¹𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆,𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧 ✔

016-safe and sound

Jonathan was next, coming in with news spewing from his lips. "They saved Will—he's back." Those words mean more to Carla than anything. Everything paid off in the end—they had Will Byers back. "He's a few rooms down."

Carla lightly smiled. They'd done it.

Nancy speaks up, knowing her sisters questions, "Everyone's okay. The boys are here and safe—they were so worried about you."

"We all were, actually."

Carla looks in the doorway to see Steve Harrington. He awkwardly stands in the center, a relieved look on his face. He still wears a face full of wounds, and a crooked nose, but he doesn't seem too worried.  The boy wearily enters and takes a stance beside Jonathan.

"I'm just glad you guys are okay—that everyone is okay." the Wheeler says, before asking another question, "Hey, what about Eleven? Is she here? Is she out of custody from that lab?"

Nancy and Jonathan share a look before the Byers boy speaks grimly, "Sometime after we left, people came to Hawkins Middle in search of El.  They tried to hurt the boys, so Eleven killed them, causing the monster to leave us and instead attack them.  She fought against it but when it disappeared....so did she."

Carla's face fell. Oh.

Carla hadn't known Eleven too well, but she didn't deserve that. The little girl had already been put through hell in that lab, and now, instead of getting to live a normal life, she was dead. She was taken away before she even knew what life was.

"Hey, uh, could I talk to Carla alone?" Steve speaks up, looking at the two other teens in the room. Nancy and Jonathan look at one another before doing as asked and leaving, giving the exes room to talk.

Once alone, Steve began to say, "Carla, I'm sorry. I really am—"

"Steve, you don't have to apologize, seriously—"

Steve cut her off. "No, Carla. I-I want to apologize." 

The Wheeler seals her lips and lets him talk.

"Carla, I'm sorry for how I've acted over the past year. I have been such an asshole to you ever since we broke up, and it hadn't really hit me until you did.  I should have talked to you, or at least done anything after our break-up because you didn't do anything wrong, and I left you to think that you did. I was the asshole for making you think you needed to say it back because you didn't. I knew your feelings were real then.....I'm just sorry that I made you feel cornered like that."

Despite having gotten rid of her grudge against their break-up the moment Steve saved her, it felt good to hear him say that. To hear him admit that he regretted how things went just as much as she did; to hear that she wasn't in the wrong like she'd assumed she'd been for the past year. 

"It's okay. I don't even care anymore, honestly." Carla sighs. He'd saved her—the least she could do was forgive him for being an asshole a year ago. "But thank you for apologizing. I do appreciate it. I was in the wrong too—I should have told you that I'd never said it to anyone before....that I didn't know that it was how to describe my feelings for you."

Steve slightly smiles, "So.....you did love me?"

"I did." She still does.

"I'm glad we got that cleared up. My past self would be relieved." His current self is relieved, too. 

Carla pauses before asking, "So, does this mean we can be friends again? I mean, I get it if you still don't think we can be content around one another, but I'd really like it if we could be friends again.....or at least closer than enemies?" I miss you.