"Now" Steve ran outside, looking as if he was on some sort of secret mission, Eddie following quickly after jumping in Steve's car, slamming the door behind them and driving off after Billy.

They followed them to a small diner around a 20 minute drive from the trailer, managing to follow them but stay undetected.

They sat in the car watching them.

"So..." Eddie began, "Is there anything going on between you and Lexi?" He nervously asked, picking at his nails, not looking up from his hands.

"Could ask you the same thing" Steve refused to also make eye contact, keeping his eyes on the diner.

"No. Nothing" Eddie shrugged, he said it casually as if it was something that he was asked a lot.

"Same, I don't really know where I stand with Nancy?" He began "But as for Lexi, it's never out of the question, it's kind of complicated, I like her, but I don't think I like her like that..? I don't know man" Steve struggled to explain.

"What do you mean?" Eddie asked, looking at Steve confused.

Steve sighed loudly, gripping the wheel to brace himself for what he was about to say.

"Nancy said something to me today, which threw me off because I had never really thought about it" Steve new he was about to regret everything he was about to say.

"Look you don't have to tell me anything, but I need to know if I take a shot with Lexi that I am not going to get a Steve Harrington beating because of it" Eddie tried to laugh.

"If I tell you this...and I mean this, keep it a secret or I will make your life hell" Steve warned as Eddie placed his hands in surrender.

"Go for it dude"

"Nancy broke up with me because she thinks that I never loved her, I loved the idea of her, and that she would never come first because Lexi is always my number one" Steve explained. "I mean, Lexi and I were close, we have been best friends since we were 6, with a slight hiccup in between." Steve looked at Eddie. "But Nance said that the way I look at her and the way I look at Lexi are different, and not the difference that makes her come out on top" Steve rubbed his head.

"Oh..." Eddie froze, unsure what to say.

"So, if I want to be honest, I don't really know what that means for me right now" Steve looked at Eddie

Eddie took a deep breath.

"Well...shall we just agree that we care enough about Lex to not let her get involved with this douche? And work out for you what that means later?" Eddie suggested, pointing in the direction of the diner. Begging nothing more happens with Lexi and Billy.

"Agreed" Steve nodded, clearing his throat as they watched the two in the diner, laughing and look through Lexi's song lyrics, somehow having fun.

Lexi's smile shone brighter than it had for a while.

"How's the band going with Lexi?" Steve made conversation as the time continued to pass.

"She's so talented..." Eddie looked at the tattoos on his arms, tracing them with his fingers. "She was that piece of the puzzle we were missing."

"Thanks for taking her on. She deserves the chance to show off her talent. The school loves her." Steve explained. "The kids have been telling her for months to go towards her dream but she is worried about letting them down"

"How can she think she will be letting them down? I saw how those kids looked at her at her audition, and her brother, Nikki? He literally looks at her like she's the best thing in his life. But I can help but be more worried about when we start doing small gigs at local bars and clubs, they might not be as supportive of a woman lead." Eddie sighed, a thin line on his lips, he's seen it first hand how women in rock get treated, he once watched a band just like Corroded Coffin get lifted off the stage and thrown out because their lead singer was a woman.

"Lexi doesn't like help, she thinks she has everything handled, but she really struggled to look after herself instead of everyone else. So have her back and she will have your's." Steve explained, thinking about all the times she's had his back and he thought she could manage herself, only to be proven as a bad person as he never up until recently had her back.

"How so?" Eddie turned, intrigued, hoping for a story, interested to learn more about Lexi.

Steve took a deep breath.

"Last year, when the Byers kid went missing, we were there when they found him. Lex had to fight...people'' Steve slightly bended the truth. "She almost got killed because she tried to do everything on her own'' Steve tried to explain while not telling him everything "She got knocked out because this...guy, dragged her and dropped her on her head, not only that she tore her ankle pretty bad'' Steve explained "She ended up in hospital, she was out cold for a day" Steve shook his head at the memory. "I thought she was dead"

"She fights for all her family right, so why the hell does she let her father scream at her like he does? Beat her black and blue?" Eddie asked, frustrated.

"She could easily take her deadbeat father. But she doesn't because despite everything she still loves him." Steve explained. "He didn't pick her up from the hospital last year, so Jonathan and I took her home. Despite the fact she could have died, when she got in, we watched her clean up her fathers sick, clean the kitchen, dispose of his drugs and then tuck him into bed." Steve explained rubbing his head at the memory..

