Fault Lines • Steve Harrington

Chapter Three

The next day, I'm sitting alone in Scoops Ahoy chewing slowly through a vanilla ice cream sundae. The place is bright, cold, and a little too nautical, but it feels safe enough. I'm tucked into a booth near the wall, people-watching, letting the sweetness distract me.

At the counter, I see the girl who works there—Robin, I think her name is—leaning on the register like she'd rather be anywhere else. A boy with curly hair approaches and gives her the most enthusiastic wave.

"Hi," he says.

"Hi," Robin replies—completely deadpan.

"I'm Dustin," the boy says proudly. "I'm Robin," she answers with zero enthusiasm.

"Pleasure to meet you. Uh... is—is he here?" Dustin asks, practically vibrating.

"Is who here?" Robin asks.

Before she can blink, the door slams open and Steve Harrington bursts in, arms raised like he's entering a stadium.

"Henderson!" he shouts.

Dustin breaks into laughter. Oh. That's Will's friend. The one he told me about.

"He's back! He's back!" Steve cheers as he comes around the counter.

They launch into some long, elaborate handshake that looks like it took months to choreograph. I almost snort into my ice cream.

"How many children are you friends with?" Robin asks Steve.

I bite down on my straw to keep from laughing. Steve sighs like her existence exhausts him and starts scooping ice cream for Dustin. The boys take the booth across from mine, close enough that I can hear them even when I try not to.

I'm not eavesdropping. Okay... I'm a little eavesdropping.

"No, no. No way. Hotter than Phoebe Cates? No," Steve says.

Dustin nods eagerly. "Mm-hmm. Brilliant too. And she doesn't even care that my real pearls are still coming in. She says kissing is better without teeth."

I smile into my spoon. "Wow. Yeah, that's great. Proud of you, man," Steve says, looking stunned.

"So do you really just get to eat as much of this as you want?" Dustin asks, pointing at the ice cream.

"Yeah. I mean, sure. It's not a good idea for me, though. I gotta keep in shape for the ladies."

I blush like an idiot.

"Yeah? And how's that working out for you?" Robin calls from the counter.

My blush deepens. Does Steve have a girlfriend? Or... someone?

"Ignore her," Steve mutters. "She seems cool," Dustin says.

"She's not," Steve fires back immediately. "So where are the other knuckleheads?"

"They ditched me yesterday. My first day back. Can you believe that shit?" Dustin says dramatically.

"Whoa. Seriously?" Steve asks.

"I swear to God. They're gonna regret it big time when they don't get to share in my glory."

"Glory? What glory?" Steve asks.

Now I'm paying attention.

"So, last night, I was trying to get in contact with Suzie... and, uh... I intercepted a secret Russian communication," Dustin whispers.

My eyes widen. Russian what?

Steve doesn't hear him. "What?" Dustin whispers again. Steve still doesn't hear.