▸Somebody To Love - Queen

S U Z I E ,  D O  Y O U  C O P Y ?

It has been a full year since El had closed the gate to the Upside Down. Danny and I, along with our friends, are now free from high school. We graduated a little over a month ago. By some miracle, Danny and I had both been accepted into Purdue University and would be starting school in late August. I would be pursing a degree in veterinary science while Danny is going for mechanical engineering.

Within the one year time frame, the band had broken up once we had graduated. We had all been accepted into different colleges and decided it was best. Things had been rocky between Danny and Rebecca. It wasn't long until Rebecca broke up my with twin in the middle of our senior year. She couldn't handle the idea of him not telling her the truth of the weird events that seem to happen in our town that we seem to know all about. Since then, the friendship between the band members started to crack.

Amanda had sided with Rebecca while Chad remained neutral. It only got worse when the girls had tried to get me to spill the secrets. I had to make up more lies that they had clearly never believed. There was obvious tension between us and it had an effect to the band break up. We had managed to make amends, but trust was something Danny and I could never regain.

On a positive note, Steve and I have been dating for a a little over a year now. Apparently, it was something everyone in our school had seen coming since the beginning. Mrs. Morgan had told me on graduation that she had been rooting for Steve and I to become a couple since freshman year. She had even said that she purposely assigned us as lab partners to get us together.

Another positive that occurred was the building of the mall. Not only had it become a hotspot for everyone to hang out at, it had also become a place  for Steve to find a job. Unfortunately, he hadn't been accepted to any colleges and his dad has him working as a way to make a living. I keep telling him it's a win-win: he's gets money to help pay for any future plans to go to college, he gets experience in the real world, and he gets free ice cream.

"Hello? Earth to Dawn?" A hand waved in front of my face. I blinked, seeing Danny standing in front of me. He rolled his eyes and nudged me forward into the mall. "Jesus, it's like you can't function without him. What is it? Do you two share a brain cell or something, because he acts the exact same way when you aren't around."

"We do not share a brain cell, idiot." I grumbled.

"Sure looks like it." Danny strolled past me and entered the cool building. The air conditioning instantly made the July heat go away. "Didn't Dustin's friends want to tell us something at Scoops Ahoy?"

"Yeah." I nodded, moving my shoulder as I passed by a couple of young preteens running by. "Don't know what though."

Danny pressed his lips together and shoved his hands into his jean pockets. We entered the food court and went straight for the ice cream parlor. Robin, the other employee, sent us a smile and a wave. We walked over to her.

"Hey dingus, your girlfriend and her twin are here!" She called out. Something was dropped and the sound of sneakers squeaking came from the back. Robin rolled her eyes. "How do you manage to make him like some sort of lost puppy?"

"I am not some sort of lost puppy." Steve scoffed as he pushed open the door.

He gave me a cheeky grin and walked over to the counter. Bumping his hip against Robin to move her away, he leaned against the counter. Robin stumbled to the side and sent him a glare. With a large smile I placed my hands on the counter and leaned forward to peck his lips.

"Hi." Steve looked down at me. "How long is your Mom letting you stay here before you guys have to leave to pick up Dustin?"

"Thirty minutes max. She's already waiting in the parking lot counting the minutes down." I told him.

"Then I guess I'll have to squeeze in more kisses." Steve beamed before kissing me.

"Ugh, gag me with a spoon." Danny stated.

Steve and I pulled away from each other. We both gave a look to Danny.

"Will an ice cream scooper be okay?" Robin showed off her scooper.

"Anything will work." Danny joked, reaching over for it.

Robin laughed only playfully slapped his hand away.

"Usual?" Steve asked me.

"Always." I nodded.

"Coming right up." Steve tapped my nose with his finger, causing me to chuckle. He grabbed a cup and took out his ice cream scooper. "Dustin is coming tomorrow right?"

"Yeah, we're gonna go with Mom to pick him up from camp. We'll probably be home late." I stated. "I'll call you though once we get back."

"A whole day without seeing you?" Steve glanced up at me as he placed a scoop of the cherry jubilee into the cup. "That's going to be horrible."

"Oh no, whatever shall you do?" Robin sarcastically said as she tilted her head at the two of us.

"Here you go." Steve handed me my ice cream and stabbed a plastic spoon into the dessert.

