Chapter Two: The Mall Rats

CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN , SHE'S NOT WHO SHE SAYS SHE IS

a/n : my stranger things hyperfixation is baaack

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Gus' entire mind was filled with whispers.

Whispers of her being chosen. Being the one to take what they need. We need.

Gus stumbles out of the factory with tears in her eyes and her entire body covered in dirt and grime. Just like Billy.

Gus shakes her head, "Stop, stop, stop..." she whimpers from the voices in her head and her own body going against her.

Give in to me.

"Shut the fuck up!" Gus covers her ears. "This isn't...I won't." She stands up and grabs her bag. Gus springs down the street with her breathing ragged and her tears now rolling down her face.

Gus felt violated, and she was in pain. But not as much pain as she was before. Gus stops running, and she looks down at her leg, which was broken just a couple of minutes ago. Her eyes widen when she stands perfectly on it. It ached, but she could hardly feel it.

I want you to work with me. But I will force it if I have to.

Gus's knees tremble, and she collapses to the ground, her body shakes, and her sobs echo down the street. She then lets out an anguished scream that forces a wave out of her mouth and down the street, rupturing the ground. Gus leans forward, her forehead pressed against the rumbling street, and she continues to sob.

As a few minutes dragged on, Gus could feel everything slipping from her. Her memories, her loved ones, her own self. I don't want to go.

Then, out of her hands—her control, they lift their head. Eyes glazed over, and no longer hers, she stands up.

They roll her neck, cracking it. Their eyes cast down to her hands, and they open and close her fists. "This body is powerful." They turn her wrist, examining her hands further. "I think it's gonna be my favorite."

They look down the street and root through Gus's memories. If this was going to be their body. They needed to understand the person who had a hold of it before him. And now they knew who August Hopper was.

And they were going to play her perfectly.

...

It was the next morning, and Gus hadn't come home yet. She didn't send a message through the radio saying she was sleeping over at Fallon's or Nancy's. He was hoping she had just forgotten. Eleven marches into her room with the phone to her ear, and Mike was on the other end.

Hopper hears soft, slow steps up the porch, and he lifts his gaze from his cereal bowl to look at the door. The door pushes open, revealing the Bob-haired girl, and Hopper lets out a breath. "Where the hell you been, kid?"

The Flayed looks at Hopper for a moment, almost like she was trying to jog her memory of something. Hopper pulls his brows together, "August?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't tell you where I was." Gus rubs her forehead. "I figured Eleven would've still been pissed at me about ruining her night with Mike, so I decided to give her some space."

Hopper keeps his eyes on his daughter, his gut tightening for some odd reason. There was an uncertainty when he looked at her. "Whose place did you stay at?"

"Fallon's," The Flayed says. "Like normal."

"Okay, just next time—"

"I'll let you know. I promise." The Flayed softly smiles. They look down at Gus's watch. "I should get ready for work," they motion their head to the door.

Hopper chuckles, "Spoken like a true adult."

"Except a true adult wouldn't be repeating her senior year." The Flayed presses their lips into a small line.

"Hey, you're going to graduate this year," Hopper assured her. "You got this."

The Flayed inhales a small breath. "Thanks," they nod their head and walk toward Gus's room. Suddenly, they stop, and a small smirk forms on their lips. "Oh, and dad?" Their smirk drops, and a soft smile quickly takes over their face.

Hopper looks at his eldest daughter.

"I love you."

They could hear Gus scream from inside. It forced their entire body to rattle.

"I love you too, kid." Hopper chuckles.

The Flayed softly smiles and walks to Gus's room. Hopper stares at the spot Gus was previously at, and he pulls his brows together. He couldn't put his finger on it, but something wasn't right. Maybe it's something between her and Steve. Maybe it was what happened between her, Mike, and Eleven the night before.

