╭ ╮
━━━━  " 📂 "

𝙋 𝘼 𝙍 𝘼 𝘿 𝙄 𝙎 𝙀

╰ ╯

"STEVE - HEY, HARRINGTON." Sadie's voice sounded urgent as it stirred the boy beside her. He groaned in complaint at the volume, and fingers dragged through his hair. "Stevie - hey Sailor, time to return to the world of the living." She hummed, leaning close to his face and brushing rogue hair out of his eyes.

"Henderson," He grumbled, words coming out stilted. "Can't you see I'm sleeping?" He asked, turning over only for Sadie to follow his movements, bed dipping where she sat.

"No, I'm completely blind in both eyes." She retorted, forgetting previous methods involving niceties and instead returning to alternate measures. "You need to get up, we're about to be very late for work."

He groaned, again, and began to try and push himself up on his shoulders. "Hey, maybe we can share a shower to take up less time." Steve offered, his arms wrapping around her waist and bending practically in half to rest his head on her thigh. "Or maybe we can blow off work and spend the last day without Dusty-buns doing something more exciting. "

"I'll push you off the bed." Sadie threatened. "That's only happened... twice so far and considering we were drunk both times and the dangers of showering alone only being maximised by the addition of another person-"

"Alright, alright, I was only joking." He replied, pressing open-mouthed kisses to her the skin exposed by his fingers pulling up her t-shirt. "Wasn't joking about the staying home part though."

"We can't miss any more days." She shook her head, although her fingers were combing through his hair oh-so-gently in the manner that ensured him she was seriously considering it. "You know we can't. Robin would be on your ass and Eric would be on mine and honestly, we need the money."

"I hate that you're smart." He groaned and forced himself to let go and sit up. "So you're serious about the not showering together thing?"

"The fall risk is-"

"No percentages this early."

"Okay." Sadie dug her hands into the mattress and stood up, pressing a kiss to his hair before reaching for her alarm clock. "I've got to shower."

"Mhm, okay." Steve fell back into the pillows. "I'll be waking up."

"I'm gonna set my alarm for five minutes in case you forget." Sadie did as she said and abandoned Steve in her bed, a smile on her face despite the rude early awakening. Her attention turned to the shockingly quick shower, letting the warm-ish water drown her senses until all she could really think about was... well, the Russian airplane.

It was unbelievable, really. In accordance with the past two years, Sadie was almost convinced they had until at least October before strange things started happening in Hawkins again but now, in June, under the sweltering sun and in the midst of Starcourt Mall-mania - when she had her job and her boyfriend to focus on - there were Russian planes flying over her town.

Maybe she was just overreacting. This is what she did; she saw something minutely out of the ordinary and all of sudden it was a huge conspiracy that would mean Hawkins would end in a crash of blood, fire and anguish. She did have reason to suspect, given the fact that the Energy Department's laboratory just outside town perimeters was deeply corrupt and had been experimenting on children with mind control... however, the lab had been shut down and now, well, nothing was happening in Hawkins. Nothing except for the plane.

Which, Sadie decided, as she climbed out of the shower and pulled a towel up over her body, was nothing but an anomaly.

The fact that a plane, which so happened to have Russian markings and identifiers, had flown over Hawkins, was normal. And for the sake of her sanity, Sadie would leave it at that. She wasn't going to dive into some massive conspiracy just because she thought there was something a little weird about an event that was completely normal. She had more important things to do.

  As Sadie returned to her bedroom, she found Steve pouring over the research she had curated the day before. Freezing in place, hand holding up her towel as she glanced between him and her laid-out uniform, she cleared her throat.

Steve looked up, eyebrows raised. His thumb tapped the paper. "Thorough." He commented, although his focus was quickly slipping to her towel.

"I know." Sadie swallowed, not really knowing why she felt so guilty. "I was bored, yesterday, I-"  

"Henderson, no need to freak." Steve held up his hands, reaching for the hairspray and particular shampoo and conditioner that kept the current mess of curls in place. "I just didn't want you to worry about it, you can do as much research as you want, just don't worry."

