Twenty. What's new
Death has come to Jen again, a breaking down car. This is the fourth time this month her car won't start. She needs a new one. But it's her mother's old car, she can't just get rid of it. The woman's dead. And she would use Alex's car, except it went missing with her. So, yes, you see the problem!
"I don't get why you just can't take it to the shops?" Jen sighs at Jim's words, she wished it was that easy. Her teeth were latched onto her bottom lip, her foot bouncing against the car floor. She hated his questions, she knew he wasn't being mean, he genuinely wanted to know.
The older man pulls up before the student parking lot, she can see teens eyes on the cop car instantly. It makes her nauseated, uneasy, though, she's done nothing wrong. She knows that. "I told you I don't have the money for that right now. Can I go now, everyone and their devil headed boyfriends are staring at me." To be fair the windows were a little tinted, and they could not see her, but she was sitting in a cop car. Came to school in a cop car. People were going to stare.
Jim scoffs, his head lolling to the side to face Jen from his place in the drivers seat. He flicks Jen's shoulder, the girl winces and looks back at him. "Ow?" Jim rolls his eyes, "what about that friend of yours? Candace? Lives across from you?" Jen sighs, "her name is Cadeâ"
"Just Cade?" He says it with a little bit of judgment. What kind of name is that for a teenage girl? Jen huffs, slouching more into the passenger seat. It smells like cigarettes and donuts in the front. The back smells like sweat and leather. "Yes, just Cade. And I don't hitch a ride with her because she gets to school too early for my liking and I don't like asking. Plus, her dad drops her offâshe can drive. But her dad just likes taking her. I just don't want to bother them.."
"Then how come I'm drivin' you? I hear a solution with this Cade kid."
Jen looked over at the man, brows raised unamused. "You offered, you didn't even really offered. More so insisted, well, kind of forced. I was fine taking my bike." Jim hums, mind cutting to Jen's near rusted whole bike. "Fair enough."
Jen pinches the bridge of her nose and pushes off the chair, grabbing at her bag. "Okay, lovely chat. I'm going now. Thanks for the ride." Jim just hums and watches the girl go, he doesn't drive off as she gets out. She looks back at him and waves him off in a nervous rush, "can you go, people are looking!" Jim cracks a small smile and Jen rolls her eyes as she finally turns.
And much to her dislikes the man honks his horn as he goes and more eyes land on the blonde. "God.." She walks a bit quicker, head down a little. Her hair shift with the October winds.
The school is buzzing with energy from the upper classman. People at their cars catching up from the few hours they'd last seen each other. Skateboards rolling in. Cars turning heavy into parking spaces. Cigarette smoke looming in the air as kids smoke against the brick walls.
"What took you so long!" Jen let's out a sigh of relief as she reaches Cade Westin near the front of the doors. She's been around Hawkins since December. Moved into the trailer park, Lowen's old trailer, her father's money going right into Steve's pocket. She moved in with just her dad, her mom isn't in the picture.
It wasn't like Jen didn't want to be friends with the girl, she just sucks at talking to new peopleâas we know. Cade actually came knocking on her door in the beginning of January, her red hair in two messy braids, bangs against her forehead, asking for two eggs. She was baking cupcakes for her dad's birthday, she had ran out of eggs and needed moreâand the last two trailers didn't have. Jen had to check and see if she even had eggs and welcomed the girl into her four walls. And to no surprise Jen didn't have any, or barely any food in her fridge at all. Cade hadn't judged the near empty fridge like Jen thought she would, she seem to get the lack of everything in Jen's trailer. She'd then suggested they could go down to the stores together. They've been friends since. A lot of cupcakes have been made since then too.
It was nice, having a friend that didn't know about everything that happened last year. That didn't know about the guilt Jen had for Nancy. Or the crazy admiration Jen had for Steve and his daughter. All Cade knew was that she babysat Violet sometimes, and her and Steve were just friends.
Cade was such a good thing for Jen. She truly treasured her. Maybe even loved her.
"My car wouldn't start up again.." Jen mumbled as she grabbed at the collar of a smaller shirt on her torso. She brought it up to her nose. It was a faded red with white bands around the cuffs of the sleeves (a red baseball tee if you will). And she had jeans on her bottom half, too big around her waist and held up with an old faded white shoe lace, the cuffs at the bottom of the jeans swallowed her high tops. The cuffs of the jeans dragged on the floor as she walked, and were ripped and faded with time. Only the tips of her dirty white Converses were showing. Her black flannel was faded in color as well, it was Alex's.
Cade was about to open her tinted lips, tell Jen once again she could've taken her, but Jen beat her to it. "Do I smell like cigarettes? I feel like I smell like cigarettes? Do you have perfume? I don't think I brought in my bag.." Jen then went searching in her bag as Cade teased a smile with an eye roll. She leaned forward smelling at her closest friend. "You don't, but I do have perfume."
