Steve Harrington wasn't happy wearing sailor's shorts.

He would trade his car for a better job in a heartbeat. He'd walk all over town if it meant he could look cool, and not like a total—

"Dingus!" Robin said. "You're a dingus."

"What did I do now?" he said, exasperated.

"You mixed the sample spoons with regular spoons," she said, holding up a bright red cup. "The sample spoons are supposed to stay behind the counter, not at the register."

Steve crossed his arms.

"Why?" he said.

"It's company policy," she said dryly. "Didn't you pay attention during orientation?"

Steve looked down at his shirt with disdain.

"No," Steve said. "I spent the whole time imagining burning this costume alive."

Willie Cooper, the third employee at Scoops that afternoon, chuckled and said, "I couldn't agree more."

Willie was only 15—just barely old enough to work in Indiana. He was desperately trying to fit in with the older kids, but he had trouble relating to them. He actually didn't hate the uniform, but figured hating on it would be a good bonding opportunity.

Robin finished reorganizing the spoons just as Maria, Quincy, and Alice entered the ice cream shop. They were carrying their backpacks and planning the first stop on their trip.

"I'm telling you," Quincy said. "There's this ice cream shop in Muncie we can't miss."

"That's forty-five minutes out of our way!" Alice protested. "We don't have time for that."

"We should make time!" Quincy said, eyes shining. "It's amazing."

Alice gestured around Scoops.

"We're literally getting ice cream now," she said.

"Alice Henderson," Maria said, "you can never eat too much ice cream."

"She's right," Robin said, relieved to see her friends.

"How's the first week going?" Maria asked the trio of sailors.

"It's fantastic!" Steve said sarcastically. "I definitely don't feel like an idiot."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better," Alice said, "you look adorable."

Steve's cheeks turned pink.

"Thanks," he mumbled. He then muttered something incoherent.

"What was that?" Alice asked, leaning closer across the ice cream counter.

Steve cleared his throat and said, "Blue Moo. I asked if you wanted any Blue Moo ice cream?"

Alice shook her head.

"I'm team strawberry," she said.

Steve scooped the pink ice cream into a Scoops Ahoy-themed cup.

"One scoop or two?" he asked.

Alice shook her head, pretending to be disappointed.

"Steve Abernathy Harrington—"

Steve squinted and shook his head.

"That's...not my middle name."

"I always have two scoops with rainbow sprinkles," Alice finished. "If you're going to be an ice cream connoisseur, you need to memorize the order of your best customer."

Steve chuckled and scooped the extra strawberry for Alice. After Maria and Quincy got their milkshakes, they said their goodbyes.

"We'll be back next Wednesday on the 27th," Quincy said, "after our 10 days of sun and fun at the lake."

"I'm still horribly jealous," Robin said. "Buy me the shittiest souvenir you can find."

"You got it," Maria said kindly. "Willie, keep these two troublemakers in line."

"Aye, aye—"

"Don't say captain!" Robin and Steve said in unison. They shared a look and scowled at each other.

"Be nice," Alice scolded. "I like it when all my friends get along."

The trio of vacationers left the establishment, waving goodbye with their desserts.

"I can't believe you," Robin said with a huff.

Steve turned to her, brow furrowed.

"What?" Steve asked. "Can't believe that I messed up the spoons again? Or that I forgot to refill the topping station?"

"You forgot to—?! Never mind. Not worth the trouble."

Robin stalked to the back, and Steve followed while Willie took the next order.

"What's your problem, Buckley?" he asked as Robin pulled supplies out of the storage closet.

"No offense, Big Hair, but I don't like you," Robin said as she worked.

Steve felt like he'd been slapped. He and Robin were never close, but they'd had some fun together with Alice, Maria, and Quincy. Why was she giving him the third degree now?

"What did I ever do to you?" Steve said, incredulous.

Robin's mind wandered to history class with Mrs. Click. It didn't matter if Steve had supposedly changed. He was an attention-grabbing jerk back then.

"It doesn't matter," she said angrily. "Just stay out of my way this summer, okay? Take your break now so we don't have one at the same time."

She breezed past him with refill toppings, nose in the air.

Steve was left alone in the back room at Scoops, fidgeting with his stupid sailor hat and wondering what he ever did to piss off Robin Buckley.

🍦 🍦 🍦 

Alice should've known something was up when Maria and Quincy wouldn't let her look at the map.

"What?" she asked. "I can read a map."

She tried to snatch it out of Maria's hands, but the latter girl was faster. She pulled it away just in time.

"But you don't have to," Maria chided. "I can navigate. You sit in the back and just relax."

Alice narrowed her eyes, unsure if she was being punked.

"Is something going on?" she asked, looking between her two friends.

"Nothing," Quincy said. "Everything is completely fine and normal."

"Something in the way you said that makes me think that's not the case," Alice said, eyebrows raised.

"Just try to take a nap," Maria said, "and when you wake up, we'll be at the lake!"

Alice wanted to disagree, but she was exhausted. Her rabbit dreams had been much more vivid last night, and she woke up not feeling rested at all.

"Okay, fine," she said. "Don't make us lost."