He crossed the room in just a few steps, arm around her towel-covered waist. "Don't look so worried." He hummed, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Really, you'll get wrinkles."

Sadie laughed, and the slight tension on Steve's face evaporated. "You sound like my mom." She grinned.

"I love your mom, that's the best compliment you could ever give me." He passed by and Sadie was left smiling, no longer feeling the unease in her chest as she made her way to get dressed, drying out her body and applying that lotion which matched her perfume before reaching for her uniform; the beige skirt her manager had seemed appropriate for the female version of the uniform, the cream-white polo shirt. Her name badge sat beside her bag, and she swiftly got to work on her hair.

Drying it was something she had become quick at, in the summertime air with the many trips to the lake and the pool. Makeup was applied, sunscreen rubbed into her skin and everything else she might possibly need shoved into her bag, disappearing from her bedroom with only the messed-up covers to indicate she had been there.

When Steve returned to the sanctuary of early morning waking, he could hear the radio playing in the kitchen, the sound of cat food being poured into a bowl much louder than he realised it could be. He stood in front of the vanity mirror for a touch longer than necessary - the styling of his hair was an art he had perfected years ago and as time passed had condensed down in to a routine that lasted mere minutes on a good day - because there seemed to be something about the fact that the framed picture set up besides small displays of products was himself and Sadie on the day of his graduation.

Or, as Dustin called it - most lovingly - the day that Steve Harrington grew a pair and asked out his sister.

Dark green suited Sadie Henderson more than it did him, and she had done him a favour by stealing his cap before the picture was taken by his mom and it was only moments before his grandparents had asked her to be in a photograph with them as well - it was their first time meeting and it had gone swimmingly well. Graduation day had been bittersweet. He had managed to achieve the ability to graduate, both as a student and captain of the swim team and an integral player in the basketball team, and he had asked out the girl he had fallen in love with over the course of a year and a half. But he wasn't going to college, at least not until the next round of applications, and his dad had refused to come and... he was going to spend his summer working at the newly-opened Scoops Ahoy, with a girl Sadie swore up and down was the biggest sweetheart she knew and a good friend, but seemed to hate Steve no matter what Sadie said.

But it didn't matter, really, because Sadie had a picture of him on her desk and many on her wall and he kept one of her in his wallet wearing his old varsity jacket. He could work at Scoops Ahoy for a year if he had her.

Which was why, for the millionth time, he made an effort to purposefully pick up the stupid hat that had been folded beside the blue and red uniform and remembered to pick up Sadie's glasses - her contacts were always too dry by the end of her shift in the sweltering mall and would annoy her to no end.

That song from The Breakfast Club was playing when Steve reached the kitchen, Tews wrapping himself around his ankles in some kind of attempt to trip him up in the most loving way possible. Sadie was buttering toast, murmuring the lyrics to herself because she had known them off-by-heart since the second time she saw the movie (he took her to the cinema three times for that one and he was sure she had gone with both Nancy and Robin respectively too - so he wasn't exclusive to hearing the rant on the outcome of a particular makeover).

In a strikingly domestic image, Steve found himself wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close to him, his head resting on her shoulder without a word. He let out a sigh, still exhausted, and feeling just as comfortable there as he would do in bed, his eyes flickered closed.

"We have hardly any food, Sailor," Sadie said, quite quietly, still rocking from side to side as she spread butter over the second slice of toast. "Was gonna do you some Eggos... didn't have any, don't have any Pop-Tarts, or toaster strudels, don't have any cereal... not even Cinnamon Toast Crunch." She continued, in a sort of sing-song voice that was only lulling him closer to sleep. "So we have toast, and half a glass of orange juice each and I have to go grocery shopping before my mom gets back."

"Tonight's plans are off?" His eyes opened, even if he didn't move yet and his grip on her waist tightened.

"No, no, I'll just have to bring my bike to work so I can come back after my shift. You fit Dustin's in there ages ago, didn't you?" Sadie held up half a slice of toast and he straightened up to take it.

"No peanut butter?" He asked.

