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𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗬

prologue:
the starcourt mall

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SUMMER WAS ARGUABLY the best time of the year — and, no, Serenity Alexander would not be taking any criticisms.

Sure, maybe she hated the heat, and she hated the fact that she lived in a small town in Indiana away from the ocean that she so desperately wanted to see ever since she was a little girl, but at least it called for a break. A break from school, she meant.

It was Serenity's summer before she started her senior year. She still had some shit to figure out. Despite her parents being basically absent from her life, she knew they were expecting her to go. And Spencer, her older brother, was, too. If she was being honest, Serenity just wanted to make Spencer proud. Besides, she did want to go to college. There were so many possibilities that could come out of college.

However, even if she did have a few choice words about her hometown, the prospect of leaving Hawkins was scary to her. She didn't want to leave behind her brother, or the kids she had watched over for so long, or her boyfriend. Hawkins was all she had ever known . . . well, at least she thought she knew Hawkins.

Hawkins had been quiet and normal until the disappearance of Will Byers almost two years ago. That opened up a whole new world — a parallel dimension filled with stranger things than Serenity could've possibly imagined. Monsters were extremely real, and Serenity had seen them with her own eyes. It had chilled her all the way down to her bones and clouded her mind. She had spent her days filled with fear, constantly riddled with nightmares that caused her to barely get any sleep.

But that was over. After the Mind Flayer being exiled and the closing of the Gate to the Upside Down, that was all shut out. They didn't have to worry about that anymore.

Serenity was doing better since the winter after being in the Upside Down and being scratched by a Demo-Dog. Her smiles were wider and brighter — maybe that could have something to do with her boyfriend, Steve Harrington, though. Ever since their kiss at the Snow Ball, the two had gotten together. If one was seen, the other was probably not far behind. They were Steve and Serenity, just like they always were, but just . . . more. And it was nice. Really nice.

Another reason why she was looking forward to summer. Steve. Her and Steve had lots of free time to spend with each other . . . well, at least when he wasn't working. They could just be teenagers without a care in the world besides going shopping and eating ice cream and kissing under the sweet summer sun.

Speaking of shopping and ice cream, Serenity was standing outside of the place where she could get both. Hawkins' newest attraction was the Starcourt Mall. It had kind of popped up out of nowhere, which Serenity found a little weird, but it was refreshing to have something so new in a boring town.

She stared up at the neon lights of the mall, bustling crowds of people around her. Serenity had been put in charge of Will Byers, one of the kids that she had babysat for so long. With them were Lucas Sinclair and Max Mayfield, two more of Serenity's kids. They were waiting on Mike Wheeler, who was most likely hanging out (cough, making out) with his girlfriend, Eleven, who were also Serenity's kids. Dustin Henderson, Serenity's last kid, was still at some science camp, so he wasn't there.

It was safe to say Serenity had a lot of children.

After everything that happened to Will, Serenity couldn't really blame Joyce Byers from wanting to keep an eye at her. However, she also understood Will's frustration. He just wanted to be alone with his friends without somebody watching him at all times.

As much as she hated to admit it, her kids were growing up. It was their last summer before high school (which made Serenity kind of sick to her stomach) and, after all, they were teenagers. They technically didn't need to be babysat anymore. However, Serenity wasn't going to let them slip away that easily. She would still watch them, just from . . . a distance.

Which was exactly what she would do. The kids wanted to see the opening of Day of the Dead, which was a new horror movie. Serenity had driven all of them — except Mike, because like she said, they were waiting on him — to the mall and would walk them there, but she was going to hang out with Steve while they watched the movie.

Speaking of Mike, his familiar figure then rode up on his bike, screeching to a stop in front of one of the bike racks. He looked over at them, his hair disheveled, only for his eyebrows to knit in confusion at the sight of Serenity.

"What are you doing here?" Mike asked.

"Wow, Mike, I'm so glad to see you, too," Serenity responded sarcastically. "It's so comforting to know you love my company so much."

