There were many ways that this visit to the Holloway house could go wrong, and it was all Jenna could think about while driving through the heavy rain later that night.

She made sure to be careful with how hard the droplets were hitting her windshield, so loud that she turned off her radio since she couldn't hear the music. It was getting difficult to see where the hell she was going, hardly able to see the street signs, causing her to almost miss the turn to the destination. Fortunately, she briefly spotted where she needed to turn, and it wasn't long until she arrived in front of Heather's house. However, before Jenna turned off the headlights, she saw two figures heading in her direction on one bike, to which she groaned and rolled her eyes in frustration when she instantly realized it was Eleven and Max. Killing the engine, she stepped out of the car, waiting until the girls stopped in front of the mailbox before storming towards them.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" she inquired. "I told you that I was coming here by myself."

"Yeah, and it was stupid of you to think that we would listen," Max retorted.

"Max--"

"Look, we know it's risky for us to be here. But like I said, Billy's my step-brother, and if there is something going on with him and Heather then we might be able to help them."

"Jenna." It was Eleven's turn to speak up, and Jenna could see the desperation in her face as water was falling down her face. "Please. We can help."

There was a moment where Jenna wanted to tell the girls to go home, though seeing how serious they were about this by coming all the way out here in the pouring rain instead of staying somewhere it was nice and warm, she had a hard time doing so, unlike this afternoon. Plus, they had been through the monster shit before, so both of them knew what to do if things did go south.

Finally, Jenna huffed a sigh and motioned the girls towards the house. "Fine. Come on." She led the three up the stairs and on the front porch, where they stood in front of the door for a moment. Jenna was about to lift her hand to knock when she heard the lock click and watched the door slowly open, revealing the foyer. She annoyingly glanced at Eleven. "Really?"

Eleven merely wiped the blood off her face and headed inside, with Max following suit, then Jenna, who closed the door behind her.

The three started to make their way down the hallway once they heard the faint sound of music, spotting closed doors and family photos and portraits either on small tables or hanging up along the dark green wall. Jenna hadn't been to Heather's house before, as she never had a reason to come over, so it was weird to see professional and innocent pictures of Heather, knowing how she was when it came to parties. Nothing could stop her from showing up at someone else's place and getting sloppy drunk. Jenna remembered a time when she got so hammered at a party that she ended up vomiting all over herself and tried stumbling her way towards a nearby bathroom, but only got as far as the hallway, where she stayed there for hours until someone finally decided to take her home. Needless to say, there were two versions of Heather, but if the Mind Flayer really was back, then there was possibly a third one lurking inside her head.

"Where the hell are they?" Max asked in a whisper.

All of a sudden, the sound of laughter echoed farther down the hall, and they made their way towards it, with the music growing louder as they found Billy and Heather's parents sitting around at a dinner table, smiling at one another. But when they turned their heads and found the girls standing there, they stopped, all of their faces turning puzzled.

"Max," Billy simply said.

The redhead was quiet for a moment, glancing at the Holloways before speaking up. "We didn't mean to...barge in. We tried to knock, but...maybe you didn't hear us over the storm."

"I'm sorry, who is this dripping all over my living room right now?" Mr. Holloway asked Billy, a hint of irritation in his voice that made Jenna feel almost embarrassed that she was standing in front of him and the others soaked from head to toe.

But Billy chuckled in response. "I'm sorry. Janet, Tom, this..." He pointed at Max standing in the middle. "...is my sister, Maxine."

"Oh!" Mrs. Holloway exclaimed, grinning with delight.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Billy questioned, standing up and heading towards her. "Is something wrong?"

"We wanted to make sure everything was okay," Max replied.

"Okay? Why wouldn't it be okay?"

"Where is she?" Eleven blurted.

Billy's eyes focused on Eleven, where his expression remained blank. "I'm sorry. Where is who?"

"Well, they're a little burnt, I'm sorry--"

Everyone turned their heads to see Heather strolling in with a pan of cookies in her hands, a weak smile on her face as she stopped in her tracks when she saw all eyes landed on her. She had her hair in an updo, wearing light makeup and large blue hoop earrings that didn't match with the blue on her striped blouse, along with the pink and yellow colors on it.

"Heather!" Billy called. "This is my sister, Maxine." He paused as he glanced over at Eleven again. "And, I'm sorry, I did not quite catch your name."

