ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 | robin x nancy

|chapter 18|

Grudgingly, Robin admitted to herself that it was good Nancy had come with them, instead of staying at home.

Max had been so out of breath from running a few minutes ago, so she probably would've been too tired to run back.

As Robin didn't have a license, Nancy stepped in, telling Max to hop into the car. Robin walked around to the passenger side of the car.

Then they were off, travelling at a speed they weren't supposed to, thanks to Max's constant insistence that they had to drive faster.

Soon enough, they pulled up at the redheads house, which was unfamiliar to both Nancy and Robin.

Max took charge, leading them both to the yellow room that Robin assumed was Max's bedroom.

Sure enough, Eleven was sitting on the bedsheets with a rainbow stripe, and was sweating profusely, a makeshift blindfold covering her eyes.

Max slumped against the wall, overcome with a few emotions that didn't mix together well.

Grief and despair that Eleven was suffering through some unknown problem, all while Max couldn't do anything to help her.

But there was also hope, because now Max wasn't the only one with El, Robin and Nancy could help.

Nancy went to Max's side, attempting to comfort her as Robin stepped towards El.

But every time Robin attempted to touch El, she would flinch away from Robin's fingers.

Max let out a sob.

" I tried that too- she won't- she won't respond to me-"

Max was cut off by a scream that gave Robin flashbacks to prom night.

But it was soon over, and El suddenly ripped her blindfold off, hyperventilating and looking left and right to try and gain her bearings.

She saw Robin first, then Max, but when she saw Nancy, she found it easier to breathe.

Nancy sensed something was up, so she walked towards the distraught girl, and took her into her embrace.

That seemed to be what El had needed, and she  deflated into the hug.

"I was stuck- in your memory- of that- that day-" El explained, her sentence constantly being interrupted by hiccups.

Nancy's face went from confused and caring, to stone cold, all the emotions draining from her face, like it had before.

Max and Robin both stood up, eyes each on a different girl.

Max nearly ran over to El, gently taking her out of Nancy's now slackened grasp, and the two girls fell to the ground, Max kneeling and whispering words to a frightened El who was curled up in her lap.

Meanwhile, Robin cautiously approached Nancy, her eyes full of regret for letting Nancy come with them.

Robin lowered herself onto the bed, directly in front of Nancy.

She absorbed the state of the girl, taking in that she had no emotions displayed on her face, but the way that her body was shaking slightly proved that she was not in a good headspace.

"Do you wanna go home?" Robin asked, not sure what else she could do.

"To- to your house," Nancy responded with a shaky voice.

Robin nodded, and helped to bring Nancy to her feet.

With Nancy gripping onto Robin's arm very tightly, as if she might be sick, They walked towards the door.

Then they both turned around, Robin calling out to the two girls, who had stopped crying, but we're still holding onto one another.

"We're not leaving you here," Robin stated. "You can come with us, at my house."

Max nodded, and guided El to stand, and hand in hand they walked behind the older girls.

The car ride home was silent, except for the occasional sniffle, emitted from any of the girls.

Once they had entered the house, Robin guided Max and El to the guest bedroom, and once they had settled in, She took Nancy over to her bedroom.

Nancy sat on the edge of the bed, until she announced that she was going to take a shower.

Robin nodded, and showed her to the shower that was in the bathroom next to her room.

Robin fiddled with her rings for a few minutes before she heard the water running.

She nodded to herself, but she couldn't shake off a certain feeling.

So she went over to the bathroom door, and placed an ear against it, not entirely surprised when she heard sobs mixed in with the running water.

Nancy did this sometimes, disguising her crying with showers running in the background, or other everyday tasks.

Robin tested the doorknob, and when she found it was unlocked, she knocked a few times to let Nancy know in advance that she was coming in.

No response, so Robin creaked the door open, and was greeted by steam blocking her sight.

She waved past it, and expected to find Nancy crying on the toilet lid, or even on the floor, but instead she saw Nancy with her knees pulled to her head in the shower, fully clothed.