Chapter 35, Three Months Later
(Ep. 8: The Battle of Starcourt)

THREE MONTHS LATER

When Robin first found out that Gwen and Steve were dating, she was disappointed to say the least that the only girl who wasn't smitten by King Steve had ended up falling into his web of deceits.

It was the first day back from winter break and as expected, everyone was catching up on everything that happened over the course of two weeks. There were gossips on who made out with who, all while everyone flaunted their very expensive gifts.

Robin reached her locker, pushing a few of her classmates out of the way as she tried fading them out. She started putting the numbers of her combination when the halls suddenly turned silent. There was a moment of peace for the briefest second, only it was short lived when whispers started spreading like wildfire.

Curious as to what had everyone so captivated, Robin dropped the lock from her hands and squinted her eyes in the direction everyone was watching. She exchanged an equally confused look with one of her band mates, both not understanding what the sudden fuss was about.

That's when she saw the luscious locks of Steve "The Hair" Harrington peeking through the swarm of the crowd, only he wasn't alone.

He was with her.

Robin's heart somersaulted when seeing his arm around Gwen Henderson. The last she heard, Gwen was keeping her distance from him. She was avoiding making contact and had stopped insulting him. She started growing concerned that King Steve was finally getting through to her, except Robin was reading the situation in an entirely different way. From what it appeared, Steve did get to Gwen, but through her heart instead.

"This can't be real," her voice was barely a whisper, but it was enough for her band mate to hear.

"Seems the world has officially turned upside down," the redhead let out a laugh, hoping it would be enough to make the appalled creases on Robin's forehead disappear. When that didn't work, her smile turned downward and she started walking away.

Robin felt a wave of shame for the couple, because in what universe could she have imagined that the two people who hated each other would end up dating?

Her hands pressed into tight fists as her veins boiled in disappointment. All she could think of was how could Gwen have lowered her standards to date Steve goddamn Harrington? Why him out of all people?

She was certain he wouldn't treat her well considering what she heard last week at Moon's Diner. According to Carol Perkins - who wasn't the most reliable source - Nancy apparently broke things off with him to date Jonathan Byers. The reasons behind their breakup all led back to the Halloween party, which only made Robin regretful for not having attended as she would have loved to witness such a sight.

Robin simply figured that Nancy ended things from how much of an asshole Steve was. The fact that she went for the loner photographer said a lot, which only made Gwen dating Steve a whole lot more confusing, because why would she be with the guy that made their lives hell?

It didn't matter if she had noticed a change in him in the whole span of a year. Robin still remained distrustful and refused to believe someone as terrible as him had changed in such a short amount of time. Surely his douchebag tendencies must have remained and it was only a matter of time until he exploded and took Gwen down with him.

So for months leading up to the couple's graduation, Robin kept waiting for Steve to make a mistake. She wasn't proud of how much she was rooting against them and the fact that they were still together when summer break started made it twice as challenging to remain pessimistic.

When they started working together at Scoops, seeing how much they cared and loved each other was starting to change her mind. It sure didn't help that all three started becoming friends and she was left with nothing but support for them.

Turns out, Robin had been wrong and Steve did change. He wasn't that same asshole that made fun of her when she tripped down the stairs or talked smack about her and her band mates. He was better, he was selfless, kind, and overall, just a great person.

Never did she expect she would like Steve Harrington and actually root for his happiness. Just like she never expected to be at a jewelry store with him.

"I am way out of my comfort zone, so can you please tell me why you brought me here?" Robin placed her hands into her pockets, swaying to the side as she followed him into the store.

Steve made his way past the glass counters, eyeing with curiosity all the jewels plastered around. "I need to show you something and I need you to be completely honest."

Robin pointed her thumbs at herself, "Have you met me? When have I never been honest, dingus?"

He formed a gruntled sound before addressing the young man behind the counter. Robin trailed behind and watched as the man handed him a dark velvet box and received the payment from Steve. She wasn't stupid not to know that box must possibly hold a ring, but what she wasn't sure of was what his intentions were.

Steve pulled her to the side, his hands shaking and face turning a bright pink. "What do you think of this?"

The box fluttered open, revealing a silver ring with an emerald gem encrusted in the center with the smallest diamonds surrounding it. There was a choice between a red jewel or the emerald one, but knowing Gwen's favorite color was green, emerald seemed like the better choice.

"A ring?" Robin gasped and clasped her hand against her mouth before grabbing the box to inspect the ring in better detail. "This is beautiful, Steve, but-"

"But what?" His heart sank at the simple word, worrying he made a mistake and ended up choosing the wrong one.

"I don't play for your team and you're with Gwen," Robin spoke lower and handed the box back to him. "I can't accept this. It'd be wrong."

Steve only rolled his eyes at her.

