NICE OF YOU TO FINALLY SHOW UP !

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THE SOUND OF A CAR PULLING INTO THE BYERS DRIVEWAY HAD ALL THE KIDS RUSH TO THE WINDOW. The only reason anyone would have been back this early was if something was wrong. Alex and Steve had waited as all the kids had peered through the window before Max's head whipped around to look towards Alex. "You're kidding. He's here."

Making her way towards the window, Alex had checked out what they had all been seeing. A blue Camaro had been parked with it's front lights shining through the window. "Who told him you were here?"

"Me?" she scoffed, giving a hard shove to Alex. "You should talk. He probably doesn't even realize I'm gone. He's probably here for your date."

Alex paused for a moment as she looked from Billy's car to Max. "My what?"

Pulling herself off the couch, Max stood up in frustration. "He called you this morning and you agreed for tonight! All day he's been getting ready for this."

"Getting ready for a date?" Steve questioned. Nodding his head with a frown, he looked to Alex with his hands raised out before slapping them back down to his sides. "A date?" He had sounded just as he felt— hurt. Even he couldn't mask it with a witty joke and play it off.

A panic had washed over Alex as she realized her mistake. This morning she had been more focused on finding Dart and with the Mind Flayer still there, her last concern was what Billy Hargrove had to say. Nervously, Alex tried to laugh it off. "I guess I didn't realize."

"You just didn't realize," Dustin said flatly. "Yeah, okay, sure. That makes it better. Now get the hell out there and you just laugh it off and tell him that too, huh?"

"Alex, you have to. He can't see me here. He'll kill me. He'll kill us all," Max pleaded, which had only convinced Alex further. Starting to give in, she had started to nod her head in order to fix her mistake.

Sticking his hand out, Steve had shaken his head in response. "Whoa, whoa. Everyone relax, okay? I'll handle it. Don't go near the window so he doesn't see you. Just-Just calm down."

"Steve, this is on me. I can handle this. I mean, it's Billy. He'll kick your ass," Alex fought back. After watching them in the gym, it was quite obvious who would be winning in a fight.

Steve didn't seem to see it this way as he made his way towards the front door. "Stay here. No ones kicking my ass, all right? A little confidence in me would be nice though."

Giving in, despite her belief not being so, Alex gave a nod. "Yeah, of course. You got this, Harrington."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Steve had tossed the rag onto the floor as he opened the front door. Instantly, all the kids, including Alex, had all raced towards the window in curiosity. If there was a fight, they all wanted to see it.

"He's gonna die," Lucas whispered, "Thank God."

Reaching around Max, Alex had given him a smack to the back of the head. "He will not." Looking back out towards the window as Billy had gotten out of his car, cigarette all ready lit and in his mouth, she had her doubts. "He'll just get hurt really bad." With no one fighting that statement, Alex had reached for Max's hand to hold on to as they prepared for a Harrington-Hargrove fight.

Stepping onto the porch, Steve had placed his hands on his hips as he watched Billy close his car door. Unamused to see that Steve Harrington had been where his little sister should be, Billy blew the smoke from his mouth in aggravation. "Am I dreaming, or is that you, Harrington?" His eyes had flicked over to the window where he had spotted the few heads of his sister, Alex and the three boys. His blood had boiled but he remained cool as he pulled off his jacket and tossed it onto his car.

"Yeah, it's me. Don't cream your pants," Steve said flatly. When Billy had begun to make his way over, Steve had stepped off the porch to meet him half way. The last thing he needed was for Billy to invite himself into the Byers house. Standing before him, Steve looked him over and couldn't help but notice that Billy had seemed more dressed up than usual. His shirt had been unbuttoned down his chest and he had reeked of a mixture of smoke and cologne.

"What are you doing here, amigo?" Billy questioned, sizing up Steve in the process.

"I could ask you the same thing," Steve said plainly before pausing. Meeting Billy's eyes, he mocked him. "Amigo."

"Looking for my stepsister. I gotta get her back home so I can head out for my date. You wouldn't know if either of them were here, would you? A little birdie told me they were here."

