on the wheel and the other going over the back of the seat, hand sitting by Violet's shoulder and fingers tickling it softly.

"I skipped lunch," Dustin said. "And also, I never said it was after me. I said it was missing."

"Then why do you need the bat?"

"As a precaution," Dustin said and Steve sighed as Violet lifted her hand up, taking hold of his on her shoulder. He laced his fingers against hers as Dustin moved his fingers over the box of chocolates, picking another one out. "Anyway, why are you two even together? Isn't Billy Hargrove supposed to be taking you on a date?"

"Who?" Steve asked instinctively.

"Not you, obviously," Dustin shot back. "He told Mad Max that he was taking the tennis star on a date this weekend. She told Lucas who told me. I said that wouldn't make sense because everyone knows that you two have been sneaking around behind Nancy's back, but then people didn't know if Violet was getting a reputation…whatever that means."

Violet was glad that he was too young to know what it meant. Steve's hand gripped hers harder and she knew he was annoyed. She looked over his face, seeing that his lips were pursed and his eyes narrowed on the road ahead. She sighed loudly. "I told him I wasn't interested, Steve," Violet said, defending herself.

Steve blinked quickly and his eyes flickered between her and the road. "I'm not mad at you, Vi. I'm mad at him for even saying anything," Steve said. "And we didn't sneak around behind Nancy's back. Is that what people are saying?"

Dustin almost looked smug, leaning back on the seat. "It's weird when I know more about school gossip that Steve 'the Hair' Harrington. I thought you were supposed to be the most popular guy in Hawkins?"

"I am," Steve said too quickly, well aware that he was losing his popularity, but as he lost it, the more he started to realise that it didn't matter to him anyway. It didn't make him happy, not really. "But that's not the point and none of that is true."

"Whatever, your love life is none of my business," Dustin said. "Just nice to be all knowing."

"Oh yeah?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," Dustin retorted.

"Well, Mr All Knowing, you might want to check your reflection because you've got chocolate all around your mouth," Steve said, a triumphant look on his face as he saw Dustin wipe at it with the back of his hand, Violet's lip tugging upwards into a smile. "And if we get there and this thing is just a lizard then you're paying for the cinema tickets we've just wasted."

"Didn't realise there was a drive-in at the Wheeler house," Dustin murmured Steve just rolled his eyes at the kid. "But this thing is not a lizard. First it was like this," he measured between his fingers, "and now it is like this," he moved his hands apart wider. "What type of lizard do you know that grows that quickly?"

"I don't know…some lizards get big, don't they?" Steve said. "What about those dangerous ones that are really long and heavy…you know with the long tails and are venomous?"

Violet's brow furrowed as she tried to grasp what he was saying. She frowned and cocked her head to the side, still holding his hand with her thumb running over his knuckles softly. "You mean Komodo dragons? Like the ones in that nature documentary we watched?"

"Yeah, those ones," Steve said. "They were huge."

"They also need to live in warm climates and tropical forests so I don't think Hawkins has any of those," Dustin said to Steve.

"We don't know that. One could've escaped a zoo."

"Escaped a zoo?" Both Violet and Dustin exclaimed and Steve rolled his eyes.

"Well, how do we know?" he asked, voice getting higher in frustration. He wanted there to be a logical explanation because without it then he had no idea what they were going to find at Dustin's house.

"Because its face opened up and it ate my cat," Dustin said back to Steve and there was an awkward silence in the car then. Violet looked back at Dustin and then ahead at the road in front of them. Steve gulped and let out a deep breath.

"Seems like conclusive evidence," Violet relented on that point and Steve just nodded his head.

Finally, they pulled up outside of Dustin's house, clambering out of the car and towards the trunk. Steve rolled the sleeves of his blue jacket up to his elbows and popped open the trunk. He tossed his keys in the air to Dustin who grabbed hold of them. He moved a blanket aside and reached for the bat that he'd kept there just in case he ever needed it again. He was about to shut the trunk when Violet reached in and unzipped her tennis bag that she'd kept in there after he'd picked her up from practice.

Steve frowned. "What're you doing?"

"You might need back up," she said, but he shook his head at her.

"You're not coming down there," he said, voice firm and Violet took the racket and let it dangle by her side, twirling it absent-mindedly in her fingers. She gave Steve a look that said 'seriously' with her hip cocked. "I'm serious, Vi."

"Yeah, and you should know by now that I don't like being told what to do," Violet reminded him. "So I am coming," she said and then looked to Dustin. "Where is it?"

