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Chapter Text

“That’ll be $4.50”

The girl rustled through her purse and handed a 5 dollar bill to Eddie. He opened the cash register and handed her two quarters with a warm smile. “Have a nice day” he said as the two girls exited the store.

As soon as the girls were fully out the store Eddie swiveled around with a big grin on his face wiggling a cigarette between his fingers. Robin smirked and walked over to him as he placed the cigarette in his mouth. Robin dug through her pocket and pulled out her lighter and lit the cigarette.

“So what’s up with you and Steve?” Robin asked. Eddie pulled the cig out of his mouth handing it to Robin, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Robbie.” She rolled her eyes, raising the cig up to her mouth “What?!” he exclaimed making her chuckle. She decided to drop the subject. They stood there smoking in silence, passing the cigarette back and forth when they heard the door open.

“Shit.” she quickly hid the cigarette behind her back while Eddie waved the smoke away.

“Welcome to Family Video Store” Eddie said while Robin quickly put out the cigarette, throwing it on the floor. She quickly turned around wearing a smile when she realized who walked through the door. Nancy and Chrissy were giggling and laughing as they stumbled into the store. “Hey Nancy” Robin said nervously. “Hi Robin” Nancy smiled as she and Chrissy walked over to look at the movies.

Robin stood there in complete shock staring at the two girls. Eddie snapped his fingers in front of her face trying to get her attention “Earth to Robin.” She looked up at him, “Why is she here?!” ”Well we are one of the only video stores in Hawkins, she’s been here so many times this week.” Eddie said trying to hide a smile. She just stood there and stared at him. She had noticed that Nancy was coming to rent movies a lot this week. She thinks it started when Nancy and Chrissy became closer.

“Well what are you doing Buckley? Go talk to her.” He said as he slowly started to push her over to the two girls. “Why would I go talk to her? I mean the last time we really talked is when we went to visit Victor Creel.” she said trying to push against him. Her efforts weren’t enough because she could tell that she was slowly getting closer. In one last ditch effort she looked up at Eddie, attempting to plead with her eyes. He just gave her one last smile before he shoved her over to Nancy.

Robin caught herself on one of the racks, catching the girls attention. Nancys eyes quickly flickered up making eye contact with Robin. Robin could feel warmth creeping up her neck. She swallowed “You girls need any help with anything?”

“We we’re actually looking for a horror movie to watch tonight.” Chrissy said stepping closer to Robin. “Yeah, do you have any suggestions?” Nancy quickly asked.

Before Robin could stop herself, words were pouring out of her mouth. “Well you could always watch The Shinning which is a total classic” Robin said while grabbing the VHS off the shelf and handing it to Nancy. “There’s also Friday the 13th that I think you two would enjoy, there’s Poltergeist, The Thing, Gremlins, Alien, Nightmare on Elm Street -“ she stopped herself and quickly grabbed the VHS tapes off of different shelves and handing them all to Nancy.

The two girls giggled and Nancy gave Robin a soft smile “Thanks Robin.” Robin watched the two girls walk away carrying a pile of movies.

Robin quickly gave them a little wave and whipped around speed walking to the room in the back marked employees only.

“Buckley? What are you doing back here? I thought you were helping Nancy and Chrissy?” Eddie asked with a confused look on his face. Robin sat down covering her face and mumbling into her hands “ I definitely just messed that up. She’s gonna hate me. I just started blabbing and handing them movies” Eddie let out a small laugh. “ It probably didn’t bother them Robbie” he said as he ruffled her hair and walked back out into the store.

Robin sat in the back of the store playing with her rings and twirling her hair until she heard Eddie saying goodbye to Nancy and Chrissy. As soon as she heard the door close she walked over to the store phone and quickly dialed Steve’s number.

The phone rang for a few seconds until she heard Steve let out a groggy “Hello?”

“Steve I just did the worst thing ever” she exclaimed while climbing onto the counter. “I highly doubt that Robin, you need to calm down” he said yawning into the phone. “I just made a fool of myself! I couldn’t stop talking and I handed her so many movies!” Robin exclaimed, running her hands through her hair. “Who’s her” Steve asked interest now in his voice. Robin opened her mouth to answer when she hear the door open again so she glanced over.

It was Nancy. Again.

She whipped back around and cupped her hand around the receiver. “Steve it’s like i’m being tortured! She just walked in again.” she whispered loudly into the phone.

“Who?”

“Nancy!”

“Robin.” Eddie said with his hands on his hips. She covered the phone. “What do you want Eddie.” He sighed. “Nancy wants to talk to you.”

Her eyes went wide.

She whispered into the phone “ Sorry Steve i’m gonna have to call you back later.” “Robin wait-“ She pushed the phone back onto the wall and jumped off the counter.

She slowly walked over to Nancy, smiling nervously. “Hey Nancy” she said through clenched teeth. “Hi Robin, sorry to bother you but Chrissy had to cancel our plans tonight and I don’t really want to watch the movie alone so I was wondering if you wanted to watch it with me?”

Robin thought her heart stopped.

She just stood there and stared and Nancy not knowing what to say. She then felt an arm sling around her shoulder. “She’d love to!” Eddie exclaimed looking down at Robin and wiggling his eyebrows. She looked back up at him in horror as he patted her back and walked away.

Nancy smiled “Cool, Eddie you can come too if you want.” she said while glancing over to him. “Sorry, I can’t i’ve got plans.” “Oh okay.” She looked back at Robin. “What time do you get off work?”

“She’s off now!” Eddie yelled from the back. “Alright, do you want me to just wait here?” Nancy asked. “Sure” Robin finally let out. Nancy smiled at Robin again and sat down at one of the chairs near the front of the store .

Robin slowly turned around and started walking to the back, a grin slowly growing on her face “Holy shit” she said. “Holy shit is right Buckley. You just got yourself a date.” She hit him in the arm smiling “It’s so not a date” she said while grabbing her stuff. “You’re welcome!” He yelled as she walked over to Nancy.

This was happening.

“Holy shit” she whispered as she followed Nancy out to her car and hopped in the back seat.

Chrissy looked back and gave Robin a big smile. Robin smiled back weakly. Nancy hopped in and reached up to adjust her mirror, making eye contact with the younger girl. Robin looked back down quickly. She buckled her seatbelt and focused her attention out the window while Nancy started up the car.

She watched as the trees outside the car started to go by faster and the sun slowly set. She leaned her head on the window, closing her eyes and allowing herself to doze off.

+++++

Nancy could not believe what she had just done.

After her and Chrissy had rented out Friday the 13th, they walked out to her car laughing and giggling just as they had entered. Nancy had hopped in her car, Chrissy jumping in the passenger. Once they had calmed down Chrissy had realized she had plans tonight.

“Oh my gosh Nance i’m so sorry! We can reschedule if you want. Orr you can invite Robin to watch it with you ” Nancy looked over at Chrissy and all she saw was a smile spreading across her face. “Why?” “Why not? I mean you know her right? and she seems super nice! You can’t just only hang out with me Nance.” Nancy didn’t really know what to say. Her and Robin hadn’t talked too much other than the times they had to fight the mind flayer and vecna .

Eventually Chrissy had done enough talking to convince Nancy and she found herself walking back in to the store. She walked up to the counter and asked Robin. Robin surprisingly said yes. Nancy then sat at the front of the store waiting for her. Robin soon walked out of the back, and Nancy led her to the car.

The two girls hopped in the car and buckled their seatbelts. Nancy glanced over at Chrissy and could see her giving her a warm smile.

She adjusted her mirror and made eye contact with Robin and noticed she immediately looked away. She ignored it and started up her car and pulled out of the Family Video store parking lot.

After a few minutes Nancy glanced in her rear view mirror and noticed Robin had fallen asleep. She let out a chuckle and looked back at the road turning the radio up.

After driving for a bit, Nancy dropped Chrissy off at her house, waving goodbye as Chrissy skipped into her house. She was about to start driving when she heard Robin moving around. Nancy leaned back. “Hey, you awake?”

“I am now.” Robin answered while rubbing her eyes. “Come sit up front.” Nancy smiled, patting the seat beside her. Robin hesitated but eventually unbuckled her seatbelt and hopped out of the car.

After a few seconds she jumped in the front seat, buckling her seatbelt. Robin gave Nancy a small smile as the car slowly pulled out of the driveway and onto the road.

As the car moved along, Robin looked down and picked up a bag from the car floor. She opened the bag and pulled out the VHS of Friday the 13th.

“You decided on Friday the 13th?” Robin asked sounding surprised. ”Yup we both thought it looked good.” Nancy said as she quickly glanced at the girl. “Cool” Robin said as she smiled.

She carefully put the VHS back in the bag and put the bag back at her feet. She propped her elbow up on the arm rest and placed her chin in her hand. She looked back out the window and watched the houses pass by.

Chapter Text

Robin hopped out of the car, grabbing the bag before she shut the car door. She put her hand through the handles of the bag and started softly spinning it around her wrist. Slowly she follow Nancy to the front door, dragging her feet on the concrete.

Nancy lightly tapped her knuckles on the door before walking in, holding the door open for Robin. “Nancy?” Mrs. Wheeler called out as soon as she heard the two girls walk in. Nancy led them to the kitchen, where Robin saw Mrs. Wheeler washing dishes in the sink. She craned her neck to look at them when you could see a bit of confusion fill her eyes.

“I thought you and Chrissy were hanging out tonight?” Mrs. Wheeler questioned. “She had to cancel” Nancy quickly replied. “Oh that sucks, well welcome Robin, I haven’t seen you in a while!” she said with a warm smile. Robin smiled back as Nancy tugged on her shirt, motioning to the basement. “Nice to see you Mrs. Wheeler!” Robin said as she follow Nancy down into the Wheelers basement.

Nancy opened the VHS case as Robin got herself comfortable on the couch. Robin slung her arm on the back of the couch and rested her legs on the coffee table in front of her. Nancy fed the copy of Friday the 13th into their VHS player.

She stood up, grabbed a blanket and sat down on the couch by Robin. Robin had already seen this movie a few times but she didn’t mind watching it again. She was excited to see what parts scared Nancy and her reactions in general. It was one of her favorite things when watching a movie with someone.

Because of that, she ended up paying more attention to Nancy than the movie. She would watch Nancy’s facial expressions and movements during every jump-scare. A few times Nancy would get so scared that she grabbed Robins shirt and hid her face.

This made Robins heart beat race, the proximity between the two nervous. Nancy would then apologize and go back to her original position but always seemed to end up a little closer to Robin.

This made Robin pay even less attention than before. She started paying attention to every time their shoulders touched or when she could feel Nancy’s curls brush her face. The excitement she started to feel when she knew a jump-scare was coming confused her.

After about an hour into the movie, Robin’s eyelids started to feel heavy and she had a hard time keeping them open. She started to blink and her eyes wouldn’t open for a few seconds. To make herself more comfortable, she shifted around on the couch, adjusting her position. The last thing she remembered was the feeling of warmth that was created by Nancy scooting closer.

•••

Robin woke up in a cold sweat, whipping her head around when she realized where she was. She looked down and noticed that Nancy was draped on top of her. Her head full of curls laying on her chest and her hand gripping Robins shirt. Robin wasn’t really sure what to do but could feel her cheeks burning. She smelled the smell of vanilla and honey covering Nancy. Robin smiled at the girl. She sat there enjoying the moment for a few minutes when she remembered that she had work.

Robin raised her wrist to look at her watch. The watch read 10:03 am. “Shit!” Robin yelped. Nancy shot up.

“What happened.” Nancy asked sleep filling her voice as she rubbed her eyes. “Im late for work!” Robin scrambled to put her shoes on and started to run over to the stairs. “Ill drive you Nancy said with determination in her voice.

The two girls rushed up the stairs and burst into the kitchen causing Mrs. Wheeler to jump. “Are you girls okay?” She asked worry in her voice. “Robins late for work” Nancy said while she shoved on a pair of shoes grabbed her car keys, and rushed Robin out of the door.

They both ran to the car hopping in and buckling their seatbelts as fast as possible.

Nancy started the car and pulled out of the driveway the fastest Robin had ever seen her do. Nancy was speeding down the road at lighting speed barely stopping in time at the stop signs and stop lights. Robins heart was racing as she saw everything pass by quickly.

Within a few minutes she realized they were whipping into the Family Video store parking lot. Robin hopped out the car grabbing her vest, slipping it on. “Thank you so much Nancy, you’re literally my savior.” Robin said. “No problem” Nancy said smiling. Robin smiled back before she shut the car door

She ran into the store, trying to catch her breath. She could feel Steve staring at her.

“10 minutes.” Steve said blankly. Robin looked up and mad eye contact with him. “10 whole minutes Buckley!” Steve threw his hands up in the air. “What could you have possibly been doing that made you 10 minutes late.”

Robin ignored his question and shuffled her way behind the counter. She pulled herself onto the counter, her breathing still quick and her heart still racing. “Nancy’s” she was finally able to get out. “What?” Steve asked. “I was at Nancy’s, I watched a movie with her last night and we both ended up falling asleep.” Steve’s jaw dropped. “No fucking way” he said starting to laugh.

Right on time Eddie walked through the door.

As soon as he walked in he furrowed his eyebrow and stuck his thumb out at Steve. “What’s up with him” Eddie asked. Robin looked over to look at Steve again and saw doubled over, still laughing.

“Nothing much.” Robin said while rolling her eyes and walking over to the store computer.

Eddie glanced over to Steve, waiting for an answer. When Steve was finally was done laughing he looked up at Eddie giving him a soft smile. “This one over here”, be pointed at Robin, “was 10 minutes late to work.”

Eddie gasped and his jaw dropped “ You were LATE?” he said, a grin growing on his face. “You two are so dramatic, you’re so perfect for each other” she huffed, typing on the computer.

“You wanna know where she was?” Steve smirked.

“Where?!”

Robin glared at Steve. “You better not” she threatened. His smirk grew “She was at, wait for it, Nancy Wheelers house!” Eddie let out a loud gasp and whipped his head to look at her. “No way! You slept over?!” Robin rolled her eyes, ignoring his question, and walked to the back.

She was going to go sit on the couch when she heard the door open. “Robin!” Steve yelled. She sighed “What do you want Harrington? Are you not able to handle one customer?” She yelled as she flopped onto the couch. “It’s Max” he yelled back. She rubbed her hands on her face. “Coming!”

She enjoyed her last few seconds of heaven on the couch and slowly stood up. She dragged her feet on the floor and slowly walked back to the counter. “What do you want Max.” Robin whined.

She looked up and realized that Max didn’t look too well. Her mood changed “Hey you good kid?” she asked. Max shook her head. Robin looked back at the boys and motioned for them to walk away. They rolled their eyes and walked to the back

Robin walked in front of the counter and placed her hands on Max’s shoulders and looked down at her. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

Max looked up at her and whispered “I think I might like El.” At first Robin was confused but then it hit her. “You think you like like her.” she said her eyes going a little wide. Max nodded looking back down at her feet.

Robin rubbed her shoulders “Hey it’s okay, it’s okay.” she pulled her in for a hug, patting her back. Max squeezed her back. They say there in that position for a few minutes before they pulled away.

“So does she like you back?” Robin raised her eyebrows. Max wiped her tears and laughed. “I don’t know, and I honestly don’t want to ask. I’d rather just stay friends and spend time with her.” Max said while smiling.

Robins face lit up. “You just want to hang out? Well we can do that.” Max just stared at her. “You know that roller rink that just opened up? You can take her there! I can also go with you and bring someone if you want me to” Robin said quickly. “That sounds nice, and i’d love if you come. Who would you bring?” Max asked.

And right on cue the door opened. They both glanced over at the door and saw Nancy walk in.

“Hey Nancy!” Robin exclaimed “What are you doing here?” She walked behind the counter.

Nancy waved the VHS tape in the air and slid it onto the counter. “Oh right.” Robin said. “Yup.” Nancy smiled awkwardly and swiveled around walking towards the door. “Wait!” Robin called out before Nancy could walk out the door. Nancy turned around and arched her eyebrow “Yes?”

“Me, Max, El and the boys are going to the new roller rink tomorrow do you want to come with us?” she asked.

“Sure. What time?”

“Around 3pm”

“Okay that works for me. See you then”

Nancy smiled and walked out the door.

“Oh?” Max said finally speaking. She turned to look at Robin surprise covering her face. “Oh god not you too” Robin groaned.

She walked to the back room and opened the door when her eyes went wide. When she opened the door she saw Steve between Eddie and the wall, and they were kissing.

