𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑻𝑾𝑶: 𝑫𝑬𝑨𝑳 𝑨𝑳𝑺𝑶 𝑲𝑵𝑶𝑾𝑵 𝑨𝑺 𝑻𝑹𝑰𝑪𝑲 𝑶𝑹 𝑻𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑻, 𝑭𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑲
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Julie groaned as she heard the phone on her bedside table ringing. The girl groggily rolled onto her stomach, letting out a tired yawn, as she reached over to check the time on her bedside table clock. Who on Earth was calling her at 6am? Juliet threw her head back in annoyance before she grabbed the plastic phone of the hanger beside her bed.

"What?" She said bitterly. She had just woken up and didn't care how rude she sounded right now.

"Hello, to you too Henderson," The grating voice of Steve Harrington blared through the phone, causing her to groan in irritation as she contemplated ending the call right then and there. "Before you hang up, just listen to me."

Juliet furrowed her eyebrows and wondered if he had some strange mind-reading ability. "You have ten seconds."

"Right, okay um," He muttered trying to think of what to say.

"One, Two, Thre-"

"Shut up!" Steve exclaimed down the line fed up with her. How was he ever meant to have a serious conversation with her if she just had to be so irritating. "Okay, we need to stop," He said sternly before he sighed. "For Nancy's sake."

"That's sounds like we're hooking up or some shit," Juliet whispered to herself. It was to early for the girl to deal with anyone let alone Steve Harrington. She required at least another thirty minutes of sleep before dealing with Steve's behavior. "Stop what, exactly?"

"Arguing all the time," Steve answered and even though he would never verbally admit it to Julie, but he liked arguing with her it was the closest thing he could get to a friendship with her after everything that happened back in middle school.

Julie was not just woken up by Steve Harrington at six in the god damn morning for him just to say that. "And telling me this couldn't wait until school?" She snapped. "You just had to wake me up to tell me this?"

"Well yeah," He remarked after a couple of seconds. "Look I love annoying you as much as you love annoying me, but Nance doesn't love it alright," Steve told her. "Nancy told me last night that she doesn't want us fighting all the time and we're probably going to have to be around each other more often because you're her best friend and i'm her boyfriend."

"No," Juliet replied.

"What do you mean no?"

"I mean I'm not going to just sit around on my ass while you hurt yet another one of my friends, Harrington!" The Henderson girl ranted, slowly waking herself up. "You've done this since freshman year! Slowly getting with my friends so after you breakup or stop hooking up you can rub it in my face," She paused taking a breath. "You're not doing this to Nancy, okay?"

Steve sighed, "I love Nancy. This isn't like any of the other times before," He explained with a genuine tone making Juliet believe the words he was telling her. "I love her and I don't want to screw things up with her, so that means having to be the bigger person, fine."

Juliet's mind raced as she took a moment to absorb Steve's confession, her exhale carrying a mix of surprise and disbelief. "This is for Nance," She mumbled. "As long as you don't talk to me and act all friendly or some shit."

She heard Steve laughing through the phone making the corners of her lips turn upwards slightly. "No problem," Steve said and she could practically see the smug look on his face.

"Goodnight," Julie spoke before putting the phone up down and trying to get some more sleep.

☆

The girl was officially ready for the day after getting an extra thirty minutes of sleep and taking a hot shower.

After blow drying her hair, Juliet brushed back a few pieces of her blonde locks before lazily pulling them into a messy ponytail, as she preferred a relaxed and effortless look for the day considering she was going to have to get ready again for the party later. She looked at herself in the mirror in her room and nodded. Good enough.

The moment she stepped out of her room, Juliet was greeted by the sight of her mother capturing moments of Dustin in his Halloween costume.

"Well don't you just look adorable," Juliet teased as Dustin posed for the picture by lifting up the proton pack he had made for his ghostbuster's costume.

"Oh, Juliet get in there with him," Her mother ordered her once realising her oldest child had just entered the living room. With an playful eye roll and a genuine smile, Juliet made her way towards Dustin, draping her arm around his shoulders. "Oh! I want to see those pearls. Yeah!" Mrs Henderson exclaimed at the two siblings as she took another photo.

Mews let out a meow looking over at the family wanting some attention making Julie laugh as she walked over to the ginger cat and lifted him up so he was now involved in the family photoshoot too. "Who you gonna call?" The siblings mom asked before humming the ghostbuster's theme tune and snapping another photo as Dustin and Juliet posed.

