CONTENT WARNING: This chapter contains mentions of abuse.

August came by faster than Jenna expected, which meant there were two things happening this month that she was looking forward to: the last big summer party and the start of senior year.

Every year, someone always hosted one final party of the summer before school started. This year, Craig decided to do it, which everyone was excited about. It was weird knowing that this was probably the last summer this graduating class would spend together, seeing as everyone would do their best to get out of Hawkins as fast as they could to whatever college they were attending. While Jenna found it bittersweet to think about, it was still a good thing that everyone would move on with their lives and start new chapters, especially if that meant they weren't in a town that had monsters lurking in the night.

That afternoon, just a few hours before the party, Jenna went to Melvald's General Store to get some things. When she walked inside, she was shocked to see Carter Page walking down the aisle.

"Carter?" she called out.

He turned around and gave her a small nod. "Hey, Howard."

"What are you doing here?" she asked, walking towards him.

"I work here now," he replied, waving the scanner in his hand.

"Since when?"

"I started just a few weeks ago."

"My mom didn't tell me you were working here."

"That's because I asked her to not say anything," he explained.

"Oh, come on! I thought we were friends!" she exclaimed. "Or you know, at least heading in that direction."

Carter scoffed as he started to scan the items on the shelf. "Yeah, I didn't know we were considered friends, Howard."

"I mean, we worked together trying to find Barbara, ran away from some bad guys, fought a monster..."

"We had help with all of that," he pointed out. "And we hardly hung out after all that shit went down, anyway."

"That's not true. We hung out a lot."

"Yeah, after school, where none of your popular friends could see us."

"It wasn't like that, Carter."

Carter let out a scoff in response, shaking his head. "Whatever. Is there something you need or can you find your way around the store like the big girl you are?" he retorted, changing the subject entirely.

Rolling her eyes, Jenna leaned against the shelf. "You really need to work on your customer service skills."

"Well, if people like Bennett and Harrington stop being assholes whenever they come in here, then maybe I would."

"Wait, Craig and Steve were in here just now?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, they left just a few minutes ago with some food and drinks." Carter paused, finishing up with scanning the items in front of him. "That was a shitshow. One of them asked about you and the other got all defensive..."

"Why was Craig asking about me?"

"He wasn't the one who asked. Harrington did."

Jenna straightened back up. "He did?"

"Yeah. Just wanted to know if you had been by. Honestly, he was fine until Bennett overheard the question and got all worked up about it."

"Because Steve was asking about me," she stated.

Carter rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to fucking say it, Howard?" He began to walk away from her.

"I just want to make sure I heard you right." She paused, following Carter down the aisle. "You know, it's one thing if Craig asks about me, but for Steve to do it..."

"Well, you two are still friends, right?" Carter asked.

"Yeah, totally," she answered.

Ever since we had dinner at Leslie's Diner a few weeks ago, Steve and Jenna hung out more over the summer, whether it was just the two of them or Janet tagging along. Either way, they always found the time to spend time with each other, and it felt nice to just unwind and vent to someone Jenna trusted whenever she needed it. Steve was always there to listen to her problems, just like she was always there to listen to him. Then of course, there was Janet, who tended to just tell them that we complained too much and she was glad to not be in a relationship or have family drama to be involved with. Lucky her.

"So I'm not sure why it's a big deal that Harrington asked about you," Carter spoke up.

"It's not," Jenna said. "I'm just surprised, that's all."

He snorted, a small smirk forming across his lips as he continued to scan items. "Okay, then."

She narrowed her eyes towards him, crossing her arms. "Why'd you say it like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you think it's funny."

Carter shrugged, not looking at her. "I mean, in a way, it kind of is."

"And how is any of this funny?" she asked, getting annoyed.

"Because it just is, especially when it's not that serious," he said. "Unless there's something else going on that I don't know about..."

"No, everything's fine," she quickly informed him, though she felt her gut aching that made her think Carter knew that she was lying.

"That doesn't sound very convincing."

Yup. She was right.

