#chelseeebe

the only redeeming factor was getting to stay with your cousins, whom you loved.

especially nancy.

she was only a year younger than you but so obviously influenced by everything you did, from the way you styled your hair to how you spoke, showing her new slang from the city.

plus, getting to team up and bully mike was an added bonus.

this summer was going to be different though, nancy had found a job with her new boyfriend at the local paper, leaving you all alone.

she’d begged for the day off when you’d arrived, taking you to the new mall that had opened up in the tiny town, starcourt.

it was all very bright and always bustling, full of kids on their summer vacation.

maybe you could hang out here this summer, at least there was air conditioning.

nancy tries to drag you into the stationary store but you point blank refuse, knowing just how long she’d take, obsessing over paper quality and ink flow.

i’m gonna go get ice cream,’ nodding over to the sailor themed shop, ‘please, don’t be hours in there.’

she drops your hand, flashing you a cheeky grin before rushing into the dull store.

you sigh, walking into the ice cream parlour, preparing for the hour long wait you were about to face.

trundling over to the counter, you can see a boy dressed in sailors gear arguing with another similarly dressed girl, perched on the ledge.

she nods towards you, ‘do your thing, harrington.’

he spins on his heel to face you, an enthusiastic smile on his lips, ‘hi! what brings you here today?’

you stare back, slightly bewildered, ‘uhh.. ice cream?’

he leans forward, hands resting on the counter, ‘yeah, we sell ice cream,’ he nods towards the display.

you nod slightly, raising your brows, ‘right.. well, can i order?’

you weren’t sure if he was always a bumbling idiot or if this store was actually a front for some illegal business and he’d forgotten what to actually do.

‘yes! of course,’ he fumbles with the ice cream scoop tucked into his short pocket, not once breaking eye contact.

you smile, honestly out of sheer joy in watching him and his odd movements.

‘just chocolate, please,’ nodding to him.

he doesn’t move, still gazing into your eyes, mouth slightly parted with the remnants of his smile.

the girl behind him clears her throat and he’s kickstarted into action, finally breaking away from your eyes and grabbing a cone.

you stare, mostly in awe, unsure if this was his attempt at flirting with you or if he was generally just.. like this.

he hands you the cone, attempting to flip the ice cream scooper but failing miserably, a loud clattering of metal sounds as it hits the tiled floor.

the other sailor bursts out with laughter, slapping her knee as he bends down, retrieving his scoop and putting it back on the counter with a small sigh.

you bite down onto your bottom lip, wanting to stifle your laughter as his cheeks flush red.

‘thanks..’ you nod, giving him a half-smile.

his eyes meet yours again, not as bright as once before but you can still see the fervour in his eyes.

‘yeah.. enjoy, come back anytime,’ he says, finding his smile once more.

you grin back, walking out of the store, questioning what the fuck had just happened.

‘nice one dingus! that went really well,’ she muses, raising her eyebrows as steve cringes away.

‘just.. shut up,’ he doesn’t even fight back, knowing just how terribly that went.

‘oh.. and that’ll be a buck fifty.. you didn’t charge her,’ she giggles, making it all much funnier.

he just groans, reaching into his pocket to retrieve his wallet, placing the bills into the machine.

he stares out of the door, unable to shake the image of your smile from his head, cursing himself for being such a dork.

-

although steve had longed for it, you don’t come back into the store the next day. or the day after that.

‘look, robin..’ he sighs, ‘there was something different about her, i could feel it.. in my bones,’ he explains to his coworker.

‘oh my god,’ she groans, ‘you’ve said that about near enough every girl that walks through that door.’

‘no, no.. i’m right about this one,’ he reiterates.

in fact, you hadn’t really left his mind at all.

the fact you hadn’t laughed at him and the genuine, sincere smile on your face as he massively embarrassed himself played over and over again.

‘i think you need to get over it,’ robin rolls her eyes, swinging out her legs over the counter and hopping into the background.

steve just shakes his head, turning back to his post, he’d shot gunned being front of store all day, just in case you came in again.

