Violet was sat in chemistry class the next day, waiting for it to begin and chewing nervously down on her bottom lip and twirling her pen in between her fingers. She kept glancing around the room, well aware that something was odd. She had gone back to Nancy's house the previous night and they'd told her mom everything that they had seen. Her mom had tried to keep them calm and promised that she would go to the police. Violet had gone back home, but she hadn't settled. She'd locked all of the doors and had jumped at any noise that she heard. A part of her had considered waking her dad up and telling him what had happened, but she knew what he could be like after downing nearly half a bottle of scotch and she didn't want to deal with that.

Her mom hadn't been back that night and Violet guessed she was either out of town or staying at someone else's after the party. Her mother had never really been faithful to her father. They'd been madly in love in their twenties, but then things had changed. Her dad started to resent her mom for her money and for not feeling like 'the man of the house.' Her mother grew bored with him wanting to sit in and eat when she wanted to go out and party. The two of them stayed together out of convenience, but a part of Violet wished they would break up. Maybe they might actually be happier if they were apart.

"Jeez, did you get any sleep last night?" Daisy's voice echoed in Violet's ears and she saw her friend take her seat next to her at the lab stool. "You look terrible."

"Not much," Violet confessed. "It was a weird night…I…I'll tell you at break, alright?"

"You alright?" Daisy wondered from her, brow arched with concern.

"Honestly?" Violet replied. "I'm not sure."

And she wasn't. What she'd seen the night before had freaked her out and she wasn't going to pretend that it hadn't. Before Daisy could keep questioning her, Violet saw Steve walk in just before Mr Mannin. He took his seat in the middle of the classroom on a stool next to Tommy. Violet chewed down even harder on her bottom lip as she realised that she had to tell Steve. She didn't exactly want him wandering through the forest behind their houses if there was some kind of killer on the loose. She figured she'd talk to him after school and away from Carol and Tommy if she could.

As first period began and the class started, Violet hardly found herself paying attention. Steve glanced across to her, managing to peer slightly over his shoulder in a way that he hoped didn't look too obvious. He knew that was something wrong judging by the bags underneath her eyes and the vacant look on her face. She wasn't even making any notes. He frowned, wondering if her dad had said something to her when she'd gone home last night. He figured he'd talk to her after class and just double-check what was going on.

But he didn't get a chance to. As first period drew to a close, Ms Dannis, the school receptionist, walked into the classroom, holding the door open. "Apologies for the interruption, Mr Mannin. I need Violet Mattheson."

Mr Mannin looked less than impressed. "Let me guess, another tennis tournament?" he asked and the class snickered. Violet ignored his comment and gathered her stuff, shoving her books into her backpack and slinging it onto her shoulder. She muttered a 'bye' to Daisy and followed Ms Dannis out of the classroom and down the corridors of the school until they came to the cafeteria.

It was empty except for four people sat around a table in the middle. Violet recognised Nancy and her mom, but then she saw the two police officers as well. What she hadn't seen was the man stood by the door waiting for her.

"What the hell is this about?" Donnie Mattheson demanded.

He was wearing his neat navy three-piece suit and had a briefcase in his hand. No doubt he'd been called out from work. Violet's eyes widened and her heart pounded against her chest as she looked at her father. "I didn't know they'd call you."

"You needed an adult here, Violet. It's the school's duty of care," Ms Dannis declared and turned on her heels, click-clacking out of the cafeteria.

Donnie looked to his daughter as one of the officers stood up and moved towards them, hand on his hips and other hand pushing his glasses further onto his nose. "Mr Mattheson, apologies for dragging you away from work, but it's come to our attention that there's a matter your daughter might be involved with."

"And what is that?" Donnie snapped and Violet tugged on the skirt she wore, white blouse tucked into it.

"It might be better if you sit down, sir," he indicated.

Donnie tsked but he went to sit down anyway. Violet sat down next to Nancy, the two of them exchanging nervous glances. Barbara's mom, Karen, was sat on the other side of her daughter. Donnie sat next to Violet, arms folded a deep huff leaving him to let everyone know that he wasn't happy that he'd been dragged there.

