Delirium

Chapter Twenty-Three: Scouting Out

Steve groaned as he adjusted the handkerchief of his uniform. He looked himself over in the mirror and hated the Scoops Ahoy mandatory uniform. It ruined his flow and made all the girls laugh at him. They always laughed and walked away before giving him a chance.

Liv didn't laugh.

Yeah, but she left months ago.

He shook the thoughts away as he grabbed his keys and left for his shift. He had a long shift with Robin today from 1 to 9 when they'd close the store together. Luckily, he got paid well, not that money really mattered to him. He was just doing it for the experience. And to get the old man off my back.

He stepped outside and saw Dustin riding up on his bike. He dropped it in the yard and ran to him. "Steve! Steve!"

"Woah, woah-" Steve held up a hand to slow the kid down. "What is your problem, man? I haven't seen you this crazy since you had Dart locked in your basement. Wait-" his stomach dropped. "You don't have another Demogorgon hiding somewhere, do you?"

Dustin rolled his eyes. "No! I just wanted to get a ride to the mall with you."

Steve flipped his keys in his hands. "Alright, yeah, sure." He waved for him to follow him to the car.

"Can we make a stop first?" Dustin asked.

Steve looked over the car at him. "A stop where?"

Dustin smiled. "Liv's."

He rolled his eyes and dropped into the car. "Stop trying so hard, Dustin."

Dustin fell into the car and quickly buckled his seatbelt. "I'm not trying at anything. I've been calling but she isn't answering. I need to tell her to come to the mall after work so she can scout with us."

Steve started the car, but didn't move. "Scout?" He looked at Dustin. "Scout what?"

Dustin openly gaped at him. "Scout the evil Russias! We know where they meet up so now we scout it out to see what they're doing."

The logistics made him nod. "Yeah, of course, that makes sense." He backed out of his own driveway. "Does Liv really have to be there for that?"

Dustin glared at his profile but he refused to look at the little twerp. "She was the only one who stuck with me at the Cerebro. Everyone left or didn't believe Suzie existed. She stayed and helped me with the frequencies. And this entire time she has never once made fun of the idea that it could be evil Russians."

"I haven't either!" He defended himself.

"Which is why you're coming with me to scout, just like she should be," Dustin laid the last piece of the puzzle together. "Liv's a part of this, just like you and me and Robin. Excluding her would be wrong."

Steve sighed and leaned back into his seat. "And you're sure you can't just keep calling her?"

He shook his head. "She isn't answering. It'll just be easier to tell her in person before she goes into work."

Steve couldn't find any way out of it, so he followed Dustin's instructions to an apartment complex near the edge of town. Steve had never been to it before, only because it was filled with old people- and apparently Liv.

"So... she finally moved to Hawkins." Steve slowly walked up the concrete steps behind Dustin. "Why'd she move here if she hates the place?"

"She doesn't hate it," Dustin explained on her behalf. "She's always loved Hawkins, she was just scared of it for a while. Plus, it's better than living with her mom, which wouldn't have happened because her mom kicked her out the day after graduation."