Jenna found herself back in Nashville, standing in the middle of Natalie Stokes' living room on prom night, surrounded by her new friends and loud music. Different colors flooded the room as she spun around in circles with everyone in the same light blue dress she wore on that night, her smile so wide that her face was beginning to hurt from how long she had been holding it. She was on cloud nine again, higher than ever before, and it was when everything around her slowed down and "That's the Way of the World" by Earth, Wind, & Fire started to blast from the speakers all of a sudden. Then, Jenna spotted Steve from across the room that made her never want to come down from the blissful high she was feeling.

He was wearing a black tuxedo and had a blue boutonniere, the same shade as her dress, pinned on the upper right side, his hair slicked back into a nice form with no strand sticking out. Jenna was heading in his direction, with him smiling at her in a way he hadn't done in a long time. God, she adored that smile.

"Hey, Jenna," he said once she was close enough to his face to hear him. "I think you're missing something."

Jenna looked down at his hand and saw him holding a same shade of blue corsage in between his fingers. Smiling, she watched as he slipped it on her wrist, feeling her heart beating fast. When she looked back up at him, there was a soft glimmer in his eyes, one that almost made her melt into his arms. If only she could.

"Shall we dance?" Steve asked, holding out his hand for her.

Jenna bit her lip and took his hand, their fingers intertwining as they turned towards the middle of the floor. As her hands wrapped around the back of his neck and his went sliding around her waist, they moved to music, and no one stopped to watch them. It was as if no one even noticed the two in the middle of the chaos that wasn't stopping anytime soon. But Jenna didn't care, because Steve, the familiarity she missed, was here with her, and that was all that mattered. In the midst of new faces that would never fully understand her, there was Steve Harrington, the one person who always would.

"I've missed you, Jenna," he muttered.

With another smile, Jenna slowly closed her eyes and leaned in, waiting for his lips to press onto her own, though she never felt them. However, when she opened her eyes, Steve was no longer standing there, and her smile faded. In fact, no one was around anymore. She was completely alone.

Where the hell is everyone? she thought.

"Hello?" she called out in a frantic manner, looking around in the now dark room. "Steve?"

"Jenna."

She turned around to find Steve again, only he had a terrified look on his face and his nice tux for prom was now torn and dirty. "Steve..."

"Help me," he said in a desperate tone. "It's here."

Jenna froze.

Before she could say anything, another figure appeared behind Steve, and her eyes went wide at the sight of a disgruntled Billy standing there.

"You can't save him," he hissed.

Shaking her head, Jenna's expression turned desperate, hearing the sound of snarling getting closer to them. It appeared behind the boys, one of its tentacles making its way towards Steve, who tried to move but was unable to do so. He kept his eyes on Jenna, desperate for her to do something."

"Jenna..." he mumbled. "Jenna, please help me."

When Jenna attempted to take a step forward, she struggled to lift her foot off the ground. She tried harder this time, though it wouldn't budge. "No." She began to pant, her heart beating fast as the creature was getting closer to Steve. "No, please...please, not him."

"It's too late," Billy growled. "He belongs to him now."

"No!" Jenna cried again, tears streaming down her face. "Please!"

With the one tentacle beginning to wrap around one of Steve's arms, with more following suit. He was about to cry out in pain when one got around its neck and pulled him to the ground, making an effort to break free. "J-Jenna..."

"Steve!" she yelled, finding it hard to see him through her tear-stained eyes. And in a flash, the monster dragged him away. "STEVE!"

"JENNA!"

Her eyes shot open as she let out a gasp, sitting up from the bed and breathing heavily. She frantically began to look around the room, her expression horrified and puzzled. "Steve?"

"I'm right here," his familiar voice spoke as he sat on the bed by her hip.

Jenna looked over at Steve and was close to tears seeing him safe and sound in front of her. "You're...you're--"

"Hey, hey, calm down," he cut her off, a soft gaze plastered on his face. "It's okay. It was just a dream."

She took a few deep breaths before finally getting heartbeat back at a normal rhythm, along with her breathing. "It was just a dream," she repeated. "It wasn't real."

"Had a nightmare?"

Jenna nodded. "Yeah."

"About last night?"

"Sort of." You were there. You shouldn't have been there.

Steve nodded his head, though it looked like he was ready to ask another question. But instead, he said, "I used to get those sometimes."

"What?"

"Nightmares."

"Oh." Jenna paused for a moment, biting her lip. "Were they about...?"

