Chapter 33: XXVIII. Forget the Dead Sister, There's a Monster Again?

Twenty Eight.     Forget the Dead Sister, There's a Monster Again?

Violet had been picked up by the circumstances. Mandy hadn't minded one bit. Violet seemed happy to see her too. She seems to like the way she always smells like baked goods.

"What do I even need for some shit like this? Like, do I have to pay something up front. No one's ever died before." She says it so bitterly, Jen. And sure, people at the trailer parked died all the time. Her mother went to her fair share of funerals. But no one's has died for them, well except, them. Jen doesn't remember her mother's funeral all too well. Hopper and Alex took care of it. But Alex isn't here to take care of this—it's her funeral.

Jen tucks her waved hair harshly behind her ears, because she couldn't find a fucking hair tie and her hair is doing everything in its power to make her wish she'd shave it all off right now.

Her and Steve are walking down his front steps, his keys jingling in his hand. Steve's eyes flickered to Jen as they approached his BMW, both either side of the car. "She said she had it covered. It's probably covered." Steve whispers as he unlocked his car. He doesn't know how it could be covered. Lowen could cover just about nothing when she was here with him.

But if she said it, then whatever.

If it's not covered, Steve's ready to pay for anything—one of his father's weighs heavy in his wallet.

Steve and Jen's eyes lingered on one another for a moment. There was this underlying ugliness between the both of them that was brewing because Lowen Odette had been on his front steps this morning. They had to talk, they both knew it—yet no one made the move for it. It could wait. Right?

"Jen! Jen Leadison!"

The girl flinched, her hazel eyes slamming away from Steve. Steve followed suit, lips parted in confusion. There was a little boy dropping his bike on his grass. Jen's eyes widened as she stepped away from Steve's car. "Dustin?"

She hadn't seen this little boy in forever.

To be fair, she doesn't k so him that well—anymore. She did her fair share of babysitting when she was fifteen and sixteen for some soft cash from motherly hands. She took care of Dustin from time to time. She took care of Lucas from time to time. But she was no longer close with those boys, so, seeing him here on Steve's lawn—weird.

And well, you know the whole thing of his missing friend from last year... and whatnot.

Steve looked between the little boy with curly hair and chubby cheeks and Jen. What the hell?

Dustin moves closer to the two teenagers. He's a little older since last year. "Sorry to come crashing like this, but," he looks to Steve. "—Do you still have that bat?" He yanks open Steve's back door and throws his book bag in. Steve's staring at him with wide eyes, "Bat? What bat?"

Jen is looking between the two boys. She was so praying for something to save her. To push her away from picking out arrangements for a dead person.

"The one with the nails?" Dustin says like it's obvious.

Steve glares a little, "Why?"

Dustin taps at the roof of Steve's car as he slouches into the back row of seats. "I'll explain on the way." He then slams the door and Steve winces at the noise.

Jen's lips part as Steve's eyes reach her from across his hood. "I'm telling him to get out." Steve mutters.

Jen sends him a small smile. "He's a kid. You know what kind of kids he was hanging out with last year. Something could be up?"

Steve scoffs, "Hopper said things were fine. We are busy."

Jen rolls her eyes, so silently thanking Dustin for his random appearance. "Look, Alex can wait. Let's just do this, get it over with. He's already in the car, Steve." She yanks open the car door and slides on in.

Steve watches her form disappear from his view and his jaw clenches. He looks up at the sky and huffs, "What the fuck."

Alex most definitely cannot wait.

When Steve's seated and staring his car, Dustin leans forwards between the two. "Hope you guys weren't busy."

Steve and Jen simply share a look.

"Get squawking, kid." Jen says gently as she looks over her shoulder at Dustin.

He smiles, it's a little goofy, a little anxious.

Hanmer To Fall plays a little loudly as Steve and Jen take in what Dustin's spewed. It feels a little awkward in the car now. Like the information he's spit out has caused a tear in their small little atmosphere.

In a way, it has.

Things are so weird again.

Steve's looking back at Dustin through the rear view mirror every now and then. Jen's practically got her whole body facing back to the boy. Her doe eyes had taken what he'd been saying very carefully.

It's dark out now. This was not a quick thing.

"Wait a sec," Jen says gently towards the boy. "Tell me how big again?"

