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On Saturday evening, about a dozen of Steve’s friends went over to his house for a movie night, and sleepover. He’d invited Robin, and Dustin, of course. Steve had also invited the Wheelers siblings, the Sinclairs, and the Byers kids. It was a pretty full house. Steve had gone to the grocery store on his way home from work, and he’d bought a few bags of ingredients. They were all going to make their own pizzas, with chopped veggies, cheese, pepperoni slices, and salami, that sort of thing. That way, everyone could choose what they wanted on their own personalized pizzas, and make it fun. Steve had also picked up a few bottles of pop, and a few bags of chips, and pretzels.
During their shift yesterday, Steve and Robin had picked out a few horror movies that they thought the kids would enjoy. A few classics, and two new slashers. They were going to stay up all night, and binge on horror movies, while they stuffed their faces. It was going to be great.
Steve’s friends arrived around six that evening, right on time. First, were the Wheelers, then Dustin, then the Byers kids. And lastly, the Sinclairs arrived. But no Robin. Steve thought that her absence was kind of weird – considering she was supposed to arrive first to help him get the pizza dough rolled out, and the ingredients prepped. Steve thought about calling her house, and seeing if she was on her way. But he didn’t. Steve got swept up in the chaos, as everyone was running around trying to get all the pizza toppings they wanted, and getting them in the oven. Steve and Jonathan took charge of the kitchen, getting the kids to line up, trying to maintain some sort of order. Nancy started pouring pop into cups for everyone, while Lucas dumped out the chips, and pretzels into large bowls.
When Robin finally arrived, she was about two hours late, and at that point, they were already halfway through the first movie. Everyone had already devoured their pizzas, and Steve had cleaned up the kitchen, throwing the remainder of the ingredients in the fridge. Steve didn’t hear the front door open, because everyone was being really loud. But he saw Robin poke her head into the living room, and give him a quick wave to let Steve know that she’d arrived.
Steve got up, and followed her into the kitchen. He was glad that Robin had shown up. But one of the first things that Steve noticed, was the dark smudges under his best friend’s eyes. It looked like she hadn’t gotten a wink of sleep, since their shift at Family Video the day before.
“Hey, Robin,” Steve said, leaning against the kitchen island, as he watched her sit down on one of the tall bar stools. “How are you? I was getting kind of worried that you weren’t coming.”
“No, I know. And I’m sorry I’m late,” Robin said. “It’s been a hell of a day. I wanted to get here earlier, to help out with the dinner, but I had to help my dad out with some stuff at home. I came as soon as I could.”
“It’s okay. I had most of the ingredients prepped, by the time everyone arrived.” Steve gave her a concerned look. “Are you good?”
“Just tired.” She gave him a humourless smile. “I didn’t get any sleep last night.”
“Something on your mind?” Steve asked. He thought that maybe Robin had been fighting with her mom, again. Or maybe she had a bad headache, or something. He didn’t know the root of her problem, but whatever it was, it was enough to keep her awake.
“Nothing in particular,” Robin snapped, giving him a grumpy look. Steve watched as she ran her hands over her face. She looked so stressed. “Sorry. I don’t know what’s going on with me. It’s like, everything’s pissing me off. I was so tired after work last night, but I just couldn’t fall asleep. I figured I’d get some sleep in the morning, when the house was nice and quiet. Usually, mom’s at work, and my dad’s working in his home office. But as my luck would have it, my mom didn’t work today. Oh, no. Turns out, she had one of her stupid book club meetings, with her and her friends. And they always get really loud when they’re together. They were drinking mimosas, and laughing hysterically at whatever crap book they were discussing. It was pure torture.”
“Shit. I’m sorry,” Steve said, giving her a sympathetic look. The kids in the other room were being too loud, and he saw Robin wince when the woman on TV screamed out as she was being chased by the villain. “Did you eat anything?”
“I haven’t eaten yet.”
“Okay, stay right there,” Steve said. “I wanna make you a pizza.”
Steve went to the fridge, and started to dig out the ingredients. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot left. The group had been pretty hungry, and they were all out of salami, and they only had a few slices of pepperoni left. But there was plenty of veggies, and some cheese. He was going to make her the best damned pizza she’d ever had.
“Do you need to go upstairs, and try to take a nap?” Steve asked. “I think a few hours’ sleep would help you.”
“I don’t think I can fall asleep,” Robin said. “I’m going to devour the shit out of that pizza – which looks amazing, by the way. And then, I’m going to watch those horror movies with the group.”
“Tell me about what happened today,” Steve said, glancing up at her. “Lay it on me.”
As Steve started to toss the small ball of dough, he listened to Robin fill him in on everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours since they’d seen each other last. Robin described her mother’s book club meeting, mocking the middle-aged women’s high-pitched laughter, and the cheesy romance novel they’d been reading. They had all been swooning over the shirtless man on the front cover. Ugh, gross. Robin told him about everything that was on her mind. She was still pretty grumpy, but she snacked on a few slices of green peppers, as she talked. And that helped her mood somewhat.
Soon, Robin’s pizza was cooking away in the oven. Steve set the timer on the stove, then they went to the living room to watch part of the movie. Robin sat down on the living room floor between Nancy, and Erica, drawing her knees up to her chest. Steve sat down on the couch, grabbing a handful of chips. He kept an ear out for the kitchen timer, ready to jump up and grab Robin’s pizza out of the oven before it burned. It smelled really good, and he knew it would only be a few minutes until it was done.
Throughout the evening, Steve kept an eye on Robin. He saw just how exhausted she was, and he suggested again that she go upstairs and take a nap. But Robin was stubborn. She wanted to stay up, and watch the movie. Even though her eyelids were drooping, Robin refused his suggestion. She wanted to watch the movies, and wanted to hang out with her friends.
By midnight, Robin finally fell asleep. She was sitting beside Steve on the couch, and as they watched the slasher film, her head dropped against his shoulder. Steve immediately glanced down, and saw that she was passed out. A moment later, Robin began quietly snoring. She shifted in her seat, getting more comfortable.
Steve stayed perfectly still, not wanting to move a muscle in case he woke her up. Robin slept on his shoulder for the rest of the movie. The rest of the group didn’t really notice, until the end credits rolled. That was when Mike switched on the bright overhead light. And as the group started to replenish their drinks, and grab some more snacks before the next movie started, Nancy glanced over and saw that Robin was fast asleep.
“Should I wake her?” Nancy asked.
“No.” Steve’s eyes slid down to Robin’s face. He gave Robin a fond look, glad that she had finally fallen asleep. “Let her sleep. She needs it.”
“You want me to help her upstairs to bed?” Nancy asked. “She looks wiped out.”
“Yeah, she needs a good night’s sleep.”
Nancy gently leaned over Robin, as she woke her up. Robin didn’t argue when Nancy explained that she was going to bring her upstairs, so she could get some sleep. Robin, half-asleep, followed her upstairs. The girls were gone for awhile, and when Nancy finally came down, she said that Robin had fallen asleep within minutes. Robin stayed asleep for the rest of the night. And in the morning, when she came downstairs for brunch, she looked a whole lot more refreshed.