About two and a half hours later, Stacey was sitting by a closed door with her hair stuck in it, whining and groaning loudly as she attempted to lean over a bucket close by her in case she emptied her insides.
"God, you're smashed," Robin sighed, holding back Stacey's hair as she retched over the bucket, unsuccessful in even throwing up.
Robin rubbed her temples- she was supposed to be having fun. Just beyond the outside of the closed bathroom, there was a whole world, populated with (mostly) sober teens who were infatuated with dancing and unrecognizably in love with smiling and mingling. But no, she was stuck here with her "new friend", Stacey. In fact, Robin was beginning to think that Stacey wasn't all that people made her out to be- some sort of goddess who was popular yet oddly angelic.
"Robin, would you do me a favor and get me a glass of water? My mom says that if I come home intoxicated again she's gonna remove the phone from my car," Stacey giggled.
Robin muttered a few curse words to herself before getting up and walking over to the staircase, peeking down at the people who were actually having a good time and smiling. Water was exactly what Stacey needed before she passed out or something, so Robin then hurried down the stairs, pushing past sweaty bodies and heading into the kitchen. She opened the cooler in hopes of scoring a water or at least a ginger ale soda. But all that was in there were beers, beers, and more beers.
There wasn't even a Coca Cola in there.
"Jesus," Robin whispered.
In her haste, she grabbed an empty glass out of the cabinet and began to run cold water in the sink. She filled the glass up and walked carefully out of the kitchen, precisely to avoid bumping into anyone. She thought maybe she should've just stayed home, but not once did River's wise, yet controlling words cross her mind. Just as she was about to turn the corner and walk up the stairs, the doorbell rang. Robin waited by the door for somebody to open it so that in case they came running, she wouldn't be ran into, thus spilling her water.
But moments had passed by, and nobody was answering the door. At first, Robin mentally criticized the party guests for being too lazy to open up the door, but then realized that whoever was at the door could bust it open anytime they wanted now. Of course that would make for terrible etiquette, but Robin would've grown impatient by now. So juggling the water in her hand, she twisted open the doorknob to be greeted by a boyish figure wearing jeans and a multicolored Bob Dylan shirt with a tie hung loosely around the collar. As her eyes roamed up from the tie, she blinked.
"Robin, good to see you," River smiled.
Robin was admittedly relieved to see River, and would've hugged him had it not been for the tall glass of water in her hands.
"Riv... I can thankfully say the same," she granted him shy smile, her lips aquiver as he stepped in.
"You look distressed."
Robin glanced down at her outfit. Her fit wasn't so bad that it was a shame to look at, but her crop top was cropped more than it needed to be, and it was stained with traces of Stacey's succulent sweat and tears- it couldn't get more repugnant than that.
"God, is it that noticeable?"
"Maybe that's the wrong thing to say when you're taking a girl out," River bit his lip and stuffed his hands in his pockets, bouncing up and down on the balls of his toes.
Robin shook her head,
"What?"
"Well you remember, don't you? I asked you to hang with me the other day, just the day before school started actually. We never specified a time, date or a place. So I decided to pick you up and take you out right here, right now."
"Well, why?" Robin asked, chuckling confusedly.
"Because I knew you'd hate it here. It's just not you, trust me," River nodded, eyes widening as he was met with the sight of a girl scrambling onto an end table, only to fall over the couch and onto the spit-stained floor.
"Normally I'd tell you to piss off, but I think you're actually right," Robin shook her head, a twinge of guilt poking in her stomach at the fact that she'd ignored River's pessimistic but true advice.
"Yeah. I figured you weren't having a great time, and I just thought I'd take you up on that date right about now."
Robin looked at the room around her, and chewed on her bottom lip,
"I'd love to go. Just let me get this water to Stacey real quick."
Robin began to turn around, but River grabbed softly onto her ring finger as he tugged on it before she turned again to face him.
"Forget Stacey, I know how she is. She's not as fun as she seems, now is she?" River asked, raising a brow.
