"YOU ON FOR MOVIE NIGHT?" JONATHAN ASKED THE WHEELER GIRL.

"Of course. I'd never miss a movie night." Carla responds in a happy tone, before turning it into a more serious one. "I mean, as long as its alright with your mom, and Bob."

"You come every year, why wouldn't my mom be okay with it?" Jonathan gives a small smile, backing out of the school's parking lot.  "You know she considers you family, and Bob's been waiting to meet you, I mean, he's actually been really excited about it."

Movie night at the Byers house was a tradition, and they'd done it every year, inviting Carla as long as she could remember. Usually, it just consisted of the Byers and herself, but now that Bob, Joyce's new boyfriend was added on, Carla was a little weary. Bob seemed like a really nice and funny guy, and Carla hoped that sweetness wasn't just a facade, because Joyce couldn't suffer another heartbreak. She just couldn't. 

"Alright, take me home first so I can write a note for my mom."  Carla replies, knowing her mom would say yes. The family had no plans tonight, as it would only be her parents, Mike and Holly. Nancy and Steve were going to the Holland household for dinner last Carla checked, and it didn't seem like that would change at all. 

Jonathan nodded, putting an arm around the girl as they walked out of the school to Jonathans car. She quietly got in, and placed her feet up, slouching back in a more relaxed position.  Jonathan looked over at her before taking a seat within the car himself, shutting his door and beginning the drive back to the Wheelers.

As they drove, Carla couldn't help but think about the party that she was now going to with Billy. It wasn't exactly like her to go and party places, she was more like Jonathan, a chill at home and listen to music type, but something in her decided that maybe it could be fun to do this. After the year she had last year, maybe it could be fun to relax and be teenagers for once.

If Nancy was going out of her normal ways to do this, then Carla could do it aswell. 

Sure, she did feel a little bad that she was going to miss out trick or treating with Will, Mike, Dustin and Lucas, having done it as long as she could remember but she was sure Will wouldn't mind much and he would forgive them if he did. 

Mike, Lucas and Dustin might be a tad annoyed, but Carla was sure that they'd forget about the whole thing once they started hitting houses.  Jonathan also hadn't spoken much on the matter, acting as if he were alright that she wasn't going wit him, but she could tell her was a little bit upset.

Jonathan soon pulled up to the Wheeler house, which was seemingly empty at the moment, meaning that Nancy and Mike must still be hanging around at school, Carla supposing Nancy being with Steve, and Mike with the rest of the party.

"Okay, I'll be like, five minutes." Carla said, hopping out of Byers boy's car, rushing inside of her house to get a few things, along with writing a note to her mother.  She quickly found a small sheet of paper, a a pen and wrote a small sentence, letting her mom know where'd she be the rest of the night.

Going to Byers for movie night, hope thats alright.

I'll be careful, love you

-Carla

She then rushed upstairs, and grabbed a few items, along with checking herself over in the mirror, making sure she looked presentable for tonight. But it wasn't like the Byers cared about that kind of stuff.

Carla then made her way back outside and hopped back into Jonathan's car, the boy driving off as soon as she did. 

"That took longer then five minutes y'know." Jonathan teased as he drove off from the Wheeler household. Carla slapped his shoulder playfully before answering.

"Whatever, just drive."

The car soon pulled into the Byers driveway which held another car, Carla assuming belonged to Bob. She was a little anxious to meet the guy, hoping that he was what Joyce needed right now, and that he'd be a good father figure for Will and even Jonathan to look up to.

Jonathan walked inside the house first, getting a greeting from his mother, and from a different voice. Carla then walked inside to be met with a small hug from Joyce, the woman also greeting the Wheeler. "Hey honey, how you holding up?"

"I'm doing alright, how about you?" Carla responds, giving a small smile to the Byers woman. As soon as Joyce pulled away, she was yanked into another hug, this one more bone crushing then the womans had been. She could hear Joyce trying to hide laughter, and assumed that this was Bob.

"You must be Carla," Bob exclaimed, pulling away from the hug with a bright smile plastered on his face. He was friendly enough, and reminded Carla of a big stuffed teddy bear, something Joyce would appreciate at the moment. "I've heard so much about you, its so great to actually see your face!"

"We may have brought you up in conversation once or twice." Joyce admits with a small smile, watching two of the people she loved interacting. 

"I've been waiting to meet you to, Bob." Carla smiled back, Bob's tender smile growing wider as she did. "And I hope the things you've heard are on the good side."

"Why wouldn't they be?" Joyce says. "I'm going to leave you two to yourself for a moment, I need a drink."

Joyce left the two and once she did, Bob started up conversation on the Wheeler, his smile not fading. "Your really loved around here, if you haven't realized yet. I mean, Jonathan talks about you non stop, its like your his onlt friend!"

If Carla were honest, she used to be Jonathans only friend, and even with Nancy added to the list now, she was number one, so she wasn't surprised to hear how much Jonathan spoke about her, along with how highly he praised her. 