Mike sighed. "You know I didn't mean it like that, Renny."

Serenity shook her head. "Joyce asked me to keep an eye on Will. But don't worry, I'm not coming with you into your movie. I'll drop you off at Scoops and stay with Steve."

"Speaking of that, you're late," Lucas complained.

"Sorry," Mike replied.

"Again."

"We're gonna miss the opening," Will added.

"Yeah, if you guys keep whining about it," Mike countered. "Let's go."

"If you guys keep whining about it, nyeh-nyeh-nyeh," Lucas mocked.

"Just please stop talking, dude."

"Let me guess. You were busy."

As they walked inside the busy mall, Lucas made kissing noises with his mouth. Serenity rolled her eyes fondly — God, she loved her kids.

"Oh, yeah, real mature, Lucas," Mike commented.

"Oh, El, I wish we could make out forever, and never hang out with any of our friends," Lucas continued.

"Lucas, stop," Max protested.

"Will thinks it's funny."

"Because it is," Will said, laughing as he did so.

"Yeah, it's so funny that I want to spend romantic time with my girlfriend," Mike stated.

Lucas put his arm around Max. "I'm spending romantic time with my girlfriend. And Steve spends romantic time with his girlfriend. Isn't that right, Renny?"

Despite being in relationships of their own, members of the Party — well, besides Will — always found it necessary to tease Serenity about her dating Steve. Dustin was the worst out of them all. He liked to brag that he was the one who had gotten them together because he had told Steve about Serenity's feelings for him.

The escalator was crowded, just like it always was. Mike, Lucas, Max, and Will all started to push through them while letting out strings of excuse me's and I'm sorry's, which earned protests from quite literally everyone. Serenity brought up the rear, giving apologetic smiles to everyone. Mike then ran straight into a girl walking, making her and her group of friends instantly get annoyed.

"Watch it!" the girl exclaimed.

"Yeah, watch it, nerd!" a very familiar voice shouted.

Serenity turned, a fond grin on her face. It was none other than Erica Sinclair, Lucas' little sister, sitting with her friends eating ice cream. She had babysat Erica a couple of times — not as much as she watched after Lucas, but enough to create a bond with Erica. In fact, Serenity was really the only person who could tell Erica what to do. Serenity viewed it as her superpower. Not to mention, she loved Erica's personality. That girl took absolutely no shit from anyone.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" Lucas argued.

"Isn't it time you died?" Erica asked, making Serenity let out a small laugh.

"Psycho!"

"Butthead!"

"Mall rat!"

"Fart face!"

Lucas then blew a raspberry at his little sister.

Max grabbed his arm. "Oh, now that was mature."

Serenity glanced back for a moment. "Bye, Erica!"

Erica smiled at her and waved. "See you, Renny!"

Lucas gave her an incredulous look. "I can't believe you like Erica."

Serenity shrugged. "She's the best. Why, you jealous that I might like her more than you?" She pinched Lucas' cheek. "Nothing could ever replace you, Lucas."

Lucas pushed her hand away, making Serenity giggle. "Renny."

"What? You guys know I love to embarrass you."

They then walked into Scoops Ahoy, which was the ice cream place inside the mall. Steve had gotten a job here at the insistence of his father since he wasn't going to college — or, at least he was figuring it out. It was one of the more popular attractions at the mall, because who didn't love ice cream during the hot weather? Serenity was quite partial to their butterscotch flavored one.

Mike walked up to the counter, where Robin Buckley, Steve's coworker, was standing behind, looking very annoyed. Serenity really liked Robin, even if Steve didn't seem to share the same sentiment. The two butt heads basically every second, but Serenity and Robin had found out that they both liked teasing Steve. Mike started to ring the bell multiple times.

"Hey, dingus, your children are here," Robin called. "And your girlfriend."

The fogged glass window behind Robin suddenly opened, and to Serenity, it felt like time slowed down. There he was. Her boy.

