Jenna spent a couple more hours at the community pool, chatting with Janet until she had to go on her shift for lifeguard duty. After rinsing off the pool water, she changed into some dry clothes and bid Janet goodbye until later that night. As she was leaving the parking lot, Jenna almost felt nervous as she headed for Starcourt Mall, knowing who she had to talk to next: Carter Page.

Out of all of Jenna's friends, Carter was the one that probably wouldn't care about her not calling or coming home in the last six months. But then again, the two never expected to be this close in the last year and a half, so maybe he would care that Jenna never kept in touch. Either way, she was about to find out once she got to the food court to see him.

Like the community pool, Starcourt Mall was packed with cars in the lot, with Jenna finding a spot just in between the mall and the main road. She got out of the car and made her way towards the building, cooling down as she stepped inside. With her eye on the escalator, she headed down to the ground level, going straight to the food court. Jenna kept her eyes away from Scoops Ahoy, focusing on Hot Sam Pretzels, slowing down when she saw Carter on the register like yesterday. Taking a better look at him this time, Jenna noticed his usual somewhat miserable demeanor was still there, along with he still wore long-sleeves (at least his uniform was brighter than his wardrobe every other day). She also realized that he cut his hair, though some of the curls were still intact. From what Jenna could see, Carter seemed to be doing okay, and she was happy to see that after all he had been through.

After observing Carter for a minute, Jenna took a deep breath and picked up the pace again. It didn't take long for Carter to spot her coming his way, to which the blank expression in his face didn't change.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Jenna Howard finally gracing me with her presence," he announced.

Jenna gave him a playful smirk as she leaned against the counter. "I figured you could use some company while working."

Carter shook his head. "And here I thought you were just coming to annoy me like you said you would when you got back," he retorted. "Which, by the way, you're three months too late."

Her expression turned into a mix of guilt and shame. "I can explain--"

"Save it. I already know what your bullshit excuse is going to be."

Jenna rolled her eyes. "Oh, really?"

"Yeah. You made new friends, partied all the time, got drunk...I don't think I need to continue, Howard."

She let out a scoff, shaking her head. "You know, I almost hate to admit that I missed you, Carter."

He nodded his head in response. "Still full of shit, I see."

All of a sudden, an older man came out from the back, panting. "Page, where's your co-worker at?"

Carter resisted the urge to roll his eyes before turning his head. "Her name is Carlie, and she ran out to get more mustard."

"Well, how about you go on your break early and see if you can find her? I'll handle the front while you're gone."

Sighing again, Carter backed away from the register and walked around the counter until he was on the other side, his expression turning more annoyed.

"You don't have to be so sad about it," Jenna said. "That just means you get to spend more time with me."

"Right, because that's always been fun," he retorted sarcastically.

"Will me buying you something from that Orange Julius place help?"

Carter stared at Jenna for a moment before responding. "No, but it's a start."

Jenna grinned a little as the two of them headed for Orange Julius, which was only just two places down from where Carter worked. After getting a strawberry banana and berry pomegranate drink for Jenna and Carter respectively, they began to walk down the food court.

"So..." Jenna started, taking a sip from her cup before speaking again. "Since you clearly know what I've been up to these last six months, what's been going on with you?"

Carter let go of his straw to answer, shrugging his shoulders. "Same old shit. Working, hanging out with Jonathan. That's pretty much it."

Jenna nodded her head. "Sounds like your life is still boring."

He scoffed. "I'll take boring over fighting monsters any day. I'm sure you didn't miss those while you were in Nashville."

She chuckled. "No, I sure as hell didn't." Pausing, Jenna's smile faded as she continued. "But I did miss a lot of things about Hawkins while I was away."

"Let me guess, you constantly annoying me?"

Her smile appeared again. "Well, yeah, that's one of them. I was actually referring to things like certain places and people."

Carter raised his eyebrows. "When you say certain people--"

"I don't mean just him."

"Did I say anything about him, Howard?"

"No, but you were implying it."

A small smirk came across his face as he shook his head. "So what if I was? Does that bother you?"