"Thanks, Bob." Carla smiled again. "Based on what I've heard about you, I think you'll be pretty loved around here aswell."

Bob gave another smile before walking off to the kitchen to find Joyce again. Even though she'd just spoken a little bit with him, Carla could tell that Bob was a right fit for this family, and that he'd make Joyce feel loved once again.

Jonathan soon came back from wherever he'd ended up going to and placed a hand on the girls shoulder. "Well, while they're drinking in there and Will's doing something in his room, what do you say about listening to music together?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Carla replies with a smile, before beginning to run to Jonathans room. "Beat you there."

"Not fair!" Jonathan called back, rushing after her, not bothering to listen to Joyce's screams of 'slow down!'. Carla slipped inside of his room, careful not to slide into the shelfs and picked up a mixtape.

Jonathan slid in next, laughing a little bit as she held up the mixtape, a grin spread on her face.  "That one? Seriously?"

"Why not? Its my favorite." Carla replied, walking over and placing it in the cassette deck so Jonathan had no choice but to sit and listen with her.

"Fine." Jonathan smiled, sitting on the edge of his bed as Carla began to sing along to the song, a huge grin spread across both of their faces.

The two continued to sing and dance around, acting as if nothing bad had ever happened to them, as if everything were normal. Jonathan was dipping Carla as she loudly yellled for him not to when Joyce walked in, interupting.

She handed them a bunch of movies, telling  them to ask Will what he wanted to watch, which the two did.

Jonathan knocked on the boys door before walking in, movies out in his hand. "Hey, bud. I didn't know what you'd like, so I got a variety." He walked over and placed them on Will's dresser. "Take your pick."

"Whatever you and Carla want." Will responded, glancing up at his brother and Carla, the girl just now walking into the room. He then glanced back at whatever he was working on and continued. 

"Okay then.." Carla said, walking around Will's bed to sit on his side. "Whatcha working on?"

"Zombie boy?" Jonathan questioned, taking a seat on the edge of Will's bed and examining his artwork. "Who's zombie boy?"

Will's face dropped a little bit, and Carla already knew the answer. It was meant to be him.

"Me."

"Did someone call you that?" Jonathan asks in a concerned tone, wanting to make sure his brother wasn't being bullied or called names. Will didn't answer and continued to color in the 'Zombie Boy' drawing, almost ignoring his brother.

"Hey, Will. You can talk to us about anything that happens, you know that." Carla frowns, placing a hand on Will's shoulder. "I mean, I won't force it, but it might help if you talk about it."

Will continued to ignore the words coming from his brother and friend, so Jonathan began to speak again. "Will, come on, talk to me-"

"Stop treating me like that." Will said loudly, looking up from his art work. It wasn't like Will to speak in such a loud tone, or with such seriousness in his words. Something was wrong with him, something none of the family knew of.

"What? Like what?" 

"Like everyone else. Like there's something wrong with me." Will admitted in a serious tone before going back to his drawing.

"Will.." Carla trails off, knowing where he was going with this conversation. Jonathan looked at his brother with a confused face, making Will elaborate.

"Mom, Dustin, Lucas. Everyone. They all treat me like I'm gonna break. Like I'm a baby. Like I can't handle things on my own." Will admits, making Jonathans face drop, alongside Carlas. She understood what he meant...she'd hate it if people treated her like they did to him.

She knew Will could handle things on his own, he was twelve after all and was learning what it meant to be mature. But ever since his return, Joyce had been somewhat of a helicopter mom, and was always around him, always checking in and making sure he's all alright, all because she was scared about losing him again.  She knew he was right, but sometimes Carla did feel like Will could break, like he couldn't handle it all by himself.

"It doesn't help. It just makes me feel like more of a freak." Will continues, speaking with every part of his heart and mind.

It made Carla upset that Will was calling himself a freak, she hated that he saw himself that way. Just because the kids at school saw him as that, a boy who came back from a supposed 'death', didn't mean he had to see that too. He should see a kind, smart and creative boy with the cutest bull cut anyones ever seen. 

"You're not a freak." Jonathan says.

"Yeah, I am." Will responds, with an upset face. "I am."

"Your not wrong Will. You are a freak, your a really big freak." Carla shrugs, making both boys stare at her with a bewildered look, surprised she'd say such a thing. 

"What?" Will asks, staring up at the Wheeler girl.

"I'm not kidding, your a freak, Will. But so am I, and so is Jonathan." Carla admits, placing the hand on his shoulder on his back, rubbing it in a reassuring way.  

Jonathan finally catches on to what the girl meant, and continues with the conversation. "Do you wanna be normal? Do you wanna be just like everyone else? Being the freak is the best. I'm a freak, so is Carla and we're living the life out there."

"Is that why you both don't have any other friends?" Will asks, making Carla let out a small smile.

