SO HIGH SCHOOL steve harrington x fem!reader
CHAPTER NINE – w.c. 6.7k
chapter warnings/tags: use of y/n, swearing, flirting, steve is #1 yearner and has 0 game, mentions of child abandonment, el and reader siblings #truth
series masterlist
–
Robin Buckley sighed internally at the sight of Mike Wheeler and three other kids, Will Byers, Lucas Sinclair and Max Mayfield, approaching the counter to Scoops Ahoy. Then, of course, in his usual irritating fashion, Mike began slamming his hand down on the bell repeatedly, despite the fact that Robin was standing right there.
"Hey, dingus, your children are here." She called out, and the window behind her slid open to reveal Steve Harrington, clad in his own sailor's uniform with a disapproving expression.
"Again? Seriously?" He asked them, but Mike just gave him an expectant look and dinged the bell again.
Steve sighed before opening the door to the back of the ice cream parlor and ushering the group of kids inside. He led them through to the door to the delivery tunnel like he had many times before, taking a look left and right to make sure nobody saw it happening.
"Come on, come on." He waved them past exasperatedly, then watched as they headed down the fluorescently lit hallway. "I swear, if anybody hears about this-- "
"We're dead!" The four younger teens chorused, finishing his sentence. Lucas looked back to shoot him a grin.
"Don't worry, we'll tell Y/N you say hi!" He teased and Max grabbed his arm, pulling him forward, but she still had an amused smile of her own on her face.
Steve sighed, his face flushing red as he walked back into Scoops Ahoy and closed the door behind him, mumbling to himself about 'those damn kids.'
Over at Starcourt Cinemas, you were standing by the delivery door and looking down at your watch.
"Those little shits are gonna miss the movie." You muttered, crossing your arms and leaning back against the wall. Then, a moment or two later, the door beside you clicked open and Mike's head popped out. "Finally."
Mike didn't say anything to you as he walked out of the door and towards the cinema that was about to start playing a sneak preview for Day of the Dead.
"You guys are so lucky." You told them as Max and Lucas exited next. "It starts in two minutes."
"Oh, it's fine." Max waved you off as she headed for the door after Mike.
"Your boyfriend says hi." Lucas grinned before making kissy faces at you. You rolled your eyes and closed the door to the delivery tunnel after Will came through. "He misses you."
"Whatever, Sinclair." You shook your head, patting Will on the shoulder as he passed you.
"Sorry we're late." He apologized, but you just shrugged, letting a small smile onto your face.
"I'm not actually mad, don't worry." You told Will, following him to the cinema door. "Enjoy the movie, buddy. Don't get me fired."
He smiled and followed his friends inside. You sighed and began your walk out of the cinema and towards the food court for your break.
"James, I'm going on my fifteen." You called out to your coworker, who was at the front counter and handing a bucket of popcorn to a couple of teenagers. He gave you a nod and you left the cinemas, heading out into the bright and bustling mall.
You hadn't even made it to the escalators when the power suddenly shut down, and everything went dark. No lights, no music, no whirring of machines. In fact, the only sound in the entire mall was the confused chatter coming from the many customers filling the building.
Then, as quickly as it had disappeared, the lights all returned in their bright, neon-fluorescent glory.
Escalators were moving again, music was playing again, and Starcourt Mall returned back to normal. You stopped for a moment, glancing around and watching shoppers all fall back into their usual conversations and walking around like it was nothing.
So you moved on, hurried down the crowded escalator and towards Scoops Ahoy, where a couple was just walking out with two ice creams, leaving the parlor almost empty.
Steve's head was down as he scrubbed at a melted ice cream catastrophe on the countertop when you walked in, but Robin saw you immediately, shooting you a smile.
"Hey." She greeted you as you approached the counter.
"What?" Steve groaned, not looking up, still scrubbing. "Robin, are you gonna help me with this shit or-- "
The moment his eyes met yours, Steve straightened up. A dumb smile slipped onto his face and the sponge from his hand was left abandoned on the counter as he leaned against it.
"Uh, hey- Hi, Y/N." He greeted, reaching under his hat to scratch the back of his hair. "What's up?"
"Nothing. Just thought I'd get some ice cream on my break." You answered, glancing back towards the cinemas. "Those kids stress me out."
"Yeah, you and me both." Steve sighed and Robin snickered.