"Now, I imagine you all know why we're here," the other officer spoke.

"I actually have no idea," Donnie said and Karen glanced over to him. Of course, she'd heard all about the Mattheson family. On the outside, they seemed perfect. Mariana Mattheson was some kind of heiress. She'd been born into wealth. She'd even done some modelling over the years and was still the talk of the town whenever she was there. Donnie was her handsome athletic husband who worked in finance. Their daughter was the tennis prodigy who was eventually going to be Hawkins High School's poster child.

Yet, as she looked at Donnie and Violet, Karen got a sense that there wasn't harmony there. Violet kept glancing down, almost as though she was too nervous to look her father in the eye. She just kept avoiding his gaze.

"Well," the officer replied. "First of all, my name is Officer Powell and this is Officer Callahan," he said, motioning to the man with glasses next to him. "Mrs Wheeler here told us that she was concerned after Nancy and Violet came to her with concerns about Barbara Holland being missing."

Donnie wrinkled his nose. "Who the hell is Barbara Holland?" he asked.

"She's a girl in our school, dad," Violet said, feeling almost embarrassed by his outburst. "She was at a party Steve was holding the other night and she went missing."

"What party? Were you at Harrington's house? I've told you before to stay away from that boy-"

"-I wasn't at the party," Violet interrupted him before he could keep going on his rant. She knew that the police had better things to do with their time than listen to her father get worked up about the idea of her going to some party that she wasn't supposed to go to. Her father ground his teeth and Violet suspected she'd over stepped by interrupting him, but she didn't care.

"Mr Mattheson," Officer Powell chimed in. "I'll explain everything. Now, if we can start from the beginning. Nancy," he turned his attention to her. "You went to the party with Barbara at Steve Harrington's house, correct?"

"Yes," Nancy confirmed with a nod. "But it wasn't really a party. It was just a few people getting together. Barb didn't really want to go, but I told her that it would be fun…and she…we just didn't…she left after a while. We'd all been jumping in the pool and she didn't want to get involved. I don't think she wanted to be there, not really."

"Did you have an argument with her?"

"It wasn't really an argument," Nancy said. "Barb just wanted to leave and I didn't…so I told her to go."

"Then what?"

"Then I went upstairs to put on some dry clothes," Nancy said and Violet kept on chewing the inside of her cheek, no doubt shredding it to pieces. She could tell what her father was thinking by the way he let out an amused 'hm' and was drumming his fingers on his thighs. Karen watched her daughter and guessed that there might be things she was keeping secret, but she wasn't going to push her. It was hardly the time or the place.

"And the next day you went back and you saw…a bear with Violet Mattheson here," Powell said.

"A bear?" Donnie asked, amusement leaving his voice. "I was dragged out of work because you two saw a bear?"

"It wasn't a bear," Violet jumped in. "We don't know what it was, but I don't think it was a bear. There was something at the back of the house, dad, and it was creepy…whatever it was…maybe it took Barb-"

"-We checked the forest behind your house and there was no bear. There was no disturbance in the mud or tracks left behind. Barb's car was also gone," Officer Callahan said and his tone was much smarmier than his colleague's. Violet looked at him and he cocked his head, sitting back and folding his arms over his chest. "We figured that Barbara came back last night and then took off."

"That's not possible," Violet said. "Her car was there when I drove home last night. I saw it parked round the corner."

"That you might have done," Powell agreed with her. "But it wasn't there this morning. It's gone. Look, has Barbara ever spoken about wanting to get out of town and leave?"

"No," Nancy said firmly. "Barb wasn't like that. She wouldn't do that."

"Maybe she was upset that you were spending time with this boy? Steve Harrington?" Powell wondered.

Karen's face seemed to come to grow with concern and she looked to her daughter who was still remaining defensive in the line of questioning.

"No," Nancy said.

"Maybe she got jealous when she saw you go up to Steve's room?" Callahan wondered and Donnie chuckled darkly, muttering a 'typical' underneath his breath. Karen leaned around her daughter and looked at the man, eyes glaring and hands clenching into fists.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Karen snapped at him and Donnie just looked at her briefly and then back to the two officers, making Violet wince outwardly.