"No, I have friends.." Carla says, the smile still on her face. "Nancy, Steve.." Carla trails off, reaising that those were her only true 'friends' besides Jonathan. 

"Nancy's your sister so it doesn't count." Will said with a small smile, making Carla let out a small laugh again. He had a point about her and Jonathan not having a lot of friends.

"Fine, just Steve."

"That's one person-"

"We-we have friends, Will." Jonathan replies, getting a small kick out of Carla and Will's bickering. 

"Then why are you guys always hanging out with me?" Will asks in a soft tone.

"It's because your our best friend." Carla speaks in a soft and truthful tone, wanting Will to feel as reassured as possible.

"And we would rather be best friends with 'Zombie Boy' than with a boring nobody." Jonathan finishes in an equally truthful and soft tone. "You know what I mean?"

"Besides, I think your much more fun then Steve and Nancy." Carla says making Will let out a small smile. Carla felt a twinge in her chest as she spoke about Steve and Nancy and tried to ignore it as best as possible. "I mean, all they do is make out, which is so boring,  but don't tell them I said that."

Will gives another laugh, "I promise."

"Speaking of boring," Jonathan says, wanting to keep up with the conversation about being freaks. "Who would you rather be friends with? Bowie or Kenny Rogers?"

"Ugh" Will lets out a disgusted sound, giving a disgusted look aswell.

"It's no contest." Carla sighs, placing her hand back on Will's shoulder. "Honestly, nobody normal actually accomplished anything in this world, you get us?"

"Well...some people like Kenny Rogers." Will admits.

"Like who?" Carla asks in disbelief.

"Kenny Rogers. I love Kenny Rogers." Bob chuckles, walking into the room casually.  All three kids looked at eachother with smiles, all three of them holding back laughter.  Bob looks at their smiles with an odd look. "Whats so funny?"

"Nothing." Will responds, trying to hide the look on his face.

Bob walked over to the dresser and picked the movies, scanning through them before letting out a huge smile "Mr mom!" he exclaimed before walking out of the room with a 'whoop'. "Perfect!"

The three of them burst out in laughter the minute the man had left, all  in disbelief that Bob actually liked, well, loved Kenny Rogers.

After a few more moments of talking, the three joined Joyce and Bob in the living room for a movie and pizza. Will sat on the opposite end of the adults, the two of them rather cozy together on the couch, stuffing popcorn into his face as Carla sat below him, allowing Will's legs to drape over her shoulders as she reached up and grabbed popcorn every few seconds.

Neither Carla or Jonathan were actually paying attention to Mr Mom, Jonathan was actually fighting the urge to yawn every few seconds, Carla being able to hear him from the small recliner he sat on. 

Carla was keeping herself awake by eating popcorn, which was barely working. It helped that Bob was laughing loudly every five seconds, and that Jonathan kept kicking her shoulder with her foots, making her jab her elbow back at it.

At somepoint during the movie, Carla had gotten sick of eating popcorn and moved herself closer to Jonathan, allowing herself to lie her head against his leg, and almost fall asleep if it wasn't for the ringing of a phone.

Carla's head jerked up as memories of last year flooded back to her, though the memories weren't just coming back to her, they had come back to Mrs Byers aswell. Joyce's whole body jumped but Bob put a hand on her knee, calming her down. "It's okay. Let it go. Its probably just a crank call."

"Okay." Joyce mutters, closing her eyes tightly as Bob laughed loudly once more. Carla let out a sigh and let herself rest once more on Jonathans leg.

Eventually the movie ended and Jonathan woke up a half asleep Carla, telling her it was time for him to take her home. She slowly got up to see Joyce and Bob moving around, along with Will who was on the couch with his head leaned back, asleep with the now empty bowl of popcorn in his hands.

After saying her goodbyes, Jonathan took her back to the Wheelers, the car ride being comepletly silent. She minute Jonathan dropped her off and headed back home himself, she slowly approached the steps and walked inside to see a usual sight.

Her dad sleeping on the couch as her mom finished cleaning up the house for the night. Karen Wheeler gave a smile to her daughter once she saw her arrive and came over to see her before the younger girl went to bed. "Hey honey, how was movie night? What movie did you end up watching?"

"It was fine, we watched Mr Mom." Carla replied with a small smile before heading closer towards the stairs. 

"Sounds fun." Karen replied, heading back toward the kitchen sink where she was finishing dishes. "If you don't mind sweetie, clean out your room a little bit, find somethings that you can donate."

"I'm really tired, I'll do it tomorrow." Carla answered, letting out a yawn afterwards as she began to climb the stairs.

"Alright, goodnight sweetie."

"Night Mom."

Carla slowly made her way to her room, noticing her two sister already asleep aswell, making her suppose Mike was too as it was pretty late now.

 She quickly changed into some more comfortable clothing before falling into her bed and falling asleep, her body exhausted.

maras misc

and here we are on to episode two! trick or treat, freaks :)

stancy breakup is coming up....are we ready?