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𝗔𝗨𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧

chapter three:
renny

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WHEN SERENITY WOKE up the next morning to her alarm, there was a slight pounding in her head and it was making her dizzy.

She quietly groaned at the pain, bringing a hand up to her forehead and pressing on it in effort to relieve some of the pain. Serenity hadn't even had that much to drink, but she guessed the alcohol still wanted to remind her that it made her slightly intoxicated last night.

"'Renity, shut that thing off," a familiar voice grumbled.

Serenity rolled her head over. Sleeping on the floor on a pile of blankets with a pillow and one of Serenity's spare comforters was Steve. Suddenly, all of the events from last night came rushing back to her. The party — Billy — Steve running out of the house by himself — Serenity comforting Steve outside Tina's house, saying that Nancy thought he was bullshit.

Steve had brought them back to Serenity's house, not really wanting to be alone. The two of them had basically passed out the second their heads hit their respective pillows, not even bothering to try and change. Sure enough, when Serenity looked down, she was still in her pink dress, but her heels and tiara were discarded on the floor.

Serenity reached over and shut off her alarm, making her room go quiet, before flopping on her back on her bed, staring at the ceiling. "We have to go to school."

"I don't want to," Steve replied, burying his face in his pillow. "I don't want to see her."

She frowned. "Steve—"

"Am I bullshit, Serenity?"

The question seemed to shock her, especially at so early in the morning. Serenity slowly pushed herself so that she was sitting up, her comforter and sheets bunching up around her. Steve was now on his back, also staring at the ceiling. His hands were clasped together and resting on his stomach comfortably. Even from the minimal light that was coming in through her windows, she could see his eyes swimming with sadness.

"No," Serenity answered quietly. "No, Steve, you're not bullshit."

"She said it so many times," Steve stated softly. "I'm starting to believe it."

"You shouldn't," Serenity insisted. "Because I know you. Sure, you might've acted like a dick the past couple of years—"

"Serenity."

"—but you've really grown up. I've watched it all happen. None of that is bullshit." She paused for a second. "Well, maybe calling Nancy a slut was, but that's in the past. We're supposed to be moving forwards, right?"

Easier said than done. Considering images of the Demogorgon and Will on that hospital bed flashed through her mind as she said that, moving forwards wasn't exactly the easiest thing for her. All she wanted to do was make Steve feel better, though.

"Right," Steve repeated. "But I don't . . . I don't want to move forwards without her."

Serenity felt her heart sink. She lifted the covers up from around her and joined his side on the floor, sitting on top of her knees. Serenity immediately reached up and wrapped her arms around his frame, pulling him in close. Steve sighed and lifted up his hand, holding onto her arm that was around his front. He instantly leaned his head against hers.

They stayed there for a while in the silence, just sitting and Steve allowing Serenity to hold him, needing nothing but comfort from her right now. Serenity honestly had no idea how long they sat there, but a knock sounded from the door,

"Serenity!" Spencer yelled. "You're going to be late for school if you don't wake up!"

She rolled her eyes. Serenity dropped her arms from around Steve and looked over at him, her hands dropping into her lap.

"I think you left some clothes here in the top right drawer," Serenity told him. "We have to leave in—" she glanced at her clock and her eyes widened "—oh shit, we have to leave in fifteen minutes!"

Serenity scrambled up from the floor and ran to her closet. She grabbed a pair of black corduroy pants, a white turtleneck, and her black Converse. Serenity could hear Steve laughing at her as she ran off towards the bathroom, but she ignored it, a ghost of a smile on her face.

Once she looked at herself in the mirror, she winced. She looked like a wreck. Mascara was gathered underneath her eyes and her lip gloss was smeared, only leaving some sparkly remnants behind. Her hair was all sorts of tangled and had indents from where the tiara had been.

Serenity quickly brushed her teeth and grabbed a washcloth, putting water on it and scrubbing gently at the leftover makeup off of her face. She then got to work on brushing her hair, untangling it and such. Finally, she got dressed, tucking the white turtleneck into her pants.

