𝐖𝐄 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐒! [𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞𝐲]

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐞

𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑

As Robin rested her head in one hand, staring down at the table as if willing herself not to throw up, Margo reached across to fill both of their mugs with black coffee. The sun filtering through the large windows of the local diner dissolved in Margo's dark eyes, mesmerizing Robin for a second. "You don't think anyone saw us, do you?" she asked. 

"Just Steve," said Margo. 

Robin nodded and sipped her coffee. "But before he came and woke us up. Do you think anyone else walked in?" 

For a second, Margo considered this. She was less freaked out about the possibility than Robin. For starters, all the people who mattered in her life knew she was gay. Aside from her mom, but that was an issue for later. Besides, it was just a party. "If anyone did walk in, they'd have just seen two best friends passed out drunk together," she said. 

"Right," said Robin. She gave Margo a small smile. "I had fun, though. Did you?" 

"The most fun I've had in a while." 

The waitress, an older woman with frizzy hair and crooked front teeth sidled over to their table. "Are you girls ready to order? More coffee?" 

"Yeah, more coffee, definitely," Margo said, massaging her temples to try and get rid of the hangover headache. "And we're waiting on a few more people." 

"You got it." 

Margo caught Robin's eye and smiled as best she could through the brutal hangover. Robin brushed her hair behind her ears and sipped her coffee. "They're late." 

"Steve said he had to check in with his parents, so that'll take awhile." 

Robin gave her a pointed look. "And who knows what Jonathan and Nancy are doing." 

"They can't do too much with Argyle third-wheeling," Margo reasoned. 

Robin shrugged. "Who knows. Do you think Jonathan and Nancy are gonna, you know... make it?" 

"I think whatever happens, some people are gonna be hurt," Margo said honestly. 

"But we don't have to think about that right now." 

"Exactly." 

The door of the diner swung open and Nancy, Jonathan, Argyle, and Steve entered in a big crowd. They found Margo and Robin's booth and squished themselves in, pulling over chairs for Argyle and Jonathan. 

"You couldn't have gotten a table?" Jonathan said to Margo, giving her that teasing smile she'd hated when they were kids. 

"You couldn't have showed up faster?" she shot back. 

He laughed softly and leaned back in his seat. "Where did you two sneak off to last night, anyway?" 

Robin and Margo exchanged a quick look and immediately ducked their heads, trying not to laugh. Luckily, the waitress re-appeared to take everyone's orders, and the conversation moved on. 

Once the food on everyone's plates was mostly finished, and the coffee pot in the center of the table was empty, Margo was feeling much better. She leaned against Steve's shoulder and gently kicked Robin's foot under the table to get her attention. "We should do this again," she said to the table at large. "Like, all of us hanging out."  

"Definitely," Steve said without hesitating. 

Nancy caught Margo's eye and smiled. Margo felt her heart lift. After everything they'd been through, after years of one thing after another testing their survival, she was starting to see the blossoming of a friend group. A chosen family with real staying power. The first real friend group of her life.