Trust - Lucas Sinclair

Mall Rats (Part 2)

Nikki has always loved going to the mall. She enjoyed the bright colors and the clothes in the windows, though she never got to buy them due to her always going to the mall with the boys. So when Max told El and Nikki they were going to the mall to shop, Nikki had gotten really excited to actually find some clothes she wanted to wear.

The bus they rode to get to the mall pulled up at the entrance and opened its door. The girls got off and El's eyes immediately widened looking at the place.

"So, what do you think?" Max asked El as the girl scanned the crowd of people.

Nikki noticed how worried her sister looked and even though the two have been through a little rough patch, Nikki still cared about El. "Hey, what's wrong?"

El shook her head and looked toward her sister. "Too many people," she turned to Max, who was on the other side of her. "Against the rules."

"Seriously?" Max questioned. "You have superpowers. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Well," Nikki started to answer, then mumbled incoherent words just loud enough for the girls to hear. She started to count on her fingers like she was talking about things that could happen.

She even started to make sound effects before Max clamped her hand over Nikki's mouth. "Will you shut up?" Max giggled and shook her head before grabbing the girls's hands and led them into mall.

They got into the middle of the mall and stopped for El to take a look around at all of the stores within the mall.

"So, what should we do first?" Max asked El, who was still looking at the place wide eyed. "You've never been shopping before, have you?"

"Max!" Nikki hissed as El shook her head.

"Well, then I guess we're just gonna have to try everything," Max shrugged, getting a smile from El.

By this point the clothing stores seemed to be calling Nikki's name. "Clothes first," Nikki decided for them, grabbing their hands and running into the gap.

Little did they know the boys were not to far away from them shopping as well.

"I just...I don't understand what we're looking for," Mike sighed as they passed the gap.

"Something pretty and shiny that says I'm sorry," Lucas explained as he looked at shop windows for anything El might like.

"What, just something that literally says I'm sorry?" Mike asked looking at Lucas very confused.

Lucas internally groaned at his friends cluelessness and put his heads up to his head. "No!"

***

Nikki and Max watched as El looked at every piece of clothing in the store with almost a child like wonder. Nikki too looked at all of the clothes she had simply been dying to try on and already grabbed something's here and there.

Nikki noticed that El had stopped to look in awe at a blue shirt with bright little lines scattered across it.

"Do you like that?" Max asked noticing the girl too.

"How do I know what I like?" El asked, turning to Max.

"You just try things on," Max shrugged. "Until you find something that feels like you."

"Like me?"

"Yeah. Not Hopper. Not Mike," Max turned to Nikki. "Not Gwen. You."

Nikki looked down at the outfit she was wearing. It was an outfit Gwen had purchased her while she was still in hiding. It was a white, shortsleeved shirt with some baggy pants and a pair of basic black shoes.