Chapter Text
Hawkins, Indiana. The summer of 1985. A heat wave was suffocating the small town of Hawkins so everyone was getting refreshed in the AC of the Starcourt Mall. Especially since they reopened a tiny ice cream shop and renamed it as Scoops Ahoy!
They sell lots of ice cream and other things with weird names, I don’t know, I just ask Steve for something sweet and he gives me a new flavour every day I visit him while he works.
“It actually sucks that you have to work in the summer” I licked my spoon as I sat in one of the booths near the counter. “I mean, they give you money but, i hate having to visit you here”
“Yeah, yeah” He snorted “Now, could you please shut up and let me do my work?. Go annoy Robin, she’s not doing anything back there” Steve pointed his head towards the back room.
“Asshole” I sighed and hopped off the counter and walked to where Robin was just sitting on a chair and eating ice cream. She raised her eyebrows with excitement as she saw me
“Henderson!” She got up and walked over to hug me “Oh god Henderson, I was literally dying of boredom and Steve is treating everyone like shit right now And-” I cut her off
“Steve is what? why?” I sat on the table as I listened to her
“Ugh. Henderson” She flopped into the chair beside me “Nancy Wheeler. Again. She came here to buy ice cream with Byers and you know how Steve is”
I raised my eyebrow again. Listening carefully and eating the rest of the ice cream she left.
“He thought Nancy came here to rub it on his face that she was dating Byers now” She sounded so eagerly. Like it was some kind of drama.
God. Steve was so annoying with her. Nancy this, Nancy that, Nancy would never, Nancy isn’t like this…….. Yeah okay Steve we got it, you’re still head over heels for Nancy the perfect Wheeler. Cool.
“He really needs to find another girl” I said as I scraped the ice cream tub clean. “He’s flirting with girl customers all day but he still can’t get over Wheeler” I shook my head as I threw the empty tub into the bin.
“Speaking of Wheeler….” Robin straightened her posture “Mike came earlier asking for you” She nudged my arm teasingly.
I froze and looked at her. My brother’s best friend was really asking for me? Mike Wheeler? The one I had a crush since Dustin introduced him to me?
I mean, he was eighteen, just two years younger than me, but he was cute. So cute and so funny…..He was actually better than Steve.
~
Scoops Ahoy was about to close, so Steve appeared opening the door with a soft thump. Sighing and taking off the goofy uniform hat while he fixed his stupid-voluminous-perfect hair.
I swear I would love to be able to look at him without wanting to throw a chair at his head, but after what Robin said, I just want to look at him like a disappointed mother.
“So are you both finished gossiping about my love life?” He asked, looking at us as he peeled a banana he’d found on the storage.
“Actually. We were talking about Mike Wheeler…not Nancy” Robin said with a teasing tone, smirking.
“Yeah Harrington, not everything is about you and your girl count” I squeaked my shoes on the floor as i balanced myself on the chair.
He rolled his eyes and answered with a full mouth “And what you want me to do? Be your cupid?” He scoffed as he threw the peel to the bin before placing his hands on his hips.
Oh. My. God.
What is wrong with him?!?!
Steve usually jokes about whatever crosses his mind, but right now? Is really Nancy Wheeler having that effect on him?
When i was about to spit something stupid at him like “screw you, Harrington” the small sound of the counter bell rang in our ears.
Steve closed his eyes and cursed to himself before getting up and swinging the door, and disappearing. He shouted from the counter “The kids are here, you idiots!”
Robin and I walked straight to the front of the shop. Dustin, Lucas, Will…..and Mike. But also Steve, behind the counter. With a look that screamed Ugh. Not again
~
Dustin was the first to talk “Steve….Please we-“ he looked at me “what’s she doing here?… whatever” he returned his gaze to Steve “So we need to get through that doors. It’s a matter of life or death”
“Absolutely not” Steve replied expressionless. He was used to this
“Dude. It’s Back to the Future! Everyone’s talking about it” Lucas almost pleaded on his knees.
