#with a side of hellcheer | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dwobbitfromtheshire · 3 months ago

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A Stancy fanfiction

It had taken Steve a while to figure out why he didn't like that conversation with Dustin. Well, about ten minutes. It was longer than necessary. It wasn't just about him being jealous that Dustin talked so much about Eddie or that Steve didn't want to participate in Hellfire because he wasn't sure he would be good at it. Them looking for another member for their club tonight meant that Dustin and Mike weren't going to show up for Lucas, which didn't make any sense to him considering what they all went through. By the end of his shift, Steve was furious. He ended up turning Brenda down. . .gently, though, and driving off to the school.

"Do they understand how important this is to Lucas?" Steve asked with a sigh. "Basketball is just as important as D&D. . .do they get that? No! Because sports are bad because of a few assholes. Hang out with Eddie. He's so cool. . .he gets us, unlike you, Steve. You're just a dumb jock and now you're turning Lucas into a dumb jock. . .no, this isn't about me!"

He stormed into the school and was walking angrily towards the drama room when he saw Nancy coming from the opposite direction. She looked just as angry as he was. They paused for a moment, staring at each other before meeting in the middle.

"What are you doing here?" Nancy and Steve asked in unison.

"Uh, Dustin called me to ask if I wanted to join Hellfire tonight," Steve said.

"Mike asked me if I wanted to join Hellfire tonight," Nancy said.

"Man, as smart as they are, our brothers are just as dumb," Steve said, and Nancy snorted. "It took me a minute to realize that it meant they weren't going to bother showing up for Lucas tonight."

"They can postpone, Lucas can't," Nancy said.

"Exactly, so I say we team up and go in there together like a united front, really make them piss their pants," Steve said.

"You make us sound like divorced parents," Nancy said in amusement.

"Aren't we?" Steve asked, and Nancy laughed. "Nance, we're supposed to be angry."

"Right."

They both squared their shoulders, put on their game faces, and stormed through the double doors. They slammed open, banging loudly against the walls. Steve felt a moment of satisfaction when he heard them all scream. They moved to the middle of the room where everyone was sitting around the table, including Erica. Eddie Munson was sitting on a throne. Of course. Steve sent Erica a disappointed look before focusing back on the others. Mike and Dustin had the decency to look scared shitless.

"Oh my god!" Dustin screamed. "They're both together and they both look pissed. We're dead!"

"Relax, Henderson, what are Nancy Wheeler and the fallen king of Hawkins High going to do?" Eddie asked.

"He doesn't know," Dustin hissed to Mike.

"No, he's right," Mike rolled his eyes. "They're not going to hurt us."

"Is that what you think?" Nancy asked. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"We're playing Dungeon & Dragons like we do every Friday," Mike rolled his eyes.

"Lucas's game is tonight, why aren't you there supporting him?" Steve asked, his hands on his hips. "I thought your friendship meant something."

"Clearly, our friendship doesn't mean anything to him considering that Lucas went to the Dark Side," Mike said. "He's the one betraying us."

"That's really hypocritical of you, considering that you promised Will before he left for California that you guys wouldn't join another party," Nancy said. "And yet, here you are, in another party."

"You promised Will that we wouldn't join another party?!" Dustin asked. "Will asked us not to join another party?"

"Yeah, so, you promised Steve that you wouldn't leave him for someone else and you left him for Jonathan. How long was it after you ended things with Steve that you jumped into bed with Jonathan?" Mike asked.

Mike regretted it as soon as he said it. Everyone in the room gasped as guilt flooded Mike's face. Steve was hurt and furious that he had brought that up, but then he remembered that he was a traumatized teenager being cornered by his older sister and his sister's ex-boyfriend, who was also his babysitter. Steve took a breath, but Nancy was angrier than he had ever seen her. Her nostrils flared wide.

"Mike. Run. Run as fast as you can," Dustin whispered, looking afraid for Mike's life.

Mike slowly stood up and backed away. Nancy dove for him and he took off, running around the table, shrieking loudly. She was pretty fast for someone so short but even with Mike's long legs, she managed to catch up to him. She kicked him in the back of the leg, sending him to the ground, and pressed her foot into his back. She turned to Dustin and Erica.

"This is important to Lucas. He asked you all to be there and you rejected him. Liking basketball isn't a terrible thing. You are judging him just like those assholes out there are judging you for liking D&D," Nancy said furiously.

"Do you know how scared he was to tell you that he liked basketball?" Steve asked. "He was completely terrified because he didn't think that you would understand, and he turned out to be right. He might not have joined for the right reasons, but not wanting to be bullied anymore is perfectly understandable. Sometimes you just want it to stop . . . but him playing basketball isn't just about that. He knows what's going to happen when the others find out that he also likes D&D, and he wants you guys there as backup when it does happen. He was also afraid that you would replace him with someone else and look what you did. . .you replaced him with his sister!"

"How do you know all that?" Dustin asked softly.

"Because I was the one who's been with him when he wanted someone to practice with. I was the one who listened to his fears of losing his best friends in the entire world because he discovered his love of basketball. He wanted to be able to enjoy both games, but it turns out, the people who are supposed to be the most understanding turns out to be bullying jackasses just like those assholes out there!" Steve yelled at them. "It's not the end of the world if you postpone it for one fucking night!"

Steve didn't realize how much he would regret those words later on but the rest of it, he didn't regret. He would never regret fighting for Lucas Sinclair or any of those damn kids.

"I'm innocent in all of this," Erica said. "I was coerced."

"Erica!" Steve scolded. "Look, I know you don't like basketball, but it's not the enemy here, just like D&D isn't. Lucas just needs to know that you've got his back when he needs it. That's all he's asking for, and I don't think it's too much to ask. Man, all Lucas is trying to do is figure shit out. I'm not saying that you have to like basketball or anything, but just let Lucas know that you still love him. He's family, right? That's more important than popularity or deciding which game is better."

