There had been so much to do during Jenna's last eleven days in Hawkins, and it felt like the day was coming up faster than she expected. Jenna and her mom spent a lot of time packing her things, along with trying to stay in the holiday spirit. As the days went by, she was getting more excited and nervous to actually go, and she could tell that her mom was feeling the same way. Although, Jenna knew she was going to miss her only daughter just as much as she was going to miss her mom. But they both knew that this was the best thing for her, and her friends knew that, too.

Well, not all of her friends.

Jenna hadn't seen or heard from Steve ever since their argument, and she didn't even try to call him, despite there being a part of her deep down that wanted to. But remembering how intense their fallout was, she knew he wouldn't want to see or hear from her, especially after all of the things they said to each other, the things they couldn't take back, whether they had regrets saying them or not.

On the day that Jenna was leaving, the Byers, Hopper, Eleven, Carter, Dana, and Janet came by that cold and wet morning while there was still some snow on the ground to say their goodbyes before she and her mom headed out to Nashville. After everyone helped them get her things in both of their cars, they all stood in the driveway a little bit before they had to leave, all trying to stay as warm as they could in their coats, hats, and gloves while everyone was still out here.

"So this is it," Dana stated.

"This is it," Jenna repeated.

"Are you...nervous?" Eleven asked slowly.

"Just a little bit," she admitted. "The thought of being in a new city with no friends kind of scares me."

"But you'll make plenty more of those at your new school," her mom spoke up.

Jenna nodded her head. "Yeah, I will," she responded, hoping that her mom was right about that.

"Well, don't you forget about us," Dana said in a joking manner, smiling.

Jenna playfully rolled her eyes. "How can I forget any of you?" She glanced around at everyone, her heart dropping at the sight of them, knowing that there was still one person missing.

"Still nothing from Harrington?" Carter asked.

Turning his way, Jenna shook her head. "No." She then looked over at Janet. "He's still pissed, isn't he?"

Janet sighed, her face falling. "Yeah, totally. He, uh, really hasn't cooled off yet from what happened."

Disappointed but not surprised, Jenna nodded again. "Can't say that I blame him. We both messed up big time." Looking at the street, she wondered if he would pull up by the curb to say goodbye. Then again, maybe that was wishful thinking for him to show up before she left. That would mean he'd have to actually care enough to make the drive over here to see her one more time, and him caring about her was something that she still had a hard time believing, even after hearing it from him that he did care.

"We should get going, Jenna," her mom said, motioning towards the cars.

"Okay," she replied, sighing. "So I'll see you guys soon, yeah?"

Janet was the first to approach. "Don't party too hard down in Nashville, dudette," she said, grinning as she briefly hugged Jenna.

"I won't make any promises," she teased, seeing the way her mom was eyeing her suspiciously when she said that.

"Wouldn't expect anything less from you, Howard," Carter commented.

"You know, it's kind of nice of you to come and say goodbye," she told him. "Does this mean you're gonna miss me?"

"I had some time to kill before my shift," he said.

"And you're using it to see me," she pointed out. "How thoughtful of you."

Carter shrugged. "You wouldn't have let me forget about not coming to see you before leaving, so that's one thing you can't annoy me about."

"Yeah, you're right," she said. "I'm gonna miss annoying you."

"I figured that," he stated. "But you'll come back soon and just pick up where you left off, and you know where to find me when you do."

"Which will possibly be spring break." Smiling a little, Jenna raised her eyebrows with arms open. "Wanna hug it out? You know, as friends?"

"Howard."

She placed her arms down. "Pushing my luck again?"

"Just a little."

Sighing, Jenna turned towards Dana next, to which they shared a short embrace. Eleven was next, who was trying to keep herself composed.

"If you ever want to talk about anything, I'm only one phone call away," Jenna told her. "Call me anytime, okay?"

Eleven nodded her head, taking a deep breath as she wrapped her arms around Jenna. "I'll miss you," she muttered.

"I'll miss you, too." Pulling away, Jenna smiled at her, then turned towards Hopper. "I'll be honest, I was totally against you and my mom finding any of my biological family. But now I'm glad you did, so thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied, briefly hugging her. "See you soon, kid."

Lastly, Jenna focused her attention on the Byers, waving at Jonathan and Will as they gave her weak smiles and waves in return. Joyce, however, pulled her in for a hug, squeezing her tightly.