A muffled voice through the door to her side forces The Flayed to stop and stare at the large oak wood door for a moment. Eleven couldn't see them yet. If she did, then she would be able to tell this wasn't Gus right off the bat. They just had to keep their distance. And judging from Gus' memories, that would be easy. Eleven hated her right now.

The Flayed walks into Gus's room and closes the door. They take a moment to inspect the room, trying to understand who August Hopper is. The room was filled wall-to-wall with posters. Star Wars, Ghostbusters, Poltergeist, The Outsiders, Friday the 13th, The Karate Kid, Michael Jackson, Elton John, Prince, and even street signs she has collected over the years. String lights were spread across each wall, creating a warm atmosphere. Even the Flayed had to admit the room was comforting. The Flayed shifts its gaze down to the fuzzy, dark red rug under its boots. They crouch down and run their fingers over the rug. A smile forms across the Flayed's lips. "This room..." They look around. "It does give me a certain warmth."

The Flayed stands up and its eyes trail over to the framed pictures. They walk over to the dresser and look at one of the pictures. Its fingers curl around the gold frame and pick it up. Its eyes look over the photo of Gus and Steve. The couple was lying in Steve's bed; it looked like Gus was in the middle of a laughing attack. Her head was against Steve's shoulder, and a warm smile was on Steve's lips as he took a picture of the two of them. "This is your boyfriend, correct?"

Go to hell.

The Flayed smirks. "From your memories, he seems...sweet." They tilt their head. "At least he's sweet now."

It sets down the frame and looks at the other with Gus and the kids. They were all around the D&D table, deeply into the campaign. The Flayed smirks, but it quickly drops when its eyes land on the boy with the bowl-cut. A small scatter is heard behind the Flayed, and it turns around to the large cage on the nightstand. Don't you fucking touch him.

The Flayed smirks, "Why shouldn't I?" It tilts its head while walking over to the bunny. "It is my pet, after all."

I swear to GOD don't you hurt him.

It opens the cage, but the bunny scurries to the corner of the gate—trying to stay far away from the Flayed being. Whatever was reaching out towards it was not Gus. And Hedwig knew it.

"You've got a smart pet." The Flayed cracks a smile on its lips. It pulls its hand from the cage nd closes it. The Flayed walks around the bed and sits on the edge of it. "I don't think you're comprehending what's going on..." they were smart enough to keep their voice down. "This is my body now. You have no control." Yeah, we'll see about that, motherfucker.

"Your sister..." The Flayed tilts their head, allowing its neck to crack. "She's a bit of a nuisance...for me, at least." They sticks their pinky into their ear. "I'm going to have to do something about—"

NO

Their entire body quaked from the voice booming through its head.

You stay away from her.

The Flayed tilts their head with a small smile creeping onto its lips. "Sooner or later, she and I are going to meet. And when that happens—

No. No—I will die before you get to her!

"That can be arranged, August."

☆

Robin keeps her stare on Steve and Dustin, who were sitting in a booth talking in hushed tones. Fallon pops her bubble gum and looks at Robin. Without another word, she looks back at Steve and Dustin. With her eyes still on the two boys, Robin speaks. "So, you guys are just friends with these children?"

Fallon chuckles. She knew that Robin had been intrigued by the unspoken bond all of them had with the kids. Fallon just wishes she were able to tell her the truth.

"Yeah, it's a mutual benefit." Fallon frowns. "That sounds weird. More like..." she tries to think of a better word, but she could only think of one. That's when Fallon's jaw goes slack when she realizes...

"Holy shit." Fallon looks at Robin, who was confused by her terror expression. "I am friends with those gremlins."

Robin laughs, "I don't know how you and Gus do it."

"What do you mean?" Fallon tilts her head, leaning against the counter.

"Handle Steve and the kids." Robin points at the two. "Aren't you stressed?"

Fallon softly smiles, "These kids make me want to pull my hair out, and Steve makes me want to stab a pencil in my eye, then his." She sighs, but there is a calmness across her face. "But...I know how important they are to Gus. And now, they're important to me. So, the stress? It's worth it to me." Fallon refocuses on Robin and realizes her slack-jawed expression.

