When Jenna woke up the next morning, she had a feeling today was going to be a somewhat weird day.

Her mom was going in to work Carter's shift at Melvald's earlier than usual, as he called in sick today, which seemed unlike him. She didn't know where Chief Hopper lived, so going to find Carter and ask him what the hell he was up to wasn't an option. Dana also didn't show up at Melvald's, so when Jenna thought she would bike herself to school, the girl was surprised to not see her anywhere, which worried her. Eddie wasn't around, either, so the two had to be ditching together again. The last couple of people she didn't spot in the parking lot were Jonathan and Nancy, and it made her wonder if Carter was with them. Remembering his argument with Jonathan yesterday, she wasn't sure if that was the case. Still, she didn't worry about it too much, because she knew that there were other things to focus on at the moment.

Jenna was expecting stares from students when she got to school, and she was right as she stepped inside the building. With her back turned while she was at her locker, Jenna knew that no one took their eyes off her. Of course, the whispering started when she headed towards Principal Higgins' office before her first class. The longer she sat there, waiting to be called in, the more she was dreading this meeting. She had to listen to a band geek with short dirty blonde hair go on to her friend about getting better at speaking Italian and was excited to learn French next. There was some relief when Jenna got called to the principal's office, because hearing the two of them converse back and forth in a very loud manner was starting to annoy her.

The lecture Jenna received from Principal Higgins was fairly short, telling her that arguing and violence was never the answer, no matter how terrible the breakup was between both parties involved. He assured her that Craig got the same talk, which sort of made her feel better, but she knew Craig didn't care, knowing that he was able to humiliate her in front of a large crowd and that was all that mattered to him. Nevertheless, they both got two weeks of detention starting on Monday. Jenna had to resist the urge to roll her eyes at that, along with the sarcastic comment on how excited she was to see more of Craig after school. On the bright side, at least Tina wouldn't be there to defend every mean thing he said and did to her yesterday.

For the rest of the day, Jenna had to deal with even more stares and talking behind her back. She did her best not to let it bother her, but hearing the same things being said about her over and over was starting to get on her nerves. With her powers acting up, she knew that she couldn't lose control and cause any more people to get hurt because of it.

But when Jenna thought about Steve from yesterday, she felt calm again, and it was enough to keep herself in control.

Jenna hadn't seen much of Steve all day, not even at lunch, which was odd. When she mentioned it to Janet, all she did was shoot her a playful grin. While Jenna was curious to know what she was trying to imply with it, she assumed it was associated with her asking about having feelings for Steve in that way, so she didn't ask, not wanting to bring up that subject again. However, knowing how Janet was, she'd never let it go, no matter how many times Jenna would deny it.

By the time school was over, relief was just about to come over her as Jenna switched out some books in her locker. Though when she slammed the door shut, she was startled to see Billy Hargrove standing there, a smirk plastered on his face.

"Someone's a little jumpy," he said. "Excited to see me?"

She rolled her eyes in response. "You just scared me, that's all."

He chuckled. "Well, you sure as hell weren't scared when you decked your ex-boyfriend in the face yesterday." Pausing, he eyed her hand a bit closer, his smirk still there. "I have to say, when I heard about what happened, it kind of turned me on."

She furrowed her brows his way, unsure of what to think of that. "Wow. That's, uh...nice of you to say, I guess."

"Hey, I meant it as a compliment," he replied. "How many of those did Bennett give you while you two were together?"

"Why do you care?" she retorted.

"Well, I just wanna know so that I can do better," he answered. "You know, for when you and I go out on a date."

It was then Jenna raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Are you trying to ask me out?"

"Why, do you want me to?" He moved closer towards her. "Look, I know how hard a breakup can be on a girl, which is why I'm offering my support during this...difficult time for you." His hand was starting to move near hers as he looked down at them. "How about I swing by your house tonight at eight? I can take you somewhere nice." Pausing, he flashed a smile. "You'll forget about that ex-boyfriend of yours after spending a night with me."

Jenna began to feel a bit uncomfortable with him being so close to her. As her body tensed up, she took a step away from him, which he seemed almost shocked at her doing so. "I think I'll pass."

"What, you still scared of me?" he asked, followed with a scoff as he shook his head. "Your friend from the other night told me that you were a tough one to crack."

"Wait, my friend?" she repeated, confused, then remembered who he was talking about. "Right. You took Janet home from the party."

"Yeah, she needed a ride, and I won't say no to a pretty girl," he said. "Especially if they give me what I want."

Given the way Billy's eyes were fixated on her, Jenna knew exactly that his statement had nothing to do with any sexual advances towards Janet. While she was kind of annoyed that Janet didn't tell her about being a topic of discussion during their ride together, she appreciated her for not trying to set her up with him, because Jenna got no good vibes from this guy at all.