Eleven turned her head, keeping her intense eyes on him. "El."

Billy nodded in response. "El. Now, what is it you were saying, El? You were looking for somebody?"

Confused, Eleven glanced at Heather, who looked completely unharmed, murmuring something Jenna couldn't understand. "I-I saw...I saw you--"

"Your manager. At the pool." Max was quick to cut in before Jenna could. "He said you guys didn't come in to work today, so we got worried."

"Heather wasn't feeling so hot today, so we thought we'd take the day off to nurse her back to health," Billy explained.

Jenna let out a scoff. "How nice of you," she spoke sarcastically.

Billy looked over at Jenna, eyes going wide. "Jenna! I almost forgot you were standing there."

I bet you did, asshole. "Everyone missed you and Heather at the party last night," she said.

"Yeah, well, Heather and I just weren't in the party mood," he responded. "But I guess it worked out with Heather not feeling so good."

"Right, we wouldn't want her spreading whatever she's got to others," she retorted. "You know how nasty it gets when someone is contagious."

Billy slightly chuckled, nodding again. "Yes, I am aware. But she is feeling much better." He paused, turning back towards Heather. "Isn't that right?"

"I'm feeling so much better," Heather replied, a big smile of assurance on her face. "Do you girls want a cookie? They're fresh out of the oven."

The three took a moment to stare at Billy and Heather in bewilderment. The longer Jenna's eyes stayed on Billy's clean-cut appearance and Heather's innocent demeanor, the more suspicious she was of them. With the thunder rumbling louder outside, maybe it was an omen to add on the uneasy feeling Jenna had, knowing what she saw and heard last night and seeing how obvious it was that something about them was very off.

"Would you girls like to stay for a while?" Mrs. Holloway perked up, lifting her glass of wine. "I'd hate for you to be out in that bad storm."

"Oh, no, thank you," Max answered. "We, uh, actually need to get going."

"Are you sure? There's plenty of food."

"We're fine," Jenna quickly said. "Sorry to bother you."

"No worries. Just be careful out there."

With that, Jenna and Max shot everyone awkward smiles, while Eleven's expression remained unchanged. As Billy led them back to the front door, Jenna glanced at him once more when she noticed his eyes on her, unable to shake the bad feeling when she was stepping back out into the rain and heard the door shut behind her.

"Well, guess there's nothing wrong with them after all," Max announced as she picked the bike up off the grass.

"But...I saw her...in the bathtub...screaming," Eleven said.

"It was probably from her being sick," Max stated, glancing at the older teenager. "Right, Jenna?"

Jenna looked at Max, who raised her eyebrows, then at a desperate Eleven, who wanted the older girl to agree with her on this. As much as Jenna believed Eleven, getting the notion that something was wrong, that wasn't what came out of her mouth.

"Yeah, right," she stated, nodding her head. "It looks like everything is fine with them."

"But--"

"Just go home, okay? Go home and don't worry about this anymore."

With some reluctance from Eleven, it took her a minute to finally hop on Max's bike in defeat, not even looking back at Jenna as they rode away into the rainy night.

As Jenna made her way back to her car, she almost turned around to briefly look at the house again, but decided against it, opening the car door and hopping back inside the driver's seat. But instead of turning on the car and driving away, she remained in the same spot, hesitant to leave, despite telling Max and Eleven to do just that and forget about the whole thing. However, if she was going to get down to the bottom of whatever was going on, then she would listen to Janet for once and do it alone, just like she intended to do when she first got to the house.

By the time Jenna settled into her seat, she spotted two figures out of the corner of her eye and discreetly glanced over to see Billy carrying two bodies over his shoulders, with Heather following suit. While he was opening the trunk of his Camaro and placing them inside, Jenna assumed it was Mr. and Mrs. Holloway, and she had an idea as to where they were taking the parents. So when Billy and Heather got in his car and backed out of the driveway and down the street, Jenna started her car up this time and did the same.

She did her best to stay far enough behind that neither of them would notice her following them, slowing down every once in a while and waiting a few seconds at stop signs in order not to be seen. Her hands on the steering wheel got tighter, trying to stay in control and try not crash, as it was obvious that the rain was showing no sign of stopping anytime soon. But she managed to get back to where she and Janet parked the night before with no issues, hurrying to get out of the car and dashing through the rain, where she found Billy's car parked outside like before. Even with the uneasy feeling that never left her body, Jenna took a deep breath and made her way towards the building, treading carefully once she stepped inside, finding no one in sight.

