CARLA HAD A RATHER RUDE AWAKENING THAT MORNING.

At first, she was lying peacefully in her bed, in a light sleep...but next thing she knew, she was kneeling over the toilet, letting out whatever was left inside her stomach....which was mostly the red alcohol filled punch she'd drunk last night.

One hand had her hair held tightly behind her, while the other sat on the toilet lid, keeping herself more steady. Her eyes were tightly shut as her insides finished coming up, and she quietly let out a sigh. 

The day was already starting out swell for Carla Wheeler.

Surprisingly, no one awoke to her throwing up, which was rather nice as she didn't need to explain anything about the night before. Which made her feel a tad bit better, because they're were plently of things she'd like to forget or atleast keep quiet about.

She wiped her mouth off with the back of her hand and flushed the toilet, watching as everything swirled down.  Cara then sighed, and shut the bathroom door, turning the fan on so she could freshen up now that she felt rather gross.

The Wheeler started the water up, stripping herself of her clothing as she awaited the water to get hot.  As she did so, she noticed for the first time that she was still wearing her red bathing suit and white─now stained punch red─cover up. Her jean shorts were no where in sight, meaning they'd been previously removed the night before.

She quickly stepped inside the shower, feeling the water hit her back like bullets. Carla ran her fingers through her hair, rinsing the water through it to try and clean her self up, let all the nasty feelings fall away.

Thinking of nasty feelings made her feel of Billy Hargrove.

"There's a face I never wanna see again."Carla muttered, letting her thoughts run free for a moment. She sighed and leaned her head back, allowing the water to hit her face as if that would do anything towards forgetting Billy.

But she couldn't stop thinking of his hands on her waist, his mouth on hers.  

She wanted to shudder at the thought. 

Carla wasn't sure how long she'd actually  been standing in the shower until a loud knock signaled someone outside.  

"Carla? You in there?" Nancy's voice echoed through the bathroom door, the sound of her knocking following.  "Carla!"

"Yeah, I'm getting out!" The Wheeler responded, shutting the water off rather quickly. Her skin was reddened by the water, so she quickly covered up in a towel and grabbed her clothes, opening the door for Nance. "Here you go."

Nancy looked like she had an eventful night aswell.

The girl's hair which had previously been in a half up, half down do was now sporting a more bedhead looking one. Strands were falling, and her small pony tail was coming un-done.  Just as Carla had been, it appeared Nancy had also been splashed with punch....accidentally or on purpose Carla couldn't quite remember.  Her white sweater had a huge red stain, which may or may not come out.

Her makeup was also a little smudgy, but Carla wasn't about to say anything to her sister when she'd looked the exact same.

"Thanks..." Nancy trailed off, allowing her sister to leave before she went in, the slamming of the door and a shower staring back up following after her. Carla quietly went back to her room, shutting the door behind her.

Her bed was very unmade, covers thrown all across the bed.  Pillows were spread out aswell.  Carla tied her towel around her, before looking through her drawers, trying to find something to wear for the day.

She ended up with the blue shirt belonged to Steve─hopefully he wouldn't point it out─and a pair of jeans.  Simple enough to fit how she felt that morning.  Crappy and tired.

Carla took a seat on her bed, her eyes scanning over to her nightstand where a small sheet of paper and a bag with two pills laid.  She hadn't noticed it that morning, so she snatched the piece of paper and read it over, a smile forming on her lips as she did.

I left before your mom could find me, hope you didn't wake up.

S.H :)

PS; The pills are for the headache I know your going to have tomorrow. Your welcome.

The smile hadn't left Carla's lips as she re-read the boys sloppy handwriting, flashbacks of last night refilling her mind.

At first, Steve stayed silent. He acted as if he were driving alone, as if Carla wasn't sitting right beside him. But, Carla could care less. With the red punch working through her mind, she was almost out of it. The only thing keeping her up was Steve fingers tapping against the wheel..and her thoughts.

Carla kept wondering what had happened between him and Nancy. Why she wasn't in the car with them, or why Steve had left the house crying. So, she decided to bring it up. "What happened with Nancy?"

