CARLA WOKE UP TO THE SOUND OF A CARS ENGINE.

Her body snapped up as if she'd just been startled, hands holding her upper body up.  A slimy substance covered her fingers and palms, a chill getting sent right through her body at the feeling, causing her to cringe in response.

Her eyes searched her surroundings, trying to figure out where the hell she was.  But, it wasn't too hard to figure out—Carla knew this place a little too well.  With vines surrounding her body, particles flying around the dark tinted place and slime touching her bare skin, it was clear where she was.

The Upside Down; this was a nightmare.

"Fuck," Carla whispered, putting her head in her hands, knowing exactly what this meant.  She'd gone through this same situation twice and knew the drill by now.  Her nightmares only came back when things were about to happen, things related to the Upside Down—first when Will got taken, the other when he was possessed by the Mind Flayer—and there was only one reason she could be back here.  Something bad was about to happen; something very bad.....

A foot stomped on to the gravel ground, and Carla's head snapped in the direction the sound came from.  Stepping out of his car was Billy Hargrove—which had a cracked windshield, an odd appearance for a car he worshipped so much—and in his arms was a girl who limply laid there, un-moving.

Around her wrists was a blue and white rope, which bound them together.  The rope traveled down to her ankles as well, tying them together too.  If she tried, she'd be unable to move—but Carla supposed that was intended.

What was happening?

While she would rather have stayed quiet, Carla decided to speak up.  She had no clue what Billy was about to do with this girl, but based on his history with women and her gut feeling, the Wheeler didn't trust him at all, "Billy?"

The boy stayed silent, slowly making his way to the building in front of him.  So, the girl tried again, "Billy? What are you doing with her? Why is she tied up?"  When he didn't answer again, she finally stood up, and walked over to him, tired of being ignored.  But, when she went to put a hand on his shoulder, she couldn't.

As if he was made of thin air, her hand went right through his shoulder.  

Carla's eyes narrowed, and she made another attempt, her hand going right through him, just as it had.  Her hand lingering over his arm, she came to the conclusion that she was unaware of making her appearance known.  He couldn't hear her or feel her, and she assumed he couldn't see her either, as he would have commented by now.

But, as her hand lingered over his skin, Billy stopped walking and his gaze landed on her, eyes cold—colder than they normally were.  The blue almost burned into her soul, and she felt as if he could see her.  She could almost feel his gaze seeping into her, noticing that she was indeed watching the scene unfold.

Yet, as soon as his eyes landed on her, they left, as if he was ignoring her figure.  He continued walking into the building ahead, which read "Brimborn Steel Works".  The Wheeler had never heard of the place, but silently followed the blonde boy and unconscious girl inside, curious on what he was about to do.

At least if something bad happened, she'd be able to tell someone the moment she awoke.....then again, this was just a dream.  Maybe none of it was real and was just a fucked up image her mind was making up.  She wouldn't be surprised if it was.

Following the Hargrove into the building and down the steps, she took in the eeriness of the place.  It looked abandoned, the perfect place for something bad to happen, as no one would even picture the place in their minds.  

A sudden whimpering took Carla from her mind, and she looked further on in the place towards Billy and the girl, who was now lying on the floor, the blonde over her frame.  Quickly running down the stairs, the Wheeler took a stand in front of the two, watching with a worried expression.

She could now recognize the girl as Heather Holloway.  The girl had been in Steve's grade, and was rather nice as Carla remembered her.  She now worked with Billy at Hawkins Community Pool, which probably made her an even easier target for whatever the Hargrove was working towards.

The cold grown hitting her skin must have woken Heather up, because she was now whimpering, confused and terrified to why she was tied up in a dark, unfamiliar place, Billy staggering above her adding on to the fear.

Carla watched from the side, wishing she was able to help Heather.  Though the two weren't friends, she wasn't about to let anything happen to the Holloway.  That wasn't who the Wheeler was. 

Heather started moving around, muffled whimpers falling from her lips as she tried to loosen her ropes, but she was abruptly stopped by Billy, the boy roughly putting his hands on her shoulders and shoving her down with a small yet loud 'thud'.

The girls eyes closed and Billy's head lowered towards her ear, "Don't be afraid.  It'll be over soon." His voice was almost a whisper, but it echoed through the quiet building, "Just stay very still."

His hand reached the tape stuck to her mouth, and he slowly ripped it off, discarding it on the floor.  Heather did as she was told and stayed quiet, the only sound being her unbalanced breathing.

