[trigger warning: mentions of sexual harassment/assault]

✺

THAT NIGHT CARLY RETURNED home to find herself alone. Finding the spare key, she let herself inside to find a note on the kitchen side: her parents were out till late, Max was at a sleepover, and Billy's whereabouts were unknown.

So, Carly changed into her silky pyjamas before making herself some dinner. Even though there was no one home, Carly was still on edge, feeling like she shouldn't be in the house alone.

At the dinner table, Carly kept her sketchbook open as she ate. Once again, she was focused on the drawing of Billy, entranced by it without a clue as to why. There was a frown on her face, eyebrows furrowing in frustration.

On the table, Carly's eyes spotted a pair of shades that had been left by Billy, likely forgotten before his lifeguard shift. Carly sighed, torn with the urge to pick up the glasses, wondering if her power might help her fill in the missing blanks.

Curiosity got the best of Carly as she wrapped her fingers around the sunglasses, already feeling the pull of her power. As her irises rolled upwards, the darkness took over, transporting Carly into her step-brother's mind.

There was the empty black void as Carly stepped within Billy's mind, sensing that it was guarded. An eerie, cold feeling hung in the air, pricking at Carly's skin as she stepped into the darkness.

Her eyes found Billy's silhouette, spotting him in a vest that matched the darkness of his mind. The car had joined them in the void too, where Billy was stood at the bonnet with his hands on the latch to open the back.

Carly moved closer, sensing something strange was happening. Billy had paused in his effort to open the boot of his car; his body had tightened, becoming wary as if he was being watched.

Then, suddenly, his head turned, dark eyes falling on Carly.

Knowing he could see her, Carly gasped, shrinking backwards a couple of steps.

That never happened.

Billy smirked — this one far more sinister and twisted.

"I see you," said Billy.

Freaking out, Carly returned back to her own body as the cutlery on her dinner plate cluttered as she had forgotten her whereabouts. Having quickly stood, Carly sought to flee but didn't know where to go.

A shaky hand rose, wiping the blood away from her nose as her heart pounded.

There was something going on — something that Carly could clearly see and feel, but she was still clueless as to what it was.

With the fear thick within her lungs, Carly panicked as she didn't have a clue what to do. If Billy came back...

...fearing that, Carly hurried to Max's bedroom. From her backpack, Carly tore through the contents of her bag as she searched for the slip of paper that Steve had given her. Then, Carly hurried back to the living room, dialling Steve Harrington's phone in the hope that he would pick up.

After a few rings, the phone connected. "Hello?"

"Steve, it's Carly," she informed him.

"Oh, hey," said Steve, sounding surprised. "Is everything okay?"

But, now that she was speaking to him, Carly was lost for words. Telling him what happened would just result in Steve hanging up the phone, deciding she was crazy just like Justin had. Yet, staying home alone with Billy around, was not something Carly wanted to do.

If he had truly seen Carly and came home...

And then there was her mom, who would freak if Carly stayed anywhere else (especially at a boy's house) when she hardly knew anyone.

"I'm home alone," Carly announced.

Steve's response was barely there. "Uh..."

"I don't know what time my mom will be home," Carly explained, finding her words quick with panic. "Max is at a sleepover and Billy... I don't want to be home alone when he's here. I don't really know anyone in Hawkins or have Ronnie's or Robin's number, so...can you come over?"

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Steve sensed her hysteria. "I'm leaving now, okay? I'll be as quick as I can."

"Knock on Max's window," Carly told him. "I'm locking the door."

As Steve hung up, Carly headed back into the bedroom with the lock sliding firmly into place. Knowing Steve was coming over, she quickly hid her sketchbook before finding a cardigan to wear over her pyjamas.

Then, somewhat anxiously, Carly sat on Max's bed as her leg started to jiggle, hanging loosely over the bed. Carly's fingers picked at the skin of her fingers, the skin becoming red and sore from not just the night, but from being in the house for the last few weeks.

Like always, her mind was stuck on the unknown: how was it possible that Billy had spotted her?

Billy being in Carly's book of horrors was one thing, but for him to see Carly was another. Though, Carly barely understood the power that she had, so what did she know?

Not even half an hour later, there was a small knock on the window that caused Carly's heart to jolt. Having found Max's baseball bat, Carly crept to the window, holding onto the bat to ease her fears. Of course, Steve was on the other side with a crooked smile, hair hanging loosely over his face.

Opening the window, Steve's eyes had fallen on the bat. "Christ, Carly. What are you gonna do with that?"

"Nothing now it's you," Carly told him.

