Steve couldn't entirely explain what it was he had felt that night after what had happened with Violet falling in his pool. He didn't know what was going on in his mind. All he knew was that there had been this deep twisted knot that had formed in his stomach as he realised that she wasn't coming back up and couldn't swim. He couldn't explain how his throat clenched or his chest ached when he had gotten her back to the surface and saw her take in deep breaths of air. He didn't know why he had felt the need to hold her so close, almost as though he was the only thing offering her protection. He also didn't know why he felt sick whenever he considered what could've happened if he hadn't had been there. There was something about Violet Mattheson that he just couldn't quite put his finger on.

He'd laid on his bed that night, thinking about her and wondering what she was doing.

But it turned out that she was doing exactly what he was doing.

Violet had gone to bed after her father had spoken with her about his suspicions over dinner. She found it ludicrous that he even thought that she could be sneaking around with Steve behind Nancy's back. She liked Steve. He wasn't as much of a jerk as he had pretended to be at school. It turned out that he was actually a pretty decent guy. She wasn't going to tell him that, of course, but she could admit it to herself at least. That still didn't explain why she was laid there and thinking of him though.

…

Violet had gone to find Nancy the following day, not entirely certain how she would be feeling after everything that had gone with Steve the night before. The two of them had found themselves wandering around Hawkins aimlessly, almost as though they had nowhere specific to go. Eventually though, they'd ended up sitting on a bench in the local park. Violet crossed her legs, tugging at the mini skirt she wore. She had her thick blue jumper tucked into it and a grey long coat hanging loose around her frame. Nancy had her blue jacket with the faux fur collar and a pair of jeans on, hair tied into a ponytail.

"Have you spoken to Steve since yesterday?" Violet dared to ask Nancy.

She shook her head. "I don't really have anything to say to him," she said. "I know that I said I wasn't upset…that I had other things to worry about…and I do, but a part of me is still hurt that he would do that to me…and even think that I could cheat on him. I'm not like that."

"I know," Violet assured her.

"And I didn't think Steve was like that either. I know he has his moments, but I thought he was changing. He wasn't hanging out with Carol and Tommy…I mean he defended you plenty of times from them."

"They're assholes," Violet confirmed. "And I think Steve knows that. I just think he jumped to conclusions. I'm not saying that makes what he did right because it isn't and I don't think it's defensible…but I do think that he knows he messed up."

"Well, he can apologise if he wants to," Nancy said, trying to be nonchalant. A part of her was hurt by Steve, but there was also a small part of her that kept thinking of Jonathan more than she should. The majority of her energy though was spent worrying about Barb. All she wanted was her friend back. She just longed to have her back with her. She'd give anything for that.

"I think he will," Violet said confidently. "I kind of went round last night with the intention of having a go at him. Turned out that I didn't need to do that because he felt shit enough."

"He could tell me that himself."

"I think his pride was probably dented," Violet said. "Plus I don't think he wants to go out with that shiner on his cheek. You know how vain he is."

That made Nancy smile and Violet's own lips picked up as well. She chuckled for a moment, her breath coming out in short pants before they died down. Nancy glanced over to her, the smile remaining on her face as she looked over the older girl. "Thank you," she suddenly declared. Violet turned to look at her, eyes wide and head cocked to the side.

"What for?"

"Just…I didn't mean to drag you into any of this," Nancy said. "But I'm glad that I bumped into you when I did that morning…and I'm glad that you stuck around. I just…I don't know if I could have done this by myself without you or Jonathan. I'd have thought that I was going crazy after everything we've seen."

"There's been times when I think I have gone crazy," Violet admitted to her. "After seeing that monster in the forest, I kept trying to convince myself that it was just my imagination, but we both know that's not true. I…I mean this hasn't been the ideal few weeks…but…I just…I don't know," Violet said, knowing that she was beginning to babble. She had a tendency to do that whenever she was nervous. She also couldn't talk about her feelings as well as other people did. She suspected that was because of her repressed childhood. She hadn't grown up with affectionate parents.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're terrible at talking about your feelings?" Nancy asked and Violet laughed at that, nodding her head.