Jenna almost rolled her eyes, but let out a sigh instead. "No. Yes. Maybe. Fuck, I don't know." She paused for a moment, briefly looking down at her feet. "It's just that no one realizes how complicated things are between me and Steve right now."

"And whose fault is that?"

"You're not helping."

"When have I ever tried to be helpful, Howard?"

"Well, you could start now."

"Really?"

"Really."

With a light chuckle, Carter took another sip of his drink before responding. "Okay, fine. If there's anyone who should know a thing or two about complicated things, it's me. I think whatever shit is going on between you two has gone on long enough."

"It hasn't been that long."

"Yes, it fucking has, Howard, and just because you and Harrington can't get your heads out of your asses doesn't mean we all have to suffer for it."

She let out another scoff, sounding offended by his words as her mouth hung open. "I don't understand how it affects you."

"It affects all of us," Carter retorted. "It affects us more than you two even realize."

Jenna shot him a hard stare, trying to think of a rebuttal. When she couldn't think of anything to say, she finally huffed a sigh in defeat. "You know what, just forget it. How about we go find Carlie?"

Carter gave her a quick glance before nodding his head. "Yeah, okay. Let's go find her." He started making his way towards the other side of the food court.

As Jenna was following him, she noticed which direction he was heading, to which a funny feeling at the bottom of her stomach formed. It was when she realized exactly where they were going that Jenna was tempted to turn around and run off. But it was too late, as the two of them were about to walk under the Scoops Ahoy sign.

Oh no.

"Wait, why are we here?" she asked, coming to a stop. "I thought we were gonna go find Carlie."

Carter turned around to face Jenna. "We are. She's here."

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "How do you know that?"

He lightly chuckled in response. "Because I think she spends more time staring at this place than actually working."

Jenna widened her eyes in response. "So you knew she was over here the entire time."

"Yup, sure did."

"And you weren't gonna tell me this earlier?"

"If I had told you before, then you wouldn't have wanted to come."

She scoffed, shaking her head. "You're an asshole."

"Oh, look, it's the pot calling the kettle black." Carter paused, eyebrows raised. "You can't avoid him forever, Howard."

Jenna gave the boy an annoyed look before huffing a sigh and reluctantly walking beside him into the ice cream parlor. With each step, she felt her anxiety increasing, holding a tight grip on her Orange Julius cup. Once she found Steve talking to Carlie by the back windows, Jenna stopped walking, her heart sinking and stomach being tied in knots just at the sight of him. She attempted to move again, but remained frozen in place, and it was when Carter turned around that she began to feel her body tensing up, along with heat rising inside her body as her hand began to shake.

"You good?" Carter asked.

"I just...need a minute..." Jenna muttered, still staring at Steve and Carlie, watching the way they were talking and grinning at each other, and it only made her more irritated and hot, with a slight headache coming along.

Wait, was she getting...jealous?

"People are starting to stare," Carter whispered this time. When she didn't answer or move, as her ears were starting to ring at this point, he kept going. "Howard--"

POP!

All Jenna could see was a flash of bright pink as the smoothie exploded, showering her faces and arms with the sugary drink. She heard people around her gasp and yelp as she opened her eyes and saw the mess splattered all over the tables and floors, along with some people who got a few spots on themselves as well. While attempting to wipe some of it off her face, she noticed the blood on her hand, and she knew what that meant.

Another episode. Great.

Then, there was giggling from nearby tables, which made her even more embarrassed to still be standing there with her mouth hanging open and cheeks turning bright red. As much as Jenna wanted to quickly turn around and get away from Scoops Ahoy, she just couldn't seem to move her feet.

"Holy shit," Carter mumbled beside her, looking just as shocked.

Before Jenna could say anything to him, she glanced up to see Steve dashing towards her.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked, his eyes turning concerned.

She took a deep breath, shaking her head. "I-I still feel hot," she muttered.

Steve gently placed his hands on her arms, nodding. "Yeah, you're definitely warm. Come on, there's a bathroom in the back." He guided her away from the mess, stepping over the cup she dropped on the floor, and went past the ice cream freezer and towards the back, where Robin, his co-worker, was standing by the door, confused at the sight of them.

