Chapter Two
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Love is A Battlefield

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Halloween was quite a big deal in the Henderson household. Every year, they went trick or treating together and it was there thing. Olivia also loved dressing up. Last year, she went as Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and had her orange tabby cat Mews as Toto. This year, she was going as an angel. She even had an old pair of angel wings that completed her costume. She twirled in the mirror one last time before leaving. Dustin was going as Ray Stantz, a character from Ghostbusters. It was the most adorable thing she had ever seen.

"Ahh wait, I need a picture of the two of you!" Claudia Henderson squealed just as her kids were leaving.

"You already got some of me this morning though," Dustin sighed.

"Not with Livy though! You look so beautiful, honey." Claudia complemented her daughter, so proud of how much she's grown. Dustin and Olivia both looked at each other and shrugged. Claudia got her camera and snapped numerous pictures. Olivia just wrapped an arm around her brother's shoulder with a beaming smile and giggled.

"Alright mom, we really gotta go now!" Dustin said.

"Okay okay, go have fun!" Claudia told the two as they both went out the door.

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"Dusty, I can't believe Three Musketeers is in your top three favorites!" Olivia exclaimed to her brother as the party were trotting through the neighborhood. "Reese's Pieces is obviously the best."

"Agreed!" Mike held up a high five and Olivia returned it. Lucas and Will both nodded enthusiastically. Suddenly, someone came up to them in a mask, scaring the gang.

"Holy shit! You should've seen the looks on your faces. And you? Who screams like that, you scream like a little girl." The girl said, pulling off her mask. Her comment seemed to be pointed towards Lucas. Olivia had never seen the red headed girl before, though she figured it was Max by the look on Dustin's face. Mike looked like he didn't want her here. Olivia put a hand on his shoulder. She knew that the Wheeler boy was deeply missing El and that he hasn't been the same since. She grew to love the boy even more last year when Dustin told her about how Mike almost sacrificed himself for him. And now that she was best friends with Nancy, that made her closer to him as well. Just the thought of El made Olivia sad, she started to think of the young girl as her little sister. She wished more than anything that she was still here.

"Umm, who's this?"  Max asked, pointing towards Olivia.

"That's my sister, Olivia. But we call her Liv for short. Liv, this is Max." Dustin introduced the two.

"Hi," Olivia smiled politely, giving a tiny wave. "I hope my brother and his friends have been welcoming to you. I'm sorry though if they have caused you any trouble." She joked.

"Hey!" The party chorused, defending themselves.

"They're alright, actually." Max replied with a smile. Olivia returned one and already could tell that they were going to get along just fine. "Hey, you guys coming or not? I heard we should hit up Loch Nora. That's where the rich people live, right?" Max asked and started to walk ahead.

"Hey Dusty," She pulled her brother aside. "Is it alright with you if I leave a little early? I think I'm actually gonna go to this party."

"You got invited to a party?" Dustin said, widening his eyes.

"Shut up." Olivia lightly shoved his shoulder. "Promise me you'll back at Mike's by 9. I'll pick you up there. And hey, we'll do something later, okay?"

"Okay. I'm happy your making friends Liv. Go have fun," Dustin said sweetly. She really couldn't have wished for a better brother. Dustin was really wise and sometimes it made her wonder who was actually the older sibling. She pulled him into a warm hug.

"And hey," She said as she started to leave. "Max is really pretty. I can see why you like her." She giggled.

"Bye Liv," Dustin rolled his eyes at her sister, and continued to follow his friends as she went the other way.

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As soon as Olivia entered Tina's house, she wasn't sure why she came to the party. Perhaps it was because Dustin was right, and that she didn't have many friends. This was a way to make some more. However, she already felt like she didn't belong there. She pinched her nose when the smell of alcohol came over her. Pushing her way through the crowd of drunken teens, she sighed a breath of relief when she saw Jonathan.

"Jonathan!" She smiled, walking over to him.

"Oh hey Liv! I didn't think you would make it," He replied.

"The same would be said for you. Nice costume by the way," She giggled.

"Thanks. I guess I'm going as a guy who hates parties. You look beautiful though, Liv. The costume suits you." Jonathan complimented.

"Thank you," Olivia blushed, giving a twirl in her white dress. She started mindlessly twirling the ends of her hair but instantly stopped when she realized it. It was always a thing she did when she liked someone. "Have you seen Nance?" She asked, changing the subject so she wouldn't embarrass herself anymore.

Before Jonathan could answer, Olivia found her but frowned when she noticed Nancy guzzling what she assumed to be alcohol. That was very unlike her. Olivia could tell that Steve was trying to get her to stop but then some punch spilled on her shirt. Nancy staggered to the bathroom, with Steve following behind her. A few minutes later, a heartbroken Steve marched out of the bathroom and left the party.

Jonathan and Olivia both looked at each other, worried about their friend. "Hey, um, why don't you go take Nance home and I'll go find Steve, yeah?" Olivia told Jonathan. The older Byers boy nodded and headed where Nancy went.

As Olivia headed towards the front door where Steve headed, she could feel a pair of eyes watching her. She turned around only to see it was Billy Hargrove, the new guy at Hawkins High. He was wearing a black leather jacket and had hair down to his shoulders. Olivia felt slightly uncomfortable, but ignored it and went to go search for Steve outside.

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Olivia wished she brought a jacket. She folded her arms, the chilly October air finally catching up to her. However, it wasn't too long until she found him, sitting all alone on the curb. As she came up to him, she hesitated, not really sure what to do. She never had a real conversation with the boy, let alone ever been alone with him. He was Steve Harrington. And she was just the shy and quiet Olivia Henderson.

"Um S-Steve?" She said quietly. "Are you okay?" She asked.