Things had been a little weird since Craig stood Jenna up at the diner. When she asked him about it, he apologized and told her that something came up and he couldn't get to the diner in time. While she accepted his apology and let it go, Jenna had a feeling that something else was bothering him about it and he wouldn't tell her. Still, she didn't press the subject with him anymore, and he seemed okay with that.

"Well, everything is fine," she assured Carter again, trying to sound more convincing this time around.

"Fine, I won't ask again," he said. "Now, either we can drop that boring subject and talk about something else or you can leave me the hell alone while I work." He paused, huffing a sigh. "Personally, I love the second optio--"

"How's living with Chief Hopper been for you recently? Anything new?" Jenna questioned, cutting him off. She had been meaning to ask him about it again for a while now, but wasn't sure if he even wanted to talk about it. Of course, now she wasn't giving him much of a choice, seeing as it was something she couldn't hold off asking any longer.

He shot her an annoyed look. "I didn't actually want you to keep talking to me, Howard," he replied. "But since you asked, it's been the same. Dana's fine, too, in case you're wondering."

"That's good," she stated. "I was more concerned about you, though, given your..." Trailing off, Jenna stopped talking, knowing how touchy this subject was for him.

Carter let out a sigh. "It's nice to actually wake up and not have to worry about being yelled at or shoved against the wall for doing absolutely nothing," he stated bluntly. "So you know, I'm in paradise compared to the hell I was dealing with before."

She nodded her head. "I'm glad to hear that. Sounds like you're living the ultimate dream."

He scoffed. "Yeah, well, I guess I never really thanked you for it." His expression softened as he turned to face me. "So thanks."

"I was just trying to look out for my friend," she said, grinning.

"Okay, you're pushing your luck now."

Jenna let out a small laugh, walking past him to go get what she needed for tonight.

"Howard," Carter called out, making her turn around. "Speaking of friends, you got a good one looking out for you."

"Aha, so we are friends," she joked.

"I was talking about Harrington."

Her smile somewhat faded, caught off guard by his response. "Oh. I'll keep that in mind, thanks." With that, Jenna spun back around and went to grab her stuff, wondering what would've happened if she had showed up just a few minutes earlier.

*******

Jenna spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for the party. The more time she took trying to figure out what to wear and how to fix her hair for the night, the more excited she was. With this being the last end-of-summer party, she wanted it to be the best one yet, even if everyone would be drunk out of their minds, which was why she went with a green and white romper and white tennis shoes, along with her hair done in one braid.

When her mom came into the room later that night with her arms crossed, Jenna knew something was up, and it worried her.

"I'm going to hang out with Craig tonight," Jenna told her, looking in the mirror as she was doing her makeup.

"I think Chief Hopper and I found something," she said.

Stopping what she was doing, Jenna placed the mascara down and slowly looked at her. "Found what?"

"Some more information on some possible birth relatives of yours," she clarified. "It's still too early to tell, but it might be something."

She was quiet for a moment before huffing a sigh and getting back to her makeup. "I thought you two were gonna stop looking after I told you how I felt about it."

"I never said I'd stop looking, Jenna, especially now when we're getting closer to finding some potential matches with our search."

"Oh, so you and Chief Hopper were never gonna consider my feelings about all of this to start with," she retorted, just about slamming her mascara down once she was done with it.

"Listen, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you everything at the beginning--"

"But are you really sorry, Mom?" she snapped, getting up from the chair as she went to grab her denim jacket. "I mean, what was gonna happen next once you actually found some relatives of mine? Were you gonna send me away so I can get to know them and my parents more?"

With reluctance, Dorothy shifted her body a little. "Jenna..."

It was then Jenna realized that she was right, widening her eyes. "Oh my God. That was your plan this entire time, wasn't it?"

"Jenna--"

"Mom, please tell me that it's not true," Jenna cut her off, shaking her head in disbelief. "Tell me that this wasn't something you had in mind all along."

Letting out a sigh, she stepped in the room. "It wasn't at first," she admitted. "But after you told me about your powers acting up, I was getting worried. Of course, I can't take you to a doctor and explain the situation to them, and clearly trying to control them isn't working out, either."

"I'm still working on it."