Dustin sighs, he moves his fingers and hands around in show of sizes. Small. "First he was like that. Now he's like this." Big.

Jen looks at the boy a little weirded out. Dustin claims his slug has gone...huge? He's got it trapped, but needs help.

Steve huffs. "I swear to God, man, it's just some little lizard, okay—"

"It's not a lizard," Dustin cries.

Jen sighs, and tilts her head towards Dustin. "How do you know for sure? You know.."

Dustin scoffs, "How do I know it's not a lizard?"

Jen's lips part, but Steve beats her to the punch. "Yeah, how do you know it's just not a lizard!"

"Because his faced opened up and he ate my cat!"

Jen's mouth slams shut and Steve sends her a look. She turns from Dustin and his little know it all face, she slouches back into her seat. She looks over to Steve, his face is scrunched up. It's fallen silent.

Alright.

Jen sighs and mumbles, "Sorry about your cat."

Dustin just hums and slumps back into his seat.

As they pull up to Dustin's house, Steve and him move towards the trunk. Jen gently closes the car door as she looks around the home. The garage is open, Dustin's mother's car is parked.

She sighs and moves towards the boy as Steve whips open the trunk. He spins his keys around his finger before they land in Dustin's palm. Jen raises a brow at Steve, he just sends her a small smile. Dustin looks between them both, like twice.

Steve grabs at his bat, with the nails in it.

Jen doesn't so much like that thing. Nor did she know Steve kept it in his trunk.

"I don't hear shit."

They're at the back of Dustin's house now. Steve stares down at the locked up underground basement doors. Jen stands off to the side with Dustin and his chunky book bag. She's got her hands delicately on his shoulders. "He's in there," Dustin says without a doubt.

Steve taps at the locked doors. No noise. Steve taps harder this time.

There's nothing.

Steve huffs and turns. "Alright, listen, kid. I swear, if this is some sort of Halloween prank—" He shines his flashlight at Dustin's face, he winces a little. Jen sighs, "Steve.."

"—You're dead."

Dustin huffs and steps out of Jen's hands. "It's not. I wouldn't prank Jen, that's rude. She's a lady. Get it out of my face."

Jen and Steve share a glance. She raises a brow and he drops the aim of his light. He looks back to Dustin, "You got a key for things thing or what?"

Dustin reaches for the key in the front pocket of his book bag and chucks it in Steve's direction. "Good luck."

Steve rolls his eyes and works at the lock. He pulls at the heavy chain and it falls next to his shoes. He then yanks the doors open. It's deadly silent.

Dustin and Jen inch forward, as she aims her own flashlight into what looks to be a dark hole.

Steve takes his own flash back from Dustin. There's nothing along the stairs. "He must be further down there," Dustin whispers a little too seriously. "I'll stay up here with Jen, you know, in case he tries to... escape."

Jen and Steve both look towards the boy before looking at each other.

Jen hums, "I'll man up and say it. I do not want to go down there. So, Steve. Erm.. stay safe, yeah?"

Steve gives her a deadpan look. He sighs, "Yeah, alright." He starts his journey of moving down the darkened stairs. Jen and Dustin move a little closer to the edge.

It's silent.

"Steve?" Jen calls out as Dustin practically drowns in her side.

They both flinch when Steve flashes his light up at them. "Get down here. Now."

Dustin hurries down the stairs as Jen sighs, but follows.

Steve's got freaking grey looking flesh hanging off his bat. Jen groans, "What the hell is that?"

"Oh, shit," Dustin mumbles. Like he knows. "That's the skin of my slug..."

Then Steve aims his light farther off into the room. "Oh, shit!" Dustin says even louder.

Jen's face falls.

There's a huge hole in the cement of Dustin's basement. It goes back deep.

This slug... it's gone.

"Alright!" Dustin says as he turns to the two teenagers. "You guys come back tomorrow and we go find Dart!"

Jen raises brow, "You named him Dart?"

"No, no, no!" Steve mutters as he waves his hand around, his flashlight going with it. "We are not finding that.. thing! Jen and I, were adults, Dustin. We have things to do," Steve looks over at Jen—who rolls her eyes. "—Important things! So, we can't just drop all that to help you find your stupid lizard."