Crossing his arms, Steve gave a simple shrug as his eyes turned away from Billy's. "Huh, That's weird, I don't know your stepsister." Scoffing lightly, he had met Billy's eyes once again and tried to understand why someone like him could be interested in Alex. He believed that someone like Billy would go for any girls that were interested in him, and were probably just as awful. "I know for a fact Alex isn't your date though because she's not here either."

The cigarette between Billy's lips had dipped as his expression had dropped into a frown. "My stepsister— small, redhead, bit of a bitch?"

"Doesn't ring a bell, sorry, buddy."

Sighing, Billy had pulled the cigarette out from between his lips and tossed it down to the ground between Steve's feet. The heads in the window had become more visible, only proving to him that Steve Harrington was lying straight to his face. "You know, I don't know, this..." Clicking his tongue, Billy took a step forward. "This whole situation, Harrington, I don't know. It's giving me the heebie-jeebies."

"Oh, yeah? Why's that?"

"My thirteen year old sister goes missing all day. My date tonight is a no show..."

Steve had interrupted with a small laugh. "It's not my fault a girl doesn't like you, man."

Billy ignored his comment. He had believed it had been all Steve's fault that Alex wasn't as interested in him as he hoped. Yes, she had kissed him at the Halloween party, but ever since then, she hadn't given him any further reason to believe she would ever do it again. From Billy's point of view, all of that had pointed right at the person standing in front of him. "What's weird about all this, is I find them both with you in a strangers house. And you lie to me about it."

Steve let out a small laugh, "Man, were you dropped too much as a child, or what? I don't know what you don't understand about what I just said. Neither of them are here."

Billy leaned in closer to Steve as he raised his finger towards the front window of the Byers house. "Then who's that?"

Keeping a straight face, Steve had turned his head just in time to see all of their heads hide away— but it had all been too late. "Shit, do you think he saw us?" Alex asked the group.

Looking to his sister, Dustin looked at her in completely disbelief. "No, I think him pointing right in our direction was a coincidence." Smacking her hard, he whispered loudly. "Yes, he saw us! Get out there and kick his ass!"

"Or just go on the stupid date so he leaves," Lucas pleaded.

Breathing heavily out of nerves, she had nodded her head along to get herself in the mood to stand up to Billy to make him leave. Planting her hands on the ground, she forced herself up onto her feet but before leaving, she had looked down to the kids. "Don't come outside, okay? Stay here and stay together." Turning on her heel, she had exhaled slowly before opening the front door and stepping outside.

Billy had walked over Steve after shoving him to the ground in time to see Alex. Flashing her a smile, he had raised his arms out in wonder. "Henderson, nice of you to finally show up." Glancing down to his watch, he had shook his head as he approached her. "Sweetheart, you're a little late for our date."

"Billy, I'm sorry, but I didn't know," she said gently. Standing in front of the door, she had made sure that there was no clear path for him to get through to Max and the others. "You need to leave now and we can talk about it later."

"No, you see, I'm not for sloppy seconds, okay? Go ahead and stick with Harrington." Trying to make his way around her, she had backed up to block the door with her body.

"I'm not letting you in there."

Standing up straight, he had leaned closer to her until his breath had hit her face. She turned to the side to avoid the smell of cigarettes while he had pressed a finger to her temple. "That freaky voice in your head telling you what to say, huh?" Licking his lips, he had pulled away as he chuckled to himself. "Cut the crap, Henderson. Move over."

Holding out her arms, she had blocked the door completely as she turned to face him again. "I said no."

His eyes had flickered over her face as he tried to understand her. Before she had been on edge and didn't mind giving him attitude, but tonight she had felt like a different person. But he knew he was still the exact same person he always was. "You're just as screwed in the head as everyone says." Placing his hand on her arm, he had jerked it off the door and pushed her down onto the ground. For a moment, he had hesitated as he thought of his mother, but that soon faded and he had let himself into the Byers house.

Rushing over from Billy's car, Steve had came to her aid. Helping her back up onto her feet, he checked her over. "Hey, you good?"

Straightening out her clothes, she had given him a nod in response. "Yeah, I-I'm fine. But you better kick his ass for that. And if he touches any of them, I'm gonna kill him."

"We can kick his ass together, come on," Steve whispered. Letting her go to walk in her own, the two had walked into the Byers house just to be greeted with the kids screaming at Billy and Lucas cornered into a wall.

