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𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗬

chapter ten:
anything but fine

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SERENITY SAT AT the dining room table of the Wheeler house, a blanket draped around her shoulders and a mug of hot tea in between her hands. Her hair was wet from the shower she had taken to get all of the sweat, tears, dirt, and Mind Flayer slime off of her. She was also in a fresh pair of clothes instead of that red shirt and jean skirt outfit combo that she had been sporting for about the past two days.

All of the kids were downstairs with Jonathan, none of them really wanting to separate after what they had just seen. And Serenity really didn't want to be alone, but she didn't want to let her kids see her in such a state. So she was upstairs with Nancy, who had volunteered to stick by Serenity (not verbally, it had just happened.)

Serenity stared down at the tea in the mug, watching the steam rise up off of it. It was a warm night, but the blanket and tea were just comfort things. Of course, she wished she had comfort in other forms — Steve — but that's just not how her life worked. So she just let the warmth from the blanket and her tea slowly calm her down, but it did nothing for the things that flashed through her mind.

Blood.

Pile of guts.

Monster.

Running.

Adrenaline.

Teeth.

Shrieking.

Slime.

Fear.

Serenity had been inches from death if it hadn't been for Eleven. She hadn't really let that sink in until now. Serenity could've died back there in that hospital, and the only thought that had been in her mind was Steve, and how she hadn't gotten to see him again before then. It was like her mind was stuck back in that room, playing over and over again.

She shifted in her chair, wincing slightly. Her body was pretty sore from all that running and from being slammed into the wall. Her shower had helped some, but not much. Hot water could only do so much for muscles, and apparently it could only do so much for the feeling of slime.

(Serenity could still feel it on her skin, no matter how hard she scrubbed. And she scrubbed until her skin was red.)

All of this just left Serenity wondering why the Upside Down existed in the first place. Couldn't it just leave them alone? And how did it exist? There were too many questions that couldn't be answered.

"Your tea okay?"

Serenity blinked, snapping herself out of her thoughts. She looked up from her mug to see Nancy standing next to her, her eyes kind and understanding. Nancy pulled out the chair next to Serenity and sat down, folding her hands on the table.

"It's fine," Serenity replied, even though she hadn't drank any yet. "Thank you for making it."

"Of course," Nancy said softly. "So, I just tried to call Steve again. No answer."

"Like it has been." Serenity sighed and reached a hand up, rubbing her face tiredly. "Something's wrong. Really wrong. It doesn't make sense that his car would be at the mall but he wouldn't be. I just . . . I have a bad feeling about it, Nance. With everything going on with us, he could be in a lot of danger. And he probably doesn't even know the Mind Flayer's back."

"Wherever he is, he's probably thinking the same thing as you." Nancy paused for a moment. "You just want him to be okay, and he most likely wants you to be okay."

"I'm not," Serenity stated.

The words hung in the air. It was the first time she had really admitted that out loud. She wasn't okay. And, to be honest, she didn't know how to fix it. Sure, Steve could help her, but this felt . . . bigger than that. She had learned a little bit about PTSD as the studies came out, and always disregarded it because she hadn't been in a war, but now . . . this felt like a war.

"I know," Nancy responded quietly. She reached out and placed a gentle hand over Serenity's. "And it's okay not to be. You just experienced something awful. Nobody's going to bounce back from that so quickly."

"I'm just so tired," Serenity admitted, tears pricking at the back of her eyes. "I don't understand why this is happening, or why we always have to take care of it. Can't we just be normal? Can't we just be teenagers going to the mall and being stupid? We shouldn't have to be doing any of this."

"You're right, we shouldn't." Nancy let out a deep breath. "But we're the only ones who know what to do."

"Right." Serenity nodded a little. "Eleven. But even then, she's just a kid. She should be carefree. It isn't fair."

"It's not," Nancy agreed. "I wish all of this would just disappear, but it can't unless we do something about it."

Deep down, Serenity knew she was right. The Mind Flayer had tried to kill her, so now . . . maybe it was time for her to try and kill the Mind Flayer.

(She didn't know how, but she could start with the bat.)

❯ ────── ｢ ✾ ｣ ────── ❮

THE FOURTH OF JULY should've been a fun holiday. Fireworks, fairs — all that good shit that celebrated America's independence. Serenity, however, couldn't really agree that this Fourth of July was fun.

Serenity, all of the kids (except for Dustin, who was missing too, which only increased Serenity's anxiety — she hoped he was with Steve, wherever he was), Nancy, and Jonathan all gathered in Hopper's remote cabin in the woods. Eleven was back in her bedroom, using her powers with static from the television to try and find those they knew that had been flayed. Max and Mike were having an argument on the couch about Eleven that Serenity really couldn't be bothered to join. Lucas sat off to the side from there, occasionally chiming into their conversation but mostly eating a box of Honey Smacks.

Meanwhile, Serenity sat on one of the stools in the kitchen next to Will. Nancy was calling to follow up on some things she believed could be connected to the Mind Flayer — aka the chemicals — while Jonathan flipped through the phone book, crossing out the places they had already tried. Serenity placed her chin into the palm of her hand and watched Nancy.

"Uh, yes, from The Hawkins Post," Nancy began. "I — I called a couple days ago about the — yes, yes, um . . . I was just . . . following up to see if anything else had gone missing, or if — okay. Um, sorry to bother—"

Nancy sighed and put the phone back on the wall. Serenity shook her head and smiled gently at the way Will put his hand on her shoulder for a moment. Jonathan picked up his pen and scribbled an X over the place that Nancy had just called.

