The bus ride on the way back to Indiana was becoming a long one, which didn't help their nerves at all, especially after the run-in with the police at the warehouse. Jenna could still see Kali's face right before the two ran away from her, and there wasn't a single bone in her body that felt bad for doing so. While she wondered where Kali and the rest of her friends were gonna go next, Jenna just hoped that all of them would realize one day that their way of living was not ideal and it wouldn't last forever. Seeing how they lived made her more grateful for what she had with her mom in Hawkins, and she was sure that Eleven felt the same way.

Jenna and Eleven hadn't said much to each other ever since they left Chicago. There were times where Jenna looked over and her eyes were closed, and when she saw her nose bleeding, Jenna knew she was using her powers to check on Hopper and Mike back in Hawkins.

"How's it going back home?"

Eleven didn't even open her eyes to respond. "Bad," she answered. "Something is wrong with Will."

She raised her eyebrows in concern. "What's wrong with Will?"

Eleven shook her head. "I don't know."

Jenna nodded her head, getting worried. "So where are they now?"

She concentrated some more, taking a deep breath. "The lab. Monsters everywhere."

"Shit," Jenna mumbled, an anxious feeling settling in her stomach. "Well, it won't be long before we get to Bloomington. Then we can drive my car back to Hawkins."

She nodded her head, looking a bit uneasy. "Jenna?"

"Yeah, El?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For everything. Everything with Kali."

Jenna let out a sigh again, leaning in her seat. "I get it, El. I understand why you trusted her, especially after everything you've been through with the lab." She stopped talking for a moment, then kept going. "I know that I didn't spend as much time there as you two did, but you can still talk to me about it."

Eleven nodded her head. "Thank you." Her expression turned slightly nervous. "I'm scared."

Her face fell. "I'm scared, too."

"Really?"

She nodded again. "Of course. But we'll face whatever it is together, okay? I'll be by your side, always."

Without warning, she placed her hand on top of Jenna's. "Together. Always." There was another pause. "Like sisters."

Jenna grinned her way. "Like sisters," she repeated.

They were quiet for a while again, with them looking out the window as other cars drove by, despite it being so late at night. Jenna was starting to grow impatient the longer she sat in her seat. But it left her thinking about her mom and friends back home, and she hated the fact that they were probably worried about where she had been since Saturday. She wondered where they were at right now, hoping that they were okay. Out of everyone that was on her mind, Steve was the one person that she kept coming back to, and it only made her more excited and nervous to see him again, her heart almost stopping when they passed the sign that welcomed them into Indiana.

"Are we almost there?" Eleven asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Jenna replied. "El, can I ask you something? And you don't have to answer if it's an awkward subject for you."

She nodded. "Okay."

Jenna took a moment to figure out how to word her question. "You and Mike...was there something going on between you two before...well, before you disappeared?"

Eleven gave her a confused look. "Something?"

"I mean, did you two like each other? As in, more than friends?"

A hint of sadness filled her eyes as she opened her mouth to respond again. "I...I'm not sure."

Jenna assumed she already had a similar conversation with Dana at some point. "Remember what I said about me and Steve being complicated? You know, after I told you something happened between us?"

Eleven nodded her head again. "A mistake."

Jenna reluctantly nodded back. "Yeah, a mistake," she repeated. "Did something happen that made things complicated for you two?"

She gave it some thought, then nodded in response. "Dana called it, 'kissing.' She said people that are more than friends do it."

"Yeah, she's sort of right. It just depends on the situation."

"Is that what happened with you and Steve? Are you two more than friends now?"

Jenna couldn't help but chuckle. "It looks that way, doesn't it?" Pausing, she felt butterflies at the bottom of her stomach. "But we'll see what happens once we get back." She took another pause and sighed before continuing. "I just know things are gonna be different for us now. Hopefully, it'll be different in a good way."

Eleven was still staring at Jenna, her eyes becoming more curious. "Does Steve like you because you're different? Different like me?"

Jenna grinned a little. "Being different isn't so bad. Our powers make us special. Steve knows that, and I'm sure Mike does, too."

Eleven nodded. "Carter said it was okay to be different." She paused for a moment. "But...I think he was talking about something else."

When she mentioned Carter's name, Jenna knew exactly what he was referring to. "Yeah, I bet he was," she mumbled.