"Daisy might've mentioned it a time or two," she admitted. "But yeah, it's nice to know I have another friend."

Nancy smiled at that and Violet looked out across the park, frowning as she spotted a familiar figure in the distance. Nancy followed her gaze as he made his way towards them and they both cocked their heads to the side. "Jonathan?" Violet questioned as he came to stand in front of them. He looked at Nancy, his attention going onto her as opposed to Violet.

"You ready?" he asked her.

Nancy nodded her head and stood up, wiping grass from the backs of her thighs. Violet stood up with her too, crossing her legs at her ankles and stuffing her hands into the pocket of her coat. "What's going on?" she asked.

"We're going to tell Hopper and my mom about the picture and what we saw that night," Jonathan said and Violet's eyes widened.

"Hopper? Jim Hopper?" she checked. She knew he was the chief of police, but she had also heard that he preferred to spend the majority of his time in dive bars and looking into the bottom of whiskey bottles. She wasn't entirely sure if he would take this seriously. Then again there had been plenty of crazy stuff going on in recent weeks around Hawkins. "You think they'll believe us?"

"I think my mom might," Jonathan said. "I know it sounds mad, but she doesn't think Will is gone. She thinks something took him and I think she's right. We need to tell them now."

"I…okay," Violet relented.

"Okay?"

"Well, if they're gonna think you're crazy then they may as well think I'm crazy too," Violet settled on saying with a shrug of her shoulders. She wasn't entirely convinced that this was the right decision, but she figured that she had no other choice. She was involved in this with the two of them. She wasn't going to back down now.

…

Joyce Byers wasn't exactly someone Violet had met before. She knew of her, of course. Hawkins wasn't exactly a massive town and everyone knew everyone's business. Violet usually didn't mind that too much. She didn't care if people whispered about her and her business. She just didn't get close enough to many people to get to know her. But, as they told Joyce and Hopper what had happened, Violet got the feeling that the two of them believed what they were telling them.

But then things had gotten even worse. Hopper had told them about a girl who had been running around with Nancy's brother, plus two other kids from school including Dustin and Lance. Violet had heard the names, but she didn't know who they really were. Apparently, this girl had the ability to make people do things with her mind.

"You know how mad this sounds?" Violet checked.

She was sat in between Nancy and Jonathan on a sofa in Hopper's office.

"We know, trust me," Hopper said. "And you three are sure that's what you saw?"

"Yes," they said in unison.

"And does anyone else know?" Joyce asked, looking on edge.

They shook their heads and Nancy turned to glance to Violet. "Did you tell him?" Nancy wondered from her, but Violet just shook her head once. She hadn't told him anything, not really.

"Who?" Hopper wondered.

"Steve," Jonathan answered before either of them.

Joyce frowned. "Isn't he your boyfriend?" she asked Nancy.

"The two of them are good friends," Nancy replied. She figured there was something else going on, but now wasn't the time to air any of that. She wasn't going to discuss it because she trusted Violet. Violet was her friend and she wasn't going to betray her like that. She wasn't like that. Violet was many things, but she didn't take other people's boyfriends.

"And he doesn't know?"

"He doesn't know anything," Violet said confidently. "But who is this girl that these kids are running round with? And what does that have to do with what's going on in the forest?"

"They're all linked," Hopper said. "There's something going on out in the forest…and we think that the girl knows about it. We're pretty sure she does anyway. She seems to have these telekinetic abilities and there's some people after her from this government facility…and all we know is that it's bad. It's bad."

"Wait," Violet said, holding a hand up. "If the government are after her then where are the kids?"

"That's a good question," Joyce said and she looked to her son. "Do you have any idea where they could be?"

"I wouldn't know," Jonathan answered.

Nancy was quiet then, but she nodded her head thoughtfully as she remembered the walkie-talkie that the four of them used to use to communicate with. "I might have an idea," she said with a firm nod of her head.

…

"So…how did you get involved in this?"