"What about her brothers and her little sister?" Eddie questioned, he knew she had one brother, but was completely surprised when she had two younger siblings.

"Her and Iaan. Don't underestimate their bond. They fight all the time, they argue like cats and dogs. But holy crap man they are the tightest siblings you will ever see. Lexi practically raised Iaan when she was 11 and that's why he's a little rough. But they will kill for one another. The reason Iaan hasn't given his father a whack is simply because Lexi wont let him. And he listens to her, no one else" Steve explained. "Lexi raised Nikki too, his mother bailed on him when he was younger than Lucy. She brought him up, they were lucky enough that Joyce has always been there to help, especially when it comes to getting baby sitters and nannies for the day. Nikki loves Lexi like a mother because it's the closest he's ever had to one. Lucy is an adorable little girl, but she has learning difficulties. Lexi struggles to look after her because she can't give her what she needs, her mother left on a business trip and never came back. She sometimes sends money in the post for Lexi to take care of Lucy but Marcus ends up using it for alcohol or drugs. However, sometimes he will use it to feed the kids" Steve rolled his eyes.

Eddie didn't know what to say, he just looked back at the diner to see Lexi and Billy leaving.

They both scrambled down out of sight, laying down quickly waiting for Billy to take off again, and so they did.His tires screeched as he drove, Scorpions playing loudly out of the speakers in the car.

"I better not follow them back to his house" Steve angrily turned on the engine and followed them with enough distance behind to go unnoticed once again

They followed the car for another 20 minutes and sure enough they're worst nightmare became a reality.

Billy pulled into his drive, opening the car door on his side before running around and letting Lexi out the other side.

"Son of a..." Steve gripped the wheel tightly, knuckles going white.

"We can't let her go in there..." Eddie took his belt off but Steve stopped him.

"Let me ask you something, have you ever been punched by Lexi?" He asked, turning to look at him, his hair falling from its tall quiff as he quickly moved his head.

"No?" Eddie raised a brow in confusion.

"Well I have, and it fucking hurts. We get in the way of her, we won't just walk away with a bashed up face but also we would piss her off so much she might quit the band and our friendships." Steve grunted. "But I know for a fact she will want someone to pick her up when she leaves, so that's what we are going to do" Steve sighed as he watched them both enter the house.

Eddie nodded sadly, agreeing, sighing heavily.

A few minutes passed...

"Why'd she punch you?" Eddie smirked, looking over at him.

Steve sighed as he turned to look at Eddie.

"I did some things, and said some things I shouldn't have" Steve began "You know, the Byers family and Lexi are like..." he held his hand up, crossing his fingers, Eddie nodding. "Well I said some things about their family I shouldn't have. I got punched by Jonathan, he took me to the ground but Nancy managed to pull him off. I got up quickly and pushed him to the ground, which resulted in Lexi swinging at me. I thought she broke my jaw with all her rings. She did break her finger though" Steve shook his head. "See this..." He pointed at a small scar on his jaw "Her ring did that to me" He dropped his hand looking back towards Billy's house.

"Yeah, and I thought that I couldn't like her more," Eddie tapped him on the shoulder with a smile.

"Just...Please. If you really like Lex, please don't hurt her." Steve begged.

Eddie was about to say something when he saw Lexi run out of Billy's house.

"Dude," Eddie panicked, getting out of the car, fumbling with the door.

They both ran to her, her face covered in tears.

"What did he do?" Eddie snapped as Steve brought the fragile girl close to him.

"Nothing, I knew you followed me, you pair of dickheads" she cried. "Let's just go please" she begged, not even turning to look back at the house.

Eddie took her coat from her, the two boys walking her back to the car.

She got in the back quietly, crying to herself, closing her eyes hoping to block out everything that was happening.

Steve quickly started the car, turning his lights on and moving straight away.

"Where am I taking you?" Steve asked as he slowly drove, looking at her in the mirror.

"Home, my dad isn't back tonight, Iaan is working, Joyce has the two kids but I'm a freaking mess, Jonathan is on a wild goose chase..." she rambled through her crying.

Steve looked at Eddie.

"I can't, my parents are home" Steve whispered, hoping Lexi was unable to hear.

Eddie nodded.

"I've got you sweetheart" Eddie turned to her, face full of worry.

She looked up through her soaked lashes and nodded.