Chapter Three: America

Lydia didn't sleep well that night. She didn't know why. But despite her cranky mood, she was looking forward to getting to the mall – to figure out more about the Russians, obviously.

Back in the Scoops staff room, Lydia was slouched in her favourite chair, idly twirling a red marker between her fingers. The others were discussing their options for getting into the Russian warehouse. Admittedly, Lydia had become slightly more invested in the pen than the actual conversation. 

"That keycard opens the door, but unfortunately, the Russian with this keycard also has a massive gun," Dustin explained, pacing back and forth. "Whatever's in this room, whatever's in those boxes, they really don't want anybody finding it."

"But there's gotta be a way in," Robin said.

"Well, you know, I could just take him out," Steve suggested confidently. Lydia stopped twirling the marker and looked up.

"Take who out?" Robin asked mockingly.

She shared a look with Lydia, who bit back an amused smile. Steve Harrington take out a Russian guard? Yeah, right.

"The Russian guard," Steve clarified. He glanced briefly between the girls before his attention returned to Dustin, who was watching him doubtfully. "What? I sneak up behind him, I knock him out, and I take his keycard. It's easy."

"Did you not hear the part about the massive gun?" Dustin asked.

Steve's eyes narrowed in frustration. "Yes, I did. And that's why I would be sneaking," he said, making a walking motion with his fingers on the table.

"Ah. Well, please, tell me this," Dustin continued. "And be honest. Have you ever actually won a fight?"

"Okay, that was one time–"

"Twice," Dustin corrected, holding up two fingers. "Jonathan. Year prior?"

"Listen, that doesn't count," Steve dismissed.

The corner of Lydia's mouth lifted into a smirk. It totally counted.

"Why wouldn't it?" Dustin challenged. "Because it looks like he beat the shit out of you."

Lydia turned to Robin, pointing at Dustin with the pen. "Can we keep him?"

"Yes."

"It was–"

"You got a fat lip, crooked nose, swollen eye, a lot of blood," Dustin reeled off.

"–things that all added up..." Steve trailed. His stare wandered back to Lydia, who cleared her throat. "Seriously, Dolan? Shut up."

She held her hands up in defence. "I didn't even say anything."

He motioned towards her, making a circle with his hand. "Your face is saying things."

"That just might work," Robin breathed out, catching their attention.

Lydia swivelled round in the chair, finding her best friend staring up at the ceiling, lost in thought. "Uh, what?"

"Robin?" Steve prompted.

Without acknowledging them, she crossed the room and entered the parlour. "Robin?" Lydia followed her to the counter, where she dug her hand into the tips jar and pulled out a wad of cash.

"Hey, Robin!" Steve called, but she continued to ignore him, heading out of the shop. "Hey, what are you doing?!"

Finally, Robin turned around, walking backwards so she could address them. "I need cash." 

"Well, half of that's mine," Steve pointed out.

"Seriously, Rob, where are you going?" Lydia questioned.

"To find a way into that room," she replied. "A safe way. In the meantime, sling ice cream, listen to Lydia, behave, and don't get beat up. I'll be back in a jiff."

Steve came to a stop beside Lydia, exchanging a momentary glance with her that quickly morphed into an expression of displeasure when he noticed Dustin slowly licking his ice cream scooper.

"Oh, dude." Steve snatched the utensil back out of his hands. He twirled it around effortlessly before returning it to his uniform pocket. "Come on, not my scooper."

Lydia headed past the boys and back into the staff room, where she kept a close eye on the clock. Her shift at the record store didn't start until later that afternoon, which hopefully gave Robin enough time to return and fill them in on her plan.

Dustin strolled into the room shortly afterwards, taking a seat opposite her. "Hey."

"Hey," Lydia smiled, eyeing the ice cream cone in his hand. Maybe she should get another one to occupy herself? No, that would be two before midday. She needed to learn some restraint.

"You know," Dustin began, pausing to eat his ice cream. "Steve won't say it to your face, but he's glad you're helping out."

Lydia stared at the curly haired child unsurely, not entirely convinced on what to make of that statement. Nor did she understand why it gave her the urge to...smile?

"Well, I've got nothing better to do."

"Did you know that he talks about you all the time?" Dustin added. Lydia's eyebrows arched. Not that she cared. "And every time he tells me about his girl troubles, I keep telling him that the perfect one is right in front of him."

"The perfect one being...?"

"You," Dustin stated as if it was obvious, nonchalantly returning to his ice cream. "Clearly."

