CHAPTER EIGHTEEN:
POWER OUTAGE

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JUNE 28, 1985

   SUMMER IN HAWKINS was always hot. The temperatures went up, car windows went down, the drinks were served colder, the clothes were smaller, and everybody always seemed to be a little happier, except Liz Harrington. Now, Liz loved the summertime, she really did, but half of her friend group were in relationships while she was hiding who she really was. She loved that her friends were happy and in love, she thought it was adorable, but when it came to Max and Lucas, she tended to get annoyed and jealous. Liz was just happy Max and Lucas weren't as touchy as Mike and El. Still, Liz was always the one who had to listen to Max talk about her relationship problems and her frustrations with Lucas who she continued to date even though she had broken up with him five times. But, as much as Liz loved Max, it was very annoying at times.

   Will and Liz were the only ones not in relationships, so for the first month of summer, they had started hanging out more than usual. With Dustin at camp and Max, Lucas, Mike, and El out being in love, Liz and Will were forced to get closer, which Liz was happy about but hated how it had to happen.

   Liz had barely gotten to spend any time with her brother since he got a job at Scoops Ahoy in the new Starcourt Mall. She had helped him prepare for his interview and even let him practice on her. Now, with his job, he gives Liz free ice cream but only Liz, which annoyed the rest of the party.

   Most summer nights, Liz spent with her friends at the mall or with Max at Liz's house for a sleepover. They had sleepovers almost every weekend, mainly after they saw a movie at the theater in the mall. Tonight was no different except Max wasn't spending the night that night. They were, however, seeing a movie with Lucas, Will, and Mike. The movie started at 8, but it was now 8:10 and Mike had still not shown up. Liz was very annoyed since she loved seeing the previews but they couldn't go in without Mike.

   Liz paced outside of the entrance to the mall as they waited for Mike who Liz just knew he would be late. He was most likely making out with El and trying not to be killed by Hopper who hated how much time the two were spending together. Ever since they got together, Mike and El had been inseparable and yes, it was sort of cute, but Liz also found it to be annoying and when Liz brought this up to Max one time, Max had told her that Liz only thought that because she's single and that once she got a boyfriend, she would act the same way El and Mike did. Liz wanted to scream at Max and tell her that she doesn't want a boyfriend, she wants the girl that was standing right in front of her, but she held her tongue and just smiled.

   Liz sighed in relief once Mike finally pulled up, slamming down on the brakes so hard on his bike that the tires squeaked against the pavement. Lucas walked up to him with his arms crossed, "You're late."

   "Sorry!" Mike apologizes, quickly putting his bike in the bike rack.

   "Again," Lucas adds as this was not the first time Mike had been late to the movies.

   "We're gonna miss the opening!" Will exclaims, just as excited as Liz about the previews.

   "Yeah, if you keep whining about it," Mike states, which only made Liz roll her eyes. "Let's go!"

   "If you guys keep whining about it. Nyeh, nyeh, nyeh," Lucas mocked.

   "If you had gotten here on time in the first place we wouldn't have to whine about it," Liz tells him as they all walk through the doors of the mall.

   "Let me guess. You were busy," Lucas starts before he starts to make kissing noises which made Mike roll his eyes. They all knew that was what Mike was busy doing. Liz thought the least he could do was admit it.

   "Oh, yeah, real mature, Lucas," Mike says.

   "Oh, El, I wish we could make out forever, and never hang out with any of our friends," Lucas teased as Will giggled beside Liz.

   "Lucas, stop," Max ordered.

   "Will thinks it's funny," Lucas points out, gesturing to Will's smiling face.

   "Because it is," Will admits.

   "Yeah, it's so funny that I want to spend romantic time with my girlfriend," Mike exclaims, the sarcasm rolling off his tongue.

   "I'm spending romantic time with my girlfriend," Lucas states as he puts his arm around Max's shoulder. Liz watched as he did so and how Max leaned into him. They never showed too much affection but when they did, it always made Liz's mood drop slightly. She hated how jealous she was. She had spent the whole school year trying to get rid of her crush on Max, but every time she would catch a glimpse of the redhead, she would get reminded of all the reasons why she liked Max and her crush would come right back.

   The gang rushes into Scoops Ahoy which was packed with people like always. They went up to the counter where Robin was standing and Mike started tapping the bell over and over again. Robin, who knew why the group was there, yelled out, "Hey, dingus, your children are here!"

   Steve opens the sliding doors behind Robin and sighs, "Again? Seriously?"

   They all stare back at Steve and give him puppy dog eyes and cute faces, trying to persuade him. Mike dings the bell once more which makes Steve groan, "No."

   The group steps aside, letting Liz to the front. Liz walks up and leans over, setting her elbows on the counter in front of the register as she rested her head in her hands. Steve shook his head, "No, no, Liz. It's not gonna work this time." Liz flutters her lashes and looks up at him. She makes the cutest face she could, not taking her eyes off Steve once. He stares back, glaring at her as she softened him up. Finally, he groaned and slammed the sliding doors closed, "Dammit!"

   "You are so pathetic," Robin chuckles. "She's your fourteen-year-old sister. Just say no."

   Liz smirks, standing back up as the group gave her pats on the back and high-fives. Max even snuck in a quick kiss on the cheek which made Liz's face heat up and her cheek tingle. Liz thought she might pass out right there but she pulled herself together and followed Steve into the backroom. He let them out the back door that led into the back hallways of the mall. If they followed the corridor, it would lead them straight into the theater without having to pay for a ticket. They had been using it ever since Steve got hired.

   He ushered them into the hallway and said to them, "I can't keep doing this for you guys. I swear, if anybody hears about this—"

   "We're dead!" They all yell back, finishing his sentence. They had heard it hundreds of times. He told them the same sentence every single time they used the back hallways which was a lot. They made their way down the hallway and when they reached the door, Mike peered in, making sure the coast was clear.

   "All clear," He states before walking out. The group follows him out and make their way into the theater that was playing Day of the Dead.

   They all shuffled in and Liz groaned once she realized they had missed the whole opening previews entirely. Due to how late they were, the group was unable to sit all together. Mike, Will, and Liz sat in one of the middle rows beside each other while Lucas and Max sat together just below them and a few seats to the left.

   "See, Lucas? We made it," Mike whispered to Lucas.

   "We missed the previews," Lucas replied.

   "Previews are the best part," Liz agreed, a frown upon her face.

   Max reached over and placed a hand on her knee. She smiled at Liz, "Hey, at least we made it."

   Liz sighs and nods, flashing back a smile at Max. Max turned her attention back to Lucas and Liz found herself frowning again. She saw them laughing and being all cute together and she felt the jealousy growing once again. She was so distracted by watching them, she didn't even see that the movie had started. Still, as soon as she looked at the screen, the movie flashed off and the theater went dark. Everyone groaned in annoyance. The projector was clearly acting up again and Liz groaned. First, she missed the previews and now the projector was acting up.

   It only took a few minutes for the movie to come back on. Liz smiled and settled back in her seat as everyone cheered. Will handed her a bag of skittles and she thanked him quietly before turning her attention back to the movie, hoping that whatever the weird power outage was wouldn't come back until the movie was over.

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[ 1552 WORDS ]

ahh! i finished season 3 last night
& wow it was so good!

i missed writing liz so much so i am
so excited to start writing her again!