After kneeing him hard between the legs, Lucas had managed to escape Billy's grasp when he leaned over in pain. Letting out a groan, he had stood back tall as a new fire had been lit inside him. "You are so dead, Sinclair! You're dead!"

Moving ahead of Alex, Steve had wrapped his hand onto Billy's shoulder before he could attack and pulled him away. When he had gained Billy's attention, he dropped down his arm. "No, you are," he said calmly, just before sending his fist right into Billy's face.

Heading right towards the kids, Alex had gathered them all behind her as she pulled Lucas in when he raced over. "You good, Lucas?"

Fixing his bandana, he annoyingly gave a nod. "He's a piece of shit, but I'm good." Looking up to her, he had seen that blood had started to trickle down the side of her face. "Hey, is your head okay, Henderson?"

Pulling her eyes off the fight, she gave a glance to him as she reached up to her head. Feeling the warmth of the blood on her fingertips, she quickly wiped it off on her jeans before using her sleeve to clean up the side of her head. For the kids to see her hurt would only make them more scared than they were now, so she played it off the best she could. "Yeah, don't worry about me. He just shoved me on the ground."

The sound of Billy's hysterical laughing had the kids scoot closer to one another as they all peered around Alex's back. Standing up, Billy had blood dripping down from his nose as he pointed a finger up in Steve's face. "Looks like you got some fire in you after all, huh? I've been waiting to meet this King Steve your girlfriend keeps talking so much about!" Dropping his finger, he looked over to Alex, "Go on, Henderson! Tell him exactly how you feel!"

"Keep her out of this," Steve instructed calmly. Placing two fingers on Billy's chest, he gently moved him back. "Get out." For him to remain calm and collected had taken all that was in him. For the kids and Alex, he was set on keeping himself from knocking Billy on to his back after what he had done to Lucas and the girl he loves.

Billy didn't think the same as Steve as he kept his eyes on him. There was no chance he was going to be walking out the door without a fight. It didn't matter if he had Max or not— if Steve was still standing, then he was not leaving. Without a word, Billy had balled up his fist and sent it sailing at Steve's face, only for it to be dodged completely. Seeing an opportunity, Steve had swung back in return, this time connect hard with Billy's jaw.

With Billy thrown off his balance, Steve head taken his chance to get in as many hits as possible as the children had cheered him on. "Kick his ass, Steve!" Dustin had screamed from behind Alex. "Murder the son of a bitch!"

"Get that shithead!" Mike called out next. Alex had held out her arms to keep the kids at a safe distance, trying to hold in her own cheers to see Steve winning. If Billy wasn't going to leave without having to throw a punch, she was hoping Steve could manage a win for the group. However, her hope was far too soon.

Billy had continued to laugh, even as he had toppled on to the sink. Grabbing a plate in the process, he had regained his balance while letting out a large laugh before hitting Steve hard across the face with it. Steve had lost his upper hand as he was knocked back from the plate shattering against him. The kids cheering had died down and Alex had moved them back further from the fight and made sure that they had found their way back behind her.

A solid punch had hit Steve once more while Billy had continued to advance on him. With every punch, Steve had attempted to move back to find some control for himself but often found himself failing when he felt Billy's fist connect with his jaw.

Unable to watch any longer, Alex had bunched the kids into a tight group against the wall before she made her way towards Billy. Rather than hit him like her first instinct had told her to, she had grabbed him by his shoulder to pull him back from Steve as she called out his name to stop.

However, Billy's rage had continued to blind him. He had hated Steve Harrington. He had hidden away his sister and lied to him about it, and had stolen away a girl he had actually liked, which had been rare for Billy. Yet, Billy had never taken the time to consider that his sister was with friends that meant everything to her and she had felt safe, and Alex was always Steve's and Steve was always hers. He was only ever fighting for something that he had already lost.

Out of instinct, Billy had whipped his hand at her, punching her hard against the cheek. Stumbling back from the blow, Alex had held her face in surprise. The sting had been a wake up call that if Billy was willing to hurt both her and Steve, then he very easily could hurt the kids. Dropping her hand down, she had stood back up tall and sent her own punch at his nose which had caught him by the same surprise.

Holding onto his nose, Billy was caught by surprise to see she had been willing to fight back. "You bitch!"

