BLOOM//steve harrington

FOUR

"NO, NO WAY," STEVE DENIED. "HOTTER THAN PHOEBE CATES?"  Dustin gulped down another heaping bite of the towering banana split in front of him. "Mhm," Dustin insisted. "Brilliant, too. And she doesn't even care that my real pearls are coming in. She says kissing is better without teeth." 

Steve's mouth was half-open in a state of frozen disbelief. He eyed Vivian from where he sat opposite her as Dustin continued to shovel ice cream into his mouth. Vivian glanced at Dustin and back at Steve, smiling tenderly. Steve's face was saying, There's no way this kid is for real. Vivian shook her head minutely at him. Let him have this. 

Steve looked back to Dustin, transforming his mildly shocked expression into one of feigned delight. "Y-yeah, that's great," he said to his young friend. "Happy for you, man. That's--that's kinda romantic. That's--wow." 

Dustin grinned proudly. "Yep," he agreed. He looked down at the slightly demolished banana split. "So you really just get to eat as much of this as you want?" "Yeah, me and Viv," Steve said. "Not really the best idea for me though." 

"Why is that?" Dustin asked curiously. "Gotta keep in shape for my lady, you know?" Steve joked. Vivian rolled her eyes. Robin scoffed from the entrance to Scoops a few feet away, a broom in her hand. "Oh yeah? How's that working out for you?" Steve's devilish expression fell flat. "Ignore her." Dustin and Vivian shared a smirk. "She seems cool," Dustin said. "She's not," Steve maintained monotonously. "She is," Vivian countered. "Disregard him." She caught Robin's eye and winked. 

Steve slapped his hand on the tabletop indignantly. "I thought you were supposed to be on my side," he whined. "All's fair in love and war," Vivian said decidedly. Steve huffed. "Anyways," he started. "Where are the other knuckleheads?" 

His question brought a reminder to the forefront of Vivian's mind. She'd barely seen the kids all summer. Max and Lucas had started dating at the end of last year, and so had Mike and El. They'd all been off doing God-knew-what in their respective couples, and Vivian had been working or wrapped up in Steve. She hadn't really noticed the distance between her and the kids until then. 

Dustin sighed. "They ditched me yesterday." Vivian frowned. "No," Steve said empathetically. Dustin nodded. "Mhm. And my first day back," he added, irritated. "Can you believe that shit?" "Whoa," Vivian said. "Seriously?" 

"Swear to God," Dustin persisted, and Vivian and Steve shared a look of displeasure. "They're gonna regret it, though," Dustin promised, turning his friends' attention back to him. "They're gonna regret it big time when they don't get to share in my glory." 

Vivian tilted her head in curiosity. "Uh, glory? What glory?" Dustin smiled mischievously. "Last night," he began, his voice low. "We were trying to get in contact with Suzie." "Mm," Steve hummed in approval. "And, uh..." Dustin's eyes darted around the bustling food court. He covered his mouth, whispering something unintelligible. 

"Huh?" Steve asked. "Um," Dustin said, inhaling deeply and looking around them intently. He mumbled again, but Vivian and Steve were still unable to decipher what he was saying. "Speak louder," Vivian said. "I intercepted a secret Russian communication!" Dustin cried, exasperated, causing them to receive some questioning looks from those around them. 

"Jeez, shh!" Steve scolded. "Okay, that's--that's what I thought you said." "Okay, but what does that mean?" Vivian asked. "It means," Dustin sighed, clearly frustrated with their questions. "We could be heroes. True, American heroes."

Steve's eyes lit up with an intensity that Vivian hadn't seen in months. Probably since he'd thrown that punch at Billy last year. "Yeah, no," Vivian declined. The boys stared at her blankly. "Last time we were true American heroes we almost died," she reminded them. "Because you let a twelve-year-old drive a car," Steve argued. "Okay, no. That was, like, the least dangerous thing that happened," Vivian countered. "And she was fourteen. Besides, that's not the point." 

"Fine, fine, fine, okay," Dustin conceded, adjusting his hat. "Let's just say this is all hypothetical." Vivian sighed. She could almost feel her hair turning gray. They were gonna be the death of her. Literally. "Right, so," Vivian agreed tentatively. "Hypothetically, if we help you, what's the catch?" 

Dustin glanced between his friends. "I just need your help," he repeated. "With what?" Vivian asked suspiciously. A smile ghosted across Dustin's face as he opened up his backpack, pulling out a tattered paperback book. Vivian's eyes scanned the cover. Romanov's Russian-to-English Dictionary.

"Translation."

★

Vivian exhaled a sigh of relief as she opened her front door. It was hotter than hot; Hawkins had to be reaching record numbers this summer. Or maybe she was just getting less tolerant. 

She set her keys down on the kitchen table and practically melted into a chair. Dustin had word-vomited Russian conspiracy theories all over her and Steve. Her brain felt like soup. Russian conspiracy, ice cream, boyfriend drama soup. Vivian always thought that her life was done pulling these outlandish plotlines seemingly out of nowhere; apparently, that was not the case. 

Just because Henderson said it doesn't mean it's true, Vivian reminded herself. Even though that had been her mantra the entire way home from the mall, it wasn't sticking. She knew better. She knew Henderson could be wild-minded. She knew sometimes he overthought and overshot. But something was different this time; he'd seemed so sure. 

Vivian didn't know how she kept finding herself roped into these schemes. She'd wanted to be one-and-done with the last life-threatening escapade--hell, she wanted to be zero-and-done. This was supposed to be her summer to relax after school and interdimensional fights. 

The phone rang. 

Nobody came running, which was odd. Harper was always fighting Vivian for who got to answer the phone. But the house was unusually silent. Her dad was working, and her mom must've been running errands. Harper was either sleeping or out doing something. Admittedly, the lack of activity made Vivian sad. She let the phone ring and laid her head down on the cool surface of the table. The phone went quiet, leaving a buzzing silence in its place. 

It rang again. 

Vivian pushed her chair out from the table reluctantly. Whoever this is, she thought. They better have a good reason. 

She took the phone off the hook. "Yes?" she asked. "Sweets?" a voice asked. Max. Vivian's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't heard from the kids in days, and she hadn't thought anything of it. Something must be wrong. Dear God, what else could've gone wrong? "Max, hi," Vivian said, trying to keep her voice calm. 

"We need your help," Max said. Vivian closed her eyes. Hello, early grave. "With what?" Vivian asked. Max sighed, annoyed. "Boy problems."

Vivian's eyes snapped open, partly in relief and partly in exasperation. "Seriously?" she snapped. "Jesus, I thought somebody was dying." Max chuckled dryly. "No. Not yet. Sadly." "Hey, not funny," Vivian chided. 

"Is that really why you called?" Vivian asked. "Yes," Max affirmed. "Can you, like, come help us with your unfailing knowledge of the male mind?" "Please," Vivian scoffed. "I'd probably hurt more than I'd help in that department. Besides, I'm busy." "With what?" Vivian chewed her lip and didn't respond. "Sweets?" Max asked in a needling voice. 

Vivian sighed. She really was doing this to herself. 

"Fine," she relented. "Be there in ten."

i love a girl gang