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CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO ; BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
also known as;
( the battle of starcourt; part four )

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THE RETURN TO STARCOURT MALL PUT A LOT OF EXHAUSTION BACK ON STELLA'S SHOULDERS. She was sick of seeing the flashing neon signs, knowing what lay beneath it all. Modern consumerism combined with the threat of nuclear war was never something that would end well, she knew that much. 

"Take as much as you can carry," Lucas instructed, passing back fireworks he had previously collected that day. Stella carried a stick that read DYNAMO! in angry red letters, and at the quick exchange with Steve, neither knew whether to be impressed or concerned with the ideas of the children they took care of. "Come on!"

Stella hurried as fast as she could with Steve and Robin by her side to support her, Lola running ahead, her arms filled with explosives. Stella really needed to have a chat with her co-worker. 

The agonising, inhumane wails of the mindflayer only grew louder as they entered the establishment for what seemed like the hundredth time that night, and Stella clenched her jaw, as she didn't have a free hand to cover her ears with. It was only going to get louder. 

On the second floor of the mall, Stella and her peers overlooked the fleshy monster as it screeched over El's unconscious body. The older teen only caught a brief glimpse of Billy before he was blocked by one of the red-purple tentacles. "Oh my god."

"Pass me a stick," Steve waved his hand, waiting for Lucas' signal across the mall. Stella allowed Robin to light hers on fire and she handed it to her boyfriend, who began to breathe quickly to prepare himself. 

"Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!" Lucas screamed, tossing his first explosive towards the Mindflayer. Steve took this as a go, throwing the firework as well. 

It was a light show that definitely didn't disappoint. Stella watched in awe, the bright lights reflecting in her bloodshot eyes. She tried not to waste another second, taking another stick from Lola and hurling it as hard as she could, grinning as she watched it burst into bright orange sparks. 

The Mindflayer screamed in agony as its body was set aflame by the sudden bursts of gunpowder. 

It wasn't long before the stash of crackers ran out, leaving the group of teenagers vulnerable. Steve grabbed Stella and pulled her back into him just in case, though her eyes were still wandering, trying to make sure everyone was okay, including Billy. 

Her heart was throbbing in her throat. Stella's good hand found Steve's and she squeezed it until she couldn't feel anything anymore. The stakes were too high, and she wasn't sure how much longer there was. The outcome was going to be unpredictable - more-so than the last few days had been. Had all their work been for nothing? Had they come this far, only to lose?

No. Billy Hargrove made sure of that.

"No!"

Stella could barely see him. Every few seconds she saw a flash of white, but his screams overpowered those of the Mindflayer. She watched as the creature stopped, struggling against something. Struggling against Billy. 

The screams of battle turned into screams of pain, and Stella inhaled sharply, falling back against Steve. Steve buried his face in her hair, one arm around her waist and the other allow her to clutch until he lost circulation. 

Then, hell broke loose once more. Billy's body collapsed to the ground and the Mindflayer began flailing around, shrieking in anguish. Stella yelped as she and Steve were tackled to the ground by Robin, resulting in the monster crashing into the barrier where they were previously standing. 

A crash. Then silence. 

Stella pushed herself to her feet despite the searing pain across her body. She shoved herself away from Steve and ran down the unmoving escalators, towards Scoops Ahoy, where Billy and El were. 

The Mindflayer lay motionless, and the smell of its corpse alone made Stella want to vomit. But she had nothing left in her. Nothing left but the concern that her friends were okay. "Kids!" 

She ran around the tentacles and tried to dodge the fires across the square, reaching the ice cream shop, also seeing Max and Mike gathering their shock at the events. Max was hunched over Billy's body, sobbing uncontrollably. Stella put her hand on El's head and the young girl sniffled softly, before nodding towards Max. Mike turned and grabbed Stella's hand, squeezing it. 

"Billy," Max whispered, and Stella joined her, crouching on the bloody floor in front of the barely alive body of her friend. "Billy, get up, please."

"I'm sorry," Billy choked out, and Stella felt a block of something wedge in her throat. She reached forward and cupped the man's face, a teardrop of hers falling onto his cheek. "I'm sorry to you too, Stella."

"Billy-" Stella tried to speak, but the long haired ruffian hiccuped a puddle of blood, before going still. 

