chapter ten — another one bites the dust

"Jesus, finally you're back!" Dustin Henderson cheered as Irene waltzed into the backroom, a gentle smile on her face as she greeted the boy. Despite the sheen layer of impending doom that cascaded over her, especially after the previous night and her talk with Eddie, she was trying to stay optimistic. She wouldn't let those feelings get in the way of her priorities. What were her priorities exactly? Saving the world, of course.

"I was gone for a day." She laughed as she hung her backpack up. Her hands then made their way to her chest as she carefully clipped her nametag on.

"And yet it felt like an eternity." Dustin responded, placing his hand to his heart, to which Irene playfully rolled her eyes. He, much like Will, was starting to grow on her fairly quickly. Something about the two of them reminded her of Eddie.

"Fill me in, you dork." She said lightly, taking a seat in front of him. He explained how he and Steve made complete fools of themselves chasing after a guy that was just the coordinator of an aerobics class. But then he informed, Robin had cracked the rest of the message and the meaning behind it–how it all tied to the mall. He also disclosed that they had their own detective mission last night and figured something had to be in the drop off area of the mall; they just needed to find out how to get into it.

"So that's where we're at," He shrugged before grabbing his binoculars out of his bag, "I'm going up to the roof to see if I can find anything else." She nodded and watched as he walked out of the back door.

She heaved a sigh as she fixed her cap and placed her scooper at her side – losing herself to her thoughts for a moment. For some reason she was itching to escape to the bathroom and pull out her Tarot cards – to try and make sense of everything that was unraveling before her. There was no more room for naivety...she was in too deep now. She had willingly stepped inside the building of unshakeable change and the walls were quickly closing in on her. It was making its mark – doing the work that needed to be done; she just wished she knew why.

Robin walked into the break room and looked over wearily at her friend, "Hey, you alright?" She asked and Irene snapped out of her daze, her delicate eyes landing on Robin's.

She nodded, "Yeah, just...thinking." She said before moving around her friend and towards the front. Steve echoed the same question as she stood beside him at the register and she threw back the same response before tending to the child that stood in front of her. He asked for mint-chocolate chip ice cream to which Steve murmured beside her that he was "on it," as he began scooping up the treat.

"When you didn't come in yesterday we figured you just needed some time to rest." Steve whispered as he handed her the cone. She gave him a small smile to show her gratitude.

She cleared her throat, "Yeah, shockingly enough, my brother and I spent the day together. Have a nice day, kid!" She responded to him and then to the little boy in front of her. He gave her a toothless grin, and placed a few quarters in the half-full tip jar. She turned her attention to Steve slightly.

"Oh? Cool. You guys get along well?" He asked casually, propping himself against the counter. Irene chuckled, her gaze flickered down to her shoes for a moment.

"We used to," She looked back at him and shrugged. "It's different now. Thankfully, yesterday was a good day, however I don't hold my breath when those come around anymore." She turned her gaze back down and Steve pursed his lips, wishing he understood. He'd take anything to have someone around in his empty home. He was thankful for the kids, despite how annoying they were from time to time, they were the closest thing to siblings that he had. In the moment, he mainly wished he understood so that he could bring her some sort of comfort with his words – give her advice that he knew would be helpful.

"Well, maybe he'll surprise you." He shrugged, giving her a little nudge. She looked up at him, smiling at his sentiment – little did he know that his words did bring her some comfort and it solidified in Irene's mind then that Steve Harrington was in his redemption arc.

"That keycard opens the door, but unfortunately, the Russian with his keycard also has a massive gun." Dustin explained as he paced in front of the three young-adults. They had all gone on their break the second he returned, placing the small placard that stated 'Hold Onto Your Sails! We'll Be Back Soon,' on the front counter.

"Whatever's in that room, in those boxes, they really don't want anybody finding out." Robin muttered as she took a seat beside Irene, "But there's got to be a way in, I just know it." She said, mainly to herself, as she began thinking of all the possible entrance routes.

Steve stopped twirling his cap around his fingers as he looked over at the three, "Well, you know..." He began, leaning against the table. "I can just take him out."

Irene snickered at the comment and the look on Steve's face that seemed so serious and stoic, like he was Superman or something. She cleared her throat, trying to contain her smile as Steve looked at her.

"What? I sneak up behind him, I knock him out, and I take his keycard. It's easy." He explained as if the answer was obvious.

"So in this hypothetical scenario the guy's massive gun just...disappears?" She asked, squinting her eyes at him, earning a snort from Robin beside her.

"Well that's why I would be...sneaking."