Julie let her mother snap a couple more pictures before she looked down at the watch on her wrist. "Mom, we're going be late," Julie reminded her mother who often lost track of the time. "There you go Mews," She sighed setting the cat back down on to the ground.

"Come on Dustin."

☆

As the bell rang, signaling the start of study period, Juliet made her way towards the library. Juliet before she left never really used study periods to study. She usually found herself in the gap between the gym and the back entrance to the school smoking with her friend's or "talking" with what ever boy who had caught her attention that week. You might have expected that a year away from Hawkins would have made her more focused on her studies, but Julie found herself more preoccupied with finding Nancy Wheeler instead of preparing for her upcoming exams.

As Juliet entered the library, she expected to find her nerdy best friend using her study period properly. Juliet quickly scanned the library, her eyes darting from shelf to shelf and table to table in search of her brunette friend. Feeling defeated, she sighed and headed towards the library doors, disappointed that she couldn't find Nancy, in the library during her study period as she had hoped. As Juliet approached the exit, she noticed Nancy exiting one of the quiet rooms in front of her.

"Nancy, there you are," Juliet smiled until she saw the brunette boy who left the room behind her. "Harrington," She grimaced, a wave of disgust washing over her face as she imagined what likely took place in that room.

Nancy wordlessly grabbed Julie's wrist and dragged her over to where her and Steve's belongings were sat, wanting to have a conversation away from prying ears and curious onlookers who where beginning to stare at the three. "What's up?"

"I need your help," Juliet replied ignoring as Steve sat down next to Nancy. "I don't have a costume for the party. So can you pretty please use your genius brain and help me think of something." Julie furrowed her eyebrows at Nancy as she expected her to let out even a small smile at the compliment she was just given, yet her frown she was wearing stayed the same.

"Who died?" Juliet asked bluntly looking between the couple who looked equally depressed. "Did shithead do something?" She asked staring at Nancy. "You know if he did I could beat him up for you," Julie stated. "Look- I've been needing a reason to punch him so you just say the words."

Nancy sighed before looking away from the floor and up at the Henderson girl in-front of her. "Everything's fine Julie," Nance tried to reassure but with the sad look on her face, but it did quite the opposite. "What about a cat?"

Julie's face crinkled in disgust. "Yeah, no i'm not that basic."

"Okay, okay," The brunette repeated trying to think, but one girl that she deeply missed was stuck in her thoughts. "Think of movies you like." She suggested.

Juliet fiddled with her bracelets on her wrist trying to think. "Grease, Star wars, Carrie, Oo Jaws."

"Sandy?" Nancy fired back.

"No."

"Princess Leia?" She tried again.

Juliet laughed and shook her head, finding Nancy's suggestion of dressing up as Princess Leia amusing but impractical, knowing she couldn't achieve the iconic hairstyle that symbolised the character. "I could never get my hair like that."

"Carrie?" Nance asked as she tapped her pencil. "Wait, oh I just thought of something!" Nancy exclaimed. Julie let out a slight smile as she began to see the distraction of thinking of Halloween costume was beginning to make her best friend's smile come back after what ever just happened with Steve. "Madonna?"

While contemplating Nancy's idea, Juliet was interrupted by Steve, who finally voiced his thoughts. "An angel?"

Juliet gave him a strange look. "Whatever I'll figure something out," She said dismissing Steve even though she did like his idea.

"You got a ride?" Nancy asked the blonde girl who shook her head. "Steve could give you a ride with me. Isn't that right Steve?" She asked turning towards her boyfriend with her pointed look.

Steve sighed and nodded without arguing to keep Nancy happy. Juliet and Steve exchanged a look before they both awkwardly looked away. "Just- just don't park in the driveway," Juliet mumbled.

Nancy and Steve looked at each other as Juliet felt a hand on her shoulder. "You coming to this, hot stuff?" The voice of a mullet wearing asshole asked.

Julie turned to face Billy Hargrove looking at the orange flyer in his hand. Tina must have given him one too. "It's Juliet," She corrected making Billy look down at her as his signature smirk faltered.

"What happened to Julie?" He questioned as the couple watched the interaction wondering what was happening.

"To my friends, yes," She informed him as she lazily pointed over to Nancy as an example.

Billy scoffed. "You coming to this or not, Julie?" He asked her making sure to continue to use the nickname.

