"ONE! TWO! THREE!" TOMMY HAGAN YELLED, ABOUT TO TOSS HIS GIRLFRIEND INTO THE POOL.
"Stop it, Tommy, no! Don't!" Carol shrieked as the boy brought her into the air, only to lower her back down with a laugh. As her boyfriend laughed, the redheaded girl slapped his chest and shoved him away, "You're such an asshole, Tommy."
Carla gave an eye roll at the couple's behavior. She'd never liked Tommy and Carol that much, and Carol and Tommy never liked her, even when she was with Steve—it's how it had always worked. It was also the reason why this whole night was feeling like a fever dream to the Wheeler girl. She was hanging out at her ex's house with Carol Perkins, Tommy Hagan, Barb Holland and her sister. Something about it felt very weird.
The girl took another sip of her beer—which she hadn't had much of, as she knew she'd regret drinking later—the taste sour against her tongue. Alcohol had never been her forte, but she may as well relax for the night and have a few sips, or cans. She was at a party, and besides, it added to the fever dream feeling.
Rock music blasted throughout the house which definitely bound to get some sort of noise complaint from the neighbors as the teens all sat among each other. Carla was sitting between Barb and Nancy, whom she could tolerate. Barbara was a nice girl—way more in Nance's league—and wasn't meant for parties or popular people. She was only here because Nancy had begged her, and was now somewhat of a babysitter to the Wheeler, though Carla knew how that would end.
Coming out of his house, Steve crosses behind his guests and to his chair next to Nancy, slicing the side of a beer can open with his pocket knife before shut-gunning it for everyone to see, shirt slightly raising.
While Barb gave an unimpressed glance, her friend gave the opposite. Nancy bit her lip, looking at her boyfriend as he sat back down in his pool chair. Then, with a smile, she asked, "Is that supposed to impress me?"
Steve, who'd previously stuck his cigarette back in his mouth, gave a dumbfounded expression. "You're not?"
"Not in the slightest." Carla's voice sounded, the boy turning to look at her instead of his girlfriend as she spoke. "You're gonna need to try a little bit harder than that to impress me, Stevie."
Steve gave a small gesture with his hand, eyes still locked on hers. "Go on and try beating it then. Be my guest."
Carla gave a shrug, "Alright then. Your wish is my command."
The brunette stood up, walking over and snatching a fresh can of beer from Carol's grasp—who let out scoff as she did. She then walked over to Steve, who handed over his pocket knife, watching as she slid the metal into the can, dropping the item onto the floor before shot gunning the liquid.
Steve's eyes were completely stuck on his ex as downed the liquid with ease, looking at her with some kind of awe. No matter how many times he tried to look away, tried to look unimpressed....his eyes were drawn back to her figure.
Carla finished and tossed the can on the ground, the item falling with a small clink. Giving a small bow, she looked over to Steve, who had his mouth slightly ajar, clearly impressed. Noticing this, the Wheeler gave a small smirk and tapped the corner of her mouth, "Looks like you have a little drool right here."
"Shut up." Steve replied, though he wiped the corner of his mouth like he actually believed her words. She gave a small, genuine smile, before sitting back down on her pool chair, alcohol running through her system.
Nancy shook her head at their antics, "You both are so cliche, you realize that?"
"You're a cliche." Steve fires back, lighting his cigarette again as he spoke, "What with your....your grades and your band practice."
"I'm so not in band." Nancy scoffs, laughing at her words.
"Okay, party girl. Why don't you just, uh, show us how it's done, then?" Steve hands Nancy the pocket knife he and the other Wheeler used for shot gunning. The girl looked at it for a moment before taking it.
"Okay."
Carla wasn't entirely surprised that Nancy accepted the offer. She knew that if she wanted to be accepted in the group, she'd have to do some kind of trick to please the crowd, and what better timing than now?
As Nancy took a can, Carla saw Barb give a very upset-mother look as she shook her head. The Holland girl was in the right to be unimpressed with her friend—this wasn't very Nancy of Nancy, and she was just doing it to fit in—but who was she to stop Nancy? Carla was honestly curious to see if the girl could pull it off.