"Thanks, babe." I kissed his cheek.

"Anytime."

"Hey, where's my usual?" Danny frowned.

"Right." Steve nodded, grabbing another cup. "It's gonna be one fifty."

"One fifty?" Danny scoffed. "She gets a free cup of ice cream and I have to pay?"

"She's my girlfriend." Steve shrugged. "And you're still getting a discount."

"A small one."

"You can have a free one today, Danny, I got you." Robin sent him a small smile and a nod.

"Thank you. At least someone is nice to me." Danny started.

"And here we go." I mumbled, scooping some ice cream with my spoon.

"My best friend loves my sister more than me."

"Obviously. I'm dating her." Steve chuckled out. Danny only grumbled in response while I gladly ate my free ice cream. "I'll give you a free one next time man, the boss will get suspicious soon once he knows how much free ice cream I get."

"It's time for your break," Robin nodded towards the clock, "I've got it. You guys can chat in the back."

"Thanks Robin." Steve smiled and handed Danny his vanilla ice cream topped with fudge.

The three of us headed to the back. I hopped onto the table. Steve grabbed a spoon and sat next to me. He dug his spoon into my ice cream before placing it in his mouth.

"You know," Steve spoke with his mouthful, "eating someone else's ice cream is, like, always better."

"I bet it is." I rolled my eyes playfully, giving him a nudge.

"It is." Steve gave me a nod for conformation. Ding! "Oh, God, no."

The front bell started to continuously ring.

"Hey dingus, you're children are here." Robin called out from the front.

Steve let out a sigh and walked over to the window. He slid open the door and glanced at Dustin's friends. Danny and I exchanged glances, still eating our ice cream.

"Again? Seriously?"

"You let Dawn and Danny go in all the time." Mike raised an eyebrow and slammed on the bell again.

"Yeah, because they're my best friend and girlfriend." Steve told him. The teenagers continued to stare him down. He let out a groan and waved them over. "This is the last time."

They eagerly walked towards the back.

"We've been looking for you two." Lucas waved his hand at us.

"Yeah, do you know what time you guys will be back home with Dustin tomorrow?" Will questioned.

"Around noon I believe." Danny informed them.

"That should give us plenty of time to set up." Max looked at her friends with a grin.

"You guys planning on surprising him?" I leaned back against the wall.

"Surprise." El nodded with a toothy grin. "Don't tell him please."

"Lips are sealed." I zipped my lips and gave them a wink. "Hey, Max, hows Billy? He hasn't called me back."

Steve let out a groan. He still was t happy that Billy and I were friends.

"He's been pretty busy at the pool, but I'll remind him to call you back." Max told me.

"Alright, hurry up." Steve waved them to the back door. He opened it for them. "Come on, come on."

The teenagers sent Danny and I waved of goodbye before existing into the back hallway that connected the stores in the mall.

"I swear if anyone hears about this-"

"We're dead!" They cut off Steve.

Steve sighed and walked back in. He placed his hands n his hips and stared at the ground. Steve looked up at us.

"Dustin won't abuse me like that, right?"

"Steve, I need your help." Robin opened the window.

"Alright, I'm going I'm going." Steve grumbled. He passed by me and kissed me quickly. "Just in case I don't see you tomorrow."

"Then I think I'll need another one." I smirked, placing my now empty cup on the counter and snaking my arms around Steve's neck.

Steve smugly grinned and connected his lips with mine. Robin cleared her throat loudly. Steve groaned and turned to give her a glare. Robin gave him a sarcastic smile and jabbed her thumb to the ice cream.

"I've got to go." Steve muttered. He pecked my lips and started to head towards the door.

"Where's my kiss goodbye?" Danny teased.

Steve only flipped him off and started to serve his customers. Danny laughed and walked over to me. He patted my shoulder and nodded towards the door.

"We better start heading home. We've gotta wake up early tomorrow." Danny said.

"Right." I hopped off the counter and picked up the empty cup. As I was about to throw it away, the lights went out. "What the hell?"

"That's weird." I heard Steve say.

Danny and I went to join the Steve and Robin. People murmured questions to each other as seconds passed by. The lights were still off. Steve walked over to the light switch and flipped it. He continued to flip it and stared at Robin with annoyance.

"That isn't going to work, dingus." Robin informed him.

