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CHAPTER SEVENTEEN; STELLA NEARLY GETS HIT BY A CAR
also known as;
( madmax; part two )

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"YOU KNOW WHAT'S BULLSHIT?" STELLA SNAPPED AS STEVE'S CAR PULLED INTO AN EMPTY SPACE IN THE HIGH SCHOOL PARKING LOT. She sat in the backseat, hunched over a giant art board she had been slaving over for hours the previous night. There were dark bags under her eyes and she was wearing a dirty pair of overalls and a pink shirt underneath, as well as a pair of pink high top Converse. It was the first thing she found in her drawers, and she had made the intelligent decision to not wear her roller-skates the day she had a major project due.

"The fact that you have enough money to buy your own car now but you still insist on getting a ride with me and Nancy?" Steve piped up, causing his girlfriend to chuckle from the passenger seat. Stella rolled her eyes and scoffed, shuffling around while trying to reach for the door.

"Shut up. You adore my company, asshole," she shot back, before groaning irritably as she gave up trying to move. Steve went to open his mouth, but she cut him off with a grumble. "What is bullshit, is that this board is half my size, and I can barely get it out the damn door."

"You'd better not scratch my seats," Steve retorted, his eyes flickering into the rearview mirror, watching as his friend struggled with her project. "Those are more expensive than you."

"Fuck you," Stella huffed, clearly annoyed at the situation she was in. She had gotten about three hours of sleep, she hadn't eaten breakfast, and she was about to start crying if she couldn't get out of the car and hand over the assignment that had caused her so much grief. It was given to her a few weeks ago, and she had only remembered that it was due on Tuesday on Monday night, which was last night. She had also nearly forgotten her Walkman, which would have been a travesty in itself for anyone who came to speak to her later that day.

As she used her foot to open the door, Steve reached into his backpack and pulled out his essay for early College admissions, handing it to Nancy. They began muttering quietly to themselves about it, though Stella didn't really notice nor care. She was far too occupied in trying to wedge her project out of the door, while making sure it didn't get damaged.

"Have you applied for that Art scholarship you wanted, Star?" Nancy asked softly, glancing back to see the raven haired girl on her back, her tongue sticking out of her mouth in concentration as she attempted to protect her work, edging it along with both her hands and feet. It was quite a sight, one that brought an amused smile to the Wheeler girl's face. After last year's events, the two had grown relatively close, something of a friendship sparking between them.

"Not yet, I still need a letter of recommendation from Mr. Thompson, and I need to talk to my parents about it," she responded, her voice slightly strained, before she cheered as the project left the car completely. She sat up, holding the board vertically, so that it wouldn't touch the ground.

Nancy and Steve exchanged a look after Stella's words, both of them a little concerned. Steve turned in his seat, his eyebrows furrowed. "You haven't told your parents about the scholarship?"

"Last time I mentioned wanting to go to school on the East Coast, we got into a huge fight," she shrugged, using one hand to reach for her backpack. "They said that going to art school wouldn't lead to a great job. For parents who told me to follow my dreams, they sure don't want me to choose my own career."

"I'm sure they just need you to talk about it with them in more detail," Nancy assured her, and Stella nodded once in agreement, before politely smiling and stepping out the car, leaving the pair to discuss something. After a few moments, the teenage girl had composed herself, adjusting her bag and her hold on her project. She took one hand off her board, reaching up to place her headphones over her ears, then letting it slip to her waist, where she pressed play on the mix she had made the previous week.

Come a Little Bit Closer by Jay and the Americans began blasting in her ears, just loud enough that she didn't hear the loud car engine revving at the other end of the parking lot. She took a step towards the school, her eyes cast on her volume control.

Suddenly she was pulled back just as a car tore past her and into a free space, and she yelped in shock, nearly losing her footing. Her wide eyes glanced back to see Steve clutching the back of her overalls tightly, as he was the one quick enough to save her from her own stupidity. "Thanks."