"Yeah," Dustin and Mike said.

It was in that moment that Steve realized that Nancy was staring at him. He locked eyes with her and smiled. It was the first real interaction that he's had with Nancy since the breakup. It was the first time in a long time that he's seen her look at him like that. He felt that familiar tug in his stomach and the familiar fluttering of his heart. He finally realized what those people he had gone out with were missing: they weren't Nancy Wheeler. No one would ever come close. That future he had dreamed of once upon a time that had held Nancy Wheeler was now back again and this time, it wasn't going to be driven to the back of his mind especially since he knew that Nancy cared about these kids as much as he did.

"Steve's right, it's just one night," Nancy said. "His friends and his sister should be there to cheer him on."

"Even though he's just on the bench and I'm going to California tomorrow for spring break?" Mike asked.

"Nothing's going to happen between now and then to stop you from picking it back up when you get back," Nancy said.

"Was Sinclair really afraid of us?" Eddie asked Steve.

Steve looked up at him, looking into his expressive brown eyes and sighed.

"Yeah," Steve said.

Eddie rubbed his forehead and looked down as he thought about it, clearly thinking about everything that they had said.

"This is supposed to be a place for kids like him to come to when they don't have anywhere else to go. . .when they're scared. . .I don't want them to ever be afraid of me judging them," Eddie said. "I was trying so hard not to let those assholes put me into a box that I put Lucas into a box! Jesus H Christ. . .it's just one night, right?"

"Don't want him to only conform to D&D, right?" Steve asked.

"I'm older, I'm in charge, I should be the one setting good examples for the little sheep," Eddie sighed. "I should be the one to make it easier for him to be able to enjoy both games. Because it's not the game, just the assholes in them?"

"Right," Steve said with a snort. "There's an asshole in every group."

"I'm sorry," Mike said and paused. "Can you get your foot out of my back now?"

Nancy snorted and took her foot off his back.

"It was a shitty thing that you said, Michael," Nancy said as he sat up.

"I'm sorry, okay. . .I was trying to hold onto the things that reminded me of Will and El. I just didn't want anyone to take that away from me, and I didn't just want it to disappear," Mike said. "I just miss them, and I shouldn't have brought up your past like that, especially knowing how guilty you feel."

"You're still an asshole," Nancy said with a sigh. "And I miss Jonathan, too, even though we broke up."

"You and Jonathan broke up?" Steve asked.

"Yes," Nancy said, smiling as he struggled to not look so happy.

"Sorry," Steve said.

"Are you, though?" She asked in amusement.

"No," he blushed.

Nancy and Steve locked eyes again. She smirked before turning to Mike.

"You're still grounded," Nancy said.

"Bullshit! You don't have the power to ground me! You're not my father - I mean my mother!" Mike exclaimed.

"Mom and Dad gave me the power when I turned eighteen," Nancy replied.

"I don't believe it," Mike scowled.

"You heard your father, Michael," Steve said with a smirk.

"Oh, so I guess that makes you my mommy," Mike scowled.

"Could you, I don't know, be less of a teenager?" Steve asked, and Mike rolled his eyes. "You know, if you keep doing that, eventually, your eyes are going to get stuck that way."

"Let's go," Nancy said, pointing towards the door and snapping her finger. "All of you."

Erica rolled her eyes before stomping out the door. Dustin looked extremely guilty before following after her with Mike behind him. Dustin paused on his way out the door.

"We didn't mean to hurt Lucas. We were just trying not to lose what we loved to do," Dustin said. "We didn't want to become something that we aren't, and we thought that Lucas was doing that."

"He is doing that, but a way of like getting him not to do that is to have someone like you guys to remember what's truly important," Steve said. "All of you needed to remember that."

He poked Dustin in the chest, right where his heart was located.

"And Eddie, he just - " Dustin started.

"He knows what it's like to feel different," Steve said.

"Yeah," Dustin said.

"Well, newsflash, Henderson," Steve said. "Everyone feels different even people like me. There's no such thing as normal, just people who pretend that they are. We're all freaks, and I am okay with being one myself. More than okay, actually."

Steve smiled proudly, and Dustin copied the grin. Dustin walked ahead with Mike and Erica as the maneuvered down the hallway towards the gym.

"So," Eddie's voice popped up beside him. "What makes Steve Harrington a freak?"

"Oh, you have to be a higher level to unlock that information," Steve grinned and then laughed at Eddie's surprised face. "I do know some things."

"Okay, so how high are we talking about?" Eddie asked. "And does Nancy know?"

"Oh. . .very high. Nancy doesn't know that she knows," Steve said with a shrug.

"What?" Nancy asked, and he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Oh! That makes so much sense!"

The rest of Hellfire was trailing behind them. Steve smiled over his shoulder at Jeff, who winked at him.

"I'm sorry, do you know Jeff?" Eddie asked.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," Steve said.

"You know, I really wanted to hate you," Eddie said, scowling.

"I told you that he might not be that bad," Jeff said.

"Yeah, but you didn't tell me that you knew from experience," Eddie said to Jeff before turning back to Steve. "Anyway! What you did back there. . .you clearly did for those kids. . .you care about them a lot, especially Dustin. He talks about you all of the time."

"He does?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, the butthead worships you," Eddie said. "It's kind of annoying, really."

"He worships you, too, you know," Steve grinned.

"Yeah. . .not that I care what the little shrimp thinks," Eddie said, blushing. "I was super jealous as hell, by the way."

He leaned into Steve’s space, testing his boundaries. Steve laughed and pushed Eddie away.

"Yeah, I was jealous of you, too," Steve said. "Dustin's been like my brother since he kidnapped me a couple of years ago."

"He kidnapped you?" Eddie asked.