-

it’s the end of the week before you’re back at the mall, this time on your own.

mike was almost disgusting when you'd asked him to join you, he was too old and far too cool to hang out with you.

you debate going back into the ice cream shop, wanting to see the strange but beautiful brown-eyed boy again.

well, fuck it. if anything, you’d have another funny story and some ice cream.

you sidle into the shop and the ginger girl from the other day looks up, a slightly shocked expression on her face.

she reaches over to ding the bell, ‘hey steve, might wanna get out here,’ she yells through the back.

‘i’m on my break! you can do it,’ he calls back.

you stand, bemused at their exchange, had he been speaking about you?

she raises a finger, telling you to wait and spins to lean through the window, ‘just get out here,’ rolling her eyes.

the boy sighs, walking through the swinging door with a half-eaten sandwich in his hand, crumbs all over his blue uniform.

‘look robin, when i’m on my bre-,’ his eyes slowly meet yours and you raise your eyebrows in faux shock.

he smiles, placing his sandwich down on the counter and brushing himself off.

‘hey! i was waiting for you to come back.. well, not waiting but- just,’ he gives up, ‘ice cream?’

‘oh really? you were waiting?’ you grin, squinting at him.

‘every damn day,’ the girl who’s name you’d learnt was robin adds, ‘like a lil’ puppy.’

he elbows her as she walks into the back room, giggling to herself.

‘don’t listen to her, i was just.. hoping you’d come back, kinda embarrassed myself last time.. had to show you my scooping skills,’ he beams, gripping onto the scooper.

‘riight,’ you nod, ‘well, let’s see em’,’ watching him intently.

‘chocolate?’

‘please.’

he’s slightly smoother this time, not so visibly nervous at least.

‘i don’t think i introduced myself.. my name’s steve, professional ice cream scooper,’ he winks and you giggle in response, finally learning mystery boy’s name.

he goes to hand over the cone before quickly bringing it back towards him, ‘ahh.. well, the thing is.. you can have the ice cream, but i’m gonna need something from you.’

you tilt your head slightly, you’d realised once you’d left the shop that he hadn’t charged you but you didn’t he’d care.

‘okay, what’s that?’ you humour him.

‘a date, with me.. obviously,’ he smirks slightly, the ice cream still hovering in the air.

‘hmmm.. isn’t this like.. blackmail or something?’ you joke, though maybe not so obviously as his face drops.

‘oh, no no.. i was just-,’

‘i’m joking,’ you nod assuringly, ‘sure, i’ll go on a date with you,’ smiling at him.

‘wait, really?’ he looks almost shocked at your willingness.

robin sits up and you can see her head pop up in the window, a completely shocked expression on her face.

‘yes,’ you laugh, ‘but i would like my ice cream,’ you point at the already melting ice cream still in his hand.

he looks at the cone and then back at you, ‘right!’ finally handing over the ice cream, ‘you really wanna go out?’ he has to ask again.

‘yes, but if you ask again i’ll change my mind,’ you say, licking the dripping ice cream.

‘wow.. okay, okay.. tomorrow? i’m off work at like six..’

‘yeah sounds good, i’m up on maple.. big white door, pick me up at seven.. i’ll be waiting,’ you confirm.

‘okay, yeah..yeah,’ he stares back, his mouth slightly open, ‘i don’t even.. i haven’t even asked you for your name.. how rude.’

‘y/n,’ giving him a small smile, beginning to back out of the store, ‘seven sharpish, i don’t like waiting,’ you add before leaving.

it’s awful and you can’t help it but you’re blushing.

he’d been waiting for you.

you can’t ignore the giddy feeling in your stomach.

-

‘so.. i’m going on a date tomorrow,’ you add, sprawled out your front on nancy’s bed.

‘what? you didn’t think to tell me sooner?’ her eyes widen, a small grin on her face.

‘well it only happened today.. i wasn’t gonna call you at work,’ you laugh, placing the half-read magazine on the bed to give her your full attention.

she prods you with her finger, ‘tell me all about it..’ crossing her legs and sitting up.

‘well.. he works in the mall, and he said he waited for me to come back, you know i told you about that boy completely embarrassing himself,’ you chuckle, remembering back to your first encounter.

‘oh my god, that’s so cute.. what’s his name?’ she questions, bright-eyed and genuinely excited for you.