There was a big difference between Steve's smoke and Jim's smokeâeven though they were the same thing.
Jen hummed with a smile as Cade passed her the small bottle, Jasmine. She gave herself a few sprays, ready to say thanks to her lifesaver, but her voice was cut off. Both girls turned towards the loud noise, a new shiny sports car. As Jen was dragging her attention towards the noise, her eyes skated across Steve and Nancy getting out of his car. He'd been taking her to school. Jen's organs pulled and she had to bite back a frown. That was his girlfriend.
"What the.." Cade's voice faded as the sparkling blue car rammed into a parking spot. The rock music was loud and the license plate read from California. New kid. Hawkins didn't get a lot of those. The drivers door then slammed open and came out a boy in teen boyhood glory. His hair was blonde and long, with curls, and less tamed than Steve's. This boy was doused in denim, and as Jen looked around at the other students, she could suddenly feel the shift in energy. Girls looked excited and interest at the new meat to dig their claws into. Other boys looked confused and some terrified.
Standing before them was new food, everyone else ready to devour. And this boy looked ready to be eaten.
Cade sighed. When she was new, no one had even noticed her. She liked that. "That's an asshole, can smell it off him already.." Jen just hummed as she held onto the strap of her bag. This she already knew the second he pulled up, this was a guy who ruled the world and didn't care who he stepped on to stay a big dog. And to follow up this new ruler came a little girl, pretty ginger hair, summer ready freckles, knife like eyes, and a skateboard. A little sister.
New kids.
The ginger was skating off to the connected middle school without so much of a goodbye, the boy didn't bat her an eye either. It remind Jen of her and Alex. Siblings full of hate.
"New talk of the season, hm?" Mumbled Cade. Jen sighed, uninterested, unlike the other girls. "Let's just stay away from that one.." Cade crack a soft laugh that had Jen's mood up again. She needed people in her life, badly. She'd be a walking dead girl without them. "Don't have to tell me twice." Cade whispered, ready to head away from the new meat.
The two then dragged their attention away from the new kids, and along the way Jen met Steve's eyes. He smiled, small and reserved. Jen bit the inside of her cheek with a soft, barely seen smile and looked away just as quick. She could not be near him around school, that was dangerous.
Come and get sheet faced! was shoved in both girl's hands as they walked through the hall, Jen sent Tina a small smile. Which Tina did return, but it did feel a little fake. It wasn't like the two had ever had a problem, it's just that Jen wasn't popular. Tina probably just wanted more bodies at her party, she did always throw the best ones. At least that's what Jen always heard Lowen say to Alex, when they were still around.
"No way I'm going to this.." Cade passed her orange invite to Jen. "Why not?" Jen questioned, she was thinking about it. She didn't really want to be at home alone during Halloween, reminded her of Eddie and the bar he use to sneak them into.
Cade shrugged gently. "It doesn't sound bad, I just always spend halloween night with my dad ever since my mom skipped out. It's like a tradition we have." Jen beamed. "Oh, yeah. That sounds way better. It's cute." Cade scoffed a laugh, sweetly. "Leadison, are you making fun of me?" Jen rolled her eyes fondly, "oh, please. You wish."
Jen wished she could have traditions with her mother, but she was buried in dirt.
Cade smiled, "call me after the party, yeah?" Jen nodded with a promising smile, "you got it." They parted ways after that, lockers in complete different halls. They'd run into each other later.
Jen's locker happen to be down the same hall as Nancy's. She had loved the idea before, now it made her a little anxious.
From the corner of her eye she watched Steve scoop the girl up, a bubbly shriek slipping past her light pink tinted lips. Steve's smile was bright as he pressed a kiss into the girl's lips. A weird noise came from the back of Jen's throat as she met Jonathan's eyes, he'd been walking with Nancy. Jonathan sent the girl a small smile with a short nod, she returned the smile. They both seemed to share the same look in their eyes; second choices.
Jonathan was down the hall without another glance at Nancy and Steve. Jen figured she'd do the same.
So, she did.
"I mean, damn Jen, it was just horrible.. They got some guy hired to try and find her and I know Nancy's torn up about it.. 'Cause y'know, she's.. dead. I just don't know how to take it.. I felt a little sick when they said it. I feel so damn bad for them, and I feel like Nancy doesn't even believe me when I say it. She say she knows, but there's a look in her eyes. I don't know, this all just sucks..." Steve's voice fades off quietly as he stops pacing the length of Jen's kitchen.
