Friday had come so much faster than I expected, but I wasn't complaining. I had spent the majority of the week arguing with Eddie and Steve over what snacks and beverages should be provided and what music should be played. Originally, Eddie had tried to get me to let the band play live-- but I shut that down quickly since I wasn't sure how approachable Robin would find me after a set. Also, I was pretty sure the students of Hawkins High wouldn't find our 'Devil Music' very amusing. The last time I played Iron Maiden in the parking lot with my car windows down someone threw a coke can at my head. After careful deliberation, Steve and I decided that some Duran Duran, Tears For Fears, and Bananarama would probably do the trick.
I was up in my room getting ready for the party and testing out my new boombox I had bought last week. After I popped in a cassette, I rummaged around my closet for an acceptable outfit. I played it safe and donned my favorite shorts, a black tank top, and a pair of Reebok high tops. As I struggled to put my shoes on, hopping around on one foot, I made my way over to my vanity. I finally slid my foot into my shoe and sat down to do my hair. Naturally, it looked fine, but I did a little teasing to bring some edge to my outfit. I was manically spraying hairspray when I heard a knock on my door.
Steve's voice met my ears, "Yo, Y/N? People are starting to get here... just figured you'd wanna know."
"Oh, uh, thanks, Steve. I'm almost done!" I shouted as I heard his footsteps wander back down the hallway. I could faintly hear music and the chatter of various voices.
I put the finishing touches on my hair and exited my room. The noise from the party gradually got louder as I walked down the stairs. Bass and the hum of conversation continued to fill my ears as I tried to calm my nerves. I walked down the stairs carefully, so I didn't accidentally fall and make a fool of myself.
When I finally looked up from the floor I was met with hoards of people. I raised my eyebrows, Steve had made it seem like only a few people were here. For my first party, there was actually a lot of turnout. A group of girls from my chemistry class were snacking in the kitchen, while other people were dancing outside and chatting in the living room. My body was practically vibrating from all of the noise. I wasn't sure how the sound was so quiet in my room. Between the music and the people, I could hardly even hear myself think. Was Robin even here yet? I took a step towards a brunette bob I had spotted in the crowd when a muscular arm snaked around my waist.
"Hey pretty girl," a voice purred into my ear as the grip on my waist got tighter. I grimaced and whipped around, eyebrows raised, only to find Billy Hargrove, of course, behind me. I snapped out of his grasp, narrowed my eyes, and crossed my arms.
He started circling me, as a hawk does to its prey. Billy had had a thing for me for the past year, just like he had a thing for every other girl in Hawkins. He had tried multiple times to get into my pants, each more disgusting (and desperate) than the last. The last time he tried to take me home he showed up at a gig my band was playing at a local bar and tried to get me drunk. Lucky for me, all of the guys ganged up on him and got him to leave-- it wasn't without a string of cuss words and several promises to beat their ass from Billy though.
"You miss me?" He said putting his finger under my chin. A cigarette was lolling out of his mouth as he plastered a grin across his face. "Oh come on now, I know you did."
"I've told you a million fucking times Hargrove-- Not. Interested," I sneered and started to walk away. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if it had actually been a million times.
"You're just saying that Sweetheart!" He shouted as I walked away, I could feel the girls in the kitchen staring at me, they must think I'm crazy. No sane girl turns down Billy Hargrove. My face started to turn red as I tried to escape, Billy still calling after me. "I can play this game better than you can!"
I rolled my eyes as I shoved my way to the glass door to the backyard and, finally made it outside. I faintly heard Steve yell, "What the hell are you doing here Hargrove?!" as I closed the glass door behind me and took a deep breath.
The night air was cool against my skin-- despite all of the body heat radiating from the people around me. The space near the house was packed, but at least Billy was nowhere in sight. The backyard was always popular during parties, and I could see why. There was plenty of space away from the house (and the hordes of people) and the living room light made it so there was just enough visibility to faintly see faces. Some people were playing chicken in the pool while others were dancing by the stereo. Somewhere towards the back corner, I heard laughing and the clink of a beer bottle.
