Violet wasn't entirely sure if she was going to get caught for sneaking out, but she figured it wasn't as if she could be in anymore trouble. She'd ran straight to her room as soon as she'd gotten into the house. Her father had been slamming doors downstairs, but he hadn't dared to come and talk to her. She was grateful for that at least. Eventually, things went quiet downstairs and Violet guessed that her dad had passed out on the sofa and her mom was still out. She opened the window and figured that if Steve could climb up to it then she could climb down from it. She slipped onto the flat roof and slid down the drainpipe pretty easily. She left her window slightly open and headed across the yard and towards Steve's house.

She knew that his dad had gone out earlier after hearing the car revving and she figured his mom had gone with him seeing as the only light on in the house was Steve's. Violet came to the back of the house and peered up, wondering if she could climb up or if she should just ring the doorbell. She wasn't sure she wanted to risk being seen out front. Glancing around, she finally spotted a trellis that looked like she could cling onto and climb up.

Grabbing hold of it, she got a foot into the bottom and hauled herself up, hoping that it wouldn't break. She struggled against the ivy growing in it, cursing under her breath but hauling herself up. She began panting for breath. She knew she was fit, but this was some different kind of workout. She finally grabbed hold of the gutter and managed to tug herself onto the slanted roof.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Violet remained on all fours on the roof, still not entirely sure if she could stand up, scared of a tile slipping beneath her feet. Glancing upwards, she saw Steve stood at the window and watching her, brow arched and an almost amused expression on his face. He'd changed into a blue sweatshirt and jeans, hair pushed back on top of his head and slightly damp.

"Well, I thought that there were some leaves clogging up your guttering so figured I'd come and clean them out," Violet said and then rolled her eyes. "Why the hell do you think I'm climbing your roof, Hair-ington? I came to see you."

"Yeah, I did figure that," Steve said and he climbed onto the ledge of the window, sitting on it and spinning around so that he was outside of the house. He reached a hand down towards Violet and she gratefully took hold of it, letting him haul her upwards to her feet. She stood up on the roof and Steve took hold of her waist to make sure she remained steady. "Are doors too boring for you now?"

"They're overrated," Violet agreed and Steve snickered before he spun back into the bedroom. He stood on the floor and reached for Violet once more, helping her to climb into the room less gracefully than she'd intended. Once she was stood up on his carpet, she let go of his arms. "I didn't want to risk being seen."

"Good job," Steve commended her on that one. "But you didn't need to come over."

"Yeah, I did," Violet said and he closed the window behind her. "I just…what happened earlier…"

"We don't need to talk about it," Steve assured her and he watched her tuck her hair behind her ears and he saw the stain on her cheek. His eyes flickered over to it, but he tried not to stare for too long, anxious about her getting self-conscious. "I just wanted to help, Vi. I didn't want to make things worse for you…just…seeing him hit you…"

"I appreciate it," Violet assured him and she glanced around his room.

It was surprisingly tidier than she'd imagined it would be. The bed was unmade and the duvet crumpled up on top of it. There was a pile of clothes on the floor in the corner by a high-back chair and his desk was cluttered with papers. The walls had some posters on them and there was an array of hair products on top of a dresser.

"Does it hurt?" Steve wondered and he motioned to his own cheek.

Violet shook her head and looked down to the floor. "No," she said. "I mean…it did hurt, but it doesn't hurt now. I shouldn't have pushed him. I knew that I was over-stepping."

"And you think that gives him an excuse to hit you?" Steve questioned from her and folded his arms over his chest before perching on the edge of the bed. "It doesn't, Vi. Nothing gives him the right to hurt you."

"I just…I don't know," Violet confessed to him and Steve motioned to the bed, urging for her to sit down and sensing that there was a lot on her mind. She toed her sneakers from her feet and crossed her legs, sitting at the end of the bed. Steve watched her tug at the cuff of her sweatshirt and pull the sleeves over her fingers. "Ever since that night in the forest, things have been weird," Violet confessed to Steve. "I know that I might be letting my imagination run away with me, but you know when you get this feeling in the pit of your stomach? It's like something you can't ignore despite your brain telling you not to be stupid."

"I guess," Steve agreed, even though he wasn't entirely sure if he did know what she was talking about. He just folded his arms over his chest and watched Violet intently, noticing the way her cheeks had small dimples in them and there was a small freckle on the side of her neck.

