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𝗔𝗨𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧

chapter two:
and the world comes crashing
down

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SERENITY STOOD IN front of her closet, her eyebrows knit together in thought. Her hands were placed upon her hips and her eyes were scanning across all of her clothes. Turns out, she was right. Steve had insisted Serenity go to this Halloween party, promising her that she would have fun with him and Nancy.

Now, Serenity didn't want to be the third wheel at all, and Jonathan hadn't gotten back to her on if he was going or not. However, she decided to agree anyways. Hey, maybe she would take the advice Nancy gave to Jonathan and meet someone who could hopefully make her forget her embarrassing and totally pathetic crush on Steve. Steve had been ecstatic about her going and told her he would pick her up on the way.

And now was the more pressing issue. She didn't have a Halloween costume.

She should've been more prepared. Serenity should've known that something like this would've happened. Yet here she was, looking in her closet when she knew there was really nothing that she could do.

Her eyes scanned around the rest of her room in effort to give her some more ideas. There was her bookshelf, but she didn't know what book character she would go as. Her homework discarded on the ground (she's usually a good student, but Halloween night is an exception) wouldn't help her, unless she wanted to go as a square root. And it was way too late to plan to be a movie character from one of the posters on her wall.

Finally, her eyes set on a small tiara on the top of her dresser. The boys had given it to her about a year ago, claiming that even though she didn't play D&D with them, she was still the so-called Princess of their Party. Serenity hadn't worn the tiara at all, leaving it on her dresser as a momentum to her boys. However, considering desperate times called for desperate measures . . .

"Screw it," Serenity whispered.

She turned back to her closet. Serenity shuffled through her dresses for a moment until she settled on a pink dress that had spaghetti straps and silver gems on it. She took off her sweatshirt and jeans, swapping them for the dress. It was a little short, but hey, it was Halloween. Serenity then bent down and grabbed her pair of small silver heels. They weren't high at all since she knew she would be on her feet all night. She got the crown from on top of the dresser.

Serenity then sat down at her vanity. She brushed out her hair quickly and placed the crown atop of her head, smiling slightly at her reflection. In her mind, she looked really cute — not to sound narcissistic or anything. Serenity reached over and grabbed her tube of mascara, starting to apply it. Once that was done, she applied a little bit of pink lip gloss to her lips.

There was then a honk from outside. Serenity's head turned towards her clock. Eight. The party was definitely started by now, probably in a full rage, but that was fine.

"Ser!" Spencer's voice shouted from downstairs. "Steve's here!"

"I'm coming!" Serenity yelled back.

She looked at herself in the mirror and took a deep breath before leaving her room. Serenity bounded down the stairs and entered the living room, making her way to the door. Spencer was standing by the door, his arms crossed across his chest as he blocked her exit.

"A princess, huh?" Spencer asked, a small smile on his face. "Fitting."

"That's not true and you know it," Serenity lightly argued.

"Debatable." His eyes then turned serious. "Be careful, Serenity. Don't drink too much, make sure that Steve doesn't drink because he's driving, if anything offers you a mysterious drink say no, don't do drugs, please don't get pregnant—"

Her eyes widened. "Spencer!"

"All I'm saying is be safe, and if you feel unsafe, don't hesitate to call," Spencer finished. He reached out and took his face in her hands, kissing her forehead softly. "Have fun, okay?"

"Okay," Serenity replied softly. "Bye Spence, love you."

"I love you more."

Serenity then pushed past her brother and exited her house. Once she stepped outside into the cold fall air, she instantly regretted wearing such a short and tight dress, but she knew she would hate wearing anything else in a house packed with people.

She wrapped her arms around herself tighter in effort to keep warm as she walked quickly up to the car. As she got closer, she was able to see Steve and Nancy's costumes up close. They had really prepared them well. Serenity opened the door and instantly got in the back seat, shivering slightly.

"You guys look great," Serenity complimented the two of them.

"Thanks, Serenity," Nancy responded. "You do too."

"You're a princess?" Steve questioned, and Serenity nodded. "Huh. Fitting."