Jen sent the boy a frown, her fingers wrapped around a small metal spoon as she sat at her kitchen table. She was feeding Violet, and the only way she would take it was the choo choo train, Steve wasn't very good at it yet and Violet wasn't fond of his weak and embarrassed train.
Steve slumped into a chair across from Jen and next to his daughter. Jen could see the stress and anguish rolling out of his pores and staining her floors. "I don't even know what to say, Steve. I'm sorry.." Steve shrugged gently, his graze trapped on his daughter as he pulled one of her small shoe covered feet into his hands. He thumbed at the fake laces. "I just, what if this guy actually finds out what happened to Barb? He has a few leads already, apparently.."
"Steve.." Jen placed the spoon back into the small glass, "what happened was insane and not shit that happens in real life. There's no way this guy can actually figure it out.." Her voice dropped a little, "there was a girl who could do things with her mind.."
Something Steve had realized about Jen in the last year, was how much more tougher her edges had gotten. She wasn't all soft anymore. Of course, she had her moments, especially with Violet, but Jen had gotten meaner and more bitter. Steve could taste it in the way she kissed him sometimes. He felt at fault for it, even though it probably had nothing to do with him and more the monster haunting they did. Or maybe even the missing sister.
Jen gently watched Steve as the boy nodded, "yeah, you're right.. It's just, sad." Jen frowned gently as the boy suddenly stood, taking his little girl from the high chair. He smiled at her, kissed her cheek. He bounced her a little on his hip and she let out a soft giggle as her hands went for the ends of his hair. "What do we say to, Jen? Can you say thank you, V?" Violet's eyes traveled over to the girl, Jen sent her a smile and wrinkled her nose. The look made Violet giggle again, "m'tank."
Steve snorted lightly, and Jen cracked a bigger smile for the little girl. "I feel like she's gotten worse at this.." Jen rolled her eyes fondly as she started to clean up the table, "Steve, she's two not twelve. She's doing just fine." The boy smiled, warmly. "Hey," he spoke soft, his smile faded a little, like he's suddenly become embarrassed. Jen looked back up at him and his daughter. He looked more tired since the last time she'd seen him, it's been two days. "Is it alright if I stay tonight? My dad got back last night, and it's always bad the first few nights when he's around. He talks aggressive a lot and it sets V off, then she cries and he gets more pissed. I don't find a solution, then everythings my fault.." Like I was the one who dropped a kid on the doorstep, he wants to spit out. But he doesn't say that. How Violet came into his life does suck, but he does love her. She's his girl. Plus, Steve's not even sure Jen would've ever talked to him if it wasn't for his kid.
Same with Nancy...
Jen smiles, warmly at the boy. "Steve, you don't have to explain. Of course you can stay, you never have to ask either.." His shoulders sag a little, relieved. Jen hums as she walks past him, gently squeezing the crook of his bent elbow as she goes. He mumbles to Violet that it's bath time and she doesn't make a very happy sound. Steve sighs as he picks up her baby bag. As the boy moves towards the hall, he kisses Jen's temple in thanks, like he always does. She smiles to herself at the sink as the two Harrington's disappear down the hall.
It isn't even five minutes later when she hears the water start up and the word bubbles! bubbles! bubbles! fall from Steve's mouth and Violet's soft bubba's! bubba's! and squeaky rubber duckies. In the mist of it all, Jen flinches out of her trance. The house phone is ringing. Her eyes snap to the wall it's on, she hesitates for a moment. No one ever calls her trailer besides Steve, and he's here. Cade never calls, just knocks on the door. Jim never calls, just shows up in the grass with flashing lights.
It could be Alex. She has the thought for a fleeting second before she reaches for the phone. She presses it to her skin and let's out a shaking breath. "Hello.." She says gently.
Her air returns as the voice sounds out, "Jen.." It's just Nancy. Nancy Wheeler.. Nancy Wheeler? Her air is gone again.
"Nance, everything okay..?" She talks low and carefully. She hopes Nancy can't hear the background. She does. She doesn't comment on it. "Yeah, I guess.." She sounds like she's crying. "I just, Jonathan wasn't answering the phone and I just wanted to hear a friends voice.." Jen suddenly feels sick as she slides down the wall, she holds the phone tighter as her eyes screw shut. "I'm.. I'm here, Nance."
Nancy can hear Steve's voice in the background, it's faint. But she knows it's him, it's all sing-song for Violet.
"I.. I just feel like we drifted in the last few months. I miss you and just wanna talk.." Talk about the awful news I found out today from my dead best friend's parents. Things Jen already knows about.
Jen doesn't realize for a moment, but she's crying to now. She isn't a good fucking friend. "I'm here, Nance. I promise."
Nancy hears Jen's tear laced voice and her fucking boyfriend in the background with his kid. She cries harder too.