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𝗔𝗨𝗚𝗨𝗦𝗧
chapter fourteen:
serenity drives the camaro
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"OKAY, TELL ME the plan just one more time," Serenity insisted before the kids dispersed. "Just so we know what we need."
"It's simple," Mike replied. "We're going into the Upside Down tunnels, finding the hub, and setting it on fire."
"There's still layers to that. How do we know exactly where the hub is?"
"I can draw a map."
Serenity nodded in agreement. "Okay, Mike, get a piece of paper and draw a map. Lucas, Dustin, Max, get the rest of the things. We need, uh, gasoline, a lighter, and since we're going into the Upside Down, we need things to protect ourselves. Find bandanas, swimming goggles, anything that could work. Just go through the whole house, basically. Oh, and a rope. There's already a Demo-Dog in the fridge and Billy knocked out on the ground, I think those will create more questions for Joyce than anything."
"On it," Lucas confirmed.
Serenity watched as the kids walked off, shaking her a head a little. "Oh fuck, what did I get myself into?"
She then glanced down at Steve. He was still unconscious by her feet, blood spilling out of his wounds and bruises getting larger. She snuck in a disgusted glance at Billy, who was also unconscious by her feet, but she didn't feel the same heart-wrenching pain at his motionless figure. He deserved it, honestly — after everything he did to her, after everything he did to Steve, after everything he did to Max.
Serenity shook her head and walked towards the bathroom, where not too long ago, Nancy had cleaned her Demo-Dog wounds. They were still burning every time she stepped, reminding Serenity of what had actually happened back at the junkyard and everything after that. So much had happened in such a short amount of time, and her mind was spinning trying to keep up with it all.
She walked into the bathroom. Serenity opened up the cabinets and grabbed some tissues, Band-Aids, and the bottle of hydrogen peroxide with some Q-tips. She gathered them all in her arms and went back into the hallway. Dustin passed her by, sending her a fleeting smile before ducking into Will's bedroom.
Steve's injuries somehow gotten worse in the one minute Serenity had left him to get first-aid supplies from the bathroom. Serenity sighed and dropped to her knees next to him. She took the tissues and started to wipe away the more fresh blood first, just so that it wouldn't get more built up more than it already had.
She dipped the Q-tip into the hydrogen peroxide and started to gently dab it on his cuts. Serenity was glad he wasn't awake, because if he was, she knew Steve would be complaining the whole time. She had patched Steve up a couple of times after some of the fights he used to have in school, and he would always complain how it hurt. Serenity would always counter with how he shouldn't have gotten into that fight then, and he would usually shut right up.
Yet now, he was shut up, not by her words, but by Billy's fist.
Serenity placed Band-Aids on more of the major cuts on his face just to make sure that blood wouldn't just spill and would get trapped by the Band-Aid. The Band-Aids were rainbow, a stark contrast to how dark the rest of his face was from the bruises and the blood. He looked sort of funny with them on, but those were the only Band-Aids that the Byers had, so they would have to do.
Steve was going to wake up either before or after they got to the tunnels. And once he realized what they were doing and how Serenity agreed to it, he was immediately going to protest. Serenity knew that all too well. She just hoped that she would be able to convince him that everything would be fine even though nothing was fucking fine, and that it would all work out.
She put the last Band-Aid on his face and sat back on her feet, staring down at him with sadness swimming in her eyes. Serenity had never seen Steve beat up this bad, not even last year after his fight with Jonathan when he had showed up at her house begging her to come with him to apologize. That was the same night they saw the Demogorgon for the first time, an event that changed Serenity's life forever, even if she was only seventeen.
Serenity always thought that if she hadn't agreed to go with Steve, or if they hadn't gone back into that house when they ran out and saw the flickering lights, if things would be different. She assumed that because of the kids she would somehow be roped into everything, but maybe Steve would've been safe, and he wouldn't have been lying here on the floor of the Byers house, all broken and bruised.
The universe was full of so many possibilities, and it just had to throw Serenity into the life where monsters were real.
"Renny!" Lucas' voice called, snapping her out of her thoughts. "Where would the swimming goggles be?"
"In the closet in the hallway," Serenity answered, standing up and placing her hands on her hips. "You should've known that, you always borrow Will's goggles because you never bring your own."
"Yeah, because Erica always steals mine!"
Serenity shook her head, a tiny smile on her face at the mention of the girl's name. "Classic Erica."
Dustin walked into the living room, holding some cans of gasoline. "Can I have the keys?"
She took the keys to the Camaro out of her pocket and held it out to him. Dustin took the key in his mouth since his arms was full, making Serenity stare at him disapprovingly. Steve always did the same thing, and she always scolded him for it. Especially since it was Billy's keys. Who knew where those keys had been?
"Put them in the trunk," Serenity said.
Dustin nodded and walked out of the door, which Serenity opened for him. Serenity watched him walk towards the Camaro for a moment before turning back around. Her eyes caught on the spiked bat that was discarded on the side of the room, where Serenity had just let it fall from her hands.
She walked towards it and picked it up, holding the wooden handle tightly as she inspected the nails, her eyebrows knit in thought. Although Billy deserved everything Serenity said to him and almost getting his dick spiked, she kind of hated that she had expressed so much anger in front of the kids. She normally wasn't like that, but Billy just set her off. Serenity was sure that she never hated a human being more than him.
Notice how she said human being, because she for sure hated the monsters and the Upside Down. But they were in their own category. Those weren't human.
