ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴄᴀʟʟᴇᴅ: ꜰʀᴇᴇꜰᴀʟʟ

[Eva Noblezada, cisfemale, she/her] who’s that? oh it’s [evie melvald]. i hear they’re [23] and are known as [the flight risk] around [anywhere but here] and [the Heiress] at [Melvald’s]. they’re known to be [openminded + relaxed] and [vague + evasive]. some people say they remind them of [barely glancing in the reareview mirror, being fake-deep, spiritual but not religious, no place to call home].

Jack wasn’t sure that he’d call the afterlife the most exotic destination, but it had been a trip nonetheless. There had apparently been overlap, though, if his new companion had been back in Hawkins just four years ago. “Oh, definitely not anything as exciting as Spain.” He hadn’t even been far outside of Indiana, let alone the continent, before he’d died. Jack supposed it was time to use the excuse he had been fed for the past few weeks since he’d been back, hoping that she’d heard about the commune enough to believe that it had been real. It had been all over the newspapers at one point, after all.

“I was in that, uh, forest community thing.” He spoke nonchalantly, hoping that it was enough information to feed without further questioning. “What were you in Spain for, though?” Jack asked, shifting the conversation back to Evie herself. “I guess I should also ask, then, what brings you back to Hawkins? I don’t think I would ever leave Europe to come back to this place, even if I’d only spent the summers. You have to know how shitty it is, even from your limited experience.”

xx.

“Oh?” she commented with a frown. Maybe it was silly to hope she’d found another world traveller in Hawkins, Indiana, but Jack’s real answer was perhaps just as intriguing. Forest community. She’d heard something about, how there were a bunch of people who decided to join a commune. Maybe Jack was just her speed after all. “Right! I wouldn’t have pegged you as the type, Jack,” she smiled, pleasantly surprised. “What was it like? Did you guys, like, grow your own food and stuff? Get high all the time? Ooh. Don’t tell me-- you were nudists?” she teased, though now that she thought about it, it wouldn’t be a bad look for him.

Giving him a moment to respond, Evie reached up and took his hand that was still holding her joint. She pulled it to her lips, taking a drag without it ever leaving his fingers. Releasing him reluctantly, she laughed at his commentary about how shitty Hawkins was. “You’re not wrong, there. I was making my way through Europe, lived in Spain for a few months waiting tables. Amassing my riches, you know?” Evie paused on his question-- what brought her back-- and mulled it over for a second. The real reason was such a vibe killer, and she was having such a nice time. “Had to come back for family, but don’t worry. I’m planning my escape already.” It wasn’t a lie, really. Just... not the whole truth. 

for the first time since his arrival in hawkins, thad felt he was somewhere where he understood how things worked. he saw the suits and gowns men and women wore, the crystal the flutes of champagne were made out of it, it was so familiar. he knew this game. truthfully, he didn’t think an event like this could take place in somewhere like hawkins. while objectively, it was a funeral, and all incredibly sad, thad felt comforted by it. with him and nancy hanging on by a final wire, everything he did and experienced in their hiatus from each other felt foreign and brand new and he wasn’t taking well to it. this however? this was something that would stay the same, this was somewhere he could hide in the grief and feel safe. it was what he grew up around, after all. 

but he was still human and not so severely unaware that he understood death = sad, so he tried to be respectful as possible in this conversation with the eulogy giver. it didn’t come easy to thad, certainly not, but he had years of etiquette lessons as his side. while his former teacher probably wouldn’t have approved of sick eulogy, he would’ve been commended for talking about bradshaw & co. so, you win some you lose some. “diamond manufacturing.” he answered dryly, swirling his glass, then taking a stiff sip in turn. “not quite the same as…” what did henry do again? he didn’t remember. he covered it up disjointedly with, “this.”

 thanks, i think. thad was quick to be explicit, “it was a compliment, man.” he brought his glass of champagne to his lips again, freezing as she began telling tales about her grandfather’s life and the church then her other grandfather. in a way, it felt kind of like a sign. with everything that had been going on between himself and nancy, or himself, adam, and cole, or truthfully the weird confusion around love that had been going on his entire life, meeting the granddaughter of possibly the only openly gay old man in all of indiana felt like some kind of a beacon. his mouth dried up instantly and he froze, sniffling as he dared to ask, “i’m sorry i…” the next words, his tone, were both surprisingly tender, “did you just say you have like, two grandpas?” 

xx.

