chapter four – extra sprinkles and the return

JUNE 17, 1985

Scoops Ahoy was void of any of its usual customers on the sunny afternoon. Don't be fooled however, the mall was bustling with many vibrant and excited faces but none bothered to make their way to the ice creamery. Irene didn't mind at all; she was happy that she could stay perched against the counter, nose deep in her novel, as her headphones blasted music in her ears. Robin, her co-worker, had to run back home and Irene promised to cover for her. Even though her demeanor seemed relaxed when she reassured the short-haired girl about her departure, inside she was a nervous wreck. She was anxious about dealing with customers all by herself–some of the faces she had come across were nice and didn't say much while others were sour and gave her too hard of a time. She didn't enjoy feeling like her co-workers were her shields, but their presence helped tremendously with bullies. Thankfully, no one had pestered her within the thirty minutes that Robin had been gone.

She was so infused in Mary Shelley's writing that she didn't even notice the lonely fourteen year-old that stood across from her anxiously drumming his fingers against the marble. It wasn't until her eyes peaked over the paperback, after getting an eerie feeling, when she gave the boy standing in front of her an apologetic smile. Her fingers pushed down on the pause button of her walkman, the gentle 'click' sound filling the brief silence between them. The book in her hands was set aside gently before she mindlessly adjusted her cap.

"Che, pibe. Sorry for not seeing you there." Irene's quiet voice was a stark contrast from the loud atmosphere. Her soft eyes were locked on the kid she'd seen a few times prior, "You're...Will right?" She brought her eyebrows together and the boy's face brightened.

Within the three weeks she'd been working at Scoops Ahoy, she had time to meet the infamous gaggle of kids that seemed to cling to her co-worker Steve Harrington. During her first week and first evening shift they asked for Steve, who she thought was running late at the time. Soon, they all realized he was a no show and begged Irene instead to help get them into the theater for free. Robin was supposed to be overseeing Irene's efficiency but had left to use the restroom and it was just Irene at the front slinging ice cream.

"I don't even know you kids," She remembered telling them as her hands quickly shook the sprinkle canister over cups of ice cream before her body rushed to calculate expenses and hand them off to eager customers. They leaned impatiently against the counter, unable to contain both their anxieties and frustrations with the situation.

"But we know Steve and if he was here he would help us," One of the boys pleaded. She mentally proclaimed him as their group's leader; his name she'd later come to know, after Steve made them introduce themselves, was Mike.

"Well Harrington isn't here so I guess you kids are out of luck," Her lips turned into a childlike pout, her shoes skidding against the floor as she turned her back towards them. The four of them all shared looks of both panic and annoyance, bobbing their legs with anticipation as they thought of ways to get the older girl to cave.

The only visible girl in the group, Max, slammed her hand down against the counter and it made Irene's ears perk up. She turned slowly and looked down at the twenty dollar bill stuck underneath the red-heads palm. Her eyes slowly trailed upwards before they locked on the piercing blue ones that seemed to challenge her. Irene could help the quick laugh that came out through her nostrils, her chest moving up and then back down causing her to drop her arms.

She broke into a grin, "You're good, I'll give you that." The slight shake of her head along with her beaming grin made the rest of the group stare in disbelief, "Keep the cash, but bring me back some Skittles. In the break room there's a door that leads to the hallway toward the theater. Don't. Get. Caught." She warned and they all collectively felt a chill run down their spine over the heaviness of her words, there was much left for their minds to interpret had they not followed her wishes. Little did they know then that the quiet and mystifying adult was anything but menacing. Will Byers was uncovering that truth out while he stood before her, watching as the fluorescent lights of Scoops Ahoy on the sunny Monday afternoon made her features soften.

"Yeah." He exhaled and Irene's eyes flickered behind him, noticing his friends' absence. Even though she only interacted with the group of adolescents four times, it was evident that, despite their numbers being even, the Byers boy was clearly the odd one out. She felt for him–she knew the feeling of being left out and it wasn't nice, it was cold and lonely.

