Chapter Text
Robin Buckley hadn't been over the moon about working at Scoops Ahoy!; the uniform was ugly, the speakers played the same dumb jingle non-stop, and she had to work with Steve Harrington of all people. She hadn't had much of a choice in the matter, The Hawk had shut down because of the mall, the new cinema was fully staffed, and the only job nobody seemed to want to snatch up was the position at Scoops. Robin had spent her whole morning lamenting the summer ahead of her, pretending to listen to Steve explaining how to work the till, when the last thing she'd expected to happen, happened.
Georgia Hammond flew into the ice-cream parlour, blonde curls fanned out behind her, dressed in obnoxiously bright yellow. Robin had always liked Georgia in yellow; the colour for kindness, cowardice, falsehoods. It felt fitting. Georgia slammed into the countertop, wheezing slightly as Steve lightly chastised her. But Georgia Hammond's wide brown eyes were solely on Robin.
Robin tried not to shrink back into herself, she'd promised herself she was going to be more confident this summer. But Georgia's gaze was piercing, her emotions unreadable, but she'd always been a talented actress. Georgia Hammond was as fake as they came, that's what all the band geeks said, she might have smiled and pretended to care but the second she left, she would laugh about you to all her popular friends. That's just how things were.
Finally, Georgia drew her eyes away from Robin and she had a little back and forth with Steve. She was returning his jacket. That was another thing: everyone knew that Steve Harrington and Georgia Hammond were a thing. They never said it, never held hands or kissed in public, but everyone knew it. Robin had guessed when Georgia had bailed on their English project and showed up two hours late in men's clothes with Steve at her side. She'd have been an idiot not to realise it.
"He's such a douchebag, right?"
It suddenly clicked in Robin's mind that Georgia was talking to her, she was looking at her. She was almost grateful for Steve's indignant whine; it gave her time to think of what to say. She had half a mind to brush Georgia off, to knock the golden girl off her pedestal, but the actual words that came out of her mouth were: "I dunno, I've always thought of him as more of a sleazeball."
What was she doing? Being friendly with Georgia Hammond of all people? The girl was an idiot, fake, mean, pretty-no! No, she wasn't going to let herself fall for that honeyed smile that hid her fangs.
"Hey!" Steve brandished his scooper at her threateningly. "I'm like your boss!"
Robin rolled her eyes dramatically. "We're at the same level, dingus, you're just training me because nobody else works here."
Georgia Hammond had the audacity to laugh. Her laugh was one of those girlish giggles and Robin was almost positive it wasn't her real laugh. "I've always liked you, Robin, you've got class."
Steve was pouting. "How do you even know her?"
Georgia's dazzlingly smile slipped off her lips. "Steve, we went to school together. She was in Mrs Click's class and Mr Hauser's with us. Also she worked at the movie theatre over the holidays. She's sold us dozens of tickets."
Robin tried not to let her surprise show on her face. Georgia was more perceptive than people gave her credit for.
"But Robin's still in school. And I don't think we even had a Mrs Click."
Robin wasn't surprised that Steve didn't remember her, he'd had to check her name tag several times that day when talking to her.
"Your pigheadedness astounds me sometimes. Robin is smart which means she was put into our classes, we are dumb, which is why we didn't get accepted to any colleges and are working in a mall for the foreseeable future."
That was another thing that didn't surprise Robin, of course they'd both peaked in high school and would be stuck in Hawkins for the rest of their lives. It almost made her feel a bit better. Almost.
"Georgia!" Steve Harrington had murder in his eyes. "Don't say that in front of her!"
"Oh, Stevie," Georgia smiled sadly at him. "Unfortunately, I think our stupidity is common knowledge."
"If girls think I'm too dumb for college, then they won't wanna date me."
"Hasn't stopped them before," Robin mumbled under her breath and when Georgia laughed, Robin had to fight the heat that tried to rush into her cheeks.
"We're gonna get on famously, Rob."