"Beat his ass, Alex! Punch him again!" Dustin screamed, moving out from behind the wall for a better view. Seeing that she wasn't going to back down, Dustin knew he had to be her biggest supporter out there. And in turn, the other kids joined in to cheer her on.

"Don't ever touch these kids again!" she screamed, hitting him once more in the face, making him stumble back in confusion from being hit by her. Yet no matter how angry she got, she was no match for someone like Billy. With one swift motioned, he punched her right in her jaw, making her stumbled back a few steps while she cupped her face in shock. He continued to advance on her, punching her once more, directly next to her eye, making her vision go blurry for a second, this time making her fall back into the kids arms.

Steve found whatever last minute strength he had in him to get himself up off the floor. Wiping the blood from his nose, he had stood back up, readying his fist as Billy started back towards Alex. Billy may have been blinded by his rage, Steve couldn't take seeing her hurt. "Don't ever touch her again," he said plainly with his blood boiling. He had went in for the punch, knocking Billy back for a second and regain his attention. Being at his best, Billy had regained his balance quickly as he spun back around and knocked Steve back down to the floor with another punch to the face. Making his way over, Billy had towered over Steve. "No one tells me what to do," Billy instructed with a snarl of his lip. Unable to fight back, Steve had laid on his back as Billy got down and began to punch him repeatedly.

Mike and Dustin pulled in Alex in a tight embrace as she held onto her jaw that was forming a horrible bruise on it already. Just the sounds alone of Billy beating on Steve made her heart begin to break, causing her to cry into Mike's chest. Stunned, Lucas finally fell to his knees next to Alex and lightly moved her hair out of her face. He tried to stop his hands from shaking while trying to unstick the bloody hair from her face to tuck it behind her ear just so she could have as much comfort as she could despite her pain.

Holding on tightly to Alex's hand, Max had watched with her mouth agape, completely at a loss at how to stop her brother. Alex and Steve had looked out for all of them every chance they could. They had risked their lives to demo-dogs and had stood up to Billy to ensure that the kids were safe at all times. This time, she had felt that it was up to her to take a stand. Her eyes had shifted from the back of Billy to the table beside her. Sitting on top had been the same medication that Joyce and Hopper had used to put Will to sleep.

Her hand had slowly slipped out of Alex's as she made her was to the table. The others paid no attention as their concern had been focused on Alex and the horror of Billy beating Steve. With the others occupied, Max had made her way up towards her brother, hesitant. She had been unsure what reaction she would get in return and how this would affect her at home. But this wasn't about how she felt. She loved the friends she made and she felt it was her turn to protect them.

No longer waiting, she had raised her arm up before sending it right towards Billy's neck. Letting go of the syringe, she had backed up as the needle had been jammed hard into his neck. It was enough of a distraction for him to pull away from Steve as his hand had reached up. Getting up onto his feet, Billy had slowly turned around as he looked to Max in a mixture of confusion and anger.

No words could escape his mouth as he breathed heavily, keeping his eyes focused on Max. Reaching up, he had pulled it from his neck, looking from it to her as he advanced. "What the hell is this?" His words were clear, but as he walked, his feet seemed to start to trip over one another as the drugs began to kick in. "You little shit, what did you do?" Coming to a stop, he began to sway as he realized his vision had begun to go blurry and his entire body had started to give out. "What did you do?" He repeated his question once again, but his inability to stay standing had taken over before he could get an answer. Stumbling back, he had fallen to the floor with a loud thud.

"Shit," Mike whispered in surprise. Pulling off of Dustin, Alex had went to go take a look for herself what had happened, but he had buried her right back into his chest. He wasn't sure what he was protecting her from, but he did know he didn't want her to look at Billy. He had hurt her in ways he could never dream of, and Dustin wanted to be sure he could never do it again. With Alex's head pounding, she was starting to grow into a daze from the blows she was unprepared for, her eyes had fluttered shut as she leaned back in to Dustin comfortably. She knew if she had forced herself to move or even walk, there was no telling how long she would last on her feet before her head would begin to spin and cause her to fall over.