‘steve.. he works in that ice cream store,’ you nod excitedly.

her face falls slightly and you pick up on it, straight away.

‘what? what was that face for?’

she shakes her head, ‘no.. it’s not- it doesn’t matter.’

‘nancy,’ you sit up properly, now in-level with her.

she purses her lips together, ‘well.. you remember that boyfriend i had.. last year? that’s him..’ she looks back at you, also slightly in shock.

‘that’s steve? oh nance.. i’m sorry, i didn’t even realise.. i won’t go,’ you apologise, reaching over to hold her hand.

‘no no no, oh my god no, i don’t care.. go, it’s just..’ her lips twitch slightly, ‘it’s kinda funny,’ she cracks up, giggling.

you stare at her for a moment until her infectious laugh catches on and you start giggle too.

‘it’s not that funny,’ you say through laughter.

‘i can’t believe that weird boy you were telling me about is steve,’ she says, calming herself from her giggles.

you chuckle, getting back into your comfortable position on her bed, ‘are you sure you’re okay with me going?’

‘i am positive, go have fun,’ she reassures you with a smile.

‘okay,’ you nod, grinning up at your crazy-haired cousin.

-

on the drive over; steve had racked his brain trying to figure out why the big white door on maple street rang a bell but couldn’t figure it out.

not until you walked out of the wheeler’s house and it had all clicked.

his face a picture as you walk over.

you gave him a small wave before getting into the car, smoothing out your skirt as you sit down.

‘did you.. did you just come out of that house?’ he points over to the large house, a confused expression taking over his features.

you chuckle, nodding, ‘yeah.. nancy’s told me a lot about you,’ you add, staring into his widened eyes as his face drops.

‘wait.. i’m confused.. is this a prank?’ he asks, still none-the-wiser.

you burst out into a laugh, ‘no, oh my god.. i’m nancy’s cousin.. if this is too weird, i completely understand.’

he’s finally on the same page, the look of understanding clear on his face, ‘no.. it’s not, is it?’

‘i don’t think so, nancy didn’t seem to care,’ you shrug, watching as the cogs turn in his brain.

‘okay well, i don’t care either.. do you?’

‘hmm.. nope,’ shaking your head.

‘okay.. good,’ he nods, a small smile emerging, finally finding the humour in the situation.

‘good,’ you reiterate, pulling the seatbelt around you.

he starts the car, still somewhat confused yet amused by it all.

‘you’re.. oh my god, you’re from cincinnati .. shit, how did i not..’ he laughs, clicking his fingers.

‘oh? you already know me?’ you ask, turning to face him.

‘oh yeah, god.. nancy did not shut up about this amazing cousin from out of town, i can finally see what all the hype’s about,’ he raises his brows, clutching onto the steering wheel.

‘well,’ you grin, flattered by your cousin’s obvious love for you, ‘i hope i don’t disappoint.’

‘you’re already well over my expectations of you.. if that helps,’ he glances over before quickly looking back to the road.

‘that’s good to know,’ you smile to yourself, stomach doing flips at his words.

‘don’t get big-headed now.. let’s see how i feel after the date and then i’ll decide,’ he jokes, giving you a small side-smirk.

he was.. calmer outside of work, not so flustered and a whole lot more comfortable around you.

you put it down to those tight, bright blue shorts.. must’ve been cutting off the circulation to his brain.

-

‘that’s a lot to remember,’ he nods, you’re sat on the grass at the edge of the fair, leaning back on your hand as you take a handful of the cotton candy steve was holding.

‘no it’s not,’ you protest, ‘super easy.. actually,’ you say, biting into the fluffy treat.

‘okay.. so, your mom and dad got divorced.. your dad is mr. wheeler’s brother-,’

‘technically my dad is also mr. wheeler.. but carry on,’ you giggle, motioning for him to continue.

he glares at you with a small smile, face illuminated by the flashing neon lights of the fairground rides, ‘anyway.. mr.wheeler is your uncle.. you don’t speak to your dad much anymore but.. you and your mom still visit every summer..’

you nod along, ‘see, told you it was easy,’ you grin back.

‘that was anything but easy, i put a hundred percent of my brain power into that,’ he chuckles, ripping off a piece of cotton candy.

