Inspired by the show 6teen. Available to watch on YouTube for free.

Having a job at the mall wasn't the worst thing in the world, Louie thought.

Sure, he had to deal with the Karens and Kevins of the world. Stupid people who made even stupider demands of him, the humble retail employee. But there were benefits. For one he didn't have to come in a back entrance to go to work. He could just walk through the front doors of the mall. There was also the fact that his brothers worked in the same place, which made things even easier. One drop-off, one pick-up. That wasn't even mentioning the fact that Webby and June worked at the mall as well.

Currently, things were pretty dead, so he was standing behind the register while he waited for customers to come in. Their store mostly sold books, movies, CDs, and a variety of toys and board games. He let out a sigh of boredom.

"Excuse me?"

He looked up to see a bear woman approaching. She had blonde hair up in a bun and a low-cut top.

"Yes, ma'am?" he asked.

"How much for this?" She held up a book he recognized from May's room—a Player's Handbook.

"Twenty-five. You're gonna need more than that, though."

"My son wants to start playing. What else does he need?"

"Just some dice. We sell them over on those shelves. You also may want to find him a group because it can be hard to learn on your own."

"Oh, you play?"

"Yeah. It's fun." He got himself into pitch mode. "Actually, ma'am, your best bet would be to get him one of our big sets of dice. And a starter kit. It'll help him get started in the best way possible. A little more pricy, but if he can get into this game it's worth it."

"Thank you, young man!" She smiled. "I'll go over and look at the sets now."

She went off and he sighed. Without fail she came back within five minutes and dropped fifty bucks between the book, the kit, and the dice. Then she was gone. He checked his watch—still fifteen minutes left on his shift.

"You got a date?" asked his manager Greg. Greg was a balding duck in his forties.

"Yeah, later."

"Still dating that June girl from the skate shop?"

Louie blushed a little. Even after five-and-a-half months of dating he still got flustered when people asked him about June. He supposed it came from the whole thing still not feeling real. Greg gave him a smile.

"Honestly, Louie, you can go early if you want."

"Wait, really?"

"Sure! You're one of my best workers. I can handle things until your replacement gets here."

"Thanks, Greg."

"No problem. Go clock out."

He quickly went and grabbed his backpack in the back, shoving his lanyard into it and throwing on his hoodie. A goodbye was said to Greg and he headed out into the massive Duckburg-St. Canard Mall. It was a true marvel, even having a small amusement park within its walls. Normally when he got off work he'd go to the food court to meet up with everyone else, but he knew June's shift didn't end for another ten minutes and she wasn't far away. She was busy with a customer, so he slipped behind a shelving display and watched as the guy talked to her.

"You're not hearing me." He crossed his arms. "I want someone who actually knows something about skateboards. Not some little girl."

"I'm sorry sir," she replied. Louie smirked from behind the display. "My manager is in the back. I can go get her for you."

"No. Isn't there a man I can speak to?"

"I'm afraid not. Currently it's only me and my manager. If you'll come back tomorrow there should be someone more suited to your sensibilities."

"Finally. Thank you. I'll come back tomorrow." He stomped out of the store and Louie slid out from behind the shelves. June had her head on the counter where she'd rested it after the idiot left, not looking up as he approached.

"I'm afraid I'm not interested in anything, miss," he told her. "Unless, of course, it's your phone number."

She looked up, looking like she wanted to laugh and groan at the corny pickup line.

"Louie, I thought you were done at three."

"Greg let me out early. Coolest manager ever."

"Well, I'm not done for another few minutes." She narrowed her eyes. "I'm not blowing off work."

"I figured. I just came to watch my drop-dead gorgeous girlfriend in action."

"Aw."

"June, I don't pay you to flirt," Jenny the manager stated, sticking her head out of the back room.

"Sorry, ma'am," Louie called. "I was the one doing the flirting. Don't blame her."

He gave his usual charming smile and the twenty-something quickly disappeared again. June had to stifle a laugh. She then checked her watch and saw the time, which was my-damn-shift-is-over o'clock.

"I'll be back in a minute. Gotta clock out."

"I'll be waiting."

Within five minutes they were on their way to the food court, where Webby was working her shift at The Lemon. Dewey, Huey, and Gosalyn were already there, sitting and talking. Gosalyn waved at her female best friend as they approached.

"Hey, any luck for you guys finding jobs?" June asked, taking her seat.

"Not yet," sighed Dewey.

"Wait, I thought you were working at that burger place," Louie replied.

"Got fired. Apparently, I was 'too overzealous', whatever that means."

"I told you that every job has a probationary period," Huey groaned. "If you want to last you have to make it through that by playing by the rules."