Robin's blue, starry gaze looks across Fallon's face, in awe of the girl she has been becoming. Fallon pulls her brows together, and she couldn't stop her heart from racing and her face from heating up. "Wh-what's up, Buck?"

Robin shakes her head, "I'm just...proud of you." She glances away from Fallon, hoping she wasn't looking for too long.

"Long way from 'The Queen Bee', huh?" Fallon lightly nudges Robin's arm.

Robin's face gets hit, and she bites her lower lip. "Yeah, it is." She looks at the side of Fallon's face.

"So, things are rough between you and Sofía?"

Dustin stops eating his banana split just at the mention of his girlfriend. He had stopped by her home, but she wasn't there. Dustin couldn't stop the pain of guilt in his chest; it hurt knowing that he hurt Sofía. The sweetest, most thoughtful girl he has ever met.

"Was it that obvious?" Dustin asks, a sad smile on his lips.

Steve presses his lips together. "You guys are like two peas in a pod, and she's nowhere in sight."

"Yeah? And what about you and Gus?" Dustin looks around.

Now, it was Steve's turn to feel down. He had ruined his chance with the girl he loves. He moved too fast. He always moved too fast. He scared August away, and now she's disappeared off the face of the earth—

"Gus!"

It was like someone snapped their fingers near his ears. Steve's ears perked, and his heart jumped into his throat. He follows Dustin's smile while he waves aimlessly. Steve's shoulders drop when he sees Gus waving back at Dustin with a warm smile. He was relieved to see her okay. Steve stands up and walks over to his girlfriend.

"I can't believe you've been avoiding me." Fallon hisses. "I'm not the one who confessed their love to you."

Gus tilts her head, "Well, not this time around." She nudges Fallon's arm and winks.

Fallon's jaw goes slack, and her heart drops into her stomach. "Dude—"

"What?"

Fallon looks at Robin, and she opens and closes her mouth. "She's kidding." She forces out a laugh while sweat forms on the back of her neck. Gus pulls her brows together. "Yes." She nods her head. "I'm kidding." She lets out a soft laugh that causes Fallon and Robin to stare at her weirdly.

"Why are you laughing like it's going to kill you?" Fallon leans closer to Gus, observing her face. "Are you high?"

Gus smiles. She cups Fallon's face. "I'm not high. I'm just happy."

Fallon's face was squished, but she kept her brows pulled together. "Okay." Her voice was muffled. 

"August."

Gus pulls her brows together and lets go of Fallon's face. She turns to meet the brunette boy. "Steve." She smiles. "How've you been?"

Steve looks across her face in shock. "I-I'm good, but I was just worried about you." He touches her arms. He looks down at her arms. "You're freezing."

"I've been burning up." Gus bunches her shoulders. "I need to cool down. Ice cream?" She points to the back and walks into the parlor.

"Sure. Go ahead." Robin sarcastically encourages.

Steve exchanges a look with Fallon, hoping for answers about Gus's attitude. But Fallon holds her hands up, telling him she's just as clueless. Steve rushes to the back and sees Gus with her head in the freezer. "I was going to call you and see how you were doing, but I didn't want to overwhelm you."

The Flayed pulls their head out of the freezer. "You could never overwhelm me." They tilts their head. "You're my boyfriend."

Steve lets out a breath of relief. "What I told you the other day..."

"The other day..." Flayed Gus tried to root through August's mind, trying to figure out what he was referring to. But there was nothing of significance, so they just went with the flow. "It's okay."

"Really?" Steve pulls his brows together. A small smile forms on his lips. He had been worrying this whole time about her avoiding him, but maybe he was thinking too much about it.

"Yeah. It's forgotten."

Ouch.