‘god, your poor little brain,’ you jest, mockingly pouting at him.

he shakes his head rather endearingly, ‘how come i never saw you? i was at the wheeler’s like.. every day last summer.’

you seethe, ‘we couldn’t come last year.. someone failed math and had to do summer school or they wouldn’t graduate,’ you shrug, looking at the obviously intoxicated passer-by.

‘ahh.. so you’re not very good at math then?’ he jokes, prodding your side with his sharp elbow.

‘i never said that someone was me.. but no.. awful at it,’ you laugh, meeting his gaze again.

he just smiles back at you, eyes searching the entirety of your face, you notice as he takes his bottom lip between his teeth.

‘what?’ you laugh breathlessly, shaking your head at his stare.

his gaze drops to your lips briefly before meeting your eyes, ‘i really wanna kiss you,’ he breathes.

‘okay,’ you reply, it comes out as a whisper, giddy at his words.

he’s still resting his weight on his hand as he leans over, weight now unbalanced, the dewy grass slips between his fingers as he practically collapses on top of you and the stick of cotton candy going flying as he just about catches himself before he crushes you.

you stare up at him, eyes-widened at his utter failure to be smooth, giggling in his face as he holds himself up now just inches above you.

‘the cotton candy,’ you pout, turning your head to look at the discarded pink fluff.

his hand reaches up to touch your cheek, moving your head to look back at him, smiling as his lips finally reach yours.

suddenly, the obnoxiously loud carnival music and the screams of riders go silent, a show of muted colours flash behind your closed eyes, the feel of his body on top of yours.

he pulls back slightly, smirking, ‘i totally meant to do that.’

you giggle once more, ‘smooth,’ your arms move to wrap around his neck, tangled into his already outstretched arms.

he pauses for just a second before locking his lips to yours again, his smile incredibly evident through the kiss.

his hand still cradles your face, the mixture of his cologne, fried foods and gasoline fills your nose and you smile back, the kiss becoming a clash of teeth and breathy laughs.

summer might not be so boring after all.

-

you would never, ever normally be the one to chase a man after a date but there was something about steve, something about last night that had flipped the switch.

you didn’t wanna have to wait for him to call.. eighteen hours was already long enough.

besides, your mom and karen had gone for their annual mother’s retreat, meaning day-drinking and shit-talking and anything was better than being stuck at home with ted.

so you traipse into the mall, making a beeline for the ice cream shop, ignoring the pushy salesman grabbing at you.

normally, your heart would be in your throat.. not wanting to initiate things but you felt confident strolling through the walkway.

you’d sat at the carnival field for hours, even after they’d shut down all of the rides, cascaded in moonlight as he rambled on about his dad, telling you all about high school and his ‘golden days’ as he’d called it.

when he’s eventually dropped you off, hours after you should’ve been back, he leant over the centre console of his car with the cheesiest grin on his face and kissed you one last time, you could’ve honestly stayed in the car forever.

the ice cream shop is busier than usual and it takes a minute for steve to realise you’re there, in the middle of serving a customer he falters, unable to continue the order coherently.

his eyes dart between you and the poor dad just trying to get ice cream as he finishes the transaction.

‘hey,’ you simper, smiling as you get to the counter.

‘hey.. i wasn’t expecting you, threw me off,’ he chuckles, readjusting the sailor hat on his head.

‘i couldn’t tell.. totally smooth,’ you’re reminded of his fumble last night, now he’d totally played it off.

‘shut up,’ he remarks, cheeks flushed with colour, ‘what brings you to scoops ahoy? apart from the ice cream of course,’ he moves from behind the counter, closer to you.

‘i was just wondering if you wanna go see a movie later?’ you shrug.

‘yes, yeah.. i’d love to,’ he nods excitedly before looking at his watch, ‘shit.. i’m supposed to be closing.. unless..’ he looks back at robin, who was sat at an empty table reading some gossip magazine.

she looks up at him over the tabloid and rolls her eyes, ‘fine,’ she grumbles, ‘but all of your tips next week are mine.’

his mouth falls open but he doesn’t protest, ‘deal,’ he reluctantly agrees before turning back to you with that same cheesy grin from last night.