"And how's that going for you?" she retorted. "Have you had any more episodes since we've last talked about it?"

Jenna was prepared to lie to her about it. She was ready to tell her that everything had been okay and that it was getting better with keeping her powers at bay. But seeing the concerned look in her eyes made Jenna feel guilty for giving her false hope that things were looking up.

"Just a few," she confessed.

"When?"

"When I was with Steve and Janet or Craig," she told her. "And some when I was home and alone and trying to control them."

Closing her eyes, Dorothy rubbed her forehead before opening them back up to look at Jenna again. "How bad were they?"

"The same as before."

"And you didn't tell me again."

"Mom, as much as I appreciate you wanting to help me with this, I think it's about time we agree that I need to figure this out on my own."

"Have you had anyone else try to help you with it?"

"No, because no one understands any of it!" Jenna snapped, growing more frustrated. "No one has any idea how bad they get. I always feel like my body is gonna overheat or freeze at any time and there's no way of stopping it. My head is always spinning, my nose can't stop bleeding half the damn time, and I just--"

She stopped abruptly when she suddenly felt her hands shaking and getting hot by the second. The more angry she was, the worse it was getting. As her breathing became uneven, Jenna sat down at the edge of the bed.

"Jenna?" Dorothy spoke up, getting down in front of her. "Sweetie? Look at me. Look at me, Jenna." She placed her hands on each side of Jenna's face, despite how hot it was now getting. "Take a deep breath for me, okay? Deep breaths, honey."

Jenna did what her mom told her to do, slowly taking a couple of deep breaths as she felt my body begin to relax like before. Once her hands were no longer shaking and they were starting to cool down, she looked at her mom and let out a sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry," was all that she could get out.

"It's okay, Jenna," she responded in a soft voice. "Listen, maybe you should stay in tonight."

"No, I'm fine," she told her, standing back up.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

She nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm sure. I won't stay out late. I promise."

With a sigh, she stood up, too. "All right, then."

"I should get going." Jenna turned around and headed for the door.

"Jenna," her mom said, in which the girl spun on her heel to face the woman again. "About you going away--"

"I'd rather not talk about any more of it tonight," she cut her off. "I just need some time to think about it."

Giving Jenna a sad look, she nodded her head. "Okay."

With that, Jenna gave her one weak smile and then left the room, going down the stairs and out the door with her small purse in hand in just under a minute.

As Jenna pulled out of the driveway and was on her way to Craig's, her mind was already filling up with so many thoughts about what her mom and Chief Hopper were up to again with finding any relatives of hers. She was more focused on the fact that her mom was now considering the idea of sending her away to go meet them. The more she thought about it, the more she started to wonder if it was a good idea in the first place, given the circumstances with her powers. Maybe to her mom, getting Jenna out of Hawkins was a way for any possible triggers to go away. If she wasn't anywhere near something connected to the lab and any other monsters, then there was no reason for her powers to start flaring up. Sure, it made sense, but the idea of leaving Hawkins, the only town she ever grew up in, was something that scared her, in a way. While she was still upset at her mom for even bringing it up, Jenna had to think about it in her perspective. Jenna was her only daughter, blood or not, and she only wanted what was best for her. She had to give her credit for that.

By the time Jenna was getting close to reaching Craig's house, so many cars were already lined up on the street, knowing they were at his house and that the party was already in full swing. She ended up parking a block from his house, which wasn't a big deal, as she had done that before for many other parties in Hawkins. The walk was quiet up until she saw his house, seeing the bright and colorful lights and people scattered all over the place.

Jenna weaved past the crowds of people and headed inside, with the music just loud enough to be able to understand the lyrics. She went for the stairs and walked down the hall to Craig's bedroom, placing her purse down on his desk by the window and leaning against the chair, wanting to give herself some more time to relax before going back downstairs with everyone else. Taking a deep breath, she was almost ready to leave the room when someone walked in, startled as she recognized the familiar face of Nancy Wheeler.

"Oh, sorry, Jenna," she said, looking almost embarrassed. "I was looking for the bathroom."

"It's farther down the hall," she told her.

She gave Jenna a weak smile. "Thanks."