Robin blinked at her owlishly, unsure if she'd heard her right, as Steve groaned. "Get out of my ice cream parlour and stop bullying me, wastoid."
Georgia merely grinned at him. "You okay if I crash at yours tonight?"
"Obviously, if you weren't coming to mine I'd come to yours."
Robin had no doubt in her mind: they were screwing.
"See? You do love me. Gotta jet, nice seeing you again, Robin!"
When Georgia Hammond had clumsily whizzed back across the food court and into the 50s style diner where she was working, Robin managed to gain enough courage to speak. "She's out of your league."
She said it mostly to piss Steve off, but also because it was true and a tiny part of her was excited at the prospect of seeing Georgia every day. She hated that excitement.
Steve cast her a nasty look. "Georgia and I aren't dating, she's got some freaky obsession with Dolly Parton and knits in her spare time, so she's practically unloveable. And also, just to clarify I'm the one out of her league."
Robin snorted. "Keep dreaming, dingus."
Steve turned serious for a second, shoulders bunching up around his ears as he leaned down. "Hey, did we really have classes together in school or was Georgia just trying to make me feel bad?"
Robin looked him up and down and perhaps it was the fact that she'd spoken to a pretty girl that day but she decided to be kind for once in her life. "Thankfully we didn't have any classes together, would've made me want to ralph all over your gravity-defying quaff."
The tension eased out of his body. "Georgia was right, you two are gonna get on."
Robin was about to have a very interesting summer indeed.
~~
Georgia Hammond was very stubborn, and very convincing. It was those two facts that led Robin to her current position in the passengers seat of Georgia's beat-up Jeep Gladiator. Georgia Hammond's car was one of the most recognisable in Hawkins as the last person you expected to hop out was a stringy teenage girl with large white-blonde curls in acid-wash denim. At least, in Robin's mind it was one of the most recognisable, but even she knew she wasted too much time thinking about Georgia.
Georgia played her music loud and had the windows cracked as she sang along to 'I'm Still Standing', drumming on her steering wheel as if Robin wasn't sat next to her, arms wrapped self-consciously around her middle. Georgia Hammond was shameless, full to the brim with confidence, she didn't care how loud she played her music or who she danced in front of. It made Robin want to hate her but it was so goddamn endearing and she whipped her head to Robin to cry: "'The threats you made were to cut me down, and if our love was just a circus, you'd be a clown by now!'"
Robin questioned why she'd agreed to this for the fifth time since she'd gotten into the car. A part of her knew why but she didn't feel like confronting that for a very long time. She was suddenly aware of the car slowing and Georgia turning down the music to a normal level that would be unlikely to deafen you. She was rolling down her window fully and poking her head out.
"Hey, it's cold out, where are your jackets?" She snapped in a tone Robin had never heard her use before.
Robin peered over to see that she was yelling at a group of kids, maybe thirteen or fourteen, having stopped their bikes where she'd ground her car to a halt. The group of kids looked vaguely familiar.
"It's not that cold, stop being such a helicopter parent!" A mean looking little blonde girl who bore a striking resemblance to Georgia quipped back. "We're fine, we're getting exercise, keeping warm."
Robin couldn't see Georgia's face but her tone gave her the image of pursed lips and narrowed eyes. "Will is shivering, Vic, stop being proud and admit you should have listened to me when I told you to take your jackets this morning."
"It's fine, Georgie," one of the boys said, quieter than the arguing girls. "We'll be at the mall soon."
Georgia sighed and then she was clambering out of her jeep and rusting in the trunk. She withdrew a small stack of clothes. "I've got two blankets, and three jackets, please take them. No El tonight?"
"No," one of the other boys said, grudgingly accepting a blanket. "She had curfew an hour ago."
"Honestly, we're just glad we could get Mike to stop sucking face with her so she could get back on time," a redheaded girl snorted.
A dark-haired boy, probably Mike, thumped her. "Hey!"
