CHAPTER 011. BLUEPRINTS

IT WAS EXHILARATING, AND A LITTLE NERVE-RACKING, BUT LAURIE AND ROBIN MANAGED TO GET THE BLUEPRINTS.

It was surprisingly easy - aside from the fact that they had to recount how much cash Robin grabbed about three different times because the taller girl kept getting herself distracted. But once they figured out how much they had, it was smooth sailing form there.

Well, they were actually about 5 dollars short. But with some subtle flirtatious advances towards a guy Laurie had absolutely no interest in - Robin's idea - they managed to get all the pages they needed to see if her plan might actually work.

They knew Steve and Dustin would collectively have somewhat distasteful reactions to the fact that Laurie Dante had to flirt with someone to get what they needed, so the two girls silently agreed to leave that part out of the story during their retelling.

"It is fascinating what 20 bucks will get you at the County Recorder's Office," Robin says excitedly as the two girls push their way through the swinging door and enter the back room of Scoops. "We're never going back there, by the way,"

Steve quirks a brow. "Wait, why not?"

"The guy working there was trying to get Laurie's number," The freckled girl snickers. "And then she told him the broken leg story when he called her cute,"

So much for keeping it secret, Robin.

Steves expression changes quite subtly, something that most people would probably miss entirely. His jaw tightens ever so slightly and his gaze locks on the girl leaning on the table to his left, his teeth starting to gnaw at the inside of his cheek.

"It was nothing," Laurie quips, cutting the story short by shooting her best friend a glare. She softens her expression when she turns back to Steve. "Robin's just.. She's exaggerating. Don't worry about it,"

Laurie isn't quite sure why she's reassuring Steve so much. It's not like he has any reason to care if another boy has an interest in her.. right?

Dustin grins mischievously at Steve's change in expression. "You jealous, Steve?"

Robin stifles a laugh and shakes her head as Steve swats the younger boys arm, grumbling unpleasantly under his breath.

"Yeah, so, if you lose this, you're paying, Harrington," Robin states, locking eyes with her coworker after unraveling the roll of paper in her hands and flattening it on the table. "Starcourt Mall. The complete blueprints,"

"Not bad," Dustin nods approvingly.

"Okay, so, this is Scoops, right here," Says Laurie, trying her best to ignore the heat rushing to her cheeks. Her chipped fingernail taps where the foodcourt is located on the page. Her hand briefly brushes against Steve's as she drags her finger along the paper and towards the other end where Robin is. "And this is where you guys want to get,"

Steve furrows his brows as he stares down at the blueprints. "I mean, I don't really see a way in,"

"That's because there's not," Robin chimes, hooking her fingers under the blueprints and ripping it from the table. Underneath is revealed to be another piece of paper, similar to the one before, but this version has a significant amount of rectangles over it - the ventilation system. "If you're talking exclusively about doors,"

Dustin grins, knowingly. "Air ducts,"

"She's a genius, right?" Laurie smiles, and Robin beams.

Quickly, the taller girl grabs the dry eraser marker from the whiteboard and draws a large circle around where Scoops Ahoy is on the page. "Turns out, this secret room needs air just like any old room. And these air ducts lead all the way.." She drags the marker along the vents, the red passage sticking out like a sore thumb on the predominantly white and blue paper. She stops at where the suspicious cargo is held and draws another large circle. "Here,"

Robin and Laurie share a knowing glance before the shorter girl turns to look at Steve. "So, we were hoping that you could open that vent for us? You know, just to see if it's a possible way in?"

Laurie didn't have to ask Steve twice.

After grabbing the screwdriver the two girls had bought at Melvald's from Laurie's hand, he's now stood on the ladder Robin had placed underneath the vent. The screws hit the floor with light clinks, barely preparing the group for the louder metal sounding thud when Steve miscalculates how high up he is when he drops the metal frame to the floor. He swaps out the screwdriver for Dustin's flashlight, peering into the seemingly endless air duct with furrowed brows.

"Well?" Laurie is starting to become impatient and taps her foot on the ground repeatedly, desperately wanting to know if her sudden excitement to be involved was all for nothing. "Is it possible for someone to fit in there?"