Once they reached Bloomington, the two of them stayed silent in their seats again. It didn't take long for the girls to finally get to the bus stop, where they hurried out and dashed back to Jenna's car, driving away as fast as she could go. She was speeding down the road, hoping no cops were around. The last thing they needed was for them to be slowed down all because she was being a reckless driver. But in their defense, they didn't have any more time to waste, not when their family and friends were in danger.

Jenna glanced next to her to see Eleven had her eyes shut again, which let her know that she was using her powers again to check up on what was going on at home. Hopefully, they were anywhere other than the lab, somewhere that was safer.

Eleven was starting to breathe heavily as she opened her eyes, giving some time to compose herself.

"Are you okay?" Jenna asked.

"I'm fine," she assured her.

"What did you see this time?"

She took a moment before answering. "They're not in the lab anymore.".

Jenna let out a sigh of relief. "Thank God. So where are they?"

Another pause, then she responded. "The Byers' house. But one didn't make it."

Her heart dropped. "Who was it?"

"I don't know," she admitted, shaking her head. "I've never seen him before."

Jenna felt a sense of guilt at the mention of the victim being someone neither of them knew. Most likely, it was someone who wasn't even involved in all of this mess until recently, which only made it worse. Whoever he was, Jenna didn't want him to die for nothing. After all, no one deserved that, dying in vain.

For a while, the two didn't say much, listening to the radio. It seemed to ease their minds as they kept driving closer to Hawkins, making the next couple of hours go by quickly.

"How much longer?" Eleven inquired, sounding a little bit impatient.

"It won't be long now," Jenna answered. "We're almost there."

As Jenna continued driving, she saw the sign that welcomed us into Hawkins, which caused her to get even more nervous once they would get to the Byers' house. She picked up the speed, which she was sure scared Eleven a little, but she didn't protest to it. She probably didn't care, as long as they got there in one piece.

Everything about the town was no different when they left on Saturday, though Jenna didn't expect it to change for the short amount of time they were gone. Downtown was pretty busy with the teenagers out, especially with it being almost midnight, so Jenna slowed down just long enough to get through the stores and restaurants without being stopped for some reason.

All of sudden, Eleven gasped and started to pant, her expression turning frantic when Jenna looked at her.

"What is it?"

"Faster."

"What?"

"Faster."

"Look, I want to get there as much as you, but if I go any faster right now--"

"Danger. Danger at the Byers'."

Jenna felt her heart racing. "What kind of danger?"

She paused for a moment, letting out a shaky breath. "Monsters."

It was enough for me to floor it once they were in the clear. Jenna thought her heart was gonna beat out of her chest with how fast she was going. The adrenaline pumping through her body wasn't helping with her nerves, either. All she could think about was everyone at the Byers', hoping they were safe in the house from whatever monsters were going after them. The more they were on her mind, the faster she went down the dark and empty road.

We have to get there in time. We have to save them before it is too late.

Jenna almost reached the Byers', seeing their house in the distance as she spotted the gravel and grassy path, when something jumped out in the middle of the road. Screaming, she slammed on brakes, with the girls being thrown forward in their seats. They looked out the front window to see a creature similar to what Jenna saw last year shining in the headlights in front of them, only a bit smaller than what she fought.

"Shit," Jenna said. "I'm sure the rest of its friends are already at the Byers' by now."

"We can fight it," Eleven told her firmly. "We can fight all of them."

Jenna turned to look at her, seeing the fear had left her eyes. Instead, they were filled with determination and courage, both of which she needed at the moment. But she knew this wasn't the time to be scared. She had to be brave and protect her friends and family.

"Together, right?" she spoke up.

Eleven nodded in agreement. "Together."

So they hopped out of the car, slamming the doors behind them, which got the monster's attention. It let out a loud growl, about to charge after them, when Eleven raised her hand and stopped it from moving any closer. She turned her head and motioned Jenna to go next, which she obliged, lifting her hand and letting the heat run through her. Jenna watched as the monster shrieked in pain, the skin and slime slowly melting off of it and onto the pavement.

"That's gross," Jenna commented, a disgusted look coming over her face for a moment. "Let's keep moving."