"Yeah," he quickly answered, his body language becoming uneasy when he knew what she was referring to, even if it was so long ago.

Before the awkwardness or tension could continue to hover between them, Jenna cleared her throat and tucked some hair behind her ear. "So, uh, you gotta work today?"

"Unfortunately," Steve answered, followed with a sigh. "I actually have to get ready soon, but we can have breakfast real quick, if you want."

"Sounds good." Jenna flipped the blanket over and got out of bed, along with Steve, who led her out of the room and down the hall, then eventually down the stairs, through the living room--where she noticed that a blanket and pillow from last night was there--and finally into the kitchen.

"Do you know how to scramble eggs?" he asked.

"What?"

"Well, since my parents went out of town, all I've been eating is cereal, sandwiches, TV dinners, and takeout." He let out a chuckle. "I just figured some eggs would be a nice change."

Jenna raised her eyebrows. "And you didn't think to learn how to scramble them yourself?"

"Can you just teach me? Please?"

She couldn't help but feel sorry for him, finally nodding her head in response. "Actually, I have a better idea." She headed towards the refrigerator, opening it and finding barely anything on the shelves. "Jesus Christ, were you ever planning on going to the grocery store at some point?"

"Jenna--"

"Okay, okay." She rummaged through the somewhat empty fridge, grabbing the carton of eggs, milk, and butter from the top shelf before shutting the door. "You got any vanilla and cinnamon?"

"Uh, I don't know," he replied.

She rolled her eyes. "How about you get a bowl, a fork, a pan, and some measuring cups while I go look for it, then?"

Steve obliged, going around the kitchen to look for the things Jenna asked (and much to her surprise, it took longer than she anticipated with him not knowing where the stuff was). But by the time she was ready to go with the vanilla and cinnamon--plus some bread from the pantry, a plate from another cabinet, and a knife from the utensil drawer--he managed to find everything, despite almost letting the other pots and pans tumble out of the cabinet and onto the floor, to which she had to hold back a laugh at the sight of that.

"Okay, so what exactly are we making?" he questioned.

"We're gonna make French toast," she responded, grinning.

"Why does that sound complicated?"

"It's not, don't worry." Jenna opened the carton of eggs and grabbed one out, cracking it on the side of the bowl and letting the yolk fall inside it. "All right, now pour a quarter cup of milk in the glass measuring cup for me."

Steve nodded, taking the milk and carefully pouring it in the cup, then dumping it inside the bowl with the egg yolk. "Like this?"

"Perfect. Next, the vanilla and cinnamon." Jenna reached over to grab the measuring spoons, getting the one teaspoon first and handing it to Steve. "This is for the vanilla." She then took the half a teaspoon measuring spoon and held it up. "And this is for the cinnamon."

So the two added in the vanilla and cinnamon, with Steve commenting on how good the extract smelled, which led him to tasting it, and the disgust became obvious on his face, while Jenna giggled with amusement to the point where she was almost blushing. Though she held it together and was hoping she could do it long enough that he wouldn't notice.

However, that all changed when Steve was attempting to whisk together the ingredients and was failing miserably.

"No, that's not how you do it," she said, taking a hold of his hand that was holding the fork without giving it a second thought. She held her breath, using the whisking motion to guide Steve's hand, watching the mixture come together in the bowl. When all of the ingredients were finally whisked in, Jenna quickly let go and stood in front of the stove again, clearing her throat. "You, uh, get four pieces of bread and coat the first one in the mixture. I'm gonna get started on heating the pan up."

While Steve took out four pieces of bread, soaking each side in the egg mixture, Jenna cut a piece of butter and dropped it in the pan, sliding it around with the knife until it was fully melted. She looked over to see Steve finishing up with the first slice, to which he handed it to her, and she dropped it into the pan and let it sizzle, waiting a moment for the bread to cook before flipping it on the other side to do the same.

This went on for the next few minutes as the other three slices of bread were coated nicely and cooked to a golden brown and placed on the plate, a sweet smell of butter, cinnamon, and vanilla taking over the kitchen. Grabbing another fork, Jenna took the plate to the table, with Steve grabbing a couple of glasses, a carton of orange juice, and a bottle of syrup before sitting down across from her.

"Okay, Steve," she started to say, placing two slices of French toast onto his plate, then drizzling syrup on them before doing the same to her own two slices. "You ready to try French toast for the first time?"

"You bet," he answered, pouring some orange juice in each glass and sliding one of them to her.

With a small smile, the two broke off a piece of French toast with their forks and ate it, chewing on the bread and tasting the sweet, buttery flavor on their tongues.

