note - yall i completely forgot i had to update on friday !!! i'm just starting school and all and yeah... anyway, heeere's chapter 10.
Chapter Ten
The club was full of teens and perhaps some adults who had gotten mixed up (imagine the club Les went to with Mercedes in License to Drive.) Fog machines blew treacherous amounts of smoke, creating a clubby and almost mysterious atmosphere, but it wasn't where Robin wanted to spend her time. The clubs back in Georgia seemed a lot more fun, even if teens were strictly prohibited from drinking or smoking of any kind- not that Robin was an avid drinker or a smoker at all, but it resulted in a lot of complaints from her friends. She followed the mopey Corey and the excited Feldman and River to a dance floor near the back of the club where there were two girls dancing together to a New Kids on the Block song. Feldman was all over Corey, pointing directly at them and yelling loudly in his ear over the music as if he was giving him instructions.
"I don't know..." Corey sighed. He didn't think there was any point in talking to the girls if he had just gotten out of a relationship. "They're already dancing with each other!"
"Not anymore!" Feldman exclaimed once the song had ended. "Look, one of them's coming over to you!"
Sure enough, one of the hot girls was walking over to Corey. River, who was in the cahoots with the plan, slung an arm around Corey and patted his back before walking over to Robin's side. Feldman took long, prideful strides over to the other girl, seeming to have forgotten all about the girl he met at the game the other day. Robin could hear the girl flirting incessantly, and to her surprise, Corey had no problem flirting back. But Robin didn't think it was genuine, she just thought he didn't want to look awkward. And besides, even if Corey did end up going with her, Robin had a gut feeling that she would just be one of Corey's fillers, in case Amandla ever did come to her senses.
Robin faced River with a smile on her face,
"Feldman's pretty smooth, isn't he?"
"You can say that again," River scoffed, smiling. He tapped his foot on the floor, looking down at it nervously, "Hey, do you wanna-"
A DJ's voice interrupted him,
"And now for the special ladies out there, we're going to play a smooth song. Let's slow it down a bit, yeah?"
"Oh no," Robin laughed, her head in her hands.
River chuckled too, and a new song began to blare from the speakers. It was the song "You Are Not Alone" by Michael Jackson. It was a shame that Robin loved this song. It was also a shame that it happened to be the first slow song she'd danced to with Jesus, at a dance that he had at his school. She slide her hand down her face and hung her head in embarrassment. Almost everyone around her was slow dancing with somebody, including the two Coreys and their new girls.
If Corey can adjust to slow dancing with a stranger, why can't I adjust to slow dancing with River? I mean I know the guy, how awkward can it get? Robin thought to herself.
River leaned over and whispered in her ear, his lips barely brushing her ear,
"May I take this dance, great lady?"
Robin giggled at his absurd sense of humor and in an absence of the mind nodded her head girlishly. River eagerly yet gently wrapped his arms around her waist and she wrapped his around his neck and began to move her feet slowly to the rhythm, matching River's slow glides. As the song continued, Robin laid her head on his chest. River widened his eyes at this, yet breathed shakily and inched his hand up her back to run his fingers through her straightened hair. Tonight, she looked dazzling, not just beautiful like she normally did, but dazzling. She'd decided to dress in a medium length navy blue dress that sparkled with sequins at the curves and were accompanied with plain black kitten heels. Her makeup was done very nicely, but that wasn't even the point- she just looked out of the world amazing. River didn't say anything, but when he saw her after she'd gotten ready, he had to keep his mouth from dropping to the floor.
Robin sighed dreamily into his chest and snuggled her face in even more, inching closer towards him and causing River's grip on her waist to tighten. Of course he stayed the gentleman he was, and his hands didn't roam below the waist, they just grasped her hips gently. The song played slow, and even though the song could be heard throughout the club and even to people who walked past the club- the outsiders- the song seemed to be only available to Robin and River. Of course, it was only River who thought this, but Robin wasn't even listening to the song. She figured that it would be easier to imagine a different song in her head so that she didn't have to feel out of place dancing with River of all people.
