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The story of The Bet goes a little something like this.
It’s the summer of 1985, and hooooly shit, has it been a wild summer. Also depressing. And just all around weird. Honestly, there are some days where Robin thinks she might wake up in the morning and realize all of this has been some strange, demented nightmare. She wouldn’t have too much of a problem with that; in fact, some days, she really wishes that were the case.
Except that, if none of this were real, she wouldn’t have Steve.
Stupid Steve Harrington, who has somehow managed to worm his way into Robin’s heart with his awkward charm and his fierce protectiveness over his friends and his unabashed, genuine acceptance of her. This summer has been weird—filled with secret codes and Russian bases and truth serums and monsters from another dimension—but perhaps the weirdest thing of all is that Steve Harrington is now one of Robin Buckley’s closest friends.
And Robin Buckley is now one of Steve Harrington’s closest friends.
God, if only sophomore year Robin could see herself now.
The rest of the summer goes by quickly. Starcourt Mall is unsalvageable after the Mind Flayer’s attack, and some super sketchy government agency swoops in at the last minute to clean up this mess. They make up some disaster of a cover story—claiming all the damage had been caused by a “mall fire” or some stupid shit like that. Really doesn’t make much sense. There are so many holes in their story, and Robin could go on and on about just why the story doesn’t add up and why people are so stupid for believing it, because like honestly, how can you fall for that ridiculous of a story and just pretend that nothing’s wrong and—
(Ahem. Um. Anyways.)
So yeah, Robin is without a job now, and that’s rather unfortunate because it means she’s stuck helping her mom around the house for the rest of the summer and listening to her drone on and on and on about the most useless things. And she says that Robin doesn’t know how to shut up. God.
She and Steve keep in touch following the whole Starcourt incident, and it’s nice. Like really nice. It’s easy to fall back into their light-hearted banter, and Steve doesn’t treat her any differently. Robin makes fun of him; Steve tries (and fails) to make fun of her back. Eventually, they become comfortable enough to talk about girls, and they mercilessly tease each others’ failed attempts to get girlfriends.
(At least Robin has the excuse of living in a small, close-minded town in Indiana. Steve’s just an idiot. A lovable, kind idiot, but an idiot all the same.)
Sometimes, they talk about Starcourt and the Russians and the Mind Flayer thing too. Those are quieter, more sobering moments, especially when they stop to think about all the deaths that have occurred as a result. Steve mentions, on more than one occasion, that he’s worried about the kids—particularly that Max girl, the younger Byers boy (Will, Robin vaguely remembers), and of course, the really cool girl, El, who has the super powers. He says he checks up on them as best as he can, but it’s a little bit harder to look out for them. Steve’s always had the closest bond with Dustin, so trying to check in on the other kids is just a little bit more difficult.
So, Robin resolves—to herself, at least—that she’ll do her best to look out for the kids too. She may not remember all their names (I mean, can you blame her? There’s so many of them), but she’ll look out for the kids.
And that’s when Robin starts noticing things.
Look.
If there is one thing that Robin prides herself on, it is her incredible gaydar. As a lesbian living in small town Hawkins, she has mastered the art of people-watching and observation. Steve may not have been aware of it, but Robin definitely spent the entire summer watching anyone who came into Scoops Ahoy during their shifts. She knows just which moms are closeted gay women unfortunately married to idiot men, knows which dads are pretending to live their best straight lives with a wife and 2.5 kids, and knows which teenagers at Hawkins are the most repressed individuals she’s ever met in her life.
Robin knows. Her gaydar is never wrong.
So, when she and Steve run into the younger Wheeler kid (Mark? Mack? No, Mike, that’s it.) and the younger Byers kid (Robin’s like 95% certain his name is Will, but then again she could be wrong.) while at the grocery store, it doesn’t take long for Robin to pick up on something.
“Oh, we should get Reese’s!” a familiar voice says excitedly. “Those are your favorite, right?”
Both Steve and Robin glance up as two familiar faces come bounding down the candy aisle, and Steve’s face breaks out into a wide grin. “Wheeler, Byers!” he greets, and though the two boys look a bit surprised to see them, they return the grin with equal enthusiasm. “Long time no see!”
“You just saw us like last week,” Mike retorts, and Robin has to fight the urge to laugh.
Will nudges the other boy sharply in the ribs—he’s clearly the more polite of the two—and then he turns to Robin with a smile. “Hi, Robin,” he greets with a friendly wave.
“Hey, Will; hey Mike.” Robin grins at the two of them and really hopes she’s gotten their names right. That’d be super awkward if she didn’t. Also a bit rude. But she’s almost positive that she’s right. Almost. “That’s, uh… a lot of snacks you got there in your basket.”
Mike grins—a wide, lopsided grin full of mischief. “We’re having a movie night,” he explains.
“Oh, that’s cool!” Steve says with a bright smile. “Tell the others we said hi then!”
All at once, both Will and Mike’s faces turn red, and the two boys shift uncomfortably. “Actually, um…” Will starts to say, and he rubs his neck shyly, exchanging a look with Mike. “It’s just the two of us.”
Oh.
Interesting.
Robin actually, literally has to bite down on her tongue to keep from saying anything. God, she wants to say something to them (Congratulations, maybe? Also, how did you manage to get into a relationship while Robin still hasn’t even kissed a girl?), but no, she can’t. She doesn’t know Will or Mike that well, and there’s no sense in embarrassing the poor kids. Better just to let them have their cute little movie night date in peace.
“Oh, okay.” Steve looks a bit confused, but he shrugs and offers another smile regardless. “Have fun then, I guess? We’ll catch you guys later.”
As both teenagers wave goodbye, Robin turns and follows Steve down to another aisle of the grocery store. She waits until the two of them are far enough away that the boys won’t be able to hear, then she casually says, “I didn’t realize those two were dating.”
