Escape ~ S.Harrington

72} Pre-fight Jitters

"Okay, I wanna run through it one more time," Nancy whispered, "Phase one."
"We meet Erica at the playground," Robin went through, "She'll signal Max and Lucas when we're ready."
"Phase two."
"Max baits Vecna," Steve continued, "He'll go after her, which'll put him in his trance."
"Phase three."
"Me and Eddie draw the bats away," Dustin said, Eddie messing up his hair.
"Four."
"We head into Henry's lair, I get into his mind, and you guys... flambé," Jenna gestured to the Molotov cocktail Alice was holding.
"Nobody moves onto the next phase until we've all copied," Nancy looked right at Jenna and Alice to make that point clear, "Nobody deviates from the plan, no matter what. Got it?"

They all either nodded their heads or gave her a 'got it' back. They exited the camper and made their way back to Eddie's trailer. Steve approached the bedsheet rope first but Jenna bumped him out of the way.
"I don't think so," She told him, "I go first."
Jenna climbed through with ease and even did a fancy flip. Steve followed right behind her and copied her, less smoothly though, and went to retrieve a mattress.
"What does he want us to do, applaud?" Robin commented on Steve's smugness.
"He does," Jenna nodded at them through the gate, "He's in desperate need of an ego boost now that I'm here sharing his spotlight."
"Help me out here, Jen," Steve was pulling the mattress in.
Jenna helped him maneuver it through the hallway and plopped it down under the gate.
"Looks like this mattress has more stains than your actual one, Eds," Jenna smiled at him through the gate.
"Real funny, Jenna. Real funny."

"Alright, who's first?" Steve yelled through.
Nancy stepped up and came through next, followed by a bunch of equipment, then Eddie, then Alice, then Robin, and finally Dustin. Once all of the gear was rounded up, they left the trailer in preparation to start their plan. Before everyone left Dustin and Eddie, Jenna abruptly turned around to them. Jenna ran up to Dustin and pulled him into a massive hug.
"If shit hits the fan you get the fuck out of here, got it? I can't lose you."
"I will. And don't die, again. It was hell without you."
"I'll try my best. I love you, Dusty."
"Love you, too, Jenna. Now, go kill that motherf-"
"Watch your mouth."
"But you can say it."
"That's because I'm me. Don't swear. And Eddie," She pulled out of the hug with her brother to go give him one, "Watch Dustin. Don't let anything happen to him."
"I like that little pipsqueak too much to watch him die, don't worry."
"That is so comforting, thank you."
"Good luck, Lady Jenna."
"You too, Eds. It's nice to see you again after all this time."
"In true Hellfire fashion, kill that motherfucker."

"Why does he get to say that but I can't!?" Dustin squealed.
"Because!" Jenna and Eddie yelled insync.
"Well, bye guys. Good luck. I'm sad I get to miss your concert, Eds."
"I'm dedicating it just for you."
"I'm flattered. Hope you enjoy being the hero today."
"We are not heroes," Eddie laughed.
"You're my heroes. Now as heroes, go kick some demobat butt."

Jenna turned back around and grabbed Steve's hand for their trek to the Creel house.
"Uh... I don't mean to freak anyone out, but I swear we've seen this tree before," Robin herself was in fact freaking out.
"Robin, I know where we're going, alright? We're not lost," Jenna told her.
"But what if Vecna destroyed the world because we got lost in the woods?"
"I promise you we're not lost," Jenna sighed.
Robin started to jog ahead.
"I'm coming with you!" Alice yelled after her, "And watch for the vines. It's a hive mind."

"This is what I missed about you guys," Jenna shook her head.
"What? Robin being a super klutz?" Steve chuckled.
"Actually, yeah. That's what makes her, her. And I love it."
"She told me that it took her longer to walk than most babies," Nancy added.
"I really shouldn't laugh," Steve said, "When I was a baby, I actually crawled backwards."
"Crawled backwards?" Nancy asked.
"You know, I pushed with my hands like this. Beep. Beep. Always in reverse, you know? Come on, it makes sense. You push to move, right?"
"It makes a little sense," Jenna squeezed his hand.
"It most definitely made sense in my tiny, little Harrington brain. That is, until I reversed my baby butt down a flight of stairs and thumped my head really good."

"That explains so much about you," Jenna told him, "When I was a baby I would cause power outages in the neighborhood if I didn't like my dinner. Not the most relatable situation, but that's what you get when Brenner does half-assed experiments on you."
"Now that explains a lot about you."
"Looks like baby stories predict our futures then."
"Yeah. For me, I'm, like, right out of the gate, super confident, but I'm also, like, an idiot. Which is just... it's a brutal combination. But, I mean, the good news is, I get a big enough thump on my head, I can change, you know? I can learn. I can crawl forward. I guess what I'm trying to say in a really stupid, roundabout way is, um... is thank you. To both of you."
"What are you thanking us for?" Nancy asked.
"Giving my head the biggest thumps of its life two and three years ago. I needed them. Jenna changed the way I viewed friendship and you, Nancy, helped me crawl forward to this little, lightning woman," Steve started to swing his and Jenna's hands back and forth.
Nancy gave him a sad smile.

"Jenna," He looked down at her, "You know that dream I was telling you about? Back in the trailer?"
"Yeah."
"Did you really think that sounded nice?"
"It sounded perfect."
"Well, good, because... the most important part has always been, well, you. You've always been there. In my head. Just you, me, and six lil' nuggets. You gave me a good thump three years ago when you punched me and made me a better friend and Nancy's thump two years ago is what really made me stop and think about what makes me happy in life. I used to think it was being liked by everyone and getting a new girlfriend every week. But once you two knocked some sense into me, I realized it was always you. It was you that really made me happy, and I really just want to never stop being happy because that means that I'll never stop being with you."

"You know," Jenna sucked in a tight breath, "I think, using your metaphor, the thing that gave me a good thump to the head was two years ago when you started to bond with my brother on the walk to the junkyard. Even though your advice was complete dog shit and Dustin was too gullible to realize that, it made me realize that you actually cared about my life and my family again. I mean, Dustin had hated your guts since he was little when you ran at him in a zombie mask as a prank thinking it was me, and now he was holding a full conversation with you? Willingly, too. It made me so happy and made me feel like we had a chance at surviving. And it looks like we did that and more; we thrived."
"God, I love you, Jenna Henderson."
"I love you, too, Steve Harrington."

"Guys!" Robin ran back to them and broke up their moment, "Looks like we weren't going the wrong way after all. Come on! Let's go!"
"Robin, slow down," Steve sighed.
Jenna looked back at Nancy. She was looking really sad. Jenna let go of Steve's hand and hung back to talk with Nance.
"You alright, Nance?"
"Yeah, why?"
"You look really sad. Like, more than you should. And that's saying a lot for the situation we're in right now."
"It just... seeing you and Steve like that makes me really wish Jonathan were here. I think he needs a good thump to the head right now."
"Nancy, I'm sure he misses you, too. I saw how he pined after you for years. That kind of affection doesn't just end, even with the long distance. To be honest, he's probably just getting high. It seems like a Jon thing to do."
"Thanks, Jenna. That kind of helped. A bit. I'm glad you're back."

"Hurry the fuck up," Alice yelled at them, "We don't have all day, or should I say, night."
Jenna and Nancy sped through the rest of the forest to the rest of the group. They were met face to face with the Creel house, which was surrounded by an angered hoard of demobats. In the little spaceship in the playground, Erica's lamp could be seen glittering up a storm, perfectly in position. Jenna smiled to herself at the sight of it.
I love that sassy child.