The sun that flooded Jenna's room the next morning made her not want to get out of bed. She did her best to stay under the covers as long as she could, staring up at the ceiling. But when there was a knock on the door, she lifted her head up to see Claire leaning against the frame, arms crossed.

"Mornin'," she greeted Jenna, her southern accent coming through.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Almost ten o'clock. How'd you sleep last night?"

"Terrible," she confessed. Jenna had a hard time falling asleep with the many thoughts of going back to Hawkins running through her head, so she wasn't sure what time she went to sleep last night.

"That's fair," she said, walking inside the room and plopping down at the edge of the bed next to her. "I mean, if I was nervous about going back to my hometown after being away for six months, I wouldn't be able to sleep, either."

Jenna groaned, rolling her eyes as she sat up in the bed. "Thanks for reminding me of what I have to look forward to."

"Well, you and I both know that you gotta face your problems," she pointed out.

Jenna nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I know. Still, I'm not ready for what's gonna happen when I return."

Claire gave her a sad smile. "Remember, take everything one step at a time," she said, reminding Jenna of her advice from last night. "I'm sure it'll all work out in the end."

Jenna let out a sigh in response, hopingClaire was right about that.

Finally getting out of bed, the girls headed downstairs, where both Jenna's aunt and uncle were already in the kitchen making breakfast. The smell of pancakes and bacon became overwhelming as she sat down, to which Aunt Judith brought her a plate with food on it. She ate as much as she could, not wanting her nerves to take over inside her stomach. The subject of Jenna leaving today came up at the table, though she wasn't too surprised since they all discussed it over supper the night before. But she knew that it would come up again once she said her goodbyes to the family, which wouldn't be very long.

After breakfast, Jenna went back upstairs to grab her things, checking to make sure she had everything all packed and ready to go. She took one last look around the bedroom before turning around and heading out to the hallway, going down the stairs with her suitcase and duffle bag. Uncle Travis offered to take them to her car for Jenna, which she accepted and followed him out the front door, with Aunt Judith and Claire right behind her.

"Are you sure you can't ride with your mom to Louisville?" Jenna questioned, referring to the halfway point between Nashville and Hawkins.

Claire gave her a sad look. "I wish I could, but Dad and I have plans today."

Nodding her head, Jenna let out a sigh. "Well, I guess this is goodbye, then."

"How about see you soon?" she suggested. "I like the sound of that a lot better."

Jenna smiled in response. "Yeah, I do, too."

Claire then pulled her in for a hug, her arms tight around the back of Jenna's neck. "Don't get into too much trouble when you get home, okay?"

"No promises," she said jokingly. "You did say live in the moment."

Claire chuckled as she pulled away. "That's true." She paused for a moment, staring at her cousin while doing so. "So don't waste any more time. Enjoy your life, Jenna."

She nodded again. "I will. See you soon, Claire."

"Call me anytime."

Uncle Travis was next to hug Jenna, though his embrace wasn't as long as Claire's. "Don't stay away too long, okay?"

"I won't," she assured him.

Before any of them could get teary-eyed over the goodbyes, Aunt Judith was the one to finally let them know that it was time for Jenna and her to get on the road. She was grateful that her aunt was willing to follow her to Louisville since Dorothy wasn't able to get out of work to meet Jenna herself. It surprised Jenna that she couldn't take the day off work for the second time, which left her a bit disappointed, as it meant that she'd have to wait until she arrived Hawkins to see her, and that was going to make Jenna anticipate the five hours of driving even more, despite her nerves of going home telling her otherwise.

As Jenna was driving out of the neighborhood and onto the main road, she resisted the urge to look back for a brief moment, already feeling a lump in her throat as she got closer to the city. Through the loud traffic--something that always tested her patience while she was living here--, Jenna didn't think she was ever gonna get out of Nashville, especially with how slow the cars were moving. But by the time things began to pick up on the highway, it became all so real that she was almost out of Nashville, almost out of the place that became home in such a short time period. Now, going back to her hometown, back to the way things used to be, felt strange the more she kept driving, and the thought of it continued to weigh on her mind after she was out of Tennessee and entering Kentucky.

