𝐒𝐮𝗺𝗺𝐞𝐫 𝗼𝐟 85 - 𝐑𝗼𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐲

𝐒𝐔𝐙𝐈𝐄, 𝐃𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐂𝐎𝐏𝐘?

IVY SIGHED, resting her head against the counter. Over the summer her and her twin brother, Steve, had gotten jobs at Scoops Ahoy, an ice cream shop, at Starcourt mall. Ivy was hesitant to work there due to the strange and random location of the mall but Steve had assured her everything from the past two years were over but were they ever truly over?

This particular summer day was hot and extremely humid so Ivy was happy to be working in an ice cream shop that was basically a freezer any other day. She was working the counter with her new coworker, Robin Buckley. Ivy couldn't help but admire Robin. Maybe it was the way that her short hair fell so perfectly over her face or the way her freckles dotted her face like beautiful, brown constellations. Ivy had to admit, Robin was attractive but to people around her having a crush on a girl was the worst thing you could do. Because god forbid you like someone of the same sex. Ivy would usually be the one to not be afraid to stand out but people like her were killed all over the world just for being them so she kept it hidden. Steve didn't even know and she told Steve everything.

Ivy's head shot up when someone rang the bell on the counter. She looked up to see Mike Wheeler and his friends. She couldn't help but roll her eyes. Now, Ivy loved the kids but they always came into the shop so Steve can sneak them through the back into movies.

"Hey, dingus, your children are here," Robin called to Steve.

"Again? Seriously?" Steve asked, opening the window divider to the back room. Mike gave Steve a look and obnoxiously rang the bell again.

Ivy tossed Max a box of candy before giving her a high five. Ivy loved the young redhead like her own sister and made it her mission to show Max some of the love she might not be getting from her family cause Ivy knew what it was like to have parents who don't give a shit.

"We have, quite literally, the worst job ever," Ivy told Robin when the kids were out of sight. Robin let out a breathy laugh.

⚓︎

Ivy was reading and listening to music on her walkman when the lights in the mall went out. She felt a cold chill run down her neck, the same chill she had gotten the first night she ever faced the Demogorgon. She shook off her fear and walked to the door leading to the main part of the shop. She let out a breath of relief when she saw her brother and Robin working at the counter, confused looks on their faces.

"That's weird,"Steve said, looking up from scooping ice cream. He walked over to the light switch and started flipping it on and off like he was expecting that to actually turn the lights on.

"That isn't gonna work," Ivy told her brother.

"Oh, really?" he asked before he started flicking the light switch faster. After a few seconds of this the lights turned back on. "Let there be light." Ivy rolled her eyes before walking back to the back room, fear still in the back of her mind.

⚓︎

The next day Ivy and Robin were sat in the back room listening to Steve try and flirt with girls. Ivy was kind of embarrassed for her brother. He had lost the "charm" that he had in high school and working at Scoops Ahoy did not help.

"Alrighty, one scoop of chocolate. That's a buck-twenty-five. Anything else?" Steve said as he handed the girl her ice cream. "Ooh, Purdue. Fancy."

"Yeah, I'm excited." The girl said looking down at the school sweatshirt she had on.

"Yeah, you know, I considered it," Steve told her. "Purdue, but then I was like, you know what? I really think I need some real-life experience, you know, before I hit college, see what it feels like. Kinda like, i don't know, see what it's like to earn a working-man's wage, you know? Uh... I think that's, like, really important."

"Yeah, totally."

"Yeah, anyway, this was, like, so fun. We should like, you know, i don't know, maybe hang out this weekend or — Oh, sorry about that." Ivy let her head fall down on the table as she heard her brothers horrible flirting.  "I don't know. Maybe next weekend or —"

"Yeah, I'm busy."

"Oh, that's cool. I'm — I'm working here next weekend, so... the following weekend's better for me."

"No. I'm sorry, I can't." The girl said before her and her friend started to walk off.

"This is... my first day here." Steve tried to say but trailed off with a sigh.

"And another one bites the dust." Robin said, popping up in the window with a white board. The two girls had been scoring how many times Steve could strike out when flirting. It was very entertaining. Much better than working. "You are oh-for-six, Popeye."

"Yeah, yeah, I can count."

"You know that means you suck." Ivy said.

"Yep, I can read, too." Steve told his sister.

"Since when?" Robin asked.

"It's this stupid hat. I am telling you, it is totally blowing my best feature."

"You know, Stevie, it's sad that you consider your hair your best feature." Ivy told him.

"Yeah, company policy is a real drag." Robin said. "You know, it's a crazy idea, but have you considered... telling the truth?"

"Oh, you mean, that I couldn't even get into Tech and my douchebag dad's trying to teach me a lesson, I make three bucks an hour, and I have no future? That truth?" Steve asked.

"That's the one!" Ivy smiled at him. Steve reached over and shoved her face back. "Oh! Hey, twelve o'clock."

"Oh, shit. Oh, shit. Okay... uh... I'm going in. Okay." Steve said looking back at the girls who walked into the shop. "And you know what? Screw company policy." Steve took off the sailor hat and threw it into the back room.

"Oh, my god, you're a whole new man."

"Ahoy, ladies! Didn't see you there." Steve shouted, turning back to the girls at the counter. "Would you guys like to set sail on this ocean of flavor with me? I'll be your captain. I'm Steve Harrington. Can I get you guys a little taste of the Cherries Jubilee?"

Ivy shook her head before taking the marker from Robins hand and marking the 'You Suck' side of the board once again.

it's been a while since i've written this so i hope it's good!