❝ in the seventeen years i've been on this earth, i've never met anyone as f#@!%^g stupid as you. ❞
in which two kids on the opposite sides of the social spectrum find solace in one another during a strange period of time.
ESTELLA COLLINS STAND ALON...
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CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE ; NOT YOUR JOB also known as; ( e pluribus unum ; part one)
★☆
STELLA SIGHED SOFTLY AS SHE LOOKED UPON THE SCRAPYARD MURRAY CALLED HOME. In her pale hands was a lukewarm mug of watery cocoa, though the lack of sleep she had received made her wish it was coffee. She had woken to the sounds of yet more arguing, which only made her more upset. She wished she was back home in the comfort of her own bed, with Steve ten minutes down the road.
Steve. She needed to speak to him. She hated the fact that their last conversation had been filled with such poison, it made her feel awful inside. The couple had participated in plenty of fights, sure, but nothing like this. She despised herself for shutting Steve down so quickly; he had a point, of course. But still, as much as she loved him, she couldn't drop her dreams like they didn't matter anymore. While he was an important part of her life, he wasn't the deciding factor on her future.
Her ears perked as she listened in on the sounds of the morning. Birds chirped in the swaying trees above, and every so often she heard the passing of a car in the distance. She understood mostly why Murray wanted to live in seclusion, part of her desired that too. But she knew loneliness would consume her entirely. How could she live in the middle of nowhere without anyone by her side? She would go mad from her own thoughts.
She would have reached that stage then and there if the front door hadn't opened. Stella's head snapped to the side to see Hopper emerging from the strange home. The older man looked down at her, noting how she only smiled politely before turning the other way. He saw that there was a certain sadness about her; one that was already present, but had since been amplified. He stopped once he closed the door and sighed, before bending over and join her on the dusty ground. "You okay?"
Stella scoffed a little, her eyes on the sky. It was the nicest thing she'd seen in the last few days. "Do I have to answer that?"
Hopper's lips curved a little, resting his elbows against his knees. "Guess not. You wanna talk about it?"
Stella hesitated, averting her gaze to the dirty shoes on her feet. There was a brief period of silence between them as the teenager figured out what to say. In all honesty, Hopper was the last person she felt comfortable having a deep conversation with, as they didn't know each other terribly well, and he frightened her a little with all of his dramatic outbursts.
"Do you believe in signs?" she muttered softly, finally looking up at him. He quirked an eyebrow, as if encouraging her to elaborate. The girl exhaled and ran a hand through her hair. It was a little greasy, but she knew Murray had a shower and plenty of shampoo (despite him having hardly any hair). "Like, all the shit that happens in Hawkins...are they signs to drive us away?"