"Holy shit, this is amazing," Steve stated.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Way better than cereal."

Jenna laughed and continued eating. She was starting to feel more at ease the longer she stared at Steve, seeing the way his face lit up with each bite of French toast he took. Maybe it was silly of her to grin at something so simple as eating breakfast, but things being okay between them for the first time since she got back made her content and in a way, whole again, as if everything was falling back into place and becoming normal for them like before.

But like many good things in Jenna's life, that feeling would be short-lived.

"Did your mom teach you how to make this?" Steve asked, breaking the silence.

Jenna nodded. "Yup. We always make a big breakfast on Thanksgiving and Christmas together. It's our little fun tradition since we really don't do anything special for those holidays." And at that moment, her smile faded when she remembered the conversation she had with her mother yesterday.

What if I'm not here for the holidays?

"Jenna?" Steve spoke up again. "Everything okay?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Jenna looked back up at Steve again, nodding her head. "Yeah," she lied, picking up her glass of orange juice and taking a sip.

Steve's expression turned concerned. "I can tell something's wrong, Jenna." He paused, his eyes lingering onto her, looking as if he wanted to reach over the table and grab her hand. "Does it have anything to do with last night?"

Jenna glanced up and shook her head. "No, it's..." She grew more anxious like before, and it made her hesitant to say anything else. Yet, she kept talking, even though she knew Steve wouldn't like what she was about to say. "I just remembered that I might not be with my mom for the holidays."

He raised his eyebrows in curiosity. "You mean, like, going to go visit your family in Nashville?"

"Well, not exactly visiting them."

It took a moment for Steve to grasp what Jenna was trying to say, then the realization hit him. "Wait, you're...you're going back to Nashville for good?"

"I don't know yet," she admitted, glancing back down at her plate and using her fork to get some more French toast, despite her stomach starting to twist in knots. "I think I'm gonna wait a bit longer before I make a decision."

"Oh." Steve pressed his lips together as he nodded his head, no longer having the light in his eyes like before. "That's...wow. Ididn't expect you to wanna go back so soon."

"Nothing's set in stone," Jenna said. "I just need more time to think about it."

"Right, okay." He put his head down, focusing on the rest of the French toast that was left on his plate.

Jenna let out a sigh, her face now sad at the sight of him. "I know that's the last thing you wanna hear--"

"It's fine," he cut her off, not even looking up at her again.

"Steve--"

"No, seriously, it's fine, Jenna." He stopped talking for a moment to glimpse at her this time, shrugging. "I get it. You don't wanna be stuck in this town forever." There was another pause as he let out a scoff and went back to his breakfast. "I sure as hell don't. Maybe I'll get out of here one day."

Jenna wanted to laugh at that, even though she knew that he wasn't joking. Of course, no one their age wanted to stay in Hawkins for the rest of their lives if they could help it, and she figured Steve was a bit jealous of those who were planning to go to college and could leave this small town behind them, just like Janet planned on doing. She couldn't blame him for that, especially since she'd rather not be stuck in Hawkins forever, either, after all the things they witnessed over the last couple of years, along with what Jenna had endured at the steel mill last night. It seemed as if this town only brought danger, becoming a curse that no one could break.

All of a sudden, the doorbell rang, and the two shot their heads towards the front door. Steve was the first to stand up, and Jenna quickly followed suit, wondering who could be here. She stayed beside him as he opened the door, her eyes going wide when she saw who was standing there.

Dorothy let out a gasp when she saw the injuries on her daughter, shock coming over the woman all at once. "Jenna..."

"Mom?" Jenna shot her a confused look. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to get you," she replied. "Are you okay? Steve told me over the phone last night that you were having car trouble."

"I was," she lied, starting to get a little bit flustered.

"Well, the bruises and scratches and the huge red mark on your face says otherwise." Dorothy paused as she stepped in the house and took a better look at Jenna. "What the hell happened last night?"

"Not now, Mom," Jenna whispered, almost sounding desperate so that Dorothy wouldn't embarrass her even more in front of Steve.

Her mom got the hint and sighed in response, glancing over at Steve. "Thank you for helping her out last night."

"You're welcome, Ms. Howard," he said, flashing her a weak smile.

As Dorothy smiled back, an awkward tension made its way over the middle of the three while they continued to stand in the doorway, with Jenna noticing the way her mother was eyeing both of the teenagers. Finally, after the silence became almost unbearable, Steve cleared her throat and spoke up again.

