𝕾𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕾𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 - [𝗦𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗼𝗻]

𝐱𝐢𝐯. 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺, 𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 - easy, banner

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 𝐈𝐓 𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐍 long for Steve to pinch his hat back; plucking it from Scarlet's head and slamming it back upon his own; if only to cover up the knotted mess of sodden hair it had formerly been hiding.

 To say Steve Harrington absolutely loathed the uniform clinging to his body — the garish blue, the stupid hat... and Oh God, the dumb ascot flittering by his collar — was an understatement. It was the understatement. When he'd first hauled it on, he had truly wanted to trail down to the crystal clear pool in his backyard, and quite simply, drown. The shorts on his thighs were short, unsurprising but certainly horrific.

 The only thing that had kept him even mildly sane, was the light spell of laughter that had tumbled from Scarlet's lips when he'd revealed his uniform to her. She'd been sat in his living room, eyes glued to the flickering television... until she'd heard him hopping down the stairs.

 He'd offered an awkward — very unamused — smile, and thrown his arms wide as if to say 'look at me, I look like the idiot of the century'.

 Scarlet had sucked in her lips, and her cheeks had grown pinker by the second. Then, when she couldn't keep it behind the floodgates any longer, a laugh blurted out. A sweet sound that always sent his heart hammering away as though it was trying to escape.

 It had been worth it.

 "No, but seriously," Robin's voice chattered away whilst Steve continued to peer through the little break room window. Scarlet had hoisted herself atop the counter, watching as Robin worked swiftly clear off the cherry drizzle she'd planted her elbow into, "Why are you two friends with so many kids?"

 Scarlet blinked. She hadn't really questioned it before, and as she leaned her head against the wall, planted just beside Steve who appeared ready to climb through the little window on the wall, it seemed that Steve hadn't really put much thought into it either.

 Scarlet and Steve shared a small look; if they hadn't been through everything that happened the previous year, if Eleven hadn't been the one to tug on Scar's heartstrings and puppeteer her all the way to Hawkins...

 "Those kids are better than half the idiots in this town," Steve said with a non-committal shrug — as though it almost made him shiver to admit it. But it was true.

 Robin made to retort, only for her lips to slam shut as the store was doused in nothing but absolute darkness. The lights had flickered off with a buzz, and with all customers having already vacated the store with sticky ice creams in hand, the only sound to be heard was the clammering of voices throughout the building, wondering what the hell had happened.