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chapter one

STEVE HARRINGTON WAS GOING TO GET HIS heart broken. Diana was sure of it. She couldn't stop it, not even if she wanted to. If she saw something solid and unquestionable, there was little to no hope of stopping it from occurring so she didn't really meddle in miscellaneous things she saw. Usually, she felt guilty, which is why she found herself seated on Tina's, her classmate, kitchen counter. She silently watched as many of her classmates came and went, some faces reoccurring and visibly happier.

Diana smiled warmly at those who greeted her, but quickly steered anyone who actually tried to start a conversation away. She wasn't any fun and didn't want to pretend like she was, even if it was for one night. Besides, she came here to help a soon to be distraught Steve. But in all honesty, what was she supposed to do? This was a situation where she only had a surface knowledge. She'd heard the gossip about them but she'd also heard the gossip about herself and not nearly enough of it was true to actually matter. Still, she couldn't make herself leave.

Her growing headache was probably because of the blasted music and unadulterated yelling throughout the home. There was a chance her mind was trying to tell her something, but there was nothing she could do here to get it to spit it out.

Her legs dangled from where she sat as she expertly ignored the couple kissing a few feet away from her. She almost didn't notice when an agitated Nancy rushed into the kitchen, Steve not far behind. Neither spared Diana a glance.

"What's in this," the girl questioned a very drunk guy, who'd probably be hurling in a few minutes. Diana winced as the boy responded with words that were barely decipherable, before disappearing into the crowd. Nancy downed a cup of the drink despite Steve's protests for her to take it easy. Nancy gave him an accusatory look. "We're just being stupid teenagers for the night. Wasn't that the deal?"

Steve's expression was visibly hurt as he watched the girl drink more of the mystery punch before she too disappeared into the crowd, anger radiating off of her. Diana remained silent, watching the boy sigh heavily. Without thinking she left her place of solitude and tapped Steve on the shoulder, immediately gaining his attention. His eyes were dark brown under the lights.

He stared down at her, recognition and surprise crossing his face. "You saw that?" The girl simply nodded in response, a look of sadness overtaking her pretty features. This seemed to agitate him. "Do you talk, Sinclair?"

Diana rolled her eyes with a scoff, the sadness slightly draining. "Uh, last time I checked Harrington." His cheeks flushed. Diana cleared her throat. "She's not the person you knew before it all."

Steve's brows furrowed, and he glanced the way the girl had gone. "Nancy?" It was his turn to scoff. "What do you know?"

She shrugged, anxiously pulling at her pink sweater. She may as well just say the thing on her mind. There was no point in hiding. "I know that you don't survive something like what you two did and come out the same person."

There was a pause between them then she practically saw the lightbulb flicker in his mind. He grabbed her arm, but not painfully. "What are you trying to say?"

The brown-skinned girl shrugged off his hand, before taking a step back and shooting him a small smile. "You should go after her," she replied, not answering his question. Without another word, she turned away from him and pushed her way through the crowd. Steve didn't call after her, and she didn't expect him to.

Diana's sweater was hardly enough to protect her from the cold of the night, so she stood near the door, waiting. The girl kept her eyes down, her fingers fiddling with her faded jeans.

A little while later, Diana's attention was suddenly pulled to a distressed Steve who was in the middle of trying to make a quick exit. Their eyes met briefly and his were clouded with both hurt and anger. She didn't know him well, not yet at least, but he was easy to read.

Steve brushed past her, slamming the door on his way out. Diana looked to a surprised Jonathan Byers, who she was certain would make sure Nancy got home safely. She followed Steve out into the cold, immediately jogging to his car, just as he was pulling out of Tina's yard.

She tapped on his window.

His hand slowly moved to lower it. Steve leaned toward her. "What's your deal Sinclair? Do you need something?"

"A ride," she said, shivering. "And I don't have a deal, I wanted to make sure you were alright." Her words were true, but as she said them she realized how crazy she sounded. This whole night was a little odd, even for her.

He made a face. "Since when do you care?"

Since when did she care? "I don't know. Can you give me a lift?"

Steve paused, probably asking himself why she didn't drive herself home in her own car. Well, she couldn't for this exact reason. She was meddling for the first time: ever.

"Get in."

She scurried to the passenger seat, sighing as the heat of the car enveloped her. He wasted no time getting on the road, and heading in the direction of her home after she'd told him the address. The car was silent for a moment before Diana began speaking quietly.

"So are you alright? Because you seemed pretty—"

The boy interrupted her, taking a sharp turn. "I'm fine." He cleared his throat. "Back there—when you uh—when you said what you said, what did you mean?"

She raised her eye brows, even though they were hidden by her curled hair. "What did I say?"

Steve's hands tapped the steering wheel as they came to a stop, a group of energetic trick-or-treaters crossing the street. "C'mon you don't say much anyway, you know what I'm talking about."

"Bite me," the girl muttered, turning toward the window. The car began moving again. She watched the trees uninterestedly.

"How do you know about what Nancy and I had to survive? Did your brother say something?" This time he was straightforward, and his anger was directed at her.

"Your tone sir," she reprimanded quietly, eyes still looking into the night. "And no, Lucas didn't tell me anything because he didn't have to. I already knew."

