It turned out that running down a hallway to get away from Russian soldiers while dragging two loopy teenagers was very difficult.

For one thing, neither Steve or Robin could focus long enough to keep up with the others, resulting in Jenna and Carlie having to put the two in front of them so that they didn't try to wander off anymore. Another thing was that the Russians could corner the group at any moment, and Jenna continuously looked at her surroundings while staying prepared to use her powers. She was about to wonder how much longer they had to run when she spotted the empty cart up ahead, with Dustin and Erica hopping in the front seats, leaving Jenna and Carlie helping Steve and Robin in the back, then squeezing in next to them, almost falling out as Dustin hit the pedal before Jenna could even shut the door. The faster Dustin was going, the more nauseating it got for the four as they were being thrown around in the back.

"Jesus, slow down!" Steve said through the cage in a slurred voice.

"Yeah, what is this, like, the Indy 500?" Robin added.

"It's the Indy 300," Steve tried to correct her.

"No, dingus, it's 500!"

"It's 300!"

"Let's say a million."

The two began to laugh loudly, which left Jenna and Carlie exchanging looks of confusion.

"What is wrong with them?" Erica asked in an irritated tone.

"I don't know," Dustin answered, sounding stressed out.

"Dustin, watch out!" Erica yelled.

"Shit!"

All of a sudden, Dustin slammed on brakes, hitting a couple of barrels in the process, causing the four teenagers in the back to fly forward and collide with each other.

"You guys all right back there?" Dustin called out. The four groaned in response. "They're fine."

Jenna rubbed her forehead, opening her eyes to find herself staring down at Steve as she was on top of him, in which he was looking up at her. Instead of scrambling to get off of him, she locked eyes with him for a brief moment, though they were interrupted with the door swinging open. Jenna was prepared for one of them to say something about the position she was literally in, but instead, Dustin motioned them to get out of the cart.

"Come on. We gotta go, now," he said.

When Jenna and Carlie were the only ones obliging, Dustin and Erica grew more annoyed with the other two.

"Come on! Get out!" Erica shouted.

"Let's go!" Dustin added, clapping his hands, then grabbing Steve and yanking him out of the cart.

"Ow! We're coming!" Steve retorted.

While Carlie took a hold of Robin and helped her out, Jenna had to catch Steve before he fell to the floor. She felt his hands grip her shoulders, trying to steady himself before straightening back up and letting out a sigh.

"This sucks," Steve whined.

"Tell me something I don't know," Jenna mumbled.

"Let's go!" Dustin yelled from the elevator as it opened up.

The four rushed to get inside with the younger kids, putting the alarm still blaring down the hallway behind them as the door closed and Dustin pushed the button for the elevator to go back up.

"Okay, so what happens now?" Erica questioned.

"We gotta find the others and tell them about the Russians," Dustin explained.

"How about we figure out what the hell is wrong with Steve and Robin first?" Carlie spoke up, motioning at the two Scoops Ahoy employees, with Steve standing on a metal platform truck and Robin holding onto the handles, both of them howling with glee as they swayed from side to side.

"Hey! You look like you're--" Robin started to say.

"Surfing!" Steve said in unison with her.

"They seem drunk," Erica commented.

"Why would they be drunk?" Dustin asked.

"I'm a natural! Check it out!" Steve kept his arms out to balance himself on the platform, though Robin was quick to pull it out from under him, causing him to slide into the corner.

"Wipeout!" Robin shouted, followed by laughing, with Steve letting out a chuckle as well.

Jenna went over and got down on the floor next to him, placing her hand on his forehead. "Holy shit, Steve, you're burning up."

"You're burning up," he retorted, then let out another laugh. "Get it? Because you're hot?"

"Jesus Christ, Steve, this is not the time to be flirting right now!" Dustin spoke up.

"He's talking about her superpowers," Robin chimed back in.

"Noooo, I'm talking about Jenna," Steve protested.