"God, you two are like divorced parents." She commented, leaning back against the wall. "Sharing custody of your four gremlins."
"Thank you, Robin." Steve glared, but you just laughed. "You know, I hate that you two are friends now."
"We worked together for almost two years, dingus." Robin chuckled and you pointed towards her, backing her statement. "We've been friends."
"Yeah, but it's like you just team up to, like, torture me." Steve grumbled.
"Aw, Harrington." You gave him a pout and he frowned back. "It's just so fun."
"Ha ha. Hilarious, Y/N, really, you're so funny." He deadpanned, still frowning, still scrubbing at the countertop. "So are you gonna order something or what?"
"Am I allowed to, or are you gonna keep being grumpy?" You asked, a cheeky grin still tugging at the corners of your mouth. Steve looked up at you again, his cheeks flushing red once he met your eyes.
"I'm not grumpy." He denied, and Robin chuckled as she prepared you a cone. "What? I'm not."
"Sure." Robin shook her head and picked up her scooper. Then she faced you. "The usual?"
"Yep." You replied, your lips smacking together to create a pop sound at the 'p'. As Robin scooped out your ice cream, you leaned closer to the counter -- and therefore, closer to Steve -- with a teasing smirk.
Slowly, he raised his eyes to yours again, his grip on the sponge loosening with his shoulders.
"So, uh, Y/N..." He started, and you stared back.
"Yeah?" You were looking right at him, and Steve had to move his eyes away from yours to avoid eye contact before he combusted into flames.
"You excited for Dustin to get home?" He asked in an attempt of casual small talk. You chuckled.
"Sure. You seem a lot more excited, though." You said and he started to smile, but then Robin handed you your ice cream. "Thanks, Rob." You handed her your cash to pay, then looked back at Steve and his upturned lips. "Nice hat, Steven."
Steve's face fell almost immediately, and you laughed softly before giving them both a wave and heading out of Scoops Ahoy.
"Uh, thanks, Y/N!" He called to you when you were almost out of the parlor, and you shot him a weird look over your shoulder.
Steve groaned and slouched down, crossing his arms on the counter and hiding his face in them.
"Jesus, that was really pathetic, Harrington." Robin winced, walking towards the staff room out the back.
"Don't touch that whiteboard, Robin." He warned, calling out as the door swung shut.
"Too late!" Robin's, now muffled, voice responded. "You suck!"
Steve groaned again, slouching further, and the window to the back room slid open.
"Also, I'm pretty sure you've just put your arms right into the USS Butterscotch disaster you left on the counter." Robin pointed out, and sure enough, when Steve lifted his arms, there was a thin layer of sticky, melted ice cream dripping down to his elbow.
Steve groaned for a third, and final, time before storming off to the back room. "Are you kidding me!?"
–
The walls in Hopper’s cabin were thin. And your room was right beside El's. And you had the night off work. And Mike was over. And you could hear the music through the walls.
And the kissing. The constant kissing.
You knew Hopper was sick of it too, but for different reasons. He didn't like that they were always kissing, he didn't like how fast they were growing up, and he didn't like Mike.
You didn't like how these 14-year-olds had a better love life than you. But you were the one to blame for that. You were the one who ended your last relationship.
You sat in your bedroom, cross-legged on your bed with a book in hand, and you wondered where you could go at this time of the night.
You could go to the mall, maybe catch a late movie at the Cinema, or you could pop into Scoops Ahoy to see if Steve was there, which was something you found yourself doing more often than you'd think.
It was safe to say that after everything that had happened a couple of months earlier you could call Steve a friend, and he was probably the friend you had been seeing the most over the summer. You both worked at the mall, usually at very similar times considering you were both working almost full days, not including your mornings you still spent working early shifts at Bradley's Big Buy, probably because you were too scared to quit.
You hadn't seen much of Jonathan, or Nancy, over the summer as they were both working jobs as interns for the Hawkins Post. And they were spending almost all of their free time together being all mushy and in love.
Steve could be good company, though. He was fun to tease, especially since Robin made an offhand comment about him liking you. You didn't quite believe her, because that was 'King Steve' she was talking about.
You slumped back on your bed against your pillow, discarding your book on your nightstand and pulling your pillow out from under your head, forcing it over your face with a groan.
There was a knock that drew you out of your perpetual misery, and you sat up, dropping your pillow down onto your lap.