Steve could hear his heart breaking. "Forgotten?" He shakes his head. "I don't want us to forget it, August—"

"It's not a big deal." The Flayed reaches for the freezer. Steve stops her and gently places his hand over her own. The Flayed lifts their gaze, meeting his worried and hurt eyes. But they couldn't figure it out.

"I told you 'I love you'," Steve says. "I can't just forget that."

Flayed Gus's jaw clenches. "Oh..." they tilts their head. They thought Gus had relinquished every memory, but apparently she's been keeping ones hidden. "I'm sorry. I don't want us to forget about it. I just..." they looks down at Steve's hand that was over theirs. "I got into a fight with Ellie."

Steve's eyes soften, "You two never fight." He says. "Is everything okay?"

"We will be." Flayed Gus speaks. "But you're right." They gently tug Steve over to the break room table. They both sit at the table. "I've been avoiding you."

Steve tenses, "Oh. Well, that's okay." He nods his head. "I moved too fast and—"

"That's not it." Flayed Gus speaks. She lifts Steve's hand and presses her lips against it. August internally screams, forcing The Flayed's body to painfully quake.

"I'm just scared." The Flayed whispers, forcing their voice to tremble. Steve looks across her face. "Scared of what?"

"The feeling of love--this kind of love." The Flayed says. "It's not something I have much experience in."

Steve nods his head, "I want you to know that when I told you that 'I love you', I wasn't expecting you to say it back or anything. I just wanted you to know."

Flayed Gus inhales a breath and nods her head. Steve runs his thumb over their knuckles. Flayed Gus tilts her head, "I do love you," they say.

Steve's stomach tightens. "You don't have to say that. I didn't mean to pressure--"

"Steve Harrington."

Steve stops his words and focuses on Gus's eyes. He pulls his brows together from the shakiness in them. They seemed so different from when he last saw her. Flayed Gus leans forward, "I love you." They softly chuckle. "I have loved you since you shared your crayons with me in the kindergarten."

Steve laughs, and so does The Flayed. It was true. Gus did love Steve and she has loved him since he was kind enough to share his crayons with her. But she wanted to be the one to tell him that. This was all so wrong, and she couldn't do anything.

The Flayed's smile softens, "I'll never stop loving you."

Steve's eyes shift to their lips, and the weight in his chest disappears. He leans forward, ready to connect their lips, but he stops when he gets centimeters away. Steve's eyes shift to their nose, "You're bleeding." his eyes widen. Flayed Gus pulls their brows together and touches their nose, looking at the blood on their fingertips. Steve grabs a napkin, looking away from them for a second.

The Flayed keeps their eyes on their fingers, knowing that this was a side effect of August fighting back. The Flayed expected nothing less from the girl who was capable of destroying the world.

"Is everything okay?" Steve presses the napkin against Gus's nose. Flayed Gus lightly touches his hand out of gratitude. "Yeah, just too much training," she says. "I should get home, so I can rest."

"You don't have work?" Steve asks. Flayed Gus shakes their head, "Surprisingly not."

Steve finishes cleaning their nose, and he lightly grips her chin, tilting their head back--so he can get a better look at their nose. "Okay, well. I can come by tonight after my shift."

Flayed Gus gives him a small smile. "I appreciate you. So much, but Hopper is already stressed with Eleven and Mike. The last thing I want is to add onto that."

Steve pulls his brows together with a confused smile on his lips. "Seriously? You usually love stressing him out."

Flayed Gus parts their lips. "Yeah, I think I'm just tired," they shakes their head. "Sorry."

Steve shakes his head, "You've got nothing to apologize for, Guster." he kisses their cheek. "You'll let me know when you get back home safe, right?"

Flayed Gus, "Of course." They stands up and Steve does the same. He lightly touches their back and guides her to through the door. The Flayed turns to Steve and kisses his cheek before waving at Dustin, Robin, and Fallon. Steve watches as 'Gus' leaves the mall and he couldn't his stomach from tightening. Even though 'Gus' had said she loves him, he still felt like something was wrong.

Something was wrong with her.