Jenna's heart skipped a beat, though the feeling didn't last long as she focused on his red eyes and dilated pupils and she began to grow concerned. "What the hell did they do to you?" she asked.

"Maybe he's drugged," Erica suggested.

"Steve, are you drugged?" Dustin asked.

Steve let out a scoff. "How many times, Dad? I don't do drugs. It's only marijuana." He paused and glanced back at Jenna. "My hot best friend here knows that."

This time, Jenna felt the blood rush to her face, unable to hide the way she was becoming flattered at his comments.

Dustin rolled his eyes in annoyance. "This isn't funny, okay? We need to know what they did to you. Are you gonna die on us?"

"We all die, my strange little child friend," Robin spoke up, her expression wide-eyed as she twirled some strands of her hair. "It's just a matter of how and when."

Dustin, along with Jenna, Carlie, and Erica, merely stared at Robin with puzzled looks. Robin, however, appeared to be unfazed by her own words and continued to smile in her loopy state.

"Well, that really took a dark turn," Jenna commented.

Dustin shook his head and put his focus on Steve, Jenna, and Carlie. "Okay, listen, they're gonna be looking for us up there, so I need you to tell me where you guys parked your cars."

"Oh, can we make a pit stop at the food court?" Steve asked, ignoring Dustin.

"I would kill for a hot dog on a stick," Robin added.

Jenna's stomach began to growl at the thought of food, silently agreeing with the two that stopping at the food court wasn't a bad idea.

The curly-haired boy resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "All right. Yeah, food. Yes, you can have as much food as you want, but only if you tell me where your car is parked, Steve."

Steve's face then turned into an expression of realization. "Uh-oh."

"'Uh-oh?'"

"The car's off the board."

"What?"

"They took the keys. The Russians, they took the keys. Like, forever ago." Steve started to fumble around in his short pockets, coming up empty.

Jenna quickly looked down at her shorts and checked her pockets as well, only to find them empty as well. "Shit. They took my keys, too."

"And I don't have a car," Carlie added.

Dustin groaned. "Dammit."

"That's a bummer, right?" Steve said, starting to laugh again, along with Robin.

Dustin shot Jenna, Carlie, and Erica a look of distress, in which the others silently agreed with the message he was giving them.

We're so fucked.

The rest of the elevator ride consisted of listening to Steve and Robin go back and forth making little jokes and laughing at them, even if they didn't make any sense. Despite being concerned for the state they were in, Jenna couldn't help but find it amusing, especially since she hadn't seen Steve smile like this in a long time. The sad part was that she just knew it wouldn't last long once the side effects of the drugs start to wear off.

Suddenly, the elevator came to a stop, and with the keycard in hand, Dustin used it to open the door, leading the others outside back to where they started from, the night air hitting them in the face that made the group relieved to see the sky.

"Okay, new plan," Dustin began mumbling to himself. "First, find some new batteries for this walkie..."

"Oh my God, that tastes so good!" Robin exclaimed, sticking her tongue out. "Steve, can you taste the air?"

"I taste it! I taste it!" Steve did the same with his tongue, glancing over at Jenna. "Try it, Jenna!"

"Yeah, you, too, Carlie! It tastes sooooo good!" Robin giggled.

"We'll take your word for it," Carlie told her.

The group didn't get too far when the gates in front of them began to open, revealing two Russian guards pulling out their guns and running after them. Dustin and Erica were the first to turn around, yelling at the others to follow them. Jenna then grabbed Steve's hand, with Carlie doing the same to Robin, as they went through another set of doors on their left, entering back inside the mall.

"Shit! Come on! Come on!" Dustin shouted.

"Okay, okay, okay! Woo!" Robin cheered, placing her arms in the air.

"Why are we running?" Steve asked in a carefree tone.

No one answered his question as they headed down the hallway, not turning back to see how far the guards were behind them. So far, the group wasn't able to hear them, which appeared to be a good sign, though they still had to be careful.

