✺

CARLY WOKE WITH A FRIGHT. Nightmares were something that had become a part of Carly's life, but it had been a while since she had woken to seek her sketchbook, needing to draw the horrors that could be true.

But, as Carly flipped through her art book, she found the pages empty.

Until one page caught her attention: again and again, an old grandfather clock had been drawn. Each one was exactly the same, but something about it was different too; the glass cracked, the wood splintered, and blood dripped.

Carly picked up her pencil, determined to draw the darkness that plagued her mind. Though, every time her pencil touched the white paper, all she could sketch was the clock.

Lost in the madness of it, Carly felt a talon-like hand curl onto her shoulder. The sheer coldness of it was like icicles against her exposed skin, stealing the last of Carly's breath. As Carly turned, ready to face the monster that was lurking, she was met with nothing but shadows.

And then four chimes rang, echoing deep inside Carly's head.

Darting upwards, Carly woke with wide eyes and her breathing heavy. The silky pyjamas clung to her body, but all Carly could feel was the cold chill of the shadows. At least, until warm hands were wrapping around her waist, lips pressing briefly against her neck.

"Hey, you're okay," Steve soothed her. "It was just a nightmare."

"Just a nightmare," Carly agreed.

Though, her gut was telling her otherwise.

"You wanna talk about it?" Steve offered.

Carly shook her head, wincing at the flare of pain in her head. It was the kind of nightmare that would either make her seem crazy or leave Steve paranoid, thinking it was all happening again. Instead, Carly laid down again as she reached for headphones, listening to one of the tapes her dad had made for her. Steve's arms were around her waist still, keeping his girlfriend close to him in the hope that it was enough to comfort her.

Most nights it was enough — but not tonight.

Sunlight started to crack through the curtains, the hint of daylight torturous as it meant Carly had failed on getting another night of sleep. Needing something to do, Carly reached for her letter from Eleven, reading it again in hope that the words would cheer her up — or perhaps even hint that maybe she felt that something was off too.

Even though Eleven had moved, the two had still stayed in contact with a surprising friendship forming. In the short time, Carly had known her, she had come to see Eleven like a little sister — someone who understood Carly when no one else could. But, Eleven no longer had her powers, so Carly hoped she was truly happy in California with her new, normal life.

"What are you reading?" Steve asked, waking up again.

"El's letter," said Carly, removing her headphones as they hung around her neck. "I like reading how happy she is."

"You don't miss California too much, do you?" Steve questioned.

"A little," Carly confessed. "But I'm happy here too."

Carly rolled over to see Steve's smile, knowing what he was going to ask next. "Yeah, why's that?"

"Well, Max is here," said Carly, unable to hide her grin, knowing what Steve wanted to hear. "So is my mom and Peach now too. Then there's Ronnie and Robin..."

"All good reasons," Steve mumbled, leaning over Carly as his hands rested on either side of her head, his warmth turning Carly gooey. "Anything else?"

"I'm on the cheer team for Hawkins High," Carly continued. "Everyone seems to be liking me."

"Of course they like you," Steve told her. "I'm yet to meet one person who doesn't like you."

Carly giggled at that, triggering a smile from Steve. "Speaking of the cheer team, you gotta go back to your house to get my uniform as I need it today."

Steve groaned at that, having forgotten. "Okay, but I think you're still missing one important reason why you're happy. Tell me, and then I'll go."

Carly pressed her lips together, trying to hide her smile as she locked eyes with her boyfriend. "Steve," said Carly as her fingers reached up, playing with the loose strands of his hair that hung forward. "I'm very happy with you."

There was a grin on Steve's face as he lowered his boy, searching for a kiss that Carly was willing to grant him. As their lips met, Carly's hands tangled in his locks. But, of course, Steve needed to go as Carly couldn't be late today.

Yet, before leaving, Carly needed one more kiss before she could let him sneak out of her window again.

For the two, maybe they were still in the blissful bubble of love, never wanting it to pop. If Carly had a reason to smile, then it was because of Steve. Even despite the darkness of the nights, and the trauma that followed from that fatal night, Steve was still there like a bright star to wish upon to keep Carly sane.

Carly loved him — the kind of love that she had never felt for her ex-boyfriend. It was golden and pure, and everything Carly had ever wanted.

And she knew how Steve felt too. Every time she touched him, the emotion was there like the warmth of a blanket during winter, keeping Carly fuzzy and warm. Then, when he wasn't there, the charm bracelet that Steve had bought Carly for her birthday was a comforting reminder that he was still there.