Billy stood back up and then Carla felt it.

An almost burning sensation on her wrists where her scars were littered.  A burn that set her arms aflame, her mind alert with confusion.

But, once the snarling started from behind her.....it wasn't to hard to figure out why her arms had begun burning.

Carla turned around to see a huge, fleshy monster standing behind her.  It let out snarls, snarls that made the Wheeler girl freeze in place as if it had some sort of hold on her.  Snarls that brought her back to being pinned up against the Byers' wall, a death wish calling her name.

Heather's screams drowned out in Carla's head as she eyed up all that was this monster, breathing becoming unsteady.  Adrenaline ran through her, and she heard a small sob echo through the building, only for her to realize it was her own.  

The Wheeler shook her head and shuffled backwards, watching the monster slowly walk closer to the other girl, who was screaming on the ground, body twitching as she tried to hopelessly move away out of fear.

This couldn't be happening.  This wasn't real, it was just a fucking dream.  The monster wasn't real, it wasn't real.  Carla kept backing up, even when the monster finally stopped in front of the tied up girl.  It wasn't coming for her, yet the Wheeler still kept backing as far away as she could.  Maybe it was her post traumatic stress returning, or just the fact she was scared.  Scared of what would happen to Heather, to her, to Hawkins if this thing was real.

Suddenly, Carla backed into something, a scream leaving her lips at the unexpected scare.  Slowly turning around, the Wheeler caught sight of someone she knew too well.  Standing right behind her was....herself?

Heather's helpless screams faded away and suddenly everything went quiet.  Brimborn Steels Works was no longer where she was, and the Holloway girl and Hargrove boy were no longer with her.  Instead, she was in a black void.   Everywhere she looked was black, and the floor below her was water.

The replica of herself didn't speak.  She didn't move.  Instead, she just looked straight at Carla, almost waiting for the real her to make the first move.  

So, that's exactly what she did. The Wheeler girl lifted her hand, watching as the replica did the exact same thing, almost like Carla was looking in a mirror.   She did it again, using the other hand, and the same outcome was met.  The replica was like a reflection.   Was Carla looking at herself or was this replica something much more sinister?

Carla moved her hands closer to the replica, her reflection copying the movement until they were only a few meters apart.  Even their breathing was the same.  Taking the final step closer, curious on what this reflection was supposed to show her, the Wheeler allowed their hands to touch.

The moment they touched, she felt her eyes roll to the back of her head and images began filling her mind.

The large, fleshy monster.  

Screaming. 

Melting people. 

An army of people in a dim room.  

Billy, black veins strewn across his face.  

Her, next to him with the same appearance.  

A red world. 

A monster of a man. 

A rip through Hawkins. 

Her family, dead. 

Friends dead. 

Steve, dead.

Everyone, dead.

A voice rang through her head.  Her own voice.

 "This is your future, Carla.  He wants you, and he won't stop until he has you."

Just as she had in her dream, Carla flew up from her spot on her bed, hand slapped over her mouth to muffle her scream.  She'd just had the first nightmare since last November—not a good sign.  Of course, her mind decided against being generous, and gave what had to be one of her worst nightmares, the images haunting her mind as she took a minute to herself, trying to steady her rather uneven breathing.

The figure who'd previously been sleeping next to her shot up, almost as if he'd been the one who'd had the nightmare.  A hand met her shoulder and she would have flinched away from it if it wasn't for the familiar voice of Steve Harrington  in her ear, "Hey, baby, breathe.  Just breathe."

Listening to her boyfriends words, she tried to concentrate on her breathing, making sure she took a steady breath in and a steady breath out.  It was rather hard, though, with the images replaying through her mind—Nancy, her parents, Mike, Holly, Jonathan, Will, Steve, everyone she knew....dead. Hawkins, gone.  Not to mention the words her replica had spoken. "This is your future, Carla. He wants you, and he won't stop until he has you."

Once she'd managed to slightly calm herself, she let out a few quiet words, "I-I'm sorry for waking you up."

Steve quickly shook his head, reassuring the girl, "No, Carla you have nothing to apologize for." he pulled the girl close, which she appreciated.  Steve was always good at making her feel safe, even if it was just by embracing her like he was now.  After a moment, he finally asked, "Nightmare?"