The rest of the drive to Louisville felt like it was dragging on, and Jenna knew it'd be the exact same way once she said goodbye to Aunt Judith and headed back to Hawkins on her own. Spotting the same diner that she and her mom stopped at on the way to Nashville six months ago, Jenna drove towards it, pulling into the parking lot, where Aunt Judith parked her car right beside hers. They both got out of their cars, with Jenna approaching her aunt as she let out a sigh.

"Well, this is it," the woman stated. "You sure you'll be okay driving back by yourself?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Jenna replied.

Nodding her head, Aunt Judith gave her a sad smile. "I know I've said this a million times already, but you're so much like your dad." She paused, and Jenna thought she saw tears forming in her eyes. "He'd be proud of you, Jenna. Both of your parents would be proud."

Smiling back, Jenna tried to stay composed at the mention of her parents. "I wish I had more time with them."

Aunt Judith's lips began to quiver a little. "I'm sorry for what you had to go through. If any of us had known what they were up to in that lab..." Trailing off, she stopped again as the guilt came across her face. "We would've gotten you out of there one way or another."

Jenna took a shaky breath, nodding. "I know," she said, her voice cracking. It was weird to think about how her life would've played out so differently if her aunt and uncle were able to get her out of Hawkins Lab and she grew up with them in Nashville. In a way, maybe it would've been better for her and everyone else if that were the case. "But I'm glad I got to meet you guys after all this time."

The woman smiled again, though the tears were close to falling. "I'm glad, too. You're a special girl, you know that?"

"So I've been told," she replied playfully.

Her aunt pulled Jenna in for an embrace, her arms around the girl very tight, rubbing her back. "You're welcome to our home anytime. We'll be there for you no matter what."

"I appreciate that," she said. "And again, thank you for everything."

"Of course," Judith stated, pulling away from her. "You take care, okay, Jenna?"

"Same to you," she responded, grinning. "See you soon, Aunt Judith."

With that, they exchanged one last wave of goodbye before getting back into their cars, officially parting ways as Jenna was the first to pull out of the parking lot and drive back onto the main road.

For the next two and a half hours, it was nothing but music that occupied her mind, along with a pit stop at a gas station to fill up her tank and to get a bag of chips and a drink before reaching Hawkins. The closer Jenna was to the town, the more nervous she got, outweighing her excitement. While she couldn't wait to see her mom and friends, there was still a part of her that wasn't prepared for their negative reactions to her return, which she couldn't blame them for. Nevertheless, she didn't want to have any reunions starting off on the wrong foot, with the exception of Steve, and seeing him was something that Jenna didn't know if she would ever be ready to do.

Before Jenna knew it, she was driving on the roads of Indiana, and eventually, she saw the sign that welcomed her to Hawkins, which only made her anxiety go up. So far, everything looked the same, even if she was only staring at the empty road ahead of her, along with the woods on both sides. It felt like a long ride going down the back roads, waiting for the anticipation of seeing everything for the first time in six months, despite still not having enough time to prepare herself for this.

An overwhelming feeling came over Jenna as she rode into town, glancing around at the familiar streets and buildings. While everything looked the same, there was still something different about it, and she couldn't figure out what it was. She thought she'd have some time to ponder it over at the stop light ahead of her, but a familiar car going across the intersection grabbed her attention. Even after being away for so long, she would always recognize that maroon-colored 1983 BMW belonging to the one and only Steve Harrington.

Her heart dropped at the sight of the car, but the sinking feeling inside only got worse as they made eye contact for a brief moment, though it felt a lot longer in Jenna's mind. From what she could see, a mixed look of shock and confusion fell upon his face as he drove by, with her just as surprised to see him, especially after she just entered Hawkins. He quickly turned his head once crossing the intersection, and Jenna was no longer in his sight. Seeing the light turn green, she shook her head, attempting to snap out of her thoughts of Steve as she pressed her foot on the gas pedal. The image of him looking right at her just now was stuck in her brain, as she didn't expect to see him this soon, and now it was bound to make things even more awkward once they would actually meet and talk in person at some point. She still had no idea what she was going to say to him. Hell, there was so much to tell him, so much to explain, that she wouldn't even know where to start. Maybe there was still some time to figure it out, despite the fact that she didn't have a lot of time to do so.

Jenna continued driving in town, getting excited as she spotted Melvald's on the left, with her mom's car parked in front of the store. Pulling up next to her, she turned off the car and just about jumped out, slamming the door behind her before rushing to the entrance. When she stepped inside, Jenna found Chief Hopper and Joyce Byers standing in one of the aisles, their attention turning towards her, to which their eyes went wide.