"Whoa!" Steve cried as they turned a corner.

"Where are we going?" Erica questioned Dustin.

"Just trust me!" he told her.

I don't think we have a choice at this point, Jenna thought.

Once they reached the door at the end of the hall, Dustin pushed it ajar and poked his head out, looking both ways before stating, "All clear." He was the first to exit the hallway, with the rest following suit.

Jenna found herself looking at the maroon walls and the movie-themed carpet she was stepping on, realizing that they were at Starcourt Cinemas. She briefly looked over at the movie poster for Back to the Future, a movie that appeared to have just been released. While sneaking in, she saw Steve reaching into the trash can for a bag of popcorn, stuffing a handful of the snack into his mouth.

"Ew, don't eat that!" she scolded him, except he ignored her completely and snatched the bag.

As the double doors in the theater flew open, the group was met with the sound of an old man shouting on the screen, followed by clanging noises. None of them were actually paying much attention to what was going on with Dustin taking them to the very front row and shooting Steve and Robin a stern look.

"You two, sit," he commanded, pointing at the two empty seats.

"No, no no!" Robin whined in a hushed tone, sitting down, anyway. "These seats are too close!"

"Dude, these seats blow," Steve added with a mouthful of popcorn.

"Then don't watch the movie," Dustin said.

"We wanna watch it!" Robin protested.

"Then watch it!" Dustin snapped in a louder voice than before.

A man coming from a few seats over shushed Dustin, in which Steve and Robin shushed back at him.

"Sorry," Dustin told him, then focused back on the drugged teens. "Listen, whatever you do, don't go anywhere."

"Fine, Dad," Steve retorted, in which Robin let out a snicker.

Dustin huffed a sigh and looked over at Jenna and Carlie. "Watch them, please."

"And what are you gonna do?" Jenna asked.

"Find us a ride, that's what."

Rolling her eyes, Jenna took the chair behind Steve, while Carlie sat in the one behind Robin. She watched as Dustin and Erica went to the other end of the row, where they talked for a moment before the small boy stood up and hurried back down the aisle and eventually outside the theater. Her eyes went back to Steve and Robin, who now looked very invested in the movie.

"What's happening?" Robin whispered.

"I have no idea," Steve said.

"How long do you think it'll be before the drugs start to wear off?" Carlie asked Jenna.

"No clue," Jenna admitted. "But maybe by the time Henderson gets us that ride they'll be back to normal."

"So what, we just lay low for now?"

"Pretty much."

Carlie nodded her head and sighed, leaning back in her seat. "Got it. Sounds easy enough, right?"

"Holy shit!" Steve blurted all of a sudden, startling Jenna and Carlie and causing more people to scold his way to be quiet. "That chick looks like Jenna!"

Jenna looked up at the screen, where she saw a teenaged girl in curls and a purple-checkered dress with a tan cardigan draped over her shoulders, holding a soft expression on her face as she stared at the boy sitting across from her, who looked like he was about to have a heart attack the longer he kept his eyes on her. The longer Jenna kept her eyes on the girl, the more she could see some resemblance.

"Whoa, you guys could be twins!" Robin stated, spinning her head around and looking at Jenna with wide eyes. "Do you have a twin that we don't know about?"

"No, I don't," she answered, trying not to sound annoyed. "Just keep watching the movie."

Robin turned back around and faced the front. "Freaaaaky," she mumbled in a sing-song voice.

"I'm getting thirsty," Steve spoke up again, standing up and throwing his bag on the chair. "Let's ditch this movie," he added, spitting out some popcorn in the process.

"Dustin wanted you to stay here," Carlie protested.

"Try and stop us, then," Robin retorted, grinning while getting up from her seat as well and running down the aisle with Steve and out the double doors.

