It's summer in Hawkins, Indiana. The days are short and bright, Morgan just waiting for it to end before she can leave for college. Steve gets her a job Scoops Ahoy, the ice cream parlor in the new Starcourt Mall that's slowly sucking the life out...
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"and it ought to make us feel ashamed when we talk like we know what we're talking about when we talk about love" -
WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LOVE by RAYMOND CARVER
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TRACK: [PLAY] Vacation by The Go-Go's
content warning: use of homophobic slur (d***)
MORGAN bikes down the street towards Steve's house, hands twisting nervously on the handlebars. The girl swallows once before blowing out the air in her lungs loudly, taking the final right turn. She was really hoping that the boy wasn't home, but knows that she had to talk to him about the kiss. She couldn't just ignore it.
She hadn't really talked to Robin or Steve a lot in the three months after Starcourt but knew that the two had formed some sort of friendship and were hanging out a lot. Morgan, on the other hand, did what she usually does and avoided the hell out of that entire situation. The girl definitely needed time after what happened but knew that the last couple of weeks was mainly her just avoiding talking to Steve.
Morgan wasn't sure what it was that made her talk to him today but she definitely attributed it to the massive pep talk/rant that Theo had given her on the phone the night before. She spent most of it disagreeing with him but eventually relented, knowing that the boy would probably come down on a weekend and force her to do it anyway.
Her bike skids slightly on the gravel as the girl presses the brakes, flicking the stand as she pushes it up onto Steve's driveway. The second car was gone, leaving the BMW that the boy usually drives, as Morgan assumes that his parents were away, again. For the entire time she'd known him (coming up two years), the girl had only met Steve's mom and dad about twice. It was something that pissed Morgan off but knew it wasn't her place to say anything.
She swallows again before taking a breath and throwing her hand out to knock on the door. Steve's voice breaks in from behind it, Morgan reaching a hand up to fiddle with the strap of her bag that was hanging off her shoulder. She bites her lip a little as the boy pulls open the door, his eyes widening at the sight of her. "Hey," her voice is breathy with a note of nervousness that Steve definitely picks up on, frowning a little.
"Hey...what're you doing here?" He lingers in the doorway, a hand braced against the frame. The boy was defensive, eyes flicking over her quickly. He had a right to be wary, they hadn't really talked in a while.
"I'm here to talk to you, about what happened," Morgan clarifies with a nod to herself, shifting her position a little involuntarily. As much as she was completely and absolutely terrified to do this, Steve deserved to know. At this, the boy blinks a few times in shock before nodding hesitantly, stepping to the side to let her pass. They both walk into the house, the girl stopping a little as she looks around the living room. "Your parents away?" She asks, but already knows the answer, Steve letting out a grunt of agreement.
