"So how does it feel?"

Jenna turned to face her mom as they were sitting in their chairs in the backyard. "How does what feel?"

"Finally getting your driver's license," she replied, smiling. "It's about damn time you got it."

She laughed. "It does feel good. Now all I need is a car."

"We'll definitely see about that for this school year, then," her mom said, grinning. "Which means we need to get a move on soon. July is almost over."

Jenna had a hard time believing that they were approaching the end of July already. It had only been a few days since she got her license and only a few weeks since the mini-golf double date with Steve and Nancy, which she only saw whenever they were at the same party for a few hours, and even then she hardly spoke with either one of them. Of course, Jenna spent a lot of her time with Craig, sneaking out to Skull Rock or Lover's Lake late at night, the only time that they could be alone out there. The summer was going by so quickly, and before everyone knew it, they'd be back at Hawkins High for their last year. It was amazing how fast time really flew.

"Are you nervous about your senior year?" Dorothy questioned.

Jenna shrugged her shoulders. "Sort of, I guess. I mean, I know it's a big year for me with college applications and all that stuff."

"And have you thought about any of that yet?"

"Not really. With everything that's happened since Will disappeared..." Jenna started to trail off, shaking her head so that she didn't think about those memories from that week again. She did all she could to keep them buried away.

"Has anything else happened to you since then?"

Shit. There went the big question.

While Jenna knew this subject would come up eventually, she still had this bad feeling about how this conversation would go. Dorothy never found out about the incident during the double date, nor did Jenna want her to know. Bringing this up was only going to open up a can of worms that would end up us arguing. Still, since the subject was now up in the air, Jenna figured now was the time to tell her.

Swallowing hard, she turned to her mom and nodded her head, already feeling her heart beating fast with how nervous she was getting. "Mom, there's something I have to tell you..."

"Jenna." She placed her hand on top of her daughter's. "I think I know what's been going on."

She furrowed her brows in confusion. "You do?"

"Yeah. I found the blood stains on your shirt a few weeks ago." Pausing, she let out a sigh, her face becoming sad. "Your powers are acting up again, aren't they?"

"I was going to tell you," Jenna quickly admitted. "It's just...I don't think I can control them like Eleven did with hers. She had more time focusing on hers at Hawkins Lab for so many years--"

"So maybe all you need is a little more time," Dorothy cut her off.

"But how much time do I need before something bad happens in this town and I have to use them again?" she retorted. "We said we'd figure it out and yet nothing has changed."

Dorothy's expression didn't change as she continued to stare at her. "How bad has it gotten, Jenna?"

Jenna took a deep breath. "It's bad, Mom."

"As in, really bad?"

"Yes, really bad," she confirmed. "As in, they show up out of the blue and all I can do is wait for it to pass. Believe me, I want to control them as much as you do. But I just..." Jenna shook her head, huffing a sigh. "If only Eleven was here to help me. I don't even know where to start."

Dorothy squeezed her hand. "Like I said before, we'll figure something out." She was quiet for a moment, now looking as if she had something weighing on her mind. "But since we're here confessing things, there's also something I have to tell you, too."

Jenna started to get worried as she saw the look on her mom's face. "What is it?"

Taking a deep breath, Dorothy let go of her hand. "I've been looking more into your birth parents and seeing if there's anyone left on either side that's still alive."

"What?" Jenna sat up straighter, getting curious. "Did you find anything?"

"It's been a dead end so far. Chief Hopper is also helping me, but he's having just as much luck as I am." She let out a small chuckle. "We're not gonna give up on it, though."

"Why are you guys even looking?"

"I thought maybe you'd like to know more about them," she replied. "Haven't you been a little bit curious about your birth parents or even meeting some other relatives of yours that may want to know that you're alive?"

"Can't say that I have," she confessed.

At first, it was hard to accept that her birth parents were gone and that she'd never get the chance to actually know them. But Jenna couldn't go back in the past and change things, knowing that her life could have been different in the best and worst ways. For what it was worth, the life she had now was a pretty good one, one that she wouldn't want to trade for anything.

"Listen, maybe this will turn out to be a good thing," her mom continued.

Jenna scoffed. "Yeah, I doubt that."

"You don't really mean that."