Completely lost in thought about what the hell she was going to do now-- without the funeral to plan or the eulogy to write--, Evie missed her companion’s own wistful stare. She hadn’t cried since she’d gotten the news. She’d done a sage cleansing ritual before she left for Hawkins, so the grief should all be gone. But then, why did she feel it creeping in now? Perhaps the only thing between her and a full-fledged emotional breakdown was this unlikely friend she’d stumbled upon. Or really, he had stumbled up on her. 

Evie turned all of her attention to him, now, feigning interest in his diamond manufacturing business. “Oh, rad,” she remarked, though she had no idea what it meant to manufacture diamonds. Steal them from poor communities in Africa, or something? Evie smiled, “No, not the same. But, I hear the diamond market in Hawkins is pretty unsaturated. Maybe Melvald’s could partner with you,” she joked. Evie had next to no idea what an ‘unsaturated market’ was, only that it was something Henry used to say when he was trying to cut a deal with someone.

She smiled at him now, over her own flute of champagne. “I believe you.” His expression changed, and Evie suddenly had trouble reading him. His question made her blood run cold; she was all too used to defending her grandfathers to the typical nosy customer. Before she could pop off with an insult about him being close-minded, she paused. He looked almost... sad. Not like he was judging them at all. “Yeah?” she asked. Evie gestured at Donald, who had elected to wear an all black tuxedo aside from the green and black silk handkerchief tucked into his pocket. “Henry’s husband. Or, domestic partner or whatever bullshit the state says instead of recognizing their marriage.” Raising an eyebrow at her guest, Evie ventured: “Why?”

.

did this stranger think she could one up bev in a bitch off? fat chance. bev wildfire practically invented the term bitch off! she very obviously fake laughed as the worker offered to open her soda for her and she responded, “don’t even think about touching my drink.” didn’t this girl know that change and cash were absolutely filthy? all the hands that had touched it? no way was she going to transfer those germs to her drink! as annoyed as bev was and as quick as she was to snap back, there was a blatant challenge before her. she prided herself on her ability to get with anyone and manipulate any situation in her favor. the fact of the matter was? the clerk’s ability to keep up with her was so fucking attractive, it was infuriating. she had to gain some control over this situation.

when she slipped her shirt down, bev eyed her bare shoulder and a wicked idea bloomed at the front of her mind. she pushed the soda to the side and squinted, “can’t read that tiny little font.” she said with a bored sigh. then with ease, she hopped onto the counter, lifted up her legs, then set them down, sliding behind the register with the worker. “who cares about a receipt?” bev placed her cold hand on the back of her neck, jostling her close as she grinned, tongue between her teeth. making her intentions very clear, her eyes bore into evie’s, permanent darkness beckoning the other to get on the same page. “i’m busy.” she explained to evie in a whisper, slowly dragging her hand down from the back of her neck and stopping at the top button of the shirt. aggressively, she popped the button open and let her hand sit there for a second as she informed the other, “you know, if you’re seen talking to me, you shouldn’t wear something so horrific.” 

xx.

Evie’s mouth twitched at Bev’s response, hinting at a smirk. It was sort of amusing, the other girl’s commitment to disliking Evie. Maybe she shouldn’t be into it, but... Evie was never to deny attraction. “What, do you think I have typhoid or something?” she asked, holding up her hands as if to prove she wouldn’t dare touch the girl’s drink. But then, just as quick as her wit, Bev’s energy shifted. 

Suddenly, Bev was sliding behind the register and any though of giving her the receipt was crowded out of Evie’s mind. As much as she hated to admit it, Bev’s presence-- her being this close to Evie-- made it hard for her to think. Eyes hungrily taking in the curve of Bev’s shoulder, the plumpness of her lips, lifted to the other girl’s eyes. “Do you need a bag for that?” Evie teased, once her mouth caught up to her brain. As Bev’s hand slipped to her chest, unpopped the button, she lifted a hand to the perfectly-curled blonde hair and twirled a curl around her finger. With an eyeroll, Evie glanced back at the girl’s lips-- so pretty while they spewed such venom. “Take it off then. I would hate to damage your reputation.” Truthfully, in that moment there was nothing she would like more. 

