Steve had gone to Violet's house, but she wasn't there. Her dad's car wasn't in the driveway either. He'd sat on the porch and prepared to wait until she came back. He'd seen the newspaper article or, more accurately, his father had shown it to him that morning and demanded for him to break it off with Violet before he was named in the newspaper. As things currently stood, the source had not named names of who the couple was that Violet had broken up, but Steve knew it was only a matter of time before it got out. He wondered if, perhaps, Carol and Tommy were behind the smear campaign. He wouldn't put it past them. They seemed to have it out for her.

But Steve wasn't going to break up with her. He wasn't going to let her go through this on her own. No. He was going to be by her side every step of the way, no matter what came at them. Waiting patiently, Steve let his mind wander to Violet. He knew that she'd be upset, as she should rightfully be. He wasn't sure how she was going to respond, however, or what she would want to do. He guessed that a lot of it came down to her choice. He just knew that she was going to be distraught for the time being.

"Steve?"

Looking up, Steve had been so lost in his own thoughts that he hadn't heard another car pull into the driveway. He glanced up from where he was sat on the top step of her porch. "Nancy?" he replied. "Jonathan?"

They'd come together and Steve had a feeling that the two of them were closer than they were letting on. He wondered why Nancy hadn't told him, but it wasn't as if the two of them had been close in recent weeks. They'd hardly seen each other. Steve moved to his feet, rolling the sleeves of his blue jacket up his forearms.

"Is Violet not in?" Nancy wondered, standing at the bottom step.

Jonathan stood by her side, eyes flickering around. Nancy folded her arms over her chest, crumpling the long, black coat she wore that was fastened around her body.

"I don't know where she is," Steve said. "I knocked, but she wasn't answering. Her dad's car isn't here either, so I imagine he's with her…or I hope he is, anyway."

"We just wanted to come and see if she was alright," Jonathan said.

"You read the article?"

"I think everyone in Hawkins has seen it," Nancy replied and she went to sit down on the step beneath the one Steve was stood on. He sat back down and Jonathan also perched next to Nancy, the three of them crowded around and prepared to wait for Violet to get back home. "It's utter bullshit. She never led that guy on at that party. She told us what had happened and she wouldn't lie about that. She would never lie about something like that."

"We know that, but that's because we know her," Jonathan said. He had spent the past hour trying to calm Nancy down, but he knew that it was useless. When she was riled up about something, it was hard to calm her down. "Other people don't know her and we both know that scandal sells newspapers."

"It's just so unfair," Nancy exasperated. "And then this entire thing about her stealing you," she pointed at Steve. "I mean, I know that things haven't been conventional, but it's not as if she stole you from me…and I would never go to the press and say that. I would never betray her like that. Besides, you two are made for each other and it's not as if I'm laid in bed heartbroken because you ruined my life."

"Glad to hear it," Steve said, not entirely sure what he should say back to that.

"I just…I mean…" Nancy said, trying to find the best way to tell Steve the truth. "I was hurt by what happened, but mainly because Violet was my friend and I just wanted her to be honest with me. I guess, like, the fact that we broke up…you were right…I don't think what we ever had was love. I see how you are with Violet and how she is with you and that's love. I get that."

"And we never meant to hurt you."

"I know," Nancy said. "And I'm fine. Besides," she looked down to Jonathan and he picked his gaze up from his lap and turned to her, lips turning upwards slightly. Nancy reached down for his hand and Steve smiled at the sight. "We might have something to tell you."

"I can see that," Steve chuckled.

"Yeah," Jonathan just breathed out.

"Hey, I'm happy for you both," Steve said. "As long as you're both happy then that's all that matters."

"Yeah, we are," Nancy confirmed. "And you and Violet? I haven't seen her much since that night at Jonathan's house, but you're both still together, right?"

"We're good," Steve said. "She's busy getting ready for the Australian Open and I'm flying out with her for the tournament too. Her dad invited me and she wants me to come. Then again, that was before today. God only know how she's going to take the news."

"You think she'll be able to handle it?"

