For some reason I have always assumed that this is Sandy's line, a reflection of his later bravery and an echo of Andrew's dialogue. Imagine my surprise when I went through it carefully and realised this has to be Laurie speaking. Interesting contrast. Has he been thinking about what Andrew said or is he just being polite to Sandy?
Week #6 Prompt: Ice Cream | Word Count: 2560 | Rating: T | POV: Chrissy | Characters: Chrissy, Eddie, Steve, Robin | Pairings: Platonic Stobin, Everything Else is Open to Interpretation (Steddie, Buckingham, Hellcheer, or Cheerscoops? Reader's Choice.) | CW: None | Tags: Pre-S3, Summer 1985, Scoops Ahoy, Chrissy's on a Break from Jason, Spontaneously Hanging Out, Different Crossing of Paths
Chrissy watches as one more tally is marked in the 'you suck' column, and she feels like maybe that's meant for her, too, not just Steve Harrington in his dumb little sailor hat. She dumped Jason, again, but knows it probably won't stick. It never does, and she's not even sure if she wants it to. She doesn't know what she wants, never has, and now she feels like maybe she never will.
Hence, the 'you suck' mentality that seems fitting tonight.
It's just that they've been together since freshman year, and well, she can't really imagine going into their last year without him. She isn't sure she even knows how to be just Chrissy anymore. She feels stagnant, and honestly, a little bit pigeonholed into these roles that have been selected for her: Jason's girlfriend. Cheer captain. Bubbly arm candy, expected to be full of pep all the damn time. Face plastered with a fake smile.
Tonight, she just wanted to turn off her brain for a few hours in the mindless bustle of the mall, and finding herself on the bench across from Scoops Ahoy, watching Robin Buckley endlessly needle Steve Harrington has been unexpectedly fun. People watching is always entertaining, but watching people you know, or at least, kind of know, is even better.
For the last hour, she's been mulling over the idea that maybe she could get Steve Harrington to take her out, just to make Jason jealous. Steve's reputation isn't what it once was, no longer King Steve, no longer even in high school, but he's still nice enough to look at. Even if he seems bound and determined to make an ass out of himself with every girl that crosses his path in the ice cream shop. He looks desperate now, and that's a marked change. His status as top dog waned in the last year, and she knows that Jason thought, briefly, that he'd maybe be able to grab the reins, the crown, but instead there was Billy Hargrove, ready to fight, and Jason backed down, easily.
If Jason wasn't gonna fight Steve for it, he certainly wasn't gonna try his luck against Billy.
Honestly, she'd always found it interesting that Steve never seemed to care all that much that his reign was over. There was no death gasp, no struggle to stay in charge. He walked away, and looked relieved to be out, honestly.
She feels that. Might want it for herself.
Maybe Steve Harrington could teach her how he did it, give her a peek behind the curtain of what happens after.
And if that makes Jason jealous, it'll be a bonus. Jason would probably still be threatened by the idea of the Harrington name. It still carries weight, even if Steve has fallen from the popular pedestal.
The ice cream shop is empty now, nearing closing time, and if she's gonna do it, she's gotta do it now.
She starts to stand up, to test the waters to see if he even acts interested at all, when there's suddenly a commotion and falling and flailing and a jangle of metal as the guy she just fucking tripped crashes to the ground. Hard.
He groans, and she immediately reaches for his arm, "I am so sorry! I didn't see you!"
He rolls over onto his back, and her eyes widen. Eddie Munson. Shit. Damnit. As if there could be a scarier guy for her to trip like a klutz, because he's gonna be in her class next year. She definitely wasn't looking to make an enemy out of him.
You don't want Eddie Munson's mouth pointed in your direction, unless you like to be screamed at from atop a lunch table, and Chrissy most definitely does not.
"Oh my god, are you oka-?" she starts to ask, but then Robin and Steve are both hovering over him, too.
"Man, that was a hit," Steve says, reaching down to grasp Eddie's hand, yanking him roughly to his feet, "Cunningham got you good. I wish I could see the security footage, because I bet it's a doozy."
"Thanks, Harrington," Eddie says dryly, back on his feet and brushing himself off.