"Hey, wait," she called out before she had the chance to leave. "You okay?"

With her smile dropping, she quickly nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied, letting out a nervous chuckle.

Jenna raised her eyebrows. "I can see it written all over your face, Nancy. If Steve's being an asshole to you--"

"No," she cut Jenna off, shaking her head, then paused as she gave her an annoyed look. "Well, kind of." She let out a sigh as she walked her way, sitting down on the bed. "It's just...I've been thinking about Barb more and what happened to her that night at his house. I mean, we were all there when she..." Nancy stopped for a moment to compose herself, then she continued on. "I wonder if one of us had paid more attention and not blown her off..."

"None of us knew something was gonna happen to her," Jenna stated. "We were all being stupid teenagers that night. Barbara being taken by that monster was the last thing we expected."

"I know," she replied. "But I still feel guilty about it. Barb was my best friend, Jenna, and I just...I picked a guy over her." Nancy was at the brink of tears as she shook her head in frustration. "And Steve isn't being much help. He only seems to care about us getting into trouble if we go tell someone about it."

Sighing, Jenna went and sat next to her on the bed, giving her a sad look. "I get what you mean." She paused, knowing that the truth of what she saw happened to Barbara that night was bound to come out, something that Nancy deserved to know about. "I remember when I saw her get taken. It happened so fast and I wished that I had gotten to her sooner." She swallowed hard. "I should've told you when it happened, but I didn't think you'd believe me."

Nancy's expression remained unchanged as she looked at Jenna the entire time she was talking. "I should be mad that you didn't tell me. But you had your other problems at the time with...well, your powers."

Jenna smiled a little. "Yeah, they're still a problem," she admitted. "Still, I could've done more to help Barbara. Maybe if I knew more about them at the time--"

"Jenna," Nancy interrupted her. "It's okay. You didn't know and I can't blame you for that."

"Well, I wouldn't be upset if you did," Jenna told her. "I guess we both need some closure from it, still."

Nancy scoffed. "Yeah, really."

Jenna was quiet for a moment, then went on. "And as for Steve being a dick about all of this, I can totally knock some sense into him for you."

She chuckled in response. "I think I can handle him."

"Well, if he ever gets out of line, just let me know and I'll kick his ass."

"I'll keep that in mind." Nancy grinned her way. "Thanks, Jenna."

"Hey, I'm always here for you," she assured her. "Now, I don't know about you, but I'm ready to go back downstairs and have some fun. What do you say?"

She laughed a little. "In a minute. Still need to get to the bathroom."

"Right. I'll see you in a few minutes, then." With that, Jenna gave her one last warm smile and stood up, walking out of Craig's bedroom and hopping down the steps. She wasn't sure if her words to Nancy were exactly comforting, but at least she knew that Jenna was there for her whenever she needed it, especially if Steve was being a jerk to her.

Once she blended in with the crowd of people, the first people she spotted first were Steve and Janet by the table with drinks. When the two saw Jenna, they waved her over with cups in their hands.

"There she is!" Janet announced, smirking.

"We've been waiting for you to get here!" Steve added, handing Jenna an unopened can of beer. "Drink up!"

"Are you two drunk already?" she asked, seeing the way they were acting already made her think that they were at least a bit tipsy.

"We're getting there, dudette!" Janet replied, smiling.

"Hey, we're, uh...we're gonna go hang out with Mary Jane," Steve said, letting out a laugh.

Jenna raised her eyebrows. "You mean, smoke some Mary Jane?"

"It's the same thing, Jenna," he retorted, wrapping his arm around her. "You should come join us."

"Don't let the boyfriend catch you, Steve," Janet warned him.

He rolled his eyes in response. "Craig's not gonna do shit to me," Steve told her. "Jenna won't let that happen." He turned his head to face her. "Right?"

"I mean, we are best friends," she reminded him, shooting a grin his way.

"Exactly, and best friends always look out for each other," he added.

"Well, how about you go look out for your girlfriend?" Jenna told him, opening her can of beer, pointing at the top of the stairs.

