6. Friends?

Karmen bit her lip as she listened to the Vicar at Will's funeral, feeling out of place. She'd never even had a conversation with the boy, but then again most people didn't seem to have had. She turned her head when she saw a group of young girls all crying crocodile tears, and had to force herself not to roll her eyes. The service was soon over, as everyone started to walk away, meaning that Joyce soon spotted Karmen.

"Karmen! I'm so glad you're here" Joyce smiled at her, warmly.

"I thought I should pay my respects" Karmen explained.

"Can I talk to you…in private?" Joyce queried, as Karmen nodded.

They soon found shelter under a nearby tree, as Joyce looked around shiftily.

"I don't understand what's happening. Why would someone fake my boy's death?" Joyce inquired.

"I'm as a lost as you are. I think there are a lot of puzzle pieces we're missing" Karmen told her.

"Everyone thinks I'm crazy" Joyce sighed.

"You're not. It's just…this whole situation is crazy. That's all" Karmen insisted.

"Thank you" Joyce replied, looking relieved.

"Do you know where Jonathan is? I'd like to talk to him" Karmen inquired.

"Um…he was here a minute ago" Joyce said, looking around.

"I'll go search" Karmen informed her, but Joyce stopped her.

"I don't mean to pry into my son's life but…is there something going on with you two?" Joyce asked, a hint of a smirk on her face.

"Uh…no. No, we're just friends" Karmen shrugged.

"Okay, okay" Joyce smiled, putting her hands up in mock defence.

"I'm just saying Jonathan would be lucky to have you" Joyce went on, as Karmen shook her head, fondly.

She soon found Jonathan, and frowned when she spotted Nancy sitting next to him. Her frown deepened when she saw Nancy hug him, as Karmen started to walk away. She was so confused. Nancy and Jonathan…it seemed so crazy only a few days ago. But now it seemed like the pair had grown close, and she wasn't going to let jealously get in the way of that.

She was on her way back into the woods to look for Will and Barb, when she practically bumped into a familiar face. She would have fallen backwards, if the person hadn't reached out for her, pulling them towards them.

"Jesus, Steve. Were you trying to lunge at me or…?" Karmen exclaimed, as Steve sighed in response.

"Sorry, I was just…all in my head" Steve replied, realising he was still holding her, and let go.

"Girlfriend troubles?" Karmen suggested.

"What? No. Me and Nancy are great" Steve told her.

"Then why are you walking away from her house?" Karmen inquired.

"Well because…she didn't want to see me" Steve admitted.

"You know maybe you should just give her some space. I reckon her head's probably all over the place right now too" Karmen explained.

"She said there's still no word on Barb. I'm sorry. I know you two were close" Steve stated.

"She's not the first person I've lost…I doubt she'll be the last" Karmen mumbled, making Steve frown.

"I better go" Karmen said, a moment later, trying to change the subject.

"Where are you off to?" Steve questioned.

"The woods. Everyone else might have stopped looking for Barb, but I'm not" Karmen shrugged.

"I'll come with you" Steve insisted.

"You really don't have to-" Karmen started, but he cut her off.

"No, I want to. Seriously. It's partly my fault she's gone missing. I want to help" Steve informed her.

"Steve Harrington actually taking responsibility for something? Are you feeling okay?" Karmen mocked, as Steve rolled his eyes.

"I told you before. I'm not as big of a jerk as you think I am" Steve exclaimed.

They had been searching the woods for a couple of hours when Karmen noticed Steve was beginning to lag behind her.

"I'm not going to have to carry you, am I?" Karmen giggled.

"No…I'm all good" Steve panted, brushing it off.

"Let's stop for a few minutes" Karmen suggested.

"No, really. I'm great. Let's keep going" Steve insisted, not liking that a girl was showing him up.

"Well I'm actually tried so…" Karmen trailed off, coming to a stop.

"Oh, okay then. I mean if you need a rest" Steve stated, as Karmen tried not to laugh.

Karmen took a bottle of water out of her bag, and began to gulp it down seeing as it was a hot day.

"I'm thinking that maybe we should be looking for somewhere that Barb might try to hide out. Somewhere she'd feel protected" Karmen suggested, as Steve gestured for her to pass him the water.

"Maybe even a place where someone might keep her locked up, it could…what? What is it?" Karmen questioned, when she saw Steve's face.

"Why does this water taste…peachy?" Steve inquired.

"Oh…my lip balm. Peach" Karmen shrugged.

"Wouldn't have taken you for a peach kinda girl" Steve smirked, as Karmen shook her head.

"Well what would you have expected?" Karmen queried, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know…something icy" Steve replied.

"Oh, wow. Thanks" Karmen exclaimed.

"I don't mean it like that, it's just…you don't exactly seem to like me. Or pretty much anyone" Steve explained.

"Look, there's the same people in every school. The popular ones, the jocks, the nerds, the misfits, and the rebels. This school is no different" She shrugged.

"I'm not a stereotype, Karmen" Steve told her, a little hurt.

"Maybe not…but I'm not even going to be here long enough to find out" Karmen mumbled.

"What do you mean?" Steve frowned.

"Nothing" Karmen brushed it off.

"You know this whole mysterious thing…it's not really working" Steve went on.

"Look, you don't know me, Steve" Karmen insisted, starting to get angry.

"No, I don't. No one does. Because you don't let anyone in" Steve retorted.

"Oh, and what you're a psychologist now?" Karmen questioned, as Steve shook his head.

"What are you running from, Karmen?" Steve asked, a genuinely concerned look on his face.

Before either one of them could say anything else, Steve had noticed that Karmen's nose had begun to bleed.

"Holy shit…are you okay?" Steve inquired.

"Yeah, I'm fine" Karmen replied, as she wiped away the blood with a tissue.

Seconds later, she began to feel dizzy, as it felt like an invisible force was trying to knock her over. She would have fallen if Steve had not been there to catch her, placing his arms around her waist, and helping her to the ground.

"Hey, it's okay. Just stay still" Steve told her, as he touched her face, gently.

After a couple of minutes, Karmen's eyes stopped being so glazed over, and she began to feel better. Steve still hand one hand touching Karmen's face, as he thumb softly stroked her cheek. Karmen's breath stuttered momentarily when her eyes connected with Steve's intense gaze. She quickly pulled away from him, and unconsciously licked her lips, making Steve's eyes travel there. They both shook their heads a little, feeling as if they had been in a trance for the last few minutes. Suddenly a young blonde girl, in a pink dress, ran past them, only missing Steve by a few inches.

"Hey! Watch it, kid" Steve shouted.

"What was she doing out here?" Karmen queried.

"I don't know…we should probably head back. It's getting late" Steve insisted, as Karmen nodded.

Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Really enjoying writing about Steve/Karmen's developing relationship and hopefully they'll be a lot more fluff to come. Please leave a review:)

Micky-Moo: Thanks for the review! I hope you like this chapter:)