Oneshot Tanner Buchanan

Pen Pals?(Robby)

"Hello, I'm here to see Robby Keene," you greeted the officer at the front desk. they nodded, asking you to walk through the metal detector and place your bag on the table to be searched. the officer was digging through your bag, when they pulled out the Tupperware container of brownies. the officer gave them a once over, shrugged his shoulders, and then gave you your bag back. you smiled in gratitude before walking through the metal doors.

There an officer led you into the cafeteria area, where boys were all sitting talking to different people. You frantically looked around for Robby, furrowing your eyebrows when you saw him talking to an older gentleman. maybe it was his dad?, you thought but seriously doubted it. Robby always mentioned how much he and his dad did not get along in your letters. This whole situation was still kind of bizarre to you. When your English teacher announced that your school was participating in a pen pal program with a juvenile detention center, you were on the fence about it. There was just something very nerve racking about writing to a criminal.

Apparently the teacher already matched you up with someone, and your pen pal was Robby keene. At first the exchanges were very minimal, only filled with pleasantries and small trivial facts about each other. Eventually though, they started to get more detailed, particularly after you went on a tangent about Holden Caulfield from the catcher and the rye. In his next letter, Robby completely agreed with everything you said, even going on to say that the book was one of his favorites. After that the two of you began exchanging letters much more frequently. you'd tell Robby about whatever was going on in your personal life, and he'd respond with something that had happened to him before he was sent to jail.

As your exchange continued you noticed how smart Robby was and how passionate he was about karate, but you also sensed that he needed some serious love. In one letter, Robby promised to meet up with you the second that he was released. You were ecstatic because he was slowly becoming something more than a friend to you, which is crazy to think about because you've never even met. That's when you decided to surprise Robby with a visit, and now here you are.

You walked up to the table, softly clearing your throat. The conversation between Robby and the older man immediately ceased, and the anger in Robby's eyes was quickly replaced with pure happiness.

"y/n? what are you doing here?" he asked, getting up from his seat.

"visiting you obviously," you replied, smiling brightly at him.

"Can I sit?" you continued after a moment of silence. Robby gently shook his head, focusing back on you.

"yes."

"I can't believe you're here," he whispered, still in shock. you laughed at his words.

"Well you said that you wanted to meet in person so, I figured why wait?" you replied, and robby chuckled at your words.

The two of you just sat quietly for a bit, staring at each other, and god Robby was so pretty. His hazel green eyes were gorgeous and you needed a map because you were getting lost in them. His hair was nice too, and his jawline. I'm so smitten, you thought. Robby was thinking the exact same thing about you. He couldn't fathom the fact that you were sitting here in front of him, and you were everything he wanted and more.

Robby basically worshiped you. The amount of times he's been caught reading the books you recommended to him was embarrassing. He always made sure to check in with the people who passed out the mail everyday because god forbid you sent him a letter and he didn't see it right away.

He was so excited when you sent him your picture, and he may have been caught staring at it one too many times, but he didn't care. For once in his life, Robby had somebody who genuinely cared about him. After he wrote to you explaining his home life and all the shitty things he's done, he expected you to leave, but you didn't. instead you wrote back saying something along the lines of your sorry he had to go through that, but he seemed like a good person.

"So, what's the tea?" you asked, leaning forward on the table.

Robby laughed at your words, a small smile taking over his face.

"Nothing much. just doing my thing y'know? I'm trying to get out early through community service," he answered, looking anywhere but at you after he confessed the last part.

"That's good. Then we'll be able to get ice cream faster," you answered, smiling at him and Robby smiled too.

"Exactly," he mumbled, looking at you. it was when his eyes met yours that you noticed that he had a cut right next to it.

you gasped at the sight, reaching across the table, gently tracing your fingers over it.

"what happened?" you demanded, scanning his face for any more injuries.

"Nothing, I just got into a little fight, no big deal," he answered, trying to brush it off.

"um it is a big deal. You're hurt Robby," you replied.

"Does it hurt?" you asked, fingers once again tracing over the scab.

"No," he mumbled, grabbing your wrist and pulling it away from his face. you frowned at his words.

"Please no more fights," you begged. Robby's heart melted; you actually cared about him.

"No more fights," he promised. you nodded, satisfied with his answer.

"Visiting hours are over," a guard announced as people began packing up. You and Robby both frowned at his words.

"I guess I have to go now," you mumbled, standing up from the table.

"Yeah. Thanks for stopping by y/n, I'll write to you," Robby answered, standing up as well. You smiled at his words.

"It was no problem. I had a lot of fun," you replied, moving slightly towards him. Robby seemed to get your hint because he wrapped his arms around your shoulders, pulling you into a hug.

"Hey! None of that!" the guard shouted and you giggled, pulling away from robby albeit reluctantly.

"I'll see you soon, Robby," you said, placing a kiss on his cheek before leaving the room. Robby stood there for a moment, frozen in place.

"damn keene, i didn't think you were a simp," shawn teased and robby just gave him the finger, his mind still lingering on you.