puppy-dog eyes

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

As usual, Starcourt Mall glowed. Lit up by the pink and blue neon sign and the lights spanning the mass of the building, a mall that screamed of purpose and entertainment. It bathed everyone who came up to it in blue light, and as Alina hopped off of her bike, she spread her fingers out, marvelling at the aura the light formed.

And as usual, it was packed. Cars and people alike swarmed the parking lot, some leaving, some just arriving, their hands laden with shopping bags or their pockets jingling with money. As Alina walked her bike up to the entrance to the mall, she had to weave her way through the crowd, squeezing between pedestrians and apologizing to the drivers of cars. It was funny. Two years ago, if you'd asked her what she would be doing in the summer of 1985, she probably would've said she'd be lying in bed with Skywalker curled up beside her for most of the hot months, occasionally taking a splash in the community pool (near closing hour, so it was mostly empty) or playing soccer in her backyard. She definitely wouldn't have said this, wouldn't have even dreamed about it.

And yet, she was here. Things had actually turned around for her. Sure, it had taken a lot for that to happen, including the subtle limp in her step and the cracks that sometimes occurred when she smiled, but they had turned around nonetheless. She wasn't merely alive. She was living.

At the entrance to the mall were four familiar figures, leaning against the poles, tinged blue as Smurfs from the light. Max, cool as always, had her beachy red hair long and loose, waves framing her tanned face as she waited, picking at her nails. Gabe was sweating slightly under his white button-down, his eyes trained on the parking lot, watching the happy citizens of Hawkins, Indiana, make their way to their cars. Will had his backpack straps high on his shoulders, and was sketching, his pencil gliding over the pad like it was an extension of his arm. And Lucas was twirling his flowery hat around on his finger, waiting for the other two to arrive.

All four of them looked up as Alina wheeled her bike up to them. She grinned sheepishly, her curly hair—confined into pigtails today—bobbing as she spoke. "I'm not late, am I?" she asked.

"No," said Lucas, licking his lips nervously as Alina put her bike in the rack. "You made it on time."

"Just barely," Max said, standing up and twisting a lock of red hair around her finger, "but you're fine. Mike still hasn't gotten here yet."

"I think we all know why," murmured Gabe, making Will chuckle. Alina reached out and ruffled her brother's hair, causing Will to bat her arm away as usual.

"Al! I told you to stop doing that!"

Max pinched the bridge of her nose. "So, if Mike ever gets here..." she began, "Will, you brought the snacks, right?"

Will saluted, sliding his sketchpad into his backpack and patting the front pocket. "All here," he said. "Gabe's got a good selection."

His hair was longer now, almost up to his chin, and he still wore it in the same bowl cut hairstyle he'd had for years now. Sometimes Mike or Dustin liked to poke fun at it, but Alina kind of liked it. It was something that was familiar, when everything else was changing.

"Yeah, I guess I do," said Gabe, smiling at the compliment. "Well, it's really my grandparents', since it's their house, right? When I went there before, they always had all of this good stuff. Another one of the perks of living with them—besides the swimming pool, of course. The swimming pool is always good. And there I go again."

Alina laughed. Yet another thing that hadn't changed—Gabe's tendency to ramble. He got embarrassed about it sometimes, but the party members had grown used to it by now, and they found it endearing.

It was strange. From the outside, they just looked like a normal group of teenagers, but on the inside, they held a bond of horrors nobody else had gone through. From the outside, Gabe's tendency to rub his legs may have been just an odd quirk, Will's custom of rubbing the back of his neck just a bad habit, Alina's slight limp nothing out of the ordinary. But when you looked closer... well. Then you became hooked onto the bond, too.

Before anyone could say anything more, Lucas finally spotted the final member of tonight's group ride up to the entrance. Dustin was at science camp—he'd been there since June, but he'd be arriving home tomorrow—and El wasn't allowed to set foot in Starcourt Mall, due to an over-protective Hopper's instructions, so that just left the six of them. And the final member was finally making his way up to them.

Lucas wasn't amused. "You're late," he snapped, watching Mike dismount his bike.

"I'm sorry—"

"Again," Lucas finished.

"We're gonna miss the opening!" Will complained, rolling his eyes at his friend. Will had reason to be upset. This was one of the many times Mike had arrived late, and sometimes it had actually ended up with them missing the first five or even ten minutes of the movie. Even Alina was never that late, so she found Mike's behavior quite annoying.

Probably because he was only late because he was making out with El. Abandoning the party as usual. The time wisping away as the two of them swapped saliva, made fun of Hopper, and did whatever else the two of them did when they were alone.

"Yeah," said Mike now, responding to the exasperated Will, "if you guys keep whining about it."

Alina stuck her tongue out at him as Mike smiled. "Let's go!"

"If you guys keep whining about it." Lucas pitched his voice a couple of octaves higher and imitated Mike's voice. Alina had to admit it was a pretty spot-on impression, especially after he added a fake laugh at the end of it. Maybe it wasn't very funny, but it made Alina laugh regardless.

Mike shoved Lucas's arm. "Just please stop talking, dude."

At that, the six of them finally began to make their way inside the mall, which smelled of hot dogs and new clothing and the occasional whiff of perfume. It was loud, filled with the chatters and footsteps of the other mallgoers, and it was, of course, packed, even at this time of night. As they walked, Lucas rolled his eyes at Mike.

"Let me guess," he said, "you were busy?" he made kissing noises with his lips, causing Will, Alina and Gabe to all burst into laughter. Max looked amused, too, but she determinately kept a straight face.

"Oh, yeah, real mature, Lucas," Mike growled, but Alina's boyfriend wasn't finished.

