GLORY DAYS ｡STEVE HARRINGTON

CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR ; THE RETURN OF STELLA AND STEVE

Max, however, was a mystery. Apart from the odd letter she recieved, it was as if she'd vanished from the face of the earth. It bothered Stella deeply, because she cared for the girl so much. It had been around a year since the Starcourt Mall incident where Billy had lost his life, and it would be no surprise if Max had suffered because of it. While Stella was here, she intended to get to the bottom of it.

She was looking forward to catching up with her boys, but also her other friends. Richie and Leilani were back in town, while Kevin remained at college for the holiday period. She couldn't wait to hit up the newly refurbished diner in town and drink milkshakes with them, something she'd so dearly missed since leaving.

It felt like a homecoming - most of her friends and family back in one place.

Yet there was a deep dread in the pit of her stomach. This was the place where Annie, Hopper and Billy had died, where she had fought tooth and nail to protect the people she loved, where she had suffered more greatly than anyone had ever known.

But this was also her home. It was where her relationship with Steve blossomed. It was where she met her boys, Max, and Eleven. There was still a significant amount of good that balanced out the bad.

Her hands ran through her hair as anxiety clouded her brain. It was freshly dyed to a colour close enough to her natural tone, as she and her roommate Greer had sat on the bathroom floor the night prior, painstakingly colour matching so they wouldn't have to bleach everything. Greer had said that she would rather lick a toilet seat than try to lift Stella's dark, uncooperative hair again, and Stella couldn't blame her. If the great patience of the hairdresser was being tested, she thought it was best not to push it (as much as she liked the blonde).

It had otherwise been an uneventful departure from their apartment, with a little bit of weed and some Chinese food to lull them to sleep. Steve had then woken up everyone the next morning, urging them to get ready, despite the flight leaving in eight hours (Stella had never wanted to curse him out more).

She knew that he knew she was uncertain about returning to Hawkins. He had asked her a few times if she was okay, and she had told him the truth - she was fucking terrified.

The last few years she had not known peace. There had been monsters, chaos, and death, and she had somehow found herself at the centre of it all. It took everything in her to leave it all behind, to leave the people she loved behind. And now that she had finally found some peace, she had to return.

They had come back for the major holidays, and she had felt exactly the same. The same fear of something happening, something that would take someone she cared about away from her. But so far, it had been smooth sailing.

However, she still couldn't shake the idea of everything turning upside down once again.

"Stella, say goodbye to your boyfriend," Gary said, pulling up outside Steve's parents' house. Stella felt a strange tug in her chest. It was always strange not sleeping under the same roof, especially when they had been living together for the past year.

She stepped out of the car and followed him to the trunk, where he fished out his duffel bag. He'd insisted he didn't need anything, as his mother enjoyed buying him necessities. She had only laughed, anticipating the smug expression on his face when he didn't have to pay a luggage fee at the airport.

"I'll pick you up before the game tomorrow night, alright?" he said, his hand instinctively reaching for her. She wrapped her arms around his torso, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I might help out at the video store too, Robin said they get busy once school breaks up."

Stella knew he'd be busy catching up with Robin. They had gotten close while working together at Scoops Ahoy!, then at Family Video over summer. Stella adored the younger girl, and knew they'd be seeing a lot of each other for the next several days.