"Unfortunately yes," Juliet mumbled as she grabbed her book bag and left the library, hoping to avoid another conversation with the Hargrove boy.

☆

Dustin handed his sister the missing piece to her angel costume. "And then Max and her brother almost ran us over!"

The eldest Henderson turned to her brother, shocked. "Seriously?" She asked making Dustin nod his head. "What car was it?"

"A blue one?" Dustin shrugged and then in that moment all the cogs in Julie's brain started to turn. The ginger girl she saw with Billy must have been his sister, Max.

Billy Hargrove had another thing coming for him if he not only almost ran Juliet over but now her brother.

"Billy fucking Hargrove," Juliet mumbled over her breath. "I'm going to kill him," she stated, her fingers twirling a lock of her hair.

"You know her brother, the one who nearly ran me over earlier?"

"Unfortunately," Juliet responded putting a layer of hairspray in her hair. "You remember the plan?"

Dustin nodded. "Yeah, I'll tell Mom you're away to bed early because you don't feel well and then you sneak out as I go trick or treating," He recited back to the girl. "And as long as Mom doesn't check on you, we're fine."

"God, I've raised you well," Juliet smirked as she stood up from her desk and took a look at her costume in her mirror. "Have fun trick or treating and tell the other shitheads I said happy Halloween."

Dustin didn't verbally reply but gave her a thumbs up as he walked out of her room.

Julie smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She had went with Steve's idea to go as an angel, though if he or Nancy asked her about it she would a hundred percent lie and make some excuse up because she was not giving Steve Harrington the satisfaction of knowing she liked his idea.

The white slip dress that she wore went to just a few inches below her thighs and she had white wings on that she had wore once as part of a fairy costume that worked perfectly for being an angel. Juliet fixed her blonde curls once more trying to get them to look perfect before she turned in her heels and opened her bedroom window looking out for Steve's car and like she had asked he was parked beside the entrance to the house driveway completely out of her mothers line of sight from inside the house.

The Henderson girl nervously looked down at the garage roof below her windowsill before putting one leg out of her window. It had been a while since Juliet had snuck out and she prayed that the roof hadn't gotten water damaged since she left as she finally built up the courage to get both feet onto the roof.
Sucking in a deep breath the girl kept her hand on the wall as she walked over to the ledge that she had to get down from. It was a lot higher than she remembered.

Clutching onto the drain pipe Juliet slowly manoeuvred herself down it until she had safely met the ground. A smile took over her face as she looked up at the garage roof, she had gotten out quickly and quietly without any injuries for once.

Julie rushed over to the car and hopped into the backseat. "Hey," She said in between breaths trying to catch her breath from all the climbing she had just done to get out.

Nancy turned around to her with a smile. "I love the costume."

☆

Juliet took a step inside the crowded house just slightly behind Steve and Nancy. The living room and kitchen was filled with teenagers, their laughter and chat blending into the song blasting throughout the house. The air reeked of alcohol and sweaty teenagers making Juliet slightly nauseous as she pushed away the impromptu toilet paper decorations  from her face.

Nancy and Steve stopped in front of a display case filled with fancy vases and plates that Tina's parents must have collected. Nancy looked at Juliet. "Remember Julie please don't drink to much," The brunette reminded trying to be helpful, but her words just made Julie feel annoyed, she wasn't a child and she was sick of being treated like one. "No one wants a repeat of the incident that happened last year."

"Whatever," Juliet scoffed growing sick of the constant mention of her actions last year. "I'll do what I want," She mumbled to herself as she began walking away from the couple pushing through the crowds and over the counter in the kitchen that was filled with all sorts of alcoholic beverages.

As Juliet looked at all the things set on the table, a punch bowl caught her eye. Juliet glanced at the boy next to her, who was chugging the liquid from the punch bowl. "What's in this?" she asked curiously, gesturing towards the red liquid he was currently drinking

"Pure fuel! Pure fuel!" He chanted loudly clearly drunk out of his mind making Juliet roll her eyes at him. "Whooo!" He shouted before letting out a burp close to the girls face.

"Gross," She commented under her breath, grabbing a plastic solo cup that almost every teenager at the party had in their hand and scooped up some of the spiked punch before chugging it and refilling her cup again.

Nancy walked over to blonde girl and took some of the liquid out of the punch bowl wordlessly before drinking it with a grimace on her face.

