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The party was… fun. Or at least as fun as a Hawkins High year end party could be— from what Steve could remember from when he used to get invited to them. It was actually Robin who got them into this particular shin dig which — no offence to Robin — was something Steve still couldn’t quite wrap his head around. The dimly lit house was moist and thumping with the incessant beat of typical party music. It was cramped and Steve, now swaying a bit on his feet, saw mostly green and gold— the colours of Hawkins High and all their sports teams.
Driving in the car earlier he had asked Robin, “how exactly did you get us an invite Christian Samuels’ party?” looking over to see her touching up her eye-makeup in the car mirror.
“I told you, Steve,” she had replied with a sigh. “Christian plays football with Anthony who went to summer camp with Jeffery who is dating Jessica who had English class with Tracey who is in band with Vickie. It’s very simple.”
Right. So simple.
So, really, as far as parties went… it was fun. Steve had alcohol and Robin, two things he liked very much. And while he couldn’t help be wish Eddie was there to force him out of his shell a bit more, there were so many people around that him and Robin could comfortably fade into the background. Just two years ago Steve would’ve been the bell of the ball at a party like this. Doing shots with the basketball team, doing shots with the football team, doing a keg stand, forcing a freshman to do a keg stand, introducing girls to shotgunning, you name it— but now he could just be. And by be he means get hammered in the quarterback’s kitchen with his best friend.
“Steeeeve,” Robin whispers in his ear. “I want to find Vickie.” Her words were slurring together, a side effect of her low tolerance for alcohol. Her and Steve were currently leaning against the wall, connected at the hip, her head resting on his shoulder.
“Rob,” he says, trying to maintain some composure and not show that the alcohol with definitely affecting him as well. “I don’t think that’s a great idea.”
“Um excuse me,” she says, lifting her head off his shoulder and shifting to poke him in the arm. “One of the main reasons I came here was to talk to her and you told me you would be my wingman!”
“Ow!” Steve yelps, pushing her and her sharp finger away from his arm. “I know I know. But we have both has way too much to drink and I feel like you should talk to her when you’re sober.”
“But I need this liquid courage, Steve! I’m nothing without it!”
“As much as I will partially agree. Drunk Robin has absolutely no filter— Which is saying a lot because sober Robin has barely any filter at all.”
“I’m not even that drunk!” She protests, before pushing herself away from the wall and taking a step forward. “Look!”
It seems like she had been planning showing her balancing skills, standing on one leg with her arms out to the side and her left foot touching her right knee. But, as soon as she assumed position, a blond haired jock in a green letterman jacket knocks into her.
“Woah!” She exclaims, losing her balance almost tumbling to the floor.
Steve then steps forward, reaching forward to try and catch her fall. His hands grab around her waist, and hers find his shoulders. But then her once elevated knee jams directly into his crotch. “Robin!” He shouts, his lower body crumbling at the impact.
“I’m sorry!” She says, still standing on one leg— somehow— trying desperately to find her balance. It looks like they’re doing an odd dance, holding each other, swaying back and forth.
“Robin,” Steve says, trying desperately to steady their swaying. “Just put your foot down.”
“Oh,” she laughs. “I guess that would help. You know all this swaying is making me feel a bit—oh no.” she finally puts her foot down. It stops the swaying but then she brings a hand up to her mouth.
“What?” Steve asks. Before he feels it too. “Oh no.”
The two detangle their limbs before they make a b-line for the bathroom, sliding into the stark white room. Robin makes it to the toilet first, puking into the bowl. Right behind her Steve closes the door and leaps forward to push her out of the way. “I am not puking in the sink.”
——————
“How has no one knocked on that door yet?” Steve questioned. Both him and Robin were laying on the bathroom floor. Heads next to each other, bodies sprawling in opposite directions, eyes staring up at the ceiling.
“I mean Christian is like super rich. I wouldn’t be surprised if this house has like three bathrooms,” Robin replied.
“No way. There’s at least five.”
“Eight.”
“Definitely ten.”
They both dissolve into a fit of laughter. A bit of alcohol still affecting them.
“Well I don’t know about you,” Steve said. “But that was an especially sobering puke.”
“Yeah,” Robin replied. “The room is only like moderately spinning now.”
“Yeah. Just a moderate spin.”
They sit in silence for a bit. The only noise being their breathing and the subtle thumb of music that could still be heard through the wall.