"This way," Dustin said and he led them around his house towards the cellar. Steve shook his head, grabbing a flashlight and jogging to catch up with the two of them. He could hear owls hooting around them, the noise eerie and the leaves from the trees rustling. Turning the flashlight on, he caught up with them as Violet looked at the red doors to the cellar. She stood still, her hand gripping her racket tight. Steve shone the light on it and glanced down.

"I don't hear shit," he said to Dustin.

"He's in there," Dustin promised the pair of them.

Steve prodded the steel with his racket softly, the bang gentle before he hit it a bit harder and the echo went through the woods behind them. Violet frowned as nothing happened and no noise came from the cellar. Steve turned the flashlight directly onto Dustin, the kid closing his eyes and raising his hand to block the glare of the light.

"Alright, kid, I swear if this is some kind of Halloween prank then you're dead. Alright?" Steve said to him.

"It's not a prank," Dustin said.

"Dead," Steve reiterated.

"Get that out of my face," Dustin said and Steve reluctantly lowered the flashlight.

"You got a key for the lock?" Violet questioned, crouching down and looking at it. She tugged her skirt down her thighs as Dustin dug into his pocket and handed it to her. Unlocking the padlock, she tossed it to the side along with the chain. Steve pulled the door open, the creaking of it sending a shiver through his spine. He shone his light down into it, but he could only see steps that led to nothing.

"Must be further down there," Dustin said. "I'll stay up here in case he tries to…escape."

Violet's lips tugged upwards despite the situation and she stood up straight. Clearly, Dustin was scared and she could understand why. She knocked the front of his baseball cap and moved onto the first step. "Alright, you big hero," she joked and began to descend the steps, apprehension taking hold of her as she went, racket tight in her hand and ready to swing at any moment. Steve followed her, grabbing hold of her by the arm before she could hit the bottom step. He shone the flashlight at her and she knocked his wrist, getting it out of her eyes.

"You trying to blind me?" she asked, vision dazzling as she tried to blink it away.

"You're not going any further."

"Says who?"

"Me."

"And why? Because I'm a girl?" Violet questioned him.

"No, because this could be dangerous and I don't want you to have to deal with it," Steve said.

"So you want me to just let you deal with it?"

"Yes."

"No," Violet retorted. "We deal with it together."

She tried to move, but Steve kept his hold on her arm firm. "Jesus, Vi, I am trying to protect you here, okay? I'm trying to keep you safe because, even if this is a prank-"

"-It's not," Dustin called down from the top of the steps.

"I'm not risking you for anything. Ever. I love you and I need to keep you safe," Steve said and, despite being annoyed, Violet also found it quite touching. She wanted to shrug him off and grunt something back to him, almost too embarrassed to say how she felt. But that wasn't what she did. Because this was Steve and she knew she didn't have to hide from him.

"Ever thought that I want to keep you safe too, you dummy?" she asked from him and she quickly kissed him on the cheek. "We're in this together, alright."

"Can you two please stop this lover's quarrel and just find out if it's down there?" Dustin asked from them.

Steve relented then, knowing that Violet was stubborn and she would do what she wanted. He sighed and looked her in the eye. "Just stay behind me, okay?" he urged and she opened her mouth to argue but he placed a hand over it. "Compromise," he said and she just rolled her eyes but didn't fight him on it. He figured he'd won and so he moved in front of her, finding the light for the cellar and tugging on the chain. It wasn't bright, but it gave them more of an idea where they were going.

As he wandered forwards, Steve felt himself stand on something squishy. Taking a step back, he lowered his bat and picked whatever it was up, holding it on the end of the bat. Violet pulled a face and stood behind him, peering over his shoulder. "What the hell is that?" she asked. It didn't look like anything she'd seen in science class before.

"Get down here," Steve demanded from Dustin, shining the flashlight back up the stairs.

Dustin moved down the steps and looked at what Steve was holding on the end of his bat. He muttered a 'shit' and Violet kept on staring at it. "Is that its skin?" she wondered and Dustin just nodded once as Steve dropped it back on the floor. He moved the flashlight around the room before it landed on the opposite wall and the three of them spotted it instantly. Truthfully, it would be pretty hard to miss.

"Oh shit," Dustin exclaimed louder this time and they stalked towards the wall, crouching down and looking at the hole that the creature had dug. Violet shook her head and looked between the two boys. "I don't think that's a lizard," she said to them.