Steve stops in his tracks and turns around, his eyes wide. “What?” he asks incredulously.
“What?” Robin raises her hands defensively. “Dude, I just met them like this summer! How was I supposed to know?”
“No, they’re not,” Steve stammers, his face becoming increasingly more red. He drops his voice to a whisper, “I don’t think… No, no, Mike is dating El, Robin. He and Will are just friends. They’re not… not dating. Hell, I don’t even think they’re gay.”
Robin glances back in the direction of their two little friends, then she turns back to Steve. “You sure about that, buddy?”
Somehow, Steve’s expression becomes even more stressed, and he runs a hand through his hair. “I mean… Will… might be,” he admits quietly. “Jon said he’s been bullied before for that kind of shit. But Mike? I mean, he’s dating El, Robin. I don’t think he is. And they’re definitely not dating. They’re just… friends. Best friends.”
Best friends don’t look at each other like that, Robin thinks wryly, but that’s an argument she’ll save for later.
“Bisexuality’s a thing, Steve,” she decides on saying instead, and she absently grabs a pint of ice cream from the freezer. “Honestly, I bet they’ll end up dating at one point or another. I’ve just got a feeling.”
Steve snorts, and he grabs another pint of ice cream, casting a wary look at the flavor Robin had chosen. Go figure. They’d never been able to agree on what ice cream flavors were the best at Scoops Ahoy. “I’ll take that bet,” he says, voice filled with certainty. “Bet you ten bucks Wheeler and Byers are just friends and don’t get together.”
As if on perfect cue, said boys come running down the aisle, laughing and chasing after one another. They hardly even notice Robin and Steve or any of the other people in the store; no, they’re too damn focused on each other.
Oh, you poor, poor schmuck, Robin thinks to herself, and she can’t help the smirk that forms on her face.
“Alright, Harrington,” she says confidently, holding out her hand. “You’re on.”
Robin would like a refund on this spring break, please.
Listen, okay, seriously. What the hell has her life become? First, it was Russian spies and a hidden underground base and this weird fleshy monster thing, and now, it’s some viney, shriveled up world’s worst chiropractor of a monster and a place that basically might as well be hell and holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, what has her life become?
So much for getting to spend spring break practicing how to talk to Vicki. God, when did her life become so damn weird?
And here’s the thing. Robin can’t really stop to think about it for too long. Because the second—like, the literal second—she does, she is going to lose her absolute goddamn mind and have some sort of mental breakdown. This is all just too much. The fleshy monster Mind Flayer thing from last summer was bad enough, but at least it (mostly) kept its distance from her.
But this… this thing… Vecna? It’s gotten right up close and personal. Robin has seen this curse firsthand. They had gotten so damn close to losing Nancy in the Upside Down (much like they’d almost lost Steve), and God, that had been way too close for comfort.
Then, Jonathan, Will, Mike, and El had all showed up (with some stoner friend of theirs who seemed to be getting along well with Eddie) and managed to find the group’s hideout (aka Hopper’s old cabin).
Aaaaand, it really hadn’t taken long for everything to go to absolute shit. Again.
One moment, Robin is taking a nap on Steve’s shoulder, and the next moment, literally everyone is screaming and running outside because shit, shit, shit, Will is doing the thing, his eyes are rolled back in his head, and he’s not moving, and shit shit shit shit shit—
The first timers are freaking the fuck out. Even Jonathan’s stoner friend is panicking, while everyone else madly scrambles to find a walkman and the cassette of Will’s favorite song. His brother is clearly distressed, but even Jonathan’s reaction has nothing on Mike’s reaction.
The kid is screaming, like full on screaming and crying and shaking Will’s shoulders, as if that will help anything. (It won’t, but Robin gets it. She remembers far too well the panicked feeling of seeing Nancy frozen and stuck in the Upside Down with Steve.) Robin isn’t sure she’s ever seen Mike Wheeler act like this; if anything, the kid has always come off as a bit aloof to her.
“Will, please, please,” Mike begs, while Jonathan scrambles to put the headphones on Will’s head. “Please don’t leave me; please, please, Will—”
The waiting is the worst part. The anticipation of whether the song will be enough, whether the victim’s memories will be enough, or if Vecna will finally claim a member of their little band of misfits as his own.
Not him. Please not him, Robin finds herself thinking. Not that she wants anyone to get killed by this Vecna creep, but she doesn’t want to think about what will happen if Will does die at Vecna’s hands. She’s not sure how Jonathan or Mrs. Byers would react.
How Mike would react.
A few more agonizing moments pass by before Will snaps out of the trance, and he all but collapses into Mike’s arms, sobbing roughly. There’s a collective sigh of relief from the whole group, and Robin closes her eyes, mentally thanking the universe for listening to her for once.
Eventually, their little group disperses, sensing the need to give Will some privacy after (yet another) traumatic event. Poor kid. Robin’s heard from the others about all the shit Will went through when he was younger; hell, she remembers reading the paper and seeing the news talk about the kid who went missing for a whole week in the woods. It seems Will, of all of them, can’t catch a break.
Once inside, Robin returns to the little corner of Hopper’s old cabin where she and Steve had set up camp, and she leans her head against the wall tiredly. Steve pauses to talk to Nancy, who hovers by the front door and watches both Byers brothers, as well as her own little brother, in concern. Eventually, Steve just gives Nancy’s shoulder a gentle squeeze, then he saunters back over to the corner, taking a seat.
Neither of them say anything, though this time, Steve leans his head on Robin’s shoulder. Robin leans her head on his and closes her eyes, taking a shuddered breath. Her heart is still pounding inside her chest, and God, she can’t imagine how Will must be feeling right now. If she’s this scared just watching someone get Vecna-ed (as Dustin had begun to call it), she can’t imagine actually experiencing it.
“You were right,” Steve finally says, after several minutes of silence.
Robin opens her eyes. “Huh?”
