I Wish You We're A Girl

Chapter 5

Long chapter for you all today, hope you enjoy. We're finally getting to the reason I titled this story the way I did...

The day of the dreaded pool party finally came, and the time leading up to it caused Steve to have to explain to Robin his recent problem with water. It happened the day they left Nancy's house and they started to clean the pool as promised, it was dirty and not treated. Since the cleaners hadn't been coming for months now. When it took Steve a few minutes to even come within five feet of the edge, Robin knew something was up. She didn't laugh or make fun of him, just helped him with it, after giving him a long hug that borderline choked him.

Over the next few days, while they continued to clean and properly treat the pool with chlorine after school, Robin was able to get Steve closer and closer to it. He never actually fully got in, no more than standing on the steps in the shallows or sitting on the sides with the water to his knees. But it was better and would be more believable while people were there than nothing.

Dustin was the first to show up, excluding Robin of course, then El and Will. After them Nancy, Mike, and Jonathan all showed up together too, before Lucas wheeled Max in. She wasn't able to swim yet, since her casts were still on, but she wanted to come anyway. It made Steve smile. But that smile diminished when Eddie Munson came inside, in his black swim trunks and Metallica tank top that made Steve have to suppress his jaw dropping to the floor. Eddie wasn't exactly one for summer clothes, so Steve had only seen him this...exposed, once before. At the public pool, but even then he was wearing a short sleeved rash guard.

"Robin, my room, now." Steve didn't even try to greet Eddie, he wouldn't know how. He hadn't talked to him since he almost toppled over him.

"Steve?"

"Now!" He grabbed her hand and dragged her up there before slamming the door behind them. "How the hell am I supposed to do this Rob. Every time I look at him it feels like I have to impress him. But I don't wanna ignore him, he's one of my best friends."

"Steve, I can't lie to you and say that I have the perfect solution. 'Cause this is something you kind of have to maneuver through yourself, I can't puppeteer you. I can't speak for you or make all of your moves. Even if I wanted to. But, I can be there for you, at least for moral support. I always will be."

"I'm so fucked." He sat on his bed and held his face in his hands, which seemed to be a lasting trend in his life.

"I don't think you are Steve, get a few drinks in you to loosen up, or talk to other people, or just hide in a corner. I don't know, any way you see it, you have to be out there 'cause you're the host. I'll stall for you as long as I can, except the longer you take up here, the more likely it is I'll have to pull out the irritable bowel problems. And I don't think you want that to make an impression on Eddie."

"Dick." He knew she was joking and his snarky response wasn't laced with anything except just that. Robin knew it, she didn't take it to heart.

"See you down there Dingus. Love you."

"God, love you too asshole." She closed the door behind her and Steve stayed on his bed for a second longer. He knew he had it in him to be chill, to be his normal self. But, this whole Eddie thing has been haunting him for the past week and now it was right in front of him. He just didn't want to do anything weird or make things awkward.

A knock startled him out of his seat. He knew it wouldn't be Robin, since she doesn't knock, and for a second he thought it might be Nancy. He was given his worst case scenario when the door opened though.

"Hey I was wondering where you went, was gonna ask where I should put my stuff." Steve had no idea what he was talking about. "The weed, Harrington? Didn't want to leave it in the van, you know, in the rich neighborhood."