"Why shouldn't I mean it?" she retorted. "It's not like I'll be this picture-perfect girl they had imagined the entire time I was supposedly dead to them. I'm not the sweet and fragile Valerie Murphy they'd probably expect. I'm Jenna Howard, the messed up teenager with powers that can kill people." She paused, shaking her head. "It's better for them to think that I'm dead. I can't disappoint anyone if I'm six feet under."

"Jenna--"

"You shouldn't have even looked into it at all," Jenna cut her off, growing annoyed that her mom even said anything about it in the first place.

Standing up from her chair, Jenna stormed back inside the house, pressing her hands on the counter, leaning against it as she put her head down. She started to take deep breaths in an attempt to stay calm. All she could think about was meeting some of her other family, having a feeling that it would end badly when they found out about her and her powers and what she did to those people at Hawkins Lab. They'd hate her for sure.

As Jenna lifted up her head, she could feel her eyes starting to water up. She furiously wiped them away with her sleeve before heading for the phone and dialing Craig's number. Pressing the phone against her ear, she waited for him to answer, letting out a shaky breath.

"Hello?" he spoke up on the other line.

"Hey, Craig, it's Jenna," she said.

"Oh, hey, Jenna," he replied. "What's up?"

"I was, uh...calling to see if you were free tonight." She swallowed hard, her leg bouncing anxiously, hoping he said yes so that she had a reason to get out of the house.

"Yeah, I'm free tonight," he said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she lied, chuckling nervously. "I just wanted to see you, that's all. Maybe we can get dinner later."

"I like the sound of that."

"Great. Leslie's Diner at seven sound good?"

"That's perfect."

"Okay, I'll meet you there."

"Wait, you don't want me to pick you up?"

Jenna stayed quiet for a moment, trying to figure out what to tell him. "Uh, no, that's okay. I need to get some more practice with driving, anyway."

"Ah, yes, Hawkins better watch out for Jenna Howard now that she has her license," he replied jokingly.

"Ha-ha, you're so funny," she retorted sarcastically. "So I'll see you tonight, then."

"Yeah, see you tonight. Bye, Jenna."

"Bye, Craig." With that, Jenna hung up the phone, sighing a breath of relief as she fell back against the wall, thankful that she had something good to look forward to.

*******

Things remained tense between Jenna and Dorothy for the rest of the day.

While her mom was downstairs with the TV on, Jenna stayed in her room, staring up at the ceiling. As much as she wanted to focus on tonight's date, the idea of Chief Hopper and her mom actually succeeding in finding some other relatives connected to her birth parents occupied her mind. She wondered if they would want to actually meet her and learn more about where the hell she had been ever since her time at Hawkins Lab. There was still the possibility that they wouldn't want to have anything to do with Jenna, which she wasn't sure if that would be a good or bad thing for everyone. For now, it wasn't something she wanted to be worrying over, as there wasn't any progress being made with finding any family members, anyway.

When it was time for Jenna to leave for her date, she hurriedly put on some light makeup, then headed downstairs, finding her mom still on the couch. She glanced at her for a moment before grabbing her wallet laying on the table and then the car keys hanging by the door, knowing her mom was staring at her.

"Going somewhere?" she asked.

"Yeah, on a date with Craig," she replied. "We're going to Leslie's for dinner."

"Okay," her mom said. "Have fun and be careful driving."

"I will."

Jenna exited the house, closing the door behind her, then dashing for the car. It felt good and odd to be in the driver seat for once, not to mention that she was by herself this time. She could be alone with my thoughts again, in which she tried to think about this date with Craig and nothing else.

The drive there was okay, as there wasn't much traffic as she thought there would be. Even finding a parking spot was easy enough. Stepping inside Leslie's Diner, Jenna headed for an empty booth by the window, settling in before a waitress with long light brown hair named came by.

"Hi, welcome to Leslie's," she said. "My name's Carlie and I'll be taking care of you. Can I get you started with something to drink?"

Jenna narrowed her eyes at the girl, thinking that she looked familiar. "Don't I know you?"

Carlie gave her a weak smile, chuckling as she nodded her head. "Yeah, we go to school together." She paused, her expression turning a bit nervous. "I, uh, also told you about those pictures that Jonathan Byers and Carter Page had of you and your friends last year."

Jenna's eyes widened a little as she started to recognize her. "Oh, right. I remember now." She started feeling awkward that she had forgotten about the girl. "Sorry. I just totally blanked on that day."