Steve climbed through the window as Carly stepped back, leaving the bat to lean against the wall. He closed the window, eyes flickering from the bat to Carly.

"What's going on?" Steve questioned.

"I just don't like being home alone," Carly said, which was true, but not the complete truth.

"Carly, I can tell it's more than that," said Steve, taking a step closer to her. "You can talk to me, nothing will scare me."

"Can we just forget about it?" Carly suggested.

"Yeah, sure," Steve said, not wanting to pressure Carly, but now he stood a little awkwardly in the room, hand running through his hair. "So, what do you want to do?"

The question left Carly stumped for a moment, knowing their television was in the living room, but Carly really didn't want to leave the bedroom.

So, Carly ended up sitting cross-legged on Max's bed with Steve leaning across the bed with his legs outstretched. As the two talked, Carly eventually found herself smiling again, forgetting what had happened earlier that night.

"You know," said Steve after a while, not quite looking at Carly. "I hate being home alone too. My dad's always away with work, so my mom goes too. She's scared that he'll cheat and I wouldn't be surprised if he did."

"Oh, Steve," Carly sympathised, reaching forward as she placed her hand over his, comforting him. "Is it always just you?"

"Just me and a big empty house," Steve summarised, forcing a smile that wasn't honest, but his eyes had fallen down to her hand, lingering on the moment.

"I'm sorry," Carly apologised. "I don't like being alone either, so I'm glad you're here, Steve. You didn't have to drop your evening for me."

"I had nothing planned," Steve reassured her.

Carly smiled sweetly at him. "Well, you don't have to be alone tonight."

And that caused Steve to smile too.

Though, when the night started to quieten down with Carly making a comfortable make-shift bed out of blankets and a spare pillow on the floor for Steve, the front door of the house slammed closed. Carly had frozen, standing stiffly upright as her eyes fell on the bedroom door.

It was silent as Steve stood from the bed, standing closer to Carly as a comforting hand fell onto the small of her back. There were no words needed: Carly knew she was not alone, even if Steve was clueless about what she feared.

On the bedroom door, there was a small knock with the sound echoing in Carly's heart.

"Carly-Mae," Billy spoke her name. "I see you."

Chills prickled down Carly's spine, numbing her to the spot.

Steve stepped forward as if to do something, but Carly was quick to take his hand, head tilting upwards with wide eyes to meet his gaze as she shook her head. Opening the door now would only end in a fight.

Instead, Steve remained still, though he kept his hand locked with Carly's, thumb gently rubbing along her soft skin to calm her trembling body.

Eventually, Billy's shadow beneath the doorframe vanished. The bathroom door shut, interrupting the long silence as a commotion exploded. It was late for the bath to start running with the two listening, trying to figure out what was happening.

"What's he doing?" Steve whispered.

"I don't know," Carly replied quietly. "I don't want to know."

Carly should have never ventured into Billy's mind.

✺

Dark circles hung beneath Carly's eyes the following morning that she struggled to cover. That night, Carly had barely slept, where she was conscious of the fact that Steve Harrington was on her bedroom floor, as well as Billy being in the house.

It had been late when Carly's mom and stepdad had come home, oblivious to what was going on under their roof. Carly, though, had spent the majority of the night unable to stop thinking about everything.

Even with the sunlight outside, Carly still felt lost in the darkness.

But, right now, she was determined to stay optimistic. Steve had snuck out of the bedroom window with his backpack, waiting in the car for Carly while she changed.

Luckily for Carly, she had not bumped into Billy that morning but had been confused when she used the restroom that the three teenagers of the household shared. In the bathtub, there had been empty bags of ice.

Maybe it was to do with Billy's workout routines — that would make sense.

So, ignoring it, Carly had brushed her teeth before leaving the house for the day. As promised, Steve had been waiting in his car, still wearing his clothes from the day before.

"I'll change at work," Steve told her as she clasped her seatbelt into place.

"I hope so," said Carly, though she had offered to sneak Steve into her bathroom for him to freshen up and to change before leaving. "Or you'll scare our customers away."

"The customers love me," Steve decided.

"Whatever you say," Carly replied.

Steve pouted at that but Carly had already pulled out her mixtape from her bag, placing the tape into the stereo player of Steve's car. Noticing it, Steve rose his eyebrows, keeping his eyes on the road.

"You better have good taste, Sullivan," Steve told her.

"In men or music?" Carly asked with a smile, pressing play.

Madonna's Material Girl started to play at Steve shook his head, but still had a smile on his face.

"Hey, everyone loves Madonna," Carly insisted. "Stick with me, Steve, and you will love her too."

"I can't wait," Steve replied.

