Kapitel 47: 47. Lost in Melvald's (Steve and the kids)
A/N: Hey, guys! I'm starting to write Prompts again. I had a massive writer's block, just sitting in front of my laptop with still fingers and a frozen mind. I realize now that it's actually better for me to write on my iPhone's notes and then just correct the grammar mistakes on the computer. So... yeah. I have two in-process chapters, plus the 12th chapter of my other story 3SAH, so I'm trying to be a writing machine, but because this practically wrote itself, I wanted to post it so you wouldn't feel like I forgot about all of you.
This isn't anybody's Prompt, really, lol. But I saw it on Tumblr and I couldn't get it out of my head, so there's that. If anyone wanted some Steve + the kids, here you have it. I'm not sure if Poptarts were around by 1985 but I didn't do my usual research, so let's pretend they were. Also, I know Melvald's was just a small store and the grocery one was where El took all the Eggo's from and smashed the doors, but I wanted Joyce there, so new canon: Donald Melvald expanded his store and destroyed the competition, so his store is the main one in Hawkins now. Okay? Okay.
PROMPT: based on a post by 'themadzoomer' (the Poptarts one) and one where Lucas calls Steve about leaving them somewhere but I can't remember the author (sorry!)
It always reached a place when he wondered how in the hell did he get to this point.
"Hey, we're out of Poptarts!" Max exclaimed as soon as she saw him, standing with Will inside of his pantry.
"What?" Steve frowned, entering his kitchen with hands on his hips as he heard the other four laughing somewhere in the living room. "How did you get inside my house? You don't live here."
"Back door was open." Will dimpled at him, snacking on a bag of chips he'd grabbed when he realized he wasn't getting Poptarts.
"So what you're gonna do about the no Pop Tarts thing?" Max questioned with a raised eyebrow as she shook the empty blue container in the air.
He sighed with a groan, throwing his head back as the two teens high-fived each other, because by then they knew when their battle was won. "Let me go get the car keys. You two get the others. I had to do some grocery shopping anyways."
He somehow had acquired 6 children, and they proved to be a handful in more than one occasion. Like this one.
His parents, like all the time, were on a business trip. Honestly, it baffled him why they even bothered to tell him before they left. It wasn't like he wasn't used to it. He had practically raised himself (with a few nannies included), and by the time he was fourteen, he could look after himself on his own.
Which was the reason he got exasperated when something went wrong with the six pre-teens when they were under his supervision.
They were all fairly independent; they didn't need much taking care of, for starters, but they had a damn good amount of recklessness and lack of good judgment when it came to their safety.
A few months after he 'adopted' them had him discovering that by taking an injured Max to the hospital with a dislocated shoulder because Dustin had dared her to jump from the treehouse without using the ladder, which she did, because 'she was brave and what was a dislocated shoulder after 30 bucks she could spend on a new and better skateboard'.
Anyway, his current predicament wasn't as serious as a hospital rush, but it still made his heart stop when he noticed.
Getting the six of them inside his car was always a dispute; shotgun was for the first one to call it, and that was the rule. The trouble was in the backseat. Five bodies crammed in the back just wasn't an option for the ever-growing teenagers, so each took a turn on sitting on someone's lap; the good thing about it was that they rotated every time, so nobody could complain about "I carried you last time!"
That day Mike had ended up riding shotgun, his long legs stretched out in the space under the glovebox, and his long torso comfortably resting on the passenger seat.
Dustin and Lucas were heading down that path too; their legs and shoulders growing out into adult limbs, which made them harder to arrange in the backseat. Will, bless his petite structure, was still the smallest out of all the boys. That didn't mean he was still the short and skinny 12-year-old with a bowl cut. His arms and legs had thickened out, his face sharpening into boyish features, losing the puppy fat on his cheeks.
The girls had smaller frames, but that didn't stop them from fighting for a seat.
"Move your ass out of there or I swear to Stan Lee that I will bodily shove you, Mayfield." Dustin snapped, glaring into the car as the redhead did him one up and opened the door on the other side, stealing his seat while he was waiting for Lucas to move.