"No hitting!" Georgia threw a jacket hard into his chest. "Now, I want you all to promise me that you will be home before nine, and if any of you are sleeping at mine tonight, please actually bring clothes with you this time."
"Just Max staying over tonight," the blonde swaddled herself in an oversized windbreaker and somehow managed to make it look fashionable. "And we'll eat at the mall so don't stress about dinner."
"Right," Georgia ruffled each tiny little head before she climbed back into the car. "I'll have a movie ready for you so long as you're-"
"-Back before nine," the blonde finished with a sarcastic smile. "Yes, I know. Now go home and stop worrying about us, we're not your kids."
"Well, you are mine, so I'd watch that mouth, Victoria-Grace!" Georgia shut her door and started the engine back up. The song had switched to 'Cruel Summer' by Bananarama. "Be careful on your bikes!"
"Okay!" The kids chorused.
Robin didn't miss how Georgia watched them leave in her rear view mirror.
"That was my sister," she explained after a beat. "And her friends. Minus two, anyways. Dustin's at camp and El's dad is pretty protective. They're all a pain in my ass but they're good kids. Any siblings?"
Robin forgot that she was expected to reply, she'd almost forgotten that she was present for the entire scene and wasn't just watching something from a movie. "Oh. No, I don't, just me."
"Sometimes Vic feels more like my child...my bratty little child," Georgia rolled her eyes but her smile was soft.
"You guys are close?" Robin wasn't sure why she was so curious.
"Very, our mom is kinda a deadbeat and dad only took us on weekends after the divorce, so me and Vicky stuck close to each other. We've only gotten closer over the years, after dad's death, and our family has kind of extended to all of our friends. The house is never empty unless we're crashing at someone else's."
"That's nice," Robin was surprised that she meant it.
"You should join one of our movie nights!" Georgia's voice rose in volume with her excitement (and she was already a loud talker as it was). "We do them all the time, it's always me, Vic, and Steve, and then the others tend to come more sporadically."
Robin tried not to laugh at how she mispronounced 'sporadically' as 'spore-adick-ally' in her strange southern-midwestern hybrid accent. "I don't know, what movies do you usually watch?"
"Everything! My favourites are anything from Dolly Parton or a good old-fashioned slasher, Vic and her friends are big into sci-fi, Steve will watch anything so long as there's no jumpscares and there's pretty women for him to gawk at and convince himself he might have a chance with. Let me guess, you're into obscure indie films nobody has ever heard of before?"
Robin opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again to say, "Primarily, yes, but my favourite movie of all time is 'The Apartment'."
"I love that movie!" Georgia practically squealed. "It's official, we're watching 'The Apartment' at my next movie night and you are coming. I didn't peg you for a rom-com kinda gal."
Robin's brow furrowed and realised that at some point the tension had left her bunched-up shoulders. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Georgia shrugged. "Dunno, just thought you wouldn't be able to stand the portrayal of women in most rom-coms."
"I can't...unless I've had a shit day and need to satiate myself with something cheesy and romantic."
"I feel that-Is it this turn up ahead?"
"Yeah."
Georgia indicated and started down the road that led to Robin's house. "You working the closing shift tomorrow too?"
"Yeah, I work all day, most days, nothing better to do."
"Brilliant," Georgia smiled happily to herself. "I'll drop you home tomorrow too then."
Robin's head snapped towards the other girl. "You don't have to do that."
Georgia seemed to deflate a little bit. "Sorry, I just enjoyed today-us talking, I mean. Thought it might be nice if we made it a regular thing but I understand. Steve says I'm too pushy sometimes."
Robin found herself shaking her head. "Not like that-Oh this is my house here."
Georgia pulled in beside Robin's bright green house wedged between two white ones. Robin unbuckled her seatbelt and hugged her bike helmet close into her stomach, feeling as if she'd said something wrong, misstepped, unsure of how to fix it. She'd completely forgotten that she was supposed to hate Georgia Hammond.