"Well, he was standing there looking at me, desperately needing my help. With those damn eyes of his. . .what was I supposed to do? Say no?" Steve scoffed. "I never had a brother before until I met Dustin and his friends. Or knew what it felt like. Always kind of wanted one. I'm glad I found one in Dustin."

"Yeah, me too, man," Eddie said softy.

"That's really very sweet," Nancy said. "But hey, if anyone wants a brother, you two can have mine."

"Oh, man, I thought you were going to kill the little shit for what he said," Eddie grinned.

"If she had her gun with her, she probably would have," Steve said.

"Nancy Wheeler has a gun?" Eddie asked in surprise.

"More than one," Nancy said proudly.

"Yeah, she almost shot me with one of them," Steve laughed.

"And you almost deserved it," Nancy said, and he grinned.

"Yeah, well," Steve said softly.

"Man, I don't know what happened between you two, but if I were you two, I wouldn't waste a single moment. . .life is hard and fucking short. Never know how much time you've got left," Eddie said. "The way you two barged in there together. . .unambiguous sign of true love, I swear."

"Is Eddie Munson a romantic?" Nancy asked teasingly.

"Maybe. . . But don't you dare tell anyone," Eddie said. "I'm also a sucker for second chances."

They were almost to the gym doors when someone popped out of the nearby bathroom. It was Chrissy Cunningham.

"Oh, hey Steve, Nancy, it's good to see you two together again," Chrissy smiled, and then her eyes landed on Eddie, causing her grin to widen. "Eddie! Are you going to the game?!"

"Looks like it," Eddie said.

"Oh, that's great! I hoped you'd come somehow," Chrissy said.

"You did?" Eddie asked, bewildered. "Are you okay? You look like you've been crying."

"Oh, well, I just broke up with Jason. Best decision that I ever made. I decided that I deserved better," Chrissy replied.

"I wasn't going to say anything, but you totally do," Eddie said.

Chrissy smiled, blushing. She reached up suddenly, cupping his cheek with her hand. Eddie sucked in a breath as she wiped her thumb under his eye. She pulled back and held out her thumb to his lips.

"You had an eyelash, make a wish," Chrissy said.

Eddie stared at her.

"Uh, I wish for - "

"No, silly, you can't say your wish outloud!" Chrissy giggled.

"Oh, right, of course," he laughed and rolled his eyes before blowing on her thumb. "There!"

"Do you think it's going to come true?" Chrissy asked.

"I certainly hope so," he said.

"I'll see you in there?" Chrissy asked.

"Yeah, definitely," Eddie said.

Chrissy smiled and bounced into the gym. Steve watched as Eddie stared after her, pulling his hair in front of his face. He grinned.

"Well, that was the cutest thing that I have ever witnessed," Steve said.

"Agreed," Nancy said.

"I have no thoughts in my brain. What's my name again?" He asked. "Where the hell am I?"

Steve laughed, clapped him on the back, and led him inside with the kids. He led him towards the bleachers and pushed him up the steps. Eddie and the rest of Hellfire sat at the top of the bleachers. Steve moved to follow them when he was suddenly yanked back by Nancy.

"Sit with me?" She asked softly and hopefully, her blue eyes wide.

"Yeah," he said.

His eyes caught Robin's in the bleachers not far from their seats. She raised her hands up, looking confused. She pointed at Hellfire and then at Nancy.

"What the hell?" She asked inside his head.

"I'll tell you later," Steve replied back.

"What were you off doing when you had me blocked?" Robin asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

They had been telepathically linked since Starcourt, not that anyone knew that, but Steve figured that since there might be something starting with Nancy, he should probably tell her that he's got another woman inside of his head.

"I swear, it almost looks like you two are communicating in your heads," Nancy snorted.

"That's because we are," Steve winced.

"What?" Nancy asked in surprise.

"Starcourt," he whispered.

"I guess we have a lot to catch up on," Nancy said.

"Yeah, we do," Steve said.

Suddenly, they were joined by Fred Benson, Nancy's friend on the paper.

"Steve Harrington. I didn't think I was ever going to meet you. You're right, Nancy, he is cute," Fred said.

"You talk to Fred about me?" Steve asked.

"Maybe," she blushed.

"Oh, she won't shut about you. How cute you are, what a great boyfriend you were back then, how she should have told you that, and so many other mistakes that she wishes she could take back, so on and so on. . .," Fred said.

"Fred!" Nancy exclaimed, and she paused. "He's right, though. There's so many things that I wish I could have done differently."

"You're here now, Nance, and that's water under the bridge," Steve said. "I forgave you a long time ago."

"She also won't stop talking about your hazel eyes and your cute butt," Fred said, rolling his eyes with a grin.

"Fred!" She scolded and then sighed. "He's right. You do have a cute butt. Oh! The game is starting."

Steve and Nancy shared a look when Lucas came out. The minute he saw his friends sitting in the bleachers, his face split in the widest grin. A moment later, Hellfire called out Lucas's name, and he laughed in delight. Yeah, Nancy and Steve did well. It was well worth the wait when they finally sent Lucas in, and he ended up scoring them the winning shot. He could hear the entire gym screaming for Lucas, but more importantly, he could hear Hellfire screaming louder. Steve had cheered proudly with Nancy, who pulled him into a tight hug as they both beamed brightly. Nancy pulled her head back, her arms still wrapped tightly around him, and smiled. She closed the gap between them and kissed him deeply. Steve smiled into the kiss, a euphoria filling him as Nancy's lips moved against his. He enjoyed the familiar feeling of her lips, the way she felt in his arms again. He had kissed her many times before, but this felt different from all the others. This one felt more final.

"Holy shit! I enjoyed that a lot more than I thought I would!" Eddie exclaimed. "Basketball is still not my thing but. . .I don't hate it."