"Well, I better get ready for work," he stated, then turning to face Jenna. "I put your clothes from last night in a bag. They're in the guest room."

"Okay, thanks," Jenna replied, spinning on her heel to go up the stairs. She was tempted to skip a few steps due to how frazzled she was with her mom showing up, but she didn't want to risk tripping and falling on her face. Taking her time down the hallway, she noticed how fast her heart was beating just thinking about it, not knowing whether or not Steve would ask if she was okay or simply laugh at her for making a fool of herself. Then again, he'd probably do both.

Just like Steve had said, a plastic bag all tied up with her dirty clothes inside was sitting on the bed in the guest room. Jenna assumed that if he didn't know how to make something easy like scrambled eggs then he most likely didn't know how to work a washer and dryer. She was starting to wonder how he managed knowing how often his parents went out of town. Then again, he was probably used to it, but she knew that he had to learn at some point if he wanted to get out of Hawkins and be on his own.

Jenna put on her shoes from last night before grabbing the bag and car keys, then making her way back downstairs, where Steve and her mother were still standing there, lifting their heads to face her. Hopping from the last step, she sighed and looked over at her mom.

"I'm gonna help Steve clean up the kitchen real quick," she told her.

"I can do it," he interjected.

She chuckled. "Oh, come on, I helped make the mess."

"No, it's fine," he said in a more dry voice. "I can clean it up."

Jenna, surprised by the change of tone, nodded her head, anyway. "Okay." She followed her mom out through the doorway, turning back around and giving Steve a grateful expression. "Thank you again for everything you did last night, Steve."

He nodded, leaning against the door frame. "You're welcome, Jenna. Thanks for the cooking lesson."

She grinned in response. "No problem. Maybe I can teach you how to scramble eggs next time."

A weak grin formed across his lips. "Sounds good." While his words made it seem like he was looking forward to it, his tone said otherwise.

But Jenna didn't press on, giving Steve one last wave before turning around and walking down the pathway with her mom, hearing the door close behind her. She got inside the car and slumped into the passenger's seat, keeping her eyes fixated on the front door, though she wasn't too sure why. Maybe she thought Steve would come outside and see them off, wanting to steal one more glance of Jenna before her mom drove far enough down the street that he couldn't see them anymore. That was how she imagined it happening when he came to say goodbye to her when she left for Nashville if he had actually made it in time to see her leave. Deep down, Jenna would've been happy to see him just one last time, despite the way they had left things off the night at the quarry.

"So where's your car?" Dorothy asked as they were driving down the road and getting farther from Steve's house.

"It's at Brimborn Steelworks," Jenna answered, getting nervous that her mom would ask more questions.

Sure enough, that was exactly what she did. "What were you doing all the way out there?"

"I was..." She trailed off, knowing how her mom would react if she knew the truth. I was following Billy and Heather there because something's definitely wrong with them and it turns out the Mind Flayer is back and has control of them, along with Heather's parents as of last night. Yeah, Jenna was so certain saying all of that would go well.

"You were what, Jenna?" Dorothy raised her eyebrows when briefly looking over at her daughter. "Were you meeting someone there?"

"Not exactly," she mumbled.

"What does that mean?"

"I followed some people there."

"Who?"

"Just some kids from school."

"Why?"

"Oh my God, Mom, can you slow down with the questions?"

"You really expected me to not ask a bunch of questions when I found you at Steve's house all banged up and wearing his clothes?" she retorted. "I just want to know what actually happened."

Jenna huffed a sigh and leaned back into the seat, crossing her arms as she looked out the window. Her heart sank at the thought of telling her mom about what happened with Billy and Heather last night, along with her parents and...

The Mind Flayer.

It was all happening again. Every nightmare Jenna had about this returning was now coming true and the last thing she wanted was her mom to worry about her even more. Her mom didn't need that stress on her right now, but also how could she not say anything when more lives were at risk?

"Have you noticed anything...odd going on around Hawkins lately?" Jenna questioned.

"Like what, exactly?"

"Just...you know, like something is off. Seen anyone acting strange the last few days?"

Dorothy looked as if she was figuring out how to answer her daughter's questions now. After some reluctance, she opened her mouth to speak. "Well, Joyce is having a time with magnets not working at her house and at Melvald's."

Jenna shot her mom a puzzled look. "Magnets?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but..." Dorothy stopped talking and sighed. "I also thought her talking to Will through Christmas lights was crazy, too."

"So what are you saying?"