"It's okay. I figured you'd rather forget about it, anyway." Carlie was silent for a moment before letting out a sigh. "So, something to drink?"

"I'll take a Coke, thanks."

Smiling at her, Carlie left for a moment before quickly coming back with a plastic cup filled with soda in her hand, placing it on the table. When she was gone again, Jenna picked up the menu and went back and forth scanning all of the food options and the entrance, waiting for Craig to walk in. After minutes going by, she was starting to worry that he had forgotten or that something had happened to him. Craig was always one that liked to be on time for our dates. So where the hell was he?Lifting her head at the clock near the door, Jenna realized that she had already been here for ten minutes. Carlie had come back to the table a few times, and it was almost embarrassing for Jenna to keep telling her that her date would be here any minute now. But she didn't seem to mind waiting to take her order as the diner kept getting busier and she was waiting on other tables.

By the time thirty minutes had passed, Jenna was ready to get up and leave to go back home when she heard the bell go off at the front door. She felt her heart racing, hoping to see Craig walking in, but letting it drop when she saw that it was Steve who entered the diner instead. The disappointment was rising inside of her as she let out a sigh of defeat and looked out the window.

"Jenna?"

She turned her head and saw Steve was the one who called her name. "Hey, Steve."

"What are you doing here?" he asked, walking towards her.

"Well, it's a diner, so what do you think?" she replied in a joking manner.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I got that part. You decided to come here by yourself?"

Jenna exhaled. "Craig was supposed to meet me here at seven and he didn't show. I was actually about to leave and maybe I can save what's left of my pride."

"Or I can join you," he suggested.

She raised her eyebrows. "You're not here to meet with Nancy?"

Shaking his head, he let out a chuckle. "No, um...we kind of got into an argument earlier today. I came here to get some food and clear my head."

Looking at the empty seat across from her, Jenna motioned at Steve to sit down. "Well, have a seat and we can talk about our problems while eating some greasy food."

"I like that idea," he agreed, taking the seat and looking down at the menu.

A few minutes after Steve joined Jenna at the table, Carlie came strolling back and wrote down what the two wanted, along with hurrying back to get Steve a Coke before leaving them alone again to go place their orders in. Steve swore he had seen the waitress around before at school, but he wasn't too sure, to which Jenna agreed with him on that.

"So..." Jenna leaned back in her seat, starting at Steve. "What happened with you and Nancy?"

Steve scoffed, shaking his head as he placed his arms on the table. "She backed out of our date today at the last minute over some family stuff. I probably shouldn't have been pissed about it, but we had plans to have a nice picnic at Lover's Lake--"

"I didn't think you were the type to go on a picnic."

He smiled a little. "Well, I love her and I just want to make her happy."

"But does she make you happy?"

"Yeah, absolutely," he replied. "Does Craig make you happy?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Yeah."

"So you're happy with him."

Jenna shot him a puzzled look. "I mean, yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I guess after seeing you and him at Birdies that night after you had that episode had me and Nancy wondering about it."

"Oh, I'm glad you two are concerned about my love life," she retorted sarcastically, remembering how she caught them staring at her as Craig and she left Birdies after the double date.

"Craig still doesn't know, does he?"

Before Jenna could answer, Carlie came back around with their food. Once she was gone again, the two began to eat in silence, digging into their burgers and fries for a few minutes. Jenna wasn't sure if things were starting to get awkward or more comfortable for them the longer they sat here and talked about their problems. Then again, maybe they both needed to rant about their lives to someone they trusted.

"You know I can't tell him, Steve," Jenna finally spoke up.

Steve nodded his head in understanding. "Yeah, I know," he replied. "If he ever found out--"

"Oh my God, he'd think I was crazy." She laughed a little. "And if he knew you were involved in all of it, too--"

"I'm sure his world would end," he interjected, chuckling. "God forbid you and I stay friends under his watch."

Jenna scoffed. "Honestly. Besides, he'd also think we were both freaks with what we know and fought together." She paused, her smile fading. "Little does he know that I'm already a freak."

"You're not a freak, Jenna." His expression turned soft. "You're far from one."

Jenna took a couple of fries off her plate and ate them before speaking again. "My mom told me today that she and Chief Hopper are trying to look for some of my birth relatives."

Steve raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Yeah? You don't sound excited about that."

Shrugging, she continued with eating her food. "I just don't see the point in finding them when I know they're not gonna like me."

