Fuck it.

Those two words became Jenna's motivation as she drove back to her house. She spent the next few hours freshening herself up and trying to look decent to go back out in public again, which included changing out of Steve's clothes and making an attempt to cover up any marks on her face from the incident at the steel mill, hoping no one would notice in case she messed up on it.

She still almost hated the fact that of all the people in Hawkins, she was taking advice from Eddie Munson. Nevertheless, the long-haired freak was onto something, and maybe Jenna needed to hear it from the last person she expected to hear any guidance from.

You just gotta say fuck it and go with your gut.

So she decided to do just that, and there was no way she was backing down from it.

Jenna took her time getting ready, keeping herself occupied for the rest of the morning before she could find a way to talk herself out of not following through with Eddie's advice. There was no way she could show up at Scoops Ahoy not too long after she just saw Steve at his house. She didn't need to make things even more awkward by arriving at his job before he could get there first.

Taking a deep breath, Jenna stared at herself in the mirror, the confidence slowly making her way through her body. She glanced down at the bright red Coca-Cola logo in the center of her white t-shirt, then at her denim shorts. Lastly, she kicked up her feet to see the matching red tennis shoes (and she began to think that maybe red was her color). After another moment, she finally left the bathroom and headed downstairs, grabbing her keys and walking out the door, locking up before strolling to her car and hopping inside. She backed out of the driveway and drove down the street a little bit faster than usual, hearing the tires screech against the hot pavement.

Jenna remained focused on the road, not letting any distractions keep her from getting to the mall. She continued to let the words fuck it repeat over and over in her head, hoping it would get rid some of the anxiety she was getting with every stop light she had to wait for. And the longer she sat there, watching the red light stay that way longer than she wanted it to, the more time it was for her to overthink this whole plan.

Just tell Steve how you really feel. What's the worst that can happen?

Well, according to Jenna, there were many ways that it could go wrong. She had her mind to thank for that.

Jenna snapped out of her thoughts for a moment when she spotted the Hawkins Community Pool on her right, realizing it was too late to turn around to try and avoid the place. Before she could speed by without another glance, she saw Janet at the end of the parking lot, getting out of her car in that bright red bathing suit, adjusting her hair. Janet simply looked her way, her expression more tense than usual, before putting on her sunglasses, slamming the car door, and strutting inside the pool. For a brief moment, Jenna thought about turning back around to go try and talk to her, but given the fact she hadn't talked to her since that night and she feared attempting to say anything about it could possibly make things worse, she decided against it.

I'll deal with her later, she thought.

When she got past the stop lights in town, Jenna was starting to figure out the words she wanted to say to Steve. She had to say the right thing, or else she'd fucked things up all over again, which was the last thing she wanted to do now that they were back on better terms. It wasn't until she finally entered the parking lot and took a space in the middle that she realized this was actually happening. This time, she wasn't going to hold back her feelings.

Fuck it, Jenna.

Her heart was racing with each step she took, and Jenna thought it was about to explode by the time she reached the entrance of the mall. She didn't dare to look back while weaving through the crowds of people, not even getting the urge to do so when she stopped walking to get on the escalator. When her feet hit the hard floor again, she went back to a fast pace, heading for the food court, glancing over at Hot Sam Pretzels, only to see a girl she didn't recognize standing at the register. While Jenna was curious as to where Carter and Carlie were, she didn't dwell on it too much, assuming that today was their day off. She was thankful for that, as she didn't want to get Carter involved in this monster business again. As for Carlie, she was the last person Jenna wanted to see.

Before she knew it, she was walking under the Scoops Ahoy sign and approaching the front counter, though no one was there to greet her. Confused, she had her hand over the bell by the register when she heard talking from behind the window, where it was slightly opened and she could see the back of Robin standing there.

"Steve, just shut up and push me!" Dustin's voice echoed from the other side, which caused Jenna to make her way around the counter and to the door.

"Okay," Steve spoke up in his usual annoyed tone that Jenna was all too familiar with. "I'll push ya."

"Not my feet, dumbass. Push my ass."

"What?"

"Touch my butt! I don't care!"

With wide eyes, Jenna pushed the door open, thrown off by the sight of Steve on a ladder shoving Dustin into a vent. "What the--"

"Come on! Harder! Push harder!"

"I'm pushing!"

"You're playing with my legs!"

"I'm not playing, I have terrible footing!"

What the hell did I just walk into? Jenna thought.

"Come on!" Dustin yelled.

"I'm just gonna shove you, ready?"

"Just shove me?"

"One, two..."

"Jesus Christ," the voice of Carlie chimed in from behind Jenna, letting out a scoff. "I leave for five minutes and this is what I come back to."

Damn. Guess she doesn't have a day off after all.

Jenna almost rolled her eyes when she saw Carlie heading for the table with an orange-colored drink in hand, plopping down and watching the boys with amusement. If there was anyone she didn't want to hear the conversation she was about to have with Steve, it was her.

Before Jenna could open her mouth to announce her presence, the bell from the front counter began to continuously ding, followed by the voice of a small but demanding little girl.