Jenna started to walk towards the stairs that she saw last night, hearing the echoes of sirens, whipping her head around to find an ambulance speeding past the mill. But she didn't have time to think about it as she started to walk farther towards the stairs. Her heart was starting to beat fast when she took the first step down, holding onto the railing to keep steady. The nerves started to get worse when she could hear grunting and panting and sobbing from down below, then high heels clicking along the cold hard floor. If only it was enough to drown out the whimpering.

"Hi, Daddy," Heather said with no emotion in her tone.

The panting continued for another brief moment until Mr. Holloway spoke up. "Heather...sweetie...whatever this is, whatever he's got you into, you don't have to do this." There was a pause, which made Jenna slowly walk down the stairs some more. "You can stop this."

"There's no stopping it, Daddy," she replied. "You'll see."

There was gasps and more crying in response through gagged mouths as Jenna kept going, where she could eventually see the parents tied up, with Billy and Heather simply staring at them with hard expressions, something that caused Jenna to breathe heavily.

"Heather, please!" Mrs. Holloway cried out. "Heather!"

Billy's finger went over her lips to keep her quiet. "Try not to move," he said.

Jenna held her breath, waiting for whatever was about to come next, her mouth open when she heard snarling, the same sound that attacked Heather last night. She watched as something emerged from the darkness, something that Jenna could only have nightmares about. What she saw was a large creature with a flame-shaped head and six legs, tentacles covering its body. It was taking heavy footsteps towards the Holloways, who watched with fear as it got closer. There was a moment where Jenna thought her body temperature was going up the more anxious she got, trying to stay composed, even though she knew whatever was going to happen wouldn't end well for the Holloways. She wanted to intervene and save them, but she was unable to move her feet to the bottom of the stairs and help due to the fear of seeing the monster paralyzing her.

Holy shit, she thought. It's back. The Mind Flayer really is back.

All of a sudden, the monster shot one tentacle towards Mr. Holloway's face, then did the same to his wife when she started screaming.

"NO!" Jenna yelled, the heat quickly transferring to her hands as she lifted them towards the creature, to which not only did it screeched out in pain, but so did Billy and Heather. And when they turned to see Jenna standing there, it didn't take long for them to make their way to the stairs and for Jenna to run back to the upper level, heading for the front entrance. She was close to making it until she slipped on the floor and fell down, scrambling to get up. But it wasn't fast enough as she felt a hand grab her hair and yank her back up.

"It's not nice to spy on people, Jenna," Heather hissed in her ear.

"You're one to talk," she spat, wrapping her hand around Heather's wrist and burning it.

"Ow!" she shouted, letting go of Jenna and backing away. "You bitch!"

Jenna would normally keep up with the rebuttals, but given how strong Heather was despite her small size, she really wasn't in the mood to piss her off even more. She was about to make another run for it when it was Billy's turn to take ahold of her, going for the throat this time.

"You really shouldn't have come back here," he snarled.

Jenna's eyes went wide, attempting to choke out the words. He knew me and Janet were here last night.

"I was expecting both you and Janet to show up tonight," he kept going, his hands getting tighter around her throat. "But I guess we'll just have to settle with one of you for now."

All of a sudden, the adrenaline inside Jenna kicked in, and she managed to use her powers to hurt Billy, which made him drop her to the ground. Jenna let out a grunt when she fell back down again, watching Billy and Heather storm after her like before. She used her powers to defend herself for as long as she could while getting on her feet, though it only stalled them for a brief moment.

Heather was the first to lunge at Jenna, catching her off guard as she lifted her hand and slapped Jenna across the cheek, then bringing her foot up and kicking her nose. Jenna cried out in pain, feeling the sting linger on her face when she looked up at the girl. She swore that she could see the evil in her eyes, how dark her soul had become now that she was being controlled by the Mind Flayer.

But Jenna broke eye contact with Heather when Billy stormed after her next, grabbing her arms and pushing her back against the wall, with Jenna hitting her head in the process, something that didn't help her headache. Billy's grip around her arms got so tight that she felt his nails dig into her skin, unable to lift her hands to fight back. And when he moved his hands down to her wrists, she screamed even louder, thinking her bones were going to break any second now.

