6. the calm before the storm

For the past few months, Clemency had focused on her studies, like the usual, and did not have the time to hang out much with Eddie, but would often try to slightly give nods and smiles towards each other from time to time down Hawkins high school's halls.

Also, her brother would constantly hang around Eleven, which made him absent around the house, especially during school break. Nancy, and Jonathan both got a job at The Hawkins Post, while Clemency and Steve applied in the newly built Starcourt Mall, but the two are working at different areas, Steve at Scoops Ahoy, while Clemency is in Wyatt's Cafeteria.

At first, Clemency had a hard time, but eventually got a hold of it, especially having her new friend and co-worker, Amanda. She is very nice and cheerful, and Clemency loved working around with her.

"Hey, I'm gonna go by Scoops Ahoy, I'll just visit my friend there..." Clemency told Amanda as she realizes it is already her work-break, as the girl cheerfully nodded to her, and just as Clemency's about to leave, she went back to Amanda again, walking slowly, as the girl furrowed her eyebrows at her.

"Speaking of friend, I was actually thinking of introducing you to him, you know, if you don't mind-" Clemency says, as Amanda softly chuckles, and inhales sharply. "Clemency... I have a boyfriend..." The girl says, as Clemency widened her eyes and looked away from embarrassment.

"Well... Forget what I said, and I'll get going..." She responded as she hurriedly left, making Amanda softly chuckle at her friend.

Clemency makes her way to Scoops Ahoy and sees Robin at the counter, "Hi Buckley." Clemency greeted and gave her an awkward smile, in which the girl returned to her. "Hello Wheeler... Hey Steve, it's your girlfriend!" Robin greets her, then proceeds to yell for Steve, making Clemency look at the taller girl, with knitted eyebrows, as Steve arrives from the back.

"I'm not his girlfriend..." Clemency argued back, as Steve approached, while waving at her, and sighed. "What's the matter?" Clemency confusedly says, as Robin purses her lips, making Clemency look at her, and eventually, raises her eyebrows, knowingly.

"My brother and his little friends were here again, huh?" Clemency sighed out as Steve nodded. "They kept abusing my power!" Steve exclaims.

"What power?" Robin sarcastically says as Clemency chuckled out, making Steve turn to look at her in disbelief. As the three are having their little moment, the power went out all of a sudden making the people in the mall yelp, as they are engulfed in total darkness.

"That's weird." Steve says, as he hurried to the light switch, and started flicking it on and off, to no avail, as the two looked at him, deadpanned. "Steve, stop it." Clemency says, as he looked back at her and kept going. "That isn't gonna work, dingus." Robin added, as Steve conceitedly raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh really?" He says, and went faster, slowly getting frustrated, but then, it eventually went back, "Let there be light." Steve says, looking proudly at the two, earning a look of grimace back at him. "How do you even put up with this?" Robin sarcastically asks as Clemency chuckled. "To be frank with you, I have no idea."

Clemency eventually went back to her work, as Amanda hurriedly approached her, as she looked back confusedly at her co-worker, "Someone's looking for you." Clemency followed the sit Amanda's pointing at, and there she saw a very familiar back-view of a good friend, as she smiled to herself.

She quickly approached him, and just stood there until he finally turned to look at her, and smiled brightly, "Eddie, what are you doing here?" Clemency asked, confused, as he inhaled sharply.

"I don't come here, but we haven't been hanging out... so..." Eddie stammers as Clemency chuckles and crosses her arms in front of her, and raises her eyebrows. "Are you trying to tell me you missed me?" She mockingly says as Eddie backs away and looks back at her, defensively. "No- I mean, unless you wanted me to miss you, then..." He teasingly says, and shrugs, earning an eye roll from Clemency.

"Maybe we can hang out on the 4th of July? I mean, I will be out with my family, but I could sneak around as well." Clemency suggested in which Eddie agreed to.

‧₊˚

Clemency woke up late that next morning, as she went out, she was surprised seeing Nancy's room unoccupied, then came to the realization as to why, and chuckled to herself. As she heads her way down stairs, she is surprised to see her mom all dolled up, and seems to get startled upon seeing her, but Clemency did not think much of it as she went and got breakfast.

"Sweetie, do you need a ride to work?" Karen asked as her daughter shakes her head in response, "No mom, it's okay. You seem to be in such a rush." She responded, as Karen sighed, looking nervous, as she left the house to go to the Hawkins community pool.

Clemency quickly fixed herself, and eventually left the house, as Eddie's van stopped by the Wheeler's, as Clemency looked at him nervously. "Well, this is a first?" He teased, due to the fact that it is her first time asking him to pick her up.

As she climbed in, and closed the door, she sighed and looked at Eddie as he looked at her, questioningly, "I'm sorry... It's just, nobody's home... Well, minutes ago my mom was here but she seems to be going somewhere." She quietly says as he lightly chuckles.

"Hey, I don't really mind, okay? And I was just messing with you." Eddie says, giving her a reassuring smile as he drives off.

‧₊˚

At Scoops Ahoy, as two beautiful ladies bought ice cream, Steve went in and gave their orders, whilst making small talk, and tried getting their attention, in which failed miserably, blabbering too much making the girls uncomfortable.

As the girls left, chuckling uncomfortably, Steve sighed out of embarrassment as Robin showed up holding up a tally board, "And another one bites the dust."You are oh-for-six, Popeye." Robin says as she added one more tally mark in the 'you suck' board for Steve, making him sigh as he looked over to her. "Yeah, yeah, I can count." Steve says, nodding at the girl as he looks at the tally board.

