Chapter Text
It didn't take long for summer to show itself after the first hot day in July.
Mars looked out of the window only to find some people loudly talking to each other and hurrying to get back to their homes where they were awaited. A man standing near the curb didn't care much about the heating sun, he was focused on the road. Waiting.
"So hot.. Right when I was thinking about going for a jog." A young woman approached the desk Mars was sitting behind. Mars had gotten carried away with her thoughts, but seeing the woman, smiled to her and started helping her to pack the things she'd picked. Refrigerator magnets, soaps, milk.
"It's officially summer I would say." Mars was working alone today in the store. Joyce asked for a day out to spend more time with her kids and Bob, and Donald only visited from time to time so Melvald's General Store had only one company - Maristela. It was a good day, mostly because of the sun. It calmed her and it also predicted that less people would come to the store, it only made her work easier. Not like the first time.
Joyce Byers was the one who persuaded Donald Melvald to employ a girl in Hawkins, Maristela Crawford who was looking for a summer job. At first Donald disagreed arguing that the girl would leave as soon as summer ends and they would have to look for a replacement. At least that's how Maristela's plan was going until that one day when she received a letter. She knew the letter wouldn't tell her good news and it made it much harder for her.
"We regret to inform you that after reviewing your application..." That's how the letter started and it was bad, she knew it. "...we appreciate that you are interested in our university. Please do apply again next year." Shit. To get out of this shithole by getting accepted into the university in California - that was the plan. As much as she hated to admit it, it seemed the summer job was gonna turn into a permanent job, but to say that she didn't like her job, would be unfair towards her and others. She loved Joyce as her own mother and though the work was tiresome, it was essential one.
It was nearly the end of the day, she was ready to turn the lights off and close the store as soon as possible in order to get home. That's how simple it was, only she didn't know what was about to happen.
She clearly remembered how the last client left as the door behind him closed muffling the sound of the happy kids outside. But it only lasted a few seconds when the glass front door shut loudly accompanying by the voice of two strangers.
"I told you to fucking wait in the car!" The sound was so loud that Mars nearly hit her head while picking up her bag under the desk.
"Mom said I can choose myself!" A girl's voice replied as they headed towards the center aisle. Mars wanted to see who was talking but they only got more distant and she couldn't leave her desk.
The first voice mumbled something in reply. His voice was low, a bit vibrating. If Mars leaned over further the desk, she could've just fallen over it. As much as she tried to see the strangers, she gave up eventually and returned to her seat. All of a sudden she heard the voices were coming closer and looked up. The stranger was standing there comfortably looking at the lights, his appearance was screaming danger. That was only it, danger, but what she didn't know was that something was about to happen that wouldn't have ended good.
The next thing she knew the loud tap of black boots echoed in the store as he approached the desk Mars was sitting behind. Looking at him, he looked just like many of his peers: jeans, a denim jacket, a brown bag, for some reason making her doubt that he carries around his textbooks or homework, a digital watch on his right hand.
He was tall, probably 7 inches taller than her. Heels under his boots helped him look even taller as he walked towards her. His unruly blonde hair perfectly framed his face, the soft curls fell in cinnamon swirls to his face slightly reaching his shoulders. It wasn't long though, part of his hair in front nearly reached his brows in soft messy waves. But still it managed to look completely natural as if he'd woken up like this.
The tops of his jeans held fast by a black leather belt. A pair of rings on his left hand didn't stay unnoticed, as well as a pack of Marlboro cigarettes stuffed into the left pocket of his jacket.
She couldn't see his eyes because of his black sunglasses, it added more confidence to his appearance which was apparently what he'd aimed for. She was scared of him, he just looked like the sort of person who would have asked you for a date and didn't show up. Heartbreaker.
She noticed his silver hoop earring when he stood in front of the desk, his eyes under sunglasses met hers and focused on her for a brief moment before he put a pair of batteries, six pack of beer on the counter. The other stranger whom Mars noticed later appeared to be a school girl with ginger hair, she put the sweets next to other things.
Then, in a second, the tension in the store broke when he finally spoke to her.
"That will be all." He uttered and she was surprised how deep his voice was. If earlier she'd assumed he could be her age, now it seemed she could be pretty wrong. She couldn't recognise the accent, and they could, moreover, be new in this small town. What really puzzled her was the obvious tension between the redhead girl and the guy. Siblings maybe, but they don't look alike.