"It's a promise ring, you idiot," he clarified, and shoved the box gently into his pocket. "Since she's going back to New York tomorrow and us starting to get the hang of long distance, I want to give this to her. It's a promise that we'll stay together no matter what."

Robin smiled for a mere moment. She never envisioned Steve to be the romantic type, but apparently meeting the right person brought this out.

What a surprising turn of events.

"You guys are the most adorable couple in the world," Robin's smile then became replaced by a deadpan look. "You disgust me."

"Oh, shut up," Steve rolled his eyes and walked out of the store. He really couldn't afford to be bothered by his friend's words as all he wanted to worry about was how he was going to give it to Gwen.

He wanted to gift it during dinner, but thought it wouldn't seem proper with her family being there. Knowing how dramatic Dustin was, he was probably going to think it was a proposal and kick him out before he could explain himself.

"When and where are you giving it to her? Or are you playing the romantic card of doing it at the airport just seconds before she leaves again?" Robin jumped excitedly, her eyes beaming with joy at imagining her friend performing a romantic gesture in front of others.

"I don't know yet. I'm still trying to decide because yeah, I was actually thinking of doing it at the airport," Steve saw it on a movie once and thought it was quite loving. He just wasn't sure if Gwen would like it, but hey, it was worth a shot.

"Do me a favor and shed a little tear please. It would make my whole year," she plopped herself into the passenger seat, ignoring the glare Steve sent her as he started the engine.

"Keep talking with that loud mouth of yours and I just might," Steve huffed, placing his arm behind Robin's headrest as he looked back and began reversing before shifting his car back into drive.

"Oh, screw you, Harrington!"

"Look, can you just help me plan this out? I have no idea on how to give her this without making her think I'm proposing!" Steve gripped tighter to the steering wheel, making a sharp turn that ended with Robin slamming her head against her seat. "What if she freaks out and dumps me? What if she takes it the wrong way?"

Robin groaned as her hands ran through her hair in irritation, "Just don't get down on one knee and if she starts panicking, just yell that it's a promise ring!"

"But..." he trailed off as he searched for other reasons that appeared rational. "What if she runs off before I get a chance to explain myself? I mean, do I really want to give her this in a public place or should I do it in private?"

Robin let out a breath, "Stop freaking out, Steve! You know she's not going to run off and leave you hanging! It's pretty insulting that you believe otherwise, if I'm being honest."

She's got a point.

"So... airport then?"

Robin stared at the road in annoyance that he was getting too much into his head instead of being excited for this. "Go all out. That's all I got to say, and you better get your shit together before we get to our interview. You know Keith doesn't like you, so worry about that instead."

Right, their interview at the video store.

"Relax, Robin," Steve assured her. "It's just an interview for a video store. What could go wrong?"

__________________

Apparently, Steve wasn't the only one who thought of a promise ring.

With the help of Dustin, they helped pick out a very Steve-like ring. Of course, Gwen didn't expect him to wear it since not many guys did, so she settled on getting a dainty chain so he could wear it like a necklace.

(Not that she expected him to wear it either.)

Gwen has been carrying the ring everywhere ever since picking it up at the jewelry store in Downtown Hawkins. She wasn't sure when to give it since dinner didn't seem like a good idea. With Dustin's theatrics and her mother's over exaggerated behavior, they would think she was proposing.

It wasn't like Steve could spend the night either since her mother was adamant on preventing anything serious from happening. (Even though it already did.)

Which left her at the Byers' home, where she was helping them pack for the sunny state of California.

It seemed it wasn't just her that decided to leave Hawkins, but their situations were different. Unlike her, they wouldn't be returning and it'd be harder to see them during holiday breaks, which would make everything much more frightening on how fast things were changing.

"Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds!" Max and Lucas started singing in harmony, teasing Dustin on his song with Suzie that was making this moving process much more enjoyable.

"Wait, did we get that verse right? It's 'unfold behind the clouds'?" Max questioned, popping her head through the mountain of boxes to get a better view of the curly haired boy.

"I'm pretty sure you're right," Gwen assured her as she taped one of the boxes closed and headed out the door. "Ain't that right 'Dusty-bun'?"

Dustin rolled his eyes at her, leaning his head back in frustration as he brought his hands to cover his face. "You guys are completely butchering it. Can you please stop? And Gwen, don't ever call me that again. Only Suzie can."

She softly chuckled, "Come on, Dustin. You can't expect us not to make fun of you after all the material you gave us."

"Exactly!" Lucas agreed and pointed an accusing finger at Dustin, who stared with an annoyed look. "Let's hear one more rendition."

"No," Dustin blatantly responded, rolling his eyes at them before attempting to ignore them.

"One verse?"

Halfway out the door, Gwen popped her head inside and said, "One more concert Dusty-bun?"

