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It was unusually warm for an autumn night in Hawkins. The full moon illuminated the large backyard in a bright, pale blue light, making it easy to see even though it was well past midnight. You were at Andy Melvin’s house, one of Robin’s band friends, along with a few other of her “nerds,” as she lovingly referred to them. You were all sat around the pool, some sharing chairs and getting cozy as the light beer filled their systems.
You were sitting on the edge of a plastic layout pool chair, with Robin laying back fully behind you. She groaned as Andy and a girl you’d just met, Susan, argued over whose D&D character would win in a fight, and you looked back at Robin as she leaned over to where a cooler sat on her other side.
“I’m way too sober for this,” Robin said as she fished out a can of beer, but she shoved it into your hand instead. “And so are you.” She took another can from the cooler before she flicked it open and clinked it to yours, making the sound effect herself. Robin tipped back the can and downed half of it before wincing at the flavor of shitty beer. You smiled and opened yours before taking a smaller, but still healthy chug.
“You’re going to get drunk like last time, aren’t you,” you said with a knowing smile and Robin scrunched her nose, though you could tell she was already at least buzzed. “Classic Robin,” you continued as you leaned back against her legs, draping your arm over her thighs. She shivered slightly as your cold can made contact with the skin just below the hem of her shorts and you snickered.
“This is only my second one,” she protested, and you rolled your eyes. Robin was notorious for being plastered by her fourth beer. And by how fast she was drinking them, you knew she’d be tipsy by the end of her current can. “Besides, you love taking care of drunk me. And you’re, like, scary good at it. I think we’ve found your calling.” You laughed and shook your head before taking another drink.
“You’re lucky I like you, Buckley,” you said and tried to ignore the way Robin blushed. It was probably the beer. You’d only known Robin for two months, having met her at the beginning of the school year when you two were assigned as lab partners for science class, but you two became easy friends and started hanging out after school. You’d only been in this kind of setting with her a handful of times, though. The kind that was late at night with alcohol.
You had learned that alcohol made Robin more affectionate, vulnerable, like she didn’t care who saw her. You’d been to their ‘Weekly Beer-Induced Friend Hangout at Andy’s House’ before, but only twice. The other two times you two had snuck into your parent’s liquor cabinet. Drunk nights then meant sleepovers, because that’s just responsible, right? Robin typically wanted to cuddle and spoon in bed, after you’d done your job of feeding and hydrating her. And she would talk about her family and her plans for the future and ask you about your deepest thoughts.
Though you’d never told anyone you liked girls, you had a major crush on Robin. You weren’t sure how she’d feel about it, but your brain liked to imagine her feeling the same. After all, you didn’t see her snuggled up with anyone else. That had to mean something, right?
Robin propped her elbow up on the arm of the chair and rested her head against her fist as she watched you with a small smile. God, you wanted to kiss her so badly, it was really unfair. She was so close, eyes sparkling in the moonlight, cheeks pink, lip reddening as she bit the bottom one, still staring-
You broke eye contact, looking down at the can in your hand for any kind of distraction from how hot your suddenly felt. You took a long swig, thankful that the drink was still cold as it ran down your throat. You could feel Robin’s eyes on you, but you didn’t trust yourself to look at her again and not to do something stupid. You barely knew Robin, or her friends. They could’ve been huge homophobes hellbent on destroying the gay population of Indiana and this was all some elaborate test to see if you were straight. Okay, that was a bit much, but still, there was a lot at stake.
“I can’t believe you actually think that!” Susan cried and you looked over just in time to see her push Andy into the pool. Susan laughed as he surfaced but another guy, Josh, pushed her in as well before jumping in after her. Everyone was laughing and splashing each other when you felt Robin nudge your back with her knee.
“C’mon,” Robin said, and you sat up as she slid off the chair. You watched as she unbuttoned her shorts and slid them off her waist, revealing a pair of black underwear. You blushed as she glanced over at you. “You going to join, Y/N, or are you just going to watch?” She asked as she tossed her shorts onto the chair beside you and started to pull off her shirt, leaving her standing there in her bra and underwear.
You knew you were red as a tomato and jumped up, quickly tugging off your shirt before sliding off your pants and throwing everything on the chair as well. You glanced over at Robin who was slowly looking you up and down, lips parted and eyes slightly wider, your heart pounding in your chest. You ran a hand through your hair and Robin seemed to suddenly realize how openly she was checking you out as she quickly looked away. You smiled and reached over, a rush of confidence filling your veins as you took her hand and pulled her with you the few steps to the pool, and jumped into the water.