"I should snap both of your wrists," he hissed in her face. "But that'd be too easy, wouldn't it? How about I break all of your fucking fingers? One by one, like this..." He took her middle finger and slowly started pulling it back, smirking at the way Jenna was whimpering. "Not much of a badass now, are you, Jenna? And no one's coming to save you, either." Billy paused, getting close to her face as he grabbed the rest of her fingers with a firm grip. "Not even pretty boy Harrington."

Jenna's expression turned angry, concentrating on Billy's face as she felt her headache get worse and more blood running down her nose. After struggling for another moment, she managed to send a wave of heat towards him, watching as he cried out in pain and eventually letting go of her. She shoved him away and looked at Heather again, who was about to attack her like before. But Jenna was quicker this time, holding her hand up and releasing more power towards Heather, and seeing the way she screamed and was just about to pull her hair out wasn't enough to make Jenna stop. If she could get that monster out of one person, then she was sure she could do the same with two more people, even if she almost died the last time.

Except now, Jenna was in better control of her powers than before. She knew her limits.

However, she felt a huge force push her back to the ground, landing on her side with a thud.

"Is that all you got, bitch?!" Billy called out, stomping towards her. "You can't stop me! You can't stop any of us!"

Fear was taking over Jenna's body, finding it hard to stand back up. She wasn't even given the chance to do so when Billy came and grabbed both her legs and started dragging her away from the entrance. Jenna screamed as loud as she could, feeling the stone ground rub against her skin. Before she made it to the stairs, Jenna kicked Billy in the face, hurrying to get up and head for the front door, not even worried about fighting back anymore. She didn't even look back to see if either one of them were coming after in the rain. Maybe because she already assumed they were not too far behind her.

Jenna dashed past her car and down the road, not stopping to catch her breath. She could barely see what was in front of her with the storm still as bad as ever. But really, she didn't care. All she wanted to do was get the hell away from Billy and Heather, making a turn going into the woods, dodging the trees in the dark. Jenna wasn't sure how far she had been running, but her stride was broken when she tripped over something and fell onto the wet leaves in front of her. Instead of getting back up immediately, she sat up and pressed her body up against a nearby tree, the energy no longer in her system to keep going. She supposed it didn't matter since neither Billy or Heather were anywhere in sight. Like Jenna, they probably gave up the fight as well.

And at that moment, Jenna began to cry.

Defeat had never been so sore like her entire body or tasted as metallic like the fresh blood running down from her head and nose. It covered her in bruises and scratches, pounding against her temple and fevering up every inch of her arms and legs. Defeat had consumed her from head to toe. It was a battle that Jenna lost, and she had never felt so afraid and alone.

Jenna didn't know how long she had stayed sitting by the tree, continuing to weep even when her throat began to ache. Even after deciding to stand up and make her way out of the woods, she still didn't stop. She managed to find her way through the trees and back onto the main road, dragging herself along the asphalt, with the rain coming down harder and each step more painful than the last. There was no telling how much longer Jenna could keep going before she would just simply give up and not worry about getting home tonight. She could only imagine how badly her mom would react when seeing the shape Jenna was in.

It was when Jenna thought the darkness around would swallow her whole that she saw the glare of headlights on the road ahead. Though she didn't stop walking, not even when the lights weren't coming any closer to her. The last thing she wanted was to deal with whoever stopped in the middle of the road to help her. If anything, she really didn't care. She was going to continue on anyway.

But when Jenna heard him call out her name, she halted.

"Jenna?" Steve's voice rang in her ears through loud rain around them. "What are you doing out here?" When she didn't answer, he kept going. "Are you okay?"

She tried to compose herself as much as she could before turning around to face him, already preparing for when he would freak out. Sure enough, his eyes went wide at the sight of her.

"Oh my God," he said, rushing to get to her. "Jenna, what--"

"Stay back," she interrupted, putting her hand out for him to not come any closer.

"What the hell happened?" he asked, trying to take another step.

"Don't come any closer!" she shouted this time.

"Jenna--"

"Please," she said, shaking her head and crying even harder. "I don't wanna hurt you again, Steve."

The guilt coming back only made Jenna's heart sink even more, worse than when she saw his face in agony when she left the mall in a hurry. In a way, she was expecting him to be scared of her. But she slowly watched his expression fill with sadness the longer he stared at her, though it looked like he was doing his best to be comforting from afar.

