𝐙𝐄𝐑𝐎 ☆ steve harrington³

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 : aye, aye, captain!

𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓 : 3.4k

☆゜·。。·゜゜·。。·゜★

𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐕𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐄 of getting Owen a job at Scoops Ahoy — or at least an interview. Her experience at the police station and a reference from the sheriff himself was enough to impress the manager, who offered her a job on the spot. The allure of securing a job at the new mall was enough to prevent her from even considering other jobs. After all, what could be better than scooping ice cream with Steve for the rest of the summer?

Steve.

Both of them had yet to address that night in his pool, finding it much easier to just pretend like it never happened. They both feared that talking about it might reveal how differently they viewed the situation, how they might be on completely different pages about their relationship. Instead of facing the issue head-on, they had fooled themselves into believing that the tension would just dissipate with time.

Little did they know.

Whatever the case, Owen refused to let her feelings about Steve take away from her excitement about her new job. Law had started working with Frank at Babbage's a week prior, having been just nerdy enough to dazzle the manager, Jerry. Thankfully, on Owen's very first day, she and her brother's schedules had synced up, allowing them to carpool to the mall together.

Well, she was thankful, at least.

Law, on the other hand, was banging his fist against the bathroom door, yelling at her to hurry up so they wouldn't be late. Owen had been trying to perfect her ponytail in front of the mirror for the last twenty minutes — for no reason other than wanting to make a good first impression. Obviously. Thankfully, their manager had mentioned something about her getting her uniform on her first day, so that saved her from having to pick out the perfect outfit too.

"Owen, seriously! I'm still trying to get on Jerry's good side! He'll make me rearrange all of the displays if I'm late again!" Law begged from the other side of the bathroom door.

With an audible groan and slam of her comb on the counter, Owen swung the door open, revealing the completely ordinary ponytail she had spent ages crafting. Law knew better than to mention how unexceptional it was, though. That would just send her right back into her obsessive, detail-oriented hairstyling that he had just broken her out of.

"I've already got your bag," he announced, dangling it between them. "Now, let's go!"

☆゜·。。·゜゜·。。·゜★

The Starcourt Mall was basically the rural Indiana equivalent of Disney World. It was big, bright, colorful, and packed with people of all ages. Finding a spot in the huge parking lot was almost impossible, even though the mall had opened only an hour prior. Owen found a spot at the very back, forcing her and Law to basically sprint inside to clock in for their shifts.

The two split up once indoors, with promises to meet up on their breaks. Owen merely glanced at one of the brightly-colored maps of the establishment as she scurried past, trusting the scent of pizza and corndogs to guide her to the food court instead.

She hiked her messenger bag up her shoulder, walking with some pep in her step as she made her way to Scoops. Something about securing a job at the fancy, new mall made her feel like she was really on the up and up. It at least seemed like an improvement when compared to the dingy desk job she had worked previously.