Chapter 42: Potential
"Pick anything you want guys," Mia says, as she, Bill, and Georgie step into Scoops Ahoy. In celebration of receiving her first pay from her tutoring job, the eldest of the cousins offered to take them to the mall and buy them ice cream. After convincing her aunt to let her borrow the car, the trio drove up to Starcourt Mall on the far side of Hawkins. Georgie could barely contain his excitement. He practically jumps from the vehicle while it's still in motion. He had yet to step foot in this mall and was so excited to see what was inside. It stood as if it were a castle on a hill, with all the greatest treasures to seek inside.
"C-Calm down Georgie," Bill had said in annoyance. His little brother's energy was the last thing he wanted to deal with... in fact he was going to turn down Mia's offer for ice cream. That changed when Will cancelled their comic book session, which left him beyond disappointed. So he figured he had nothing better to do. The comic book was the only thing that he looked forward to anymore. He barely saw Beverly or Ben anymore, the only two Losers who could tolerate his presence at this point. He did see Richie a lot, riding his bike in the park, but the moment they made eye contact, Trash-Mouth flipped him the bird before bolting away. It was similar for Eddie and Stan. Stan hung out downtown a lot and he avoided any eye contact with Bill if they crossed paths. Eddie was basically a ghost now… hardly ever seen except to the pharmacy to pick up his medication and of course, his mother accompanied him everywhere now. The one-time Bill had seen his hypochondriac former friend, he'd heard Eddie's mother lecture him about how if he wanted to go anywhere in this town, it had to be with someone. What if some stranger (or various other colourful titles for predatory individuals) came and snatched him off the street? What if he got hurt and no one could find him because they didn't know Hawkins very well? It all sounded like it was blown way out of proportion to Bill, Hawkins was not that much bigger than Derry and it took only a weekend for the leader of the Loser's Club to navigate it. He knew it was Eddie's mom's way of controlling her son… maybe even happy that he no longer had that many friends that made him independent and like himself. At least, at the mall, there was less of a chance he'd run into someone he knew and darken his mood further.
"WOW!" Georgie had shouted when he entered the mall. Several people looked over at them and laughed.
It took both teenagers to keep the six-year-old from running off in a random direction.
"Georgie s-stay here," Bill said.
"But Bill look!" he said, pointing at a window display.
"Yeah, I know Squirt," Mia nodded. "It's all really cool, but you need to stay with us It's so easy to get lost in here."
"R-Right, Mom would k-kill us if you got lost."
"We'll see it all Squirt, but you need to hold one of our hands…"
"I don't want to hold your hands," Georgie snapped angrily, crossing his arms. "I'm not a baby."
"S-So don't go running off," Bill says.
"Right," Mia agreed. "You don't need to hold our hands, but you need to stay close. If you get lost, we're not bringing you here again. If you do get separated from Bill or I by accident, we'll always meet here by the bookstore, okay?"
"Okay," he agreed.
"And if you're ever not sure, look for a security guard to help you."
"Can we get ice cream now?" he asked.
"Yes," she said, rolling her eyes.
The walk to the food court took much longer due to Georgie wanting to see everything in the stores. Even the bribe of ice cream did not speed up their pace.
Finally, when they entered the nautical-themed restaurant, Mia and Bill were tired and needed the boost of sugar.
The cheap music in the background, overly bright colours and sea-themed decorations to give a customer the illusion that they are in a harbour or on a ship is seen as tacky and barely phases the teenaged cousins, but for Georgie, it's the most fascinating thing in the world.
"Wow, look at this?!" he keeps saying… it wasn't even the ice cream that entranced this child, with Mia having to chase him around while Bill held their place in line.
When they reach the front of the line, Georgie eagerly presses his hands against the glass. His eyes are lit up in the excitement and he keeps asking the same question.
"Bill, what does that say?"
"Moose Tracks," his big brother answers.
"What about that one?"
"Vanilla."
"And that?!"
Mia smiles at Bill while he rolls his eyes. Spending time with her cousins was comforting, it gave her a sense of normalcy.
"Hey, I had to chase him around… you answer the questions," she says to him
Mia fumbles with her purse, finally happy that there's at least some money in her pocket. Maybe she should be saving up for a car, Aunt Sharon is not thrilled with having to lend it all the time.