"Ahoy, sailors! All hands on deck! Get over here and serve me some samples!"

As Robin turned her head, a small grin formed on her face. "Be right back," she said, heading for the door and back out front to greet the girl.

"Okay, one more time, Henderson," Steve said, preparing to shove Dustin into the vent again.

"I don't think he's gonna fit in there, Steve," Carlie stated before taking a swig of her drink.

Steve groaned, setting down Dustin's legs, then turning his head. "You're not hel-- Jenna!" It didn't take long for him to widen his eyes as he lost his footing on the ladder and came tumbling down, heading straight for Jenna. He put his hands out to stop himself from falling, only to grab Jenna by the arms, to which she did the same to him to prevent them from heading for the floor. Once they stopped moving, the two locked eyes with each other. "Hey again," he said, panting.

Jenna sucked in a breath, then quickly exhaled as she responded with, "Hey." The familiar grip of Steve's hands around her arms made Jenna think her heart was going to stop beating at any given moment the longer the two stood there staring at each other. But instead of pulling away from him, she was having a hard time moving her feet. And by the looks of it, Steve seemed to be having some difficulty doing the same thing.

"Ahem."

The two turned around to see Robin standing on the other side of the sliding window, leaning her head inside, eyebrows raised.

"Am I interrupting something?" she asked.

"No," Steve and Jenna quickly answered in unison, dropping their arms and taking a step away from each other.

"I, uh, fell off the ladder--" Steve started to say.

"--and I was trying to catch him--" Jenna intervened.

"I'm very clumsy, you know."

"Yeah, he's very clumsy."

Robin merely stared at Steve and Jenna, forcing herself not to grin at the way they were trying to explain themselves while getting even more flustered. "Good to know. She paused for a moment as she cleared her throat. "Anyway, I think I found a solution to our tight problem."

"Oh, yeah?" Dustin chimed in as he let out a grunt to get his upper body out of the vent, turning around to face the others. "And what would that solution be?"

"Not what. Who." Robin came around to the back door, holding it open and letting a small, dark-skinned with crossed arms girl walk in.

Dustin's eyes went wide. "You've got to be kidding me."

The girl rolled her eyes in response. "Nice to see you, too," she said in a sarcastic tone while walking towards him. "Out of my way, nerd."

Dustin quickly jumped down off the ladder and stood in between Steve and Jenna.

"Who the hell is that?" Jenna whispered to Dustin.

"Erica Sinclair. Lucas' annoying little sister."

Jenna nodded her head and watched with everyone else as Erica climbed the ladder and took a glance, shining the flashlight inside to get a better look. Suspense began to fill the room as they waited another moment for her to check out the vent before she finally stepped backwards down the ladder and clicked the flashlight off, turning to face the others.

"Yeah, I don't know," she stated.

"You don't know if you can fit?" Dustin questioned.

"Oh, I can fit," she said with confidence. "I just don't know if I want to."

"Are you claustrophobic?" Robin asked.

Erica snickered. "I don't have phobias."

"Okay, well, what's the problem?" Steve spoke up in annoyance.

"The problem is, I still haven't heard what's in this for Erica."

With his arms folded over his chest, Steve shot Robin an irritated look, waiting for a reply.

"So what exactly did you have in mind?" Robin asked.

Erica raised her eyebrows. "I think you already know the answer to that."

Robin stared at her for a moment, then huffed a sigh. "I'll get the sample spoons."

"Oh, I wasn't just talking about little samples," Erica retorted. "I'm thinking more like a boat load."

It didn't take long for Steve to realize what the little girl meant by that statement. Mumbling a groan, he grabbed a couple of bananas and wafers from one of the shelves near the back of the room before heading out front and looking down at the ice cream in front of him. Robin was next to walk back out, with Dustin and Erica following suit. Jenna glanced out of the window and briefly watched Erica pointing at the different ice cream flavors for Robin to let her try. However, it didn't take long for her eyes to go to Steve as he began peeling the bananas, carefully placing them in a bowl he had in front of him. And only after watching him for almost a minute, Jenna started to feel the cocoons split open and the butterflies scattering inside her stomach.

"Enjoying the view?"

Jenna jumped a little at the sound of Carlie's voice behind her. She quickly spun around, pursing her lips in annoyance. "Don't you have a job to get back to?"

Carlie raised her eyebrows, slurping the rest of her drink before tossing the empty cup in the trash can by the corner, then walking past Jenna and pushing the door open to leave. She gave Steve a small wave and smile--to which he returned the favor--then made her way out of Scoops Ahoy and across the food court to Sam Pretzels. Rolling her eyes, Jenna walked out of the back room and froze in place when Steve turned his head and looked over at her.

"You heading out, too?" he questioned, pulling out the scooper from the apron that was tied around his waist.

"Not without talking to you first," she said.

"Can it wait? I'm kind of busy right now."

Jenna could hear the irritation in his voice, unsure if she should keep going. "Well, actually--"

"Um, excuse me," Erica interjected, darting her eyes at Jenna. "He said he was busy."