Steve didn't answer for a minute, before looking over at the Wheeler with a blank face. "I-I think she might have just broke up with me...."

"Nancy broke up with you?" Carla's slurred tone changed to a more worried one. Steve gave a slow nod as if he didn't quite believe it himself.  As if he was still hoping tonight was just a bad dream. 

"I was trying to help her clean up in the bathroom, and uh she said we killed Barb, said our relationship was bullshit and called me bullshit. I'm sure there was a few more bullshits in there-" Steve slammed his foot on the brake, causing Carla to jerk forward abruptly. He sighed before beginning to drive again, slower as the were close to the Wheeler home.

"I'm sorry about Nance." Carla muttered, watching as the Harrington pulled into her driveway. The lights had been turned off, signaling everyone in the house was asleep.

"Not much you can do about," Steve sighed, opening his car door and walking over to Carla's side, opening it for her and putting his hand in. Carla grabbed it and pulled herself up, putting another hand on the Harrington boys shoulder for support.

"My parents are asleep, you can come in." Carla muttered, making her way to the door, Steve at her side.  Carla quickly unlocked it, and the two came inside quietly, not wanting to awake any of the Wheeler's. The house seemed different when no one was up. It was silent and dark, making it difficult for the two teens to climb up the stairs, Carla being tipsy not helping in the slightest.

"Are you gonna throw up at all?" Steve questioned in a whisper once they'd gotten upstairs. His arm stayed around her waist, keeping her close in case she were to stumble.  Carla honestly didn't mind the fact that it was there either. It felt very different compared to Billy's arm around her.  

"No, I don't think so."  Carla replied back, pausing to focus on whether she felt sick or not.  Steve gave a small nod, and led her into her own room, a place Steve knew well from their time dating.  This whole situation was oddly familiar if he were honest.

Once Carla had gotten into her room, the Harrington turned to leave, but he was quickly stopped by the hand that caught his wrist.  He looked surprise at the familiar touch, but gave a small smile at the girl's words.

"Will you stay, please?"

"Well, I have nothing better to do." Steve replied, allowing Carla to pull him to her bed.  The two both sat down, and it was nothing but quiet for a few moments. Both teens could feel the awkwardness building up, so Steve decided to speak again to get some conversation moving. "What, uh, happened to your cover up?"

Was Steve staring at her cover up? Or did he just happen to catch it out of the corner of his eye? Carla didn't question. It was already awkward enough, so she answered his question simply. "Billy Hargrove and a cup of punch,"

"Dick," Steve muttered, looking back at the Wheeler, "Not that it isn't a Billy thing to do, but I thought he was into you. Is dumping punch on people his love language?"  Steve probably meant the comment as something to laugh about, but it just made Carla think about Billy kissing her at the party.

"No, but pressing people against wall's to kiss them is," Carla sighed, thinking about what Billy had done at the party, "And I tried to get him off me, and he wouldn't. So I uh, I threw my punch on him and..." the girl gestured to her cover up.

"Seriously?" Steve asked, a disapproving look on his face.  " Did he try to....touch you?"

"No, I stopped him before he could go anywhere else," Carla shook her head, her eye's trailing around her room. "I can't even believe I went to that party with him."  She looked over at Steve, ending the topic on herself.  "So what's gonna happen with you and uh...Nance?"

"I don't really know," Steve looked at his feet, letting out a sad sigh. "I'll wait for her to make the first move. She's the one who broke up with me after all."  He looked back up, but his eyes didn't meet Carla's. " I mean, I knew our relationship wasn't really going anywhere. We were basically just holding on.  I didn't want to be alone, and I was sure Nance didn't want to either. Guess I was wrong,"

Carla placed her hand on to Steve, his eyes looking at her with the touch, "I'm sure that's why I went with Billy. I felt so alone and out of it after last year, and he saw me.  He didn't think I was a freak or notice my scars first thing. He just noticed me, and I liked it. It felt normal again."