"She's tough," Jonathan was the one to speak confidently. "She's gone through a lot worse than this."

They nodded their agreement and just engaged in menial conversation until Violet's dad pulled back into the driveway. They stood up quickly and Steve spotted Violet in the passenger seat. She climbed out and her eyes danced over the three of them on her porch before finally landing on Steve. He cocked his head, a sympathetic look forming on his face as Donnie also walked around the front of the car. Violet looked away from Steve and followed her dad, looking to the ground instead and Steve let out a deep breath, knowing just what he had to do.

"What are you all doing here?" Donnie questioned.

"We read the news," Nancy said. "We wanted to see if Violet was alright and see if we can help."

"That's really sweet of you," Donnie said, tone genuine. "Perhaps you should all come in and we can talk about it? Make sure we're away from prying ears?"

Nancy and Jonathan nodded their agreement and Steve looked around the houses across the street. There were twitching curtains and he knew that they would all be ready to gossip about Violet. Steve shook his head and moved in between Nancy and Jonathan to walk down the steps. Donnie walked past Steve, hand going to his shoulder for a brief second and squeezing it. He fished his keys out of his pocket and went to let them into the house, but Steve blocked Violet from following them inside. Instead, he stood in front of her and gave her no other option but to look at him.

"We should go in," she whispered, her voice hoarse and her eyes rimmed red. She'd been crying and she couldn't hide it.

"In a minute," Steve said and he went to wrap his arms around her, but she stepped back.

Jonathan, Nancy and Donnie went into the house, giving the two of them a minute, leaving the door ajar. Steve kept his arms outstretched to Violet and he saw her looking around. She shook her head and tried to lower his arm to walk around him. "People might see," she said.

"You think I care?" Steve demanded to know from her.

"You should because I don't want you dragged into this. I don't want you to be involved and get hurt," Violet said.

"I don't care about getting hurt," Steve said to her with a firm shake of his head and he closed the distance between them, his arms going around her. Whoever wanted to watch could watch, he didn't care. "I only care about being with you, okay? And I'm not going to let you do this. I'm not going to let you push me away to try and protect me. You've tried to do that before and it never worked. And you're not doing it this time."

"But-"

"-No buts," Steve interrupted and his grip around her increased and she laid her head on his shoulder, her warm breath tickling his neck as she let out a deep breath. "I'm not going to let you go through this alone."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure," Steve assured her, kissing the top of her head. "I've got you, Vi. I've got you."

…

Donnie hadn't wanted to bring in a PR professional, but in the end he needed someone who was able to handle scandal. It had been a long week and Violet had gone to school and come home, not doing anything in between that. She'd been subjected to people staring at her and whispering behind her back, but Steve had refused to drop her hand whenever they walked through the halls together. Nancy and Jonathan were usually not far away and neither were Jacob and Daisy. Between the five of them, they'd promised not to leave Violet alone either.

A statement had been released saying that the story was a fabrication and the PR rep had even gone so far as to say that they could sue for defamation. Of course, they might not win as evidence was limited, but it might be enough to get the paper to issue an apology or clarification. But Donnie didn't want to threaten legal action. If anything went ahead then he didn't have the funds to see it through and he wasn't taking Violet's money.

And that was why he knew he had to go to his ex-wife. He'd met her out of town in some fancy hotel restaurant. She was already sat there, drinking a cup of tea. There was someone playing the piano in the corner and the room was full of trays of afternoon tea, round tables and white tablecloths. Donnie tugged at the tie he wore as he entered the restaurant and headed to his ex-wife.

He sat down across from her as she held her cup in her fingertips. She was wearing a fitted sleeveless white dress, hair in curls and flowing down her back. Her legs were crossed underneath the table and her eyes were fixed on Donnie, eagerly watching him as he sat down, clearly on edge to meet with her.

"Thanks for agreeing to this," he said, figuring it was better to keep things cordial.

"I was intrigued more than anything," Mariana said to her ex-husband. "You sounded desperate on the phone. Should I know what this is about?"

"Mariana," Donnie sighed her name. "Come on."

