𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐔𝐬 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 ; ᴹᶦᵏᵉ ᵂʰᵉᵉˡᵉʳ

The Mall Rats

The current time is 11:37pm.

Mike, Lucas, Ian, and Will sit in the Wheeler's basement, trying to think of something to do. The girls were on their way to the mall, mostly because Eleven needed to rebel against Hopper because she wanted to be her own person and not be trapped inside all day long. Dustin was probably either at home or at Scoops Ahoy to hang out with Steve, just annoying the shit out of him. Lucas had tried comming him, but he never answered, so the boys just shrugged it off as Dustin was at the mall, with Steve mothering him. He was probably upset at the party for leaving him the past night, so they saw fit to not bother too much and let him have his alone time.

"We could go to the mall?" Ian suggests, "We could watch a movie or something, or I can try and dig around the trailer to find some cash?"

The Forbes boy, unable to call his own, actual home his home was normal. He never really could. Even ever since he met Mike and Will in the last few weeks of kindergarten, he knew it didn't feel like a home. A home in Ian's eyes was supposed to be nurturing and filled with happiness, but the Wheeler house was his home, where people actually loved him.

Will smiles, agreeing with Ian as Mike and Lucas shrug their shoulders, standing up to make their way outside to their bikes.

Ian runs upstairs quickly, the boys under the guise he was just grabbing his backpack. Though, he remembered Alex's note from yesterday and saw fit to not go back to the trailer yet. He remembered some money he had hidden under his mattress in Mike's room, and grabbed it quickly before stuffing it in his pocket. Ian runs back downstairs, out the front door, and into the driveway where the other boys were waiting for him, mounted on their bikes and conversing. Ian mounts his, kicking off before the others, speeding down the street towards Starcourt Mall.

"I left some cash in my backpack," Ian informs the boys, "No trailer today"

As they arrive at Starcourt, they lock their bikes up in the bike rack, leaving them at the end furthest from the door. They walk inside, greeted with bright neon colors and pop music over the loudspeakers.

Mike shoves his hand in his pocket, pulling out a few bills. Lucas and Will see this, reaching into their pockets and pulling out any money they had on them.

"I've got.. $5.38" Lucas starts, flipping through his singles and coins.

"$3.50" Mike sighs

Will takes a moment to recount his bills, being thrown off, "Uhm.. $13.67"

Ian looks at his friends as he tries mentally calculating, adding his own 15 dollars to it. "So that's.. $37.55"

"37 bucks... so we could get, like, slushies?" Lucas suggests

Will smiles widely as Ian and Mike smile and shrug their shoulders, chasing after him as he rushes down the escalator to the food court.

Will had always had that child persona stuck inside of him, he didn't want to grow up or pay taxes and buy a house. The boy was merely fourteen and deserved to be cut some slack. Anything that would remind him of just staying young forever would just make him smile and run towards it. Like D&D, eating pizza at midnight, watching movies at the cinema with his friends, etcetera.

Will raced down to the Orange Julius stand, surprisingly free of a line as he looked back, waiting for the other three to catch up. Mike had arrived first, looking up at the menu while Lucas and Ian trailed behind, already knowing what they wanted to get.

Lucas looked over at the others who were looking at him to start, "Uhm.. let's do a peach slushie" the boy looks back down at his hands to count his bills.