.

“huh?” lucas blinked across the counter at her, then back to the items he’d selected, and back again before processing what evie had said. he snorted softly as he tapped his fingertips in an idle beat against the countertop. “i’m not, but if you’re looking for one, you can always check out skull rock.” he shrugged half-heartedly, scratching the back of his neck as he said it. his mom always used to say he had a tell when he was hiding something. maybe that was it. he dropped his arm to his side instead.

honestly? lucas wasn’t sure what he believed about the afterlife. the sinclairs were mostly easter-and-christmas christians. his dad worked most sundays and his mom had enough of wrangling twin toddlers that they’d stopped the weekly services before he and erica were four, but he wasn’t so sure it worked like that. he did the math in his head and counted out a few bills, passing them over and tucking his wallet back into his pocket. “if i was throwing a rager, you’d be on the guest list. for the record.” which wasn’t really his style. lucas was more into pool parties and bonfires of late. 

“so,” he said, hating the smalltalk part of this whole thing. “how’s it feel? being back?” 

xx.

Evie wasn’t a particularly truthful person-- often preferring vague sentiments over concrete facts. As such, she could certainly tell that her customer was hiding something. It was funny to her, the small-town sentiment that she might judge his purchases and tell someone. That was the thing she’d missed least about good old Hawkins, Indiana. “It’s been pretty dead lately,” she pouted at his mention of skull rock. “Apparently I missed quite the skull rock kickback last month,” Evie sighed wistfully. There wasn’t a lot of gossip in town she cared about, but talk of a good party was always welcome.

With a ding, the register opened and Evie handed back Lucas’ change with a smile at his statement. “I appreciate it,” she laughed. “Though...  you don’t really throw parties, do you? Don’t seem like the type.” Evie observed, drawing mostly on his meticulously clean-shaven appearance and the fact that she didn’t remember him from any parties over the summers she’d spent here. Maybe he wasn’t old enough then. 

“Loaded question,” she remarked, letting out a puff of air. God, she wished she had a joint right about now. “It feels like Hawkins has gone to shit,” she said, matter-of-factly. Evie wasn’t sure what all that was about, but she’d heard the talk. She learned a lot about local goings-on thanks to the moms with nothing better to talk about while they shop. 

-

Barb actually liked grocery shopping. Although she wasn’t sure if going to Melvald’s actually counted as grocery shopping, considering the size of the store. It was more like…grabbing a few odds and ends, she supposed. But that was a mouthful to say, and it definitely didn’t seem as adult to say. A twelve year old could grab a few odds and ends for their mom, an adult was the one who went grocery shopping. At any rate, she felt a little more put together standing here in the store, a basket dangling from the crook of her arm.

She must have still been in a mental fog, though, at least more than she realized. Barb heard the girl’s voice and she looked up, a little frown of confusion touching her lips. “Oh, I…” She’d had a list before she left the house. Did she leave it? “I was trying to find vitamins,” she said finally. She remembered that for sure. “Like, um….just normal vitamins. For your health.” Maybe she wasn’t doing as well mentally as she thought she was.

xx.

Coming back to Hawkins was a constant gamble. Evie hadn’t planned to come back so soon, or ever really, but she figured she owed it to her surviving grandfather to hold down the fort while he grieved, at least for a while. But now, working the counter every day, Evie was playing a constant game of does this person look familiar because I knew them, or because Hawkins has small-town syndrome?

She was playing the game in her head with the younger customer when the girl said she was looking for vitamins. “Sure, no problem.” Evie led her to the meager health section and pointed out a few options. “We don’t have, like, the fancy shit. But I hope it works.” Evie paused for a beat, studying the girl’s face. “You, uh, shop here often? You look familiar, is all.” 

