AMARA HATED DRIVING FAST.

        Well, she didn't hate it per se, but she avoided it whenever possible. It had taken a lot of convincing from her parents just to learn to drive at all – and not because her grandmother had died in a car crash and she feared doing the same, but because she couldn't trust herself to react fast enough to the abrupt movements of other drivers. That was what she dreaded more than any snowstorm or lack of visibility – not that she wouldn't drive safely but that others wouldn't and she'd be forced to pay the price. Amara had mastered the winding roads on the outskirts of Hawkins long before she'd been able to tackle the main intersections.

        It was for this reason that even after she gained confidence behind the wheel Amara preferred not to exceed the speed limit even if others passed her in haste to get to work. She had yet to travel I-69 for any reason and dreaded the day she'd eventually have to for Kevin's graduation. And if she was really being honest, she was easily distractible, including when driving.

        Amara hated driving fast... and yet she hated the idea of her friends dying because she couldn't stomach dipping a toe outside her comfort zone even more. And with the roads clear in the absence of other cars, she swore she had never driven faster in her life.

        The road signs and closed storefronts bled into an amalgamation of colors as Amara left them in the dust no sooner than she approached them, her knuckles whitening from how fiercely she was gripping the steering wheel. Amid her panic that they wouldn't make it back to their friends in time, a small part of her marveled at how her worry for them put her anxiety when driving on the back burner for the time being; maybe it was the act of overcoming one of her biggest fears even if it was temporary, especially when Mike's insistence that they reach the tunnels in time to aid Eleven hadn't been enough last year. Even so, she was grateful to Steve and Robin for remaining quiet for her sake.

        Once they approached the parking lot, Amara had a limited amount of time to process the scene in front of her. Their friends had vacated the mall but were struggling to start up Nancy's station wagon, and the aforementioned girl had a revolver aimed at the occupant of the blue Camaro Amara had driven a year ago. Though none of her experiences with Billy had been pleasant, Amara understood that his possession wouldn't have taken such a toll on Max if she didn't believe he still had some semblance of humanity, even after everything he'd put her through. However, saving their companions remained her priority.

        The Mind Flayer and his first-in-command had cornered their friends on both fronts, Billy was poised to switch gears, and Amara still didn't have a strategy to bail them out. But she had a car, and she'd be damned if she didn't put it to good use. Because desperate times called for desperate measures, and Amara's best plans weren't concrete and well-thought-out, but powered by her gut.

        As if reading her mind, Robin queried, "Umm, you have a plan, right?"

        "Yeah, if you could call it that," Amara responded as she rounded the corner of the entrance, forcing herself not to doubt her decision. "Just... hold on tight, okay? I'm about to do something batshit crazy."

        "Wait, what are you – "

        Steve had no chance to finish, for Billy slammed his foot on the accelerator, giving Amara an even smaller stretch of time to channel her geometry knowledge into forcing his car off course. She quickly sped up, aiming for the same side of Billy's Camaro that he was dead set on hitting, thankful that the current that poured through the open windows muffled Steve and Robin's subsequent shrieks. Amara collided with Billy's car at full force – the shattering of glass and screeching of tires as both vehicles spun out of control tempted her to shield her ears but she clung to the wheel, righting her course before she could hit Nancy's station wagon. Meanwhile, Billy's car had caught fire and the boy had fallen unconscious.

        "You guys okay?" Amara asked hoarsely, gasping as her adrenaline wore off. Never before had she done something so reckless and impulsive, but what mattered was that their friends were unharmed. She didn't even comprehend what her parents would think if they saw the condition the crash had left her car in. It was the last thought on her mind right now.

        "Ask me tomorrow?" Robin offered, equally dazed. Steve mumbled something incoherent from the backseat but Amara swore she could make out a faint, 'I'm okay.' "But, your car – "

        "Collateral damage," Amara shrugged. "I can just tell my parents I crashed into a tree. They'd probably believe me."