"Hey.. Whoa, Whoa!," Steve exclaimed putting his hand on Nancy's shoulder as she now began chugged down the red beverage inside of just sipping it like before. "Take it easy! Take it easy," The Harrington boy repeated while Nancy continued to ignore him. "Nance, Nance, Nance.."

As Nancy finally swallowed what was in her mouth she put her arm around Juliet's shoulder's who looked over at the Nancy and Steve confused. "We're just being stupid teenagers for the night. Wasn't that the deal?" Nancy spat bitterly at her boyfriend before taking her arm off Julie and filling up her now empty solo cup and walking off.

Steve sighed and leaned up against the counter top as Juliet finished her drink. "What happened between you and Nancy?" Julie demanded, her voice laced with frustration.

"I didn't do anything!" Steve exclaimed defensively throwing his hands up in the air.

Juliet humourlessly chuckled. "Yeah, right," She hummed. "Nancy's just acting like me all of a sudden because nothings wrong?" Julie stated sarcastically. "Go fix whatever you did, shithead," She ushered the boy out of the kitchen so he could find Nancy before filling up her cup again with a sigh. Something in her bones was practically screaming at her about how much of a shit show tonight was about to be. And Julie didn't particularly want to be sober enough to remember it.

Finishing her third cup of the punch she grabbed her cup and filled it up with something a little bit stronger than just spiked punch before walking over to a group of her friends on the make shift dance floor in Tina's living room.

☆

Abigail, Tina, Stacey and Juliet danced together in the living room laughing and cheering as their favourite songs began to play over the speaker's. Intoxicated, the Henderson girl felt euphoric and ecstatic, her body effortlessly moving to the rhythm of a song she just couldn't remember the name off.

Julie was in her own world, feeling the music deep in her soul. Everything that was stressing her out like Steve and Nancy, being back in Hawkins, the memories of last year, and even Billy Hargrove disappeared out of her mind as she focused solely on moving her body to dance with the three girls. Her movements become fluid and bouncy, as if she was floating on a cloud. A mix of being care free and a sense of freedom taking over the Henderson girl.

Juliet loved this feeling, but she knew it wasn't going to last forever.

Nothing good ever does.

The girl spun around and accidentally bumped into somebody, causing them both to stumble. Juliet grabbed onto the person to keep herself steady before looking up to see the Hargrove boy looking back at her. "Watch where you're going," he quipped with a frustrated look in his eyes, his smirk fading momentarily before returning after realising it was Juliet who had fallen into him. "Wouldn't want to hurt yourself, hot stuff."

"Stop calling me that!" Julie snapped taking her hand of Billy's shoulder. "Why don't you go have a dick measuring contest with Tommy again?" She shot pushing the blonde boy back from her.

Billy was full of rage after hearing Juliet's comment. No chick had ever spoke to him that way before and Billy was now infuriated. How could some random girl he barley knew even dare try to even talk to him like that? Focusing only on his anger Billy shoved the girl back causing her to lose her balance and stumble into her friend's who where quick to pull Juliet in to their sides."Don't fucking talk to me like that you, whore!"

A couple people looked over with confused gazes but as soon as they saw the looks on Tina's and Stacey's faces everyone turned back around and began laughing and partying like nothing had ever happened. "Are you okay?" The blonde was asked by her friends but all she could do was nod.

"I need a drink," Juliet stated, her cheeks turning a dark pink shade as she desperately tried to hide her embarrassment from the embarrassing moment that had just occurred.

After squeezing through a maze of chattering partygoers, Julie finally arrived in the bustling kitchen. With determination, she snatched a cup from the counter and hastily poured it to the brim with an assortment of liquids at her disposal. Juliet raised the cup to her lips, hesitated for a moment, then took a cautious sip of the concoction she had just made. The liquid seared her throat like molten lava, every sip unleashing a torrent of discomfort that rippled through her body, leaving her gasping for breath. With each sip of the repulsive concoction, her head spun like a whirlwind, her senses tumbling into a disorienting abyss. Her internal voice screamed at her to stop drinking and cut herself off, so as to prevent another incident. Despite her best intentions, the compulsion to continue drinking proved overpowering.

