Any Time At All

Chapter Eleven

It's nine o'clock and you are just leaving Mike's house. You go to the front and touch the handle but your head whips around when you hear Nancy speed down the stairs and call your name. She approaches you and laughs when she stops to catch her breath. She isn't very athletic, that much you had grasped.

"Hey, Nancy," you awkwardly spit the words out of your mouth. You haven't talked to her since the month your mother died.

"I haven't seen you around here in a while. How are you?" She looks at you with her doe eyes. She instinctively tucks her hair behind her ear.

"I'm doing a lot better, thanks for asking," you say cheerfully. Your change in tone and behavior surprises Nancy. You smile at her and she smiles back at you.

"I am so glad to here that! I've missed you a lot," She wraps her arms around her torso and you walk up to her and hug her. She is taken back by this and but quickly falls into the warm and familiar hug.

"I've missed you too Nance and I'm sorry that I completely dropped you and Barb as friends," Your smile disappears and a serious face replaces it. "You and your mom took care of me after my mo-" you stop to wipe away a few tears. You take in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Your hands are starting to sweat as they are clamped together. "-after my mom died. You guys were so sweet and I shut you out."

"(Y/N), hey, it's okay. I completely understand. We're all just glad to have you back," she says and hugs you again. She pulls away but leaves her hands on your shoulders. She looks at you and smiles, "So when are we gonna go shopping again?" You both giggle and you say goodnight to her after you tell her you will call her tomorrow to make plans for future hang outs.

The next day, you sleep in past the time you would usually wake up for school. The sun shines through your blinds and your curtains are already drawn from the previous day. You stir around in your bed. The cotton from your comforter rubs against your bare legs. It's so hot at night that all you wear is a tank top and shorts. Your fan rotates back and forth, hitting most parts of your room. The cool wind blows your hair back and out of your face. Your hair moving from your face tickles you and you movie your hand to sooth the discomfort. This wakes you up and your eyes squint with the light of your room. You rub your eyes and let out a loud yawn. The crackling of your walkie talkie interrupts you. "(Y/N), are you there? Over," Dustin asks. You reluctantly get out of bed and walk to your dresser. "Come on, (Y/N)-"

"Yeah, Dustin. I'm here," you mumble into the radio.

"You forgot to say over," Dustin says, clearly annoyed.

"What?"

"You have to say over so that I know you're done talking."

"Seriously? What do you want? I'm tired. Over," You close your eyes as you stand there talking into the walkie talkie. You think about how ridiculous you sound when you say 'over' at the end of your sentences.

"Come over to the arcade now! They've got a new game. We'll meet you there in ten minutes. Over and out," Dustin stops talking and you drop the walkie talkie back on the dresser. You get dressed and grab your keys before heading out the door.

You pull up to the arcade and can see the boys just arriving as you do. You put the car in park and hop out. "Hey guys!"

"Hey, (Y/N)," Will exclaims. They ride over and jump off of their bikes. You walk over to them with a smile and pull Will in for a side hug. You leave the daylight behind you and walk into the colorful arcade. Dustin runs over to the new game and pulls out his quarters. Mike, Will, and Lucas run off to do their own thing as well.

You look around the arcade and an idea comes to you. You walk up to one of the employees and give them a polite smile. "Hey there, I was wondering if you guys are hiring?"