“Steve,” Robin then says, finally breaking the silence. “I love you.”
Steve laughs, “Okay maybe you’re still a bit drunk, Rob.”
“No I’m not!” She protests. “I just wanted to say I love you. You’re my best friend and I’m so lucky to have you.” She then rolled onto her side, booping him on the nose
Steve swats her hand away, though in a very affectionate manner. “I love you too.”
“Ya know,” Robin says, still trying to boop Steve’s nose. “I’m getting some intense deja vu right now. Except the last time we were laying on a bathroom floor we were coming off of Russian truth serum and it was you professing you love for me. And then I had to break your heart by revealing my true self and love for the fairer sex.”
“You did not break my heart, Robin.”
“Wow I get it,” Robin says, pretending to act wounded. “So you actually don’t love me?!”
“Stop it,” Steve says, reaching over to poke at Robin’s nose now. “If anything it just opened my eyes.”
Robin stops, lifting herself up on one elbow, looking over at Steve who was still laying on his back. “Okay now what the hell does that mean, Steve? Why do you always have to say something ominous and weird?”
“I just mean… ugh.” He scrunches his eyes closed, curling his hands into fists and pushing them into his sockets. “I guess this is a good place to talk about this.”
“The bathroom floor?” Robin questions.
“So I’ve been thinking,” Steve starts.
“Well that can’t be good!” Robin jokes.
“I’m being serious, Robin.” Steve replies, removing his hands from his eyes, though his lids were still slammed shut. “I’ve been doing like so much thinking it hurts my brain— and don’t make a joke about that! I know I just walked right into that one! Ever since I met you, and you told me what you told me in the bathroom at Starcourt, it felt like something had unlocked inside me. Like there was this little voice inside my head that would scream at me sometimes and I would always scream back at it and tell it to go away, but then I started to kinda just…. Let it be?”
“Steve,” Robin says. “Look at me.”
“I can’t,” Steve replies, his voice small. “I literally can’t.”
“Please.”
Steves eyes opened slowly, looking up to see Robin looking down at him. Her eyebrows creased, but eyes wet and mouth soft with a smile.
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying right now?”
“I… I became like obsessed with someone recently. And then I realized it was a crush. But I had never really had a crush on anyone like this before and I was so confused and scared. But then, I did some research.”
“Steve Harrington did research!?”
“Yes I did! I did! And, did you know that David Bowie is queer? He said it in an interview. He said he’s bisexual. And I looked into that too and it means that you can like girls and boys.”
“I know what bisexuality is, Steve,” Robin laughs.
“Well I… I think that’s what I am,” Steve says, looking up at Robin, his eyes growing wet. “I think I’m bisexual.”
Robin leaps forward, throwing her arms around Steve, or at least the best she could with their current seating arrangement. “How does it feel?” She asks.
Steve now sits up, his arms wrapped tightly around Robin. “It feels amazing.” He laughs wetly, and the laughs turn into to tears. The pent up emotion tumbling out of him. Robin cries too. But there are smiles on both their faces. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner,” Steve says, pulling out of their embrace and wiping his eyes.
“I don’t care about when Steve, I’m just happy you told me at all. Plus, I’m not completely oblivious like you. You made us watch The Outsiders way too many times for me to not realize something was maybe up.”
“Oh my gosh,” Steve groans. “You’re never going to let me live that down are you?”
“Nope!” They sit in silence for a little while longer, and then grin folds into Robin’s face. “Soooooooooo…” She prompts, nudging Steve’s shoulder.
He looks back at her confused, “what?”
“Who is it? Who do you have a crush on?”
“Oh gosh,” Steve replies, his cheeks growing a pink blush. “Um… it’s Eddie.”
“But Steve,” Robin says, her face now tight with confusion, hands reaching up and clamping onto his shoulders, “Eddie Munson’s a boy.”
“Oh shut up!” Steve scoffs, pushing Robin’s hands off of his shoulders. “Don’t use my own stupidity against me! That’s not fair!”
“I’m sorry!” she yelps, the two of them now dissolved into a fit of laugher, arms wrapped around each other, “I had to!”
They continue like this for quite awhile, the two content in their chaos before they’re interrupted by a harsh knock on the bathroom door, “Hey! Who's in there!”
The look at each other, eyes wide, and then the laugher returns.