the chain

never break the chain

You hold the funnel against the glass bottle, watching as Steve pours kerosene down it. It's quiet out here, save for the few pieces of conversation floating through the crisp, clean air. Steve lets out a sigh, his eyes narrowing slightly, "You know, I still don't know who the hell Mordor is."

You glance at him in the small silence, giving him a disappointed look, "Lord of the Rings?"

He shakes his head at you a little, "Mordor is the Lord of the Rings?"

You glare at him. Robin puts the bottle down, "It's a book series, dingus."

You smile brightly at her, "You've read them?"

"No," Robin shakes her head and your face falls. She gives Steve a pointed look, "but I don't live under a rock."

"I don't..." Steve tilts his head at her, "I don't live under a rock, alright. Yeah, Lord of the Rings books, I've heard of them. I know what that is."

"Steve Harrington knows what a book is!" Robin barks out, grinning from ear to ear. You let out a scoff.

"Alright, listen," he raises his hands in the air, giving her a pointed look, "I get you're in a foul mood because Vickie but-"

"I'm not in a foul mood because of Vickie!" Robin exclaims, frowning at him.

You look between the pair, "What happened with Vickie?" They go quiet. Steve runs a hand over his face and lets out another sigh. He gives Robin an expectant look, gesturing for her to speak. "God, I hate being out of the loop with you guys."

"Yeah, well," Steve picks up another bottle, unscrewing it quickly, "kinda hard to update you when you're a fugitive."

"She's not a fugitive," Robin rolls her eyes, pointing the funnel right at your face, "she's just wanted for murder."

Steve puts the bottle on the ground, loudly, "And also evading the police!"

Your eyes widen between the pair and you raise your eyebrows, "Alright, let's-"

"A fugitive is someone who escapes police custody!"

"Escape, evade, whatever!"

"She was never in police custody, dumbass!"

"You're so mean to me-"

"Alright!" You shout above the pair, hands raised, "Steve, Mordor isn't a person, it's a place where the protagonists of the book series 'The Lord of the Rings' have to travel to defeat great evil! And, a fugitive is someone who was previously in police custody but escapes and is then on the run from the law!" You let out a quick breath, looking between the pair of angsty friends, "Robin... What happened with Vickie? Are you okay?"

She lets out a hefty sigh, crossing her arms over one another and sinking into herself. Steve gives her a sympathetic look and turns to you, his face fallen, "We saw her at War Zone. She was with a guy. They, uh, yeah - they were... together."

"Together together?" You pinch your eyebrows at him. Steve just nods. "Oh. Robin-"

"I don't care. I really just - I don't know why I'm surprised," she cuts you off, her tone somewhere between embarrassed and bitter, "I mean, the chances of her... it wasn't- whatever. Whatever. She probably doesn't even like girls so why would she ever like me?"

You bite the inner corner of your cheek, your concerned eyes flicking to Steve's for a moment. "I'm really sorry, Robin. I thought..." you admit to her, placing a hand on her tense shoulder, "Who was she with?"