Steve hums in thought for a moment. "I mean, yeah, I guess so," He answers, still eyeing the air duct intently. He clicks the flashlight off and looks down at Dustin. "I just don't know if you can fit in here, Henderson. It's, like.. super tight,"

Dustin sends a dismissive wave his way. "I'll fit, trust me," He says with a smile. "No collar bones, remember?"

The older boy nods, mumbling an "Oh, yeah," as if that isn't something completely baffling to hear. Laurie and Robin's eyes bug out of their heads, one of them muttering an "Uh, excuse me?" quickly followed by a "I'm sorry?" in the same confused tone.

"Oh, he's, uh.. yeah, he's got some disease. It's, uh, Chrydo.. something," Steve says as he carefully descends down the ladder, jumping off before the last few steps when it begins to shift from his movements. When he lands, he puts his hands on his hips and shrugs, "Yeah, I don't know. He's missing bones and stuff. He can bend like Gumbo,"

"You mean Gumby," Robin corrects.

"No," Steve stifles an arrogant laugh. "I'm pretty sure it's Gumbo,"

While the two coworkers have their silent standoff, narrowed eyes staring at one another like they're 100% certain the other is wrong, the youngest of the group begins to climb up the ladder.

Laurie looks between her two favorite sailors, somewhat anticipating either one of them to spark another pointless debate like they've done in the past, usually ending with them turning to her to decide a winner.

Robin had propped the ladder up hastily due to her eagerness, thus resulting in it shaking unpredictably with every step the younger boy takes. He pauses every few seconds, afraid that one wrong move might have him tumbling down.

Steve and Robin are bickering now, the girl muttering how stupid her coworker is whilst the boy is complaining about how annoying she is. When Dustin swears, he gains the groups attention, causing the two Scoops Ahoy employees to fall silent and snap their heads in his direction.

Laurie springs into action, rushing over to steady the shaking ladder before the boy comes crashing down. "Oh, my God!"

"Jesus, Henderson!" Steve shouts. Likewise, he moves just as fast as Laurie, if not faster, launching himself forward and grabbing at the sides of the metal steps. "Way to go, asshat! You could've taken us out with this thing,"

The ladder is cold on the girls hands, the sharp edges digging into her palms and probably forming fine lines on her skin. Brains still momentarily fogged by the attempt at preventing their younger friend from cracking his head open, the two don't seem notice how Steve's hands overlap Laurie's.

"Taken you out? I could've just died, Steve! How are you making this about you?" The younger boy groans, and Steve rolls his eyes. Laurie, who laughs lightly at the interaction, moves her gaze away from Dustin, finally allowing herself to check the odd warmth rising on her hands. Her heart swells in her chest at the realisation that Steve's hands being on hers are the reason to blame.

"He's so dramatic sometimes," Steve mutters, looking over to Laurie with an annoyed expression. She expects him to pick up on where his hands are, maybe even move them to another place on the ladder, excusing it as a way to further steady it, or something. But if Steve does notice, he mustn't mind, because his hands stay still, unmoving. Instead, he slightly leans in and whispers to the girl. "And a huge klutz,"

"Yeah," The girl laughs quietly, cheeks flushing because of the way Steve looks down at her. "He's like Humpty Dumpty,"

"Oh, totally," Steve smiles, and Laurie can't stop the grin already forming on her lips to widen. "You know, this one time he was borrowing my hairspray and-"

But before Steve can tell the tale, Dustin's voice booms, forcing the two teenagers at the base of the ladder to snap back to reality. "Would you two just shut up? Steve, get up here and push me!"

"Okay, Jesus," The older boy groans. Before he makes his way up the ladder one again, he quickly ducks his head and whispers in Laurie's ear. "He's gonna kill me one day, I swear,"

Steve gets up on the ladder, staggering his stance while he grabs Dustin's sneakers and starts to push the younger boy by his feet. It's a little awkward, but the two boys don't seem to care because of how determined they are to get this to work.

"Not my feet, dumbass!" Dustin chastises, voice echoing in the air duct. "Push my ass!"

Steve pauses. "What?"

"Touch my butt! I don't care!"