Mars put down her bag and only nodded before starting to bag their items.
"That will be eleven-twenty one." Mars said, her voice slightly trembling. She didn't notice how he looked at her while putting money on the counter between them. She took it and opened the cash register beside her, the one that Joyce had opened many times, and started counting money to return the change.
The stranger looked at her, corners of his lips turned up, a glint in his eyes. "Keep the change." He said before taking the bag and going to the exit. The redhead girl annoyingly rolled her eyes and went after him.
Mars followed them with her gaze, she noticed how the stranger got in his '79 blue Camaro and lit his cigarette, the smoke dragged into the air and disappeared as he started the car moving over the highway, lights on full beam. And a dangerous driver too.
It was time for Mars to close the store already, but first she wanted to clean up so that Joyce wouldn't get tired the next day. And it's not like she was keen on getting back home, every day seemed the same. She only had her friend and neighbour, Nancy Wheeler, and Rose Jagger, her friend from childhood. They tried to meet often as long as the work allowed, which meant only on weekends, but even then Mars would sometimes work long hours on weekend to make ends meet.
It was a boring job. Especially for a girl who just graduated from school. Most of her peers started working as interns, but that wasn't for her. She thought she'd be better if she continued her studies at the university, away from this town. But dreams don't get along with plans always. In order to get into the university, she needed money, that she understood now.
The list of her tasks wasn't that long. With Joyce's help she managed to do everything: to assist customers, manage the shelves, keep the store clean, operate cash register, take inventory, stock, restock and all the other things that were shifted to their shoulders.
She quickly checked the shelves, making sure products were where they were meant to be, moving them in their original place, as kids would often mess things up. After being done with the floor and the counter, she looked around the clean store and finally sighed in relief. She went back to the counter and started packing her things into her bag, already anticipating how Joyce would be happy to see the work she's done here. For Mars, Joyce was such a sweetheart and she would do anything for her, just like for her mother.
Mars opened the drawer to take the keys, when suddenly the soft sound of steps at the entrance made her look up from her seat.
She looked up, and her breath seemed to stutter in her lungs before she let it go.
The blonde guy with the denim jacket stood in front of the entrance and made a step forward. He stood in front of her, comfortably as if he was at his own house. He had no longer his black sunglasses making it easier for her to focus on his icy blue eyes. And he was alone this time. She couldn't chase away the same thoughts that had gone through her mind earlier. Heartbreaker. Also new thoughts replaced previous ones, she couldn't tell what it was, if his eyes hinted about it, as if he carried all the pain in the world, his blue eyes told about a lifetime of struggle that could never been put into words. He looked like the person who would rather hurt than being hurt.
"I'll have a pack of Marlboro Reds," he simply said. "Please."
Mars raised her eyebrows in surprise. She clearly remembered how one pack of them was hanging in his breast pocket when he'd walked in earlier. Moreover, she just wiped the floors clean and he made it dirty again by walking over it with his boots. The store was closed.
Or it wasn't. Mars regretted not putting the "closed" sign after cleaning the store and got mad even more.
"Can I see your license?" She simply asked, just in the same tone he talked to her.
The blonde stranger only chuckled clearly loving the situation. He reached to his back pocket and took out the license. He held it between his two fingers showing Mars as she leaned over to check his age only to find out that he was the same age as her. William Hargrove.
Mars moved her eyes towards his face and then turned around to open the drawer with cigarettes. She searched the packs behind her longer, not wanting to meet his eyes again, that much he intimidated her.
She then turned back and put the right pack in front of him. He gave her an unreadable glance leaning a bit into the counter. "Can I hear your name? Since you know mine."
She had to meet his baby blues again after his question. He put the money on the counter and took one cigarette out of the pack. Not wasting time, he lighted the cigarette and slowly brought it to his lips, his eyes never leaving hers.
"It's Maristela."
"What are you now a goddess or something?" He chuckled.
The name was unique, she agreed. "A star, to be precise. It means "Star of the Sea"."
"Hm." He smoked and Mars just kept staring at him, only seconds later she realised that he was literally smoking in the store and she'd allowed it by not saying anything. It was against the rules.
"No smo-," she recoiled as though she'd woken up from a bad dream when he cut her off, not letting her finish.
"Mars it is then," he said quietly before turning around and heading to the exit.