"I am really sorry," Chrissy stresses, and Eddie looks at her, and gives her a little smile.
"It's okay, I wasn't paying attention," Eddie says, his cheeks a little flushed, like he's embarrassed. She wasn't sure that was possible. Not from the same guy that stands on lunch tables, or the bleachers, or shimmies up onto the roof over the exterior walkway between school buildings, pacing, screaming down at everyone at the top of his lungs, at least once a week.
She's pretty sure he spends more time in detention, ISS or OSS than anyone else in the whole student body.
And he's gonna do it all again next year, with her class.
"Obviously you weren't paying attention," Robin snarks, and Chrissy laughs, relieved when Eddie does, too. Maybe he's not as mean and scary as she thought he was.
"Can I buy you some ice cream? To make up for it?" Chrissy offers, tucking her hair behind her ear, like he might tell her to fuck off.
And Eddie does look suspicious at her offer, even if it's totally sincere. She wants to apologize, and Steve and Robin are right here, ready to serve said ice cream, so it seems like the most logical solution for an apology.
"Gotta eat it quick," Steve says, "we close in five."
"And we got places to be," Robin adds.
"Together?" Eddie asks, looking between them, and Chrissy kind of does the same.
"Maybe," Robin says, "what's it to you?"
"Nothing, nothing at all, Buckley," Eddie answers, "I just didn't think Harrington was your type."
"And you know what my type is?" Robin asks, arching her eyebrow, a challenge.
"Pretty sure I do," he answers, scurrying along behind her, "and it's not Harrington."
"Hey!" Steve snaps, like this is the most offensive thing he's ever heard, "I'm a catch."
"Sure you are, Popeye," Robin says, and Chrissy smiles as she watches the three of them banter and volley back and forth, all the way back to the counter.
Steve grabs the ice cream scoop, twirls it in his hand, and looks right at Eddie, "Alright. What'll it be?"
Eddie is looking down into the glass case, trying to make a decision, so Chrissy buys him some extra time, saying, "I'll take a scoop of peanut butter chocolate swirl."
"Sounds good," Eddie chimes in, "make it two."
Maybe he can't read? Is that why he keeps flunking high school? Oh my god, no way.
Steve scoops them up both cones, and hands them over, "There. Go forth. Set sail on your ocean of flavor. Goodnight."
She tries to hand Steve some money, and he just waves her off, closing up the ice cream freezers behind the counter.
"Well, Harrington, you've got me curious. Where are you two off to in such a rush?" Eddie asks, licking his cone, not budging from in front of the counter, and Chrissy notices that Steve's watching Eddie eat the ice cream intently, before his eyes slide back upwards.
Steve rolls his eyes, "If you must know, we're going to see Cocoon, and it starts in," and Steve looks at his watch, "nine and half minutes. So…" he trails off, making a shooing motion with both of his hands. Dismissing them. Chrissy can take the hint.
Eddie can't, apparently.
"The one about the old people? Maybe you should have given me the black walnut," Eddie says, pointing to the tag in front of him, "that seems more appropriate."
So, he can read, definitely, and she feels stupid for thinking he couldn't. She's seen him read, a lot, off in corners of the school, like a bear they'd all rather let lie than poke with a stick.
Steve just shakes his head, so Eddie keeps talking, "Isn't that the movie made by Opie? And you're gonna pay to see it?" Eddie asks, looking curious, tongue darting out to lick another stripe off the cone.
"Well, not exactly," Robin says, and Steve cuts her a look that Chrissy tries to decipher. "Can you keep a secret?"
"Yes," Chrissy says.
"No," Eddie says at the same time.
And they all laugh, which makes Eddie smile and it's a nice smile. Definitely not so scary, after all. He seems so normal, and it delights her for some reason. Like she's gotten to see behind the mask.
"Do you have anywhere to be?" Steve asks, looking between the both of them, and they both just shake their heads no. Because she doesn't, and now she's curious.
"Great," Steve says, as he pulls down the gate at the front of the store, locking everything up and turning off the lights, before he herds them towards the employees only break room, hidden behind the swinging door.
