steal my sunshine.

☀️

There was something about summer that had West Virginia feeling in his element. Sure it was a chaotic time for The Garage which meant more money, but it was also just warm enough for him to return to perhaps the second greatest love of his life. It felt like it’d been eons since he’d last actually gone surfing, and once he caught wind that one of his favorite people had made their way back to the beach he knew it was time to go. He’d packed up his things as soon as he got the chance and snuck his way past Hugo and away he went. The grin on his face a wide one as he entered Surf’s Up to find said familiar face on the other end of the counter. “That’s a real funny way of saying you missed me Maddie Wilson.” West announced as he made his way through the shop, stopping once he made it in front of her. “I love the accent. Wilco here or is it just you?” He asked, testing the waters for just how cryptic he needed to be. “I’m for sure in need of some wax. Whatever your little heart recommends. And maybe a recap on what the hell you’ve been up too.” 

-

“Just me, just the way you like it,” she assured him with a grin that hadn’t faltered for even a second since he’d wandered through the beaten and weather worn door of the old shop. A lot of things had changed in Cherry that year, Lux was dead, Libby was no longer speaking to her, Casey and other members of the gang seemed wary of Maddie’s return for reasons she couldn’t quite understand. Yet, West Virginia, as he stood with sun bleached hair and dimpled smile, had barely changed at all. He brought with him the warmth of familiarity, like a day hadn’t passed since the last Summer she stood behind that same old counter, talking shit with old friends to waste the day until she could clock out for the afternoon. 

She smiled as she went about shuffling through the Mr Zog’s display on the counter, she knew what kind of wax he needed and she also knew what kind of wax he liked. She picked up a solid puck of cold water wax and set it down on the counter between them, “Two fifty,” same as always, though she still felt the need to express it. She pressed her lips together then, considering something for a moment, something perhaps a little dangerous. “I um, can I interest you in maybe trying something else? It’s a new product...it’s...organic,” she prefaced, rather ominously before turning her back on West and reaching for a different display, a dusty box of organic, locally made wax by a company that didn’t exist anymore. Nobody ever bought it so she had taken to using the wax cannisters (made of old coca-cola cans, apparently) to store the Southsider’s supplies.

Though she had This is Your Night by Amber and Steal my Sunshine by LEN on repeat all Summer, it wasn’t as if Maddie was against the idea of having some new tunes to play at the shop, much to her Uncle’s chagrin. So, in the spirit of new discoveries, Madeline was at Blossom Records, picking out some new CDs to add to the Surf’s Up collection...with money from her uncle’s cash register of course.

She placed one hand over her eyes and used the other to feel the edges of the various CDs as she blindly hoped that one of them would reach deep into her soul and call out to her. When she finally felt as if the moment was upon her, she plucked it out and lifting her palm from her nose, only to reveal that it was...the Stuart Little original motion picture soundtrack. Disappointing.

𝐖𝐇𝐎: debra foster & OPEN

𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓:​​ lil debs doing her dirty work 4 the day

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄: the block party, obvi!

The lines between Proper and the Southside had slowly began to fade. Well, if they could all coexist at a block party, maybe it would be! It also gave Debra the perfect front to actually be at the block party. Had she shown up of her own volition with no Southsiders in sight… she would have had a bit of explaining to do. Luckily, she had been tasked to mingling on the Proper side. There weren’t many girls in the Southside gang, and not many that could throw on innocence like Debra. Thus, she was given a dress code by Hasim, to wear something unsuspecting as if to say hey, Southsiders can look nice too! She tugged at the sun dress she was in, clipboard in hand, as she hunted down voters. She had been bouncing between her job at The Pit and the Southside Gang all day long and just needed a break. Was this what it would be like when she was inevitably split between both worlds? Maybe!

She wanted to sit down, maybe have a lemonade, but Debra had been given a goal. Get youngin’s to either register to vote or convince voters that Hasim was in the best interest of Cherry Township. It was a task that Debra wasn’t surprised fell on her. How could you say no to a face like hers? “Hi, sorry to be a bother,” she smiled softly, tapping the next person she saw on the shoulder. If she could secure them, maybe she’d be allowed a break. “I’m with Hasim Erdogan’s campaign. I was wondering if there was any way I could convince,” or bribe, “you into registering to vote? Or at least hearing about our plans for Cherry? It would only take two minutes, tops!”

-

Though she may be wary to admit it aloud, Debra’s sundress had swiftly caught Madeline’s eye and she was sincerely a little surprised to see the Southsider dressed in such a manner, though she tried her best not to judge. “Hey,” she greeted, opting to be friendly and casual instead of weird and creepy about the other girl’s attire as she approached. “Oh,” she hesitated then at explanation for her sudden appearance. It wasn’t that she was just saying hi, she had an agenda. How very Southsider-esque of her, Maddie considered but said nothing of the sort. 

Maddie had been staring aimlessly at one of the surfboards across from the counter for so long that she could have sworn that she was starting to see the face of Nick Carter in the old wax. Or maybe that was wishful thinking.

 Then the bell at the front of the shop rang, breaking her free from her entranced stupor and ready to put on a smile for the sake of customer service. It was once the forced smile was already planted that she realised that it was West Virginia at the door and her smile grew more sincere, God she loved saying his whole name in all its glory, she couldn’t quite help herself. “Looky what the cat dragged in,” she chimed in a playful tone, perking up in her position behind the counter before leaning on it, perhaps just a little too enthusiastic to actually have somebody to talk to other than the Nick Carter surfboard. “What can I do ya for, West Virginia?” it was an attempt at a West Virginian accent but since she didn’t actually know what one of those sounded like, it just kind of sounded like Goofy the dog.

Meet Maddie.