like i can \/ nancy wheeler

xii. let's dance

"if you say run, i'll run with you."
ˏˋ°•*⁀➷

IT WAS A WARM SUMMER EVENING, AND YET AGAIN, COLBY WAS AT STARCOURT MALL. To some, it might've seemed like he loved his job. To Robin and Steve, the boy couldn't complain enough. However, they never told him off. Maybe that was why Colby trusted them so much.

Colby groaned to himself as he saw five familiar teens stride into Scoop's Ahoy. He ducked under the counter, leaving a seething Robin to deal with them.

Mike Wheeler reached forward and tapped the bell obnoxiously in Robin's aggravated face. Behind him stood Lucas Sinclair, Will Byers, Max Mayfield, and Josh Newby. Josh and Max were arguing loudly, as they often did whenever they were around each other. Colby wondered how the party was able to make plans, although whenever he brought it up to Steve, the older boy would brush it off by claiming, "They're secretly in love."

"They're fourteen," Colby had reminded him. "They don't know what love is."

Robin rolled her eyes at Mike, grabbing Colby's arm and pulling him up so he was standing beside her. He grinned awkwardly at the younger kids, who stared blankly at him.

"Hey, dingus, your children are here!" shouted Robin, leaning against the counter. She didn't even have to turn around before the window to the back slid open and Steve hung out, frowning at the sight of the kids.

"Again?" he huffed, irritated. "Seriously?"

Mike, just to be annoying, tapped the bell once more. In a rush, Colby pulled it back and narrowed his eyes at the middle Wheeler kid, who smirked at him before heading into the back with Steve. They did it often— snuck into Scoop's Ahoy so they could secretly get into the movie theater for free by walking through the catwalks behind each store. Sure, it was clever, but it could also jeopardize Steve's job. However, Harrington didn't seem to mind all that much.

Soon enough, Steve returned, rolling his eyes at the smug grins that his coworkers (and friends) gave him. He leaned up against the wall, tilting his head at them. "Do you have something to say?"

"You're going down for this." said Robin solemnly, before turning back to the customer she was serving.

While Colby wasn't a fan of the uniform... or the job itself, really... he liked the job— the job, obviously, being able to be with Steve and Robin all summer. He found it surprisingly easy to communicate with them and genuinely enjoyed their company.

Ultimately, that's why he found it easier to focus on Robin instead of Nancy. And, obviously, he knew it was stupid, because the deeper he looked, the more obvious it was that there were no romantic feelings there (no matter how much Cassie tried to convince him otherwise). Nonetheless, it was nice having another girl in his life, whether it was romantic or not.