Chapter Text
“Honestly, I look so stupid in this outfit.” Will grumbled, pulling at the hem of his shorts.
“Who cares, if we’re making money, we’re making money.” Lucas chimed in, adjusting the hat on his head.
“You’re only saying that because they gave you a pair of pants.” Will grumbled, watching as people flitted past the Scoops Ahoy entrance.
“Maybe.”
Lucas grinned at him and all Will could do was flip him off.
Once Steve and Robin had dropped their job at Scoops Ahoy, or, to be more accurate, got dropped from their job. Scoops Ahoy had been looking for some kids to fill the vacancy, however no one wanted to work there. Probably because of the stupid outfits they put their workers in. But, Scoops was clearly getting desperate for workers.
Originally the entire party applied, with the exception of El and Max who said they wouldn’t be caught dead in the Scoops Ahoy uniform. But, Dustin had ended up getting a job at Radioshack and Mike wasn’t hired by Scoops Ahoy so he had promptly given up on the job hunt.
“It doesn’t even make sense. Sailors definitely didn’t wear pants.” Will grumbled.
“Yeah yeah get over it, Will. It’s not that bad.” Lucas hummed. “We’ll be making serious money and you won’t even have time to think about your ugly outfit.”
“Lucas, we’re making three dollars an hour.” Will said flatly.
“Three dollars and thirty five cents!” Lucas corrected. “But, come on, it could be worse. Three dollars an hour to scoop ice cream isn’t bad.”
“True.” Will sighed, leaning against the wall.
“Plus, it could be worse. We could be wearing those white polos and slacks that the Orange Julius workers wear.” Lucas offered.
“Lucas. That’s way better than looking like a fucking sailor.” Will grumbled. “They’re also like, ten times cooler than us.”
“Yeah okay, this sucks.” Lucas sighed.
“I appreciate you trying to make the most out of this, though.”
“Yeah, I’m gonna get some more sample spoons since we’re out. I’ll probably eat a banana while I’m at it too… since there’s no one here.” Lucas yawned, pushing into the backroom.
Will made a noise of acknowledgement as Lucas shuffled into the back.
To be completely honest, they’d ran through all the sample spoons themselves. At the very least, that meant that Will could give a fair and accurate review to anyone who asked. Their best flavor had to be the peppermint stick, their worst flavor was probably cherry jubilee. A flavor that was usually reserved for grandmas, and on occasion, Steve.
Will was lost in thought when he heard someone shuffle in, laughing with his friends as he did so. He looked up from the counter, his gaze meeting that of one of the Orange Julius workers. The boy still had his name badge on and everything. His friends were waiting for him at the entrance, sipping on their lemonades from the Hotdog on a Stick shop a few paces down.
“Uh hi.” The boy spoke, pushing his sandy hair away from his face.
“Hi?... What can I get you?” Will spoke, clearing his throat.
“Can I get a- um... actually, I don’t know. Do you have any recommendations?” The boy asked, smiling.
Will blinked.
“Um. Peppermint stick is- uh, pretty good. They’re all pretty good- I mean, aside from cherry jubilee.” Will stammered, his words coming out too fast. The boy was tan, way too tan for the sun that they got in Hawkins.
“Yeah? Is peppermint stick your favorite?” The boy poked, once again flashing Will that charming smile.
“Um… Yeah, one of my favorites. I can’t choose, they’re all good.” Will replied, his cheeks heating. He was feeling like a complete dork. Maybe he wasn’t cut out for customer service because clearly, this wasn’t working out too well for him.
“Okay, yeah, then I’ll get two scoops of peppermint stick with a waffle cone.” The boy said cheerily.
“Coming right up.” Will hummed.
Scooping ice cream was the actual easy part. It was calming for the most part, made him feel like he was playing some sort of game. However, Will doesn’t know what kind of game would consist of scooping ice cream. Probably not a very fun one.
“Fourty cents!” Will chimed, wrapping a napkin around the cone.
“Sweet.” The boy responded, digging a dollar out of his pants pocket. Will quickly rung him up before handing the ice cream over. His name tag read, Harley.
“Thanks….” The boy- Harley, responded. His eyes flicked down to Will’s name tag. “...Will. See you around.”
He turned on his heel and left before Will could say anything, like the fact that he left his change. Will just watched them walk away, dropping the change into the tip jar.
-
Harley also dropped by the following day. He strolled in with his charming smile and windswept hair. Will swore that Harley’s hair could give prime Steve Harrington a run for his money.
“Hey Will. Can I get two scoops of USS butterscotch with a waffle cone?” Harley asked.
“Didn’t like peppermint stick?” Will asked wryly.
“No- no, I liked it. One of my friends over at Orange Julius said that Scoops Ahoy is the only ice cream place that offers USS Butterscotch, and that I have to try it.” Harley assured him. Will just laughed as he scooped the ice cream.
“It’s a little too sweet for my taste.” Will replied, grabbing the napkin and wrapping it around the cone. “That’ll be forty cents.”
“Really? I would’ve pegged you as the type of guy to have a sweet tooth.” Harley hummed as they exchanged items. Another dollar.
Will was about to respond when Lucas burst through the doors. Tub of ice cream in hand.
“Harley Kane?!” Lucas exclaimed, a grin pulling at his lips.
“Lucas!” Harley replied, his face alight. “I didn’t know you worked at Scoops?”
“Crazy. Yeah man, got the job at the same time as Will! We’ve been working for what- two weeks now?” Lucas asked as he looked at Will. Will just nodded in return as he handed Harley his change. “Man, that’s why I haven’t been at summer ball the entire time. Scoops will schedule us as often as they can.”
“At least the money's good, right?” Harley asked, grinning.
“Not as good as Orange Julius, I bet.” Lucas replied, laughing as he replaced one of the ice cream tubs.
“We get paid three dollars an hour, the tips are the real money maker.” Harley hummed. “When do you guys go on lunch?”
“No lunch today, hours aren’t long enough.” Lucas sighed.
“Darn, I would’ve invited to a corn dog or something. But hey, at least you guys get scheduled together. That’s nice.” Harley replied. His ice cream was melting, slowly but surely.
“Yeah, Will here racks in all the tips with his cute face.” Lucas teased. Will’s face heated up. “Big hit with the older ladies, this one is.”
“Oh really?” Harley asked, a cheeky grin pulling at his lips. His nose wrinkled at the bridge of his nose as he smiled, his face was dotted with freckles.
“No, Lucas is lying- it’s only happened twice.” Will stammered, his face burning red.
“Yeah, yeah.” Lucas said, waving him off as he walked into the backroom.
Will watched him leave before turning back to face the blonde boy.
“Guess it’s happened three times now.” Harley said, the corners of his lips quirked into a smile as he dropped his change into the tip jar. “See you around, Will.”
Will just didn’t say anything, watching as Harley walked away. Joining his friends who were once again waiting by the entrance.
Harley Kane.
Who is Harley Kane?