But, even with all the light that came with Steve Harrington, the shadows still lingered. With her boyfriend gone, Carly had opened her sketchbook, unknowing if the nightmare had been real or not.

Every page was full of sketches of the clock — a built-up collection over the last few nights. This time, though, there was a girl in the middle of the page. Whoever it was, she was floating with her head tilted back, limbs twisted in crooked angles and her eyes were dark endless pits.

Carly quickly closed her art book, hating that familiar dread stirring deep inside.

✺

Heading out to the kitchen, Carly hid any evidence of their mom's sudden drinking habits from Max seeing, though their mom never tried to hide it from them anyway. But, every time she picked up the empty bottles, Carly stared at them, wondering if it would help clear her mind from her powers stirring.

Peach barked, wanting attention, but Carly took it as her dog telling her no.

Carly was in a good place (she kept telling herself), so she focused on cleaning up. Gloves were on her hands, preventing any slip-ups, and Carly was trying to find new ways to keep her powers at bay.

When Max came out of her bedroom, Carly had made her a bowl of cereal with the last of the milk. Peach started to yap, jumping up at Max as the youngest stroke behind her ears.

"Hey, Max," Carly grinned, perking up. "You want a ride with Steve to school today? He's gonna be picking me up soon."

"No, thanks," Max replied, not looking at her sister as she picked up her school bag.

Carly kept her smile on her face, trying not to let her sister's rejection get to her. Since they had both started at Hawkins High, a distance had come between them, where Max was evidently struggling, but Carly wasn't sure how she could help her.

They were both there that night, so they were each other's trauma, Carly supposed.

"I made you breakfast," Carly told her.

"I'm not hungry," Max decided.

Carly frowned. "Oh, okay."

"I'll see you later," said Max before she was quick to leave, placing her headphones on her ears so that Carly couldn't even say goodbye to her.

Watching her leave, Carly felt heavy, having thought that they had fixed the lingering issues between them. Carly had moved to Hawkins for Max and her mom but felt like maybe she was the reason they were all falling apart.

If Carly had saved Billy, then maybe things would have been better.

Eventually, there's a honk of a horn as Carly's reaching for her bag, making sure that Ronnie's present was inside before she's heading out of the house. Of course, their mom was already up and out, where she drank the nights away before heading to work for the day.

Robin's already tagged the front seat as Carly climbed into the back, being careful of Robin's helmet for the band.

"Here comes the sun," said Robin.

"Good morning," Carly greeted them warmly with a smile before she's leaning forward to kiss Steve on the cheek. "I missed you."

Steve smiled at that, all dizzy with his emotions. "I missed you too."

"Gross," Robin's nose curled upwards. "I bet you were both together last night."

"Maybe," Carly giggled at that. "You know I missed you too, Robin."

"Yeah, yeah," said Robin. "Just don't kiss me."

"You sure?" Carly offered.

"I'm very sure," Robin decided.

"Your loss," said Carly.

They took off for the day with Steve dropping the two at school before heading to work. Carly found her uniform in a spare bag as she pulled it out, knowing Robin was still getting ready for the day too.

"It's seven in the morning, we have the stupid pep rally," Robin rambled. "And I woke up, looking like a corpse."

"You do not look like a corpse," Carly told her.

"You're worried about a pep rally?" Steve questioned. "You expect me to believe that?"

"Yeah? So?" Robin replied.

"So we all know what this is about," said Steve. "Okay, I'm not buying it. This is about Ronnie."

"Absolutely not," Robin stated.

"Oh, it is," said Carly. "And it's Ronnie's birthday so now is a perfect time to ask her out."

"Absolutely not," Robin repeated herself. "Ronnie's clearly not over you, Carly, so I'm trying to move on."

"Vickie, then," Steve realised. "This is about Vickie."

"But I was gonna set you up with Ronnie," Carly announced, starting to pout. "I had a whole plan."

"No," said Robin, firmly. "No plans."

"So it is about Vickie then. You know what else?" Steve pressed.

"I really don't care—"

"You gotta stop pretending to be someone else when you're around her, okay," Steve told her. "You just gotta be yourself."

"You're literally quoting me to me," said Robin. "You do realise that."

"Maybe you need to listen to yourself too," Steve continued. "Ever think about that, smarty pants? I listened. Look at me: I got the girl. Boom."

"It's not the same thing," Robin insisted. "Okay?"

"Well..."

Robin shook her head. "You ask out a girl and she says no. Big deal. Nothing happens. Maybe your ego's a little bruised. But I ask out the wrong girl, and bam, I'm a town pariah."