Robin looked over at Steve with annoyance as she grabbed a few cups and straws. "You might wanna step it up, Sailor Boy."

Rolling his eyes, Steve went back to scooping ice cream, plopping three of them in between the bananas. While Robin was working on a couple of floats, Dustin carried a few cups and a tray of ice cream cones to an empty booth, Jenna continued to watch Steve pile on toppings until he finished off with adding whip cream on each scoop, then three cherries.

Jenna let out a small chuckle. "You guys must be desperate for something if you're going through all this for a bossy little girl."

Robin scoffed in response. "It's a long story," she replied before walking around the counter and to the booth with the kids.

Jenna's eyes went back to Steve as he rinsed off his scooper and tucked it back in his apron. "So, why exactly were you shoving Dustin into an air vent?"

Steve huffed a sigh, grabbing a rag and began to wipe down the counter behind him. "It was nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing."

"Like Robin said, it's a long story." Steve continued wiping down the counter without looking up at Jenna.

"Good thing I've got time," she teased.

"Well, I don't right now."

Jenna's smile faded. "Steve--"

"Look, can't you see I'm busy here? We can talk later."

And suddenly, the butterflies Jenna was feeling disappeared. "Okay. I guess I'll see you later, then." Nodding her head, she took a step back, turning around and heading out of the parlor as fast as she could before Steve noticed her eyes welling up with tears.

The ache in Jenna's chest spread the farther she got from Scoops Ahoy, her heart remaining at the pit of her stomach. She was hoping that maybe this time she wouldn't storm out of the mall in such an emotional state again.

This wasn't how things were supposed to go, she thought.

By the time Jenna made it to the escalator, she resisted the urge to turn her head around to see if Steve was coming after her like before. A part of her was hoping that he was, wondering if the guilt would eventually be unbearable for him to just push in the back of his mind. Maybe it'd punch him in the face. Wouldn't be the first time.

Continuing to make her way out of the mall, Jenna picked up the pace, seeing the doors from a distance, ready to get away from people altogether. But just when she was only a few yards away, that was when she felt her head starting to spin, and she knew exactly what was coming next.

It was only a few drops of blood before the rest of her face began to get hot. Jenna stopped in her tracks and turned around, trying to find a quiet place for herself in order to let the episode pass. The first place her eyes landed on was Radio Shack, which wasn't ideal for Jenna, but it would have to suffice. She quickly headed across the mall and inside the store, already having to avoid a handful of customers when she first stepped in. It didn't take long for the familiar anxious feeling to come over Jenna when she wasn't sure where to hide away from everyone else.

All of a sudden, Jenna saw a girl around her age walking her way, wearing a red polo shirt and khakis, along with a red and yellow vest that had a name tag pinned at the top, where Jenna's focus only lasted long enough for her to see the girl's name was Anna. She tried to think if she had seen her around school before, but there was no recollection of seeing her face. Nevertheless, she was grateful that Anna asked if she was okay and offered to sit behind the counter with a bottle of water in order to calm down, which Jenna accepted.

Jenna watched for a moment from behind the counter as Anna was talking to a group of young boys up front before letting her eyes land on the entrance of the store, while drinking her water and paying attention to any more blood that might trickle down her nose. A part of her was waiting to see if Steve would pass by and notice her sitting inside, coming to check on her to make sure she was okay, or maybe even apologize for how he acted. Except she was left feeling disappointed when she didn't catch a glimpse of that ridiculous sailor uniform.

Before she could let her mind dwell on Steve too much again, Jenna took one last deep breath before slowly standing up from the chair, chucking the now empty water bottle into the trash can underneath the counter. She gave Anna one last wave of gratitude as she began making her way out of the store and back out into the crowd of people. The exit was the first thing she had her eyes on, about to make a dash for it, only to be stopped by the bickering of Steve and Dustin coming from behind her, to which she quickly hid behind a nearby plant and watched the two as they came closer her way and eventually halted by the wall.

"Steve, just hear me out--"

"Forget it, Henderson."

"You should've asked her to join us tonight."

"I already told you--"

"Yeah, yeah, I know what you told me. But we could really use her help against the..." Dustin looked around to make sure no one else was listening before he whispered, "Russians."

Russians? What the hell is Henderson talking about?

Steve let out a sigh. "I know, but..." He paused, shaking his head as he looked at Dustin. "I can't have her involved in this."

"Why not?"

"Because she just can't." Before Steve could get more frustrated by the questions, he kept firm eyes on the teenager. "So just drop it. We don't need anyone else's help with this. Besides, it's not like anything bad is gonna happen, right?"

Dustin raised his eyebrows. "You really want me to answer that question?"

Rolling his eyes, Steve exhaled loudly. "Everything will be fine without Jenna's help, okay? We're not asking her. End of discussion."

The teenager didn't say anything else, accepting Steve's final answer as he dug inside his backpack for some cash before heading into Radio Shack, with Steve not too far behind him.

