𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐠𝐢𝐫𝐥

007. Doctor Zhivago.

THE NEXT morning, Robin was quiet the whole time, wondering why Val hasn't come into work as Steve helped her restock shelves. "Has Val talked to you at all? All morning?" She suddenly asked and he glanced over. "No. She's your girlfriend, not mine." He says and she just rolled her eyes at the boy.

"So, we were supposed to... stay the night at her place, right? Like last night after the basketball game." She said and he nods. "Uh-huh." He says and she sighs. "And so, she tells me before the game, she has to do this thing with a friend and her and these other girly-girls are so weird, they hang out all the time, go in packs to the washrooms, sit together at lunch and... hug." Robin says the word weirdly.

"What's wrong with hugs? I hug you and Val all the time." Steve says and Robin sighs. "Anyway, she tells me she has to go do a thing and it'll take 20 minutes..." She continued to explain. "Oh, Christ, don't tell me you made her unable to walk, I didn't know lesbians could do th--" "Steve!" She exclaimed, smacking his arm and he looks at him. "Wait, so, what happened then?" He asked her pretty quickly.

"She... she stood me up." She sighed and turned away. "Which, I honestly don't really care. But I literally waited an hour and a half and I'm honestly worried... like, why does she always do this? One moment she's all over me, another, she doesn't wanna be seen with me, then another she says she loves me and wants me, especially for a whole night? And then she stands me up. She didn't show up and look around, right now, no Valerie..." She gestured all around the Family Video.

"Steve... do--do you think she doesn't love me anymore?" She asked and Steve looked over right away. "What? You know Val thinks the world of you, Rob. Before you guys got together, she was so annoying, running my ear off about you." He said as he rolled his eyes and she sighs. "Yeah, but, like, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I'm having this problem, and maybe Val doesn't like it either, where it's like, I should stop talking. I have said everything I need to say. But then I guess I get nervous, and the words, they just keep spilling out, and it's like, my... my brain is moving faster than my mouth, or, or rather my mouth is moving faster than my brain. And it's like I'm digging this hole for myself, the whole being Val losing interest, and I want to stop digging," Robin rambled as Steve listened while restocking the shelves.

"And I'm trying to stop digging, but I can't. And I'm doing it right now, aren't I?" She turns to Steve who nods. "Yeah. You are." He says and she sighs, backing all the way up to a movie poster. "I'm hopeless... how did I even end up with her?" She stared straight ahead and he just came to lean beside her.

"Because she liked you so much, even with your weird dorky stuff like band or movie knowledge." He says and she looks at him. "If only we could just, like, combine." She says, interlocking her fingers. "Combine? But then that way Val wouldn't like you, she's a lesbian." He explains and she looks away. "No, think about it. I know exactly what I want, and I've found the girl of my dreams, but I just can't do the relationship right." She looked at the boy.

"Meanwhile, you go on, like, a million dates. And you have no idea what you want. So if we just combined, all our problems would be solved." She says and he just turns, facing her. "Wrong." He jabs her shoulder and she grimaced. "Ow!" She says, rubbing the spot to soothe it and he sighs, quietly apologizing.

"Val loves you. I know she does, I read her diary all the time and it's always about your cool style, your rings especially and how they look on your fingers, it's a little disturbing, and she always talks about your hair perfectly suiting you, your blue eyes and your dumb freckles. And honestly, it's not your stupid rambling driving her away, you should see the way she looks at you when you do that." He explains and she sighs, crossing her arms. "Do you love her? It always seems like you're setting yourself up for failure... especially Valentine's day." He says and she just looks down.

Valentine's day was a bust, Valerie's parents left town for that weekend on Friday morning, so Val invited her over and Robin didn't go, saying she had to babysit her younger siblings (who were actually at their friends' while her parents were out on a little date), Steve was the only who knew and kept it from Val.

"You're both my best friends. And you're both sort of shit at relationships. But communication is key. Did you try calling her?" He asked and Robin sighs, nodding. "Like five times last night, then an angry woman answered and said Val wasn't home, so..." She paused. "Go try again then, lover girl!" Steve gestured.

"Oh, my God, fine."

As she walks to the office, she stops. "Oh, I think I found our morning movie." She grabs the VHS tape. "Doctor Zhivago." She smiles at Steve who groans. "You know I don't do double VHS." He says, letting the conversation topic change. "But it's about doomed love." She says and he just rolled his eyes. "Also, Julie Christie is b-b-bonkers hot in this. Val has a massive crush on her, it's kinda cute." She said, turning on the tv behind the counter.

"Oh, yeah, your girlfriend you're supposed to call, by the way." Steve said as the news played, "we're in the Forest Hills trailer park in east Roane County. We don't have a lot of details now, but we can confirm that the body of a Hawkins High student was discovered early this morning. Police have not yet released the name..." The news reporter stated as Robin's heart dropped and she felt her throat clench. "Holy shit." Steve whispers.

"I have to call her. I--I have to call Val."

 

   

 

  

  

 

  

  

   

authors note "first hangover feels like you're gonna split in two" totally jason 😀