Season 2 -
SETTLING IS HARD WHEN YOU'RE ALWAYS MOVING. Ark and Ira assumed Hawkins, Indiana, would be the same. They would arrive, make no friends, and then leave by the next year. So imagine their surprise when Hawkins was different...in a way they...
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Primitive Constructs
THEY STOPPED AT THE PALACE ARCADE THE NEXT MORNING. Seeing the spinning sign reminded Ark he hadn't been there in forever. He had gone once or twice with Ira or with his friends. Then, all at once, the group didn't want to go to the arcade. They would go to the pool or the mall or hang out around town, but never places like the mall or Mike's basement.
It made Ark wonder how Will was doing. He wanted to tell the others about what Dustin had said, but every time he brought it up Dustin refused.
"They totally abandoned me!" Dustin protested as they pushed their bikes into the bike rack.
Ark frowned, "That's such bullshit! I tried to call you all morning, if anything you abandoned us."
Dustin looked around the near-empty arcade. "Why are we here, anyway? Steve and Robin need us."
"I told you," Ark explained, as he'd explained multiple times. "Robin's really smart, and I'm really smart, and you're kinda smart—"
"Kinda smart?"
Ark gave Dustin a blank look. "You thought we abandoned you because we went to bed."
"I was hurt!" Dustin protested.
"Anyways," Ark continued, "We're smart, and Steve's...Steve, he's great...but this complete nonsense. We're gonna need some help, and I know someone."
Which was a very cryptic way of saying he wanted to ask Catherine Welch. She was one of Ira's smartest friends. Ark supposed he could have asked Jesse. But...truth be told Jesse was sort of intimidating. He was nice to Ark, but he was also confident, and well dressed, and probably the coolest person to breath in his direction since Steve (who truthfully didn't count because, as cool as Ark considered him, Hawkins seemed to disagree since he stopped being asshole "King" Steve.)
It was easy to see everyone inside the arcade. All four of them. Three kids and Jesse trying to open the coin holder on Galaga. Luckily one of the kids happened to be Charlie Welch.
Ark wasn't close with Catherine's little sister. The most he knew was her full name was Charlotte, she'd break is knees if he called her Charlotte, and she was probably better than him at any game he could suggest. She was Erica's friend, and as such thought, all of Lucas's friends (also know as Ark and Dustin) were a bunch of nerds. This was ironic since Ark was certain she spent most of her time trying to beat other kids' high scores at the arcade.
"Charlie, hey," Ark hurried over to the girl, dragging a painfully reluctant Dustin after him. "Didn't expect to see you here."