"You know that means you suck." Robin straightforwardly says. "Yep, I can read too."

"Since when?" Robin sarcastically says and smiles at Steve, as he approaches her. "It's this stupid hat. I'm telling you, it is totally blowing my best feature." Steve complained. "Yeah, company policy is a real drag... you know, dating Clemency would make your life easier, dingus." Robin says as Steve furrows his eyebrows and shakes his head.

‧₊˚

"Ahoy, ladies! Didn't see you there." Clemency furrowed her eyebrows upon hearing Steve as soon as she came inside Scoops Ahoy, while there are four girls ordering, "Would you guys like to set sail on this ocean of flavor with me? I'll be your captain. I'm Steve Harrington." He says as Clemency has a grimace expression across her face from second hand embarrassment, as the girls laughed, making Clemency feel bad, at the same time, well, for both the girls and Steve.

"Can I get you guys a little taste of the Cherries Jubilee? No? Anybody? Banana Boat? Four people? Four spoons? Share it in the booth? Anybody? It's hot out there." He tried to impress and convince the girls, as Clemency died inside watching the scene before her, unfold.

As the girls left, an agitated Clemency and a fully defeated-looking Steve stared at each other, and Clemency sighed. "What?" Steve asked, as he tried to play off, walking over to Robin and leaning his back, as Clemency looked at him, and shaking her head in disappointment.

"You see? This is exactly my reason why I'm not gonna date her..." Steve says as he looks over to Robin, as she scoffs, then Steve looks back at Clemency as he crosses his arms. "Stop bullying me and start explaining why you were late to work this morning?" Steve teasingly says, as Clemency rolled her eyes in response.

"I woke up late, okay? And why do you care, I'm not working at Scoops Ahoy with you." She sarcastically says, as she looked over at Robin for back up. "Right, Wheeler here isn't even our co-worker, Steve."

"Seriously?" Steve says in disbelief, as he looks at the two, back and forth, for working against him, as the two shrug.

‧₊˚

As Clemency cleaned the table near the cafeteria's entrance, a group of girl came in, and looked over to her, and chuckled among themselves as they found a seat. "I told you guys, that's Clemency Wheeler." one of the girls whispered to the other, as Clemency's eyes furrowed.

They kept whispering to each other, and looking at her then laughed. She thought they were most likely students from her school, they knew her, but she in fact did not even have a single clue on who they were. She just ignored them, took the plates from the table she was cleaning and went to the kitchen. Amanda took a notice of this, and followed her inside as she also had to take some dishes in.

"Hey? Do you know those girls? Are they saying mean stuff about you?" Amanda asked out of concern, as Clemency softly smiled at her. "I don't know them but I'm sure they're saying some mean stuff. It is safe to assume though that they are from my high school." She confessed, as Amanda nodded. "Oh, that's why..." She says, as Clemency raises her eyebrows and sighed.

As Clemency's shift eventually ended, and it is already quite late, so she went to the telephone booth to give Eddie a call to maybe ask him to pick her up, but as she reached the booth and held the phone, something in her gut told her to just check if Steve and Robin's still around.

Clemency immediately got out of there and went looking for the two, who just so happen to be living Scoops Ahoy and yelled at them as she ran, following right behind them.

"Where were you?" Robin asked the girl as she panted from running. "I was at the telephone booth about to call Ed- someone... Someone to pick me up, but I remembered I can just go home with you guys." She says, pursing her lips, as Steve looked at her questioningly.

"Someone? Who's that someone?" Steve asked, intrigued as Robin teasingly looked at him, making the guy confused.

"Are you jealous?" Robin asked, as Steve looked at her with a grimace in his face. "No? I was just wondering if it's the same friend she kept meeting with for months..." He suspiciously squinted his eyes at her as she laughed nervously, making Robin more intrigued.

"Okay, it's just my friend from my old school... there is nothing more to it." She says, avoiding the two friend's eyes, as they looked at each other and nodded. "Sure..." They both said, still doubting Clemency, as she rolled her eyes and sighed.

‧₊˚

Karen blow-dried her hair, preparing to meet up with Billy. She put on lots of effort in her makeup, as she teased her hair, and made the bold move in putting on a red lipstick, but she stopped as she looked at her hand, holding on her rings and eventually taking them off.

As she excitedly went down stairs, in her bright red dress, before heading straight to the door, she suddenly stopped, and walked to the living room and upon seeing her husband fast asleep on the couch and snoring, as he had a their youngest, Holly, sleeping in his lap, it made her realized that it was a bad idea.

Finally reaching the Wheeler household, Clemency got off the car and waved goodbye to her friends, waiting for the car to drive off before going inside the house, and got startled as she saw her agitated mom, on her way to go back upstairs but stopped as they made eye contact.

Karen sighed, and approached her daughter and hugged her tightly, making Clemency confused due to her mom's sudden action. "Mom, what's going on?" She asked, not asking much about her mom's attire and seemingly planning on leaving the house late at night, though she was definitely suspicious of this, but she did not want to assume stuff either way.

"It's nothing... Do you want food? I'll cook you something if you want-" Karen says as her daughter interrupts her. "No mom, it's okay, I just want to rest... maybe you should too." She said and went upstairs, as Karen sighed to herself.

‧₊˚