“You were right,” Steve says again, meeting Robin’s eyes. “About Wheeler and Byers. They’re definitely going to end up together.”
He’s not being very specific, but honestly, he doesn’t need to be. After all, Nancy and Jonathan are already together (though, Robin senses some underlying tension in that relationship). No, Steve is talking about Mike and Will.
“Finally see the light, huh?” she teases.
Steve manages a smile. “I don’t know how I didn’t see it before,” he admits, seeming a bit embarrassed. “I mean… maybe it’s because they’re… um, both guys? I just… assumed they were just friends or whatever. But you don’t… well, you don’t…”
“You don’t react like that when you’re just friends,” Robin deadpans.
“No,” Steve agrees. “You really don’t.”
He pauses here, then gives Robin a wry smirk. “Think we can change the terms of the bet?”
Robin opens her mouth to tell him that—um, no, they cannot change the terms of this bet they made literally last year, just because now Steve has eyes and can see what Robin’s seen all along—but someone beats her to it.
“What bet?” a familiar voice asks, and Robin glances up to see both Nancy and Jonathan walking over to them. Jonathan still looks incredibly shaken up and distracted, and he keeps glancing behind him, to where Mike is helping Will take a seat in the living room.
“Oh.” Robin winces, exchanging a look with Steve. Her best friend has a panicked look on his face like, Don’t tell them, do not tell them. “Nothing, just… a stupid inside joke from last summer.”
As the couple sits down across from them, Nancy gives Robin a disbelieving look. “Right,” she says dryly. “So, why are you changing the terms of it?”
“We’re not,” Robin reassures, right as Steve answers, “I… got some more information!”
Idiot, Robin thinks, fighting the urge to smack her forehead.
At the very least, Steve’s idiocy gets Jonathan to smile. “Dude, just tell us what the bet is,” he says. “It’ll help keep our minds off… all this shit.”
He makes a vague gesture in the direction of Mike and Will, and shit, now there’s no way that Robin or Steve are going to be able to keep lying. Both of them have too big of bleeding hearts to not help their friends.
“Okay, fine, but first, two rules,” Robin says quickly. “Number one, you cannot tell a single soul about this bet. None, zip, zilch, nada. This stays here, between the four of us. And number two, please don’t get mad at us, okay?”
Both Jonathan and Nancy just look confused. “Why would we get mad at you?” Nancy asks, her brow furrowed.
Robin exchanges another look with Steve, who looks torn between mortification and resignation. Yeah, that fits the situation pretty damn well. “We, um… sort of have a bet going to see if your brothers will get together,” Robin whispers, leaning in close to the others. “Like… together, together.”
As expected, the look on Nancy’s face is completely surprised. Jonathan, however, looks furious. “Is this some kind of joke to you?” he hisses. “You’re making fun of my brother now?”
“What? No! No, dude, we swear,” Steve says hurriedly. “We’re not… neither of us like that. We wouldn’t do that. We… yeah.”
Steve casts a glance at Robin, as if to say, Please help me, and Robin nods, raising her hands amicably. “I promise we aren’t making fun of them,” she reassures. “I just… Every time I’ve seen them interact, it seems to me like they’re more than friends. Steve didn’t think so, but after seeing Mike’s reaction a little bit ago…”
Jonathan winces, and once again, he glances behind him at Will and Mike. The two of them are sitting close together now, with Mike’s arm around Will’s shoulder. There’s something incredibly comfortable and intimate about the scene, and Robin can’t help but smile.
“I can see it,” Nancy says finally, and all of them turn to look at her. She merely shrugs. “Will’s always been special to Mike. For the longest time, he would never stop talking about Will. It only really stopped when El came along, and the two of them started dating.”
“Like I told Steve here, bisexuality is a thing.” Robin shrugs. “Besides, most people don’t stay with their first loves anyways.”
As soon as the words are out of her mouth, Robin regrets them, because both Steve and Nancy stiffen. Shit, she’s an idiot who always says too much. Here she goes again, putting her foot in her mouth.
“But yeah, that’s The Bet,” Robin says quickly, desperate to change the subject. “Nothing really important.”
Jonathan glances over his shoulder at his little brother, a curious expression on his face. Then, he turns back to Robin. “Alright,” he says with a shrug, seemingly convinced at the well-meaning nature of their bet. “I want in.”
“Me too,” Nancy agrees.
“A new bet!” Steve suggests. “Instead of betting whether or not they get together, we bet on when they’ll get together. How’s that sound?”
“You just don’t want to be out ten bucks,” Robin says dryly, rolling her eyes. “But fine, I’m willing to play the game. I bet ten bucks they get together before the end of their junior year of high school.”
“That long?” Nancy says incredulously. “You have no idea how long Mike’s been obsessed with Will. No way. I think they get together by end of their sophomore year.”
“Jonathan?” Robin raises a brow. “Steve? What’s your time frame?”
Jonathan purses his lips, a thoughtful look on his face. “Summer between sophomore and junior year,” he decides. “Gives them a little bit more time to figure out whatever weird shit’s been going on between them.”
“Okay, so we’ve got end of by sophomore year, summer before junior year, and end of junior year,” Robin recounts, and Nancy and Jonathan nod. “Alright, Steve. Your bet?”
Steve glances over at the two boys in question, and he leans back, crossing his arms. “End of the year,” he says finally. “I’ve got a good feeling.”
“Deal.” Robin grins, holding out both her hands—one for Steve to take, one for Nancy to take—and she motions for the others to hold hands too. “May the best matchmaker win.”
The summer of 1987 is awesome, to say the least.
It’s the first normal year that Robin has had in what feels like forever, though really, it’s only been two years since her life got really, really strange. With the Upside Down finally gone for good thanks to their merry band of misfits, life in Hawkins is back to normal, and Robin is just happy.
