Despite the fact Faye has spent virtually every weekend at Starcourt Mall since it opened, she's never actually shopped there before. Most of her visits have comprised of going to the movie theatre, getting ice cream at Scoops Ahoy, or playing on the arcade machines. Truth be told, Faye could probably count on one hand the number of times she's been shopping in her entire life.
"What do you think?" Max grins as she, Faye and El stand in front of the main entrance. El, who has never been to Starcourt (or indeed any mall) before, shifts uncomfortably.
"What's wrong?" Faye asks.
"Too many people, against the rules," says El, staring at the constant stream of shoppers flowing in and out of the revolving doors.
The same thought did occur to Faye on the bus ride over. Hopper would lose his mind if he knew El was not only out in public, but in one of the busiest spots in Hawkins. And yet, it's been over six months since Hawkins Lab was shut down - and no-one has come looking for El. She can't stay cooped up in that cabin forever.
Max lowers her voice. "Seriously? You guys have superpowers - what's the worst that could happen?"
El glances at Faye uncertainly, and Faye just shrugs. "She has a point. It's a mall, not a minefield."
Seemingly reassured by this, El takes a deep breath and nods, which is all the encouragement Max needs to grab Faye's hand (who in turn grabs El's) and charge inside. The trio sprint down the escalators and emerge into the main foyer, Faye and El following Max's lead. El's mouth falls open in awe as she cranes her neck and turns on the spot, taking it all in. She almost bumps into an Orange Julius employee and sends his tray of free juice samples flying, but Faye pulls her out of the way. When Max asks what they want to do first, the others just stare at her blankly.
"Have you guys seriously never been shopping before?!"
El shakes her head.
"I've been shopping with my mom, and Nancy let me come with her and Barb once," says Faye. She's pretty sure neither of these instances count, particularly as Nancy only took Faye shopping because Mrs. Wheeler made her.
Max's face lights up with excitement. "Well then, I guess we're going to have to try everything!"
The first store they come to is The Gap, and Faye has to squint against its gleaming red linoleum floor. There are racks upon racks of clothes everywhere she looks; shirts, pants, dresses, shorts, skirts - all in a vibrant array of colors. Next to the counter, a sign proclaiming 'Summer Essentials' in bold lettering hangs over shelves piled with bathing suits, sunglasses, flip-flops and other seasonal items beyond counting. Faye doesn't know exactly what she's looking for, so she chooses a display at random and begins sifting through the hangers.
"What kind of things do you like?" asks Max.
Faye grimaces. "I don't really know, I guess I mostly wear jeans and shirts."
"You gotta think bigger than that!" Max laughs. "Do you like pastels or darks? Long sleeves or short sleeves? Spots or stripes?"
"Uhhhh," Faye stammers, having never considered any of these questions before. "Nancy mostly wears prints, and she always looks good."
There's a hint of bitterness in Faye's voice, which doesn't go unnoticed by Max. This kind of stuff has always come so easily to Nancy; whatever she wears seems to enhance her natural beauty without any real effort on her part. Hell, she could go out in a potato sack and probably still look pretty. Whereas Faye has always been 'one of the guys'; why bother trying to look nice when you'll just end up covered in bike grease, or getting into a food fight with Dustin, or wrestling in the grass with Mike?
"You shouldn't try to dress like Nancy, you should dress like you," Max insists. "Plus, no offence to Nancy - but I think you're way prettier."
"Oh please," Faye mumbles, embarrassed.
"It's true! And Will obviously agrees with me!" Max singsongs, giggling loudly when Faye whacks her with the nearest available item.
Behind them, El wanders from rack to rack running her fingers over all the different materials, her eyes wide with amazement. Eventually, she comes to a stop in front of a mannequin sporting a bright blue shirt embellished with artful streaks of red, white and yellow. It's a stark contrast to the subdued, baggy shirts (many of which are hand-me-downs from various members of the group) she usually wears.
Max turns to her. "Do you like that?"
El glances between Max and the shirt. "How do I know what I like?"
"You just try things on until you find something that feels like you," Max explains.
"Like me?"
"Yeah. Not Hopper, not Mike, not Nancy," Max adds, shooting a reproachful look at Faye. "Like you."
Over the next few hours, the girls go from shop to shop modelling clothes - and Faye can't remember the last time she had this much fun. Within minutes, her eyes are streaming and her stomach aches from laughing so hard. In the fourth or fifth store (Faye loses count of how many they've been to), she spots a mannequin that stands out from the rest. The outfit consists of a pair of pale denim shorts, a white shirt with rolled-up sleeves and a colored pattern, over a fitted black bustier. Faye can't stop staring at it, and before she knows what's happening Max is bundling fabrics into her arms and ushering her towards the changing rooms. Faye swaps her old clothes for the new items, then turns to the mirror. Everything fits perfectly; the shorts are just the right length, the shirt is cool, and Faye notes that she doesn't even need to stuff her bra with the bustier. Her mom would say it's "too grown up" and "not appropriate", but Faye is nearly fifteen now - she's not a kid anymore.
"Come on, let us see!" Max calls.
Faye draws back the curtain and twirls on the spot. "Well?"
Max and El are gaping at her and Faye hesitates, not knowing whether this is good or bad.
"You look awesome!" Max exclaims.
"Bitchin'" El agrees. She herself has changed into a black playsuit covered in multi-colour swirls, which both Faye and Max have already requested to borrow.
Faye flushes and looks back at the mirror, humming thoughtfully. "I feel like it's missing something."
El disappears onto the shop floor and returns holding a black belt with small silver studs. "This?"