"Jenna," he said, his eyes going soft. "Just...just keep looking at me, all right?"

So she obliged, focusing her eyes on Steve. She saw the way his hair wasn't formed perfectly on top of his head due to the rain causing most of it to fall in front of his face. He was still in his Scoops Ahoy uniform (minus the hat), also sporting the light blue jacket Jenna knew he was obsessed with. She remembered when he first bought it and refused to take it off for a month. It caught both Jenna and Janet off guard when they walked into school one day and he didn't have it on. And for some reason, the longer Jenna stared at Steve wearing that same blue jacket, the less hot she felt from her powers, along with hardly any tears streaming down her face. She was almost starting to become more at ease with him here, which was why when he slowly began to make his way back to her, she didn't stop him this time.

"It's okay, Jenna," he stated with assurance, reaching for her hand. "Come on. Let's get out of the rain."

Jenna nodded her head and grabbed one of his hands, letting him help take her back to his car and inside the passenger's seat, where she was slightly shivering from how cold it was all of a sudden. When he got inside the car and started driving down the road again, Jenna was waiting for him to complain at how the seats were messed up from where their soaked bodies were ruining them. However, he didn't say a word, only shooting her a concerned look when he thought Jenna didn't notice. It was like that for the rest of the drive as Steve didn't ask Jenna any questions about what happened just yet, and with her not in the mood to answer any right now, she was grateful for that. So when he pulled into the driveway of his house, she didn't protest, starting to think coming here was better than going home and having her mother deal with this.

Steve quickly got out of the car and came around to the other side to help Jenna again, opening the door and carefully helping her out. "I got you," he muttered, putting Jenna back on her feet and going to the front door with her, not letting go of her, even when he grabbed his keys and unlocked the door. The water on their bodies--plus the dirt and leaves on Jenna--made a trail as they walked up the stairs and to the nearest bedroom down the hallway. Steve helped Jenna into the bathroom and sat her down on the toilet seat, then turned for a moment to grab a fresh towel from the linen closet behind him and placed it around her shoulders. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Jenna said as she wrapped herself in the towel to keep warm.

"You're welcome," Steve replied, his expression becoming more worrisome. "Seriously, though, are you okay?"

She sniffled, wiping her face and nodding her head. "I will be once I get a shower," she answered.

He nodded his head in response, looking a little bit relieved. "Right, yeah. I'll go get you some dry clothes while you do that. You should have everything you need here." Steve paused for a moment, as if he was struggling to find the right words for what he was gonna say next. "Just let me know if you need anything else."

"Okay." Jenna stood up, balancing herself against the sink when she thought she was about to pass out, with Steve suddenly taking a hold of her arm. She glanced his way for a moment before nodding in assurance that she was fine to stand on her own, to which he slowly let go and gave her an awkward look before turning around and exiting the bathroom, leaving Jenna alone.

Sighing, Jenna went over to the door and closed it, then made her way towards the shower and turned it on, letting it get to a lukewarm temperature before undressing herself and carefully stepping in the shower and standing under the water. She took her time with washing the dirt and blood off her body with soap before applying shampoo and conditioner on her hair and massaging her scalp. The images of Billy and Heather in their monstrous state invaded Jenna's mind, and she shut her eyes, as if it would help erase them from her memory. But all it did was bring back those few minutes of terror, where every second was nothing but torment. Then Jenna let out a gasp when she remembered the monster below the main floor, covering her mouth so that she could try and stop herself from breaking down again. She went back to washing herself until there was nothing left of the incident on her body.

Her headache was gone as she got out of the shower, but when she whipped the foggy mirror and looked at her reflection, she could still see the bruises that peppered her skin and the red mark on her cheek, along with swollen eyes from all the crying she had done. After hanging up her wet and dirty clothes along the top of the shower, Jenna walked back into the guest bedroom and found a black 1980 Queen Tour t-shirt, a pair of long gray pajama pants, and a pair of red boxers folded on the bed, feeling some more relief once she dropped the towel and put them on. After keeping the second towel to dry her hair as much as he could, then placing both of them back in the bathroom, Jenna giggled a little at the shirt. She never imagined Steve would buy something like this in a million years. But then again, maybe there were some things Jenna didn't know about him, like how many band t-shirts he probably owned and was now a guilty pleasure of his. Why he wouldn't tell her about it, she had no idea. Either way, she liked the t-shirt and wondered how it would look on him. As for her thoughts on the boxers--

Knock, knock.