On top of that, she’d met an incredible girl named Cassie during her freshman year at Purdue, and right near the end of the year, the two of them had officially started dating. Sure, they’re doing long distance right now, but Columbus, Ohio isn’t that far from Hawkins. Weekend trips to visit her girlfriend (!!!!) are so doable.
And for the icing on top of the cake, Robin is now completely, fully out and proud to the whole world. It had taken her a while to work up the courage—after all growing up in small town, homophobic Hawkins doesn’t exactly help one sprint out of the closet. Slowly but surely though, she’d come out to more and more people. Steve had been one of the first, then her parents, then Nancy and Jonathan… And the more people Robin told, the freer she felt and the more comfortable she became owning her truth and her identity.
Sometimes, it’s not easy being out, and the people in Hawkins are still nasty. But in the end, all that matters is that Robin knows exactly who she is and that her friends love and accept her.
(And hey, if she can be the cool lesbian aunt or something and help answer some of Will Byers’ questions about coming out to more people, or talk to Max Mayfield about the potential of her liking more than just boys, then Robin is definitely going to take that opportunity.)
So, yeah. The summer of 1987 is great.
And then, it gets better.
It all starts when Dustin, Lucas, and Max walk into the local Family Video one day that both Robin and Steve are working. The three of them look like they’re on some kind of mission, and immediately, Steve groans.
“Nuh uh,” he says, shaking his head. “I know that look on your faces! Whatever shit you’re up to, I don’t want any part of it, you hear me?”
“Relax,” Dustin says, and he jumps over the counter, ignoring Steve’s protests. Lucas and Max follow suit, and the next thing she knows, Robin is cornered by three sixteen year-olds.
“Um, hi?” she says, holding her hand up in an awkward wave. “How’s it going, guys?”
Max narrows her eyes suspiciously at Robin, then she, Lucas, and Dustin exchange a look. “Robin, you’re a lesbian,” she says flatly.
Steve makes some sort of choking noise, and Robin just raises an eyebrow. “Always have been, always will be.”
“Right.” Max nods. “Okay, so when I lived in California, some of the older kids talked about having a gaydar. Do you have a gaydar?”
Do I have a gaydar? Robin wants to scoff. Who do these kids think she is? Steve? Obviously, she has a gaydar.
“Yes, ma’am,” Robin chuckles, crossing her arms. “Why? Is there something you three aren’t telling me?”
Both Dustin and Lucas immediately look embarrassed, while Max just laughs, clearly unfazed by Robin’s sense of humor. “Nothing about us,” she says with a shrug. “But…”
Robin raises a brow. “But?”
“Oh for Christ’s sake,” Lucas mutters. “It’s Mike and Will! Please tell me you guys have noticed it too, and we’re not just going crazy.”
At the mention of the (not yet, but eventually) couple, Steve glances up, and he catches Robin’s eye. “The bet?” he mouths, then he mimes the motion for money. Robin fights the urge to laugh.
“If Mike and Will are together, then I’m sure they’ll tell you all eventually.” Robin shrugs. “But that’s for them to tell, not me.”
“So you think they’re hiding something too,” Dustin concludes. “Like a secret relationship?”
“So secret,” Robin says dryly. “Secret enough that neither of them even know about it. Come on. I’ve only known those two for a couple years now, but it’s obvious they have a thing for each other.”
“Oh my God, thank you,” Max sighs in relief. “That’s literally what I’ve been saying since I moved to Hawkins, but these two idiots here didn’t believe me until recently!”
“What gave it away?” Steve finally speaks up, and the teens all turn to look at him.
“Castle Byers,” Lucas and Dustin say in unison, and Robin’s brow furrows.
“Castle Byers?” she echoes.
Lucas nods. “When Will’s dad left, Jonathan helped him make this fort out in the woods. Will used to hang out there all the time, and that’s where he hid from the Demogorgon in the Upside Down. But then, a couple years ago when the Starcourt shit happened, Will and Mike got into a really bad fight, and Will tore it all down. Then, they moved away.”
“Ooookay,” Steve says slowly. “What’s that got to do with anything?”
“We’re getting to that, Steve; God, be patient,” Dustin chides. Steve flips him off, and Dustin blows him a raspberry.
“Children, please.” Robin rolls her eyes. “One of you continue?”
“Mike’s been helping Will build a new Castle Byers on the Byers-Hopper property all summer,” Max explains. “Which is fine and stuff, except Mike’s a huge perfectionist, and is the most obnoxious person in the world when he sets his mind on something.”
“Which is often,” Dustin adds. “So, he and Will have been working on rebuilding it, and all of us have helped out a little bit. But Mike is so protective over it and over Will, and yeah, he definitely has a crush on Will, doesn’t he?”
All three teenagers look at Robin expectantly, as if she’s somehow she can just magically know whether or not Mike Wheeler likes boys or not. “Look, I can’t say for certain,” Robin says, raising her hands, “but if I had to bet…”
“You definitely already did,” Steve mutters, and now the teens turn to look at him.
“Wait, you guys have a bet going about this?” Lucas asks incredulously. “And we’re just now finding out about it?”
“Gotta keep up, my young friends.” Robin shrugs. “But yes, we do have a betting pool. It’s ten bucks to get in. Winner takes it all. We’re betting on when—because yes, we all do believe that Will and Mike will get together eventually—we think it’ll happen.”
“And who exactly is ‘we’?” Max asks.
“Just me, Robin, Jonathan, and Nancy,” Steve answers. “Except Nance and I have already lost, so you’re really betting against Jonathan and Robin now.”
“Oh, hell yes.” Dustin grins, and he takes his wallet out, handing Robin a ten dollar bill. “I bet they'll be together by beginning of senior year.”
Lucas scoffs. “Senior year? Come on, man, you know how dense Mike can be! And Will’s not going to say anything. I bet sophomore year of college . Gives them a little time to get out of Hawkins and away from how close-minded some people are here.”
