"I swear, if I'm dying tonight because of you, I'm gonna haunt your ass so hard, Harrington!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah! I'm gonna go full Poltergeist and shit!"
"Then bring it, Graveswood."
"Challenge accepted."
***
In which after years of suppressing their...
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Chapter One-Hundred-And-Twenty-One: Be Careful
(The Battle Of Starcourt Mall, Pt. 3)
***
The plan was formed right after Hopper promised a car Dustin and Erica could use.
Hopper, Murray and Aunt Aco as backup would head into the base to destroy the weapon and close the gate, while Dustin and Erica—with Steve, Robin, Valerie and, presumably, Rowan—would be going to Dustin's Cerebro to navigate, while everyone else went to Murray's safe-house to hide from the Mind Flayer's human-flesh-monster until the gate was closed and it was dead. A solid plan, one everyone agreed to.
And yet, Rowan had one problem with it.
As Steve accepted the keys to the car Hopper had given them, he turned to her and saw her still standing in the centre of the mall.
"Graveswood, you coming?" he asked.
Rowan shook her head. "No. I... I need to be here, Steve."
"You're not seriously going back down there," Erica said, her voice flat but she looked genuinely worried, as everyone looked at her, confused. Steve, meanwhile, looked shocked and hurt.
"No. I'm not going back to that fucking place as long as I live. I need to be with the kids and Nancy and Jonathan. I need to be with my brother," Rowan explained.
"Rowan—" Dustin started, but Rowan interrupted, "I'm not leaving him again. Not with this thing still fucking alive and kicking."
That ended any argument, as Dustin looked at her and nodded before he turned away to head to the entrance, Erica doing the same. Robin mouthed, Be careful, and Rowan nodded, before her best friend turned away, too.
Valerie, meanwhile, marched up to her and said lowly, "I know you're there for Al or El, but protect Cami too, okay?"
"I can protect myself, Val!" Cami shouted from behind Rowan, but Valerie only said again, "Protect her, Rowan."
"I will, Val. I'm gonna protect her and the other gremlins," Rowan promised, voice grave.
That seemed to be enough for Valerie, and she rejoined the others, leaving Steve.
"Are you gonna make some plea for me to come with you guys?" Rowan questioned, but Steve shook his head.
"No. I understand. He's your brother," Steve said. "Just... stay safe, okay?"
"Have you met me, Harrington? Staying safe is all that I do," Rowan deadpanned, and a smile grew on Steve's face. Rowan's face grew serious, and she murmured, "You stay safe, too, Harrington."
"Don't worry, I always do," Steve said, and now Rowan was smiling. "But I will. Promise. Not gonna be safer than this."
"Same with this," Rowan affirmed. She bit her lip. "So..."
