Ronance Oneshots! (And other ST oneshots!)

Oneshot 6- When Old Friends Meet New

Summary: Things get awkward and there's a lot of tension as Robin's old 'Odd Squad' friends (featured in the Rebel Robin book) that she hasn't seen in years somehow end up in Family Video one day and meet her new, much better friends (and amazing girlfriend Nancy, of course).

There are minor spoilers for Rebel Robin (the book and I guess the podcast too?) near the start and then something is mentioned near the end that is definitely a spoiler for something that happens (assuming my memory is correct since I last read the book haha) so if you don't want spoilers, I suggest not reading this!

Word Count: 4,872

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It's been so long since she was a Sophmore in highschool.

Years since Robin would hang out with her old friends. Since she'd go to Band practice with them— Kate, Dash, and Milton. A lot has changed since then. Since she'd been obsessed with Tammy Thompson, since she'd sit in her favourite teacher Mr Hauser's classroom to talk and eat lunch. As a start, since then, she's almost died— multiple times. She's part of a small group of Hawkin's residents/friends that are the few that know about the Upside Down, Mind Flayer, and Vecna. She's now out to almost everyone she knows as a lesbian— something she'd only dreamed about years ago.

She also has new, more important friends. Steve, Eddie, Nancy, all the kids. Well, Nancy is more than a friend to her now, a girlfriend, in fact. Something she still gets butterflies in her stomach about knowing, months later. It's been years since Robin's only opinion on Nancy was that she was the school 'priss' and Steve was just more of an asshole— not that he doesn't get on her nerves now, but it's always lighthearted and she annoys him back.

Really, Robin knows that yeah, she could have tried to keep in contact with her old friends. Possibly. But it isn't her fault they drifted apart anyways. They wanted different things. Kate and Dash just wanted to be a cute, straight, highschool couple together and expect the same from Robin. Milton was... well he started to follow them and the expectations society brings. For the entirety of Junior year, she had spent less time with her three friends and more alone, until halfway through she'd deemed them not her friends anymore. As much as they'd tried to talk to her a little bit — mostly just Milton in a desperate attempt to keep the group together — they eventually gave up. Robin never blamed them, of course. She'd gone from getting through the monster of Hawkin's High unnoticed to not giving a shit and letting herself stand up. Even if that had meant accepting the rumours along with it, and her friends' needs to stay in their perfectly moulded place in the school's society.

Besides, it was only that year that she was alone anyway. After the events of Summer 1985, Her entire junior year was spent occasionally hanging out with Nancy at school, or talking to the kids after school by the entrance to the High School. Sure, she'd still been alone inside mostly, as Steve could only hang with her outside school too. But having genuine people to talk to, even if most of them were years younger than her, had been a difference to the loneliness of Junior year. And now, she's great. Almost a year has passed since her, Nancy, Eddie, and Jonathan all graduated high school. Vecna was defeated, she's dating Nancy, and life is great.

Except the fact that all of this has gone through her mind in only a few seconds, as she's currently facing the three friends she never thought she'd ever see again, honestly. They've been void from her mind for years. But here she is, leaning on the counter of Family Video, facing Kate, Dash, and Milton. Still a trio, somehow. Milton doesn't even have his own girlfriend with him right now.

Steve stands next to Robin behind the counter, as well as Nancy whose shoulder is touching her own. Eddie is on the other side but not directly in front of the counter now as the other three are instead. She can feel the confused glances of everyone currently in the store, flickering between her, and those they don't know. Her own two friends and Nancy are clearly confused by her look of realisation and stunned silence upon seeing the other three enter. Whereas they are apparently just as confused. Why, Robin has no idea. Likely a mix of seeing her in general, as well as seeing her hanging out with Nancy Wheeler and Steve Harrington of all people. How have they never come into the store before this?