        An animalistic growl alerted them to their adversary, who unlike Billy still posed a threat. Amara wrenched open her door and stepped outside, her companions following suit and zeroing in on the enormous biomass perched on the roof of Starcourt. The Mind Flayer's proxy version resembled Will's drawing from a year ago with its spider-like form, the product of the Russians' dance with the devil and a sign that the gate was far from being closed. And given that Amara, Robin, and Steve had been the ones to take out Billy, they were undoubtedly its new targets.

        A honk snapped Amara out of her temporary paralysis and she glimpsed to the right to find that the others had finally managed to get the station wagon running. "Get in!" Nancy urged from the passenger seat, and Amara didn't think twice about abandoning her Honda, the engine of which was smoking and possibly incapable of operating. She, Steve, and Robin piled themselves in the back of Nancy's car and Jonathan promptly took off. The beast was quick to follow, crushing the yellow Cadillac by the mall entrance and Amara's car as if they were toys.

        "Crap, my parents are gonna kill me," Amara groaned, well aware that the Mind Flayer had damaged her Honda beyond repair. While the relief that she had saved her friends had outweighed any potential lie she'd have to tell Eurydice and Scott, she didn't know how she'd be able to explain to them that her car now looked like it had been smashed at a junkyard.

        "We'll vouch for you, don't worry," Lucas assured Amara, and though far-fetched as his promise was she smiled a fraction at the sincerity behind it. "Erica's safe, right?"

        "Yeah, she and Dustin are still navigating," Amara elucidated. Now that she thought about it, he and Will were the only ones in the row ahead of them. "Wait, where are the others?"

        "They're still at the mall," Will answered somberly, hating that they'd been separated in the first place. "We didn't have any time to get them."

        "Okay... " Amara nodded slowly, not liking the idea of Eleven, Max, and Mike stranded at the mall. However, the Mind Flayer was after Eleven but chasing them, perhaps in its limited intelligence under the impression that she was with them. "We'll just have to keep the Mind Flayer on our tail until the gate's closed, then."

        "Easier said than done," Robin remarked, motioning at how the monster appeared to be catching up.

        Cognizant of this, Jonathan accelerated his pace, grateful that they had a full tank of gas. They sped down the winding road, occasionally stealing glances backward and immediately regretting it afterward. The walkie-talkie in Robin's hold didn't give them access to the Russian base, so Amara had no indication of where Kevin was other than the fact that his job remained unfinished. She was tempted to glance at her watch and determine how much time they had until her parents unknowingly arrived at a warzone but this time refrained, opting for gripping Steve's hand instead like it was a primal reflex.

        For the girl who had once craved any circumstance that would lead others to recognize her value, even if it was life-threatening, Amara was sick and tired of fighting supernatural monsters. It was no surprise that this time around had affected her considerably more than before because she no longer saw anything worth gaining from it. She didn't want to be a hero anymore.

        "Dusty-bun, do you copy?" an unfamiliar voice resounded from their walkie-talkie. Amara furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, idly questioning who was on the other end.

        "I copy, Suzie-poo. It sounds much better now, thanks," Dustin's reply was enough to give them an answer. It was the girlfriend they had all at some point suspected didn't actually exist due to his exaggerated description of her, the girl Steve claimed Dustin had won over with Amara's advice. But why had Dustin contacted her amid such dire affairs?

        "Okay, so, listen, do you know Planck's constant?" Dustin inquired, earning general confusion from everyone in the car. Amara wondered if his request would make more sense if she could still reach Kevin and the others. Either way, it had to be of importance.

        "Do you know the Earth orbits the sun?" Suzie countered, her tone implying that she very well knew the number they desperately needed but not the gravity of their situation. Amara realized that this was the same position people like Ximena and most of their parents were in, of the confusion they developed due to their loved ones concealing the horrors they'd been through for their own safety. She hadn't wanted Kevin or Robin to become involved, but that she had disclosed the truth to them in advance meant that they hadn't gone in blind.

        "Okay, so I know it starts with two sixes, and then a... " Dustin fell short as he conceded that he didn't know the rest of Planck's constant. "W-what is it?"

        "Okay, let me just be clear on this," Suzie stated, her voice adapting to one of vexation, and if Amara was guessing correctly, hurt that she hadn't heard from Dustin until now. "I haven't heard from you in a week, and now you want a mathematical equation that you should know so you can... save the world?"

