Malls Are For Cool Kids [Harmony]

[Lilly Love]

Live had always enjoyed shopping however, the mall had never been the place for her. For one, growing up she had never had very much money so basically everything sold in a mall was out of her price range. Sure, there were sales and clearance racks but even those often seemed to be pushing the budget of her alcoholic mother. Thrift stores were the place to go.

But things had changed now. Live had her own job and kept track of her own budget which meant she actually had money to buy nice new clothes from the mall. She still much preferred thrift stores, majorly because then she didn't end up the same shirt as someone else. She also had a habit of cutting up the clothes she bought and making alterations so it seemed pointless to spend too much money on a shirt or pants just for a brand.

Today though, Live was treating herself. A couple of the stores she liked were having sales on shoes and Live was in desperate need of sneakers and boots. She entered Shoe Department and began her search. She was a methodical shopper; starting and one end and working her way to the other. It kind of came with being a thrift store shopper. She had to look through everything to make sure she didn't miss anything.

She was scanning through the tennis shoes when she spotted a pair of gray and blue Adidas. They seemed generally like what she was looking for so she grabbed a pair of size 9's off the shelf below and sat on one of the benches in the isle to try them on.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Harmony's birthday was in two days and she was sure that no one was going to get her anything that she really wanted. Her mother always sent some sort of crappy, slightly hippie gift that was meant to push Harmony into being a better person. And her uncle, well he wasn't exactly hip on what was cool these days.

But at least her dad just sent money. So Harmony figured she owed it to herself to get something she actually wanted.

She knew there were somethings she wanted. Music. A skateboard. Supplies for future pranks. And also some new shoes. Her current ones were starting to look a little past their prime and she knew if she asked her mom for new shoes she was sure to give Harmony something super girly and lame.

She grabbed a few pairs of hightops off the shelf and looked for a spot to try them on. It seemed the place was pretty busy so Harmony picked the least annoying looking person to share a bench with.

"You mind?" Harmony said, before plopping down beside the older girl. It was as close to being nice as she was going to get.

[Lilly Love]

Live had taken off her right shoe and was about slip on the Adidas when a voice hit her ear. Before she could even look to see who had just spoken, the young girl was sitting next to her.

She was really not a fan of people, but she could tolerate them if they respected her personal space. Honestly, she probably would have let the girl sit there, not without a huff and giving as much space between the two as possible, but the fact that the girl just sat down without waiting for a response really ticked Live off.

"Actually, I do mind." She said bluntly, her eyes locked on the girl. She racked her brain to think if she had ever seen the girl before but nothing came to mind. If the girl had been closer to her age, she probably would have responded with some much stronger language but she tried to watch her mouth around kids. She had this thing about the "innocence of childhood" that she liked to sort of respect.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Harmony was not a fan of people either. There was really only one person she even liked. And a few she tolerated. Everyone else could go live on an ice float. And maybe drown for all she cared.

"Well I guess you'll just have to learn to live with it," Harmony huffed, not bothering to look at the older girl. She started to pull off her shoes instead. It was busy after all. And it wasn't like Harmony was going to sit around waiting for one of the little benches to free up. She had things to do like everyone else.

Harmony wasn't much for cussing herself, mostly because she was horrible at it and never sounded exactly tough, but she was far from innocent. Or at least she tried to think so.

"Sheesh, fatty. Shove over, give me some space, and stop whining about it."

[Lilly Love]

At first Live had just been annoyed by the young girl but now she was just astonished, almost impressed. She stared at the girl with an amazed expression like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Sure, she had been just as rude as the kid when she was her age but she had never been this bold and out going about it. Live liked her space and was only rude and bitchy to people who invaded her space. This girl though was the one invading and being rude.

"Where the hell are your parents kid?" She snapped. She could tell she was a solid five or so years older than the girl next to her and she really didn't want to get into an argument with a child. She would definitely get no sympathy for that and she had a feeling if she really started yelling at this girl, she would end up looking like the bad guy.