Her arms pushed her weight off of the counter and she raised her hand as if she'd just come up with an idea, "You look like you could use a banana boat...on the house." Her voice turned into a whisper toward the end of her response and Will could see the mischief dance behind her eyes before she moved two steps to her right. She looked down at the flavors and then back up at him with a lopsided grin.

"But isn't that...wrong?" Will asked wearily and Irene quickly waved his anxieties off as she plopped a big scoop of chocolate ice cream between the split banana.

"Sometimes you have to stick it to the man, you know?" She shrugged as her fingers added an extra handful of sprinkles before carefully placing a cherry on top. Will let out a breathy laugh before he reached to grab the cold treat from her, "Go to town kid, you deserve it." He smiled and mumbled a quick 'thanks,' his eyes as big as saucers. She watched as he scooted into one of the booths and dug the red spoon into the ice cream.

She would have turned back to her book and music, but she didn't want Will to feel like she was cutting herself off from him or being ignored. So instead she grabbed the spray bottle full of cleaner and wiped down the counters and cash register. As she made her way to the opposite side of the ice cream display case, to clean the glass, she bit back the question that threatened to spill from her lips. She hated being nosy, but she couldn't just stand to watch him sit by himself.

"So where are your friends?" She asked nonchalantly, her gaze still on the glass she was wiping down. Her face scrunched together at Will's silence and she mentally face-palmed herself, "I'm sorry-I just-I didn't mean to be nosy." She fumbled her words as her body turned to face him and he shook his head, his hair moving in his face slightly. He pushed it back with his hand before giving her a simple shrug.

"It's alright, they told me they'd be a little late." He said and she took notice of the unsaid words that rested on his sullen face as his gaze turned down. He was minimizing his feelings for the sake of his friends and it pained her to watch. She slid across from him into the cushioned leather and placed her arms over the polished wood, giving him a look that reminded him of his mother.

"They're with girls aren't they?" She asked boredly and Will's eyes doubled in size. She quickly answered the questions that circled in his mind, "It's kinda obvious that Lucas and Max are dating. Mike, however, I didn't figure it out until I heard him pestering the three of you about wanting to spend time with someone else–didn't catch the name but I knew it had to be a girlfriend." She explained her rationale, taking a deep breath quickly after. Will's face went blank before he shut his eyes and opened them again, marveling at the girl sitting across from him. He could hear the soft patter of her shoe as her knee bobbed underneath the table while her eyes bored into his.

Even though Will hardly knew Irene, there was something about her that made him feel oddly comforted by her presence at the moment. Clearly, she'd paid attention to his friend groups' dynamic and it brought him relief to know that he wasn't going crazy and that someone else had seen that things were changing. Steve didn't really pay attention when Will would mumble his comments about the relationships that weaved into their group and the boy knew and felt that. But Irene was an anomaly to him and he was glad that sitting across from her now, he got to get lost in the world of the girl who asked him to call her Rena and complimented his 'The Clash' shirt that his older brother got him.

"It just isn't the same anymore. I get it, we're getting older but I just miss my friends, you know? This is our last summer before high school and I just wanted us to have fun and enjoy it at least once." Will huffed, placing his spoon down.

Irene sighed, dropping her shoulders as she leaned forward, "Well I think that you have the right idea, but your friends are too whipped to see that. I mean, I don't think getting into a relationship young is a bad thing but I mean it's not all it's cut out to be and you're far too young to worry about broken hearts and all the other things that come with it. You guys have the rest of your lives to fall in love. You should just...enjoy this, it goes by too fast." Her eyes flashed with something Will couldn't decipher as she brought her fist up to support her chin.

It was easier than Irene thought to give advice to him, despite not having a younger sibling of her own to ever practice on. She just saw it as her speaking to her younger self, saying the things she needed to hear when she was fourteen and alone.

"Thanks, Rena." Will said as his mouth curved into a smile, the nickname swiftly rolling off his tongue.

She gave a half shrug, "It's no problem, kid. If you ever want some free ice cream or just an ear to listen, I'm always here." She offered before her eyes wandered around the mall, the glowing red hair of Max Mayfield caught her eye. She looked back at Will and motioned her head behind him, "Your friends are here."