"You put one finger on me and you'll never have it back." She retorted in a heartbeat, the smug expression on her face not moving an inch, even when Lucas nudged her with his shoulder. "No! I beat him to it. He can suck it up or walk to the store."
"How about you suck—"
"How about all of you shut your mouths and hurry your asses up?" Steve interrupted with an annoyed glance over his shoulder, closing the door of the driver's seat. "We're only going to Melvald's, not Disneyland."
He heard them curse as they tried to fit themselves in the back, grunting and mumbling 'ouch's' when someone stepped on a limb. He shared an amused look with Mike, chuckling under his breath as they heard Will cry out.
"God's sake, El!"
"Shut up, she didn't do anything."
"Then why is her foot on my knee? I'm literally on the other side."
"There's no space back here, okay, Will? If my foot messes up your jeans, I'll clean them once we get out." The brunette said exasperated, her hand gripping the shoulder of Steve's seat while she sat on Max's lap and her leg dangled over Lucas' thighs.
"Can you drive over the speed limit, Harrington?" Dustin pleaded as he turned the engine on. "I don't want to be here for the rest of my life, and that probably won't last long if Will's hair keeps suffocating me."
"Besides, we have the Chief's daughter and an officer here," Max smirked. "I'm sure he would let it slip."
He laughed as he reversed from the driveway, Mike instantly taking over the radio and fumbling through the stations until he found one he liked.
"Oh, turn that up!" Will yelled excitedly, his face appearing in the middle of the front seats as he leaned in. "This is a good one, guys, I swear. Summer jam, for sure!"
They bobbed their heads to the beat, humming the catchy music and lyrics of "Take on Me" as they drove through the city, the occupants of the backseat sighing in relief once they made it to Melvald's.
Mike held the door open for Will and Dustin, laughingly fully out loud when the former was nearly pushed out by the curly haired boy.
"Ass." Will pouted, running his hands through his hairline to push the strands back, and Steve had the recurring thought again to lent him some of his tricks. Dustin had taken them in consideration, but after a few hits a misses, he decided his curls just weren't Farrah Fawcett material. But Will's straight hair... and with the length he was letting it be... he could make the kid a superstar for their sophomore year.
The six kids and their older guardian sighed in tune as they entered the store's conditioned coolness, the chilly air at the entrance ruffling their hair.
He took a cart, taking the list of things from his back pocket as the kids went to say hi to Joyce, who greeted them excitedly once she spotted them.
A bit later, they drifted to the back of his head as they spread out through the store. Lucas and Max, arm thrown over her shoulders as they laughed loudly, went to the sale section, taking plastic beach buckets and sand trucks with "oh, remember that one time..."
Will went straight to the music racks, eying discs and vinyls as he checked one after another with his fingers.
Mike and El accompanied Dustin to the food aisles, giggling as he complained about being stuck "third Wheeling for Wheeler."
He crossed those three by the cookies and junk food aisle, shooting them an annoyed glance as they shoved more than 3 large bags of chips inside the cart, along with two packets of buttered popcorn and a box of cake mix. "Anything else?" He asked with a roll of his eyes.
"Oh, Eggo's!" El exclaimed in alarm, her eyes widening as she took off for the frozen aisle.
He chuckled as he watched her go, her hair swaying in the air as she ran, and he looked back to tease Mike a bit to find both boys gone from his side.
He kept on with his list, crossing milk and cheese off when he got to the dairy isle, smiling and nodding at El when she requested strawberry Eggo's. That girl was as cute as a button. (And he was kind of scared to find out what she'd do if he said no to her).
Some girls from his past days at high school entered the store, and channeling his younger self, he flirted left and right, smirking to himself when one of them plucked his grocery list out of his hand and wrote her number on the back of the paper, letting the other two do the same.
That took him to a trip down memory lane, remembering his past conquests and how Nancy had ruined his old thirst for hook ups. She was doing fine; they still spoke sometimes on the phone, when she was home for break or when he couldn't get her voice out of his head. But she was a star out of his reach now. Jonathan Byers had snatched the girl, and he had to respect that. They were clearly smitten, and he promised himself to do as he'd said when he told Nancy to follow her heart, to seek happiness, even if it wasn't with him anymore.