"Jenna!" Joyce exclaimed.

"Hey there, kid," Chief Hopper added. "Welcome back."

"It's good to be back," she stated, chuckling a little.

"Hey, Joyce!" the familiar voice of Dorothy called out, followed by footsteps. "Do we have any more-- oh my God!" Dropping the box of Fourth of July decorations, with Chief Hopper frantically catching them before they could hit the floor, her mom came running, throwing her arms around Jenna.

"It's good to see you, too, Mom," Jenna said, hugging her back.

After another moment of their embrace, her mom finally pulled away, composing herself. "When did you get into town?"

"Just now," she replied, scanning around the empty store. "Little slow today, huh?"

She let out a sigh. "Yeah, it's been that way since the new mall opened up a few weeks ago."

Jenna furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What new mall?"

"The one on Old Highway 77," Chief Hopper said. "Starcourt Mall."

"Oh." That had to be what was different about Hawkins the moment Jenna got back into town. "I definitely missed that one on the way here."

"Well, there's a lot you need to be caught up on," her mom stated. "But that will have to wait until my shift is over."

"It's fine, Dorothy," Joyce said. "I can handle it from here."

"Are you sure? What about Donald?"

"I'll cover for you. Go spend time with your daughter."

With a grateful expression, Dorothy hurried to grab her things, only being gone for a minute or so. Once she came back, they waved goodbye to Hopper and Joyce, exiting the store and agreeing to meet at Leslie's Diner for lunch. Getting into their own cars, the Howards quickly drove down to the diner, noticing the very little amount of cars in the parking lot, which was surprising to Jenna, as Leslie's was a popular place in town to eat. When she headed inside, the majority of the tables and booths were empty, only a few filled with older couples or groups. Taking a booth in the back, Jenna settled in the seat, with her mom following behind.

"This place is just about as dead as Melvald's," Dorothy commented as she took a seat across from Jenna.

"Which is unusual," she added. "Is it like this all over town?"

"Pretty much," she replied. "Again, Starcourt Mall is the reason for it. Everyone's hanging out there now. People can go shopping for whatever they need all day. That's where a lot of the businesses in town moved to. There's also a food court, so no one stops by here or anywhere else in town anymore." She paused, letting out another sigh as an older waitress came over to take their order, then continued once she left. "A lot of the teenagers working around here were either let go or they quit to go to Starcourt. Joyce and I are the only ones working at Melvald's now."

Jenna raised her eyebrows. "So, Carter's working at Starcourt now?"

She nodded in response. "Yeah, at some pretzel joint in the food court." Her mom paused again, chuckling. "Maybe I should get a side job at the mall. I've thought about doing it these last few weeks."

"I can get a job there and help out," Jenna told her.

Dorothy's face fell in response. "Sweetie--"

"I don't mind," she cut her off. "The last thing you need to do is to work yourself to death with a second job."

"And the last thing you need to do is worry about helping me with the bills," she retorted. "Just focus on saving your money for college next year, okay? I've got everything else under control." The waitress came back with their food and drinks, to which Dorothy waited until she was gone again to keep talking. "Speaking of control, how's that been going for you with...you know..."

"It's been going fine," Jenna said truthfully. "We went over this every time you called me while I was away."

"I know, but I just want to make sure. I can't help but have concerns about it. Six months is also a long time to be away, you know."

"Well, the idea for me to leave Hawkins was yours to begin with," Jenna reminded her.

"Hey, it all worked out for the best, didn't it?"

She nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, it did. You didn't get too lonely while I was gone, did you?"

Her mom was hesitant to answer, eating a few fries before answering the question. "Well, now that you mention it, there's something I've been meaning to tell you..."

Confused, Jenna narrowed her eyes from across the table. "What is it?"

There was another moment of silence from Dorothy as she took a sip of her drink before continuing on. "I actually haven't been so lonely these last few months."

"Meaning?" Jenna asked, picking up her burger, ready to take a bite.

"Meaning that I've been seeing someone."

She just about dropped her burger back in the basket, her eyes going wide at the words that just came out of her mom's mouth. "What?! Since when?!"

