The next two months were all over the place.

For one thing, senior year was already a pain in the ass. With the classes Jenna was taking and having to think about college applications, she was at the verge of a mental breakdown, and her powers acting up was not helping at all. While she had Steve, Janet, and Nancy around to help her with them, that only annoyed Craig even more, especially after what happened at his house with her and Steve in the bathroom.

Needless to say, it had been brutal for Jenna Howard.

She was listening to the news on the TV at Melvald's about a robbery in Pittsburgh just a couple of nights ago when Carter was getting a pack of cigarettes from under the counter. He led her and Janet out to the back of the store, handing them each a cigarette and lighting them before getting one for himself. They were silent for a moment as they let the nicotine enter their system, inhaling and blowing out smoke into the autumn air.

This had become a routine ever since the school year started with Steve driving Nancy to school and Janet refusing to be a third wheel. Luckily for Jenna, her mom was able to get her a car before she went back to school, and Dana also needed a ride to school, too, as Carter would take her to work on his new bike until Jenna got there to pick her up. Since Melvald's was on the way, they stopped inside for a smoke and for any supplies they needed for the day before heading to school. So with Dorothy not coming in until later, it all worked out, even if Jenna was certain that Carter was sick of the girls complaining about everything to him. Still, he would tell it like it was, and maybe they needed to hear it.

This morning, Jenna was going on about Craig again, a popular subject among the three of them that she was sure they were tired of hearing about. Ever since his party a couple of months ago, things had been weird between the two. Even though they never brought up what happened, it was obvious that they were both bothered by it. But Jenna knew bringing it up would only add fuel to the fire. Not only that, but she still remembered what Steve told her, and all she could do was let his words replay over and over in her head. She couldn't admit that Steve was onto something, that he was possibly right about her and Craig.

"And last night on the phone, Craig told me that he wasn't sure if he liked our costume idea for Halloween after agreeing to them weeks ago." Shaking her head, Jenna huffed a sigh. "I mean, we spent all this time trying to get our costumes ready in time. Why the hell would he tell me two days before Halloween that he didn't like it?"

"Because he's an ass, that's why," Carter stated. "Haven't you figured this out by now after dating him for almost a fucking year?"

"Trust me, that's what Steve and I said, too," Janet added.

Jenna rolled her eyes, leaning against the wall. "He's not always like that, you know."

"So you're saying that Craig Bennett has a soft side?" Carter asked.

"Yeah, he does with me, at least," she said.

"And with Tina Miller, apparently," he mumbled.

Shooting him a quick glare, she turned my head towards Janet. "We should've never told him anything."

"Hey, you opened your mouth about all of this two months ago, not me," Janet protested as she continued on with her cigarette. "Speaking of Tina, did you ever ask him about it?"

Reluctantly, Jenna shook her head. "No. What was the point? He'd probably think I was a hypocrite if I did, especially after the many times he asked about me and Steve."

"Right, because that's the sign of a healthy relationship," Carter commented sarcastically.

"And you've had how many girlfriends, exactly?" Jenna retorted. "Oh, wait, you've had none."

"I don't need to have any dating experience to know what's right and wrong in a relationship, Howard," he said, tensing up a little. "And with all of the bitching you do about Bennett, it sounds like you need to dump him and move on, something you should've done a long time ago."

Sighing, Jenna finished the cigarette and threw it on the ground, stomping it with her foot as she looked up at him. "You're starting to sound like Steve."

"Well, I'm glad me and him can agree on something for once," he retorted.

"That's definitely saying something if you two think that Jenna should dump Craig," Janet spoke up. "And I also think you should break up with him."

"Yeah, you've told me a few times since the party," Jenna reminded her.

"You know I'm right. Hell, so is Steve and Carter over here." Janet paused, inhaling more from her cigarette. "Craig Bennett isn't worth it, dudette. He really is an asshole."

Crossing her arms, Jenna knew deep down that she had to break it off with Craig. There was still a part of her that wanted to make it work and be happy with him. But with all that had happened between them and things only getting more tense in just a couple of months, she wasn't sure if they were able to resolve things without arguing about it. That was more stress that she didn't need right now.

"I'll think about it," she finally said. "I'm having dinner with him and his parents tonight." She paused, giving them a guilty expression on my face. "Plus, I really like our Halloween costumes and I want to get the chance to wear them."

Carter rolled his eyes. "You're gonna stick out being in a miserable relationship for a Halloween costume, Howard?"

"But we're doing Kenickie and Rizzo from Grease!" she protested. "Come on, it's a classic movie and a cute idea for Halloween as a couple."

"It actually sounds fucking lame," he snapped.

"You think everything I do is lame."

"I haven't been wrong yet."

Jenna looked over at Janet, who was working on the last of her cigarette. "We should get going before we're late."

Once everyone was done smoking, the three headed back inside, finding Dana talking to a boy with long brown hair and bangs, wearing jeans and a long black and white t-shirt with writing on the front that Jenna couldn't make out from where she was, along with a leather jacket and denim vest. He started to walk backwards when he saw the trio coming towards him and Dana, tripping over a stand filled with plastic Halloween pumpkins as he smiled in embarrassment and quickly picked them up before hurrying out of the store. Dana was giggling as he left, then turned to face the others.

"I see Eddie Munson came in again," Carter stated.

"Yeah," Dana said casually, shrugging her shoulders. "You know he comes in here all the time."

He scoffed in response. "I'm not blind, Dana. It looks like you two are getting pretty close."

She rolled her eyes, unwrapping up a breakfast bar. "It's not like that."

