Mary got out of her car after pulling up outside of Steve's house — parking a little too diagonally and surely, if the police of Hawkins didn't know who the car belonged to, they probably would have had it towed or gave out a ticket.

As she approached the steps, Mary rubbed at her eyes, trying to keep herself awake and before she could knock the door it already opened, "You took ages. What took you so long?" Steve asked, hurrying Mary inside from the cold of the outdoors and into the warmth of his home.

"What, can't a girl go the normal speed limit for once?" She attempted to joke, offering a half smile but Steve knew his best friend — he knew that she were just faking it and that there was something seriously bothering her. And despite how moody he wanted to be at seeing Nancy with Jonathan through her window a few hours before, Steve knew he needed to keep his mouth shut about it for a while and comfort Mary.

Steve wrapped his arm around Mary's shoulders, "My parents are out for date night so we can sit by the fire and get you warmed up a bit, you're freezing." Steve said as they headed into the living room, where the fire was already lit and Mary found herself missing the fireplace in her old home where herself, Sara and her mother would burn marshmallows — assuring Jim it was the closest to camping they'd ever get.

Steve grabbed at a blanket from the edge of the couch before wrapping it around Mary's shoulders as she sat down on the floor, crossing her legs and pulling the material closer to her body.

"I'm gonna make us some hot chocolate — the barista Steve special," He told the girl, trying to crack a smile out of her and he managed to get the smallest of smiles as she looked up at him, "Back in a min." And then he disappeared into the kitchen, leaving Mary alone.

She stared into the flames of the fire, watching as it crackled and burned the firewood. Mary found herself wondering if fire burned in the other side or if it always remained cold — was it always such a dreadfully freezing place? And was Charlie truly stuck there with no way of protecting himself from a maniac monster?

Steve had only been gone a few minutes before he returned, two cups of hot chocolate in his hands with marshmallows on the top — only pink for Mary, whom since as a child always said the white ones tasted weird and would only eat the pink. Steve thought she were full of shit, but still he always found himself giving her the pink ones anyway.

He sat down beside her, offering over her cup and she took it into her cold hands as her gaze stayed on the fire, "You wanna talk about it?" Steve asked, nudging her shoulder a little with his, "Or do you wanna do the Mary Hopper usual and just build it all up until eventually you take a temper tantrum and the whole down has to deal with the fallout of it?"

Steve was grinning and soon Mary was too as she laughed a little, closing her eyes in relief at the sound of her own laugh. Honestly, she was afraid she'd never hear the sound again — after discovering the monstrosities that lived within Hawkins she felt like maybe she'd never be happy again.

The smile slowly slipped from Mary's lips and Steve found himself worrying, "Charlie's missing, Steve," She finally said and the boys mouth slowly fell open, "He um... He left a note two days ago for his parents. He hasn't just gone missing — he's ran away." Mary knew it weren't the truth she were telling but it was a truth; the truth that the Williams' believed in.

"He left?" Steve asked, his voice small. Wondering if he'd ever see one of his friends again, "Without even saying anything — without a goodbye? Nah, that doesn't sound like Charlie at all, Mary." He refused to believe and Mary found herself nodding her head along with him in agreement.

"Exactly." She put her cup down onto the hardwood floor before digging into her pocket and handing Steve the note who's brown gaze scanned over it.

Steve looked up sadly, sighing deeply, "It's his handwriting —"

"No," Mary said, edging closer to Steve to point down at the letter sprawled on the paper, "It's too neat." She pointed out and Steve scrunched up his face, not seeing how Charlie's scribbly handwriting was anywhere near neat.

"What're you talking about, Mare? It's a freakin' mess." He insisted, gesturing with the paper and Mary pursed her lips together and nodded.

"Yeah sure, of course. But do you know why his writings like that?" She looked up, meeting Steve's curious eyes, "Because he's impatient, he writes too quickly." She informed him, taking the note back from his hands and to her own.

"What's your point?" Steve asked the million dollar question and Mary licked her slightly chapped lips from the cold weather.

"Charlie writes so quick he always smudges the pen — always..." She trailed off, eyes flickering around the paper that was in a clean state, "There's not even one smudge here." She said, glancing up to see the look on Steve's face, to see where he believed it could be suspicious or not.

He tilted his head, wincing a little and making a small noise, "Mary, that's a, that's a reach." He said and the girl nodded slowly in agreement, although she were desperate for her best friend to believe her.

"I know, trust me. But strange things have been happen in Hawkins recently. Is it really so strange to believe that this note is fake and Charlie hasn't actually ran away?" She asked him hopefully, a desperate look on her face, making her look years younger than what she was.

Steve hesitated before he spoke, "You might be right — but if you are then what? What does it mean? Why would someone fake that Charlie ran away?" He asked her and Mary pulled her bottom lip under the top one, diverting her gaze, wanting to tell Steve the whole truth but knowing it would only bring him into the chaos.

"Will went missing and then showed up dead. Then Barbara — who they still haven't found either. And now Charlie, he's also missing. But maybe they're not just going missing, what if —"

"Someone's taking them," Steve pieced together and Mary nodded as the boy took a long sip of his hot chocolate. Needing a sugar rush to get through their conversation, "This is bat-shit crazy — are we really talking about this? That there's someone taking kids and —"

"I don't know, Steve," Mary spoke over him, "I'm not thinking straight right now. I just — I just really needed to let it out on someone and you're the only person I trust..." Mary told him, holding his eyes and Steve chuckled, diverting his gaze as he did so, a smile on his lips.

"Well, you're officially pretty much the only person I can actually stand in this town." He told her and Mary tilted her hair, slightly sticky hair brushing against her face — although she had picked the shreds of goo from it in the car and tossed it from the window; it now only looked as though she had used too much hairspray.

"What about Misses Wheeler? Has something happened?" She asked, raising and eyebrow of concern and Steve shifted his position, leaning one of his arms against his knee that was bent upwards.

"She's not the person I thought she was. At least, I don't think she is," He told her and Mary stared at him in confusion before he elaborated further, "I saw her with Byers tonight in her room — all snuggled up and cosy with the stalker bastard." Mary's lips parted at the news and she fumbled for words, which Steve suddenly picked up on.

"What? Why do you look like you're having a spazz-attack?" He asked her, bunching his eyebrows together and Mary pulled her lips downwards, shaking her head as she avoided eye contact, both of their faces a comical scene.

"Nothing — I mean his brother just died, maybe she was comforting him." She suggested and Steve scoffed in disbelief.

She leaned closer, her face edging towards Steve's, "Hey, I'm not defending them. I'm just saying, maybe it's more innocent than you think..." Mary leaned her shoulder against Steve's before she spoke an ironic truth as a joke, "Maybe they were out monster hunting or something." Steve laughed at that and Mary chuckled nervously, looking to the ground as she picked at the blanket.

Steve looked at her with a smile in his eyes, "You wanna stay here tonight? You look like shit — and my mom just bought a water bed for the guest room, so you'd get a good nights sleep." He said, suddenly not wanting his best friend to leave and be in his own company in the large empty house.

Mary picked up her hot chocolate and took a sip, her tastebuds almost exploding with the taste. The first thing she had properly tasted in a few days, "That sounds like a brilliant idea. A Mary and Steve sleepover is always therapeutic." She said, the side of her eyes creasing with a smile.

Steve stood up a teasing smile on his lips as he hurriedly moved to the kitchen, wanting to be out of her range before he spoke his next words, "You should probably take a shower though. You smell like you just came from a pigs pen."

                              ———

           Damn, I adore detective Mary.

            Also the friendship between Steve and Mary is the cutest ever --- I love the only two problematic characters I stan <3