Chapter 9: Ahoy, And You Look Like This

STEVE Harrington had a perfect view from behind the counter on Jean as she stood from the other side of the mall.

The way she smiled whenever watching over Erica Sinclair and her friends, or when she played with her long, red hair as she got somewhat bored over the kids bickering, those were all things he couldn't get enough of.

It came as no surprise to the brown haired nineteen year old when he'd started developing romantic feelings towards Jean.

With the kind of family life Steve came from, this girl was quiet and soothing, she listened in a way that other people haven't listened to him at any point in his life. Not even Nancy did.

From the beginning he found that she was warm, considerate, funny, smart and beautiful. She was perfect. Which was why he was afraid to confess his feelings to her, especially after being shot down from the very beginning.

He knew that he became incredibly awkward and unsuccessful with the girls he served at Scoops Ahoy. He knew that -always reminded by his coworker, Robin Buckley.

The only positive female relationship he seemed to have was with Jean Grey. But she wasn't ready for a relationship.

And he didn't want to lose her. So he settled with being her friend, and watching her from far away for now.

Steve didn't have enough time to gaze at her though, when a slap on his upper arm dragged him from his daydreaming, making him whirl around to see his coworker.

"What are you gawking at?" Robin curiously asked, leaning over the register, her eyed drooping from how bored she was.

"Uhh.. N-nothing."

Too smart to buy his half-baked reply, Robin's eyes immediately searched through the second floor of the mall, and landed on a familiar face. "Is that the girl who came with you on the first day?"

An involuntary smile came upon the brown haired male's face as he made himself busy by cleaning the counter. "Yeah, that's Jean."

"Huh, I don't remember seeing her at school." Robin mumbled, yet loud enough for Steve to hear. She was pretty. She was really pretty. If someone like her had went to their high school, she would've known.

"No, she's just here for the summer." He said, technically he wasn't lying, she'd appeared out of nowhere just right before the summer break had began.

Robin perked a brow, her eyes still on the smiling redhead. "She's cute."

"Yeah." Steve breathed out, looking at Jean, as well.

"You guys dating?"

His neck immediately snapped in her direction at the inquiry. "What, no, we're just...friends." Robin didn't miss how Steve uttered the last word so defeatedly, his disappointed look to match.