"Yeah... I-I'm okay." He sniffed. Her heart broke as he wiped away his tears quickly as if she wouldn't notice. When he finally looked up at her, his eyes were swollen as if he had been crying for hours.

"Wait... Olivia? Olivia Henderson?" He asked, eyes widening in surprise.

"That is my name, yes." She giggled.

"Sorry, it's just- I didn't think you came to parties. You look... uh, you look beautiful." He spoke. Steve was a little taken aback, he knew Olivia wasn't usually the type of person who went to parties like this.

"Oh... T-thank you." Her cheeks went pink, and she was thankful for the cold weather at the moment. No one outside of her family or Jonathan had ever called her pretty before. "And you know who I am?" She asked. She was honestly surprised that he even knew her name. Most students didn't know she existed at all. Though she supposed he knew her because she was Nancy's best friend.

"Of course. I mean, Nance talks about you all the time. It's nice to officially meet the famous Olivia Henderson," He said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. Olivia smiled softly, touched at the thought.

"I mean we have met multiple times," She corrected him gently.

"I know, but I've never properly met you." He admitted. "This gives me a chance to thank you for um, saving me last year, from that crazy monster thingy."

"Oh," Olivia blushed. "I didn't think you would remember that." She wanted to mentally slap herself for saying that. Of course he would remember something as traumatic as what happened at the Byers house last year. This is why I don't talk to people, she thought to herself. I'm so awkward.

"Of course I do," He laughed softly. "I remember thinking that the sweet and quiet Olivia Henderson was actually kind of a badass. I was so shocked." 

"Well anyway," She changed the subject before she could turn into a stuttering mess. "I just wanted to check up on you to see if you were okay."

"Do you think I'm bullshit?" He asked. The question threw her off a little. She always thought of Steve as this confident person, and was surprised to see him think lowly of himself. Olivia didn't know what to say as she didn't know him very well. However, from the way he treated Nancy, she could see that he really wasn't as bad as he seemed.

"No," She finally said. "You may be a bit of a douchebag, but your far from bullshit. You're a really good guy with a good heart, Steve." She comforted him.

"Thank you," Steve gave her a small smile. It was the first smile she had seen from him that night, though it disappeared quickly. "Nancy said that our whole relationship was bullshit and that she doesn't love me." Olivia could hear the pain increase in every word he spoke, and it broke her heart.

"I'm so sorry, Steve. But Nance was drunk and maybe she didn't mean what she said." She assured him.

"Yeah, maybe." He uttered with doubt in his tone. "It's just- my whole life has been bullshit. My friends are assholes, my parents are assholes, and now my girlfriend who I love doesn't even love me back." He sighed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to to throw all this at you."

"No, it's okay. I get it." Olivia told him. She was shocked to hear this information about Steve. She thought he had a perfect rich life, but she was wrong. "Life is unfair sometimes. My dad died when I was young. That's why I'm so close with my little brother, Dustin. I promised myself that I would always be there for him, that I would always protect him. If anything happened to him, I'm not sure what I would do with myself."

"I'm so sorry, Olivia. I didn't know." He replied, his face softening.

"That's okay. It happened a long time ago. I don't even remember much about him." She sighed. She wasn't sure why she was telling Steve this, she didn't even know him. But she found him surprisingly easy to talk to.

"You know, this is the most I have ever heard you talk." Steve smiled at her, making Olivia giggle.

"Yeah, I guess I'm just shy. I've always been invisible." She shrugged.

"You know, a while back Nance was complaining to me about how you have bad insecurities. She was upset at how lowly you think of yourself. And she's right. I think you really should think more highly of yourself, you are quite beautiful." He said honestly, making Olivia blush.

"Am not." She scoffed. "Your just being nice, Harrington."

Steve rolled her eyes at her. Little did she know how many boys at Hawkins High actually did admire her, which Steve thought made her even more beautiful.

When Steve noticed her shudder from the cold, he offered to give her his jacket. "O-oh no, I can't take that. That's a part of your Tom Cruise costume! Which is awesome, by the way." She declined politely.

"Well, thank you," He smiled. "But your taking it!" He insisted and put it over her shoulders. "Think of it as a thank you for making me feel a little better. We should talk more often, Olivia Henderson."

"Yeah, we should," She hummed in agreement.

She did something unexpected, and laid her head on his shoulder. She found his company oddly comforting, which she found surprising coming from Steve Harrington. He smiled softly and kissed her forehead. They stayed like that until it was time for her to go.

"Oh wait!" Olivia said before they parted ways. "Don't you want your jacket back?"

"Keep it," Steve yelled, waving his hand dismissively as he walked to his car, leaving Olivia standing there, a complete blushing mess.

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"Why are you smiling like that? And who's jacket are you wearing?" Dustin interrogated her with questions the whole ride home, and he was still was firing them as they hopped out of the car. "No way," He gasped. "You met someone!"

"It's not like that," She said quickly. "It's umm, it's Jonathan's jacket. I forgot to give it back to him."  She lied.

"We both know you're a terrible liar Liv!" Dustin pointed out. Despite Olivia's protests, Dustin was happy for her. He knew how lonely she was, and maybe this was the start of something new, the start of something good for her. The girl raised her hands in defeat. As the two continued to banter back and forth, their garbage started to budge and make noise, causing them to stop abruptly.

"Mews? Is that you?" Olivia called. Mews was her orange colored cat who she loved very much. She desperately hoped that it was just her.

"That's definitely not Mews, Olivia. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit." He said, starting to be scared. He slowly moved towards the garbage.

"Dusty, what are you doing? Stay back." She told him. He ignored her though, only walking closer. He pulled out the "gun" that was a part of his costume, having it ready to go. He opened the lid and Olivia closed her eyes, preparing for whatever danger was to come.