"Look, officers, clearly it's obvious what's gone on here. This Barb has clearly skipped town without telling anyone because she was jealous of her friend being with a boy. It's a tale as old as time, isn't it? And my daughter…whatever she thinks she saw last night…she didn't. She has an overactive imagination."

"It wasn't like that!" Nancy snapped loudly again. "She wouldn't leave."

"But she did leave…at the same time when you went to get changed out of your clothes," Callahan said and Nancy could feel her cheeks reddening.

"This is ridiculous," Donnie muttered. "Is there anything else you need from us or can we go?"

"You can go, Mr Mattheson. I don't think there's anything left for us to explore here," Callahan declared.

Donnie moved to stand up and Violet looked to Nancy, the two of them knowing that they weren't going to be taken seriously. The police clearly weren't interested in looking for Barb because they figured she'd skipped town. Violet hadn't known Barb, but she knew that Nancy Wheeler wasn't some liar. She also knew concern when she saw it and she was concerned for her friend. She was very concerned for her.

"Violet." Donnie said her name and she knew that she had to go. She looked at Nancy with an apologetic look and followed her father out of the cafeteria.

Heading down the corridors towards the exit, Violet followed after him and she knew that he wasn't happy. Thankfully, they made it to the carpark before he let rip on her. Standing by his BMW, Donnie opened the back door and tossed his briefcase onto the backseat. He looked to his daughter as she stood there sheepishly, arms folded and blouse crumpling while she toed one sneaker against the other with her legs crossed.

"What do you think you're playing at?" he demanded from his daughter.

"I'm not playing at anything, dad," Violet retorted. "I don't know what's going on, but last night there was something out there and Nancy is really worried about her friend."

"Nancy Wheeler is clearly nothing but a slut with a guilty conscience."

"Dad!" Violet snapped at her father, face scrunched up in anger. "That's not fair."

"No, what isn't fair is me coming down here thinking that something had happened to you," Donnie pointed at his daughter. "And I'm here just because of some teenage drama. You don't need to be getting involved in it, Violet. You have other priorities. I don't want you hanging around Harrington or Wheeler. I don't want any more talk about creatures in the backyard or missing teenagers…I don't want to hear it."

"But, dad, please," Violet almost tried to plead with him. "Please, believe me. I'm not making this up."

Violet rarely pleaded with her father because it didn't usually get her anywhere. He was never too keen to listen to her. He watched her for a moment and his face softened for a second at seeing her, but then he shook his head. He tugged his key from his pocket and pointed at her again.

"No," he said firmly. He didn't want to hear it. "Go back to school, Violet. I'll see you tonight."

"Dad-"

"-Go to school and don't embarrass yourself anymore."

Violet stepped away then, turning on her heel and walking away as she tried not to cry. She rushed back into the school and headed to the bathroom where she finally let her tears out in private.

…

"Apparently she ran off crying," Carol said as they sat in the cafeteria at lunch time. Someone had seen Violet and her father fighting in the parking lot and then the gossip had spread around the school. Steve picked at his lunch, not entirely hungry as he wondered just what Nancy had said to the police. "Daniella Warrington said she heard her crying in the girl's toilets."

Steve hadn't seen Violet since she'd been dragged out of chemistry. He guessed that she was somewhere in school and no doubt talking to Daisy.

"God, she's so fucked up," Tommy chuckled.

"Glad you didn't stick with her then, babe?" Carol checked and Steve rolled his eyes. He didn't out his friend as having never actually hooked up with Violet, but he was keen to. He said nothing else, just left his lunch tray and picked up his backpack.

Tommy frowned. "Where are you going?"

"I need to find Nancy," Steve declared and left without another word.

It didn't take him long to find Nancy. She was in the corridor by her locker, changing her books over. "Nance," he called out to her. "Are you alright? I've was trying to find you before lunch but I had no idea where you were."

"Yeah, I just needed to talk to Violet," she said.

"You've seen her?" Steve asked.