Serenity's jaw dropped. "Spencer said the exact same thing. Am I really that much of a princess? I didn't think I was."

"It's more that you look like a princess than actually acting like one."

And just like that, Steve Harrington managed to make her melt again. He thought she looked like a princess. Serenity could've died right then and there in the back seat and she wouldn't be complaining.

Wow. She was just sad at this point.

"Can we go?" Nancy then cut in.

"Yeah," Steve answered. "Let's party."

Steve started to drive away. However, Serenity couldn't help but detect a sort of . . . tension in the car. It wasn't between her and Steve, or her and Nancy. This one was so evidently between Nancy and Steve. Something seem strained.

Serenity shook it off. Maybe they were just going through a rough patch. They had all had a rough past couple of months, anyways. But for now, Serenity moved every thought in her head away and focused on the party.

❯ ────── ｢ ✾ ｣ ────── ❮

SHE MIGHT'VE TOLD Jonathan that she hated parties, but this one wasn't half bad.

Sure, people were still absolutely wasted, and sure, people were making out everywhere, and sure, the smell of alcohol and body sweat and cigarette smoke was overpowering, but she was actually enjoying herself. She had gotten a lot of compliments on her dress and her tiara, which made her heart warm. Serenity she was just glad to have a little piece of her boys with her while she was being a teenager and they were being kids.

She mostly stayed with Nancy and Steve, not really wanting to hang out with anyone else. They were inside in the large mass of people, dancing along to Girls on Film. Serenity had a red solo cup full of whatever in her hand, just letting loose for the time being. She was drunk enough to definitely feel a little floaty, but still sober to know what was going on.

Serenity grabbed Nancy's hand and twirled her around, the two falling into a short fit of giggles. Nancy then stumbled off to get another drink, Steve giving Serenity an apologetic smile as he followed after her. His girlfriend was completely wasted. Serenity grinned back at him, letting him know that she would be okay for the time being by herself.

However, the smile slipped off her face upon an unfamiliar arm slinging around her shoulders. Serenity immediately looked up to see that it was Billy Hargrove — also known was the new kid who stared at her in the parking lot. He had winked at her once she walked in the door, but Serenity had immediately left with Nancy to get a drink.

Disgust shot through her veins the longer she was pressed against him. Billy really had no costume. Serenity just assumed he wanted to be shirtless, because he had just put on a leather jacket. His chest gleamed with sweat and beer and he smelled like cigarettes. Gross.

"You know, I still haven't gotten your name," Billy yelled over the loud music.

Serenity escaped from underneath his arm. "My name is no thank you."

"Aw, come on, don't be like that, babe." He looked up and down her figure, Serenity rolling her eyes, feeling very violated. "You look hot."

"I know, thanks."

Billy's eyes flashed with something — anger, amusement, Serenity couldn't tell. "I saw you with that loser kid outside school the other day, and now you're hanging out with Harrington. Ditch them and come hang out with me. I can show you a good time."

Serenity had a very strong feeling that a good time only meant one thing. And she was definitely not interested in that right now, especially from Billy. Serenity looked up at him, raising her cup to her lips and taking another sip, the alcohol giving her just the tiniest bit more of confidence that she needed.

"No," she stated, watching as Billy's smirk completely fell into a blank, kind of angry expression. "Listen here, Billy. When a girl tells you no, she means no. So I suggest you back off, because you're not going to get very far."

Serenity raised an eyebrow at him before turning around and walking off. She went to go head towards the kitchen, even though she definitely did not need more alcohol. However, a specific person made her stop in her tracks. Standing by the door was none other than Jonathan, talking to a girl who was dressed up as a member of Kiss.

Serenity gasped excitedly, running up to him and basically crashing into his side, the alcohol getting the better of her. "Jonathan! You came!"

Jonathan slightly laughed at her, putting an arm around her to steady her. "Yeah, hey, Renny."

Her eyes then flickered between Jonathan and the girl. "Oh God, I'm not interrupting something, am I? I'm definitely interrupting something."