"You gotta make a little hole right in—" Steve tries to help Nancy, who deny's his offer to prove that she wasn't as much as a virgin to the ordeal as he supposed.
"I got it."
"Yeah, she's smart, you douche!" Tommy remarks from behind Nancy, arm around his girlfriend. The Harrington raised his hands in defense and leaned back, ready to watch his girlfriend shot gun a drink.
As the Wheeler begins to drink, Steve raises his own flash, chanting, "Chug, Chug, Chug—" to which the other teens at the party follow through with—Carla included. Within seconds, everyone but Barb was cheering on Nancy, though it was expected of the redhead to sit with an unimpressed look.
Nancy then finishes, her hands flying up into the air, the can hitting the concrete ground to show she'd chugged it. Everyone let out sounds of amusement—Tommy whopping, Carol lightly applauding, Steve letting out a light chuckle, and Carla letting a laugh surpass her lips—the girl giving a slight bow, just as her sister had.
Then, Nancy turned to her friend, "Barb, you wanna try?"
Barb's eyebrows raised, giving her friend an 'when did I give the impression I wanted too?' look. "What? No." The brunette girl grabs another beer from the cooler, causing Barbara to repeat her words, "No, I don't want too. Thanks."
"Come on." Nancy smiled, walking over to her friend with a can in hand. Carla watched with an un-amused expression. Peer pressure wasn't Nancy's thing—Carol and Tommy were rubbing off on her in the wrong ways.
"Yeah. Come on, yeah." Steve adds.
Barb's voice is firm when she rejects again, "Nance, I don't want too."
"It's fun! Just give it a—" Nancy pushes the can into the redheaded girls face, who still held a firm face.
Carla spoke up, knowing that it was only going to get worse, "Nance, she said no. She doesn't have to if she doesn't want to."
"Nance.." Barb trailed off, looking from the can to her best friend. She'd only come to this party to watch her best friend—to make sure Nancy didn't make any stupid decisions. If she gave in, she'd be the one making bad choices.
"Just—Just give it a shot." the Wheeler pleads a final time, the girl with glasses finally giving in. Whatever the princess wants, she gets.
Barb decided to do it, muttering a flat, "Okay." If she did this and got it over with, Nancy would be happy and she could continue to sit and wait to leave. One beer couldn't hurt.
Taking the beer and the pocket knife, the girl begins to slice open the can—or try to do so at least. Barbara was rather inexperienced when it came to party things, and everyone seemed to know, watching as she un-confidently tried slicing the can.
But, as she was cutting the aluminum open, the knife slid and sliced her thumb, missing the can entirely.
The Holland girl dropped the can in shock, bringing her hand up to her chest in pain. From beside her, Tommy chuckled, "Knarly."
"Are you okay?" Nancy asks in a concerned tone, leaning down towards her friend, who'd bent down and bit her lip as the wound started to bleed a fair amount.
"Yeah." Barb mutters, obviously lying.
Nancy disagrees, "Barb, you're bleeding."
"I'm fine." the girl confirms before looking over at Steve, "Where's your bathroom?"
Steve didn't hesitate to give directions, standing up and pointing towards his house, "Oh, it's—it's, uh, down past the kitchen, to the left."
"Okay. Thanks." Barb sighed, beginning to walk towards the house, her hand cupping her bleeding thumb.
Wanting to escape the now slightly ruined party energy, Carla decided to go follow the Holland girl, muttering, "I'll make sure she finds it."
She'd remembered Steve's house as if it were yesterday, and nothing had changed about it. The same family portrait sat on the mantle collecting dust, the same trophies sat on shelves from when the boy was younger, showing off past achievements.
She followed Barb into the bathroom, offering to take the girl home. "I could take you home if you want, Barb. I've stayed way too long, anyway—"
"No, thanks. I'll be fine. Just go back out and have fun with them—if that's possible." Barb declines the brunettes offer, and gives a smile at her own words. The Wheeler gives an unsure look at the redhead, "Besides, I have to stay and take Nancy home, and you if you don't call Jonathan."