She looked at him to gauge his reaction and she wasn't disappointed. He groaned throwing his head back slightly. "Don't tell me you believe all that shit he was saying too."

Her face was blank. "What?"

"About you being psychic or something. The kid made you sound like a nut job honestly."

Diana was starting to regret ever going out at all, and starting to question her own motives. Because she felt guilty, sounded and seemed pointless now.

She sighed. "Hypothetically speaking, would that really be so far-fetched after everything that you've seen."

Steve's eyes remained on the road as he thought for a moment. "Maybe not." His eyes darted to hers for a second. "How about you tell me if Nancy and I—"

She interrupted him, wanting to shut his thought down immediately. "I'm not some 25¢ act at a fair, Harrington, and people always ask the questions they don't really want to know the answers to."

"Woah," Steve said in a breath, giving her a falsely surprised look. "You sounded serious for a second there."

Diana internally rolled her eyes, deciding to ask a question she didn't know the answer to for once. "Are you still in love with Nancy?"

Steve's face went a little sour. "Yes—maybe," he made a noise out of frustration. "I don't know." The boy sighed. "I just feel like I'm forcing something y'know? Things aren't the same. And I don't know why I'm telling you this," he rambled.

She ignored the pain behind her eyes.

"It isn't a crime to change or to want—" The girl stopped short as something flashed before her eyes. Her hand snaked up, gripping onto Steve's arm, eyes staring blankly into the road. Diana went cold all over. She saw a large, otherworldly shadow, then a sickly Will Byers, and a girl: Eleven, she believed, who was presumed dead. In her seventeen years, she'd never seen the dead.

And Will.

He'd been saved, right? So it wouldn't make sense to see him practically on his deathbed.

An urgent voice pulled Diana back to reality. "Diana, you're freaking me out."

Steve had pulled over, she realized. He was shaking her, trying to get her attention. "Take me home Steve." She needed to see Lucas.

"Take you—" He cut himself off in pure disbelief. "Did you just have an episode? Are you sick?"

She needed to get out of this car, but her body was frozen. "We're almost there, please," she pleaded through clenched teeth.

Steve stared at her, eyes searching hers. "Y'know what? Fine."

The rest of the car ride was silent. Upon reaching her house she staggered out of the car without a glance or even a thank you to Steve.

She'd made a mistake, it was simple as that.

Her steps were jerky as she made her way up the steps, knocking on the door because she couldn't be bothered with her key.

A tired Lucas answered, eyes widening upon seeing his sister. She could see that he had just gotten home. He was still decked out in his Ghostbusters costume.

"You had another vision," the boy whispered. It was more of a statement than a question.

Diana nodded. "Get the paper." She shuffled inside as he ran off. It was then that she heard Steve pull off into the night. Di shut the door knowing that things were bound to change and not just for her. Yet, in the back of her mind, she'd been hoping for just that.

She met Lucas in the kitchen, where he laid out a clean piece of white paper and a set of sharpened pencils. "Hurry," he urged her.

So she began to draw, and she didn't stop until her hands were in pain and her fingers were smudged gray. She dropped the pencil wordlessly as they both stared at what she'd created—what she'd seen. It was the shadow, but here it seemed liked a darkened figure looming over Hawkins, it's many arms ready to take the life out of the small town of Hawkins. In all honesty, it was the scariest thing she'd ever seen.

"What is it?" Lucas asked quietly, still looking over her shoulder.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, it's bad news."

"Is this all that you saw tonight?"

She shook her head. "An alive and well Eleven and a very sick Will."

Lucas froze, his face hardening. "She's gone and Will is supposed to be fine."

"But what if they aren't?" Diana asked, hoping that her thirteen year old brother wouldn't take this lightly.

"What if they are?"

"I've never been wrong."

"But you aren't always right."

Diana furrowed her eyebrows. "What—"

"Who gave you a ride tonight?" Lucas questioned, changing the subject. He was not going to let it go, she knew that, but facing the truth didn't seem to be something he wanted to do, especially on Halloween night.

"Why are you telling people I'm psychic?" She countered.

"Because it's true. Who gave you a—"

"Steve Harrington."

His eyes widened. "Why? Since when did you have friends."

She hit his shoulder and he gasped. "Don't be rude. I was... following a vision." It was true, she was friendless and she wasn't willing to change that anytime soon.

"You're not supposed to do that," he reprimanded her. Diana rolled her eyes, pulling herself back together and shaking the fear away.

"I can do it if I want to. I saw what I saw and I just wanted to do something for once." It sounded as if she were trying to convince herself more than Lucas. She began receding toward the stairs. "Warn your friends Lucas, or I will." She stopped at the edge of the stairs. "And keep it up and you'll have the whole town thinking I'm psycho in no time." Her words were sarcastic but not untrue.

Diana started up the stairs and just then she heard him mutter, "They already do."

She pretended not to hear because that's what she always did.

Pretended.

this has been finished for a while honestly, i wasn't sure what direction to take this book in but i've decided with this one. this chapter was meant to give a glimpse of diana and her motives. it'll get better as she grows and she becomes more involved. thankyou all for reading and adding it to your reading lists. don't forget to vote and comment!

-yksydnie