"Hey." Hopper called out, his voice muffled by your closed door, and the distance between your room and El's, because you could tell he was right outside her room.
"Yes?" El's voice followed, just loud enough to be heard over her blaring music.
"Can I talk to you guys a minute?" Hopper's voice returned, and you hoped he was going to talk to them about their constant making out without threatening Mike's life.
You reached for your Walkman and shoved the headphones over your ears, because you decided that sleep would be better than eavesdropping on what was hopefully a lecture or letting yourself sit around bored all night.
You curled up under your blankets as you rewound the tape inside the player, reaching out to turn off the lamp beside your bed as the Walkman clicked, letting you know the tape was ready to play.
You closed your eyes and let the music fill your ears, take up all the free space around you and just give you a moment to yourself.
Though, it was only a few moments later when you could hear a door slamming over the sound of your music. Hesitantly, you lifted one of your headphones off of your ear to listen, but instead you found silence.
There was a gentle knock on your door a few moments later.
"Come in." You said, sitting up, and El was pushing open your door a second later. "Hey."
"Hi." Her voice was soft, and she looked over her shoulder, probably towards the front door.
"What's up? Did Mike leave?" You asked and she nodded, but she looked a little confused.
"Hop took him. He said something was wrong." El explained, her speech was getting better, though she did still have awkward pauses between words on occasion. "With his grandma."
"Oh." You frowned, then noticed how El was still standing in your doorway, yet to cross the threshold into your bedroom. "You can come in, you know."
She nodded and took a few steps inside. You patted a spot on your bed, gesturing for her to sit with you. She did.
"I'm sure everything's fine." You told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into something of a side-hug. "Mike'll probably call you about it tomorrow. Or he'll tell you whatever happened when he comes over tomorrow, right?"
"Right." She nodded, then smiled.
"I'm sure it's fine." You gave her a smile of your own. You were still new to the whole kinda-sister relationship you had with El, and after spending about 17 years of your life as an only, and lonely, child, you liked it. "Maybe ask Hop about it when he gets back if you're still worried."
"Thank you." She whispered, then stayed sitting on your bed as she looked around your bedroom, at the posters on your walls, Will's framed drawing, your collection of books, your smaller but still impressive collection of tapes, the clutter of papers and notebooks on your desk from your summer studying and preparation for your senior year.
You and El had such different lives, you had grown up differently, experienced many different things, and yet you had both ended up there together. You had lived through interdimensional monsters and portals to other worlds, and being abandoned by those who had raised you.
"Um, I have work tomorrow." You told her. "So... I should probably get to sleep."
She nodded. "Goodnight, Y/N."
"Goodnight, El." You replied and she leaned towards you, wrapping her arms around you and squeezing you into a hug.
Then she smiled again and got up from your bed, walking back to your door.
–
The next morning, you were out of the house hours before Mike told El he couldn't come over. And at some point later, when you were traveling the distance between Bradley's Big Buy to Starcourt Mall to go from one job to the other, Dustin Henderson arrived at Scoops Ahoy.
"Hi." He grinned at Robin when he got to the counter.
"Hi." She responded, bored out of her mind.
"I'm Dustin." The younger boy introduced.
"I'm Robin." She replied, now finding the situation a little amusing.
"Pleasure to meet you. Uh, is-- is he here?" Dustin asked and Robin raised an eyebrow.
"Is who here?" Robin asked, but the 'he' in question had heard Dustin's voice and was now bursting out the door from the back of the shop.
"Henderson." Steve's face lit up at the sight of the boy, raising his arms in excitement as Dustin started to laugh. Steve began jumping up and down as he approached the kid. "Henderson! He's back! He's back!"
"I'm back!" Dustin exclaimed back. Robin watched the situation unfold with a wildly confused expression. "You got the job!"
"I got the job!" Steve celebrated by imitating a trumpet with his hands before he and Dustin did their recently acquired secret best friend handshake, complete with an invisible lightsaber battle.
And as Steve pretended his guts were falling out of his stomach, and he and Dustin laughed between themselves, Robin found the moment too sickening to not interrupt.
"How many children are you friends with?" She asked Steve, whose smile faded within seconds before he rubbed his mouth and gestured towards Robin as if saying to Dustin, 'See what I have to deal with?'