"Dewey Duck does not play 'by the rules'."

"What about you, Gos?" June inquired.

"I… got hired somewhere."

"Really? Where?"

"I'm not saying." She avoided everyone's gazes. "I hate it but it's money. And while Dad's stipend from S.H.U.S.H is nice, I figured I need to start helping out as soon as possible."

"Does he know where you work?"

"No. And he never will."

"So, this won't make you feel better but," Huey chuckled nervously, tapping his fingers on the table, "I'm working at the ice rink."

"Okay, I love you, but I hate you."

"Gos!"

"I wanted to work there. It'd be better than—" She cut herself off before she could reveal where she was working.

"I'm happy right here!" Webby chirped. "I get to see all kinds of people and make them happy with fresh-squeezed lemonade."

"Webs, this isn't a good job," Dewey told her. "It's like, the worst."

"What are you talking about? I love it!"

"You don't have to pretend."

Louie checked his watch and stood up.

"Well, we gotta get going," he told his brothers and friends. "Movie starts at four and we wanna get good seats."

"We'll see you guys later," June added before following him.

"My shift starts at four, too," Huey piped up. "See you guys later."

"Bye," Gosalyn said, getting up.

Dewey was left alone with Webby, who was closing up since The Lemon closed at three-thirty. He tapped his chin, then grinned at his best friend.

"Hey, Webby. You wanna have some fun?"

"Sure! What kind of fun?"

"Let's follow Gosalyn and find out where she works."

"Are you sure? She seems very adamant about keeping it a secret."

"It's either that or we go follow Louie and June. Huey's going to be boring."

"Mm… all right."

She shut it down and took off her apron, exiting to follow Dewey. They found Gosalyn walking along towards an escalator. As soon as she was halfway up they went up behind her. It was a very convoluted route, surely meant to confound anyone who followed her, but Dewey and Webby weren't exactly normal people. They kept following and eventually they came to somewhere Gosalyn constantly ranted about, a place that was called the end of all that is good in the world.

The Pretty in Pink, known otherwise as the PiP.

"No way," Dewey whispered, staring.

"I can't believe it!" gasped Webby. "She hates this place! Why would she work here?!"

"I dunno! Let's go in. Okay, you're the eager shopper and I'm your boyfriend you're dragging along to this place."

"Got it." She stood up and they went inside. Gosalyn had disappeared into the back, but her coworkers—Ashley, Ashleigh, and Ashton—were there smiling.

"Welcome to the PiP!" Ashton sang. She was the manager and a bubbly blonde.

"Thanks! We're just looking around," Webby stated, grabbing Dewey by the wrist and going over to a display of sweaters. She pretended to browse while Dewey kept an eye out for Gosalyn.

Said girl emerged from the back room without her signature jacket and hoodie, instead wearing a bright pink T-shirt that matched that of the Ashes (as Dewey had taken to calling the three girls in his head). Her name tag said 'GOSALYN' in pink sparkle letters. She had a box in her arms and an expression that said she was dead inside. The box was taken over to a display where she began to take clothes out and fold them neatly.

"Oh my gosh, she is working here," Dewey whispered.

"I like some of the stuff here but it's too pricy," Webby whispered back.

"Webby."

"Right." She nodded and they began to head for the door.

Across the room, Dewey made eye contact with Gosalyn, whose expression became one of horror. She nearly dropped the jeans she was folding but managed to catch herself in time, folding them perfectly.

"There's no way."

Huey crossed his arms behind the counter.

As soon as they'd left the PiP, they'd gone to the ice rink to tell Huey. They would've told Louie and June, but by that point the two were in the theater and Dewey didn't want to waste money on a ticket just to tell his brother where their other brother's girlfriend worked. They'd find out later. April liked the Pretty in Pink. She'd probably spot Gos in there before long, anyway.

"Believe what you want, big brother," Dewey replied. "We saw what we saw."

"Gosalyn hates that place. Like actually hates it. Why would she even apply there?"

"I dunno—she wants a job? And they were the only ones who would take her?"

"I still say you're making this up."

"Whatever. Believe it or not, she was working there."

"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it. And I'm not going right now because I have work."

"Boo, you're boring."

"C'mon, Dewey," Webby sighed. "Let's go get some fries or something."

They wound up in the food court, where Webby went to order some dinner for the two of them. Dewey waited outside, leaning against a wall while he checked his phone. Next thing he knew, someone yanked him into a corner and pinned him to the wall with their forearm against his neck.

