29. Summer Lovin'

A/N: This story is officially off hiatus! And a lot sooner than expected. Season 3 broke my heart, so I need to start writing again ASAP. Season 3 spoilers below!

Karmen's summer hadn't gone quite the way she was expecting. If someone had told her the year before that she would be making out with her boyfriend, Steve Harrington, in the Scoops Ahoy storeroom, she would have never believed them. Yet there she was, her back pressed against one of the cabinets, as Steve pressed soft kisses down her neck. She giggled lightly as his Scoops Ahoy hat brushed against her nose, as she reached up and flung it across the room.

"Hey, that's company property" Steve mumbled, against her neck.

"Well let me make it up to you" Karmen grinned, as pulled him up by his collar and pressed her lips against his.

Just as Steve's hands were trailing under her shirt, the door to the storeroom suddenly swung open, revealing an annoyed looking Robin, Steve's co-worker.

"Hey Dingus, stop sharing spit with your girlfriend and actually do your job!" Robin exclaimed, as she picked Steve's hat off the floor and threw it at his chest.

"Five minutes" Steve replied, placing his hat back over his hair, much to Karmen's disappointment.

"One minute or I'll drag you out myself" Robin insisted, as she slammed the door shut.

"She enjoys doing that, you know" Karmen rolled her eyes, slinging her arms around Steve's shoulders.

"She's just annoyed that she has to be around a couple as awesome as us when she's still single" Steve shrugged, his lips brushing against hers again.

Karmen simply hummed dismissively in response, pressing a quick kiss to his lips before untangling their limbs.

"I need to be getting to work anyway. I can't be late again, or they'll sack me" She told him.

"Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing" Steve suggested.

"Steve, I know you don't like me working there but we need money, okay? Since your dad has cut you off, we need anything we can get" Karmen explained.

"You're right as always" Steve sighed, looking down.

"Hey, it'll be alright. Before we know it, we'll have saved up enough for us to get our own place" Karmen insisted, touching Steve's face lightly to get him to look at her.

"Waking up to you every day sounds pretty perfect" Steve smiled, as Karmen returned the expression.

"I can't wait" Karmen grinned, as they leaned in to kiss and met in the middle.

"Dustin's coming back from camp today. The kids have some surprise planned for him; they were forcing me to paint a banner most of last night" Karmen informed him.

"It'll be good to have the little guy back" Steve grinned.

"Claudia was crying most of yesterday because she was so excited about him coming back" Karmen giggled.

"I know you might be living with them, but it still sounds weird you calling Dustin's mum by her first name" Steve stated.

"At least she doesn't want me to call her mum" Karmen laughed.

"And you're sure you're still happy staying there? I can try to convince my mum to let you stay-" Steve started but she cut him off.

"No, don't do that. Remember what happened last time?" Karmen sighed, looking at the small scar on Steve's face that happened when his dad heard about her wanting to move in.

"How could I forget" Steve mumbled, his hand unconsciously touching the small scar near his hairline.

Ever since Steve hadn't got into college things had gone from bad to worse at home for him. Whereas before Steve's father didn't pay him much attention, the man seemed to see Steve as a big disappointment now which made him angry. Very angry. The reason that she was working so many hours at work over the summer was so she could get him out of that house as quickly as possible. She would happily give all of her money so he could get a place of his own, even if that meant she had to stay at the Henderson's. She couldn't stand the thought of him getting hurt.

"Dingus, come on!" Robin shouted from outside the door, as Karmen wondered if she had been listening the whole time.

"Alright, I'm coming!" Steve shouted, as he began pressing quick kisses to Karmen's lips.

"Will you come around after work?" Steve asked.

"Where else would I want to be?" Karmen grinned, as Steve's face lit up.

"Finally!" Robin rolled her eyes, when they exited the storeroom.

Karmen pushed herself up from the edge of the pool, happy that her work was over for the morning. She had become a swimming instructor at the beginning of the summer for the local kids. It wasn't great pay, but it was better than nothing. Pushing her money worries out of her head, she made her way to the locker room, ready for her lunch. A moment later there was a loud whistle from behind her. She turned around, coming face to face with the reason why Steve hated her working at the pool.

"Billy" Karmen mumbled, raising an eyebrow, at the whistle that was still pressed against his lips.

"Health and safety hazard. You're far too hot to be on the premises" Billy flirted, as he approached her.

"That was a pretty weak one. Why don't you try it on Mrs Wheeler instead? I think she'd be more appreciative" Karmen told him.

"Is that a hint of jealously I hear?" Billy asked, coming to stand a few inches from her.

"Is it actually possible to have a conversation with you that doesn't include flirting?" Karmen questioned, as she turned to walk away.

