Nothing could have prepared Steve for, well... this. Not the countless times of running into former classmates at his minimum wage job, not Robin's teasing and her god-forsaken "YOU RULE, YOU SUCK" board— which had way too many tallies on the latter side, she must be jinxing him at this point— and certainly not the Party and their pleas to sneak into Starcourt's movie theater using Scoops Ahoy’s access to the mall's employee hallways.

Nothing could have prepared him for you. A freshly graduated Hawkins High senior like him, planning to attend NYU in the fall for some fancy-schmancy degree program. What for? He doesn't know. But he knows that you recognize him judging by the bewildered look on your face. You better; you were once in the same popular circles, only you'd been nice when he wasn't.

"Ahoy there," he grumbles, feeling pitiful when your expression hardly changes. This damn customer-service script he's expected to use is going to be the death of him. But only if the stupid sailor hat on his head doesn't kill him first. "Were you ready to set sail on an ocean of flavor with us, or did you want a sample?"

He's sure Robin's watching from behind the frosted glass of their break room. If she gives him another "YOU SUCK" tally, he might just pull his beloved hair out. Keyword might; he's not crazy!

His humiliation only intensifies with remembering his teensy-weensy crush he's had on you since sophomore year. One that he might have pursued had he not gotten caught in Nancy Wheeler's orbit in junior year, and if you would have given his King Steve self the time of day. But things are different now; maybe he has a chance now that high school popularity— current or former— doesn't matter, and now that he's had a taste of humility since taking on multiple otherworldly monsters.

"I'm just gonna get you a sample," he sighs when you still seem stunned into silence, and he grabs one of the small sample spoons from the cup above the ice cream freezer. "I hope you like Cherries Jubilee."