Violet wasn't entirely sure how she had ended up back at the Byers house later on in the evening. They had initially gone back to the Wheeler house, but there had been men in suits there taking things from the house and Nancy had been on edge ever since then. They had gone back to Joyce's house after Hopper told Nancy that she couldn't go back home. Nancy had managed to get through to Mike on the walkie-talkie that Will had used. The kids had told them where they were hiding out and Hopper had gone after them. Violet, Jonathan and Nancy had stayed behind. The sun had begun to set and the night was closing in. Violet knew her dad might be wondering where she was, but it wasn't as if she could go home just yet.

"I bumped into Nancy when she was leaving Steve's," Violet said to Joyce, the two of them sitting on the sofa as Nancy and Jonathan huddled in the kitchen and spoke about something together. "She said that her friend Barb had gone missing. I went with her to the forest and we…we saw that creature…and then we wondered if Barb had gone missing the same way that your son had."

Joyce's face scrunched up slightly at that as she thought about Will. She knew that her son was still out there. She was convinced of it and she was ready to be proven right. She was ready to have her son back with her and safe at home. She just needed him to come back.

"I wish you all had said something sooner," Joyce said with a shake of her head.

"No offence, Mrs Byers, but it's not exactly a convincing story, is it?" Violet said and Joyce just let out a dry chuckle, agreeing with her on that point. "I thought that I was going mad for a while. I was convinced I was just seeing things or had an overactive imagination, but I just…I don't know…this all suddenly feels all too real."

"I know," Joyce agreed with her on that point. "I just never figured I'd see Marianna Mattheson's daughter hanging out with my son."

"Why's that?" Violet wondered.

"Let's just say I knew your mom at school," Joyce said. "We always knew she was going places. She modelled and dabbled in acting. It was talk of the town when she married your dad…the rising tennis star…"

"Injury made him quit," Violet said.

"And so you're the one playing tennis for him?" Joyce asked. "I know that you're a prodigy-"

"-I'm not," Violet interrupted.

"You know, I saw you play once," Joyce said and Violet had to admit that she was surprised at that. Joyce nodded her head. "I'd had to go into the school to drop off a science project for Will that he's forgotten. You were on court playing some other high school student and I just ended up watching for a bit. You were mesmerising…the way you played…don't downplay it…you don't need to downplay anything."

Violet was quiet then and Joyce looked over the girl. She liked to think that she'd raised her sons to be able to talk to her about anything. She never wanted them to keep things from her, but there was something about Violet that told her she didn't have that kind of relationship with her parents. And, judging by the way she kept looking at the watch on her wrist, she was nervous and anxious to get home.

…

Violet had felt out of place once Hopper had come back with the kids. They had sat and listened to everything that they'd told them about the girl, Eleven, who had escaped some government facility. Violet could hardly believe it, but then Eleven had told them about the Upside Down. She'd told them everything she knew about it and the powers that she had and how she thought that she might be able to go and find Barb and Will from the Upside Down, which could apparently be accessed through gates. Nancy was convinced she must have gone through one of those.

But Violet knew that she couldn't go with them to the school to continue the search. She had to get home because her father was going to freak out. Besides, there was enough of them with Eleven now. It wasn't as if they really needed her anymore. She said goodbye to Jonathan and Nancy before driving back home, but her dad's car wasn't in the driveway. Frowning, she unlocked the front door and found a note telling her that he was going to be away for a few days. Huffing, she was about to turn back around and go back to the school, but she only got to the front door when she saw Steve about to knock on it.

"Jesus," Violet gasped loudly.

"What the hell are you doing?" Steve asked, fist clutched against his chest.

"What am I doing?" Violet repeated. "I'm leaving my house. What're you doing skulking on the porch?"

"I came to talk to you," Steve said and Violet could see that his face was still messed up and covered in cuts and bruises. "Look…I don't know what I'm thinking…all I know is that I've got to get this out because I've been thinking about it for a while and last night…it was all I could think of."

Violet frowned, wondering what he was going on about. She stepped back into the house and let him in. He followed her and she closed the door, locking it for good measure. She frowned and folded her arms over her chest. Steve's hands clasped hold of his hips as he began pacing up and down, unable to stand still. Violet shrugged out of her coat when she figured that Steve wasn't going to talk to her. He seemed like he was getting his thoughts in order. She hung her coat up on the rack to the side of her and it was then when Steve finally began talking.