Once she was finished, she exited the bathroom and went back to her room. Steve was now standing up, his Halloween costume discarded on the floor as he wore some of the remaining clothes that he had left at Serenity's house.

Serenity picked up her backpack. "I'll meet you downstairs."

Steve nodded once at her and she descended down the steps, entering the kitchen. Spencer was already there, lazily sipping on a cup of coffee. Serenity could feel her eyes on her as she opened up the fridge and got the lunch she made for herself yesterday before the party, knowing that she definitely would not to it later.

"Steve slept over," Spencer commented.

"Really?" Serenity responded. "Didn't notice."

"He hasn't done that in a while."

"I know."

Spencer paused for a moment. "Did something happen at the party? To you? Is that why he's here?"

"No, no, Spence, nothing happened to me," Serenity reassured him, watching as her older brother let out a sigh of relief. "I did get hit on by this guy, but he's irrelevant. Steve came here because . . . well, it sounded a lot to me like him and Nancy are over."

"Really?" Spencer asked, his eyes widening. "They've been dating for, like, almost a year."

"I know. She was really drunk, but you know what they say."

"Drunk words are sober thoughts," Spencer finished.

"Exactly," Serenity confirmed. "So, the best I can do right now is be there for him."

"And maybe finally confess your feelings to him?"

If Serenity had been drinking water at that exact moment, she would've spit it out. Her eyes widened in shock and her face instantly burned a bright shade of red. It only got worse when Spencer started to silently laugh at her reaction.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Serenity protested.

"Come on, Ser, it's obvious," Spencer voiced. "I've watched as you liked him for years but haven't done anything about it. Now's your chance."

"No," Serenity said firmly. "No, Spencer, it's not. Because one, Steve just got broken up with. And two, I don't want to be some kind of rebound for Nancy."

The two immediately went quiet when they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Serenity looked to see Steve standing at the bottom of the steps by the front door, holding his car keys in his hands.

"Ready to go?" Steve asked. His eyes then flickered in between the siblings. "Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine," Serenity responded quickly before Spencer even had a chance to talk. "And yeah, I'm ready."

Steve gave a knowing glance to Serenity as he sipped his coffee. "Have a good day, you two."

Serenity brushed past Steve and left her house, clutching her backpack strap a little tighter as she willed her face to cool down in the chilly air of now-November. Steve trailed behind her, walking to the drivers side and unlocking his car with the key.

She couldn't do what Spencer suggested she do. Steve was clearly still heartbroken, judging by the way he was silent as he started his car up and didn't even turn on the radio. And Serenity couldn't do that to Nancy. They weren't close, but friends don't just take each other's ex-boyfriends.

So, like always, she buried her feelings deep down inside of her.

❯ ────── ｢ ✾ ｣ ────── ❮

DURING FREE PERIOD, Serenity wandered off towards the gym. She hadn't seen Steve since they parted ways at school, both of them having different classes as she was a junior and he was a senior. Serenity honestly wanted to check up on him and see how he was doing. She knew that Steve would only be doing one thing during free period, and that was playing basketball with the other boys in the gym.

The hallways weren't crowded like they normally were, giving Serenity some time with her thoughts. She had always brought her Walkman to school, and it was situated around her waist while her headphones were on. Faithfully by Journey played through her ears, and she quietly hummed along to herself as her feet took her towards the gym.

"Serenity!" a familiar voice called.

Hearing her name said faintly, Serenity stopped in her tracks and turned around. Approaching her was none other than Nancy. It was clear that she was hungover from all the alcohol she had consumed the previous night. In fact, most of the people in school today were either hungover or just weren't there at all. Kind of sucked that Halloween had to be on a weekday and not a weekend.

Serenity pulled her headphones from around her ears and hung them around her neck. "Hi, Nancy. What's up? You look tired."

"I am tired," Nancy agreed. "Really hungover, too."

She let out a small laugh. "Well, you did have a lot to drink last night. Did you need something?"