When the girl called her fat and told her to move over, Live didn't move an inch. She kept her eyes locked on the child, "Ever heard of the word please?"

Yeah it was kind of hypocritical for Live to say that, as she rarely used the word when she was this age, but at the same time she held everyone else to higher standards than herself. And now she knew better anyways. It was one thing to a bitch, it was another thing to be immature and disrespectful.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Harmony was used to people looking at her like they couldn't believe what they were seeing. It was a look Harmony enjoyed seeing. It was almost pathetic how many people expect her to be some sugary little cutesy girly kid. She hated that. She loved disproving it.

"How old you think I am?" Harmony snapped back. After all, she was 15. She didn't need her parents to escort her around the mall. Or her uncle, since her parents weren't in Pilot Ridge to escort her around. "I don't need any stupid parents. And I ain't now kid," she added, putting as much disgust into that word as she could.

"Please? Nope never heard of it. Is it some magic word?" Harmony said, fluttering her fingers before giving the older girl a look of disdain. Really she didn't need a lesson in manners. Just some shoes. Was that too much to ask?

"Geez lady. Can't you just give me some room without trying to act like my mom. Sheesh," Harmony continued. True, the older girl looked nothing like her mom, but she sure had the attitude to match.

[Lilly Love]

Live narrowed her eyes at the girl. She was quickly losing her patience, "Well you sure as hell don't look 18 so therefore, you are a kid." She wasn't that surprised to hear the girl spout about not needing parents. She had a feeling the girl had come her by herself. She had just been hoping there would be an adult around who she could yell at about their child's ridiculous behavior.

"Well, please might not be 'magic'," Live added a little mocking finger flutter, "but it might have gotten you more room on the bench." Her tone was fairly level as she added this. She honestly would have moved over and let the girl sit there if she had just asked better. But now this had escalated to quickly and there was no way she was backing down from a little brat like this.

Live rolled her eyes, "There's plenty of room on the floor." She didn't like the comment about her acting like a mother. She had a few things she could have said about that but she held her tongue. It was bad enough that she was arguing with someone half her size.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

"I am not a kid," Harmony said, raising her voice a bit. "I'm a teenager." Because there was a difference. A big difference. Harmony did not need some stupid parent around to get in her way and hold her hand or whatever. She was doing just fine, better than fine, amazing, without her mother there to get in her way. And she didn't really even need her uncle that much. Well, maybe when she needed a ride or some extra money or something. But only then.

And she did not appreciate being looked down on by someone who was barely even older than her. Just because this girl acted like she was forty didn't mean she could act like she was so freaking superior.

"Oh sheesh. Maybe I wouldn't have to use pretty magic words if your butt didn't take up so much room," Harmony yelled back. Yeah, she was getting a bit loud. But she didn't care. She was a paying customer too. She should get room to sit down too.

"Yes, it looks like there is plenty of room. Why don't you move down there, cow?" Harmony suggested, going so far as to shove her hip into the lady slightly pushing her towards the edge of the bench.

[Lilly Love]

Live chuckled a bit as she remembered the age when being a teenager really did feel like a big difference from being a kid. At the time, she had felt like she really was older and more mature but now that she actually was older and more mature looking back on her teen years she realized how immature she really had been. Guess it was all about perspective.

"Oh okay, okay.." Live grumbled, figuring she would give the girl at least a little leeway, "Teenager." The words were a bit mocking in tone but it was about the best the girl was gonna get from Live.

As the girl shoved her hip into Live, she narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists. She was not a fan of people touching her and her temper was quick to flare when people assaulted her physically. Not that she was about to get in a fist fight with a minor, she was better and smarter than that, but she wasn't about to keep her head on straight either.

A couple people near by had started to notice the exchange happening between the two girls. Live didn't want to bring more attention to herself; she just wanted to get her shoes and get out of here but she also wasn't about to give in to this little brat either. "I'll move down when you say please." She said crossly. She realized how motherly she sounded but she didn't care. She would give the girl some space if she just said please. Simple as that.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Since the day Harmony had turned thirteen, she had been very adamant about the fact that she was no longer a child. She was a teenager. And expected to be treated as such.