Sighing, he shook his head, trying to blow the cloud of sadness out of it as he entered the check-out line, placing things on the band.
"Are you okay, Steve?" Joyce asked kindly, giving him a small smile as she started passing the items through the scanner. "You're looking a little troubled."
"Every head is a world, right?" He grinned at her, brushing it off. "Or something like that."
She laughed, her bright eyes crinkling with amusement as she continued scanning his groceries, and he smiled to himself when he remembered the conversation he'd accidentally heard in the Station. He'd never heard Hopper like that, but it was long overdue, those two. He was happy for them. Now all he needed to do was wait for them to make it public so he could finally breathe in relief about being the one to find out. He was sure the looks Hopper kept on giving him weren't a coincidence.
"That'll be 34.67, sweetie." Joyce woke him up from his thoughts, the kind smile still on her lips.
He paid for his things, helping her putting them in plastic bags to hurry the process up, and then he was strolling out of the store. He opened the trunk of the BMW, placing the bags inside with a grunt as the handles dug into the skin of his forearms.
Once they were in order, he slammed the trunk closed and got inside the car, driving home.
He thought of calling or not calling those girls, trying to decide if any of them had caught his attention. That led him to a personal inspection of what he looked for in a girl, which understandably led to Nancy again. He nearly cried out in frustration from it, turning the volume of the radio up so he could drown his thoughts.
When he got home, he grunted again as he lifted the bags out of the trunk, keeping the door of his house open with a kick of his foot, cursing himself for buying so much crap. He really didn't know why he bought so much stuff every time he went grocery shopping. It's not like his parents were home for long, or if he ate his feelings in with carbs. Which he considered for a second, staring at the multiple bags of chips he was putting away in the pantry, but decided not to, reminding himself that a healthy body was a healthy mind.
He was in the middle of that, when the phone rang; he frowned as he realized the sound was too loud in the too silent house.
"Hello?" He answered, uncapping a fresh bottle of water and taking a sip.
"Hey, did you get all the groceries?" It was Lucas, his voice smooth and inquisitive.
Steve frowned, trying to put his finger on the new sensation in his chest. "Uh, yeah, I think so."
"Aren't you forgetting something?" There was definitely something hinting in Lucas' voice, which told him he was forgetting something.
He paused, racking his brain as he did a rewind of the past hour, which made him groan out loud when he realized he had forgotten the whole reason he went grocery shopping.
"Oh, no!" He face-palmed, throwing the pantry an annoyed look. "I forgot the Poptarts. Great, now I have to go back—"
The other line went static for a second before a new, familiar voice was yelling on his ear. "No, you fluffy haired idiot! You forgot us!"
"Oh, shit!" He actually gasped, his eyes growing the size of plates as Max continued yelling at him. "Shit, Max! Oh, God, I'm sorry! Are you still at Melvald's?!" He wanted to run, but the phone cord would snap in two and he wouldn't even make it to the door, so he waited impatiently for her to answer, bouncing on his feet.
"Yeah, duh. Where do you think we're calling you from? Mrs. Byers let us use the phone."
"Okay, wait for me, I'm coming to get you! Don't go anywhere else or talk to any stranger while I'm not there, you understand me?!" He didn't even wait for her answer, hanging the phone up and sprinting to the door with his keys secured in his pocket.
Giving into Dustin's wish (even though his poor boy wasn't in the car with him), he sped through the city again, shaking his head in disbelief at the situation. How in the hell had he forgotten about his kids? What the actual fuck? See? That's what happened when Nancy took over his mind. He needed to get some help. Next time he'd be leaving them in the movies after hours and the poor children would have to sleep there. Who knew what kind of people slept in the movie theater after dark. He'd heard some rumors about hobos and criminals, and he did not want the kids near any of that (not that they hadn't been near criminals before, but he didn't like talking about 1983 or 1984).