"You sure?" Carla asks, to which the girl nods, affirming her answer. She then shuts the bathroom door, giving the Wheeler the cue to leave, which she did.
Walking back outside, the girl passed her sister and Steve, instead stopping right at the edge of the pool, head tilting upwards to admire the dark sky.
Jonathan would have loved to capture this moment. If he were here—not like he would ever be invited to a party like this—he'd stop her just to take a photo, as he'd find the lighting and the moonlight perfect. If only she knew he was doing the exact thing only a few feet away.
Thinking about Jonathan made her think about Will, which made her feel bad about being here at Steve's. What was she doing drinking and partying with Steve, Carol and Tommy when she could be searching for her best friend's brother?
With that thought in mind, the girl suddenly felt partied out and was about to go call the Byers boy, but was unable to get very far before a harsh shove sent her body flying into the pool beside her, a yelp leaving her lips as she plunged into the cool water.
"Tommy! What the hell!" Carla yelled the moment the pulled herself back up, ridding her eyes of water. Once she was able to see, she set a cold glare upon the boy responsible for shoving her, said boy cackling from the deck.
"Oops?" Tommy replied in an innocent tone before, shit eating grin on his face as he stared at the now soaked girl. The sound had alerted Steve, who'd turned around, causing the boy to let out a laugh, Nancy's mouth agape as she watched.
The Hagan boy's gaze then shifted to his girlfriend, who was too busy laughing at what had happened to notice his you're-next glare against her back.
It wasn't long before Carol met the same fate as the Wheeler girl, Tommy cackling as his girlfriend came up shrieking, "Oh, my God! What the hell, Tommy!"
Her boyfriend didn't hesitate before diving in right after, making an attempt at landing right on the girl, the splash from his impact causing both girls in the water to swim away for protection. As Tommy came up, Carla watched as Steve returned closer to the group, hand inching towards his girlfriend, who'd walked right up to the edge of the pool.
"Nancy, watch—" the Wheeler didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before her sister was screaming, body hitting the water right afterwards. A second later, Steve let out a yell of his own and jumped in, water splashing all over the teens.
If you told Carla she'd actually be having fun at this party when she first got here, she would have rolled her eyes.....but it was true. She could admit that she was having real fun in the company of Steve Harrington, Tommy Hagan, Carol Perkins and Nancy Wheeler. She was really enjoying herself for the first time in a while.
The girl's clothes were long past drenched, sticking to her figure more than she'd usually allow, but it wasn't like she could really fix that. Tommy and Steve's fingers had both been laid on to her waist multiple times, pulling her under the water, or tossing her to some other part of the pool, yet instead of shooing them away, she laughed. She laughed and continued to let it happen.
All differences seemed to disappear between the group of teens as they laughed and splashed each other continuously. And, while she could hardly believe it, Carla sorta liked it. She was enjoying being in the company of Tommy and Carol, of Steve and Nancy.
Oddly, the teens had begun a game of stealing each other's shoes, Carla currently swimming around with only one on her foot, trying to get Tommy and Steve to stop playing 'monkey in the middle' with the other.
Carol and Tommy kissed every few minutes, the other three teens sending splashes their way and yelling 'get a room' which, even though watching the couple make-out in the water wasn't ideal, was still entertaining.
Entertaining enough, in fact that they failed to notice the brown haired boy snapping pictures of them behind the bushes.
At some point, the redheaded girl got on top of Tommy's shoulders, giving a stare to Carla, challenging the Wheeler girl to a game of chicken. Carla, feeling the need to beat Carol's ass, accepted and climbed on to her ex's shoulders without another thought, though it seemed Steve was also too occupied with beating his friend to truly mind, instead wrapping his arms around her legs to secure her.
In the long run, the Perkins girl may seem tougher, but in reality, all Carol really had to her was a big mouth, which wouldn't help her weak arms in this situation, leading to her ultimate demise against Carla—a few harsher shoves from the brunette's end causing the red head to fly back into the water.