Faye loops it through the shorts, and five minutes later walks out of the shop a different person to the one who walked in. For the first time in her life, she feels confident in a way not even her powers have ever made her feel. They might just be clothes, but they've given Faye a sense of control over herself that she's never truly had before. An identity outside of her siblings, her friends, and even Will - something that is Faye and Faye alone. As she glances at El, Faye sees that same confidence reflected in her friend's eyes, and she knows El is feeling the exact same thing.
In the next store, the trio decide to try on some high heels and end up clumsily tottering all over the place before falling in a heap on the floor, cackling like hyenas. A derisive snort draws their attention to the other side of the room, where Stacey Albright and her gang of airheads (which now includes Jennifer Hayes, Faye notes with a ripple of loathing) are glowering at them. Faye and El look at each other and smirk. In a strange coincidence, Stacey and Jennifer's sodas spontaneously explode later that afternoon just as Faye, Max and El are passing by.
Only when Faye realises she has spent her entire monthly allowance in one day do the girls decide to head home, after a final stop at Scoops Ahoy. Faye can barely fit through the revolving doors with the number of bags clutched in her arms.
"Can we go shopping every day?" El asks through a mouthful of vanilla ice cream.
Faye laughs. "At this rate, I'll be broke before Thanksgiving."
"The malls in California are even bigger than this, maybe I can get my mom to take us there," says Max. "Wanna trade?"
Faye passes her chocolate cone to El, who gives Max the vanilla one, who in turn hands her strawberry cone to Faye. Suddenly, Max looks up and her expression darkens. "Oh you've gotta be shitting me."
Turning around, Faye sees Mike, Lucas and Will unchaining their bikes by the parking lot, and a sense of foreboding settles over her. Like when you hear the first distant rumbles of thunder and you know a hell of a storm is coming.
"Isn't this a nice surprise?" Max announces.
The boys freeze and their eyes bulge comically as they take in the sight of Max, Faye and El. When Mike sees El, the guilt on his face quickly dissolves into anger and his bike clatters to the ground. "What are you doing here?!"
"Shopping," says El, curtly.
"This is her new style, what do you think?" Max asks.
Ignoring the question, Mike glares at Faye and Max accusingly. "What's wrong with you?! You know she's not allowed to be here."
Max scowls. "What is she your little pet?"
"Yeah, am I your pet?" El demands.
"What, no-"
"Then why do you treat me like garbage?"
Mike's mouth opens and closes but no words come out, so El continues.
"You said Nana was sick."
"She is!" Mike insists.
"Faye says she isn't."
If looks could kill, Faye would have been struck down clean by the furious stare Mike shoots her. As it is, Faye just stares right back. "Friends don't lie."
"Boyfriends lie," El sneers.
Mike's voice heightens in panic and words pour out of his mouth in a crazed babble. "I wasn't lying! I mean... We-we thought Nana was sick but it turns out she's not! So we came here to do some shopping - not for us, for her. And also I wanted to get a gift for you, but we couldn't find anything that suited you and I only have like three dollars and fifty cents so it's hard."
"Super hard," Lucas agrees.
"Oh yeah, it's so hard to just be honest with your girlfriend!" says Max.
Mike pleads with El. "Can I talk to you alone?"
"No."
"Please, just five minutes. I can explain-"
The tenuous grip Faye has on her temper slips. "Just give it a rest Mike! You had your chance to explain earlier and instead you lied."
Mike whips around to face her, fury etched into his features. "What do you know about it?! And speaking of lying, you said you were going to see Max today!"
"I was!" Faye snaps.
"So what, you just happened to end up at the mall with El?!"
Faye is about to respond when Will suddenly steps forwards. "You said it was important."
"It was!" says Faye, thinking about her mom and Billy.
To her surprise and dismay, Will scoffs. "So shopping is more important than playing D&D with us like you promised?"
Faye is so taken aback that her reply disintegrates on her tongue. Will's face is wrought with cold accusation, and he's never spoken to Faye like that before.
Max steps between them. "Don't talk to her like that. And actually, she did have something important to tell me."
"I wasn't talking to you, Max," says Will, unkindly.
"Can you just butt out of other people's relationships?" Mike adds.
Max stands her ground. "It's called supporting my friends when their boyfriends are being jackasses!"
"You're the only jackass here," Mike drawls.
"Hey! Don't call my girlfriend a jackass!" says Lucas.
All of a sudden, everyone is yelling at each other. Accusations fly back and forth and voices raise to be heard above the clamor, to the point where the entire parking lot stops and stares at them. What started as a single disagreement has turned into a full-blown boys verses girls argument.
"STOP!"
El's scream cuts through the chaos and a tense silence follows. No-one seems to know what to say. Faye's heart is hammering in her chest and the corners of her eyes sting with tears, but she blinks them away.
Eventually, El glances at Mike. "You lie."
Mike at least has the decency to look ashamed.
"Why do you lie?"
When he doesn't answer, El walks right up to him and for a minute Faye thinks she's going to shove the ice cream in his face. "I dump your ass!"
There's a collective gasp of shock. El spins on her heel and walks off, leaving Mike staring after her in disbelief. Max soon follows suit, and Faye is left alone with the boys. Mike - still reeling from the breakup - barely notices her, Lucas is rubbing the bridge of his nose the way he does when he's stressed, but Will is looking right at her. His expression is predominantly angry, but there's hurt too - Faye can see it in his eyes.
Part of her wants to take him aside and say she's sorry, that she never meant to skip out on D&D and simply lost track of time. And yet, a bigger part of her can't believe that Will would think she ditched them on purpose. Doesn't he trust her? After everything they've been through? Apparently not... The realisation pierces her like an ice pick to the heart.
Faye turns away and follows El and Max.
Author's note: I had a free weekend so I managed to get two chapters finished - yay! Let me know what you think, as always.