They had all spilled out into the parking lot and were now waiting for Lucas and Robin.

"It wasn't the worst thing I've ever seen," Gareth agreed, rolling his eyes.

"Lucas was great," Jeff grinned.

"I have to admit that Sinclair has skills," Eddie said and then sighed. "All the shit I gave Uncle Wayne about liking basketball, I just know he's going to want me to watch one with him now. Although, he would have given me a swift kick if he knew what an asshole I was."

Steve smiled down at Nancy, who had her cheek pressed against his arm as she watched Lucas come out with his team. He was enveloped into his parents' arms first, and then he moved on to them.

"I had hoped you would come, but I didn't think you would," Lucas said to Dustin and Lucas.

"We're sorry for not being supportive before," Mike said. "And we're sorry for not taking you seriously."

"Yeah, you're way more important than any game," Dustin said.

"And even though you like basketball now, we still love you," Mike said.

Steve could tell that it was exactly what Lucas needed to hear. He smiled, tears in his eyes.

"Our bond goes deeper than friendship, Lucas. We're family," Dustin said. "If basketball is just as important to you as D&D then we'll be there to cheer you on."

"Just don't forget who you are. Okay?" Mike asked. "Promise?"

"Promise," Lucas said.

Mike and Dustin hugged Lucas tightly. Yeah, that's all he needed to know, was that they'd still be best friends even if their interests diverged. Mike and Dustin just needed to know that the important parts of Lucas Sinclair would still be there. It was a nice moment between the three of them, a moment that Jason Carver just had to ruin.

"Hey, Sinclair! Are these freaks bothering you?" Jason asked.

Dustin, Mike, and Lucas broke the hug. Jason and a couple of other basketball players were standing behind them.

"These freaks are my friends," Lucas scowled.

"You don't have to cover for them, man," Andy said.

"If they're bothering you, we can deal with them," Chase said.

"No," Lucas said, standing in front of them. "They are my friends, and they have been for a long time. I didn't tell you because I was afraid of how you'd react. I'm in Hellfire, too."

Nancy, Steve, and Eddie moved to stand beside the kids. Jason stared daggers at Lucas.

"You lied to us, Sinclair. You betrayed us. You're going to burn for this," Jason said. "I'll make sure that you're off the team."

"Except that's the coach's decision, Carver," Stege said. "Not yours."

"What the hell happened to you, Harrington?" Jason asked. "You used to be one of us."

"Well, I finally decided to grow a brain. It looks like you never have. You still look as dumb as the day I met you. I bet your mommy still writes your name in your underwear just so you won't forget it," Steve said. "I was never one of you."

Jason looked like he swallowed a lemon. He cheeks were also flushed in humiliation.

"I'll make your life hell on the team, Sinclair. You're going to want to quit," Jason said.

Nancy stepped forward with a tape recorder and played back everything that he said.

"People would just love to find out that the captain of the basketball team is sabotaging his own teammates," Nancy said.

"Stay out of this, Wheeler, you don't know who you're messing with," Jason said.

"No, it's you who doesn't know who you're messing with," Nancy said, staring him directly in the eyes. "Don't fuck with our kids."

"You know, I thought you were a good guy, someone else like Steve that I could look up to, but I see who you are now, what they say about you. You're nothing more than a psychopathic bully who only cares about himself," Lucas said. "You can't even admit when you're wrong. D&D is just a game, just like basketball. I happen to enjoy both, and I realize now that no matter what I do that there's always going to be someone who is going to disagree with what I do in life but I'm not going to stop living it because of narrow-minded mouth breathers like who can't accept that not everyone wants to be like you."

Just as Jason took a step closer to Lucas, Chrissy appeared.

"What's going on?" She asked.

"Chrissy, babe, you don't need to see this," Jason said. "I was just about to help Lucas out of a sticky situation."

"It looks like you were about to punch him," Chrissy said with narrowed eyes.

"You've read the situation wrong, babe," Jason said.

"Did you get amnesia?" Chrissy asked. "Did you forget that I dumped your ass?"

"We had a fight, that's all. You had a bad day. I get it," Jason said.

"A bad day? Try bad several months," Chrissy scoffed.

Jason grabbed her arm, and everyone immediately moved to stop him. It was Chrissy who saved herself. She raised her knee and slammed it into his groin. Jason let go and collapsed onto the ground. Andy and Chase glared at Chrissy. After a minute, Jason struggled to get back up. He glared at Lucas.

"One day, you're going to find yourself alone, without your friends, and you're not going to be so brave then," Jason said.

"Did you forget that I have a tape recorder, dumbass?" Nancy asked. "I'm still recording you."

Jason scowled and winced as he tried not to let it show that Chrissy had really hurt him. He turned his eyes onto Eddie, glaring furiously.

"This is all your fault. You manipulate people and you use. . . You use your powers to control them to make them do what you want. Chrissy never would have done that," Jason told Eddie.

"Maybe Chrissy just got tired of your bullshit. Man, if I can make people do what I want, then why the hell am I still a third year senior?" Eddie asked, scowling. "If I am oh, so, powerful then why the fuck am I not swimming in gold?"

Jason opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again before closing it once more. He looked like a gaping fish. Steve couldn't help but laugh at that. Eddie had gotten on that one. Sue and Charles approached quickly.

"What's going on here?" Sue asked.

"You're lucky mommy and daddy showed up," Andy spat at Lucas. "You and your meddling friends."

Andy, Chase, and Jason walked away as the Sinclairs moved to stand beside Lucas.

"It's too bad we don't have a dumb dog," Steve snorted.

"What are you talking about, Stevie? We've got our Scooby right here," Eddie grinned, clapping his hands on Dustin's shoulders and cackled when Steve high fived him.

"I changed my mind," Dustin scowled. "I don't want you two getting along."