Her jaw dropped

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! And you were teasing me?!” she rolled her eyes. They stopped and their fear-filled eyes shot over to her. “Okay well we’re going to the roller rink tomorrow at 3” she said as she shut the door.

“What happened” Max asked.

“Oh nothing, just see you tomorrow kid” Robin said as she ruffled Max’s hair and walked back behind the counter. She sat in the chair and propped her feet up on the counter as Max exited the store. There was a magazine on the counter Steve had been reading that she grabbed to read.

•••

Robin and Steve’s shift ended at 4:00 pm. Steve grabbed his car keys while Robin threw her vest in the back room. They hopped in the car and Steve silently drove her back to her house.

When he finally pulled in her driveway she hopped out of the car. She smiled and motioned her hand like a phone and mouthed “Call me.” He rolled his eyes and she shut the door.

As soon as she got inside her house she kicked her shoes off and walked straight to the kitchen. When she walked in her eyes lit up. Her parents had went to the grocery store this morning. She slid across the kitchen floor to the counter and grabbed a banana.

Peeling the banana, she walked up the stairs and into her room, closing the door behind her. She flopped on her bed and layed there for a second before shoving the banana in her mouth.

When she finished it, she threw the peel on her nightstand and picked up her phone. She sat there for a second with the receiver in her hand trying to see if she could remember Nancy’s number.

After a few seconds, Robin typed in the number and layed back down. The phone rang for a few seconds before she heard “Hello?”

“Hi, can I speak to Nancy?” Robin asked.

She put the phone in her other hand. “Of course sweety!” the woman said. She then realized she was talking to Mrs. Wheeler. Robin could hear Mrs Wheeler call Nancy and someone else pick up a phone.

“Nancy?” Robin asked.

“Yes. Who is this?”

“Uhm it’s Robin. I realized I forgot to thank you for giving me a ride to work”

“You didn’t forget to thank me”

“I didn’t?” Robin asked. She sat there and tried to remember.

Nancy giggled “No you didn’t forget. You called me your savior.”

Robins jaw dropped “I did not!” she yelped.

Nancy started laughing even more.

“You sure did”

Then it got silent. Robin realized she had just called Nancy without thinking what she was gonna say to her.

“Uhm okay well thank you again, sorry for bothering you.” Robin quickly said.

“You’re welcome Robin. See you tomorrow.”

Robin heard Nancy hang up and Robin put her phone back. She forgot that they were going to the roller rink tomorrow. What was she gonna wear. She hopped and up and started to rush over to her dresser.

Before she could fully freak out, her phone rang.

She huffed and picked up the phone, putting it between her ear and shoulder. “Hello this is the Buckley house” she said in a monotone voice.

“Robin it’s me.”

“Oh hey Steve!” Robin said walking back over to her dresser. She grabbed one of her t-shirts and held it up and looked in the mirror. “Why’d you want me to call?” Steve asked.

“Well Stevie let’s think about this. I found you and Eddie KISSING in the back of the store and I got absolutely NO explanation” Robin said while grabbing out a pair of shorts.

“Oh, right.” Steve mumbled.

Robin dug through the drawers and grabbed a pair of cargo shorts and started to put them on. “Um well as you saw we kissed” Steve said pausing. “and he’s going with me to the roller rink tomorrow”

“Oh?” Robin said while she grabbed another t-shirt out of her drawer. “Yeah” he said. She could hear him jump on the bed. “Im kinda excited”

“Kinda? You’re only kind of excited?!” Robin shrieked. “Oh leave it alone Buckley! You’re so annoying.” he whined. “You know you’re super excited Stevie.” Robin said giggling into the phone.

“You know what? I’m hanging up on you” “No!” Robin screeched. “Don’t leave me to suffer alone dingus!

He sighed “Why are you suffering?”

Robin scrambled to her closet and started shuffling through her clothes. “I don’t know what to wear tomorrow!” she yelped.

“And why exactly are you worried about what you’re gonna wear tomorrow?” curiosity peaked in his voice.

Robin paused.

“Actually I think you hanging up on me is a great idea!”

“Oh no no no Robbie you’re not getting out of this.”

“Do i have to say it?” Robin asked defeatedly

“Yes, yes you do.”

Robin sighed.

“Nope, not doing it.” She slammed the phone down and ran her hand through her hair. The phone started ringing again. She picked it up “Nope!” and slammed it back down. She dug around her room for a few minutes looking at all her clothes and trying stuff on.

She finally decided on a pair of green cargo pants and a mustard yellow band t-shirt. She set it out on one of her chair and got ready to go to sleep.

+++

Nancy walked over to her closet and took one of her hot pink t shirts off a hanger. She slipped the shirt over her head and tucked it into her black shorts. She walked over to her vanity and plopped down on the seat. Grabbing a hair tie, she pulled her hair into a pony tail and pulled out two hairs on each side of her head. She twirled them around her fingers and let the curls bounce down.

She slowly applied teal eye shadow to both of her eyelids and then opened her eyes wide. The clumps of mascara spread across her eyelashes making them perk up and look darker. She swiped lip gloss across her lips and hopped up, grabbing a pair of pink socks.

After sliding them on her feet, she ran down the stairs and grabbed her car keys.

Right when she was about to leave her mother called out “Don’t forget your brother.”

Nancy huffed.

“Mike!” she screamed, waiting for a response. He stumbled down the stairs and grabbed his shoes, following her out to the car.

“Can we pick up will?” Mike asked Nancy as she started to drive. “Will that make you leave me alone?”

“Yes.” he said rolling his eyes

“Then absolutely!”

Nancy drove the car to Wills house and honked the horn as soon as she got there. The lanky boy ran out of the house and hopped in the back seat “How are you doing Will.” Nancy asked smiling. “Pretty good.” he said smiling back.

She then drove back to the road and headed towards the roller rink. The car was speeding by faster as she repeatedly checked the time to make sure they weren’t late. As soon as she pulled into the parking lot she saw Robin smoking in front of the entrance. She parked the car and hopped out with a big grin on her face.

“Hey Robin.”

Robin pulled the cig out of her mouth and blew smoke out. “Hey Wheeler.” she said a smile growing across her face.

+++

Robin took one last drag of her cigarette and then threw it on the floor, twisting her foot on it. She opened the door for Nancy “Ladies first” She said with a huge grin. Nancy smiled at her, pulled her sunglasses on to the top of her head, and walked in the roller rink. Mike and Will quickly followed. Robin then swung the door fully open and walked in.

As soon as she walked in, she was flooded with loud music. She flinched and her hands flew to cover her ears. Nancy looked back and walked over to her and placed her hands on Robins arms.

“Hey you okay?” Nancy asked as she slowly pulled Robins hands down from over her ears. Robin nodded. “The musics a little loud that’s all.” Nancy stared at her for a second before responding. “Okay” she said as she grabbed Robins hand.

“I see Max, El and the boys up ahead come on!” Nancy said as she ran over to them, dragging Robin behind her.

Robin was so glad that the light were somewhat dim and colored in there because she could feel her face burning.

They whipped past a lot of people wearing bright colors and their hair in a bunch of different styles.

After a few second they were over at the table with the rest of the group, Will and Mike slowly following up behind them. Robin noticed that everyone seemed like they were dressed a little different than usual but she thought it looked good. Everyone was wearing bright colors like the rest of the people in the roller rink.

Max and El were sitting across from each other having a small conversation while Steve and Eddie were off in a corner together. They were obviously keeping to themselves. Will and Mike went and sat down by El and Max, joining their conversation.

Steve glanced over and saw the two girls and his face lit up. “Look who finally got here” Steve grinned. Robin walked over to him and pulled him in for a hug. She ruffled his hair, messing it up and making him glare at her. She playfully punched his arm and turned to look at Eddie.

Looking at him, she noticed he had his hair up in a ponytail. “Loving the hair Munson.” she said giving him a fist bump then hugging him too. After their hug, they turned to look at Nancy and Steve and watched them awkwardly hug. Steve patted her shoulder, pulling his lips tight, and walked back over to Eddie.

Robin rolled her eyes and walked back to the table the kids were sitting at. She slammed her hands on the table, scaring them. “You ready to get some skates?” Robin smirked. The kids laughed and stood up. Robin and the rest of the older kids followed them to the counter. Eddie and Steve walked in front of Nancy and Robin.

Nancy turned to Robin “Have you been skating before?”

“Nope” Robin said as she shoved her hands in her pockets. “You?”

“Yeah i’ve been a few times actually, I came the day it opened.” Nancy said. Robin raised her eyebrows. Nancy noticed Robins face change. “What?” she questioned. Robin opened her mouth to answer but just closed it again. “I just didn’t really see you as a person that would come here often.” Robin said a little quieter than earlier. Robin noticed Nancy was about to question her but they finally made it to the counter.

“Can I have a size 6 in women’s and-“ Nancy glanced over to Robin “size 10” Robin answered. The lady behind the counter walked back and grabbed two pairs of roller skates. She placed the smaller pair in front of Nancy and the big pair in front of Robin. They both grabbed their skates and made their way back to the table.

Robin plopped down on the bench and bent down to take her shoes off. She untied her converse and pulled them off, placing them on the table. She then slipped the skates on her feet.

Nancy skated in front of Robin and held her hands out for the girl. Robin hesitated but slapped her hands on top of Nancy’s.

Nancy swiftly pulled Robin up making her stumble a bit. “Just hold on to me, i’ll make sure you don’t fall” Nancy said as she rolled along the bright carpet, leading Robin to the rink. Robin used her free hand to cover her face just in case anyone could see the drastic change in color.

As soon as Nancy got to the rink she turned herself backwards and grabbed Robins other hand and led her out on the rink. Robin wobbled immediately as she got on the rink and ended up grabbing Nancy’s shoulders. Nancy giggled a little still skating backwards. “You’ll get the hang of it, I promise.” Nancy said beaming at Robin.

Right as Robin started to get the hang of it these two boys sped by them. She whipped her head up and realized it was Steve and Eddie. “Assholes!” she yelled as she gripped harder on Nancy’s shirt. They stuck their tongues out at her like children as they zipped around the rink.

“Here” Nancy said as she grabbed Robins hand. She moved to Robins left side, closer to the middle of the rink. She slowly started to skate and looked back at Robin making sure she was doing the same. Robin picked her feet up and slowly started pushing them against the hard floor. She started to pick up speed and her and Nancy lapped the rink a few times. Robin kept her grip firm on Nancy’s hand, helping her keep her balance.

At one point she looked up and saw Max and El smiling and skating together. Seeing that made her heart happy and she was able to focus more on skating.

Robin and Nancy started to skate faster keeping their grip tight. Robin didn’t realize how fast she was going until she glanced away for a few seconds. When she looked back ahead of her she realized she was headed for a wall. She also realized she didn’t know how to stop.

“Nancy!” Robin shrieked as she hit the wall, Nancy shortly following her. Robin opened her eyes and realized she was on top of Nancy.

Nancy opened her eyes and started to giggle. She propped herself up on her elbow and looked at Robin who moved back a little. “You need to pay more attention Robin.” Nancy chuckled as she picked herself up off the rink floor. She held her hand out for Robin to grab. Robin reach up and Nancy pulled her off the ground. Robin laughed a little “Sorry.”

“It’a all good. Let’s take a quick break.” Nancy said skating over to the exit. Robin gripped her hands on the wall and slowly scooted herself to the exit as well. She stepped out the roller rink and followed Nancy to the table.

“Stay right here, i’ll be right back.” Nancy said as she skated over to the counter. Robin sat there staring at Nancy when she heard someone slump down next to her. She looked over and saw Max. “Why are you staring at Nancy?” Max questioned. Robins breath hitched. “What?” Robin asked trying to act like she didn’t know what Max was talking about. Max’s jaw dropped as she realized “You like Nanc-“ Robin slapped her hand on Max’s mouth and placed her finger over her own mouth.

“Shut your mouth kid.” Robin whispered harshly. Max gasped. “So it’s true?!” Max shrieked. Robin stared at her

“Maybe” Robin whispered.

Chapter Text

Max opened her jaw wide, a huge smile growing on her face. Robin glanced over and saw her face. “Shut up!” she hissed as she swatted at Max’s arm. Max lets out a giggle while she poked Robins arm.

Robin looked up and saw Nancy skating back to them with a few bandaids in her hand.

“Cut the crap Red!” Robin whispered.

“Somebody’s been hanging out with Eddie too much.” Max said as she rolled her eyes.

“Shut up” Robin said in a sing song voice through clenched teeth.

“So I went up to the counter over there-” Nancy pointed her head in the direction “and I got you some bandages for your cuts.” Nancy said. She reached over and grabbed Robins hand. Robin laid her hand flat and Nancy placed the band aids in her hand. Robin shut her hand and mouthed “Thanks.”

Max stood up and skated her way back to the rink. She picked up her speed so she could catch up to El. This made Robin smirk. The band aid opened easily and Robin placed one on her knee. She then took her free hand and started feeling around her face. Her hand brushed over the cut and she winced a little.

“Here let me help” Nancy said quickly after hearing Robin wince. She grabbed the bandage from Robins hand and ripped the packaging open. Nancy leaned over and put the bandage on, smoothing it out. Robins hear beat accelerated as she realized how close Nancy was to her face.

“There! Much better.” Nancy said. She slapped her hand on her knees and jumped up. Robin looked up at her when she held her hand out. She placed her hand in Nancy’s and the girl pulled her up.

“Next time, watch where you’re going please.” Nancy said with a smile plastered on her face. Robin grinned back and skated behind Nancy to the entrance of the rink. They rolled on the rink and started to skate in circles again.

The lights flashed around the rink, changing colors and making the place bright. Music pounding in their head, making it hard to hear each other. Nancy grabbed Robins hand to keep her steady, and they held hands while they skated around the colorful rink without talking.

Robin could feel some people staring but she just ignored them. She knew it wasn’t like that, at least not for Nancy. Robin quickly shook her head to push that thought away. She turned her head and smiled at Nancy, admiring her as they continued to skate.

At one point, Nancy went to the middle of the rink and showed Robin how to do a turn on the skates. Robin attempted the move but as soon as she started to turn she could feel it was a bad idea. Nancy quickly whipped her arm out, grabbed Robins shirt and pulled her back. This helped Robin catch her balance and not fall.

The two girls skated a few more laps around the rink when they realized the rest of the group wasn’t skating anymore.

“Where’d they go?” Robin asked as her and Nancy started to skate towards the exit.

“Knowing my brother, they probably went to the arcade part.” She said pointing to the little room attached with a bunch of games.

“Ah.” Robin said as soon as she spotted it.

They slowly rolled back to their table and sat down side by side. Robin slid the roller skates off and grabbed her converse. She threw them on and stood up. There was no lady at the counter so she just placed her skates on the counter and walked back over to Nancy.

Nancy was still putting her shoes back on so Robin grabbed her skates and put them on the counter next to her own. As soon as she did that Nancy was done and they walked over to the arcade section.

It was a little quieter in arcade part, which made Robin a little less tense. A second after walking in they spotted the group. Eddie was manning the game as everyone stood around him. El and Steve were off to the side, leaning against a table and talking to each other . The two boys and Max were hovering over Eddie pointing at the screen and telling him what to do.

“You kids act like i’ve never played pac man before jeez.” He said waving them off. They backed up a little but still watched with wide eyes as Eddie quickly moved the joy stick.

“Were you guys ever going to tell us you were in the arcade?” Robin questioned as her and Nancy walked over to the group.

“Hey Robin, sorry it looked like y’all were having fun and we didn’t want to bother you.” Steve said walking over to the girls.

“Sure.” Robin rolled her eyes.

Right after Robin spoke she heard the group groan. “Dude how did you die” Mike yelled, smacking his forehead. “Nice try Eddie.” Will said smiling. Eddie gave them a quick wave and jogged over to Robin.

He points back at Will. “That kids so fricking nice! Wish I met him sooner.” Eddie said smiling.

“He’s such a sweet kid.” Nancy chimed in. They all smiled looking over at Mike and Will. Steve snapped his attention back to their little group.

“Okay anyway we were planning on going to Waffle House after playing a few games. Nancy you’d take the two boys and Robin. Me and Eddie would take the rest. Cool?”

“Cool “ Nancy smiled.

“Okay good.” Steve looked over his shoulder. “Little Red let’s go play air hockey.” He said walking over to the air hockey table.

Max scoffed “I have a name you know!” she said running after him.

El looked up and followed Max, giving Nancy and Robin a small smile before disappearing. When Robin looked back at the boys she realized Eddie had walked back over and they started a another game of pac-man.

