𝐷𝑜𝑝𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑒, 𝑆𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑛, 𝑂𝑥𝑦𝑡𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑛- 𝑅𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒

𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑖𝑣𝑒- 𝐴 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑡

Once Eddie had been dropped back home, Steve and Robin figured that it would be better to head back to hers. They didn't have long until the arranged time, so the decision to relax for a bit and then get ready was the chosen plan.

Steve was in the upstairs bathroom, messing with his hair and preparing as if he was going on an actual date, and not a fake, set-up one. Robin was dreadfully nervous. She was sitting on the edge of the couch, her two hands holding the cassette that she had previously bought.

She had hoped to God that Nancy still enjoyed the group, and hadn't lost interest in them. Perhaps she was way more into something else now- but Buckley guessed that they would have to wait and see.

As they had arrived back to the house a bit earlier on, Robin had disappeared upstairs to change. The choice had been a denim-coloured pair of long-cut trousers, paired with a fairly thin buttoned shirt, and finally, topped with a casual, daily-use blazer-jacket. It was a fairly formal outfit for the occasion, but normal enough for it to not be a problem.

Although she hadn't thought upon it too much, Robin believed that she was ready.
And Robin Buckley believing that she was ready to face the one and only Nancy Wheeler was a miracle.

Not too long later, Steve came prancing down the stairs.
"You ready to go, Buckley?"

He appeared in the doorway, and then paused.

Robin looked up to him, pocketing the music as if it was something embarrassing to be caught looking at.
"Yeah, I think so."

She wasn't really. Her mouth was terribly dry, legs aching and mind whirring. Perhaps she had believed wrong.

"Let's go, then." He said.

"Alright." She nodded in return, rising from the seat and stepping out of the room towards the front door.

-

The sky was the same colour that it had been when they had previously visited the cinema; the type of blue that wasn't day, but also wasn't night. Directly in the middle. Vulnerable.

Robin and Steve had parked around the corner, taking the short walk towards the bar. They stayed close, arms nudging together at the most random times. The door was soon in sight, so, as promised, they separated into it as if they didn't know each other at all.

The atmosphere inside was thick; the odd pairs of men drinking around the main counter, the odd couple or two perched around the tables towards the back.
Steve nodded Robin away as he made a direct aim towards the front bar, tilting his head with a fake drinking motion to ask if she wanted anything.

When a head shake was displayed, they turned away from each other for the first time that night.

Perhaps she would get some sort of drink later on, but for now, she was just going to simply wait.

It was two minutes past six- she could tell by the aged clock on the wall. Nancy should've been arriving any minute- and just like that, she did.

The shorter woman appeared in the doorway almost as if Robin had been manifesting her, wiping her shoes onto the mat at the entrance. Buckley watched carefully as Wheeler made the first interaction with Steve, nodding with a smile as he gestured over to where Robin was sitting.

And then, they met eyes. It was go time.

As Nancy walked her way over, Robin stood, doing a motion which resembled that of an awkward bow. The new arrival didn't seem to question Buckley's weird interactions by that point- which was a good thing, she supposed.