"Since your spring break," she answered. "When you decided not to come home, I picked up a few evening shifts. This man would come in right before we closed to get a few things, then he'd walk me to my car once I locked up the store at night. We started to get to know each other more, which led to dinner and a few more dates, then movie nights..."

"And you didn't think to mention this to me before?"

"Well, I didn't want to have this conversation over the phone," Dorothy told her daughter. "Plus, I wanted to see where things would go before I said anything to you about it."

"Which I'm assuming it's going well for you two?"

A grin came upon her face as she nodded. "Yeah, it is. He's a great guy."

"So, who is he?" Jenna questioned, making another attempt to eat her burger.

"His name is Wayne. Wayne Munson."

She stopped eating again, looking at her mom with another puzzled look. "Wait, Munson? As in, Eddie Munson's dad?"

"Eddie's his nephew," Dorothy corrected her. "And he's a very polite young man. Wayne's really done a good job raising him." She paused for a moment, then continued talking. "I only see him every now and then. He spends a lot of time with Dana Sellers now."

"That's not surprising," Jenna muttered as she remembered the way her and Janet teased Dana about her and Eddie.

"Well, they have been dating since Wayne and I started seeing each other, so it makes sense."

Jenna wanted to throw her hands in the air out of frustration. Of course, she should've expected it to happen, and even though she hadn't talked to Dana since she left, Jenna was still annoyed hearing about it for the first time just now. "I leave for six months and so much happens."

"What did you expect when you didn't talk to any of your friends while you were away?" her mom pointed out. "But then again, maybe not worrying about everything and everyone here was good for you."

Her face fell as she glanced down at her food, picking up a few fries. "Yeah, I guess."

"Okay, not worrying about almost everything and everyone," Dorothy said, correcting her previous statement. "In case you were wondering, Steve called me the day after you left."

Jenna was quick to lift her head up. "He did?"

"Yeah, he did," her mom responded, nodding. "He wanted to make sure you got to Nashville okay. I even gave him the number to call you if he wanted to reach out himself."

She scoffed, shaking her head. "That sure as hell didn't happen. He probably still hates me."

"I doubt that, Jenna."

"Well, I can't blame him if he did."

"How about you just go talk to him about what happened? I think it's about time you two got together and worked things out."

Hearing her mom starting to sound a little bit like Claire with her advice, Jenna knew that she had a point. But with how tense it was just seeing him from a distance, she wasn't sure if their conversation would actually go all that smoothly.

"Look, I just need a little bit more time," she confessed. "For now, I'd like to settle back in and go see some of my other friends first before I talk to Steve."

With some reluctance, Dorothy's expression softened, as if she knew there was no point in saying any more about the subject. "Okay," was all she said in response.

The two ate in silence for a while, getting through their food before one of them came up with something else to talk about. Once their baskets were empty, both women were craving for something sweet, so they ordered two chocolate milkshakes, drinking out as much as they could without trying to get brain freeze after they were placed in front of them.

Letting out a sigh, Jenna took some more sips of her milkshake before speaking up again. "So, is there anything else I need to know about?"

Dorothy shook her head. "I can't think of anything else," she said, followed by a chuckle. "Believe it or not, everything around here has been normal."

"Nothing out of the ordinary hasn't happened since I left? Like, no monsters?"

"Not a single one, and let's just hope it stays that way."

Chuckling, Jenna took her glass cup and lifted it between her and Dorothy. "To no more monsters in Hawkins."

Her mom did the same, raising her glass and clinking it against Jenna's. "To no more monsters in Hawkins," she repeated, a small smile appearing on her face. "Welcome home, Jenna."

Smiling back, Jenna continued working on her milkshake, starting to feel a little bit more content with being back. She didn't want to worry about Steve or her friends or any monsters at the moment. Because right now, she was just glad to be home again, and all she cared about was keeping this feeling of happiness for as long as she could before any bad thing could come along and ruin it.

But like her mom said, let them just hope that Hawkins remained monster-free, because the last thing this town needed was another bigger and more dangerous threat to deal with, a threat that could change everything.

All Jenna could think about now was having a normal and peaceful summer in Hawkins. Was that too much to ask for?

~~~~~~~

A/N: Jenna is back in Hawkins! What do we think?

Comment, vote, more to come soon (and definitely more angsty stuff in the next chapter oop).

-A