HALLOWEEN GAVE CAROLINE A KIND OF EXCITEMENT that no other time of year could.

Sure, she felt like her costume was cheesy as hell, but it coordinated with her friends, and that made it fun.

As Lucas, Mike, and Dustin pulled up to the school on their bikes, Will started bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet. Caroline fidgeted with the hem of her white dress as Lucas parked his bike first and his eyes settled on her.

"Who you gonna call?" Mike and Dustin sang at the top of their lungs.

Will joined in the other a big goofy smile on his face. "Ghostbusters!"

"Hey, Spengler!" Mike grinned.

"Egon! Yeah!"

Will embraced Lucas. "Venkman!"

Mike waved his hands in the air, stopping everyone cold. "Whoa! Whoa!"

"What?" Lucas asked, clearly annoyed.

"Why are you Venkman?" Mike demanded, looking his friend up and down.

"Because I'm Venkman," Lucas insisted.

"No," Mike gestured violently at his name tag. "I'm Venkman."

Will looked between Mike and Lucas .lWhy can't there just be two Venkmans?"

"Because there's only one Venkman in real life. We planned this months ago," Mike ranted. "I'm Venkman, Dustin's Stantz, you're Egon, you're Winston, Callie's our ghost."

"I'm the centerpiece of the operation," Caroline flipped her hair, hoping to get a smile out of Lucas after quoting him.

Lucas was too angry to smile. "I SPECIFICALLY didn't agree to Winston."

Caroline reached over and took his hand, becoming solemn when she remembered the reason.

Mike kept going, like an idiot. "Yes, you did!"

Will saw his sister holding Lucas's hand. "Mike, I don't think he did."

"No one wants to be Winston, man." Dustin agreed.

Mike stuttered. "What's wrong with Winston?"

"What's wrong with Winston?" Lucas echoed angrily. "He joined the team super late, he's not funny, and he's not even a scientist!"

Mike saw his dilemma. "Yeah, but he's still cool."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "If he's cool, then you be Winston."

Mike turned bright red. "I can't!"

Caroline gritted her teeth at her friend. "Why not?"

Mike stuttered even more. "B-B-B- Because..."

Luca copied Mike's spazzing, forcing Caroline to let go of his warm hand. "B-B-B-Because you're not black?"

Mike's eyes went wider than Caroline had ever seen. "I didn't say that!"

"You thought it," Lucas said, masking the hurt in his voice from everyone except Caroline. He snatched her hand in an adorably aggressive manner.

"I didn't say that!" Mike repeated desperately.

Caroline groaned, rubbing her thumb across the smooth backside of Lucas's hand. "Mike!"

Dustin was trying to get everyone's attention. "Guys... Guys! Guys!" The party looked at him. "Why is no one else wearing costumes?"

Crap," Lucas muttered as the bell rang. Caroline dreaded the moments he would let go of her hand, but she was pleasantly surprised when he kept hold of it, walking up to the school's front doors.

Caroline had never been so humiliated while at school. Troy, failing tests- nothing compared to walking through the halls, looking like an idiot. Students pointed and laughed at them in their costumes, making Caroline shy into Lucas's side.

"When do people make these decisions?" Dustin hissed in Mike's ear.

Will was eyeing Caroline's hand hold with Lucas protectively, standing extremely close to his sister. "Everyone dressed up last year."

"It's a conspiracy, I'm telling you," Dustin muttered.

"Just be cool," Mike insisted.

Some kid called from behind him, "Who you gonna call? The nerds!"

"Think it's a little late to just 'be cool', Michael," Caroline muttered, annoyed.

It was at that moment that the new girl, Max, decided to skate past them. Dustin's eyes followed her as she stopped at her locker, not even giving them a second glance.

"I'm gonna do it." Dustin squared his shoulders.

Caroline stared at him, still leaning into Lucas. "Dusty, Not right now. We look like morons."

"Maybe she likes Ghostbusters?" Dustin went on hopefully.

Lucas raised his hands in exasperation, dragging Caroline's hand up in the air too, still entangled in his. Caroline liked this more than she was willing to admit. "Of course she likes Ghostbusters, but that's not the point. The point is we're dressed up and she isn't."

"I didn't bring regular clothes," Dustin said. "So I have no choice. I gotta do this. It's now or never."

"Right." Lucas looked at his friend with pity. "You go for it, man."

Dustin cracked his neck. "Time to engage."

Max slammed her locker shut and started off to the gymnasium, leaving Dustin behind, looking adorably disappointed.

"It's okay," Caroline lay a hand on his shoulder. "I have P.E with her right now. I can talk to her, alright?"

Dustin brightened, smiling infectiously. "Okay."

"Be careful, alright?" Lucas pulled her to look at him, his eyes drifting down to her old gunshot wound.

"I'm okay," Caroline promised. She stood on her tip-toes and did something she had never done before, at least not in such a personal manner. She kissed his cheek.

"Oops," she giggled, trying to wipe off her red lipstick smear. "Sorry, costume makeup."

Lucas was blushing, but he stared her in the eyes unflinchingly. Caroline couldn't deny what she saw there.

Lucas Sinclair was admiring her.

As she turned and left towards the girls locker room, she felt like she was floating.

Caroline liked her lipstick on his cheek much more than she wanted to admit.

"Oh, no," Caroline groaned from her bathroom stall, searching through her things. "Oh, no."

She had left her P.E shirt in her locker. Which meant a trek across the locker room to get it, exposing her gunshot wound for half the eighth grade girls at Hawkins Middle.

Caroline fought back tears, racking her brains desperately for a solution. Her hands began to shake and her vision tunneled. Not a panic attack, please, not right now-

"Hey," Someone banged on the stall door. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Caroline stammered, her voice breaking. "I mean, yes, thanks-"

"Byers?" The girl stuck her shoe in the door. "Hey, you're the stalker's brother. It's Max, from science lab."