Carly's eyes briefly met his, knowing there was a little hint of suggestion within the words. All Carly could do was give him a look, silently reminding him to behave.

"Okay, how about this," Steve offered. "I'll love Madonna if you tell me what last night was truly about."

The words surprised Carly as she had suspected that Steve would take another shot at scoring a date with her. At this point, it was obvious they both had small (maybe small was an understatement) crushes on each other, but it was just a promise of heartbreak.

Carly looked away from Steve, pressing her lips together as she thought about what to say.

"We're friends, right?" Steve said, trying to ease Carly. "Whatever it is, Carly, I'm here for you."

"Did Max ever tell you why I moved in with my dad?" Carly asked.

Steve shook his head. "No, we don't really talk that much."

"Okay, well," Carly lost her words, fingers twisting as she picked at her skin again. "Billy, he's always been a bit vocal with his thoughts about me since we first met. At first, I just ignored it, but around him, I was just always on edge, unable to sleep in my own home. One night, we were home alone and... well, Billy's words turned to actions and my dad came to get me."

"Shit," Steve's hands tightened around the steering wheel. "Carly, did he..."

"No," Carly said. "Billy groped me, but I left before things got worse."

"What did your mom do?" Steve questioned, still calm, but Carly could sense his anger.

"My stepdad believed Billy when he said it didn't happen, so my mom's too scared to stand up to her husband," Carly said, finding that just as worse. "So I just moved in with my dad, leaving my family."

"Hey, don't feel guilty about leaving," Steve told her. "Christ, you did the right thing."

"I didn't," Carly insisted. "I left Max with him."

"Max is tougher than you think," Steve reassured her. "I've seen it myself. Maybe the two of you are alike like that."

Carly looked over at him, giving him a ridiculous look. "Me, tough? I called you last night as I was scared."

"You're in that house because you love your mom and sister," Steve reminded her. "That's pretty brave to me."

Carly smiled at that. "Maybe so."

"But, seriously, Carly," Steve's tone matched his words, which seemed unnatural for him. "I'll drop everything again to be there for you if need me, okay? Whatever you need."

"Thanks, Steve," Carly replied, truly touched. "You know, I'm here for you too."

By the time the two arrived at work, Robin's eyebrows had popped upwards as she spotted Steve's overnight bag and the two heading into work together. The teenage girl's lips pressed together, trying to hide her laughter.

"It's not what you think, Robin," Steve insisted.

"I really don't want to know," Robin decided.

Hearing that, Carly let out a small giggle.

The plan for that morning had been simple: Robin was going to continue translating to understand the message, Steve and Dustin were going to go snooping, and Carly was going to keep Scoops Ahoy floating. Apparently, that included young children demanding free scoops endlessly, where even Carly struggled to keep a cheery smile on her face.

Eventually, when things were quiet, Carly noticed Robin hurrying through from the kitchen.

"How's it going?" Carly questioned.

But Robin was rushing past Carly — and Steve and Dustin too — with her mind focused, whirling with a theory that she was figuring out. The three watched after her, completely clueless.

"So, spied any Russians?" Carly asked.

"There was one," Steve said.

"Nope," Dustin answered. "Nothing."

Then, with that, the two were rushing back out of Scoops Ahoy with Carly sighing after them. Though, by the time they returned, Robin came with the news that she had cracked the code.

✺

The rain was against them that night as it pounded, making it harder to see in the dark night. Carly had her red rain jacket on with the hood up, but it failed to protect her hair from the rain as the damp strands hung limply around her face.

To make things worse, the thunder clapped loudly above them.

"Look for Imperial Panda and Kaufman shoe," Robin instructed the four.

It was Dustin who had the binoculars as he focused them on the delivery truck. Beneath them, one of the delivery men was whistling a tune, which they could just about catch on top of the summer thunderstorm.

"They're with that whistling guy, ten o'clock," Dustin explained.

Carly's eyes spotted the boxes, still wanting to believe that it was a normal delivery service for the mall. Yet, Carly's optimism was fading at the sight of guards armed with guns.

"What do you think is in there?" Steve questioned.

"Guns, bombs?" Dustin guessed.

"Chemical weapons?" Robin added.

"Maybe it's something expensive?" Carly thought out loud, not wanting to jump to the worst.

Steve's head turned to face her, eyebrows raising. "In cardboard boxes?"

"A disguise," Carly suggested.

"No," Dustin decided. "Whatever it is, they're armed to the teeth."

"Great," Steve replied, wiping the rain from his eyes. "Just great."

"I would offer you my umbrella but I'm not allowed it," Carly said to Steve.

