Two Stores Down

chapter one - ride

It’s a Saturday afternoon, and Starcourt Mall is as busy as always. The air conditioning blasts through the vents, blowing into Steve Harrington’s already messy hair. He mops the floor begrudgingly, as Robin Buckley wipes melted ice cream off of the counters. The manager stands in the corner with a clipboard, writing down their actions. He sighs, clicking the pen and tucking the clipboard under his arm. “Alright, good job guys. See you next month!” He doesn’t smile, make eye contact, nor wave, wanting to leave just as much as Steve and Robin want him to. He walks out quickly, his footsteps blending in with the rest of the mall-goers.

Robin sighs, “Finally, I was about to start mopping the ceiling. There’s, like, nothing to do besides clean.” Steve practically throws the broom back into the little janitor closet in the back. A group of giggling teens walk in, and Steve tries to sneak his way back into the kitchen. Robin grabs his shoulders and twists him so he’s facing the customers, “No can do, mister. I’ve got an important job to do.” He fakes a smile at them, “What?” he grits through his teeth. “I’m gonna go get some music from Eddie, duh.” She teases and flicks the back of his head. He hardly feels it through his hair.

“Music? From that freak again? No thanks.” he grimaces. They’d been getting music from him at least four times a week for a month now. Robin rolls her eyes, “You don’t even know the guy. Plus, aren’t literally all of your friends being bullied in the same way he is? You know they’re not freaks, because you know them personally.” Steve scoffs, “Yeah, but that’s different.” She tilts her head to the side and raises her eyebrows.

“Ok, whatever. Can you at least not bring those loud, screaming ones? You don’t want to scare customers away again, do you?” 

“Isn’t that the point?” She pats his back and walks into the crowded mall. Steve blinks a few times, “Well, that actually doesn’t sound too bad.” he mumbles to himself as he sees the teens step on the freshly cleaned floor with their dirty shoes. He serves them their ice cream of choice, and sighs when it starts to melt on the tables. 

Meanwhile, Robin walks to the small music store two doors down from the Scoops Ahoy. It’s mostly empty, as usual. Eddie isn’t at the counter, also as usual. Instead, he’s absolutely shredding an electric guitar towards the back, playing some metal song she doesn’t know about. Yet. “Hey, Eddie!” She smiles and sits on the floor, watching him. He smiles and nods his head at her, then continues banging his head to the beat. His messy, curly hair sticks to the sweat on his forehead. He strums the last few notes, smiling proudly.

He takes a dramatic bow and sits down next to her. He hands her the guitar. “What? I have no idea how to use this!”  she says, nervous to even move or breath in fear that she’ll damage it.

“I know, that’s why I'm gonna teach ‘ya.” he grins. He places it in her arms the correct way and shifts her fingers on the strings to form a note. He grabs her left hand, and strums it across the strings, playing a simple note through the speaker. Her jaw hangs open, “I did it! I mean, not really, but I did!” He pats her shoulder, “That, Robino, was an F note. One of the easiest notes you can play.” 

She holds her fingers in that position, and strums the note over and over again, smiling at Eddie proudly. “Okay, okay. That was awesome, and now you are obligated to teach me later, but I came for some bangers.” He chuckles, “Look at you, using freak slang.” Robin stands, “Why not speak my own language?” Eddie laughs, placing the guitar back on its stand. He walks towards the metal aisle, and picks Mob Rules by Black Sabbath, “Now, this album is a real banger. You’ll thank me later.” He hands them to her and she giggles at the cover. Eddie cocks his head to the side, confused and slightly offended on behalf of (one of) his favorite bands. Robin looks up at him, quickly putting her hands up in defense, “No, no! I’m not laughing at the cover, I was just thinking that Steve is gonna freak out when he sees it. Let alone hear the songs.” She smiles again just at the thought.