He knew that she'd seen the news. She wasn't dense. She had to have known why he'd come to see her. He just wondered if she wanted him to get down on his knees and beg her for a favour. She would probably like that and Donnie would probably do it because he was desperate enough.

"That news article?" Mariana checked, arching a perfectly manicured brow and placing her cup down on the saucer. "I honestly had no idea that Victor was going to go to the press…of course…I suppose he is well within his right. Is it true about her breaking up a couple in school too? I assume it's that boy from next door?"

"Steve," Donnie confirmed. "She's with Steve now. He's not a bad kid and he makes her happy. She seems to like him too and she…she's been happy, Mariana. She's been happier than I've seen her in a long time."

Mariana said nothing to that. There was no smile of her own at the news. There was no comment about her wanting that for Violet. But there was no malicious comment either. It seemed that she was struggling to find the right words to say.

"But she still doesn't sleep in her bedroom," Donnie continued. "She tried, but she couldn't fall asleep. She's been too scared to go back in there after what Victor almost did to her…and I know that you didn't believe her, but she's not lying about it, Mariana. That man tried to attack our little girl. He could've hurt her and she…you know what the worst part is? I don't think she's really upset about him. I think she's upset that you didn't believe her. Her own mother didn't believe her."

Closing her eyes, Mariana almost looked remorseful and Donnie hoped that he was able to get through to her. He didn't think that he could handle an argument, but he would have one if he needed to because he was going to defend Violet with each breath he had.

"What do you want from me, Donald?" Mariana questioned.

"Are you still friends with that editor?"

"I see," Mariana said, understanding what her ex was after. "You want me to make the story go away?"

"Because it's not true," Donnie said. "I've tried to bury it, but it's proving difficult. The PR firm wants us to fight fire with fire, but this is Violet, Mariana, she doesn't do well with confrontation and she shouldn't have to. She's a seventeen-year-old-girl. She shouldn't need to be defending herself from some creep who would've raped her."

"You know she needs to toughen up if she's going to keep going down this route?" Mariana checked. "If she keeps on playing and keeps on winning then there's going to be a lot more stories that come out about her. People will try to bring her down anyway they can."

"I know that," Donnie said. "But it can't be personal like this…and I want to protect her…but I need to work out how to. I know that things have not been great between us. I do understand that, but this is Violet. I know that you love her, Mariana. I know that you do care about her because she's your daughter. She's your little girl."

There was silence again and Mariana sniffed haughtily, turning her face up and looking away. "She doesn't want anything to do with me. She made that perfectly clear."

"And can you blame her? We've both treated her terribly."

"I don't know, she seems to love you judging by the photos of her at Wimbledon," Mariana said, remembering staring at the pictures for such a long time as her daughter hugged her father.

"I'm trying to set things right," Donnie said. "It's taken time and we're still not there, but we're working on it. If you wanted to work on it then she-"

"-She made her feelings for me obvious," Mariana said. "And now you want me to help her?"

"I want you to help her because you want to help her," Donnie retorted. "Because you want to make sure she's okay…do you not remember…when she was two and we bought her that paddling pool? She would splash around in it all day and never get bored. You'd sit in the deckchair just reading your magazine…leaving her to it."

"She was so loud and made so much mess," Mariana said with a roll of her eyes. "What does this have to do with anything?"

"Do you remember when she slipped in the pool and banged her head?" Donnie asked. "I was working in my study, but I just heard her let out this massive yell. I was going to run to come out…but you were already there…scooping her out of the water and carrying her back to the chair, checking her head for cuts and bruises…you kept an eye on her for the rest of the day as well, even going in the pool with her. You heard her cry and you protected her, Mariana."

She did remember it well. She remembered not entirely knowing whether or not she should take Violet to the hospital or if she would be okay.

"I know neither of us planned to have a child and settle down. I know that you found it difficult being a stay-at-home-mother and maybe I should've done more to help you. Maybe I could've been better…and maybe I've left it too late to be better, but I'm trying. I am trying the best I can. And you tried too once. You tried to protect that little girl who fell and hit her head. Violet is still that little girl. She is still our little girl and she needs protecting."