"Ah." Irene nodded her head slowly before crossing her arms, "I mean you just don't look like the kind of person who gets into fights, so...my bad." She wasn't even saying it to be mean or poke fun at her co-worker; she truly saw Steve as someone who was afraid of getting into a scuttle. He just didn't have that kind of demeanor. Then again, she didn't seem like the type of person to get into fights either.

"He has but, I don't think he's ever actually won a fight." Dustin answered beside her.

Steve interjected, "Okay, that was one time—"

"Twice," Dustin held up his fingers. "Johnathan. Year prior?" Steve looked over at Irene this time, who had wide amused eyes. She mouthed a silent, wow. He shook his head, his cheeks turning crimson.

"Listen, that doesn't count."

"Why wouldn't it count? Because it looks like he beat the shit out of you. Honestly, I'd trust Rena more if it came down to it." He laughed softly as Steve rolled his eyes.

"Actually I do know a thing or two about fighting," She shrugged, gaining the two's attention. "Like for starters the diaphragm is a good place to hit because the lungs instantly start to spasm. Oh! And the kidneys—hurts like hell to get hit there. Mm and the perfect uppercut to the jaw will knock your opponent right out, but you have to come from the side not the front." She rambled before looking up at the three pairs of eyes that were staring at her.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"How do you know all that? I don't even know all that." Steve shook his head in bewilderment.

"My brother and I got our asses kicked back when we moved to Utah. After that he taught himself and then me how to fight, in case something like that ever happened again." She let out a dry chuckle, "He made me watch all these boxing matches and wrestling tapes," her smile dropped momentarily, "I was twelve and earned this gnarly scar." She recollected, pulling up her sleeve to show the three – it was a line that ran from the top of her shoulder to just above her shirt's sleeve.

She remembers the day vividly, the bloodshed, the taunting, her brother defending her with pride. Only a year later would she have to fight her own battles because Mateo had begun to isolate himself. Thankfully he taught her enough and people rarely chose to pick fights with her – although she wished it stopped the other kinds of hatred she endured.

Robin frowned as she shared. She didn't want Irene, or the other two, to put themselves in that kind of situation. She shook her head, standing abruptly, "I have an idea." She muttered before rushing to grab her bag, slinging it over her shoulder, as she left the break room. Her hand dug into the tip jar as Steve called out to her, but she ignored him.

"Hey, what—what are you doing?" He asked, pushing the door to the break room open.

"I need cash." She responded frantically, walking backwards to face the three.

"We'll half of that's mine." He sighed.

"Actually a third of it is yours." Irene interjected, taking a step forward, "Anyways, where are you even going?" She yelled over to friend.

"To find a way into that room, a safe way." Robin responded and Irene's face fell.

"You're leaving me with them?" She asked and Robin stopped in her tracks, her eyes falling on Dustin and Steve.

"Sling ice cream and behave, she has permission to beat you up if you don't. I'll be back in a jif!" She saluted them before running off. Irene looked over at the two boys next to her, Steve had just snatched his scooper out of Dustin's hand, muttering something to the boy.

She sighed, "This is how I die."

Fifteen minutes had gone by and the three of them found new ways to entertain each other while they waited and worked. Steve and Irene took turns throughout their shift keeping Dustin company and completing unfinished tasks around the shop.

It was nice to further get to know the people she surrounded herself with; her brother's words lingered in the back of her mind. Was she too willing to go to bat for people she only knew for a month? It was frustrating because she felt like she was being too trusting, but she also liked feeling finally like she belonged somewhere. This was the first summer she didn't spend sitting in her room alone.

Irene placed her headphones on and wiped down the counters as Steve rang up two guys that seemed to be around their age. She turned to him, singing into the spray bottle she was holding, "Steve walks warily down the street with the brim pulled way down low." She tugged at the front of his cap, pulling it down toward his eyes and laughed. Steve swatted her hand away and rolled his eyes before fixing his cap. He continued scooping the cold delicacy into two cones as Irene chuckled to herself and continued to sing, "Dun, Dun, Dun, another one bites the dust." She swayed lightly as her body moved toward the display glass and wiped it down.

After the customers had walked away she swiped the headphones off her head and asked, "You know they teach you how to do CPR using this song? Like with the beat." She leaned against the counter parallel to Steve who looked at her oddly. He never understood how she held so many random facts inside her mind – the most surprising being all the places she knew where to hit in a fight. Finding that out moments ago hit him like a truck.

Lately that's all she'd been doing to him — surprising him at every corner he turned. It was eerie but also comforting that she had all this knowledge and held the people around her accountable or brought light to their strengths and aided their weaknesses. He appreciated the constant reality checks she would slyly give him, reminding him he didn't have to pretend in front of her or Robin. There was still so much he had yet to learn about her, but he enjoyed the small moments they did share — even if he was making an absolute fool of himself eighty-percent of the time. He liked the change that both she and Robin brought.

