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1.
Robin had gotten a note this morning from someone pretending to Steve. She knew it wasn't from Steve because she knew her best friend and he doesn't write in all caps. Besides why would Steve ask her on a date? It had to be one of the kids. So naturally, she calls him.
He picks up after the first ring. "Let me guess, you got a note from me asking to meet at Enzo's at 5."
"How did you ever guess that?" She runs her hands through her hair.
"It was in cursive. You're handwriting is chicken scrawl." She can practically hear his smirk through the phone. "Ha, Ha. So, who are we thinking? Dustin, Max, heck mabye Nancy?"
"Oh, Dustin, definitely, he's been telling you to ask me out since our scoops days."
"You wanna go to Enzo's anyways? Just to mess with them."
She scoffs, "Only if you're paying, rich boy. I may like their breadsticks, but I am not paying for their overpriced pasta."
"Fine, see you then."
She smiles as she hangs up. What a dork.
2.
"Dustin!" Steve yelled, "Where the fuck are you? You can't just leave me in the middle of the woods man!"
"Steve?"
He turns around, "Robin? What are you doing here?"
"El wanted to see if she could find the bracelet she lost when we were hiking here last week."
"Dustin said he had something to show me, but then he just ditched me in the middle of god knows where."
"We were literally here last Monday, how do you Not know where you are? God, you're such a dingus." She throws her hands up in the air, "Wait, El ditched me too, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Uh... That we should stop hanging out with 15 year olds cause it turns out they suck?"
"No, you idiot!" She sighs, "This is another one of their set-ups."
He face palms. "You've got to be kidding me. You wanna walk back together?"
They link arms, "Sure."
Somewhere behind a tree a walkie sounds. "Operation Stobin is a go." Dustin sighs. "We need a better name. Over."
3.
"I have to admit, I had ulterior motives when I invited you for a girls night." A thousand scenarios run through Robin's mind at Nancy's admission, most of them ending with the two kissing. "Dustin asked me to get you to go on a date with Steve, of course, he told me not to tell you he asked, but I thought you deserved to know." And just like that, dreams dashed.
"Ugh, not this again." Robin groans. "Steve and I are platonic, with a capital P, and we keep telling him that! But he won't listen!" She shoves her face into Nancy's pillow.
"I knew that's what you were going to say. I see the way he looks at you, it's not the way he looked at me. You guys have a really special bond though, I wish I had a friendship like that."
"You know Dustin and El walked us into the middle of the woods last week and just left us there!"
Nancy giggles, "Really?"
"Oh, and don't even get me started on the notes they used to try and get us to go out on a date!" Robin turns over to face Nancy, "In what universe would my handwriting be cursive!"
4.
The girls are in the bathroom brushing their teeth when El puts the plan into action.
"Steve said he likes you." El is not afraid to be blunt, even in situations which require a certain... delicate touch.
"Wha?" Robin's toothbrush is still in her mouth. She spits into the sink. "Steve doesn't like me. That ship has sailed."
The look Max gives Robin through her glasses is skeptical, "Have you seen the way you two are when you are together? He's obviously in love with you."
Nancy finishes up and opens the door, "Guys, if Robin says she doesn't like Steve, then she doesn't like Steve."
"See!" Robin points to Nancy. "She gets it!"
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Steve looks over at Dustin and immediately facepalms. Dustin has his plotting look on his face.
"Steve," he says calmly, "what if I told you Robin likes you?"
Steve shuts it down fast. "Robin doesn't like me, Dustin. Whoever you heard that from, they were lying." With that, Steve burrows into one of the sleeping bags laid down on his living room floor and gets ready to go to sleep.
5.
The doorbell rings.
"Robin could you get that?" Her mom yells from the other side of the house. "I'm not dressed yet."
"I didn't need to know that!" Robin yells back.
When she opens the door there's no one there, but there is a massive bouquet of roses which must have cost someone a fortune. For a split second she dares to dream that the flowers might be from Nancy, but she comes crashing back down to earth when the attached card reads: happy birthday, love Steve, in what is unmistakably Dustin's handwriting. She rolls her eyes and picks up the roses.
Her mom's eyes are immediately drawn to the sea of red in her daughter's hands.
"Oh, are those from that nice boy Ste-" her face falls when Robin shoves the roses into their tiny trashcan. When Robin leaves she goes back to washing the dishes, even more disappointed than she was before.
+1
Everything comes to a head when Robin and Steve find themselves pressed against each other, stuck in a closet for five hours. (Ironic if you ask me)
When Dustin let's them out out with triumphant look on his face, Robin rips into him, "What the hell were you thinking?" Dustin turns white and Steve moves out out of the way, "We could have died of asphyxiation, not to mention, I am starving! I do not have a crush on Steve, I am not in love with Steve, and I will never, ever date Steve! Because I am a lesbian!" Robin slaps her hand over her mouth.
El raises her hand. "What is a lesbian?"
The rest of the party is still in shock so Max answers El's question, "It's a girl who likes other girls El. Which we have no problem with," She gestures to the others, "right guys?"
There is a chorus of totallys and absolutelys from the whole party, but Nancy just stands and stares.
Robin flees the room.
-------‐--
This time someone is there when Robin answers the door. Even Better, it's Nancy. Or mabye not better, after today.
"Robin," Nancy is tentative, "can we talk?"
Robin brings her inside to her room, luckily her mom isn't here, she is out to dinner with her father.
Nancy sits down on Robin's bed. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier." Nancy's hands nervously smooth out the rainbow covers Robin's bed had had since seventh grade. "I guess it was because I didn't expect there to be anyone else like me."
"Like you?" Robin sits down next Nancy.
"A lesbian." Nancy shifts to face her. Robin is dumbstruck, and it shows. "Really when you told Dustin all I wanted to do was kiss you."
"So kiss me." Robin is surprised at the words that come out of her mouth. And she is even more surprised wen Nancy's lips make it impossible for her to say anything more.
They giggle when they pull apart.
Nancy has a twinkle in her eye, "I bet Dustin didn't expect this to happen when he was planning Operation Stobin."
"I'm sorry, Operation Stobin?"