STARCROSSED ▷ steve harrington

03. mall rats - part two

CHAPTER THREE - MALL RATS
PART TWO

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JACKIE SAT WITH Robin for fifteen minutes before her disinterest grew, and she resulted to annoying Steve. She watched him scoop kid's ice cream out of the bucket, and he handed it to them with a smile that made her heart melt.

As if sensing her gaze, he turned to face her. "Why are you staring at me?"

Jackie smirked, "cause you're surprisingly hot in that uniform."

"If you think I'm hot with clothes on, imagine with them off."

She rolled her eyes, "are you allowed to flirt with your customers?"

"Are you currently standing in line? No," he waved a hand. "You're not a customer. And you're behind the counter."

Jackie cocked her head. "Do I get girlfriend benefits?"

He groaned and shut the freezer door as he turned to her. "We are not having this conversation again."

"I'm just saying, I think I should get free ice cream."

"I don't even get free ice cream."

"Well that's because you're...you. But I'm me and I think I deserve free ice cream."

"Jackie."

"Steve."

"Shut up."

She raised her chin with a sight smirk. "Make me."

Steve swallowed and his eyes flickered down to her lips, and he went to respond, but before he could, Robin slid the glass doors open with a grin, cutting him off from speaking. "We've got our first sentence!"

Steve blinked a few times before finally seeming to register what Robin said. "Oh, seriously?"

Robin glanced around as the two of them gathered closer to her. She spoke with a heavy Russian accent, and Jackie fought off a laugh. "The weeks is long."

"Wow," Jackie responded, the disappointment clear as day in her voice. "I was hoping for it to be more exciting."

"Me too," the other girl replied, shrugging. "But, progress!"

When they turned back around, Max and Eleven stood there, waiting expectantly for Steve to give them their ice cream.

"Thanks," the girls said in unison after he handed them their orders. Jackie paid with her remaining cash and handed it to Steve, who hesitated to take it as if it were wrong. She hadn't paid for a singular thing since they'd been together.

Jackie leaned against the counter. "So are you two done for the day?"

"Eh," Max shrugged. "Probably, but we can take the bus home. Seeing how you're so busy." She teased, glancing towards Steve. "And I wanna have a sleep over at El's, if that's okay."

Jackie nodded in response, and the younger teens beamed at each other. "Wait a minute," Steve muttered. "Is she even supposed to be here?"

Jackie reeled back, the thought not even occurring to her. Hopper would be so pissed off if he found out she was the one who drove her—she hadn't even realized the possible dangers. But nobody knew her, not really, right? And it had been well over six months since her official documents came in.

"Probably not," Jackie replied, watching them go. "But come on, she can't live inside Hopper's little cabin forever. She's gonna go insane."

"Yeah, yeah."