"Night, Rob." Georgia smiled her award-winning smile, all dimples and pearly whites, the look of an off-duty teenage beauty queen practicing for the judges.
"Night, Georgia," Robin opened the door, her graffitied shoes slapping against the pavement as she jumped down. "I'll see you tomorrow. We'll talk movie night details in the car ride then."
"Tomorrow?" Robin got a thrill of satisfaction at seeing the surprise that flashed over Georgia's face.
"Yeah, I'd never turn down the offer of my own personal taxi service."
Georgia smiled again, no dimmer but softer, like the glow of firelight rather than harsh stage lights. "I look forward to it, Buckley."
"You're such a dork," Robbin slammed the door, grabbed her bike, trekked up her driveway and spared a last glance behind her. The Jeep Gladiator was running, and Georgia Hammond was watching her, probably to make sure she got in the door safe. Robin did not see just how long the jeep lingered outside her home.
~~
Robin Buckley had never been a particularly empathetic person but she understood the way Georgia looked at Steve well enough: love and sorrow. She didn't presume to know the circumstances of their relationship but she felt for Georgia nonetheless. She also felt a great deal of resentment, but that was her own fault for letting herself get duped by that big dumb smile.
"You do know he's drooling on you, right?" Robin shot Georgia a look and eyed the growing wet patch on her shoulder directly under Steve's open mouth.
Men were so gross.
Georgia glanced down at Steve's peaceful face and smiled and Robin's heart gave a painful pang. "Yeah, he only does this when he's having a good dream. Believe me, I've dealt with stuff far grosser than teenage boy drool. Besides, if I move him, he'll wake up and I wouldn't want to rid him of a peaceful sleep, he doesn't get much of it anymore."
Robin's brow furrowed. Even though she'd known this since the beginning, it still hurt. "You really love him, don't you?"
"Of course I do," Georgia shrugged. "He's my best friend."
Could Georgia herself not see how far deep in she was? Pity swelled in Robin's stomach because she understood. She was almost a little annoyed at herself for taking such pity in a girl as perfect and lucky as Georgia Hammond.
"I can't believe you're so calm, it's actually a little scary. Not the first time you've plummeted to your death?"
"Are you kidding? I'm shitting my pants, I don't actually know if we'll be able to contact anyone or if they'd even be able to help us. But if I freaked out, that'd just make it worse."
Robin laughed softly and buried her head in her knees. Life was unfair. "You're like a goddamn kids' show protagonist. I suppose in the morning you'll suggest that the power of friendship will be able to break us out?"
"I guess that would make you the pessimistic sidekick that makes witty one-liners and exists solely to balance me out?"
Curse Georgia Hammond and her dumb goofy smile. "How do we always circle back to character tropes?"
"Your nerdiness must be rubbing off on me."
Robin rolled her eyes. "Oh please, you are the biggest nerd I know. You cut the crusts off our sandwiches, you're like obsessed with country music, and you crochet."
"That's not being a nerd, that's being a grandma trapped in a teenager's body. I'd be a nerd if I read Vonnegut or played card trading games and shit."
Robin half-scoffed, half-laughed, Georgia would never stop surprising her. "I can't lie, I'm shocked you even know who Kurt Vonnegut is."
"Just because I don't read ancient Spanish books like you, doesn't mean I'm illiterate. Besides, Jonathan is like obsessed with him...it's kinda creepy. Sometimes, when I see the way he stares at 'Slaughterhouse-Five', I pity Nancy."
Robin snorted and wrapped her arms around her knees. "You may not directly be a nerd but you are definitely a nerd by association."
"Hey, I-"
"-Would you please shut the fuck up?" Steve murmured grumpily into Georgia's shoulder and weirdly, Robin felt disappointed. "Some of us are trying to sleep."
Georgia patted his hair and Robin looked away to focus instead on the wall. "Sorry, Stevie. Go back to sleep."