Heading back inside the car, they drove down the driveway, finding more cars parked out front, along with more of the monsters surrounding the house. It didn't take long for the two of them to get out of the car again and start taking them down one at a time. As a team, Jenna and Eleven used their powers to immobilize and either liquify or burn the creature to ashes, depending on what they wanted to do. When it came down to the last one, Eleven swung her arm towards the house, flinging the monster through the window. Jenna was relieved she did that, for she felt her body grow exhausted.

"You're gonna have some explaining to do with Joyce about that," Jenna told her as they walked up the front porch.

Eleven slowly unlocked the door with her powers, which made the anticipation of seeing their friends and family again almost unbearable for Jenna. Before her impatience could take over, the door finally opened, and it was as if she felt whole again. The two looked around the room and saw so many faces staring back at them in shock.

"Hey, everyone," Jenna spoke up, waving awkwardly.

Mike Wheeler stepped up front, a smile coming across his face once he saw Eleven, and she did the same when her eyes locked with his.

"Eleven," he muttered, walking towards her.

Eleven let out a small gasp. "Mike."

The two kids went in for an embrace, to which Jenna smiled at their reunion.

"I never gave up on you," Mike told her once he pulled away. "I called you every night. Every night for--"

"--353 days," she finished for him. "I heard."

Mike's smile faded. "Why didn't you tell me you were there? That you were okay?"

"Because I wouldn't let her," Hopper interjected from behind, approaching the two. "The hell is this? Where you been?"

"Where have you been?" Eleven retorted, her eyes turning cold when she looked up at him.

Just when Jenna thought there was going to be a screaming match between the two, Hopper pulled Eleven in for a hug.

But the realization quickly came to Mike. "You've been hiding her," he said to Hopper. "You've been hiding her this whole time!" With an angry expression on his face, he shoved Hopper.

"Hey!" Hopper yelled, grabbing Mike. "Let's talk. Alone."

As Hopper took Mike to another room to talk, where it didn't take long for the two to start shouting again, Jenna turned to look back at the others, unsure of what to say next. Fortunately, someone went ahead and beat her to it.

"Jenna," Steve said, his expression relieved as he raced to get to her. "You're okay," he added, wrapping his arms around her. "Thank God you're okay."

"Yeah, I'm okay," she assured him. A sense of comfort fell upon her as Jenna hugged Steve back, resting her face on his chest. They stayed like that for a minute or so, then she broke the hug.

"I went by your house after I called you, and then tried again the next day," he explained. "I was worried something bad happened to you."

She raised her eyebrows. "You were worried about me?"

He lightly chuckled in response. "Well, yeah, of course I was. Why wouldn't I be?"

Smiling a little, she let out a nervous laugh, pointing at the bloody spiked bat in his hand. "Because it looks like you've been kind of busy."

Steve smiled back. "Yeah, just a little bit."

"Jenna?" The familiar voice of Dorothy rang in her ears, looking relieved when she saw her daughter, rushing to give her a hug. "Oh my God, you're okay."

"Hey to you, too," Jenna said, hugging her back, happy to see her again. When she pulled away, she looked at what her mom was wearing in confusion. "Why are you wearing hospital scrubs?"

"It's a long story," she said. "But where the hell have you been? I thought you were with Steve this entire time, and then I found out he hadn't seen you since Saturday morning--"

"Mom, I can explain," Jenna cut her off, though she was nervous to tell her the truth. "Just...please don't get mad."

"Why would I get mad?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Because I, uh, went to Bloomington with Eleven."

She still looked confused. "Bloomington is only a couple of hours away."

"Well, then, we took a bus to Chicago after that..."

Her eyes then went wide. "You went to Chicago?!" she raised her voice. "Jenna Renee Howard--"

"Well, I wasn't gonna let Eleven go by herself," she protested. "If anything, I was being responsible."

"But still reckless. Why did you two even go there in the first place?"

"It was kind of a late minute trip," Jenna admitted. "But we're happy to be home, that's for sure."

Her mom let out another sigh. "Well, at least you two are okay. We're still gonna have a longer talk about it later."

Jenna nodded, knowing she wasn't going to be prepared for that lecture.

Janet and Dana approached her next, happy to see that she was okay. Neither of them asked her anything about where she was, nor did they tell her what had been going on since she and Eleven were away. All she got out of them was the name of the red-headed girl that she recognized as Billy's step-sister: Max Mayfield. Then, once Jenna spotted Carter in the corner, she moved past the others and went over to him.