"What happened?" she questioned.

"She dropped her drink," he quickly answered. "You mind cleaning up the mess out there? I'm gonna take her to the bathroom."

Robin didn't move, her expression turning somewhat worried. "Steve, she's bleeding."

"Yeah, I know that, and I'm gonna handle it," he snapped. But after a brief moment, he softened his eyes, almost as if he regretted getting so snippy with her. "Can you just go and clean up the mess out there, please?"

Hearing the hint of desperation in his voice, Robin went to grab a mop and bucket from the corner, filling it with water in the nearby sink. Steve and Jenna glanced over at Carlie, who looked just as puzzled and concerned like Robin, then at Dustin sitting next to her, which seeing the realization in his expression and Steve nodding back at him let the boy know that his suspicion as to what happened to Jenna was correct.

Jenna's body was showing no sign of cooling down as Steve led her to the back hallway and towards the first door on the right. She breathed a sigh of relief that the bathroom was empty when they entered, as Jenna didn't want anyone walking in to see her in the sticky, pink state that she was in. Not to mention trying to explain Steve's presence in the women's restroom would make the situation even more mortifying.

"Okay, here we go," he said, helping Jenna lean against the sink countertop before grabbing some paper towels. "Let's get you cleaned up."

"I can do it myself, Steve," she assured him, turning on the sink and snatching the paper towels from him as she started to grow irritated the longer her body stayed hot.

"Jenna, I don't mind helping."

"Well, maybe I do," she retorted, shooting him an annoyed look as she got the paper towels wet, then sighing when she glanced back at him, calming down a little. "I didn't mean...it's just that...Steve, this is the girls' bathroom."

Steve let out a light chuckle. "You and I both know this isn't my first time in the girls' bathroom." Once he realized what he said, the small smile left his face, which made Jenna grin a little at this. "Shit, that came out wrong. I just meant--"

"No, I don't think I want to hear it," she told him, trying to hold in her laughter. "But, uh, it's not anything pervy, is it?"

"Oh, no, nothing like that," he assured her, awkwardly smiling. "I shouldn't have said anything."

"Don't worry about it." Turning off the water, her face fell, showing the guilt in her eyes. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

Steve shot her a sad smile. "It's okay."

Jenna paused, starting to wipe off the blood and pink drink off her face. "You really don't have to stay and help."

"I know," he said. "But I want to."

"Why?"

He raised his eyebrows. "It's another episode, isn't it?"

She looked down at the counter. "It doesn't matter."

"Jenna."

Slowly turning to face him, Jenna noticed the way Steve's eyes were softening the more they looked at each other. "So what if it is?"

"Then let me help." When his hand merely brushed against hers in that split second to take some of the wet paper towels from her, there was a wave of relief that came over Jenna, already starting to feel her body temperature go back down to normal. Still looking at Steve, Jenna saw him lifting his hand up to her hair, wiping off the sticky residue from her drink. This time, she didn't protest.

"Thanks," she muttered.

"You're welcome," he replied, clearing his throat before speaking again. "So, uh, how was Nashville?"

"It was nice," she simply answered, finishing up on cleaning her face. Jenna hoped he wouldn't bring it up again.

"That's good. When did you get back in town?"

"A couple of days ago."

"Oh." Steve was quiet for a moment, then continued on. "Did you miss Hawkins?"

Jenna didn't respond right away, slowly working on washing her arms. "Yeah, a little bit." She did her best to play it cool so that Steve wouldn't suspect anything. "So, what do you think of the mall?"

Steve shrugged in response. "It's okay, I guess."

"What about your job? You like it?"

He scoffed. "Yeah, spending every day slinging ice cream with an annoying co-worker is what I wanted to do all summer."

Jenna grinned at his sarcasm. "Nice uniform, by the way."

"Ha-ha, very funny."

"No, seriously. I'm digging the whole sailor vibe. Really goes with the theme." She paused as she glanced up at their reflection in the mirror. "Especially the hat."

