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Olivia couldn't remember her drive to Starcourt, let alone how she managed to make her way through the mall and towards Scoops Ahoy. Everything around her was overwhelming: the sounds she once loved scratched at her ears painfully and the sunlight peering into the mall was too bright. Liv was convinced she was dreaming-- that the past twenty four hours had been a nightmare. She tried her best to push down the thoughts of her mothers words, telling herself that the opinion of a dead-beat mom meant nothing. She knew that it was a lie- but maybe, just maybe, if she told herself it enough, she'd start to believe it.
"Ugh, what are you doing here?" Steve complained with a groan, looking up from his place at the cashier as Olivia walked up to it. His expression softened as he observed her face. She seemed vacant and there were dark circles that hung sadly under her eyes. Had she always looked this tired? Steve thought. Her eyes aren't as bright.
"Robin told me that you guys were deciphering some top-secret Russian code," Liv said after a brief moment of silence. "She told me to come."
Steve's lips pursed in reflection.
"But, why?"
Olivia gave him a small scowl and raised her eyebrow.
"Because, Harrington," She responded, leaning forward on the counter. "We think that top secret Russian discoveries is a field way too dominated by white men."
He rolled his eyes in response, turning his head down to look at her. His view landed, instead, on where the neck her shirt hung loosely and he quickly diverted gaze, rubbing his hand along his lips. He let out a cough.
Aside from his dramatic eye roll, Olivia didn't pay notice to his behavior. Liv felt a sudden burst of life return into her body. She let out a small snort before opening her mouth to speak.
"Rolling your eyes at my modern-day feminism, Steve? Really?"
Steve let out a breath before looking back at her, his eyes laser-focused on her own.
"No," He stated, "I'm rolling my eyes at you because you are infuriati-"
Steve was disrupted by a loud voice yelling his name. Olivia pushed herself off the counter and turned around, watching as Dustin walked towards where they stood.
"Hi, Olivia," He greeted her, a smile on his face as usual.
"Hey, kid. What's up?" She returned the gesture, the smile on her face a genuine manifestation of her fondness towards Dustin. He was a sweet kid, and something about his energy was infectious.
A look of realization flashed on his face and his eyebrows shot up in excitement.
