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epilogue: steve & serenity
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"HOLD STILL, OKAY?"
It had been a month since everything ended — since the Mind Flayer stopped possessing Will, since Eleven closed the Gate to the Upside Down, since Serenity and the people she cared for most got out of the Upside Down tunnels after burning it and being chased from an army of Demo-Dogs.
Hawkins was receiving a lot of national attention, due to the secrets of the lab being exposed and the lab actually shutting down. Barbara Holland was declared officially dead, and even though they couldn't say she was killed by a monster from a parallel dimension, it gave her parents some closure. It also gave Nancy a little bit of closure, who, to the delight of Serenity, was officially dating Jonathan.
As for Serenity, well . . . she was doing a lot better than she expected. Her mind had sort of gone all out of whack when the whole thing with the Upside Down resurfaced. Everything from the Demogorgon, to the Demo-Dogs, to the Mind Flayer had sent her into a state of panic that she masked by taking care of the kids. Maybe because they didn't have to deal with that anymore, that it was over, was the reason she was doing okay. Or maybe it was because she had faced the Upside Down in the tunnels instead of wondering what was inside the other dimension, so she actually knew what went on in there.
She had a couple nightmares, but they were here and there, not repetitive like they had been after the Demogorgon. Her sunshine personality was starting to shine through again. Although that deep root of trauma still stood with her, she wasn't letting it affect her to the same extent like it did with the Demogorgon. It was hard, but she didn't want to get to that point again.
The cuts on her legs from the Demo-Dog had healed completely, thanks to the help of her older brother, Spencer. Just like she expected, Spencer was absolutely worried out of his mind when she went back home because she had been gone for days. Although Serenity couldn't tell him exactly why she was gone, she did show him the cuts, and he bought a bunch of stuff to help her. Now, she just had four scars on her leg. Even though they were a reminder of what was really out there, Serenity liked to believe they made her stronger.
And, according to Steve, she looked badass.
Speaking of Steve, him and Serenity hadn't . . . progressed. Well, romantically. Her and Steve had a long talk about the two of them after everything ended. Serenity herself had told Steve that she actually liked him instead of Steve hearing it from Dustin. Steve, although he said it before, said he liked her, too. However, Steve asked Serenity to give them some time. After all, he was still fresh out of his breakup with Nancy, and he couldn't give Serenity everything just yet. He didn't want to make Serenity feel like a rebound.