"Serenity?" a new voice began.
She looked up from the bat, only to see Max standing in front of her. Max seemed to be trying to make herself seem as small as possible. Serenity frowned at her and put down the bat, leaning it against the wall. She crossed her arms and stared at Max in concern.
"Hey," Serenity responded. "What's the matter?"
"I just wanted to apologize," Max revealed.
Serenity's eyebrows knit in thought. "Apologize? For what?"
Max hesitated for a second. "For my brother."
Serenity's eyes softened and she reached forwards, placing her hands on Max's shoulders and staring at her right in the eyes. "Max, that is not your fault. You aren't responsible for your brother's actions. None of us had any clue that he was going to show up tonight, nonetheless beat the absolute shit out of Steve."
"I know, I know, it's just . . . he's awful. I'm starting to feel like the more I apologize for him, the less likely I'll turn out to be like him."
"You will never be like Billy, Max," Serenity reassured her quietly. "I might've only known you for a little while, but you've got a good heart."
"I feel angry like him sometimes," Max continued, her voice still quiet. "It scares me."
"We all get angry, Max. I'm angry right now. For Will, for Eleven, for Steve. It's the way we choose to handle our anger that matters. Billy decides to take it out on everyone all the time, which includes you, I presume. And you just saw me get lost in my anger. But we can use that anger to drive ourselves forwards."
"Like setting a whole tunnel system on fire to help Will and Eleven?"
Serenity nodded, letting out a small laugh. "Exactly. Like setting a whole tunnel system on fire for Will and Eleven." She dropped her hands from Max's shoulders and nodded towards the hallway. "Come on. Let's go help the boys find some protective gear so we can get this plan over with."
Max walked down the hallway. Serenity, however, paused for a second, staring at the kitchen table where Mike was sitting, staring down at a piece of paper that was being scribbled on by a crayon.
"Mike," Serenity voiced, and Mike looked up to turn to her. "You good?"
"Yeah," Mike replied. "I'm almost finished. Just a couple of more minutes and we should be good."
Serenity nodded in approvement and walked off down the hall. She ducked into Joyce, Jonathan, and Will's rooms, helping find more protective gear for them to wear. Once they deemed they had enough, which meant enough bandanas and goggles for the six of them plus some backups in case something went wrong, they went out to the car.
Dustin was still loading in some more cans of gasoline to take. He tossed the keys back to Serenity, who caught them and put them back in the pocket of Jonathan's sweatpants that Nancy had given her to wear. They put all of their bandanas and goggles in the back. Serenity also took Steve's spiked bat and put it in his backpack, placing it in the trunk as well. They would need at least one weapon going into the Upside Down, that was for sure.
Now, they all gathered in the living room. It was just about time to leave, but they still needed one thing. Serenity, Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Max all surrounded Steve's unconscious body. After all, they did promise Serenity that they would bring him.
"Okay, time for the hard part," Serenity stated, an icepack from the Byers' freezer that somehow hadn't been removed and was also free of Demo-Dog slime tucked under her arm. "Moving Steve."
"We really have to bring him?" Dustin complained.
"Yes, we do. Now, everyone grab a limb, or something."
Each of them took a limb of Steve's in their hands while Serenity grabbed his torso. It was a bit of a struggle, but they managed to lug him up and start to drag him out of the door. Getting him down the stairs didn't go too graceful, but they pushed ahead. They paused beside the Camaro so that they could open the door, and so that they could figure out seating arrangements. Serenity listened to the bickering of the kids on who was going to get shotgun, and she rolled her eyes, honestly having enough. That was the least of their worries.
"We'll put Steve in the back," Serenity said, making the bickering stop. "Max, you'll sit on his lap to make sure if he does wake up, he won't try to fight. Mike and Dustin, you'll be in the back with them. Lucas, you're up front with me. I'm trusting you to give me directions."
Lucas gave her a two-fingered salute. "Ma'am, yes, ma'am."
They pushed Steve into the back, setting him in the middle seat.
"Can't you sit on Steve's lap?" Max asked. "You're his girlfriend, after all."
Serenity felt her cheeks get warm. "First of all, I'm not his girlfriend. Second, no, I can't, because I'm driving."
"How about I drive and you sit on top of Steve?"
Serenity gave her an incredulous look. "Absolutely fucking not. Why would I let you drive when I'm literally right here? An actual person with a license? Besides, you're thirteen."
"It's my brother's car!" Max protested. "And I've driven in parking lots!"
"That's not a valid reason. The answer is no, Max." Serenity nodded her head to the backseat. "Go on."
Max rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath as she slid into the backseat and sat on top of Steve's lap. Dustin and Mike sat on either side of Steve, holding some things that didn't fit in the trunk. Serenity tossed Dustin the icepack, who instantly put it on Steve's head.
Serenity rounded around the car and got into the drivers seat. She moved the seat closer to the wheel and turned on the car, honestly hating the way it revved so loud.
"Seatbelts," Serenity ordered. "Max, you don't need one."
All of the kids obeyed. Serenity let out a breath and adjusted the rearview mirror, her heart starting to pound against her chest. Without a second thought, she placed the car in reverse.
And Serenity pulled out of the driveway in the blue Camaro, leaving an unconscious Billy Hargrove on the floor of the Byers house and jumping headfirst into danger.
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FILLER CHAPTER FOR THE WIN LET'S GO