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CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN ; SCOOPS AHOY!
also known as;
( suzie, do you copy? ; part two )
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"HOW'S THE NOSE, ROLLER DERBY?" ROBIN CHIRPED AS STELLA WALKED INTO SCOOPS AHOY AFTER HER MONDAY SHIFT. Stella stuck her tongue out in jest, not hesitating in flipping Steve's coworker off. The tall, blonde girl was nothing short of hilarious, her sweet demeanour masked in witty comments and a tacky sailor outfit. "Harrington, your girlfriend's here!"
"Estella! Love of my life!" Steve's voice was loud and boisterous from the backroom, and Stella beamed as her boyfriend practically dove through the door with a full blown grin on his face at the sight of her. "Look at you, radiant as ever!"
"You're in a good mood," Stella chuckled as he pulled her into his arms, looking down to stare at her face. Despite the bruising around her nose and eyes, she was still the most beautiful person he'd ever seen. He was partly to blame for the broken cartilage, having suggested the idea of diving into the public pool with her skates on. Still, it made her look badass. "Considering you're working a ten hour shift today."
"Think of the money, baby," he moved his hips from side to side, before leaning down and kissing her lightly. Robin gagged loudly from behind the cash register, so Steve raised his middle finger in her direction. "You wanna hang out in the back? I got some more of those colour-by-number books for you, since you like them so much."
"Sounds like a plan," she responded brightly, reaching to hold his hand. They weren't usually so gooey and intimate, but it seemed to piss Robin off, which was always a lot of fun. Stella adored the girl, she thought that her attitude towards everything was endearing and amusing, and the fact that she took care of Steve during the day was something she was grateful for. "I'm just gonna do a quick snack run. Rob, you want anything?"
"Does the candy store still have those giant boxes of Nerds?" she asked, leaning against the counter, staring intently at the girl. Stella nodded enthusiastically, to which Robin grinned. "One of those please."
"Gotcha," Stella clicked her fingers in her direction, before patting the side of Steve's face. "I'll be back in ten. I promised Lola I'd drop off an orange juice. She's not finishing until late tonight; merchandising and all that shit."
"Tell her I said hi," Robin piped up as the girl turned to leave, and Stella couldn't help how her smile grew even wider. Lola had confided in her just over a month ago about the fact that she was gay, and that she had been crushing on Robin since sophomore year. So, it was up to her to subtly bring them together, though she had to be careful considering how stupid some people were about those who were 'different'.
"Will do," she nodded her head as if tipping a hat, before leaving the establishment to run her errands. She stepped back out into the bright atmosphere of Starcourt Mall, seeing people of all shapes and sizes rushing around to explore the new development. She hadn't really bothered to look around on the grand opening, she wasn't entirely fussed. While she wasn't one of the rioters outside Town Hall demanding the shutting down of the mall, she understood why the citizens of Hawkins were so riled up.
There were numerous issues that had to be fixed in the town before building such an expensive place, and it put even more people out of jobs. It wasn't fair, and the fact that it genuinely seemed to pop out of nowhere meant that local businesses had no choice but to shut down or downsize. The mall was a hit, unsurprisingly. Stella knew how many times the party had snuck through Steve's work to get into R-rated movies, and indulged themselves in the unhealthy fast food. It was new and sparkly, right in time for summer, so it was always packed, no matter what time of day.
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"Do you think you could get me a discount on the new Huey Lewis and the News album?" Steve asked, turning his head to look over at Stella, who was staring up at the sky. It was around ten at night, and they were in the mall parking lot on top of Steve's car, stargazing. Call them romantic, but in truth it only started because they were both drunk one night and got into an argument about who was sober enough to drive them home. They ended up falling asleep on the hood of the automobile, waking up in puddles of drool and with dozens of mosquito bites.
"God," Stella groaned, pulling a face. They had gone to see Back To The Future the week before, but Steve didn't understand any of it, only liking the soundtrack. "If you're gonna get me to buy you shit, at least make it stuff worth getting."
"Rude," Steve pouted, nudging her side, before they fell into a comfortable silence. Well, comfortable for Stella. Her boyfriend, however, had quite a lot on his mind. "Hey, Stells?"
"Yeah?" Stella hummed, feeling her eyes grow heavy. She was clearly tired, having worked almost non-stop. He had been the same, and he couldn't deny his exhaustion, but it sometimes felt as if they never got to spend any proper time together.
Opening his mouth, Steve watched as she curled up a little closer to him, reaching for his hand. It was a comfort thing for her, considering all that they'd been through. She needed the reassurance that he was still there, and that he wasn't in any trouble. "Nothing. You want me to take you home?"
Stella held him a little closer. "I don't mind. I like being out here with you."
She shivered slightly, and Steve noticed how bony her arms were getting. His eyebrows furrowed, concern clouding over his features.
"Have you eaten since this afternoon?" he asked softly, and she shrugged a little in response. He sighed, running his hands through her hair. "Dumbass."
"I had microwave popcorn," she muttered, though that only made Steve a little more frustrated. "If that counts."
"It doesn't," he shook his head. "You need to start taking better care of yourself. What's gonna happen when you're at college in the fall? You'll forget to eat and I'm gonna get a call to say that you've collapsed in one of your lectures."
"Can we not talk about this right now?" she wasn't impatient when cutting him off, but it was clear she wanted this moment to last, rather than for it to turn into a disagreement. "Steve, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about me, seriously."
Steve pursed his lips and fell silent, part of him wanting to speak up. He hated the fact that the girl who always looked after everybody else wasn't taking care of herself. She had lost a significant amount of weight since their finals, mostly because she had forgotten to eat, or had fuelled her nerves through running around the neighbourhood. He knew she'd either be sleeping too much or not at all, as when they were apart she'd be up all night worrying about something or trying to organise her plans for college.
But, she always insisted she was fine. Steve knew she wasn't, and what was frustrating him most was the fact that she was in a state of denial. She thought she was doing alright, that she was the same as before, when she it was clear she was only truly happy when surrounded by other people.
"I'm your boyfriend," he insisted. "That's my job."
"Yeah, I know," Stella exhaled, shifting a little so that she could look up at his face. "I just...don't even think about that kinda thing anymore. But I'll try and get back into the routine."
"Thank you," Steve pressed a kiss to her forehead, adjusting his arms so he could hold her comfortably. "You mean the world to me, Star. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Perish, probably," she joked, and he chuckled in response, before nodding. Stella then fell silent, gripping his hand a little tighter. "I don't know what I'd do without you, either."
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okay fuck short chapter but i wanna update this heaps since i'm on school break for the next two weeks!!
also!! yeeyee i downloaded this app to create avatars so naturally i made the glory days squad:
so, in order: stella, steve, leilani, richie and kevin!! let me know if this is awful but i had heaps of fun and i think they're all HELLA cute and honestly i imagine them all more like this, but there face claims serve them well <3