“Guess it’s just us” Nancy said noticing the same thing. Robin nodded and looked around the arcade for a game to play. She scanned the room and all the games looking for a game she recognized. Her eyes finally landed on one of the games. “Holy shit is that Mario Bros ?! I love that game!” Robin squealed. Nancy looked over “Oh I know that game. I think i’ve seen Mike play it a few time.”

Robin smirked “Wanna play?”

Nancy looked up at her and noticed her smirk. “Oh you’re so on Buckley.” she said grinning.

They ran over to the game and Robin rummaged through her pocket. She pulled out two quarters and squatted down. The quarters fell in and Robin shot back up. She took once glance at Nancy and started playing.

After the first game, Robin emerged victorious. “In your face Wheeler!” Robin shrieked pumping her fist. Nancys eyebrows furrowed and she looked up at Robin. “Let’s play again.” Nancy said, determined to beat the younger girl. Robin laughed “Sore loser now are we?” she said. “Well there’s no harm in playing again I suppose.” She said sliding two more quarters in.

When Robin looked over, Nancy was frowning and gripping the joystick.

Shit.

Robin played frantically but it was no use. Nancy had learned the controls and refused to lose.

“No!” Robin yelled falling to her knees.

“Look who’s a sore loser now.” Nancy said looking down and smirking.

Robin covered her face and pretended to cry for a second. She looked back up and saw Nancy looking down at her.

Her face turned red and she immediately shot up. She lightly hit her face and turned back to Nancy. “One more time.” she pleaded, batting her eyelashes and jutting out her lower lip.

“Fine” Nancy rolled her eyes.

•••

“Noooo, one more time Nance!” Robin whined as Nancy forcefully pushed Robin out of the roller rink. “Robin we played like 5 times, I think that was enough.”

Robin huffed and crossed her arms “Whatever.”

Steve and Eddie were already ushering the kids into their car. Steve hopped in the drivers seat while Eddie sat in the front seat.

Steve waved to Nancy and Robin as he pulled out of the parking lot and headed over to waffle house.

Mike and Will hopped in the back seat chatting away. Robin was pushed in to the car by Nancy. She tried to push back but Nancy surprisingly was stronger. Robin buckled her seatbelt and pulled out a cig. She quickly lit it and rolled the window down. She took a long drag and blew the smoke out the window. Nancy hopped in soon after and started the car up. She pulled out of the parking lot and followed Steve from behind.

After a few minutes Nancy looked over and noticed Robin was smoking. “Jesus Christ Robin! Don’t do that in my car.”

Robin jumped and looked over as she blew more smoke out. “Oh shit i’m sorry i forgot to ask.” she mumbled as she flicked the cigarette out the window. She slowly rolled the window up, crossed her arms, and slumped back in the seat.

When she looked up at the rear view mirror she could see that the two boys were giggling.

She stuck her middle finger up at them.

They stopped, sat up straight and looked away. “Gotcha punks” she whispered glaring at them. Nancy rolled her eyes and continued driving.

After a minute of pouting, Robin reached over and turned the radio up. She immediately recognized the song and started drumming along on the dashboard. “And I can’t fight this feeling anymore” she whispered closing her eyes and continuing her drumming. She hummed along the whole song, singing parts a few times. Nancy glanced over at one point and chuckled at the girl.

When the song finished they pulled into the Waffle House parking lot. Nancy parked the car right next to Steve’s and hopped out. Robin slowly opened the car door, careful not to hit Steve’s car. She couldn’t even imagine what Steve would do if she dinged his car.

Kill her probably.

She swiftly avoided hitting the car and followed Nancy in with the two boys behind her. They all walked in and didn’t even have to look to know where the rest of them were. Robin could hear Eddie’s obnoxious voice loudly talking to Steve. Steve and Eddie were sitting in one both and the younger girls were sitting in a booth next to theirs.

Robin immediately walked to Steve and Eddie’s booth, sitting down in front of them. Nancy quickly slid in after her. The two girls bumped shoulders before Nancy scooted to the right a little.

“You two order already?” Robin asked, opening her menu. Eddie slapped both of his hands on Steve’s shoulders “Yup, Steve just couldn’t resist the waffles.” he said while shaking the other boy. Steve swatted his hands away frowning. “Oh don’t lie Eddie, I was gonna wait but you just ordered immediately.” Eddie rolled his eyes, slung his arm over Steve’s shoulders and leaned back in the booth.

Robin quickly scanned over the menu and decided on getting plain old waffles. The waiter made his way over to their table and took their orders. Robin also decided on getting an oreo milkshake. The waiter quickly wrote down her and Nancy’s order and shuffled over to the kids booth.

“So how was your game with Max?” Robin asked Steve. “The little shit beat me, I don’t know how she’s so god damn good at that game.” Steve scoffed. Robin arched her eyebrow “Oh? She beat you?” Robin squealed turning in the booth to look at Max. Steve’s eyes narrowed “And how exactly did your game with Nancy go?” he crossed his arms.

Robin went silent and turned back plopping back on the booth seat. Eddie and Nancy both chuckled at the two friends. The waiter brought over Nancy and Robins drinks. “Thanks” Nancy said as she reached for her cup and took a sip of water.

“So how’d you do Eddie?” Nancy said as her eyes flickered up. He quickly smiled “Beat the high score” he proudly said. Robins face lit up. She reached over the table and held her hand up. Eddie picked his arm off of Steve’s shoulder and gave Robin a quick high five. He flopped his arm back on Steve’s shoulder and gave him a quick glance.

Robin shoved her finger to the back of her mouth and pretended to gag. “Disgusting!” she shrieked. Steve immediately blushed “Shut your mouth Buckley.” he whined. Robin stopped and smiled softly at them.
Her heart slightly ached for what they have but she let it go.

After a few minutes of chatting and catching up the waiter came back with their food.

Robin grabbed the maple syrup and drenched her waffles with it. She cut one of the waffles and shoved a forkful in her mouth. Some of the syrup spilled on her face and she quickly wiped it away with her hand. Nancy looked over at her and watched her spill syrup on her shirt. Robin pulled her chin in and looked down at her shirt.

Before she could even react, Nancy was handing her a napkin. Robin smiled at her and grabbed the napkin. She quickly wiped the syrup off her shirt and threw the napkin on the table. Then quickly scarfed down her waffles and made her way to her shake. She looked around the table and noticed no one else was finished. She decided she would just make conversation.

“I didn’t know you two could skate.” Robin said pointing and looking at the two boys. Steve looked over at Eddie who had his mouth full. “Well i’ve been invited to the rink a few times so I picked it up quickly. Eddie swallowed his food and answered “Im just amazing at everything I do.” he grinned.

Robin rolled her eyes and went back to her shake. She picked up her fork and started to poke at her plate, waiting for everyone to finish eating.

After a few minutes of waiting, she grew impatient. “Hey Nancy can you get out of the booth for a second, I need to use the restroom.” Robin said dropping her fork. Nancy got up and let her out. Robin swiftly walked over to the bathroom, as soon as she walked in she pulled a cigarette out of her pocket.

For a few minutes she sat there and smoked while leaning against the wall. She only stopped when she heard the door open. When she heard the door she smashed the cig into the wall and flicked it in to the trash can. She squeezed by the woman and walked out of the bathroom.

While she was making her way back to the booth, she noticed a jukebox sitting near the front. She grabbed two quarters out of her pocket and slid them in.

As soon as the song started to play she walked over to Nancy and held her hand out. “Care to dance m’lady?” Robin said in an accent. Nancy giggled while she placed her hand in Robins. Robin quickly yanked her up and they stood only inches apart. She could hear Nancy’s breath hitch. Nancy quickly took a step back with a nervous smile.

Robin and Nancys fingers interlocked.

Robin placed her other hand on Nancys waist while Nancy placed her hand on Robins shoulder. They both slowly started to swayed to the music.

Within seconds El looked at Max. “Want to dance?” she asked. Max’s face lit up “Sure!” she quickly said. The two girls stood up and slowly started to dance.

Robin softly smiled as she watched the two girls sway around the restaurant. As she smiled, she suddenly felt a weight fall on her shoulder. Glancing down, she saw Nancy’s head on her shoulder. She looked over to the two boys with panicked eyes. They both gave her a thumbs up and smiled. That didn’t help her at all.

They continued to sway for a little bit as Robin weaved them in between the tables. Then suddenly Nancy picked her head up and the two girls made eye contact. Robin pulled her arm up and spun the girl, making her giggle. When Nancy whipped back around they were closer than before. Robin thought she saw Nancy’s face go a tint of red but before she could really look the song ended. Nancy pulled back and did a little curtsy. Robin bowed at her with a grin. She then slide back in to the booth, Nancy quickly following.

As soon as Robin was seated, she looked up and saw the two younger girls make eye contact and blush before they hopped back into the booth.

Robin couldn’t hide her joy. She really enjoyed spending time with all of them.

Also, Max and El were super cute together and Robin couldn’t help but watch them.

Robin took her attention back to the tabled and continued to chat with the two boys as everyone else finished eating. Every once in a while she swore she could feel Nancy’s eyes on her, but she never turned to see if it was true.

After about 20 minutes, everyone was done eating and it was getting pretty late. Everyone split up into groups again. Nancy and Robin were gonna take Max and Mike home while Steve and Eddie were taking El and Will home. They all went their separate ways in the parking lot. Everyone quickly said their goodbyes and hopped into their designated cars.

Nancy and Robin left the parking lot first. They waved to the boys and El as Nancy zoomed out of the parking lot. Robin looked in the rear view mirror and saw Max and Mike in deep conversation, looking sort of distressed and annoyed in the back seat.

Instead of finding out what was wrong, she let it go and took her attention back to the front of the car. Nancy kept her eyes glued to the road and wouldn’t look at anything else.

“Nance are you okay?” Robin asked.

“Yup totally fine.” she quickly responded.

Robin stared at the girl for a second and then decided to leave her alone for now so she didn’t upset her. Nancy drove to Max’s house first because it made the most sense. On the way there, Robin turned up the music to the point that it was making the car shake. If she couldn’t talk to Nancy she had to do something.

After a few minutes of listening to the radio, Nancy pulled into the trailer park. She slowly made her way to Max’s trailer and parked.

Robin turned in her seat and reached her hand back. Max smirked and gave her a quick high five. “Nice job on beating Steve.” Robin grinned. “Thanks. And thanks for the ride Nancy.” Max said as she slammed the car door shut and ran up to her trailer. Nancy waited until she saw Max fully in the trailer to start driving again.

“Hey Nance?” Robin whispered.

Nancy finally took her eyes off the road and glanced at the girl. “Yes?” she asked, sounding a little annoyed. “Can we go to your house first?”

Nancy sighed and nodded her head

“Yeah that’s fine Robin.” she said.

They were to the Wheelers house within a few minutes. When Nancy pulled into the driveway she motioned for Mike to get out. He rolled his eyes and sighed loudly as he exited the car.

Nancy turned to look at Robin. “What’s up?” she asked.

“Are you .. mad at me” Robin asked quietly.

“Of course not!” Nancy smiled weakly. “Im just a little tired that’s all.” she said sighing.

“Oh okay.” she paused. “Sorry for making you drive Mike home first.” Robin looked down and started fidgeting with her rings.

Nancy reached over and grabbed Robins wrist. Robin slowly looked up at the other girl. “It’s fine Robin im not mad.” Nancy smiled.

Robins eyes slowly flickered down to Nancy’s lips. Nancy quickly noticed and did the same thing. Robin was about to lean in when Nancy quickly pulled away. “Alright time to take you home” she quickly said, buckling her seatbelt and pulling out of the driveway.

•••

Robin woke up the next morning around lunch time dazed and confused. She only had hazy memories of last night.

The one thing she could clearly remember was that her and Nancy had possibly almost kissed. Her face started to warm up. She shoved her face into her pillow trying to stop the blush from growing.

To fix the problem, Robin decided she would visit Steve and Eddie today. If she remembered correctly, they both were supposed to be working today. She quickly threw on a shirt and a pair of shorts and lazily walked down the stairs.

When she got downstairs she realized both her parents had already left. She grabbed an apple, keys off the key rack, and headed out the front door. After locking the door, she pulled out a pair of car keys and spun them around her finger. She knew she wasn’t legally allowed to drive but she wanted to go visit the two boys in a timely manner.

Robin hopped in the car, put the apple in her mouth, and sat there for a second remembering the basics of driving. The car started up and she pulled out of the driveway. For her sake and the cars sake she drive relatively slow and safe. Getting to the store was simple but took a little while since she was being so cautious. On the drive there she slowly ate the apple.

As soon as the store was in sight she sped up and whipped into the parking lot. She parked crookedly in one of the employee parking spots, threw the apple core in the grass, and strolled on in.

As soon as she walked in Eddie let out a big smile. She opened her arms wide and smiled. They both pretended to run and jump into each other’s arms. Eddie swiftly caught her and they both started to laugh.

He gently set her down and punched her arm. “What are you doing here on your day off Buckley?” he spotted the car keys in her hands “And did you drive?!” he said with concern. Steve walked out of the back.

“So what if she drove?” he asked

“Stevie, she doesn’t have a license.” Eddie said surprised at Steve’s lack of knowledge.

“Oh. Well she didn’t get caught did she?” he arched an eyebrow.

Eddie chuckled “Guess not.”

The two boys walked back behind the counter. Robin walked in front of it and propped her chin up on her elbows.

She decided she would get straight to the point. Make it easier for herself

“Do you guys think Nancy likes me.”

Steve quickly whipped his head around “What!” he yelped.

“There’s no way!” Steve raised his voice.

Robin rolled her eyes and ignored him. She looked over at the other boy, who she could tell was deep in thought.

“Im not so sure.” Eddie concluded.

Steve’s jaw dropped. “There’s no way you actually believe Nance likes Robin.”

Robin slapped her hand over her heart “Ouch Harrington!” she gasped.

“Oh you know what I mean.” he scoffed.

“Well I mean, you like me don’t ya.” Eddie chimed in, quickly making eye contact with Steve. Steve turned red and immediately whipped his head around and walked away.

“Fair point i guess.” he mumbled.

“Don’t worry about him Robbie he’s just a little dramatic.” Eddie said loudly trying to get Steve’s attention. Steve huffed at him.

“Well anyway why don’t you just ask her?” Eddie casually asked her.

“You did not just ask me that Eddie” Robin shrieked. “Oh right” he quickly said. “Can’t do that now can we.” He leaned against the counter and ran his hand through his hair.

“Here why don’t we do this” he said turning to face her. “Invite her to this bar. My band is playing there tomorrow night. Steve’s going so if you need he can talk to y’all too.”

Robin thought about it for a second.

“Alright deal” she smirked slamming her hands on the counter.

Chapter Text

Nancy sat at her vanity with her eyes wide open and a mascara wand in her hand. She leaned in closer to the mirror and slowly applied the mascara to her eyelashes. Chrissy walked over and placed her hands on Nancy’s shoulder. “You look great Nance!” Chrissy said with a smile plastered on her face. Nancy looked up and gave Chrissy a smile before continuing to do her mascara.

After a few minutes, Nancy decided her mascara looked good and placed the mascara wand back in the bottle.

“You should put on some eyeliner” Chrissy said picking up a bottle from the desk. She twirled the bottle between her fingers before she handed it over to Nancy.

“I don’t know how to do it, it always looks like a mess.” Nancy sighed.

“I’ll help!” Chrissy said whipping Nancy’s chair around and kneeling in front of her. “Close your eyes.”

Nancy close her eyes and shifted around in her seat as Chrissy moved closer. Suddenly
Nancy felt the the tip of the eyeliner press against her eyelid, cool to the touch. Chrissy slowly swiped the eyeliner on to both of Nancy’s eyes.

“All done” Chrissy announced closing the eyeliner bottle and placing it back on the vanity. Chrissy stepped back and admired her work. She then turned Nancy’s chair to face the mirror.

When Nancy finally looked at herself in the mirror her eyes widened. “It looks so good!” she squealed whipping her head around to look at Chrissy. “I know right!” Chrissy said with a huge grin.

Nancy spent a few more seconds admiring her makeup before she stood up and walked across her room. She walked in front of a body length mirror and looked at her outfit. Her outfit consisted of a pair of black jeans and a random band t shirt Chrissy had gave her. Nancy took a good look at herself and then quickly grabbed a hair tie.

She pulled her hair up and tied it in a loose ponytail. The shoes she picked out were a pair of Mikes worn down converse that were way too big for her but they matched her outfit so she didn’t really care. She grabbed her purse off the dresser and she and Chrissy rushed down the stairs.