"No peanut butter," Sadie confirmed, turning so that her back rested against the counter and she could actually meet his gaze to speak to him properly. "We have nothing. And I'll have to pack a bag for tonight as well... come by to remind me?"

"That'll piss Eric off," Steve said, through a mouthful of toast.

Sadie made a face at the mention of her coworker - who seemed to be under the impression that he was more of a manager than anything. "I'll do anything to piss Eric off." She said. "So what are actually the plans for tonight? Because I don't think I'm working as late as you."

"I'm closing," Steve confirmed. "But if you could go rent Ferris Bueller's Day Off from Keith when you go grab your stuff and grocery shop?" Steve suggested, using the door of the microwave to adjust the collar of his bright blue work shirt.

"Then I'll come back to the mall to meet you. Cycling." Sadie added, because there was no point bringing her car back and the only reason she actually needed to use it that day was when she returned home to go grocery shopping - the wicker basket that she could attach and detach from the front of her bike was nowhere near big enough. "And we can go back to yours. I'll bring a swimsuit."

"My mom might be around," Steve hummed, having to actually wrack his  brains to figure out where his parents were because, thankfully, he had hardly seen them all summer. "But only because my dad is currently on a fishing trip at Patoka Lake." He added.

"Your dad fishes?" Sadie blinked, because she had only met Mr Harrington a handful of times and each and every one was complete with him looking straight out of Dynasty and she had never seen him in anything but business formal. He gelled his hair to his head, constantly carried a briefcase and she was quite sure he never ate anything but steak. "For some reason, I can't see that." She hummed.

"Sometimes he shreds his suit and wears those weird shorts." He had used to take Steve with him, before everything happened and he turned into someone that his father couldn't be proud of. "It's happened four times since he found out I wasn't going to Purdue or Tech." Roger Harrington did not take disappointment lightly, although he claimed to have expected this the moment Steve stepped foot in Hawkin's High.

"Maybe it helps him calm down," Sadie suggested. "He's in business and it's quite a sedimentary job so he has to have a good cardiovascular exercise to combat all the aspartame, and all the quiet and the water produces negative ions to boost his mood - and I thought your mom doesn't trust him on trips like that?" She cut off her own rambles, forehead wrinkling. "It's pretty close to Louisville as well."

"She doesn't, which is why she's supposed to be leaving this afternoon." He was smiling again, although he didn't know if it was because they had one last evening alone or because he had no idea what aspartame was. "I don't know though, your mom might know though."

Sadie frowned. "I doubt she called my mom in Fort Wayne to tell her that she's going to Patoka Lake." She shook her head. "But I don't mind if she's there though, your mom actually likes me a lot. She told me to call her Patricia." The same couldn't be said for Mr Harrington, who insisted on Sir at almost all times in the brief passings they had.

"Next you'll get Trish or Pat."

"I hope not, calling parents anything other than Mr or Mrs makes me feel awkward." Sadie couldn't even call Mrs Byers or Mrs Wheeler by their names and she had known them for years. "Your mom caught us kissing on the porch that one time and I called her ma'am for a week after that."

"I know, it was weird." Steve couldn't help but grin at the memory. "You're too nice. This is why she likes you so much. Are you making coffee?"

"No, we'll pick it up on the way." Sadie was putting the butter back on the refrigerator, her attention turning to cleaning the last bits of cutlery. "And I'll get you a banana or something. You need to eat more fruit."

"Like we don't eat anything but takeout every night?"

"Right, but I have to juice oranges every day for a living and you're surrounded by ice cream. Get my drift?" She asked, passing him his bag and retrieving her own, digging around the bowl on the sideboard for keys.

"I don't eat it, Henderson, got to maintain my physique," Steve replied, pretending to flex and watching as she made a face. "Are we taking my car or yours?"

"Yours." She said as she threw him his keys, the tiny baseball keychain attached. "Seeing as we're going to yours tonight and everything. I have to come back here tomorrow though, so you might need to drop me off after work." Scratching Tews behind the head one last time and promising him treats when she came back at lunch, the two of them left the house behind, stepping out onto the driveway.