~~
"Are you still in love with Nancy?" Robin wasn't quite sure why she asked. Maybe it was for Georgia's sake. Maybe it was because she pitied Steve just as much as she did Georgia.
"No."
"Why not?"
There was a long pause before Steve spoke. "I think it's because I found someone who's a little better for me. It's crazy..."
Robin's stomach flipped again and she took a deep, steadying breath. Was this it? After all this time of passing Georgia over, he was finally taking notice. Finally taking notice when Robin had just deluded herself into believing there was sliver of a chance that they weren't together.
"Ever since Dustin got home, he's been saying: 'You gotta find your Suzie, you've gotta find your Suzie'."
"Wait, who's Suzie?"
For once in Georgia's life, she was silent in the stall next to Robin.
"It's some girl from camp, I guess his girlfriend." Steve let out a tired half-laugh. "To be honest with you, I'm not even a hundred percent sure she's even real. But that's not...that's not really the point. It doesn't matter, the point is, this girl, you know the one that I like...it's somebody that I didn't even talk to in school. And I don't even know why."
Robin sat up a little straighter. She'd gotten it all wrong, so horribly wrong.
"Maybe 'cause Tommy H would've made fun of me or...I wouldn't be prom king. It's stupid. I mean, Dustin's right, it's all just a bunch of bullshit anyways. Because, when I think about it, I shoulda been hanging out with this girl the whole time. I mean, first of all, she's hilarious, she's so funny. I feel like, this summer, I have laughed harder than I have laughed in a really long time."
Robin's shoulders sank and dread pooled in her stomach. She'd thought she knew what fear was when the Russian guards dragged Steve and Georgia in, both covered in blood, why was this worse? A bittersweet smile crossed her lips. This wasn't supposed to hurt like this.
"And she's smart, way smarter than me. You know, she can crack like top secret Russian codes. You know, she's honestly unlike anyone I've ever met before."
A long silence ensued. Why wasn't Georgia saying anything? Doing anything? Robin wanted to scream. It was all so messed up. How could she be expected to break two hearts and destroy the only friendships she'd ever wanted to keep in one admission? Robin's arms fell around her knees and she buried her head. This was never how this was supposed to go.
"Robin?" He rapped on the side of the stall. "Rob, did you just OD over there?"
"No," she hated how her voice quavered. "I am...still alive."
Steve's feet slid into her stall and he propped himself up opposite her. His face was screwed up in anxiety, his swollen eye watery.
"This floor's disgusting." She couldn't stop herself from saying it. Maybe they could pretend Steve never said any of it. Except, a part of her was glad he did.
"Yeah, well, I've already got a bunch of blood and puke on my shirt so...what do you think?"
"About?"
"This girl."
"She sounds awesome." She wanted to kick herself.
"She is awesome. And what about the guy?"
Robin felt a crack in her chest. "I think he's on drugs, and he's not thinking straight."
"Really, because I think he's thinking a lot more clearly than usual."
"He's not. Look, he doesn't even know this girl." Robin kept her tone as level as she could humanly manage even as her heart was breaking. "And if he did know her...like really know her, I don't think he'd even wanna be her friend. He literally has the perfect girl right under his nose, and I mean perfect, and instead, he's choosing the...freak."
Steve Harrington was more stupid than she'd thought. Stupid and kind and funny and thoughtful but so, so stupid.
"No, that's not true, no way is that true."
"Listen, Steve, it's shocked me to my core, but I like you. I really like you. I like watching you fail to flirt, I like making fun of you, I like the people you've brought into my life...But I'm not like your other friends, and I'm not like Nancy Wheeler."
"Robin, that's exactly why I like you."
She breathed out a laugh. She was actually about to do this. She was about to ruin her life. "Do you remember what I said about Click's class? About me being jealous and like obsessed?"
"Yeah."
"It isn't because I had a crush on you. It's because...she wouldn't stop staring at you."
"Mrs Click?"