Steve rolled his eyes in response. "Yeah, well, if only it didn't hide my best feature."

"Your hair is not the only good feature you have, Steve."

He raised his eyebrows, grinning in the mirror. "You think I have other good features?"

She laughed a little, almost nervous to answer as she thought she could feel her face getting hot again. "I mean, it's kind of obvious, isn't it? I'm sure you've got the ladies all over you while working."

Steve's smile faded a little. "Not really. All I do is make an idiot out of myself. You saw those girls laughing at me yesterday." Pausing, he moved his hand towards the other side of Jenna's head, tugging at her hair. "Speaking of yesterday, why were you here with Eddie Munson?"

Jenna felt the pull at her hair as she stared in the mirror to watch him. "My mom and his uncle are dating. We decided to have dinner so that we could meet and get to know each other."

"Oh, okay." He nodded, almost looking and sounding relieved from what Jenna could tell. "Is he nice?"

Though she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, Jenna went along with it, anyway, getting the rest of her arms before focusing on cleaning her neck. "Uh, yeah, I guess. I mean, I hardly know him, still. But he makes my mom happy and that's all I care about."

"That's good," he replied, letting out a sigh as he ran his fingers through her hair, which made Jenna stop what she was doing for a moment. "I'm almost done getting this stuff out of your hair."

"Take your time." She wanted to kick herself for saying that.

God, why am I being so stupid? Jenna thought. Especially around him, of all people.

"I like the new hair, by the way," Steve spoke up after a moment of silence between the two.

Jenna raised her eyebrows, grinning. "Really?"

"Yeah, it suits you," he responded, nodding. "You know, when it's not covered in a strawberry banana-flavored drink."

She giggled, starting to get the rest of the drink off her shirt. "Thanks. I thought it'd be a nice change."

"Well, it's different, but in a good way," he said. "I had to do a double take yesterday because I haven't seen you since--"

It was when Steve cut off before finishing his sentence that their smiles faded. Jenna couldn't help but feel sad at the horrible memory of their last interaction before she left Hawkins. Her heart ached as she remembered how it went down, with their harsh words thrown at each other and the tense car ride home after that.

But Steve's confession...the kiss...fuck.

The memory also brought an odd sensation to Jenna just thinking about it, and seeing Steve's lips from their reflection in the mirror, along with how close he was almost up against her body, wasn't helping. Though really, she didn't mind it, and she wondered if the warm feeling inside her was because of Steve just being by her side like this, like the way things were before when an episode came along. Jenna had forgotten the effect Steve Harrington had on her like that, and in a way, she missed it.

But did he miss it?

"Are we gonna talk about what happened?" Jenna inquired.

Sighing, Steve kept working on her hair, not looking at the reflection. "I don't know," he said.

"I mean, maybe we could've talked about it the other night at the quarry. You know, if I hadn't run off."

"You really wanted to have that conversation in front of Janet?"

"We would probably need her to mediate, don't you think?"

He chuckled a bit. "Fair point. Okay, I think I got it all out." Stepping away, Steve got next to Jenna, throwing away the paper towel in the trash can on the other side of him. "How you feeling?"

"Much better now that I don't have any more of that strawberry banana shit on me," she answered in a playful manner, trying to make light of the situation as she finished up getting what she could off her shirt.

"I meant with your body temperature. Has it gone back down yet?"

Jenna saw the way Steve was growing concerned when he clarified his statement, and her grin weakened. "Oh, um, yeah, it's back to normal."

Steve nodded in response. "Good." Pausing, he let out a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, I should get back to work. I gotta make sure Henderson and Cunningham don't take any more of the hot fudge sauce."

"Yeah, I better get going, too," she said. "Janet convinced me to go to some party Reed Joyner is throwing tonight at his house." Jenna paused as Steve held the door for her, exiting the bathroom and waiting for him in the hallway. "Maybe I'll see you there tonight? We can have that talk then?" She started to sound hopeful, a part of her wanting him to agree to go somewhere that was a familiar environment for the two of them.

"Uh, well, I'm working late tonight, so probably not."

