Tension (Steve Harrington)

Chap. 23; Night At The Theater

Lauren was in a better mood than usual, and she was enjoying the weather. She walked into the movie theater she had just officially finished her training. Having an actual job was not as fun as babysitting. She likes not having to go in every day. She liked making connections with the kids.

At the theater, the only person she's ever talked to was Robin, who'd been sick all week. Lauren pulled open the staff door and made her way to the backroom closest thing to put down her bag. She just set the bag on the ground and walked up to the front counter. She looked at the man passing out tickets and wiped her eyes.

"Fuck me." She said under her breath. She rolled her eyes and got behind the counter. Once the family left with their snacks Lauren immediately asked, "Tell me you don't work here now." He looked at her not knowing she was there. He looked at her with an annoyed look.

"Oh, fuck me." He rolled his eyes. "I don't."

"Then why the hell are you here?"

Things had been more or less back to normal between the two. The same, tension there had been for the entirety of time they had known each other. The same tension they thought may have been released with everything that happened. Alas, Lauren went back to ignoring his stupid remarks in class. Steve continues to annoy her when he would tell her not to scratch her back and that the scars were still healing. He may have been right but it didn't mean she wanted to listen to him.

"I'm covering for Gavin, nobody that actually works here could." Her arms crossed on her chest leaning on the counter.

"Well, I'm here now Harrington so you can leave." She waved her hand to get him away.

"I can't just leave."

"Why? I'll be fine, nobody even comes past seven anyways." She sat down on one of the stools at the stand. He sat down on the other stool. Lauren knew he wasn't leaving so he just accepted it.

The lobby was empty considering there were only two showing at the time and it was movies that had been out for a while. Steve dropped fifty cents on the counter and grabbed a box of Dots. Lauren looked at him with straight disgust. "That's just nasty."

"What?"

"Dots." She laughed as she nodded to the box. ''Of all the candy in there, you pick gumdrops?" She said with the same disgust that had never left her face. Only growing especially when he put one in his mouth.

"Well, what would you have grabbed?" Lauren shrugged looking through the glass. She looked at all the candy. All of the Milk Duds, Snow Caps, Swedish fish, Junior Mints, all the boxed candy Lauren didn't hate but wouldn't particularly like. Her eyes ran over the green and rainbow box of her childhood candy.

"I don't know, probably some Sprees." Steve looked at her with a disgusted face.

"And my Dots are gross." Lauren returned the look but not disgusted by his horrible pick of candy but by his utter ignorance.

"Are you just saying or?" He shrugged seeing as she was right.

"Yeah, pretty much I've never really had them."

"Why, they are single-handedly the best creation on this earth." Lauren placed her hand on the counter for support and reached under the counter. She grabbed a box of Sprees she came up and ran her fingers through her hair to get it out of her face. "I mean maybe not the best. Like they're not as good as Carmellos or like other chocolate. Wait I can't complain them to chocolate I need to complain them to something more similar like umm-" Lauren racked her brain for a moment. "I mean there kinda like the fruit candy but like those are nothing compared to the-"