The only thing that occupied Jenna's mind for the rest of the afternoon was Steve (more specifically, him wearing that ridiculous sailor uniform while standing right behind her with a soft look on his face). She couldn't help but feel mixed emotions after their time in the bathroom, knowing that everything was so...well, awkward between them. Then again, after not seeing or speaking to each other for six long months, that was to be expected. But still, standing there so close to him like Jenna had done before...it was all so familiar, but so very different.

She hated to admit that Carter was onto something earlier. Maybe Jenna still had it bad for Steve Harrington. But did his feelings for her ever go away?

God, Jenna hated it when things were complicated.

With the afternoon quickly turning into evening, Jenna began to shift her thoughts towards Reed's party tonight. She thought about trying to stomach some food down before Janet picked her up, but a part of her wanted to wait until her mom got home, which was unusual that she hadn't shown up yet, given how slow Melvald's was nowadays. It was even more odd when Jenna attempted to call the store and got no answer from Dorothy or Joyce or even their manager.

What the hell is going on at Melvald's?

Her next thought was to call Chief Hopper, as she wondered if he had any idea where they could be, with how much time he spent at the store – at least from what Jenna assumed. But then again, Hopper most likely had no idea if Melvald's was empty.

Unless...

No. Jenna couldn't think something was wrong just because the three adults were out and about the last time something happened. She didn't need to have those bad thoughts in her head and assume the worst again. Maybe all the strange things she noticed going on around town like the brief power outage and Billy Hargrove's behavior were nothing but flukes (she would even count her episode at the mall one as well with it being related to something that wasn't life-threatening). Everything was fine. There was nothing happening in Hawkins like before, which meant there were no fucking monsters, and that was all that mattered.

Jenna began to push all negative thoughts out of her head and started getting ready for Reed's party, which made her a bit excited and nervous all at once. Despite giving Steve the impression that she didn't really care what others would say about her return, there was a part of her that did care to an extent. Maybe seeing all of her former classmates worried her a bit, especially with those she hardly talked to only noticed how she just disappeared without a trace. As far as everyone was concerned, the stories of why Jenna Howard left Hawkins with no explanation were the ones that they chose to believe. Of course, none of them could know the truth, which none of them would believe, anyway.

After rummaging through her closet and dresser what felt like a hundred times, Jenna finally settled on an outfit to her liking, going with a white t-shirt that had The Runaways on the front, pairing it with a denim jacket and some worn out jeans and tennis shoes. She got dressed and looked at herself in the mirror, the feeling of standing in her room right before a party being the first sense of familiarity she'd had since being home. It made her remember the many times she stood there before heading out for the night, usually having to hear a lecture or two from her mom about going out and being safe (except Jenna tended to tune most of it out and deal with the consequences later). But the Jenna Howard in front of the mirror was different. Tonight, she was going to have fun but still be cautious, and she was sure that everyone seeing this new version of Jenna would be quite surprised, which led to her thinking of what they'd all have to say about it again, causing her to get anxious about going out.

Fuck, maybe this is a bad idea, she thought. Maybe I'm better off staying home. Who cares about me being back in Hawkins, anyway?

But before Jenna could even think more about backing out, the sound of a horn honking came from outside, startling her. With one last glance in the mirror, she smoothed out her outfit and sighed, heading out of her bedroom and down the stairs, where she scribbled a note for her mom before dashing out the door and locking it behind her. She couldn't help but grin at the way Janet was leaning back in the driver's seat with one hand on the wheel. Once Jenna was inside the car, she looked at the all black attire (with a dark blue leather jacket as the exception) that Janet had on, nodding in approval.

"You sure cleaned up fast after work," she commented, putting her hair in a ponytail.

Janet shrugged in response. "Well, I had plenty of time with the showers being empty once I got off. Billy usually stays late with some girl, but he wasn't there when I left." She paused, backing out of the driveway. "He's probably going to the party, too. Maybe we'll see him there."

It was when Billy was mentioned that Jenna thought back to his strange behavior at the pool earlier today. "Was he still acting weird after I left?" she couldn't help but inquire.

"I really didn't see much of him for the rest of my shift," Janet confessed. "I didn't see a lot of Heather, either, so I'm assuming they're out somewhere getting a quickie in before they head over to Reed's."

"Can we talk about something else?" There was a part of Jenna that still wasn't convinced by her friend's words, but she tried not to think much of it anymore, especially the image of Billy and Heather showing up to the party all hot and bothered after screwing each other.

Janet let out a sigh as she kept driving down the road. "Okay, then. How about we talk about the guy you met in Nashville?"

Jenna felt her stomach flip at the question, almost tensing up in her seat. "Janet--"

"You really thought I was gonna let that go, dudette?"

"Well...yeah."

Janet chuckled. "There's no way I would forget about it, especially since you didn't answer the question when I asked you earlier." When Jenna didn't respond, she kept going. "Look, I won't tell Steve anything. I think it'd be better if he heard it from you, anyway."