Jenna lifted her head and found Steve pushing the door open, who was now in a navy t-shirt and a black pair of long pajama pants, with a towel hanging over his neck to catch any droplets of water from his damp hair. Not only that, but he was also wearing glasses.

"Like the shirt?" he questioned in a joking manner, slightly grinning.

She chuckled nervously. "Uh, yeah," she said. "And the glasses, too."

He looked a bit flustered at the mention of them. "Oh, yeah, I got them after you left Hawkins. I was having trouble with my eyes after that concussion. I only wear them here, though."

Jenna nodded her head, and she could tell things were about to get awkward real quick if she didn't speak up. "Well, they look nice on you."

"Thanks."

She bit her lip, then looked back at the t-shirt she had on. "Anyway, I didn't think you'd ever own something like this."

Steve shot her a small grin. "Yeah, well, I knew my dad would be pissed when he found out I bought it," he explained. "It's actually my favorite t-shirt."

"Oh, so every girl you've brought home has worn this, then," she retorted playfully.

"Making assumptions now, huh?"

"Am I wrong?"

Steve pressed his lips together for a moment before speaking up again. "So, uh, you feeling better?" he asked all of a sudden.

Jenna, thrown off by the subject change, folded her arms over her chest. "Yeah, much better," she replied.

"Good, good," he said, nodding. "I got you some water and leftover pizza if you're hungry."

"Okay." Jenna followed him out and down the hall to his bedroom, where she noticed nothing had changed since the last time she had been in it, with everything still in place. Though, in her opinion, she figured Steve probably didn't feel the same way about himself anymore.

"Here's an ice pack, too, for your face," he said as they sat down on the bed, handing her the pack wrapped in a dish cloth from the top of his pillow.

"Thanks," she replied, taking it and pressing it to her cheek, the cool relief taking over that side of her face.

"I, uh, also called your mom."

Jenna's eyes went wide as she grabbed the plate and water from the nightstand beside her. "Shit. Did she freak out?"

"No, I...I didn't exactly tell her everything," he assured her. "I just said I found you having car trouble on the side of the road and took you back here for the night."

Jenna let out a sigh of relief, grateful for him easing her mom's mind. She was also okay with not having to worry about her mom until tomorrow. She took a few bites out of her pizza, which was all her stomach could handle, then sips of water before breaking the silence. "Thank you. The last thing I need is for her to worry about me."

Steve gave her a soft look. "No problem," he stated. "So, where's your car at, anyway?"

She tensed up a little at the question, shifting in her spot on the bed as she put the plate and glass back on the nightstand. "It's at that abandoned steel mill on Cherry Oak Drive."

He furrowed his eyebrows in puzzlement. "Brimborn Steelworks? What the hell were you doing out there?"

Jenna let out a shaky breath as the events at the steel mill were coming back to her once again. "It's a long story."

"Well, we've got plenty of time to talk about it."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

Steve let out a chuckle. "Jenna, we've literally fought monsters." He paused, his smile fading. "Wait, did a monster--"

"I told you, it's a long story," she quickly cut him off, the lump from before forming in her throat as she placed the ice pack down on the nightstand. "I-It...it was..." Trailing off, her lip quivered the more she countered everything in her head again, starting with Mr. and Mrs. Holloway, turning her head away so that Steve couldn't see when a few tears fell out of her eyes. "I-I don't think I can't say it."

"Hey, hey." He moved closer, placing his arm right where it was almost touching hers. "You can tell me, Jenna. It's okay."

"No, it's not okay," she said, shaking her head while lifting it to face him. "Nothing's been okay since I got back to Hawkins."

Steve didn't respond, his face turning sad the longer he stared at Jenna. For a moment, she thought that he understood the main thing she was referring to, but didn't want to say anything just yet. She was okay with that, even though a part of her was ready to talk about it with him.

"Listen, I don't wanna pressure you into telling me what's going on," he finally said. "But I really am worried about you. Hell, it scared me when I saw you hurt like this on the side of the road tonight." He stopped talking for a moment, his face falling.

Jenna took a moment to stop crying, though the lump in her throat was taking its time to go away. "Why are you helping me?" she inquired out of nowhere.