Will stood and tossed the empty bowl that his ice cream was once in before greeting his friends. Irene matched his movements, taking herself back toward the register and her book. She watched the four kids interact with each other quietly before making their way toward her. Her feet waltzed her over to the door that led to the room in the back, holding it open for them. Max and Will were the first to walk through and before the other half of their group could Irene shut the door.

She moved her body in front of the two boys, "Mike, Lucas..." She trailed, moving her eyes between them, they looked up at her with curiosity. She brought her eyes down to theirs, "Leave your friend waiting like that again and I'll get you banned from the theater just for the hell of it. We clear?" She asked lowly as her expression hardened.

Mike scoffed, "We didn't do it intentionally and anyways we could get you fired for letting us get into the theater for free." Lucas was too stunned to speak at the words that not only left Irenes' lips but his friends' too. He swallowed thickly and looked between the two, nudging Mike with his shoe as Irene lifted an eyebrow.

"Mike, come on." Lucas pleaded as he looked back toward the door.

"She's the one picking a fight with a fourteen year-old!" Mike argued, waving his hand up toward Irene. Despite the rapidity of her heartbeat and her sweaty palms, Irene sucked in a deep breath and looked at the both of them with a serious gaze. Sure she had a soft spot for kids, but not rude ones.

"Look." Her voice wavered, "Will is your friend and deserves more respect and to be treated a lot kinder. So, you better start changing the way you act towards him or I will make it my mission to get you banned from the entire mall if I have to. And by the way, you have no proof that I'm the one that gets you into the theater so by all means, go tell on yourselves for me." She gave them a forced smile before swinging open the door and ushering them to go through. They joined with the other half of their group and left quickly.

Robin came back a few minutes after and relieved Irene from her spot at the front, thanking her over and over for covering. Suddenly it was like everyone at the mall remembered the colorful ice cream parlor that was inside because there was now a flock of people waiting to be served. The two girls shared somewhat confident looks before throwing themselves into the lion's den and hoping they'd come out unscathed.

After two hours of serving ice cream, Irene pulled the gate to the shop closed and swiftly crouched down to lock it in place. She stood back up with a little bounce and gave her co-worker a bright smile. They were able to close earlier than usual due to the lack of traction in the store; after that massive wave of people, the place quickly went back to being barren and boring. Robin finally decided to phone in their boss and they were given the green light to clean up and close. It was only four thirty and the sun had yet to go down, so the both of them were happy to be out.

"Where're you headed now?" Robin asked, looking over at Irene, as she clutched the strap of her backpack.

"Well I've gotta head to the market to get stuff for dinner; my brother's been craving some carne asada. Our dad made it a lot when it was his turn to cook and he taught my brother and I. He wants me to make arroz y frijoles too–rice and beans–and I need to buy some more. So, I thought I'd change out of this eye sore of a uniform and brace myself to take the bus downtown." Irene rambled before her eyes met Robin's, "You?" She asked.

"Gonna hang out with some of my friends from band, they're having this re-screening of The Nightmare on Elm Street at the drive-in tonight and some of them want to go." She brought her shoulders up in a shrug as she drew her lips into a thin line.

"Freddy Krueger on a Monday night, huh?" Irene nudged her side softly as a faint laugh left her lips, "Seems reasonable; I don't think there's ever a wrong time for scary movies." The corners of her eyes crinkled as she looked at the girl beside her.

"Never." Robin mumbled with a content smile on her face as they walked. Their bodies slightly inched away from each other as they neared the entrance of the mall.

Irene was the first to fill the silence, "Well I hope you have a nice time with your friends." She smiled as the sun shining through the window casted a soft glow over her face.

"Yeah, I hope you enjoy your night with your brother cooking." Robin responded with rose-tinted cheeks, looking brightly at her co-worker. They were still getting to know each other, but out of the two Irene favored Robin the most and vice versa. One was stuck behind a wall and the other had been stuck inside a shell for a while now; slowly they were getting more comfortable with each other.