As you resurfaced a few moments later you heard Robin’s laugh and looked over to see her grinning widely. Everyone around you was so happy, laughing and splashing and cheering. You couldn’t help but join in. You still felt a little bit like an outsider in this group of friends, but everything was going so well that you decided to let go and relax, too. It was time to stop waiting for rejection and judgement. You could be yourself, at least here in this pool with these nerds who were kind of cool.
You kicked up your legs and floated on your back, smiling as you listened to the noise around you until you bumped into something- or someone. “What’re you thinking about?” Robin asked as you opened an eye and looked over at her. Her wet hair was plastered around her face, deep blue eyes as mesmerizing as the night sky above. She was bobbing in the water beside you, close enough to count every freckle on her soft, smooth skin. You wanted to reach out and touch her.
“I’m afraid to tell you,” you muttered before you could stop yourself. You’d learned alcohol lowered your inhibitions as well. Robin’s brow furrowed.
A drop of water fell in your eye and you blinked as you looked up, seeing dark clouds forming as bigger droplets began to sprinkle the pool. A few of the other teens screamed and squealed as they quickly swam to the edges of the pool, talking about going inside to watch a movie. You flipped over as Robin began to make her way out of the pool and you followed.
When you climbed out, Andy ran into the house to fetch some towels, coming back a few seconds later with a large stack before handing them out. You graciously took yours and hugged it tightly around your body as everyone else quickly grabbed their things and dried off as best they could before they ran safely inside. You followed a little slower, waiting for everyone else to go in the house first. You were still feeling brave, probably liquid courage or adrenaline from the oncoming storm, but you decided not to fight it.
Robin waited for you near the back door and turned to go inside as you got closer, so you reached out and gently tugged the back of her towel before she could go in the house. She turned around to face you, hugging the towel around her and you reached out again, thumbing the edge of the pilled material between your fingers. You thought about what to say, a million options flashed through your brain in a second: You’re perfect. You’re beautiful. I like you. I’m gay. I’m can’t stop thinking about you. I like girls. I want to date you.
You felt like your brain was short circuiting and frying under her wide-eyed stare. Instead of saying anything your dumb brain could come up with in the moment, you wrapped your arms around her waist, enveloping her in your towel as you pulled her closer and pressed your lips to hers. Robin’s hand cupped your jaw as she returned the kiss and your hands snaked to her lower back and you held her tighter. She wrapped her arms around your neck, letting her towel fall her as her fingers laced through your hair.
“I’ve wanted to do that all night,” you breathed against her lips and Robin pulled back to raise a brow at you.
“Just tonight?”
“A lot of nights,” you admitted, voice lower and Robin leaned in to bite your bottom lip softly before kissing you again. “Most nights,” you corrected. Robin smiled and kissed you again, making you feel lightheaded. “Okay, every night,” you said between kisses and after a moment Robin began to pull away completely. What just happened? You thought. You started to feel anxiety build up in your chest, but Robin smiled sweetly and leaned in to give you another peck on the lips.
“Don’t you dare move,” she said, looking into your eyes seriously before smiling playfully. “I’m going to tell them we’re leaving. I need us to be somewhere private, like, immediately.” You felt excitement pool in your stomach as your heart stuttered in your chest.
Robin grabbed her shorts and pulled them on before she picked up her shirt and tugged it over her frame. Thank god she lived just down the street because her clothes were soaked and hung awkwardly to her body. She stood there for a moment and watched as you shrugged off your towel and grabbed your own wet clothes. “I’m not going anywhere,” you said with a laugh. “Promise.” She waited another beat and then smiled, seemingly satisfied as she dashed into the house to say a quick goodbye.
She returned just as you finished getting dressed and waved an object in her hand. You stared curiously before Robin opened it and you realized she had an umbrella. “’So we don’t get wet,’” she said in a mocking tone as she rolled her eyes. You laughed a little as Robin held up the umbrella and stood beside you before pulling you close to her side. You took the handle of the umbrella and held it between you two as Robin kept her arm tightly around your waist.
Under the shelter of the water-resistant fabric, the two of you walked side by side to Robin’s house, stealing quick kisses in the darkness as you huddled closely to keep warm.