Sitting around the dinner table, Violet could sense the tension in the air. She was picking at her grilled chicken and vegetables alongside sipping on her water. Her father was sat in his suit after a day at work while her mother was lounged in her seat opposite Violet, cigarette in her fingertips and glass of wine on the table. She took a big drag on her cigarette and blew the smoke off to the side. Donnie Mattheson remained at the head of the table, his own knife and fork in his hands and a glass of scotch in front of him. It was always like this whenever they had family dinners. There was hardly any talking and when there was it was usually sniping and cruel comments.

"Your father informed me that you won the regional competition today," Mariana Mattheson spoke.

Violet's mother was a stunning woman. She was almost five foot ten with long legs that went up to her waist. She had her blonde hair dyed every two weeks and her face was long and thin with plump lips and dazzling green eyes. She was skinny with a lithe figure. She worked out occasionally, but her work outs usually involved aerobics. She had a vague interest in her daughter playing tennis, but Violet knew what she really thought. She didn't think she was ever going to become pro. She thought it was a pipedream.

"Yeah," Violet said with a nod of her head.

"I've been looking into colleges and I believe that there might be some scouts interested," Donnie told his wife. "It's early days, of course, with Violet still having another year of school left, but it's never too soon to start thinking about college applications."

"And you think that's what you want to do, Vi?" Mariana checked with her daughter. Violet met her eye and wondered just what went through her mother's mind. "You want to go to college? What would you even study while you're there?"

"I was thinking of history," Violet said and her father scoffed, shaking his head.

"What use is a history degree?" he demanded to know from her. "No. You would be better off studying something like business or economics. You need something that would make you money. Of course, it doesn't really matter because once you're in college and playing for them then we can think about getting your ranking."

"Doesn't she need to compete in a number of tournaments to get her ranking?"

"Challengers or Futures," Donnie confirmed with a nod. "There's a challenger tournament taking place in a month or so that I've entered her for. It does mean that we need to drive up to Detroit though."

"And how much is that going to cost me?" Mariana wondered and Violet bit the inside of her cheek, grip on her fork increasing as the awkwardness of the situation continued to grow. Her mother didn't seem to care. She stubbed her cigarette out and cocked her head to the side, brows arching.

Donnie was annoyed. Violet could sense it in the way his posture changed. He straightened up and set his cutlery down on the edge of his plate. He tugged at his tie and picked his scotch up. He might be annoyed, but Violet knew that he was never going to do anything. How could he when it was Mariana Mattheson who held all of the cards?

"Around two hundred dollars," Donnie said and Mariana let out a thoughtful 'hmm'.

"And is it worth it?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Donnie questioned and he took a sip of scotch, letting it burn his throat.

"Is she actually going to win?" Mariana asked. "I know that you think she is and she's clearly winning matches, but what about in the future? Does she realistically have any chance of becoming a professional or am I throwing away good money?"

Violet felt a stabbing to her chest then at hearing her mother say that. She shouldn't be surprised. She'd heard her say it before, but each time she did it made her ache. She knew her father believed in her, but she figured that was out of some misguided sense of him putting his failed career onto her.

"She has what it takes," Donnie said and Mariana stood up, red silk dressing gown flowing behind her. She went to the drink's tray and poured herself a glass of scotch. "She's good, Marnie. She's better than I ever was. She can do this."

"Violet?" Mariana asked.

Violet looked to her mother and just nodded her head once. She wasn't in the mood to defend herself. She knew her mother had a lack of faith. Or perhaps she was just being realistic? Violet knew that becoming pro wasn't easy and the chance of making it were slim. She just wanted to fight the odds. She did want it. She was good at it and she enjoyed it. She felt like nothing could stop her whenever she was on the court.

"Alright then," Mariana said. "You two head off to Detroit. I need to go and get ready for the party tonight."

Donnie didn't bother to say goodbye to his wife. He just glared at her back as she went, red dressing gown flowing behind her as she padded barefoot to the hallway, blonde hair swaying down her back in neat curls. Violet laced her hands together in her lap and looked down as Donnie slammed a fist against the table.

