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CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE ; STOP STRESSING STELLA OUT SHE'S BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH
also known as;
( the battle of starcourt; part three )

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"JESUS, HOW FAR IS THIS PLACE, MAN?" STEVE SHOUTED OVER THE ROARING WIND AND THE BOOMING POP SONG. Both his hands were on the wheel but he was itching to put one on Stella's bouncing knee. She was pale faced, though he wasn't sure if it was because of the nerve-racking situation or, perhaps, the fact that she had been shot less than an hour ago. 

"Relax, we're almost there," Dustin called from the backseat, squashed against the car door, as there were four in the back. Erica had previously been complaining, until Robin told her that Stella had been in there with a gunshot wound and several sweaty adults, which shut the child up. Stella had only flushed and brushed it off, she didn't exactly want to dwell on the previous events of the day. 

"Suzie must be pretty special, huh?" Robin piped up, looking over at him. "I mean, if you built this thing and lugged it all the way to the middle of nowhere just to talk to her?"

"I mean, nobody's scientifically perfect, but Suzie's about as close to being perfect as any human could possibly be," Dustin grinned back. Stella looked back at him in the rearview mirror and managed a soft smile, not noticing how Steve's eyes flickered in her direction. 

"She sounds made-up to me," Erica scoffed, nudging Lola, who sat in the middle of the backseat. Lola shrugged, not exactly wanting to participate in the conversation. "Does she sound made up to you?"

"Why are you hesitating, Lola?" Dustin scowled, and Lola threw her hands up in the air, one of them holding Robin's.

"I'm ---I'm -- I'm not! I'm not!" she exclaimed with a strange confidence that Stella only saw when she had encountered a rude customer. "I think she sounds real. You know, totally, absolutely real. Look, I don't want to be a part of this conversation."

There was a second of silence, before Dustin chose to speak again. "Left, turn left!"

"There's not a road here!" Steve called over his shoulder. 

"Turn left now!" Dustin screamed in response, and Stella grabbed Steve's leg as he sharply turned the wheel, forcing them off the road and through a fence. Squeezing her eyes shut and feeling the wind hitting her face, Stella tried not to dwell on how the entire car screamed at the sudden change of terrain. 

"Whoa! Henderson, where are we going?!" Steve screeched, and Stella grimaced as he drove over a dip, reaching for her wound. What was she trying to do? Protect it? She had no idea, but it felt like the right things to do. This drive wasn't doing her any favours.

"Up!"

"Oh, Jesus!" Robin yelped, and Stella's breathing began to quicken, and she tried her best to throw up whatever was left in her stomach. "We're not gonna make it!"

"Yes we are," Steve shot back, slamming his hand against the dashboard manically. "Come on, baby! Come on, baby!" 

Stella used her other hand to grip onto the side of the car as the engine strained up the top part of the hill. "Steve, it's not gonna go any further."

"Guess the Toddfather has it's limitations," Robin muttered sarcastically, before jumping out of the car and opening the door for Stella. "You good?"

Steve looked over and saw Stella struggling to keep her head up. She was totalled, to say the least. She clenched her jaw and reached for Robin's hand, allowing the ice cream slinger to pull her up. "Stella, you should stay in the car."

Stella shook her head, getting to her feet and exhaling. She wished she had some painkillers, but she knew she had to keep going. That was the most important thing. It had always been the most important thing. Keep going. Keep going. 

"Star," Steve's voice wavered, and he looked over at her with a deeply concerned expression. Even in the darkness of the night, he had never seen her like this. Her eyes were sunken in and her skin was ghostly pale. She needed medical care, and the fact that he couldn't provide her with it was killing him inside. But she clearly didn't care; she never cared. It was always others that were the most important, and though he knew of her morals, he wished she could realise that she needed to take care of herself. And, when she looked up at him with her watery gaze that still managed to encapsulate her solid determination, he knew that it would take plenty of convincing. "Baby, get back in the car, please."

"No," Stella shook her head. Steve's eyes flickered back to Robin, and she pursed her lips, knowing what he was thinking. 

"Stella, I know you don't like to do it, but you need to listen to Steve," Robin directed the girl back towards the passenger seat. Stella tried to fight back, but Robin was far stronger. "You're gonna kill yourself at this rate."

"I need to be with the kids," Stella wheezed a little as Robin forced her back into the car, not admitting the relief she felt at not being on her feet once more. 

"Hurry up!" Dustin yelled from the top of the hill. Robin and Steve shared another look, before the former ran up to join the rest. Steve lingered behind, and climbed back into the driver's seat. 

"You're the most important person in my life," he reached over and took her by the hand. She turned her head and looked into his eyes, not needing to search his eyes for the truth. She knew he meant everything. "You made me the best person I've ever been. If I ever lost you, I don't know what I'd do, I don't know what any of us would do. You're the most selfless person I know, but by putting yourself in danger, you're making it a hundred times more likely that we'll lose you. I'm not sure that's selfless. We need you here, I need you here. I love you more than anything in the world, and if you keep pulling the same bullshit every year and nearly getting yourself killed, we're gonna have a problem."