"You know what, that's actually a good idea," he said, taking his arm off of Jenna once he saw her coming down the stairs. "Jan, still on with our stash in a few?"

"You got it," she replied.

"Jenna, you can still join us," he said, raising his eyebrows my way.

She chuckled as she shook her head. "No, I'm good."

Nodding his head, Steve gave her a small grin. "Suit yourself. I'll see you two later." He then spun around and headed for Nancy, smiling at her as he leaned in for a kiss.

Jenna watched them walk outside for a moment, then turned to look at Janet, who had a smirk on her face. "What?"

"Nothing," she said, taking a sip from her cup.

"That face you're making says otherwise," she pointed out.

She shrugged. "Maybe I just enjoy seeing you happy, that's all."

"Since when do you see me not happy?" she asked, curious as to what she was getting at. "If this is about me and Craig--"

"Oh, I never mentioned him," she interjected, raising her eyebrows as she took a sip from her red cup. "Unless there's something else you're not telling me."

Jenna rolled her eyes as she realized what Janet was implying. "No, everything's all good."

"Hm." Janet motioned her head towards the other side of the room. "He seems pretty cozy with Tina Miller over there."

Jenna turned around to see that she was right as Craig and Tina were conversing by the window, smiling and laughing at each other. A part of her didn't think it was that big of a deal, seeing that they were both involved in sports at school, with Craig playing basketball and Tina on the sidelines as a cheerleader. She didn't want to worry about it too much, but it wasn't until Janet pointed out how close they looked together that gave her a feeling that could only be jealousy the more she stared at them, clenching her fist.

"I can just about see the steam coming out of your ears, dudette," Janet commented.

"You don't think they're...you know..."

"I doubt it. You know how Tina is with the guys."

Jenna nodded her head. "Right." Relaxing my hand, she began to gulp down as much beer as she could, despite the terrible taste. By the time it was half-empty, she gave the can a disgusted look, then looked over at Janet. "Please tell me there's some tequila around here."

Janet smirked in response. "Do you even have to ask?"

Jenna was glad there was someone looking out for me, because it seemed like she was going to need a lot of it tonight.

By the time she had gotten some shots in, along with filling her red cup with some more liquor, Jenna could already feel herself getting more and more laid back, not caring about anything else but having fun, even if she was only tipsy for now. She didn't know how much time had passed, but it was almost like she was bouncing all over the place, finding myself stumbling in every room there was downstairs. When Jenna went to the living room, she spotted Craig again, only he was with some of the boys such as Tommy H and Andrew this time.

"Craig!" she called out, waving at him.

He turned to briefly face her, in which Tommy H and Andrew were snickering as he playfully rolled his eyes at them before leaving them and heading her way. "Hey, babe. Where have you been?"

"I was having fun, that's where," she replied. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you all night."

"Well, I am the host of this party," he pointed out. "I gotta keep my guests happy."

"Which includes me, in case you have forgotten," she retorted, grinning.

He playfully shot her a sad face. "Aw, are you not satisfied?" he asked.

"Nope," she responded, shaking her head. "I think you should make it up to me."

"Well, what do you have in mind?"

"How about a dance to start things off?"

He smirked, taking me by the hands. "I like the sound of that."

And so Craig led Jenna into the middle of the living room with other people dancing around, then pulling her closer towards him. At this point, she didn't even worry about Tina, knowing that Craig still chose Jenna over that bitch. Maybe she didn't need to overthink them talking in the first place.

The couple swayed to the music for a while, not paying attention to anyone else around them. While his hands were on her waist, Jenna let hers glide across his arms, biting her lip in the process.

But then, as he moved his hands up to her own hands, his smile was slowly starting to fade. "Jenna, you're hot."

"I'm glad you noticed," she said, laughing a little.

"No, I mean, you're hot." With worry now all over his face, he pressed his palm against her forehead. "I think you're having one of your episodes."

"What?" She let go of Craig and realized that he was right as her fingers were tingling with heat. All of a sudden, she saw the room spinning as her head was getting hotter by the second. "Craig..."

"Hey, Jenna." He tried to grab her hands again, but quickly pulled away and winced at the pain, signaling that it was only getting worse. "Shit!"