"Oh." She couldn't help but feel disappointed at his response. But she still gave him a nod of understanding. "That sucks."

Steve nodded back. "Well, Reed's an ass, anyway, so I'd rather not go."

"But his parties are always fun."

He chuckled. "That's true. Are you worried about people saying anything about you being back in town?"

Jenna shrugged. "They should just mind their business."

Steve smiled a little. "Yeah, they should. Or I can, like, fight them, if you want."

"You can't fight for shit."

"Well, I can try."

Jenna giggled as she began walking down the hall, with Steve following next to her. Once they made it to the door that led to the backroom of Scoops Ahoy, Steve waited a moment to open it, clearing his throat.

"Listen, Jenna, um...the truth is, I'm not actually ready to talk about...you know...what happened." Steve kept a blank expression, as if he was trying to put up a front when referring to that subject.

But Jenna knew what he was doing, and instead of pressing on, she sighed and nodded again. "Well, just let me know whenever you're ready."

"Okay, yeah, I will." After a moment of awkward silence, Steve was reaching to open the door when Jenna stopped him.

"Steve?" she spoke up.

"Yeah, Jenna?"

She gave him a weak smile. "Thanks again."

Reluctantly, he smiled back, though it was a sad one. "No problem." He then opened the door, finding everyone, minus Robin, sitting around the table, heads perking up when they saw Steve and Jenna enter.

"Everything okay?" Dustin spoke up.

"Uh, yeah, everything's fine," Steve answered.

"Good, so we can get back to..." He motioned his head towards the tape recorder that sat between them on the table before locking eyes with Jenna, eyes widening like he'd said something he wasn't supposed to.

Jenna raised her eyebrows at the little boy, then turned back towards Steve, who shot him a warning stare.

"Well, I should be heading back to work," Carlie announced, awkwardly smiling as she stood up from her chair. "Carter, you coming?"

"In a minute," he replied. "Though you might wanna go on ahead before you get your ass fired for staying on break for too long."

She nodded, then waved at the others before hurrying off.

"I better go back out there and work, too," Steve added, looking at Jenna and Carter. "I'll walk you two out."

Carter was the first to head out, followed by Jenna, then Steve, who headed for the register, watching as the two went around the counter.

"So I guess I'll see you whenever," Jenna told him.

"Yeah, see you whenever," Steve said.

With that, the two exchanged small waves before Jenna and Carter turned around to leave, carefully stepping by Robin on the wet floor that was almost clean from her mess. Jenna felt some relief when she and Carter exited the parlor, letting out a sigh.

"Well, that was interesting," she stated. "Little awkward, but still interesting."

"Yeah, you wanna tell me what the fuck that was all about?" Carter inquired.

Jenna rolled her eyes. "What do you think?"

"Well, from what I saw, it looked like one glance at Harrington made you freak out and have one of your episodes." He paused for a moment, his eyes going a little bit wide. "Or was it because...holy shit, were you--"

"No," she lied, though with how fast she blurted it out, Carter could easily tell.

"Fucking hell, yes, you were," he retorted. "You were jealous of seeing Harrington and Carlie getting all buddy-buddy with each other."

"You have no idea what you're talking about."

He snorted in response. "I think I do. You still got it bad for Steve-fucking-Harrington and you don't even realize it. Hell, maybe you already realized it and you just don't want to admit it."

As much as Jenna wanted to snap back and protest, she knew that if anyone other than Janet noticed the tension between her and Steve, it'd be Carter. Sometimes, she hated how observant he was, but also admired it.

"Can we talk about something else?" she finally asked.

"Fine," he answered, glancing down at his drink before snickering a little. "We can talk about how funny it was when your drink exploded."

She shot him a playful smirk. "Go fuck yourself, Carter."

He let out another chuckle. "It's good to have you back, Howard."

~~~~~~~

A/N: I told y'all it was gonna be Stenna angst (but there's more of it, I promise you, hehe).

Anyway, Happy ST3 Day (aka my favorite season)!

What do we think of the chapter?

Anyway, comment, vote, more to come soon!

-A