"Don't worry about it, I'm practically your personal chauffeur anyway." He said, the sort of comment that sounded backhanded but really was just to make her laugh.

Sadie came to a stop, her hand hanging off the handle of the passenger side door. She looked thoughtful. "I didn't know they were so handsome these days." She hummed, before pulling open the door. "Might have to take a little look around."

"You're going to give someone the wrong impression these days, Henderson. And by someone, I mean me."

"You know, I've left a long trail of broken hearts behind me, but Steve, I couldn't be so cruel to you." Sarcasm punctuated her tone as she slid into her seat and, watching as she looked a little proud of herself, Steve could only shake his head and follow her in.

✧

When Sadie officially clocked out at the end of the afternoon, she stopped by Scoops Ahoy to retrieve her free sample to cool down and borrow Steve's car keys; she had to retrieve her bike from the trunk of his car. Robin was in the midst of serving a group of moms and their whiny kids who were too tired to walk around the clothes stores anymore and had begged and begged for a sweet treat - which would only give them a sugar rush that would end with them crashing just in time for their parents' evening glass of wine. Steve had dragged her through to the back, much to her friend's distaste, and they had spent a few moments in the corridor attached where they usually received deliveries.

Thankfully, no cardboard boxes delivered by a man in a grey boiler suit appeared and prompted by Robin's disgruntled bangs on the door about how disgusting they were, Sadie said her goodbyes until later on and disappeared out to the parking lot, Steve's keys in hand to retrieve her bike and ensure that she didn't get distracted - if she did get distracted there was no way for him to get home, which almost always led to her focusing on tasks easier instead of finding something else to devote her time to.

With her focus and returning Steve's keys in mind, Sadie set off home and after a brief change and collection of stuff for that evening, also made her way to Bradley's Big Buy with a hastily compiled list of necessities they needed - especially with Dustin coming back from camp. Sadie had to admit, she thought as she made her way up and down the aisles, that she was a little jealous of Dustin that summer because Camp Know Where was truly one of the highlights of her holidays when she was younger.

But nevertheless, she had grown up and her involvement in Camp Know Where lay simply in living vicariously through memories and the stories her brother would tell, and she would continue to create in her free time and enter things into competitions when she could.

With her groceries completed and the ingredients necessary for Dustin's favourite lunches and dinners safely in the cart she paid and left, unstocking it all at home whilst feeding Tews the shrimp treats she had gotten him. Returning to Starcourt was a difficult task, solely because it had gotten to that point in the afternoon when the sun was going down but there was still a sweltering heat that was unmanageable unless she was laid beside Lover's Lake in a swimsuit. Biking in it was a difficult feat, but once speed was picked up and the wind was in her hair it was a little more manageable despite the fact of the true temperature and a couple of hours after leaving, Sadie had returned to Starcourt Mall.

Despite the later hour, it was still just as busy as it had been mid-afternoon, children and adults alike milling around the food court as she made her way through. She supposed, really, that Starcourt was a perfectly good place for parents to allow their kids to go for a day because it was still just as exciting to them as the time it opened and there was still that shiny newness that gave the kids somewhere to hang out for a day and they wouldn't leave.

She approached Scoops Ahoy, entirely ignoring the other half of the first floor on which she worked, Erika Sinclair and her group sat licking humongous ice cream cones in the centre, and turned into the nautical themes parlour, getting in line behind the small queue formed.

The last of the middle school girls, all with cones in their hands, turned away from the counter and Sadie stepped up. "Large scoop of USS Butterscotch, extra chocolate sauce, extra sprinkles?" She asked, watching as Robin's expression changed.

"Dingus, your girlfriend's here... again," Robin shouted, deadpan, to the back of the store. Steve pushed open the sliding glass partition, a grin already on his face and half a banana in his mouth - he seemed to have taken her advice quite literally - and beckoned her in with the hand in which the rest of the banana was clutched.

"You look disappointed... and kind of frustrated." Sadie eyed the girl at the counter. "What, you don't like butterscotch?"

