Steve turned to see Buckley marking a tally on her "You Suck" board. She took a special kind of joy in watching him strike out.

"Not the hat then, Harrington?"

"It's this uniform. It takes away from my charm," Steve said, "And she's waiting for her soulmate. Who am I to stand in the way of true love?"

She glanced up at him, looking him up and down, "I'm thinking you have a larger issue."

He looked down at the board again, counting the seven tallies. Steve didn't know why he was still trying. The Fall of King Steve was a long way down. A little less than a year ago he would have had her sitting in the palm of his hand. Now Steve was almost begging to take girls home.

"No, this is just the warm up, I'll have the next one."

"Do you Harrington? Because by my count-"

"I suck. I know, I but no one can resist my charm," Steve cut her off with a wink.

Robin raised an eyebrow, "Well to me it seems like a lot of people can resist your so called charm. About, hmmm… let's see shall we, one, two-"

Ding.

Steve turned with a smile ready to go. Turning right toward a Eddie Munson and his group of friends.

The very same Eddie Munson that Steve had watched Tommy bully for years. Saying he deserved it for being a queer, even though Steve and Tommy had spent a lot of time locked in Tommy's basement together. Tommy was of the belief that he was better than Munson because he had a girlfriend. As long as Tommy had Carol it didn't matter what the boys did when they were alone.

The smile on Steve's face faltered a little as he looked at the tattooed man. He delivered the normal spiel while avoiding looking into Eddie's eyes.

Munson smiled at him with a very wide, very forced, grin, "Well hello to you too, Harrington."

Steve took their order in his best customer service voice, doing his best to draw as little attention to who he was as he could. Munson seemed to agree with Steve's mission of interacting as little as possible, so he ordered quickly.

Some of the members of Eddie's club were glaring at Steve. They were waiting for him to do something. People had looked at Steve like this all of highschool. Tommy used to say they were waiting for his ruling, but Steve knew they were waiting for him to snap. The worst thing about it was that he didn't know these kids. He'd seen all of them around the school at one point but Eddie was the only one he'd ever really noticed. They were acting like this because of the reputation Steve had built up for himself.

After serving Munson and the rest of his friends, Steve made Robin switch him places. He'd woken up with a headache and it was progressively getting worse as the day wore on. Every one of the noises in the mall were starting to feel like they were working themselves into his brain and trying to become colors.

The quiet of the back was an instant relief. As he moved further into the fluorescent lights, he saw the calendar. August sixth, Steve was eighteen. The age he'd glorified in highschool.

Steve looked down at the sailors outfit he was wearing. If only his highschool self could see him now. King Steve would never believe who he'd become. From ruling at the top of the latter, to sitting on the floor below it. He'd lost everything he'd carefully cultivated so quickly.

Freshman year there had been another guy just like Steve. People had whispered about him and the failed potential. Steve had looked down sadly on him, assuming he couldn't take the pressure. He had been sure it would never be him. Steve had followed in his predecessors footsteps. He had followed on purpose, sure that he was making the better choice. It was worth it to know that he could be somebody he could be proud of. Sometimes Steve wasn't sure if everything he sacrificed to improve himself was worth it.

Distantly he could hear Robin yelling about needing more cherries, breaking him out of his thoughts. The cabinet creaked as Steve reached in to grab the fruit. Right as he got his hands on the jar the lights flashed. For a second he would've sworn that he could hear gurgling behind him. Steve could almost smell spores and mold. Nancy's gunshots echoed in the distance. No, it wasn't real. El closed the gate. The monsters are gone and when he turns around nothing will be there. He was fine. The kids were safe.

"Dingus, move faster!"

Right. His job.

Steve moved out of the crouched position he was in, placing the cherries on the counter. As he moved he put on the smile he used for his parents' parties. When he eventually got to eye level with Robin she was staring at him with a look in her eye he didn't recognize. She turned back toward the customer, Steve moved deeper into the back. They kept working for the next hour with barely any interaction between the two. Every once in a while he'd see Robin looking at him like he was a puzzle.

The shift eventually ended. Steve left quickly, he still felt a dull pressure pressing against his head. When Robin tried to stop him on the way out he muttered something about needing to get home and rushed to his car.

As the BMW pulled into his driveway Steve was stuck with the realization that he was alone on his birthday. Again. His parents were somewhere in Greece and he was becoming a man. Shaking that thought off, Steve slid the key into the front door.

Sitting at his kitchen table, eating leftover lasagna he felt something in his left arm. He could feel a tingling spreading onto his arm.

Glancing down, he saw words. They were scribbled onto the inside of his arm in thick silver handwriting. The first thing he could see from his soulmate.

Steve stared at his arm in surprise. He didn't think he had one. Or if he did he just assumed it would be Nancy. It would be Nancy, and she would realize that their love wasn't bullshit. The words written on his arm may be proof that it was bullshit in the end.

He stared at the words written out like a tattoo, branded into his arm. He looked at them for a long time before he started reading.

Every thought is a dream, rushing by in a stream. Bringing life to our kingdom of doing. Take a ride in the sky, on our ship. All your dreams will come true, miles away. Of course his soulmate would be a poet. Another person in his life too smart to love him.

Steve tore his eyes away from his arm and kept eating. It would be better for everyone if he pretended like this never happened.