Exhaling loudly, Jenna looked down at her fidgeting hands for a moment, feeling nervous when she blurted out, "His name was Dennis."

Janet glanced at her friend with raised eyebrows. "Where'd you meet him?"

"At my new school."

"What was he like?"

"Normal."

"He already sounds boring."

Jenna cracked a small grin. "I mean that in a good way. He was fun to be around."

"Oh, really?" There was another pause as a smirk came across Janet's lips. "Did you sleep with him?"

"What? No!"

"Okay, okay, no need to get all defensive over it," she said. "Did you at least blow him?"

"No."

"And he didn't ea--"

"Janet!"

"Jesus Christ, did you two do anything?"

Jenna began to get flustered at the subject, her face turning a shade of red as she leaned back in the seat. "We might've kissed at an afterparty on prom night."

Janet's eyes got a little bigger. "And?"

She rolled her eyes. "And maybe it almost led to something..."

"I knew it!" Janet exclaimed. "So why didn't anything happen?"

Jenna eyed her friend. "I think you already know the answer to that question."

"Well, I still wanna hear you say it."

With another sigh, Jenna shook her head and looked straight ahead of the empty road. "Because of Steve." It almost felt like a weight was lifted off her chest as she said the words. "I just...I just couldn't stop thinking about him, even when I tried not to." She added a chuckle before continuing. "And seeing him at the mall earlier today, I realized that I'll probably never stop thinking about him no matter what." Her heart skipped a beat the more the words lingered in the car, waiting for a response from Janet.

After a moment of silence, Janet finally smiled. "Now that wasn't so hard to admit, was it?"

Jenna playfully rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"Speaking of Steve, when are you gonna tell him all of this?"

Her smile faded a little as she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. When the time is right, I guess."

"So what you're saying is you're scared to tell him about Dennis."

"Janet--"

"Am I wrong?"

Exhaling loudly, Jenna rubbed her forehead. "I mean, not really. But if anyone's scared to say anything, then it's Steve. He won't even talk to me about our fight six months ago because he's not ready yet."

"And how do you know that?" Janet asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I talked to him at Starcourt earlier today."

"Wait, you went back to the mall to go talk to him?"

Jenna scoffed. "Not exactly. I actually went to see Carter. He tricked me into going to Scoops Ahoy." Pausing, she took a deep breath, trying to not let her body tense up from the memory. "When I got there, Steve was...talking to someone."

"What, another girl?" Janet questioned. "I mean, he works with one at Scoops. Robin, I think? She went to school with us, but I don't remember seeing her around at all."

"That's because she wasn't in our crowd," Jenna pointed out. "And neither was this girl I saw him with."

"Who was she?"

"Her name's Carlie and she works with Carter at the mall. She was the one that told me about those pictures Jonathan Byers took of us at Steve's house the night...you know..." Jenna didn't think that she needed to finish the sentence for Janet, as it was obvious they both knew what she was referring to.

Janet nodded her head before the tension filled up the car. "Oh, yeah, I think I remember her. Pretty sure she graduated this year. Anyway, so she was just talking to Steve?"

"Yeah, and I may have gotten a little..." She was almost embarrassed to even admit it, huffing a sigh. "I got jealous and I had a little episode over it."

There was a moment of silence where Janet kept her eyes on the road. Jenna couldn't help but feel nervous as she waited for a response from her friend, even if she had some ideas as to how Janet would react to it. So when she saw the small grin forming across Janet's face, it was enough for Jenna to ease her mind, despite the teasing she knew that she was about to get.

"Okay, wait, you got jealous over Steve talking to a girl?"

Jenna rolled her eyes. "So what if I did? I mean, that's totally normal, right? It happens to everyone."

"Yeah, but you're not exactly a normal girl, dudette," she pointed out. "And you having one of your episodes is obviously not a normal reaction." She paused, glancing at Jenna for a moment before continuing. "So, like, was it the typical nosebleed and high body temperature shit?"

"My drink exploded, too."

Janet let out a laugh. "Oh my God, are you serious?"

"Just shut up and keep driving." Jenna leaned back in the seat crossing her arms as the expression on her face turned grumpy.

"Look, all I'm saying is, if your jealousy over Steve and a girl caused that to happen, just imagine how it'll be when you tell Steve about Dennis."

"Thanks for the reminder," Jenna retorted sarcastically. "Can we just stop talking about boys in general?"

"One more question: Who's the better kisser?"

"Okay, I think it's time we listen to some music." Jenna reached for the radio and turned it on, letting the music blare inside the car, which prevented Janet from saying anything else regarding Jenna's complicated love life (if she could even call it that).

Thankfully, nothing else was said between the girls for the rest of the short drive to Lover's Lake, where cars and trucks were already parked out front, almost taking up all of the space in the driveway and front yard of Reed's house. But Janet managed to get an empty space by a tree at the end of the yard, turning off the engine and stepping out, followed by Jenna. As they made their way towards the house, Jenna noticed the way Janet was looking around, as if she was trying to find something in particular.

