FAMILIAR ↳ STEVE HARRINGTON

forty-seven.

"You see anything?" Dustin asked Steve from behind the bush, his eyes on the older boy who was donning binoculars. Steve was looking around with them, his face scrunched up in concentration as he observed the area.

"I guess I don't totally know what I'm looking for." Steve revealed,  his binoculars scanning the upper level of the mall.

"Evil Russians."

"Yeah exactly. I don't know what an evil Russian looks like."

"Tall, blonde, not smiling." Dustin deadpanned, looking around himself. "Also look for earpieces, camo, duffel bags, that sort of thing."

"Right okay. Duffel bags."  Steve settled on something with his binoculars, quickly speaking as he watched. "Oh you've gotta be kidding me."

"What?" Dustin asked, thinking that it was something important for a moment.

"Anna Jacobi's talking with that meathead Mark Lewinsky." Steve said in a tone of disbelief, Dustin shaking his head as he looked over at the older man.

"If you're not gonna focus, just gimme the binoculars." He deadpanned, rolling his eyes as he realized his attention was 100% not on Russians.

"Aw, Jesus Christ, what ever happened to standards? I mean Lewinsky never even came off the bench." Steve whined, shaking his head as he watched the two talk.

"Dude you are the worst spy in history, you know that?" Dustin reached for the binoculars, pulling them from Steve's grip and towards his own face. "Besides I don't even know why you're looking at girls. You have the perfect one right in front of you."

"Dude don't even say it." Steve started, Dustin quickly speaking right after.

"Christine." He groaned when he said it, Dustin shrugging his shoulders as he looked through the binoculars.

"How many times-"

"Christine! Steve...how many times are you gonna pass up that opportunity?" Dustin lowered the binoculars, looking at Steve like he was stupid , really wanting to know the answer to his question.

"We're just not like that dude."

"Bullshit. I call bullshit. I'm 14 years old and I can tell that you two are madly in love with each other. Like just this morning I witnessed you almost have a stroke because she did her hair a little different." Steve scoffed at this, looking rather defensive and  guilty at the same time, making Dustins lips purse.

"Alright you're exaggerating. And I'm not in love with her. We're just friends." Steve tried to convince the younger boy, feeling a pang of discomfort in his stomach at the mention of not being in love with her. He ignored it, choosing to deny till the end.

"Friends...right. What about Robin?" Dustin changed the subject only slightly for the sake of his own sanity, not wanting to hear Steve lie to him anymore about him and Christine.  Everybody knew.

"Dude stop. Shes not my type."

"Not your type?" Dustin deadpanned, shaking his head as Steve shut him down.

"She's not even in the ballpark of what my type is, all right?"

"What's your type again? Christine?" Dustin said in a serious joking tone, Steve looking at him like it wasn't funny at all and giving him a humorless laugh.