19. Locker Room Fights

"What do you mean? What do you see?" Steve queried, as Joyce suddenly went rushing past them to her son.

"Will! Will!" She cried, as she held him by the shoulders.

"It's some sort of aura…like with the Demogorgon but bigger. Lot's bigger" She told him, as the black mass continued to swirl around Will.

"How much bigger?" Steve frowned.

"Probably about 80 foot bigger" She gulped.

"Will, wake up! Please wake up" Joyce begged her son.

"What's it doing?" Steve asked her, annoyed that he couldn't see anything.

"It's just circling him…but…I think it's getting smaller now" She realised.

"Well where's it going?" Steve inquired.

A moment later, Will's eyes abruptly opened, as even Joyce took a step back in shock.

"Wait I don't see it anymore…it's just disappeared" Karmen frowned.

"That's good, isn't it?" Steve suggested.

"Yeah…but where did it go?" Karmen mumbled.

Karmen frowned as Will walked over to them and she realised she could no longer see his usual blue aura. It was as if something was masking it.

"Is he okay?" Karmen questioned.

"Yes, he's fine now. We just need to get him home" Joyce told her, as she rushed him past them.

"I thought everything to do with the Upside Down was over…but it's not, is it?" Steve theorised.

"Something's trying to get through" Karmen suggested.

The next day, Steve was trying to have a shower after being thrashed again by Billy, but his luck wasn't changing.

"So, I hear the Princess and the freak's brother both skipped yesterday and still haven't shown? Must be a coincidence, right?" Billy smirked, as he joined him.

"Do you ever stop talking?" Steve rolled his eyes.

"No need to get defensive, Harrington. There's plenty of bitches left in the sea" Billy went on.

"With charm like that, it's a mystery to why you're single" Steve retorted.

"What can I say? Just haven't found the right girl…although maybe that's about to change. I saw Karmen watching from the seats today…and that skirt she was wearing…" Billy trailed off, with a whistle.

"Don't talk about her" Steve growled, turning directly to face him.

"Why? What are you going to do about it?" Billy said, getting up in Steve's personal space.

Steve's hands were in fists, as he had to physically restrain himself from throwing Billy across the room. But he knew he couldn't. He was already doing badly in school, a fight in the locker rooms was not going to help that.

"You're pathetic" Billy laughed, as he put a towel around his waist.

"Whatever, man" Steve dismissed, grabbing his own towel and walking out of the showers to his locker.

"You know she's only friends with you is because she feels sorry for you, right? You only became friends after you alienated everyone from your life. She pities you" Billy continued, following him to his locker.

"At least she is my friend. You disgust her" Steve told him.

"Please…how long do you think she's going to be able to resist me?" Billy grinned.

"That's never going to happen" Steve shook his head, as he went to open his locker.

"She wanted me at Halloween…she'll want me again. And you know it" Billy stated, holding his locker door closed.

"She was just drunk. She has better taste than that" Steve pointed out.

"Better taste? Wait…you don't…holy shit, do you like her?" Billy mocked.

"What? No! Of course not. I meant…I didn't…" Steve stuttered, as Billy's grin grew.

"She'll leave you soon. Just like your mummy and daddy…and you'll be all alone-" Billy started, but he was cut off when Steve slammed him into the lockers, hands on his shoulders.

"There he is! Go on, King Steve. Show me what you've got!" Billy insisted.

Steve raised his hand back, about to hit Billy when he heard someone call his name from the side. He turned to see Karmen standing there, a shocked expression her face. He instantly backed away from Billy, ashamed that he had been so easily goaded. Before anyone could say anything, the coach came rushing in, clearly confused at the scene in front of him.

"I heard there was a fight going on" He frowned, as Tommy followed him.

Steve quickly put two and two together and realised that Billy must have gotten Tommy to get the coach and was hoping to catch Steve hitting him. However, he hadn't expected Karmen to arrive.

"Uh, no Coach. We were just getting changed" Steve responded.

"Is that true, Hargrove? I heard a bang" The Coach asked.

"Steve just couldn't get his locker open and Billy was helping him" Karmen suggested.

"Right…well just hurry up and get changed. And you, Miss Dixon, shouldn't be in here" The coach pointed out, as Karmen put her hands up and began to walk away.

A few minutes after the coach left, Karmen came back into the changing rooms, where both boys now had their shorts on. There had been a tense silence ever since she left.

"You really think getting Tommy to do your dirty work is a good idea?" Karmen announced.

"I don't know what you're talking about, sweetheart" Billy grinned, as he turned to look at her.

He could barely contain his annoyance as he saw that her gaze was firmly on Steve, not even giving him a second's glance. He scoffed as Steve's obliviousness to her checking him out, and picked up his bag and left the room, shoving past Karmen as he did so.

"Thanks for having my back" Steve smiled at her.

"Always" She replied.

"How did she sound on the phone?" Steve asked, as they pulled up to the Byers house.

"She said everything was fine…but her voice was shaking. There's something wrong with Will. I can feel it" Karmen sighed.

"Do you think Jonathan will be there?" Steve questioned.

"No, she said he's gone somewhere with Nancy…I guess they're back together now" Karmen mumbled.

"It was only a matter of time I guess…hey, should I just stay out here? I mean, I've never exactly been nice to Jonathan" Steve pointed out.

"Joyce won't mind. Besides, I want you there. We need to find out what's going on" Karmen went on, as Steve nodded.

"Why did we become friends, Karmen?" Steve asked, out of the blue.

"What?" Karmen laughed, confused at the weird question.

"I'm guessing you didn't hear what Billy said in the lockers then" Steve mumbled.

"We became friends because I like you and your dorky ways, and you like the fact that fact that I give good hugs and always have food" She suggested, making him laugh.

They walked over to the house, that gave them both bad memories, and knocked on the door. A frazzled looking Joyce answered, surprised to see the pair there.

"Karmen? What are you doing here?" Joyce queried.

"We came to help" Karmen announced.

"He's better now" Joyce told her, as she went to close the door.

"I saw something…from the Upside Down. It was all around Will" Karmen blurted out.

"What was it?" Joyce inquired.

"I don't know, but it scared the crap out of me. You need our help, Joyce" Karmen insisted.

"…Alright, you better come in" She sighed, opening the door wide for the pair to enter.

"Okay…this is…different" Steve commented, his eyes widening as he looked around the room.

There were hundreds of pictures stuck to the walls, floor and ceiling, that all seemed to connect. It reminded Karmen of all the Christmas lights that Joyce had put up the year before.

"Where is he?" Karmen asked.

"He's in his room. He's pretty upset" A different voice told them, as Karmen turned to see Mike standing there.

"Do you really think you can help him?" Joyce asked.

"There's only one way to find out" Karmen answered, as she began to walk down the corridor.

Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'm going to try and have Steve a bit more integrated into the storyline and interacting with more of the characters so that will be fun. There's also going to be more Billy coming up (he and Karmen will definitely not be getting together, don't worry). Please leave a review:)

teenwolfismylife101: Don't worry, it's not a stupid question, haha. I did explain it more in this chapter, but basically Karmen can see the creatures aura, but not the actual creature itself. Thanks for the review:)

RebornRose1992: Thank you!

Micky-Moo: Steve does need to get his act together, doesn't he? He and Karmen will be pushed closer together as the story continues and he starts to come to terms with his feelings.

LIsa: Aw, thank you so much:) I'm really glad you're enjoying this story!