‘so it’s a date?’

‘it’s a date,’ he nods, ‘i’m out of here at six.. d’you wanna hang out here ‘til i’m done?’

you narrow your eyes, looking around the brightly coloured establishment, ‘i’m gonna say no.. but i’ll be there,’ you laugh.

‘right, yeah.. see you at six,’ he calls out as you begin to walk away, ‘i don’t like waiting!’

you flash him your middle finger, giggling at his mockery.

-

it turns out, you’d spend a lot of time in scoops ahoy through the summer.

waiting for steve to finish work or joining him on his breaks, sat in a booth eating far too much free ice cream, sharing soft, vaguely strawberry flavoured kisses.

you also get to know robin, ganging up with her to bully steve, joking about how dorky he looked with that sailors hat perched on top of his quaffed hair.

one night after countless hours already spent with him at work, you’re lazing in his bed, almost dropping off to sleep as his fingers comb through your hair.

you groan into his chest, ‘i need to go..’ repositioning yourself to look up at him, pouting.

‘stay,’ he whispers, ‘fuck the rules,’ his chuckle vibrating his chest.

‘i can’t, my mom’ll kill me..’ you frown, but the way his own plump lips pouted at your denial made your heart skip a beat.

you knew there was now an actual number on how many more times you could do this before you had to go back to virginia.

‘stay..’ he breathes, ‘you’re already half-asleep.. no point in moving just to fall asleep again,’ he shrugs, determined to get you to stay.

‘hmm.. that’s a good point, i don’t have my pajamas though..’

he roars with laughter, shaking as his arm clings onto you, ‘wear something of mine, or do you specifically need your pajamas?’

‘no.. but they’re cute, cuter than your clothes,’ you grumble, slightly offended by his words.

‘yeah i’m sure, but you don’t need pajama’s.. not in steve’s bed,’ he jokes.

you flash him a look, ‘you’re a pervert.. get me something to wear then,’ poking him in the chest.

his eyes widen and a smile emerges, ‘you’re staying?’

you nod, returning the smile, ‘yeah, you’ve convinced me.. somehow.’

he lets go of his hold on you, rolling out of the bed to get to his dresser.

you shiver at the lack of contact, watching as he pulls out numerous options, agreeing on some old hawkin’s high basketball t-shirt.

he throws it over to you, undressing himself as you sit up, beginning to lift your shirt when he stops and you notice his eyes watching you.

‘i knew you were a pervert,’ you remark, suddenly coy, shrinking into the blanket.

‘sorry, sorry..’ his eyes drop to the floor as he steps out of his pants.

you lift the shirt off, left on his bed in just your bra, it’s like you can feel his stare boring into your skin and you look back up to meet his gaze.

‘what?’ you smile slightly, using your hand to cover your chest.

he steps over to the bed, the mattress dips as he sits, leaning over to you.

your cheeks blush, red hot as his hand caresses your cheek, gentle with his touch, ‘you are so beautiful.’

his eyes glisten as they look into yours, his lips connect with yours as his other hand comes up move your hand from your chest, leaving you exposed as he presses closer.

you lie back on the bed, still holding onto his shirt when you hook an arm around his neck.

he pulls back, his lips practically still on yours, breathing heavily and gazing at you.

‘so this is why you wanted me to stay?’ you quip, giggling.

he shakes his head, smiling, ‘no.. i wanted to ask you something.’

you brace, knowing exactly what’s coming next.

you’d thought about it, plenty. unsure of how your relationship would go, or if it was going to stay a summer fling; something you looked back on with fond memories.

‘hmm?’

‘i wanted to ask, if you would be my girlfriend? i know that you’re going back soon.. but i don't wanna lose this.. not without at least trying first.’

you smile up at him but you can't help the apprehensiveness and notices, his own smile falling slightly.

'you know i want to.. it'll be a lot of work, it won't be easy.. at all,' you attempt to make him understand.

'i know,' his thumb strokes your cheek, 'i've thought a lot about this, trust me, i wanna try.'

you swallow but the smile emerging on your face is inescapable, full on grinning at the boy above you.

deep down, you knew there was not a chance in hell you would've ever said no, there was too much unexplored. no way you could go the rest of your life knowing what you'd left behind.