☆

"I can't believe that you even confronted him."

Sofía runs her hands down her face. "I can't believe it either!" She lightly smacks her face trying to liven herself up. "Why did I do that—things were good!—"

"Obviously not." Max carefully stands on her skateboard. Sofía sits on the curb with her eyes wearily in Max. "You said the moment you got to camp, you felt a way about Susie and Dustin."

Max then thinks about it for a moment. "I think the issue is, you never told him about how you felt."

Sofía lets out a low hum. "I ruined everything because of my quiet mouth."

"No, no, no." Max says. "I mean, yes, you should've talked about your feelings. But Dustin was with you every day. What kind of boyfriend doesn't realize their girlfriend's uncomfortable?"

Sofía looks at the ground and Max grimaces. "See, even I can tell you're uncomfortable."

Sofía raises her brows, "Seriously?"

Max nods, "Yeah. You get this constipated and teary look in your eyes."

The brunette pouts, "Constipated?"

"Yeah, sorry." Max chuckles. Sofía softly laughs and shakes her head. The redhead looks down at her skateboard and sighs. "Okay, come on."

Sofía raises her brows, "Come on—what?"

"Come on, I'm gonna teach you how to skate." Max gets off her board and picks it up.

Sofía's mouth drops open. "Oh. No, Max. I-I can't—"

"You said you wanted to learn." Max says. "What changed?"

Sofía bites the inside of her cheek. "Dustin—"

"Don't decide your fun based off your boyfriend." Max cuts her off, a smile on her lips. Sofía bites her lower lip and nods her head. Max was right. Dustin was an important part of Sofía's life, but she shouldn't let her decisions revolve around him. Sofía inhales and stands up, "Okay. Get me on the board."

Max claps her hands, "Atta girl!" She sets the board on the ground and keeps her foot on it—making sure it doesn't roll away.

Sofía pulls her brows together, "You don't have knee pads or a helmet?"

Max looks at Sofía for a moment, "Well, I did. But this skateboarding without it motivates me to NOT mess up, so I just threw them away."

All the color from Sofía's face disappears. "Wh-why...why? That's a death wish, Max!"

The redhead keeps a straight face for a few more seconds before letting out a small snicker. That small snicker then becomes a full-hearted laugh. "Holy shit, I'm totally kidding." She grabs her stomach. "Come on, I'll get you some kneepads." She motions with her head to her house.

Sofía lets out a small breath, "And a helmet?"

Max's smile grows, "Yes. And a helmet."

Sofia's entire body relaxes, and she follows Max towards her house.

...

Sofia has fallen at least three times since she got on the skateboard.

"You've totally got it!"

Just from the look on Sofia's face, it was obvious she didn't believe a word Max was saying. Max keeps her hands tightly around Sofia's and slowly pulls her down the street. Sofia's eyes stayed glued to the skateboard underneath her feet. Every time the wheels would roll over a pebble or a crack in the street, Sofia would yelp. Max was patient with the girl, not minding how freaked out she was. The redhead was honestly surprised that Sofia decided to get on the skateboard even with the kneepads and helmet.

"Okay..." Max says. "I'm going to  let you go--"

"Please, don't." Sofia whimpers, her eyes wide.

Max thinks for a moment. She then shrugs, "You'll be fine."

"Max."

"Ready?--"

"No!"

"One..."

"Max, I'm gonna shit myself--"

"Two..." Max smiles.

"Oh, god. Oh, god--"

"Three!" Max lets Sofia's hands go and steps to the side, allowing Sofia to roll down the street. Sofia holds her hands out, trying to balance. "I'm gonna die--"

"You're doing it!" Max holds her hands up.

Sofia's breathing quickens, "I'm doing it...holy shit, I'm--"

Suddenly the skateboard slips from under her feet and she falls back. Sofia's back collides with the street and she groans. Max's face drops, "Shit!" she runs towards Sofia while the skateboard rolls down the street. Max crouches besides Sofia, "Are you okay?" she looks over Sofia, making sure she had no injuries. Sofia groans again and inhales a breath. "Your skateboard."

