Fourth of July ✸ S. Harrington ³ - ON HOLD

PROLOGUE / was it all a disguise?

"Oliver!" he heard his sister call. Slipping on the last of his jewelry and fluffing his hair, he called back to her, "coming!" Oliver Wheeler, the oldest of the children (and only half related to the others, we'll get into that later,) was running late for the first day of work. As far as he knew, there were only two other people working the summer at Scoops Ahoy, an ice cream shop inside of Hawkins' most recent wonder, Starcourt mall.

Scooping ice cream for spoiled kids and burnt out adults wasn't Oil's ideal summer before his senior year, but at least he would be making money. He slipped on his shoes, running down the stairs and practically flying out of the door. He threw himself into the passenger seat, Nancy already seated behind the wheel. His younger brother poked his head out from the back seat. "So since you work at Scoopys Ahoy now can I get free ice cream?" Oliver rolled his eyes and reached back to shove the younger boy's shoulder. Mike let out a loud complaint, causing both of his older siblings to groan.

The drive was short, as always in a small town. The Wheelers stepped out of the car and made their way inside the mall. Nancy was shopping for clothes and Mike said something about meeting up with his friends. Oliver had noticed that the group had expanded over the last year, and somehow he and Nancy seemed to be bonding more. The last few years had been interesting to say the least, but Oli felt more distant than he ever had. Feeling left out was a bit of a childish thing, especially for someone almost eighteen years old, but it seemed like the best way to phrase his emotions. And it wasn't just because he had a different mother than the rest of his siblings.

The fluorescent sign in front of the ice cream shop brought him back to reality, not expecting it to suddenly light up. A girl with somewhat short hair walked away from the light switch, and he noticed their similar uniforms. This must be my coworker. Wait, wasn't there two— A loud voice cut off his thoughts. One he knew all too well. "Ahoy there! Holy shit, is that you, Wheeler?" As much as he dreaded turning around, Oliver did so anyway.

There he was, the son of a bitch himself. Steve Harrington. "Steve! Wish I'd known you applied here too. Maybe I would've taken the job at the Gap instead," he mumbled the last part to himself. The girl gave a light snicker at Steve's puzzled face as the poor boy tried to figure out what he had said. "Huh?" Oli just rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Working to save up for your future student debt?" he asked the recent graduate of Hawkins High with a light smirk. The brunette shook his head. "Gap year. Figuring out what I'm gonna do, you know?"

Oliver exchanged a look with the unknown girl. "You graduated highschool...without a career plan...?" The ravenette asked slowly. Steve gave an enthusiastic nod. "Okay then..."
The short haired girl cleared her throat awkwardly. "I'm Robin by the way," she playfully saluted with two fingers. Oli took notice of the slight rasp in her voice, smiling softly. "Oliver, or Oli. Either works." They exchanged a smile. Oliver could tell they'd be good friends. She seemed like a cool person. "I'm Steve. Harrington," the other boy added at the end. The girl — Robin — nodded. Oliver assumed she was aware of Steve's existence due to the whole "king of Hawkins High" thing. The three got to know each other for a bit, talking and telling stories.

At some point, last names got brought up. "Mine's Buckley," Robin shrugged. "Could be worse so I don't really mind it." Oliver nodded. The girl tilted her head slightly. "Steve said something about you being a Wheeler, right? You're Nancy's brother? Or twin technically, because you're the same age." Oliver sighed. "Not technically. Long story short, my dad cheated and Karen stayed with him to support herself and Nance. My mom up and left without really saying anything so she adopted me when I was about fifteen," he explained briefly. His awkward family tree was not his favorite subject, so he never put much detail into explaining it. Robin nodded, eyes flickering towards the counter.

A group of girls that looked to be around their age walked up, smacking their pink bubble gum and clicking their heels against the tiled floor. This quickly caught the attention of Steve Harrington, eyes immediately drawn to the sway of their hips. He walked over to the counter with a flirtatious smirk. "Ahoy ladies! What can I get for you today?" Oliver snorted out a laugh, causing Robin to giggle softly.

This was going to be a long summer.

HEATHER SPEAKS !

i am SO excited for this!!
i hope you guys enjoyed the prologue! i've decided to challenge myself to finish a chapter before i can post the previous one to keep me motivated, and so far it's working! i'll try to get chapter one out asap <3
something that also helps me stay motivated it's votes and comments! don't be a ghost reader (please, i will cry)
love you guys and i hope y'all have a wonderful day/night <3