"You're a pain in the ass, Violet Mattheson," he said to her and Violet's eyes widened.

"Excuse me?" she retorted back at him.

"You're sarcastic…you don't know when to back down from a fight…you lack any social skills-"

"-I'm sorry, did you just come here to insult me?" Violet interrupted him, becoming defensive.

"But I can't stop thinking about you," Steve admitted and Violet felt her heart begin to hammer against her chest. She didn't want to do this, whatever this was. She shook her head as Steve stepped closer towards her, eyes glimmering with something she hadn't seen before from him. "I don't know why. I can't make any sense of it because I care about Nancy. I really like Nancy…but then you…spending time with you…getting to know you…I've told you things I've never told anyone. I feel like I'm free when I spend time with you. I feel like I can be me and I've never had that before, not really."

"That's because I'm just a friend, Steve," Violet said to him quickly. "The majority of your friends are assholes who don't care about you."

"That's true," Steve agreed with her on that point. "But it's not just that, Vi…when you fell in my pool yesterday…I've never known fear like it…I've never felt so scared as I did at the thought of losing you."

"You were scared because it wouldn't have looked good if I'd have drowned in your pool," Violet said. "You'd have had the police knocking and everything."

"Stop trying to deflect everything!" Steve snapped at her. "This is what you do, Violet. You try and deflect instead of admitting how you really feel about stuff."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do," Steve retorted. "Look, you can tell me to get lost. You can tell me to leave you the hell alone and I will. I'll go…but tell me you don't feel the same. Tell me you don't care about me…that there's nothing between us…"

"Steve," Violet groaned his name.

"Just tell me," Steve demanded from her and he stepped closer. He didn't know if he was being too forward, but he moved his hand to her cheek, cupping it in his palm and holding it tenderly. He swore he heard her breath hitch and a crimson blush spread down her cheeks. "I spent all last night tossing and turning because I wanted to come here and see you…because I couldn't work out what it was I was feeling…but you…I can't shake you, Violet Mattheson. I can't shake you off."

Violet wasn't sure what she was thinking. She hadn't expected this to happen. Truth be told, her day hadn't exactly gone as she'd planned. She looked Steve in the eye and she saw him almost pleading with her to tell him the same thing. But how could she? How could she when he was Nancy's boyfriend? Nancy was her friend. Steve was her friend. And there was no way that Steve would want her in the long run, not when he could have someone like Nancy.

Violet couldn't do it. She couldn't tell him what he'd just told her. She didn't have it in her. She just shook her head and moved his hand from her cheek. "We're friends, Steve…but that's it," she said definitively, even though she swore she felt something inside of her break. Steve just nodded his head and awkwardly put his hands in his jean pockets. "I like you, but we…not like that…it's just that I've never thought of us like that. Besides, we'll be off to college in another year or so and then I'm probably going to be travelling a lot with tennis."

"Yeah…yeah…sure," Steve said and he wondered if he'd ever been turned down before. "I was probably just being hasty and not thinking. Things have been weird."

"Yeah, so weird," Violet agreed with him on that point, but inside she felt sick because that wasn't what she wanted to say or what she wanted to hear from him.

"I should go, shouldn't I?" Steve checked.

"Yeah, you should," Violet agreed. "And Steve…this…we're still friend, okay? I mean, I like hanging out with you."

"Yeah, totally," Steve said with the breath of a laugh. He reached for the lock to the door and turned it. He opened the door and Violet watched him step onto the porch. In her mind, she willed for him to turn round so that she could tell him the truth.

I think I do care about you, but I've never cared about anyone like that before. I don't know what to do. I don't understand it. I don't know. All I know is that I think I like you and that scares me. It scares me more than I care to admit.

But he didn't turn round. He just closed the door behind him and left her alone to her own thoughts. She went to lock the door once more and headed into the kitchen. It was only as she grabbed a glass of water did she realise that she was crying.

…