"Does that mean that I'm Velma or Daphne?" Nancy asked Steve.

"I'm clearly Daphne," Steve scoffed. "I pull off purple better than you do."

"You take that back, Steve Harrington," Nancy laughed.

They all fell into a deep and serious discussion about Scooby-Doo, which was something they found they all had in common. It was that moment that Robin had finally showed up. She looked around in confusion.

"What I'd miss?" Robin asked.

"Well," Steve said in her head. "You'd know if you hadn't blocked me."

"Fuck you," Robin said. "I was talking to Vickie, and I lost track of time."

Steve smiled and felt Nancy snuggle into his side, her arm wrapping around his waist. Lucas was happily replaying the game with Dustin and Mike as they questioned him about basketball. Chrissy had slid her arm through Eddie's and was chatting him up. Eddie looked at Steve in panic and Steve sent him an encouraging wink, laughing at his plight. He didn't expect it to end up like this, but he found that he was looking forward to his new friendship with Eddie. Well, he hoped they were friends now.

"I wish we could all go out and continue this because this was fun, but I have to get Mike home. It's past his bedtime," Nancy said.

"Nancy!" Mike yelled.

"Yeah, I'm letting Eddie take me back to his place," Chrissy said.

"You going to put him to bed?" Nancy asked in amusement. "Tuck him in?"

"Like she's going to want - ," Eddie started to say.

"If he lets me," Chrissy grinned and he hollered.

"Yeah, yeah!" Eddie said. "Uh, Sinclair, I'm sorry about everything. I'll muster up a better apology later, but you know, I'm suddenly feeling tired."

"Nah, man, I get it," Lucas laughed.

Eddie took off towards his van but skidded to a stop when he realized that Chrissy hadn't followed. She ran and threw herself onto his back. He shrieked in surprise, but then he hooked his arms under her legs and continued to run towards his van, making engine noises as he did so. Chrissy's giggles could be heard throughout the parking lot. Steve smiled. People weren't all that different. The only thing was that their interests diverged, but the one thing that they all had in common was that they wanted to be seen and to be accepted. As Steve kissed Nancy goodbye, he couldn't help but be excited about what tomorrow would bring for them all.

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resident-gay-bitch · 1 year ago

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robin went from having less action than dustin henderson and his imaginary girlfriend, to having more relationship problems than steve can help her sort through in a matter of weeks.

vickie.

lovey lovely, sweet vickie.

it all started with vickie.

steve was right, robin did have a chance. she realised it herself during the prom after party.

robin never thought she’d attend such a thing, but she’d never been to a highschool party before and steve thought she should give it a chance, and vickie had asked her to come.

so she went, and her and vickie had more alcohol than they thought they could tolerate and got a little lose lipped whilst locked in the upstairs master ensuite of jason carvers house. they were sitting in the tub with a bottle of vodka, talking and talking and talking.

vickie started complaining about her stupid ex boyfriend who keeps dumping her and taking her back. and robin started complaining how she’s never even had her first kiss. and then vickie said something about wondering what girls taste like. and robin had said she wonders what vickie tastes like.

and then they kissed.

robin had her first kiss in the tub of jason carvers parents ensuite, with a girl she thought she could fall in love with, and too much alcohol in their systems.

vickie quickly clambered out of the tub and made it to the toilet before she hurled her guts out. robin spent the next hour feeding her water and soothing her back and talking her through it. she called steve to come pick them both up and drop vickie home.

three days later vickie came into family video with her no-longer-ex boyfriend and crushed robins heart.

a week after that, robin started tutoring nancy wheeler in french. nancy had been taking latin all through high school, but she’d get extra credits if she passed with a second language under her wing, and robin was fluent.

and nancy was everything. she was so bright and kind and funny, and she loved to bicker, robin noticed. she always had something to argue with robin about, all in good fun. she had bite, and robin loved it.

she was a little conflicted about forming this little crush on steve’s ex, but she couldn’t keep it to herself like she said she would. the minuet he walked through the doors for his shift she blurt it all out.

he was mostly just weirded out about why robin liked her, because he distinctly rememberd her calling nancy a priss back at scoops. but he actually told robin to go for it, if it seemed like nance was into it.

he just wants her to be happy. and robin really fucking loves him.

also… it’s not like he’d have any unresolved feelings about her still, he was becoming utterly obsessed with eddie “the freak” munson, who was a new regular at family video, who just so happened to only come inside when steve was on shift.

robin started to attempt at flirting with nancy, though, she wasn’t very good at it. she was probably too subtle.

steve gave her some pointers, and then a week later she was like a whole new person. she made nancy visibly flustered three whole times!

score robin.

robin was walking home one night, after a session with nancy, a sappy grin plastered on her face when she found vickie on her doorstep.

once safe inside robins room, vickie broke down and confessed she actually really liked robin and just freaked out after the party. she was so embarrassed and feels terrible about getting back with her now-ex-again boyfriend.

robin likes nancy though.

she likes nancy so much, and tonight when robin called her sweetheart in french (without even thinking, she was just channeling steve’s suave these days), nancy looked at her… and then at her lips.

nancy looked at her lips for a really long time.

she only looked away when someone slammed the library door shut behind them. and then they packed up their stuff and left.

and it really felt like something could happen.

robin was going to call steve and talk his ear off about it tonight, get some advice, and try her luck next week with nancy.

but now vickie is here, telling robin how much she likes her. how sorry she is she messed up. and robin knows how it feels to be queer in hawkins. you don’t get many chances out here.

nancys just a possibility, even though she really likes nancy.

vickie is an absolute, by the sounds, even though she really hurt robin.

but robin doesn’t want to hurt vickie either. she’s a people pleaser.