"She's got a point," Carly said, starting to change into her uniform as she took off her jeans, replacing them with her cheerleading skirt.

"Okay, yeah," said Steve. "I'd buy that, except Vickie is definitely not the wrong girl; in fact, I think she's the better option than Ronnie."

Carly frowned at that. "Steve."

"We just don't know that about Vickie, do we?" Robin replied, ignoring any talk about Ronnie.

But, Carly was changing into her top now, where she was in her white lacy bra that had caught Steve's attention in the rearview mirror. A little flustered, Steve's hands tightened around the steering wheel as Carly offered him a wink with a teasing grin.

"Steve, eyes on the road," Robin warned him.

Steve cleared his throat, eyes shifting back to the road, as Carly put her green and yellow cheer top on before adjusting her high ponytail with a ribbon matching the school colours.

"Vickie returned Fast Times paused at 53 minutes, 5 seconds," Steve reminded Robin as Carly put her shoes back on, finally ready. "Do you know who pauses Fast Times at 53 minutes, 5 seconds? People who like boobies, Robin!"

"Ew," Robin replied. "Gross."

"Boobies," Steve repeated, eyes wide.

"Don't say boobies," Robin told him.

"It's not a big deal, okay?" Steve replied as Carly shook her head at him. "I like boobies. You like boobies. Vickie likes boobies. Definitely. And hell, even Ronnie likes boobies! Just apparently my girlfriend's boobies!"

"Steve," said Carly, feeling her head start to pound again. "Stop saying boobies."

"It's boobies," Steve finished.

Robin's head turned to Carly, where the two shared a long long.

"How are you dating him?" Robin muttered.

"Why are you best friends with him?" Carly replied.

As they pulled up at Hawkins High School, Robin was quick to leave, finding friends from her class. Carly lingered behind as Steve temporarily got out of his car, wanting to say goodbye to his girlfriend properly. His hands were on her waist, fingers sneaking under the material with his touch hot and tingling.

"How's your head now?" Steve asked.

"Still hurts a bit, but I'll be okay," Carly reassured him, always finding a positive. "You know, today could be the day."

There was a forced smile on Steve's face, frightened for the very thought of the future. Carly had recently applied to a few colleges, so she was waiting for acceptance letters. Right now, Carly's dream school was to attend college in California, particularly Los Angeles or San Fransisco.

"Oh, yeah, it could be," said Steve. "But you got your big game today, so I'll see you tonight, yeah? I get to brag again that Carly-Mae Sullivan is my girlfriend."

"Don't forget, you're picking up my mom to come see me," Carly smiled at that, knowing it was the first time her mom was going to see her cheer. "Please be sweet to her."

"I can charm your mom," Steve promised.

"I'll see you tonight then," Carly told him.

Then, with that, Carly was rising on her tiptoes to kiss Steve Harrington just as the school bell went, reminding Carly that she needed to go.

✺

Carly started her morning performing with the cheer team, where she had her green and yellow pompoms, standing close to her friend Chrissy with a bright, cheery smile on her face. The crowds roared, which was echoed by the marching band.

They finished the performance, but the cheering continued. In the crowds, Carly spotted Max, relieved to see that she made it to school. Then her eyes shifted to where the marching band were, spotting Robin before she found Ronnie.

And then they were heading to the edge of the court, kneeling down with their pompoms in front of them.

"And let's hear it for your Tigers!"

The basketball team came running out onto the court with Carly cheering for them. It was Jason who approached the microphone, ready for his big speech.

"Good morning, Hawkins High!" Jason's voice was loud, echoing around the court, which was followed by a loud cheer from the crowds behind them that was encouraged by the cheerleaders. "First off... hey. First off, I'd like to thank each and every one of you. Without your support, we wouldn't be here. Give yourselves a big hand!"

Again, the cheering escalated with Carly joining in.

"And, of course," continued Jason. "I have to give a special shout-out to the best and the prettiest of all time, the Tiger Cheer Squad!"

There was a massive applause for the cheer team as Carly grinned, waving her pompoms in response.

"Chrissy..." Jason patted his chest. "Chrissy, I love you, babe."

Turning to her friend with a wide grin, Chrissy blew her boyfriend a kiss.

"Aww!" The crowd joined in.

"You know," Jason started again. "I think I can speak for all of us when I say it's been a tough year for Hawkins. So much loss. And sometimes I wonder, how much loss can one community take? In dark days like this, we need something to believe in. So, last night, when we were down by ten points at half to Christian Academy, I looked at my team, and I said: Think of Jack. Think of Melissa. Think of Heather."

