STARRY EYES | mileven

twelve

two weeks had come and gone since mike and el's bookstore visit, and the free days they had vanished the moment filming kicked off again.

for the past week, el had mostly solo scenes to film in the studio, which meant seeing less of mike on set. she used the time to grow comfortable in that environment again and took up the crew's suggestion to see the on-set therapist.

she'd only had two sessions with jim hopper, but she already felt the difference. he didn't prescribe medication —at least, not yet— but he gave her simple tips to sleep better naturally.

and they worked.

well, until last night, but that had nothing to do with hopper's methods and everything to do with an overly active lu, who'd spent the night running around the house and jumping on her bed.

she didn't need to be on set for another five hours, but since sleep was out of the question, she decided to head there early anyway.

rubbing her eyes sleepily, el yawned as she made her way toward her —well, their— trailer.

just as she reached the door, robin appeared from the side, "someone's a little too early today. was lu relentless again?"

el suppressed another yawn, crossing her arms. "what do you think? and what are you doing here anyway?"

robin had been coming around the set more often since the jill incident, even when she didn't need to be there. this time, she'd arrived far earlier than usual, considering el wasn't even scheduled to be on set yet.

robin hesitated, her expression softening in a way that immediately put el on edge. "joyce and steve called. there are updates on jill."

el nearly froze, her body went rigid. just hearing that name made her stomach twist. she couldn't mask the unease that settled on her face; it felt like she was falling back into the pit of despair she'd spent weeks clawing her way out of. "what updates? what happened? is she free?"

"no, no, no— fuck no," robin said quickly, shaking her head. "el, don't worry about that. she's not free, and from the looks of it, she won't be for a long while."

part of el sagged with relief, while another part latched onto robin's last words, her brows knitting together. "what do you mean by that?"

robin shifted her weight, huffing before continuing. "well, it turns out this isn't the first time jill's done something like this. she's a notorious celebrity stalker— and she's been sued for it a handful of times over the years. mike was just her latest obsession, and you..." robin hesitated, "you seemed like a threat to her deranged fantasies."

el's stomach twisted again, her discomfort deepening.

robin continued, her voice firmer now. "up until now, she's always gotten away with it by paying some bullshit fines. but since you received threats on top of her stalking again, her punishment is going to be a lot more severe."

"how severe are we talking?" el asked, her voice quieter than she intended.

"prison severe," robin replied, stepping closer and placing her hands gently on el's shoulders. "see? it's over. it's all okay now."

el let out a noise that was half a sob and half a laugh, then hugged robin tightly. her heart pounded in her chest, but for the first time in weeks, it didn't feel like it was from fear. she could finally breathe again.

"all right, all right," robin said, patting her back. "that's all i wanted to let you know. i'll leave you to your... trailer."

"thank you, robin," el said earnestly, but robin just waved her off as if it were nothing.