Jenna frantically looked around for Steve, Janet, or Nancy, but when none of them were anywhere to be found, she hurriedly moved past everyone and went upstairs, feeling dizzy that ended up slowing her down. Getting nauseated, she just about sprinted to the bathroom, fortunate that it was empty, and slammed the door and locked it behind her. She headed for the toilet and fell to the floor, throwing up everything that she had consumed ever since she got here. Jenna could see the drops of blood falling down as well, which only made her feel even more terrible.

Suddenly, the couple of knocks at the door caused her to let out a gasp and jump.

"Jenna?" Craig called out. "Babe, are you okay?"

"I just need a few minutes, Craig," she croaked.

"Look, just open the door and I can help you."

"No, I'm fine," she lied. "Seriously, I'll be out in a few."

"Jenna--"

"Craig, just go away, please!"

All she heard from him after that was a sigh, indicating that he decided to leave her alone like she wanted.

With her hands now shaking, Jenna gripped the seat as she waited for any more vomit to leave her system. She was at the verge of crying, already feeling like this night was ruined because of this. She coughed some more to see if there was anything else to throw up, but when nothing else came up, she let out a sigh.

Then, there was another knock at the door.

"Craig, I said that I'd be out in a few minutes!" she shouted.

"Jenna?"

She looked up at the door in confusion. "Steve?"

"Yeah," he replied. "Are you okay?"

"Uh..." She swallowed hard, feeling her throat burn. "No, not really," she admitted. Slowly standing up, she made her way towards the door and turned the lock, opening it enough to see Steve on the other side. "Are you alone?"

He nodded his head. "Yeah, it's just me."

"Good." She opened the door wider to let him in, then quickly shut it.

"I overheard Craig talking to Tommy about what happened with you just now," he explained, his face falling when he turned around to look at her. "Jenna--"

"I know," she cut him off, flushing the toilet and sitting back down, leaning against the tub. "I didn't even realize what was happening until Craig pointed it out."

Steve sat down next to her, pressing his back against a laundry basket, in which Jenna noticed he looked a little bit more sober than before, yet his eyes were a bit red. "Here, take some of my water," he said, holding out the water bottle in his hand to her.

"I'm fine," she told him.

"Jenna, take the damn bottle."

"Don't you need it to sober up?"

"I feel just fine, thank you," he replied. "Besides, you need it more than I do."

With reluctance, she took the bottle and gave him a thankful expression before opening it to take a sip. "Thanks."

He shot her a small smile in response. "So I guess your night isn't going as planned, huh?"

Jenna took a piece of toilet paper and poured some water on it. "I should've expected this to happen again tonight," she stated, wiping the blood and vomit off her face.

"Again?"

She nodded. "I had an episode when me and my mom were arguing before I left." She paused, huffing a sigh. "It's been a long night already."

"Yeah, I know the feeling," he said. "Your boyfriend's really had it out for me today."

"So I heard," she commented, feeling her body start to cool down. "Carter told me what happened."

"What did he tell you?" Steve inquired.

"Just that you asked about me and that Craig was all pissed about it."

Steve chuckled a little. "He really was."

With a weak smile, Jenna continued. "And he also said that I had a good friend looking out for me. I'm still kind of confused at why he even said that." Pausing, she let her eyes stay focused on him and he looked down at the floor. "Steve, what went down between you and Craig today?"

He kept his head down for another moment before lifting it up and taking a deep breath. "I asked Page if you had been to the store today. Craig overheard me and got mad about it, told me that I had no business in asking about you since you weren't my property and shit."

Jenna sighed, adjusting her position. "Yeah, he's been acting weird ever since he stood me up at Leslie's. Like, I want to believe that everything's okay, but...I don't know. Something's not right, and maybe seeing him with Tina tonight might've..." She trailed off once she realized what she had just said.

"Wait, Tina Miller?" Steve asked. "You know how she is with the guys."