Carly's breathing stopped, her pompoms lowering as she knew what was coming.

"Think of Billy."

Eyes were on Carly, but she couldn't bring herself to smile. The rosiness in her cheeks had vanished, replaced by an ashen look as she found herself trapped in the Mall all over again.

"Think about our heroic police chief, Jim Hopper," Jason continued. "Think about each and every one of our friends who perished in that fire. What did they die for? For us to lose to some crap school?"

Carly's eyes were on Jason, becoming just as icy as she was feeling. The words were insulting; the lives lost — including Carly's brief experience with death — was not something to be used for a motivational speech about a high school basketball game.

The crowds were feeding on it, though, crying out a no in response — not in the way Carly wanted them to be using the one word.

"For us to return home with our heads hung low in defeat? No!"

"No!" The crowds chanted.

"Let's win this game! Let's win this game for them! And that's exactly what we did."

This time the cheers were loud — too loud. Only Carly's pompoms remained low, staring at the floor as if Billy's body was there again. In her mind, the monster roared, as well as Carly's haunting scream as Carly couldn't escape it.

"We embarrassed those candy-asses in their own house—"

Carly jumped, knocking slightly into Chrissy, who turned in concern.

"Carly, your nose," Chrissy whispered.

Raising her hand, Carly wiped away the blood that had dripped as her heart pounded, only fueling the pressure that was building up inside her head. Around them, the cheerleaders had noticed as Carly tried to hide it from any other prying eyes.

"—And now tonight, tonight, we're gonna bring home the championship trophy!"

That caused the loudest cheer with Carly trying to show her enthusiasm, not wanting to let anyone think there was anything wrong.

Because there wasn't.

Carly was so, so happy.

✺

"I don't think we need to see each other this week, Ms Kelly," said Carly, sitting down in the usual seat she found herself in weekly. "I think I'm all settled now."

"That's good to hear," Ms Kelly said. "But there was a little more to our weekly catch-ups, than you just settling in, Carly."

"Oh, can you do anything about getting approval for me to do more tricks in the team?" Carly suggested, not wanting to talk about anything else other than the positives. "You know, my leg is all healed now, so I can do the stunts. My ribs too. And everything else."

"I'll speak to the coach," Ms Kelly reassured Carly. "How about home? Has that settled now for the three of you?"

"Four, as there's Peach, my dog," Carly added.

"Right, Peach," Ms Kelly smiled.

"Home is...home, I guess," said Carly, fiddling with the ice cream charm on her bracelet, hoping it would keep her calm like it usually did. "Mom's always working and Max keeps to herself."

"Is your mom still drinking?" Ms Kelly asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," Carly admitted. "But, she's working two jobs, so it's hard. I've done what I can to help, but maybe I should do more."

"What more could you possibly do?"

"Maybe get a job," Carly suggested.

"Your dad told you not to, right?"

"Yeah as I gave mom all my savings from my summer job, but I should have kept the money as mom spent it all on booze. I could have brought Max something instead."

"Does your dad know about this?"

"No, I don't tell him what's going on anymore as I don't want to move back to California."

Already, Carly's dad had been apprehensive about Carly living in Hawkins. Before it had been for just the summer, but since then, James Sullivan was trying to be supportive from California.

"Your dad is still wanting you to move back to California?" Ms Kelly asked.

"Yeah, dad doesn't like Hawkins," said Carly. "My mom got the idea of moving here from my dad as he used to have family here. He's even offered to take my mom and Max in, wanting to help, but taking Max away from here won't help. This is her home, so it's my home too now."

"So, you're taking charge, looking after your family," Ms Kelly noticed. "That must be hard after everything you went through last year."

"I'm okay," Carly said, forcing it to be the truth.

"And this morning at the pep rally?" Ms Kelly questioned. "Your step-brother's name was mentioned and you shut down. I'm sorry Carly, but I couldn't help but notice your reaction."

Carly froze at that, hating she had been caught.

"Are the headaches still happening?" Ms Kelly asked.

"I guess so," said Carly.

"And the nightmares?"

Carly nodded her head, losing her voice.

"Did you want to talk about what happened?" Ms Kelly offered.

"No," Carly decided, knowing she couldn't talk about any of it. "I'm trying to focus on the things that make me happy now."

"Okay," Ms Kelly agreed. "Let's talk about that then. It seems a few good things are happening for you right now, I believe, right? Last time we spoke, things were good with Steve, and you were still waiting for your acceptance letters."

"And today's Ronnie's birthday," Carly added. "There's a lot to smile for."

But, no matter how hard Carly tried, all the bad outweighed the good.