"Everything okay?" she asked.

Janet quickly turned towards her friend and gave her a small grin. "Yeah, totally. Come on." She linked her arm with Jenna's, picking up the pace for both of them.

There were a few times where Jenna remembered coming to Reed Joyner's house for parties. Now being back for the first time in a while, she could tell that nothing about it had changed, and because of that, Reed was probably the same asshole that everyone knew and loved no matter what he said or did. Still, he did throw decent parties, which was a plus, despite his flaws.

When the girls stepped inside, they were immediately met with thumping music, the smell of cigarettes, and all eyes going to them from partygoers in the foyer. While Jenna tried to not look so uncomfortable at everyone glancing their way, Janet simply rolled her eyes and pulled her friend down the hall and towards the kitchen, where they found plenty of familiar faces surrounding the island filled with snacks and drinks. It didn't take long for their eyes to land on the girls, to which the majority of them had surprised expressions on their faces when they saw Jenna standing there.

"Holy shit!" Reed exclaimed, letting out a laugh. "It's Jenna-fucking-Howard!"

"Where the hell have you been?" Nathan Hunt spoke up, opening up a beer can. "You disappeared after winter break."

Jenna awkwardly nodded her head in response. "Yeah, well, it's a long story." She hoped no one would ask her where she had been for the last six months, which was why she had to quickly come up with a convincing story just in case, even though they all had other ideas as to what the hell happened.

"I bet it is," Tommy Hagan spoke up, his smirk filled with malice. "Too bad Craig isn't here. I'm sure he would've loved to see you after all that time in the psych ward."

Jenna scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "Wow, so original, Tommy," she said in a sarcastic tone. "Got any more of those up your sleeve?"

"Oh, I've got plenty of things I can pull--"

"Fuck off, Tommy," Janet interjected.

He rolled his eyes, then kept going with his taunting. "So where's your boy Harrington tonight? Thought he'd be following you around once he found out you were back."

Jenna felt her body tense up at the mention of Steve. But before she could answer, Nathan let out a scoff.

"Screw him. Where's Hargrove? I thought he'd be here by now." He moved his eyes towards Janet. "Was he still at the pool when you left?"

There was an uneasy expression on Janet's face, but she quickly let it fade as she pursed her lips. "No, he wasn't. Anyway, got anything good you can spare?"

"Well, the tequila is about gone," Reed answered, raising his eyebrows as a grin creeped up on his face. "But if you want one of us to make you something special--"

"I think we'll pass on that, thanks," Jenna spoke up. "How about some beer?"

"Yeah, there's a keg out back." He used his head to motion towards the back patio door, then averting his eyes back to the drink he was about to concoct for himself.

All of a sudden, a shorter boy with blond hair came walking in the kitchen, holding a red solo cup in his hand, looking down at the fresh beer stain on the bottom of his white t-shirt that also made it to his bright green jacket and the top of his jeans. Jenna had seen him around school a few times, but she couldn't remember his name, assuming he wasn't in her class.

"Had a little accident, Jason?" a black boy standing by the end of the island teasingly asked him, which made the others snicker.

"Very funny, Patrick," he replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes while grabbing some paper towels then heading towards the sink. "Have any of you guys seen Chrissy? She ditched me a while ago and now I can't find her."

"I wonder why she ditched you," Tommy retorted.

"Shut the hell up, Hagan. Don't you have an ex to chase after?"

Reed chuckled at this. "Oh, please. Carol moved on from his sorry ass weeks ago."

"And it's about damn time she did," Janet interjected, turning around and taking Jenna with her. "We'll see you boys later!"

"Wait, Tommy and Carol broke up?" Jenna inquired once they were far enough to bring up the subject.

"Yeah, right before graduation. Something about wanting to start fresh once she leaves Hawkins for college or some shit. To be honest, I think that was just an excuse to finally break up with the asshole after dating him for so long."

Jenna chuckled a little. She expected it to happen at some point given how immature both of them were. It was obvious that their relationship was never meant to last beyond high school, and it sounded like they were both okay with that. In a way, Jenna was almost envious at how quick they moved on from each other after being together for so long. With Craig, it was somewhat easy, but Steve? They didn't even date and yet she couldn't get over him.

As the girls slid the patio door open, they were almost blinded by the bright lights hanging from the porch, along with the smell of smoke invading their nostrils from the bonfire in the middle of the yard. Stepping outside, the two made their way down the steps and onto the grass, to which Jenna could already tell that people were staring the moment they spotted her.

"Just ignore them," Janet said.

"It's kind of hard to do that when everyone's looking at me," Jenna retorted.

"You know, the old Jenna wouldn't have cared."

Jenna let out a snort, shaking her head. "Well, the new Jenna does, especially after all I've been through."

Raising her eyebrows, Janet guided her towards the keg that was placed by the water. "Does the new Jenna still like to get drunk on shitty beer?"

A grin came across Jenna's face. "Maybe every once in a while."