"Reminds me of my grandparents," Robin replied briskly. "Not that I don't like them or anything, but you know, old people."

"Old people." Sadie nodded, a smile creeping onto her face as she made her way to the door into the back. "Because for a moment I thought it was because you disapproved of me meeting Steve here."

"Oh really?" Robin didn't miss a beat, comfortable sarcasm heavy on her tone. "You thought I disapproved?" Some of the sarcasm had disappeared and quickly came the replacement of hyper-anxious ramblings that Sadie was quite accustomed to. "Of course, I don't disapprove, it's not like we're not supposed to let anyone back here and it's company policy to not take extended breaks and to wear all parts of the uniform and let kids back there to sneak into the movie theatre. It's all good, all fine."

"I didn't think you were a capitalist." Sadie was teasing her now, watching as she rolled her eyes. "No, no, don't mind me, I just support Erika Sinclair abusing the fuck out of the samples system."

"You don't have to serve her." Robin's eyebrows were raised, glancing across to the fountain where said girl and her troops were sat, licking on actual cones of ice cream that time. "You don't know what it's like."

"You're deeply traumatised, Rob, I get it. But I mean, is it really any worse than being in band?"

"You were in Hellfire!"

"Were being the keyword there." She said. Besides, Hellfire was awesome and Sadie couldn't care less who knew that, but for the point of the conversation, she didn't mind it.

"Go join your boyfriend and his stupid hair."

"Have fun slinging ice cream." Sadie just managed to get the last word in before slipping through the swinging door. "I've known Robin longer than I've known you and all of a sudden all I am is your girlfriend. Did you know it's against company policy for me to be back here?"

Steve was sat by the table, legs kicked up onto it as he watched her dump her bag by his and fan heat away from her face. The banana peel sat by his elbow, empty. "I figured I brushed over that part in my contract... Robin keeps mentioning it but I'm just not sure." He set his legs down and held out an arm. "Come 'ere." Steve beckoned, and when Sadie approached she found herself pulled onto his lap, his head resting on her chest and arms tight around her waist.

Swiftly, she pulled off the sailor hat she knew and loved, discarding it by the peel, and instead replaced it with fingers coming through his hair. "Tough day?" She asked, feeling a hand mess with the waistband of her shorts.

"Long day. Erica Sinclair came back for samples five times in a row."

"A menace to society."

"And attacked the Cherries Jubilee." His nose wrinkled and he sat up, head tilting back. "God this job is so stupid." His annoyance, whilst valid, came mostly due to the fact he had been working all day, picking up extra shifts because, well, he made three dollars an hour and his savings were bound to take a hit. "How were groceries?"

"Good. Reminded me of how unhealthy we've been eating, so it's only veggies from now on." Sadie wasn't necessarily one to aid and abet such a miserable mood, her voice chipper and frank. "If we don't get enough of the right nutrients then suddenly it'll feel like you're working double and my brain will power off and suddenly the world will end as you know it."

"What would I do without you in this cold, difficult world where I'm driving to and from Starcourt every day with no difference to now?"

"Hey - you would be a lot more bored than you are now."

"Mhm, you're right, baby, would be so bored." He just hummed into her shoulder, eyes closed and arms right.

She forced back the grin, but the lightness was still in her tone. "Agreeing to make me happy?" Sadie asked, and could feel him nod. "Somehow, that doesn't upset me. It is our last night together."

"No one's going anywhere."

"I know, but it's been a month without Dustin and with him around it's completely different than just my mom." Sadie waved off his briefness. "He's more protective than she is by far."

"I don't know, I've missed the curly-haired freak."

"It does mean I'll just end up staying at yours more often."

"You'll get invited to a family dinner." That was his biggest fear, perhaps. Not because Sadie would fuck up - no, he knew his parents would love her despite the slight quirks that rattled their suburban nuclear existence and marvel at her smarts. What he feared would come after, when he had driven Sadie home or walked her to the car and he came back in to find his dad sat, head shaking and foot tapping about to tell him that nothing about him was good enough for a girl like Sadie.

