Oliver woke up far before his alarm, but he couldn't bring himself to fall back asleep. After a while of laying down and staring at the soft streams of light beginning to poke through the curtains, he willed himself to sit up. Letting out a soft yawn, he got out of bed to stretch out his stiff muscles, reached for his guitar. He quickly strummed it, satisfied to hear it was in tune. Opening to a half empty page in his journal, the ravenette hummed a sweet melody while softly playing along. Oliver found that starting the day with some music put him in a good mood, and he never disliked getting in some practice.

A few minutes passed of him humming soft melodies and testing out harmonies. The beep of his alarm told him to put the instrument down and start getting ready. He slipped on a hoodie over his tank top, hurrying down the stairs to make a cup of coffee. Oli let it brew, rushing back upstairs to change. He washed his face and touched up his face with a bit of his sister's concealer (a secret he would take to his grave), before fluffing his hair. He nodded in approval and quickly changed into the sailor uniform for work. Oliver and Steve both agreed on one thing: the hat was horrendous. They refused to put it on until it was their shift. Robin didn't mind it because it actually looked good on her, but Oli and Steve were too emotionally attached to their hair to keep it on all day.

Life in the Wheeler house was finally starting to emerge, starting with the soft whine of baby Holly. Well, not really a baby anymore. Holly was officially five (and a half) years old, as she often insisted. Oliver opened her door, smiling at the girl still sitting in bed. "Hey, Holls. Wanna help me make breakfast?" She nodded with a sleepy smile, making grabby hands at her brother. He walked over and picked her up, placing the girl on his hip as he made his way down the stairs. The coffee had finished brewing, and he poured himself a cup before starting on breakfast. Cooking wasn't Oli's favorite thing, but he enjoyed it when he was in the right mood. He was good at it too, so it's not like anybody was complaining.

Holly giggled as he sat her down on the counter, watching him grab eggs and bacon from the fridge. Holly adored his eggs. Everyone did, really. He made them different from most people, and refused to share his secret touch. (No, Mike already asked if it was coke. He got yelled at for that one). Oli felt her gaze as he cooked breakfast for the house, drinking his coffee occasionally. Once he finished, he made Holly a smaller plate before making one for himself. "Can we sit on the counter?" she asked with a grin. He glanced around, noticing his parents still weren't up. "Why not?"

He got up on the counter, sitting next to his sister. "Mommy and Daddy never let me sit on the counter," she pouted. He just smiled at the little girl. "Well, Mom and Dad have different rules. But they're not here right now, so you can sit on the counter as long as someone's watching you," he ruffled her hair. She tilted her head slightly. "Why can't I do it by myself? I'm a big girl!" she proudly exclaimed. Oli's heart melted a little bit. "Just in case you fell. You can still fall, even if you're being careful, and if nobody's here to catch you, you could get hurt," he told her. "Now eat your breakfast." She nodded and spooned the eggs into her mouth.

Oli quickly finished eating and waited for the little girl to do the same before he cleaned off their plates and left them in the sink. Mike and Nancy were just exiting their rooms when he rushed past them to get ready for work. Holly went back to her room to play with her dolls as Oliver finished his morning routine by lacing up his black converse and slipping on some jewelry. He grabbed the hat just as a honk came from the driveway. He dashed down the stairs and yelled goodbye to his family, opening the door and running out to Steve Harrington's car. Yes, it was a little low, but they were getting along surprisingly well.

"Hey, Wheeler. Sleep well?" Steve asked as they began to drive to the mall. Oliver nodded with a smile. "Did you? You said your dad was coming back from his work trip last night." Steve shrugged. "For once he was too tired to yell at me over nothing, so I guess that's an improvement," he waved it off with a chuckle. Oliver frowned. "My dad isn't the best either, but yelling at you for nothing is ridiculous."

Steve glanced at him as they approached a stop sign, slowing to more of a yield as he hit the gas again. "It's fine, I'm used to it by now." Oli nodded and looked out the window, awkward silence making it almost hard to breathe in the stuffy car. The ravenette examined small details on the buildings they passed, like how almost all of them had "sale" signs hanging in the windows.

They pulled into the small parking lot and Steve pulled into the same spot as he always did. Turning the car off, they both got out and closed the doors. A beep came from the car as Steve locked it, Oliver already walking towards the entrance. Steve jogged over to catch up. "Hey, Oliver." The boy turned to him with a sigh, stopping. "I'm sorry. I know it seems like every time you bring up my dad I brush it off, and I'm not trying to. I just...don't like talking about it."