"She's plenty fun, she just... she doesn't know when to stop, so to say," Robin tried to explain Stacey's evident drinking problem without sounding judgmental.
"Ah. 'White Girls Gone Wild.' It'd make for a terrible teen movie," River smiled, his dark humor flowing eloquently.
"God. Alright, I'll forget about her. But um, I don't really look presentable enough for a date right now," Robin said.
"You look perfect," River said with an unchanging face, but Robin could tell he was being for real.
"But... but when you walked in, the second thing you told me was that I looked distressed."
"The distressed look works on a lot of people though," River said, adding in a playful wink.
"You are something else."
"You're telling me. Come on, let's go, m'lady," River addressed Robin as she smiled and linked arms with River.
Not half an hour later, after driving around for too long, the two were sitting on the beach in the dim light of the sky as the sun began to set. They'd been there for at least twenty minutes. The waves were calm and met the sand with foamy liquid just at the tide. The fiery oranges and vivid purples of the sunset resembled a playground-dwelling child's fresh bruise.
"How do you just so happen to know all the best places around this city?"
"Well it's Boston, there's a lot of nice places. And secondly, I'm an explorer. I have a natural instinct for these things," he shrugged, picking up a leaf and throwing it out into the ocean in front of him.
"Yeah, you do sound like a wanderer to me," Robin replied.
"Thanks. I'm not entirely sure the terms wanderer and explorer mean the same thing, but thanks," he smiled.
"Is that one of the perks of being a Leo and a Virgo?" Robin asked in a joking manner, recollecting the time when River had told Robin that he was a Leo and a Virgo, but Robin was only a Virgo.
He laughed,
"Shut up. But probably, what do I know? Hey, you wanna see something cool?"
Robin nodded slowly, and River inched up off of the ground and knelt down in front of the water, scooping up some wet sand and picking things out of it before hurrying back over, wiping a sandy hand on his jeans. He plopped onto the dry sand next to Robin and flicked glittery particles and tiny rocks from the sand into Robin's outstretched hand. She surveyed them before looking over at him,
"They're pretty."
"I went here before I left to get to Karla's house, and I came upon these. Keep in mind I haven't seen them since I was like thirteen, I never ever go to the beach anymore. I like to wander around the beach sometimes, and I love the water, but I don't go there as a friendly hangout place. I mean, unless I'm with my family, or something but I don't count that as really going to the beach. Anyway, they glitter, and they're pretty, so they remind me of you."
Robin laughed out loud, throwing her head back,
"Please."
"What?" River asked between chuckles.
"You know, you kind of are my little white boy," Robin stated, ruffling his hair.
"I think that's a good thing. It is, isn't it?"
"You tell me," Robin tilted her head at him.
"Come on, let's make a stop at the 7/11."
"River, it's nine P.M," Robin shook her head.
"Yeah, but 7/11s are open at all hours," he replied, thinking he was oh-so-smart for knowing that basic information.
Robin nudged him as she sat up,
"You're smart."
"Not really, just in tune," River said, being all deep and moody again - he only sometimes got like this, but it seemed like he did more than the usual person would.
River wasn't shallow, in fact, he was one of the deepest people that Robin just so happened to know. So basically, River was not like a lot of the white boys Robin knew, all charm and toothy smiles to make up for the lack of basic hospitality. No, River was honest, and that's what broke the boundary between him and Robin. But was he truly trustworthy?
By the time the pair had reached the 7/11, it was almost deserted, except for a couple of college students who were browsing for cheap liquor.
"What would you like?" River asked, as he ran his fingers along the different candies.
"I don't know. Would you be offended if I got pepperoni pizza from that hot rack over there?" Robin inquired.
"Well only if you eat it in front of me. Hey, ya know, that stuff's not good for you," River shrugged, but out of the corner of his eyes he glared at her.
"Yeah, I think I'll pass. Let's just buy some candy."
River's eyes widened in excitement as he grabbed endless packs of Now and Laters, Twizzlers, Smarties, Airheads and Jolly Ranchers.