Jenna waited for the boys to disappear inside the store before stepping from behind the plant. She wasn't sure if she should feel grateful or annoyed that Steve wanted to leave her out of whatever was going on with the Russians. She was also wondering why Russians were in Hawkins to begin with.

She waited for the boys to come out of Radio Shack, watching them argue over walkie-talkies for a minute before Dustin finally grabbed a few off the shelf, rushing to the front counter, with Steve throwing his hands in the air out of frustration as he followed behind him. It took another minute for the boys to buy the walkie-talkies, and when they stepped out of the store, Jenna stormed her way to them, much to their surprise.

"Oh, hey...again," Dustin stated, furrowing his brows. "I thought you left."

"I was leaving," she said. "But I overheard two idiots talk about Russians in Hawkins."

Dustin's eyes went wide. "How did you--"

"Hold on, were you spying on us?" Steve intervened. "You had no right to do that."

"Well, that kind of information is not something you keep from your friend," she snapped.

Steve scoffed. "Oh, like you haven't been keeping shit from me," he retorted.

Jenna shot him an irritated look, folding her arms over her chest. She had a feeling he was referring to more than one thing, though he had a good point.

"You're right," Jenna stated once she was a bit calmer. "I'll make you a deal: you let me tag along tonight, and I'll tell you everything you've missed since I got back."

Steve raised his eyebrows. "And why would I agree to that?"

"Because it sounds like you need me in case something happens." And I know you're dying to know what else I haven't been telling you.

Steve didn't respond as he huffed a sigh. He looked down at Dustin, who was furiously nodding his head to go with the deal.

"Come on, Steve," he muttered. "We need her."

The older boy was about to protest, but one glance at Jenna and he stopped before he could go against it. Instead he said, "You'll tell me everything?"

Jenna pursed her lips and replied with, "Everything."

Nodding his head, Steve extended his hand out for Jenna to shake. "We've got a deal, then."

She unfolded her arms and used her right hand to shake Steve's, noticing the way his eyes were filled with reluctance.

*******

Jenna stayed at Scoops Ahoy for the rest of the afternoon, hiding in the back as Steve and Robin rotated working the front. All she could think about were the Russians, trying to come up with a theory as to why the hell they had an interest in a small town like Hawkins. So far, nothing she came up with made any sense, although given to all the monster-related shit she had to deal with, as well as the psychos at Hawkins Lab, it seemed like the only logical explanation was one she already figured out not too long ago: Hawkins was cursed.

While Steve was dealing with some needy customers out front and Robin had gone with Erica to get more supplies for tonight, that left Jenna and Dustin going to get some lunch, then sitting at one of the tables near the entrance to Scoops Ahoy, both of them eating chicken tenders and fries from Burger King, along with medium-sized Cokes.

"So, Henderson, you wanna tell me how you found out about these Russians being in Hawkins?" Jenna asked.

Dustin let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, it's actually a funny story--"

"I bet it is."

His toothless grin dropped, letting out a sigh as he leaned back in his seat. "I was trying to get in contact with my girlfriend through a ham radio that I made at camp--"

"Hold on," Jenna stopped him again. "You made a radio at camp? And you have a girlfriend?"

"Yes, anyway--"

"Wait a minute, how the hell did you--"

"Do you wanna hear the story or not?"

Surprised to hear his retort, Jenna looked down at her fries. "Sorry," she muttered.

"Thank you." Dustin paused, taking a sip of his Coke before continuing. "As I was saying, I was trying to reach my girlfriend Suzie on the radio, but I accidentally intercepted a Russian-language transmission instead."

Jenna raised her eyebrows, then started to laugh. "I'm sorry, but...you expect me to believe you accidentally found some random Russian-language transmission all because you were trying to talk to your girlfriend on a radio that you made at camp?"

"It's the truth," he retorted.

"Did Steve believe you when you told him?"

"Of course he did. At this point, he'll believe anything if it's weird enough."

"Like you having a girlfriend?"

Dustin rolled his eyes as he picked up a fry and waved it in front of her face. "And what about your love life, hm? How's that going for you?"

Annoyed, Jenna didn't answer him and went back to finishing her lunch, placing the empty box into the bag in the center of the table.

Once it was Robin's turn to switch out with Steve up front, the boy came in and sat with Jenna and Dustin at the table, setting down two small cups of ice cream in front of them. While Dustin reached for the chocolate flavor, Jenna grabbed the red, yellow, and blue once, realizing that it was Superman-flavored.

"Your favorite, right?" Steve spoke up.

Jenna looked up at him. "Yeah," she replied, lifting a spoonful right to her lips. "Thanks."

Steve merely nodded his head in response, looking away as he noticed the crowd of people piling inside the parlor, to which that was his cue to go back to the counter and help Robin when he saw the dread in her face, having the same expression as well as he stood up and walked away from the table. Jenna looked over at Dustin, who looked as if he wanted to say something, but held back as he kept his mouth shut tight and focused back on the ice cream in front of him instead.