Lydia snuck a glance into the main parlour, where Steve had an arm against the counter, talking to a group of girls. His biceps had started to bulge underneath his uniform and–

Jesus fucking Christ.

She shook her head, eyes returning to Dustin, who had somehow managed to get ice cream dripping down his chin. "Here," she said, reaching for a tissue. She tossed it towards him and gestured around her mouth. "For that."

"Thanks," Dustin smiled back, dabbing the tissue around his face.

Lydia's eyes curiously wandered back to Steve. The girls he had been serving walked away from the counter, giggling and whispering to one another. His shoulders sank defeatedly. Lydia wondered why he was having such trouble charming girls considering his popularity in high school. Though, she supposed he needed to get humbled eventually. His ego would be far too inflated otherwise.

"You're looking at Steve," Dustin observed.

Lydia whirled back around, accidentally catching her elbow on the corner of the table. "Ow! No I'm not."

"You are," Dustin insisted and Lydia's face started to get warm. Oh no. Oh no. Was she blushing? "And now you're going red."

Fuck.

"It's just...hot in here," Lydia excused. Dustin gave her a pointed look. "Oh, dude, come on. Give me a break."

"You like him, he likes you–"

"I do not like him," Lydia interjected, scrunching her nose up in disgust at the very idea. Lydia, romantically interested in Steve Harrington? She shuddered to think about it. "I literally cannot stress that enough."

"Mhm. You see, I don't quite buy into this whole 'oh we've always hated each other' narrative you're trying to spin," Dustin told her. "It's coming off very...false. From both of you."

"Okay, let's get a few things straight," Lydia placed her hands on the table. "First of all, I'm not gonna sit here and be questioned by a ten year old–"

"I'm thirteen."

"I don't care," she dismissed. "Second of all, and most importantly, there is absolutely nothing between me and Steve. I don't like him and he definitely doesn't like me. That's how it's always been and how it always will be."

Dustin quirked an eyebrow. "You think?"

So, maybe she was slightly re-evaluating her hatred of Steve after their car karaoke session. But Dustin didn't need to be made aware of that. 

"I know," Lydia insisted. "And even if there was, we're not each other's type."

Dustin rolled his eyes. "Seriously?! What is wrong with you people? You're totally each other's type."

"Dude, you don't even know me." Lydia pointed out. "We literally met yesterday."

"I know enough," Dustin said.

"Oh, yeah?" She sat back against the chair. "Like what?"

"I know you work at the record store, that you've been best friends with Robin since second grade, you live with your mom," Dustin began to list, counting on his fingers. "You want to major in business and run your own one day. Your favourite band is Tears for Fears and...oh, your favourite ice cream is mint choc chip."

Lydia stared at him. "You got all that within twenty four hours of meeting me?"

Dustin sighed dramatically. "No, dummy. This is all stuff Steve has told me."

"I–" Lydia cut off. For one of the first times in her life potentially ever, she didn't have anything to say. No stupid remark or sarcastic comment. Nothing. Nada.

"Still think he's not into you?"

Before Lydia had the chance to even comprehend the question, let alone fathom a response to it, the door burst open. Robin rushed inside, clutching a rolled up blueprint in her hand. And Lydia was extremely grateful for the interruption.

Steve hurried in after her. "You found something?"

Robin unrolled the blueprints, placing them on the table. The four of them gathered around and peered down. "It's fascinating what 20 bucks will get you at the County Recorder's Office. Starcourt Mall," she said. "The complete blueprints."

Dustin nodded. "Not bad."

"So, this is us, Scoops," Robin pointed to a room, tapping it with her fingernail. She then dragged her finger across to another location. "And this is where we want to get."

"I mean, I don't really see a way in," Steve commented.

Lydia took a step closer, intending to study the map better, but as she leaned nearer, her shoulder accidentally brushed against Steve's. The pair exchanged a fleeting glance before promptly moving apart.

"There's not," Robin responded. She lifted the map from the table, revealing another sheet of blueprints underneath. "If you're talking exclusively about doors."

Dustin's eyes widened. "Air ducts," he concluded.

"Exactly." Robin reached for the marker pen and popped the cap off. It clattered against the table. She bent over and drew a red circle on the blueprints. "Turns out, this secret room needs air just like any old room. And these air ducts lead all the way here..." She drew a line from Scoops to their end destination, the Russian base.

"Okay. Okay, great," Lydia said, glancing between the blueprints and the tiny air vent in the room. "One tiny problem though."