Laurie, eyes wide at the exchange occurring just above her head, she slowly moves her gaze across the room to her best friend. Robin, who is in such a state of disbelief that her mouth is slightly agape, looks over at her shorter friend with raised brows, too. She shakes her head slowly, silently telling Laurie that it was stupid to have involved the boys when trialling this idea.

"Come on! Push harder!"

"I'm pushing!"

Robin waltzes over to her friend with her arms crossed over her chest. In a hushed voice, she says, "So, this is what you want your future to look like? Dating a guy who does.. that?"

"Shut up," Laurie mutters, earning a chuckle from her friend. She sighs when she looks up at the boys again, seeing how they've made little to no progress. "This isn't working. We need someone who can actually fit into that vent or-"

"This entire idea was a waste of time," Robin finishes with a small nod. "Yeah, I know. But do you know anyone small enough?"

And then, almost comically, the bell on the counter starts to ring. The two girls look through the sliding window - they had kept it open incase Steve or Robin had to actually do what they're paid for - to see none other than Erica Sinclair, dressed in pastels and face covered with stickers. "Ahoy, sailors! All hands on deck, ahoy! Get over here and serve me some samples,"

The corner of Robin's mouth quirks upward when she turns back around to face Laurie. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"I TOLD YOU SHE WOULDN'T DO IT,"

It took Robin, and the occasional chime from Laurie, almost ten minutes and the promise of endless free samples for the younger girl to even consider listening to what they wanted her help for.

But, once she finally agreed, they all sat themselves in one of the booths near the front of the store to discuss the logistics of the plan. They're accompanied by various sweet treats made by a very annoyed Steve, the smell of mint and raspberries and chocolate overwhelming them.

"Are you claustrophobic, or something?" Robin asks the younger girl, trying her best to find a reason to why Erica is still refusing to cooperate despite her having been given enough ice cream to last her a week.

Erica chuckles dryly. "I don't have phobias,"

"Okay, well, what's the problem?" Steve slides into the booth beside Laurie, placing a banana split with extra fudge onto the table, per Erica's request.

"The problem is, Sailor Man, I still haven't heard what's in this for Erica," The girl reaches forward and pulls the ice cream towards her, scooping it with one of the many wooden spoons scattered across the table. "I'm not doing this just for fun,"

"I'm sorry, you want payment?" Dustin narrows his eyes at his friends younger sister. "Is being an American hero not enough for you?"

Erica shrugs, admiring her freshly painted fingernails after placing the ice cream in her mouth. "I'm already going to be an American hero, nerd,"

A laugh accidentally slips from Laurie's lips. "What?"

"I'm gonna be president one day, Priss, and I'm going to be the best one this country has ever had," She says nonchalantly, causing the quartet surrounding her to perk up in interest. "And my presidential campaign will start with me kicking your nerdy asses out of here,"

"What the hell, Erica?" Dustin says, raising his hands in disbelief.

"You promising me something that I already know is going to happen is not worth me risking jail-time," Erica tells the group, pointing her finger on the table to further her stance on the matter.

"Jail-time?" Laurie mutters under her breath, eyes moving to her right to share a confused glance with Steve.

Steve looks back at the younger girl across from them. "So, what do you want, then?"

There's a pause when Erica taps her chin whilst she thinks. "Ice cream," She finally says with a grin. God, Laurie had almost forgotten how young the girl is since she seems so mature when she's hidden behind her sassy comments and snarky attitude.

"Ice cream?" Laurie hesitates, brows pinching together. "That's.. it?"

"Maybe," Erica shrugs carelessly. "It's subject to change,"

"Depending on.. what, exactly?" Inquires Robin, eyes glancing over at Laurie in anticipation.

"Depending on how much work I have to do to get into that room you're all obsessed with," Retorts Erica.

"Look, we can discuss your participation prize later," Robin says whilst she grabs the blueprints from beside her to show Erica. "You see this? This is the route you're going to take," She runs her finger along the red lines she drew earlier. "We'll wait till the last deliver goes out tonight, and then you knock out the grate, jump down, and open the door."

"Then you find out what's in those boxes?"

Laurie nods. "Pretty much,"

"What about cops, huh?" The younger girl asks, narrowing her eyes as the sass drips from her tongue. "Or armed guards?"