“Im going to watch one of my friends bands tonight ill be back later.” Nancy yelled as her and Chrissy ran out the door. Nancy hopped in the drivers seat and put her seatbelt on. She pulled down the visor and flipped the mirror open. She quickly wiped off some
lipgloss that had gotten off her skin and then pushed the visor back up.

Chrissy hopped in the car and quickly started it up. “Remember we have to pick Robin up.” Nancy said quickly as she messed with her bangs. Chrissy nodded her head and pulled out of the Wheelers driveway. Nancy directed Chrissy to Robins house. She told her what turns to take and the roads they were gonna drive on.

After 10 minutes they pulled into Robins neighborhood. “It’s the one-story house with the black roof” Nancy said pointing at a house on their right. Chrissy pulled into the empty spot in the drive way and put the car in park. Nancy stepped out of the car and walked up to Robins front door. She lightly tapped her knuckles on the doors and stepped back.

Nancy could hear someone rustling around in the house. The door quickly flung open and Robin appeared with a pair of boots in her hand. Robins eyes went wide and traveled up and down Nancy. Before Nancy could say anything, Robin quickly stepped out the house and locked the door behind her. Nancy and Robin walked over to Chrissy’s car. Nancy made her way to the front seat and Robin hopped in the back.

“Are we good to go?” Chrissy asked craning her neck back to look at Robin. Robin nodded and started to slip her combat boots on. Chrissy glanced over at Nancy and then started to pull out of the driveway.

Eddie had told Nancy that the bar his band was playing at is about 20 minutes out from
Hawkins. Nancy knew it would be a bit so she propped her feet up on the dashboard and turned up the radio.

After a few minutes of listening to the radio, Nancy recognized a song that started to play.

“Oh my gosh Nance turn this up I love this song” Robin said while she leaned forward and placed herself between the two girls. Nancy reached up and turned the knob, making the music blare into their ears.

Nancy could feel the warmth coming off of Robins body as the girl leaned forward and started belting out with the song.

“You are the Dancing Queen!” Robin belted out into Nancy’s ear. This made Nancy giggle and focus her attention on Robin. The younger girl was dancing around and singing along with the radio. Nancy could tell Robin was having fun and that made her happy.

Robin continued to belt out the lyrics to Dancing Queen as Nancy directed Chrissy to where the bar was. As soon as the song ended Robin slumped back into her seat and whined. “Aw man they should’ve just played it again.” Robin pouted.

The rest of the car ride was mostly silent except for the music shaking the car. Nancy leaned her head against the window and watched as they left Hawkins and headed toward the city.

•••

Nancy hadn’t noticed that she started to doze off until she heard Chrissy’s voice.

“I think we’re here!” Chrissy squealed as they pulled into a parking lot. The bar was dark with a few neon signs lighting it up.

Chrissy parked the car and immediately hopped out when she saw Eddie. Nancy watched as Chrissy ran up to him and hugged him. He picked her up and they hugged for few seconds. Robin got out of the car soon after and made her way over to Eddie.

Nancy was the last one left in the car. She reached over and pulled the keys out of the ignition. Grabbing her purse she stepped out the car and shut the door, locking the car and throwing the keys into her purse.

Nancy made her way over to Eddie and watched him greet the other two girls.

++++

Robin slowly walked over to Eddie and watched Chrissy and Eddie’s reunion. “How are you doing Chrissy! I haven’t seen you in a while” Eddie said with a hug grin on his face. He ruffled her hair and looked at her outfit. “I never thought I would ever see the Chrissy Cunningham dressed grunge and coming to my bands concert.”

“You like it right?” Chrissy said smiling and doing a little spin. “Looks great blondie” he said chuckling. He then turned his attention to Robin. “Looking good Buckley” Eddie said as he pulled her in to a side hug. He looked down at her shoes and his jaw dropped. “Are those my shoes!” he gaped. “What??” she said sarcastically trying to escape his grasp. “Get back here Buckley i’ve been wondering where those were!” he shrieked trying to catch her as she got away.

Nancy finally made it over to the group and stood by Chrissy as the two watched Eddie chase Robin around the parking lot. Robin was laughing as Eddie tried to grab at her.

“They act just like the kids” Nancy said crossing her arms after watching them run around for a minute.

“We heard that!” Eddie and Robin shouted at her. Robin ran over to Nancy and stood behind her, planting her hands on Nancy’s shoulders. Robin could feel that Nancy immediately tensed up but ignored it. Robin ducked her head and used Nancy as a shield to get away from Eddie. When Eddie finally made it over to Nancy he slouched over and put his hands on his knees.

“You’re so lucky I haven’t ran in a while Robin.” he huffed. He stood up and pointed his finger at the girl “You can wear them tonight Buckley, but I need them back.”

Robin popped back up and stuck her tongue out at him. “You’re not gonna get away with that” Eddie said charging at her again. Robin yelped and ran towards the bar. She swung the door open and ran inside, squeezing past people. Robin giggled as she looked back and saw Eddie trying to get through the crowd. There was an open booth that she spotted as soon as she got out of the crowd.

She headed straight towards it and sat down. Eddie emerged from the crowd and she waved her hand up. He scanned around and eventually saw her. He quickly went over to the booth and sat in front of her. “There’s a lot more people here tonight than there usually is” Eddie said trying to catch his breathe again.

A minute later they saw the other two girls and Steve emerge from the crowd. Steve pointed over to the table and they walked over to Robin and Eddie. Steve sat down next to Eddie and slid in close. Nancy and Chrissy sat down next to Robin.

Eddie slung his arm over Steve’s shoulder and slouched back in the booth.

“I’ll give the boots back by tonight” Robin said as she leaned back. Eddie nodded at her and then their table went silent. To break the silence Chrissy stood up and asked “Does anyone want something from the bar?”

It was silent for a second before everyone said “I’ll take a beer” they all looked at each other and laughed. Chrissy gave them all a smile and made her way over to the bar. Steve leaned closer to Eddie and started to whisper in his ear. Robin just stared at them with a straight face. “Get a room” she said as they continued to giggle like little kids.

Robin decided she wanted to rest her arm behind Nancy. She took a second before she slowly moved her arm and rested it on the back of the booth. Then, she scooted it a little closer to Nancy’s neck. She saw that it made Nancy shiver but neither girl said anything. “So how’s your love life?” Robin questioned. This immediately made Nancy freeze and her eyes go wide. “Oh it’s going fine” Nancy smiled nervously at the younger girl.

Just in time Chrissy walked over with 4 beer bottles in her hands and placed them down. She then jogged back and picked up a Shirley temple and walked back to the booth, sitting down.

Nancy immediately picked up a beer bottle and took huge swig of it. “Woah calm it down Nance, we don’t need you getting super drunk tonight” Robin softly said to the girl. Nancy ignored her and continued to quickly drink her beer and to finish it. Chrissy looked at Nancy nervously. “Hey Nance are you okay?” the girl questioned taking a sip of her drink. Nancy nodded and swallowed the rest of her beer. She hit her chest “Can you get me two more beers. Nancy asked as she turned to face Chrissy.

•••

After the group talked for 30 minutes, Eddie had to leave them and go to the back to get ready. He swiftly kissed Steve’s forehead and headed backstage. Chrissy stood up and took Steve’s former spot, leaving Nancy and Robin to sit together.

At this point Nancy had gotten super drunk. She had at least 5 beers.

As Nancy had gotten more drunk, she had gotten closer to Robin. Robin had also, at some point, let her arm slump down onto Nancy’s shoulders. Nancy didn’t seem to care though, she just continued to drink her beers. When Nancy finished her 6th beer she went to ask Chrissy for another but Robin stopped her.

“Nance you’ve had more than enough beer tonight, cool it” Robin said smiling at her. Nancy stuck her lower lip out and crossed her arms. Robin arched one of her eyebrows. “Is this Nancy Wheeler pouting?” she questioned. Nancy quickly batted her eyelashes at the girl trying to change her mind but Robin just stared at her. After a few seconds Nancy gave up “s’fine eddie’s gonna be playing soon” she slurred looking up at Robin. She then leaned in closer to Robin and nuzzled her head into her shirt. Robin tensed up and her eyes went wide.

“You smell really good Robin, Robbie” Nancy said as she closed her eyes. “Imma go to sleep” Nancy said as she got even closer to Robin and curled up next to her.

Robin didn’t know what to do so she just sat there as the girl got comfortable. Chrissy and Steve started to talk to each other, making small talk until it was time for Eddie’s band to play. Nancy layed on Robin until she heard people shuffle on stage. She opened her eyes and looked up at Robin “s’that Eddie?”

Robin nodded and Nancy slowly pulled herself up.

Instead of sitting far way from Robin, Nancy stayed curled up and leaning on Robin as the rest of Eddie’s band walked on stage.

“WOOOOOH EDDIE!” Nancy screamed with her hands cupped around her face. Eddie looked over at the booth and smiled at them. He then winked at Steve and walked up to the microphone.

“Thank you all for coming out tonight!” he exclaimed. The crowd cheered and whooped as they raised their cups. “We are Corroded Coffin!” He yelled as he played a note on his guitar. Everyone cheered again as he started to play a song.

•••

Eddie’s band played 3 songs as the crowd cheered and screamed. Eddie had a smile on his face the whole time. Robin could tell he was happy to have his friends there to support him.

After the band was done, Eddie thanked the crowd again and walked off stage. A few seconds later he was walking back over to their booth. Chrissy immediately stood up and hugged him again. “It was so good!” she squealed. “Just like middle school” her smile widened. He hugged her back and thanked her.

She then moved out of the way so he could get to Steve. Steve walked up and kissed Eddie. Eddie’s eyes went wide and his face was full of shock. Steve pulled away and Eddie didn’t know what to say. Before he could respond, Nancy stood up and leaned on him.

“Your songs were so good” she mumbled trying to hold on to him and keep her balance. He looked down at her and then over to Robin with a confused face. “Too many beers” Robin mouthed and Eddie smiled and nodded his head. “Thanks Nance” he smiled down at the girl. She smiled back and then reached up and touched his hair

“Your hair is so pretty” she said starting to play with it. Robin quickly stood up and walked over to Nancy. Robin grabbed Nancy just in time before Nancy started to smell Eddie’s hair. The boy chuckled and patted Nancy’s head. “Thanks Wheeler, your hair’s pretty too”

Nancy beamed up at him.

“Alright Eddie we’d stay to celebrate but i’m pretty sure Nancy is out of it and won’t remember anything tomorrow.” Robin said pulling Nancy away from the booth. Eddie nodded at her as him and Steve both waved goodbye to the girls.

Chrissy and Robin stood on each side of Nancy and helped her walk to the car. As soon as they got to the car they opened the back seat and helped Nancy in. “Can you sit in the back with her? I don’t want her falling over” Chrissy said moving back a little.

“Sure” Robin agreed as she ducked in to the car. As soon as Robin was sat down Nancy clung to her and put her head on her shoulder. Robin reached over and buckled Nancy’s seatbelt and then her own. Chrissy looked at the two girls through the rearview mirror and started to drive.

“Just drop me off first, I don’t want Nancy going home right now she’s an absolute mess she’ll just stay at my house.”

Chrissy nodded and made her way to Robins house. Nancy snuggled up to Robin and dozed off. Robin watched out the window as they slowly made their way back to Hawkins.

After about 20 minutes of driving, Chrissy pulled into Robins neighborhood. She parked the car on the side of the road and walked to the back to help get Nancy out. “Aren’t your parents gonna ask why she’s staying over?” Chrissy asked as the two girls lugged Nancy up the driveway.

“They’re out of town so it’s all good.” Robin responded continuing to pull Nancy. After a minute or so they finally made it to the front door. Robin let go of Nancy and let her lean on Chrissy while she dug around in her pockets for her house keys. She quickly pulled them out and unlocked the door.

She grabbed Nancy again and guided Chrissy to her room. As soon as they made it to her room they let Nancy flop on to Robins bed. Robin thanked Chrissy and walked her back to the car. She smiled at her as she drove away.

Robin walked back inside, closed and locked the front door behind her.

She walked back to her room to find Nancy face first on her bed. “Come on Nance get up, we need to get you in more comfy clothes. Robin went through her drawers and pulled out an oversized t shirt and threw it at Nancy. Nancy slowly sat up and grabbed the shirt.

Before Robin could stop her, Nancy pulled her shirt off and went to undo her bra. Robin quickly whipped her head away and covered her eyes. She could feel a blush creeping up her neck. Robin waited a few seconds before turning around and looking at Nancy. The girl had pulled the shirt over her head and pulled her pants off and thrown them in the floor. The cover covered her whole body except her head that was barely peeking out.

Robin faced the opposite direction and quickly changed into her pajamas. She walked over to the bed and went to grab a pillow when Nancy finally spoke. “What are you doing?” Nancy slurred, barely keeping her eyes open.

“Well i was grabbing a pillow so I could sleep on the floor.”

“No”

“No?”

“Sleep with me, I don’t want to sleep alone.”

Robin stared at her. “Are you sure?”

Nancy nodded. Robin lifted the sheets up and slid under them. As soon as she got comfortable Nancy scooted closer to her and layed her head on her chest. Robin could smell the vanilla in Nancy’s hair like the morning she woke up at Nancy’s house. It calmed Robin and slowly helped her fall asleep.

Chapter Text

Robin woke up sweating and quickly looking around. She completely forgot the night before until she looked down and saw the older girl splayed across her. Robin softly smiled and spun her head to look at her alarm clock. Thankfully, she had remembered to turn the alarm clock off last night before they had both fallen asleep. The alarm clock read 9:08 AM. Robin layed her head back onto the pillow and closed her eyes. Right before she was about to doze off Nancy shifted her position. The girl had moved her head back onto Robins chest and curled up beside her.

After a few minutes of just laying there, Robin decided to wake Nancy up. The girl being on top of her was starting to get uncomfortable and she felt overheated. So, Robin reached out and lightly shook Nancys shoulders. Nancy immediately shot up, looking around. “Where am I?” she said rubbing her eyes. Robin smiled at her “You were out of it last night, I just had Chrissy drop us both at my house.”

Nancy stared at her for a second before she nodded her head. “I remember a little but it’s still mostly a blur.” Nancy then looked down and noticed she was practically on top of the other girl. “Sorry” she mumbled as she got out from under the covers and stood up. “Do you need clothes to borrow for today or do you just want to wear the clothes from last night?” Robin questioned as she propped herself up on the bed. “Can I maybe borrow some of your clothes.”

“Sure” the younger girl said as she got out of the bed.

She walked over to her closet and grabbed one of her t shirts and handed it to Nancy. Then she made her way over to the dresser and pulled out a pair of sweatpants. “Heres this, you can use my shower if you want, Im gonna go make us some food while you get ready.”

Nancy nodded her head and walked over to the bathroom. She walked in and Robin heard the lock click. As Robin walked out of her room she could still remember what Nancy smelled like when she woke up. Robin enjoyed waking up to the smell of Nancy’s shampoo. The warmth of someone lying beside her when she woke up gave her such great comfort.

She sighed as she made her way to the kitchen. From what she could remember, she hadn’t bought groceries recently so she wouldn’t have that many options for breakfast. After checking a few cabinets, she finally found the one with cereal inside. She grabbed the box and threw it on the counter, rummaging around for bowls and spoons. Eventually, she was able to find two bowls and spoons that were remotely clean, running them under water just in case.

When she started to walk over to the fridge she heard the shower turn on. Happy that Nancy took her up on the offer, she grabbed the milk out of the fridge and sat at the table. She quickly poured the cereal and milk into her bowl and started eating.

A few minutes later Robin heard the water turn off. Nancy quickly got dressed and emerged from Robins bedroom. When Nancy made it to the kitchen, confusion crossed her face.

“I thought you said you were gonna make us food?” she said as she sat down by Robin. “I forgot i haven’t gone to the grocery store in a while.”

Nancy chuckled as she poured her cereal and milk into the bowl. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Robin decided to speak.

“Did you see Max and El at the roller rink the other day?” Robin said in between bites. Nancy arched an eyebrow, looking confused. It took her a few seconds before she realized what Robin was talking about. Her face lit up as she spoke with her mouth full “They were so cute together!” she squealed while covering her mouth.

“Absolutely! Do you think El likes Max? Because I know for sure Max likes her.” Robin said in a sing songy voice. Nancy’s jaw dropped. “No way!” she smiled. Robin nodded her head smiling as she stirred her cereal. They continued to eat their cereal for a few minutes.

“We should set them up.” Nancy suddenly said.

Robin glanced up at her and saw a grin spreading across the girls face.