"Tammy Thompson...I wanted her to look at me. But she couldn't pull her eyes away from you and your...stupid hair. And I didn't understand because you would get bagel crumbs all over the floor, and you asked dumb questions, and you were a douchebag. And you didn't even like her. And I would go home and just...scream into my pillow."
Robin jumped as rubber squeaked on linoleum and Georgia Hammond appeared in the stall door. Her cheeks were red and glistening with tears. Robin met her eyes and felt her heart break all over again at the confusion she saw.
"Tammy Thompson is a girl." Georgia stated the fact as if it were a question.
Robin's voice was barely a whisper. "Georgia."
"Oh," Steve sighed.
"Oh."
"Holy shit," Georgia sank down to the ground next to Robin, mouth agape, eyes fixed straight ahead.
Robin shrugged and braced herself for the worst. "Yeah. Holy shit."
"Second semester, sophomore year," Georgia said softly after a beat, a miniscule smile dancing on her lips.
"What?"
"That's when I got my crush...on Tammy, you know, when she got that perm. And that's when I realised...I don't like...guys. And then, everything just made sense. That's why I broke up with Patrick Kent, not because he got benched or because he cheated on me or anything. Because I like girls. Because I'm a...I'm a lesbian."
Robin's head snapped up. Was this some sick prank? A joke? Because there was no way in hell that Georgia was like Robin. The universe simply didn't work like that, not for girls like Robin. But Georgia's eyes were teary and relief rolled off her in waves. She was serious. Robin took a shuddering breath. It was too good to be true.
"Really?"
"Really."
The silence stretched between the three again like an expanse between two high-rise buildings, a held breath. Fear still sat in Robin's heart. Steve was just sitting there, staring at his shoes, eyes squinted as they always did when he was thinking hard. But Georgia looked at him with nothing but confidence and a little bit of pity.
"Steven...are you still breathing?"
"Just...Just thinking," Steve replied despondently.
"Okay," Robin began to fidget with a strand of hair as the terror overwhelmed her. If families could turn on kids like her, there was nothing stopping Steve from calling them a slur and storming off and outing them to everybody in Hawkins.
"I mean yeah, Tammy Thompson, you know, she's cute and all but...I mean, she's a total dud!"
"She is not!" Both girls exclaimed in unison.
"Yes, she is, she wants to be a singer and move to Nashville and shit!"
"She has dreams!" Robin found herself too surprised to conjure up a better defence.
"She can't even hold a tune!"
Georgia started giggling madly. "You're right. She's practically tone deaf."
"Have you heard her?" Steve looked like himself again. "All the time. 'You see me now tonight-'"
"'And I need you more than ever'!" Georgia chimed in with her spot-on impression of Tammy Thompson.
Robin let the tension in her body ease and a smile pulled at her lips. "She does not sound like that."
"She sounds exactly like that. That's a great impersonation of her!"
"She doesn't sound like that," Robin was now freely grinning. "You sound like a muppet."
"She sounds like a muppet!"
"She sounds like a muppet giving birth!"
They all joined in for another Kermit-Tammy karaoke moment. "'And if you can hold me tight. We'll be holding on forever'!"
"Exactly!"
"I know!"
The bathroom door slammed open, the stall doors rattled on their hinges. Dustin and Erica stood in the doorway, staring at the three bloody teens with nothing short of murder in their eyes.
"Okay." Dustin clipped out. "What the hell?"
~~
"Hey, dork." Robin's voice came out hoarse as she watched a bloodstained waitress slink into the dark ice cream parlour. Normally she would've been annoyed at somebody interrupting her her moment of solitude but when that somebody was Georgia Hammond, Robin didn't mind so much.
"Mind if I sit?" She couldn't see Georgia's smile but she heard it in her tone. Georgia was still smiling even after everything they'd been through.
"What offerings dost thou bring?"
Georgia sat down so that their sides were pressed close together and handed her the paper plate. "A double cheeseburger, no pickles, extra mustard."