"Yeah. I was wondering if you've seen Steve. If he's not with me, he's usually around you. He normally picks me up in the morning, but he didn't today for some reason, and I missed first period."

Serenity tried to stop her eyes from widening. Shit. She forgot Steve normally drove Nancy to school every morning. Also, Nancy's words of for some reason rang throughout her mind. It was clear that Nancy had absolutely no recollection of what happened.

"Uh, he always plays basketball during free period," Serenity explained, watching as Nancy nodded. "I was heading there now if you wanted to join."

"That would be great, thanks," Nancy breathed out.

The two of them started to walk down the hallway together. It was slightly awkward. After all, neither of them had really had any one-on-one alone time together. It didn't last for long, though, because soon enough, they made it to the gym.

Serenity's eyes immediately focused on Steve, almost like they were a magnet. His hair was brushed back by sweat, and his face was contorted in concentration. Steve's hands were on his knees as he breathed heavily. Billy, who was facing him, had a wide smirk on his face, and surprise surprise, he was shirtless again. Sweat gleamed on his bare chest, and Serenity felt a shiver run up her spine remembering how she was pressed up against him last night.

Gross.

"Steve?" Nancy shouted.

Steve straightened up and turned around. His eyes instantly went to Serenity, who gave him a discreet nod. He could do this.

"Good luck," Serenity told Nancy, knowing that Steve probably wouldn't react well.

Nancy gave her a tight smile. "Thanks, Renny."

Her and Steve then left the gym, going outside to talk. Serenity sighed and walked over to the bleachers, resting her back against it, prepared to watch the basketball game. She went to go put her headphones back on, but of course, somebody had to disrupt her.

"So," an infuriatingly familiar voice began. "I heard at least some version of your name. Renny, I think Wheeler said."

Serenity rolled her eyes and looked in front of her. Billy was standing right in front of her, meaning that she was basically trapped against the bleachers. Serenity glanced up. His cocky smirk only widened when their eyes met. She could feel his eyes studying her from head to toe, and she tried to ignore it.

"Renny is reserved for people who are close to me," Serenity argued, crossing her arms defiantly across her chest. "You can call me Serenity."

"Ah, so we finally get the full name. Serenity. Doesn't that mean, like, peace, or some shit?"

"Yes. And, unfortunately, I don't get any of that with you."

"Don't you want some excitement in your life?" Billy questioned, stepping even closer to her, making Serenity press her back into the bleachers more.

"I have excitement in my life," Serenity responded. "You don't bring any to mine. In fact, you really just bring annoyance."

Billy's smirk fell off of his face. He started to look angry, really angry, just like he did when she rejected him last night. It made an uneasy feeling rise up in Serenity. However, she disregarded that fact, and gave into the satisfaction that she was definitely getting underneath his skin.

"Oh, sorry, did I hurt your ego?" Serenity pressed on. "Sorry that you can't handle a girl rejecting you, Billy. I bet you have a million girls practically falling at your feet, but guess what? Not. Me."

Their conversation was cut short by a shadow looming over them. It was Steve, his arms crossed against his chest and looking a little angry.

"Is there a problem here?" Steve inquired, his eyes flickering between the two.

"Not at all, just two friends having a conversation," Billy answered. He then looked back at Serenity, his smirk coming back. "Isn't that right, Renny?"

Serenity gritted her teeth in annoyance and rolled her eyes. She pushed herself off of the bleachers and readjusted her backpack strap on her shoulder.

"I'll see you later," Serenity promised Steve.

She didn't say anything else to him and definitely nothing to Billy. Serenity put her headphones back on and left the gym, wondering why Billy was so adamant on having her.

⊹⊱••••••⊰⊹

THIS IS ME ANNOUNCING THAT SERENITY WILL BE THE CLOSEST TO WILL AND I WANT NO AND IFS OR BUTS ABOUT IT BC THEY'RE GOING TO BE THE CUTEST MOTHER AND SON DUO EVER