As Carol came up with a small, annoyed, huff, Carla allowed a cheer to fall from her lips. Victory was on her shoulders—or, Steve's, technically. The Harrington held the Wheeler's arms up in the air as he let out a 'whoop' of victory, before tossing both himself and Carla back into the chlorine filled water too.
This party was really what Carla needed.
After another hour or two of swimming, the group suddenly settled down, one by one exiting the Harrington's pool and joining each other in his house instead. Steve had gotten towels for everyone, which was much appreciated as the cold started to set in.
"I'm freezing." Carol states, wrapping her towel tighter around her soaked figure.
"State the obvious." Carla sarcastically muttered, earning a side eye from the redheaded girl.
Tommy, towel tossed over his shoulders, looks at his girlfriend, "Hmm.....well, I hear his mom's room has a fireplace."
"Oh, yeah?"
Steve gave an unimpressed look, raising his arm in a 'seriously?' way. "Are you kidding?"
While he usually gave free reign when it came to his house, Steve really didn't want his friends having sex on his mother's bed. But, the couple were already heading up the stairs, Steve sighing as they did so, "Okay, well, you know, you are cleaning the sheets."
Carla shook her head, "Gross."
"You alright?" Steve came around to wrap an arm around his girlfriend.
"Yeah." Nancy replied with a bright smile.
He looked over at his ex, who was wringing out excess water from her hair. "You?"
Carla gave a nod, wrapping her towel around her body as she walked over to the Harrington's home phone. "I think I'm gonna call Jonathan and head out."
Without even thinking, the brunette boy stopped her, "Wait—"
The girl stopped and looked at him, brows raised in confusion as both her and her sister—Nancy staring at him from his side—awaited his answer.
Goddammit. Steve should've just kept his mouth shut. He should have just let Carla call Jonathan Byers—why his ex was friends with the school freak was a mystery to him, one he hadn't been able to solve the prior year
Why did Steve even want her to stay? Carla was his ex, and he'd just told her to 'wait' meaning her had something good to say, all the while having his arm wrapped around her sister, his girlfriend.
"How about, uh, I get you two dry clothes." Steve finally replied, looking between the two girls for an answer.
Nancy was the first to answer, not wanting to miss a chance to get closer with her boyfriend, "Yeah."
Carla on the other hand looked at Steve with a look. What was he doing asking her if she needed dry clothes? That was more of a boyfriend move rather than an ex-boyfriend one. And, she hadn't been in his room since their fight. Since everything ended.
But, her clothes were completely drenched, and it couldn't hurt to wear something else.....right?
So, looking at the Harrington again, she gave a small, "Sure, if you don't mind."
"Yeah? Alright, come on." Steve started towards his stairs and his bedroom where he'd find a pair for the two sisters.
Leading the two upwards to his bedroom, Steve cursed himself for the excuse he'd given. He'd seen the look Carla gave him, the 'are you sure this is a good idea?' look. The last time the two went upstairs was the last time they did anything together.
But, sitting at the bottom of his drawers was a t-shirt. A t-shirt that his ex had claimed as her own when they were dating, and had eventually given back weeks after they called it quits in a box at his doorstep. A shirt that he wouldn't dare give to Nancy, because, well, it was Carla's. Even with them broken up, it felt as if the shirt belonged to her now, not him—just as it had when they were together.
As it had been before he made his biggest mistake. His biggest regret.
Carla on the other hand was completely free of thought as she followed Steve up to his familiar bedroom, slightly stopping when a familiar voice called for the other girl on the stairs.
"Nance!"
As Nancy turned around to talk to the Holland girl, Carla continued her way up the stairs, not wanting to get in-between the two girls, who were probably going to start a small argument over Nancy's choices.
Slowly walking into her ex's room—which was still the exact same—she was quick to see Steve standing over by his window, staring down below at his pool. The light from it came through the window, brightening the boys silhouette.
Stop staring, Carla told herself.