I scanned the crowd for a second, looking for Robin. I hadn't seen her yet, and, frankly, I was afraid she decided to ditch the party altogether. After a few seconds, I saw Jeff and Gareth drinking some beers and gesturing to each other rapidly by the fence. They were in the middle of what appeared to be a heated conversation, which was undoubtedly about music. I decided to avoid them altogether; since those arguments always ended in a bro-hug and quiet reluctance, I didn't worry about them too much.
My mind wandered back to Robin-- but instead of getting myself worked up, I snatched some jungle juice off of a nearby table and downed a cup. My face scrunched as it burned down my throat-- that stuff was strong as hell.
I was halfway through another cup when I was interrupted by Eddie shouting, "Y/N get your ass over here, we're playing chicken!"
I spun around and was met with the sight of Eddie fully clothed and completely soaked, "What in the world are you doing?" I laughed, almost choking on my drink. His hair was plastered to his forehead, and he vaguely resembled a drowned rat.
"Playing chicken- duh," He said rolling his eyes.
"We need a fourth person," he explained, gesturing to two other people in the pool, "and-"
"Sure," I grinned. "I'm in. We're going to beat their asses."
We started walking to the pool as he continued to speak, "Well, uh... about the whole 'we' thing-- you aren't going to be my partner."
"What?" I looked up at him in confusion as he just smiled and pointed to the pool. I looked-- and that's when I saw her. Robin was standing in waist-deep water and waving at me; I gave a quick, awkward wave back and smiled.
Eddie turned to me with a shit-eating grin and shrugged, "Suprise?"
"Dude!" I whisper-shouted. "What the hell? I haven't even talked to her yet tonight, and you volunteered me to sit on her shoulders!"
Rolling his eyes, he whispered, "Or she can sit on yours... whatever you're into."
I smacked him on the back of his head as he laughed, "I can't believe you Eddie," I sighed. "Just prepare for me to absolutely annihilate you."
"You wish!" he shouted, running and cannonballing into the pool. I chuckled as the water splashed over the side of the pool and hit some of the onlookers.
I took a deep breath and mustered up some courage. It was just a game, what harm could come from that? Feeling people start to look at me (which was definitely not actually happening), I walked over to the edge of the pool and dove into the cold water. As I came up for air I saw Robin, Eddie, and some girl I didn't recognize clapping and yelling. Robin gave me a huge smile and, after a moment, swam over to me.
"Alright," she said, putting her arm around my shoulder and lowering her voice to whisper. My body leaned into her touch, pulling us close. "What's the game plan?..." she looked at me after a few seconds and raised her eyebrows. "Y/N?"
"Oh," I said, remembering I needed to respond. "Just, like, try and kick Eddie's ass?" I said giving a nervous smile.
"Um, well..." she furrowed her eyebrows together. "You know what? Yeah. Let's kick Eddie's ass!"
I wasn't sure why, but something about her felt different tonight. Usually, she stuck to the sidelines; right now she was in the center of everything. Her current confidence was more intoxicating than the jungle juice, but I knew I had to stay on my guard.
"Let's win this sucker," I said, grinning at her.
"That's what I like to hear," she winked, tapping her shoulders, "Get on up here, and let's crush it."
She lowered herself into the pool as I attempted to hoist myself onto her shoulders. My shaky legs caused me to slip a bit, but she gently held onto my legs as she slowly started to stand. My breaths were hammering in my chest as I shifted my weight around her shoulders to find a stable spot. She was still holding onto my legs, her thumb drawing mindless circles on my calf as we approached Eddie and his partner.
Eddie looked up at me, the girl on his shoulders, and grinned, "Let's do this."