Juliet took a few more sips, her body growing still as her surroundings gradually blurred into a hazy tableau. In a flustered stumble, Juliet burst out of the kitchen, her cheeks aflame. She frantically scanned the room, her gaze darting from one face to another, desperate to locate her friends amidst the chaotic crowd. However, her attention was abruptly diverted when she spotted Jonathan engaged in a conversation with a girl by the door. Her surprise caused her to squeal with excitement and she stumbled over to join the Byers boy. "Jonathan! You came," She exclaimed excitedly hugging the boy.

Jonathan sighed as he realised Nancy was right. Apparently he did need to be there to make sure Julie didn't drink to much. "Where's Nancy?" He questioned as his eyes scanned for the familiar figure of the brown haired girl, once Juliet had pulled away from the embrace.

Just as she parted her lips to answer, Juliet was abruptly silenced by a chorus of exclamations that resonated around her, leaving her voice drowned in the clamour. Juliet and Jonathan turned simultaneously only to spot the girl they had just been talking about, her white shirt stained with red punch. The crowd was silenced as Nancy looked down at the mess on her shirt before looking back up at Steve who stood near her. "What the hell?"

Nancy dropped her cup before taking off making Steve sigh as everyone watched intrigued. "Nance," He said before chasing after her.

Julie and Jonathan looked at each other each as clueless as the other. "Well, that's going to leave a stain," Julie commented as she finished off the rest of her drink.

As Jonathan and his friend carried on their conversation, the girl turned to Juliet and asked, "Juliet Henderson? Right?" The girl that Juliet had seen talking with Jonathan before she had interrupted asked.

"In the flesh," The blonde laughed doing a small curtesy which suddenly made Julie's stomach drop. "Jesus," Juliet mumbled her face going completely pale as she fought of the urge to throw up.

Jonathan looked down concerned. "Do you want me to take you home?"

"I just, I just need some air," Juliet shrugged off. "Get me when Steve and Nancy's leaving. Their my ride." She told Jonathan with a lazy smile before clutching ahold of the door frame and stumbling out into the porch of the home.

☆

Steve forcefully swung the bathroom door shut, the satisfying click of the lock echoing in the silence as he ensured the couples privacy. He stared at Nancy in the reflection of mirror thinking of what to say as she began to wet a towel to clean herself up with. "Nancy, I'm sorry," Steve told her, feeling guilty. "That's not coming of, Nance," He stated as the girl tried to get the bright red stain off her white shirt.

"It's coming."

The Harrington boy moved closer to her and clasped her hand gently. "Come on. Let me just take you home, okay? Come here," Steve spoke gently to her trying his best persuade Nancy as he pulled at her arm. "Let's me take you home. Come on."

The girl was mumbling over the top of Steve, before getting louder. "You, you wanted this. You wanted this," Nancy slurred as if she was almost convincing herself.

"No, I didn't want this," Steve told her, starting to get frustrated. "I told you to stop drinking."

"It's bullshit," The intoxicated Wheeler snapped.

"No, it's not bullshit, okay?"

"Bullshit," She quipped back again, staring into his eyes.

"No, it's not bullshit, Nancy," Steve fought back with her.

"No, you." Nancy said making Steve's face drop as he looked down at her. "You're bullshit."

Steve almost felt his heart shatter right there and then. "What?" He stammered.

"You're pretending like," She stopped and sniffled. "Like everything is okay. You know, like we didn't.. Like we didn't kill Barb," Nancy told him on the verge of tears. "Like, it's great. Like, we're in love and we're partying. Yeah, let's party, huh? Party, We're partying," Nancy spat sarcastically. "This, this is bullshit."

"Like we're in love?" Steve repeated, his voice slightly cracking as he cupped her cheek.

Nancy pushed his hand away. "You love her, it's bullshit," She added making Steve confused.

"Who?" He asked slowly looking away from Nancy and at the ceiling to avoid letting tears fall.

"Julie."

Steve shook his head looking back down towards Nancy. "I don't, Nance I love you" He stuttered, quick to deny the girl's word's. "But, do you not love me?"

"It's bullshit," Nancy bluntly spoke with venom in her tone.

Steve let out a heavy sigh as he cast one last glance towards Nancy, before forcefully pushing past her and storming out of the bathroom, the sound of the door slamming shut echoing through the room. Walking past everyone Steve held all of his emotions in and tried to get out of the house as quickly as possible before a hand at the door of the home stopped him. Quickly pulling on his sunglasses, Steve looked over at the Byers boy through the lenses. "Take Nancy home would you?"