Max pulls her brows together, "Who cares?" she helps Sofia back onto her feet. Max looks at the back of Sofia's shirt. Looks like you skid the back of your arm. Sofia looks at her arm, noticing the blood. Max clicks her tongue, "I'm sorry, I should've listened to you."

Sofia shakes her head, "I'm glad I did this." she looks at Max. "I feel more bad about your skateboard rolling..." she trails off her words when she sees Eleven holding Max's skateboard. "Huh."

Max follows Sofia's gaze and her eyes widen. Eleven walks over to the two girls. Sofia waves to Eleven with a smile and Eleven smiles back. Eleven looks at Max and Max looks at her. Sofia looks between her friends who weren't friends at all. It was always awkward when Sofia wanted the three of them to hang out. Max would always come up with an excuse to not hang out. Sofia couldn't really blame her, Eleven always gave Max a death glare.

"Hi."

Max grabs the skateboard from Eleven's hands. "Hi?"

Eleven looks from Max to Sofia, her eyes pleading. "Can we talk?"

Sofia raises her brows. Max and Sofia look at each other. The redhead opens her mouth, "Uh, sure." she points to her house. "We can go inside."

The three girls walk into Max's house. As soon as they got to her room, Eleven explained her phone call with Mike to the two girls--her lack of experience being noticed.

"And then he said he--he missed me." Eleven explains. "And then he just hung up."

Still pacing in front of the bed, Max speaks. "He's a piece of shit."

"What?" Eleven looks at Sofia, waiting for her to say something.

Sofia presses her lips together. "I wouldn't call Mike a piece of shit, but...Mike's Nana definitely isn't sick."

Max stops in front of the girls. "I guarntee you, him and Lucas are playing Atari right now." Sofia nods her head in agreeance.

"But friends don't lie." Eleven states.

"Yeah, well, boyfriends lie." Max says. "All. The. Time."

Sofia tilts her head, "Well, I wouldn't say that." she holds her pointer finger up. "But for some reason, they lie a lot. They think we can't handle the truth or something." she shrugs.

"Here's what's going to happen." Max sits on the bed with Sofia and Eleven. "You're going to stop calling him. You're going to ignore his calls."

"As far as you're concerned, he doesn't exist." Sofia adds.

Eleven's mouth drops in horror, "Doesn't exist?"

"He treated you like garbage-"

"Max." Sofia sighs.

"Okay, well, this is the start of him treating you like garbage." Max changes her words. "You're gonna treat him like garbage. Give him a taste of his own medicine."

Eleven nods her head, listening intently. "Give him the medicine."

Sofia softly smiles from Eleven's phrasing.

"Mm-hmm. And if he doesn't fix this, if he doesn't explain himself, dump his ass."

Eleven's eyes widen and she shifts her eyes to Sofia who winces her eyes and nods her head, agreeing with Max. "If he really doesn't understand what he did wrong--or worse, if he does know what he did wrong, and doesn't apologize. Dumping him might be the answer."

Max looks at Sofia, "You should listen to your own advice."

Sofia's shoulders slump, "Dustin and I will be fine." the brunette looks at Eleven, her eyes sad. She bites the inside of her cheek. "We should do something. Take our minds off of all boys."

Max snaps her fingers, getting an idea. She stands up, "Come on." She grabs Sofia and Eleven by their hands, pulling them onto their feet.

"Where are we going?" Eleven asks.

"To have some fun." Max smiles. "There's more to life than stupid boys."

"Very true." Sofia nods her head. "Have you ever been to the new Mall?"

☆

"Can I try the peppermint stick?"

Fallon lets out a small breath, but she smiles. "Sure, Erica."

"Haven't you already tried the peppermint stick?" Robin asks.

