The girls soon left the shop, but she felt a strange weight on her shoulders. It wasn't just about her own destiny now.
"I'm gonna head out," Dee said, fixing up her bag. "I told my mom I'd be home for help with the groceries."
"See you tomorrow!" Harley waved.
Dee walked away, the cool evening air hitting her face. Ursa didn't turn into a keychain this time, instead, they flew into Dee's bag, and settled down for a nap. She looked back to the shop once again, and through the window, she saw Stella watering some of the plants by the window.
"I hope you're wrong…" Dee whispered to Ursa.
"I'm never wrong…" Ursa mumbled through a yawn.
When she arrived at her home, she went into the kitchen to look for her mother. "Mom?"
"Hi sweetie!" she heard her mom shout out from the kitchen. "Where have you been?"
"I was… out with friends."
"Oh, finally! You're leaving your room!" her mother literally clapped her hands together with happiness.
Back at the shop, Stella was closing up. As she took her apron off, her boss came into the main room.
"Hey, I was just leaving."
"What would this shop do without you?" her boss stated, handing Stella a piece of paper.
Stella saw the amount of money on the check. "This is too much money! I can't-"
"You deserve it."
"I… thanks." Stella nodded, picking up her bag, and walked out.
While she walked home, she was listening to music, so she didn't notice a shadow following her.
"Stella!" a voice yelled out, grabbing the shadow and pulling it back.
Stella took her headphones off, and saw a girl fighting with something.
"I need you to trust me! I'm here to save you. Okay?"
"Who are you? What's going on? Who is that man?" Stella questioned, her voice trembled.
"I'm here to help you! My name is the Guardian of Air!"
"The what of the what?" Stella tried to repeat, but she got pulled away.
Once they were safe in an alleyway, Stella saw her saviour turn back to normal, she saw that it was one of Dee's friends.
"Harley?.."
"Yes…" Harley nodded, as she tried to catch her breath. "I… look… you're a Guardian! The Guardian of Earth!"
"I'm… what?.."
"Way to make her freeze." Cecilia landed next to them from the rooftop.
"What? Where is Delilah? Is this a prank?!" Stella asked, her body started to shake, her jaw dropped.
"She's… not here." Harley stated, scratching the back of her neck.
"I know, it's a lot to take in right now," Cecilia said. "But we think you're one of us, Stella. The Earth Guardian. That's why your flowers grow so quickly. That's why you have a love for plants."
Harley stepped forward, holding out her hand. "We need the Earth to ground us. We need you with our team."
Stella looked at her own hands. "I thought I was just good at gardening," she whispered, a small, amazed smile spreading across her face. "I thought I was just... normal! I don't want any of this!"
"Normal is overrated," Harley laughed, throwing an arm around Stella's shoulder. "So, what do you say? Ready to trade that apron for some magical armor? I bet your transformation outfit is going to be way more green than ours!"
Stella shook her head with disbelief. She backed away from the duo.
"I said… I don't want any of this!" she shouted.
As soon as she said those words, the trees near them grabbed Cecilia and Harley, and threw them back a few feet into the trashcan nearby.
Stella gasped when she saw that she had hurt the two, and rushed over to their sides. "Oh my gosh. I am so sorry! I… I didn't mean to!"
"It's okay." Cecilia said, sitting up on the pile of trash, clutching her head.
"I… I don't wanna save the world… or use magic."
"It's okay… but… we need you to at least try and stop that shadow!" Harley explained.
"What shadow?" Stella repeated. Without her noticing, said shadow grabbed her by the ankle and yanked her back. "Let me go! Now!"
"Air!"
A gust of wind slammed into the shadow, pushing it back toward the road, making it drop Stella.
"Stella, listen to me," Cecilia said. "You have a power inside you. You have to protect this place. Please."
"I... I just want them to stop hurting me! I wanna live!" Stella cried out.
Once she said that, a green pearl fell from the sky, and shot towards the top of Stella's head, but rather than hitting her, it formed into a tiara, and landed gracefully on her head.
A bright green, pink, red and orange light appeared, and it engulfed Stella completely.
When it faded, she was standing there, her waitress uniform turned into a pink off-shoulder top with long sleeves, and a green skirt, and short, orange slippers.
"Whoa," Stella whispered, looking at herself. "I look good…"
"Great!" Harley said. "Now help us! Please."
Stella nodded, determination filled her eyes. She slammed her right foot into the ground. "Get out of my life!"
Thick, thorny vines erupted from the pavement, wrapping around the monster and squeezing it until it dissipated into sparkles.
"I… I could do this the entire time?.." Stella asked, looking at Cecilia and Harley.
"Not really… or not yet." Harley responded, poofing back into her civilian outfits.
"How do I turn back?"
"Just say 'I wanna rest.'" Cecilia explained.
"I… wanna rest?.." Stella repeated, and turned back to normal, the tiara on her head disguising itself as a headband. "Wow…"
"Now all we need to do is tell Dee and Ursa!" Harley mentioned. Cecilia's eyes widened in shock and realization.
"Oh… right… we shouldn't have even come here in the first place…"
"You mean Delilah? Why her?" Stella suddenly gasped. "Is she a 'Guardian' too?"
"Yes," Cecilia nodded.
"Why didn't she tell me?"
"It's a secret we all have to keep." Harley explained, as she put a hand onto Stella's shoulder.
"Oh… that actually makes some sense…" Stella mumbled. "But I mean… I can't even do that trick with the vanishing coin…"
"Lucky for you, you won't need any of that," Harley commented, putting an arm around Stella's shoulders. "All that you will need is your charisma, style, and powers."
"I do have all three." Stella shrugged her shoulders.
"That's the spirit, girlfriend!" Cecilia said enthusiastically.
"Now, let's go tell Ursa and Dee!" Harley suggested, raising a fist in determination.
"I'm not so sure that's a good idea-" Stella began, but Harley pulled her hand and rushed towards the apartment building that Dee lives in.
"I... uhm... don't really want to?.." Stella blurred out.
"Nonsense, boo."