Her mom took a deep breath as she kept driving, eventually making it to the steel mill and pulling up next to Jenna's car, which hadn't been moved or touched since she saw it last night. "I'm saying that if there is something going on like before, then..." Dorothy paused, chuckling a little and shaking her head. "I really can't tell you to stay out of it, can I?" She averted her eyes to Jenna, her expression filled with sadness and a hint of defeat. "How about you just be careful, okay?"

Jenna swallowed hard and nodded her head. "I will, Mom." Her heart sank at the words, as she hated making promises that she couldn't keep, especially to her own mother.

Dorothy stared at her for another moment before nodding back and speaking up again. "Good." She paused for a moment, grinning slightly before continuing on. "So, you taught Steve how to cook this morning?"

Jenna playfully rolled her eyes. "He asked me if I knew how to scramble eggs."

"Oh, he did, huh?"

"Yes, he did. But I suggested cooking French toast instead."

"Really?" Dorothy raised her eyebrows. "And did you tell him that French toast is your favorite?"

It took everything for Jenna to not blush from her mom's question by looking down and gathering her things. "I'll see you later." She opened the door and hurried out of the car, turning back and waving at her mom before getting inside her own car and hearing the sound of tires crushing the gravel below and driving away.

As Jenna started the engine and was about head as far from the steel mill as possible, Steve remained in her mind. She thought about how he'd react to the fact that French toast was her favorite breakfast food. While the idea of him smiling at learning about that little detail, along with enjoying the rest of breakfast and seeing Jenna still wearing his favorite t-shirt, it would only ignite the spark from before, one that Jenna would let fizzle out once again. Why set both of them up for more heartbreak? She had a feeling that it'd be déjà vu all over again very soon with Steve knowing about her possibly going back to Nashville for good.

Jenna quickly snapped out of her thoughts and went back to focusing on the road, which she then realized that she accidentally turned the wrong way when leaving the steel mill.

"Dammit," she mumbled, groaning and deciding to speed up a little out of frustration. Though it didn't take long for her to slam on the brakes when a figure appeared on the road all of a sudden. "Shit!" With wide eyes, Jenna took a better look at the person she almost hit, exhaling loudly, turning off the car, and stepping out when she recognized him.

"Jesus Christ!" Eddie shouted, his expression filled with irritation as he flung his arms in the air. "You trying to kill me, Howard?"

"No, I just didn't see you," she admitted. "But you mind telling me why the hell you were walking in the middle of the road to begin with?"

"Because usually not many people come down this road much," he replied, taking a puff from his cigarette, letting the smoke fade away in front of him.

"Well, unfortunately for you, I got distracted and went the wrong way," she explained, crossing her arms. "Kind of a long way from the trailer park without a car, aren't you?"

Eddie rolled his eyes in response. "I had somewhere to be and my uncle needed the van since his truck was messed up."

"By 'somewhere,' you mean a drug deal?"

"It's none of your business."

"Oh, come on, everyone knows that's your thing."

"There's more to me than just being a drug dealer, Howard. Just like I'm sure there's more to you than just being a party girl." He paused, eyeing Jenna's outfit from head to toe. "Which, uh, speaking of parties--"

"Is there anything else you need or can I go?" Jenna cut him off in an irritated tone.

"Actually, I need a ride back to the trailer park," he answered. "You know, if you can spare the time to help Eddie 'The Freak' Munson, that is."

Jenna stared at Eddie without replying, reluctant to accept his favor. Really, she was tempted to leave him on the side of the road and not give it another thought. But of course, she'd hear it from her mother if she were to do that, which would only cause tension between the Howard and Munson families. Besides, it was starting to get hotter outside, and with Eddie's long-sleeve attire and thick hair, there was no way he'd be able to stand it much longer.

"Get in," she finally said, spinning around and getting back inside her car, with Eddie following suit. She didn't glance his way before starting the engine back up again and continuing down the road.

Eddie rolled down his window and went back to focusing on the cigarette still in between his fingers. "Want a cigarette?" he asked.

"No," she simply replied, the smell already overpowering her nostrils.

"You sure? You seem a little tense."

"I'm fine."

Eddie was quiet for a moment, reaching in his pocket for a lighter and a pack of cigarettes, then pulling one out and holding it out for Jenna. "No offense, but you look like you need one."