***
After playing a few rounds of chicken, which Robin and I won, I ran upstairs to change into some dry clothes. I was frantically running around my room looking for something comfortable, but still cute. I hadn't had the chance to clean my room this week, so it was a little messier than usual. There were some empty cups on my dresser and laundry scattered everywhere, but nothing too gross. Picking up a Scorpions t-shirt off of the carpet and sniffing it, I decided that that would do just fine. I threw it on, almost putting my head through one of the sleeves; I then picked a pair of loose shorts from my closet and put them on as well. I was about to run a brush through my hair when I heard a knock at my door.
"Hey... uh... Y/N?" a voice said, knocking once again. "I asked Steve for a towel, and he said to ask you?"
"Oh, sorry Lisa," I said as I yanked my brush through my hair. Lisa was the name of the girl Eddie had been playing chicken with, so I just assumed it was her. "I'll be there in just a second."
"Okay, I just hope you don't mind wet carpet," she laughed. "I'm kinda getting water everywhere."
I laughed as I walked over to the door, replying, "Nah, it's all good," as I opened it. What, well who, was behind the door knocked the wind out of my lungs. I stared for a few seconds as I adjusted to the fact that Robin Buckley was at my bedroom door.
Her eyes darted between me and the room behind me, "So uh," she snapped and threw up some finger guns, "the towel?"
"Uh, yeah!" I said, looking over my shoulder quickly to make sure I still had the extra one I grabbed earlier on the bed. "I've got one in here, one sec." I walked over to my bed to grab it but was interrupted by a gasp.
"Shut up. I LOVE Carrie!" Robin exclaimed as I turned around to find her right behind me. I looked at her, blinking in surprise. "It's literally one of the best books I've ever read. I mean, the pig's blood? Absolutely iconic. It's sort of sad though, the whole thing about her mom and-" she stopped mid-sentence and scratched the back of her head. "Sorry," she relaxed, "I was rambling again."
I chuckled as I picked up the towel and handed it to her, "I mean, it's probably one of my favorite books."
"It's just so good. Stephen King is one of my favorite authors," she explained as she glanced around my room. "It's so cool in here," she said quietly as she absent-mindedly sat on my bed and stared up at my poster-covered ceiling.
My mind was traveling at 2000 miles an hour, and I felt like my stomach was going to explode. I hoped she didn't mind the fact that my bed was unmade and my room smelled faintly of chips. Taking a deep breath, I sat down beside Robin and looked at her. I didn't even notice the fact that she was mostly dry by this point. She turned to look at me for a second, her blue eyes deeper than oceans, as the bed molded to my weight.
"What's Dio?" She said, plopping herself on her back to get a better view of the ceiling. "Is it like a movie or something?"
Following suit, I slowly laid down as well. It took me a second to realize how close we were, I could feel that her body was only inches from my own. I faintly smelled the chlorine in her hair. My voice shook slightly as I replied, "Well, it's a band-- my favorite band to be exact."
"Huh," she sighed contemplatively, "I've never heard of them. What kind of music do they even play?"
"Metal I guess," I shrugged, as she shifted her weight beside me. Her hand brushed mine for a second, sparks electrifying my body.
"Oh, uh, sorry," she whispered, pulling her hand away quickly and placing it on her stomach.
I'm not sure what came over me. Maybe it was a burst of confidence, or maybe it was my subconscious saying what I couldn't say by myself. I whispered, so softly that I barely heard it, "You didn't have to pull your hand away."
Several agonizing seconds passed, and Robin cleared her throat beside me. I felt my pulse quicken. I knew I shouldn't have said anything, but it just slipped out-- I couldn't control it. She wasn't saying anything, and the silence was killing me. My head started swirling as I realized what I had done-- she could take what I said and tell everyone that I had tried to hold her hand. Life for me would be completely and utterly over. My stomach settled into a pit of dread as I tried to calm myself.-- I was practically paralyzed with fear.
Then, I felt a gentle brush against my hand as I continued to look at the ceiling. "Is this okay?" I heard Robin say as she carefully took my hand in hers. Her fingers intertwined with mine slowly, and as our hands settled into each other, my thoughts settled alongside them.
"Yeah," I whispered. "That's better."