A Deal With God

Chapter 27: Outside Influence

Hopper went straight to Starcourt from Melvald's. It was Friday morning, so he could reasonably avoid going to the police precinct until after lunch. He made his way through the mall, up the escalator, and then left to get to the Starbucks. It was pretty quiet at this time of the day, lunch not being for another hour after all. His eyes scanned the members of staff present but Quinn wasn't amongst them. Perhaps she hadn't arrived yet or maybe she was in the back. Either way, he decided to get a simple drip coffee and claimed the booth closest to the pick-up counter to wait and see.

A couple of weeks ago, the manager, Dorine, rang him to say that Quinn was doing an excellent job and that she was glad she had taken a chance on the girl that day. (Not that there had been an option to decline, she recalled.) He was pleased to hear it, relieved that at least one of the super-powered teens in his care was staying mostly out of trouble. She was still hanging out with the Hargrove boy, and they tended to scuffle with others from time to time. No one ever pressed charges against them though; it would require having to admit that they'd had their asses handed to them by a girl.

While the idea of Quinn getting involved with boys had struck Hopper that night she and Billy were brought into the station, Billy's assurances and actions put Hopper's mind at ease that he wasn't doing anything with her, and that he was also preventing others from trying to do anything with her. The thought left his mind entirely when Mike and El started spending an unhealthy amount of time together, but it shouldn't have. Quinn was growing into a young woman, and she was entitled to hope for romantic companionship just like anybody else.

He'd only just started sipping his coffee when the door leading to the back slammed open, Quinn emerging, looking sharp in her uniform with a look on her face that could kill. Somewhere since breakfast, the 'sad' Joyce had told him about had turned into the 'mad' he was expecting all along. Seeing as he had picked the booth against the back wall, closest to the espresso machine, there was absolutely no option of slipping out unnoticed.

Her eyes met his as she approached her station. She didn't stop in her tracks at the sight of him, instead she did a little spin, looking up at the ceiling in exasperation before turning to the espresso machine.

"Morning," he said, trying to start off a bit more civilly than he did the previous day.

"What now?" She questioned, skipping over the pleasantries entirely. She swung the doors of the low-boy fridge located under the espresso machine with more force than was necessary and started checking that she was fully stocked on dairy products for the shift ahead.

"I just wanted to check that everything was okay," Hopper said, sliding out of the booth and going to stand against the counter so that they could talk without others hearing.

"Everything's fine," she bit out as she slammed the two doors of the fridge closed.

"You sure?" Hopper pressed.

"Just ask your question," she said, rolling her eyes as she moved on to cutting the top off a bag of coffee beans to refill the giant grinder ahead of the post-lunch rush.

"It's none of my business," Hopper pretended to yield, knowing that would get a reaction out of her.

"No, it isn't, is it," she whispered harshly, turning to face him. "And yet, you had no problem butting in yesterday."

"Hear me out—"

"This is not a conversation we should be having here," she stated, giving him a pointed look before she turned back to her setup, her lips pursed in annoyance and...disappointment?

"I take it my 'interruption' screwed things up," he deduced, judging by her mixed expression and Joyce informing him that she was down about something earlier.