•••

Nancy sped into the parking lot and parked her car right near the entrance of the family video store. As soon as they hopped out they spotted Steve.

“Steve!” Robin yelped, running over to him.

He was about to enter when they caught up to him. He looked at the two girls confused as they ran up to him.

“We need your help.” Nancy said as she caught up to Robin. Steve nodded his head and opened the door for the two girls to enter the store. He soon followed.

“So we need your help as Nancy said.” Robin said while she went over to one of the seats to sit down.

A moment passed where it was silent.

“Steve?” Robin asked as she turned to face him again. When she looked at him she saw him frozen in place at the door. She could see a blush creeping up his neck. Eddie was behind the counter typing on the computer when he looked up.

“Cat got your tongue Harrington?” Eddie smirked.

Robin looked over at Eddie and noticed his curls were up in a messy ponytail.

“What can I say, my hair was getting in my way.” he shrugged.

“Looks good.” Steve said quietly. Eddie arched an eyebrow and stepped back from the computer.

“What was that?” he said as he walked out from behind the counter. Eddie slowly walked over to Steve. As soon as he got up to Steve he leaned over and whispered something in his ear. Steve’s face turned a bright red as he tried to keep his breath steady.

Robin rolled her eyes and yanked Steve away. “Save this for another time, jeez.”

Steve quickly snapped his attention back to Robin, sitting by her and Nancy. Eddie chuckled and made his way back to the counter.

“I need you to drive Robin to Max’s house, pick her up, and take them to the movie theatre.” Nancy said.

“Okay, and what are you gonna be doing?” Steve questioned, swinging his keys around his finger. “I'm picking up El and driving her to the theatre.”
Steve nodded.

“Uhuh, and what is the point of all of this?” he said looking at the two girls. They both smiled and looked at eachother.

“We’re gonna set them up.” the girls said in unison.

Steve looked at them for a second before he stood up and started to walk away. The two girls looked at eachother confused.

He turned back to look at them. “Are you guys coming or what?” he asked, staring at them. Robin smirked and hopped out of her seat with Nancy following behind. Steve motioned to Eddie to call him and he walked out of the door.

Robin skipped over to Steve’s car and jumped in the front seat. She quickly buckled her seatbelt and started tapping on the dashboard.

“Hurry up Harrington!” she yelled.

“Calm down Robbie, we don't need to rush.” he scoffed as he hopped into the car and started it. He swiftly pulled out of the parking space and drove onto the main road. Robin couldn’t stay still; she was so excited. She ended up fiddling with her rings to stay calm.

After a minute or two Steve glanced over at her. “So what made you guys decide to do this? and when did you even talk about it?” Robin stopped playing with her rings and looked up at him.

“Oh, well she slept over at my house last night.”

“What!” he yelped, whipping his head to look at her.

“Steve! Focus on the road.” Robin quickly said.

“Right, Sorry.” he mumbled.

“Anyway it doesn’t matter how we decided to do this because it’s a great idea.” she declared as she leaned back in her seat. Steve sighed and continued driving to Max’s house.

After a while of driving on bumpy roads and passing by the trees lining the road, they made it to the trailer park. Steve slowly drove up to Max’s house. As soon as Steve parked the car Robin got out of the car and ran up to the trailer. She knocked loudly on the door and stepped back.

It took a minute, but Max opened the door.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“It’s a surprise! Get ready quick!” Robin squealed.

Max sighed and walked away from the door, leaving it open. Robin let herself in and walked over to the couch. She jumped on it and got comfortable. The end table by the couch had a magazine on it that intrigued Robin. She reached over and grabbed it. It was covered in bright colors, but Robin didn’t mind. It was something to pass time.

A few minutes later Max finally came back to the living room. Robin could tell that the girl was still tired. “Wake up Max, I promise you’re gonna be excited.” She threw the magazine on the couch and hopped up.

Max rolled her eyes and followed Robin out to the car. They both got in the car and Steve started to drive. “So are you gonna tell me where we’re going?” Max asked, turning her attention to Steve.

Robin quickly covered his mouth with her hand.
“Nope!” she said, turning to look at her and giving the younger girl a smile.

Max rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She hunched down in the seat and closed her eyes.

+++

When Nancy pulled up to the Byers house she could see the lights were on. She quickly turned her car off and went up to the door, tapping lightly. A second passed before someone opened the door. Nancy looked back at the door and saw Jonathan staring back at her.

“Um is El up?” she asked, immediately feeling a little awkward. He looked at her for a second before he turned back. “Is El up?” he yelled. Nancy flinched a little not expecting him to yell. She heard someone quietly reply but couldn’t tell what they said. “Yeah she is. What’s up?”

“Well I was gonna take her to the mall. Is that fine?” she asked him.

“I think so. Let me go tell her. You’re welcome to come in.” he said as he walked back into the house to get the younger girl. Nancy walked in and saw Will sitting at their kitchen table eating. He looked up and smiled at her. Nancy smiled back at him and sat down at the table.

“Have you hung out with Mike recently?” Nancy asked the younger boy as she sat at the table and put her purse down. He glanced back up at her as he took a bite of his pancakes.

“We were actually planning on playing DnD today.” he said with a big smile on his face. “At our house?” she smiled. He nodded his head and went back to eating his pancakes. While she continued to wait Nancy looked around the Byers house. It looked in much better shape than the last time she saw it. It was very cozy and made her feel safe.

Before Nancy could get comfortable Jonathan walked back into the kitchen. He pointed to the hallway. “She’ll be out in a second. She said she’s fixing her hair.” Jonathan walked over to a coffee pot and poured some into a cup. He grabbed the cup and sat next to Will. He took a few sips of coffee before Nancy broke the silence.

“We should hang out sometime. We haven’t talked in a long time.” Nancy said, leaning on her hand. He looked up at her as he took a sip of his coffee. “I’d like that.” he smiled.

El walked out of the hallway and into the kitchen. Nancy grabbed her purse and stood up. “You ready El?” Nancy asked. El nodded her head. Nancy made her way to the door and held it open for El. El walked out of the door and Nancy closed the door behind them. Nancy hopped in the car and unlocked it. The two girls buckled their seatbelts and Nancy pulled out of the driveway.

“We’re going to the mall?” El said, turning to face Nancy. Nancy smiled and nodded her head.

“Why?”

“We’re meeting up with Robin, Steve and Max.”

“Max will be there?” El’s face lit up.

“Yup!” Nancy said smiling.

El’s mood had completely changed. Nancy could tell she was more excited. “What are we going to do?” El said after a moment.

“It’s a surprise.” Nancy smirked as she continued to drive them to the mall. El continued to smile and started messing with her hair.

Suddenly Nancy spoke before she could stop herself.

“Do you like Max?”

El looked at Nancy, confusion covering her face.

“Like?”

“Oh um. Do you like like Max?”

El stared at her for a second before responding.

“Yes.” El smiled and focused back on her hair.

“Do you like like Robin” she asked as she attempted to put her hair in a ponytail.

Nancy’s eyes went wide.

“What! Of course not!” she quickly said, making sure to not make eye contact with the younger girl. She could feel El stare at her for a second before she went back to taming her hair.

Nancy started to ponder about El’s question. Did she like Robin? I mean there’s no way she could like her like that. She started to think of all the times they hung out. Suddenly the night after the roller rink popped into her head. Robin had looked at her lips. She had started to lean in.

Nancy quickly shook the thought out of her head and put her attention towards driving. This was a thought for another time.

+++

Steve pulled into the star court parking lot and was able to snag a spot near the entrance. He quickly pulled into the spot and turned the car off.

“Why are we at the mall?” Max asked as she perked up in the backseat.

“You’ll see little Red.” Robin smirked as she stepped out of the car. She opened the back door and held her hand out for Max. Max hesitated for a moment but grabbed Robin's hand. Robin pulled the girl out of the car and leaned in to talk to Steve.

“Nancy will just drive me home. You can go hang with Eddie.” she smirked, closing the car door.

“Nancy? Nancy’s gonna be here?” Max questioned. Robin just ignored the girl and started walking to the entrance. “Robin, don't ignore me!” Max screeched. She quickly followed behind Robin, trying to catch up.

Robin swung the front doors open and walked into the mall. As soon as both girls got into the mall she spotted Nancy.

Max stopped walking and stood and gaped at Robin.

“You did not!” she whispered.

Robin smirked and walked over to Nancy.

“Crazy seeing you here!” Robin said sarcastically.

“Hey El!” Robin said, glancing past Nancy.

El smiled at her and then walked over to Max.

“Have you bought the tickets yet?” Robin whispered into Nancy’s ear trying to be secretive. Nancy shivered.

“No, I was waiting for you.” she quickly responded, stepping back. Robin arched her eyebrow.

She looked over her shoulder at the two girls. “Cmon kids let’s go.” The two girls looked at eachother and followed Robin and Nancy.

+++

Nancy started to notice every little thing about Robin and what she did . She noticed that Robin walked close to her. She noticed that Robin would bump into her while walking. Robin would fiddle with her rings while she walked. Every minute or so she would shake her head and fix her hair. She noticed that the freckles on her face extended to her neck.

“Nance, why’re you staring at me.”

Nancy snapped back into reality. She focused her eyes and realized she had been staring at Robin this whole time. She quickly whipped her head back forward. “Sorry I just spaced out.”

Robin gave her a confused look but Nancy just continued to look forward, hoping the girl would drop it. After a few seconds Robin focused back on her rings and walking. Nancy could hear the two younger girls laughing behind her. She turned to look back at them and realized they were giggling at her. She turned back around and could feel a blush forming on her face.

After a minute or two of walking they were finally at the movie theatre.

“The movies!” the two younger girls squealed. Robin chuckled as she walked up to the counter. “Can I get 4 tickets for Ferris Bueller's Day Off”

“Wait, only get two,” Nancy quickly said. Robin glanced over at her. “I wanna go shop.”

Robin stared at her for a second before smiling. “Okay, only two tickets.” The guy behind the counter took her money and handed her two tickets. Robin thanked him and grabbed the two tickets. They walked back over to the girls and handed them the tickets. “Alright here you go. Nancy and I are gonna go shop but we’ll come back when the movie is done.” Robin said, shoving her hands in her pockets. Nancy rummaged through her purse and pulled out a 10 dollar bill. She handed it to the two girls. El gave her a big smile. “Alright you two wait for us here when you’re done.” Nancy said, trying to sound strict. The two girls giggled at her as Max grabbed El’s hand and they ran into the theater.

Robin turned to Nancy smiling. “Do you think it’ll work?”

“Absolutely!” Nancy said smiling.

“Alright let’s go shop.” Nancy said quickly, wandering back into the mall. Nancy started to walk all over the mall and walked into every store. She had decided she wanted to buy more clothes for college. Every store she went into she ended up buying something. She got a lot more shirts, skirts, and dresses.The amount of bags she had ended up being too much and they started getting too heavy so Robin offered to carry them. Nancy smiled at her and handed the bags to her.

After about an hour of walking around and spending money Nancy decided she was almost done. Nancy was walking quickly in the mall with Robin following behind her carrying a bunch of bags.

“One more store.” Nancy said as she looked around. Robin sighed and adjusted the bags in her hands. Nancy quickly spotted the last store she wanted to go to and started to walk over there. She stood in front of the store waiting for Robin to catch up. When Robin finally caught up, her eyes went wide.

“Nance, why are we in front of Victoria’s secret.” Robin asked, sounding a bit scared.

Nancy glanced over at her. “I need some new bras and underwear. Come on, I'm gonna need your opinion.” She quickly walked in and started grabbing a bunch of stuff, her arms becoming full within seconds. Robin just stared at her as she grabbed more and more stuff. After she couldn’t grab anymore she walked over to the dressing rooms. She picked one that had a seat outside of it.

“Here you can sit here. I’m gonna try these on and I'm gonna need your opinion.”

Robin just stared at her in disbelief. The girl sat down and put all the bags down beside her. Nancy walked in and placed all the bras and underwear on the seat. She quickly put on one of the matching sets she got and went to open the door. Suddenly she realized what she was doing. She had forgotten that she was with Robin. She had forgotten that she might like Robin. This made her freeze and re-think what she had just done. Nancy stood in disbelief in front of the mirror because of her obliviousness.

“Nance, can you hurry up?” Robin whined.

Nancy took a deep breath before she unlocked the door. She slowly pulled the door open and walked out. Robin immediately sat up and her eyes went wide. Robin quickly swallowed.

“Um wow. It looks good Nancy. You should get it.” she said quietly. Nancy smiled at her. She watched the younger girl's reaction. Robin was looking her up and down.

“Thanks. The rest are like this one but just different colors.” Nancy said as she glanced down at the bra. She quickly fixed one of the straps trying to stop herself from blushing. There was a mirror on the wall that she walked over to. She looked over the set and turned around to look at the back. Robin continued to stare until Nancy looked back at her. “I'm gonna grab the ones I want and then check out.”

Robin nodded and started to fidget with her rings.

Nancy stepped back into the dressing room and covered her face. She could not believe what she had just done. She quickly took the set off and put her clothes back on. Grabbing the set she just tried on and a few others she walked out of the dressing room. Robin looked up and quickly grabbed the bags. Nancy checked out the 4 sets she liked and got another bag. Robin held her hand out for the bag.

“It’s fine, I'll carry this one.” Nancy said smiling.

Nancy slung her purse over her shoulder and grabbed the bag. The two girls headed back over to the theatre. When they finally made it to the movie theater they sat down at a bench. Robin set down all the bags again and checked her watch.

“It should be done any minute now.” She said, glancing up. As soon as she had said that, the other two girls walked out. They were giggling and drinking slurpees. The two girls finally noticed them and their jaws dropped.

“That’s a lot of clothes Nancy.” Max said as they walked up to them, eyeing all of the bags.

“Yeah I needed some clothes for college.”

“If you say so.” Max said as her and El started to giggle.

“Why don’t you two help Robin carry the bags. I mean I am the one driving.”

They both groaned as they picked up bags. Nancy smirked at them as she started to walk to the exit. She could hear all 3 girls groaning as they had to carry all of the bags to the car. Nancy popped the trunk open to her car and hopped into the front seat.

The girls dropped their bags in the trunk and jumped in the back. Robin quickly rearranged the bags and closed the trunk. She walked over to the front seat and hopped in. Nancy looked at her and held her hand out. Robin gave her a quick high five. The two girls smirked as they pulled out of the star court parking lot and headed back to the houses.

Nancy glanced up at her rearview and saw the two girls giggling and sitting close to each other. They were whispering in each other’s ears and just overall being super close. Nancy smiled and made her way to the Byers house.

As soon as they pulled into the driveway Nancy shooed them out.

“Just sleepover at the Byers today or have your mom pick you up. I’m not in the mood to drive to the other side of town.”

Max rolled her eyes and shut the car door. Nancy waved bye to El and pulled back out on the street.

“Wanna go to my house?” Nancy asked.

Robin nodded her head.

“Sure.”

Chapter Text

As Nancy pulled into the neighborhood, she spotted a familiar car parked outside of her house. She parked the car by the curb. Her and Robin hopped out the car and headed inside. When they walked in they were immediately overwhelmed with noise. The kitchen was filled with boys raiding the cabinets and fridge for food. Nancy stared as they pulled out multiple snacks from the cabinets and started grabbing handfuls of food.

Steve sat at one the counter on one of the bar stools watching all of the boys destroy the Wheelers kitchen. He looked over to the door and made eye contact with the two girls, “You guys are finally back.” Steve sighed as he pushed himself off the stool. He quickly grabbed his keys out of his pocket and walked over to the front door. “Cmon Robin we’ve gotta go to work, the bag of cheetos I bribed Keith with won’t work for so long.” He said rushing her out the door.

Robin craned her head back to look at Nancy. “Sorry Nance, I totally forgot I have work. Can we hang another time?” Nancy smiled and nodded her head as Steve shut the door behind them. Nancy turned her attention back to the boys in the kitchen.

She made her way over to the kitchen. Will and Lucas were going through the cabinets while Mike was shoving the food into Dustin’s arms. Eddie and what looked like his band mates, we’re going through the fridge for drinks. Eddie turned around and made eye contact with Nancy. “Hey Nance! When did you get back?” he questioned as he handed sodas to his band mates. Everyone turned to look at her, finally noticing she was there. They all waved or smiled at her, quickly going back to raiding the kitchen. Eddie grabbed the last drink and handed it to Gareth, quickly closing the fridge.

“You guys go downstairs, I’ll be downstairs in a few minutes.” he said walking over to the bar stools. The boys are crammed down the stairs, gripping the chip bags and drinks. Eddie plopped down on a bar stool and patted the one next to him.

