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𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗬

epilogue:
serenity loses a mom, a friend,
and two kids

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SEEING SUCH A familiar house be packed up in boxes and all empty gave Serenity a headache.

The summer had drawn to a close, the very same summer that Serenity thought was going to be the best one of her life, but actually turned out to be the worst. It was now October, and the warm air was gradually getting chillier as the leaves turned red.

Serenity always thought spring meant new beginnings. Now, it seemed that fall had taken that title.

After everything that had happened to her family, Joyce finally decided to get out of Hawkins. If Serenity was being honest, Joyce had probably thought about it for a while. After all, Will had been put through hell and back — literally — with being kidnapped to the Upside Down and coming back alive, only to be inhabited by the Mind Flayer. Hopper's death just seemed to be a final nail in the coffin.

They wouldn't be close, though. Joyce, Jonathan, Will, and Eleven were moving all the way to the other side of the country to California. The thought of it alone was enough to make Serenity's heart crush into a million tiny pieces. However, she knew they deserved it. All of them, especially Will, deserved a fresh start somewhere far away from the horror of a little town that was Hawkins.

As Serenity made her way through the house, packing miscellaneous things away, she sort of wished that Steve was there, too. It was entirely selfish of her to think that, considering Steve hadn't ever been close to the Byers family. Besides, he was with Robin at Family Video. Considering the mall had been burned down, aka being completely condemned due to it being a secret Russian base housing the dead Mind Flayer, they had lost their jobs at Scoops Ahoy.

(Upside, Steve didn't have to wear that silly costume anymore. Downside, no free ice cream. Also, Steve and Robin had gotten way closer. It seemed like the air shifted between them, which Serenity didn't question.)

She brushed past Nancy and Jonathan, who were carrying a mattress out to the U-Haul truck outside. Serenity peeked out from the kitchen, only to see Max and Lucas sitting in the living room. Dustin was directly across from them in the dining room.

"Turn around," Max and Lucas were singing, their voices getting louder as she walked back. After that whole duet between Dustin and Suzie during probably the worst time ever to be singing, none of them were letting him live it down. "Look at what you see. In her face, the mirror of your dreams. Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds."

"Wait, did we get that verse right?" Max teased. "It's unfold behind the clouds?"

"Yeah, but you're butchering it, so could you please stop?" Dustin asked.

"So then join in, Dusty-Bun," Lucas told him, blowing an air kiss.

"Yeah, come on, Dusty-Bun, why don't you join us?" Max added.

Dustin stared at them blankly. "You guys are so funny, you should be on Carson."

"Can't we just hear your rendition?"

"No."

"Please?" Max continued. "Just one verse?"

"No," Dustin repeated. "No way. It's reserved for Suzie's ears and Suzie's ears alone."

Max and Lucas looked at each other again before bursting back into song. "Turn around, look at what you see. In their face, the mirror of your dreams . . ."

Serenity let out a quiet laugh at how Dustin was giving them the middle finger. She ducked back inside the kitchen, glancing around for a moment. There had been many good times, along with many bad times, in this kitchen. The good times included coloring with Will when he was younger, and the bad times included getting slapped across the face by Billy Hargrove.

As for Billy Hargrove, well . . . Serenity would be lying if she said his death affected her. It didn't. Sure, he had sacrificed himself for the greater good, but it didn't really excuse all of the bad things he had done prior.

Will then came down the hallway. In his arms, he was carrying a couple of books, plus his D&D set. Serenity watched as he placed it in one of the boxes on the ground. She frowned, noticing the box was clearly labeled DONATE.

"Woah, dude," Mike protested. "That's the donation box."

"I know," Will responded. "I'll just use yours when I come back. I mean, if we still wanna play."

"Yeah, but what if you want to join another Party?"

"Not possible."

Serenity's frown turned into a smile. She reached out, ruffling Will's hair a bit. Will shook her hand off of him with a chuckle and went back to his room to get more things.

As much as Serenity really didn't want it to happen, the whole house was entirely packed up. And that meant it was time for them to leave, and that meant Serenity had to say her goodbyes.

How could she possibly say goodbye to four people who meant so much to her? There were absolutely no words to encase it. She wasn't sure if words would even come to her. Nevertheless, as they all stood outside together, Serenity could feel her emotions rising up in her throat. She wanted to do what she always did — act strong, put up a front for her kids so she could be their anchor. But now that they were older, they saw right through her. So, for once, Serenity embraced her emotions and finally let them show.

The first person she went to was Joyce. Once Joyce's eyes set on her, Serenity felt a deep pang in her chest, right where her heart was. Joyce had been there for Serenity more than Serenity's actual mother, and Joyce saw Serenity as another daughter. The older woman's eyes turned sad and she reached out, instantly pulling Serenity into a motherly hug. Serenity clutched onto her, tears pricking at the back of her eyes.

"You've done so much for my family," Joyce stated. "I don't even know how to thank you."

"You don't have to," Serenity replied. "The pleasure is literally all mine. I should be thanking you for allowing me to watch Will."

Joyce pulled back and put her hands on either side of Serenity's face. "You mean so much to him, you know. Hiring you as a babysitter was the best decision I ever made."