+++

this was fine, this was ok. jo nodded to herself, a firm hold on the strap of her bag as she made her way down the street from the post to melvald’s. her usual lunch routine, pretty much ever since she’d started working there. whatever got her out of that office. whatever got her as far away as possible from chuck bailey who seemed to think that he could bond with her by tearing down the other three women who worked at the post for being ‘ too feminine’. so melvald’s it was. 

but some time ago, her escapes to melvald’s had changed in their nature. precisely ever since evie melvald had returned to hawkins. someone jo had barely exchanged a word with before, not even a nod in passing, she’d flown entirely under her radar - until now, that was. now jo found herself wondering if she should relax her grip on the strap, if it would seem more cool and aloof if she wore her bag across her body rather than lazily slung across her shoulder, wondered if she should perhaps pop on her headphones, maybe chew some gum. it was pathetic but joanne foreman had never claimed to be anything else in the company of enticing and beautiful men and woman. 

no time left for adjustments, she was already stood in front of the door, despite having walked considerably slow to buy herself more time. here went nothing, jo clicked her tongue and slipped inside the store, unnoticed, past a woman and her toddler. immediately busying herself with a box of descaling agent in the random aisle she’d slipped into, pretending to read the back of the packed. entirely lost in thought, so much so that the whole thing slipped right out of her hands. “shit! shit, sorry. sorry.”

jo quickly picked it up, gave the other a sheepish, apologetic smile. great job, joanne. “i, uh - no. not milk. ‘m not here for milk.” ‘i’m here because i have a huge pathetic crush on you.’ “uh…..do you have, like, nature valley bars or something? like - snacks ?”

xx.

As Evie walked around the counter, she recognized the girl. She came in a few times a week, presumably on her lunch break, and was usually pretty quiet but nice enough. Evie flashed an easy smile at her apology, deciding to have a little fun with her. “Can’t sneak up on a girl like that. I’m all alone here and all.”

Eyes falling to the... box of descaling agent Jo had picked up, Evie quirked a curious eyebrow. “Got bad pipes, or something?” she asked, as the girl returned the box to its rightful place on the shelf. “You’re working at the Post, yeah? You running an investigation on Melvald’s, or something?” Evie smirked at the idea. “I can promise we don’t have any dirty secrets. Yet,” she added with a wink.

“Oh, yeah. Tons,” Evie slipped around Jo and led her to the snack aisle, arm purposely brushing the other girl’s. She stopped in front of the vast array of snacks and turned back to Jo with a flourish. “Isn’t this, like, your lunch break? Please tell me you’re gonna eat more than a nature valley bar.” She scrunched her nose in concern. 

Evie thought about the ridiculous portion of chicken inasal Hana Garcia had practically forced on her this morning and turned to the girl with a warm smile. “You interested in a trade?” she paused, leaned against the freezer at the end of the aisle. “You give me your name and swear not to come after my business, and I’ll share my lunch with you. My grandma makes the best chicken inasal.” She watched Jo, expectantly. 

.

Argyle knew he needed to get out of Jonathan’s apartment, to go out into the world and not worry about everything that had been going on. However, he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do now. Leave? It was tempting, but he didn’t want to leave Jonathan here to fend for himself after the carnival catastrophe. What kind of friend would that make him? So, he put on a brave face, temporarily putting away his weed stash and heading out to get some stuff they needed for the apartment. It was the least he could do before Jonathan was back from the hospital.

He hadn’t been sleeping well, so he got to Melvald’s right around opening time. Unlike his usual relaxed and chill vibe, he was clearly tired and had a lot on his mind. He met the cashier’s gaze, eyebrows narrowing at the question. “My vibe’s off? I think the whole town’s vibe is off, man,” he replied, shaking his head. “—Nah, I’m just here for some tasty snacks.” He always needed to satisfy his munchies, after all. “Got anything good?”

xx.

Evie knew, maybe better than anyone, about the town’s vibe. That’s why she was here, after all. But if she was anything, she was good at disconnecting from her environment, picking and choosing how to feel. “Yeah, man, I know,” she allowed, resting her head on her hand. “But like, you can’t let everything bring you down, you know? The world’s fucked. We don’t have to be,” she waxed philosophical for a moment.

A smile ghosted Evie’s lips at his request, which confirmed her theory that he, too, indulged in the finer things in life. “Oh, yeah. Follow me,” she instructed, gleam in her eye. Evie led the stranger to the fifth aisle, where a shiny array of bagged snacks hung. “You got a favorite?” Evie plucked a bag of shark bites off of the shelf and opened it, offering it to the other. As he studied the variety on the shelves, Evie walked over to the cooler at the end of the aisle. “We have Pudding Pops too, of course.” 