He headed around the counter to the cash register. "Just saying, it's been like that since you two had that music class together last semester."

"That's because we were partners in that class," Dana explained.

Carter smirked a little as he took out the money from the register. "Whatever you say."

"At least I talk to people," she retorted. "Unlike you, who only hangs out with Jonathan Byers outside of work."

He froze for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders. "Well, considering that we're both outcasts, I guess it works out for us that we're friends."

"Especially since you two have been hanging out more ever since..." Dana trailed off as her smile faded, taking a bite out of her breakfast bar. "We should get to school. I have a quiz in math that I need to study for."

So the girls bid Carter goodbye and left the store, piling inside Jenna's car and heading off to school. The ride was quiet as they listened to the radio. By the time Jenna was pulling into the parking lot of the school, a black car came speeding by her, almost hitting the car.

Slamming on brakes, Jenna honked the horn and shot the driver a glare. "Watch it, asshole!" She let out a groan and shook her head as she took the next available spot. "God, it's like no one pays attention anymore."

"You don't say," Janet muttered, smirking at her.

Jenna rolled her eyes and got out of the car with her knapsack, closing the door. As they made their way towards the school, she saw a boy with a mullet and a little red-headed girl get out of the black car, with the girl skateboarding towards the middle school and the boy turning his head and looking right at the girls as he flicked his finished cigarette to the ground, raising his eyebrows.

While Janet and Dana walked ahead of Jenna, she stayed behind and looked over at the boy that almost hit her with his car. "You should really watch where you're going next time!" she called out as she made her way towards him.

The boy chuckled a little. "Well, you can blame my step-sister for making us late," he replied, leaning against his car.

"Or you can just admit that you're a shitty driver," she retorted, stopping in front of him.

"Ouch, that hurt," he stated sarcastically, putting a hand over his chest like he was offended. "You really know how to bruise a man's ego."

Jenna smirked his way. "It's a gift."

Grinning, the boy nodded his head. "Good to know." He took a look at all of the girls before speaking up again. "I'm Billy Hargrove. Just moved here from California."

"Jenna Howard," she responded.

"Ah, so you're the famous Jenna Howard of Hawkins," he said.

She furrowed her eyebrows at him, confused. "You've hardly been in town and you already know who I am?"

"Word travels fast," he told her. "You can thank your boyfriend and Tommy Hagan for that. They had a lot to say about you."

"I'm sure everything you heard about me was both good and bad."

Billy shrugged his shoulders. "Either way, you're one hell of a girl around here." He paused, smirking. "Sounds like you make this town less shitty."

"I guess you can say she's pretty unforgettable around here."

Jenna turned around to see Craig walking towards them. "So I've been told," she mumbled. Hearing him say that wasn't the same when Steve said it to her.

Craig put his arm around her and looked up at Billy. "I see you've met my girl. Already trying to take her from me, Hargrove?"

"You don't have to worry about me, man," Billy stated, putting his hands up in defense, then turned to face Jenna again with a smirk on his face. "Not yet, at least."

"Better watch it, dude," Craig warned him, though there was a hint of playfulness in his voice. He shifted his attention back to Jenna. "Come on. I better get to English before I'm late again."

Nodding her head, Jenna let Craig take her hand as they walked away from Billy and went towards the school with the other students. Once they were inside, the two headed straight for Jenna's locker first, taking some books out of her knapsack and switching them out with ones in her locker. She could feel Craig staring at her as he leaned back against the lockers and let out a sigh.

"You're still coming to dinner tonight, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," she simply replied, getting the last of her books out and placing them in her knapsack.

"You don't sound too excited about it," he commented.

"I am," she lied, turning her head. "Your parents are great." Jenna gave him a weak smile, trying to look convincing.

He simply raised his eyebrows and nodded his head, which gave her relief.

"Craig!" the voice of Tina Miller rang in Jenna's ear as she spotted her approaching them with a small pile of orange papers in her hand. Jenna couldn't help but grow jealous with her standing there.

"Hey, Tina," he said, smiling at her.

Smiling back, Tina glanced at Jenna. "Hey, Jenna."

"Hi," was all she could say, attempting to keep her cool.

She focused her attention back on Craig. "Anyway, you're just the guy I've been looking for." She gave him a piece of paper from her hand, to which he gladly took it from her. "You're the first to receive an invitation to my Halloween party tomorrow night."

Looking down at the invitation, Craig chuckled. "Sounds good. Jenna and I have our costumes picked out, too." He paused and faced her. "Although, I still think Elvis is a good idea for a costume."

"Yeah, for you," she pointed out. "But we agreed on Grease. It's perfect for us."

"Right," he said, facing Tina again. "We'll be there."

"Great. See you then." With that, she gave him one last grin and waved Jenna as she spun on her heel and strolled down the hall.

She just about slammed her locker shut, huffing a sigh as she watched Tina disappear around the corner.

"Her Halloween party sounds like fun, don't you think?" Craig inquired. "We now have somewhere to show off our cool costumes, right?"

"Yeah," she responded. "We should get to class."

He didn't argue with her as they got ready to walk to Jenna's first class. Before doing so, they saw Steve and Nancy enter inside the school, to which both of them locked eyes with Jenna and Craig and nodded their way. All Jenna could do was give them a small smile before Craig grabbed her hand and led her down the hall, wondering if their relationship was going a lot better than hers was at the moment.

For their sake, she really hoped it was.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Well, we have officially started season 2!

Sorry if this chapter is kind of boring. I didn't need a lot of the first episode so this one and the next one is gonna be filler chapters (but we need some of those, lol).

Comment, vote, more soon!

-A