Chapter Text
There he is. Lying in a pile of VHS tapes.
She kicks him.
Groaning, “Wake me up when the alien invasion happens.”
Robin rolls her eyes.
“Wake up now dummy, I’m not closing by myself.”
Another groan.
“And you know, we’re probably the last people who should be making alien invasion jokes.”
Her eyes moved from the pile of tapes he had turned into a pillow, to the clock in the backroom.
It was 10pm.
“We’re never getting out of here” He grumbled out her exact thoughts
She kicked him again, more of a tap this time.
He turned so that he was lying face up.
“I know, I know. This place is devastating. Like, a tween tornado hit, kind of devastating.”
He turns again, now looking Robin in the eye. She broke contact and looked up at the wall, all her weight shifting to the heels of her feet. She hated when he did that.
“Tween tornado?”
“I’m tired dude, don’t know what to tell ya.”
Somehow, that is what gets Steve Harrington to remove himself off the ground.
She claps. “There you go. I knew you had it in you.” He starts shaking all of his limbs the way a runner would before a race.
“Alright Robin, we’re getting out of her by ten-twenty”
“Definitely impossible but I like the attitude.”
“TEN TWENTY” he yells.
“YEAH. BEFORE ELEVEN!” she couldn’t help but retort but by then he was already scooping up the VHS tapes he’d made a pillow out of and heading to the door of the backroom. “Alright let's go find your homes.” he said to the tapes.
Robin joined into the tedious work of reorganizing all the misplaced movies and CDs as well as ones that were returned and mysteriously ended up in to the backroom.
She started with putting back the romance movies. Organizing by genre was always easier than by movie. It also kept her grounded when she reached the noticeably small amount of horror movies she had to spend reorganizing. Keith says they used to be get rented out a lot more often just some months ago. Most of the town may not know everything that had happened (not even she did), there does seem to be an atmosphere that has managed to linger over everyone. Without that Robin is sure she’d go crazy questioning if everything that happened to her was in just in her head.
“I found three” Steve approached her. Of course, he’s noticed as much as she has.
“Zombie Holocaust, Graduation Day, and Silent Range”
“So, not really horror movies.”
“Huh? Oh, uh, I have no idea I haven’t seen any of these-wait I might’ve watched this one.” He points to the third.
Robin smiles. Steve is what really keeps the past feeling real. More than any stupid horror movie. It probably shouldn’t, but it offered her comfort- Steve’s presence in what happened.
“Eh. They’re pretty lame anyways. Are you almost done with your movies? I only have a few left.”
“Yeah only two left after these three.”
Robin felt her body relax. “Thank god.” Being close to closing was always the best feeling.
Robin put her last few tapes back and Steven finished almost right after her. “That’s the last time we let Keith skip out on closing.”
Robin snorted in agreement, now walking to the backroom to get her things. “Not sure we can do anything about it considering he’s our manager.”
“Please, you think he wouldn’t listen to us?”
“He already doesn’t, he doesn’t like you. Remember?
“Why just me?”
“Because the two of us? We were in band together and that means we have a pack, Harrington. ‘Thou shalt not never dislike fellow band members”
A lot of the things Robin said around Steve were incredibly stupid.
“Psssh yeah I’m sure”
He makes it’s easy to not be conscious of that sort of thing though.
“No, I’m serious. We swear on it and everything. We even made an oath.”
“You are so full of shit.” He laughed, voice straining a little when he opened the front door. Robin hadn’t been paying attention to even leaving the backroom. Sometimes she finds herself moving by nothing but muscle memory.
Once they make it outside, she could see a silhouette of something sitting against the outdoor walls of Family Video. Her heart skipping a beat, she grabbed Steve’s wrist. Mostly to bring his attention to where hers was, but also a little bit for comfort. Just as quickly she recognized the thin figure, paleness reflecting in the dark night. She could see the shape of a short perm and what looked to be a neat but prim dress.
“Nancy?” Steve asked before Robin could. She didn’t bother looking up at the two.
The earlier anxiety crept up once again.
“Is everything…okay?” Steve added after she remained quiet.
“Yeah.” she could hear the shuffling of Nancy’s formally cut dress as she adjusted her sitting position. She sounded incredibly tired.
“Just…my car broke down a few blocks down. I was wondering if I could use your store’s phone to call my mom.”
“Forget that, you’re carpooling with us.”
She finally looks at the two of them, Steve in particular. Her eyebrows were furrowed and eyes red with irritation. Dry.
“You don’t have to-
“Eh, one more person to drive home won’t kill me.”
There he is, testing fate again.
“Are you sure?” she asks sweetly. Finally a tone Robin normally associated with Nancy Wheeler.
“Seriously Nance, it’s no problem. I don’t mind.”
So that was that, Robin figured. Nancy was now riding with them. However, Nancy then looked at Robin, eyes on her, searching for confirmation.
Why’d she need it from her?
Realizing she could no longer opt out of talking in this conversation, Robin shrugged.
“I don’t care.”
Nancy sighed, mostly of relief. She stood from the ground.
“I appreciate it…thank you.” Steve was moving to his car now.
“It’s really nothing Nance.” Robin could hear the smile in his voice. She did her best to give a convincing smile to Nancy, herself. It really was fine.
“Well, the offer is still kind.” They’re close to the car now.
Reaching the car, they looked up at each other.
Awkward, “You can-
“No! No, it’s fine! I can sit in the back.” Nancy stopped her.
God. Robin has never been good with acquaintances but talking to a mutual friend shouldn’t be this…uncomfortable.
Robin had no clue.
The car ride is silent. Robin is hyper-aware of the girl’s presence despite her being outside of her peripheral. Music is playing. On the Dark Side (for the love of god let the radio play something else). It’s not obnoxiously loud as it normally is. Looks like Nancy receives some degree of courtesy from Steve. Lucky her. It’s not like Robin is also holding back from blasting music too.
Steve pulls into what could only be Nancy’s house. It was clean, prim, and perfectly normal looking.
There’s the click of the back door and a “Thank you for the ride again!” And Robin watches as she promptly walks up to the house’s entry.” She fumbles through her purse in search of her key.
“Are you and Nancy friends?”
“Yeah, uh, I don’t know.”
Robin sinks into her seat, looking up the car ceiling. It was a stupid question to ask.
“That would make sense.”
He’s getting out of the Wheeler’s driveway.
“I’d like to think we are. We’re definitely more than acquaintances.”
Robin nods even though Steve wouldn’t see it.
She didn’t know a lot about Nancy.
She knew that Steve had been in love with her. She knew that she worked at the Hawkins post. She knew that her boyfriend moved away a few months ago. She knew that her car broke down tonight. She knew that instead of coming into Family Video to ask for the phone as she said she intended, she sat outside waiting for them- for Steve. She knew there was something weird about that. What she didn’t know for sure, but had a strong feeling about, was that seeing a lot Nancy would not be an uncommon thing.
The thought left a vague nervousness that she pushed to the back of her brain.
“Another question.” Robin said, very casually, she would add.
“Another question.” Steve parroted
“Yes.”
There was a pause.
“Can we…get a milkshake I’m craving one hardcore right now.”
“God I’m so glad you said that because I’ve been thinking about food since you woke me up.”