"Well, you won't be getting anything from me," she said. "I've got plans tonight."

Billy let out a chuckle. "Don't tell me another guy has already snatched you up for himself."

"Not exactly," the familiar voice of Steve intervened as he approached the two. "But she's right. We do have plans tonight."

Billy's expression was nothing short of stunned as he glanced over at Steve. Jenna saw the firm stance Steve held, moving a little closer her way, and she had to admit that she was getting worried that another fight over her would erupt in the middle of the hallway.

However, that didn't happen, as Billy took a step back, letting out a laugh. "I should've known. Bennett said that you'd try and scrounge up his leftovers before anyone else could." Pausing, he shook his head, looking at Jenna again. "But I can see why. She's one hell of a girl."

"Yeah, I know," Steve stated. "Jenna's pretty special."

Billy nodded his head, not taking his eyes off of her. "Well, I'll be sure to keep that in mind." With one last smirk and a wink, he walked past Steve and Jenna and strolled down the hall, exiting the school.

Once Steve was done watching him disappear out of the school, he turned back to face Jenna. "You okay?" he asked.

Nodding her head, Jenna relaxed her body, looking his way. "Yeah."

"Here's that bandage, by the way." He extended his hand out with the roll of wrap in between his fingers.

"Thanks," she stated, taking the bandage and stuffing it in her knapsack for later.

"No problem," he replied, grinning. "I'm always here for my damsel in distress."

She giggled. "What would I do without my king?"

"You'd probably be on your way to get ready for a shitty date with Billy Hargrove."

Rolling her eyes, Jenna began to walk away from her locker, with Steve following suit next to her. "Oh, please. Even if I didn't have plans I wouldn't have gone on a date with him. There's just something about him that doesn't sit right with me, and I have no idea what it is."

Steve scoffed. "I'm sure assholes have a way of making people uncomfortable." He paused for a moment, his eyes focused across the parking lot at Billy and Tommy H standing by a picnic table. "Or they just piss you off."

"I think we can both speak from experience on that subject," she stated, smiling a little.

"Given the fact that we used to be the exact same way, I agree," he pointed out.

Her grin faded, thinking about the teenagers they used to be a year ago. It almost made Jenna sick to her stomach as she remembered the way they treated others around them like Jonathan and Carter. But with the anniversary of Will Byers' disappearance coming up in just a few days, it seemed crazy to believe how quickly they became different people with all that happened in that one week. Nevertheless, they had changed, and it was something she wasn't sure any of them were prepared for. Now, while everything was so different, some things were starting to look and feel familiar again, and being around Steve like before was one of them. Except this time, she enjoyed being around Steve and how close they had gotten in a year because of all that happened. She wondered if he felt the same way about her.

Steve cleared his throat as he stopped in the middle of the parking lot. "So, uh, anyway, I'll see you tonight," he spoke up, breaking the silence before things got awkward thinking about the past and our mistakes that came along with it.

"Yeah, see you then."

Giving her a nod, he turned around and jogged towards the direction of his car. Just when Jenna was about to do the same and wait for Janet there, she noticed that Billy was now by himself at the table, still staring at her. As she went to her car, the eerie feeling inside her was a sign that he was still looking her way, and she was having a hard time shaking it off, even when the picnic table was no longer occupied the next time she found herself glancing that way.

*******

The time leading up to Jenna going to Steve's house went by slowly as she did everything she could to make it go by faster. She was looking forward to hanging out with him in order for them to get over their exes. It had been a while since just the two of them hung out, and at this point, getting drunk and talking about the tragic end in their relationships seemed like a good idea. Jenna just hoped they didn't do anything that they'd regret later.

When the time came down to just a few minutes before she had to leave, Jenna put on a new long-sleeved shirt, wrapped her hand with some bandage, then went downstairs and had a cup of water from the kitchen sink. Her mom was leaning against the counter across from Jenna, holding a mug of her own.

"Where are you off to?" she asked.

"Steve's," Jenna replied. "We're gonna hang out at his house."

She raised her eyebrows at this. "Just you two?"

"Yeah. We both went through some very bad breakups on Halloween. I think we both need this."

Dorothy stared at her for a moment before grinning and nodding her head. "Okay."

Instead of letting it go and heading out of the house, Jenna furrowed her eyebrows. "What?"

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head.

"Well, it doesn't seem like nothing," Jenna stated, then drinking what was left of her water. "What is it, Mom?"

Sighing, she straightened up, taking a sip from her mug before answering. "Steve's a nice guy. You're lucky to have a friend like him."

"He is nice, and he's also a very good friend."