Because, deep down, in that part of him that made self-deprecating jokes at the wrong time and was buried away so as not to ruin the summer, Steve knew exactly that. She was destined for incredible things. An Ivy League, NASA, she'd probably end up discovering new elements and a new species before going to space herself and being the first woman to walk on Mars or something. And Steve couldn't get into Purdue or Tech and he had graduated high school meaning he would have to wait around another year working a minimum wage job whilst all his friends left and he remained the one, failed attempt that Hawkins had actually seen him as. King Steve was just some god-awful persona he has put on, but at least he would've gotten into a college somewhere.

A college where he'd no doubt spend a miserable existence with another Tommy and another Carol whilst shit-talking anyone who went against the grain and punctuating every week with parties and alcohol and attempting to join a swim team and the basketball team but fail because he didn't have the structure or sobriety to go to practises as much as necessary. But at least he'd be at college.

It was a stupid thought, to wonder what could've been if he remained just an imprint of the person people like Tommy Hagan and his dad desired him to be. Because if he stayed like that then Nancy would've left him in an instant and Sadie would never have spoken to him and his summer days would still be spent bullying people like Robin Buckley who wasn't that bad of a coworker despite his half-hearted complaints. He wouldn't have movie nights or swimming dates in the lake or the ability to just drive somewhere with no destination in mind and not care about it at all because he was enjoying himself. If he hadn't changed, Steve wouldn't be able to remember the last time he had truly enjoyed himself.

Which was why he didn't care, really, that he was working at Scoops and not going to college and dealing with his douchebag of a dad. Because at least he was enjoying himself and wasn't stuck being an asshole.

"Hey, you good in there?" Sadie's fingertips, light and breezy, danced across his temples. "I've been combing your hair for five minutes here and you're not even worried about how it'll turn out."

"Heat's ruined it anyway." He hummed, smiling up at her and adjusting her in his lap. "Let's not watch a movie tonight." He suggested. "We can go in the pool instead before the kids decide to have that pool party they've been talking about and we never get the chance."

"I can wear my new two-piece." Sadie hummed, looking thoughtful. "'Suppose I can agree to that. Your mom won't be home, right, you mentioned that this morning?"

"Nah, she won't be." Steve pressed a kiss to her jaw, reaching for her hand out of his hair because he was actually a little worried and laced his fingers through hers. "I'll try and cook, again. Maybe the mac n' cheese will work out this time."

"It wasn't that bad last time." Sadie protested, leaning her back against the edge of the table and feeling the cool metal in the gap between seems. "It was actually quite good."

"Just a little crispy." Burnt, he meant burnt.

"But that was only on the top!" Sadie adjusted accordingly to her latest burst of energy, her arm draped over his shoulders. "We can find something. Maybe fruit and chips and leftovers. It's too warm anyway." The formulated excuse was pushed out at any chance because that was the current reality of Hawkins - too hot to do anything of significance, too hot to make decisions and too hot to actually care.

"Right now though-"

"Dingus, your kids are here!" Robin's favourite nickname for her clearly beloved coworker rang through the backroom and the expression of utmost annoyance appeared on Steve's face. He loved them really, but as with all plains of existence, he was particularly easy to irritate with things like this.

Sadie climbed off of his lap, feet settling on cool ground and legs able to stretch once again. She made her way to the window, pulling it open to face both Robin and a group of four, rather impatiently waiting, teenagers.

"Hey, asswipes, don't forget Dustin comes home tomorrow." She said, leaning on the counter below the window to steady herself as Steve's arm curved around her waist to glare at them.

"We won't." Max blinked. "Don't forget you don't actually work here."

"I'm not on shift, actually... but thanks a lot, Max."

"No worries." The ginger girl grinned, and then turned her attention to her boyfriend beside her. "Your nametag is crooked."

Sadie twisted round to face him and, indeed, his badge had become dislodged in the movement of it all. "Oh right, okay." She focused for a moment to adjust it accordingly, then glanced up to meet his eyes. "Steve?"