Even though Steve didn't particularly like Jonathan because of everything last year, he knew that Nancy would be safest getting home with him. Jonathan nodded and Steve tried to get past him to exit the house again, but Jonathan stopped him once more. "Can you take Julie home?" He asked, looking out of the door over to the figure of the Henderson girl sat on the steps.

As much as Steve wanted to tell Jonathan no, to get lost, or to just do it himself he couldn't help but nod as he followed the other boys line of vision. "Whatever," The Harrington boy spoke, nonchalantly before finally getting out of the door. Steve gracefully descended the creaking wooden steps of the house, the sound of his confident footsteps reverberating on the worn porch. He spun around, his eyes fixed on the sleek expanse of the polished concrete driveway. "You coming or what?" He asked the girl who was staring down as her exposed knees.

"Where's Nancy?" Juliet mumbled without even looking up.

Steve felt a surge of tears welling up, his eyes darting away from Julie. Despite his sunglasses, he could feel the sting of unshed tears brimming in his eyes at even the mere mention of her name. "Doesn't matter, let's go," Steve took charge, striding over to Julie, firmly grasping her hand, and forcefully pulling her towards his car.

Juliet strained and tugged, but her hand remained stubbornly trapped in Steve's unyielding grip. With each futile attempt to break free, her frustration grew, leaving her feeling helpless in his overpowering hold. "Let go of me!" She shouted trying to yank herself free, but Steve ignored her as he pulled her over to his car. While Steve was semi-distracted, fumbling in his pocket for the car keys to his BMW, Julie seized the opportunity and managed to break free from his grip. "What the fuck are you doing?" She questioned. "Are you trying to kidnap me?" Juliet asked infuriated as she attempted to take steps back from the boy. In her heavily intoxicated state, she clumsily stumbled and tripped over her own uncooperative feet, crashing down onto the unforgiving concrete pavement in a haze of alcohol-induced disarray.

"Shit," Steve sweared looking down at the blonde girl now sitting down, holding her head in pain. "Julie, are you okay?" He asked knelt down next to girl as he lifted her hand away from her head to inspect for any injuries. "I'm sorry."

The girl laughed at his sudden change in behaviour. "I'm okay, I'm okay," Julie repeated with a lazy smile on her face. "Are you okay?" Juliet asked her smile beginning to fade as the two stared at each other.

For a brief, rhapsodic moment, Steve found himself lost in the depths of her mesmerising hazel eyes, stuck in the allure of Julie's gaze he could have sworn in that moment his worries about Nancy disappeared. With a sharp jolt, he forcibly snapped himself out of the trance and back in to reality, his mind scrambling to regain control. "I'm fine," He whispered, looking away. "Let's just get you in the car, okay?"

Accepting his help, the blonde girl stood up as he gently guided her into his car. "Where are we going?" Juliet asked her head throbbing as soon as her back hit the inside of the passenger seat.

"Home," Steve answered quickly as he sucked in a breath and reached across the girl to put on her seat belt for her.

With a sigh of resignation, Steve gently and anxiously secured her seat belt, his fingers lingering on the familiar click, a mix of concern and guilt filling his heart. As he stepped away, leaving Julie behind, an inexplicable pang of longing washed over him, the faint traces of her sweet perfume still lingering in the air. Steve knew what he was feeling was wrong. This was Juliet, for christ sake! He needed to snap himself out of whatever he was feeling because he knew his brain was only doing this because of the fight with Nancy. Steve wasn't actually having feelings about Julie it was all just his mind playing a trick on him he tried to remind himself.

Just as Steve was about to close the door, he couldn't help but be confused on why Julie looked like she was going to burst into tears any second. "Steve, I can't go home," Juliet whispered when she caught the boy staring at her. "My window," She tried to explain feeling flustered and frustrated. "I just.. I can't, not like this."

Understanding what Juliet was trying to tell him, the Harrington boy placed a finger to his lips, shushing her gently to convey his comprehension and desire for her to keep quiet. "That's, that's fine," Steve nodded his head trying to just get the girl to be quite.

He closed the passenger door of the car and walked around to to the drivers side before getting in. As he finally slumped into the driver's seat, Steve tightly squeezed his eyes shut, his head colliding with the seatback in a mix of exhaustion and frustration. Tonight had been an absolute calamity, a whirlwind of chaos and emotions. Nancy had just broken his heart into a thousand different pieces, and rather than seeking solace in a hot shower or trying to sleep away this nightmare, Steve found himself stuck with the task of babysitting an intoxicated Juliet Henderson who was driving Steve insane.

