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you had no idea robin wasn’t straight. in fact, you could’ve sworn there was something going on between her and steve. You weren’t sure what exactly, but nobody puts that much emphasis on “platonic with a capital p” without something to hide. they both sucked at keeping secrets too.
you’re all out one night watching eddie perform. it was how your little group takes a load off, trying to relax after a long work and/or school week. robin and steve had a crappy week dealing with the ever demanding hawkins general public who, in their haste to get their grubby paws on their desired tape for the next couple days, forget that the employees are people. not robots. their solution: a round of their favorite drinking game you lovingly, and cleverly, coined ‘how much can you drink until someone exorcist vomits all over someone.’
“coincidentally,” steve and eddie both take off at the same time to use the bathroom. it’s hard to buy that excuse when eddie is practically skipping down the dimly lit hallway with his clunky lunchbox smacking off his thigh, clanging against the chain clipped to his belt loops. their absence meant the start of your self-appointed babysitting shift. at least you’re watching over robin. she’s a sweet, giggly drunk so your job isn’t too unbearable.
she’s dancing around acting goofy and relaxed, which is something you find absolutely adorable. you could watch her like this for ages if you could: carefree with a beautiful smile lighting up her face, her only goal is to have fun and enjoy the company of those around her. too bad staring like that is creepy.
her movements come to an abrupt halt and as soon as her eyes meet yours, she darts in your direction. her hand slides into yours, demanding and shaking up and down like she’s so excited her body can’t physically contain it, and she yanks you as close to her as she can. “I have a secret to tell you.”
you can barely hear her so you lead her out the door by steve’s car. it’s quieter and a hell of a lot less crowded. “what’s up, robs?”
“i-” she starts, pulling you even closer, “like you. a lot.”
her smile makes your heart melt a little. “i like you too, robs. a lot. you’re great.” you say with a smile, booping her on the nose.
“no, no, no. you’re not listening.” her glassy eyes narrow at you and she takes a step back, attempting to convey just how serious she’s being. “i like you. as in, i wanna kiss your face and tell you how pretty you are.”
seeing how you’re still confused, she takes a hand and smooths out the wrinkle in between your eyebrows and lets out a sigh.
“i wanna kiss you here,” she says, dragging her thumb across your bottom lip. “steve said you’d get it if i told you, so i don’t know why this is so difficult.” she mumbles the last part in a way that resembles a petulant child, bringing a smile to your face.
once you’re out of your lovesick haze over how cute robin is when she pouts, what she said finally clicks. her and steve really are just friends. platonic with a capital p. she emphasized that fact so adamantly because she liked you, as in had a crush on you . she wanted to make sure you understood.
god do you wish she wasn’t completely plastered right now.
“let’s go sleep this off and talk more in the morning, ‘kay?” you try to shuffle her towards the back seat but she yanks her hand from yours, almost falling in the process, thinking that you were pushing off her feelings.
“no. you’re not listening to me.” she’s about to plop herself on the pavement, ready to sit criss-cross in the parking lot until you actually listen to what she’s telling you, but you catch her before she gets her new pants dirty.
“no robs, i am listening to you. i always listen to you. i like you too, i like you a lot actually, but you’re not sober enough for us to talk about this.” you lower your voice seeing as a smaller group of people were walking out the door heading in your direction. “this isn’t the best place either, honey. i’m gonna take you home, get you in bed, make you an awesome breakfast when you wake up, and i’m going to ask you out on a real date.”
a beautiful smile blooms across her face, only growing more as you speak, her blue eyes even start clouding up with happy tears. she doesn’t know if she’s ever been this happy. yes, it could be the alcohol but she also knows how happy you make her. she’s always happy when she’s around you. a date sounds amazing, she’s tempted to pinch herself to make sure this moment is real.
“we’re gonna go home?” you nod in response and she starts shuffling towards the back door. “can we have waffles in the morning?”
yup, that does it. you’re officially in love with robin buckley. “yes, love, whatever you want. let’s get you in bed, yeah?” she nods with a yawn, gently tugging at the bottom of your denim jacket. you slip it off your shoulders and watch with a smile as she wraps herself up in it like a burrito then lays down in the backseat.
after making sure she’s asleep and the doors are locked, you run back inside. you see nancy first and leave her with a message for steve. the most you can do now is get robin home and hope steve isn’t going to kill you for stealing borrowing his car.