"What?"

"Why did you stop and help me tonight?" She wiped the tears from her face. "Especially after what I did to you at the mall earlier today."

He looked confused at her question. "You really thought that would stop me from helping you? Jenna, I wasn't gonna just leave you out there."

Jenna sniffled, leaning against the wall and sighed. "I guess I just thought that you saw me differently after what I did, like maybe you'd..." She trailed off again, starting to think what she was about to say next would be something she'd regret.

"Like maybe I'd hate you?" Steve asked. "I don't hate you, Jenna." He paused, glancing down at the floor. "I mean, yeah, I was mad at you for it, but I could never hate you." There was another moment where he was silent, almost as if he was thinking more of what to say. "I felt the same way when you and I got into that argument at the quarry, and there was a part of me that hated myself for not hating you after that night."

That night. Here we go. "Steve--"

"I came by your house to say goodbye," he cut her off. "But I was too late. You were already gone. And when you didn't call anyone, I took it as a sign that you were happier in Nashville with your new friends and family."

"I was living my life there."

"And what, you forgot about the one you had here?" he snapped, but realized it right away as the guilt was written all over his face. "Shit, that wasn't what I--"

"I didn't forget, Steve," she interjected. "I was planning on coming back for spring break."

"So what changed your mind?"

"Like you said, I was happier there." She inhaled some air before continuing. "But deep down I was scared to come back, even for a short visit." It was now Jenna's turn to have guilt plastered all over her face. "Look, I know that I hurt you and I'm sorry. I wish I could take back the shitty things that I said." She shook her head, scoffing. "God, I totally fucked everything up."

Steve sighed. "You're not the only one," he admitted, glancing back at her. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I was an asshole about you moving away and you didn't deserve that from me." He pressed his head against the wall, keeping his eyes on Jenna. "I'm sorry, too."

It felt as if the tension that hovered between the two was slowly fading away, the words heavy on their hearts were no longer burdens to carry. Six months of not speaking to each other was now behind them, where they could finally move past their rough patch and act like best friends again. Of course, that was what Jenna was hoping for.

"Jenna?"

"Yeah?"

"You know I'll always be here for you, right?"

Her face was a mixture of gratitude and sadness as she nodded in response. "I know." She admired how loyal he was to her, and it only tugged at her heart more knowing that she didn't want him involved in this monster shit again. He didn't need to know. Not this time.

After a moment of silence, Steve nodded and cleared his throat. "Um, I can get the pizza and water if you're finished with them," he said, moving around her to get the plate and glass before getting out of the bed.

"Oh, yeah, thanks," she responded, preparing to stand up alongside him. "I'm actually gonna go and get some sleep. It's been a long night." She added a nervous chuckle at the end.

"Okay. You can take my bed."

She furrowed her eyebrows his way. "I'm not taking your bed, Steve. I don't mind sleeping in the guest room."

He let out a scoff. "Trust me, that bed is not as comfortable as mine."

"Steve--"

"It's fine, Jenna. Seriously."

With some reluctance, Jenna finally gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

He smiled back. "I'll be downstairs if you need anything."

"Okay." While Steve was getting ready to leave the room, Jenna was about to get comfortable in the bed when she glanced at him again and stopped him. "Steve?"

"Yeah?" He turned around when he got to the door.

"Thank you for helping me tonight."

His expression remained soft as he nodded his head once more. "You're welcome. Goodnight, Jenna."

"Goodnight, Steve."

With that, he pulled the door so that it was cracked, the light from the hallway briefly leaking through the room before it went out. Jenna settled under the covers, placing the side of her face where she was slapped onto the pillow, with the ice pack sandwiched in between. She was beginning to grow anxious of being alone, staring around the dark room, finding it difficult to fall asleep as the rain pattered harder outside. Her eyes eventually made their way towards the bathroom, where she could make out Steve's sailor uniform and blue jacket hanging on the shower to dry.

They were the last things she saw before slowly closing her eyes and drifting off into a peaceful sleep.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Here we are with another long chapter that I told myself wouldn't be long (aka me being delulu). Sorry about that lol but I also struggled writing this chapter and after some help from my lovely mutuals I was able to get it done.

Anyway, what do we think? I have been looking forward to writing this chapter for a while now so I hope y'all enjoyed it!

Comment, vote, more to come soon (maybe).

-A