The next few hours went by quickly as Jenna decided to explore the mall again in search of any stores that were possibly hiring, even going back to Radio Shack to see if there were any openings. She managed to snag a few applications for some full-time positions once school started back, which was a good thing to keep her busy while also saving money for whenever she would go to college. Jenna was beginning to feel the familiar sense of normalcy she once had before, even though she wasn't sure if she'd actually be staying in Hawkins for good. Still, she thought it was best to keep her options open just in case she stayed.

When the stores and restaurants were starting to shut down for the night, Jenna was a little too happy to see no one at Hot Sam Pretzels, assuming Carlie had actually gone home and decided to not include herself with whatever the others had planned regarding the Russians. When Jenna focused her eyes on Scoops Ahoy, Steve and Robin were wiping down the tables, with Dustin picking up trash that was left behind and throwing it away.

By the time the parlor was cleaned up, Steve and Robin locked up the front of the store, with Jenna and Dustin waiting for them in the back. Jenna watched as Dustin packed his supplies in a backpack from across the table, checking things over to make sure everything was there. While Jenna could tell that the boy was just as curious as she was about the Russians, she also noticed how nervous he was to what danger they were facing.

"You okay?" she asked.

Dustin quickly looked at Jenna, reluctantly nodding his head. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said with a shaky voice.

Jenna's face fell, raising her eyebrows. "You don't have to pretend with me, Henderson."

The boy was quiet for a moment before he put his backpack down and took a seat. "We were much more prepared with the Demogorgon and the Mind Flayer. Now we're just walking into this with no plan whatsoever. What if something happens to us?"

Nodding her head, Jenna's expression softened as she sat down across from him. "You know I'm not gonna let anything happen to us tonight. Everything will be fine."

He didn't seem too convinced by her words. "How can you be so sure?"

She let out a scoff. "Don't underestimate my superpowers, dude. I've had a lot of practice in the last two years."

"Yeah, only we have no idea what weapons these Russians have."

Jenna rolled her eyes in response. "Thanks for having any faith in me, Henderson."

"I'm just pointing out the facts."

"Of course you are."

Before the two could get into more bickering, the door swung open, with Steve and Robin walking in with all of the cleaning supplies still in hand. While the two were putting the supplies away, the door opened again, and Jenna's expression just about turned annoyed right then and there.

What the hell is Carlie doing here?

"Okay, nerds, let's go see what these Russians are up to," Erica stated, her pink backpack hanging over her shoulders and a white helmet with a flashlight duct taped on each side in her hand, also wearing knee and elbow pads for safety.

"Hold on," Steve said. "Is everyone here sure they want to do this?" His eyes went straight to Jenna.

"We've come this far to figuring out why the Russians are here in the first place," Carlie spoke up.

"She's right," Robin added. "It's now or never."

Jenna noticed the way the two girls exchanged grins during the pause where no one said anything.

"Well, what are we waiting for? We don't have all night here," Erica piped up again, sounding annoyed while adjusting her headset.

So Steve led the group--minus Erica, who stayed behind--out the back door and down the hall, where he found the stairs that went all the way up to the roof of the mall. Jenna looked out at the parking lot, with only a few cars in sight, one of them being hers, along with Steve's BMW parked on the other side of the lot. She took another step to get a better look when she felt a hand go around her wrist, causing her to spin her head around.

"Be careful," Steve told her.

Jenna didn't say anything as she walked away from the edge, which made Steve's expression turn relieved and let go of her as they went back to the rest of the group. The five of them got on their knees and faced the loading dock, looking around and seeing that the coast was clear. Jenna had positioned herself in between Steve and Carlie, much to her dismay. But she closed her mouth shut and kept her eyes at the silver doors below them.

"Erica, do you copy?" Robin asked into the walkie-talkie.

"Mhm. I copy. You nerds in position or what?"

"Yeah, we're in position," she answered. "It's all quiet here, so you've got the green light."

"Green light, roger that. Commence Operation Child Endangerment."

"That's one way to put it," Jenna muttered.

"Can we maybe not call it that?" Robin spoke up.

"See you on the other side. Nerds."

The five waited a moment for Erica to speak again, to which the anxious feeling and impatience was mutually shared among them. For Jenna, all she could think about were the many ways this plan could go wrong, thinking back to her conversation with Dustin earlier. They really were going into this with no preparation or backup, and if something did go wrong...Jenna didn't want to think about it too much.

At least Janet isn't here for this, she thought.

If Janet knew what Jenna and Steve were up to, then it would force her to get involved with another big threat in Hawkins, the one thing she was very clear on wanting to avoid. And as much as Janet was concerned about Steve's safety, Jenna knew it was best to just leave Janet out this time.

"All right, nerds," Erica said through the static. "I'm there."

"Do you see anything?" Robin asked with a hint of curiosity and anticipation in her voice.

"Yeah, I see those boring boxes you're so excited about."

"Any guards?"

"Negative."

"Booby traps?"

"If I could see them, they'd be pretty shit traps, wouldn't they?"

"Thank you for that," Robin said in the walkie-talkie.

"She has a point," Carlie added.

There was another moment of silence, then Erica broke it with the words, "I'm in."

Steve let out a breath of relief as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Oh, God," he muttered.