.

thad had only been to one funeral and it was weird. when the original thad, his grandfather, kicked the bucket, there had been a large and elaborate ceremony. he was only around ten or eleven, but he remembered it being the first time his parents let him try alcohol and how tedious the fittings for his suit had been. above both of those things though, thad remembered nobody really cried, they weren’t celebrating by any means, but he found it weird that his dad could go out on the porch, smoke cigars with his friends, and even crack a smile when he’d yet to even shed a tear. 

this funeral was nothing like that. it was personal, people were upset. thad didn’t know henry melvald, but he’d read in his eulogy that he was a businessman, an entrepreneur, and with his understanding of how funerals worked, it didn’t seem like a bad place to go to take his mind off of the up-in-the-air state of his and nancy’s relationship. he lingered in the back respectfully, watched people grieve, and didn’t insert himself where he wasn’t wanted. for once, he could’ve hung on the back wall all night. until he heard that eulogy. thad didn’t know what it was about it’s cadence, but it stirred something in him. something that moved him off of the wall and in the direction of the woman as soon as the service dispersed. 

she looked at him kind of funny, but thad donned a charming smile as he took the flute of champagne and gladly answered her questions, “no, i  didn’t. consider this a…fellow entrepreneur paying his respect.” when he boiled it down, that was true. “i…” thad’s mouth felt dry as he issues the next compliment, “sick eulogy.” he told her. that didn’t exactly come out right, “you were like, harvey’s granddaughter?” 

xx.

Swirling the expensive champagne around her mouth, Evie leaned an elbow unceremoniously on the bar. She felt out of place here, and she couldn’t help but think her grandfather would, too. Henry was a simple man; it was Donald who liked the finer things in life. Which was fine, funerals were really for the living, were they not? But she couldn’t help wishing Henry was there; he was the one who snuck her alcohol before she turned twenty-one, the one who could lock eyes with her across the room and read her mind. And he was gone. And she’d avoided Hawkins like a plague for the last four years of his life.

She gulped down the champagne and raised a quizzical brow at the blonde in front of her. Who came to a stranger’s funeral, anyway? It was basically open to the whole town, but why had he wanted to come? Whatever, she guessed, to each his own. “A fellow entrepreneur,” she repeated, taking a slow sip of the beverage. “What business are you in?” Evie asked, abandoning any notion of the weird vibe surrounding this guy. 

Sick eulogy. The strange compliment caught her off guard, and Evie nearly spit out the champagne in her mouth; but, well, it was too expensive to waste. And, for what it was worth, Evie appreciated it. She saw a few particularly churched members of the crowd frown their disappointment during her reading; not enough ‘Blessed are the’s or whatever for their taste, she guessed. After a beat of silence, she finally decided to put him at ease. “Thanks, I think,” Evie cracked a smile. “Henry’s granddaughter, yeah,” she corrected him gently, sliding a program with his name on it towards the guy. “He wasn’t really religious, or anything. Half these people ran him out of the church when he moved in with my grandpa.” Evie mused with a nostalgic smile. It was one of her favorite things about him-- how unapologetically he took up space, demanded respect. She wanted to emulate that, but she didn’t know how. 

—  ❤ —

“Don’t I?” Virginia sang, twirling around as she walked towards Evie. Ginny had changed, for either better or for worse. It kind of varied from person to person. Like, how her dad thought she always looked like a low grade hussy, but Jason Carver had told her that it was a shame that they never hooked up in high school. Eat your heart out, Chrissy Cunningham! 

Ginny peeled the wrapper back, taking a bit into her whatchamacallit, holding it in her mouth as she dug into her front pocket, pulling out a bunched up dollar bill. She laid it on the counter hoping that would suffice. “My dad does,” she shrugged, chewing. “Which like, makes no sense. It’s all about TV nowadays!” 

She didn’t even touch on Evie’s weird comment about being kosher or her gay granddaddy being in another life. Instead, Ginny just fed into it. “I hope in my next life that I’m like, a total Betty. The kind that’s as tall as Brooke Shields,” a girl could dream. She shook her head at Evie’s question. “I was there for a bit,” there was a sort of tonal shift in the air. Maybe it was the dead knowing they were talking about them or some equally spiritual bullshit. “I just grabbed some food, hopped on the ferris wheel and left before…. well, you know.” 

She turned her head to Evie, meeting her gaze. “Are you like, here permanently now or is this just a bus stop to the next destination?”

xx.