"Wait here," Steve says, and then both him and Robin disappear, leaving her alone with Eddie Munson, eating ice cream, in the back of Scoops Ahoy. It's definitely an odd place to find herself, she must admit.
"Well, that was weird," Eddie says, "Harrington and Buckley. That's the unlikeliest duo I've ever seen."
"Is that so?" Chrissy asks, motioning between the two of them, and Eddie laughs, really laughs.
"Okay. You just had to one up me," he says, smiling at her. "And after trying to kill me. I see how you are."
"I'm really sorry I tripped you, I didn't mean to," she says, taking a bite of her cone.
"I know. It's fine. I'm like a cat, nine lives and all that. Just didn't get the landing on my feet part," Eddie answers, and Steve comes banging through the doors, in his regular clothes. Robin follows, out of her sailor suit as well.
And Chrissy notices that she's funky. Her style, anyway, with her hair piled messily up on her head. It makes Chrissy feel a little uncool in her dress, which is crazy. Of the two of them, Chrissy knows she's definitely the one considered popular. But Robin Buckley? She looks cool in a way Chrissy knows she'll never be. In comparison, Chrissy feels like a child dressed for church, not a teen hanging out in the mall. Pretty, maybe, but not cool.
But Robin with her smudged eyeliner, rolled jeans and shoes she's written all over, is pretty and cool.
Chrissy can absolutely see why Steve Harrington would be interested in spending time with her, outside of work, looking like this.
"Okay, you're done with those," Steve says, taking the cones from both of their hands, dropping them in the trash can, and they don't even have the time to argue, it's too abrupt and weird.
But Steve wheels his arm around, motioning for them to hurry up, and they both get up and follow, like this is a normal thing to do.
"We found this right after we started working here," Robin says, as Steve leads them up to a door off of the blank, white hallway.
"Follow me in with confidence, like you belong," Steve insists, and then he's gone, through the door, and they all follow.
And it leads into the movie theater hallway. They're right inside, having bypassed the ticket booth. Holy shit. She's never done anything like this in her whole life, and it's a little bit thrilling. Sneaking around. She giggles, and Steve leads them to the right theater and they find an empty row.
"I didn't know you had it in you, Harrington," Eddie says, leaning over to talk to him over both her and Robin, like this is the weirdest double date in the world.
Honestly, she thinks if you'd thrown the name of every kid at Hawkins High in a hat, and drew names, she's not sure you could have come up with a weirder grouping than the four of them.
But here they are, and it's been kinda fun, honestly.
"There's lots of things you don't know about me, Munson," Steve retorts, and Robin laughs, "We need popcorn. I'll be right back."
And then he's gone, leaving the three of them that will all be seniors next year. She's nervous. Steve, she knows, just by running in the same circles. They both play sports, she's cheered for him since she was a freshman. He doesn't make her uncomfortable at all.
But these two? She's probably never said a word to either of them before tonight, and she's gone to school with Robin Buckley forever.
"So, class of '86," Chrissy says, and then feels embarrassed because that's kind of a dumb thing to say.
"Yep," Robin answers.
"I don't know, I haven't decided if I'll stop with '86 or keep going. '87? '88? They might be better classes than yours. No reason to rush into this graduation year decision," Eddie says, and they both laugh.
"Most people don't shop around for those, you know?" Robin says. "You get what you get."
"And you don't throw a fit," Chrissy adds, parroting the saying she's heard her entire childhood.
There's no time for Eddie to banter back, because the lights dim, as the previews pop onto the screen, and the projectionist tracks it until it is centered.
Steve comes back just in time, handing her and Robin both containers of popcorn. She says thanks, Robin doesn't. Chrissy tilts hers towards Eddie, and he takes a handful, and they all settle in for a movie she hadn't planned to see, with people she never could have imagined spending the evening with.
But it's fun. Eddie has running commentary, Steve keeps asking Robin stupid questions, getting her all riled up, and when the credits roll, Chrissy's a little sad it's over.
Walking out of the mall, they all sort of linger for a second before going their separate ways. Robin grabs her bike from the rack, as Steve takes off across the parking lot towards his familiar car. Eddie follows her, and she realizes she isn't scared.