"Dammit," Jenna muttered, rushing to follow them out of the theater, along with Carlie right behind her. She continued cursing to herself, hoping the two didn't go very far just for something to drink. Much to her relief, she found them at the water fountain by the restrooms just outside the cinema, with Steve leaned over as he took gulps.

"At least they didn't get too far," Carlie commented, walking over to where they were standing, with Jenna next to her.

"That's amazing," Steve said in between sips.

Robin was leaning against the Back to the Future movie poster on the wall, waiting for Steve to finish up at the water fountain. "So, like, I wasn't totally focused in there or anything, but...I'm pretty sure...that mom wasn't trying to bang her son."

"Wait, wait, Jenna's twin was Alex P. Keaton's mom?" Steve asked.

Jenna rolled her eyes at the fact that the other girl was now known as "Jenna's twin," as well as the Family Ties reference.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure," Robin confirmed.

"But they're the same age."

"No, but he went back in time."

"Then why is it called Back to the Future?"

"He has to go back to the future because he's in the past. So, the future is actually the present, which is his time."

For a moment, Steve looked like he understood Robin's explanation, but then with furrowed eyebrows, he turned his head and said, "Wh...What?"

"No, no, it's my turn. You've had enough." Robin shoved Steve away from the fountain, taking some water for herself.

It didn't take long for Steve to become distracted, finding himself staring up at the blue lights on the ceiling, completely mesmerized at them. "Wow," he said. "Hey, Jenna, come here."

"What is it?" she asked.

"Look at the ceiling."

She tilted her head up and looked at the ceiling for a few seconds. "Okay, what about it?"

"Don't you see it?"

"See what?"

"How beautiful it is."

Jenna gave him an odd look, then quickly assumed it was the drugs again, as there was nothing spectacular about the ceiling.

"Hey, Robin. You gotta check this out." He paused as Robin made her way next to him and started looking up with him. "This...The ceiling, it's beautiful."

"Oh, wow," she uttered, slowly spinning around in circles and letting out a small chuckle.

"I think the drugs are about to wear off," Carlie whispered to Jenna.

"Why do you say that?" she questioned.

"Because they don't look so good."

Sure enough, Jenna noticed the way they held their stomachs, letting out groans as their expressions turned queasy. Before either one of the girls could ask if they were okay, the two sailors spun on their heels and dashed for the restrooms, and the faint sounds of them vomiting could be heard as the door was closing behind them.

"Should we go after them?" Carlie inquired.

"Nah, they just need a few minutes to get it out of their system," Jenna answered, pressing her back against the wall and sliding down until she was sitting on the floor. "We can just wait out here until they're done."

"Okay." Carlie went to join Jenna by the wall, taking a deep breath while doing so.

"You good?" Jenna asked.

"Yeah," Carlie answered, nodding her head. "I mean, I'm kind of shaken up from being in an underground Russian base, but other than that, I'm doing okay." She stopped talking for a moment, then went on, turning her head to face Jenna with raised eyebrows. "So, um, are we gonna talk about the other thing?"

"What other thing?"

"The fact that you have superpowers?"

Jenna let out an awkward laugh. "Oh, that other thing." She scratched the back of her head, knowing this conversation was bound to happen at some point after what Carlie witnessed in the underground base.

"I've gotta admit, it freaked me out a little seeing you go all Carrie on those Russian soldiers." Carlie chuckled nervously, and even Jenna formed a weak grin on her lips at the comment. "But it helped us escape, so...thank you."

There was a moment where Jenna felt some ease, content that Carlie was able to see that Jenna really wasn't the same person she was back at Hawkins High. "You're welcome," was all she could say back.

Carlie gave her a warm smile, then cleared her throat. "Soooo you wanna tell me about these powers of yours?"

Jenna's grin got wider in response. "Well, be prepared. It's a long story."

"It's a good thing we've got some time to kill."