She rings the bell to get the person, whose back is facing them, to get their attention and she gasps when the employee turns around to face her.
Steve is taken aback to see the mysterious new girl Mia standing there. She seemed equally shocked to see him there. He immediately wished that he wasn't wearing the ugliest uniform known to human eyes for this girl who he always seemed to be running into. At least this time, there was no dropping of items.
He collects himself from the shock and turns on his charm.
"Well, well, well, hello again," Steve says, giving Mia a wide smile. Immediately, the girl's face flushes a fuchsia colour, and she bites her lip. She can feel her heart racing and her knees again weak at his handsome face. Why is she like this? She can't keep running into this guy… she can't have a relationship, especially since she's not going to be here for very long. All she can do is smile. "What can I get for you Mia Rogers from Wisconsin?"
"Just Mia is fine Steve Harrington," she smirks.
"All right, 'Just Mia', what are you doing here? Are you stalking me?"
"This is the mall... a public place where a lot of people my age would hang out. And I would not be stalking you, Steve Harrington,"
"That's first-mate Steve to you," he smirks, deciding to embrace the dorky uniform. He is enjoying the banter between the two of them. While Georgie is thankfully too busy pressing his hands against the glass and looking at all the flavours, Bill feels completely out of place, watching his cousin and this random guy humourlessly banter with one another. She's met him before, but she's teasing him in an almost romantic way.
Mia tucks a few strands of hair behind her ear. She blushes again and just laughs nervously.
"I feel like we need to stop meeting like this," she admits.
"Why? Is there something wrong with that?"
"No... it's just that the last time we met, you kind of bumped into me. That and apparently people younger than you like to give you a hard time."
"Okay first, you bumped into me… both times and try to keep your voice down because I work with said person," he says pointing to the frosted glass window behind the counter.
"Poor thing," she smirks.
"Who's the pipsqueak and Star Wars Fan?" he asks, indicating the two boys with her. Suddenly, Bill feels self-conscious about wearing a Star Wars shirt, even though he'd borrowed it from Richie and did not return it. "You didn't tell me you had brothers."
"I don't, this is Georgie and Bill. They're my cousins."
There's a pause.
"Ah, I can see the family resemblance." Even though he couldn't.
"You don't have to be polite; we look nothing alike. We're not actually cousins. Our moms are adopted sisters, which makes us adopted cousins... I think."
"Cool…" Steve says with a pause. "Ah, so, are you like visiting them?"
Mia's smile fades from her face, and she swallows a lump in her throat. She looks down at her shoes and bites her lip. Several flashes of Joel Rogers enters her mind and she's reminded of the fact that she's only here because of him… she's away from her mother because of him… she can't have a normal life because of him. The mood between changes. Steve curses himself for overstepping when she finally manages to meet his gaze again.
Finally, she answers. "Y-Yeah."
"Okay then, what can I get you?"
"Can I g-get Rocky Road?" Bill asks.
"Sure thing, and what about the pipsqueak?"
Mia pulls Georgie over. "Tell the nice man what you'd like."
"I…I…" the kid stammers.
"S-Seriously?" Bill rolls his eyes. "A-All those questions?"
"I can't decide Billy!" he says innocently.
"Do you want to try some samples?" Steve offers. He'd hate to see the kid cry because he was so overwhelmed, and wanted to make it up to Mia for seemingly upsetting her first.
"If that's okay," Mia asks.
"Sure, but let's try to keep it short so we don't hold up the line."
After several spoonsful of samples, Georgie receives a small cone of bubble gum with sprinkles.
"And you," he says.
Mia again tries to hide her blushes. His brown eyes are just so captivating. She pinches her arm to keep herself serious. It wasn't going to happen and she needed to accept that.
"Uh… just a double scoop of cookies and cream and cookie dough thanks," she says. Gone was her giggle and no hint of a smile.
After paying, Mia gives Steve a casual wave before exiting Scoops Ahoy.
Once Mia and her cousins leave, Steve hears clapping behind him. He turns to see Robin clapping her hands through the open window leading into the back. Doing so, obviously sarcastically while smirking. He groans and rolls his eyes, waiting for her usual insults. It quickly diminishes his quick and fleeting positive moments at his crummy job.