So when the song came to an end, most of the couples in the club kissed each other or they gazed into each other's eyes. But Robin and River weren't a couple, and so Robin kept her head resting on River's chest.
The song ended, but River stayed with his arms around her waist, though Robin was separated from him now. The look in her eyes was something of panic, as she realized what she'd done. Memories trickled like drops of water in her head and thrashed around in there, and all she could muster to say was,
"I have to um, get a drink. I'm thirsty, I'll be right back."
Before River had the chance to even reply, Robin ran away from the mess she'd created. She didn't exactly do anything, but she couldn't even look at River in that moment for two seconds long or else she'd hurl. It wasn't him she was disgusted at, it was herself. She was clearly falling into the void of oblivion again and subconsciously learning to trust River.
She didn't want to drink, because she wasn't a drinker and she was sure that the club didn't carry alcohol. She didn't want to be a complete mess out there and make this night all about herself. Besides, this was Corey's night- to go out and find a new girl, not her's to pass out all over. She power walked all the way to the bar and scooted into one of the bar seats, clutching her purse close.
"Can I just have a glass of water, or some ginger ale, please?" Robin asked, raising a brow at the bartender as she asked him frantically.
"Sure thing," he answered, a sickeningly sweet ting to his voice.
The bartender was a very weaselly-looking man, with arms short and pudgy and his head almost bald- not all the way but almost. He looked like he was too old to be serving drinks to teenagers, but he didn't look put together enough that Robin would assume that outside of the club, he had a wife and kids and lived in a house with the white picket fence surrounding it. He looked like the kind of man that went home after a night on the job and plopped on the couch with a sour beer, and turned on the late night TV programs that prepubescent boys yearned so furiously to get a taste of. The hairs on his chin and above his lip weren't even evident enough to be called a beard or a mustache, they were just stray hairs that hung around on his face. His eyes drooped as low as his cheekbones began, and his face was splotchy and red all over.
"Thanks," Robin said.
"You got it, miss," the bartender winked, enunciating "miss" in such a way that made Robin's stomach flip.
Robin waited for longer than she should have for her water, and wondered if maybe the bartender had misheard her. She began to grow a bit worried, and a little restless- River would be looking for her soon enough, but she just needed to drink something refreshing so she'd feel a little bit better about the mistake she made. She could not let herself succumb to River's raving, bright personality, or manipulate herself into thinking that he was any better than all the other boys she'd dealt with. She knew that he was- she knew that River wasn't with her just to hurt her. But she didn't trust him, because it was engraved in big bold letters on River's forehead that he wasn't supposed to be trusted.
"Uh, sir- I just wanted a ginger ale- or a water," Robin called out, leaning over the bar table as the man began to mix the glass of water he'd poured from the bottle with some sort of powder solution that was in a packet.
His back facing her, he craned his neck around and gave her a smile,
"I know."
Robin made a face at him, and opened her mouth to say more. But she closed it shut when she saw that he was taking a big bottle of ginger ale out from the fridge and pouring it in a different cup. When he finished pouring, he screwed the lid on the soda and bought the red plastic cup to her.
"Thanks," Robin offered a short-lived smile which he returned measly.
She slid a five dollar bill over to him, and when he snatched it from the bar table and ladled it like soup in his large hands, it was as if his eyes popped open. He stuffed the dollar five in his back pocket and shuffled to the sink behind him. Robin peered into the cup and at the clear liquid inside. It was bubbly like soda, and fizzy. So, why did something seem so off about it? Horrible thoughts sped across Robin's mind like bugs in a bed, but she found herself snapping back to reality when she realized that there was no way a certified man would do anything to her drink. Besides, that powder was probably just a sweetener for someone else's drink, seeing as Robin wasn't the only one at the bar.
So she took a sip of the drink, eyes shifting from left to right as she eyed all the other teens at the bar. They seemed fine, some of them even laughing as they downed their own drinks. So, Robin decided to do the same, and finished the rest of her ginger ale in record time, letting out a quiet belch afterward. It didn't taste any different from ginger ale and it was all fine. The bartender seemed to rush over to her when he noticed that she was done with her first drink, about five minutes later, with a heavy-set look plastered on his face. Perhaps he was just desperate for her to buy another drink, since he seemed pretty content with getting five bucks. He asked her if she wanted a water, and she answered yes.
