Whatever It Takes

Ten Years

"Wait, Dovey and Munson are getting along?" Robin gasped, turning to us in shock. I rolled my eyes, but my face flushed as I took a sip of champagne.

"Oh, they're bosom buddies now," Nancy teased, winking at me. I glared at her. Her smile grew. "What? Aren't you?"

Robin glanced between us as she curled her short hair. She narrowed her eyes and watched me carefully.

"What aren't you telling me? You guys have to tell me everything, it's not fair if you don't!" Robin whined, quite literally stamping her foot. I smiled at her.

Robin was a late addition to our friend group, but a very welcome one at that. Steve introduced her to us after working a summer at Scoops Ahoy with her. She came crashing into our friendship, making it impossible to not absolutely adore her. She was blunt and fun, and loved us fiercely.

She had moved to New York right after high school, absolutely refusing to come back to Hawkins unless she knew that both Nancy and I were going to be here. She, also, had long encouraged my rivalry with Eddie, insisting that watching us spar was better than network television. She had decided to come in the day of the wedding to avoid any additional run-ins with people she deemed as unworthy of her time – something I knew she was only half-joking about.

I started taking down Nancy's curlers, avoiding Robin's expecting stare. Nancy kicked her foot back and hit my shin, making me yelp in pain.

"What?" I hissed, rubbing my leg. Nancy turned to me, smiling knowingly.

"Tell her," she ordered. My face flushed, and I studied Nancy's hair as I brushed her curls out.

"EddieandIarekindofathing," I said quickly. I felt my face bloom with color as Robin gasped.

"I'm sorry...the two people who have hated each other for, what I feel like, has been longer than I have been alive...are an item?" Robin asked incredulously. My face burned hotter as I started the hairdo that Nancy had showed me earlier.

"We have not hated each other that long," I insisted. I shrugged. "Besides, it seems to have been a misunderstanding."

"What do you mean?" Nancy asked. Robin set her hands on her hips, also wanting an answer. I continued to pin Nancy's hair.

"He's liked me for a long time," I replied. I smiled, remembering his confession on the morning after our first night together. "A really long time."

"How long?" Robin asked. My smile grew in spite of me wanting to be cool in front of my friends.

"Since the first time he met me," I answered. I looked up, and Robin's jaw was dropped.

"The first time? That time you told us about when he was trying to flex about being a dungeon master?" she questioned. My mouth twisted into a bigger smile, and I had to physically stop myself from twirling.

"Yeah – apparently, he was embarrassed that I had seen him being a dork with all of the little ones and thought he could redo his first impression," I continued. I winced a bit. "That obviously didn't work out."

"Holy shit," Robin sighed, sitting on the parlor chair I had been in earlier. She was grinning her usual shit-eating grin at me, tutting as she spun in the chair. "Who would have thought that Munson would have ever won over Dovey Henderson?"

"I'm thrilled about it," Nancy announced, making me smile. "When he told me how much he liked her, I was so excited."

I smiled at my best friend – the only thing Nancy loved more than Jonathan was love. I could tell how excited she was for me, how much she genuinely liked me and Eddie together.