the summer of me and my girl|| steve harrington

suzie, do you copy?

part two

the shift was boring and uneventful, just the way lydia liked it. once she was done, she made her way to the parking lot and leaned on the hood of her car as she awaited her boyfriend. the kids made their way out of the mall along with some of the other movie goers and they took a moment to talk to her.

"dustin is coming back tomorrow, are you gonna be home?" lucas asked.

"probably not, why do you ask?" she chewed on some licorice and sipped her lemonade and felt her teeth decaying by the second.

"we want to surprise him but we have to get into the house before he gets there to do it." mike explained. she shrugged her shoulders in indifference.

"i'll leave a key under the porch swing couch cushion. just watch out for the cat and don't go in my room. if you do, i will find out. and i will kill you. i know where you guys live." she threatened as she pointed her licorice at all of them. they said their goodbyes and steve came out shortly after and enveloped his girlfriend in a drowsy embrace.

"serving ice cream all day is tiring." he complained.

"that's the price of manual labor." she took off his hat and put it on her own head so she could run her fingers through his hair.

"i'll see you at my house." he pecked her forehead multiple times and even placed kisses on her nose and cheeks. it was so unbelievably gross in a cute way that lydia almost gagged how much it made her smile.

"will you be wearing your little sailor shorts when i get there?" she teased as she played with the hem of his god awful shorts.

"unfortunately, this outfit is strictly for scoops ahoy business."

"then i guess i'll be skipping dinner tonight."

"not a chance in hell." he whispered before pulling her in for a kiss. sometimes she thought about how long she had been waiting for this feeling. this electricity and warmth that she got whenever she was with him. there was a hearth inside of her that had felt so cold and empty for so long that she had gotten used to it being that way. when laurie came along it was like a match was lit and all the twigs that had been left unused there were finally getting a chance to burn. she had found someone that reminded her what love could be.

when he cheated on her, it was a bucket of ice cold water all over her hearth. all over her heart. and she hated that feeling. she was robbed of her warmth. her home. once her and steve were together, there was never an absence of heat. he ensured that she always felt loved and protected and there was nothing greater than that.

~

"this meatloaf is really amazing, mrs. harrington. is it your recipe?" there was a joyful ambience whenever lydia was at the harrington household. something that was not always present.

"oh thank you dear, you are too kind. but it's actually a recipe i got from one of the ladies in my book club. i'll give it to you before you go, i'm sure dustin and your mother would absolutely adore this." she thanked mrs. harrington and continued to eat. as per usual, steve was quiet during dinner to avoid any comments from his father that could end in an argument, something he learned to do long before he started dating lydia.

"mr. harrington, i noticed that the dow jones has been going up steadily since the market went downhill in '82, i'm sure you're happy to see it recovering." she commented. while she wasn't exactly sure what mr. harrington did for a living, she knew that he cared deeply about the stock market and how it affected his work. since she learned that talking stocks impressed mr. harrington, she always made a point to bring it up around him so he would like her. however, she never really had to do much to win his favor. she was the studious athletic student with two jobs that was preparing for her senior year. it would be more difficult to find things to dislike about her. 

"i have been very pleased to see it going up, i'm glad you asked. no one outside of work ever wants to talk to me about the stock market so it's refreshing to see someone as young as you taking interest in it. what are you planning on going to college for?"

"dad, she still has a year left." steve interrupted, trying to take some of the pressure off her. in all honesty, she wasn't sure what she wanted to do yet. the idea of having to leave dustin and her mom behind while she went off to college was unbelievably daunting. hawkins is her home, it's where everything she loves is.

not to mention, she hadn't entertained the idea of what she wanted to do as her career so she had no idea what to go to school for. and college was expensive.

"i'm not sure yet, i'm still feeling out my options." short and sweet. the perfect response for when you have no idea what to do with your life.

"you should start thinking about it, you're a smart girl. you don't want to end up like mr. ice cream over here." he pointed his fork at steve who was merely trying to avoid being criticized at dinner. 

"so what book did you read this week in your book club, mrs. harrington?" it was her desperate attempt to change the subject but it worked like a charm.

"we read this wonderful book jane eyre. it was quite interesting, have you read it, sweetheart?"

"yes, it's one of my favorites. i could help you out with the dishes after dinner and we could discuss it, if you'd like." lydia offered. she knew that mrs. harrington enjoyed having company while doing dishes, even if she didn't explicitly state it.

"oh, you don't have to help me with dishes, you're our guest!"

"i'd be more than happy to help you, as a thank you for such a great meal." steve grabbed her hand under the table and squeezed it three times. he never enjoyed family dinners unless his girlfriend was there with him. she made every aspect of his life exponentially better and he regretted that it took them this long to realize their true feelings. but he wasn't planning on letting her go.