"You're all good," the girl reassured her. "I'm Samantha."

"Serenity. Hey, do you two mind coming to dance with me? Billy won't leave me alone and he needs to just get away from me."

Jonathan's eyebrows knit in confusion. "Where's Steve?"

"He's—" Serenity started to say, but when she looked to the kitchen, he wasn't there. Her eyes scanned the rest of the room. There was no sight of Steve or Nancy. "Huh. They've disappeared."

"Are you drunk?"

"No, maybe a little tipsy, but I'm all good." Serenity glanced back to the dance floor. "Now, come on, let's dance!"

"I can't dance, Serenity," Jonathan protested.

"Yeah, neither can I, but we're dumb, stupid, teenagers, so let's have fun."

However, Serenity didn't get her wish of dancing. This was due to Steve walking quickly through the crowds of people. Serenity frowned noticing the look on his face. He, quite frankly, look shattered. It reminded her of the times when he would come to her house when they were younger, saying that his parents hadn't come home at all for the past couple of days.

"Steve—" Serenity began.

He said nothing. All Steve did was brush past her and Jonathan, not even sparing them a glance. Serenity turned and watched as he left the house entirely, slamming the door behind him.

Something was wrong. Really wrong.

"I have to go," Serenity voiced, shoving her cup into Jonathan's hand absentmindedly. She looked at Samantha momentarily. "It was really nice meeting you." Serenity then glanced at Jonathan. "Hey, you don't have to pick me up for school tomorrow. I have a feeling I won't need a ride."

Serenity didn't wait for a response and left the house. She glanced around for a moment to try and find him, only to see him sitting in a secluded area besides Tina's house. He was staring blankly ahead, and even in the dark, she could see his mouth moving, evidently saying something to himself. Concern filled her insides. She hadn't seen Steve like this in a long time.

Slowly, she started to approach him. Steve ran a hand through his hair, a habit he had now developed since his hair got longer. Serenity got closer and closer to him, eventually stopping just a few feet away from him.

"Steve?" Serenity inquired quietly.

He looked up. Steve blinked for a moment, trying to register if what he saw in his brain was real. Serenity looked quite angelic, even though her hair had started to get messy from being inside a house surrounded by people. The gems on her dress shined underneath the moonlight casting down on her, as well as the tiara on top of her head.

Steve wasn't lying when he said she looked like a princess — even without the costume.

Serenity stared down at him. She felt her heart twist at the sight of his glassy eyes, tears practically begging to spill. Serenity walked closer to him and sat down on the ground, not caring that the grass or dirt could stain her dress. All she cared about right now was Steve.

"Hey, 'Renity," Steve responded, trying everything in his willpower to not break down in front of her.

"What's the matter?" Serenity continued. "You stormed out of the house and now you're all upset. Did . . . did you and Nancy have a fight?"

Steve sighed, sniffling slightly — he knew he could tell Serenity literally anything, but this was particularly tough. "Nancy, she . . . she doesn't love me anymore."

Serenity gave him a look. "That's bullshit."

"Yeah, that's exactly what she said to me. I'm bullshit, pretending that everything's fine is bullshit, and acting like we're in love is bullshit." Steve glanced over at her. "I wasn't acting. But she was."

Serenity's frown only deepened. She reached out and wrapped her arms around Steve, pulling him close. Steve lifted his arms up and clutched her shoulders, burying his head into her shoulder. Serenity felt small tears fall onto her skin, cold in the fall air, but she didn't mind. She gently rubbed Steve's back up and down with her hand while he silently cried into her shoulder.

"Why doesn't she love me anymore?" Steve whispered.

"I'm sure she loved you still, Steve," Serenity replied. She leaned her head against his. "It's gonna be okay. I promise."

"'Renity?" Steve asked, his voice slightly muffled and choked up from crying into her shoulder.

"Yeah?" she responded.

"Can we go home?"

She offered him a small smile. "Yeah. Let's go home."

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forget a princess, my girl serenity's a mf queen <3