"Some things never change, huh, dudette?"

"Does this mean you're gonna get drunk, too?"

"And leave us stuck here with no ride home? Not a fucking chance." She paused, smirking. "This is your first party since you've been back and I want you to have fun. Don't worry about anything else tonight."

"That's easier said than done," she muttered.

"Just try, okay?"

Jenna playfully rolled her eyes. "Fine." She held her smile long enough for Janet to return the favor. But as they got closer to the crowd surrounding the keg, it slowly began to fade when she saw more recognizable faces, two of which were the last people Jenna wanted to run into.

"Oh my God," Carol Perkins said loud enough for Jenna to hear, the expression on her face filled with shock.

"Is that...?" Tina Miller started to say, her eyes almost going wide. "Damn, it's really her."

"Nice to see you, too, ladies," Janet spoke up once she and Jenna were standing in front of them.

"Sorry, Jan. We were too focused on the corpse standing next to you." Carol pursed her lips towards Jenna before taking a sip of beer from the red solo cup in her hand.

"Hate to burst your bubble, Carol, but I've been alive for the last six months," Jenna stated, glancing down at the keg that Carol was standing in front of. "You mind moving out of the way?"

"I do, actually," she retorted.

"Carol, just let her get some beer," Tina said next to her, almost sounding desperate.

"Oh, please, you remember the last time you saw her drunk, Tina?" Carol's eyes scanned up and down Jenna as a smug look formed on her face. "I'm sure you remember, right, Jenna?"

With clenched fists, Jenna felt her blood boiling as she shot Carol a dirty look. "Get out of the way, Carol."

"Or what?"

"I don't think you wanna find out."

"Whoa, dudette, relax," Janet mumbled beside her.

"It's okay," Carol quickly said. "You really want some beer?" All of a sudden, she took her cup and flung it towards Jenna, letting the alcohol splash all over the girl. "There's your fucking beer."

Even with the step back she took, it was too late for Jenna to prevent herself from being drenched in beer. With her mouth wide open, she felt the drink soak through her clothes as she heard the snickers around her start up. She felt her face get red and hot from a mixture of embarrassment and irritation, slowly lifting her head to see the smirk still on Carol's face.

Her first instinct was to fry Carol's brain for doing it (just for being a bitch in general was a good enough reason, honestly). But something else inside Jenna stopped her from doing so, and she figured it was the humiliation taking over. Before anything else could happen, Jenna spun around on her heel and headed back towards the house, her pace getting faster with every step, hearing the laughter echo and eventually fade away. She kept her head down as she re-entered the house, going down the hall and up the stairs, with the smell of the beer all over her becoming overwhelming. Jenna picked the first door she could get to, opening it up and hurrying inside the bedroom, going for the connected bathroom and using the sink and hand towel to clean off as much beer as she could. While she knew it'd take a while for any of it to come out, she was fine with it, feeling some relief that she was away from everyone downstairs and alone for the time being.

Well, she thought she was alone until the sound of low sniffling and crying came from the bedroom.

Putting down the hand towel, Jenna looked around the room to see no one there. "Hello?" she called out, slowly making her way out of the bathroom and towards the other side of the bed, where she found a strawberry blonde-haired girl pressed against the bed, her knees tucked close to her body and her eyes wet and almost swollen. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to--"

"No, it's fine," the girl said, furiously wiping her face. "I just needed to get away from everyone down there."

Jenna chuckled. "Yeah, I get what you mean," she replied, looking down at her beer and water-stained outfit. "Parties like this one tend to get crazy."

She laughed a little, though her smile was still weak as she looked back down at the floor. "Yeah, they do."

Jenna furrowed her eyebrows. "Is everything okay?"

The girl scoffed in response. "God, no. I came to this party because I wanted to get out of my house and everything's just gone to shit since I got here." Pausing, her lip began to quiver, swallowing hard before she started to cry some more. "The last thing I need is for my boyfriend to be a jerk when I've got a lot going on at home."

It finally clicked in Jenna's brain as to who this girl was. "You're Chrissy," she stated.

She nodded. "And you're Jenna Howard."

"You know who I am?"

"Everyone does. We all wanted to know what happened to you after winter break."

Jenna chuckled a little. "It's one hell of a story," she replied, getting on the floor and sitting down next to Chrissy. "So, uh, your boyfriend's actually looking for you downstairs. Something about you ditching him."

"More like he ditched me," Chrissy corrected her. "He's been nothing but a jerk ever since he picked me up."

"Ugh, when are boys not being jerks?"

"Right? Boyfriends suck sometimes."

"Tell me something I don't know."

Chrissy exhaled loudly, shaking her head. "I mean, he wasn't always like that. He was so sweet when we started talking right before Christmas, and my parents were so excited when he asked me to be his girlfriend on our spring break trip." She stopped talking for a moment when her voice began to crack, trying to keep herself composed before she continued on. "I think they like him more than they like me. He's the perfect kid in their eyes."