"Well, Nancy asked to talk to me tonight after school. After you'd destroyed Jonathan Byer's camera, she helped him clean up and found this photo of Barb at the party," Violet told him. She wasn't entirely sure if he was going to buy into this or if he was going to think she was crazy. Either way, she was going to tell him what she thought Nancy had seen. "She put it back together and there's this thing in the corner. We can't work out what it is, but it…I don't know…it might be just a blur…she isn't sure either."

"What does it look like?"

"This dark thing. I'd think it was just something of nothing, but it does seem to have some kind of shape…not just a blob," Violet confessed to Steve. "We figured it might be worth talking to Byers and seeing if he saw anything at all that night. We didn't know when to go though with…well…considering his brother being found."

"Why would you go to him?" Steve asked from her.

"Because he does photography," Violet said. "He might be able to do something with the photo and I guess it's worth finding out if we have seen something or if we're going crazy."

"Why has Nancy not told me any of this?" Steve questioned and Violet shrugged her shoulders. She wasn't entirely sure she wanted to get involved in that discussion. She just kept on playing with the cuffs of her sweatshirt. "Then again, it's not as if I'm her favourite person right now."

"You still need to apologise, huh?" Violet checked with him.

"I was thinking of asking her if she wanted to go to the cinema tomorrow," Steve said. "You know, take her mind off of Barb for a few hours."

Violet chewed on the inside of her cheek, not entirely sure how Nancy would react to that plan. She guessed she wouldn't want to go, but then again maybe she needed a few hours away from everything that was going on. Steve also knew that it maybe wasn't the best idea, but he figured he had to do something to get back on Nancy's good side. He didn't want to argue with her, but there was a part of him that wondered why she pushed him away. He guessed it was because of how he'd initially reacted to her concerns. A part of him, however, was glad that she was talking to Violet. Without Barb, Steve wasn't entirely sure how many friends Nancy really had.

"Sounds good," Violet finally said to him. "I'd best get back home. I just wanted to come over here and make sure you were okay and to say…well…thanks," she finished. "You didn't need to do what you did. I know what you risked doing it because your dad isn't exactly a nice guy either."

"It was nothing," Steve assured her.

Violet uncurled herself from the ball she was sat in and stood up, shaking her head. "It wasn't," she assured him on that point.

He met her eye for a moment and he swore that he felt something in his stomach twist as he watched her. He tried to push it to the side, but he couldn't explain why he wanted to reach for her wrist and stop her from leaving. He didn't want her to go. He wanted her to stay and he knew that was ridiculous because this was Violet. This was Violet, his neighbour and the girl who enjoyed winding him up.

"Go out the back door," Steve urged from her. "I don't want you breaking your neck climbing out the window. I'm not sure how I'd explain that to my parents."

"I think I can agree with that," Violet concurred and wasn't sure why she shuddered when he ran his hand down her arm as he walked by her.

…

Violet and Nancy had tried to find Jonathan Byers the next day, but they'd been unsuccessful until Joyce had told them that he was at the funeral home. Violet wasn't entirely sure they should intrude on that, but Nancy had been adamant. Violet had driven them into town and had parked the car down the street. Nancy and Violet had walked silently to the funeral home and had found Jonathan shopping for a casket, face crestfallen and body slumped over in defeat. Violet wanted to turn back around and leave, not convinced that they should be doing this at that moment in time, but by then Jonathan had seen them and had asked for a moment.

"Hey," he said, hands in pockets and walking towards them.

Nancy kept a hand on her bag that was on the shoulder, her pink shirt slightly askew on her body. Violet folded her arms, feeling a chill come over her and wishing she'd worn something other than her short skirt and sweatshirt with tennis shoes.

"Hey, your mom said you'd be here," Nancy spoke.

"But we can go," Violet added on. "We don't want to intrude."

"We just…" Nancy trailed off. "Can we just talk to you for a second?"

Jonathan nodded, exhaling a sharp breath and leaving the room. They moved down the corridor and Nancy sat down on a chair and began rummaging in her bag. Jonathan sat down next to her and Violet remained stood, pacing a few steps in front of them and trying not to feel too anxious about what they were going to ask.

"We know this isn't the best time and we're really sorry," Violet said to him and Jonathan's brow scrunched in confusion, wondering just what the two of them were up to.

"But we wanted your advice," Nancy said and she handed him the photograph that she had crudely stuck back together after having ripped it up. "I just…do you see anything?"