Donnie swore he saw Mariana quickly wipe the corner of her eye and he wondered if she had been crying. He didn't comment on it, however. He just remained where he was, waiting for her to say something. He sat up straight, hands in his lap and heart hammering against his chest. Finally, though, Mariana picked her cup up, sniffing loudly and turning her nose in the air.

"I'll see what I can do," she told him. Donnie looked surprised and Mariana did her best not to roll her eyes at his expression. "Shocked?"

"I just thought that you might want something from the divorce settlement," Donnie confessed.

She laughed lightly. "Donald, trust me, I don't need to take my money back from you," she assured him and Donnie just nodded his head and moved to his feet. Mariana watched him button his suit jacket back up before she spoke again. "Are you taking her to Australia? For the Open?"

"I'll be with her," Donnie said with a nod of his head.

"Just…well…take care of her. It's a long way and there's a lot of pressure on her shoulders."

Donnie knew that was his wife's way of asking him to look out for their daughter, even though she couldn't say it herself. His lips turned upwards slightly and he nodded his head, walking past her and laying his hand on her arm for a brief moment as he walked away from her.

…

Christmas was soon approaching and that meant the dance was also coming up. Steve had been with Dustin to help him pick out a suit and had told him that he would drive him there. Violet had told Max that she could give her a lift and then her and Steve were going to grab dinner and wait for the dance to finish before they drove them all back home. Somehow, the story about Violet had disappeared and an apology had been issued by the newspaper the following day. Violet's marketing deals and sponsorship had weathered the storm, but that didn't mean that people at school had stopped talking about her. Violet ignored them most of the time, but there were times when she struggled.

She had been on the court, practicing her serve on the final day of semester. She was flying out to Australia in between Christmas and New Year with her dad and Steve. Her dad had also told her that Steve was welcome at their house for Christmas. He hadn't told her how he had buried the story or gotten an apology, but Violet had her suspicions that involved her mother. She wasn't sure if she was correct, but she knew her mother had connections.

"Well, well, well, look who it is."

Violet hit another ball across the net, watching it land in the opposite box and she groaned inwardly. She looked to the side and saw Carol and her four cronies making their way onto the courts, hands stuffed in their pockets. Violet went to put her racket away and grab her white zip up jacket, shrugging into it and doing it up.

"What do you want, Carol?" Violet wondered.

"Just wondered who you had to blow to get that story to vanish?" Carol wondered and Violet rolled her eyes behind her back. "It seems to be a talent of yours…getting older man under your spell…maybe we had it wrong all this time and its not Virgin Violet but the Hawkins' Harlot."

Her friends laughed and Violet turned to face her, cheeks red and hair slicked back into a ponytail, sweat beading at her forehead. "Did you come up with that by yourself or did you all have to put your brains together?"

Carol moved towards Violet first before the four others followed her. "You think you're something, don't you?" Carol spat at her. "You've always looked down your nose at us, but wait until your tennis career stops…I can't wait to see you get beat at the Open."

"Well, at least I'll be doing something instead of waiting round for Tommy to call," Violet said.

Carol scoffed. "You only wish that Tommy had been interested in someone like you?"

"Trust me, I never wished that. I'm more than content with Steve."

"And you think he's not going to get bored of you? Please. Harrington goes through girls quicker than anyone round here. You'll be tossed off to the side in no time…a toy he doesn't want to play with. Does he know that you gave your virginity up to that curator? Me and Tommy had a bet that he only wanted you because it's been a long time since he's had someone so inexperienced."

"Heaven forbid he actually loves me, huh?"

Carol laughed and the others followed suit, cackling loudly and then calming down. "Loves you?" Carol asked. "You think he loves you? Oh my God, he's done a number on you. You know, when we used to hang out, we'd joke that no one would ever want you…I mean…look at you…no ass or tits…you're like a stick. Steve used to joke that you'd probably stay a virgin until you were middle-aged because you were so frigid."

Violet winced at that. She looked at the gleam in Carol's eye and she shook her head. "You're lying."