Nancy wondered if there was concern in his voice, but she brushed it off. "She was with me when we spoke to the police. I just wanted to make sure she was alright after…well…I guess you heard."

"How her dad yelled at her in the parking lot? Yeah," Steve confirmed. "What did you tell the police anyway, Nancy?"

"Not here," she urged from him and he followed her out of the school and towards a gap between two buildings where they could have some privacy. Steve dropped his bag from his shoulder and let it flop onto the floor, hands going to his hips. Nancy paced up and down a few steps in front of him, clearly anxious.

"Look, I came back last night to your house to see if…I don't know…if there was any sign of Barb," Nancy said and Steve remained silent, letting her tell her story. "I know it was a long shot, but her car was still parked down the street. I figured I'd have a look around and see if she was hurt or something? You know, she might've gone into the forest and injured herself. Anyway…I couldn't find anything and Violet was out the back practicing and she…we heard something in the forest. I don't know what it was, but it freaked both of us out. We went to my mom and told her that we worried about Barb."

Steve frowned and folded his arms over his chest. "You told them about the party?" Steve asked from her.

Nancy's brows knitted together. "What?" she questioned.

"I just…if the police come knocking then they'll ask about the party and you know my dad is a grade A asshole."

Nancy scoffed. "Are you being serious?" she demanded from him, unable to believe what she was hearing. "My best friend is missing, Steve. Barb is missing and all you care about is the police telling your dad that you had a party?"

"No, Nance, you don't understand," Steve said, quickly trying to backtrack. "I'm just saying that my dad will kill me. I'm worried about Barb, of course, I am. My dad though…you just wouldn't understand, Nance, and I know-"

"-I wouldn't understand?" Nancy interrupted him. "Why? Because I don't go and sit on your secret tree for you to tell me?"

Steve looked confused at that. His face scrunched up as Nancy just glowered at him. Finally, he knew what she was talking about. "Violet told you?" he asked from her.

"You didn't," Nancy said. "And now you're more concerned about your dad finding out you had a party than the fact that my best friend is missing. I can't believe you, Steve."

She walked away then and Steve called after her, but she didn't come back. He slammed a fist against the wall and he knew that he'd messed up.

…

Steve was fully intending on snapping at Violet when he got home and saw her outside, hitting a tennis ball against the wall of her house with her racket. He was annoyed with her for telling Nancy about them spending time together in the forest. He didn't know why he was annoyed, not really. It wasn't as if either of them did anything wrong when they were there. They just talked. But Steve could understand why Nancy would be annoyed because he hadn't told her and he genuinely did care about her.

But as Steve approached, he could hear Violet grunting as she hit the ball hard against the wall, each stroke causing her feet to lift up from the ground and he noticed dust falling from the bricks from the force of each hit. He frowned and stepped back, not wanting to get in the way or injured.

"Violet," he spoke her name.

She ignored him or didn't hear him. She kept on hitting the ball, but it seemed to be getting to the point where it was going too fast for her to keep up the rally.

"Violet!" he snapped again and she missed the ball and it went flying past her and back towards Steve's house. She turned to look at him and she was panting hard, eyes rimmed red and cheeks also rosy. She was wearing her tennis skirt and a long-sleeved white top. Her trainers were also pristine and she had her hair pinned back into a high ponytail.

Steve felt his annoyance with her disappear when he saw that she'd been crying. He looked her in the eye and dared to take a step forwards. "What's wrong?" Steve asked from her.

"Nothing," she replied and sniffed, giving herself away.

"Vi, what is it?" he asked her again and then he saw the marks on her arm when she rolled her sleeves up and dropped her racket on top of her bag. He stood in front of her and reached for her wrist, turning her arm upwards and looking at the faint marks on her arm. They looked like bruises. "Who did this?" he demanded to know from her.

"It's nothing," Violet quickly said, snatching her wrist from his hand and pulling her sleeve back down.

"It's clearly not nothing," Steve retorted.

"Yes, it is," Violet retorted.

"Bullshit," he hissed at her.