He got back to Melvald's in record time, sighing in relief when he spotted Mike's tall frame hovering inside by the door and Max's fiery hair through the windows.
"What the hell, man?" Lucas frowned, crossing his arms as they stood up from their place on the floor, Max walking away the minute he got inside.
El was visually upset, her lips in a sad pout as Mike hugged her to himself; Dustin was calmly sipping from a slushie, hands moist with condensation as Will leaned against the check-out band.
"I know, I know, I'm an idiot." Steve closed his eyes in exasperation, passing a hand through his hair as Joyce watched him with an amused grin. "I'm sorry Joyce. I just—"
"Told you so; you seemed troubled. But hey," she held her hands in the air, a teasing glint in her eyes. "Every head is a world, right?"
"You're paying for this, by the way." Dustin shook his slushie, slurping it until he was finished with a loud sucking noise and passing the empty container to him.
"And for this," Max said as she came back. She deposited various boxes of Poptarts on the check-out band, each a different flavor as she hip-shoved Will aside. "We came here for Poptarts and you left without them and without us. Seriously, Harrington, where is your head at today?"
"Not on my shoulders, apparently." He sighed, sending them all an apologetic grimace as he took his wallet out.
He paid for their stuff, handing the plastic bag containing the Pop Tarts to Dustin once they were done. Waving goodbye at Joyce, they left the store.
"You okay?" Steve asked Eleven, reaching out for her when he noticed she was still slumping.
"Yeah, I just got a little bit scared." She shrugged, a soft smile shifting on her lips once he squeezed her shoulder.
"Me too, El. I don't know why I left without you guys, but I promise it won't happen again."
"Okay." She smiled, bumping her hip with his and giggling when he bumped back.
"SHOTGUN!" Max and Will screamed at the same time, running to the BMW once they realized they were each other's competition.
Steve chuckled, unlocking the car and watching the pair struggle with the door, fighting between them as Dustin got inside the backseat.
"Shotgun." He said simply, sliding into the passenger's seat while Max and Will continued to pull the door between them.
"Hey, that's not fair!" Will exclaimed as Max huffed and rolled her eyes behind him.
"I called it since we left the house, and since you guys were too busy fighting, I took the chance. Better luck next time, William." Dustin snickered, grabbing the door's handle and closing it, leaving a glaring Will on the other side.
"Just get in, Will," Lucas sighed tiredly, gesturing with a hand as he waited outside with Max while Mike was already sitting behind the driver's seat, El comfortably on his lap. "I'm carrying Max and we can't have the middle seat or we'll block Steve's view."
Grumbling, the younger Byers climbed inside, crossing his arms and glaring at El when she teasingly rested her foot on his knee.
"Chill out, Will." Mike laughed as Lucas closed the other door, Max's hands tugging on Dustin's curls from behind. "It's only for a moment. We're only going to Steve's, not Disneyland." He snickered, repeating Steve's words from earlier and receiving an unimpressed look from the older boy in return.
"Unless he decides to leave us in the middle of the road." Dustin said sarcastically.
"Yeah, I wouldn't put it past him now." Will finally gave in, chuckling with them as Steve rolled his eyes.
"I'm going to be the one in the middle of the road if you guys don't drop this."
"Do it," Max urged, a teasing smile on her face. "I can get us back to yours."
"Yeah, let her drive," El exclaimed with doe eyes, an excited grin on her lips. "I wasn't there when she did it."
"Yeah, that's a no." He met her gaze through the rear mirror, moving his eyes to Max's after. "I might have forgotten you at Melvald's, but I won't let you die in this car."
"Oh, c'mon, it wasn't that bad!" Dustin said.
"Yeah, he just doesn't remember because he'd just gotten his ass beat." The redhead snickered, making them all laugh at the memory of a bruised up Steve freaking out in the backseat while he was covered in rainbow band-aids.
"Oh, God, why do I keep hanging out with you assholes?" He groaned through their laughter, turning the volume of the radio up to drown them out while they continued to drive through the road.
He hated them sometimes, but he was glad they were always there.
Or at least until he left them somewhere else.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein