DUSTIN WAS HOME FROM SCIENCE CAMP, AND LUCAS GOT HAIRSPRAY IN HIS EYES.
Ginny warned the kids that their plan to surprise Dustin would only end in a scared, screaming Dustin, she just hadn't guessed the hairspray would get involved.
Will and Max recounted the story, laughing all the way through, as she dropped the kids off at Weathertop. They were going to climb the hill to set up some radio thing Dustin made so he could talk to his camp girlfriend.
Dustin invited her to come, too, but she declined. She wasn't sure this "Suzie" was even real.
"Hotter than Phoebe Cates?" she asked in disbelief, squinting into the sun. Dustin stood outside the driver's side door, holding his equipment and talking to her through the window.
"Oh yeah," he nodded confidently. "Make sure you tell Steve that."
Ginny nodded, "I think you should tell him yourself. Come by the mall later. I think he missed you more than he missed me."
Dustin shrugged. "Well, naturally. We're bros."
Rolling her eyes, Ginny unhooked her car from park, watching as the rest of the kids waiting for Dustin at the base of the hill. "Sure, Dusty. Go talk to your girl."
"Oh, and— you can't call me Dusty anymore. That's part of Suzie's name for me."
Ginny narrowed her eyes. "I can call you whatever I damn well please, I was here first."
Dustin laughed and started up towards his friends. "No, but really. Don't call me that, I'm fourteen."
"Oh, yeah totally, Dusty."
"Seriously."
"I am serious. Bye Dusty!" she called, before pressing the gas and zipping off down the street, leaving Dustin to grumble and shake his head.
｡･:*:･ﾟ★ ｡･:*:･ﾟ
SCOOPS AHOY WAS PACKED AS USUAL. Ginny had to push her way through a crowd just to get to the line— and she wasn't even here for ice cream.
She was practically begging Steve to take a day off, but he always told her his dad would be mad and call him a slacker.
He made Steve get a job at the mall to basically punish him for not getting into Tech, which Ginny told him was bullshit and he agreed. She also told him his dad was a douche, and he agreed.
A group of giggling girls were ahead of her in line, and even though she tried to get around them to the break room, where she knew Robin would be waiting, their handbags and legwarmers wouldn't let her through.
She was content listening to her boyfriend's customer service voice, though, so it was fine.
"AHOY, ladies!" he said loudly. The girls gasped and giggled. "Would you guys like to set sail on this ocean of flavor with me? I'll be your captain." He nodded. "I'm Steve Harrington."
"Oh, God..." a girl laughed. Ginny almost drop-kicked her.
"Can I get you guys a little taste of the Cherries Jubilee?" There was no answer. "No? Anybody? Banana boat? Four people, four spoons? Share it in a booth? Anybody? It's hot out there. U.S.S. Butterscotch maybe?"
"I'll take a ride on that boat," Ginny said, pushing her way forward. She shot glares at the girls making fun of her boyfriend. "Are you guys going to order, or should you continue to be evil crones somewhere else?"
They all made faces at her, to which she just raised her eyebrows, daring them to say something else. When none of them said anything, she turned back to her boyfriend. "I'll take a scoop of the U.S.S. Butterscotch."
Steve's eyes glittered and he nodded. "And I will be your captain." Ginny laughed and followed him down the line of ice cream containers, leading her to the tub of U.S.S. Butterscotch.
She wasn't even a fan of the flavor and didn't even really want ice cream— but she thought Steve looked so cute scooping ice cream that she couldn't help herself.
She leaned on the counter, watching him with a smile, as he scooped the ice cream into a cup (which he knew she favored) and handed it to her. "Have you taken your break yet?" she asked, taking a bit of the ice cream. "We could do some... two people, one spoon?"
"Oh, a little 'man overboard' situation?" he asked, with a suggestive raised eyebrow.
"Mhm... Maybe some mermaid with a trumpet on the bow?"
"Should we... hit the deck?"
"Drop the anchor?"
"Aye, aye, m'lady, with a side of under the—"
"What the hell are you guys talking about?" Robin called, making a disgusted face at their not-so-subtle euphemisms.
Steve and Ginny shared a wide-eyed look over the counter. "Um..."
"Know what?" she said, raising her hands in surrender as she went to help the girls at the register. "I don't wanna know..."
Ginny grinned and slid behind the counter to join them.
"You'll just have to wait for your birthday gift, I guess," Steve shrugged, with a glint in his eye. "Since Robin's a buzzkill."
"Birthday?" Robin chirped, looking back at them as she handed one of the evil crones their ice cream. "Is Miss Sinclair's birthday coming up?"
Ginny opened her mouth to reply, but Steve cut in for her. "Yep. July 4th," he smiled, scooping more ice cream for the next customer. "She's an Independence Day baby. Lil baby of freedom."
"Oooh, its your 19th, yeah?" Robin asked, with a raised eyebrow. "Big plans?"
"Not really..." Ginny shrugged, picking at her ice cream. "I'm not big on birthdays. I get my hopes up and they all end up sucking..."
"This one won't, 'cause I'm the best birthday planner known to man," Steve announced, leaning against the counter while they talked. "We're throwing a rager."
Ginny snorted. "With who? We have like, seven friends and they're all fourteen."
Steve looked a bit offended. "What? No, we have friends, other than the kids—"
"You have me!" Robin cheered. "And I love parties. As long as they aren't super crowded, or if the music is super loud. I need my ears for band." She tapped her ear and smiled.
This is where Ginny spent most of her days; her old job at Delilah's Delights was gone. Delilah had to shut down, business too slow because of the mall.
Ginny was sad for Delilah and some of the other small businesses in town, but glad that she'd managed to make it through June without her parents forcing her to get a job. Then again, they might be convinced she works at Scoops Ahoy, considering how often she's there.
"Well, speaking of parties... Dustin's home," she told Steve, taking another bite of her ice cream with her spoon.
He whipped around, looking excited. "Henderson's back? Where the hell is he, then!"
"Taking the others to the top of some big hill to set up his radio so that— get this — he can talk to his girlfriend."
Steve's brows shot up. "Whaat? He has a girlfriend?"
Ginny nodded. "A hotter-than-Phoebe-Cates girlfriend."
"Oh, so he doesn't have a girlfriend, she's not real," Steve nodded, understanding. "Got it."
She shrugged. "I'm suspicious, too. He also says she's a certified genius, which is almost harder to believe. You can't be smart and pretty, okay? It's not fair."
"Well, you pull it off," Steve said, winking overdramatically.
Ginny playfully rolled her eyes, then bit her lip. "You sure you can't take a break? I hear the freezer's pretty nice this time of day..." She discreetly slapped his ass when he passed her, making him jump and turned around with a red face.
Steve shot her a look. "Don't get my hopes up, okay? Finish your ice cream. Which... you know that you have to pay for, right?"
"I know."
"Cause I only make like, three dollars an hour, I can't afford that."
"Yes, I know, Stevie."
｡･:*:･ﾟ★ ｡･:*:･ﾟ
THE NEXT DAY, GINNY RETURNED TO SCOOPS AHOY— BUT WITH A GUEST.
Dustin was practically vibrating he was so excited to see Steve. He bounced throughout the mall and through the line, and his smile didn't even fall when it was Robin at the counter and not Steve.
"Hi," he said, grinning.
"Hi." Robin pressed her lips into a thin line, glancing at Ginny.
"I'm Dustin."
"I'm... Robin."
"Pleasure to meet you. Uh, i-is he here?"
Robin made a face, though surely she knew who he was referencing, especially since Ginny stood behind him. "Is who here?"
Suddenly, the door burst open and Steve appeared, his jaw dropped. A grin slowly formed and he lifted his arms. "Henderson."
Dustin descended into bubbly fits of laughter, as Steve bounced over. "Henderson! He's back!"
"I'm back!"
"He's back!"
"You got the job!"
Steve laughed. "I got the job!" He pretended to play fanfare with an imaginary trumpet as he made his way over. "Hey! Oh!"
They began their handshake, bumping fists and pretending to hold lightsabers, clashing them together. Dustin stabbed Steve, Steve groaned and pretended to spill his guts everywhere.
They laughed goofily at each other, Steve doing that cute thing where he scrunches his nose, and Ginny smiled, waiting for them to finish.
Robin expedited the process. "How many children are you friends with?" she asked Steve. Ginny snorted.
A few minutes later, they were squeezed into a booth next to Dustin and his Banana Boat as he told them all about his girlfriend, Suzie.
"No, no way," Steve laughed, "Hotter than Phoebe Cates? Impossible."
Ginny, whom he had his arm around, sat up and raised an eyebrow at him. "Impossible?"
"I mean— not for you. You're— possible. Hotter than Phoebe Cates, definitely." Steve squirmed, realizing his mistake.
Shaking her head, she sat back and let a hand fall on his knee, as Dustin continued.
"Yeah, well, Suzie is too," he said, "And brilliant. And, she doesn't even care that my real pearls are still coming in. Says kissing is better without teeth."
Ginny considered the idea and shrugged. "I... guess it could be?"
"Yeah, that's... that's great, proud of you, man," Steve said, making a face, "That's ro— that's kinda romantic."
Dustin shrugged nonchalantly. "Hm." He looked down at his ice cream boat, amazed. "So, do you really just get to eat as much of this as you want?"
Steve nodded. "Yeah, I mean, sure. It's not really a good idea for me, though. I gotta keep in shape for my lady." He winked at Ginny, who patted his leg.
"Not for me, doofus. I like you at any size," she assured him.
"Oooh, doofus," Robin quoted, clearing a few tables. "I like it. Personally, I prefer 'dingus' but it's up to you."
"Ignore her," Steve told Dustin.
The boy shrugged. "She seems cool."
"She's not." Steve huffed. "So, where are the other knuckleheads?"
Dustin frowned, throwing down his spoon. "They ditched me yesterday."
Steve gasped. "No."
"My first day back!" Dustin cried. "Can you believe that shit?"
"Whoa, seriously?" Steve said in disbelief.
"I swear to God."
"I know all about shitty friends, Dusty. Should I tell my mom? She'll ground Lucas until college," Ginny offered, drumming her fingers on the table.
Dustin shoved another spoonful of ice cream in his mouth, shaking his head. "Nah... They're gonna regret it, though, big time, when they don't get to share in my glory."
Steve looked confused. "Glory? What... glory?"
Grinning, Dustin scooted closer. "So, last night..." Ginny leaned forward to hear what he was saying. "We were trying to get in contact with Suzie... and uh..."
He paused, looking around the room to make sure no one was listening. He covered his mouth and whispered.
"IinterceptedasecretRussiancommunication."
Ginny frowned, unable to discern anything he just said. "Uh... what?"
Dustin gave a big sigh, clearing his throat and trying again.
"IinterceptedasecretRussiancommunication."
"Just speak louder," Steve told him.
Dustin burst out, "I intercepted a secret Russian communication!"
Every head in the room turned to look at them. Steve grabbed his head, making him slump down. "Jeez! Shh, yeah, okay. That's what I thought you said..."
"Okay, so you... heard a message? What does that mean?" Ginny asked, shaking her head.
"What it means, Ginnifer—"
"Not my name."
"—is that we could be heroes," he said, eyes shining. "True. American. Heroes."
Steve grinned, interested, "American heroes..."
Dustin nodded. "Mm-hmm."
Ginny narrowed her eyes. "Okay, sure... Even if that's true... What's the catch?"
He shook his head solemnly. "No catch, I just need your help."
Steve shrugged. "With what?"
Dustin dug around in his backpack, before producing a rather large English/Russian dictionary. He smiled at them. "Translation."
a/n:
double update again bc Im already done with this season and these first few chaps are just setting up the season— and I just want to send it out !!