STARCROSSED ▷ steve harrington

15. epilogue

CHAPTER FIFTEEN — EPILOGUE

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three months later..

JACKIE SNICKERED LOUDLY as Max and Lucas mocked Dustin's singing. It had been an ongoing joke since the night of the battle, but she still laughed every time. She paused, the plate she was about to pack away into a box still in her hands as she watched them in amusement. However, Dustin was the exact opposite (as he always was when they did this) and looked over to the pair with a frown.

That only encouraged them even further, and Jackie's grin broadened. It was good to see her sister happy again. Billy's death had hit the two of them harder than they expected.

Their household didn't change much, although his absence was painfully obvious. The excuse the government gave to their parents was that Billy had been in a terrible car accident—the dent Steve made in his vehicle was apparently enough evidence to convince Neil, not that he seemed to give much of a shit what happened to his son anyway.

Although she had to admit, a part of her was a little relieved, and she felt guilty for it. Billy was a complete dickhead, but he didn't deserve to die. She wished she could've helped him more, maybe she could've prevented the tragedy that happened at the mall months before. The house was extremely different without him, the emptiness of his room was unbearable. Neil had sold most of his belongings, and the room that used to be filled with filled with basic bedroom furniture, and weight lifting materials, was now just a storage room.

Jackie refused to go in there, and even if Max didn't admit it, she didn't miss the weary looks her sister would send in its direction. Almost as if she felt guilty, too.

"Did we get that verse right?" Max asked, breaking Jackie from her thoughts. "It's 'unfold behind the clouds?'"

"Yes," Dustin confirmed. "But you're butchering it, so could you please stop?"

"So then join in, Dusty-bun," Lucas teased, blowing him an air kiss.

"Yeah, come on Dusty-bun. Why don't you join us? Jackie will!"

"Hell yeah I will," she glanced to Dustin with a smirk, setting the plate down before approaching them. "Payback for all the times you made gagging noises every time Steve and I kissed."

"You guys are so funny," Dustin said with a serious expression and a dull tone. "You should be on Carson."

"Can't we just hear your rendition?" Max asked with a mock hopeful expression.

"No."

"Please? Just one verse!"

"Come on Dusty-bun!" Jackie pleaded in, wiggling her finger in his face. "You know you want to!" He smacked her hand away, and she raised a brow at him. "Listen, you big baby. We just wanna year you sing. Your voice is like sooooo pretty. Ya know?"

Dustin rolled his eyes at her tone. "No. No way. It's reserved for Suzie's ears, and Suzie's ears alone."

"Is it? Then how did we manage to hear it? Just sing you dipshit!" Jackie whacked his head with one of the last remaining pillows that hadn't been packed away yet.

"Turn around!" The couple sang from the room, "look at what you see!"

Dustin whipped out his middle finger, and Jackie fell backwards with a laugh as he waved it around crazily. She got up with a chuckle, walking towards Jonathan's room to hand him a record she found, only to see he and Nancy locked in a tight embrace.