'is that a yes?' he laughs, widening his eyes in anticipation.

'yes,' you nod, joining in with his laughter, 'of course it’s a yes..’

he presses his lips to yours once more, smiling into the kiss.

it’s magical, your stomach does flips as his other hand glides up your exposed torso. intimate but not inherently sexual, just wanting to be close to one another. to jump into his bones and stay there.

the thought of having to say goodbye in a few short weeks only more daunting.

-

you walk back into the wheeler household, fully prepared for whatever punishment you were to face.

to your surprise, no one bats an eye as you walk into the kitchen, the family and a random group of whom you can only guess are mike’s friends, huddled around the table eating a late breakfast.

‘oh my, you’re back! how was it?’ karen asks, eyes bright as she pushes charred pieces of bacon onto a plate.

you look over to nancy who very quickly widens her eyes and nods, signalling for you to go along with whatever comes out of her mothers mouth.

‘yeah! it was so good,’ you say, not half as convincing as you’d liked.

you weren’t even sure what ‘it’ was.

‘good! nancy loves those lock-ins.. i swear she’s been to so many over the summer, i hope it pays off!’ she grins, giving nancy a small pat on the shoulder.

‘liar,’ mike coughs under his breath and you rightfully shoot daggers at him over the table.

nancy gives him a swift kick in the chin under the table and he grits his teeth but doesn’t react.

‘i’m gonna go take a shower..’ you smile before leaving the kitchen, not wanting any further grilling from your own mom.

as you’re walking up the stairs the group of boys speed past, racing to the basement.

the last curly-headed boy stops and looks up at you, ‘i know who you are,’ he says and you stop, looking down at him over the bannister.

‘okay?’

he gives you a wide toothless smile, ‘i’m steve’s friend.. he’s told me about you, is that where you really were?’

‘errr.. you’re steve’s friend?’ taken aback that the small boy is friends with your fully grown boyfriend.

‘yeah,’ he brushes off your animosity, ‘so, was it?’

‘no,’ you smirk, ‘i was studying.. obviously.’

‘you’re a liar,’ he laughs before joining the others in the dinghy basement.

you roll your eyes and continue to walk up to nancy’s room, awaiting her arrival to fill her in on everything and thank her for saving your ass.

-

saying goodbye was all the more painful this time round.

without knowing when you were going to see each other next, it was hard to even stay positive.

of course you’d exchanged numbers and even made him a stack of pre-written envelopes with your address on so he was set to reply to your letters for at least a few months.

realistically, it was only a few hours drive but it felt like you were leaving him on the other side of the world, especially after going from spending every day together for the past few months to having no idea when you were gonna see his face again.

his arms are hooked around your waist, clinging on to the last bit of contact for god knows how long.

you sway slightly, arms around his neck as your mom gets into the loaded car.

she’ll give you a few minutes grace but you know she’ll start honking soon.

‘i have to go..’ you mumble, lips pressed against his shoulder.

‘i don’t want you to,’ he groans, not pulling away from the embrace, not yet.

you sniff, eyes brimming with tears, leaning up to place a soft kiss on his cheek, ‘i know.. i’ll call you as soon as we’re back, okay?’

he loosens his grip, placing his forehead to yours, ‘promise?’

you nod, a salty tear sliding down your face, his thumb is quick to wipe it away, ‘promise.’

‘i’ll see you soon.. you better call me every single day,’ he gives you a weak smile, his hand now cradling your cheek.

‘i will.. everyday,’ you laugh shakily, unwrapping your arms from his neck, running your hands down his arms.

he exhales, planting his lips to yours, leaving a short, tender kiss before finally releasing his grip on you, now taking your hand.

he walks you over to your moms car, very considerate to open the passenger door as you give his hand one last squeeze, sliding into the car.

‘bye.. as soon as you get back, yeah?’ his hand rests on the door.

‘i promise,’ you reassure him, a tiny smile on your lips.

he closes the door with a slam, bending over to wave to you and your mom as she starts the car.

the lump in your throat only growing as she pulls down the long drive and you can’t bring yourself to look at him through the mirror.

just knowing that it was the last time for the foreseeable that you were going to see him was too much.