"Maybe you shouldn't wear these when you're walking across the road," Steve muttered, pulling headphones off so they hung around her neck. Stella then smiled slightly, before looking back to see who was in the car that didn't have any respect for other students. Her eyebrows quirked slightly in surprise when she saw the Camaro that sped through the arcade the other night. A few seconds passed and none other than Max stepped out of the passenger seat, a skateboard in hand.

"Max, hey!" Stella called out, waving. The redheaded girl looked over to see the friendly teen, and she forced a smile, awkwardly waving back, before dropping her skateboard to the ground and pushing herself towards the middle school. Stella faltered slightly, though by the way Max's expression fell a little, she could understand that the younger kid felt nervous heading into her new school.

"You know her?" Steve asked as he and Nancy fell into step with her, locking his car as he did so.

"Saw her the other day at the arcade, she's new," Stella responded, before looking forward to see a denim-clad figure stalking towards the high school. Long, curly hair sat at his shoulders untidily, and Stella tilted her head, unsure of what to think of him.

He was definitely an angry driver, that was for sure.

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"Did you get your assignment in on time?" Was the first thing Leilani said to Stella once they ran into each other in the halls that day. Though they didn't have art until last period, their projects were due in before school started. It was now lunch, and Stella was trying to pile all her books into her messy locker.

Stella jumped at the sudden appearance of her friend, nearly dropping everything in her hands. The tanned girl giggled at the sight, stepping forward to hep the stressed teenager. Stella sighed as she was finally able to shut her door after a few moment, leaning against it with closed eyes. "Thanks, Lani."

"No problem," Leilani smiled, crossing her arms and looking over at her friend in amusement. "So, did you hand it in?"

"Yeah, right on the bell," Stella allowed a tired grin to slip onto her lips as she opened one eye, watching her friend scoff. "What? Thompson said it was due right on eight forty-five."

"I guess so," Leilani rolled her eyes playfully, before reaching for Stella's arm and pulling her down the corridor. "C'mon, Kevin's waiting for us in the cafeteria."

Once they made it to the packed lunchroom, Stella dropped into the seat opposite Kevin and Richie, Leilani at her side. Richie tossed her his carton of milk, seeing as he knew she didn't have any lunch. Besides, he didn't really like milk on its own anyway. Stella thanked him with a smile as she opened it, sipping from it and finally getting something in her system. She was utterly exhausted, but now that she finally had a moment in her day where she could be at peace, she felt a little better.

"Did you get your assignmen-" Kevin began, and Stella reached over the table, pushing her hand against his face so that he would shut up.

"I don't want to hear anything else about that project for the rest of time," she whispered, and both Kevin and Richie's eyes trailed over to Leilani, who nodded in answer to the former's attempted question.

"She was crying to me on the phone at four in the morning," Leilani noted, causing the two boys across from them to snicker in amusement. Stella shrugged, not denying anything.

"I'm not ashamed," she muttered, taking another swig from her drink. The quartet grew silent for a few seconds, before Richie dug into his pocket and slid over a bright orange piece of paper.

"Look what Tina gave me when I got out of Calculus this morning," he said cheerfully, and Stella's eyes trailed down to the neon party invitation.

"Prepare to get Sheet-faced?" Leilani read off the paper, her face screwing up in distaste. Her eyes flickered up to the grinning boy in front of her, whose dark curls were tickling his forehead. "You really think I'd want to go to a party? On a school night?"

"C'mon, Lani," Richie insisted, jutting his bottom lip out pleadingly. Stella smirked a little, her eyes trailing over to her unsure friend. "You're a Senior, you've no doubt already got a place at some great college, and we'll all be there with you! Right, guys?"

"Sure," Stella shrugged, and Kevin made a small incoherent grumble. Stella kicked his foot under the table, not sure of what he had said. Kevin sighed, poking his food with a frown on his face.

"I dunno if I can, my parents are probably gonna be working," he muttered, and Richie threw his hand around his shoulders.