"Glad to see you're still alive after skipping town for almost two days," he said.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Like you have room to talk. I came by Melvald's to talk to you on Saturday and you weren't there."

"That's because Nancy, Jonathan, and I sort of took a last minute trip out of town ourselves."

"Let me guess, it's a long story?"

"A long and complicated one."

"Just like mine. Looks like you and I have some catching up to do."

"Well, that can wait once we save Will," Hopper's voice echoed the room once again as he and Mike came walking back in.

Eleven was next to follow him back in, though Jenna didn't even notice that she had left in the first place. Locking eyes with her, she gave Jenna a sad look.

"Will's not okay," she said.

"How bad is it?" Jenna asked.

"It's pretty bad, dudette," Janet spoke up.

"Yeah, we're glad you two showed up when you did," Dana added.

"Well, we could've used your help a lot earlier..." Dustin muttered.

"Alright, let's get back to focusing on Will, okay?" Hopper's voice was more stern this time, leading everyone into the kitchen. "I've seen this Gate he told us to close and it's not like it was before. It's grown. A lot. And, I mean, considering we can get in there. The place is crawling with those dogs."

"Demodogs," Dustin corrected him.

Hopper turned to face him. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, uh, Demodogs," he answered. "Like Demogorgon and dogs. You put them together, it sounds pretty badass--"

"How is this important right now?"

"It's not. I'm sorry." Dustin sheepishly turned around towards the table again.

"I can do it," Eleven chimed in.

Hopper sighed, shaking his head. "You're not hearing me."

"I'm hearing you. I can do it."

"Even if El can, there's still another problem," Mike interjected. "If the brain dies, the body dies."

"I thought that was the whole point," Max spoke up.

Mike nodded. "It is, but if we're really right about this...I mean, if El closes the Gate and kills the Mind Flayer's army..."

"Will's a part of that army," Lucas cut in.

"Exactly. Closing the Gate will kill him."

Dorothy sighed next to Jenna. "So how can we do this without killing Will?"

Everyone looked around the room at each other, trying to come up with ideas on how they could save Will from this. While it appeared that no one had anything in mind, Joyce's expression on her face said otherwise. It was obvious that the wheels in her head were turning.

"He likes it cold," she finally said.

"What?" Hopper asked.

"It's what Will kept saying to me," she clarified. "He likes it cold." She was the first to stand up, heading out of the kitchen and into Will's bedroom, which everyone followed suit. The first place she glanced at was the open window, quickly going over there to close it. "And we keep giving it what it wants."

"If this is a virus, and Will's the host, then..." Nancy started to say.

"Then we need to make the host uninhabitable," Jonathan finished.

"So if he likes it cold..." Nancy spoke up again.

"We need to burn it out of him," Joyce said.

"And how exactly are we gonna do that?" Max asked from the back. "Just put him in front of a fireplace or a bunch of heaters and see if that does anything?"

Dustin nodded his head. "That could work."

"But it wouldn't be fast enough for the Mind Flayer to get out of Will's body," Lucas pointed out.

"Then what do you suggest we do to speed up the process?" Hopper questioned.

It was then everyone glanced at each other for more suggestions. The only one that had an idea already in mind was Eleven, and she looked Jenna's way, which meant it involved her somehow.

"What?" Jenna asked her.

"Your powers," she stated.

She scoffed, shaking her head. "No. Absolutely not."

Max furrowed her brows, puzzled as she turned to face Jenna. "Wait, what are your powers?"

"Thermokinesis," Dustin spoke up. "Manipulating temperature."

Max raised her eyebrows. "So you can do that to anything? Even people?"

"Yeah," Jenna answered, nodding. "Which is why it's a bad idea for me to do it on Will."

"But you can do it," Hopper stated.

"I can, but it's dangerous," she told him. "Especially since he's only a child. Who knows if Will's body can even handle that much heat."

"You just need to heat up his body long enough for the Mind Flayer to leave," Mike said. "It shouldn't take long to do that, right?"

"What if you're wrong?" Jonathan intervened. "We're only going off the idea that Jenna can even do this."

"Jonathan's right," Nancy added. "And this is Will we're talking about here."

"Exactly, it's Will we're talking about," Lucas repeated. "Which is why we need to do this before it's too late."

"This is my brother we're talking about, "Jonathan said. "The last thing we need to do is take any more risks with him."