"Oh, I didn't realize you could see the future now," he replied in a joking manner. "Tell me, what'll happen to me in the next five years?"

She rolled her eyes, grinning. "My powers don't work like that, you idiot."

He smiled a little before continuing on. "So you don't think any of them would like you?"

"No," she replied. "I mean, why would they? I'm a mess. My whole life's a mess."

"Who's life isn't a mess?" he pointed out, finishing up what was left on his plate. "Nobody's perfect, you know."

"Not even you?" She raised her eyebrows. "Wow. That's a shocker. I never thought you'd admit such a thing."

"Well, it took me a while to realize it," he admitted.

"I guess you have Nancy to thank for that."

"Yeah, because she's right," he pointed out. "Which is why you shouldn't be so quick to assume your other family out there will hate you when you won't even give them a chance to get to know you."

"That's if my mom and Hopper find any of them," she pointed out. "Still, maybe it's best if they didn't meet me at all. They'll never accept me as Jenna Howard."

Steve pressed his tongue against his cheek as he continued to stare at Jenna. "Well, it'd be their loss, that's for sure. Because I think Jenna Howard is pretty freaking awesome."

She scoffed. "Oh, please--"

"I'm serious. You're a total badass"

"Because of my powers."

"No, because of who you are as a person," he said. "You were a badass before anyone knew about your powers and you're still one now. Everyone around here knows you and likes you for who you are. Hell, you're pretty unforgettable, in my opinion."

Jenna looked at Steve and saw that he meant what he said about her. She was so wrapped up around the idea of her powers now being in the way of her life, thinking of the possibility that everyone would find out and look at her the same way they probably looked at Will Byers, who practically came back from the dead. Maybe she needed a friend like Steve to remind her that her powers didn't define or control her. Sure, she did change a little after finding out she had them, but deep down, she was still the same Jenna Howard that everyone knew in Hawkins. Who knew Steve Harrington could actually give decent advice and compliments?

"Don't you wish we could go back to the way things were? You know, before Will Byers went missing?" she asked him.

Steve chuckled. "All the time," he answered. "But we can't do shit about it. Nothing will be the same with what we know."

"Yeah." Jenna let out a sigh. "Still, it was nice only having to worry about normal teenage stuff and not add monsters into the mix."

He smiled. "That's true. We already have enough of those at school," he joked.

They didn't stay much longer as neither of them just realized it was already dark out by the time Carlie came by with the check. Before Jenna could get any money out to pay for her food, Steve stopped her and took care of it, claiming that despite not this being a date, he was still going to be a gentleman and pay.

The cool air hit the teenagers as they left the diner and started walking in the parking lot. They stayed silent for a moment as they were strolling towards their cars, feeling like they had already said what they wanted to say back inside.

"Well, tonight was fun," Jenna finally spoke up once they got close to her mom's car. "Thanks for not making this night a shitty one, especially after being stood up."

"Hey, what are best friends for?" Steve responded.

She placed her hand over her heart, shooting him a grateful look. "I'm honored you consider me a best friend," she said jokingly.

"Okay, don't ruin the moment," he said, grinning. "But thank you for tonight as well."

"You're welcome," she replied. "I guess we both needed this."

Steve nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, we did."

Jenna shrugged her shoulders, smiling. "Hey, what are best friends for?" she said, mocking him.

He rolled his eyes in response, turning around and began heading towards his car. "I'll see you around."

"Bye, Steve!" she called out to him before getting inside the car.

"Hey!" Jenna turned back around when she heard Steve's voice as he was facing her again. "You're unforgettable, Jenna Howard. Don't you...forget that." He furrowed his eyebrows, a puzzled expression coming over him, almost as if he confused himself by his own words. Turning around again, he waved at her once more before actually leaving this time.

Jenna laughed, shaking her head as she got into the car. As she watched Steve drive off through the rearview mirror, Jenna felt a lot better and more at ease than she did earlier today, thinking about more of what she and Steve discussed tonight. While Jenna knew they couldn't go back to how things were before, moving on was becoming easier in its own weird way, and she was grateful to have a friend like Steve that would be moving on with her.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Well, this chapter was a lot longer than I anticipated (I swear, I keep saying that for every chapter LMAO).

Anyway, here's some Steve and Jenna for ya. There's also gonna be some more in the next chapter. ;)

Comment, vote, more to come soon!

-A