Robin's Song

Battles At The Bar

Eden

"I'll have some water, please. With no ice." I tell the waiter, who is taking our drink orders.

"No ice?" Arlo repeats back to me with a smile. His elbows are on the table. His cute face leans into his hand. I nod, "It's super cold outside. More ice is the last thing I need."

The waiter's attention goes to Fox and she orders, "And I'll have a pink lemonade."

Robin's head turns away from the window he is staring at. "I completely forgot those existed. I'll have a pink lemonade too. With ice. Oh, and a little umbrella would be nice too." Arlo slaps his shoulder. "Don't push it," He says and Robin mumbles something under his breath.

The waiter showed no reaction to our banter and finished writing out orders. He tells us he'll be right back and leaves. I hold my jacket tighter against me. I'm still freezing. The others might be able to hear my teeth chattering soon. Something touches my leg under the table. For a second, I almost jumped. But then I realize it's a jacket being passed to me. I gratefully take it in and put it in my lap. I glance up at Arlo to see he's mid-conversation with the others. He glances back at me and winks. He's so adorable.

"So why were you guys running down the street like maniacs?" Fox finally asks the question. Robin squirms in his seat which means it has something to do with him.

Now that we're finally all sitting down, I get a close-up sight of him. Arlo was right, he isn't doing well. Robin's hair is known for being wild sometimes but it's all over the place. The dark circles under his eyes tell me he hasn't slept either. I also question why he doesn't have any winter clothes.

Arlo lets out a huge dramatic sigh. "Well," He drags out, "Robin threw a snowball at the biggest hothead in school. Long story short, Brice didn't take it well. I swear he chased all around the town."

Robin is covering his smirk with his hand. "You're proud about it, aren't you?" Fox laughs and shakes her head. "Like Arlo said, Brice is a hothead, I just wanted to cool him down with some snow. That's all." Robin responds innocently.

The waiter comes back with our drinks and he sets them down in front of us. The conversation freezes for a moment. He then asks for our meal orders. Fox and I get a plate to split. Arlo orders and then the waiter looks over at Robin.

"I'm good. The lemonade is all I need," Robin says.

"You need to eat something," Arlo cuts in. "He'll have the kid's sandwich." Robin glares but doesn't say anything.

Once the waiter leaves Arlo lectures Robin about eating. He goes on about how he's going to get sick. Robin cuts him off, "You're not my father," He says. Our table goes into a shocked silence. Immediately Robin apologizes, "I mean-, look, I'm okay. Thanks, though."

I swirl the straw in my drink. Awkward energy has entered our booth. It doesn't help that we're all near hangry. Robin clears his throat. "Speaking of my father," He says.

I figured we'd come back to this topic. "Yes, right. We need to discuss this," I say. I've been so confused. Nobody wants to come back to this topic, but we need to figure things out.

Robins's mouth opens and closes like he's going to say something. Finally, he does. "I've been thinking. This is going to sound crazy but this is just an idea. What if you guys come to where I live? That way we can get closer to the problem: My father." Robin explains. He looks around nervously. His hands shake; quickly he hides them under the table.

"That's a lot to ask," Fox says. Her face is dead serious. You can tell she's weighing all the options. "But," She continues, "It's possible."

I don't know what I think. I know that Robin won't do anything and that he'll watch over us. But, going to his house will be very dangerous. Nervously, I watch Fox for what she's going to say. I trust her take on the situation the most.