"Look, we're wasting time going back and forth about this," Hopper cut in once again. "Either we have her do this or we don't."

"How about you let Jenna decide?" Steve retorted, stepping up front. "Look, we all want to save the kid, but all of you are talking about this idea as if you guys have any idea what these powers do to Jenna. The only one that knows her powers best is Jenna herself, so she should be the one to make the choice."

No one else said a word as Jenna stared at Steve, giving him a weak smile. She looked down at her hands, feeling nervous about what choice to make in regards to helping save Will. She didn't want to protest anymore against that, but she needed to set limits with her powers, and using them to help Will scared the hell out of her.

With all eyes on Jenna, waiting for an answer, she finally took a few steps back and turned her heel, rushing down the hall, glancing at all of the drawings taped everywhere before she made it out the door. The cold air hit her face as she hopped off the front porch and onto the grass, walking towards her car, then leaning against it. Her hands began to shake as she looked down at them, just knowing they were gonna burst with heat any moment now. She could already feel them getting hot.

"It seems like I'm always chasing after you!" Steve's voice echoed throughout the night air as she turned to see him jogging her way, stopping when he got in front of her. "You okay?"

Jenna shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, to be honest," she admitted. "A lot has happened this weekend."

"It sounds like it," he replied, then lifting his hand to point at her eyes. "And it looks like it, too, with whatever's on your face."

"It's eyeshadow, you idiot."

"Well, it looks good on you."

"You think so?"

"Yeah, I like it."

She smiled a little, surprised at his reaction to the makeup. "Thanks."

He paused, rocking back and forth on his heels. "So is Chicago where you were heading the day that I called you?"

"Uh, not exactly," she said. "Eleven was waiting for me at my house when I got there. Then one road trip led to another..." She paused, chuckling a little. "But I think we both needed it. We did some soul-searching while we were there."

"And how did that go?"

"It was...interesting. A real eye-opener." Pausing again, Jenna cleared my throat, letting out a shaky breath. "Steve, can I ask you something?"

"You just did." He playfully smirked her way.

"No, a serious question."

His smirk faded, nodding his head. "Yeah, what is it?"

She could already feel a lump in her throat before she could get the words out. "Do you really think I can stay in control long enough to save Will with my powers?"

He sighed. "Jenna..."

"Do you, Steve?"

"Of course I do. I know you can stay in control."

"But what if I can't?"

"You can, and I'll prove it to you." He extended his arms out towards her, the palms of his hands pressed together. "Warm up my hands for me."

"What?"

"My hands are cold. Warm them up for me."

"Are you being serious right now?"

"Yeah, I am. Unless you want me to get frostbite..."

"I don't think it's cold enough for your big hands to get frostbite."

"It doesn't change the fact that they're still cold." Steve's face turned sad as he shot puppy dog eyes at Jenna.

Rolling her eyes, Jenna sandwiched his hands in between hers, letting the heat transfer. As she stared up at him, there was a moment where she felt my heart skip a beat, almost losing her focus. But Steve looked back at her, as if he was telling her with his eyes that it was okay, that he was okay.

And that was when Jenna Howard came to the realization that she really had it bad for Steve Harrington.

When Steve's hands were finally warmed up, she relaxed a little bit, keeping her hands where they were, despite not needing to use her powers anymore on him.

"See? I told you that you can stay in control." He flashed a grin.

Jenna tried to grin back, but all that she could do was give him a sad smile. "What did I do to deserve you, Steve?"

He chuckled a little. "You didn't have to do anything other than be yourself."

Her eyes began to water as she quickly pulled her hands away from him, wiping the blood off her nose with her sleeve, then using her fingers to get rid of any tears forming in the corners of her eyes before he could notice them. She thought about the kiss again, and she knew this was a bad time to bring it up while dealing with a bigger issue at the moment.

"Jenna, it's okay," he said calmly, pulling her closer towards him. "It's okay."

She pressed her forehead against his chest, her arms going around his waist. Her breath hitched when she felt his chin rest on top of her head. "I'm scared, Steve. I'm so scared."

"I know," he told her. "Listen, it's still up to you whether or not you want to go through with using your powers to help Will. I'll support you either way."

Pulling away, Jenna sniffled a little, nodding her head. "Thanks, Steve." She paused, sighing. "So, um, about that phone call--"

"How about we get through this first?" Steve cut her off. "Then we can talk about it afterwards."