Robin took a gigantic bite, as much as she could fit in her mouth. She was unsure if the burger tasted so good because she was half-starved or of if was because Georgia had made it for her. When she was finished chewing, she asked, "Why no pickles?"
"I couldn't find where the cooks keep them."
Robin snorted and tried not to think about how warm Georgia was, pressed against the right side of Robin's body. "I don't really like pickles anyways."
They finished their burgers in relative silence, listening to the commotion happening in the food court. Neither were ready to go back. Georgia fished out a packet of mints from her bag and offered them to Robin. The younger girl took one with a small laugh.
"You really did pack everything and the kitchen sink, huh?"
Georgia shrugged and popped two in her mouth. "I like to be prepared. Steve says I should've been in Scouts."
"You know," Robin said quietly, speaking without really thinking the idea she'd had on her mind for months. "I always thought you and Steve were secretly in love."
Georgia laughed but it was tight and short-lived. "Everyone did. I tried, you know, for a while, to see him-to see guys, the way I'm supposed to. Everyone seemed to always be telling me that Steve and I were meant for each other, even if they weren't really saying it, but I couldn't make myself into someone I'm not."
"I tried too," Robin said with a bittersweet smile, thinking back to her sophomore year. "People always seemed to want me and my friend Dash to get together. And then they started pushing for Milton when they realised I wasn't gonna go for Dash."
Georgia's nose wrinkled. "Dash Montague? He's a total wannabe, you're way out of his league. Milton is sweet though."
Robin laughed and nudged Georgia's shoulder, pride swelling up in her. "Even when I had that bad perm?"
Georgia nodded very seriously. "Even if you were a swamp creature."
Robin's heart stopped for a second. It should have been illegal for Georgia to look at her like that. With those soft brown eyes that refused to flit away from Robin's, as if Georgia was drinking in every drop of Robin's soul. Robin began to feel rather warm all over and cleared her throat.
"I play the French horn, you know?"
"I know."
"It's dorky."
"I like the French horn. I crochet in my spare time."
"I know. That's very dorky."
"I started after the first time I dealt with all this inter-dimensional bullshit. Kept me sane."
Robin hugged her knees close to her chest again, a soft smile on her face now that it clicked in her mind that that was the reason knitwear had become such a Hawkins High fashion staple in 1984. "When I fell out with all my friends in sophomore year, I used to plan out my life in different countries to distract myself. My favourite was Operation Croissant."
"Très mignon," Georgia said with a smile that would blind the sun. "Was that right? I almost failed French."
"Your pronunciation needs work, but to your credit, you can perform emergency surgery on a teenage girl with a demon in her leg without anesthesia."
"True. Very true," Georgia's smile fell. "Honestly, I almost shit my pants, I was so scared I'd fuck up."
Georgia Hammond was not the kind of girl who was so vulnerable with girls like Robin Buckley. Georgia Hammond was supposed to be untouchable, unshakeable. "Where'd you learn to do that?"
"From watching a lot of medical drama movies. And Vicky used to get hurt while playing out in the street, so I'm used to a bit of blood and gore."
"You made it look easy," Robin's voice was barely more than a whisper. "I don't know what I'm doing here, I'm totally out of my league."
Georgia went to press closer but seemed to second-guess the decision and pulled back. "I don't know what I'm doing either, none of us do. Fake it til you make it, I guess. Story of my life."
Robin turned her head to look at Georgia, for once having some idea of what it felt like to be on the other end of a piercing stare. "I don't know what to say. That doesn't happen very often."
"I know. You don't have to say anything, I know what you're feeling," Georgia ran her fingers through her hair. "That's like one of the only things I'm good at."