"Yeah, it might be, but what does it matter?" Violet demanded from him, shrugging her shoulders and flapping her arms out by her side. "What can I do? My dad's pissed off with me and we got into a massive fight when I got home. He…he just grabbed my arm and wouldn't let go. He didn't mean to hurt me."

"But he did," Steve said. "He hurt you, Vi."

"I'm fine," Violet said. "It's nothing I can't handle. I know who my dad is and I know that he's pissed off with me for dragging him out of work and to talk to the cops, but he…I just wanted him to listen to me because he wasn't and I know what we saw…and it was…it freaked me out and I just…I just wanted him to believe me, but he wouldn't and now he's gone away for the night on some business trip…mom isn't home…and he…he wouldn't believe me and I didn't know how to get him to."

Steve watched her as the tears slipped down her cheeks and he wasn't entirely sure what was going through his mind as he stepped towards her and hugged her. Violet seemed shocked at the sudden gesture, but she let him keep his arms around her as her own went around his waist and her hands sat on his back. She wasn't sure how long she cried against him for, but he didn't say anything. He just remained still and let her get it out of her system. He felt her sob against him and Violet knew that she was probably staining his jacket with her tears.

Finally, she seemed to have nothing left and Steve stepped back, but kept an arm around her shoulders. Walking towards the loungers around his pool, the two of them sat down on the edge of one. Steve extracted his arm from around her and she folded hers in her lap and bent over. "Sorry," she muttered.

"Why are you apologising?" he wondered from her.

"Because I…that was embarrassing."

"You have nothing to be embarrassed about," Steve said. "I know that things are difficult at home, Vi. I get it."

"But I shouldn't have cried on you like that."

"Well, I won't tell," Steve said. "So why don't you just tell me what happened last night?"

"You mean Nancy hasn't told you?" Violet wondered and she wiped her eyes, no doubt meaning that her eyes were even redder.

"I…I think I kind of fucked up," Steve admitted to her and Violet tilted her head as Steve raked a hand through his hair. "She told me what you two had seen, but I…I told her that I was worried about my dad finding out that I'd had a party. It didn't go down too well."

"No shit," Violet muttered. "Her best friend is missing, Steve. She had to tell the police."

"Yeah, and I know that," Steve said, tone defensive. "I know that I was a dick and I need to go and apologise to her. I just wasn't thinking and I was being selfish. I know that Barb being missing is the main concern and I get it."

Violet knew that Steve was apologetic. She could hear the regret in his voice. "I get why you wouldn't want your dad to know though," she assured him on that point. "But that maybe wasn't the time to bring it up. I don't know what Nancy is thinking, but whatever happened last night…I think it only made her worry even more about what happened to Barb."

"What did happen last night?" Steve wondered from her.

"Honestly? I don't know," Violet confessed and she tugged her sleeves over the ends of her fingers. "I was out here just practicing-"

"-Even though I'd walked you home."

"You'd watched me walk into the house," Violet said. "Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that I was out here practicing and Nancy came over. She said that Barb's car was still parked down the road and she wondered if she was still here…I don't know…hurt in the woods or something? We didn't even head into the forest because we heard something coming from the trees. I don't know what we saw, but it was quick and it…it was like the air went cold all of a sudden. I don't know how to explain it, Steve, not really. It was creepy, but there was something out there. I know there was."

"Okay," Steve said. He had to admit that he wasn't entirely sure what to believe. He knew that Violet wasn't lying. She had seen something, but he just wasn't convinced on if it had been anything dangerous or if it had just been some creature. "And what did the police say?"

"They think that Barb just skipped town. Her car's gone," Violet said.

Steve tucked a strand of his hair behind his ear. "Her car's gone?" he double-checked.

"Yeah," Violet confirmed. "But Nancy said she wasn't someone who skipped school never mind skip town. I don't know. Something weird is going on. I never met Barb, but talking to Nancy…she's worried about her and I get it. If Daisy just disappeared then I'd be equally as worried."

Steve had to admit that it was a bit odd. He also didn't really know Barb, but he did know Nancy and he trusted her judgment.

"And the police aren't going to investigate?"