"That's not your fault," Steve answered, continuing to look at her. "Everyone likes to be seen, to be loved at that.  Some don't show it, and some show it a little too much,"  He continued on, "But with Billy.....I think he just wanted someone to play with. That's what he always wants. He never wants to commit,"

"I realize that now,"  Carla nods, "I'm sure if Will never went missing last year, if I'd never gotten thrown out of place,  I would have rejected his attention,"

"I'm sure you would have," Steve mutters, looking back down on his feet. "But if nothing happened last year, I'm think Nancy and me would still be together.  And, I'm not sure I'd want that."

"What do you mean?" 

"With me and Nancy broken up, I guess it's given me time to....reflect? Even though it's been a few hours....something in me tells me maybe it was right we broke up?" the Harrington's eyes meet with Carla's again, before looking down at their hands that stayed close to one another.  

"Sure, I'm still pissed and upset about all this. I mean, I gave up a lot to be with Nance and she just dumps me....but I think this whole relationship, my heart has been pulling me towards another person. And maybe this break up was what I needed to realize that."

"Who's the other person?" Carla answered, already knowing who it was. 

Steve didn't need to answer the question verbally, so he did it with his lips instead, leaning in to press them to Carla's.  This time, Carla didn't retreat. She leaned in and deepened it.

She was kissing Steve Harrington.  

After a moment, Steve pulled away, unsure if he'd made the right choice, "Was that....was that okay?"

Carla didn't need to answer.  She just pushed her lips back onto his.

The sound of knocking took Carla from her flashback, her eyes darting towards her room door.  Karen Wheeler was on the other side, her fist against it, "Carla! Breakfast!"

"I'll be down in a second!" Carla responded, placing the small note back on her nightstand. She quickly unlocked her door and rushed down the stairs.  The rest of the Wheeler's were already seated, making her the last one down.

Her eyes immediately darted towards Nancy, thinking about what the Harrington had said the night before. The girl was seemingly normal, but Carla wondered whether she remembered the breakup or not.

Surprisingly, Karen didn't ask any questions about the party. Maybe she felt the that both Carla and Nancy didn't feel like speaking, or maybe the mother just wasn't curious about what her daughters had gotten into her.

Carla ate rather quickly, and rushed back upstairs to grab her bag full of her things. She never unpacked anything from the day before, so she should be good to go when it came to supplies.

"Did something happen at the party?" Nancy's voice spoke, Carla turning to see her sister in the doorway. The Wheeler didn't want to lie to her sister, they'd gotten past that after the events of last year, but she didn't feel like telling her yet.

"Why?"

"When I got home, I saw your room door was closed and I supposed you were home. I didn't think you'd leave so early if nothing happened," Nancy responded, "I could have been dreaming it though. I was pretty out of it,"

"Okay, something did happen, but I don't really feel like talking about it," Carla responded, wondering who took Nancy home that night. It obviously wasn't Steve, so did Jonathan do it instead?

"Okay," Nancy spoke before changing the topic, "Jonathan's here by the way,"

"Thanks. Bye, Nance," Carla left her room, going down the stairs rather quickly.  Mrs Wheeler was washing the morning's breakfast away as her daughter rushed down, and she barely had time to say bye before Carla was out the door.

"You seem in a rush," Jonathan spoke, noticing how Carla had rushed from her house.  The Wheeler wasn't even sure why she was going so fast. Was she anxious to see what would happen with Steve? Or if Billy would come up to her? She wasn't sure.

"I just really want to get to school," Carla leaned back in her seat, obviously lying about wanting to get to school. Carla was never that person, and Jonathan knew that. 

"Did something happen last night?" Jonathan questioned, thinking that she could be excited to see someone after previous events.  He knew the Wheeler well enough to tell when she was anxious or excited, and she wasn't doing a good job hiding it."

"I'm not sure yet," Carla spoke, thinking about the night before. Maybe that's why she was in a rush. To see if what happened with Steve last night would turn into something more. Or they'd hide it away again and stay friends.  

"Okay..." Jonathan trailed off, pulling out of the Wheeler's driveway and heading towards Hawkins high with questions on his mind.

mara's misc!

sorry the million year wait!  I had so little inspo for vanished, but i can't give up on my first steve story.  i'll try to start updating better.....missing only took me a month to finish and this has taken me like four to get to the sixth chapter. 

anyway.....starla is happening??