“Everyone experiments in college,” Steve remarks, and Robin nods in agreement, taking Lucas’ ten dollar bill as well.
“Did not need to know that about you,” Max says, scrunching her nose at Steve. “Alright, considering it’s Mike… I’m gonna say… after graduating college. Fully moved out of the house, away from Hawkins, actually maybe mature? Yeah, I think Mike might have his act together by then.”
“Damn,” Robin chuckles, and she takes Max’s money. “You don’t have a lot of faith in Mike, do you?”
“Mike Wheeler is literally an idiot when it comes to romance,” Max deadpans. “I stand by it.”
“Well, alright then.” Robin smiles, pocketing the extra thirty bucks that she now has to add to the other forty she has at home. “My friends, welcome to The Bet. Let’s see how this goes.”
Look, if there’s one thing that Robin is protective over, it’s the notebook she has designated for The Bet.
Only a few people have had the honor of seeing the notebook—Steve, Cassie (and only because they live together), and Max—and Robin guards this thing with her life . Not only does the little built in folder house all the money that Robin has accumulated over the years, but the notebook also has everything that anyone could ever need to know about The Bet. Even if Robin dies (which would be a huge bummer considering she’s somehow managed to survive a whole lot of other shit), The Bet will live on thanks to her handy little notebook.
Robin started it back around when Erica first joined the bet right before Robin’s spring semester in 1988. By then, there were seven of them total in the betting pool, and it was getting a little bit too difficult trying to track everyone’s guesses, especially with people’s speculations that maybe, just maybe, Mike and Will were already in a relationship and just hiding it from everyone.
And so, Robin had driven to everyone’s house (and nearly slipped and fell on ice many, many times), asking them to document what their exact guesses for when “Byler” (as Dustin had cleverly nicknamed them) would get together.
Upon entering Lucas’ house and looking for this information, none other than Erica had jumped into the conversation, demanding to know just what The Bet was about and just how she could get involved in it. As a big brother, Lucas had seemed annoyed, but Robin had been happy to share the full story of The Bet.
In the end, Erica had put in her ten dollar bill and declared that, quote, “They’re never going to get together because they’re too damn stupid to see how head over heels they are.”
(Not that Robin wants to lose the bet, but honestly, Erica might have a point.)
It takes some stealth to visit both Nancy and Jonathan and avoid their brothers—because Rule #1 of The Bet still mostly stands… except it’s been changed. Just don’t tell Will and Mike. Anyone else is free game.
And somehow, Robin manages to avoid Mike and Will, but she doesn’t avoid Karen Wheeler.
Oh no, Mrs. Wheeler walks in on her conversation with Nancy, and they’re forced to admit that… yeah, they’ve been betting on whether or not Karen Wheeler’s son is gonna kiss Will Byers. Woops. Robin feels a little bit like an idiot, which is just super embarrassing because both Nancy and her mom are gorgeous, and Robin’s just a silly little fool.
But then, Mrs. Wheeler shocks them, she throws her lot in, and the three of them giggle about some stories that only a mother would remember about her son. She bets the boys will get together while home on Christmas break their freshman year of college, and she makes fun of both Nancy’s guess and of Mike’s obliviousness. And when Mike himself walks into the kitchen, confused as to why the three of them won’t stop giggling, Karen Wheeler just gives her son the most innocent smile and reassures him that it’s “just girl stuff” and “nothing he needs to worry about.”
(Both Robin and Nancy have to fight the urge to start laughing, again, and poor Mike just looks more confused than ever.)
When she visits Jonathan next, the Byers-Household is surprisingly empty—only Mrs. Byers and Jonathan himself are home. Robin takes a few minutes to catch up with Joyce and see what she’s been up to over the past few months, before her friends’ mom gets pulled away to go deal with some random telemarketer. Her conversation with Jonathan is brief; even after years of knowing the guy, he’s still not the most talkative. It’s cool though. Robin probably talks enough for the both of them.
She gets Jonathan’s original bet recorded in the notebook and also gets some intel on the couple themselves. Apparently, Will had been seemingly absent for most of Christmas break, and Jonathan had a sneaking suspicion that his little brother was with Mike.
“Maybe they’re actually together, and none of us know it yet,” Jonathan suggests, and Robin just snorts. Wouldn’t that be hilarious? This whole time, all of them have been betting on when the boys would stop being so oblivious, but in reality, they have been the oblivious ones?
Robin opens her mouth to respond, but before she can, Joyce beats her to it. “Who’s actually together?” she asks, brow furrowed.
Jonathan’s eyes widen, and he winces, exchanging a look with Robin. “Um… no one,” he lies. Very badly, if Robin might add. “It’s nothing, Mom.”
Joyce just narrows her eyes suspiciously, and yep, that is most definitely Robin’s clue to get the hell out of Dodge. “Well, it was good seeing you guys!” Robin says quickly, standing to her feet. “Thanks for having me over; I’ll see you when I’m home on spring break!”
Maybe it’s not the nicest thing—leaving Jonathan to fend for himself and all that—but Robin practically sprints out of the Byers-Hopper household. It’s getting late anyways, and she still has to pack before driving back to school tomorrow afternoon. She really does need to get going.
(But honestly, it doesn’t come as much of a surprise when Jonathan Byers shows up at her house the next day, a long-suffering look on his face, a ten dollar bill in hand, and Joyce Byers’ guess of “the summer before they go to college” ready to be recorded in the notebook.)
And so, Robin returns back to school with another $30 tucked away carefully into The Bet’s notebook.
The rest of the year is pretty uneventful from there on out. Robin joins a couple new clubs at college, spends as much time as humanly possible getting to know and love Cassie even more (“No, Steve, you don’t get it, she is literally the perfect person like holy shit—”), and aces all classes.