"Yeah, Janet told me the same thing," she explained. "Maybe I'm just overthinking it, right? I mean, Craig and I...we're happy together. We love each other." She chuckled nervously, though she could feel the lump forming in her throat. "And God, he wouldn't pick Tina Miller over me, out of all the girls in Hawkins." She paused, turning her head to face Steve. "Is there something wrong with me?"

Steve shook his head. "No, there isn't," he said, moving closer towards her. "Remember when I walked in on you two at the pool during your birthday party?"

"How could I forget?" she retorted.

Letting out a laugh, he continued. "Anyway, as creepy as it sounds, it made me think about you two being happy like Nance and I at the time. But then seeing you with him on our double date, then at the diner all alone and coming to find out Craig stood you up made me realize something."

"And what would that be?"

"That he doesn't deserve you."

Her face fell. "Steve--"

"He doesn't and you know it. I've seen how you are around him, Jenna. It's like you're a whole different person."

"I'm still the same Jenna when I'm with him," she protested.

"Yeah, when you're not lying about your powers," he retorted. "Which I know you said you can't tell him and I get that. But as much as I want to be happy for you, I can't do that when I know you're not fully happy with him yourself. Because he doesn't really see you for who you are."

Jenna couldn't help but scoff. "What, like in the way that you or Janet see me?"

"That's exactly what I mean."

Sighing, she shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe it's just nice to have someone who can never look at me differently because of my powers."

Steve had a sad look on his face. "Even with what little Craig knows, I think he already does."

Before Jenna could respond, the door flew open, with Craig standing there, puzzled and angry all at once.

"What the fuck?" he asked, raising his voice. "What's he doing in here?"

"Chill, man. We were just leaving," Steve intervened, standing up from the floor.

"No, I wanna know what's going on," he snapped.

"It's nothing, Craig," she added, getting up as well. "Steve was just--"

"--being a good friend," he finished, scoffing. "Of course he was."

"Hey, I'm just looking out for her," Steve said.

"Don't you have your own girlfriend to worry about?" Craig stepped closer to Steve. "I thought I told you that once already today."

"Back off, Bennett," Steve warned him.

"What are you gonna do, Harrington? Can't beat me up in front of Jenna. Hell, you can't even win a fight against Jonathan Byers. How the hell are you gonna win against me?"

"Okay, that's enough," Jenna interjected, trying to get in between the two boys. "Come on. Let's just go back downstairs."

"Actually, I think it's time I left," Steve stated, keeping his eyes on Craig.

Craig nodded his head. "Yeah, I think it's best if you leave."

With that, Steve glared at him one last time before shoving past him and storming down the hall. Once he was out of sight, Craig's face turned irritated as he turned to look at her.

"So you trust him more than you trust me?" he asked bitterly.

Jenna rolled her eyes. "You're making a big deal out of nothing again, Craig."

"Am I, though?"

She raised her eyebrows. "Well, how about you tell me what was going on between you and Tina Miller earlier tonight?"

Craig, looking as if she threw him off with her question, scoffed and shook his head. "We were just talking. Believe it or not, Tina and I are friends, too."

"Right, just like Steve and I are friends," she pointed out.

He rolled his eyes, leaning against the door frame. "There's nothing going on between me and Tina."

"And there's nothing going on between me and Steve," she retorted.

He stared at her for a moment before softening his expression, along with letting out a sigh. "Well, I guess we're both jumping to conclusions, then, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess we are."

Craig was quiet for a moment before he opened out his arms. "Come here," he muttered, pulling her in for a hug. "I'm sorry."

Jenna pressed up against his chest, closing her eyes. "Me, too." The longer she stayed like this with him, the more nauseated she got, having a hard time getting the sick feeling out of her mouth that made her wonder if Steve was right about them all along.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Here's another chapter I did not expect to be so long LMAO.

Anyway, some more Stenna for you guys (and there's gonna be plenty more, trust me). What do you guys think? Please let me know because I need the validation LOL.

Also, this is for microwavedcoffee because I love her dearly and if y'all aren't reading her Jim Hopper fic (Happenstance) and Eddie Munson fic (Psychometry), then you are seriously missing out because she's a talented writer.

Comment, vote, next chapter will be the start of season 2 episode 1!