Erica squints her eyes. Normally, Fallon was the one to help Erica every time she came to the ice cream parlor—which was often. Fallon knew Erica well, anytime Erica made fun of Lucas and his friends Fallon laughed. Fallon honestly thought Erica was the funniest kid she's ever met.

"Yes," Erica replies. "and I'd like to try it again."

Fallon grabs another spoon and scoops the flavor. Robin turns to the window, "Steve!"

"Oh, he's probably busy with his best child friend." Fallon teases. "Secret Russian Messages and all."

Robin looks at Fallon, "They're still working on that shit?" She huffs. "That's it."

Fallon follows Robin as she walks to the back of the break room. She smiles. Robin was totally going to scream at them. She had to watch this. Fallon looks at the kids still standing at the counter. "Be right back!" She runs into the break room.

"Hey, my board!" Robin snaps. "That was importante data, shitbirds."

Dustin brushes off Robin's words. "I guarantee you, what we're doing is way more important than your data."

Fallon folds her arms. "Yeah?"

Dustin nods his head. "How do you know these Russians are up to no good anyways?" Fallon tilts her head.

Dustin and Steve look at each other.

"You're making some cruel assumptions Dustin. I'm disappointed." Fallon shakes her head.

"How does she know about the Russians?" Dustin asks.

With a mouthful of banana, Steve shrugs. "I don't know."

"You told her about—"

"It wasn't me." Steve says.

"Did you tell Gus?" Dustin asks.

Steve rolls his eyes, "I didn't know about the Russians when I talked to her earlier."

Fallon rolls her head to the side, annoyed. "Hello, we can hear you. We could literally hear everything."

"You are both extremely loud." Robin adds. "You think you have evil Russians plotting against our country, on tape, and you're trying to translate, but haven't figured out a word because you didn't realize Russians use an entirely different alphabet than we do."

Fallon laughs and points at Steve. "Haha, you're stupid."

Steve swallows his banana before flipping her off. Fallon suddenly lunges forward, reaching for the recorder but Steve grabs it. "Whoa! What do you think you're doing?"

"We wanna hear it." Fallon says.

"Why?"

"To turn you in for all the money in the world." Fallon tilts her head.

Dustin swallows and Fallon raises her brows. "Oh, god. I'm kidding, Dustin." The boy lets out a breath of relief.

"Robin can help." Fallon says.

Robin turns to Fallon, "Seriously?"

Fallon looks at Robin, meeting her shocked gaze. "Yeah." She then fully turns to her. She looks into Robin's eyes. "You're amazing, Rob."

A small breath leaves Robin's lips and her heart begins to quicken. She couldn't stop her face from getting hot, so she looks away from Fallon, Dustin, and Steve. Fallon looks at Dustin and Steve. "She's fluent in four languages, you know?"

Dustin raised his brows, "Russian?"

Robin was able to cool her face back down, so she turns to the rest of the group. "Ou-yay are yay umb-day."

Steve and Dustin begin to laugh, impressed by her speaking another language. Fallon shakes her head and laughs.

"That was Pig Latin, dingus." Robin says."

Steve hits Dustin with his banana peel, "Idiot."

"But I can speak Spanish and French and Italian, and I've been in band for 12 years." Robin says.

"Her ears? They're like little geniuses." Fallon nods her head and smiles. Robin's stomach flutters.

Steve shakes his head. Fallon arches a brow, "Give her the tape recorder. You're with me slinging ice cream."

Robin turns to Fallon, "Wait, you're not staying back here?" Her heart drops into her stomach at the thought of Fallon not being by her side.

Fallon presses her lips into a small smile. "I'm no good here." She points out to the door. "I'll just stay at the front counter, make sure no one suspects what's going on back here."

Robin pulls her brows together. Fallon was the smartest person Robin knew, why would she talk her up but not herself? Steve hands Robin the recorder and grabs the ice cream scooper. Fallon waves at Robin before walking out of the breaking room.

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author's note.

the ideas I have...

words : 5224