Not a good time, Max, Caroline thought. Out loud, she said, "Oh, Max. Hi. I'm fine, I just-"

"Do you need anything?" Max asked. Caroline could see her fiery red hair from the crack in the stall door. "I've got tampons, and stuff."

Caroline smiled through her tears. "It's not my period. I just... left my P.E shirt in my locker, and I don't want to have to run and grab it, naked."

"Oh." There was silence on Max's end. Then- "What's your locker combo? I can, you know, grab it for you."

"It's locker 227," Caroline said. She gave her the combination and Max nodded.

"Hang on, I'll be right back," Max said. She returned a moment later with an anxious knock. "I've got it."

Caroline opened up the stall door and took the shirt from Max. "Thank you so, so much, you really don't know-"

"Holy shit," Max's eyes widened. She was staring at the ugly, mangled scar on Caroline's torso. "Is that a gunshot?"

Aaaaand... the memories came flooding in.

Caroline quickly pulled her shirt on, hugging her arms around her stomach. She swiped her hand across the back of her eyes, avoiding Max's gaze. "It's... uh... I gotta go."

"Hey," Max stopped her from running past. "I don't care, okay? I'm not... I'm not gonna judge you or anything. It's just... it's cool."

"Cool?" Caroline echoed in disbelief.

She had never though of that scar as cool. A painful reminder of the fact that a government agency had tried to kill her, sure.

Admonition of the Eleven, and how much it hurt to lose her? Yep.

A lingering feeling of guilt, that if she hadn't bled so much, that the monster would have left her friends alone? Hell yeah.

But never cool.

Caroline squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the trauma. "Hey. Uh... do you... maybe wanna come with my friends to Trick- or Treat tonight? We're meeting at the Maple Street cul-de-sac at 7:00."

Max looked her up and down, expressionless. "Trick- or- Treating with the stalkers?"

Caroline laughed. "They're not bad. They're actually pretty fun. And we know where all the king sized candy bars are."

"As long as I don't have to third wheel you and your boyfriend." Max smirked. "What was his name? Logan?"

"Lucas," Caroline said automatically. She groaned when she realized the trap she had just walked herself into. "Shit. We aren't dating..."

"Save it, Byers." Max held a hand up. "I saw the way you guys look at each other. That boy is head over heels for you. But... what about your curly haired friend? He's... kinda cute."

"Who, Mike?" Caroline scrunched up her nose. "I mean, if you say so..."

"No, not the grumpy one. The one with the big smile." Max was blushing.

Caroline grinned. "Oh, Dustin. He's amazing. You know, he's single..."

The four Byers siblings pulled up to the Maple Street cul-de-sac at 7 on the dot, just like the twins had promised. Jonathan honked the car horn at Mike, Lucas, and Dustin, who were jumping up and down happily.

Caroline bounced in her seat eagerly. Will's feet swung back and forth like a little kid.

"Hey, listen."

"Yeah?" Will perked up.

"If I let you go on your own," Jonathan began, "you promise to stay in the neighborhood?"

"Are you serious?" Caroline grinned widely, staring at her big brother in disbelief.

"Jonathan?" Olivia sat up in her seat, staring at the twins and then back at him.

"Yeah!" Will had such a joyful grin that Olivia went silent, which wasn't a very big feat. "Yeah, yeah, totally."

"And be back at Mike's by 9:00," Jonathan continued, a stern look on his face.

"9:30?" Caroline grinned cheekily.

"9:00," Jonathan gave her a look like, don't push it.

"Yeah!" Will laughed.

"Deal?"

"Yeah, deal."

"Jonathan," Olivia asked quietly. "Are you sure this is a good idea? It could be dangerous."

Jonathan merely smiled at her.

Caroline was about to reassure her big sister when Jonathan said, "It's okay, Ollie. You can trust these kids, okay?"

The problem was, Olivia didn't trust anyone. Caroline had learned that the first day they officially adopted her. She couldn't blame her sister, but she wished things could be easier for her. "But what if they have one of their episodes?"

Will started fidgeting, not meeting their eyes.

"I'm okay," He whispered.

Caroline took his hand, clutching it in hers.

Olivia looked at Will intently. Caroline felt bad for her; Will treaded eggshells around Olivia and really never spoke to her. It must have come off offensively, but Caroline knew the real reason why he did it.

Guilt.

It ate at both of them, gnawing at them inside out. Caroline felt it every time she was with or without her brother. The Twintuition that linked them doubled the feeling for both of them.

For Caroline, it was Eleven's death.

But for Will, it was the fact that he had gotten everyone tangled in the whole mess. He felt like it was his fault that Olivia didn't ever get to be reunited with her sister.

"All right," Jonathan said finally. "Hey, Will. Don't let any of your spazzy friends use this, all right?" He handed his prized camera to Will.

"Okay," Will promised. Caroline pumped her fist in the air.

As they left the car, Jonathan called after them, "I hope it doesn't suck!" Caroline smiled as he quoted their mom's boyfriend.

Normally she wasn't comfortable at all around men, but Hopper and now Bob were the exceptions.

They met up with the rest of the party, excited for the rest of the night.

"You ready?" Lucas took her hand and laced their finger together, which Caroline liked even more than the way they had held hands before.

Caroline looked up at him and kissed his cheek again. Staring into his big, dark eyes anchored her, putting everything into perspective.

"Always," she said softly.

Hello beautiful people! This chapter had a shit ton of Lucaline in it, 'cause I love them. Next chapter will actually be Halloween. I know I said that last time, but this one was longer than I expected.

Comment and vote! No ghost reading, PLEASE!!!