When the harsh sunlight poured through her lace curtains, Daisy Lonsdale was already awake. Her dreams had manifested into nightmares, imagining the night her older sister had left Hawkins, but blood and secrets tainted the blurry memory now. When enough light filtered through her bedroom, she was pushing back her blankets and padding towards Marigold's room. The pink room had been untouched for over a year, nobody ever wanting to step inside and clean it out. With her heart heavy in her chest, she dropped down to her knees in front of her sister's collection of music; old records and a few newer cassettes.

The lyrics that had been scribbled down in her sketchbook had been twirling around in her head for hours now and it took her a while to figure out which song they belonged to. But when she finally had, she was sure something would be waiting for her. With shaking hands, she found the correct cassette by Fleetwood Mac, the very one the song belonged to. Hastily, she was ripping open the packaging and found it waiting for her. Scrapping her knees against the carpet, she shoved the cassette into Marigold's player. Familiar songs oozed from the speakers, but no clues were found in the tape. Daisy glanced down at the plastic box, turning it over and trying to find another missing clue. She was so sure something would be here, that Marigold was trying to tell her something. But it seemed, the mystery was nothing but a dead end and Daisy felt even more irritated.

***

Whispers had gathered in the corridors at Hawkins High once again. The news had flooded town last night that little Will Byers's body had been found in the quarry, a tragic ending to another mystery that had engulfed the town. Daisy Lonsdale felt numb that morning, having no words to actually say out loud with the news and breakfast with her mother and aunt had been silent. Dottie Fields felt the exact same way, her mind overcome with guilt. To add fire to their confusion and doubts, the news that Barbara Holland was still missing had their nerves on edge.

As the girls walked through the carpark, Daisy was watching the students around her. She had used to enjoy people watching, always spying tiny details about people that most overlooked. While she was watching the jocks by the entrance, something drifted through the chilly air. Her head was jolting to her right, watching a car pull into a free spot. The windows were drawn down, a song blaring from the speakers. And if you don't love me now. You will never love me again. I can still hear you saying. You would never break the chain.

"Daisy, hey, are you alright?" Dottie's soft touch on her elbow pulled her from her mind suddenly. Her mouth was dry like sandpaper and her heart ached like somebody had just stabbed her with a knife. The blonde girl was slowly nodding her head, but let her eyes swing back to the car and watched as Steve Harrington emerged, the song being cut off when he switched off the engine. Dottie noticed too. "He might be a jerk, but at least he's got good taste in music, huh?"

That very comment made Daisy pause, thoughts clouding in her mind again. "That was one of Marigold's favourite songs."

The thought was pushed aside when the bell rang out though and both girls filed inside along with almost every other student. It seemed although a lot of strange things were going on in Hawkins, classes still dragged on and students were expected to preform well. The students still maintained their predicable attitudes even with a boy being found dead. Although Daisy Lonsdale and Dottie Fields were drowning in fear and uncertainty about what was circling the woods, they were both being shoved back into another high school showdown.

"Nancy was pulled out of class," Dottie was saying quietly as the girls stood by their lockers, grabbing books for their next class. The corridor was quite loud, everyone having something to gossip about and today, Dottie had heard about the same gossip. "I overheard a girl in the bathrooms mention that Nancy was talking to the police about Barb going missing. Apparently, Nancy went back to Steve's house yesterday and checked out the yard and the surrounding woods. The rumours are saying she's gone completely crazy because she's saying she saw something in the woods."

That grabbed Daisy's attention. "Saw something like what?"

Dottie shrugged her shoulders slowly, biting down on her lip. Fear sparked in her dark eyes, the fear that maybe the girls had indeed stumbled upon something nobody could explain. "I don't really know, the rumours get a little crazy after that. But apparently, she saw something running through the trees. A thing with no face that made a terrible howling or hissing or growling sound."

"Let me guess? A sound that sent chills down her spine." Daisy noted harshly, slamming her locker door shut and the action made Dottie jump in her bones. She had been on edge all day and had even watched the woods around her house through the front windows of her house last night, making sure nothing was wandering around, ready to strike. "A sound we've already heard. Great. Now, not only do we have to mention it again to Jonathan, who wants nothing to do with us, we've got to track down Nancy Wheeler too."

Dottie modded. "That shouldn't be overly hard. Nancy's by her locker right now. Geez, it looks like she's been crying. Do you think she's okay?" Dottie paused, blowing out some air from her cheeks. "That was a stupid question. Of course, she's not alright. None of us are right now."

Daisy was shoving her textbook into Dottie's hands with a tight smile, "Alright. I'll speak with Nancy and you find Jonathan, okay? Be gentle with him though, he's been through enough today. We don't want him spooked again, or thinking we're completely crazy. Save me a seat in class, yeah?"