"Listen here, Dewford," snapped Gosalyn, fire in her eyes. She was back in her hoodie and jacket. "I don't know what you think you were doing back there, but if you value your tongue you won't tell anyone what you saw! Especially not Huey. Are we clear?!"

He nodded, terrified. She released him.

"Good. I'll see you later."

She walked away and he slumped against the wall, shaking. Webby walked up with a tray of food in hand, giving him a confused look.

"Hey, Dewey. What's up?"

"I have seen the face of madness and I shall never unsee it."

"Okay. Cool! Well, your food's gonna get cold. C'mon."

Dewey followed her, his eyes traveling to where Gosalyn was ordering food. A shudder rippled down his back and he continued over to the table where Webby set down the tray.

June sighed as she and April entered the Pretty in Pink.

"I told you, I don't need anything new."

"It's your six-month anniversary," April sighed. "You need to look nice. What are you two doing?"

"Dinner and a movie. I'm paying for the movie and he's paying for dinner so it's an even split."

"Well, you should dress up a little. I'm not saying you have to wear a full dress, but a nice shirt and skirt would be nice."

"Okay, fine. I know you're not going to leave me alone until I let you do this." She saw a flash of red hair out of the corner of her eye.

Wait, was that… no. Couldn't be.

It had been nearly two weeks since Gosalyn had told them about her job, and in that time nobody had figured out where she worked. June hadn't pressed the issue since clearly her best friend was embarrassed and didn't want them to know.

"How about this?" April held up a pale purple sweater with a diamond pattern in a band across the chest. "Pair this with a black skirt and it's perfect for a date. Oh, and you'll need the right makeup, too."

"I'll try it on but I don't make any promises."

June took the sweater from her older sister and they went to the dressing room. Ashleigh gave them her demented smile that always made June want to never come there again. April went to go find more options while June was changing. It was then she took notice of a redhead hiding behind one of the sales racks.

"Gos? Is that you?"

"Oh, hey, April!" She smiled, clearly nervous.

"Smiling at customers!" Ashley gasped. "Good, but you could look less uncomfortable."

"Thank you, Ashley, I know her."

"Okay then!" Ashley skipped off to go help someone else. Gosalyn sighed.

"I guess the cat's out of the bag, now. Dewey kept his mouth shut like I told him to, at least."

"I can't believe you're working here," April commented. "Does June know?"

"No. Nobody but Dewey and maybe Webby. Why are you here?"

"June and Louie's six-month anniversary is tomorrow night and June's dressing up whether she likes it or not."

"Ouch. Big sister laying down the law."

"April?" June called.

"Speaking of big sister, duty calls. See you later."

Gosalyn slipped into the back, telling Ashton she was taking her break.

There was no way she could threaten April the way she'd threatened Dewey. April was a little more… fragile. Not as rough-and-tumble as June, Webby, and the boys. She could hold her own in a fight but preferred to stay out of the thick of it, using her runes to fend off attackers. Oh, yeah, and Gosalyn didn't want to be slow-roasted by April's magical abilities should she chance threatening her.

And Gosalyn was right.

After they bought the sweater and skirt, April and June headed down to the food court to meet up with Huey. Webby was working at the Lemon and Louie and Dewey were nowhere to be found.

"He dragged Dewey off to help him shop for some kind of gift for you," Huey explained.

"I already got him his," June said with a shrug, sitting down.

"Oh, Huey! I have something to tell you!" April told her fellow oldest.

"What?"

"I took June to Pretty in Pink and while we were there, you'll never guess who was on the sales floor!"

"Was it someone I care about?"

"Yes. Very much. It was Gosalyn, working there." June choked on the lemonade she was drinking.

"I thought I saw her! She ducked out of the way when we went in, didn't she?!"

April glanced at Huey, who had a mixture of shock, anger, and disbelief on his face.

"Hey, you okay?"

"I… need to go somewhere." He quickly got up from the table and nobody followed him. They already knew where he was going.

When he got to Pretty in Pink, he saw Gosalyn was at the register, finishing up with a customer. They locked eyes as soon as the customer moved and she looked away, ashamed.

"Gos, you work here?"

"Yes, I do," she huffed, slowly starting to look at him again. "It was the only place I applied to that accepted me. And now you get why I didn't want to tell you; it's humiliating."

Huey gave her a compassionate smile and approached the counter closer.

"Hey, I understand why you felt like you needed to hide it, but believe me you didn't have to. Not from your dad or from June and especially not from me. I don't really care where you're working." He looked around. "It is surprising though. You. Here. Good thing I didn't bet with Dewey."

Gosalyn's eyes got wide, but before she could swear against her future brother-in-law, they were interrupted.

