Ṫḧë Ṡöüṅḋ öḟ Ṗëṛïḷ (M. Wheeler)

The Mall Rats (pt. ii)

Hey! Here comes the part I've personally dreaded writing! The second worst thing for me to write in this book (the worst is yet to come).

Haha..... Enjoy part two!

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Robin opened the glass doors, leaning over the counter to glance at Steve. "We've got our first sentence," she said triumphantly.

She, him, and his little friend Dustin have been trying to crack whatever top-secret code Dustin had infiltrated on his radio tower. The problem? It was in Russian. The good news? Robin was a fast learner. She had no doubt that they'd get it in no time.

Steve looked back at her, two cones in hand. "Oh really?" He asked interestingly.

Robin nodded, smirking. "The week is long," she said in her best Russian accent.

Steve blinked at her. "Thrilling," he said dryly.

"But progress," Robin said, smiling. It faltered when she saw Steve just nodded his head idly. She gave him a solemn look. "Hey dude, are you sure you're okay?" She asked in concern.

Steve had came into work very—off, today. Robin has cheekily asked him how his little date with Billy had gone. Steve had said nothing except stating he didn't want to talk about it, but he seemed....gloomy. He even wiped off his 'you rule' tick mark and replaced it in the 'you suck' section.

Robin has pestered him until Steve had angrily told her that Billy didn't bother to show up. She didn't say anything after that—she was too shocked. She along with everyone else could see the way Billy looked at Steve.... no way he would actually show him up; would he?

She felt sorry for the man but he claimed that it wasn't worth dwelling on. He'd put on his goofy facade and was back to acting like himself in no time.

Emphasis on the 'act.'

Steve sighed. "I'm fine, Rob," he said, before shutting the glass door and turning back to his customers—which were El, Max, and Dylan apparently.

"Okay, you got a strawberry, a vanilla with sprinkles, extra whipped cream, and then a rocky road," he said, handing the ice creams to each individual.

"Thanks," they replied in unison, digging in immediately—well, all except Dylan who seemed a bit....thoughtful.

Steve eyed El and frowned. "Wait....are you even allowed to be here?" He inquired.

The girl responded by sharing a look with Max before he two giggled and ran out.

Steve blinked. "Uh.......okay," he mumbled, going back to his job.

Dylan, however, stayed behind. Max quickly noticed and looked back into the store.

"Dyl c'mon, hurry!" She laughed, beckoning him, but it faded when she saw the disconcerted look on his face. "Everything okay?" She asked worriedly and Dylan just nodded.

"I'm fine," he said, waving her off a bit. "Go on ahead—I'll catch up with you guys." There was somebody he needed to talk to about a certain someone first.

Max furrowed her eyebrows but shrugged, dragging El out of the store. Steve had finally seemed to notice that Dylan was sticking around, so he arched an eyebrow.

"What's up, Dyl?" He asked curiously. Dylan bit his lip, looking around for a second, before leaning closer to him. "Did you and Billy....." he trailed off, feeling awkward. "Do stuff.....yesterday?"

Steve immediately frowned when he heard Billy's name, although the distaste he was about to convey washed away on his tongue and was replaced by confusion.