…

"You know that you don't need to come out with us in the morning, right?" Steve said to Violet.

They had left Dustin behind at home, telling him to stay inside and they would pick him up first thing in the morning with supplies to try and find the creature that had escaped. Violet and Steve had drove back home and were parked in his driveway. Violet knew it was late and she'd have some explaining to do to her dad about why she was back so late. Then again, he had seen those creatures before. He knew what they'd been fighting before and he had helped them. But Violet didn't want to drag him into that again. Her dad was swamped with work and taking care of her tennis career. She couldn't ask him to get involved in this.

"That's where you're wrong," Violet said. "I do. You're not going out there by yourself."

"I wouldn't be by myself. I'd have the kid with me."

"His name is Dustin."

"He's a pain in the ass…ruined my plans for tonight," Steve complained and Violet softened at hearing him. She closed her eyes for a moment, tiredness taking hold of her as they just sat in the car in the driveway. Steve moved his arm around her shoulders and she slid across to him, head going to his shoulder. "After we'd talked to Nancy I was going to take you to see a film…maybe get some ice cream after…and then I'd drive you home and have you tucked up before ten so that your dad didn't kill me. Instead, we went hunting for a monster and it's now…" he trailed off, checking his watch, "eleven p.m. and your dad is probably going to kill me."

"I can handle him," Violet assured Steve. "Besides, I don't think he hates you, not really. He almost seemed to respect you that day after the tournament with that marketing guy."

"Almost, huh?"

"My dad's a hard man to impress," Violet said to him. "But I think you might get there."

"And how're things between you two? He seems different. I mean, I'm still scared of him, but with you…like he…I don't know…he's had a personality transplant."

Violet shrugged and felt sleepy, Steve's shoulder far too comfortable. "It's weird. It's like he's a completely different man now that mom's gone and a part of me misses her because I wish that things had been different. I wish that she loved me and I had been enough…but things right now are good. Me and my dad are getting there and I do love him. I just wish we hadn't wasted so much time."

Steve stroked her hair softly, sitting back and closing his own eyes, slouching on the seat. "I'm really happy for you, Vi," Steve said to her.

"Thanks," she said. "I just wish that things were better for you at home."

"You and me both," he said. "But I can handle it. Besides, I'd rather just sleep out here than see what's going on in there. You think your dad would be upset if I kept you here all night?"

"I don't think he'd be best pleased," Violet said, but she moved an arm over his waist, snuggling closer against him as he placed a hand on top of her arm, rubbing it softly. "But I'm already so late…ten more minutes isn't going to hurt."

…

"I've got to question this thing's tastebuds," Violet said.

The three of them were carrying a bucket each. The buckets had been filled with raw meat. They wore yellow rubber gloves and were tossing the meat onto the floor, trying to lure the creature out and set a trap at the old scrap yard. Steve was wearing jeans and the same jacket he'd been wearing the night before. Violet had changed into a green sweatshirt that she'd stolen from Steve and her denim skirt with white trainers.

"I'd been feeding it this," Dustin said. "I guess that helped it grow."

"Not your finest hour then, man," Steve said, throwing another piece of meat.

He had the bat sticking out his backpack just in case they ran into danger.

"Why did you keep it anyway?" Violet wondered from Dustin. "I mean, you must've known this thing was dangerous after what happened at the Byers house with it?"

"Well, yeah, but it was cool," Dustin said. "Plus, Max seemed to like it."

"Who is Max?" Steve wondered.

"Billy's sister," Dustin said.

Violet pieced it together then and glanced to Steve, shooting him a knowing look. Realisation dawned on his face and he shook his head, throwing another piece of meat as they wandered along the abandoned railway track in the middle of the forest figuring it was better to stick to that so they had a guide as to where they were as opposed to wandering aimlessly through the forest.

"Let me get this straight," Steve said. "You kept something dangerous in order to impress a girl who you just met?"

"Alright, that's grossly oversimplifying it," Dustin said, turning to glance back at the two elder teenagers following him. He was still wearing his headset in an attempt to keep communicating with his other friends, but so far only Lucas had picked up.

"I mean, why would a girl like some slug anyway?" Steve wondered.

"An inter-dimensional slug?" Dustin checked with him. "Because it's awesome. Back me up here, Violet."

Violet sighed and just shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," she said. "I mean, I might be a bit biased because I have fought one of these slugs and I'm not a massive fan, but I guess it might impress some girls who are into that kind of thing…maybe."

"Really?" Steve muttered so only she could hear.