"Dad, I-"

"-I don't want to hear it," Donnie interrupted with a firm snap. "Just do your homework and go to bed."

He stood up and tugged on his tie as he picked his glass up and stormed off in the opposite direction. Violet slumped back in her seat, slightly relieved that both of her parents had left. She stood up and tidied away the dinner plates. She scraped the food off of them and dropped it into the bin. She washed the pots and tidied everything away before she snuck out of the house. She didn't think she had the mental capacity to do her homework.

Heading out of the house, Violet moved towards the forest, needing some air after the tense dinner. Coming to the tree stump, she was surprised to see Steve sat there. Folding her arms over her chest, she began to turn on her heel and walk away, hoping that he hadn't seen her.

"Vi," he called out.

She exhaled a sharp breath and rolled her eyes before looking back to him over her shoulder. He jumped off of the tree stump and tucked his hands into the pockets of his jeans. Violet looked at him with a harsh stare.

"I didn't think you'd be here," she said.

"I just needed some space," Steve said. "Mom and dad are back from their trip and the bickering has already begun. Dad's being…well…dad…" he trailed off.

Violet knew that, despite Steve's seemingly perfect life, his home life was anything but that. She'd heard the Harrington's fight before. She knew that Steve's dad was a taskmaster and his mom didn't entirely trust him. It was ironic in a sense. His dad was almost like Violet's mom. Between the two of them, they had some pretty messed up parents. Violet seemed to soften as she noticed Steve sniff and quickly pinch his nose before looking away from her and into the depths of the trees.

"Sorry," she said to him.

He chuckled darkly and tried to shrug nonchalantly. "Not your fault, is it?" he said to her.

"Maybe not, but I know how it sucks," Violet said.

"Your mom's back?" Steve asked from her.

"Yep," Violet said and Steve went to sit back down on the tree stump. He patted the space next to her and Violet walked to the bark. She managed to hop up onto the stump and she crossed her legs. She zipped up the white jacket she wore over her tennis whites considering she hadn't bothered changing since she got home.

"We just had dinner and it wasn't exactly a happy reunion," Violet confessed to Steve. She wasn't entirely certain why she was so willing to talk to him considering that she wasn't entirely pleased with how he'd behaved at school. "Mom asked dad if he was sure I could make it pro. She asked him if this challenger event I'm signed up for in Detroit was worth her paying for."

"Shit," Steve muttered. "I take it your dad didn't like that?"

"You know how it is," Violet said as she picked at a flower that had fallen onto the stump. "Mom's the one with the money. She's Miss Hawkins…heiress…and dad…he works, but we both know it's not the same. Without mom then there's no chance I'd be where I am. I also think a part of him hates that he never made it pro."

"I thought he at least ranked?"

"He was number one-hundred and eighty-nine in the world," Violet said. "He qualified for the US Open a few times and made it to the second round, but that's as far as he ever got."

Steve looked at Violet out of the corner of his eye. He raked a hand through his hair and felt the hairspray beginning to lose its grip. "Can I ask you a question?" Steve wondered.

"Depends what it is," Violet replied and tossed the flower onto the ground, rubbing her hands on her bare thighs and turning her head to the side to look at him.

"I just…I watched you today and you were good. You were like nothing I'd ever seen before…the determination…it was really impressive," Steve said.

Violet tightened her ponytail and her lip curved upwards to the side. "Why do I get the sense there's a but?"

Steve laughed at that, nodding his head as he kicked his legs out and back. "But," he drawled, "is it your dream you're chasing or your dad's dream?"

She was quiet then, lips falling into a flat line. Steve wondered if he'd crossed a boundary there, but he wanted to know. He didn't know what it was about Violet Mattheson, but there was something about her that intrigued him. He quite liked her when she was on her own and it was just the two of them. They got on as well as they possibly could.

"I've thought about that so often," Violet admitted to him. "The amount of nights I've spent wondering if I want this for him or for me…and sometimes I don't know. There are times when I wonder what I would do if I wasn't good at tennis. I'm terrible at school and I know I am. I barely pass classes and I hate studying…but then when I'm on court…when I'm hitting that ball…when I make a shot that can't be returned or I serve an ace…it's the best feeling I know."

