Chapter Text
River and Hawthorne had been staying with their aunt and uncle for about a week now. Occasionally, El would try her best to check in on them, though it didn’t happen very often. As far as River could tell, El hadn’t ever tried using her powers from this far away, so it was probably for the best.
In the short time that they’d been in Sweden, mostly staying with their Uncle Feliks, they’d both done plenty of exploring. Their aunt, Anya, got herself a hotel not too far away so she could spend some time with them as well. And so far, it had been going amazingly well.
Admittedly, River had been hesitant and a little scared that it wouldn’t, but those fears were quickly washed away. Feliks was probably the nicest person she’d ever met; not at all like her father despite them being brothers. And she’d quickly learned that they shared a lot of the same interests.
Then there was Marius. He was Feliks’s boyfriend, though they typically used the term “roommates” in public, which wasn’t exactly wrong. He was nice, too. Both of them had done a great job making her feel like she belonged, and for that, River was thankful.
Anya had been just as welcoming, and she’d tried to take the time to drag them along places so they could explore together and spend some time. It was hard to believe that none of this was a dream. River hardly had any memories of either of them, but she already felt like she’d known them both forever. It was a nice feeling having some family that actually cared about them.
Of course, they hadn’t planned to stay the whole summer, so it wasn’t too long before they were due to return. River found herself wondering what everyone else had been up to in the time they’d been gone. Hopefully it hadn’t gone to shit in that time, though she wouldn’t have been too surprised.
As fun as being with family had been, it was oddly nice to return to Hawkins. Sure, there was nothing particularly special about it, but maybe that was the appeal. After all, the town certainly had a different feel to it when you had some insight to how extraordinary of a place it was.
Thankfully, River wasn’t too out of the loop thanks to El. She’d done a good job of keeping her in the know, especially about how Steve started a new job not too long ago. That just meant she’d have an opportunity to check out the new mall she’d heard a lot about.
Naturally, River and Hawthorne had the foresight to meet with Hopper and fill him in on their trip.
By now, River could immediately tell something was going on. He was more than thrilled to see them again, but he also seemed much more chipper than usual. She preferred not probing anyone’s minds if she could truly avoid it, so she figured it would be better to ask outright. Maybe something great happened that she didn’t get to hear about.
“Has everything been okay over here while we were gone?” she asked, grabbing herself some soda from the fridge.
The grin on Hopper’s face was unmistakable, and it almost concerned her, in all honesty.
“This is the first time all summer that Mike and El haven’t seen each other."
“What? Why?” She was shocked. They’d been pretty attached, and, last she saw, more than excited to see each other this summer.
Something had to have happened.
“Well, Joyce said to set boundaries, so I did,” Hopper explained, not making eye contact with her. Something about that didn’t seem right.
Hawthorne seemed to have the same thought process and asked, “What kind of boundaries?”
Hopper shrugged, seemingly trying to act nonchalant. “I pulled Mike aside and had a little chat with him.”
“Did you ‘have a chat’ or yell at him?” River asked.
She knew he could be a bit intense every now and then, and she remembered how disgruntled he seemed about how much time they spent together.
“Look, what matters is that it worked,” he insisted. “I’m going to tell Joyce how it went here in a minute.”
He was already throwing on his hat and grabbing his keys, so River let it go for now, but she worried about how El was holding up. She knew how much she seemed to like having Mike around.
Not all that long after Hopper left, El came out of her room, Max trailing behind her. Not exactly what she was expecting, but it was nice to see them hanging out themselves.
El immediately brightened up when she saw the twins hanging out in the kitchen. “You guys are back!”
Before River could answer, she was pulled into a bone-crushing hug. “Wow, you’re strong.” She hugged back, patting her back and offering a fond smile. El didn’t waste doing the same to Hawthorne, which made him laugh.
“What are you guys up to?” River asked.
“We’re heading to the mall,” Max answered.
She paused, giving them a stern look. “Woah, that’s against the rules,” she said. “You know that’s not allowed.”
“But you leave,” El pointed out.
While she had a point, that wasn’t the same thing. “That’s different.”
“Why?”
Sometimes, River almost hated how quick El was to question everything, but she understood that she was asking a genuine question.