Jenna paused for a moment as she took another glance at Chrissy, her eyes softening. "If you don't mind me asking, what's going on at your house? I'm not trying to get into your business, but if you want to talk to someone about it..."

Sniffling again, Chrissy let out a sigh. "My mom's just been all over me about everything. It's been like that for a while now. My sister, Carlie, tries to help, but--"

"Wait, Carlie's your sister?" Jenna inquired, noticing the resemblance as the question escaped her mouth.

"Yeah, she just graduated a few weeks ago. You probably saw her around school with a camera or working at Leslie's." Chrissy was quiet for another moment, wiping more tears. "But she's not around the house much with her new job at the mall. She's working a lot more now, so I'm pretty much on my own when it comes to dealing with my mom."

Jenna's heart ached the more she listened to Chrissy and watched as the tears kept coming down her face. "Sounds like your mom is really hard on you."

Chrissy forced out a laugh. "You have no idea. It's like I'm the only one out of her kids that has to be perfect. I can't be less than that and it feels like I'm not myself anymore. Like...like I'm never okay." Her lip started to quiver before more crying occurred. "Do you know what it's like pretending to be someone that you're not? Pretending to be okay all the time?"

It was at that moment Jenna's heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach. "Yeah, I do, and it's a shitty feeling." She thought back to the one person who did exactly that. "It was like that with Craig when we were together. I mean, it didn't start out that way..." Trailing off, Jenna let out a sigh and shook her head. "But something changed later on and we both knew it. Neither of us talked about it like we should've to start with."

"I heard it was a bad breakup," Chrissy stated. "Tina's Halloween party last year was all anyone could talk about for a few days at school."

Jenna scoffed. "I bet it was. Anyway, the point is that no one should ever make you feel that way. Trying to be perfect and okay for everyone else is...well, it's fucking exhausting." She exhaled loudly, then went on. "It's also unfair to you. The last thing you want to do is for everyone to tell you who you're supposed to be and then go along with it, which is why I say screw your mom and Jason and anyone else who makes you feel like shit and do whatever the hell you want."

Chrissy let out another weak giggle. "It sounds so easy when you say it like that."

"Well, the more you stop letting them control you, the easier it gets. You just gotta stop caring what they'll think once you do."

"And how's that working out for you?" a third voice chimed in from behind the girls, to which they turned around to see Tina standing there, unfolding her arms as she made her way towards them.

"It's going pretty well, thanks," Jenna commented, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

Tina raised her eyebrows as she got down on the floor across from the girls, then focused her eyes on Chrissy. "You okay, Chris? Jason's still looking for you. I can take you home if you don't want to deal with him tonight."

"No, it's fine. I'll go talk to him." Chrissy glanced over at Jenna, smiling. "Thanks for listening, Jenna."

"No problem, Chrissy," she replied, grinning back.

With that, the girl stood up from her spot on the floor and hurried out, leaving for the tension to fill the air between Jenna and Tina.

"You know, I didn't realize you running off counted as not caring," Tina commented.

"In case you forgot, your best friend threw her beer all over me." Jenna motioned down at her outfit before looking back up, shooting Tina an annoyed look.

She scoffed in response. "You think I wanted her to do that? I actually came up here to look for you and make sure you were okay."

Jenna shot her a surprised look. "Really?"

"Yeah, really. I was gonna check on Chrissy, too, knowing she had been up here for a while, and it just so happened that I heard your voice while coming up the stairs."

"Oh." Jenna didn't say anything while she took another look at Tina, not seeing her as a threat before speaking up again. "Why do you care if I'm okay, anyway?"

Tina rolled her eyes in response. "Isn't it obvious that I feel bad about what Carol did?"

"I mean, it's kind of surprising, considering that you had no problem hurting me by running around with my boyfriend."

The brunette opened her mouth to reply, but then huffed a sigh instead as she scooted next to Jenna against the bed. "You're right. At the time, I was fine with it."

"Why?"

Tina shrugged. "We were both lonely. It was pretty obvious when he came to my house that first night we hooked up. When he told me about seeing you at Leslie's with Steve Harrington, I was so pissed at you for it. All I could think was how badly messed up by hurting someone like Craig-fucking-Bennett. Especially when he was your boyfriend."

"You know Craig was exaggerating about that. There was nothing going on between me and Steve."

Tina let out a chuckle, shaking her head. "That's definitely not what he said." She paused, raising her eyebrows as her face went soft. "But he didn't need to tell me anything, because I noticed it, too. And when I heard what happened in the cafeteria the day after my Halloween party, it was pretty obvious that Craig was right about you two."

"Steve was just being a good friend."

"You and I both know that's bullshit."

Jenna bit her lip, feeling the tug at her heart the more she thought about Steve again, the good and bad. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but things didn't work out between us."

"Hey, there's still time now that you're back," she pointed out. "Maybe you two can figure it out. Me and Craig sure as hell couldn't do that."

"What happened?" Jenna felt the curiosity inside her rise.