"Hello, sir!" greeted Ashleigh, walking up. "Need help finding a gift for your girlfriend?"

"No, I came to talk to my girlfriend." Ashleigh looked from Gosalyn to Huey and gasped.

"You're dating her?!"

"Got a problem with that?" questioned Gosalyn.

"No, I'm just shocked! It's so cute!" She clapped her hands a little and went off, presumably to tell Ashley and Ashton.

"Sorry," Gosalyn murmured.

"Hey. At least you don't have to hide it anymore. And if you want to, you can complain all you want about how terrible it is."

"Yeah, I guess." She gave him a smile and he smiled back.

Then they noticed the Ashes were watching as if it were their own personal soap opera.

Gosalyn let out a sigh.

It didn't take long for everyone to know where Gos was working.

She was teased about it, sure, but only because of how frequently she'd mocked and complained about the place. Heck, she still complained about it but now she had knowledge of the inner workings. It made her complaints much more focused. Hockey season had also started up, so she was starting that as well. That was when a bigger issue began to become much more obvious to her boyfriend and her best friend.

June, despite being the youngest in their group, was the mom friend. She did what a mom would do frequently, like bringing snacks and making sure everyone was okay. Dewey teased that it was good practice for whatever kids she'd probably have in the future. At any rate, it made her incredibly protective of her friends and family. Huey was similar in that regard, especially when it came to Gosalyn.

For June, she figured out something was going on thanks to a gut feeling. And Huey knew something was wrong thanks to the fact that Gosalyn was becoming even more violent during her hockey games. June didn't fail to notice, either, and she was just as concerned. Neither of them could figure out what was going on and talking to Gos didn't help at all. She was firmly clammed up about what was making her more aggressive than usual, and what made it worse it that her aggression wasn't just hurting other people on the ice. It was hurting her.

Nobody knew what was happening until June went to talk to Gosalyn at work.

"Hi, welcome to Pretty in Pink!" Ashton greeted her. "Let me know if you need any help!"

"I will," June replied.

She began walking towards the back and the back of her neck prickled as she spotted who was talking to Gosalyn. It was Sara Chandler, the embodiment of everything that June hated in a person. Out of a need to figure out what was happening, she hid behind a nearby display and listened in.

"…like I said, we don't have that color in that size," Gosalyn stated, clearly exasperated.

"I know you do. Whatever I want, I usually get, Gosalyn."

"Usually. But this is one of those times where you won't."

"Hmph. We'll see about that. You know, you're really bad at your job. It's a wonder you haven't been fired yet with that fashion sense you have outside of work."

"Sara…"

"I'm just being honest. Maybe working here will help you attract more than some nerd who sleeps with a Junior Woodchuck Guidebook under his pillow. At the very least you'll have more sense in your style than that grease monkey you call your best friend."

"Leave them out of this," Gosalyn groaned, really holding back from not punching the other girl in the face. "Your problem is with me right now and I can't figure out why. It's a sweater. Literally we have dozens."

"And my problem is that you're incompetent as a worker. I'll be back tomorrow and you'd better have it in stock."

Sara turned and flounced out of the store. As soon as Sara was out of sight and she made sure her manager wasn't looking, Gosalyn grabbed a sweater and screamed into it, nearly tearing it apart in the process. June stepped out of her hiding place and tapped her best friend on the shoulder.

"What?!" Gos snapped, whirling around. Her eyes widened upon seeing June… or more specifically, June's expression. "June? You okay?"

"No." Her voice was low but brimming with anger. "How long has she been doing that?"

"A few weeks? It's fine. I can handle it."

"It's not fine, Gos. She's the worst and you shouldn't have to deal with her. I'm the one who's best at taking her down."

"That's exactly why I didn't tell you. She's doing it to get to you and letting you know would be giving her exactly what she wants. You just got done dealing with her and I didn't want to drag you into it."

"Okay. Fine. But I'm telling Huey. He's been worried sick for weeks over what's going on with you."

"I already feel bad enough about that… but even if I asked you not to, you'd tell him, wouldn't you?"

"He's basically my brother. And you're my best friend. If you're not going to let me help, somebody else has to because clearly you're not doing well."

"You noticed?" There was a tone to her voice that told June she was trying to joke around.

"I had a feeling something was wrong. I just didn't know what until now. I think Huey might be able to help you within the rules and without beating Sara into a bloody pulp with a pair of skates."

"Well… if you think it'll work… I guess we can give it a shot."

"Great. You finish your shift. I'm getting the other angry triplet."