"Well done, Dingus,"
"What did I do now?" he snaps. "Because I'm really not in the mood for your shit today."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Robin says, backing off. "What's with the attitude?"
"I don't know," he says sarcastically. "It just seems that every time I even talk to a girl, you end up telling me how stupid I am."
"Well, you are stupid, but that's not why I'm impressed. It seems your stupid pick-up lines and dorky flirting have actually worked... and she seems pretty intelligent so it must mean something."
"What are you talking about?"
"Seriously? You don't see it? You really are stupid."
"Knock it off," Steve says crossing his arms. "I told you I'm not in the mood."
"You're clueless. That girl was clearly flirting with you and evidently so were you."
Steve twirls the scoop before putting it on his belt. He goes over to the sink to clean his hands, wanting to ignore her. He knew that they had been flirting, she seemed kind of fun and cool, but he could tell from their initial meeting that she was more withdrawn and shier than she appeared just then. At first, he thought that it was because she was new in town, but as he talked to her, he could tell that she was hiding something. She wasn't Nancy; Mia did not seem to have the strength and confidence that his ex-girlfriend had. She also doesn't hide her pain very well either, unlike Nancy who was fearless with a gun, even when she was terrified. Mia Rogers was a damaged girl... but who wasn't. It just seemed to him that she was more broken than the others. Maybe it was because she was with her family that she felt more comfortable around him and seemed happy. When that smile faded from her face, he knew that he'd overstepped and likely scared her away. Why was he like this? Why could he not keep the attention of a girl longer than five minutes and not because he was handing her ice cream? He had obviously come on pretty strong and she didn't like it. It was the reason she re-treated so quickly and now he's kicking himself over it.
Robin exits the back room, much to his chagrin, she was not going to let this issue go. Fortunately, there were no customers in the parlour, which meant his failed love life would not be broadcast to total strangers.
"She clearly never actually met you before, which is probably why she fell for your stupid lines. She hasn't seen your Dingussy in full force."
"Dingussy?"
"A new class taught by Professor Dingus himself. Tagline: Learn how to fail in your love life."
"Okay..." he said, deciding to call her sarcasm. "Well, prepare to be schooled, I know that I was flirting, but it's clear she's not interested."
"Are you serious? Dude, she tucked her hair behind her ears and laughed at your stupid sailing joke."
"So?"
"So, Lesson One, the tuck is a girl's number one M.O. that she's interested in you. The tuck behind the ears and the awkward giggle at bad jokes; when used in combination means that she wants to get into your pants."
"Gross. Shut up, no it doesn't, it could just be a habit she has. Besides, how would you know?"
"When it comes to girls being attracted to someone, I know."
Steve rolls his eyes.
Robin is losing patience, she reaches over and grabs his arm which forces her friend to face her.
"Look, I might like... " she lowers her voice. While Steve was accepting of her romantic attraction, not everyone would be so open-minded. "Another gender, but the feelings and signs of attraction and dating are the same."
"Does that mean that you've done the tuck before?"
"God no, it makes you look like a dork,"
"Great, insult someone you've never met."
"While it doesn't work for me, it doesn't mean she's not attracted to you and your stupid hair."
Steve shrugs off Robin's arm, rolling his eyes again. He's done with the insults and the discussion of his failed love life. He slams the door to the backroom, leaving Robin a little shocked that he's not firing back with an insult or not jumping at the chance to try and be with another girl. He's like a handsome, weirdly-haired puppy, desperate to be loved and cared for.
That Mia Rogers had definitely something to hide. Maybe it would be revealed to them, maybe it wouldn't, but as far as Robin is concerned, Steve just lost the potential for something new.
A/N: Please follow and review. This chapter has been a long time coming, I always knew that Mia would discover where Steve worked and how he'd handle it. Their third meeting... maybe the universe is trying to tell them something... Is there potential? I hope so.
Responses to Reviews:
xLiteratureLoverx: Yes, we've been waiting for them to become friends.
norozco772: Me too.
GlaringEyes: Yes, I didn't want it to be an over-blown soap opera drama. Max has a lot of issues in her life, and she might have had a similar friend drama in the past. Yes, now Eddie and Richie.