And a few minutes later, after making Dustin an ice cream sundae and sliding into a booth in the corner with him, Steve was listening to Dustin tell him all about his girlfriend from his summer camp, Suzie.
"No, no. No way. Hotter than Phoebe Cates? No." Steve shook his head in disbelief as he leaned back against the booth.
"Mm-hmm." Dustin swallowed down another large scoop of ice cream. "Brilliant, too. And she doesn't even care that my real pearls are still coming in. She says kissing is better without teeth."
Steve nodded slowly with wide eyes, his stare a little blank as Dustin went back to eating. "Wow. Yeah, that's great. Proud of you, man. That's ro-- That's kinda romantic. That's like... Wow."
Dustin shrugged and looked down at his sundae before asking Steve, "So do you really just get to eat as much of this as you want?"
"Yeah. I mean, sure. It's not really a good idea for me, though." Steve went on. "You know, I gotta keep in shape for the ladies."
"Yeah, and how's that working out for you?" Robin called out to him as she cleared a table not far away.
"Ignore her." Steve told Dustin quickly, the younger boy already smiling in amusement.
"She seems cool." He noted.
"She's not." Steve replied, then decided to change the subject. "So, where are the other knuckleheads?"
"They ditched me yesterday." Dustin explained.
"No." Steve said, sounding shocked.
"My first day back. Can you believe that shit?" Dustin frowned.
"Woah. Seriously?" Steve leaned forward, closer to Dustin, feeling a little upset for the boy.
"I swear to God." Dustin ate another spoonful of ice cream before setting the plastic utensil down on the sticky table. "They're gonna regret it, though, big time, when they don't get to share in my glory."
"Glory? What glory?" Steve asked and Dustin sat up straighter, shuffling closer to Steve in the booth.
"So, last night, we're trying to get in contact with Suzie..."
"Oh. Mm." Steve nodded.
"Mm-hmm?" Dustin looked down and Steve looked away, his smile dropping.
"Mm-hmm." He didn't quite believe that Suzie was real.
"And, uh..." Dustin whispered something behind his hand that Steve didn't catch.
"What?" Steve asked, and Dustin mumbled again. "Just speak louder."
"I intercepted a secret Russian communication!" Dustin practically yelled, causing several heads in the ice cream parlor to turn and look at them, including Robin.
"Jeez, shh. Yeah, okay, that's what I thought you said." Steve said, then stared off into space for a moment before asking Dustin, "What-- What does that mean?"
"It means, Steve, we could be heroes." Dustin answered, and that definitely piqued Steve's interest. "True American heroes."
"Huh." Steve grinned.
"Mm-hmm?" Dustin smiled.
"American heroes." Steve repeated, leaning closer to Dustin with an interested and amused expression.
"Just think, you could have all the ladies you want and more." Dustin told him.
"More?"
"More."
"I like more."
"Mm-hmm." They both slowly nodded in sync.
"What's the catch?" Steve asked.
"No catch, I just need your help." Dustin replied.
"With what?" Steve raised an eyebrow, and Dustin unzipped his backpack, pulling out a small book, an English to Russian Dictionary.
"Translation." Dustin smiled, then went back to his ice cream. Then he paused. "I was thinking maybe we could get Y/N to help too, if that's okay?"
Steve furrowed his brows. "What do you mean 'if that's okay'?"
"Like, if you're cool with it." Dustin lowered his spoon. "'Cause if you're still trying to, quote, unquote, 'impress the ladies', that means you two aren't-- ?"
"Aren't what?" Steve asked and Dustin stared blankly, before an annoyed expression took over his features and he dropped his spoon.
"Son of a bitch, Steve, did you not do it?"
"Do what?"
"Ask her out!" Dustin exclaimed, and Steve immediately shushed him.
"Shh, dude." Steve shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "No. Why would I?"
"Because we had a deal!" Dustin whisper-shouted. "You said that if you got the job here, you'd ask her out!"
"I never agreed to that." Steve scoffed, looking down at his hands.
"Bullshit, you totally did, you just pussied out!"
"I didn't--" Steve raised his voice, then caught himself and lowered it. "I didn't pussy out, man, alright? It's just... She's my friend, Henderson. And she still doesn't even like me. If I asked her out, it would just be embarrassing."
"Uh huh." Dustin sent him an incredulous look as he scooped up more ice cream onto a bit of wafer. "Sounds like you pussied out."