Eddie Munson was not comfortable following a girl he hardly knew off the bus, but he knew it just had to be the one from before. She wasn't wearing those signature paint stained shorts but he remembered faces and hers, with its soft radiance, was familiar. His heart was practically beating out of his chest as he stepped off a few seconds after her, the cassette in his pocket seemed to be burning a hole in his pants as it urged him to move faster. He cringed at the idea of coming off as a creep and stopped in his tracks, contemplating whether or not he should just leave or continue pursuing her. He rubbed his face in frustration.

Irene was doing her own contemplating as she hesitated crossing the street. She had recognized the guy from her first bus rendezvous when she accidentally spilled all of her things in front of him. Their eyes met when she first stepped on the bus, brown paper bag full of groceries in hand, but she chose to sit away from him. She thought it might just be some weird luck that they crossed paths yet again and ignored him the rest of the ride. It wasn't until he got off the same stop as her when she grew weary of his presence. However, she was on a courage high after the events of today and was convincing herself to just walk up to him—she desperately wanted to stop being so afraid of new opportunities. But if anything were to happen, she did know how to defend herself. So, she dragged her feet back to the bus stop to confront him.

Someone clearing their throat had brought Eddie back to the moment, taking him out of his overwhelming thoughts. He looked up, almost choking on his spit at the sight of the girl standing parallel to him, staring at him with wide curious eyes. He noticed as the two of them were standing, that she was slightly shorter than him but didn't need to look up significantly to meet his eyes.

"Your story better be good." She said, shifting the grocery bag that she was carrying to rest on her hip. He took notice of the Linda Ronstadt shirt she was wearing and smiled gently, reminding himself of his sole purpose behind following her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the tape inside its battered case, on it a picture of Linda herself along with the album title, Heart Like A Wheel. Her face seemed to brighten at its appearance.

"I-uh-um-you dropped this on the bus a while back." He stammered and hated how he was melting underneath the summer sun and perhaps her gaze too, "I didn't know any other way to return it so I've been riding the bus everywhere ever since, hoping to catch you." The breathy chuckle that fell from his lips made the corners of hers turn up. She took it from him and chirped a quick 'thanks' as she placed it in her back pocket.

"Not much of a Linda Ronstadt fan I presume?" Irene asked as her eyes traveled down to glance at the Black Sabbath t-shirt, rolled at the sleeves, that clung to his body. She also took the time to study the tattoo of a flock of bats that he had on his forearm.

They were both studying each other, trying to figure out if further conversation was truly needed.

"I dug the first song, the guitar in that one was pretty dope...the rest not so much. I'm more into the heavy metal scene." He admitted, dropping his arms to his sides. The response made her features soften and she was surprised he listened to the tape at all, especially if it wasn't his taste.

"Ah, I see. Well thanks for returning it, I thought I'd gone crazy or something when I couldn't find it. I was searching high and low, in every single cabinet, asking my mom if she'd seen it and even my brother and neither of them knew where it was. I kept thinking I dropped it on a walk or–" She looked up and smiled sheepishly as her face reddened, "Sorry." She shook her head and the mystery boy standing in front of her raised his hands.

"Hey, I totally get it." He smiled and it eased Irene's nerves, she dropped her shoulders and relaxed her jaw. The sun had begun to set and it reminded her of the food that was in her grasp and her brother that was probably home now and pulling his hair out in her absence – or not, she could hardly tell with Mateo at this point. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, tuning into the light sounds of crickets chirping in the distance and sprinklers running over fresh lawns.

Eddie noticed how she looked down at the grocery bag at her side and then her watch. He cleared his throat, drawing her attention toward him, "It's getting dark...I-uh-I could walk you home." He offered before holding his hands out and responding quickly with, "Or not, I know that might be weird because we hardly know each other but I don't want to be that guy that let you walk by yourself and then like something bad happens to you. Is that a horrible thing to say? I'm sorry." He mumbled looking down and her laugh filled his ears, causing his eyes to snap back up towards her.

"You could be an axe murderer for all I know." She joked with a glint of seriousness in her tone and face, nonetheless she turned to start walking. Eddie scoffed and held his heart as he joined her side.

"Do I look like an axe murderer?" He asked as if the answer were obvious but the way she winced at his words made his mouth hang open in disbelief.