Laughing from the floor, Billy had felt the drugs slip throughout his body. All he had wanted was to sleep just as the rest of him had been desperately trying to shut off to do, but knowing Max had did this to him, he couldn't help but laugh. He had lost, and it had been to his little sister. He wanted to hate her because she had a mom that would never leave her and his own dad knew better than to lay a hand on her. He hated her because when he was getting beaten down by his own father, he was only growing jealous of someone he didn't even see as blood. And just as everyone he cared for the smallest bit about, she had chosen someone else. Max had chosen to stand with her friends that had loved her endlessly. A girl he had started to grow feelings for had fought for not only Max, but Max had fought for her. Something he could never give to Max.

Now, standing above him, Max had raised Steve's bat up in the air as she looked to Billy. "From here on out, you leave me and my friends alone. Do you understand?"

Unable to show any emotion besides rage and frustration, Billy had laid on the Byers floor, unable to move, as he looked up to her lazily. "Screw you," he mumbled.

With one clean swing down, she had swung the bat down between his legs as a first and only warning. Billy had lifted his head for a look, now realizing that Max truly would do anything for them. She had yanked the bat out from the floor as she held it up once again. "Say you understand! Say it!"

Her words had echoed in his ears, and his ability to stay awake had started to slip from him. Closing his eyes, he had turned his head. "I understand," he mumbled lazily.

Wanting to head it loud and clear, Max leaned forward. "What?"

Opening his eyes a crack, Billy's words slurred together as he spoke. "I understand." With his final words, he had managed to slip into a deep sleep. Max had dropped the bat to the floor before making her way around him. Reaching down, she had fumbled in his pockets before pulling the keys out. Standing up straight, she dangled them before the group. "Let's get out of here," she stated. There was a plan to burn the tunnels and she was not letting what happened prevent that from happening. There was still a fight and just as she proved, she was not going to back down.

"Steve's knocked out," Dustin announced. Everyone had turned to see that laying motionless on the floor had been Steve Harrington after losing another fight. His face had been bruised and bloody, leaving Dustin to be the only one in search of bandaids and ice packs.

Mike had turned his focus on Alex as they had been crouched on the floor. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?"

Lifting her head up, Alex frowned before laying her head back down on Mike. "I feel great and dizzy," she whispered.

"Doesn't sound great," Lucas stated as he got up to his feet. Holding out a hand, he motioned for Mike to help her up. The moment Mike had went to get up, Alex closed her eyes as she shook her head. "I got it," she said quietly. Forcing herself up to her feet on her own, it wasn't long before she began to feel dizzy and started to fall towards Mike. With a small laugh, she had blinked a few times in hopes of clearing the fuzzy vision, but with no such luck, she had still felt she should be in charge. Back on her feet, she had pushed away Lucas and Mike's hands and extended her hand out towards Max. "Give me the keys. I'll drive."

Max instantly brought the keys closer to herself. "No way!" Waving her free hand in front of Alex's face, she scoffed, "Can you even see straight?"

"Uh, yeah," Alex scoffed back. Making a move to step forward, Alex had felt the room spinning before she had began to stumble and Mike and Lucas had caught her.

"Here, take this," Dustin called out, tossing over an ice pack towards Alex. Unable to focus on it, Alex held her hands out, only to allow it to go passed her and slide across the floor. Slowly lowering her hands, Alex gave a small frown. "I can still drive," she whispered.

"You can't ride a bike for shit, no way I trust you driving a car even when your brain isn't all busted," Lucas said as he made a grab for the ice pack. When he had tried to hold it to her head, she had moved out from Mike's arms to avoid it. "I don't need help."

Mike had turned to help Dustin with Steve, but Alex had been more determined to show she was perfectly fine. She needed to prove she could function without help, and maybe they would be more willing to let her drive. Yet, Mike had pointed to Max and Lucas for some help. "You two help get her to the car. Dustin and I can help Steve."

"No," Alex sighed, gently pushing herself off Lucas, "Move, I'll pick up this baby," she stumbled over to Steve, bending down and grabbing one of his hands. With one huge tug, she pulled one arm but instantly lost her grip and fell back, tripping over Billys body and hitting her head on the wall which did not help further the situation in the slightest.

"Oh, Jesus Christ," Dustin grumbled, walking over to his sister and helping her back up.

"Lucas pushed me," she muttered, walking over Billy with the help of Mike and Dustin.