Lifting a curious brow, Robin looked between the two. "Uh-huh."

~~~

Jean, accompanying the little Sinclair girl, was browsing through the music records at the mall's Sam Goody.

She was getting the hang of this whole babysitting thing, Erica herself wasn't hard to take care of, in fact she was quite level-headed for her age. It was Erica's group of friends that were considered to be a handful, and since they were together all the time, it seemed to be a package deal.

Jean halted her shuffling through the vinyl when the dark haired girl approached her, holding something in her hand.

"Did anybody ever tell you that you look like this." Erica said, holding up a record. Jean frowned when she looked over to see the picture of the artist, Boy George.

As per Max's warning, Jean found out that Erica had no qualms about speaking her mind, even if what she said would be concerned rude. "No, thanks, Erica." The red haired telepath shook her head when she heard Tina and the rest of Erica's friends sniggering in the background.

Jean didn't really take the things she said to heart, that was just how the young girl was, and she was getting used to it. She was sure that deep down, Erica Sinclair meant well.

"Just the facts." She said, rolling her eyes and walking to rejoin her friends.

"You're the meanest person in the world, thank you very much." Jean called out after Erica, following her outside by the fountain.

Erica sighed deeply, tilting her head from her friends to dedicate a frustrated look over in Jean's direction. "You do realize that you don't have to be stuck to me like white on rice."

Jean brushed her own red hair away from her face with a brisk hand."Hey, I thought you liked hanging with me."

It was the truth, Erica was happy to find out that her sitter wasn't a nerd like her brother who'd recommended her to the job in the first place. And Jean was actually proud when Erica admitted that she was 'kinda cool'.

Rolling her eyes yet again, Erica maintained, "Not all the time."

Sighing, Jean contemplated on whether it was alright to leave the ten year old for a few moments with her friends. Green eyes roamed around the second floor until they landed on the Scoops Ahoy shop. "Okay, you stay here and I'll go in there to check up on someone." Jean exclaimed, promoting a satisfied look on Erica's face.

"Don't move." The redhead asserted, walking backwards as she observed the seated girl.

"I got it!" Erica yelled back.

On her way to the ice cream place, Jean Grey passed by the SHAPES Activewear Outlet store, the place where she bought the swimsuit she'd need to wear at the frequent Community pool visits. The summer was an endless loop of going to the mall and the pool for Erica anx Jean, but she didn't mind. She was glad that she had money under her expense now that she was working. With it, after saving up, she was able to get a couple of new outfits from the Starcourt mall. But Jean was smart with what she earned and knew how to budget wisely.

The Scoops Ahoy had a fair amount of customers, eating away the summer heat that the AC still failed to extinguish. Nautical upbeat tunes were playing that made a small smile go up on Jean's lips, reminding her of Steve's adorable little outfit.

A disinterested blonde girl was leaning against the counter, her dull lifeless expression was in huge contrast to the lively undertone of the place.

Upon seeing her, Jean noticed that the blue eyed girl slightly perked, asking what she could do for her.

"You must be Robin, I heard a lot about you." Jean said, hands lifted to place on the counter. She was in a cropped long sleeved grey shirt that hugged her waist nicely, hair tucked behind her ears.

Robin smirked at Jean, eyes glinting mischievously. "All terrible, I hope."

"They're not all bad." Jean mused, chuckling a bit. Though Steve did mention how often she made fun of him. "For example, I've heard how phenomenal you are at scooping ice cream." She joked, her words stemming of the boy's acknowledgment that the dirty blonde was much better at the job than he was.

"Well, you know, I've been saving my skills in so I can shine when I can finally go pro." Robin drawled, head tilted to the side. The two smiled at one another.

"Is Steve here?" Jean asked, eyes darting around in search of her brown haired friend.

"Dingus, someone's here for you!" Robin yelled, her loud voice taking Jean a bit by surprise.

"What?!" The Grey girl heard Steve's muffled voice blaring from behind a glass window.

Then, the door to the backroom swung open, revealing the sailor uniform-clad Harrington. His brown eyes brightened when they landed on Jean, walking up to her. "Oh, hey, Jean. I didn't know you were here." He claimed, feigning surprise at her presence at the mall when he was clearly staring at her like a stalker just earlier. That made Robin snort loudly at his lie, and he sent her a glare.

"Yeah, I'm here with Erica." She replied, missing their exchange. "So, 'Dingus' huh, is that your new pet name?" Jean bemusedly asked, bending over to support herself on the counter.

"It sure is." He exclaimed with fake excitement, while Jean laughed softly, the vibration through her chest playful.

"Congratulations on the babysitting gig, by the way."

"Why, thank you. I just hope that I'll be as good as you someday." She playfully said, but her compliment genuine. Steve was incredible with the kids, and especially Dustin who practically worshipped him.

Steve awed, placing a hand over where his heart was, an exaggeration to show how moved he was. "I mean I don't know, it's more of a natural gift." He boosted, chuckling at the end. "You know, we should totally team up and start a babysitting service." He added humorously.

"Oh, my god, yes! We'd be cashing in so much." Jean's lips were half-parted in amusement.

"Wipe the board clean!"

Jean's laugh was growing merrier as Steve's grew deeper. The store was emptying whereas the mall hallways were getting crowded. Jean knew Erica would be wandering off if she was gone too long. "Yeah, we'd be a great couple."

Steve's smile faltered after what she'd said, his heart starting to pulse overtime as he considered the possibility. "Damn straight we would be." He said, his underlying tone in no way indicating that he was joking like before.

He just sincerely hoped she wouldn't read his thoughts at the very moment.

Steve removed his hat, slicking back his fluffy hair after doing so. "Hey, uhh, wanna stay for some ice cream? On the house." He offered, grinning at Jean.

Realizing that it was about time to head back to the young girl, Jean softly declined. "Thanks, but maybe next time. I have a sassy kid to go back to."

"Don't we all." Steve replied, head suggestively nodding towards Robin Buckley.

Jean let a giggle escape from her mouth.

"See ya."

"Bye." He called out warmly, staring longingly as she walked away.

"And yet again." Robin spoke after Jean stepped out of the threshold to the ice cream place. Steve inhaled sharply before turning back to see his coworker holding the board he came to despise.

She drew a line on the 'You Suck' half of the board. And Steve held an incredulous look as she did.

"What are you doing, I wasn't even trying to-" He attempted to deny his failed attempt to flirt with the tall girl, but was interjected by Robin's all knowing look that told him to cut the bullshit.

"Shut up." He bit out, putting back his stupid sailor's hat on top of his gorgeous head of hair.

