ˋˏ[ 📼 ]ˎˊ

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The parking lot events sour in JJ's mouth and mind as she angrily speeds to the Wheeler's house, taking the route where she could pass where Barb parked. Her insides twist tauntingly in her stomach, and if she could possibly recall eating anything today she'd chalk it up as shitty lunch settling wrong. But her days and meals were blurring together at a scarily speed, and the pit in her core grew into a full-blown boulder as she saw Barb's car parked in the exactly same place, hidden away from his house, where she left it last night....

Barb didn't leave the party.

Oh, God...

JJ was wrong. And her stupid, drunken assumption may have cost her another person closest to her... to wind up ᵷuᴉssᴉɯ.

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Will. We have to find Will. Nothing else mattered to JJ as the guilt tore her to shreds. Barb was at least a teenager. And a level-headed one at that. Maybe she passed out. Maybe she walked somewhere. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.

But no one knew she was gone. Missing. Her parents didn't know. The police didn't know. So who's to say she's not at the hospital? Or the police station?

Gripping the handles of her moped so tight, her knuckles lost all sense of color as her rings dug into the bone.

Driving straight through the grass, the boys and- what did Mike call her? Come into view, their bikes already turned away from the fence.

"JJ's here!" Lucas hollers out.

"JJ!" Dustin chirps happily, grinning his toothless grin that always melts JJ's icy heart. Her shaky breath staggers as she unclenches her hands and releases her bottom lip her teeth have sunken themselves into without her noticing.

Will. They had to find Will first. Her promise, her word rang so loudly in her head she wanted to cover her ears. Guilt pressed itself so hard on JJ's chest, she wouldn't have been surprised if it caved in entirely.

"JJ, it's 3:10!" Mike says as the girl... El? Was that what he said her name was earlier today? takes a seat on his bike. JJ opens her dry mouth to speak , but no words come out. What could she possibly tell them?

"I-uh, sorry."

Mike's brows knit together, softening his features. "It's okay. El's learning time anyways."

"El." JJ's eyes meet hers. "I like it. Short. Like my name." A nickname to hide the hollow one.

"Come on." Mike encourages gently while Lucas and Dustin begin pedaling in front of them.

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Steve reties his shoe for the third time while Carol runs on about some class, he wasn't paying attention enough to care to listen, or notice Nancy staring off absentmindedly. The perfectly white laces glide over his dry fingers fast at work.

'Screw you, Steve Harrington!' JJ's words rang in his mind. The true nastiness in her voice... the hatred... and yet, he'd beg for it again. He'd take her cursing his name a hundred times over than to never hear her voice again, for JJ Henderson to never speak to him again. To ignore him, and act as if he doesn't exist.

But no. She does the opposite actually, which works in the Harrington boys' favor. She revels in the fact of reminding him each and every day how miserably he fucked up. How much he regrets what he did— said, every. single. day. And no amount of popularity, or attention, or kissing Nancy Wheeler could erase the damage and make him forget.

"Equals blow me." Carol finishes and Steve zones back in realizing what she said.

"Bull, if you did that, you'd be in detention right now." He calls her bluff, mind suddenly wandering to nagging curiosity if JJ was in detention now or not. Did she help 'The Creep' pick up the shattered pieces of his camera? The thought irked him.

"Saturday." Carol answers.

"I bet Mr. Mundy's still a virgin." Tommy H. comments.

"Oh, he's so a virgin!" Carol rushes to agree. Steve places his hand on Nancy's leg, snapping her back to reality. The girl next door still held her virginity, oh-so eager to hand it over to The King, turned into a distracted makeout session due to fresh memory branded hot into his mind of JJ standing in his room, rummaging through his drawer—her drawer. But if you were to ask the insufferable couple who deserve each other, Steve let them believe they did Tommy's crude suggestion to Carol... and more.

"Maybe you should blow him, Carol." Tommy proposes. "Help your grades a bit." He chuckles before receiving a punch in the arm from his girlfriend draped across his lap on the wooden bench in the hall.

Suddenly, Steve's hand slides off Nancy's pants as she begins walking away. "Whoa, Nance, where you going?"

"I totally forgot." She stammers out. "I told my mom I would, um... I would do something with her." She lies through her teeth, quickly turning away as Steve hastily stands, grabbing his jacket in one swift motion.

"What do you mean? The game's about to start." He points behind him.

"I'm sorry." Nancy weakly offers, continuing towards the double doors.

Steve blinks. "What the hell is wrong with her?"

"Maybe she freaked out when you went all psycho on the psycho and couldn't take your eyes off the depressed freak." Tommy smirks.

"Oh, give me a break." He dismisses, though his voice clips and fist clenching at the last words Tommy fired.

"What'd you expect, dating Miss Perfect?" Carol retorts, sitting up, popping her large bubble of gum as the three of them stare at the doors closing behind Nancy. Though Steve couldn't bother to move his feet to go chase after her... the crude name Tommy called the girl that hasn't left his mind since the parking lot, or was he kidding... since his party last night, seemingly taking more relevance...

who would've thought?

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!sʞɐǝds Ƚʇᴉnɔsᴉqɹǝʇʇnq0

Hello, helloooo!! And welcome back to Rightside Up!! I was SOOO happy to see several ppl add this to their reading lists this past weekkk!! So I just wanna say welcomeee to any new Rightside Up readers hereee!!! <333

I was going to update last week for ST5!!! AHHH!! But this chapter was not quite ready yet... sooo... I published the new moodboards & intro chapter insteaddd ;) I have been working very hard for months on the new moodboards for this book so if you haven't seen them yettt... run to check them nowww!!

I thought this chapter would be the last one of episode 3, buttt... that'll have to wait until the next one, sooo something to look forward to!! Bc JJ's reaction to what happens at the end of the episode will be EVERYTHINGGGG!!! I've had that scene planned for YEARSSS!!

But anywayssss.... what did we think of this chapterrr?!! I was sooo excited to dive into Steve's pov/thoughts moreee & ahhh I am LIVINGGG for uncovering him & JJ's pastttt!!! Also JJ having to deal w/ Will missing & now Barb?! Bless herrr, & free my girlll, her mental health can't standdd ittt :'(

Pls don't be afraid to comment your thoughts, questions, & reactionsss!! I am DYING to know y'all's thoughts & reactions to this chapterrr!! Also, I am STILL unfortunately editing through the previous chapters lollll, I wanted to try to be done by the time ST5 came out, buttt I still have a bit to fix! So if you've read/caught up at noticed the name changeee... srryyy!! I changed JJ's fc & name (to JJ) several months ago & have been trying to reread & edit/fix that!! Welll... I hope y'all enjoyeddd... anddd until next timeee!! Mwah!! <333

(ALSO WHAT DID Y'ALL THINK OF ST5 PART 1?! If you're caught up!! BC  HOLY FCKING SHIT I WAS GAGGEDDD & CALLED SM STUFFF!! AHHH!!! CHRISTMAS NEEDS TO GET HERE ASAP!!)