Oliver nodded, trying his best to not seem too sympathetic. "I get it. I don't really like talking about my family problems either. I guess I just wanted you to know that you can talk to me about that stuff." They both nodded and shared a smile. Steve looked down at his watch. "Shit! We need to open up, the mall opens in five minutes—"

They both darted into the mall, laughing as they raced towards Scoops Ahoy. They slowed to a stop when they approached the ice cream shop, eyebrows furrowed in confusion when they saw the lights already on and the gate up. The neon sign flickered to life as Robin crossed her arms from behind the counter. "You boys having fun?"

Oliver looked from her to the sign. "How did you...uh," he gestured with his hands. "How did I...get here so fast? Open up the store? Do your job for you?" She tilted her head. "We all work today, dinguses."

"Oh," Steve nodded. "Well, I'm gonna go in the back and take a five minute nap so I can look pretty for the ladies." Steve pushed open the door and Oliver watched as it closed slowly. Robin sighed, tossing her ice cream scooper into the air and catching it. "Are you just gonna stare at the door forever or do you want to make milkshakes before we open?"

Oliver smiled as Robin tossed him his own scooper. He got a small scoop of strawberry and flung it at the girl. Robin gasped a laugh when it hit her shoulder and fell to the floor. Oli snickered as he covered his mouth. "Oh, it's on, Wheeler."

The sound of the bell ringing repeatedly alerted the two boys in the back room. "Hey dinguses! Your children are here," Robin called out. Steve Harrington sighed and opened the window. "Again? Seriously?" Mike hit the bell once more with a sour face. Oliver rolled his eyes. He opened the door for the group of teens, eying them carefully. He followed behind the group as they made their way into the back hallway. He and Steve exchanged a glance. "I swear, if anyone hears about this—" the elder of the two called. "—we're dead," the group answered robotically, proving just how many times they'd done this. Oliver just shook his head with a sigh, grabbing his drink from the table and following Steve out to the counter.

As strange as it was to say, the two boys had actually been making an effort to work with each other. In just the almost two months that had been summer so far, Oli might even dare to say they were friends. Of course, Robin helped a lot. He found himself looking forward to work, which was something he would've never expected. The trio bonded quickly over stories and jokes, giving the ice cream shop a comfortable atmosphere.

Some things never change, however. Steve still hit on every girl with a pulse for starters. Robin still talked a lot, something he picked up on quite quickly. She had a tendency to ramble about things, especially if she was dedicated to the subject. Oli still found himself as more of an observer, adding in his own comments and opinions on occasion. Together, they were slightly dysfunctional, but they made it work.

Oliver shook his head, realizing he had spaced out. He did that often, especially while listening to Robin scold Steve over whatever he had done. "Hey, Steve—" he started, but quickly cut himself off when the lights flickered and shut off completely. Oli wasn't one to admit his fears, but he had never really grown out of the uncomfortable sense of being in the dark. "That's weird," the other boy mumbled, walking over to the light switch. He flicked it off, then on, then off again. "That isn't gonna work, dingus," Robin sighed. "Oh really?" the oldest of the three raised an eyebrow, quickly flicking the light switch on and off again.

"Oh my god," the raven-haired boy groaned, facepalming. Just as quickly as it had shut off, the lights all around the mall turned back on, including the one Steve had been trying to get to work. "Let there be light," he walked away with a shrug as both Oliver and Robin shook their heads. "You needed something?" Steve questioned the other boy with a raised eyebrow. He shook his head. "Nevermind, I don't remember what I was gonna say." Steve nodded slowly. Oliver quickly walked back into the back room, sitting at the table with a sigh.

For the past few weeks, certain interactions made Oliver feel weird. He didn't know how to describe it. Queasy almost? But in a good way. He'd hold eye contact with the elder boy for just a second, and his heart would give a satisfied euphoric flutter. He didn't know why, or even how for that matter.

It's not unusual to have these interactions with your friends, so why does everything feel so different? Oliver was unsure if he even liked the feeling. It was all so confusing and the pondering made his head hurt. It's not like it was totally unusual for certain moments to linger in his memories during the late hours of the night. He was just tired and rethinking the day over. It was normal to silently wish for the other person to be thinking about you too...right?

Heather Speaks !

word count: 1,898
look at me finally posting chapter one omg 🤭 guys i swear i'm actually gonna finish this my motivation has been eating recently ‼️ can't wait for y'all to stop lol love u guys bye mwah