As Steve ran a hand through his tousled brown hair, he glanced towards Juliet, who met his gaze with a contemplative, watchful expression. Julie softly smiled at him before looking away and Steve almost considered the possibility that the two girls had swapped personalities while he wasn't looking, because suddenly Juliet was being nice to him and Nancy was being cruel.

God, women confused Steve.

☆

Fifteen minutes of bickering later, lead to Steve and Julie finally coming to an agreement to try a sober Juliet up first before taking her home. Steve took Juliet to a nearby diner in Hawkins, ordering a hearty meal in the hopes that the food would absorb the alcohol swirling in her system, offering some semblance of sobriety.

"You know these fries are good but nothing, nothing will ever beat Benny's fries," Julie commented, popping a french fried potato in her mouth. "Rest in peace," She added, nodding sadly.

While nodding in agreement, Steve's mind wandered to Nancy's words, grateful that he had managed to momentarily silence Juliet.

He mostly understood what Nancy meant by calling their relationship bullshit; Steve had also grappled with similar doubts and insecurities for quite some time. Steve knew Nancy had been deeply affected by the loss of Barb and sometimes he would think that Nancy felt guilty being him because of it. Steve knew that their relationship wouldn't last long, but that didn't mean he didn't try and fight for it. Nancy had changed him, and a sense of obligation weighed heavily on Steve's conscience. Shouldn't he owe her something in return?

The boy could accept some of Nancy's reason for thinking it all was bullshit, but their was one reason Nancy had said that Steve didn't understand at all. Steve Harrington felt no love and harbored no liking for Juliet Henderson! Surely everyone knew that wasn't true. Given their hostile relationship, it seemed inconceivable that Steve could be in love with someone who despised him so profoundly.

How could Nancy even think such a thing?

Feeling Steve's intense gaze on her, Julie averted her eyes from her half-finished milkshake, a mix of discomfort and curiosity stirring within her. "What are you staring at Harrington?" She questioned leaning her head against her hand.

"Good to see you're back," Steve remarked after seeing Juliet's classic bitchy attitude becoming more present again.

With a delicate reach, Juliet stretched across the table and carefully retrieved Steve's sunglasses. She then leaned back in her seat, her smile accentuated by the stylish accessory she playfully placed on her face, but when she saw the puffiness and redness of Steve's eye his strange behaviour earlier began to be more clear to her. "Why were you crying earlier?" Juliet questioned as she took a sip from her milkshake.

"No! No! God, no," Steve denied quickly. "I don't cry."

Juliet took off his sunglasses and tucked one of the legs into the top of her white dress. "I am almost completely sober now, Steve. I'm not blind," She told him, with a nod. "Hey, if anything you would be doing me a favour by telling me. I need something to entertain me with while I eat," Julie shrugged lifting a handful of fries. "You're really creepy when you stare into my soul zoned out."

Steve seriously thought about the girl's offer for a second desperately wanting to talk to someone about what Nancy had said before shaking his head denying her offer as he realised this was Juliet he was talking to here, she would only make fun of him.  "It's stupid," He sighed running a hand through his hair.

"Steve, I'm going be honest with you," As Julie fidgeted with the bracelets on her wrist, a sudden shift in her expression signaled the beginning of a heartfelt offer. 'I know we might not be on good terms, but if you need someone to talk to...I'm here,' she leaned forward, her voice laden with unexpected sincerity. "I know you, okay? I know Steve Harrington doesn't just cry over something stupid," Juliet reminded him. She definitely still had to be drunk to just say that to him.

Even though Julie always said she had a burning hatred for the boy that didn't mean she didn't still have some part of her heart that still cared for him. She had been Steve's only real friend during middle school, and she was ashamed to admit it out loud but she regretted how easily she had let herself push him away even though he had done nothing to her. Sometimes Julie had imagined if her life would have turned out differently if her and Steve had never had fell out back in middle school and sitting down with him right now a couple of years later really did make it picture clear to Julie that her life could have been easier if she didn't decided to end their friendship.

The Harrington boy looked over at her. "If I tell you what happened, you got to tell me why you left town," He negotiated which reluctantly make Julie nod.

"Deal."