"No, but the kid seems down," Violet said. "Talk to him."

"About what?"

"Girl troubles…you know all about that…make him feel better."

"I'm not his dad."

"No, but you're my boyfriend and it'll make me happy," Violet said, flashing him a smile and Steve shook his head, pretending to be annoyed, but a smirk on his face. He threw another piece of meat off to the side.

"You know you just called me your boyfriend," Steve said to her.

"Yeah…well…you kind of are," Violet said and Steve just mock sighed and bent his head down, awkwardly kissing her for a second as they kept on walking. Violet felt his tongue sweep over her bottom lip, but he didn't deepen the kiss. Instead, he just pulled back and winked at her.

"Anything to keep my girlfriend happy," Steve said and she watched him jog a few paces to keep up with Dustin as she hung back and gave the two of them their privacy.

"But even if she thought it was cool, which I doubt she did…I don't know," Steve said. "I think you're trying way too hard, man."

"Well, not everyone can have your perfect hair, alright?" Dustin said to him and Steve shook his head and shrugged.

"It's not about the hair, alright? The key to girls is just acting like you don't care," he said and he realised that wasn't entirely correct. Maybe it had been at one time when he had been dating around and flirting with anyone who flirted with him. But that wasn't how he'd gotten Violet. Then again, he loved Violet and she was different. He didn't want this kid to go in heavy like Steve had with her. That could end in heartbreak. It had for Steve at one time.

"Even if you do?"

"Yeah," Steve said. "It drives them nuts."

"And then what?"

"You just wait," Steve said, "until you feel it." He nudged Dustin in the arm and turned around to see that Violet was staring off into the forest behind them.

"Feel what?" Dustin asked.

"Feel it," Steve just repeated. "It's difficult to explain. It's like this…uh…electricity, you know?"

"You mean electro-magnetic fields when the clouds in the atmosphere-"

"-No, no, no, no," Steve said, cutting Dustin off. "Like a sexual electricity. You feel that and then you make your move."

"So that's when you kiss her?"

"Woah, slow down, Romeo," Steve said. "Sure, some girls yeah, they want you to be aggressive and hot and heavy like a lion…others you've got to be slow and stealthy…like a ninja."

"And what about Violet? How did you know you wanted her when you were with Nancy?"

Dustin had asked the awkward question and Steve took a moment to turn his head over his shoulder to make sure she was still several paces behind them. He glanced to Dustin and he could see that the kid looked forlorn. Even though he was young, Steve knew that he could know all about heartbreak. It could hit at any age he found.

"Honestly?" Steve said. "I've probably been in love with Violet since before I even really knew it. Things with Violet are different and we…it's been complicated and a lot more complicated than I know how to explain in the few minutes we have before she comes over here. All I know is that there's moments in life which make you realise how you truly feel about someone."

"When did that happen for you?"

"She came over one day and she fell in the pool-"

"-I thought Carol pushed her?" Dustin interrupted.

"That was a different time."

"Has she ever considered not going near bodies of water?"

"That's why I'm teaching her how to swim, but that's another story," Steve said and waved a nonchalant hand. "Anyway, she came over one day and tripped. I figured she'd be alright before I realised she couldn't swim. I jumped in after her and got her to the surface, but holding her…clinging to her in the pool…I realised that I couldn't lose her and I felt this ache like I'd never felt before for her and it just took over…and so I told her that I cared for her the day after…stood on her porch and told her how I felt."

"But you said to act like you don't care," Dustin reminded him.

"Yeah, for most girls," Steve said. "I mean, there are some girls who you know are different and Violet was that for me, but that doesn't mean you make big declarations at the start of getting to know them. You need to save that for when you're sure they're the one."

"But this girl is special," Dustin said and Steve shook his head.

"Woah, hey, hey," Steve said. "You're not falling in love with this girl, are you?"

"No," Dustin said, shaking his head but Steve wasn't entirely convinced.

"Okay, good," he said to him. "Don't. You're way too young to have your heart broken. It's just shit." And he knew that it was. They kept on walking in silence and Steve could see that Dustin looked forlorn. He didn't know why he wanted to cheer the kid up. Truth be told, he was ruining Steve's weekend plans with Violet, but there was something about him.

"Fabergé," Steve said and pointed to his hair. "It's Fabergé organics. Use the shampoo and conditioner and when your hair's damp…not wet…damp," Steve reiterated, "give four puffs of the Farrah Fawcett spray."

"Farrah Fawcett spray?" Dustin chuckled.