"Hi..." the Wheeler made her appearance known to the Harrington boy, who turned to face her at the sound of her voice. Instead of replying, Steve stared. Stared at the way her clothes clung to her figure; the way the light hit her face, just at her.
But, that moment must have been too long, because Carla was quick to take him out of his small trance, nodding towards the folded items in his hands, "Are those for me, or—"
Steve cleared his throat, "Oh! Uh, yeah. If you don't like these, I have another pair—of course I have more clothes....I just knew that you, uh, liked this. Or used too."
"Steve, it's fine. Thank you." she spoke, her voice calm compared to his alert tone. She took the clothes from his grasp, watching as Steve did nothing but watch her. Slightly calling him out, she said, "Now, turn around."
"Oh, yeah. Sorry." the boy muttered, doing as she instructed and turning around to give her privacy. As he waited patiently, Carla took a closer look at the clothes he'd picked out, a small smile coming to her lips as she noticed the familiar blue shirt.
Steve walked back up his stairs, two mugs of hot chocolate in his hands. As he approached his room, he noticed his girlfriend dancing to the music that was playing, lip syncing as she did so.
He came into the room, careful not to spill the mugs, and looked over at her with a loving smile on his face. He didn't really know what attracted him to Carla, but whatever it was had been right. He was in love with Carla Wheeler.
Carla, having noticed her boyfriend in the room, stopped dancing and looked over at him. A tiny hint of embarrassment was on her face, which Steve noticed. "How long have you been standing there?"
"Long enough to watch your lovely performance," Steve chuckled, holding out one of the hot chocolate mugs. " Here. Extra whipped cream, as per usual."
"Thank you." Carla responded, taking the mug from her boyfriends hands with a smile. Sitting back down on his bed, she put the cup to her lips, taking a sip.
Steve took a seat next to her, watching as she finished her sip and pulled the mug away. She then wiped away the whipped cream that had gotten on her nose. As he did so, he finally noticed her appearance and smiled once he did. "Is that my shirt?"
"Maybe..." Carla trailed off, looking down at the blue shirt she was wearing, the clothing being slightly over sized. Steve gave a small laugh at it, loving the feeling it gave him, seeing his girl in the shirt. "It's mine now, actually."
"Really?"
"Really, really."
"It's all yours then." Steve smiled, putting the mug up to his lips as he looked at his smiling girlfriend.
As Carla finished changing, the memory left her mind, and she quickly allowed Steve to turn back around. "All right, I'm done."
Steve turned back around, and looked over at his ex-girlfriend, flashbacks coming back to him too.
The girl walked back over towards the window, letting out a breath as she stared out into the forest that sat outside the boys house. "Thank you for tonight, Steve. I didn't expect this party to actually be....fun, but it was. It felt nice to have a break from everything that's happened in the past day."
"Well, ouch." Steve came to her side, slightly smiling. "But you're welcome."
The light pouring through the window reflected on her face, enlightening some of her features. If Steve's eyes weren't already on her, they were definitely on her now. He couldn't help it—she looked really pretty, even in his t-shirt and sweatpants.
But, it's not like he could say anything. He'd just gotten Carla back as a friend, and besides, he was in a relationship with her sister. Saying anything at all could ruin everything.
So that's exactly what Steve Harrington did.
"You are really pretty." the Harrington boy breathed.
His words caused the brunette girl to look over at him. Was she flattered, sure. But she wasn't going to take his words to heart. "And you are really drunk." She picked up her wet clothes from the ground, and turned for the door.
"I'm not drunk." Steve corrected her, his hand sliding across her waist, pulling her in. The Wheeler's breath hitched, and she dropped her wet clothes to the floor.
Steve ignored her reaction, "What if I regret my choice, Carla? What if I want a second chance at things with you?"
Carla wanted to back away from the boy—she knew what they were doing was wrong. Hell, Nancy could walk in at any given moment—but, she didn't. Carla did nothing. Instead she met his eyes, searching through them for his intentions. God, his eyes could win her over every goddamn time.