“Because I’ve been hiding in plain sight for a long time now. And you’re supposed to be careful for a while.”
Max was just as stubborn and chipped in with, “but Mike’s being a jerk. And I thought it might help her to have some fun without him.”
“Can’t you guys do that here?”
“Sure, but that’s not as fun is it?”
River sighed. She was sure this had something do with Hopper and Mike’s “little talk.” He must have scared the kid, and she wouldn’t put it past him to keep that from her. Maybe El would benefit from going out. Just this once. Besides, she knew she’d find a way to sneak out if she didn’t let them.
“Fine, but I’m coming along. I was already planning on heading to the mall, anyways,” River said. If they were going to be out and about, might as well be around to make sure nothing bad happens.
Hawthorne seemed a little surprised she’d cracked. “What if Hopper comes back while you guys are gone?” he asked.
“I’ll make sure we’re back before he does.” Maybe not foolproof, but she would just have to take a risk. She was sure she could reason with him if he found out.
The girls dragged her along before he could make a retort, and she followed them out to the bus, which was pretty packed. She let the two of them sit together and took a seat behind them.
“So, what are you going to the mall for?” Max asked, turning to face her.
River shrugged. “I’m just curious to see what it’s like. I never thought Hawkins would ever get a mall.” It was a pretty small town, and she’d heard Starcourt was pretty big, which intrigued her. Even if that wasn’t really the reason she was going, which Max seemed to infer.
“Oh, come on. That’s not all, is it?” She turned a bit more, throwing her arm over the back of her seat. “You’re going to see Steve, aren’t you?”
Admittedly, the fact that she’d gotten right embarrassed her a little. Was she really that obvious?
“Well, he is my friend, and I haven’t seen him all summer,” River pointed out.
Max didn’t seem totally convinced. “God, are you two ever going to stop being so blind?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“We all know you guys like each other,” she insisted. “It’s been so painful watching you guys tiptoe around your feelings.”
The fact that Max was that observant was a testament to how smart she was, but River saw it as more of an inconvenience right now.
“We have not. We’re really just friends.” River wasn’t any more convinced hearing herself say it, but that was the truth, wasn’t it? There was no way they’d be more than that. And it wasn’t like she liked Steve that way.
Max shook her head, turning around again. “You guys are hopeless.”
Her words continue to ring in her ears the rest of the bus ride, and by the time they stopped outside the mall, River’s mind was racing.
She tried to brush it aside as they hopped off the bus.
El looked around curiously, almost seeming a bit worried and distressed.
“What’s wrong?” Max asked.
“Too many people. Against the rules.”
Now she questioned going out? Then again, it was way more overwhelming actually being here. Starcourt was much bigger than River expected.
“Seriously?” Max nudged her, trying to be encouraging. “You have superpowers. What’s the worst that could happen?”
River wasn’t sure if they should speak so soon, but decided this would be a good time to set some ground rules.
“Okay, if I’m going to set you loose, I want you guys to meet me at Scoops Ahoy when you’re done.” She ignored the smug look on Max’s face. “Is that clear?”
Both girls nodded, and she let them wander off on their own for now. El deserved a chance to be a stupid teenager for a few hours.
Right now, River was much more preoccupied with the thought of bugging Steve. Maybe she’d even weasel some free ice cream out of him. And the uniform. She’d heard all about the Scoops Ahoy uniform and how funny it looked. Already, River was mentally preparing herself to laugh hysterically at him.
Of course, maybe not as prepared as she previously thought. As she approached the counter, she tried with all her might to hide her snickering, but it was practically impossible.
“Okay, yeah. Laugh it up,” Steve muttered. “I’d like to see you make this ridiculous uniform work.”
River snorted, giving him another once-over. “No way. I think you make it work just fine,” she teased. “That hat really brings the whole outfit together.”
She could imagine the mental anguish he was going through having to hide his hair.
“This thing is totally screwing me over!” he exclaimed. “How the hell am I supposed to pick up girls if I’m not even allowed to show off my best feature?”
Honestly, River wasn’t really sure why, but she felt a slight pang of jealousy just thinking about all the girls he must have flirted with.
“I’m sure one of them is bound to come around,” she assured him. Steve didn’t seem so sure. The dejected huff he gave in response was enough to convince her he was losing hope.
