ᴍᴜᴛᴀᴛɪᴏɴ- sᴛᴇᴅᴅɪᴇ

2- ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ʜɪᴍ ᴡᴀɪᴛ

As the keys jingled in the lock to state another day done and dusted, Steve looked out over the car park into the setting sun. There was a breeze in the air- not a chilly one, but one cold enough for him to bury his hands into his body warmer's pockets- and it was whipping around, blowing at odd occasions.

Robin straightened up beside him, tapping her pocket when the keys were secured safely inside. She was just as glad that the day was over as Steve was. Recently, shifts had become increasingly slow at Family Video.
He thought back to the days at Scoops before the ever-traumatising events at Starcourt; the memories buried in the grounds, the adventures it had taken them on- even if they were only there for a short period of time. It was a bittersweet memory, to say the least.

"You ready to go then, Steve?"
Robin snapped him out of his thoughts, resting a hand on his shoulder and gesturing towards the BMW parked quite wonkily in the acquired space. "It'll be dark before we know it."

Harrington nodded, not saying a word while still partially in thought. He wished that Robin could've been there to log the order, because even though his phone number mistake was a small one, he should've known about it. It's fair to say that the whole interaction had been on his mind since then.
The very front of his mind, actually- and he didn't know why.

The two were in the car before long; Steve driving, and Robin messing with her off-brand Walkman in the passenger seat. She always listened after work, in another language, droning on and on. Currently, she seemed to be learning Russian, which could've been handy just a few months sooner- but even though she was learning now, both of them wished that she would never need to use it again.

"So," Buckley spoke, lowering her headphones after a few minutes of comfortable silence. "Eddie."

Eddie. Steve looked over, glancing at the Walkman in her lap as it let out a click.
"Hm?"

"Eddie."

"What about him?" He leaned back slightly, running the back of his hand over his nose with a sniff.

"Well," she continued, crossing one leg over the other. "You gonna call him, perhaps?"

He grunted.

"Harrington, you literally have no friends, it wouldn't hurt."

Steve lowered his eyebrows in shock, fake shock, but still shock. "I have you, and I have the kids." He deadpanned, placing his hand back onto the wheel.

Robin tutted, rolling her eyes with a smile. She was enough, after all... wasn't she? Steve didn't need masses of friends, didn't want masses of friends.

"And do you not think it'd be nice to have some other friends our age? I've known Ed for years- he's a chill guy, honestly." She paused, looking down slightly before peering out of the window. The next part came a lot quieter. "I'm quite surprised honestly, he's not the type to forgive douchebags like you."

Well that settled it then. Eddie Munson must've felt sad for Steve Harrington and his vulgar reputation, so decided to see if he was worth befriending. A freak with a freak. An old outcast with a new.

A strained sigh filled their ears. "I guess I'll have to speak to him next week when he comes in. I have a sneaky suspicion that you'll disappear again anyway."

Buckley huffed. "I didn't mean to leave you on your own, just couldn't find where that stupid VHS was meant to go. Just proves that you can't do anything without me here, though."
Another typical Robin Buckley dig. She was never exactly wrong though, annoyingly.

"Okay, okay." Steve bargained, dropping his head slightly lower than it was before. "Fine, yeah, I'll speak to him."

"That's the spirit."

"What do you even say to a person like that, though? I mean come on, Rob, we're hardly similar."

She paused. "I dunno, find common interest."

Steve was so taken aback that he could've broken into a fit of laughter. Common interest? That seemed almost impossible to do from looks alone. Completely impossible.
"Common interest. Seriously? Common interest?"

"Oh wow- yeah you can really tell that the only people you've spoken to for months are me and your little dinguses."

Little dinguses. Her insults were always the strangest.
"'Dinguses', that's funny." Steve deadpanned. "Can't you think of something else though? Tired of hearing it come out of your cocky little mouth."

Robin dropped her jaw, the corners yet again lifting into a smile. "No, Steven, I cannot. And I'm not about to throw away my signature insult just for you. Actually, it makes it better knowing that it annoys you."

"You've always annoyed me."

"You love me really."

It's true, Steve did love Robin. Like really really. He wasn't ashamed to admit that the tremendously arrogant, extremely smart Robin Buckley was his best friend, and after the events they'd both stuck through together, he was sure that it wouldn't falter any time soon. Like mentioned- thick as thieves, package deal.
"...yeah, I can't deny that."

In return and gratitude, Robin gave Steve a little shove on his shoulder. It was nice to know that she felt the same way.

The car rumbled on the concrete below as the two turned yet another corner. They were quickly approaching the passengers drop-off location, which marked the end of another thrilling car ride.
Before long, the burgundy BMW rolled into Robin's driveway, and she was unbuckling her belt as the engine shook to a stop.
Steve watched on as she then fumbled in her pocket, face slightly screwed as she searched the tight denim. It didn't take long to be found, whatever it was.

"Here," She announced, passing Steve a minuscule scrap of paper, folded and crumpled. "Apart from when D&D is involved, he seriously has the attention span of a goldfish. Don't make him wait."

In the next second, with a grinning salute, Buckley had left and closed the car door, leaving Steve sat with the paper in his hand.
He paused, confusion evident as he froze in place- however, he didn't wait to unveil the mystery.
To no surprise, but totally to surprise at the same time, was the same numbers that he had scribbled down earlier in the day, printed and copied on a new note.
His heart could've seriously jumped out of his chest in that moment.

Don't make him wait.