"See, these candies are fantastic and vegan friendly. I can assure you you'll love them," River boasted proudly.
"Yeah, I've had Smarties before," Robin shook her head and laughed.
River's cheeks burned,
"Right."
"Well I gotta be honest with you, I've never had airheads," Robin shrugged.
"I'm not a sweet tooth, but for these I am," River said, smacking all the products down on the counter for the man behind the register to check.
The man looked up at River, frustrated and let out a long and heavy sigh.
"Sorry," Robin mouthed, and the man managed to smile just a tad.
When River had finished paying, the man began to stuff things into a plastic bag, but River shook his head.
"It's bad for the environment," he said, facing Robin.
"You're beautiful," Robin breathed sarcastically.
"Thank you sir," River swiped the candies off of the counter and cradled them in his arms, ignoring Robin's sarcasm.
"Are you honestly going to balance that? I know you're an environmentalist, or whatever, but you're going to waste the candy!" Robin whined, gesturing over to herself and indicating that River should swing the candy over her way.
He scoffed,
"Well, I apologize for being a responsible human being on planet earth. Here, I'll set it down here, alright?"
River walked over to the near back of the 7/11 where a furnace was placed conveniently, and set all the candies but two on top of it. Robin cringed, thinking of the furnace blasting and the candy being melted, but the A/C was running through the 7/11 anyway and there was no reason for the furnace to turn on. He handed Robin a pack of airheads which she took from him graciously and left himself with a bag full of jolly ranchers.
Robin blinked at River as he shamelessly stared at her.
"What?" She barked.
"I'm waiting for you to take your first bite of the airheads. I wanna see what your reaction is," River shrugged, lurching forward a bit.
"Alright," Robin sighed.
She opened up the bag and pulled out one of them- it was a rectangular shape, and it was wrapped in blue wrapping paper that read: BLUE RASPBERRY, on it. She quite liked blue raspberry flavors- she liked all flavors of candy for the most part, but blue raspberry was always refreshing no matter what.
She peeled open the wrapper, setting the pack down on the floor beside her (which wasn't spiffy, but wasn't filthy either.) She finally took a chunk out of the airhead, biting it and chewing thoughtfully. River watched her amusedly, leaning forward.
"Well?" He asked, watching her face contort as she continued to chew.
"It's good," Robin said, swallowing, sucking on the roof of her tongue.
"And?" River probed, evidently disappointed in her bland-as-unsalted-crackers response.
"Chewy... soft. Really flavorful for just one airhead. I like it," she smiled.
"Ah, there you go!" River congratulated her, patting her shoulder.
He twirled around to face the very back of the 7/11, where an old jukebox stood. Robin could tell he was thinking about it, she just didn't know exactly what he was thinking of it.
"Whatcha thinkin'?" Robin asked, swooping her pack of airheads off of the floor next to her and walking up next to River, who gently took her hand and fiddled with her fingers before intertwining them with his.
With their hands in one another's, River's fingers didn't tremble, but they gripped Robin's. His edged the knuckle of his thumb ever so slightly against the web between Robin's thumb and index finger, and began to knead the tender spot. Robin's breath caught in her throat, but she fought a smile off her face as her eyes began to glaze over like they were envisioning a daydream, dripping with the sweet taste of water and sugar- two simple ingredients that once combined could be effortlessly sweet.
"Come on, let's go see if it does," River smiled, looking at her before gliding over to it, her hand still secure in his.
She let go of his hand for a minute as he began to fiddle with the jukebox and placed a quarter in the slot. He still fiddled with the jukebox for a while until a small smile appeared on his lips and he chose a song to play. He gracefully got up from the ground and looked Robin straight in the eye as the song began to play quietly. Robin immediately recognized it as the song Hey Jude by The Beatles and she chuckled as memories began to restore themselves in her head.
"You were named after this song," she shook her head.
"I was... you do like this song, don't you? Because if you don't, I can turn it off."
