/ "and i have to speculate that god himself did make us into corresponding shapes like puzzle pieces from the clay" /
Michelle "Mickey" Hopper has a lot of problems. An alcoholic father ignoring the loss of his youngest daughter, her sister, Sarah...
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...Thursday, July 4, 1985... i want to break free - queen
"They seem drunk," Erica said as she and Dustin watched Mickey and Robin pretend like they were surfing on a dolley they found in the elevator. Steve was passed out a few feet away.
"Why would they be drunk?" Dustin asked. As Mickey wiped out on the floor by the younger boy's feet, he moved forward, pressing a hand to her forehead despite her protests. "She's burning up." He held her eyelids open. "And her pupils are super dilated."
"Maybe they're drugged."
Dustin's expression suddenly turned serious as he looked down at Mickey worriedly. His hands nearly started shaking when he held her shoulders. "No. Mick... please, tell me you weren't drugged."
"For the last time, Dad! I don't do drugs anymore! It's only my..." Mickey started patting her pockets, remembering that her remaining vice had been taken. "No! My cigarettes!"
"Come on, Mick. I need to know what they did to you. Are you gonna die on us?"
Robin chimed in to the two's conversation as she squatted beside them. "We all die, my strange little friend. It's just a matter of how... and when."
Dustin ignored her, moving over to Steve. He looked for his keys to no avail. "Okay, Mick, where are Steve's keys?"
"Ooh, can we make a pit stop at that Chinese place in the food court?" Robin asked.
Mickey gasped. "I would kill for some orange chicken right now."
"I will get you all the orange chicken you want if you tell me where Steve's keys are!" Dustin said.
Mickey laughed. "Off the board, little dude. They took our keys! Like forever ago. And my skateboard! They fucking owe me for that! That's a bummer, right?"
...
The group of five weaved through the mall, Dustin leading the way to the movie theater with Steve draped across his back. As they ran into the first theater they came across, Mickey grabbed an almost-empty bag of popcorn from the trash.
They ran down the aisle, stopping at the very front where two seats were left open. Dustin threw Steve down into one, now conscious and just starting to talk again. Robin took the other seat. Mickey looked down at them and smiled as she sat down in Steve's lap. "Guess I'll have to sit here," she said loopily.
"No! Come sit here," Robin complained, patting her own lap.
Mickey ignored her protests, curling up on Steve's lap which he accepted gratefully, wrapping his arm around her waist. "Sit wherever. Just don't go anywhere," Dustin told them, as slow as if he was explaining it to elementary schoolers.
"Fine, Dad," Mickey muttered, making Robin giggle.
Steve woke back up slowly, running his fingers through Mickey's hair. "You're pretty," he murmured.