She shrugged and turned, looking over the tables before walking up to clean the nearest one. She set the spray bottle down and was about to place her headphones back on when a familiar face caught her eye.

"Byers!" She exclaimed with a bright smile and the boy matched her expression as best he could, despite the dread that was weighing on his chest.

"Hey, Rena." He replied softly and she motioned for him to take a seat across from her. He did so and she watched as he wrung his hands nervously, his friends nowhere to be seen.

"Where's everyone else?" She asked, her thoughts lingering on the fortress she watched him destroy and the terror and pain that lingered in his eyes. She blinked the vision away as he explained to her that they were meeting up at the pool, "You know Dustin's in the back I could grab him for you." She chirped and Will nodded, sighing in relief as he watched her walk off.

He rubbed his itchy eyes and bobbed his knee as he waited. The group couldn't get a hold of Dustin and had to fill him in on The Mind Flayers return somehow and the first place Will thought he'd be was Scoops. He just hoped his intuition was right and they could quickly get his friend on board with their plan. He sunk into his seat once he saw the frown on Irene's face.

"He must have stepped out or something. Sorry, kid." She sighed as he stood up, murmuring it was 'okay' and he had to go anyway.

Irene knew what was about to unfold the moment he and his friends stepped on the pool's grounds and before he could go she grabbed his shoulder gently, "Hey, my brother works at the pool just so you know. If anybody tries to mess with you or any of the kids he'll intervene, I promise. You can go to him for anything." She said staring right into Will's eyes and he looked at her for a moment, scanning her face, feeling like she was trying to tell him something else. He nodded slowly and she let go, watching as his small frame was swallowed by the sea of people. She wished there was more she could say or do but hoped that her brothers' protection would be enough.

"Hey, Byers stopped by but you must have been in the bathroom or something." Irene said, glancing over at Dustin, as she walked into the break room. Her hand dug through her backpack and smiled once she felt the box of Mike and Ikes she'd been saving.

The boy sighed, sinking down into his chair, "I promised him we'd play D&D once I got home but we just haven't had the time. Can I have some?" Irene nodded and he held his palm out. She poured some of the candy on it, "And they all ditched me the night I was trying to contact Suzie anyways." The older teen sat across from him and let out a breathy chuckle.

"Would you really want to just sit there and watch your friend fiddle with his device for hours just so he could talk to his girlfriend miles away when he has perfectly good friends sitting right in front of him?" She quirked her eyebrow which earned an eye roll from the boy. Her hands flew up defensively, "I'm just saying...think of it the way your friends would, especially Will. You guys are all he has – I'd kill to have friends like that." She shrugged and Dustin nodded softly, appreciating her concern.

He never thought of it that way, he'd been so wrapped up in surface level situations that he forgot just how important his friendship was to Will – especially after all that they'd been through. Life had moved by too quickly – where'd all the time go?

Steve strolled into the break room, hands up his hips, "Just got done ringing up this guy who talked my ear off about that goddamn Footloose movie. Isn't that movie for girls or something?" He asked before taking a seat beside Irene who crossed her arms and scoffed.

"That's rich coming from the guy whose favorite band is ABBA, isn't that for girls?" The young boy across from them revealed and Irene's eyes doubled in size. If looks could kill, Dustin Henderson would be dead.

"That was a secret." Steve hissed before turning to look at Irene, "There was one song I heard on the radio that I said I liked." Irene shook her head, a hearty laugh escaping her lips.

"My mom made my brother and I listen to ABBA in the car all the time after school. It's a guilty pleasure of ours but...you didn't hear that from me." Steve's ears perked up at the response. Just as he was about to retort, Robin pushed through the break room door.

"It is fascinating what twenty bucks will get you at the County Recorder's Office," She said as she grabbed the parchment from her backpack and then tossed it down beside Irene's. Her hands spread out the paper on the small table, "Starcourt Mall. The complete blueprints."

"Nice!" Irene acknowledged before she and the girl next to her fist bumped.

"So, this is us, Scoops." Her finger pointed toward the corner of the paper and then moved upward, "And this is where we want to get." Irene placed some more candy in her mouth, pouring some out into the extended palms of Dustin and Steve.

"I mean, I don't really see a way in." Steve said, analyzing the blueprint. Robin reached to pull the top paper off, showing them another blueprint.

"There's not, if you're talking exclusively about doors." Dustin perked up and his eyes twinkled as he looked at Robin.

"Air ducts." He whispered and she smiled wide.