Robin cast a glance up at her. "Mhm?"

"How the fuck are we supposed to fit in there?"

And then, at once, their eyes landed on Dustin Henderson.

—

"Push my ass!"

"What?!"

"Touch my butt, I don't care!" Dustin shouted. The top half of his body was inside the air vent, but they were struggling to push him the full way in. Steve mumbled something in displeasure before placing his hands on Dustin's butt and giving him a firm shove. "Come on! Harder! Push harder!"

"I'm pushing!"

"You're playing with my legs!"

"I'm not playing, I have terrible footing!"

"Come on!" Dustin snapped.

"I'm gonna just shove you, ready?"

"Jesus Christ," Robin muttered. Lydia leaned her back against the wall, picking at her fingernails.

"Just shove me!"

"One, two–"

"Shit," Dustin cursed.

Steve craned his neck in attempt to see better. "That work?"

"One more time," Dustin instructed him.

"Ahoy, sailors! All hands on deck! Ahoy!" The bell on the counter rang several times. Lydia turned her head to find a young girl waiting there. When she locked eyes with Robin, she sent a salute in her direction. "Come on, get over here and serve me some samples."

Robin stopped in her tracks, looking back over her shoulder. Lydia watched a smirk slowly creep its way onto her face. One that she recognised to only mean trouble.

Minutes later, Lydia was watching the young girl, whose name was Erica, peer into the air duct with a flash light. "Hmm, yeah, I don't know."

"You don't know if you can fit?" Dustin questioned.

"Oh, I can fit," Erica assured as she stepped down from the ladder. "I just don't know if I want to."

"Are you claustrophobic?" Lydia asked. She had a thing about tight spaces, to the point that she even got nervy in an elevator.

Erica laughed half-heartedly. She turned to face her with a pointed look. "I don't have phobias."

"Okay..." Steve started, arms crossing over his chest. He spared a brief glance at Lydia before re-addressing the girl. "Well, what's the problem?"

"The problem is, I still haven't heard what's in this for Erica."

She was ballsy, Lydia had to give her that. And it was how the five of them ended up crowded around a small table in the ice cream parlour. Robin had lay out the blueprints amongst the mountain of sundaes surrounding Erica.

"All right. You see this? This is the route you're gonna take," Robin explained, pointing to the marked line. "Then we just wait till the last delivery goes out tonight. Then you knock out the grate, jump down, open the door."

"Then you find out what's in those boxes?" Erica said, swirling the spoon around in her dessert.

"Exactly."

"Mhm," Erica hummed, eyes drifting between them. "And you say this guard is armed?"

"Yes, but he won't be there," Dustin assured.

"And booby traps?"

Lydia exchanged a glance with Robin. "Booby traps?"

"Lasers, spikes in the wall?" Erica prompted. Robin began to chuckle. Erica placed her arms on the table, giving them each a stern look. "You know what this half-baked plan of yours sounds like to me?"

Lydia leaned forwards, smiling sarcastically. "Do enlighten us."

"Child endangerment."

"We'll be in radio contact with you the whole time–"

"Ah, ah, ah!" Erica cut Robin off, waving her hand around. "Child endangerment."

"Erica?" Dustin spoke up, capturing the girl's attention. "Hi. Uh, 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'." She responded, leaning down to slurp her drink.

Lydia tilted her head she thought about it, sharing a look with Steve as they came to the realisation she was correct. Wow.

"Uh, yeah, yeah," Dustin said. "Oddly, that's, uh, totally true. So, so, don't do this for us. Do it for your country. Do it for your fellow man. Do this for America, Erica."

Erica placed her drink down. "Ooh! I just got the chills!" She exclaimed, grinning at Dustin, who also began to smile. Abruptly, she dropped her grin and pointed towards the drink. "Oh, yeah, from this float, not your speech. Know what I love most about this country. Capitalism. Do you know what capitalism is?"

They all sighed. "Yeah."

"It means this is a free market system," Erica continued. "Which means people get paid for their services, depending on how valuable their contributions are. And it seems to me, my ability to fit into that little vent is very, very valuable to you all. So, you want my help? This USS Butterscotch better be the first of many. And I'm talking free ice cream for life."

Erica picked out the cherry from her sundae and placed it into her mouth, a satisfied smirk settling on her face.

"Well," Lydia said, glancing at Robin. "You've gotta admire the determination."

A/N

Dustin aka captain of the Steve & Lydia ship.