"I swear, if I'm dying tonight because of you, I'm gonna haunt your ass so hard, Harrington!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah! I'm gonna go full Poltergeist and shit!"
"Then bring it, Graveswood."
"Challenge accepted."
***
In which after years of suppressing their...
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Chapter Ninety-Six: The Secret Communication
(The Mall Rats, Pt. 2)
***
Starcourt Mall was just as busy today as it had been yesterday.
Rowan didn't wait for her aunt to find a park, just opened the door and got out when the car had slowed to a crawl, shouting, "Bye Aunt Aco! See you later!" before she sprinted to the doors, not bothering to enjoy the air conditioner to instead make a beeline for Scoops Ahoy, glad she'd been able to quickly change into a plain white shirt and shorts before coming here.
As the nautical-themed ice cream shop came into view, Rowan caught sight of the two people she wanted to see most—Dustin, with an ice cream sundae in front of him that he was quickly devouring, and Steve, once again forgoing the hat and wearing a disbelieving look on his face that became clearer for why when Rowan heard, "No way, hotter than Phoebe Cates?"
Dustin looked up from inhaling the sundae that Steve must have made for him, saying, "Brilliant too. And she doesn't care that my real pearls are still coming in."
"Are you talking about Suzie?" Rowan asked, making Steve startle.
"Jesus, Graveswood, where the hell did you come from?" Steve demanded.
"Thin air," Rowan deadpanned, before she looked to Dustin and asked again, "Are you talking about Suzie, Henderson?", as she sat in the seat next to Steve, both not noticing—or ignoring—how closely pressed together they were.
Dustin nodded. "Yeah. I was just about to say that Suzie says kissing without teeth is better."
Rowan grinned, knowing how self-conscious Dustin secretly was about his teeth. So to hear Suzie say that about kissing made her feel happy for Dustin. "That's so awesome, Dustin. I'm happy for you. Suzie sounds really great."
Dustin beamed as Steve stared at Dustin, not saying anything. Rowan shot Steve a glare and elbowed him, all but screaming, Say something supportive! He managed to get the hint and said with only just a bit of floundering, "Wow. Yeah, that's great! Proud of you, man. That's kinda romantic. That's like... wow"
He looked at her, eyes saying back, How did I go? Rowan rolled her eyes and looked back with, Okay. Could be better. Steve shot her a glare, but looked back to Dustin, the younger teen asking, "So do you really just get to eat as much of this as you want?"
"Yeah. I mean, sure. It's not really a good idea for me, though," Steve affirmed and Rowan rolled her eyes heavenward as Steve let off the flimsiest excuse ever for not eating unlimited free ice cream, "I gotta keep in shape for the ladies."