Max couldn't breathe, shaking her brother's shoulders as she tried to bring him back. There was no point. Stella felt only numbness now. Not like with Alexei - it was a different sort of pain. This one was something that rendered her hopeless. So many people, gone. 

Max fell back into Stella, who cradled her with the care of a mother. Stella heard footsteps appear behind her, and she didn't have to check if it was Steve, she knew by how he ran his fingers through her hair to try and calm her that he was there. 

Her head fell back so that she could look up at him. He wasn't looking at her, though. He was staring down at Billy. As if he too couldn't believe that the guy was gone. As if every fight, every quip he had made had never mattered; the thought that perhaps he should've been nicer to the tortured soul crossing his mind. Stella swallowed and exhaled loudly. "Steve, are you okay?"

Steve's eyes flickered back to the raven-haired girl on the floor of the destroyed mall, a bullet wound in her shoulder, a dead friend before her and a young girl weeping in her arms. He stared at her bloody face, her bruised arms and torn clothing. He saw the anguish and grief in the brown eyes he had fallen in love with. He saw the one person who needed to be taken care of, putting him first. Putting Max first. Billy. Mike. El. Will. Lucas. Dustin. 

Steve lowered himself to her level, pressing his lips to her temple and allowing himself to linger for a few seconds so that he could cherish the fact that she was still there, and would remain in his life for as long as he lived. "I love you. More than anything."

Stella rested her head against his. "I love you, too."

★☆

THREE MONTHS LATER.

Joyce smiled down at Stella, who was currently fast asleep on the floor of the kitchen, one arm around a frying pan - coincidentally the same one she had used only two years ago to fight a demogorgon just down the hall.  Her slobber was shiny on her arm, but she appeared to finally be at peace. Maybe while she slept she could finally escape the demons that had been chasing her for so long now. 

"Ms Byers," Mike appeared behind Joyce with a photo album in his hands. Joyce turned around, seeing her son's best friend peering curiously at an image in the book. "I didn't know you guys knew Annie Connelly."

Joyce stepped over, looking over the boy's shoulder to see an old polaroid photograph from when the kids were in elementary school. Joyce, Jonathan, as well as Penny and Mark Connelly stood with Will and Annie in front of a large science fair board. "That was the year they won best in show. Will was so upset that the teacher picked the partners. He wanted to make the volcano with you so bad."

Mike's lips twisted upwards a little, before he turned the page to see another picture. He gasped a little, before chuckling. "Is that-"

"Steve and Stella," Joyce nodded. "God, they look young, don't they?"

Stella stood in the centre with her arms around the kids, with Steve crouching in front of them all with his arms outstretched. Mike used his finger to wipe a speck of dust from Stella's face. The date read JANUARY, 1979. "This was a few months before she..."

"Yeah," Joyce reached into the album and pulled out the photo. She could see the absolute joy in the faces of the young teenagers, as if they were the parents of the winners of the science fair. "Those two are pretty damn tough, aren't they?"

Mike agreed without hesitation. His eyes flickered between Stella's sleeping face and the adolescent grin in the photograph. She was so different, so much...sadder. She had gone through so much, more than any human should ever have to endure, yet she was still here. She was still the one person he, as well as many others, could count on. She would leave for college but he knew that distance wouldn't stop the bonds between her and those she loved. 

She was Stella Collins. She was the eccentric girl who roller-skated everywhere she went, ate ice cream for breakfast and shouted at bullies. She was the older sister who lead the march into the movie theatre, underwent endless campaigns, and made Halloween costumes every year. 

She was the one who never slept until all of her friends were safe, the one who took bullets and breaks but never broke. 

She may have been a nobody to everyone else in the world, but to Mike Wheeler, and all those in the little corner of Hawkins, Indiana, she was absolutely everything. 

★☆

THE END. 

SO FAR. DON'T KNOW IF I'LL DO SEASON FOUR. 

ALSO FUCK WATTPAD LMAO I'M SO OVER THEIR BULLSHIT IDK IF I EVEN WANT TO BE BACK 

also, update. life has not been kind to me recently, but ya girl is overworking herself as a distraction from the inevitability of failure so that's fun

oh and happy holidays fuckers