"Whatever, dude." Steve scoffed, crossing his arms and sinking back into the booth. Dustin just grinned in victory.
–
Steve paced back and forth in the back room of Scoops Ahoy as he ate a banana and he and Dustin listened to the recording of the Russian communication, the younger boy sitting at the table and watching his older friend's concentrated expression.
"So, what do you think?" Dustin asked when the tape clicked off.
"It sounded familiar." Steve replied through a mouthful of banana.
"What?" Dustin's expression shifted to display his confusion.
"The music." Steve clarified. "The music right there at the end."
"Why are you listening to the music, Steve? Listen to the Russian! We're translating Russian!" Dustin snapped.
"I'm trying to listen to the Russian, but there's music playing-- " Steve had begun arguing, but then Robin burst through the door, abandoning the front counter.
"Alright, babysitting time is over." She declared, talking over Steve and interrupting his train of thought. "You need to get in there."
As she walked further into the room, Robin noticed her whiteboard, where her 'You Rule/You Suck' scoreboard had been wiped away and replaced with the Russian and English alphabets.
"Hey, my board!" She complained. "That was important data, shitbirds!"
"I guarantee you, what we're doing is way more important than your data." Dustin told her, brushing her off.
"Yeah? And how do you know these Russians are up to no good anyways?" Robin challenged and the boys shared wide-eyed looks of concern and confusion.
"How does she know about the Russians?" Dustin whispered to Steve, who turned to face him, frozen with another mouthful of banana.
"I don't know." Steve shrugged.
"You told her about the Russians--?"
"It wasn't me."
"Hello, I can hear you." Robin stated and their heads whipped towards her again. "Actually, I can hear everything. You are both extremely loud. You think you have evil Russians plotting against our country, on tape, and you're trying to translate, but haven't figured out a single word because you didn't realize the Russians use an entirely different alphabet than we do. Sound about right?"
Steve and Dustin stared at her, one with a blank expression, the other bewildered. Robin reached forward for the tape recorder, but Steve snatched it up off the table before she could grab it.
"Woah, woah, woah! What do you think you're doing?" He asked.
"I wanna hear it." Robin replied.
"Why?" Both boys questioned immediately.
"'Cause maybe I can help. I'm fluent in four languages, you know." Robin said, and Dustin raised an eyebrow.
"Russian?" He queried and Robin leaned forward.
"Ou-yay are-yay umb-day."
"Oh-ho-ho-ho!" Steve began chuckling as Dustin grinned with a, "Holy shit."
"That was Pig Latin, dingus." Robin said with an amused smile and Steve hit Dustin's shoulder.
"Idiot."
"But I can speak Spanish and French and Italian," Robin explained as she sat at the table next to Dustin. "And I've been in band for 12 years. My ears are little geniuses, trust me."
"Uh..." Steve sounded a little hesitant as Robin reached out for the tape player again.
"Come on, it's your turn to sling ice cream, my turn to translate. I don't even want credit. I'm just bored." Robin groaned and leaned forward more, stretching out her hand and ice cream scooper towards Steve.
Steve shared a look with Dustin, then begrudgingly took the scooper from Robin, trading her for the tape player, before he began mumbling under his breath and heading for the door.
"Steve." Dustin called and he spun around, hoping for a reason to avoid work just a moment longer, only for his friend to be holding out his sailor's hat to him. "Don't forget your hat."
Robin began to smirk as he snatched it back to sit on his head. "Steve doesn't like his hat. He says it's because of his hair, but I bet it's just because Y/N teases him about it."
Steve glared, but Dustin sat up straighter. "Steve, if she turns up, you should tell her to come back here and help us."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, man." Steve sighed, and pushed open the door leading to the store, only to find you waiting at the counter, looking down at the different ice cream flavours.
You looked up at the sound of the door, and Steve found himself frozen in place. You shot him a grin.
"Ahoy, Harrington." You teased as he approached the other side of the counter. "I see you've abandoned your cute little hat."
He lifted his hand with a sigh, trying his best not to blush because you called his hat 'cute'.
"Haven't put it on yet." He grumbled, sitting it on his head, only for your smile to grow wider. "So, what's up?"
"Nothing. I just finished work and thought I'd come see what the sailors are up to before I head home and spend the rest of the day bored out of my mind." You told him, Steve nodded slowly, his lips parting as he stared at you. "So... anything interesting going on here?"