"River," she stated his name monotonously.
"Yes?" He shuddered.
"Shut up."
The two laughed and River outstretched his hand. Confused, Robin looked at his hand with her head tilted, and River said,
"Dance with me, will you?"
Robin hid another smile and placed her bag of airheads on the floor again, taking his hand. They linked both hands and began with a basic step with each other as if they were third graders learning how to formal dance. River pulled her in closer so she was inches away from his chest, and their arms were bent as their eyes bore into each others.
"I'm a terrible dancer, just so you know," River announced, his voice softer than usual.
"It's alright. We're in the back of a 7/11. This is not the epitome of your life," Robin said. The sentence itself was so casual, but the leisurely circumstance of the entire situation made it seem like a bigger deal than it really was.
When the words "You were made to go out and get her" were sung, it was as if River had taken them seriously.
"Can I be close to you? I mean, because we're dancing, that's all," River tilted his head near Robin's ear and asked.
Robin, a nervous wreck at this point, was chewing excessively on her bottom lip yet again. Her cheeks burned with anxiety and embarrassment as she shuffled in closer to River, wrapping her arm over his shoulder so her hand was resting on his back. River grunted slightly as he mimicked Robin's actions, only wrapping his arm around her waist instead of her shoulder, then doing the same with another arm. Robin realized her arm was just hanging there in the air, so she put it around his neck.
Robin stuttered involuntarily, unsure of whether she should say something or not. This wouldn't be the first time she'd slow danced with River, because she'd slow danced with him on that dreadful night at the club with the two Coreys. However, she'd only done it because if she hadn't, she'd look out of place, and because a slow song was playing, so almost everybody grabbed the person closest to them. But this time, there was something in the air that made Robin feel even more high-strung than the first. Maybe it was because she'd admitted her feelings for River on paper and then denied them vocally, or because it was like he'd planned for them to be this close, this sentimental.
"Is this okay?" River whispered into her ear as she lay her head on his shoulder, tearfully.
"Sure," she admitted, despite the fact that she was practically crying while dancing in the back of a 7/11 to a seventies song played by a jukebox.
Her eyes were brimming up with emotionless tears that she couldn't seem to hold. She wasn't PMSing, she wasn't sad- she was weeping the kind of tears that couldn't be easily explained. When the song ended, River's chin was sort of dug into Robin's back and Robin's head was now rested peacefully on River's chest. Neither of them pulled away, until Robin sniffled. She'd stopped the crying a while ago, but she was still sniffly, which River took notice of. He pulled away but let his hands stay put on her shoulders.
"You're crying," he mentioned, his brows furrowed.
Surprisingly, he wasn't worried that she was crying after having slow danced with him. In reality, he wasn't the least bit worried. The only thing that mattered to him was that Robin hadn't run off like she did the last time River dared slow dance with her. Maybe it was different because there weren't a million eyes around the two of them, but it was still important to him that she'd stayed put as if she actually felt safe.
Anyway, he was upset that she was crying, but not necessarily worried. Robin answered as fresh tears began rolling down her face.
"I'm just thinking," Robin said.
"Well that's very vague. Why don't we do some more thinking outside?"
In reality, Robin was only crying because she felt like she'd been cheated, but not by River. She was cheating herself, her mother. Here she was, out at night with a white boy and slow dancing with him of all things. Her mother was the one who had specifically advised her to stay away from white boys, telling her that the year would fly by far better if she did. Her mother was the one who'd gathered up enough money to move all the way from Georgia to Boston. Her mother was the one who'd been denied a job because of her race, because a white man had the potential to be her boss.
And Robin had been bullied by white boys her whole life, and River was too close to push away. The two walked outside and were now in the parking lot, River leaned up against the brick wall facing the parking lot as Robin stood next to him, looking up at the sky.
"I hate the sky here," she blurted.
The sky was the only thing she didn't like about Boston. Unlike Georgia, the sky never lit up with stars that looked like ultralight freckles- at least not from where she was looking. She had given up on sky gazing at night, hoping that somehow there would be more stars in sight.