“i can’t stop thinking about that kiss.” vickie had said, looking deep into robins eyes, “i want you so bad, robin… please?”

it didn’t give her butterflies in the way it did that night when it happened.

it didn’t give her butterflies the way nancy does with the thought of a maybe.

but maybe that will change.

she let vickie kiss her. the kiss was much better than when they were drunk. it was more articulate like this, she supposed.

vickie layed her down in bed and kissed her all over, up and under robins shirt. she stopped vickie before she removed any more clothing, she wasn’t ready for that yet.

they laid in bed and cuddled, and vickie kissed her neck, and asked not to put a label on it yet. she’s still figuring it out, she just knows she wants to be like this with robin. she’s not sure she could handle a girlfriend yet.

robin agreed.

so her and vickie were… something?

something very casual, apparently.

she feels like one of steve’s girls, before he figured out what he wanted. something, but not quite anything.

vickie layed on her chest, and robin stroked her back whilst thinking about the sparkle nancy gets in her eye when she answers a question correctly. about the soft echo of her laugh and how it makes robins heart race.

steve’s going to have a feild day with this. robin was always on his case about how many girls he went through and now… jesus.

so she’s not quite something with vickie, and obsessed with nancy, and torn between the two.

she goes to nancys house on wednesday night for a double study session, they have a test on in the morning.

“you don’t have to go.” nancy said, when robin started packing up her things and pulling her shoes back on, “you can stay for a while, if you like.”

robin felt so nervous she couldn’t even give nancy a verbal answer. she took her shoes back off and settled down on the end of nancys bed as they started to chat.

“have you ever kissed a girl?” nancy asked after a while, and robin was sure her heart stopped.

“uhm… yeah.” she muttered, her hairs standing on end.

“what was it like?” nancy asked, her eyes darker than usual. it made robin nervous.

“i don’t know… i don’t have anything to compare it too.”

“oh.” nancy nodded, “would you kiss a girl again?”

“i… uh, i guess.” she swallowed.

“…would you kiss me?”

robin didn’t answer, and nancy took that as a yes. thank god she took that as a yes, because nancy kissed her.

nancy kissed her and it was the best feeling in the world. better than her first kiss with vickie.

they kissed and kissed and kissed, and robin laid her down and kissed nancy everywhere that vickie had kissed robin the other night.

nancy pushed robin back out of the way and sat up on her bed, and unclamped her bra and slid off her pants, and laid back down. and now robin was kissing an almost naked nancy, letting her hands slide over the soft curves of her body.

nancy sounded so pretty under her like this, she wanted to keep her there forever.

robin let nancy help take off her clothes, and soon enough they were both almost naked and grabbing at eachother as they kissed.

“have you ever done this before?” nancy whispered.

“no.” robin swallowed, “have you?”

“not with a girl.” she said, and kept kissing robin.

nancy took her hand and pulled it down over her body, guiding robins fingers to slip under the waistband of her underwear.

robins brain short circuited for a moment. she had no idea what she was doing, she didn’t even really do this herself. steve had talked about doing this a fair bit, he’d explained to her why he likes it so much and what tricks he used to gain his reputation for it. so she had some understanding, but no idea how to put that into practice.

never mind that though, she was here now, and she was going to figure it out. she kept kissing nancy, trailing her lips down along her jaw as her fingers wandered over the brush of hair on nancys pelvis and down to where she was wet.

she wasn’t very responsive, which wasn’t helpful, but she did moan a few little “yeah”s when robin was pretty sure she found her clit.

okay, robin was being bold.

she pulled her hand away and crawled between nancys legs, carefully peeling her purple underwear away before laying down and coming face first with her heat.

steve talked a lot more about eating a girl out than he did about fingering her. robin gave it her best shot, and that seemed to get a bit better of a reaction.

the taste was strange, kind of like what steve described but also different. it wasn’t unpleasant though.

nancy came on her tongue and robin relished in it, feeling giddy with how well she’d done. after that, nancy put her clothes back on and said it was late, robin had curfew in a bit.

she wasn’t wrong. robin hurriedly put her clothes back on and ran out the front door, and her lips still tasted like nancy.

she got home and called steve to tell him everything.

the next day at school, the girls sat their test and didn’t talk much. robin was so nervous and easily flustered, she she doesn’t know what to say to a girl after she takes your virginity… well, kinda? steve said it counted enough.

they didn’t really speak much at school those two days, they didn’t have any classes together and they didn’t have another tutoring session scheduled in until next week.

on friday night, vickie called and asked robin to come over.

right. robin kinda forgot about her.

she went over to vickie’s with full intention on ending whatever they had started. she was going to tell her about nancy, and ask nancy to be her girlfriend the next time their paths crossed.

she did say all of that.

but vickie convinced her to stay.

“just one night with you? please? i like you so much, robin.”

robin didn’t know how to say no again.

they kissed, and vickie got between robins legs and made her tremble and moan. she hated that she was thinking about nancy the whole time.

robin stayed the night and steve picked her up in the morning.

“damn, bobbie… you’re a right little slut now.” steve had laughed, “i think you have spent too much time around me.”

on monday, robin caught nancy after school. nancy offered to give her a lift home after robin had asked to chat.

in nancys car, is where robin used every bit of confidence she had to ask nancy to be her girlfriend.

“girlfriend?” nancy put her foot on the break and looked at robin strangely, “i’m not… i have a boyfriend, robin.”

robins face paled, “what?”

“i’m with jonothan… he’s just in california.”

“but i- we slept together… we had sex, nancy.”

“it’s not like that.” nancy pressed, “i’m- im not queer so it doesn’t count as cheating, okay? it doesn’t count with girls.”

robin jumped out of her car and ran the rest of the way home. she called steve over to console her, and he bought a tub of her favourite icecream and chocolate topping, and they are the entire thing.

robin felt horrible. she thought her and jonothan had broken up. she only knew they maybe got together because of steve.

