Chapter 37

028

• 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐞𝐦 •

─────✧･ﾟ: *✧･

☄. *. ⋆ “Turn around. Look at what you see.”

Stella beamed back at Dustin’s deadpan. “In her face. The mirror of your dreams,” she continued to sing, dramatically reaching out to cup Max’s face. “Rhymes that keep their secrets…” they both waved a hand in the air theatrically, as if painting a picture. “Will unfold behind the clouds.”

“Wait, did we get that verse right? It’s “unfold behind the clouds”?” Max stopped to tease Dustin further. He wasn’t amused. “Yeah. But you’re butchering it, so could you please stop?”

“Well, then, join in, Dusty-bun,” Stella blew a teasing kiss his way. Max grinned, “Yeah, come on, Dusty-bun, why don’t you join us?”

Erica had filled Max and Stella in on what went down while… well, while Max was unconscious and Stella was fighting for her life. Apparently, they had missed a musical number performed by their very own Dustin Henderson and his very real girlfriend, Suzie.

“You guys are so funny, you should be on Carson.”

“I think it’s funny that you did a duet to Never-ending Story while my girlfriend was knocked out and I was the victim of attempted murder,” she joked despite that actually being what happened.

“Yeah, we didn’t get to hear it!” Max pouted. “Just one verse? For us?”

“No! That’s reserved for Suzie’s ears and Suzie’s ears alone.”

“…Turn around… look at what you see.”

–

☄. *. ⋆ The door slowly creaked open to reveal Eleven, stuffed koala under her arm. “Hi, Stella.”

“Hey, El,” Stella smiled, a sadness behind it.

“Are you… okay?” Eleven asked, starting to fiddle with the leg of the stuffed animal. Stella nodded, blinking. “Fine, I’m just… I’m gonna miss you. A lot.”

Eleven finally walked over, sitting on the floor beside her best friend. “I’ll miss you too. Dustin says we can talk. On the– Cer…”

“Cerebro,” Stella laughed. “Yeah, we can.”

They fell into a silence until it was broken by the hesitant words from El. “I told Mike that I… I love him.”

Stella’s brows shot up, demeanor changing entirely. “Holy shit, really?” She asked, earning a nod from the girl beside her. “Woah.”

“Have you said that to Max?” Eleven wondered, question blunt compared to how carefully others might have said it. Stella bit her lip. “No.”

“But you love her. Right?”

Stella’s head turned to El, “I do.” She sighed, “but I… I just wanna find the right time. Y’know? And after… what happened, it just never seems like the right time.”

El nodded, and Stella wasn’t one hundred percent sure she even fully understood, but that was okay. “I’ll say it. Soon.”

–

☄. *. ⋆ Knowing Eleven and the Byers would be moving away at the end of the summer was one thing. Standing in the driveway of their emptied out house, truck ready to take their things with them and hugging them goodbye was another.

Summer was long gone. It had already cooled down, sweater replacing their tank tops and shorts, all Upside-down related scars and claw marks hidden away and somehow unnoticed the entire summer.

So once and for all, with summer went the Byers and Eleven.

Stella reminded herself that they would visit. This wasn’t the last time she was going to see them. She knew that.

Still, she held Will and Eleven and even Joyce like it was. Because maybe it wasn’t her last time with them, but it was the last time she’d stand in this driveway. It was the last time she’d have the complete party at this house. It was Will and Eleven leaving them behind for months. What would they look like when she next saw them? Maybe El’s hair would be even longer. Maybe Will would have gotten a new wardrobe. She’d miss so much of Eleven becoming more of her own person.

She’d miss them.

She missed them the moment the U-haul door shut, and even more as it faded out of view.

“Come on, Ess,” Max whispered once the two girls where the final ones to stand in front of the house.

She followed Max without a word.

–

Estelle…

─────✧･ﾟ: *✧･

ik this was short it’s kinda just a half chapter cuz it’s just the s3 epilogue

but WE HAVE COMPLETED ACT TWO OF BAD REPUTATION!! WOO HOO!!!

AND i got my entire final project done in two hours like JUST now so there’s one less school related thing to worry about!

the act 3 prologue is coming on may 25th! then the cast and playlist on the 26th and 27th, and then the intro and first chapter on the 30th.

see you there!!!