a helping hand | ronance

SEVEN

"ROB, DID YOU see this?" nancy asked, flashing her phone to steve and robin. the screen read indiana wanted man sentenced to life in prison after sexually assaulting many girls.

robin's breath quickened again at the sight of the man's picture beneath. it was him. she reread the title over at over processing the information.

"he's in jail," steve said, a hint of happiness in his voice.

"for life," robin added, finally understanding what she was reading.

"you won't have to worry about him again, isn't that good?" nancy asked.

"yeah, it's good. i just feel bad for the other girls that it happened to," the girl admitted, "i hope they're doing okay"

"i bet they're relieved that he's in jail," steve told her, to which she nodded.

"i know i am"

nancy gently put her hand on robin's for support, offering robin a smile. the gesture made robin's heart flutter and skip a beat, and she couldn't help but smile back at the brunette in front of her.

she tried to ignore the butterflies that always rose when nancy made contact with her- a hug, holding her hand. but it was becoming harder and harder to ignore.

robin had never felt this feeling before.

-

once nancy had left for dinner with her family, steve stayed behind with robin. she took this opportunity to bring up her feelings with steve.

"steve?" she asked, causing her friend to look up from his phone.

"yeah?"

"whenever nancy touches me- like when she held my hand earlier- i always feel something. even when she smiles! i know it probably sounds really odd but it's like this warm, fuzzy feeling. like a swarm of bugs got into my stomach and they're all flying around"

"like butterflies?" steve asked to clarify, causing robin to nod. he laughed.

"what's so funny?" robin asked, shooting a confused look in his direction.

"you like nancy," he told her, causing robin's cheeks to heat up.

"what? no, no i don't!"

"if you're getting butterflies when nancy touches your hand or hugs your or, hell, even smiles at you, then you definitely like her"

robin shook her head. "no, she's just....nice. and supportive"

"sure," steve teased.

a silence fell between the two, as robin thought back on every encounter she had with nancy.

did she like nancy? robin had disliked her at first, judging her as a priss. but now, she knew she wasn't. robin saw her as kind, supportive, friendly. and sure, she found her pretty too. but that didn't mean she liked her.

robin shook her thoughts away, indulging in a conversation with steve that presented a new topic. she took this opportunity to forget about her thoughts of nancy, focusing on steve instead.

-

"so, summary of this chapter is basically about how the narrator finds out that maxim- her husband- killed her ex-wife, rebecca, right? and it was foreshadowed before! remember when the man at the beach was saying something about how the body found wasn't rebecca's? yeah! it was a fake," nancy explained, reading their english book over robin's shoulder.

"ohhh," robin replied, everything making sense. "i get it now, thanks nance"

she looked up at the shorter girl, their eyes locking. robin couldn't seem to pull her eyes away from nancy's, getting lost in the pools of blue. their faces were only inches apart, both girl's breath hitching.

"you're welcome," nancy replied, pulling herself out of a robin-induced trance. she moved away, trying to hide her now-pink face.

robin was still frozen in place, panic taking over over. their faces had been so close. nancy's eyes were gorgeous- which made sense because she's stunning.

their encounter had made robin rethink all her feelings towards nancy. were they not platonic? did she have romantic feelings for her?

she couldn't help but think she did.

-

"do you want to come over to my house?" nancy asked robin after their study-session in the public library.

"sure," robin replied, trying to act normal. ever since the beginning of the study session when their faces came close, robin hadn't been able to think properly. her mind kept drifting back to that moment, replaying it over and over like a broken record.

nancy smiled back, making robin feel butterflies- as steve had called them. the two walked out to nancy's car, robin taking the passenger seat. on the way to nancy's, the brunette had called her mother to make sure it was okay to have company.

nancy pulled into the driveway at her house, and put the car in park. both girls got out, walking to the porch. nancy knocked on the door- too lazy to dig her key out. she began to grow impatient and rang the doorbell three times.

"jeez who's at the- oh, it's you," mike said rolling his eyes at the sight of his sister. his gaze flicked over to robin. "who are you?"

"robin," the girl replied, offering him a smile. "and you?"

"mike. nancy, is this the same robin you said was-"

"stop talking," nancy ordered, pulling robin by her wrist into the house. robin looked around, taking in every inch of the house. it was definitely bigger than she was used to.

nancy led robin up to her room. robin found out quickly that the room definitely fit nancy in every aspect- from the books to the posters and the color of the walls. robin found the space quite home-y.

"is he your brother?"

"yeah, my little shithead of a brother," nancy replied with an eyeroll.

"what did he mean? before you cut him off. what did you say i was?"

"cool. i said you were cool" nancy said briefly, not wanting to reveal what she had really told mike.

"you think i'm cool?"

"you're the coolest person i've met, rob," nancy admitted truthfully.

robin smiled at this, causing nancy's heart to skip a beat. she was happy to see robin getting better. every one of robin's smiles instantly brightened nancy's day, any bad feelings washing away like the ocean's tide.

-

a/n: chapter while my drunk ass contemplates deleting this book lol