"Thank you for all you've done for us," she whispered.

"Of course," she replied.

Breaking the embrace, Jenna gave her a small smile, then took a glance at everyone one more time before opening the car door and getting inside, with her mom doing the same in her own car. As they pulled out of the driveway, she looked in the rearview mirror at everyone watching them leave. Once the Howards were far down the street, everyone else all began to scatter to their own vehicles, about to go on with their own lives without Jenna around.

For the next two and a half hours, Jenna spent a lot of time with the music turned up, attempting to drown out any thoughts involving Steve. But no matter how loud the music was, he always came back to taunt her. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what he was doing now, especially knowing that she was no longer in Hawkins, no longer just a short drive or phone call away if he wanted to talk about them or anything else that was on his mind. Though maybe he wanted some distance between them for the time being, probably needing to figure some more things out again, whatever those things were this time around. Most likely, he was doing everything that he could to get over Jenna, and while that hurt her, she understood why, as she knew she was going to have to do the same for him eventually.

Drorothy and Jenna made a plan before they left Hawkins to meet up at a diner in Louisville, Kentucky, before they would drive the rest of the way to Nashville. By the time Jenna reached the restaurant they decided on, her mom was already parked out front, leaning against the car as the teenager pulled in right next to her.

"How did you get here so fast?" Jenna asked as she stepped out of the car.

"I have more experience than you," her mom replied. "Come on. I don't know about you, but I'm getting really hungry."

So the two of them entered inside the diner, quickly finding a clean and available booth in the corner, giving them some privacy as they talked. After ordering their food, they sat across from each other in silence for a moment, with Jenna already starting to feel her stomach turn just thinking about food and how close they were to Nashville. When she saw the plates of food set down in front of them, it only made the nervous feeling get worse.

"You okay?" her mom inquired with a concerned expression.

Looking up to face her, Jenna nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm fine," she told her, though she was far from it.

"How you feeling?" she asked. "I mean, I know you're nervous about meeting your aunt and uncle, but we're halfway there now."

"I know," Jenna said. "It's just...well, what if they end up not liking me? What if I'm not who they expected?"

Her mom's face fell. "Everything's gonna be fine, sweetie. They're gonna love you. It sounds like they already do from all the talks you guys had over the phone this last month."

"Yeah, they're really nice," she stated, trying to get started on her plate of food.

"Is there something else bothering you?" Dorothy kept going. "Or maybe a certain someone that goes by the name Steve?"

"Do we really need to have this conversation?" Jenna retorted. "There's no point. He's still mad at me and nothing can be done about it."

"Well, he may still be mad, yes, but it won't be that way forever," she tried to assure Jenna. "Steve's been a good friend to you for God knows how long, and he's not gonna throw all of that away over some fight."

"This one was different."

"What, because he told you how he felt and then kissed you?"

"It's more complicated than that."

"How is it more complicated?" She looked confused for a moment, then her eyes went wide. "Hold on. Please don't tell me that you two..."

"What?" It took Jenna a moment to figure out what she was trying to imply. Then she furiously shook her head at the realization. "Oh my God, no! No, Mom, it...it just wasn't our first kiss, that's all." While Jenna eventually admitted to her mom about the drunken night with Steve, the kiss was something she never mentioned, wanting to keep that to herself at the time, as she didn't really talk to Dorothy about her and Steve before then. But now, she figured it was a good time to bring it up. "We, uh...we kissed the night I was over at his house, after Craig and I broke up."

"Oh, okay," she said, sighing in relief. "I know we've had the talk before, but--"

"Mom, we're eating."

"Right, sorry." Pausing, she cleared her throat before continuing. "Anyway, like I was saying, he'll come around. He cares about you, Jenna."

Jenna sighed. "So I've been told," she mumbled, getting back to her food as she thought about when Steve said the same thing to her that night.

"Spending some time apart will be good for both of you. Maybe once you go back to Hawkins for spring break the two of you can talk then and work things out."

"Yeah, maybe," she muttered. "Mom?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Will you be okay?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "What, you mean without you at the house?"

"Well, yeah," she answered. "I mean, I just worry that you'll get lonely, that's all."

Her mom sighed. "Jenna, you don't have to worry about me. Sure, I'm gonna miss you a lot, but I'll be okay. I promise."