Tina sighed again. "He wanted to focus more on his future, which didn't include me. Out of all the days he could've picked to break up with me, he chose Valentine's Day." She chuckled a little at that. "Karma does have a funny way of kicking you in the ass. I just hope it catches up with him one day. Maybe he'll somehow lose his basketball scholarship at Indiana University. Like breaking his leg at that stupid camp he went to for the summer. He's got big feet."

Jenna couldn't help but laugh. "They are pretty big."

"Oh, God, he'd trip over them all the time. It was almost embarrassing to be seen with him." Tina briefly laughed alongside Jenna, and when it died down, she cleared her throat and continued. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that none of it was worth it. While I can't speak for that asshole, I want you to know that I'm sorry for the hell I put you through."

As Jenna stared at Tina, it became more obvious that the girl meant every word. She then thought back to the day in gym class, seeing Tina fall to the ground, panicking over the way her body temperature was going up all of a sudden, not knowing what the hell was wrong with her. It brought back the guilt Jenna carried for a while after hearing Tina's apology and watching her face turn heartfelt, something that Jenna had never seen from Tina before.

"I'm sorry, too," she blurted.

Tina furrowed her brows in confusion. "What the hell do you have to be sorry for?"

You'd never believe me if I told you. "Just for being a bitch to you."

She smirked in response. "Don't worry about it. You have every right to be one to me after what I did."

Yeah, but it doesn't excuse me for almost killing you in the middle of gym class. "Let's just move on from this, yeah? Call it a truce?" She quickly extended her hand out for Tina to shake.

It didn't take long for Tina to happily take Jenna's hand and shake it. "Truce. Now, how about we go back downstairs and have a good time at this party?"

And so Jenna and Tina headed back downstairs to rejoin the others, where they got a beer from the keg while Carol was preoccupied somewhere else for the time being. One hour turned to two, then two quickly became three, and after two cups of beer and a few shots, Jenna could feel the buzz taking over, her body relaxing the more she strolled around the yard and socialized with her old classmates. But after a while, she was ready to get some water and sober up, and as she looked around at the other partygoers, she noticed that Billy and Heather never showed up, which made a somewhat worried feeling creep back inside her.

"Heeeeey, dudette!" Janet called out as she strutted towards Jenna, arms wide open as she threw them around her best friend's neck.

"Oh, hey to you, too," Jenna replied, getting a whiff of the alcohol from her breath. "I thought you weren't gonna drink tonight."

"Weeell, I kind of changed my mind," Janet said, giggling. "I only had two beers, though, so I can still take you home, which I might need to do now since I have work tomorrow and I'd rather not be super hungover sitting in that damn heat at the pool all day."

"How about you just stay at my place tonight?"

Janet raised her eyebrows at the suggestion, intrigued. "That's probably a good idea."

"And maybe it's a good idea if you sober up a little before we leave." Jenna handed her the half-empty cup of water, to which Janet took it and gulped down the rest of it, letting out a sigh of relief.

"That actually tastes good," she commented. "Let me get some more water and then we'll go."

As Janet refilled her water at the sink behind her, Jenna continued to look around for Billy and Heather, wondering if they would turn up eventually. But then again, it was so late that the chances of them arriving were pretty slim, and it only raised concerns like before, something that she wished didn't happen.

"Okay, I think I'm good," Janet said, throwing her cup in the sink. "Let's get out of here."

So the two weaved through the crowds of people as they made their way to the front door and out of the house, their feet starting to hurt with each step they took towards Janet's car. Once they were settled in their seats with the engine running, Janet was quick to drive out of the yard and onto the street, leaving Reed's house behind them.

"The lake looks so pretty around this time of night," Jenna commented, staring out at the water as they drove by it.

Janet chuckled. "I wonder how many people go skinny-dipping out there."

Jenna's face turned disgusted. "I really don't wanna know."

"Well, it's called Lover's Lake for a reason."

Rolling her eyes, Jenna leaned back in her seat and looked straight ahead at the empty road, trying to get comfortable as the nausea began to hit her. She was certain it was just the alcohol bubbling in her stomach, but there was a part of her that wondered if it was something else, specifically, something involving Billy and Heather's whereabouts. And it was when a blue Camaro coming for them turned in the Brimborn Steelworks lot just on her right that the nauseating feeling was due to the latter.

As they drove past the mill, spotting the California license plate as he parked the car, Jenna sharply inhaled. "Janet, turn around and stop the car."

"What?"

"I think I found Billy."

"Are you sure?"

"Just turn around and stop the car!"

"Okay, okay!" Janet slowed down and turned the car back to the other direction, pulling over on the side of the road once the car was within walking distance to the abandoned steel mill.

Jenna was the first to get out of the car, slamming the door shut, then hurrying down the road for the mill, trying to get there as fast as she could.

"Jenna, wait up!" Janet shouted, jogging after her.

"Keep it down or he'll hear us," Jenna warned her, continuing her walk to the mill.

