Long hours passing, repeating songs on the radio, long silences that turned into conversations choked through laughter about old times. Too many packets of candy wrappers and takeaway cups of coffee shared between two teenagers was the opening to an almost eight hour road trip to Memphis, Tennessee.

"We really didn't think this through," Steve Harrington yawned out, his voice muffled slightly. His hair looked almost flat and darkness painted his eyes. It was almost two o'clock in the morning and they had been driving for only a few hours so far. They were somewhere in Missouri and not even half way through their trip just yet. "We could have at least started the trip during the daylight."

Daisy was curled up against the car door, her legs tangled underneath her leather jacket while her head was propped against her hand. Her muscles ached a little bit from being cramped up so long and the tiredness was quickly taking shape in her mind. Glancing across at Steve, she couldn't help but agree in the early hours of the morning. The thing was, she hadn't been thinking when she had packed a bag and hurried into the arms of the one boy who would indeed not question her and join her in some crazy midnight adventure. "It seemed like a good idea at the time." she admitted quietly, rubbing at her eyes.

Steve yawned again. "Isn't that always the way."

With doubt dancing in his mind, he suddenly realised how foolish this idea had been. He had been so quick to drop everything and tag along with Daisy Lonsdale, not only to find his lost best friend, but to spend time alone with her. In all honestly, he never really could say no to Daisy. They had been on the outs for the better part of a year and each day, he would see her in the school hallways and question his mistakes that had driven her away in the first place. There had been so many times where he had driven by her house and almost gone inside to tell her how much he missed her. But he never had. Now, it was almost like he was catching up on lost time before things slipped away from him again.

"Eight hours didn't seem that long in theory," Daisy started, rearranging herself in the seat, trying to get comfortable. Darkness blurred by in the window and she caught herself in the reflection, almost a worn out face. She couldn't help but wonder if Marigold still had the same shade of blonde hair. While she combed some blonde locks away from her face, she spotted a neon light blinking in the distance. "Pit stop?"

The boy also saw the blinking sign of a roadside motel. "How much money did you hustle from your mum, Goldilocks?"

Daisy was reaching into the backseat to grab her bag, knowing she had stuffed some of her savings from the Hawk somewhere. It wasn't much, but it seemed like a logical idea to bring it along just in case. "Actually, mother dearest doesn't know about our little trip."

"What?" Steve blurted out, mouth gaping open.

Daisy winced. "I left a note."

Steve Harrington was already freaking out as they pulled into an almost empty carpark. Red neon light blinked down on them both and he turned to face her, his face riddled with confusion once again. "Are you serious? You drag me along on some goose chase across the country to try and find Marigold and you didn't think letting your mother know was a good idea? She already hates me, Daisy." He yanked the key from the ignition. "How do I land myself in shitty situations all the time? First that weird monster stuff weeks ago and now, this."

Daisy was hurrying out of the car, slamming the door shut behind her. Her natural temper was rising to match his own. "You wanted to come, remember? I didn't force you into driving down to Memphis."

The teenagers stormed across the carpark together, Steve's long legs carrying him towards the reception building quicker. They continued to throw around insults, both overtired and saying things they didn't really mean. "I should never have gotten involved with you Lonsdale girls." Steve boomed out into the cold night air. "Nothing but trouble, that's for sure."

"Why are you suddenly acting like a jerk again?" Daisy snipped out, dropping her packed bag by her feet so she could stare up at him, ready to push against his chest if he continued blaming her for everything. "Is this really about my mother not knowing? Why does that even matter? Who cares if she hates you?"

Steve threw up his hands. "I care, okay? I don't want your mother hating me anymore than she already does. She probably blames me for Marigold running away, knowing I was the very last person to see her that night now. I don't need her having yet another reason to blame me for corrupting her children."

Daisy was already laughing. "Corrupting her children? We all know you didn't corrupt Marigold, if anything it was the other way around." The anger was fading away quickly though, Daisy folding her arms over her chest. "What's this about, Steve? You wouldn't remotely care if my mother hated you. Is this about Nancy?"

A strangled sigh left the boy's lips. "God, why would you even bring up Nancy?"

"I know you guys are getting back together." Daisy confessed lamely.

Steve shook his head. "That has nothing to do with this." Already he was walking away from the blonde, who picked up her bag and went after him. The motel loomed over them, an eerie feeling floating around them. "This is about you lying to your mum about the trip, about us. Okay? She's honestly going to murder me when we get back home."

Daisy frowned. "If she already hates you, what's the harm?"

"You don't get it, do you?" Steve spun around, his voice suddenly quiet. "What happens when we do get home, with or without Marigold with us? Your mother will hate my guts for pushing away one daughter and running away with the other. She'll forbid me from even seeing you, or Marigold. She's crazy scary like that. Then everything will go back to the way it was this year, me looking in from the outside. I don't want that."