Serenity nodded, sniffling a little. "Accepting was the best decision I ever made."

Joyce planted a kiss on her forehead. "Good luck with senior year."

She gave her a tight smile, and Joyce dropped her hands. Serenity then turned to the next person, who was leaning against his car, his hands in the pockets of his jeans. She crossed her arms across her chest and walked up to Jonathan, leaning against the car next to him.

"Drives to school won't be the same without you," Serenity admitted.

"School as a whole won't be the same without you," Jonathan agreed. "You were always there, and now you just . . . won't be."

"You know, you've always been like a brother to me." Serenity looked up at him, slightly squinting through the sun. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you gone."

He cracked a tiny grin. "Try to survive senior year?"

She laughed softly. "Yeah." Serenity leaned a head against his shoulder, and he put an arm around her. "I'm going to miss you."

Jonathan brought her a little closer into his side for a second. "I'm going to miss you, too."

"Renny?" Eleven stated, her voice sort of a whimper from crying so hard.

Serenity picked her head up from Jonathan's shoulder, and she removed herself from his side, stepping up to Eleven. Her vision got glassy with tears watching Eleven completely break down. She had been through so much in her life, and now she was moving away from everyone who had accepted her for the way she was.

"Hi," Serenity voiced. She reached out and pulled Eleven into her, who clutched onto her shoulders and sobbed. Serenity held her a little tighter, resting her cheek against the top of her head. "I know. But this isn't goodbye, right? You know I'm just a call away."

Eleven nodded against her. "I know." She held onto her tighter. "Sister."

Serenity was shocked that she didn't collapse on the floor from that. A tear dripped down her face and she lifted her head up, pressing her lips to the top of Eleven's head. Serenity then pulled away a bit and used her thumbs to wipe away some tears off of Eleven's face.

"Sister," Serenity confirmed.

Eleven got a watery smile on her face before untangling herself from Serenity and moving onto Max. And, of course, standing right by Serenity was the one person who she had saved for last. She had watched Will Byers grow up, only to get beaten down time and time again, but he was still here, and that meant the world to her. Probably, out of all of her kids, she had watched Will the most. The two had formed an unbreakable bond.

"Hey, honey," Serenity began. Will instantly let out a sob and sunk into Serenity's arms, who in turn, held him tightly. "Oh, no, it's okay."

"I'm going to miss you so much," Will cried. "So much, Renny."

Serenity felt her bottom lip tremble. "I'm going to miss you a lot, Will. Who am I going to ask now to make drawings for me? That one wall in my bedroom is still blank, you know."

Will sniffled against her. "I'll send you some."

She pulled back and took Will's face in her hands. "Promise?"

He nodded. "Promise."

Serenity planted a gentle kiss onto his forehead. "I love you, okay? Always remember that."

Finally, Joyce told them that it was time to leave. Serenity stood, surrounded by all of her kids and Nancy, watching as Jonathan and Will got in one car while Joyce and Eleven got in the U-Haul truck. She watched, another tear falling down her face, as they drove away from the house, from Hawkins, from her.

There was no point staying at the house anymore. All of the kids got on their bikes and pedaled away with a promise to Serenity that they would see her later and call her if they needed anything. Serenity walked up to her car and unlocked it, settling herself into the drivers seat and starting it up. She stared ahead at the Byers house.

It was so empty. So much had gone on in that house. It had been where Will got kidnapped, it had been where Serenity was introduced to the Upside Down by the Demogorgon dropping from the ceiling, it had been where she finally met Eleven . . . it had been where Steve told her he liked her, too.

And, for the last time, Serenity backed out of the driveway of the Byers house, leaving it and a piece of her heart behind.

Serenity drove home alone in silence. The pop songs on the radio would do nothing to help with her sadness, and she wasn't in a music mood, anyways. She had shed a couple tears, but now, she just felt numb. It didn't feel real that she had just watched four important people to her leave. Her mind was struggling to catch up.

When she pulled into her driveway, she noticed a familiar figure sitting on her front porch. It just so happened it was the very person she wanted to see after all of this. Serenity parked her car and shut it off, getting out of it and locking it behind her. Steve straightened up a bit as she walked up towards him, noticing her blotchy face.

"Hi," Steve greeted softly.

"Hey," Serenity replied, sitting next to him on the porch. "How was Family Video?"

"Good. Rob and I got the job." He looked over at her. "How was the goodbye's?"

She let out a deep breath. "Heartbreaking." Serenity let her head fall against his shoulder tiredly. "I mean, I always knew that at least one of us would leave Hawkins, but . . . I just never thought it would be so soon."

Steve wrapped an arm around her and pulled her in close. "They're coming for Christmas, right? That'll be fun."

"I guess," Serenity whispered. "But we also have that stupid dinner party put on by our parents . . ."

He wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Oh my God, I forgot about that." He sighed. "At least we'll be there together."

She found the strength in her to smile. "Yeah. Together."

Serenity Alexander was only seventeen. And this summer, she learned that she really didn't know anything, but she knew that whenever she was apart from Steve Harrington, she missed him. That was something she was going to hold onto for as long as she would live.

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ᗡNƎ ƎH⊥

OH OKAY

if you want a dt for book three let me know :)