And so Jenna started at the beginning with her time at Hawkins Lab as a child, going into how she ended up escaping and ended up in the care of Dorothy, then fast-forwarding to when Will Byers went missing and the events that unfolded with her powers and the Upside Down, including what really happened to Barbara Holland that night at Steve's house, in which Carlie remembered the pictures Jonathan Byers took. Of course, there was Eleven and the trip to Chicago, with the story concluding at their return to Hawkins and Jenna having to save Will from the Mind Flayer while almost dying in the process. She paid attention to the way Carlie took in every word, not opening her mouth to interrupt Jenna with a question about something. Based on Carlie's blank expression, it was difficult for Jenna to figure out exactly what she was thinking. Once Jenna was finished, she waited for Carlie to respond, anxious to hear what she had to say about everything.

"Holy shit," was what came out of her mouth. "That's a lot of trauma." She paused, shaking her head and letting out a chuckle. "But you're such a badass for handling all of it the way you did."

Jenna shot her a look of surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. I mean, you literally went through hell and back and you're still standing as tall as ever." Carlie was quiet for another moment, turning to face Jenna and nodding her head, grinning. "You definitely surprised me, Jenna Howard."

A smile formed across her face. "You're not too bad yourself, Carlie Cunningham."

Carlie's grin got wider. "Glad to hear it."

The two were silent for a moment before deciding to go to the restrooms and check on Steve and Robin. They were about to go into the Women's room to see how Robin was doing first, but could hear her voice coming from the Men's room instead, in which the girls were about to walk in when they heard Robin ask Steve a question.

"Have you...ever been in love?"

"Yeah. Nancy Wheeler. First semester, senior year." He then imitated a gunshot noise.

"Oh my God," Robin said, almost letting out a groan. "She's such a priss."

Steve almost scoffed in response. "Turns out, not really."

"Are you still in love with Nancy?"

"No."

"Why not?"

He was quiet, then he said, "I think it's because I found someone who's a little bit better for me. She might've been the one for me all along." His voice sounded as if it was a relief to say it out loud. "Ever since Dustin got home, he's been going on about Suzie this and Suzie that..."

"Wait, who's Suzie?" Robin cut him off.

"It's some girl from camp. I guess his girlfriend. To be honest with you, I'm not really sure she's even real." Steve chuckled at that, then went on with what he was saying. "But the girl that I like...she's very real. She's...unforgettable."

Unforgettable. The word brought back memories of last year when Steve used it to describe Jenna.

"Anyway, Dustin has been telling me. 'You gotta find your Suzie, you gotta find your Suzie' these last few days. But the thing is, I noticed that all the Suzie's around here were boring. And it took me a while to figure out that I don't think I need to look for a Suzie, because I realized that I have someone better than that." There was a pause, then he finished off with, "I have a Jenna, and she's way more awesome than any Suzie will ever be."

Jenna let the words imprint into her mind, echoing over and over until they eventually faded, leaving her with the silence that remained on both sides of the bathroom door. She waited for the moment where her heart would find its way to beat out of her chest. Only it never came. Instead, it sunk so low to her stomach that she didn't think it'd ever come back up again.

"Jenna?" Carlie said in a soft voice, breaking the girl out of her thoughts. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yeah." But as if in cue, her eyes began to water. "I just need a minute. I'll be outside." She then headed back the way she came before Carlie could say anything else, leaning against the wall by the entrance to the cinema, closing her eyes and letting a few tears fall down her face.

Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't be feeling this way. Of course, everything she had been through with Steve was anything but normal. Because of that, it seemed as if the timing was never going to be in their favor, which only made Jenna feel even worse about what she had to tell him that was going to hurt him. Again.

All of a sudden, the doors to the cinema flew open, with people talking and laughing as they piled out and walking in different directions of the mall. She wiped her eyes before a stranger could come up and ask if she was okay, though it appeared she was practically invisible. Except to the person she felt lightly tap her shoulder, causing her to jump and turn to see who it was.