"You can crash at mine! In fact, I'm sure I can give you all a ride! Mom won't mind," the boy offered, though he was met with hesitant gazes. He rolled his eyes at their lack of faith in him. "Seriously! She's not gonna mind, she'll probably worry more about you all not getting home safely if you aren't driven there and back by her."

"That's true," Stella pointed her finger at her friend in confirmation. "She worries about me more than my own mother, which says a lot."

Kevin sighed, before nodding. "Fine, I'll come."

Richie and Stella cheered, causing Kevin to smile slightly. Then, they all looked at Leilani hopefully, who groaned. "I'll talk to my parents tonight and let Stella know. But I'm not saying yes."

"Great!" Stella grinned, placing her milk down and rubbing her hands together. "So, what's everyone gonna wear!"

"Group costume!" Richie piped up, leaning forward, also eager to discuss the subject. "We can dress up as everyone from Star Wars! Kevin can go as Luke, Lani as Leia, Stella as Chewie and me as Han!"

"I'm not dressing up as a giant teddy bear, dipshit," Stella retorted, and Richie grinned mischievously in response. "Why can't we go as the fellas from Magnum P.I! I'll be Magnum, Richie can be Higgins, Lani as Rick and Kevin as T.C!"

"That's the lamest idea I've ever heard," Richie scoffed, shaking his head. Stella pulled a face at him, lifting her right hand up to flip him off.

"Whatever, I'm going as Magnum," she smiled excitedly, picking her drink up again and toasting towards the group surrounding her. "I found a shirt like his at the General Store when I was doing my shift a couple weeks ago, so I'm settled."

"Fine, then I'm going as Han," Richie stuck his tongue out, before reaching out to hold Leilani's hand. "Lani, will you do me the honour of being my Princess Leia?"

"Do I have to have my hair in those ridiculous space buns?" She sent him an incredulous look, and he smiled at her hopefully. The dark-haired girl sighed softly, before rolling her eyes. "Maybe."

"I still have an old jacket somewhere, maybe I could go as the Terminator," Kevin added, and Stella reached over to give him a high five.

"Kevin, you goddamn son of a bitch," she beamed, and he chuckled quietly, before looking back down and continuing to poke at his food. She then glanced over at Richie with raised eyebrows. "Well, there goes the idea for group costumes, I guess you and Lani will have to go as a couple."

Both of the teens flushed and quickly began denying what Stella had just said. Leilani quickly grew quiet and found her fiddling fingers rather interesting, while Richie was stammering and sending Stella a hearty glare, to which she revelled in, a cheeky, knowing smirk on her lips.

"Ah, young love," she mused, taking a last sip from her now empty milk carton. "There's nothing like it."

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dedicated to winterspecter !! -- tell me if you'd like dedication in later chapters !! xo

also idk if anyone cares but stella's response to kevin's costume idea is a quote from terminator lol i'm snEaky

hope you enjoyed this short but fun (?) chapter?? it's more of an introduction than the last one, cause we see mah boi steve again !!!!! and they're still pals!!!!! i love them sm!!!!!!!

also i really want to emphasise that though this is a steve harrington fan fiction, stella is still the main character and i really would like it to remain that way, cause her life and her future is crucial to this story! ik it's a slow burn, but that's how life be sometimes ya know?? i'm not gonna have them run into each other in the first chapter when steve's still with Nancy and have them make out and profess their love to each other!! it took all of the first season for them to reconnect, soooooooo what does that say about the characters??? stella's honestly my fave though i just love her so much UFKSK

ALSO!!!! HERE'S THE QUARTET'S HALLOWEEN COSTUMES!!!

KEVIN AS THE TERMINATOR

RICHIE AS HAN SOLO

LEILANI AS PRINCESS LEIA

STELLA AS MAGNUM P.I

i love one (1) squad

anyway!!! tell me what you thought of this short as heck chapter, and what you hope to see later on!! soon we'll get into the jist of the story, but all good things come to those who wait!!!!