She looked at him for a moment before nodding her head. "Yeah, that's a good idea."

Before he could say anything else, Hopper came out with Will over his shoulder, shouting out directions at Jonathan, who was following behind him to the Byers' car. Joyce, Nancy, Carter, and Dorothy were next to walk out of the house, followed by Eleven and the other kids, then Janet and Dana. When he saw Jenna's mom approaching them, Steve and Jenna gave each other one last small smile before walking away.

"Everything okay, sweetie?" her mom asked.

"Yeah," she answered.

Nodding, she placed her hands on each side of Jenna's face. "Look, about this idea with your powers and Will--"

"I'm gonna do it," she quickly said.

Dorothy raised her eyebrows at Jenna. "Are you sure? You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I'm sure," she confirmed. "Will needs me."

With some reluctance, she nodded again. "Okay. Okay, I trust your judgment on this."

Carter was the next to walk up. "Alright, let's get out of here."

"Where are we going?" Jenna asked.

"A place Will doesn't know about," he answered. "Somewhere far away and safe from here."

Before Jenna could ask any more about it, Dorothy led Jenna and Carter to her car.

"Watch out for Mr. Fibbly!" Dana called out to them.

"Who's Mr. Fibbly?" Dorothy asked.

Carter exhaled loudly. "The squirrel that she and Eleven have called their pet now."

She gave him an odd look. "Well, I'll make sure to watch out for him, then."

As Jenna got inside and settled in her seat, she saw Mike and Eleven saying their goodbyes, then turning around to join Hopper in his police car. She caught Jenna's eye and nodded, to which she nodded back, almost like their way of saying that they knew what they were doing and that everything would be fine in the end. Then, Jenna spotted Steve talking to Nancy at a junk pile near the side of the house, and her heart sank a little bit, even though she had no idea what they were talking about, nor was she sure if it was anything to worry about. She quickly turned her head just as her mom was pulling out of the driveway, not wanting to give it any more thought.

"So what exactly happened while I was gone?" Jenna spoke up.

"Well, me, Jonathan, and Nancy went to see Murray Bauman, some journalist that is gonna help us take down Hawkins Lab," Carter explained. "We couldn't find the others when we got back."

Dorothy let out a sigh from the driver's seat. "I was inside the lab with Hopper, Joyce, Bob, Mike, and Will."

"Bob?" Jenna repeated, then remembered Eleven telling her that one didn't make it out. "He died inside the lab."

"Yeah, he did," her mom said. "He was Joyce's boyfriend. Those...Demodogs...got him. They were swarming the place. It was a massacre." Jenna saw the way her mom gripped the steering wheel a little bit tighter. "I'm glad you two didn't have to see what happened there."

Jenna and Carter exchanged looks of sadness as they kept driving down the road. Every now and then, Carter would speak up to give Dorothy directions on where to turn next. It felt like they were going out of town the farther she kept going. Once they reached a dead end in the woods, the three got out of the car and began their hike deeper inside.

"Hopper said it's about a five minute walk to the cabin," her mom stated, getting ahead of the teenagers. "We better get a move on so we can be ready by the time the Byers show up."

As Dorothy was getting farther away from them, Jenna looked over at Carter for a brief moment, clearing her throat. "So, uh, this is where you guys have been staying?"

"Yeah," Carter replied. "It's kind of nice. You know, being away from town and all."

"Isn't that a long bike ride to Melvald's, though?"

He shrugged. "Sometimes. Dana and I took turns riding the bike there."

Nodding, she kept on talking. "When were you and Dana gonna tell me that Eleven was living with you guys this entire time?"

"Around the time I was gonna come out to you," he retorted.

"So never."

He scoffed. "You were gonna find out eventually."

"About keeping Eleven in hiding or you being gay?"

Carter paused for a moment, sighing. "Look, Hopper didn't want us saying anything about Eleven to anyone. He thought there were some people out there still trying to look for her. We wanted her to stay safe just like he did."

"That makes sense," Jenna said. "So what about the other thing?"

He rolled his eyes in response. "You mean, me liking boys? That other thing? Howard, now is not the time to talk about it."

"Eleven told me what you said to her," she told him. "About how it was okay to be different. You weren't just talking about Eleven with her powers. You were also talking about yourself, right?"