June rushed out of the store, not even acknowledging Ashleigh saying goodbye to her. She made it to the ice rink, where Huey was cleaning pairs of ice skates and seemingly not paying attention to anything. To get his attention she slammed her fist on the counter, startling him and almost making him drop the skates and cloth.

"June! What are you doing here?"

"I found out what's going on with Gos and I need your help because she won't let me do it."

"Wait, what's happening?"

"Sara. It's Sara. She's been tormenting Gos at work and Gos can't do anything because she'll get fired."

Huey slammed down the cleaning cloth and growled.

"That…" He shook his head. "You saw her? You saw it?"

"Yeah. I did. She's calling both of us out to get to her."

He took a deep breath. Then he tapped his chin and pulled out his phone, tapping out a text to Gosalyn.

After work, bring me your employee handbook. There's a policy in mine on abuse from customers. There might be one in yours.

"You got it?" June asked.

"Of course. You prep for what you're going to do to Sara."

"I know what I'm gonna do already."

They silently nodded to each other.

"This is it?"

"Yep." Gosalyn looked at the binder she'd been given upon hire. "How do we find the customer policy?"

"Give me a minute." He opened it up and began to flip through it. Within moments he'd found the page.

"Wow. That was impressive."

"It's surprisingly well-organized. Well, according to the policy, if a customer comes in and repeatedly abuses staff, they can be banned from the location at the discretion of the manager. So you need to talk to Ashton."

"Sara's one of our biggest customers. How do I know she won't take her side?"

"It's worth a shot. Worst comes to worst, you start applying again and find a new place as soon as possible."

"I'll give it a try. I just…" She sighed, resting her head on Huey's shoulder. He didn't need a lead to hug her with one arm. "I'm exhausted from just the past few weeks. How did June put up with this crap for years?"

"Well, the difference is that you want to keep your job, or at the very least get a good reference so you can get a better job."

Gosalyn nodded. She'd try this idea and hope that Ashton took her side.

And the next day, Gosalyn went up to Ashton before she clocked in.

"Hey, Ashton."

"What's up, Gos?" Ashton smiled.

"I'm… having an issue with one of our regulars."

"What kind of issue?"

"Well… she's been harassing me and pushing me around." Ashton pursed her lips, appearing to be in thought.

"Has there been verbal abuse?" There was no sunshine in Ashton's voice.

"Yeah. A little."

"How many times?"

"For a few weeks now, actually. She's supposed to come in today to get a sweater in a specific color—"

"Ah. Say no more. I'll keep an eye open."

"You're… helping?"

"Gosalyn, you might not have Ashley and Ashleigh's bubbly personalities, but you're a good worker with a good head on your shoulders. You have a work ethic that they don't. And I don't want to lose one of my best employees because of a rude customer. So yeah, I'll help you out."

"Thanks, Ashton."

"No problem."

Sara came in within half an hour of Gosalyn being on the clock. She marched right up to her verbal punching bag and stood with her arms crossed.

"Well? Do you have what I asked for?"

"No, ma'am. We do not have that color in stock."

"I said yesterday that you'd better. Jeez, you're as useless as your best friend." Gosalyn took a deep breath, silently counting backwards from ten in her head. "I want to speak to your manager."

"I'm right here," Ashton spoke up, appearing between them. "What's the problem?"

"Your employee is useless."

"I'm sorry you think that. However, I was recently informed that you have been verbally abusing and harassing Gosalyn here for weeks. According to store policy, repeated counts of verbal abuse and harassment is grounds for banning a customer at the manager's discretion. As sorry as I am to lose your business, I cannot afford to lose good employees. Miss Chandler, you are banned from Pretty in Pink."

Sara's mouth dropped open and she sputtered.

"W-well…! Ugh!"

She whirled around, stomping out of the store.

June checked her watch. Sara would be arriving any minute now.

"Ugh. June," the queen bee spat. "What do you want?"

"I heard what you said to Gos." Sara blinked.

"How is that any of your business?"

"Because she's my best friend. Now you listen here. I don't like you and you don't like me. That's fine. But you cannot take it out on my family and friends. You do it again and you'll find out why our roller derby team is currently undefeated. Are we clear?" Her eyes were narrowed and Sara let out a sigh.

"Fine. Family and friends are off-limits, grease monkey."

"Good." She nodded.

A truce between old enemies…

Dewey happened to be walking up at that moment when June made her threat.

"Whoa," he remarked as Sara walked away. "Why are both my brothers dating scary girls?"

"Because," June replied with a grin.

"That's not a reason."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not!"

"Let's get to class."

"Wait!" He ran to keep up with her.

Not much to say. Updates will become sporadic from now on, but I'll try to give you longer chapters.

So long and thanks for all the fish!