"Well, you're pretty good at it," Steve said. "I just…I don't know…college…studying…all of that stuff isn't exactly what I'm good at either."

"You're in the basketball team and was co-captain of the swimming team," Violet pointed out to him.

"Yeah, but I'm nowhere near good enough to go pro at either of those things," Steve said. "I don't know, I guess watching you today made me realise that I'm not as passionate about any of that…nowhere near as passionate or as good as you are."

Violet kept quiet, not entirely sure what advice she could offer him. Did he even want advice or did he just want someone to talk at? There were times when she understood that. She ranted to Daisy often enough and never expected her to have the solution.

"I don't know if I have any advice for you on that one, Steve."

He chuckled. "I don't think anyone has any advice, except my dad. He's convinced that I can get a scholarship if I keep playing basketball. I mean…I don't even know if I want to go to college. What would I study? What would be the point?"

"I think the point is that it gives you a chance to get away from your parents."

"They should put that in the prospectus," Steve said and Violet laughed at him. Steve's own lips arched and a laugh escaped him too. "Seriously, I think it would be the number one driving force behind kids applying for college."

"Probably," she agreed. "Although I don't think most kids have parents like ours. At least, I hope they don't."

"I hope so too," Steve agreed with her on that point.

They lapsed into silence once more and Steve ran his hands up and down his jean clad thighs. Violet tugged the zip of her jacket up to her chin and glanced down to her lap, clasping her hands together. "I know you probably don't want anyone to tell you what you should do or any stupid advice like that," Violet said to him. "And I'm not like some life coach…but I do think that things…maybe they'll work themselves out. You just need to try and make stuff happen and I…I don't know…maybe Nancy will be good for you. She seems nice and like she has her head screwed on."

"Yeah, maybe so," Steve agreed.

"But you're not an idiot, Steve," Violet said. "I mean, you're an obnoxious asshole and you've surrounded yourself with idiots…but you…I don't think you're a bad guy."

"I guess that's a compliment," Steve said.

"I hope so, I didn't mean for it to be an insult," Violet replied. "I just think that being around people like Carol and Tommy…I don't think you're like them, not really. Would you talk to them like you talk to me?"

"We both know it's not the same thing. You don't talk to Daisy like you talk to me, do you?"

"I keep things from her because I know how she goes back to her mom and then they just worry about me," Violet confessed. "I love Daisy. She's been my best friend since we were kids and she's always there for me, but I can't tell her some things because I don't…I just don't want her to worry about me when I'm fine. I don't change who I am as a person though, Steve. I'm still me. I just don't entirely know who the real Steve Harrington is and…I don't know if you do either sometimes."

Steve couldn't say anything to her on that point. He just kept looking down to the ground. He wondered if maybe she was onto something. He knew who he was, but he guessed that he had to put on a show occasionally to maintain his popularity. But did he actually want to be popular? Was that the be all and all? He guessed it felt like it was at that moment in time.

"For what it's worth," Steve said, "I'm sorry for today."

"It's fine."

"I was a bit of a dick though. I could've spoken up sooner when Tommy and Carol were being assholes…and then at the tennis court…I…if it's any consolation, I don't particularly enjoy fighting with you."

"I'm not too keen on it either," Violet said.

"And you were really good out there," Steve said and Violet rolled her eyes and his own eyes widened and he shrugged, brows rising on his forehead. "What?" he asked her. "Just take the compliment, Vi. You were really good."

"I kept missing my first serve," she said with a shake of her head, some wisps of hair falling out of her ponytail. "I had three double-faults before you guys turned up."

Steve cocked his head. "You noticed us turn up?"

"Hard not to when Tommy is like a foghorn," Violet said. "But it's not as if I can afford any distractions."

"Well, I'm glad we weren't a distraction," Steve said.

"You weren't, but then you…the entire thing with Jonathan was a bit much, Steve," Violet said and he rolled his eyes at her comment. "I'm serious," she retorted, punching him in the arm. "His brother is missing and you broke his camera. I get that you were annoyed that he'd been spying on you or whatever, but for what it's worth, I think he was in those forests looking for his brother."