So she got a water bottle after that as well, and since water was free, she didn't have to pay.
"You know, when kids ask me for ginger ale, it's usually 'cuz they're not feeling so well. You sure you don't want another water?" the bartender asked Robin.
She turned her head slowly, as if she was lugging around a pile of bricks instead of the head on her shoulders. In fact, her whole head had grown heavy and was lurching back and forth, though very unnoticeable, it was uncontrollable at the same time.
"No... I'm- I'm fine," Robin told him, but in reality, she felt like she was getting a headache, or worse, a migraine.
"You don't look too well, kid," he told her, and she shook her head, the feeling of bricks on her shoulders still there and still prominent. Her ears began to heat up, but she just figured it was because of how hot it was inside of the club. Unnecessarily hot, like someone had turned off the A/C that was drifting a cool breeze in between sweaty, underage bodies.
"Uh, thanks for the water, and stuff. But, I'm gonna go," Robin answered.
The bartender shrugged, and Robin quickly got up out of her seat, wandering to the back of the club where River and the Coreys were.
After walking for what felt like hours to Robin, finally, someone grabbed her by her shoulders in front of her, making her scream. They covered her mouth though, and Robin realized that the worried face in front of her belonged to Feldman.
"Oh, thank god you guys are here. Listen, I don't wanna ruin the fun, but, could we please go home? I don't feel too well. I have a headache and I'm really hot," Robin confessed.
"Ha, you can say that again," Feldman snuck in his snide, inappropriate comment as usual.
"No, like I'm really hot, like I'm burning up," Robin fanned herself- why was this happening all of the sudden?
"Uh, okay, fine. Corey and Riv are over there," Feldman put his hands on the back of her shoulders and guided her over to them.
"Robin, where've you been!" Corey exclaimed, his eyes wide.
"We've been looking all over for you!" River followed with the annoying nagging.
Are these my new parents? Robin thought to herself, mentally rolling her eyes. She felt bad though, River looked the most tense, but he was relieved that they'd found Robin.
"Can we please go home?" Robin whined, breaking free from Feldman's grasp and lugging herself toward River.
"What?" River asked, his nose crinkling up in confusion.
"She's not feeling well," Feldman stated in a monotonous tone.
Robin looked up at River, her eyes flickering up from the ground and he gulped.
"Alright. Well, let's get her home," River muttered.
"What?! It's only eight fifty, I am not about to leave this club without getting a girl to-" Feldman started, but he was interrupted harshly by River.
"No man, you are about to leave this club without getting a girl to hook up with you. Otherwise, you can stay here and get your own ride, you sleazy slime fuck," River spat at Feldman, wrapping an arm around Robin in an attempt to stabilize her.
"He's right. Plus we got both those girls' numbers so we can go now," Corey shrugged. He seemed completely okay with leaving.
"Please, stop arguing," Robin murmured, her voice growing quieter by the second, and her eyelids growing heavier and gradually sinking.
River pulled her in closer to him as an attempt to comfort her, but nobody said anything as they all walked out of the club and back into River's car.
When they got in, River switched on the radio and played it loud, but quiet enough so that Robin's headache wouldn't get any worse.
"I'm so sorry River. I ruined you guys' night," Robin groaned, and she felt her head fall smack onto his shoulder.
It was too much effort to keep her head up herself, and she was a little fatigued, so she
might as well have fallen asleep right then and there. River creased his brows together in confusion, taking his eyes off of the road for a split second to see Robin's head resting on his shoulder and her eyes completely closed. He watched her chest heave as she breathed in and out heavily, like she needed to get more fresh air in after leaving the stuffy club.
"It's... it's fine, don't worry about - hey, could you guys shut up! She's trying to sleep," River argued with the two Coreys, who were howling quite loud with laughter in the back seat.
