| prologue

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𝗕𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗬

prologue:the starcourt mall

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prologue:
the starcourt mall

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SUMMER WAS ARGUABLY the best time of the year — and, no, Serenity Alexander would not be taking any criticisms.

Sure, maybe she hated the heat, and she hated the fact that she lived in a small town in Indiana away from the ocean that she so desperately wanted to see ever since she was a little girl, but at least it called for a break. A break from school, she meant.

It was Serenity's summer before she started her senior year. She still had some shit to figure out. Despite her parents being basically absent from her life, she knew they were expecting her to go. And Spencer, her older brother, was, too. If she was being honest, Serenity just wanted to make Spencer proud. Besides, she did want to go to college. There were so many possibilities that could come out of college.

However, even if she did have a few choice words about her hometown, the prospect of leaving Hawkins was scary to her. She didn't want to leave behind her brother, or the kids she had watched over for so long, or her boyfriend. Hawkins was all she had ever known . . . well, at least she thought she knew Hawkins.

Hawkins had been quiet and normal until the disappearance of Will Byers almost two years ago. That opened up a whole new world — a parallel dimension filled with stranger things than Serenity could've possibly imagined. Monsters were extremely real, and Serenity had seen them with her own eyes. It had chilled her all the way down to her bones and clouded her mind. She had spent her days filled with fear, constantly riddled with nightmares that caused her to barely get any sleep.

But that was over. After the Mind Flayer being exiled and the closing of the Gate to the Upside Down, that was all shut out. They didn't have to worry about that anymore.

Serenity was doing better since the winter after being in the Upside Down and being scratched by a Demo-Dog. Her smiles were wider and brighter — maybe that could have something to do with her boyfriend, Steve Harrington, though. Ever since their kiss at the Snow Ball, the two had gotten together. If one was seen, the other was probably not far behind. They were Steve and Serenity, just like they always were, but just . . . more. And it was nice. Really nice.

Another reason why she was looking forward to summer. Steve. Her and Steve had lots of free time to spend with each other . . . well, at least when he wasn't working. They could just be teenagers without a care in the world besides going shopping and eating ice cream and kissing under the sweet summer sun.

𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐘  ―  s. harrington ²  ✓Where stories live. Discover now