Steve doesn't mention how he has a daughter to look out after and keep away from her actual mother—but that lingers in the air. Because everyone knows, Steve Harrington is a father.

Dustin scoffs and crosses his arms over his chest. "You're here now. You have to help."

Steve and Jen's eyes meet. Steve's giving her a look, to drop this. They need to drop this. Jen's shoulder droop, "Steve, c'mon. Dart ate his cat. It's clearly dangerous."

"So, we find it if it's clearly dangerous? Yeah, that sounds great."

You won't believe this, but they meet up with Dustin the next day—with the instructions of getting pounds of raw meat.

Last night, Steve had just called Mandy and asked if Violet could spend the night. It had been late and they needed to be gone early in the morning. All the moving around for a little girl felt unnecessary. Steve wouldn't stop rambling, his voice too apologetic for a woman like Mandy. She hadn't minded, of course she didn't.

But it hadn't stopped the guilt from eating at Steve.

Jen could see it on his face. "She'll be fine, Steve. She loves Mandy." He had just nodded at her, dragged a hand through his hair and headed up his stairs.

Jen stood in the hall by the phone for a little feeling absolutely too out of place.

They hadn't talked about Lowen or the funeral. They hadn't talked much about anything. There was this blanket of tension over them.

Even now, walking in the woods along the old train tracks—Dustin could feel it.

They all carried buckets of meat, throwing chunks along the tracks. The smell was killing Jen, but she just bit down on her tongue.

"So, let me get this straight?" Steve voiced, "You kept something you knew was probably dangerous in order to impress a girl who...you just met?"

Dustin walked before the two. Steve in the middle. Jen some ways behind.

She was focusing on her breathing as chunks of meat felt like mush in her gloved palm. She was trying not to throw up.

Dustin scoffed, "Alright, that's grossly oversimplifying things."

Steve rolled his eyes, irritation lacing his features. He was a little too old to be doing shit like this. I mean, he had more important things to be worrying about—not some big slug and some little boy and his girl problems. But Jen was playing into it, she was helping, because she didn't want to deal with what was in front of her. Steve knew that much without it being said. "I mean, why would a girl like some nasty slug anyway?"

"An inter dimensional slug? Because it's awesome!" Then Dustin look back towards the two. "Jen, you're a girl. Isn't that awesome?"

Steve then looked back at Jen, brows raised.

Jen looked between both boys, face a little blanched. She cleared her throat. "I mean.. maybe not all girls would find that awesome. But, I'm sure there's some girls that would. Like, hey, when I was a kid—I use to catch lizards outside our trailer and chase my sister around with them." The lightness in her tone, meant for Dustin quickly faded with the mention sister.

It's not like she meant to bring her up. It just happened. Sometimes.. talking about Alex didn't feel like a chore or a punishment.

Dustin turned back around, unaware of the sadden topic. "See, Steve." He said sassily.

But Steve was frowning at Jen's drooping eyes. He stopped walking and waited up for her to meet his side. She gently cleared her throat and stared at the tracks beneath her as she focused on throwing slabs of meat. Steve did the same, gently whispering, "You okay?"

Jen shrugged and hummed. "I've never been better actually. Throwing raw meat for an inter dimensional slug was on my bucket list, incase you didn't know."

Steve just hummed, deciding for Jen's sake—it was best to drop it. He looked back towards Dustin's curly head. "I don't know, man. I just feel like you're trying way too hard."

Let's talk about a young boy and his girl problems instead.

Let's do something dumb and incredibly fucking stupid for a few hours.

Let's pretend the lives we live aren't the lives we live.

Dustin scoffed, "Well, not everyone can have your perfect hair, alright?"

Jen smiled.

Steve rolled his eyes, "It's not about the hair, man." He took a step a little closer to Dustin's side. "The key with girls is.. just acting like, maybe you don't care."

Jen's face scrunched up.

"Even if you do?"

"Oh, yeah. Exactly. It drives them nuts."

"Then what?" Dustin said, turning back to look at Steve. He was fully invested in this advice.

"You just wait until, uh.. until you feel it."

"Feel what?"

This is actually ridiculous, Jen couldn't help but think. This si actually the weirdest day of my life.

Steve's advice, So stupid, So high school.

"It's like before it's gonna storm, you know?" Jen watched the back of his head as she threw meat. "You can't see it, but you can feel it, like this, uh.. electricity, you know?"