"Pictures of me I can handle," Steve said. "What I don't like is the fact that he had pictures of my girlfriend getting undressed in my bedroom window or pictures of you in your room. That's too far. It's perverted."

"I get that it…I get what it looks like," Violet admitted on that point, not entirely how she felt with him thinking that he was somehow defending her honour. "I know that it does look a bit…dodgy…but I think there's something else going on. I mean, I just don't think he was there to spy on us when he's never shown an interest in us before."

"He's always been a weirdo though."

"What? Because he's quiet? That doesn't make someone a weirdo, Steve," Violet said. "And smashing his camera was a step too far. You embarrassed him and I know you want to look out for Nancy, but I don't think you went about it the right way."

"Yeah, well, what does it matter?" Steve wondered. "We're going to have to agree to disagree. Nothing I can do about it now."

"Could buy him a new camera."

Steve scoffed. "Yeah, right."

"We both know you have the money for it."

"I'm not buying that guy a new camera," Steve said firmly. "And I'm not apologising for looking out for you and Nance."

"You can look out for your girlfriend, Steve, but I don't need you to look out for me, okay?" Violet said. "I can handle things on my own."

"Yeah, don't I know it," Steve mumbled back and Violet shot a side-eye glance over to him. She saw that he was staring at her, watching her intently before shaking his head. He jumped down from the tree stump and looked to her as she remained cross-legged on the stump. "We should go home before it gets too late."

"I'll go in a minute."

"You think I'm going to let you sit out here alone when it's almost dark?" Steve questioned from her. "Come on, Vi. I'll even walk you home."

Violet laughed. "Steve, I can see your back door from my house," she said. "I don't need you to walk me home."

"Well, either I walk you home or I stay here because you're not being out here on your own when I know that Byers is being a creep and there's kids going missing," Steve said. "So, come on, get off that tree and go home."

Violet scowled at him but climbed down, landing gracefully on the ground after a small jump. She brushed some dirt off of her tennis skirt and fell into step next to Steve as they headed back through the trees. "You can be a real hard ass, you know that, Hair-ington?"

"Yeah, and you just happen to be a pain in my ass, Violet Mattheson," Steve replied, but his lips arched as he saw her smile and glance to the ground, tucking some flyaway pieces of hair behind her ears. The two of them said nothing else as they came to their back gardens. "I'll see you at school, Vi," Steve said as she crossed her lawn towards her house. She walked backwards and waved once to him. Steve guessed that she'd get inside just fine, but he stood and watched just to make sure.

…

It had gone eight p.m. and Violet was back outside. Steve's curtains were closed so she imagined he was done for the night. She knew that she should be inside too and finishing her homework, but her mind kept thinking back to the double faults from earlier in the day. Her mother was still out at some event and her father had locked himself in his study, brooding with a bottle of scotch. Violet practiced her serve, but she couldn't concentrate. She kept thinking about Steve and everything he'd said earlier. She didn't know why. She just knew that there was something on her mind and she couldn't explain it.

Finally, she realised that she wasn't going to get any further with her practice session. Plus, she had to go to the gym the next day anyway. She finished picking the balls up and placing them into a basket when she heard a noise in the trees behind her. The sun had started to set behind them, leaving a pink skyline and a cool air. Violet squinted, trying to focus on where the noise had come from before she saw her. Violet placed the basket down and carried her racket with her, swinging it in her hands.

"Nancy?" Violet called out to her.

"Hey…I…uh…I just…I wondered if Barb…she might be out here," Nancy blabbered and Violet frowned.

"Why would she still be here?" Violet questioned but the look of worry on Nancy's face told her enough. "You still can't find her, can you?"

"She's not at home and her car is still parked where we left it last night," Nancy blurted out. She needed someone to talk to about it and Violet had seemed concerned from the start whereas Steve and his friends weren't taking it seriously. "I don't know where she could be now. Barb doesn't skip school. She doesn't do that kind of thing and I…I should never have left her that night because I think something bad has happened to her."

"You need to tell the police," Violet said to her, voice firm. "Or you at least need to tell her parents."