✺

Like always, the sessions usually ended with Ms Kelly recommending Carly sought further help with some therapy clinics that had long waiting lists. Even if Carly tried, she couldn't even talk about what she had gone through, so what was the point?

Between them all, their trauma had been silenced, so they just had each other for support.

Steve tried his hardest with Carly: he stayed to help chase away the nightmares; when Carly broke down in tears, Steve didn't need to question why; and Steve helped Carly keep her family afloat. With Steve's parents out of town a lot, there was always leftover food, which Carly shamefully accepted.

See, they were fine — Carly had everything under control.

At lunchtime, Carly found their usual table at the back of the canteen. While Carly's cheer friends mainly ate together, Carly always saved this time for Ronnie and Robin. Their friendship had caused a stir within the school, but Carly didn't care anymore.

"Happy Birthday!"

Carly was a bubble of energy as she wrapped her arms around Ronnie, smiling with joy.

Ronnie hushed her. "Someone will hear you!"

"Ronnie's been waiting all day for this moment," Robin said.

Carly giggled at Ronnie's frown, knowing that wasn't the truth. Sitting down next to her friend, Carly passed over the gift bag, using a black bow as she knew Ronnie would prefer it.

"Blondie, you didn't have to get me anything," Ronnie said.

"Of course I did," said Carly. "It's not gonna be as good as Robin's denim jacket she found you, which, by the way, looks so good on you."

Carly touched the black fabric that dangled from the arms of the dark denim jacket before her hands were on Ronnie's arm, seeing the back with the faded eagle.

"Amazing find, Robin," Carly encouraged, shooting Robin a grin with the silent promise that she was still going to meddle. "You know Ronnie so well."

"Hey, Ronnie, open your present from Carly," Robin said as a distraction.

"Okay," Ronnie said.

Carly leant forward, leg jiggling from anticipation. Ronnie undid the black bow first, peeking into the matching black bag before she was pulling out a bracelet. It was handmade using Ronnie's favourite colours: black and red.

"I made it with your favourite colours!" Carly told her.

"You made me a bracelet?" Ronnie questioned, shocked.

"They're friendship bracelets," said Carly, finally showing Ronnie her wrist with her charm bracelet, where there was now a pink and black band alongside it that was matching her friends. "See, matching!"

For a moment, there was a stunned silence. Carly's leg became still, her smile vanishing, as she feared that Ronnie didn't like her present. But, then, there was that hidden smile that told Carly that Ronnie appreciated the present.

Taking that as Ronnie's gratitude, Carly helped her put the bracelet on.

"You guys are so cute," Robin told them. "Best friends forever, right?"

"But as long as you're into band or science...or parties..."

Ronnie groaned as the three turned in their seats to see that Ronnie's older brother — Eddie Munson — was standing on the canteen table. Carly was dumbfounded by Eddie sometimes, unknowing what to say to him, but still finding him funny and charming too.

"...or a game where you toss balls into laundry baskets..."

"He's so annoying," Ronnie mumbled, putting her head in her hands.

"Loser!" A student shouted.

Jason stood up, challenging Eddie. "You want something, freak?"

Eddie place his hands on his head, using two fingers as devil horns as he stuck his tongue out with his eyes wide. Again, Ronnie groaned, pulling up the hood of her hoddie beneath her denim jacket as if it might help her disappear.

Eddie started walking along the table. "It's forced conforming. That's what's," then his voice rose as he jumped from the table, scaring a poor girl. "Killing the kids!"

"Okay," said Carly. "Eddie's sat back down."

"I'm gonna kill him," Ronnie decided.

"No, you're not," Carly told her. "You love your brother."

But, across the room, Carly spotted Max with her heart kicking back to life, wanting to see if she could get through to Max again. Excusing herself, Carly followed after her sister, calling out her name to stop Max from leaving.

"Hey," said Carly. "How was your session with Ms Kelly? She told me you guys were gonna talk before lunch?"

Max shrugged, not really saying anything.

"Max, you can talk to me," Carly told her, reaching to place a comforting hand on her sister.

Max flinched, pulling away, which broke Carly's heart.

"I won't read your emotions," Carly reassured her. "I can see for myself that you're struggling. I just wish you would see that I'm here. You know, I know how you feel."

"You don't know how I feel," Max said. "Can you just stop talking to Ms Kelly about me?"

"I don't know if I can," Carly confessed.

Max sighed, placing her headphones back on before she was walking away from Carly, who was hopelessly watching after her.

✺

Carly and Steve are adorable!! Lots of foreshadowing in this chapter!