Robin made a face. "You're not that good."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Robin's shoulders tensed and she scrambled to her feet. She'd fucked it up. They'd been having such a perfect moment, the kind Robin could think back on late at night in bed and remember the exact way Georgia leaned into her. Just because Georgia liked girls, it didn't mean she liked Robin. That would've been asking for too much. "Nothing. We should get back out there, they're probably looking for us and-"
"Hey, Rob?" Georgia caught her arm before she could race out of the dark ice cream parlour. The warmth of her palm burned Robin's skin. "You remember what happened in the bathroom?"
Robin felt faint and fear surged upwards from her stomach. "It's been like two hours, how bad do you think my memory is?"
Georgia took a deep breath. "It's just...well, I was wondering, if maybe, you know, only if you want to, but yeah-"
The realisation hit Robin like a ton of bricks. The fear began to drain away. Because Georgia Hammond was flustered and blushing and struggling to meet Robin's eyes.
"Are you...?"
"Trying and failing to ask you out? Yeah."
"Like a...date?" The fear was not gone. Robin was a girl fuelled by fear. But it served her nothing right now.
Georgia breathed the next word out. "Yeah."
She was serious. She was actually serious. Now that it was real, Robin didn't know what to do or say or think.
"This is," Robin dragged a hand through her hair, "new for me. Dating."
Georgia's face was lit up by a tiny smile. "Me too. Well, dating someone I actually like."
And then, inexplicably, the doubt and the fear was back again because Robin simply couldn't fathom being the person that Georgia liked. She couldn't understand why. Why Robin? Why gangly, awkward, mean, nerdy Robin?
"I'm serious, Robin Buckley, I really like you. It scares the shit out of me, but the idea of never even trying scares me more. I know you don't see it, but I think you are the coolest, smartest, funniest person I've ever met, and I just realised my confession can't possibly top Steve's and I-"
Robin didn't know what possessed her to do it, she didn't know what courage overtook her, but she dove forwards and met Georgia's lips. It was something she'd imagined more times than she'd ever admit, and had not pictured it to be quite so bloody or that it might be her who initiated it.
There was a moment where Robin thought Georgia second-guessed it all, the whole confession, but then she was kissing back and of course, she was good. Another thing about her that Robin could hate-love. Robin's hands tangled in Georgia's frizzy curls. Georgia's hands were firm and steadying on Robin's hips and she pulled her even closer. Georgia tasted like mint with only the slightest hint of iron.
Georgia had bitten off a man's finger earlier that day and Robin weirdly found herself not minding and maybe even finding it a bit hot. Of course Robin's first kiss with a girl was with a borderline cannibal. She wouldn't have had it any other way.
It was Georgia who remembered that they needed to breathe and she broke the kiss but maintained their close proximity. Georgia's shadowed face enveloped the entirety of Robin's vision.
"I was...uh..." Georgia could barely get her words out around her dopey grin. "Thinking we could do a picnic. Or we could try and see 'Back to the Future' when we're not high off Russian truth serum?"
"I would go anywhere with you, Georgia Hammond."
"It's Mary-Elizabeth," Georgia said breathlessly. "Mary-Elizabeth Hammond. That's my real name."
Robin's entire body shook with laughter at the admission. "That's why Steve is always calling you that?"
"Yeah, why else would he?"
"I thought it was some dumb inside joke."
"Are you making fun of my name, Rob? Seriously? After I was just so vulnerable with you?" She went to pull away but Robin caught her arm and pulled her back, letting her arms settle around Georgia's waist.
"A movie sounds great."
"Changing the subject, real smart."
"My apologies, Mary-Elizabeth."
"Can you kiss me again?"
Robin rolled her eyes but she obliged. "Dumbass."
"Hey there, you guys-WHOA!" Steve's hand slapped itself over his eyes as the two girls sprang away from each other. "I'm sorry."
Georgia coughed awkwardly. "Uh, what's up?"
"Um..." Steve peered in between his fingers. "Hopper's letting us navigate from somewhere safe. We gotta drive Dustin and Erica to some mountain. You guys...coming?"
"Yeah, yeah, we're coming," Robin brushed past him, face bright red but a smile rooted firmly on her lips.