"I know," Nancy agreed on that point. "But they'll think it's my fault…I should never have dragged her to the party…I should've gone home with her."

"It's not your fault," Violet said to her. "You weren't to know that this would happen."

"No, but I still blame myself," Nancy said.

"Look, no offence, Nancy, but blaming yourself isn't going to help Barb. You need to tell the police where you were and you need to do it tonight. That's what is going to help, Barb," Violet said, voice firm and Nancy just nodded her agreement. Violet glanced around the forest as another rustling came from the trees. Nancy turned around as well, the two of them seeing the trees fluttering.

"You heard that, right?" Nancy checked.

"Yeah," Violet confirmed with a nod of her head.

"Do you think it might've been Barb?"

"In the woods? I doubt it," Violet mumbled. "Just…stay here," she urged from her and she wondered if Steve had been right about Byers. Violet took cautious step forwards back towards the forest and she held her racket tighter in her grip. Picking it up and holding it like she would as she prepared to hit a backhand, the wind whistled and the trees continued to shake. Violet took a deep breath and moved into the trees, but Nancy was behind her after a couple of moments.

"Go back-"

"-I'm not letting you come out here by yourself," Nancy interrupted and Violet didn't get a chance to argue as something seemed to run in front of them, footsteps hitting the ground loudly and a snarl escaping from it. Violet tried not to scream in fear as she stumbled back a step and Nancy reached for her arm, gripping onto it tightly. There had been a figure rushing through the forest. Violet knew that much.

"You saw that, right?" Nancy checked, her voice shaking and Violet felt her throat clench.

"Yep," she managed to croak out before her instinct kicked in. "Come on, we need to get out of here."

She gripped Nancy by the hand and dragged her towards her house. She kept her racket in her hand, grip firm and unrelenting as they rushed to the back door. Violet opened it and forced Nancy inside before closing it and locking it behind her, hands shaking. She left her racket leant on the wall next to the door and knew that they had to talk in private. Thankfully, the house was large enough that her father wouldn't disturb them, especially if he was drinking himself into oblivion.

Nancy followed Violet without another word towards her bedroom. The room was quite scarce with hardly any decorations apart from a couple of posters of tennis players and a few rackets hung on the wall. Her desk had books open on it and her bed was neatly made with a stuffed bear sat on it, the duvet white with flowers on it. Closing the door behind her, Violet dropped her hands to her hips.

"Whatever was out there…I don't know…I don't know how to explain it," Violet admitted and she perched on the end of her bed. "It was weird."

"It looked like some guy in a mask or something," Nancy said. "I couldn't get a close enough look at it though."

"Neither could I," Violet agreed. "But it was freaky and whatever it was, I think we need to tell the police. We need to go to the station right now and try and sort this. What if whatever it was out there hurt the Byers kid?"

"You think that Barb going missing and Will going missing could be connected?"

"I didn't until we just saw that," Violet pointed to her window. "Christ, I still don't know what to think apart from something weird is going on and we need to tell someone."

Nancy agreed with her on that part. "I just…I think I need to tell my mom first," she admitted. "Before I go to the police or talk to them, I just want to tell my mom. She'll know what to do and she'll help…please…or we can talk to your mom and tell her-"

"-Yeah, my mom doesn't exactly do motherly love," Violet quickly interrupted her and she tried to take a few calming breaths, hands on her hips as she tried to think rationally. "What we'll do is go to your mom and you can tell her you think Barb is missing. We can tell her that we think we saw someone in the woods in a mask and then we can go to the police. Okay?"

"Okay," Nancy agreed.

"Right, just let me get changed," Violet said and she grabbed a pair of jeans from her dresser and a sweatshirt from her wardrobe. Nancy turned away as she changed out of her tennis clothes, well aware that she'd have to forego her shower for the time being and so she sprayed her perfume as she pushed her sneakers back onto her feet. Tightening her ponytail, Violet checked her reflection in the mirror for a brief moment to make sure she looked presentable before the two of them left the house.