"Oh, El." He reverted right back into his Mike Wheeler Voice, which is something he'd been doing since that day at recess two years ago, when they were searching for rocks to hunt the Demogorgon with. It was one of the memories Alina had of those times that didn't make her want to claw her hair out. Lucas continued, "I wish we could make out forever, and never hang out with any of our friends."

"Lucas, stop," Max groaned.

"They think it's funny," Lucas argued, gesturing to Alina, Will and Gabe, who were all grinning, trying to keep themselves from going off again.

"Because it is," said Will, and Gabe nodded.

"I'd say your Mike Wheeler Impression is improving," he said. "I still can't get the whiny voice right yet. It makes me sound too much like a girl."

He had to dodge a blow from Mike at that. "I don't have a whiny voice!"

"Just a little bit," said Alina, pinching her fingers closely together. "Okay, maybe more than a little. And it is funny."

"Yeah," crabbed Mike, "it's so funny that I want to spend romantic time with my girlfriend."

"I'm spending romantic time with my girlfriend," argued Lucas, putting an arm around Alina, who smiled, her stomach doing cartwheels. Even after all of this time, hearing Lucas refer to her as his girlfriend still made her giddy. She'd think back to herself as a twelve-year-old, hopelessly into him, and wish she could go back in time and assure herself that everything was going to turn out in the end. Even if it did take a little possession to get there.

Of course, everything wasn't perfect yet. Sometimes she'd have to remind herself that she wasn't a toy anymore, that she could move her limbs at will, that she didn't have to give in, give in, stop her friends from succeeding. That she didn't have to shrink in on herself, break away piece by piece until she was just a shell of who she used to be. Sometimes she'd hold a knife in her hand until it drew blood just to be sure that her arm wouldn't suddenly slash herself across the face. Sometimes she'd wake from nightmares of blood and shadow monsters and her dad's cold, dead, eyes, sometimes she couldn't breathe, couldn't move, couldn't feel, sometimes it was like she was back in those first few weeks after Brandon's death.

But she was still better. The healing process was long, and gruelling, but for now, Alina thought that she was doing just fine. As fine as she could, anyway.

The party made their way down the ever-crowded escalator, squeezing past the dormant people as they passed. Most let out cries of indignance and even glared after the party's hasty apologies, but it was really their fault for crowding up the whole thing. Alina's thin frame was ideal for slipping between the crowd, and she managed to get down feeling much less battered than the others did. Gabe was even rubbing his shoulder, where he'd slammed into an old lady.

The six of them then hustled off to Scoops Ahoy, which was the first destination on their way to the movie theatre. As they hurried, Mike slammed into a shopper, who bristled at him. "Watch it!"

"Yeah, watch it, nerd!"

That voice came from none other than Erica Sinclair, who was sitting on the edge of a plant enclosure with her little entourage. All of them were licking ice cream, and Erica smirked, glad to have authority.

She wasn't that innocent girl who had asked Alina to be her friend all those years ago. Erica was now a sassy, downright rude ten-year-old who still had that soft spot for her, but nobody else. So, of course, she had no idea why Alina would choose Lucas, of all people, to be her boyfriend.

"Hi, Alina!" Erica called, as the party began to walk past. Alina raised her hand in a wave, but Lucas just rolled his eyes at his younger sister's antics.

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" he asked.

"Isn't it time you died?"

Her little group burst into laughter at that one, and Lucas's eyes bulged. "Pyscho!"

"Butthead!"

"Mall rat!"

"Fart face!"

Lucas blew a raspberry at his little sister, and Max grabbed his arm, pulling his focus back to the task at hand. "Oh, now that was mature," she grumbled, and he followed her into Scoops Ahoy. Alina turned back at the last moment to salute to Erica, who grinned and saluted back. Maybe it was a little strange to have a bond with your boyfriend's annoying little sister, but Alina genuinely liked her regardless of her (many) flaws.

Mike, the leader in the train of party members, went immediately up to the counter of the ice cream store—which was themed after sailing, causing the employees to be suited up in extraordinarily geeky outfits—and rang the bell. The employee at the counter, Robin, let out a sigh at the sight of them, especially as Mike continued to ring the bell.

"Hey, dingus," she called, "your children are here!"

She was talking to the boy who was in the back of the store, and he indeed slid open the window at the sound of his coworker's voice. Steve Harrington, girl magnet, babysitter in all things Upside Down related, bad girl advice giver, and ex-boyfriend to Nancy Wheeler, stared them down, his grin fading as Gabe gave him a wave. He was wearing the same dumb outfit as Robin, and it was always strange for Alina to see him here, in an ice cream store, instead of wielding his famous nail-spiked bat and fighting down otherworldly creatures.

"Again?" he asked. "Seriously?"

Gabe just gave him his best smile. "We're your favourite customers," he said, activating the power of Gabriel Burton's puppy-dog eyes. Irresistible. Alina would know, after that one time at the arcade Gabe had been begging her to take a turn, and after he gave her those eyes... well, it was game over. Literally and metaphorically, as he ended up losing the game in less than five seconds.

Word of advice: never let Gabriel Burton attempt Dragon's Lair.

And as Mike rang the bell again, Alina could see that Steve was theirs. Another point for puppy-dog eyes, and another win for the party. Hell yeah. 

. ✧ ・゜. +・o ✧

a/n: i did not mean to split up this scene into two chapters, but i like capping mine at 2000 words, so this is what we got haha. i think, when i start writing my new book, i'm gonna change it so the chapters are 4000 words, just so there are less chapters and more to read haha. but for now, we're stuck with 2000 words and 60+ chapters of this book, haha. 

anyways, i hope you enjoyed this chapter!! i know not much happened, but i like the wholesomeness at the beginning before everything goes to shit. and by to shit i mean to shit, because things are going to happen that nobody is going to like :) so just enjoy this for now haha.

'till next time!