"Well, actually..." Steve cleared his throat and shifted on his feet before jutting out his thumb over his shoulder, pointing to the room behind him. "Dustin's back there, and he pretty much just asked me to send you back there if you turned up."
You made a surprised face. "Ooh, why?"
"Uh..." Steve looked around the store, then lowered his voice. "It's probably best if you just ask him."
"Oh-kay..." You dragged out the syllable with a curious look, eyes on Steve as you headed towards the back door.
"Hey, uh, do you want anything?" Steve asked, gesturing to the ice cream in front of him.
"Sure." You smiled, reaching into your pockets for your money. "Same as always, if that's alright?"
You went to hand Steve your cash, but he shook his head. "It's on me."
"Really?" You asked and he nodded. "Thanks, Harrington."
A confident smile slipped onto his face as he shrugged. "Don't sweat it. I'll bring it to you in a minute."
Then you smiled at him; you looked happy talking to him and you weren't making fun of him. Sure, he was paying for your ice cream, but to Steve this was real progress.
Maybe there was a chance you liked him beyond friendship.
–
You were leaned forward, palms resting against the table as the Russian recording played again. Dustin sat in front of you with the player in his hand while Robin walked back and forth beside you.
Translating some secret Russian communication in the back room of Scoops Ahoy ice cream shop with Dustin Henderson and Robin Buckley was not how you thought you'd spend your summer vacation.
"Wait, that last part, just one more time." Robin pointed towards Dustin, and he rewound the tape by a few seconds to replay the Russian. "Okay, that word."
Dustin quickly paused the tape, and you both looked over to Robin.
"Um... It's pronounced... 'dly-nna-ya.'" She moved her hand along with her as she spoke.
"'Dly-nna-ya...'" You repeated, already reaching for the dictionary. "Which is spelled...?"
"D... D, D, D..." Robin and Dustin switched spots, your friend picking up the notepad and paper while Dustin ran towards the whiteboard.
"The-- The chair. The chair-looking thingy." Dustin spoke with excitement, pointing to the letter on the board.
"Yeah, okay." Robin started writing down each letter Dustin was giving her, while you searched for the translations for the words in the dictionary. And soon the hard work all paid off, and you were sliding open the window that led out to the main section of Scoops Ahoy.
"Harrington." You called out, drumming your hands against the window frame below you like a drumroll as he turned around to face you with an ice cream cone in each hand. "We've got our first sentence."
"Oh, seriously?" He asked, walking towards you and leaning in closer.
"Yeah." You nodded with a grin as Robin stuck her head out the window beside you.
"'The week is long.'" She quoted with a fake Russian accent before slipping back into the room.
"Well, that's thrilling." Steve responded sarcastically, his eyes not leaving yours and you chuckled.
"Maybe not, but we're getting somewhere." You shrugged, not looking anywhere but him before sliding the window shut and disappearing into the back room again.
"Uh, okay, here you go," Steve collected himself and walked back to the other side of the counter where Max and El were standing and waiting for their ice creams, grateful you hadn't noticed their presence. "You got a strawberry and then a vanilla with sprinkles, extra whipped cream."
"Thanks." The girls said in unison, already eating their desserts, then Steve's eyebrows furrowed.
"Wait a second." He looked El up and down, then glanced towards Max for a split second before his eyes stopped on El again. "Are you even allowed to be here?"
The girls shared a look before they took off, giggling with each other.
"That..." Steve was confused as he watched them go. "Okay."
He slid the window to the back room open again and leaned forward. His eyes settled on you while you flicked through the pages of the dictionary, your eyes focused and not looking up at him.
"You need something, Harrington?" Robin's voice snapped him out of the trance you had him in, and he tore his eyes away from you to look at her.
"Uh, no, just... Y/N?" He cleared his throat, and you looked up, both ignoring the look on Dustin's face. "Is... El-- Is she allowed to be here?"
"Here?" You repeated, pointing to the floor. "Like Scoops?"
"Well, yeah. Scoops, or just the mall in general." He clarified, and you shook your head.
"No... Why?" You asked and Steve rubbed his fingers against the small patch of hair growing above his nose.
"Uh... 'Cause I just sold two ice cream cones to her and Max." Steve said, now scratching his head, and you frowned.