Before she could dig through her brain for any more comforting words, Dustin popped his head out of the break room. River’s brows furrowed. Why he was here was beyond her, but she supposed it shouldn’t have been so shocking. Steve and Dustin were practically inseparable at this point.
Dustin brightened up the moment he spotted River, but the relieved look on his face put her on edge. Something was happening here, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to know.
“Perfect! Steve, why the hell didn’t you tell me River was here?” he exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air followed by an exasperated sigh. “She can help us.”
Steve’s eyes widened, and his previous look of defeat was replaced with a huge grin.
Something was definitely happening here.
“Okay, woah. Help with what?” River glanced between them, even more peeved that neither of them was telling her anything. It was like they were having some telepathic debate, which was impossible. Telepathy was her thing.
“Hi. Hello. Anyone wanna tell me what the hell’s going on?” she exclaimed.
Neither of them answered right away. Dustin was quick to take her hand and drag her into the back room. She hardly had a chance to notice Steve glance around the shop, as if scanning for anyone who might be eavesdropping. That only concerned her more.
In the back room, there was a tape recorder placed in the middle of the table, and standing at the end of the table was Robin Buckley. River had a few conversations with her, so they were acquainted enough, she felt.
“Okay, seriously. What is all this about?” River asked, glancing at the recorder.
Dustin plopped into a chair, looking like a kid in a candy store. Or an ice cream store, really. He was clearly excited about something.
“Last night, I was trying out Cerebro — the radio I built — and I intercepted some kind of code,” he explained. “The only problem was, it’s in Russian. And Robin thinks she’s cracked it, but I thought — since you speak Russian — maybe you could double check.”
There was a lot to unpack there, and she wasn’t even sure what to make of all that. Nevertheless, she caved and listened to the tape. As she looked over their translation, sure enough, she could safely say they had it pretty accurate.
River sat back, dropping the notepad on the table. “Yeah, that’s right,” she said. “No clue what it means, but you got it.” She turned to Robin, who looked relieved and maybe a bit proud of herself.
“There’s no way that can be right,” Steve chimed in. “It all sounds like nonsense.”
“Well, I’m telling you, it’s right,” River insisted. “It’s a code. Did you think it was going to be clear?”
Steve sighed and crossed his arms, leaning against the door. “No, but it feels way too...all over the place. I don’t know.”
“Whatever the hell it means, it’s just going to be harder to crack.” She knew Dustin had a point, though she wasn’t even sure where to start with this.
At some point, Steve and Robin had to go back out to work, but River stayed in the back room to help. As she expected, they weren’t making any more progress than before. Interpreting the code was proving far more difficult than Dustin hoped, and she could only do so much to help him.
An hour or so passed, and she finally looked up as Steve peeked in. “Max and El are here for you,” he said.
River got up, wishing Dustin luck and ruffling his hair, before she went out to meet the girls.
“Is El even allowed out here?” he asked as she went around the counter.
“No, but I decided one mall trip couldn’t be a bad idea.”
Steve raised an eyebrow, but didn’t ask her to elaborate, thankfully.
“I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” River added. “I hope you guys have some better luck.”
“We’ll tell you how it goes,” Robin assured her, offering a smile.
River nodded and said her goodbyes before the girls dragged her back to the bus. She immediately noticed the wardrobe change El was rocking. And honestly? She really liked it.
Luckily, Hopper wasn’t home yet when they made it back to the cabin. River went to her room, letting the girls hang out in El’s room.
Her mind wandered, as she laid back on her bed. She had her headphones on, her Walkman softly playing “Take a chance on me.” There was a lot going on in her head, and it was so hard to make sense of any of it.
Over and over, she kept thinking about what Max said to her on the bus. Sure, Steve was her friend, and she liked him. He really wasn’t so bad the more time she spent with him, and they’d gone through a lot together. But that didn’t really mean she liked him, right? There was no way.
In fact, she had a feeling Steve probably liked Robin, or literally anyone but herself. More than likely, he just saw her as a good friend. Which was fine, because she was sure she felt that way about him.
He’d done a lot of nice things for her, but that was what friends did for each other. River wasn’t any less confused the more she thought about it.
It was late and, therefore, a problem to deal with tomorrow.