"Why were you crying?" River asked.
Robin chuckled chokily,
"I don't know, I just... I'm just feeling a bit heavy."
"Well, that's good. You have to feel a little bit like that sometimes!" River exclaimed, always trying to find the positives to things as usual.
"Not when you're dancing with a boy!" Robin shouted, though she laughed again.
"It's fine. We were in the back of a 7/11 dancing to a Beatles song," River said, restating the same words Robin had uttered.
"You're so original," Robin said sarcastically, beginning to cheer up a bit.
"Aren't I?" River smirked.
Suddenly, he took a hold of Robin's hands, and began to walk further into the parking lot until he reached the very edge, and stopped.
"What was that for?" Robin snorted, squeezing his hand slightly.
River's fingers felt around the space they'd been wrapped in, Robin's hands. He was just feeling around, kind of like how some people do when they wear shoes that they hadn't worn in a long time, or a brand new pair of shoes. They break them in, touching them and stretching them to make sure the pair they'd been waiting so long to wear actually fit. He thought of, briefly, how people move into houses and try to settle down in them, and be able to call them home. Well, with his hand in Robin's, he already felt somehow at home. But the feeling of hiraeth lurked nearby, because River had an eerie notion that Robin's hands were not a home he could return to.
"You can sometimes see the sky better from this angle. Here, sit," River then proceeded to sit down criss cross applesauce, but his hand never once left Robin's, even when she refused to sit.
"River, we're in a disgusting parking lot outside of a 7/11. Can you be any more hygienic?" Robin huffed, clearly turned off.
"Would you rather we sit in the dumpster which, admittedly, gives you a better view of the stars?" River asked.
"No..." Robin said, refusing to think of any possible reason why River would know that.
River gave her a criticizing look, leaving her hands momentarily, and she finally sat down reluctantly, making her legs criss cross applesauce as well.
"So, why were you really crying?" River asked, folding his arms over his chest.
Robin took a deep, trembling breath and let it all out with an even more shaky sigh,
"Well, I haven't felt that close to a white... to you before."
She'd changed her words at the last minute, knowing that if she had said "white boy", the fact that she was supposed to stay away from white boys including River would be exposed. Out of the corner of her eye, Robin saw that River was about to reach for her hand, but had swiped it away when she said that she'd never been that close to him.
"Does that upset you? Being close to me, I mean?" River asked, his brows now tangled as he began to worry that he'd been too invasive.
"No, it's just a bit of a shock, honest," Robin replied, unfazed.
She reached for River's hand this time, something that she wouldn't have normally done, but she felt guilty.
"Why's that?"
"Because I told you I wasn't interested in you just the other day, and then there I was, with my head resting on your shoulder. We were slow dancing together for Christ's sake," Robin shook her head. She continued on. "But I liked it. It was alright."
"Were you lying to me when you told me you weren't interested in me?" River asked, avoiding her eyes.
"Why?" She asked.
"Well just because, usually when girls aren't interested in boys, they don't hold hands with them and talk about their feelings with them," River said, being as honest as he could without sounding too pushy.
"The answer to that question, my friend, is classified information," Robin said.
This time, River did look towards her. She was looking out in front of her, but when she discovered that River was gazing at her, she attempted to face him without getting uncomfortable and tearing her eyes away. Direct eye contact with people made her nervous, as did direct eye contact with people she was trying not to fall for.
"You know, I really like you," River said, again getting lost in her eyes.
"I know you do. I'm just trying to figure out whether I like you the way you like me. But we've known each other for about a week River, don't get ahead of yourself," Robin said.
"I really, really do like you. I like everything about you, really. I like your eyes, and the way I can forget everything whenever I look at them. I like your hair. I like your lips. And your smile tends to make me smile, whether you notice it or not. I know you want to be a singer, and I can hear you humming to yourself in class sometimes. I really like that too. There's a lot of things I like about you, and some things that I love."