"Oh." But then your frown twitched up into a smile. "And she was with Max? Not Mike?"
"Yeah." Steve replied, so you shrugged it off and went back to translating Russian, because you were thankful she was finally hanging out with someone who wasn't Mike.
What Hopper doesn't know won't hurt him.
–
“‘The week is long, the silver cat feeds, when blue meets yellow in the west.'"
The four of you stared at the whiteboard for a moment after reading out the passage you had translated.
Starcourt Mall was closed, the whole building seemed to be empty except for you.
"I mean, it just... it just can't be right." Steve said as he locked up Scoops Ahoy five minutes later.
"It's right." Robin insisted and you nodded in agreement.
"Honestly, I think it's great news." Dustin added.
"How is this great news?" Steve questioned as the four of you began to walk through the eerily silent mall. "I mean, so much for being American heroes. It's total nonsense."
"It's not nonsense, Steve." You told him. "I mean, it's way too specific."
"Yes, exactly, thank you." Dustin gestured to you. "It's obviously a code."
"What do you mean, a code?" Steve asked.
"Like a super secret spy code." Dustin clarified.
"That's a total stretch." Steve said.
"I don't know, is it?" Robin spoke up.
"You're buying into this?" Steve scoffed and you gently bumped his shoulder with your own. He looked over and you gave him a look, telling him to hear them out.
"Listen, just for kicks, let's entertain the possibility that it is a secret Russian transmission. What'd you think they were gonna say, 'Fire the warhead at noon'?"
"Exactly." Dustin nodded.
"And my translation is correct. I know that for sure, so..." Robin continued, her bike helmet dangling from one hand as she spoke, walking just ahead of you and Steve, level with Dustin. "'The silver cat feeds.' Why would anyone talk like that unless they were trying to mask the true meaning of their message?"
"Exactly." Dustin repeated, still nodding.
"And why would anyone wanna mask the true meaning of their message unless the message was somehow sensitive?"
"Exactly." Dustin said once again, giving Steve a 'told you so' look.
Steve made a face, mocking Dustin like a child, and you rolled your eyes.
"So I guess that confirms your suspicion, Dustin." You spoke up, and Dustin looked back towards you with a nod.
"Evil Russians." Dustin said.
"I can't believe I'm about to agree with this strange child, but, yeah, totally evil Russians." Robin sounded almost excited as she glanced back at you.
"So how do we crack it?" Dustin asked, sounding excited.
"Well, I guess we translate the rest and hopefully a pattern emerges." Robin said with a shrug.
"A pattern. Right, like maybe 'silver cat' is a meeting place?" Dustin suggested.
"Or a person." You offered up.
"Or a weapon." Dustin pointed, and when you looked over towards him, you realized Steve was no longer walking by your side.
"It's probably gonna take a super genius to crack it, but..." Robin started, but the squeak of your sneakers coming to a stop against the floor cut her off.
"Where's Steve?" You asked, then turned around to see him standing beside the small kids rides in the mall, right in front of a small mechanical horse ride titled the 'Indiana Flyer'.
He was digging through the pockets of his blue sailor shorts, and you could hear the sounds of coins clattering onto the ground.
"Hey, Steve." You called out the same time Robin asked, "What are you doing?"
"Uh, it's a quarter. I need-- Do you have a quarter?" He asked, waving you all over as he went through his handful of change.
"You sure you're tall enough for that ride?" Robin joked as the three of you approached him.
"Quarter!" He exclaimed and you tossed him a coin from your pocket, which he practically launched his body towards to catch before dropping it down into the slot, allowing the ride to begin to play, along with its music.
Steve crouched in front of it, watching and listening intently.
"You need help getting up, little Stevie?" You teased and Steve shushed you with a serious look while Dustin and Robin chuckled.
"Will the three of you just shut up and listen?" He asked, gesturing to the ride, so you did. You were a little confused at first, but Dustin didn't seem to be.
"Holy shit." He realized, and Steve looked up at him. "The music. The music!"
Dustin began pulling off his backpack, dropping it by his feet and unzipping it, digging through until he found the tape recorder.
When the Russian tape started playing, you noticed the music in the background immediately and it clicked. It was exactly the same.
"Holy shit!" You gasped, looking from Dustin, then to the horse, then to Steve.
"I don't understand." Robin spoke, looking down at Dustin.