~~~

Night time had rolled around the quiet town. Mrs. Sinclair picked up her daughter, and offered a ride to Jean to showcase her gratitude to the sweet girl who'd been taking such good care of her little Erica.

Jean had no trouble taking the bus home, but after Mrs. Sinclair's persistence, she relented and insisted she drop her off on the side of the road, where she would continue her path on foot. Jean had gotten to know her way around the woods so much easier now that she would wander around more often.

"Hey," Greeted the red haired teenager, closing the cabin's door shut behind her.

Jim was the only one seated in the living room while Grey was sure that Eleven and Mike were cramped inside the bedroom.

Tearing his eyes away from the television screen, Hopp looked in Jean's way. "Hey, you're home."

It came as a shock to Hopper how fast they'd adjusted to the red haired girl's presence. She somehow just... fit into their lives. While he had enough rebellious teens to worry about Jean, wasn't one of them. She was warm and kind and wise for her age. And El seemed to listen to whatever she had to say, and copy whatever she was to do.

The mustache that decorated lips raised upwards. He didn't know how he ended up with two daughters instead of one.

"Did you guys have dinner yet?" She asked, shuffling around the kitchen to see no dirty plates in the sink or traces of anyone walking in to it since the morning.

Jim's smile dissipated and he growled in response. "El ate with Mike." The two had ordered a pizza and hid inside the confines of the room once again.

"And you?" Jean asked with a frown. Now she felt bad that with El spending all of her time with her boyfriend, and her own whole sitter thing, Hopper must've been left out.

"Had a bag of chips." Was his flat out reply as he crushed the can of beer he had in his hand.

"You shouldn't have done that, they're not good for you." Jean softly scolded the older man. She worried for his health, especially now that he'd been stress eating quite often as an outlet for his discomfort of the situation between his daughter and her boyfriend.

Smacking his lips, Hopper got off the chair to join Jean in the kitchen. "If you're worried about my health, then talk to those two." He said, opening the fridge to take out another can of beer.

"El and Mike?" She asked, furrowing her brow at the taller man.

"They're spending way too much time together! You agree with me, don't you?" He yelled in a yelled whisper, his frustration evident in his tone.

Jean weighed her head. Indeed, she thought it was. It was innocent and adorable to her at first, but it slowly turned sickeningly sweet over time. But they were young and in love, so who was to stop them. "Well..."

"What does Joyce think?" She abruptly asked, eliciting a slight flinch from the Chief of Police. Jean had met Joyce, the mother of Will Byers, weeks past. To Jean's knowledge, she was the only person Hopp had willingly entrusted with the true conditions of how he found her, and for good reason. The woman was quite kind and nurturing. Jean could tell that she had both a soft warmth in her, and a viciously protective side that would emerge if anyone she cared for was in danger.

That was probably why Jim had such a major unspoken crush on her.

"Huh?" He asked, his eyes widening a bit at the mention of the object of his affections.

Jean held a teasing grin that Hopper desperately wished would go away. "Joyce. I know you value her opinion very much, more than anyone's."

"That's not the point." Hop inhaled sharply, she was deviating from the point with a subject she knew would completely distract him. "I just want her to be her own person, not just that smug bastard's girlfriend."

Wow, Jean thought. She knew he wasn't crazy about the boy, but this morphed into straight up disdain.

"Okay... If personal growth is what you want for her, then let her go out more often, maybe?" She argued. Jean thought that if she was stuck home as much as El was, she'd honestly be ecstatic to have anyone visit -especially if the person is the boy she liked.

Hopper shook his head. "Even when I do, she's attached by the hip to him." He downed the beer before throwing it in the trash.

A wooden chair screeched across the hardwood floor, Jim dragged it and sat on it by the kitchen island, facing the standing Jean. "Could you talk to El? Maybe tell Mike to dial back his visits?" He pleaded. He would do it himself, but he knew they wouldn't listen. Heck, they barely followed his three inch rule about the door. God, they were only fourteen but they were a handful.

He was just over the moon that Jean wasn't seeing anyone.

Jean scrunched up her facial features, lips pursed. It wouldn't seem right to boss El around. It was a parent's duty, is what she believed. "I think that's something you should do."

Jim groaned, pinching his nasal bridge. Maybe he could get Joyce to talk to them.

A/N:-

Sorry, I just to put that resemblance in there