"Want to know what else he said about you?"

"Get out of my way," Violet demanded and she tried to grab her bag, but Carol stood in her way.

"He used to say that you were awkward…that your parents probably locked you in the basement as a kid and that's why you have no social skills…said he was amazed you hadn't come out completely deformed."

"Just leave me alone!" Violet snapped at her. She was lying. Steve would never say that stuff. She knew that he wouldn't. Violet tried to get by her, but Carol pushed her backwards.

"She's crying," Carol howled with laughter. "Aww…little baby, Violet…thought that Harrington really loved her…"

They all kept laughing and Violet just wanted to scream and get them away from her. She wanted to run. She wanted to leave and get away from them, but they were surrounding her, crowding her and keeping her trapped in the middle of them all. Violet swore she was about to lash out as the jeers just kept on coming towards her.

"What the hell is going on here?"

Violet felt Carol nudge her and she fell to the floor as the five of them stood in front of her. Carol twirled her hair around her finger and chewed loudly on her gum as her friends also smiled widely and Violet just stayed on the floor behind them, not bothering to move to her feet.

"Hey, Billy," Carol said, voice rising an octave.

He didn't bother to respond to her, instead he just stretched an arm out and moved in between the line of them, seeing Violet on the floor. "You alright?" he asked from Violet.

"She's fine…just tripped," Carol said and Billy noticed the tears in her eyes. She sniffed loudly and moved to her feet; grateful she hadn't scraped herself on her fall. "What brings you here, Billy?"

"All the screaming," Billy said and he looked over Violet as she glanced to the floor and tried to wipe her eyes quickly without being spotted. Billy looked over to Carol and her smile faltered as she spotted his nostrils flare and his eyes glimmer with agitation. He clearly wasn't amused with her. "You know, Carol, if you want to pick on someone then you might want to try doing it without a gang. I wouldn't put money on you besting Violet here…reckon she could knock you out with just one serve. She's got a great aim."

"She…why…you…"

"No?" Billy asked. "Then I'd suggest you maybe just get out of here and stop letting your jealousy come out. Little tip for you, guys don't go for girls who are jealous…makes them ugly…"

Carol's mouth gaped, but her friends were already getting her to dash off, tugging on her arm and forcing her to rush away. Billy turned his head over his shoulder and watched her scurry off before he looked back to Violet. He dropped his hands to his hips as she stood with her hands in her pockets.

"You alright?" he wondered.

"You didn't need to get involved," Violet assured him.

"Figured you could do with a hand," he said nonchalantly. "Not too keen on seeing people ganged up on. Doesn't make for a fair fight."

Violet didn't say anything back to him. She just stood there and he saw that her eyes were glassy like she was ready to start crying. He sighed loudly and Violet just looked at him, seeing that his leather jacket was open around his frame and his black shirt had several buttons undone, revealing the top of his chest and the silver chain around his neck.

"Thanks," Violet said to him and he met her eye. He swallowed hard and nodded once.

"Don't mention it," he urged from her. "Still no chance of date though, I guess?"

She did smile softly at that and he wasn't sure why his own lips arched at the sight of it. "I need to get going," she deflected and then he spotted the blood on the back of her leg as she walked past him to her tennis bag.

"You're bleeding," he pointed out.

"Where?"

"There," he said, pointing to the back of her leg and she bent over and he watched how the skirt of her skorts rode up her thighs, her legs long and skinny. She wiped the blood away, but she was struggling to turn around and see it. "Do you have a plaster?"

"Yeah," Violet said. "Dad insists that I keep them in my bag. He knows that I can be injury prone."

She reached into her tennis bag and tugged out a box of plasters. She peeled one off and tried to put it on the back of her calf, but she struggled. Billy rolled his eyes and knelt down to the side of her.

"What're you doing?" she asked as he took it from her. "Hargrove, I can manage-"

"-You can't see what you're doing," he interrupted her. "Just stay still."