"I'm glad to hear that." Her mom paused, placing the mug in the sink. "You two have fun, okay? I mean, also be safe, but--"

"Got it," Jenna cut her off. She was unsure if her mom was thinking the same thing as Janet, but she pushed it to the back of her mind as she grabbed the keys and headed for the door. "See you later!" she called out before walking out the door and closing it behind her.

The anticipation was rising as Jenna made her way to Steve's house, getting more excited about tonight. Though the idea of Janet and her mom implying that something was going on between the two of them was gnawing at her brain. She hadn't given it much thought until now, and it only made her heart beat faster the more she pondered on it. Before she could get in too deep with what they said, she was approaching the house and parked in the driveway next to his car. She didn't take much time to get out of the car and walk up the front porch, ringing the doorbell, only waiting a moment before Steve opened the door, flashing her with a smile.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," she greeted him, stepping inside his house.

"So..." he started to say as he shut the door behind them. "Ready to drown your sorrows with a shit ton of alcohol?"

"You bet," she replied, smiling back.

Steve led Jenna into the kitchen, where he headed straight for the refrigerator, opening it up. "I figured we could start with beer first before hitting the hard stuff." Letting out a chuckle, he gave her a can of beer, his eyes moving down to her hand. "How's your hand doing?"

"It's doing a little bit better," she answered, opening her beer. "What about yours after my...you know, my episode?"

Shrugging, he took a sip of his beer. "I mean, they stopped burning yesterday."

"They stopped what?!" She grabbed one of his hands and saw the faded red color in his palm, then lifted up her head with a sad look on her face. "Steve..."

"Jenna, it's fine," he assured her, pulling his hand away. "Like I said, you'd never hurt me. At least, not seriously. Besides, it was an accident and it didn't hurt that much. I'm okay, really."

She wanted to fuss at him for not telling her about his hands. But her expression softened when she saw the weak smile that was forming across his face. She could tell that he meant what he said, which brought her a peace of mind.

Steve stared at Jenna for another moment before opening his mouth to speak again while pointing at the counter behind her. "I have some pizza, too, if you're hungry."

"Wow. Pizza and alcohol? You really prepared for tonight." She paused, turning around for a slice of pizza. "Now all you need is the sappy music playing."

"It's like you read my mind."

"Great minds think alike."

Laughing, he headed into the living room to turn on the stereo, where Jenna could hear the faint sound of music playing. She picked up the pizza box and took it to the living room, with her and Steve sitting on the floor, their backs pressed against the couch.

Steve then raised his beer can towards hers. "To our shitty love lives."

"Cheers to that," she replied, clinking her can against his, then taking a swig. "How much you wanna bet Craig is with Tina right now?"

He scoffed. "How much you wanna bet Nancy is with Jonathan right now?"

Jenna was quiet for a moment, knowing if Nancy was with him, then she was most likely the third wheel with Carter around. "She probably is. But maybe they're just friends."

Shaking his head, he took another gulp of beer. "I don't think so. They seem pretty close."

"Well, you and I seem pretty close, too," she pointed out.

"But best friends are supposed to be close," he stated. "And it's not like Craig and Janet were right about us liking each other like that, you know?"

She turned to face him. "Wait, Janet asked you about that, too?"

He furrowed his brows in confusion. "Yeah. I think 'having the hots for you' was what she said."

Jenna rolled her eyes in response. "Of course. It's the same thing she asked me."

Steve let out a chuckle, shaking his head as he stood up. "I think we're gonna need the rest of that beer now." He paused for a moment. "Maybe we should go ahead and break out the tequila, too."

He made it to the kitchen and back with the rest of the beer and tequila in just under a minute, placing the alcohol in between them on the floor.

"Looks like we've got an interesting night ahead of us," she commented.

"Yeah, no shit," he responded. "Let's get started, shall we?"

So as the first hour passed, the beer was gone, along with half of the pizza. They first kicked things off with the topic of how their relationships went after Will's disappearance. For the most part, it was just the two of them complaining about the things they had ignored at the time. Jenna didn't realize how much there was to say about Craig and Nancy as romantic partners, and it made her wonder if she and Steve were actually more miserable than happy when they were with them.

By the second hour, they were getting started on the shared bottle of tequila as they got more in-depth with the events leading up to the breakups, beginning with things taking a turn for the worse after the incident at Craig's party, which left things tense for the next couple of months. Then, between the events of the Halloween party with Jenna catching Craig and Tina together and Nancy drunkenly telling Steve about how she really felt after Barbara was killed, they should've known that everything was bound to end at some point. They just didn't think it'd all go down the way it did that night. Either way, Jenna and Steve hanging out tonight to talk about all of it was a good idea, seeing as both of them were enjoying themselves the more drunk they were getting.