"What the hell would Billy come out here for?"

"I guess we're about to find out."

By the time they made it to the abandoned site, the lights on Billy's car turned off and he was stepping out and heading for the trunk. The girls peeked behind the tall bushes, watching him open the trunk and picking up something with both of his hands. It didn't take long for Jenna and Janet to see the bright red bathing suit and brown ponytail to figure out who it was that he was carrying.

"Shit, it's Heather," Janet muttered.

I knew something was wrong, Jenna thought. "Come on."

"Are you crazy? What if he catches us?"

"We'll be careful. Let's go."

With a sigh of annoyance and worry, Janet crept alongside Jenna towards the building, cautious of Billy just being ahead of them. Once he was far inside, still walking with Heather in his arms, the girls followed suit, watching him go down a set of stairs and disappear under the floor. Despite Janet's silent protest to turn around, Jenna walked towards the stairs, stopping once she reached the top, looking down at the darkness below.

"Do you see them?" Janet whispered.

Jenna shook her head. "What do you think is down there?"

"Probably something bad."

"No shit."

All of a sudden, a whimper began to echo from the lower level, and the louder it got, the urge for Jenna to go down there and intervene became stronger.

"That's gotta be Heather," Janet said.

"We have to help her." Jenna was about to sprint down the stairs when she felt a hand go around her arm. "Let go, Janet."

"What exactly are you gonna do?"

"I'll figure it out."

"And get yourself killed?"

Their heads turned as the whimpering stopped, and both girls got anxious at how quiet it was for a moment.

"Don't be afraid," Billy's voice broke the silence. "It'll be over soon. Just stay very still."

What the fuck is that psycho doing to her? Jenna thought as her breathing started to get uneven.

But the sound of snarling to follow raised different questions for Jenna, getting rid of her initial thoughts of what was happening. Now, she realized that her suspicions of Billy and his odd behavior at the pool might've been true this entire time. And when a loud screeching noise, along with a blood-curdling scream, rang in her ears, Jenna's eyes went wide and her heart sank to the bottom of her stomach.

"What's happening?!" she yelled over the roars and cries, attempting to go down the steps. "Heather!"

"No, Jenna, we gotta go!" Janet pulled her back with a tight grip.

"We can't just leave her!"

"There's nothing we can do for her now!"

Jenna wanted to fight Janet on this, but deep down, she knew that her friend was right. With some reluctance, Jenna spun around and ran with Janet out of the building and back into the night air, not stopping for a moment to turn around until they reached the car. It didn't take long for Janet to turn the key and start the car up, speeding off down the road, where fortunately, they weren't being followed.

As Janet kept driving back into town, hearts were racing and the tension was thick between the girls. Jenna did her best to remain calm, despite the fact that she had other thoughts and emotions running through her system. She was confused and scared as to what the hell they heard happen to Heather, also wondering why and how Billy got roped up in kidnapping and taking her to the mill in the first place. Then the other noise, the snarl and screech and roar...Jenna already had a bad feeling that she knew what it could possibly be, and the thought almost made her skin crawl.

Finally, she huffed a sigh and nodded her head. "Okay, so once we get to my house, we'll come up with a plan."

"A plan?"

"I say we go to the station tomorrow and tell Chief Hopper what we saw and heard."

"Wait, hold on a sec--"

"He'll know what to do. It's best if we get the adult to check it out first, right?"

"I don't--"

"What do you think was down there with Billy and Heather? I mean, I wonder if it was another monst--"

"Jenna, shut the fuck up."

With her mouth open, Jenna stopped talking for a moment and shot Janet a look of bewilderment. "I'm just trying to--"

Suddenly, Janet slammed on brakes, causing Jenna's body to jerk forward and almost hit her head on the dashboard. When Janet switched the ignition off and got out of the car, Jenna did the same.

"What the fuck, Janet?!" she called out.

"I don't wanna hear more talk about it," Janet snapped, pressing her hands against the car.

"You've gotta be thinking the same thing as me, though," Jenna pointed out. "Maybe you have and you just didn't want to admit it. I saw the way you were looking around when we got to the party and how uneasy you looked when Nathan asked you about them. You were trying to find Billy and Heather, right? You figured something might've been wrong this entire time?"

"Jenna--"

"There's just no other explanation for Billy's weird behavior and Heather getting attacked by some--"

"Just stop, for God's sake!" Janet bit her lip, taking a deep breath before shaking her head. "None of this shit can happen again."

"But what if it is?"

"No, it can't, Jenna." She paused, inhaling again. "After all the hell we've been through...I mean, shit, you almost died last time, and you were willing to put your life on the line for Heather just now. Can you imagine if me and Steve lost you? If your mom lost you? Or Eleven? Carter? Dana? I don't think any of us would be able to get over it."

"Yes, all of you would."

"You don't know that."

"So you're okay with Heather dying if it means I get to stay alive?"

"You going to save Heather would've been suicide. Even if you managed to save her and possibly Billy, that's two more people who are involved in all this monster business. How the hell would we explain that to them?"