"Don't take this the wrong way but...a little." She admitted, pulling her shoulders up as she cringed momentarily. Eddie wasn't entirely shocked at her initial response to his appearance, but he liked toying with her. He scoffed again, suppressing a laugh. "To be completely honest, I stopped taking the bus because I was...terrified of you and your friend."

"Oh Gareth wouldn't hurt a fly." He waved his hand dismissively as they crossed the street, "He thought you'd be a lot meaner though."

"What?" Irene laughed leaning her body slightly toward him, "I couldn't even get a sentence out because the both of you were standing there with these menacing stares and he thought I was mean?" She looked over at him in disbelief.

"If I remember correctly, I smiled at you." Eddie reminded the girl beside him as he folded his arms, his body mindlessly leaning towards her too. Irene's sparkling eyes caught his, she shook her head turning her gaze down. She looked at the cracks in the sidewalk, seeing how long she could go before her foot stepped on one.

"Yeah." She exhaled, "I'm sorry about that, usually people have preconceived notions about me and people that look like me and don't treat us fairly nicely..." She trailed before catching his eyes again, "I didn't mean to do the same to you." Her words weighed with sincerity and it made Eddie's smile falter. He had no idea who the girl he was walking beside was, but she was clearly adorned with thousands of untold stories. He had felt around her like he had around Corroded Coffin – normal in the most abnormal of ways. It was strange; she was a beacon and he was the boat searching for shore.

"No, I totally get it—well not exactly because I couldn't imagine what you've been through—people here are raging assholes, you don't have to tell me twice." He explained and both of their shoulders had relaxed as the sky was now a deep magenta, the moon high above as it watched the both of them with delight.

Irene cleared her throat, "This is me." She motioned her head toward the house that they found themselves in front of, "Thanks." Her voice was quiet as she looked into the illuminated eyes of the kind stranger. She wiped her sweaty palm against her shorts before sticking it out, "I'm Irene; most people call me Rena."

His hand met her warm fingers and he smiled, "Eddie." They stood like that for a few seconds, just standing and holding hands...until Mateo who had been watching from the front window barged out of the door and yelled for his sister. She hid her tinted cheeks from Eddie, muttering a quick apology and goodnight before her hand left his and she was rushing inside. Perhaps, she'd done it on purpose or it was purely accidental once again but another tape clattered to the floor, Led Zeppelin IV. Eddie picked it up and looked back toward the house, opening his mouth to call Irene out until he stopped himself and turned his eyes back toward it. He broke into a grin before he placed the cassette in his pocket and walked home.

Little did either of them know that night that the mystical girl was going to find herself caught in a spool of chaos and the town's proclaimed freak wouldn't be able to help her. This was her epic poem, his would come soon.

AUTHORS NOTE!

muahahahahah, i just LOVE my brain...its so cute. toyed with the idea of bringing eddie back in the s3/rena timeline and I did because I want there to be some foundations of a friendship between him and irene before the events of season four, even though I have much planned for the fall right before s4 kicks off anyways...nonetheless I think this establishes such a sweet little common ground for the both of them because they both realize that they're both outcasts and have this mutual understanding of each other. also! I just loved how irene quickly dismantled her previous perception of eddie because she knows what its like to have it done to her and she comes to terms with the fact that he's literally not a bad guy at all. and eddie getting to know our timid "drifter" who is so complex but just wants to be seen by society despite trying so hard to hide herself. ALSO THE RENA AND WILL SCENE???? I had so much fun writing that.

quick little thing! I'm not necessarily bringing eddie into the s3 plot, im just establishing a friendship between him and irene because it's important to me that by the time we get to s4 they have a fairly solid relationship. i thought it was just better to introduce them to each other sooner than later, but yeah! he will still be oblivious to all the weird shit that's going on at starcourt and with his newfound friend, who he doesn't hear or see for a while...👀

alrighty loves, that's all for tonight. this may have felt like a long filler chapter but im seeing it more as a calm before the storm chapter — which is my favorite kind of scenario — so yeah! I love you all and hope you're enjoying the story <3 let me know your thoughts!