"Wouldn't dream of it!" Quincy said. He winked at her in the rearview mirror, making her smile.

Maria popped in a mixtape and the sound of The Beatles filled the car.

Alice closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

🚙 🚙 🚙

Meanwhile, back at Scoops, Samuel and Tammy Thompson walked arm in arm.

"Oh my God," Tammy said. "Look how ADORABLE this place is! It's so QUAINT!"

Tammy wasn't one for subtlety. She had a loud, obnoxious voice that made it impossible not to notice her.

Robin paled when she noticed the couple.

"Shit," Robin hissed to herself. "What are they doing here?"

Steve heard the commotion from the back room, where he was exiled for spilling a milkshake on Robin's uniform.

He entered just as Samuel and Tammy got to the counter.

"Oh my God, if it isn't Steve Harrington!" Tammy cooed. "Sammy, isn't he your friend? Say hi to your friend!"

"Sammy?" Robin asked, giving Samuel a look of disdain.

"I go by Sammy now," Samuel said sheepishly. He looked away, face flushed. "Tammy says it makes me sound less like a grandpa."

Ever since Tammy and Samuel played the leads in Romeo and Juliet last winter, they were joined at the hip. Samuel drifted apart from the friend group after Christmas and only hung around them if he needed a favor. Robin wasn't too sad to see him go—he'd changed, and not in a good way.

Seeing him and Tammy together was torturous, but at least they were happy...probably.

"Sammy loves his new nickname," Tammy babbled. "I told him we're like two peas in a pod. Sammy and Tammy, Tammy and Sammy. Aren't we perfect babe?"

"Sure, babe," Samuel said. But he didn't sound so excited.

"Are you two going to order anything?" Robin asked tersely.

"I have to be careful I don't eat too much dairy," Tammy said. "I have an audition with the Hawkins Players tomorrow. I think I am good enough to join their summer season."

Steve scratched the back of his neck.

"So," he asked, "you're avoiding dairy by getting ice cream?"

"I'll just have a bottled water," Tammy said. "Sammy, you're just getting a water too, right?"

Samuel eyed the ice cream flavors, mouth watering.

"Uh..."

"I told Sammy he needs to start thinking about his future," Tammy continued. "I'm going to take a gap year so he and I can go to college at the same time and go to the same school and major in the same thing."

"Great," Steve said. "Here's your waters."

He held out two bottles with Scoops Ahoy packaging.

Tammy took them and elbowed Samuel. He dutifully paid for the waters.

"Is that all?" Robin asked.

"I actually wanted to ask if you guys want to come to a party I'm throwing tomorrow night," Samuel said before Tammy could cut him off. "I invited Alice, Maria, and Quincy, but they're going out of town."

He looked a little sad at not being invited on the lake trip. For a split second, Robin felt bad—but then Tammy opened her big mouth.

"And they didn't even invite us along," Tammy said with a huff. "I swear, they have no respect."

"The party sounds great," Steve interrupted. "We'll be there."

"Great!" Samuel said. "It's at 9 at my place. See you then."

"Byeeeeeeeee!" Tammy said, blowing Steve a kiss. "See you, Robbie!"

"It's Robin!" the girl in question said. 

Too late—Tammy and Sammy were gone. 

"Oh, forget it," Robin muttered. She smacked Steve's shoulder.

"Why would you RSVP me to that?" she snapped. "Going to their party is my idea of hell."

"I would've agreed to anything if they left," Steve said. "Tammy's kind of the worst."

Robin blushed and began scrubbing the counter.

"Whatever," she muttered.

Steve noticed her shift in tone and gasped.

"Tell me you're not jealous of her," he said. "Robin, you can do so much better than Samuel."

"Ew, I'm not jealous of Tammy!" Robin said. "Shut up and get back to work."

"Seriously," Steve continued as he refilled the milkshake machine. "You're way out of his league."

"Thanks for that Harrington. Now shut up."

"I'm just saying he's not even in the same sport—"

"Okay, I get it! I'm a catch!"

Willie appeared from the back room with more spoons.

"So, are you guys going to that party or not?" he asked.

"Why do you care?" Robin asked, raising an eyebrow.

Willie shuffled from one foot to the other.

"I've never been to a party before," he said shyly. "Could I tag along? If you do go, I mean."

Steve sighed. He planned on faking sick to get out of it, but Willie looked so hopeful...

"Yeah, sure," he said. "I'll bring you along."

Willie beamed.

"Great! Thanks Steve!"

He cheerfully got back to work.

Robin narrowed her eyes and watched Steve work. A selfless gesture wasn't what she expected from him at all—and anyone who would willingly hang out with Sammy and Tammy when they didn't need to is plenty selfless.

"I'll go too," she said. "Just so I can spy on Samuel and make sure he's not being held against his will."

{Posted December 17th, 2019}

{Edited July 12, 2020; Republished January 29, 2025}

A/N [from 2019] New chapter, whoop whoop! Next chapter I'm going to focus on Alice, Quincy, and Maria's trip.

So...Tammy and Samuel. Or should I say Sammy. An odd couple for sure. 😏 Tammy acts and sounds like Janice from Friends in my head.