Nancy raised an eyebrow at him. She sat down on the stool and put her purse on the counter. Eddie tried to make eye contact with her but she wouldn’t move her head. After a minute, he decided to break the silence.

“So you and Robin?” Eddie asked, turning his body to face her. Nancy froze. She slowly turned to face him. “What about us? We’re just friends.” she said flatly. “Is that what you want?” he asked her, studying her face and waiting for her response. Nancy took a second before she responded. “Yeah? I mean what else would we be?” she asked. He stared at her for a second before he hopped up and headed over to the basement door. “If you say so! I see the way you two act around each other.” he said, rolling his eyes and opening the door. “How we act around each other?” she whispered to herself.

“Are you guys ready to continue!” Eddie yelled as he ran down the stairs. Nancy stared at the door as she processed what he said. Why was he asking her all of that. Does he think he likes her? Why would he think she likes Robin? I mean there’s no way she could. She already thought about this earlier. Loudly sighing, Nancy took her shoes off and made her way upstairs. When she walked into her room, she shut the door and flopped onto her bed.

Nancy had never even thought that she could like girls. She had always liked boys. There were celebrity crushes and boyfriends. But, she had never thought about girls that way. Atleast she didn’t think she had.Robin was different. Nancy couldn’t understand why but she just was. After a while of thinking about her and Robin's interactions, she felt her eyelids start to feel heavy. Instead of fighting it she let herself slowly doze off.

•••

Nancy jolted awake to the sound of the doorbell going off. She glanced over to her alarm clock. It read 6:00 pm. “Shit!” she yelped as she hopped off her bed. Tumbling down the stairs, she heard the doorbell go off again. “I'm coming!” she yelled as she descended the last step. When she opened the door her eyes went a little wide.

“Jonathan?” she questioned trying to catch her breath. He looked up at her and gave her a small smile. “Yeah, I’m just here to pick up Will. Are they not done?” Nancy stepped off to the side and motioned for Jonathan to come in. “I don’t think so. Let me go check.” she said as she shuffled her way to the kitchen. She slowly opened the basement door. “Are you guys done?!” she yelled down.

“5 more minutes!” she heard Mike yell. Closing the door, she faced Jonathan. “I’d give it about 10 minutes.” she smiled. Jonathan smiled back at her and shoved his hands in his pockets. After an awkward moment of silence she walked over and sat down on one of their bar stools. Jonathan stared at her for a second before he made his way over to the empty bar stool. He slowly sat down next to Nancy.

“So how’s Will?” Nancy asked him, trying to start a conversation. He glanced in her direction before he answered her. “I’d definitely say he’s doing better since we moved back here. Being with Mike and all his friends again.” This made Nancy smile. “I could tell. It’s kind of nice having all of them playing DnD in our basement again.” They both exchanged smiles before it went silent again.

“Do you know anything about Eddie?” Jonathan said, suddenly breaking the silence. Nancy looked at him and arched her eyebrow. “Yeah? What about him?” she asked, obviously confused. “Well Will talks about him a lot so I was just curious who he is.” Jonathan quietly said. Nancy could tell he really cared about the younger boy. This made her smile before she answered. “Don’t worry Eddie’s super nice. He won’t be a bad influence on Will.”

Right as she finished her sentence the basement door slammed open. All of the boys emerged from the basement. Will and Eddie were leading the group. The other boys followed closely behind shouting and yelling at them. “That can’t be how the campaign ends!” Mike shrieked. “Yeah c'mon man there’s no way.” Lucas said, backing Mike up.

After a minute of arguing the boys looked over at Nancy and Jonathan. “Jonathan? What are you doing here?” Will asked, stepping away from the crowd. “I'm here to pick you up.” he said softly, hopping off the bar stool.

“What’s going on?” Nancy asked, watching the group continue to argue.

“Will screwed us over!” Dustin shrilled.

“No he did not.” Eddie grinned. “Little Byers here made the best campaign ever!” he said excitedly while he pulled Will in for a side hug and ruffled his hair. Will laughed while the other boys glared at him and huffed.

After Eddie let go of the younger boy, his attention shifted to Jonathan. “Oh hey, you must be Jonathan.” he said walking over to him with his hand out. Jonathan put his hand out and firmly shook Eddie’s hand. Eddie stopped back and smiled at Jonathan. It was silent for a second before Jonathan spoke. “Alright Will let’s head home.” he said quickly heading for the door. Will whined and turned to say goodbye to everyone. He hugged the other 3 boys and walked over to the door. He was about to follow his brother out the door when his face lit up. “Can Mike sleepover?” he said with a huge smile on his face. Jonathan looked over to Nancy and they made eye contact. She smiled and nodded her head. Will's smile grew as he grabbed Mike's sleeve and ran out of the house.

Nancy could hear Mike talking to Will as they left the house. “I haven’t even packed anything!” he yelped as he was rushed to the Byers car. Lucas scoffed as he walked to the front door. “No invite for us.” he said looking at Dustin and waving. He grabbed his bike off the porch and started to ride down the street. Eddie’s band mates left next. They said a quick bye to Eddie and all hopped in the same car. Eddie and Dustin smiled at each other and looked over at Nancy.

Nancy stood there for a second before she spoke. “Who brought you two here?” she asked nervously. They both grinned at her. “Steve” they said in unison. She groaned as she grabbed her car keys and walked out of the house. “Lock the door behind you!” she yelled as she unlocked her car. The two boys piled into her car, Eddie in the front and Dustin in the back. Nancy started the car and headed towards Dustin’s house. Not even a minute into driving Eddie started to mess with the radio. He changed the channels about a million times until he decided on one. He turned the volume all the way up and slumped back in his seat. The music was blaring in Nancy’s ears while the two boys were bopping their heads along.

Halfway through the drive Nancy couldn’t take the noise anymore. She reached over and turned it down. The two boys groaned. ”It’s too loud.” she snapped. This made Dustin roll his eyes and Eddie stifle a chuckle. Nancy huffed and continued to drive. “Someone’s in a bad mood.” Dustin whispered. Nancy glared at him. “I can just drop you off here and you can walk the rest of the way.” she said. He stayed silent and looked out the window.

After a few minutes she pulled into the driveway and parked the car. “Bye Henderson.” Eddie said as he held his hand back. Dustin gave him a quick high five and hopped out the car. He waved to them and ran into his house.

Nancy started up the car again and started to drive. “So are you gonna explain your bad mood?” Eddie sighed, getting comfortable in the seat. Nancy glanced at him before she answered. “It’s nothing. You guys just woke me up” she huffed. Eddie cracked a smile. “You sure it’s not about our conversation earlier?” he said, trying to hide his smile.

“You know it’s not like that.” she quickly said. “Are you sure about that?” he asked. “I mean Nancy there’s no way you haven’t entertained the idea that you could like her.” She glanced over at him and stayed silent. “It’s okay if you do Nance. I mean look at Steve. There’s no way you think he was immediately okay with the thought of liking another guy.” That made Nancy chuckle. Eddie immediately smiled. “He was a complete wreck!” he laughed.

They both laughed for a few seconds. “All I'm saying is that you can talk to me.” Nancy nodded and focused back on the road. “I don’t think I'm ready to.” she quietly said, pulling into the trailer park. “And that’s perfectly fine. Just don’t ignore your feelings.” he said as he hopped out of the car. He leaned back in. “Thanks for the ride Nance.” he shut the car door and skipped up to his trailer.

Instead of immediately pulling out of his driveway she just sat in her car, staring off into the distance. She gently rested her head on the steering wheel and felt tears roll down her cheeks. After letting herself cry for a minute she wiped away her tears, started the car up, and started driving. Tonight was gonna be a long night.

•••

Nancy woke up to the phone in her room ringing. She pushed her bangs out of her eyes and picked up the phone. “Hello?” she said.

“Oh no. Did I wake you up?”

“Chrissy?” Nancy asked.

“Yeah! Sorry for waking you!” she quickly said.

“What’s up?” Nancy said as she propped herself up in her bed.

“Well I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my house and hang out today?”

“Sure. I’ll come now.” Nancy said.

“Okay see you soon!” Chrissy squealed

“Yup” Nancy said.

She hung up the phone. Nancy quickly got out of bed and put on clothes she found on the floor. After wiping off her makeup from yesterday and applying new makeup, she walked downstairs.

“Morning Nancy!” her mom said as she cooked some pancakes. Her father looked up from his newspaper. “Where’s Mike?” he said in a monotone voice. “He slept over at the Byers house.” Nancy said.

He looked over to Mrs. Wheeler. “When did we say he could do that?” Nancy grabbed a pancake and stuffed it in her mouth. “I did.” Nancy quickly said as she opened the fridge. Before Ted could say anything her mom cut him off. “Make sure you check with us next time sweety.” she said, smiling at Nancy. Nancy gave her mom a smile, grabbed another pancake, and headed for the door. “Where do you think you’re going, young lady?” Ted said, putting his newspaper on the table. “Chrissy’s” she shouted as she shut the door.

She walked over to her car and pulled the door open. Her mom appeared at the front door. “Why are you going to Chrissy’s?”

Nancy shoved the second pancake in her mouth. “We have a project to do.” She hopped in the car and started it. She quickly drove to Chrissy’s house. The whole ride she continued to think about last night and Robin. She started to drive faster so she could talk to Chrissy. As soon as she pulled into Chrissy’s driveway she could see Chrissy standing at the front door waving at her. She quickly parked the car and got out. After looking at Chrissy she couldn’t take it anymore. Tears started to sill down her face as Chrissy ran over to her.

Chapter Text

“Nance are you okay?!” Chrissy asked worriedly, trying to analyze Nancy. Nancy could only make out the outline of Chrissy since her eyes were filled with tears. She just put on a small smile and shook her head. Chrissy stared at her for a second before she lead her into the house. Chrissy had her arm wrapped around Nancy's waist. She carefully led the girl to the couch and handed her a blanket. Nancy quickly wiped her tears away and started to fan her face. The other girl hurriedly walked over to the kitchen and grabbed her a glass of water. When Chrissy made her way back over to Nancy, Nancy had mostly stopped crying. Chrissy sat down next to her and handed her the glass of water. Nancy had wrapped the blanket over her body, her hands being the only part of her able to move. She grabbed the glass of water and took a small sip.

“So are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Chrissy asked, her voice soft and soothing. Nancy looked up at her and started to think. She looked away and slowly raised the glass to her lips again. “Is it about Robin?” Chrissy quietly asked.

This made Nancy freeze, nearly spilling her water. She leaned forward and place the cup on the coffee table. Chrissy carefully watched her every move. Nancy waited a moment before she nodded her head. The other girl immediately reached over and tightly wrapped her arms around Nancy. They held the hug for a few seconds before Chrissy pulled away. With her hands still on Nancy's shoulders, Chrissy looked her straight in the eyes. “Nance, it’s okay,” she said before pulling her into another hug. They stayed in that position for a minute before they finally let go. Nancy sighed in defeat. “I just wish she was a boy,” she sniffled. Chrissy chuckled at this, trying to cover it up. “I think we both know that's not true,” she said trying to sound sincere.
Nancy knew that Chrissy was right but didn't want to admit it. It would be so much easier if Robin was a boy. This whole situation just confused her.

“How did you know?”

This caught Chrissy off guard.

“Know what?”

“That it was about Robin.”

Nancy looked at Chrissy, waiting for her response.

“Eddie told me that something was going on between you two.”

Nancy nodded her head and focused her attention back on her hands. “Did he call you about it last night?” she asked while fiddling with her fingers. Chrissy nodded her head with a soft smile. They sat in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying each other's company. Chrissy was slowly rubbing the other girl's back, trying to comfort her. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“A little bit,” Nancy whispered.

“When did you first realize that you might like her?” Chrissy asked.

“When we took El and Max to the mall, El talked to me in the car.”

Chrissy nodded her head, processing what Nancy said.

“Nance I can tell that you don’t really want to think about this. How about you go home and we hang out another time?” Chrissy softly smiled. Nancy looked up at her and smiled back. Chrissy stood up and held her hand out. Nancy grabbed her hand and was pulled off the couch. They both walked over to the door and hugged each other goodbye. Nancy walked out of the house and made her way to her car. Before she got in her car, she looked back at the other girl. Chrissy waved with a smile covering her face. Nancy softly smiled and waved back. She hopped in the car and started it up. She pulled out of the neighborhood and made her way to her house.

Driving down the roads of Hawkins gave Nancy some comfort. It shifted her focus to just driving and the scenery around her. She turned up the radio and let it drown out any other noise. Her fears slowly started to melt away. Instead of going home, Nancy changed her mind. She quickly slowed the car and whipped into a parking lot. After slowly circling around the parking lot, Nancy chose a spot that was far from the store and away from the other cars. She parked the car and kept the doors locked. The girl glanced at the time and then got comfortable. With her seatbelt off and the seat reclined, Nancy close her eyes and slowly dozed off as the radio music continued to fill the car.

•••

It had been a week since Robin and Nancy had hung out at the mall, and Nancy was still not answering her calls. The sudden silence had confused her, making her rethink all she had said the last time they were together. With fidgeting hands, Robin opened the door and exited her house, swiftly tugging her jacket over her arms. The harsh wind stung her cheeks, turning them a light shade of pink. Robin quickened her pace as she made her way to The Family Video Store.

Robin shoved the door open and rushed inside the store, shrugging her jacket off and throwing it on the counter. Steve was slouched back in a chair with his feet propped on the counter, slowly stifling through a comic book. He glanced up as Robin gave him a slight smirk, stifling a laugh. Steve Harrington reading a comic book was the last thing she expected to walk in on. With a slight roll of his eyes, he threw the comic book on the counter and quickly strode over to her, a smile playing on his lips. The hug he engulfed her in made all her worries rush away as his warmth encompassed her body. She let out an exasperated sigh as he gripped her shoulders and pulled back.

“How have you been Robbie?” he said with a grin splitting his cheeks.

She quirked her eyebrow, “Okay I suppose,” she said, amusement ringing in her voice.

He quickly scanned her face, a worried look in his eyes, before he shrugged and shuffled back over to his seat. Before he could continue reading, Robin wandered over and perched on top of the counter. She reached out and attempted to pluck the tattered comic out of his hands. The book was relatively small, and from what she could tell, was given to him by one of the younger boys. The ring of the bell on the door caused her to glance over, just enough time for Steve to push up from the chair and shove the comic in his back pocket. He plastered a smile on his face and walked over to the customer.

Robin hopped down from the counter and wandered over to the back of the store to clock in. Someone had left a bag of chips on the table, which she delightfully snatched and dug her hands into. After shoveling a few chips into her mouth, Robin strolled back over to the counter and leaned back in a comfortable position. Within a few minutes, she heard the bell on the door again and light footsteps heading toward her. Steve slouched back down in the chair in front of her, resting his hands behind his head. They held each other's gazes for a second before Robin broke the silence.

“He told you didn’t he?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

He silently shook his head and Robin popped another chip in her mouth. Silence fell over them again as they both sat there, waiting for the other to speak. Eventually, Steve cleared his throat and repositioned himself on the chair.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, keeping his eyes fixed on her.

“And what is there to talk about?” she said now looking at the ceiling. A sad smile fell over her face as she looked back down at Steve and placed her chip bag on the counter.

“She hasn’t talked to me in a week.” she sighed, running her hands through her hair. He stared at her for a few seconds, taking in her expressions. Standing up, he ruffled her hair and gave her a weak smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“It’ll be alright Robbie. She just needs some time to think. You know it must be hard for her.” Steve said. He walked over to a movie stand and started to straighten and move the VHS tapes around.

“As if it isn’t hard for me,” she mumbled into her hands. Robin didn’t understand what she had done to upset the older girl. The last time they had spoken Nancy was smiling and joking around with her, seemingly having a good time. But apparently, her mind had changed, and Nancy started to ignore Robin.

Over the week they didn’t speak, their interactions would replay in Robin's mind. The girl would analyze what she said and if it was the right thing to say. Surely she hadn’t said anything upsetting. With her thoughts racing, Robin would also have trouble sleeping. Every situation, every movement of a finger or quirk of an eyebrow would plague her thoughts as she attempted to fall asleep. This wasn’t a small harmless crush anymore.

Robin was startled out of her thoughts by Steve nudging her back. She pushed her hair out of her face and glanced up. He was holding a cigarette out to her, giving her a small smile. Returning the smile, she grabbed the cigarette from his hands and held it up to her mouth. She took a long and slow drag, closing her eyes and trying to relax. A cough sputtered out as she blew out smoke. It had been a while since Robin had felt the need to smoke. After taking a few more drags, she handed the cig back to Steve and lept off the counter. She tugged a chair over and straddled it. Grabbing a pen, she started filling out some paperwork Keith had been nagging her for the past week.