"There won't be any cops, Erica," Steve sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose because of how argumentative this 10-year-old is.

"Armed guards?" She repeats, voice raised.

"They won't be there," Laurie attempts to reassure the younger girl, but finds herself unsuccessful when Erica glare at her.

"They better not be, Priss," She barks back, causing the older girl's eyes to widen at the harshness of her tone.

Dustin is visibly getting irritated by how difficult Erica is being. "Well, if they are, we can always have Steve knock them out with his impressive street fighting skills,"

Steve reaches his arm across the table and whacks the younger boy in the the head. "Would you just shut up?"

"Ow!"

"What about booby traps?" Erica asks, brows raised.

Robin tilts her head, confused. "Booby traps?"

"Lasers, spikes in the wall? Indiana Jones type shit?"

"Hold on," Steve narrows his eyes at the Sinclair girl. "You've seen Indiana Jones?"

Erica ignores the boy with an annoyed huff, somewhat offended he'd even ask her such a thing. "You know what this half-baked plan of yours sounds like to me?" She asks, rhetorically. "Child endangerment,"

Robin shakes her head. "We'll be in radio contact with you the whole time-"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Erica wags her finger in Robin's face, making the older girl fall silent. "Child endangerment!"

Laurie hadn't thought about it in that way before, but her mind is finally sobering up from the excitement fuelling her train of thought. Maybe she was right in thinking the "American Heroes" plan was a bad idea - but they're so close to putting an end to the mystery that is what the Russian transmission has to do with Hawkins, specifically Starcourt Mall, and it would be stupid to give up now.

"Erica? Hi," Dustin waves his hand in front of Erica's face, catching the younger girls attention. "Listen, we think these Russians want to do harm to our country. Great harm. Don't you love your country?"

"You can't spell America, without Erica," The younger girl smirks before taking another sip of her float Steve had made her.

Dustin's brows furrow, and Steve pauses in thought. The older boy leans into Laurie's shoulder and mutters, "Well, I mean.. she's not wrong,"

"Okay, so don't do this for us. Do it for your country. Do it for your fellow man," Dustin sends her a quick smile, and the girl continues to drink loudly from her float. "Do it for America, Erica,"

That's when Erica exhales dramatically as her finishes what was left of her beverage. "Wow! I just got the chills!" She says with a wide smile. However, her excited façade quickly drops when she deadpans, "Oh, yeah, from this float. Not your speech,"

"Has she always been like this?" Laurie leans back against Steve slightly, looking up at him through her lashes once the question quietly leaves her lips. Robin grimaces at their closeness.

Steve opens his mouth to speak, probably to say something about how the Sinclair girl has always found enjoyment in being contumelious, but Erica coughs obnoxiously to grasp their attention. She stares angrily at the pair, "Have you always been like that?"

It's only then that Laurie realises how close her and Steve have subconsciously scooted beside each other in the booth. Their arms are pushed together and their legs are casually brushing against one another under the table. Dustin looks at them with a small smile as if he's just won something.

Quickly, Steve creates a bigger space between them as he slides an inch or so away, arm dropping off the bench behind her and into his lap. Laurie straightens her posture and shifts uncomfortably. "Sorry,"

"Do you know what I love most about this country?" Erica asks the group, leaning forward on her elbow and resting her chin on her palm. "Capitalism. Do you know what capitalism is?"

Dustin nods. "Obviously,"

"Yeah," Says Robin.

Laurie shrugs. "In theory,"

"No," Steve shakes his head.

"It means this is a free market system. Which means people get paid for their services depending on how valuable their contributions are," Erica explains. "And it seems to me, my ability to fit into that little vent is very, very valuable to you all,"

Robin rolls her eyes. "What are you getting at, Erica?"

"You want my help? This float better be the first of many, and I'm talking free ice cream for life,"

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authors note!

i hate pure dialogue scenes but that's honestly entirely what the scoops troops plot is 😭😭 expanding my writing portfolio i suppose

sorry for this coming out a day or so later than expected, i've been scouting university pathways and just got rly busy and hella tired (i feel old.)

steve and robin are staring into my soul in that gif i stg...

also steve and laurie getting all cozy >>>

WHEN HE SEES ME © austrxlians, 2022.