"Oh, like in the electromagnetic field when the clouds in the atmosphere—"

Steve scoffed, head shaking. "No, no, no, no, no. Like a.. Like a sexual electricity."

Jen paused, meat shoved in her yellow gloved palmed.

"Oh?" Dustin mumbled.

Steve hummed, "You feel that and then you make your move."

"So, that's when you kiss her?"

"No, whoa, whoa. Slow down, Romeo."

"Sorry," Dustin mumbled sweetly—clearly a little too in love to know nothing about what Steve was saying was true. Jen knew that much, as a girl.

She continued on her walk, she now wanted to get in front of them and away from this ridiculously, stupid conversation.

Boys.

"Sure, okay, some girls, yeah, they want you to be aggressive. You know, strong, hot and heavy, like a.. I don't know, like a lion."

What?

"But others, you gotta be slow, you gotta be stealthy, like a..." Jen moved past the two boys, rather quick in her steps. Both Steve and Dustin looked to her silent form. Dustin nearly forgot she was there. Steve could never forget anything regarding Jen Leadison, even if he was a little too invested in this conversation now and felt like a total boy—which he hadn't felt like in a year and a half.

"—Like a ninja."

Then all the sudden, Dustin goes. "Jen, what type are you?"

Steve's eyes widened and his lips parted. Jen nearly scoffed, but she didn't even look back towards them. Her eyes rolled and she hummed, amused now. Dustin's just a boy. "Well, Dustin, I'm not too sure. Why don't you ask Steve, yeah?"

Steve could feel himself go red, even if Jen wasn't looking at him. He could feel it from the ends of his neck all the way to the tips of his ears. Dustin looked over at him, brows raised. "So?"

Steve cleared his throat, suddenly not wanting to look at anyone. This was stupid, very stupid to have a conversation like this about girls in front of a girl. But Steve had just wanted to entertain the kid. "Jen's different, you know?" He was mumbling now, a little shy. "She's not like other girls."

Dustin beamed, "Yeah, Jen, you seem pretty special."

Jen smiled over her shoulder at Dustin's young eyes.

Steve watched her move, he found himself smiling. "Yeah, she is."

Jen hummed, decided now was her time to get these boys out of La La Land. "You know what Dustin? You just gotta be yourself. Girls love that. They love when guys are just themselves. That's what's real."

Dustin hummed, a kind smile on his lips as he sped up his walk to be along side Jen. "Yeah? This girl, she's special too. Like you."

Jen smiled down at the boy, but Steve then stepped up. Bumping in between the two. Dustin groaned and Jen nearly lost her footing. "Whoa, hey. You aren't going and falling in love with this chick, are you?"

Dustin suddenly looked a little embarrassed and Jen rolled her eyes at Steve's approach. "What? No. No.." Dustin mumbled.

"Yeah, good, don't. She'll just go and break your heart, and you're too young for that shit."

Jen could see the excitement fade from Dustin's face. Jen turned to glare at Steve, who shrugged with raised brows. What? It's true! Jen rolled her eyes and threw her meat down a little more aggressively.

Steve sighed and let the two of them be ahead of him again. He watched Dustin's now quiet figure. A little part of him now feeling bad, "Fabergé."

Dustin stopped and looked back at Steve.

Jen scrunched up her face.

"What?" Her and Dustin spoke in unison.

Steve sighed, and pointed at his head. "It's Fabergé Organics. Use the shampoo and conditioner, and when your hair's damp.. It's not wet, okay? When it's damp—"

"Damp.."

"—You do four puffs of the Farrah Fawcett spray."

Whoa, okay.

Steve had a better hair routine than Jen did. She was smiling down at her high tops.

Dustin giggled, "Farrah Fawcett spray?"

Steve rolled his eyes, "Yeah, Farrah Fawcett. You tell anyone I just told you that and your ass is grass. You're dead, Henderson. You do understand?"

"Yup."

Jen snickered and turned back towards the two boys. "Steve Harrington, your secret is safe with us." Jen's eyes flickered to a giddy looking Dustin. "Isn't that right, Dustin?"

Dustin then zippered his lips and threw away the key.

Steve rolled his eyes, fondly. "Yeah, alright."