A few hours passed by before Eddie strolled into the store. He gave them both smile as he tugged his hair up into a ponytail. Steve gave Robin a quick head nod before he quickly kissed Eddie and clocked out. Robin continued to stare at the papers on the counter and slowly scribbled numbers in the boxes she assumed she should be filling out. A loud scraping sound filled the store as Eddied dragged a chair over to the counter and plopped down next to her. Seemingly not understanding the reason for her silence, Eddie reached over and flicked her forehead. She let out a yelp as she dropped her pen and glared at him. With a grin splitting his face, he grabbed the paperwork and pen and started to fill it out.

“I was doing it you know.” she scoffed. A frown started to form between her eyebrows.

He let out a chuckle. “Well you weren’t doing it very well,” he replied quickly, the grin not leaving his face. Her features softened as she fiddled with her rings.

“I'm sorry.” Robin quickly replied. She promptly stood up and started to pace.

“I mean I just don’t understand!” she groaned. “We were doing just fine. We were talking and joking around. I didn’t say anything wrong. I didn’t ramble on about something. I just don't get it.”

“Not so sure about the rambling part.” he teased.

Robin let out a small chuckle, rubbing her face harshly with her hands. The cold metal of the rings on her face made her feel slightly better. Once she removed her hands from her face, she could feel Eddie's gaze fixed on her.

“You can leave if you want. I can close the store alone, I’ve done it so many times before.” he hummed.

She thought about it for a second. Nodding her head, she trotted to the back and grabbed a few of her things. Eddie shook his head amusingly, and went back to doing the paperwork. With clothes and food piled in her arms, she backed up to the door.

“See ya, Eddie, thanks a lot.” she saluted and pushed the door open. Robin had forgotten to look behind her and stumbled into a stranger, losing her balance. Soft arms caught her and the smell of vanilla and honey filled her nose. The person smelled familiar but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Robin quickly stood up and whipped around. When she caught a glance at who it was she froze.

“Nancy?” she asked disbelievingly.

The girl's eyes widened and she gulped.

“Hey.”

Chapter Text

Robin stood there dumbfounded, her feet frozen in place on the sidewalk. Nancy gave her a quick wave and then squeezed past her into the store. She tried to grab the older girl's arm, but the bags of chips slipped out of her hands, tumbling to the ground. Groaning, she bent down and picked up the remaining bags of chips. After piling them in her arms and shoving them in her pockets, Robin shot one last glance inside the store and started her long trek back home.

The wind was a lot calmer this time of the day. Every once in a while a harsh breeze would rush toward her face and sting her cheeks. She quickly hunched her shoulders and sped up her walking. The soft sound of cars rushing past her and the wind ruffling the trees calmed her. Her feet shuffled along the concrete as the sun started to set. Robin continued to walk home, however, halfway through her walk she changed her mind. Without much thought, she turned on her heels and headed in a different direction.

In a few minutes, Robin found herself stepping up to Steve's porch and rapping her knuckles lightly on the door. She heard someone shuffling inside, and then the door quickly swung open. Robin plastered a smile on her face, gave him a quick once over, and stepped inside. He gave her a confused look before he shut the door behind her. She quickly shed her jacket and tossed it on a table near the front door. Sinking down into the couch, she gave him a slight nod.

“And what has you smiling and prancing into my house?” he smirked. His hands were crossed over his chest and he was already in pajama pants and a t-shirt.

She shrugged and ran her hands through her hair. “Figured you’d have some beer”

He rolled his eyes, a smile still playing on his lips, and made his way over to the kitchen to grab some beers. Within a few seconds, Steve was popping open a beer bottle, handing it to her, and sprawling out on the couch beside her. Robin gave him a quick smile and took a swig of her beer. The bitter taste ran down the back of her throat, only making her feel a little bit better.

After a few more sips, she finished the beer and stood up, heading toward his kitchen. She swiftly placed the bottle on the counter and started to rummage through his cabinets. The sound of the TV could now be heard, thrumming throughout the house.

“Second cabinet to your right,” he called out, still lounging on the couch.

Robin quickly glanced back and made her way to the right side of the kitchen. Opening the cabinet he had mentioned she finally found what she was looking for. A bottle of whiskey, practically full, was sitting on the shelf right in front of her. Grabbing the bottle by the neck, she popped it open and put it up to her mouth. The stinging sensation as the liquid went down her throat brought a smile to her face. With a quick wipe of her mouth, she made her way back to the couch and hopped right back beside Steve. He gave her an amused look as he continued to take frequent swigs of his beer. Once Steve had finished his beer, he and Robin passed the bottle of whiskey between each other. Within a few minutes, both their cheeks were rosy and they were laughing up a storm.

Robin stood up, trying to keep her balance as she stumbled towards a radio sitting on the table. She clicked the play button and swiveled around, a grin splitting across her face. He grinned back and hopped to his feet, starting to sway to the music. Grabbing his hands they started to dance and thrash around his living room.

After a few minutes of dancing around the living room, they started to rummage through his kitchen cabinets again, grabbing any and all alcohol they could find hidden. Robin dumped all of her findings on the counter and grabbed one of the half-full bottles of vodka.

“Don’t drink all of my stash or you’ll have to pay me back.” Steve slurred as he searched through the pile.

Robin shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled out 3 dollars and slammed it on the counter as she raised the bottle to her lips. Steve’s laughter filled the kitchen as she downed the bottle of vodka within seconds. They continued like this for a few minutes, sharing bottles of alcohol brands they couldn’t pronounce in their very drunken state. The more they drank, the more they were slurring their words and they fell into fits of giggles.

Suddenly they heard the sound of someone twisting the doorknob and swiftly shove the door open.

“Shit!” Robin yelped as she tried to grab all the bottles they had discarded on the counter.

She did a quick glance back and realized that instead of Steve's parents standing at the door as she expected it was Eddie. A smirk played on his lips as he glanced between both of them.

“You better save some for me.” Eddie grinned, shrugging his jacket off and throwing it on the couch. He strode over to the counter and picked up a bottle of half-finished beer and chugged. Robin stifled a laugh as she watched Steve stare at him.

“Can't believe you two were having fun without me.”

Robin rolled her eyes and continued to sift through the remaining bottles on the counter. Within a few minutes, they were all very drunk and stumbling around Steve’s house. The music was still blaring as they made their way back to the living room and started to dance. Steve grabbed Eddie's shirt and pulled him in for a sloppy kiss. Robin whooped as Eddie turned bright red. After a while of bopping her head to the music and spinning around, Robin found herself laying on the couch, her face buried in a pillow. She heard Steve and Eddie whispering as they turned off the radio and snuck upstairs.

Robing let out a long sigh as she let herself slowly doze off, her last thoughts being of Nancy.

•••

Robin woke to a pounding feeling in her head. It took her a while to remember what she had done last night and why her head hurt so bad. Everything came back to her when she stood up and stumbled into the kitchen. When she entered, she saw Eddie with a trash bag cleaning up the remaining bottles laying around the counters and floor. He glanced up at her and she gave him a weak smile.

“I don’t understand how you’re always able to recover so quickly in the mornings.” she groaned, shoving her head into her hands as another wave of pain hit her head.

“Maybe it’s because I haven’t drunk only like 3 times.” he winked as he picked up the last bottle.

Robin picked up her head to give him a glare before flopping her upper body onto the counter. Eddie chuckled as he opened the back door and chucked the trash bag outside. She listened as he shuffled around the kitchen, opening the fridge, and preparing food for all 3 of them. The smell of eggs and bacon filled her nose as a plate slid over to her.

“Eat something it should make you feel better.” He sat down next to her and started to eat.

“Just the thought of eating doesn’t make me feel better.” She picked her head up and started to pick at the food. “Why isn’t Steve up yet?” she questioned as she finally took a bite of an egg.

“When I got up and tried to wake him he threatened to punch me so I just let him be. He’ll get up on his own time eventually.” Eddie quickly cleared his plate and placed it in the sink. “So what made you come over to Steve's after work? You seemed in a bad mood when you left.”

Robin shrugged, poking her fork continuously at the other egg on her plate.

Eddie gave her a sad smile, “She’ll talk to you eventually you know, I mean there’s no way you think Steve just went along with the idea of liking boys.”

This made Robin perk up. She had yet to think about that. When she had caught him and Eddie kissing in the back of the store she was thoroughly surprised. It was the last thing she had expected to see, especially since it involved Steve. Robin nodded her head and started to pick at her food again. Once her plate was clear, she stood up and place it on top of Eddie's plate in the sink.

She made a bee-line for the bathroom, shutting the door quickly behind her. Sitting down on the toilet, she was able to calm her stomach again. Robin stood up and walked over to the sink and place a glass under the tap. She filled up the glass and chugged down the water within seconds. After splashing water on her face and drying it off, she made her way back into the living room where she met with Eddie.

“Can I go back to your house with you? I’m not exactly in the mood to go to my house?” she said as she grabbed her jacket off the table and tugged it on. He gave her a quick nod and rushed up the stairs. These days Robin didn’t enjoy sitting in her house. It was quiet and felt lifeless since her parents weren’t there often and when they were they didn't seem to care about her.

Eddie pranced down the stairs and jumped over the last step, a smile growing on his face. He opened the front door and skipped to his car. Robin chuckled a bit and followed him out, closing the door behind her. The car's engine started up and brought noise into the silent morning. With the engine already thrumming, Robin hopped in the front seat and buckled her seat belt. In seconds, the car was pulling out of the driveway and was headed to Eddie's house. The morning sky this morning made Robin feel hopeful. They rode in silence, the only thing keeping them entertained being the quiet music.

During the drive, her mind started to wander. She knew that Nancy was probably having a hard time coming to terms with her feelings, but surely ignoring Robin wasn’t the answer. Tears began to slowly roll down her face as she looked at the window, wiping them away with the back of her hand. Now wasn’t the time to cry. This wasn’t the first time someone had ignored Robin after knowing how she felt about them. The girl was used to feeling unloved. For the rest of the drive, she tried to get her mind off of Nancy and think of something else. After all, Nancy would probably not talk about what she was feeling and they would become strangers again.

When they finally made it to Eddie's house, he parked the car on the side of the road and hopped out. Robin wiped her face one last time, ridding her face of the extra tears, before following him out. They entered the house and sat down on the couch together.

“We have got to do something about this thing with you and Nancy.” Eddie sighed, tugging his hair back away from his face into a ponytail.

Robins smacked her lips and layed down on the couch. “Sure do.”

•••

Nancy was woken up to fast knocking on her bedroom door. She groaned and turned over in her bed, placing the pillow over her ears. Not even seconds after the first round of knocks, Mike burst into her room and yanked the pillow off her face. Nancy yelped and hid her face from the bright light shining into her room.

“Nancy get up! You promised you’d take me to Eddie’s to play Dnd.”
Nancy roughly rubbed her hands over her face and slowly got up, glaring at Mike as she did. She ushered him out of her room, promising to take him a few minutes. Rummaging through her drawers and closet, she grabbed a skirt and blouse she would wear for the time being, it wasn’t like she was expecting to see anyone important. The blouse and skirt slipped on easily along with a random pair of shoes she grabbed from her closet and she walked downstairs.

Ignoring Mike’s whining, she walked to the kitchen and grabbed an apple and a hair tie that she had left there the night before. She tugged her hair up, put her jacket on, and played with her keys as she walked out. Mike rushed past her and was already jiggling the handle of the car before she was even off the porch.

“Keep doing that and I’ll walk slower,” she warned as she took a bite of her apple.

He rolled his eyes and watched as she took her time getting to the car. She unlocked it and hopped in, buckling her seatbelt, and pulling out onto the road. Mike started to give her the directions as she drove down the road. Within a few minutes they pulled up to Eddie's house and she checked her watch.

“Just on time!” she smirked.

He scrambled out of the car and made his way up to Eddie's doorstep, meeting with the rest of his friends on his way to the door. Nancy looked over at the other car and gave Jonothan a quick wave as he drove away. She followed the boys up to the door, making sure that Eddie was there and they wouldn’t be left to fend for themselves, even though she would gladly do that.

The boys all tumbled into the house as Nancy followed them in. Eddie gives her a knowing look and just his chin towards the kitchen.

“You can have whatever you want, we’ll be downstairs,” he said before he followed the rest of the boys as they tumbled down to the basement. She gave him a small smile and finally fully walked into the living room. After a quick scan of the living room, she froze. Why on earth was Robin Buckley at Eddie's house at this time in the morning? Nancy's gaze fixed on her and she slowly walked over to her. Sitting down next to her, Nancy watched as her chest softly rose up and down. Robin looked so peaceful while she was sleeping.

Nancy sat for a while, just observing Robin as she slept. The girl couldn’t help it. Robin looked so at peace compared to the last time she saw her. When they had bumped into each other yesterday Nancy hadn’t known what to do. It didn’t occur to her that when she went to the movie store, Robin would be on shift. She didn’t have the courage to speak to her however when she saw the look on her face and had just brushed past her. The look of anguish on Robin's face had brought something up she didn’t want to think about.

Suddenly Robin stirred and Nancys' breath caught in her throat. Luckily, the other girl was she getting more comfortable and shifted around on the couch before going still again. Nancy let out a sigh of relief. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to talk to her right now. Just as she finished the thought Robin woke up, for real this time. Robin’s eyes shot open and immediately fell on Nancy. Nancy’s eyes went wide as Robin sat up.

“What are you doing here?” Robin asked, rubbing her tired eyes.

“The boys are playing DnD,” Nancy said, hastily rising from the couch.

Before Nancy could stride over to the door, she felt a grip on her wrist.

“Wait.”

This time when Nancy made eye contact with Robin, the tired look in her eyes was gone, and it was replaced with determination.

“We need to talk.”

Nancy gulped and sat back down.

Chapter Text

Robin shifted over on the couch, leaving a good amount of space for Nancy to sit down, at a comfortable distance. Nancy slowly sat down, keeping her eyes fixed on a potted plant right in front of her. Robin let out a long exasperated sigh, playing with her rings. Silence filled the room.

“What are you doing Nancy?” Robin asked, breaking the silence.

Nancy reached over to place her hand on Robin's shoulder, but the girl shrugged it off.

“You can’t just act like everything’s fine,” Robin said, standing up from her seat. She ran her hands through her hair and looked down at Nancy. “It’s been a week, Nance. A whole week since we last talked.”

Nancy gave her a long look before breaking eye contact and looking down. Robin could tell she didn’t want to talk right now. The girl quickly patted down her skirt before answering.

“I’m sorry,” Nancy mumbled.

Robin's jaw dropped. After a week, that’s all she had to say? She could feel rage bubbling up in her chest. This wasn’t fair. Nancy couldn’t just apologize and think everything would go back to normal. There were so many unanswered questions and unresolved feelings.

“You’re sorry?” Robin asked, raising her voice. “I don't want you to just say you're sorry, I want you to talk to me. I want to know what happened and why you disappeared like that. Was it something I did? Was it something else? I need to understand you Nancy.” she said, starting to pace around the room. This caused Nancy to stand up, a crease forming between her eyebrows.

“What do you want for me? I’m sorry can't you just let it go?” Nancy said raising her voice now too. Robin could see the look in her eyes she knew all too well. The look Nancy had when they had killed Vecna. It almost made her back down.

Robin strode over to her, only inches between their faces.

“No, I can’t just let it go,” she said, jabbing her finger into Nancy's chest. “You could’ve at least answered one of my calls.” Desperation was now filling her voice.

“You didn’t have to call so much, it’s not a big deal!” Nancy said, not backing down. Robin flinched back a bit, not expecting the harshness dripping in her voice. Even though it hurt, she didn’t back down, they needed to air this out.

“Well, you didn’t have to keep me in the dark! It wasn’t the best feeling for you to completely ignore me and give me no reason. What would you do? I’d love to know”

Nancy stared at her, flicking between her eyes. Suddenly, Robin felt the girl grip her shirt and tug her forward, smashing their lips together. Robin let out a small gasp. Her shoulders relaxed, kissing her back, their lips moving against each other. One of her hands moved down to Nancy's waist, pulling her closer, pressing their bodies together.

Nancy smiled into the kiss, cupping Robin's cheek. Moving her hand from Nancy’s waist, she started to trail her fingers down till she reached the hem of Nancy’s skirt, tracing them along the hem of her skirt, occasionally dipping her fingers down. Nancy let out a moan of surprise, slightly arching into her.

