Robin and I stand at the counter of the movie shop, joking and laughing with each other. It's been a few weeks since her dad kicked her out, and so we've come to the conclusion that he's not going to do anything.
Halloween decorations are already up, despite it being late September. Keith insisted on it, and we're getting a lot more customers in for Halloween films. Just imagine how popular it will be in late October.
"What're you thinking about, pretty lady?" I ask Robin, tilting my head to the side and resting my arms on the counter when we were faced with a ten second silence. I give her a cheeky smile, and she laughs at my facial expressions. I giggle myself; her laughter being one of my favourite sounds in the entire world.
"Nothing," she answers lightly, barely above a whisper, in fact. "Just... do you ever think back to that night?" All elements of humour have completely vanished from the air, and the shop suddenly seems cold. Goosebumps raise on my bare arms, and I know exactly what she means.
Starcourt.
"I-" I start, only to be interrupted by the sound of the bell from someone walking through the door. "Hold that thought," I say kindly, peering over the various shelves to see our next customer. Eventually, my eyes rest on her. A redhead in a striped shirt, holding a skateboard, followed by a boy with curly, brown hair. They look around the shelves for a moment, picking up a movie which I can't see from a distance. Then, they walk over to us both.
"Max, Dustin!" I exclaim happily, I haven't seen either of them in weeks. To be fair, I kind of missed them. "Let me get Steve." I disappear into the back and find him talking to Keith. "Dustin's here," I say simply, and he practically runs out of the room with excitement.
"Henderson," he basically screams, doing the same handshake they had done together months ago at Scoops. Robin and I laugh at his behaviour, while Max looks on in astonishment. Clearly she wasn't used to the pair's weird relationship.
"You talked to El recently?" Robin asks Max; we've both become very fond of the telekinetic teenager.
She looks at us both sadly. "I haven't heard from her in a while... I hope she's okay." We can all tell the concern and sadness in her voice, and Robin and I look at each other in worry.
"You know what, it's probably nothing. I mean, she's moved to a new house to somewhere where she's unfamiliar with. They're all unfamiliar with it. I'll talk to Joyce, she gave me her number and address for contact," I say, reassuring the red-headed teen. I flash her a quick smile, not wanting her to worry.
Much to my relief, she smiles back at me. "Yeah, I'm worrying for nothing." She then slides the movie towards me, Alien brandished on its case. Max goes to get money out of her shorts before I stop her.
"On the house," I say. "Just... bring it back within two weeks and don't tell Keith." I wink at her, and she laughs gratefully.
"Thank you. See you later," she says, walking off before putting her skateboard on the ground and skating over to Dustin, signalling that they've got to go.
"Bye," I can hear him shout to Steve, as he waves in sadness.
Silence fills the air once again like a putrid stench, and I remember mine and Robin's conversation before we got interrupted by the avid adventurers we know to be our friends.
I hesitate before I say anything, scared to talk about it. "I do think about it, sometimes. I don't want to, though. All that blood... it was terrifying. I can't even imagine how Max must feel. She's so brave."
Robin gulps. "I didn't want to say anything. Last time I saw Billy, he was trying to kill all of us, and he was kind of an asshole in high school. But even he didn't deserve it. Sometimes... it's all I can see at night. And I can't help thinking that we could have done more. What if we had called the police, or an ambulance? Then he'd still be with us, right?" She pauses, and I look at her in shock. "What if we hadn't helped to translate that code, then they never would have cracked it. And then we wouldn't have been kidnapped by the Russians, and we wouldn't have been there at Starcourt. We would be one of those dumb, innocent civilians who believe that the mall burned down due to a chip fryer overheating."
She starts to cry, and I wrap her in a tight hug. "Listen to me, none of that was your fault, and it never will be. If we hadn't have been there, then the plan wouldn't work and they'd all be dead, not just Billy. But there was absolutely nothing we could have done to save him. He got stabbed through the heart, Rob. Hardly anyone survives that." We stop hugging, so I hold her shoulders in reassurance and stare into her eyes. "He died a hero, protecting Max. And as for being kidnapped by the Russians, how many can say that they escaped, alive, in one piece?" I roll my eyes in comedy, scrunching my face up. Robin laughs. "Not many. Don't you doubt yourself for one second, Robin Buckley," I say, wiping her tears away with my thumbs. "You deserve way more credit than you give yourself."
She smiles at me, and then suddenly it fades. "Do you get the nightmares too?" she whispers.
YOU ARE READING
Dingus | Robin Buckley x Reader
Fanfiction"You're such a dingus," Robin's sweet tone tells me. "I'm your dingus," I say smugly, wrapping her in my arms.