Unfortunately, she does, however, join Steve, Jonathan, and Nancy in The Bet’s losers’ circle. Oh well. It’s only ten bucks lost, and now that Robin isn’t actually in the betting pool, she thinks Lucas is probably the closest to being right. She can see Mike and Will getting together their freshman year.
(She considers for a second starting a secondary betting pool to guess who’s bet is going to be the closest to reality but ultimately decides against it. Probably too complicated at this point.)
Summer in Hawkins, like her spring semester, is fairly boring, though Robin does enjoy working at the new bookstore downtown with both Steve and Will. Steve seems terribly out of place in the establishment, but wherever Robin goes, he follows. Will, on the other hand, fits right in, and he and Robin spend most of their summer geeking out over their favorite books and sharing recommendations with one another.
Will also spends most of his summer pining over Mike, who shows up at the bookstore about three times a week and only buys something once in a blue moon. They’re so disgustingly cute it hurts, and because they’re close enough friends now, Steve and Robin take great joy in teasing Will about his crush.
(“You guys are the absolute worst!” Will groans one afternoon, burying his head in his hands.
“We didn’t even say anything!” Steve protests, but yeeeaaah, there’s no denying the shit-eating grin on his or Robin’s faces.
“You didn’t have to,” Will grumbles, and he glances at the door, as if afraid Mike will suddenly walk back into their little bookstore. “I really hate you both.”
“Aw, no you don’t, Willy Will,” Robin says cheerfully, reaching up to ruffle his hair. Despite Will having at least a few inches on her and being seventeen years old, he’ll always be the quiet little preteen with a bowl cut in her mind. “You love us, just like you love Mike!”
Will very uncharacteristically flips her off, and Robin just laughs.)
In the blink of an eye, another summer in Hawkins comes to a close, but not without another addition to the bet.
It’s during one of her last evenings working at the bookstore before she goes back to school, and Robin’s alone on the closing shift tonight. She carefully sweeps the floors, humming to herself, when she hears the familiar jingle of the door’s bell behind her.
Robin glances up, her brow furrowed, only to find none other than El Hopper walking into the bookstore. There’s a rather determined look on the younger girl’s face—not unlike the badass superhero stare that El had always used on the baddies.
“Oh, hey, El,” Robin greets, leaning against one of the bookshelves. “Will’s not here… He got off around 3 today.”
El nods. “I know,” she says simply. “I wanted to talk to you.”
“Oh.” Robin tilts her head slightly, giving her young friend a confused look. Sure, she and El are friends—but mostly by association. Robin can’t really remember the last time she ever talked to the other girl for more than a couple minutes. “Yeah, sure, we can talk! Is everything alright? It’s not relationship problems, is it? Because honestly, I’ve been told I don’t give the best advice for bad relationships, and that’s probably because Cass and I really don’t ever fight, we’re good at talking to each other, and—”
“Robin,” El cuts her off, and then she gives Robin a small grin, reaching into her little purse and pulling out a ten dollar bill. “Prom.”
“I… I’m sorry?” Robin blinks, staring at her in confusion.
El shrugs. “Prom,” she repeats. “I think they’ll get together this year at prom.”
It takes a second for Robin to get what El’s talking about, and then, it dawns on her. “Ah,” Robin says, grinning widely. “You want to join The Bet. I was wondering when you would!”
El frowns ever so slightly, and she nods. “No one told me about it,” she admits, rolling her eyes. “I just found out this morning from Max.”
“Ah,” Robin says with a wince, “sorry about that. It’s kinda just happened organically… Everyone just heard through the grapevine, or whatever. We didn’t mean to leave you out, promise!”
“I know,” El reassures, and she offers Robin a small smile. “But leaving me out for two years will make it much more fun when I win next spring.”
“Ooh, you’re confident,” Robin laughs. “What makes you so sure it’ll be senior prom?”
She gets a shrug and a smirk in response from the other girl. “Because I know them,” El says simply. “And I’ve got a feeling.”
“Well, good luck then.” Robin grins. “Most people are still in the running to win, but hey, I think it’d be hilarious if you won.”
El just grins back at her. “The ex-girlfriend and the sister,” she muses, clearly unfazed by the awkwardness of the situation. It’s been a few years since she and Mike broke up, of course, and it makes Robin happy to see that El has long since moved on—enough to joke about it just as much as the rest of them do.
“I’m definitely rooting for you to win,” Robin decides. “I just think that’d be perfect.”
“Yeah,” El agrees with a smile. “I do too.”
The Bet officially ends in June of 1989.
There’s now $120 in the betting pool, thanks to the last minute addition of the ten dollars Murray had mailed to Robin this past semester. Much to Robin’s surprise, Murray had bet his money that Mike and Will were already together and had been hiding their relationship for the past couple months. While others had joked about that before, nobody had been willing to put their money where their mouths were.
Leave it to Murray to do just that.
The day starts out about as normal as a summer day in Hawkins can get. Things are pretty slow at the bookstore this morning, and Steve isn’t due to come in until later in the afternoon. Will has the day off (lucky bastard), and so, that leaves Robin to aimlessly wander through the bookstore, chasing after the owner’s old tabby cat, Dilly, that sometimes likes to make an appearance.
(Oh, that reminds her, maybe she and Cassie should get a cat after they graduate college. Their current landlord’s a bit of a dick, so getting a pet now probably isn’t the best idea, but they can totally take care of a cat when they graduate next year. Okay, yeah, Robin needs to remember to bring this up to Cassie, and maybe they can go to the pet shelter, and oh, that would be a really cute date actually—)
The doorbell jingles, snapping Robin out of her daydreaming, and she glances up, just as none other than Steve Harrington bursts into the store.
“You’re early,” Robin starts to say, but Steve cuts her off.
“It’s over!” he exclaims, a bit breathless. “Robin, it’s over!”
Robin blinks, then she gives her best friend a confused look. “I’m sorry… what? What’s over, dingus? Use your words, please.”
