[ 𝙿𝚎𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚜 & 𝚃𝚑𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚜 ] ~ 𝚂𝚝𝚎𝚟𝚎 𝙷𝚊𝚛𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚘𝚗 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

XV - Child. Endangerment.

Erica Sinclair, a sixth grader that Dustin and Lucy knew, was stood atop a ladder, flashlight in hand as she stared into the vent in the back room of Scoops Ahoy. "Hmm. Yeah, I don't know."

"You don't know if you can fit?" Dustin asked her, his head tilt and his brows drawn in confusion.

"She can definitely fit." Lucy muttered softly under her breath.

"I just don't know if I want to." Erica snarked.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Robin asked from her spot leaned against the counter, trying to figure out why exactly the kid wouldn't want to do it.

Erica scoffed. "I don't have phobias."

"Okay, well, what's the problem?" Steve spoke up, clearing his throat slightly with his arms crossed over his chest.

Russell smiled slightly, getting exactly what it was. "Nothing's in it for her." The girl reminded her of Billy when they were little. Not doing anything unless he got something in return for it. . .or Russell asked. 

"Exactly. What's in this for Erica?" The girl sassed, looking expectantly at the group.

Five minutes later, the group was sitting around one of the Scoops Ahoy booths. Steve pushed what had to be the tenth bowl of ice cream toward Erica. She had cones and bowls and at least one scoop of each flavor piled up in front of her. Erica pushed the boat back to Steve with a smirk. "More fudge please." The five others looked at the bowl for a second before Erica waved Steve off, "go on." She demanded, sounding proud of herself for the situation she'd wormed her way into. Steve took the bowl, standing up and walking back toward the counter. Russell stood with him, following close behind with a small snicker. 

"You okay there, Steve?" Russell quirked her head, her hand softly rubbing at his shoulder blades. 

"Yeah. . .Yeah, I'm fine, Ru." 

"You sure?" 

He nodded softly, pouring hot fudge onto the sundae while looking straight ahead. His hand slipped and the fudge came out onto his hand. He dropped the bowl with a small hiss, pulling his hand up and away from the spout. "Fuck-" 

"Hey, hey-" Russell quickly took his hand, looking it over with a frown. "You alright?" 

"Yeah- I'm fine." He seethed through his teeth, clearly lying.

"Come on." Russell sighed softly, pulling him toward the back by both of his hands. Despite his protests, she pulled him over toward the sink and ran his hand under cold water. Steve hissed, pulling his hand back quickly. Russell huffed, glaring at him and tugging his hand back under the water. "This will help, Steve." 

"But it's cold." He complained, glowering at his red hand. 

"I don't care. It will help the burn, besides you'll only feel it for a minute." Russell promised, "Now keep it under the water, I'm gonna go get a first aid." 

"Okay." Steve mumbled, watching as she walked away. He kept his hand under the water, despite how uncomfortable it was. By the time she got back, he couldn't feel the icy chill of the water any longer and his hand had gotten kind of numb to the feeling. Russell smiled sympathetically at him, switching the water off and patting his hand dry with a towel. She didn't rub it dry, too afraid to irritate the skin. 

"You okay, Steve?" 

"Yeah. . ." He nodded softly, watching carefully as she applied neosporin to the red area and wrapping it in a bandage wrap. "I'm big and strong. . .that kinda thing wouldn't- wouldn't hurt m-" He winced.

"Oh, of course, Steve. I would expect nothing less of my big strong boyfriend. . .but I hope he knows he's allowed to be hurt too." Russell smiled up at him, flipping his palm facing up and kissing the center of his hand. 

"I- I know that." He mumbled, looking away as he blushed at the soft intimacy. 

"Good." Russell smiled, using her free hand to guide his face to look over at her. She stood on her toes, kissing the tip of his nose. "I'm glad you're okay." 

"Thank you. . .for fixing me up, I mean-" He stuttered out, flustered all over again. 

"Of course." She nodded, intertwining their fingers and pulling him back toward the doors they'd come through to the backroom. "Now let's go get that girl her ice cream."

"Yeah- Yeah, let's- Uhm. . .Let's do that-" Steve stammered, covering his face with the back of his hand. 

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Word Count - 740

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Published - December 10, 2023

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{Author's Note}

Hello!

I apologize for writing such a short chapter! I've had a lot going on recently but wanted to get this one out since I had a chapter for Twigs and Dirt ready, so I figured that giving you guys something instead of waiting for even longer, would be better.

I hope you still enjoyed the chapter and hopefully I'll have a longer one next time.

I hope you're having a wonderful day, evening or night!

<3 - Ghosty