"The Russians'll spot a bright pink umbrella," Robin reminded her, but then the back doors had opened, catching their attention again. "Hey, what's in there?"

"It's just more boxes," Dustin informed them.

"Let me check it out," Steve decided, reaching for the binoculars.

Dustin held onto them tightly as the two started to bicker, fighting over them.

"No, I'm still looking."

"Lemme see it."

"Hang on."

There was a thud as the binoculars fell, hitting the ground beneath them. Hearing the noise, the guards reacted, eyes falling to the rooftops where the four were as they ducked just in time. Carly's heart pounded as Steve's fingers entwined with hers, squeezing gently in support.

The two looked towards each other, irises locking as their own panic was reflected.

But, knowing time was limited, Carly freed her own hand as the four were quick to seek their escape. Heading into the mall again, the warmth welcomed them as Carly pulled down the hood of her jacket, fingers squeezing the ends of her hair with the water dripping.

"Well, I think we found your Russians," Robin summarised.

"And they're not friendly Russians," Carly added, frowning in disappointment.

It was late when Steve dropped Carly home, where she wore his jumper to shield herself from the chill that came with her damp clothing. The lights were on as Carly's eyes fell on her house, unknowing of what kind of night it would be.

"Hey, you want me to come in?" Steve offered.

Carly's head turned to him with a smile. "Thanks, but Max should be home tonight."

"I'll leave you girls to it then," said Steve. "If you need me, just call, okay?"

Maybe it was Steve's sweetness or perhaps the last twenty-four hours, but Carly leaned across to kiss Steve Harrington on the cheek. "You're sweet, Steve. Thank you."

There was a slight tinge to Steve's cheeks as Carly pulled away, noticing the pure joy on his face. "It's nothing."

"It's everything," Carly argued softly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah," said Steve, still a little dazy as Carly's kiss lingered. "Tomorrow."

Carly giggled at that before leaving.

Inside the house, it was the complete opposite: Susan welcomed her daughter with a hug, spotting the damp clothes as she instructed Carly to change to get them washed and dried; then, there was no sign of Billy or Neil (to everyone's relief); and, in Max's bedroom, El was staying for a sleepover.

Once Carly had showered and changed, she ended up joining the two for a bit. There was a joyous look on Carly's face, where she offered to paint Max and El's nails. While Max said no, El was curious as Carly figured that it was a new experience for the teenage girl.

"Do all sisters do this?" El asked.

Hearing that, Carly looked up from the blue she was painting on the girl's nails. "Sometimes," said Carly, rolling her eyes teasingly at Max. "But, Max is not so fond of girly nights."

"Girly nights?" El questioned, curiously.

"Like make-up and shit," Max explained.

"Like painting nails," Carly added. "Or face masks."

El looked confused but fascinated. "Face masks?"

"Yeah," said Carly. "But it's not just about beauty; you could watch films too. Have you seen Sixteen Candlers or Footloose?

El shook her head, becoming overwhelmed.

"That's okay," Carly smiled. "It's late now, but next time you come over, I'll host a proper girly night."

Max groaned at that. "No thanks."

"I want to," El insisted. "Please."

"Fine," Max agreed.

Carly grinned at that, witnessing that Max had a soft spot for El, where she clearly cared about her friend and wanted to make her happy.

But, Carly winked at El, earning a small smile from the shyer teenage girl.

Though, Carly did not want to end up being the annoying older sister, so she ended up sleeping out on the settee that night. Having a pillow and a blanket, Carly was set, yet very anxious too.

The thought of sleeping while in the open kept Carly awake most of the night, but exhaustion must have pulled her under.

But, within the darkness of Carly's dreams, a pressure came. The air to her lungs vanished, the emptiness tightening.

Carly's eyes opened wide, gasping for air that would not come. Though, leaning over herself — and strangling Carly — was her step-brother.

Desperately, Carly's hands scratched at his hand, where Billy loosened his hold just enough for Carly to find a gap to breathe.

Even with the air, Carly was too frightened to scream. Instead, all she could do was stare at Billy.

Billy's free hand rose, fingers stroking Carly's cheek with delicacy — the touch so different compared to the thickness of his fingers around her neck. Though, even the soft touch was enough to cause Carly to tremble.

"You are just like me," said Billy, voice sound cold and foreign. "When it is time, I will come for you."

And then, finally, his fingers vanished from her skin. In the darkness of the room, Billy left, leaving Carly's shaky fingers to touch her neck before she started to sob.

✺

Carly needs a break from Billy lol. I'm thinking about finding a new face claim for Carly but I don't know who. Any ideas? The fc needs to look sweet & perky.