"Yeah, I've got it." He nodded and turned towards the group. "Again, seriously?" He asked, exasperation clear. he let out a sigh as he left Sadie's side, pulling the door to the backroom open and the four filed through, evidently excited for the film they were about the sneak into, thanks to their older friends. Opening the door into the back corridors, which employees and delivery men only were supposed to go into and most certainly not kids looking to skimp on paying for a movie, he called out their warning that Sadie had heard so many times before.

"Come on, come on." He ushered them through. "I swear if anyone hears about this-"

"We're dead." The kids, just as used to the phrase, easily repeated it back to him as they disappeared around the corner and, rolling his eyes, Steve turned back to her.

"I-" He began.

"Come and sling some ice cream, asshole," Robin shouted once again, and Sadie didn't move to stop him as he passed - evidently, Robin was fed up with interrupts on that particular evening and she really didn't blame her. Instead, as Steve returned to his job of piling ice cream onto cones and serving them, she settled on the counter in the back room and kept the window open, his discarded sailor hat perched upon blonde hair.

Although the destined return of the keys had ensured that she wouldn't get distracted in her process of getting groceries, it hadn't stopped Sadie from picking up a notebook and an additional book or two to keep her occupied should she have some free time. And, of course, in the case of the aforementioned plane, she had plenty to do.

Except this time, instead of her focus being on the airplane in itself and the laws regarding US aviation law and airspace, her focus was on the Cold War and, of course, the Soviet Union. Being so far away from Russia she rarely felt it truly concerned her and affected her life, but Sadie knew that was only luck on her behalf that she could be so interested in it all instead of worried about the outcome.

She was aware that, very early in that year, the leader of the Soviet Union had reopened negotiations with the USA (after neither country had communicated for over a year) and had met with Reagan in Geneva. After two days of negotiation, they had agreed to, and Sadie wrote it as a direct quote from the article she had saved and brought with her, 'resume formal negotiations on the basis of a new framework'. But that hadn't meant a success, necessarily, because the war was still one and-

Everything went dark.

Well, not in her research or her mind from lack of proper nutrients as she joked would happen, but rather the entirety of Starcourt Mall was plunged into darkness. Her notebook and pen abandoned, she slipped from the counter she sat upon and exited the backroom, coming to stand between Robin and Steve.

"Why have all the lights gone out?" Sadie questioned, something coming to life in her mind like an ironic spark, and looked between them as they shrugged. She passed the counter and the last man who Robin had served, stepping out of the shop and into the dim space outside.

The entirety of the mall, every light powered by the gigantic generators kept from sight of the public out. When Sadie looked passed the masses of people bringing themselves to stop on account to the sudden disruption, the lights in the parking lot had all gone too and beyond that, the backs of the small houses full of inhabitants who had protested to the very best of their abilities against the construction occurring just a short distance from their gardens (all protests quickly shot down by Larry Kline) were dark too.

Without being outside she wasn't able to see the pollution from the rest of the town, and she couldn't quite tell if it affected the rest of Hawkins. And so, slightly miffed, she turned back to the counter to find Steve trying to make some point as he constantly flipped the light switch, Robin watching with her arms crossed.

"That's how you get electrocuted," Sadie said, disapproving.

"There's no electricity, Henderson."

"Think about the switch contacts, Steve." She shook her head. "Arcing causes pitting on the contacts and they get more resistive."

"That was just words." Robin blinked, staring at her with the sort of look on her face that indicated she really wanted it to happen to Steve. "A lot of just-"

Above them, the lights flickered back on and Steve grinned. "Let there be light." He quipped, and turned back to the customer as the jaunty sailor's tune began to emit from the speakers once more and the lights on the register turned on. "That'll be a $1.25, sir."

He stepped to the side as Sadie passed back through to the break room, settling back on the counter amongst her notes and picking up where she left off on the article. But her attention was elsewhere and, as her mind drifted her gaze did too.

And suddenly she was wondering why the hell the magnets pinning up the ice cream parlour's schedule had fallen to the floor.