Carter's expression turned annoyed, but he continued, anyway. "I didn't want El to think that Mike Wheeler or anyone else wouldn't love her for who she was." He paused again, his face going soft. "And with me being...well, me, I felt the same way, and no one, not even you, believe it or not, should feel the way I did when I realized that I wasn't like everyone else."

Jenna shot him a sad look, stopping in her tracks. "I'm sorry, Carter."

He turned around and stopped as well, giving Jenna a confused look. "For what?"

"For the way I treated you all those years," she said. "Because you were different."

Carter stared at her for a moment, his face becoming more relaxed. "I never thought I'd hear you apologize to me," he said. "But I guess you're like me now. We're outcasts in our own ways. And from one freak to another, you're not too bad, Jenna Howard."

She grinned a little. "Does this mean we're friends now?"

He rolled his eyes again, but in a more playful way. "You're pushing your luck again."

"But we're making progress, right?"

"Yeah, whatever you say," he said, turning back around and starting to walk towards the cabin again. "So what did you want to tell me the other day when you came by Melvald's?"

Jenna went to catch up with him, hesitant as she let out a nervous chuckle. "Uh...it's kind of a funny story..."

"This oughta be good," he muttered.

"Well, Steve and I--"

He let out a snort. "And I was right."

"I haven't even told you what happened yet."

"If it involves you and Steve, that's enough to convince me."

Exhaling loudly, she continued. "Anyway, we hung out Friday night. You know, got a little drunk and...we kissed."

The first reaction Jenna was expecting out of him was shock, his eyes going wide once he heard what she just said. But she didn't get that. Instead, he smirked a little, shaking his head.

"Well, it's about fucking time," he commented.

Her mouth dropped. "What the hell does that mean?"

"It means that it was kind of obvious this entire time," he replied. "If anyone hated seeing you with Craig Bennett, and I mean absolutely hated it, then it was Harrington. I've known that ever since they both came to Melvald's that one time asking about you."

Scoffing, Jenna threw her arms in the air out of frustration. "Does everyone seem to think there's something going on between us?"

"Clearly, and it seems like the only people who don't see it are you two."

Embarrassed a little, Jenna decided to change the subject very quickly. "Well, speaking of liking people, what's the deal with you and Jonathan now? Like, what happened after your...your confession to him the other day?"

Carter, looking almost flustered at the questions, bit his lip before responding. "We sort of talked about that when we were at Murray's."

"What does 'sort of' mean?"

He took a moment to say anything, as if he was preparing to get the words out. "We also kissed."

Her eyes all of a sudden went wide. "Oh my God, you two kissed?!"

"Yeah, we did," he stated. "And no, I have no idea where it's gonna go from there."

"Well, I hope it works out for the two of you."

Carter lightly chuckled. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but the same goes for you and Harrington, with whatever...complicated friendship you two got going on."

The grin on her face just about faded. "Carter?"

"Yeah?"

"Your secret's safe with me."

He glanced her way for a moment, nodding his head. "Thanks, Howard."

They were silent for the rest of the walk, which was pretty short, seeing as the cabin was already within their eyesight. Once they got over the alarm, the three headed inside, looking around at the boarded windows and dusty floors, along with the broken glass scattered all over. As they got started on cleaning up a little, the Byers arrived with heaters brought from their house, though Jenna was surprised to see Nancy had joined them.

"It's actually kind of nice," Nancy commented.

Joyce walked around the room, finding a small folding bed in the corner. "This'll work," she said. "We'll do it here."

As she and Dorothy re-positioned the bed, Carter and Nancy went ahead on setting up the heaters and placing logs in the fireplace, with Jonathan placing Will on the bed, then tying up his arms and legs so that he couldn't move around much. After everything was ready to go, everyone surrounded Will, waiting for the okay from Joyce.

"So what's the plan?" Dorothy asked.

"We'll start with the heaters," Nancy explained. "And then we'll have Jenna kick it up a notch when Joyce gives her the signal." She turned Jenna's way. "Only if you want to, though."

Jenna nodded in agreement. "I'll do it."

Her mom took a deep breath beside Jenna, placing her hand on the teenager's shoulder. "Jenna, are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yeah, I am," she said, then turned to face Joyce. "Just let me know when you want me to step in and help."

Joyce nodded her head. "Thank you."