That was enough to send Dustin into a fit of irritation. He looked up at the ceiling, almost as if contemplating answering back. He was regretting ever agreeing to singing with Suzie, but at least he managed to get Planck's constant, which was more than they could say.

"No, no way. It's reserved for Suzie's ears and Suzie's ears alone!" he retorted, hoping it would be enough to silence the three of them for the day

But that didn't stop Max and Lucas.

"Turn around! Look at what you see!" Lucas did a little dance, pointing his fingers at his friend while clapping the rhythm of the song. "In her face, the mirror of your dreams!"

Dustin flipped him off with a deadpan expression.

Gwen lightly laughed, but her enjoyment faded once she stepped out of the house. She loved hearing them laughing and starting to move on, but she still felt like the Fourth of July happened yesterday.

As she placed a few boxes into the moving truck, a tinge of pain expanded throughout her fingers. Even if months had passed, they still hurt with even the smallest of movement. Yet another reminder of that night.

"Look what I found!" Jonathan ran out of the house holding an old camera that Gwen recognized as the one he had back in 7th grade. He was devastated after he lost it one afternoon, claiming his best work was in there and how some wannabe photographer might release it and take credit if they were to find it.

Gwen helped him save up for a new one and even placed some of her babysitting money into his piggy bank without his knowledge. Well, that was the case until he caught her placing various bills.

"You owe me $700 then," she playfully shoved him and grabbed the camera to inspect it more closely. It was surprisingly in good condition, especially with all the years it spent buried under who knows where. "Where did you even find it?"

Jonathan seemed hesitant to reveal where it was, "Umm... it was under my bed."

Gwen wasn't surprised at all. He always tended to lose things and find them later in the most obvious of places. It seemed he panicked for nothing since his camera happened to be right under his nose.

"And you called me an idiot for suggesting to look under your bed," she handed the camera back, but he surprised her by placing it back into her palm.

"You keep it," he said. "Something to remember me by."

"You know I couldn't forget you even if I wanted to," she teased, rolling her eyes at his ridiculous belief that she could ever brush him off. "You need to keep it. You said it has some of your best work."

Jonathan turned silent for a mere moment. He wasn't lying when he said those words years prior, but he was now uncertain on how to continue without revealing how he used to be in love with her. "And it is, but..."

She noticed his reluctance, "But what?"

"It's mainly just pictures of you."

She halted, "Why would you waste your film on me?"

Jonathan took a deep breath, "Because you're my best work. You always have been."

Gwen only stared at him. She always knew about his feelings for her, but she was afraid not returning them would put a strain in their friendship. It was why she stayed silent all these years.

"You knew," he suddenly said.

She faintly nodded.

Jonathan leaned against the truck, staring ahead, "Why didn't you say anything?"

Gwen internally winced, "I didn't want to ruin what we had. When you get hurt, you push people away and I was afraid that we wouldn't be friends anymore."

He was quiet for a moment, but then softly chuckled, "I knew you didn't like me in that way ever since Halloween. Because I loved you, I stuffed my feelings in because I couldn't imagine not being your friend anymore. You don't ever have to worry about that, Gwen."

She didn't say anything, but only held him in a tight embrace.

"I'm really going to miss you," Jonathan told her.

"Me too. Can you promise you won't do anything stupid in California?" Gwen glanced up at him, eyes narrowing in more of an authoritative way. "Don't do any hard drugs, don't drink too much, and most certainly, don't you dare lose contact with me."

"I promise," he assured her. "You're stuck with me."

Gwen smiled, holding onto him tightly. She has never been good at goodbyes, especially when it came to the people she loved. This mainly came from her overthinking since she believed she would lose them the second they weren't together anymore. Saying goodbye felt like the end of everything and even if they promise to keep in touch, life always gets in the way.

But she wouldn't think this way now.

"No matter how far we are, we'll always be together," he told her, embracing her even tighter with no intentions of letting go. "You're my best friend. No matter the distance, you will always be my person."

Gwen nodded and slowly raised her head to look at him, "Always and forever."

Jonathan smiled, "Always and forever."

"Alright, let's not get any more sappy. Go and find your girl," she leaned away and gently pushed him toward the house. He gazed at her with adoration before running back inside, leaving her with the camera on her palm. She wasn't sure what she was going to find there, but knowing how many years it had been, it couldn't be anything not cringeworthy.

Gwen placed the camera into her pocket and headed toward the house, but stopped halfway to get one last glimpse of the place she considered her second home. Lots of memories resided there. Both good and bad, but through it all, she wouldn't change them for anything. This had been the home of her best friend, the person who accepted her right away, and didn't judge her for who she was.

And now, who knows when they'll see each other again?

Everyone started walking out. El took a giant leap over the steps and immediately ran into Gwen's open arms while the rest started saying their goodbyes.