Jenna turned her head this time and looked at the cigarette, where the reminder of her old self was starting to come back. But she did feel tense given what was going on, and she hadn't been able to relieve any of the stress. In a way, seeing the cigarette made her desperate to just feel relaxed, even if it didn't last very long. So she took the cigarette from him and placed it in between her fingers and let Eddie light it for her, inhaling some smoke and quickly rolled down her window to let it all fly out, starting to feel somewhat relaxed.

"Thanks," she said, her tone more soft this time.

"No problem," he responded, adjusting in his seat as he started flipping the lighter lid on and off. "Nice outfit. Is this your walk of shame look?"

"Ugh, gag me with a spoon, Munson," she snapped.

"Seriously, they don't even look like your clothes."

"That's because they're not mine."

Eddie didn't say anything right away, but let out a chuckle instead. "Wait, are you wearing Harrington's clothes? Did you two--"

"No," she quickly replied, tightening her grip on the steering wheel. "I just stayed over at his house last night."

"That still doesn't explain why you're wearing his clothes."

Jenna huffed a sigh. "It's a long story," she mumbled. "And also a complicated one."

Eddie snorted. "Yeah, Attaway said the same thing."

Jenna almost coughed on the smoke she inhaled at the sound of her best friend's name. "Wait, you saw Janet? When?"

"Yesterday."

"What was she doing hanging out with you?"

"In case you forgot, she lives in the trailer park, too," he retorted.

Jenna rolled her eyes, though she was relieved that Janet had been with him and not in any danger, especially if it involved Billy. "So what did she want?"

Eddie shrugged. "She came over for some weed and we just started talking."

"About me."

"No, not just about you, Howard."

"But I bet I was the most interesting subject to talk about."

He smirked, flicking the cigarette out of the window. "It was one hell of a story."

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. "What exactly did Janet tell you?"

Eddie scoffed in response. "You and Harrington."

Jenna let out another sigh and continued working on her cigarette. "Of course she did."

"And it was a lot to unpack," he stated. "I mean, I knew you and him had a weird thing going on..."

"Yeah, thanks for the reminder." After one last puff, she threw out the cigarette, almost coming close to asking for another one.

"Well, Attaway's just frustrated with you two going back and forth over everything," he said. "I mean, hell, I'm kind of annoyed with it, too, now that I'm caught up."

"Why do you even care?"

"Because she was right about you two."

"Right about what?"

"About both of you needing to get your shit together and just telling each other how you really feel."

Something inside Jenna was tempted to slam on brakes again and throw Eddie back out onto the side of the road for saying that. Of course, there was no denying it, yet Janet knew a lot more about the circumstances than Eddie ever would. God forbid he learned too much about the monsters of Hawkins.

But Jenna didn't come up with a rebuttal to spit back at Eddie over what he told her. Instead, she kept her eyes on the road and picked up the speed.

She couldn't have been happier to enter Forest Hills Trailer Park just a few minutes later, with Eddie muttering which way to go and Jenna obliging to his directions. When they pulled up to the front of his dirty white and teal trailer, she put the car in park and leaned back in her seat, turning to face Eddie and waiting for him to get out of the car.

He opened the car door, about to step out when he turned back around to face Jenna again. "Look, I know that I'm the last person you want to hear romantic advice from--"

"Uh, yeah, you are."

"Well, you're gonna hear it from me, anyway," he retorted. "All I'm saying is, speaking from experience, you just gotta say fuck it and go with your gut."

She scoffed. "And what if shit hits the fan? What then?"

A small grin formed across his lips. "I don't think you need to worry about that."

Jenna furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "What the hell does that mean?"

Eddie kept the playful expression on his face as he exited the car, slamming the door shut without turning back around. "Thanks for the ride, Howard!" he shouted, holding his arm up as a way of waving goodbye while strolling towards the trailer.

With an irritated groan, Jenna put the car in reverse and backed up, then flooring it once she was back in drive. She wanted to be frustrated at the conversation she just had with Eddie, annoyed that he thought he could tell her what to do regarding her situation with Steve.

Except she couldn't bring herself to feel that way, no matter how hard she tried. She was starting to think that his words were making some sort of impact on her, like they were actually convincing her to go through with the advice.

Then, at the thought of Steve again, a funny feeling similar to butterflies formed at the pit of her stomach, and Jenna took it as a sign to listen to Eddie "The Freak" Munson this one time.

Fuck it.

~~~~~~~

A/N: Oh my, an update? Yeah, I can't believe it, either.

So I started a new job in September and it's been an adjustment lol but I'm definitely getting there and hopefully I'll be able to write more once that's all figured out.

Anyway, what did y'all think?

Comment, vote, more to come soon!

-A