Y/n's pov
El's face turned excited in a matter of seconds and she began pulling things off shelves.
When she had a collection of items she liked, Max and I guided her to the change rooms.
Her first outfit was a blue top with yellow pants and suspenders. When she looked in the mirror, max handed her a yellow beret.
El took the beret and balanced it on her forehead.
"No." I said with a chuckle, adjusting the hat so that it sat in its rightful spot on her head.
She admired herself for a second, before she pulled on her suspenders and let go, sending us all into a fit of laughter.
The next outfit was a white top and matching skirt with streaks of colour everywhere. I grabbed a thick red belt and a thick yellow belt from a rack and held them up for her to choose. She picked the yellow one and I helped her put it on. Max twirled her around in circles, making her skirt flow and El nearly fell over from the dizziness.
Max began trying on sunglasses and I tried on a really cute button up shirt.
El's final outfit was a black romper with colourful shapes all over it.
"Oh, that is definitely my favourite so far!" I said, admiring the sleeves.
We went to the checkout, El still wearing the romper and Max now wearing some red sunglasses.
"That'll be $37.99" Vickie said.
El's face fell a little at the price, so I butted in.
"Um, how about I just pay for it." I said, placing $40 down on the counter.
Vickie obliged, taking the money and handing me my change while Max and El stood with wide eyes.
"Thank you! Have a good one, Vickie!" I said, taking the bag of clothes that she handed me.
"You too, Y/n!" She called after me as we left the Gap.
"Thank you!" Max and El said, hugging me.
"It's no problem. Money from Christmas and when we had a garage sale." I said with a shrug and a smile.
"Sometimes, I just seriously think you're rich, Y/n." Max laughed.
"Just gotta learn to save!" I giggled.
Next, Max dragged us to Flash Studio, a photographer booth.
We took lots of pictures dressed up in denim jackets and feather boas with bulky jewelry, posing dramatically for the camera.
We each got a film with the photos and then ran to the next store.
We entered Kauffman Shoes to make El walk in heels for the first time.
In her first few steps, she toppled over. El, Max and I burst out in laughter.
When she got back to her feet, we noticed a group of girls our age staring at us with an almost disgusted look.
I recognized the curly haired one right away.
Stacey Albright.
She rolled her eyes as they all turned back around and we started to laugh again.
El then had the brilliant idea to follow them out to the food court.
We hid behind a pillar as they talked to some boy, painfully obviously flirting with him.
El flicked her head and Stacey's drink blew up all over the group.
I gasped with a laugh as they all shrieked, and I grabbed their arms. "Go, go!"
We all ran back the other way, laughing so hard our stomachs hurt.
"See? What'd I tell you? There's more to life than stupid boys." Max said to El as we ran.
Our final stop was Scoops Ahoy where Steve was still at the counter.
He raised his eyebrows in confusion at me when he saw El.
I just shrugged in response.
As he was about to give them their ice creams, Robin opened the back window.
"We've got our first sentence." She said, catching my eye.
"Oh, seriously?" Steve asked.
"The week is long." Robin said in a thick Russian accent.
"Well that's thrilling." Steve droned.
"Yeah, but still, progress." I butted in, Max and El utterly confused.
Robin nodded and disappeared into the back.
"Okay, here you go." Steve said, turning back to us. "You got a Strawberry and then a Vanilla with sprinkles, extra whipped cream."
"Thanks." The girls both said, eating their ice cream.
"Wait a second. Are you even allowed to be here?" Steve asked.
They both giggled and Max payed.
"Me and El are having a sleepover. Do you wanna come?" Max asked hopefully.
"As much as I would absolutely love to, I know Dustin needs me for... Something. sorry." I said with a sigh, not telling them about the Russian code, but desperately wanting to come.
"Hey, no worries, but you're definitely coming next time." Max said, giving me a hug.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world! Also, can you radio me or call me tomorrow? I wanna know how the sleepover went." I asked.
"Yeah. Totally." Max said with a big smile, giving me one last hug.
"Thank you for buying my clothes and showing me how to have fun. You're my best friend." El said, giving me a hug as well.
"Of course, El. You're my best friend too. You both are. An adorable idiot once told me you can't have more than one best friend. But I say it's bullshit. You guys are the best." I said, smiling at the memory.
"You're the best too!! Have fun with Dustin and Steve! Come on, El. Let's blow this popsicle stand!" Max said, linking arms with El.
"Bye! Have fun! Stick it to Mike if you see him!" I called as they waved goodbye and left the store.
When I walked back to the counter, Steve handed me my regular cone.
"Thanks, mom." I said.
"What is it with you and calling me mom?" Steve asked with a chuckle.
"Nothing, nothing." I said.
"Mom." I muttered.
"I'm not even old enough to be a mom! And... I'm not... female." Steve said, throwing his arms up.
"Mom." I said.
"No." Steve answered.
"Mom."
"No."
"Mom."
"No!"
"Mom."
"No! No-stop! I'm not your mother!" Steve said.
"Right. Right. Sorry, grandma." I teased.
Steve sighed dramatically.
"Alright! Alright. Sorry, Harrington." I said.
"Why can't you just call me Steve?" Steve asked.
"Steven?" I asked with a fake confused expression.
"Steven? Steve!!" He said, pure horror on his face at the name 'Steven.'
"Sure thing, Stevie." I said.
"It's-its Steve!" He said.
"Fine. Steve." I said, putting my hands up in fake surrender.
"Better." He chuckled.
"Alright, let's go see if Robin's got anything else translated." Steve said, pushing open the heavy white back room doors as we walked through them.
"Ah! There you are!" Dustin said, looking at me.
"Yeah, I just saw El and Max..." I explained, sitting down.
Dustin nodded with a smile and Robin continued to translate.
"Yep, well me and Dustin thought you got kidnapped." Steve said with an exaggerated smile.
"And there Steve goes! Into protective mother mode." I laughed, Robin joining in.
"Hey! What did we talk about?" Steve said, pointing at me.
We all started to laugh at how much of a mom Steve was.
Word count: 1194