“The Bet, Robin,” Steve says, giving her an exasperated look. “The Bet is over!”
“Holy shit!” Robin stands up, giving Dilly the cat the perfect opportunity to run away again. She swats Steve’s arm, barely able to hold in her excitement. “Holy shit, it happened? They got together? How did you find out? When did they get together?”
“Stop that!” Steve shoves her away when Robin hits his arm again, and both of them make a face at one another. “Okay, I just got off the phone with Nance, who heard from Jonathan. Apparently, Mrs. Byers—er, Hopper, I guess now—”
“That still sounds weird for me to hear,” Robin remarks.
“It still feels weird for me to say,” Steve agrees. “Anyways, Joyce and Hop apparently walked in on Will and Mike kissing! And Hopper said this has been going on since at least February!”
“February?!” Robin all but shrieks. Somewhere in the back of the bookstore, Dilly meows in annoyance. “They’ve been together for four months, and none of us knew?”
“Four months minimum, Robin!” Steve exclaims. “For all we know, they could’ve been together even longer!”
“Holy shit.” Robin runs a hand through her hair. “Holy shit, wow. I can’t believe this is actually happening.”
“Dude, we have to find out when they actually got together,” Steve says, seeming a bit like a kid in the candy store. “Maybe some of us who ‘lost’ didn’t actually lose! Maybe you or Nancy or Jonathan actually won! Hell, maybe I won!”
“Mm, I wouldn’t go that far, buddy,” Robin says, and she pats her best friend’s shoulder sympathetically. “But you’re right, we do need to figure out when they got together, so we can figure out who was closest to being right. I’m trying to think…”
Robin’s voice trails off, and slowly, she turns to look at Steve, the realization dawning on her. “What?” he asks, brow furrowed in confusion.
“Murray joined the bet in February,” Robin mutters.
“Okay,” Steve says slowly. “The adults are in on it too, so what?”
“But he bet they were already together.” Robin throws her hands up in the air. “That son of a bitch totally cheated!”
Steve’s eyes widen. “We had that Christmas party at the Wheeler’s house,” he groans. “Shit, they got Murray-ed, didn’t they?!”
“God damn it!” Robin swears. “Okay, that like totally can’t count, right? Setting them up is considered cheating, isn’t it? Don’t we have a rule or something for that?”
“How should I know?” Steve exclaims defensively. “You’re the one who keeps that madman’s notebook!”
“Well, don’t you think it’s common sense that we’d have a rule to not interfere?” Robin cries. “Come on, dingus, we made that a rule, right? Right?”
Steve lifts his hands helplessly, and Robin just groans, running a hand through her hair. “Stay here,” she instructs. “Cover my shift; I’m going to go get the notebook.”
Without giving Steve a chance to argue, Robin sprints out the door and to her car, determined to find her notebook and set things straight.
And yet, the more she thinks about it… the more Robin gets a feeling they definitely did not make this a rule.
And so, the story of The Bet ends like this.
It’s the summer of 1989, and honestly, summers in Hawkins haven’t been very interesting since… 1986? 1985? Yeah, something like that. Not that Robin is complaining. She’ll take lazy days by the pool and afternoons giggling in the bookstore with Will and Steve over underground bases, interdimensional monsters, and all that shit any day.
Soon after Robin and Steve find out about Will and Mike’s relationship, the couple officially comes out—or, Mike does at least. Will has been out to everyone in their wacky little friend group for a few years now, and though everyone has already suspected Mike’s feelings for his best friend, it still feels just as important when Mike lets others know that he’s bisexual and is, in fact, dating none other than Will Byers.
And yes, Robin and Steve do spend the better part of a shift at the bookstore utterly drilling Will on every single detail about his new relationship. It’s their duty, as the group’s designated cool aunt and favorite babysitter.
Unfortunately, Robin also finds out from her notebook that no rule on interference exists. The only rules in place are the rule about not telling Mike and Will, as well as the rule about not getting mad at anyone for making said bet. Seriously, she and Steve are idiots. How did they forget to make a rule about not interfering or trying to set the boys up?!
So, Murray wins the now four-year old bet, and rather than mailing him the money, Robin just decides to give it to him at the group’s annual 4th of July cookout.
This little cookout has been a tradition for three years now, and it’s really the only time that all of them who experienced the insanity of the Upside Down and that shit get to spend time together. Joyce and Hopper host a cookout on their property, and it feels a bit like a family reunion… if family was defined by life-threatening, traumatic, and horrifying shared experiences (which it totally is).
By the time Robin makes it to the cookout, practically everyone else is already here, so she grabs herself a beer and plops down onto a tiny bench, squished between Steve and Nancy. Currently, Steve and Dustin are in a heated debate about which Star Wars movie is the best, while everyone listens with equal parts annoyance and fondness. Robin can’t help but smile. They’ve made a nerd out of Steve Harrington yet.
As Nancy and Lucas desperately try to change the subject, Robin sees a familiar face out of the corner of her eye. Ah, there he is. The Bald Eagle himself.
Without saying anything to anyone else, Robin stands, walking over to where Murray has sat down at one of the tables. “Murray Bauman,” she greets, leaning on the table.
The man in question looks up, raising a brow. “Robin Buckley,” he says. “How can I help you?”
Judging by the look on his face and his tone of voice, Murray definitely knows why Robin is over here. Robin just rolls her eyes. “You’re a cheater, you know,” she points out. “Not cool.”
Murray just raises his hands defensively. “I beg to differ,” he chuckles. “Joyce said there were two rules. Not talking to the boys about their… situation wasn’t one of them. Ergo, I won The Bet fair and square.”
Robin opens her mouth, ready to argue (even though she’s already sort of accepted defeat and resigned herself to declaring Murray the winner), but someone beats her to it.
“What bet?” comes the familiar voice of Will Byers, and shit, shit, shit, shit.