“Do i look like i care, guys?” He smiled sarcastically as he pointed his face
“Did my sister dump you again? Come on, Harrington. Just this once, we promise we’ll be like ninjas” Mike said nonchalantly. I loved his ability to joke without laughing.
Not me. I laughed as he said that.
Steve glared at me, but quickly returned to the kids “Fine. But if someone catches you four sneaking into the cinema, I swear to god-”
The kids laughed as they started walking into the backroom. We followed them to the doors that connected every shop in Starcourt, but just as they were about to open the door, Mike stopped and turned to look at me
“You wanna come with us?” He looked slightly nervous as he asked “I’ll invite you to popcorn. And we brought some snacks in your brother’s backpack”
From the corner of my eye, I saw Steve. He wasn’t looking at the kids or Mike anymore.
He was looking at me.
“Yeah! I-“ I managed to said before someone cut me off
“No!” Dustin pointed a finger at Mike “This. This is a boy’s hang out. She’s not invited”
Blah blah blah. Im sure Steve taught him to be a pain in the ass….just like him. Great, Harrington
And he actually snorted at that. Steve Harrington laughing at my face. Of course. I had to return him a glare.
But Mike replied quickly before I could even say anything “Don’t mind him. You know how your brother is” He smiled at me.
Dustin didn’t have any better another option than roll his eyes and walk into the hallways. Lucas, on the other side, couldn’t stop teasing mike and making smooch noises. And Will was just tired of the boys acting like little kids.
After that, I followed them into the hallways. Not without first telling Steve and Robin, especially Steve, something like “No need for a cupid. Just watch and learn”
It actually sounded shameful. But whatever, he was acting shamelessly too. Screw Steve Harrington.
~
When Steve and Robin were free of the kids and me, cleaning up and ready to close Scoops Ahoy, Robin decided to stop and sit with her shoes on the counter. Her favourite time of the day: messing with Steve.
“So….looks like someone is getting a date today…” She smirked so hard “and that someone is not you”
“Oh great, Buckley. Have you ever been told that you’re hilarious?” He stopped mopping the floors “And get off the counter. Jeez. I just cleaned that”
“Stop changing the subject, dingus” She sat straight now “What’s your opinion on Mike Wheeler? He actually pulled her out”
Steve walked towards her while moving his hands in surrender “Okay….okay. Chill, damn”
He pushed her off the counter and started cleaning it again. Just to keep his mind occupied.
“Look. I don’t give a damn about Mike Wheeler asking out her. She can do whatever she wants” He scrubbed the surface with a little bit more of force. “As if they’re getting married tomorrow. Good for them, I’ll attend”
Robin actually laughed at that. Like, really laughed on his face
“You sound soooo stupid and you know what? You’re mad because she didn’t say no”
Steve stopped what he was doing and opened his mouth to say something but immediately regretted it.
“You thought she was gonna reject Mike… and now? she’s probably kissing him in the movies”
He scoffed. Acting like he didn’t care Because he didn’t…. Right?
“Good for her, Robin”
Robin leaned back against the counter, arms crossed, smirking. “Wow. So that’s it? Good for her?”
Steve groaned and ran a hand trough his hair in desperation “What do you expect me to say?”
“Oh, come on, Steve!” She hopped off the counter and started cleaning again “I really told her that bullshit about Nancy earlier, and now you’re just throwing everything off because Mike Wheeler asked her to watch a movie? Really?”
“Yeah, really. It’s over Robin. Over” He sighed “Just let it go okay? It’s not that deep”
Robin narrowed her eyes, offended. After months of lying to me about Steve and Nancy… only for him to casually say it’s over now?
“You’re fucking unbelievable, Harrington” she muttered, shaking her head.
“Just focus on cleaning, will ya? I wanna go home. Jeez”
Robin rolled her eyes “Sure, captain ahoy. Whatever you say.”
He turned back to where he was cleaning, scrubbing the lasting ice cream spots, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the way I had smiled at Mike, and how he didn’t want to admit it that he had hated every single minute of it.
Letting it go wasn’t going to be so easy. Steve was screwed.