The doors opened up just a moment later, with Erica walking out and placing a hand on her hip. "Free ice cream for life!"

The five stared back at her with small smiles on their faces, impressed that she managed to make it through the air vents and into the storage room. So far, the plan was working, and they all hoped the rest of it would go smoothly. Maybe Jenna wouldn't have to fight any Russians after all.

Climbing down the ladder, they headed for the storage room with Erica, entering inside and getting a better look at the boxes from Imperial Panda and Kaufman Shoes stacked up wherever there was space for it. They crowded around one stack in the corner, and Dustin pulled out a pocket knife from his backpack and handed it to Steve, who didn't take any time cutting the box open, revealing a metal box inside. Turning the handle, the air hissed as Steve took the lid off and looked down at the four containers in the box.

"That's definitely not Chinese food," Steve said, about to grab one of the containers when he looked back up at the others. "Uh, maybe you guys should, you know, stand back."

While Robin, Carlie, and Erica obliged, Jenna reluctantly followed suit, but Dustin stayed put.

"No," Dustin replied.

"Just step back, okay?"

"No."

"Step back. Seriously."

"No! No!" Dustin paused as he shot daggers at Steve. "If you die, I die."

Steve blankly stared back at him for a moment, then finally said, "Okay." With another click, the air hissed again as he pulled out a glass container with a green substance inside. "What the hell?"

"What is that?" Robin questioned.

Before anyone could answer her question, rumbling erupted throughout the room, and like everyone else, Jenna quickly realized this plan going without a hitch was too good to be true.

"Was that just me or did the room move?" Dustin spoke up.

"Booby traps," Erica whispered.

Jenna didn't want to believe the little girl was being serious about the booby traps, but when a mechanical-like noise began whirring inside the room, she started to think otherwise.

"I don't like this," Carlie stated. "I don't like this at all."

"Same," Robin added. "You know what? Let's just grab that and go." She took the glass container from Steve, stuffing it in Erica's backpack.

Jenna and Dustin turned around at the door behind them, with the curly-haired boy aggressively pressing the blue button with DOOR OPEN printed on it, though nothing happened.

"Which one do I press, Erica?" he asked, his voice becoming shaky like before.

"Just press the damn button, nerd," she retorted.

"Which one? I'm pressing the button, okay?"

"Press, 'open door!'"

"I'm pressing, 'open door!'"

"Oh my God, try another one!" Jenna intervened.

"Yeah, press another one, Henderson!" Steve chimed in, taking a look at the buttons himself.

"Guys, how about you get out the way so you can let Erica--" Robin started to suggest.

"Would you stop?" Steve told Dustin.

"I'm trying!" the curly-haired boy shouted.

"Would you let me just do it?" Steve retorted.

"Just open the door!" Robin yelled from the back.

Before any more arguing could keep going, a loud clang came from behind Robin, Carlie, and Erica, where the door slammed shut, leaving the group trapped inside.

"You've got to be kidding me," Jenna muttered.

In just a matter of seconds, the entire room began to shake, and just like Jenna's heart, it began to drop. Screams pierced everyone's ears as they continued to fall, grabbing a hold of whatever was closest to them. Jenna stumbled backwards, grabbing a stack of boxes before she made it to the shelves, keeping herself steady. She looked around the room at everyone else in an uproar, knowing they were just as terrified as they fell longer and faster to what could be their impending deaths.

"Shit! Shit!" Dustin screamed.

"We're going down! We're going down!" Steve shouted.

"Yeah, no shit, Harrington!" Robin yelled at him.

"Why don't these buttons work?!" Dustin cried, going back to pressing every button on the door to see if any of them would miraculously work.

Erica made her way to him, balancing herself against the wall with her hands. "Press the button!" she fussed.

"What do you think I'm doing?!" Dustin shouted back.

"Come on, press something! Just press the button!" Steve piped up again.

Jenna did her best to drown out the clashing that was going on just a few feet away from her, focusing on the sound of metal sliding against the stone wall. She closed her eyes, waiting for the screeching noise to stop, along with the impact she anticipated was coming any second. Holding her breath, she began to count the seconds...one...two...

And then the crash came out of nowhere, with everyone falling to the floor and the boxes going down with them. However, Jenna was unable to stop herself from tumbling down onto Steve, followed by an Imperial Panda box landing on her.

"Shit!" Steve groaned. "Dustin, help us!"

Jenna began to breathe heavily, her body pressed against Steve's, which was when she realized how fast her heart was beating like the last time they were this close to each other. She didn't have to worry about making eye contact with him, as the weight and position of the box made it hard for her to turn her head, anyway. When Dustin finally got the box off, relief swept through the two as Jenna sighed and Steve grunted, both of them scrambling to stand up.

"Is everyone okay?" Robin asked.

"Yeah, I'm great, now that I know that Russians can't design elevators!" Steve shouted, in frustration, storming to the buttons and pressing them all at once.

"I think we've clearly established that those buttons don't work," she stated.

"They're buttons. They have to do something."

"Yeah, if we had a keycard."