"Who's next?" Nancy asked.

"There is no next," Jonathan answered. "Unless you want to start calling random people's homes."

Nancy threw her notepad down on the counter in frustration. "It doesn't make sense."

"What part of any of this makes sense?"

"True," Serenity agreed. "Nothing in Hawkins has ever made sense."

"But there's a pattern, okay?" Nancy insisted. "A consistency to their behavior. They've been feeding on these chemicals since this started, and — and what? They just stop out of the blue?"

"Maybe they have all of the chemicals they need," Will replied. "Maybe they've all turned into those . . . things."

Serenity felt a shiver go up her spine. Things. Piles of guts controlled by the Mind Flayer. She was sure she would never get that image out of her head.

"But what about the source?" Nancy continued. "I mean, did the Mind Flayer just suddenly stop infecting people? And even if the flayed are monsters now, why can't El find them?"

"Who fucking knows?" Serenity complained. "Nothing is easy for us. This shit always happens."

"Okay, can you guys settle an argument for us?" Max interrupted, walking up to their group with Mike and Lucas trailing behind her. "Who do you think should decide El's limits? Mike or Eleven?"

"The way that you frame that is such bullshit," Mike protested.

"It's not bullshit, Mike. This is your whole problem. And it's also precisely the reason why she dumped your ass."

Serenity shrugged. Well, she really couldn't argue with that.

Nancy looked at Mike in shock. "El dumped you?"

"Yeah, because Max and Renny are conspiring against me," Mike said. "They're corrupting her."

Serenity raised her eyebrows. "I'm sorry, what the hell did you just say? Me? Corrupting? Aren't you also the same boy who was telling me all about how you wanted me to meet Eleven? Well, guess what. I met her. And I can clearly tell how much she's been sheltered, so sue me for wanting her to explore the world. She is old enough to make her own decisions without anybody telling her what to do, like it's been her whole life." Her eyes narrowed at him. "You're upset, I get it, but maybe watch your tone before speaking to me like that."

"She's risking her life for no reason."

"For no reason?" Nancy repeated incredulously. "Mike, the flayed are out there doing God knows what."

"Killing, flaying . . ." Lucas stated.

"Transforming into monsters," Will added.

"And El's not stupid," Nancy voiced. "She knows her abilities better than any of us."

Max nodded. "Exactly, thank you."

"And she is her own person."

"Exactly."

"With her own free will," Nancy finished.

"Exactly," Max agreed. "El has saved the world twice, and Mike still doesn't trust her."

Mike rounded on her. "You wanna talk about trust, really? After you and Renny made Eleven spy on us?"

Serenity's eyes widened and she sat up straighter in her chair. Well, shit.

"Wait, what?" Lucas cut in.

"Oh, she didn't tell you this?" Mike questioned.

"No."

"Your girlfriend used El's power to spy on us, and Renny let them."

"No, no, no, I did not make her," Max argued. "It was her idea."

Lucas slid his eyes over to Serenity. "You agreed to it?"

Serenity raised her hands in surrender. "Personally, I didn't feel that good about it. They wouldn't have listened to me if I told them no. I can only have so much power over teenagers."

"And why are we even talking about this, seriously?" Max inquired.

"Yeah, who cares?" Will voiced.

"I care," Lucas insisted.

"Yeah, I guess girlfriends don't lie, they spy," Mike said, looking directly at Max. He then looked at Serenity. "I bet you wanted Eleven to look at what Steve was doing."

Serenity sent him a harsh look, her heart hurting at just the mention of his name. "Don't you dare bring up Steve."

"We were just joking around," Max protested, noticing the slightly pained look on Serenity's face.

"Wouldn't it've been so funny if I was taking a massive shit or something?" Mike countered.

"You weren't."

"But what if I was?"

"Then gross!" Max exclaimed.

"Seriously, Mike?" Nancy complained.

"I'm just trying to demonstrate how careless Max and Renny are with Eleven's powers," Mike responded. "In fact, how careless all of you are. You're treating her like some kind of machine when she's not a machine, and I don't want her to die looking for the flayed when they've obviously vanished off the face of the Earth. So can we please just come up with a new plan because I love her and I can't lose her again!"

Silence.

Serenity stared at Mike, her eyes softening and the angry features on her face softening into more understanding ones. Now she got it. Everything started to make sense. Mike just wanted Eleven to be okay because she was the one person who he truly could be himself around, and the thought of losing her killed him. All because he loved her. Much like how Serenity felt around Steve.

Wait a second.

Oh.

Oh no.

The sound of a door opening shocked Serenity out of her slight panic. She looked over, only to see Eleven coming out of her room. Once Eleven noticed their group, she stopped in her tracks, confusion flashing across her features.

"What's going on?" Eleven asked.

"Nothing," Mike answered immediately. "Nothing."

"Just a family discussion," Lucas told her.

"Oh," Eleven said. Awkward silence again for a moment. "I found him."

"Found who?" Nancy questioned.

Eleven didn't have to answer. Serenity already knew. And finding him meant finding out more about the Mind Flayer . . . but Serenity wasn't sure if she wanted to.

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RENNY USES THE BAT NEXT CHAPTER WOOOOO