“i should have warned you.” steve sighed, wiping robins tears with his thumbs, “she cheated on me, you know? i should have told you. i just wanted you to have something.”

it wasn’t until a week later, when robin was taking her puppy out for a walk, that she bumped into vickie. she asked how it went with nancy, if they were together now. robin had told her no, nancy doesn’t like her like that.

vickie joined robin and harry (after debbie harry of course) on their walk. vickie kissed robin again, and this time it felt okay.

it felt nice to be kissed, after getting heartbroken like that.

she invited vickie inside, and she stayed the night.

robin saw vickie most days for the next two weeks, and they’d hold hands and cuddle and kiss and more. it felt awfully close to a relationship, and steve was telling her she should just bite the bullet and initiate a relationship. get herself a girlfriend.

it’s clear vickie likes her a lot.

and it’s going to help her get over nancy even faster hopefully.

it will also be a big fuck you to nancy.

robin is sure steve’s only on this high horse of love today because eddie just asked him on a date. apparently it was the most perfect date steve had ever been on. they got take out at sat on top of eddie’s van and smoked a cigarette together, talked for hours, and made out for more.

they’re going out again tonight. steve thinks they’re going to have sex.

robin is very happy for her best friend but she also wants to punch him.

why can’t her relationships be that easy? girls are so hard.

she’s gonna do it, she thinks. she’s gonna ask vickie tonight.

she didn’t ask vickie.

they just had sex like they usually do, and then vickie got a call from her ex boyfriend.

robin was scheduled to stay the night, but when the pair started arguing over the phone, robin crept out the window and walked to steve’s.

next time, she said to herself.

next time, she said again the next day.

next time, she said for the millionth time it felt like, three weeks later.

steve dropped her off at vickie’s again, on the way to pick eddie - his now boyfriend - up to go to the movies. robin had been invited, all of eddie’s friends were going too, he was introducing steve to them.

robin wanted to be there for that, to hold his hand and talk him up to all of eddie’s friends. but steve insisted she go to vickie’s and ask her.

no more next time.

robin and steve sat in his car, out the front of vickie’s house for five minuets, hyping her up.

she walked up to the door, giving steve the thumbs up when she knocked, and bounced on her heels. she was going to ask before they have sex. that’s the plan.

vickie kissed her and pulled her inside the second she opened the door. robin was pressed back up against the wall, moaning with her touch.

“my parents will be home in half an hour, we’ve gotta be quick.”

okay, so it’s happening after sex. that’s cool.

they fucked, cleaned up, got changed and blasted some pop just in time for her parents arrival home.

“hey, so… about us?” robin said, sitting up on vickie’s bed and watching her as she added to a painting on her desk.

“oh, i wanted to talk to you about that.” vickie smiled.

this was very good. robin felt those wonderful butterflies stir up her stomach again. over these past weeks she’d been falling back into her tragic feelings for vickie, only, they weren’t so tragic now.

she still thought about nancy from time to time, but vickie was at the forefront of her mind these days.

“go on.” robin offered with a smile, because she’d rather vickie be the one to ask than her. it’s too nerve wracking.

“well…” vickie shrugged, “i know you’re so into nancy, and don’t get me wrong, this is great. but shane wants me back… he proposed.”

oh.

that’s not what robin was expecting at all.

“i like you, but shane is normal, you know? i think i’ll take him back.”

normal.

that word. robin hates it. it’s haunted her though out her whole life.

everyone told her she was a far cry from normal. she’d look at her own reflection and point out everything unnormal about herself. she knew she wasn’t normal, growing up, liking girls isn’t normal.

steve had promised her it was. he promised her she was normal.

but here vickie is, saying she’s not.

and it hurts.

“what we’re you going to say?” vickie asked.

robin felt very sick.

she told vickie it was nothing. she was happy for her. congratulations.

she walked herself home. steve would be in the movie by now. he promised he’d call her after the movie, from a pay phone, to see how it went.

she sat by the phone, waiting waiting waiting.

eventually, he called.

“bobbie…” he sounded so sad, “why’d you go home?”

she tried her best not to cry, “she’s getting engaged to shane…”

“oh-“

“because he’s normal.”

“fucking- god.” steve mumbled, and he sounded angry, “make sure you’re dressed, im coming to pick you up.”

“no.” she sobbed, “you need to be with eddie’s friends-“

“they’re not you, bobbie.”

“please, steve…”

she heard steve sigh, and then there was a clatter on the other line. it sounded like he’d dropped the phone and steve shouted “hey?!” and then more mumbled conversation before a clean voice came back through, but it wasn’t steve’s.

“hey, it’s eddie- i know, stevie. shh!” he mumbled into the line, “it’s eddie. look, steve wants to leave and get you, but apparently him being here means a lot to you for some reason, so steve and i are going to come pick you up and bring you back to gareth’s house, we’re all about to head there anyway.”

robin agreed to that, because a distraction sounded good. some good people around her sounded lovely. she doesn’t know much about eddie’s friends, but some are in band and some are in drama, and they’re nice enough.

she likes eddie a lot. she thinks he’s wonderful for steve.

robin made sure she looked okay before sitting on the front porch with harry. he was a golden retriever, only two months old. such a tiny thing. she loved him with her whole heart. steve is jealous that harry’s taken his place as number one best friend, but robin knows harry’s taken her place on steve’s list too.

when steve pulled up, it was eddie who jumped out and ran full pelt for her.

“you have a puppy!”

robin laughed and watched eddie kneeslide halfway across her lawn and over to harry, who was very excited to meet him. steve came following behind, giving harry a good scratch behind his ears before sitting next to robin.

“you are normal, bobbie.” he said, bumping their shoulders together, “more normal than ed at least.”