Maybe it was the sleep talking, maybe it was because the teenagers were a very long way from home but, the confession slipped from Steve Harrington's lips, a fear that had nested in his heart. He had spent so long being away from Daisy, and he had almost grown over it. But with the unusual events that had occurred in Hawkins and with the mystery Marigold had left behind, he had gotten Daisy back, and now he wasn't sure he could let her go again.

Suddenly, with the words floating around them, Daisy had nothing to say. Her mouth had snapped shut, her heart feeling like it weighed ten bricks in her chest. She honestly didn't know what to say to him. When the moment stretched on far too long, Steve was hanging his head and pointing towards the reception. "Come on, it's cold out here. Let's just...get a room and sleep it off."

It wasn't until they were safely under the warm blankets of a shared bed, did Daisy finally open her mouth. She was staring at the ceiling, her mind twisting and turning with too much confusion. "Things won't go back to the way they were."

"You don't know that." Steve admitted.

Daisy rolled onto her side, glancing across at him in the darkness. She felt nervous about spending a night lying beside him but apparently, all the two seperate beds rooms were booked for the night and Steve wasn't about to sleep on the floor. "I do, though. Things won't ever be the same again, not after everything." She sucked in a deep breath. "I know because I don't want them to go back to the way they were. We're friends again and I want that too."

Steve turned his head, his lips turning upwards. "Just friends, huh?"

A laugh chilled the air. "Well, yeah. Is that a problem for you, Harrington?"

The tension that had somehow grown between them was dying away and suddenly, they were just two kids again. Two kids that were both doing their best to be alright. "No problem at all. Can just friends spoon though?"

Daisy was rolling her eyes. "Dream on, lover boy."

***

In the daylight, two teenagers finally made their journey to Memphis. The city built on the edge of the Mississippi River, where it was famous for blues, soul and rock 'n' rock music. It was a city that Marigold Lonsdale could fall in love with, that was for sure.

Steve Harrington had already slipped in his tiny amount of doubt into the air, wondering just how they would even find the missing girl in such a place. But Daisy Lonsdale had a different air of hope running through her veins because just driving through the city was already confirming her theories. She had once helped her older sister dream of a time where she would finally move away from Hawkins. A time where Marigold would live in a dazzling city, in a tiny apartment with a fire escape and live happily. It was a simple dream, which could land the girl in a number of cities in the world. But there was one tiny detail about Memphis which had drawn Marigold in that nobody knew a part from Daisy.

"This is insane, we're never going to find her here." Steve was saying, his own hope dashed.

Daisy just smiled. "Our grandfather used to tell us about this enchanting grand carousel in Memphis. He liked to say his own father helped build it back in the day. Also, that's where he proposed to our grandmother. Marigold used to think it was so romantic, you know? We always used to say we would visit that place together." The blonde girl paused, her fingertip paused on the map they had brought from a souvenir shop hours ago. They had been walking around the city for a while now and stood in an empty park. "The Memphis Grand Carousel was taken down when Libertyland closed in 1980 though. We never got to see it in person, only in old photographs."

Steve shoved his hands into his pockets, wind nipping at his exposed skin. "Okay? That's a sweet story, but what's that got anything to do with this park?"

Daisy looked up from her map. "This is the very place the carousel used to be."

Around them, only a few odd people milled around. An old lady was perched at a wooden bench feeding some squirrels that bounced in the grass. A few children were playing on an outdated swing set. But a part from just them, they were the only people who looked like they didn't belong. "There isn't anybody around, a sort from that lady and the squirrels. She's not here."

The youngest Lonsdale girl wasn't about to give up hope just yet. Quickly, she was folding up the map and tucking it away in her jacket pocket. Aimlessly, she started walking and naturally, Steve had to follow. The entire time he went on that it was getting late and that surely, Marigold wouldn't just hang out in old parks all day everyday. But Daisy stayed in the park, even when Steve left to buy some coffee and snacks.

By the time Steve arrived back, holding a takeaway bag and fresh coffee, the sun was falling behind the thick clouds promising some rain. Daisy Lonsdale had found herself standing in the very centre of the place where the old carousel would have been. Her fingertips felt frozen, her skin dry from the cold too, but hope still remained. When she heard Steve's footsteps, crushing against dead leaves, her attention snapped around but that's when she spotted two lonely figures standing a few feet away. One was a tall boy, blond hair slicked back from his forehead. He towered over the girl he stood beside, who had matching blonde curls.

That's when Daisy's heart sang, with the very sight of Duncan Downings and Marigold Lonsdale. Her apparently dead cousin and her missing older sister.

"Marigold?"

The girl turned around, a pretty smile touching her painted red lips. Already, Daisy was running towards her family while Steve Harrington stayed behind, the coffees he had been holding falling from his hands with the sight of his best friend. When the two girls finally reunited it was magical. The sun and moon returning. "You found me, Daisy. I knew you would."