Jonathan took the photo from her and glanced down at it. He took a moment before spotting what he guessed they were talking about. "I mean, I guess it could be some kind of perspective distortion," he said. "But I wasn't using a wide angle. I don't know…it's weird."

"And you're sure that you didn't see anyone else out there?" Nancy wondered.

"No," Jonathan said, voice flat and Violet wished that they weren't asking him any of this. She felt for him and she guessed he would rather be left alone. "She was there one second and then the next she was gone…like she bolted."

"The cops think that she ran away," Nancy said, "but they don't know Barb. The night I went back to Steve's…I met Violet outside and we thought that we saw something…"

"It was like some…weird man…or something else," Violet said, doubting she'd forget that night for quite some time. It wasn't as if she was getting much sleep knowing that something creepy was going on behind her house and Barb had disappeared from there. Violet sniffed once and shook her head, looking to Jonathan. "I'm sorry," she said to him. "We maybe shouldn't have done this today. It maybe wasn't the right time."

Nancy agreed on that and took the photo back. She picked her bag up and draped it onto her shoulder. They began to walk away, but Jonathan spoke once more, calling them back.

"What did it look like?" he wondered from the two of them.

"What?" Nancy asked.

"This man you saw in the woods. What did he look like?"

"I don't know," Nancy confessed. "It was almost like he didn't…he didn't have-"

"-Didn't have a face?" Jonathan guessed, interrupting the two of them. Violet frowned and looked between the two of them.

"How did you know that?" Violet questioned.

"Because I think I've seen something too," Jonathan admitted to the two of them. "We need to look at that photo more…there's the photography dark room at school. We can go there and develop it further."

"We can't ask you to do that today," Violet said.

"I want to," Jonathan said.

"Okay," Nancy said, eager to keep digging because she hoped that it would get her closer to Barb. Violet, on the other hand, wasn't too proud to admit that she was scared of what they would find. She was terrified, but she knew that they had to do something and she figured that she was involved in this more than she cared to admit.

"Let's do it then."

…

Violet was sure she was going to be sick. She had gone to the darkroom with Jonathan and Nancy and had stood at the back of the room as the two of them spoke in hushed tones to each other. Violet left them to it, her mind whirring with the possibility of what they were about to see. But then she'd seen it. She'd seen it on the photo and she was sure that what had happened in the wood hadn't been a figment of their imagination. And Jonathan had confessed to them that his mom thought Will was alive and she'd been speaking to him. She'd said that his body in the morgue wasn't her son. If that was true then Will was still alive, but where would he be? How could that even be possible? Then again, what was that creature that they'd seen? Violet didn't know how to explain anything that was going on. She was terrified. She was more scared than she wanted to admit.

"We need to go back into the forest," Nancy said as Violet drove her home and parked up just outside of her house.

"You want to go and search for that thing?" Violet wondered, pointing at the photograph that was hidden in Nancy's bag. "That sounds like a death wish to me."

"That thing might have Barb. If Will's mom thinks that Will is still alive then why could Barb not be alive?"

"I know that you want to think that," Violet said, pulling the handbrake up and stopping the car. "But grief can make people see things that aren't there. It can drive people to the edge…make them think things are happening that aren't…"

"And the photo?" Nancy questioned, voice rising in slight irritation. "What about that? What about what happened in the forest that night? You know that we didn't imagine that."

And Violet knew that was the truth. They hadn't imagined it. It had all been real. Violet kept her hands on the steering wheel of her car and bowed her head. Nancy glanced across to her and she spotted it beneath her makeup. She thought that she'd seen it earlier, but Violet had quickly covered her face with her cheek. The elder girl was scared and Nancy suspected it wasn't just the monster in her backyard she was scared of.

"I get that you're scared," Nancy promised Violet. "And I know that there's other stuff going on judging by that bruise on your cheek, so if you want out…if you don't want to keep digging then you don't have to. I can do this with Jonathan."

Violet's fingers went to her cheek and stroked along the skin before tugging her hair to try and cover it once more. She knew that it would be safer for her to leave this alone. She didn't need to get involved any further than she had done. She could back out and walk away.

"I'll help," Violet said, a part of her unable to walk away from what they were going to dig into. She knew she should. She knew it would be safer for her, but she didn't think she'd forgive herself if something happened to Nancy and Jonathan. "Just don't go out into the wood, okay?"

"You live next to it."

"And my plan is not to go anywhere near it," Violet promised Nancy.