"A what?"

"It's an electronic lock. Same as the loading dock door. If we don't have a keycard, it won't operate, meaning--"

"We're stuck in here," Dustin cut her off in annoyance.

"Yeah, exactly."

Erica rolled her eyes and cleared her throat to get everyone's attention. "Just so you nerds are aware, I'm supposed to be spending the night at Tina's, and Tina always covers for me. But if I'm not home for Uncle Jack's party tomorrow and my mom finds out you five are responsible, she's gonna hunt you down, one by one, and slit your throat."

Steve groaned again and shot an irritated look at the little girl. "I don't care about Tina! Or Uncle Jack's party! Your mom's not gonna be able to find us if we're dead in a Russian elevator!"

"Okay, how about everyone stop yelling at each other," Jenna spoke up, rubbing her forehead from the headache she thought was about to form. "Unless someone else has any suggestions--"

"Hey," Dustin cut her off, pointing up at the door in the corner above her. "What if we climbed out?"

Steve and Dustin looked at each other for a moment before stacking a few boxes right under the door, and after a failed attempted coming from the latter, the two were finally able to reach the door and open it, with Dustin climbing out first, then Steve, both of which let out grunts while doing so.

"Well?" Robin called out after a brief moment of silence.

"Uh, yeah, we're definitely stuck here," Steve announced.

"Oh, God..." Carlie mumbled, shaking her head and placing a hand over her chest, gasping for air. "No, no, no...we can't...be stuck...down here..."

"Carlie, are you okay?" Robin asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

"Why is the room hot all of a sudden?" Carlie inquired, ignoring Robin, wiping off the beads of sweat forming on her forehead. "I...I don't feel so good..."

"Hey, it's all gonna be okay," Robin assured, rubbing her arms. "Take deep breaths. There you go, in and out...in and out...just keep looking at me, all right?"

All of a sudden, Robin's words hit a nerve in Jenna, as she remembered hearing those same words the night before from Steve. She looked over at Carlie, who wasn't showing any sign of calming down anytime soon. Despite how much Carlie annoyed Jenna the moment she laid eyes on her, the last thing she wanted was to see her suffer like this. So Jenna took a deep breath and focused on Carlie, feeling her powers starting to flow to her hands and the blood trickle out of her nose. She watched as Carlie continued taking rapid breaths and fanning herself in order to cool down. Just when Jenna thought she'd have to strain herself to use more of her powers, Carlie's breathing finally began to slow down and she was no longer sweating.

"You feeling better?" Robin asked her.

Carlie nodded her head. "Yeah, thanks."

Jenna let out a sigh of relief and relaxed her hands, turning to the door when she heard Steve and Dustin climbing back down the boxes and jumping onto the floor. She glanced over at Steve, whose eyes went wide the moment he looked her way.

Your nose is bleeding, he mouthed, motioning his hand up to his own nose.

I know, she mouthed back, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at him as she lifted her arm to wipe it off.

"So we're really stuck down here?" Erica spoke up in annoyance.

"Unfortunately," Dustin replied.

"Well, what the hell do we do now?" Robin questioned.

"Yeah, what the hell do we do now?" Jenna repeated, looking back at Steve and Dustin with raised eyebrows. "After all, you two came up with this brilliant idea."

"It was actually a group effort," Dustin clarified.

"Yeah, and you didn't have to come with us," Steve added. "It's not like we wanted you here, anyway."

Jenna scoffed in response. "Oh, please, you wanted me to join. You were just too stubborn to ask."

"No, Dustin wanted you to join."

"You're full of shit."

"You're one to talk."

Jenna paused for a moment, furrowing her eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what I mean."

"I don't, actually. Enlighten me, Steve."

"Maybe let's not do that," Dustin intervened, taking a step closer so that he was standing in

"Why not? I bet Jenna will finally tell me everything I missed like she promised."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You met someone in Nashville, didn't you?"

Jenna froze with her mouth open, trying to come up with an explanation. "Steve--"

"That's why you wanna go back to Nashville, isn't it? Because there's someone else waiting for you to go back and be with him."

"It has nothing to do with a boy."

"So you didn't meet another guy in Nashville?"

"Well, yeah, I did, but--"

Steve let out a scoff and shook his head in disbelief. "I'm sure you can't wait to get back to him, huh? Are you counting down the days until you two see each other again?"

"There's nothing going on between me and him."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really."

Robin cleared her throat and took a step forward to try and diffuse the tension. "Uh, guys, maybe you should--"

"Do you really expect me to believe that you and this guy didn't..." Steve glanced over at Dustin and Erica, then back at Jenna with raised eyebrows. "Run the bases?"

Dustin furrowed his brows in confusion. "What does baseball have to do with this?"

"I'm pretty sure they're not talking about baseball," Carlie commented.

"So what are they--"

"No, I didn't run the bases with Dennis," Jenna blurted.

"Oh, that's his name? He sounds like a great guy," Steve stated in his typical sarcastic tone.

"He is a great guy," she replied.

"So go be with him, then!"

"I don't want to!"