Evie laughed at the girl’s theatrics. At least that would never change. She fed into it, giving Ginny the applause she so clearly wanted with a teasing smile. Evie waved Ginny’s dollar away; what was the point of paying for one thing? She rocked back on her heels and regarded the girl, before asking: “So, new look. New beau too?” 

If she was going to be in Hawkins for the foreseeable future, she may as well know who was fucking who, to avoid any potentially hairy situations herself. That was the allure of travel; whoever she’d been with, she was sure to not see again. With a chuckle, Evie reached under the counter and pulled out her own snack of choice: a half-empty bag of Pepperidge cookies. “I could really see you being a newscaster,” she commented before popping a cookie into her mouth. “You’ve got the hair.”

Covering her mouth, Evie laughed-- really laughed-- at Ginny’s tall order for her next life. “Damn. What, you wanna be an Olympian or something?” Evie imagined Ginny, but at six feet tall, and fell into another fit of laughter. That would be dangerous. When her laughter subsided, she fished out another cookie and took a bite to avoid verbally acknowledging Ginny’s statement. “Yeah,” she breathed out eventually. “What an insane fluke.” Evie actively tried not to think too much about the accident that had killed her grandfather, so she was relieved when Ginny changed the subject.

“Permanently? I could never stay here,” she answered. That was one thing she was confident Ginny would agree with her on. Hawkins was too small, too simple, when the rest of the world was waiting. “I want to go to Southeast Asia next-- Vietnam, Indonesia.” Evie turned her gaze back to Ginny. “What about you? Big plans?”

The last time he’d been at the rock, there had been a keg and a football, and Adam was fighting with who Jack now knew as his boyfriend. He hadn’t meant to make it all the way here, but after talking with Adam about what exactly had happened in the forest, Jack decided to take a stroll through it, searching for answers. He hadn’t expected to come up with much, but clearing his head and getting away from all of the reminders of his death at home was more than needed.

Jack also hadn’t expected company, which came in the form of a girl walking toward him, something lit between her fingers. “Sorry!” he called out, offering an apologetic wave to the stranger approaching. She was a bit shorter than he was, and he’d never seen her before (which had been happening quite a bit recently, given his three-year absence). “Jack,” he said simply, taking the joint out of her hand with a grin. “Sharing is caring, you know.” He brought the paper to his lips. “Are you new to town, or something? I haven’t been back in a while.”

xx.

Truthfully, Evie hadn’t realized that she didn’t really want to be alone until Jack answered her and took the joint from her. She was relieved that he hadn’t been weirded out and left. She’d spent plenty of nights smoking alone, after all, and it had yielded little comfort. “Jack,” she repeated, watching his lips close around the joint. “You’re absolutely right.” Evie smiled easily then, perching on the edge of the rock.

His vague answer instantly made Evie curious-- had she found a fellow traveler? And why did he come back to Hawkins if he’d escaped? Pushing a stray hair out of her face, Evie shrugged. “New and old, I guess. I used to spend summers here, but I haven’t been back in, like... four years, I guess?” Evie rested her head on her hand, face angled upwards towards the other. “I just got in from Spain a few weeks ago. But where were you? Somewhere exotic, I hope?” her eyes twinkled at the possibility.

.

as he stood in the hardware section of melvald’s, lucas found himself paranoid that it wasn’t one of the byers working the counter. jonathan wouldn’t care what he was buying and joyce might give him a look, but even if she was one of his best friend’s moms, she’d always been good about letting them make their own mistakes…as long as they weren’t putting themselves immediately into harm’s way, anyway.

but he didn’t know what the person currently manning the register would say about his purchases today: four cans of spray paint, a bottle each of ibuprofen and acetaminophen, and a particularly jagged-looking hunting knife. he took his basket up to the counter and paused to grab a pack of skittles before placing it all on the register between them. “hm?” lucas blinked slowly at her as he reached in his back pocket for his wallet. “my vibe?” his mouth twitched in the shadow of a grin as he rested his palms flat on the counter, shoulders lifting and falling in a shrug. “guess i’m just weirded out by all the death.” he sized her up, trying to place her for a moment before it clicked. oh.“i, uh, sucks about your grandpa.” 

xx.