Steve's intentions became clear after a few seconds of silence, of hesitation. He knew this was wrong—they both did—but the Harrington boy couldn't help himself as he pressed his lips against hers.
And, even though she should have right then and there, Carla Wheeler didn't back away. Instead, she deepened the kiss, fingers carding through his hair.
His lips brought her back to their first kiss in the back of his BMW in '82, to every kiss they shared since—in the halls, the bathroom, here, in his bedroom. They made her forget what she was doing, and instead gave in to what Steve wanted. To what she wanted.
Carla wasn't sure who started moving first but at some point, she felt herself staggering backwards before she was lowering down upon Steve's bed, lips crashing against his, desperate and rough; needy, even.
She was pressed against his linen sheets, Steve on top of her, leading the way. His hands found the hem of her shirt, and he slightly tugged, signaling for her to take it off—for them to go even farther than just kissing.
Then, as if the sudden action had flipped a switch inside of Carla, the girl came to her senses and she stopped.
Holy fucking shit.
She'd just been kissing Steve. Her ex. Her sisters boyfriend.
Carla immediately pushes the Harrington away and rushes off the bed, the two of them left slightly breathless. Grabbing her wet clothes from the floor, the Wheeler lets out an exclaim, "Fuck!"
"Carla—" Steve looked at the girl, but got cut off before he could say anything.
"Do you realize what we just did?" the Wheeler was wide-eyed as she looked at the boy, who seemed to have zero-care whatsoever about ruining everything. "Steve, you have a girlfriend. I'm her sister. If Nancy ever finds out about this—"
Steve countered, "She doesn't have too."
"Shit." the brunette girl exclaimed before turning towards the door. She couldn't stand with him any longer—not after she'd just fucked everything up. "I—I'm leaving."
"Wait, Carla—"
Carla doesn't wait for the boy's reply and rushes out of his room, brushing past Nancy—the last person she wanted to see right now. Without bothering to look at the girl, Carla says, "I'm really tired, I'm just going to leave now."
"Oh, um, alright." Nancy replied, pulling her towel closer to her figure.
The Wheeler girl then raced down the stairs, passing Barb as she did—the girl standing next to the stairs with an annoyed expression. The redhead had probably been ditched by Nancy, based on the way she was going up the stairs, which was expected.
"Hey, Carla—wait, are you okay?" Barb spoke, noticing the way the Wheeler rushed right past her.
Carla didn't bother to stop, nor did she bother to ask if she wanted to head out with her. The Wheeler didn't care what happened to Barb right now, or to anyone. She just wanted to go home. To lock herself in her room and curse herself out for what she'd done.
Why did she kiss Steve?
Steve stood by the windowsill, trying to figure out why he'd done it.
Why did he fuck up the friendship they'd began? Why did he allow himself to be so stupid, to potentially ruin everything? He knew if Nancy ever found out about this, she'd never talk to Carla again. She'd never forgive her.
Goddammit.
"Everything okay?" Nancy's voice quipped. Steve hadn't even realized he'd spoken out loud, or that the Wheeler girl had entered his room in the first place.
"I—fine." Steve picked up the folded clothes that were sitting on his dresser, ones he'd picked out for the girl. Handing them over, he repeated more clearly, "I'm fine."
He really wasn't.
Turning around to allow the girl to change, Nancy was quick to hesitate before calling for the boy to look at her. She knew this was her moment to impress him, to get vulnerable with him—she'd bought a new bra and everything.
"Damn." Steve breathed, and before he even knew it, he was kissing Nancy Wheeler without any hesitation, trying to convince himself that she was what he desired. That Nancy was what he provided. Who he loved. Not Carla.
But, no matter what he did with the Wheeler girl—now matter how many times he kissed her, or muttered how beautiful she was........
He wouldn't be able to get Carla from his head.
mara's misc
jonathan is eating popcorn rn while taking photos. he's watching the relationship drama unfold.
this chapter was really fun to re-write and is one of my favs from missing. i love the party aesthetic, and like we get our first little taste of starla so.....yay?
anyway, hope you enjoyed<3 see you back with chapter 6