Raising his hands up in the air, Lucas couldn't believe the blame had somehow managed to shift over to him. "What the hell?"

"Alright, watch out kids. Dads gonna pick up momma Steve and we're leaving." Alex stood directly over Steve, grabbing both hands this time and pulling as hard as she could until she gave up after one attempt. Alex slumped down next to Steve, placing her head on his chest, closing her eyes, "Sh, we need a little nap first then we'll head out in the morning," she whispered.

The kids had all came to a stop as they stood before Alex and Steve. Neither were much of any help and it didn't seem that they would be getting it anytime soon. Disappointed that he had been related to one of the two, Dustin slapped his hands down onto his legs in annoyance. "Okay, what the hell! Someone get her in the car so she stays out of the way." Breaking away from his friends, Dustin had decided he was going to be one to help Steve. Rolling his sister away from Steve as she groaned in pain, he couldn't help but mumble some honesty to himself. "She's a goddamn mess."

Coming to her aid, Mike and Lucas had teamed up to help her on to her feet. Finally opening her eyes, she had struggled to keep her eyes trained on them as they draped her arms over their shoulders. "You two keep spinning," she had whispered, then a sad smile came to her face. "You guys are like my little babysitters."

"We're not little," Lucas mumbled.

"So little," she whispered back to him.

Rolling his eyes, Mike had interrupted before Lucas could stir up another fight. "Yeah, whatever you say, Alex. Just get in the car."

Looking out before them, she had been surprised to see that they had managed to already be at the car. Mike had opened the backseat, which had caused Alex to try and back up. "I-I'm not sitting back there."

"Yes, you are," Lucas stated as he gave her a push.

"I'm driving," she said with a shake of her head. As Lucas went to fight back on that, Mike held up his hand as he let the focus be on him. Smiling at her, he had hoped she would be more inclined to believe him. "Yeah, you can drive," Mike whispered as he walked her closer to the backseat. "We just need to get the keys so while we do that, you lay back here."

Hesitantly giving in, she had managed to finally nod her head. However, her climbing in all on her own was not the plan Lucas had in mind. Already annoyed they had to deal with both Steve and Alex, he had flopped her into the backseat and shut the door as he heard her groaning in pain.

"Hey!" Mike called out. "She fought Billy for us, you can't just toss her around."

"She won't remember," Lucas said with a shrug. "I was gonna thank her when she was back to normal."

"You should thank her now!"

"Got a crush?" Lucas shot back in question. "Then you go ahead and sit back there with those two. Maybe you'll get lucky and Harrington will forget who she is so you actually have a chance!"

"Shut up!" Mike yelled, his cheeks instantly heating up. "I don't like her! They're the one's who stayed back to make sure all of us were okay. We would've died if they weren't here when Billy showed up!"

"This is bullshit. I thought they were supposed to be watching us! Now they can't even walk without assistance!" Lucas flung his arms in the air in frustration. Now Max and Dustin came out with Steve being dragged behind them. "Why the hell are we even bringing them?!"

"If you were listening Lucas, apparently they're not our babysitters anymore but our parents!" Dustin shouted, tugging hard on Steve to get his body to keep dragging along.

"Alex said that because she was punched in the head too many times by a guy twice her size! Plus I don't want Steve Harrington as a dad— No wait, Alex called herself dad so Steve's the mom... Either way, I don't want him as a mom! Then we'd have to try out for baseball or some other dumb shit!" Lucas complained as he started to help drag Steve down the steps of the front porch of the Byers house.

"You're ungrateful, you know that?! Alex would be a fantastic dad!" Dustin yelled.

"Guys! This is a pointless argument!" Max yelled, "Besides, Alex would never make us try out for baseball unless we wanted to," she mumbled.

The meaningless fight had continued on as they finally managed to get Steve to the car. All four of the kids had put their differences aside as they struggled to get him into the car. Alex had tried to move over despite being barely able to focus on the dizzy space around her, and when they had forced Steve's body into the car, she was only struggling more to give herself some room.

Pushing Steve's foot into the car, Dustin called out for them to shut the door quickly. Max had slammed it shut and all four had looked at one another, all out of breath and ready to move forward in their now delayed plans. Taking charge, Mike had instructed each of them on what they had needed before heading out on an adventure that he was sure would change everything.