Carla gave a weak nod, interlocking their fingers together.  Light filtered through her window, telling the girl that in a few moments time, her mother would come banging on the door, telling her it was time to get up, "Yeah, first one since November.  It just....shook me up."

"It's okay, it was just a dream." Steve pressed his lips to her temple, letting them linger as the two of them sat in silence, the only sound being the commotion coming from downstairs—probably Mike and his friends eating breakfast.  Though his words were meant to cause reassurance, neither were actually sure they felt such.  Carla knew that her dream wasn't just that....it meant something, and Steve had caught on enough to know that her nightmare—which she hadn't had since everything ended—wasn't just a mere coincidence. 

Something was up, but neither wanted to admit it—didn't want to believe it, at that.

After a few more moments of silence, the voice of Karen Wheeler came through the door, her fist knocking against the door, as Carla expected, "Carla, honey! Time to get up, breakfast is downstairs!"

The Wheeler girl didn't move, she didn't want to.  She liked being in Steve's arms, a place where she could feel safe and sound, no matter the situation.  After her nightmare, all she wanted to do was spend the day with him, which wouldn't be possible with her library shift, which she had skipped most of the day beforehand because of the girls.

The Harrington seemed to sense this and mumbled, "Y'know we could call in sick and just stay here like this all day." His voice sounded tired, as if his body would have appreciated the few more moments of sleep he could have received if it wasn't for his girlfriends abrupt awakening—not like he would ever admit that.

"While I love the sound of that," the Wheeler hummed, "I have to go to work and so do you. Marissa's already going to question why I missed the rest of my shift yesterday, and I'm sure Robin would kill you if you didn't show up."

"Well, they're both single, right? They don't understand that sometimes people just need days off with their significant others," Steve shrugged.

Carla raised a brow, giving a light smile at his words, "Since when did you get so smart?"

"Since I met you."

Steve then pulled her in for a rather passionate kiss, Carla accepting the gesture, smiling as their lips pressed against one another.  It started off rather tender, but within a few minutes, their lips met more desperately.   As it usually went, his lips then trailed down her jaw-line, stopping right below her ear, where he whispered,  "Are you sure there's nothing I can do to make you stay with me?"

"Keep doing what you're doing and I'll think about it," the girl replied as his lips trail down her neck, contentment running through her.  Steve knew exactly how to make her feel better.

 If she could, she'd definitely give in to his offer and stay in bed with him all day—especially after her nightmare—but of course, that wasn't how the world worked.  She had a job to do, and the sudden opening of her door reminded her of that.

"Carla— Oh my god!" Mike's voice suddenly erupted, the door being slammed shut afterwards.  The couple, whose moment had been ruined by the sudden entrance, looked at one another before they reacted—each in different ways.  Carla let out a small laugh, while Steve's head fell back into his girlfriends neck, slightly embarrassed from being caught.

"What the fuck you two?"

"Don't 'what the fuck' me," Carla called back. Just as quickly as Steve had given her it, the good mood that had filled her up quickly left at the sound of her brother's words.  Mike was the one who'd opened a closed door, not her, "You're the one who opened a closed door.  Be happy I had a shirt on."

"Do not put that image in my head! It's already bad enough you were doing that at eight in the morning."

"And if you weren't such an asshole, you'd be at Eleven's doing the same thing!" the elder girl called back, causing her brother to fall quiet for a minute.  Maybe it was still to fresh to remind him that he'd lied to his girlfriend—or maybe ex depending on how the girls spent the rest of their afternoon, "Tell mom that I'm getting up, I know she sent you up here."

"Fine."

Hearing the younger boy run down the stairs, the couple collapsed back on to the Wheeler girls bed, turning so they faced one another.  Steve, running a hand over his face, was the first to speak up, "I can't believe I just lost my dignity to your brother."

"I'll lock the door next time," Carla shrugged, pressing one more kiss to the boys lips before crawling off of her bed, picking up his discarded Scoops Ahoy uniform from her bedroom floor and tossing it at his figure, "Now, get dressed before someone comes back up and actually see something."

"Yes ma'am," Steve replied, getting up from the bed himself.

As the boy passed behind her, the brunette girl opened her drawers, scanning through them until she sought out what she was looking for—a white t-shirt and a blue skirt, patterned with small white flowers.  She quickly changed into it, sliding on her flats and scanning herself over in the mirror.