"Oh, really?" Steve rapidly flipped the switch back and forth.

"Steve." I sighed.

Steve flipped the switch one more time. This time, the lights turned on. He looked over his should to look at me and sent me a wink. I bit back a smile.

"Let there be light."

▷

It was the next day and Mom had woken us up around four in the morning in the hotel we were staying at. She wanted to be home before lunch time. Dustin's camp was out of state, which meant lots of traveling on the way back. It was around ten when we had picked up Dustin from camp. We ate at a diner for breakfast before heading back home.

"So," Danny turned in his seat to glance back at Dustin, "who is this girl you keep talking about?"

"Oh, Suzie?" Dustin grinned.

"Yeah." I nudged him playfully.

"She sounds incredibly smart, Dusty." Mom added as she glanced in the rear view mirror to look at him.

"She really is. One of the smartest people there at camp."

"So, she's super smart. What else?" Danny asked.

"She's from Utah." Dustin started. "She's a Mormon so we built a ham radio that I call Cerebro to communicate with her since her parents won't allow her to talk to me over the phone."

"Is she your girlfriend?" I smirked when I saw his cheek reddened.

"N-no." Dustin stuttered while shaking his head. Danny and I exchanged a knowing glance before turning to face Dustin. "Maybe. Yes. Okay, yes, she's my girlfriend."

"Aw, Dusty! Why didn't you introduce her to us?" Mom pouted.

"She had already left by the time you all got there to pick me up." Dustin shrugged. "Anyways, I'm gonna go ahead and start letting the guys know I'm back."

Dustin reaches for his radio and headphones. He placed his headphones on and pressed a button to turn on the radio.

"This is Gold Leader, returning to base. Do you copy? Over." Dustin stated. He waited a few seconds for one of his friends to communicate back. He furrowed his eyebrows when no one responded. Dustin continued to call his friends. "I repeat: This is Gold Leader, returning to base. Do you copy? Over. I repeat: This is goddamn Gold Leader-"

"Dusty!" Mom scolded, giving him a look.

"What?" Dustin exasperated, looking at her.

"Relax! For goodness' sakes." Mom told him.

"I'm in range. They should be answering." Dustin said.

"We did just enter Hawkins five minutes ago, Dustin." I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. My little brother sighed and slouched in his seat. "They probably don't know what time you were coming back at. They could be busy."

"Why would they be busy? They told me they would be waiting for me." Dustin propped his elbow against the door and cupped his chin. He stared outside the window in disappointment. "I'm in range."

"You've been away a whole month, honeybun." Mom shrugged. "Maybe they just...forgot."

Mom pulled her car into our driveway.  I opened my door and snuck a glance to Danny who smirked. Dustin got out and went to the back of the car to grab his stuff. While Dustin's attention wasn't on us, Mom gave me a cheesy smile and went to go open the front door.

"Come on Dusty, cheer up." Danny said as Mom unlocked the front door. "Why don't Mom, Dawn, and I go pick up something to eat for lunch. Whatever you want."

"Whatever I want?" Dustin rose a brow. I give him a nod. "Okay, I have missed Pizza Hut's pizza."

"Pizza it is then." I ruffled the top of his hat.

"Dawn, I thought we had agreed-"

"Don't touch the hat or the curls." I held up my hands and rolled my eyes playfully. "You were away for a month, I had too."

"No, you didn't." Dustin shook his head.

"Did too." I grinned.

"Did not. Now you owe me the cheesiest pizza and a slurpee." Dustin smiled, showing his two missing teeth.

"Alright, fine, but only because I feel like it." I pointed at him as I walked back towards the car.

"Sure." Dustin chuckled and entered the house. "I'll be waiting for my food!"

"And we'll be back, behave." Danny said loudly, leaning against the car.

I had to hold the urge to roll my eyes. We already knew that Dustin's friends were home. I was positive that they could hear us clearly from inside. Dustin stopped and faced our older brother with a weird look. Before he could say anything, Mom came rushing back and went to the driver's side of the car. The three of us entered the car while Dustin entered the house.

"Okay, we'll be back." Mom waved at Dustin before driving off.

Okay I watched season 3 and I got so much inspiration for this story guys, plus I actually have some time this month so I can finish season 3 within a month time frame :)

I know it's only the first chapter for season 3, but what do y'all think so far? I promise it gets better