"So there's been no more talks in there with Steve?" Nancy questioned and Violet shook her head. She wasn't entirely sure what she thought was going on between Violet and Steve, but there wasn't anything. Nancy, on the other hand, was just worried for Violet. A part of Nancy adored Steve, but her priority was Barb, not making sure she had nothing to be jealous about with her boyfriend and his next door neighbour.

"He…he told me about your argument and I told him that he'd been an ass," Violet admitted. "But then last night after I'd dropped you off at home my dad…he wasn't happy with me and I said things that I shouldn't have said and he…this happened," Violet said, pointing with a finger to her bruise. "Steve saw and he came out and tried to help, but I didn't want him getting in trouble over me."

"Your dad did that to you?" Nancy checked, wondering if her father had even bothered to raise his voice at his kids.

"He has a temper," was all that Violet could say.

"You know that's no excuse, right?" Nancy checked with her.

"Maybe not, but he's my dad," Violet muttered.

"I don't want you to get into trouble though," Nancy said and Violet realised that wasn't a problem for Nancy. It was a problem that she was going to have to figure out herself at some point. "I don't want to drag you into any of this…or Steve."

"Well, unfortunately for you, I am involved," Violet said. "And Steve knows more than he probably should because I told him. He lives next door to me and I don't want him wandering outside or getting hurt. I just don't want anyone to get hurt, Nancy…even your pain-in-the-ass boyfriend."

Nancy chuckled at that, a smile forming on her face and Violet was glad that she could lighten the mood for even a brief moment. "Look, I've got to get to practice," Violet said. "I'll see you at the funeral, alright?"

"I'll see you then," Nancy said and reached for the door handle. She turned her head over her shoulder as she began to climb from the car. "And thanks…for everything."

"We've got each other's backs, right?" Violet checked with her and for a moment, Nancy felt as though she had a friend again. She left the car and headed back up the path towards her house. Violet shook her head and let out a shaky breath before driving away.

…

Violet knew that she had to get to practice, but she had found herself parked up outside of the store and heading inside for chips. She knew her dad wouldn't approve, but she was craving something savoury and she knew that her dinner would just consist of protein and vegetables. Leaving the store, she pulled open the bag of chip instantly and dipped her hand into it, stuffing a handful into her mouth and chewing down on it. She unlocked her car again and opened the door, throwing her purse onto the seat before she heard their voices.

"If it isn't little miss perfect."

Violet groaned and looked over the roof of the car. Steve had just pulled up and was with Carol and Tommy. She met his eye for a moment and he looked almost apologetic. Violet kept a hand on top of the car door and watched the as Tommy flung an arm over Carol's shoulders.

"As much as I'd love to stick around for this stimulating conversation, I have places to be," Violet declared as Tommy stood at the bonnet of her car, hands resting on top of it and Carole laughed shrilly as her boyfriend refused to move and let Violet drive out of the parking lot. "Seriously?" Violet snapped.

"Guys, come on, leave her alone," Steve urged from his friends.

"Why should we?" Carol demanded from him. "She's been nothing but a bitch to me ever since I started dating Tommy. Anyone would think she's jealous."

"Jesus Christ," Violet snapped at Carol. "I'm not jealous of you and your boyfriend. Has he even told you that nothing ever happened in that closet because I didn't want to kiss him. Why would I want to?"

"She's lying," Tommy said firmly. "She was easy, babe, I didn't want to take it any further."

"Of course she's lying," Carol retorted.

"You know what?" Violet asked, flapping her arms by her side. "I don't have time for any of this."

Violet moved from her open door and towards the front of the car. She pushed at Tommy, trying to get him to move away from her car so that she could leave. She needed to get out and go to practice. Tommy laughed as she tried to shove him. He was slightly amused at how strong she actually was. He squared up to her, going toe-to-toe with her and Steve knew that he had to intervene. He knew that Violet had a temper. He'd seen it first hand before.

"Pretty tough, are you, Violet?" Tommy wondered and Carol cackled with laughter.

"Get the hell out of my way," Violet demanded from him, tiring of his attitude.

"Let her go, man," Steve urged from Tommy and he stood by them, moving an arm in between the two of them and taking hold of Violet by the hand, tugging her towards him. He squeezed her fingers inside of his and Tommy folded his arms and leant back slightly, noting the way Steve tugged Violet behind him.

"It's not Nancy you've got a crush on, is it, Stevie-boy?" Tommy wondered.

"Oh my God," Carol added on. "Is this true?"

"Is what true?" Steve snapped back at the pair of them.