They both quieted down, even to River's surprise, having been the one who reprimanded the two of them. The rest of the ride was calm, though rather dreary, albeit the fact that the sky was clear tonight and there was not a cloud in sight. Stars illuminated the sky and the faint light from the moon reflected onto Robin's skin. River's breath caught in his throat when he looked at Robin again, her head still on his shoulder and her lips slightly parted, a natural glow from the quarter moon swimming on her cheekbones. But he had to pay attention to the road, though he wished that wasn't the case. Robin, even passed out on his shoulder with her mouth agape was a lot more fascinating than a dark road.
They pulled up to Robin's house and River's car wobbled to a halt. She was still fast asleep, her hand cupping around River's arm like a koala bear holding onto a tree, and her mouth was almost wide open. Even though she was evidently tired, she still looked beautiful as always, in River's eyes. He wondered what it was that had made her so sick though, because she disappeared right after dancing with him, and went to the bar.
River diverted his attention from Corey to Feldman and glared at the two of them, as if asking them what to do next. Of course they were no help- Feldman put his hands up in surrender and Corey shrugged.
"Hm," Robin sighed to herself, her eyes fluttering open and closed but remaining closed for the most part. "Can you carry me in? I'm so sleepy."
None of the boys dared respond to Robin.
"She's talking to you, man," Corey said, pointing accusingly at River.
River blew out air like he was blowing off steam. The Coreys both unbuckled their seatbelts and got out of their car seats, closing the doors behind them. Meanwhile, River opened the front passenger door of the car and picked up Robin bridal style. Both Coreys followed him as he walked up the minimum steps to her house, careful not to let her dress slide up her legs. He cleared his throat and moved Robin's hair out of her face.
"Have you got your keys?" He asked.
"Under the mat," she answered, quite dreamily.
River nodded and looked down at her, and that was when she suddenly opened her eyes. Despite her sudden sickness, her eyes were still the same as River remembered. The same intense opia that he felt whenever he looked into her eyes recurred, especially with his hands wrapped around her as he carried her in. She was quick to make eye contact, though her gleaming eyes were sort of glazed over, and slowly, her lips, tainted with cherry lipgloss, curved into the slightest of a smile. But it didn't last for long, because her eyes fell shut instantly afterwards.
Corey scrambled to pick up the key under the mat and opened the door for River, who kicked it open and set Robin down on her feet once they'd all made it into the house. Both her dogs came running towards them, nipping playfully at their ankles. River turned to walk up the stairs, preparing to let Robin hang her arm around his shoulder, but she instead jumped right onto his back. She was lucky he had upper body strength, because if he didn't, she would've came tumbling down. He began to walk up the stairs with no difficulty while she piggybacked on him, because she was light as a feather and he was quite strong, though most people didn't think it.
Finally, he reached her room, and set her down on her bed. She thrashed around for a while before messily throwing the covers over herself, and falling asleep again. River sighed and sat on her bed beside her. Noticing a piece of paper by the trash that hadn't seemed to make it in the bin, he furrowed his brows and swiped it up off of the floor. He uncrumpled the piece of paper to make sure it wasn't being wasted, and read what was written on both sides of the little strip.
He is quiet and spontaneous and the one for me yet the one I should avoid.
He shrugged, flipping to the other side -
Little white boy, I don't know how to feel for you but the feeling is good.
He chuckled as he read that - "little white boy." But he began to read it over and over again like he was experiencing deja-vu. His eyes began to scan the paper more rapidly until they widened.
"I'm a little white boy aren't I?" He flipped to the other side of the paper that talked about being quiet and yet spontaneous. "I'm spontaneous! I'm spontaneous, I took her on that adventure not too long ago."
Robin stirred in her sleep, and River made sure to shut up, but folded the piece of paper and put it in his pocket. River slightly pulled the covers off of her and bent down to kiss her forehead, then stroking it with his right arm. There were tears forming in his eyes as if she was laying in a hospital bed dying rather than in a bedsick slumber and falling asleep. Maybe tomorrow, something would happen between River Jude and Robin. Just maybe.