"They say that there's no reason to," Violet replied. "So, I have no idea what to do now, but it's not right. They've just quit looking and I…I don't know…I just don't know."

Steve wasn't entirely sure what he should say back to her. He didn't have the answer for what they should do. A part of him didn't think they should be doing anything at all. Violet just sniffed again and moved to her feet. "You should get inside," she settled on saying to him. "It's been a long day and I…maybe we should avoid the forest for the time being?" she said. "I don't think it's a good idea to go out there at the moment."

"Whatever you say," Steve agreed and he stood up in front of her.

Violet nodded once and offered him a tight smile. "See you tomorrow," she said.

"See you tomorrow," Steve echoed and he watched her head home, picking her tennis racket up and heading inside.

…

Steve's parents were watching TV in the sitting room as he sat upstairs and did his homework. He'd left his curtains open, looking out and peering to Violet's house. All of the curtains in her house were shut, but the light was peeking through them in her bedroom. His parents eventually went to bed at gone eleven and Steve saw that the light was still on. He guessed that maybe she was worried about being home alone and he started to wonder if she was alright. He didn't know why he was so concerned. He figured that there was nothing out there that was going to break into her house or hurt her.

But he still found himself tugging his sneakers onto his feet and grabbing his jacket. Sneaking out of the house was easy for Steve. The house was big enough for his parents not to hear the squeaking floorboards or the turning of doorknobs. He rushed across the backyard, noting how there was mist swirling as he came to her house. He was going to knock on the front door, but he wasn't sure if she'd answer or even if her mom or dad had come home. The driveway just had her car in it, but her mom was often chauffeured around by friends.

He walked around the side of the house and found the trellis at the side of the house. He climbed it easy enough to the slanted roof that was beneath her bedroom window. Tapping on the glass gently, he waited for her to pull the curtains back. "Violet, it's me, Steve," he spoke into the darkness, not sure if she could hear him.

After a moment though, she pulled the curtains back and frowned through the glass. She lifted the window up and planted her hands on the sill. He noticed she had a racket in her hand. "What the hell, Steve?" she snapped at him.

"I hope that wasn't for me?" he motioned to the racket.

"Someone was tapping on my window in the middle of the night while I'm home alone," she defended herself. "What're you doing here?"

"Mind letting me in and we can talk about it? I only have limited upper body strength," he complained as he gripped onto the edge of the window. Violet stood back and let him climb into her bedroom window. He unceremoniously fell to the ground, foot getting caught and he landed with a thud.

"You okay?"

"Peachy," he muttered and pushed himself to his feet as Violet closed the door and the windows again. "Nice room…a bit sparse," he commented. "But a stuffed rabbit? Look at that," Steve said and Violet rolled her eyes. She was already in her pyjamas, the long sleeved blue and white material baggy on her body. Her hair was still in a ponytail and her bedside lamp was burning low.

"Don't make fun of my rabbit," she warned him. "What're you doing here?"

"Well, call me neighbourhood watch, but I saw your light was on and I figured I'd come and see if you were alright…you seemed a bit freaked out earlier," Steve said to her and she sat down on the edge of her bed. "And I just…you're my friend, alright? I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine," Violet said to him, slightly bemused that Steve Harrington was in her bedroom. It almost felt like some invisible line they'd crossed. "You should go home, Steve."

"Yeah, I should, but…and just be honest with me here, will you actually get some sleep tonight because judging by the state of you in chemistry, you didn't sleep last night."

Violet didn't bother to deny that. She just remained sat on the end of her bed and she closed her eyes before letting her head fall. Steve nodded, hands going to his hips. "Figured not," he said. "Look, considering your parents aren't here just…I'll sleep on the sofa, alright? I can go and sleep on the sofa and I'll be gone before anyone knows I was here."

"You can't sleep on the sofa. I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking, I'm offering," Steve retorted. "And the sofa is fine…so long as I can borrow that bunny," he said and Violet knew he was teasing her. She looked at him and saw a smirk on his face and his own lip quirked to the side. He said nothing further, but he figured it was probably going to be a long night for both of them.

….

A/N: Would love to know what you think!