"It's the exact same song on the recording." Dustin told her.
"Maybe they have horses like this in Russia." Robin suggested.
"'Indiana Flyer'? I don't... I don't think so." Steve said. "This code, it... didn't come from Russia. It came from here."
While the realization wasn't exactly pleasant, you still let out a shocked chuckle. "Steve Harrington, you goddamn genius."
He looked up at you from where he was crouching, and his lips began tugging up into a smile.
–
Steve drove you home that night, despite it being out of his way, he said it was no problem. He dropped Dustin off first, then it was just the two of you in his car, not a sound between you but the song Baby Come Back by Player coming from Steve's radio.
His fingers drummed against the steering wheel while his eyes occasionally flickered your way as you hummed along to the music.
Then he cleared his throat, drawing in your attention.
"So..." He started, eyes still fixed on the road ahead, though he dropped one hand to the thigh of his sailor shorts as if he were drying sweat from his palm.
"So..." You repeated, your head now turned to face him and the tight grip he kept on the wheel with his other hand.
"Uh... Evil Russians, huh?" He spoke, raising one hand to brush his hair back away from his face but still avoiding eye contact with you.
"Seems like it." You responded with a slow nod, a little confused by his awkward behaviour. "Are you okay, Steve?"
"Huh? Me? Pfft, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He told you, finally turning his head to look at you. "Just, uh..."
You stared expectantly as he swallowed, seemingly trying to build up the courage for something. Then he shook his head.
"Nothing." He said, turning off the road and driving slowly towards Hopper's cabin. "Forget it, it's stupid."
"Okay." You replied but still gave him a weird look.
Steve sighed at himself internally. Henderson was right, he was a pussy. All he had to do was ask you out. Why was that so hard? This used to be his domain. Where the hell was 'King Steve' now when he needed him?
The beamer came to a stop outside the cabin, and you gave Steve a smile as you reached for the door handle.
"Thanks for the ride." You said, climbing out of your seat, then turning back to face him before you closed the door. "See you tomorrow, Sailor Steven."
You gave him a two-fingered salute, and he rolled his eyes but let out a short laugh.
Usually, Steve hated it when people called him Steven. That's what his father always called him, when he actually spoke to him, that was. But he didn't mind when you called him by his full name, just because it was you.
You walked into the cabin, and you could smell the alcohol before you saw Hopper, who was lounging in his chair watching TV with a large bottle of wine beside him, and he had a wide smile on his face.
"Hey." You greeted, and Hopper turned his head to look at you.
"Hey." He said back, his voice slurring a little. "Who drove you home?"
"Steve." You replied and he nodded but still smiled. Apparently not even Steve Harrington could ruin his mood. "What's got you so happy?"
"Go see for yourself." He replied, nodding towards El's room, where the door was closed.
So you did. You walked across the cabin and knocked on her bedroom door before entering, just to find El and Max both sitting on her bed, the latter writing names onto ripped pieces of yellow paper with a marker.
Both of their heads snapped up at the sound of you entering.
"Hey, El. And hi, Max." You said with a smile, glancing towards Hopper before closing the bedroom door and taking a few steps in. "What are you two up to?"
"Nothing." They both answered quickly, and you looked down at the bottle in the middle of the collection of names, where you could see Mr. Clarke, Dustin, Nancy and...
"'Steve'?" You read out, looking up at them both. "Are you two spying on people?"
"No." Max responded quickly -- too quickly.
"Uh huh..." You then looked towards El. "What kind of ice cream did you get at the mall?"
Her eyes went wide, and she looked towards Max, whose eyes were narrowing in on you.
"What were you doing in the back room of Scoops Ahoy?" Max shot back, and you paused.
"Yeah." El echoed, both girls looking towards you eagerly. "Max says that you... and Steve-- "
Max's palm clamped firmly over El's mouth, and she gave you an innocent smile.
"I didn't say anything." Max stated, and you stared at her blankly.
"Okay..." You looked towards El. "Cute dress, El. It suits you."
She smiled brightly. "Thank you."
"I'm gonna go to bed now." You said, then paused to face them again, lowering your voice to ask, "Is Hopper wasted?"
"Oh, yeah." Max nodded immediately, and El looked between you both.
"What is... 'wasted'?" She asked and when Max began explaining it to her, you slipped out of the room and into your own.
–
a/n: season three…
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