Steve was just as quick and was quickly in his work uniform, adjusting everything so he could at least look somewhat decent.  Grabbing her things—which was really just her small purse—her and the Harrington headed down the stairs to meet the rest of the Wheeler family, who were all pursuing breakfast. 

She saw Mike send her a side eye as he grabbed a box of cereal from the counter, but she ignored it and headed towards the bowl of fruit in her house, picking up an apple and a banana for her and her boyfriend.  

Karen Wheeler walked out from the hallway, setting her pool bag down on to the kitchen table, "Sleep well you two?"

Carla gave a weak nod, and allowed her boyfriend to speak up for the both of them, "Yeah, we did." She'd never told her mother about the nightmares, even though they'd been going on for three years now.  Karen wouldn't understand them, she hadn't been through what she had.

Mike raised his eyebrows, "Oh, I bet you did—"

The elder sister lifted the hand that was holding the fruit, eyes staring at her brother with a 'try me' look, "One more comment and I'm literally going to toss this banana at your head."  At her words, the boy sent an eye roll.

Karen looked at the two, slightly scolding her son, "Mike, that's enough. We talked about this."

"Yeah, yeah." he ignored his mothers words, running down the stairs, cereal box in hand

Carla sent a wave towards her mother, walking towards the door with her boyfriend behind her.  "Okay, uh, that's my cue to leave."

"Oh, bring an umbrella, I heard it's going to start storming soon!" Karen called out, the Harrington boy beside her daughter picking one up from the small basket, handing it to the Wheeler with a smile. 

Carla sent an appreciative smile to the older woman, "Okay, love you, bye!"

"Bye!"

Carla exited her house, Steve shutting the door behind them.  Though it wasn't raining quite yet, based on the cloudy exterior of Hawkins, the Wheeler could tell it would be soon, just as her mother predicted.  Twirling the umbrella around in her fingers, she entered the Harrington boys car that was parked in her driveway, setting it down between her legs.   Steve took the drivers seat, as he usually did, taking out the keys and starting up his car.

Surprisingly, they drove in silence for a few moments, Carla taking the time to eat her apple, staring out the window as the gray clouds grew larger and larger.  It had been boiling for the past few days, and a nice rain would refresh the grass and trees, as well as give the town some moisture to blend out the hot days they'd received.

Steve was the one to start conversation, mentioning the elephant in the room, "Do you want to talk about it?"

She stayed quiet for a moment, listening as they drove down roads, other cars passing by.  In all honestly, she'd rather keep her mouth closed about the nightmare.  She wasn't even sure it was real, for all she knew, it was just some fucked up image her mind was showing her just to scare her.  Then again, it could be real.  A monster could be lurking in Hawkins....

So, she decided to slightly speak on the matter, "I don't know, it just really scared me."

"What was it about?"

"I don't want to get into big details, but there was a monster.  It wasn't like the demogorgans or like Dart though....it was big and fleshy.  I got really bad ptsd, y'know? And I started backing away and then I  backed right into myself.   It was like a reflection, but when I finally got close enough for our hands to touch, I-I saw things."

"What did you see, Carla?"

"Really fucked up things.....and I don't know whether this means something or it's my mind playing games with me.  I just don't know." the Wheeler girl sighed, looking over at her boyfriend.  

The boy turned into the library parking lot, taking a hand off the wheel and placing in on his girlfriends thigh, "Whether or not it's real, I'm not gonna let anything harm you.  You've gone through enough."

Carla gave a weak smile and pressed her lips to his cheek in a goodbye, "This banana is for you, and I'll see you later."

"I love you,"

"Love you too," Carla sent a final wave his way before running into her place of employment, feeling the first drops of rain fall down from the dim sky above. 

mara's misc!

hiii

this chapter took me a minute to write, but i think the finished product is okay.  it's literally just filler, which believe it or not, i hate writing.  i'd much rather write scenes from the show themselves, but oh well.

anyway, did ya'll rlly think i'd give carla a break? 

fun fact: her nightmare was actually supposed to take place when billy first ended up the upside down after he crashed his car, and i actually had it all written out but then i realized that i had gotten the timeline wrong.

billy and the car crash happened an episode beforehand, and i while i was completely fine with the nightmare i wrote, the 'the timeline is wrong' thought was literally annoying me so much that i just re wrote the whole thing, and again, it turned out okay to me.

also, writing starla content is my literal favorite thing so......just had to state that.

hope you enjoyed <3 see you back with chapter five!