He reached over and placed his hand against Stella's cheek. She leaned into his warm touch. "I'm sorry. You're right. It's just-"

"You want to take care of everyone," Steve finished her sentence for her. She smiled slightly, and he returned it. "That's not your job, Star."

Stella managed a soft chuckle. "Believe it or not, but you're not the first person who's said that to me."

"I believe it," Steve's lips curved up in a slight smirk. He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. It lasted for a few seconds, before he pulled away and looked down at her. "I love you."

Stella didn't hesitate. "I love you too."

Steve kissed her once more, before getting out of the car and running up the hill, leaving Stella by herself. She swallowed and leaned back against the car headrest, a singular tear falling down her cheek. 

Steve was right. Hopper was right. She knew she needed to take better care of herself, but when she tried there was nothing but dismay and disagreement. She just loved her friends with her entire being, and if she couldn't protect them every waking moment, what was she good for? 

It had been a mere ten minutes of Stella wallowing in self pity before Steve returned with Robin at his side. Stella sat up a little as the two dove into the automobile, Steve starting the car instantly. "What's going on? Is everything okay?"

"Nope!" Robin exclaimed as Steve put the car in reverse and sped back down the hill. 

"Not the right answer, Robin!" Steve yelled over his shoulder. "Stop stressing Stella out! She's been through enough!"

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The bright lights of the mall came back into view, and Stella stared out the windscreen to see two cars in the parking lot. Upon closer view, she recognised Jonathan's car directly opposite Billy's Camaro. Mike had mentioned something about Billy. "Oh, shit."

"Oh, shit, indeed," Robin hummed.

Steve slowed the car down and looked over at Stella. "Star, get out. I'm gonna ram him."

Stella's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to argue but at Steve's desperate glare, she nodded and stepped out. "Be careful!"

"Always am," Steve yelled out as he zoomed off. She stood in the cool night and huffed, observing as the Toddfather sped towards the mall entrance. She broke into a quick walk once she heard the sound of gunshots, utterly stressed out. 

Gunshot. 

Gunshot. 

Gunshot.

CRASH. 

She gasped out at the sound, watching helplessly as the Cadillac hit the Camaro and forced it to spin out in the carpark. Then, the Camaro caught fire. "Oh my God. Billy."

"Stella, get in!" Nancy screamed as Jonathan's car pulled up to her side. She hardly had a second to register what was going on before Steve yanked her into the trunk of the station wagon and pulled her into his chest. Stella inhaled sharply as the car accelerated once more, taking them far out of the parking lot and back onto the main road. She looked out the back window and spluttered a little at the sight of the Mindflayer. 

Before she had the chance to say anything, the radio in Robin's hand crackled. "Dusty-bun, do you copy?"

"I copy, Suzie-poo. It sounds much better now, thanks."

"Suzie," Robin and Steve chimed, looking at each other. Stella smiled broadly, feeling proud of Dustin despite the situation they were in.

The two young lovers indulged in a quick conversation about Planck's constant, which ended up with a soft, yet strangely melodic voice channelling through the talkie. "Turn around, look at what you see. In her face, the mirror of your dreams."

Stella's jaw slacked a little, and she looked over at Steve, who had a similar expression. 

"Make believe I'm everywhere, given in the light," Suzie joined in, the two filling Jonathan's car with the theme song to The Neverending Story. "Written on the pages is the answer to a never-ending story. Reach the stars, fly a fantasy. Dream a dream and what you see will be. Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds and there upon a rainbow is the answer to a never-ending story."

Stella ran a hand through her hair and exhaled. It was a long minute, to say the least. 

"Planck's constant is 6.62607004," Suzie recited once the song had ended. 

"You just saved the world," Stella could hear Dustin's grin through the speaker. 

"Gosh, I miss you, Dusty-bun," the young girl replied. 

"And I miss you more, Suzie-poo."

"And I miss you more, multiplied by all the stars in our galaxy."

"No, I miss you-"

Then the connection cut out. Stella snorted. "How much would you like to bet that was Erica?"

Steve grinned and took the communicator from Robin, placing it on the floor of the trunk. He then looked outside, and his eyes widened. "It's turning around!"

"What?" Nancy shouted from the passenger seat. 

"It's turning around!" Steve repeated. Stella followed where he was looking to see that the Mindflayer had, in fact, turned around to move back in the other direction.

"Maybe we wore it out," Lucas suggested, but it seemed unlikely. 

"I don't thinks so," Jonathan shook his head, before tightly gripping the steering wheel. "Hold on."

Steve grabbed onto Stella and held her tightly as the car spun into an intense U-Turn. Stella groaned a little and shuffled back a bit as the road straightened out again, waving off attempts from Lucas and Will to help her. "I'm fine, I'm just sick of everyone driving like we're in Miami Vice."

"My mom doesn't let me watch that show," Will frowned, which caused an exhausted, yet amused smile to rise on Stella's face. 

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hnnggg

life update: I have boyf :), I passed all my mock exams as well as ncea level 3, I got a couple of summer jobs and I finally got my license. wow life stuff! hope you all have been well x