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Jonathan asked his mom.

"This thing has had Will long enough," she replied. "Let's kill this son of a bitch."

With that, Nancy lit up the fireplace, followed by Carter and Jonathan turning on every heater that was plugged in. Slowly but surely, the entire cabin was beginning to heat up, leading us to taking off our jackets with how much they were already sweating. Jenna could feel her hair sticking on her arms and neck as more sweat was on her skin. By the time it had soaked through their clothes, Will woke up with a gasp, looking around in confusion and fear as he sat up, breathing heavily.

"What's happening?" he asked frantically, grunting as he struggled to get out of the rope's grasp. "It hurts." He began to scream, just about piercing everyone's ears in the process. "It hurts! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"

"Holy shit," Carter mumbled beside Jenna.

"Let me go! Let me go! It hurts!"

Everyone watched him for another moment, finding it almost unbearable to see him in such pain. But they all knew it wasn't Will, so there was nothing they could do until the Mind Flayer was out of him.

"Now, Jenna!" Joyce shouted.

"Wait, Mom--" Jonathan attempted to protest.

"That thing needs to get out of Will now!" she retorted. "Do it, Jenna!"

Her heart pounding, Jenna lifted her hands towards Will, letting the temperature inside him get higher and higher. But she could sense that the Mind Flayer was fighting it, and no matter how hard she was pushing herself to get it out of Will, she struggled to see if it was working.

And so she had an idea, though it was a risky one.

"I need to get closer to him!" Jenna yelled.

"What?" her mom spoke up. "Jenna, that's too--"

"Mom, I have to try!" she told her. "Please!"

With some reluctance, she finally nodded her head, to which Jenna looked at Joyce and she did the same, letting her get near him. Through the thrashing and yelling, she managed to place her hands on both sides of his head, keeping a firm grip on him. It was then she began to push harder with her powers, using all of the energy that was inside of her to keep fighting the Mind Flayer inside of Will, raising his body temperature more and more.

"It's not working!" Jonathan shouted. "Mom, it's not working! Are you listening to me?!"

"Just wait!" she shouted.

"How much longer?! Look...look at him!"

"Jonathan, just wait!"

"She's gonna kill him!"

Despite Jonathan's protesting behind her, Jenna kept going. As much as she hated Jonathan to see his brother like this, none of them had a choice. This was the only way to save Will, and Jenna was going to make sure he made it out of this alive. However, this was more power she had ever put towards anyone, more than she did with the monster, Tina, and Craig combined. It was becoming more than Jenna could handle, but she still kept going for Will, her eyes burning with tears as she got more frustrated.

"Come on, you bastard!" she shouted, trying to not get so angry. "You can't stay inside Will forever!"

"Jenna, stop!" Jonathan shouted.

"Jonathan, she's saving him!" Joyce protested.

"No, she's killing him!"

"Wait, Jonathan, his neck!" Nancy interjected. "Look at his neck!"

As Will was choking, Jenna glanced down at his neck and saw the way his veins were turning black, which caused her to keep going. She started to feel her head spinning, along with her insides burning up. She could tell her body was growing weak the more she continued to push harder, knowing that the Mind Flayer was almost out of Will. Jenna saw the blood coming from her nose stain his hospital gown, and it was a lot more than usual, even more than when she had an episode. The more demonic Will's growl got, the more power she used on him. But before Jenna knew it, one of Will's hands broke the rope, going after her throat.

"Jenna!" Dorothy cried out.

Moving her hands to his arm, Jenna focused on her power there, hoping it would free her from his grasp. She felt her throat getting hot, becoming harder for her to keep concentrating as the pain got worse. But seeing the veins in Will's face get darker, almost barely looking like a human boy, she knew that she couldn't stop. All of a sudden, Nancy and Dorothy came on either side of Will with fire irons in their hands, poking each one in Will's side, resulting in him letting Jenna go, to which she gasped for air as she fell backwards onto the floor.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY SON!" Joyce yelled with all her might.

Too weak to let out a cry of pain, Jenna's body was shaking and still feeling like it was on fire. She looked up at the ceiling, watching the glare from the lights flickering, with Will's shrieks being the last thing she heard before blacking out.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Annnnd here we are with another long chapter, which it had to be like that since I couldn't really split this chapter up oof.

Comment, vote, only 3 chapters left!

-A