"You know..." Steve spoke up, setting down the almost empty bottle of tequila on the floor. "Nancy might've been right. Maybe it was all bullshit." Pausing, he took a slice of pizza from the box before continuing. "I brushed her off so many times. I was just trying to move on from all of it, and I thought she'd do the same eventually. I should've...I should've listened to her more."

With a sad face, Jenna looked down at her beer, moving it around in circles, listening to what was left of it swish around inside the can. "At least you admit to being a shitty boyfriend. Craig seemed to think he could do no wrong." She paused for a moment as she took a sip of her beer. "Did he actually refer to me as his leftovers?"

Steve nodded his head. "Yeah, he, uh...he was saying all this shit about you in the showers after gym, mostly trying to talk Billy out of asking you out on a date. But he got to the point where he didn't care anymore and told Billy to go for it."

She rolled her eyes and drank more of the beer, finishing it off. "I was actually gonna break up with him after the Halloween party. I just knew our relationship was falling apart." Shaking her head, she let out a laugh. "We both know how well that plan worked out."

He scoffed in response. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm glad you and Craig broke up." He turned his head to face her. "And just so you know, I wouldn't treat you like he did if we were dating."

There was that short second where Jenna thought her heart skipped a beat from his words. It was kind of hard to imagine her and Steve dating, though she knew they'd get a mixed reaction from people they knew if that ever happened.

As the thought settled in her mind, Jenna looked over at Steve. "I'm gonna get some water." She stood up and stumbled into the kitchen before he could ask any questions. Grabbing a glass from one of the cabinets, she filled it up from the fridge, gulping down as much as she could. She left the glass half-empty, heading towards the sink and leaning against the counter with the cup in hand.

"I can finish the rest of that," Steve's voice rang in her left ear as she looked at him staggering towards her. He took the glass from her hand, where their fingers briefly touched, drinking what was left, then putting the glass in the sink before lifting his head to face her again. "Jenna?"

"Yeah?"

He slid closer her way, his face softening. "Remember when I said that Craig doesn't see you for who you are?" She nodded her head. "Well, I, um...I just want you to know that I see you."

When Jenna felt his right hand snake around her waist, she knew there was no turning back from this. But deep down, she didn't want to move away from him. Her breath hitched as Steve was just inches away. Slowly closing her eyes, Jenna's heart was racing as his lips pressed onto hers, and she never wanted it to stop. While kissing him back, she felt a warm sensation take over her body. He pulled her closer to him as the kiss got deeper, tasting the savory pepperoni and bitter aftertaste of beer and tequila, which only made her body temperature go up. And that was when Jenna realized what was actually happening as her head was starting to pound and her hands burning up from where she had them behind Steve's head. His lips then trailed down to her neck, and she could feel the blood running out of her nose.

"Jenna..." She heard him mutter in between kisses. "You're...you're so..."

Her stomach was starting to do flips, followed by her mouth watering. "Sick," she managed to get out.

"What?"

"I'm gonna be sick." Before giving him the chance to respond, Jenna pushed him off of her and made a dash towards the bathroom, collapsing by the toilet and emptying out the pizza and alcohol that had settled in her stomach for a while now. Coughing and shaking, she sat there for a few minutes and vomited all that she could. Just as her body was cooling down, she looked up to see Steve standing in the doorway, feeling embarrassed.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, after puking everything up," she replied, flushing the toilet.

"Come on, let's get you upstairs," he said, helping her up and leading her out of the bathroom and up the stairs.

With each step, Jenna didn't feel any better from her head, so she focused on her feet so that she didn't trip. Though with him being almost as drunk as her, she wasn't sure how they made it to his bedroom.

"Okay, here's the bed," he stated, gently setting her down. "There you go..."

"This feels good," she mumbled.

"Well, yeah, it's my bed." He was about to turn around when his body fell next to her, letting out a groan. "Okay, that hurt."

She giggled at him in between taking deep breaths. "Does it hurt as much as Nancy dumping you?"

"Oh, God, no," he said, laughing. "Nothing can hurt me more than the way she said 'bullshit' a million times." His smile faded as he looked up at Jenna. "I, uh...I don't wanna talk about Nancy anymore."

"Okay," she whispered, nodding her head.

He sighed, resting his head on the pillow next to her. "Goodnight, Jenna," was the last thing he said before drifting off to sleep.

"Goodnight, Steve," she said back, almost disappointed that the night was practically over for them. Though being here in Steve's company was nice, especially with their kiss still lingering on her lips as Jenna closed her eyes and let it replay in her head.

~~~~~~~

A/N: THEY KISSED. THEY KISSED.

How are we all feeling? I am not okay, in case y'all are wondering (my mutuals can confirm this).

Comment, vote, more to come soon!

-A