Chapter Text
Dustin had been telling him for a long time, that girl he worked with was awesome, had he ever talked to her? No, but she had handed him the store keys during shift changeover.
"Do you like her?" Henderson asked, leaning on the counter.
"I don't know, I just know she's really cool, I'd like to get to know her better." He answered, making the chocolate ice cream a kid had asked for.
"So she's your crush." He sighed. "Talk to her, you can't go the whole summer without saying a word to her."
"I tried the other day when I had the afternoon shift, I said 'did you run out of strawberry ice cream?'"
"And what did she say?"
"Nothing, she just nodded and looked at me like it was the most obvious thing in the world." He handed over the ice cream and rested his head on the counter.
"Maybe it's the clothes."
"Impossible, I've already hooked up four times wearing this." He made a disgusted face while pointing at the Scoops Ahoy hat.
Before Dustin could respond, mocking him, Steve's phone alarm went off — finally he could get out of that uniform.
"Before you go, we need you to let us into the movie theater area." The younger boy smiled with his recently-grown teeth.
"We?" Henderson pointed to the group of teenagers watching from a distance. "You only want me for that, I tell you my problems and you just use me." The boy laughed.
"Noooo!" He grabbed Steve's forearm and shook it back and forth. "You know you're my best friend, but I'd love to go to the movies for free with my friends." He smiled innocently.
"Oh really? Then find someone else." He started cleaning up and taking off his apron. "Now go, Robin's about to get here." He waved his hand for him to leave.
Harrington was determined, he would talk to her. He changed clothes, fixed his hair, and waited in front of the counter for her to show up.
He had a whole mental script running in his head that would end with asking her to dinner over the weekend — sadly, he was left speechless when he saw her approaching, followed by the group of boys.
"I already told Dustin I'm not letting you in again." He said through his teeth, keeping his smile for the girl.
"Not you, but Robin will." Sinclair clarified with a superior smile.
Steve looked at the girl and she raised an uninterested eyebrow.
"You know them?" he asked, unsure.
"Uh-huh." The first time he'd heard her speak, and it left him embarrassed.
"She's my brother's friend." Will smiled. "And mine." The girl ruffled the boy's hair.
As always, Robin held out her hand and received the keys from an embarrassed Harrington, and while everyone went in through the staff door, Dustin turned around to flip his friend off.
Steve bit his tongue and, furious, flipped him off with both hands. That had been embarrassing. He ran a hand through his hair trying to forget what happened, but his mind never stopped moving — a curse or a blessing.
Will, that was the key. He knew Robin, and if he asked her for something like that — something that could cost the girl her job — it was because of the trust between them.
If he wanted to get closer to the girl, now he knew how.
...................................................
The next day, by pure chance, he saw young Byers at the mall, looking lost and alone. Strange.
"WILL!" He called out, raising his arms from the ice cream shop. The boy walked over with his head down and leaned on the counter, glancing both ways.
"Are you okay?" he spoke into the silence.
"Uh." He hesitated a few seconds. "Yeah, yeah."
"Want some ice cream? On the house." He smiled, grabbing the scoop.
"Mint, I want mint." Steve raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to reconsider. "Mint." He said again, this time looking at him.
"Okay, to each their own." He sighed, preparing the ice cream. "Are you okay?" he dared to ask.
"Of course, why wouldn't I be? I'm perfect, good, good, good." He tapped the counter lightly.
"Well, changing the subject — I saw you're friends with Robin." He kept piling ice cream into the cone. "She's my coworker and... I'd like to get to know her better, you know?"
"Dude, the ice cream." Will pointed out — Steve realized he'd put three scoops on.
He handed it over, trying to smile.
"So?"
"So what?"
"What I told you, Robin." He said, exasperated.
"A cup of mint." A boy with long hair and strange clothes walked up, dropping a bill on the counter.
"Eddie." Will smiled.
"Hey, little Byers." The boy leaned on the counter and smiled, showing his teeth. "What's up? Did you come with the rest of them?" He looked around for the group.
"Oh, no, I came alone."
"Alone?" the boy questioned. "Nice, independence."
Will bowed his head, smiling, and Steve handed the boy his ice cream, taking the bill.
"See you around, and I see you're also team mint." He lifted the cup with a smile, walking backwards toward the exit. "Hope to see you around here."
"So what do you say about Robin?" Steve spoke again, resting his hands on the counter.
"She's a good girl."
"That's not what I mean." He clenched his jaw. "Can you actually pay attention to me?" Will looked at him and this time it seemed genuine.
"Wait." Before speaking, he walked over to a trash can and threw away the ice cream.
"Did you just throw away the three scoops I made you literally a minute ago?"
"I don't like mint."
A light went on in Harrington's head. He bit his tongue and gave a small smile.
"That guy, the one who came in earlier — he comes in every day around this time and always orders the same ice cream, you know?"
He leaned on the counter so what they said would stay private. Byers swallowed and lowered his head.
"I usually talk to customers, especially the girls." He smiled. "But I can make an effort and talk to him." Will lifted his head, one eyebrow raised.
"With Eddie?"
"Sure, why not?" He gave a half-smile.
"He's... different, that's why all the girls adore him." He tried to step away, but Steve leaned over the counter and grabbed his forearm.
"They used to adore me too."
Will looked at him for a few seconds and thought about his answer, rubbed his face, unsure, and finally went back over to the boy.
"Get to the point." Harrington smiled.
"Basically — I talk to Eddie about you, and you talk to Robin about me."
"Robin?"
"Exactly, it's a good plan." Will leaned on the counter and looked both ways.
"Deal, but don't back out later." He pointed at him.
"Why would I?"
"Eddie's different, I already told you — he plays D&D, likes metal, loves tattoos..."
"Relax, it won't be hard, I have weirder friends, Dustin for example, and I still love him." He smiled, holding out his hand, hoping he'd give in.
"Fine." He accepted his hand and Steve breathed easy.
"How old is he?"
"About your age."
"MY age?! But you're only 15." Byers ran a hand through his hair.
"I know, but he's really cool and he's in the Hellfire Club." He started biting his thumbnail.
"Hellfire?"
"The D&D club at school." Steve rolled his eyes.
"Of course." He whispered.
"But it's really nothing, just a silly crush, I'd just like to get closer to him." Harrington studied the boy — the kid was incapable of lying, except apparently about the ice cream.
"I get it, I want to get closer to Robin too." He fidgeted with his fingers. "Deal, then."
Steve held out his fist to the boy, who accepted happily, and after bumping fists, the two mimed an explosion with their hands.
Will said goodbye to the boy and left quickly — very quickly — because that same day Buckley thanked him and smiled when she handed over the ice cream stand keys. He'd made real progress. Harrington thought it was the first time he'd actually heard the girl speak, or at least address him without feeling embarrassed.