Goodbyes were never easy, especially when knowing things were definitely going to change and the scary thing was that no one knew whether it'd be a good or bad change. It all led to taking a leap of faith, courage, and hope for the future.

That's all it took and sometimes it was more than enough.

__________________

Steve and Gwen walked alongside each other toward the boarding gate. Hands interlocked, hearts on their sleeves, and eyes filled with nothing but love for the other. It was time to say their official goodbyes now that she was returning to New York and wouldn't be back until the holidays.

Already having said goodbye to her friends and family, they waited in the coffee stand not too far from them. Robin hadn't been too discreet in keeping the secret of the promise ring Steve was going to give, so now, all of them were waiting impatiently for the scene to unfold.

"Can't I just sneak you into my luggage and take you to New York with me?" Gwen wrapped her arms around his shoulders, their foreheads pressing against the other as he pushed her closer to him.

"Robin is going to kill me if I leave her alone," Steve laughed and placed a kiss on her forehead before deciding it was time to give her the ring. "I- umm... I have something to give you."

Steve swallowed hard as his hands started shaking while reaching into his pocket. It sure didn't help noticing the excited gazes from Robin, Dustin, Nancy, and the rest of the kids, who stood further back to spy on them. He felt more nervous now that he knew he had an audience, but if anything, he was more determined to do this perfectly.

Slowly, he pulled out a velvet box and opened it, revealing the ring he seriously hoped she would love. He continued shaking, but the second he looked into her blue eyes, any trace of unease vanished.

Gwen's heart skipped a beat as she was left in grand awe at the most beautiful ring. "Steve-"

"It's a promise ring, meaning that we're not going to let anything change between us and we'll remain together," Steve placed the ring on her finger and smiled when seeing the delight in her face. "Do you like-"

His words were cut off when she closed the gap between them and leaned in for a kiss. He pulled her closer by the waist to intensify the kiss even more, the world around them suddenly fading into oblivion.

Gwen moved away and reached into her pocket, "I got something for you too." She smiled at his lovestruck expression and became a million times more excited to give him this ring. "Great minds think alike."

His eyes beamed with ecstasy at how perfect their gifts had been. They would be matching now, which made everything better. He expected the ring to be the only thing, but she surprised him when she handed him a silver chain.

"What's the chain for?" Steve asked as he admired the silver ring with an infinity encrusted in the middle while she placed it on his finger.

"I wasn't sure if you were going to want to wear the ring, so I got you a chain so that you could wear it as a necklace. Only if you want to, of course."

Steve was unable to hide the smile spreading across his face at how happy he was to be standing in front of the woman he loved. "Are you kidding me? Of course I'll wear it!"

Gwen stared into his beautiful brown eyes, feeling herself fall more for him. Her only regret was having wasted those years hating him, and even then, it was just her trying to forget the feelings she had before everything went south.

And now that everything was perfect, she had to leave and spend months away.

Steve cradled her face, his heart overjoyed with adoration as the tip of their noses bumped against each other's. "God, I love you, and even though we're going to be apart for a while, nothing will ever change."

"It's you, it's me, it's us," she said, and caressed his cheek before closing the distance between them even more. "I love you more than anything in the world. Never forget that."

He kissed her forehead, smiling so brightly that it illuminated the entire airport. "Even if I annoy the hell out of you?"

She laughed, "Even if you annoy me."

Steve interlocked his fingers with hers, both of them staring at their rings before meeting eyes again. "Hmm, is that a promise?"

Gwen nodded, entangling her arm around his shoulder as she stood on her tiptoes. Her voice was all but a whisper, "It's a promise."

Steve brought his hands to her back, slowly lowering them to her waist before taking her into his arms and capturing her in a kiss. Everything around them became forgotten as they could only focus on each other. The time, the place, the moment, nothing else mattered but them.

They were not certain what the future held, but they were certain of the love they felt for one another and would always have. Even when being miles away, there was the assurance in themselves and only them.

"Flight 84, now boarding at gate 7 for New York," the intercom interrupted, separating them as they stared at the gate standing a few feet away.

Gwen pressed her forehead against his, "Until then."

Steve nodded, raising her chin with his finger as he cupped her face. "Until then," he repeated, his hand holding onto hers before kissing her one last time.

Gwen feigned a smile to refrain from bursting into tears. She sent a gentle wave before looking back at the others, who waved goodbye to her. She took a deep breath and turned around to hand the ticket over, slowly making her way inside without looking back.

"Goodbye Gwen," Steve said in a low voice and looked down at his ring, wishing for everything to have remained as it was.

Author's Note

And that concludes season 3!
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapters and are ready for season 4!
So much prepared for Steve and Gwen & especially for her...

Also, thank you so much for 10k reads! Never did I think this many people would read my book so thank you so much!