"Probably not" Billy shrugged, as he followed her into the locker room.

"Max said she's going to need a lift home tonight, by the way," Karmen informed him, as she opened her locker.

"And she couldn't tell me herself?" Billy said, in an exasperated tone.

"That's what I'm here for. I'm the kid whisperer" Karmen smiled at her own joke, as she pulled out her lunch box which is almost full to the brim.

"I don't know how you can stand to be around those little shits so much" Billy stated, pulling out a brown bag which Karmen guessed was his lunch.

"Maybe if you tried being a bit nicer to them, you'd actually get along" Karmen retorted, as they exited the room.

"I highly doubt that" Billy exclaimed, as they went to sit by the pool edge together to eat their lunch.

Karmen noticed as Billy sighed when he opened the bag to find only an apple inside. All the money he earned either went to the maintenance of his car or to his father these days. Which meant he didn't have enough money to buy his own food, so he only had what his stepmother gave him.

"Here," Karmen said, throwing her sandwich on his lap.

"I don't need your charity, Dixon" Billy grumbled, about to throw it back to her.

"What charity? I'm just trying to maintain my figure here. Mrs Henderson packs me enough lunch for like five people" Karmen explained.

"Well, I wouldn't want you to lose your gorgeous figure" Billy grinned, as he took a bite of the sandwich.

"And he's back" Karmen laughed, shaking her head.

Karmen and Billy had formed an odd sort of friendship in the past couple of months. At the start of the summer, he had even apologised to Steve and the kids about what had happened the year prior. This apology may have consisted of 'Sorry you let me beat the shit out of you, Harrington' but it was a start. Karmen still wasn't convinced about being civil with him, remembering the bruises on Steve's face that took weeks to heal. It was only when Max began to plead his case that she listened. If Karmen thought Steve's father was bad, then Billy's was a whole different ball game. A few weeks before Billy had worn a shirt for a few shifts, which Karmen found very out of character. It was only when they were getting changed in the locker rooms a couple of days later, she noticed the purple bruises lining the whole of the boy's side. Billy was one screwed up individual who had never been given a chance. Karmen was willing to give him this chance, much to Steve's disapproval. It was completely understandable, Karmen and Billy did have history and the boy would constantly flirt with her. But Steve trusted her, just like she trusted him. Not that it stopped her from worrying when he would finish his shifts late, laughing about how 'damn funny' Robin was.

"So, has the weirdo made her move on Harrington yet?" Billy questioned, never failing to stir the pot where he could.

"What…how did you know I was thinking about her?" Karmen inquired.

"Whenever you're thinking about her you get this angry look on your face, and your nose wrinkles up," Billy told her, pointing to where he was talking about on her nose.

"No, she hasn't. Not that it would matter anyway because Steve would push her away" Karmen insisted, brushing Billy's hand away from her face.

"I wouldn't be so sure. I don't think you could a much more romantic setting than Scoops Ahoy" Billy teased, as Karmen burst out laughing.

Billy began laughing too, a genuine rare smile on his face. He realised it only seemed to happen when he was around Karmen.

"Hey, British Lady! I got a message for you!" A young girl came strolling over to them.

"It's Karmen…but whatever. What's the message, Erica?" She asked, expecting it was from Lucas.

"The Dork at Scoops Ahoy asked me to give you this. I get free ice cream for a week now" Erica smirked, handing her a piece of paper before running off back to her friends.

Karmen unfurled the note as she realised it was from Steve, but before she could read it Billy had grabbed it from her hands.

"To my girl…wow, he's whipped. 'I just wanted to say I hope you have a great day at work, and I miss you already. Remember to wear sunscreen. I'll see you tonight. Love you more than anything, Steve'. Okay, I need to go throw up" Billy read aloud, grimacing as he went on.

"Pft, your just jealous you don't have anyone writing you cute notes" Karmen grinned, grabbing the note out of his hand.

Karmen watched as Billy got a mischievous look in his eye, and suddenly his hand was on the small of her back and she was being pushed into the water. She came spluttering to the surface, with an annoyed gasp.

"You asshole!" She cried, splashing him, laughing as she did so.

"Enjoy the rest of your shift" Billy chuckled.

Author's Notes: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! So I needed this first chapter to be cute and fluffy after watching the latest season. I literally bawled my eyes out for a good couple of hours. Karmen's going to have a very interesting storyline this season, which you can probably see me starting to line up. She's still very much in love with Steve, I just thought I would point out. Please leave a review:)

teenwolfismylife101: Well, it's back! I hope you like this new chapter:)

Micky-Moo: Thanks for your last review:) I think Karmen will be worrying more about Robin than Nancy...but does she need to? I hope you like this chapter!

tazsgirl6969: Thank you! Here's the new update:)