“hey!” eddie snapped with a grin, learning down to conspire with harry, “you think i’m normal, don’t you, pup?”

once in the car, eddie had given robin front seat with the proviso he gets to bring harry and cuddle with him in the back. robin agreed, it would be nice to have her little companion at her side all night.

she told the pair everything. filled eddie in on it all; her first kiss with vickie, what happened with nancy, the past month with vickie too.

“i know how you feel.” eddie said, moving his hands up and down in the air as harry tried to catch them, “you’d think small town queers wouldn’t get this drama, but i think we get more. i had this whole thing with jonothan byers back in the day.”

robin felt a little more at ease knowing she wasn’t alone in all this. there are other other out there like her. other people who’ve grown up being told they’re not normal, fucking up like this time and time again, and they eventually get a happy ending.

hopefully robin will find hers soon enough.

or at least a girlfriend that she really likes, who really likes her back and is okay with the concept of labels and being a little left of normal.

is that so much to ask for?

once they got to gareth’s place and made their way out to his pool house, robin got easily acquainted with all of eddie’s friends. they were nice guys, and they all loved harry.

they’re also all queer, robin learned, which was extra comforting. jeff and grant we’re together, and gareth’s bisexual, but he has a casual girlfriend at the moment.

about an hour later, two drinks and a quarter box of pizza later, robin was in deep argument with jeff in weather back to the future or the goonies was the movie of the year. robin thinks back to the future, jeff thinks goonies.

“hey, robin…” eddie said, tapping on her shoulder with a mischievous grin, “come with me?”

“ah… okay.” she chuckled nervously, putting her drink down and following eddie towards the door.

“i want you to meet somebody.” he smiled, “she’s my best friend- like, you and steve level best friends. she wasn’t going to come out tonight originally because she already met steve and had heaps of homework. but i thought you’d get along.”

“oh…” robin nodded, looking down at her feet as harry ran up and nuzzled against her ankles.

eddie nodded his head towards the door and lead her out. she saw steve standing by the pool, his arms folded and his hip popped to the side like he always does, and he was talking to a girl she didn’t recognise.

the girl looked like a metalhead, so it made sense her and eddie were friends. dressed in a plaid skirt and ripped stockings, big chunky boots and a leather jacket.

eddie grabbed robin by the bicep and dragged her over to the girl and steve. steve had that same cheeky grin as eddie, and robin was immediately filled with nerves. the closer she got, the prettier the girl looked.

and the more familiar.

“hey, rob.” eddie smiled, sitting his hands on the girls shoulders as he stood behind her, “i want you to meet chrissy cunningham- without the fake smiles and pom poms.”

chrissy elbowed eddie in the gut with a grin.

oh my god, it was chrissy cunningham. chrissy… looking completely different and completely hot.

eddie chuckled, grabbing steve as he slowly backed away, “chrissy just got out of a long term relationship with a dick because she realised she likes girls-“

“eddie!” chrissy hissed.

“she thinks the dorky ones are super cute too.” steve supplied, running inside behind eddie and slammed the door shut.

oh god.

at least chrissy was just as embarrassed about this as robin was, by the looks.

“uhm… hi.” chrissy giggled- yep, robin loves her giggle already. she sounds so sweet. how can someone so hot, who looks dangerous, sound that fucking sweet?

“hi…” robin giggled too.

“is this your puppy?” she said, pointing down at harry.

“ah… yeah.” robin muttered, bending down to pick him up, “his names harry- like debbie harry, from the band-“

“blondie?” chrissy smiled, “i love blondie.”

“me too.” robin laughed nervously, “i am so in love with debbie.”

chrissy blushed, “me too- i kinda started dressing like her when eddie introduced me to the dark side.”

robin downright snorted, and chrissy laughed so brightly at her.

“i’m sorry about your… uhm…” robin swallowed.

“that’s okay.” chrissy shrugged, “jason’s an asshole anyway. i don’t even like guys, i think.”

“oh, me either…” robin smiled, “except for this guy. i love him so much.” she scratched harry behind his ear.

“he’s such a cutie.” chrissy reached out to pet him him, and harry nuzzled into her hand.

“you wanna hold him?”

“are you sure?”

“of course.” she smiled, and handed the puppy over. chrissy cuddled him tight and harry seemed like he loves her already.

well, if harry loves chrissy so much, then robin supposed she has to find a way to keep chrissy around now. you know… for harry’s sake.

“you should come on a walk with us one time.” robins said with all the boldness she could muster, “sometimes when it’s hot, we stop for icecream, don’t we, harry?”

“that sounds nice.” chrissy smiled, her cheeks the prettiest shade of pink, “it’s supposed to be really warm tomorrow.”

“i’ll probably walk him around one… we go by maple and through lakeside park before heading up the main street, if you’d like to join.”

“i can meet you at the park?” chrissy looked down at harry as he licked her cheek, “someone’s excited i think.”

robin laughed easily, “yeah, he likes you a whole lot.” she didn’t even mean to say what she said next, it just kinda came out before her brain could catch up, “he seems to always get along with pretty people best.”

chrissy looked up at her silently, a little flustered with robins comment. when she realised what she had said, her own cheeks turned the brilliant shade of crimson. chrissy laughed nervously and scratched under harry’s chin as she smiled.

“must be why he loves you, then.”

oh! robins insides were on fire. it was like a hellswarm of butterflies in there.

“so tomorrow, one?” chrissy asked, clearing her throat.

“uh… yeah.” robin nodded, “at the park by maple.”

chrissy smiled brightly, and robin already had the urge to kiss her. she had such a pretty smile. robin already knows this is probably going to be another disaster, if not something perfect.

“it’s a date?” chrissy smiled.

a date.

robins never been on a date before. she’s going to have to ask steve for pointers.

“yeah…” she giggled, “a date.”

idk what this is tbh i wrote it at like 4 am sleep deprived

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