"Hey," Steve said.

"Hey," she replied, noticing how sober he looked, his eyes no longer wide and his expression not as carefree. "How you feeling?"

"Better," he answered. "We're gonna catch the bus and get out of here."

"Okay." She followed Steve back to the rest of the group, where they blended in with the rest of the crowd, much to their relief.

"Well, shit, that worked," Erica said.

"Of course it worked," Dustin stated. "Now we just have to get on the bus with the rest of these plebes, and home sweet home, here we come."

Steve's face turned guilty all of a sudden. "Uh, Dustin?"

"What?"

"Yeah, we might not wanna go to your house."

"Why?"

"Well, I might've told them your full name."

Dustin turned his head, his eyes wide. "What is wrong with you?!"

"Dude, I was drugged."

"So?"

"'So?'"

"So you resist! You tough it out. You tough it out like a man."

"Oh, yeah, it's easy for you to say."

"Guys?" Robin interjected, her expression becoming worried.

The others looked ahead at what she was seeing, making them stop in their tracks when they saw the Russian guards from earlier. It only took a few seconds for both of them to turn their heads and spot the group in the crowd of people.

"Abort," Dustin frantically said. "Abort! Abort!"

So they quickly turned around and made a run for it, heading for the escalators that were roped off, leaving the group trapped and in a panic.

"Shit," Steve mumbled. "Come on, let's go, let's go."

Robin was the first to sit down on the metal slide in between the escalators, pushing herself down to reach the lower level, with the older teens going first, then Erica and Dustin sliding down last. They ran across the food court and found themselves at The Great Cookie Co., jumping over the counter and staying low behind it with knees pulled up to their chests. They listened to the footsteps that were going in different directions of the food court, along with one man speaking Russian in a walkie-talkie. The group began to pant at the adrenaline and anxiety rushing through their bodies, some of which their shoes accidentally squeaking against the floor. Jenna's hand began to shake, her heart beating fast at not knowing what was going to happen next. Suddenly, someone grabbed a hold of her hand, and she looked over to see Steve tightly gripping it. He gave her the same nod as before when they were down in the underground base, and all Jenna could do was stare back at him, focusing on his bruised eyes that were filled with fear, grateful that he was by her side, even though she wasn't sure if they were going to make it out of this mall alive.

All of a sudden, a car alarm began to wail, along with a horn honking, causing the group to gasp and Jenna to let go of Steve's hand. They kept still, holding their breaths as the car continued to go off. Then, without any warning, a crashing noise erupted in the food court, followed by men yelling, glass breaking, and metal clattering. The group slowly got up from behind the counter and saw the car had rolled over multiple times across the food court until it landed at New York Pizza, steam hissing from the bottom. The tables and chairs had been smashed, and the Russian guards were lifeless on the floor, blood staining the white tiles. They glanced at the upper level, finding familiar faces lined up by the railing. Sure enough, the first face Jenna spotted standing in the middle was none other than...

Eleven.

Jenna's eyes then went over to the younger kids, which consisted of Mike, Max, Lucas, and Will. She focused on the older teens next, seeing Jonathan, Nancy, Carter, Dana, and--much to Jenna's surprise--Janet.

A mixture of confusion came over Carlie, Robin, and Erica, while Steve dropped his mouth in shock, and Dustin flashed a toothless grin. As for Jenna, she couldn't help but smile in relief.

Except she knew that feeling wasn't going to last long, as everyone still had to face the bigger threat and figure out how to defeat it once and for all: the Mind Flayer.

~~~~~~~

A/N: AHHHHHH WE'RE AT THE FINALE (technically I still have some of episode 7 to include but close enough).

What did y'all think? I was very excited to finally write the Back to the Future scene since Lea Thompson (who plays Lorraine in the movie) is Zoey Deutch's mom.

Comment, vote, you might wanna bring tissues for the next chapter...

-A