Nodding her head, Jenna didn't say anything else as the two ate the rest of their food. Staring at her mom, she thought more about how lonely it was gonna be for her with Jenna not being there. Even though she had Hopper and Joyce around, it still wasn't the same, as they still had their kids to take care of. But knowing how strong her mom was, she finally accepted her words of assurance that she would be okay. Maybe she would find someone to spend time with while Jenna was away.

After they finished eating, Jenna and Dorothy decided to go ahead and get back on the road, bidding each other goodbye until they got to Judith and Travis' house. Being alone again in the car only led Jenna back to her thoughts about Steve, along with the words of her mom regarding him back at the diner. She hoped she was right, but only time would tell if that was the case. At least Jenna had until spring break to figure it out.

For the rest of the two and a half hours Jenna had to drive until she reached Nashville, she was getting more and more nervous of meeting Judith and Travis. Despite her mom assuring her that they'd love Jenna no matter what, there was still a part of her that had doubts. The last thing she needed was to come all this way just for them to be disappointed after meeting her in person.

Driving past the sign that welcomed Jenna into Tennessee was when it was all becoming real, that all of this was actually happening. Before she knew it, she was in Nashville, glancing at the busy roads and tall buildings as she drove through the city. Everything was so big compared to Hawkins, and knowing how large of a city Nashville was, she started to get a bit intimidated by all of it. She wasn't sure how much time she would need to get used to the city. Even on a cloudy day, it was pretty, though she couldn't wait for spring and summer here.

Not only was the city a big place, but so was Judith and Travis' neighborhood. While Hawkins had decent-sized houses in certain parts of town, the ones Jenna went by were practically mansions, even though Judith told her over the phone that her neighborhood really only had families of five at the most. It seemed like a nice community, with the brick houses lined up next to each other that consisted of garages and footprints in the snow, some people outside in their yards waving at her as she drove by. Remembering that her dad was from here, she wondered why he left and how he ended up in a place like Hawkins.

When Jenna spotted their house and pulled into the driveway, with her mom following right behind, the knot in her stomach began to grow tighter. Huddling in her coat, she stepped out of the car, trying to keep her feet steady as she looked up at the house, hearing her mom slam the car door and walk up next to Jenna.

"We're finally here," she announced.

"Yeah, we are," Jenna said, shivering from the cold. "You think I could just use my powers to warm up a little?"

"How about you not risk having an episode right before you meet your aunt and uncle in person for the first time?" she pointed out.

"That's a good point." Turning her way, Jenna gave her mom a nervous look. "You really think they'll like me once they meet me in person?"

Smiling, she nodded. "They'll love you, Jenna. I know they will. You're one hell of a girl."

Jenna grinned in response, thinking of the words Steve had said to her at Leslie's that one night: she was unforgettable. Now, she was going to meet her aunt and uncle and show them that. She was gonna be the Jenna Howard that they grew to love during our phone conversations. At this moment, she was going to make it her goal to be unstoppable in Nashville.

Taking a deep breath, Jenna gave her mom one last smile before walking up the front steps of the house, standing on the porch as she knocked on the door. She waited for a minute, which didn't give her enough time to get even more nervous as the door opened up, revealing a man and a woman just a few years older than her mom, along with a girl that had a few years on Jenna, all standing there with smiles on their faces.

"Jenna?" the woman spoke up.

She nodded her head. "That's me," she replied, smiling nervously.

"It's so nice to finally meet you!" the woman exclaimed, flashing a smile. "I'm Judith. This is my husband, Travis." She motioned towards her husband, with him and Jenna exchanging waves, then moved her hand towards the girl beside him. "And this is Claire, our daughter." Claire also waved and smiled, to which Jenna did the same. "We're so happy you're here."

"Thanks, I'm really excited to be here," she said, feeling a little bit more relaxed with their cheerful manner.

"We're glad to hear that," Judith stated, keeping a warm smile on her face. "Welcome to Nashville, Jenna."

END OF BOOK ONE

~~~~~~~

A/N: Annnnnd Unforgettable is officially complete!

What do y'all think? Any predictions on what'll happen in the sequel?

Comment, vote, see you in the sequel called Unstoppable coming January 1st, 2023 (aka the six-year anniversary of when I published this fic)!

-A