"You and her?" Carol wondered.

"Shut up, Carol," Steve demanded from her and Violet remained quiet, noting how he wasn't saying anything. "Just leave her alone."

Steve remained stood in front of Tommy and let go of Violet's hand. He watched her move back towards the car door and climb into the driver's side. What he hadn't anticipated was Carol slamming the door on Violet's hand as she went to get in the car. The yell she let out was loud and full of pain. Steve glanced towards her and saw her stood up, cradling her hand in her hand as her yells died down into whimpers.

"Carol, what the hell?" Steve snarled at her.

"I didn't do anything," Carol defended herself, holding her hands up defensively as her boyfriend also laughed at the situation. Steve, on the other hand, didn't find it remotely funny as Violet cried out in pain. He moved towards her and looked at her fingers that were turning red in her uninjured hand.

"Hey, hey, hey," Steve urged from her, hand going to her shoulder and trailing up her neck to her cheek, cupping it gently in his fingers. "We're going to get you to the ER, alright? I'll take you."

"Steve, come on, she's fine," Tommy urged from him. "It's not as if it hit her that hard."

"Are you serious?" Steve demanded and he managed to move Violet to one side and grab her purse from her car along with her car keys. He locked her car for her and placed a hand onto the small of her back. "You could've broken her fingers, Carol. It's not funny."

Tommy and Carol kept on chuckling though. Steve guided Violet towards his car and held the passenger door open for her. He placed her keys into her purse and left it on the floor by her feet before closing the door for her. He moved to the driver's side and glared at his friends before climbing in and starting the engine. He reversed out of the bay and drove out of the parking lot, watching as Violet kept on crying, her cheeks stained red and her eyes wet. Her fingers were throbbing and she was trying not to think of the pain, but it was all she could think about.

"It's alright, Vi," Steve assured her. "We'll be at the hospital soon enough."

"I swear I'm going to kill them one day," Violet mumbled.

Steve's grip on the wheel tightened and he nodded once. "Yeah, might have to beat me to it though."

…

Violet knew that what had happened hadn't been her fault. She knew that Carol had slammed the door on her hand. She knew that she could tell the nurse in the ER what had happened and she might insist on calling the police, but Violet knew that Carol would just deny it. It was likely to be Steve and Violet's word against Tommy and Carol's. And so Violet had said that it was an accident. She knew that was the coward's way out really, but she didn't care. She didn't want to keep fighting Carol and Tommy.

The nurse had tried to get hold of her parents, but neither of them were home. They'd taken x-rays of Violet's fingers and had told her that two of her fingers were broken. They'd bandaged them up to keep them in position and had told her that it would be a while before she could go back on the tennis court again.

That was the part that scared Violet. Steve had sat in the waiting room the entire time for her. She'd been discharged after persuading the nurse that Steve would take her home and she'd be fine. She didn't want to sit around in the ER waiting for her parents to show up when neither of them were answering their phone. Thankfully, the head nurse in charge knew Violet's mom quite well and had bent the rules slightly for her. Steve had walked with her back to the car and held the door open for her again.

"What did they say?" Steve wondered, sitting down next to her in the car.

"Broken," Violet croaked out, knowing what was waiting for her at home. Her dad would find out. He'd be mad. He'd be so angry with her.

Steve was about to ask her why it looked like her world had ended, but then he remembered just who he was talking to. "So…that means no tennis?" he checked with her.

"For eight to ten weeks," Violet whispered and it was then when she burst into tears and Steve moved along the bench, reaching for her and drawing her into his arms. He cradled her against him and she let him, somehow feeling both of his arms wrap around her and she leant down onto one of his arms over his lap, grabbing hold of it and crying into his forearm. He moved his free hand to her hair and stroked it gently as she remained against him. "He's going to kill me…I…I can't go home…"

"It's okay," Steve promised her. "I promise you that it's going to be okay, Vi…I won't let him hurt you, alright? I promise."

Violet wanted to tell him that he couldn't make that promise. Two months away from tennis didn't sound like that much, but there was the challenger she was supposed to go into. She couldn't hold a racket for two months and she needed that scholarship. She knew she was being dramatic. She knew that worse things happened to people. She knew that she would recover from this and she would play tennis sooner rather than later. She guessed the thing that scared her the most was that she'd anger her father. She didn't know if she could handle that out of everything else.

"I'm not going anywhere, Vi," Steve promised her again and he swore he felt her cling onto him a bit tighter then.

….

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