Nancy took in how Violet didn't even bother to tell her dad where she was going. She just poked her head around the door and said that she had to go out for a bit. Her dad grunted something back to her, but that was the extent of their conversation. Nancy didn't comment on it, but she also thought about what Violet had said about her mother. She climbed into the passenger side of Violet's car and the elder girl backed her car out of the drive.

"I'm going to need you to direct me," she said to Nancy.

"Yeah, I can do that," Nancy said.

There was a silence between the two of them. They'd never even met before the previous day. Violet knew she existed, of course, but they didn't interact. Then again, Violet rarely interacted with anyone in the school apart from Daisy and a few other girls who were in her class.

"So…" Nancy drawled, "how long have you been friends with Steve?"

She just needed to fill the silence and try to stop herself from thinking about what had just happened and what was going to happen. She was on edge, there was no denying it. Violet gripped the steering wheel tightly, foot steady on the accelerator.

"I wouldn't say we're friends," Violet replied.

"I just…he talks about you sometimes," Nancy admitted.

"He does?"

"Yeah," Nancy said. "Says that you're a pro at tennis."

Violet scoffed. "I'm not sure that I'm a pro," she admitted to Nancy.

"It's left here," Nancy instructed and Violet slowed down and indicated at the junction. "I mean, you must be pretty good considering the whole school talks about how great you are. They think you're going to make it big."

"I doubt the whole school talks about me."

"Well, they know about you," Nancy said. "And just…I don't know…you don't seem like Steve's other friends."

"Carol and Tommy? I sure as hell hope not," Violet said with a dark chuckle. She wasn't entirely sure why they were trying to have a normal conversation, but a part of her was glad for it. She needed something to keep her mind occupied. "Those guys are the worst. I don't know what Steve really sees in them to want to be friends with them."

"Neither do I," Nancy admitted in a mumble. "It's right here."

Violet took the next turn after waiting for a few cars to pass by. "I know that Steve can be a jerk sometimes," Violet confessed to Nancy. "And I get that he's the popular boy in the school, but I think there's more to him than that. I guess what I'm trying to say is that…I think you could be good for him. I think maybe he needs someone like you in his life because he…I don't know how to say this…but we bonded over shitty parents."

"When was that?"

"It's been for a while," Violet said, not sure she could put an exact timeframe on it. "The first time was when he'd seen me leave the house crying. I'd lost some tournament and my dad yelled at me. I went to this tree stump in the forest and sat there and cried. Next thing I knew, Steve was there asking if I was alright. Since then we've kind of made it a habit of going there whenever things aren't too good at home."

Nancy laced her hands together in her lap. "I didn't know that," she admitted to Violet.

"I don't think he likes talking about it too much, but it…trust me, it's just some kind of fucked up trauma bonding that I'm sure he doesn't want to burden anyone else with," Violet said. "Either way, he really cares about you. He's just a mess…then again…aren't we all?"

Violet wondered if she'd over-stepped the mark. She imagined that his girlfriend might not want to know that he tells some other girl stuff that she doesn't get to know from him. Violet wanted to tell her that it didn't mean anything. All it meant was that the two of them were neighbours who happened to be the same age and hated living at home. They had nothing else in common.

"And there's nothing that's ever gone on between the two of you?"

"God, no," Violet shouted out and Nancy felt a slight bit of relief. She didn't know if she could compete with the school tennis star. "No, never. He's just a neighbour and some kind of less-than-a-friend-but-more-than-an acquaintance."

"That's quite a mouthful," Nancy said and her lips arched despite the situation. "You can just pull up here."

Violet parked along the curb and turned the ignition off. Nancy looked to her house and felt her heart begin to hammer against her chest. She tried to talk a calming breath, but she couldn't. She just knew that they had to do this. Glancing back to Violet, she saw that she was also looking at her house. "You ready?" Violet wondered.

"You're coming in with me, right?"

"I'll come in with you," Violet promised. "We can do this together."

And for some reason that made Nancy feel just a little bit better. The two of them left the car and headed up the path, ready to face whatever questions were going to come their way.

….

A/N: So I am new to the world of Stranger Things but, you guessed it, adored Steve Harrington and couldn't help but write a little story on that. Anyway, this is just the beginning getting going. If you're reading, would love to know what you think!