When they get to her car, he just holds her car door open for her, bowing dramatically before running off, hip-checking Steve on his way by, sending Steve off-balance. Chrissy smiles as Steve hollers something she couldn't hear after Eddie, and she keeps grinning as she tracks Eddie all the way to a van parked off by itself.
In the driver's seat of her own car, she follows both of the boys out of the lot. Steve turns on his blinker, and eases out, clearly planning to follow slowly behind Robin on her bike, and Chrissy thinks that's sweet, before Eddie barrels out from behind Steve, music blaring as he's zooming around Steve and Robin, leaving them with a friendly honk and a cloud of smoke.
She can see that they both wave at him, and she smiles to herself. Nobody would ever believe her if she told them who she spent her evening with, and especially not if she told them how much fun it had been.
She turns in the opposite direction, towards home, and takes one last look in the rearview mirror, wanting proof that this wonderfully weird night actually happened.
It did, it really did, and Chrissy smiles as they get smaller and smaller behind her, before disappearing totally into the darkness.
If you want to write your own, or see more entries for this challenge, pop on over to @astrangersummer and follow along with the fun! 🍨
A dog friendly brewery and a canine bakery should be a match made in heaven, shouldn't it?
At a yearly canine festival, Louis discovers that Clifford has a thing for a certain bakery's treats.
in my defense, the moon was full and i was left unsupervised
evan buckley, better known as buck to his friends, was not your typical firefighter. he was pureblood werewolf.
that meant that he was born with the gene and could control when he shifted into his wolf form. so he wasn't nearly as cynical about or wary of himself like those that were turned.
people came to realize that he channeled the more puppy-like side of being a canine. he was energetic and playful, both in and out of wolf form -- though, when needed, he was the protector.
but he prefered the cuddles and the petting and the playing.
his career is saving lives and completely based on his need for adrenaline in his life, he wanted to be able to escape the every once in awhile.
so, after exciting days or days where everything just seemed to go wrong... he shift and curl up with you until he was ready to talk and then he'd shift back and talk to you
then on somedays he was just a complete ball of energy and you'd have to go to the park so he wouldn't knock everything of the table, or go on a hike -- buck loves hikes
he loves you the most though 😉
I swear every week gets better and better. You're all amazing. 😍
Prompt for Week Six:
Unraveled.
What's unraveling? Reality? Someone's sanity? Their reasons not to be together? Their clothes? (*cough* who said that?). Once again - you get to choose!
The Rules Are Simple:
Every Friday until the Season 3 premiere, I'll post a prompt.
You will have a week to write, draw, paper craft, record, completely scrap and start from the beginning after a crisis of confidence (oh, is that just me?), and post your interpretation of the prompt.
Tag your post #IneffablePromptAThon, #IneffablePAT #Ineffable Prompt-A-Thon, and/or #IPAT. Make sure to use them on Tumblr, X, IG, and AO3 so everyone can easily find your works!
Also tag your posts and AO3 with the Week Number and the Prompt, so we can all tell which prompt your creation accompanies.
Tag me @ineffablyruined in all of your posts, too, so I can reblog!
Add your contribution to the Ineffable Prompt-A-Thon collection on AO3 for this week. Link is below!
Look for the next prompt. Rinse. Repeat.
HAVE FUN!
This is meant to be zero stress. If you can't do a week, that's completely fine! Prompt not working for you? Skip it. Going to be late? No worries at all!
It is just meant to be a fun outlet to get your creative juices flowing and keep the fandom well-fed with copious amounts of fic and fun until our Ineffable Duo makes their return to our screens (whenever that may be).
There is no length requirement, no rating requirement, no timeline requirement. It can be canon-compliant, AU, crossover, whatever tickles your fancy, as long as it's Good Omens related and incorporates the prompt. It's all Tickety-Boo!
SHOUTOUT to @interesting-egg who takes my inability to make decisions in stride and helps me pick which of my pile of prompts to use for the week.
If you want to be tagged in the posts, let me know!
Link to this week's collection:
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