        "Suzie-poo, I promise, I will make it up to you as soon as possible – "

        "You can make it up to me now," Suzie interrupted. Amara was growing increasingly anxious, conscious that if Dustin didn't know all of Planck's constant that none of them did. Even with her borderline photographic memory she too didn't know more than the first two digits by heart. "I want to hear it."

        Dustin panicked, "Not right now."

        "Yes, now, Dusty-bun," Suzie probed, refusing to bend. She likely didn't know that she and Dustin had an audience itching for her to share her knowledge.

        "Suzie-poo, this is urgent," Dustin's voice quivered for a reason unbeknownst to all of them, those listening partially curious about what Suzie wanted to hear from Dustin and why he was steadfastly refusing to cave. Amara briefly considered backing Dustin up but decided against it, acknowledging that it might deter Suzie from aiding them.

        "Yes, yes, you're saving the world, I heard you the first time," Suzie snapped. She had to be as stubborn as Amara or perhaps even more, which was saying something. "But Ged is also saving Earthsea and he's about to confront the shadow, so this is Suzie, signing off – "

        "Wait, wait, wait! Okay. Okay. Okay," Dustin capitulated, and Amara released a breath she didn't even realize she'd been holding at the fact that one of the young lovers had yielded, even if Dustin now had to suffer the embarrassment of whatever Suzie wanted to hear from him. There was a beat of silence, and then to everyone's shock, he began to sing:

"Turn around, look at what you see

In her face, the mirror of your dreams."

        Amara's eyes widened and she shared a glance with Steve and Robin, both of whom were equally stupefied. She would've found the situation funny if they didn't have a deadly monster on their heels, but she couldn't resist smiling at the notion that Dustin had found someone just as nerdy as him and better yet had wooed her not by pretending not to care, but being authentically dorky as he was now over the airwaves. Satisfied, Suzie joined in for the next verse:

"Make believe I'm everywhere, given in the light

Written on the pages is the answer to a never-ending story."

        "Do you think the others can hear this?" Will commented over Suzie and Dustin's harmony, trying to picture his mother's reaction. Amara was wondering the same thing in regard to Kevin, though she reckoned he was getting the same amusement out of it that she was even when they were on a clock. "Knowing my mom she's probably banging her head against the wall right now."

        "We really shouldn't have abandoned Dustin last week," Lucas mused, regretting how he'd been so quick to assume that Dustin was messing with them when he and the Party could've had the chance to hear his and Suzie's rendition a week ago. "I swear though, he's never gonna hear the end of this."

"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!"

        After a painfully long minute Dustin and Suzie's duet finally came to a close, and only then did Suzie pay her dues. "Planck's constant is 6.62607004."

        "You just saved the world," Dustin gushed. Though the Mind Flayer was still actively chasing them, Amara was relieved to know that they were one step closer to exterminating it.

        "Gosh, I miss you, Dusty-bun," Suzie sighed wistfully.

        "And I miss you more, Suzie-poo," Dustin responded with equal longing. Lucas muttered something to Will Amara detected as, 'They really are like Romeo and Juliet.'

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

        "No, I miss you – "

        "Enough!" a voice that sounded suspiciously like Erica's butted in before the radio fell silent, and everyone was once again reminded of the beast after them. Amara hadn't fully appreciated the buffer Suzie and Dustin's singing had provided over the Mind Flayer's weighty footfalls until it was no longer there. She tried her best to look at the bright side of their situation, of how every mile the monster pursued them was one farther away from Eleven, but it would all be for nothing if the dog caught the car and unearthed that its prey wasn't there after all.

        The Mind Flayer abruptly halted, an action only the three occupants in the back detected. Releasing a battle cry, it sprinted in the opposite direction, no doubt heading back to the mall. It had to imply that Billy, the Mind Flayer's third eye, had regained consciousness and located Eleven.

        "It's turning around," Steve warned, overwhelmed with anxiety that no one else had noticed this turn of events.

        "What?" Nancy exclaimed, swiveling in her seat to see for herself. The monster had indeed ceased following them and was already out of their field of view.

        "It's turning around!" Steve repeated frantically, Amara's hand clamped in his the only thing grounding him. There it was again, that misconception that it was his fault if any of the kids ended up in harm's way; similar to how Amara had once been under the impression that she had to set herself on fire to keep others warm, even now Steve felt like protecting the kids at all costs was his only purpose when it wasn't.

        "Maybe we wore it out," Lucas brought up nonchalantly, but it was obvious even he didn't believe that.

        "I don't think so," Jonathan disputed. "Hold on." He then jerked the wheel and pivoted the station wagon around in a sharp U-turn that sent everyone crashing into the windows, the backs of seats, and each other. Amara thought back to the car chase that had transpired in Back to the Future – as much as she loved her favorite science fiction books and movies, she could do without her life playing out as that of a sci-fi film.

        "Guess we're going back," Robin mumbled as she massaged her head, which was throbbing from the impact against the back window. "Man, I miss when it was just cracking secret codes... "

        "What now?" Amara queried once the roles had reversed and they were now the ones chasing after the Mind Flayer. "Is there really nothing that can stop the Mind Flayer other than closing the gate?"

        "I have an idea," Lucas answered, overcome with a combination of fear and rage at the notion that if Eleven was in danger, so was Max. "If we're gonna hold off the bastard, we're gonna do it in true Fourth of July fashion."

HOLDING OFF THE MIND FLAYER IN "true Fourth of July fashion" equated to the baskets of fireworks hitched to the roof of the car Amara hadn't noticed until they were once again in the parking lot of the mall. If closing the gate was truly the only thing that could stop the Mind Flayer they needed to use any and all options at their disposal, including fireworks Lucas and Will had equipped themselves with from Bradley's Big Buy. Baskets in hand, they split up into three groups upon entering the mall, fanning out across the upper level and waiting for when Lucas deemed it best to fire.

        If Starcourt's surplus of neon lights had continually irritated Amara in her month of working there, their sporadic pulsating would've been enough for her to vacate the mall altogether had a possessed Billy, skin perforated with black veins, not set an unconscious Eleven on the ground for the Mind Flayer to eliminate, had the monster in question not descended through the shattered skylight and towered over the girl it had marked for dead, had Mike and Max not have been nowhere in sight. Eleven, who they had always counted on to lead them to victory, was far too weakened to fight back and Amara was intent on providing her backup in spite of the dull throbbing of her cranium.

        A sharp nod from Lucas and Amara dove into her basket to retrieve a firework and a lighter, wary that the juncture between now and when the Mind Flayer attacked was rapidly diminishing. The flare that danced from the source reflected in the copper of her irises, emblematic of the spark they planned to fan into a flame to weaken their foe. With Steve and Robin at her side and the world ending all around them, Amara shot them both a tight smile, hoping for the best; a second later Lucas flung the first firework over the railing, everyone else following in quick succession.

        "Flay this, you ugly piece of shit!"

        Amara's firework hit its mark, colliding with the Mind Flayer's head in a shower of scarlet sparks – the beast recoiled from all seven explosions of heat that graced its flesh, its sole liability. She promptly launched another, this time an azure blue that found a home in the Mind Flayer's torso. She was surprised at the amount of force she'd channeled into her throw, but she supposed a long-kindling anger at the Upside Down for stealing so much from them had to do with it. Their distraction tactic was working, for the monster no longer had its target set on Eleven.

        "Hey, asshole! Over here!" Steve bellowed, gaining the Mind Flayer's attention long enough to pitch his next firework at it, a marigold hue that detonated in its maw. And it wasn't just the beast that emitted an otherworldly howl in response – Billy was affected as well, a fault of the hive mind.

        Amara acknowledged with a sinking heart that the fireworks had little impact on the Mind Flayer other than inflicting it with enough pain to lose sight of its mission. Cognizant that their group had limited ammunition, she slowed her pace a fraction and concentrated on making every hit count, choosing the moments when the monster exhibited signs of recovery to catch it off guard. The hour was approaching midnight but Amara was wide awake; she hadn't been to a Russian base and back just to give up hope that she could defeat an adversary she'd conquered before.

        But organisms needed to adapt to survive, and every time the Upside Down infiltrated their world it was with increased precision and calculus that forced the fighters to think outside of the box. Unfortunately for them, their short-term plan to keep the Mind Flayer occupied was failing every second Kevin and the others delayed in closing the gate, and Amara idly wondered what was taking them so long. But just as she and her friends had encountered an obstacle in the Mind Flayer, the adults could've warranted the Russians' attention.

        Amara made to throw another firework, only to realize in dismay that there was only one left. Glimpsing at their companions, she noted that they were also running low as signified by the growing infrequency of explosions lighting the mall aglow. "Shit, we're almost out!" Robin shouted, too motioning at their basket. She had no choice but to ignite it and hurl it over the ledge.

        "Dustin! We're out of time!" Steve hollered into their walkie, the only indirect form of contact they had with their compatriots beneath their feet. Amara could only hope that they would heed their urgency and overcome whatever was preventing them from severing the link between the Mind Flayer's brain and body.

        "Son of a bitch," Amara muttered once the multicolored blasts subsided and the smoke cleared, giving the Mind Flayer the opportunity to finally convalesce. They were back to square one, only this time with no weapons other than Lucas's wrist rocket, which he had produced from his backpack even though he conceded that nothing could get in the way of the beast's goal anymore. Amara gripped the railing so tightly it was painful, taking in the sight of Billy in the mirror position of ensuring Eleven couldn't escape. If she hadn't been so terrified she would've picked up on subtle differences, such as how Billy was now standing in front of Eleven rather than behind her, or how the network of obsidian veins had vanished from his skin...

        The Mind Flayer released a tendril from between its jaws, intent on killing Eleven once and for all. But Billy caught it before it could reach Eleven, feet rooted to the ground as he used all of his strength to repel the beast. It was an action that displayed that his humanity had prevailed against the darkness holding him hostage, even if it came at the cost of his life. The Mind Flayer didn't hesitate to shoot additional tentacles at the host who had dared defy it – they latched onto Billy's skin, staining his white undershirt red. Amara could do nothing but watch the life drain away from yet another person to take a stand against the Upside Down.

        The tentacles just kept coming and coming until Billy's arms slumped to his sides, the boy overcome with blood loss. Suspended in midair, he let out one last battle cry that mingled with the blood pooling from his lips. In a final act of vengeance, the Mind Flayer made a fist of its remaining tendril, which struck Billy directly in the heart.

        "BILLY!" Max's anguished cry tore through Amara like a knife, the kind of rawness that could only come with watching a loved one die despite their complicated relationship.

        The Mind Flayer retracted its tentacles, leaving Billy to collapse on the ground. Luckily, before any of the onlookers could contemplate how they were supposed to defeat their opponent now it began writhing erratically about the mall, crashing into pillars and shrieking in pain as the connection sustaining it finally broke. Steve instinctively pulled Amara out of the way and she hastily tugged on Robin's hand milliseconds before the beast stumbled into the adjacent railing, tumbling onto the carpeted floor. With a final roar, the proxy monster crumpled onto the ground where it twitched before falling utterly still. It was dead, and with it so was every citizen of Hawkins that had fallen victim to it.

        As the clock struck twelve, signifying a new day, Amara barely had the strength to rise to her feet and confirm that their friends on the lower level were uninjured. Mike had skidded to Eleven's side and brought her into his arms while Max knelt over her stepbrother, pleading for him to get up as the light left his eyes. A wave of emotions hit Amara at once but none of them were the triumph she associated with defeating the Upside Down in the past all while coming to terms with her worth. There was nothing to gain out of a foreign adversary discovering an alternate dimension, of dozens of townspeople perishing, of the notion that this was far from the last time she would have to go to war.

        Sensing Amara's exhaustion, Steve offered himself as a post for her should she need it. And this time she didn't protest, leaning into him fully and prioritizing herself.

AMARA HAD ONLY ATTENDED TWO FUNERALS in her life, not counting Will's, and she couldn't bring herself to cry at either of them. The first had been for her maternal grandfather Thomas, who had succumbed to leukemia when she was only ten. Five years later her paternal grandmother Ethel had died in a car crash on the way to the Reids' first Thanksgiving dinner in Hawkins. While both passings differed in that Thomas's had been inevitable and Ethel's brought about all the would've, could've, should've's, they shared the commonality of Amara crying when they died but not at their funerals. Funerals were an out-of-body experience, for not even Eurydice and Scott had shed a tear either. The aftermath of the battle of Starcourt was quite similar.

        Amara sat on the floor of an ambulance with her feet dangling off the edge and a shock blanket swathed around her shoulders. But she didn't feel shocked – she didn't know how she felt, actually. How was she supposed to feel? Grateful that they had succeeded in closing the gate before the Mind Flayer brought about more destruction? Ashamed that they weren't able to save those it had exploited to assemble its physical form? Worry because her brother, Joyce, Hopper, and Murray had not yet returned from the bunker? Dread of her parents' reactions when they saw the state she was in?

        Most of all, she felt too numb to cry. She had been on autopilot all throughout the arrival of military officials, of vacating the mall, of being checked over for injuries. Now here she was just waiting for things to go back to normal, waiting to lie to her parents once again and suppress the trauma of being trapped in a Russian bunker for days on end, waiting for the press to fabricate what had transpired because everyone else couldn't handle the truth. Much like Amara's coping mechanisms, it was a negative cycle with no end in sight.

        How could there have ever been a time that she wanted this?

        Her only solace was that every one of her companions was in a similar state. Jonathan held Will close to him as they both anticipated Joyce's return, Nancy was fussing over Mike who once again had his arms around a distraught Eleven, Max had ceased crying after Billy's lifeless body had been loaded into an ambulance but remained slouched against Lucas, who was comforting her the best he could while keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of his sister. Pacing several feet away with his shock blanket wrapped around him, Steve did the same in regard to Dustin.

        Amara pivoted to face the final member of their crew, who was sat next to her. Her best friend had her knees drawn to her torso as she observed the smoke rising from the mall mixed with the rain cascading from the sky in heavy torrents, too reduced to silence. It reminded Amara that she and Robin had very similar coping strategies, namely their habit of stowing away their emotions from anyone who didn't bother to see that something was wrong. Something that never worked on each other because they recognized the other's habits so well.

        "I'm sorry I dragged you into all of this," Amara spoke, crossing one leg over the other. "Like you said, I'm sure it was more fun when I just told you about everything."

        "Hey, I'm the one who decided to translate a Russian code because slinging ice cream was too boring for me," Robin reasoned, shrugging her shoulders. "At least now we're trauma bonded on top of being outcasts in arms."

        Amara giggled weakly, but her smile faded less than a second later. "It's crazy that I almost wanted this once," she whispered, gesturing at the masses of soldiers and firefighters swarming through the collapsing mall on the lookout for remaining survivors. "How I thought it took risking my life for others to realize I matter. Now I just want it to be over for good."

        "You had every right to feel like you matter," Robin asserted, facing Amara fully. "It's the same with me. I actually felt like I had a purpose when I cracked the code, and now I'm back to being a band geek. The only good thing that came out of this was the friends I made. And, of course, you know."

        "I get that," Amara sighed, her countenance sympathetic. Her friends were truly the most wonderful people she'd ever met, whether it was Will brightening her day with his artwork or Lucas's boundless loyalty. And of course there was Steve, the first person other than Robin to look at her and see beyond her diagnosis. She just wished it hadn't taken such tragedy to bring them all together. "My parents were so happy when I finally made more friends. They'd have a heart attack if they found out how I made those friends, though."

        "For the record, thanks for telling me about all of this," Robin smiled sincerely. "It would've been so weird if I only learned about it yesterday, and then I would've wondered why you kept this vigilante shit from me for so long."

        "Vigilante shit?"

        "Being a hero's overrated," Robin justified, perching her chin atop her knees. "Batman's way cooler than Superman. Whatever – can you tell I'm trying to pretend we haven't spent the last half hour sitting in place while our parents take their sweet time arriving to pick us up? Knowing mine they probably think I've been at your house for the past three days."