Robin turns around, her eyes widening. There, standing behind her, are none other than Will and Mike, fingers intertwined and expressions confused. “Um,” Robin says lamely.
And Murray—God damn him—just starts laughing.
“Oh, this is gold, this is absolute gold,” Murray chuckles, and he wipes a fake tear from his eye before turning to Robin. “Now that The Bet’s over and I’ve won, the rules don’t apply, right? So, you can tell them?”
“Murray,” Robin hisses, right as Mike raises an eyebrow and asks, “Tell us what?”
“That we’ve been betting on when you two would get your act together and start dating,” Erica, who just happens to be walking past at that very convenient moment, deadpans, and shit, Robin really, really hates her life sometimes.
“What?!” both Mike and Will exclaim in unison, loud enough to attract the attention of everyone at the cookout.
If looks could kill, Erica would be dead by now. Murray too. But alas, looks cannot kill, except also, maybe that’s a good thing because Mike is definitely giving Robin the evil eye now, and shit, she is so screwed, why does she have to be the one to deal with this—
“You bet on our relationship?” Mike asks incredulously. “What the hell, Robin?”
Robin raises her hands defensively. “It was just a joke at first!” she reassures. “Look, we didn’t mean any harm or anything from it, and honestly, honestly, it was just me and Steve at first. Like, we saw you at Melvald’s that one day with the Reese’s and all the snacks and your cute little movie date, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, Steve, wow! I didn’t know they were dating!’ And he was all like, ‘What are you talking about, Robin? They’re not!’ And I was like, ‘Well, I bet they will someday,’ because hello, I have eyes, and I could tell that you guys meant a lot to each other, even back then! And so like, Steve and I started this silly little bet, and it… kind of just evolved from there?”
Both Will and Mike still stare at her with those surprised expressions, and Robin winces. “When you say it evolved,” Will says slowly, “what exactly do you mean?”
“Well, you see,” Robin laughs, a bit nervously, and she points finger guns at the couple. “You see. Your siblings got in on the bet after the whole Vecna thing, and Steve changed his mind after he saw Mike like freak the fuck out that night. Honestly, I think we all just needed something lighthearted to keep us from losing our shit because we were all so scared. And then like a year or so later? Yeah, something like that? Lucas, Max, and Dustin all joined The Bet when you two were re-building Castle Byers. And everyone else just kind of joined after hearing about it from different people.”
Robin holds up her trusty notebook and flashes a weak grin at her friends. By now, everyone’s sort gathered around to watch Robin dig an even deeper hole for herself, but listen. If she’s going down, she’s taking all of them with her. “I’ve got everything about The Bet in this here notebook.”
“Let me see,” Mike demands, and he doesn’t even hesitate to grab the notebook from Robin. He lets go of Will’s hand, flipping through it absently, and Will peers over his shoulder, reading along with him.
“Mom?” Will says incredulously. “You’re in on this too?”
Joyce just gives her son a sheepish smile. “Sorry, baby,” she says, though she doesn’t seem too apologetic. “I’m not the only one though.”
Karen nudges Joyce in the ribs, and Mike just looks up, gaping at his own mother. “No,” he says in disbelief. “I mean, I expected Nancy, but seriously, Mom?”
“Honey, I’ve known for years now,” Karen says with a bit of a sympathetic smile. “A mother always knows her kids, and come on. You were obsessed with Will!”
“Were?” Dustin mutters under his breath, and somehow, Mike’s face turns an even brighter shade of red.
“I can’t believe this.” Will shakes his head. “This has been going on for four years?”
“And you thought it would go on longer!” Mike exclaims, holding up the notebook and pointing to Max accusingly. “You thought we wouldn’t get together until after college?!”
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: you are an idiot when it comes to romance, Wheeler,” Max says dryly. “Good luck, Will.”
As Mike sputters and Will tries to comfort him, Robin takes the opportunity to grab her notebook out of the teenager’s hands. “So, yeah, that’s The Bet,” she says with an awkward laugh. “And Murray’s the winner, so he gets the whole pot, even if he is a dirty cheat.”
Murray smirks, accepting the envelope of cash Robin offers to him, and Mike just shakes his head. “Nuh uh, no way,” he says. “You totally rigged this! If anyone should get that, it’s Will and me because all of this is completely ridiculous!”
Almost immediately, Mike’s words launch the group into an argument over the validity of Murray’s win, and practically everyone in the group joins in, passionately debating and arguing with one another. Classic.
It’s the perfect chance to slip out of the center of the group and back to her seat. God, Robin seriously needs a drink.
After a few more minutes of arguing, someone sits down next to her on the bench, and Robin glances up. “You made a bit of a mess here,” Hopper says with a chuckle.
“Woops.” Robin grins sheepishly. “My bad. Messes are sort of my speciality though.”
Hopper merely gives her an amused look, and he sips his beer. “They’ll get over it eventually,” he says, absently gesturing to the argument at hand. “Though, Wheeler’s probably going to drag it out as long as humanly possible. It’s in his nature to be insufferable.”
“Careful now, Hop,” Robin chuckles. “That’s your future step-son-in-law you’re talking about here.”
Hopper nearly spits out his drink, glancing over at where Mike and Murray are trading choice words back and forth. “Oh God, I hope not,” he mutters. “Do you really think they'll end up getting married?”
“Laws of this wonderful land aside...” Robin muses dryly, and she, too, glances back at the ensuing argument. Mike is still going at it with Murray, and Will stands close to him, his hand placed on Mike’s back, as if to calm him down. There’s a familiar, comforting sort of ease about the way the two of them interact, and Robin can’t help but smile to herself.
“Yeah, I bet they will,” she says confidently, and she holds out her hand to Hopper.
The police chief just studies her hand for the longest moment, as if considering whether or not to take the bet. Then, with another chuckle, Hopper takes Robin’s hand and shakes it. “You’re on.”