"Oh, I bet," she sneered.
"I'm sorry, I can't help it. When people are like you, I tend to ramble."
"This is so cheesy," Robin managed to smile.
"But do you like cheesy?" River asked in reciprocation.
Robin nodded slightly,
"I guess, but it only works with you."
The two found themselves leaning into each other, and putting their necks at awkward angles before River stopped leaning in and spoke again, just inches away from her lips, hot breath fanning against her chin,
"I've told you some things I like about you. Now, tell me what you like about me, and in general."
"Well, I like a lot of things about you," she smiled gently.
"Even the fact that I once sat in the dumpster of a 7/11 just to look at the stars?" he raised a brow doubtedly, but the two of them began to smile.
She was laughing along with River, and glanced down at his watch, still smiling, but then she blinked twice, her mind clearly distanced from her body.
"What's wrong?" He then asked worriedly, thinking that Robin would have second thoughts about this like she always evidently did with most things that involved River.
"It's ten forty three. Oh god, I'm gonna puke," Robin's voice shook as tears welled up in her eyes.
"What?" River asked.
"I'm officially grounded for a week. A week, River. That means no more hanging out with you guys afterschool, no more going out till next Monday. Jesus, River, I gotta go," Robin said, scrambling to get up and running towards her car.
~ ~ ~
"Where the hell have you been?!" Robin's mother screeched as Robin attempted to sneak through the door, hoping her parents were asleep so she could avoid them in the morning and deal with the problem afterschool.
It took Robin at least ten minutes to get back to the house because River followed her all the way there, while she was driving- otherwise it would've taken her five, but she'd spent five extra minutes explaining to River why her ass was grass and that she wasn't angry or upset with him.
"Mom, I-I can explain," Robin stuttered, taking up time in her head to make up a story as to why she was out past her obvious curfew.
"We thought you'd maybe be out by nine thirty because you'd gotten distracted by the time, and we wouldn't have grounded you for that. But ten fifty eight? Are you out of your mind!" Her father yelled, and Robin's heartbeat accelerated.
She despised it when her father yelled, only because he was the more calm one out of the two of her parents, although more observant.
"Okay, I'm sorry, I don't have a story. I lost track of time."
"When I was your age-" Robin's mother started before being interrupted by her dad going, "Les" and Robin saying, "mom."
"It shouldn't matter what we did around Robin's age, that's history. What should matter is the fact that you had the nerve to stay out two hours past your curfew! Two whole hours Robin. And we let you take the car when Fenway and Longwood Ave are no less than four minutes apart!" Her dad shouted.
"Well, you told me I could take the car because-" Robin cut herself off.
"Because we thought you might want to use the car to go to the mall or something. We didn't think you'd use it to disobey your curfew and your parents," Robin's mother sighed disappointedly.
"I'm sorry, guys. I- really, I am. I just lost track of time. I don't really have an excuse."
"Baby... how can you forget that your curfew is nine o' clock? How can you forget, when we told you that you'd be grounded if you forgot your curfew."
"Oh yeah, um, can you revoke the grounding?" Robin bit her lip anxiously, wringing her fingers.
Robin's mother gave her a look,
"Honestly, Birdy."
"Okay, look. I'm real sorry, honest. But I think what we all need is a good night's sleep. So I'll see you in the morning," Robin wrapped both her parents in brisk hugs before practically sprinting up the stairs to shower, brush her teeth and fall asleep so she wouldn't be dead tired when she woke up the next morning.
Ugh y'all Wattpad wouldn't let me log on to this account on my computer which is how I post my chapters :-)) and I was editing on Google Docs but my keyboard was barely working ! Fun ! And then I had to use my phone to post this chapter so I had to copy and paste it from Google docs so you can imagine how FUN that was :-))) anyway Happy Indigenous Peoples Day!! And also, yesterday was my birthday tee hee ,,, I'm fourteen. AND I'm about to go watch The Lost Boys yaYy !! Okay bye y'all this chapter was horrendously cheesy have a good day.