Evie made it a habit not to comment on people’s purchases. Truly, she didn’t want to be involved in anyone’s business, in the same way she didn’t want people to be in hers. That, and because after the old, balding guy with the gun had come in to buy red string two months in a row, she decided it was just part of the Hawkins charm. But, she hadn’t seen this guy in before, and spray paint, a hunting knife, and enough pain reliever to cure several hangovers certainly piqued her curiosity.

“Throwing a rager tonight and not inviting your friendly neighborhood cashier?” Evie joked, wrapping the knife in paper without question, and stacking the items in the customary brown paper bag. “Yeah,” she answered with a sigh. All the death was a valid reason to be off, she supposed. “But, they passed on to the next life, you know? Maybe they’re all fabulously rich now,” she mused. At the stranger’s condolences, her smile faltered for a second. “Oh. Thanks,” she recovered with a cheery, customer service smile. “Henry is definitely running the coolest corner store in his next life. Local artisans, organic produce. The works.”

.

of course bev knew that melvald’s closed in five as the slob walking past the counter soo kindly reminded her. she might’ve been…out of commission the last couple of years, but she still remembered when melvald’s closed for fuck’s sake! it wasn’t going to take her more than five minutes to buy a soda, could this random cool her jets? laughing small and shrill with pointed eyes, bev looked in her direction and muttered an, “okay?” then made a point to roll her eyes as she walked to grab a coke bottle from the refrigerated section and ignored the offer of help.

she took her time walking up to the counter, like there were aisles full of people watching, and completed her walk with the flip of her hair over her shoulder. “hi.” she smiled, overly sweet, dangerously. “just this.” she watched as the other girl rung her up and naturally let the jab roll off her tongue, “where’d you get your button down? it’s so….homely. very hawkins of you.” she folded her hands on the counter, giving the girl a quick once over before meeting her eyes with that same steady smile. bev didn’t recognize her, not in the slightest, and while she was aware of the fact a lot could change in four years, that didn’t stop her from poking, “i haven’t seen you around before…” bev carefully pulled out her wallet, digging around for the exact amount of change, “you’ve done a super job making yourself look like a local, not sure that’s like, something to be proud of though.” she said it like an insult, like the worst thing she could be– anyone could be, was a hawkins local. 

xx.

Evie had never been very good at customer service; no matter how many times her grandfather had recited his ‘the customer is always right’ mantra, it didn’t sink in. Were it up to her, she’d have locked the door and waved, leaving Bev without her beverage. But now more than ever, it was important for Evie to bite her tongue, paste on a sickly sweet smile, and at least attempt to honor her grandfather’s legacy. “I’d be happy to open it for you,” Evie offered, smile creasing her eyes, after she counted back the customer’s change. She motioned to the bottle opener to solidify the offer. 

At the girl’s thinly veiled diss, Evie’s smile tightened. She smoothed the front of her button down not bothering to tuck it all the way in. Evie hadn’t dealt with a mean girl in years; most parts of the world were more developed than this, but she figured it was part of the small-town charm. “You know, I’m actually not sure. Check the tag, if you want,” she remarked, echoing the girl’s obviously fake smile. Evie flipped the collar down, sliding the oversized shirt off her shoulder and looking at Bev as if asking well, are you going to check? She shrugged the shirt back on and took the change, painstakingly counting out on the counter. “It’s all part of the ruse. Getting people to support local business,” she said, carefully enunciating every syllable in business for emphasis. “Need a receipt, blondie?” 

where: Melvald’s (gonna start saying the ‘m’ word atp)

Marker grasped in between her teeth, Evie taped a hastily-scrawled sign to the front door of Melvald’s. ‘Out of milk- check tomorrow :(.’ She waved goodbye to the woman and her toddler who’d just bought her last gallon and made her way back to the counter as the door jingled shut behind them. Tucking the pen behind her ear, Evie jumped at the sound of someone in the store. She hadn’t noticed the blonde slip in as the previous customers left.

“Christ, you scared me,”  she laughed, took a second to look the girl over. Evie leaned an elbow against the counter, a pleased smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “What are you looking for?” she asked. Evie wasn’t usually so hands-on with customers, preferring to let them do their own shopping, but she made exceptions for attractive people around her age. “And we’re out of milk, so don’t say milk. I’m not going to bitch out our dairy supplier for you.”