"Why not?!"

"Because he's not you!"

Shit.

The entire room was silent as they processed what Jenna just said, the tension remaining over them like a dark cloud. Steve could only look at her with a shocked expression on his face, unable to come up with a response, which only made Jenna worry about what he was actually thinking at that moment. Surely, he didn't expect that reply to come out of Jenna's mouth, just like everyone else, including Jenna herself. But maybe it was what her gut was telling her to say this entire time, even if she didn't realize it. Nevertheless, the truth was out, and she couldn't take it back.

Everyone exchanged awkward glances at each other before all the attention went back to Steve and Jenna, who were already growing embarrassed for obviously different reasons.

Steve was quiet for a moment before he looked up at the door above, pointing at it as he turned back to look at Jenna. "Maybe we should...go up here and..."

"Yeah, we should," Jenna quickly stated, starting to climb up the boxes and pulling her body through the opening and moving out of the way for Steve to join her. The two scooted away from the door so that the others couldn't hear the conversation, even though it was most likely they'd try to somehow listen in.

"So..." Steve started off, scratching the back of his neck. "This Dennis guy..."

"He's just a friend," Jenna assured him again.

"Right, okay," he said, nodding his head. "And you...thought about me while you were away."

"Yeah."

"Like, a lot?"

Jenna bit her lip and looked down at her hands. "It was frequent." She almost felt ashamed to admit it, but there was no point in lying after the bombshell she had just dropped minutes ago.

"Oh." He paused for a moment, glancing up at the never-ending ceiling, as if he was trying to avoid looking at Jenna. "If we're being honest here, I didn't wanna date anyone for a while, because I thought you'd come back."

A rapid change in Jenna's heartbeat occurred. "What are you saying, Steve?" she asked, despite having a feeling she already knew where this was going.

"Last night, you assumed that many girls wore that favorite t-shirt of mine," he recalled. "But the truth is, you're the only girl who's ever worn it, and I kind of want it to stay that way."

Jenna felt her palms sweating the longer she stared at Steve's softened expression, sort of relieved that the grins Carlie gave his way at every passing didn't mean anything to him. "I don't know what to say to that," she admitted.

"Then tell me why you're thinking about going back to Nashville," he replied. "If it's not for Dennis, then what is it?"

She took a deep breath and crossed her legs, knowing that she had to go ahead and tell him what she should've told him last night at his house. "Because once this monster shit is over with, I don't wanna have to deal with any more of it again," she quickly answered.

"What are you talking about?" he questioned.

"I'm talking about the Mind Flayer."

Steve's eyes widened at the mention of the monster, and it was as if the memories of last year came flooding back to him from Jenna's point of view. She waited for him to say something, though it was another minute before he came up with a response. "You mean, the Mind Flayer? The one we dealt with last year?"

"That's the one," Jenna said. "And I think it's possessing Billy and a bunch of other people so that it can form an army this time."

"Is that why you were at Brimborn Steelworks last night?" Steve asked.

Jenna nodded her head. "And it wasn't the first time I had been there. Janet and I saw Billy and Heather Holloway there for the first time a couple of nights ago. I knew something was wrong with him, and Janet didn't want to have any part of it. But I..." She stopped before the lump in her throat could cause her to choke up, though it didn't stop the tears forming in her eyes. "I can't just ignore it like Janet. I have to do something before any more people get hurt." She paused, composing herself before continuing on. "I need this monster to be gone for good so that I can move on like everyone else, no matter what it takes."

There was another moment of silence before Jenna heard Steve move closer to her, to which she glanced down at his arm almost touching hers. "Well, I'm not gonna let you go through it alone."

Jenna turned her head and focused on Steve through watery eyes. "Really?"

"Really. I told you that I'll always be here for you. We're gonna fight this monster together." He paused and chuckled a little. "And probably some Russians, too."

Jenna giggled, wiping her eyes. "Sounds like a plan."

Steve let out a small laugh again before his eyes were back on Jenna, giving her a remorseful look. "I know I said that no one wanted you here tonight, but I didn't mean it."

Jenna gave him a weak smile. "It's okay."

He stayed quiet for another moment, then spoke up again. "And I'm sorry for being an ass to you today. You didn't deserve that. I was just upset about the thought of you going back to Nashville."

Nodding her head, Jenna sighed and swallowed the lump from her throat earlier. "Let's not talk about it anymore. I still have a while before I make a decision."

"Okay," he said. "And about the other thing--"

"We can talk about that later, too," she cut him off. "Maybe when we don't have monsters or Russians to worry about."

"Yeah, sounds good," he agreed.

So the two merely sat in silence, where both of them hoped they would make it out of these fights alive in order not to leave their conversation unfinished.

~~~~~~~

A/N: It's me...hi.

Sorry for the long wait. It's been a crazy year and writing was just something I was struggling with. But I'm back with a long chapter (hopefully that's okay lol).

Anyway, what do we think?

Also, I posted an edit of Steve and Jenna on my YouTube channel! You can check it out in the graphic gallery!

Comment, vote, more to come soon!

-A