        "I'm sorry," Amara expressed, grasping Robin's hand. "But in regard to me telling you the truth, you're welcome."

        Several minutes later Robin excused herself to check in on Dustin and Erica, who had gotten a lift from Weathertop via helicopter. Dustin had launched himself at Steve while Lucas too brought a reluctant Erica into a hug. Robin was right – none of their parents had shown up yet, and while it made sense that Eurydice and Scott weren't there as they were likely on their way back from the airport by now, the families in town didn't have any logical justification. Had they no clue that their children had been absent for days on end?

        In the meantime, Amara was becoming more worried about Kevin for every minute that he, Joyce, Hopper, and Murray hadn't come back. The rain wasn't enough to drown out the cloying scent of smoke permeating the atmosphere, and the red of the flames that reflected against the clouds would've made for a beautiful painting if it wasn't yet another reminder of all that they'd lost. She longed for her room of dappled constellations and humming records, but understood that even there the burning sky would live on beneath her eyelids.

        Amara perked up when a new presence settled beside her. Steve's face had finally been wiped clean of blood and he was sporting bandages beneath his left eye and on the corner of his mouth. She didn't need to ask to know that Robin had sent him over.

        "They did a better job than me last year," Amara commented, gesturing at Steve's face. "Does it still hurt?"

        "Not as much," Steve reassured her, scooting closer. His face shone violet beneath the neon lighting of Starcourt's logo. "And what about you? Are you okay?"

        "If I told you yes, I'd be lying," Amara attempted to crack a smile but failed. "Is it okay if I... ?"

        "Yeah, sure, go ahead," Steve nodded, sensing what she required in the current moment. He outstretched his arms and Amara didn't waste a second in propelling herself into them, shielding her eyesight from the rest of the world. She balled her fists into the fabric of his uniform and he brushed his fingertips against her back in soothing motions, needing this just as much as her. Steve and Amara were each other's anchors. He still emanated of sandalwood beneath the blood and grime caked across his shirt, warm beyond belief. He was sunshine, and she never needed anything more.

        She lost track of how much time passed but chose not to dwell on it too much, instead focusing on the fact that she was still here, that she and her friends had survived against all odds. She wanted the Mind Flayer to realize just how formidable their crew was in the face of adversity, how unwise it would be to strike their world a fourth time. Because one damn moment of peace was no less than they all deserved, where their biggest worries were once again exams and their futures. Was it too much for a band of outcasts to ask for some semblance of normalcy?

        Amara was confused when Steve lifted her head, but then she caught sight of the one other person she couldn't bear to lose. Haloed in mist and swallowed by a Russian uniform stood Kevin, bruised and battered and alive. She broke away from Steve and sprinted through the rain to meet her brother, who immediately dragged her into his arms. They clung to each other, not caring that they were both getting drenched; through tear-stained eyes, Kevin nodded at Steve in thanks for watching out for his sister, which he returned.

        "You're here," Amara gasped, tears finally escaping her eyes for the first time that night. But they were ones of relief, of consolation that Kevin had come back to her as he had promised. "You're okay."

        "Hopper didn't make it," Kevin rasped out, tightening his grip around Amara's shoulders. He regretted any scathing remarks he'd made towards the man throughout the course of their expedition, no matter how much he had warranted it. "He sacrificed himself."

Amara instinctively raised her head as she processed the news – Joyce was holding onto Will for dear life a few yards away while Murray stood awkwardly on the sidelines, while Eleven was scanning the perimeter for any sign of her adoptive father. Not even a second passed before she realized the truth and promptly broke down sobbing.

Perhaps a few months earlier Amara would've pulled away from Kevin to comfort Eleven, but all she could do was bury her head into his shoulder once again while Joyce wrapped Eleven in her motherly embrace upon letting go of Will. Because as selfish as it was, she was grateful that it had been Hopper who had perished and not Kevin. She didn't want to even think about a scenario in which she lost her older brother at the hands of the Upside Down.

published to quotev: 5/2/23
published to wattpad: 12/14/24