"Exactly." She answered and walked across the room toward their whiteboard and grabbed the marker, "Turns out, this secret room needs air just like any old room. And these air ducts lead all the way here." She whispered, tracing the blueprint with the marker. The four of them looked up at the vent.

"Well?" Irene finally filled the silence, the three looking at her, "Come on, we don't have all day!" She ushered and they all began to move, in search of a screwdriver to take the covering off. Robin held one up in triumph and tossed it over to Irene.

She reached for the ladder and Steve moved in front of her to grab it but she threw him a glare. He held his hands up before stepping back and letting her do her thing. She made it very clear that if if she could, she'd get any job done by herself. Even if she was clumsy with the task and made mistakes, she still pushed on like it was nothing. She was always picking up his slack and saying nothing about it, even if the slack was heavier because he was being an idiot.

She tugged the cover off, looking in as she mindlessly handed it toward Steve. Her fingers curled around the flashlight she put in her scooper pocket and shined it down the opening, "I'm not sure if you're gonna fit in here. It's really tight – like only a little child could barely shimmy through." She clicked the flashlight off and looked down at Dustin.

He shook his head as she climbed down, "I'll fit. Trust me. I don't have collar bones." He replied and Irene and Robin looked at him in bewilderment.

"Cool." Irene said the same time her friend beside her questioned the comment. Steve looked over at both of them, as if he was reminded of something by the statement.

"Oh he's uh...Yeah, he's got some disease. Chry, uh, it's chrydo, um...something. Yeah, I don't know. He's missing bones and stuff. He can bend like Gumbo." Irene gave him a look and Robin spoke her thoughts into existence.

"You mean, Gumby." She said blankly and Steve waved her off.

"I'm pretty sure it's Gumbo." Did he really mistake a fictional character for soup? Irene asked herself as she looked at him in disbelief.

"Steve, just shut up and push me!" The three of them heard Dustin yell from the vent. Irene placed her hand over her mouth, stifling her laughter. His body hung halfway out of the air duct.

"Okay." Steve droned, stepping on the stairs to push Dustin's feet, "I'll push ya."

Irene crouched down digging through her bag to find any other treats she packed herself for the day. Her eyes brightened at the sight of the snickerdoodle cookies she bought a couple days ago. She stood beside Robin, the latter looking up at the two blankly. Irene nudged her side, opening the sandwich bag for her to reach her hand in. Robin chuckled, not even surprised at the multitude of snacks Irene always had on her.

"Not my feet, dumbass. Push my ass." Dustin demanded as he hung halfway out of the vent. Irene and Robin ate their cookies as they watched the situation unfold.

"What?" Steve asked, looking back at the two girls who gave him a shrug. He wished he could just be standing there, eating a cookie and watching the spectacle Dustin has gotten himself in.

"Touch my butt! I don't care!" Dustin yelled to Steve as he positioned himself better on the latter, "Come on! Harder! Push harder!"

"I'm pushing!" They went back and forth for a little longer, Dustin still not succumbing to failure as he yelled at Steve. Irene closed the sandwich bag in her hand, saving the other cookies for the two dorks that clearly didn't know how to take advice. She grabbed a wet wipe from her backpack to clean her hands and handed one to Robin.

"This is dreadful, I'll be up front if you need me." Irene said, motioning her head toward the door. The second she pushed it open, a small ding from their front desks' bell had sounded. She shook her head at the sight; one of the kids' sisters who always came to the shop to work her way around their company policy of free samples. Irene admired her tenacity, while the other two found it annoying. There were times, like now, when the interaction did give her a headache though.

"Ahoy, sailor! All hands on deck! Ahoy! I've been waiting for five minutes and want to try the free samples!" She mocked and Irene gaver her a tight lipped smile. The girl looked far too young and small to be wandering around such a bustling mall by herself. The bell rang the moment an idea surfaced in Irene's mind and it was as if Robin connected the same dots, because when she looked over the two locked eyes and shared a knowing smile.

A/N:
I have a very big love/hate relationship with this chapter, but you know what it'll grow on me soon. it's a part of the buildup to the chaos that is about to ensue that none of them are entirely ready for — except for maybe El. I changed a lot from the previous draft of this chapter and I'm not too mad about it, however I did have to cut it in half so...be on the lookout for another update today. I am in the giving mood because...WE HIT 1K!!!

I can not believe so many of you enjoy this story, but im so glad you're here and along for this wild ride because it's been so fun! you are all so amazing and I adore each and every one of you, don't you forget it! you are all such sweet little sunshines that continuously make my day, truly. im just really thankful so many of you are here and reading my work and liking it <3

Let me know what you favorite part of the story has been so far?