Steve was wearing that stupid sailor outfit he had to wear for work, the very same one that Serenity thought he looked both adorable and ridiculous in. He looked annoyed like Robin, probably because the kids were doing this again, but his eyes brightened when he saw Serenity, making her smile.

"Hey, sunshine," Steve greeted, and Serenity's heart fluttered. He then looked at the kids. "Again? Seriously?"

Mike said nothing and only rang the bell again.

"Come on," Serenity urged to the kids quietly. "Move, before he changes his mind."

"You sure you can't come, Renny?" Max questioned as she ushered them to the back. "I'm gonna be the only girl."

Serenity gave her a reassuring smile. "They'll have my head, and you know it. But we can hang out later, promise."

They walked through the break room of Scoops, which was the place behind the fogged window. Steve then opened up the door, which led to the back tunnels of the mall which allowed for workers to move between stores more easily. Or, in this case, help the kids sneak into the movie theater without having to pay for a ticket.

"Come on, come on," Steve voiced, holding the door open. "I swear, if anybody hears about this—"

"We're dead!" Mike, Max, Lucas, and Will chorused.

"Bye!" Serenity said, stopping in the doorway. "Have fun! When it's done, find me at Scoops so I can take you home, okay?"

Mumbled responses were heard, and then the kids disappeared around the corner. Serenity let out a sigh and looked up at Steve, grinning softly at him and starting to giggle at how he looked so exasperated.

"Gotta love 'em," Serenity stated.

Steve shook his head. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." He looked down at her, flashing her a smile that made her weak to her knees. "You gonna hang out with me until the movie's done?"

"No, I was actually going to jazzercise." She laughed a little at the way his face fell. "I'm kidding. Yes, I'm going to hang out with you."

"Thank God. You're saving me from Robin."

Serenity rolled her eyes fondly. "Robin's a great girl. You two would actually be great friends if you weren't so damn stubborn."

Steve's mouth opened in shock. "I am not stubborn!"

"Uh-huh. Sure." Serenity patted his shoulder and turned around, walking back towards Scoops. "You've got customers, honey."

"Hold on, not so fast."

Steve hooked his finger through one of the belt loops of her jean shorts and pulled her back to him. Serenity's face flushed red as he turned her towards him, placing his hands on either side of her face. Steve then leaned down, pressing his lips against hers without another word. Serenity sighed in content and raised up on her toes, resting her hands against his arms.

Finally, after a couple of long moments, Serenity was the first to pull away. She didn't necessarily want to, but she also knew Robin would completely throw a fit if Steve wasn't back soon. The customers at Scoops were ruthless — after all, Erica Sinclair was one of them.

"Will you scoop me some butterscotch ice cream?" Serenity inquired.

"Of course," Steve answered, grabbing her hand. "Come on."

He dragged her back into the main room of Scoops. Steve let go of her hand and walked up to the ice cream, picking up a cone and an ice cream scooper. Serenity leaned against the wall by the door, crossing her arms across her chest comfortably.

Suddenly, all the lights went out. Serenity glanced up at the ceiling, her eyebrows knitting in confusion.

"That's weird," Steve admitted.

He then walked over to the light switch on the wall and started to flick it up and down. Serenity did nothing but stare at him, disbelief written all over her features. Okay, she absolutely adored Steve, but . . . what the fuck?

"That isn't gonna work, dingus," Robin told him.

"Oh, really?" Steve countered.

He then started to flick the light switch again, this time more rapidly. Serenity tilted her head in thought, watching him in amusement. Finally, when he flicked it up to on, all of the lights turned back on.

Steve looked a little smug. "Let there be light." He scooped some butterscotch ice cream into the cone before handing it to Serenity. "There you go. On me."

Serenity grinned as she started to eat her ice cream. She had a good feeling about this summer — little did she know how fast that feeling would go away.

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HI HI HI :) welcome to betty WOOOOO

I'm v v v excited for this book <3

anyways miss serenity is so you're on your own, kid I'm sobbing