She actually grinned a little when the older girl called her teenager. Even if it was mockingly, it felt like she'd won something getting the girl to use the right word.

Harmony couldn't help but grin at the other girl's anger. True, Harmony was frustrated and angry of course, but something about seeing that emotion in other people always cheered her up. She was tempted to shove the girl again, just to see how far she could push her.

Now it was Harmony's turn to narrow her eyes. She didn't really care that people were watching. Then again, she didn't really want to have to listen to her uncle complain again if the store owner or someone called about her again.

"Fine. Pu-lease," she said, dragging out the syllable with all the teenage angst and annoyance she could muster. Which was a lot.

"Happy now?" she added, sticking out her tongue and shoving the girl again a bit as she lifted her leg to slide on her shoes.

[Lilly Love]

Oh if only this girl were a few years older, Live wouldn't have hesitated to punch her. But of course, that was no the case and thankfully Live had control of her emotions for one of the first time's in a long time.

"I wouldn't exactly use happy to describe anything about this situation." Live grumbled as she moved over so that they could both sit on the bench with out touching. There was just enough room and Live stuck a bit off the edge but not enough for her to care or pick up another fight with this girl.

"Because going to the mall itself isn't torture enough..." Live thought with a huff as she finally raised the tennis shoe to her foot so she could try it on.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Harmony. on the other hand, would have no problem punching the older girl. She also had less control of her emotions, but for now she felt like she was on the winning side enough that she could back off for a bit. She had succeeded in making the older girl grumble miserably. That was enough for now.

"Well I really couldn't care less how you wanna describe it as long as you keep your flab off of me," Harmony muttered, half under her breath. She took a second to glance over at the older girl's shoe selection. They weren't half bad. At least the girl wasn't trying on some sort of sparkly high heels.

"Uh...where'd you find those?" Harmony asked, pulling off the shoes she had just tried on. She made a point of not making eye contact with the girl as she tried to act like she didn't even care if she got an answer.

[Lilly Love]

Live could have pulled out a few snappy remarks to the girl but she held her tongue. It seemed they had finally reached a somewhat decent place. Both were seated on the bench and people around them had stopped paying attention. Good. Live didn't want any more attention than was necessary.

She let out a huff as the girl asked her a question. She thought they weren't gonna have to talk anymore since the girl had gotten a place to sit but apparently not.

"They were right over there. They're aren't many sizes left though." She gave a nod of her head to the shoes just in front of them and a bit to the left. When she had checked there were only five other boxes left. The shoes seemed to have been fairly popular.

[Harmony Muller-Barton]

Harmony didn't really care if the other customers or staff stared at them. She just wanted her fair share of the seat, a little more perhaps. But she figured she wasn't going to get much more out of this idiot girl.

She looked to where the idiot was pointing and saw the small pile of boxes. "Damn it," she said. The word felt odd on her tongue, she'd only recently started cursing where people could hear her. Still she was sure she sounded more grown up.

Walking over, she saw that indeed they were out of her size. Though they did have very similar ones. A bit grumpy she stopped back to try them on next to the older girl, making sure to sit down with as much noise and drama as possible.

"Just my stupid luck," she muttered as she pulled on the sneakers.

[Lilly Love]

Live didn't pay much mind to the girl cursing. She had cursed plenty when she was that age and to her 'damn' wasn't even that bad of a word. Besides, based on how the girl had acted so far she was surprised she hadn't started cursing sooner.

She watched as the girl went and checked the boxes left to see if her size was there. She was fairly pleased when the girl came back empty handed. Normally, Live felt more neutral towards other peoples luck. It didn't effect her either way if the girl found her shoes or not. However, based on the little tiff the two had just had, and seeing as Live was the one that had to give something up, she was glad this girl was missing out on something. Put a little win in Live's pocket.

Live liked the shoes she had. They fit well and were comfortable. Plus, they looked good too. "Perfect." Live said as she examined her feet in the shoes. She stood up to feel how they felt walking around in them.