"Okay, I'll stop by the darkroom on my way, Jonathan's always in there." Dottie agreed, her gaze resting back on the broken dainty girl by her locker, holding onto what looked like a torn up photograph. "Daisy, don't be mean or pushy with her. She might not want to talk about it."

Daisy gave a vague nod of her head, but knew one way or another, she would indeed get the truth out of Nancy Wheeler today. She may not be able to solve the riddle Marigold had left her just yet, but she was sure as hell going to find out what was in the woods. With determination soaring in her veins, she wandered over to quiet Nancy Wheeler.

"Nancy, hi. Do you mind if we talk for a quick second?"

"Sorry, Daisy. My mum's actually in the carpark waiting for me." Nancy admitted quietly, dabbing at her eyes with the corner of her sleeve. Up close, Daisy could see the redness in her eyes which suggested she had been crying for a little while and couldn't help but wonder what had happened with the police. "Maybe another time."

Daisy inched closer. "It's about what you saw in the woods." Nancy blinked her doe eyes across at her, a frown imprinting on her forehead. "You did see something, right?"

Nancy nodded, "How did you know?"

"It's been going around school all morning," Daisy pointed out. "Plus, I heard the thing twice. I didn't see anything, it was too dark, but something was in the woods outside the Byers' house a few nights ago...something with a weird cry that couldn't have been an animal." With the confession, Nancy's eyes grew wide and that was all Daisy Lonsdale really needed, nothing more than a flicker of fear in her eyes. That was all the confirmation she needed in telling her that whatever Nancy had witnessed in the woods, it was the same thing.

Nancy lowered her eyes. "I feel like I'm going crazy—"

Suddenly, a new figure stood behind them. Daisy Lonsdale was turning on her heels and glancing upon Carol, who was giving both girls a smug slick grin. Her boyfriend was beside her, his freckled face already turning Daisy's stomach. The herd of footballers waited behind them too, including Asher Baker, who was sneering towards Daisy, still hurting from the last time he tried to bad mouth her and Dottie.

"Can we help you?" Daisy snipped out coldly.

Carol continued to smile. "We just wanted to let you both know, we're getting you matching jackets. The football guys are pitching in too."

Nancy hugged her books closer to her chest. "What are you talking about?"

Daisy was already rolling her eyes, actually quite thankful her best friend wasn't around to witness this, because it was going to turn ugly. "Well, matching weirdos jackets. We figured it's actually a club now. Jonathan Byers, Dottie Fields, Daisy Lonsdale and now, Nancy Wheeler." Carol hummed out. "Oh, we also can't forget the leading bitch that started the club. Marigold Lonsdale herself. We thought we'd get her one too, despite her being dead and all."

Nancy cleared her throat, ready to open her mouth and say something but Daisy Lonsdale was already stepping up to the plate, that burning rage feeling really good in her chest right now. "That's so clever," Daisy snipped out. "A club? Why didn't I think of that?"

Carol wasn't finished though. "We just wanted to know if we should get Barb one too? We're a little unclear if she's just a runaway, or if she'll wind up dead like that other Byers kid. What was his name? Bill? Anyway, Marigold's body will probably show up anytime soon too. It seems to be going around."

That was the last straw. "You're an insensitive bitch, you know that?" Daisy hissed out and before Nancy could even try and stop her, Daisy was stepping forward while her hand squeezed into a fist tightly. The anger that was fuelling in her mind took over, her natural instinct to always fight back taking hold. Without a second thought, her fist was flying out and clogging Carol Jackson in the nose, the girl stumbling backwards.

The boys behind them howled with movement, a few even encouraging a girl fight. Daisy was already getting in Carol's face, blood dripping down her pearly white skin. "If you're going to be a total bitch, don't mess with me. Okay? I'm sick and tired of this high school bullshit." Daisy shouted. "Don't say another shitty thing about the Byers, Nancy, Barb, Dottie or my sister. Is that clear?"

Carol was all flames though and was struggling out of her boyfriend's beefy arms to approach Daisy again, but the blonde was ready for a fist fight because that familiar pain was loud and clear in her heart. A pain that had never truly faded. "You psycho bitch!" Carol was mouthing off loudly, the football boys gathering around her and trying to hold her back.

Before Daisy could even take another step towards the redhead, arms were circling around her waist and dragging her backwards. She struggled a little bit, seeing the fire that she wanted to knock out of Carol's eyes. But somebody was holding her still. "Settle down, Goldilocks." Daisy was freezing up with Steve Harrington's nickname for her, memories flooding back so quickly she had to close her eyes to push them away. It felt somewhat familiar having somebody pull her away from a fight, something Jonathan Byers had done once before but now, the boy she had been attacking was the very boy pulling her away. Daisy Lonsdale almost hated the juxtaposition of it all. Almost.