"Yeah, Farah Fawcett spray," Steve said and he stood still, pointing at Dustin. "And if you tell anyone that I told you that then your ass is grass, okay, Henderson. Do you understand?"

Violet finally caught up with them as Steve just threatened Dustin. She rolled her eyes when she heard him going on about his hairspray. Throwing another piece of meat from her bucket, she got involved in the conversation. "Is he talking about his hair routine again?" she checked, falling into step in between the two of them.

"Did you know he uses the Farrah Fawcett spray?" Dustin asked her.

"I've seen it in his bedroom," Violet confirmed.

"And is that why you fancy him? Because of his hair?" Dustin asked from her and Violet shrugged, trying to be nonchalant because she knew it would annoy Steve.

"It helps," she said and Steve rolled his eyes.

"There's other things she fancies about me," Steve said.

"Like what?" Dustin wondered.

"Yeah, baby, like what?" Steve asked her and she pulled a face at him at the nickname, but he just remained smirking.

"Like…he makes me laugh harder than anyone else…I can talk to him like no one else because he understands me in a way that I don't entirely understand myself. He sees me for who I am and he accepts it. He brings out the best in me. He also…he also takes care of me and looks out for me and I…yeah…I might not need looking after, but I quite like knowing there's someone who has my back through everything."

"Even if she's too stubborn to let me sometimes," Steve retorted and Violet rolled her eyes.

"And when did you know you loved him?" Dustin asked from her.

"Sooner than I told him," Violet confessed and Steve knew that much was true. The two of them had side-stepped around things for far too long, but he wasn't going to do that anymore. There was no chance of him ever hiding how he felt again. "But we got there in the end. The point is that having feelings for someone isn't always easy, but you're still so young. You've got time to figure things out."

"I mean, it's obvious why he fell in love with you," Dustin said. "You're like the most famous girl in Hawkins and you're really pretty too."

Violet smiled down to him, feeling a warm feeling in her stomach at how innocent the kid seemed despite acting so bold.

"Can I let you in on a secret?" Violet said. "Sometimes girls…well…we can be very judgmental, especially when we're younger. You just need to find the right girl for you and she'll be out there somewhere, feeling exactly the same about the boys she knows now because she doesn't know that she's waiting for you."

"You think so?"

"I know so," Violet assured him of that much, just wanting to see him smile. Finally, his lips seemed to pick up. "And if all else fails, just steal Steve's haircare tips."

"I don't know what you see in him," Dustin said. "You know, if you ever want to go for a younger man…" he trailed off and Steve shook his head and pointed at him.

"Stop trying to steal my girl, Henderson," Steve said and Violet laughed.

"I'll keep you in mind," she told him and Dustin laughed, moving ahead of the two of them and throwing more meat off to the side. Violet looked over to Steve and her arm brushed his as they fell against each other.

"You happy now? I think I might've just lost you to a kid."

"He's a worthy opponent," Violet told him and Steve rolled his eyes but kept on smiling. He bent down and kissed her again. "But, in all seriousness, thank you for talking to him. I know that he's sarcastic, but I think he's a big softie at heart, just like you."

"Yeah, but only for you," Steve said. "I mean, I've got a reputation to uphold."

"Don't worry, I won't ruin your reputation by telling the entire school that you have a melty centre," Violet said to him. "Either way, I think that helped Dustin. And I was telling the truth. I knew I loved you before I told you. I just…I want this to work and you…"

He shook his head and stopped her from blabbering. He stood still and just stared at her as she stopped in her tracks. "I know, okay?" Steve told her. "And we can make this work. Whatever happens, we can make it work. I mean, we're about to face some creature from another world. If we can face that together then we can face anything."

"I guess you've got a point," she agreed with him on that one.

"I'd hug you, but I've got raw meat on these gloves."

"I'll settle on you staying away from me in that case," she said but he bent down and brushed his forehead against hers.

"Can still kiss you though," he pointed out and did just that.

"Are you two incapable of not making out in front of me?" Dustin shouted at them and Steve smirked but he pulled back from Violet, keeping his forehead against hers.

"And you wanted to make this kid happy?" he muttered to her and Violet just chuckled before pecking him on the lips again quickly and pulling away, the two of them catching up with Dustin and preparing for whatever they were going to find once they'd laid their trap.

..

Hello! Not entirely sure if anyone is still reading this. Would love it if you could leave a comment and let me know your thoughts and if there's anything you want to see in the story in the future!