She felt him place the plaster on her leg, his fingers warm against her skin and he noted how she shuddered for a moment before he stood up, his hands running up her leg more than it had to before letting her go, his fingers twitching reflexively and Violet turned to face him. "Thanks," she said again.

"See? I'm not as bad as you think I am."

"I don't know, I think it takes more than that," she said and picked her tennis bag up, slinging it onto her shoulder. "You did nearly break my dad's nose," she reminded him.

"Then what does it take?" he questioned, thumbs going into the pocket of his jeans.

He watched her mull his question over as she walked backwards and away from him. "Be nice to your sister," she settled on saying and a laugh escaped Billy and he shook his head in disbelief before Violet turned her back on him and headed back to the car park, prepared to talk to Steve about what had just happened.

…

Steve was stood by his car and he was waiting for Violet so that he could drive her home. He saw her approaching, still dressed in her tennis kit with her big tennis bag on her shoulder. He popped the trunk and took it from her.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," Violet said and he noticed the look on her face. He frowned as he placed the bag in the trunk and shut it. He frowned, hand going to brush some stray hairs that had fallen out of her ponytail from her cheek behind her ear.

"You alright?" he asked her.

"Just…I had a run-in with Carol," Violet said. "And she was saying all of this stuff about what you used to say about me and I…I mean…I didn't believe her because she was trying to get a rise out of me."

"Yeah, no, of course not," Steve said, but there was something in his voice that made Violet think that he was hiding something. He quickly looked away from her and went to open the passenger side door for her. But she didn't get in the car. She stood there with her arms folded over her chest. "Do you want to grab something from the diner tonight?"

"Steve?" Violet pushed him, sensing that something wasn't quite right. He also knew that Violet wasn't going to stop pushing him. Steve sighed and he knew he could lie his way out of this, but he also knew that she saw straight through him.

"I was a jerk. You know that. It was before we started spending time together…I was mean about most people…but that's not who I am now…come on, Vi, you know me."

"Are you serious?" Violet snapped at him and Steve shrugged, moving his hand from the door and going back towards her, but she took a step back from him. "You used to say those horrible things about me?"

"No! What? It was never anything horrendous-"

"-That I grew up locked in a basement because my parents couldn't stand me? That you were amazed I wasn't deformed when they finally let me out?" Violet snapped at him and he scratched the back of his neck, cheeks turning red from embarrassment. Violet felt an anger boil inside of her stomach and she kept on pushing him. "That I was a virgin because I was frigid…would stay that way because I'd let no guy close…and who would want to get close to a stick with no tits and ass, right?"

"Vi, come on, that's not…I didn't…I just…"

"Is that why you're with me? Some kind of bet that you can get the school freak?"

"No!" Steve snapped loudly, hand slicing the air. "Violet, come on, you know that's not why I'm with you. I'm with you because I love you. I was a douche. I was an idiot for saying any of those things…for agreeing with Tommy and Carol when they said them…I was just a kid…I was a stupid kid…you know that I love you. You know that I think you're amazing."

"She said that I was an idiot for thinking that you loved me."

"She's the idiot!" Steve snapped back at his girlfriend. "She's trying to get between us because she knows I was a jerk. Don't let her get between us, Vi, come on. You know I love you. I love everything about you…please…I know what I said was wrong and I'm not pretending it wasn't…but just…I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry that I was a massive idiot."

"Yeah…I'm sorry too," Violet replied and she turned to walk away from him, leaving her tennis bag in his trunk. She felt herself beginning to cry and Steve shouted after her, following her and trying to catch her up, but she was quicker than he was. Walking across the parking lot, she intended on just walking home or walking to Daisy's. She just didn't want to be in a car with Steve. As she came to the road out of the parking lot, a car came to a screech next to her.

"Need a ride?"

She looked down and saw Billy with his window rolled down, cigarette in his mouth. She walked around the back of his car and opened the passenger door.

"Violet! Vi!" Steve shouted after her. "Violet!"

She ignored him as she shut the door and Billy sped off. Violet started crying loudly, sobs wracking her body as Steve just stood in the middle of the road, hands on the back of his head and cursing himself for hurting her.