Jenna tried to come up with an answer, but she shrugged in response and sighed in frustration. "I don't know, but I'm sure we'd figure it out. We always do."

Janet let out a scoff. "Right, and then what? We just repeat the cycle all over again until we're all dead?"

"Listen, you're still a bit tipsy and shaken up, so let's just get back in the car and--"

"No."

Jenna furrowed her brows. "No?"

"No, we're not going anywhere. Not until you tell me that you won't go to Chief Hopper about this."

Jenna rolled her eyes. "Are you being serious right now?"

"We don't even know what we saw or heard back there!"

"You're full of shit."

"What if I'm right?"

"What if you're wrong?"

"Jenna--"

"You know I can't just let this go."

"Why the hell not? I am."

"Jesus Christ, you know why, Janet!"

"What, you're so worried that your powers are gonna act up again? If that's the case, then maybe you should've stayed in Nashville."

The words felt like a knife to the heart as Jenna stared at Janet with disbelief. "You don't...you don't mean that."

Janet exhaled a shaky breath, a cold expression coming over her face. "Yeah, I do. You had a chance to move on with your life, Jenna, and it sounded like you were having one hell of a time in Nashville with your new friends and family that you didn't even bother to call any of us. But after being away for so long, you chose to return, anyway, and now everything you tried to run away from is all coming back to bite you in the ass." She paused as her face fell and tears began to well up in her eyes. "Don't you wanna keep living a life without monsters? I sure as hell do, and the only way that'll happen is if I get out of this shitty town. I can get away from our old friends, even though we can't stand the majority of them, my dad who still calls me Janny like I'm still five years old, and every monster we killed or sent back to the fucking Upside Down. The last thing I want is to die in Hawkins and rot six feet under while everyone else moves on with their lives somewhere that's far away from this place. Once I leave for Hanover, I'm not coming back, and knowing that I'll finally be free of this damn town is something I look forward to."

As the words lingered in the air, Jenna watched her friend at the verge of falling apart, something she never saw Janet do for as long as they knew each other. In Jenna's eyes, Janet was always one with the don't care attitude, never showing her vulnerable side for any reason. But it seemed like now in her somewhat drunken state, she was speaking sober thoughts that she had been keeping to herself for quite some time. Jenna felt sorry for Janet, knowing how it felt to long for a sense of normalcy after everything they had gone through in the last two years. But nevertheless, she couldn't turn her head away from the issue with Billy and Heather, not when there was a chance that another threat was looming over Hawkins once again.

"Look, I get it, I really do. But..." Trailing off, Jenna gave Janet a sad look. "But if this is some new monster, then I gotta stop it before things get out of hand and more people get hurt or killed."

Shaking her head, Janet sighed and pushed herself off the car. "Okay, fine, do whatever you want, Jenna, but I'm staying out of this one, and if you know what's best for Steve then you'll leave him out of it, too. You might get him killed this time around if you're not careful."

And in that moment, every ounce of empathy Jenna had for Janet suddenly left her body. "What the hell does that mean?"

She raised her eyebrows and folded her arms. "Well, given the fact that you've already had one episode since you've been back--"

"I'd never hurt Steve with my powers."

"How do you know that?"

"Because you know me."

"I thought I did, but now I'm not so sure. Maybe Steve will realize that he doesn't like this new Jenna Howard and he'll finally get over you."

Jenna glared at her in response. "You know what, forget I even asked you to help me. I'll deal with this one on my own."

"Good luck with that. Try not to get yourself killed."

Despite the aches in her feet, Jenna spun around and began to storm off, not daring to look back. She could already feel the heat rising in her system, the wave of nausea returning the faster she walked. And once there was enough distance between her and Janet, the lump in her throat formed. Though it didn't take long for her to hear the car start up from behind, then the sound of the tires screeching on the road getting louder as Janet sped past Jenna without slowing down. When Janet turned the corner, Jenna let out a yell of frustration. She was about to let out another cry when the urge to vomit hit her, rushing to the side of the road and emptying out her stomach onto the grass. After she was done throwing up, the burning sensation lingering in her throat and the knot still twisting inside her body caused Jenna to collapse on the pavement, letting herself weep for however long the tears would shed.

Maybe coming back to Hawkins was a big mistake.

The night became longer for Jenna as she finally stopped crying and stood back up, dragging her feet along the road back to her house. She wasn't sure how long it took for her to get there, but seeing her car, along with Dorothy's, in the distance was enough to make her relieved that she was almost there. By the time Jenna managed to reach the house, she just about stumbled inside, finding her mom fast asleep on the couch with the television on. She grabbed the blanket on the end and draped it over her mom before heading up the stairs and plopping on her bed, closing her eyes shut and slowly going to sleep herself, hoping that she could dream about anything else but tonight.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Well, this was a long and stressful chapter to write (and there will be more of those) and it's also the end of episode 2!

What do we think?

Comment, vote, more to come soon!

-A