Robin took the opportunity to place her hand on the small of her back and walk them back towards the couch. Robin fell back on the couch and looked up at Nancy. Her face was flushed and her hair was a mess. The girl quickly pushed her hair behind her ears and straddled Robin. With a smile on her face, she pressed her lips to Robins again, this time with her arms wrapped around her neck.

They continued to kiss each other fiercely, letting their hands roam about. Nancy pushed her fingers through Robin's hair, appreciating the feeling of getting to do what she had always wanted to do. Robin started to press kisses to Nancy's jaw and slowly down to her collarbone, paying special attention to a few freckles littered near the base of her neck. Nancy let out a moan, throwing her head back when the basement door jerked open.

They both stopped and whipped their heads toward the door. Dustin walked up and took in the scene. His eyes went wide before he gave them a quick thumbs up and went back into the basement. When Robin looked back at Nancy she could see the fear written all over her face. Nancy got off of Robin and stood up.

“I’ve gotta go,” Nancy said, panic filling her voice. The girl grabbed her keys off the table and rushed toward the door before Robin could stop her.

“Nance!” Robin shouted as the door slammed behind her. Robin threw her head back and covered her face. This was going to be fun.

•••

“You guys kissed?” Eddie asked.

The other boys were long gone and Eddie had come upstairs to Robin sprawled out on the couch, a complete mess. He had walked over to her and lightly shoved her shoulder making her perk up. She had taken a second, but she sat up next to him and told him what happened.

“That’s why Dustin came down with bug eyes,” Eddie smirked, winking at her.

She rolled her eyes and groaned. Robin had wanted to make things better between them not worse. While they kissed Robin felt relief she hadn’t felt in a while. Everything had felt right for the first time. She didn’t want to lose it.

Eddie stood up and walked over to the phone hanging on the wall. He picked it up and quickly dialed someone's number. After a second, he started to mumble to someone on the phone, looking over at Robin and shaking his head. She quirked her eyebrow at him but he just waved her off. A minute later, he hung the phone up and clapped his hands together.

“Want to have another long night?” he asked a smile playing on his lips.

With a smile growing on her face she rushed up after him to his room. They barged in and started rummaging through his drawers, throwing jeans and shirts all over his floor. Robin grabbed a black shirt from the pile and threw her shirt off, replacing it with the new one. She saw Eddie do the same with a tank top.

He quickly pulled his hair into a ponytail and walked over to his mirror, grabbing a bottle of eyeliner. Walking over to him, she observed how skillfully he applied the eyeliner, making sure not to smudge any of it as he make a small wing. Once he was done he handed it over to her, scooching closer to the mirror. She swiftly applied it, making a few mistakes here and there.

Once they finished their makeup and fixed their outfits, they stumbled down the stairs, rushing to the door and shutting it behind them. They both hopped in the car and started to drive toward the bar. It had been a while since they went to the bar. The last time Robin had gone to the bar Nancy had gotten super drunk and they ended the night sleeping in the same bed. It was a distant memory but she could never forget it.

Within a few minutes, they were pulling into the club parking lot and parking. Robin hopped out of the car with Eddie right behind her and they made their way to the door. Reaching the door, Robin could hear the familiar shuffle of footsteps making their way behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see Steve walk up to Eddie and sling his arm around his waist, pulling him close.

With a smile plastered on her face, she opened the door and all 3 of them walked into the club.

The club was packed with people, and the music was loud. They slid into a booth, with Robin on one side and Eddie and Steve across from her. Despite their usual non-drunken state, the two seemed to be much closer today. Eddie was whispering something in Steve's ear, and Steve was turning red, laughing. Robin was happy to see her friends having a good time, but she couldn't help feeling a little jealous. She wished she could be as close to Nancy as Eddie and Steve were to each other.

The group ordered their drinks, and the night began. Robin opted for only a drink or two, while Eddie and Steve downed several more. Within half an hour, the boys were already tipsy, and their usual obnoxiousness was dialed up to a 10. At the height of their volume, Robin looked up and saw Chrissy, Vickie, and Nancy walk in. Chrissy spotted Robin. Her face lit up and she started prancing over to the booth. She shoved Eddie and Steve to the side, sitting right next to them as Nancy and Vickie approached the table. Robin could notice the pale tone of Nancy’s face and her wide eyes avoiding the girl.

Eventually, Nancy slid in by Robin, with Vickie quickly following. The rest of the group fell into conversation as Robin and Nancy sat there quietly. A few more drinks were ordered and the whole table was drunk, except for the two girls. As the night wore on, the group became increasingly drunk, with Chrissy and Vickie rushing to the dance floor, thrashing around and singing at the top of their lungs. Eddie and Steve followed suit, slow dancing as the song changed. Robin and Nancy sat quietly at the booth, watching their friends have fun. Eventually, Nancy excused herself and went to the bathroom, leaving Robin alone. Robin drank her water and watched as her friends continued to dance, feeling a little left out but happy for them nonetheless.

After about 5 minutes of Nancy being gone, Robin had enough and shot out of the booth, heading straight towards the bathroom. When she walked in, Nancy was washing her hands and fixing her hair. The girl glanced over when Robin walked in and froze. Robin walked over and held out her arm. Nancy looked at it for a few seconds before hesitantly grabbing it. The two girls then made their way back out in the chaos. Once they were out of the bathroom Robin dropped Nancy's hand and turned to face the. When she turned around she could see the fear and confusion covering her face as her eyes flitted over Robin.

“May I have this dance?” Robin asked, re-extending her arm and bowing very obnoxiously. She could see Nancy’s bad attempt at hiding a smirk that was slowly playing at her lips.

“Sure,” Nancy said, re-placing her hand in Robins and lightly squeezing it.

Robin led the girl out onto the dance floor and placed her in front of her, hands on her hips, and started swaying to the music. Nancy hesitantly wrapped her arms around Robin's neck, making Robin think of their interaction earlier that day. Robin could tell Nancy didn’t want to talk right now. Nancy just slowly placed her head on the girl's shoulder and allowed her to lead her around the room, putting her full trust in Robin.

Nearing the end of the song, Nancy finally picked her head up and gazed into Robin's eyes. Robin's breath hitched as she saw the look in her eyes.

This time it was Robin who leaned in for the kiss. She lightly pressed their lips together, savoring the moment as their lips brushed against each other. The kiss was short and sweet, but it felt like a lifetime to Robin.

When Nancy pulled back, she pressed her forehead against Robins and sighed. Nancy didn’t need to say what she was thinking because Robin already knew.

There was a loud whistle coming from one of the boys as they stumbled around the dance floor, strangers giving them glares as they bumped into anyone and anything. Nancy’s face turned beet red and Robin chuckled. She finally got what she wanted.

Robin smiled at her and kissed her again.

Chapter Text

Robin was sitting in the passenger seat of Nancy’s car, staring out the window and admiring nature. Her calming experience was cut short by the loud bickering happening in the back of the car. Max and Mike were squabbling in the back of the car, over something Robin couldn’t bother to care about. They were jabbing their fingers at a piece of paper Max was holding and shoving each other.

“Cut it out or we’re not going,” Nancy warned, looking at them through the rearview mirror.

Max looked as if she was about to talk back but Mike gave her a quick slap on her shoulder and got her to quiet down. Robin smiled over at Nancy. It had been around 2 weeks since they had kissed for the first time and they had hung out every day since then. However today, they had agreed to take the younger teens to a carnival that was coming into town. As soon as Robin had heard the carnival was coming she had called Eddie and told him how they have to go. He had laughed at her but quickly agreed they had to go, mentioning how the younger boys had talked about going too.

Now, they were all headed to the carnival. With Max and Mike now talking quieter, Robin was better able to enjoy the short car ride. Her window was slightly cracked, allowing wind to rush into the car, cooling it down. The silence the two girls sat in was comforting. A few minutes after picking Max up, they were pulled into a parking lot that was a 2 minute's walk from the carnival. The two kids tumbled out of the car once Nancy had parked, pushing each other out of the way.

“They’re so immature when they’re around each other,” Nancy scoffed, turning the car off and hoping out. Robin hid her smirk as she followed suit.

The two older girls led the walk to the carnival, Max and Mike quickly trailing behind them. Not even a minute into their walk, they spotted the rest of the group crossing the street. This made Max and Mike push past, running toward the younger kids. Eddie and Steve made their way to Robin and Nancy. The two boys fell into step with them, watching the kids have an animated conversation.

Once they reached the entrance, they all split into groups of two and started to wander off.

“Be back here by 9!” Steve yelled, loud enough to cause a few strangers to give him looks. Eddie rolled his eyes and slung his arm over Steve's shoulder.

“Okay mom,” Dustin yelled back sarcastically as he and Lucas rushed off towards the rides laughing. Steve narrowed his eyes as he watched them wander off, Eddie to his side trying to hide the smirk growing on his face.

Robin grabbed Nancy's armed and started to wander towards the carnival games, giving the two boys a quick wave. Eddie waved back as he took Steve towards one of the bigger rides. Nancy glanced around as Robin made a bee-line toward a game with a giant bugs bunny plush. When they stopped in front of the game, the guy in the tent held his hand out. Robin shoved her hand in her pocket and pulled out a crumpled dollar and placed it in his hand. He looked down at the bill in his hand and back at her. With a shrug, he reached down and handed her 3 rings.

Robin dropped Nancy’s hand and stepped back. Nancy gave her an amused look as she stepped aside. The girl took a deep breath and held her arm out infront of her. She then flicked the ring towards the bottles. The ring completely missed the bottles and tumbled to the grass. Nancy was obviously trying to hide a snicker as Robin attempted to throw the next ring. This ring was more on target than the last, but fell between the bottles, hitting the grass. Robin sighed as she attempted to throw the last ring. After it hit the grass like the rest, Robin hung her head and walked over to Nancy. The girl smiled at her and pulled out another dollar. She walked over to the man and handed it to him, taking the rings.

Robin stood to the side as Nancy geared up to throw the first ring. Unlike Robin's attempts, Nancy’s first ring fell around the neck of a bottle. Robin’s jaw dropped as she watched the second ring fall onto another bottle. How was Nancy so good at this? Unsurprisingly, the last ring fell onto one of the bottles. The guy running the game looked just as surprised as Robin was.

“I’ll take that one,” Nancy said with a warm smile, pointing at the bugs bunny plush.

The guy went over to it and got it down, handing it to Nancy. Grabbing it, Nancy walked over to Robin and handed it to her. Robin took it with no hesitation, a grin plastered on her face. Nancy led the girl back to the entrance of the carnival to put the plush in the car. As the two girls walked, they ran into El and Max. El’s eyes went wide when she saw how big the plushie was and Max smirked.

“I don’t even have to guess who won that,” Max said, staring at Robin. Robin rolled her eyes and continued to follow Nancy to the car. They threw the plush in the car and made their way back to the carnival.

To their surprise, Max and El were still near the front of the carnival. They walked over to the two girls and stood in front of their table.

“What are you guys doing?” Robin asked, flitting her eyes between them.

They glanced up at her and shrugged. Nancy smiled at them.

“Well come on then,” Nancy said, leading all 3 girls to a line.

Robin glimpsed ahead to look at the ride they were in line for. From what she could see, she assumed it was the tirl-a-whirl. Robin immediately smiled and looked down at Nancy, who was looking at her amusingly. The two younger girls had figured out what ride they were about to get on and were giggling.

A minute later, the ride stopped and unloaded all the people. The line started to move as they got closer to the front. Once they reached the front, the lady running the ride pointed to one of the blue cars and the girls rushed over to it. Robin slid in first followed by Nancy, Max, and lastly El. The girls pulled the bar down and shortly after the ride started.

The car started to whip around and moved them in a circle. The 4 girls started to giggle and scream as the ride sped up. As they were whipped around, their shoulders were bumping and they were falling over each other. Max’s long hair was whipping everywhere and getting in everyone’s faces, making the girls scream even more. Robin was flailing her arms around trying to be able to see. After a minute of the car whipping them around harshly, the car started to slow down. By then, Max had mostly gotten control of her hair by putting it in a very messy ponytail. When the car finally stopped spinning and moving, the girls calmed down and waited for the ride attendant to lift the bar up. The girls stumbled out of the car, El continuing to stumble as they exited the ride. The girls made their way to a table to sit down and recover. The two younger girls had smiles plastered on their faces as they were whispering to each other.

After a few minutes of the 4 of them chatting and calming down, the two younger girls hopped up and headed off to another ride with a quick wave. As they walked away, their fingers intertwined and they continued to smile at each other. Robin watched them walk away, a warm feeling taking over her body.

“Can you believe she and Mike used to date,” Nancy chuckled as she played with the rings on Robin's fingers. Robin looked over at her and laughed.

It was hard to believe there was a time when Mike and El dated and did everything together. Robin was so used to seeing Max off with El and Mike off with Will. The two had broken up a month or two ago and from what Robin knew, it had been mutual.

“Yeah it’s crazy to think about,” Robin added, looking down at Nancy’s fingers rotating the rings on her fingers. “Remember when you dated Steve?”

This made Nancy’s face snap up, her gaze fixing on the girl's face. Nancy stared at her for a second before she laughed, looking back down at Robin's rings.

“Yeah, it was a crazy time wasn’t it?”

“Sure was.” Robin sighed.

•••

A few hours passed as the girls continued to wander around the carnival. They had played a few more games, Nancy dominating all of them, even winning a few more small prizes. When it had hit dinner time they stopped to eat from one of the food stands. Robin had gone crazy looking at the price of the food but Nancy had calmed her and assured her she had enough money to pay for both of them. Robin had only gotten something small, feeling bad that Nancy was going to pay for her food. They had eaten with Eddie and Steve, who had looked unusually flustered and red when they had found them.

“Please tell me you guys have just been riding rides or playing games,” Robin groaned.

“You know it!” Eddie laughed, shoving a burger in his mouth and winking.

Nancy laughed at the interaction as she finished the basket of fries she had gotten.

“Have you two seen any of the other boys?” Robin asked.

This time Steve answered instead of Eddie, who was now thoroughly focused on his food.

“Henderson and Sinclair were asking around for spare change anyone had because they weren’t able to beat some carnival game,” he grabbed one of Nancy's fries and gave her a smile, “Mike and Will were kind of avoiding us, probably getting some alone time I’m not sure, but they were riding rides and stuff I think”

Nancy smiled at this and stood up to throw away her trash. Robin stood up and followed her to throw away her trash. They walked back over to the table to bid the two boys goodbye.

“See you two in an hour, might want to start rounding up the kids soon because otherwise, they’ll start to run from you so they can stay longer,” Robin said as Nancy led her away.

The two girls started to make their way to the massive Ferris wheel that could be seen from anywhere in town. There were lights all over it that were flashing with bright colors. Nancy led her into the line. When they looked ahead they saw Mike and Will a few people in front of them. Nancy smirked and cupped her hands around her mouth.

“1 more hour Mike” she yelled. This made people turn around and stare at her. Mike’s head shot up and as soon as he saw her he grimaced. He whipped his head back around and moved in front of Will.

Robin laughed as she had seen the look of fear and the red color take over his face. She could see that Will had found this amusing too because he was smiling and poking the boy as he tried to avoid Nancy’s gaze. Nancy dropped her hands down, with a satisfied look covering her face.

Nancy looked over at Robin and smiled, grabbing her hand and intertwining their fingers. Robin's eyes snapped down to their hands and back up at Nancy. She didn’t expect her to do that since they hadn’t shown much public affection since they had kissed in the club. Nancy just continued to smile at her and looked back ahead in line. Robin let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding in and looked ahead with Nancy.

After a few minutes, the two girls finally made their way to the front of the line. The lady running the ride ushered them up and into a carriage, quickly shutting the door behind them and starting the ride again. The carriage slowly started to move them up to the top, giving them a great view of the town. Once they had reached the top, the ride stopped, unloading passengers at the bottom.

Robin settled in, slinging her arm over Nancy, and enjoying the view. Suddenly, fireworks started to go off, covering the sky with elaborate colorful patterns. She stared in awe as they continued to fill the sky. Looking over at Nancy, she could see the girl staring in awe at the fireworks too. Robin picked up her free hand and traced her finger along Nancy's jaw, turning her to face her.

She leaned in and planted a soft kiss on Nancy’s lips, smiling into the kiss as the fireworks continued to go off. When she pulled back the other girl smiled at her.

“I love you,” Robin simply said.

Nancy smiled and laid her head on Robin's shoulder.

“I love you too.”